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New York: Wall Street stocks ended modestly higher Friday, with energy shares especially strong while a rally in banking shares faded.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended up 0.2 percent at 24,271.75.
The broad-based S&P 500 gained 0.1 percent to 2,718.38, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index eked out a 0.1 percent gain to 7,510.30.
Worries about worsening trade conflicts have weighed on stocks for weeks amid new tariff announcement, countermeasures and threats.
Investors shrugged off an announcement by Canada, which unveiled tariffs on $12.6 billion in US goods in retaliation for American tariffs on Canadian aluminum and steel.
JJ Kinahan, chief market strategist at TD Ameritrade, said the Canadian announcement had been expected and that day-to-day swings in stocks were not surprising given the trade worries.
“Much of the negotiations on tariffs are being done through the press or Twitter,” he said. “The coverage makes a huge deal out of everything but it is not necessarily as big a deal.”
Still US stocks ended well below their session peaks, with several large banks, including Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase, finishing in negative territory after surging in the morning.
Analysts have cited worries about lower US Treasury yields, in addition to trade anxiety.
Petroleum producers such as ConocoPhillips and Apache surged almost two percent as US oil prices rose to a new three-and-a-half year high on worries about global supply disturbances.
Dow member Nike powered 11.2 percent higher after its earnings easily topped analyst expectations and it announced a $15 billion share buyback program, while offering an upbeat outlook on its online-based direct selling program.
But General Motors slumped 2.7 percent as it warned that the Trump administration’s aggressive trade policies could backfire and lead to job cuts. Ford and Tesla Motors also dropped.
Constellation Brands sank 5.6 percent as it reported lower-than-expected profits and revenues.


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PODCAST: Chipotle under investigation, OECD’s happiest country
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Shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill dropped about 2 percent yesterday after the company announced that federal prosecutors are investigating the company’s compliance with immigration laws in its hiring practices.
Dell Computer is forecasting disappointing gains in sales for its second quarter. “A more challenging demand enviroinment” is Dell’s explanation. In China, Lenovo is coming off a fine year, with news that profits were up 73 percent.
You can measure countries by economic growth, but that doesn’t always line up with how well people are actually doing. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in Paris looks at jobs, health, work-life balance, environment and more and which country comes out on top? You said a Scandanavian country? Not this time. The winner is: Australia, where for instance, life expectancy is 82, three years more than the US. America does well, in part because of higher incomes, but we get demerits in other areas including a high percentage of us who work extremely long hours.
To Tokyo, where 8,000 visitors lined up yesterday to take in the views from the observation deck at the grand opening of the world’s tallest tower. The Tokyo Sky Tree is 2,080 feet tall. Some people reportedly waited in line for a week to be the first to take in the panoramic views from the top of the Sky Tree. But alas, it was… cloudy.
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Rwanda’s tea exports for 2015 increased in both value and volume. The beverage recorded 40 per cent growth in earning to almost $73 million (about Rwf57.2 billion) in 2015, up from $52 million in 2014, according to statistics from the central bank.
Government of Rwanda is counting on its major cash crops (coffee and tea), as well as horticultural produce to boost export revenues following a global price decline for major minerals. In 2015, total exports recorded poor performance, dropping by 6.8 per cent in value to stand at $558.8 million, a drop from $599.8 million in 2014, but volumes increased by 20.5 per cent. Read more. Source | New Times


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Vietnam has exported its rice to 150 countries and territories but yet built a trademark for the grain. The question on how to develop a brand name telling all about the commercial value of Vietnamese rice needs to be answered by both local rice producers, and policy makers.
The quality of rice still remains unimproved much, as do the market access capacity and negotiating ability of rice producers. That cannot help quality rice of Vietnam to be recognized by consumers in other countries. These big problems must be fixed in the future.
At present, the Ministry of Industry and Trade is working on the building of a concentrated rice development plan, focusing on building a brand name for high-value Vietnamese rice and holding more programmes to promote the brand name.
It will also focus on boosting connectivity between rice producers and exporters.
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India's largest private enterprise, Tata Group, is strengthening its presence in the new energy sector.
Foreign media reported that Tata Motors announced the development of a new powertrain technology - Ziptron. The technology includes a high efficiency permanent magnet AC motor and a dust and water resistant lithium ion battery system that meets the IP67 standard.
Shailesh Chandra, head of the electric vehicle division at Tata Motors, said the company plans to provide an eight-year warranty on future electric and battery systems, and the new powertrain system will address the car's cruising mileage anxiety. Electric vehicles with Ziptron technology have a range of up to 250km.
As the largest private enterprise in India, Tata Group has continuously increased its layout in the new energy field in recent years, with the intention of taking the lead in the new energy market in India.
In addition to the development of electric vehicles, Tata is also deploying lithium battery manufacturing, recycling of used lithium batteries and power battery systems to create a sustainable EV ecosystem.
In November 2018, Tata Chemicals, a subsidiary of Tata Group, announced a partnership with the Scientific and Industrial Research Council (CSIR) to invest in lithium-ion batteries. The company also signed a memorandum of understanding with the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). According to the MOU, the lithium-ion battery technology developed by the Vikram Sarabhai Space Center will be transferred to Tata Chemical.
The company plans to build a $580 million production facility in the Dholera industrial area of Gujarat. Tata Chemicals has acquired 126 acres of land for the production of lithium-ion batteries for the project.
Currently, Tata Chemicals has committed to invest Rs 400 crore to build a 10 GWh lithium-ion battery plant in the Dholera Special Investment Zone (DSIR) in Gujarat, which will be the first time Tata is involved in lithium-ion battery production.
Jai Prakash Shivahare, Managing Director of Dholera Industrial City Development Co., Ltd. (DICDL), said that the company [Tata Chemical] will build 1.7 GW of capacity in the first phase, with an investment of 750-1000 rupees and then increase with demand. Extend it to 10GW.
In addition to the self-built lithium battery factory, Tata AutoComp, a subsidiary of Tata Group, has signed a cooperation agreement with China's lithium battery manufacturer Guoxuan Hi-Tech, and the two companies intend to establish a lithium battery pack company in India. The joint venture will focus on the design, development, validation and manufacture of battery modules and battery packs, as well as battery management systems for passenger cars and commercial vehicles.
Recently, Tata Chemicals also announced the business of recycling cathode materials from used lithium batteries. The business will be carried out at a factory near Mumbai and has successfully recycled lithium batteries. Tata Chemicals is expanding its capacity to form the capacity to recycle 500 tons of used lithium batteries.
Tata Chemical said that the company's lithium-ion battery recycling technology is at the leading level in the industry and can recover valuable metals such as lithium, cobalt, nickel and manganese with a purity of over 99%.


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Looks like JK Rowling had the last laugh.
In the hours leading up to the anticipated announcement, scores of news organizations published “leaked” reports revealing that Pottermore would be an online Harry Potter game and global treasure hunt.
So it was an unexpected surprise today when Ms. Rowling revealed the true nature of Pottermore: Pottermore is a free, collaborative website that will offer readers an online reading experience with extensive new material about the world of Potter. The site will launch in October in English, French, Italian, German and Spanish. (More languages will eventually follow.)
“I’m thrilled to say I’m now in a position to give you something unique: an online reading experience unlike any other. It’s called Pottermore,” Rowling said in her YouTube announcement. “Pottermore will be where fans of any age can share, participate in, and rediscover stories…. I’ll be joining in, too, because I’ll be sharing additional information I’ve been hoarding for years about the world of Harry Potter.”
Fans of all ages will be able to enter a virtual world they’ve been imagining for years. In the online Potter universe, readers will choose a magical username, be sorted into a Hogwarts house just as Harry was in the books, choose wands, experience life at Hogwarts, and journey through Harry’s adventures as they play games, cast spells, mix potions, and collect points. For now, the website will be limited to the first Potter book, “Harry Potter and the Sorceror’s Stone.”
The part muggles will go mad for? The as-yet unpublished extra material Rowling will share about the people, places, and plots she’s created. And there’s a lot of it. “[T]he fresh Potter background from the author already stretches to 18,000 words, with more to come,” reported The Guardian, which attended Rowling’s London press conference Thursday morning.
It seems Rowling is brimming with new details that’ll round out characters and enrich Harry’s story: how the Dursleys met, why Professor McGonagall may be sympathetic to Harry (hint: as a young woman, she once loved a muggle), background on the Hogwarts houses, and new information on wand wood.
There’s more: Pottermore will also be the only place where Rowling will release Harry Potter e-books (which we guessed in a previous Pottermore blog). After refusing to release her beloved novels as e-books for years, Rowling is finally taking the digital plunge – but doing it her way. Pottermore will likely include an online store that will bypass traditional e-book sellers to sell Harry Potter e-books directly to readers.
“[It will be] the exclusive place to purchase digital audio books and e-books of the Harry Potter series,” Rowling said in her YouTube announcement.
There will be no charge to access the site. “This is free,” Rowling added in her London press conference. “You don't have to pay to get extra materials, you don't have to buy a single thing. That was really important to me. This was about the 'give-back'.”
(Rowling has sold more than 450 million copies of the Potter books worldwide, making her one of the richest women alive.)
Although Pottermore doesn't officially launch until October, Rowling said a lucky few (we’ve heard the lucky few will actually be the first million users) can enter early, on July 31 – Harry Potter’s birthday. (Fans can submit their email addresses on Pottermore.com now, asking to be contacted by the site when registration opens July 31.)
“Simply follow the owl,” Rowling said at the end of the announcement, suggesting another trick up her sleeve, a game to determine who enters first. “Good luck.”
“Pottermore,” wrote The Guardian, “will be the only way fans will be able to get fresh material from Rowling about Harry's world. ‘I'm pretty sure I'm done on the novel front,’ [Rowling] said.’”
Even so, Potter fans can rejoice: It’s been 13 years since the first book appeared and even though the seventh book and eighth film have now been completed, Harry Potter lives on. Pottermore is Rowling’s secret potion to keep Harry and his wizarding world – not to mention readers’ imaginations – alive.
Husna Haq is a Monitor correspondent.


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Redmi Launched Redmi Smart Fire TV 4K featuring 4K display; Know price & details
5 months ago
The Redmi company’s new Redmi Smart Fire TV 4K made its debut in India on Friday, September 15. It features a 4K display with a 60Hz refresh rate and HDR10 video capability. The smart TV features a 3,840 x 2,160 pixel resolution. A quad-core A55 processor and a Mali G52 MC1 GPU power the Redmi Smart Fire TV 4K. It provides connectivity choices including Bluetooth 5.0, Wi-Fi, AirPlay 2, and Miracast. 24W speakers with Dolby Audio, DTS Virtual X, and DTS-HD technologies are offered in the smart TV.
Redmi Smart Fire TV 4K cost and availability in India
The Redmi Smart Fire TV 4K costs Rs. 26,999 in India. Users can buy it from Amazon and Mi.com. The business is also providing a free 1-year extended warranty on the smart TV.
Redmi Smart Fire TV 4K characteristics and specifications
The 4K (3,840 x 2,160 pixels) bezel-less display on the Redmi Smart Fire TV 4K supports HDR10 content. It includes Dolby Audio, DTS:X, and 24W stereo speakers in addition to the company’s Vivid Picture Engine.
A quad-core A55 processor, Mali G52 MC1 GPU, 2GB RAM, and 8GB of storage power the most recent Redmi Smart Fire TV 4K. With more than 12,000 apps, it runs on Fire OS 7 and offers access to films and TV shows from services like Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, Disney+ Hotstar, Jio Cinema, and Zee5. The TV also includes parental control, Alexa voice assistant, support for multiple profiles, and Amazon Fire TV.
Wi-Fi 802.11 ac and Bluetooth 5.0 are additional connectivity possibilities for the recently released smart TV. According to the manufacturer, it also has two USB ports, an AV jack, three HDMI ports, and a 3.5mm audio jack.


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Under CEO James Gorman, Morgan Stanley has emphasized its wealth management division, a far steadier business than its trading operations.Financeread more
Netflix can sustain its lofty valuation only if global subscriber growth can support increasing content spending and debt.Technologyread more
China has other "weapons" in its trade battle with the United States — and selling off its U.S. Treasury holdings will not be one of them, said Richard McGregor, senior fellow...China Economyread more
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said a call between U.S. and China trade officials is scheduled for later on Thursday.Marketsread more
Three candidates calling for a mixed approach also co-sponsored Sen. Bernie Sanders' 'Medicare for All' bill.2020 Electionsread more
Here are the biggest calls on Wall Street on ThursdayInvestingread more
Raymond James upgraded Apple and said its most recent checks show Apple is preparing to bring a 5G iPhone to a wider range of models than previously thought.Marketsread more
Barr and Ross had defied Democrats' subpoenas for information about the Trump administration's efforts to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census.Politicsread more
IBM's year-over-year revenue has now declined for four quarters in a row. Impact from Red Hat is not yet factored into the company's guidance.Technologyread more
Accenture on Thursday raised its full-year profit forecast after reporting better-than-expected second-quarter earnings, benefiting from its investments in digital and cloud services.
The consulting and outsourcing services provider's shares rose 4 percent before the opening bell.
Much of Accenture's recent growth has been driven by digital and cloud services, which include everything from managing clients' social media marketing strategies to helping them migrate to the cloud.
Revenue from digital, cloud and security-related services, which the company calls "the New," constituted more than 60 percent of its total revenue in the second quarter.
Accenture raised its full-year earnings per share forecast range to $7.18 to $7.32, from $7.01 to $7.25.
Net income attributable to the company rose to $1.12 billion, or $1.73 per share, in the quarter ended Feb. 28, from $863.7 million, or $1.37 per share, a year earlier.
Analysts on average had expected a profit of $1.57 per share.
Revenue rose 5.5 percent to $10.45 billion, ahead of estimates of $10.30 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.


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Independent Voter Project Conference: Skills Gap, Outdated Regulations Threaten California's Tech Dominance
In a state of over 38 million people, Californians – as well as the rest of the U.S. – have come to rely inextricably upon the capabilities of modern telecommunications technologies. Whether it’s your smartphone accessing the cloud to download the latest cat video, taking an online class in a virtual classroom, or launching another tech startup, the tech industry lends itself to almost every aspect of daily life.
Likewise, in California alone, the information and communication technologies industry generates over $172 billion in revenue and accounts for over 1 million jobs.
During the Independent Voter Project’s annual Business and Leadership Conference, discussions about technology and communication focused on three major challenges in the industry: addressing the skills gap, modernizing outdated regulatory priorities, and developing an attractive business environment to encourage job growth in California.
Addressing California’s Skills Gap
By 2020, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that there will be 1.4 million new computer science jobs, but only about 400,000 trained workers available to fill them.
According to Code.org:
“The annual job growth is almost 3x the rate of students graduating with bachelor’s degrees .”
This phenomenon is known as the ‘skills gap,’ and it poses a major challenge to the communications industry.
As for California, it could threaten Silicon Valley's supremacy as the gravitational center for the technology sector. However, there are possible solutions to the skills gap worth considering, not the least of which is a re-examination of the state's education curriculum -- math and computer science requirements in particular.
Currently, California and Montana share a spot at the bottom of the list when it comes to math requirements nationwide. High school students need only two years of math in order to graduate, whereas most other states require three or four years.
One way to address the issue would be to add a year or two to the existing math requirement and allow computer science classes to count for one of the additional years of study.
Bringing Regulations into the 21st Century
The first telephone was put to use in 1876 and for over a hundred years, government policies and regulatory agencies have been directed largely at the same technology -- voice communication via telephones on a copper landline.
Yet it’s only taken a few decades for consumers to shift toward broadband Internet as their preferred medium of communication. Consequently, the number of households with landlines in use has dropped significantly since 2004. It’s down nearly 40%, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
As a result, long-standing regulatory agencies are still prioritizing their oversight resources in areas that have little to do with real-world consumer experience, essentially slowing progress across the board.
Today, over 86% of California residents have access to and use the Internet. The vast majority of personal communications is taking place through broadband networks – not the traditional landline networks of the past.
So the policy question for California has become, ‘how will regulatory agencies adapt to changes in technology, as opposed to focusing on policies that may soon be obsolete?’
Encouraging Innovation in California
Innovation and technology go hand in hand. However, it can be more complicated than one might expect for the California economy to actually benefit when a tech company or start up innovates.
When businesses look at where to locate, invest, or focus more resources, the first consideration is whether or not the cost-to-benefit exchange makes sense. While this is a long-standing debate in California politics, it lies at the center of what’s next for the information and communication technology industry.
Attracting the next Google or Facebook to California won’t be a product of the state’s weather climate alone; it will require new incentives to encourage small businesses as well as large ones to locate and do business in California as opposed to other states like Texas, which boasts a burgeoning tech community and fewer regulatory costs.


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The company has returned to profitability and it's also returned to giving forward guidance.
Compare GIII Stock to Peers
|Symbol||Last Price||Market Cap||% Δ 1 Yr||% Δ 5 Yr|
G-III Apparel Group
News & Analysis: G-III Apparel Group
The apparel specialist missed on earnings but announced a restructuring plan.
The pandemic isn't over yet, but at these valuations, the sell-off could be.
Find out what sent indexes soaring -- and pushed these stocks even higher.
Here are the details from its mixed second-quarter results.
Poor earnings results weighed on several companies.
The multibrand clothing company is doing its best to weather retail headwinds, but it's not enough to appease the market.
On the eve of its next quarterly report, here's what G-III investors need to know about last month's drop.
G-III blew past analyst estimates and forecast another strong year in 2019.
Shares of the apparel wholesaler and retailer dipped after it reported third-quarter earnings as China concerns loomed.


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While it’s nowhere near the degree of trouble that the Xbox One suffered at its launch, the Xbox Series X|S has had its fair share of issues in the main areas of competition: namely, exclusive games. To address this, Microsoft has gone on a spending spree, with huge announcements spread across mainstream news that they’ll snap up the likes of Bethesda and Activision Blizzard.
Despite the lack of first-party or exclusive titles – particularly when it comes to big releases – the new consoles are selling far better than the last generation of Xbox. The comparison of console sales figures read that the X|S is up by 62,000 units on the One’s figures for the same week of its lifespan. So, the announcements and existing games are certainly working for now, but it’s tough to sidestep the continued news of delays.
Highly-anticipated exclusives are coming, eventually
The big Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase over the summer delivered on nearly all expectations. There were big reveals, lots of gameplay videos, and a comprehensive look at what’s to come in 2022 from third-party studios and those under the Microsoft umbrella. While many gamers are happy for the forewarning and honesty, there isn’t any avoiding the news that there won’t be any big exclusives this year for Xbox.
The chart of all of the announced upcoming games for the next 18 months tells the story of poor management of the production line, with the last six months of 2022 being somewhat barren for Xbox Game Pass, and the 2023 slate looking to be more of a dog pile. High on Life, Warhammer 40,000: Darktide, and Party Animals on the Game Pass certainly pique interest, but in 2023, there’s set to be Redfall, Starfield, Forza Motorsport, Minecraft Legends, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2, and ARK 2 coming to Game Pass.
If all holds up, 2023 looks to be the year that Xbox finally gets a foothold in the key competitive space of exclusive titles, but there’s a long way to go yet. So, the sense is that, while Game Pass is popular, Xbox needs to use the next six months and more to become much more attractive and gung-ho in user acquisitions to have an even larger, ready-set audience for these huge, very expensive releases.
Make some noise about free gaming and backward compatibility
Outside of its summer showcase and the news of massive acquisitions, Xbox doesn’t make a whole of noise about its service, sales, or deals, while PlayStation regularly promotes its upcoming titles. So, perhaps enhancing and promoting the accessibility of the Xbox console and its gaming library is the way to go. Right now, you’ll find an offer of
three months for $1 on Game Pass, but they can go further.
A good campaign to launch would be one of offering free gaming to any Xbox owner, with the focus on each installment being one or two games. The Game Pass library is vast, which can work against it, and other gaming brands have found more success by offering one game as the focus of free gaming promotions. When you browse the range of free spins offers, you’ll see that Big Bass Bonanza and Book of Dead are the focus of many.
This is because they’re the biggest casino games right now, and putting their names and images next to a promotion is more eye-catching than offering a set of free spins on a vague library of slots. It’s not just in casino gaming that this has proven to work; Epic Games broke into the PC launcher scene by offering a specific free game each week – often with a big name once per month – to anyone with a free account.
Along with offering free gaming options to all Xbox owners – thus making the purchase of an Xbox all the more valuable at little cost to Microsoft – Microsoft should heavily lean into what it does far better than the rest: backward compatibility. It is how the last console could stand up to Sony’s runaway-selling PS4 and really should be emphasized more. Perhaps a mini subscription to backward-compatible games would bring in some more gamers.
Software still drives console sales and engagement, and without any major releases to shout about for at least six months, Xbox should try another tactic to lure in more gamers, maximizing its audience in time for its major releases.


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's continued creep into travel services continues with its Map product
The addition of the on-demand taxi hailing service comes as part of a wider overhaul of the maps product which includes a number of other new features.
When users now compare transport options, Uber transport option will be listed if the existing app is installed on mobile. If a user clicks on the Uber transport option in maps app, Uber's service will load to complete the taxi request.
This option is currently available only in "some cities".
[caption id="attachment_144359" align="aligncenter" width="550"]
Click for a high-resolution version:[/caption]
In August 2013, Google Ventures, the investment arm of Google, led an investment of $258 million in Uber. At the time, CEO and co-founder of Uber, Travis Kalanick, said:
"Google is a technology powerhouse, with billions of users on an incredibly complementary product suite ranging from Google Maps to Android to self-driving vehicles.
"We look to Google and Google Ventures for the strategic connectivity to their product initiatives alongside the expertise that comes with evangelizing new technology with governments and regulatory bodies around the world."
Uber has expanded its service significantly in recent months, having services in over 100 cities in 35 countries globally.
The integration is certainly a boost for Uber and it gives an additional lead-generation platform compared to its competitors such as Lyft (received $250 million funding recently).
Other new features in the Google Map app include:
- Ability to see which lane to stay in or move to while driving.
- Users can save maps using the "Save map to use offline" button for accessing it offline.
- Users can browse restaurants, bars and hotels with a new set of filters - by opening hours, rating, price, and more.
- While searching for train transport option, now users will be able to choose the time and day they want to leave. Also, option to see "last train home" is also available.
- Save places and access it via all devices.
- AccessStreet View feature where available.


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Did you miss a session from GamesBeat Summit Next 2022? All sessions are now available for viewing in our on-demand library. Click here to start watching.
News broke Thursday that Apple had removed Nest Labs’ smart thermostat from its online and physical stores, but Nest says its other products will show up in the stores soon.
“Apple is a valued partner to Nest and our new products will be available through Apple and other retail channels in the coming weeks,” Nest said in a note to VentureBeat.
Neither Nest nor Apple would tell VentureBeat the reason that the thermostat was dropped. As it turns out the Nest product was removed earlier this month, and has apparently been replaced by another smart thermostat, the $249 Ecobee 3, which is connected to Apple’s connected home platform, HomeKit.
If the thermostat was ousted from Apple Stores after a HomeKit-connected product showed up, Nest’s camera and smoke alarm seem in danger of suffering the same fate.
Nest has been adding ways for these products to work together, but Nest’s overarching home automation platform story — especially as it relates to Google’s Brillo Internet of Things operating system — remains fuzzy.
So Nest might be seen as a threat to HomeKit someday, but apparently that day hasn’t come.
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How do you cut the cost of free? It’s not an idle question in the cut-throat cloud storage-file-sync-and-share business. Box, which offers business-oriented services in this arena, just doubled the capacity it makes available for free for individual users from 5GB to 10GB. And for novice business users, it’s offering a new “Starter” plan that provides up to 100GB of pooled storage — with individual file size capped at 2GB — for $5 per user per month.
“We wanted to make it easier for new users either in small companies or small divisions of big companies to get in,” Whitney Bouck, SVP and GM of Box’s Enterprise unit, said in an interview.
A business “SKU” offers up to 1000 GB of storage with 5GB file size cap plus the user can opt for one of Box’s many integrations — say to Active Directory or Salesforce.com CRM. “Not every company needs all our advanced capabilities — reporting, custom branding etc, but may need one of them — this gives them that option,” Bouck said.
Dropbox to the left, Microsoft and Google to the right….
The cloud storage and file sharing market is nothing if not dynamic. Last week, consumer favorite Dropbox offered an extra 1GB of storage space to users of its Mailbox.com app who connect it to their Dropbox account. More to the point here, it is also making a concerted effort to convert people who bring Dropbox into the office into paying Dropbox for Business customers.
Said Bouck: “Our take on Dropbox is: who wouldn’t want to sell into business? But let’s be real, it’s a very consumer centric company just starting out here — they do reasonably well at the very small end of the market where companies are not regulated and don’t have to worry about a large array of users and granular policies. We don’t ever see them in the enterprise.”
And then there’s a raft of other business-focused contenders from Accellion and Egnyte to ownCloud, not to mention minor upstarts like Google (with Google Drive) and Microsoft (with SkyDrive) all eying this market. With the latter companies, Bouck said customers that already use a ton of Microsoft(s msft) and Google(s goog) applications, worry about vendor lock-in gives Box traction.
Mission Difficult: Converting freemium to paying customers
Box now claims that it’s in use at 97 percent of the Fortune 500 companies. (In June, Dropbox said its product is used in 95 percent of those companies.)
And, to get the rest of the pro forma Box questions out of the way: Bouck had no comment on percentage of Box customers who pay; or on the company’s profitability; or on its long-rumored IPO.
As for cloud storage pricing? Hang tight, there will no doubt be more action soon.


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Why not regulate prices of life-saving devices?
Birendar Sangwan filed a PIL in Delhi High Court in 2014 seeking price regulation of these life-saving devices and that coronary stents, a spring-like...
Birendar Sangwan filed a PIL in Delhi High Court in 2014 seeking price regulation of these life-saving devices and that coronary stents, a spring-like metal used to prop open blocked arteries, be included in the National List of Essential Medicines (NELM), He wrote:
“In 2014, a friend’s brother had a heart attack and was charged Rs 126,000 for a stent in a private hospital in Faridabad. The box that carried the stent had no maximum retail price on it. We checked with other doctors and they told us it was because stent prices weren’t regulated by the government, so hospitals had a free hand in fixing rates,”.
Data from the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority, the country’s top body that fixes prices for drugs, showed massive margins were being charged at each step in the distribution and supply of stents. By the time a patient received a stent, the increase from the original cost was often in the range of 1,000-2,000%.
With cardio-vascular diseases on the rise, the number of angioplasties being performed has doubled in the country in the past five years. It was a scam, and patients were being fleeced blatantly. There were no ethics followed,” he said. “Why should the patient be forced to buy a stent from a particular company? Why wasn’t there any regulatory mechanism in place? These questions disturbed me.”
SIC officers said that they did not have any facility pertaining to cardiac devices implantation at their institution and hence they referred the patients to other private-empanelled hospitals. They also claimed that those patients admitted to private hospitals have paid according to the rates of CGHS and that package rates are made available to the patients according to the CGHS scheme.
The information seeker under RTI wanted to know how many patients were referred to the private hospitals; how many of them were recommended for cardiac surgery and what were the rates offered to them at those private empanelled hospitals. It seems that the vested interests of the organisations involved were limited to fleecing the patients rather than providing suitable medical treatments to them. If that is the real case, it is a gross deviance from medical ethics.
Information seeker has alleged that there is a huge drop in the number of patients preferring these devices, though needed, because of exorbitant and inflated prices of implants. He alleged that patients were deprived of approximately Rs 1,500 crore every year from 2013 to 2016. The private hospitals benefit at the cost of wealth and health of patients, while the government remained a mute spectator. The appellant wrote to the PMO on 29th May 2015 requesting immediate action to be taken.
A research paper by the American Health Association has revealed that while prices of drug-eluting stents vary between $600 and $2,971 in India, it is sold at around $1,200 in the US. In India, stents turned out to be subject to substantial price markups on their journey from manufacturer to patient, at times exceeding 4 times their original imported value. (http://circ.ahajournals. Org/content/ early/2017/05/04/CIRCULATIONAHA.117.028191). A look into the stent prices have indicated that the prices charged in India are far more exorbitant than prices charged for the same stents in European countries. Companies have been charging more than double the amount for Drug Eluting Stents (DES).
This was prior to the stent price control regulation by the NPPA; however, companies have a bigger margin in India due to huge market of stents implantation as compared to other European countries. In bigger markets, where the companies even benefited from smaller margin, it is highly inappropriate to charge even greater margin than the usual. (http://timesofindia. Indiatimes.com/india/stents-sold-in-europe-for-less-than-indian-prices/articleshow/58675349.cms)
One can clearly see a huge difference between the market rate of the stents; the rate given by the AIIMS and CGHS. Dr. Sangeeta Mathur from public authority explained that when rates are not defined by CGHS, they follow the rate of maximum retail price minus 15% of the actual amount of the cardiac implant. She says ESIC always follows the rules of the CGHS. The complainant pointed out that the private empanelled hospitals are charging more than 2.5 times of actual price quoted by CGHS and AIIMS.
This fact is known to the ESIC. The question is why the ESIC refers thousands or lakhs of patients to private hospitals knowing fully that they have to shell down cost 2.5 times of actual price by CGHS. A big business is being transacted through these references. The ESIC should have complained about inflation of prices. Instead, it is facilitated for years continuously leading to unjust enrichment by the private hospitals and stent makers probably with kick backs to other key players.
It is a serious regulatory lapse, there is nobody to check the stent coming in the box without complete information for consumers like maximum retail price, batch number, name of the manufacturer etc. and the poor patient has no mechanism to check the quality of the devices. The private hospitals are exploiting from this ambiguity, which is sustained by vested commercial corporate medical industry, unethical doctors and deliberate silence by the regulators. This could be mass violation of consumer rights through ESIC. ESIC reference means reimbursement of charges levied by Private hospitals on ESIC patients.
Complainant says: Around 34 Super Specialty hospitals come under the ESIC but the question still lies, “why ESIC is finding the need to outsource and letting its sick employees be scapegoats of excessive over-charging?” Helping patients in ascertainment of genuine prices should be a necessary function of the ESIC. Being Employees State Insurance Company, it has to safeguard its insurance pool also from being wastefully spent like this, if not so, the cost of premiums paid by the employees will increase, that would be unjust for all employees covered under this scheme.
Even if other private insurance companies pay for stents in such a manner, the principle of utmost good faith uberrimae fide would be totally defeated, which will destroy the insurance system’s credibility, making the system collapse. This could prevent patients from being gullible victims of the malicious economic interests of the greedy private hospitals, medical companies and associated importers/distributors. It was stated that ESIC’s claims regarding setting of prices by themselves are false, that there is no such mechanism used by the ESIC. He reported on 30th Sep 2014, to the DG of ESIC and to the Secretary and the Minister in the Dept. of Labor, stating the whimsical over-pricing of stent implantation operations. There was no response.
The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has fixed on 13th February, 2017, the maximum price, hospitals can charge for coronary stents. The makers of these devices should be compelled by the Government to specifically mention the cost of these implants including coronary stents, with its brand name, name of the manufacturer/importer/batch number and other details, in their billing to the patients or their representatives, which is the internationally recognized right to information of the consumer.
As quoted in the notification of the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority, the Government slashed the prices of life-saving coronary stents up to 85% and fixed ceiling price of Rs. 7,250 apiece for bare metal stents, and allowed a maximum retail price of Rs. 29,600 for drug eluting stents of all varieties. However, the complainant says that this policy is not being implemented.
The price fixation formula of the Government will cover the cost of maker/importer and also allows a profitable margin but, still the Commission found no reason as to why they are not implementing this policy.
Mere capping of the price of the implanting devices will not end the exploitation of the patients, the Government should also consider the capping the cost of entire operation, diagnosis, process and post implantation consequences. “No retailer/chemist/e-pharmacist outlet shall be permitted to sell any medicine/drug unless such pharmacy is registered on the e-portal,” the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has stated in its draft norms.(http://www.livemint.com/Industry /HUyV4QX8zdGznPkNCmU4zM/Govt-plans-to-set-up-eplatform-to-regulate-sale-of-drugs.html).
The Competition Commission of India has a statutory role in policy setting to prevent these unethical practices and curb anti-competitive practices. The Central Information Commission has recommended to the CCI to look into these unethical practices looting patients of all classes either through an ethics committee, or by any other means of its choice for setting guidelines or rules or regulations to monitor every phase – starting right from manufacturing of stents till the consumer buys it.
The Department of Consumer Affairs should incorporate speedy remedial measures to stop exorbitant pricing and unjust draining of public resources.
There is a need for a felicitous law that not only mandates these organisations to charge stent prices, which is economically reasonable, but also ensure that any other over-riding prices charged by hospitals in the name of infrastructure or other operation-related services do not aggravate the already worsen situation.


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There are about 40 million Fortnite fans who have been waiting patiently for the game's Battle Royale map update and it looks like their patience will be rewarded tomorrow. Epic Games has also released a brand new video to highlight some of the map's updated features. While there's no specific time of day for the V.2.2.0 patch and map update, it has been confirmed that is it launching on January 18th.
This latest patch is the first major map update for the free-to-play game mode and will add new features, like a new city, underground mine, a swampy marsh and a brand new mountain area. Friendly fire is also finally getting turned off, which should mean fewer teammates dropping dead after inadvertently getting in the line of fire.
A full list of patch notes can be found on Fortnite's website, but highlights include shorter load times for console gamers and the promise of a 5 tier headstart in season 3 with the purchase of a season 2 battle pass. Players can expect the patch to drop sometime tomorrow for PC, PS4, and Xbox One. Check out the latest trailer for the map update below.


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Christchurch-based national retail chain Smiths City Group is six months behind repairs to its flagship Colombo St store because of consenting delays.
Group managing director Rick Hellings told shareholders at the company's annual meeting in Christchurch yesterday that repairs the retailer had hoped to complete by Christmas, to restore the site to up to 90 per cent of its pre-quake floorspace, would now only be finished half way through next year.
The store is about two-thirds its pre-quake size at present.
"I think one or two of you might have read what is happening about consent processes in Christchurch. When they tell you how bad it is, don't believe them. It's a lot worse," Hellings said. "We have been operating that store since November 2011. Our staff still use portacom toilets. We don't have inside toilets."
Head office would likely remain in Sockburn for another 18 months. Retail floor space was the main priority.
Hellings said the market remained highly competitive with prices of electronic goods continuing to fall.
The market was driven by high discounts and ever-longer interest-free promotions.
During the year the group had arranged cheaper funding for its customer credit subsidiary, Smithcorp Finance Limited, to reduce funding costs and its Powerstore and Furniture Concepts stores on Moorhouse Ave had opened with "a hiss and a roar". However, Christchurch was still awaiting the post-quake boom.
Wellington had been "a thorn in the side", affected by the global financial crisis and reduced Government spending.
As part of a "radical overhaul" the group closed its Upper Hutt store in March, replaced it with one on the Kapiti Coast and was relocating its Porirua store for better exposure.
Hellings said the business did not expect to see trading conditions change significantly and would focus on kitchen appliances, beds, furniture and televisions as opposed to consumer electronics.
The new financial year had got off to a sluggish start with sales in the first quarter down on the previous year.
Chairman Craig Boyce said that was understandable in places like Greymouth, Dunedin and Invercargill, which had had actual or threatened job losses.
Sales had improved this month but credit-based promotions were not as popular as they had been in the past.
Price deflation in electronic goods continued but in furniture, flooring and whiteware pricepoints were steady and margins were "OK".
The Christchurch rebuild would provide a boost but was "frustratingly slow" to gather momentum, Boyce said, although the group was seeing increases in sales of floor coverings and whiteware, which accompanied the refurbishing phase of the recovery.
"The picture upfront is clearly for significant homebuilding and that means more retail sales. The question is when?"
"Some companies have geared up for this rebuild too early and suffered as a result. We wait patiently for it."
There was better confidence heading into the new rural season than there was earlier this year, but Wellington was likely to remain flat, Boyce said.
The group reported a 23 per cent jump in net profit to $5.4 million for the year to April 2013, supported by good trading in the South Island thanks to a strong rural sector. Smiths City stock ended flat at 65 cents yesterday.
- © Fairfax NZ News
Should we limit the number of dairy farms in NZ?Related story: Dairy farming harming water


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A four-month-old puppy, seriously injured by another dog attack, managed to barely recover with the help of a 3D printer.
The injured puppy is the 'rocca' of Staffordshire bull terrier. Rocca was hit by another dog and suffered severe injuries with fractures of cheekbones and jaws, damage to the temporomandibular joint, and perforation of the face and neck.
Roca was treated at the Veterinary Clinic of Davis University in California after the accident. Veterinarians opted to use the exoskeleton mask, which was used to diagnose the condition of the robot and output it to a 3D printer. The exoskeleton mask is called "Exo-K9 Exoskeleton," which means an exoskeleton for dogs, and acts like a gym on an arm or leg to fix a broken bone during treatment.
Prior to finding a medical center, the exoskeleton mask device was developed and cooperated with the veterinary ward and the engineering department of the university. According to Davis University, Rocah is the first to actually wear this exoskeleton device.
Veterinarians designed the exoskeleton device for LOCA by referring to LOCA's CT scans, and printed the design using a 3D printer. Rocca wore this device for a month.
A month later, Rocah's face was photographed with a CT scan, which was a natural result, but the new bones grew and sat. From this time on, the newly-established temporomandibular joint was forced to eat rigid food to help me find my function.
Three months later, CT scan again showed that Rokka's TMJ was recovering rapidly.
With the new innovations in veterinary medicine, Loka has been living with other puppies. It was because everyone had a warm heart and developed an exoskeleton device for Loca.


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College students juggle plenty: part-time jobs, research projects, dating, keeping up with the family at home.
So I’d like to go out on a limb and say most college students are more focused on their GPAs than their credit scores. And it’s way too easy to make some really dumb moves on campus that can ding your credit score.
Lower scores mean higher costs when taking on adult-size purchases, such as car loans and mortgages, down the road.
Beginning in 2010, credit card companies could no longer offer T-shirts, coupons for free pizza, coffee mugs or other gifts on campus to college students who agree to fill out a credit card application. But they could still market cards on campus, just no freebies.
If a student is younger than 21, it is now tougher to get a credit card. But it’s doable. A credit card can be opened if consumers younger than 21 can prove they can afford payments or have a parent or someone else who is older co-sign for the credit card.
“If they want to get a credit card, they’re still finding ways to get credit cards,” said John Ulzheimer, president of consumer education at SmartCredit.com in Atlanta.
College students still can get into plenty of trouble when it comes to credit.
Todd Albery, CEO of Detroit-based Quizzle, a credit-information website that’s part of the Quicken Loans family, said he can easily think of two areas that cause college students to have lower scores: high credit card balances and credit inquiries.
Albery noted that many students don’t know that just applying for new cards can cause damage to a credit score.
It’s not as bad as missing payments, but it can add up.
Students should not use plastic as if it’s the same as cold cash. They can run into trouble if they buy items like pizza or new sweatshirts and jeans, and just keep charging.
If you charge $100 on a card with a $200 limit, it can ding your score. One realistic range of credit utilization, Albery said, is to use less than 25 percent of your available credit.
Even students who don’t have a credit card can get in trouble with their scores.
Gerri Detweiler, director of consumer education for Credit.com, said she’s heard from many college graduates who are shocked that their credit scores have been hurt by unpaid utility bills.
They all move out of the house or apartment they rented off-campus and no one pays the bill. It goes into collection, and the student with the name on the bill gets hit on the credit report.
Parents who are worried about credit may want to help a student build a credit history by adding a child in college as an authorized user on a low-balance card.
The parent or cardholder is responsible for the bill, of course, not that authorized user. So you really want to make sure that the student understands the limits. After all, a parent’s score could suffer if the college student maxes out that card.
On the plus side, when a parent authorizes a child as a user, Ulzheimer said, the parent is easily able to kick the child off the card if the student abuses the card. It’s harder to do if a parent co-signs for a card with a student.
•Check into options for opening a credit card at a local credit union, including any credit union affiliated with the university. Some deals could be better.
Bankrate.com lists several credit cards that might appeal to college students, including the Citi Dividend Platinum Select Visa for College Students, the Journey Student Rewards from Capital One and the Discover Student Open Road Card.
Be aware of when zero-percent introductory rates expire on a given card offer. Know what the new rate on the card will be in the future. Several variable-rate cards for students can range from 13 percent to 22 percent currently, depending on the borrower.
Pay bills on time and pay more than the minimum required as often as possible. If possible, don’t charge more than 10 percent or 20 percent of the available line of credit on a card.


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Realme V15 smartphone could be the next mid-range smartphone in the V series. Codenamed Realme Koi, the details of the upcoming Realme device have been leaked online along with the image.
The Realme Koi or the Realme V15 is likely part of the upcoming Realme series smartphone which could also include a Snapdragon 888 powered device which is currently codenamed Realme Race.
- Smartphones that weren't all that smart in 2020
- Year in Review: 2020, a curate’s egg for e-commerce platforms in India
Realme V15 AKA Realme Koi. 😍😍😍•Mediatek Dimensity 800U•50Watt Fast Charging•176Gram•64MP Main Camera pic.twitter.com/g6kS06fKjvDecember 29, 2020
According to a new leak, courtesy of tipster Abhishek Yadav, we now know some of the key specs and design of the upcoming Realme V15. For starters, the Realme V15 is said to sport MediaTek Dimensity 800U chipset which supports 5G. The Realme V5 was the first phone from the brand to come with Dimensity (720) chipset.
The Realme V15 is further said to pack in a triple camera setup with a 64MP primary sensor followed by two other cameras and LED flash. The tipster also said the device will sport 50W fast charging which is an upgrade from 30W fast charge on Realme V5. In terms of design, the leaked image suggests the Realme V15 will follow the bold design with Dare to leap branding on the back with gradient colour. We can also expect the device to show up in a few more colour options at the launch.
As for the weight, the device is said to have 176 grams which is good considering the fact that most phone now weighs around 200 grams. As there is no sign of fingerprint scanner on the back, the device might offer a side-mounted fingerprint scanner or an in-display fingerprint scanner.
Realme has not teased many details of the phone apart from the Realme Koi teaser image. Going by the teaser, the Realme Koi might come under a new series which is also said to come with a flagship device. The Realme V15 or Koi will likely be the successor to the V5 and will join the Realme V3 in the lineup.


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Safeway Inc, the nation's third-largest supermarket chain, plans to close 26 Randalls/Tom Thumb stores in Texas in order to revitalize its operations in the state.
"This is a necessary step toward a healthier Randalls/Tom Thumb," said Steve Frisby, division president, Steve Frisby. "We are committed to improving our business in Texas. Closing these underperforming stores will enable us to execute a more focused and productive Lifestyle store remodel program." He described the new Lifestyle format as having more perishables and a large selection of natural and organic foods, full-service meat counters and bakeries, floral design centers, as well as sushi bars and olive bars.
The stores--16 in the Houston market, nine in Dallas/Fort Worth, and one in Austin--are expected to close by the end of 2005. After these closures, Randalls/Tom Thumb will continue to operate 62 stores in Dallas, 36 in Houston, and 14 in Austin.
Randalls/Tom Thumb said many of the affected employees would be eligible for severance benefits and outplacement services.
Safeway's profit dropped in the 2005 third quarter to $122.5 million, compared with $159.2 million a year earlier. The company had third quarter 2005 sales of $8.95 billion, a 7.3% gain from $8.34 billion in the same quarter of 2004.


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There’s no shortage of scammers out there in the world. Recently, the police in Central Valley are warning electronics consumers to beware of scam artists who are selling iPads, tablets and other electronics at lower prices, but these things are not what they seem. They are floor tiles and painted pieces of wood which looks like the real products.
The incidents took place in Ceres, a Stanislaus County city south of Modesto where some people are offering electronics at low prices. Many buyers did get excited and paid hundreds of dollars for the products they just saw in the box, and took them home to find out they are floor tiles, and not the real iPads.
At first glance, these things does look real as they are bubble wrapper with an Apple logo and name on the back of the tile. For those who didn’t hold the thing in hand were surprised when they went home with the packages. Additionally, the same people who approached customers on the streets also offered users with TVs, which were actually painted pieces of wood.
You may come across places where you can find electronics or any other good for a price which is way lower than the official retail price of the product. But remember, cheap is not always good, and may cost you more than you can think of. Just stay alert and make sure you can check the product properly before purchasing them.
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Have an old bike you don’t ride anymore? Donate it to a good cause.
Bay Area retailer Mikes Bikes, which has a store in Petaluma, is collecting bicycles it will then ship to Africa through an innovative project the company launched five years ago.
Founded in 2007, the Sistershop Project identifies potential entrepreneurs in sub-Saharan Africa, then provides them with seed capital, training and inventory to start their own bicycle shop.
Since launching, the project has collected thousands of bicycles, helped open bike shops in Ghana, Botswana, Lesotho and Namibia, and given locals a source of transportation, jobs and a place to get their bikes fixed.
Check out the video on the right
“What we learned from other people involved in bike donations to Africa was when bikes get broken or flat, there was no shop or mechanic and the bikes would get left by the side of the road,” says Matt Adams, one of the owners of Mike’s Bikes.
Bikes can be dropped off year round at Mike’s Bikes, located at 264 Petaluma Blvd. North. For other Bay Area locations, visit mikesbikes.com
Know of a story that deserves our attention? Send a news tip to email@example.com


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This article is more than 1 year old
'Safest car ever made' Tesla Model S EV crashes and burns. Car 'performed as designed'
Flame-prone batterycar firm under fire
Updated Pugnacious electric car maker Tesla Motors is embroiled in another media firestorm today, after one of its new Model S EVs - touted by the firm as being the safest car ever tested by US highway authorities - suffered a serious battery fire following an accident.
Tesla has stated that the incident began when the car ran over a "large metallic object", causing serious damage to the front end of the vehicle where the battery pack is located. It seems that the car was able to come to a halt safely and its occupant got out unhurt: but then the battery pack immolated itself in a major conflagration.
Firefighters attending the scene reportedly struggled to extinguish the blaze, finding that water-based methods were not effective*. They eventually managed to put out the blazing battery using dry extinguishers, having had to puncture it repeatedly, jack up the vehicle, and cut into it from beneath before success was achieved.
The fire and its attendant massive media coverage hit Tesla's stock price hard, scrubbing off 12 per cent of its value as this piece is written and the figure still going down.
The firm is no stranger to controversy, having previously got into angry slanging matches and/or lawsuits with various media organisations (including the BBC - more than once - the New York Times and even the Reg) - not to mention one of its own founders - over coverage or commentary it deemed insufficiently positive.
It has also suffered comparatively minor incidents with its previous Roadster model catching fire.
At first sight the stock hit would seem quite unfair, as petrol-fuelled cars routinely burn following accidents without any serious effects on their makers' stock price. But some of the stock's price will have reflected the car's apparently record-high safety test rating announced in August, so at least some of the readjustment seems reasonable.
Then there's the fact that Tesla only makes one model, and that the whole concept of all-battery cars is regarded by many as controversial to say the least. Not having delivered many cars as yet, Tesla's value is much more a matter of perception and image than would be the case with a normal car builder.
And you have to say that by most standards Tesla remains wildly overpriced even after today's stock plunge, as it is still valued by the market at around 280 times its earnings. ®
*It seems that the attending firefighters might not have realised at first that they were dealing with an electrical fire - or perhaps they had seldom dealt with primarily electrical fires - or they would never have used water. Aqueous foam would, however, be effective against a pool of burning fuel: possibly that lay behind the decision to use water-based means.
Your correspondent was exhaustively trained in shipboard firefighting in a previous life, and taught never to use water or foam on electrical fires. CO2 was the preferred option, or dry powder at a pinch.
Tesla has provided more details about the fire, telling El Reg that the car "performed as it was designed to do."
"On Tuesday, a Model S collided with a large metallic object in the middle of the road, causing significant damage to the vehicle," a spokeswoman said. "The car's alert system signaled a problem and instructed the driver to pull over safely, which he did. No one was injured, and the sole occupant had sufficient time to exit the vehicle safely and call the authorities."
The fire occurred after one of the 12 batteries used to power the vehicle was ruptured, and ignited. Each of these batteries is isolated from the others behind fire-proof barriers, none of which failed in the blaze.
The cabin of the car is similarly protected and even after the car burned, these stopped any damage to the interior and the fire department was able to extinguish the blaze using normal fire-fighting materials, the spokeswoman told us.


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Usher would like Pippa Middleton to be the face of his new lingerie line.
The “Yeah” singer didn’t think that there’s more beautiful and more talked-about woman in the world at the moment. He is going to approach Pippa in the next few weeks and setting up a meeting this summer. He also thought the brunette beauty would be perfecr for a global brand of the collection. Usher first expressed interest in designing his own lingerie line in July 2010.


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That brand new car just might have a defective airbag. At least four automakers admit they’re still installing recalled Takata airbags in new vehicles. Meanwhile, a Senate report reveals carmakers have replaced 2.1 mil defective Takata airbags with newer airbags of exactly the same design. Those cars will eventually have to be repaired again, reports TheDetroitBureau.com.
Source:: The Detroit Bureau


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Meet The Hummer SUV. GM will produce an SUV variant of the Hummer electric pickup truck with a wheelbase that is 9 inches shorter.
Factory Zero is where the Hummer electric pickup truck and Hummer electric SUV will be manufactured.
“The GMC Hummer EV SUV joins its stablemate in the realm of true supertrucks, and Chevrolet will take everything Chevy’s loyal truck buyers love about Silverado – and more – and put it into an electric pickup that will delight retail and commercial customers alike.”
IMAGE SOURCE: GOOGLE


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Central Railway will operate another freight train, in addition to existing three, from Nashik for transportation of onions to other parts of country, a senior official said today. He said the orders to operate the rake from tomorrow came from Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu, given the huge production of the bulb this year.
“Railway is providing four rakes for onion farmers to dispatch onion to hinterland (three for Central Railway destinations and one for South Central Railway destination). As per the directives of the Minister for Railways, one more rake will be made available from February 20 for onion farmers for sending their produce to the markets,” the senior officer Narendra Patil told PTI. Onion farmers have yielded a bumper crop which is almost double than the previous year.
“Railway is already providing 50 per cent extra goods train than last year. (The new rake) will further enhance the carrying capacity of onion by 30 per cent,” he said, adding the onions will be transported to Northern, Eastern, North Eastern and East Coast parts of country, which will maximise the markets for farmers.
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Onion farmers of Nashik, which produces almost 30 per cent of total onion production in the country, have been finding themselves in the penury as they have failed to recover their cost of farming due to falling prices of the kitchen staple.
“Suresh Prabhuji had received demands to run additional goods train from Nashik, following which he ordered today to run one more goods train from February 20 and we are going to follow this tomorrow,” Patil added.


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The Portuguese government expects to net 600 million euros from the sale of 100 percent of postal company CTT to private owners, Portuguese financial Jornal de Negócios said Monday.
The 600 million-euro figure was provided by the banks that are advising the Portuguese government in this privatisation.
Last Friday the decree law approving the privatisation of CTT was published. Whoever buys the company may be prevented from selling shares for a maximum period of five years and from selling parts of companies that are vital for CTT’s business.
The privatisation, which was approved by the government at the end of July, may be carried out in three ways: By direct sale of stakes via private negotiation with interested investors, through an initial public offering (IPO), a direct institutional sale, or a combination of these. (macauhub)


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Blockchain and Metaverse Gaming Startups On Track to Raise $12B in 2022
UpOnly | Research #20: Investors pour in $2.5B in Q2, as adoption and interest remain steady
A major highlight for this year is the strong investor appetite for backing blockchain gaming and Metaverse-related startups. According to a new industry report, the emerging niche is on track to hit $12 billion in investment by the end of 2022, which would be nearly three times the total raised in the previous year ($4.2 billion).
Why do investors remain bullish on the prospects of blockchain games? This week’s UpOnly | Research dives into the latest funding data and key metrics that tell the story behind the growing allocation to blockchain gaming. We also review a recent survey that proves cryptocurrencies are set to play a significant role in Metaverse gaming environments.
Blockchain gaming startups land $2.5B in Q2 2022
According to a report published by industry tracker DappRadar, investors channeled $2.5 billion into blockchain gaming startups in the second quarter of 2022, equaling the amount raised in the previous quarter. The figure also means that the industry has already surpassed the entire $4.2 billion raised in 2021 by 33%. At this pace, the total investments could be north of $12 billion by the end of the year.
Prominent funding deals closed in the second quarter include the $150 million raised by UK-based Metaverse technology startup Improbable and play-to-earn Axie Infinity. Metaverse land investor EveryRealm raised $60 million, while N3twork Studios and Irreverent Labs landed $46 million and $40 million, respectively.
The second quarter saw the launch of several blockchain gaming-focused funds. Andressen Horowitz revealed a $4.5 billion war chest with $600 million dedicated to gaming. Binance Labs and Immutable launched $500 million funds each, while Konvoy Ventures raised $150 million. Blockchain gaming ventures have the requisite resources to survive a prolonged bear market with these funds ready to be deployed.
Blockchain gaming increases share of global blockchain activity
Increased player engagement with play-to-earn is another strong factor driving increased capital allocation. The recent crypto market correction saw user activity in niches such as DeFi and NFTs drop by 17% and 24%, respectively. However, the blockchain gaming space capitalized on this decline to grow its share of blockchain activity by three percent, according to the earlier cited report from DappRadar.
The research finds that more than half of unique active blockchain wallets engaged in gaming-related activity, with approximately 1.1 million wallets active during the second quarter of 2022. Compared to the same timeframe in 2021, blockchain gaming activity reportedly increased by 232%, indicating sustained user interest.
The blockchain gaming space was not wholly immune to the market decline, with a 7% drop in user activity compared to the previous quarter. This relative resilience is one factor that spurs investor interest for the blockchain gaming space compared to other crypto industry verticals.
34% of gamers are keen to spend crypto in the Metaverse
The decentralized nature of cryptocurrencies makes them a viable method for payments in the emerging community-oriented Metaverse world. According to a new YouGov survey, 34% of respondents were open to using cryptocurrency to buy things in the Metaverse. These transactions include the purchase of gaming skins, unlocking new game modes, and other in-game assets.
Another notable discovery from the survey is that advertising could become big business in the Metaverse. Up to 35% of respondents admitted being comfortable with seeing ads in Metaverse environments. The number increased to 44% when respondents were presented the option to view ads in exchange for free access to games or unique in-game locations.
With the Metaverse projected to be worth $5 trillion within the next decade and the global advertising market already worth $590 billion, could Metaverse advertising be the next big thing? Brands and investors seeking exposure to digital assets might consider an allocation to Metaverse advertising with an eye on securing a first-mover advantage.
Navigate blockchain and Metaverse investments with UpOnly
Gaming has emerged as one of the most prominent use cases for blockchain, underlined by the increased share of blockchain activity linked to gaming-related transactions and the record funding milestone in 2022. UpOnly provides a comprehensive data directory that simplifies the process of tracking the most popular blockchain and Metaverse games, giving players and investors the chance to find the right opportunities and maximize return on their investments.
UpOnly’s week in review.
- UpOnly Launches New $UPO Staking Round!
- UpOnly partners with Palmare.
- UpOnly introduced new Transparency Standard.
UpOnly is a first-of-kind data directory that provides insightful and actionable data on the move-to-earn, play-to-earn, and Metaverse gaming fields. We aim to become a one-stop shop for gamers worldwide to identify the most lucrative play-to-earn opportunities and optimize their performance. Alongside our data directory, we will launch a decentralized prediction platform allowing anyone globally to bet on the outcome of play-to-earn and Metaverse gaming events.


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we are not your kind
Although it’s been just over a year since Slipknot released their last full-length album, it looks like they already have new music on their minds. Corey Taylor recently revealed when Slipknot are thinking about releasing a follow-up to 2019’s We Are Not Your Kind. Spoiler alert – it may be sooner than you think. Read […]
The post Here’s when Slipknot are thinking about releasing their next album appeared first on Alternative Press.
For more, go to: AltPress.com (Source)


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WTO Textile Issues Create A Marriage Of Convenience
NEW YORK -- In an effort to improve the chances of industrialized nations selling fabrics globally, textile-maker organizations from the U.S., European Union, Canada, Mexico and Turkey have agreed to take a unified lobbying stance with their...
NEW YORK -- In an effort to improve the chances of industrialized nations selling fabrics globally, textile-maker organizations from the U.S., European Union, Canada, Mexico and Turkey have agreed to take a unified lobbying stance with their governments regarding the World Trade Organization.
The groups -- the American Textile Manufacturers Institute, Euratex, the Canadian Textiles Institute, Canaintex of Mexico and the Istanbul Textile & Apparel Exporters Association -- disclosed their five-point agreement in a joint statement released by the ATMI on Thursday.
They said they "agreed to address the massive imbalance between trade opportunities existing in developed importing countries compared to the closed markets in developing exporting countries, particularly in Asia."
Their lobbying objectives regarding the WTO are:
To open the markets of developing nations to imports of fabric, by lowering tariffs and nontariff barriers.
To stick to the current schedule of abolishing all quotas on textiles and clothing by 2005, rather than speeding it up as developing nations have requested.
To insure that the organization maintains its antidumping and antisubsidy rules.
To end the "de facto" practice of not punishing developing nations for infringing on intellectual property rights.
To put an end to illegal transshipments and smuggling of textile and apparel products.
Those points were hashed out at a meeting in Washington last week attended by representatives of the five groups, as well as trade officials of the U.S. and Mexican governments and the European Commission.
In banding together, the nations are taking a similar approach to what developing nations have done in their quest to have the WTO speed up its current quota phaseout.
Carlos Moore, executive vice president of the ATMI, said the agreement was primarily intended to highlight what he called the unfair trade stances of nations such as India, which is pushing for more market access for its fabrics, but which the ATMI contends has high tariff and nontariff barriers to imports.
"What we did was look at the big developing country exporters who are hiding behind their own closed markets," Moore said. "We felt that had to be the primary objective of the market-access negotiations. It's become so unfair and inequitable that something has to be done."Prior to the November WTO trade round in Qatar, a group of nations led by India were pushing for an acceleration of the quota phaseout. The U.S. and other developed nations shot down that proposal. Moore contended that, in pushing for further quota liberalization, India is acting in only its own interest, not in that of other developing nations.
"As more developing nations begin to realize that India is not acting in anyone's interest but India's, and India is keeping its market closed, it becomes clear that big textile exporting countries are taking unfair advantage of the system," he charged.
Liz Siwicki, president of the Canadian Textiles Institute, said: "We have more negotiating power as a coalition. It helps our countries' negotiators know that we are not alone in taking a particular position."
The Canadian textile industry, which employs more than 50,000 workers, took "big cuts" in the Uruguay Round of talks, which were completed in 1994, Siwicki said. She said the Canadian government agreed to lower duties in a number of categories, including a 41 percent reduction on fiber, a 36 percent reduction on yarns, a 44 percent decrease on fabrics and 24 to 28 percent reductions on apparel.
"Plus we committed to remove all quotas" by 2005, she added. "That's an incredible increase in access for developing countries to our market."
Siwicki said the new coalition is focused on protecting its members' respective industries and forcing developing countries to open their markets.
"In the Uruguay Round, we gave developing countries a major head start in terms of integrating and creating an equitable world trading environment," said Siwicki. "We gave up a lot in that round and we are waiting to see them fulfill their commitments.
Shipments from the Canadian textile market were down 10.7 percent for the first 11 months of 2000, compared with the year-ago period, she said, adding that she expects more declines.
Gerardo Aguilar, a representative of Canaintex, said Mexican manufacturers' agenda is also to make sure that their wares can be sold in other countries.
"The Mexican position is because we already have free trade agreements in force with 29 countries, we would like to get the same treatment," he said. "It's unfair that these developed countries or industrialized countries sign agreements without reciprocity from developing countries like India and Pakistan."A spokeswoman for the Turkish association said her group wanted better access to the Asian markets.
"We would like to see these regions open their markets," she said, adding that Turkey would also like to have greater market access to the U.S. and, in turn, would like to further open its market to U.S. goods.
Representatives of Brussels-based Euratex, which is an alliance of all the national textile lobbying groups in the European Union, could not be reached for comment Thursday afternoon.
U.S. textile executives reacted warmly to the news the ATMI is joining forces with foreign textile groups.
"It makes sense," said Gail Strickler, president of New York converter Saxon Textiles. "We're all in the same position. You've got such a tough consideration. It's the First World versus the Third World and you really have to decide whether you totally want to give up your manufacturing business and what rules you want to play by."
This isn't the first time the ATMI has formed a coalition to lobby issues during a trade liberalizing round of talks.
In the early 1990s, the ATMI and other textile groups lobbied against a five-year phaseout of apparel and textile quotas and succeeded in gaining a 10-year phaseout of quotas on apparel and textiles, according to Charles Bremer, director of international trade at the ATMI. The coalition also successfully lobbied their respective governments to include language on intellectual property rights protection.
"We are going to watch every step of the negotiations this time," Bremer said.
EXCLUSIVE: @tomford is opening its first-ever beauty store. The boutique, which opens November 20 in London’s Covent Gardens, was designed with the over-the-top glam Ford is known for. Read the full story on WWD.com, link in bio. #wwdbeauty #wwdnews (📷: Simon Wagner) #TomFordBeauty
New York-based DJ @harleyvnewton threw a party to celebrate the holiday collection of her dress and pajama line @hvn at the Ladurée Beverly Hills. It Girls @katebosworth, @rashidajones and more joined in on the fun, which included cocktails, croque monsieur sandwiches and a photo booth. #wwdfashion (📷: Owen Kolasinski/BFA.com)
For the holidays, @Burberry partnered with 20-year-old artist @blondeymccoy on a series of three outdoor murals in downtown Manhattan. The murals are McCoy’s interpretation of a Christmas eve party, the idea of charity and the spirit of family. His third mural, pictured here, is the most personal. The image depicts McCoy’s grandparents and father in London’s Trafalgar Square in the Seventies. “My work often features lots of sentimental objects.” #wwdeye
For spring 2018, designers applied bold colors and cartoonish motifs on everything from sneakers and belts to key chains. See all the top men’s accessories trends on WWD.com. #wwdtrends (📷: George Chinsee; Prop Styling by @rnasti; Market Editor: @luiscampuzano)
The @dior-sponsored @guggenheim international gala pre-party has a history of drawing cool-girl musical acts to serenade the crowd –– and last night was no exception. @haimtheband performed songs both new and old, and lured a star-studded audience with the likes of Rebecca Hall, Kate Mara, Mamoudou Athie and more. #wwdeye (📷: @lexieblacklock)
In a partnership between the @metopera and the @englishnationalopera, “Marnie” was born. The opera, with costumes sponsored by @mrporterlive, is an adaptation of the 1961 thriller by Winston Graham. Arianne Phillips, who created the costumes, is no rookie: She’s styled Madonna for her tours and created costumes for a myriad of films in the past. Read WWD’s interview with Phillips, where she talks about her inspiration for the opera’s costumes on WWD.com #wwdfashion
@barneysnyc took a different approach to their holiday windows this year. Instead of Christmas decor, Barneys tapped @thehaasbrothers to tell a story of positivity, gratitude and inclusivity via heartwarming silliness and humor. “It’s about kids and it’s about coming together and being family and loving each other,” said Simon Haas. #wwdfashion (📷: @joshuascottphoto)
Beauty influencer @kandeejohnson makes her foray into hair care with a collaboration with @ogx_beauty — making it the first time that OGX has teamed up for a product creation. The collab includes shampoos and conditioners in three scents. At 39 and a mom, Johnson is a different profile than the emerging social media stars, but is considered one of the pioneers of the digital beauty influencer world. Read WWD’s interview with her on wwd.com, including the strangest beauty product she’s ever tried #wwdbeauty


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2011 was supposed to be the year of NFC. Many thought so based on multiple chip provider forecasts that, throughout the year, have steadily dropped. Now, we have some real numbers about deliveries of NFC chipsets as opposed to orders. Orders are just paper. Deliveries mean silicon is in a manufacturer’s hands and they don’t want to hold onto it long.
INSIDE Secure announced today it has shipped 10 million NFC chipsets to manufacturers including RIM in support of its top Blackberry models and other manufacturers to be named later. INSIDE reports it expects demand to continue to ramp up.
Getting NFC into the hands of consumers has to happen and this indicates, as an initial tranche, that the handset manufacturer end of the supply chain is finally ready to start shipping NFC devices.
Several leading handset makers have introduced smartphones integrating NFC capabilities already this year, and the number of NFC phones introduced is expected to accelerate in 2012. At the same time, mobile operators, banks and other service providers in the U.S. and Europe have started forming associations or more formal joint ventures to prepare for NFC rollouts next year, and are building interoperable platforms for mobile wallets and over-the-air provisioning and management of applications.


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Mercedes is turning its current brand philosophy on its head. In recent days they have announced that, for the coming years, their idea is to become a more exclusive brand through more expensive access models and a lower entry offer in the range. However, this restructuring will not only be limited to its offered models, but will also go through a regulation of its dealers and points of saleleaving aside the traditional distributor method and focusing on a direct or “agency” sales model.
The star’s German firm conscientiously seeks to obtain greater profitability in each of its sales. This goes through focus on sales and deliveries of high-end cars and electric vehicles, compared to access (such as Class A or Class B) and also to increase their initial prices. However, Mercedes’ plans go one step further, as intend to reduce the number of dealersboth those settled in Germany, and in the rest of the world.
Bliss reduction would be around 15 or 20 percent in Germany, where more places of this type of the world are located; while at a global level said reduction will be around 10 percent. This plan has a clear model in its goal and it is none other than that of increase their sales through the internet, since by the year 2025 they expect these to be made up of 25 percent of the total carried out by the company, while the rest of said awards would be made through the aforementioned method, direct or “agency” sales from that same year.
This new marketing method will be vital for Mercedes in the face of have more direct contact with the client. Currently, dealers position themselves as official distributors of the brand, in which the possibilities of promoting a car at a higher or lower price than another similar establishment are around. In contrast, in the new sales method, Mercedes will have complete control over this and will leave the sales centers as exclusive points of delivery, information and also sales, but with no price flexibility. That is something very similar to what he has been able to implant Tesla in your business method.
Currently, Mercedes operates a total of 6,500 points worldwide, while in Germany alone they already have more than 1,000. Bettina Fetzer, vice president of communications and marketing for the brand, warned of the arrival of these cuts, which will take place globally in 2025, while for the German market they will wait until 2028. “We need fewer meeting rooms. large display in established markets. We will move away from this model as soon as we move on to direct sales”, assured the director, who sees the perfect relationship between client and brand in the direct sales method.
As part of this new sales vision, Mercedes will present new exclusive sales points for certain models, such as Maybach, AMG or the recently released Mithos. For its part, The Department of electric cars and electrified, EQ, will continue together with the conventional models, except in the specific cases of the high-end sub-brands mentioned above. These electric variants will have to coexist with the thermal mechanics models until the change towards a 100% electric brand becomes effective, presumably at the end of the decade.
The new sales model will give Mercedes, as a brand, full control over the sales and prices of its models, while at the same time billing directly with the customer. Dealers, for their part, will earn a commission for each model sold or deliveredwhile they can also generate money through the sale of used cars.


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- Did the ‘National Enquirer’ finally get one right with its sensational exposé of Bezos’s affair? Boing Boing
- Who Is MacKenzie Bezos? The New York Times
- Why Jeff Bezos' Divorce Could be Bullish for Amazon Shares CCN
- The divorce fairness issue that Jeff and MacKenzie Bezos don't have to worry about CNN
- A Painful Lesson from the Jeff Bezos Divorce Townhall
- View full coverage on Google News
“The World’s Richest Man Caught Cheating!” screams a National Enquirer special edition devoting 11 lurid pages to Amazon chief Jeff Bezos and his alleged marriage-wrecking affair. You can loathe the tabloids for their flagrant disregard of facts, their rampant dishonesty, flights of fantasy and mean-spirited personal attacks, but one thing they undeniably do well is…
Her divorce from the Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has made this novelist, and her private life, a public fascination.
News of Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and MacKenzie Bezos divorcing sparked questions about how the split could affect the world’s most valuable company’s stock.
Many who are not as well off as the world's richest couple have huge financial burdens when they divorce -- from the cost of setting up a new household to expensive legal fees. The solution, Philip Cohen proposes, is higher taxes on the wealthiest Americans.
A Painful Lesson from the Jeff Bezos Divorce - Michael Brown: This is not a slam on Jeff Bezos, either explicitly .01/12/2019 20:21:02PM EST.


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SEMA Ignited will return this year to a new location directly across the street from the Las Vegas Convention Center after the SEMA Show closes, Friday, November 6, 2015.
Lou Tedeschi, A.S.P.I. Motor Cars, outlines how offering accessories at the dealer level is a great way to get people in the showroom.
While there are countless benefits to participating in the 2015 SEMA Show, here are five of the best.
SEMA Ignited, the official SEMA Show afterparty that is open to consumers, is primed to return this year after the SEMA Show closes on Friday, November 6, 2015. Featuring a new location directly across the street from the Las Vegas Convention Center, and a no-hassle route for vehicles exiting the SEMA Show, the 2015 SEMA Ignited will be easy to get to and include vehicles, food, music, celebrities, demonstrations and the culmination of this year's SEMA Battle of the Builders competition.
SEMA Show exhibitors participating in the Priority Booth Space Selection process will be allotted space based on the size and configuration that was requested on the application.
Companies interested in exhibiting should secure their booth space today to benefit from more time to prepare for the Show.
The month of April is in full swing, and thousands of exhibitors are well into their 2015 SEMA Show plans.
SEMA is launching a fully integrated, multi-channel marketing campaign using more video and digital content to drive 60,000-plus qualified buyers to the 2015 SEMA Show.
Christine Corelli, Christine Corelli and Associates, highlights how to prepare for and profit from the varying shopping and buying habits between women and men.


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01/07/2014, 08:01 pm
Mobile device accessory maker iPort added two new products to its lineup on Tuesday when the company announced the Charge Case and Stand for Apple's iPad Air and iPad mini with Retina display.
12/31/2013, 07:12 pm
Startup firm "designed by m" has released a series of iOS device screen protectors called mPact Glass, an anti-scratch tempered glass shield that supposedly boasts higher light transmission than competing products.
12/28/2013, 07:12 pm
Tech blogs and mainstream media reports in 2013 consistently presented Apple as beset by a series of unsolvable problems, from flagging sales and slipping market share to a generalized lack of innovation. In hindsight, the media was disastrously, egregiously wrong about the horses it chose to back in the technology market this year. Perhaps they'll do a better job in 2014.
12/26/2013, 03:12 pm
Apple's iPhone and iPad represented the vast majority of U.S. online shopping and sales during Christmas, accounting for more than an 83 percent take of sales compared to Android.
12/13/2013, 08:12 pm
Apple appears to have made some headway in iPad mini with Retina display production, as the device is now showing up at Verizon and AT&T stores across the nation, while the Apple Store's ship-by dates improve to one to three business days.
12/12/2013, 04:12 pm
Consumers who intend to purchase a tablet within the next three months overwhelmingly say they will choose one of Apple's iPad models, a new survey shows.
12/11/2013, 06:12 pm
During its first month on the market, Apple's iPad Air has taken four of Japan's top ten tablet slots while iPad mini has taken two additional spots, giving Apple 60 percent of the sales charts.
12/09/2013, 02:12 am
Development studio FiftyThree takes a bold step into the hardware game with its Bluetooth-enabled stylus designed to be a companion tool for the company's popular drawing app Paper.
12/06/2013, 01:12 pm
iPad trade-ins through Gazelle grew a whopping 175 percent over Black Friday weekend as presumed upgraders sought cash for their older models, supporting Apple's belief that the iPad will be the hottest holiday gift this year.
12/05/2013, 03:12 pm
While the iPhone will be the immediate beneficiary of an anticipated deal between Apple and China Mobile, the agreement also makes it more likely that compatible versions of Apple's iPad lineup will make their way to the world's largest carrier in the near future, further boosting sales.
12/04/2013, 10:12 am
New data suggests Apple saw huge sales of the iPad Air and iPhone 5c from Black Friday sales, with an analytics firm seeing a massive growth spike for both devices over the holiday shopping weekend.
12/03/2013, 08:12 pm
Adding to rumors that Apple is seriously considering a larger iPad model, a Chinese website on Tuesday claims Foxconn has built five prototype versions of the alleged 12.9-inch tablet featuring 2K or 4K screen resolutions.
12/02/2013, 03:12 pm
Android loyalty does not seem to extend to tablets, as new data suggests that 4 out of every 10 iPad units moved during last week's Black Friday shopping event were purchased by customers who use smartphones powered by Google's operating system.
11/29/2013, 07:11 pm
Apple's iOS products not only represented a large chunk of U.S. Black Friday sales, but where also used to place the vast majority of mobile purchases.
11/29/2013, 07:11 am
With Apple deciding not to discount iPads for its own Black Friday sale this year, shoppers can turn to the company's online retail partners, which offer a wide variety of savings and promotions on assorted current and previous generation models, though inventory of the most popular models remains hard to come by.
11/27/2013, 08:11 am
Apple is said to have built 4 million second-generation iPad mini with Retina display units in the month of November, already surpassing production levels of the first-generation model, according to a new rumor.
11/27/2013, 01:11 am
In what seems to be a never ending stream of vitriol against Apple's iPad, Microsoft on Tuesday released two more commercials bashing the iPad Air over its lack of features compared to the Surface 2.
11/26/2013, 06:11 pm
In their 102-91 victory over the New York Knicks on Monday, the Portland Trail Blazers were seen using iPads on the bench to study in-game footage, which players say helped carry the team to its eleventh consecutive win.
11/26/2013, 04:11 pm
Rather than correcting its Surface billboards with Excel math errors, Microsoft appears to be pleading with the public to take Windows 8.1 seriously in a new ad headlined: "Honestly, it works for work."
11/25/2013, 07:11 pm
Competitors are once again taking aim at Apple's top-selling iPad, with a new Nokia ad on Monday trumpeting the superiority of the Lumia 2520 tablet's attachable keyboard, long battery life and productivity capabilities.


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Khodrocar - "Volvo is the major winner in the luxury-vehicle segment,” the report said. Volvo had an ACSI score of 85 on a 100-point scale, a new high for the Volvo brand and an improvement from a score of 82 last year.
Subaru was the No. 1 mass-market brand, with a score of 84, down 1 point from last year. Honda and Toyota tied for No. 2, followed by Volkswagen at No. 3, with a score of 82. That was an improvement of 4 points, making VW one of the most-improved brands in the survey.
The report is based on interviews with 4,649 customers, chosen at random and contacted via email between Aug. 11, 2017, and July 31, 2018, according to ACSI LLC.
China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group owns Sweden’s Volvo Cars. Volvo is making a comeback in the United States, thanks to a new lineup of cars and crossovers.
Through July, Volvo’s U.S. sales were up 37 percent from a year ago, to 56,244, according to the Automotive News Data Center. (Contributor Jim Henry, a freelancer, also writes for Automotive News.)
Volvo, which incidentally means, "I roll" in Latin, launched a redesigned XC60 crossover this year. Volvo’s first U.S. manufacturing plant, in South Carolina, is expected to start building the redesigned S60 compact sedan this fall. Volvo Cars has turned itself around since then-parent Ford Motor Co. agreed to sell Volvo Cars to Geely in 2010.
Lexus, Toyota’s luxury brand, dropped 1 point compared with a year ago in the ACSI survey, but remained in a tie for first place.
Ford’s luxury brand, Lincoln, was No. 2 in the 2018 report among luxury brands, followed by Audi. BMW, Cadillac and Mercedes-Benz were tied for No. 4, with a score of 82. Acura was No. 5, at 81.