Apple Plays Music

Apple has a complete new offering for the music junkies, the Apple Music, an app that has the world’s widest collection of music, programmed by distinguished music experts. Apple Music is a one-stop music station with instinctive and streaming music service, and is going to be the world’s live 24-hour radio station. It would help the listeners tune in with their favourite artists and songs. It’s going to be a direct competition to Spotify, Tidal and several other music Apps.
Apple Music is the largest and dandy medley of music designed by the experts for iPhones, iPads, iPod touch, Mac, PC, Apple TV and Android phones. It can match upto 25,000 songs and plans to upgrade it. Apple Music has been made available from June 30, 2015 in over 100 countries.

Computex Taipei 2015

The Computex Taipei 2015, the CIT’s Mecca for IT firms proved to be a great hit this year. It is famed to be the biggest event in Asia where ideas turn into reality, and innovation is at its expressive best. Several IT players converged at the event to flaunt their latest designed gadgets and gizmos.
The year 2015 was marked by wacky and pioneering exhibits of phone-controlled devices and wearable timepieces. These smart devices attend to the human need in various manners and cater to the requirements of fitness/health, young adults, enterprises, senior care and even help keeping track of children.
Given the high footfall, the occasion (event) was a success and attracted nearly 38,550 international buyers from 165 countries.

Super Memory Alloy Created

A new scientifically useful shape memory alloy (SMA) has been produced by engineers, which springs back into its original shape even after a breathtaking 10 million times’ bending. SMAs are a unique class of metal alloys which are capable of recovering apparent permanent strains after heating over a specified temperature.

The Breakthrough

The new alloy has been created from nickel, titanium and copper, and is several times better than any previous memory alloy as it can sustain 10 million bends before wearing out. Previous alloys had a high-cycle fatigue and could regain their shape once or a few times (the previous highest was 16,000 cycles), but not of this proportion. The alloy has been developed by Prof. Manfred Wuttig of the University of Maryland, USA and his colleagues at the University of Kiel, Germany.

The 10 million times’ bending was achieved by a special crystalisation of the nickel, titanium and copper atoms so they can switch between two different configurations repeatedly. The rebonding can be triggered by either heating or in some cases as soon as the tension is released. The bending is called cycling, and a material may have low-cycle fatigue (LCF) or high-cycle fatigue (HCF). Fatigue is defined as permanent structural change in the material under conditions of fluctuating stress, strains or heat, which may result in crack or complete fracture after a sufficient number of fluctuations. Thus, an HCF material would be able to bear a high number of cycles or bendings before it is fatigued or permanently damaged.

Commercial Use

There are many potential uses of memory alloys, such as creating artificial heart valves, airplane parts such as wing flaps or control surfaces, or unfolding solar panels of a spacecraft, or a new generation of solid-state refrigerators, in addition to usage in surgical operations where a stent may be squashed into a tiny blood vessel and then made to spring back to its original position opening the blocked vessel in the process. In case of refrigerators, instead of using a liquid to compress and expand the compressor, this alloy could be used. Now, the general expectation is that a refrigerator would have a lifecycle of 20 years, so the stressing and recovering millions of times would be possible through this alloy.

The Technological Process

The samples for test were made in tiny square pieces of 1 cm and less than 1 mm thick, and then were checked under both heat and stress. A lot of patience was needed in the ensuing weeks to generate and check the 10 million cycles, though the stress was automatically generated through little stress-strain machines. Testing with temperature was more difficult as a specialised furnace system was used to rapidly heat and cool the samples a full 10 million times and again a few weeks’ patient waiting was done. The changes in the shape and structure were examined using powerful microscopes and through X-rays. It’s an awesome scientific breakthrough as the possibilities of commercial and laboratory usages are ample. Several high-end engineering, medical, space and everyday products would highly benefit.

Word’s First Billion Dollar Football Club Arrives

Manchester United has recently become the world’s first billion dollar football brand. A recent evaluation by Brand Finance, Manchester United (MU) shows that Manchester City and Chelsea are performing better than Arsenal. Brand Finance is a leading brand valuation and strategy consultancy. It calculates both the strength and the value of a brand. Brand strength reflects the notional potential of the brand, and its value is calculated based on its ability to generate income. For that, the team or the club must have star players and it must prove itself a tactically brilliant team on the ground. The German brand will now be able to produce their kits for the next decade seized in a deal worth $1.1 billion. This savvy business operation is the key reason why Barcelona, the club with the strongest brand in the world, is only rated sixth. Manchester United’s business power is why it is on top of the list.

The 12-second Lag in IPL

Who has benefitted the most from the Indian Premier League cricket games? The players, the organisers, or the viewers? Wrong! Bookies have benefitted the most. And the reason? Just a matter of 12 seconds! If you haven’t understood, please read further.

The Process

The bookies are taking advantage of a glitch in the technology and in the process are earning millions of dollars. They are exploiting the extra-long gap between real-time and telecast feed that is taking place. The bookies have their men (called pitch-siders) planted in the stadium itself who keep providing a real-time ball-by-ball commentary on phone to them. Now, bookies know what’s happening in real time in the stadium, while the bettors feel that they are watching the match “live”. When bettors place their bets, bookies already know what has happened in the stadium. The whole betting system is very fast because bets are being placed on every ball. In some cases, the gap between two balls may be 10 to 12 seconds. So, actually if several bettors are risking a few million dollars on a ball expecting that the batsman would be out on that ball, the bookies already know if in reality he was out or not, and they would play their betting game accordingly. The end result would be a big-time cheating, but betting anyway is illegal so no one goes to the law-enforcing agencies, and the bookies walk away with a stash of cash.

The Real Time Lag

In any case, what is seen as live on television is 3-to-5-seconds-old as it takes that much time to travel before it is broadcast as “live” on television. Whatever happens live on the ground is recorded by the cameras, and then electronic signals are transmitted through several intermediate stages via satellites and cables to viewers’ TVs. It takes 3 to 5 seconds. However, because there is huge money involved, bookies have resorted to another illegal way of being ahead of the viewers and manipulating the whole betting process. In addition to pitch-siders, they gain an extra edge of a few more seconds by literally stealing feed, which is very similar to stealing power. If you use a hook on a live wire, you can divert the electricity flow and use your own electrical device. In a similar way, the bookies get the live uplink of the feed of the IPL matches, before it is broadcast to viewers. This is being done by installing high-frequency antennas to receive the link before it’s even broadcast.

Viewers Lose

Thus, using the two methods, bookies are exploiting a total gap of 12 seconds. So, what you may actually see on TV as happening in real time may have actually happened 12 seconds ago. Moreover, if you are a diehard bettor and you assume that what you have just seen or heard actually happened at that moment, then you are going to lose big.

It is being investigated now if the UK-based betting site Betfair has any involvement in this high-technology fraud through illegal money transfers by avoiding banking channels in the IPL bettings.

Wowing the Djoker!

And so the French Open is bagged by Stanislas Wawrinka. He very skilfully flipped the winning script written by Novak Djokovic reminding everyone that the world’s greatest clay-court tournament does not follow the script. Wawrinka ended the match with one of his favourite shots marking his 60th victory of the 3 hours 20 minutes game. With the win, Wawrinka is now World number 4 while Djokovic remains number 1. The Champion then raised his racket in the air to celebrate his success. Wawrinka is considered to be the second Swiss player to win the French Open in the past seven years as Roger Federer won in the year 2009. Other than Wawrinka and Federer, Nadal has every other French Open championship since 2005.
Wawrinka won the first French Open on his 11th attempt, and he is the second oldest man in the history of French Open to win the title. Before him, Andreas Gomez at the age of 30 had defeated Andre Agassi in 1990. The defeat shattered world number one Djokovic’s hopes of a career grand slam as he was defeated for the third time in four finals at Roland Garros. Wawrinka stated in a recent interview “It’s great feeling, but in the same time you need to realize what I did. I’m proud of winning against Novak. He is such a tough player to play, especially in [the] final.”

Aung San Suu Kyi Visits Beijing

Myanmar’s Leader of Opposition, Aung San Suu Kyi, visited Beijing on a five-day tour with an aim to building ties with her country’s powerful neighbour, and also met the Chinese President, Xi Jinping. The meeting is being seen as a Chinese ploy to improve its declining influence in Myanmar in the aftermath of some democratic reforms through which the Southeast Asian country moved away from Chinese influence and toward Western Asian nations such as Japan and other potential investors who are ready to bring money into its economy. However, as a matter of fact, China is still the largest foreign investor in Myanmar, the erstwhile Burma.

The democratic reforms have made citizens of Myanmar freer to protest, and consequently some Chinese projects including a dam have been stalled by people over environmental concerns. China, on the other hand, doesn’t want to weaken its hold on its poor southern neighbour as it is strategically important as a gateway to the Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal, which China uses to secure oil and gas pipelines in Myanmar.

The root of the problem between the two countries is a skirmish between Myanmar’s military and rebels along the border, which resulted in the killing of five Chinese farmers and an influx of refugees into China. To ease the ensuing tension, China has extended its hand to the Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi to create an image of love and peace and in contrast of China’s authoritarian hold in Myanmar.

Suu Kyi, a democracy icon, was held for years under house arrest by Myanmar’s junta, the military group of Myanmar that rules the country. Suu Kyi believes that Myanmar should maintain friendly relations with China, and her recent visit to Beijing is in line with her newly created pragmatic politician and diplomatic image that she wants to project to contest Myanmar’s Presidential post.

The meeting is being projected as a party-to-party meet between China’s Communist Party and Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy, before the elections in Myanmar later in 2015. Suu Kyi also needs diplomatic credentials and support from her neighbours and other governments and leaders in general, as she is constitutionally barred from the Presidential election through a provision that citizens of Myanmar married to foreigners are not allowed to contest the highest post in the country. Suu Kyi has been campaigning for an amendment in the Constitution to allow her candidacy for the post.

Suu Kyi is visiting Beijing, Myanmar’s largest and most influential neighbour, for the first time on invitation from the ruling Communist Party and is going to visit Shanghai and Yunnan province at the China–Myanmar conflict-ridden northern border. Because she is expected to visit the Chinese Premier, Li Keqiang and China’s foreign-policy-focused State Councillor Yang Jiechi, it is being assumed that the meetings are politically important as such important people of China usually meet major national leaders, not opposition party heads. Her exclusion from elections is also seen as politically motivated, as her party, NLD, is expected to win comfortably in the November elections. The elections are one of many quasi-democratic transitions in Myanmar under international pressure; otherwise its military leaders still hold the real power, some after shedding their army uniforms.

Your Life Your Responsibility

It’s an established fact that it’s a big bad world you are living in and at almost every step you face, and would continue to face, obstacles. They may come from your enemies, or your friends or families or strangers, or even from inanimate objects or the circumstances, but they will be there. If you accept it, there is only one person who can overcome your difficulties, and that’s you. So, when you take charge and take 100% responsibility for choosing your reaction towards all that comes your way, you are bound to move towards success.

Continued happiness, exciting career options, nurturing family time, and blissful personal relationships wouldn’t exist by default, or someone or something from outside wouldn’t provide us these on a platter; “you” have to work towards them despite how this world is moving and what experiences you are gathering in the process.

Don’t Blame

Most of us blame someone or something else for our failures, irritations and hurts in life, while the truth is that all of us have a choice how we react in a particular situation or towards someone or something. Of course, when someone shouts at you for nothing, when there is an accident, when someone misunderstands you, or when it rains just before you are leaving for an important meeting, you are not responsible for the circumstances. But, and here’s the beauty of it, in all these cases you have a choice of reaction. You may blame and fret, and spoil what happens next, or you react in the best possible way under the circumstances and make the best of what happens next.

If “you” want to create a life as you dream it, then “you” have to take 100% responsibility for your life. You need to give up all your excuses, victim stories, reasons why you haven’t reached where you wanted to, and how circumstances held you back. You have to give them all up forever. You must understand that you have and always had the power to change things when they were happening or later, but because of something, be it your ignorance or fear, or your desire to be safe or right, you didn’t use that power. Nobody is concerned why you didn’t use that power, the fact is that you didn’t and because of that your past is the way it is. But, once again good thing about all of this is that the past is the way it is. It can’t be changed. Good! You have understood it. So accept it and let it be the way it is. Now, start working on your present and future!

Accept Your Past and Work Towards Your Future

If something didn’t happen in the past you must ask yourself how did you create it, or what were you thinking, or what were your beliefs, or what did you say or didn’t say, or what did you do or didn’t do, or what do you need to do to get different results the next time. Whatever happened, happened. But, if you want to change its effect or if you want to happen it in your desired way the next time, take responsibility for it and do it.

Ashok Kajaria

“Super brands” are not easy to make, and sometimes take generations to create. Ashok Kajaria—through relentless and indefatigable efforts, unwavering dedication for quality, and an enthusiasm for innovation—made Kajaria Ceramics a Super Brand in less than 3 decades. Kajaria Ceramics is internationally renowned today due to Ashok Kajaria’s unparalleled experience in the field—he keeps track of every relevant movement in the industry and uses it to his advantage. In the last 30 years, his strategic understanding of the market, production and the brands in the Ceramics industry has made Kajaria Ceramics a colossal brand.

Ashok Kajaria has reached new heights of production, meeting the national and international demands, through a three-pronged strategy: expanding the domestic production capacity, tie-ups with other facilities, and acquisitions. Strategic planning for further acquisitions is ongoing with a target for a greater hold in the domestic market, and eventually greater production capacity. In FY 2014–15, Kajaria Ceramics crossed a turnover of $370 million, and they are aiming for 18–20% topline growth in FY 2015–16. In three years, March 2013 to March 2016, Kajaria is projecting a turnover of almost $470 million plus and for that the company needs capex of approximately $66-70 million. Ashok Kajaria’s vision and leadership provision has made all this possible, and the future promising!

Ashok Kajaria’s leadership factors include 30 years of experience in the Ceramics industry, evolving into a deep understanding of the ins and outs of the market; intelligently utilising acquisitions to create a high market value; outperforming competitors by maintaining quality throughout; and displaying a rare level of vision and zeal for innovation that others in the industry are yet to match.

IMAX Enters Hong Kong

IMAX has filed an application with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEx) for an initial public offering (IPO) of its China unit in Hong Kong (IMAX China Holding), as it plans to participate in the world’s fastest growing movie markets. Imax made about 30% profit last year through its China unit, which is not surprising as since 2012 it has nearly doubled its number of theatres in the Greater China region. Currently, IMAX has 239 theatres in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, and it plans to build 219 more theatres in China itself. China is a critical growth market for IMAX, and if plans go well it will be the largest market for the company.

There are a total of 934 IMAX theatres in 62 countries.

China is a $10.35 trillion economy making it the second-largest economy in the world, USA being the first with $17.41 trillion size and owning approximately 22.44 percent of the gross world product. In 2014, China’s box office revenues increased by 36% to $4.8 billion. IMAX is already listed on the New York Stock Exchange, and after its announcement of an IPO in Hong Kong, its shares jumped up 9%. IMAX tickets are on the higher side as the experience it promises is extraordinary. Each ticket costs $24 or about Rs. 1500.

The IMAX Experience

IMAX is an acronym for Image MAXimum; and is used for both IMAX Corporation (a Canadian company) and a motion picture film format and a set of cinema projection standards created by IMAX Corporation. IMAX is capable of recording and displaying images of far greater size and resolution than the conventional film systems. IMAX is the most widely used system for special-venue film presentations.

IMAX management has been signalling for some time now that it wanted to list its Chinese subsidiary on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. IMAX China Holdings is incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands, and the China subsidiary is being used to oversee the expansion of IMAX’s business throughout Greater China.

A Strategic Move

Before the IPO, in a strategic move, IMAX sold its 20% stake for $80 million to two companies, CMC Capital Partners which is a media-and-entertainment-focused investment fund, and FountainVest Partners which is a China-focused private equity firm. These investments were strategic as IMAX not only found partners for its operations in China, it also received on-the-ground guidance in China which is important to grow in the Chinese market.

As per Chinese rules, it’s mandatory for any foreign firm to work under a Chinese firm, thus the stake selling was done as a key prerequisite for completing an eventual IPO in China. As per the deal, IMAX would expand its screen counts in China, and would screen both Hollywood and Chinese movies to satisfy the local regulations and the market demands.

IMAX is known in the market for its giant-screen experiences in the film sector. Fox had introduced in 1929, the first 70 mm film format, Fox Grandeur, which wasn’t successful. Later, in 1950s Cinemascope and VistaVision with 35 mm films and multi-projector systems such as Cinerama were introduced. In 1967, a company called Multiscreen was founded to cater to the demands of a better visual experience through multi-projector and multi-screen systems. This company later changed its name to IMAX and in the course of time developed its current giant 2D and 3D screens with high cinematic techniques.