text:
Amazon has announced it will lay off thousands more employees, in addition to those whose jobs were cut last November. It’s not yet clear how many workers in Israel will be affected, if any.
But a total of 9,000 workers stand to lose their jobs in the coming weeks, according to a memo sent to staff on Monday by CEO Andy Jassy. The company has approximately 1.5 million employees worldwide.
The announcement follows one last week by Facebook and Instagram parent Meta, which said the company planned to lay off an additional 10,000 workers over the next two months. CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the company will also shut down another 5,000 vacant positions, following cuts late last year that eliminated 11,000 jobs. Meta had nearly 87,000 employees.
“This was a difficult decision, but one that we think is best for the company long term,” he wrote.
The cuts are expected to impact Amazon’s cloud computing, human resources, advertising and Twitch livestreaming businesses, Jassy said.
More than 18,000 Amazon workers have already been laid off in a bloodbath that began in November 2022 and continued into January 2023, affecting staffers in the company’s retail, devices, recruiting and human resources groups.
“The overriding tenet of our annual planning this year was to be leaner while doing so in a way that enables us to still invest robustly in the key long-term customer experiences that we believe can meaningfully improve customers’ lives and Amazon as a whole,” Jassy wrote.


text:
Leading Sports betting company, SoccaBet Ghana has given away another brand new car after successfully holding the 4th raffle draw for their ‘Massive Promo’ series on Saturday, July 6, 2019.
The short ceremony which was held at the premises of the SoccaBet Circle shop located around the tip toe lane had a lot of customers around to attest to the reality of the massive promo.
Over thousands of online customers who staked bets of GH¢20 and above in the past month were entered into a draw which was regulated by the Ghana gaming commission to ensure there is no foul play.
Five out of the lot were selected for the final raffle to decide which customer gets to take home which of the amazing prizes.
At the end of it all, a customer with username FAROUQ BARI emerged as the winner and has won the 4th brand new Renault KWID from the most trusted sports betting company in the country.
SoccaBet customer with username STEROO came in 5th position and gets to take home a GH¢50 worth of betting voucher. AFRIPOUNCH also came in 4th and has been awarded with a betting voucher worth GH¢100.
The other winners on the day includes customers with usernames PETERBERKO0607 and MASIOS024 who took the 3rd and 2nd positions. They get to receive betting vouchers worth GH¢150 and GH¢300 respectively.
Speaking to the media on the sidelines of the raffle, Supervisor for SoccaBet Ghana, Mr. Ezekiel Quaye entreated customers to continue staking to enhance their chances of also winning the car as well as the other amazing prizes that will be up for grabs in the 6 remaining draws.
“Go online, get a smartphone or a computer, go online and register, buy vouchers of GH¢20 and above and make sure you always bet. The more you bet the more your chances go high. This is the fourth one and we have 6 more cars to go. It could be anybody so am telling everybody to go online, bet with SoccaBet and you are going to be great”, he said.
The next draw is expected be held on the first Saturday of August and customers who stake GH¢20 and above stand the chance of winning a brand new Renault KWID or any of the amazing giveaways.

domain: news


text:
Discuss it in the forums!
March 24th, 2002
Core's herding adventure is a brilliant, original gaming experience.
December 11th, 2001
Do you have what it takes to become a herder?
17 cheats available for Herdy Gerdy.
59 screenshots available for Herdy Gerdy.
6 images available for Herdy Gerdy.
1 download available for Herdy Gerdy.
March 6th, 2002
Eidos has announced that Herdy Gerdy is now available in all the stores in U.S.
February 27th, 2002
Herdy Gerdy is coming on Playstation 2. Find out when this wonderful game is going to hit the stores!
January 4th, 2002
Eidos has released today a new trailer of their imaginative, funny adventure.
January 2nd, 2002
Eidos has unveiled the list of games coming out in the first months of 2002.
November 10th, 2001
Eidos Interactive has announced that the official Herdy Gerdy game site is now online. Also a new trailer is available.


text:
More bad news for cruise fans in Australia today, as P&O Cruises Australia has extended its pause in operations for cruises departing from Sydney and Brisbane by a further month until mid-January next year.
The line said the decision was designed to give guests greater confidence in planning their Christmas and New Year holidays because of the uncertainty around the return of cruising.
The pause will apply to cruises scheduled to depart from December 18th through to January 14th for Brisbane, and January 18th for Sydney.
P&O Cruises Australia also confirmed it was cancelling its Melbourne summer season, which was no longer feasible to deliver because of the latest extension.
“We recognise this is disappointing for our guests who were looking forward to cruising with friends and family over Christmas and New Year, however, we wanted to make this announcement as early as possible to ensure they could plan with certainty for the holiday period,” P&O Cruises Australia president, Sture Myrmell, said.
P&O Cruises Australia recently announced its intention to resume domestic operations with cruises for fully vaccinated guests and crew.
“Governments have made it very clear that vaccination thresholds are the key to ending lockdowns, border restrictions and, ultimately, re-opening Australia.
“And part of returning to normal society is ensuring that the more than one million Australians who choose a cruise holiday each year have the opportunity to do so again,” Myrmell said.
“Unfortunately, we are not yet clear on the requirements from governments and public health authorities for a phased return of domestic cruising, but we remain hopeful these conversations will gather pace now there is real momentum around society re-opening.”
At the same time, Princess Cruises is extending its pause in cruise holidays in Australia/New Zealand to January 27th, due to the uncertainty around the return of cruising in the region.
As a result of the pause extension, Coral Princess voyages through January 17th are cancelled and Royal Princess and Sapphire Princess seasons through to March are being cancelled.
“It became apparent we would not be able to deliver planned deployment of Royal Princess and Sapphire Princess in Australia before they were due to start their published northern hemisphere voyages,” said Deanna Austin, Princess Cruises chief commercial officer.
“We recognise that guests planning cruises over the popular summer and new year holiday period will be particularly disappointed with the changes, however, we wanted to give guests as much notice as possible so they could plan their holidays with certainty.”


text:
Publishers see a surge of coronavirus scam ads
The market dynamics of low ad prices and less buying by top advertisers has opened the door to a surge in coronavirus scam ads in programmatic marketplaces.
Scam ads — ads with creative or domains that deliver false or misleading claims about products with the intention of extracting payment — have jumped to represent 20% of fraudulent activity in April, according to The Media Trust, which works with publishers on increasing privacy and security. Usually, this is under 5%,
The BBC’s governance team decided shortly after the outbreak hit in Europe to ban all advertising around face masks. The BBC works to a strict whitelist of advertisers so it tends to not get many scam ads.
“There were advertisers selling masks at a massively inflated rate and at the time the [World Health Organization] were not recommending to wear masks,” said programmatic trading manager Emily Roberts. “Our team decided to follow the WHO guidelines and prevent this type of advertising.”
At least 10 premium publishers in the U.S. and U.K. now actively block the serving of these scams ads, according to The Media Trust. Others have written policies for their supply-side platform partners. These can stipulate no mention of coronavirus at all, or that ads featuring hand sanitizer are acceptable but ads for medical cures are not.
“Anything nefarious you can think of, people will use Covid to do that,” said Matt O’Neill, general manager, Europe for The Media Trust, which uses tech to block bad ads at the impression level. “Sticking ‘Covid’ on a baseball hat to sell is the most benign, or there’s selling fake face masks from sites that never deliver. The fundamental advice is [for publishers] to write these policies and require partners to adhere to them so partners can perform due diligence to prevent ads getting in and out of the ecosystem.”
The digital ad market conditions during coronavirus — depressed CPMs caused by record traffic, advertisers blocking ads on coronavirus content and a vacuum left by premium brands retreating from the open exchange — has led to a hotbed of malicious activity, adult-rated ads and coronavirus scam ads. Publishes keen for cash and a global population desperate for a cure compounds the issue.
Scam ads range in malicious intent and aren’t always outright fraudulent which makes them harder to detect. The challenge with identifying scam ads from their creative is they are subjective: Each publisher has its own acceptability thresholds, these can be specific, like no alcohol, to more granular, like what percentage of skin on show is too much nudity, said Cory Schnurr, head of marketplace innovation at The Media Trust.
“There’s certainly been an increase in bad ads associated with Covid-19,” said Jason Cicchetti, general counsel at Index Exchange. “Generally it’s around marketplaces selling fraudulent, pandemic-related inventory, like deceptive or fear-based adverts and price-gouging ads for hand sanitizer and face masks.” Index sees thousands of coronavirus-related ads each week, 40% of which are scam ads and so blocked.
The instances are ebbing, but there’s still a significant amount of background-noise scam ads. By evaluating the landing page for fraudulent activity, The Media Trust found that 38% of coronavirus ads in April had a scammy nature, down from 60% in late February. This could be because it takes a while to identify and then clamp down these ads. Also, the overhyped demand for N95 face masks and hand sanitizer is abating, said O’Neill.
Publisher tolerance to scam ads varies based on the publisher, and with other parts of the house on fire, blocking ads that could be harmless might fall off the list. “Everyone has a responsibility to police this, but no one has the time or the inclination to do anything about it,” said ad fraud researcher and consultant Augustine Fou. “Publishers may have policies, some may be making new policies, “but few are incurring extra costs to scan the ad creative, on top of scanning for malicious code.”
Broader examples of malware and fraud have increased too. Since mid-March, the average number of overall malware incidents identified by The Media Trust in 24 hours is up an average of 22%, sometimes peaking at a 35% increase. Since January, malware has steadily increased with a significant number of blocked ads with fake software installs, forced or mobile redirects and brand fraud or hijacking. Instances of these ads are up over 200%.
‘Don’t freak out yet’: Publishers brace for iOS changes to their newsletter businesses
Apple's Mail Privacy Protection will scramble the plans many publishers had for their newsletters.
Cloud computing is the new frontier for companies looking to get ahead of Google
The fiercest battle being waged between Amazon, Google and Microsoft is over cloud computing — Google’s deprecation of the third party cookie will open media and advertising up as new fronts in that war.
‘The future of CTV is direct mail’: How Lockard & Wechsler Direct navigates clients through a tight TV marketplace
Lockard & Wechsler Direct, a 30-year-old performance marketing agency, is one of several shops trying to pick their way through a more complicated TV marketplace.
SponsoredHow advertisers can tell the difference between banner blindness and ad-aware consumers
Aditya Padhye, general manager, Trestle at eyeo Advertising is part and parcel of daily life –– from billboards in the street to smartphone apps, its presence is unavoidable. While some advertising strikes a chord with people, there are certain ads that have the opposite effect. Increasing internet usage among all demographics, higher demand for sales […]
Fewer stories, told better: News UK is changing how it commissions stories to grow subs
The Times (UK) and The Sunday Times are changing the way they commission stories to grow digital subscriptions.
Member ExclusiveMedia Briefing: How publishers’ fourth-quarter ad sales strategies are shaping up
This week’s Media Briefing checks in with publishers to see where things stand with fourth quarter ad sales as the biggest season in the sales cycle approaches.


text:
Having started out with just two employees to its current team of 23, gin producer The Shed Distillery has announced its plans for international expansion. The Leitrim-based distillery, known for its Drumshanbo Gunpowder Irish Gin, has already launched its Sausage Tree Pure Irish Vodka earlier this year and is expected to release a new whiskey label and open a new visitor experience centre in 2019.
Recognising the success of The Shed Distillery since opening in 2014, the man behind the company, Patrick J. Rigney, has been shortlisted as one of 24 finalists in this year’s EY Entrepreneur of the Year awards.
The EY Entrepreneur of the Year award is now in its 21st year, with this year’s finalists having been shortlisted from over 110 nominations received from across the island of Ireland by an independent judging panel of previous winners. The winner will be announced at a ceremony in October.
Pictured above: Patrick J. Rigney


text:
It is misleading to argue China’s tariffs have only had a slight impact on Australia’s barley exports.
It is more than two years since China placed a tariff on Australian barley, which effectively closed off our trade with the middle kingdom.
We are more than 40 per cent of the way through the tariff, imposed for five years.
There are many who think the impact on Australian agriculture has been negligible.
I think that is false.
The first factor to examine is the spread between wheat and barley.
Typically, barley will trade at a discount to wheat.
The reason for this discount is that wheat is considered nutritionally superior.
In 2020, the barley discount rose to its highest level at the time of the tariff introduction.
It remained at a large discount until recent months.
The discount has remained well above the long-term average until recent months.
A significant part of this larger discount is attributable to the lack of access to one of the world’s largest barley markets.
France was one of the main beneficiaries of the effective ban on Australian exports.
In 2020-21, larger volumes of barley flowed from France to China than would be the case if Australia was still in the mix.
The chart shows the premium/ discount between Australian and French barley.
I have highlighted when the tariff on Australian barley was introduced.
The discount increased from this point onwards and has remained large.
Where is our barley going? Australia has clearly still been exporting large volumes of barley over the past two years.
So far this season, volumes on barley have been lower than 2021.
Australia’s notable win was its exports to Saudi Arabia, rising to first place.
Vietnam has also been on a steady rise, from just over 1 per cent of exports in 2017 to 9 per cent.
The silver lining of the removal of China has been a slight diversification of Australia’s barley export markets.
However, in all likelihood, as soon as China is accessible, we will see it take the mantle once again as the biggest market.
Australia is one of the biggest exporters of barley but losing access to our market hasn’t stopped China from importing.
Its import program in 2021 was at record levels.
In recent years, it has been ‘hoovering’ up large volumes of all grains, and the question remains how long this program of imports will last.
China has limited access to barley due to the Black Sea conflict.
It is cutting its nose to spite its face more than ever.
It would be in the best interest of the Chinese consumer to accept Australian barley.
All in all, the effective ban on Australian barley has been damaging. It has not been business as usual.
In Australia, we may think the barley price is good.
If we compare barley prices to the past 10 years, they are high, especially for a non-drought period.
That is only looking at one side of the story.
It is the lost value that is important.
We are getting paid well, but we would likely be receiving a more substantial return if China was open.
We have diversified somewhat from China, which may be beneficial in the long run.
In all likelihood, our export markets in the future, when China is back on board, will be determined by who is the best buyer.
Maybe the new government will be able to negotiate with China to open up the doors to Australian barley.
• Andrew Whitelaw is a manager of commodity market insights at Thomas Elder Markets (TEM)


text:
Locinox extends its product range of outdoor access control solutions with the brand-new SlimStone keypad. Emphasizing on quality, durability, ease of installation and an elegant design. Watch our installation video.
In 2018, CSR Gyprock are celebrating the work of serious Gyprockers with the 2018 Gyprockers Choice Awards. The awards program will give Gyprockers across Australia a chance to share projects they’ve been part of, along with recognising the great work of their industry peers.
Confidence levels across Queensland’s property industry remain fairly constant, with only small variations in business confidence levels since the June 2018 quarter, according to the latest ANZ/Property Council Survey.


text:
Stocks fell on Wednesday after orders for durable goods unexpectedly decreased and the Federal Reserve said economic growth slowed in some areas.
Nine of 10 industries in the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index retreated after government data showing orders for goods meant to last at least three years declined 1 percent.
The S.& P. 500 fell 7.71 points, or 0.69 percent, to 1,106.13. The Dow Jones industrial average declined 39.81 points, or 0.38 percent, to 10,497.88. The Nasdaq composite index dropped 23.69 points, or 1.04 percent, to 2,264.56.
“Most people feel that the economy is in a soft patch and the latest data points have been showing that,” said Mark Bronzo, a fund manager at Security Global Investors. “The earnings season has been good. However, investors will probably sit back and wait until we get more clarity.”
The S.& P. 500 has rebounded 8.2 percent since July 2 as corporate earnings have been stronger than analysts estimated. The index briefly erased its loss for the year on Tuesday as earnings at companies from DuPont to Lexmark International topped estimates and home prices increased more than forecast.
The Commerce Department reported that total orders for durable goods unexpectedly dropped, depressed by a decrease in demand for aircraft, which is often volatile. Benchmark indexes extended declines after the Fed’s beige book business survey showed commercial real estate and the expiration of a tax credit for homebuyers was weighing on the economy in some areas.
“Economic activity has continued to increase, on balance, since the previous survey,” the Fed said in its Beige Book business survey, while noting that two of the Fed’s 12 districts reported the economy “held steady” and two said the expansion slowed.
Stocks also fell after a gauge of mortgage applications slid last week as refinancing cooled after borrowing costs jumped from a record low. The Mortgage Bankers Association’s index fell 4.4 percent in the week ended July 23, the group said Wednesday.
Treasuries gained in response to the economic data, pushing five-year yields down the most in almost two weeks.
“People are looking at safety, liquidity and inflation,” said William Larkin, a fixed-income portfolio manager at Cabot Money Management. “The fear trade is still alive and well.”
The Treasury’s benchmark 10-year note rose 18/32, to 104 11/32. The yield fell to 2.98 percent, from 3.05 percent late Tuesday.
Boeing’s shares declined $1.30, or 1.89 percent, to $67.32. The company said second-quarter sales fell 9.2 percent, to $15.6 billion, missing analysts’ $16.2 billion prediction.
WellPoint helped lead health care companies to a 1.4 percent drop. Wellpoint, the nation’s biggest health insurer, reported second-quarter sales of $14.5 billion, missing analysts’ average estimate of $14.6 billion. WellPoint slumped $1.97, or 3.7 percent, to $50.83.
Eastman Kodak tumbled 75 cents, or 15.21 percent, to $4.18. after reporting a wider-than-projected second-quarter loss.
International Game Technology, a maker of slot machines, fell $1.68, or 10 percent, to $15.02. The company reported fiscal third-quarter revenue of $489.7 million, 2.4 percent lower than the average estimates.
Hospira, a maker of generic injectable pharmaceuticals and infusion devices, reported second-quarter sales that fell short of analysts’ estimates and its shares dropped $4.09, or 7.2 percent, to $52.72.
Wyndham Worldwide jumped $1.87, or 8 percent, to $25.14, the biggest gain in the S.& P. 500. The franchiser of Days Inn hotels and Super 8 motels raised its 2010 earnings forecast after second-quarter profit increased on rising travel demand. Full-year earnings per share excluding items will be $1.78 to $1.88. That compares with an earlier forecast of $1.56 to $1.71.


text:
POSTPONEMENT OF FISHING SHOW 2020 HUNGARY
Considering the current situation, we have decided to postpone the Fishing Show in 2020.
Parallel to other measures, this is a precautionary measure to protect anglers and their families. The exhibition is frequented by thousands of anglers each year, and we consider their safety our primary responsibility.
We will inform you about the new date of the fair depending on the virus situation. Naturally, we will refund the price of the tickets bought online.
The shore is still completely safe, so let’s go fishing!


text:
FMCG giant Colgate and global recycler, TerraCycle, have launched the first recycling program for electric toothbrushes in Australia.
The Colgate Electric Toothbrush Recycling Program allows consumers to send their used electric toothbrush bases and handles to Terracycle for free, where they can be disassembled and separated into their various parts.
The plastics will be shredded and melted into pellets to make new recycled products such as garden beds and park benches, while the metals are separated and recovered.
Electric toothbrushes and other forms of e-waste have been considering extremely difficult to recycle because of the need to separate materials, and as a result the majority end up in landfill.
“Drawing on the success of our on-going recycling program for oral care products, we wanted to go one step further and make electric toothbrushes recyclable on a national scale. We’re very excited to be launching this sustainable option, a first-of-its-kind for e-waste, in Australia,” Colgate vice president and general manager of South Pacific, Julie Dillon, said.
Consumers can sign up to the program for free online, with Colgate accepting all brands of electric toothbrush waste as well as toothpaste tubes and caps, regular toothbrushes and packaging, toothbrush and toothpaste tube outer packaging and floss containers.
Using a TerraCycle account, customers download and print a pre-paid shipping label and can drop off their used products in a cardboard box at an Australia Post office.
“TerraCycle has a long-lasting partnership with Colgate and together we have contributed to the recycling of an incredible one million oral care items to date. As part of our mission to eliminate the idea of waste, recycling electric toothbrushes is a big step in the right direction to achieving this goal,” Jean Bailliard, general manager of TerraCycle Australia and New Zealand added.
For every 1kg of electric toothbrush bases and handles sent to TerraCycle, consumers can earn A$1 for the Australian school or charity of their choice.


text:
SINGAPORE—Fewer oil tankers are being used to store crude than traders and shipbrokers had expected at the start of the year, as a recent run-up in oil prices upended a popular trading strategy.
“There were around 25 to 30 large tankers taken last month, but only around 10 of these are being used for oil storage now,” a Singapore-based shipbroker said, citing industry data.
Up to 15% off + free shipping at Wayfair
Up to 60% off - Target Promo Code
Macy's coupon - Sign up to get 25% off next order
- Ballard Designs:
Sign up for email and receive 20% off at Ballard Designs
Most Powerful Deal: $255 off the new GoPro HERO11 Black Creator Edition
30% off smartphones + free shipping - Samsung promo code


text:
After the morning's trading, the Nasdaq has been relatively flat, the S&P 500 has increased 0.2% and the Dow has risen 0.2%. The transportation sector is a category of stocks relating to the transportation of goods or customers. It is made up of airlines, railroads and trucking companies. The performance of the transportation sector is sensitive to the price of oil. Because operations revolve around the use of vehicles, fuel prices represent a significant cost to transportation companies. As the price of oil rises, transportation companies will be expected to earn less. Inversely, these companies do well when the cost of fuel decreases.
These are the biggest movers in the Transportation sector (IYT) (+0.2%):
|Company||Market Cap||Percentage Change|
|GulfMark Offshore (NYSE:GLF)||$839.2 million||+7.1%|
|China Eastern Airlines Corp. Ltd (NYSE:CEA)||$4.06 billion||+3.4%|
|Greenbrier (NYSE:GBX)||$530.6 million||-2.5%|
|Golar LNG Limited (Nasdaq:GLNG)||$3.04 billion||-2.4%|
|China Southern Airlines Limited (NYSE:ZNH)||$4.6 billion||+2.4%|
|Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII)||$2.04 billion||+2.4%|
|Knight (NYSE:KNX)||$1.15 billion||-2.1%|
Beginner's Guide To FXCM And Trading Station
Rising 7.1%, GulfMark Offshore (NYSE:GLF) is currently trading at $33.35 per share. So far this morning, 179,324 shares have changed hands. This is 0.8 times the current daily average.
Increasing 3.4%, China Eastern Airlines Corp. Ltd (NYSE:CEA) is trading at $18.62 per share. So far today, 5,656 shares have changed hands, consistent with the volume from yesterday.
Falling 2.5%, Greenbrier (NYSE:GBX) is currently at a share price of $19.07. So far today, the company's volume is 319,845 shares.
Golar LNG Limited (Nasdaq:GLNG) has fallen 2.4% and is currently trading at $36.85 per share. The company's volume for the day so far is 114,476 shares, 0.2 times its current three-month average.
China Southern Airlines Limited (NYSE:ZNH) is up 2.4% to reach a current price of $24 per share. The company's volume for the morning is 4,940 shares. This is 0.3 times its average daily volume.
Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII) has risen 2.4% to hit a current price of $42.01 per share. The company's volume is currently 144,171 shares for the day, on pace to finish the day below yesterday's volume of 438,538 shares.
Knight (NYSE:KNX) is currently trading at a share price of $14.16, a 2.1% decline. The company's volume for the day so far is 304,842 shares.
The Bottom Line The nature of the market is such that stocks will have good days and bad days. Paying close attention to the previous ratios will help you identify key times to adjust your strategy. However, these fundamental metrics must be analyzed with historic data, industry information in addition to firm specific financial statements.


text:
Can you believe that after 30 years people are still discovering ways to get more lives in Super Mario Bros.? It is true. Below is a video of a recently discovered Super Mario Bros. glitch that gives you infinite 1-ups.
Remember Google and Nintendo’s April Fools Day hunt? In its promo video, Google said that they would give one of the people who completed the Pokémon Challenge a position at the company, along with a business card that says “Pokémon Master.”
Hey, look in the rear view. It’s Kirby. No, it’s Luigi. I don’t know which it is, but he’s looking pretty pissed off. He just hit us with a turtle shell and now we are careening off the road to our death and he won’t he stop looking at us like that.
Now Mario can haz Mercedes in the latest Mario Kart game. Mario Kart 8 players can now download a free DLC which gives you a Mercedes Benz GLA to drive around the game. This is the first time a real car has made an appearance in the franchise.
Nintendo is showing off a new version of the popular video game Super Smash Bros. at E3 this week. The coolest thing about the game is the new playable characters that have been added. For the first time Pac-Man and Mega Man are available as playable characters in the same game.
Fans of Mario’s flying raccoon suit aka the “Tanooki Suit” will want to drop what they’re doing and crack open their piggy banks for this one.
This awesome figure from First4Figures measures a whopping 15″ tall from base to the tip of Mario’s pointy ears, and will look great sitting on your desk alongside your 15″ tall Fire Mario, as I’m sure you already have one, right?
I’ve already seen several coffee tables that look like a giant NES controller, but this is the first time I’ve seen one modeled after an SNES controller. Perhaps it’s that the Super Nintendo’s controller isn’t as iconic, but it still makes for a pretty awesome conversation piece.
You may or may not be aware, but in the Transformers Animated universe there were a pair of Cybertronian plumbers that look a whole lot like Mario and Luigi. Back in 2009, character designer Derrick J.
Nintendo isn’t exactly doing well on the gaming market today. The company currently lacks a popular console and continues to post widening losses each quarter. Nintendo is now looking to build a new console and this unit won’t be aimed at gamers in places like the U.S.
I never would have thought that a Game Boy would look good as a brick, but it actually looks pretty awesome. It looks heavy, but cool. Anyway, you may not believe it, but Nintendo’s handheld gaming system recently celebrated it’s 25th birthday.
Out of all computers, the Raspberry Pi is most ripe for case mods because it’s tiny and doesn’t come with a case in the first place. We’ve seen a functional and a decorative case for the Linux computer.
I can’t play real golf at all and can barely play mini golf, but golf games aren’t that bad. If you are a fan of golf games, you might be interested in the new game coming early next month to Nintendo 3DS and 2DS handhelds.
While looking at the Star Soldius t-shirt, I stumbled upon another homage to classic video games, and from a Japanese artist as well. It’s a collection of Famicom cartridge pin badges.
Ketchuparts’ collection will consist of 15 pin badges.
This custom Super Mario Bros. Drum Kit looks pretty awesome. It’s the kind of thing they would play at the Koopa Cabana. If such a place existed. Anyway, your Mario themed band has found it’s first set of equipment.


text:
blackstone News of 02/22/20
The Herd Sours On Unprofitable Unicorns Again
David Friend Contributor Share on Twitter David Friend is the CEO of cloud storage company Wasab i, and co-founder of cyber security company Carbonite, recently bought for $1.4 billion. Wasabi is his ...
Finding Sustainable Success With Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman
“We were so low that people would take advantage of us. People we knew well would just lie to us. One of my favorites was a company we did an enormous amount of work for and really helped save. We then went to see the CEO and he said, ‘I really ...
Mobile Gaming Is A $68.5 Billion Global Business, And Investors Are Buying In
By the end of 2019, the global gaming market is estimated to be worth $152 billion with 45% of that, $68.5 billion, coming directly from mobile games. With this tremendous growth (10.2% YoY to be precise) has come a flurry of investments and ...
Peer-To-Peer Boat Rental Marketplace Boatsetter Raises $10m As It Looks To Grow Globally
Obviously, not everyone owns their boat, and boat ownership is far more unique than car ownership – which makes it maybe an ideal category for peer-to-peer marketplace rentals. P2P boat rental startup Boatsetter recognized this opportunity, and ...
Blackstone Is Acquiring Mobile Ad Company Vungle
Private equity firm Blackstone just announced that it has reached an agreement to acquire mobile advertising company Vungle . The companies aren’t disclosing the financial terms, but as part of the transaction, Vungle has also reached a ...
The Changing Nature Of Venture Capital
Paul Asel Contributor Share on Twitter Paul Asel is managing partner of NGP Capital and a global technology investor for more than 25 years. More posts by this contributor ...
China’S Fast-Growing Starbucks Competitor Luckin Coffee Just Filed To Go Public On The Nasdaq
China’s Luckin Coffee has registered plans with the SEC to go public on the Nasdaq, setting a placeholder amount of $100 million, shows its filing . The development comes less than a week after the 18-month-old company announced $150 million ...


text:
(FILES) This April 13, 2011 file photo shows the Netflix company logo at Netflix headquarters in Los Gatos, California. US video streaming service Netflix is moving its European headquarters to the Netherlands from Luxembourg, Prime Minister Xavier Bettel said on May 20, 2014. “The government has been informed by the company that it plans to moves its headquarters to the Netherlands, likely from the beginning of 2015,” Bettel told parliament in a statement. The prime minister gave no reason for the company wishing to move. Netflix came to Luxembourg in 2011 and has since expanded its European business into Britain, Ireland, Scandinavia and the Netherlands. Based in California and claiming more than 44 million subscribers worldwide, Netflix reportedly plans operations next in France, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland and Austria. AFP PHOTO / Ryan Anson-/AFP/Getty Images ORIG FILE ID: 529957915
If you’ve ever shopped for a rattan chair, you probably eventually made your way into a Pier 1 store. But should you buy the stock?
Caesars Entertainment’s “decision not to pay” $225 million in interest on its debt – is the latest example of what could be an increase of credit problems.
Ever since Fed chair Yellen downplayed downside risks of plunging oil, stocks have soared.
Gas prices continued to plunge to an average 2.465 per gallon, down from $3.225 a year ago.
Dow and S&P 500 open higher after best two-day gain in three years.
Ferrari among the buzz-worthy IPOs likely coming in the New Year.


text:
Ergen: Dish still months away from a decision on wireless network
Dish chairman Charles Ergen has been at CES 2013 in Las Vegas where he said it will take some time to finalize his plans about whether or not the satellite content provider will become a wireless carrier or seek a partner. Ergen said that it will take months to finalize his plans because of the technological and regulatory complications involved with starting up a wireless carrier. The Executive said that Dish has multiple options although the company has no intentions of selling its spectrum. In December, the FCC approved the 40 MHz of AWS-4 spectrum Dish owns for terrestrial mobile broadband use.
"We don't want to sell the spectrum. We'd prefer to be in the wireless broadband business and make a difference to consumers."-Charles Ergen, Dish Chairman
Ergen originally said that he would have a decision on what Dish will do one month after the FCC approval, but at CES he said that technological conditions placed on the FCC approval, and the two deals involving Sprint and T-Mobile have complicated things. Sprint is selling 70% of the company to Japan's Softbank while T-Mobile has agreed to buy MetroPCS. Before it builds its network, Ergen said that Dish will have to meet with the main global wireless standards-setting organizations.
While waiting for everything to fall in place, Dish will continue working with its vendors to design its LTE Advanced network.
source: Reuters via FierceWireless


text:
After getting the new iPhone 4 on the launch day 24th June, I have been testing it out, and seeing how it compares with the 3GS.
Ok the first issue was with the Signal drop, Known as the death grip. This is due to the exposed metal band around the case. (Being a licensed Radio Ham, I understand the issue), But as I was going to be using a case with my device, I do not suffer like others have.
Apple today 15th July 2010, has released a update to 4.0.1 to address the signal bar levels as it seems the reported levels are not what AT&T would like to see.
The new improved camera really does make all the images stand out. Along with the flash, photos in bad light or even no light are able to be taken. Video recording in 720p HD, and editing movies on the fly with iMovie is quick and easy.
The new screen display really makes the iPhone 4 stand out from other models before, using more pixels than the human eyes is meant to be able to see, you not longer get rough edges to letter, now just nice clear smooth edges.
Multi-tasking within iOS 4, makes working on more than one application a lot better, not you can return to an application, where you left it. Seems Apple what how users really want to use their devices.
Lets see what apple have to say at their Press Release on Friday, if they will be doing a recall regarding the signal issue, or offering a rebate, like on the early iPhone.


text:
Respawn Entertainment, the developer of Apex Legends, has rolled out a minor update to address several Legend-related issues and skin bugs affecting gameplay. The patch, released on June 1, aimed to resolve these concerns and improve the player experience swiftly.
In a previous update, Respawn had focused on fixing bugs and glitches affecting specific characters, such as Wraith and Seer. Wraith’s ability to use weapons while knocked and Seer’s ability to track enemy players through Catalyst’s Dark Veil were among the issues that were successfully addressed.
The latest patch builds upon these efforts and includes fixes for additional problems. Here are the details of the June 1 update for Apex Legends:
With this update, Respawn Entertainment has shown its commitment to addressing player concerns promptly and ensuring a smoother gameplay  experience in Apex Legends. Players can look forward to more refined mechanics and improved stability as Respawn continues fine-tuning the game.
As always, Apex Legends fans eagerly await further updates and patches from Respawn Entertainment, eager to see their favorite game evolve and grow in the coming months.


text:
TOKYO (Reuters) - Fujitsu Ltd's microchip unit said it was in talks with other chip makers both at home and abroad on potential alliances ranging from co-development of advanced chips to integration of operations.
Fujitsu Microelectronics also told Reuters on Wednesday its earnings targets for the year to March 2009 looked challenging due to tough business conditions such as higher raw materials prices and earthquake damage to one of its plants.
Fujitsu Microelectronics was established in March after computer and computer services firm Fujitsu made its struggling microchip operations a separate entity.
"From co-development to business integration, there are some potential ways for us to go. We are keeping our doors open on all options and our talks have not got into specifics yet," Fujitsu Microelectronics President Haruki Okada said in an interview.
Matsushita Electric Industrial Co Ltd has allied with unlisted Renesas, while NEC Electronics Corp has teamed up with Toshiba Corp to develop more powerful semiconductors.
Fujitsu Microelectronics has said it aims for 490 billion yen ($4.59 billion) in sales and several billion yen in operating profit in the current business year, in a turnaround from an operating loss of several billion yen a year earlier.
"There's no denying that it is going to be tough to hit the targets. On top of a firmer yen, higher oil and raw materials prices, we've got earthquake damage to think about," Okada said.
"I picked such a time to become president," he joked.
Fujitsu Microelectronics' semiconductor plant in Iwate prefecture, northern Japan, suffered extended closures due to earthquakes in June and July.
Shares in Fujitsu were up 0.2 percent at 681 yen, outperforming the Tokyo stock market's electrical machinery index , which fell 2.1 percent.
(Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
© Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. Users may download and print extracts of content from this website for their own personal and non-commercial use only. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world.


text:
Indochino appoints Drew Green as CEO
Online made-to-measure menswear service Indochino on Tuesday announced the appointment of Drew Green as the Vancouver-based company’s new Chief Executive Officer.
Drew Green heads to Indochino from Shop.ca, a multi-category marketplace that he founded in 2009. In 2011, he founded Katapult Internet, a holding company that empowers over a dozen in web, retail and emerging market categories. He currently remains as a director and majority shareholder of Shop.ca and is a board member at the Scarborough Hospital Foundation.
At Indochino, Green will lead the company’s growth strategy and mission to become the leading international, omnichannel apparel brand.
Indochino has surpassed its 2014 total year sales and increased the number of suits sold in November 2015 over November 2014 by 47%. The company currently has showrooms in Toronto, Vancouver, New York, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Boston and Beverly Hills.
Copyright © 2020 FashionNetwork.com All rights reserved.


text:
The world changed on March 11, 2020, when the World Health Organization declared coronavirus a pandemic.
Countless businesses and industries were in limbo, with no idea what the future would hold. One of the hardest-hit industries was commercial cruise lines.
Now, Miami-born company Carnival Cruises has a lot to celebrate, including a milestone in business.
“This year, this 50th birthday celebration is even that much more meaningful to our team given the last two years,” said Carnival’s president Christine Duffy. “We were the only industry that was completely shut down from operations, in the United States.”
Get South Florida local news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC South Florida newsletters.
Fifty years is a long time in service. The company was originally founded in 1972 by Ted Arison, an immigrant from Tel Aviv. In the span of 50 years, it has grown to be one of the most well-known companies in the world, employing more than 40,000 people.
“It’s truly a celebration of a brand that has become iconic,” said Duffy. “We are America’s cruise line, sailing year-round from 10 U.S. homeports and celebrating 50 years of fun.”
Duffy said the founder’s vision allowed the company to thrive.
“Ted Arison was our founder,” Duffy said. “His son Arison has worked in the company from the start, today he’s chairman of Carnival corporation.”
According to the company, Arison moved to the United States in 1952, in search of new business opportunities. He first took his family to New York, then to Miami in 1966 where he helped co-founded the Norwegian Cruise Line.
The partnership broke up, but Arison’s dream didn’t die with it.
“He had the opportunity to purchase a ship,” Duffy said. “That ship was named TSS Mardi Gras.”
It was the first voyage for the new company revolutionizing the cruising industry.
According to the company, before Carnival, cruising was for the rich and famous, but Arison priced his line for everyday people.
“At our heart, we are still carnival family,” Duffy said. “Which is what Ted Arison, our founder, believed in. Having cruise vacations accessible to everyone.”
Carnival has grown from the single vessel to a fleet of 23 ships, each is set to be fully operational by May to serve for passengers for years to come.
“The stories and outpouring of love for this brand,” Duffy said. “What we stand for from our guests really is just so inspiring, and I think that’s what we’ll continue to lean into for the next 50.”


text:
Are more changes headed for Amazon? Deadline reports the streaming service is considering ending their public pilot season.
For five years now, Amazon has released their pilots for public viewing before making a decision on which new pilots to order as a series. However, this feature may be ending soon.
According to Deadline, Amazon is considering making some or all of their future pilots private. The change would be one of many for the streaming service. Recently, Amazon Studios head Roy Price resigned amid allegations of sexual harassment.
Before Price left, he did say Amazon was thinking about pulling their public pilot season, saying it wasn’t practical:
The reality of the marketplace is it’s competitive and often you just have to go to series. We still have customer feedback, but will probably have fewer pilots for sure.”
If Prime Video does end their current pilot season strategy, the streaming service will consider new series like other networks, with executives making decisions based on testing and research. Though, with Price gone and a new fall pilot season underway, it’s unclear where Amazon stands at the moment.
What do you think? Do you subscribe to Amazon Prime? Do you participate in their pilot seasons?
Good idea since they don’t listen to their viewers anyway. Besides, viewing one episode then having to wait a year or more for the 1st season is ridiculous. Just do a whole season and see how it goes
I think this is unwise. They stand the risk of not attracting new viewers if those viewers are shut out from watching what the network has to offer! If they watch and they like they’ll probably come back.
I like pilot season and being able to offer my opinion. I watched three a few nights ago.


text:
Homesnap is a productivity and marketing app for real estate agents. The startup just announced a $14M Series B led by Updata Partners. The startup claims that around 75% of the real estate agents in the United States are using the Homesnap product.
Our friends at 43North are looking for awesome startups that are willing to relocate to Buffalo, NY and receive a $500k or $1M investment. 43North has crowned 37 winners since coming on the scene as part of Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Buffalo Billion initiative in 2014. Alumni of the program have gone on to raise more than $70 million. See their portfolio here.
Startups have a limited budget for marketing, so it's critical that they prioritize how those dollars are spent. Market segmentation can help startups prioritize their resources to achieve the largest impact with the leanest budget. It's a data-driven exercise and a key component of any marketing plan. In this webinar, Stephen Bouikidis and Mary Jordan of Magma Digital will present tools and tactics that enable founders to evaluate opportunities and reach new audiences.
Commercial real estate just got a little more efficient. CRE data startup Reonomy announced a new $16M funding round led by Bain Capital Ventures. The startup is also entering a partnership with Newmark Knight Frank, allowing the brokerage to layer Reonomy data atop its own data. We dive into the big problem Reonomy is solving.
Market segmentation is a data-driven exercise that founders should engage in at various points after they begin selling to customers. To figure out your market segments, your team should be looking at factors such as market size, growth rate, CAC, win rate for gaining customers, and average LTV. Based on these numbers, you can then determine your sales activities, marketing initiatives and even your product roadmap. In this series, we'll discuss key topics around market segmentation and give you a framework for doing it effectively for your startup.
It's critical to constantly get feedback from customers when building a startup. Maybe you are launching a new product or rolling out a new feature. Maybe you are just launching your company and you want to get feedback on your minimum viable product. Maybe your feature set has become unwieldy and you are trying to figure out which parts of the product people value the most. Here's a way to conduct customer interviews in a scalable way.
Sidewalk Labs announced the launch of a new spinoff company, Coord, that will be a connective tissue for street-related data, government, private companies, emerging mobility services, and the people who live in cities. Coord is an API layer for transportation and a coordination platform for mobility services, navigation tools, and urban infrastructure. The company can help a ride-hail service make safer curbside drop-offs, help a navigation app show bike-share options, or help a car-share service give members a better sense of the true cost of their trip.
According to the WSJ, Developers are starting to future-proof parking garages that may be obsolete in the coming years. With autonomous vehicles becoming an inevitability, garages must be designed to be used for cars now and repurposed for other things later. Master-planned projects in cities like Toronto, Los Angeles, Oslo, San Francisco and Boston are being built with features like curbside drop-off areas for passengers and e-commerce deliveries, which will replace traditional parking lanes. Developers in high-density areas are looking to existing parking infrastructure for conversion projects, with an added benefit of being able to label these "sustainable" projects because they conserve materials.
Every day at Dreamit UrbanTech, we interact with new startups transforming this supply chain, and as part of our 14-week growth-focused program, we bring select startups on a 2-week "Investor Roadshow" where they meet with dozens of investors from both generalist firms and from firms focused on real estate, construction, and products for smarter cities. We wanted to share some of our favorite firms focused on the built environment so you can use it as a resource for fundraising. We will continue to maintain this spreadsheet and will be updating it regularly with new venture investors who we meet who are committed to transforming real estate, construction, and the built environment.
Check out our upcoming events
It's not just about hiring a diverse team but also creating a culture inside your company that fosters inclusion. How do you create an environment where everyone feels welcome to share their viewpoints? How do you harness your team's unique perspectives to improve the company's performance? We will be hearing from experts and operators in the field to help us answer these questions and leave founders and startup executives with tangible takeaways to bring to their own teams.
The Cities Summit at SXSW is an opportunity for civic leaders and creative urbanists of all disciplines to join together to learn, strategize and form coalitions to transform the cities of tomorrow. Join us for two days of dynamic programming, performance, pop-up exhibits, and events exploring the future of our cities.
Dreamit Chief Investment Officer Karen Griffith Gryga will be speaking and meeting with startup founders at the Frontier Conference in New Orleans. This conference is a destination conference for the up and coming leaders in the industrial world, including the world’s top innovators, thinkers, executives, visionaries, investors, and entrepreneurs to cross-pollinate and rethink the future of industrials.


text:
In another attempt to modernize the defense sector, the Modi government has taken an important decision to promote the drone industry. The cabinet on Wednesday approved a Rs 120 crore Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for the drone industry. Announcing this on Wednesday, Union Minister Anurag Thakur said that the government has approved a Production Linked Incentive Scheme for the Auto Industry, Auto-Components Industry and Drone Industry to enhance India’s manufacturing capabilities.
The Union Minister said that the PLI scheme for drones is expected to attract fresh investments of more than Rs 5,000 crore in three years. It seems that it will bring in incremental production of more than 1500 crores.
Cabinet approves PLI scheme of 25,938 crores for auto sector, know which companies will benefit
In financial terms, the PLI scheme helps the industry to promote domestic production to reduce imports. This means that to bring self-reliance in the defense sector, India will not only use modern and most used weapons in the future, but will also produce them itself.
Preparation for non-contact warfare
Earlier, according to a report, the Prime Minister had issued instructions to prepare a draft for non-contact warfare and unmanned weapons combat in the defense sector. A task force has also been formed under the leadership of Chief of Defense Staff (CDS) Bipin Rawat to implement these instructions.
Non-contact warfare includes all non-kinetic forms. These are related to the information, cyberspace and psychological domains. Also, the military aspect of such warfare can include drones and other such weapons.
Why so many changes in drone policy?
In fact, India has made such rapid changes in its strategy regarding the drone industry, because for the last several months many incidents of drone sighting on the borders with Pakistan in Jammu and Kashmir and supplying arms and ammunition to terrorists through it. have come to the fore. Most of the incidents were foiled by the Indian Army.
But the biggest setback was for India, when in June, two bombs were dropped by drones at the Air Force Station in Jammu. Two personnel were slightly injured in this. Since then, India has also made many major changes in its drone policy. At the same time, it is known from the announcement of the PLI scheme for the drone industry, India has now taken its first step towards becoming a drone exporter.
Facebook us for social media updates (https://www.facebook.com/moneycontrolhindi/) and Twitter (.) to follow.


text:
Glass Expo Northeast (GENE) ’22 is in the books. Co-sponsored by USGlass magazine and the Long Island Glass Association, the event drew nearly 1,500 attendees. USGLass magazine editor Debra Levy began the second and final day by moderating a panel prompted by two years of the COVID crisis and supply chain hurdles.
Crisis Aftermath – Supply Challenges featured Amber Deimler, VP of Sales for Demountable Concepts Inc./MyGlassTruck; Daniel Plotnick, international and national account manager for Vitro Architectural Glass; Jeff Wilkins, Chief Operating Officer, AGNORA; and Barry Wood, vice president of marketing and business development for Wood’s Powr-Grip. Wilkins kicked off the discussion by detailing how his company has adapted to the new trials.
“Interacting with our customers has always been essential for us,” Wilkins said. “Our installation is part of this interaction. Bringing customers to our facilities was the most powerful and valuable marketing tool we had. COVID hits… the first thing we tried to do was figure out how to go virtual. Adam [Mitchell]our marketing manager, was brilliant in that he created a virtual tour. »
The hard truth about hardware
Adam Smith and Chance Lloyd of Door Controls USA discussed “The Ins and Outs of Contract and Replacement Hardware” in the next session. They led the mid-morning presentation, which discussed the importance of helping customers in need with urgency and how affordable hardware helps.
“Price and availability – this is a great opportunity for you, the service provider, to stock the hardware,” Smith said. “When your customer calls and has an emergency, you are there and have the equipment on hand. You can provide a reasonable and effective solution to their problem at an affordable price. It makes you invaluable.
Products, products, products
More than 110 companies exhibited machinery and equipment, computer software, services and various types of glass on the exhibition floor. Belleville, Michigan, Mainstreet Computers, a provider of glass software, custom websites and call center services, used the show to reconnect with a group of potential customers.
“With the crippling things of COVID the last few years, we’re trying to get in front of everyone and meet the public, so to speak,” said Mark Haeck, sales manager there. “We have a new shower door pricing app that we are showcasing at this event.”
Haeck said the platform aims “to help glass shops get quick and easy pricing in the field. [when] selling shower doors.
Mark Ibrock, co-owner and vice president of Electronic Design To Market (EDTM), has attended more than four GENE shows. He says attendance is crucial because it allows for in-person service demonstrations.
“We are showing our full range of test equipment used in the glass and window industry,” he said. “All [helping with] identify the thickness of the glass and the window, [recognizing] laminated glass and measuring glass.
Mark Kemp, president of Access Door in Keokuk, Iowa, has attended more than 10 GENE gatherings over the years. His company’s display featured a range of push-pull architectural hardware, including its AA4000 Series (offset ladder pulls) and AA5000 Series (radius pulls).
“We’ve been coming to this show since it’s been around; always great turnout and great clientele,” Kemp said.
Machinery and tool supplier Matodi introduced its Cosmos grinding wheel, manufactured by British company Marrose Abrasives. The wheel is a formulated genuine rubber based abrasive wheel that provides high quality polishing and finishing at optimum processing speeds. “If we can come here and get half a dozen or a dozen good leads, that’s what we’re looking for,” says Mark Truhe, tooling and consumables manager.
When asked if the company had achieved its goal, Truhe replied, “I believe so.”
Attendees came to learn, but they also bonded with other industry professionals. A cocktail reception, sponsored by the Long Island Glass Association with drinks sponsored by Door Controls, was held at the show from 5-7 p.m. Wednesday. Between discussions, viewers shared personal goals.
Newark, NJ’s, CA Frameless glass shower door owner Cleidison Aquino looked for new machines during show hours. “[I’m looking] for a polisher, a tempering machine and a CNC.
Another regional participant with similar aspirations was Michael Ernst, owner of M&M Window and Glass of Manahawkin, NJ. “I was looking for insulating glass manufacturers…I like the layout they’ve done here. You could walk into different rooms – there wasn’t much traffic between the lanes and no one was jostling each other.
Optimum Window Manufacturing Corp. is headquartered in Ellenville, New York. Vice President Candido Perez took advantage of GENE to meet with various suppliers looking for glass handling equipment.
That’s it people
Three years have passed since GENE ’19, the latest twist on an event built on trade shows, educational seminars and technical conferences. The COVID-19 pandemic had forced the event to shut down for another year, and it showed. Participants were amplified to progress throughout the gathering. Click here for the USGNN video report.
Wanting more education? Don’t worry, Glass Expo Rocky Mountain ’23 returns to Denver (Aurora), Colorado after three long-awaited years to bring together qualified customers and prospects. Co-sponsored by the Colorado Glazing Contractors Association (CGCA), USGlass magazine, USGNN™ and Architects Guide to Glass and Metalthe event provides the architectural glass and metal industry with top-notch training, networking opportunities and a bustling exhibit floor filled with the latest products and services.
Click here for event updates as they become available. We’ll see you in the Mile High City!


text:
A new portion of rumors about new products appeared on the network, which Apple should show next year. According to analysts from Taiwan Electronic Times, there are many interesting things for fans of apple products.
The experts, citing sources in the supply chain, say Apple has high expectations for its new smartphones. In particular, analysts are confident that in terms of sales of the iPhone of the sample of 2020, they will be able to compete with the previous Apple record holder – the iPhone 6 line.
Taiwan Electronic Times officials expect Apple to release three new models in the second half of next year – the iPhone 11S, iPhone 11S Pro and iPhone 11S Pro Max. The total shipments of apple smartphones from the third quarter of 2020 to January 2021 will reach 110-120 million devices. The devices will receive screens with diagonals of 5.4, 6.1 and 6.7 inches.
In addition, there is information that in the spring Apple will show a budget smartphone. Externally, the device should be similar to the iPhone 8, but in terms of technical characteristics, the new product will not be much inferior to the iPhone 11. According to rumors, the budget apple smartphone should receive an Apple A13 processor and 3 GB of RAM.


text:
The torch light mobile phone is a new spin on the idea of the cellphone design. This concept phone has been put forth by Japanese company WillCOM. The cellphone can change into a torch light in case of an emergency in order to communicate or use it as a light source.
It has the capability to entertain a W-SIM card to facilitate wireless communication in case of emergency. The torch comes powered by two D-sized batteries. The emergency phone, if meets realism, would be heartily welcomed in the earthquake prone areas.


text:
The Glitz Africa Fashion Week, Accra, Ghana is back in full swing after a year of restrictions by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ghana’s biggest fashion event in its ninth edition will be a week of all things fashion – seminars, presentations, exhibitions, photoshoots and runway shows.
The event which is holding between October 21 – 24 has the theme Creativity and Sustainability.
As always, Glitz Africa has an exciting lineup of activities for fashion industry players – designers, creatives, entrepreneurs, influencers and enthusiasts alike for GAFW21.
Ghana which will play host to the rest of Africa Glitz Africa Fashion Week will present a fresh lineup of 29 designers from the African continent and beyond. Some of which will be House of Ekii by Abasiekeme Ukanireh, Dzyn by Ogwa Iweze, Yeide Laguda by Yeside Laguda, Pillz & Poizn and a host of others.
The Grand Arena – is the new venue of choice and this year’s theme is Creativity & Sustainability. Drawing from this year’s theme, Glitz Africa Fashion Week is aimed at painting a picture of what the core of the fashion industry should be – inspired by art, architecture, and our everyday cultures.
Other Nigerian designers showcasing this year will include Ejiro Amos Tafiri, Telvin Nwafor, Kamsit Charles, Ugo Monye, Sisiano and Tubo.
House of Ekii
Lagos-based fashion label House of Ekii Designs, run by Abasiekeme Ukanireh- is a fashion enthusiast who delights fashion buffs and enthusiasts alike. Ekii is a sustainable fashion brand that is aware of the negative impact that the fashion industry has on the environment. The Ekii brand takes a reverse approach to environmental sustainability.
Eponymous clothing and lifestyle company that believes the continent as a whole has so much to offer. They are dedicated to providing distinctive clothing pieces with a focus on timeless style, authenticity, and value.
As a brand with African heritage, Yeside Laguda’s pride lies in its versatility and range. Believing style shouldn’t be boxed or dictated.
Dzyn is a well-established women’s fashion retailer that specializes in pret-a-porter (ready to wear) garments; with a focus on style, drawing on creativity and inspiration from Nigerian, African, and International styles. Dzyn believes in infusing classic garmenting with current trends, always considering affordability and paying attention to quality.
Pillz & Poizn
Is an avant-garde /contemporary luxury that caters to the bold and confident woman exuding sexy femininity with class and pizzazz.


text:
- Express Scripts is terminating its relationship with CareZone over what it calls a contract dispute.
- The company says CareZone is misrepresenting itself as a retail pharmacy, even though it actually delivers by mail.
- CareZone disagrees and has encouraged customers to submit emails voicing their complaints.
Two years after Express Scripts, the giant pharmacy manager, threatened to remove PillPack from its nationwide network, the company is doing the same thing to CareZone, a venture-backed start-up that delivers medications to customers' doors.
It's a troubling trend for emerging companies that rely on large pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), which sit between insurance providers and pharmacies and help determine the drugs that insurers will cover and at what price.
The PillPack controversy in 2016 was over a contract dispute, with Express Scripts claiming the company misrepresented itself as a retail pharmacy when it was actually a mail-order pharmacy. Express Scripts, which health insurer Cigna has agreed to buy for $67 billion, is now making the same claim against CareZone, as well as accusing the start-up of shipping medicines to states where it isn't licensed to operate.
Without a PBM, pharmacies like CareZone generally can't accept insurance to cover customers' drug purchases.
CareZone, led by ex-Sun Microsystems CEO Jonathan Schwartz and backed by investors including Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, disputes Express Scripts' assertions and says it has licenses in all 50 states. Schwartz told CNBC that CareZone would lose about 900 customers if Express Scripts goes through with its plans, hurting many low-income patients in rural areas who are battling multiple chronic illnesses.
Schwartz informed patients of the coming change by email last week and included a link they could use to contact Express Scripts and lodge a complaint. In the frequently asked questions section of its website, CareZone said the effective date of the change is July 13, and that it's "working to resolve this issue with Express Scripts."
The PillPack disagreement was resolved within weeks, though the companies declined to disclose terms of the agreement. Express Scripts generates about 45 percent of its revenue from the home delivery of prescription drugs and is the largest PBM.
"It takes PBMs a while, but once they see something that is gaining traction and poses a threat to their mail-order pharmacy business, they often move swiftly to clamp down," said Stephen Buck, a drug supply chain expert who previously co-founded drug comparison site GoodRx.
As of the July termination date, CareZone customers will be unable to access medicines at a lower rate using their insurance and will have to transfer to another pharmacy that partners with Express Scripts and can deliver to the home.
Brian Henry, a spokesman for Express Scripts, said the company conducted a thorough review before making the decision and added that patients have plenty of options for affordable drugs.
Using a template provided by CareZone, numerous customers have written formal complaints against Express Scripts to the Department of Justice, arguing that the company will be depriving them of choice.
"I, and others who live in more rural locations, rely on CareZone Pharmacy to organize and dispense medicines that are delivered to me at my home," reads a complaint that was obtained by CNBC. "I rely on both the pharmacy's pill packaging and CareZone's smartphone application to make sure I follow my physician's orders, take my medicines as prescribed, and stay out of the hospital."
CareZone has hired Boies Schiller Flexner, the law firm led by David Boies, to represent its interest in the matter.
While CareZone customers may feel the impact, George Hill, an analyst at RBC, disagrees with the argument that Express Scripts is instituting the change to squelch competition. He estimates that mail order accounts for 40 percent of Express Scripts' earnings, but that CareZone makes up a very small fraction of its home delivery business. He said Express Scripts actually wants more partners reaching a broader set of customers and helping them take their medications.
"They straddle both sides of this," said Hill, who has a buy rating on the stock. "CareZone is not significant from a competitive perspective."
Schwartz, who started CareZone in 2012 with a medication management app, later moved into drug delivery through a separate legal entity — CareZone Pharmacy Services — as customers began to ask for it. The pharmacy business owns two brick-and-mortar retail locations, one in Tennessee and one in California.
CareZone, the digital service, partners with CareZone Pharmacy as well as other large pharmacy chains. About 20,000 people use the pharmacy service, Schwartz said.
He also said that the CareZone Pharmacy isn't a mail-delivery business. Patients designate CareZone as their "agent" by signing an electronic consent form to pick up medicines on their behalf and drop them off just as any other caregiver would. That could be by courier, car delivery or through the mail.
CareZone has raised $150 million in total venture financing. Schwartz likens the pharmacy business to Uber, which isn't a taxi company but connects drivers with riders.
Henry takes issue with the analogy. He said that Express Scripts has mail-order contracts with other pharmacies and isn't ending its relationship with CareZone because of its business model. The problem, he said, is that CareZone has been violating their agreement and acting primarily as a mail-order business.
"If they're going to compare themselves to Uber, we'd agree," Henry said. "They're like an Uber self-driving car that has no idea where it¹s going."


text:
“US Firms Put Social Values Before Big Profits”
In the News (from BBC News): “…in the next few weeks, half a dozen US states are expected to pass legislation that will for the first time protect companies which value their social impact as much as the bottom line.
“Whether it’s buying locally, protecting the environment or launching community projects, the new ‘benefit corporations’ have a common mission – to do well by doing good.
“‘It’s becoming a national movement,’ says Penny Jones-Napier, owner of the Big Bad Woof pet store in Hyattsville, Maryland, the first business in the US to adopt the new benefit corporation designation. ‘What started with small businesses is moving into the mainstream.’
“As a benefit corporation, Big Bad Woof is protected from legal action if it makes decisions that aren’t in the financial interests of its shareholders.
“The company can support local suppliers for instance, even though that might not be the cheapest option and could reduce the profit margin.
“Ms Jones-Napier says her customers are also happy to pay extra to support the company’s values. …
“‘Benefit corporations are brilliant because they allow companies to pursue profit – for which no one should apologise – and at the same time have a positive impact on society,’ says corporate legal expert Laura Jordan of The Capital Law Firm in Washington DC.
“Whereas the two goals were once seen as incompatible, people in their 20s and 30s regard them as complementary, she says. ‘They want to use the power of business to change the world.’
“Seven states, including New York and California, have already adopted the new business class. These seven states combined produce a third of America’s annual economic output, which makes their support for benefit corporations significant, says Andrew Kassoy, co-founder of B Lab. …
“There are still fewer than 100 benefit corporations in the US, but Mr Kassoy expects that number to grow rapidly over the next few years.”
My Comment: This initiative would be wonderful if it weren’t egoistic and confined within one country or one state. In the end, since this is contrary to the law of nature, to bring us to a total interconnected system, this initiative has no future! It will only delay the end and will bring us to a greater devastation.
“Occupy” Protesters Find Allies In Ranks Of The Wealthy
The Readiness Of The Rich To Pay For Peace Will Not Help
The US Continues To Face An Ongoing National Crisis
Sadly, I must agree with you. Human nature is based on profit and slavery, not on honor and compassion. Could we trust our present generation of geneticists to redesign us? I wouldn’t. Lets remember who leads them.


text:
Can These 3D-Printing Startups Disrupt the Industry?
Table of contents
Last month, we did an autopsy on metal 3D-printing stocks. Before that, we ditched our investment thesis around distributed manufacturing as the best strategy for betting on 3D printing. Extreme volatility in the 3D-bioprinting stock still in our Nanalyze Disruptive Tech Portfolio has left us underwater. Overall, 3D-printing stocks have performed pretty poorly, aside from an early 2021 spike that was the result of the bull market run that boosted the price of any tech stock with a pulse. You would have earned more money checking the slots of coin-operated lockers at your local museum once a week than if you had invested in 3D-printing stocks over the last five years. The promise of a 3D printer on every corner morphed into distributed manufacturing which seems to be reaching its growth limits, while the proliferation of overvalued metal 3D printing SPACs did investors no favors.
Strangely, the bloodbath in the public markets hasn’t deterred institutional investors in the private markets. Funding to startups was down 35% last year to $415 billion, according to the big brains at data research firm CB Insights. Yet private funding to 3D-printing companies reached $1.5 billion in the first six months of 2022 alone, the most of any year except 2021, when startups raised more than $2 billion, according to PitchBook data.
So, in this article, we’re going to take a step back and look at some of the leading 3D-printing startups that could someday be available to retail investors. Maybe, some exciting companies are coming down the pipeline to reinvigorate our excitement around a technology that’s largely disappointed thus far.
Mass Manufacturing with 3D Printing
We’re actually kicking off the list with a familiar name – vertically integrated Formlabs. The Boston area company has raised more than $250 million since it was founded back in 2011 and later seeded through a Kickstarter campaign. It reached unicorn status in 2018 and is currently valued at about $2 billion. It last raised $150 million from SoftBank back in 2021. It is one of the few highly valued 3D-printing startups that held off from going public through the SPAC rush. The Holy Grail for 3D-printing companies is developing a hardware platform capable of true mass manufacturing. Earlier this year, Formlabs introduced its new Automation Ecosystem that enables its printers to produce parts and prototypes 24/7.
The new platform includes automatic parts removal, software to manage and optimize a fleet of 3D printers, and a high-volume resin system to cut down on manual refills. The company claims the Ecosystem triples productivity while saving up to 80% on labor, lowering cost per part by 40%, and reducing packaging waste by up to 96%. The factory of the future or a future bargain bin 3D-printing stock? If the former, this could be a step in the right direction.
Full-Stack Digital Manufacturing
Another Boston area startup is VulcanForms, which has raised $355 million in funding, including a massive $250 million Series C in July 2022 that vaulted it into the unicorn club. That was enough to earn the 8-year-old startup out of MIT lots of media attention, including a feature article in the New York Times. VulcanForms has developed ginormous metal 3D printers that use 150 separate laser beams to make parts faster and more precisely, ranging from medical implants to aerospace components. The machines are not for sale. Instead, VulcanForms plans to operate its own digital manufacturing factories. The company is investing more than $100 million into its flagship facility, VulcanOne, which will boast a fleet of 100-kilowatt class laser printing systems, representing two megawatts of laser power (but not Death Star-level laser power). The proprietary additive manufacturing tech features “advanced simulation, in-process sensing, and machine learning algorithms.”
VulcanForms is pretty mum on customer names, except that it “supplies over a dozen U.S. Department of Defense programs, including the F35 Joint Strike Fighter and Patriot Air Defense System, has delivered thousands of components for the semiconductor industry, and is enabling innovation in medical implants.” No doubt VulcanForms is also burning through money to build and prove its unproven 3D-printing technologies. It already sounds like a high-risk 3D-printing stock in the making. Can a network of 3D-printing factories, with other machining capabilities, work at scale? It sounds like another version of distributed manufacturing with huge capex spending.
Driving Toward 3D-Printed Cars
On the other coast of the United States is Divergent, a startup based out of the Los Angeles area that has raised $428 million but apparently couldn’t find a few dollars to build out an informative website. The lion’s share ($340 million) came through three different rounds in 2022. Presumably, the roughly 10-year-old company is putting all of that cash toward developing and commercializing its Divergent Adaptive Production System (DAPS), which combines “generative design, additive manufacturing, and automated assembly” to build automotive parts and just about anything else at a “global network of DAPS factories driving distributed innovation across the planet in a circular economy manufacturing system.”
That was pretty much the story when we briefly profiled the startup in 2018 when it had only amassed a total of $88 million, so not sure how much actual progress has been made. Meanwhile, inventor, founder and CEO Kevin Czinger and his son are leveraging the platform to build a line of supercars for their other company Czinger Vehicles. Divergent sounds like a great SPAC target.
Classic 3D-Printing Startup
Just a wee bit north up the coast is Silicon Valley-based Carbon, a 3D-printing startup founded in 2015 that has raised nearly $700 million at a valuation of $2.4 billion. This company appeared in three of the four years we tracked the most well-funded 3D-printing startups, including the 2019 list when the company apparently raised its last big round. Cutting edge and cool back in the day, Carbon’s latest press releases tout innovations around dental aligners and damping elastomers for impact protection in products such as padding, gloves, and helmets. Next …
3D-Printed Food Back on the Menu
In 2019, we profiled a few startups developing 3D-printed food. The concept sounded pretty gimmicky at the time, and an Israeli company called Redefine Meat had raised all of $6 million in disclosed funding to create plant-based foods using additive manufacturing. The startup has since raised $170 million total, including a $135 million round last year. Its flagship product is a 3D-printed steak using plant proteins and fats. We recently exited our position in the leader in plant-based meat, Beyond Meat, with the company reporting declining revenue and unable to reach price parity with real beef. We’ve already had a taste of this nothingburger and doubt adding even more technology is the answer. Next …
Another gimmicky-sound 3D-printing technology involves using additive manufacturing technology to build houses and future homes for human aliens on Mars. We covered ICON a couple of years ago after the Austin, Texas-based startup raised $207 million to fund its technology, which uses robots, software, and a special polymer concrete to build houses in about a week. About six months later, the company raised another $185 million to bring total funding to more than $450 million with a valuation reportedly near $2 billion. While the ESG half of the business is to print affordable housing ($10,000 a pop) quickly, the technology has been used to partly build homes in the company’s hometown at $450,000 each.
There is some speculation that this high-profile 3D-printing company could IPO this year. That should make for an interesting investor deck.
Like virtual reality and other emerging technologies, 3D printing has struggled to find its sweet spot. There is no shortage of interesting and useful applications, but a truly disruptive business case has yet to emerge. Will any of these well-funded 3D-printing startups finally make the grade? Who knows. Right now, we’re happy to let the institutional investors spend their money on the R&D and proofs-of-concept. Risk-averse retail investors like us have learned to be very skeptical of the entire theme.
Become a premium member and get access to hundreds of premium articles, reports and additional content.
Nanalyze Premium is your comprehensive guide to investing in disruptive technologies. Read by the top investment banks, management consultancies, VCs, and research houses. Trusted by over 100,000 institutional and retail investors. Covering disruptive technologies for nearly two decades.


text:
While U.S. tourists still can’t fly to Cuba for vacation, new regulations from the Commerce and Treasury departments will make Cuba more accessible to many from the U.S. — as well as their money. The new rules expand on President Barack Obama’s Dec. 17 announcement that the United States would reopen diplomatic ties to the island.
In a prepared statement, Treasury Secretary Joseph Lew said the changes will “promote political and economic freedom” for Cubans.
“Cuba has real potential for economic growth and by increasing travel, commerce, communications and private business development between the United States and Cuba, the United States can help the Cuban people determine their own future,” Lew said.
According to the Treasury Department fact sheet, major changes outlined by the policy include:
- All travel that was previously authorized (including travel for family visits, certain types of work, educational or religious activities and humanitarian projects) will now be possible without special licenses. Approved travelers will simply be able to book their flights and go.
- Travelers will be able to spend as much as they want on the island while they are there — and use U.S. credit or debit cards to make purchases.
- Travelers can bring up to $400 worth of personal goods back to the United States (but no more than $100 of alcohol or tobacco products).
- People can sell or donate communication devices like computers and phones to the Cuban people without special permission.
- Remittance limits will rise in many cases and be eliminated in the case of humanitarian projects.
- Certain commercial imports from Cuban entrepreneurs will be allowed. To read the official information, click here.


text:
Ad Series Highlights Links Between Grapes and Healthy Heart, Brain, and Colon
News Release Edited By Patrick Cavanaugh
A new ad campaign from the farmers of fresh California grapes highlights how consuming normal amounts of grapes each day may contribute to long-term health by helping to maintain a healthy heart, brain, and colon.
Reaching consumers online and through print and broadcast, the campaign revolves around a series of ads focusing on the power of the whole fruit: grapes contain more than 1,600 documented natural plant compounds, including antioxidants and other polyphenols.
Each ad highlights key research from scientific study in the area of heart, brain, and colon health. Scientists believe it is the combination of natural plant compounds and daily consumption that provides benefit.
Kathleen Nave, California Table Grape Commission president
“Consumers have always loved grapes for their great taste, convenience, share-ability, and beauty. Through this campaign, consumers will learn that the health benefits grapes provide go beyond the basics of eating a favorite fruit as part of a healthy diet,” said Kathleen Nave, California Table Grape Commission president. “It is already established that grapes are a heart-healthy food, and now research in the areas of brain and colon health is emerging that suggests that grapes may have an even broader role to play in long-term health.”
Nave noted that research into these three areas of health, and numerous others, will continue.
The campaign will run in magazines and newspapers in both print and online, on health-related websites, on television and radio, and on social media.


text:
Photography drone becomes Canadian’s highest grossing crowdfunding campaign
By Design Engineering staffGeneral Aerospace DreamQii drone PlexiDrone slideshow uav
Toronto-based DreamQii’s PlexiDrone surpasses CAD$2.5 million on Indiegogo.
DreamQii, a robotics company based out of the DMZ at Ryerson University, has led the highest grossing Canadian campaign in Indiegogo’s history, raising more than $2 million USD (over CAD$2.5 million). The Toronto-based company’s highly portable, snap-together PlexiDrone has captured attention among aerial photographers due to its modular design, GPS “follow me” mode, obstacle avoidance, retractable landing gear and multi-vantage-point swarm filming capabilities.
“DreamQii’s PlexiDrone campaign was exceptionally well executed,” said Steve Tam, Tech, Hardware, & Design Projects at Indiegogo. “They were able to sustain steady growth throughout their campaign and they continue to experience strong growth as one of the first Indiegogo campaigns to enter InDemand. They’ve employed innovative sales strategies, including a focus on customer management and add-on sales through the use of our API and their own custom tools.”
DreamQii was started by Ryerson University aerospace engineering graduate, Klever Freire, and has grown to ten full-time staff within Ryerson University’s Digital Media Zone (DMZ) business incubator facility. The company says it plans on manufacturing PlexiDrone in Ontario and projects more hires as it ramps up for the UAV’s Fall 2015 release date.


text:
- Dockless bike-sharing company LimeBike has launched its first electric-assist bike (e-bike) fleet in Seattle.
- The Lime-E bikes can reach maximum speeds of 14.8 mph and will cost an additional 10 cents per minute to ride, on top of the standard $1 unlocking fee.
- The company says this is the largest e-bike release to date in the United States, and Seattle will have more e-bikes than any other U.S. city.
The dockless bike-sharing scene blew up last summer as multiple businesses simultaneously became licensed for pilot programs in U.S. cities. In addition to traditional bikes, some cities like Washington, DC also introduced e-bikes, although that style is still far less prevalent. While some cities are licensing e-bike system operators, such as Jump, another tactic being used in San Francisco is to incorporate e-bikes into its existing, station-centric bike-sharing program.
Lime-E bikes use electric power to give riders a zero-emissions boost with a 250-watt motor. They are a way to provide a more equitable service model and to address different customers' needs, and also offer riders some assistance on longer trips or on difficult terrain.
Hills are one major area where e-bikes are lauded for helping riders. That makes Seattle a perfect launching ground for Lime-E, considering that the city has a lot of steep hills that make biking difficult. In fact, the city's hilly topography is one of the factors that is blamed for the failure of Seattle's original bike-share program.
Lime-E plans to expand service to other markets throughout the year, including parts of California.


text:
Two years after announcing its partnership with Roger Federer, Swiss shoemaker On Holdings has filed for an initial public offering (IPO) in New York, seeking a valuation between US$6 billion and US$8 billion (AU$8.3 billion to AU$11 billion).
The rise of On Holdings has been impressively steady in recent years, beyond successfully leveraging the star power of a 20-time Grand Slam champion. After its latest round of funding back in April, On Holdings was already valued at close to US$2 billion (AU$2.8 billion). And as per the SEC filing, in the six months leading up to June 30th…
- Net sales increased by 85% to 316 million Swiss francs (AU$476.7 million); online sales alone spiked by 200% during the pandemic
- Net income increased from a loss of 33.1 million Swiss francs (AU$49.9 million) the year prior to 3.8 million Swiss francs (AU$5.7 million) in the green
- A global presence in approximately 8,100 retailers has been achieved, including a flagship store in New York that opened last December
- Bonus: the Zurich-based sneaker firm has been dubbed “one of the world’s fastest-growing maker of running shoes“
US venture capital firm Stripes holds a 12.4% stake in the On Holdings, while Alex Perez’s Point Break Capital holds 25.4%, and Asian private equity operation Hillhouse retains 6.1%. Roger Federer himself joined as an “active co-entrepreneur and investor” circa 2019, although it’s unclear how much the man has kicked in the company’s direction vis-a-vis
dollars + cents Swiss francs (or what percentage of ownership it translates into).
“We noticed Roger wearing On shoes and reached out to him,” Olivier Bernhard – who co-founded On alongside David Allemann and Caspar Coppetti in 2010 – explained during the partnership announcement.
“It became clear that there was a unique opportunity to forge a joint entrepreneurial path that is very different from an athletic sponsorship that a big company would do.”
Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan, UBS, and Credit Suisse are among the first underwriters for the On Holdings IPO – the offering size will be US$100 million (AU$138 million) with the ticker code NYSE: ONON.


text:
EMC has today introduced its first ever channel incentive programme for the entry-level segment in EMEA.
The aim is to increase sales in the $5,000 - $25,000 segment by simplifying quoting processes, launching a range of new products and introducing a sales incentive programme.
On the quoting end, EMC will allow distributors to quote immediately rather than registering each deal. The hope is that by simplifying and shortening the cycle, the knock-on effect will be a boost in sales.
The incentive programme is the first of its kind for the entry-level segment and comprises for two elements; a reseller incentive, which for every three successful sales, will pay out $300 per sale; and a distributor incentive, which involves a quarterly rebate based on a sales target.
EMC estimated that there are some 4,500 resellers across EMEA that qualify for the programme.
"While EMC has always performed well in the entry-level segment, we are targeting a further increase in sales,” said Peter Yarwood, EMEA distribution sales director at EMC. “The only way we can meet this goal is by doing what we do best: empowering our channel resellers to use their customer relationships and take control of the sales process.”


text:
NORTHAMPTON — The Mountain Goat will give its final gasp Friday when the store auctions off its remaining inventory of outdoor clothing and gear.
A downtown fixture since 1989, the 189 Main St. store was a magnet for wilderness and urban adventurers looking for everything from thermal underwear to climbing gear to maps. Owners A.J. Lafleur and Mary Colwell announced the closing recently, saying they can no longer compete with online distributors of outdoor goods. They could not be reached for comment Monday.
The auction, handled by Aaron Posnik Auctioneers of Springfield, is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. on the store’s premises.
Among the goods listed are items by brands such as Patagonia and Vasque, including boots, coats, windbreakers, socks and backpacks. Also on the auction block are clothing racks, file cabinets, furniture, bookcases and a printer.


text:
Physical Security Still Matters: Watch Out for Rogue USB Devices
Articles by: Richey May, Mar 15, 2018
Evolving tactics used by cybercriminals, often highlighted in the news related to large-scale attacks, bring attention to the importance of protecting the companies we work for and ourselves personally. But over time, we tend to forget about other, more low-tech, attacks that are still quite impactful. Physical security, including the use of USB storage devices, has been a security topic for the better part of a decade. Recommendations around blocking USB devices, not only for compliance, but also to limit the loss of sensitive data, are now considered industry best practice. However, many organizations still remain vulnerable due to the lack of established policies and procedures around the use of USB devices. Researchers from Ben-Gurion University in Israel recently released a report of 29 different attack methods via USB that attackers could use to compromise a user’s computer. The researchers categorize these attacks into four unique categories depending on how the attack is executed. Once executed, the attacker is able to gain control of the victim’s computer, utilizing the system to execute malicious attacks or steal sensitive information.
REPROGRAMMABLE MICROCONTROLLER USB ATTACKS
The first category, reprogrammable microcontroller USB attacks, involves the use of a small programmable chip that is able to “mimic” a normal USB device, but that is programmed to directly interact with the computer just as if the attacker were sitting at the keyboard and monitor. This type of controller attack has been around since 2010 and is designed to execute malicious keystrokes in order to install malicious software that aids in the theft of passwords or other sensitive information.
REPROGRAMMED USB PERIPHERALS
Similarly, the second category focuses on reprogrammed USB peripherals that have had their internal software, also known as firmware, changed to include malicious instructions that the host computer then executes. This type of attack can result in the loss of data or the covert use of web cameras to capture video without the user even knowing. For example, Siemens, the global electronic controls company, found malware posing as legitimate software updates for control systems that ended up infecting the programmable logic controls of industrial systems.
SOFTWARE ON THE USB DEVICE
While reprogramming USB devices is technically complicated, the third category utilizes software on the USB device that simply executes to conduct the malicious activity. Considered the world’s first digital weapon, Stuxnet, released in 2014, utilized software installed on a USB storage device to execute a computer worm that targeted SCADA systems. Stuxnet made a name for itself due to the substantial damage it did to Iran’s nuclear program. In another example, in 2017, IBM had to publicly announce that a number of USB flash drives had been shipped with Trojan malware that impacted Storwize storage systems.
The last category of attacks is quite simple, and is called an electrical attack. The idea behind this attack is to cause irreparable harm to a computer system by triggering an electrical surge.
HOW TO PROTECT YOUR DATA
The good news in all of this is that there are a number of simple rules that can help reduce your attack surface and protect your company’s sensitive data and technology investments. Generally speaking, in order to protect your organization, standard policies should be in place that disable USB storage devices, and all endpoint devices should be patched and have good anti-malware software installed. Additionally, employees should be trained to not inherently trust all technology devices. If they don’t know for sure that a USB device is clean, they shouldn’t plug it in. This includes not only USB tokens found in parking lots, but also extends to public charging stations that can be commonly utilized to charge smartphones. Employees should be instructed to always use their own chargers, use their own USB devices, and to distrust public Wi-Fi networks. These simple steps can help reduce the impact of rogue USB devices if they are introduced into your company’s environment. For any questions regarding the information contained in this article, or about the cybersecurity services that Richey May provides, please contact JT Gaietto, Executive Director, Cybersecurity Services.