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Hewlett Packard Enterprise CEO Antonio Neri Talks Meg Whitman, Microsoft, and Cloud
Antonio Neri began his journey at Hewlett Packard as a call-center agent helping customers troubleshoot problems with their servers and printers.
Now, 23 years later, Neri is the CEO of Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), a role he took over from Meg Whitman, who stepped down in February. As CEO, Whitman oversaw one of the biggest corporate overhauls in history: the carving of HP into two separate companies in the fall of 2015, leaving HPE handling data center technology while HP, Inc. is focused on personal computers and printers.
After the epic split, Whitman spent the remainder of her tenure divesting of parts of HPE’s business it no longer wanted, like its software business that it spun off to U.K.-based software firm Micro Focus in a deal worth about $8.8 billion.
Now, Neri has the tough job of navigating the $24 billion enterprise giant in a rapidly changing technology landscape. Companies today are increasingly buying on-demand computing from companies like Amazon and Microsoft instead of traditional data center servers and storage.
And while HPE’s overall sales grew nearly 10% year-over-year in its latest quarter to $7.47 billion, comments from Neri about a “challenging second-half” of the year and that its rate of growth will “moderate given tougher compares” was enough to spook investors, who sent the company’s shares down nearly 10% the day after announcing earnings, to $15.70.
Part of Neri’s plan to revamp HPE involves a so-called hybrid IT model, in which companies operate their computing in both their own data centers and those of cloud computing providers.
Like rivals including Dell Technologies and Cisco, HPE also hopes that the rise of Internet-connected devices, like factory machinery or elevators that are tethered to the web, will result in more companies processing information right at the assembly line or on the machines themselves, instead of sending the data off to the their in-house data centers and those of cloud giants. That’s one of the reason’s why HPE said this week that it plans to spend $4 billion over the next 4 years on technology initiatives intended to facilitate that growing trend.
In this edited interview with Fortune, Neri discusses the massive changes at HPE, cloud computing, and the company’s decision to stop selling barebone servers to cloud giants and instead focus on selling more expensive hardware to conventional businesses. It’s a strategic shift for HPE, Neri notes, due partly because of giant web companies like Microsoft and Facebook increasingly designing their own servers and using Asian contract manufacturers to build the machines. These web and cloud giants are doing so to save money while getting better performance (using custom software) that matches their individual needs.
Fortune: There’s been an impression over the years that HPE’s technology prowess has suffered as the company dealt with multiple CEOs and several complicated financial transactions.
Neri: We never lost the prowess—it was not highlighted as much as before.
Why wasn’t it highlighted?
Because CEOs come with different perspectives and they want to highlight the things that they believe will make a difference. I’m a technologist, an engineer. In fact, I’m actually the fifth CEO within the company. If you go back in history, William [Hewlett] and David [Packard] were the first two. Then we had John Young, who was an engineer, and then we had Lewis Platt. From Lew Platt until today, all [of HP’s] CEOs came from the outside.
So you had Carly Fiorina, Mark Hurd, Léo Apotheker ,and even Meg [Whitman] for that matter. And Dion [Weisler, the current HP, Inc. CEO] also came from the outside. So HPE and the board basically decided that this is the time to go back to our technology roots. It was the right move in the context of our strategy.
It feels like this positioning of HPE returning to its technology roots has really amplified after the split.
If we go back to the beginning of Meg’s journey here, she had a very tough situation. She had to reignite innovation, bring back the companies with customers and products, and repair the balance sheet—there was a lot of complexity. And HPE had three CEOs in a year [prior to Whitman becoming CEO in 2011], that’s not good. And then there was little bit of drama in the 2000s.
Autonomy and other things. But fundamentally she had to put in place a turnaround plan. So the first two years was: “Let’s focus on a few things, let’s invest in R and D [research and development], let’s make sure we stabilize the company. Let’s make sure we bring the companies back to the partners, which is the largest route to market we have, and let’s repair the balance sheet.” After that, we understood what’s going on in the market and the fact that an IT supermarket is not the right way to construct yourself.
What is an IT supermarket?
Where basically you can offer anything to everyone. And it’s hard to do because disruption is happening everywhere and it’s hard to compete in every market at the speed that the market is demanding. You can’t focus in the morning on a $49 printer and then in the afternoon on a $2 million super computer. These are two different products, two different dynamics. At the same time the cloud was exploding, mobile products were exploding, new apps were created, and there was data created all over the place. Now we’re creating data at a pace we have never seen before.
There was a lot of value trapped inside the company, and that’s why we decided to create two independent, very focused companies in their respective markets so they had the ability to compete. That’s why HPE and HP, Inc were separated. At HPE we said: “Okay, we have to formalize the businesses inside the company. We want to be focused and to take advantage of the explosion of the ‘edge’ and the long-term opportunities it has.”
What does the “edge” refer to?
Anything outside the data center. As I think about the future, I think about the use cases that we see with everything being hyper connected. Everything is generating data and everything is computing—even a small sensor is doing something—it’s creating a small amount of data.
Think about the economics—think about the amount of data we create, there is not enough bandwidth, and it is extremely expensive and there are latency and regulatory issues you have to deal with it.
How important are the public cloud providers in this world?
They are going to be a major component of the system.
But do you believe they will be the stars of the solar system, in which everything revolves around them?
I don’t think so. There will be a role, but I don’t think it will be “sun and the earth” kind of a thing. I think they’re realizing that while they have a beneficial model, they have to get closer with things that are happening. So, with self-driving cars, the moment you have 10,000 autonomous cars, there is no bandwidth in the cloud that will be able to help manage these 10,000 cars. In this case, the car will talk to the next car and say, “Hey, I’m here I want to turn left while you’re going to turn right.”
This is an example of a latency problem. For manufacturers, it is the same thing. Why go back to a cloud when you can process all the data right there in the [manufacturing] line, where it makes sense.
And your business strategy requires deeper partnerships with the cloud providers?
So who are your deepest partnerships with right now?
We have a partnership with Microsoft (MSFT) Azure, and we both share an interest in hybrid IT.
How tough is Dell/EMC as a competitor in the server business given that recent analyst reports have said they are now No. 1 in that market?
They have been trading storage profitability for compute [server growth]. And we have done the opposite. So if you look at the last four quarters, we grew faster in storage than they did and they grew faster in total compute than we did. [Neri then went on to say that because HPE decided to abandon its business of selling cheaper, generic servers to cloud computing companies, Dell Technologies has taken advantage and increased its sales of barebone servers to these tech companies.]
Are you saying that when you lost that business to Microsoft, Dell/EMC took it over?
We didn’t lose, we decided not to take it.
Who did the break up?
We did the break up.
You did the break up?
Absolutely, we were the ones that decided not to participate in that growth area because financially it doesn’t make any sense.
Did they beg you to reconsider that?
No, I mean as a partner we have discussions and they were understandable, but obviously they wanted us to be there because it gives them more leverage. [Microsoft declined to comment to Fortune on the matter]
These people [cloud computing companies] are building their own [hardware], so long term it doesn’t matter. So what they’re doing is digging a hole that’s bigger and bigger. It’s just a timing issue. We decided to exit that space, and I think other people will also do so.
Do you see competition from Asian contract hardware manufacturers like Quanta?
No, we don’t, generally speaking. They don’t have services capabilities [Enterprise service agreements and additional software features that conventional businesses typically want, but cloud computing giants appear to be forgoing in favor of their own custom-built software and gear]. For you to focus on the enterprise, you need to have services capabilities and you need software to make it work.
What I see is, potentially, competitors like Huawei in the telecommunications segment. This market is super competitive. We decided to pivot to the new things, where we can add value, where we can grow and expand profitable share versus share for the sake of share.


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Benton Harbor LPFM station offered on eBay (update: auction removed)
It appears that City of Benton Harbor has decided to get out of the low-power FM business and is offering the equipment used for WBHC-LP up to the highest bidder on eBay.
The auction starting price was $5,000 and as of Saturday afternoon, there were 2 bids that pushed the price up to $5,100 - not including what's listed as a $1,000 shipping price. The auction is scheduled to close on February 16th at about 6:30 p.m. ET.
In addition to the station's license, the auction includes the antenna, a Crown Broadcast 250 Transmitter, 3 MCA SP1 Mics / with mounting desktop stands, a Mackie 1402 14-channel mixing console, 2 professional CD players, a PBX Port Hybrid, and an Air Tool 600 broadcast audio delay unit ... and patch cords too.
Update 10:55 p.m- the auction has been removed.
The Glenn Beck Program can no longer be heard on Kalamazoo radio. On Monday, WKZO stopped broadcasting the show from the conservative radio host. Jay Morris, Program Director for the station, said the decision was based on the decline in the show's ratings.
Full story: Glenn Beck off the air at WKZO, replaced with local news hour (Fri, 2/10)
Mark Renzenbrink has been a customer of Tuttle's Select Cigars almost since the tobacco retailer opened in 1994, as Grand Rapids first cigar smoking lounge.
Full story: Two years after losing job, longtime customer decides to buy one of his favorite stores (Sat, 2/11)
SJL Broadcasting announced today that WTVG news director Brian Trauring has been tapped to oversee news operations for all of the company's stations. Trauring will continue serving as WTVG's news director as he takes on the additional title of executive news director for SJL Broadcasting.
Full story: WTVG News Director Tapped to Oversee SJL Broadcasting's News Operations (Fri, 2/10)

domain: news


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Mantec Strengthens Filtration Sales Team
British industrial ceramics innovator Mantec Technical Ceramics has strengthened its team with the appointment of Joe Reilly as Sales Manager for Filtration Products. Joe will now take the lead in global sales of the company’s wide range of speciality porous ceramics which feature heavily in filtration, fluidisation and aeration.
Joe brings a wealth of experience to the position and has spent the last twenty five years providing engineered solutions to the process and manufacturing industries. He spent twelve years as Sales Manager with Toftejorg Ltd working primarily in the Food and Pharmaceutical industrial segments. He has more recently spent a number of years employed by Pall working in the Food and Beverage industry which leaves him well versed in the principles of filtration.
“I’m excited about the challenges presented by this position and have already been impressed by the expertise that Mantec has in developing high performance ceramic products,” said Joe. “Added to that, I look forward to this opportunity to grow the business, creating additional jobs.”
Mantec manufactures a range of porous ceramic filters for solids removal in a number of crucial industrial applications. The company has also developed the Star-Sep™ ceramic membrane – used in energy efficient crossflow microfiltration – and Puremet metal pour filters, employed extensively in the metals casting sector. All these products are sold world-wide.
Andy Clark, Business Director at Mantec Technical Ceramics, said: “We’re delighted to welcome Joe and I’m sure that his broad experience over many years will prove invaluable. We have deeper aspirations for this business segment and his appointment is part of a wider action plan for porous ceramics. We are rightly proud of our innovations in this field and our products continue to play their part in exciting industrial advancement – proving once again that world-class ceramics are still being made and shipped from Stoke-on-Trent.”
Joe can be contacted by phone on +44 (0)7375 046277 or by e-mail at email@example.com


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Halle Berry & Nahla: Halloween Costume Shopping Duo
Making preparations for the upcoming Halloween festivities, Halle Berry took her daughter Nahla out for some costume shopping in Hollywood, CA on Tuesday (October 2).
The "Die Another Day" actress kept her look casual in denim shorts and a red and grey top, while her adorable four year-old mini me admired the nearby holiday decorations.
Speaking of the upcoming fall activities, Halle and her former boyfriend Gabriel Aubry- who is Nahla's father- put their differences aside to take their little girl out for some pumpkin hunting.
As previously reported by GossipCenter, the pair made their way around a pumpkin patch in Simi Valley earlier this week despite their current custody woes.


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Depending on who you ask, the act of eating meat may be a controversial one.
Though humans have long derived food from domesticated animals, such as cows, pigs and chickens, the 21st century has seen a rise in vegetarianism and veganism.
The diet’s popularity has led to trends such as Veganuary — a monthlong challenge to abstain from animal products. According to data from 2021, the most popular motivation for participating in Veganuary was a concern for animals; other causes included environmental concerns and personal health.
With the increased industrialization of animal agriculture, many are concerned about animal cruelty in factory farms and the environmental impact of the agriculture industry. Nevertheless, meat remains a staple in most people’s diets.
The dilemma between producing meat to feed the world, taking care of the environment and treating animals ethically has prompted some people to ask: What if it were possible to produce meat for consumption without needing to raise animals for slaughter?
The first attempt at lab-grown meat was in 2013. A hamburger, produced by professor Mark Post at Maastricht University in the Netherlands, was made from tissue grown from a cow’s stem cells.
Almost 10 years later, the progress of this new technology has not stopped. The potential of lab-grown meat has piqued the interest of many scientists, and companies have already formed around the idea.
One such company is UPSIDE Foods, which at its founding in 2015, was the first cultivated meat startup. Since then, it has grown a lot and has attracted high-profile investors, such as Tyson Foods, Whole Foods and Bill Gates.
Lab-grown meat is made by taking a sample of cells from an animal and then allowing the cells to multiply in the lab. In controlled environments, scientists can replicate the conditions that the cells would have in an animal’s body. This makes it possible to produce real animal-based meat for consumption that does not require killing an animal.
If lab-grown meat takes off, it could have a huge impact on many areas. It would be more efficient, address one of the most influential reasons people go vegan, doesn’t require the mass production of living animals and eliminates the need to slaughter animals.
Billions of animals are killed each year for food. The website Animal Clock displays a running tally of the number of animals killed so far this year in the U.S. — more than 42 billion.
However, in a world that runs on lab-grown meat, these staggering statistics would be a thing of the past.
“The cells from a single chicken allow us to cultivate the same amount of poultry that ordinarily would come from hundreds of thousands of traditionally farmed birds,” the animal welfare impact statement on UPSIDE Foods’s website says.
Lab-grown meat would also be more environmentally friendly. According to a study by Oxford University, lab-grown meat could produce 96 percent lower greenhouse gas emissions than traditionally farmed meat. In 2020, agriculture accounted for 11 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. With growing concerns about climate change, any way to cut back on emissions is welcome.
Some vegans and animal rights activists are skeptical about the idea of lab-grown meat, though. Many point out that its production still requires the exploitation of animals, albeit on a smaller scale. There are also concerns about the use of fetal bovine serum, which is obtained by killing fetal cows, in the production of some lab-grown meats and therefore, nullifies lab-grown meat being cruelty-free.
Overall, although advances in biotechnology sometimes come with stigma, lab-grown meat is an intriguing and potentially useful emerging product — especially for those of us concerned with improving animal welfare in the agriculture industry.


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EU and UK businesses ‘in denial’ over hard trade-offs lying ahead on Brexit, new study reveals
First ever social media study of industry attitudes to Brexit shows divergence of views across sectors.
Photo credit: Adobe Stock
UK and European companies have very different concerns about the impact of Brexit, according to a new study.
It says that while UK companies tend to focus on the sectoral impact of Britain’s EU exit, their European counterparts talk mostly about the macro-economic consequences of the UK’s departure from the EU which is due to take place at the end of March 2019.
There is also concern about the impact on trade, labour shortages, supply chains and regulation.
But a possible downturn in the financial sector has emerged as the primary concern, says the study, which was conducted by London-based Madano and Brussels-based think tank, BOLDT.
It claims to be the first ever social media study of industry attitudes to Brexit.
Other key findings include:
- UK companies are more concerned about a potential downturn in their sector than European companies (19.2% compared with 16.5%).
- Transport trade bodies are most concerned about market access (27% of tweets), supply chain (19%), sector downturn (18%) and labour shortages (15%).
- Trade bodies in the construction and housing industry are worried about labour shortages (40%) and supply chain (30%).
- The tech sector frets about market access (33%) and labour shortages – but of the highly skilled variety (28%).
Michael Evans, managing partner of Madano, said, “Companies across the UK and Europe are in denial about the hard trade-offs ahead with Brexit. Analysing their social media channels, it is clear that many companies believe that Brexit is an issue for their respective pan-European trade bodies to communicate about. Given the current state of EU-UK negotiations over Brexit, we feel that this is a huge potential mistake given the vacuum that this creates. How much longer can the mantra of business as usual last?”
"It is clear that many companies believe that Brexit is an issue for their respective pan-European trade bodies to communicate about. Given the current state of EU-UK negotiations over Brexit, we feel that this is a huge potential mistake given the vacuum that this creates" Madano managing partner Michael Evans
Further comment came from former Dutch Socialist MEP Michiel van Hulten, a founding partner of BOLDT, who said, “The finance, construction and food and drink industries appear to share similar concerns on both sides of the Channel. But there is a clear divergence of views in pharma, tech, energy and transport, where sector-specific issues such as the relocation of the European Medicines Agency from London to Amsterdam and the future of data protection rules are having an impact.”
He added, “These differences will become more apparent as the negotiations on a new trading arrangement between the UK and the EU27 get underway. And they are likely to cause tensions within pan- European trade bodies, which could lead to them breaking up or UK companies being relegated to observer status.”
The analysis is based on research conducted by Madano’s specialist Insights team in January and February which gathered and analysed the social media activity of 1000 of the top companies in Europe based on revenue.
Each day brings another twist and turn in the Brexit saga and there is still more to come, writes Dmitry Leus.
The last 12 months have seen swift progress in the development of European defence and security capabilities.
TTIP will allow Brussels greater influence in Washington, argues Craig Willy.


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It is a reality, if SMEs accelerated cloud adoption by 10%, the Spanish economy would increase its GDP by more than 5,000 million euros this year. This is revealed by an AWS study. In this regard, the experts in Cybersecurity and Innovation from acens Part of Telefónica Tech have analyzed the cloud trends that will help small and medium-sized companies to boost their business in 2023. “Businesses need to use cloud resources efficiently and profitably. This year will be marked by financial control of the cloud with tools such as AWS FinOps”, explains Manuel Eusebio de Paz Carmona, AWS Enterprise Architect at acens.
Cloud trends 2023
These are the cloud trends that will mark this year: According to experts, the increase in investment in cybersecurity seems to be the first trend in the cloud environment. 51% of Spanish companies plan to increase their investment in this area. According to Manuel Prada Mateo, Head of Security at acens: “This year we will see an increase in security solutions in the cloud. From acens, as we work on the development of cloud solutions, our recommendation is to follow a Zero Trust policy, in which any internal or external access is blocked until it is considered explicitly necessary, to minimize the risk”. Consolidation of Spain as a Hub Cloud thanks to the commitment of the big digital players: “AWS and Google have already opened their data centers and Azure will do so soon. In recent years, Telefónica Tech has strengthened its strategic alliances with Amazon (AWS), Google (GCP) and Microsoft (Azure). acens has incorporated the solutions of these three large hyperscalars in its commitment to bring the broadest technology offer closer to SMEs, also being the specialized center in AWS for Telefónica Tech”. The increase in investment in public cloud: Gartner estimates that for This year, investment in the cloud will grow 20% more worldwide than in 2022, which will lead to more than 591,000 million dollars.
These are the 8 cloud trends that will mark this 2023
More financial control of the cloud: Many of the benefits of the cloud are not only in the world of infrastructure, but also in the development layer (of applications) and processes, but companies need to measure with indicators and see a differential efficiency. Legislative news on digital protection: The Spanish Agency for Artificial Intelligence, the creation of a certification framework on the responsible design of digital solutions or new obligations for digital platforms are some of the challenges that will become a reality in the coming months, a result of the legislative push on data protection in the EU. Safe workplace: Organizations will spend almost 1 trillion dollars on the Future of Work (FoW) in 2023, an increase of 18.8% compared to 2022. Collaborative robotics, automated customer management, and the interconnected collaborative workspace top the list according to latest data. mo IDC report. Escalation of cloud projects: More than 80% of companies think about using this type of services and around 83% believe that every day they will use more services related to the cloud. Many companies have tested these technologies, now they have to scale these projects and when doing so they need to have a technology partner to help them move quickly, but safely and efficiently. The European Digital Identity platform: Public Administration goes up to the cloud on a European scale, it is no longer only sectors such as banking, retail, the industrial sector or utilities that are advancing in their digital acceleration. The European Digital Identity platform that combines ID, passwords and payments will be officially launched in 2024 to count with a single place to store official documents, save passwords and pay fees or taxes in a simple way. The pilot test will begin in March of this year.


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ChrysCapital-backed digital engineering services company Xoriant today said it has acquired Bengaluru-headquartered Thoucentric, a consulting firm that focuses on solving business problems using process and digital solutions in the supply chain, sales & distribution, and finance domains.
According to the company's statement, Thoucentric has worked with marquee companies in the global consumer & packaged goods (CPG) industry, new-age tech and startup ecosystem.
The company's consulting team, which has built point solutions and products through Thoucentric labs using AI/ML in the supply chain space, is based across six global locations, supporting clients through their expert insights, entrepreneurial approach and focus on delivery excellence.
As part of the acquisition, Xoriant will focus on enhancing its capabilities in AI & Data, cloud, security and operations services with Thoucentric’s domain and digital consulting strength.
Sukamal Banerjee, CEO and Managing Director of Xoriant said, “We are very excited to welcome Thoucentric’s admirable leadership team, consultants, and global clients, to Xoriant. Together, we can deliver high-end consulting and technology transformations to our clients. Xoriant and Thoucentric share complementary business models and core guiding values, and at a time when business problem solving is key to success of digital programs, I am confident that our new Thoucentric colleagues will create immense value in joint programs.”
Archi Bagchi and Neelakshi Kotnis, Founders & Promotors, of Thoucentric said in a joint statement, “We are delighted to join our new colleagues at Xoriant. We look forward to leveraging the synergies, scale, digital capability and geographical footprint of Xoriant. This will help expedite and enrich the problem solving journey for our clients together. We consider it a matter of pride and validation of our unique people centric framework that an established organization like Xoriant has chosen Thoucentric as its consulting brand.”


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Global tech giant for consumer electronics Samsung Electronics Co. (005930) is set to announce its quarterly results for the period ended March 31 however it’s unclear whether the breakout of deadly coronavirus around the World will have impact on this upcoming quarterly reports and if yes by how much.
Samsung is the largest memory chipmaker around the world and also the number one seller of smartphones in terms of volumes. Its famous Galaxy smartphones always pose a very stiff competition against Apple Inc’s. (AAPL) IPhones.
According to estimates by Refinitiv, operating profit for Samsung in the first quarter of the year will be around 6.2 trillion won ($5.05 billion), a figure similar to what the company posted last year during the same period.
Despite Samsung warning that its first quarter results might be significantly affected by this pandemic due to slowing smartphones sales and consumer electronics in general, Refinitiv still holds onto its estimates for the company.
Head of research at Nomura in South Korea, CW Chung, is certain if the coronavirus pandemic goes on for prolonged period the memory chip industry will be affected significantly.
“If COVID-19 continues into 2H20, the memory market outlook could change for the worse,” said Chung.
Last year during the prolonged trade war between the world’s two largest economies i.e. U.S and China, both Apple and Samsung resulted to establishing new production plants in India and Vietnam since they couldn’t risk losing its Chinese market which was putting stiffer measures to foreign tech companies in the country.
China is the world’s largest consumer market for consumer electronics hence no producer in the industry would risk losing this market.
When coronavirus broke out in Wuhan city last year, things went from bad to worst so quick so fast that may companies including Samsung and Apple had to shut down their production bases in the country.


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Here, Wildix CEO Steve Osler advances his strong belief that value creation will remain the biggest differentiator in an ever evolving comms market.
And he explains why the rise of integrated and value added services will continue to widen the gap between one dimensional resellers and in-demand MSPs.
Wildix resellers are witnessing a 400 per cent hike in UCaaS revenues which Osler attributes to the effectiveness of the vendor’s training programmes and its channel-only opex-first approach. To build on these successes he aims to create more opportunities for partners by positioning Wildix as ‘the first unified communications and collaboration platform for the channel’. “We want MSPs and SIs to come to us for flexible solutions that integrate with almost anything,” he stated. “From there, they can build their own value through add-on services.”
Osler noted that Wildix has a number of ‘add-on’ products and services coming to market including x-hoppers, a retail-ready solution currently undergoing beta testing via partners with the full version due for release in July. The release of x-bees, a ‘complete sales offering’, is also pipelined for launch later in the year. “This integrates with Gong.io and delivers calendar support, with full CRM integration for automated data entry to drive sales team effectiveness,” added Osler. “However, we’re not changing our approach to the market and we’ll always be 100 per cent focused on the channel.”
According to Osler, businesses would be doing themselves a big favour by constantly reinventing their modes of operation, including certain channel players who he says would be wise to move with the times. “The legacy PBX market is dying,” he commented. “Even though some vendors appear to be shoring up their share of that market with acquisitions, that space is shrinking thanks to the sheer flexibility and redundancy of cloud-based systems. Partners simply cannot afford to be left behind.
“That said, there will still be a need for legacy systems, in the same way that some people need cassette tapes or want vinyl LPs. But that market will shrink until it’s considered niche. So those who provide goods without thinking of the additional value they offer customers will wither away.”
There will still be a need for legacy systems, in the same way some people want cassette tapes or vinyl LPs
Osler claims that reseller numbers are certain to ‘die off’ in this market because just offering UC means missing out on the evolving dynamic between resellers and their customers. “You’re not showing the value you offer,” he added. “There’s no value in offering a UC&C solution and nothing else. And if customers can get everything they need from a single source it’s likely they’ll bring everything under one umbrella, especially smaller customers without the time nor energy to manage multiple contracts.”
Osler believes that the biggest opportunities will be realised by MSPs that fully empower their people, primarily because IT solutions are becoming more complex – too complex for many internal IT departments to handle. “As a result, those who show exactly what their added value is will make three times that of a reseller,” commented Osler. “This is achieved through targeted training and support that helps partners to discover the value they can provide in solving customer pain points.”
In a broader context, Osler says that today’s leadership priorities should focus on the shortage of qualified people in the tech industry. “You can’t let good people go, yet many businesses are dropping employees as if there was a huge talent pool available,” he stated. “It’s far better to prioritise employee retention through great development programmes, regular training and a good working environment.
“When you have a massively expanding industry, one that’s gone from being only for businesses 20 years ago to being integrated into every aspect of life – home, business, industry, entertainment and socialising – you need to refresh perspectives and investment to get the right people in the right place.”
In the short-term Osler expects staffing costs to increase as demand for skills remains high, with implications for cash strapped channel firms. “For MSPs and SIs that’s going to prove a big challenge, especially those working on fine margins,” he added. “Moreover, the insistence on maintaining connections to physical PBXs may prove unsustainable due to the substantially increased costs of travel, staffing and accommodation.
“Against this backdrop, the primary opportunities for growth include choosing vendors carefully, expanding business offerings, providing added value beyond simple solutions, grabbing the cloud communications market and not being held back by legacy capex systems.”


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Smiths and GE ditch security pact
A link-up between two of the world's leading military contractors to make groundbreaking anti-terrorism devices for use at airports has collapsed.
Smiths Group of the UK and US giant General Electric said last March that they were forming a joint venture to serve the 'fast-growing detection and homeland protection markets'.
But Smiths today revealed that the partnership has split up because of a failure to 'agree on a strategic vision for the combined business'.
Smiths GE Detection, the new firm, had hoped to cash in on the huge demand for state of the art scanning devices at airports. It would have focused on making technology to scan luggage for weapons, explosives and drugs - perhaps the most vital part of airport security.
A statement today said: 'Smiths and GE now announce that, after careful consideration, they have decided not to proceed to form the joint venture as they believe the interests of both businesses are best served by remaining independent.'
Smiths declined to elaborate on the reasons for the split, saying this would only give key information to competitors.
The planned firm would have been owned 64% by Smiths and 36% by GE. The intention to form Smiths GE Detection was announced with some fanfare by GE boss Jeff Immelt and Smiths chief executive Keith Butler-Wheelhouse.
Butler-Wheelhouse said at the time that combining GE's resources and research capabilities with Smiths products would 'make the world a safer place'.
Smiths, which is the 75th-biggest company in the FTSE, said it will continue to work with GE on other ventures.
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One of the highlights during the US-ABC SME Workshop held at the Philippine Trade Training Center (PTTC) held on June 27, 2018 was the formal turnover to PTTC as the first country administrator of the ASEAN SME ACADEMY. The ceremonial turnover led by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Ramon M. Lopez and the United States Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim as part of the celebration of the International SME Day encourages MSMEs to engage in an online training platform to digitize business in the country.
The DTI Secretary emphasized the importance of empowering MSMEs and increased connectivity through digitalization to build capacity and engender innovation by connecting to overseas market, compete worldwide, and be connected to regional and global value chains.
“We already have mentoring programs; we just need to take them online so they can train more MSMEs. We want to give them access to mentoring 24/7,” said DTI Secretary Ramon M. Lopez.
PTTC as the Academy’s new administrator is committed to provide the best training support to the Philippines’ MSMEs and to the ASEAN SME community through networks of supportive partners in the Philippines’ NEGOSYO Centers; expanding its best practices to the rest of the ASEAN regions.
PTTC Executive Director Nestor P. Palabyab said “Everybody here attending today’s event is either a provider of learning, a learner or both. The PTTC as the home of the ASEAN SME Academy is building a community where everyone may contribute to enable more capable SMEs to meet the challenge of the ever changing, complex and more competitive environment.”
The DTI and PTTC are optimistic that the Academy is in a greater position to uplift and advance the capacity of MSMEs to become smarter entrepreneurs with the ability to compete.
Also present to witness the turnover were the distinguished guests Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) President Alegria S. Limjoco, Philippines Senior Representative of the US-ABC Elizabeth Magsaysay-Crĕbassa, General Manager of Cisco Systems Singapore & Philippines Mr. Surendran Vangadasalma.
There was a livestreaming of the entire activity to selected DTI regional offices and Negosyo Centers. The same is available for viewing at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmpGCSyyrgY.


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$70.7 billion. A sum that could buy you every single team in the NBA, NFL and MBA combined, one big beautiful wall of the Donald Trump variety, or, according to the Bloomberg Billionaire Index, the net worth of fashion's richest man.
Meet Bernard Arnault, the CEO of luxury stable LVMH and the only European in the tycoon top league, coming in fourth place behind Warren Buffet at $84.1 billion, Bill Gates at $90.3 billion and Amazon's Jeff Bezos, who's worth an incredible $118 billion.
Arnault's ascent isn't just good news for his bank manager, either. The latest promotion bumped Zara's founder Amancio Ortega to fifth place - no doubt considered a small victory in the grand war of luxury fashion and its high street counterparts.
In his day-to-day role, Arnault oversees the commercial and financial direction of 70 luxury brands, including Dior, Louis Vuitton, Moët & Chandon and Berluti. Up for a job swap, Bernard?


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DailyBuzz Thursday 24 January 2019
- Terracoin $TRC unlocked links to their Website and Twitter in our Masternode Directory!
- Qabio and its Masternode Fans Project Go Silent, A Possible Exit Scam! [Link]
- Best Performing Masternodes #week4! [Link]
- Cryptopia’s Hack Losses May Be Higher Than Expected! [Link]
- Masternode Directory and Monetization (Limited 50% Discount)! [Link]
- TWINS will be listed on the bitsane.com exchange today.
- TomoChain: "How to build a DApp on TomoChain" on Medium.
- Solaris announced txbit.io launch on 31st of January, more on Medium.
- Birake: "Why Birake is more than an exchange" on Medium.
- SysCoin weekly update on Medium.
- PACcoin bringing financial support to the unbanked on Medium.
- SmartCash explaining SmartShift on YouTube.
- Matrix joins the Decentralised AI Alliance on Medium.
- Dash Green launched their store with eCommerce Payment Plugin.
- CPChain's technology provider "Shanghai Wurong Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd." was selected as the "Top 100 China Blockchain Enterprises" on Twitter.
- Qabio $QBO has been delisted from the MNO platform.
- Blacer Coin $BLCR has been added to the MNO platform.
Be among the first to get our updates in our new Telegram announce channel!


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Here’s our curated list of important tech news from this week in byte size.
(Subscribe to our Today’s Cache newsletter for a quick snapshot of top 5 tech stories. Click here to subscribe for free.)
WhatsApp Web, Desktop get biometric authentication
Musk says, Tesla will achieve Level 5 autonomy in 2021
Tesla’s advanced autopilot option – Full Self-Driving (FSD), was released in a limited beta in October 2020. On Wednesday, during the fourth-quarter earnings call, CEO Elon Musk said he is confident that Tesla’s FSD will achieve Level 5 autonomy (or full automation) in 2021. The company will also expand the FSD beta to include more people, he added. Tesla does not allow owners to transfer their FSD from their present car to the next one, however, according to Musk, the company “will be offering subscription pretty soon,” so owners will have an option of not buying it. Further, Tesla will also be licensing its autopilot software to third parties, and has had some preliminary discussions about it, Musk noted. In another development, SpaceX launched a record 143 spacecraft into space as part of the company’s rideshare programme.
Teams enhancements for digital classroom
Microsoft has added new features to help students and teachers in the digital learning environment. Using Whiteboard, a free-form digital canvas, they will be able to take notes, share ideas and collaborate. Students can access these Whiteboards for reference after the class. Also, teachers can use the Assignment and Grading feature to understand how individual students as well as classes are performing with access to detailed information on specific assignments or students. Further, the Classroom Drop-in app can be used to bring guest lecturers, teaching assistants, substitute instructors, and other approved individuals into the virtual classroom, Microsoft noted in a blog post. Earlier this month, Microsoft had introduced a new set of features to improve the meeting experience for users on the Teams platform.
iOS and iPadOS 14.4 fixes three security bugs
Apple has released iOS and iPadOS 14.4, which according to the company will fix three security bugs that “may have been actively exploited.” It fixed two WebKit issues, that could have been exploited by a remote attacker for “arbitrary code execution,” and, one Kernel issue, that allowed a malicious application “to elevate privileges.” Additional details about the security issues will be available soon, Apple noted in a support page. The new OS updates are available for these devices: iPhone 6s and later, iPad Air 2 and later, iPad mini 4 and later, and iPod touch (7th generation). Apple users can check and install iOS and iPadOS 14.4 in Settings – General – ‘Software Update’. In another update, Apple became world’s biggest smartphone seller with record shipments in the fourth quarter.
Minecraft’s free Sustainability City map
Mojang Studios, Minecraft’s developer, has released a free Sustainability City map for the game. Gamers can use it to explore how some of the goals and themes in Microsoft’s Annual Sustainability Report come to life in a Minecraft town, the software giant noted in a blog post. The new map is available in the Minecraft Marketplace “Education Collection” and within Minecraft: Education Edition, where educators can download six new lessons for students, including Sustainable Food Production, Outflow Order, Wasted to Wanted, Dependable Forests, Sustainable Home, and Alternative Energy, it added. Last week, the company reversed its decision to increase Xbox Live Gold membership price after a backlash from online gaming community. In another game update, we reviewed ‘Hitman 3’, the conclusion to the World of Assassination trilogy.
You can read more at thehindu.com/technology


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The two-day talks were beneficial for both sides. Koirala got India to accommodate Nepal's economic interests, quickly consigning the recent bilateral unpleasantness over the trade and transit treaties to oblivion.
On the economic side, Nepal stands to gain from the trade treaty which provides concessions on tariff and export of Nepalese goods to India. The transit treaty will do Nepal good by simplifying customs for it. At the same time, an agreement to check unauthorised trade on the border will benefit India's economy.
An agreement on water resource development was also signed. This includes the setting up of six hydro-electric projects in Nepal, in return for which a power-hungry India will get hydro-electricity.
Diplomatically too India is a winner. After the recent SAARC debacle, Koirala's visit has softened India's image as the subcontinent's big bully.
But Koirala still has to sell the package at home. An agreement on harnessing Nepal's water resources has been hanging fire so far due to Palace suspicion that it would be exploited by India. Now, his opponents will try to play the 'sell-out to India' card. Yet the first hurdle has been crossed.


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The 2014 Tom Cruise-led Edge of Tomorrow was based on a 2004 light novel from Hiroshi Sakurazaka and Yoshitoshi ABe. A sequel has been in the works for years.
NIS America cites ‘unforeseen circumstances’ for standard edition release
Penny-Punching Princess launches in the United Kingdom tomorrow, but those who were hoping to snag the physical standard edition on Nintendo Switch will have to change up their plans. Read on for more.
Gintama, HK/Hentai Kamen’s Yūichi Fukuda directs show
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If there’s anything that an otaku likes aside from plot in an anime, it’s “plot.” If you know what we mean. Once again we’re back with a Thirst…
Wanna be the Strongest in the World OVA, 3 Tenchi Muyo! films also added
Game to launch for PS4, PC
Mystery anime to premiere on April 8
Main game, bonus game launch on June 28 for PS4
Adaptation of light novel series entered final arc in December
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[en]What You Need to Know: [/en][es]Lo que necesitas saber: [/es]
The hard working team at Sentai Filmworks announced earlier today that they’v…


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AnonD-16394, 31 Aug 2011I'm starting to realise there is biased news around here. Let's be fair, who'd ever expect the... moreEverybody expect the first Nokia WP7 to be a real competitor to the top Androids, Samsung Galaxy S2..., and iPhone5, and it must have the Harmattan skin, or else everybody will think it was really stupid of Nokia to choose WP7 and not Android, because it would have been really easy to move Harmattan from MeeGo to Android as both are based on Linux, WP7 is not, and it would have been really easy to add Nokia Maps just as HTC have added Locations as their Navigation app! Nokias problem have been the fact that they do not have any top smartphone that can compete agianst the top Androids, and they already have Symbian for low-cost phones, WP7 is supposed to give Nokia a comeback among the top smartphones!
Nokia has already said...they are going to price their WP7 devices competitively...so a year old hardware doesn't surprise me...how much you folks can pay for this device (without contract)!
I would like this device to be priced around $250
I'm starting to realise there is biased news around here. Let's be fair, who'd ever expect the first Nokia device running WP7 to be a high-end one?
Besides, it is supposedly called 703, so we should wait for the 800 and 900 series.
Anyway, the phone looks neat.
Looks allot like the Nokia N9 but if these specs are correct then it hasn't got a look in to N9. Nokia need to sort themselves out and start to release devices that compete in the market as it stands.
Display:LCD 480 x 800 pixels,3.7 Inch
Camera :5 MP 2592x1944 pixels,autofocus,720p
Memory :8 GB Storage,512 MB Ram
What a nasty outlook!
If this is really the sea ray then nokia you are a very big loser i expected much more from the first wp device... Its not worth waiting for your devices:-(
AnonD-5197, 31 Aug 2011Windows Phone was aimed at high end market. Microsoft said that and that's why they have tigh... moreKind of implying that Sea Ray is a high end phone.
Bailey, 31 Aug 2011Nobody ever said that the Sea Ray was a high end device in the first place only GSM Arena and... moreWindows Phone was aimed at high end market. Microsoft said that and that's why they have tight control over hardware. They just refuse to update the hardware requirement.
Looks like a N9 with WP7 buttons.
Very beautiful design
Ano, 31 Aug 2011How are they going to compete with that? If Samsung get SGS2 with WP7, then people will choose... moreThat is until people pick it up and realise its a Nokia. So much better made than any Samsung phone ever will be.
Nobody ever said that the Sea Ray was a high end device in the first
place only GSM Arena and the comments below assumed that it was.
It says LCD 480x800.
Oh dear Nokia, i just don't see them being successful with Windows Phone, their devices dont seem they will that great, gone are their days of innovation.
Law, 31 Aug 2011Very bad statts but this is only a 700 range windows device, we can expect dual core and bigge... moreAny source for the 700/800/900 nomenclature of the WP7 devices? That failure of a phone might as well be the top of the line device we'll see from Nokia, there's no indication of anything better yet, as far as I know.
Very bad statts but this is only a 700 range windows device, we can expect dual core and bigger screens for 800 and espevially 900. However if they wanna be market leaders again they need all their windows devices top notch like galaxy s2 statts standards
rew, 31 Aug 2011Only 3.7" display? to small 4" should be standard!too big for a phone dude....not everyone likes a big phone
Looks to me like it's the 27th November.
3.7", no bumb in resolution, camera sensor seems to be worse than N8 and N9, 8GB storage (lol)...not really an upgrade to the phones already on the market for ONE YEAR, even a downgrade in some regards.
Why does Nokia release such a lackluster device after putting all their money in WP7? The Omnia 7 has a bigger screen and can be bought for 200€. Why the hype for the Nokia phone?
I hope that's not Searay...
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A recent study has revealed that eating protein-rich foods and dairy products reduces the risk of diabetes while high-calorie items increase the risk of it.
Consumption of protein-rich diet and dairy products reduces the risk of diabetes: Study
Like hypertension, the problem of diabetes has become quite common nowadays. Almost every other person is vulnerable to diabetes. This disease is taking a very dangerous form, it can be easily gauged from the fact that not only the children are also vulnerable. If diabetes is not treated at the right time, it can cause kidney failure, reduced eye vision, and can also lead to heart diseases.
Diabetes is genetic in many people, but it is also related to our diet. A recent study has shown a relationship between people’s food preferences with the prevalence of diabetes in India. That is, what people eat is directly related to whether or not they are victims of diabetes. In this study, it was reported that the consumption of high-calorie items like sugar and honey increases the risk of diabetes while consuming protein-rich food and dairy products in the diet can reduce this risk.
The study is based on the National Family Health Survey-4 (2015-2016), 2011 Census, per capita crop production data and consumption data of various food groups from the 68th round of the National Sample Survey. The study evaluated diabetic data as well as trends in food availability and preferences in various states.
This study found that cases of diabetes were more common in West Bengal and Kerala as people living there mostly consume non-vegetarian food. At the same time, the figures for diabetes were seen very less in those states where people prefer vegetarian food. This is because the vegetarian diet helps in managing diabetes and also regulates insulin hormone.
This research also found that extreme cases of diabetes were seen even in those states where people consumed more sugar and honey. However, this trend was not seen in states like Maharashtra, Rajasthan, and Haryana. One thing also came out that the risk of diabetes can be reduced by eating protein-rich things like pulses and walnuts, cashew nuts, almonds, etc. At the same time, the figures of diabetes were less in those states where people eat more dairy products. On the other hand, diabetes disease is more prevalent in men than in women.


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The new flavor called 'Netflix & Chilll'd,' in honor of the streaming giant, was unveiled in New York on Wednesday night.
This original promises to be a binge-worthy dessert with a double feature of pretzel swirls and brownies packed into peanut butter ice cream.
And for those who prefer to indulge in a non-dairy option, a version of the ice cream is made with an almond milk base and vegan ingredients making it a treat everyone can enjoy.
Ironically, the creamy concoction does not contain any of Netflix's trademark red color.
'Netflix & Chilll'd' ice cream will be available in pints around the globe, online and in Scoop Shops.


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The online auction site eBay is showing some brick-and-mortar stores a little love at the same time that its rival Amazon.com has sparked controversy from Main Street to the halls of Congress with a promotion involving its Price Check app.
A special offer from eBay rewards shoppers who spend $100 online with a $10 coupon to shop at Toys“R”Us, Dick’s Sporting Goods or Aeropostale. The coupon can be redeemed through Dec. 19.
EBay’s offer follows one involving Amazon’s Price Check app, which lets consumers scan an item’s bar code at a physical retailer and compare the price to Amazon’s prices. Amazon added more incentive to buy that item online in the form of a 5 percent discount -- up to $5 off -- on Dec. 10.
The Price Check promotion was widely panned by other retailers, politicians and some shoppers. An employee of Powell’s Books in Portland struck back, creating an "Occupy Amazon” event page on Facebook to encourage people to shop locally on Dec. 10, as reported by PCWorld.
EBay and Amazon also have squared off over efforts in Congress to establish an online sales tax law.
Amazon wants Congress to avoid exempting too many small retailers from a proposed federal online sales tax law that would authorize states to require retailers to collect sales taxes on goods sold online.
Meanwhile, eBay, which relies heavily on small businesses on its auction site, fears Amazon’s lobbying efforts will lead to a federal law that puts too many burdens on small businesses.


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Treat Mom to a special Mother’s Day meal at The SIS Kata Get 1 FREE!! splendid dessert ‘Snow Ball orLet’s go!
Ultimate in High Gross Finish Epifanes Clear Varnish known around the world, is considered the ultimate in high gloss finish.Let’s go!
To mark its three-year anniversary, Avani+ Riverside Bangkok Hotel thanks its regulars for their support and invites new visitors withLet’s go!
One season ends and another begins. At the startof this rainy season, Hilton Phuket brings an extraordinary twist to yourLet’s go!
July at KiSara Japanese Restaurant will be a month for the delicious Unagi or FreshwaterEel, served on a tray ofLet’s go!
Phuket, Thailand – Banyan Tree Group scooped three accolades for Banyan Tree Residences
Brisbane and Laguna Village Residences at the latest industry-led International Property
Awards conferred every year to celebrate the highest levels of achievement.
Swiss-Belhotel International, the global hospitality management chain, has formed a partnership with Changi Rewards Travel (CRT), a first-of-its-kind airport programmeLet’s go!
SINGAPORE, 21 June 2019 – GSS: Experience Singapore, Singapore’s brand new avatar forthe former 25-year old “Great Singapore Sale” wasLet’s go!
21st June 2019: Mr. Matthias Y. Sutter, General Manager of JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spa extend his warm welcomedLet’s go!
Centara Hotels & Resorts, Thailand’s leading hotel operator, is giving its guests, international visitors, local residents and event planners theLet’s go!


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If you are planning to visit Amritsar anytime soon and would like to taste the local cuisine and enjoy the pulse of the city, here are 5 iconic eateries that are sure to make your ...
Novotel in Aerocity inaugurated the first Delhi to Amritsar food event on 22nd April 2022, at Food Exchange. The event will go on till May 1, 2022.
A young brother duo from Amritsar made a heartfelt appeal to customers to visit their restaurant, after their father passed away in December.
Amritsar is a ride of its own, the flavours, the places, the experience. Here's a few things you should know about Amritsar's culinary background.
Amritsari Fish Tikka: To say that it's one of Punjab's best-known seafood dishes is not an exaggeration.
Crispy stuffed bread oozing with butter, Amritsari kulcha is one of Punjab's best culinary gifts to the food world.
Although, chicken and mutton dishes are more popular in Punjab when it comes to non-vegetarian food, this Amritsari macchi is no less when it comes to Amritsari cuisine, specifically.
Viral Video: An Amritsar-based vendor is selling Samosas for just ₹ 2.50, leaving internet users stunned!
A video of an elderly lady running a juice stall in Amritsar has gone viral. Twitter users have come forward to do their bit for her.
An old tea-seller who has his own stall in Amritsar for the last 45 years has surfaced online and has intrigued the internet.


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Ad spending in the US and AsiaPacific lead the world, yet in spite of that they are expected to to contribute more to this year’s expected ad spending growth. The biggest growth in AsiaPacific comes from all the highly populated countries outside of China, Japan and South Korea – India especially. Exxpected growth in Eastern and Western Europe and Latin America will account for less aggregate growth than the US. Source: The Drum
In China, 2018 Ad Spending Suggests 2019’s Trend
China’s ad spend for 2019 is projected to increase by 7%. For a clue as to where that spending will go we have data from where it went last year. 2018 saw digital spending increase at the cost of all other mediums. Like the US, it was newspapers that gave up the most revenue in service to the digital spending trend.
Global CEO & chairman of Dentsu Aegis Network, Tim Andree, commented, “Digital connectedness – driven not only by advances in technology, but the speed of consumer adoption – has fundamentally changed the shape of our business and will continue to do so.” Source: The Drum
In AI: It’s all about the Rule Set
Tom Ohanian, global sales executive for IBM Watson Media & Weather. speaking at the Smart Hollywood Summit reduced the AI challenge to its essence when he said, “It comes down to these two questions: Can we produce content in a way that’s acceptable, and can we break these down to rule sets?”
In real life it is necessary to switch these questions around because to get acceptable content out of the machine, one must start with a rule set that can deliver a simulated human expression – which leads to a realization that we have come to understand while working with AI content creation. AI can produce content, but just as a pool of writers needs an editor, a human editor, so does the machine. The more sophisticated the machine, the closer it can get to natural language – Watson is among the best – but still, before synthetically created content goes out, a human needs to be the last reader. Source: Smart Content News; Bidwin analysis
China’s Service Sector Declines Modestly
February’s service sector declined modestly while maintaining a solid underpinning for the Chinese economy. It sits just below the 13-.month average of 52.9. Though the manufacturing sector has shown weakness the service sector remains comfortably on the positive side of this scale. Projected GDP reflects this modest downturn. Source: China Caixin
The Future of US Digital Regulation
Reporting from the first nine months of GDPR provides a look into the future of US regulation. The ability to focus user issues in one agency for 31 countries gives
an insight into the breathe of the problem, which is likely to be similar in the US.
Notably, the number of data breaches reported in the first month of GDPR regs was 1,700 – referred to a “massive increase” from prior periods. The monthly number has settled down to about 400.
As we reported previously, regulation in the US is moving state by state rather than from the feds, which will make it harder to suss out an insight into trends, into the progress we are making against privacy volations. Source: The Register; European Data Protection Board
AI as the Next Great Cyber Threat
The invention of controlled fire was a turning point for humanity. To that point fire was mostly a bad thing. Once controlled, man could make a ribeye and fire became a good thing.
The early history of AI has dwelled on the positive – how it could deliver better medical diagnosis or, in our world, how it could help find the right audience or create more specifically relatable messages. It can help us sell more stuff. Great!
But, like fire, the good side implies a bad side that we haven’t talked about much. AI’s bad side: When the bad guys start applying the same machine learning tricks we are using for benign marketing purposes to their stolen databases, our cyber security problems will multiply dramatically. Phishing emails will become even more alluring. They will arrive on your screen at your most vulnerable.
All of which leads to the inevitable good verses evil battle. When the force of evil AI becomes apparent, it will force an AI defense response to counter it. And the escalating battle will be engaged. Source: SiliconANGLE
Eyes on the Chinese Consumer
Will Chinese consumers fold under the pressure? That’s today’s question for the world economy. It results from the successful adjustments made by the Chinese government to turn its economy toward the consumer, which now accounts for 78% of its economy. These days, if the Chinese consumer stops buying it will affect the world.
To keep spending moving the government has loosened credit and reduced taxes to put more money in worker’s pockets. And the job market seems to be holding as well. With the exception of some manufacturing sector losses, independent surveys indicate that the job market remains strong. Source: Seeking Alpha
The Ratio: Traditional v. Digital Marketing
It has been obvious for some years that digital marketing has been siphoning off ad dollars from traditional media. Print media has suffered the most, especially among those publishers that did not make the digital adjustment made by The New York Times and the Washington Post.
For marketers, the question is how to proportion their ad dollars between the two. It appears the pendulum is still swinging toward digital because marketers know instinctually, if not actually, that 60% of us check our Facebook timeline once a day, that 66% of last year’s Black Friday and Cyber Monday purchases were made via mobile phone according to Shopify and that 97% of business-to-business marketers favor LinkedIn.
So, where are you on the digital-traditional scale? 60% -40% or 70% -30%? Source: Business Insider
In a lesson on why one cannot generalize from one data point, we note the strong rebound in the Purchasing Manager’s Index for February after a dismal January. Given the talk about declining Chinese growth resulting from the trade wars, it was natural that the steep PMI drop in January would be viewed as more than it appears to have been. We’ll have to watch next month’s number for for a pattern. Was January an anomaly? Or was it the beginning of a volatile period? Source: China Caixin
The Regs are Coming
Government regulation is the newest and most consequential moving part in today’s digital advertising space. As we’ve commented before, GDPR has been the driver toward regulation in the world. In the US, the gauntlet has been picked up by California and at least ten other states, which are implementing various levels of digital regulation. Therein lies the problem and the reason the the IAB, in a change from its historic position in favor of self-regulation, is seeking federal regulation to standardize the approach.
In a letter to the Senate Commerce Committee, IAB wrote, “A uniform federal privacy standard could provide clarity, market certainty and add fuel to future innovation while preserving the value and benefit that online advertising brings to the internet ecosystem.”
There will be more regulation. The question is, will it tqke a fractured, multi-state form or will it be a more uniform, coherent form from the feds? Source: AdExchange


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In total, 38 current research projects were presented and subsequently discussed among scientists with a similar research interest. Of particular interest were those sessions with a focus on crowdfunding, sharing economy and big data. Professor Florian Stahl from the University of Mannheim and Professor Michael Zhang from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology organised two sessions with invited speakers who offered insights into digital marketing strategies and online platforms.
Sellers on eBay use starting prices to signal their selling preferences
ZEW was particularly happy to welcome two high-ranking economists as keynote speakers. In his lecture, Hal Varian, professor emeritus at UC Berkeley and chief economist at Google since 2007, analysed the reasons for direct and indirect network effects on digital platforms. Among other things, his speech focused on improving product quality through learning by doing, a concept which plays a key role in online search engines. Varian closed his speech by addressing the topic of competition between digital platforms.
The second keynote speaker, Steven Tadelis, professor at the UC Berkeley and Vice President of Economics and Market Design at Amazon, explained which conclusions can be drawn from new online market data with regard to price negotiations. Together with his co-authors, he analysed data on millions of eBay transactions and particularly investigated the online platform’s function which allows potential buyers to exchange price proposals with sellers. On the basis of this data, researchers were for the first time able to move beyond lab experiments and investigate how sellers can eliminate existing information asymmetries in price negotiations by signalling their preferences in a credible way. As a key result, the study finds that some sellers set their initial price at a round number in order to signal that they are keen to sell an item quickly, which comes at the expense of selling for a higher price. These users tend to accept lower price proposals and are less likely to be tough negotiators than sellers who set specific starting prices. In his speech, Tadelis also shed light on the effects of experience, patience and social norms on negotiation strategies and outcomes.


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Jump to navigation
Chrysler has decided to reduce the number of models sold under its Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge brands. The company also plans to reduce dealerships, which could result in costly buyouts. Jeff Tyler reports.
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Whether it’s because they’re being forced to or because they want to, tech companies are exploring ways to become more private. Interestingly, this is a market opening in the industry as customers increasingly value services that protect their data and value their privacy. Microsoft and Twitter are two companies who are competing to be more private.
As mentioned, some of this movement is not down to kindness on the part of tech companies. Regulations such as Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) have put more restrictions on companies. Furthermore, customers are demanding more secure platforms.
Microsoft is making a deeper commitment to user data moving forward. The company has been making moves towards more privacy. For example, the company announced in November it is extending its support of the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) to all customers in the United States.
The move made Microsoft the first tech company to support the regulation nationwide. What makes Microsoft slightly different from rivals such as Google is that the company does not place user data at the center of its business model. As such, Redmond is arguably more capable of offering pirvacy and data protection beyond other companies.
However, Twitter clearly believes there is some good promotion to be gained by making this announcement. In other words, Twitter’s announcement tells people it is committed to privacy even if most users won’t be affected by compliance with CCPA.


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By Allison Collins
SIDNEY – General manager of ACCO Brands in Sidney, Jeff Almasian, presented Friday, Aug. 4 to the Rotary Club of Sidney on the manufacturing giant’s highlights and advancements locally, nationally and globally. Almasian’s presentation to the club is part of a tradition instated by Thomas Mirabito, Sr., who felt representatives from the tri-town’s largest enterprises should occasionally inform Rotarians on the goings on of said businesses.
Almasian, who has been with the corporation for 34 years and its Sidney division for four, underscored the strides ACCO Brands has made locally in terms of productivity, sustainability, community outreach and maintaining an emphatically American-made business model.
Almasian cited ACCO’s $1.6 billion in sales in 2016, though noted that since a recent acquisition of a “huge” European-based company, “sales are in excess of $2 billion at this point.”
Though ACCO products are available in more than 100 countries, Almasian said the bulk of those sales occur domestically. He said that about $1 billion of last year’s $1.6 in sales was contained to the US.
Keeping the focus national and local, Almasian pointed out that ACCO Brands employs 5,240 people, with 2,700 of those domestic, and between 650 and 750 in Sidney. He also noted that, at 750,000 square feet, Sidney’s facility is one of the brand’s largest. The ACCO Brands Sidney compound comprises more than a half-mile when measured end-to-end.
“We believe in domestic manufacturing,” said Almasian, adding, “We feel strongly about that and we’ve done a tremendous amount of in-sourcing. That’s something we’ve focused on for many, many years and something we’re definitely proud of.”


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Aim of sale financingвЂ”the modern layaway that lets you buy a brand new television or clothe themselves in four installments as opposed to placing it on your own credit cardвЂ”has been increasing steeply in appeal within the last couple of years, in addition to pandemic is propelling it to brand new levels
Australian business Afterpay, whoever business that is entire staked in the scheme, has sailed from an industry valuation of $1 billion in 2018 to $18 billion today. Eight-year-old san francisco bay area startup Affirm is rumored become preparing an IPO which could fetch ten dollars billion. Now PayPal PYPL -0.3% is cramming to the area. Its brand new вЂњPay in 4вЂќ item enables you to pay money for any items which are priced at between $30 and $600 in four installments over six months.
TikTok CEO Kevin Mayer Exits As Business Faces Risk Of Ban In U.S.
Pay in 4вЂ™s costs allow it to be not the same as other вЂњbuy now, spend laterвЂќ products. Afterpay fees merchants approximately 5% of each and every deal to provide its funding function. It does not charge interest towards the customer, however, if youвЂ™re late on a repayment, youвЂ™ll pay costs. Affirm additionally charges stores deal costs. But the majority of that time period, it will make users spend interest of 10 – 30%, and has now no belated costs. PayPal appears to be a lower-cost hybrid associated with two. It wonвЂ™t fee interest to your customer or a extra cost to the merchant, however, if youвЂ™re late on a repayment, youвЂ™ll pay a cost as high as ten dollars.
Serial business owner Max Levchin started two of this three major players offering online point of sale funding into the U.S. He cofounded PayPal with Peter Thiel in 1999 and began Affirm in 2012.
PayPal can undercut your competition on costs since it currently possesses principal, very lucrative payments system it could leverage. Eighty % for the top 100 stores when you look at the U.S. let clients spend with PayPal, and nearly 70% of U.S. on the web purchasers have actually PayPal reports. PayPal fees merchants per-transaction costs of 2.9% plus $0.30, plus in the quarter that is second as Covid-19 made online acquisitions skyrocket, it saw record revenues of $5.3 billion and profits of $1.5 billion. Its stock has ballooned, including $95 billion of market value in the last 6 months. An analyst at MoffettNathanson in an economic environment where ecommerce is surging, вЂњPayPal can grow 18-19% before it gets out of bed in the morning,вЂќ says Lisa Ellis.
The Anti-Facebook: 12 Years In, Facebook Cofounder Dustin MoskovitzвЂ™s Slow-Burn 2nd Act Asana Finally Has Its Own Minute
Information from Afterpay and PayPal reveal that customers save cash moneyвЂ”sometimes 20% moreвЂ”when theyвЂ™re offered point of purchase financing options. Whenever PayPal launches spend in 4 this autumn, it will probably see deal sizes rise, and since it currently earns 2.9% for each deal, its fee income will boost in tandem.
The online point of purchase funding market has scores of US customers thus far. Afterpay, which expanded into the U.S. in 2018, has 5.6 million users. Affirm additionally claims this has 5.6 million. Stockholm-based Klarna and sezzle that is minneapolis-based have actually one or more million.
Separate from Pay in 4, PayPal happens to be providing point of purchase funding for over 10 years. It purchased Baltimore Bill that is startup Me in 2008 and rebranded it as PayPal Credit in 2014. PayPal Credit lets customers submit an application for a line that is lump-sum of and it has an incredible number of borrowers today. Like a charge card, it levies interest that is high of about 25% and needs monthly obligations. These customer loans might have a high threat of standard, and PayPal doesnвЂ™t have the majority of themвЂ”it offloads the U.S. loans to Synchrony Bank. (In 2018, Synchrony acquired PayPalвЂ™s book that is massive of customer loans for approximately $7 billion.)
This previous springtime, as the pandemic ended up being online payday loans direct lenders Lincolnshire distributing quickly and concerns spiked about consumers defaulting on loans, PayPal pumped the brake system on financing. вЂњLike numerous lenders that are installment they essentially halted expanding loans in March or early April,вЂќ MoffettNathansonвЂ™s Ellis states. вЂњSquare SQ +1.8% did the exact same.вЂќ PayPal senior vice president Doug Bland claims, вЂњWe took wise, accountable action from the danger viewpoint.вЂќ
With Pay in 4, PayPalвЂ™s renewed push into financing is a sign the business is getting decidedly more aggressive in a volatile economy where numerous customers have actually fared a lot better than anticipated up to now. Unlike PayPal Credit, PayPal will house these brand brand new loans on its balance that is own sheet. Bland states, вЂњWeвЂ™re extremely comfortable in managing the credit threat of this.вЂќ


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The price of Axie Infinity, a native coin of a blockchain trading and battle game with the same title, skyrocketed to an all-time high in market value. Despite the downtrends in the market value of digital currencies, Axie reached a new price high of $21.55 on Tuesday. The platform experienced an increase in demand in recent days as other tokens from the gaming economy like “smooth love portion” have also seen monumental buying pressure.
Axie Infinity Token Skyrockets in Value
A week ago, Bitcoin.com reported how the Axie Infinity economy is expanding very quickly, as the project’s NFT asset and it’s native token reach an all-time high in market value. The project is an Ethereum-based blockchain game that also features a digital marketplace and governance protocol.
On Tuesday morning, axie infinity (AXS) reached an all-time high of $21.55. The token has experienced a significant rise in value in recent weeks, outpacing top dogs like BTC and ETH in terms of percentage gains.
Coingecko stats and nomics.com data show the market capitalization for AXS is around $1.3 billion and there’s $1.2 billion in 24-hour trade volume on Tuesday. At 0.00062 BTC per AXS, the axie infinity token has gathered 18.11% on Tuesday against bitcoin (BTC). Out of the thousands of cryptocurrencies in existence, Coingecko shows AXS holds the 74th position ranking on July 13.
SLP Joins the Surge in Value
The Axie Infinity economy features other tokens on its ecosystem which are also seeing an increase in demand as well. One specific token called “smart love potion” (SLP) has also experienced significant buying pressure. Axie Infinity players can earn SLP in rewards for battling in the game’s adventure mode.
SLP also surged to an all-time high on Tuesday morning, reaching $0.39 per unit on Binance. Axie Infinity tokens can be purchased and sold on exchanges like Uniswap, Digifinance, Huoibi, and Binance.
About Axie Infinity Game
The Axie Infinity universe was developed by a game studio created in 2018 called Sky Mavis. Axie Infinity is a play-to-earn-style game similar to Pokemon or Hearthstone game characters. The game is about a battle between token-based creatures called “axies”, players can collect items, breed these creatures as well as raise them. Besides collecting and raising, players can also make a team of axies to battle in the arena.
Axies can also be bought, sold, and traded with others in the marketplace.
To participate, players need to download the game, Ronin wallet and Ronin bridge to get started, and the web3 ETH wallet Metamask is also used to connect with the game. In addition to the aforementioned steps, users are obligated to have at least three Axies sold on the Axie marketplace to begin gaming.
A Bright Future for Blockchain Gaming
Blockchain gaming has become significantly popular in recent times and the emergence of NFTs has played a huge role in the process. The play-to-earn function has made Axie Infinity a popular source of income around the world.
Axie Infinity’s community in the Philippines is a typical example where players have earned more money by playing games compared to their previous jobs.
Crypto and Gamers are proud partners with Axie Infinity since the early days. In recent times both projects have collaborated in making promos and giveaways.
Crypto and Gamers have been major players in the NFT movement and Blockchain gaming from the start of the movement, and we will continue to help to support and accelerate adoption.


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STH Australia Adds Storm And Melbourne Racing Club Partnerships
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TH Australia has announced two exclusive travel and non-exclusive hospitality partnerships, with both the Melbourne Storm, and the Melbourne Racing Club.
On top of these, STH Australia has agreed an agency appointment with NRL Travel for ticket-inclusive travel packages for its global customer base and has entered a hospitality agency partnership with Moonee Valley Racing Club.
STH Group CEO, Simon Jefford, said: “This is a crucial moment in the development of STH Australia as it means we have substantially strengthened our position in Australia.”
“Last year we opened an office in Sydney on the back of a six-year deal with Rugby Australia and the creation of a new brand, Wallabies Travel.
“The recent announcement of our new partnerships means that our team in Australia has quickly established itself as the most innovative and exciting travel and hospitality provider in the country and secured its position as a market leader,” Jefford said.
As part of the Melbourne Storm partnership, STH Australia will manage the travel of its rugby league supporters under the banner of ‘Melbourne Storm Tours’, with STH to provide packages for Storm fans across the world with ticket-inclusive travel tours.
With the Melbourne Racing Club, STH Australia will deliver official travel packages for the Caulfield Cup Carnival under the new brand, ‘Caulfield Cup Travel’, where STH will develop, market, sell, and deliver Caulfield Cup Carnival ticket-inclusive travel tours worldwide.
Speaking on the new partnerships, STH Australia general manager, Sam Chadwick, said: “We are delighted to be able to announce these significant new partnerships with three of most respected and prestigious sporting organisations in Australia who host some of the most popular events in the sporting calendar.”
“This is a major step forward for STH Australia and demonstrates the mounting reputation we have in the market for our ability to deliver unique and memorable spectator experiences at the very biggest events in the Australian sporting calendar,” Chadwick said.


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Over the past couple weeks, rumors have been flying that Google would be buying Softcard, the struggling mobile payments venture jointly owned by AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile, for somewhere in the $50-$100MM range. (You might know Softcard by their former name, Isis; they made the name change last Fall as the Islamist militant group by that name became better known).
While this deal is certainly a reaction to the launch and perceived early success of ApplePay (see our Recent blog post Banks Sign Up For Apple Pay), there are clearly other factors in play.
If this deal closes, Google is expected to roll Softcard into their current mobile payment system, Wallet. Wallet has never really gained any traction, at least partly because these same telecom companies Google is now negotiating with did not adopt it. (Ironically, Softcard was originally envisioned “Google Wallet without Google.”)
So, apart from trying to keep up with Apple, what is going on here?
First, this is clearly about creating a better relationship with the mobile carriers that Google relies on. Until now, the carriers had blocked Google’s attempt to access the secure NFC chip in their devices. With the Softcard purchase, Google has essentially bought their way into the NFC game.
Apple, on the other hand, makes both the hardware and software, and did not face the same restriction (the fact that Apple still commands over 40% of the US smartphone market and a disproportionately higher share of m-commerce probably didn’t hurt Apple’s cause either).
Second, there are larger trust issues at stake. ApplePay isn’t a particularly large piece of Apple’s revenue pie and that’s not really its role. It exists to solve a specific problem – making mobile payments easier and more secure – and in doing so to sell more Apple hardware. They don’t appear to care so much about data, if it risks security.
But Google licenses Android for free and makes their money on the ad component. So collecting purchase data that can be channeled back into their digital advertising business is at the heart of any mobile payment plan. And that has made many people, including banks, mistrustful of any Google mobile payment system.
And since Google is still dependent on partnerships with those banks to make any mobile payment system work (something they have been unable to accomplish over the past several years), Softcard may turn out to be a much better thing to be selling than it is to be buying.


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Just three months after the Niwot, Colorado-based Lucky’s Market announced it was closing more than two dozen of its stores nationally, plans are underway to reconfigure some those sites.
Known for its organic food offerings, Lucky’s enjoyed more than a decade of rapid growth, with stores opening in some ten states, primarily in the West and South.
The loss of financial support from the Kroger supermarket chain late last year prompted Lucky’s to drastically decrease its physical presence, eventually closing 32 of its 39 stores.
As part of a court-supervised proceeding, Lucky’s has now auctioned off 23 of its stores, as well as the company’s distribution center, to several different grocery store chains.
The company will keep running six of its outlets, including one in North Boulder and another in Fort Collins.
Bidders for the other Lucky’s sites include Dollar General; the Aldi Supermarket Company of Essen, Germany; and the Lakeland, Florida-based Publix Super Markets.
Analysts say the process of physically reconverting the roughly 30,000 square foot Lucky’s stores in Longmont, Wheat Ridge, and South Boulder, Colorado could be underway by summer.
By Garry Boulard
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Latest Energy Star Stories
MENTOR, Ohio, Nov.
Steven Winter Associates (SWA) is pleased to announce that two projects have earned the U.S.
Learn how to save energy and money by using efficient light bulbs DETROIT, Nov.
Meijer partners with GE Lighting to educate customers, provide solutions as traditional bulbs begin disappearing from retail shelves GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., Oct.
SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 29, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Verdafero Inc.
LG ENERGY STAR® Certified Products Featured at Phoenix Facility, Final Stop in EPA's 'ENERGY STAR Change the World Tour' PHOENIX, Oct.
AURORA, Ohio, Oct. 27, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- TCP International Holdings Ltd.
MINNEAPOLIS, Oct. 22, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Appliance Recycling Centers of America, Inc.
Named Leading Technology Provider for 'GreenZone' Community Center, LG Outfits Sustainable Facility with Air Conditioning Solutions, Electronics, Appliances NEW ORLEANS, Oct.
- Inward knowledge; understanding; conscience.


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With the warm weather expected to stick around for a few days, some restaurants have opened up their patios to diners who want to enjoy the warm weather before it's gone.
U.S. & World
Don't want to head into the city? Kings at Legacy Place in Dedham is opening their patio at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday.
The whole food and cocktail menu will be available to guests.


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The Guardian revealed that Apple is scouting for locations to test a self-driving car, and it seems to be far more developed than anyone had anticipated. The rumour mill has been cranking about the prospect of an Apple car since early February when vans, outfitted with cameras and leased by Apple, were seen driving around the Bay Area. Unfounded speculation suggested Apple might be developing an answer to Google Street View, or that they were driverless vans.
A few days later, an Apple employee emailed Business Insider to tell them about a “vehicle development” that “will change the landscape and give Tesla a run for its money”. With more digging and speculation, in mid- February, the Wall Street Journal confirmed that Apple was indeed working on an electric car with the code name: Project Titan.
Headed by Steve Zadesky, VP of Product Design, there are reportedly hundreds of employees working on Project Titan, including former Mercedes-Benz R&D exec Johann Jungwirth; former Tesla engineers, David Nelson and John Ireland; and a number of engineers from GM, Ford, and of course, Tesla.
The latest news came from The Guardian, which was the first real(ish) confirmation — with documented evidence — that Project Titan is in fact, a driverless car.
It’s too early to gauge how this will shape Apple’s business, its product suite, or the automotive industry. Cue more speculation.
This originally appeared in Moving World Wednesday 20150819
Subscribe to Moving World Wednesday here.


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A/. article mentions that Wikipedia has an error in 90% of medical articles
Now, keep in mind that/. itself has an error in x% of news items posted here
So, the actual error rate of Wikipedia medical articles should be (1-x/100)*90 % shouldnt it?
Assuming it is actually 90% would lead to the conclusion that/. has a 0% error rate...
An anonymous reader writes: Speaking from the Windows Appfest, Jon DeVaan, Corporate Vice President, Windows Development, Microsoft said, "Developers are at the center of Microsoft's success. And India is home to some of the world's most talented developers. We are focused on enabling developers to succeed as they build the next generation of apps. I can't wait to see some of these apps being built at the Windows Appfest."
More than 2500 developers attended, with 800 applications being developed successfully and 300 accepted into the app store Link to Original Source


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The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission seized a large quantity of alcohol that was being sold illegally at a convenience store in Nacogdoches.
TABC had received a complaint that the Cash and Go on East Main, owned by Kashif Abassi, was selling alcohol to minors and selling without an alcohol permit.
When an informant was able to buy alcohol at the store, Agent Jeff Taylor served a search warrant. Several agencies helped to seize alcohol that filled up a pick-up, an SUV, and a car.
Taylor says the store had recently applied for a permit but was denied. Taylor also said the alcohol was in plain view, but there was a sign that said it couldn't be sold due to lack of a license.
Taylor said, "It wasn't something they were doing on a daily basis, it was a sporadic type of deal. One would be sold one day and someone would sell it when a couple of days would pass."


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Wargaming Announces E3 2014 Presence
Company to reveal World of Tanks Blitz release date
May 20, 2014 — Wargaming today announced details of the company’s presence at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) 2014 in Los Angeles on June 10 – 12. With a massive 10,000 square feet booth located at 623 in the South Hall of the Los Angeles Convention Center, Wargaming plans to showcase a number of titles to E3 attendees.
The company’s multiplatform lineup will include the PC sensation World of Tanks, with its major overhaul currently underway, and World of Tanks: Xbox 360 Edition with a brand new line of vehicles. Rounding out the lineup, Wargaming will announce the release date of the mobile MMO action game World of Tanks Blitz that successfully soft-launched in Scandinavian countries and will go live globally soon.
Visitors at the booth will be able to participate in exclusive giveaways during the show and try their hand at a number of Wargaming titles, including World of Tanks, World of Warplanes, World of Tanks: Xbox 360 Edition, and World of Tanks Blitz at one of the many gaming stations.
Wargaming will also exhibit two armored vehicles at E3: the M4 Sherman medium tank will be on display outside of the South Hall, while the T-62A medium tank will be featured within the booth during the expo.
Asset pack (logos + screens of all projects):
Wargaming is an award-winning online game developer and publisher and one of the leaders in the free-to-play MMO market. Founded as a privately held company in 1998, Wargaming has shipped more than 15 titles and employs over 3,000 people across such key regions as North America, Europe, Russia, Asia, and Australia.
Currently, Wargaming is focused on its team-based MMO war series dedicated to mid-20th century warfare that will include the company’s flagship armored MMO World of Tanks, launched in April 2011 and currently boasting over 80 million players worldwide, the flight combat World of Warplanes that took off in November 2013 with over 4.5 million pilots, and the naval World of Warships, scheduled for release in 2014.
In June 2012, Wargaming announced the Wargaming.net Service, the epicenter of the online battle gaming universe that will gather the series under a single portal—www.wargaming.net.


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Bluboo Maya Max will be on presale very soon. Aside from preparing for the presale event, Bluboo Mobile also gets ready to bring a new surprise for users.
It’s known that original budget smartphone Bluboo Picasso released at the beginning of 2016 is well-liked by the public. It is a big hit across the budget Android smartphone section with decent specs. As the saying goes,” Strike while the iron is hot.” Bluboo Mobile plans to launch the new and improved Picasso 4G. And this slightly innovated smartphone, Picasso 4G, would offer quite some improvements compared to the original one.
- Bluboo Maya Display face off with iPhone 6S Display
- Bluboo Maya Selfie Contest Details – You May Get Full Refund
The new Picasso 4G smartphone would have the same appearance, just like the predecessor which has a 3D diamond-like and fence-grain texture on the back. The same 5-inch display with HD resolution is also kept intact. It also remains the same storage of 2GB RAM &16GB ROM. And battery capacity is of 2500 mAh capacity as well.
Bluboo Picasso 4G Specs
|Screen Resolution||1280 x 720 HD|
|Operating System||Android 6.0 Marshmallow|
|CPU||MTK6735 Quad Core 1GHz|
|Memory||2GB of RAM|
|Storage Upgrade||micro SD card|
|SIM card type||Dual SIM|
Upgraded MTK 6735 quad-core processor clocked at 1.0 GHz, enables the new version of Picasso supports 4G. The OS is upgraded to Android 6.0 Marshmallow. The main camera will be a 13 MP shooter with custom-made Sony sensor while the front cam will be an 8 MP one. And we can find Picasso 4G installed with customized Bluboo BeautySnap which would offer more fun for photography. It’s allegedly said that price will be a little higher that of the previous one, but will still be affordable.