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Nokia changed the game of mobile music when it launched its Comes With Music service, an “all-you-can-eat” offer where users can download millions of tracks for a pre-defined period of time and keep the tracks once that period is up.
There’s no need to pay for individual singles or albums; everything is included in the price of the device. At least 14 Nokia devices are compatible with Comes With Music, and their availability and price differ by market.
It’s difficult to determine how well the service is taking off. Industry observers say if it were going gang-busters, Nokia would be talking more about it. Nokia isn’t sharing specific numbers, but company representatives say they’re pleased with Comes With Music launches around the world.
In its second-quarter financial report, the company said it benefited from “continued strong performance” by the flagship Comes With Music device Nokia 5800 XpressMusic, its first mass market touch product, which shipped 3.7 million units during the quarter. More than 6.8 million units have shipped since the device was released in late November of last year.
But Liz Schimel, vice president of Nokia Music, says the service isn’t a promotion to sell more handsets. “We’re bringing consumers into the ecosystem of music in a healthy way,” she says.
Nokia did a lot of research and tried to listen to customer feedback when it came up with its model, and it’s finding some interesting usage trends, she says. For one thing, the album is making a comeback. For another, the model encourages people to get out of their comfort zones and try new music without experiencing buyer’s remorse.
Of course, launching on a regional basis includes music native to that particular geography. But Schimel says the company also is working hard to introduce new music from around the world, so someone in Germany can get exposed to music they might like from India.
“We’ve been really pleased to see the response of consumers in how they use Comes with Music,” she says. The typical a la carte customer browses about three genres; Comes with Music customers are sampling on the order of seven.
So, what’s the catch? Nokia says there isn’t one. It’s crafted a business model where it’s bringing in revenue for the music industry, and it says the model works.
There’s no official word on when it will come to the United States or whether Nokia will only do so with an operator relationship. But when it does, it could be a particularly tough sell. Forrester Research analyst Sonal Gandhi says the U.S. music aficionado already is well engaged with Apple and MP3 players. Dedicated MP3 players are not as commonplace in Europe, where a larger percentage of consumers have taken to mobile music than their U.S. counterparts.
For now, Nokia executives say their focus is to make sure all the right conditions are lined up in the markets where it launches. Nokia sought out and hired music specialists. “We didn’t try to reinvent this with handset manufacturer folks,” Schimel says. “We pulled them directly from the music business.”


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Since 2000, at least half of the world’s fastest-growing economies have been in Africa. And by 2030, Africa will be home to 1.7 billion people, whose combined consumer and business spending will total $6.7 trillion.
Seven years ago, the Harvard … Read more
GENEVA, Switzerland, March 20, 2018/APO Group/ --
The Human Rights Council this morning (March 19, 2018) adopted the Universal Periodic Review outcomes of Benin, Pakistan and Zambia.
Eloi Laourou, Permanent Representative of Benin to the United Nations Office at Geneva, … Read more

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Inflation is everywhere. It's in our lives and in the news. Americans have become fixated on it. So has the financial media. And the companies that report earnings are now starting to outline just how much rising costs are affecting their businesses.
That's why it's important to listen for perspectives from different parts of the economy. Not every company will be impacted the same. But digging into comments by the leaders of HCA Healthcare (HCA 0.92%), Domino's Pizza (DPZ 0.94%), and Visa (V 0.19%) paints a clear picture.
Wages are rising
There is no doubt that companies are having to pay more to keep current employees and attract new ones. A recent survey by Willis Towers Watson showed budgets for labor increasing by 3.4% this year.
HCA Healthcare is in an especially tough spot because most of its employees -- specially trained clinicians and caregivers -- are hard to come by even without inflation. It has to rely on contract labor to fill the gap. And the impact of rising prices is felt immediately across the board. That's much faster than when it has to raise pay for existing employees or to attract new ones.
CEO Sam Hazen recently explained the company's decision to lower full-year guidance by citing the increase in labor costs, an assumption that other costs will rise, and less COVID-19 revenue. Although salaries and benefits rose compared to last year, they weren't out of the ordinary over the previous five first quarters. Hazen did say that the pressure on wages has been slower to more moderate than management anticipated. It could mean the company is just being conservative. Others are experiencing costs that leave no doubt.
The cost of food is rising
Labor isn't the only thing getting more expensive. The cost of food is also rising. Consumers feel it at the grocery store. For restaurants, it can squeeze profit margins if they can't raise menu prices as fast as the ingredients that go into making the meals.
That makes the largest pizza company in the world -- Domino's Pizza -- a good gauge. The list of ingredients is short so there isn't a lot of complexity in figuring out the impact. For Domino's, 25% of the cost is cheese.
The company measures and publicizes its food costs because it sells the ingredients to its franchised stores. Its market basket pricing is an unfiltered view into food inflation at the restaurant level. And it just reported a quarter that would have been off the old charts. It climbed almost 12% in the first quarter compared to last year. CEO Ritch Allison called it unprecedented. The data supports the claim.
Not all companies are seeing the same thing
If labor and food are more expensive, it begs the question: Who benefits? It turns out that as prices climb, so does the bill. And the companies that get a percentage of every transaction should be taking their same slice of a bigger pie. But so far it's not clear that is happening for Visa and Mastercard (MA 0.29%).
Mastercard just reported revenue that was 24% higher than the same period last year but didn't mention inflation in its press release. Visa did mention it. But CEO Al Kelly said the company saw no noticeable impact. He cited several ways it can help and hinder the top line before finally conceding that it has historically been positive for Visa.
Avoiding the spotlight
It's understandable if the payment processors don't want to call attention to the fact that rising prices can be good for business. Higher oil prices are good for Chevron and ExxonMobil and they pay the price by being the focus of many negative comments from the media and politicians when gas is expensive. Still, the fact remains that input costs are rising for companies. And that is translating to higher prices for consumers. Those higher bills give Visa and Mastercard a boost when others are feeling the pinch. Just don't expect them to brag about it.


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New light-vehicle sales remained strong in May but fell slightly from April’s highs.
“We’re going to set a new pace for electric vehicles,” Biden said. The President spoke to Ford workers and executives in front of a display and map touting the company’s “EV-certified dealer network” consisting of 2,300+ EV-certified dealers nationwide, trained EV sales teams, EV-qualified technicians and certified collision locations.
April’s new light-vehicle sales saw an 18.5 million-unit SAAR—the second straight month (following a March revision) of sales above 18.0 million units and the highest monthly sales rate since July 2005 with a 20.6 million SAAR.
The economy continues to show strong signs of recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. The widespread dissemination of the COVID-19 vaccine and the stellar new light-vehicle sales in March are reasons to be optimistic for the remainder of 2021.
New light-vehicle sales in March 2021 were stellar. March’s SAAR of 17.75 million units is the second highest of all time for the month and just shy of March 2000.
Despite the chip shortage headwinds, we are very optimistic about new-vehicle sales in 2021. We expect continued steady retail demand and improving fleet demand growth throughout the rest of the year.
New light-vehicle sales in January started off the year at a strong pace. While the January 2021 SAAR of 16.63 million represents a decline of 1.4% from January 2020, it was the highest monthly SAAR since the start of the pandemic.
Commercial truck sales closed out 2020 with total sales just shy of 410,000 units, a decline of 22.3% from the 2019 total.
2020 came to a close with new-light vehicle sales of 14.46 million units, down 14.7% compared to 2019.


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Winners from the 2017 edition of the Great American Beer Festival were announced earlier this morning. Held annually by brewing-industry trade organization, the Brewers Association, in Denver, Colorado, this year’s GABF saw nearly 8,000 beers entered by more than 2,000 breweries in 98 style categories. 293 were awarded gold, silver and bronze medals after being evaluated by 276 judges. GABF is the country’s largest and most prestigious professional brewing competition. San Diego County breweries have historically fared incredibly well. This year saw another strong showing with the region’s brewers racking up double-digit awards.
Eleven local brewing companies brought home 14 medals this time around, including five golds in the Robust Porter (Second Chance Beer Co.) Honey Beer (Karl Strauss Brewing Company‘s Carlsbad brewpub), Imperial India Pale Ale (Ballast Point Brewing) Other Specialty Belgian Ale (Stone Brewing World Brewing & Gardens – Liberty Station) and Session Beer (Pizza Port‘s Ocean Beach brewpub) categories. That went along with six silver medals and three bronzes.
Notable is the fact only one individual brewing facility in the county won more than one medal, Carmel Mountain Ranch’s Second Chance with a gold and a silver. Newly launched SouthNorte Brewing Company garnered a bronze medal in the Specialty Beer category for a beer called AgaveMente that hasn’t even been released to the public yet. And Monkey Paw Brewing, which Coronado acquired earlier this year, earned a silver medal in the English-style Summer Ale category. Also, Vista-based Mother Earth Brew Co. medaled in the Fresh or Wet Hop Ale category for Fresh As It Gets, a beer brewed at its Nampa, Idaho production facility.
Adding to the unofficial medal count was Belching Beaver Brewery, which for the second time in its history won top honors at the Alpha King Competition. Held in conjunction with GABF each year, this friendly competition crowns the brewing company that submits the hoppiest offering amid a stacked field of IPAs. Belching Beaver previously won Alpha King in 2014. On top of that, Chula Vista Brewery owners Timothy and Dalia Parker received the Samuel Adams Brewing and Business Experienceship, following in the footsteps of Ramona-based ChuckAlek Independent Brewers, who earned the same opportunity in 2014.
The following is a complete list of the winners from brewing facilities located within San Diego County…
Yesterday, Mission Brewery owners Dan and Sarah Selis announced the launch of a stock-purchase campaign. Sale of stock will take place over a two-month window via online applications on the WeFunder site. With the exception of an ill-fated and illegal attempt by Kearny Mesa’s defunct Magnetic Brewing, this is the first time a San Diego-based brewery has explored a venture of this kind.
In the past, Mission Brewery was limited in the types of investors it could bring aboard by Securities and Exchange Commission regulations. Previously, investors needed to be accredited and possess a certain income and net worth, but Title III of the JOBS (Jumpstart Our Business Startups) Act, which went into effect May of last year, allows the Selises to entertain applications from the general public. The Selis’ investment goal is $1 million, and the minimum investment individuals may make is $200. Beyond the minimum, WeFunder calculates the amount each investor may invest based on their income and net worth.
“Investing in Mission Brewery doesn’t just help the brewery, but it gives San Diegans the chance to become a part of the local San Diego beer scene as more than just a consumer or homebrewer,” says Dan Selis. “Most beer lovers dream of opening a brewery. I was homebrewing for about 25 years before I started Mission Brewery. Now, people can have the chance to make becoming part of a brewery a reality and own a piece of Mission Brewery.”
Mission Brewery opened in 2007 as a resuscitation of a San Diego beer-making brand originally established in 1913. That operation closed in 1920 at the onset of the Prohibition Era. For a time, its beers were produced in the historic Mission Brewery Plaza in the Five Points area of San Diego. Manufacturing now takes place in another historically significant location, the old Wonder Bread factory just east of Petco Park in downtown’s East Village area. Mission’s production for 2017 is projected to reach roughly 18,000 barrels, and its beers are currently distributed in six states: California, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, North Carolina and Pennsylvania.
Many were those who felt for Tom Garcia when he announced he was closing his business, Offbeat Brewing Company, last March. The Escondido shuttered following one last hurrah on St. Patrick’s Day after five years of presenting mostly English-inspired ales along with art from local creators. A former employee at nearby Stone Brewing before going out on his own, Garcia has been absent from the brewing scene since closing Offbeat, but he is making his return. Today, Iron Fist Brewing announced they have hired Garcia to serve as brewing production manager at its Vista headquarters.
“I’m very excited to have been given the opportunity to work with Iron Fist,” said Garcia in a press release. “We have great beer with a high potential for growth and innovation. I’m looking forward to helping push the boundaries of deliciousness with [the company].”
This addition comes nine months after Iron Fist brought on a new investor with ties to San Diego Padres ownership. This infusion of capital has allowed the company to look forward rather than tread water. It has also provided added visibility in the marketplace, most notably at Petco Park, where Iron Fist’s beers are readily available via multiple venues and dedicated, branded carts.
From the Beer Writer: One goal of the West Coaster Beer of the Week is to help people discover special, high-quality beers they might not otherwise come across (and in some cases sadly find out about after they tap out). In the case of this week’s featured beer, there were plenty of people in the know and willing to point me in its direction. The day I was headed to the East Village’s Half Door Brewing Company, I shared my eventual destination with a pair of beer drinkers. Their eyes lit up as they blurted out the same thing: “Buzzwords!” It was the beer I was en route to sample. Nothing like finding out you’re on the right track. If you haven’t yet heard of this beer (or been keyed in by the aforementioned boisterous brew fans), allow me to introduce you to Half Door #Buzzwords. This highly-hopped pale ale revels in its en vogue nature (i.e., it’s hazy, bro). Pop-culture adjectives like “juicy” and “dank” fully apply, as the beer comes across more like grapefruit juice or a mimosa on the front-end, before a pleasant punch of pine finishes things out, reminding you that you are, in fact, enjoying a beer, and a delicious one at that. #Buzzwords revels in appealing to craft fans’ current tastes while staying true to traditional flavors from household-name hops.
From the Brewers: “#Buzzwords is our super-dank, 8.7% (alcohol-by-volume) India pale ale. It was the first hazy double IPA that we made, using a simple grain bill of Pilsner malt and flaked wheat. We use hops throughout the hot and cold side starting with mash-hopping, first wort hops and a generous dose in the whirlpool. On the cold side, depending on scheduling with yeast, we will either do one or two dry hops and the beer finishes around two-and-a-half to three pounds per barrel total. We ferment #Buzzwords with London Ale 3 yeast and adjust the water profile to a 2.5 to 1 ratio of chloride to sulfate. We mix as many hops as we have on hand but make sure to go heavy with Chinook or Simcoe, then balance using numerous hops of New Zealand origin, mostly Southern Cross and Motueka. The result is a beer with notes of tropical fruit…mostly pineapple and mango…plus some lingering pine and grapefruit citrus in the finish.”—Daniel Drayne, Head Brewer, Half Door Brewing Company
The craft-brewing industry is in a state of flux, forcing companies within it to reexamine their business models and, in the case of larger operations, alter them in order to thrive or, in some cases survive. Larger operations such as Stone Brewing, Green Flash Brewing and Karl Strauss Brewing have all had to adjust course as consumer preferences shift to smaller, local, independent breweries, and active consumer demographics begin to skew toward younger factions, many of which have only ever drunk craft beer. It’s to be expected of interests that are among the country’s 50 largest brewing companies. Though it is considerably smaller and, at its heart still a family-run business, Coronado Brewing Company has been quite vigilant over the past several years, keeping an eye on the rapidly changing market and making moves to weather an uncertain storm. The latest of those moves includes today’s announcement that CBC will purchase East Village-based brand Monkey Paw Brewing. Owner Scot Blair‘s other businesses, South Park Brewing and Hamiltons Tavern, are not part of the deal.
Blair has had lofty aspirations for his beer-making business since opening it in 2011, but was not satisfied with progress toward increased production and distribution. He examined a number of options for meeting those goals, including acquisition, but says he wouldn’t have sold to just anybody. A stalwart figure within the craft-beer world for more than a decade, Blair knows the industry and the individuals within it, and says it was his long-standing respect for and friendship with CBC owners Ron and Rick Chapman that distinguished this as the right move for him and his business. Another key factor is control. Blair has a vision for Monkey Paw and its beers, and will remain intimately involved with the brand, focusing solely on beer—conceptualization and growth of the entire portfolio.
This deal is reminiscent of Green Flash’s 2014 acquisition of Alpine Beer Company. That move allowed for increased production of Alpine beers at Green Flash’s much-larger brewing facilities. Likewise, Monkey Paw, which produced less than 700 barrels last year, will now have the majority of its beers produced at CBC’s Bay Park headquarters, while still making beer on the 15-barrel system at its East Village pub. CBC began brewing its beers at that site—affectionately referred to as “Knoxville” for the street it occupies—in 2013, a year after taking over the 14,000-square-foot property. Since then, it has taken over several other buildings bordering the brewery, creating a rather impressive cul-de-sac campus. CBC is also in the process of installing a kitchen at Knoxville to increase the draw of its tasting room. This is particularly important with the impending arrival of a satellite tasting room from Benchmark Brewing Company and a new brewery, Deft Brewing Company, slated for arrival in Bay Park this year.
CBC is also changing up its game in the southerly municipality of Imperial Beach. The company opened a bar and restaurant there in 2014, and recently signed on to construct a 7,500-square-foot brewpub at the upcoming Bikeway Village on Florence Street. This will increase brewing capacity in a more high-profile location not far from CBC’s original brewpub on its namesake island. Meanwhile, CBC has ceased distribution to certain states, strategically tightening things up to better compete in the marketplace and maximize profits and expenditures.
And two months ago, the company announced the Chapmans’ investment in SouthNorte Brewing Company, a new venture headed by CBC head brewer Ryan Brooks. That operation, basically a CBC offshoot or sub-brand, will meld the brewing cultures of Baja California and Southern California, but there’s more to that fermentation fusion than mere ingenuity. An MO like that figures to appeal to demographics CBC does not currently reach in as great a quantity as they would like. Ditto Monkey Paw’s liquid wares, which skew to a younger demographic more interested in locavorianism, that likely wishes to support an edgier brand versus a company that recently celebrated its 21st anniversary. While this acquisition (which is set to be completed by September) may seem odd to those not paying attention, a look at CBC’s recent body of work where business-model adjustment is concerned shows the logic behind it and how it fits into a large and intricate puzzle.


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Your account is suspended; regards, Netflix
Forget about the grammatical errors and misspellings. People still click on the link
ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - The texts are annoying, but text scams are more successful than ever.
Cybercriminals send out hundreds of millions of texts and they are highly successful. The FBI’s Internet Crime Bureau IC3 2022 Internet Crime Report said losses tripled over the past five years. Victims reported $10.3 billion stolen in 2022, and experts said that number is only a fraction of the real losses when victims who didn’t file reports are factored in. The FBI said more than 50% of the victims were elderly.
Here’s a recent example of a fraudulent Netflix text with a link.
Most people overlook the errors and focus on keywords like “suspended” or “account locked,” according to cybersecurity experts.
Chris Pierson is a cybersecurity expert and the CEO of BLACKCLOAK. He said a cybercriminal’s goal is to create fear and a sense of urgency.
“In order to do that they have to turn off that rational thinking side of your brain,” Pierson said. “They have to get you into this loop that you have to rush to action and rush to judgment that you’ll act quickly, that you won’t think as much, and you’ll click, and they’ll have you.”
Pierson said never click on the link and if you click on the sender’s information, you can block them.
Better Call Harry wasn’t supposed to click on one of these links but we did, and it took us exactly where we expected, to a site that looks a lot like Netflix with instructions to confirm your account. It requested a name, address, phone number and credit card number.
Netflix has a dedicated page warning customers about the texts and has said it will never ask for personal information or payment through a third party link. So does Amazon.
- Never share any personal information, ever.
- If you are concerned about your account, go directly to the website and check your account status.
- When you receive a scam text message, click on the sender’s information, and block the caller.
- If you have an elderly parent or grandparent, educate them and teach them to NEVER CLICK ON THE LINK.
If there’s something you would like Atlanta News First′s Consumer Investigator Better Call Harry to look into, fill out this submission form.
Copyright 2023 WANF. All rights reserved.


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Microsoft has filed suit against Samsung after the Korean electronics giant stopped paying the US company for access to IP essential to the use of the Android operating system.
Telefónica has announced plans to bring a trial of US carrier AT&T’s connected home platform, “Digital Life”, to Europe. Digital Life allows customers to monitor domestic smart and connected devices such as intruder alarms, thermostats and ovens, and control them through mobile applications and other web based user interfaces.
The landgrab for Internet of Things (IoT) assets continues with Samsung buying up a ready made IoT community and ecosystem in the form of SmartThings.
By its recent lofty standards, Samsung’s Q2 2014 smartphone shipments were a disappointment. In spite of the launch of the flagship Galaxy S5 in the middle of the quarter, shipments declined annually and it seems the strategy that has served Samsung so well may have run its course.
The worldwide smartphone market broke its record for quarterly shipments in Q2 2014 with market trackers Strategy Analytics and IDC in rare agreement on the figure of 295 million units, although Juniper reckons it was a bit lower than that.
This week presented a change of scenery for the Informer, who fled the glorious British summer into the typhoon-soaked arms of Seoul, South Korea, the home of LTE speeds so fast that your phone downloads stuff before you even know you want it.
A collaboration of industry vendors took form on Tuesday with the inauguration of a consortium focused on improving interoperability and defining connectivity requirements for the billions of devices that will make up the Internet of Things (IoT).
Telecoms is an industry so fast-moving that even reflecting back on how things were a decade ago evokes sepia-tinged images of people from the past walking unnervingly fast to the soundtrack of frantic piano. “I remember when the point of mobile phones was to make phone calls,” sneer parents everywhere to their digitally native children.
Global smartphone sales leader Samsung has finally unveiled a smartphone running on Tizen – the new, Linux-based, open-source mobile OS that Samsung has been developing in partnership with Intel ever since Nokia threw the towel in on MeeGo back in 2011.
In the latest of a spate of announcements relating to Voice over LTE, Singaporean incumbent Singtel has launched what it claims is the world’s first commercial and fully featured VoLTE service. The city state operator, which launched the service in partnership with Samsung and Ericsson, said that its 4G Clearvoice service is the only live VoLTE service offering features such as call waiting and call forwarding over an LTE network.
Poor old Mobistar. The Belgian operator was probably bristling with pride this week after becoming the first in its market to complete a test of LTE Advanced technology. In partnership with Huawei it aggregated 1800MHz and 800MHz spectrum to drive throughput of more than 200Mbps. The firm’s chief network officer heralded “the future of high-speed mobile” upon the trial’s completion.
Amazon has partnered with Samsung to launch a custom ebook service, bundling a content subscription with the device.
Leading handset manufacturers and operators in the US have teamed up to introduce a ‘killswitch’ in an effort to curb smartphone theft in the country.
Telefónica Digital, the digital services wing of Spanish operator Telefónica announced a deal with Samsung on Monday that will see the Korean vendor’s recently revamped mobile application containerisation platform Knox made available to Telefónica Digital’s global enterprise and public sector customers.
UK-based operator Vodafone has tapped up Korean manufacturer Samsung for a global framework agreement, to deliver 2G, 3G and 4G infrastructure across the Vodafone Group footprint.
US operator Verizon Wireless demonstrated LTE Multicast technology to a private audience in New York this weekend, at American Football event the US Superbowl.
Swedish equipment vendor Ericsson reported flat sales for the fourth quarter and full year 2013, while net earnings were boosted by the patent licensing agreement with Samsung reported last week.
South Korean operator KT has announced the commercial launch of its evolved Multimedia Broadcast and Multicast Service (eMBMS), to be made available to KT’s LTE subscribers using the Samsung Galaxy Note 3.
Infrastructure vendor Ericsson has settled with Korean firm Samsung over global essential patent licences relating to GSM, UMTS and LTE standards for both networks and handsets, putting to bed another of the industry’s long running disputes.
Chipmaker Qualcomm has added support for China’s BeiDou navigation satellite system to its solutions. The vendor said that using BeiDou will enhance location precision in smartphones and tablets in China and globally.


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One of Texarkana’s Favorite Restaurants is Closing it’s Doors
If you've heard the rumors that one of Texarkana's most beloved restaurants is closing then you heard right. Unfortunately, it is not a rumor.
Our friends at China Inn on Stateline have confirmed the story. The restaurant which has been a staple in Texarkana for over 30 years is closing its doors.
Maria Woods who has been with the restaurant for over 22 years said,
China Inn has been serving Texarkana for over 30 years and is finally signing off.
Their last day will be Friday, March 31. I have a feeling it will be extremely busy this week as everyone stops by for their last fix of China Inn's Special Fried Rice and other great dishes.
It has also been confirmed that a car wash business has bought the property.
Who doesn't love this place? The food has always been so good and the service has always been so fast and friendly.
My husband and I have enjoyed their Sizzling Rice Soup for years among all the other great entries served. What is your favorite meal to order at China Inn? I guess the big question is who will take its place in our hearts and stomachs?
On the bright side, China Inn has always been popular and it is not closing due to a lack of business. To the owners and employees, a big thank you for your great service and food in Texarkana over the years and be proud to know that y'all are going out on top and will be definitely missed.
LOOK: Food and Personal Care Shortages We Could See In 2023
LOOK: Food history from the year you were born


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NEW YORK, United States — Kith, the popular streetwear retailer-turned-viable brand, is getting serious about its women’s business. Owner Ronnie Fieg, who founded the company in 2011, has appointed former Complex on-camera anchor Emily Oberg as Kith Women’s creative lead, effective immediately.
Oberg, whose rabid following among streetwear enthusiasts has earned her “influencer” status, will oversee the entire women’s division, developing product from start to finish. Oberg will work alongside the women’s design team, who will help realise and execute her direction.
Oberg’s appointment relates to her natural appeal and authenticity, a value important to Kith, according to Fieg. Prior to Oberg’s hiring, Fieg handled creative for both the men’s and women’s lines.
“My biggest obstacle when I started the women’s line was that it doesn’t feel authentic for me to really go out on social and be the voice behind the women’s brand,” Fieg said. “I feel like the women's side needs a voice and direction from somebody who will be wearing the product. We think that Emily represents the youth and has her finger on the pulse… she has great taste and I think she fits our aesthetic and where we’re going as a brand.”
The women's side needs a voice and direction from somebody who will be wearing the product.
Oberg, a 23-year-old Canadian expat, was most recently an on-camera anchor at Complex, where she held a three-year tenure prior to leaving in late January. Oberg completed her first assignment with Complex as a stylist while still living in Vancouver, Canada. Pleased with the results, Complex then offered her a news anchor position where she consequently amassed a sizeable, and engaged, social media following during her stint. With more than 200,000 followers on Instagram, her posts generate hundreds of comments and thousands of likes. (Oberg estimates her following grew 20-fold while at Complex.)
All the while, Oberg launched her own lifestyle brand, Sporty & Rich. The shoppable basics such as t-shirts, dad hats, and sweatshirts — all embroidered with the brand’s moniker — originated out of Oberg's interest in fashion's embrace of the high-low look. The latest element is a print magazine, which launched in May, with a second issue set to drop soon. Oberg said she will continue her Sporty & Rich line while at Kith, although she says that there are no current plans to stock the product at the retailer.
"Emily has become a force and a personality in the industry because she represents exactly where streetwear is at in 2017,” explained Lawrence Schlossman, brand director at menswear resale site Grailed (and a former Complex staffer). "Streetwear a couple of years ago, maybe even as recently as three or four years ago, was this thing that high fashion wouldn’t touch. Now, these two kind of disparate worlds are overlapping now more than ever. Emily has an innate understanding of that aesthetic: how a pair of Nike Airmaxes can be worn with a Céline coat and a Chanel bag."
Oberg’s new role will blend much of her previous experience and existing interests into what she calls her “dream job”—one where she can “really create something and have an influence and say in this industry.”
But having influence and being an “influencer” are incongruous, according to Oberg.
“I hate that word. I think it’s become so tacky and it’s just some kind of thing where there’s people with large followings but they don’t actually do anything or possess any skill or real talent,” Oberg said. “Maybe building a following requires a little bit of talent, but I don’t think its sustainable, and I think in a few years when Instagram is no longer a thing, because that will happen, they’re going to be shit out of luck.”
Semantics aside, Oberg’s influence is hardly up for debate. This past spring, she made headlines when her design was repurposed by Forever21 on sweatshirts that read Smart & Pretty and suspiciously resembled Sporty & Rich merchandise. In addition to Sporty & Rich, another important aspect of Oberg’s brand is her penchant for fitness. The perfect pairing for her streetwear obsession — in many cases, such garments are made for athletic purposes — she says her successful Complex video series "Get Sweaty," in which she works out with celebrities such as Erykah Badu and DJ Khaled, will continue.
Kith declined to reveal numbers regarding revenue and expected business projections, but its expansion is well-documented. In addition to its five existing brick-and-mortar shops — men’s and women’s shops across the street from one another in Soho, a store in Brooklyn, a store in Miami, and a permanent shop on Bergdorf Goodman’s third floor — the brand has plans to expand its retail presence in the near future. Such plans are architected based on the demand for more women’s products.
“This year, we’re planning on extending the space for women. And with our move to Miami, we’re seeing a really big demand for our women’s products,” Fieg said. “We’ve already had a good amount of demand, but now being in Miami and what we’re going to do in New York in the near future, there’s a real opportunity for our brand to expand… I can’t really speak on it yet, but we are planning on doing something this year to expand on the retail basis.”
Kith confirmed it has new brand partnerships in the works but declined to give details, citing the “surprise element” of drops as a key to its success.
For Oberg, the ultimate goal in her new vocation: “I hope that it’s so good that the men want it.”


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Phoebe Stone, Head of Sustainable MPS
There has been a recent wave of bans of single-use plastic items including places like Kenya, India, Europe, Japan, Britain and New York State. Decisive government action such as this will reduce the level of thoughtless plastic consumption by consumers, but wider change needs to happen to tackle our global plastic crisis.
Unilever has committed to ensuring that by 2025 100% of their plastic packaging will be fully reusable, recyclable or compostable. By the same date, the company wants their plastic to be made from 25% recycled material. Reusing existing plastic in an ongoing cycle such as this, the concept of a 'circular economy', looks to minimise waste and use our depleting resources more effectively and efficiently. This closed-loop system is being adopted at a micro and macro level across the world. Many acknowledge that widespread adoption of this system will need to play a pivotal role in tackling the plastic crisis that our world is currently facing.
You would have been hard-pushed to have missed the recent and sudden public outcry against single-use plastic following awareness around the state of our oceans. However, it is not just these obvious negative externalities that can be tackled by the adoption of a circular plastics economy. A recent report from the World Economic Forum and the Ellen McArthur Foundation found that the majority of plastic packaging is used only once and therefore 95% of the value of plastic packaging worth $80 - $120bn annually is lost to the economy.
Government commitment to the circular economy is growing.
The European Commission has published a European Strategy for Plastics in a Circular Economy that lays out a vision of a more prosperous and sustainable plastics economy. It aims to have a smart, innovative plastics industry that sees all plastic packaging being recycled in a cost-effective manner or resuable by 2030.
The UK Government's new waste strategy, announced at the end of last year, makes it clear that it also looks to embrace the concept of the circular economy. The strategy will result in businesses having to pay the full cost of recycling and disposing of packaging waste, the so-called 'polluter pays' principle. In 2018, the UK government announced the introduction of a world-leading tax on plastic packaging containing less than 30% recycled plastic, which will be introduced in April 2022. In 2016, the province of Ontario in Canada passed legislation to lay the responsibility for recycling waste on the manufacturers. Currently recycling systems are in place for tyres, batteries and electronic waste, but eventually all waste will require recycling or composting, and must be paid for by the producers. Decisive legislation will drive the move towards a plastics circular economy, particularly if increasing numbers of countries adopt similar models. Although it is likely to be decades before virgin plastics are excluded entirely from the plastics eco-system, governments are looking to push the agenda forward by changing the economics of industry.
Corporate adoption of the plastics circular economy is happening.
A potent combination of more stringent government policy and increased awareness by the public of the damage that plastic is causing our environment means that corporate adoption of a progressive plastics policy may be key to long-term business success. The New Plastics Economy Global Commitment, led by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, has united over 350 companies on a common vision of a circular economy for plastics. Businesses jointly representing 20% of all plastic packaging have signed up along with 16 governments across five continents and 26 financial institutions representing $4.2trillion. Commitments include elimination of PVC, problematic plastics and significant reduction of single-use carrier bags. Companies such as Unilever have already incorporated plastic recycling initiatives into their manufacturing process. Unilever recently held a 'Rethink Plastic' Hackathon, which created a plastic-free packaging solution for single laundry tablets that Unilever has now invested $100,000 into. Coca Cola has introduced a bottle which is made of up to 30% plant based packaging, Adidas has committed to using only recycled polyester in their products by 2024 and 75% of Nike shoes and apparel are already made from recycled materials. Although these facts make good headlines, these companies are far from perfect. Greenpeace has estimated that Coca Cola only currently uses 7% recycled plastics in its bottles globally, however the company is ambitiously targeting 50% recycled plastic content in bottles across major product lines globally by 2030. The company has also recently extended its investment in a Dutch clean-tech company as it looks to incorporated higher quality PET in its bottles.
If businesses are going to have to pay for the cost of plastic collection, sorting and reprocessing, there will need to be a considerable increase in recycling capacity from current levels. Tomra, a Norwegian recycling business has its systems installed in 80 countries worldwide looks set to benefit from this trend. Tomra's highly sophisticated product range includes machines that can identify fine molecular differences in materials on recycling conveyor belts in order to facilitate final product purity levels not previously attainable. This allows for superior recycling functionality, which will be crucial as the scale of recycling ramps up.
Investors can use markets to influence behaviour.
By allocating capital to companies such as Unilever and Tomra, investors are lowering the cost of capital to these businesses. Individuals are increasingly looking to use their investable assets as a financial vote for businesses that incorporate and integrate sustainability into their strategy and operations. Businesses that are incorporating the concept of a circular economy into their corporate ecosystem and those that are providing solutions for the plastics crisis are likely to demonstrate long-term investment potential. The LGT Vestra Sustainable Model Portfolio Service looks to invest in funds that are identifying investment opportunities such as these, and at time of writing, have exposure to both Unilever and Tomra amongst others.
There is of course a long way to go to find a way to meaningfully tackle the global plastics crisis we face, but moves such as China and Malaysia's recent decision to stop importing waste has forced many global participants to wake up to it. Governments are starting to force the hand of corporates to build a closed loop plastic system into their manufacturing process, and consumers are starting to reject those companies that are not adopting a lower, or no-plastics approach. For now, plastic is still one of the most affordable and effective materials available. In order for the global community to tackle the current crisis, a seismic overhaul needs to happen to redesign the way it is used and re-used.
 Unilever press report, 16 January 2017 https://www.unilever.com/news/news-and-features/Feature-article/2017/Unilever-commits-to-100-percent-recyclable-plastic-packaging-by-2025.html
 New Plastics Economy: Rethinking the future of plastics
 HM Government report: Our waste, our resources: a strategy for England 2018
 Tomra Circular Economy E-Book 'The viability of using 100% recycled plastics'


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August 21, 2018
Biswa Bangla: Bengali handicrafts go global
Biswa Bangla, the Bengal Government brand promoting the State’s indigenous arts and crafts, is now venturing into new territories – Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Jaipur and Varanasi. It already has eight stores across Bengal and Delhi.
The brand has achieved major success in showcasing the cultural treasures of State to the world. It is growing at 20 per cent annually, and earned revenue of Rs 20 crore in the last fiscal. The brand that started with 5,000 products in 2013 now has about 10,000 products.
From reviving indigenous fabric to promoting sustainable fashion, Biswa Bangla is on an expansion spree in terms of the number of stores as well as product innovation. According to the secretary of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Department, under which the brand functions, Biswa Bangla is about bringing back dying arts from the brink; it is also about niche products in the premium range.
With the India-wide expansion in mind, Biswa Bangla is coming up new products. It is making clothes out of nettle fibre and bamboo yarns. The ancient metal-casting technique of dokra is being used to make a diversified range of products that include high-end jewellery and home décor items. The brand is making pietra dura jamdani saris and Ramayana saris in limited quantities.
According to the secretary, each product launched by Biswa Bangla is about a whole backend project taken up. The Government just does not leave the artisans with the orders – it helps them with better looms, better facilities for dying yarn, better supplies, and quality training.
With the revitalisation of crafts, design development and new innovations, crafts in Bengal are finding new markets. Crafts-makers, whose only sources of income were the local handicrafts fairs, now benefit from sales through direct market linkages.
Around 12,000 craft-makers saw their average monthly income increase by around Rs 5,200, said the secretary. For the top 30 per cent, the average increase in income is Rs 12,000 per month.
Reviving tourism, preserving culture
The improvement has also benefited in other ways. Villages like Bikna and Dariyapur, where dokra is made, are now tourist destinations. The village of Naya in Paschim Medinipur district, home to 60 families of dokra artisans, is popular with domestic and international tourists all around the year. As a result, working conditions have improved immensely.
Similarly, Charida village in the district of Purulia, where chau mask-makers live, has also become a tourism destination.
The craft collectives in these rural hotspots hold annual village festivals and in the last four years, about 8,000 international and domestic tourists have visited these villages.


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According to accountancy firm Moore Stephens the sharp fall in sterling since the Brexit vote had added to the pressure on the sector by increasing the cost of imports for restaurants.
The UK imports 48 per cent of its food and many restaurants rely heavily on imported food and wine.
It said that the restaurant market has become increasingly competitive as a regular supply of new entrants launch innovate food concepts in order to differentiate themselves.
This churn in the popularity of different cuisines and food styles has led to some restaurants facing insolvency as new entrants and innovations leave the offerings of existing incumbents looking ‘dated’.
The influx of new participants – 200 restaurants opened in London last year alone – also provides consumers with a lot of choice and results in restaurants cutting prices or offering ‘special offers’ to remain competitive.
As well as higher raw material costs, restaurant companies have also seen the cost of labour increase. The government raised the National Minimum Wage to £7.20 from £6.70 earlier this year which has put added strain on restaurants already struggling to remain profitable.
The government has announced that it intends to raise the National Minimum Wage to £7.50 in April next year.
The company said that stagnating disposable incomes has impacted the appetite for consumers to eat out. The UK average gross disposable household income increased just 0.5 per cent, from £17,872 to £17,965, over the last year.
Mike Finch, restructuring partner at Moore Stephens, said: “It’s been a tough year for many restaurants in the face of rising costs and fierce competition.
“It is unrealistic to expect UK restaurant groups to avoid the impact of the fall in the pound by substituting for UK produce – they are going to face a big hit. Restaurants have to make tough decisions as to how much they try to pass on to consumers; too much and they risk losing business, too little and they lose margin.
“Fluctuations in the foreign exchange markets have hit small and medium sized restaurant businesses particularly hard as they have tighter financial constraints and are less likely to negotiate long term supply contracts. All this comes at a time when many consumers are likely to be very price conscious.
“The high number of potential insolvencies over the next year shows just how fragile finances can be in this sector and demonstrates the importance of careful financial management. There may be further challenges to come as the UK’s trading agreements with Europe remain uncertain. Many in the restaurant industry would consider the idea of additional import tariffs on foodstuffs with horror."


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Apple has sent out an email to registered developers to outline its restoration plans for a number of services that are still down following its Developer Center outage. Those include Xcode automatic configuration and access to license agreements, program enrollments, and renewals—all of which are to be reinstated this week.
In the aftermath of a data breach that it announced this week, Dropbox says that it will begin implementing new security measures. Those measures include new automated techniques for spotting suspicious behavior, a page where you can examine all active logins to your account, password update requirements, and two-factor authentication.
All of those are reasonable steps to take. That Dropbox hasn’t implemented most of those items before is a bit surprising. Only one of those items – two factor authentication – really puts a burden onto Dropbox users, but it could put a very big burden on iOS users and app developers.


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Chinese consumers consider New Zealand's dairy products less safe compared to other major competitors in the United States and Europe. According to a Massey University survey, the Chinese were still spooked by Fonterra's botulism scare in 2013.
In a university survey of 531 people in China's Lanzhou, the capital of Gansu province, in October 2013, over 28 per cent of Chinese consumers think milk products from New Zealand were "not very safe." New Zealand was rated the least safe compared to Australia's 14.8 per cent, U.S. with 13.2 per cent and Europe with 12.5 per cent.
However, Chinese consumers perceived New Zealand dairy products to be safer than China. Chinese milk products were viewed not safe by 64.9 per cent of respondents.
Nearly 72 per cent of Chinese consumers regarded dairy products from New Zealand as "very safe." Those who thought European milk is safer were 87.6 per cent while 85.1 percent think Australian products are safe and 86.9 per cent for U.S. products.
According to Massey University professor of food safety and microbiology Steve Flint, the research only proves that Fonterra's botulism scare had affected the perception of Chinese consumers regarding New Zealand dairy products. The power of publicity had influenced the people's trust in food quality.
Professor Flint said New Zealand has always been proud of its food products and the economy is based on its reputation as a quality food provider. He said it was important for New Zealand Prime Minister John Key to gain positive media coverage in his official visit to China and restore the confidence of Chinese consumers.
When Fonterra's botulism scare was first made known, the prime minister assured Chinese officials that he would reveal all the information he had with Chinese consumers. Mr Key said it is important in Chinese culture to pay respect and share information. Even if the findings indicate that there was no contamination, Mr Key feels the need for New Zealand to honour that commitment.
Previously, Fonterra, New Zealand's biggest exporter of baby formula, had admitted to four charges in which it failed to meet standards for animal products. Fonterra also acknowledged it did not inform officials soon enough about a possible contamination despite knowing there was a problem.


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A Route 58 building is proposed to go from selling Japanese cars to Mexican food.
An existing one-story, 2,796-square foot auto showroom adjacent to Riverhead Bay Motors and just west of the Lowe’s parking lot is proposed to be converted to a Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurant, according to a site plan application submitted to the town this week.
The property is zoned Business Center, which permits restaurants.
The site previously was home to Riverhead Suzuki, but has been vacant since Suzuki stopped selling cars in the U.S. in 2012, according to Anthony Mauro, the general manager of Riverhead Bay Motors, which sells Volkswagens and Subarus.
Chipotle is a Denver-based Mexican food chain that was founded in 1993 and now has more than 1,700 locations, including several in western Suffolk and Nassau counties.
Meanwhile, further west on Route 58, another Mexican restaurant is tentatively planned for the Saber-Riverhead shopping center, which has Dick’s Sporting Goods and Christmas Tree Shops.
A representative for the developer said a Mexican restaurant, which she declined to name, and a nail salon are tentatively planned for the last two vacant sites in that shopping center.


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There has long been talks of a smaller and more compact iPad, specially an iPad in the 7.85” variety. Rumors have suggested that Apple was looking to build a smaller iPad in hopes to compete with smaller tablets like Amazon’s Kindle Fire and perhaps in an attempt to attract a larger market with tablets of different sizes.
Well it seems that rumors of such a tablet is still circulating the internet and thanks to a recent report by Digitimes, according to their sources, Apple will launching their 7.85”-sized iPad come Q4 of 2012. Allegedly Apple will be purchasing 7.85” display panels from LG Display and AU Optronics.
This seems to go against a proclamation by Apple’s late co-founder, Steve Jobs, who said that tablets in the 7” variety would feature a screen “too small to express the software”. Digitimes has a bit of a mixed record when it comes to Apple rumors, but like with all rumors, we suggest you treat this one with a degree of skepticism and take it with a grain of salt for now, at least until more concrete evidence starts to appear.
- 2014-04-09 Touch ID Rumored To Arrive For The iPad This Year
- 2014-03-31 iPad Air & iPad mini With LTE Hits China At Last
- 2014-03-23 Microsoft Convinces 12 Year Old Girl To Get The Surface 2 Over The iPad Mini
- 2014-03-18 Apple Reportedly Picks Samsung To Manufacture iPad Mini Display Panels
- 2014-02-16 iPad Pro Rumored For 2015 Release, iPad Mini Might Be Discontinued


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Greetings cards expressing sympathy to people who have been made redundant are being sold in the US, where 14 million people are out of work. But what's the best thing to say? And can a card help?
Hearing that a friend has lost their job is an increasingly familiar scenario, in the US, the UK and elsewhere.
Bank of America recently confirmed plans to cut 30,000 posts, while the news that BAE Systems is losing 3,000 jobs in the UK has been met with shock at plants and factories across the country.
The news comes as nearly one in 10 Americans is officially out of work and 2.5 million Britons are also jobless.
Every redundancy sends a shockwave through a family or circle of friends. And with this in mind, Hallmark has introduced a number of cards in the US that try to console the newly unemployed.
As the company's creative director Derek McCracken explained this week in an interview with NPR, some adopt a sensitive approach, while others try to be humorous. One of the cards says:
"Don't think of it as losing your job. Think of it as a time out between stupid bosses."
The idea came from customers who were looking for these kinds of cards, he said, denying the move exploited the grim economic circumstances.
The six cards were first introduced in 2009 and will be freshened up with new designs next year as sales remain high, a spokeswoman added.
Hallmark is not the first or only card retailer to tap into this. 123 Greetings has two job loss cards while Greeting Card Universe has no fewer than 17. One depicts a white flower on a black background and says:
"Out of the darkness, something beautiful can appear. I was so sorry to hear about your job. You are very talented and I know something beautiful will come your way soon. Hang on in there!"
But does a card really help?
It's an interesting concept, says Rick Cassar, 59, from Portland, Oregon, whose real estate business went to the wall two years ago, due to the credit squeeze, and who remains out of work.
"I guess they recognise a huge market that exists and will continue to grow," he says. "I imagine most people would appreciate receiving a card from a friend acknowledging their plight."
They're a good idea because they help to chip away at the stigma of redundancy, says Nicole Williams, connections director at LinkedIn.
"Being laid off can be very demoralising and people feel a lot of shame. These cards open up the conversation and allow us to talk about being laid off."
Losing a job is not something people like to talk about, she says, but telling people about it has a practical benefit because it increases your chance of getting employed again. Friends can recommend people they know on social network sites or by word of mouth.
"Friends need to acknowledge it with a card, but beyond that they need to ask 'What can I do?'
"People tend to underestimate their network. A neighbour might work in the same industry. The quicker you can get these people connected, the better."
Job loss cards seem to be harder to find in the UK, and Hallmark says it has no plans to launch any there in the near future.
But Judi James, a career expert based in London, says they would go down well there.
"I would have said it was better suited to the British psyche than the Americans, because anything that's upsetting or tragic we do tend to struggle to get the words right.
"British people are very good at putting down in a card what they won't say face to face."
People feel embarrassed and awkward when this kind of thing happens, and sometimes say nothing.
"Sometimes the best that people come out with is a string of cliches, like 'I'm sure you'll get another job', but you might not, it's a recession."
A message that reminds the person that they are not identified by their job is a good one, she says.
"One of the biggest problems with redundancy, apart from the financial and logistical problems, is that the job so much defines who you are, in modern society. It's the first question people ask you.
"People are devastated because they feel they've lost their entire personality when they lose their job. So while this kind of message sounds cheesy it does remind them that you're friends with them, not their job."
But ultimately, it's important that the person feels supported, says Ms James, and they will be impressed that in the age of email, someone has bought a card, written a message and put a stamp on it.


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Companies release hit or miss ad campaigns since beginning of COVID-19
There’s always the possibility for a marketing team to screw up, but ad-making is even higher stakes during a pandemic.
Sep. 14, 2020
Ever since we began shutdowns in March, every type of company, from local businesses to giant corporations, has put out messages of hope or pleas to abide by guidelines. They’ve been hit or miss. Some ad campaigns have been truly heartwarming and have spread a message of hope to the public and healthcare workers. Others have missed the mark as completely tone-deaf attempts to rally the troops. After months of enduring dozens and dozens of COVID-19 ads from every company under the sun, it’s time to reflect.
Students for Netflix
Toward the end of March, posters began to pop up that looked like Netflix posters but were actually designed by a few Miami Ad School students. The posters each had one spoiler for a popular Netflix show with the slogan: “You should’ve #staythef*ckhome.” This campaign was very well-received by the public for its humorous yet serious stance on the issue at hand: staying home.
Also in March, everyone’s favorite fast food chain announced a temporary logo change to promote social distancing: The golden arches became two separate arches. The public wasn’t as happy with this one, though. McDonald’s continues to pay its workers minimum wage or just above it; the average earnings of a McDonald’s employee are around $8 an hour. McDonald’s has had employees working while symptomatic, but separated its arches in “solidarity.” Most locations did close their dining rooms, but the chain still has a long way to go before it truly stands with its workers and community.
YouTube released an ad campaign called “Stay Home #WithMe” featuring creators from the platform. Throughout the ad, creators show their audience that they can still do what they love from home. The YouTubers are shown studying, doing yoga and exercising — pretty much just about activity you can imagine. The ad is lighthearted and a nice break from the heavy, overemotional ads many other companies released.
Norwegian Cruise Line
With incredibly bad timing, Norwegian Cruise Line advertised new deals on cruises during a pandemic. It played off the fact that people might be bored of sitting at home and emphasized lowered rates, continuing their longstanding “feel free” campaign. Many travelers were upset by the company’s half-hearted response to the pandemic, especially after receiving next to no help with their cancelled trips and being told the virus “can’t survive” in tropical locations. The campaign was obviously incredibly irresponsible considering the circumstances and, um, read the room?
Heinz released a campaign that introduced the “Ketchup Puzzle.” The video mentioned that good things take time, a welcomed response to the pandemic. Many people are in a rush to return to normal, but Heinz encourages us to take our time and sit down with a puzzle: a Ketchup Puzzle. It’s lighthearted tone is, again, nice to see in this time period.
In any other time, KFC’s recent ad might have worked. But it came across as one of the most tone-deaf commercials of late. The entire ad is just clips of people eating KFC and then licking their fingers. The highlight, though, is when someone licks another person’s fingers. You’d think someone would have considered what a video of people eating in full restaurants and licking each other’s fingers would like in the middle of a pandemic, but I guess not.
When I went home in March, I had no idea what was going on. We weren’t wearing masks yet, people were still going out to restaurants and we were getting new alerts on cases overseas every day. The only consistency was incredibly annoying commercials, broken up by the occasional fun ad campaign, from just about every corporation possible. Coming out of this, the only thing I’ll have learned is if I hear “We’re in this together” one more time, I don’t know what I’ll do. I’ve grown increasingly appreciative of genuinely good marketing teams and after dreaming up a few COVID-19 commercials of my own, I honestly don’t know how they do it. Edited by George Frey | firstname.lastname@example.org


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Amadeus is launching a new set of artificial intelligence (AI) Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) as part of the Amadeus for Developers programme, which the global travel technology firm claims will help in “empowering startups and independent developers to gain an edge”.
These APIs will allow developers to build solutions that can predict travel intent, traveller behaviour, and flight delays, among others – without needing any prior background in AI or data.
Amadeus claimed that it is the first time in the travel industry that AI capabilities are made available to startups and independent developers via open APIs. The firm is providing ready-to-implement predictive models based on insights and functionalities fed by its sources of travel data.
These APIs enable travel innovators to create AI-based apps with brand new features and disruptive business models that can transform the travel experience, said the company. The insights are offered under Amadeus’ Self-Service API catalog for partners, and any developer can start testing the APIs in less than three minutes.
Fran Romero, head of open innovation programs at Amadeus, said: “AI-based technology is going to transform the way we receive offers, how we customise trips, our airport experience, and much more. Yet while travel brands are seeing vast operational improvements, more personalised experiences and increased customer engagement with AI, for startups and smaller innovators in the travel space, it’s harder to access historical data to train their models. With Amadeus Artificial Intelligence APIs, we’re changing that. We’re democratising AI in travel.”
AI systems are set to provide a US$14 trillion boost to the global economy by 2035, according to predictions by consulting giant Accenture. In the travel industry, this technology has the potential to produce US$400 billion of value, more than double the value achievable through traditional analytical methods, said Amadeus.
In today’s fourth industrial revolution economy, AI is becoming indispensable for travel players to better understand and inspire travellers, create tailored experiences and compete for more savvy, demanding customers as they move between devices and channels, it added.


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With just hours to go before the unveiling of the new Chevrolet Corvette C7 (minutes if you’re a Corvette enthusiast), there seems to be a new leaked image floating around the web showing the rear of the car.
As you can see in this photo, the rear of the Corvette C7 is on the cover of the ‘Automobile’ magazine.
Jalopnik explains that GM would want every auto magazine to feature the C7 in their cover page for the publicity and as a result the folks at GM would have handed over a few pictures to the humble print media which have very conveniently made their way to the online media first!
The rear of the C7 is unmistakably American and unmistakably Corvette at that. The prominent Corvette logo takes center stage and the tail lights seem to be inspired from the Camaro. Only with a lot more aggressiveness to them which is not a bad thing at all.
The most exciting detail at the rear, in our opinion, is the way the quad-exhausts are neatly stacked side by side, right below the number plate enclosure. It definitely regains our confidence in the ‘American Muscle Car Dream’.
We’ll soon get a look at the brand new Corvette C7 from its revealing on the Detroit show floor on Monday. GM has also released a teaser video of the manufacturing process of the C7. If you haven’t seen it yet, you can view it here.
[Source - forums.corvetteforum.com]


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Longer-term, the biggest player in the $3.5 billion U.S. lawn-care products category is looking to expand its national lawn-services business nearly fivefold by 2007 through a combination of organic growth and about $150 million in rollup acquisitions of local operators, a spokesman said. While that won't likely mean more media, he does foresee an increase in direct-mail support, adding that "business certainly benefits from our spending on consumer products." Scotts also aims to build its $1.8 billion in sales with an expanded presence in adjacent categories, such as plants, pottery and tools, the spokesman said.
Scotts didn't disclose its media budget, but Taylor Nelson Sofres' CMR reported spending of $67.1 million during the company's fiscal 2002, ended Oct. 1, behind brands that include Scotts and Miracle Gro fertilizers and Round Up herbicides, the latter marketed under an agreement with Monsanto Corp. Wolf Group, New York, handles the brands. Ad campaigns begin next month in Southern states.
Scotts reported ad spending, including production costs and agency fees, fell 9% to $82.3 million for the fiscal year ended Oct. 1. The spokesman said the drop stemmed from yanking TV support for Ortho because of dissatisfaction with creative. But he said the Marysville, Ohio-based company is looking to support new Ortho TV ads from Wolf in 2003.
While drought affected much of the country in 2002, he said that didn't hurt Scott sales, which are concentrated in spring months where the weather was more favorable.
response to rival
Scotts' more aggressive posture comes on the heels of a merger-and-acquisition binge by its distant rival in U.S. lawn care, St. Louis-based Spectrum Group. Through a series of deals in the past year, Spectrum, a closely held company owned primarily by the investment firm Thomas H. Lee Co., acquired or merged with the makers of Sta-Green, Vigoro and Schultz and reached a technology and merchandising alliance with Bayer's U.S. pest-control business, including Bayer Advanced.
After spending much of 2002 consolidating consumer lawn-care brands, Spectrum looks to increase its own minimal media spending in 2003, according to Bob Rubin, VP-strategic accounts and corporate development.
more pull programs
Spectrum has marketed in recent years primarily through trade promotion with the retail giants that control most lawn-care product sales, including Wal-Mart Stores, Home Depot and Lowes. But Mr. Rubin said "we're going to be increasing our pull programs in 2003," including consumer advertising via Rodgers Townsend, St. Louis. He expects more support in particular for Spectracide, Cutter and Garden Safe, an organic-positioned line.
Banc of America Securities analyst Bill Steele said in a report that the company is poised to grow aggressively in coming years. "Scotts' categories have proven very responsive to advertising, and the large spending increase could lead to upside surprises," he wrote.
Mr. Steele projects Scotts sales will rise 7% to $1.9 billion in 2003. Overall, he estimates the U.S. lawn and plant care market at $3.5 billion of the $6 billion global total, and said global lawn services, where Scotts is now only a minor player, is another $4 billion. He estimates Scotts has a commanding 57% market share in its core U.S. lawn care products categories.
A variety of factors, including rising home ownership spurred by low mortgage rates and an aging population, favor rapid growth for the entire category, Mr. Steele said.


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A large recall of about 317,000 <"https://www.yourlawyer.com/practice_areas/product_liability">Energy Saving Light Bulbs has been announced by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) after fire reports were received in connection with the defective bulbs.
The defective Telstar Products light bulbs can overheat, posing a fire hazard to consumers. To date, Telstar Products has received two reports of fires. In one incident, the fire was contained to the light fixture. The other reported incident resulted in a residential fire.
The recalled bulbs were manufactured in China by Telstar Products, which is doing business as (d/b/a) Sprint International Inc., of Brooklyn, New York.
This recall involves energy-saving light bulbs sold under the Telstar and Electra brand names. The bulbs were sold in two styles: Spiral and the “3-Us” shape. “CE 110V,” “China,” and the wattage number are printed on the bulb.
â€¢ The Telstar bulbs were sold in 20 and 23 watts with model number LB-1020 and LB-1023 printed on the packaging.
â€¢ The Electra bulbs were sold in 18, 20, 23, 26, 28, 30, 34, 36, 38 and 40 watts with model numbers LB-18, LB-20, LB-23, LB-26, LB-28, LB-30, LB-1018, LB-1020, LB-1023, LB-1026, LB-1134, LB-1136, LB-1138, and LB-1140 printed on the packaging.
The recalled Telstar and Electra brand defective light bulbs were sold at discount stores throughout New York and New Jersey from August 2010 through March 2011 for between $1 and $1.50.
The CPSC advises consumers to immediately stop using the light bulbs and return the defective bulbs to the store where purchased for a full refund. Telstar Products can be reached, toll-free, at 1.888.828.1680 between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Eastern Time, Monday through Friday, or at the firm’s website at www.telstarpro.com.


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Dr Sarah Brewer says: 'The new classification by EFSA is for regulatory/technicality reasons and not for safety reasons. Given that Breaking News: CBD Sales Banned! Companies in U.K. Have 28 Days In the UK the MHRA (Medicines and Healthcare Products Regualtion Agency) has caved to the pharmaceutical industry, declaring that CBD (cannabidiol) is a medicine and may not be marketed and sold as a supplement. CBD has never been shown to have any harmful effects and is being used with great success as a supplement with great efficacy across the world, providing relief from a variety of ailments which the medical industry has been unable to address succesfully. Chaos in UK means £200,000 in losses for hemp co-op A UK hemp farming operation has destroyed its 2019 crop after failing to receive a growing license amid continuing regulatory confusion. Hempen, which is based in Goring Heath, Oxfordshire, said it will lose £200,000 (€220,00 / $243,000) as a result of the canceled harvest. Is CBD Oil Legal in the UK. (Update January 2020) | Dr. Hemp Me Although CBD oil is legal as medicine in the UK, the processing, possession and consumption of cannabidiol oil for any other reason is still illegal.
1 Feb 2019 Will CBD vape oil be banned in the UK due to proposed FSA cannabidiol reclassification? Food standards agency cannabidiol (CBD) ban - UK 5 Jan 2020 Learn all you need to know about CBD Oil Laws in the UK. It was banned in 1928 and was classified as a Class B drug in 1971. It was briefly 25 Oct 2019 CBD is legal to buy in the UK, but legal restrictions mean it is sold online as soared by more than 8,000% amid fears CBD would be banned.cavinol hanföl
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New Details Emerge About Untitled Marvel and Skydance Video Game
It was one of the coolest announcements of the video game showcase that took place at D23, as new details have emerged about the Marvel and Skydance video game.
There was a lot of anticipation surrounding what Marvel would announce when it came to the Disney & Marvel video game showcase set to transpire this weekend.
With Marvel embracing the medium of video games in recent years, there was a lot of excitement from fans that we could get updates on some of the biggest Marvel gaming rumors being spread for much of the summer.
With titles like the highly-anticipated Marvel’s Midnight Suns revealing some news and updates prior to its arrival, and mobile games like Marvel Snap and Strike Force receiving updates, there was no shortage of important news.
One reveal, however, trumped them all, as it was announced that a brand new Black Panther and Captain America video game would be in development.
Although there was very little shown in the teaser trailer that was revealed to fans, new details have emerged about the very exciting Marvel and Skydance Video game.
— Shinobi602 (@shinobi602) September 9, 2022
With a lot of fans previously only knowing that the game will be set in World War II, featuring four characters- including Captain America and Black Panther- and be developed by former Uncharted developer Amy Hennig, we now have some news regarding its actual content.
In a Twitter post from Geoff Keighley, the game was described as, “A narrative-driven, ensemble adventure game set in the Marvel Universe,” and that it, “features an original story that will take players on a WWII-era adventure with four playable heroes at different points int eh story…”
— Geoff Keighley (@geoffkeighley) September 9, 2022
The post revealed those playable characters to be, “a young Steve Rogers, aka Captain America: Assuri, T’Challa’s grandfather and WWII-era Black PAnthe; Gabriel Jones, a U.S. soldier and member of the Howling Commandoes; and Nanali, leader of the fledgling Wakandan spy network.”
These developments certainly point to a video game that has the potential to be one of Marvel’s best narrative-based video game experiences, and we cannot wait.
Uncharted creator Amy Hennig's company Skydance New Media officially unveiled their Marvel game at the D23 Expo: an untitled Captain America and Black Panther team up game set during WWII. pic.twitter.com/GQMZkZO5Va
— IGN (@IGN) September 9, 2022


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T-Mobile Plans To Launch The First Nationwide 5G Network By 2020
T-Mobile has unveiled its plan to launch 5G services while aiming to produce a nationwide network based connection on the next-generation technology by the year 2020. The competition to build 5G networks has seen carriers in other Asian countries such as China and South Korea. On the other hand, USA starts the trials of wireless technology that has yet to be formally defined by the international standards bodies.
According to The Verge, T-Mobile announced today its timeline for launching a true nationwide LTE starting to roll out in 2019, with a complete launch by 2020. T-Mobile notes that this move of the company is in contrast to other competitors. Rivals are focusing on short-range and high-frequency millimeter wave technologies for 5G networks while T-Mobile's plan is to concentrate on longer-range and lower-frequency 600 MHz spectrum.
With that said, the German holding company hasn’t necessarily ruled out the use of millimeter wave bands for their upcoming 5G efforts. For the record, T-Mobile’s fresh 600 MHz swath operating with 5G technologies still likely won’t be as quick as the 5G up in the higher bandwidth millimeter wave range. While T-Mobile hasn’t explained what their 5G plan will look like, for now, it seems like the giant company is at least determined to offer a true 5G network before the end of 2020.
Rivals On 5G Network
Rivals Verizon and AT&T have experimented with 5G too, as reported by CNET. Using the higher-frequency spectrum, which claimed to give speeds that are higher than a fiber-optic line, both competitors produced an initial 5G network summary but limited in geography. "This positions T-Mobile to deliver a 5G network that offers both breadth and depth nationwide," Technology Officer Neville Ray said in a blog post.
However, the companies don't have enough access to huge amounts of this higher-frequency spectrum. And because of that, the trials and deployments will be limited. On a positive note, at least we know that the two bigger carriers are focusing more on providing a true 5G network service for a replacement of traditional landline-based broadband.
Surface Phone Is Not A Windows Phone, Here's The Latest News, Release Date And Specs Rumors
“We will continue to be in the phone market, not as defined by today’s market leaders, but by what it is that we can uniquely do in what is the most ultimate mobile device," Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said.
Windows 10 Cloud Updates, Release Date And Price
Microsoft Windows 10 Cloud-based laptop will have basic specifications, which include a quad-core processor coupled with 4GB RAM and 32GB/64GB storage. It will be unveiled today in New York, where #MicrosoftEDU will take place.
Windows 10 Creators Update Comes With Microsoft Defender Security Center
"The Windows Defender Security Center offers a single dashboard display so you can control your security options from one place -- everything from anti-virus, network, and firewall protection," Windows Blog editor-in-chief Mollie Ruiz-Hopper said.
HTC U 11 Will Take On Samsung Galaxy S8 With This New Leaked Specs
The HTC U11 is tipped to have sensors on the sides of the device that will aid single-handed control over the smartphone. This could actually prove productive in comparison the Galaxy S8’s “Edge Sense” feature.
T-Mobile Giving Fee Netflix To Its Smartphone Customers Starting September 12
T-Mobile is giving free Netflix subscriptions to its customers. Buying two lines of T-Mobile One entitles you to a Netflix subscription.
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Potter Logistics has won a 30-year rail freight contract with waste and recycling company SITA UK. In a deal worth more than £20m, Potter Logistics will handle the transport of over 430,000-tonnes of residual household waste from its rail freight terminal at the Knowsley Industrial Estate in Knowsley, Merseyside. The waste will be transferred by rail to SITA’s site in Teesside, which turns landfill waste into energy. SITA chose Potter Logistics’ site from six possible rail freight terminals in the […]
TNT Express has won a two-year contract with aircraft engine manufacturer MTU Aero Engines which includes the delivery of parts to an engine manufacturer in the UK.
A strong performance in its contract logistics division; the sale of its records management division; and Pullman Fleet Services walking away from two “onerous” loss-making contracts helped Wincanton improve its profit and reduce its net debt in its most recent financial year.
XPO Logistics has renewed its contract with kitchen and bathroom manufacturer Moores Furniture Group.


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The AIOFP has proposed further scrutiny of direct life insurance sales to a parliamentary committee, arguing these are putting consumers in a “dangerous position”.
In a submission to the life insurance inquiry – to be conducted by the parliamentary joint committee on corporations and financial services – the AIOFP said it believes life insurers are ramping up efforts to directly target consumers and bypass financial advisers in an effort to payout fewer claims.
“Allowing companies to sell flawed products directly to consumers without being underwritten and guaranteed upfront is an affront to consumer fairness.”
The AIOFP also said there needs to be more clarification around what is considered a lapse of a policy. For instance, the association does not believe the death of a policyholder should be considered a lapse.
“Policies that are terminated due to retirement or becoming obsolete to the consumer’s circumstances should not be considered a lapse,” the AIOFP said.
“The inclusion of these policies in the lapsed category can only serve one objective: to build a negative story against the advisers to justify change in the companies’ favour.”
Further, the AIOFP called for changes so that companies can be scrutinised by the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS).
“Advisers and companies are shareholders of FOS, but only advisers are subject to legal process, scrutiny, threats of expulsion and subsequent loss of AFSLs,” the submission states.
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- 11 Dec 2018ASIC cancels AFSL of Queensland groupBy Eliot Hastie
- 11 Dec 2018Liberal Party has done ‘almost nothing’ for advisersBy James Mitchell
- 11 Dec 2018Better advice complaints resolution needed, says ASICBy Adrian Flores
- 11 Dec 2018Wealth management holders unlikely to seek adviceBy Sarah Simpkins
- 10 Dec 2018Only 12% of advice practices have exit plansBy Adrian Flores
- 10 Dec 2018CIPRs need to account for future mortality rates, study findsBy Adrian Flores
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Trouble selling your house? Have you considered raffling it off? Don't laugh. One German woman made a $280,000 profit just by selling raffle tickets. We bet some homeowners who've had to unload their properties for a loss would love $280,000.
AP via SF Chronicle: When Traude Daniel couldn't find a buyer for her luxury villa in southern Austria, she decided to raffle it off. It turned out to be quite a success: 9,999 tickets priced at euro99 ($128) each sold out within days in early December to raise nearly euro990,000 ($1,280,000).
Daniel said the 400-square-meter (4,305-square-foot) house had an estimated value of about euro830,000 (about $1 million) and had been on the market for about half a year before she came up with the idea of advertising the raffle on a Web site.
Now several other homeowners struggling to unload their vacation properties are following suit.
The raffle has inspired several other home owners in Austria to try to sell their homes through lotteries as the country starts to feel the effects of the financial crisis. Experts are warning of a tough year ahead.
Juergen Tatscher, who is planning to raffle off his luxury mountain bungalow, said it's an ideal way to cover one's costs, if selling high-end property the regular way proves to be tough.


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- Rice losing streak at five days in trend reversal
- Futures out of line with cash market
- Export demand weak as US priced out of world market
CHICAGO (Reuters): Bleak prospects for US rice on the export market sent futures tumbling for the fifth straight day on Wednesday, leaving prices more than 10 per cent below a 28-month top hit last week.
Trading volume reached its highest in more than seven years after a wave of speculative buying had pushed futures above cash-market realities, traders and analysts said.
“The futures have been disconnected or decoupled from the cash market for quite some time,” said Michael Creed with Creed Rice, a brokerage and publisher of a weekly newsletter about the rice market.
An influx of fund money into the rice market sent prices higher over the past few months, along with gains in grains. But unlike corn and wheat, the rice spike was not supported by a tight world supply situation and the recent drop has left prices 41 per cent below their 2008 high.
Open interest in rice futures has risen 60 per cent in the past year, and prices had ridden the wave of new money seeking a piece of a red-hot commodities sector.
But the increases pushed US prices well above counterparts around the world, dampening enthusiasm for US supplies among foreign buyers. The most recent US Agriculture Department forecast put US exports for the 2010/11 crop at more than 10 per cent of the world total.
“Rice as a crop is bearish, has been bearish and is still very much fundamentally bearish,” said Neauman Coleman, a rice broker and analyst in Brinkley, Arkansas. “It is only when rice was considered as a future that it was considered to be bullish.”
Cash rice was trading close to $ 4 per hundredweight below CBOT futures in some areas, analysts said. The USDA on Feb. 9 raised its forecast for 2010/11 ending stocks of US rice by one million cwt to 52.8 million cwt due to expectations that exports would rise less than earlier anticipated.
But the market shrugged off the bearish rice outlook on the day of the report, surging to $ 16.33-1/2 per cwt, its highest since Oct. 13, 2008, on the back of the government’s bullish view of corn, soybeans and wheat. CBOT rice prices peaked at $ 24.68-1/2 per cwt in April 2008.
The USDA’s baseline projection this week of an eight per cent fall in rice acreage this year, compared with the market’s view of a 20 per cent drop, added to the bearish tone on prices.
CBOT March rice fell 55-1/2 cents to close at $ 14.67-1/2 per cwt on Wednesday, after plunging to a low of $ 14.50 earlier in the day.
Volume was heavy, with more than 9,000 contracts changing hands for the first time since Oct. 31, 2003. Rice volume hit a record 12,326 contracts on that day.
The coming expiration of the front-month rice contract has prompted some traders to exit positions in the past week before their futures contract turns into a cash one, adding further pressure during the losing streak.
US farmers produce a small fraction of the world’s rice crop. The USDA forecast U.S. production at 6.4 million tonnes this year and set its world production estimate at 448.15 million tonnes.


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Visitors stand in front of a display of heavy trucks at the entrance to the Daimler exhibition area during a trade fair in Hanover. File/Reuters
Bosch and Daimler have reached a milestone on the way to automated driving: the two companies have now obtained approval from the relevant authorities in Baden-Württemberg for their automated parking system in the Mercedes-Benz
German automaker Daimler plans to build Mercedes Benz branded heavy trucks in China by revamping truck plants owned by its local joint venture (JV), according to a document seen by Reuters and two sources familiar with the matter.
German carmaker Daimler plans to spin off Daimler Truck, the world’s largest truck and bus maker, as it seeks to increase its investor appeal as a focused electric, luxury car business, sending its shares up nearly 9%.
Fifty-seven per cent of board members are UAE nationals. The new board includes 23 founders, CEOs and chairpersons with leadership experience in 15 countries across 5 continents.
Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) has commissioned three new substations with a conversion capacity of 450 megavolt-amperes (MVA) in addition to 132 kV ground cables that extend on 35 kilometres
Business activity in the eurozone shot ahead at its fastest rate in 21 years in July, a closely watched survey said on Friday, as the economy went into full throttle with loosened Covid-19 restrictions.


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Volvo's Concept You is coming soon.
Volvo has just released a new teaser video for their latest concept, set for debut next week in Germany. The recently-titled You Concept is based on the previously reported Concept Universe. The video shows the design phase and a few quick glimpses at the new model. An aggressive (and production-ready) front-end is revealed along with Volvo's signature grille and all-new LED headlights.
The You will feature a vast array of diesel and gasoline 4-cylinder engine options that will be available. The engines were designed under the Volvo Environmental Architecture for a more environmentally friendly feel. Commenting on the new range of engines, Volvo R&D head Peter Mertens said: "We will develop four-cylinder engines with higher performance than today's six-cylinder units and lower fuel consumption than the current four-cylinder generation. It's a bold step to restrict ourselves to four cylinders, but it gives us huge freedom and opportunities in achieving our CO2 targets."


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EU Internet of Things report finds high entry barriers, exclusivity concerns
What you need to know
- The EU has published the findings of its Internet of Things inquiry.
- It has warned the sector has high entry barriers and warned of exclusivity and interoperability concerns.
- The EU is planning to follow up but hopes that companies like Apple will be proactive in addressing the concerns.
The EU Commission has today published the findings of its inquiry into the 'Internet of Things', a sector that includes the use of virtual assistants, smart home accessories, and speakers like Apple's HomePod mini.
Executive VP Margrethe Vestager said "The consumer Internet of Things sector is increasingly becoming part of our everyday life. The final findings of our sector inquiry confirm concerns identified in the preliminary report. This is a market with high barriers to entry, few vertically integrated players and concerns about access to data, interoperability or exclusivity practices amongst others."
The report says that it has found the sector is growing rapidly and that there was a growing trend of the availability of voice assistants as user interfaces for interacting with other smart devices.
It says that stakeholders who participated in the inquiry said that the main barrier to entry and expansion in the sector was high technology costs and that many stakeholders "have reported difficulties in competing with vertically integrated companies that have built their own ecosystems within and beyond the consumer IoT sector", struggling to compete with the likes of Apple, Amazon, and Google who "determine the processes for integrating smart devices and services in a consumer IoT system" as the market leaders.
Areas of concern highlighted include exclusivity and tying practices in relation to voice assistants and limited possibilities to use certain voice assistants on the same device, the use of voice assistants and smart devices as intermediaries between users and smart devices, the extensive access to data, and a lack of interoperability between consumer IoT tech because of a few "de facto standards". The full report states:
The EU says the report will guide the Commission's future enforcement and regulatory activity and would take a case-by-case approach to enforce any competition measures.
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Stephen Warwick has written about Apple for five years at iMore and previously elsewhere. He covers all of iMore's latest breaking news regarding all of Apple's products and services, both hardware and software. Stephen has interviewed industry experts in a range of fields including finance, litigation, security, and more. He also specializes in curating and reviewing audio hardware and has experience beyond journalism in sound engineering, production, and design.
Before becoming a writer Stephen studied Ancient History at University and also worked at Apple for more than two years. Stephen is also a host on the iMore show, a weekly podcast recorded live that discusses the latest in breaking Apple news, as well as featuring fun trivia about all things Apple. Follow him on Twitter @stephenwarwick9