Yenra: Ball Corporation is launching a new advertising medium that allows beverage can tabs and ends to carry customized messaging. The laser-incised beverage can tab is a solid, colored tab that provides space for a small billboard for brand identity and advertising.

The use of state-of-the-art computer and laser technology provides messaging flexibility, making it possible to engrave letters, numbers, drawings or symbols on the tabs. The tab's technical performance is equal to that of existing tabs.

"Laser-incised tabs provide our customers with brand identification at the moment of consumption," says Bob Tettero of Ball.

Promotional Can Tabs [Yenra]

Iconoculture: Advanced palates require complex and compelling flavors, and striking new presentations of age-old ingredients will inspire many cooks to try new dishes.

Velissa Van Scoyoc doesn’t think zesty spices belong in boring jars. Her Gusto! Spice Cakes are colorful blocks of “visual aroma” that inspire cooks to spike dishes with exotic seasonings and flavor infusions.

“I wanted to renew the value of spices using the latest in food technology,” Van Scoyoc says (IDSA.org 6.05). Her spice jar reinvention nabbed a prize at the Industrial Designers Society of America’s inaugural Scientistic Invitational in May 2005. Each cake’s look reflects its origin and use, from the Parsley Hay Bale to the East India Mix. Chefs can grate, slice, or dissolve the blocks into other ingredients, though some might be tempted to bite into the Cocoa Framboise.

Life Of Spice [Iconoculture]

NYTimes.com: Far from the bloody streets of "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas," and light years from the deep space, run-and-gun menace of "Halo 2," lives Flo.

She is the cartoon-cute stockbroker who chucked it all to operate a modest diner that is the centerpiece of a highly successful yet relatively low-budget video game called "Diner Dash."

The staff of GameLab develops pared-down video games in an office carved from an industrial building.

The game is not found on the shelves of video game or consumer electronic stores. Nor is it sold on the DVD's that deliver interactive 3-D fantasies to millions of PlayStation 2 and Xbox game consoles.

This game, sold exclusively on the Internet and downloaded onto players' personal computers, is challenging many of the conventions of video gaming. Such simple games - often called casual games - are growing more prominent in the ever-broadening game marketplace, becoming big sellers on a small budget.

On Screens, but Not Store Shelves: Casual Games [NYTimes.com]

StartupJournal: On a recent trip to the local mall, Suzy Lee ran her usual errands, shopping for her two children at Gymboree and buying makeup and a few basics at Neiman Marcus.

But before leaving, she made a slight detour to Talulah G, a boutique with a name most shoppers wouldn't recognize. The independently-owned shop, which opened at the Las Vegas Fashion Mall in 2002, sells designer clothes by Valentino, Theory, Balenciaga and Chloé, as well as by hot young designers such as Pegah Anvarian and Ella Moss by Pamella Protzel.

"A department store might carry the same lines, but Talulah G will have a quirkier take on it. It's not so mainstream," says Ms. Lee, 38-years-old, who bought herself a white Michael Kors summer suit and a pair of Citizens of Humanity jeans. She says she stops in at the store a few times a month, whenever she has other things to do at the mall.

America's megamalls, built in the 1970s to showcase big department stores and national specialty chains, have begun to embrace the little guys, a new crop of quirky independent fashion boutiques. As sales at their department-store anchors continue to sag, malls seeking to diversify and increase traffic have been courting these trendy start-ups, which offer intimate service and carefully edited collections from a variety of high-end designers. Some properties even offer leasing and marketing incentives to lure boutiques and the style-savvy clientele that follows them.

As Malls Think Small, Boutiques Get A Chance [StartupJournal]

O-Sync: Recovering your mobile contacts automatically and seamlessly into your phone* is a breeze with O-Sync's Free Over-the-air Contact Synchronization service. O-Sync interplays between the Web and your phone wirelessly, enabling you to backup and perform synchronization of your phone's mobile contact database, anytime anywhere, without cables.

That's not all, Hot Link with your mobile contacts by inviting them into your O-Sync to auto update each whenever contact profiles are edited. Updates will be immediately available and ready for all your hotlink contacts to synchronize into their phones* without requiring any manual editing! No more massive and tedious sms. Likewise, you won't be left out for updates for mobile continuity if you are hotlinked with your mobile contacts.

O-Sync got you synchronized for change, backup and smarter management of your mobile contacts, which may also includes other contact details for auto updates such as: Company, Job Title, Email addresses, physical addresses, websites, other contact numbers (home, work, fax, Pager).

O-Sync transforms your passive mobile contacts into active community with virtually infinite contact space! O-Sync is global, telco neutral and technology friendly.

Now, what are you waiting for?

*You must already have Internet access on your phone with support for SyncML. Nokia terms it as 'Remote over-the-air synchronization with SyncML'.

O-Sync Homepage

Telegraph: Purveyors of speed-dating, the frenetic method of finding love through dozens of noisy three-minute encounters, will have you believe it is responsible for thousands of relationships, more than 50 marriages and at least six babies.

The events are thought to generate up to £5 million a year and about 4,000 people a week take part.

But for the 15 million or so single people who would prefer not to shriek for their wedding supper, 20-year-old Annabelle Baldwyn has devised a genteel alternative: "stroll-dating".

It is an altogether more civilised affair, according to participants. A happy marriage between two of life's great pleasures - dogs and country walks.

Eligible bachelors (brewery owner, 32; insurance seller, 35) meet marriageable ladies (marketing consultant, 34; shop assistant, 24) at a country pub to go a-courting in the Cotswolds, followed by hefty ham sandwiches and a laze in the summer sun.

Two stroll-dates in, the statistics are yet to match those of the speed-dates bean counters, but they are climbing.

Miss Baldwyn, 20, an artist and entrepreneur, came up with the idea after falling in love on a woodland ramble. She bills it as the sedate alternative to "brash" dating events.

Finding true love is as easy as a stroll in a country park [Telegraph]

ThePublican.com: A vending machine for bottled beers and RTDs aimed at pubs, bars and nightclubs is being launched by a young entrepreneur.

Michael Bowes, a 23-year-old from Glasgow, is the man behind BarHand – a "robotic" vending machine which aims to relieve the pressure on busy barstaff.

BoozeBox, a similar vending machine, was launched in March and received criticism on thePublican.com from licensees concerned that it would encourage irresponsible and underage drinking.

However, Mr Bowes says the machines will actually encourage a more responsible attitude. "We are actually working with the police and licensing boards with this innovation and we want to help curb the problem of irresponsible drinking," he said.

"These machines will alleviate the problems with queues and multiple buying."

"When people are waiting for 30 minutes in a queue they will buy four drinks where they would have bought two. So this technology will encourage people to pace themselves more."

The vending machines can be equipped with an age encoder, deactivated by a card bought on the premises, to prevent underage drinkers using the machine, although Mr Bowes admitted that this encoder system would be impractical for bars.

Vending machine to aid responsible retailing, says maker [ThePublican.com]

Iconoculture: Long waits make nights out a drag for patrons, and impatient patrons make nights a drag for waitstaff. Dispensing convenience keeps guests and staff cheery.

Elbows, curses, sneers ... Just another night queuing for drinks. But Barhand could bring that to an end. The torqued vending machine’s robotic arm dispenses bottled brews, cutting queues and easing staff burdens. Barhand’s being rolled out across Europe, and Japan’s Fuji has signed on to sell them worldwide. The beerslinger can chill 300 bottles. And it shuts off when last call arrives. There’s hope Barhand will even reduce binge drinking by discouraging multiple drink orders (EveningTimes.co.uk 6.10.05). On the downside, it’s unknown how overserved patrons and the underage set will be kept from buying potent potables. And, like the SmartMart store, it takes away human interaction. Wait – maybe that’s a good thing…

Belly Up To The Machine? [Iconoculture]

Trendwatching: Yub.com, a wholly owned subsidiary of Buy.com, calls itself the world's first shopping social network, with a mission to "provide word-of-mouth on the web, filtered by trusted relationships." Partnering with the likes of Sony, Apple iTunes, Target, Gap, Linens 'n Things and Footlocker, its virtual mall offers 3.3 million products. Yub customers share their opinions on purchases and everything else in Friendster-style profiles, and receive a 1% cash-back on every item they buy. The TWINSUMER spin? When users buy something that is endorsed in a friend's profile, Yub also gives the friend a 1% cash back (in Yub's own words: "a reward for bypassing the media middle-man"). A true TWINSUMER concept, including proper rewards for hard working Master Twinsumers. Now, edmunds.com, asiahotels.com and tripadvisor.com, please follow suit!

TWINSUMER [Trendwatching]

Mobile Digest: It might seem odd in an age of 3G handsets offering video calling, music playback and even TV, but Vodafone is getting back to basics. Announced on Friday were the first pair of mobiles in its range of handsets titled Vodafone Simply. Made in France by Sagem, the new phones (the VS1, a silver, stylish handset, and the Sagem VS2; a simple black candy bar design) are noddy devices, all big screens and large buttons that are aimed at those groups (we wouldn’t dare to suggest an age, sex or demographic here) who might find other mobis difficult to use. Voda's big idea is that the phone doesn’t need fewer buttons, rather it needs more of them so the Simply has switches for everything from contacts to a ringer setting. They are all large, neatly labelled and generally pretty simple to use.

Vodafone Simply phones [Mobile Digest]

NetImperative: EMI Music UK has tied with Yo! Sushi to provide music and video content to the conveyor belt restaurant chain.

Music content from the record label will be delivered to seven iPods and plasma screens located in two of Yo! Sushi’s newest central London restaurants, in Haymarket and Sedley Place.

The music will be updated regularly and will consist of the latest digital releases from EMI Records, Virgin Records, Parlophone and Blue Note, along with mood and genre-themed play lists.

The iPods, available in listening booths, are part of a marketing collaboration between Yo! Sushi and Apple UK.

Yo! Sushi customers get in-store iPods [NetImperative]

CoolBusinessIdeas Newsletter Issue 18: 06/06/05 - 19/06/05

New Business Ideas/Opportunities Featured In This Issue:

RETAIL
Salvage Retail
Whole House Building Supply and Salvage holds 48-hour salvage sales on the site of soon-to-be-demolished homes where DIY enthusiasts can
scout, remove, and buy parts right off the house.

FOOD & BEVERAGE
Bottled Water for Women
W2O, a vitamin-packed water is uniquely designed for women - a group that’s been largely left high and dry by specialty beverage firms.

Natural Foods
Coleman Natural Foods is offering a new line of all natural beef, poultry, lamb, pork and sausage products to the conventional grocery stores.

Molecular Gastronomy
Molecular gastronomy combines art and science to formulate recipes that challenge conventional thinking about food - a radical food innovation indeed.

Innocent's Juicy Water
Juicy Water by Innocent Drinks comprises of spring water (about 70%) and only real fruit with a dash of sugar: a light and delicious thirst-quencher that's hydrating and healthy.

TECHNOLOGY
Tech Fashion
Digital Wardrobe, by Chantal Mora, demonstrates how we might regain control of imposed technology systems (RFID) by harnessing it as a tool to track the transitory narratives in our daily fashion choices.

ONLINE
(Virtual) Cave Exploration
Splunk Technology is a San Francisco startup out to search not the World Wide Web but the contents of corporations' vast and complex data centers.

CONSUMER GOODS
Chic Appliances
Jenn-Air added glitz to fridges. Now the Maytag division's Attrezzi line adds pizzazz to stand mixers, blenders, and toasters!

Everything DIY
Morning Craft is an online store that carries handmade handbags, accessories, clothing, and toys etc. by small-scale designers, artists, and crafters. It's DIY done right!

Breathing Shoes
Geox shoes, pioneered by Italian entrepreneur Mario Polegato, are designed to leave toes cool because the soles are specially made to allow feet to breathe and perspire elegantly.

Stink No More
Chef Yossi's gel soap not only eliminates odors and kills germs, it has ingredients to help heal nicks and burns. There's also an oil-free shea butter lotion for moisturizing, a tea tree oil/aloe vera burn cream and wet-nappish wipes!

IT
Business Continuity Challenges in the IT Field
A Gartner report has highlighted five issues which are leading a paradigm shift in the way that organisations use and manage IT.

SERVICES
Selling Houses
Tesco plans to sell houses over the Internet, claiming it will charge customers as little as £50 to sell their house online - targeting home sellers who do not wish to pay estate agents' fees.

Got Junk?
1-800-GOT-JUNK? strives to fill a niche between curbside garbage collectors and haulers of heavy-duty waste.

ENTERTAINMENT
Retro TVs, Once More
It's back to the days of Sputnik and the Jetsons for a small company that makes retro televisions for people who could afford the latest in plasma-screen technology!

ADVERTISING
Adsense Middlemen
Search engines like have become so proficient at attracting advertising that even competitors, like newspapers and yellow pages publishers, are now selling ads on their behalf!

Weather Targeting
Yell.com is launching a suite of seasonal interactive ad campaigns, which target creative to regional weather conditions.

Get Your Adpack!
Perth-based advertising agency Breakthrough has released an original and innovative ideas generation tool specifically focused on advertising.

BEAUTY
Anti-Wrinkle Cream for Over 60s
Lancome is hoping to tap into this growing niche of the silver-haired generation with the launch this fall of Platineum, a new anti-aging moisturizer targeting women aged 60-plus.

View this issue of the CoolBusinessIdeas Newsletter by clicking here. Subscribe for free (bonus gifts included with subscription) by clicking here.

Cool Hunting: Because of Cool Hunting's unusually high alcohol content this week, it seems prudent to balance out our rampant vices with a little virtue. Thus it is my temperate pleasure to introduce a more righteous source of refreshment: Juicy Water by Innocent Drinks. The health-focused U.K. company is taking aim at the shortcomings of most juice drinks: they're either packed with preservatives or simply far too sweet. Innocent's solution is to start with spring water (about 70% of the mix) and add only real fruit and a dash of sugar. The result is a light and delicious thirst-quencher that's hydrating and healthy. Though the drinks aren't yet available stateside, Britons can enjoy them in four flavors: black currant, cranberry-raspberry, lemon-lime, and mango-passion fruit.

Juicy Water [Cool Hunting]

Influx Insights: Dismissed by many as a fad, molecular gastronomy has a new found legitimacy, as last week, Britain's The Fat Duck was named the world's best restaurant.

At The Fat Duck you will find the most extraordinary menu items imaginable. The Degustation Menu includes; snail porridge, sardine on toast sorbet, salmon poached with liquorice, white chocolate and caviar and smoked bacon and egg ice cream.

Herve Bluemental of the Fat Duck and Ferran Adria of El Bulli in Spain are two of the leading proponents of the molecular gastronomy. These chefs combine art and science to formulate recipes that challenge conventional thinking about food.

It's their passion for experimentation and their dedication to the science of food, (both have laboratories) which makes these men the world's leading gastronomic innovators.

Radical food innovation [Influx Insights]

USAToday: Brian Scudamore keeps proving that one man's junk is another man's treasure.

The 35-year-old businessman has gone from high school dropout to CEO of a fast-growing trash-removal empire that aims to become to the junk world what FedEx has become to package delivery. His company, 1-800-GOT-JUNK?, operates franchises in large metropolitan areas in the USA and Canada, including Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas and Washington, D.C.

Scudamore, the son of a Canadian liver transplant surgeon, attributes his company's success to superior customer service in markets with weak competition, usually small mom-and-pop operations with one truck.

1-800-GOT-JUNK? uses shiny Isuzu trucks with uniformed drivers who call customers to confirm a pickup. Customers book online (www.1800gotjunk.com) or by calling a toll-free number.

They can designate a two-hour period for pickup. The company strives to fill a niche between curbside garbage collectors and haulers of heavy-duty waste.

"No competitors offer the level of service that we do," says Scudamore, who was born in San Francisco and lived there until his family moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, when he was 8.

Rubbish Boy turned junk into his career [USAToday]

Iconoculture: DIY homebodies looking for the perfect retro pieces like the thrill of the hunt, and this one engages them in the process from start to finish.

"Everything must go!" – for real. Whole House Building Supply and Salvage holds 48-hour salvage sales on the site of soon-to-be-demolished homes where DIY enthusiasts can scout, remove, and buy building parts right off the house.

Everything from indoor paneling to patio flagstone is up for grabs at the sales, held throughout northern California and open to contractors and consumers alike. Resourceful shoppers get a real charge out of picking up French windows, crown molding, kitchen cabinets, or name-brand appliances on the cheap. But eco-minded salvagers also get the satisfaction of knowing they’re recycling materials that might otherwise be dumped into landfill.

Up for Grabs [Iconoculture]

gizmag: Perth-based advertising agency Breakthrough has released an original and innovative ideas generation tool specifically focussed on advertising. The card-based system is designed to assist in concept generation and media selection and is one of the cleverest concepts we've seen to help with brainstorming communications strategies. Adpack is a card-based tool made up of trigger or strategy cards which contain proven techniques that are current and relevant in today's business divided into three sections - Media, Offer and Power Words. Each of these cards can be combined to create powerful marketing ideas.

Adpack is also an educational and lateral thinking tool designed to catalyse the brainstorming process and is an ideal way of including the people who know the business best (the staff) in the process.

Innovative Advertising Ideas Generation Tool [gizmag]

Cosmetics design.com: With increasing market research indicating that there is untapped potential in the silver-haired generation, Lancome is hoping to tap into this growing niche with the launch this fall of Platineum, a new anti-aging moisturizer targeting women aged 60-plus.

Although the company currently markets a number of products aimed at mature women, this is the first time it has marketed a product specifically at this particular age category – one that is all too frequently overlooked by skincare companies.
However, with the first of the baby boomer generation now starting to reach this age category, combined with the fact that they are more affluent than previous generations and more fixated on youthful looks, new marketing potential is beginning to show.

Lancome launches anti-wrinkle cream for over 60s [Cosmetics design.com]

DailyCandy: Do you smell something?

It was there when you got up this morning. There was still a hint of it on your route to work. And even now it lingers. But you can't quite put your finger on it.

Well, actually, it is your finger. All of them.

Last night's dinner coup — your famous homemade garlic bread — is absolutely to blame. Even though you rinsed your hands with lemon juice, it didn't exactly do the trick.

Homegrown remedies are all well and good, but for something that really works, turn to Chef Yossi's gel soap. Not only does it eliminate odors and kill germs, it has ingredients to help heal nicks and burns. There's also an oil-free shea butter lotion to moisturize over-cleansed skin, a tea tree oil/aloe vera burn cream that medicates and numbs on contact, and wet-nappish wipes for those shellfish feasts that leave you with that not-so-fresh feeling.

Just because something was finger-licking good doesn't mean it should stick around.

Everything but the Kitchen Stink [DailyCandy]

Revolution Magazine: Yell.com is launching a suite of seasonal interactive ad campaigns, which target creative to regional weather conditions.

The first wave of creative, running until July, aims to promote Yell.com's range of services and is based on the "great British summer". It will be followed by a new push in autumn.

Expandable skyscraper ads predominantly targeting London's office workers will show maps of the UK displaying the weather in different regions, with a real-time weather feed triggering different creative executions depending on local conditions.

The ads suggest a suitable activity according to the city it is viewed from: a user logging on to www.thisislondon.com on a warm day in the capital will see a "sunny, outdoor" execution. If it is wet, the ad might suggest visitors search its directory for bowling alleys.

The campaign, developed by agency AKQA with media planning from i-level, involves home-page takeovers on Tiscali and Yahoo!, and targets information sites including Trainline, London Eating and Streetmap. Yell.com is aiming at the 20-26 age group through ads on music and entertainment sites including Mean Fiddler, The Raft, Channel 4 and Big Brother, and creative is further tailored to the site it is placed on: users of Property Finder will see an execution tailored to those searching for a house on a hot summer's day.

Yell.com ads to reflect weather come rain or shine [Revolution Magazine]

The Australian: Hollywood superstar Angelina Jolie wears them; so do Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, King Juan Carlos of Spain and Prince Albert of Monaco.

They're Italy's all-the-rage Geox shoes, pioneered by Italian entrepreneur Mario Polegato. They're designed to leave toes ever so cool because the soles are specially made to allow feet to breathe and perspire elegantly.

In a country that takes great pride in producing exquisite footwear, Mr Polegato is especially proud of his Geox shoes - all fitted with a patented membrane which aims to deal with the age-old problem of, well, smelly feet.

"This invention is a revolution in the world of shoes," said the president of Geox and inventor of the "breathing" shoes with tiny holes in the soles which allow perspiration to escape while blocking out water and the cold.

Today, Geox sells more than 9 million pairs of shoes worldwide. They're the fourth most popular leisure shoe in the world behind Clarke's, Timberland and Ecco.

Shoes that can breathe? What a feat! [The Australian]

We Make Money Not Art: Digital Wardrobe, by Chantal Mora, tries to demonstrate how users might regain control of imposed technology systems (namely RFID) by harnessing it as a tool to track the transitory narratives in our daily fashion choices.

This system is made of an RFID tracking system, a database, and an interface. First, users take a picture of the garment, put an RFID tag to it and map the picture and the tag number in their database. When users get dressed and walk out the door, an RFID reader detects the tags in each piece of clothing and sends the information to the PC. Users can view the garment narrative on their PC: when the item was last worn, how it was accessorized, how much it cost and, according to how often the piece has been worn, what's the $ per use, etc.

Tech Fashion [We Make Money Not Art]

The New York Times: Consider this somewhat strange development: search engines like Google and Yahoo have become so proficient at attracting advertising that even competitors, like newspapers and yellow pages publishers, are now selling ads on their behalf.

Newspapers like The Houston Chronicle, which is owned by the Hearst Corporation, and yellow pages publishers like the BellSouth Corporation and SBC Communications have recently turned themselves into de facto agents for the search engines in the small-business market, where the Internet companies have had limited success.

Businesses like yellow pages publishers, which exist solely to serve the local advertiser that Google and Yahoo covet, may appear to be cutting their own throats by passing those customers onto the search engines. But the publishers argue that they are taking advantage of the chance to make additional money, while also studying the search engines closely enough to determine a long-term strategy to compete with them.

Ad Agents for the Search Engines [The New York Times]

NetImperative: Tesco has announced it plans to sell houses over the Internet, claiming it will charge customers as little as £50 to sell their house online.

The supermarket giant is targeting home sellers who do not wish to pay estate agents' fees, who usually charge between one and two per cent of the selling price as commission.

According to a report in trade magazine the Grocer, Tesco is currently working with designers to create the site, which will include a virtual tour of properties.

Potential buyers will have to register their credit card details online in order to view properties.

Buyers can then contact house sellers directly using coded phone numbers, which means that vendors do not need to reveal their home numbers.

Tesco to sell houses online [NetImperative]

DailyCandy: Some would find your attitude negative.

But you take comfort in accepting that there are some things you won't do in this lifetime. Piloting a space shuttle, passing the bar, and swimming the English Channel are all pursuits you're happy to leave to others.

That goes double for crafting.

Especially when there are talents of the caliber found on Morning Craft, an online store that carries handmade housewares, handbags, accessories, clothing, paper goods, and toys by small-scale designers, artists, and crafters. Clutches made from neckties? They've got 'em. Sushi toilet paper cozies? Grab a couple and tell guests you made them yourself. And the plush donut dolls make great gifts. It's DIY done right.

Which means you — thank goodness — don't have to do it at all.

Morning Glory [DailyCandy]

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: It's back to the days of Sputnik and the Jetsons for a small company that makes retro televisions for people who could afford the latest in plasma-screen technology. With their funky shapes and stained-wood finishes, Predicta televisions capture the spirit of the 1950s and 1960s but use modern electronics and have color screens.

"The spirituality of the TV is what's important," said David Riedel, owner of Telstar Electronics, the producer of Predictas - a television that had a cult-like following in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

In the basement of his rural home, Riedel and about five employees custom-build televisions based on the original Predicta designs from Philco Co., which filed for bankruptcy protection in 1962. This month, Riedel is moving into bigger digs in the Dousman area, partly so that he has more room to work. His company builds about eight models of the Predicta, including the Pedestal version that originally had a yellow painted top and a mahogany-finish cabinet. Everything on the retro televisions is meant to be functional, rather than window dressing, including the big knobs, dials and swivel screens.

There weren't enough of the original Predictas in circulation to restore them in meaningful numbers, so building new versions was the better choice. The new Predictas sell for between about $1,400 and $3,600. It takes at least 40 hours to build each television, and sometimes there's a waiting list to get them.

Retro TVs, this time in color [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]

Continuity Central: A Gartner report has highlighted five issues which are leading a paradigm shift in the way that organisations use and manage IT. Gartner believes that voice/data convergence; service-oriented architecture; IT utility; global sourcing; and the growth of open-source software are all combining to create a new approach to information technology.

"These five trends represent inevitable and irrevocable shifts in the information technology landscape," says David W. Cearley, a Gartner Research vice president. "In the face of such shifts IT decision-makers must ask — 'When do I have to face up to this, or end up left behind?'”. The same applies to business continuity managers, for where information technology leads, business continuity must follow. These five issues are all areas which BCMs must be fully aware of.

For an overview of the analysis, click here
For more details, visit Gartner

Changing IT landscape presents new business continuity challenges [Continuity Central]

PorkMag.com: Coleman Natural Foods, the largest natural meat company in the United States, is offering a new line of all natural beef, poultry, lamb, pork and sausage products to the conventional grocery stores. The new "Coleman Purely Natural" line will be offered in dedicated natural meat sections within conventional grocery stores across the country.

"The entire food industry is undergoing some of the most profound changes in its history. In recent years, the demand for premium natural foods has grown at an incredible rate," says Mel Coleman Jr., Chairman, Coleman Natural Foods.

Coleman will offer its new line under the Coleman Purely Natural Products brand name.

Coleman Natural Foods Announces New Product Line [PorkMag.com]

Iconoculture: Adding chic styling to old standbys lets stylish homeowners mix spicy, utilitarian elements throughout the home.

Jenn-Air added glitz to fridges. Now the Maytag division's Attrezzi line adds pizzazz to stand mixers, blenders, and toasters. Touted as a "modern renaissance," the line of coordinating appliances features etched glass, antique copper and oiled bronze finishes, and plenty of graceful curves. The toaster even browns bagels in a choice of seven shades. Mixing bowls and blender pitchers, both in 10 colors, are designed for double duty, going from kitchen counter to dining table. When done, removable cords let them sit statuesquely. And these babies are pricey. A mixer set goes for $360, while the blender set dents purses by $210. Even at those prices these chic appliances won’t make batter better. But like the Cyclone fireplace and CafeSolo coffeemaker, Attrezzi appliances do bring glamour to utilitarian standbys, letting homeowners add spicy elements throughout the house, even while covered in flour.

Counter Art [Iconoculture]

BocaNews.com: A businesswoman from Boca Raton is about to take the plunge into the bottled water market.

But she’s targeting a group that’s been largely left high and dry by specialty beverage firms.

In late June, she hopes to begin vending W2O, a vitamin-packed water "uniquely designed for women," said Lila Newman, owner of Double A Beverage LLC and creator of the product with her husband, Stewart Newman, an OB/GYN.

Like many entrepreneurs, Lila saw a need for the special drink. "I was doing research into vitamin-enriched beverages," she said. "I found nothing specific to women."

As a mother and a multi-tasking businessperson, Newman knows that
"women need specific nutrients."

Women have different nutritional needs than men, she said. That conclusion has even been noted on the newly revised food pyramid, which differentiates those needs.

"Today's women need to multi-task to meet every-day challenges," she said. "As a result, they sometimes neglect their own nutritional needs. Eating in a rush, driving to appointments, working and taking care of other duties leave us with a need to re-focus on our health needs."

Just what’s so special about this specialty water? "One of the most important ingredients is folic acid," she said. "This is recommended to prevent birth defects and heart disease."

And there’s B12, to help women absorb folic acid.

Boca entrepreneur develops vitamin-packed bottled water ‘uniquely designed for women’ [BocaNews.com]

BusinessWeek's The Tech Beat: I remember when the Google boys came to visit BW the first time, hopped up on ideas, pitching a new way to search the Web. Boy were they right. The folks from a new kind of search company, Splunk Technology, can only hope they do one-tenth as well. The tiny San Francisco startup is out to search not the World Wide Web but the contents of corporations' vast and complex data centers. The name is a takeoff on spelunking, the exploration of caves. The company's founders decided to take the name after they heard from early testers of their technology that it was like diving into the dark depths of the data center and poking around. They took their own cave exploration trip to test out the metaphor, and the name stuck.

The company was formed a little over a year ago by three serial entrepreneurs who earned their stripes at the likes of Yahoo!, Infoseek, eBay, and Bank of America. Their aim was to tame the complex technology beast. Their product, which is to be released in August, combs the datacenter real time, discovers what's going on (or wrong), and explains it to datacenter operators so they can optimize or fix things. "We turned our search engine roots on the datacenter rather than the Net," says CEO and Chief Splunker Michael Baum.

Splunk is one of a bunch of startups who hope to help the industry fulfill its vision of making computing as simple and reliable as electricity. Virtualization technologies are all the rage these days, but, by putting a cloud of software abstraction between applications and the hardware that handles them, another layer of complexity is added to the task of understanding and managing big computing systems. "All of this stuff about virtual computing and utility computing," says Baum. "Every tech vendor is running around saying, 'We're going to eliminate your complexity.' But it pops up elsewhere."

Splunk It [The Tech Beat]

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Clean Gardening [Cool Hunting]