Sustain #114 - The Coterie Confidence
"The bird is powered by its own life and motivation" - Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam
There is a certain joy and comfort in hanging out with people who share the same interests and tastes with you. Especially, if they like you. If this group is exclusive of other people, then it also becomes a close coterie of sorts.The more you involve yourself in the coterie, the more it builds your confidence in your ability to handle things in life. The more time you spend with your loved ones, the more you know that everything will be fine. Just like how Jessica Hagy depicts in her latest indexed card. So, let's improve that time as much as possible.
Meanwhile, welcome to the 114th weekly of Sustain – a newsletter at the edge of technology, business, sustainability, people, cities, deals, among other stuff. Here is last week’s in case you missed it.
Technology and Innovation!
- The first impression of the iPhone X. Link
- How a graphene tattoo could monitor your health. Link
- A water management system inspired by spiders, fungi, bees, and plants by Nexloop. Link
- The Improbable Origins of PowerPoint. Link. The surprising story behind the software that got into the office one slide at a time.
- Hololens used in bowel cancer surgery by a doctor to consult with surgeons in other parts of the world while in the operating theater. Link
Business and Trends!
- The State of FinTech in Thailand. Link
- Inside Saudi Aramco's Kingdom of Oil. Link
- How bitcoin is marketed to the masses. Link. A probe
- Sony reboots its AIBO robot dog toy. Link. Best tech news in the last week.
- Epson announces plans to expand into industrial 3D printing market. Link. Waking up to the future.
- Boeing has invested in Near Earth Autonomy, a company developing a portfolio of technologies for reliable automatic flight. Link. The company also acquired Virginia-based Aurora Flight Sciences for developing autonomous aerospace vehicles. Link
Corporate Consciousness and Turners
- TripAdvisor removed warnings about rapes and injuries at Mexico resorts. Link
- McDonald’s officially changes its name to ‘Golden Arches’ in China. Link. The company is making a major push to open more stores in China, as well as in Hong Kong and South Korea.
- Heathrow Airport security files were found on a USB Stick in the street. Link. 76 folders with maps, videos, and documents, including details of measures used to protect the Queen.
Media, Deals, and Updates
- Unilever acquired Tazo, a tea brand from Starbucks for $384 million. Link
- Akzo Nobel looks to merge with smaller U.S. rival Axalta for $30 billion. Link
- VMware acquired VeloCloud, an SD-WAN player. Link. Takes direct aim at Cisco for Enterprise networking. In This development follows a similar trend from 2012 from when VMware bought Nicira for SDN.
Sustainability Conscience
- Ikea makes 75% of its home furnishings from sustainable cotton. Link
- One Bitcoin transaction now uses as much energy as your house in a week. Link. Is that worth it?
Government and Ideas
- New Zealand is considering special visas for climate refugees. Link
- India to stimulate sluggish economy with $108bn road building program. Link. 83,700 km of road construction schemes over the next five years. Maybe the contractor’s economy.
Jobs and Losses
- India to train 4,000 youth for smart cities in a new skilling center. Link
- Nikon has shut a factory in eastern China that assembles cameras. Link
- Why India’s data scientists make a fraction of their US counterparts. Link
- World championships of vocational skills. Link. Contestants go for the gold in 51 unsung careers such as welding, baking and bricklaying.
Evolution of Food
- Why Americans have stopped eating leftovers. Link
- Chefs reveal the foods you should never order at a restaurant. Link
- An Australian pop-up avocado eatery Good Fat is on the hunt for a "Head of Avo Control". Link. The first criteria for the job is “a minimum two years’ experience in smashing avocados on toast or similar. Just putting this here with no comments.
Cities, States, Countries, Worlds, Universe and Multiverse
- Singapore: A drone video. Link
- Zimbabwe: has a minister for WhatsApp. Link
- Australia: cockatoos chew billion-dollar broadband. Link
- New York: will get new Legoland Theme Park by 2020. Link
- Caribbean: Richard Branson is planning to rebuild it with clean energy. Link
- China: is preparing world’s longest tunnel to divert Tibet river to desert. Link
- Gemert, Netherlands: World’s first 3D printed bridge has opened to cyclists. Link
- Australia: Chinese buyers are buying key estates for real estate development. Link
- China: is experimenting with trackless self-driving “train” on Zhuzhou’s city streets. Link
- Buffalo, NY: Tesla aims to ramp up solar roof production next year. Link. Production jobs coming back to the erstwhile manufacturing region.
- Egypt: Muons may have just unveiled a hidden chamber within the Great Pyramid. Link. Muons are high-energy particles that are generated when cosmic rays collide with our atmosphere. They can penetrate deep into rock, and get absorbed at different rates depending on the density of the rock they encounter.
Some other things I found interesting from the last week
- Never Ending Bob Dylan. Link
- The inspiring story of Praveen Kenneth. Link. He was the CEO of Publicis India at 29, quit at 32. Set up an agency and sold at 47 and now retired.
News @Arcluster
Arcluster is pleased to announce the launch of its study on 'Fuel Cell' Markets. The study comprises multiple markets and sub-markets and is focused to unearth demand and market trends from across the world. Market reports from this endeavor will be published in 2018. Please stay updated with our research studies by subscribing to research alerts here. For the latest news from the company, follow us on Twitter here, LinkedIn here and Like us on Facebook here.
About me
I manage research and consulting at Arcluster, an innovation design and market consulting firm that serves global clients with actionable market intelligence and growth advisory. On a daily basis, I work with clients in helping them understand and monetize micro emerging trends. You can reach me on twitter at @anirmal or email at [email protected].
Get it on inboxes earlier by joining the mailing list here. Here is the past archive
Also, I love feedback. Please email me your views and suggestions. Cheers.