text:
Copyright © 2016
Synchrotech has announced an addition to its line of USB hubs, the K10 USB 2.0 Hub 10-Port Powered with Power Supply. The K10 provides computers with 10 additional USB ports that are capable of supporting low speeds of 1.5Mbps, full speeds of 12Mbps, and high-speeds of 480Mbps. While designed to be USB 2.0 compliant, the device is also USB 1.1 backward compatible, where it supports a maximum speed of 15Mbps. The hub runs in a self-powered mode and provides over-current protection at each of its downstream ports.
Divine Fiat has announced Concrete and Cardboard, a new theme set for Apple’s Keynote software. Concrete features scarred blacktop and painted caution strips, with design elements for bold presentations. The Cardboard theme is subtler, offering a mix of light brown and dark brown colors, and includes lightly-aged photo frames to complete the look. Both themes provide an array of customizable icon objects, along with new color and texture palettes.
Dell has released the Vostro A90 in the U.S. market, following previous availability limited to Japan. The device is geared for business users, with features similar to the consumer-oriented Inspiron Mini 9. The base-model offers an 8.9-inch display, 512MB of memory and an 8GB SSD, with options for 1GB of RAM and a 16GB SSD. Customers are limited to Windows XP Home Edition as the pre-installed operating system.
Smule has released Leaf Trombone: World Stage, its latest massively multiplayer online (MMO) musical game for the iPhone and iPod touch. The game provides users with a simulated Trombone and tools for composing and publishing songs. Players can perform their song live to a global audience, and then receive ratings from self-appointed judges. Songs can be rated on a scale from 1 to 10, or judges can send messages and emoticons for detailed critiques. Following each performance, the evaluation is added to the player’s standings and the current rank is updated.
Boinx Software and Noise Industries have released FxTiles, a collection of 3D filters and transitions based on FxFactory for Final Cut Pro, Motion, Final Cut Express and Adobe After Effects. The plug-ins are designed for video and post-production users. A Flip filter divides the source image into tiles and then flips them into 3D space, while a Shatter filter animates the tiles and a Spread filter offsets each tile.
Media 100 has introduced Media 100 Suite, a software package that offers multicam editing capabilities, a voice-over tool and Boris RED. The multicam editing feature can be used for real-time editing, while cameras can be added to an existing multiclip as their source media becomes available. Cameras can be synced via timecode and additional footage can be assigned to existing cameras.
An apparently separate leak has appeared to confirm at least some details of the Zune HD posted earlier this morning. Pointing to sources within Microsoft, Neowin claims the player will ultimately earn its name through the use of an NVIDIA Tegra mobile processor, which will handle both core processing as well as graphics functions. While the exact chip isn't specified, it's likely to be the APX 2600, which supports 720p video, full OpenGL effects, and HDMI yet which can still fit into a media player-sized casing.
Gartner Research on Wednesday released a report detailing PC shipments for the first quarter in the U.S. and abroad. HP took the lead in the domestic market, pushing Dell out of the top spot, while Mac sales showed a slight decline of 1.1 percent compared with the first quarter of 2008. The analysts believe Apple's lackluster performance can be attributed to higher ASPs compared with competitors, although its "deft control" of inventories protected against further shipment decline.
Today's featured DealNN deal is on the Maxtor OneTouch 4 1TB external hard drive. It is regularly priced at $179.99, but has been reduced to $99.99. This drive has 1TB of storage space for files, folders, music, games and more with data transfer rates of 480Mbps compatible with both Mac and Windows based systems. Included is a five year limited warranty from Maxtor.
Carmaker and Toyota offshoot Scion announced on Wednesday it is putting in a redesigned base head unit to all 2010 Scion xBs without raising the car's price. Compared to the head unit it replaces, both of which are manufactured by Pioneer, the new stereo has an organic electroluminescent (OEL) display, a USB connection and a subwoofer RCA output. The USB port is located in the center consoler, along with a cable for iPods and an 3.5mm aux-in jack. Pioneer also integrated an Advanced Sound Retriever (ASR) software into the head unit that aims to restore the full range of a compressed digital audio track.
A number of codenamed AMD CPUs and mainboard have revealed by a couple of leaked confidential slides that reportedly originated from AMD and were given to Expreview. A platform dubbed Tigris be launched sometime this year and will include a "Caspian" 45nm CPU with up to two cores and DDR2 800MHz memory support. It will be paired with AMD's RS880M-series and SB710 chipsets, providing a ATI M9x era graphics chip with DirectX 10.1 support that gives HD video decoding as well as DVI, HDMI and DisplayPort connections for video and PCIe Gen 2 support. There will be support for 12 USB 2.0 connections as well as a pair of USB 1.1 connections and six SATA connections.
Samsung Electronics America on Tuesday announced it has launched eight new data projectors in four series, including the portable P400, the classroom-oriented and LCD-based L220 and L300 and Data-series D300 and D400 and three new models in the A-series meant for multimedia viewing in homes comprised of the A400, A800 and A900. The P400 is meant to be taken from boardroom to meeting room, with its sub-2lb weight, best in-class brightness at under 150 ANSI lumens from its LED light source. Its bulb is rated at 30,000 hours of life, and there are standard VGA and RCA composite video inputs, along with a built-in speaker and a screw for mounting on tripods.
Apple is poised to ship fewer Macs to the US year-over-year in a quarter for the first time in multiple quarters, according to early estimates from IDC. Researchers believe Apple will have shipped 1.13 million Macs in its home country in the first quarter of 2009, or a 1.2 percent drop versus the same stretch one year earlier. The company will have ultimately gained a slight amount of market share, moving from 7.2 percent to 7.6, but will also been one of only two firms in the top 5 computer vendors to have shipped fewer systems in winter 2009 than in 2008, with Dell being the other exception.
EzGear had launched a new video cable for iPods and iPhones. The cable makes use of Apple’s authentication chip, giving users the ability to play content from their handheld on any display. One end of the cable features a dock connector, which can also be used to charge a device in use; the other offers connectors for video, USB, and left and right audio channels.
E*Trade is in the process of developing an iPhone app, anonymous sources claim. The app from the online investment service is allegedly in a "very secret" beta stage, and should give E*Trade subscribers the ability to order, switch or cancel trades. Other features are said to include portfolio access, stock research, lists of open orders and real-time quote tracking.
CyberPower on Wednesday released its high-spec graphics processing workstation, the Power Mega 1000. The headline specs of the PC include Intel's new 2.66GHz Core i7 processor set on an X58 Chipset SLI/CrossFireX-capable mainboard and NVIDIA's Quadro NVS 420 x16 PCIe graphics card, which is capable of driving up to four 30-inch displays. This can be achieved by connections on the card that are comprised of a dual DisplayPort/dual-link DVI port.
AT&T on Wednesday announced the launch of a new service that lets subscribers on the same joint family plan track each other's locations thanks to their mobile devices. Called AT&T FamilyMap, the service lets parents or other account owners log into a website from a home or office computer or their own Internet-enabled smartphone and request the current location of other members on the group account.
D-Link this morning started shipping its PowerLine HD Ethernet Adapter Starter Kit. The bundle creates the equivalent to an Ethernet connection between a router and a device and stands out for its bandwidth: at 200Mbps in peak conditions, the kit has twice as much room as basic Ethernet and should reliably stream HD video over a local network. D-Link sees the adapters as ideal for game console and Slingbox owners who might need a fast connection but for whom Wi-Fi either isn't reliable or quick.
National Geographic has teamed up with Cellular Abroad to offer one of the few official dual-SIM handsets inthe US with the Duet D888, made by Beyond E-Tech. The tri-band GSM phone ships with a Cellular Abroad international SIM card and has a slot for a second SIM card chosen by the user. This effectively allows users to make and receive calls from and to two separate numbers, and allow them to retain the same handset when traveling abroad while using a local network and not incur roaming charges.
HumanSoftware has released v1.7 of HSC Edit, a plug-in for Apple's Aperture workflow suite. The software lets users apply a variety of effects to photographs automatically, supplementing or bypassing regular adjustments. The v1.7 edition includes the new HyperFocal module, which simulates sharper focus through combinations of local, global or detailed contrast techniques. Users can also limit effects through masks or tone range selection, and tweak color balance and saturation.
Microsoft today said it had been given a second extension by the European Commission to prepare a response against antitrust charges that it has unfairly controlled web browsers. Having already been given a first extension that gave it until April 21st, the American firm has until April 28th to provide its own stance and early defense against the claims. Why the added time is required hasn't been formally explained.
Filing through the US Patent and Trademark Office, Apple has applied for a trademark on the concept of its iTunes Pass service. The option is a subset of the iTunes Store, allowing shoppers to pay for a complete musical collection -- usually from a particular band -- and download each piece as it becomes available. All tracks are iTunes Plus-quality, and can be accompanied by videos, exclusive songs and other material.
Jumsoft has released Money 3.3, an update to its small-business accounting application. The new version adds Italian and Dutch localizations, along with improved German and French localizations. The company also fixed approximately 30 bugs and directly integrated the existing Invoice Templates Editor. Users can now create templates and change fonts, colors, paper sizes or table styles from within the program.
Toshiba Corp has developed a new type of lithium-ion cell for electric vehicles that uses a new lithium titanate material for its negative electrode and thereby boosts its energy density compared to current cells to 100Wh/kg, Tech-On reported on Wednesday. Samples of the new, more efficient cell will begin shipping in the fall of this year, and other specs include a capacity of 20Ah along with an output density of 1,000W per kilogram. This compares favorably to Toshiba's current cells used in electric bicycles, which have just a 4.2Ah capacity and a 67Wh/kg energy density.
Research in Motion's co-CEO Mike Lazaridis in an interview today shot down claims by Apple about push data and background apps on mobile devices. The executive argues to Laptop that RIM is more experienced at sending live updates through the 15 years of BlackBerries and that Apple's claims of severe battery life hits with background apps aren't well-founded. To Lazaridis, true background apps are feasible as long as the software is properly optimized.
Korea's LG has announced on Wednesday that it has sold 20 million phones equipped with QWERTY keyboards worldwide. The majority of the sales came from North America, where the first LG QWERTY phone was the VX9800 introduced on the Verizon network in 2005. The announcement comes less than a week after LG said it has shipped more than two million touchscreen Cookie handsets.
Electronics giant Philips is drawing a close to its public efforts in 3D imaging, a Dutch site reports. The company is noted to be closing its 3D Solutions division entirely, and putting an end to the production of displays using its WOWvx technology. The technology is unique in the industry for simulating 3D on an LCD TV, without requiring viewers to wear special glasses. The cost and/or inconvenience of such glasses has traditionally been a major obstacle to the adoption of 3D displays.
Samsung's previously leaked S8000 is now known through a Russian store slip (since pulled) to be the first in a series of phones that center on a new interface. Nicknamed the Cubic, the phone will have an updated version of Samsung's TouchWiz interface that adds a 3D "cube" of information that puts different information on different surfaces, such as calling information and widgets. While no shots are available, it should likely resemble LG's S-Class 3D interface.
Apple is nearly finished with work on the Mac OS X 10.5.7 update, seeding efforts indicate. Developers are said to have received build 9J47 on Friday, only four days after 9J44. This Tuesday is said to have seen the release of build 9J50, a sign that Apple may have a rapidly diminishing number of fixes to test and implement. Most developer builds of v10.5.7 have been issued only on a weekly basis.
Taiwanese PC maker Acer and China's Lenovo will release new all-in-one PCs sometime in 2009, say industry sources in Taiwan, according to a Wednesday DigiTimes report. Acer will come out with an 18.5-inch model that will be manufactured by Wistron but remain branded as an Acer product. Lenovo, after launching its first all-in-one, the 21.5-inch A600, will reportedly come out with an entry-level 20-inch C300 in May, along with a C100 and quad-core B500 in August, while an ultra-thin A300 is said coming in October.
Microsoft today updated its Zune Originals with a collection of custom engravings that center on spring. The six pieces of art that make up the collection were made by the creative duo APAK as well as individual artists Carolina Melis and Linn Olofsdotter. The patterns are free and apply to any of the flash or hard drive-based Zune models. The spring Originals don't replace any existing artwork and sit alongside the Artist, Tattoo and Zodiac collections.
Independent coders have published SvnX 1.0, the first completed release of an open-source Subversion client for Macs. Subversion is used by programmers to maintain version control of projects. New to the finished SvnX is an original Review and Commit window, with a formatted diff display and an editable list of commit files. Also present is a commit message area, and a series of customizable message templates.
Nokia's 5800 XpressMusic touchscreen phone may become the centerpiece for the company after surprisingly strong sales, according to analyst estimates. Where the company only officially said it had shipped 1 million units between December and January, GC Capital's Tero Kuittinen now determines that Nokia should have sold 2.5 million of the device just in the first three months of 2009, indicating exceptionally strong sales for a single model.
Recent monitoring of 25 hours of foot traffic at Apple Stores may suggest some unexpected figures for Apple's Q2 2009 results, claims Piper Jaffray. The research firm fanned out to regular and flagship stores across the US, and noted a weighted average of 22 iPhones being sold per day. The figure is said to indicate a 15 percent drop from Q1, and numbers substantially below the November average of 28 and the July and August averages of 95.
Acer on Wednesday updated its Aspire notebooks for the US with more details of the 3935 and 8935 models destined for the country. The 3935 is Acer's most direct competition for the unibody MacBook and measures just 1 inch thick while weighing less than 4.2 pounds. It also centers on a 13.3-inch, LED-backlit screen but has a 16:9 ratio, 1366x768 resolution and a bronze-colored aluminum skin. Also partly influenced by Apple are a chiclet-style keyboard and a multi-touch trackpad for scrolling and zooming.
Motorola in Mexico earlier this week announced the upcoming release of the MOTOROKR W6 handset, which hopes to combine music with a set of fitness-tracking apps. Users can enter their name, age, sex, weight and height into a fitness app that will then create a training plan based on that information. There is also a timer that keeps track of the duration of workout and the theoretical number of calories burned. The handset can export this information into a Microsoft Excel document for tracking progress over time.
LG Germany today accidentally revealed the company's plans for the Viewty II in a company blog post ahead of an official schedule. Since admitting that the information had been posted a "few days" early in a retraction, the company confirms that the photo-centric handset will have an 8-megapixel camera and a new emphasis on video; a simpler interface will let users flip to video and video capture in a true 480p (720x480) resolution, or much higher than the at best 640x480 used by competing phones.
ProteMac has released new firewall software for the Mac, NetMine. The application is designed to intercept network traffic from every application, and can help protect computers from viruses, malware, Trojans, ping floods, port scans, privacy intrusion and simple unauthorized program activity. NetMine uses a two-way firewall to monitor and analyze threats, while providing users with detailed information on all incoming and outgoing flows. The program can also block browser threats to protect against infected websites.
Microsoft has released updates to both its Office 2008 and 2004 suites for the Mac. The Office 2008 12.1.7 and Office 2004 11.5.4 patches address issues with security and performance; among these are vulnerabilities which could be exploited with malicious code in order to overwrite a computer’s memory.
A new rendering of Microsoft's in-development Zune HD has surfaced that appears to be authentic, along with potentially dubious claims about hardware features. The new image obtained by WMPowerUser shows both the front and back and suggests a design somewhat influenced by the first-generation iPhone, where the primarily aluminum design has a black strip on the back. It also has an interface reminiscent of Zunes but with a more touchscreen-friendly interface.
Dell's upcoming Inspiron Mini 11 ultraportable should ship in mid-summer, Taiwan's Commercial Times newspaper hints. Although the specific model isn't mentioned by name, PC assembly contractor Compal is claimed to have received orders for a Dell "ultra-thin notebook" using Intel's Consumer Ultra Low Voltage (CULV) processors that will be delivered in August, matching the description of the portable. Lenovo and Toshiba may also pick Compal to build CULV systems.
Now AAPL Stock: 93.99 ( + 0.29 )
Apple to open R&D center in India
A new report says that Apple will be opening a new technology center in Hyderabad, India, helping to boost the city's growing reputation as a tech center. The facility would operate within the WaveRock facility, and create 4,500 new jobs at a cost of around $25 million. In 2015, India surpassed the $1 billion in yearly sales milestone, and Apple has recently received permission to open retail stores in the country under its own control, an exception to rules that usually block foreign ownership. http://zd.net/1SMBVu4
Google killing Picasa starting May 1
Google Photos head Anil Sabharwal confirmed in a blog post today that the search engine giant will be shutting down acquisition Picasa. Support and downloads for the desktop application will terminate on March 15 with the application continuing to work for the time being. The transition to Google Photos truly commences on May 1, with deprecation of some Picasa API calls happening shortly thereafter. Users that have Google Photos access will find their photos already migrated. A mass-download tool for users not wishing to use Google Photos will be available sometime after May 1. http://bit.ly/1SmV2KH
Rogue Amoeba Piezo updated, departing App Store
In order to continue working on audio capture tool Piezo, developer Rogue Amoeba has simultaneously updated the app to version 1.5, and announced that it will pull version 1.2.6 from the Mac App Store. Customers who own the Mac App Store version have a one-time migration process to the Rogue Amoeba-served version. The company notes that the sandboxing restriction placed on Mac App Store versions "effectively stopped our ability to upgrade Piezo in any meaningful way." [8.80MB] http://bit.ly/1PIjz7l
FCC spectrum auction will happen without Google
After throwing its hat in earlier, Google (and associated companies) has declared that it is not participating in this year's FCC spectrum auction. A company spokeswoman said of the auction that "like all those interested in improved connectivity and equitable access, we'll be following the upcoming spectrum auction closely. That said, we have not filed to participate." http://on.recode.net/1oy5LWk
iPad Air 3, iPhone 5se sold Friday after launch?
Reverting the way products are actually released by Apple after an announcement to the way it was a decade ago, reports are circulating that new products revealed at a March announcement will go on sale the Friday immediately following the unveil. Slated to appear at a conjectural Tuesday, March 15 event are a new Apple four-inch phone with more up to date internals currently referred to as the iPhone 5se, and a new iPad Air 3 model with Smart Connector and other enhancements. http://bit.ly/1o7mqiY
Lexmark prevails in toner import appeal
Printer manufacturer Lexmark has won an appeal on the third-party US resale of its printer cartridges originally destined for markets outside North America. The appeals court ruled in a 10-2 vote in favor of Lexmark's demand to stop the sale and against Impression Products, both on the toner cartridge resale matter, as well as a related matter regarding overturning the reseller's refilling one-use cartridges and selling those in the US market. The ruling has ramifications in the tech industry, as well as the pharmaceutical and medical technology markets. Impression Products promises an appeal before the supreme court. http://reut.rs/1SLVmmG
AT&T expands BOGO promo to iPhone 6s
Beginning today, new and existing AT&T customers can purchase a new iPhone 6s and get another one free when adding a second line. Over the weekend, customers must purchase two phones through AT&T Next (one can be an existing number), and add both phones to a qualified plan. AT&T notes that "after three bill cycles or less" the account will start to receive up to $650 spread out over 30 monthly bill credits to offset the cost of the installment plan for the phone. Taxes are due at time of sale. http://soc.att.com/1SLUP4k


text:
New wireless carrier premiering in the States Sept 26th?
UPDATE: And now we have a name to associate with the new carrier: Personalized Wireless. We can't say for sure this will be the name of the carrier, but going to personalizedwireless.com, you get to see a countdown timer and the short announcement about a "wireless network that will personalize your mobile experience." As some of you have noticed in the comments, the September 26th roll-out of the new carrier coincides with a Cellular South announcement scheduled for that date. Add to that the fact, that the regional carrier has just recently filed a lawsuit to block AT&T and T-Mo's merger, which could be a move to get more publicity, we wouldn't be surprised to see the new carrier somehow affiliated with Cellular South.
new wireless carrier coming to the States on September 26th? An ad aired recently foretelling a new carrier, but gives absolutely no details, not even a name, just a logo. So while it does seem possible, the ad brings more questions than answers. Why haven’t we heard anything about carrier filings with the FCC recently? The regulator would definitely have some indication about spectrum buyout, not to mention the bunch of paper work that ensues.Is a
mobile virtual network operator (MVNO), which is reselling wireless services under its own brand, but doesn’t own any of the spectrum. Examples of MVNOs include Boost Mobile which uses Sprint’s network and NET10 which rides on both AT&T and T-Mobile roaming agreements.All of this leads us to conclude, that the fuss is all about a
The spiked “C” logo of this new carrier could point to ClearWire, Comcast or any other company for that matter, but those are our best guesses.
So how will the upcoming network differ from the rest? The ad suggests that the new network will adapt “to you and quietly bring you apps, rewards, stuff that’s just right for you.” Well, that’s not much help in terms of specifics, but at least it gives you an idea about where is this going. Any suggestions about what the upcoming network could be?

domain: news


text:
It’s out everywhere (else) on 7 November, but a local release date for the Xbox One X has been a somewhat uncertain proposition because bureaucracy and other fun haters. UNTIL NOW. According to my network of cybernetically enhanced rat informants at rAge, Xbox South Africa has confirmed that Microsoft’s supermegaconsole will be available in the country this year, with a pre-order pricetag of – gasp! – R7499. I paid more for my Xbox One at launch. I’m not even mad.
You’ll know more when we know more. Or maybe before that. I don’t know.


text:
Air is currently out in theaters, and it’s not a movie to miss if you love Michael Jordan’s career. Will you be able to own the movie on DVD and Blu-ray?
You’ve seen Michael Jordan’s career from the outside, but what about things that happened behind the scenes? What about when it came to the negotiations to get him to become the face of Nike? That’s the story that Air tells.
Matt Damon plays Sonny Vaccaro, a shoe salesman who realizes that Michael Jordan is the perfect face for Nike. He and Nike decide to pursue this rookie basketball player, creating a partnership that nobody had ever considered before. It would revitalize everything about partnerships and marketing.
While it is out in theaters right now, there is a lot to watch. You may not be able to head out to see it all, so you want to be able to watch the movie at home. Will you be able to buy Air on DVD and Blu-ray?
Is Air coming to DVD and Blu-ray?
There is some bad news. It’s unlikely that the movie will come to DVD and Blu-ray. That’s purely because it’s an Amazon Studios movie. This is actually the first time since Late Night that an Amazon movie has gone to theaters, although the pandemic is certainly to blame for some of that.
The good news is that as it’s an Amazon movie, it’s going to be easy to watch at home. The movie will head to Prime Video shortly after the theatrical run. We’re looking at sometime in the summer at this point, although Amazon hasn’t given a set date just yet.
This doesn’t mean it won’t come to DVD and Blu-ray. It’s just rare that this happens. It’s only movies like Cold War that have gone to DVD. Late Night, Life Itself, Beautiful Boy, and more are only available on streaming.
Air is currently out in theaters and will head to Prime Video.


text:
China’s DiDi Chuxing to Test Robo-Taxi Service
DiDi Chuxing Technology Co., China’s largest ride-hailing company, plans to launch a robo-taxi pilot program in Shanghai later this year.
The company received permission earlier this week to test autonomous vehicles in Shanghai. The pilot program, which will be free to riders, will include a fleet of 30 Level 4 self-driving cars with backup drivers onboard.
DiDi aims to expand tests to Beijing and Shenzhen next year and commercialize the service in 2021. Earlier this month the company spun off its autonomous driving operations to bolster investment in the unit.
Several other companies also plan to test robo-taxis in China. Tech giant Baidu is launching a service in Changsha later this year, while startup Pony.ai is partnering with Toyota on programs in Beijing and Shanghai.
This is the 3E. A design by the renowned automotive designer Camilo Pardo, the man behind many striking designs, including the ‘05/’06 production Ford GT.
While there is a burgeoning proliferation of companies that are in the LiDAR space, each with its own take on utilizing laser pulses to create a precise map of its surroundings for purposes of ADAS or full-blown automation, a Seattle-based company has a distinction that certainly sets it apart from its competitors.
When you think of complex, highly technical devices that you use every day in your car—in fact, possibly as much as three to 10 times per minute—you probably don’t think of your rearview mirror.


text:
Just after the sedan was officially launched in India, it gathered over 7,000 bookings, and now, the number is closer to the 15,000-unit mark. Hyundai had announced that the prices of the car, at launch, were introductory and would be revised post the first 20,000 bookings. Thanks to the recent GST cess however, a hike of around Rs 29,000 is already in effect.
You can get the New Verna with either a 123hp, 1.6-litre petrol engine or a 128hp, 1.6-litre diesel mated to either a six-speed manual or automatic transmission. Dealers say that most major cities are opting for the auto variants with the 1.6-litre diesel motor under the hood.
There are seven exterior colours to choose from of which, silver, white and black have seen the most demand.


text:
Hold on to your cinema seats, because African media mogul, Mo Abudu is no way near done with building the empire that is EbonyLife. The Nigerian media company started off as a television station in 2013, after which it expanded into film in 2015, launching with the drama, Fifty. Subsequently, EbonyLife films has produced blockbuster films such as The Wedding Party (2016), The Wedding Party 2 (2017), and Chief Daddy (2018).
On June 30th 2019, the sixth anniversary of the company’s launch, Mo Abudu announced a new venture – EbonyLife Place, an exclusive luxury lifestlye resort, which will reportedly be open before the end of the year.
Via her Instagram page, the CEO and holder of Forbes ‘Africa’s Most Successful Woman’ title said:
“We [are] going to bring you five (5) luxury cinema screens, world class cuisines in two of our exclusive restaurants and if you wish, you could check into our five star exclusively created boutique hotel.” She went on to express gratitude to viewers and supporters. “We thank you Nigeria and the world, for loving what we do and I say happy birthday to us! #EbonyLifeAt6 #6YearsOfSuccess”
Watch the full video:
Several colleagues in the entertainment industry, actors and fans have publicly expressed support of EbonyLife’s evolution. Actor, Dakore Akande said, “Lady Mo of the universe!!! Major Major congratulations,” while founder of Chocolate City Entertainment and social activist, Audu Maikori commented, “This woman is something else!! @moabudu you are an inspiration.”


text:
March 2012 - Business Attracts International Visitors
International visitors to Australia remained steady last year although the mix of international visitors to Australia changed, with more coming for business and employment, and fewer coming on holidays, according to the latest International Visitor Survey.
Tourism Research Australia found that business travellers increased by five per cent, visitors coming for employment by 14 per cent, and holiday makers decreased by four per cent, compared with 2010. In addition 237,529 business Visitor visa applications were lodged in 2011-12 to 31 December. This is a 6.1% increase over the same period in 2010-11 (223 879 applications).
“By staying longer and spending more in Australia, international visitors are increasingly high yielding customers who are experiencing Australia not only as a holiday visitor but for business and work- the changing mix of visitors is real opportunity for the tourism industry."
“The successful businesses of the future will be those that can adapt to these trends, invest for growth and take full advantage of the business services on offer,” Minister Ferguson said.
For the Ministers full release click here.


text:
Sprechen sie craft beer? Wurstfest says yes!
Wurstfest in New Braunfels is adding a Craft Beer Biergarten this year with 60 taps. This is new, but beer has long been part of the Wurstfest tradition, as this 2003 photo demonstrates.(AP Photo/San Antonio Express-News, Bob Owen) I love Wurstfest , the annual festival where you get to hang out in New Braunfels, eat all the sausage and fried pickles you want, listen to interesting music and drink beer by the pitcher. It’s a fine Texas tradition and, although I admit I haven’t been in several years now, I love knowing that it’s just a few hours drive away.
For 2014, the organizers have given us all 60 new reasons to love it even more.
That’s how many taps have been set aside on the festival grounds this year for a craft beer biergarten featuring brews from 15 craft breweries, including two open right there in New Braunfels.
I ran into Ron Haluzan of New Braunfels last week during a craft beer event in Austin and he was telling me how excited they are to have these crafts added to the traditional lineup of fine German beers. He explained more in a follow-up email: It is a huge win for small breweries to […]


text:
Tangail district administration has announced the closure of markets and shopping malls of the district from Thursday after reopening for only four days.
The decision was taken as the shoppers and shopkeepers failed to maintain proper Covid-19 health and safety guidelines, said a public notice signed by Tangail District Magistrate Shahidul Islam on Wednesday.
However, grocery shops, kitchen markets and pharmacies will remain open as usual so that people can buy their daily essentials.
The district administration previously decided to reopen markets and shopping malls considering Eid-ul-Fitr, maintaining proper health guidelines during the Covid-19 shutdown.
But monitoring various markets for the last 4 days, the officials noticed that almost 90 percent of the shoppers and shopkeepers have failed to maintain social distancing and health guidelines to curb the spread of Covid-19.
So, the administration has decided to shut down markets and shopping malls of the district again considering public health.


text:
Mobile virtualization is discussed far more often than it is seen, but VMware is putting new impetus behind the push to create multiple identities on one phone.
This is becoming urgent as corporations adopt “bring your own” policies, where employees can choose their own handsets for business use. This cuts costs but can raise issues of security and control.
VMware, a major name in desktop virtualization through its Cisco alliance, has announced a partnership with LG that could be equally significant on the smartphone.
The company said earlier in the year that it was embedding its Mobile Virtualization Platform (MVP) in devices from various OEMs, but did not reveal their names.
Now it is clear one was LG, which has announced a deal to “help enterprises of all sizes improve security and control sensitive corporate data while enabling more flexible access via employee owned mobile devices.”
The first priority will be to enable selected LG smartphones to run separate business and personal accounts, with their own discrete settings and apps, on the same handset. It expects to have VMware's technology available on some gadgets next year.


text:
Editor of 'Vogue' Anna Wintour enters a show at New York Fashion Week in Lincoln Center. / Spencer Platt Getty Images
The Topic: Walk the runway in your pajamas. Starting on Thursday, fashion shows from New York Fashion Week will be live-streamed through the Mercedes-Benz and MADE Fashion Week YouTube channels. Head to the official Mercedes Benz fashion website and madefashionweek.com for live stream schedules.
WATCH: More TV on the Web top picks
Copyright 2015 USATODAY.com
Read the original story: TV on the Web: Live streaming New York Fashion Week


text:
The Chronicle’s Wyatt Buchanan has the scoop:
Lawmakers and the online retail giant Amazon have negotiated a new agreement to avoid a referendum and to give the company more time before it has to start collecting sales tax on purchases made in California.
The plan is to amend AB155, the referendum torpedo measure that failed in the Senate Tuesday, to give Amazon — along with California retailers — time to lobby Congress to create a national solution to the online sales tax collection conundrum.
The agreement would give Amazon until July 31, 2012 to get Congress to act. If federal lawmakers do, then the tax collection would begin in January 2013 under whatever structure Congress creates. If nothing happens by next July, however, then California’s measure would take effect starting in September 2012.
A source of mine close to the negotiation said this morning, “It all depends on the final language but we are getting closer.”
Buchanan’s blog post here.


text:
As the COVID-19 pandemic impacts this local business, the owners reach out for help from the community they love.
Gather up the whole gang and enjoy a meal out at these St. Augustine spots that are fit for the whole family.
We've all missed spending a night at the movies. But with Epic Theatre's new solution, we can settle in for a drive-in experience.
There's no need to travel far. You can relax, unwind, and settle into summer with a stay at a local hotel.
In the midst of crisis, St. Augustinians are rising up to share some joy and reach out a helping hand.
A simple donation or purchase at a local nonprofit thrift store can make a difference in a challenging time.
Taking steps even beyond CDC guidelines, local restaurants are prioritizing health and safety as they reopen their doors to serve the city.
Visitors are welcome once more into the St. Augustine Lighthouse. Here are the details and the new guidelines.


text:
The first 8,000 people to wear the much anticipated Google Glasses have been picked by the web giant to be part of the first mass-scale testing.
HumanIPO reported in February Google would carefully select competition winners who could be trusted with the first batch of the high-tech facial wear and the first recipients received notification of success yesterday (Tuesday).
The winners will pay US$1,500 for the privilege of testing the product as well as attending special events in New York, Los Anageles or San Francisco to receive suitable guidance.
The Google Explorers, as they have been termed, will experience the headsets which feature a small hidden camera and display screen and responds to voice commands.
No commercial date has been set for a commercial launch.
Click here to view Google’s video showing off the technology.


text:
News stories featuring Muddy Compass:
June 19th, 2013
Audio accessories maker Musemini has announced three new additions to its line-up, all featuring NFC for pairing to other devices. The DBoom portable speaker can be customised with user-designed ‘skins’, UberFly wireless headphones provide eight hours of use on a single charge and the US$40 LynkUp adaptor brings Bluetooth streaming with NFC pairing to any device with a 3.5mm audio jack — including home stereos, car audio and headphones.
Feed for stories featuring Muddy Compass.
• Find a list of all the companies and other organisations that have been featured in NFC World in our directory.


text:
Hotels see strong demand for Christmas, New Year holiday season
Hotels in Turkey’s tourism hotspot Antalya and other famous destinations are enjoying strong demand from abroad as foreign tourists have started making reservations for the Christmas and New Year holiday season.
Antalya, located on the Mediterranean coast, has already welcomed more than 9 million foreign tourists this year and is now preparing to host more guests this month who want to take advantage of some 10-day long holiday.
Particularly five-star hotels in the province are receiving reservations from Russia and European countries, and most of them expect their occupancy rates to hit around 100 percent on New Year’s Eve.
Not only hotels in Antalya, but venues in other famous destinations in Turkey, such as Cappadocia and ski resorts, and Northern Cyprus are preparing for a busy holiday season.
Domestic tourism activity is also expected to gain momentum as people are making plans to merge New Year’s Eve with the weekend holiday.
“Hotels in the ski resort at Mount Uludağ in [the northwestern province of] Bursa see strong demand,” said Firuz Bağlıkaya, the chairman of the Association of Turkish Travel Agencies (TÜRSAB).
Cultural tours are also in high demand for destinations such as Diyarbakır, Mardin, Bağlıkaya added.
Bağlıkaya also noted that some locals are also making reservations for foreign destinations, including tours for Balkan countries, particularly Belgrade, as well as Kyiv and Dubai.
Many hotels, which will be open on New Year’s Eve, are fully booked already, said Ülkay Atmaca, the chair of the Professional Hotel Managers’ Association (POYD).
This year domestic tourists mostly prefer local destinations on New Year’s holiday because the depreciation of the Turkish Lira makes such trips more expensive, Atmaca explained.
“Demand from both local and international holidaymakers is strong; guests from Europe and Russia are already arriving. This will be a good New Year’s [holiday season],” Atmaca said.


text:
BlueWave Express Car Wash purchased property that once housed Copperas Cove’s Casa Ole restaurant earlier this month, but is waiting to redevelop the site.
“We closed on the property, and we are putting the store on hold right now,” said Bryan Hall, real estate director for the car wash business. “We have several sites that we are land banking.”
Details about the sale of the 1-acre site at 2730 E. U.S. Highway 190 were not released.
The Coryell County Central Appraisal District, however, listed the value of the site at about $800,000 for property tax purposes.
The land is worth about $433,000, while the building is worth about $358,000, according to the district’s website.
Hall didn’t know when the company would build a drive-thru car wash that recycles its water, but he said the location would be great for the future car wash system.
“The relocation of the H-E-B store and the Wal-Mart,” helped drive the purchase, he said. “We like to be next to a lot of retail needs. There is a lot of traffic there. It is a good piece of real estate.”
BlueWave Express is a startup company with locations mainly in the Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston areas, Hall said.
The company is currently expanding into the Rio Grande Valley with three stores now open and plans for four others.
The Cove site could be the company’s first in Central Texas.


text:
Ink comes from Japan’s Daiyo and Tamura
South Korean manufacturers of high-end printed circuit board (PCB) appear to be heavily dependent on Japanese imports, indicating this sector also could be hard hit should the Tokyo government widen its scope of export restrictions against the country.
Industry data showed on July 22 that components like ultra-thin copper foil and ink needed for making premium boards such as semiconductor package substrates and substrate-like-PCBs are mostly imported from Japan via companies such as Mitsui.
PCBs are a key part of most electronic devices, and ultra-thin copper foil is used as a laminate.
"Semiconductor package substrates such as FC-BGA(Flip Chip Ball Grid Array) and FC-CSP(Flip Chip Chip Scale Package) use 2㎛ ultra-thin copper foil, while SLP uses 3㎛ copper foil,” said an industry source knowledgeable on the matter. "Most PCB companies use products from Mitsui.”
He added that there are no local alternatives, as existing companies can’t manufacture copper foil that are 3㎛ or thinner. There are some Taiwanese suppliers that can produce this thickness, but the quality isn’t quite up to par.
One significant variable is that the copper foil from Mitsui is produced in Malaysia, and not Japan, consequently begging the question on whether it can be considered as being exported from Japan and could face a ban by the Tokyo government.
Another major component for manufacturing the substrates is ink, which is used to prevent oxidation. Japan’s Taiyo Ink and Tamura are the two largest suppliers in the world.
Some South Korean conglomerates have tried to develop the ink a few years back, but failed. Since then, nobody else has attempted to enter the market.
And because the Korea factories mix the ink based on materials imported from Japan, supplies could become scarce if these materials are banned from entering Korea.
Samsung Electro-mechanics, LG Innotek, Daeduk Electronics, Simmtech, Korea Circuit and Isu Exaboard are some of the South Korean firms producing semiconductor package substrates or SLP substrates that consider the ultra-thin copper foil and ink as key material.
“The impact may be limited, but the sector would still face some type of backlash,” said another market watcher.
The Elec is South Korea’s No.1 tech news platform.


text:
Thailand has announced its readiness to serve as an ASEAN regional center for emergency rice reserves in cases of unexpected events, such as natural disasters.
The announcement was made by Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra during her participation in the 21st ASEAN Summit and related meetings in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on 18-20 November 2012.
The Prime Minister also told the special session of the ASEAN+3 Summit that Thailand supports the setting up of a mechanism to handle the ASEAN+3 Emergency Rice Reserve in order to meet emergency requirements and achieve humanitarian purposes.
The ASEAN Plus Three Emergency Rice Reserve Agreement was signed in October 2011 by the 10 ASEAN members and China, Japan, and the Republic of Korea, and it came into force on 12 July 2012. Under the agreement, each participating country will earmark a certain quantity of rice based on its voluntary decision. The release of rice reserved will be implemented in accordance with rules and procedures set by the Council of the ASEAN Plus Three Emergency Rice Reserve.
Thailand, as the world’s major rice producer, is willing to be the location of the Secretariat for the project and stresses its readiness to implement the project, aimed at strengthening food security in the region. Prime Minister Yingluck stated at the summit that Thailand is working with rice-producing countries in Southeast Asia to develop a framework for cooperation on rice exports and price stability.
Apart from the emergency rice reserve issue, Thailand also called on ASEAN to initiate and promote rice and rubber trade cooperation to ensure price stability and increase exports. The Prime Minister urged ASEAN to intensify cross-border cooperation in combating drug trafficking and participate in the Dawei deep-sea port project in Myanmar.
She emphasized the importance of financial cooperation in the face of uncertainties in economic recovery. Therefore, various mechanisms, such as the Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralization, should be improved. The size of this multilateral arrangement, presently at 240 billion US dollars, may have to be increased.
The Prime Minister and other ASEAN leaders also expressed their appreciation to Dr. Surin Pitsuwan, who will complete his term as Secretary-General of ASEAN in December 2012. They confirmed and welcomed Vietnam’s Deputy Foreign Minister Le Luong Minh, as the next Secretary-General of ASEAN.
The Prime Minister and her ASEAN partners also adopted the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration and the ASEAN Leaders’ Statement on the Establishment of an ASEAN Regional Mine Action Center.
At the summit, it is also decided that 31 December 2015 be the deadline for the realization of an ASEAN Community.
The government is set to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on rice sales with China today, but the amount to be sold will probably remain vague.According to a Government House source, Commerce Minister Boonsong Teriyapirom yesterday sought cabinet approval of the draft MoU on rice trade between the Thai and Chinese governments without stating the amount of rice or the purchase framework as bargained by China.
The source said Chinese officials see the amount proposed as too high.
Earlier this month, Mr Boonsong said the government would seek a deal to sell 5 million tonnes of rice a year to China from 2013 to 2015.
The amount proposed is in fact many times higher than the amount of rice China usually imports each year: between 500,000 and 1 million tonnes from several countries including Thailand.
China imported 49,483 tonnes of Thai rice in 2008, then 328,238 tonnes in 2009, 264,207 tonnes in 2010 and 267,846 tonnes in 2011.
In the first 10 months of this year, China imported 90,000 tonnes of Thai rice, mostly fragrant Hom Mali.
Thailand’s economic growth expected to return to 2019 levels in mid-2023
Although the economy would recover next year, the recovery is still substantially below potential level resulting in a large output loss and could affect Thailand’s potential economic growth in the future with the economy expected to return to 2019 levels in mid-2023.
The Siam Commercial Bank (SCB), one of Thailand’s largest commercial banks, said in its latest economic outlook report that the country’s economy may wait until the second semester of 2023 to return to 2019 growth levels.(more…)
World Bank cuts Thailand’s GDP growth outlook to 1% in 2021
The World Bank has said that Thailand’s economy is forecast to grow 1% this year, down from the 2.2% projected in July, hit by a spike in COVID-19 cases and a delayed reopening to visitors.
More COVID-19 restrictions are relaxed in Thailand from 16 October 2021
Bangkok, 16 October, 2021 – The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) would like to provide an update that more COVID-19...
China’s economy stumbles on power crunch
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s economy hit its slowest pace of growth in a year in the third quarter, hurt by power shortages, supply chain bottlenecks...
Quarantine-Free Thailand Reopens for Vaccinated Tourists From 1 November 2021
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) would like to confirm that Thailand is all set to welcome fully vaccinated foreign...
The ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement
The ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (the “Agreement”) is a trade deal between the ten member states of ASEAN and...
Bangkok lifts more COVID-19 restrictions
In response to the Royal Thai Government’s announcement to relax more COVID-19 controls in the dark-red zone provinces, which include...


text:
In the recently published report through Strategy Analytics noted that Apple managed to achieve significant growth in sales hours Apple Watch, which recorded a growth in sales by 51%.
Can Apple control the largest share of sales of smart watches in the global market, according to Strategy Analytics the latter, as stressed in the report that shipments of Apple smart watches picked up again in the second quarter of 2019.
I know of
Move manufacturers for smart watches running WearOS, on upgrade new versions of clocks, and add improvements to the design of the watch, where it set off a chain of hours Fossil Hybrid HR smart improvements in battery life, and a company Google recently paid sales of smart watches running the company through acquiring a Fitbit.
On the other hand, provided the company Shaw recently released the first hours of the Mi smartphone that comes running WearOS, with the design of trying to hour Apple Smart, in trying to attract users to the hours of possible running Google, and rival Apple Watch.
The report revealed Strategy Analytics reported growth in sales of smart watches during the second quarter of 2019 by 42%, where Apple control the largest percentage of sales of smart watches, where shipments reached Apple to 6.8 million units of Apple Watch, i.e. 51% of total shipments of smart watches during the second quarter of 2019.


text:
TOTALLY HEMP CRAZY (OTCMKTS:THCZ) was once again up and moving as a new positive development came into light. The company posted a brief update stating that it is going to be aired on the national radio show on Friday, May 15, 2015. The note stated that the company’s CEO Tom Shuman and its Founder Jerry Grisaffi will feature in “Your Monies Worth”, where host Mick Bazsuly will interview them.
Featuring on a national show
The appearance of TOTALLY HEMP CRAZY (OTCMKTS:THCZ) in a national radio show holds significance given the fact that “Your Monies Worth” is being aired for last thirteen years. The show aims to focus around growth companies that offer unique potential. Hence, featuring of TOTALLY HEMP CRAZY (OTCMKTS:THCZ) is a silent endorsement about the potential that it holds.
While announcing the show details, host Bazsuly stated that Hemp is the hottest sector in most parts of the United States, where many States are mulling to legalize it, following the footsteps of Washington State, Colorado, Oregon, etc. He added that the medical benefit of marijuana is already established and the threats of high levels of caffeine, which is a normal case in energy drinks, has also been ruled out.
Meanwhile, Grisaffi commented that the company’s ‘The Rocky Mountain High’ retail product is set to launch soon, where, the initial sales, as well as consumer feedback, is reassuring that the product has something unique to offer. Grisaffi continued that the expectations can be set based on the production run, which exceeded more than 1,000,000 units in a matter of few months. He informed that the company has already scheduled a larger production run in the month of June.
Grisaffi expressed confidence that the drink will soon become nationwide hemp sensation. He added that the belief grows even stronger as third parties, and customers too have endorsed it.
The stock of TOTALLY HEMP CRAZY (OTCMKTS:THCZ) jumped by nearly 11% to $0.234 and a total of 22.34 shares traded on the day.


text:
Nestlé said the lawsuit is a “carbon copy” of an earlier dismissed court filing in California. The company said it was committed to eradicating forced child labor in its supply chain and said class actions are not the way to solve such a complex issue.
Earlier lawsuits against Nestlé USA, Mars and Hershey dismissed
Consumer rights law firm Hagen Berman, previously represented private consumers Elaine McCoy (against Nestlé USA), Laura Dana (against Hershey) and Robert Hodson (versus Mars) in lawsuits intiated in September 2015. The suits alleged companies had failed to disclose cocoa in some chocolate brands may come from slave labor. A district court in California threw out the suits in 2016. The judge said it was not “sound policy” to compel manufacturers to disclose certain facts on packaging. “There are countless issues that may be legitimately important to many customers, and the courts are not suited to determine which should occupy the limited surface area of a chocolate wrapper,” he said.
Consumer Danell Tomasella brought the suit in a US district court in Massachusetts yesterday.
It alleges Nestlé USA has deceived consumers by failing to adequately inform them brands such as Crunch and Butterfinger may contain cocoa cultivated by child or slave labor.
Law firm Hagen Berman, which failed in similar class lawsuits in California against Mars, Nestlé USA and Hershey in 2016, is representing Tomasella. See factbox for further details.
Lawsuit claims disclosure failure
The lawsuit says: “That the Worst Forms of Child Labor are in Nestlé’s supply chain for its chocolate products is material to consumers not wishing to support such labor with their purchasing power.
“In the course of marketing and selling its chocolate products, however, Nestlé materially omits and does not disclose that its chocolate products have child and slave labor in the supply chain.”
It further alleges Nestlé has not required its suppliers to remedy the practice despite being aware child and slave labor exists in its supply chain.
The suit argues that had consumers known products may contain cocoa procured from child or slave labor, they would not have purchased the products or paid as much.
It calls for the court to say Nestlé violated the Massachusetts Consumer Protection Law and pushes for damages for the claimant and others that purchased Nestlé chocolate under allegedly false pretenses.
Separate Nestlé, Cargill and ADM lawsuit
In March 2017, a Californian district court dismissed a 12-year old lawsuit against Nestlé, Cargill and ADM, which alleged the firms aided and abetted child slavery in West Africa. The judge ruled the suit “seeks an impermissible extraterritorial application of the Alien Tort Statute” and he dismissed the case. The Alien Tort Statute (ATS) means companies can be sued in the US for actions outside the country, but only when some conduct “touches and concerns” the US with sufficient force. Alleged former child slaves, who were represented by human rights organization International Rights Advocates, brought the suit in 2005. Non-profit The Washington Legal Foundation (WLF) yesterday filed a brief urging the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to uphold the dismissal. "Congress did not adopt the [ATS] statute for the purpose of making US judges the arbiters of working conditions throughout the world," it said.
Nestlé: 'Carbon copy' of dimissed lawsuit
Josh Morton, corporate communications at Nestlé US, told us: "This lawsuit is a 'carbon copy' of one previously filed by the same law firm and dismissed by a California court.
"We believe this one will be dismissed, too. Consumer class actions are not the way to solve such a serious and complex issue as forced child labor.
"Regrettably, in bringing such lawsuits, class action lawyers are targeting the very organizations trying to fight forced labor. The use of forced child labor is unacceptable and we are committed to eradicating it from our supply chain. We continue to take dedicated action, working together with other stakeholders, to combat this global social problem."
What is Nestlé doing to combat child labor?
In 2013, Nestlé allowed the Fair Labor Association (FLA) to assess a portion of its cocoa supply chain that falls under the Nestlé Cocoa Plan – which represented 35% of its cocoa volumes as of the end of 2016.
FLA audits of select farms found 21 child workers (representing 3% of the total workforce) in 2014, six child workers (representing 1% of the total workforce) in 2015 and no hired young or child worker in 2016 assessments.
Since 2012, the KitKat owner has adopted a Child Labor Monitoring Remediation System (CLMRS) for some of its cocoa supply chain in Côte D’Ivoire and Ghana.
It has discovered around 7,000 children engaged in the worst forms of child labor since the CLMRS began, most of whom are now out of cocoa work.
Nestlé told us in October last year, the CLMRS covered 75 co-operatives and 48,000 farmers, representing roughly 130,000 metric tons (MT) of cocoa supply. Almost 70% of Nestlé’s cocoa volumes have no CLMRS.
ConfectiioneryNews has asked Hagen Berman how its latest lawsuit differs to the dimissed claim in California and is awaiting its response.


text:
Just a few days after it pushed out developer beta 9, Apple today released WatchOS 5 developer beta 10. WatchOS 5 developer beta 10 now available for Apple Watch, Various changes have been made to this beta version, and many problems have been fixed.
Apple’s 10th developer beta for watchOS 5 is build 16R5363a, replacing the 9th build of 16R5360 released one week ago.
The new build can be downloaded from the Apple Developer Center, or via an over-the-air update for devices enrolled in Apple’s testing program. A public beta version is typically released within a few days of the developer betas.
The new beta brings Apple Podcast syncing and streaming, a new Walkie-Talkie app for watch-to-watch communication; new data sources on the Siri watch face; grouped notifications, Competitions for Activity Sharing; yoga and hiking as workout types; workout start and stop reminders; pace alerts, rolling miles, and cadence for outdoor running workouts and much more.
DISCLAIMER: Apple advises against installing beta releases on mission-critical hardware, due to the potential for data loss. Anyone who wishes to install beta software should do so on non-essential secondary devices, and to retain backups of data before installing.


text:
*This post was originally published on October 8, 2010*
The Wall Street Journal posted another article about the rumored Verizon iPhone yesterday. This is starting to look pretty promising for Verizon users as the supporting reports regarding parts stock inventories and the distribution timeline keep popping up. The phone is supposed to be very similar to the current iPhone 4 model carried by AT&T with the exception of the CDMA only wireless chipset. Still no official announcement from Apple or Verizon. You can read the full article here.
My name is Garrett. I love computers and repairing them. And owning a small business in Fort Collins


text:
Yahoo COO Henrique De Castro could be out of the company by the end of the year,
Mike Shields at AdWeek reports, citing numerous sources.
De Castro is “on the outs” with CEO Marissa Mayer after failing to deliver solid ad sales results, says Shields.
De Castro is moving too slowly, and is failing to build his team. He’s also missing out on the rise of programmatic ad buying, which is automated auction-based ad buying, says Shields.
De Castro was Mayer’s first major hire. He was supposed to be her business guy. He was supposed to fix Yahoo’s relationship with ad agencies and display advertising buyers.
Underscoring De Castro’s importance at Yahoo is the fact that his compensation was higher than Mayer’s last year — $39.2 million for De Castro versus $US36.6 million for Mayer.
Ironically, it’s that compensation that could bail him out. It’s going to be hard for Mayer to fire such a high profile, well-paid executive.
Business Insider Emails & Alerts
Site highlights each day to your inbox.


text:
The affluent Joburg suburb of Parkhurst aims to install electric car charging points as part of a Go-Green renewable energy initiative.
The leafy neighbourhood in North Joburg was also one of the first suburbs to install a fibre-to-the-home network (FTTH), boasting speeds as high as 1 Gbps. The network went live at the end of lat year.
The Parkhurst Residents and Business Owners’ Association (PRABOA) said it launched ‘Go-Green’ to stimulate renewable energy usage in the village.
“As part of our Go-Green campaign we are planning a number of solar-powered electric vehicle charging points in the village, said Cheryl Labuschagne, chairman of PROBOA.
According to Labuschagne, the suburb is planning to install four charging stations initially and is working with the City of Joburg on a way forward. “They are supporting this initiative, but the current by-laws do not currently make provision for this.”
“Its not about pie in the sky thinking, if nobody embraces the future, we will always stand still,” Labuschagne said, noting that the village was the first to implement FTTH, which has since been taken on by new companies, as well as the bigger, established telcos which has forced pricing down hugely.
Labuschagne said that PRABOA has been in talks with Nissan, which has the LEAF electric car, and BMW with its new range of cars.
The charging stations would be installed with an eye for electric vehicles to park in demarcated bays to recharge. It is hoped that the future would incorporate delivery vehicles.
According to PRABOA, the charging units would be powered by solar, thus negating any potential Eskom blackout woes.
In August, BMW South Africa signed a partnership with Schneider Electric to provide efficient charging facilities ahead of the local BMW i3 launch.
The partnership will see the availability of the BMW Wallbox charging station while the agreement includes checking the electrical installation in customers’ homes, supplying and assembling the wallbox charging point, as well as maintenance and other services for BMW i vehicles.
Launched initially in SA in 2013, the Nissan LEAF is currently only available for sale in Gauteng with expansion planned for KZN and Cape Town.
Nissan said that it has sold 25 units to date in 2015. “The range depends on driving style, but you can get up to 195km on a charge – that is class leading at the moment,” Nissan said.
“We have seven dealerships in Gauteng where you can charge free of charge. Various shopping centres, office blocks and communities such as Parkhurst are catching on,” a spokesperson said.


text:
Introducing the Alliance for Automotive Innovation
Innovation has been the watchword of the auto industry from day one. Today, in an era of near daily breakthroughs unmatched since those earliest years, there is a new industry voice—the Alliance for Automotive Innovation. Formed by the combination of the Association of Global Automakers (Global Automakers) and the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers (Auto Alliance), this new entity is dedicated to helping that innovation come to market safely and cleanly. Propelled by the collective energy of the world’s multi-faceted auto industry, we will play a major role in transforming personal mobility.
COVID-19 Industry Response
The nation’s largest manufacturing sector, the auto industry, remains focused on ensuring our workforce and customers are safe and have a path to economic recovery. We strongly support initiatives to help those affected by the current public health and economic situation while returning the economy to full strength. Automakers and their partners have assembled a high-level industry task force to monitor the situation, share information and address future developments driven by recommendations from public health experts. We also remain in close contact with key policymakers and stakeholders. As Congress and the administration continue to develop legislation, we will continue to closely monitor the industry and economy for potential impacts on our customers. The auto industry is a key part of this economy and we will continue doing its part to protect customers and employees.
Reading The Meter: State of the Industry Report 10-21-2020
Reading the Meter: State of the Industry Report 10-7-2020
FROM OUR MEMBERS
“As the industry is undergoing rapid transformation it is critical that we come together with a stronger voice. We look forward to working together as we advocate for policies that will drive us into a new era of mobility and help us reach our vision of zero emissions, zero crashes and zero congestion.”General MotorsMary Barra, Chairman and CEO
“Mercedes-Benz is committed to re-imagine and shape the future of mobility for generations to come. The Alliance for Automotive Innovation provides our industry with a unified foundation, to formulate, propose and support the policies and guidelines required for emerging technologies.”Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC.Nicholas Speeks, President and CEO
“Volkswagen Group of America is excited to be part of the new merged association. The auto industry is heavily investing in the future of mobility and is critically important to the health of the U.S. economy, so it makes sense for all manufacturers working in the U.S. to be speaking with one voice on matters important to our consumers and our employees.”Volkswagen Group of AmericaDavid Geanacopoulos, Senior Executive Vice President, Public Policy
“Having led the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers before joining Ford, I have a deep belief that the auto industry succeeds when we advocate together for policies that give people the ability to move freely. This principle has never been more important as we work to define the future of transportation. The Alliance for Automotive Innovation will help secure America’s role as a mobility leader by tackling the challenges that come with bringing new technologies to market safely and responsibly. We give this association our full support and look forward to working hand-in-hand with our industry partners.”Ford Motor CompanyMitch Bainwol, Chief Government Relations Officer
“Honda is enthusiastic that the industry has united to form the Alliance for Automotive Innovation. In the challenging decade to come, this new unity is exactly what’s needed to address policies that will effectively advance and improve the future of human mobility for our customers and society.”Honda North America, Inc.Rick Schostek, Executive Vice President
“As we speak, the automotive industry and FCA are rapidly evolving toward electrified, connected and autonomous vehicles. Uniting to speak with a single voice is critical to advancing policies that encourage innovation, which provides our customers with even cleaner, safer and smarter mobility options.”FCA North AmericaMark Stewart, Chief Operating Officer
“As the auto industry continues developing new models of mobility, having a single, unified voice is crucial to building policies that allow us to get new, innovative technologies to our customers for a brighter, cleaner, and safer future.”Mazda North AmericaJeff Guyton, President
“In today’s rapidly changing policy environment, it is more important than ever that the auto industry speaks with one, unified voice. The purpose of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation is to do just that.”Kia Motors AmericaMichael Cole, President
“Toyota believes the new association merges the best of both former organizations to speak in a more unified and effective manner on issues affecting the auto industry.”Toyota


text:
Ranger outsells Hilux two-to-one for May
sales of the Ford Ranger cracked the magic 1000 mark for May.
Not for the first time, mind – it also hit four figures in June last year, on the back of Fieldays. But this still represents a preFieldays mega-month for Ford New Zealand, with the pickup...
Read latest The Hutt News online.


text:
It seems you can find almost anything on eBay. A 66 year old Bob Russell found his Austin Healey on eBay, 42 years after it went missing. The vehicle above isn't the said car.
Russell, of Southlake, Tex., never stopped looking for his cream Austin Healey 3000 after it disappeared from his Philadelphia neighborhood in 1967, according to the original Associated Press report. Russell was a student at Temple University at that time.
Russell found his car in an online car ad, recognizing the vehicle's identification number on the eBay listing. He called the auctioneer, a Los Angeles-based Beverly Hills Car Club, that stopped the bid. The last incoming bid for the car was $19,700. Russell paid $3,000 for it in 1967.
“I hate to sound indelicate,” Russell told the unsuspecting dealer, “but you’re selling a stolen car,” according to AP. He had the car’s identification number, original key and car title to prove it.
“We are all very happy that Mr. Russell has gotten his car back,” wrote Versa Manos, a Beverly Hills Car Club spokesperson. “However, we are victims in this situation. We have lost $27,000, which is what we paid for the car, plus the cost to ship it to California.”
California is seeing a change in its marijuana laws with the passage of Prop 64, which allows for recreational marijuana use in addition to the laws in place for medical marijuana delivery and consumption. If you are a California resident and you have a prescription, you can easily get Santa Monica marijuana delivery, or Beverly Hills marijuana delivery, without fearing legal consequences. If you live outside of California, however, the law can vary quite a bit. Read more
The way we watch films changes all the time. If you’ve seen a trailer for a film you’re anticipating, you can be sure you won’t have to wait very long to watch it. By getting to grips with your filming options, you will save yourself having to wait months before each release reaches an affordable price. We’re going to take a look at the different ways you can watch films in the modern age. Getting to grips with the choices is well worth your time. You’ll never have to miss a movie release again! Read more


text:
Gucci is known for many things: luxury fashion, coveted handbags and floral perfume, to name a few. But one rather surprising avenue the fashion house has recently decided to go down is high fashion for gamers.
You heard that right. The Italian-born brand, which is currently headed by Creative Director Alessandro Michele, decided earlier this year to release a new collection curated specifically for gamers via their app. Gaming fans can now peruse the collection and dress their avatars, embracing luxury fashion at the touch of a button.
The hope is that video games will help boost Guccis sales. 2.5 billion people play video games every year and spend £75 million on virtual goods, so it makes sense that the fashion house would aim for a piece of the pie. They also signed up to virtual styling app Drest, which was launched earlier this year by Lucy Yeomans, joining 160 brands including Prada, Stella McCartney, Burberry and Valentino – all now virtually shoppable on the app.
Gucci are also set to release their own virtual trainer app, Sneaker Garage. This will enable players to design, try and then purchase sneakers, although those shoes stay within the app. Regardless, its thought that the move could create a new revenue stream for Gucci, particularly as the Covid-19 pandemic has seen more people gaming than ever before. Surprisingly enough, gamers are willing to pay more and more for virtual high-fashion looks, with one man, a blockchain security expert, splashing out over £7,000 on a virtual dress for his wife last year.
It comes as no surprise then to hear that this isn’t the first time a luxury fashion brand has used gaming to boost their image. Last year, The Sims collaborated with Moschino when Jeremy Scott styled avatars for the game. It went on to sell 200 million copies worldwide. In 2012, DKNY also launched a Facebook game that gave players the opportunity to win digital clothes from the brand.
As we live our lives online more and more as time goes on, it was just a matter of time before virtual fashion became part of it.
Would you buy virtual Gucci? Drop us a comment and let us know below.
READ MORE: 6 sustainable fashion brands who make beautiful clothes to order
READ MORE: Introducing Unhidden: a sustainable, adaptive and stylish fashion brand for people with Disabilities


text:
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued warning letters, in collaboration with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), to three companies—Advanced Spine and Pain (doing business as Relievus), Nutra Pure, and PotNetwork Holdings—in response to their making unsubstantiated claims related to more than a dozen different product and spanning multiple product webpages, online stores, and social media websites. According to the agency, the companies used these online platforms to make “unfounded, egregious claims” about their products’ ability to limit, treat, or cure cancer, neurodegenerative conditions, autoimmune diseases, opioid use disorder, and other serious diseases, without sufficient evidence and the legally required FDA approval.
Lightbulb Moment: It is still illegal according to Federal regs to sell cannabis products, is it really a good idea to piss off the FDA? Most don’t realize that at any time the FDA could come to all states that have legalized against the federal mandate and shut down operations. Until the FDA realizes how much money they are missing out on, watch your step people! Wondering where the boundaries are? That’s where Culinary Tides, Inc. comes in.


text:
Leading Italian golf and leisure clothing brand Chervò is offering a unique alternative for customers who want to stay warm this winter without wearing a down-lined jacket – a 100% animal-friendly lining known as ‘Happy Goose’.
The stylish brand, famed for its superb cold weather golf apparel including waterproof suits and windproof jackets, developed the ‘Happy Goose’ lining to sit alongside its more traditional down jackets.
The ‘Happy Goose’ lining retains many of the properties of down – including light weight, soft touch and protection from cold winter temperatures – but is guaranteed to be absolutely free of animal down.
Garments are instead padded with synthetic flocks of material that offer improved hygiene and easier care.
A spokesperson for Chervò said: “At Chervò, we pride ourselves on offering both the highest quality garments and a range of choice, so every golfer can find something for them in our range.
“The ‘Happy Goose’ 100% animal-free down was created to cater for those customers who do not want to wear a product containing animal down, but who still want to benefit from the quality of our winter golf wear.
“Of course, all our animal down is ethically sourced and we will still produce jackets featuring animal down – it remains a superbly warm and lightweight material and one we will continue to use. But by offering such a high-quality alternative, we believe we are offering customers genuine choice, which is always a very positive thing.”


text:
Dec 13 (Reuters) - Simon Property Group Inc, the largest owner of U.S. malls and outlet centers, will spin off its strip malls and smaller shopping centers into a publicly traded REIT to focus solely on its larger retail properties.
The company has been focusing on its larger malls, which provide higher returns. This has held back the expansion of its strip malls and smaller shopping centers.
"Over the years, we have seen a number of very attractive investment opportunities ... that we have not pursued given our primary focus on our global portfolio of larger retail assets," Chief Executive David Simon said on a conference call.
The real estate investment trust (REIT) is expected to initially own or have an interest in 54 strip malls as well as in 44 smaller enclosed malls with annual net operating income of up to $10 million each.
Analysts agreed that the smaller malls would be better off as a separate company.
"I think the company looked at it and said ... if we can have a dedicated team focused 100 percent on the B-malls and the shopping centers, that maybe one plus one equals three," Sandler O'Neill analyst Alex Goldfarb told Reuters.
Simon Property said the spinoff, through a distribution to shareholders, would boost its sales per square foot, net operating income and occupancy rates. The company said it would maintain its annualized dividend at $4.80 per share.
The spinoff will make it easier for Simon Property to pursue acquisitions without facing anti-trust hurdles, Jefferies analyst Omotayo Okusanya said.
General Growth Properties Inc spun off 30 malls into a new company, Rouse Properties Inc, in 2011 to focus on large retail assets. Rouse Properties shares have risen about 75 percent since it went public in December 2011.
Richard Sokolow, Simon Property's president and chief operating officer, will be the chairman of the new company's board. Chief Executive Simon will be a director.
The new company's funds from operations are expected to be about $300 million, or 80 cents per share, in the first year, Simon Property said.
The company said the REIT's dividend was estimated to be at least 50 cents per share in the first year, representing 100 percent of taxable income.
REITs, which must pay out at least 90 percent of their taxable income to shareholders as dividends, are subject to lower taxes and pay higher dividends than other companies.
The only real estate company in the Standard & Poor's 100 index, Simon Property owns or has an interest in 325 retail properties in North America and Asia.
The company's portfolio includes Roosevelt Field Mall and Woodbury Common Premium Outlets in New York, Forum Shops at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas and Lenox Square Mall in Atlanta.
The spinoff is expected to be completed by the second quarter of 2014, Simon Property said.
BofA Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs acted as financial advisers to the company.
Simon Property shares were up 2.3 percent at $151.72 on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday. The stock has fallen 6 percent this year to Thursday's close.


text:
Klöckner Pentaplast (kp) a plastics manufacturer of food packaging for fresh food, recently ran a successful pilot as part of a Working Group with Petcore Europe which demonstrates that post-consumer pots, tubs and trays made from Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET), collected from the domestic recycling stream, can be recycled back into more protective food packaging, creating a closed loop process for tray-to-tray recycling. The project started to show clear evidence that post-consumer PET packaging can be recycled back into more food packaging without the addition of clear PET bottle flakes. This is a pivotal study which encourages recycling of PET food packaging. and not just drinks bottles, at the domestic recycling collection point.
With thanks to successful sorting at Valorplast, and recycling at Wellman International, both based in France, this working group with Petcore Europe is the first of its kind in Europe to demonstrate that rPET flake from food trays can be extruded into new PET rigid film, which can then be thermoformed back into pots, tubs or trays. This case study adopts the ‘Activate’ pillar from kp’s Positive Plastics Pledge, which is committed to ‘driving change at scale’ through demonstrating the recyclability of the PET trays to encourage better recycling infrastructure globally, achieving a circular economy. During the pilot, 20 tonnes of post-consumer recycled PET flake has been recycled back into food trays manufactured by kp in Spain.
This case study led by kp has created a new stream of valuable recycled material into the food packaging industry. Learnings from the pilot are also providing evidence on how to improve flake quality, reduce the presence of multi-layers, and assure food safety.
kp joined the Petcore PET Thermoforms Working Group to create an industry-wide proven and monitored track record of 100% PET tray recycling, to encourage local authorities and municipalities, and recyclers to include plastic pots, tubs and trays in their domestic recycling infrastructure.
This fundamental initiative supports kp’s Positive Plastics Pledge which is framed within a four-point plan, outlining kp’s commitment to promote, support and sustain a circular economy for plastic, and to create value from plastic waste. kp’s successful pilot in collaboration with Petcore Europe are examples of the pledge’s ‘Innovate’ and ‘Activate’ pillars in action. Many collaborations and innovations are leading to further success across Europe in efforts to recover plastic waste; a valuable raw material, rather than dispose of it because of different collection systems and diverse packaging structures.
Petcore Europe PET Thermoforms Working Group was established in June 2015 and comprises of up to 50 companies and organisations including key stakeholders from industry and waste management. Their goals align with kp’s in identifying sustainable and reliable end of life options for PET thermoforms and its effective recycling through collaboration among all parties in the value chain.


text:
Gourmet food is a big part of the Taste of Thailand Foodfest to benefit programs at the Buddhist Meditation Center, from noon to 5 p.m., Sunday, June 29, but that’s not the point.
“The whole idea of this is I wanted to introduce the Thai community to Michiganders,” said Suchiraphon McKeithen-Polish, who works in bilingual education and consultant services for Macomb Intermediate School District.
“The Thai community is not new, per se but we are small. People don’t know about us but they know about Thai food. So, I thought why not use that as a means of introduction to the Thai culture,” McKeithen-Polish said.
The inaugural festival has rallied several dozen Thai restaurants including Bangkok Cuisine, Sala Thai and Bangkok Pepper into showcasing their signature recipes. That’s the festival’s lure. Admission is free too. As a fundraiser to support the programs at the Buddhist Meditation Center-Buddhist Temple, there will be a nominal sum (as little as a $1 and no more than $5) at each tent. But it will be worth it says McKeithen-Polish.
“What makes this event so unique is that each restaurant will feature a different exotic Thai preparation including appetizers, entrees and rarely seen Thai desserts,” McKeithen-Polish said. “All of the food selections will represent different regions of Thailand so chances are you will have the opportunity to sample dishes you have never tried.”
Pad Thai noodles?
Pad Thai rice?
Anyone who likes Thai has probably tried both of these but what about Thai green curry with crispy roast chicken or papaya salad and sticky rice? Bangkok Cuisine will be serving its barbecued beef, pork and chicken toast?
“People love our food,” said Bangkok Cuisine restaurant owner Somnuk “Sandy” Arpachinda, who donates her time, once a week, to cook dinner for Buddhist monks residing at the center. Born and raised in Bangkok, Sandy attended a year of culinary school at the University of Thailand before moving to the United States. She put her cooking career on the back burner in order to make a living in America as the owner of a beauty salon until her family talked her into sharing her recipes with the world. After selling her salon, she introduced Michiganders to Bangkok Cuisine. Today, she operates her family of 11 restaurants with husband Montre and their two children.
It was the same for Arkom “Eddie” Pradithavanij. Also born and raised in Bangkok, he came to America as a young teacher. He opened his first restaurant, Sala Thai, in Detroit. Success there led him to open four other locations in Macomb and Oakland counties. “
I’ve been here since I was 28, or 29. I am 72,” said Pradithavanij, who had no wrinkles except for those appearing when he smiled.
“Thai food is good for you,” he said, to a guest commenting on how great he looked for his age. He said the herbs that he uses are healthy and good for a variety of medicinal purposes including good digestion and skin.
Sandy says she likes to use a lot of exotic fruits in her dishes such as mango, papaya and a little known fruit from Thailand called lumbutan. It’s hairy on the on the outside but sweet on the inside says Sandy. Pineapple grown in Thailand is another one of Sandy’s favorite ingredients.
“It’s the best,” she said, with a gutsy grin as if ready to challenge any naysayers. “Not sour, very sweet.”
Festival goers will also get a taste of Thai culture.
“We are going to have Thai singing karaoke, Thai bands and games like egg scooper. It’s a children’s game similar to bobbing for apples,” McKeithen-Polish said. For those who wish to learn the ancient art of chilling – there will be meditation demonstrations in the Buddhist Temple hall. “We like having fun.”
A Taste of Thailand Foodfest opens at noon and goes to 5 p.m. The Buddhist Meditation Center is at 8500 Plumbrook in Sterling Heights.


text:
The Dermalogica Symposium brought more than 400 salon owners and skin therapists from around the world to Los Angeles, September 9 – 13 for a week full of presentations, tours and events.
Here are some of the top takeaways.
1. Think about how technology can help your business.
The tag line for the weekend was “Fast Forward – think big, think different, think future.” Annet King, Director of Global Education of Dermalogica, said in her presentation on business trends, that social media is the best thing for small businesses.
2. The future is…vitamins.
Dr. Diana Howard, Vice President of Technical Development and Global Education for Dermalogica discussed, how new technology has improved the effectiveness of vitamins, which will be the focus of a new multivitamin serum plus other products being launched in early 2013. (Tip from Dr. Claudia Aguirre: vitamin C is more efficient at healing wounds than vitamin E!)
3. Go back to the basics with customers.
Skin therapists really need to focus on client interaction more than anything else, according to Jane Wurwand, the inspiring founder of the beloved brand. “Are you a relaxation therapist or a skin therapist?” she asked the audience, before suggesting therapists think carefully about how their touch can help them connect with clients. “Salons are incredibly important, as they are like beehives. Women come in and buzz around and buzz out.”
4. Do good.


text:
IBM's lawsuit to block former Vice President Mark Papermaster from taking a position at Apple has been settled. Apple announced Papermaster will begin his new job in April as senior vice president of devices engineering, reporting directly to CEO Steve Jobs.
In October, IBM sued Papermaster, a 25-year IBM veteran, saying he breached a noncompete contract by accepting a position at Apple. Papermaster has a master's degree in electrical engineering.
At the Core
IBM listed several reasons for the suit, including protecting its intellectual property and trade secrets, and Papermaster's noncompete contract, which barred him from working for any competitor for up to one year after his IBM employment ended. Papermaster agreed that going against IBM's contract would cause irreparable harm to IBM.
Papermaster's involvement in IBM's integration and values team (IVT), a group of more than 300 senior managers, was also a basis for the lawsuit. That group is responsible for IBM's most significant and challenging issues, according to court documents.
"The confidential information to which Mr. Papermaster has become privy based on his membership in the IVT and employment with the company represents the product of IBM's substantial investment in research and innovation and is critical to IBM's competitive success," court documents said.
At the core of the litigation was Apple's acquisition of P.A. Semi. Apple was not previously considered an IBM competitor, but buying P.A. Semi last year changed that.
Analysts are speculating that the settlement between IBM and Papermaster means Papermaster agreed to respect confidentiality agreements with IBM.
"We saw what IBM's concerns were, but ... the fact that they resolved this meant that they were able to figure out and respond to confidentiality agreements," said technology analyst Michael Gartenberg.
With the litigation settled, Papermaster will focus on growing Apple's iPhone and iPod businesses. His employment comes at a time when there is attention on Jobs, his health, and the stability of the company if he should leave.
"This is more about day-to-day operations and about the people who design, build and bring the product to market beyond the function of the CEO," Gartenberg said. "It is the point that there are people like this out there who have the skills to create and innovate these products moving forward. Apple is able to attract real senior talent like this, and this will set the stage for its next wave of innovation."
With the iPhone and the iPhone 3G as well as the iPod selling well, the question is whether Apple can continue innovating on those devices.
"I am sure innovation is not over; it can't be over," said Gartner analyst Carolina Milanesi. "As (Apple) mentioned on the earnings call, they are still way ahead of their competition as far as usability, but this must not stop them from continuing to innovate, and I do not think it will. On the iPhone, specifically, there is more they can do from a form factor point of view."


text:
Cory Coulthurst opened Tech Etc., a technology service and repair business, on New Year's Day at 1052 Main St. in Suite 101.
Cory Coulthurst said the decision to expand a home business into a location in downtown Stevens Point already has paid off, just a month after he made the move.
Coulthurst opened Tech Etc. on New Year's Day at 1052 Main St. in Suite 101, offering a wide array of technology service and repairs for both individuals and businesses. Coulthurst said customers stop in for repairs on everything from televisions to phones to iPads.
"I kind of expected that we might be a little slower, but we started out fast and have just continued to grow," said Coulthurst. "I think we do honest work, charge what is fair ...


text:
The company is now expanding its smart gadgets portfolio with an Air Conditioner. The TechLife Air Conditioner’s latest air conditioner is a 4-in-1 convertible AC, that comes with multiple modes such as a Me Time mode, We Time mode, and multiple others.
It smartly adapts to these modes on its own, each mode has an increased degree of cooling depending on the environment. The AC also features the Blue Fin Technology, has 100% copper coils, auto-clean technology, and silent operations features as well.
Realme will be launching the TechLife Air Conditioner on the 11th of April with an introductory launch offer.
Realme had previously launched its first air purifier in India along with its robot vacuum cleaner. While the TechLife Air Purifier is priced at 7,999 INR the robot vacuum cleaner is priced at 24,999 INR.


text:
Only 3% of USA Today readers would buy a smartphone over US$1,000 (about AU$1,410) according to an online survey of 1,303 readers.
The survey is really about sentiment and who knows what will
happen once a consumer faces the tsunami of marketing hype or the salesperson
lusting after more commission. But it
does reflect what the typical US buyer thinks.
Smartphone price sensitivity (USD)
In GadgetGuy’s interview with Danny Adamopoulos, the Motorola Australia chief said as much, “The Australian smartphone industry in 2019 heralds the era of the affordable mid-range.”
He sees the <$200 pre-paid market exploding – spoilt for choice. The Moto e5 is as good as
last year’s G-series and half the price.
The other area of growth is the <$500 segment where
features only found in the $751+ market now abound.
While only 3% of the US will buy a $1000+ phone, there are the ‘whales’ in Asia that regard
a smartphone as a status symbol. Overall flagship devices are less than 10% of
Foldables and 5G
About half had heard of foldables (otherwise you are living under a rock) but had no desire to use one, let alone fork out US$1500 or more. About two-thirds had heard of ‘blazingly fast 5G’.
But when asked if
these were drivers to replace a phone there was a resounding “No”. The drivers
Longer battery life (iPhone 76% and Android 77%)
A better camera (52%)
Bigger screen (not foldable) 31%
5G (when it is ready and cheaper 2020+ not now) 37-40%
Foldable (phone to tablet) 17-19%
Retro or nostalgic devices like Motorola Razr flip or Nokia feature phones no interest
And as Huawei is not a major player in the US brand stickiness was high as well. 54% of the Android respondents owned Samsung, and it was likely to remain that way. In Australia, Huawei sales have come at the expense of Samsung.
The average upgrade cycle was ‘every couple of years’ based largely on the Teclo lock-in contracts.
Interestingly all respondents were happy with their existing phone and what it does expecting the next model would simply be a bigger, better and faster version of their old phone.
As for upgrade motivation – extra juice (batteries do wear
out) and better cameras. There is little recognition of AI advancements, new OS
versions, or added functionality – to most a smartphone is simply a phone, SMS, email/calendar and a
iPhone users are hanging onto phones longer – 40% had had it
over two years. That reflects Apple’s analysis, but we venture it is because of
the huge price increases forced on the pubic last year. In fact, 45% of iPhone users said they had held off upgrading due
to price. 55% of iPhone users were happy with the current device.
Interestingly only 21% of Android users have had their device
over two years. In that market, fierce competition
has forced prices down and features up. 65% of Android users also said they
were happy with how their current phones were working and were not planning to
GadgetGuy’s take: Stop the world, I want to get off!
In part, it was because of the revelation that the then iPhone (much as it is now) cost around US$200 to make and sold for over A$1000. In part, it was due to Moore’s law that technology doubles in power (for the same price) every 18 months. Every other IT product had dropped in price except the iPhone.
Now I like shiny new things as much as the next person. But money is too hard to come by (with flat wage growth for years) and the fact that
so many great handsets from OPPO, Nokia, Motorola, LG, Samsung, Huawei and more
are under that magic $799 mark.
Not to mention that today’s newspaper is tomorrow’s fish and chip wrapper.
I nearly fell out of my tree when JB Hi-Fi cut the amazing LG V30 Thinq to $799. So much so my sister-in-law rushed out and got it – beats the crap out of her three-year-old iPhone.
The LG G7 Thinq and Samsung Galaxy S8 have dropped to $799, and the just superseded Galaxy S9 is $899 – bargain.
Just click on this link from JB Hi-Fi that sorts Android phones from low to high, and there are a hell of a lot of good phones under $500 that I would be happy to own.