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|By PR Newswire||
|November 13, 2012 12:03 PM EST||
NEW YORK, Nov. 13, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- With about two-thirds of U.S. eighth-graders below proficiency in math according to the latest National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), most parents, teachers and employers agree that improving math scores is vital to the success of students and the nation's economic future.
Now Benesse America wants to give U.S. students the kind of help with their math studies that has made its parent company famous among children and parents in Japan, this time with a new mobile technology twist.
Today Benesse launches a new self-tutoring service called StraightAce, designed for struggling middle-school math students. StraightAce makes a game out of math, increasing student motivation for learning.
"Parents see their children falling behind in math and don't know how to help them. With StraightAce, kids spend just 15 minutes a day on a smartphone or tablet collecting in-game rewards for their study achievements, all the while gaining a better grasp of vital math concepts," explains Shigeki Matsuo, president of Benesse America.
The service is designed for sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders. Each StraightAce session includes a lesson and 10 math problems, with further explanations offered for each question. Every grade level includes over 150 different math topics, which are all aligned with the Common Core State Standards. The new standards, adopted by 45 states and now being implemented by teachers nationwide, reflect the knowledge and skills needed to succeed in college and the workplace.
StraightAce received praise from students and parents in focus groups: "I thought it was a good review and it matched up with what I was learning in school," said Matthew Sypa, 13, of Brooklyn, N.Y. "When I went back and read the explanations, I knew I could do the problems."
Makes Parental Involvement Easier
As children complete math problems on the StraightAce mobile app, parents can follow and encourage their progress online through a cloud-based dashboard. The display includes snapshots of work completed by the student on the mobile app's virtual scratchpad and an inbox where students can send their parents messages if they need extra help. Parents can access all lessons, problems and explanations online.
Developmental Years Targeted
The middle-school years are a crucial time for math skills development. Since math concepts are cumulative, students who miss fundamentals during this period often fail to catch up as advanced concepts needed for high school and college are introduced.
StraightAce keeps middle-schoolers engaged by making math studies fun and easier to fit into the day. As students learn and answer math questions correctly, they earn virtual stars that are exchangeable for in-game rewards. Such features embrace the current popular tech trend of gamification. Making the content accessible through a mobile app means that the material goes with students wherever they are, so they can be learning even when they're away from textbooks.
Help for U.S. Students from a Famous Name in Japan
Benesse is a well-known name in Japan, so much so that 1 in 5 children there currently use a Benesse product of some kind.
"Much like in America, parents in Japan have varying opinions of the educational system," Matsuo said. "It is therefore very common for parents in Japan to pay for additional products and services to supplement the learning that their children receive in the classroom. Helping students to more easily grasp what they are taught in school is part of what has made Benesse famous in Japan, and we can help students here in America as well."
StraightAce is available on the company's website at straightace.com and is compatible with iPhone, iPad and Android platforms. Subscription prices for the service start from $14.99 per month. StraightAce is the result of a joint development effort between Benesse America and Quipper, a learning platform developer.
About Benesse America
Based in New York, Benesse America Inc. is the operating entity of the Benesse Group in the United States. Its parent Benesse Holdings Inc. holds the largest education company in Japan and third largest in the world, with over $5 billion in net sales. Benesse Holdings Inc. is also the parent company of Berlitz Corporation, which offers language instruction through more than 550 locations in more than 70 countries.
Quipper was founded in 2010 by Masayuki Watanabe, co-founder of DeNA, and is based in London. Quipper has over 3.7 million learners around the world studying on its platform.
— For more information on StraightAce, go to straightace.com.
All major researchers estimate there will be tens of billions devices - computers, smartphones, tablets, and sensors - connected to the Internet by 2020. This number will continue to grow at a rapid pace for the next several decades. With major technology companies and startups seriously embracing IoT strategies, now is the perfect time to attend @ThingsExpo, November 3-5, 2015, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA. Learn what is going on, contribute to the discussions, and ensure that your enterprise is as "IoT-Ready" as it can be.
Sep. 3, 2015 07:15 PM EDT Reads: 115
Containers are not new, but renewed commitments to performance, flexibility, and agility have propelled them to the top of the agenda today. By working without the need for virtualization and its overhead, containers are seen as the perfect way to deploy apps and services across multiple clouds. Containers can handle anything from file types to operating systems and services, including microservices. What are microservices? Unlike what the name implies, microservices are not necessarily small, but are focused on specific tasks. The ability for developers to deploy multiple containers – thous...
Sep. 3, 2015 06:00 PM EDT Reads: 146
Too often with compelling new technologies market participants become overly enamored with that attractiveness of the technology and neglect underlying business drivers. This tendency, what some call the “newest shiny object syndrome,” is understandable given that virtually all of us are heavily engaged in technology. But it is also mistaken. Without concrete business cases driving its deployment, IoT, like many other technologies before it, will fade into obscurity.
Sep. 3, 2015 04:30 PM EDT Reads: 428
The 3rd International WebRTC Summit, to be held Nov. 4–6, 2014, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA, announces that its Call for Papers is now open. Topics include all aspects of improving IT delivery by eliminating waste through automated business models leveraging cloud technologies. WebRTC Summit is co-located with 15th International Cloud Expo, 6th International Big Data Expo, 3rd International DevOps Summit and 2nd Internet of @ThingsExpo. WebRTC (Web-based Real-Time Communication) is an open source project supported by Google, Mozilla and Opera that aims to enable bro...
Sep. 3, 2015 03:00 PM EDT Reads: 1,605
As more and more data is generated from a variety of connected devices, the need to get insights from this data and predict future behavior and trends is increasingly essential for businesses. Real-time stream processing is needed in a variety of different industries such as Manufacturing, Oil and Gas, Automobile, Finance, Online Retail, Smart Grids, and Healthcare. Azure Stream Analytics is a fully managed distributed stream computation service that provides low latency, scalable processing of streaming data in the cloud with an enterprise grade SLA. It features built-in integration with Azur...
Sep. 3, 2015 02:45 PM EDT Reads: 386
With the proliferation of connected devices underpinning new Internet of Things systems, Brandon Schulz, Director of Luxoft IoT – Retail, will be looking at the transformation of the retail customer experience in brick and mortar stores in his session at @ThingsExpo. Questions he will address include: Will beacons drop to the wayside like QR codes, or be a proximity-based profit driver? How will the customer experience change in stores of all types when everything can be instrumented and analyzed? As an area of investment, how might a retail company move towards an innovation methodolo...
Sep. 3, 2015 02:30 PM EDT Reads: 509
SYS-CON Events announced today that HPM Networks will exhibit at the 17th International Cloud Expo®, which will take place on November 3–5, 2015, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA. For 20 years, HPM Networks has been integrating technology solutions that solve complex business challenges. HPM Networks has designed solutions for both SMB and enterprise customers throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.
Sep. 3, 2015 02:30 PM EDT Reads: 962
SYS-CON Events announced today the Containers & Microservices Bootcamp, being held November 3-4, 2015, in conjunction with 17th Cloud Expo, @ThingsExpo, and @DevOpsSummit at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA. This is your chance to get started with the latest technology in the industry. Combined with real-world scenarios and use cases, the Containers and Microservices Bootcamp, led by Janakiram MSV, a Microsoft Regional Director, will include presentations as well as hands-on demos and comprehensive walkthroughs.
Sep. 3, 2015 02:15 PM EDT Reads: 414
Contrary to mainstream media attention, the multiple possibilities of how consumer IoT will transform our everyday lives aren’t the only angle of this headline-gaining trend. There’s a huge opportunity for “industrial IoT” and “Smart Cities” to impact the world in the same capacity – especially during critical situations. For example, a community water dam that needs to release water can leverage embedded critical communications logic to alert the appropriate individuals, on the right device, as soon as they are needed to take action.
Sep. 3, 2015 01:30 PM EDT
WebRTC services have already permeated corporate communications in the form of videoconferencing solutions. However, WebRTC has the potential of going beyond and catalyzing a new class of services providing more than calls with capabilities such as mass-scale real-time media broadcasting, enriched and augmented video, person-to-machine and machine-to-machine communications. In his session at @ThingsExpo, Luis Lopez, CEO of Kurento, will introduce the technologies required for implementing these ideas and some early experiments performed in the Kurento open source software community in areas ...
Sep. 3, 2015 01:15 PM EDT Reads: 105
SYS-CON Events announced today that Pythian, a global IT services company specializing in helping companies leverage disruptive technologies to optimize revenue-generating systems, has been named “Bronze Sponsor” of SYS-CON's 17th Cloud Expo, which will take place on November 3–5, 2015, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA. Founded in 1997, Pythian is a global IT services company that helps companies compete by adopting disruptive technologies such as cloud, Big Data, advanced analytics, and DevOps to advance innovation and increase agility. Specializing in designing, imple...
Sep. 3, 2015 01:00 PM EDT Reads: 367
Consumer IoT applications provide data about the user that just doesn’t exist in traditional PC or mobile web applications. This rich data, or “context,” enables the highly personalized consumer experiences that characterize many consumer IoT apps. This same data is also providing brands with unprecedented insight into how their connected products are being used, while, at the same time, powering highly targeted engagement and marketing opportunities. In his session at @ThingsExpo, Nathan Treloar, President and COO of Bebaio, will explore examples of brands transforming their businesses by t...
Sep. 3, 2015 12:30 PM EDT Reads: 286
In his session at @ThingsExpo, Lee Williams, a producer of the first smartphones and tablets, will talk about how he is now applying his experience in mobile technology to the design and development of the next generation of Environmental and Sustainability Services at ETwater. He will explain how M2M controllers work through wirelessly connected remote controls; and specifically delve into a retrofit option that reverse-engineers control codes of existing conventional controller systems so they don't have to be replaced and are instantly converted to become smart, connected devices.
Sep. 3, 2015 12:00 PM EDT Reads: 255
With the Apple Watch making its way onto wrists all over the world, it’s only a matter of time before it becomes a staple in the workplace. In fact, Forrester reported that 68 percent of technology and business decision-makers characterize wearables as a top priority for 2015. Recognizing their business value early on, FinancialForce.com was the first to bring ERP to wearables, helping streamline communication across front and back office functions. In his session at @ThingsExpo, Kevin Roberts, GM of Platform at FinancialForce.com, will discuss the value of business applications on wearable ...
Sep. 3, 2015 10:45 AM EDT
SYS-CON Events announced today that Micron Technology, Inc., a global leader in advanced semiconductor systems, will exhibit at the 17th International Cloud Expo®, which will take place on November 3–5, 2015, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA. Micron’s broad portfolio of high-performance memory technologies – including DRAM, NAND and NOR Flash – is the basis for solid state drives, modules, multichip packages and other system solutions. Backed by more than 35 years of technology leadership, Micron's memory solutions enable the world's most innovative computing, consumer,...
Sep. 3, 2015 10:00 AM EDT Reads: 284
17th Cloud Expo, taking place Nov 3-5, 2015, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA, will feature technical sessions from a rock star conference faculty and the leading industry players in the world. Cloud computing is now being embraced by a majority of enterprises of all sizes. Yesterday's debate about public vs. private has transformed into the reality of hybrid cloud: a recent survey shows that 74% of enterprises have a hybrid cloud strategy. Meanwhile, 94% of enterprises are using some form of XaaS – software, platform, and infrastructure as a service.
Sep. 3, 2015 10:00 AM EDT Reads: 1,603
SYS-CON Events announced today that the "Second Containers & Microservices Expo" will take place November 3-5, 2015, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA. Containers and microservices have become topics of intense interest throughout the cloud developer and enterprise IT communities.
Sep. 3, 2015 09:30 AM EDT Reads: 651
As more intelligent IoT applications shift into gear, they’re merging into the ever-increasing traffic flow of the Internet. It won’t be long before we experience bottlenecks, as IoT traffic peaks during rush hours. Organizations that are unprepared will find themselves by the side of the road unable to cross back into the fast lane. As billions of new devices begin to communicate and exchange data – will your infrastructure be scalable enough to handle this new interconnected world?
Sep. 3, 2015 09:30 AM EDT Reads: 203
While many app developers are comfortable building apps for the smartphone, there is a whole new world out there. In his session at @ThingsExpo, Narayan Sainaney, Co-founder and CTO of Mojio, will discuss how the business case for connected car apps is growing and, with open platform companies having already done the heavy lifting, there really is no barrier to entry.
Sep. 3, 2015 09:30 AM EDT Reads: 212
Manufacturing connected IoT versions of traditional products requires more than multiple deep technology skills. It also requires a shift in mindset, to realize that connected, sensor-enabled “things” act more like services than what we usually think of as products. In his session at @ThingsExpo, David Friedman, CEO and co-founder of Ayla Networks, will discuss how when sensors start generating detailed real-world data about products and how they’re being used, smart manufacturers can use the data to create additional revenue streams, such as improved warranties or premium features. Or slash...
Sep. 3, 2015 09:15 AM EDT


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Three Reasons TTIP Needs Transparency
By Michele Fletcher, June 20, 2014
The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership seeks to unite U.S. and EU markets: a gigantic trade deal uniting over 800 million consumers across the United States and the European Union, and yet all its important documents remain shielded from public view. This opacity hasn’t gone unnoticed (see the above photo) and for good reason: free trade without transparency is a dangerous conduit for illicit financial flows and will isolate developing economies. Here, we’ve identified three big reasons financial transparency is crucial for TTIP:
1. Transparency Can Help Eliminate Corporate Tax Evasion and Avoidance
With Fiat, Apple, and Starbucks facing investigations into their transfer pricing practices and offshore subsidiaries, TTIP policymakers would do well to ensure that state aid and tax loopholes are closed. It’s worrisome that over 700 U.S. companies have been able to voice policy recommendations—down to exact legal wording for the partnership—and considering the $180B dollars companies stash abroad, it would be prudent to make sure they aren’t protecting tax-avoiding behavior. With especially sticky issues like transfer pricing, open dialogue about standards and regulations is critical.
The pretty explosive documents acquired show the incredible privileged access that corporate industry is granted by the Commission over the agenda of the trade negotiations, as well as the big business agenda to use TTIP as an almost revolutionary tool in the way that legislation will be written in the future.
The UK and EU have already begun work on beneficial ownership legislation, and the TTIP could provide a platform for the U.S. to follow suit. Transparency will ensure that the UK and EU remain committed to this legislation and aren’t negatively influenced by large company’s agendas behind closed doors. Transparency, by giving a spot for lobbyists, shareholders, and policymakers to voice their concerns on equal footing, may also help push automatic exchange of financial information between the EU and U.S.
2. Low and Middle Income Countries Won’t be Shut Out
Proponents of TTIP argue that the EU and US will not shut out developing economies because they don’t compete in the same sectors. This is true to an extent: non-fuel imports from low-income developing countries are concentrated in four major countries—Bangladesh, Pakistan, Cambodia, and Ghana—accounting for 60% and 83% of EU and U.S. imports from developing countries, respectively. With such a huge stake in the EU and U.S. economies and fairly low competition, it is unlikely these countries will suffer notable losses in trade relations, even if their tariffs remain the same.
But this narrative is incomplete. Even if TTIP doesn’t block developing countries from markets they are already in, TTIP may present considerable barriers for countries trying to enter new markets.
Developing countries are less stagnant than ever. However, because TTIP gives little say to developing countries in its regulations, it may pose problems for countries seeking to expand their production and export portfolio. India, for example, is looking towards entering the pharmaceutical market, which may prove exceedingly difficult in light of EU and U.S. limitations on drug patents and regulation. Developing countries with less capital may also be deterred from developing production capacities because they may find TTIP markets difficult to penetrate.
Smaller, low income countries may find it especially difficult to join new global chains of production. Because they can afford little in the way of R&D, middle and low income countries without natural resources are focusing on intermediate goods production. While this has worked well for high-income countries like China, countries with fewer resources might find the price tag for compliance with EU and U.S. regulations too high. Transparency and involvement of developing countries in TTIP regulations will get the ball rolling on providing developing countries with guidelines for sanitation infrastructure, especially important in areas like fishing and agriculture.
3. High Income Developing Countries Won’t Be Aggressive
Transparency doesn’t only benefit low income countries: it also ensures that high-GDP developing countries like China, India, and Brazil will benefit in the long run from higher global standards and better transparency dialogue.
The TTIP could be instrumental in defining standards for products exported from China and increasing the efficiency of the Chinese economy by delineating economic spheres of influence, thus making both TTIP and Chinese economies more efficient. Furthermore, the inclusion of China in TTIP negotiations—or at the very least making them available to Chinese legislators—will increase future willingness of the Chinese to cooperate on international trade-based money laundering issues. China will be a valuable partner in fighting illicit financial flows, but if TTIP remains a closed and politicized entity, that alliance may be difficult to forge.
Transparency will be the key to defining China’s reaction to TTIP. Because of the TTIP’s undeniable political dimension, opacity will inherently generate instability.
There’s free trade, and then there’s free trade with integrity. Without transparency, TTIP can only be the former.
Photo Source: Flickr/Some Rights Reserved by campact

domain: news


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Avid's 'Openness' Initiative Puts Final Cut on Unity
Not Just a New Logo? Avid Touts Enhanced Levels of Tech Integration
With Panasonic and Sony, Avid highlighted native support for P2 and XDCAM HD media across its editorial platforms. In the run-up to NAB, Avid announced native support for Red’s .r3d file format via MetaFuze, Media Composer and DS.
The company’s Sundance Digital Titan and FastBreak NXT broadcast automation systems support Omneon’s MediaDeck GX broadcast channel-playout server. And v5.2 of the Deko 3000 on-air graphics package now supports FBX and Collada file formats, simplifying the use of 3D models and animation created in software from Autodesk and Maxon. Deko 5.2 will be available for download in June.
Even Avid’s own products got in on the integration action, with Avid showing a workflow using its Video Satellite software to connect a Pro Tools|HD system with an Avid Media Composer. That integration fit with the announcement that along with Avid’s new logo comes a “fusing” of its various businesses – Avid, Digidesign, M-Audio, Pinnacle, and Sibelius will now operate as a single company. Believe it or not, Avid says NAB 2009 was the first time audio and video products had been shown side-by-side, in integrated workflows, throughout the exhibit.
For more information: www.avid.com


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Vietnam’s Eager Embrace of ChatGPT, Despite Hurdles
Dozens of Facebook groups with a total of 79,000 members have sprung up in Vietnam, with many offering services to create ChatGPT accounts using a virtual private network (VPN).
The platform’s ability to compose emails, essays, code, and news stories based on simple user prompts has led to the interest of some of the country’s largest companies, such as Vingroup, VinFast, Bkav, and Max Land.
The surge of interest in ChatGPT has led to the creation of cottage industry selling accounts meant to be free.
Although it has limitations, such as a limited type and quantity of data, ChatGPT’s algorithm generates plausible, if not always accurate, responses to the user prompt. Its appeal lies in the ease of use, the ability to save time, and the fear of missing out (FOMO).
According to Sonny Dang, who manages one such Facebook group, less than 1% of Vietnam’s population of 100 million uses ChatGPT.
ChatGPT’s popularity has become a global trope in tech news. Its algorithm generates plausible results based on patterns of speech rather than real-world facts.
However, it has the potential to be a significant opportunity for the development of the skills and knowledge base within Vietnam’s fast-growing digital economy.
Kok Seng Kiong, an innovation program manager at RMIT University Vietnam, attributed the platform’s popularity to Vietnam’s young population, which is receptive to tech and free inventions, more likely to reach developing nations.
However, the platform doesn’t hold up as well in Vietnamese as it does in English. One executive said China’s heavy censorship of cyberspace makes it hard to create AI-generated content, a hurdle that also applies to Vietnam’s intensely censored internet. ChatGPT’s limitations also become more apparent the more one uses it, according to Dang.
In summary, the Vietnamese have eagerly embraced ChatGPT despite the hurdles of accessing it through a VPN and its limitations. Its popularity demonstrates the potential for AI and machine learning to drive Vietnam’s fast-growing digital economy.
However, its limitations in generating accurate results in Vietnamese, coupled with Vietnam’s heavily censored internet, present obstacles to further development.
Source: Nikkei Asia
Over 57,000 ransomware attacks hit Vietnam in 2022
Vietnam suffered 57,389 ransomware attacks in 2022, the third-highest in Southeast Asia following Indonesia and Thailand.
The region recorded a total of 340,904 ransomware attacks targeting businesses last year, General Manager of Kaspersky for Southeast Asia Yeo Siang Tiong told a press briefing in Ho Chi Minh City on March 14.
Ransomware is a type of malware that locks a computer and mobile device or encrypts electronic files. To obtain the “decryption” key or retrieve data, a ransom is sought by the cybercriminals behind the attack.
Digital kidnappers are targeting enterprises in Southeast Asia, Mr. Yeo said, and the trend is forecast to continue increasing this year and see more complicated attacks.
Medigo’s app makes prescription deliveries available 24/7 in Vietnam
Now Ho Chi Minh City-based Medigo is planning to grow its telehealth ecosystem with $2 million in new funding by East Ventures, with participation from Pavilion Capital and Touchstone Partners.
The new capital will allow Medigo to expand its remote doctor consultations, medicine delivery services and home testing services, including blood tests, urine tests and pregnancy tests.
Medigo’s app connects users to nearby licenses pharmacies and delivers medicine within 20 minutes. It currently has 1,000 pharmacy partners in Hanoi, Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam’s three biggest cities, and will began expanding to Tier 2 cities, like Binh Duong, Vung Tau and Hai Phong, this year.
The startup’s CEO and co-fouder Ha Le began working on the app after he had trouble finding fever reducers for his daughter in the middle of the night. “When I was in university as a software engineer, I never thought that working in the healthcare space would be the center of my daily life, but now, it is my life’s mission,” he told TechCrunch.
Medigo has plenty of competitors, including Doctor Anywhere, Jio Health, Edoctor, Long Chau, Pharmacity and Rightnow. Le said Medigo differentiates by working with pharmacies that are open around the clock so it is able to operate 24/7 consistently. It also plans to connect different providers, so users can have more choices on the same platform.
In a statement about the investment, East Ventures managing partner Koh Wai Kit said, “Digital technologies can improve the accessibility and affordability of good quality healthcare. We are excited by Medigo’s mission to revolutionize pharmacies and healthcare services in Vietnam.”
Revenue from cybersecurity sector up 33% in Q1
The Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) recently reported positive results for the cybersecurity sector in the first quarter of 2023.
Specifically, the sector posted revenue of 252.8 billion VND (10.6 million USD) during the period, an increase of 33.5% year-on-year, resulting in a growth of 33.1% to 20.22 billion VND.
It contributed 21.8 billion VND to the State budget, up 50.6% over the same period last year.
According to the ministry, there are 103 cybersecurity enterprises operating in the industry during the period, a rise of 12% on-year, creating 3,492 jobs, up 10.6%. And the rate of domestic to foreign earnings reduced by 10.1% to 45.1%.
By the end of February, the total number of issued public digital certificates jumped 23.18% to nearly 5.87 million. Of which, the active ones rose 17.89% to approximately 1.9 million in February alone.
Its digital certificate status maintaining fees contributed an accumulated value of 10.79 billion VND to the State budget since the beginning of the year.
In the second quarter of 2023, MIC plans to create strategies to fulfil information security platforms for users both in Vietnam and foreign countries.
It also cooperates with the Committee on Science, Technology and Environment to complete the Law on Electronic Transactions and implement other tasks according to the guidance document No 652 in 2023.
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It looks like Apple may be set to announce to host an event in September and among the products highlighted will be a new version of its popular Apple Watch smartwatches. Though much of the attention will be focused on the new Series 6, reliable tech leaker Komiya recently hinted on Twitter that there may also be a budget-friendly of the watch called the Apple Watch SE.
The tipster said the Apple Watch SE is set to be released in March 2021 and will replace the ageing Series 3 watches. Currently, Apple is selling two versions of the Apple Watch: the Series 5 and Series 3. Cupertino’s has marketed the former as the premium smartwatch of the duo while the latter appeals to those who want an Apple Watch but can live without features like the Series 5’s Always On display feature.
It is also said to have the same price as the Apple Watch 3. Currently, the Series 3 retails for RM849 in Malaysia. For comparison, the higher end Series 5 watch retails from RM1,749 in Malaysia.
But what about specs? It is rumoured that it will feature an S6 processor and W4 wireless chip, an upgrade over the S5 processor and W3 chip found even on the current Series 5 models. These two chips are also expected to be used in the upcoming Apple Watch 6.
Apart from that Komiya stated that all models of the Apple Watch SE will come with 16GB of storage and will use Bluetooth 5.0 for connectivity. It is also said to use an “old design”, though Komiya did not specify which model this could be. Also, the Apple Watch SE could possibly come in 42mm size and be available in aluminium, differentiating it from the premium model’s stainless steel body.
Other features may include a digital crown that provide haptic feedback. For emergencies, the cellular models are said to feature international SOS calling.
It is interesting to see how Apple is slowly making its products more accessible to users by way of introducing more “SE” variants. In a sense, the Apple Watch SE could be the perfect companion device for the iPhone SE.
The iPhone SE uses the same A13 Bionic chip found on the iPhone 11 series. It also helps that the iPhone SE will receive up to five years of software support, which is much longer than the support you can expect to receive on similarly priced Android device.


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Welcome back to Speed Lines, The Drive's morning roundup of what matters in cars and transportation. It's Tuesday, April 14, whatever that means anymore. Let's dive right in! It'll be great.
At Least There's No Housing Crash This Time?
There are three things I'm truly passionate about in this life: cars, studying global economic systems and wallowing in my own existential despair. The coronavirus pandemic its resulting financial downturn have hit on all three of those things, so covering it has been a lot of fun. And by fun, I mean garbage, of course.
But today, this piece in Automotive News highlights something I've been thinking about a lot lately: how soon can the world's economy recover post-coronavirus, especially since there's no single, underlying issue keeping things down besides the virus itself and necessary social distancing? In other words, it's not like we have a housing market crisis underpinning this crash as we did in 2007 and 2008.
Using car sales as a backdrop—it can be a good indicator of economic health—this story argues that since things weren't "broken" to begin with, we have reason to hope for a recovery that won't be super protracted:
The economy is largely shut down because — and this is an important distinction — political, business and health leaders forced it to. This is intentional and not a fundamental crack in the global, national or local economies. Economic activity cratering is exactly what we want to curtail the disease. We, collectively, hit the pause button.
That has ramifications, such as job loss and near total loss of demand for everything but streaming services and groceries — U.S. consumer discretionary retail spending is down 80 to 90 percent right now, according to credit rating agency Fitch Ratings Inc. But jobs aren't being wholly destroyed.
[...] The question of when and how the economy recovers hinges on the ability to control the virus and its health impact. But it's also true that at some point, businesses are going to have to reopen or we face a tragic economic fallout.
China has largely returned to work — its auto sector is running at at least 90 percent pre-coronavirus capacity. Auto seating supplier Lear Corp. last week released its "playbook" on how it reopened plants in China, and CEO Ray Scott and a host of other multinational CEOs are advising Michigan's governor on how they were able to do that.
Yes and no, is what I think. That story accurately notes that people in China are back to work in many sectors, but hardly rushing back to movie theaters and restaurants. I'd also argue that the virus has exacerbated fundamental existing problems with America's system in particular, like slow wage growth, a broken unemployment system and a comparatively weak social safety net. But "reopening" America's economy depends on our ability to roll out mass testing, containing a future resurgence of the virus, keeping our medical system from becoming totally overwhelmed, securing a vaccine and keeping businesses and working people afloat in the meantime. And obviously, the longer that process takes, the fewer businesses will be able to "come back" to what they were.
I'll leave you with this rosy gem, which shows just how much predictions are all over the map, emphasis mine:
The same will likely occur in the U.S. The economic slog could carry on for some time — economic predictions range wildly, forecasting a full recovery as early next year or not until 2031. The shock could linger like the Great Recession, which saw unemployment stuck at 9.4 percent in 2010, recovering only to 8.2 percent in 2011. Unemployment didn't fall below 5 percent until early 2016.
But in this whole mess, I'm trying to take silver linings where I can find them. And the fact that we don't have a housing collapse or something similar at the heart of this gives me some hope we can come back from it all relatively quickly, without it becoming this century's Great Depression.
Ford Predicts Big Hit, But No Bailout Ask Yet
In the meantime, everyone is feeling the sting. And Ford—which was struggling in several ways even before this crisis hit—is already anticipating a $600 million loss for Q1 alone thanks to a 21 percent drop in new vehicle sales. This, from Reuters:
The news sent Ford’s shares down more than 5% in morning trading.
Only Ford’s joint ventures in China, where the COVID-19 pandemic has been receding, are currently producing vehicles. The automaker said it is working on a scenario for a phased restart of its manufacturing plants beginning in the second quarter.
“However, we believe we have sufficient cash today to get us through at least the end of the third quarter with no incremental vehicle production and wholesales or financing actions,” Chief Financial Officer Tim Stone said in a statement.
Asked whether Ford would apply for loans from the U.S. government or the Federal Reserve to sustain its operations for longer if needed, a spokesman for the automaker said that unlike during the Great Recession - when financing dried up - there is still plenty of liquidity in the capital markets.
“We have a broad range of options” for obtaining additional financing if needed, the spokesman said.
Somehow it's still better than Ford's Q4 2019 loss of $1.67 billion, something CEO Jim Hackett accurately said "wasn't nearly good enough." But that was pre-coronavirus. Expect more bad news to come.
Alabama's Mazda-Toyota Plant Delayed
No surprise there. The opening of this joint venture plant, meant to build crossovers, has been punted down the road in 2021. From Automotive News:
"On April 9, we informed state and local government officials in Alabama, along with our key suppliers, how the COVID-19 pandemic is impacting our ability to maintain critical equipment delivery schedules, creating labor shortages and slowing construction," Toni Eberhart, a spokeswoman for Mazda Toyota Manufacturing, said in a statement emailed to Automotive News.
"As a result, we will delay the start of production of the Mazda Toyota Manufacturing plant to a time period later in 2021. We are eager to keep the project moving forward and appreciate the ongoing support of all key stakeholders."
The plant was to begin production of 150,000 units each of a Toyota and a Mazda crossover yet to be named, beginning in 2021. Eberhart declined to comment on when production would start.
Again, it's not like anyone's buying cars anyway.
On Our Radar
For China, the ‘USA Virus’ Is a Geopolitical Ploy (The Atlantic)
When do you think the economy will reopen? And what does that even mean? We treat coronavirus like it's a war, something that can definitively "end." I'm not sure that's the case—at least, not until a vaccine is here.


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Late payments on the rise for UK SMEs
Despite government attempts to enforce a code for prompt payment and plans to appoint a commissioner to oversee business rows, the proportion of UK SMEs suffering from the chronic issue of late payments is rising. The Bibby Financial Services SME Confidence Tracker* has found that the number of UK SMEs suffering from late payments has jumped by 9% from Quarter 2 2014 to Quarter 2 2015, with over half (51%) of businesses waiting more than 30 days for payment.
On a regional level, SMEs in the West Midlands and Yorkshire and Humberside are currently suffering the most from the plague of late payments. The proportion of SMEs suffering from late payments doubled in the North East from Q2 2014 to Q2 2015.
SMEs in the construction sector suffer the most from late payments, with 55% of SMEs having to wait over 30 days to be paid, up by 11 percentage points since Q2 2014. Construction is closely followed by manufacturing and wholesale as the top sectors facing late payments.
David Postings, UK chief executive of Bibby Financial Services, said: “Despite efforts by the government to tackle the late payments issue, the scale of the problem is increasing at an alarming rate. The number of SMEs waiting over 30 days to be paid is on the rise, while in some regions twice as many SMEs are affected by this issue, compared to this time last year.
“All too often SMEs are faced with the choice of accepting crippling payment terms or losing out on business. This issue is particularly brutal in the construction industry where large firms have been known to withhold payment for so long that the SME sub-contractor goes out of business.
“In April we will see new legislation naming and shaming businesses with the worst records. While we will have to wait and see the effect of this, more can be done now. There needs to be a change of culture, where larger businesses treat small businesses fairly and view them as an extension of their own business.”


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The Medlock Area Neighborhood Association (MANA) has posted another update about plans for .
Developer Selig Enterprises plans to demolish part of the aging shopping center, rebuild, renovate and add a .
Highlights of MANA's update:
- Selig has commissioned "a local artist to create custom-painted graphic walls. Instead of having a long expanse of wall, we have an opportunity for public art at the shopping center."
- There will be two community kiosks, "permanent structures which will allow for the temporary sale of items such as girl scout cookies, works by local artists, food, etc."
- Selig plans to use sustainable building materials.
- A map of buildings to be demolished and drawings of what Suburban Plaza should look like.
- Timetable: "Demolition and construction are still estimated to begin in the first half of 2013. Selig anticipates that all construction will be complete by fall of 2014."


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Bramalea City Centre Hosting Major Event for Mother's Day
Mother's Day is a special day to honour one of the most important people in our lives, our moms! Now, the Bramalea City Centre is hosting an event to celebrate the special occasion.
Mommy and Me is BCC's first Mother's Day event. Families are invited to participate in various activities during the day including, free mini makeovers and a live DJ.
BCC also created an "Instagrammable selfie flower wall" for families to take photos at to remember the day.
Throughout the day FashioniCITY app members will have the chance to win prizes from their favourite retailers by playing the Spring Blossom interactive game. FashioniCITY is the BCC’s shopping app, which rewards people as they shop.
The event will take place on Saturday, May 11, from 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm in the Hudson’s Bay court at BCC.
Bramalea City Centre is the largest shopping centre in Brampton and the fourth largest in Ontario. The mall has two levels and spans 1.5 million square feet. It features a mix of over 350 stores and services including Forever 21, Aritzia, Saks Off Fifth, H&M, Browns Shoes and Pandora.
- Significant snowfall in the forecast for Brampton this winter
- CAUGHT ON VIDEO: Geese play chicken on Brampton road
- Canadian government warning residents to beware of convincing new SIN scam
- Brampton to build new multi-family residential building
- CANADA VOTES: Which party has the best plan to make life more affordable?


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(Stringer Shanghai Reuters, )
BEIJING (Reuters) - China's annual industrial output growth eased to 9.9 percent in the first two months from a year ago, below market forecasts and adding to signs of uneven recovery in the world's second biggest economy after its slowest year of growth since 1999.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast industrial production in January and February this year would grow 10.5 percent from a year earlier.
"This data shows that the economy is in the process of a mild recovery and that it is still fragile," Xu Gao, chief macro-economic analyst at Everbright Securities in Beijing, told Reuters.
Industrial output data on Saturday from the National Bureau of Statistics was published alongside retail sales numbers for January and February, which showed annual growth easing to 12.3 percent, compared with a market consensus of 15.0 percent.
Fixed-asset investment - the main driving force of China's recovery - exceeded expectations to rise 21.2 percent in the first two months compared with the same period of a year earlier. The consensus forecast in the benchmark Reuters poll was for a 20.8 percent rise.
Property investment saw an annual increase of 22.8 percent for January and February combined.
China's official statisticians publish combined numbers for January and February for the economy's key activity indicators in an effort to smooth out the distortions caused by the timing of Lunar New Year holidays.
The holidays fell in February this year and in January in 2012. Many businesses shut down for two weeks during the holiday period, causing a heavy seasonal skew in the numbers.
Analysts consequently caution about reading too much into one month's data at this time of year.
Indicators elsewhere in China's economy, however, seem to signal that an economic recovery, which began in the fourth quarter of 2012 after seven successive quarters of slowing growth, is maintaining modest momentum.
Data earlier on Saturday showed consumer price inflation accelerated to a 10-month high in February. Producer prices at factory gates remained in deflation year-on-year, but rose 0.2 percent month-on-month in a sign of increasing economic activity.
Trade data on Friday, meanwhile, underlined the uneven path of the recovery, as exports soared past forecasts to jump by a fifth in February from a year ago, while imports were surprisingly weak, falling at the steepest pace in 13 months.
That followed February surveys of factory activity, captured in twin purchasing managers' index readings on March 1, which showed growth cooling to multi-month lows as domestic demand dipped and foreign order growth shrank from the previous month.
(Reporting by Aileen Wang and Nick Edwards; Editing by Robert Birsel)


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UK: Warburtons revamps range
UK baker Warburtons has extended its bread roll range and revamped the packaging across all existing products.
Warburtons Lunch Rolls comprise 'premium' rolls available in three varieties - White, Wholemeal and Grains & Seeds - and will be available to retailers from early March.
The new look packaging has been designed to "maximise standout on shelf", the company said today (23 February) and to present consumers with a "complete rolls range".
Sarah Miskell, category director at Warburtons, said: "We are thrilled to launch our new Lunch Rolls range. Currently 28% of bakery is consumed at the in-home lunch occasion and this is growing year on year. Our consumer research told us that shoppers were looking for soft rolls suitable for soup or sandwiches in a variety of flavours … so this is what we have given them."
Warburtons Lunch Rolls will be available in packs of six with an RSP of GBP1.10 (US$1.60). The launch will be supported with consumer PR throughout National Bread Week, which takes place between 4 and 10 May.
UK bread maker Warburtons today (3 August) described its latest accounts as "satisfactory" after the company saw annual operating profits fall by more than 6%....
- Why personalisation will take-off in US food
- General Mills sales woes continue - analysis
- US food next wave on display at Winter Fancy Food
- Comment: Meal kits in US - don't believe the hype
- Column: Kraft Heinz, Unilever and sustainability
- Unilever 'lining up spreads sale'
- UK own-label firm Park Cakes sold in MBO
- Immigration crackdown "risk" for US dairy industry
- BRF plant suspended amid bribery allegations
- Fonterra cuts earnings forecast


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Tesla is urging US President Joe Biden’s administration and a US appeals court to impose higher fines on American automakers that fail to meet fuel economy requirements for their cars.
Additionally, Tesla is calling for a swift tightening of fuel economy rules loosened by former President Donald Trump, as the relaxation ensures that emissions credits sold by Tesla to other carmakers are worth less when the punishment for breaking the rules is negligible. Other automakers complained that hiking penalties could cost them at least $1 billion annually, both for failing to meet the rules and higher prices for credits used to meet the rules.
Tesla continues to push back against the Trump era dissolution of vehicle emissions standards, which also has support from states such as California, as well as other automakers, who wish for more support to switch their vehicle production mode to a greener path. “The uncertainty perpetuated by NHTSA’s sluggish rulemaking pace is thus compounded by the likelihood of yet another round of litigation,” Tesla wrote.
The pushback also came just after Elon Musk publicly commented on the lack of support from the Biden administration, which professes to stand behind the EV industry, however seems to gravitate towards older US American brands such as General Motors. Musk said the following at during a panel discussion at the Code Conference in Beverly Hills: “(They) didn’t mention Tesla once and praised GM and Ford for leading the EV revolution. Does that sound maybe a little biased?”.
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Grocery shopping is a necessity of life for many – but the pandemic is changing the experience for many.
According to consulting company McKinsey – 17 per cent of Canadians surveyed at the start of May had ordered curbside pickup for the very first time during the pandemic, while 10 per cent had tried out grocery delivery for the first time.
The survey also noted Canadians are spending less in all categories, except for two: in-home entertainment and groceries.
It means grocery providers have been busier than ever, including Organic Box in Edmonton. Their orders have tripled during the pandemic. Their model allows people to shop from the safety of home.
“People go online, they can go through our whole catalog, they choose what they want, pick it, submit it and then it arrives, right on their doorstep,” explained spokesperson Sarah Hoyles.
To keep up, the company has had to adjust on the fly.
“We’ve doubled our staff to help with all of the orders,” Hoyles said.
Organic Box has also had to source more orders.
“We’ve always supported local farmers but now we’ve needed more fruits and more veggies from them,” she said.
James Thomson, a retail insider and partner with Buy Box Experts, said it’s integral companies are flexible during the pandemic, especially in the realm of convenience for consumers.
“E-commerce has seen a huge, huge build of grocery adoption,” Thomson said.
He said with so many people trying online shopping lately, a positive first experience could have a lasting impact on how they shop in the future.
“We recognize that consumers may not necessarily be flocking back into the stores. Many of them are going to continue to buy their products online.”
Thomson noted consumer purchasing is different online than it is in store.
“Brands are not as important. It’s not a question of – do I want to get my Heinz Ketchup, it’s more – I need ketchup, give me whatever brand is available,” he explained.
Thomson said he believes the grocers which will come out on top, are the ones making shopping convenient.
“The companies that are going to thrive are going to be the ones that have that last mile delivery capability in place.”
That’s exactly what they’re trying to do at The Italian Centre Shop, a popular local grocer with locations in Edmonton and Calgary.
President Teresa Spinelli said the company knew it needed to make changes early on.
“When the restaurants all closed down, we had all this staff and didn’t want to lay anyone off,” she explained.
Instead, the Italian Centre launched home delivery services on March 19th, as well as curbside pickup.
“People weren’t comfortable going to the stores,” Spinelli said.
Overnight, cafe employees started picking orders – and business has been up across the board.
Curbside pickups have been holding staying steady, Spinelli said, estimating her team fills about 200 orders a day between the various locations.
Home delivery is slowing though, they’re getting about 45 orders a day there.
“I’m hoping the delivery can stay,” Spinelli said, adding she’d like to continue the service for seniors with mobility issues, or people with weakened immune systems.
“Curbside, we’ll see how it goes.”
Spinelli is hopeful customers will feel safe returning to the stores soon though.
“The Italian Centre is very much a gathering place. It’s a very different feel than walking into a big box store,” she explained.
“They come here because they’re really connected to our team, they see our friends here. That’s what I think makes us different.”
Like the Italian Centre Shop, which also serves restaurants, Gordon Food Service was significantly impacted by the restaurant restrictions imposed due to the coronavirus.
“When the pandemic lockdown happened and restaurants were forced to close or not allowed to have any in house guests, our volume took a significant drop,” director of sales Joel Marsh said.
As consumers worried about potential food shortages, the company had a warehouse full of products, but nobody to sell it to. Necessity pushed the 120-year-old company to try something new.
“We’ve decided to offer our products, which are normally available to restaurants and institutions, to the general public through our Gordon Express platform,” Marsh said.
Gordon Express launched about a month ago in Alberta. Customers can shop online and pick up their groceries curbside. It’s also available in Ontario and Quebec.
Recently the company added $15 next-day delivery as well.
The most popular items are typically meats.
“Steaks, chicken, seafood – items that have somewhat been in limited supply in the retail environment,” Marsh explained.
But Gordon Express is carrying a wide array of products, including dry goods, cleaning supplies and produce. The service has been slowly growing and the company is optimistic demand for it will continue post-pandemic.
McKinsey’s recent survey found even though user growth of curbside pickups is through the roof in Canada, up 168 per cent, only 26 per cent of people intend to continue this practice post-pandemic.
Grocery delivery, up 75 per cent, is more likely to remain popular, with 38 per cent of Canadians surveyed stating they plan to have their groceries come to them in the future.
In a statement, Loblaws, which operates major grocery stores including Real Canadian Superstore and No Frills said its online shopping experience has also increased significantly through the PC Express app and website.
“As the demand grew to levels we didn’t expect for years to come, the business scaled up in order to serve more people, faster, including hiring hundreds of new personal shoppers and adding thousands of slots every week to increase capacity across the country.”
The statement went on to say, “while our PC Express service levels have begun to normalize following the unprecedented spike in use, we believe as consumers return to normal shopping that we’ll continue to see higher demand, as people have become comfortable with the technology and accustomed to the convenience.”
At Belmont Sobey’s in Edmonton, owner Jerry MacLachlin said he started offering free curbside pickup in response to consumer demand.
“We really like to listen to our customer’s needs and stay on top of their asks: one of which was an option that they not have to come into the store.”
He said he’s shifted some employees from departments that had to close into other roles in the store, including picking orders.
“Because of how fast we needed to move, we weren’t able to build an actual website where you would select products and add it to a cart, but we do it by email. There’s a human being on the other end of that email.”
MacLachlin estimates they fill about 60 orders a week and could do more. The service is being offered free of charge.
“Keeping people safe, that’s really the goal.”


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Faithful followers of Rocket Fuel’s saga will recall that the company hoped to get cash-flow positive in 2016 and return to growth sometime in 2017.
While CEO Randy Wootton declined to tell AdExchanger when exactly he expected that to happen, Rocket Fuel is banking on three things to bring it back: growth in its platform business, proliferation of its tech by working with more channel partners and more brand advertising spend, rather than the direct response that helped the company make its name.
Platform Solutions grew 70% in Q1, compared to the year before, and now constitutes 32% of total Q1 spend. Read the release.
During Rocket Fuel’s Q1 earnings call Tuesday, Wootton said large customers were migrating from its IO-based media services business to its platform business.
Media services is still important for Rocket Fuel’s long-term growth however, Wootton said. Revenue in that sector declined and represented 71% of the company’s total revenue, compared to 84% during Q1 2016.
“There’s a viable business there,” Wootton told AdExchanger. “We’re focusing on the largest customers where we have a larger volume of dollars on a per-customer basis.”
In doing so, Rocket Fuel hopes to counter Media Service’s contraction with growth in Platform Solutions. Rocket Fuel’s relationships with holding companies will be important here.
“Some of the slowdown in media services business is [because] we don’t have the partnerships with all the holding companies,” Wootton told AdExchanger.
Some clients moved to holding companies where Rocket Fuel doesn’t have deep relationships, and so the vendor is susceptible to account migration.
In recent quarters, Wootton described the company’s attempt to secure contracts with some of the major holding companies. While he didn’t delve into the same level of detail this quarter, he did mention that revenue is up across all six holding companies.
“We have a couple of strong partnerships,” he said. “Spend across holding companies is up 10 times year over year.”
Finally, Rocket Fuel is hoping to drive a return to growth by helping advertisers reach brand objectives around GRP, reach and frequency – rather than just direct response. Wootton noted that Rocket Fuel already has a planning tool to facilitate branding goals and is creating new capabilities.
“Brand spend across our platform is up 50% year over year,” he said. This infusion represents “new pockets of money” that Rocket Fuel hadn’t considered in the past. (Rocket Fuel was also one of the vendors participating in Procter & Gamble’s recent DSP bakeoff.)
But during this diversification, investors will have to accept revenue declines. Q1 2017 GAAP revenue was $95.2 million, a 9% decrease compared to Q1 2016 when it earned $104.7 million.
The company is also pushing a new metric, Non-GAAP Spend, as its platform business grows and the company tries to recognize net revenue instead of just gross revenue. Spend was $99.1 million, down 7% YoY.
“Historically, the difference [between Spend and GAAP revenue] has been nominal, but it will increase as we grow our platform solutions business,” said company CFO Stephen Snyder during the call.
He added that despite the revenue declines, Rocket Fuel’s ability to manage expenses and operational efficiencies kept it at the high end of last quarter’s guidance. Recall that Rocket Fuel had a series of layoffs earlier this year, and its current headcount is 751, compared to 917 in Q1 2016.
Going forward, look for incremental improvements as Rocket Fuel tries to right itself: “We are going through a multiyear transformation,” Snyder told investors.


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UPDATE: Gap in Hamilton Place Mall to close in January
UPDATE: The Gap in the Hamilton Place Mall is closing its doors for good on January 26th. Channel 3 spoke with Stacey Keating, the Hamilton Place spokesperson with CBL Properties, on this decision.
Keating said that it was a decision by Gap to close. It had nothing to do with their performance. We are told their lease is up and they decided not to renew it.
Earlier this year, Gap made a plan to close more than 200 stores over the next two years.
Keating told us, "It's definitely disappointing to see a store that's been in the mall for such a long time close its doors."
While customers may be sad to see it go, we are told they did not close due to performance, or online sales.
"I don't really think that the Gap to close its doors at Hamilton Place had anything to do with online shopping,” Keating said.
In 2018, Gap stores saw a 5 percent decrease in sales, according to NBC Today.
"Online shopping is definitely something that has increased over the last several years, but brick and mortar shopping is still very strong and vibrant and that's evidence by the fact that many online retailers are actually opening physical stores,” Keating told us.
Keating isn't concerned online shopping will hurt whatever they plan to put in Gap's place. They plan to put something in that will increase mall traffic and sales in Hamilton Place as a whole.
Keating said, "It just gives us another opportunity to bring in a new and exciting use whether that's retail or something else."
They are working to reach an agreement with a company as quickly as possible.
"Our objective is to always minimize the downtime between a store closing a new store opening,” according to Keating.
There are several prospects in the works.
"There's a lot of reason for people to come to Hamilton Place and you know we'll be excited to add another new retailer in the former Gap location as soon as plans are finalized,” Keating said.
Keating said they will let the public know as soon as they reach an agreement.
PREVIOUS STORY: The Gap at Hamilton Place Mall is scheduled to close for good.
The store's manager confirmed to Channel 3 that the company's only Chattanooga location will shut its doors on January 26, 2020.
There are no other Gap stores in the area.
The closest Gap stores to Chattanooga are Huntsville, AL; Calhoun, GA and Knoxville, TN.


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Apple launches TV, credit card and gaming service
26 March 2019 | 8:56 am
In a bid to offset slowing sales of hardware devices like its blockbuster iPhone, Apple unveiled a series of services in a star-studded event, ranging from original video content to a credit card to a monthly gaming subscription. Conway G.
The CEO of Apple took the stand to reject a lawsuit filed by Epic Games claiming the tech giant is abusing its position with its online marketplace and claiming outsized commissions.
A shadow of fear hangs over Hong Kong's outspoken and staunchly pro-democracy Apple Daily newspaper, with its wealthy owner Jimmy Lai now jailed and many reporters asking themselves "Are we next?"
Apple has announced further privacy protection for users, after it introduced a 'do not track' option in third-party apps earlier this year. The changes include allowing users to see what information is being shared by apps, and stopping tracking via marketing email messages.
Apple Daily's chief editor Ryan Law and CEO Cheung Kim-hung have appeared in a Hong Kong court, charged with collusion with a foreign country to endanger national security.
A key target of the investigation will be Apple's App Store, which allows the company to have influence over the business activities of third parties.
"NeuralHash" technology makes it possible to detect child sex abuse images uploaded to the cloud. Privacy advocates fear technology invites political mission creep, especially in authoritarian states.
The iPhone and iPad manufacturer said its plan to check the photos of US users for evidence of child abuse had been widely "misunderstood". CEO Tim Cook is yet to publicly comment on the privacy row.
Apple has defended a new system that scans users' phones for child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
The American press breaks down the "sinister brilliance" of an anti-abortion law that's gone into effect in Texas. We also look at coverage of record flooding in New York and how the intensity of storms is increasingly hard to predict because of climate change. Finally, we discover the papers' take on the latest in brain science: how our thoughts could soon be read by machines and how dogs may be smarter than we thought.
The feature had been intended to scan for images of child sexual abuse. But it quickly drew concern over potential misuse as a "backdoor" for hacking and surveillance.
A US federal court has ordered Apple to accommodate developers when it comes to payments for apps and services. The ruling came in the legal tussle between Apple and Epic Games.
Apple has urged users to update the software on their iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches and Macs to plug a security weakness that allowed for spyware infections. The vulnerability was discovered by researchers at the University of Toronto, who said it was the first "zero click" attack, where users don't have to click on a link or a file to be affected. Also today, we look at the French central bank's latest forecast, in which it warns a labour shortage could derail the economic recovery.
1 day ago
Here are a few reasons to pick up a copy of The Guardian on Saturday. Find these stories and much more when you grab a copy of The Guardian on Saturday.
1 day ago
Pro-military protesters in Sudan want the civilian government gone and military leaders to take over. But critics of the rallies say they are far from organic and have been orchestrated by security forces and backers of the former regime. Meanwhile in Ethiopia, state media confirms that the military launched air strikes on Tigray's capital Mekele after almost a year of deadly conflict.
1 day ago
Emergency crews in Eswatini help people who were injured during pro-democracy protests, in which at least one person died and 80 others were injured. Eswatini security forces used live ammunition to break up a pro-democracy protest by nurses, shooting at least 30 of them, their union says.
1 day ago
"It has always been my dream to succeed at Barca," Fati says
1 day ago
How do you define courage? Annette Young talks to Chanel Miller, whose sexual assault at Stanford University sparked public outrage after her assailant served just three months in jail. She bravely decided to go public with her identity and her book has just been published in French.


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RadioTime, developer of technology for finding and listening to radio online, announced BMW’s MINI has integrated the RadioTime web radio service into its MINI Connected option. BMW will unveil it this week at the Geneva Motor Show.
Until now, accessing Internet radio in a car meant patching a smartphone into the car’s existing audio system and fiddling with the phone’s controls. The MINI Connected option enables drivers to plug their iPhones into a USB port and use the car’s controls and displays (its audio and infotainment system) – much easier and safer while driving.
Here’s a demo: http://inside.radiotime.com/bmw
The MINI Connected option makes MINI the first car manufacturer in the world to offer this function in a regular production car.
“Drivers love radio because it’s free and requires no registration or setup, but accessing Internet radio used to require patching a smartphone into a car’s existing sound system, and fiddling with a smartphone’s controls,” said Bill Moore, CEO, RadioTime. “Now, instead of looking at your smartphone screen, you can use the dash display and MINI Joystick to tune to web radio. Radio has always been an integral part of our cars, and we’re opening up the world of music, news, talk, sports and entertainment that only web radio can offer.”
RBR-TVBR asked Moore: What other (or how many other) carmakers they you in discussions with for this functionality? Will BMW roll this out too?
He said, “We are working with other major automotive companies in Europe, Asia, and North America, and we expect to be able to provide more details by this summer.”
RadioTime provides an easy means of finding local, national, or global radio programming airing on stations in 140 countries and broadcasting in 55 different languages.
RBR-TVBR observation: Looks like MINI leap-frogged the IP-Connected car rollout, which has been slow to market. The Autonet Internet service is being installed on some lines (anyone can also get it aftermarket). Chrysler (“U-Connect”) and Ford (Sync) are rolling out Internet-equipped factory models, albeit slowly, because of the added expense –and added monthly fee. But this move just screams/streams, “We decided not to wait for this expensive option, whenever it will be rolled out. We’ll just let users plug in their smartphones and and voila! — an internet car radio.” This may be an easier option for other automakers as well — for now. And companies like RadioTime and IHeartRadio are well-positioned for it.


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Union Ministry for Food Processing Industries on 18 November 2014 reconstituted the National Food Processing Development Council (NFDPC).
The Ministry appointed ITC Chairman Y Deveshwar and FieldFresh Foods Vice Chairman Rakesh Bharti Mittal as its members.
For the first time, the committee has appointed individual business leaders as its members. Earlier, the industry was represented in this committee by the industry bodies.
The committee comprised of 29 members. Food Processing Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal is the Chairman of the council and Minister of State Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti is its Vice Chairperson.
The committee also comprises of Food Processing Minister from Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Punjab and Tamil Nadu. Secretaries in the Food Processing Ministry, Agriculture Ministry, Department of Agricultural Research and Education and Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region are also its members.
The NFDPC is the governing body for implementation of National Food Processing Mission (NFPM). The committee aims to promote facilities for post-harvest operations including setting up of food processing industries and augmenting farm gate infrastructure, supply chain logistics, storage and processing capacity.
When: 18 November 2014
Eight-foot bronze statue of World War II Indian pilot Mohinder Singh Pujji unveiled in UK
PV Sindhu won 2014 Macau Open Grand Prix Gold Badminton Title
CERN scientists discovered two subatomic particles belonging to the family of baryon
Book titled Letters for a Nation written by Jawaharlal Nehru & Madhav Khosla


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Two days ago we published a series of photos from an annual entertainment event known as Heels and Leggings, held at the Plantation Garden Theatre and organised by Colorz Entertainment. For us, it really was no different from many of the entertainment events that take place in Barbados each weekend.
In fact, if we compare it with what we see in other Caribbean news publications, it is a reflection of what happens in just about every Caribbean island each weekend. Women, or girls, put on as little clothing as possible and head out for the party scene.
For the news photographer, it is not possible to cover these events without including some of these “fashion statements” — perhaps the least provocative among them. From time to time, we will get a call or two from readers who are of the view that Picture “A or Picture “C” might have been a little too revealing for a general audience publication.
This week, however, we got a call from a regular Barbados TODAY reader who was not in the least happy with some of the photos. She made her position absolutely clear and she went further: “Some of them just look plain bad, disgusting. Tell them Idamay Denny said so. Some of them should not be in public looking like that!”
Yes, we are talking about former Deputy Chief Education Officer, Dr. Idamay Denny, and anyone who knows her knows that she is no prude. When she calls to vent, you know she has reached that tipping point.
We are not prudes at Barbados TODAY either, and we certainly do not believe we have to agree with or support something to publish it. But the veteran educator has said something with which a growing number of Barbadians agree, that what passes for party fashion these days too often should never be worn in public.
But what compounds the situation is that far too often many who wear the clothing ought to invest in a full length mirror and not trust the opinion of their party partners. The tights, leggings, body-hugging dresses and pants, tops made of even less material than bras etc, just do not suit some figures.
Now add to that the styles which seem to say they are most effective when everyone who sees can, at a glance, tell the size, shape, cut, colour and possibly brand name of your underwear. Underwear is now the new outerwear. Fashion trends have always pushed the envelope, but of late it seems that too many have been leaving the envelope at home all together.
What is also becoming increasingly clear is that the younger the patron accepted into these events, the more risqu√ the fashion worn, although too often we are seeing individuals well beyond their sell-by date trying to pass themselves off as fresh milk.
We accept that in her complaint Denny was also making that point that as newspaper editors we have to draw a line somewhere on what we will publish. And we do, but the challenge is that in an environment governed by the subjective there will be differences of opinion on where that line should be. We accept too, on reflection, at least one of the photos should not have been published, even if for no other reason than to save the subject from herself.
But whether or not we publish, as a country we really do have to tell our young people that everything, including fashion, has limits and that because it appears on a mannequin in a store does not mean they should wear it into the public arena. Because someone in the party wore a dress with a slit to the waist last week does not mean yours has to go all the way to the armpit this week.
A “good time” does not have to be synonymous with near nudity, and “look good” does not have to mean exposed underwear.


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Comet rejects cerebral palsy boy's gift card Customer fury as Comet stops gift vouchers
Sunday 04 November 2012
Furious customers were turned away from Comet stores throughout Britain over the weekend after discovering that administrators for the beleaguered electrical retailer had suspended all its gift vouchers.
Deloitte is seeking a buyer for the 236-chain firm, which employs 6,600 people, to prevent it becoming the biggest high-street casualty since Woolworths closed in 2008.
Although the shops remain open, gift vouchers are not being honoured. Maria Horton, 32, said yesterday she was unable to spend a £500 gift card donated by a charity to buy an iPad for her son, who has cerebral palsy.
"I said to the staff, 'You already have the money, can't you accept it?' and they said, 'We can't do anything for you'," Mrs Horton told the BBC. "I'm not the only one who has lost out."
A notice on Comet's website read: "The administrators are reviewing this position urgently."
Liam Neeson's Downton dreams
Thriller is set in the secret world of British espionage
Bomber jacket worn by Mary Berry sells out within an hour
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The political class is doing what Hitler couldn’t – destroying Britain
Scottish independence referendum: A nation divided against itself
Scottish independence: Nationalist leader Jim Sillars threatens pro-union companies with 'day of reckoning' after independence
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text:
Nazara is a game developer and publisher company
It has licensed gaming rights to characters such as Chhota Bheem, Motu Patlu, ShinChan and others
In last two years, Nazara has invested in around 13 startups including HalaPlay, Sportskeeda
Game developer and publisher, Nazara, has earmarked $20 Mn to invest in around 20 startups across emerging markets by 2020. In the last two years, Nazara has invested about $50 Mn across 13 startups including HalaPlay, SportsKeeda, Paper Boat Apps and others.
According to Nitish Mittersain, managing director of Nazara, the decision of increasing their investments in the ecosystem came after the company finally saw validation of its strategy to develop synergies between Nazara’s various acquisitions.
While there is no fixed agenda for these investments, Manish Agarwal, CEO of Nazara said that the company is definitely interested in growth-stage startups from esports to virtual reality categories. The ticket size of these investments is expected to be around $600K – $1 Mn.
With 100 Mn MAUs, Nazara, the underlying method for choosing investee companies has always been about looking at the high traction consumer segment and then finding the company innovating in the space, Agarwal added.
Founded in 2000 by Mittersain, Nazara Technologies is a mobile game developer and publisher, which also runs its own seed fund for investment in the gaming and sports ecosystem. The company claims to have business operations in 64 countries including Singapore, Dubai, Mauritius and subsidiary companies in Africa. The company has received total funding of $102 Mn, including investors such as Turtle Entertainment GmbH, the IP owner of the world’s largest esports franchise (ESL), IIFL Special Opportunities Fund and Rakesh Jhunjhunwala.
Nazara has built a strong network of companies in interactive gaming and sports media through its investments and acquisitions in various gaming categories including esports, fantasy sports, mobile cricket games, and real money gaming among others.
According to the founder, post-acquisition, these companies have seen notable growth in their revenues. Particularly, Nodwin which he claimed has grown its revenue by 300%.
Nazara has a network of over 100 Mn monthly active users in India and has licensed mobile gaming rights to popular Indian IP characters such as Chhota Bheem, Motu Patlu, Mighty Raju, Shikari Shambhu, Roll #21, Eena Meena Deeka, Oggy and the Cockroaches and Shin Chan. Nazara also owns IPs like World Cricket Championship (WCC), EPIC Cricket, India Premiership and IPG.TV.
Other investee companies of Nazara include SportsUnity, Nodwin, Next Wave Multimedia, Hash Cube, Mastermind Sports, Moonglabs Technologies, Bakbuck, CrimzonCode, InstaSportz, and NZWorld.
The online gaming industry in India is expected to generate a revenue of INR 11,900 Cr by 2023, growing at 22% CAGR, according to a report by consulting major KPMG and Indian Federation of Sports Gaming — industry’s self-regulatory body.
The report also noted a hike in the number of gamers and game developing companies in India. The number of game developing companies have touched 250 in 2018 as compared to 20 companies in 2010 while the number of gamers has reached 250 Mn from 25 Mn in 2010.


text:
I just got the latest Evernote newsletter, which comes about once a month to regular users like myself. The company has some great news to kick off ’09, not the least of which is the closure of a $4.5 million round of funding. That’s great news, and they’ve earned it steady improvements to an innovative product.
The last note in the newsletter has a telling lesson for businesses who think that Twitter is just another megaphone for broadcasting how awesome your company is:
As many of you know, we’re big fans of Twitter. A while back we asked you to tell us what you liked about our @Evernote tweeting and what you didn’t. The response was clear: more suggestions on how to use Evernote and fewer links to media coverage. So, for those interested in the latter, we just launched a second Twitter account focused solely on media and blogosphere coverage.
Emphasis is mine. There are two lessons here: 1. People want value from corporate communications, especially when it comes through a channel like Twitter where you have to be not only concise, but relevant. And double-especially when your product is a productivity app!
- Twitter is a conversation, not a one-way broadcast, and definitely not an SEO enhancer. To misuse it is to hear the gentle sound of interested customers losing interest.
Let’s hear it for learning from your customers and responding in action as well as word, as Evernote has here.


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Another healthy eating option is coming to Colorado Springs.
Saladworks, a fast-casual concept that specializes in made-to-order, entree-sized salads, will open this summer in the Broadmoor Towne Center, northwest of Southgate Road and Lake Avenue on the city’s southwest side. Saladworks will occupy a former Starbucks space at the shopping center.
Franchisee Carmela Wootan, an Army captain — soon to be a major — who’s stationed as a space officer at NORAD in Colorado Springs, will operate the location. Wootan said she’s targeting a July 27 opening.
Saladworks, founded in 1986 and based in Pennsylvania, has nearly 100 locations in 13 states and in England, according to its website. The chain is owned by a private equity firm and company officials have said they plan to add nearly 20 locations in 2019.
The Broadmoor Towne Center location will be Colorado’s first Saladworks and the second franchise for Wootan; she also owns a Smoothie King, 1801 E. Cheyenne Mountain Blvd., that’s run by her dad and stepmom. A cousin, Nakoma Pratt, an Air Force master sergeant stationed in Egypt, is Wootan’s partner in Saladworks.
A 17-year Army veteran who’s scheduled to retire in three years, Wootan said her plan for retirement has been to focus on health. Food, she said, “is a very good entry into the health world, the health arena.”
Being deployed over the years to Afghanistan, Iraq, South Korea and Guantanamo Bay in Cuba gave her an appreciation for healthy eating, Wootan said.
“A lot of other countries, they’re really big on their produce. It’s the main part of their diet,” she said. “I enjoyed going to those restaurants where they focused on organic food that’s good for the body, the mind, the soul.”
Some restaurants, such as Panera Bread or even McDonald’s, serve small salads, but don’t focus on a salad as a meal, she added.
Saladworks, according to its website, allows diners to create their salads, choosing from lettuce, kale, spinach and other “bases” and adding toppings such as vegetables, fruits, cheeses, dressings and meats. Customers also can select from several signature salads on the menu; the restaurant also serves soups, sandwiches, beverages and desserts.
Wootan said she was attracted to Saladworks because it attempts to mold the operation to meet the needs of its franchisees. At the same time, Saladworks says it’s launched a program for veterans that offers them a 50 percent reduction on the cost of a franchise fee; Wootan, the company said, was the first to take advantage of the program.
The Saladworks at Broadmoor Towne Center location will have 1,650 square feet and seat 30 people, with room for eight more outside, Wootan said. She’ll employ 20 part-time and two full-time workers.
Wootan also wants to have a program in place for young teens, which would allow them to volunteer during the summer or on holidays and learn the basics of working so that they’ll be better prepared for jobs when they’re older.
Saladworks will join other Springs-area restaurants — such as Tokyo Joe’s, Zoes Kitchen and Zoup! — that focus on healthy eating and fresh-food concepts.
“It’s a restaurant that adds to the depth of what we already have there,” said Dan Rodriguez, a retail specialist for commercial real estate firm CBRE who markets a portion of Broadmoor Towne Center.
“It helps make the center more robust in terms of salad offerings. As we’re eating more meals away from home, we’re looking for some healthier options. This helps fit that target.”


text:
December 19, 1999
The Next Waves of Electronic Commerce
As Businesses Move Operations Online, Industry Watchers See a Return of the Old Marketplace, With a Difference
By MATT RICHTEL
o glimpse the future intersection between industry and the Internet, peer not
into a crystal ball, but inside Cisco Systems Inc.
What is notable is how the high-technology company sells its routers, hardware
essential to the distribution of Internet traffic. From its headquarters in San Jose,
Calif., Cisco sells roughly $12 billion of products a year over the Internet -- representing fully 85 percent of its business -- to
customers who shop, order and receive
technical support online.
Cisco uses a network internally, too. Employees file expense reports, handle procurement, receive training and deal with
401(k) plans and health benefit changes on
an internal computer network that saves
paper, time and management resources, a
marked change in the last four years.
"Before long, other companies are going
to look like Cisco looks today," said Greg
Wood, spokesman for Internet2, a next-generation, high-speed network being developed by universities and industry.
Future developments in the Internet regarding business -- and the lauded concept
of e-commerce -- should come in waves.
The next wave, perhaps one to two years
out, will find traditional businesses increasingly gravitating, like Cisco, to making sales
and doing procurement online, and to dealing with human resource matters on internal networks, so-called intranets.
But those who are studying the relationship between business and the still-primitive and slow Internet say that the waves
that will follow in 5 or 10 years will be much
more powerful and could well reshape the
way business is conducted.
This transformation will happen because,
very basically but profoundly, the Internet
permits ease and breadth of communication, provides newfound mobility and allows
complex transactions to take place among
numerous parties in far-flung regions. Although this may sound like yet more hyperbolic praise for technology, researchers like
Stuart I. Feldman, director of the Institute of Advanced Commerce at I.B.M., say these
Internet assets could lead to a new type of
Mr. Feldman, echoing a view shared by
numerous researchers, suggests that in the
next decade, huge, far-flung, industry-specific marketplaces will emerge -- for food
or clothing, for example. In these marketplaces, the lines between individual businesses will become blurred as companies
find new and unusual ways, both competitive and cooperative, to serve customers.
The vision is that these Internet-based
marketplaces will act like a combination of
ancient barter-based marketplaces and Internet auctions. Consumers, whether individuals or businesses, will submit requests
for products over the Internet, and businesses from around the world will vie to fill their
orders, competing on service, price, quality
and other features. In some cases, however,
businesses may collaborate to fill orders, or
turn to 3rd, 4th or 10th parties to join in
elaborate barter deals.
"The future of the marketplace harks
back to the old-fashioned marketplace, or
market ground," Mr. Feldman said. "People got together; they argued; they traded
But the new markets will not be so limited
as those on the fields of ancient Greece. In a
cyberspace environment, they will increasingly use video and become more mobile.
Buyers may point-and-click their orders on
a personal digital assistant whether they
are trading stocks, bales of hay or tons of
Mr. Feldman said he could imagine a
consumer, while returning from work, instructing his portable device to find him the
best deal for groceries on the route home.
"You'll say you need a pound of hamburger,
two fresh onions and a bottle of ketchup --
who will sell this to me near here in the next
hour?" Mr. Feldman said. "All the markets
in the area will be screaming: 'Me! Me!' "
An early example of the marriage of
mobility, networks and commerce is an
experiment I.B.M. is conducting in England
in partnership with Safeway P.L.C., the supermarket chain. There, I.B.M. has given
170 shoppers Palm Pilots equipped with
scanners and modems. The shoppers can
punch in their grocery orders and the devices automatically send the orders to
Safeway to be packed for the customers. A
shopper can also restock the home larder by
running the scanner over the bar code on
items on hand (a can of peaches, say, or
The purchase of Coca-Cola from vending
machines in Finland illustrates another example of new technology at work. In an
experiment, using software made by the
Oracle Corporation, a consumer punches an
order for a soda into a cellular phone. The
phone then instructs the vending machine to
kick out a Coke and debits an account to pay
for it. (Of course, those without cell phones
may go thirsty.) In addition, the vending
machine, which is also on a network, dials
its owner when it is time to be restocked
Oracle, based in Redwood City, Calif.,
knows whereof it speaks when it comes to
network possibilities. Like Cisco, it is considered to be on the cutting edge and a
model for the near-term changes expected
in many industries. But companies looking
to emulate Oracle should know that the
company had to undergo a substantial
transformation to get to this point.
For years, the company relied on in-person product-demonstration seminars
that cost $350 per attendee to stage, including invitations, hotel space, special crews
and more. Today, the company holds the
majority of its seminars online -- it had 61
online presentations in October, for example, presenting material in text, video and
audio, and taking questions via e-mail. The
cost: $1.98 per attendee.
"We're not talking a factor of even 100
less; we're talking a huge amount less" in
cost, said Mark Jarvis, senior vice president
for worldwide marketing for Oracle. "We
were used to running marketing seminars in
144 countries worldwide. Now we do one for
the entire globe."
Like Cisco, Oracle has also moved many
of its human resource tasks online. For
example, an employee files an expense report into an automated system that not only
e-mails the report to a manager to approve,
but also checks the report for any anomalous expenses that could lead to an audit.
Mr. Jarvis said it cost $100 to process a
paper-based expense report, but $1 for one
in a digital network-based world.
Like Mr. Feldman of I.B.M., Mr. Jarvis
predicts that this wave of networking technology will look insignificant compared with
the waves on the horizon. He said that
Oracle and other companies needed to prepare themselves for a world in which geography and price were far less significant in
buying and selling decisions, and that businesses must prepare themselves to compete
against and cooperate with other businesses
in a virtual environment with few boundaries.
"Everybody is looking at putting their
product catalog online and thinking, 'I'm
done,' " said Mark A. Tonnesen, a senior
director of information technology at Cisco
Systems. "But you've got to think about
having an entire ecosystem of products and
services online." The world ahead, he said,
is one "with multiple buyers, multiple customers and multiple complementary processes."
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