Creating a successful product is not as easy as people think.

Solid demand and ongoing building material supply bottlenecks continue to put upward pressure on new home prices, according to NAHB.

The pandemic’s effects on South Florida’s real estate industry are well documented. Prices for homes and land skyrocketed, as did apartment, retail, office and industrial rents. Dozens of cranes filled the skyline. Billionaires moved to or expanded their holdings in the region.  This “flight to Florida” will continue, experts said at The Real Deal’s South […]

The post “Flight to Florida” will continue despite high costs, limited inventory: takeaways from The Real Deal Miami forum appeared first on The Real Deal.

Despite increasing concerns surrounding food waste, more than 89 million tonnes of food are thrown away every year in Europe. The grocery retail sector contributes some 5% to the total amount, often due to expired fresh produce, equating to more than 4.45 million tonnes.

The use of RFID offers a whole range of advantages, two of which clearly stand out: precision and speed. DENSO explains what this means for the retail sector.

By David Burns, freelance writer.

Radio frequency identification (RFID) is an identification system that works through radio frequencies that can track and identify authorised entry tools such as fobs and key cards. Not only is RFID a significant security measure, but it also provides your team with a reliable and efficient method of access.

Growing food manufacturer rapidly adds mobile inventory solution to harmonize business systems and enhance productivity, traceability and sustainability.

Contractors are a mobile breed — constantly on the move, from job to job. With so much shuffling around, there is more opportunity for human error — tools ending up on the wrong jobsite on the wrong day. When you have inventory tied up across different jobs, in the back of a work truck or van, or in a warehouse on a high shelf that’s rarely dusted, it’s easy for mistakes to be made.

Jergens Industrial Supply recently teamed up with custom software development group MindHARBOR Inc. to solve a problem in their supply chain -- and in the process found a new line of Internet of Things (IoT) technology to market to other distributors.

Nokia recently launched a true inventory counting capability for Nokia Autonomous Inventory Monitory Service (AIMS). 

"The Carbon Dioxide Capturing and Electrical Energy Generating System Technology"

Grace Okpan launched ONION HANDS® to remove stubborn lingering hand odors upon contact

Enhancing Chiropractic Practices with Premium CBD Solutions

Year-end inventory challenges approaching? Join Insight Works' webinar to master inventory counts with Business Central. Gear up confidently for year-end preparations with our expert guidance towards Dynamics 365 End-Users and Microsoft Partners.

Austin-based 3NUM, a trailblazer in secure web3 native communication, invites users to join the waitlist for its innovative app called Speak.3Z combining onchain and traditional phone capabilities.

Bistabledome.com describes how flex actuated overlapping bistable domes can be used to create unique flexible sensors that translate flexural forces caused by bending into digital patterns that AI can use to monitor shape and changing shape.

Dusty Cars is proud to announce new acquisitions of intensely popular classic Porsche models. The Porsche appraisal and valuation service supports classic Porsche sellers and buyers.

Orbano, Inc., a wholesale distributor of signage materials, supplies and equipment, debuts on September 16, 2024. The company's online shopping platform is set to offer a wide range of premium products coupled with an intuitive customer experience.

The Advanced Inventory Count app integrates seamlessly with Dynamics 365 Business Central, empowering users to streamline inventory and cycle counting processes with multi-user collaboration, barcode integration, and robust reporting features.

The post Profits Without Inventory, How to Earn $24000 on Etsy Selling Digital Art appeared first on DailyBlogTips.com.

"Benjamin Franklin has been called one of the most accomplished and influential Americans in history, and his role in shaping the United States has had a lasting impact that is still felt today. Franklin's research into topics as varied as electricity, meteorology, demography, and oceanography were as wide-ranging and important as his travels, which took him across the globe as a diplomat." -- Provided by publisher.

In the event of a security breach, a software inventory is essential to determine what was breached, and who needs to be notified.  First responders require a software inventory to perform forensic analysis and determine breach notification requirements for vendors, business partners, and regulatory bodies. Organizations that have a clear understanding of software in their environment can quickly assess a breach impact and identify affected areas. If legal proceedings are involved, an organized software inventory greatly assists in limiting data handed over to Law Enforcement and assists technical staff in depositions or testimony. 

Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery plans specify requirements for restoration of critical assets and services, but these need to be identified to establish a Recovery Time Objective (the amount of time to recover a service to an acceptable level of operation) and Recovery Point Objective (the last point of known good data.)  Developing and maintaining a software inventory is a critical first step in implementing an effective cyber security program.

A software inventory helps demonstrate compliance with regulatory controls and Service Level Agreements (SLA) for software used in the environment. From the perspective of “less is more,” a software inventory also identifies unnecessary software running in the environment, which increases the attack surface without providing a business advantage.

Security operations perform scans to identify operating system and application versions, including unsupported software and unpatched systems. This information is used to establish a secure baseline and measure drift from that baseline. A software inventory is necessary to determine if the software is authorized, appropriately licensed, supported, and has the most recent security fixes applied.
Identifying the authorized software assets is an important step to ensure critical assets are protected. The larger the organization, the more difficult the inventory process becomes. Tenable.io and Tenable.sc help organizations build a software inventory. There are several software discovery plugins that run by default in the following scan templates:

• Basic and Advanced Agent Scans
• Advanced (Network) Scan
• Basic (Network) Scan
• Credentialed Patch Audit
• Internal PCI Network Scan

Maintaining a software inventory aids in cyber hygiene and minimizes unauthorized software installation. Many organizations perform an annual audit by an external third party, where they are required to enumerate authorized software that is running in the environment. Organizations that maintain a current software inventory throughout the year can produce information required by auditors and vendors with minimal effort. 

The report and its chapters are available in the Tenable.sc Feed, a comprehensive collection of dashboards, reports, assurance report cards and assets. The report can be easily located in the Tenable.sc Feed under the category Discovery and Detection.

The report requirements are: 

• Tenable.sc 5.19.1
• Nessus 10.0.1

Security leaders need to SEE everything, PREDICT what matters most and ACT to address cyber risk and effectively align cybersecurity initiatives with business objectives. Tenable.io discovers and analyzes assets continuously to provide an accurate and unified view of an organization’s security posture.

Chapters

Executive Summary This chapter presents data for detected operating systems, browsers, unsupported software, and other software installations on systems within a network.

Installed Software Iteration This chapter displays software detected across the organizations systems. Software enumeration is utilized to detect Installed software.

Issues Gating Remediation This chapter displays known/identified roadblocks to completing remediation efforts.

The EPA has proposed a one-year extension for VRF systems using high-GWP HFCs.

This article lists four ways contractors can stock their trucks to guarantee they keep rollin’ in the dough (pun intended).

The HVACR industry was initially surprised by a date-of-install requirement, mandating installation of certain equipment by January 1, 2025, but EPA extended sell-through period to January 1, 2026.

The Naval Autonomous Data Collection System (NADACS) will introduce new RFID technology, as well as improving passive RFID, for Naval Supply Systems Command.

The post NAVSUP piloting new RFID inventory system, integrating with Marine Corps solution first appeared on Federal News Network.

According to early estimates from Counterpoint, shipments in the wearables industry fell 30% on-year in the July-September quarter with nearly every top brand including Boat and Noise seeing sharp declines in numbers. However, shipments of premium smartwatches and audio products nearly doubled, pushing up the average selling price.

The director of the Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation explores how personality and environment help creativity flourish

3D CAD software helps make inventors' concepts a reality in contest for $1 million prize on popular ABC TV show

Kelley runs to Benny Hill theme music. Chris is imprisoned in the dimension of PS Plus madness. And Josh gets a new harness.

The post RPG Cast – Episode 638: “F for Josh’s Inventory” appeared first on RPGamer.

Chris got extra hands and became too weird even for SMT. Kelley got to the boat song and noped out. Phil destroyed half the furniture in his living room. Now go give your cat some nose drops.

The post RPG Cast – Episode 743: “There’s a Body in My Inventory” appeared first on RPGamer.

Marina Umaschi Bers has long been at the forefront of technological innovation for kids. In the 2010s, while teaching at Tufts University, in Massachusetts, she codeveloped the ScratchJr programming language and KIBO robotics kits, both intended for young children in STEM programs. Now head of the DevTech research group at Boston College, she continues to design learning technologies that promote computational thinking and cultivate a culture of engineering in kids.

What was the inspiration behind creating ScratchJr and the KIBO robot kits?

Marina Umaschi Bers: We want little kids—as they learn how to read and write, which are traditional literacies—to learn new literacies, such as how to code. To make that happen, we need to create child-friendly interfaces that are developmentally appropriate for their age, so they learn how to express themselves through computer programming.

How has the process of invention changed since you developed these technologies?

Bers: Now, with the maker culture, it’s a lot cheaper and easier to prototype things. And there’s more understanding that kids can be our partners as researchers and user-testers. They are not passive entities but active in expressing their needs and helping develop inventions that fit their goals.

What should people creating new technologies for kids keep in mind?

Bers: Not all kids are the same. You really need to look at the age of the kids. Try to understand developmentally where these children are in terms of their cognitive, social, emotional development. So when you’re designing, you’re designing not just for a user, but you’re designing for a whole human being.

The other thing is that in order to learn, children need to have fun. But they have fun by really being pushed to explore and create and make new things that are personally meaningful. So you need open-ended environments that allow children to explore and express themselves.

The KIBO kits teach kids robotics coding in a playful and screen-free way. KinderLab Robotics

How can coding and learning about robots bring out the inner inventors in kids?

Bers: I use the words “coding playground.” In a playground, children are inventing games all the time. They are inventing situations, they’re doing pretend play, they’re making things. So if we’re thinking of that as a metaphor when children are coding, it’s a platform for them to create, to make characters, to create stories, to make anything they want. In this idea of the coding playground, creativity is welcome—not just “follow what the teacher says” but let children invent their own projects.

What do you hope for in terms of the next generation of technologies for kids?

Bers: I hope we would see a lot more technologies that are outside. Right now, one of our projects is called Smart Playground [a project that will incorporate motors, sensors, and other devices into playgrounds to bolster computational thinking through play]. Children are able to use their bodies and run around and interact with others. It’s kind of getting away from the one-on-one relationship with the screen. Instead, technology is really going to augment the possibilities of people to interact with other people, and use their whole bodies, much of their brains, and their hands. These technologies will allow children to explore a little bit more of what it means to be human and what’s unique about us.

This article appears in the November 2024 print issue as “The Kids’ Inventor.”

“Cover, bring to a boil, then reduce heat. Simmer for 20 minutes.” These directions seem simple enough, and yet I have messed up many, many pots of rice over the years. My sympathies to anyone who’s ever had to boil rice on a stovetop, cook it in a clay pot over a kerosene or charcoal burner, or prepare it in a cast-iron cauldron. All hail the 1955 invention of the automatic rice cooker!

How the automatic rice cooker was invented

It isn’t often that housewives get credit in the annals of invention, but in the story of the automatic rice cooker, a woman takes center stage. That happened only after the first attempts at electrifying rice cooking, starting in the 1920s, turned out to be utter failures. Matsushita, Mitsubishi, and Sony all experimented with variations of placing electric heating coils inside wooden tubs or aluminum pots, but none of these cookers automatically switched off when the rice was done. The human cook—almost always a wife or daughter—still had to pay attention to avoid burning the rice. These electric rice cookers didn’t save any real time or effort, and they sold poorly.

But Shogo Yamada, the energetic development manager of the electric appliance division for Toshiba, became convinced that his company could do better. In post–World War II Japan, he was demonstrating and selling electric washing machines all over the country. When he took a break from his sales pitch and actually talked to women about their daily household labors, he discovered that cooking rice—not laundry—was their most challenging chore. Rice was a mainstay of the Japanese diet, and women had to prepare it up to three times a day. It took hours of work, starting with getting up by 5:00 am to fan the flames of a kamado, a traditional earthenware stove fueled by charcoal or wood on which the rice pot was heated. The inability to properly mind the flame could earn a woman the label of “failed housewife.”

In 1951, Yamada became the cheerleader of the rice cooker within Toshiba, which was understandably skittish given the past failures of other companies. To develop the product, he turned to Yoshitada Minami, the manager of a small family factory that produced electric water heaters for Toshiba. The water-heater business wasn’t great, and the factory was on the brink of bankruptcy.

How Sources Influence the Telling of History

As someone who does a lot of research online, I often come across websites that tell very interesting histories, but without any citations. It takes only a little bit of digging before I find entire passages copied and pasted from one site to another, and so I spend a tremendous amount of time trying to track down the original source. Accounts of popular consumer products, such as the rice cooker, are particularly prone to this problem. That’s not to say that popular accounts are necessarily wrong; plus they are often much more engaging than boring academic pieces. This is just me offering a note of caution because every story offers a different perspective depending on its sources.

For example, many popular blogs sing the praises of Fumiko Minami and her tireless contributions to the development of the rice maker. But in my research, I found no mention of Minami before Helen Macnaughtan’s 2012 book chapter, “Building up Steam as Consumers: Women, Rice Cookers and the Consumption of Everyday Household Goods in Japan,” which itself was based on episode 42 of the Project X: Challengers documentary series that was produced by NHK and aired in 2002.

If instead I had relied solely on the description of the rice cooker’s early development provided by the Toshiba Science Museum (here’s an archived page from 2007), this month’s column would have offered a detailed technical description of how uncooked rice has a crystalline structure, but as it cooks, it becomes a gelatinized starch. The museum’s website notes that few engineers had ever considered the nature of cooking rice before the rice-cooker project, and it refers simply to the “project team” that discovered the process. There’s no mention of Fumiko.

Both stories are factually correct, but they emphasize different details. Sometimes it’s worth asking who is part of the “project team” because the answer might surprise you. —A.M.

Although Minami understood the basic technical principles for an electric rice cooker, he didn’t know or appreciate the finer details of preparing perfect rice. And so Minami turned to his wife, Fumiko.

Fumiko, the mother of six children, spent five years researching and testing to document the ideal recipe. She continued to make rice three times a day, carefully measuring water-to-rice ratios, noting temperatures and timings, and prototyping rice-cooker designs. Conventional wisdom was that the heat source needed to be adjusted continuously to guarantee fluffy rice, but Fumiko found that heating the water and rice to a boil and then cooking for exactly 20 minutes produced consistently good results.

But how would an automatic rice cooker know when the 20 minutes was up? A suggestion came from Toshiba engineers. A working model based on a double boiler (a pot within a pot for indirect heating) used evaporation to mark time. While the rice cooked in the inset pot, a bimetallic switch measured the temperature in the external pot. Boiling water would hold at a constant 100 °C, but once it had evaporated, the temperature would soar. When the internal temperature of the double boiler surpassed 100 °C, the switch would bend and cut the circuit. One cup of boiling water in the external pot took 20 minutes to evaporate. The same basic principle is still used in modern cookers.

Yamada wanted to ensure that the rice cooker worked in all climates, so Fumiko tested various prototypes in extreme conditions: on her rooftop in cold winters and scorching summers and near steamy bathrooms to mimic high humidity. When Fumiko became ill from testing outside, her children pitched in to help. None of the aluminum and glass prototypes, it turned out, could maintain their internal temperature in cold weather. The final design drew inspiration from the Hokkaidō region, Japan’s northernmost prefecture. Yamada had seen insulated cooking pots there, so the Minami family tried covering the rice cooker with a triple-layered iron exterior. It worked.

How Toshiba sold its automatic rice cooker

Toshiba’s automatic rice cooker went on sale on 10 December 1955, but initially, sales were slow. It didn’t help that the rice cooker was priced at 3,200 yen, about a third of the average Japanese monthly salary. It took some salesmanship to convince women they needed the new appliance. This was Yamada’s time to shine. He demonstrated using the rice cooker to prepare takikomi gohan, a rice dish seasoned with dashi, soy sauce, and a selection of meats and vegetables. When the dish was cooked in a traditional kamado, the soy sauce often burned, making the rather simple dish difficult to master. Women who saw Yamada’s demo were impressed with the ease offered by the rice cooker.

Another clever sales technique was to get electricity companies to serve as Toshiba distributors. At the time, Japan was facing a national power surplus stemming from the widespread replacement of carbon-filament lightbulbs with more efficient tungsten ones. The energy savings were so remarkable that operations at half of the country’s power plants had to be curtailed. But with utilities distributing Toshiba rice cookers, increased demand for electricity was baked in.

Within a year, Toshiba was selling more than 200,000 rice cookers a month. Many of them came from the Minamis’ factory, which was rescued from near-bankruptcy in the process.

How the automatic rice cooker conquered the world

From there, the story becomes an international one with complex localization issues. Japanese sushi rice is not the same as Thai sticky rice which is not the same as Persian tahdig, Indian basmati, Italian risotto, or Spanish paella. You see where I’m going with this. Every culture that has a unique rice dish almost always uses its own regional rice with its own preparation preferences. And so countries wanted their own type of automatic electric rice cooker (although some rejected automation in favor of traditional cooking methods).

Yoshiko Nakano, a professor at the University of Hong Kong, wrote a book in 2009 about the localized/globalized nature of rice cookers. Where There Are Asians, There Are Rice Cookers traces the popularization of the rice cooker from Japan to China and then the world by way of Hong Kong. One of the key differences between the Japanese and Chinese rice cooker is that the latter has a glass lid, which Chinese cooks demanded so they could see when to add sausage. More innovation and diversification followed. Modern rice cookers have settings to give Iranians crispy rice at the bottom of the pot, one to let Thai customers cook noodles, one for perfect rice porridge, and one for steel-cut oats.

My friend Hyungsub Choi, in his 2022 article “Before Localization: The Story of the Electric Rice Cooker in South Korea,” pushes back a bit on Nakano’s argument that countries were insistent on tailoring cookers to their tastes. From 1965, when the first domestic rice cooker appeared in South Korea, to the early 1990s, Korean manufacturers engaged in “conscious copying,” Choi argues. That is, they didn’t bother with either innovation or adaptation. As a result, most Koreans had to put up with inferior domestic models. Even after the Korean government made it a national goal to build a better rice cooker, manufacturers failed to deliver one, perhaps because none of the engineers involved knew how to cook rice. It’s a good reminder that the history of technology is not always the story of innovation and progress.

Eventually, the Asian diaspora brought the rice cooker to all parts of the globe, including South Carolina, where I now live and which coincidentally has a long history of rice cultivation. I bought my first rice cooker on a whim, but not for its rice-cooking ability. I was intrigued by the yogurt-making function. Similar to rice, yogurt requires a constant temperature over a specific length of time. Although successful, my yogurt experiment was fleeting—store-bought was just too convenient. But the rice cooking blew my mind. Perfect rice. Every. Single. Time. I am never going back to overflowing pots of starchy water.

Part of a continuing series looking at historical artifacts that embrace the boundless potential of technology.

An abridged version of this article appears in the November 2024 print issue as “The Automatic Rice Cooker’s Unlikely Inventor.”

References

Helen Macnaughtan’s 2012 book chapter, “Building up Steam as Consumers: Women, Rice Cookers and the Consumption of Everyday Household Goods in Japan,” was a great resource in understanding the development of the Toshiba ER-4. The chapter appeared in The Historical Consumer: Consumption and Everyday Life in Japan, 1850-2000, edited by Penelope Francks and Janet Hunter (Palgrave Macmillan).

Yoshiko Nakano’s book Where There are Asians, There are Rice Cookers (Hong Kong University Press, 2009) takes the story much further with her focus on the National (Panasonic) rice cooker and its adaptation and adoption around the world.

The Toshiba Science Museum, in Kawasaki, Japan, where we sourced our main image of the original ER-4, closed to the public in June. I do not know what the future holds for its collections, but luckily some of its Web pages have been archived to continue to help researchers like me.

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