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LCD Soundsystem Give Album Update, Talk Live Show Planning

by Loknath Das
written by Loknath Das

LCD Soundsystem gave an album update and revealed that they’ll soon release two new songs, “Call the Police” and “American Dream,” from their highly anticipated new album. Andrew Benge/Redferns/Getty

LCD Soundsystem mastermind James Murphy offered an update on the band’s new album, which will be their first since 2010’s This Is Happening. In a post on Facebook, Murphy said the band is trying to finish the record quickly, though did not estimate a release date, noting he still had to record vocals for one song, mix two songs and get the album mastered, pressed and shipped. “I insist that there is vinyl on the day it’s released (because … well … because I’m an old person),” Murphy wrote.

Of the album itself, Murphy said, “It’s been one of the most enjoyable records to make in my life, if not the most fun ever (I think it is, for sure, the happiest I’ve ever been making a record). So it will be sad in some ways to see it leave the house etc. But we’re really looking forward to not feeling ‘late’ all the time, and being able to do things like plan a weekend to do something fun.”

Murphy also said LCD Soundsystem were planning additional live dates, though they were still figuring out logistics such as locations, venue size and ways to ensure scalpers don’t snatch too many tickets. The band recently played five nights at new New York City venue Brooklyn Steel and have several festival dates lined up this summer. LCD Soundsystem will also play Saturday Night Live May 6th.

LCD Soundsystem also announced the impending release of two new songs, “Call the Police” and “American Dream,” which will appear on their highly anticipated new album expected to arrive this year. The tracks mark LCD Soundsystem’s first since 2015’s “Christmas Will Break Your Heart,” a surprise single that preceded the group’s 2016 reunion tour.

[“Source-rollingstone”]

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Online Marketing

ONS figures show decline in retail store sales as online continues to grow

by Loknath Das
written by Loknath Das

Figures from the ONS show that retail sales fell 1.4% in the first three months of 2017. Average store prices increased by 3.3%, representing the largest growth since 2012.

The first quarter of 2017 is the third consecutive period of negative growth.

However, online sales increased year-on-year by 19.5%.

Retailers can no longer shun the truth that shoppers crave a more immediate, reliable and digitally driven experience

This represents an average weekly spend of £1 billion on online purchases, which accounted for 15.5% of all retail spending (excluding automotive fuel).

“The figures continue to show the decline in traditional bricks and mortar stores as retailers endured the biggest quarterly fall in seven years during the first three months of the year,” Hugh Fletcher, global head of consultancy and innovation at Salmon, said.

“Retailers can no longer shun the truth that shoppers crave a more immediate, reliable and digitally driven experience.”

Online card spending up

A separate study by the UK Cards Association reports that online card spending totalled £422 million a day in 2016. This is an increase of 28% since 2014.

A quarter of card purchases online are for entertainment purchases such as concert tickets.

The association states that the UK now spends more online per household than any other country.

Retailers must too embrace the change in shopping habits and feed consumers’ desire for convenient online shopping

“Since the early days of internet shopping there has been a host of innovations, from digital wallets to one click purchases, which bring enhanced security, choice and convenience for customers and which will lead to continued growth in the sector,” Richard Koch, head of policy at The UK Cards Association said.

“The additional protection provided when using a card also gives consumers extra peace of mind when they are shopping online.”

The research shows that online spending is dominated by certain sectors:

–          37% of the total spent on travel

–          23% of clothing purchases

–          67% of concert tickets and 61% of cinema tickets

Hugh Fletcher continued:

 “A shift towards a strong digital strategy is the first step in combatting the decline in the high-street but retailers must increasingly test and embrace innovative technologies such as artificial intelligence, virtual reality changing rooms and Zero UI (the move away from physical interactions in favour of sound, movement and other senses).

“As consumers shift online, retailers must too embrace the change in shopping habits and feed consumers’ desire for convenient online shopping or face the dark prospect of poor sales, profit slumps and sluggish growth.”

[Source:- marketingtechnews]

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Education

School league tables ‘should show well-being’

by Rajdeep
written by Rajdeep

Parents searching for school places for their children in England are used to scouring league tables for information.

But even though these might show huge amounts of detail about exams, they will not reveal much about the levels of happiness among pupils.

Sir Anthony Seldon, a university head, former head teacher and mental health campaigner, says school league tables should include measures of well-being.

He says this could help to tackle an “epidemic of mental health” problems.

“As long as the only metric on which schools are being assessed is their exam performance, our schools will never have the incentive to take well-being as seriously as they should,” said Sir Anthony, vice chancellor of the University of Buckingham.

He says that the Office for National Statistics regularly measures well-being – and that it would be possible to make school-level comparisons.

‘Avoidable suffering’

This could include comparing the resources put into pastoral care, such as staffing and support services, and surveying a sample of pupils to see their views on school life.

Sir Anthony, speaking on World Mental Health Day, has campaigned for well-being to be taken more seriously in schools.

But he says that despite warnings about rising numbers of young people with mental health problems, schools still are not being encouraged enough to prevent “avoidable suffering”.

Exam league tables in England are due to be overhauled again to show how much academic progress is made by pupils.

But Sir Anthony says parents want to know more about a school than its exam results.

“It is perfectly clear to me, as a head of schools for 20 years, that parents will pay more heed to the well-being tables than to the exam league tables.

“They know, even if the government doesn’t, that schools that prioritise well-being, which includes challenging and stretching students, also build character and help them to perform better than those schools which are just exam factories.”

Rising concerns

He says that pupils need help while they are still at school.

“By the time students arrive at 18, the damage has been done.”

mental healthImage copyrightISTOCK
Image captionThere have been warnings about stress and anxiety among the young

Figures published last month by the Office for National Statistics, showed the highest number of suicides by 15 to 19 year olds since 1998.

And a succession of reports have highlighted concerns about unhappiness, anxiety and depression among young people.

A report from the Higher Education Policy Institute warned that universities were struggling to cope with rising demand for mental health services.

A study published by the Department for Education showed that teenage girls now were more likely to show signs of “psychological distress” than a decade ago.

This blamed pressures from social media and the fact that young people felt less control over their lives.

A report from the Children’s Society showed higher levels of anxiety and unhappiness among teenage girls, compared with five years ago.

An online tool kit to help schools identify and monitor mental health problems has been launched by Public Health England and the Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families.

The intention is to make staff better informed and better able to evaluate pupils’ problems.

“Growing up in today’s world can be tough. From negative comments on social media to pressures to look a certain way, the well-being of young people is at risk,” said the minister for vulnerable children and families, Edward Timpson

“That’s why we want teachers to be able to spot the signs that their pupils are having difficult thoughts or feelings and feel confident about supporting them.”

[Source:- BBC]

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Education

Google’s Shop the Look Feature to Show Smarter Shopping Ads in Search Results

by Rajdeep
written by Rajdeep

Google's Shop the Look Feature to Show Smarter Shopping Ads in Search Results

Google last year added ‘Purchases on Google’ or ‘Buy buttons’, making it easier for mobile users to shop while using Google Search. This was part of the company’s attempt to lure customers to its site rather than shop via Facebook or Pinterest. Google’s aim was to simplify the process of searching and buying products.

In an attempt to make mobile shopping even simpler, Google is now testing a new format called ‘Shop the Look’ that lets you search for specific outfits and home décor options, showing pictures and purchase links within ‘Shopping ads’ on the search engine. This means users will not have to switch to a different website to purchase the outfit or home decor.

To get the format going, Google is partnering with sites like LiketoKnow.it, Curalate and yahoo-owned Polyvore which are platforms that allow fashion bloggers to make money from their posts. Essentially, Google will source the content from these sites and pull the photos and affiliate links when a search related to that particular outfit or home décor option is initiated. Users can select one of the looks, which will then show similar products related to the choice.

Where users would previously use social apps like Instagram or Pinterest to follow their favourite fashion blogger and home decorator, they can now find their favourite blogger and purchase related options directly through Google’s engine without the need to use an app. This is what Google hopes to achieve with the ‘Shop the Look’ app.

This new feature could not only be beneficial for Google but also for fashion bloggers who until now have to use platforms like Polyvore to earn. By hopping on to Google’s engine, these bloggers can be discovered by a wider audience. Bloggers and retailers who want to show their products within the Shop the Look experience will need to create a shopping campaign, and optimise their bids for mobile. The ‘Shop the Look’ feature is currently being tested in the US.

[Source:- gadgets.ndtv]

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Education

GCSE results show record decline

by Rajdeep
written by Rajdeep

This year’s GCSE results have shown the biggest ever year-on-year decline – down to the lowest level since 2008.

The overall proportion of entries achieving A* to C has declined from 69% to 66.9%. Top A* grades have slipped from 6.6% to 6.5%.

This has been blamed on more pupils in England being required to resit English and maths.

Schools Minister Nick Gibb said 17-year-olds who had successfully retaken these GCSEs now had “better prospects”.

Impact of retakes

The results of more than five million GCSE entries in England, Wales and Northern Ireland have been published.

This year’s combined figures show a sharp decline in the proportion of grades A* to C and smaller falls in top A* and A grades.

Exams Wimbledon

Prof Alan Smithers, director of the University of Buckingham’s Centre for Education and Employment Research, said the 2.1 percentage points decline was the biggest drop in A*-C grades since GCSEs were introduced in the late 1980s.

This has been driven by a fall in grades in England – as Northern Ireland’s results improved and results in Wales remained stable.

  • In England, the proportion of A* to C grades fell from 68.8% last year to 66.6%. Top A* grades were down from 6.6% to 6.4%.
  • In Northern Ireland the proportion of these good passes increased slightly to 79.1% and top A* grades rose to 9.3%.
  • In Wales, the level of A* to C passes remained at 66.6%, with A* grades rising slightly to 6.1%.

The fall in England has been attributed to a policy in England requiring resits in maths and English for 17-year-olds who did not make a C grade last year.

Even without these older pupils resitting exams, there has been a fall in the results of 16 year olds, with the proportion getting A* to C declining by 1.3% points.This year’s results were down for maths, English, history and geography.

And there were further falls in the numbers of pupils taking modern languages, with the British Council warning that entries for French had more than halved in the past two decades.

The National Union of Teachers said the decline in modern languages was exacerbated by the “difficulty many schools have in recruiting qualified language teachers”.

Gender gap

The gender gap has widened further – with 71.3% of entries by girls getting a C grade or above compared with 62.4% of boys.

There has been a continuing reduction in the number of pupils taking GCSEs a year early, down by about a quarter compared with last year.

League tables now only count the first time a pupil sits an exam, discouraging entries by younger pupils.

This will be the last year before the start of a major change in how GCSEs are graded in England and how school performance is measured.

A revised set of GCSE exams are going to be graded by numbers – from 9 down to 1 – rather than the current letter-based system in a process that will be phased in from next year.

There will also be a new way of assessing schools in England, to be introduced later this year, called Progress 8, which will measure how much progress pupils make in secondary schools, rather than their raw results.

Russell Hobby, leader of the National Association of Head Teachers, said: “GCSE results day is a nervous time for all, as much depends on these grades.

“2016 is worse than ever in this regard as the results are so unpredictable following wave after wave of over hasty changes. Such overwhelming change introduces mistakes and makes it hard to sustain a calm focus on teaching,” said Mr Hobby.England’s School Standards Minister Nick Gibb said he was “pleased to see that there are more GCSEs being taken in the core academic subjects, those that give students a wider range of opportunities.

“And for those 17-year-olds who have struggled to achieve good grades in maths, we are seeing 4,000 more successful re-takes of those exams; delivering better prospects for every one of those young people.‎”

Kirsty Williams, Education Secretary in Wales, said: “This year’s GCSEs show another strong performance with two thirds of our learners achieving at least A*-C and an increase in the top grades.”

[Source:- BBC]

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Education

Epic Outages of Edtech Tools Show K-12 Schools Are Vulnerable to Cyberattacks

by Loknath Das
written by Loknath Das

Epic Outages of Edtech Tools Show K-12 Schools Are Vulnerable to Cyberattacks

A recent cyberattack that affected the biggest school district in the country is a reminder of an increase in cybersecurity incidents at schools across the U.S. As such attacks become more common, schools may need to do more to build their ability to prevent attacks and to hold private vendors to high standards, experts say.

An “attempted security incident” this month knocked out many of Illuminate Education’s digital services, including an online gradebook, Skedula, and a related parent-focused platform, PupilPath, which are used by New York’s public school system. Service was out for several weeks, disrupting learning as the schools returned from the holiday break. And even now, some of the company’s other services appear to still be down, according to updates from the company.

Cyberattacks on schools are on the rise, according to the latest available report from the K-12 Security Information Exchange, a national nonprofit focused on cybersecurity and K-12 schools. There’s been a five-fold increase in incidents since 2016, with 1,180 reported incidents connected to U.S. public schools in that time. At least 128 school districts have seen repeat attacks.

The uptick is happening at a time of record spending on U.S. edtech: K-12 public schools in America spent somewhere between $26 billion and $41 billion annually before the pandemic, according to figures from the nonprofit EdTech Evidence Exchange.

The issue isn’t just a matter of inconvenience, but a potential threat to student privacy, especially in the case of digital gradebooks and other student information systems, experts point out.

“Cyber attacks are a growing problem in schools, and the harms to students and their families are not theoretical,” says Elizabeth Laird, director of Equity in Technology at the Center for Democracy and Technology.

Low-Hanging Fruit

Although school districts are doing a decent job with what they have, they don’t have as many resources to throw at cybersecurity as private corporations do, which can make them look like low-hanging fruit to would-be attackers, says Tim Harper, a former chief technology officer for Seminole Public Schools in Sanford, Florida, and the current administrator-in-residence for Clever, a K-12 digital platform.

For many schools across the country, which require edtech to function, third-party vendors would be better equipped to handle cybersecurity, argues Jim Siegl, senior technologist at the Future of Privacy Forum. Many districts are small, and may only have a handful of staff for all of their technology operations.

So far, schools have responded by increasing training for teachers, though that training has focused more on student security than on how teachers themselves can prevent online intrusions. According to one Center for Democracy and Technology report, many teachers have received training on student privacy, fewer have received training on how to avoid phishing or ransomware scams meant to hoodwink them into giving up their personal information.

These days, any online system comes with tradeoffs, and risks, notes Doug Levin, the national director of the K-12 Security Information Exchange.

“When school districts adopt technology solutions for their operations, they are accepting cybersecurity risk—it faces every organization that relies on technology,” he says.

Not all the risk comes from computers within a school. The many outside systems that schools contract with aren’t immune from attacks, and are outside of a school’s control.

Even when schools outsource their cybersecurity to an outside firm, Levin adds, “it is merely shifting their risk to a third-party.”

For example, an attack against Finalsite, a software company used by schools across the country, affected around 5,000 school websites earlier this month. Levin notes that while Finalsite appears to have been forthright about the attack and its response, there are still questions about whether it could have done more to prevent it.

And companies have not always been candid when they’ve experienced a significant attack. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, for instance, announced last year that it had fined Pearson, the London-based publishing company known for its textbooks, $1 million to settle charges that it had “misled investors about a 2018 cyber intrusion involving the theft of millions of student records, including dates of births and email addresses, and had inadequate disclosure controls and procedures.”

What schools can do, experts say, is to diligently vet the edtech they use. Specifically, schools should insist on contractual commitments to safety audits and prompt disclosures of security issues that may arise, Levin says.

Lack of National Consensus

The U.S. lacks a national consensus around what sort of protections parents, teachers and students should expect in terms of data privacy from school districts, experts including Levin and Harper say. In contrast, the European Union put in place the General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, in 2018 which spells out the expectations around data protection and personal information.

U.S. states have begun to address the issue, however, and more than 100 student-privacy laws have been passed since 2013, many of which ban targeted advertising or data-selling—though fewer of those laws tackle training or meaningful security requirements. And the measures rarely provide extra funding to schools for security or privacy resources, experts point out.

[“source=edsurge”]

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Online Marketing

First renders of Galaxy A8s show Samsung’s first display with a cutout

by Loknath Das
written by Loknath Das

What follows are concept renders, based on rumors. However, they come from the same source that accurately predicted the Galaxy A9 (2018) design a month ahead of its announcement so they are probably worth the benefit of the doubt.

The renders show Samsung’s first smartphone with an Infinity-O display on the front. Samsung has said that the Galaxy A8s will have a camera cutout placed in the upper left corner of the display.

Having the front camera (and likely the ambient light sensor as well) inside the display allows the top bezels to be virtually nonexistent. The renders show a slight asymmetry as the bottom bezel is a bit thicker.

According to the rumors, the Galaxy A8s will have a triple camera on the back, although the specifications of it are still unclear.

It looks likely that the fingerprint scanner will be on the back and not underneath the display.

Finally we expect the Galaxy A8s to house a Snapdragon 710 chipset with 6GB of RAM.

[“source=gsmarena”]

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Gadgets News

Mi MIX 2S Leaked Specifications Show 4400mAh Battery, Mi 7 Said to Support Wireless Charging

by Loknath Das
written by Loknath Das

Mi MIX 2S Leaked Specifications Show 4400mAh Battery, Mi 7 Said to Support Wireless Charging

Xiaomi Mi MIX 2S has been a part of rumours for a long time. But earlier this week the company confirmed that the handset with a Snapdragon 845 SoC will debut on March 27. And now, it’s time for a screenshot that reveals the new Mi MIX variant’s bezel-less design – without any notch or space for a front-facing camera sensor. The leaked screenshot also features some of the key specifications of the upcoming smartphone that match with the previous reports. In another piece of news, Xiaomi is said to be developing the Mi 7 with a similar wireless charging technology that was adopted by Apple for the iPhone X, iPhone 8, and iPhone 8 Plus.

Mi MIX 2S specifications leaked

The alleged Mi MIX 2S screenshot, which has surfaced on Weibo, displays the MIUI About screen, showing the presence of a Snapdragon 845 SoC, a 4400mAh battery, a 16-megapixel primary camera sensor, a 6.01-inch full-HD+ (1080×2160 pixels) display, and 8GB of RAM. The screenshot in question also highlights 256GB of onboard storage on the smartphone that is rumoured as the Mi MIX 2S. All these aren’t any new specifications and are the ones that were leaked through some other sources in the past.

Having said that, the screenshot comes with rounded corners, suggesting a symmetrical display panel of the Mi MIX 2S. This is unlike the lately released render that showed a selfie camera on the top-right corner of the device. Notably, the Mi MIX 2 arrived with a similar symmetrical display panel, though it had a front-facing camera sensor on the bottom, which didn’t impress some users, and the company even recommended to hold the smartphone in landscape mode to capture selfies.

xiaomi mi mix 2s screenshot weibo Xiaomi Mi MIX 2S

Photo Credit: Weibo

While Apple brought the trend of using a notch for the front camera module, some companies are exploring other opportunities as well. Vivo, for instance, at MWC 2018 showcased its APEX concept phone with an elevating selfie camera that rises and retracts from the top to give space to the ultra-thin display bezels.

We need to wait for some more weeks, until the launch date of the Mi MIX 2S, to see how Xiaomi will position the front camera sensor. Meanwhile, we can certainly expect some more rumours and leaks of the device.

Alongside the Mi MIX 2S, the Xiaomi Mi 7 is also a part of the rumour mill nowadays. The smartphone was already expected to come with a Snapdragon 845 SoC and is now rumoured to support wireless charging with 7.5W power, matching the wireless charging support of the latest iPhone models. China’s Chongdiantou reports that Xiaomi has started testing the new support.

Xiaomi joined the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC) in September last year to start offering Qi standard-based wireless charging technology on its devices. That development is likely to be leveraged to make the Mi 7 a competitive offering against the iPhone X and its siblings. The handset is rumoured to use the same Broadcom chip and NXP transmitter that Apple used last year to deliver 7.5W wireless charging. It is expected to be based on the Qi Specification Version 1.1.

The Mi 7 is rumoured to feature a 6.01-inch display with 18:9 aspect ratio, 6GB or 8GB RAM options, and dual 16-megapixel rear camera sensors. A Weibo post suggests that the handset could come with an under-display fingerprint sensor, much like the Vivo X20 Plus UD that was launched last month.

 

 

[“source=gadgets.ndtv”]

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Gadgets News

Samsung Galaxy S9, Galaxy S9+ Renders Leak, Show Fingerprint Sensor Below Camera

by Loknath Das
written by Loknath Das

Samsung Galaxy S9, Galaxy S9+ Renders Leak, Show Fingerprint Sensor Below Camera

HIGHLIGHTS

  • Renders reveal a 360-degree view of the smartphone
  • Fingerprint shifted to below the rear camera module
  • Dual camera setup not seen on the Galaxy S9

Samsung Galaxy S9 and the Galaxy S9+ have been leaked in new sets of renders, purporting to provide a 360-degree view of Samsung’s upcoming flagship smartphone duo. The renders indicate the fingerprint sensor will be shifted from where it was on the Galaxy S8 – adjacent to the rear camera – to below the rear camera lens. The design has otherwise largely remained the same from the previous generation. Alongside, another render shows an abandoned, more ambitious design for the Galaxy S9, while alleged front panels of the smartphone duo have also made it to the Internet.

Tipster @OnLeaks has shared the leaked renders of the Samsung Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+. Do note that these are CAD-based renders and are not actual images of the smartphones. We had earlier reported that the Galaxy S9 will have an improved Iris scanner this time around.

The design of the Galaxy S9, in the OnLeaks renders shared by 91Mobiles, are similar to the Galaxy S8 (Review) we saw last year. There is a bezel-less display on the front, which might have slightly thinner bezels compared to last year’s Galaxy S8. Renders also show that the Galaxy S9 will not sport a dual-camera setup on the rear, a feature that appears to be exclusive to the Galaxy S9+.

Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus Samsung Galaxy S9 Renders

There is also a change in the position of the fingerprint sensor. While it remains on the rear of the device, the sensor has been shifted from the right of the camera lens to below it. This might be a decision taken to make it more ergonomic for the user. The sighting of a fingerprint sensor on the back also means that an in-screen fingerprint reader won’t be featured on the Samsung Galaxy S9.

A heart-rate sensor and a single-LED flash can also be seen on the right side of the rear camera sensor. Renders reveal a USB Type-C port, primary microphone, loudspeaker, and a 3.5mm jack on the bottom. There is also a volume rocker on the left and a power key on the right of the Galaxy S9. The phone is said to have a 5.7-inch display, and feature a bottom bezel just 0.1mm thinner than the Samsung Galaxy S8. The smartphone is said to measure 147.6×68.7×8.4mm.

As for the leaked OnLeaks renders of the Samsung Galaxy S9+ shared by MySmartPrice, we see an identical design, except for the use of vertical dual rear camera setup. The phone measures 157.7×73.8×8.5mm and comes with a 6.1-inch screen, with top and bottom bezels said to be 0.1mm thinner than the Galaxy S8+.

Separately, Tipster Ice Universe has shared a set of renders showing what are claimed to be the smaller-bezel design Samsung abandoned for the Galaxy S9, alongside the design it is going ahead with, which look similar to the Galaxy S8. The tipster also shared an image of the purported front panels of the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+, which again show a design similar to the current Galaxy S-Series flagships.

[“Source-ndtv”]

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Gadgets News

Gifts for the kitchen: Housewares for the Holidays show unwraps latest gadgets

by Loknath Das
written by Loknath Das

NEW YORK, N.Y. — What will you be getting for the cook on your list this holiday season? Whether you celebrate Christmas or Hanukkah, most people have at least one person who loves to cook and wants the latest gadgets. Or do you have a potential sommelier in the family? There are new wine-related items on the market this season, too.

“Manufacturers and retailers alike are continually in search of the next best thing or trend,” says Jon Jesse, vice president of industry development for the International Housewares Association, which recently showcased a plethora of new kitchen and bar wares ideal for gift-giving at its annual Housewares for the Holidays show. Here are just a few standouts, most of which are available online to get your shopping finished at the click of a mouse.

» Tovolo’s Precision Pie Crust Cutter. One of the most difficult things about making a beautiful pie is creating the perfect crust with even sides and gorgeous scalloped edges. Tovolo makes it easy with its new Precision Pie Crust Cutter.

It’s a handy tool that adjusts to different sizes. Remember using a compass in algebra class? The crust cutter follows the same technique, allowing you to place the body of the cutter in the center of the dough and extend its arm to cut perfect dough circles. The cutter has four discs that cut different crust designs — fluted, tight wave, light wave and scalloped. The discs are stored in the base so they won’t get lost, making the Precision Pie Crust Cutter very compact. At a price point of less than $10, it’s affordable enough for every would-be pastry chef on your list.

Price: $9.99.

Buy it at: www.amazon.com and www.surlatable.com.

» Bonny Bar Bottle Tag Corkscrew. A nice bottle of wine makes the perfect host/hostess gift during the holidays. Add a corkscrew and a card, and your gift becomes more than just another bottle to add to the collection, so make yours stand out with Bradshaw International’s Bonny Bar Bottle Tag Corkscrew. It’s an all-in-one corkscrew and “card” that bears a holiday greeting, such as “Making Spirits Bright,” with a space for “To” and “From” messaging on the back. The card is made of durable cardboard and fits over the bottle neck. It also has a pocket on the front holding a Bonny Bar winged corkscrew.

“It really dresses up a wine bottle,” says Bradshaw communication manager Bert Tanimoto.

Price: $9.99.

Buy it at: JC Penney and Tru Value hardware stores.

» Kilner Fermentation Set. The continuing popularity of the farm-to-table movement has sparked a new trend in the culinary world that has housewares company Typhoon Homeware flooding the market with items that allow cooks to get back to the basics, such as its new fermentation set. The company predicts it will be a top-seller, so don’t wait till the last minute if the cook on your list is one who follows the do-it-yourself trend, a movement that company spokesman Ryan Murphy says is popular among millennials.

Pottery crocks have been used for centuries to make sauerkraut, kimche, pickles and other foods that require fermentation, but there are some drawbacks to the opaque containers. Topping that list is the fact you can’t see what’s happening. The Kilner fermentation vessel is made of glass so you can witness the fermentation process in action. Plus, there’s a glass valve on top “that lets the bad gases out and keeps the good stuff in without having to open the lid,” Murphy notes.

Price: $30.

Buy it at: www.bedbathandbeyond.com or amazon.com.

» Gourmia WiFi Air Fryer. Air-frying is not a new cooking technique, but lately, it’s taken off as Americans become more health-conscious and try to follow better diets that don’t allow heavy fried foods. Air-frying allows us Southerners to enjoy more healthful versions of fried chicken, french fries and tater tots.

It’s a very multifunctional products that not only air-fries but also bakes and roasts. The three-in-one device takes the place of your toaster oven and deep fryer, allowing more counter space, making it ideal for those on your list who reside in tight living spaces with small kitchens.

Not only is air-frying more healthful than pan-frying in an oil bath, Gourmia has made it fun. The new model has a built-in “cook cam” that you can sync to your phone (iPhone or android), so you can watch your food from another room as it cooks and/or share your air-frying with friends via social media.

Price: $189.

Buy it at: www.bestbuy.com, www.kohls.com or www.bedbathandbeyond.com.

» Vinturi On Bottle Wine Aerator. In a perfect world, a nice bottle of wine achieves ideal aeration in a couple of hours. But who has time or wants to sit around and wait that long to enjoy a glass or two of your favorite vintage? The wine lover on your list will appreciate the latest aeration technology that marries science with style: the Vinturi On Bottle Wine Aerator.

It’s a one-piece appliance that fits snugly into the wine bottle like a cork, followed by a sleek, acrylic spout that allows for both aeration and no-mess pouring. Decanting takes place in seconds, not hours.

“Every single Vinturi is tested, because if one is off just 5/1,000th of an inch, it won’t work,” explains Eileen McHale, director of marketing and business development for Vinturi parent company Legacy Companies.

The device is wider on the bottom and narrower at the top so that as air velocity speeds up, pressure decreases. “And right in that magical spot, air is pulled in like a vacuum,” McHale says. The entire process takes just seconds. Its size makes for a great stocking stuffer, too.

Price: $19.99.

Buy it at: www.bedbathandbeyond.com.

[“Source-timesfreepress”]

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