Punchbowl awarded ?Best Consumer Tech that Makes Life Easier? at the 2011 MITX Innovation Awards

Framingham, MA (PRWEB) June 22, 2011

Punchbowl, the one-stop site for start to finish party planning, has been selected winner in the category of ?Best Consumer Tech that Makes Life Easier? at the 2011 MITX Innovation Awards.

The annual MITX Innovation Awards program is the largest awards competition of its kind and celebrates innovations powering the future of marketing and revolutionizing the way we work and play. The MITX Award winners were announced in 11 general categories, several ?Best of? categories, the PricewaterhouseCoopers Promise Award, People?s Choice Awards for VC and Angel Investor of the Year. The sold-out ceremony was held on June 16th at the Westin Boston Waterfront.

?We created the Innovation Awards to give exciting digital and Internet companies a chance to showcase their ideas and creativity,? said MITX President Debi Kleiman. ?This year?s winners represent the very best of New England?s talent, and MITX is thrilled to honor their achievements.?

Punchbowl is the leading destination site for start to finish party planning. The site offers a modern, effortless way to plan a party with innovative features that include customizable online invitations, potluck organization, gift registries, local vendor search and much more. Punchbowl guides a host through all of the steps of party planning and solves common problems along the way. The site is extremely popular with moms and is ideal for summer gatherings, birthday parties, baby showers, holiday parties, and more.

?To be honored as the ?Best Consumer Tech that Makes Life Easier? is wonderful validation of what our customers have been telling us all along,? said Matt Douglas, Founder & CEO, Punchbowl. ?Innovation is at the heart of what we do at Punchbowl every day.?

Judges for the MITX Awards included over 100 industry professionals representing various disciplines including creative directors, designers, technologists, online media representatives, investors, and business professionals. The 2011 Innovation Awards were sponsored by Digitas, Isobar, DLA Piper, PricewaterhouseCoopers, The Atom Group, BostInnovation, ISITE Design, Metropolis Creative, TCN, and VentureFizz.

Sign up for free Punchbowl account at http://www.punchbowl.com

About Punchbowl Software Inc.

Punchbowl Software is the company behind the critically acclaimed website Punchbowl.com. Punchbowl is the one-stop site that helps smart moms and savvy professionals plan a party from start to finish. The site offers a modern, effortless way to plan an unforgettable celebration with party planning features including customizable online invitations, potluck organization, gift registries, local party vendors and much more. Punchbowl also licenses its technology to leading retailers such as Oriental Trading Company and 1-800-FLOWERS. Founded by software and user interface experts Matt Douglas and Sean Conta, the company is located in Framingham, MA and is backed by Contour Venture Partners and Intel Capital. To learn more, visit http://www.punchbowl.com/corporate

About MITX

Established in 1996, MITX -- the Massachusetts Innovation & Technology Exchange -- is the leading industry organization focused on the web and mobile, bringing together the digital marketing, media and technology community to engage in what?s next and how it will impact the marketing and business worlds. Connecting more than 7,500 professionals in New England, MITX is a dynamic community of thought leaders and collaborators in search of insight, education and opportunity. Creator of FutureM, MITX is located in Cambridge, MA. For more information, visit http://www.mitx.org/.

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Sand Mandala Experience 2011 Comes to Dallas, TX, Jan 26-31, 2011

Richardson, TX (PRWEB) January 3, 2011

The Sand Mandala Experience 2011 event is being presented by Palyul Changchub Dhargyayling Dallas as part of our ongoing service to the DFW community.

? Traditional Tibetan Sand Mandala Creation

? Prayers for World Peace and Healing

? Lama Dance with Full Instrumentation and Costumes (Lamas from Palyul Namdroling Monastery, India)

? Meditation and Inner Peace Teachings and Lectures

? Vajrasattva Mandala: Purification, Healing, Compassion and Enlightenment

The Sand Mandala is part of the artistic traditions of Tibetan Buddhism and ranks as one of their most unique and exquisite cultural art forms. Over several days the monks painstakingly place millions of grains of sand ? grain by grain ? into a sacred symbolic form until the sand mandala is finished. Then in a ceremony of dedication and blessings to all beings, the mandala is destroyed. The sand is swept into an urn and taken ceremoniously to a river or stream where the sand is then dispersed, its blessings to be carried all over the world.

In Tibet, this art is known as sand mandala painting. Working on a square platform, Tibetan monks create an intricate geometric design with brightly colored sand as part of a spiritual practice designed to re-consecrate the earth.

The Lama Dance is an ancient sacred dance ritual performed to ceremonial music by lamas wearing rich, colorful costumes and ornate masks. This auspicious ceremony is carefully orchestrated in great detail, with every bodily movement conveying a precise symbolic meaning. Done with great spiritual devotion and the aspiration to benefit all living beings, immeasurable blessings of loving-kindness, compassion and peace are generated and dispersed through this healing art of dance and music.

As Khenchen Tsewang Gyatso Rinpoche (Spiritual Director of PCD Dallas) has remarked, ?Right now you have a full opportunity: you can really apply yourself into some [meditation and spiritual] practice?This is a great opportunity?this is something very great and wonderful and amazing that could heal yourself and benefit your family and relatives and all sentient beings.?

The Sand Mandala Experience 2011 event is also a fund-raising effort for the PCD Dallas Temple Building Project. PCD Dallas has acquired land and is building the first authentic Tibetan Buddhist temple in the region.

The temple will be a focus for the Preservation of the Arts and Culture of Tibet and Nepal, with interior artwork and traditional decor created by Tibetan and Nepalese craftspeople trained in traditional methods of arts and construction. The completed PCD Dallas temple will be a shining beacon of Arts and Cultural Preservation.

Your help in funding the PCD Dallas temple building project will ensure the preservation of Arts and Culture of Tibet and Nepal in the North Texas region into the next millennium. And will benefit sentient beings in uncountable positive ways.

More about the PCD Dallas Temple Building Project: http://www.pcddallas.org/donations/pcd-dallas-temple-building-project/

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Designer Clothing Fashion Trends 2011: Top 9 by PrimeRunway.com

New York, NY (PRWEB) March 18, 2011

Designer clothing is particularly susceptible to seasonal trends of fashion.

And indeed, even though it?s considered silly and distasteful to dress excessively trendy, one would be a fool to ignore the trends completely. Wearing designer clothing is in itself believed by some to be automatically trendy. But this is a regretful misconception.

As a designer clothing shop PrimeRunway.com has stepped onto a path of educating the masses about the proper use of fashion trends. Our first and most important advice for now will be to approach the trends as if they were seasonal accouterments to your unique personal style. The most secure route with designer clothing is probably to dress trendy enough so as not to appear ignorant of the trends and not a bit trendier than that. With that in mind, here is the PrimeRunway.com list of top 9 designer clothing trends for spring-summer 2011.

1. The '70s are back. Bright colors, platforms and even jumpsuits will be very hot this upcoming season.

2. Neutral colors and monochromatic looks are also going to be very much in style especially combined with one bright item.

3. Women's designer clothing is going to be all about wide-legged pats with high waist and layering with sheer fabrics.

4. Faux fur is very ?now? this season.

5. Men?s designer clothing (as well as ladies designer clothing to a certain extent) will be very much inspired by biker style. A biker leather jacket is a must have for every man this spring. Likewise,

leather biker-inspired accessories and shiny buckles have made a return.

6. Prints and stripes have also been prominent in many definitive 2011 collections.

7. High heels will not be extremely popular. Instead, women will tend to wear comfortable flat-bottom shoes or platforms.

8. While belts for women are going to be in great demand, there is a very palpable trend in menswear towards going beltless this spring and summer.

9. Also, in men's designer clothing, shorts will be very contemporary this summer.

For more information on our publications and to learn more about 2011 designer clothing trends please visit PrimeRunway.com.

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Mariani Landscape Restores, Refreshes Garden for Infant Welfare Society House; 2011 Fundraiser Scheduled April 30-May 21, Lake Forest, Ill.

Lake Bluff, IL (PRWEB) April 15, 2011

For more than 20 years, Mariani Landscape (http://www.marianilandscape.com) ?a premier residential and commercial landscape design, installation and maintenance firm?has supported the bi-annual Lake Forest Showcase Home & Garden fundraiser for Infant Welfare Society of Chicago (http://www.infantwelfaresociety.org). Mariani is partnering with Infant Welfare again this year, creating and donating a garden for the Thorndale Manor estate.

?We value Infant Welfare?s mission: to provide quality, community-based health care to under- and uninsured women and children who otherwise couldn?t afford it,? says Frank Mariani, chief executive officer of Mariani Landscape. ?It?s an honor to help this organization celebrate 100 years of caring.?

?Our theme this year is simple elegance,? explains Mariani Landscape Architect Carrie Woleben-Meade, ASLA, LEED AP, who designed the garden. ?This certainly fits Thorndale Manor, which was built in 1916.

?The west terrace is wrapped by a balustrade and has grand views of a stunning oak savanna,? she says. ?We restored the space and introduced stone lattice work to the panel in the middle of the lawn?a nod to the whimsical patterns found on the interior floors of the residence. Then we flanked this panel with two parterre garden spaces, each filled with lush spring flowers. The terrace itself was softened with groupings of urns filled with plants selected for form, foliage and texture.?

Thorndale Manor will be open to the public from April 30 to May 21. For more information on the home and gardens, and to purchase tickets, go to http://www.lakeforestshowhouse.com.

About Mariani Landscape

Mariani Landscape has a reputation for transforming residential and commercial landscapes into outdoor rooms that reflect its clients? lifestyles and enhance the value of their homes, offices and retail spaces. Among its high-profile and award-winning work is Evening Island at the Chicago Botanic Gardens. The company also protects its clients? landscaping investment and provides long-term value by maintaining their properties to the highest standards. Mariani serves clients throughout Chicagoland and is IS0 9001 certified for superior quality. For more information, please visit http://www.marianilandscape.com.

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Bluebird Soft Inc. Unveils Pidion BIP-1500, Plans ?2011? Launch

(PRWEB) December 1, 2010

Bluebird Soft Inc., a global provider of mobile computers, will showcase the new Pidion BIP-1500 rugged mobile POS for the first public demonstration at Cartes & IDentification 2010 in Paris, France. The Pidion BIP-1500 is the newest model of BIP-1000 series which was the world?s first all-in-one mobile POS integrating voice and data communication. In the present decade, the BIP-1000 series has been constantly upgraded to fit fast demand changes in mobile point of sale market. Thanks to this market-leading product concept, the BIP-1000 series is used in in-flight sales, on-board ticketing, e-citation, parking enforcement, DSD route accounting and sales force automation worldwide.

Especially, the Pidion BIP-1300 mobile POS released in 2006 has shown such versatile improved versions for market specialties as BIP-1300Secure for PCI PED certification, BIP-1300Smart for contactless type smart card reader, and BIP-1300Premium for HSDPA(3.5G) mobile communication. With several years of market-proven experiences, Bluebird Soft is set to unveil its new Pidion BIP-1500 rugged mobile POS, targeting transportation and logistics, wholesales distribution, government, retail, and hospitality market.

Pidion BIP-1500 is the world?s first IP54 rated 3.5G mobile POS including built-in PIN pad which is designed to withstand harsh work environment and enable fast voice and data communication. It is fully integrated with secured payment, flexible data collecting and mobile communication functionalities. It is packed with MSR, IC and RF card reader, built-in PIN pad, 2? thermal printer, 1D laser scanner / 2D CMOS Imager, and 3 megapixel autofocus camera. It is equipped with the Marvel PXA 320@806 MHz processor, runs on Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.5 operating system, and supports GSM / HSDPA (3.5G), 802.11b/g, Bluetooth and integrated GPS.

Jangwon Lee, CEO of Bluebird Soft Inc., said ?I?m very proud to announce our new product plan for Pidion BIP-1000 mobile POS series. Since we delivered all-in-one mobile POS first in the market in 2002, we have seen that the mobile point of sale market stands apart from the traditional payment territory, and we have been listening and responding to special market requirements. At Bluebird Soft, we believe the Pidion BIP-1500, a new creation with our decade of mobile POS expertise, different from that of competing players that jumped into the market only a couple of years ago, will be the best-fit product in the market once again.?

The BIP-1500 rugged mobile POS will be available in 2011.

About Bluebird Soft

Bluebird Soft Inc., founded in 1995, has become one of global leading manufacturers of mobile computers including handheld computers, enterprise PDAs, mobile POS, payment terminals and handheld barcode scanners. Bluebird Soft and its manufacturing facility are based in Seoul, South Korea and it operates branch offices in US and China. It provides versatile product lineup, flexible customization and prompt support under the brand name of Pidion. Its Pidion mobile computers are found worldwide in applications where powerful, reliable and robust devices are paramount, such as in-flight sales, on-board ticketing, store management, law enforcement, parking enforcement, DSD route accounting, inspection, facility maintenance and warehouse operations. For more information about Bluebird Soft, please visit http://www.mypidion.com or call +82-70-7730-8000.

Media Contact

Gina Hong

Bluebird Soft

+82-70-7730-8214

ally(at)bluebird(dot)co(dot)kr

Jada E. Kim

Bluebird Soft

+82-70-7730-8133

ekim(at)bluebird(dot)co(dot)kr

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Infant Lap Seat ?Babee Laptime? Recently featured on The Rebecca Michi Radio Show in October 2011

Belmar, NJ (PRWEB) October 20, 2011

The Rebecca Michi Radio Show recently interviewed Anthony Garofalo, owner and creator of the world?s first infant lap seat called Babee Laptime. During this interview, Anthony starts with a short explanation of how he came up with the idea of inventing Babee Laptime, an in-home newborn carrier and he goes on to explain the growth of the product along with how it has been received favorably by consumers all over.

Rebecca Michi is a Parenting Consultant and Children?s Sleep Specialist who is based in Seattle. She has spent most of her professional life working in different childcare settings. Upon moving back from Brazil with her family, she started her Parenting Consulting business, and in 2010 her radio show had become a reality. Since then, Rebecca had the pleasure of meeting Anthony at the ABC Kids Expo, and upon viewing the product Rebecca was convinced that it was a must-have product and was great product for a baby shower gift. Thus, she decided to promote Babee Laptime on her show.

During the radio interview, Garofalo starts by stating that the first time he found the need of an infant lap seat was when his first two kids were born. At the time there was no product on the market like Babee Laptime, and his idea was shelved as his first two kids grew to young college-aged adults. It wasn?t until the birth of his two younger kids that Anthony put his idea into motion. Today, it is a reality.

The challenge for Garofalo was creating a lap seat that would allow parents, siblings, and relatives to comfortably hold their baby for long periods of time. To accomplish this, Babee Laptime was uniquely designed with a special type of foam that was produced by an environmentally sensitive manufacturer. There is a five-point harness system along with a clip on strap that allows the user to safely, securely, comfortably, and effortlessly hold the child. This system reduces the weight on the individual holding the lap seat while also providing for hands-free use. Furthermore, the lap seat is great for resting infants after feeding. It is constantly emphasized that the proper feeding angle for babies is between 30-45 degrees. Babee Laptime positions your baby at this angle to promote proper digestion after feeding.

Rebecca Michi will be giving away one free Babee Laptime to a lucky winner at the end of October. To become a listener of the radio show, please visit her website at therebeccashow.com. Babee Laptime is recommended for infants weighing as much as 21 pounds and up to 30 inches in length. The fabric is also removable and machine washable, making for your baby seat to feel soft like new every time. For more information about Babee Laptime please visit http://www.babeelaptime.com or call Infant Affection LLC at 1-866-LAPTIME.

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HP SignagePlayer with Scala QuickStart, Scala 5 Release 6 and Intel? AIM Suite Technology at Screenmedia Expo 2011

London (PRWEB) May 11, 2011

Scala, the world?s leading software provider for digital signage networks, will exhibit its latest release of Scala QuickStart that supports HP?s new SignagePlayer at Screenmedia Expo, May 18-19 at Earls Court Exhibition and Conference Center in London (Booth E23).

The new and affordable HP SignagePlayer/Scala QuickStart solution features a locked-down Microsoft? Windows? Embedded operating system and a preconfigured Scala Player for outstanding performance and reliability.(1) Displaying videos, pictures, crawls, interactive Adobe? Flash and Scala scripts with dynamic text or graphics in any combination up to 1080p allows the system to be used in a wide range of applications. HP SignagePlayers can also be easily connected to any Scala Content Manager anywhere in the world.

?Never before has setting up a full-featured digital signage player been this easy,? said Gerard Bucas, Scala?s Chief Executive Officer. ?We?re incredibly pleased to introduce this new service in conjunction with the new Scala certified players from HP. We believe we have achieved a significant breakthrough for the industry.?

At Screenmedia 2011, HP will provide all PCs and all of the 26 screens used in the Scala stand, including HP?s 42-inch digital signage touchscreen and HP?s newest screen, the 47-inch LD4710 with bezels that are less than 18 mm wide. This new digital signage display is thinner, smarter and more connected, giving businesses a full-featured, contemporary and engaging digital signage solution from HP.

Scala 5 Release 6

Scala will showcase a number of features of its next generation software ? Release 6 ? which will be shipping this summer. Release 6 is a significant update that builds on the current Scala platform of Designer, Content Manager and Player. Release 6 highlights:

More Video and Streaming Options
Release 6 adds support for standard H.264 and MPEG2 streaming videos in addition to the support Scala has had for Windows Media Streaming protocols.

Razor-Sharp HD Quality
Capture cards such as the Datapath RGB E-1 video capture card and the BlackMagic Intensity Pro video capture card are now supported in Release 6 for capturing high-definition component video signals at 720p or 1080i, as well as unencrypted HDMI up to 1080p.

Making Life Easier for IT
A common requirement in larger networks is that Scala Content Manager can integrate with LDAP servers such as Microsoft?s Active Directory server. Release 6 will allow Content Manager to integrate with such established enterprise tools.

?Raising the Bar? for dynamic visual effects
Release 6 adds dramatic new visual enhancements for Scala content developed in Designer.

Bridging the Communication Gap
With this new release, Scala is introducing a new bridge server to support new non-PC players such as the SpinetiX Hyper Media Player.

Intel? AIM Suite an Anonymous Video Analytics Technology

Scala will also showcase the measurement capabilities of Intel? AIM Suite (Audience Impression Metrics), which was recently integrated with Scala Ad Manager advertising management software. Experience a live demo at the Scala stand. Intel AIM Suite software uses anonymous face-detection algorithms to aggregate data on the number of people viewing the sign, length of attention, gender and age bracket. It does this while maintaining complete anonymity and consumer privacy.

Real Directional Sound

The audio at the stand will be provided by Parametric Sound Partner Audionation-UK Ltd. The new award-winning HSS-III directional speaker system is designed to target a specific listening area. HSS-III technology uses tightly focused beams of sound to the intended audience in a lightweight and cost effective package. Delivering focused audio messages in conjunction with digital signage, point of sale, kiosks and other screen media.

I-Point

The I-Point is the newest member of the 10 Squared product range. It has a unique aesthetic, which is ideally suited to high-profile locations such as company receptions or hotel lobbies where first impressions are of great importance. The I-Point is a versatile unit and can be used for a number of different applications such as an information point, automatic check-in or interactive advertising.

To request an interview or booth demo with a Scala representative at Screenmedia Expo 2011, contact Harry Horn, Marketing Manager at Scala EMEA.

About Scala

Driving more than 500,000 screens worldwide, Scala is a leading global provider of digital signage and advertising management solutions. Scala is the world?s first connected signage company, offering the leading platform for content creation, management and distribution in digital signage networks and the first unified platform for advertising management of both traditional and digital signage networks. The company's digital signage customers include Rabobank, IKEA, Burger King, T-Mobile, Virgin MegaStore, Warner Brothers, The Life Channel, Rikstoto, Repsol, NorgesGruppen, Audi, ECE Flatmedia, Kaufhof (Metro Group) and thousands more. Advertising management customers include CBS Outdoor, Clear Channel Outdoor and Newad, among others. Scala is headquartered near Philadelphia, USA, and has subsidiaries in Canada, The Netherlands, France, Norway, Germany and Japan, as well as more than 450 partners in more than 60 countries. More information is available at http://www.scala.com.

(1)????Broadband internet access and Scala QuickStart subscription are required and sold separately. The Scala QuickStart subscription may be activated at http://registration.scalaquickstart.com.

?2011 Scala, Inc. 350 Eagleview Blvd. Exton, PA 19341. Scala and the Exclamation Point Logo are registered trademarks of Scala.

Intel is a trademark of Intel Corporation in the United States and other countries.

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Carlton Hobbs Announces Participation at Fine Art Asia Hong Kong October 3-7, 2011

New York, NY (PRWEB) September 18, 2011

Carlton Hobbs, LLC is thrilled to be participating for the first time in Fine Art Asia, the premiere annual fine art fair in Asia located in Hong Kong. We are very excited to join the elite group of galleries exhibiting at Fine Art Asia's 7th edition, which is being held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (Hall 5BC). The fair's opening night preview will be held Sunday, October 2 from 6-9 pm, with the fair lasting from Monday, October 3 to Friday, October 7. Hours for the fair are from 11 am-7 pm from Monday-Thursday and 11 am-6 pm on Friday.

We are very excited to be showing a magnificent group of Continental and some British pieces with a focus on a sumptuous, neoclassical look.

This French mahogany and gilt bronze mounted biblioth?que set with painted marble panels en grisaille illustrates how the revival of interest in ancient architecture and decorations informed designs in the first decades of the 19th century. A series of scholarly studies by such men as Robert Wood, Robert Adam, James Stuart and Nicholas Revett in the second half of the eighteenth century brought English connoisseurs from that time period increasingly into contact with the classical world. Meanwhile, the 1802 publication 'Voyage dans la Basse et la Haute Egypte" by Baron Domenique Vivant Denon introduced a new range of antique motifs into French furniture design.

The bibliotheque is most unusual in its use of marble panels painted en grisaille and is further notable for the more fluid 'organic' mounts that followed after the strict First Empire style. This later development was much championed by J.J. Werner, who sold remarkable pieces to Louis Phillipe.

The design of this large pair of late Louis XVI five-light neoclassical gilt-bronze candelabra is of an austerity rare in the gilded bronze in the Louis XVI period, which predates the distilled classical forms of the Directoire. This pair is almost identical to a candelabrum illustrated in Hans Ottomeyer and Peter Pr?schel's book Vergoldete Bronzen. It is dated to 1785 and ascribed to the same maker as another tri-form candelabrum in the collection Mus?e Nissim de Camondo in Paris. Although the latter piece is ornamented in a more elaborate fashion, Ottomeyer and Pr?schel detected in both pieces elements cast from the same mold.

The Downing College chandeliers, a set of three monumental chandeliers by Peter Bicknell, were originally installed in the Hall at Downing College, Cambridge, while remodeling in the 1960s. Mr. Bicknell was a noted architect as well as a teacher in architecture and art history, author and curator. These chandeliers, installed in the Hall designed in the neoclassical taste by William Wilkins, are an interesting exercise in the fusion of English late classicism, as typified by the Regency style, and mid-20th century modernity. The classical references include a flaming urn, repeating anthemion decoration and applied with swan mounts. Whilst incorporating many of these elements of the classical repertoire, the chandelier is also imbued by a severe and angular quality redolent of mid-20th century design.

Carlton Hobbs' New York office will be open as usual for the duration of the Fair, +1 212 423 9000. Additionally, Carlton and Stefanie can be reached directly by emailing stefanie(at)carltonhobbs(dot)com. Carlton Hobbs LLC is booth number G8 at Fine Arts Asia.

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