Google's New Shipping Acquisition Makes It ... - Business Insider

Google has made an interesting new acquisition that suggests it may be attacking Amazon's shipping business.

It just bought BufferBox Inc, a Y Combinator startup, for an undisclosed sum. BufferBox is a kiosk that can be placed in local venues around the nation for self-service parcel pick-up. In other words, if BufferBox becomes popular, you could walk into your local CVS and pick up a package you ordered from an online merchant.

This is a product -- not a talent -- acquisition. BufferBox will continue operating within Google.

"We're going to keep doing BufferBox," Google engineering director Steve Woods told Financial Post. "We?re not going to go into great detail about our future plans, but we think there?s a real exciting space beyond this amazing start with boxes, and the idea of touching consumers as part of their end-to-end experience is something we?re going to explore together. I don?t think we would say even definitively what it?s going to be, but we?re going to do some great things together.?

BufferBox had plans to undercut even the cheapest shipping services and deliver packages to its kiosks for $3 or $4. (USPS costs about $5.25 per package. UPS and FedEx cost more.) It also planned to set up 100 kiosks around the Toronto area in 2013.

So, what does Google want with a shipping company?

The Economist has one idea.

"Google is experimenting with a service that would let folk find goods online, order them and have them delivered within a day for a modest fee," The Economist wrote this morning. "This seems similar to Amazon?s hugely successful 'Prime' service, which costs $79 a year to join in America. Rather than try to replicate the e-commerce giant?s extensive network of warehouses, Google is looking for partnerships with shipping companies and retailers instead. But if it is serious about taking on Amazon, it may ultimately have to buy a logistics firm. At $69 billion UPS has a market value less than a third of Google?s; it is valued at less than twice the search giant?s cash pile."

The Economist implies that Google could jump whole hog into fulfillment and logistics, and that it could becoming the back-end ecommerce delivery system for the world.

Of course, that is an entirely different business than the business Google is in right now. And it's not clear why Google would want to be in that business, especially with so many other promising opportunities to invest in.?

So, what do you think Google wants with a startup like BufferBox? Is this really the beginning of a full-on shipping war between Google and Amazon?

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/googles-new-shipping-acquisition-makes-it-pretty-clear-that-its-gunning-for-amazon-2012-12

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Friend: Chiefs player, slain girlfriend 'seemed fine'

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) ? Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher and his girlfriend briefly lived apart before he killed her and then committed suicide in front of his coach and general manager, a friend of the woman said Sunday.

But Brianne York, 21, said that Belcher and his girlfriend, 22-year-old Kasandra M. Perkins, had gotten back together by Thanksgiving.

When she learned Saturday that Belcher had fatally shot Perkins at the couples' home, York said, she thought someone must have been mistaken.

Afterward, Belcher drove about five miles to Arrowhead Stadium, where he thanked general manager Scott Pioli and coach Romeo Crennel for all they'd done for him. Belcher then fatally shot himself in the practice facility's parking lot, police said.

Belcher and Perkins have a 3-month-old daughter.

"They just don't seem like they're that kind of people," said York, who met Perkins while taking prerequisite classes at the Blue River campus of the Metropolitan Community College. The women bonded during their pregnancies. York's baby, a boy, was born about three months before Perkins' daughter.

York recalled that her friend was "really happy about being a mom."

"It doesn't seem that that would be the end of their story," York said. "It just seems like if things didn't work out, they would have gone their separate ways. I would never have thought that this would be how it ended."

York said the couple had argued about "normal couple stuff" and sometime after Halloween Perkins had gone to visit her family in Texas. Perkins also briefly stayed with her cousin, who is married to Chiefs player Jamaal Charles. Belcher and Perkins met through Charles, York said.

A message left for Charles and his wife through an assistant was not immediately returned.

York said the root of the argument was that Belcher, "sometimes he would just be down in his man cave or whatever," and Perkins wanted to spend more time together as a family.

Initially, York said Perkins told her that "they weren't sure if they were going to be able to work things out and stay together." But York said, "They ended up wanting to try to work it out, and the next time I went over and visited she told me everything was good and things were better so I thought everything was fine."

Kansas City police spokesman Darin Snapp reiterated Sunday that the couple had argued recently but he could provide no additional details.

At the couple's former home, people could be seen coming and going Sunday. "Can you all respect grieving?" said a man who answered the door at the couple's home. A short time later, at the same time the Chiefs were playing the Carolina Panthers, two men loaded bags into a car, and two women drove away.

Attempts to reach various members of Perkins' family in Austin, Texas, were unsuccessful.

Neighbors in the newly built Kansas City subdivision where the couple had lived since April were stunned by Saturday's violent events.

Kristen VanMeter, 31, lives near the couple and said also she had taken community-college courses with Perkins. VanMeter said the couple threw "a lot of parties" but said she heard nothing unusual the morning of the killing.

"It's a surprise," she said. "There had to of been something that triggered it."

Belcher's mother, who was staying with the couple, called 911 after her son shot Perkins. Snapp said 911 tapes aren't public records in Missouri.

Shawn Martin, vice president of the neighborhood homeowners association, said she wasn't aware of any problems that preceded the shooting.

She described the parties at the home Belcher and Perkins shared as "nothing more than any other young couple" would have.

After having the baby, Perkins was taking the fall semester off school. York said Perkins planned to return in January and wanted to become a teacher.

Police said Belcher's mother was living with the couple, but York said she just made frequent visits, sometimes lasting a couple weeks at a time. She doesn't know who will care for the baby now.

"Jovan is pretty laid back and calm and collected," York said. "And they just seemed really happy around each other, and I just don't understand where things went wrong."

York said the only other stress Perkins mentioned was whether Belcher would stay with the Chiefs.

"She was a really good person to be around and a lot of fun," York said. "She was somebody you could call when you were down and she would talk you through it. She would lift you back up and make you feel happy again if you were sad or upset."

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/news/friend-chiefs-lb-slain-girlfriend-seemed-fine-010010723--nfl.html

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Reconnecting With Customers: Building Brands & Profits in The ...

Posted on November 29, 2012 by admin

Reconnecting With Customers: Building Brands & Profits in The Relationship Age by Jack Myers
Spurge Ink!; First Edition edition (October 27, 1998) | ISBN: 188823248X | 250 pages | PDF | 11.28 MB

As the Information Age evolves, welcome to The Relationship Age, where relationships come first, the deal second. In today?s global marketplace, the irrevocable trend is away from commoditization, and towards marketing and brand-based relationships. Integration is an imperative. Success demands we apply the new Three R?s: Reconnecting, Relevance and Results. Myers explains how.
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U.S.-Afghan base attacked in eastern Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) ? Taliban suicide bombers attacked a joint U.S.-Afghan air base in eastern Afghanistan early Sunday, detonating explosives at the gate and sparking a gunbattle that lasted at least two hours with American helicopters firing down on the militants.

The attackers and at least five Afghans were killed, officials said. Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for the assault.

It was the largest attack on the Jalalabad air base since February, when a suicide car bombing at the gate triggered an explosion that killed nine Afghans, six of them civilians.

In Sunday's attack, two vehicles packed with explosives barreled toward the main gate of the base around 6 a.m. local time. The first vehicle, a four-wheel-drive car, blew up at the gate, said Hazrat Hussain Mashreqiwal, a spokesman for the provincial police chief. Guards started shooting at the second vehicle before it too exploded, he added. It was unclear whether the explosives were detonated by the attackers themselves or by shooting from the guards.

Two Afghan students from a private medical school were caught up in the attack and killed, as were three other Afghans working at the base, Mashreqiwal said. He did not know whether the base workers were private guards, members of the security forces or civilian employees.

Nine attackers took part in the assault in total, he said, three of whom were killed in the suicide blasts and another six gunmen who died in the ensuing fighting that lasted a few hours.

Maj. Martyn Crighton, a spokesman for the international military force in Afghanistan, said that helicopters "were deployed and used."

The NATO military coalition described the attack as a failure.

"We can confirm insurgents, including multiple suicide bombers, attacked Jalalabad Airfield this morning. None of the attackers succeeded in breaching the perimeter," Lt. Col. Hagen Messer, a spokesman for the international military coalition, said in an email.

He said that the fighting had ended by midmorning and that reports showed one member of the Afghan security forces was killed. Several foreign troops were wounded, but Messer did not give any numbers or details.

"The final assessment of what happened this morning is not yet complete, but initial reports indicate there were three suicide bombers," Messer said.

In the south, meanwhile, a NATO service member was killed in an insurgent attack, the international coalition said in a statement. It did not provide further details.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/us-afghan-attacked-eastern-afghanistan-045730210.html

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Aquatic Home Improvement Made Crystal Clear | Home ...

Aquatic Home Improvement Made Crystal ClearThe landscape of home improvement lends to many tasks and projects. Whether it?s re-finishing those kitchen cabinets, or building a deck, as a homeowner you are upgrading the dwelling, and adding to your home?s value. But one of the most over-looked projects in home improvement comes right down to your home?s water.

Adding a reverse osmosis system to your house will promote and ensure good health on many levels.? There are also other advancements in aquatic science that will protect your home?s plumbing and appliances. Read on to learn why water quality has a direct impact on your home?s value.

Warning Signs Not Always Seen

I?m sure you have read those warning signs posted in older buildings that warn of lead-based paint being present. Some structures even post warnings that asbestos might be on site. But have you ever seen an admonition above a sink faucet stating, ?WARNING: Water contains harmful chemicals and minerals?? Probably not, as most people buy bottled water for drinking. However, cooking and cleaning in chemically laden water poses threats that are almost always overlooked. Taking steps to have a home that offers fresh, pure water will not only ensure a healthier existence for the family, but it will add value to your home, and save you money from having to buy bottled water.

Reverse Osmosis as an Investment

Your home is only worth the top dollar that people are willing to pay for it. When buying a home, people always try to envision their family living and growing comfortably and safely within the walls. Adding a reverse osmosis system to your home will promote better health with benefits. So what does it do? Reverse osmosis is a process in which dissolved inorganic solids such as salts and metals are removed from the water. This takes place when household water is pressurized and pushed through a semi permeable membrane. This membrane ensures that only the water passes through, and not the impurities.

These contaminates aren?t collected, but rather they are flushed down the drain. ?Some of these impurities not only effect the taste of the food we eat when we use water in cooking (rice absorbs 70% of the water it is cooked in) but some tap water has even been known to carry a carcinogenic that causes several types of cancer. A reverse osmosis system for the home will guarantee pure, safe, tasty drinking water, as well as full-flavor in your food.? This is truly an ideal upgrade for any home.

Better Water Saves You Money

As homeowners, repair bills and maintenance expenses are a given. But they can be drastically reduced if proper care is always being practiced. One way of saving money in repairs is to add one of the many whole house water softening systems to ensure your home is protected from unseen assailants. Hard water is high in calcium and magnesium. Although it is not a health risk, it does eat away at your bank account. This nuisance produces buildup on faucets, interferes with the performance of soap and detergents, puts extra wear and tear on your laundry, taxes your household appliances and causes buildup and damage to the plumbing. ?For example, when hard water is present in a house, the water heater runs up to 30% less effectively. Furthermore, when hard water has been running through the home?s plumbing system, pipes can get corroded and become clogged. In many cases they need to be replaced, which is a major expense. When adding a water softening system to your home, you will be adding a piece of insurance in that you will be protecting your home?s integrity, your appliances, and the clothes on your back.

Take Matters into your Own Hands

By making a reverse osmosis system and a whole house water softening system a part of your next home improvement project, you will be adding value to your house while protecting it?s inhabitants. When you finally go to sell your home, the addition of these features will prove to be strong selling points that will win over the hearts of buyers in this health-conscious world we live and play in. Like the water you drink, the decision to incorporate these accoutrements of healthy living should be crystal clear.

This article is from USWaterSystems.com. Visit the site today to find out how to fix your bad water problems.

Photo Source: http://sp.life123.com/bm.pix/whole-house-water-filter-system.s600x600.jpg

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Source: http://www.yanikproulx.net/453/aquatic-home-improvement-made-crystal-clear.html

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ISLAND HOUSE TO ?ELIMINATE DOGS?? ? Pet City

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Island House will soon need a Dogs NOT Welcome sign.

Island House is a small condo complex on Hilton Head Island, SC. In a recent letter to homeowners from ASSOCIA, Association Services Management, Inc.,?signed by Marv DeGraw, ?President?? of what the letter doesn?t say?they are asking homeowners to agree to the ?ELIMINATION? (my emphasis) of all dogs except Seeing Eye dogs. Despite the violation of the ADA which allows ALL SERVICE DOGS ANYWHERE, ( with a few exceptions) not just Seeing Eye dogs,? as a dog lover, and animal rights defender, I?DETEST the use of the word ELIMINATION. Mr. DeGraw and this organization are not only out of touch with the reality of how dogs are an integral and essential part of family life and society, but could use a good thesaurus as their?word choice is draconian and demeaning to all dogs,?pet parents at Island House and everywhere. GET WITH IT? pet travel?is increasing greatly, the recession didn?t?even make a slight decrease in the amount of money spent on pets as?shown in the statistics below. Don?t you realize a dog is a family member? These??certainly aren?t people I?d want in charge of my HOA.

After talking to some residents,? I found out that the majority of Island House Units are owned by off- property owners. These people rent out their condos?for long or short term periods. Taking kids to the beach more than ever includes the family pet and more luxurious locations on Hilton Head and elsewhere WELCOME PETS. How about the Hilton Head Westin Hotel? They have a fantastic Pet WELCOME policy even providing Heavenly Beds for? the dogs, food and water bowls, and treats. An owner?s investment in a rental property at Island House will diminish if they?re not able to offer their unit as Pet Friendly. What about people who rent out a unit at Island House as a transition to a home purchase when transferred there by their employment?? Do Island House owners want their property removed from every real estate list on the island for relocation if families with pets are not welcome? Is Rover to be left in a kennel for months while a suitable home for purchase is found?

But what about the owners that do live there? While the letter says the new regulation won?t affect current dogs in residence, will?the pet parent?be able to get another dog should their dog die? The letter doesn?t say they will and usually when a pet is ?grandfathered? in, a replacement is not allowed.?This is unconscionable, in particular to owners who are elderly. Dogs provide companionship, comfort, enhance the health of their owners by getting them out to exercise, and most of all make a house?whether it?s a small condominium or a mansion?a home. Where does Island House get the right to deny these property owners of ever having a canine companion in the future?

According to the 2011-2012 APPA National Pet Owners Survey, 72.9 million dogs are owned in the United States which equates to 46.2% of?U.S. households having a dog. Obviously in time, none of them will be a Island house. Dogs are not only family members, they are big business. According to Forbes Magazine, 92% of pet owners spent as much or more on their pets from 2010-2012. http://www.zoomroomonline.com/pet-services.html

Marv?s letter goes on to delineate what seems to be his personal dislike for dogs, and maybe life in general. He accuses owners of ?sneaking two dogs into a unit.? Does he make a habit of personally observing this? Where is the evidence that two dogs cause excessive damage? Quite the contrary as they keep each other company and ease anxiety of being alone. He takes offense that ?some dog owners even allow their dogs to pee on the white stones under the stairwells? and that ?poop on the grass is a constant problem.? Really? Ever think of putting up a container of bags for dog owners to use for cleaning up after their dog like every civilized city has visible everywhere and? Hilton Head Beach as well? How would you know a dog ?peed? on a stone unless you were on ready alert at all times watching them?

Marv goes on to say ?Dog abuses are hard to monitor.? Really? What do you mean here? Do you forget that this is where people LIVE?.this is their home. Does privacy end with?a purchase or lease at Island House? And again, you need someone to proof read your letter. I assume you don?t mean beating and maiming of dogs which is what ?dog abuse?? unfortunately means, but you must mean violations of your rules which appear completely without merit.

Marv goes on to say that ?most condo complexes no longer?allow dogs?? Do you have any statistics to prove this, because I have them to prove you WRONG. The trend in the United States today is toward?allowing more privileges for dogs like our neighbor to the North, Canada and most European Cities. There are restaurants that allow you to dine with your dog, airlines devoted to just pet travel, and most hotel chains allow dogs.

Service dogs perform many valuable services today and Island House will definitely face lawsuits if they only allow Seeing Eye Dogs. Dogs assist paralyzed individuals, there are hearing assistance dogs, dogs that are trained to retreive items from store shelves for people in wheelchairs,?or recognize the onset of a seizure. Dogs help kids become better readers, comfort people in nursing homes,?calm the distraught in hospitals at the bedside of a loved one in critical condition and?dozens of other services. Will police officers who have? a K-9 dog be barred from residence at Island House??Discrimination against these individuals is a serious problem for this company and Mr. DeGraw. Take a look at this website for more information: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20101124134608AAWVtPK

I urge the owners and tenants of?Island House to confront Mr. DeGraw on this issue and to attend their HOA meeting on January 19, 2013?conveniently scheduled for?9:00 a.m. when many people are at work and the?only people available will be Marv?who?obviously is available to monitor dog behavior at all times and others who also have plenty of leisure time.? Contact the Humane Society of the United States, PETA, the SPCA and other animal rights groups to help you. Find a way to make your vote count and vote for decency, kindness, tolerance, and the right of people to have their best friend by their side. Oh, you might want to think about electing a new President of whatever Marv?s is in charge of and a new?Board of Directors that actually live on the premises and have a sense of the value of dogs.

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Source: http://blogs.dailymail.com/petcity/2012/11/30/island-house-to-eliminate-dogs/

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Home Improvement Apps ? The Maintenance Manager

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What builder or HOA manager is NOT interested in saving time? ?The latest generation of Apps can save some real time ? and money.? There are home improvement apps, home design apps, party planning apps, all of which are designed to make life at home a little more organized and forward-moving. But new apps arrive with such speed and frequency it?s impossible to keep up. With that in mind, let?s just slow down for a moment, take a deep breath (download deep-breathing app here), and consider these top 10 contenders for our favorite home apps for your mobile device.? Included in this bag are Mobile Handyman, Home Design Help, Decorating Tips, Measure That Room, Floor Plans, Get Organized, Easy Food Shopping, Interior Design Expertise, Throw a Party and Save Energy. Because of the swift pace of the app marketplace, compiling a list like this is a bit like painting the Golden Gate Bridge. As soon as you?re done you have to start all over again.

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Source: http://themaintenancemanager.wordpress.com/2012/11/30/home-improvement-apps/

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Arts & Entertainment: Photography: PSE Methods

Use Another lmage's Colors

When you have a picture taken at one time during the day and you simply want to provide it with the feel of a special period of the day or various basic coloring manner, that can be done by getting the shades from some other photograph. PSE 10 includes a variety of photos you can borrow different colors from but you can also use your own. To get started, open your image and select File - New - Photo Merge Style Match. With the Style Bin at the foot within the window you will see many pictures. Opt for the one that is nearly close in style and shades to the picture you would like to make. Alternately select the + icon and choose Add Style Images From Hard Disk and browse to pick out pictures to add to the Style Bin.

To copy the shades from the picture, select the Transfer Tones check box, then change the Clarity, Details and intensity sliders to adjust the effect. Using this method you can, as an example, snap an image which had been taken on a good daylight and present it a warm gleam of an earlier sunset by lending the colors originating from a sunset image.

Avoid Filter Bloopers

Many of Photoshop's filters primarily Distort and Sketch make use of the presently chosen forefront and backdrop hues to color the photo but not anywhere will PSE alert you this is actually the situation. Thus, in case you have red and blue picked out as your background and foreground hues, and you use a filter just like the Diffuse Glow filter, the image will be colored blue or red and appear terrible.

Instead, before applying a filter, select the wished-for colors, the Diffuse Glow filter works well with white as the background color and black as the foreground color, you could set these by hitting the shortcut key D that sets the standard hues. Then choose Filter - Distort - Diffuse Glow and you will bring an appealing grainy light with the picture.

Batch Resize Multiple Image Files

If you've got a series of pictures you would like to size down to a fixed dimension choose File - Process Multiple Files. Click on the Browse tab and select a folder of photos to resize. Simply find the target folder by simply clicking the second of the Browse tabs and locate a folder in which the resized images will be saved. Click on the Resize lmages option, choose Constrain Proportions so the photos aren't skewed out of dimension and then type either the Width or the Height to your photos to be resized to. Once you're done, click on OK and the pictures will likely be opened, resized and saved in the directory you have chosen. If you wish to resize portrait and landscape images to several measurements, store them on different directories before applying the batch resize to each directory in turn.

Cut Text From An lmage

To cut text coming from an image so you have written text that is stuffed with a photo, first of all open the picture to work with. Select the Text tool and enter some textual content onto it by using a solid font will show the photo detail a lot more evidently, the color of the text is irrelevant because it will likely not display later on. Click on the Move tool and click on the textual content to choose then resize the text to suit and move it in place on the image.

Double click the backdrop layer and click on OK to change it into a regular layer then move the background layer over the text layer. At this moment, with the image layer specified in the Layer palette, select Layer - Create Clipping Mask. This clips the picture to the shape of the text.

You can now, if desired, click the photo layer and drag the image in and around until you get an interesting part of the image in back of the text. You can include a plain or gradient-filled layer below the text layer to stuff the background. You can also add a layer layout to the text by Choosing Effects - Layer Styles - Drop Shadows after which use a drop shadow to the picture.

Source: http://all-entertainment-arts.blogspot.com/2012/12/photography-pse-methods.html

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Caviar vending machines pop up at L.A. malls

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Craving caviar in Los Angeles? There?s a vending machine for that.

Head to three local malls???Westfield Century City, Westfield Topanga and Burbank Town Center ? and you?ll see one of the brand new machines dispensing the prized roe, as well as truffles, escargot and mother-of-pearl spoons.

Prices start at $5, going all the way up to $500, which will get you one ounce of Imperial River Beluga Caviar.

The project is the brainchild of Kelly Stern, who co-owns Beverly Hills Caviar ? a gourmet food supplier located in the tony California community.?

The business plan: Reach customers in wealthy neighborhoods surrounding the malls who may not have convenient access to caviar and expose everyday shoppers to the delicacy, especially younger ones.

?All my friends and family knew about this for a year-and-a-half and no one wanted to tell me that I was crazy, but I could see it in their eyes,? Stern said.

?I did not know what was going to happen when people saw it.?

Stern shopped around the world to find the right kind of vending machine ? it had to keep the caviar cold, have a touch screen, an Internet connection and an attractive display for its gourmet contents. It also had to accept credit cards as well as cash.

She ended up buying parts from seven different countries and putting everything together in Los Angeles. Each machine costs about $85,000???including hardware, software, security and maintenance ? and has about $50,000 worth of inventory inside. The caviar is sold in jars and stays fresh for about a year.

Stern wants to franchise the business to ?every single city in America and the world? when she has more experience with the machines, which she describes as experimental. Stern says no one has ever thought of caviar as a turnkey enterprise, something she wants to change.

?A lot of the people that sell caviar now are old people. They are a dying species and they don?t cater to the young people at all,? Stern said.

?So I?m seeing all the teenagers that stop by as my future assets. They will grow up and become the president of the U.S. or the president of Microsoft and they will think about caviar. They will remember that they went into the mall and saw the machine and that?s where they are going to buy their caviar.?

The project has attracted lots of attention since the machines were unveiled on last week on?Black Friday, prompting Stern to hire a publicist???not to promote the venture, but to manage the curiosity it has sparked.

Industry observers, however, were skeptical whether the business model would be a success.

?It?s interesting, it?s a conversation starter and it?s a marketing tool? (but) I don?t think it?s going to sweep the nation,? said Tim Sanford, editor-in-chief of ?Vending Times,? adding that his staff chuckled when they heard of the concept.

?My guess is that most people who want caviar know how to get it.?

Vending machines often put?much-desired products in high-traffic areas where they can be sold swiftly to people who are there for some other purpose, so the caviar angle sounds more like a way to generate buzz, Sanford said.

But Stern projects she will recoup her money in the next few months, especially with the help of the holidays and awards season in Los Angeles.

?Everybody is talking about it. This is a dream come true,? she said.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/business/caviar-vending-machines-pop-l-malls-1C7339203

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Shoppers' habits not changed by garment plant fire

FILE - In this Friday, Nov. 23, 2012, file photo, two Black Friday shoppers walk past a large Christmas Tree at Union Square in San Francisco. A horrific fire that killed 112 people, Saturday, Nov. 24, 2012, at a Bangladesh garment factory owned by Tazreen Fashions Ltd has put the spotlight back on those factory workers and their sometimes treacherous work environment. The factory made clothing for several retailers around the globe including Wal-Mart, Sears and The Walt Disney Co. The companies said they didn't know the vendors were using the factory and according to a report by the Associated Press, holiday shoppers have also buffered themselves from the tragedy. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

FILE - In this Friday, Nov. 23, 2012, file photo, two Black Friday shoppers walk past a large Christmas Tree at Union Square in San Francisco. A horrific fire that killed 112 people, Saturday, Nov. 24, 2012, at a Bangladesh garment factory owned by Tazreen Fashions Ltd has put the spotlight back on those factory workers and their sometimes treacherous work environment. The factory made clothing for several retailers around the globe including Wal-Mart, Sears and The Walt Disney Co. The companies said they didn't know the vendors were using the factory and according to a report by the Associated Press, holiday shoppers have also buffered themselves from the tragedy. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Bangladeshi protesters hold placards as some of them lie down on the ground posing as dead bodies as they condemn the death of workers in a weekend fire at a garment factory in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2012. Saturday's fire at Tazreen Fashions Ltd., a factory in a Dhaka suburb, killed 112 people. Activists in the South Asian country hope the tragedy will invigorate their lengthy, but so far fruitless efforts to upgrade safety standards and force stronger government oversight of the powerful industry. (AP Photo/Pavel Rahman)

Bangladeshi garment workers shout slogans as they participate in a protest to mourn the death of the victims of a fire in a garment factory in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Friday, Nov. 30, 2012. Hundreds of garment workers protested Friday outside the Bangladeshi factory where 112 people were killed by the fire, demanding compensation for their lost salaries. The placard behind reads: "Stop looting from the garment sector." (AP Photo/Pavel Rahman)

FILE -In this Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2012, file photo, boxes of garments lay near equipment charred in the fire that killed 112 workers Saturday at the Tazreen Fashions Ltd. factory,on the outskirts of Dhaha, Bangladesh. The horrific fire that killed 112 people, Saturday, Nov. 24, 2012, has put the spotlight back on those factory workers and their sometimes treacherous work environment. The factory made clothing for several retailers around the globe including Wal-Mart, Sears and The Walt Disney Co. The companies said they didn't know the vendors were using the factory and according to a report by the Associated Press, holiday shoppers have also buffered themselves from the tragedy. (AP Photo/Ashraful Alam Tito, File)

NEW YORK (AP) ? Before purchasing a shirt, shoppers will run their hands over the fabric, look at the price tag and wonder how it will hold up in the washing machine. Some might even ask if it makes them look fat.

The one detail, however, that is rarely considered: What are the conditions like for the workers making the shirt?

A horrific fire that raced through a Bangladesh garment factory Saturday, killing 112 people, has put the spotlight ? at least temporarily ? back on those workers and their sometimes treacherous work environment.

The factory, owned by Tazreen Fashions Ltd., made clothing for several retailers around the globe including Wal-Mart, Sears and The Walt Disney Co. All three companies have distanced themselves from responsibility for the incident, saying they didn't know that their subcontractors were using the factory.

Holiday shoppers have also maintained their distance from the tragedy.

"Truthfully, I hadn't even thought about it," said Megan Miller of Philadelphia as she walked out of the Disney Store in Times Square. "I had Christmas on my mind and getting my kids something from New York."

Shoppers from Cincinnati to Paris to Singapore all said the same thing: They were aware of the fatal factory fire, but they weren't thinking about it while browsing stores in the days since. Brand name, fit and ? above all ? prices were on their minds.

"Either our pockets get lighter or we have to live with more blood on our hands," said Amy Hong, a college student who was at a store in Singapore. "I try not to think about it."

Experts who survey shoppers say the out of sight, out of mind attitude is nothing new.

"When you talk to them about their biggest concerns, where something is made, or the abuses in some country, almost never show up," said C. Britt Beemer, chairman of America's Research Group, which interviews 10,000 to 15,000 consumers a week, mostly on behalf of retailers. "The numbers are so small, I quit asking the question."

Convenience is much more important to shoppers.

Take Tammy Johnson who was at a Walmart in Bloomington, Minn. this week. She lives nearby and appreciates that the store has a large grocery section in addition to clothing and other goods.

"It's easier and it's cheaper," she said of her decision to shop there. "I hate that, but it is true."

Even those who want to make socially responsible purchases a priority have little information available to work with.

There's no widespread system in place to say where all the materials in a shirt come from let alone whether it was made in a sweatshop or not.

A label saying "Made in USA of imported fabrics" doesn't provide as much information to shoppers as they might think. Maybe tailors assembled it under good working conditions, but what about the people who wove the fabrics? Another label saying that a shirt is made from 100 percent organic cotton fails to say anything about the conditions of the factory in which it was made.

"What do they know at the point of sale about where it comes from, other than the tag?" said Paco Underhill, founder of Envirosell, which studies consumer behavior. "Our hearts are generally are in the right places. It's the question of making sure we have the knowledge and pocketbook to follow."

And it's not just clothing. It is hard to tell where televisions or laptop components are made.

Companies selling products say they even struggle to tell. Work is often given to subcontractors who themselves use subcontractors. While many major companies stipulate ethics and standards that their subcontractors must follow, policing them is a costly, time-consuming process that sounds easier than it is.

In the case of the Bangladesh factory, Wal-Mart said it had received a safety audit showing the factory was "high-risk" and had decided months before the blaze to stop doing business with Tazreen. But it said a supplier had continued to use Tazreen without authorization.

In recent years, consumers have become much more aware about the food they eat, and where it comes from.

Supermarkets are full of eggs laid by free-range chickens, organically-grown apples and beef from grass-fed, hormone-free cows. Some upscale restaurants now name the farm that provided them with pork chops. And customers pay a premium for these foods.

The difference: They perceive a direct benefit, since the food is going into their bodies.

Ethical choices when buying clothing ? or the latest version of Apple's iPhone ? are much more blurred.

Jean MacLeod, who was shopping at a Walmart on the south side of Indianapolis, is willing to pay more for goods if they are made in an ethically responsible manner and does it all the time when she buys food.

Walmart wants the best prices for its customers, she said, but the company also has power as a buyer to make sure factories have decent working conditions.

"They should be able to say, 'Look it, we don't want to buy from you unless you do things a little more our way,'" MacLeod said. "If they don't want to buy from them, then that means that factory will go out of business."

Arguments have been made that producing items with cheap labor isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Factories in the Third World can provide jobs with wages well above a region's average. They can help lift families out of severe poverty. The catch is that there are fewer safeguards to protect workers from being exploited from unscrupulous employers.

At the Bangladesh factory, locked exits prevented many workers from escaping after fire broke out.

It draws eerie parallels to New York's Triangle Shirtwaist Fire of 1911, where 146 people died within 18 minutes of a fire starting in a factory with locked exits.

That fire was the catalyst for widespread changes in labor laws in U.S. But in the 100 years since, the desire for cheap clothing hasn't abated and costly labor has just shifted to factories overseas.

"To put it maybe too frankly, profit and efficiency and competition always trump safety and health," said James A. Gross, a labor relations professor at Cornell University.

Not every company sees things that way.

Los Angeles-based American Apparel promotes itself as a line of "sweatshop free" clothing. Its founder and CEO, Dov Charney, said that companies can control working conditions ? they just need to bring production closer to home. American Apparel knits, dyes, cuts and sews all of its products in-house.

"When the company knows the face of its worker, that's important," Charney said. "You can control working conditions and quality."

Yes, American Apparel spends more on labor, but it isn't as much as you would expect. Charney estimates that an imported T-shirt selling for $6 at Walmart would cost about $6.30 if produced domestically thanks to the company's massive scale.

"The consumer can care. They can buy from companies that are committed to fair trade and try to seek out those companies," he said.

Take Nike.

In the mid-1990s, the sneaker giant came under pressure to change its ways after numerous reports of child labor, low wages and poor working conditions. Eventually wages climbed, minimum age requirements were put in place and Nike increased monitoring at its factories.

But such change only comes after persistent public pressure.

"Clothes makers will always do what they want, but the buyer should educate himself," said Paris shopper Pierre Lefebvre.

Not all buyers have that luxury. Family budgets are tight.

"Especially with this economy, we like our money to go as far as it can," said Lesley Schuldt, who left a Cincinnati Macy's this week with five shopping bags worth of jewelry, cookware and gifts. "I have no idea where half the stuff I bought was made, but I imagine it was not in the U.S."

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Associated Press reporters Amanda Lee Myers in Cincinnati, Josh Freed in Bloomington, Minn., Tom Murphy in Indianapolis, Meghan Barr in New York, Heather Tan in Singapore and Thomas Adamson in Paris contributed to this report.

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Scott Mayerowitz can be reached at http://twitter.com/GlobeTrotScott.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-11-30-Bangladesh-Factory%20Fire-Shoppers/id-f7d5ff53b48045f4a9763c703aef32cc

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