A treatment to infuse hardened metal surfaces with naturally occurring antimicrobial peptides has been developed by researchers at Purdue University.

In other words, the Purdue research teams technology can create hard metal surfaces that kill bacteria trying to attach to it.

David Bahr, team leader and professor of materials engineering at Purdue, said this technology applies primarily to food processing and cutting surfaces, which can be especially vulnerable to bacteria growth because of the materials and surface designs.

This technology can reduce the risk of cross-contamination. Cross-contamination is the transfer of harmful bacteria to food from other foods, cutting boards, utensils, etc. This is especially true when handling raw meat, poultry, and seafood, as placing them on the same hard surface as already cooked or ready-to-eat foods and fresh produce can spread harmful bacteria.

Our technology can help ensure that if a food processing facility was chopping salad greens, bacteria would not transfer from a contaminated surface to a cutting tool, thereby contaminating many more parts, said Bahr. When used in conjunction with food washing and other safe handling, this should allow fewer outbreaks of foodborne illness.

Bahr explained that the Purdue team creates an oxidized metal surface with nanometer-wide and micrometer-deep cracks where antimicrobial peptides can be infused in these microscopic cracks with a simple wet process. The material stored in the cracks release over time, and the oxidation process also colors the material, which provides a visual indicator of the materials remaining antimicrobial resistance. The process works on stainless steel and titanium and can be used on a wide range of commercial metal alloys.

The creators are now looking for partners to commercialize their technology.

For more information on licensing this innovation, contact Dipak Narula of Purdue Research Foundation Office of Technology Commercialization at dnarula@prf.org.

(To sign up for a free subscription to Food Safety News, click here)

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New technology creates hard metal surfaces that kill bacteria - Food Safety News

Saving money on school supplies with refurbished tech

Savings Angel Josh Elledge speaks to FOX 35.

ORLANDO, Fla. - When it comes to back to school shopping, online retailers are lining up to help you fill your baskets.

FOX 35 experts suggestthree ways to save money

Josh Elledge, the Savings Angel, advises parents stagger spending, especially for big-ticket items.

He explains "As a parent it's tough, you're like oh darn, I have to buy 3 laptops right now? How am I going to do that? That's a really tough situation and what I advise is to generally stagger those kinds of investments as much as possible."

RELATED:The right learning option: Some students perform better, break bad habits while learning from home

Omri Traub,the founder and CEO of 'Popcart' -- anonline browser extension that helps shoppers compare prices and find the best deals, warned consumers that they need to watch out for a spike in prices for supplies.

"The prices online can be dynamic and can adjust. If you were shopping for back-to-school a month ago, you might have actually paid a cheaper price than what you're paying online now. Everybody is in the same mind set as you, so that's when shoppers online have to be especially careful," Traub explains.

Since a lot of kids will be learning from home this year, Lawrence Zarian, 'The Fashion Guy,' said that they still need to dress as ifthey are going into the classroom.

RELATED:Tips for teaching online when schools reopen this fall

"When it comes to back to school clothes shopping, look to buy out of season stock, commit to the clearance rack, shop second hand and browse Ebay or other E-tail auction sites for the best deals," suggests Zarian.

Tune in to FOX 35 Orlando for the rest a Classroom Survival Guide as reopening schools approaches.

See more here:

3 ways to save money on school supplies, technology as schools will soon reopen - FOX 35 Orlando

In his bid to be elected chief prosecutor in the west bank parishes of the Baton Rouge metro area, Tony Clayton planned to hand out Krispy Kreme donuts at subdivision entrances, knock on doors, attend street parties and visit every social club he could find.

But that was before Louisiana had the nations highest ratio of infections in the coronavirus pandemic, upsetting traditional political campaign tactics.

Nobody wants to see some politician in a mask knocking on their door, Clayton said. Instead, he went digital.

For the next three months before the Nov. 3 elections, hundreds of Louisiana candidates will rely on technological interactions to replace looking voters in eye and listening to their concerns the method political strategists say is the most effective way to accumulate votes.

What is the best way to campaign in the age of masks and social distancing?

Boy, thats going to be a work in progress, said Republican U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, who is seeking a second term in November. Obviously, you cant work a restaurant because the restaurant is closed.

Cassidy said hes going to rely on Zoom town halls, tweets, Facebook postings and DIY video candidate shows.

U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy arrived on the third and final day of qualifying to ensure his name is on the Nov. 3 ballot.

Members of Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards campaign team have joined a newly formed Super PAC to support Shreveport Mayor Adrian Perkins' bid

So will Democratic Shreveport Mayor Adrian Perkins, Cassidys main rival among 14 opponents. Obviously, were going to have to heavily rely on technology. But mostly, well rely on our messaging, he said.

Technology could level the playing field to allow an underfunded candidate to compete. But if they think that itll make up their lack of money, they will be disappointed, said Joshua Stockley, a political scientist teaching at the University of Louisiana at Monroe.

Candidates wont be able to abandon some tried and true tactics. Grassroots organizing, yard signs, robo-calls and direct mail flyers, as well as television and radio advertising still will play important roles in campaigning.

But social media has taken on a heightened importance as candidates are forced to open new playbooks in light of the pandemic," Stockley said.

With the onset of COVID, you have to get the politics from a different perspective, Clayton said. You still have to talk to everyone in the room.

In many ways social media makes that task easier. As a well known member of the Black community, Clayton already had received invites to church events and neighborhood parties. But the 18th Judicial District is 58% White, and getting personal time inside social circles not used to seeing Black faces isnt as automatic.

Apart from occasional tweets, Clayton said he had no idea how social media worked. He hired veteran political strategist Roy Fletcher, of Baton Rouge, and a social media expert Darren Gauthier, of Denham Springs.

They put together a two-minute Do It Yourself candidate show, during which Clayton talked about his experience prosecuting felonies and expressed his hopes for criminal justice in the future.

We ran it for 10 days. We got 100,000 views, Fletcher said. A view is described as someone having watched it for more than 30 seconds. Thats quite remarkable because on Saturday, Iberville, West Baton Rouge and Pointe Coupee parishes had only 54,558 registered voters, meaning that even accounting for viewers in adjacent East Baton Rouge Parish, more than a few of the targeted audience saw the show more than once.

Longtime prosecutor Antonio "Tony" Clayton has made his bid to become the west side's next District Attorney official on the opening day for c

Clayton said he had heard the term geofencing but didnt really know what it meant before his campaign embraced the marketing technology. Basically, using radio-frequency identification, Wi-Fi, global positioning and Bluetooth, geofencing allows candidates to lock into computers and smartphones and have their content repeatedly pop-up on the devices of voters in the districts geographical boundary.

Clayton was elected prosecutor when nobody signed up to run against him for the open seat, which is virtually unheard of in Louisiana politics.

I dont know that social media levels the playing field. But it does give them an inexpensive way to articulate themselves to a large number of people, Fletcher said. Credibility still plays a big role. You have to have something to say and you have to be credible saying it.

Clayton is a known quantity in the 18th Judicial District, where he was chief felony prosecutor for years. He successfully prosecuted two serial killers, Derrick Todd Lee and Sean Gillis, sat on the Southern University System Board, palled around with Congressman Cedric Richmond, D-New Orleans, and partnered with the current district attorneys son state Sen. Rick Ward, R-Port Allen, in one the areas most prominent law firms.

Technology is catching up with a natural evolution in Louisiana that is moving past the face-to-face politicking to a more remote style.

U.S. Sen. David Vitter, the leading Republican candidate for governor in 2015, walked in neighborhood parades and shook hands at various festivals. The GOP standard bearer in 2019, Eddie Rispone, who is far more gregarious, rarely made personal appearances, relying almost exclusively on television advertising.

Television is still most important, but platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Snap Chat, and Twitter have been growing in sophistication, political strategists agree. For years, dozens of unknown candidates have said the use of social media would overcome establishment advantages of money and name recognition.

Few, however, have been successful.

An exception is Acadiana Congressman Clay Higgins, who in 2016 knocked off Public Service Commission Chairman Scott Angelle a former lieutenant governor, Cabinet secretary for two governors and nearly successful candidate for governor.

In his first campaign, Higgins filmed small gatherings in which the candidate spoke from the back of a pickup, then shook hands with the folks. Political videographer Chris Comeaux edited each video into slick, fast-paced vignettes that were available on Facebook and YouTube.

It was the combination of new media matched up with '30s campaign style, Comeaux said at the time.

The effort cost about $320,000 about a quarter of what Angelle spent on television, yard signs and the like.

But Higgins already was comfortable in front of the camera having become an internet sensation as a tough-talking cop in Crime Stoppers segments that ran on television news shows.

Though all of Louisianas incumbent congressmen seeking another two-year term drew opponents, only Acadianas U.S. Rep. Clay Higgins race is

In Higgins effort to win a third term in November, he faces opponents schooled in social media. One Democratic contender, Rob Anderson, of Sulphur, has about 100,000 Twitter followers and appears frequently in engaging DIY candidate shows.

Social media is going to be critical at getting out our ideas, said Braylon Harris, of Lake Charles, the other Democrat challenging Higgins who also has an easy manner in crowds.

Harris plans to enhance his social media with some old-style politicking, visiting small coffee shops, working the lines waiting to go into Walmart and the like.

Therell be no kissing of babies, Harris said. Well take precautions gloves, masks, 6 feet apart all that stuff. Its not optimal, but dont we want to win by spreading COVID-19.

Its a clichd scene in political theater: sign-waving throngs, urging their champion to take those final steps and pick up the mantle of leadership.

More:

In Louisiana's elections, technology is playing a huge role in campaigning amid coronavirus - The Advocate

The vast majority (92%) who have used rugged technology first-hand are keen to invest in more, according to a new multi-industry study.

Rugged technology is set to form a vital part in the future of manufacturing, with 64% of manufacturing professionals believing that tougher devices will be essential in their workplace over the next two years, with 44% users stating that tougher devices will form a vital part of the 5G revolution.

The research, published by Samsung Electronics UK, took in the views of employees and decision-makers in the sector, among others, to reveal current attitudes towards rugged technology.

Rugged refers to hardware including smartphones, tablets, laptops and wearables designed to operate in extremely harsh environments and conditions.

Samsung uncovered an array of key insights into the benefits and attitudes towards the wider adoption of rugged tech, with those already using or deploying it in their workplace saying the following:

While more than two-thirds (68%) of users claim that they cannot imagine work life without rugged technology, the survey also revealed a strong will from non-users to deploy it in the future.

Read more:

Rugged technology to play pivotal role in future of manufacturing - The Manufacturer

NEW YORK, andLONDON, and DUBAI, UAE andMEXICO CITY, Aug. 3, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Volante Technologies Inc.,a leading provider of payments and financial messaging solutions in the cloud, today announced that it has raised USD 35M in growth equity financing led by Wavecrest Growth Partners with strategic participation from BNY Mellon, Citi Ventures, PostePay and Visa Inc.

The capital raise represents the company's first outside investment after nearly two decades of strong organic growth and profitability. Volante will direct the capital towards accelerating its cloud expansion globally and its reach into new geographies, market segments, and industry verticals.

"We are thrilled to lead the first institutional investment in Volante and partner with its stellar team," said Vaibhav Nalwaya, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Wavecrest, who will be joining the Company's Board of Directors. "Volante has built an impeccable reputation as a fintech that can quickly enter and dominate new markets. Shortly after launching their Volante Designer financial messaging platform, they became providers to some of the world's largest custodians and exchanges. Two years after entering the payments arena with VolPay, they processed the first U.S. real-time payment. Today, they can count four of the top five corporate banks among their more than one hundred customers."

"They've also rapidly emerged as the leader in cloud-based payments as a service," added Nalwaya. "With cloud and digital transformation becoming ever more critical for organizations of all types, Volante is perfectly positioned to capitalize on this arc of success. We look forward to accelerating the company's growth trajectory."

BNY Mellon and Volante have been collaborating since 2017 on creating and deploying real-time payment capabilities.

"We are excited to expand our strategic relationship by investing in Volante," adds Saket Sharma, Chief Information and Digital Officer for BNY Mellon Treasury services. "This reinforces our commitment to helping our clients leverage best-in-class products and services in their own digital transformations."

Citi's Treasury and Trade Solutions business has been working with Volante for several years and Volante currently serves as the translation layer across Citi's core payments infrastructure.

"Volante's solutions are already an integral part of Citi's payment processing architecture, underpinning the outstanding payments and transaction banking platforms for which Citi is known worldwide," explained Nick Nadgauda, Global Head of Treasury and Trade Solutions Technology at Citi."Our investment signals our confidence in Volante's technology and we look forward to enhancing our relationship for future engagements."

PostePay, a leading Italian Electronic Money Institution (EMI) and part of the Poste Italiane Group, is partnering with Volante to enable instant payments for SCT-INST as well as to provide a new transactional gateway to traditional interbank networks via their open banking platform.

Mirko Mischiatti, Group Chief Digital, Technology & Operating Officer at Poste Italiane, said, "Our investment in Volante is directly linked to our 'Deliver 2022' innovation strategy. VolPay's cloud-native microservices architecture will allow us to support current and future payment rails on and off the cloud. This will enable us to provide innovative customer experiences for over 14 million Poste Italiane account holders and 28 million cards as we continue to shift away from traditional payment methods to next-generation digital options and account-based payments."

Vijay Oddiraju, Co-Founder and CEO of Volante, commented, "We started Volante in 2001 with a clear purpose. We wanted to help financial institutions by providing modern solutions to simplify the complexity of their operations and accelerate business outcomes, from capital markets to custody to transaction banking."

Oddiraju continued, "Today, we process trillions in value and millions of transactions daily for the world's largest banks, financial institutions, card networks, market infrastructures, and corporations. We plan to invest further in cloud technologies and into other areas of financial services, as well as new industries. The fact that the majority of our strategic investors are clients is a testament to the mutual trust we have built over the years with a wide range of organizations."

Read more about the Volante journey and the company's future plans in CEO and co-founder Vijay Oddiraju's blog, "Taking Volante To The Next Level"

About Volante TechnologiesVolante Technologies is a global provider of technology and software as a service to accelerate digital transformation and modernization in financial services. Our clients include the world's largest banks, market infrastructures, exchanges, clearing houses, corporate treasuries, and card networks.

Volante's ecosystem of business services simplifies and automates complex systems and processes in payments, capital markets, and financial message integration. As a result, our clients are able to stay ahead of emerging market trends, become more competitive, deliver superior customer experiences, and grow their businesses through innovation.

Founded in Silicon Valley in 2001, Volante today serves as a trusted, strategic business partner to over 90 financial institutions in 35 countries.

For further information please visit: http://www.volantetech.com

About Wavecrest Growth PartnersBased in Boston, Wavecrest Growth Partners is a growth equity firm focused on investing in and partnering with leading B2B software and technology-enabled services companies. Wavecrest targets investments in profitable, high-growth technology companies with proven business models and brings to bear a unique combination of investing and operating expertise. Wavecrest's co-founders have three decades of combined investing and operating experience in growth-stage B2B technology companies. For more information, visitwavecrestgrowth.com.

About BNYM BNY Mellon is a global investments company dedicated to helping its clients manage and service their financial assets throughout the investment lifecycle. Whether providing financial services for institutions, corporations or individual investors, BNY Mellon delivers informed investment and wealth management and investment services in 35 countries. As of June 30, 2020, BNY Mellon had $37.3 trillion in assets under custody and/or administration, and $2.0 trillion in assets under management. BNY Mellon can act as a single point of contact for clients looking to create, trade, hold, manage, service, distribute or restructure investments. BNY Mellon is the corporate brand of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (NYSE: BK). Additional information is available on http://www.bnymellon.com. Follow us on Twitter @BNYMellon or visit our newsroom at http://www.bnymellon.com/newsroomfor the latest company news.

About CitiCiti Ventures ignites change and reimagines solutions that drive economic progress for clients. Headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices in San Francisco, New York, London and Tel Aviv, Citi Ventures accelerates discovery of new sources of value by exploring, incubating and investing in new ideas, in partnership with Citi colleagues, our clients and the innovation ecosystem. For more information visit: http://ventures.citi.com/.

About Poste ItalianePost Italiane is Italy's largest service infrastructure network, providing postal, financial, insurance, payments, mobile & digital services to households, businesses and public administrations across the Country. For 158 years, with 12,800 Post Offices, 125 thousand employees, 548 billion total financial assets and almost 35 million customers, Post Italiane has been an integral part of Italy's social and productive fabric, unparalleled in terms of size, brand awareness, reach and trust. In 2019, the group's activities generated direct, indirect and induced impact on the Italian economy equal to approximately 12.5 billion GDP.

For further information please visit http://www.posteitaliane.it/en

SOURCE Volante Technologies

http://www.volantetech.com

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Volante Technologies Receives $35m of Growth Funding from Leading International Investors to Accelerate Cloud Expansion Globally - PRNewswire

Closed schools, universities, and job training centers have made the need for online education ... [+] urgent.

In the daily flurry of negative news, investors should be careful not to lose sight of the fact that while Covid-19 has caused thousands of companies to struggle, default on their debt, or to declare bankruptcy around the globe, it has also created great business opportunities. With thousands of schools, universities, and job training center closed around the world, many since February, the need for online education for educators, parents, students and life-long learners has never been more urgent.

Covid-19 has caused a significant disruption in the world of education, but it has been a boon to education technology (EduTech) companies. Even when a vaccine for Covid-19 is approved, online education is here to stay filling gaps that already existed in education curricula. Online education has been helping reach underserved populations students as well as students with special needs and disabilities. Additionally, many parents and educators are likely to use online education to be ready for the next public health or natural disaster.

Anytime any student or client asks me for advice, I always tell them that long gone are the days when people went to a place of employment and stayed there for almost a lifetime.I myself take classes online several times a year to stay-up-to date in my professional field. The EduTech companies below cater mostly to K-12, but many also provide online education to students in higher education as well as to those looking for training for their current or prospective careers.

Salman Khan

Khan Academyis probably the most famous online educator. It is a not-for-profit with the stated mission of providing a free, world-class education for anyone, anywhere. Khans courses are for the youngest and oldest of learners. And Edutopia, which is an educational foundation founded by filmmaker George Lucas, is a treasure trove of free information, including on social and emotional learning, teacher development, and education research on project learning.

In addition to these not-for-profit online education providers, there are also a number of publicly traded companies from around the world that stand to gain from the rising demand for online education for learners from pre-school, primary and secondary schools, and colleges and graduate schools to post-graduate learners

EduTech Companies

Investors at banks and at institutional investing firms would do well to learn about these publicly traded companies, many of which are in education technology (EduTech) niche of the technology sector.

Arco Platform Limited (ARCE) serves more than 1,360,000 students and 5,400 private schools throughout Brazil from kindergarten to high school.

Chegg (CHGG) provides digital and physical textbook rentals, online tutoring, and other student services.

China New Higher Education Group (2001.HK) is an in person and online provider of vocational education and teacher training in seven provinces in China.

Connections Academy (LSE:PSON, NYSE:PSO) is owned by Pearson an online company for K-12 private schooling.

Instructure, Inc. (INST) is an online educator for K-12, college, and business professionals.

Kahoot (KAHOOT-ME.OL) headquartered in Norway, is an online educator for primary and secondary students as well as for lifelong learners in business. It was founded in partnership with the Norwegian University of Science and Technology.

K12(LRN)provides online education, in some cases with in person instruction, for elementary and secondary students. It also concentrates on providing world language instruction in Spanish, French, German, Latin, and Mandarin.

New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc (EDU) is a Chinese company providing online pre-school 12th grade courses as well as consulting services to students wishing to study abroad.

Perdoceo Education Corporation(PRDO) is an online higher education provider where students can obtain undergraduate and postgraduate degrees.

Tal (TAL) is a China-based K-12 after school online educational and tutoring company.

2U (TWOU) is an educational technology company which partners with top universities to educate higher education and lifelong learners especially with technical skills.

The above companies shares and bonds may be bought singly, or in some cases, they are part of Exchange Traded Funds and mutual funds. Caveat Emptor! Buyer beware. In order to conduct your own due diligence on the above companies, please do your own homework and/or consult your own financial advisor.

Analyzing a company's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats can help you make your ... [+] investment decisions.

A good way to start your analysis is by researching the companies with an eye to analyzing their strengths and weaknesses and the opportunities and threats that lie before them. In combination, another framework that can help you analyze these companies is Harvard Business School Professor Michael Porters Five Forces model. This framework helps you look at the supplier power, buyer power, competitive rivalry, substitution threat and threat of new entry that can impact the companies that you are analyzing. Porters model can help you figure out the competitive advantages that these companies have.

For a more robust analysis of companies, I use a corporate credit framework.The purpose of a corporate credit analysis is to determine whether a company will default, and if it does, how much would a lender suffer in losses. This analysis encompasses identifying the country and economic factors that can impact the relevant industry, in this case, education technology. From there, you analyze the balance sheet, income statement and cash flow statements of the company in order to determine whether the company is sufficiently profitable and liquid to keep paying lenders and bond holders.

Corporate credit analysis

If like a stock analyst, you want to forecast the price of these companies shares, the methodology has some similarities to the corporate credit framework. Once you get to the balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow statement, you can design assumptions to create a net present value model to forecast the price of shares.Qualitative and quantitative information to help you conduct your SWOT, Porters Five Forces, a corporate credit analysis, or to forecast the price of shares, is in the live links above.

Go here to read the rest:

The Covid-19 Crisis Is A Boost To Educational Technology Companies - Forbes

A study by scientists from the University of Southampton has examined the chances of catching COVID-19 in a train carriage carrying an infectious person.

Based on high-speed routes in China, researchers from WorldPop found that for train passengers sitting within three rows (widthwise) and five columns (lengthwise) of an infected person (index patient) between zero and ten percent (10.3) caught the disease. The average rate of transmission for these close contact travellers was 0.32 percent.

The study, in collaboration with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, China Academy of Electronics and Information Technology, and Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, also showed that passengers travelling in seats directly adjacent to an index patient suffered the highest level of transmission, with an average of 3.5 percent contracting the disease. For those sitting on the same row, the figure was 1.5 percent.

The attack rate for each seat the number of passengers in a given seat diagnosed with COVID-19, divided by the total number of passengers travelling in the same seat increased by 0.15 percent for every hour that a person travelled with an index patient. For those in adjacent seats, this rate of increase was higher at 1.3 percent per hour.

Interestingly, the researchers found that only 0.075 percent of people who used a seat previously occupied by an index patient went on to contract the disease.

Details are published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases.

The WorldPop team, experts in population mapping, used sophisticated modelling to analyse anonymised itinerary and infection data relating to train passengers on Chinas high-speed G train network. This included those who had COVID-19 at the time of travel and their close contacts (who showed symptoms within 14 days of travel). The data, covering a period between 19 December 2019 and 6 March 2020, included 2,334 index patients and 72,093 close contacts. Their travel times ranged from between less than an hour to eight hours.

Lead investigator, Dr Shengjie Lai, comments: Our study shows that although there is an increased risk of COVID-19 transmission on trains, a persons seat location and travel time in relation to an infectious person can make a big difference as to whether it is passed on. The findings suggest that during the COVID-19 epidemic it is important to reduce the density of passengers and promote personal hygiene measures, the use of face coverings and possibly carry-out temperature checks before boarding.

The researchers conclude that given the attack rates estimated for passengers in the same row as an index patient, a safe social distance of more than one metre is required for one hour spent travelling together. After two hours of contact, they consider a distance of less than 2.5 metres may be insufficient to prevent transmission.

Director of WorldPop, Professor Andy Tatem adds: Our research is the first to quantify the individual risk of COVID-19 transmission on public transport based on data from epidemiological investigations of disease cases and their close contacts on high-speed trains.

It shows that the transmission risk not only relates to the distance from an infected person, but also the time in their presence. We hope it can help to inform authorities globally about measures needed to guard against the virus and in-turn help to reduce its spread.

ReferenceMaogui Hu, Hui Lin, Jinfeng Wang, Chengdong Xu, Andrew J Tatem, Bin Meng, Xin Zhang, Yifeng Liu, Pengda Wang, Guizhen Wu. The risk of COVID-19 transmission in train passengers: an epidemiological and modelling study. Clinical Infectious Diseases, ciaa1057, https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/ciaa1057

This article has been republished from the following materials. Note: material may have been edited for length and content. For further information, please contact the cited source.

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COVID-19 Transmission on Trains Investigated - Technology Networks

One of the world's largest companies Apple has carried the tech sector higher this year.

The iPhone maker has rallied nearly 45% in 2020 and set another record high as recently as Friday, a day after a blowout earnings report.

But, Apple isn't the only way to play strength in the sector, according to long-time tech investor Paul Meeks who manages the Wireless Fund.

"Probably my favorite ideas, not necessarily in the near term because I can't predict the near term but over the next couple of years, are two semiconductor-related names," Meeks told CNBC's "Trading Nation" on Friday.

His first pick is Micron Technology, a chipmaker that has lagged a broad rally among the semiconductor stocks this year.

"I think they will double their stock price over the next two or three years, whereas some of the marquee tech stocks I think will continue to outperform but they can't double from here," said Meeks.

Micron is down 7% in 2020, while the SMH semiconductor ETF has gained 18%.

"Then the other one that I like is semiconductor capital equipment manufacturer ASM Lithography. Those two are probably my favorite ideas for tech over the next couple of years," he said.

While those are his top ideas, he says any tech investor should at least be exposed to some of the market's biggest companies including Apple, Facebook and Amazon.

"We're in a tech world and everything else is just revolving around us in the periphery," said Meeks. "Perhaps you don't like those valuations, there's some that I don't like at any particular time. But, these all are stocks that are probably over time, if you're a serious tech investor, must haves."

Disclosure: WIREX holds Micron, Apple, Facebook and Amazon.

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Two chipmakers are the best bet on future tech growth, long-time tech investor Paul Meeks says - CNBC

The age of 5G is different from previous generations; businesses across various industries, not just the telecommunication field, are working hard to converge with the next-generation mobile communication industry. Users are increasingly looking ahead to a daily life characterized by large capacity, low latency and hyper-connected communication.

In the age of 5G, in which a wide range of cutting-edge technologies co-exist, Vice President Intaik Park chose softwarization as the technology that we should first turn our attention to. A hardware-based implementation needs replacements every time a new technology emerges, noted Park. But a product realized with software on a general-purpose server only requires software updates to implement and enable new technologies. We also anticipate that softwarization can greatly reduce facility investment and operation costs.

Many global companies are currently focusing on softwarization, thus gradually expanding the use of technologies. Conventionally, software application was limited just to core network equipment, but it has recently expanded to modem implementations that need to operate in real-time, something that was considered difficult to realize without specialized hardware. As network-related open-source projects such as Open Network Automation Platform (ONAP) emerge alongside the telecommunication industrys adoption of open-source systems for container management like Kubernetes from the IT industry, open-source software is spreading extensively throughout the communication industry, noted Park. He also explained that software development methods are changing too with the use of open-source software.

As well as softwarization, we also should be turning our attention to the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in communication networks. As communication technologies advance, so does their complexity and variety. This means that the need for AI is increasing, too. There have been many previous attempts to leverage AI for communications, just as with software. But in the next generation of communication, AI is set to emerge as the most indispensable technology.

As 5G operates on an ultra-high frequency (mmWave), it requires more base stations than LTE (Long Term Evolution) due to its shorter ranges. Furthermore, since base stations equipped with new technologies like network slicing have to adapt to their unique environments, the situation becomes much more complex. Leveraging AI for base station management so that they can be operated automatically and adjust to changing environments would reduce operation costs and optimize performance, said Park.

Whereas 5G involved implementing AI into communication technologies for efficiency and automation, we plan for AI to be embedded across all system components in 6G networks, said Park of the future of AI in communications. We expect AI to play an important role right from the design stages. Our plan is to converge the next-generation communication network with AI to make communication intelligent. Samsungs software and AI capabilities will have a huge synergizing effect on the industry.

Researchers at Samsungs Advanced Communications Research Centers advanced solutions team are charting the convergence of a variety of technologies

5G is a technology that has only just been introduced, meaning that there still many challenges to overcome. The key to the wide adoption of 5G technology is to identify applications (apps) that harness the particular advantages of 5G, noted Park. More apps capable of offering new services and values to people based on the core characteristics of 5G need to emerge.

Such apps that could win over the hearts and minds of users could potentially be realized using 5Gs ultra-low latency characteristic. Latency exists in every form of communication for example, watching the live broadcast of a football match on a 4G smartphone will mean that what is displayed is slightly behind the actual game.

By drastically reducing latency, apps that could not be realized previously due to a lack of storage or computing resources on devices could be enabled by offloading computation to remote servers in the form of real-time streaming, explained Park. Multi-access edge computing (MEC) technology brings the computing resources of a data center that may be physically far away from a user closer to further reduce the delays that have been already reduced thanks to 5G technologys ultra-low latency. This technology will be recognized as a key communications technology, along with 5G.

The telecommunications industry is laboring hard to overcome challenges and provide far-reaching, best-in-class services and values to users of the recently-commercialized 5G network, and Samsung Electronics is no exception. Samsung possesses an excellent foundation with which to create new solutions and services by merit of the companys wide portfolio of technologies that cover everything from mobile phones to telecommunication equipment. The development of 5G services and solutions based on both mobile devices and telecommunication equipment will be an area where Samsung can shine with its accumulated experiences in these industries, highlighted Park.

Key players in software and hardware development are now entering the communications industry. Manufacturers of CPU, GPU and other components are actively engaging their technologies through the softwarization of communication equipment. As edge computing such as MEC has taken on a vital role in the industry, cloud providers have also started to join the communications sector. Furthermore, the leaders of the automobile market are also getting involved with the communications market as attention on autonomous driving continues to grow. Companies from a variety of industries have turned their attention to the communications market, meaning that the market has a huge growth potential, noted Park. The competition will be fierce, but we will witness a lot of innovation, too.

Within this market landscape, Samsung plans to solidify its leadership through the convergence of its various technologies. Since the borders between varying industries are breaking down, communications technology is also converging with a wide range of other technologies, said Park. We will tailor our software, AI, cloud service and other technologies for the communications industry, one by one. When undergoing such changes, Samsung will firmly maintain its principles of communication while enhancing our competitive edge based on the experience we have gained through a long-time involvement in the ever-changing communications industry.

Park, who has worked in the software industry for a long time, is pioneering a new way in the communications industry. The move from local standards to global standards brought in more players as well as more opportunities, noted Park. Now, with softwarization and AI being applied, the industry has become an unpredictable land of opportunity. In the age of hyper connectivity, perhaps even the physical distance between things will fade away once everything converges. Let us see how far we can go to reduce that distance in the future. With this firm outlook, Park is set for success when facing the next challenges that may arise.

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[What's Next in Communications Technology?] Embracing the Next Generation of Communication: the Convergence of Technologies - Samsung Global Newsroom