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Major antivirus companies, banks, insurance providers, government agencies, large hotels, wineries, restaurants, airlines. Think of almost any kind of company and there’s a good chance a prolific, financially-motivated hacker known as Fxmsp has broken into it, or attempted to, according to a report released Tuesday.
Dubbed the “invisible god of networks,” he’s a suspected male from Kazakhstan who claimed to have broken into 135 companies since his first appearance in 2017, according to the report. Group-IB, a security company that recently shifted operations from Russia to Singapore, estimated he’s made $1.5 million along the way, working with an unidentified accomplice known as Lampeduza to sell access to victim networks.
He came to prominence in May last year after claiming to have broken into a handful of cybersecurity companies: McAfee, Symantec and Trend Micro. (Trend was the only one to confirm a breach of its labs). The hacker was reportedly offering access to the antivirus software source code and various product design documents for $300,000.
The name Fxmsp was first seen by Group-IB in 2016 on a Russian hacking forum. At that point, he appeared to be breaching company networks and using the stolen compute power within to mine cryptocurrency. To create new cryptocurrency, complex mathematical problems have to be solved, which typically needs substantial compute power. Hackers will often steal that compute power from networks they’ve broken into.
Over time, Fxmsp moved on to more sophisticated cybercriminal sales, acquiring access to networks via remote desktops after scanning the web for vulnerable systems.
His targets were random, Group-IB found. “Fxmsp always scans a range of IP addresses within a city or a country for certain open ports. Based on the cybercriminal’s messages posted on underground forums, to do so he uses a popular software called Masscan as well as more advanced scanners,” Dmitry Volkov, CTO of Group-IB, told Forbes. “Whoever has got an open RDP [remote desktop protocol] port falls victim to Fxmsp. Despite this rather simplistic method he used, Fxmsp managed to gain access to energy companies, government organizations and even some Fortune 500 firms.”
He moved over to an infamous hacking forum called exploit[.]in, where he began selling access to business networks from October 2017, offering a route into the systems of a Nigerian bank. That same month, he claimed he had access to the network belonging to a chain of luxury hotels with locations in the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Panama, the U.S., Europe, amongst other destinations. He was selling access to 600 servers and 1,000 workstations used by the chain, which could be used to either steal banking information or espionage and data theft. By January 2018, he was showing off an American map containing the locations of properties of yet another hotel chain he claimed to have hacked.
By July 31 2018, Fxmsp had offered access to 51 companies in 21 countries on exploit[.]in. The minimum average price for advertised sales $268,000, Group-IB calculated.
After apparently teaming up with another hacker known as Lampeduza, the sales were diversified across numerous forums. It was Lampeduza who claimed that any buyer would become the “invisible god of networks.” “Gaining access alone means nothing. But when you obtain access that gives control of the entire company, including all networks, PCs and laptops within that network, and all the credentials for networks, PCs and domain controllers - that’s a huge challenge,” Lampeduza wrote in one ad. Domain controllers police who can connect to a business network and offer hackers a passkey to prowl a breached business' accounts, such as their Microsoft and Google email or document services.
Though they were banned from the hacking forum for selling single company access to multiple parties, they continued with private sales and shifted focus to other forums, using multiple personas, Group-IB found.
Group-IB collected all the contact information and website registrations it had linked to Fxmsp over the years and used it to trace it back to a VK.com profile of a man in Almatay, Kazakhstan. (Forbes has chosen not to print his name as he was unreachable for comment at the time of publication and no official government allegations have been made).
The hacker’s main mistake was to include his name in some domain registrations that the security researchers were able to tie to an individual, according to the report, which also claims he was born in the 1980s.
Group-IB, which has previously worked closely with Europol, says it has passed its findings onto international law enforcement agencies, though was not authorized to comment on whether any police action on Fxmsp was imminent.
Some believe Fxmsp is more than one person. As Alex Holden, founder of cybersecurity company Hold Security told Forbes, “he is definitely not the brains or technology of the group.” He believes the gang has “minimized” their public footprint to sell “to an established and vetted audience.”
Indeed, as of today, Fxmsp has disappeared from hacker forums and is no longer offering such deep access to his victims’ networks. He’s either given up or has shifted solely to private sales. Or he’s simply operating under a different name on better shielded corners of the web.


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Real Estate Weekly reports Winick Realty Group has found Chipotle Mexican Grill its first Harlem location following a years-long search.
The fast food eastery has signed a 2,500 s/f lease at 72 West 125th Street, just off of Lenox Avenue. The restaurant is expected to open in the first half of 2018.
“This is where we wanted to be, at the axis of 125th Street and Lenox, where you have the best balance of office workers, shoppers, residents, students and transit users,” said Winick executive vice president Kenneth Hochhauser, Chipotle’s exclusive retail broker for Manhattan.
Eugene Fata and Roberto Fata of Fata Properties represented the landlord in-house.

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(CNN)We pour about 1.4 billion cups of coffee a day globally, according to the International Coffee Organization, and the Ivory Coast has been one of the world's largest coffee producers for over half a century.
How a rare bean is revolutionizing coffee tastes in the Ivory Coast
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But locals don't seem to share the world's enthusiasm for the country's coffee beans.
While traditionally there has not been a strong coffee culture in the Ivory Coast, new coffee shops are opening around Abidjan, hoping to capture the untapped market.
And it is thanks to a group of coffee connoisseurs in Ivory Coast's economic capital, Abidjan using a rare bean called Arabusta.
"It's like something secret that people don't actually know when they come to Abidjan but they can discover," said one enthusiast staying at the Bushman Hotel.


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Photographer: Gillian Laub for Bloomberg Businessweek
One Fashion Designer’s Quest to End Child Marriage, One Scarf at a Time
Global equality for women and girls is a hard sell, so one designer on a mission found a soft solution.
Henriette Ernst’s idea formed over the summer, after a fateful walk in Lower Manhattan with her Morkie, an ewok-like cross between a Yorkshire terrier and a Maltese. She was joined by a neighbor she’d recently met named Yasmeen Hassan, a human-rights lawyer and global executive director for Equality Now. Over the course of a couple of hours, the two talked about many of the issues Hassan works on: rape cases, genital mutilation, child marriage, education for girls. Ernst became increasingly agitated by the discussion—and energized. “I said, ‘You know what? Maybe I can do something,’ ” she recalls. “ ‘Maybe I can make coffee for your organization, or organize an event, or be a volunteer.’ ”
Ernst has sparkly dark eyes and brown hair, and she brims with energy and opinions, spoken in a thick German accent that gives her declamations the delightfully contradictory air of a pragmatic diva. For decades she’d been a design director, most recently as senior vice president for women’s clothes at Joe Fresh, helping labels meet relentless retail demands for all things new. At the time she met with Hassan, she was taking a break from the industry to contemplate her next career move. “I also felt a little bit sick of the superficiality of the fashion world,” she says.
When Ernst visited Equality Now’s Manhattan headquarters to learn more about the organization, she immediately felt at home. “I thought, These are friends I’ve been missing!” As a young girl in Berlin, Ernst had joined demonstrations and raised money for social and environmental causes. As a designer she felt her industry should be more involved—particularly in women’s rights. “In the ’80s, male designers like Calvin Klein and Kenneth Cole did a wonderful job banding together and raising awareness for AIDS/HIV—but designers have done little to help women,” she says. “And that’s most of our customers!”
At Equality Now, Ernst felt less enthusiastic when Hassan showed her the organization’s branding. The old logo—the symbols for man and woman, fused around an equal sign, looked dated. A newer one looked corporate. “Henriette was like, ‘Oh my God, it’s hideous,’ ” Hassan says.
That’s when Ernst had an idea: Why not use her skills and fashion world connections to create a brand of clothing that reflected and supported the values of the nonprofit? She decided she’d call the brand Round Plus Square, symbolizing harmony and structure.
Her years at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, Belgium, from which she graduated in 1994, gave her an intellectual take on clothes and also a useful credential. Previous graduates, such as Ann Demeulemeester and Dries Van Noten, whose deconstructed blazers and bohemian fabrics defined late 1980s high fashion, had polished the school’s luster. Ernst landed a series of plum jobs with Calvin Klein, Jil Sander, Strenesse, and Van Noten, learning every aspect of the business from conceptualizing a line to sourcing textiles. In 2009 she joined Céline as head designer for fabric and color concepts, reporting directly to Phoebe Philo, the British fashion arbiter who’s behind many of today’s surprise trends (for example, the ugly shoe revival in the form of fur-lined Birkenstocks and haute Tevas).
“You can’t forget Henriette,” says Nadège Vanhee-Cybulski, women’s ready-to-wear artistic director for Hermès, who worked at Céline with Ernst in those years. “She has such a strong sense of femininity and feminism.”
She began working on Round Plus Square in August, drawing on old contacts to find the most socially and environmentally progressive factories. (Ernst points out that the textile industry is among the world’s biggest polluters.) Funding the entire line on her own, she produced a small initial collection of T-shirts, fabric brooches, silk bandannas, and large square scarves in time for the Make Equality Reality annual yearend gala. To keep prices down, the products are sold exclusively online. Thirty percent of sales will support the charity, while the rest will go back into the business.
For her bandannas ($65) and shawls ($165 to $290), she’s using silk manufactured by the Canepa factory near Como, Italy, a woman-owned operation that recycles 80 percent of its water. Ernst’s T-shirts ($35 to $58) are made with organic cotton sourced by Neo Tekstil, a woman-run company in Istanbul known for tapping top suppliers for high-quality, organic cotton jersey clothing. “I trust them,” says Ernst. “I had food together with the workers, and it was good traditional Turkish food. In China, if you go to a factory, you’d never get the food workers eat.”
For years, Hassan says, gaining support for her cause was difficult, because corporate sponsors tend to shy away from controversial topics such as genital mutilation and child brides. Now these issues are less taboo, and support for the rights of girls and women is more widespread. But Equality Now still steps delicately. It operates in many different cultures, where local women run regional offices ensuring the group’s message and actions are attuned to social customs and norms.
Ernst interpreted the need for a light touch by tucking handwritten slogans, such as “make equality reality,” among lyrical flowers, polka dots, and butterflies. The result is cheerful and subtle in a sisterhood-is-powerful way, but not cloying.
For the line’s formal debut at the big fundraising gala in Los Angeles on Dec. 5, Gloria Steinem wore a Round Plus Square scarf on stage. Jaha Dukureh, a leading activist, wore one as a turban. And TV producer Joss Whedon wrapped a bandanna around his wrist.
“High-end donors were very inspired,” says Hassan. “Usually NGO T-shirts and products are unattractive, something people buy in the moment to support a cause and then wear only as a nightshirt, if at all. But these are cool-looking.”
Of course, Ernst was never going to stop at just brewing Equality Now’s coffee. “I feel better knowing that I’m supporting an organization where they’re working their asses off to make a difference for women,” she says. “I’m not a good lawyer like Yasmeen, I didn’t study it. But this I can do.”
Included in the Good Business Issue of Bloomberg Businessweek, Dec. 26, 2016-Jan. 8, 2017. Subscribe now.


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Nicolas Asfouri | AFP | Getty Images
China’s President Xi Jinping shakes hands with U.S. President Donald Trump (L) during a business leaders event at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Nov. 9, 2017.
China has no choice but to fight back against U.S. bullying on trade, the country’s Commerce Ministry said on Friday, after Washington’s tariffs on $34 billion in Chinese imports took effect.
The ministry said in a statement that the U.S. move severely harms global supply and value chains and triggers global market turmoil. However, China would continue with its domestic reforms and opening up, it said.


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Although the trend in the vehicle market is smaller crossovers, Ford confirmed that brand?o Expedition will be kept in line brand models. Available with 3.5 EcoBoost V6 engine, the Expedition 2015 will be presented on Wednesday, the Auto Show in Dallas, United States.
The Mercedes-Benz had considered the realization of a partnership with his great rival market, BMW. Speaking at the Automotive News website, Dieter Zetsche, CEO of Daimler, Fiat and Volkswagen showed that were also considered.
The Brazilian Association of Importers of Motor Vehicles (Abeiva) revealed plans to change its name to Brazilian Association of Importers and Manufacturers of Motor Vehicles (Abeifa) and consequently alter their work with the automakers.
Due to the new safety standards that went into effect in 2014, with the requirement of the airbag and ABS brakes for new cars sold in Brazil, Volkswagen Kombi retired veteran. To say goodbye with style, launched the special edition Kombi Last Edition.


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In 1996 Sean Connery thriller The Rock, Nicolas Cage’s character spends $600 on a Beatles LP. When asked by a co-worker why he didn’t just spend $13 on the then-popular medium known as compact disc, Cage responds presciently. “Well, first of all, it’s because I’m a Beatlemaniac,” he offers, deadpan as always. “And second, these sound better.”
Cage’s character should be pleased on November 13, when, according to the New York Times, the Beatles’ remastered stereo albums will be reissued on vinyl. EMI previously released remastered versions on CD and as downloads in 2009. The 180-gram vinyl editions of all 12 of the Beatles’ British albums and their two-disc Past Masters set of singles and non-album tracks will be available separately or as a box set. Limited to 50,000 copies globally, the box will come with an LP-size, 252-page hardcover book by BBC producer Kevin Howlett.
All but two of the albums will use versions of the 2009 CD masters. Help! and Rubber Soul will be based on remixes that the Beatles’ producer, George Martin, helmed in 1986. The packages will replicate the vintage ’60s artwork.
Still, Cage’s cinematic Beatlemaniac might not be entirely pleased. The music on the LPs will have gone through a digitizing process, rather than being drawn from the original analog masters. The mono recordings of the albums, which also came out on CD three years ago, won’t be available on vinyl until 2013.
It isn’t yet clear how much Beatles fans will have to pay for the vinyl remasters, but it will probably be a lot less than Cage’s $600. An advance listing, since taken down, at Music Direct said the full box set would cost $399.99, as Beats Per Minute reported last week, but that has not been confirmed.
Meanwhile, a restored version of the Beatles’ 1967 film Magical Mystery Tour hits certain movie theaters starting today. A list of participating theaters is on the band’s website. A DVD release will follow on October 8, and according to the Guardian, it will include a commentary track from Paul McCartney. The Walrus speaks!


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Can Testing Automation Improve Network Quality?
According to a recent McKinsey study, network quality concerns comprise some of the most important factors impacting a given customer’s choice of mobile carrier. While pricing is still the most important one on average, survey respondents were also quick to list national and local coverage, network speed, and quality of 4G as critical deciding factors in carrier selection.
In spite of the growing importance of network quality, however, McKinsey also found that the average quality of service for voice has decreased across Europe in recent years.
Sure, usage patterns among mobile phone users are changing, but this state of affairs still seems unsustainable. If a particular operator constantly makes gains in mobile broadband at the expense of voice functionality, they’re likely to see an increase in churn.
Why? Because customers increasingly think of their service as a holistic experience, rather than a set of discreet service offerings. Just because you’re able to offer the lowest latency for voice-over-IP, doesn’t mean that you’ll be forgiven for spotty geographical coverage, and vice versa.


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Storefront employees have been on the move it seems since they very first put their name out there. Since the instituting of Storefront, over 1,000 Pop-Up Shops have been set up through this very company. It may surprise many of you to know, but Storefront has only been around since the fall of 2012. Considering the amount of work and dedication that has been put into this company, I see nothing less than the most luminous future for not only Storefront, but every single creative mind behind the project.
Storefront recently raised $7.3 Million in order to assist brands that sell online, to move offline as well, and without even having to sign a lease! This company really has the best intentions for every entrepreneur, store owner, or simply any one with a new idea out there.
This past Tuesday, Storefront threw a Launch Party in Chicago. Sources say it was an event that inspired and got the creative juices flowing. 300 spaces and counting are already listed for rent in the Chicago area. Creators of Storefront say that the prices for said spaces range from $75 to $5,000 daily. The photo below, a capture from Tuesday’s Launch Party, comes directly from Storefront’s Instagram! Click the picture to go to their account. What a crowd!
We wish the best of luck to Storefront, and look forward to seeing them not only Pop-Up, but also Pop-In to other cities around the US, and maybe even go Global soon enough!


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7-Eleven Cuts Nearly 900 U.S. Corporate Jobs Over Restructuring
Photo: ROBYN BECK/Getty Images
The 7-Eleven chain store cut approximately 880 corporate jobs in the United States, according to a company spokesman.
“As with any merger, our integration approach includes evaluating our organizational structure combined,” a 7-Eleven spokesperson said in an emailed statement.
“The review was slowed down by the COVID-19 pandemic, but it is now complete and we are finalizing the organization structure moving forward,” he added.
The spokesman, who was not identified, said the cuts were from certain jobs at the company’s support centers in Irving, Texas, and Enon, Ohioas well as in field support positions.
“These decisions have not been made lightly and we are working to support affected employeesincluding the provision of career transition services,” the company spokesperson added.
The cuts come one year after acquired the rival Speedway gas station and C-store business, for $21 billion dollars.
7-Eleven purchased Speedway to strengthen its presence in the US, particularly in the Midwest and along the East Coast.
However, the Federal Trade Commission charged that the acquisition of Marathon’s Speedway subsidiary violated federal antitrust laws. Later, 7-Eleven ordered to sell over 200 outlets to resolve dispute.
7-Eleven joins the list of US companies that recently have been dealing with inflation in everything from fuel to labor to rentwhich weigh on earnings.
Many of them, as recently announced by Google, now they’re holding back on hiring or starting to fire peoplewhile looking for opportunities to cut costs.
7-Eleven has also been dealing with higher prices at gas stations, which has led some consumers to wait to fill up the tank or stop purchasing additional products within their retail stores.
The company, owned by Japanese retailer Seven & i Holdings Co, operates more than 13,000 locations in North Americaaccording to its parent company’s most recent annual filing, approximately 9,500 of which are under its namesake brand.
Meanwhile, 7-Eleven has been testing so-called “Evolution” stores that offer customers specialty coffee drinks, local food, and features like mobile payment. It opened its ninth store in the country, in Dallas, in June.
You may also like:
– Shootings at 7-Eleven stores in Southern California left two people dead and three injured by gunshots
– 7-Eleven launches two new cafes for this spring season
– 7-Eleven launches bean burger in its US locations for a limited time


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Editor's note: This story has been updated throughout to include a more detailed response from ACE Cash Express.
The state is steering people who want to make cash payments on traffic violation surcharges to a payday lender that last week settled with a federal agency over illegal debt collection tactics.
“You may make cash payments at any ACE Cash Express location nationwide,” says a prominent note at the top of the Driver Responsibility Program's Frequently Asked Questions page.
Irving-based ACE Cash Express, one of the nation’s largest payday lenders, agreed to pay $10 million over allegations by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that it harassed and intimidated borrowers, pushing them into a cycle of debt.
ACE takes issue with the characterization that it pushes borrowers into a debt trap. The company has said its policies don't allow delinquent borrowers to take out more loans until the previous loans are paid off.
Visiting ACE is one of several ways Texans can make payments under the Driver Responsibility Program — and the vast majority of payments are made by credit card, according to the Department of Public Safety. The program, created in 2003, requires drivers to pay annual surcharges on top of fines and legal fees attached to certain traffic violations. Failure to pay results in a suspended license.
“It’s preposterous that state policy funnels anyone to any predatory lender, much less one that’s been fined $10 million for using threats and harassment to intimidate borrowers,” said state Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston.
Texans have options other than ACE for using cash to pay the surcharges — via Western Union or MoneyGram. But on the Frequently Asked Questions page, the only answer to the question “How do I pay with cash?” is ACE Cash Express. The web page, adorned with the Department of Public Safety seal, is run by the Municipal Services Bureau (MSB), a vendor hired by the state to collect payments for the state’s Driver Responsibility Program. There is a link to the page on the department’s site about the program.
ACE Cash Express — a subcontractor of MSB – has accepted surcharge payments since 2011, DPS spokesman Tom Vinger said. Of 225,481 payments processed through the program last month, 200,406 were credit card payments, and 3,555 were processed by ACE, Vinger said. MoneyGram processed 627 and Western Union processed 444, he said (other payment options include checks and money orders).
“There has not been an issue reported to DPS concerning ACE Cash Express regarding taking surcharge payments” for the program, Vinger said in an email.
But Ana Yáñez-Correa, executive director of the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition, said she’s worried that people who go to ACE to make a surcharge payment could get sucked into taking out a loan.
“This is very concerning to me,” she said. “I’m skeptical of anything that sends poor people to situations where they’re going to be taken advantage of.”
ACE said Thursday that of 2,116 customers who made Driver Responsibility Program payments at its stores in June, just seven also took out loans that month. The company also provided information from a national analysis it did in 2007 showing that 1 percent of customers who paid bills at ACE became short-term loan customers on the same day. That analysis followed a National Consumer Law Center report that found that "when utilities send their customers to pay bills in the storefronts of ultra-high-cost payday lenders, those customers — typically the most financially vulnerable — become targets for predatory loans." ACE said at the time that the report "relies on innuendo, anecdotes, and casual observations to make misleading conclusions."
In Texas, critics of the Driver Responsibility Program have concerns in addition to the ACE issue. Yáñez-Correa said she thinks it's time to do away with the program entirely.
Critics say the program unfairly penalizes poor Texans and requires drivers to face double punishment for a single offense. But lawmakers have rejected proposals to end it because it sends millions of dollars each year to state hospitals and trauma centers.
Under the program, drivers who receive minor tickets for speeding or car accidents aren’t automatically levied a surcharge, but a point system is used to punish repeat offenders. A moving traffic violation is 2 points, or 3 if it results in a crash. A driver who accrues 6 points must pay $100 per year for as many years as his or her driving record has at least 6 points (points stay on a record for three years). Other surcharges are more expensive. For example, certain driving while intoxicated convictions carry an annual surcharge of $2,000 for three years.
MSB charges fees for collecting the surcharges — a “service fee” of 4 percent of the surcharge amount, an “installment plan fee” of $2.50 for each partial payment, a credit card fee of 2.25 percent of a payment plus 25 cents, and an electronic check fee of $2 per payment.
Subcontractors like ACE charge customer fees on top of MSB's fees. Vinger provided information on amounts charged by subcontractors but asked Wednesday evening that those amounts be confirmed with MSB, which was not immediately able to provide that information on Thursday.
Vinger said it was his understanding that ACE charges 75 cents to process payments of $19.99 and under and $3 for a payment of $20 or more. An ACE store in El Paso contacted on Wednesday confirmed that it charges those amounts. Vinger said it was his understanding that MoneyGram and Western Union charge more than ACE does — $9.50 or more for a transaction. A MoneyGram customer service representative on Wednesday quoted fees of $9.99 to make a $10, $20 or $100 payment to MSB. A Western Union representative on Thursday quoted a fee of $5 for a $10 or $20 payment and $9 for a $100 payment.
Lawmakers have been working since 2009 to improve collection rates and reduce the number of licenses suspended. Since the program began, more than $3 billion in surcharges have been levied, but just 43 percent of that has been collected. As of March, the Department of Public Safety had suspended the licenses of more than 1.4 million drivers because they failed to pay.
Last year, state Rep. Larry Gonzales, R-Round Rock, and four other state lawmakers unsuccessfully filed a bill to repeal the program. State Rep. Joe Pickett, D-El Paso, chairman of the Homeland Security and Public Safety Committee, has said he doesn’t envision the program being scrapped during the next legislative session.


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“They call me New New”
These celebs were ready for a nap at any moment
Here are the celebrities who decided to skip.
“I think it‘s a beautiful thing”
Keep up with the later celebrity happenings in our weekly gallery.
The two are rumored to be dating.
Zendaya can wear just about anything!
The internet never forgets
After so many delays, a new trailer has finally arrived
Zendaya and Tom Holland met when they were cast in the first Spider-Man movie, back in 2017.
It all started in 2016
The couple has been linked on and off since they starred in Spider Man: Homecoming
The actress wore a longer version of the Versace dress the singer once wore.
It wasn’t just the actress’ Valentino gown that made a fashion statement last night.


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Playism has provided a brief update on FYQD Studio’s Bright Memory Infinite! Currently, development of the game is “very smooth” and looks set to release in 2021. The game releases first for Xbox Series X|S and PC with a PS5 version coming afterwards. Additionally, Playism released new screenshots of Bright Memory Infinite. Check them out below:
Stay tuned at Final Weapon for the latest gaming news and updates!


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Failure of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp applications could cost the company about $ 100 million, according to analysts at Fortune.
In particular, the calculations were based on the company’s financial results for the second quarter of 2021, in which Facebook’s revenue was $ 29.08 billion, or $ 319.6 million per day, or $ 13.3 million per hour. The company’s applications did not work for about 7.5 hours, so it could lose $ 99.75 million.
At the same time, another company that provides advertising evaluation services, Standard Media Index, estimated Facebook’s losses at $ 3.3 million during the period of failure. However, the Standard Media Index relied solely on estimating how much companies spend on advertising their products in Facebook applications per day.
At the same time, Mires Prue, vice president of research at Forrester, estimates that about 10 million companies and brands that advertise on Facebook and Instagram can reasonably claim damages – presumably in the form of free advertising.
“Only Facebook can tell exactly how much of the revenue is lost as a result of the crash. Advertisers and customers should demand that the company make up for lost opportunities,” Prue said.
According to The New York Times, sales of some companies that use Facebook platforms during the failure, which occurred on Monday, fell by 30-70% compared to the previous week.
During trading on Monday, October 11, the price of a barrel of Brent oil rose by 2% to $ 84.01. She reached this mark for the first time since October 2018. US WTI oil rose by $ 1.62 to $ 81.3 – the highest price since 2014, according to Reuters. It is noted that Brent […]
The agreement on a single corporate tax rate of at least 15 percent was signed by 136 states, which account for more than 90 percent of world GDP. The agreement is aimed at combating tax evasion by international corporations. The initiative was also signed by countries that were initially opposed to tax reform, such as […]
The savings of Ukrainian citizens outside the banking system are estimated at $ 30-35 billion. This estimate was given by the chairman of the National Bank Kyrylo Shevchenko during the Kyiv Economic Forum. There are different estimates of the “gray” economy. We in the National Bank believe that this is up to 30% of GDP. […]
During the week, the National Bank of Ukraine bought $ 228 million on the interbank foreign exchange market. At the same time, the central bank did not sell currency on the interbank market. So the NBU continued to buy currency on the interbank market, the bank increased it compared to last week ($ 15 million) […]
The new Tesla factory in Berlin may release the first electric cars next month. CEO Elon Musk stated this. Speaking at the plant, Musk said he hoped to get the green light to begin production in the coming weeks. The last consultation on public concern about the plant ends on October 14, after which the […]
In China, two more developers are unable to repay their debts: Fantasia Holdings has been unable to repay bonds worth $ 205.7 million, and Sinic Holdings is uncertain about the repayment of $ 246 million in bonds, the BBC reports. The day before, trading in Evergrande shares was suspended on the eve of “an announcement […]
Telegram Messenger registered more than 70 million new users against the background of a large-scale failure of the social network Facebook and its services. The founder of the messenger Pavlo Durov announced this in his Telegram-channel. “Telegram’s daily growth rate is an order of magnitude higher than normal, and in one day we have received […]
Ukreximbank’s Chairman of the Board Yevhen Metzger has written a statement resigning during the investigation into the attack on journalists. “The situation around the bank is unacceptable. My overly emotional reaction and unrestrained behavior towards journalists are not justified. I am fully aware of my responsibility,” the statement said. To remove partially the damage to […]
Jim Hackett, president and CEO of Ford Motor Company, intends to resign. This is stated in the statement, published on August 4 on the company’s website. The new head of Ford from October will be Jim Farley, who is now the company’s chief operating officer. As specified in the document, Hackett in the coming months […]Next
The leadership of the Ukrainian industrial complex of LLC “Zakhid Agroprodukt” has reported to the mass media about receipt of the perspective offer from the Austrian investors. Foreign entrepreneurs whose names haven’t disclosed yet took the initiative to invest about 2 million euros in the development of the entity in the territory of the Ternopil […]Next
Currently, there are no threats to Ukraine’s visa-free travel with the European Union. Required joint efforts of all political forces in Ukraine to continue the movement towards the EU. This was stated by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba on the talk show “Freedom of Speech” on ICTV. According to him, there […]Next
Against the background of recent events, the issue of nationalization of enterprises in Ukraine is currently discussed with enviable activity. Even those citizens for whom this issue is not a subject of personal interest, were involved in some sort of discourse on the advantages and disadvantages of this process. What is the sense of nationalization, […]Next
The company Amazon announced the launch of a new biometric technology Amazon One, allowing to customers to enter the store and pay for purchases by placing their palm on the scanner. However, users must first associate biometric information with the credit card. And then you can pay by placing the palm. This was reported by […]Next
State Enterprise Plant named after VO Malysheva begins to fulfill a new contract for the repair of T-80UD tanks, which was signed in February at the international arms exhibition IDEX-2 021 between Ukrspetsexport and Pakistan for a total of $ 85.6 million. This was reported by the press service of the company. “Currently, all the […]Next
Ukraine can produce an average of about 5.5 billion cubic meters of “green” hydrogen annually. This was announced on Monday, March 29, by the State Agency for Energy Efficiency. Experts of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe with the support of the Ministry of Energy and the State Agency conducted studies of the potential […]Next
The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the United States continues to rise, but disease mortality rate is declining. This was announced on Sunday, July 6, by US President Donald Trump in his Twitter. “New China Virus Cases up (because of massive testing), deaths are down, “low and steady”. The Fake News Media should report […]Next
One of the largest airlines in the United States and globally, United Airlines Holdings Inc., warned on Wednesday that it could lay off 36,000 employees since October 1. Almost half of these employees are flight attendants. The company employed about 96,000 people as of December. This step of United confirms the deplorable state of the […]Next
The position of the richest man in the world, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos reached $ 199.7 billion, which is a record for a businessman. This was reported on Wednesday by Forbes magazine. The publication noted that during the trading of Amazon shares on Tuesday, the state of Bezos even exceeded the mark of $ 200 […]Next
The Ukrainian “KVV group” put in dead storage its Liepajas KVV metalurgs plant in Latvia because of the crisis in the steel industry and the failure of the negotiations with the Latvian government. “The management of the ” KVV group” forced to take this decision in view of the continuing long-term negative factors, that impede […]Next
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) intends to invest in a number of important projects in Ukraine, including the modernization of transport infrastructure and the energy sector. This was discussed during a meeting between Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko and EBRD President Odile Reno-Basso, the press service of the Ministry of Finance reports. Odile […]Next
At the current rate of gas injection before the start of the heating season, its deficit in Europe will be about 28%. Such calculations are contained in the monthly statistics of Russia’s Gazprom. “The backlog in terms of filling compared to last year is 20.5 billion cubic meters of gas,” the document reads. Gazprom estimates […]Next
Ford official dealer representatives in Ukraine informed that Avtovinn company had developed in Vinnytsia a new Ford affiliate dealer centre. The Vinnytsia dealer centre is the third Ford centre in Ukraine . The two others have been located in Dnepr and Kyiv. It provides the full services from selling to Ford cars maintenance. The new […]Next
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Some owners of PrivatBank payment cards can have difficulties while paying goods and services via the terminal or PayPass. It is reported by Ukrainian news portal AIN.UA referring to the information furnished by the Bank. According to official explanations by consultants of nationalized financial institution customers whose card starts from a combination of numbers 5457, […]Next


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Even With Daisey’s Lies Peeled Away, Apple’s Rotten Core Exposed
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Apple’s brand glared in the media spotlight this past week, after the public learned that performance artist Mike Daisey’s theatrical rendering of the struggles of Apple factory workers contained false claims—painfully exposed on an episode of the radio program This American Life. But if one fundamental truth has emerged from the scandal surrounding Daisey’s dramatic fudging, it’s that the lived reality of many Chinese workers is undoubtedly bleak—no embellishment needed.
Daisey’s personal account is gratuiously peppered with fabrications, but the story of systematic exploitation is essentially true. For years various watchdog groups have tried to hold Apple accountable for harsh working conditions in China, which have been linked to workplace-related suicides and health hazards. Since a number of young workers killed themselves in 2010, the consumer advocacy campaign Make IT Fair, together with the Hong Kong-based Students Against Corporate Misbehavior (SACOM), have documented systematic abuses: exhausting hours, an oppressive, militaristic workplace culture and, despite conciliatory pay hikes, extremely low wages in comparison to the tremendous corporate profits and brutal working conditions.
It should be noted, however, that Daisey’s " dramatic license" was debunked largely through the real findings of intrepid investigations by advocates and professional reporters, which some commentators have highlighted amid the media fallout. As part of its “Retraction” episode, in fact, TAL interviewed New York Times reporter Charles Duhigg about the real story behind Daisey’s fictions.
On the reported widespread violations of a 60-hour weekly cap on working hours, Duhigg tells host Ira Glass, Apple claims workers volunteer for this excess work:
Duhigg: They say, "Look, one of the reasons why there is so much overtime that's inappropriate and, in some places, is illegal, is because the workers themselves are demanding that overtime."
Now, workers don't always say that. What workers often say is that they feel coerced into doing overtime, that if they didn't do overtime when it's asked of them, that they wouldn't get any overtime at all, and that financially they would suffer as a result.
This is the kind of more nuanced, day-to-day exploitation that Foxconn workers face--not so sensational, but nonetheless driven by global economic forces.
Li Qiang, head of the New York-based China Labor Watch, told In These Times that in terms of the conditions Daisey described, basically, "What he said about working conditions is true." He added, "Through this kind of media reporting, maybe more artists or journalists, or others will go to China to investigate the real circumstances in Chinese factories.... This way, this issue can generate more public debate."
While Apple has touted a new partnership with the third-party monitoring organization Fair Labor Association, many critics remain wary that Apple will continue to fail the workers at the dregs of the supply chain. Even worse, Apple might turn the scandal into a marketing opportunity, polishing its reputation with a dab of “corporate social responsibility” measures.
Make IT Fair recently denounced the FLA partnership as “a mere PR stunt,” citing comments by FLA president Auret van Heerden praising Apple facilities as “way, way above the average of the norm.” Activists call on Apple and other industry leaders to adopt more stringent ethical codes, which protect the environment from damaging extraction of raw materials, honor collective bargaining rights, and protect workers and their communities from discrimination and rights abuses.


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Ssangyong Last Hint Compact Crossover
The company SsangYong will bring to Paris two concept, which, however, will be two different versions of the same prototype. SsangYong XIV-Air and XIV-Adventure called the latest in a series of concepts, the result of which will be the output of serial crossover.
According to some reports, the future new Korean company under the name SsangYong X100 is already being tested on public roads. However, the manufacturer decided to stretch the intrigue and at the Paris motor show will showcase a couple of concepts that have received the status of pre-production.
It is not excluded that SsangYong XIV will be the company's way of showing almost the final appearance of a future production model. At length in mm 4195 crossover endowed 2,6-metre wheelbase. In addition, it is known that the concepts will get the 1.6-liter petrol and diesel engines. However, in other details SsangYong until juts out.
The management of the sports units Renault admits the idea that in the future RS models the company will somehow electrified. As an example of what is really possible, the manufacturer leads includin...
The Swedish automaker has revealed the full specifications of the hybrid version of the new crossover XC90 T8 Twin Engine, which the company itself is modestly called "the most powerful and environme...
Two-door version of the C-class new generation must be present at the Frankfurt motor show at the end of next year. It is already known that the new product will be offered not only in coupe, but in ...
Nissan has announced the launch in the European market the most powerful of today modification of Nissan Pulsar hatch, which in our country is better known under the name Tiida. Hatchback received a ...
French Peugeot planned in 2016 to provide motorists a new updated version of the Peugeot 3008. There were reports the French decided to abandon the previously planned alignment models in hybrid miniv...


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The Lagos State Police Command has arrested three persons for allegedly diverting goods worth N25. The truck loaded with milk was being taken to Abuja, but was diverted to Aba, Abia State where some of the consignment was sold. However, the police have recovered 60 per cent of the stolen good.
The suspects, Sunday Ejike, 52, James Oja, 47, and Adesoji Olanrewaju were arrested by the operatives from the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (SCIID), panti, Yaba.
The Lagos State Commissioner of Police Zubairu Muazu who paraded the suspects at command Headquarters, Ikeja, said the goods were recovered in Aba, Abia State.
He said:” The command’s Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department, arrested three suspects known for diverting and stealing the company’s goods. On May 13, we received a petition from Kobo logistics limited that on May 3, the company employed the services of Olanrewaju John to transport 30 tons of powder milk FMCG, Lagos to Abuja (FCT), but diverted the goods to an unknown destination.
“Three suspects, Adesoji Olanrewaju, 43, Sunday Ejike 52 and James Oja, 47, were arrested in connection with the case. Part of the stolen good was recovered at Aba, Abia State”.
He said one of the suspects, Sunday, has been on the police wanted list for allegedly stealing tyres worth millions of naira.
Sunday in an interview told Cornerstone news that: ” I am not a criminal. I was not the person who diverted the goods. I sold tyres to a customer who travelled with his truck to the east.
I sold to him on credit, so when I also travelled to the east and I called my customer that I was in the east and that he should pay me my money; he said I should meet him in a hotel. When I met him, he said I should wait until the following day, so I slept over. It was while I was waiting for him that the police came to the hotels and arrested us. For the tyres the police claimed that I stole, I did not steal any tyre. My customer who is on the run sold the tyres to me and I paid him and he gave me receipts. It was N 12 million. I knew that I made a mistake, I would not have visited my customer in the hotel, but that does not make me a thief.
Oja who contradicted Sunday said: ” I called Sunday to come and help me sell some used tyres because the owner of the truck contracted me to help him sell some tyres. We sold the tyres. Sunday should not deny that we sold tyres and that we were planning on what to do with the milk when the police came and arrested us”.


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NEW HAVEN — A Chapel Street vape shop is facing a $570 civil penalty from the federal Food and Drug Administration for selling e-cigarette liquid products to minors, according to inspection documents.
The White Buffalo, billed on Facebook as New Haven’s first vape lounge, sold a “Cream Monster Waterstraw” e-liquid product to a minor on Jan. 3, 2018, during an inspection by an FDA-commissioned inspector, according to a document outlining the reasons for the civil penalty.
The establishment was issued a warning letter specifying that the clerk who made the sale failed to ask for identification from the minor. The letter stated that any future violations could result in a civil penalty, documents said.
During a second inspection on Jan. 9, 2019, a clerk sold a minor a JUUL Menthol e-liquid product, inspectors said.
The clerk did not verify the person’s age by asking for photo identification, documents said.
The FDA is now seeking a $570 civil penalty from the business.
The business can ask for a hearing within 30 days of notification of the penalty, documents said.


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"Our government is making all attempts so that all charges levelled against her are dropped,” External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said.
"The matter has been taken up strongly with the Government of Pakistan at various levels," Swaraj told the Lok Sabha during Question Hour.
The American Embassy has also not been allowed to carry out any commercial activity from its premises, the Ministry of External Affairs said.
Adept at handling crisis situation like Indian student trouble in Australia in 2010 and lately Devyani Khobragade case, Singh was not forward looking enough to shape a big picture desired by Modi.
Devyani Food Industries will invest Rs 275 crore in three years on capacity enhancement and retail expansion of its ice cream brand 'Creambell' across the country.
This week marks the start of yet another year of battle among ice cream makers in Delhi, one of the top markets for the product in the country.
Among the capital's landmarks destroyed in the earthquake was the 60-metre Dharahara Tower, built in 1832 for the queen of Nepal, with a viewing balcony.
Government last night decided to replace Singh curtailing her tenure by eight months and appointed India's ambassador to the US S Jaishankar in her place.


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Google fixes issue causing Android apps to crash
|Android apps crashing|
Samsung Galaxy S20 phones, are displayed at the Unpacked 2020 event in San Francisco.
TORONTO: After hundreds of Android users reported sudden app crashes on Monday, Google released an update to the operating system.
“The problem with Gmail has been resolved. We apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience and continued support.
rest assured that system reliability is a top priority at Google, and we are making continuous improvements to make our systems better,” a Google spokesperson said in a statement.
Complaints about the crashes primarily involved newer Samsung phones including, Galaxy S21, A50 and A70 but also impacted older models such like the Galaxy S8.
Samsung acknowledged the issue on Twitter App when users tweeted at the U.S. support account, and provided a fix that was already being shared widely on app Reddit.
Why is every app on my phone crashing?
This can be caused by many factors as, but most app issues can be fixed by clearing the app data or updating the software. App updates contain patches to fix problems identified with the app. Some app updates are delivered through: Google Play Store , while others are in device software updates.
Why are my apps closing automatically Android?
easiest ways to fix an app that keeps crashing on your Android smartphone is to simply force stop it and open it again.
To do this, go to Settings of phone -> Apps - > and select the app that keeps crashing.
Tap on the app's name and then tap on keyword 'Force stop'. Now try opening the app again and see if it works well.
Why are all my Google Apps crashing?
Google apparently pushed out a bad update to WebView, resulting in Android app crashes. Some users have found removing the latest WebView update or uninstalling WebView entirely fixes the issue. . If removing the update doesn't work for you, try uninstalling WebView.
Why is my Samsung closing apps?
If your device does not have sufficient storage space available, this may lead to running apps to crash. Remove any unnecessary files or unused applications to free up space on your device via Device Care.
Why is my apps closing suddenly?
This usually occurs when your Wi-Fi or cellular data is slow or unstable, and apps tend to malfunction. Another reason for Android apps crashing problem is the lack of storage space in your device.
Why is my Google app not working?
Restart your device and try your search again. If you're able to connect to the Internet, update the Google app to the latest version. To check if you get results, try your search again. When you clear an app's cache, you delete data stored in a temporary area of the device's memory.


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December is serious business for toy retailers
Gotta have it?
Creating and selling the must-have toy is hit or miss, but even without a sure thing, December is serious business
Published 6:30 am, Sunday, November 21, 2004
Those Cabbage Patch Kids were adorable — so adorable they caused fistfights and near riots among holiday season shoppers.
In 1985 alone, the cuddly creatures raked in $600 million.
During some holiday seasons, a certain toy achieves blockbuster status: Consumers feel they have to have it — their child's Christmas depends on it — and supplies are running out!
Over the years, such insanely popular toys have included Beanie Babies, Furbies, Pet Rocks, Pokémon, Rubik's Cube, Smurfs, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Tickle Me Elmo, Power Rangers, Trivial Pursuit and PlayStation 2.
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"I don't think there is going to be one this year," said Chris Byrne, an independent toy consultant.
Many industry observers say the must-have toy phenomenon is generally less likely because of consolidation in the industry and better planning among manufacturers.
The toy industry and retailers have a lot riding on the holiday season. Last year, toys generated $20.7 billion in sales, and 50 percent of that was racked up the last three months of the year.
This year, retailers in general are expecting a 4.5 percent increase in all holiday sales over last year.
One aspect of the must-have toy is its limited quantities, creating hysteria because not everyone can get one. But toy makers have gotten more sophisticated at test-marketing and forecasting supply needs, Byrne said.
And with eBay, there is less reason to stand in line, he said.
Consolidation in the industry also makes the emergence of a must-have toy less likely, because there are fewer retail outlets and fewer manufacturers, noted Carol Rehtmeyer, president of Rehtmeyer Inc., a Chicago-based design, development and manufacturing arm of the toy industry.
Fewer retail stores mean less variety on shelves, Rehtmeyer said, and fewer manufacturers mean that the surviving mega-toy manufacturers tend to have a conservative, risk-averse strategy: Sell the evergreen toy that delivers solid sales year after year, rather than gamble on a new toy that has only a remote chance of becoming a must-have product.
"When you stick your neck out," she said, "you don't know what's going to happen." You could have an unbelievable success like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, she said, or a disaster like Barnyard Commandos.
Neil Friedman, president of Fisher-Price, doesn't expect the industry to produce a wildly popular toy this year. Typically, he said, you'd already know about it by now.
Although, he recalled that his company's original Tickle Me Elmo didn't explode until the day after Thanksgiving 1996.
About 5,000 new toys enter the market each year, so the odds of one going through the roof is remote, Rehtmeyer said.
Tapping into 'special need'Nowadays, a major toy company will typically buy out an independent that's created a super hot toy rather than develop its own, she said.
Often, must-have toys have the ability to tap into "a special need or fantasy in the culture," Rehtmeyer observed.
In the 1980s, for example, consumers yearned for something personalized, and each Cabbage Patch doll came with adoption papers.
Sometimes, though, a toy's overwhelming success leaves the experts baffled. Case in point: Pogs, a game featuring cardboard discs the size of a half dollar. Pogs originated in Hawaii in the 1920s and became a hit across the United States about 70 years later.
Must-have toys cause some holiday shoppers to abandon their senses: In New York City, two days before Christmas 1996, Byrne recalled that people paid $1,200 for Tickle Me Elmo.
For Fisher-Price, Tickle Me Elmo is a toy that keeps on giving. The company has offered a new version of the doll each year since 1996, and it has been either the No. 1 or No. 2 soft toy each year.
This year's model is E-L-M-O, who sings, dances and spells out his initials.
Probably no surprisesWhile not predicting any off-the-charts, must-have toys this season, Byrne believes some products will do extremely well, including VideoNow Color, a hand-held video player for children, made by Hasbro ; Mattel's Barbie The Princess and the Pauper dolls and E-L-M-O.
Along with E-L-M-O, Friedman believes Fisher-Price has two hot toys featuring Nickelodeon character Dora the Explorer: Magic Hair Fairy Tale Dora and Dora's Talking House. Dora products are drawing on the growing Hispanic market, he said.
Toys that tie into movies and TV shows are a big gamble, Rehtmeyer said. The toy industry learns about entertainment properties a year and a half before their release, she said, and even if a show becomes a huge hit, it is still far from certain whether the toy will also be popular.
Children at young ages are wanting electronics and communication technology products such as video games, cell phones and PCs, making the toy business more challenging, noted David Riley, a senior manager at the NPD Group, a market research firm.
'Edutainment' gainingEducational toys, meanwhile, are increasingly lucrative.
"Ten years ago, if somebody said, 'It's educational,' that would be the kiss of death. Now we call it 'edutainment,' " Rehtmeyer said.
She cited the toy company LeapFrog as being particularly adept at "combining education and electronics in a clever way."
At Fisher-Price, growth in the educational toy category this year has been in the high double digits, Friedman said.
The emergence of the educational toy may point to another reason the must-have toy phenomenon is on the wane: Many parents have become more selective about their toy purchases, choosing products that best suit their children's wishes and needs rather than buy a product that happens to be popular with the masses, said Reyne Rice, a toy trend specialist with the Toy Industry Association.
But it's still kind of earlyMost shoppers at the South Central Super Target were not aware of any must-have toys for this holiday season.
"And for that I am thankful," said Sissy Boyer, a banker and mother:
"I don't have to go looking for that one thing and not be able to find it," Boyer added.
"It's still too early," said Tina Banks, a restaurant manager.
Two weeks before Christmas, she said, children will get excited about a certain toy, based on what they see on television.
But it's not too early for 5-year-old Jonique Mayes.
"I want Dora," she exclaimed.
The lack of a must-have toy this year might create an opening for a must-have from the past: Toy Wishes Magazine just released its "2004 Hot Dozen," a forecast of the 12 most sought-after toys of the season, and guess who's on the list — the Cabbage Patch Kids.


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Online Battle of Low-Cost Books
IS Amazon.com becoming the Napster of the book business?
The analogy may not be far off, say some observers of the used-book industry. Publishers, particularly textbook publishers, have long countered used-book sales by churning out new editions every couple of years. But the Web, particularly sites like Amazon and eBay, have given millions of consumers an easy way to find cheap books - often for under $1 - without paying royalty fees to publishers or authors.
Mass-market publishers are not certain the used-book phenomenon is a problem worth addressing, but others in the industry have already made up their minds.
"We think it's not good for the industry and it has an effect, but we can't measure it," said Paul Aiken, executive director of the Authors Guild, a trade group. "There has always been used-book sales, but it's always been a background noise sort of thing. Now it's right there next to the new book on Amazon."
Lorraine Shanley, a principal at Market Partners International, a publishing consultant, said that the industry was just starting to appreciate the dimensions of the problem.
"Used books are to consumer books as Napster was to the music industry," she said. "The question becomes, 'How does the book industry address its used-book problem?' There aren't any easy answers, especially as no one is breaking any laws here."
Ms. Shanley, whose company reported on used books this month in its newsletter, Publishing Trends, said that publishers were beginning to see the effects. "We've asked publishers how much of an issue it is, and the responses are either 'I have so many other problems to deal with,' or 'Yes, it's an issue, but as there are no easy fixes, I can't really focus on it,' '' she said.
Greg Greeley, Amazon's vice president for media products for North America and Japan, strenuously disagreed with the notion that online sales of used books harmed the publishing industry. And Kathryn Blough, the vice president for the Association of American Publishers, said that she "wouldn't jump to the conclusion that used books are eating away at the new-book market."
Ms. Blough said used-book sales were growing, particularly online, and new-book sales had been "a little flat." The publishers association reported earlier this year that 2003 sales for mass-market paperbacks and for hardcover and paperback books were virtually unchanged from 2002, when they reached roughly $3.5 billion. But Ms. Blough said the new-book market could be weak for several reasons, including a slow economy and a sharp increase in other media vying for the book reader's attention.
Amazon has listed used books alongside new books since late 2000. But analysts and industry executives said the momentum among consumers and newly minted used-book sellers was just now approaching the point of biting into new-book sales.
"We've not been able to pinpoint a definite effect, but my gut is that absolutely there's an effect," said Dominique Raccah, chief executive of Sourcebooks Inc. of Naperville, Ill., a publisher of both fiction and nonfiction titles. "And it concerns me that we're not formalizing a reasonable, proactive response."
The industry's response so far has been to consider a study on the effects of the used-book market, but in the meantime, some research already suggests that used-book purchases are surging.
Based on consumer surveys, Ipsos BookTrends, which is a division of the research and consulting firm Ipsos-Insight, said that 15 percent of all books for adults and teenagers that were purchased from April to December 2003 were used - an increase of 5 percentage points from the same period in 2002. Meanwhile, the Web's share of sales in the same time period increased to 12.7 percent from 9.7 percent.
"This is not a new phenomenon," said Albert N. Greco, a professor at Fordham University's graduate school of business administration. "But now it's different. The computer and the Internet have revolutionized things."
Furthermore, Mr. Greco said, there is no stigma attached to buying used books. "It's not like buying a used pair of shoes. And the prices are very reasonable," he said. "You can find good-quality used paperbacks on Amazon for under $2, and in some cases under $1."
Last week, for instance, used copies of Alexander McCall Smith's detective novel "Tears of the Giraffe," which was No. 5 on Amazon's paperback best-seller list, sold for 55 cents, compared to Amazon's list price of $9.56.
Of course, Amazon and eBay are not the only used-book merchants online. Alibris, the Advanced Book Exchange and others have also attracted a following among online buyers of the dog-eared. But industry executives and analysts widely acknowledge Amazon as the engine of the market.
Mr. Greeley, the Amazon executive, declined to cite statistics on the company's used-book effort, but he said sales had been growing nicely since Amazon started listing used books alongside new books and offering to sell its customers' used books for a 15 percent commission. Low-volume sellers must pay an additional commission of 99 cents a book.
Mr. Greeley said the site now carried "millions and millions of titles - many that you can't find through traditional channels."
Mr. Greeley also disputes the contention that Amazon could be hurting publishers or authors by selling books that yield no royalties. "Our interests are incredibly aligned with publishers and authors," he said. "We see this as a virtuous cycle. The lower prices of used books allow people to experiment with authors and genres in ways they might not have otherwise.
"We definitely see people who buy at a lower price point come back and buy new books in that same genre," Mr. Greeley added.
Advanced Book Exchange, a Canadian company that sells books through its Web site, Abebooks.com, recently added new books to its offering of used titles. Executives said that the company's used-book sales were increasing 20 to 30 percent a year, reaching $110 million in the last 12 months. That figure includes sales in Canada and Europe, but 70 percent of online sales are to American customers.
Abebooks.com's number of used-book sellers has also jumped, to 12,000 from 8,000 two years ago, the company said. And the number of books available roughly doubled, to 55 million from 30 million, in the same period.
The company's chief executive, Hannes Blum, said he believed new-book sales might be even softer were it not for the used-books market. "We're increasing the demand for books over all," he said.
But Professor Greco of Fordham, who conducts publishing industry research on behalf of the Book Industry Study Group, said he was "absolutely convinced that used-book sales will ultimately cut into an industry that's not growing at all."
He said that when publishers began to study the impact of used books on their backlists - the roster of older paperback books that enjoy steady demand from students and the mass market - they would find signs of damage from the used-book sellers.
"Trade publishing houses live and die with their backlist revenues," Professor Greco said. "The thing is, when you've got 8,000 to 12,000 titles in your backlists, unless you monitor carefully you won't notice the blips, because they're small right now. Ultimately, though, they won't be."


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The tech industry dominates the ranking, as more than half of the world’s top ten brands are technology companies, according to the Best Global Brands report published today.
Bullish earnings and record-breaking sales of the new iPhone 6S have pushed Apple's value soaring. Now valued at an eye-watering $170bn, the Cupertino tech giant by far outstrips runner-up and rival Google, which landed on $120bn.
Both companies have had their value jump over the year, with Apple’s brand value up 43 per cent and Google’s up 12 per cent.
Burberry comes out top among British brands, landing in 73rd place. Land Rover and Mini also made the top 100, coming in at 87 and 98 respectively.
Rebecca Robins, regional director at Interbrand, said:
In a year where the values of the British brands have seen a mixed pattern, luxury continues to sustain a more consistent trajectory, with Burberry increasing its brand value by five per cent.
The valuation is calculated based on how much sway the firm holds over customers, to which extent it can support higher prices for products, and the company’s financial performance.


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FRANCE: Bordeaux boost offers hope of "hiatus" end
Bordeaux found sales growth in the US and Asia
An on-going price drop for premium Bordeaux has sparked renewed interest in the category, with US and Asia exports soaring, according to a global wine merchant.
Bordeaux prices fell for the third consecutive year in 2013, the first time this has happened since the 1970s, Bordeaux Index said today (30 May). In the first quarter of this year, the average price was down 3%.
In Asia, the company's sales of top Bordeaux were up 30% in the six months to April while US sales for the first four months of the year outstripped the combined total for 2012 and 2013. The rises follow “a hiatus of almost ten years” for leading Bordeaux wines, Bordeaux Index said.
“It was only a matter of time before the picture began to improve,” the company said. “Prices may take a little time to catch up but the essentials are in place for a rally.”
Bordeaux Index said that “soaring prices and disappointing en primeur campaigns” in the region over the past decade saw wine investors turning to Burgundy and the Super Tuscans to find value.
At ProWein this year, Bordeaux negociant Maison Sichel told just-drinks that its sales in China grew by 30% last year.
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Free Uber for car sellers
Uber has teamed up with CarZar to help car owners get around after selling their vehicles by offering them R3 000 in free Uber rides.
New Leaf will park itself
Nissan has revealed that the forthcoming new Nissan LEAF will be the first vehicle in the automaker’s global product line-up equipped with ProPILOT Park - enabling it to park itself.
Robots and AI to drive the future at Ford
Ford has announced the creation of a Robotics and Artificial Intelligence Research team to help shape the future of transportation.
Jaguar and Gorillaz want YOU, via their app
Jaguar Land Rover and Gorillaz are working together to recruit the next generation of electronics and software engineering talent, with a code-breaking challenge found in the virtual band’s app.
Heads-up display for any car
Navdy, the world's first augmented driving device, is now available at iStore in South Africa.
Cars will be smart enough to save lives
Autonomous care are evolving at a rapid pace, but the question many are asking themselves is will they be able to handle unpredictable situations and keep their occupants safe? Nissan MD, MIKE WHITFIELD, sheds some light on the situation.
Volvo will go Android
Volvo Cars has announced a partnership with Google to develop the next generation of its in-car infotainment and connectivity solutions.
McLaren enters esports race
McLaren has become the first Formula 1 team to enter the esports arena, announcing World’s Fastest Gamer – an intense and demanding competition for virtual racers.
Nissan leads EV taxi revolution
Numerous taxi associations around the world are converting their entire car fleets to the zero-emission Nissan LEAF electric vehicles - resulting in a cleaner and quieter driving experience.
Robocar debuts in Paris
Roborace this weekend showed its self-driving Robocar on the city streets of Formula E’s Paris ePrix, making it the first driverless car on the streets of Paris.


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Steve Jobs has told left-handers that they were losing reception on the iPhone 4 because of the way they were gripping it-in the lower left-hand corner. Southpaws, however, are not amused.
Kevin Rose is well-known for his breaking of rumours and his predictions have often been unnervingly on the mark. Rose is saying now that Google is planning to launch a Facebook competitor.
While all the talk (and speculation) has been about gold, silver prices have extended the longest run of quarterly gains in three decades.


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Greek companies and households pulled €7.6 billion from their accounts during the government's standoff with its creditors driving deposits down. The Financial Times reports.» Read More
France’s industry minister has said he wants the European Central Bank to adjust the euro to make struggling European companies more competitive.
Both Nokia and Microsoft - soon to be part of the same smartphone brand - have each released tablet devices on Tuesday.
The Bank of England governor is pushing ahead with a strategic review of the central bank's resources, appointing McKinsey and Deloitte.
Companies such as Google and Facebook could be hit with fines of up to 100 million euros ($137 million) for breaking radical new data sharing rules.
Arnaud Montebourg, France’s notorious minister for Industrial Renewal, announced that Titan, whose CEO said a Goodyear factory was “not worth saving”, could take it over after all.
Consumer goods group Reckitt Benckiser is reviewing options for its pharmaceuticals unit.
Housing prices in several cities in Germany could be overvalued by as much as 20 percent, according to the country’s central bank.
Nokia unveiled its first tablet and two large-screen smartphones, known as phablets, at the annual Nokia World event in Abu Dhabi on Monday.
Billionaire Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway last week slashed its stake in the world's No.3 retailer, Tesco, by about one-fifth, according to a stock market filing.
Chip designer ARM Holdings' chief executive Simon Segars told CNBC the company was perfectly placed to deal with concerns that high-end smartphones sales were reaching a saturation point.
A UK charity opens up a restaurant and conference venue in a London jail - and mobile phones are banned.
The announcement of the first nuclear power station to be built in Europe since the Fukushima disaster has been met with mixed reactions.
Raoul Weil, a Swiss citizen and former executive at UBS, has been arrested in Italy and is wanted in the US for allegedly helping with tax dodges.
Portugal will do everything it can to avoid the need for another international bailout, the country's economy minister told CNBC.
Microsoft's acquisition of Nokia's devices unit has left a void in the Finnish smartphone market that other equipment makers are looking to exploit.
With European stocks at five-year highs and investors pouring money into the continent, some equity analysts are now predicting a pullback.
Tesco has admitted that it generated 28,500 tons of food waste in the first six months of this year, drawing attention to the huge amount of food thrown away by British supermarkets.
Cyprus expects to lift almost all currency controls early next year, Finance Minister Harris Georgiades said on Monday.
The closets of Europe’s banks will be examined next year, with increasing concerns about what skeletons might emerge.
Get the best of CNBC in your inbox
Online trading company ETX is set to buy the entire client list of foreign exchange broker, Alpari. Joe Rundle, head of trading at ETX Capital, discusses further.
India's stocks and currency have performed strongly recently thanks, in part, to new business-friendly policies. Ashish Chauhan, Managing Director and CEO of the Bombay Stock Exchange, discusses how this has reflected in stock listings.
European equities closed sharply lower on Thursday following a selloff in the U.S. Wednesday and a lackluster lead from Asia.


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Stocks that moved substantially or traded heavily on Friday: FedEx Corp., down $3.95 to $235.32 The package shipping company fell following reports that Amazon.com is readying its own air delivery service. Expedia Inc., down $19.03 to $104 The online travel company's earnings fell well short of what analysts were forecasting. Skechers USA Inc., up $2.88 [...]
The latest exchange of 2.98 Million shares is above its average trading activity of 1.74 Million shares. Loop Capital Markets initiated Rite Aid Corporation (NYSE:RAD) on Monday, September 11 with "Hold" rating. A high current ratio indicates that the company might have trouble managing their working ...
FedEx was down 2% and UPS was off 2.3% in Friday morning trading. Amazon was off 1.2%. Sign up to Review & Preview, a new daily email from Barron's. Every evening we'll review the news that moved markets during the day and look ahead to what it means for your portfolio in the morning.
A masked suspect threatened a Little River gas station employee’s life during an armed robbery early Friday, according to an Horry County police report. Police were called to the Circle K at 3498 E. Hwy. 9 in Little River about 4:45 a.m. and spoke with a 74-year-old man who told them he was forced to [...]


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Next-generation Chevrolet Colorado breaks cover in new spy photos
Due in 2023 or 2024, it’s expected to come with just one engine
The next-generation Chevrolet Colorado broke cover in this fresh set of spy photos this week, giving us a glimpse of what to expect when GM’s compact trucks are replaced in what is expected to be either 2023 or 2024.
Thanks to its still-extensive camouflage, this prototype doesn’t give away a ton about the new Colorado’s styling, but in profile, it appears as though the swoopy, upswept rear cab line might become a thing of the past. We wouldn’t be surprised to see the new Colorado adopt a more angular, squared-off look more akin to that of its big brother, the half-ton Silverado. The Silverado is also expected to donate what may be the new Colorado’s only powertrain. Taking a cue from Ford, Chevy is expected to offer the next-gen Colorado with just a turbocharged four-cylinder engine — the new corporate 2.7T in this instance.
The large, 310-horsepower four-pot can easily take over for the 3.6L V6 currently available in the GM twins and one-up the 270-hp Ranger to boot. This would mark the end of both a V6 and diesel option being offered in GM’s midsize trucks, and tracks with the company’s slow, silent effort to eliminate lower-margin models. We say “trucks” because, well, whatever happens with Chevy is likely to translate to GMC. The Canyon will be due for replacement at the same time, and will likely carry on as a re-skin of Chevy’s offering.
Volkswagen fuels speculation by trademarking Amarok name in America
The next-gen model will be related to the Ford Ranger
Volkswagen gave speculators something to chew on by filing a trademark application for the Amarok nameplate. While this request would go unnoticed in Europe, it raises eyebrows because it was made in the United States.
Filed on May 13, 2021, and first spotted by CarBuzz, the trademark filing explains the Amarok nameplate can be used on a dizzying selection of products ranging from cigar lighters for automobiles to omnibuses. We’re intrigued by the thought of a Volkswagen omnibus, but a peek at the firm’s European range reveals the Amarok nameplate denotes a body-on-frame pickup truck aimed at the Ford Ranger and the Toyota Hilux, among other models.
Selling the current-generation Amarok in the United States wasn’t possible, partly because it wasn’t developed with our set of regulations in mind, but the second-generation model due out in the coming months will be closely related to the next Ford Ranger so it will be easier to federalize. Pictured above as a sketch, the truck will seemingly fall in line with Volkswagen’s current design language, so it won’t look anything like its Blue Oval-badged sibling.
Ford CEO Jim Farley: F-150 Lightning could ignite demand for all EVs
‘It’s going to give the internal combustion product a heck of a run’
Jim Farley, the company’s new CEO, calls the introduction of an electric version of the nation’s top-selling vehicle a watershed moment for Ford as well as for the auto industry. The new truck, called the F-150 Lightning and due in showrooms by next spring, will be able to travel up to 300 miles (480 kilometers) per battery charge and tow up to 10,000 pounds (4,500 kilograms).
Yet Ford’s commitment to the EV F-150 is hardly without risk. The company spent millions to develop the truck at a time when sales of electric vehicles remain minuscule — just 2% of the U.S. auto market. Many truck owners will be reluctant to switch from gasoline engines. And there’s the distinct possibility that at least in the early months and perhaps years of production, automakers could run short of EV batteries and the scarce precious metals needed to make them.


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Chrysler considers production boost at Ind. plants
KOKOMO, Ind. - Chrysler Group is planning to potentially add 400 jobs at three existing central Indiana factories while also starting up a new plant nearby with perhaps 850 workers.
The Kokomo City Council voted Monday night to approve property tax breaks requested by Chrysler for $212 million in new equipment for its factories in the city. Tipton County officials also endorsed a similar request on Chrysler's $162 million plans to complete a vacant factory along U.S. 31.
The Kokomo Tribune reports (http://bit.ly/RBsIq8 ) Chrysler vice-president Brian Harlow says the projects are planned because its Kokomo transmission plants have reached production capacity.
The company isn't giving specifics on the projects, saying final decisions haven't been made.
Chrysler's request to Kokomo officials says the investment will help retain 3,400 jobs in the city.
Information from: Kokomo Tribune, http://www.ktonline.com
latest auto gallery
Unlike some other entry-level German luxury cars, the Audi A3 feels true to its brand. Turbocharged power makes it fun and even basic versions are well... More Unlike some other entry-level German luxury cars, the Audi A3 feels true to its brand. Turbocharged power makes it fun and even basic versions are well equipped.
Date 16 hrs ago, Duration 3:13, Views 4244


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Shopping can be a challenging experience for children on the autistic spectrum. With increased restrictions on where we can and can't go due to the coronavirus pandemic, our shopping habits have come under scrutiny. Here, Rachel Clinkard, from shoe retailer Charles Clinkard, shares how their business has been able to adapt their shops to make them more autism-friendly.
Each month, we bring you a guest article from CareKnowledge, the essential professional workforce development tool for adults’ and children’s social care. Browse recent articles from CareKnowledge below.


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Spotted on News.com, you can now watch Google Video's on your mobile phone. This is a third part application created by Scott Robbin (not Google) where you can visit http://srobbin.com/mobilevideo/ on your mobile device, conduct a search and then watch the video. The requirements are:
+ Your phone has an XHTML-compliant browser
+ You have enough storage on your phone to hold large files
+ Your phone's connection is fast
+ You have an application on your phone capable of playing AVI or MP4 files
Here is a demonstration Scott posted on YouTube (interesting why he didn't post it on Google Video). :)
More details at Scott Robbin's Blog.
Meet Your Favorite Search Engine Watch Contributors
Many of SEW's leading expert contributors will be at ClickZ Live, the new online and digital marketing event kicking off in New York (March 31-April 3). Hear from the likes of: Thom Craver, Josh Braaten, Lisa Barone, Simon Heseltine, Josh McCoy, Lisa Raehsler, Greg Jarboe, Dan Cristo, Joseph Kerschbaum, John Gagnon, Eric Enge and more!


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Toronto-based Longo's announced yesterday that it "has become the first grocery retailer in North America to commit to offering only Fairtrade bananas in their 36 stores and through delivery on Grocery Gateway. This is made possible through a partnership with the Canadian company, Equifruit."
“We aim to be the most trusted and relied upon food partner, and that includes setting sustainability precedents,” said Mike Longo, Chief Merchandising Officer at Longo’s, in a prepared statement. “We’re proud to be the first North American retailer to initiate what is becoming a global purchasing standard for bananas.”
The commitment, Longo's said, means that the company "is ensuring that the farmers and communities where its bananas are sourced are guaranteed a fair and sustainable income and that farmers get financial and technical support to lower their impact on the environment. For Longo’s, a full commitment to Fairtrade bananas comes as the latest in a long line of sustainability initiatives centred around environmental stewardship, responsible sourcing, and healthy communities, including waste diversion, use of renewable energy, and community donations."
- KC's View:
The consensus seems to be that selling only fair trade bananas is one way to assure ethical consistency in the supply chain … and it sounds like Longo's also has concluded that the move gives it a differential advantage. Which is the very definition of a win-win.


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Sources say Irving Azoff has inked a management deal with Jon Bon Jovi to represent the artist and his band, Bon Jovi, in all areas.
Bon Jovi remains one of the biggest bands in the world, churning out $937 million in gross and moving 10 million tickets over the course of its past four tours, all produced by AEG Live. The most recent trek, Because We Can in 2012-2013, sold 2,654,172 tickets resulting in a total gross $255,699,527, marking the third time in six years Bon Jovi ranked as the top tour of the year in Billboard Boxscore.
The band is certified at 34.5 million albums sold in the U.S. according to the Recording Industry Association of America, and has sold 21.7 million albums since Nielsen started tracking sales in 1991. Bon Jovi has charted 18 albums on the Billboard 200, including five No. 1s, and their last three studio efforts all debuted at No. 1. Bon Jovi’s most recent studio set, What About Now, has sold 220,000 copies, and the band has charted 25 songs on the Billboard Hot 100, 17 of which reached the top 40.


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The year 2013 is truly making out to be a very exciting one for the entire automobile industry. So far, the auto shows that have occurred over the first quarter of 2013 around the world have truly delivered with a grand variety of things on four wheels to really be excited about. And now, we come to the eve of the third largest international auto show in the great country of the United States.
Click here for more news on the 2013 New York International Auto Show.
Even though the New York International Auto Show is the underdog out of the three major auto expositions in the United States—the North American International Auto Show in Detroit being the largest, and the Los Angeles International Auto Show being the second—New York still has a grand presence, being the greatest city in the world that it is.
And although New York’s offerings aren’t usually as extensive and outrageous as either of those other two, albeit not even close to other truly international shows like Geneva, Paris, or Tokyo, The floor of the Jacob Javits Center still won’t be short of any new material for this year.
We’ll be seeing a great list of new cars under the spotlight in the next days, which will help give us a really comforting glance at the things to come in the very near future.
On the inbound train of new debuts includes a pretty extensive—for New York, again—list of new cars which include, but are not limited to, the all-new 2014 Range Rover Sport, the aesthetically challenged but completely new 2014 Jeep Cherokee revival, the new 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible will be making an appearance along with a newly updated 2014 Chevrolet Camaro.
But above all, I believe the true show stopper will be the all-new 2014 Cadillac CTS, which experienced a photo leak not too long ago. And that’s because Cadillac has been one of the brands to truly keep an eye on considering how much they’ve changed by tenfold over the past two decades. Not to mention, Cadillac have promised that the new CTS will have a more direct take against the proverbial BMW 5-Series, which is a pretty big deal, especially if you consider the way it looks from the teasers.
So brace yourselves, the 2013 New York International Auto Show is just about here. One cannot simply follow the NYIAS from Interwebs without following egmCarTech’s real-time coverage.
– By: Chris Chin


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Google today updated the Youtube TV app for iOS to add AirPlay support to it. The YouTube TV app is Google’s s streaming TV service that is available in selected cities in the US, including New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago.
In 2016, YouTube rolled out mobile live streaming to the core app, allowing iOS users (and Android users) to stream to the social video network.
When using the YouTube app on iPhone, you can use the scrubber for navigating the video. This is a handy tool for making long jumps in the video but not so good when it comes to making short skips.
YouTube is one of the best places to find any type of video that you’re looking for, whether it be a tutorial, movie trailer, review, or anything else. You can watch these videos directly from your iPhone or iPad using the official YouTube, but one of the major drawbacks is the inability to download videos for offline usage.
If you’re like me, you come across interesting YouTube videos all the time. Someone shares a link with you in WhatsApp. A creator you follow raves about a video they loved on Twitter. You discover a Reddit thread filled with gems. But there’s no way you can watch those videos right then. You’re only goofing off from work for 15 minutes, you don’t actually have the time to watch that 5-minute video right now. And so that video is lost in the oblivion that is your browser history.
Google and YouTube are receiving a lot of hype over the new YouTube TV subscription service. It’s $35 per month and gives you access to over 40 live streaming networks like ABC, ESPN, Fox, Disney Channel and several others. Yet, there is already a major player in the TV streaming game: Sling TV. In fact, Sling starts at just $20 per month. While YouTube TV is taking its sweet time launching initially in major cities only, Sling TV is available almost everywhere in the United States.
Rumors had suggested that YouTube had aspirations to launch its own streaming TV package, which would see it stream traditional TV content as well as its online-focused content.
Live streaming is a big deal these days, and while YouTube has not been a stranger to the phenomenon by any means, its rollout for mobile has taken a bit longer than some might have expected.


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Just like the Y20 having multiple variants across the globe, vivo announced another Y30 variant in China with the Y30g. This particular variant shares a lot of similarities with the Y20i that launched in the Philippines last year.
vivo Y30g Philippines Specs:
- Helio P65 processor
- 8GB RAM
- 128GB UFS 2.1 storage (expandable via MicroSD)
- 6.52-inch HD+ IPS display
- 13-megapixel f/1.8 main camera with PDAF, 2-megapixel f/2.4 depth sensor
- 8-megapixel f/1.8 selfie camera
- LTE, 4G
- WiFi, Bluetooth 5.1, side-mounted fingerprint scanner
- 5000mAh battery
- 18w fast charging
- Android 11, OriginOS
Being a more affordable version of the Y30 that came out last year, the Y30g settles for a dual rear camera setup–13-megapixel main camera and 2-megapixel depth sensor–along with a 6.52-inch display with a waterdrop notch for the 8-megapixel selfie snapper. While you get a 5000mAh battery and 18w wired charging, the Y30 feels dated with its use of a MicroUSB port. If those specs ring a bell, that because the Y30g shares a lot of similarities with the locally-released Y20i.
As for the internals, the Y30g is better than the vanilla Y30 and the Y20i since it rocks a more powerful Helio P65 processor (vs Helio P35 on the Y30 and Snapdragon 460 on the Y20i)and has double the RAM at 8GB. Internal storage remains the same at 128GB and is expandable via MicroSD. Other notable features include a headphone jack, side-mounted fingerprint scanner, and Android 11-based OriginOS out of the box.
vivo Y30g price
The Y30g is priced at CNY 1499(~Php 11.1k) and is available in three colors. Given that it boots with OriginOS, there’s little chance that it will be made available at our shores. If you are looking for a similar phone with a better processor and more cameras, you’re better off with the Y20S G, which is set to be officially available in the Philippines soon.


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- PROJECT HELP
- WHITE PAPERS
The National Restaurant Association has released new research that shows overall technology use in restaurants is increasing. More than one-third of consumers say they are more likely to use technology-related options in restaurants now, compared to two years ago. In...
Mobile tools help your team plan ahead, and when the schedule finds its way to mobile phones, you can kiss the 'I didn’t know' excuse goodbye.
Beverages, micro-local, crowdsourcing and increased competition from nontraditional foodservice outlets are all expected to shape the restaurant landscape in 2015.
Seth Priebatsch, LevelUp's Chief Ninja, prognosticates about the future of Apple's mobile payments platform as it applies to restaurant chains.
Millennials expect your website to have more than just your location, hours of operation and phone number; they want to see your menu, reviews, promotions and photos.
Sixty-one percent of mobile users will simply leave a website that is not optimized for viewing on their device and will move on to competition.
Restaurants can become victims of their own success when high volume slows down service. Check out these tips for satisfying the need for speed.
HuHot's VP of Marketing shares how to get franchisees to weigh in on marketing decisions, and how to blend corporate standards with local store marketing techniques.
Voice ordering was also a highlight of Q3, with more than 200,000 voice orders placed despite no promotion of the platform since the June launch.
As the brand continues its turnaround strategy, it will launch a new advertising position in Q4 aimed at millennials.
The technology and food experience are now weighted equally in the eyes of the consumer, some experts say.
OpenRest's integration into the Wix platform will enable restaurant owners to take orders directly from their Wix websites and native mobile apps.
TouchBistro will use Merchant Warehouse's Genius Customer Engagement Platform to process payments made via the TouchBistro POS solution.
Marco's Pizza has a new combo deal featuring its limited-time Pepperoni Magnifico and signature Cheezybread. The brand is also hosting an online Halloween costume combo contest that will award one winner with free pizza for a year. Fans are encouraged...
For restaurants and retailers, the possibilities opened by the mobile wallet revolution extend far beyond payments.
Mellow Mushroom Pizza Bakers is planning a series of events to raise funds and awareness for the Movember Foundation, an organization devoted to men's health issues. To kick off the month, the chain invites fans to Instagram their mustaches. For...
Pizza buffet restaurant Stevi B's Pizza of Atlanta introduced an assortment of charity initiatives products and deals starting this month for customers, according to a company announcement.
AboutLocal lets small retailers listen to and engage with their customers in real time across hundreds of disparate online channels.
OpenTable, a provider of online restaurant reservations, has announced its integration with Apple Pay. "With Apple Pay, OpenTable diners can skip the step of adding a card to their profile and simply settle their check with a single touch using...
Commerce platform provider Lightspeed has announced its entry into the hospitality industry with the launch of Lightspeed Restaurant. According to a news release, Lightspeed now serves 21,000 businesses processing over $8.2B in sales annually. The company also announced that it...
Groupon has launched more than 7 million new listings for merchants called Pages, a platform that includes ratings, tips, money-saving opportunities and other information about merchants throughout the US. For the first time, Groupon is using a platform to publish...
Zomato plans to expand across Australia, Europe, South-East Asia, the Middle East and the Americas in the coming months.
Restaurants can benchmark their implementation, use and acceptance of emerging mobile payment technologies against the industry using Mahana's Payment Experience Evaluation Report
Pizza Inn is adding "a Twist" to its Treats for Troops project this year. Participating restaurants are now urging guests to drop off a bag of unwrapped, individuals-sized candy to be included in care packages addressed to military personnel stationed around the world. The bags are being accepted through Nov.
Salvatore's Restaurants, an Italian restaurant group with five locations in Massachusetts as well as the parent company of Sal’s Pizza, is offering its guests free food if they can part with their smartphones long enough to enjoy a meal. Beginning...
Lavu Inc. has partnered with Staples Inc.
Your customers are online and mobile. Are you following them? With the advance of smart phones and social media you have new, powerful ways to connect with customers. We'll help you stay on top of the trends in online, mobile and social marketing.
© 2014 Networld Media Group All rights reserved.


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Since the SDC International Design Competition was first launched in 2002, literally thousands of students have entered, and we’re now open to entries for the 2015 competition. We’re often asked for advice and tips from students and tutors on what the judges are looking for, so we’ve taken a lighthearted look at how to ensure your entry stands out from the crowd.
Paul Santokhi reports on this event.
The Ireland heat of the competition was held at NCAD in Dublin on the 20th June, very kindly hosted by Rachel Tuffy.
Material World took place in June 2014 at the Houses of Parliament in London and hosted the UK final of SDC’s International Design Competition. You can read about the design competition finalists and their work here, but in addition, the event (which had been fully booked for several weeks), brought together representatives from the UK textile industry, academia and parliament, to highlight and discuss the challenges and opportunities for the textile industry in the UK.