Espresso Americano International LLC, based on Camano Island, has launched its new drive-through coffee business, EA Brevita. Through the new business cooperative, anyone can buy a branded drive-thru unit for $89,000, delivered anywhere in the continental U.S. Owners then have access to online training and operations support. Espresso Americano already has 189 licensees worldwide operating cafes and drive-through units.
China ‘Nike’ opens Portland office
China’s largest footwear and apparel company, Li Ning Co., known as the “Nike of China,” has set up shop in Portland, Ore., with an office to design athletic shoes. It’s red logo looks a lot like the Nike “Swoosh.” The company opened its design office in northwest Portland, incorporated as Li Ning Sports USA Inc. “to design athletic shoes and apparel and to engage in any lawful business,” Oregon Corporation Division records show. Some think the move solidifies Portland’s status as a world center for the sports apparel industry. It joins Nike and Columbia Sportswear Co., in Beaverton, and Adidas America Inc., a Germany-based company with U.S. headquarters in Portland. It may be Li Ning’s first office outside of China. Nobody is sure. Industry-watchers say the move indicates that the fast-growing company wants to tap the talent pool in Oregon.
Microsoft moves to virtualization
Microsoft Corp. on Monday announced several moves it says will help its business customers take advantage of a technology called virtualization, and in the process help the software maker catch up with VMware Inc., the frontrunner in that area. Virtualization allows one physical computer to house multiple “virtual machines,” each one acting like a separate computer with an operating system and all the software that runs on top of it. For office workers, virtualization might mean that “their computer” is actually a virtual machine running on a server — not the actual hardware on their desks — and can be accessed from any work station. That, in turn, could make it easier for IT workers to install new applications or back up an individual’s computer with all its settings, and would make losing a laptop much less disastrous. What’s more, older hardware that would have been replaced can have a longer life connecting to virtual desktops.
IP addresses personal info?
IP addresses, string of numbers that identify computers on the Internet, should generally be regarded as personal information, the head of the European Union’s group of data privacy regulators said Monday. Germany’s data protection commissioner, Peter Scharr, leads the EU group preparing a report on how well the privacy policies of Internet search engines operated by Google Inc., Yahoo Inc., Microsoft Corp. and others comply with EU privacy law. He told a European Parliament hearing on online data protection that when someone is identified by an IP, or Internet protocol, address “then it has to be regarded as personal data.” His view differs from that of Google, which insists an IP address merely locates a computer, not an individual.
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