The stock market rose Friday, clawing back from three days of declines. Shares of technology companies got a lift after Intel said business demand for computers had picked up.

KEEPING SCORE: The Standard & Poor's 500 index climbed four points, or 0.2 percent, to 1,934 as of 2:05 p.m. Eastern time. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 24 points, or 0.1 percent, to 16,757. The Nasdaq composite gained 12 points, or 0.3 percent, to 4,309.

THE CHIPS ARE UP: Intel jumped $1.92, or 6.9 percent, to $29.88 after the company said late Thursday that sales of business computers have been stronger than expected, and raised its revenue forecast. The company also said it expects higher profit margins. The news made Intel one of the top stock gainers in the S&P 500 index on Friday.

A sign for Wall St. is shown outside the New York Stock Exchange, Monday, July 15, 2013 in New York. Most world stock markets fell Friday June 13, 2014 after poor U.S. retail sales data but benchmarks in China gained after an economic report bolstered optimism about the world's No. 2 economy. Oil prices pushed higher as an insurgency spiraled in Iraq. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

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Plastic shredding is the first step in the recycling process and at this stage since metal contami-nation can cause damage to  downstream modules reliable metal detection is therefore indis-pensable. Consistent metal separation prior to shredding reduces malfunctions and increases the profitability of the recycling lines and for this purpose S+S DLS type detectors are used and are mounted over the conveyor system prior to the shredder.

DLS detectors will detect magnetic and non-magnetic contaminants even if they are embedded in the product and by removing contamination prior to the process  reduce costs due to machine damage and production downtime, guarantee product quality, and protect against customer complaints. DLS metal detectors can offer a rapid return on investment.

DLS metal detectors offer many advantages: They prevent metals from reaching cutting ma-chines and thus avoid wear and broken cutting tools. They reduce downtimes and maintenance costs, they improve the quality and value of the cut material, they reduce malfunctions and off-times in downstream processing machines, and they minimise quality defects and reject rates in recycled plastic materials.
 
Andreas Pechhacker, technical manager of Starlinger "recycling technology" is very satisfied with the result: "Starlinger has used S+S metal detectors for several years. The systems are highly robust, offer flexible installation capability, and operate with outstanding reliability. Return on investment is ensured in a very short time because the blades of the agglomerator or single shaft cutter and downstream extruder screws are protected. Expensive repairs are a thing of the past. S+S metal detectors help us reach our objective of ecological and economic efficiency and sustainability – from the raw material to the woven sack, and back to the recycled material again."


Read more at http://www.packagingeurope.com/Packaging-Europe-News/58448/Metal-Detectors-Prevent-Damage-to-Recycling-Machines.html

Ever wondered what an IT disaster could do to your business?  TVG Consulting, a Los Angeles IT consulting company (http://tvgconsulting.com/) recently revealed a list of the top 10 IT disasters of all time.  Here is one that made the list:

2006 Exploding laptops

A Dell laptop burst into flames at a trade show in Japan in 2006.  Rumors were spread about these laptops in particular, this incident validated those rumors and created quite the media buzz.  Apparently the problem was traced back to an issue with the battery/power supply on that particular laptop, which overheated and caught fire. Dell subsequently decided it would be wise to recall and replace about 4.1m laptop Sony batteries.

This is a common issue with laptops and other technology devices.  Apple also reported issues for iPods and Macbooks and other suppliers reported the same. 


To read the full blog post click this link: 

http://www.tvgconsulting.com/los-angeles-it-consulting/

Click the link below to watch a video about this amazing technology:

http://wgno.com/2014/04/02/north-shore-business-develops-technology-to-track-flights-second-by-second/#axzz2xrTWKzFL

Recently Apple announced a security issue with their software update iOS 7.0.  Apple has since been very responsive and they have released an update to fix the bug.  Although the problem is now fixed, many loyal customers are wondering, what if this happens again? The only advice we have, as a phone systems provider in Los Angeles (http://www.tvgconsulting.com/it-services/phone-system-solution-los-angeles/), is to keep up with news about Apple products.  Anything that goes wrong will most likely be newsworthy. 

Security update iOS 7.0.3 was the first update released by Apple that fixed a bug which allowed a potentially malicious user to bypass the password of the Lock Screen. The next update, 7.0.4, was again a security update, and it included a solution to a problem which consisted in the fact that app and in-app purchases were carried out without the needed levels of authorization. iOS 7.0.5 followed, but it was only released for some of the iOS devices located in China. Finally, iOS 7.0.6 was released 3 weeks after iOS 7.0.5.
 
Security of personal, business, and financial information is incredibly important.  You should take all precautions when dealing with information that you deem important.  If you are using internet from a public place, take extra precaution. 


For more information click here:

http://www.tvgconsulting.com/phone-systems-burbank/

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NAIROBI, KENYA: Only 53 per cent of African IT leaders are pushing forward the adoption of analytics, cloud, mobile and social media, a new survey now reveals. The survey by IBM also referred to as ‘Setting the pace in Africa: How IT leaders deliver on the potential of emerging technologies’ found that 87 per cent of African IT leaders rank new technologies such as analytics, cloud, mobile and social media as being critical to business success with just 53 per cent are pushing forward with adoption. The findings also confirmed that 36 per cent of the African businesses embracing emerging technologies could be considered “Pacesetters” amongst their peers in terms of their focus on prioritizing and rapidly adopting technologies. The survey of 180 Africa-based IT leaders across 29 industries in Egypt, South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria and Morocco was conducted by IBM’s Center for Applied Insights, in collaboration with the IBM Center for CIO Leadership*. African economies are expected to sustain high levels of economic growth over the next decade, boosting consumer-facing industries by an estimated US$400 billion by 2020. Sectors pegged for growth include retail/wholesale, retail banking, telecommunications and tourism.1 This represents an enormous opportunity for African businesses – if they are prepared to seize it. However, the IBM study found that a lack of technology adoption is preventing many African businesses from achieving growth and progress. “The primary reasons for not moving on adoption were a need for technology leaders to play a greater role in strategic business leadership, a lack of IT skills development across the continent, and information security concerns,” said IBM General Manager for East Africa, Nicholas Nesbitt. African businesses identified as Pacesetters in the IBM survey take a very different approach to addressing IT concerns. For example, 85 per cent of Pacesetters link IT investments to business outcomes, compared with 67 per cent of their peers. 79 per cent of Pacesetters use metrics and scorecards to assess IT risk, compared to 46 per cent of their peers. 46 per cent of Pacesetters develop IT skills to meet future business needs, compared to 26 per cent of their peers.
Read more at: http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/business/article/2000103325/ibm-poor-technology-adoption-preventing-business-growth

Did you know that many viruses are spread through email?  Well, as a business owner, you should be aware of this problem in order to avoid it.  Any suspicious link through an email could be a virus.  If you weren't expecting an email from the recipient then don't click the link.  Instead, open a new browser window and navigate the site manually without clicking the direct link.  This is the best way to avoid a terrible virus or spyware infection on your company's computer system.

For more tips check out this company that offers IT services in Los Angeles's blog:

http://www.tvgconsulting.com/an-it-services-company-exposes-how-to-avoid-viruses-and-spyware/

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Several of the best-funded and most-publicized tech launches of the last ten years have ended in failure. 24/7 Wall St. looked at both start-ups and products introduced by companies that did not survive to create a list of the most colossal tech failures of the last decade

Read more: Complete List - The 10 Biggest Tech Failures of the Last Decade - TIME http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/completelist/0,29569,1898610,00.html #ixzz2r9LWLZqf

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Want to get a head start on what angel and venture capitalists are looking for in 2014? Here are some sectors we hear whispers about from investors:

1. Healthcare insurers want to improve communications with providers and consumers as well while reducing costs and improving service.  This scenario set up the hunt for across the board B2B and B2C technology.
2. Business enterprise software is back in favor as companies strive to integrate more advanced consumer technology into  operations. Gamification of business processes is gaining popularity.

read the rest at http://www.forbes.com/sites/kaykoplovitz/2014/01/14/top-10-investor-interests-for-technology-2014/