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Brands love a good holiday, but some special occasions are still more, well, mainstream than others. For companies to acknowledge 4/20 — alternately known as “National Munchies Day” and “National Pot Enthusiast Day” — while remaining on brand requires a delicate balancing act. It works for Ben & Jerry’s. Less so for, say, Nike. Here, then, are a couple examples of brands ablaze today:
Ben & Jerry’s
The Vermont-based ice-cream company has a history of making stoner-friendly jokes. When Colorado legalized recreational marijuana last year, the company sent out this sly tweet.
BREAKING NEWS: We’re hearing reports of stores selling out of Ben & Jerry’s in Colorado. What’s up with that? pic.twitter.com/zBs8nyxZWn
— Ben & Jerry’s (@benandjerrys) January 2, 2014
This year, the company went all out, introducing a new product, the “Brr-ito,” an ice-cream burrito that is designed to cure just about anyone’s munchies. You can even make a “half-baked” version. The brand released this spot, a spoof of Apple’s “1984” ad, to announce the product. Denny’s Considering how clever the Denny’s account can be on a daily basis, this is a pretty sub-par attempt. Punny? Yes. Funny? Not unless you’re smoking something.
fork twenty, scramble eggs everyday — Denny’s (@DennysDiner) April 20, 2015
The restaurant chain’s Twitter account is apparently spending the day listening to its own Pandora station, featuring both established and budding artists.
— Applebee’s (@Applebees) April 20, 2015
Props to the publisher for a fun, non-pushy tweet that references one of Anna Faris’ best movies ever. But bonus points for the follow-up tweet that denied emphatically any reference to today’s date.
This just means that I’m looking for @annakfaris today, because I love her and would love to run into her. This isn’t a 4/20 Tweet.
— refinery29 (@Refinery29) April 20, 2015
Speaking on music, no brand is quite as synonymous with weed as Willie Nelson’s. To celebrate 4/20, Nelson released a new single: a duet with Merle Haggard called “It’s All Going to Pot.” He also created a weed-themed Spotify playlist including the new song, Bob Dylan’s “Rainy Day Women #12 & 35,” Cab Calloway’s “Reefer Man” and Peter Tosh’s “Legalize It.”
In the platforms’ arms race for creators, YouTube Shorts splashes the cash
The platform has lowered the eligibility threshold to earn from its Partner Program, meaning more creators can take advantage of its Shorts rev share deal
Brands extend inclusive marketing efforts beyond Black History Month
As more inclusive marketing becomes the norm, brands like IPSY, SiriusXM and Jack Daniels ramp up for Black History Month and beyond.
Snapchat’s pitch to advertisers is starting to feel as ephemeral as its content — and its Q4 results prove it
While it may be too soon to count out Snapchat's ads business entirely, rewiring it into something more appealing to advertisers won't be easy — especially when so many marketers aren't advertising much there in the first place.
SponsoredHow Jounce Media and Teads are framing SPO’s role in driving business outcomes for brands
As supply chain concerns abound, marketers are increasingly focusing on the main motivators that drive efficiency in their operations, including financial considerations, supply chain transparency and, most recently, environmental concerns. Sustainability has not always been at the forefront of the digital video buying process for the ad industry, but brands like Teads are taking steps […]
Marketers seek agency-of-record relationships with influencer agencies as influencer marketing matures
Marketers are moving away from a project-based approach to a long-term vision with influencer marketing agencies participating in strategy meetings along with other agencies rather than being an afterthought.
Why acquisitions could be the inevitable future for embattled in-game ad companies
As game developers and big tech companies alike realize the revenue-generating power of mobile gaming, they have engaged in a flurry of merger and acquisition activity.


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Amazon will plan to Build 2nd Headquarters in New works: Amazon.com Inc. said on Thursday that it will not go ahead with plans to build headquarters in New York after the growing protests of local politicians. The company said that it will not be able to reopen the search process at this time. We will go ahead in North Virginia and Nashville strategically and we will continue to work in 17 corporate offices and Tech Hubs of America and Canada. Amazon will plan to build 2nd headquarters in NewYork.
Amazon will plan to Build 2nd Headquarters in New works
The company started considering options last week. An online retailer has not taken any land for this project so that its plans will be easy to complete, on this matter a person told Reuters on Friday. Amazon announced that it would create 25,000 jobs and build two new headquarters located in the Long Island City neighborhood in Manhattan, across the borough of Queens across the Eastern River.
The Scheme ran out of opposition to local politicians, who opposed $ 2.8 billion in the Encouragement given to Amazon secretly by New York governor Andrew Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio.
Amazon will plan to Build 2nd Headquarters in New works, New York City is still open for business.
Even after the preliminary reports of last week that Amazon was reconsidering its investment in New York, top city officials including New York City Mayor Bill DeBlasio expressed confidence that the deal would be done.
Now the city will have to deal with the result that what could be a deal for your future as a center for a business-friendly destination and especially for technology companies.
“New York City is one of the most dynamic tech hubs in the world today, but in the future we will maintain this situation, there is no guarantee that this makes the news so disappointing,” Julie Samuels, Executive Director, Tech: NYC , A non-profit network of technology leaders in the city which counts Amazon as a member. For latest updates visit www.indiatimelines.com.
However, for now, Amazon is just a company. Google reiterated plans to develop a new campus in New York on Wednesday, which is part of the comprehensive real estate expansion throughout the United States.
John H.Banks Chairman of the Real Estate Board of New York. “New York City is still open for business and will maintain its position as a world-class center for technology and innovation.”, Banks said in a statement.

domain: news


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By Matt Clevenger
For Miami Valley Today
TIPP CITY — A potential buyer from Columbus is still looking at the former Tipp City Foodtown, although the store’s current owner says recent media reports have exaggerated how close the two parties are to actually making a deal.
“I’ve heard stuff on the radio that isn’t true,” store owner Jim Davis said. “I do not have a deal to sell the store. There are some guys from Columbus looking at it, but at this point in time there’s no deal.”
“I think they’re seriously looking at it,” Davis said, although he could not reveal the potential buyer’s name.
The only full-service grocery in Tipp City, Foodtown employed approximately 40 people until the store’s unexpected closing earlier this month. Davis, who also owns grocery stores in Trotwood, Dayton and Sidney, has said that if no one buys the Tipp City store, some employees would receive transfers while others could be laid-off.
Davis said he hopes to know more about the Tipp City location’s future sometime in the next week or so. The Trotwood Foodtown has also closed, but no one has expressed interest in purchasing that store yet.
“Nothing at all there,” Davis said.


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Independent Newtown bookstore Better Read Than Dead reached an in-principle enterprise agreement with its workers this month.
The enterprise bargaining agreement is a first for non-university bookshops in the country, and the workers are now the best paid booksellers in Australia.
Dymocks Chatswood Manager Mark Hopson told the Independent that the successful industrial action had set an inspiring precedent for workers in the retail sector more widely.
“This industrial action benefits everyone working in retail, not just staff within the book industry. As a retail worker we wear many hats that you don’t see behind the scenes, and it is important that this is recognised.”
In March, the unionised workers notified store management that they wanted to negotiate an EBA.
Management declined to bargain until June, conceding for a short period in which two unsuccessful meetings were adjourned.
The bookstore’s management said that initial claims for 5% wage increases, and 75 days of paid leave were denied because they would have bankrupted the store.
The workers voted unanimously on a protected industrial action ballot, which allowed them to strike without retaliation.
Unionised workers first implemented a ban on working overtime, handling cash and any work associated with window displays, in a second ban workers refused returns and click and collect orders.
This led to the alleged lockout of the workers by management and eventually, a third and successful round of negotiations.
Several of the triumphant key claims were outlined in the bookshop’s online statement.
“All staff will remain covered by the General Retail Industry Award pay guide which indicates a minimum casual pay of $27.23 per hour.
“[We] have additionally approved 26 weeks of paid parental leave, regardless of gender, and 20 days paid leave for all workers experiencing intimate partner, domestic or family abuse. The EBA will support casual staff to move to permanent part-time positions, at a pay rate above the award.”
Local story goes international
Inner West Councillor Pauline Lockie told the Independent, “Better Read Than Dead is a Newtown institution, and I know many of us in the local community were shocked to learn about the issues its staff were facing.”
International and local authors signedan open letter expressing their solidarity with the workers.
“When the open letter went public it blew up in the best possible way,” said BRTD worker Madeleine Gray in a Facebook live hosted by the Retail and Fast-Food Workers Union on Friday the 27th.
“Our job as booksellers is to share the word of authors with our community. Now the authors were sharing our words and our story.”
Josh Cullinan, Secretary of the Retail and Fast-Food Workers Union, encourages all retail and fast food workers to organise.
“Those workers have shown that anything is possible when workers come together in a fighting union, work collectively and take direct action,” he told the Independent.


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The Twitter page for Xbox Game Pass dropped a huge teaser hinting that Outriders may be on it’s way to the subscription service.
If you’re following Xbox Game Pass on Twitter, you already know that Melissa McGamepass loves to drop hints. After the huge news that Bethesda was coming on board, nobody expected another juicy story — that Outriders would be one of the next titles to join the service! That is, until Xbox Game Pass casually shared this email about a “Mysterious signal”:
The wording of this ‘official’ email is all but confirming that Outriders is being added to Xbox Game Pass. Melissa alludes to “a mysterious signal appearancing in the distance” which just so happens to be the premise of the game. Coincidence? Unlikely. If you’ve played the free demo for Outriders, you probably already know that one of the main missions features escaping an “anomaly.” Though Melissa didn’t name the title outright, it feels obvious that she’s referring to Outriders here.
Fans have been getting hyped up for Outriders ever since it’s reveal back in 2019. There is not much time left to wait, with Outriders coming to PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PC, and Google Stadia on April 1, 2021. However, this latest news may leave Xbox Game Pass members wondering if they should hold off on their preorders for Outriders for now.
More information may be on the way very soon, because Square Enix is hosting a Digital Showcase on March 18. It’s been reported that Outriders will be one of the games featured in the event, so this might mean that an official announcement regarding Xbox Game Pass could be on it’s way. Fans of the game will want to keep their eyes on Twitter for the latest updates this week to see if Melissa McGamepass has any more teasers to share!
UPDATE: Earlier today, Microsoft officially announced that Outriders is coming to Xbox Game Pass on day one!


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With the co-operation of Clear Channel's Adshel, Portland ran a six-sheet campaign for a fictional advertiser in two Yorkshire towns - one with a high ethnic population and one with a high white population.
The research revealed that campaigns that use imagery that resonates strongly with its respective audience are the most effective. For example, a campaign that featured an image associated with the Black Caribbean community recorded a 50 per cent higher unprompted recall among this ethnic group than across all others.
The research also found that ethnic minorities tended to be more inclined to take advertising at face value than white communities, who were slightly more cynical. This could be because the demographic profile of the ethnic community is younger than that of the indigenous population.
Ethnic communities also showed greater awareness of poster advertising than their white counterparts and were also more inclined than white people to say that posters were informative.
Andrew Atherton, the research and marketing director of Portland Outdoor and a director of ForeSite, said: "With the growth of outdoor as a medium, it's vital that the industry keeps pace with major societal changes, such as the growth and development of ethnic audiences in the UK and the effectiveness of outdoor in addressing them.
"From this exploratory study, it is clear that outdoor media has a significant role to play, and that advertisers must tailor their imagery precisely to their audience."


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Saint Nazaire, France and Geneva, Switzerland (June 28, 2021)– Today, MSC Cruises marked the of
Royal Caribbean recently revealed its restart plans.
This afternoon, Royal Caribbean revealed its return to service plans for sailings from the Unit
It is confirmed. Someday is here. Cruising in the U.S.
Norwegian Cruise Line just revealed many aspects of its newest ship, Norwegian Prima.
Yesterday, Disney Cruise Line revealed several elements of its new cruise ship debuting in Summ
Celebrity Beyond is the third ship in Celebrity Cruises popular Edge Class of ships.


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SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Hewlett-Packard Co. would be better off breaking up into two separate companies instead of tormenting shareholders by pursuing a prolonged turnaround attempt, according to an industry analyst.
UBS analyst Steven Milunovich concluded that HP should be split up after attending a
NEW YORK (AP) - A Sterne Agee analyst became the latest to bemoan Hewlett-Packard's tough road ahead Friday, downgrading the PC maker in the aftermath of its weak outlook.
HP's CEO Meg Whitman told analysts Wednesday that internal company turmoil and the weak economy will cause HP's
By JOSHUA FREEDAP Business Writer
A big drop in the unemployment rate wasn't enough for investors Friday. Stocks posted gains early in the day but faded to a mixed close.
The Labor Department said the unemployment rate had declined to 7.8 percent, its first dip below 8 percent in nearly
NEW YORK (AP) - Moody's Investors Service on Thursday placed its long-term credit ratings for Hewlett-Packard Co. on review for a possible downgrade after the technology company issued a disappointing forecast for the coming year.
HP's CEO Meg Whitman told analysts Wednesday that internal
By MICHAEL LIEDTKEAP Technology Writer
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Coming off the biggest quarterly loss in Hewlett-Packard's history, CEO Meg Whitman braced investors for even more trouble ahead as she methodically tries to fix a wide range of longstanding problems. Those challenges will be
By BREE FOWLERAP Business Writer
NEW YORK (AP) - Kodak said Friday that it plans to stop selling consumer inkjet printers and will eliminate 200 more jobs than previously projected as it requested more time to submit its framework for emerging from bankruptcy protection.
The Rochester, N.Y.-
NEW YORK (AP) - Computer and printer maker Hewlett-Packard said Wednesday that it has resolved an ink cartridge patent infringement lawsuit with Brazil's Rio Branco Ltda., a distributor of Maxprint ink cartridges.
HP had filed a suit in Brazil in April 2011, alleging that HP-compatible inkjet
By The Associated Press
Personal computer makers have been scrambling to adapt to a technological upheaval unleashed by Apple Inc.'s line of sleek devices such as the iPhone and iPad and by a shift toward Internet-based software services instead of programs installed on individual machines
By The Associated Press
Kodak postpones an auction of its imaging patent portfolios, though negotiations continue as it looks to sell the patents as it tries to emerge from bankruptcy protection. Here are key events in the history of Eastman Kodak Co.:
1880 - George Eastman begins commercial
By HANNAH DREIERAssociated Press
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - Online retailer Amazon.com has tried to become all things to all consumers, but in California, it is about to take on a role it has fought against for years: tax collector.
The change, which takes effect this weekend, comes after years


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FOREST PARK, Ga. – BroadRange Logistics (BroadRange), a leader in logistics and warehousing solutions, today announced its new customizable and ultra-flexible warehousing solutions for flooring companies at this week’s North American Floor Covering Distributors (NAFCD) conference in Colorado Springs, Nov. 14-16.
The company also appointed Don Finkell as the Vice Chairman of Flooring Logistics, a move that reinforces its commitment to excellence and innovation in the warehousing industry for flooring companies.
“The flooring industry has been experiencing transition and significant growth in recent years, and with this growth comes increased demand for efficient warehousing and logistics solutions,” said Ari Milstein, CEO of BroadRange. “With the addition of Don Finkell to our team, we are well-prepared to meet this demand, streamline operations, maximize efficiency for flooring companies and contribute to the industry’s ongoing growth and success.”
BroadRange has grown by 3,200 percent over the past three years and currently operates 11 warehouses across five states, covering seven million square feet. Key highlights of the company’s third-party logistics (3PL) warehousing solutions include:
● Ultra-Flexible Storage Options: BroadRange is best known for offering a range of some of the most flexible storage solutions tailored to the specific needs of flooring companies. Whether it’s hardwood, laminate, carpet or tile, BroadRange’s warehouses are equipped to handle various flooring materials and ensure safe storage and easy access.
● Advanced Inventory Management: The company’s inventory management system allows for real-time tracking and reporting, providing distributors with complete visibility into their flooring products. This feature enables efficient order fulfillment, reducing lead times and enhancing customer satisfaction.
● On-Time Delivery: With a strategic network of distribution centers, including two new warehouses in the Carpet Belt in Northwest Georgia offering 1.1 million square feet combined, BroadRange ensures on-time delivery of flooring products to distributors and retailers nationwide. The company’s commitment to reliability and timeliness is unmatched in the industry.
Finkell’s extensive background in the flooring industry spans more than 30 years and makes him a valuable addition to the BroadRange team. During his career, he’s held leadership positions at various flooring companies, including Shaw Industries. In 1988, he assumed the role of CEO at Anderson Hardwood Floors and successfully expanded the company until Shaw Industries acquired it in 2007, where he then took on the role of CEO for Shaw Hardwood. In 2013, Finkell founded American OEM in Tennessee, which has since become a part of AHF Products. Throughout his career, Finkell has also played key roles as chairman in several industry organizations, including the Hardwood Federation, the National Wood Flooring Association and the Decorative Hardwoods Association.
“I am truly impressed with BroadRange’s innovative approach to warehousing and their unwavering commitment to putting the customer first,” Finkell said. “I am thrilled to join the team and eager to leverage these capabilities to help the flooring industry harness the full potential of smart warehousing, driving growth and success for our valued partners.”
About BroadRange Logistics
BroadRange Logistics is an industry-leading end-to-end provider of ultra-flexible warehousing and fulfillment services. Serving businesses of all sizes, BroadRange offers comprehensive short- and long-term solutions, enabling companies to effortlessly navigate the intricacies of supply chain management, including warehousing, fulfillment, and other value-added services. The company ranked No. 163 overall and the No. 6 logistics company on the 2023 Inc. 5000, the annual list of the fastest-growing private companies in America. Managing seven million square feet of warehouse space, BroadRange operates across 11 prime locations in five states within the United States. For more information about BroadRange, visit: www.BroadRangeLogistics.com
Wilkinson + Associates for BroadRange Logistics


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The acceleration of the digital transformation resulted in a surge of online transactions, greater adoption of digital payments, and increased fraud.
As more daily activities — work, education, shopping, and entertainment — shift online, fraud is also on the rise. A trio of recent reports paint a bleak picture, highlighting concerns that companies are experiencing increasing losses from fraud and that the situation will get worse over the coming year.
In KPMG’s survey of senior risk executives, 67% say their companies have experienced external fraud in the past 12 months, and 38% expect the risk of fraud committed by external perpetrators to somewhat increase in the next year. External fraud, which includes credit card fraud and identity theft, is specifically referring to incidents perpetuated by individuals outside the company. For most of these respondents, there was a financial impact: Forty-two percent say their organizations experienced 0.5% to 1% of loss as a result of fraud and cybercrime.
On a macro level, merchant losses to online payment fraud will exceed $206 billion cumulatively for the period between 2021 and 20255, according to Juniper Research.
Social-engineering tactics such as phishing messages, fake social media profiles, and fake mobile applications are effective for a quick cash-out, says fraud and risk intelligence company Outseer (spun out of RSA Security in June) in its fourth quarter “Fraud and Payments Report.” Malware such as Trojans are being utilized less often because they require more resources to operate and monetize, Outseer says.
More consumers taking a “digital-first approach to everything from shopping, dating, and investing” makes fraud even more attractive to criminals, Experian notes in its annual “Future of Fraud Forecast.” One area that fraud is growing is in the buy now Read more:https://bit.ly/347UqGM


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Sony has revealed the PlayStation 5’s official pricing, together with the launch date. The much awaited console is coming this November 12 in select key markets and November 19 to the rest of the world.
As for the price, the PS5 Digital Edition will retail for USD 399.99 (which is around PHP 20,000), while the PS5 with an Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive is going to be priced at USD 499.99 (~PHP 25,000).
PlayStation 5 availability, specs
As mentioned, the PS5 is to coming select markets — US, Japan, Canada, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, and South Korea — on November 12. On November 19, the console will roll out globally.
As for the specs, reports say the PS5 will have a custom AMD processor with an integrated Ryzen Zen 2 CPU and an Radeon RDNA 2-based GPU. It has 16GB RAM with 825GB SSD storage, and can push up to 4K resolution video.
You might also like: Sony WH-1000XM4 noise cancelling headphones now available in the Philippines
Sony also announced several new games coming to the PS5, including:
- Devil May Cry 5 Special Edition (Capcom)
- Final Fantasy XVI (Square Enix)
- Five Nights at Freddy’s Security Breach (Steel Wool Studios and ScottGames)
- Hogwarts Legacy (Warner Bros. Games)
- A new God of War title (Santa Monica Studio)\
Apart from the previously announced games such as as Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, and Demon’s Souls, most PS4 titles will be playable on the latest console.


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Hong Kong (HK) Digital TV News
i-CABLE Communications surrenders Hong Kong pay TV licence
Feb 14, 2023 – i-CABLE Communications (Stock Code: 1097) has announced that its subsidiary, Hong Kong Cable Television, has surrendered its pay TV licence. The Group will continue to provide free TV programme services and other businesses as usual.
News categories: i-CABLE Communications, TSANG On Yip, Cable TV, Digital TV, Hong Kong, Regulation
MyTV Super selects Witbe for production monitoring
Nov 22, 2022 – Witbe (Euronext: FR0013143872 – ALWIT) has announced it will support MyTV Super's media operation center in its effort to deliver the best possible streaming video quality for its myTV SUPER platform to customers in Hong Kong.
News categories: Witbe, MyTV Super, Mathieu Planche, Rex Ching, Digital TV, Hong Kong, QoE, Streaming
TV5MONDE adds TV5MONDE Pacifique HD to its bouquet on AsiaSat 5
Sep 27, 2022 – Asia Satellite Telecommunications has announced that TV5MONDE has selected AsiaSat 5 to distribute TV5MONDE Pacifique HD to serve audiences in regions of North East Asia and Oceania.
News categories: AsiaSat, TV5MONDE, Ina Lui, Alexandre Muller, Content Distribution, Digital TV, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Oceania, Satellite
Amino software powers integration of pay TV and streaming at Now TV
Jun 21, 2022 – Amino has collaborated with Now TV in Hong Kong to integrate its IPTV service with OTT services such as HBO GO and Netflix. Amino Engage simplifies Now TV's device and app management while AminoOS enables a viewing experience that integrates OTT and IPTV.
News categories: Aferian, HKT, Donald McGarva, Derek Choi, Android TV, Digital TV, Hong Kong, IPTV, Set Top Box
Now TV introduces 'Now H1' Android TV box
May 24, 2022 – Now TV (SEHK:6823) has launched Now H1, a smart device that runs on the Android TV OS and enables Now H1 users to enjoy a world of entertainment with Now TV movies, drama, sports and edutainment, as well as all their favourite personal apps from Google Play.
News categories: HKT, Google, Now TV, Derek Choi, Michael Yue, Android TV, Digital TV, Hong Kong, IPTV, Set Top Box
PCCW Media selects Viaccess-Orca for Euro 2020 'Watch Party' playback
Jul 6, 2021 – Viaccess-Orca (VO) has announced that the VO Secure Player is enabling PCCW Media to offer a 'Watch Party' feature for its Now TV customers during the ongoing UEFA EURO 2020 football tournament.
News categories: Viaccess-Orca, PCCW, Dokyung Lee, Belinda Chan, Digital TV, Hong Kong, IPTV, Media Player, UX
Amino working with PCCW Media to renew Now TV UX
Jun 15, 2021 – Amino is working with PCCW Media to upgrade the UX of its Now TV service. PCCW Media will use the AminoOS STB software stack and Amino Engage, Amino’s SaaS service management solution.
News categories: Amino, PCCW, Donald McGarva, Derek Choi, Digital TV, Hong Kong, QoE, Set Top Box, UX
Accedo launches out-of-the-box sports video solution
Apr 21, 2021 – Accedo has launched an out-of-the-box sports video solution. Accedo Play – Sports enables sports organizations to launch, manage and monetize services with a tailored video-centric fan experience.
News categories: Accedo, Michael Lantz, Content Distribution, Digital TV, Hong Kong, Streaming, Worldwide
OTT competition to hinder traditional pay TV growth in Hong Kong
Mar 26, 2021 – According to GlobalData, pay TV revenue in Hong Kong will grow at a very sluggish CAGR of 0.7% between 2020 and 2025, primarily due to intense competition from pure play OTT video streaming service platforms such as Viu.
News categories: GlobalData, Deepa Dhingra, Digital TV, Hong Kong, Market Research
- Bitmovin and MainStreaming partner to deliver broadcast-quality video streams
- New products and more countries for Amazon-built TV range
- Pay TV subscribers in Eastern Europe to fall to 73 million in 2028
- VIZIO selects Whip Media for WatchFree+ ad revenue reporting
- Qwilt partners with Telefónica to provide CDN services in Spain
- Ateme launches 'audience-aware' streaming solution
- SAPEC to develop encoder for first live 8K DTT broadcast
- Big Media launches The New Frontier channel with VlogBox
- Bedrock expands 6play max availability to more connected devices
- Slower AR/VR headset shipment growth expected for 2023
- Netgem completes sale of Fibre France business to Nordnet
- Integral Ad Science ad verification goes live with Netflix
- DoubleVerify media quality measurement now available to Netflix advertisers
- EU clears acquisition of VOO and Brutélé by Orange, subject to conditions
- Liberty Global Belgium to launch takeover bid for Telenet Group Holding
- Proximus extends partnership with ThinkAnalytics
- Allente launches Google TV device powered by 3SS and SEI Robotics
- Streaming TV now most-watched TV form in the EU5
- StarHub introduces interactive advertising with Hoppr
- Breezeline Stream TV launches in Pennsylvania


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John Schnatter, founder of Papa John’s pizza chain, told a British interviewer yesterday that customers shouldn’t eat more than a couple of slices of pizza if they are concerned about their health.
He was responding to a question from presenter Adam Shaw about whether he was concerned about the impact of the British government’s anti-obesity drive on pizza sales.
“No. Pizza’s actually healthy for you if you don’t eat too much of it,” Schnatter replied, adding, “You can’t eat five or six slices but if you eat one or two slices it’s very nutritious.”
Not exactly breaking health news but very interesting coming from the founder of Papa John’s. Schnatter is over in the United Kingdom trying to get more small business owners to open a Papa John’s franchise.


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The Arizona Corporation Commission has approved new rates for Tucson Electric Power customers. The new rates will take effect July 1.
The company stated the average monthly bill of a residential customer with a usage of about 800 kWh is expected to increase by less than $4. The rate increase, which is TEP’s first since 2008, will allow the company to recover costs of investments resulting in greater system reliability and improved safety performance.
The rate structure includes simplified time-of-use rates that allow customers to pay less for power at certain times of the day, according to the company. Customers can also partially offset monthly bill increases by participating in one or more of the company’s energy efficiency programs.
Read more business news


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Two individuals were robbed by gunpoint while walking on the 200 block of North Euclid Avenue at around midnight on July 13, according to police.
The victims, a man from Forest Park and a female Oak Park resident, were walking on the sidewalk of the aforementioned block when two men approached them, one brandishing a handgun.
The unknown offenders then demanded that the victims hand over their property. The second man held a “hard object” against the woman, prompting her to give him her purse, which contained a white Apple iPhone 5, passport, $40 in cash and several other miscellaneous items.
The male victim gave the offenders a brown leather wallet and a black Apple iPhone 4s. The offenders then fled northbound on Euclid Avenue. The stolen items were estimated to be valued at $1,120.


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The latest Hitman game, Hitman: Absolution, was released back in 2012 and if you were wondering about the fate of the franchise, you can rest assured it has not been cancelled entirely as Square Enix has confirmed that a new Hitman game, tentatively referred to as Hitman 6, is currently in development at IO Interactive. Earlier it had been reported that the game Square Enix had been working on had been cancelled. This was revealed by a LinkedIn profile of Richard Knight, a senior designer at the company, whose profile showed that the game had been cancelled back in 2013. Thankfully that is not the case as Square Enix has since stepped forward to clear any confusion.
According to a statement released by Square Enix, “IO Interactive is developing a new, AAA Hitman game that will be coming to PC and next-gen consoles and Square Enix Montreal is fully focused on mobile development of games some of which are related to the Hitman franchise. We look forward to sharing more details about these titles later this year.” Knight’s profile did mention something about mobile development but as it turns out, it’s a case of “and” and not “instead of” with regards to new Hitman-related games. Not much is known about the next Hitman game, but we guess fans can now breathe a sign of relief knowing that the game has not been cancelled, although how long we would have to wait for its release is still a mystery.
Filed in Square Enix.. Read more about


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A rising number of young Asian-American style designers are taking the American fashion world by storm with their original designs influenced by their Asian heritage. In the meantime China is displaying no sign of backing down its name for protests in opposition to South Korea, that are apparently erupting across the country with videos of bloggers destroying Korean goods going viral and the state-run International Times working anti-Korea editorials.
As well as, quick access to Asian media, resembling movies and anime, has made Asian fashion more well-liked in Western society. Subsequently, if you are trying to find an extensive website for the style wants in your entire household, you already know the very best place to look.
I hold monitor of Korean traits by web sites akin to and - there has been an inflow of Korean trends and news on these sites lately. Even in the event you're not in search of a specific merchandise, you may end up coming back to these superbly curated websites for Korean style inspiration.
Mr Garion Tan, 23, retail assistant His favourite South Korean fashion manufacturers: Accessories, men's and ladies's apparel model R.Shemiste for its caps. Like many Korean It-girls, the 22-12 months-previous appeared in a supporting position in Korean drama Younger-Pal. Its mission is to grow Korean vogue companies by serving to to build business partnerships to compete within the international fashion market.
Fashion tendencies do not endure no matter the fact that this on the web shop trades the garments for cheap costs. It's also possible to look at new korean dramas and discover types which you could as effectively integrate into your appears. Brands resembling Ader Error are deft at re-packaging parts of Western and Asian streetwear, producing visuals more synonymous with a Western lens.


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Ford Motor Co. is dominating the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, both in terms of floor space and product news.
The return of the Detroit auto show, the first in over three years, is an opportunity to interact with customers and give them the chance to experience Ford's new vehicle lineup, says Suzy Deering, Ford global chief marketing officer.
The automaker unveiled the 2024 Mustang, rumored to be the last gas-powered iteration of the popular sports car. The seventh-generation vehicle debuted Sept. 14 at an hour-long evening event outside the Detroit convention center.
Hundreds of media members, employees and enthusiasts gathered to see the new vehicle, with a model lineup including a convertible version as well as the “Dark Horse” edition, the first new Mustang performance series in 21 years, featuring a new 5.0-liter V8 projecting 500 horsepower. It comes standard with a six-speed manual transmission.
The livestream of the event already has garnered more than a half-million views on YouTube.
Ford Executive Chairman Bill Ford announced at the event that the Mustang will soon return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans, an endurance-focused sports car race held annually in France.
“Mustang is raced at all the great tracks around the world, but there is no race or track that means more to our history than Le Mans,” Ford told the crowd. “It's where we took on Ferrari and won in the 1960s -- and where we returned 50 years later and shocked the world again. Mustang will go back to Le Mans.”
More than 1,000 Mustangs of an array of model years gathered at the nearby Ford headquarters in Dearborn for “The Stampede” into downtown Detroit ahead of the reveal.
Attendees were encouraged to wear attire inspired by their favorite period in Mustang history, from the 1960s through today, to celebrate every decade of the car's existence. The top costumes earned prizes, including a two-year lease of an all-new Mustang GT for the first-place winner.
Several of the historic “pony cars” were available Sept. 17 for a “Take-A-Spin” event.
The six vintage Mustangs began their caravan to Detroit from the LeMay - America’s Car Museum in Tacoma, Washington, on Sept. 6 with stops along the way across nine states.
Back at the Detroit auto show, attendees during the nine-day show can opt to ride in a Bronco SUV at the Built Wild Drive Track or experience the acceleration of the F-150 Lightning and Mustang Mach-E at the “Built to Electrify” track.
Throughout the show, Ford also will host demonstrations and Q&As with product specialists and Ford engineers. These include sessions on electric vehicles that will cover home charging, route planning and charging on the road. Another will focus on connected technologies.
Ford’s Lincoln division also used the show to unveil the 2023 Lincoln Corsair compact SUV, which has segment-first features, including available Lincoln ActiveGlide hands-free features.
The vehicle is designed to attract younger Lincoln clients, said Michael Sprague, North America director, Lincoln.
“We want the drive experience to be even more effortless and personal, and the new Corsair will deliver that with advanced technology and new features,” Sprague says in a release.
The Lincoln exhibit at the Detroit auto show also featured the Ford luxury division’s two recently revealed concept vehicles, the Lincoln Star and Model L100. Concept vehicles typically offer experimental design and engineering elements -- which could indicate Lincoln’s desire to be seen as forward-thinking.


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Bioventus (Nasdaq:BVS) announced today that it successfully completed the divestiture of its wound business to LifeNet Health.
Earlier this month, the Durham, North Carolina-based company announced an agreement to divest the business to LifeNet.
The sale includes Bioventus’ skin substitutes, TheraSkin and TheraGenesis. The transaction includes a total cash consideration of $85 million. That features $35 million at close, $5 million deferred 18 months and $45 million in potential earn-out payments.
Bioventus continues to offer pain treatments, restorative therapies and surgical solutions.
At the time of closing, Bioventus expects to net approximately $30 million after fees and expenses. It intends to use that cash to repay existing debt. Bioventus said the transaction enables its “improved focus on execution.” The company prevously said its divestiture reduces its annual revenue by approximately $40 million and its adjusted EBITDA…


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The 58th International ANDY Awards | 4th ANDYs LIVE The ANDYs evolution continues, and we remain committed to sustainable change – believing in some core values as a way forward. Diversity…
Thought Leadership From Our Members
While COVID-19 will be a lingering source of uncertainty, it shouldn’t be considered the defining factor in the growth of connected TV (CTV) specifically. It’s true the pandemic disrupted the advertising industry as a whole — including an initial significant downshift in advertising and reduced media spending followed by ~15.6% growth in 2021. Predictions for 2022, however, suggest a return to pre-pandemic levels of spending, and the opportunities for savvy marketers to harness the advantages CTV offers make it a prime candidate for that spending.
Metaverse, NFT, AI, VR, crypto, these once seemingly farfetched tech concept are ubiquitous in this year’s CES, taking place in Vegas and attended by thousands of attendees all over the world from the comfort of their homes. If you are still skeptical about virtual reality, this is your cue to take a moment and realize, you are already in it.
4 Helpful Hints to Elevate Your Digital Out-of-Home Creatives From Julia Lombardo, Vistar Media


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Hollywood, CA (PressExposure) March 21, 2008 -- Artist McKenzie, winner of the first ever ARTV Fine Art Awards for Mixed Media, has unveiled her newest painting exclusively at ParkMara Galleries in St. Augustine, Florida. "We are excited to be working with ParkMara Galleries" says manager Steve Rice. "Harbor at Lipari is an amazing painting and we are thrilled to be making it available as a limited edition giclee on canvas to the public through their gallery. "Harbor at Lipari" is featured in the new book entitled "McKenzie- An Artist's Journey" to be released through major book stores across the country next month. Along with the exclusive painting, ParkMara Galleries will be showcasing eight other paintings by the artist. They are available as hand-embellished limited edition giclees on canvas, as well as, limited edition signed metallic prints. "Her Italy Painting Series has been extremely popular with her collectors around the world. In fact, we have a waiting list for her originals and have sold out most of her limited editions", says Marcia Lynne, marketing director for McKenzie Art Studios.. "I am so happy that my paintings have been so well received. Italy is a passionate place with infinite beauty...It's surreal skies and glorious colors inspire me..." says Artist McKenzie.
The award-winning Italy Painting Series can be currently seen on cable television in New Jersey and Hawaii. An HDTV DVD screensaver of her art will be made available this summer to benefit charity. For all the latest news please visit http://www.McKenzieArtStudio.com or the newest flash gallery at http://mckenzieartstudio.ifp3.com/ Gallery Contact: Park Mara Galleries 210 St. George St. #104, St. Augustine, FL 32084 904.829.1802 View video at [http://www.viddler.com/explore/hyperkenzie/videos/8/]


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2020 turned out to be an annus horribilis globally, with South Africa’s motoring sector unable to escape the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The crippling effects of the virus resulted in a massive decline in new vehicle sales of 156,163 units, or 29.1%, from 536,612 units in 2019 to the 380,449 units in 2020, data from the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa showed.
Vehicle sales are linked to the strength of the economy and the pandemic not only deepened an existing economic recession, but its severe impact resulted in that the domestic new vehicle market in 2020 dropped back to the levels of two decades ago, it said.
“General expectations are for South Africa’s economy to rebound sharply in 2021, from a very low base in 2020. However, tough months are still ahead before business and consumer confidence will be rebuild.
“Prospects for faster growth over the medium term are likely to be constrained by new Covid-19 waves accompanied by stricter lockdown measures, needed fiscal tightening and persistent power-supply disruptions,” Naamsa said.
It noted that noted that the automotive industry contributes 6.4% to GDP – 4.0% manufacturing and 2.4% retail, and is responsible for approximately 457,000 jobs across the economy’s formal sector.
Bakkie sales continued to show resilience in a turbulent year in 2020, accounting for three brands inside the top five vehicles sold overall, led by Toyota Hilux, with Ford Ranger in third, and Isuzu D-Max fifth.
Top 10 best-selling bakkies 2020
1. Toyota Hilux — 31,263
- Single cab priced from: R298 400
- Double cab priced from: R449 200
2. Ford Ranger — 18,846
- Single cab priced from: R328 000
- Double cab priced from R462 900
3. Isuzu D-Max — 12,704
- Single cab priced from: R309 500
- Double cab priced from: R480,400
4. Nissan NP200 — 10,480
- Priced from R195 000
5. Nissan NP300 — 5,043
- Single cab priced from: R269 500
- Double cab priced from: R365 400
6. Mahindra Scorpio Pik Up — 3,093
- Single cab priced from: R212 499
- Double cab priced from: 322 499
7. Land Cruiser Pickup — 2,475
- Single cab priced from: R876 200
- Double cab priced from: R700 900
8. Hyundai H100 Bakkie — 2,197
- Priced from R298 500
9. GWM Steed — 1,675
- Single cab priced from: R192 900
- Double cab priced from: R212 900
10. VW Amarok — 1,528
- Double cab priced from R704,100


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Click to edit...
The Covid-19 round-up
The news and data you need to know about the coronavirus outbreak's impact on the food industry
NEWS AND NUMBERS
US meat giant Smithfield Foods has revealed it made an underlying operating loss of $72m in its second quarter as the company was forced to spend $350m on measures to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic. Smithfield, owned by China's WH Group, is the US' largest pork producer.
Danish Crown to halt operations at Ringsted site
Denmark-based meat giant Danish Crown has announced it is closing its domestic slaughterhouse in Ringsted for a week after a Covid-19 outbreak amongst employees there. In all, nearly 150 employees at the site, some 60km from Copenhagen, have now contracted coronavirus.
Reuters has revealed one of Brazilian meat giant BRF's plants accounted for around 29% of Covid-19 cases at slaughterhouses in Brazil's Parana state. Quoting data from Parana health authorities, it said BRF's Toledo unit had 1,138 confirmed out of 3,979 Covid-19 cases at all the state's slaughterhouses up until 24 July.
Bakkavor to up testing at UK plant
Private-label supplier Bakkavor has seen cases of Covid-19 rise at one of its factories in England and will this week test all staff at the site. All 1,600 employees and 90 agency staff at the company's facility in Newark will be tested.
Unilever shuts India plant amid Covid-19 infections
Unilever has closed a factory in India after staff at the facility tested positive for Covid-19. The FMCG giant told just-food that workers at the plant in the northern city of Haridwar had been diagnosed with the novel coronavirus.
US food major General Mills, the owner of the Yoplait yogurt brand, plans to increase the use of co-manufacturers to keep up with the elevated demand from the coronavirus pandemic. The Minnesota-based firm will expand the use of third-party manufacturers by around 20%.
New measures cut Australian meat production
Meat production in Victoria, Australia is to be scaled back as part of new lockdown measures after a jump in Covid-19 cases the state. For six weeks from 7 August, meat-processing plants in Victoria will not be allowed to have more than two-thirds of their workforce on-site at any time.


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NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Sears Holdings Corporation (SHLD) has a newfound desire to form a real estate investment trust that would hold hundreds of stores. Meanwhile, it faces ongoing challenges just being a good old-fashioned retailer.
Must Read: 7 Stocks Warren Buffett Is Selling in 2014
Friday Sears announced that it is actively exploring a REIT transaction involving 200 to 300 owned properties, through a rights offering to shareholders. Its shares soared 26% higher in premarket trading.
Moving to a REIT structure, the company would sell certain properties to the trust but continue to operate stores in those locations by leasing them back from the REIT. In such a transaction, called a "sale-leaseback," Sears believes that it would realize "substantial proceeds," to "further enhance its liquidity."
A REIT by definition has to generate at least three quarters of its income from rents or interest on mortgage financing. One big advantage is they pay no corporate income tax in exchange for paying out 90% of their taxable income to shareholders through dividends.
Sears is nurturing the expectation among investors that, by raising cash in this manner, it can prevent a bankruptcy as a result of years of sales and profit declines.
The catch is that Sears has not currently secured its partial REIT status, only offering a signal to investors that it could raise cash from its asset base in this type of approach.
"There can be no assurance that the company will pursue such a transaction, nor can there be any assurance that, even if pursued, such a transaction could be entered into and consummated on satisfactory financial and other terms," pointed out the company in today's Securities and Exchange Commission filing.
The news comes on the heels of further cash-raising efforts by Sears ahead of the holiday season, including a $400 million short-term loan with its largest shareholder Edward Lampert and securing $380 million as part of a rights offering from an interest in Sears Canada. Further, in early October, Sears announced that it has entered into lease agreements with overseas fashion retailer Primark at seven stand-alone stores, essentially bypassing landlords in order to become a rent collector.Must Read: Malls Aren't Dead, Long Live the Mall!


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Amish Fiction: Bonnet Books Rise in Popularity
- Friday, March 11, 2011
In 1997, The Shunning by Beverly Lewis, published by Bethany House, ushered in a new subgenre of Christian fiction. Fourteen years later, Christian Amish fiction has exploded.
“Sales of Amish fiction continue to be strong. There used to be one company doing Amish fiction, now there are a dozen. Basically every CBA publishing house doing fiction is either publishing or planning to publish an Amish novel,” says Chip MacGregor, president of MacGregor Literary Inc.
According to Pubtrack Consumer, in 2010, fiction sales accounted for around 18 percent of all religious book sales. In a 2009 Wall StreetJournal article, a Barnes and Noble buyer said that Amish fiction accounted for 15 of the chain’s top 100 religious fiction books. Today, nearly every Christian publishing house releases Amish fiction titles.
For example, in 2010, 11 out of 20 fiction titles published by Harvest House were Amish fiction. This year, Harvest House will bring out at least nine Amish titles. Nick Harrison, senior editor, says Amish titles comprise a little more than half of its fiction list.
“Amish fiction titles are, by far, one of the strongest categories in our published fiction. Sales have been very positive throughout our Amish books,” says Shane White, national Christian trade sales manager for Harvest House.
Thomas Nelson put out seven Amish fiction titles last year and will do the same number in 2011. “Amish is a major subgenre that we specialize in, as well as part of our overall growth in romance. Romance (historical, contemporary, Amish, etc.) continues to grow and currently makes up more than 50 percent of our new titles each year,” said Allen Arnold, vice president and publisher of Thomas Nelson.
Even secular publishers have started to jump on the Amish fiction bandwagon. “Publishers notice when authors start selling tens of thousands of titles, so the general market has already moved in to offer Amish settings, although sometimes without the redemptive messages,” says MacGregor.
Nicknamed “bonnet books” by fans because of the ubiquitous covers showing women wearing prayer kapps, Amish fiction generally tells a story—either contemporary or historical—set within an Amish community. “Readers want to imagine a way of life that isn’t dictated by busy schedules. A place where Hollywood isn’t the final say on what’s relevant. The most important things to an Amish person are God, family and community,” says Natalie Hanemann, a Thomas Nelson senior editor who handles Amish fiction.
That definition has expanded to include other genres under the Amish label. “It’s interesting to see that what started as gentle romances set in Amish country now extend to historical novels, romantic suspense, women’s fiction, mysteries, literary novels, thrillers—there’s even some Amish horror and paranormal being produced,” says MacGregor.
Faith plays an integral role within the books. “At the core, I would say that an Amish story does include main characters who adhere to the Amish faith, or at least they did at one time,” says Vannetta Chapman, author of A Simple Amish Christmas. Chapman is currently writing Amish books for three publishers.
“Many purists, however, feel that the only real Amish books are the ones with an Amish main character struggling with Amish-related issues in mostly-Amish surroundings,” adds Mindy Starns Clark, author of the nonfiction A Pocket Guide to the Amish Life and three Amish novels, including The Amish Midwife.
Why readers flock to Amish fiction is no mystery, these experts say. As Harvest House’s Harrison puts it, “The perceived simplicity and stability of Amish life is a large component of the genre’s popularity.”
Hanemann points to three things that make the books appealing to readers. “First, it allows the reader to escape from the trappings of modern life into a simpler time. Second, we have a natural curiosity about self-marginalized groups and fiction allows us to learn about them while still being entertained. Third, women in particular love to imagine a life where their main priorities are their faith, their families and their friends,” she says.
“It’s a romanticized past where the people worked the land, lived quiet lives and had a strong faith,” adds MacGregor. “It speaks to the best of American values of God, work, family and achievement. Yet in the midst of the culture, people were living full lives—lives filled with romance and joy and heartbreak and passion.”
In particular, many Christians have embraced Amish fiction for its portrayal of faith. “We share the same faith and the same values, but we live out that faith in different ways in some respect. The Amish offer choices, give us ways to simplify our lives, and that can be a good thing,” says Chapman.
“I think Christian readers find it deeply satisfying to learn more about characters who believe as we do, but who have chosen to live out that faith in an extremely radical way,” says Clark. “The big differences between us and them aren’t about theology, but about how they have chosen to live out that theology in their day-to-day lives.”
A Saturated Market?
Some publishers believe the Amish fiction category has not reached a saturation point, while others think that place could be reached in the near future. “The Amish category has reached a maturation, rather than saturation, point. Amish fiction has been—and continues to be—a category that attracts passionately loyal readers,” says Arnold of Thomas Nelson.
“I don’t think it has reached a saturation point yet. The sales are still very strong. Whether it will reach such a point in the future is anyone’s guess. Amish-themed fiction could potentially endure as a genre, as we have seen prairie and Western-themed Christian fiction do, for example,” says Elizabeth Colclough, marketing copywriter and co-creator of AmishReader.com.
MacGregor thinks a market saturation point for Amish fiction is the wrong question to be asking. “In the 1950s, people were asking this question about westerns. In the 1960s, it was spy novels; in the 1980s, it was techno-thrillers. … Each of these genres eventually faded, but not because of over-saturation. They faded due to the natural course of things—over time, the reading culture moves away from one genre and toward another. As a sub-genre, I believe Amish fiction is here to stay for a while.”
A Bright Amish Future
All indicators point to the Amish fiction category continuing to expand and grow for the foreseeable future. “The future of Amish fiction rests on new ideas and fresh hooks within the genre,” says Arnold. Thomas Nelson has put that into practice with its upcoming Amish fiction releases, including Beth Wiseman’s new series that follows an Amish family relocating to Colorado, Kelly Long’s series on how quilting connects an Amish community and Ruth Reid’s new series that features both Amish and angles.
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BET announces the nominees for the 15th annual “Hip Hop Awards,” honoring the past year in hip hop music across 17 categories, like Harlem’s nominee Teyana Taylor as Video Director of the Year. Continue Reading →
Brand Channel reports that Stadium Goods is not just any sneaker store. It’s a purveyor of premium basketball shoes and streetwear, with customers including rappers, athletes and other sneakerheads from Harlem to Harare with money to splash out on multiple pairs of shoes at a time. Continue Reading →
Show your Harlem pride Shop Harlem World Gear.


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Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. today announced that Diablo III, the next chapter in its critically acclaimed action role-playing game series, will be unleashed on May 15.
Blizzard also kicked off global digital presales for Diablo III today. Would-be wizards, witch doctors, demon hunters, barbarians, and monks throughout the world should head to http://www.blizzard.com/games/d3/ now to reserve their digital copies.
World of Warcraft players interested in getting Diablo III free are encouraged to join the more than 1 million players who have already signed up for the World of Warcraft Annual Pass.* Through this promotion, with a 1-year commitment to World of Warcraft, players will receive a free digital copy of Diablo III? which they?ll be able to start playing immediately on May 15 ? as well as an exclusive World of Warcraft in-game mount and access to the World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria beta test.
For more information on Diablo III, please visit the official website at http://www.diablo3.com.


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According to researchers, the number of smokers in the world was 933 million in 2015, and now the number of smokers in underdeveloped countries is now at over one billion. If this trend continues, smoking will kill about 1 billion people worldwide in the next 100 years. According to the French media "20 Minutes" reported that Marlboro will push the new iQos electronic cigarette, which is characterized by heating only non-burning tobacco, less toxic than traditional cigarettes.
Phillip Morris International, the world's largest tobacco company, and its Marlboro brand are expected to launch a new generation of iQos e-cigarettes in the coming weeks. This iQos electronic cigarette and its special Heets cartridges will be sold in parts of France.
Meanwhile, another French media, Le Figaro, pointed out that Philip Morris International has invested 3 billion U.S. dollars (about 20.6 billion yuan) in research and development of low-toxic cigarette products since 2008, and the new iQos electronic cigarette is The latest research results.
Compared with the combustion temperature of traditional cigarettes up to 900 degrees, the new generation of iQos is heated to a temperature of only 300 ° C and can reduce the toxicity of inhaled substances to 95%. The head of the product said in a program on Europe's No. 1 radio that tobacco combustion can be toxic and dangerous to health.
But breathing specialist Bertrand Dautzenberg told Radio First Radio that iQos would be addictive and that people could stop using nicotine alternatives, e-cigarettes or prescription drugs instead of choosing iQos.
Philip Morris International has submitted a large number of laboratory research and development team to the United States health agencies experimental report, but so far no other agencies on the efficacy of the new iQos study.
Introducing a company producing iqos series products:


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The Government is being urged to do more to stem a rising tide of violence and abuse against people who work in shops amid evidence that attacks are becoming more severe.
Approximately 424 incidents were reported every day in the year to last April, up by almost a tenth on the previous 12 months, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) said.
The increased use of weapons, especially knives, was described as a "worrying trend". However, shopworkers have also been attacked with syringes.
Retailers spent a record £1.2bn on crime prevention in one year, while their losses reached £1bn including over £770m from customer theft, said the BRC.
Politicians were accused of leaving retail workers to "fend for themselves".
A letter was sent to the Government last summer by leading retailers calling for action.
More than two-thirds of retailers believe the police response to incidents was poor, said the BRC.
Aodhan Connolly, director of the Northern Ireland Retail Consortium, said the Assembly must also take the problem seriously.
"This is a huge issue for retailers of all sizes and it has a human cost," he added.
"It affects the physical and mental health of those affected and has a knock-on effect to colleagues and communities.
"It is often the most economically vulnerable communities that are affected by this most."


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The search engine giant Google celebrates its 20th birthday, the company incorporated on September 4, 1998, but the company celebrates its birthday on September 27. Well, today the company turns 20 years and I have
Every smartphone lovers eager to know the upcoming smartphones and always keep their eyes to get updated. Well, October is going to be the delightful month for the lovers of smartphones. So, in this article
The popular chipset maker Qualcomm makes every smartphone powerful, and its latest and greatest Snapdragon 845 chipset makes the premium or flagship devices – the real beast. Well, different brands launch devices on regular basis.
Back in last week, the Mountain View company Google took the Artificial Intelligence (AI) to the next level with a new technology called Google Duplex. Using this technology, Google showed a demo at the event
Ever since its inception of Big Billion Sale Day in October 2014, Flipkart has managed to grab the attention of the consumers. So much so that even multi-national players like Amazon followed suit by announcing
As we know the Mountain View company Google provides a lot of services for various purposes, and one such service is its shortlink service (goo.gl). With this, we can able to shortlink our website’s URL


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The COVID-19 pandemic hit us all hard but gave many people the opportunity to rediscover and reconnect with local and organic food during lockdown. I am sure many in your surroundings also learned to make their own bread or desserts and spent a lot more time in the kitchen and at the table. Whilst the global pandemic showed us many vulnerabilities in our communities, care systems and the food system, it was remarkable that European organic sales increased manifold.
However, as the end of the pandemic came into sight, a war in Europe broke loose, following Russia’s aggression in Ukraine. Rising fossil-fuel prices heavily impacted the food system, showing its reliance on synthetic pesticides and fertilisers. Coupled with economic speculation, this led to an economic crisis with a heavy inflation rate, increasing energy and food prices and increasingly struggling households that must prioritise their spending.
While it is remarkable that it is mainly the prices of conventional food that are rising, the current economic crisis translated into a sharp decrease in organic sales in several countries – less sharp but still present compared to 2019. This resulted in organic shops across the continent having to close. Strong policies favouring organic supply and demand, as the EU Organic Action Plan puts forward, can be a stimulus for organic producers and consumers. For example, in national organic action plans, the targets for organic should be realistic but ambitious and have the required financial aid coupled to them.
Unfortunately, the organic sector often faces policies doing the opposite. There is a high number of labels for products, such as HVE (High Environmental Value) in France, but also industry-led “regenerative” schemes. Many of these labels try to do what the EU organic label is already doing: providing a guarantee for truly sustainable practices. The EU should ensure the different initiatives are not competing, and prevent greenwashing and help avoid misleading advertising using labels that favour large-scale and “efficient” processes using monocultures, synthetic pesticides and fertilisers.
Labels should also set high standards for environmentally friendly products and encourage consumers to buy products that actually deliver for biodiversity, water, air and soil quality. Moreover, the budget for promotion policies for organic should remain ambitious, so consumers continue to see and be nudged towards organic products.
Last but not least, the EU should set minimum criteria for organic in sustainable public procurement. This would boost demand for organic, bringing organic’s benefits to the plates of public canteens at schools, hospitals and civic buildings.
Author: Jan Plagge, IFOAM Organics Europe President
Published in the BIOFACH & VIVANESS 2023 Bio Eco Actual Special Edition.
Subscribe to Bio Eco Actual Newsletter and be up to date with the latest news from the Organic Sector
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Read the BIOFACH & VIVANESS 2023 Bio Eco Actual Special Edition


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Ellsworth Receives Dow Corning Awards
In addition, Dow Corning EMD (Electronics Channel) has awarded Ellsworth Adhesives with a Gold Level Distributor Award. This honor marks the fourth Sales Excellence award Ellsworth has received since the inception of the program. Gold is the highest level in Dow Corning’s Channel Incentive Program, and the award recognizes Ellsworth’s outstanding sales performance.
“We are honored to have received these distinguished Dow Corning awards,” said Roger Lee, president of the Ellsworth Adhesives–ESR Group. “The awards highlight Ellsworth’s commitment to our channel partners and showcase our leadership in the industry.”
For more information, phone (800) 888-0698 or visit www.ellsworth.com.


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Bitcoin futures prices have reached record highs as investors take aim at the digital currency’s price and potential to break the $1 trillion mark.
In an article posted Monday, The Wall St. Journal said the crypto-currency’s price has risen by more than 300% since January, which is more than twice the price of its closest rival, the digital gold standard, according to data from Bloomberg.
The report also noted that the price has jumped nearly 500% in just one day.
Bitcoin prices surged about $1,200 a coin on Monday, after a week of gains.
But it’s likely the rally will end quickly.
“If prices fall, that’s going to be a bust for the whole crypto-currencies world,” said Mark Thoma, a former Wall Street executive and now chief technology officer at Blockchain.
“This is not going to last.”
The cryptocurrency is still widely perceived to be the most popular among those who hold it, despite its volatility.
Bitcoin was worth just $4.50 on Monday at its peak, a price it has declined more than 200% since last summer, according the CoinDesk bitcoin price index.
But the price dropped more than 1,000% over the past three months, and on Monday traded at about $2.80, down more than 10%.
While some investors have been buying into bitcoin, others are trying to find more secure ways to store their money, such as using it for checking account or credit card purchases.
The WSJ said the price could be headed for a “boom-or to bust” moment as investors try to figure out if bitcoin will be a more reliable store of value or a bubble.
The cryptocurrency has been gaining in popularity among investors and analysts.
In a statement on Monday evening, Bloomberg’s David Tanden said the company’s cryptocurrency trading platform is seeing a surge in volume in the last three days.
“In the first three days of trading on Bloomberg’s platform, bitcoin traded at $1.30, more than 3,400 percent higher than the price at which it traded last Wednesday, the day before the cryptocurrency’s price began to rise,” Bloomberg said.
“The surge comes as investors are shifting to other digital currencies including ether, litecoin and ethereum, which were all on a similar trajectory as bitcoin.”
Ether surged more than 5,000 percent on Monday to reach $1 as investors flocked to its token, which allows its holders to exchange it for dollars or other cryptocurrencies.
“Ether is now trading for more than $1,” the price was quoted by the exchange platform on Monday.
Ether prices have surged by more, more, and more on the digital cryptocurrency market, according a recent Bloomberg article.
In other words, it is likely Ether will rise in value over the next few weeks.
The price of Ether surged to about $3.85 from a high of $1 on Wednesday, according data from CoinMarketCap.
But investors were trading it at a lower price of $3, and the cryptocurrency has since dropped.
The next day, a Bloomberg reporter tweeted out a screenshot of an Ethereum trading graph showing the cryptocurrency trading at $3 for a brief period on Monday afternoon.
The Wall Market’s price for Ether, however, spiked to $8.95 on Monday morning.
A brief period of strong activity on the exchange on Monday will likely help drive up the price.
“It’s not like this is a bubble, this is more like a spike, where you’re seeing a lot of people trading this thing at the right time,” said Paul Vigna, an investment strategist at Morgan Stanley.
The digital gold-standard digital currency is a digital version of gold, but instead of having a physical value, it has a virtual value that can be transferred through a network of computers.
A digital gold unit can be exchanged for cash in an exchange that uses a cryptographic proof of ownership, and its value is determined by a formula called a “proof of work.”
The technology behind the digital token is also used to create a digital certificate of trust for users, which means they can transfer bitcoins to one another without having to go through any intermediary.
In the past, the technology behind bitcoin was used to build digital wallets that could store large amounts of data, such a credit card number, bank account information, or other sensitive information.
But that technology has been slowly being replaced by the digital version, with the latest version being Bitcoin Core, a fork of Bitcoin that has been designed to make it easier for users to transfer funds between accounts.
Bitcoin Core also allows for faster transactions than the Bitcoin protocol, which uses computers to verify transactions.
However, Bitcoin Core is only available to developers, which could cause the price to spike.
The crypto-futures markets are also a place for investors to buy shares of bitcoin companies.
Many investors are buying into the technology because it is seen as the best way to move money around the world, with a price per bitcoin on Wall


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The world has always been a dynamic place that has progressed in leaps and bounds over time. With the emergence of startups, the world has made strides toward closing the gender gap in women-owned enterprises. However, since the epidemic entered our lives, it has disproportionately harmed women in the workforce around the world, who have had to lose jobs at a considerably higher rate than men.
Those who considered themselves fortunate to have jobs suffered similarly, both mentally and physically, while ensuring that their homes and work-from-home commitments were not jeopardised.
But as we know, women are strong enough to deal with any struggle, so from sustaining life to creating money, women entrepreneurs have spanned the micro to large growth in the business world. These include hair salon owners, high-tech innovators, bakers, scientists, and everyone in between, all of whom have contributed significantly to the economy.
Because of their trusted reputation in the community, women entrepreneurs are more likely to succeed. When firm characteristics are taken into account, research shows that women-owned businesses outperform their male counterparts. Then came educated women, of whom just a few have made a substantial impact throughout time. However, many uneducated women are also joyfully expanding family incomes through micro
There are many women who have been reinvesting their gains in their families and communities, which has gone unnoticed. These ladies also encourage other women in their communities to achieve their aspirations.
Companies are concentrating their efforts on mergers and acquisitions to grow their companies. As a result, it has become even more critical to assist the country’s women’s entrepreneurship ecosystem in order to educate them and expect an equal contribution from them to the economy.
However, with the unprecedented situation the epidemic provided, women-led businesses have responded with amazing agility and hope during the last two years. This emphasizes the importance of women entrepreneurs, since women have long been a part of the country’s revolutionary journey.
According to a report published in the Journal of Corporate Finance, adding a female director to the board reduces the cost of a successful purchase by 15.4 percent. It also shows that adding one more female director reduces the number of attempted takeover bids by 7.6%.
This year’s class exemplifies leadership both inside and outside of their organisations, as well as a dedication to giving back as role models and mentors. Not only are these successful dealmakers role models for other women, but also for the M&A industry as a whole. Women entrepreneurs can use DCirrus as a platform for dealmaking. DCirrus has always been one of the favourite platforms as it eases up their task and workflow.
The winners are distinguished by their achievements in the field of dealmaking. A significant component of the criteria was driving innovation and demonstrating influence in the broader M&A business.
Below mentioned are the few women who have remarkably contributed to M&A deals and startup world-
1. Makinen advises public and growth-stage technology and consumer products companies on a wide range of challenges, with an emphasis on mergers and acquisitions, minority and control investments, and corporate governance. Whether on the buy or sell side, her transactions usually involve very sophisticated capital structures, intricate management incentives, talent retention difficulties, and intellectual property protection.
Makinen assists public firms with corporate governance and reporting requirements. She gives realistic disclosure guidance based on a thorough grasp of her clients’ business objectives. She is known for her smart interpretation of SEC rules and regulations. She counsels clients on both ordinary and significant public reporting concerns, including restatements and stock exchange rule compliance.
Makinan was one of twenty outstanding individuals honoured with an honourable mention in the annual honouring of accomplished dealmakers who are “not only trailblazers for other women, but for the M&A sector as a whole.”
2. Jennifer W Cheng is a partner in Reed Smith’s Global Corporate Group in New York. She is presently the U.S. vice chair of the firm’s Global Corporate Group and formerly served as the firm’s M&A Group’s global vice chair. Her expertise specialises in representing Fortune 500, foreign, and middle market corporations in domestic and cross-border corporate transactions.
Cheng was one of six finalists for The American Lawyer’s “Young Lawyer of the Year” award in 2021. She was honoured for her services to Reed Smith’s public M&A business, as well as her representation of high-profile clients in several notable M&A transactions.
3. Simons is the co-chair of Goodwin’s Technology M&A practise, which has been acknowledged for its competence in international and domestic M&A transactions for both private and public firms in verticals including gaming, cybersecurity, SaaS, healthcare technology, and adtech/martech. She most recently advised Digit on its $212 million acquisition by Oportun, Portworx on its $370 million acquisition by Pure Storage, Innovium on its $11 billion acquisition by Marvell Technology, Segment. io on its $3.2 billion acquisition by Twilio, and Datavant on its $57 billion merger with CIOX.
Aly Simons, a partner at Goodwin, was named to Mergers & Acquisitions’ seventh annual list of the Most Influential Women in Mid-Market M&A.
4. Falguni Nayar, the creator and CEO of Nykaa, is certainly in our thoughts, since she has been the talk of the town since Nykaa’s recent stock exchange debut. She is one of just 24 women in the world whose company has reached the IPO stage.
Nayar’s journey as an entrepreneur began in 2012, when she left her job as managing director at Kotak Mahindra Capital Company to pursue a career in the online cosmetics sector. Nykaa’s INR 5,352 crore initial public offering (IPO) was 82.5 times oversubscribed nine years later, and the stock began trading at INR 2,001.
Nykaa is also India’s first unicorn startup founded by a woman, and Nayar is the country’s second richest entrepreneur, after Savitri Jindal of the O.P. Jindal Group.
5. Indra Nooyi was born and raised in the city of Chennai. In 1974, she graduated from Madras Christian College with a bachelor’s degree in science. She went on to Yale University for her master’s in public administration and IIM, Kolkata, for her master’s in finance and marketing.
She began her career as a product manager at Johnson & Johnson and went on to work for Motorola and Asea Brown Boveri, among other organisations.
She joined PepsiCo in 1994 and took over as CEO from Steven Reinemund in 2006. PepsiCo’s fifth CEO in 44 years was Indra Nooyi. She was also awarded the prestigious ‘Padma Bhushan’ award for her commercial achievements.
6. Fashion designer Tory Burch is well-known. Her brand has become so well-known in the fashion world that there are currently over 70 Tory Burch stores throughout the world. She’s also one of the most accomplished fashion designers today, having been inducted into the Council of Fashion Designers of America after only three years in the industry. Her fashion line has grown in popularity around the world, with over 1,000 outlets carrying her products.
Tory Burch has had a long and illustrious career in the fashion industry. She was accepted into the Council of Fashion Designers of America three years after starting her career in fashion and received an award two years later.
She is also one of the world’s wealthiest female entrepreneurs, with a net worth of one billion dollars, according to Forbes magazine.
7. Ms. Fields has served on multiple company boards as an investor and as an independent corporate board director in both public and private companies. She frequently acts as a qualified financial expert due to her more than 25 years of financial and investment management knowledge, as well as her many years of audit committee board experience and her MBA from North-western University. Ms. Fields is a NACD Board Leadership Fellow, and in August 2021, the NACD selected her to the NACD Directorship 100 for 2021.
Ms. Fields is a partner of Pelham S2K Managers, LLC, which invests in middle market firms with junior capital and private equity. Pelham S2K is the General Partner and Manager of Pelham S2K SBIC, a $100 million limited partnership established in 2016.
She was also named one of the 35 most influential women in mid-market mergers and acquisitions in Mergers & Acquisitions’ 2021 Most Influential Women in Mid-Market M&A.
8. Watermill Group’s President and COO is Julia Karol. She is in charge of the firm’s general operations as well as assisting Watermill portfolio companies in developing and implementing their plans. Julia formerly worked as a Watermill Principal, where she assisted in the day-to-day operations of the firm, supervised investor relations, and managed acquisition fundraising campaigns.
Julia is a member of ACG Boston and the Young Presidents Organization (YPO), and has been recognised as one of Mergers and Acquisitions Magazine’s Most Influential Women in Mid-Market M&A for the past three years. Julia was named one of the Boston Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 honorees and won the Women of Influence Award from ACG Boston in 2019. Julia was designated an Emerging Leader by M&A Advisor in 2017.
9. Jeri Harman is the founder and chairman of Avante Capital Partners, as well as its former CEO. Fund strategy and management, the Investment Committee, portfolio management, investor communications, and brand management are among her responsibilities. Harman has over 30 years of financing and M&A experience, with over $1 billion in total investments under his belt.
Prior to creating Avante, Harman founded and ran the Los Angeles offices of two publicly traded private equity and mezzanine investment funds, American Capital and, more recently, Allied Capital, where she was also a member of the Investment Committee. Earlier in her career, she held several senior-level positions with Prudential Capital. She has served on the boards of approximately 20 private middle market companies in the United States in a range of industries, including healthcare, business services, consumer goods, and industrial.
10. Nanette C. Heide is a partner in Duane Morris’ Corporate Practice Group, as well as the co-chair of the firm’s Private Equity Division and the team leader of the firm’s Private Equity Industry Group. Ms. Heide has extensive expertise in assisting clients with complex transactions and general company advice. She advises private equity and venture capital investors as well as multinational and domestic corporations (public and private) on a wide range of corporate finance transactions, including private equity and venture capital investments, mergers and acquisitions, institutional private placements, cross-border transactions, debt and equity structuring transactions, joint ventures, and strategic alliances. She has also set up and managed private equity and hedge funds. She is a member of the firm’s Partners Board and the Senior Advisory Partner for the Fashion/Retail/Consumer Branded Products Group.
Mergers & Acquisitions group recognised Ms. Heide as one of the Most Influential Women in Mid-Market M&A for four years in a row.
Women have an intrinsic ability to adapt, comprehend, multitask, and learn new skills, making them even better corporate leaders. Women should be the leaders and step out of their homes to live a life of their dreams. They have contributed in areas such as education, mergers and acquisitions , technology, etc and in future also they will. As a result, it is paramount to put in place a well-balanced and well-thought-out plan to encourage women to work on their skill development and gain access to mentorship programmes while also receiving low-interest loans and financial assistance to help them on their path to self-sufficiency and entrepreneurial growth.


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The next-generation Qualcomm Snapdragon flagship chipset is expected to launch this December, with Xiaomi running to be the first to introduce smartphones with it. Although it'll be quite some time before we reach there, the first benchmark of the Snapdragon 895 or 898 has been unveiled.
According to the source, the upcoming Snapdragon 898 (let's follow this name for this article) shows an impressive 20% performance boost compared to the previous Snapdragon 888. Under the ARM public version, the Cortex-X2 has also been confirmed to bring a 16% improvement in design performance than X1. With all that, it's said that the Snapdragon 898 could surpass the mark of 1 million points in AnTuTu when it arrives.
However, there could be one big problem for smartphone manufacturers, which is the temperature. The consequence of being powerful is high temperature for the Snapdragon 898. It's said that Qualcomm might be going down the path of increasing frequencies without worrying much about the temperature and leave the problem to someone else. With that said, future flagship devices not only need to compete in terms of power, they might also need to pay more attention to the cooling department.
What do you think about the news? Let us know on our Facebook page and stay tuned to TechNave.com for the latest tech report.


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Came across this interesting study conducted by Switchfly Inc that measures the percentage of seats that an airline has available for award redemption through it’s frequent flyer program.
The criteria that they used was to find 2 seats on 14 different dates between June and October on an Airline’s 10 longest routes, as well as on it’s 10 shortest routes. From the look of the ranking, I suspect they were looking for economy seat availability only.
I think the list confirms what the most saavy of travelers already know in terms of which airlines are easy to find seats on, and which one’s are difficult. But nevertheless, it’s interesting to see how the airlines rank among each other:


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But since Windows 10 is essentially PC-only -- Milanesi said Windows tablet sales were flat, and the state of Windows on phones was dismal -- if users aren't engaged with a personal computer, they're not engaged with Windows 10.
And Microsoft should be paying more attention to that engagement.
"While [customers] might upgrade to Windows 10 -- the upgrade is free, after all, if they have kept their software up to date -- they might not be curious enough to experiment and discover," Milanesi said. "This is especially true when it comes to Universal Windows apps. In return, this will create less stickiness to the OS and lower even more the need to upgrade to new form factors like 2-in-1s."
Microsoft is counting on Windows 10 usage to bolster its bottom line through app purchases, ad sales on Bing and service revenue. But sans engagement, that goal may be unattainable.
"The mix still skews heavily to software upgrades. If [Microsoft] had good numbers for new machines they would have certainly mentioned those," Milanesi said in an email reply to questions today. "My point is that looking at how many software downloads there are does not paint the full picture. Microsoft cannot risk to be blinded by software upgrades. If people do not have new machines in their hands, Windows 10 will not make a huge difference long term when it comes to consumers loving Windows, not just using it."
About a quarter of the PC users surveyed by Creative Strategies used a system five or six years old. Of those respondents, 61% said that they had no plans to upgrade their machine in the next 12 months, reinforcing the engagement decline.
But even those with newer PCs lose interest in over time. "There is an increase in managing files and content, but a decrease in social [networking] and editing photos," said Milanesi of consumers with PCs aged two to four years. "You see users doing more at the start but then keeping [to the more] traditional PC tasks [on] the PC, diverting the rest mostly to the phone. This makes engagement even more important for Windows 10."
Microsoft has talked about Windows 10 engagement and cited some statistics on the subject, but not with enough consistency for outsiders to analyze and interpret. At Build, for example, Myerson claimed, "Customers are more engaged than ever before," and touted the statistic of 75 billion total hours of activity logged by Windows 10 users since launch.
While Microsoft has called out hours of activity previously -- in early January it said the OS had logged 11 billion hours during December -- as part of an effort to cast Windows 10 as a service, it had not issued a total number before. That makes it impossible to get a sense of whether usage has been increasing, decreasing or flat when compared with the number of devices.
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Free Fire is a renowned mobile battle royale game developed by a Vietnamese studio, 111 Dot Studios, and published by Garena, worldwide. This title recently achieved the incredible feat of 100 million peak daily active users.
When it comes to the number of downloads, this game is second to none, and has crossed the milestone of 500 million downloads on Google Play Store, which underlines its popularity.
The Indian Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) recently imposed a ban on 118 Chinese apps by invoking Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000.
The government blocked these apps as they are "prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, Defence of India, Security of State and Public Order: Govt of India".
The list consisted of PUBG Mobile and PUBG Mobile Lite – two of the most famous BR titles published by Tencent Games.
Several users also wish to know about any stakes that this Chinese conglomerate might have in Free Fire.
Tencent owns 25.6% shares of Free Fire's parent company
According to Wikipedia, before the IPO of Sea Limited at NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) in October 2017, Tencent Holdings was the major stakeholder of Sea Limited, with a 39.7% stake in the company.
However, as per the latest report published on NASDAQ's website by The Motley Fool on 1st August 2020, the Chinese conglomerate has a 25.6% share in Sea Limited, which is the parent company of Garena.
You can check out the report by clicking here.
According to App Annie, Free Fire was the highest-grossing mobile game in Latin America and Southeast Asia in the second quarter of 2020. This title also ranked third globally for downloads in the mobile games category in the second quarter.


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Reports: iPads and iPhones accounted for 92% — or was it 13.4%? — of online holiday sales
An analytical gap big enough to drive a sleigh through
Here are a pair of headline shockers:
- AppleInsider: iOS dominates mobile shopping with 92% of market
- Forbes: iOS Took 13.4% of Online Sales on Christmas Day
Both stories got pretty big play over the Christmas break. But they can’t both be right, can they? Let’s look at the facts.
The 92% figure comes from a Dec. 21 report by a San Francisco-base company called RichRelevance that monitors the browsing patterns of online shoppers at sites like Walmart.com and recommends similar products. It analyzed at a lot of shopping sessions — 3.4 billion between April and December — and noted several trends:
- The share of retail dollars from online shopping hit 3.74% in December, up from 1.87% in April
- The share of online shopping sessions from mobile devices more than doubled — to 18% from under 9% — in that 9-month period
- Apple (AAPL) iOS devices accounted for 92% of sales from those mobile devices in December, up from 88% in April.
In other words, 92% of 18% of a tiny sliver (3.74%) of total online sales in the three weeks leading up to Christmas came from iOS devices. Not quite as impressive as the original headline suggested.
The second report comes from an IBM study of online sales at some 500 sites for one day in December — Christmas Day, after most of the presents had presumably already been opened and a lot of gift cards received. It found, according to
- Online sales grew by 16.4% over Christmas Day 2010
- Mobile devices accounted for 14.4% of those online sales, up 172.9% year over year
- 7% were made from iPads
- 6.4% were made from iPhones
- 5% were made from Google (GOOG) Android devices
That makes a bit more sense. Although the two reports studied different periods (one the walk-up to Christmas, the other the aftermath on Christmas Day), the results were a lot more alike than they seemed at first. RichRelevance found that 16.6% (92% of 18%) of online sales were made from iOS devices. IBM’s number was 14.3%.
Not that different. And not too shabby. As IBM’s John Squire put it:
“The iPad wasn’t even around two years ago and now it’s the leading mobile device for purchases. Android came out from nowhere last year, and now it is in third place.”


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|Tour "Decoding the Thang Long Royal Citadel" in Hanoi (Photo: hanoimoi.com.vn)
SEA Games 31, the second hosted by Vietnam, is taking place in Hanoi and 11 adjacent cities and provinces, bringing thousands of athletes, coaches, officials, and spectators to northern Vietnam.
Tran Phong Binh, Deputy Head of the Tourism Marketing Department of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, said successful organization of international events has a positive effect on economic development, particularly tourism.
“After Vietnam successfully hosted SEA Games 22 in 2003, the number of foreign visitors to Vietnam in the following years surged 10-20% annually. SEA Games 31 is underway after a long COVID-19 hiatus. It’s been less than two months since Vietnam fully reopened on March 15th. Good organization and taking full advantage of the event to promote tourism will give a boost to economic recovery,” Binh said.
|A bicycle tour to Bat Trang ceramic village (Photo: hanoimoi.com.vn)
Hanoi is hosting the opening and closing ceremonies and many of the competitions, which have drawn an estimated 10,000 athletes and officials and additional thousands of spectators. The Hanoi Tourism Department has prepared 14 hotels with 3,000 rooms to accommodate delegates.
Nguyen Hong Minh, Deputy Director of the Hanoi Tourism Department, said: “Hanoi’s tourism sector has promotional programs for foreign visitors, athletes, and journalists. We have organized a series of events before, during, and after the Games, including a Souvenir Festival, a Culinary Festival, and a Tourism Festival.”
Travel companies have designed 28 tours to take SEA Games delegations to cultural and historical sites in Hanoi, scenic spots and ancient villages just outside Hanoi, and attractions in neighboring provinces and cities. There are day tours and weekend trips to Ninh Binh, Ha Long, Sa Pa, and Mai Chau.
|Hotels in Hanoi have diversified their menus to serve SEA Games delegates. (Photo: hanoimoi.com.vn)
Trinh Thi My Nghe, Deputy Chairperson of Hanoi’s Tourism Association, said: “Hanoi has tours in different languages, including a tour called “Decoding the Thang Long Royal Citadel”, a night tour of Hoa Lo prison, and bicycle tours to Bat Trang ceramic village and other craft villages on the outskirts of Hanoi, like Thuong Tin, Quoc Oai, and Ba Vi.”
Ninh Binh province is hosting the SEA Games karate competitions. Pham Duy Phong, Deputy Director of the provincial Tourism Department, said: “SEA Games 31 is an opportunity for us to promote tourism to foreigners. We have trained volunteers, boatmen, and tourism staff to deliver cultural and historical information to the SEA Games delegations. We have organized a special Tam Coc-Trang An Tourism Festival.”
Vietnam’s tourism possibilities include marine tours, adventure tours, trekking, mountain climbing, and golf.


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WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar said that the future of Hollywood is in the blockchain as he prepares to leave the media company that he helped lead into the streaming era. Kilar said that he saw new opportunities at the intersection of storytelling and technology. This is even though he declined to discuss his next pursuit.
The veteran tech executive said that he had no plans to retire after announcing his departure from AT&T Inc unit WarnerMedia ahead of its merger with Discovery Inc in a deal expected to close this month. Kilar’s career has straddled Hollywood and Silicon Valley, and he sees blockchain, the digital ledgers that keep track of transactions across computer networks, as transforming the entertainment business. This is especially as the process of acquiring unique digital collectibles such as Non-Fungible Tokens becomes simpler.
Kilar told that he thinks that it is going to be a potential wave that’s going to be coming to Hollywood, in the same way that the DVD wave came to Hollywood in the ’90s. Obviously, that changed the economic fortunes of a lot of these companies, WarnerMedia included. The blockchain may also open up new forms of financing. Kilar has a long track record of pushing technology and change in entertainment. The former Amazon.com executive was recruited to lead Hulu. He did not rely on a set of assumptions about the way television should work.
Within two months of Hulu’s launch in March 2008, the site, once dubbed by critics in the blogosphere as ClownCo, surged in popularity. Kilar left Hulu in 2013, following disagreements with the company’s owners. Kilar launched his own subscription video service for social media content, Vessel. This was subsequently sold in 2016 to Verizon, and four years later he joined WarnerMedia. That experience led him to changes which threaten to reshape Hollywood. Kilar shattered the traditional release windows for films.
Kilar premiered new films in theaters and on the HBO Max streaming service on the same day, during the pandemic. The move provided a steady flow of new entertainment to the service at a time when the pandemic had disrupted production schedules. It also helped the fledgling HBO Max, and the HBO cable TV network. This is to add 73.8 million subscribers.