A peace broker, and key person in the reunification if his nation responsible for the end of apartheid, in South Africa, President Nelson Mandela has died.
News
Three Life After Life Stories: “Do You Believe in Angels or God?”
1) MARY NEAL
It was January 14, 1999, and Mary Neal, an orthopedic surgeon from Jackson Hole, Wyoming, had surprised her husband, Bill, with a week-long kayaking trip with friends in the Los Rios Region of Chile.
It had been a good trip. The couple spent the week enjoying people, the food and the culture.
But that morning, Neal’s husband wasn’t feeling well. So he stayed behind while she joined their friends on a section of river well known for its waterfalls and drops of 10 to 15 feet.
“When I first put (afloat) on the river, I didn’t feel quite right,” she said.
Neal crested at the top of the first big drop in the river. She looked down into what she later described as a bottomless pit.
2) ANITA MOORJANI
On February 2, 2006, Anita Moorjani was in a coma. With her body riddled with cancer, doctors told her husband that her organs were shutting down and she likely would not make it beyond the next 36 hours.
“I was just so tired of fighting to try to stay alive,” she said.
Moorjani knew what cancer could do to the body. She had seen it ravage her best friend, Soni, eventually killing her.
So when she was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2002, she was afraid.
In a way, Moorjani had always been afraid — of living and of dying.
3) BENJAMIN BREEDLOVE
It was December 18, 2011, a week before Christmas, and 18-year-old Benjamin Breedlove went to his bedroom.
He had spent the day with his family. They had held church at their home in Austin, Texas, because the teenager was ill. Since childhood he had battled hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), a heart condition that posed a constant risk of sudden death.
In his short life, Benjamin — Ben as he was known to family and friends — had suffered three heart attacks, including an episode the night before.
Check our Bridges Channel. For the posts for each story. Watch on CNN again at 10pm EST or on CNN International. Or read the stories:
http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/29/us/to-heaven-and-back/
Comment below or join the conversation
on our Bridges Channel pin, C001472FB. Do you know anyone with a near death experience ?
Thor and Norse Mythology
The Bifröst plays a role in the 2011 film “Thor” with Chris Hemsworth in the title role. The character is based on the god ‘Thor’ from Norse or Scandinavian Mythology and also Germania Mythology.
In Norse mythology, largely recorded in Iceland from traditional material stemming from Scandinavia, numerous tales and information about Thor are provided. In these sources, Thor bears at least fourteen names, is the husband of the golden-haired goddess Sif, is the lover of the jötunn Járnsaxa, and is generally described as fierce-eyed, red-haired and red-bearded.[1] With Sif, Thor fathered the goddess (and possible valkyrie) Þrúðr; with Járnsaxa, he fathered Magni; with a mother whose name is not recorded, he fathered Móði, and he is the stepfather of the god Ullr. The same sources list Thor as the son of the god Odin and the personified earth, Fjörgyn, and by way of Odin, Thor has numerous brothers. Thor has two servants, Þjálfi and Röskva, rides in a cart or chariot pulled by two goats, Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjóstr (that he eats and resurrects), and is ascribed three dwellings (Bilskirnir, Þrúðheimr, and Þrúðvangr). Thor wields the mountain-crushing hammer, Mjölnir, wears the belt Megingjörð and the iron gloves Járngreipr, and owns the staff Gríðarvölr. Thor’s exploits, including his relentless slaughter of his foes and fierce battles with the monstrous serpent Jörmungandr—and their foretold mutual deaths during the events of Ragnarök—are recorded throughout sources for Norse mythology.
Thor – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/thor
Fast and Furious Star Paul Walker Dead in Fiery Car Crash
He was in a car that lost control, a Porsche on November 30, 2013. He was driving in a 2005 Porsche GT. Walker was a passenger
in the car driven by Mr. Rodas, was a friend and adviser to Walker. Mr. Rodas’ eight year old witnessed the high speed crash into a tree.
From Fox Sports:
More
Outlook.com
Mobile
BingRewards
Site Search
Web
SPEED | The Motors On FOX Blog
Dec 1
‘FAST AND FURIOUS’ ACTOR PAUL WALKER AND RACE CAR DRIVER ROGER RODAS KILLED IN FIERY CAR CRASH
Posted by Branden Williams at 12:58 pm
Cars Paul Walker Pirelli World Challenge Porsche Roger Rodas
From left to right: Drivers Jeff Westphal, Paul Walker, Roger Rodas and Carl Rydquist. (Photo: Facebook – Always Evolving)
Roger Rodas, a competitor in Pirelli World Challenge, has been identified as the second victim in the fiery car crash that also claimed the life of “Fast and Furious” actor Paul Walker.
Rodas, 38, was driving a Porsche Carrera GT in Santa Clarita, California Saturday when the sports car slammed into a light pole and tree before bursting into flames, authorities and witnesses said. Rodas and the passenger, Walker, 40, were both pronounced dead at the scene.
According to an article in “Wealth Management,” the two first met at a race event in California when Walker noticed Rodas driving a Porsche GT3 he had previously owned. They ended up becoming great friends and even raced side-by-side in a Pro-Am 25-hour endurance race in Thunder Hill, California.
As their friendship developed, Walker occasionally asked Rodas for financial advice before working together formally as client and Financial Advisor in 2007. Rodas helped Walker maintain his passion for cars and racing without having them become a financial burden.
Roger Rodas (R) and teammate Erik Davis (L) sign autographs. (Photo: Pirelli World Challenge)
To do so, the two founded a race shop, Always Evolving, to store their cars and bring in income by doing work for other drivers. Always Evolving ultimately transformed into a full-scale race team, with Rodas taking the role as lead driver.
He scored two wins in the Pirelli Drivers Cup in 2012 before making the move up to the GTS class of the Pirelli World Challenge. In his rookie season, Rodas finished 13th in the GTS championship standings despite missing the races at Lime Rock and St. Petersburg.
Rodas is survived by a wife and two children. Walker leaves behind a 15-year-old daughter.
Southern Italy Hit By Cyclones
After 18 people died in Sardinia from the ravages of a cyclone on Nov 19, 2013, Calabria is braving for the worst as is Africa near the Ionian coast.
Allerta Meteo, ecco il ‘Super-ciclone’: sarà come un uragano di 1^ categoria,
A proposito di maltempo: oggi pomeriggio avremo i primi forti temporali tra la Sicilia orientale e la Calabria meridionale: particolarmente colpite le province di Catania, Messina e Reggio Calabria. Proprio in queste aree il maltempo intenso persisterà per tutta la giornata di domani, sabato 30 novembre, in cui nel mar Jonio http://tinyurl.com/qcs4pqr
Seven Miles Bridge
The seven miles bridge is located between the Gulf of Mexico and the Florida Strait. It was finished in 1982 at a cost of 45 million dollars. The seven miles bridge connects the city of Marathon in the middle keys of Florida to little duck key in the lower keys of Florida. Sent in by our subscriber, Segun Ayantoyinbo.
BBM Channel : Bridges of The World Photos and Stories pin C001472FB
Three German Companies Migrate to BES 10
Press Release
DÜSSELDORF, November 13, 2013 – BlackBerry® (NASDAQ: BBRY; TSX: BB) today announced three German-based, enterprise customers have migrated to BlackBerry® Enterprise Service 10, BlackBerry’s enterprise mobility
management (EMM) solution. Mitsubishi Motors Deutschland, manufacturing giant Grohe AG and sugar producer Südzucker AG have each installed BlackBerry’s multi-platform EMM solution to provide superior security, control and management at the device and app level to their mobile deployments.
The BlackBerry enterprise solution has a strong market following in Germany with 50 percent of DAX companies testing or committed to using BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10, and around 90 percent of the Federal State Governments testing or committed to using BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10.
Mitsubishi Motors in Germany was looking for a solution to deliver high security and flexible device management. “We have been using BlackBerry smartphones for years, due to its excellent integration with the business environment and its sophisticated security architecture,” said Thomas Lefeld, Manager IT/Organization, Mitsubishi Motors Deutschland GmbH. “BlackBerry consistently delivers the solutions we need – flexible device management and new all-touch and QWERTY smartphones for our employees, all combined with consistently high security levels that we can always trust.”
Grohe AG is Europe’s largest manufacturer of sanitary fittings, including kitchen and bathroom faucets/taps, and shower systems. The company deployed BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 to have a single mobile device management system for all its devices. According to Jan-Peter Tewes, Senior Vice President of Global Marketing at Grohe AG, “Our mobile communication has improved dramatically through the use of the BlackBerry solution. The ability to quickly communicate securely over the phone, by email or BBM are key benefits BlackBerry brings to our teams. We are able to share confidential reports much more openly and quickly than we used to, which has reduced our development time for new products.”
Südzucker, with its sugar, special products, CropEnergies and fruit segments, is one of the leading companies in the food industry. Christian Begger, Head of ZAO/IT-AC Administration & IT-Controlling at Südzucker AG commented, “With the introduction of BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10, we are able to adapt our Mobile Device Management architecture to our specific requirements. The BlackBerry solution is easily integrated into the infrastructure of Südzucker AG and ensures maximum security. Thanks to the new generation of mobile devices, our mobile use efficiency can also be increased.”
Markus Mueller, Managing Director for Germany at BlackBerry, highlighted that “with BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10, we are able to offer businesses a simple, secure and effective way to manage their fleet of devices, including iOS, Android and BlackBerry phones. We are also looking forward to offering our customers a whole new level of convenience when we launch our new EMM cloud services.”
More than 25,000 BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 commercial and test servers have been installed globally. The multi-platform EMM solution offers businesses mobile device management (MDM), mobile application management (MAM), security standards, and self-service capabilities for the end-user. The solution will also be available as a cloud service, satisfying the need for an easy to deploy, easy to manage and highly cost effective solution for smartphone and tablet management. For more information, visit www.blackberry.com/bes10.
Dalvik or Art
Google may be changing how it compiles app codes into executable code. The goal is to make apps run more efficiently and to save battery life. It will be interesting to see how this impacts Oracle’s relationships with Google which uses JAVA on Android and with BlackBerry which has its own implementation with the Android player. Will ART make Android machine specific? How will ART impact BlackBerry’s Android player/run time? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
Oracle has sued Google over Java-related patents and technology that appear on the Android mobile operating system:
http://m.cnet.com/news/oracle-rebuffs-google-settlement-offer/57406081
Dalvik is the process virtual machine (VM) in Google’s Android operating system. It is the software that runs the apps on Android devices. Dalvik is thus an integral part of Android, which is typically used on mobile devices such as mobile phones and tablet computers as well as more recently on embedded devices such as smart TVs and media streamers. Programs are commonly written in Java and compiled to bytecode. They are then converted from Java Virtual Machine-compatible .class files to Dalvik-compatible .dex (Dalvik Executable) files before installation on a device. The compact Dalvik Executable format is designed to be suitable for systems that are constrained in terms of memory and processor speed.
Oracle has claimed that Dalvik Virtual Machine infringes on Java Virtual Machine patents.
It’s not clear if BlackBerry has an agreement with Oracle or uses the same patented IP from Oracle in its Android player.
http://readwrite.com/2013/11/07
http://readwrite.com/2013/11/07/how-google-may-be-planning-to-make-android-apps-faster-with-art#awesm=~omCuTAeU7M42g9
Sent from my BlackBerry 10 smartphone.
Yasser Arafat Was Poisened
According to a report based on the analysis of bone fragments from Yasser Araft, by a Swiss team of scientists, the former PLO leader was poisened with radioactive polonium. This is being reported by Al Jazeera America this afternoon.
BlackBerry Restructuring and Replacing CEO with $1 Billion From Fairfax and Other Investors
BlackBerry stays public, gets Fairfax and others to adopt $1 billion of its debt, as the stock loses near $1 trading at 6.88, down from $7.77 close on Friday.
One has to hand it to Prem Watsa and the board for showing faith in BlackBerry’s future potential and realizing that it was time for a sweep of the executives at BlackBerry who with the delivery of BB10, failed to gain mind share for the brand and place the product in the hands of customers. I’m looking forward to Watsa’s lead as BlackBerry continues to re-invent itself. The search for a new CEO starts soon and one expects that all top tier management, including the CMO, Frank Boulben, will be moving on soon.
John Chen is replacing Thorsten Heins as interim CEO of BlackBerry. Chen is currently a director at both Wells Fargo and Disney, and his last big management stint was as chairman and CEO of Sybase, where he is credited with transforming the company prior to selling it to SAP
Press Release
John S. Chen to be Appointed Executive Chair of BlackBerry’s Board of Directors and Interim CEO; Prem Watsa to be Appointed Lead Director
Company Concludes Review of Strategic Alternatives and Announces Changes to Board and Leadership Team
WATERLOO, ONTARIO and TORONTO, ONTARIO–(Marketwired – November 04,
2013) – BlackBerry (NASDAQ: BBRY)(TSX: BB), a world leader in the mobile communications market, today announced that it has entered into an agreement pursuant to which Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited (“Fairfax”) and other institutional investors (collectively, the “Purchasers”) will invest in BlackBerry through a U.S. $1 billion private placement of convertible debentures. Fairfax has agreed to acquire U.S. $250 million principal amount of the Debentures. The transaction is expected to be completed within the next two weeks.
Under the terms of the transaction, the Purchasers will subscribe for U.S. $1 billion aggregate principal amount of 6% unsecured subordinated convertible debentures (the “Debentures”) convertible into common shares of BlackBerry at a price of U.S. $10.00 per common share (the “Transaction”), a 28.7% premium to the closing price of BlackBerry common shares on November 1, 2013. The Debentures have a term of seven years. Based on the number of common shares currently outstanding, if all of the U.S. $1 billion of Debentures were converted, the common shares issued upon conversion would represent approximately 16% of the common shares outstanding after giving effect to the conversion.
Upon the closing of the transaction, John S. Chen will be appointed Executive Chair of BlackBerry’s Board of Directors and, in that role, will be responsible for the strategic direction, strategic relationships and organizational goals of BlackBerry. Prem Watsa, Chairman and CEO of Fairfax, will be appointed Lead Director and Chair of the Compensation, Nomination and Governance Committee and Thorsten Heins and David Kerr intend to resign from the Board at closing.
In addition, Mr. Heins will step down as Chief Executive Officer at closing and Mr. Chen will serve as Interim Chief Executive Officer pending completion of a search for a new Chief Executive Officer.
Today’s announcement marks the conclusion of the review of strategic alternatives previously announced on August 12, 2013.
“Today’s announcement represents a significant vote of confidence in BlackBerry and its future by this group of preeminent, long-term investors,” said Barbara Stymiest, Chair of BlackBerry’s Board. “The BlackBerry Board conducted a thorough review of strategic alternatives and pursued the course of action that it concluded is in the best interests of BlackBerry and its constituents, including its shareholders. This financing provides an immediate cash injection on terms favorable to BlackBerry, enhancing our substantial cash position. Some of the most important customers in the world rely on BlackBerry and we are implementing the changes necessary to strengthen the company and ensure we remain a strong and innovative partner for their needs.”
Ms. Stymiest added, “I am also pleased that John Chen, a distinguished and proven leader in the technology industry, has agreed to serve as BlackBerry’s Executive Chairman. I look forward to continuing to serve BlackBerry as a member of its Board of Directors and chair of the Board’s Audit and Risk Management Committee. On behalf of the Board, I would also like to thank Thorsten for his service to BlackBerry over the past six years. Under his leadership, BlackBerry established a more efficient cost structure, developed new products, saw the adoption of BES 10 and delivered the BlackBerry 10 platform. These are all significant accomplishments. We are grateful for his contributions and wish him well in his future endeavors.”
“Fairfax is a long-time supporter, investor and partner to BlackBerry and, with this investment, reinforces its deep commitment to the future success of this company,” said Prem Watsa, Chairman and CEO of Fairfax. “I look forward to rejoining the BlackBerry Board and to working with the other directors and management team, under John Chen’s leadership, to shape the next stage of BlackBerry’s strategy and growth.”
“I am pleased to join a company with as much potential as BlackBerry,” said Mr. Chen. “BlackBerry is an iconic brand with enormous potential – but it’s going to take time, discipline and tough decisions to reclaim our success. I look forward to leading BlackBerry in its turnaround and business model transformation for the benefit of all of its constituencies, including its customers, shareholders and employees.”
The closing of the transaction is subject to customary conditions, including approval from the Toronto Stock Exchange.
Pursuant to the Transaction agreement, the investors have an option to purchase up to an additional U.S. $250 million principal amount of Debentures within 30 days following closing. If an additional U.S. $250 million of Debentures is issued and all U.S. $1.25 billion of Debentures were converted, the common shares issued upon conversion would represent approximately 19.2% of the common shares after giving effect to the conversion, based on the number of common shares currently outstanding.
LAX Shooting: 1 TSA Officer Shot And Suspect Wounded
Rifle used by suspect is shown above from a tweeted picture.
Updated at 7:05pm EST:
Paul Ciancia, a former NJ native, responsible for the LAX shootings that left a TSA agent dead. Ciancia was known to have strong anti-USA government feelings. The TSA death, marks the first time a member of this agency was killed at work.
News Conference with LA Mayor Garcetti (at @2:50 pm EST):
Seven patients treated. City in level one of emergency response. TSA, FBI, LASO, coordinating efforts. Limited availability of information as the investigation is on-going.
Speical FBI Agent David Bowdich, “will provide little facts; cannot talk about victims as need to contact family”. No additional threats at this time (3:04pm EST). Mayor, Eric Garcetti thanks LAPD for heroism that saved lives. Unified command worked porfessionally and seamlessly.
Chief of LAPD, Charlie Beck: Not sure of what we have with respect to victims. Airport has Federal jurisdiciton. Not sure if shooter was a Federal employee. “As we stand here right now there is only one individual responsible.” Individual was shooting as he went into the terminal. The officers did not hesitate to engage, as per plans in practice a few weeks ago. The exact scenario that panned out today was trained for three weeks ago. All agencies worked together. The suspect was able to get to near the Burger King in terminal #3.
Another briefing will be provided. The situation, at this time (@3:10 pm EST) is static. Seven people treated, one critical, six needing emergency transport. Some reports speculating that one injury has resulted in death of a speculatively a former TSA agent. One in critical condition and two in fair condition.
Breaking:
Lone gunman started shooting in screening area and then continued shooting inside terminal 3. Officers immediately engaged the suspect.
Tweets captured at @2:25pm EST (sent at about 1:53 pm EST):
Globe and mail tweeting former NSA Chief may have been shot at LAX @1:49pm EST.
Breaking on News and Social. Terminals 2 and 3 have been evacuated from LAX.
At least two people were injured in California after a gunman opened fire with a rifle at a security checkpoint. An evacuation is underway and the LAPD is on the scene.No confirmation!
Verizon Will Offer The BlackBerry Z30 in November
In the USA, Verizon will offer, in November, just in time for the holidays, BlackBerry’s latest cell phone offering, the all new 5″ super AMOLED,for $199 with a two year contract. We previously provided details on the new hardware, and 10.2 software:
https://pfcsystems.wordpress.com/?s=z30&submit=Search
New Z30 (right) shown next to the Samsung Galaxy S4 (left)
One cool feature of OS 10.2 is the “Adaptive Share” where the software on being requested to “share” something, learns your favorite “share” sites like BBM friends, BBM Channels, FaceBook and presents the top share selections as top suggestions with larger icons and top line placement of a users favorite sharing habits. For a recent media interview see the story below.
BlackBerry introduced the BlackBerry 10 platform in January, and in September showed off the Z30, its final smartphone for the year and one that completes the BB10 portfolio with now two touchscreen-focused options and two QWERTY hybrids, Vivek Bhardwaj, BlackBerry’s head of software, told journalists during a briefing Oct. 28. BlackBerry is hoping to stir up a bit more user interest in several ways. There’s that large, vibrant display; a battery that, in mixed-use scenarios, can last more than 24 hours, according to Bhardwaj; and new antenna technology from BlackBerry-acquired Paratak. “They have a very unique solution we’re using for the first time,” Bhardwaj explained. “Most antennas in phones are fixed, or calibrated for a few conditions. But what the Paratek solution does is re-tune on the fly, depending on the conditions. If you’re in a low-coverage area … it recalibrates the antenna so it’s optimized for that lower-coverage area.”
BlackBerry also gave the Z30 six microphones, which circle its exterior. On a conference call, “you can actually tell where people are sitting, it gives you such a strong spatial awareness,” said Bhardwaj. Called BlackBerry Natural Sound, it can better capture audio in a video at a concert, say, but also drown out ambient noise during a call to someone in a busy place.
On the software side, BlackBerry upgraded the Z30 to BB 10.2. One major change in the OS addresses a challenge so many apps are lately out to solve: sorting through too much email. In the Hub, 10.2 features a Priority Hub. The OS learns, as you use it, what’s a priority to you, though it’s easy to also designate contacts or conversations as Priority.
Also new are notifications that run at the top of the device, enabling a user to see a communication that comes in—a text, or an email, for example—while doing something like taking photos or reading in the browser. Without ever leaving the app, one can also respond.
Another little time-saver is on the locked screen. Where before a user could see, without unlocking the screen, that she had new emails and Tweets, now she can even read them, or parts of them.
They’re nice improvements, but are they enough? And why another touchscreen-focused device, when BlackBerry’s last earnings report made clear the Z10 isn’t selling? (The company sold 3.7 million smartphones during the quarter, the majority of which were running Blackberry 7, and posted a quarterly loss of $965 million.)
“It’s about the complete portfolio, and being able to offer it as a choice,” Bhardwaj said again. Maybe a customer goes into a store for the Z10 but decides he likes the Z30 better, or vice versa. “We’d rather we cannibalized by our own products.”
While he wouldn’t talk about the company’s pending sale, Bhardwaj suggested it was nothing that should keep buyers away.The average buyer, he said, just wants a great phone, he or she isn’t asking about the company’s financial standing. The idea that people are looking beyond product shelves into the details of companies is wrong, he said. “We have to break some of that distortion.”
Source:http://www.eweek.com/mobile/blackberry-z30-exclusive-to-verizon-wireless-coming-in-november.html
BlackBerry an Alternative Reality, An Alternative Future
(Check out below the video of the first car to cell call: BBM car to BlackBery Z10 phone call)
By Darryl McKinnon (edited by Fernando Commodari, Ph.D.)
Recently I penned an open letter to the Canadian Government and members of Parliament regarding the sale of BlackBerry:
https://pfcsystems.wordpress.com/2013/10/19/a-letter-to-members-of-the-canadian-parliament/
My intention was to express my concern over the sale, to explain why I believe it’s not a just reaction to the current circumstances at BlackBerry. I also wanted to provide clear solutions instead of simply addressing the obvious problems. Perhaps understandably the process of writing the letter and the reaction to it from readers, has lead me to believe more needs to be said.
My biggest concern has always been the muted reaction from Canadians to the potential loss of BlackBerry to a foreign bidder and the reputational loss to the Canadian Stock markets & Canada as a competitor on the 1st world stage. It’s a given, if BlackBerry was to be taken over by a foreign company or even taken private, it will not look good upon the Canadian Stock Market, and on their ability to support their listings. Canada will lose a foothold in high tech/high talent jobs and intellectual IP built by Canadians, as happened with Nortel and the Avrow Arrow:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWuZtk8uPP0
The question becomes why? Or a deeper look asks, what’s really going on?
Previously I gave examples of how Americans support their publicly traded tech companies. How they support their technology companies through their financial markets.
I provided data on how Facebook, Twitter, Netflix and Tesla among others, trade at hundreds of times their earnings. These massive multiples are amassed in part because of how the American financial system is set up to support their technology industry & other listed stocks.
Hedge funds backed up by massive media outlets provide a megaphone to the American population, extolling the virtues of said companies while simply ignoring the potentially dangerous multiples those companies trade at. The hedge funds provide the analysis and the media provide the megaphone.
American TV networks and news media protect and build value for their companies. It is often the same ownership at the helm of the media and companies being built up, with the same vested interests; the same power makers and lobbyists that offer the venture capital.
Once you take a closer look. You see the connected nature of the system. You see how everyone stands to benefit from the consistent positive spin. It’s true that the media players bring out market bears, that give the opposite view of the market and the companies we’ve been discussing. But by carefully controlling the content and ratio of positives vs negatives, the resulting perceptions are built casting a reality; all this gets to carry on as those companies with the massive valuations, far outside their ability to earn money proceed to use those funds to buy actual value.
Canada lacks the global reach of the American Media, and often the Canadian media just tows the line on what is fed via the American news outlets. With all levels of media being controlled by a select group of lobbyists/venture capitalists/owners at the top, almost as a single entity, it can turn that perception machine into a force against a company. This negative analyst/media frenzy can destroy or devalue a company like BlackBerry to the point where it can be sold at “auction” with the same nay sayers being able to buy up the pieces at half of book value.
All we have to do is look at the American system and how it creates value in very junior companies, even if not public yet. As an example, PATH, a newly formed instant messaging service, started by an early Facebook employee, someone who knows the system, knows the venture capitalists and how the media outlets can be manipulated.
PATH recently reached 10 million users of their service, some say with illegal means:
http://techcrunch.com/2013/06/14/path-is-on-the-path-to-new-funding-approaching-1b-valuation/
The financial system in the USA values PATH at $1Billion; they recently received additional venture capital funding. Yet the book value of the company is nowhere near $1 billion dollars, most of the valuation is based on future earnings potential.
By contrast, BlackBerry has an instant messaging system, BlackBerry Messenger. Many would argue BBM is far more feature rich than PATH. Plus, they had 60 million users previous to BBM launching on Android and Apple over the last week, when BBM was downloaded 10 million times in the first 24 hours! It was downloaded over 20 million times before the first 3 days. As I write this, millions more people are about to get started using BBM, now that there is no “line”. Yet with the current Fairfax offer that’s on the table for BlackBerry, at one half of BlackBerry’s book value, BBM is receiving a value of $0. That’s to say that BBM has zero current value or future potential value given to it by the market and analysts.
BBM Quick Facts:
More than 60 million monthly active users.
More than 51 million daily active users who are connecting with friends or colleagues an average of one and a half hours every day.
BBM users send and receive more than 10 billion messages each day, nearly twice as many messages per user per day as compared to other mobile messaging apps.
Almost half of BBM messages are read within 20 seconds of being received; indicating how truly engaged BBM customers are with the platform.
Source: http://blogs.blackberry.com/2013/05/bbm-ios-android/
BBM has recently topped the charts on iOS and Google Play world-wide!
https://pfcsystems.wordpress.com/2013/10/26/top-ios-apps/
Let’s have a look at another social media company that has yet to go public, Pinterest. Again this company is strictly funded by venture capital. They call it “venture capital” at the early stages but all venture capital is hedge funds & large bank investment arms, often the same funders that have analysts on pay rolls to “review” the market. They’re able, through their market position and ability to promote start ups, to gain early access to the companies in the US. Pinterest is valued at $3.8 billion by the US venture capital system. They have recently reached somewhere between 25 to 50 million users, depending on who you listen to, but they have yet to ever earn a dollar. They admit to not having an actual plan to make money and aren’t even worried about that, at this time.
If you take these two examples alone & compare, not BlackBerry as a whole, but only BlackBerry’s social arm, BBM, and the forthcoming Channels network, I ask how is it possible that the market gives BlackBerry’s efforts zero dollar value? BlackBerry’s BBM alone, as we speak has better than 85 million users. It’s currently growing by millions a day, with users being spread over 180 countries.
BBM Channels will be an independent arm of BlackBerry’s Social Networks, although every BBM user will have access to channels through its chat feature. Channels is still in late stage beta. As a beta tester and channel owner, I can tell you that BlackBerry is on to something big here. Channels will provide businesses, consumer brands, celebrities and everyday individuals a fantastically colorful and secure and private (if chosen to go private) way to interact. The future potential is clear & valuable. Yet, the market gives Channels + BBM zero worth in the current sale of the company at half of book value. Prem Watsa and Fairfax will get a company at “auction” with much more future earning potential than the share holders will be paid.
A positive article (not even considering the Channels Playcard!) on Forbes states:
“BBM Could Be Worth Billions if BlackBerry Can Copy The Line PlayBook” –Tero Kuittinen, October 25, 2013, Forbes.
The real value of BlackBerry, includes a world with machine to machine connectivity, a world with its subsidiary, QNX, playing an intricate role:
https://pfcsystems.wordpress.com/2013/10/26/space-grade-m2m-tech-in-the-palm-of-your-hand/
A world where smart phones will become the entry point of the connected devices. It’s early but this new world is coming up around us, more and more so, every day. First on the agenda would be automotive infotainment and drive train diagnostics. The hands down leader in this brave new world is QNX. The software code, Real Time OS (RTOS), behind the new BackBerry 10 OS cell phones is present in over 300 million current automobiles and their future products. QNX Car2 is already gaining mainstream acknowledgment as the industry standard. QNX is not just in automotive either. Many fail safe industrial systems rely on the QNX RTOS as the only system reliable enough to stand up to their difficult tasks. Military, nuclear and aerospace are counted among them. The F35 Lightning the Abrahams tanks the International Space Station and many of the world’s nuclear power plants rely on QNX. These vastly important BlackBerry customers are not the point though. They are an example of the power and reliability of the BlackBerry, QNX RTOS. Again, very little press or value is given to this ownership by BlackBerry.
“We Aim To Be The Leading Provider of Machine to Machine Embedded Systems” -Frank Boulben- March 16, 2013
Take QNX and couple it with BlackBerry’s Network Operations Centre (NOC) and we understand that this is one of the world’s largest networks which is connected to over 650 mobile carriers worldwide. The bigger picture starts to emerge. BlackBerry holds the key to the largest private “secure” network there is and which is relied on by the likes of NATO the DOD the DND and many national governments around the world for its unmatched level of security. BlackBerry10 operating system & BES10, BlackBerry’s latest MDM or “Mobile Device Management” solution has recently been employed by all of them. Recently, BlackBerry launched their cloud based #MDM solution. That adds unmatched cloud integration. BlackBerry has also secured Android & IOS with BES10.
Everything ties together, BlackBerry is a vertically integrated secure mobile platform & business solution. From the hardware to the software, through the services, that include transfer of data via the NOC & BlackBerry’s network. They have spent the last 2 + years rebuilding the suite of offerings, rewriting the entire architecture of how everything communicates through the network. The foundation is now in place, and it is built for security first. The future is at hand. The QNX RTOS has the ability to communicate with its own kind or other systems that run QNX RTOS through their “transparently distributed processing”:
http://berryflow.com/portfolio/tdp/
The connected world is coming and BlackBerry’s technology, whether Canadian or not will be at the forefront of this massive new market including military, industrial, medical and other segments.
Now is not the time for Canadians to be selling BlackBerry for half the value of their hard assets. Now is the time that Canadians should be investing in BlackBerry and investing in Canada’s future, to be at the forefront of a super-connected world.
The American system is the land of what they call “Activist Investors”. These men and women can be worth billions; they are the venture capitalists that offer money, the key industry leaders that sit on several boards, from bank to media. They make it their business to invest in struggling companies and inact change long before the management of a company can fall so far behind in the perception game. They fully understand how a company’s perception becomes its reality.
Activist investors step in and fight to change those perceptions. At times, just the information that an activist investor has got involved in a company is enough to enact change. Sadly, Canada appears not to have any activist investors of the magnitude, technical knowledge and/ or will needed to complete the change started at BlackBerry.
In my letter to the Government of Canada, I recommended that the government request Jim Balsillie to return to BlackBerry as the CEO to fight for the company he once owned. The company he built into a worldwide $20 billion behemoth! Here’s hoping that Jim Balsillie or some other Canadian steps up and fights for BlackBerry to remain Canadian and public. The current CEO does not appear up to the task of completing the BlackBerry transition. Thorsten Heins, top management, and the Board of Directors appear to have lost their resolve to keep BlackBerry moving. That doesn’t mean that someone else can’t!
We live in a gloabal society and there can be alternative views fostered and developed by alternative thinkers/companies. BlackBerry has invented the global communicating hardware, championed and used by so many of industries’ titans in Canada, the USA, all over the world! There can be a real alternative to Apple, Android (Google) and Microsoft. There can be intellectual creativity from different nations shared globally! The market space is large enough to foster healthy competition! Innovation cannot happen by assimilation! To all my friends, all over the world, on #TeamBlackBerry, who fight the perception campaign daily, as best they can, I encourage you to support many of us in our bid to keep BlackBerry alive as a public, and preferably Canadian, company. Anything can happen in a sale. You can do your part to help BlackBerry #KeepMoving, by supporting this movement. Repost this and re-tweet it by clicking on the “Twitter” or “Facebook” “button” below! Or, copy and paste this 140 character tweet:
Imagine @BlackBerry M2M Tech @CTV @CBC @PMHarper @JustinTrudeau @GlobeandMail @AJAM @CNN @ABC @CBS @IndustryCanada http://wp.me/p381yl-SJ
Here’s hoping that you will get on board with this movement and support a titan of innovation, BlackBerry, an alternative reality, an alternative future, before it’s too late. Going private will weaken the brand and the biased/unbiased media scrutiny would remain! BlackBerry needs a serious marketing strategy, and perhaps putting BBM on iOS and Android devices is the beginning of a game-plan?!
We can do this!
BlackBerry-An Alternative Reality, An Alternative Future
Darryl McKinnon.
getdjmac@hotmail.com
@getdjmac
C0007CCC8 Channels
Check out our most recent post on the prospective partners for BlackBerry here:
The Simple Things in Life are Good!(sm)
Follow us on Twitter:
Follow @FernCommodari Follow @PFCSystemsIncLike us on facebook: facebook.com/PfcSystemsInc
Info@pfcsystems.com
Download the FREE “PFCSystems” app on BlackBerry World:
http://appworld.blackberry.com/webstore/content/24419891/?countrycode=US
BBM Channel, PIN C0007F38F.
PFC Systems, Inc.
People Focused Company (sm)
Programming Focused Creations (sm)
Copyright 2013 (logo/sm, since 1993), all rights reserved, all content on this site! Photos may not be used without explicit permission, in writing, from PFC Systems, Inc.
BBM Tops iOS Apps Chart And Earns First Spot on Google Play
Shown Above iPhone with BBM on Rogers Network
BBM tops both the iOS and Google Play charts–world-wide! The number of BBM users is near 100 million with the line to download the app for Android and iOS being eliminated. BBM is also the number one downloaded app on Google Play. This is a great way to market BlackBerry OS10, by loading BBM on the competition’s devices, with the OS 10 swipes, panels, and gestures! What do you think of this social marketing? Is it too late?
BBM messaging is totally free over wi-fi or data with no long distance texting charges and no accrued text count. It is secure and private, no need to give up you tel# or privacy. Give it a try and add your international friends as a contact on your iOS and Android devices! Let’s stay together! Keep moving! Share the love! Rome, I’m talking to you! Tell your friends and family that you would like to be able to keep in touch with no extra “roaming” or long distance text messaging charges and to do so in a secure way.
Get it by pointing your web-browser on your iOS phone or Android phone at: http://global.blackberry.com/bbm/en.html
BBM for Android:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bbm
BBM for iOS:
https://itunes.apple.com/id/app/bbm/id690046600?mt=8
source:http://n4bb.com/goodbye-bbm-line-hello-100-million-users/
Space Grade M2M Tech in the Palm of Your Hand
Imagine ———— see the video below and re-tweet by clicking on the twitter button at the end of the page 😉
{UPDATED November 1, 2013}
OR Tweet (copy and paste):
Save @BlackBerry from going way of Avro Arrow! @pmharper @IndustryCanada @JamesMoore_org http://wp.me/p381yl-SJ pic.twitter.com/zETemm5A12
OR Tweet (copy and paste):
Save @BlackBerry from going way of Avro Arrow! @pmharper @IndustryCanada @JamesMoore_org @JustinTrudeau @CBC @CTV http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=rGW76JB90Ro …
Learn more about what can be done to save BlackBerry: as easy as 1, 2, 3–CHECK OUT THE VIDEO BELOW FIRST, and then read these posts!
1)A Letter To Members of The Canadian Parliament
https://pfcsystems.wordpress.com/2013/10/19/a-letter-to-members-of-the-canadian-parliament/
2)BlackBerry an Alternative Reality, An Alternative Future
https://pfcsystems.wordpress.com/2013/10/27/blackberry-an-alternative-reality-an-alternative-future/
3)BlackBerry: Looking For a Mutually Beneficial Partnership
Observations on The State of BlackBerry in Québec Canada
With the launch of the Z30 today in Canada we decided to take it to the street for some first hand observations on the state of BlackBerry in Laval,Québec. Centre Laval was visited, a shopping center, close to a high traffic corridor with several highways nearby providing easy access. Here is what we heard and saw:
Future Shop
There are no more Z10 cell phones in inventory. Not likely to get anymore. There are three Q10 and three Q5 devices plus one Z30 on display (only inventory). No one buys the Q5 and the Q10 sells more than the Z10. There is no Z10 in inventory.
Three customers in store at “Cell Shop” department. Dalia, the sales person, states that people are afraid to buy BlackBerry cell phones since they fear the company will go the way of Nortel. Sales have dropped since the end of September.
Best Buy
In one month they sell 5 BlackBerry devices, usually the Q10, with the Samsung S4 at about 50 a month and the same for iPhone.
Not a single Q5 device was sold by this sales person since its launch in Canada. One Z10 with Rogers and one Z10 with Virgin and three Q5 cell phones with Koodo are in stock.
Ali, the sales guy says people believe BlackBerry is going to be split and sold and this is why people won’t buy the devices. Sales are worst now since the announcement of the special committee to investigate strategic options and subsequent news. A customer confirms this idea and says that he used to have a BlackBerry and won’t buy another BlackBerry in the future; the new BlackBerry doesn’t appeal to him. He’s not interested because he’s used to the iPhone now and all the apps and he is worried that BlackBerry won’t be around. He is comfortable with the iPhone. He gives the impression that he has not really tried a new OS 10 BlackBerry.
Rogers Kiosk
Carol, the sales person says she is selling her Q10, because of the lack of apps, and cites as an example Bank of Montreal. Carol loves the Q10 because of the key board and the OS10. She switched from the iPhone because of the key board. The banking apps are important. The camera needs to be improved. She says that the poor camera was the final straw for her with poor quality pictures, and not enough Mega Pixels leading to poor resolution. With a poor app ecosystem BlackBerry needs to have a high resolution camera. I did mention the digital signal processing available and the android run time for “jellybean”, but she wanted it to be there already. She does not want to have to side-load apps.
She has in inventory one Q10, two Q5 and two Z10 devices. Since the board decided to explore strategic alliances or sale of BlackBerry, sales are Samsung to BlackBerry 50 to 1 and they were 5 to 1 before the September announcement. People are asking for new LG phones now, before BlackBerry.
Telus Kiosk
Matiu says kids like the iPhone because kids want apps. There is no marketing for the Z30. He has at least four or five Z10 and Q10 devices in stock with one Z30 and 2 or 3 stocked Q5 phones. Sales are 50 to 1 Android to BlackBerry. Same iPhone to BlackBerry. People have no idea of the re-invented phone OS. BlackBerry needs to better market its products.
Fido Kiosk
Xavier says the Nexus 4 by LG is selling well. Personally he doesn’t like BlackBerry because it’s old. He doesn’t sell BlackBerry because people have problems with using the new OS, they need to be educated. He sells a lot of Bold devices with keyboard because of BIS and cheaper to use messaging. He carries the Z10, Q10 and Q5. He sells 3 to 1 Android/iPhone to BlackBerry (manly OS 7 devices with BIS).
Koodo Kiosk
Haron says the customers ask for what they want and it’s not BlackBerry. BlackBerry is overpriced and students want cheaper. Haron says that even on Fido kids pay more for the iPhone and the more expensive plans because it’s an iPhone.
Casual Observation at Presse Café
(at Centropolis)
While at this coffee shop, amid the iPhone and Samsung S4 users, I could see some older BlackBerry devices and that one older couple had a Z10 and Q10 between them.
Summary
In summary, it appears that the same problems that exist for BlackBerry in the USA, also exist at home in Canada: poor marketing and education on the new BlackBerry 10 phones, poor app ecosystem even the “grown-up” apps, like banking apps are missing, mixed messaging with regards to the future and commitment of BlackBerry to the consumer market. All of this has tarnished the once cool brand and nothing is being done to change this with an absent marketing effort and missteps in execution, market research and planning of new devices that people want. Perhaps, BlackBerry recognizes this and hence its open letter in thirty newspapers in 9 countries today.
(Written with docstogo on my Q10 like Dev C and pasted into WordPress for android run time; all photos taken with said BlackBerry device.)
A Little Cream With The BlackBerry?!
It goes without saying that BlackBerry gets negative press from media outlets and analysts, especially in the USA. We have written before on how some of the current state of affairs for the company is due to poor marketing, market research and poor execution.
We’re in Canada to take a first hand look at the upcoming Z30 launch on Tuesday, October 15, 2013. Telus will be offering the phone on a two year contract for $129 and off contract for $650. Are you planning on getting this new phablet from BlackBerry? Leave a comment on what you are doing / thinking about the Z30.
Canadian Alice Munro Wins Literature Nobel
Alice Munro, a Canadian master of the short story revered as a thorough but forgiving chronicler of the human spirit, won the Nobel Prize in literature on Thursday October 10, 2013. Have you read any of her stories ? Which? http://news.msn.com/world/canadas-alice-munro-wins-nobel-literature-prize?ocid=ansnews11&stay=1
Our Beta Version of Our First Educational App, “Calculus I” Has Just Been Submitted to BlackBerry World
[Update: November 12, 2013. The Calculus I app can now be directly downloaded for all OS 10.0.0 devices and higher OS versions. Point to the following link on your device web browser: http://t.co/sor3hV5j4c]
If you are studying Calculus at the College level, be sure to look for our “Calculus I” app on BlackBerry World which we are making available for free as version 1, while we refine the UI for “Built For BlackBerry”, and add some unique social aspects to an educational app that will use a scoreboard, BBM Channels, and other features for “cooperative learning”. We’d like your feedback on the beta release. Are there topics for a first semester of Calculus that you believe should be reviewed that are missing?
The Simple Things in Life are Good!(sm)
Follow us on Twitter:
Follow @FernCommodari Follow @PFCSystemsIncLike us on facebook: facebook.com/PfcSystemsInc
Info@pfcsystems.com
Download the FREE “PFCSystems” app on BlackBerry World:
http://appworld.blackberry.com/webstore/content/24419891/?countrycode=US
BBM Channel, PIN C0007F38F.
PFC Systems, Inc.
People Focused Company (sm)
Programming Focused Creations (sm)
Copyright 2013 (logo/sm, since 1993), all rights reserved, all content on this site! Photos may not be used without explicit permission, in writing, from PFC Systems, Inc.
BlackBerry Makes Top 100 Innovators List
“Smartphone Patent Wars Drive New Innovation
The intense competition in the smartphone space is on clear display in this year’s Top 100 Global Innovators list, with the major players in the smartphone patent wars present: Apple, Microsoft, Samsung, Google and BlackBerry. This is the first year for BlackBerry on the Top 100 Innovators list, driven by a 38 percent surge in patent filings between 2010 and 2011, and 17 percent growth in patent filings between 2011 and 2012. The rapid expansion of the company’s patent portfolio is certain to be a factor in BlackBerry’s recently-announced plans to pursue strategic alternatives, including a possible sale.”
Perhaps this “Death of BlackBerry” scenario is exaggerated hype from poorly researched reports!Misinformation comes from many sources.
Thomson Reuters Names the World’s Top 100 Most Innovative Organizations for 2013
“Top 100 Innovators generated $4.5 trillion in revenue, spent $223 billion on R&D, added more than 266,000 jobs and outperformed S&P 500 again – this year by over 4 percent in annual stock price gains, 2 percent in revenue growth and 8.8 percent in R&D”
By Thomson Reuters
Published: Sunday, Oct. 6, 2013 – 9:15 pm
Last Modified: Sunday, Oct. 6, 2013 – 9:20 pm
PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 7, 2013 — /PRNewswire/ — Over the past two years, Thomson Reuters has shown how patent activity is a proxy for innovation through its Top 100 Global Innovators program. Today, the IP & Science business of Thomson Reuters, the world’s leading provider of intelligent information for businesses and professionals, announced its 2013 Top 100 Global Innovators list. This honors the 100 corporations and institutions around the world that are at the heart of innovation as measured by a series of proprietary patent-related metrics. The full report is available at:
http://www.top100innovators.com.
The 100 organizations in the 2013 study outperformed the S&P 500 for the third consecutive year, by 4 percent in annual stock price growth and 2 percent in market cap weighted revenue growth. Collectively they generated $4.5 trillion in revenue, nearly twice the GDP of the United Kingdom. The Top Innovators also added 266,152 new jobs over the last year, a rate that was 0.81 percent higher than the new job creation rate among constituents of the S&P 500. This year’s winners also outspent the S&P 500 by 8.8 percent on R&D; collectively they invested $223 billion in their research and development efforts.
“Now in its third year, the Thomson Reuters Top 100 Global Innovators study provides further evidence that innovative organizations– those that secure global patent protection for their intellectual property, continue to push the envelope with new technologies and invest more in R&D – are those that outperform the S&P 500 on virtually every measure of business success. Since inception, the Top 100 have consistently seen increases in annual revenue greater than those of the S&P index,” said David Brown, managing director, Thomson Reuters IP Solutions. “These are the companies that are driving growth, creating jobs and pioneering new products and services; we are honored to recognize their efforts through this annual program.”
The Thomson Reuters 2013 Top 100 Global Innovators, in alphabetical order, are:
3M Company L’Oréal
ABB LSI Corporation
Abbott Laboratories LSIS
Advanced Micro Devices Marvell
Air Products Michelin
Alcatel-Lucent Micron
Altera Microsoft
Analog Devices Mitsubishi Electric
Apple Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
Arkema NEC
Asahi Glass NGK Spark Plug Co., Ltd.
AT&T Nike
Avaya Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal
BlackBerry Nissan Motor Company
Boeing Nitto Denko
Brother Industries NTT
Canon Olympus
Chevron Omron
CNRS, The French National Center for Scientific Research Oracle
Commissariat à l’Energie Atomique Panasonic
Corning Philips
Covidien Procter & Gamble
Delphi Qualcomm
Dow Chemical Company Roche
DuPont Safran
Eaton Corporation Saint-Gobain
Emerson Samsung Electronics
Ericsson SanDisk
European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company Sandvik
Exxon Mobil Seagate
Ford Seiko Epson
Fraunhofer Semiconductor Energy Laboratory
Freescale Semiconductor Sharp
FUJIFILM Shin-Etsu Chemical
Fujitsu Siemens
General Electric Sony
Goodyear Tire & Rubber STMicroelectronics
Google Sumitomo Electric
Hewlett-Packard Symantec
Hitachi TDK
Honda Motor Company TE Connectivity
Honeywell International Texas Instruments
IBM Thales
IFP Energies Nouvelles Toshiba
Infineon Technologies Toyota Motor Corporation
Intel TSMC
Jatco United Technologies
Johnson & Johnson Valeo
LG Electronics Xerox
Lockheed Martin Xilinx
Smartphone Patent Wars Drive New Innovation
The intense competition in the smartphone space is on clear display in this year’s Top 100 Global Innovators list, with the major players in the smartphone patent wars present: Apple, Microsoft, Samsung, Google and BlackBerry. This is the first year for BlackBerry on the Top 100 Innovators list, driven by a 38 percent surge in patent filings between 2010 and 2011, and 17 percent growth in patent filings between 2011 and 2012. The rapid expansion of the company’s patent portfolio is certain to be a factor in BlackBerry’s recently-announced plans to pursue strategic alternatives, including a possible sale.
Increased R&D Spending Results in Increased Innovation
The surge in R&D spending among Top 100 Global Innovators is also noteworthy. With the 100 organizations in the study spending U.S. $223.2 billion on R&D in 2012, the group outspent the S&P 500 by over 8.8 percent on R&D last year. Additionally, the Top 100 spend 5 percent of revenue on R&D, whereas the S&P 500 spend just 2.1 percent of revenue in this area. “The fruits of rigorous R&D are clear-cut in the results of our study: those companies that spend more on R&D, yield more patents, and more innovative solutions,” said Brown.
Pharma Breaks into Top 100
The Top 100 methodology, by virtue of its criteria, favors fast-moving, hyper-competitive industries such as semiconductors/electronic components and computer hardware, where product lifecycles are short and advancements in technology are demanded by users. This has historically impacted the inclusion of pharmaceutical firms, which tend to have longer R&D cycles, in the list. Despite this, Abbott Laboratories and Johnson & Johnson broke into the Top 100 list this year, by virtue of their strong global patent portfolios. Roche also made this year’s list for the third year in a row.
Regional Hot Spots of Innovation
North America continued to lead in the number of organizations it has on the list, with 46 this year, comprising 45 from the U.S. and one from Canada. Asia had the next highest, with 32, comprising 28 from Japan, 3 from South Korea and 1 from Taiwan. Europe contributed 22 honorees, with the largest representation coming from France (12) and Switzerland (4). Mainland China is once again notably absent from this year’s list of Top 100 Global Innovators. Despite the fact that China leads the world in patent volume, the majority of patents filed in the country are only filed domestically, which limits the region’s global influence in the Top 100 Global Innovators study.
Industry Breakout
The semiconductor and electronic components industry continued to lead in 2013, with 23 representative companies, a 28 percent increase over the previous year. Semiconductor representation has increased by 64 percent since the program’s inception, when there were just 14 semiconductor companies on the list. Computer hardware was the next most prolific industry, with 11 companies. The auto industry contributed 8 companies to the Top 100 list, up from 7 last year; new to the list is Nissan. Automotive representation has grown by 167 percent since the beginning of the Top 100 analysis when there were only 3 automotive companies present. The telecom and industrial industries each contributed 7 companies to the Top 100 group this year.
Methodology The Thomson Reuters 2013 Top 100 Global Innovator methodology is based on four principle criteria: overall patent volume, patent grant success rate, global reach of the portfolio and patent influence as evidenced by citations. The peer-reviewed methodology was executed using Thomson Reuters Derwent World Patents Index® (DWPI), Derwent Patents Citations Index™, Quadrilateral Patent Index™, and Thomson Innovation®, its IP and intelligence collaboration platform. Comparative financial analysis was done using the Thomson Reuters Advanced Analytics for Deal-Making platform.
For more information on the Thomson Reuters Top 100 Global Innovator program and to download the full report, go to http://www.top100innovators.com.
Thomson Reuters
Thomson Reuters is the world’s leading source of intelligent information for businesses and professionals. We combine industry expertise with innovative technology to deliver critical information to leading decision makers in the financial, legal, tax and accounting, healthcare and science and media markets, powered by the world’s most trusted news organization. With headquarters in New York and major operations in London and Eagan, Minnesota, Thomson Reuters employs more than 60,000 people and operates in over 100 countries. For more information, go to http://www.thomsonreuters.com.
SOURCE Thomson Reuters
pfcsystems 