Friday, September 13, 2013

Rasta Imposta Defective Flimsy Halloween Costumes Concern Industry Insiders

Halloween is big business. 148 million Americans will partake in Halloween festivites this year and are expected to spend in excess of $66 per person on costumes, candies and decorations. Here's how to enjoy Halloween safely, and without spending a lot of money.

New York, NY, September 13, 2013 - (Straight Line PR) -- Every year at Halloween, families gather to carve pumpkins into jack-o-lanterns, attend costume parties, play pranks on one another, and go trick or treating. Halloween is big business. This year it is estimated that over $8.3 billion will be spent on Halloween related purchases.


Halloween is America's second-largest commercial holiday, with Christmas being the first. According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), 148 million Americans will take part in some sort of Halloween celebration this year and will, on average, spend in excess of $66 per person on costumes, candies and decorations.

The Halloween industry thrives on the primary driver that every year, children and adults get to be someone else for an evening. Spending on Halloween costumes alone is expected to reach $4 billion this year. Here are some tips to make Halloween purchases special - and safe.

First, it's a good idea, when purchasing Halloween costumes, to be sure they are made with flame resistant fabrics. Avoid costumes made from flimsy materials, baggy pants, sleeves, large capes or billowing skirts.

Purchase costumes from a reputable costume manufacturer, one which guarantees their merchandise to be free from defects. Industry insiders recommend costumes made by companies such as Forum Novelties ( http://www.forumnovelties.com/ ), Rubies ( http://www.rubies.com/ ), RG Costumes ( http://www.rgcostume.com/ ) and Fun World ( http://www.fun-world.net/halloween.html ).

The key things to check on potentially flimsy costumes will be the seams and stitching of the costume. When the seams separate, the entire costume is at risk. Online purchasers are at a huge disadvantage in this regard as they cannot inspect the garment before making a purchase.

It is important to choose costumes that are light-colored, bright and clearly visible to motorists. Trick or treaters should carry flashlights to see where they are walking, and to ensure that they are seen by others.

To guard against injuries, all costumes should fit well and not drag on the ground. Sturdy footwear is required. High heels are not a good idea. Swords, knives, and similar costume accessories should be made of soft, flexible material, to prevent injuries.

Industry insiders who sell products on the world's top e-commerce platforms have had some bad experiences recently trying to refund costumes from Rasta Imposta ( http://www.rastaimposta.com/ ) and California Costumes ( http://www.californiacostumes.com ).

The big online retail platforms collect and measure feedback from customers, rating their satisfaction with their purchses. Both Rasta Imposta and California Costimes have had above normal negative feedback from dissatisfied customers. In many cases, the negative feedback was close to 40% on certain costumes from these two suppliers.

Rasta Imposta is known for creating licensed costumes from The Hangover Movie, Chiquita Banana, Dumb and Dumber and Gumby.

Retailers report popular adult costumes this year include:
* Michael Jackson, following the pop superstar's death four years ago.
* Vampires, spurred by the young adult Twilight books and HBO's True Blood series.
* Sexy Queen of Hearts, nurse and burlesque babe outfits.

To report a dangerous product or a product-related injury go online to http://www.SaferProducts.gov or call CPSC's Hotline at (800) 638-2772. Consumers can read news releases and recall information at http://www.cpsc.gov , on Twitter @OnSafety or by subscribing to CPSC's free e-mail newsletters.

About Marvin Phelps:
Marvin Phelps is a reporter specializing in the Halloween Products industry. He frequents all of the popular Halloween trade shows to discuss and analyze trends with other industry professionals. He considers wearing costumes, going door to door and asking for candy and watching monster movies to be among his greatest pleasures.

Contact:
Marvin Phelps
Halloween Products industry
New York, NY
856-939-9599
HalloweenProductNews@hotmail.com
http://www.californiacostumes.com

Secure your Google Docs with Collavate

Google Docs is an innovative Google service that lets users manage, edit, share and create documents, spreadsheets, presentations and other file types.

San Jose, CA, September 13, 2013 - Google Docs is an innovative Google service that lets users manage, edit, share and create documents, spreadsheets, presentations and other file types. However, even though Google Docs offers numerous benefits to all users, there are certain security concerns that arise when sharing documents outside the domain or when a sensitive document is mistakenly sent to the wrong user. 



In addition to these “external” security issues, companies have also expressed concern that important documents can easily and inadvertently be deleted without notice, an event that has happened before. This is why many companies are still afraid or hesitant to use Google Docs when it comes to confidential documents.

One way to tackle the security issue is to have the Google Apps super admin disable outside sharing settings so that no one outside a certain domain level can access the files. However, the problem with this method is that you will no longer be able to collaborate with users outside the domain (e.g. clients or partners) once you switch off these sharing settings. Even if you were to disable outside sharing, users can still mistakenly or purposefully share documents with the wrong users.

If you are a Google Docs user and share these concerns, here’s some good news: a solution for your problems is finally here and its name is Collavate. Read on to learn more about what this Google Docs tool offers you.

Workflow with Document Ownership Change and Archiving
If you have to write a document and get it approved by your supervisor, all you have to do is define a workflow, edit the Google document and then submit it to your supervisor using the Collavate tool. Once the document is submitted, a unique document identification number is automatically generated as a prefix to the document name, and permission to edit the document is automatically sent to your supervisor via email. At the same time, ownership of the document automatically transfers to your domain’s designated document administrator and you will automatically become a viewer without permission to edit the document.

Your supervisor will have editing privileges, and can either accept or reject the document, or revise it and send it back to you. Once the supervisor has completed his or her review and takes action on the document, the supervisor’s editing privileges will end, and s/he will be able to only view the document. All changes to the document are stored in your domain’s Google Drive, and the document and all changes to the document will be properly archived and protected. If you would like to learn more about this security feature, try out the free version of Collavate.

Collavate’s 5-Tier Security Control System
Collavate’s 5-Tier Security Control System is designed to help organizations control access to documents. Each Collavate document is assigned a security access code number from 1 to 5 with 1 being the highest level of security access and 5 the lowest level.

Users are similarly assigned a security access code number by the domain administrator that designates the user’s level of access. So, for instance, if a user has a security access code of 3, that user may access all documents that have a security code number of 3, 4 or 5, but not documents with security code numbers 1 or 2. If users are not in your collaborative group, they will still be able to view the “S-Level” documents corresponding to their clearance level. However, they will not be provided with the option of downloading the documents.

This security level feature is developed and designed to give both individuals and corporate organizations total control of how documents can be viewed by employees as well as the public. By using this feature, you and your organization will be able to easily protect confidential information on Google drive.

Activating Security Levels and Labeling Documents
To further secure your documents, only administrative users can provide others access to the Admin menu of Collavate. If you have access to the Admin menu, you will be able to activate and customize document security by following these three steps.

* Enable the 5-Tier Security Control System,
* Set the security level or labels for Google Documents.
* Assign users to clearance level

Enabling the 5-Tier Security Control System
To enable the 5-Tier Security Control System on Collavate, all you need do is implement the following three easy steps:

* Click on “Admin,” which is located at the right top corner of your screen.
* Go to the “Collavate Admin” menu, which is at the left side your screen, and click on “Docs Security.”
* When the drop down menu of Enable Document Security Level is visible to you, click on it and proceed to switch on the 5-Tier Security Control System.

To learn more about Security level features, click here (https://sites.google.com/a/netkiller.com/docsguide/home/docs-tab/security) to read the Collavate user guide.

Contact:
Harry Jung
Netkiller America Inc.
2033 Gateway Place, Ste 500
San Jose, CA 95110
(408) 641-0114
harryj@netkiller.com
http://www.netkiller.com