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The beta’s face off! How does Apple’s iOS 10 compare to Google’s Android Nougat?
As we approach the tail end of Summer and head towards Autumn (Fall if you’re American), the set of expected high-end handsets has narrowed down to a small handful; but crucially this handful includes amongst its number several key devices which will debut brand new versions of Google and Apple’s major OS software platforms: Android and iOS.
Google will release two handsets this year but unlike previous years they WILL NOT be called Nexus phones; no, this year Google is switching things up and launching a brand new phone brand — the Google Pixel phone brand.
This move is apparently part of a wider initiative inside Google where it will play a closer role in the development of hardware. We have already seen what Google is capable of in this regard with the awesome Chromebook Pixel and the rather underwhelming but very good-looking Google Pixel C.
A Pixel Phone, therefore, feels like a natural successor and while it is sad that Google’s Nexus brand is effectively over, the idea of Google taking a more hands-on approach to the creation of its phones definitely has its positives. This year’s Pixel phones will apparently feature a bunch of exclusive software features that other Android phones will not get. Also, Pixel phones will always get updates first — just as Nexus phones did before them.
HTC is making this year’s Pixel phones, but after that Google will likely undertake the OEM duties itself with a partner like Foxconn.
Apple will release its iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus handsets in September. The iPhone 7 will launch on September 7 with key updates to the camera, display tech, CPU and storage options — 256GB is expected on the Plus model and the 16GB entry model will be discontinued with 32GB taking over as the base model.
iOS 10 and Android Nougat (7.0) may not be out yet, but due to the way both Apple and Google conduct their OS development both have been released as beta builds for long enough now that there is plenty of official information and details out in the ether, picked and catalogued from the beta programs by hordes of eager developers.
It’s often been noted that as the operating systems have matured, both iOS and Android have “borrowed” key features from one another, with the end result being the two different OSes becoming more similar.
The availability of Android Nougat for current Android phones is a hot topic of debate on account of the platform’s fragmented nature. Update cycles are typically terrible, for the most part, in the macro Android space with newer, flagship handsets often being the only phones to receive the update. Older handsets — i.e. anything over 18 months old — tends to get left out in the cold.
This isn’t Google’s problem, per se, as it rests with the manufacturers to push out updates to their hardware. And because Android OEMs are hellbent on selling new hardware, they often neglect older handsets and this, of course, leaves the vast majority of Android users — like 90% — languishing on older software.
Basically, to get access to the latest and greatest version of Android you either A) have to update your hardware once a year, B) install custom ROMs on your phone, or C) get a Nexus phone. For the vast majority of users, none of these options are considered and this is why the newest builds of Android, more often than not, take longer than a year to hit 10% adoption in the wider Android ecosystem.
Apple, of course, runs its phone business very differently. Having complete, top-down management of everything in its ecosystem enables Apple to control the flow of new software onto its hardware. Similarly, iPhone/iPad users are accustomed to getting access to new builds of iOS as soon as they’re available. This is why adoption of new iOS builds is always so high.
But could either one become more distinct? Do the latest betas suggest one might come out on top (at least for this year)? That’s what we’re here to decide. Now let’s take a look at all the major differences—if any—between iOS 10 and Android Nougat.
iOS 10 vs. Android Nougat: UI and notifications
While it’s fair to say that iOS and Android have been moving towards missile ground as far as a design aesthetic goes, both iOS 10 and Android Nougat sees them taking slightly different approaches to achieve the same design aesthetics as the other. For starts with Android Nougat, notifications have now been redesigned. They are much easier to read, have minimalistic borders, occupy the width of the screen, have smaller fonts, and can be tacked together based on app. In other words, they resemble iOS notifications more.
But iOS 10 is taking cues from the Android design department as well. It’s no bringing widgets to the home screen, although implementing them differently. Thanks to 3D Touch, now when pressing on an app’s icon a widget will appear—such as the current temp for the weather widget. This allows iOS 10 to gain home screen widgets, while also lets it keep them out of sight most of the time.
iOS 10 vs. Android Nougat: deleting stock apps
Both iOS 10 and Android Nougat allows you to now delete some stock apps. “Delete” is a little misleading, because you are actually just hiding the apps, not truly removing them from your device. And both iOS 10 and Android Nougat doesn’t allow you to hide all the stock apps—just some, those that Apple and Android’s handset manufacturers allow you to.
iOS 10 vs. Android Nougat: photo app
In iOS 10 the Photos app got a major improvement. It now uses machine learning to identify people, places, and objects inside your pictures and allows you to sort and search photos by those parameters. For example, Photos now knows which of your pictures have water in them. Search “lake” or “ocean” and it will return pictures of lakes and oceans. The app also now creates automatic slideshows and videos of your best pictures. If all this sounds familiar it’s because it’s what Google’s Photo app has been doing for almost a year. As you can see, now the Photos apps on both Android and iOS are tied feature-for-feature.
iOS 10 vs. Android Nougat: music app
Apple’s new Music app in iOS 10 has gotten a HUGE makeover. It’s now got a more simplified, easier to navigate interface. This is primarily so more people will give its Apple Music streaming service a try. But the music app on on Android, called Play Music, is still better. Why? Because Play Music is built around both streaming and individually downloaded songs, meaning it really cares about music fans no matter how they like to get their tunes.
iOS 10 vs. Android Nougat: updates
Though not really a feature, it’s worth noting that Android seems to get more updates pushed to it faster, than iOS does. This has been true for a while now since Android has been untethered for longer from its stock apps than iOS has been. Most stock apps have long been available on the Google Play store meaning Google could concentrate on just releasing updates for the main OS, instead of having to update every default app at the same time. It’ll be interesting to see if updates to iOS 10 speed up now that you can delete/hide stock apps from the OS.
iOS 10 vs. Android Nougat: personal assistants
Perhaps the biggest feature in iOS 10 is Siri is massively improved. Not only is the personal assistant getting improved features, it’s now being opened up to third-party developers so they can link into Siri—making her usefulness grow exponentially. Siri’s big competitor on Android is Google Now. for years Now has been better at Siri thanks to Google’s algorithms. But with iOS 10 it’s possible Siri could overtake Now as the best personal assistant out there yet.
iOS 10 vs. Android Nougat: verdict
It’s never an easy call when comparing to mobile operating systems. Who wins this time? It’s safe to say that iOS 10 has more big features and improvements than Android Nougat. However, taken as a whole, both operating systems are closer in features to each other than ever before.
Apple has a few key areas where it needs to catch up to Android, with the most obvious being Siri. Compared to Google Now, Siri feels practically remedial and this is why Apple opened up Siri to developers. It should have happened a lot sooner, though. Like, two years ago sooner, as it would have evolved Siri in a significant manner, adding in new features and abilities all the time.
Siri will also likely feature heavily in Apple’s push towards more automated home appliances and, of course, its car. AI well be the next big thing to hit the tech world and once it lands in earnest, the net results in years to come will be enormous. Google Home and Apple’s HomeKit are just the start.
Either way, both platforms will be great additions to the space.


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President Carter's announcement of a package of measures to aid US steel manufacturers only adds to the good news the industry has heard lately. Orders for carbon, alloy, and specialty steels are up, Iron Age magazine indicates. Within the specialty field, gains are being registered by stainless sheet, stainless bar and wire, and tool steels.
The broad advance reflects a general depletion of inventories. Service centers and others are getting their steel stocks down to desired levels and are starting to resume more normal buying.
Order levels, which fell to around 50 percent or lower in the summer, are now over 70 percent of cpacity. Steel shipments will be up at least 2 million tons in the fourth quarter. A producer of alloy bars now looks for the fourth quarter to match the first quarter of 1980.
Specialty steel producers say there are still sharp day-to- day fluctuations in order rates. There is still uncertainty, but the trend in both orders and inquiries is upward. And again, the improvements is broad-based.
Some of the September volume is due to hedge buying before price increases announced for early October. Plate and structural prices are scheduled to go up next month. Major producers have saidthey will withdraw the price discounts offered since July on sheet and bar products.
However, there was no decline in orders when people began booking tonnage for delivery after the price increases. No letdown is indicated for shipments in October.
Hedge buying has been minimized by the continued pressure on sheet and bar prices. While across-the-board discounts may be terminated, it's likely that some amount of selective discounting will continue. In the present competitive market, the incentive to hedge is limited.
In discussing the revovery, steel officials emphasize that all gains must be related to the very low starting point. The orders of an alloy mill have doubled since "free fall" last summer. Demand has come back from a level that was only 30 percent of capacity. At that point, the plant didn't have enough business to operate. Like many of its customers, it shut down for several weeks.
The export market has provided a surprising lift for domestic steel producers. For the last five years, export tonnage has been negligible, running between 2 and 3 million tons annually. In April of this year, exports rose to 321,000. Since that time, exports have been running at an annual rate of 4.3 million tons.
A potential source of strength is the auto industry. Automotive demand for sheet has come back a little, but it remains far below normal.
If auto sales and production regain anything like normal levels, the added requirements for steel could turn the whole market around. The potential for improvement is indicated by the fact that shipments of steel to the auto industry in the first half were down nearly 57 percent from the first half of 1979.

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OYAL Mail is harnessing the worldwide boom in online shopping with its £210 million acquisition of one of Canada’s largest trucking firms.
The distribution group’s overseas freight arm GLS International is picking up family-owned freight group Rosenau Transport to expand operations in North America’s $25 billion parcel market, growing at 5% annually.
The Rosenau network will combine with existing GLS routes on the US west coast, expanding its cross-border capacity.
Royal Mail believes the deal, funded through a mix of cash and debt, will drive earnings growth this year and accelerate its growth ambitions for the international arm, which is its most profitable division.
It outlines a plan to double the profits from the GLS to €500 million from 2020 to 2025.
The success would strengthen the case for its demerger from its UK origins, which is weighed down by its handling of letters and large pension liabilities.
Shares of the company rose 0.8% to 416.9p in early trade. The stock is up 23 per cent this year.
GLS Chief Executive Martin Seidenberg said: “Adding Rosenau Transport as a complement to GLS further enhances our accelerating strategy.
“With its strong presence in Western Canada, high quality, entrepreneurial culture, as well as freight handling capabilities and parcel capability, Rosenau Transport’s model is similar to our existing Canadian business and provides an excellent fit.”
Rick Barnes, president of GLS Canada, said: “As we tie the two regional carrier networks together, with direct service to most cities and towns in the country, we will produce one of the most integrated transportation systems in Canada.”
Rosenau Transport posted revenue of C$175 million and underlying earnings of C$41.6 million in the 12 months to September. It has 24 proprietary facilities in four Canadian provinces.
Royal Mail expects the deal to close on December 1 subject to regulatory approval.
AJ Bell’s Russ Mold said: “While the UK branch has benefited from COVID and the volume of parcels being shipped has increased due to the e-commerce boom, costs are likely to see upward pressure in the near term Because the company has launched it. Seasonal recruitment drives, with business impacted by economy-wide staff shortages.”


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3491 POSTS4 COMMENTS
Founder and Editor of Cruise Hive which has been online since 2008. Worked on Carnival ships for 8 years and have an insight into cruising from a passenger and a crew member's perspective. Dedicated to bringing cruisers the latest industry news and informative articles. Find out more about us here.
The cruise industry is always growing but there are those cruise lines that are growing a lot faster than others which are really helping grow the industry. With new cruise regions opening up like Asia there are new possibilities for new ships orders and even totally new cruise line companies!
TUI Cruises upcoming cruise ship Mein Schiff has moved to its final phase of construction at the newly owned Meyer Turku shipyard in Finland.
Royal Caribbean have posted a new video showing how the cruise lines future cruise ship Anthem of the Seas is being built block by block.
Over two weeks ago the Costa Fascinosa had a lot of onboard damage from bad weather that hit the ship. Many cruise sites reported on it and most got photos and a video from a crew members facebook page who was working on the cruise ship at the time.
The Ebola virus continues to infect thousands of people in western parts of Africa and now several cruise lines will avoid the region so the deadly virus doesn't spread to cruise ships.
Just days ago Cruise Hive reported that the Carnival Miracle would be off loading relief supplies to locals on Hurricane Odile hit Cabo San Lucas. Well now Princess Cruises has also announced that it will be doing the same.
Holland America Line has cancelled another upcoming cruise for the ms Veendam cruise ship due to a mechanical problem.
The Spirit class ship, Carnival Miracle will be delivering some much needed Hurricane relief supplies after Hurricane Odile hit cruise destinations in the Mexican Riviera region back in September.
Yes we know everyone is talking about Quantum of the Seas but it is the biggest and most innovative new ship of the year and is set to bring a new standard to the industry.


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Greeks turn to bank cards for tax avoidance
ATHENS, June 30 (Xinhua)– As Greece is loosening its capital controls imposed in 2015 to avert the collapse of banking system amid debt crisis, Greeks are increasingly using bank cards for tax avoidance rather than cash withdrawal limits.
According to recent figures from the central Bank of Greece, more than 16.3 million bank cards, credit, debit, or prepaid, are being used in Greece, which means almost two cards for every adult living in the country.
In 2017, about 30 percent more prepaid cards were issued compared with 2016, says the report.
Transactions via cards also increased in the meantime. Figures showed that Greeks paid 60 billion euros (70.2 billion U.S. dollars) with their cards in 2017, 5 billion euros more over 2016.
Debit cards are the most used, as their share of trading last year reached 87 percent, according to the central bank.
Greeks started to use cards more in 2015, when a cash withdrawal limit was imposed and forced Greeks to use cards for small transactions. The average value of card transactions was 82 euros in 2017, while in 2016 it was 108 euros and 139 euros in 2015.
As Greek economy improved, the capital controls relaxed and now stands at 5,000 euros a month.
However, most Greeks continue to use cards quite often in their purchases for the reasons shifted from cash controls to tax avoidance.
Under the latest taxation law, taxpayers, with the exception of the elderly, are obliged to make electronic transactions, or they will face higher tax rates.
The required ratio depends on their total income in tax declarations, ranging from 10 percent to 25 percent.
The law was drafted as part of measures to combat tax evasion. The use of cards has led to an increase in VAT receipts and corporate income taxes, according to data. Therefore authorities encourage the further use of cards.
Under the new law, the Finance Ministry has also set a cash transaction limit of 500 euros and provides a fine of 100 euros for both the buyer and the seller who cross it.
Inter-business transactions also have a cash limit of 500 euros, but without a fine. (1 euro=1.17 U.S. dollars)


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Photo Credit: MediaTek
MediaTek Dimensity 9000 5G SoC was launched on Thursday. The Taiwanese semiconductor giant has announced device maker adoption and endorsement from major smartphone manufacturers like Honor, Oppo, Vivo, and Xiaomi. The flagship SoC from MediaTek will hit the markets in the first quarter of 2021. The MediaTek Dimensity 9000 5G SoC was first announced back in November. It integrates a 10-core Arm Mali-G710 GPU and has an octa-core architecture with Arm Cortex CPUs. The MediaTek Dimensity 9000 SoC is built on TSMC's 4nm process.
MediaTek mentioned in a press release that the first smartphones to be powered by the new MediaTek Dimensity 9000 5G SoC will begin releasing in the first quarter of 2021. As mentioned, MediaTek has also announced device maker adoption and endorsements from Honor, Oppo, Vivo, and Xiaomi.
The flagship SoC was initially announced in November. It is fabricated using TSMC's 4nm process and integrates a 10-core Arm Mali-G710 MC10 GPU and MediaTek APU 590. It integrates Armv9 architecture with one Arm Cortex-X2 CPU clocking at up to 3.05GHz, three Arm Cortex-A710 CPUs with a maximum clocking speed of 2.85GHz, and four ARM Cortex-A510 CPUs. It support LPDDR5x RAM with up to 7,500Mbps speeds.
Furthermore, the MediaTek Dimensity 9000 5G SoC integrates the firm's fifth-gen Application Processor Unit (APU 5.0) which is claimed to give 4x power efficiency gains compared to previous-gen APUs. It also gets MediaTek HyperEngine 5.0 that uses AI acceleration to optimise graphic reproduction and reduce the load on GPU.
MediaTek's flagship SoC also has 18-bit HDR MediaTek Imagiq 790 ISP, 3GPP Release 16 5G modem, MediaTek MiraVision 790 that support 144Hz WQHD+ display or 180Hz full-HD+ displays. The chipset also gets Wi-Fi 6E support, GNSS with Bideou, and Bluetooth v5.3. The Dimensity 9000 5G SoC is claimed to provide customisation to smartphone manufacturers that can help them create 5G-enabled handsets that stand out.
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Monday, August 05, 2013, 03:19 pm PT (06:19 pm ET)
EA confirms 'SimCity' for Mac OS X to be released Aug. 29After being pushed back over two months, "SimCity" will finally make its Mac debut at the end of August following a rocky PC launch fraught with network connectivity and overall quality issues.
Game publishers Electronic Arts and Maxis announced the Mac release date on Monday via the official SimCity Twitter account, saying the hotly anticipated title would be available starting Aug. 29.
EA originally planned for SimCity to arrive on Mac in June as an exclusive digital download through the company's Origin service.
In an ambitious undertaking, SimCity planned to have cross-platform collaboration between Mac and PC players. However, SimCity's digital rights management (DRM) implementation required a persistent connection to the Internet, even during single player mode, which subsequently overwhelmed game servers at launch.
EA and Maxis said in June that SimCity wasn't "ready for primetime," and pushed the release back to August.
While Aug. 29 launch date has been confirmed, it is unknown if the publishers will be making downloadable content now available to PC users accessible on the Mac at launch.
On Topic: General
- 'Historical implications' made Apple Watch more difficult to design than original iPhone, Jony Ive says
- Former head of Android Andy Rubin leaves Google to start tech hardware incubator
- Seth Rogen to play Steve Wozniak alongside Christian Bale's Steve Jobs
- President Bill Clinton, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella & others praise Apple CEO Tim Cook for publicly announcing he is gay
- 'I'm proud to be gay,' Apple CEO Tim Cook says in open letter supporting equality


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Entries in 'Ubisoft' (766)
The search is on for a vocalist to sing the theme song for this November's Assassin's Creed: Revelations.
A new Driver finally makes it to store shelves today – five years after Ubisoft spent $24m buying the brand and its studio. But it’s just the first step in Ubisoft’s ...
A big week of releases this week, with Driver: San Francisco, Bodycount, Madden NFL 12 leading the charge, plus All Blacks Challenge as a world first in New Zealand.
You have to wonder why it bothered in the first place.
Ubisoft has revealed that upcoming release Driver: San Francisco will receive a full digital release on the PlayStation Network.
PC DRM has again got Ubisoft into a sticky situation with PC gaming fans.
Ubisoft has altered the way digital rights management works in the PC version of Driver: San Francisco after receiving negative feedback.
Ubisoft has set release dates for a raft of Q4 titles including The Black Eyed Peas Experience which is out November 11th.
Mamma Mia – here they go again. Ubisoft has just confirmed it's added an Abba dancing game to its roster of licensed music titles.
GAMESCOM: Assassin’s Creed, Rayman Origins and Michael Jackson: The Experience are just some of the big games Ubisoft has planned for PS Vita.
Ubisoft’s The Smurfs & Co has become the fastest-growing Facebook game in the past two weeks, picking up 4.1m monthly active users.
GAMESCOM: New gameplay trailers have been released for a pair of the console sector’s hottest new titles.
Read and remember these stats so you can sound clever at the next Monday morning meeting
WITH Q4 only weeks away, it’s time to start considering some of the action/adventure titles hitting the High Street.
The PlayStation Store starts selling the HD remakes of Ubisoft's Splinter Cell tomorrow - over a month before they arrive on disc at retail.
French publisher Ubisoft has risked stoking the fires of hate towards its controversial PC DRM strategy by proclaiming it a success.
The PC version of Ubisoft's Driver: San Francisco will require players to have a constant internet connection.
Ubisoft’s free-to-play aspirations were unveiled to the UK press at a summer showcase last week.
The standard SKU of Assassin's Creed: Revelations will be accompanied by no less than two special editions at launch.
505 Games's Zumba Fitness holds onto the top spot of the UK GfK Chart-Track All Formats Top 40, despite the arrival of several new entries this week.
Starting with the release of Driver: San Francisco on September 2nd, Ubisoft is to introduce its own version of EA’s Online Pass.


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Serves researchers, enterprise folks, academics, and traders who want reliable financial data on foreign countries. Regardless of the nature of Brexit, three adjustments for businesses are certain: a brand new immigration regime, new customs necessities and elevated frictions in commerce. America was a wash with low cost cash from China and in Ireland, Germany and other Euro zone nations offered the cheap capital. Taken together, this means it’s at the very least possible the global economy could expertise a sharp rebound once the pandemic is over.
These FDI inflows, which had been comparatively weak for Indonesia during the decade after … Read More
Though, it seems, most agree, this nation needs a properly – thought of, economic enhance, now, with a purpose to take some steps in direction of helping our economy, and citizens, recover! Obama signed tax REDUCE bills that had been passed by a Republic Congress to stimulate the economy through the worst economic downturn for the reason that Nice Depression. EU funding is offered for all types of firms – small and medium enterprises and bigger businesses. President Trump has made the lack of jobs to China a marketing campaign difficulty and said that, underneath former Vice President Biden, the … Read More
Constituting lower than 5 % of the world’s inhabitants, Americans generate and earn more than 20 percent of the world’s whole earnings. Businesses have received billions in loans, tax deferrals, Enterprise Price reliefs, and common and sector-particular grants. A key side of China’s financial modernization and development technique throughout the Eighties and 1990s was to attract FDI into China to help boost the event of home companies. This has been made always predominant because of the lack of technical-know how and capability to produce enough and sturdy up to standard items by these international locations, a scenario the place they … Read More
The arrival of computer systems has markedly improved our economy and requirements of every day residing as enterprise, commerce and world commerce has flourished at unprecedented fee over the past a long time. Momentum in manufacturing exercise, in particular, has weakened considerably, to levels not seen because the international financial crisis. You may’t blame the banks, it was the Labour government that demanded the money and the expansion wanted to purchase its supporters. The scheme will probably be focused at companies that want it most – all small and medium-sized corporations – however only for massive companies if turnover has … Read More
If you are nonetheless not outsourcing work for what you are promoting then you’re lacking out on top-of-the-line ways to save money and get high quality work carried out that may provide help to develop your small business and get ahead of your rivals. It is time folks notice that blind spending cuts during recession is counterproductive to the economy. Global growth is forecast at three.2 % in 2019, selecting up to three.5 percent in 2020 (0.1 proportion level decrease than in the April WEO projections for both years). This phase will characteristic submit-disaster analysis on the central role of … Read More
It is no secret that presently the economy is bad. Consequently, the current account — probably the most comprehensive measure of commerce and earnings flows between the United States and the remainder of the world because it contains goods, companies, and income earned in or paid to the remainder of the world — had a deficit equal to 2.5 % of GDP. After contracting sharply within the Great Recession, the economy began growing in mid-2009, following enactment of the monetary stabilization invoice (TARP) and the American Restoration and Reinvestment Act.
It is in fact the will to borrow and spend … Read More
I started noticing in my state that many blue collar jobs have been misplaced. A developed monetary system of the country can guarantee scope for attaining financial improvement. People of shade are weak to one more impact of the COVID-19 crisis because it affects large companies. I’m going to be starting my own native promotional program called “Stuffy Recommends” and will probably be primarily based on personal experiences of dealings with local businesses that additionally excel in customer support so it is a two pronged strategy to helping the economy.
Finally increasingly more businesses will proceed to put off more … Read More
It is no secret that presently the economy is unhealthy. North Vietnam drove funding from below 10% of GDP to 20%, whereas in the South it remained a stable 8-10%, the federal government concerned in regards to the political influence of a lower in the usual of residing to secure greater financial growth. Shifting the system involves everybody and every part: companies, governments, and individuals; our cities, our products, and our jobs.
Approval of the not too long ago renegotiated NAFTA (now the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement) ought to assist to ensure continued growth, and determination of the U.S.-China commerce dispute … Read More
Micromanaging our economy has change into a way of life or at the very least it has been previously. The Chinese authorities has acknowledged these problems and has pledged to address them by implementing policies to increase the position of the market in the economy, increase innovation, make client spending the driving drive of the economy, increase social security internet protection, encourage the development of less-polluting industries (equivalent to providers), and crack down on official government corruption.
Because the current difficulty of defending human well being versus reopening boarded-up businesses has turn out to be profoundly politicized as a false … Read More
COVID-19 has triggered the deepest world recession in decades. Businesses and customers can purchase provides or merchandise from companies that create profit for the group. Therefore, it is tough to see if these tax breaks alone to the middle class can be a significant consider pulling the entire economy out of recession. In our base-case state of affairs, continued unfold inside established complexes, in addition to neighborhood transmission in new complexes, drives a zero.three- to 0.7-share-level reduction in world GDP progress for 2020.
The global economic impact is severe, approaching the global financial disaster of 2008-09. Not least the National … Read More


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PLYMOUTH, MN – While Europe continues to forcefully address security issues to thwart potential terror plots, new survey data from Travel Leaders Group indicates that France has bounced back in the eyes of American travelers.
For individuals with upcoming Europe travel plans in 2016, France was selected as the top country those travelers will visit – followed by Italy, the United Kingdom, Germany and Spain. However, for survey participants stating they’re not planning a trip to Europe between now and the end of the year, safety concerns still rank among the top five reasons. The survey was conducted April 4 to April 30, 2016, and includes responses from 3,431 consumers throughout the United States.
“The ‘new normal’ in today’s world means potential risks of travel exist just about everywhere, including here at home. So perhaps it’s not surprising that our latest survey data indicates that many Americans will not let fear and threats overtake their desire to embrace the world and experience other cultures; France is a primary example,” stated Travel Leaders Group CEO Ninan Chacko.
“While each person must decide on their personal level of comfort in traveling to any destination – even those within the U.S. – the survey data shows many are still choosing Europe, and France specifically, as their destination of choice. Travel continues to be one of the single-most powerful catalysts for addressing ignorance, fear and hate. Based our survey findings, a significant number of American travelers agree.”
• For the 8.2% of survey participants who’ve already traveled to Europe this year, the top European countries visited have been: (1) United Kingdom, (2) France, (3) Italy, (4) Germany, and (5) Netherlands.
• For those with upcoming plans to travel to Europe – 17.1% of survey respondents – the top European destinations visited will be: (1) France, (2) Italy, (3) United Kingdom, (3) Germany, and (5) Spain.
o When asked, “Is your intention to continue with those travel plans?” nearly all (98.3%) respondents said “Yes.”
• The survey also asked participants if they are contemplating a trip (or another trip) to Europe in 2016. Of the nearly 28% who said “Yes,” the top destinations they are considering include: (1) United Kingdom, (2) Italy, (3) France, (4) Germany, and (5) Ireland.
• For those individuals stating they are not planning a trip to Europe between now and the end of the year, the top reasons included:
Big vacation already taken or planned for 2016 48.5%
Concerns over safety 25.5%
Not interested in Europe 16.4%
No vacation time 6.3%
* Participants could select as many options as appropriate. Two of the most popular “write in” responses were: “Already going or have gone to Europe” and “Been there, want to see something different.”
• Taking into consideration recent events, survey participants were asked, “Are there any countries in Europe you would specifically avoid this year?” The top responses, from nearly 3,100 survey participants, were:
1 No 37.5%
2 No – I/we cannot allow fear to dictate our travels 26.6%
3 Turkey 21.0%
4 Belgium 14.4%
5 Russia 14.3%


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Once again the ever-reliable FCC has outed another device trying to fly under the radar. In this case Bowflex, famed for making weights, had already announced its Boost sports tracker wrist wear. But now we know it's due in September.
The US price will be $50 (£32), making it way less than the cheapest out now in the £80 Flex. Despite the price you'll still get a step tracker and even sleep monitoring with easy syncing to your smartphone app using Bluetooth.
We imagine there must be a catch, but can't see one just yet. As long as Bowflex offers access to third-party apps like MapMyRun, and manages to offer a decent battery life, this could be a winner.


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Logitech has built its business on the humble computer mouse. Company president and CEO, Guerrino De Luca, talks to ARN about the broader portfolio it offers today and key market trends.
Computer mice are the biggest part of Logitech's business today but where do you see growth opportunities?
Mice are still a big part of the portfolio. They used to account for virtually all of it many years ago but now they're about one third. That said, you might be surprised to hear that one of the biggest growth drivers in the last couple of years has been mice. They have an incredible resilience because they're a very personal technology device. As such they are subject to preferences and evolutions that have more to do with the experience than functionality. The mouse is a simple device that tracks surfaces and clicks so it can be simplified enormously in the same way as a watch and yet there is a tremendous breadth of choice. The main reason mice are growing so fast right now is that the laptop has become the desktop. It's not just that people are travelling more; they are choosing that form factor for use at home. The phenomenon of portable computing is more relevant at home than in the enterprise. Notebooks don't come with a mouse and after a while the consumer cannot stand using the integrated pointing device. These were conceived for travelling but it is much more comfortable to use a mouse. People are buying mice that are smaller and can travel with you. Cordless versions drove the first new wave of mice sales but now it is portability.
The mouse is a simple device. What new functionality can we expect to see?
Tracking went from a ball to sensors, then better sensors, and today's optical sensors have problems with certain surfaces. We have been working on improving that and have gone to laser versions but we are getting close to tracking on every surface. That's the next big thing. Then there's navigation, which has gone from clicking to scrolling and now hyper-scrolling. Our VX Nano is a cordless, laser mouse for notebooks with the smallest receiver on the market and a hyper-scrolling wheel. It's a huge product for us. Our MX Air is a mouse that doesn't need to be on the desk to work. It's great for lying back on the couch while using PC media. People will not be without navigation devices so making them more suitable for what people do is a big deal for us.
If mice are only one-third of your business today, what makes up the rest of it?
Our second largest business is a race between audio - iPod speakers and PC speakers - and keyboards. They are both close to mice in size. Then there are Web cams and gaming devices for PCs and Play-Stations. Most recently we have released two new categories targeting the new wave of consumer electronics - remote control devices are the fastest growing business we have and, more recently we have released streaming media systems. We are broadening beyond the PC and getting more into the living room.
If the market is increasingly going mobile, what is the future for the humble desktop PC?
There will be a future for the desktop in the enterprise and I believe education will use desktops for a long time yet. There's a role for desktops because the install base is so huge that change is not going to happen overnight. There are still more desktops than notebooks and that means there is still a tremendous opportunity to sell products around the desktop. However, it's true that the future is about form factors that allow portability and I think the biggest opportunity is the notebook that travels but only around the house. Resellers can surround that notebook with products that make it more comfortable to use such as stands, keyboards and USB hubs.
You mentioned that remote controls are the fastest growing segment of your business. When will we be able to flick easily from TV to a browser?
The problem with the living room is that devices proliferate but we are missing the unifying element. Either you choose everything from the same brand, but then you can't get the latest products if that brand doesn't make them, or you have this immense choice of devices. There's an opportunity to tame this complexity and there are devices that can control your living room if the PC is the master. There are others that control your living room if the PC is not the master. Can the two come together? Of course they can but for now we are addressing usage in different ways.
What will be the most significant industry change during the next five years?
IT is graduating into the consumer electronics world and that is a mega-trend. The traditional consumer electronics world is led by Asian companies that dominate miniaturisation. Consumer electronics 2.0 is all software interface and network driven so the IT industry has a tremendous opportunity. The iPod is a classic example of consumer electronics 2.0 because the entire back-end is new. The IT industry can bring what it has learned in software and UI [user interface] to change the balance of power in consumer electronics. Who would have thought that the portable music franchise Sony had with the Walkman could be destroyed? But it happened and UI is the answer.
How will that change the role of resellers?
For a number of them, particularly the smaller ones, it presents a fantastic opportunity to get into the living room.
But consumer electronics have traditionally been sold in much bigger department stores. Why is that going to change?
Those stores will be challenged because they will need to upgrade their skills. While all of these devices are easy, they require different skills than just turning on a TV. There's an opportunity for smaller independents to take advantage of that. Some people will take that opportunity while others will be forgotten.


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As we began 2012, many predicted it would be the year of internet freedom. As we begin 2013, privacy and competition are top of the agenda.
I've written before why I believe privacy and competition are intertwined as regulatory issues. The challenge for regulators is not just to ensure that remedies protect competition, but to look at the broader development of the internet and how the data-fueled explosion of wealth will impact on citizens' rights.
Of particular concern is the fact that if consumers do not have a choice of services, how can their consent to share data with one particular service be taken as free and informed consent? This question is most vividly illustrated by the impending regulatory decisions in Europe facing Google.
When the FTC ended its two year investigation at the end of 2012, without a legally enforceable consent decree, Bloomberg's response included a warning that "lawmakers never envisioned that one company would emerge as a public utility of sorts for e-commerce." They are absolutely right.
Europe is currently tacking both issues. On the one hand, the culmination of the EU's competition investigation into Google's operations is expected to report shortly. At the same time, member states are formulating new data protection laws to protect citizens from the unfair and unlawful processing of their personal data in an internet age.
Unlike the FTC's investigation, the EU's own efforts look set to be in a binding form, although concerns still exist about how superficial the remedies may be. The EU's most senior competition official, Joaquín Almunia, has stated he believes there is abuse of Google's dominant position and has made clear that he believes there is a clear link between privacy and competition, saying, a "single dominant company could of course think to infringe privacy laws to gain an advantage over its competitors."
At the highest levels in Europe, decisions are being made that will have wide-ranging repercussions for how companies use our data and the markets that consumers engage with. In 2013 the EU has the opportunity to both reinforce competition and enhance citizens' rights over their own data.
Consumers on both sides of the Atlantic would be well served by a precedent that restores the emphasis on competitive markets and the essential role of consumer consent and choice to the digital economy. This opportunity relies on decisive and legally binding action, setting down the boundaries that consumers expect and markets demand.
Remedies must go beyond visual nudges and aesthetic tweaks, nor must it be left to fortune to effect change. Regulators must step up and regulate, making change a reality for consumers and protecting the fundamental conditions that effective markets depend upon.
If business models are to evolve, Google's dominance cannot be allowed to perpetuate a status quo where the only option consumers have is if they engage with their personal information or do not engage at all.
The digital economy is an immature economy, barely two decades old and full of promise but hindered by self-interest and imperfect protections for consumers and start-ups. If it is to fulfill its promise, these imperfections must be tackled with vigor. The EU must now show this vigor.


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Fortnite is a really fun game filled with multiplayer shenanigans for players of all ages. It’s an addiction, particularly for children that want nothing more than unlocking one more outfit in the game. And now it has gotten to a point where people are doing something about it.
As stated in the Twitter thread, some parents have begun sending their kids off to video game rehabilitation programs. “This game is like heroin,” notes Lorrine Marer, who serves as a British behavioural specialist. “Once you are hooked, it’s hard to get unhooked.”
Here’s the report of this posted by TicToc:
Fortnite addiction has become so serious that some parents are sending their kids into rehab pic.twitter.com/znyi5Peuqd
— TicToc by Bloomberg (@tictoc) 28 November 2018
And others have also pointed out their concerns about kids playing too much in Fortnite, with many seeing their child’s grades and sleep affected by the game.
Thanks to Fortnite, kids are losing sleep and seeing their grades plummet, and their parents are trying to get them into rehab https://t.co/EkXV2C6TNn
— Joe Weisenthal (@TheStalwart) 27 November 2018
And well, it’s not just children. In UK, Fortnite was responsible behind 200 divorces. Twitter user Jesse Feldef had something to explain that further, along with the news that some pro athletes are also knees deep into the game.
"This game is like heroin," said Lorrine Marer, a British behavioral specialist who works with kids battling game addiction. "Once you are hooked, it’s hard to get unhooked." https://t.co/ZF9584h1Gk pic.twitter.com/1WjpZYed9Z
— Jesse Felder (@jessefelder) 27 November 2018
Fortnite has passed more than 200 million registered players, becoming a popular game in the market at the moment.
Epic Games hasn’t made any note of this until now but some fans are nothing that they aren’t ready to blame, and it’s just a matter of bad parenting.
This has nothing to do with @EpicGames or gaming in general, just bad parents. Rehab for shit like this is soo overkill. Just smash their devices into pieces and whip out the belt.. save the rehab money lmao
— obamastepson (@Obamastepboy) 28 November 2018
It's a good thing these kids didnt discovery world of warcraft when it was actually fun then
— btlilalex (@lilalex826) 28 November 2018
Can't you put parental controls on consoles? I'm almost positive you can. Especially if it's Switch..
— ?Princess Kitty? (@PrincessSoftpaw) 28 November 2018
Self-discipline. It will make you free.
— A Love Supreme (@PacOceanBeach) 28 November 2018


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Credit: Business Insider - Published 12 hours ago · Electronic Arts' "Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order" is a single-player game designed to invoke the same spirit of mythic adventure that inspired the first generation of "Star Wars" fans back in 1977.
· While recent "Star Wars" games have been focused on online multiplayer, "Star Wars Jedi:.. »more
· For the past 10-plus years, Apple has made billions of dollars by manufacturing and selling the iPhone.
· *But what's next, after the iPhone? That's the big question.*
· *Apple has a few major projects in the works, from a set of smart glasses to self-driving car technology to —..
Amazon offers Apple’s latest 13-inch MacBook Air 128GB for *$899.99 shipped*. You can upgrade to the 256GB variation for *$1,099.99*. That’s good for $199 off, and a match of our previous mention. Apple’s latest MacBook Air sports a 13-inch Retina display, two Thunderbolt 3 ports, and a..
Over the years, we’ve heard many stories about the Apple Watch has changed people’s lives through its fitnesses and health features. This weekend, a new feature from People tells the story of how the Noise app in watchOS 6 has helped a 21-year-old in Texas with autism improve his social..
AirPods Pro have earned widespread praise since their release last month thanks to sound quality improvements, noise cancellation, and more. Consumer Reports is now out with its full review of AirPods Pro, and those improvements seemingly aren’t enough to take the top-rated crown from..
Hey, good morning! You look fabulous. Welcome to your weekend! Now that Apple's new laptop is here, it's time to tear it apart and look inside. Disney is responding to Simpsons fans, and Amazon has a new high-quality Echo speaker. Finally, there's a...
Dyson Direct via Rakuten is offering its V6 Motorhead Cordless Stick Vacuum for *$159.99 shipped* when coupon code *DYSN25* has been applied during checkout. *Note:* You will need to be logged in to a free Rakuten account to use this code. That’s $119 off the going rate found at retailers like..


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Closure temporarily averted for Tembec
October 30, 2008 By Pulp & Paper Canada
Workers at Tembec’s wood stud mill in Cochrane, ON can expect several more paycheques than they did last week. The …
Workers at Tembec’s wood stud mill in Cochrane, ON can expect several more paycheques than they did last week. The facility, initially scheduled to close for five months at the start of November, will run until at least the end of the month, a report by the Daily News confirmed. The mill received new product and service orders that made continued production viable.
“It was a matter of opportunity in the marketplace,” the Daily News reported Richard Fahey, vice president of communications for Tembec as saying. “We were able to find some customers for the wood as well as some timber to process to produce the lumber that we sold in the marketplace.” The company did not confirm where the orders came from, other than they originated in North America.
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AP Photo/Nick Ut
The Trump administering on Friday formed out a plan to barrier affected imports that admiral said accept developed aggressive through third-party sales on online retailers including Amazon, Walmart, eBay, and Alibaba.
Under the changes, the government will access blank of US warehouses and access up fines and penalties for violations. The measure, which was led by the White House and the Department of Homeland Security, stemmed from an April advertisement active by President Donald Trump.
“We’re not activity to be able to appropriate or arrest our way out of this problem,” said Mark Morgan, the acting abettor of the US Community and Border Protection. “That’s why we assignment to aggrandize our assignment carefully with the brand industry as able-bodied as online marketplaces, carriers, abstruse firms, as able-bodied as acumen providers.”
The advertisement came on the heels of an acting barter acceding amid the Trump administering and China, which includes measures to axis the breeze of affected and pirated articles into the US. Under the alleged phase-one deal, China is accepted to abjure the operating licenses of platforms that don’t comply.
“China has additionally apprenticed close activity to accost pirated and affected goods, which is a big botheration for abounding of the bodies in the allowance – the counterfeiting,” Trump told assembly and business admiral at a signing commemoration for the accord on January 15. “We’ll accomplish abiding that this happens, and we accept very, actual able protection.”
The Trump administering has said food like Amazon, Walmart, eBay, and Alibaba accept not done abundant to stop affected sales, which accept been on the acceleration in contempo years. In 2018, the Government Accountability Appointment advised dozens of appurtenances that it bought through third-party sellers on accepted ecommerce sites. About 43% of the articles were counterfeit, the appointment said in a report.
“Why are counterfeits all-over in third-party online marketplaces? For one, because community law has not kept up with the billow of e-commerce,” White House barter adviser Peter Navarro said in a Wall Street Journal op-ed about the aforementioned time. “Alibaba, Amazon and eBay face around no accountability back they act as middlemen for counterfeiters.”
On Friday, Navarro said that the new plan would accountable online sellers to the aforementioned counterfeiting standards that brick-and-mortar food face. Navarro was one of the architects of the action and has additionally emerged as one of the best advancing choir in barter negotiations with China.
“The botheration is, for all applied purposes, these e-commerce hubs are basically laundries for counterfeiting,” he added.
Amazon, Walmart, Ebay, and Alibaba did not acknowledge to emails requesting comment.
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McDONOUGH – After months of preparation, Dave and Buster’s will open to the public on Monday.
The location in the South Point shopping center in McDonough, located near Ga. Highway 20, 81 and Interstate 75 is the first Dave and Busters location south of Atlanta and the fourth for Dave and Buster’s in the area. Other locations are in Marietta, Lawrenceville and Alpharetta.
On Thursday, the new facility opened up for a VIP party, allowing those in the area, including government officials, those who built the facility and others to get a glimpse of the new location.
Greg Sims, general manager of the McDonough Dave and Buster’s, said on Thursday that he had worked in the Lawrenceville location for nine years and commonly saw individuals south of Atlanta drive through to visit.
“It’s going to be exciting they can all come to McDonough and stay in the southside,” Sims said.
The new facility, a 40,000-square-foot building, will feature entertainment, hundreds of the latest arcade games and the Dave and Buster’s Sports Bar, filled with dozens of televisions.
Sims estimated 48 televisions in the facility. Those televisions will feature all of the major sports, including every NFL game on Sundays and every Ultimate Fighting Championship pay-per-view, with no cover charge. With 12 screens in the main dining room, the McDonough location will air as many as a dozen NFL games on a Sunday afternoon.
“It’s not a bad place to work on Sunday afternoons,” Sims said.
In addition to the games, a number of virtual reality experiences are also available, including the Star Trek Dark Remnant experience, Dragonfrost, Jurassic World VR Expedition and Men in Black International: Virtual Reality.
The VR experiences proved to be incredibly popular with guests, with long lines for the experience observed during the event.
The new Dave and Buster’s is located at 239 Ga. Highway 81 West in McDonough. Hours of operation are 11 a.m. to midnight Sunday through Thursday, and 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday.


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Owner of Steak 'n Shake burger chain to acquire struggling men's magazine Maxim; publication's ad dollars dropped 28% last year to US$80.7M
March 4, 2014
– Seeking some sizzle, the owner of the Steak 'n Shake burger chain is buying men's magazine Maxim.
Alpha Media Group Inc. put Maxim up for sale a year ago. The publication has struggled, with ad dollars dropping 28 percent last year to $80.7 million, bucking a 1 percent gain for consumer magazines overall, said the Association of Magazine Media. Terms of the deal with Biglari Holdings Inc. were not released. The San Antonio-based company, headed by CEO Sardar Biglari, says Maxim will continue under its current management.


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As a smart city, our team is always in search of innovative and sustainable collaborations. Our ecosystem continues to grow with our newest member, Smartmile. Based in Finland and the Netherlands, this international collaboration with Curiosity Lab will allow Smartmile to evaluate the American market before launching its solution in the United States. This will be Smartmile’s first U.S. deployment. Bringing their mission of providing neutral, sustainable and effective last-mile delivery services to the Peachtree Corners community, Curiosity Lab is excited to welcome the new startup to the smart city ecosystem.
Smartmile’s solution aims to eliminate the environmental footprint of delivery systems by filling the missing link between carriers, stakeholders, cities and individuals involved in the delivery process. Founded by Aku Happo and Steffen Luippold, the team established the first parcel locker system in Finland. Through their services, the Smartmile team works to connect and optimize the delivery industry. Smartmile’s technologies connect cities through their parcel locker system, reducing congestion, retailer overload and delivery times. By eliminating the middleman through this delivery solution, Smartmile creates fewer stops and fewer failed deliveries for an efficient delivery experience. Along with improving delivery systems for couriers, Smartmile improves the delivery process for retailers, restaurants and individuals.
Smartmile’s parcel solutions work to minimize excess CO2 from traditional delivery routes through the reduction of stops per vehicle. This practice supports a cleaner environment for communities near and far. Smartmile also encourages customers to pick up and return packages via bike, further promoting a more eco-friendly system. This mission supports Peachtree Corners’ own sustainability initiatives, making Smartmile the perfect fit for our smart city.
With 250 Smartmile hubs scattered and thriving throughout Europe, the Curiosity Lab team is excited to have this new technology in Peachtree Corners. In addition to providing testing opportunities, Peachtree Corners will give Smartmile the chance to expand its courier and industry partners.
“Their solutions not only support the city’s sustainability initiatives but also help to reduce delivery congestion, retailer overload and delivery times. As a smart city, we are always searching for companies and solutions that improve the daily lives of our residents, and we are looking forward to seeing the positive impact of Smartmile’s solutions in Peachtree Corners,” says Curiosity Lab Executive Director Brandon Branham. After testing and refining Smartmile’s technology, the company plans to launch its innovative delivery solutions further into the United States markets.
Peachtree Corners is passionate about sustainable technology partnerships and showcasing international collaborations, and we are excited to welcome Smartmile to our city. Learn more about Smartmile and their last-mile parcel delivery solutions at https://smartmile.eu/ and see the full press release here.


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Thirty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the countries of central Europe are eager to move to a new phase in their remarkable transformation from communist basket cases to vibrant market economies fully integrated in to European business supply chains.
Poland’s conservative prime minister last week said he wanted to “close the chapter” of cheap labour and low wages that has turbocharged the Polish economy, and fed the Germany industrial powerhouse, since the country joined the EU in 2004. Speaking just days before Sunday’s general election, Mateusz Morawiecki promised to raise the country’s minimum wage by an extraordinary 78 per cent by 2023.
Poland has imposed sharp hikes in the minimum wage before but the level, relative to average earnings, is already quite high by European standards. The planned increase from 2,250 zlotys a month to 4,000 zlotys ($1,030) would push it up to about 60 per cent of the average wage, the highest in the OECD club of mostly rich countries.
Wages are rising sharply elsewhere. In the Czech Republic, where unemployment stands at a measly 2 per cent, gross wages rose on average by 8 per cent last year while output per worker inched up only 1.5 per cent. Workers at Skoda, the Volkswagen-owned automaker that alone accounts for 7 per cent of Czech gross domestic product, were awarded a 12 per cent wage increase.
Audi workers in Hungary secured an 18 per cent pay rise this year after a short strike at a plant that is the largest producer of engines in Europe disrupted production at the carmaker’s factories in Germany. Nominal hourly labour costs have increased by more than 10 per cent in the last year in Hungary, Slovakia, Romania and Bulgaria.
Parts of central Europe are running out of workers because of low birth rates and high emigration. It has become the number one impediment to business expansion and economic growth. It raises the question of whether the relatively low-cost manufacturing that has been an important contributor to the competitiveness of wealthier industrial Europe, and especially Germany, is running out of road.
Economists argue that rising wage costs are a standard market mechanism that will increase overall wellbeing by pushing workers away from weak firms to more profitable ones that can pay more.
“If you look at the productivity gap between micro firms and large firms in the region, it is far bigger than in western Europe,” says Mateusz Szczurek, of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. “And there is a huge population of zombie firms that are just profitable enough to survive but are keeping labour from more productive use.”
It is the combination of rapid demographic change and drastic minimum wage increases that could, in Poland’s case, prove “extremely disruptive”, driving smaller businesses to the wall, Mr Szczurek says. “Creative destruction could be destructive before it becomes creative,” he says.


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From the Korea Times:
Today’s publishing industry faces a new challenge as digital books are replacing conventional formats. To tackle this and extend their international partnerships, some 596 publishers from 21 countries are gathering at the Seoul International Book Fair at COEX in Samseong-dong, southern Seoul through Sunday.
For this year’s fair, France has been invited as the guest of honor and will display 1,800 French books from 100 publishers, and hold seminars and cultural events.
Alain Grund, president of Bureau International de l’Edition Francaise (BIEF) or the International Office of the French Edition, hails the occasion as the opportunity to prove the ever-growing interest among professionals in Korea for French publications and vice versa.


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The company on Thursday said it planned a major revamp in Europe, including job cuts to boost profitability, but did not specify numbers. It hinted at possible cuts in France, Germany and Russia.
"The plans are for a total of 1,150 job losses in the UK," Britain's largest union Unite said in a statement.
Unite said it had been briefed regarding plans to axe 1,000 positions in two stages over two years at Ford's Bridgend engine plant in Wales.
"It is a devastating blow for our members and their families, as well as having grave implications for the Welsh economy and the supply chain," Des Quinn, Unite national officer for automotive industries, said in a statement.
Also Thursday, Jaguar Land Rover said it would axe about 4,500 mostly UK jobs after a slump in Chinese sales last year.
Automakers are suffering from a major slide in sales of diesel cars. This is forcing companies like Ford to invest heavily in new technology to meet fast-growing demand for greener electric vehicles. (AFP) PMS
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)


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Disneyland has given one of its most beloved attractions a subtle, but inclusive, update more than 56 years after its park debut.
Last week, two dolls in wheelchairs were added to the Anaheim, California, resort’s “It’s a Small World” boat ride as part of an annual refurbishment. One of the dolls is featured in a scene representing South America, while the other appears during the attraction’s grand finale.
The two dolls are among more than 300 audio-animatronics figures, designed to represent children in traditional costumes from cultures around the world, that appear inside the ride. Their installation coincided with a special holiday-themed overlay that will continue through the end of Disneyland’s Christmas celebrations in January 2023.
Disney officials have said that plans for the new dolls were first proposed more than six months ago as part of the resort’s overall effort to reflect a more “accurate representation of diversity around the world.”
Kim Irvine, Walt Disney Imagineering’s executive creative director for Disneyland, told HuffPost she felt “fortunate” to have helped add “new magic” to the ride by spearheading the update.
“I am passionate about creating a deeper connection to our parks by honoring the diversity among us through our attractions,” she said in an email, “and am thrilled with this addition that builds on the legacy of representation in ‘It’s a Small World.’”
Echoing those sentiments was Erin Quintanilla, manager of Disneyland’s accessibility team, who said she was consulted early in the planning process to ensure that the new dolls “authentically represent those of us who live life on wheels.”
“From the bend in the child’s knee, to the push rim on the back of the wheels, each component truly represents how a child independently uses a wheelchair,” she told HuffPost. “It’s also critical that the dolls move just like everyone else in order to be fully inclusive.”
“It’s a Small World” was one of four Disney attractions that were originally developed for the 1964 New York World’s Fair. It was relocated to Disneyland in 1966, with a nearly identical version opening in Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom in 1971.
The attraction is perhaps best known for its ubiquitous theme song, which was written by the Sherman Brothers, the Oscar-winning duo who composed the music for “Mary Poppins,” among other classic films. Artist and animator Mary Blair, who worked on “Peter Pan” and “Cinderella,” was responsible for the whimsical design of both the dolls and the sets.
Since their debut last week, the new dolls have already drawn praise from disability inclusion advocates.
“Disney clearly sees the benefits of attracting a wider audience that is inclusive to everyone,” Jill Houghton, the president and CEO of the Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit Disability:IN, told CNN last week. “We need to see more of this in pop culture, theme parks and entertainment if we want to be truly representative of the largest minority group in the world.”
She went on to note, “The dolls are participating inclusively alongside their non-disabled peers, which is something we want to see more of, instead of being depicted as limited or incapable because of a disability.”


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TT-1 Pinto Posted December 4, 2020 Report Share Posted December 4, 2020 RAVN-X ... Aevum presenta il suo drone destinato al lancio in orbita piccoli satelliti ... Quote It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s the RAVN-X - a rocket-launching drone designed to send small satellites to orbit without a pilot or a launchpad. Aerospace startup Aevum unveiled the first flight-ready model today, in advance of the system’s first mission: a 2021 launch for the U.S. Space Force, to take place after flight testing. The company has already inked about $1 billion in military contracts, but Jay Skylus, founder and CEO, believes the RAVN-X system will be useful for remote-sensing scientists interested in launching small satellites quickly into custom orbits. Rocket-launching drone ready to take satellites into orbit Anche qui … This company wants to launch satellites into space via drone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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Atlanta Braves Launching Online Auction to Benefit Red Cross Hurricane Michael Relief Efforts
October 19, 2018
ATLANTA (October 19, 2018) – The Atlanta Braves have created an online auction with all proceeds benefiting the Red Cross Hurricane Michael Relief efforts. The auction is now live at www.braves.com/charityauctionsand will end at 7 p.m. ET on
October 31. The team is also collecting needed items and asking Braves Country to make monetary donations to the Red Cross by visiting www.redcross.org/atlantabraves.
“We wanted to expand our outreach to the areas devastated by Hurricane Michael,” said Derek Schiller, Braves President and CEO. “The online auction allows our fans the chance to bid on one-of-a-kind items with all the proceeds benefiting the Red Cross. We hope this donation helps our neighbors in Florida and South Georgia in their recovery process.”
Items in the auction include a 2019 Atlanta Braves batting practice experience with four tickets to watch the team take BP next season as well as several autograph items from Braves players and coaches, including Ronald Acuña, Ozzie Albies, Charlie Culberson, John Camargo, Mike Foltynewicz, Freddie Freeman, Ender Inciarte, Kurt Suzuki, Dansby Swanson and manager Brian Snitker. There is also a jersey and a bat signed by the 2018 NL East Championship Team.
The team is continuing to collect food and supply donations at the SunTrust onUp Experience through the end of October. Located at 800 Battery Ave. SE Suite #110, the store front will be open for donations seven-days a week from noon-6 p.m. Sunday-Wednesday and noon-8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday. All items collected with go to Feeding Florida, which assists the Panhandle and Tallahassee areas, and Feeding the Valley, which aids Southwest Georgia and Columbus.
Here is a list of items being collected by the Braves: granola bars, peanut butter, tuna, soup, fruit (cups, canned or dried), cereal, grits and oatmeal, rice and pasta, bottled water, cleaning supplies and personal hygiene items.
Earlier this season, the Braves distributed over 6,000 tickets over three-days to those evacuated due to Hurricane Florence and raised $100,000 for Red Cross hurricane relief efforts through the 50/50 raffle and in-game silent auctions. For more information and other ways to donate, please visit www.braves.com/hurricanerelief.
To celebrate 30 Years of Atlanta Talk Radio Excellence, 680 The Fan is setting up one lucky winner and three friends with our 30th Anniversary Ultimate Golf Getaway! Enjoy a 6-Night Golf Villa stay for you and THREE guests at Palmetto Dunes Ocean front resort in Hilton Head, South Carolina and SEVEN rounds of golf…


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There is a debate raging about whether a new economic revolution has started without the masses realizing it. And people are voting with their dollars and their voices: the new economic trend that is quietly gaining traction is voice commerce. This trend makes use of a software application on smart speakers, all mobile phones and is commonly used on commercial websites. It lets people use their voices to order products and services instead of the mouse or the keyboard. Some of the voice commerce platforms come replete with sophisticated voice recognition capabilities and are able to process complex sentences and responses.
A Growing Trend
While one study showed only 2% of people who own Amazon Alexa have used the smart speaker to make a purchase using their voice, others show more than 35% of respondents had made a purchase using a smart speaker. And with about 21.9% of the internet users in the United States owning a smart speaker, the adoption of this new way of buying can potentially happen with revolutionary speed. It’s anticipated that over 31% more people will use smart speakers to make purchases in the next year and by 2020, almost 35% of U.S. internet users will have used smart speakers to purchase at least one item.
Barriers To Growth
Another survey showed many more people considered using smart speakers to purchase products, but there were three barriers that prevented them from doing so. Those barriers were concerns about privacy and security and the inability to see the product clearly. With the release of the Echo Show by Amazon, that third hurdle will be eliminated and even more people will be shouting their purchases into smart speakers, especially when reordering or putting more items on their shopping list. Some see that as the most likely role for smart speaker, not replacing ecommerce.
With the steady growth of smart speaker purchases, some marketing gurus are already predicting that soon Alexa, Siri and their ilk will be selling commercials. About 40% of people in the United States with voice assistants already said they would welcome product suggestions that were relevant to them. This is a likely addition to voice purchases, visual search, augmented and virtual reality and chatbots as these technologies vie for the attention of consumers. Some studies say researching products is how consumers most often use voice-enabled devices while shopping online and in-store. However, most consumers still prefer shopping the traditional way, for now anyway.
While Alexa isn’t airing commercials yet, 85% of Amazon customers chose the products the system recommended while they were voice shopping for groceries, home goods and electronics. Consumers trust the reviews and product information Amazon offers, so they agreed the recommended products were things they needed. Such a powerful influence may hasten the time when voice-assistants are hawking products. Some say companies are in talks with Amazon to have their products marketed on Echo devices. Amazon denies the rumor is true, but with Echo devices in millions of homes it seems like a lucrative opportunity for early adaptors.
Monetizing Amazon Echo Devices
Initially Amazon said there would be no ads on Kindle Fire. Three years later, Fire-only deals began appearing on the platform and now there are lots of ads on Kindle Fire. Ads on Echo devices appear to be inevitable. Creating value-driven, personalized ads that work with voice seems like the next frontier. In the meantime, brands are jostling for position to be included in Amazon’s voice search traffic and whatever is to follow. Wise brands should already be optimizing for voice search right now with their sales performance, search relevance and order history and be ready to go once Amazon opens the floodgates.
A recent test of Alexa’s order logic showed she recommended products that had the Amazon’s Choice badge first. They were followed by the top product in the order history of the user. Amazon has already issued a list of requirements for getting an ‘Amazon’s Choice’ badge. They include the popularity of the product and positive customer reviews. Alexa is excellent at reordering products from the purchase history of users. So the key for many brands to get on Alexa’s good side is to develop a purchase history with as many Alexa users as possible and optimize for relevance in the product listings and keyword language.
Voice Shopping Going Mainstream
While Amazon is poised to control a large share of the smart speaker and voice purchasing market initially, the mainstream will embrace the technology soon. Last year people spent $2 billion using voice commands. That number is expected to rise to $40 million by 2022 in the United States alone. Over 62% of American households with a smart speaker have used it to buy groceries and 35% used the platform to purchase retail items. Amazon sales are sure to rise with the increasing use of smart speakers. But that rising tide is sure to lift the boats of other mainstream retailers as well.
The Future Is Here
Conversational commerce is the new ecommerce. While Amazon sales continue to grow and brands wait with bated breath for the monetization of Echo devices through advertising, making purchases online using your voice has become an ever-growing trend. Both online retail giants Amazon and Google are investing in this large niche and consumers are adapting quickly. Voice command technology is more than just a novelty. It’s more convenient for the consumer, is less labor intensive and reduces costs for ecommerce companies and makes the process for purchasing products online easier.
The History Of Voice Purchasing
Man has been using verbal communication to exchange goods and services for thousands of years. IBM began to capture human speech with all its nuance, inflection and complexity in a computer program called voice recognition technology in 1961 with its Shoebox computer. Fifty years later, Apple and Amazon took it to another level with their virtual assistants Siri and Alexa. People searched Google using voice based commands 35 times as much in 2016 than they did in 2008. Now, its predicted that by 2020 voice based technologies will do 50% of online search queries.
More, Faster, Better
Voice commands makes online transactions faster and easier. You can shop in bed, while working out or even in the shower, using your voice. It will help to personalize the online buying experience. Companies will collect data on customers’ personal preferences, customer expectations and consumer trends easier and steer them to products that interest them. The challenge to online merchants will be developing voice based optimization techniques and short, catchy, precise descriptions of products to market them to customers using purely verbal descriptions. Voice commerce is here. It is time to prepare your marketing plans to benefit from this exciting new trend.


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Uber gives subscriptions a test drive in the Philly region
This month, Uber began offering a significantly different way to use ride sharing in the region: a subscription service.
The pilot program offers rates almost too good to be true. Subscribers can get a ride anywhere within a 389-square-mile zone for no more than $4.49 on UberX. UberPool is even cheaper, at $2.49 a ride.
[This story has been updated to reflect the correct fare schedule]
"Compared to a one-way SEPTA price, it's almost cheaper," said Will Fulmer, of Bala Cynwyd, who frequently must travel from home to 30th Street Station to catch trains to New York. "It gives me a lot of flexibility."
That same UberX ride costs him as much as $19, depending on the time of day under the company's normal rates, he said.
Offering subscriptions echoes a public transportation payment model, where monthly fare packages are common. It also bears similarity to such services as Netflix, said Erick Guerra, a University of Pennsylvania assistant professor of urban planning, in which subscribers pay different rates for different levels of service.
He and other transportation experts are watching with fascination as ride-hailing app companies struggle to translate what is clearly a popular service into a profitable one. The San Francisco-based Uber is valued at as much as $69 billion, but the December issue of Wired, a tech magazine, reported that the company is operating in the red, with at least a $3 billion loss in 2016. Subscriptions, something Lyft has also tried, are the latest experiment in an industry still seeking stability.
"They're more at this moment a venture-capital bet," Guerra said. "They're not profitable. They don't have really a business plan to make them look profitable without some pretty far out things happening."
Anyone interested in getting in on Uber's February bargain is, well, too late. The company made it available to a limited number of users by email. Subscriptions, offering packages (with some restrictions, such as trips to Philadelphia International Airport) ranging from 10 rides for $5 to 40 rides for $20 over 30 days, plus a flat charge per ride, are available only this month. Uber won't say how many people are participating or how they were selected. The pilot, which was tried last year in Seattle, San Diego, San Francisco, and in Miami since summer 2016, came to Philadelphia because Uber does robust business here. Uber wouldn't say whether a subscription model could become permanent, saying only that it is "pleased with the strong response thus far."
Subscriptions encourage a habit of using a ride-share service and a commitment to use Uber, instead of competitors, experts said.
"They'll use it on a more regular basis," said Diana Mendes, a senior vice president at HNTB, a Kansas City infrastructure consultant, "instead of one-off sporadic."
The deep bargains that the subscriptions offer, though, are possible only because Uber is subsidizing the drivers the difference between regular rates and the subscription rate.
"To be perfectly honest, they're going to lose a lot of money on this," Guerra said.
The experimentation happening at Uber and Lyft inevitably affects established transportation modes.
"As transportation professionals, everyone is trying to determine how some of the emerging technologies fit into the overall transportation picture," said Rich Burnfield, SEPTA's deputy general manager and treasurer.
SEPTA officials believe the rise of ride-share services likely played a role in reducing ridership on the city transit's surface modes by more than 2 percent between 2015 and 2016. Most experts said ride-hailing apps have the potential to change mass transit, and in some cases replace it. Public transportation has advantages, though, such as unobstructed rights of way and the ability to consistently move lots of people at once, said Kyle Shelton, program manager at the Kinder Institute for Urban Research at Rice University. What's more likely than direct competition between ride-hailing apps and mass transit is that one will force the other to change, and cooperation is likely to become more common.
"They can help develop corridors," he said of companies like Uber. "They can help move people in much more efficient ways."
Less-used bus routes could be replaced by subsidized ride-hailing app services, as happened in Pinellas Park, Fla.
SEPTA made providing real-time information about buses, trains, and trolleys a priority in 2017, Burnfield said, in part because ride-hailing apps made it apparent how much travelers value being able to observe their ride's progress.
Last summer, SEPTA partnered with Uber for 14 weeks, when the ride-hailing company offered a 40 percent discount to anyone who used its app to travel to or from one of 11 suburban Regional Rail stations that were busy, had limited parking, or were under construction. The partnership is a solution for the common "first mile, last mile" mass-transit problem, bridging the gap between people's homes and transit. Uber hasn't provided raw ridership data to SEPTA, but told officials there was an increase in Uber rides to and from those stations over the 14 weeks the discount was available.
SEPTA views ride-hailing apps as both an ally and a possible obstacle. Joining forces with Uber in the 'burbs may make sense, and the authority is looking into replicating last summer's partnership again this year, but the opposite may be the case in the city. SEPTA officials expressed concern that ride-share service use could contribute to road congestion.
Uber takes the position that its business supplements public transportation, rather than competing with it.
In this region, Uber's subscription experimentation has already shown how ride-hailing apps could compete with mass transit. Fulmer lives on one of SEPTA's least-served routes, the Cynwyd line, where hours pass without a train during the day and service arrives only on 45 minute intervals even during rush hour. Using Uber instead isn't just a good deal, it makes more sense.
"To be able to grab a car, for whenever I need, is a hugely attractive option," he said.


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Apple, Facebook, Google To Face The Heat As Regulators Tighten Screws On Encrypted Messaging Services
Google Inc (NASDAQ: GOOGL), Facebook Inc (NASDAQ: FB), Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) and every major tech company that boasts an encrypted messaging service as one of its products is going to feel the heat with countries tightening regulations on them in wake of the recent Paris attacks and their growing usage among terrorist organizations such as ISIS.
British Prime Minister David Cameron recently pledged to tighten the country’s laws against encrypted messaging service. Re/code's Kara Swisher was on CNBC Friday to weigh on this and to discuss the impact such regulatory pressure will have on tech companies.
"I think this is going to be a big issue, especially as Apple and Google continue to encrypt mobile communications and I think that’s the big fight," Swisher said. "The FBI has been attacking the companies for that. I think it’s a difficult issue because there are existing laws in place to get these communications,. The question is how transparent these companies want to be."
"They want a say when the government is asking for these things," she continued. "So, it's going to be a big struggle between large tech companies which are global, just remember these are global tech companies and the government and you can't leave out China and everywhere else. There's messaging services all over the world. So, it's going to be a very difficult thing for governments to control."
Will U.K. Stop The Sales Of iPhone If Apple Doesn’t Play Ball?
"It's not going to happen," Swisher replied. "I mean, they can threaten it, but it's not going to happen and besides there are messaging services all over the world. I mean, giant ones in China, giant ones in India. This is really, the question is, do existing laws in place take care of this and how transparent can companies be about government requests for information?
© 2017 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.


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Amaya has announced that Rafi Ashkenazi will take over the reins of the Rational Group, the parent company of PokerStars and Full Tilt, as it prepares to launch those brands in New Jersey.
Ashkenazi will replace Michael Hazel, whose departure should grease the skids of the group’s triumphant return to the US.
At the end of September, Amaya was granted a license to operate the two brands in New Jersey following an exhaustive investigation into its corporate structure by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, lasting well over a year.
One condition of licensing was that Amaya fire four executives whose ties to the old guard of PokerStars and Full Tilt were too close for comfort for the DGE.
PokerStars and Full Tilt were, of course, shut down by the Department of Justice on “Black Friday,” April 15, 2011, for violating the Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, which prohibited the facilitation of online gambling transactions for US customers.
The two brands were viewed as tainted assets in the US, but Amaya hoped that its $4.9 billion takeover of the Rational Group, would wipe the slate clean.
The DGE said in its 89-page report on Amaya that it was largely satisfied that the company had divested itself of links to the former owners of PokerStars, and Full Tillt, with the exception of the four executives in question, whom it chose not to name publicly.
“… the Division determined that four senior executives who remain with an Amaya subsidiary after the acquisition are not able to establish their good character, honesty and integrity as required by the Act because they were involved in the management or control of companies that violated UIGEA, or had responsibilities related to payment processing, providing legal advice, marketing, compliance, audit or operations at those companies,” it stated.
“Consequently, each of those individuals must be separated from any employment relationship with Amaya and its subsidiaries if transactional waivers are to be issued.”
Taking One for the Team
However, while the DGE did not directly identify the execs, it did state that Hazel was one of four individuals who were the subject of a plenary licensing investigation relating to their ties with the Rational Group’s previous management, suggesting that he was one of the four that had to go.
Ashkenazi, who joined the Rational Group from Playtech in 2013 as COO, said this week that he was about the Rational Group’s entrance to the New Jersey market, the cause for which his predecessor appears to have been sacrificed.
“We have great opportunities in the near future with our upcoming launch in New Jersey, the expansion of our casino and sports-betting businesses and our mission to grow the poker category,” said Ashkenazi.
Amaya CEO David Baazov said that the combination of Ashkenazi’s knowledge with his operational expertise makes him an “ideal leader for the Rational Group.”


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How the Shift from Swiping to Inserting Cards Will Accelerate Mobile Payments
Let's face it. None of us likes to dip, even though we know it's good for us. If you are unfamiliar with dipping, it's the newest way to pay. Instead of swiping your credit card at the checkout line, you stick it into the payment terminal.
The reason for this shift is to protect consumers and merchants from fraud. What the industry refers to as "dipping" and consumers and cashiers call "inserting" is a way to fight a multi-billion dollar problem; credit and debit card fraud hit $16 billion last year, according to the 2015 Identity Fraud Report by Javelin Strategy and Research.
This is why new credit cards now have a colored metallic square on the front that interacts directly with the terminal and encrypts the transaction more securely. (Crooks can easily clone the standalone magnetic strip on your old card and use it for fraudulent purposes.)
This new chip requires merchants to install a new set of payment terminals to protect you and them. Federal law calls for banks to reimburse consumers for fraud but as of October 2015, if merchants are not using the latest terminals, the banks can go after retailers that have not properly updated their equipment.
So we're all inserting our credit cards now. It's something we've been doing at ATMs for years -- to keep from leaving our cards in the machine -- so why wouldn't we be happy to do it at a store?
One word: Speed.
When we're running errands or getting a cup of coffee, inserting a card takes time. Your credit card sits in a machine and you wait until the screen tells you to remove the card. If you do not pay attention and take out the card too early, the transaction fails. This irritating little glitch is really good news for mobile marketing. We predict it will cause consumers to finally adopt mobile wallets en masse and quickly become the future.
This is because we now equate tapping with speed and convenience. We tap and a car shows up. We get a text and immediately tap our reply. Someone likes a post and we tap to instantly find out, "Who?" Yet, thanks to cyber thieves we now must insert/wait/remove a card for all of the little daily transactions of our lives.
Why not tap, instead? Shifting to mobile store payments solves the transactional slow down. Our smart phone is our primary source of entertainment while waiting in a line, so the device is already in hand and ready to tap at the register while our wallet is stored away.
I tested out my theory with a local clerk at my favorite retailer who confirmed he is seeing an uptick in mobile payments because it is easier than waiting for the insert process. Digital wallets and near field communication (NFC) have been around for quite some time, but there was no compelling reason to use them until now. The new terminals are NFC-enabled so using a mobile payment solution is easy and fast.
Personally, I still pay with American Express, but I use my iPhone, not the physical card. This saves me time and also makes me a hero with everyone behind me in line. I have begun to use and witness this three-step behavior every day: Tap the app for the retailer on the phone. Tap the loyalty card at the register, redeeming offers I have opted into. Tap to pay. It's seamless, easy and I save money.
According to eMarketer, I'm not alone in my fondness for tapping. Mobile payments at physical point of sale are expected to more than triple to $27 billion this year in the U.S. Average spend will nearly double to about $700 annually this year. (Total mobile payment sales will rise faster than average spending per user in 2016 because more people will be adopting the technology.)
Millennials and Gen Xers are driving this trend and we anticipate it will cascade into other demographic groups, because who doesn't want to make daily life simpler? As consumers shift, we predict an uptick in offer-based app and digital loyalty cards vs. physical coupons and plastic loyalty cards. Brands already providing digital offers on mobile shopping apps will see more usage and adoption overall.
If you're still skeptical, here's a story to sway you: Look at what happened with the EZ Pass toll payment system. En masse we took an antiquated system of slowing down from 65 miles per hour to stopping to drop some coins in a basket or handing a ticket to a person. Now that process is frictionless and fast with only a few who choose not to participate.
What's next? In some states, driver's licenses are going digital. Combined with the shift to mobile payment, there will likely be a day soon when we can all leave our wallets at home on purpose. Pick pockets, beware.


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- Tram Ho
These cooperation agreements come as rivals Apple is increasingly improving their ecosystem with a range of new services. So what is the agreement between Samsung and Microsoft and Netflix?
– The partnership between Samsung and Microsoft’s gaming division Xbox will bring game content to Samsung users, while promoting collaboration on the field of cloud games. The company has announced that Microsoft’s Forza Street racing game will be exclusive to Samsung devices before being widely distributed. Although the two companies have yet to announce their plans to collaborate on cloud gaming, Microsoft’s likely xCloud streaming service will be integrated with Samsung devices – it is known that the service is currently available. Tested on a range of Galaxy devices, according to Microsoft’s gaming vice president, Kareem Choudhry.
– Netflix and Samsung approved an agreement to strengthen the position of the video streaming giant as the exclusive mobile entertainment partner of the Korean smartphone manufacturer. Through this partnership, Netflix will provide Samsung users with exclusive content – including behind-the-scenes videos shot using Galaxy S20 series smartphones. The streaming service will also provide owners of Samsung devices with bonus content in select Netflix-exclusive series (Netflix Original).
Samsung’s two content deals will help it respond to Apple’s move to mobile gaming and paid video streaming. The U.S. tech giant launched Apple Arcade and Apple TV + services in September and November 2019, which is part of a broader strategy to develop complementary services. Earlier this year, the company launched its Apple News + news service.
These services will provide Apple customers with access to a library of unique content, some of which are exclusive content available only to Apple users, thereby improving improve the value of platforms created by Apple. The addition of the aforementioned services has helped Apple achieve record revenue in the service sector alone: up to $ 12.7 billion in the first quarter of 2020 (ending December 28, 2019) . However, Apple’s services are still quite weak compared to famous rivals. Netflix currently has 167 million subscribers, almost 5 times the number of Apple TV + subscribers (about 34 million).
The deal with Xbox and Netflix is part of Samsung’s broader strategy to form partnerships with the world’s leading content services, instead of investing in developing its own services. Apple’s services actually cost less to develop and operate: Apple TV + has a $ 6 billion budget, and Apple Arcade has a budget of over $ 500 million.
To avoid committing similarly inefficient investments, Samsung has been constantly seeking partnerships with leading content providers today in many areas – besides new deals, Samsung also partnered with Spotify, the world’s most popular music streaming service, to integrate Spotfiy application and allow Galaxy phone users to try the Premium package for free – similar to the strategy Apple uses for Apple Music.
And Samsung also seeks to improve the functionality of its devices by partnering with Microsoft to bring OneDrive cloud storage to specific smartphone models, helping both companies to better compete with the iCloud platform. Apple’s.
The addition of these services and features will help Samsung retain old customers, while attracting new customers from the Apple ecosystem without spending too much money – from Quarter IV / 2018 to Quarter II / In 2019, over 18% of iPhone users who bought a new phone decided to switch to a Samsung smartphone.
Source : Genk