Apple has been the king of the digital music world for most of the last decade, and its iTunes Store continues to dominate the online music industry despite recent challenges from Amazon and Google. The combination of a tightly-integrated storefront and killer hardware gave Apple a combination that other competitors were unable to match — but just as consumers started shifting from physical to digital media a decade ago, we're at the beginning of another sea change in music. Companies like Spotify, MOG, and Rdio have emerged over the last few years, offering the promise of all the music you can handle anywhere you go, for the same price each month that you'd pay iTunes for a mere ten songs.
While Apple hasn't yet mustered a response to this growing trend, sticking with its hugely successful virtual record store model, Microsoft just announced it's ready to take on the streaming competition. The new Xbox Music is an all-in-one service that's equal parts iTunes and Spotify — while Microsoft is keeping the same a la carte store that it has offered for years, it's augmenting that with an updated version of its Zune Pass streaming service. For the first time, Microsoft will offer free, ad-supported streaming to anyone using a Windows 8 PC — just like Spotify — or a Windows 8 or RT tablet. There's also a Pandora-style Smart DJ feature for making artist-specific "stations," and for $9.99 a month, users can access also sync music to their Windows Phone 8 device and Xbox 360.
With this new service, Microsoft isn't directly trying to beat Apple — it's going after Spotify, Rdio, and all the rest of the streaming players out there. If Microsoft can be successful, Apple will be in the unfamiliar position of having to play catch-up in the digital music space for the first time. Success for Microsoft is far from assured — the company hasn't made much of a dent in the music world thus far — but it's hoping to use the strength of the Xbox brand, the ubiquity of the Xbox 360 console, and the wave of interest in its massive Windows 8 redesign to carve out a place of strength in the streaming world.
"We really wanted to build something from the ground up that solved a consumer problem," says Jerry Johnson, GM of Xbox Music. "It was clear to us that rebranding Zune doesn't solve the problem." Chief among the issues Johnson's team identified was the fragmented music experience many consumers have to deal with. Many music listeners have legacy collections of MP3s and also now use streaming services, sometimes more than one — Microsoft hopes to offer them a single experience that encompasses all listening options. Easier discovery and sharing of new music is another area that the company hopes to improve upon. "We wanted to do this with an all-in-one solution — music shouldn't be work, it should just work," Johnson says.
Social has long been an Achilles' heel for Apple, and iTunes continues to be no exception. As the software and store are based off an ownership model, users are not permitted to share songs with each other — the only built-in option is sharing links to songs in the iTunes Store via Facebook, Twitter, or email. Ping, Apple's recently-shuttered, first-party attempt at a social music service, was one of the company's most uninspired products and a perfect example of how out-of-touch Apple can be when it comes to the web. Sooner or later, that's going to have to change — if Apple ever launches a music service that isn't based on a la carte purchasing, social integration and easy sharing of music will need to be at the forefront, and the company hasn't yet really proved it's up to the task.
For its part, Microsoft is certainly not downplaying social, but nor is it going overboard at launch. "Sharing of music is very important," Johnson says, "and it's something we believe needs to be done in a measured and careful way." Specifically, Johnson's referring to "passive" sharing via the social graph and Facebook — "the hardcore group will like it if their friends are very much music enthusiasts, but you'll also hear a big group say they get very annoyed at the volume of things that flow through there." Xbox Music allows for active sharing via the Windows 8 charm bar, but passive sharing won't be implemented until next year. In addition to the "overshare," Johnson also wants to protect users who might not want to share their "guilty pleasure" listening habits to all of their friends on Facebook — though Johnson wasn't able to share how it'll overcome these pitfalls.
As important as those social hooks are, it's the integration with smartphones and tablets that really makes this generation of streaming, subscription services a viable option compared to their predecessors from the mid-2000s. For years, the vertically integrated iTunes and iPod combo was untouched by competition, but the launch of Apple's App Store in 2008 helped to break up this stranglehold. Finally, competing services had a way into Apple's hardware, which was previously locked down as tight as a bank. As iOS users now have a wide variety of music services to choose from, it seemed that Apple would have to offer streaming services of its own — but Apple's only move into the cloud has been iTunes Match.
2012年10月28日星期日
Zipper open at Main Street Square
It’s just a five-minute drive from the old Seeley and Vanbach stores in Baken Park to their new home upstairs in the Shops at Main Street Square, but the two locations feel worlds apart.
“It’s a great move downtown,” said Mark Bachman, who owns the stores with his wife, Marci, and father, Leonard. “It’s amazing what they’ve done.”
Seeley, Vanbach and The Zipper, a new business also owned by the Bachmans, opened quietly Friday on the newly-remodeled second floor of the Shops at Main Street Square. Crews have spent the past few months remodeling the upstairs of the former Sears building, installing an elevator and stairway and transforming what was once office space into a retail showcase.
The clothing stores open off a common area lit by skylights. A new gift shop, Industrial Glamour, will join them next month (see story), just in time for a Nov. 17 grand opening to celebrate having every space in the Square finished and occupied.
"I think they're going to be really wonderful additions to downtown, and reall to our Shops," said Dan Tribby, property manager for the Shops at Main Street Square. "We're real proud to have them."
For Seeley and Vanbach, the space at Main Street Square is considerably smaller than their previous locations. The Bachmans said they wanted a cozier, more boutique feel to their shops, which they believe will be a good fit with the downtown shopping area and with the stores’ clientele.
“I’ve had this in my mind for about 15 years,” Mark Bachman said. “It turned out really, really nice.”
The Seeley, Vanbach and Zipper stores are all connected, but each space has a separate, distinct feel all its own. Seeley men’s store is casual yet classic. Its dark wood floors, track lighting and glass shelving are offset by antique trunks and other display items, including an old Singer sewing machine that was used by the store’s tailors for years.
“It’s going to be the same Seeley’s,” Bachman said, with many of the longstanding brands the store has sold for decades mixed in with new lines. “We wanted to make it just a nice casual feel to it.”
Tucked in one corner of Seeley’s is a smaller room where customers will go to be professionally fitted for a suit. Built-in cubes of rich dark wood hold stacks of dress shirts and rolls of ties, and a small wooden bar and mini-fridge sit awaiting customers. Behind the bar, track lights showcase a huge black and white image of a group of Homestake miners from long ago.
“Everybody loves this room,” Bachman said. “We wanted to make it special. Our Baken Park store was so wide open.”
Next to Seeley is The Zipper, a jeans-and-shirts shop geared to younger shoppers. Its aura of industrial chic comes from the corrugated metal, reclaimed wood, painted concrete floor and high ceilings. Builders removing lath and plaster from the walls exposed rough brick beneath, which complemented the décor well.
“We thought, ‘That’s perfect,’” Bachman said. “We didn’t fill in any of the holes or anything. It was exactly what we were thinking.”
The Zipper will carry jeans and shirts by Silver, Lucky, Big Star, Mavi, 7 For All Mankind, AG, True Religion, Rock Revival and Diesel, as well as some boots and Tom’s shoes.
“This store gave us the chance to expand into all price ranges,” said Bachman, whose other clothing stores are known for being upscale. “Whoever wants jeans, they’ll find a price point (that works for them).”
Step next door into Vanbach and you enter a light, airy space with lots of wide-silled windows looking out onto Main Street Square and Main Street. The whitewashed wood floor and large chandeliers lend a “shabby chic” feel to the shop, which will carry women’s clothing, jewelry and accessories.
Marci Bachman said that like Seeley, the new Vanbach store will continue to sell some of the same clothing lines as the old store did, while also adding some new ones.
The move to downtown brought things full-circle for Seeley. The men’s clothing store has been in business for more than 75 years and for decades was located on St. Joseph Street. Leonard Bachman began working at the store in 1957 and bought the business from Nelville Seeley in 1975.
Seeley later opened a second store at the Rushmore Mall where Victoria’s Secret is now located. In 1995 Seeley moved to Baken Park, where it was later joined by Vanbach women’s store.
"We really, really welcome the Bachmans back downtown," Tribby said. "It's a great deal to have them move back."
“It’s a great move downtown,” said Mark Bachman, who owns the stores with his wife, Marci, and father, Leonard. “It’s amazing what they’ve done.”
Seeley, Vanbach and The Zipper, a new business also owned by the Bachmans, opened quietly Friday on the newly-remodeled second floor of the Shops at Main Street Square. Crews have spent the past few months remodeling the upstairs of the former Sears building, installing an elevator and stairway and transforming what was once office space into a retail showcase.
The clothing stores open off a common area lit by skylights. A new gift shop, Industrial Glamour, will join them next month (see story), just in time for a Nov. 17 grand opening to celebrate having every space in the Square finished and occupied.
"I think they're going to be really wonderful additions to downtown, and reall to our Shops," said Dan Tribby, property manager for the Shops at Main Street Square. "We're real proud to have them."
For Seeley and Vanbach, the space at Main Street Square is considerably smaller than their previous locations. The Bachmans said they wanted a cozier, more boutique feel to their shops, which they believe will be a good fit with the downtown shopping area and with the stores’ clientele.
“I’ve had this in my mind for about 15 years,” Mark Bachman said. “It turned out really, really nice.”
The Seeley, Vanbach and Zipper stores are all connected, but each space has a separate, distinct feel all its own. Seeley men’s store is casual yet classic. Its dark wood floors, track lighting and glass shelving are offset by antique trunks and other display items, including an old Singer sewing machine that was used by the store’s tailors for years.
“It’s going to be the same Seeley’s,” Bachman said, with many of the longstanding brands the store has sold for decades mixed in with new lines. “We wanted to make it just a nice casual feel to it.”
Tucked in one corner of Seeley’s is a smaller room where customers will go to be professionally fitted for a suit. Built-in cubes of rich dark wood hold stacks of dress shirts and rolls of ties, and a small wooden bar and mini-fridge sit awaiting customers. Behind the bar, track lights showcase a huge black and white image of a group of Homestake miners from long ago.
“Everybody loves this room,” Bachman said. “We wanted to make it special. Our Baken Park store was so wide open.”
Next to Seeley is The Zipper, a jeans-and-shirts shop geared to younger shoppers. Its aura of industrial chic comes from the corrugated metal, reclaimed wood, painted concrete floor and high ceilings. Builders removing lath and plaster from the walls exposed rough brick beneath, which complemented the décor well.
“We thought, ‘That’s perfect,’” Bachman said. “We didn’t fill in any of the holes or anything. It was exactly what we were thinking.”
The Zipper will carry jeans and shirts by Silver, Lucky, Big Star, Mavi, 7 For All Mankind, AG, True Religion, Rock Revival and Diesel, as well as some boots and Tom’s shoes.
“This store gave us the chance to expand into all price ranges,” said Bachman, whose other clothing stores are known for being upscale. “Whoever wants jeans, they’ll find a price point (that works for them).”
Step next door into Vanbach and you enter a light, airy space with lots of wide-silled windows looking out onto Main Street Square and Main Street. The whitewashed wood floor and large chandeliers lend a “shabby chic” feel to the shop, which will carry women’s clothing, jewelry and accessories.
Marci Bachman said that like Seeley, the new Vanbach store will continue to sell some of the same clothing lines as the old store did, while also adding some new ones.
The move to downtown brought things full-circle for Seeley. The men’s clothing store has been in business for more than 75 years and for decades was located on St. Joseph Street. Leonard Bachman began working at the store in 1957 and bought the business from Nelville Seeley in 1975.
Seeley later opened a second store at the Rushmore Mall where Victoria’s Secret is now located. In 1995 Seeley moved to Baken Park, where it was later joined by Vanbach women’s store.
"We really, really welcome the Bachmans back downtown," Tribby said. "It's a great deal to have them move back."
2012年10月24日星期三
Nokia to bring division from Itasca to Chicago
Nokia will move its Mobile Phones Xpress Internet Services division from Itasca to Chicago starting later this year, bringing 150 jobs to the West Loop.
The company and Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced the move Tuesday at 425 W. Randolph St., where the Finnish technology company has its Chicago office. Nokia also plans to add 100 local tech jobs to its Location & Commerce business. Nokia expanded that business with its 2008 acquisition of digital mapping company Navteq and is making a big push with its mapping services, particularly on mobile phones and in-dash vehicle navigation systems.
The Chicago office, with about 1,200 employees, is Nokia's largest in North America. The move from Itasca and the new hires will push the count close to 1,500. There were no financial incentives involved in moving the Itasca team to Chicago.
"We've been perfecting digital maps for more than 15 years in the Chicago area," said Ogi Redzic, vice president, traffic, at Nokia Location & Commerce. "To help achieve that, we're actively recruiting for employees in Chicago."
The Location & Commerce unit also has operations in Boston and Berlin. Nokia has sensor-equipped cars driving around 190 countries to gather mapping data and provides turn-by-turn navigational guidance in about 110 countries.
Emanuel met with Stephen Elop, global CEO of Nokia, on Aug. 1 to discuss the company's move and its broader plans for Chicago. On Tuesday, the mayor returned to his frequent theme of touting Chicago's standing as a high-tech job center.
"We are making Chicago not only a center for technology, a center for research and development ... in fact, the technology will now be developed, enhanced and shipped around the world to Nokia's centers in the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) and other developing economies," Emanuel said. "Now, I think this is another example, when it comes to what I would say is the Second City, we are not second to anybody in developing this technology."
In August, Nokia announced a partnership with Chicago-based daily deals company Groupon to integrate real-time Groupon Now offers into the Nokia Maps function on Lumia smartphones. Lumia devices run Microsoft's Windows Phone operating software. Nokia is anchoring its smartphones on Windows mobile software as part of a partnership with Microsoft sealed last year.
The company and Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced the move Tuesday at 425 W. Randolph St., where the Finnish technology company has its Chicago office. Nokia also plans to add 100 local tech jobs to its Location & Commerce business. Nokia expanded that business with its 2008 acquisition of digital mapping company Navteq and is making a big push with its mapping services, particularly on mobile phones and in-dash vehicle navigation systems.
The Chicago office, with about 1,200 employees, is Nokia's largest in North America. The move from Itasca and the new hires will push the count close to 1,500. There were no financial incentives involved in moving the Itasca team to Chicago.
"We've been perfecting digital maps for more than 15 years in the Chicago area," said Ogi Redzic, vice president, traffic, at Nokia Location & Commerce. "To help achieve that, we're actively recruiting for employees in Chicago."
The Location & Commerce unit also has operations in Boston and Berlin. Nokia has sensor-equipped cars driving around 190 countries to gather mapping data and provides turn-by-turn navigational guidance in about 110 countries.
Emanuel met with Stephen Elop, global CEO of Nokia, on Aug. 1 to discuss the company's move and its broader plans for Chicago. On Tuesday, the mayor returned to his frequent theme of touting Chicago's standing as a high-tech job center.
"We are making Chicago not only a center for technology, a center for research and development ... in fact, the technology will now be developed, enhanced and shipped around the world to Nokia's centers in the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) and other developing economies," Emanuel said. "Now, I think this is another example, when it comes to what I would say is the Second City, we are not second to anybody in developing this technology."
In August, Nokia announced a partnership with Chicago-based daily deals company Groupon to integrate real-time Groupon Now offers into the Nokia Maps function on Lumia smartphones. Lumia devices run Microsoft's Windows Phone operating software. Nokia is anchoring its smartphones on Windows mobile software as part of a partnership with Microsoft sealed last year.
2012年10月22日星期一
BMW Urban Mobility
The ITS World Congress is the premier international exhibition for devices, technologies and services associated with intelligent traffic systems. This year’s exhibition hosts a total of 300 exhibitors. The exhibition at the ITS World Congress in 2012 has the motto “smarter on the way”, and it has attracted all the key companies and innovators in this area. The exhibitors cover all aspects of traffic systems including complex information and communication systems, advanced navigation and payment systems through to the areas of safety, ecology and electromobility.
The BMW Group presents innovations from BMW ConnectedDrive at the ITS World Congress under the motto “BMW Urban Mobility”. BMW ConnectedDrive is the BMW Group’s definition of Intelligent Traffic Systems (ITS), because BMW ConnectedDrive provides the occupants of the vehicle and the vehicle itself with an intelligent network to connect them with the outside world. This network offers customers more safety, comfort and infotainment whether it is through driver assistance systems, navigation options or personalized entertainment. The network permits innovations for urban mobility that make interaction with city traffic even safer, more efficient and more convenient. The BMW Group stand presents App and vehicle-based routing functions, safety systems and solutions for mobility on two wheels.
Going about your business quickly and smoothly in a densely populated city is a big challenge. How can I get to my destination on time? Will there be any free parking spaces when I arrive? Where is the nearest charging point for my electric car? Will I be quicker with Park+Ride? The Mobility Assistant from the BMW Group will provide all the answers to these questions in future. It is currently being tested in Berlin as an iPhone application. This service is going to provide individual, intermodal navigation. When you enter a destination, the mobility assistant will display various routes to allow you to reach this destination cost-effectively and quickly – whether you are travelling by car, using suburban public transport or combining the two modes of travel.
“The Mobility Assistant is an initial step towards the reality of actual intermodal traffic use. The objective is to ensure mobility over a range of different modes of transport. This is empowering the BMW Group to support mobility sustainably and tailored to individual needs,” according to Martin Hauschild, Head of Traffic Technology and Traffic Management at the BMW Group. For example, all drivers with BMW cars equipped with ConnectedDrive encompassing RTTI (Real Time Traffic Information) are in a position to obtain the latest information about traffic conditions on the road. This new service is updated every three minutes and shows the current rates of traffic flow on the roads in five stages (gridlocked, congested, heavy traffic, slow-moving traffic, flowing normally).
The concept of intermodal routing is optimally enhanced by the DriveNow package available in Munich, Düsseldorf, Berlin and San Francisco. This Premium Car Sharing with BMW and MINI automobiles is independent of car-hire stations. This service is now available in four cities and is proving to be extremely popular. You can get mobile after completing a simple registration process. If you need a car, the DriveNow App displays the nearest DriveNow vehicle in the vicinity. After you have finished your journey, you can simply park the vehicle at your destination and another driver will be able to use it from that location.
BMW subsumes two functions under the concept of “Urban Navigation” both of which use local “traffic knowledge” to make navigation in cities faster, simpler and more predictable, particularly during rush-hour periods: adaptive navigation and strategic routing. “The BMW Group highlights its leadership role in intelligent and networked route management with the functions of urban navigation,” explained Martin Hauschild, Head of Traffic Technology and Traffic Management at the BMW Group. With strategic routing, the BMW Group is working together with cities to make traffic management data such as information about temporary disruptions (roadworks) or events and strategic diversion recommendation accessible to navigation systems and to take this into account in route planning. These future routing options create a route based on adaptive traffic management that takes local traffic planning into account and enables you to have a smooth drive through the city with minimum impact on the environment.
The BMW Group presents innovations from BMW ConnectedDrive at the ITS World Congress under the motto “BMW Urban Mobility”. BMW ConnectedDrive is the BMW Group’s definition of Intelligent Traffic Systems (ITS), because BMW ConnectedDrive provides the occupants of the vehicle and the vehicle itself with an intelligent network to connect them with the outside world. This network offers customers more safety, comfort and infotainment whether it is through driver assistance systems, navigation options or personalized entertainment. The network permits innovations for urban mobility that make interaction with city traffic even safer, more efficient and more convenient. The BMW Group stand presents App and vehicle-based routing functions, safety systems and solutions for mobility on two wheels.
Going about your business quickly and smoothly in a densely populated city is a big challenge. How can I get to my destination on time? Will there be any free parking spaces when I arrive? Where is the nearest charging point for my electric car? Will I be quicker with Park+Ride? The Mobility Assistant from the BMW Group will provide all the answers to these questions in future. It is currently being tested in Berlin as an iPhone application. This service is going to provide individual, intermodal navigation. When you enter a destination, the mobility assistant will display various routes to allow you to reach this destination cost-effectively and quickly – whether you are travelling by car, using suburban public transport or combining the two modes of travel.
“The Mobility Assistant is an initial step towards the reality of actual intermodal traffic use. The objective is to ensure mobility over a range of different modes of transport. This is empowering the BMW Group to support mobility sustainably and tailored to individual needs,” according to Martin Hauschild, Head of Traffic Technology and Traffic Management at the BMW Group. For example, all drivers with BMW cars equipped with ConnectedDrive encompassing RTTI (Real Time Traffic Information) are in a position to obtain the latest information about traffic conditions on the road. This new service is updated every three minutes and shows the current rates of traffic flow on the roads in five stages (gridlocked, congested, heavy traffic, slow-moving traffic, flowing normally).
The concept of intermodal routing is optimally enhanced by the DriveNow package available in Munich, Düsseldorf, Berlin and San Francisco. This Premium Car Sharing with BMW and MINI automobiles is independent of car-hire stations. This service is now available in four cities and is proving to be extremely popular. You can get mobile after completing a simple registration process. If you need a car, the DriveNow App displays the nearest DriveNow vehicle in the vicinity. After you have finished your journey, you can simply park the vehicle at your destination and another driver will be able to use it from that location.
BMW subsumes two functions under the concept of “Urban Navigation” both of which use local “traffic knowledge” to make navigation in cities faster, simpler and more predictable, particularly during rush-hour periods: adaptive navigation and strategic routing. “The BMW Group highlights its leadership role in intelligent and networked route management with the functions of urban navigation,” explained Martin Hauschild, Head of Traffic Technology and Traffic Management at the BMW Group. With strategic routing, the BMW Group is working together with cities to make traffic management data such as information about temporary disruptions (roadworks) or events and strategic diversion recommendation accessible to navigation systems and to take this into account in route planning. These future routing options create a route based on adaptive traffic management that takes local traffic planning into account and enables you to have a smooth drive through the city with minimum impact on the environment.
2012年10月17日星期三
IT expert creates mobile app to warn fisherman-father of bad weather
Being the son of a fisherman, Rolly Rulete knows quite well what it’s like to be at the mercy of the weather at sea. So using his ingenuity, the computer programmer has found a way to alert his father to an approaching storm with just a few taps of the finger on his cell phone.
Now the hard part is teaching the 53-year-old tuna fisherman how to use a cell phone.
Rulete, 28, is the creator of a mobile application for the government’s flood and weather forecasting tool, Project Noah, or Nationwide Operational Assessment of Hazards, a two-year public-private venture powered by Smart Communications Inc.
The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and Smart launched Wednesday the mobile app developed by Rulete to provide cell phone users on-time information on the weather, including information on the track of storms and the intensity of rains.
The mobile app is available initially only on Android smartphones and tablet computers, but developers are working on versions for Apple and Nokia software.
At the launch of the project at the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) Science Center, Rulete demonstrated how to navigate the app, basically a miniature version of the Noah website.
Rulete, who grew up in Bislig, Surigao del Sur, but now lives in Davao City, donated the rights for the mobile app to Project Noah in the hope the technology would be made available to more people, among them his own father, Mamerto.
“I was motivated to develop this app because I knew it could really be helpful to fishermen like my father,” he said in an interview.
Rulete, a computer science graduate from the University of Southeastern Philippines in Davao City, said most fishermen depended only on television or radio for information on the weather, putting them at risk as they spent whole days out at sea.
He said that in the 1980s an uncle, also a fisherman, went missing in stormy waters, and was never found.
Now Rulete is training village officials in coastal communities, like his hometown, in navigating the Noah mobile app to send out warnings and alerts to fishermen at sea.
“My father is not very good with cell phones and computers, and I think other fishermen are like [him],” Rulete said.
Smart public affairs head Ramon Isberto said Rulete belonged to a new breed of IT technicians called “apptivists,” or people “who were generating applications for innovations for social good.”
“His heart is in the right place… His father is a fisherman so he is very sensitive to weather, and because his father is always at the mercy of the weather,” Isberto said.
Until Wednesday, Noah was available only on its website noah.dost.gov.ph. But now, with the mobile app, Android users can access weather information on the fly.
Since July, Noah has been giving the public access to information taken from the weather bureau’s Doppler radars, satellite imagery, rain and stream gauges, and other forecasting tools in real or near-real time.
Noah’s objective is to improve rain and flood forecasting through speedier and more accurate reporting and wider dissemination of weather information.
Using the mobile app, cell phone users can access Noah’s data taken from a variety of tools, including satellite images, rain and stream gauges, and Doppler radars.
A separate app called “Flood Patrol” enables smartphone users to report flooding in their areas, including the time and date, location and depth of the flood. They can also post pictures and view the reports of other users.
Now the hard part is teaching the 53-year-old tuna fisherman how to use a cell phone.
Rulete, 28, is the creator of a mobile application for the government’s flood and weather forecasting tool, Project Noah, or Nationwide Operational Assessment of Hazards, a two-year public-private venture powered by Smart Communications Inc.
The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and Smart launched Wednesday the mobile app developed by Rulete to provide cell phone users on-time information on the weather, including information on the track of storms and the intensity of rains.
The mobile app is available initially only on Android smartphones and tablet computers, but developers are working on versions for Apple and Nokia software.
At the launch of the project at the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) Science Center, Rulete demonstrated how to navigate the app, basically a miniature version of the Noah website.
Rulete, who grew up in Bislig, Surigao del Sur, but now lives in Davao City, donated the rights for the mobile app to Project Noah in the hope the technology would be made available to more people, among them his own father, Mamerto.
“I was motivated to develop this app because I knew it could really be helpful to fishermen like my father,” he said in an interview.
Rulete, a computer science graduate from the University of Southeastern Philippines in Davao City, said most fishermen depended only on television or radio for information on the weather, putting them at risk as they spent whole days out at sea.
He said that in the 1980s an uncle, also a fisherman, went missing in stormy waters, and was never found.
Now Rulete is training village officials in coastal communities, like his hometown, in navigating the Noah mobile app to send out warnings and alerts to fishermen at sea.
“My father is not very good with cell phones and computers, and I think other fishermen are like [him],” Rulete said.
Smart public affairs head Ramon Isberto said Rulete belonged to a new breed of IT technicians called “apptivists,” or people “who were generating applications for innovations for social good.”
“His heart is in the right place… His father is a fisherman so he is very sensitive to weather, and because his father is always at the mercy of the weather,” Isberto said.
Until Wednesday, Noah was available only on its website noah.dost.gov.ph. But now, with the mobile app, Android users can access weather information on the fly.
Since July, Noah has been giving the public access to information taken from the weather bureau’s Doppler radars, satellite imagery, rain and stream gauges, and other forecasting tools in real or near-real time.
Noah’s objective is to improve rain and flood forecasting through speedier and more accurate reporting and wider dissemination of weather information.
Using the mobile app, cell phone users can access Noah’s data taken from a variety of tools, including satellite images, rain and stream gauges, and Doppler radars.
A separate app called “Flood Patrol” enables smartphone users to report flooding in their areas, including the time and date, location and depth of the flood. They can also post pictures and view the reports of other users.
2012年10月15日星期一
The child stars of Michael Winterbottom's Everyday
It is late afternoon in a red-brick house in north Norfolk, and the four Kirk children are squished on to the sofa, still in their school uniforms, discussing the art of fake fighting. "I fake-punched: I stopped about that far away," explains Shaun, his eyes broad and blue, hands held apart to show the proximity of his punch. "We had to pretend to hit 'em, coz we weren't actually allowed to actual hit 'em, because if we did we'd get into more trouble."
Stephanie, Robert, Shaun and Katrina Kirk are the four stars of Michael Winterbottom's Everyday, in competition at the London film festival this week. Shot intermittently over five years, it features John Simm and Shirley Henderson as a couple coping with his imprisonment for theft. As Simm sees out his jail term, we watch Henderson struggling to care for their children: the challenge of making ends meet, the difficulty of providing enough discipline and love, the loneliness of waiting.
Key to the film's success is its steady rhythm of repetitions: the family home all dolled up each Christmas, the classrooms, the workplaces, the procession of buses and trains in the long journey to visit Simm, the visiting rooms with their plastic chairs and Formica tables. These airless scenes are interspersed with glorious shots of the Norfolk countryside wheeling through the seasons: rippling wheat fields and broad stretches of sand, poppies, hedgerows. Behind them swells a score by Michael Nyman, a frequent Winterbottom collaborator.
The Kirks were first approached in 2007. "Michael had toured around looking for one small boy around Shaun's age," explains Sarah, the children's mother. "They wanted someone who looked like they could be John's son, and they'd done eight or nine primary schools. We had a letter home from school to say they were doing a short film. Then the school rang up and said they wanted to film Shaun playing in his home environment. They didn't realise until then that I had three other children."
Six weeks later, the film-makers were in touch to say they wanted to cast all four children. ("It was Shaun we cast first," Winterbottom tells me later. "He has this amazing face: there's something natural, but also something so expressive. But of course all the children were great.") Their parents were hesitant. "We just thought they were weirdos," their father, Colin, says bluntly. "When we first heard about the film I said, 'Does that sound a bit weird or what?' We had to check up on the internet, make sure they were genuine."
Their fears were allayed when Winterbottom visited to explain what the project would entail, and what he hoped it would produce. "And they seemed genuine," says Colin. "Just nice people. So I said to the kids, 'Do you want to make a film?' They said 'Dunno.' So I explained what it was about and they said, 'Yeah, all right.'"
Filming began a few months later, with the family home doubling as a location. Winterbottom issued the parents with strict instructions not to redecorate for five years, though they rebelled after two ("because it was falling to bits," says Robert). Sometimes a shoot would last a week, sometimes three or four days – but they started at 6am and ran late into the evening. Sarah says the children had breaks and plenty of sweets to see them through, but often the camera shows them looking exhausted and tearful.
Stephanie, Robert, Shaun and Katrina Kirk are the four stars of Michael Winterbottom's Everyday, in competition at the London film festival this week. Shot intermittently over five years, it features John Simm and Shirley Henderson as a couple coping with his imprisonment for theft. As Simm sees out his jail term, we watch Henderson struggling to care for their children: the challenge of making ends meet, the difficulty of providing enough discipline and love, the loneliness of waiting.
Key to the film's success is its steady rhythm of repetitions: the family home all dolled up each Christmas, the classrooms, the workplaces, the procession of buses and trains in the long journey to visit Simm, the visiting rooms with their plastic chairs and Formica tables. These airless scenes are interspersed with glorious shots of the Norfolk countryside wheeling through the seasons: rippling wheat fields and broad stretches of sand, poppies, hedgerows. Behind them swells a score by Michael Nyman, a frequent Winterbottom collaborator.
The Kirks were first approached in 2007. "Michael had toured around looking for one small boy around Shaun's age," explains Sarah, the children's mother. "They wanted someone who looked like they could be John's son, and they'd done eight or nine primary schools. We had a letter home from school to say they were doing a short film. Then the school rang up and said they wanted to film Shaun playing in his home environment. They didn't realise until then that I had three other children."
Six weeks later, the film-makers were in touch to say they wanted to cast all four children. ("It was Shaun we cast first," Winterbottom tells me later. "He has this amazing face: there's something natural, but also something so expressive. But of course all the children were great.") Their parents were hesitant. "We just thought they were weirdos," their father, Colin, says bluntly. "When we first heard about the film I said, 'Does that sound a bit weird or what?' We had to check up on the internet, make sure they were genuine."
Their fears were allayed when Winterbottom visited to explain what the project would entail, and what he hoped it would produce. "And they seemed genuine," says Colin. "Just nice people. So I said to the kids, 'Do you want to make a film?' They said 'Dunno.' So I explained what it was about and they said, 'Yeah, all right.'"
Filming began a few months later, with the family home doubling as a location. Winterbottom issued the parents with strict instructions not to redecorate for five years, though they rebelled after two ("because it was falling to bits," says Robert). Sometimes a shoot would last a week, sometimes three or four days – but they started at 6am and ran late into the evening. Sarah says the children had breaks and plenty of sweets to see them through, but often the camera shows them looking exhausted and tearful.
2012年10月11日星期四
Three important news items about timing
When is the last time you ran a race where you got your mile split times called out to you by a volunteer? If you’re new to running, it may be you’ve never heard a split called, but long-time runners remember the days before lap-counting watches and Garmins, when it was very important to have a volunteer call out mile split times. I’m sure many of you have run races where a digital display gave you your elapsed time along the course, such as the Dallas Marathon, formerly White Rock, but the greatest service is hearing the time called to you, so you don’t miss it.
Except for last year, the Dallas Running Club has provided this service every year at the Half, and they plan to do it again this year on Sunday November 4th. As a runner, you’ll appreciate it I’m sure because you’ll get gun time information, even if your timing device gives you chip time.
Bob Freeman has headed up this volunteer effort for some years, managing the timers, and I’ve had the pleasure of working for him in the past. Basically what happens is this. The volunteers stage at a convenient location, say a mile or so into the course, then listen for the gun by cell phone and start their watches. From there they are dropped off one by one at all the mile marks. I once worked at the half-mile helpfully marked by Ken Ashby, and the runners were grateful to get an early split and adjust pace.
Bob tells me that this year he is short of volunteers, and because I believe the timers provide a real value to the race experience, I promised him I would ask you to step up and volunteer for one of the jobs. And now I’m going to “sell” you on it!
First, if you’ve never done it before, it’s incredibly fun. You’ll get instructions on how to yell out the splits as the runners pass you, nice and loud, and you’ll have lots of time to see your friends, get lots of thanks from the runners and have a great view of the race. So if you’re new to all this and would like to get involved, I promise you’ll get a lot of love from the DRC if you step up. Also, if you’re injured and want to come to the race, this is a great way to visit and keep busy.
The head of the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit gave me an exclusive interview last week on the agency’s restructuring. Chief Supt. Dan Malo said the more that 400 employees of the CFSEU will now be dedicated to tackling gang violence.
Parts of the agency that previously did longer-term organized crime investigations will now be joining the efforts to tackle the most violent gang members instead. The bigger investigations will be done by the RCMP’s federal policing sections in B.C.
Malo also said the Gang Task Force will be eliminated in name, given that all of CFSEU now has the same mandate as the GTF, which was a unit with the CFSEU.
Malo said he has consulted with the 14 member agencies – the RCMP and municipal police, plus the organized crime agency – as well as the BC government, so everyone is in agreement this is the best way to proceed.
There are now 188 gangs and crime groups in B.C., Malo said. That is up from just 51 in 2003. Of course there is a lot more intelligence being gathered now than there was then, so some of the increase is due to more detailed information-gathering.
Except for last year, the Dallas Running Club has provided this service every year at the Half, and they plan to do it again this year on Sunday November 4th. As a runner, you’ll appreciate it I’m sure because you’ll get gun time information, even if your timing device gives you chip time.
Bob Freeman has headed up this volunteer effort for some years, managing the timers, and I’ve had the pleasure of working for him in the past. Basically what happens is this. The volunteers stage at a convenient location, say a mile or so into the course, then listen for the gun by cell phone and start their watches. From there they are dropped off one by one at all the mile marks. I once worked at the half-mile helpfully marked by Ken Ashby, and the runners were grateful to get an early split and adjust pace.
Bob tells me that this year he is short of volunteers, and because I believe the timers provide a real value to the race experience, I promised him I would ask you to step up and volunteer for one of the jobs. And now I’m going to “sell” you on it!
First, if you’ve never done it before, it’s incredibly fun. You’ll get instructions on how to yell out the splits as the runners pass you, nice and loud, and you’ll have lots of time to see your friends, get lots of thanks from the runners and have a great view of the race. So if you’re new to all this and would like to get involved, I promise you’ll get a lot of love from the DRC if you step up. Also, if you’re injured and want to come to the race, this is a great way to visit and keep busy.
The head of the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit gave me an exclusive interview last week on the agency’s restructuring. Chief Supt. Dan Malo said the more that 400 employees of the CFSEU will now be dedicated to tackling gang violence.
Parts of the agency that previously did longer-term organized crime investigations will now be joining the efforts to tackle the most violent gang members instead. The bigger investigations will be done by the RCMP’s federal policing sections in B.C.
Malo also said the Gang Task Force will be eliminated in name, given that all of CFSEU now has the same mandate as the GTF, which was a unit with the CFSEU.
Malo said he has consulted with the 14 member agencies – the RCMP and municipal police, plus the organized crime agency – as well as the BC government, so everyone is in agreement this is the best way to proceed.
There are now 188 gangs and crime groups in B.C., Malo said. That is up from just 51 in 2003. Of course there is a lot more intelligence being gathered now than there was then, so some of the increase is due to more detailed information-gathering.
2012年10月9日星期二
Tehran in Ben Affleck caper 'Argo'
To create the dramatic opening sequence for the CIA thriller “Argo,” filmmakers visited two continents to depict Iranian students storming the American embassy in Tehran. The scene in which students demonstrate in 1979 and climb up the embassy’s gate was shot in Istanbul, Turkey. The scene in which they climb down the gate and burst into the embassy compound was filmed some 7,000 miles away -- in the San Fernando Valley.
A Veterans Affairs medical building in North Hills, with its institutional, red brick facade, turned out to be remarkably similar to the U.S. embassy in Tehran from which six Americans escaped and sought refuge in the home of the Canadian ambassador.
“It even had the same number of stories as the U.S. embassy in Tehran,’’ said Chris Baugh, location manager for “Argo.” “It was a huge stroke of luck.”
The building was one of several locations that enabled "Argo" producers to film the bulk of the movie in the L.A. area in the summer of 2011, with the help of a $6.4-million California film tax credit and a large pool of local Iranian-American extras.
“Argo” is directed by and stars Ben Affleck, who plays the real life CIA agent who devised a seemingly impossible plan to rescue the six Americans by performing a little Hollywood trickery -- disguising the Americans as members of a Canadian film crew scouting locations for a sci-fi movie. The thriller, which Warner Bros. will release Friday, also stars Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin and John Goodman and a cast of lesser known actors who play fictitious film crew roles, including that of a location manager. ‘Argo’ was produced by Warner Bros. in association with GK Films and Smokehouse Pictures.
Affleck and his crew faced their own daunting challenge: how to film a period drama set in 1970s Iran mainly in Los Angeles for about $44 million.
The task fell to Baugh and his team, including location scout Lori Balton. A 20-year veteran, Baugh has worked on such recent films as “We Bought a Zoo,” “Inception” and the TV series “Arrested Development.”
“After I first read the script, I thought it would be a pretty tall order,’’ said Baugh, 41. “You have a better chance of matching the surface of Mars in Los Angeles than finding the look of Tehran of the 1970s.”
Aside from two weeks in Turkey and one week in the Washington, D.C. area, the bulk of the 14 weeks of filming was done in the L.A. area. One of Baugh’s most difficult tasks was finding a home in Hancock Park to serve as the Canadian ambassador’s home in Tehran.
Baugh had to secure special permission from film-weary residents and the Hancock Park Home Owners Association to spend nearly a month at the house, including a week the actors spent sequestered in the home before filming began so they would get used to living in close quarters.
“We were fortunate to have many Persian extras, some of whom had been in Iran during the Revolution,’’ Affleck said in production notes from the film. “I was very gratified when they would come up to us and say, ‘This brings me back 30 years,’ and tell us their stories.”
Studio Six Productions (the company behind the fake movie) set up offices on the Warner Bros. lot, where the logo on the water tower was changed to read “The Burbank Studios,” as it was known then. The nearby SmokeHouse Restaurant, where “Argo” characters hatch their fake movie plan, played itself in the film.
The Los Angeles Times building served as the CIA headquarters. (Producers also shot at the actual CIA headquarters in Langley, Va.) Zsa Zsa Gabor’s house in Beverly Hills was used to depict the home of Lester Siegel, the salty film producer.
For his work on “Argo,” Baugh was named among three finalists for location manager of the year by the Film Liaisons in California Statewide, a nonprofit group representing regional film offices and commissions that hosts an annual awards event Oct. 28.
A Veterans Affairs medical building in North Hills, with its institutional, red brick facade, turned out to be remarkably similar to the U.S. embassy in Tehran from which six Americans escaped and sought refuge in the home of the Canadian ambassador.
“It even had the same number of stories as the U.S. embassy in Tehran,’’ said Chris Baugh, location manager for “Argo.” “It was a huge stroke of luck.”
The building was one of several locations that enabled "Argo" producers to film the bulk of the movie in the L.A. area in the summer of 2011, with the help of a $6.4-million California film tax credit and a large pool of local Iranian-American extras.
“Argo” is directed by and stars Ben Affleck, who plays the real life CIA agent who devised a seemingly impossible plan to rescue the six Americans by performing a little Hollywood trickery -- disguising the Americans as members of a Canadian film crew scouting locations for a sci-fi movie. The thriller, which Warner Bros. will release Friday, also stars Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin and John Goodman and a cast of lesser known actors who play fictitious film crew roles, including that of a location manager. ‘Argo’ was produced by Warner Bros. in association with GK Films and Smokehouse Pictures.
Affleck and his crew faced their own daunting challenge: how to film a period drama set in 1970s Iran mainly in Los Angeles for about $44 million.
The task fell to Baugh and his team, including location scout Lori Balton. A 20-year veteran, Baugh has worked on such recent films as “We Bought a Zoo,” “Inception” and the TV series “Arrested Development.”
“After I first read the script, I thought it would be a pretty tall order,’’ said Baugh, 41. “You have a better chance of matching the surface of Mars in Los Angeles than finding the look of Tehran of the 1970s.”
Aside from two weeks in Turkey and one week in the Washington, D.C. area, the bulk of the 14 weeks of filming was done in the L.A. area. One of Baugh’s most difficult tasks was finding a home in Hancock Park to serve as the Canadian ambassador’s home in Tehran.
Baugh had to secure special permission from film-weary residents and the Hancock Park Home Owners Association to spend nearly a month at the house, including a week the actors spent sequestered in the home before filming began so they would get used to living in close quarters.
“We were fortunate to have many Persian extras, some of whom had been in Iran during the Revolution,’’ Affleck said in production notes from the film. “I was very gratified when they would come up to us and say, ‘This brings me back 30 years,’ and tell us their stories.”
Studio Six Productions (the company behind the fake movie) set up offices on the Warner Bros. lot, where the logo on the water tower was changed to read “The Burbank Studios,” as it was known then. The nearby SmokeHouse Restaurant, where “Argo” characters hatch their fake movie plan, played itself in the film.
The Los Angeles Times building served as the CIA headquarters. (Producers also shot at the actual CIA headquarters in Langley, Va.) Zsa Zsa Gabor’s house in Beverly Hills was used to depict the home of Lester Siegel, the salty film producer.
For his work on “Argo,” Baugh was named among three finalists for location manager of the year by the Film Liaisons in California Statewide, a nonprofit group representing regional film offices and commissions that hosts an annual awards event Oct. 28.
2012年10月7日星期日
Scaring up new uses for empty storefronts
Whether it’s Halloween or any time of the year, nothing terrifies a mall property owner or developer more than an big empty store.
So, better to fill it with a host of ghouls, goblins, witches, ghosts, zombies and monsters howling like mad, dripping ooze or blood, and reaching long bony hands toward your head.
“Obviously, when you’ve got a 100,000-square-foot structure, empty, with no rent, and have to heat it and cool it all year round, when you find a tenant that will take it, as is, for four months, that certainly helps to take that pain away,” said Penny D. Cipolla, president of Innovative Realty Services, a Bowmansville-based commercial real estate brokerage firm.
And what better place to stash all those frightening creatures, where they can scare the living daylights out of adults and children, than in a cavernous, dark, echoing hulk – with a big parking lot outside.
“For a haunted house, you need to find a big space,” said Tim Bunch, founder and owner of House of Horrors and Haunted Catacombs, located this year in a former Circuit City store at Union Consumer Square in Cheektowaga. “There’s usually big buildings this size that are available.”
Such is the type of informal relationship that arises every year and benefits both landlord and tenant. Haunted houses or holiday-themed specialty retailers need temporary quarters for the few weeks every year when they make their money. And property owners need to find a money-making use for those big vacant buildings until they can attract other permanent users for the spaces, which are often so large that the opportunities for reuse are limited.
“You need a place for your attractions,” Bunch said. And “you really don’t have too many of these people knocking down doors to sign leases on big buildings.”
As Halloween approaches, at least three haunted house attractions have set up shop in former big-box stores. Besides Bunch’s outfit, Eerie Productions’ Frightworld is operating in the long-vacant former Bon-Ton department store at Northtown Plaza on Sheridan Drive in Amherst, while District of the Dead hung its shingle on a big store at nearby Sheridan Plaza, at Sheridan and Eggert Road.
And a national specialty retailer, Spirit Halloween, is also open for business with several temporary, short-term leases at 3050 Sheridan Dr. at the Amherst Shopping Center, Transitown Plaza at 4259 Transit Rd. in Williamsville, Delaware Consumer Square at 2730 Delaware Ave. in Buffalo, Union Consumer Square in Cheektowaga, McKinley Milestrip Center at 4495 Milestrip Rd. in Hamburg, Niagara Square at 7600 4th Ave. in Niagara Falls, Batavia Commons, at 419 West Main St. in Batavia, and Olean Center Mall at 400 N. Union St.
Eerie officials declined to be interviewed, while District of the Dead officials could not be reached for comment. DDR, the landlord for two of the properties, did not respond to requests for comment.
“They bring people into the center,” said Cipolla, whose firm handles leasing for the Bon-Ton store at Northtown and has also worked with Spirit Halloween stores. “It’s beneficial to the landlord and the adjacent tenants.”
Of course, for it to work, a short-term lease arrangement has to make sense for both parties. For a haunted house business like Bunch’s, factors like size, availability of parking, accessibility and visibility are key, as well as the affordability of the lease.
“There’s a lot of buildings that are really nice buildings, but they just didn’t have the parking. If you don’t have the parking, it’s a real problem,” he said. And “you need something that’s real easy to get to. Everybody knows where the Galleria Mall is. You need a good location that’s easy to get to.”
That’s why Union Consumer Square, near the Walden Galleria, works so well, he said. “It’s right near the Thruway and the 33, so it’s easy to get to,” he said. “This plaza is nice, because it’s a really big parking lot, and you don’t usually get busy until 9 p.m. and by then, the rest of the stores are closed.”
Bunch would know. This is the 11th year for House of Horrors, which Bunch started after volunteering and working at the original Haunted Catacombs in junior high and high school. Haunted Catacombs later went out of business in 2005, so Bunch bought it a year later. The business now employs about 70 people, who are “either scaring in the haunted houses, or scaring everyone waiting in line.”
In its first year, House of Horrors was located in a 13,000-square-foot storefront in a mostly abandoned strip mall on Sheridan Drive in Clarence, and then later occupied old space at the Galleria and then two former Ames Department Store locations at George Urban Boulevard and Dick Road and then at French and Union roads.
Bunch said he doesn’t go through real estate brokers in search of space, but typically searches online and drives around to find suitable buildings before calling the property owners directly. At just under 50,000 square feet, its current location is actually smaller than some of the previous sites, which ranged from 80,000 to 100,000 square feet, but Bunch said he had few options.
So, better to fill it with a host of ghouls, goblins, witches, ghosts, zombies and monsters howling like mad, dripping ooze or blood, and reaching long bony hands toward your head.
“Obviously, when you’ve got a 100,000-square-foot structure, empty, with no rent, and have to heat it and cool it all year round, when you find a tenant that will take it, as is, for four months, that certainly helps to take that pain away,” said Penny D. Cipolla, president of Innovative Realty Services, a Bowmansville-based commercial real estate brokerage firm.
And what better place to stash all those frightening creatures, where they can scare the living daylights out of adults and children, than in a cavernous, dark, echoing hulk – with a big parking lot outside.
“For a haunted house, you need to find a big space,” said Tim Bunch, founder and owner of House of Horrors and Haunted Catacombs, located this year in a former Circuit City store at Union Consumer Square in Cheektowaga. “There’s usually big buildings this size that are available.”
Such is the type of informal relationship that arises every year and benefits both landlord and tenant. Haunted houses or holiday-themed specialty retailers need temporary quarters for the few weeks every year when they make their money. And property owners need to find a money-making use for those big vacant buildings until they can attract other permanent users for the spaces, which are often so large that the opportunities for reuse are limited.
“You need a place for your attractions,” Bunch said. And “you really don’t have too many of these people knocking down doors to sign leases on big buildings.”
As Halloween approaches, at least three haunted house attractions have set up shop in former big-box stores. Besides Bunch’s outfit, Eerie Productions’ Frightworld is operating in the long-vacant former Bon-Ton department store at Northtown Plaza on Sheridan Drive in Amherst, while District of the Dead hung its shingle on a big store at nearby Sheridan Plaza, at Sheridan and Eggert Road.
And a national specialty retailer, Spirit Halloween, is also open for business with several temporary, short-term leases at 3050 Sheridan Dr. at the Amherst Shopping Center, Transitown Plaza at 4259 Transit Rd. in Williamsville, Delaware Consumer Square at 2730 Delaware Ave. in Buffalo, Union Consumer Square in Cheektowaga, McKinley Milestrip Center at 4495 Milestrip Rd. in Hamburg, Niagara Square at 7600 4th Ave. in Niagara Falls, Batavia Commons, at 419 West Main St. in Batavia, and Olean Center Mall at 400 N. Union St.
Eerie officials declined to be interviewed, while District of the Dead officials could not be reached for comment. DDR, the landlord for two of the properties, did not respond to requests for comment.
“They bring people into the center,” said Cipolla, whose firm handles leasing for the Bon-Ton store at Northtown and has also worked with Spirit Halloween stores. “It’s beneficial to the landlord and the adjacent tenants.”
Of course, for it to work, a short-term lease arrangement has to make sense for both parties. For a haunted house business like Bunch’s, factors like size, availability of parking, accessibility and visibility are key, as well as the affordability of the lease.
“There’s a lot of buildings that are really nice buildings, but they just didn’t have the parking. If you don’t have the parking, it’s a real problem,” he said. And “you need something that’s real easy to get to. Everybody knows where the Galleria Mall is. You need a good location that’s easy to get to.”
That’s why Union Consumer Square, near the Walden Galleria, works so well, he said. “It’s right near the Thruway and the 33, so it’s easy to get to,” he said. “This plaza is nice, because it’s a really big parking lot, and you don’t usually get busy until 9 p.m. and by then, the rest of the stores are closed.”
Bunch would know. This is the 11th year for House of Horrors, which Bunch started after volunteering and working at the original Haunted Catacombs in junior high and high school. Haunted Catacombs later went out of business in 2005, so Bunch bought it a year later. The business now employs about 70 people, who are “either scaring in the haunted houses, or scaring everyone waiting in line.”
In its first year, House of Horrors was located in a 13,000-square-foot storefront in a mostly abandoned strip mall on Sheridan Drive in Clarence, and then later occupied old space at the Galleria and then two former Ames Department Store locations at George Urban Boulevard and Dick Road and then at French and Union roads.
Bunch said he doesn’t go through real estate brokers in search of space, but typically searches online and drives around to find suitable buildings before calling the property owners directly. At just under 50,000 square feet, its current location is actually smaller than some of the previous sites, which ranged from 80,000 to 100,000 square feet, but Bunch said he had few options.
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