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A California Superior Court judge has ordered coffee giant Starbucks to pay its baristas $100 million in lost tips resulting from the company’s tip jar policy. Additionally, the court issued an injunction barring shift supervisors and managers from receiving tips.
The situation has been brewing since October 2004, when one disgruntled barista filed a complaint arguing that personnel weren’t entitled to tips under California state law. It eventually became a class action.
California Superior Court Judge Patricia Cowett ordered Starbucks to pay to its employees $86,687,926 worth of tips shared with shift supervisors and “shift leads.”
The court also awarded them 7% in “awards interest.” She also approved an injunction barring Starbucks from continuing to use its tip policy. The class action was brought on behalf of all California baristas employed by Starbucks back to 2000—an estimated 100,000 workers.
Almost before the ink was dry on the order, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz sent a voice mail to all employees. Schultz said, “The ruling would take away the right of shift supervisors to receive the tips they earn for providing superior customer service. I want you to know that we strongly believe that this ruling is extremely unfair and beyond reason.”
Starbucks pledged to appeal the ruling. Meanwhile, lawyers are busy filing class-action lawsuits on the same question in other states.
Final note: Tips may seem like a small thing, but those pennies and quarters quickly add up. So does your liability if you don’t follow the law on distributing those funds.
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Farmers set up road blocks, clash with police in Komotini
Road blocks have been set up on the country’s national highways, as farmers across Greece escalate their protest actions against the government’s plans on taxation and the pension system.
The road block at Tempi is central to the efforts of the farmers, who at present are making efforts to avoid affecting traffic. All over Greece farmers and their tractors are congregating at various choke points.
Meanwhile clashes between farmers and riot police took place in Komotini. The clashes began after the visiting Minister of Agricultural Development Evangelos Apostolou refused to meet with the protesters and the police argued that only a delegation would be allowed to meet with him.
Minor scuffles broke out as the farmers attempted to break police lines to meet with the Minister, with riot police using tear gas to disperse the crowd. Eventually a delegation of farmers met with the Minister.
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Kim Kardashian’s Christmas celebrations
Kim Kardashian got into the holiday spirit in earnest on December 24 by giving back to those in need and then celebrating with loved ones.
For her first Christmas Eve as a mother, Kim Kardashian, 33, visited the L.A. Children’s Hospital with half-sister Kendall, where they cheered up young patients and staff alike.
Kim Kardashian had also tons of fun inside the “Naughty or Nice” photo booth, where she goofed off with pals like Robin Antim, designer Rachel Roy and her fiancé Kanye West, 36.
Kim Kardashian and Kanye West made Christmas-kissy faces in the cute black-and-white snapshot: “Kisses goodnight,” she wrote.


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Ahead of its launch in 2024, SOUTH PARK: SNOW DAY! has had a new trailer revealed! South Park Digital Studios and THQ Nordic GmbH have released the new trailer showing off some more of the game.
SOUTH PARK: SNOW DAY! is being developed by Question Games and will be released on PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch at an RRP of £24.99 in 2024. Pre-orders are now open too.
Hold onto your Hats!
As the new kid in town, players will join Stan, Kyle, Cartman, and Kenny in this brand new 3D adventure. The game will see players celebrate the most magical day any young child could ask for, a snow day!
You will be able to play the game with up to three friends in this co-op game. South Park has been piled up with snow and you’re on a quest to save the world and to enjoy a day without school. Enjoy your snow day, dude!
- It’s an all-new 3D co-op game.
- A blizzard of epic proportions has blanketed the town of South Park and it’s up to Cartman, Stan, Kenny, Kyle, and you, as the New Kid, to save the town.
- Experience cooperative gameplay for the first time ever in a South Park game with up to three friends or ally bots – unleashing powerful, coordinated attacks on your foes.
- Equip and upgrade devastating melee and ranged weapons. Deploy special abilities and powers that will bring hordes of enemies and epic bosses to their knees.
- Use a wide range of iconic cosmetics and customize your New Kid with endless possible combinations from beanies to Cheesy Poof T-shirts to chin balls.


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Super Bowl was one of the most viewed and Tweeted about events for 2015, breaking records for a single most viewed event. According to WSJ, “A record 114.4 million people watched the New England Patriots defeat the Seattle Seahawks in the Super Bowl on Sunday, the largest audience for a U.S. television program in history.”
Nielsen has recently announced Nielsen Social ratings, that will include Facebook Social Media conversations. This new rating will become Nielsen’s “Social Content Ratings.”
Watching TV Is A Social Experience
Watching TV combined with multi-screening is now a social experience with viewers turning to social networks to discuss the programming with friends and families. As high as 21 percent email or text friends about the program, 16 percent share photos and 13 percent read conversations about the program and 8 percent of smartphone users watch the program because of something on social media. As high as 6 percent of smartphone users write blurbs on the programs.
Social Networks Are The New Conversation Hub
The water-cooler effect that has long been associated with ad linked conversations has transcended over to the social networks with 156 Million US adults reached during Q3 2015, on Smartphones alone. According to Nielsen’s Comparable Metrics report, “156 million adult consumers engaged in social networking on a smartphone alone. That’s about 65 percent of the U.S. population! That’s also a 13 percent increase in adult users from the comparable week a year ago. On tablets, social networking platforms reach about 58 million U.S. adults weekly—nearly a quarter of American adults”. With high reach and the conversation thread easy to follow on Social Networks, Social Networks are the new hub for viewer engagement, content amplification and building brand buzz.
Social Networks Build On Emotive Power
According to Nielsen’s, What’s Next Emotions Give Lift To Advertising Report, Advertisers can expect a monumental shift in results from the ads that connect with audiences emotionally.
Emotionally Evocative content for campaigns brings greater shares and content amplification, generating increased engagement among target audiences. Engaging audiences with emotional advertising during Super Bowl 2015 brought positive brand buzz lift according to Networked Insights. BrandWatch analyzed the cost per mention for Super Bowl advertisers and the cost per mention was seen to be most efficient for brand advertising that audiences emotionally connected with.
According to a study, for 100 recent ads across 25 brands in the fast-moving consumer goods industry, ads that performed at above-average scores generated a 23 percent lift in sales. Another research from Nielsen shows that higher level of engagement with users for emotions, memorability and attention is correlated with Twitter TV Activity, based on Twitter TV rating a Social media measurement tool from Nielsen Social.
Social Media Leads To Content Discovery
Research on consumer media habits has shown that more social actions lead to higher TV Rating, indicating that use of Influencers can get your brand content for the Program discovered on social media.


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And so, 2020 draws to a close. An unusual year where I’ve been working my tail off.
Mind you, I’m not even sure I have a tail to begin with! Here’s what I’ve been up to through to the end of December 2020.
We’re hitting some great milestones at Vertical Hold, the weekly podcast I produce with the one and only Adam Turner, and we’ve had some great episodes this month.
Upgrading was then the next theme, with NBN making its upgrade quotes engine live to the public (it didn’t last) with some crazy quote valuations, while upgrades to the CovidSafe app promised to make it a whole lot more functional. We were joined by ZDNet Australia’s Asha Barbaschow and ZDNet Australia editor Chris Duckett.
Apple wanted us to lend them our ears — and a lot of our money — with the AirPods Max, while rumours were starting to flood in around the Galaxy S21. Special guest for this episode was Pickr’s Leigh Stark.
TV Blackbox’s Steve Molk joined us for our second-last episode of 2020, talking Disney’s increasingly complex streaming plans for 2021, while also looking back at 20 years — yes, 20 YEARS — of digital TV broadcasts in Australia.
For our final show of 2020, we grabbed Marc Fennell (yes, that Marc Fennell) to talk podcasting — where it’s evolved from over the last few years, what 2020’s done to it and how it’s going to change in the next decade. It’s a little different from our regular shows — but it’s a great episode.
You can of course keep up with everything Vertical Hold over at the Vertical Hold web page, and you totally should subscribe at well. Here, have some subscription links to make it even easier!
Spotify: You can stream every episode on Spotify right here.
iHeartRadio: Subscribe here!
Speaking of podcasts, I also opined for Leigh Stark’s podcast, The Wrap, talking about the year’s best phones. You can find that episode here — and don’t forget to subscribe to The Wrap too!
A bunch of radio appearances across the nation this month, including my regular spot on ABC Radio Central Victoria chatting to Jo Printz. This month’s topics included rollable phones, transparent TVs, how GTA is making smart cars smarter, supercooled PCs and super-expensive gold-plated mobile phones, amongst many other topics.
ABC Radio Adelaide asked me to peer into a crystal ball to make my predictions on where technology is going to go in 30 years time for a time capsule project they’ve put together. If you didn’t catch it live, you’ll have to wait until 2050 to find out if I was right. I’m just hoping I’m still around in 2050 to find out!
And just when I thought I was done for the year, this morning ABC Radio Hobart chatted to me about my favourite gadgets of 2020. It was an unusual year for Tech, so these weren’t easy picks.
I’m hoping to do even more radio in 2021 — if you’d be keen to hear from me for your radio station, drop me a line!
Video killed the radio star
OK, OK, it didn’t. But I did continue making YouTube videos as a side project.
It feels like an age ago that Nokia announced the Nokia 8.3 5G. Because it was — it was back in March, and in 2020, back in March may as well have been back in 1872. Still, I liked Nokia’s fancier-than-the-Pixel-5 phone quite a lot.
My love of retro gaming is pretty well known, but there’s a lot of tat out there too. I expected the AT Games Flashback Legends to be tat. Was it? You’ll have to watch to find out.
Nokia again came into view, this time with an exceptionally cheap feature phone. There’s clearly a market for feature phones, but (spoiler) this one isn’t that great.
Huawei’s lack of full Google Apps has been a huge issue for its premium-priced handsets in 2020 — and that’s been most of what it’s bothered to bring to our shores. The Huawei Nova 7i isn’t a premium priced device — so is that issue any easier to deal with when you’re not paying as much?
Who put the writing on the wall?
Chances are, it was me, because I’ve been pretty flat out there too.
I’m still a tech journalist, mind. Muscle tone isn’t really what we do, for the most part.
Vodafone surprised me by adding “endless” (AKA “Unlimited, but you don’t use that if you’re a telco because the ACCC gets twitchy) data to its prepaid plans, so I looked over the deals to see if they were actually decent value.
The big daddy of the iPhone world, the iPhone 12 Pro Max got the full review treatment, as did the somewhat less impressive Microsoft Surface Laptop Go. Back with Apple, I considered the value of the upgraded Apple iPad Air 2020, which is sort of like an iPad Pro Lite in many ways.
2020 has seen a lot of mid-range 5G phones hit the market, and it feels like a good 50% or more of them have been Oppo phones. Oh look, here’s another one — the Oppo Reno4 5G.
Sony is often touted as the go-to brand for the best noise-cancelling headphones, but what happens when the Japanese giant makes a lower-cost set of noise cancelling buds? You get the Sony WF-SP800N headphones, and I listen to even more Prince, because I can.
Speaking of listening to things, I also tested out Apple’s pretty darned impressive Apple HomePod Mini speakers. They’re locked to Apple — how very Apple that is — but they’re also very good for the asking price. Apple also finally released its M1 MacBook Pro 13 and M1 MacBook Air laptops, and one of them was quite a lot better in my view than the other…
Vivo is yet another BBK Electronics brand — think Oppo, Realme, OnePlus — and it’s making strides locally in the more affordable phone spaces. I took the Vivo Y20S into the test lab to see how it would fare.
Beats has a reputation for style and price, but the Beats Flex are simpler and much cheaper headphones, and they went into my ears for testing as a result.
I’ve been a tech journo for a long time now, and I can well remember when Toshiba’s Portégé laptops were industry leaders. Portégé is back.. but under the Dynabook branding, so I put the astonishingly light Dynabook Portégé X30W-J through its test paces. Once I’d worked out that it was just that light, and not just a hollow shell, mind you.
TPG’s eco-friendly Felix brand is brand new, but it’s already making waves with its unlimited… sorry, “endless data” plan. In December, it increased the tension by upping the data rate pretty remarkably — but was it good value? I assessed Felix Mobile’s single plan to find out.
That’s enough, right?
The Huawei Nova 7i got a writeup, and just to flex a different kind of writing muscle, I also tested out the Ecovacs Deebot U2 Pro robot vacuum cleaner, with a little help from my cat. My terrible U2 song puns didn’t make it through the edit — but that’s almost certainly for the best.
For Geeks2U’s Geekspeak blog, I wrote about why you should keep Google’s Chrome browser updated frequently, reviewed the Xbox Series X for the family market, pondered the value of the lower-cost Microsoft Surface Laptop Go, got impressed by the MacBook Air M1, gave advice on the best $150 smart speaker for consumers and perused Google’s Australian search trends for 2020.
Now we’re done, right?
Not quite, because somehow I still found time to write stuff for this here blog too. You know, the one you’re reading right now.
Britbox very quietly launched on a Sunday, and I was quite easily the first tech journo to write anything at all about it in my hands-on Britbox Australia review.
My passion for Doctor Who is rather well known, so I was excited by the announcement of Revolution Of The Daleks and even happier when the ABC announced it will air in Australia on 2 January 2020. Mere days away from when I’m writing this… and I’m pumped!
The AT Games Legends Flashback also got a more traditional written review, and keeping my retro games hat on, I also cast an eye over the Microsoft Xbox Series X. Not a retro console, you say? Oh, but it is — as I noted in my retro gamer’s review of the Microsoft Xbox Series X.
I’m almost out of words by now — which probably explains the shortest short story I’ve ever written, too. If you want more of those my collection of short stories, Fifty Two is still on sale — you can buy it for Kindle here or buy it on iBooks here.
Yeah, I think that’ll do, 2020. Onwards to 2021!


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Ericsson’s former chief intellectual property officer is hoping his new platform for licensing patented technology related to the Internet of Things will catch on with innovators diving into the area.
Kasim Alfalahi has already lured big-name patent-holders to the platform, named Avanci. Ericsson, Qualcomm, InterDigital, KPN and ZTE have all signed on. Thursday, Avanci added Sony to the mix.
Ericsson announced in February that it would spin out the new independent platform with Alfalahi, who served as Ericsson’s CIPO for 5 years, at the helm. Avanci makes it easier on IoT inventors looking to cease cellular technology to connect their inventions.
An exponentially growing number of things and devices will be connected and communicating to each other in the coming years as the Internet of Things expands. Some of the products will use 2G, 3G and 4G networks to gain connectivity.
Ericsson and Qualcomm are among the leaders in the technology that makes such connections possible. But Alfalahi says the tech generally spreads across several patents, which can make licensing a nightmare. Manufacturers have been left to negotiate with several companies to license patented tech for their own products.
Alfalahi’s platform centralizes the process. Inventors decide what tech they need and license it through Avanci for a flat rate per unit. Then, Avanci splits up the fee and pays companies that own patents the particular technology touches, keeping a cut of the revenue for itself.
The flat rate will change depending on the product in which it’s used.
“The value of connectivity in a smart meter or a trash can is different from the value of connectivity in a car,” Alfalahi told the Dallas Business Journal.
Alfalahi said he has high hopes to add more companies to the fold – and that it’s been a warm reception thus far. Upon its launch this week, Ericsson and Qualcomm put out statements in support of the platform.
“Avanci’s licensing platform enables the adoption of our essential wireless technology among IoT device manufacturers, accelerates the development of the Internet of Things and the global uptake of LTE for IoT,” said Gustav Brismark, chief intellectual property officer at Ericsson.


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The two biggest smartphones of July 2022 are the Nothing Phone (1) and the Google Pixel 6a. We have known these two phones have been inbound for a while. Google made its announcement in May at Google IO where it was telegraphed that this phone was coming to India. The case of Nothing was a curious one. In 2020, when Carl Pie left OnePlus, Nothing was on the cards. But the first product was the Ear (1) TWS earbuds. But when last year, Qualcomm announced that it was investing in the new gadget company, Pei came out of the woodwork. So while they did their announcement in bits and pieces to build Carl’s hype machine, we knew a phone was coming. The fascinating thing here is one is a phone by a completely new smartphone brand founded by a co-founder of a very popular smartphone brand, while the other is the first phone by Google for the Indian market in 18 months. It is also the first phone by Google which has its new Tensor chip which was launched in the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro were launched in the US last but never came to India.
OnePlus was the quintessential enthusiast smartphone brand that was the brainchild of Carl Pei. When it launched in 2014, it was taking the space of Google’s Nexus line of smartphones which were designed and sold in partnership with a leading OEM partner. It appealed to the enthusiasts as it represented the purest and smoothest form of Android. Nexus gave way to Pixel which was supposed to be more premium and a more complete smartphone experience with its camera technology as its USP. The Pixel was supposed to be the iPhone of Android. But Pixel never could be the iPhone of Android in 2016 when it launched.
Google did have the scale of Apple, not it has the vertical integration between hardware and software that Apple had been developing since the late 2000s with the iPhone. Incrementally, Google kept getting closer which has culminated in its unique camera technology and more recently with Tensor, yet, Pixel is no iPhone. Samsung’s Galaxy S22 line remains the iPhone of Android. While this happened, the OnePlus also started becoming more like Samsung. It got merged with Oppo fully. It added more gadgets to its portfolio. It wasn’t an enthusiast brand anymore and Carl was pushed out or left of his own volition.
So for their unique reasons both phones have had parallel lives. And when the pricing was announced for both the devices again they were destined to converge. In the UK their price is the same — 399 pounds. In India, the Pixel 6a comes in at Rs 43,999 while the Phone (1) by Nothing starts at Rs 32,999 topping out at Rs 38,999. There is a school of thought that they shouldn’t be compared, but even if they were meant to be competitors and we would discount the fact that Google’s phone doesn’t benefit from local manufacturing, hence is more susceptible to Indian taxes — the phones have been designed for completely different users.
On one side, there is a user who values simplicity, who values the now iconic Google brand and also needs a dependable camera. That’s the consumer for the Pixel 6a. This consumer doesn’t care too much for the hardware design — the Pixel phones haven’t been the prettiest gadgets around. But people do care about pure unadulterated Android and that HDR+ camera tech that Google has mastered since 2017 with the Pixel 2. And today, perhaps, if not true interest, there must be some curiosity about the Tensor chip, despite initial reviews not infusing a lot of confidence.
On the flip side, the Nothing Phone (1) is predicated on design. It is for the user who is bored with the modern smartphone. It is for someone who wants to stand out, and have a cool brand and Carl Pei sure as hell has mastered cool, if not in a tangible product, but in the way, he sells his phones. It also promises an interface close to stock Android but with customisations in the Glyph interface. The transparency and the LED lighting system which not only works when you’re getting notifications is an interesting yet risky take on smartphone design. For a lack of a better word, the phone is left exposed which is exposing many manufacturing issues to initial users. And we haven’t even gotten started about the software.
Google’s reticence towards scaling its smartphone business rapidly in markets has also led to a point where now people don’t revere “stock” Android or the Pixel experience as much as they used to. Android 12 did its bit to impact the halo effect of the Pixel experience but more than that the fact brands like OnePlus diverged, while Xiaomi became even more popular and Samsung has been there and there about for now for 13 years. The three combine to be the top 3 Android smartphone makers in the world. Their takes on Android — Oxygen OS, MiUI and One UI are ubiquitous and have reached a point that they are more reliable than Google’s own Android.
Bugs have been a hallmark of Pixel phones in the last couple of years. The Pixel 6 has been notable as many people even in India have imported the device as it was never launched. But even before that, the Pixel 3 was notable for RAM management issues, the Pixel 4a which was the last phone from Google to launch in India hasn’t agreed perfectly despite being excellent and now that the 6a competes with more mature phones like the OnePlus 10R, the Samsung Galaxy S21 and Xiaomi’s 11T line of phones, its camera edge not proving to be as decisive and software being now an Achilles heel, this phone needs more to dazzle. The iPhone SE 2022 also doesn’t make life easier thanks to its stupendous horsepower and general round ability and exceptional build quality.
The reality is that both phones don’t measure up. If anything the Pixel 6a is likely better because of its battery life, its camera and just simpler software even if it is a buggy experience. It also is faster thanks to Tensor. Nothing is prettier, more eye-catching and of course cheaper. It also gets a slightly better screen thanks to the high refresh rate but people likely aren’t buying a phone for the refresh rate. People don’t buy televisions like that so less likely that is the case for phones. Nothing will undoubtedly get better, while the Pixel will likely get cheaper just in a few months.
But at the end of the day, everyone is talking about them because — the top reviewers have been excited about these phones more so than anything else. Nothing Phone (1) being a phone buy the founder of OnePlus who is very media savvy and is known to channel a Steve Jobs-like “reality distortion field”. The Pixel 6a for being the paragon of stock Android by Google itself which isn’t just the parent for Android but for YouTube, the platform which is home to most tech reviews. It also helps that an 18-month gap from its previous phone would’ve created a yearning of some kind.
If one thinks about either of these phones — they don’t have the fastest hardware, nor the best battery tech and hardware wise the camera could also be at best comparable to the competition in the case of the Pixel, but that too just barely.
The hype train is behind these phones; they perhaps are also very unique phones as the product philosophy is very different from what’s par for the course in the market, but one can be pretty sure both aren’t the best in their class. And if you had to choose between the two — monies aside — it is a case of form over function — brains over heart — or vice versa. Nothing else!
By Sahil Mohan Gupta


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Mastercard CEO Ajay Banga Calls out Cryptocurrencies as “Junk”
On July 27, 2018, Mastercard CEO, Ajay Banga shared his thoughts regarding cryptocurrency, calling it “junk” and that an “anonymized” currency having such “wild” fluctuations in the market cannot be considered as a medium of exchange in an economy.
During the New India Lecture’ organized earlier this week at the Indian Consulate, Banga took questions about a crypto trade. The Consulate is organizing the lecture series in coalition with the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF)
Banga Questions the Legitimacy of Cryptocurrencies
Mastercard CEO of Indian-origin raised concerns that cryptocurrencies are responsible for more than 95 percent of illegal online transactions on the dark web, including child trafficking, drugs, credit card and social security frauds.
Banga blamed the lack of transparency and predictability for cryptocurrency not being a reliable medium of exchange. He also questioned the very notion that why such a fluctuating currency is being considered to be a suitable medium of exchange.
He cited the example of the indictment of 12 Russian intelligence officers involved in the hacking of the Democratic National Committee and for rigging the US elections, saying that according to the official FBI statement, the Russian agents executed the whole operation using Bitcoin as the currency.
“Why would the civil society like to put a snake in its backyard and think that somehow the snake will only bite my neighbor? I don’t get it,” he said.
Credit Card Players Still Against Cryptocurrency Transactions
Reported by BTCManager on 1st February 2018, major credit card brands and issuers have publicly shown their refusal to accept cryptocurrencies as a medium of exchange. Some companies, such as Visa have even shut down the use of their prepaid crypto loaded debit cards, as Visa canceled WaveCrest’s license to issue crypto token debit cards.
However, Visa and MasterCard still support the purchase of cryptocurrencies through their cards. Crypto can be purchased and stored in virtual wallets using exchanges such as Coinbase.
Visa is just as adamant as all major financial institutions when it comes to rejecting cryptocurrencies. In March 2018, the company’s chief financial officer Vasant Prabhu as far as saying that digital coins are used by “every crook and dirty politician,” as well as clueless speculators
Visa, with its current market cap of nearly $279 billion, has been bombarded with questions from investors and market observers about the possibility of its business model being disrupted by fast-evolving emerging payment systems. The company has so far dismissed all these concerns as baseless.


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Steam Summer Sale Date May Have Been Leaked
A post on Valve's Official VKontatke, essentially a Russian Facebook, was made saying that the Steam Summer Sale will begin on June 11th and have an "encore" on June 20th.
According to Google Chrome's auto-translate feature, which may or may not be accurate, the post says the following;
"Steam Sale starts June 11 at 20:00 Moscow time. June 20 to begin "Sale Encore," which will involve all the companies that participated in the summer sales. The very sale ends June 22 at 20:00 Moscow time. About events and other details so far unknown. Also we advise to read our guidance on sales, not to spend all the money in one day. # @ steam sale"
This is in line with Valve's past Summer Sales. 2014's sale started on June 19th and 2013's sale started on the 11th. Granted, any number of things could very well destroy the legitimacy of this post, considering there could be miscommunication on Valve's part, but it's a pretty safe bet to have you wallets ready on June 11th.


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Almost a year to the day TIPM produced and posted an article and infographic to illustrate the global media corporations which control the so-called ‘big five’ publishers and the involvement major publishing houses now have in self-publishing service providers. You can still download this infographic here. One of those global corporations is Bertelsmann, current co-owners (with Pearson) of Penguin Random House (PHR) or as we sometimes affectionately call it — the Randy Penguin! Both publishers merged in 2012 to create by far the biggest publisher in the world. Amazon’s growing dominance in the retail market clearly was one factor on that deal going ahead.
For a global media corporation, German-based Bertelsmann remains a privately held company (80.9 percent of the capital shares in Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA are held indirectly by foundations — Bertelsmann Stiftung, Reinhard Mohn Stiftung, BVG-Stiftung — and 19.1 percent are held indirectly by the Mohn family). The company’s current CEO is Thomas Rabe, who spent some of the 1980s playing bass guitar in a Germany punk band. Rabe has since washed the green dye from his hair and cuts a more composed and reliable pair of hands in the corporate world.
Bertelsmann was founded in 1835, originally a publisher of Christian literature, it became the Germany military’s primary book supplier prior to WWII. The company became a general book publisher in the late 1940s and 50s when book clubs really began to take off, and since then it has developed multiple interests in TV production, music (BMG Music) and educational materials (book and online). It has continued to diversify and expand into digital but book publishing remains its core business. Bertelsmann has also been both a shrewd buyer and seller of companies over the years. It sold its 50% interest in AOL fifteen years ago (AOL today is the target of a buyout by US telecom giant Verizon) just before the dot-com era went flat, and more recently, in 2012, it purchased a 53% controlling stake as part of the Random House and Penguin merger with Pearson Plc.
Last Autumn, at the time of the Frankfurt Book Fair, Europe’s biggest book industry event, the rumour mill began spinning widely that Bertelsmann was positioning itself to take up an clause option in the 2012 deal with Pearson (after a period of three years) to extend its 53% share of PRH, with the possibility of a complete buyout. The spinning mill hasn’t slowed down this year, and if a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) article last week is accurate, then we can expect plans for a takeover to begin as early as October. CEO Thomas Rabe certainly seems to believe Pearson is willing to release its share stake.
Asked whether Bertelsmann is interested in taking full control of Penguin Random House, Mr. Rabe says that hinges first on what Pearson does. In October, Pearson will have the option to sell its stake, and Bertelsmann would then have the option of buying it. Bertelsmann hasn’t decided what to do, but says the book publishing business is doing very well, and that it seems sensible for Bertelsmann to take over the shares because publishing has been its core business for almost 200 years.
While I though at the start of the year there was a possibility the ‘big five’ might just progress to the ‘big four,’ this is nevertheless a sign that media corporations are embracing diversity while publishers continue to embrace consolidation. And more importantly, the year isn’t over yet by a long way.


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Surging e-cigarette use by young adults is "a major public health concern," according to the U.S. surgeon general, who will recommend increased regulation of the products in a report set to be released today.
Those will include higher taxes, raising the minimum age to 21, incorporating e-cigarettes into smoke-free laws and restricting certain marketing efforts.
Oregonians can now buy marijuana for recreational use at shops intended for that purpose, after regulatory agencies approved licenses for 26 retailers around the state, meeting a key deadline almost two years after voters passed a measure legalizing pot.
Marijuana sold legally in Oregon had been tested before, but now the labs must be accredited, and the packaging labeled with the lab results.
Colorado pot businesses are increasingly coming under scrutiny from the IRS due to the industry's focus on cash and reporting requirements such as Form 8300, Marijuana Business Daily reports.
Dispensaries and cannabis companies are known to deal predominantly in cash as continued U.S. banking restrictions make it difficult for them to have bank accounts with federally chartered financial institutions.
California Governor Jerry Brown has signed a pack of bills that will raise the smoking age from 18 to 21, restrict the use of electronic cigarettes in public places and expand no-smoking areas at public schools.
The new laws, which take effect June 9, are a big boost to a movement that is turning into the next major challenge for the $100B tobacco industry.
Lawmakers in 10 other U.S. states are currently considering similar legislation.
California lawmakers have voted to make the nation's most populous state the second to raise the smoking age from 18 to 21 as part of a sweeping package of measures cracking down on tobacco products and electronic cigarettes.
"With California having such a huge population, it's going to be very impactful nationwide," said Cathy Callaway, associate director of state and local campaigns for the American Cancer Society.
Hawaii became the first state to lift the smoking age limit to 21 in January.
A landmark ruling by a Vancouver judge has cleared the way for Canadian medical marijuana users to grow pot at home, but recreational marijuana use still remains illegal across the country, despite Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's pledge to legalize the drug.
The decision struck down a ban introduced by Canada's previous Conservative government, and saw shares of local medical marijuana producers plunge on Wednesday: Canopy Growth (OTC:TWMJF) -5%; OrganiGram Holdings (OTCQB:OGRMF) -11.5% and Aphria (OTC:APHQF) -5%.
Ohio voters have soundly rejected a measure that would have made it the first U.S. Midwestern state to legalize the recreational use of marijuana by nearly a two-to-one margin.
Analysts said the proposal was criticized for granting main backers of the measure cartel-like powers over the industry in the state for several years, an arrangement that rubbed many voters who supported legalization of the drug the wrong way.


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Word on the street has it that marketers are finding things tougher – and now we have the statistics to prove it. The latest Marketing Trends Survey from The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) has found that marketers have never felt gloomier and confidence is at an all-time low. Expectations for sales growth and even confidence in the future of business are the worst since the survey began eight years ago.
The Marketing Trends Survey is conducted on behalf of the CIM by economics consultancy The Centre for Economics & Business Research. Over 150 senior marketers were questioned for the autumn study.
It reveals that companies across the UK are planning for a sales growth of just 3.7 per cent – about half the growth planned a year ago, and one per cent lower than the planned sales growth reported in the summer survey. This is a dramatic reversal of the upward trend reported in spring 2001, when marketers were expecting cash sales to rise by 0.7 per cent from 4.2 per cent to 4.9 per cent.
Smaller companies are most likely to be pessimistic about the future. Those with a turnover below £1m expect sales to increase by 3.3 per cent; companies with a turnover of £100m-plus are more upbeat, expecting a 5.6 per cent rise. Smaller companies have also reported lower growth in the past sales year.
But marketers are not confident about meeting even these deflated targets. While four per cent of those taking part in the survey expect to over-achieve their targets, only about one-third call the targets “realistic”. Over half of marketers think these targets are “very challenging” and nearly one-tenth describe their sales plan as “unrealistic”. These figures are all the more telling when compared with the summer survey, when only 29 per cent reported that their sales plans were “very challenging”.
The results mean that the CIM confidence index has dipped to the lowest level on record. The indicator has tumbled from 91.8 this time last year, when confidence appeared to be strengthening and plans were becoming more aggressive, to a breathtakingly low 83.9.
These gloomy predictions are already having a serious effect on marketing budgets. Companies are planning to increase their total sales resource by 2.4 per cent this autumn, compared with 2.9 per cent in the spring. Indications are that e-marketing will be likely to avoid the axe, and expenditure on Internet/intranet activities is expected to rise by seven per cent, up from 6.2 per cent in the spring.
It is the sponsorship sector that is set to feel the squeeze – planned spending is expected to shrink by 0.6 per cent this autumn compared with a 0.1 per cent planned increase in the spring. Telemarketing is also likely to be hit hard, where annual expenditure is tipped to increase by just 0.1 per cent. Advertising budgets are expected to rise by only 1.4 per cent, while promotional budgets will increase by 2.1 per cent. Direct mail will fare a little better, as will lead generation.
But the despondency felt by most marketing managers is not reflected in their plans for staff. While nearly three-quarters of businesses are not planning to change the size of their sales and marketing departments, nearly one in five are likely to increase the number of staff. Only one in ten expects to reduce the size of their team.
The Centre of Economics & Business Research says because the marketing function is at the sharp end of business, it picks up signals of changes in the business climate before other parts of the company. This makes the report’s conclusions especially depressing, since they provide convincing evidence that economic conditions are likely to be unfavourable for the next few months. However, the swift action taken by the Bank of England in cutting interest rates by half a point to four per cent will help bolster business and consumer confidence.
But it must not be forgotten that marketing is an important weapon in the battle against economic stagnation. Marketers are facing some tough challenges at a time of economic and political uncertainty, but they need to keep focused on their job. By developing products and services, utilising budgets efficiently to seek and engage customers, marketers should be playing a vital role in helping their businesses ride out the storm.


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Hod offered that robotics is a pathway of that kind, the ability for machines to learn by navigating the world. LeCun concurred, referencing the work of Sergey Levine, a U.C. Berkeley professor whose lab does a lot of work on what might be called self-supervised, or semi-supervised learning in robotics systems. The same kind of work is going on at Facebook, LeCun noted. "One of the most interesting areas today is learning models of the world," he offered. "It would be a step toward the kind of learning humans do, which is different from supervised learning or reinforcement learning," he added. … [Read more...] about Artificial general intelligence is a Rorschach Test: Perhaps we need orangutans?
Fake news alert
To create a jailbreak tool, hackers look for security vulnerabilities in older iOS versions that were undisclosed by Apple. These vulnerabilities allow access to the core software of iOS. To keep it safeguarded, Apple doesn’t disclose such vulnerabilities even after some of them get fixed. The job of hackers is to find such undisclosed vulnerabilities that are not yet fixed. Surprisingly, the hackers have found one already in iOS 13.5, that has been just released. There are several groups of hackers who keep working round the clock on finding such jailbreak tools. But once a jailbreak tool is used to unlock any iPhone, experts suggest that new vulnerabilities get discovered quickly and such devices are easily prone to data thefts. What’s more scary is that hackers reportedly have also got access to pre-release versions of iOS 14, which would be announced in June ay WWDC 2020, “several months ago”. For law enforcement agencies, unlocking an iPhone gets a bit … [Read more...] about Hackers release new ‘tool’ to unlock any iPhone
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra Summary performance Samsung Exynos 9 Octa storage 128 GB camera 108MP + 48MP + 12MP battery 5000 mAh display 6.9" (17.53 cm) ram 12 GB See Full Specifications Nubia Red Magic 5G Summary performance Snapdragon 865 storage 128 GB camera 64MP + 8MP + 2MP battery 4500 mAh display 6.65" (16.89 cm) ram 8 GB See Full Specifications Promoted Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra (Cosmic Gray, 12GB RAM, 128GB Storage) with No Cost EMI/Additional Exchange Offers ₹ 97,999 ₹ 103,000 … [Read more...] about After Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra, this will be the second phone to come with 16GB RAM
As per the report, Google Messages could soon let users send end-to-end encrypted messages via RCS. A total of twelve strings referencing encryption were found during the teardown. While the teardown didn't reveal the exact requirements for using end-to-encryption, both the sender and the receiver will likely have to use the Google Messages app. … [Read more...] about Google’s Messages app may soon gain end-to-end encryption for RCS messages


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In February, web engineers released a way to move information over the web. Called HTTP/2, the new protocol is designed to make web traffic faster and more efficient. In the months since it was formally approved, the challenge has been getting the rest of the web to use it.
Today, the protocol is taking a big step forward, thanks to a new deployment from the content distribution network CloudFlare. Starting today, HTTP/2 will be available by default to all the company's customers, more than doubling the adoption for the fledgling web standard. CEO Matthew Prince says the company has been rolling out support for the protocol slowly over the past week, and company scans indicate three out of four sites using HTTP/2 on the Alexa top million are already doing so through CloudFlare.
Only 2.5 percent of websites currently use HTTP/2
The most noticeable result for users will be faster page speeds. HTTP/2 won't make pages significantly smaller, but the same data will require fewer round trips to the server, cutting load times by as much as half in some tests. Other features like header compression have been more controversial among engineers, but the protocol still expected to lead to faster pages and less congestion as it spreads across the web.
It's the broadest deployment yet on the host side, although much of the software that supports the web has already prepared for the transition. Apache added HTTP/2 support to its web server software last month, just a few weeks after Nginx announced support. All major browsers already support the protocol, including Chrome, Edge, Safari and Firefox.
At the moment, HTTP/2 accounts for just a sliver of the web at large. One survey this month found only 2.5 percent of websites using the protocol, although the list already includes Google, Facebook and YouTube. Still, CloudFlare expects today's announcement to spur adoption. "In order for these protocols to actually take off, you have to have early adopters that are willing to make bets around them," Prince said. "What we've been able to do at CloudFlare is show that some of these things are possible."
Correction: An earlier version of this piece incorrectly stated that Edge and Safari do not yet support HTTP/2. The Verge regrets the error.


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Norwegian-based Telenor announced recently that its Indian operations are working on technology to offer 4G mobile service on a much more limited amount of spectrum than usual—a change that would allow the company to jump from offering 2G services directly to offering 4G, without ever having invested in 3G. “We are not there yet, but in the future we believe that this might be possible,” stated Telenor executive vice president Hilde Tonne. Besides developing the technology needed to launch 4G on a narrow band of spectrum, to put this plan into action Telenor will also need to convert its current spectrum license to a unified license that would allow it to carry any type of traffic over the frequency, as opposed to only 2G. This approval is far from certain, given the Indian regulatory climate. As an inspiration for the move Tonne cited Telenor’s experience in neighboring Bangladesh, where it “had started investing in 3G, but after three quarters of the year, saw it coming much faster; so we decided to stop 3G and phase in 4G.”
In addition to its experiences in Bangladesh, Telenor’s strategy was likely also encouraged by a recent J.P. Morgan report that stated that after a slow and incomplete adoption of 3G, many Indian consumers might be in a position to jump directly from 2G to 4G. While it is too soon to tell if Telenor will be able to launch a 4G network without ever having offering 3G services, what is clear is that this will be the path for many Indians. They have largely avoided 3G plans because of the increased device costs and the unreliability of service. These factors appear poised for change. India is now the world’s fastest growing smartphone market, with most of these phones being 4G-enabled, and, as the percentage of its 1.2 billion people who have smartphone increases, so too do the rewards for connecting them with mobile broadband.
Given that only 9 percent of India’s population is currently connected to the internet, MNOs will likely serve as the nexus of the browsing experience with the potential to take a share of all e-commerce—as they have done in many African markets. With stakes this high, it is not surprising to see a relatively small operator like Telenor pushing an aggressive strategy that would put it ahead of the curve. Telenor’s larger competitors have already begun working on their 4G networks and are likely now evaluating their own strategies to speed up wide-scale deployment. All the market players appear well aware that early leaders will have substantial advantages as the rate of adoption accelerates.
The above item appeared in a recent issue of The Tarifica Alert, a weekly resource that analyzes noteworthy developments in the telecoms industry from around the world. To access all of the latest articles and issues:


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Niklas Savander, Executive Vice President of Nokia’s Markets units, recently acknowledged that some N8 smartphones have power problems which result in the handsets switching themselves off.
Nokia didn’t disclose the exact number of faulty N8s, but it’s said that only “a limited number” of users have reported the problem.
According to a Nokia spokesperson quoted by Reuters, “the fault was due to a problem in production, which has since been fixed.” Of course, some faulty handsets may still be out there, shipped before Nokia had the time to correct the problem. If you’re unlucky enough to get one of those, Nokia will probably replace it with a new unit.
Available around the world as of last month, the N8 is Nokia’s flagship multimedia smartphone and has reportedly received the highest number of pre-orders in the company’s history.
If you liked the post, you might find these interesting too:
- Nokia N86 has hardware (MicroUSB) problems, too?
- About 4 million Nokia N8 smartphones sold until now?
- Nokia N8 has received the highest number of pre-orders in the company’s history
- 1 million Nokia 5800 XpressMusic phones shipped; sales in the UK debuted today
- Nokia E7 delayed, won’t hit the shelves this year


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Verizon to buy AOL for $4.4 billion, boosting mobile media and advertising
This just in! Verizon has confirmed plans to purchase AOL for the sum of $4.4 billion, in a move that AOL CEO Tim Armstrong believes will pave the way for a concerted, collaborative push by both firms into the world of mobile and video content.
The $4.4 billion cost equates to around $50 per share, and while AOL may be seen as a fallen giant that enjoyed its heyday during the dial-up Internet era, it remains a big cheese in the world of online content. In joining forces with Verizon, Armstrong's memo to employees outlines the collective intention to create "the best media technology company in the world."
Engadget, TechCrunch and The Huffington Post.Since this is hot off the press, the finer details are still emerging, but from what we can gather, AOL will operate as a faction within the Verizon business. Verizon's broad content networks will be central to enhancing AOL's online brands, which include the likes of
Verizon sees the acquisition as a key development in its LTE wireless video efforts. With AOL also offering Emmy-nominated original video content, Verizon customers will likely be the first to reap the benefits of this new marriage in terms of content. But aside from the mobile and video side of the deal, these two giants are looking to revolutionize the world of mobile advertising.
advertising is estimated to account for one-twelfth of the $600 billion global advertising industry. In building a "scaled, mobile-first platform offering" that can better target consumers, Verizon and AOL could improve upon the current state of play, although from a consumer perspective, this does seemingly translate to more ads.Despite the ubiquitous nature of mobile devices, mobile
Given what Verizon offers in terms of networking, allied to the products and services that AOL already runs, this seems a mutually beneficial agreement for both parties. Whether these firms will evolve into the advertising and media superpower that Armstrong promises remains to be seen, but with the AOL chief suggesting the partnership will spawn the "next generation of media through mobile and video," the ambition is definitely there.
Once the usual regulations have been signed off, the deal should be officially complete by the summer of this year.


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Terex introduces 26 ton boom truck
By D.Ann Shiffler23 May 2010
Terex Cranes hosted more than 150 customers, media and local dignitaries at its plant in Waverly, IA, USA, on May 19-21. The event was a new product launch for the company’s new BT 26106 Super Stinger 26 ton boom truck and RT 100 rough terrain crane.
Customers from six countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Peru and the US attended the event that included a plant tour, product training and hands-on experience sessions.
Terex products on display included the company’s line of boom trucks, a new cab-down crane built for the US Navy (known as the CD 225 HMC) as well as rough terrain cranes and truck cranes built at the Waverly plant.


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Ghana-headquartered payment solutions provider Waya is experiencing a steady month-on-month growth of about 20% in the three countries where it currently has a presence (Ghana, Kenya, and Nigeria).
This has given the firm the required momentum to begin expansion plans in three new markets within Africa (Rwanda, South Africa, and Uganda).
Launched in 2018 by Delali Anku-Adiamah and his partner, Waya emerged as a result of personal difficulties the cofounder had with sending money back to Ghana while on trips around Africa.
Waya offers hassle-free local and international payments and transfers. Waya’s interoperability platform is connected to banks, mobile money agents, and other global payment platforms. All enabling it to better serve its African markets.
The platform serves both individuals and merchants and supports multiple currencies and channels of payment. Its intuitive routing functionality allows funds to be transferred swiftly, safely, and at next to no cost, all via the app.
Waya is currently home to 8,000 users across the three countries of operation. As a way to beat competitors including ChipperCash, Eversend, SimbaPay, MamaMoney, and many more, Waya plans to offer reduced rates.
“The gap we found was the problem of high charges, long settlement times, and difficulty in making cross-border transfers across Africa due to the non-existence of a singular financial platform that can connect to multiple financial sources. To compete with cash, digital payments and transfers have to be instant. With Waya, transactions are instant,” Anku-Adiamah told Disrupt Africa.
Pan Finance is a print journal and news website providing worldwide intelligence on finance, economics and global commerce. Known for our in-depth analysis and opinion pieces from esteemed academics and celebrated professionals; our readership consists of senior decision makers from across the globe.


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How pandemic could affect NH’s fall, winter tourism | Travel
As New Hampshire enters the foliage season, the “majority” of leaf-peeping bus tours have been
As New Hampshire enters the foliage season, the “majority” of leaf-peeping bus tours have been canceled or postponed until next year because of the coronavirus pandemic, the state’s tourism chief said Monday.
It’s “too early to know the economic impact” of the cancellations/postponements, Lori Harnois, director of the Division of Travel and Tourism Development, said during a virtual roundtable discussion organized by U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan.
Travel and Tourism is doing its best to get out the message that it’s safe to visit New Hampshire as well as promoting a “leave-no-trace” campaign, Harnois said.
Paula Kinney of the Androscoggin Valley Chamber of Commerce said that in Berlin and into the upper reaches of Coos County, which is crisscrossed with ATV trails, “we’re having trouble with people coming here.”
“They are just kind of trashing the place. A lot of rude people,” Kinney told the group, which also included Jessyca Keeler, executive director of Ski New Hampshire, and CJ Haines, executive director, New Hampshire Brewers Association.
The goal of the “leave-no-trace” effort, Harnois said, “is to really hit home about being responsible travelers so we can sustain what New Hampshire is so well-known for.”
Keeler said the challenge for Ski NH, which represents 30 alpine and cross-country resorts, is informing visitors about COVID-19 changes — mask-wearing and social distancing, with some resorts requiring reservations to limit crowds.
“We know things are going to be different this year,” she said.
Haines said two-thirds of the 92 breweries in New Hampshire are small, which means that when the cold weather comes, they will lose their outdoor seating. That will directly result in decreased revenues.
She told Hassan that brewers are also very concerned about an expected federal excise tax doubling at the end of the year — from $3.50 to $7 per barrel.
Federal tariffs on imported aluminum have also hurt brewers, who’ve increasingly taken to canning their product, Haines said.
Hassan said she was aware of the excise-tax issue and working to make the tax cut permanent.
The Democrat told Harnois and Kinney that she and other senators want to extend beyond Dec. 30 the time businesses have to spend federal CARES Act funds.
Hassan closed by saying she would continue to push for a bipartisan second COVID-19 relief package to help individuals, businesses and nonprofits as well as the state and local governments.


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Sony’s newly unveiled flagship at Mobile World Congress 2017, the Xperia XZ Premium has been awarded as the ‘Best New Smartphone’ at the recently concluded annual Global Mobile Awards (Glomo Awards) by GSMA.
The Glomo Award is the latest of 30 accolades (and counting) received for Sony Mobile's innovation flagship at Mobile World Congress 2017. The recognition also includes media laurels including: UK Blog Awards "Best Innovation", Tech Radar's "Reader's Choice" & "Best Smartphone" and Wired's "Coolest of MWC".
"Xperia XZ Premium is our most technologically capable smartphone ever. We're honoured by this recognition - Xperia XZ Premium has received endorsement from operator partners, media, consumers and industry peers alike, which is testament to our relentless pursuit of innovation, to deliver great products and experiences for consumers," said Hiroki Totoki, President and CEO at Sony Mobile Communications.
“Our congratulations to all of the winners and nominees of the GSMA’s Glomo Awards at Mobile World Congress this week," said Michael O’Hara, Chief Marketing Officer, GSMA. "The Glomo Awards truly showcase those companies and individuals that are driving innovation in the rapidly evolving mobile industry. We thank all of our entrants, judges, sponsors and partners for supporting the 2017 Glomo Awards.”
Xperia XZ Premium brings new and improved camera technology and features Sony’s new Motion Eye camera systemto enable advanced features and excellence in picture quality, as well as the world’s first 4K HDR display in a smartphone (5.5”). Motion Eye feature is capable of 960fps Super slow motion video capture and playback, which is four times slower than any other smartphone.


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The Produce Mom Lori Taylor and Chadwick Boyd Discuss New Partnership and Promoting Produce
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - In an effort to get more fruits and vegetables onto the plates of families across North America, Lori Taylor, Owner and Founder of The Produce Mom, has announced a new partnership with nationally-acclaimed food & lifestyle expert and author Chadwick Boyd, to bring recipe innovation, magazine-quality photography, and ease-of-use to both produce companies and the end-consumer.
With fresh produce top-of-mind, Lori and Chadwick took a few minutes to speak with me about the recent news, and the vision for their partnership moving forward.
“Increasing fresh produce consumption and inspiring busy moms and dads with creative and accessible recipes has been my passion,” Lori tells me. “This partnership will allow brands in the fresh produce industry to affordably secure recipe development and photography that is on-par with the standards for placement in major national food and lifestyle media.”
Through this new service, Lori and Chadwick will deliver content to marketers that upholds the integrity of their brands. Currently, three packages are offered:
- 5 recipes + finished photography
- 10 recipes + finished photography
- Custom–based on unique and specific brand needs
Also included in the service are how-to, storage, and entertaining tips depending on content. Packages start at $11,500 and include concept-creation, recipe testing, writing, art directing, food and prop styling, and photography. And, for a limited time only, new clients will receive special promotion across the Chadwick Boyd social media channels to support their campaigns.
Chadwick, who has been featured on Food Network, Today Show, Better Homes and Gardens, Lifetime, Huffington Post, and more, has the repertoire and ingenuity to bring a different level of food artistry, design, and engagement to the produce industry, Lori adds.
“In many ways, we are taking a page out of the CPG playbook. Consumers eat with their eyes, and food presentation is key,” she says. “Chadwick is already passionately connecting with brand managers across different sectors to get more fresh produce into all food channels.”
Chadwick works his magic these days from his test kitchen in New York City where he brings a level of NYC style and innovation that is rare to find in the fresh produce trade. Working hand-in-hand with Lori, Chadwick will create a platform of recipes that will both inspire new flavor combinations and food trends, and introduce a range of different preparation methods to bring greater value to produce marketers.
“I believe that great food and easy recipes with style, partnered with fresh fruits and vegetables, can be accessible to all,” Chadwick tells me. “This is what Lori and I are offering to the produce industry with this partnership. The breadth of experience and the brands that I have worked with have created a dialogue with food that, I believe, should be shared with at-home cooks across the country. And it only elevates this partnership that a large part of my focus and passion has been in fresh produce.”
Lori notes that she has been in the industry for 11 years and during her time, she has noticed a need for better quality food resources and ideas that connect with at-home cooks and parents.
“My hope is to create a more authentic connection between produce brands and consumers while giving my audience new ways of incorporating fruits and vegetables into all their meals. In this way, it is a win-win to align The Produce Mom brand with someone who is the ultimate in recipe development,” Lori says.
At the end of the day, busy moms especially, like Lori, don’t have the time to read in-depth recipes and research trends.
“But, they also do not want to sacrifice flavor and health. I want to bring quality and creativity to everyday cooking without impacting an already busy schedule for parents,” Chadwick says.
So, what’s in store for The Produce Mom partnership with Chadwick Boyd? New recipe R&D, food styling, and high-quality content for the produce industry, The Produce Mom partners, and, of course, a bump in overall produce consumption if Lori has anything to say about it.
And that, she does.


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In an interview with Facebook on Thursday, the company announced their name change to Meta, a rebranding opportunity that focuses on developing the “metaverse,” a shared virtual platform where users can live, interact, and work. From New York City to Mason City, Iowa and beyond, this rapid shift in the company business model was shocking to users and investors alike.
What is the Metaverse?
The idea behind CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s Metaverse is to bring together all technologies and apps under a single company brand. The company’s main focus now is to bring the conceptual Metaverse to life, which is said to help grow businesses, find communities, and improve social connections. The name “Metaverse” was initially coined in the dystopian novel Snow Crash 30-years ago. It refers to the idea of a shared digital realm that various users across all devices can access.
The Metaverse will feel like a hybrid of online social experiences that project digital into the physical world. Users will be able to share immersive experiences with others, even when it is impossible to be together and engage in otherwise impossible activities in the physical world. It is considered the next evolution in social technologies, thus creating a new chapter for Zuckerberg’s company.
Over the past couple of years, Facebook has increased its presence in the hardware market by introducing Portal video-calling devices, various versions of Oculus virtual reality headsets, and a line of Ray-Ban Stories video glasses. The Metaverse plans to utilize all these hardware and software additions as a core part of its strategy in the upcoming years.
Reason for the Change
In addition to the new platform that will better connect users, the rebranding comes after various negative publicity because whistleblower Frances Haugen released internal documents. The main point of the released reports shows the company is aware of the harm its services and apps are having on users but has not taken the necessary steps to address them. Within the next few weeks, more documents are expected to be released. In several interviews, Zuckerberg refuted these critiques and claims found in the released reports. He further stated that these reports painted a “false picture” of the inner workings within the organization. Within the past few weeks, Haugen testified before the U.S. Senate subcommittee and the U.K… parliament.
The Connect Conference
Facebook’s Connect Conference displayed virtual and augmented reality developments, marketers, and content creators to celebrate the industry’s growth and momentum. Set as a virtual event, the conference’s content explored the various experiences users in the Metaverse could feel over the coming decade. These experiences range from
commerce to education, work, fitness, gaming, entertainment, and social connections.
Facebook also announced at the conference the new tools to assist with the creation and development within the Metaverse, including The Presence Platform. This software platform will enable mixed reality experiences by utilizing the Quest 2 virtual reality hardware, along with a $150 million investment to train the next creator generation.
Changes to Facebook
The current corporate structure will remain intact, but financial reporting will change. Beginning with the 2021 fourth-quarter results, Meta will report two operating segments: Reality Labs and Family of Apps. Also, starting December 1st, the company will start trading under the new stock ticker, MVRS. After the announcement, Facebook shares jumped by 1.5% at the close of the trading day.
Facebook Reality Labs will be responsible for the augmented and virtual reality segment, and the Family of Apps will manage the software category. In 2021, the company created a product team within the Reality Labs unit that is solely focused on the Metaverse, and it plans to hire an additional 10,000 employees in Europe over the next five years.


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Agility, visibility and efficiency are all key concepts of any supply chain. With a huge number of organizations facing over 10 supply chains, according to a recent white paper released by DHL Supply Chain, how can they successfully execute
Last week, eft engaged DHL Supply Chain in a debate on plug and play supply chainexploring the ins and outs of one of the key strategies companies can deploy to achieve agility, visibility and efficiency at scale whilst retaining profitable growth.
The idea behind the plug-and-play supply chain is to standardize as much of your supply chain as possible (70-80% according to DHL’s whitepaper), using replicable bolt-ons when necessary to achieve goals. In essence, the objective is to create a series of replicable building blocks that are interchangeable no matter the supply chain. This type of model can be applicable to many types of supply chains, though Eric Johnson of American Shipper points out ‘Commodities, for one. Anything with predominantly repeatable sourcing and shipping patterns’ are particularly relevant.
So why plug-and-play? Cathy Roberson points out that ‘Over the past 17 years it seems we’ve gone from customizing solutions to standardizing them, back again etc.’Dr. Steve Brady points out that ‘I have seen a disconnect with manufacturers AND retailers–not knowing their customers nor their vendors. And that leads to not knowing when and where to standardize, and when to “specialize”.’
As with any strategy of this scale, some major steps are key to implementation. These include such key consideration including C-level buy-in, appropriate talent and accurate, reliable data. From the twitter debate, Richard Sharpe of Competitive Insights noted ‘The speed for implementation will be directly correlated to the executive sponsorship that supports the effort’ but also having ‘meaningful data that is trusted for segmentation insights and change management.’ So to answer Cathy’s questions above, the pace of business and advances in analytics have enabled a new type and level of standardization.
So how do you successfully implement your own plug-and-play strategy successfully? We’ll let DHL take it away:


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The Dauntless team has released a new video detailing the "Evolving Wildlands" update that brings a lot of changes to the zones closest to the Ramsgate. Players will find notable improvements to behemoths as well as new weapon attacks and combos alongside bug fixes and feature enhancements.
Here's what's inside Evolving Wildlands:
- new axe attacks and combos
- Shrike and Moonreaver behemoth updates and improvements designed to make them less predictable
- warpikes will be available from every behemoth
- all placeholder warpikes will be removed to make room for unique models
- "Shattered Isles will feel brand new. Use aether vents and improved traversal to explore areas unvisited by any Slayer".
You can check out the full update notes on the Dauntless site.


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Stocks close lower; S&P 500 fails to hit record
- Trading was choppy all day
- Wall Street digests earnings from Home Depot%2C Macy%27s
- After rocky start to 2014%2C market nears break even point
Stocks closed lower Tuesday as the Standard & Poor's 500 index failed in its latest attempt to march further into record territory.
Trading was choppy all day as stocks bounced back and forth between gains and losses.
The S&P 500 fell 2.5 points, or 0.1% to close at 1,845.12. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 27.5 points, or 0.2%, to 16,179.66. The Nasdaq composite index fell 5.4 points, or 0.1%, to 4,287.59.
The benchmark S&P index fell just short of setting a new record close the day before and has erased much of the 5.8% drop it suffered from its Jan. 15 high to its Feb. 3 low.
Investors on Tuesday were digesting quarterly earnings reports from home-improvement retailer Home Depot and department store retailer Macy's.
Home Depot topped analyst earnings per share estimates by 2 cents despite a slight drop in earnings from a year ago. However the market reacted favorable as the home-improvement retailer boosted its dividend by 21%. Shares rose 4% to $80.99.
Macy's also topped forecasts despite same-store sales rising just 1.4%, after being negatively impacted by a harsh winter that caused hundreds of store closings. The department store chain, which includes Bloomingdale's, also said sales at the start of the new fiscal year in February "remained sluggish," saying business didn't pick up until Valentine's Day. Shares gained 6% to $56.25.
In economic news, the Conference Board's index of consumer confidence fell to 78.1 in February from 80.7 the month before. That was below the 80.1 level economists polled by FactSet were expecting. The report is a closely watched indicator of how likely consumers are to spend money and keep the economy moving forward.
Home prices fell for the second consecutive month in December. Prices dropped 0.1% from November based on the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller 20-city index.
Asian stocks were mostly higher Tuesday despite jitters about China's housing market after Wall Street's unexpectedly strong showing Monday.
Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index gained 1.4% to 15,051.60 but Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.3% to 22,317.20.
European shares traded lower. Britain's FTSE 100 index dropped 0.5% to 6,830.50 and Germany's DAX index fell 0.1% to 9,699.35.
On Wall Street on Monday, the S&P 500 ended up 11.36 points, or 0.6%, to 1,847.61, closing just shy of its record high close of 1,848.38 on Jan. 15. The Dow rose 103.84 points, or 0.6%, to 16,207.14. The Nasdaq composite index gained 29.56, or 0.7%, to 4,292.97.
Benchmark U.S. oil for April delivery was down 84 cents to $101.98 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract gained 62 cents on Monday to close at $102.82.
Contributing: Associated Press


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Skoda Auto made a net profit of CZK 31,841 mil in 2017, up 26.5% when compared to the last year. Total sales reached CZK 407,400 mil, which is up 17.1% when compared to the previous year.
Historically, the company’s net profit reached an all time high of CZK 31,841 mil in 2017 and an all time low of CZK 1,478 mil in 2003.
In terms of sales, Skoda Auto reached an all time high of CZK 407,400 mil in 2017 and an all time low of CZK 145,197 mil in 2003.
Skoda Auto's net profit has grown 15.7% a year on average in the last five years while sales have increased by 9.18% a year since 2012.
The firm generated its shareholders an average return on invested capital of 25.2% in the last five years.
As far as Skoda Auto's peers are concerned, Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Czech posted a net profit and sales of CZK 6,692 mil and CZK 136,673 mil in 2017, TPCA Czech Republic generated a net profit of CZK 255 mil (with sales of CZK 36,427 mil) and Volkswagen Group netted CZK 11,354 mil (sales of CZK 230,682 mil).
|Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Czech||CZK mil||2,914||7,010||7,333||8,973||5,501|
|Iveco Czech Republic||CZK mil||795||951||1,041||1,235||1,659|
|Skoda Auto||CZK mil||16,075||15,354||11,386||18,421||30,816|
|Tatra Trucks||CZK mil||-39.6||-940||-326||288||448|
|TPCA Czech Republic||CZK mil||573||238||170||370||267|
|Zetor Tractors||CZK mil||124||279||284||225||119|


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New Zealand’s Fonterra expects to continue paying dividends after asset sales and a focus on its domestic business helped the world’s largest dairy exporter get back into profit.
The company reduced its debt by more than $NZ1 billion in fiscal 2020 and paid a final annual dividend of five NZ cents per share, compared with no payout last year.
“This year marks a return to paying dividends, a position we expect to maintain in the future, assuming normal operating conditions,” Chairman John Monaghan said on Friday.
Fonterra last year unveiled a “back to basics” strategy that called a halt to the previous management’s failed overseas expansion plans and pledged to cut debt by focusing on domestic production.
This helped the dairy exporter report a net profit of $NZ659 million for the year ended July 31, compared with a loss of $NZ605 million in fiscal 2019 that was largely driven by asset write-downs.
For fiscal 2021, it has kept its earlier guidance for the farmgate milk price – the price it pays to farmers for milk – of between $NZ5.90 and $NZ6.90 per kilogram of milk solids.
It also forecast normalised annual earnings per share between 20 NZ cents and 35 NZ cents, compared with 24 NZ cents per share a year earlier.
Fonterra accounts for about 30 per cent of the world’s dairy exports and is New Zealand’s largest company.
Its best known brands include Anchor milk and Mainland cheese.


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The difficulty between Ticketmaster and Taylor Swift’s“Eras” tour isn’t over — with the most recent snafu affecting followers hoping to attain tickets in France.
On Tuesday, after some followers reported points with accessing Ticketmaster’s web site, gross sales for six of Swift’s upcoming reveals in Paris and Lyon have been abruptly postponed. A proof wasn’t instantly clear, however in posts on Ticketmaster’s French Twitter a number of hours after the pause started, the ticket vendor cited an issue with a third-party supplier.
Ticketmaster directed The Related Press to the Twitter assertion. Within the posts, Ticketmaster maintained that tickets to the France reveals are nonetheless out there and that the supplier was “working to resolve this matter as quickly as doable.”
The corporate added that any codes that weren’t used for ticket purchases Tuesday will stay legitimate — and that impacted followers “might be notified straight of the brand new onsale date and time.” The brand new occasions have but to be specified.
Tuesday’s chaos arrived after the spectacular breakdown seen final November throughout Ticketmaster’s sale of “Eras” tour tickets within the U.S. — when Ticketmaster’s web site crashed throughout a presale occasion for Swift’s stadium tour and hundreds of individuals misplaced tickets after ready for hours in an internet queue.
On the time, the corporate stated its web site was overwhelmed by each followers and assaults from bots, which have been posing as shoppers with the intention to scoop up tickets and promote them on secondary websites. The corporate later issued an apology “to Taylor and all of her followers — particularly those that had a horrible expertise attempting to buy tickets.”
Swift expressed frustration on behalf of followers in November, noting on Instagram that it was “excruciating for me to simply watch errors occur with no recourse.”
A number of lawmakers accused Ticketmaster of abusing its energy because the dominant ticket-seller for shoppers. And each federal and state authorities moved to analyze the fiasco.
Ticketmaster, which merged with Dwell Nation in 2010, is the world’s largest ticket vendor, processing 500 million tickets annually in additional than 30 nations. Round 70% of tickets for main live performance venues within the U.S. are offered by means of Ticketmaster, in line with knowledge in a federal lawsuit filed by shoppers final yr.
Outrage towards the ticket vendor reemerged Tuesday after the suspending of France ticket gross sales.
“Ticketmaster is a poorly run firm and its dangerous practices come partly from its place as a monopolist within the house of live performance ticket distribution,” Syracuse College legislation professor Shubha Ghosh, who focuses on antitrust legislation, stated in an announcement.
Swift is wrapping up her 52-date U.S. tour, which is about to conclude with Los Angeles reveals in early August. Her worldwide reveals start in Mexico Metropolis on Aug. 24. She’s scheduled to do 4 Paris concert events in Could 2024 and two Lyon reveals subsequent June.


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According to new leaks, Microsoft is all set to release Windows 10 v1803 as Spring Creators Update. The “Windows 10 Spring Creators Update” name has been spotted in the latest Redstone 5 update test build. However, the company has not yet officially named its next Windows 10 update, due next month.
Microsoft first launched Windows 10 v1703 Creators Update last spring, followed by the Windows 10 v1709 Fall Creators Update in the fall. The new Windows 10 Spring Creators Update naming was originally leaked in Microsoft blog posts last year. However, this time it has appeared in the insider preview build itself.
The software giant is expected to roll out Windows 10 Spring Creators Update in early April, with new features like new Fluent Design changes and features like Timeline, HDR support and much more. The company is also testing its next Windows 10 v1809 update, codenamed Redstone 5, that will be available later this year.


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Procurecon Indirect Europe: Industry leading procurement wisdom
Held at the Radisson Blu Scandinavia Hotel in Copenhagen, the ProcureCon Indirect Europe 2019 conference will take place tomorrow (April 2-3, 2019) and feature the leading minds from the global procurement space. Here are three of the industry thought leaders sharing their insight at the event.
Jan Fokke Van Den Bosch, CPO, HSBC
Jan Fokke Van Den Bosch is responsible for the global procurement department at HSBC, a role he has held since March 2016, overseeing a team of 800 onshore and 600 offshore.
He is scheduled to give an opening address at nine AM on Tuesday, which will welcome attendees and cover the subjects: How can you create a business to business environment? How can procurement facilitate the role of digital buying to ensure faster, and better cost benefits? How can you make your procurement function more strategic? And how can transparency across the business improve your buying power?
Marco Romano, Chief Procurement Data & Analytics Officer, IBM
With over 20 years experience in the procurement space, Romano is responsible for the global procurement data, analytics and cognitive strategy and implementation.
He is scheduled to speak on Tuesday morning, giving a presentation on ways in which procurement officers can influence their stakeholders to see procurement as a value generator that makes the right new investments to achieve business excellence whilst driving cost-savings.
Michelle Baker, CPO, KPN
Baker joined KPN, a market-leading ICT and telecommunications firm in the Netherlands, in 2017, where her role focuses on increasing the value procurement brings to the company. She was recently listed as ‘One To Watch’ on Supply Management’s Procurement Power List, and is on the ProcureCon Indirect 2019 Advisory Board.
Baker is scheduled to speak at two presentations on Tuesday, covering “Winning the hearts and minds of your business”, and “becoming a life-long learner”,
- Top 10: Women in Supply Chain and Procurement in APACProcurement
- Dumarey Streamlines Suppliers with BearingPoint and JAGGAERSupplier Relationship Management (SRM)
- P&SC LIVE New York welcomes Bob Bruning CPO at CBREProcurement
- Procurement & Supply Chain Awards: The Categories (Part 1)Digital Supply Chain


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Police are still looking for a man who tricked fans into buying fake Cowboys Playoffs tickets. NBC 5's Samantha Chatman has obtained new video from police that could bring them one step closer to catching...
A Fort Worth woman said she saw an ad on Instagram and thought the company was legitimate, but she ended up waiting weeks for fitness gear that never arrived.
A North Texas woman said her warranty company is a total waste. She got a warranty for her daughter's car, but when the vehicle needed repairs, the warranty company would not pay up.
A local contractor was arrested for theft after an NBC 5 Responds investigation. Samantha Chatman reports.
A local bride and groom were shocked to learn their wedding venue abruptly closed without warning, and without giving them a refund, just a few months before their big day.
NBC 5 Responds helped a Plano woman get more than $800 back after a travel insurance company denied her claim.
Last month, we told you about a North Texas couple that was involved in a bad online deal with a flag company. An artist in Frisco saw their story and created a memorable piece of art, free of charge.
Two North Texans reached out to NBC 5 Responds after they said Greyhound misplaced their bags and couldn't provide any answers.
Veterans across the country aren't too happy with an online company that claims to support men and women in service. Dozens of consumers say they never received their orders and want their money back.
We first told you about a North Texas mom who lost $1,800 when her daughter's birthday venue closed abruptly. An NBC 5 viewer saw the story and wanted to help.
Click Here to Meet the NBC 5 Responds Team
More Consumer Reports »
More Recall Alerts »


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New York -- NBC Universal CEO Jeff Zucker said that his company’s joint online video venture with News Corp. – dubbed Hulu – is expected to go live next year, adding that the decision to create its own online video outlet – and to cancel a deal for NBCU videos on Apple’s iTunes service – was driven by simple economics.
NBCU pulled its videos from iTunes in August. In October it announced the Hulu joint venture.
Zucker said that while he believes iTunes is a “fantastic” service, he added that NBCU content represented about 40% of the videos downloaded from the site. At the same time, NBCU’s take from iTunes was about $15 million in profit last year.
“One of the biggest things I struggle with is to make sure we’re not replacing dollars with pennies,” Zucker said at the UBS Securities Media & Entertainment conference Monday.
Zucker said that while $15 million in profits was “nothing to sneeze at,” it also was not a game changer for NBCU.
“There is no place that I can think of where the retailer also gets to set the wholesale price,” Zucker said. All we asked for is the opportunity to set a variable price structure, even with just one program. Apple was not willing to do that.”
Hulu is currently in beta test with about 60,000 users and seven charter advertisers. While he would not set a firm date for the official launch of the service, he said “after the first of the year we would look to go live with it.”
Zucker also expressed concern about the ongoing writers strike, adding that while it is not seriously affecting NBCU at the moment, he hoped for a quick resolution.
Members of the Writer’s Guild of America were given a new contract proposal by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) last Thursday and are scheduled to re-enter discussions with the studios on Tuesday. But he also managed to throw a dig concerning the writer’s demands for a piece of digital revenue.
“Hopefully we can begin a real dialog tomorrow,” Zucker said. “The issues on the table, the writers have decided that these are the issues they were willing to go on strike for. It’s difficult to understand how they can have a sense where we are given the reality of the digital economy. Hopefully we can come to an agreement in the next few days.”
Zucker would not speculate on how a prolonged writer’s strike would impact NIBCU’s upfront if it lasted until May. But he did say the networks would survive, albeit in a slightly different form.
Zucker said that he was not considering the strike would last that long, adding that the upfront has two different components – the much hyped presentations of the seasons new shows and the months-long selling period that follows it.
“It [the upfront] is the most efficient was to auction off the time to advertisers, I don’t think that will change,” Zucker said. “Whether we still make a grand presentation of the [fall] schedule; there is no rule that you have to do that way.”
Zucker said no such changes are currently being contemplated.
Zucker also tried to squelch talk that NBCU is up for sale. He stated that General Electric Chairman Jeff Immelt (GE owns NBCU) has been a big supporter of the networks.
“Jeff [Immelt] has been incredibly clear that NBCU is not for sale,” Zucker said.
The smarter way to stay on top of the multichannel video marketplace. Sign up below.


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Spotify openly criticized its rival firm Apple on its new platform that enables its subscribers to manage their services prudently, the subscription bundle as all in one rather than splitting into bits as usual. Spotify, a Swedish firm strictly for streaming music claims that the Apple abused its prominent position as the leader in the tech industry. Spotify also claims that the new apple all in one platform called Apple One was established in order to give Apple Music an unfair advantage.
Spotify seems to be speaking for other music streaming rivals such as Tidal, Deezer, Amazon, SoundCloud, Sony, Pandora, and many others, saying that the new Apple One platform is unhealthy for its rivals. Spotify and Apple usually charge $10 per month as subscription for their music streaming services, but the new apple all in one subscription platform costs $15 per month which enables access to enjoy its other services such as video games, television, and streaming music for just $15 a month.
Spotify, aiming at creating awareness to the public seeking the attention of the authorities in charge of keeping competition amongst the firm in check. The music streaming firm said, “we call on competition authorities to act urgently to restrict Apple’s anticompetitive behavior, which, if left unchecked, will cause irreparable harm to the developer community and threaten our collective freedoms to listen, learn, create and connect.”
In reply to the complaint made by Spotify, Apple said that the new all in one subscription platform has terms and conditions applied to it. The objective of the new subscription platform is strictly for the existing subscribers of its services. Apple explained further saying that their new customers can also benefit from their services in the discovery of its alternative Apple services.
Spotify has over 138 million paying subscribers compared to Apple Music’s 56 million and was the first in the industry to hit the number but it looks like the new Apple One may be brining the competition to the Swedish music streaming giant. But Apple One makes sense as Apple increases its push into the services area considering a slight slump in the number of iPhones it ships each year. Apple isn’t the only one looking to consolidate its services. Take Google for example, YouTube Premium gives you access to YouTube Music premium as well. Amazon offers about the same bundle on some of its services too so now it’s left to the authorities to decide whether Apple’s actions are anti-competitive or not.
But just like what social media companies have been doing for year where each takes a new feature if the rival and tries to perfect it to take on the other is well pronounced, Music streaming can’t be an exception. The primary objective of every business is to crush its competitors.
Apple One is basically set up to further make Apple’s vast number of services accessible to many. But Spotify has another hidden problem and this is accessibility. While you can only access Spotify in about 92 countries, Apple Music can be accessed in over 160 nations with Apple One looking to launch in over 100 countries and regions over the next one year


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Posted Jan 22, 2013By
HOUSTON—A Houston-area community college went into lockdown Tuesday amid reports of a shooter on campus. Lone Star College System issued an alert on its website Tuesday telling students and faculty on its Houston-area campus to take immediate shelter or avoid the campus. Police and a school spokesman have reported a shooting broke out between two people on the campus on Tuesday and there were three injuries, including one of the shooters. The Lone Star College System has an enrollment of 90,000 students and six college campuses, according to its website.
Apple’s highly anticipated larger iPhone 6 and 6 plus went on sale Friday morning to crowds of Apple fans acr
Crowds lined up at Apple stores around the world as the highly anticipated iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are being rel
Hundreds of people filled the Craneway Pavilion in Richmond, Calif., recently as the Kaiser Permanente School of Al
Apples new iPhone6′s go on sale tomorrow September 20, 2014.
Larry Ellison, 70, who for 37 years steered Oracle to become one of the world’s biggest and well-known techno
The King fire in Pollock Pines and nearby Sierra foothill communities is threatening more than 1,600 homes as it co


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- Appoints several leading technology services professionalsto lead regional sales team
- Opens sales offices in Canberra, Perth
Singapore, 18 May, 2010: Tech Mahindra, the brand name of Satyam Computer Services Ltd. (NYSE:SAY), a leading global consulting and IT services provider, announced today that it has strengthened its Asia Pacific (“APAC”) sales operations thereby reinforcing its business commitment to the region.
Accordingly, the company has augmented its regional sales team with several new executive appointments, each of who bring with them leading technology services expertise.
Among the senior level appointments are Ram Ramachandran, Head of Sales for ASEAN (“The Association of Southeast Asian Nations”), Darin McKay, Country Manager for New Zealand, Rahul Girotra, Head of SAP practice for APAC and Pranab Choudhury, Country Manager for Thailand.
Commenting on the new team additions, Rohit Gandhi, Head- APAC, Tech Mahindra said, “I am extremely excited about the new additions to our sales team. Their combined portfolio of regional experience will be an invaluable contribution to driving sales to expand our existing geographies and verticals as well as create new ones.”
As Head of Sales for ASEAN, Ram Ramachandran who will be based in Singapore, is responsible for leading Tech Mahindra’s sales and business development teams as well as for key corporate development initiatives in this geography. He joins Tech Mahindra from HCL Technologies where he spent 10 years in key executive positions across Singapore, Malaysia, Australia and the US. Ram has a strong track record in leading application and enterprise solution sales with a commitment towards delivering additional value.
Ram has a PGDM (post graduate diploma in management) in Information Management from SP Jain Institute of Management & Research, Mumbai and a Bachelor of Engineering from VEC (now called VIT University).
As Country Manager for New Zealand, Darin McKay’s immediate task is stepping up the company’s nascent business in that country. Having worked with prominent multinational technology vendors including Fujitsu and Vignette Corporation and setting up operations in New Zealand over the past twenty years, Darin has successfully established a dynamic track record for growing market share while maintaining effective client and partner relationships.
As head of Tech Mahindra’s SAP practice in APAC and based in Sydney, Rahul Girotra’s role encompasses managing the company’s SAP alliance network in the region as well as working with the pre-sales and sales teams for promoting this horizontal’s business objectives.
Having worked with leading technology and engineering companies across India, South east Asia, Australia and New Zealand, Rahul has 15 years of multiple domain experience including SAP related sales, practice management and solution consulting. in various industry verticals like Manufacturing, Financial Services, CPG / Retail and Utilities.
Prior to joining Tech Mahindra, he was head of Wipro’s SAP business for Australia and New Zealand. Rahul has an engineering degree from Manipal institute of Technology and an MBA from Fore School of Management, New Delhi.
As Country Manager for Thailand, Pranab Choudhury is responsible for developing new business opportunities in addition to overseeing Thailand operations.
Pranab brings with him a decade of broad based experience in the APAC IT industry including Thailand in various technical and operational positions such as project management as well as managing significant sales relationships.
“Tech Mahindra’s ability to attract such an extremely high caliber of candidates to these positions indicates the strong brand equity that Tech Mahindra continues to have in the technology services market,” added Rohit Gandhi.
While the Canberra sales force will focus on public sector business, the Perth team aims to leverage on the indigenous crude oil and natural gas boom in Perth.
“With these two additions to our sales presence, Tech Mahindra’s APAC sales operations are now stronger than ever before and we look forward to making new strides in our business there,” concluded Rohit Gandhi.
About Tech Mahindra
Tech Mahindra (NYSE: SAY) is a leading global business and information technology services company that leverages deep industry and functional expertise, leading technology practices, and an advanced, global delivery model to help clients transform their highest-value business processes and improve their business performance.
The company's professionals excel in enterprise solutions, supply chain management, client relationship management, business intelligence, business process quality, engineering and product lifecycle management, and infrastructure services, among other key capabilities.
Tech Mahindra is part of the $6.3 billion Mahindra Group, a global industrial federation of companies and one of the top 10 industrial firms based in India. The Group’s interests span financial services, automotive products, trade, retail and logistics, information technology and infrastructure development.
Tech Mahindra’s development and delivery centers in the US, Canada, Brazil, the UK, Hungary, Egypt, UAE, India, China, Malaysia, Singapore, and Australia serve numerous clients, including many Fortune 500 organizations.
For more information, see www.mahindrasatyam.com
Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/mahindra_satyam
For clarifications, write to us at: MediaRelations@mahindrasatyam.com
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. The forward-looking statements contained herein are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those reflected in the forward-looking statements. Tech Mahindra undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statements.


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ARSENAL bucked the trend in the typically loss-making world of top flight football yesterday, announcing a £36.6m pre-tax profit for financial year 2011-12.
London’s biggest club’s pre-tax earnings were up from £14.8m the previous year, although the rise was considerably boosted by player sales.
Retained profit came in at £29.6m. Revenues were down from £255.7m to £243m, yet this was due to lower property sales. Turnover from football activities rose from £225.4m to £235.3m.
Two thirds of Arsenal is owned by American businessman Stanley Kroenke, while billionaire Alisher Usmanov owns nearly 30 per cent.