Monthly Archives: September 2020

PR Newswire

Baidu “Breaks Boundaries” by Launching XiaoduPods Smart Earbuds and Announcing DuerOS Upgrades to Empower Smart Living

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  • Baidu launches XiaoduPods, true wireless portable smart earbuds that "break boundaries" with functions including built-in translation, voice search and much more 
  • The upgraded conversational AI system, DuerOS 6.0, offers more convenient AI capabilities to expand DuerOS’ applications
  • DuerOS’ features are integrated into more aspects of daily life, showcasing the future of smart living

BEIJING, Sept. 15, 2020 — Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU) held the Baidu World 2020 event today in Beijing, unveiling DuerOS 6.0, the latest version of Baidu’s conversational artificial intelligence (AI) system, as well as the true wireless smart earbuds XiaoduPods, Baidu’s first portable consumer electronics product, demonstrating its "breaking boundaries" strategy. These breakthroughs will allow Baidu to broaden its AI services, fulfilling more user needs and assimilating into more aspects of daily life, such as elderly care communities and smart hotel rooms, which Baidu demonstrated during the event that was co-hosted with CCTV.

Making the debut at Baidu World 2020, XiaoduPods are developed under the vision of "breaking boundaries". As Xiaodu’s first portable device, XiaoduPods soar beyond previous application scenarios and are suitable for even more occasions. With 28-hour long battery life, the smart earbuds contain dual microphones that are supported by AI algorithm to offer accurate voice pickup, filtering out excess noise from the user’s surroundings in the process. By double-tapping or using a wake-up word "Xiaodu Xiaodu", users can effortlessly utilize various functions such as voice search, voice navigation, music or call.

Baidu "breaks boundaries" with XiaoduPods, its first portable consumer electronics product
Baidu "breaks boundaries" with XiaoduPods, its first portable consumer electronics product

In addition to the breakthrough achieved in application scenarios, XiaoduPods are also designed with functions that can apply to specific types of users. In "Wandering Earth" mode, two users can each wear one earbud that will intuitively translate their ongoing conversations into their respective preferred languages (available in English and Chinese) in real time. Additionally, the earbuds have "AI Translator" mode and "Simultaneous Interpretation" mode, which can break language barriers in various social situations. With almost no latency, XiaoduPods can be described as a "translator right next to your ears". With the portable smart service provided by XiaoduPods, more users, such as businessmen and travelers, can enjoy the convenience of smart living brought by DuerOS. XiaoduPods are currently available for purchase on Dumall, JD, Tmall, Pinduoduo, and other platforms. XiaoduPods will retail at first for only RMB 199.

Under the "breaking boundaries" strategy, there are two main avenues: the first is to foster a higher degree of accessibility by expanding smart service capabilities into more application scenarios. The second is to tailor the functions of DuerOS products to specific types of users and cater to a wider range of needs.

"In the future, we will provide more devices for a wider range of application scenarios to make Baidu AI ubiquitous and implement more convenient smart living to users," Kun Jing, Corporate Vice President of Baidu and General Manager of Smart Living Group (SLG), said. "This is quintessential to the ‘breaking boundaries’ strategy we have been focusing on."

At the event, Kun Jing announced that DuerOS has entered its 6.0 era, marked by a series of comprehensive and remarkable upgrades. DuerOS is currently the most active, prosperous and sizeable conversational AI system available in the Chinese market, with more than 40,000 developers. According to renowned research firms including Canalys, Xiaodu ranks No.1 in global shipment of smart displays and No.1 in national shipment of smart speakers, and it continues to "break boundaries", aiming to expand DuerOS applications and further fulfill the needs of users.

The capabilities of DuerOS 6.0 were showcased at the event when a news reporter for CCTV and the host Hui Kang, connected with Beijing Guofengmeitang Community in Changping District, one of the trial locations of Baidu’s smart elderly services. Nearly 200 elderly households within this community have been outfitted with customized Xiaodu smart displays to demonstrate the power of Xiaodu devices and the assistance AI can provide. Xiaodu provides elderly demographics with ubiquitous smart services that can be immensely helpful to their lives, such as for entertainment purposes, weather reporting, health consultations and more.

Baidu has also collaborated with hotel brands and has wide-reaching applications for the hospitality sector, with its services reaching 100-thousand hotel rooms and ranking first in the industry. Kun Jing and another CCTV reporter arrived at the branch venue at InterContinental Shanghai Wonderland hotel to experience smart hotel rooms equipped with Xiaodu capabilities. Under Kun Jing’s voice instructions, Xiaodu Smart Display X8 (Hotel Version) methodically directed the switches in the room and responded to his inquiries, showcasing the convenience of the smart hotel rooms offered by DuerOS.

Speaking at the event, Baidu Co-founder, Chairman, and CEO Robin Li emphasized the power of technology in delivering convenience to consumers. He said AI will lower the barriers of technology and eliminate many obstacles.

Furthermore, Robin Li explained that because Xiaodu has capabilities such as voiceprint recognition, it is able to recognize different family members based on their differing facial features and voices, thereby providing personalized services to each respective user. At the event, Xiaodu was able to adopt CCTV’s host Hui Kang’s voice to tell a bedtime story with the "Parents Story Telling" function of a Xiaodu smart speaker. Hui Kang was impressed and moved by the heartwarming demonstration, expressing that Xiaodu smart speakers can allow the elderly and children to both enjoy the convenience of smart products.

Baidu is looking to explore new user needs and further real-world applications to actively "break boundaries", allowing more people to experience the convenience that AI brings to them. With continuous advancement and ongoing expansion of product lines, the ubiquitous Xiaodu is becoming increasingly integrated into all aspects of our personal and professional lives.

About Baidu

Baidu, Inc. is the leading Chinese language Internet search provider. Baidu aims to make the complicated world simpler for users and enterprises through technology. Baidu’s ADSs trade on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol "BIDU." Currently, ten ADSs represent one Class A ordinary share.

PR Newswire

Sercomm CBRS Cat-A Indoor Enterprise Small Cell Achieves OnGo(TM) and FCC Part 96 Certification

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Partnering with Open vRAN Pioneer Altiostar to Support Split 2 Option

TAIPEI, Sept. 15, 2020 — Sercomm (TWSE: 5388), a leading global manufacturer of telecom equipment, announced today that the SCE4255W, Sercomm’s LTE CBRS Cat-A Indoor Enterprise Small Cell, has been OnGo™ and FCC Part 96 certified. The SCE4255W is a versatile LTE CBRS small cell that can be used for private LTE networks and for expanding public LTE networks to indoor environments.

The SCE4255W is Sercomm’s second certified CBRS small cell and adds to our over 10 years of experience designing and building 4G and 5G small cells for global operators. This small cell is proven in traditional network architectures as well as virtualized, disaggregated architectures. Sercomm has partnered with Open vRAN pioneer Altiostar to add support for split option 2 on the SCE4255W. This integration allows customers to take advantage of the latest vRAN technology to simplify deployment, reduce costs, and enhance the user experience.

"Altiostar is pleased to continue our collaboration with Sercomm to bring open vRAN technology to the SCE4255W CBRS small cell product," said Anil Bhandari, Vice President of Product Management at Altiostar. "Our aim is to expand our ecosystem of partners and work with best of breed solutions, such as those provided by companies like Sercomm, who offer a compelling value proposition for our wireless customers"

In addition to the SCE4255W, Sercomm offers the OC3505 CBRS Cat-B Fixed Wireless CBSD, and the FCC Part 96 approved CBRS Wi-Fi UE dongle. Sercomm’s full range of enterprise and residential CBRS products provide solutions for Fixed Wireless Access, Mobile Network Densification, and Private LTE.

"The recently completed CBRS PAL auction has validated demand for CBRS LTE and 5G solutions, and Sercomm continues to expand our product portfolio to support growing customer needs. The SCE4255W enables operators and businesses to easily deploy secure, high-performance LTE networks indoors to extend mobile coverage, increase capacity, and build novel network solutions," said Derek Elder, President of Sercomm USA.

Those interested in learning more about Sercomm’s CBRS solutions are invited to email: us_sales@sercomm.com or visit www.sercomm.com.

About Sercomm Corporation

Sercomm Corporation (TWSE: 5388) is a worldwide leading manufacturer of telecom and broadband equipment. Founded in 1992, Sercomm has focused on developing embedded solutions to make networking simple and affordable. With its fully integrated engineering capability and its state-of-the-art manufacturing facility, Sercomm offers comprehensive telecom broadband solutions such as small cells, residential/enterprise gateways, and IoT products and is now a global leader in the industry. Headquartered in Taipei, Taiwan, Sercomm’s global operation network covers markets in North America, Europe, and the Asia Pacific region. Its customer base includes the world’s top service providers, networking OEM, and system integrators. For more information, please visit www.sercomm.com.

About Altiostar

Altiostar provides 4G and 5G open virtualized RAN software solutions that supports open interfaces and disaggregates the hardware from the software to build a multi-vendor web-scale network. This solution supports indoor and outdoor massive MIMO, as well as macro and small cells, enabling interference management, carrier aggregation and dual connectivity to improve the efficiency of the network. It also enhances the Quality of Experience for the end user, while providing broadband speeds. Operators can add intelligence, quickly adapt the network for different services and automate operations to rapidly scale the network and reduce Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). The Altiostar Open vRAN solution has been deployed globally, including the world’s first cloud-native mobile network with Rakuten Mobile in Japan. www.altiostar.com

About OnGo™

OnGo™ is uncompromised connectivity. An innovative approach to maximizing mobile broadband, OnGo is a technology that puts the power of wireless networks into the hands of those that rely on them to empower and expand business opportunities. OnGo presents nearly limitless options for enhanced customizability and allows users to tailor networks to a specific set of needs, such as Private LTE, neutral host, and Industrial IoT applications. OnGo Certified is a recognized seal of approval that indicates a product’s ability to meet a high set of quality, interoperability, and security standards when tested by an independent OnGo Certification Authorized Test Laboratory. Both the OnGo brand and the OnGo Certification Program are managed and maintained by the CBRS Alliance. Learn more about the expanded business opportunities OnGo is enabling on Twitter and LinkedIn.

About CBRS Alliance

The CBRS Alliance believes that LTE-based solutions in the 3.5 GHz band, utilizing shared spectrum, can enable both in-building and outdoor coverage and capacity expansion at massive scale. To maximize the full potential of spectrum sharing, the CBRS Alliance enables a robust ecosystem through the management of the OnGo brand and the OnGo Certification Program. For more information, please visit www.cbrsalliance.org and learn more about the expanded business opportunities OnGo is enabling.

 

Related Links :

http://www.sercomm.com

Camera, News

[Update] The New Sony Alpha 7C (α7C) – Mirrorless Full-Frame is Now Lighter, Smaller, and More Affordable at MYR 8,399!

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The full-frame mirrorless camera platform is all the rage these days. Traditional DSLR manufacturers like Canon and Nikon has very recently put a lot of resources and effort in developing their own mirrorless platforms and designs. Of course, because they are so new in the game, options from them are still limited. This is true especially in terms of lenses that are available to their current lines of mirrorless cameras. You can get an adapter still.

Full-frame cameras are not cheap though. They are considered the widest accepted platforms in the professional photography world, that is why. Mirrorless cameras, because they are so new and advanced, are even more expensive today. That also makes a full-frame camera today even more expensive than before. Take the Canon EOS R5 for example. The new Sony α7SIII is a good example too, for exorbitantly priced cameras.

Speaking of Sony though, they have been the mirrorless kings for a long time now. With their brand-new Sony α7SIII especially, they have proven to the market that they really know what they are doing with mirrorless technology, photography, and videography. All that advancements mean one thing though, the new α7S is more expensive than before. What happens to the enthusiast market that wants an affordable mirrorless camera then? Second-hand cameras? Not according to Sony.

Source: Sony

Welcome to the α7C full-frame mirrorless camera (ILCE-7C, Sony’s and the world’s smallest and lightest full frame camera platform. Yes, that is also one of the benefits of mirrorless cameras, you can pack one full-frame sensor in a traditional APS-C DSLR body, and it will still be lighter. With the α7C, Sony has taken it to a whole new level.

Uncompromisingly Light… and Small

This super light and super compact package is, according to Sony, quite uncompromised. It still packs a very effective 24.2-Megapixel full-frame Exmor R CMOS sensor with back-illumination (for better low-light) and Sony’s proven BIONZ X image processor. This combination can also be found in a not exactly outdated Sony α7III camera. The α7C is nearly 50g lighter than the bulky α7III though. The α7C is also about the same size and weight as the APS-C α6600 compact camera.

Source: Sony

Of course, you still get the 5-axis in body stabilisation built into the tight body that is the α7C. Along with the stabilisation is also 4K recording capability that is so well known from all Sony’s current premium camera line-up. The sensor also has an ISO sensitivity of up to 204,800 (expanded, native ISO up to 51,200) for the best, in-class low-light performance. You even get Real-time Eye AutoFocus on the α7C, the same AutoFocus mechanism and algorithm you can find on the α7III, if you are wondering.

It does not even compromise on power delivery. The Sony α7C comes packing a battery the size of even a modern α7III. The NP-FZ100 battery offers up to 740 images, and industry-leading figure, as far as numbers are concerned. That also means that you can take it out for a whole day with one battery. Of course, USB Type-C charging will still be a thing with the Sony α7C.

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Only Drawback… We Think

The only few things we might be concerned about with the new Sony α7C are, in effect, very minor things. We are curious how Sony would manage to cramp all their function buttons together and still allow users to manage all its functions.

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With cramped layouts, we are also wondering if there are any ergonomic compromises that might come with it. The Viewfinder is now placed quite far to the other end of the camera, a la α6000 series Viewfinders. A vari-angle LCD is a huge welcome, but the cramped grip handle area at the back might create some issues for larger hands.

The last issue we might look out for is heat management. Sony’s mirrorless full-frame cameras in the past are known to overheat especially in 4K resolution video shoots. In a smaller body frame, heat dissipation and management could be an issue.

Full-Frame Body with Full-Frame Lenses – The New FE 28-60mm F4-5.6 (SEL2860)

Still, the platform is made for full-frame lenses too, so we should not complain as much. The launch of the new α7C also comes with a new lens of course. It is, according to Sony, the world’s smallest and lightest zoom lens made for a full-frame camera. It is Sony’s FE 28-60mm zoom lens with minimum F4-5.6 aperture. It weighs only 167g and is not that much larger than the camera itself.

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Light and Small Camera and Lens Needs a Light and Small Flash – The New HVL-F28RM Compact Flash

This is not just a compact flash though. It is probably Sony’s most reliable and rugged field photography flash they have created. It is 12% smaller, and 7% lighter compared to its closest sibling, the HVL-F32M flash. Of course, it is a smaller flash, which also means that its output is a little less at GN28 (Guide Number 28).

It is more reliable and rugged thanks to some protection that is made to the most fragile and sensitive part of the whole construction. The hot shoe connection on the flash accessory is surrounded by metal frames to ensure that it can take on any weather or abuse to the flash and the camera. In that case, you can expect the flash to work better in harsher in environments.

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Price and Availability

The Sony α7C will be available in Malaysia from November 2020 onward, two months away from today. The Sony FE 28-60mm F4-5.6 lens will be available early next year in January 2021. The HVL-F28RM lens will be available a month after the Sony α7C in December 2020. Prices are yet to be confirmed by Sony Malaysia and will be revealed by tonight (15/9/2020 @9.00 p.m.). The new mirrorless camera is, according to sources on the internet, is set to be Sony’s most affordable full-frame mirrorless camera though. For more information on the camera and the newly launched accessories, you can head over to Sony’s website.

*Update: The Sony α7C will be priced at MYR 8,399 (body only). The kit with an FE 28-60mm F4-5.6 lens will be available for MYR 9,899. Pre-order starts now to 15th October 2020. Pre-order will be entitled to a free 64GB Tough SD card and an NP-FZ100 battery pack. There are other lens bundles for the α7C such as the camera with the G 20mm F1.8 lens for MYR 12,288 and the camera body with n FE 35mm F1.8 lens for MYR 10,888. The FE 50mm F1.8 bundle is MYR 9,288.

PR Newswire

Salisbury BKT Securities replaces Bloomberg SSEOMS with Itiviti’s OMS solution

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MANILA, Philippines, Sept. 15, 2020 — Itiviti, a leading technology, and service provider of electronic trading and connectivity solutions to financial institutions worldwide, today announced that Salisbury BKT Securities Corporation (Salisbury Securities), an institutional Philippine stockbroker has deployed Itiviti’s OMS solution to replace Bloomberg’s SSEOMS platform.

The Itiviti solution includes a powerful order management system, native exchange connectivity, and highly advanced pre-trade risk and monitoring components, which allows Salisbury Securities to manage and execute interbank and institutional clients’ orders across CARE and DMA. The Itiviti team has worked closely with Salisbury Securities to ensure a smooth and seamless OMS migration.

Simon Bailey, MD, Salisbury Securities commented: "After thoroughly evaluating several leading OMS in the market, Salisbury Securities selected Itiviti because of its easy-to-use front end, advanced functionalities and highly flexible and modern architecture. Itiviti’s solution significantly enhances efficiency and execution quality in our trading operations, and further automates our high and low-touch trading workflows."

Ofir Gefen, Head of APAC, Itiviti commented: "Salisbury Securities’ choice is a testimony of Itiviti’s strong value-add in the OMS space. We are thrilled to work with Salisbury Securities to expand our footprint in the Philippines, and support customers with proven trading technology. We are sure Salisbury Securities will keep growing their market share with our advanced execution technology." 

Itiviti’s platform enables access to its extensive global community of buy-sides and sell-sides via the NYFIX network, coupled together with a best-in-class OMS, to ensure efficient client onboarding, fast and reliable execution, risk management, and low-latency routing to any execution venue or trading counterparty, while its post-trade stack allows STP, custom reporting to clients, and regulatory compliance.

About Salisbury BKT Securities Corporation 

Salisbury BKT Securities is a Philippine stockbroking firm based in the Taguig Central Business district of Manila.

Salisbury BKT Securities bridges the gap between international and domestic Institutional investors. Independence is our strength.

We are afforded the luxury of objectivity by remaining independent of mainstream international investment banking.We maintain affiliation with international partners to ensure our global reach.We offers international and domestic institutions and HNW private client stockbroking in the Philippines.We offer advisory, dealing, institutional electronic trading, wealth management and tailored research capabilities and leverage on our experience in international Asian investment banking. 

About Itiviti

Itiviti enables financial institutions worldwide to transform their trading and capture tomorrow. With innovative technology, deep expertise and a dedication to service, we help customers seize market opportunities and guide them through regulatory change.

Top-tier banks, brokers, trading firms and institutional investors rely on Itiviti’s solutions to service their clients, connect to markets, trade smarter in all asset classes by consolidating trading platforms and leverage automation to move faster.

A global technology and service provider, we offer the most innovative, consistent and reliable connectivity and trading solutions available.

With presence in all major financial centers and serving around 2,000 clients in over 50 countries, Itiviti delivers on a global scale.

For more information, please visit www.itiviti.com.

Itiviti is owned by Nordic Capital.

For further information, please contact:

Ofir Gefen
Head of APAC, Itiviti
Tel: +852-2167-1950
Email: ofir.gefen@itiviti.com  

Agnes Wong
Head of Marketing & Communications, APAC, Itiviti,
Tel: +852-2167-1986
Email: agnes.wong@itiviti.com

Simon Bailey
MD, Salisbury BKT Securities Corporatio
Email s.bailey@salisburybkt.com

Nanette Pablo
COO, Salisbury BKT Securities Corporation
Tel: +632-82499414
Email: n.pablo@salisburybkt.com  

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

https://news.cision.com/itiviti-group-ab/r/salisbury-bkt-securities-replaces-bloomberg-sseoms-with-itiviti-s-oms-solution,c3193785

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Computers, News

The New Premium YOGA Line Up Hits Malaysian Shores Celebrating Malaysia

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We have a small confession to make. We are quite big fans of a Lenovo notebook PC. We are especially excited with Lenovo’s YOGA series of products.

There are a few good reasons why we like a Lenovo YOGA product. They look stylish, for one. They are also always innovative in solving problems we never thought of before. They are also super functional and always very well built. They are made with more practicality, functionality, and durability in mind over other things.

Today then, is a special day for us, it is the launch day of two new YOGA notebooks for Malaysia. Today sees the launch of Lenovo’s YOGA Slim 7 and the YOGA Duet 7i. Today is the launch of a new sort of form factor in the YOGA series.

Lenovo YOGA Slim 7

Source: Lenovo

The Lenovo YOGA Slim 7 is not the new form factor in the Lenovo YOGA series. It is technically the more traditional one compared to the two launched today. It is the regular clamshell notebook form factor. There are two variants of the new Lenovo YOGA Slim 7, one with Intel packed in and one with AMD packed in.

According to Lenovo, this is Lenovo’s lightest notebook PC with an 8-core CPU packed in. Yes, it is a powerful Intel Core i7-1065G7 CPU clocked at 1.3GHz. Paired with 16GB of RAM and NVIDIA’s GeForce MX350 GPU, the new Slim 7i is a powerhouse on the go.

Its ample power can easily edit and work with Full HD 1080p videos on the go and you can store all of that in the provided 512GB SSD storage. Of course, you can enjoy Full HD videos too on the 14-inch Full HD 10-point multi-touch display. That and stream Netflix steadily and at a high resolution with the WiFi 6 it comes with. Security wise, you are protected via Windows Hello with an IR blaster beside the 720p webcam for facial recognition.

But it is not just all function and no form though. The Slim 7 comes with a variety of top shell to make you stand out from the crowd. You can choose between a fabric or aluminium top shell. While fabric top shells are nothing new, it does add to the premium feel of the notebook though.

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There is an AMD version of the notebook too. The AMD variant is specced with an AMD Ryzen 5 4500U, no slouch at 2.3GHz clock speed and Radeon Graphics. The CPU Is paired to an 8GB RAM as well to make quick work of all the document processing you need. You still get 512GB of SSD storage too, for quick access to your folders and documents. Load times are greatly reduced too with an SSD.

Lenovo YOGA Duet 7i

Source: Lenovo

In our opinions, this is probably one of the most exciting YOGA convertibles that we may have seen so far. It is not like a usual Lenovo YOGA convertible where you fold the keyboard away. Instead, you can now detach the keyboard to make the Duet 7i a proper 13-inch tablet with a kickstand.

This is something that graphic designers might really like. It comes with something called E-Color Pen. It is a battery powered stylus, but it is more than just a stylus. It is also a colour sensor that allows you to pick up colours of any surfaces to be used in Adobe Photoshop, Adobe InDesign, and Adobe Illustrator.

Of course, a designer needs to work with colours and good visuals. For that they get a 2K resolution IPS display with Dolby Vision to work with. But they need some working power too, to get the best out of their talents and stylus.

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The Lenovo YOGA Duet 7i comes packing an Intel Core i5-10210U quad-core CPU cocked at 1.6GHz. The CPU is paired with an 8GB RAM and up to 256GB of SSD storage space to make quick work of any visual workload requirements too. While you would appreciate a discreet GPU, the Intel UHD Graphics GPU is powerful enough to work with the likes of Adobe’s Photoshop and Illustrator.

The Batik Boutique Collaboration

Lenovo Malaysia has collaborated with The Batik Boutique, a social enterprise empowering the art of Batik fashion in Malaysia. The Batik Boutique prides themselves as a local Batik Producer that partners with local artisans and taylors for their products. The collaboration with Batik Boutique is an interesting one that is happening during the national celebrations.

The Batik Boutique and Lenovo Malaysia collaboration does not mean that you get a new fabric pattern on the Lenovo YOGA Slim 7i unfortunately. It does mean that you can get special edition sleeves for both the YOGA Slim 7i and YOGA Duet 7i though. The special sleeves are limited edition sleeves to celebrate the Merdeka and Malaysia day celebrations.

Price and Availability

The Lenovo YOGA Slim 7 AMD (14-inch) and Lenovo YOGA Slim 7i (15-inch) is now available on Lenovo Malaysia’s official online store at MYR 3,499 and MYR 4,999 onward, respectively. The Intel variant Lenovo YOGA Slim 7i (14-inch) is now available at all Lenovo Exclusive stores and online retail partners on Shopee and Lazada for MYR 5,099 onward. The Lenovo YOGA Duet 7i (13-inch) is now available on all Lenovo exclusive stores and authorised retailers including ones on Lazada and Shopee for MYR 4,099. If you get the Lenovo YOGA Duet 7i from Lenovo Malaysia’s online store though, it is priced at MYR 4,599. For more information on these products, you can visit Lenovo’s website.

Business, Contributed

The Future of Work: A Shift from HQ to Business Center

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Up until the early part of this year, simple daily activities such as taking a train to work, entering a crowded elevator, and sitting down in an open workspace with colleagues were things no one would hesitate to do, and perhaps even took for granted. The appearance of the COVID-19 pandemic changed that in almost an instant. For employers and employees, the workplace experience moving forward may never be the same, ever again. Businesses are undergoing massive changes in a transformation process to meet the needs and demands of the post-pandemic world.

What does that look like for an enterprise? The answer is simple: create a new model of hybrid working where employees continue to work remotely, only coming into the office to collaborate on projects. In this scenario, the office then turns into a business center – or collaboration space – which may also indicate the end of the open office era and a shift in the purpose of a company’s headquarters as we once knew it.

We all know that this shift is here to stay. According to recent research from Gartner, 82 percent of company leaders are planning to let employees work remotely, at least some of the time. And a new global Lenovo study finds that employees expect a similar swing in employer mentality, with 52 percent of respondents noting they believe they’ll continue to work from home more than they did pre-COVID-19 – even after social distancing measures lift.

As employers realize that this distributed workforce is not going anywhere, the shift to the office as a business center will only continue to grow. This will make the need for a solid IT foundation, inclusive of dependable employee personal devices, strong cybersecurity software (and education), and remote IT support even more integral than it once was.

In looking at the role of technology and how it has evolved during this pandemic, we can take a step back to when COVID-19 first started to impact businesses globally. The number of remote employees increased at a pace more rapid than anyone expected or was even prepared to handle. As a result, collaboration tools such as Microsoft Teams and Zoom saw usage skyrocket, with Teams seeing an increase of users as much as 70 percent and Zoom revenue soars 169 percent ever since the pandemic first struck. In this process, as employees and consumers alike started leaning on videos to spend time with coworkers – whether for meetings or company “happy hours” – these tools evolved their functionalities to make the user experience more seamless.

Today, employers have started to realize that their employees have been just as productive from home as they would have been in the office. Lenovo’s research shows that almost two-thirds of the global workforce surveyed feel they are more productive working from home than in the office. So, the question then becomes – why bring them back to the office, and why not instead save on real estate costs and invest in stronger technology to equip a hybrid workforce?

With that mindset, technology will only continue to evolve to meet employee and employer needs. Beyond collaboration software, the other tools that remain central for employee productivity in our hybrid work environment include personal laptops, noise-canceling headsets, and large monitors.

In the office, that may mean creating a “touchless environment” where employees have their collaboration technology to minimize physical contact. Or it may mean creating smaller phone booths and huddle spaces as a move away from the open floorplan, which could be equipped with standalone video software making it easy to collaborate from one room to the next. On the go, it may be arming employees with a foldable PC that makes it easier and more convenient to transition from the office to a coffee shop to home or anywhere in between. And at home, it may require employers to invest in products employees need for their “home office,” such as standing desks or ergonomic chairs.

For IT departments, this makes it integral to invest in the infrastructure that enables IT to manage a large remote workforce. This can include increasing cloud storage for more remote storage, doubling down on security solutions to manage the increase in cyber threats, and remote IT solutions to help troubleshoot employee tech issues from afar.

While the new “business center” model may not be a fit for all organizations, one thing we know is that office as we know it will be different in the coming years. Work from anywhere will become a norm, company real estate footprints may shrink, and employees will expect much more of their employers than ever before.

PR Newswire

ASTRI and the University of Hong Kong to nurture FinTech talent of the future

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HONG KONG, Sept. 15, 2020 — The Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute (ASTRI) has today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the University of Hong Kong (HKU), a commitment to nurturing the talent of tomorrow and creating the FinTech expertise of the future.

(From Left) Professor Mr S M Yiu, Dr KP Chow, Professor T W Lam and Professor Christopher Chao of The University of Hong Kong, the Commissioner of Innovation and Technology Ms Rebecca Pun, JP, and ASTRI’s CEO Mr Hugh Chow, CTO Dr Lucas Hui and COO Dr Martin Szeto at the signing of the Work-Study Scheme agreement.
(From Left) Professor Mr S M Yiu, Dr KP Chow, Professor T W Lam and Professor Christopher Chao of The University of Hong Kong, the Commissioner of Innovation and Technology Ms Rebecca Pun, JP, and ASTRI’s CEO Mr Hugh Chow, CTO Dr Lucas Hui and COO Dr Martin Szeto at the signing of the Work-Study Scheme agreement.

 

(Left) Professor Christopher Chao, Dean of Engineering of The University of Hong Kong, and Mr Hugh Chow, CEO of ASTRI, sign an agreement to launch the Work-Study Scheme, witnessed by Commissioner of Innovation and Technology Ms Rebecca Pun, JP.
(Left) Professor Christopher Chao, Dean of Engineering of The University of Hong Kong, and Mr Hugh Chow, CEO of ASTRI, sign an agreement to launch the Work-Study Scheme, witnessed by Commissioner of Innovation and Technology Ms Rebecca Pun, JP.

 

(Left) Professor Christopher Chao, Dean of Engineering of The University of Hong Kong, and Mr Hugh Chow, CEO of ASTRI, sign an agreement to launch the Work-Study Scheme, witnessed by Commissioner of Innovation and Technology Ms Rebecca Pun, JP.
(Left) Professor Christopher Chao, Dean of Engineering of The University of Hong Kong, and Mr Hugh Chow, CEO of ASTRI, sign an agreement to launch the Work-Study Scheme, witnessed by Commissioner of Innovation and Technology Ms Rebecca Pun, JP.

The agreement will see both parties develop the Technology Oriented Practitioner (TOP) programme, a Work-Study Scheme for first-year students enrolled on the MSc programme in FinTech and Data Analytics at HKU, with ASTRI providing paid full-time employment for up to 30 students for a nine-month period and assigning them to one of ASTRI’s many ongoing FinTech projects, such as a smart credit assessment that helps SMEs secure loans or an AI-driven data analytics platform that empowers more effective risk management, keeping our society safer and smarter.

The Commissioner for Innovation and Technology Rebecca Pun Ting-ting JP witnessed the signing ceremony at the University of Hong Kong.

Hugh Chow, Chief Executive Officer of ASTRI, said: "We are fully committed to building a bridge of talent between academia and the industry and we are thrilled to be offering this opportunity to future talent in Hong Kong to gain invaluable work experience at such a crucial part of their studies.

"Being a world-leader in FinTech is vital to Hong Kong’s future success and a crucial aspect of the role we will play in the Greater Bay Area, making the most of our city’s unique advantages. We are therefore thrilled to be making such an important contribution to the development of future talent," he added.

Professor Christopher Chao, Dean of HKU Engineering said: "FinTech is one of the fastest growing areas in business today. Our Department of Computer Science had recently launched a Bachelor’s degree in Financial Technology [(BASc (FinTech)] and a brand-new interdisciplinary Master’s degree in Financial Technology and Data Analytics for 2021 which aim at nurturing financial technologists and entrepreneurs with essential knowledge in both finance and technology. Through the Work-Study Scheme, our students can gain practical experience and get prepared to contribute to the development of the FinTech industry in Hong Kong and in the region."

The TOP programme is among ASTRI’s many commitments to developing talent in the I&T sector, particularly FinTech. Working with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, ASTRI launched the FinTech Career Accelerator Scheme in 2016, aiming to cultivate the future talent necessary to sustain Hong Kong’s banking, finance and business services, as well as preserving our city’s competitiveness as an international finance hub. Students receive an internship at financial institutions or technology companies and in the past four years, more than 500 have taken part. This year, the HKMA received more than 1,400 applications, nearly twice as many as last year.

The ASTRI University Advisory Council (AUAC) has partnered with top universities in Hong Kong to harness knowledge and nurture talent through strategic collaboration with students, providing them with hands-on experience.

Earlier this month, ASTRI launched its Graduate Programme 2020, providing full-time employment to graduates and an opportunity to work closely with its award-winning researchers. ASTRI also offers a three-month blockchain accelerator programme, in partnership with the Hong Kong Science and Technology Park and Molecular Hub, as well as summer internships, which took in 42 students from 15 universities across the world in 2020.

About ASTRI

The Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute (ASTRI) was founded by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in 2000 with the mission of enhancing Hong Kong’s competitiveness in technology-based industries through applied research. ASTRI’s core R&D competence in various areas is grouped under five Technology Divisions: Artificial Intelligence and Big Data Analytics; Communications; Cybersecurity, Cryptography and Trusted Technologies; Integrated Circuits and Systems; and IoT and Sensors. It is applied across five cores areas which are Smart City, Financial Technologies, Intelligent Manufacturing, Health Technologies, and Application Specific Integrated Circuits.

Over the years, ASTRI has nurtured a pool of research, I&T talents and received numerous international awards for its pioneering innovations as well as outstanding business and community contributions. To date, ASTRI has transferred more than 750 technologies to the industries and owns more than 850 patents in the Mainland, the US and other countries.

For further information, please visit www.astri.org.

About HKU Faculty of Engineering

The Faculty of Engineering is one of the founding Faculties of The University of Hong Kong established in 1912. Since its foundation, the Faculty has kept pace with developments in the engineering world and is always at the forefront of engineering research, evolving into one of the largest Faculties at the University with five departments providing undergraduate, postgraduate and research degrees in a wide range of important fields of modern engineering, technology and computer science. The Faculty aims at providing an all-round education for students, equipping graduates not only with knowledge of cutting-edge technology, but also excellent communication and social skills, an innovation mindset, a lifelong learning attitude, professional integrity and international exposure.

For more information, please visit https://engg.hku.hk.

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Innovative Use of FICO Decision Management Technology Sees World’s Biggest Bank Win Prestigious Award

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China’s ICBC collects credit risk technology implementation award from Asian Banker in 2020

BEIJING, Sept. 15, 2020 —

Highlights:

  • ICBC Credit Card Centre has been recognized for its credit risk technology implementation with a prestigious award from The Asian Banker in 2020.
  • Responsive, high-speed iteration of decision management strategies was key to gaining an edge over competitors.
  • As of the end of June 2020, ICBC has issued more than 160 million credit cards.

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), the world’s biggest bank and issuer of credit cards, has seen its innovative and extensive use of FICO decision management technology recognized with the Credit Risk Technology Implementation of the Year Award from The Asian Banker.

For more information:
https://www.fico.com/en/products/fico-blaze-advisor-decision-rules-management-system

The award from Asian Banker is one of the most prestigious in the financial services industry for Asia-Pacific and acknowledges the bank’s industry leadership in the field of risk control.

"ICBC Credit Card has achieved some remarkable results using decision management technology in its business and we are thrilled they have been recognized in this way," said Sandy Wang, managing director of FICO China. "The team at Industrial and Commercial Bank of China has been focused on providing world-class customer-centric solutions for its credit card customers and they continue to be one of our most innovative and advanced clients in terms of their approach to analytics."

As of the end of June 2020, ICBC has issued more than 160 million credit cards and served more than 100 million customers, maintaining its position as the world’s largest credit card issuing bank with the largest number of customers. The bank has over 8 million corporate customers and 650 million consumer customers worldwide.

One of ICBC’s stated aims is to build "China’s No. 1 Credit Card Brand". After launching FICO® Blaze Advisor® decision rules management system, the bank successfully applied the technology to multiple decision-making areas of the credit card center and established a comprehensive intelligent risk control system.

To deliver on the demand for agile deployment of decision management across the business, ICBC Credit Card Center worked closely with FICO’s experts to establish a team to manage the rapid handling of production problems. ICBC also adjusted the development process and innovated a set of efficient working models to promote rapid strategy development as they saw responsive, high-speed iteration and continuous learning as key to gaining an edge on the competition.

"We are very honored to work with ICBC Credit Card and to have played a part in helping them to win this award," concluded Wang. "Decision management is both art and science and the team at ICBC has managed to combine both skills when deploying this technology. FICO’s decision management platform is being widely adopted in the finance industry, especially as banks look to the current and future digital transformation of their business."

About ICBC
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China was established on 1 January 1984. On 28 October 2005, the Bank was wholly restructured to a joint-stock limited company. On 27 October 2006, the Bank was successfully listed on both Shanghai Stock Exchange and The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited. Through its continuous endeavours and stable development, the Bank has developed into the leading bank in the world, possessing an excellent customer base, a diversified business structure, strong innovation capabilities and market competitiveness. The Bank regards service as the very foundation to seek further development and adheres to creating value through services while providing a comprehensive range of financial products and services to 8,098 thousand corporate customers and 650 million personal customers.

About FICO
FICO (NYSE: FICO) powers decisions that help people and businesses around the world prosper. Founded in 1956 and based in Silicon Valley, the company is a pioneer in the use of predictive analytics and data science to improve operational decisions. FICO holds more than 195 US and foreign patents on technologies that increase profitability, customer satisfaction and growth for businesses in financial services, manufacturing, telecommunications, health care, retail and many other industries. Using FICO solutions, businesses in more than 100 countries do everything from protecting 2.6 billion payment cards from fraud, to helping people get credit, to ensuring that millions of airplanes and rental cars are in the right place at the right time. 

Learn more at www.fico.com.

Join the conversation on Twitter at @FICOnews_APAC.

FICO and Blaze Advisor are registered trademarks of Fair Isaac Corporation in the US and other countries.

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PR Newswire

QuantumClean and ChemTrace Show How to Reduce Cost of Ownership at SEMICON Taiwan

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HAYWARD, California, Sept. 15, 2020 — Ultra Clean Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: UCTT), today announced that its Service Businesses, QuantumClean and ChemTrace, will demonstrate how their ultra-high purity chamber tool part cleaning, proprietary coatings and micro-contamination analytical testing can help reduce Cost of Ownership (CoO) for wafer fabs and OEMs. QuantumClean and ChemTrace will showcase these solutions at booth I2130 at SEMICON Taiwan 2020 at the Nangang Exhibition Center in Taipei September 23 – 25, 2020.

QuantumClean ChemTrace Logo

"Customers are increasingly recognizing the advantage of our cleaning and analytical technology that optimizes productivity and helps to reduce total CoO throughout the product’s lifecycle," said Bill Bentinck, President, UCT Semiconductor Services Business. "We are excited to demonstrate how our differentiated service offerings can improve operations by solving critical semiconductor process chamber part-related manufacturing challenges at SEMICON Taiwan."

A series of presentations will be offered to IDMs, OEMs, OPMs and foundries on how they may increase productivity and reduce CoO for ALD, CVD, diffusion, etch, ion implant and PVD process tools. Booth staff will show how cleaner chambers start-up quicker, faster part turnaround times reduce inventory, longer MTBCs improve productivity and reduce PM costs, and how less aggressive cleaning methods and recoating can extend part life.

About Ultra Clean Holdings, Inc.

Ultra Clean Holdings, Inc. is a leading developer and supplier of critical subsystems, ultra-high purity cleaning and analytical services primarily for the semiconductor industry. Ultra Clean offers its customers an integrated outsourced solution for major subassemblies, improved design-to-delivery cycle times, design for manufacturability, prototyping and component manufacturing, and tool chamber parts cleaning and coating, as well as microcontamination analytical services. Ultra Clean is headquartered in Hayward, California. Additional information is available at www.uct.com.

Forward-looking Statements

The foregoing information contains, or may be deemed to contain, "forward-looking statements" (as defined in the US Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995) which reflect our current views with respect to future events and financial performance. We use words such as "anticipates," "projection," "outlook," "forecast," "believes," "plan," "may," "expect," "future," "intends," "may," "will," "estimates," "see," "predicts," and similar expressions to identify these forward-looking statements. Forward looking statements included in this press release include our expectations about the contributions of Ms. Seto to our Board of Directors. All forward-looking statements address matters that involve risks and uncertainties. Accordingly, the Company’s actual results may differ materially from the results predicted or implied by these forward-looking statements. These risks, uncertainties and other factors also include, among others, those identified in "Risk Factors," "Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and elsewhere in our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 28, 2018 as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and subsequently filed quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. Ultra Clean Holdings, Inc. undertakes no obligation to publicly update or review any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise unless required by law.

Contact:

Rhonda Bennetto
Vice President Investor Relations
rbennetto@uct.com

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Earnd 1.0.0 Achieves SAP Certified Integration with SAP NetWeaver and Earnd.APPtoECC.OnDemandPay 1.0.0 Achieves SAP Certified Integration with Cloud Solutions

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Solution delivers standard, out of the box integration to customers through interoperability with SAP® Solutions

LONDON, Sept. 14, 2020 — Earnd Pty Ltd today announced its Earnd 1.0.0 has achieved SAP certified integration with SAP NetWeaver and Earnd.APPtoECC.OnDemandPay 1.0.0 has achieved SAP certified integration with Cloud Solutions.

The solution has been proven to integrate with SAP® solutions, providing easier implementation for payroll and technology companies. The SAP certified solution includes a pre-built SAP dashboard to see how employees are using the Earnd app, and repayments can be automatically deducted from users’ payroll with no administrative work required.

The SAP Integration and Certification Center (SAP ICC) has certified that the content package Earnd 1.0.0 integrates with SAP NetWeaver and Earnd.APPtoECC.OnDemandPay 1.0.0 integrates with SAP Cloud Platform Integration Suite

"We are extremely pleased to announce the successful launch and SAP certification of our Earnd solutions. This solution will help streamline technical integration, enabling employees to use our on-demand pay solution even quicker than ever," said Josh Vernon, Head of Earnd. "We are excited to provide the thousands of companies using SAP technology with an option to easily integrate into the Earnd platform and begin offering the benefits to their employees," said Maex Ament, Vice Chairman, Product and Technology for Earnd’s parent company, Greensill.

In addition, Earnd continues to participate in the SAP PartnerEdge® program. Through the program, partners work closely with SAP to develop and certify the technical integration of their solutions with SAP software. Integrated partner applications extend, complement and add value to SAP solutions, thereby helping mutual customers more successfully meet business needs and drive strong results.

About Earnd
Our mission is to help people take control of the money they’ve earned.  Earnd is made possible by Greensill, who have been helping small businesses get paid quicker for almost a decade. From London to San Francisco to Sydney, we’re making real-time pay work for real people.

Earnd is a trademark of Greensill.

Any statements in this release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties described in SAP’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC), including its most recent annual report on Form 20-F, that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations. SAP cautions readers not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements which SAP has no obligation to update and which speak only as of their dates.

SAP and other SAP products and services mentioned herein as well as their respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of SAP SE in Germany and other countries. Please see https://www.sap.com/copyright for additional trademark information and notices. All other product and service names mentioned are the trademarks of their respective companies.

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