text:
Video-game consoles, as we know them, are coming to an end.
They used to last something like six to 10 years, and the best, most impressive games often arrived at the tail-end of that span.
When "God of War II" came out in 2007 for the PlayStation 2, for instance, the PlayStation 3 had been on sale for a year. The game was as good or better-looking than most games on the newer PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
The deal was simple: Buy a video-game console for a few hundred bucks and depend on it getting a steady supply of games across the majority of the next decade. But with smartphone technology advancing dramatically every year, and PC gaming becoming more accessible than ever, console makers like Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo have failed to keep up with what buyers want.
Simply put, game-console buyers demand stronger game consoles, and game-console makers are answering that demand with new, more powerful consoles much sooner than expected:
- In 2017, Microsoft plans to launch a new, more powerful version of the Xbox One. It's codenamed "Project Scorpio" and, if all goes according to plan, then it will arrive just four years after the original Xbox One launched.
- In 2016, or maybe 2017, Sony plans to launch a new, more powerful version of the PlayStation 4. It's codenamed "Neo" and, if all goes according to plan, then it will arrive either three or four years after the original PlayStation 4 launched.
- In 2017, Nintendo plans to launch a new, more powerful game console to succeed its Wii U. It's codenamed "Nintendo NX" and, if all goes according to plan, it will arrive just five years after the Wii U launched.
In the case of the more powerful Xbox One and the more powerful PlayStation 4, their respective makers promise that all future games will work on the original Xbox One and the original PlayStation 4.
Allow me to be extra clear here: All Xbox One games that you already own, including Xbox 360 games, will work on Project Scorpio. All PlayStation 4 games that you already own will work on PlayStation 4 Neo. Any games released on those new systems will also work on the older versions.
Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Andrew House — the guy in charge of PlayStation — told the Financial Times that PlayStation 4 Neo is "intended to sit alongside and complement the standard PS4."
It will run the same games and do the same stuff — it's just capable of producing higher graphical fidelity in its games. Microsoft put out similar messaging around the announcement of Project Scorpio.
"Project Scorpio will join the Xbox One family and coexist alongside Xbox One and Xbox One S and all of your Xbox One games and accessories are compatible," the announcement says.
This is a crucial component of the death of normal game-console cycles. It means that console makers like Sony and Microsoft could move to a more smartphone-like model, with upgrades coming out every few years. It means that, instead of a PlayStation 5, Sony puts out several versions of the PlayStation 4 that eventually evolve into the PlayStation 5.
It means that there could be a more fluid concept of game platforms, more similar to something like a MacBook than a traditional game console.
In the case of Nintendo, however, things are less clear — just look how confused poor Mario is above.
We don't know how powerful the NX system is, what it looks like, or much else. But we do know one thing: It's very much intended to outright replace the Wii U, Nintendo's worst-selling game console of all time. That could mean it's an isolated platform, like the Wii U, rather than the malleable platforms that the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 are becoming.
Nintendo is making at least one overture toward that type of thinking with the Nintendo Account system. The idea with that is you'll carry one profile between Nintendo's new mobile-gaming efforts on your smartphone, the upcoming NX, and whatever other Nintendo devices that may be in the works.
Whatever Nintendo does, we're already moving toward a new paradigm where the traditional agreement between console makers and buyers is going to change dramatically. Prepare your bank accounts accordingly.


text:
April 25th in North America for PS4, PS3, Vita and 3DS.
Yacht Club Games’ Shovel Knight will see Specter of Torment, its free story expansion, releasing on April 21st for Nintendo Wii U. The PS4, PS3, PS Vita and 3DS versions in North America will receive the update on April 25th. Specter of Torment is currently available for PC and Switch players.
The story expansion, which is free for those who own Shovel Knight, focuses on Specter Knight who serves the Enchantress. …
To read the full post visit:

domain: news


text:
The Embassy of the United States in Budapest is pleased to announce to current and new customers that another electronic auction is coming up.
The online auction will start on Thursday, October 26th, 2017. Online auctions will occur year-round.
Register now at http://online-auction.state.gov
Find out about business opportunities at the Embassy here.


text:
Google Chromebook Pixel Release Date and Price: Available Now For $1,299
Google has just announced the release of its Chromebook Pixel, the latest device in its Chromebook lineup, aimed at "power users who fully live in the cloud" — according to TechCrunch.
The basic Wi-Fi version of the Pixel is now available on Google Play for $1,299, and will soon be at select Best Buy locations. The $1,499 LTE version will ship in the U.S. in April (the difference between the LTE and Wi-Fi models is that the LTE version will ship with a 64GB solid-state drive and the Wi-Fi version will only have 32GB).
Chromebook Pixel has a 12.85-inch high-density 2560×1700 screen (that's 4.3 million pixels) with a 3:2 aspect ratio, an Intel Core i5 processor and a 1 terabyte of free storage on Google Drive for three years.
The Pixel's screen has a pixel density of 239 pixels per inch (slightly higher than the 220 pixels/inch on the Macbook Pro with Retina display). And, though the company didn't disclose its hardware partner, Google VP Sundar Pichai said at a press event in San Francisco that "the hardware shines" and that it's perfect for those users who are "really committed to living completely in the cloud."
3.35lb / 1.52kg
4 GB DDR3 RAM
32 GB solid state drive (64 GB for LTE model)
ENERGY STAR® certified
100 MB/month for 2 years of mobile broadband from Verizon Wireless (LTE model). Carrier terms and conditions apply.


text:
By Ana Mano
SAO PAULO, August 10 (Reuters) – Aurora Alimentos, Brazil’s third-largest pork and poultry processor,urged the government to initiate talks to lower food import tariffs levied by potential overseas customers, including South Korea and India.
Aurora chief executive Neivor Canton said Brazil had made “many attempts” to persuade countries to reduce or eliminate levies.
“There is resistance at the moment,” he told Reuters on the sidelines of an industry event. “Trade has to be reciprocal, two-way. And we’re not ready to buy what they might sell,” he said, referring specifically to India.
He recounted the event the was a 100% price to sell Brazilian chicken to India, a huge market that companies want to access more competitively, and 25% tariff to sell pork to South Korea.
His request to prioritize tariff negotiations comes at a time of rising grain prices, cost pressures on food processors and soaring global food inflation.
Anya drop in tariffs, even if only by a small percentage, would be welcomed across the industry, he said.
“The tariffs take away our margin. Today, if I have a 5% margin, I’m already happy. Imagine paying 25%!”
BBrazil accounts for 38% of global chicken supply and 11% of pork supply, according to Lorival Luz, chief executive of competitor BRF, who presented the data at the same event.
(Reporting by Ana Mano; editing by Jonathan Oatis and John Stonestreet)
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.


text:
Logistic sector enjoys huge popularity among the investment community. This was once again vindicated on Tuesday after Leap India raised Rs 200 crore debt from Piramal Capital & House Finance. The company also informed that it is simultaneously holding discussions with several investors to raise additional Rs 250 crore.
The total period of loan consists of 7 years with a moratorium period of two years.
Leap India seeks to revolutionize supply chain operation by providing pallets and large foldable containers to companies. Both pallets and large foldable containers are used in large cargo container ships. Company claims that their products help in efficient storage and also in reducing company’s cost of logistic operation.
Founded in 2013 by Mr. Sunu Mathew, Leap India has already started making good revenue. The company posted a annual revenue of Rs 78 crore in the last financial year. It aims to increase this to Rs 155 crore in the present financial year.
The company so far has raised Rs 182 crore through multiple funding rounds. Some of its investors include Mayfield, India Nivesh and Samena Capital.
Meanwhile, as mention above logistic sector enjoys a pretty good reputation among the investment community. The fast growing Indian economy and the emergence of e-commerce industry along with other favorable factors have fuelled huge demand for logistic sector.
This has certainly propelled investors to open up their coffers for logistic startups. Although today there not may be a single unicorn from the logistic industry, this does not discount in any way that the future of the entire logistic industry is pretty bright.
Apart from Leap India, Some of the other logistic startups that are touted to become dominant players are Locus, ElasticRun, 4tigo, LogiNext and Shadowfax. All these startups are well funded and some of them already enjoy good brand reputation in the logistic industry.


text:
Wondering just what the listeria bacteria is and how you can protect against it in your home? Read this.
Brenham-based Blue Bell Creameries has agreed to immediately pay a $175,000 fine following last year's Listeria outbreak that sickened 10 and was linked to three deaths.
Blue Bell Creameries found listeria contamination last year in some equipment at its Brenham plant and believes it spread in the drainage system of its Oklahoma plant, the company said in a report for the...
On Monday, Blue Bell announced via Twitter that Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough will return to store shelves over the next few weeks.
Blue Bell has announced that another flavor is back on store shelves.
Continuing coverage of the Blue Bell Ice Cream and the listeria outbreak


text:
DHL rolls out Manhattan-based “green” fleet
Company officials said this move is driven by a need to reduce the impact of its delivery vehicles on the environment. The new fleet is comprised of 80 vehicles, with 30 American-made, battery powered electric vans and 50 hybrid trucks that will be on Manhattan streets by September.
in the NewsKnight-Swift to add 400 trucks, drivers with Abilene tuck-in acquisition Panjiva says trade fundamentals are strong, despite concerns over tariffs NEXT Trucking and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines partner to service SMEs Solving the Labor Shortage Crisis: The Four Benefits of an Automated Warehouse CBRE research points to expected gains in cold-storage warehouse space More News
Global express delivery and logistics service provider DHL said this week that it is introducing a “green” fleet of commercial delivery vehicles for use in Manhattan.
Company officials said this move is driven by a need to reduce the impact of its delivery vehicles on the environment. The new fleet is comprised of 80 vehicles, with 30 American-made, battery powered electric vans and 50 hybrid trucks that will be on Manhattan streets by September. They added that these vehicles will reduce fossil fuel usage and CO2 emissions by more than 50 percent per year compared to conventional vehicles.
Both types of vehicles in the “green fleet” are being built by hybrid electric and electric commercial vehicle manufacturer Azure Dynamics, with Ford Motor Company producing the vehicles’ chassis.
DHL has been working with Azure since 2008 and pilot tested some of the vehicles in the Boston market, according to DHL Public Relations Manager Robert Mintz.
And he said that this multi-million dollar investment in the modern, environmentally-friendly vehicles is an integral part of DHL’s global GoGreen strategy, which is the goal of improving the company’s carbon efficiency worldwide by 30 percent by 2020, compared to 2007 base levels and was rolled out in 2008.
“As customers worldwide are increasingly demanding greener logistics, sustainable business procedures and initiatives like the one we are launching today allows DHL to serve customers via sustainable solutions and improved resource efficiency,” said Mintz.
A committed focus to a green vehicle fleet is far from new for DHL, as major objective of its GoGreen strategy focuses on adding fuel-efficient, hybrid, electric or aerodynamically modified vehicles for its global fleet, according to DHL. In the last year, DHL said it has already upgraded delivery vehicles in Europe and Asia, as well as Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, and Paraguay.
GoGreen has a general goal for DHL to reduce its carbon footprint for every letter mailed, container shipped, and meter of warehouse space used.
The company’s steps to reduce its carbon footprint, as defined when it was initially introduced, include: replacing 90 percent of its air fleet with modern, more fuel efficient aircraft, including 48 Boeing 757 Special Freighter modern cargo aircraft, which require 20 percent less fuel per ton transported than the Boeing 727 predecessors; adding aerodynamic winglets to an initial six cargo aircraft to increase the amount of lift generated at the wingtip, which raises carbon efficiency by 2-to-5 percent; increasing the use of alternative fuels and propulsion units with bio-gas fueled heavy duty trucks, delivery vans, and heavy duty trucks with biodiesel fuel blends; using hybrid engines and route planning technologies to reduce fleet fuel consumption; making changes in transportation methods or “modal shifts” from air to road, sea and rail, and road to rail; and route optimization and application of intelligent traffic guidance systems.
Adrian Gonzalez, director of ARC Advisory Group’s Logistics Executive Council, commended Deutsche Post DHL in a previous interview for outlining this program and establishing an aggressive target.
And he also noted that endeavors like this present shippers with options and benefits, too, explaining that many shippers, especially those with a strong commitment to sustainability, expect their suppliers and partners, like logistics service providers, to demonstrate a similar commitment.
“Our investment in these new green vehicles supports a more energy-efficient, low-emissions economy,” said Ian Clough, CEO for DHL Express U.S., in a statement. “Having partnered with American companies also represents an investment in the U.S. economy.”
For related articles, please click here.
About the AuthorJeff Berman, Group News Editor Jeff Berman is Group News Editor for Logistics Management, Modern Materials Handling, and Supply Chain Management Review. Jeff works and lives in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, where he covers all aspects of the supply chain, logistics, freight transportation, and materials handling sectors on a daily basis. Contact Jeff Berman
Subscribe to Logistics Management Magazine!Subscribe today. It's FREE!
Get timely insider information that you can use to better manage your entire logistics operation.
Start your FREE subscription today!
Reverse Logistics in the “Age of Entitlement” Logistics Management’s Viewpoint on E-commerce: Leveraging available tools View More From this Issue


text:
News supplied by
Share this short article
brand brand brand New report shines a light on personal debt вЂ“ a possible roadblock to Canada’s data data recovery
Very nearly 1 / 2 of low-income households and 62 percent of moderate-income households carry financial obligation, with households on low incomes investing 31 % www.personalbadcreditloans.net/reviews/maxlend-loans-review/ of these earnings on financial obligation repayments, based on a report that is new by nationwide charity, Prosper Canada .
Roadblock to healing: unsecured debt of low- and moderate-income Canadians when you look at the time of, released today, analyzes the circulation, quantity and structure of non-mortgage financial obligation held by low- and moderate-income Canadian households and explores implications for federal and policy that is provincial/territorial because they develop and apply financial data data data data recovery plans and meet their particular regulatory functions.بیشتر بخوانید


text:
World Bulletin / News Desk
Nokia will start selling its new smartphone, potentially its last chance to break into the most profitable part of mobile phone market and secure its future, in November, sources at European telecoms operators said on Friday.
The Lumia 920, which uses Microsoft's Windows software, is Nokia's attempt to catch up with Apple's iPhone and a string of popular phones using Google's Android software, like Samsung's Galaxy models.
The new phone, which with its rounded edges and colourful covers look similar to its predecessors, was unveiled on Wednesday and drew a thumbs down from many analysts, who felt it lacked the "wow" factor to make big inroads against rivals.
They were also unsettled by Nokia's refusal to say when the phone, and the smaller Lumia 820 models, would go on sale, or to give details on the price and operator partners.
Once the world's biggest mobile phone maker, Nokia fell behind rivals in the fast-growing smartphone market and has struggled to catch up, racking up more than 3 billion euros in operating losses in the last 18 months and forcing it to cut 10,000 jobs, as well as pursue asset sales.
By going on sale in November, the Lumia 920 will hit stores in time for the key holiday sales season.
But it will probably be more than a month after Apple's new iPhone and will also face stiff competition from Samsung, which last week unveiled the world's first Windows Phone 8 model, as well as new models from HTC and Google's Motorola.
An executive at an eastern European telecoms operator said he would start selling the Lumia 920 - which features a high-quality camera and touch screen that can be used with gloves - in the second half of November, adding larger countries would receive the model earlier that month.
"The problem is that Nokia has temporarily destroyed the market for its own phones. Nobody will buy the old Windows phone and until the new Lumia comes, the market is absolutely dead," the executive said, declining to be named because he was not authorised to speak to the media on the subject.
Industry sources said on Thursday that Nokia had cut the prices of its older smartphones.
Analysts expect the Finnish firm to lose another 700 million euros in the July-September quarter and to sell around 3.6 million Windows phones, down from the last quarter.
In comparison, Samsung sold more than 20 million units of its flagship Galaxy S3 smartphone in just 100 days.
Samsung has become the world's largest smartphone maker as Nokia's share of the market has plunged to less than 10 percent from 50 percent during its heyday before the iPhone was launched in 2007.
A Nokia spokesman declined to comment on Friday on when the Lumia 920 would go on sale.
Allegations of possible manipulation of the $5.3 trillion-a-day foreign exchange market have so far centered on major banks.
The decision will remove duties on agricultural products, processed foods, textiles and industrial goods, saving Ukrainian businesses 487 million euros a year.
Chrystalla Georghadji takes up her post on April 11, after outgoing governor Panicos Demetriades works out his notice.
The wording on energy dependency was not in an earlier version of the document circulated before Russian forces seized Crimea
India, with the increases already made in the January-March loading plans from Iran, has to cut its purchases of the crude
Eurozone finance ministers give green light to release 150 million euros for the Greek Cypriot administration.
"Sugar consumption that dated back to the BC epoch found its way into Ethiopian households only lately; people had to be convinced," Zemedkun Tekle, communications director at the state-run Ethiopian Sugar Corporation, said.
The agreement is the first Canada has concluded with a nation from Asia, a fast-growing part of the world that Ottawa is deliberately targeting.
While Europe lacks immediate alternatives to replace Russian supplies, long-term efforts are in place to reduce Moscow's dominance in the sector. Russia pushes on with gas pipeline despite EU delay
Pakistan will give India Most Favored Nation status by the end of March.
"Germany's dependence on Russian gas may effectively decrease Europe's sovereignty. I have no doubts about that," Polish PM Tusk said
EU member Bulgaria has started preliminary works on the pipeline on its territory, but has repeatedly said its operation should be in line with EU rules
Japan posted a current account deficit of 1.58 trillion yen (US$15 billion) for January.
The Asia-Pacific would be left with more than half a billion chronically hungry people even if the region meets its millennium development goal
The Visegrad 4 group including Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia is looking to diversify supplies


text:
Nursery "Spreetaler Früchte LLC" in Spreewitz has filed for insolvency. Originally, the company wanted to grow vegetables in greenhouses on a 16-hectare site. According to the insolvency administrator, investments of up to 18 million euros were planned. After a well-known fruit and vegetable group withdrew as an investor, the company had to cease operations.
The insolvency proceedings are now examining whether projects can still be implemented and to what extent the investors are liable for partial amounts as a result of the unexpected withdrawal. Instead of vegetable and fruit cultivation, a battery factory is now being built on the originally planned site in the Schwarze Pumpe industrial park.


text:
Chinese tech giant Huawei has surpassed Apple to become the world’s second largest smartphone maker, according to new market research.
Huawei sold 54 million smartphones during the second quarter, up more than 40 percent compared to the same period last year, research firm International Data Corporation (IDC) said on Tuesday.
This helped the Chinese firm capture a record 15.8 percent share of the global market and overtake Apple, which sold 41 million iPhones and held a 12.1 percent market share.
Huawei also closed in on Samsung, which remained the market leader with a 20.9 percent share despite its sales dropping over 10 percent year-on-year to 73 million units.
IDC said Huawei’s growth was driven by strong sales of its more affordable Honor sub brand, but the company also built a stronger profile in the high-end market.
“The continued growth of Huawei is impressive, to say the least, as is its ability to move into markets where, until recently, the brand was largely unknown," said IDC analyst Ryan Reith.
Huawei’s strong growth comes after the company earlier this year failed to secure its first carrier partnership in the United States with AT&T, mainly due to concerns that its devices pose security risks. Huawei has repeatedly denied these allegations.
Elsewhere, Xiaomi took fourth place with 32 million shipments and a 9.3 percent market share, while another Chinese brand, Oppo, was fifth with 29 million sold devices and an 8.6 percent share of the market.


text:
Enterprise blockchain news
Legal and IP
Travel & mobility
Management & legal
Tag - blockchain
Malaysia to explore blockchain bond market
Accenture, Digital Asset lead InterWork Alliance group to standardize carbon credits
New US Health department COVID-19 tracking system uses blockchain, Palantir Technologies
EU planning single market for blockchain, crypto-asset projects. Could be tough on Libra
China’s central bank: don’t transform traditional payment systems using...
Gartner sees blockchain as top tech trend for 2020
Danish courts support Nordea’s ban on staff cryptocurrency trading
After Libra withdrawal, Mastercard outlines blockchain partnership principles
Dubai chamber to offer ICC, Perlin blockchain trade finance
Facebook releases Libra whitepaper, cryptocurrency, wallet
Find out more.


text:
This article is more than 1 year old
Customs warns of killer consoles
Dodgy Nintendo DSs
Customs is warning shoppers looking for bargains this Christmas not to be fooled into buying fake Nintendo DS and DS Lite machines.
HMRC has seized hundreds of dodgy machines at freight depots around the country. Nintendo has confirmed the machines are counterfeit and that the power supplies had not been tested and were potentially dangerous. The consoles had been bought from different Asian-based websites and retailed for around £40 rather than the usual price of £100. They were advertised as genuine Nintendo products.
Pamela Rogers, HMRC's Head of Intellectual Property, said: "At best, these consoles would have led to disappointment on Christmas morning; at worst, they could have caused serious harm or injury.
"Counterfeit goods also cause considerable damage to the UK economy by undermining genuine UK retailers and small businesses who are honest and abide by the rules."
Mike Rawlinson, MD of the games industry organisation Elspa, thanked Customs for its help and asked parents to be careful. He said: "often when a bargain seems too good to be true it actually is.".
HMRC reckons the trade in counterfeit goods costs the UK economy £9bn a year. ®


text:
Florida government Ron DeSantisRonald Dion DeSantisDeSantis on Florida’s reopening of schools: “If you can make Walmart,” “we absolutely can make schools.” Florida health officials agreed to receive remdesivir of New York before DeSantis rejected the offer. (R) Thursday compared the reopening of public schools in the state to the reopening of retailers like Walmart and Home Depot.
“We spent months saying there were certain things that were essential. That included fast food restaurants. It included Walmart. It included Home Depot,” said DeSantis in Jacksonville, Florida. CNN reported.
“If fast food and Walmart and Home Depot – and, look, I do all of that, so I don’t belittle it – but if all of that is essential, then educating our children is absolutely essential,” he added.
DeSantis, a firm ally of President TrumpDonald John TrumpDeSantis on the reopening of Florida schools: ‘If you can do Walmart’, then ‘we can absolutely do schools’ The NYT editorial board calls for the reopening of schools with the help of the federal government’s ‘checkbook’ Mueller writes WaPo op-ed: Roger Stone ‘remains a convicted felon, and rightly so’ MORE, made the statement after the president said he was going to pressure governors to reopen schools this fall. Florida is one of several states in the country that is currently experiencing a severe COVID-19 outbreak.
On Friday, the state reported 11,433 new cases of coronavirus, its largest increase in one day since last week.
DeSantis said that online learning is “It just isn’t the same” and that she worries that children “miss activities.” He also said he supports parents who chose to continue online education.
“I am sure that if you can do Home Depot, if you can do Walmart, if you can do these things, we absolutely can do schools. I want our children to be able to minimize this educational gap that I think has developed,” he said.
However, the reopening of schools poses obstacles that the reopening of large retailers does not. Children and teachers will be kept indoors for an extended period in rooms smaller than those in retail or supermarket stores.
Reopening for many school districts is also a budget problem, as school systems need to purchase safety equipment to reopen buildings safely under public health guidelines.
The Association of School Superintendents estimated that the necessary protective measures in schools would cost an average of approximately $ 1.8 million per school district.
Randi Weingarten, president of the prominent union of the American Federation of Teachers, told Steve Clemons of The Hill on Wednesday that to reopen schools safely, the federal government needs to allocate additional emergency funds.


text:
Hotels in the Asia Pacific region recorded mostly positive results in the three key performance metrics when reported in U.S. dollar constant currency, according to July 2016 data from STR.
Compared with July 2015, the Asia Pacific region reported a 2.8% increase in occupancy to 72.1%. Average daily rate (ADR) was nearly flat (-0.3% to US$96.62), while revenue per available room (RevPAR) grew 2.4% to US$69.68.
Performance of featured countries for July 2016 (local currency, year-over-year comparisons):
India recorded positive performance figures across the three key performance metrics: occupancy (+6.4% to 61.9%), ADR (+3.0% to INR5,068.31) and RevPAR (+9.6% to INR3,139.32). According to the India Ministry of Tourism, International visitors to the country increased 17.1% compared with July 2015. Bangladesh, the United States and the United Kingdom represented the top three feeder markets.
Singapore reported mostly flat performance in the three metrics: occupancy (+0.4% to 87.8%), ADR (-1.0% to SGD276.97) and RevPAR (-0.6% to SGD243.16). July events in the country included Singapore International Water Week (10-14 July) and the World Cities Summit (10-14 July). A 4.3% rise in supply placed pressure on ADR, according to STR analysts. The Upper Midscale class posted the highest supply increase (+8.6%).
South Korea saw significant increases in occupancy (+41.6% to 76.1%) and RevPAR (+38.1% to KRW126,633.06). ADR in the country was down 2.4% to KRW166,423.59. The performance was mainly due to a low comparison base with July 2015 when the country’s hotel industry was negatively affected by the Middle East respiratory syndrome outbreak. In addition, the 76.1% absolute occupancy level marked South Korea’s highest July occupancy figure since 2013. Year to date in 2016, South Korea’s occupancy is up 11.0% compared with the first seven months of 2015, while ADR is down 4.9% for the same time period.
Vietnam posted growth in each of the three metrics. Occupancy in the country rose 6.7% to 69.9%; ADR was up 5.1% to VND2,830.430.06; and RevPAR increased 12.1% to VND1,979,639.52. July hotel performance received a boost from a 41.2% increase in international arrivals, as reported by the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism. STR analysts note that Vietnam’s economic growth will likely continue to drive hotel demand, especially in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi.
Performance of featured markets for July 2016 (local currency, year-over-year comparisons):
Bangkok, Thailand, reported increases in each of the three metrics: occupancy (+4.7% to 81.1%), ADR (+4.3% to THB3,264.95) and RevPAR (+9.2% to THB2,648.47). The market reported relatively low supply growth (+0.8%), and demand received a lift from the 16-20 July holiday period.
Jakarta, Indonesia, saw increases in occupancy (+9.1% to 50.9%) and RevPAR (+5.5% to IDR553,474.11). The market’s ADR fell 3.3% to IDR1,088,114.35. Performance increases were strong due a Ramadan calendar shift and a low comparison base from July 2015.
Osaka, Japan, reported a 1.0% decline in occupancy to 91.9%, but a 4.9% rise in ADR to JPY17,141.11 boosted RevPAR 3.9% to JPY15,744.56. Despite the year-over-year decline in occupancy, the market maintains high absolute occupancy levels with 23 nights above 90% in July.
Shanghai, China, posted increases across the key metrics. Occupancy rose 4.3% to 80.5%; ADR was up 1.2% to CNY592.96; and RevPAR increased 5.6% to CNY477.04. The occupancy level was the highest in the market since November 2014 with occupancy increases in both the Transient (+5.0%) and Group (+5.9%) segments.
About Constant Currency
Constant Currency methodology eliminates the effects of exchange rate fluctuations when calculating performance figures. STR utilizes Constant Currency to present the most accurate performance summary of a region comprising different local currencies. All ADR and RevPAR calculations use 31 January 2016 exchange rates.
STR provides clients from multiple market sectors with premium, global data benchmarking, analytics and marketplace insights. Founded in 1985, STR maintains a presence in 10 countries around the world with a corporate North American headquarters in Hendersonville, Tennessee, and an international headquarters in London, England. For more information, please visit str.com.
Logos, product and company names mentioned are the property of their respective owners.


text:
'Blue Ribbon' bus celebrates National Skincare Day
May 25 marks National Skincare Day, and a blue bus running on the roads of Shanghai is lending a splash of color to the city.
By joining forces with the Shanghai Children's Foundation, the La Roche-Posay has launched the "Blue Ribbon" project to show the little patients around the city on the unique bus and present a heart-warming performance at the Malanhua Theater, encouraging them to be confident, strong and brave.
The bus is running for a week in the city to promote the importance of skin health.
The brand and the Shanghai Children's Foundation donated 4,000 skincare product packages to the Children's Hospital of Fudan University.
"Medicine and charity are the most noble causes of mankind. As a national pediatric medical center, we always support the idea of 'doing everything for children' and persist in the vision of 'giving every child the right to health'," said Li Qian, Party secretary of the Children's Hospital of Fudan University.
Art installation themed on bees
A sustainable art installation popped up at Xintiandi to celebrate World Bee Day on May 20.
At the invitation of cosmetics brand Guerlain and the youth artist incubation program "RanRan," Shanghai artist Juju Wang created the installation in tribute to the efforts of bee conservation.
To learn more about bees, Wang went to the Tianzishan rainforest restoration area in Yunnan Province to talk with conservationists. She believes that "bees are metaphors for beautiful things. At moments in life when we feel lost, we need to find this 'bee' and follow the signals of beauty to reach the right direction and ultimately reach our desired destination."
The installation presents a "garden" in the city center and restores the hexagonal honeycomb pattern into a diverse and varied structure found in nature. The plants growing within it break through limitations and extend their boundaries through the gaps of the honeycomb structure, showcasing the countless changes and seamless coupling among diverse species in nature on a microscopic level.
The "RanRan" program, initiated by Guerlain and Xintiandi, is a crossover collaboration that combines sustainability and arts, inviting young artists to explore more sustainable possibilities.
"On the topic of sustainable development, fashion and sustainability have no boundaries. We must understand that everyone and every industry has the same responsibility, which is sustainable development," said Wu Yue, president of LVMH China and a member of the RanRan Cultural Advisory Committee.
"I believe that the world is beautiful not because there's no difficulty, but because we are still full of confidence in the future. I also believe that the world is embracing more new elements, the power of the young generation, and all of our efforts toward sustainable development."
Sustainable home designs powered by AI
Nature-inspired home design has been a new trend for the Gen-Z in China. In collaboration with Taiwan actor Jerry Yan, Shangpin Home Collection unveiled a pop-up lifestyle show at Raffles City The Bund. Themed on three of the most popular and different natural scenes – jungle, mountain and glacier, visitors can choose their favorite home decorations and furniture, the AI designer will come up with a personalized home design in 10 seconds, and all of it can be implemented in their homes.
The daily application of AI is becoming more extensive. Li Jiacong, vice president and general manager of Shangpin Home Collection, said the company had realized the importance of AI applications four years ago and began to develop AI design models. At that time, the brand's AI system learned up to 10,000 design schemes every day. To date, it has learned more than 10 million design schemes.
"Currently, our AI design assistant has the ability to match styles and functional elements for different user groups to achieve high-quality design schemes. The actual ability mastered by AI has even surpassed many designers," he said.
Living in the "nature," designed by AI, the futuristic home has come true.


text:
Apple Australia has dropped the price of the original iPad and confirmed that customers who bought one in the last 14 days can request a refund for the difference in price.
Apple launched the new iPad 2 yesterday and while it has not revealed Australian pricing on the new device it has dropped the price on existing models by up to and over AU$200.
The iPad 2 is due to arrive on 25 March, but local Apple representatives are unable to confirm if the original iPad will continue to be sold after this date. The new pricing is marked below.
A local Apple representative pointed to the Apple website which states: "Should Apple permanently reduce its price on any Apple-branded product within fourteen (14) calendar days of the date of purchase, you may request a refund of the difference between the price paid and the current selling price."
|iPad "One" Model||Price as of 3 March 2011|
|16GB Wi-Fi and 3G||AU$598||AU$799|
|32GB Wi-Fi and 3G||AU$729||AU$928|
|64GB Wi-Fi and 3G||AU$839||AU$1049|


text:
The seats have been tested by Trading Standards officers and have been proven to provide no protection in a crash.
The cheaply made children's seats are on sale for as little as £8 on the online selling websites.
Consumer group Which? said the fabric seats were illegal to use in the UK, but may attract some parents due to the cheap price tag.
The seats are made of thin material with no robust plastic protection and are similar to that of a small cushion with straps that sits on the back of a regular seat.
The tests were carried out by Surrey Trading Standards in 2014 using a crash test dummy which represented a child aged around three.
The dummy hurled through a car windscreen due to the inadequate straps failing - but since the test the "killer" seats have started to reappear.
Which? said the seats “clearly lacked the support needed to protect babies and toddlers”.
It blasted online giants Amazon, eBay and AliExpress for not spotting the distinctive seats and banning them from sale “in order to prevent anyone being duped by a dangerous product that puts their child at risk”.
Amazon, eBay and AliExpress have now said the listings have been removed from sale, but Which? said this should have been regulated quicker, reports The Mirror.
Alex Neill, managing director of Which? Home Products, said: “Parents will be horrified at the thought they could be unwittingly putting their child’s life at risk with one of these ‘killer’ car seats. Online marketplaces cannot continue to turn a blind eye to dangerous and illegal products being sold on their sites.
“The UK’s product safety regime is in dire need of reform. More needs to be done by big businesses and Government to protect consumers from dangerous products.”
An Amazon spokesperson said: “All sellers must follow our selling guidelines and those who don’t will be subject to action including potential removal of their account.”
Ebay said it had contacted all the sellers and asked them to offer refunds to customers who had bought the lethal and illegal seats.
A spokesperson said: “The safety of our customers is paramount and we do not tolerate the listing of non-compliant items by sellers.
“Our specialist teams work with regulators and trading standards to ensure our block filters stay up to date, using sophisticated software that monitors billions of listings a day to remove any prohibited items.”
AliExpress said it “considers the safety of all our customers, especially children, to be of paramount importance”.
You can follow our Plymouth Parents group here.
How do I know if my car seat is safe?
In the UK, there are regulations in place which state that only EU-approved child car seats can be used.
The approved seats are easy to spot as they carry a clear orange label, with the codes ECE R44-03, ECE R44-04 or ECE R129 to indicate they have been put through EU safety testing, and can therefore be legally sold on the UK market.
Britax Romer's car seat safety expert, Mark Bennett, said: "By law, children must be in a car seat until they are 135cm tall or 12 years old – whichever comes first. From 22kg (around the age of four), children can be moved to a booster seat used with an adult seat belt.
“It is vital that parents adhere to these rules no matter how short the car journey, as it’s the only way to ensure children are safe in the event of a collision.”
While booster cushions have not been banned completely, most companies who sell car seats urge parents to use a high-back booster seat instead, which offers much more protection from the side wings and head support.
Amiad Raviv, from Simple Parenting, the brand behind the Doona car seat, adds: “All car seats used in the UK must meet the relevant European regulation – ECE R44 or R129, in addition to meeting local regulations, such as enhanced fire-retardant requirements.
"Newborn babies must travel in rear-facing car seats, while older children can travel in front-facing varieties.”
How do you decide on a car seat?
When you first buy a car seat, the weight of it is really important, because parents spend a lot of time carrying newborns to and from the car – and some of them are really heavy. However, there are lots of other aspects you should think about, too.
“It’s not just your child’s age that you have to consider when choosing a car seat; you should think about their weight and height, as well as the best fit for your car,” notes Halfords’ child car seat expert, Emily Moulder.
“Also think about whether your child will be making long or short journeys, and if you’ll need to transfer the seat from one car to another. Comfort is a factor too, so bring your child with you when choosing, to try the car seat out in store.”
“Something which is crucially important but often overlooked, is the car seat being properly installed,” says Raviv.
“Research shows that around 80% of parents do not install car seats properly, and even the best seats on the market are much less effective when not installed correctly.”
It’s a good idea to go into a shop to get savvy on installation. You can also check videos on the brands’ websites and YouTube.
Raviv advises opting for seats with additional safety designs, such as anti-rebound protection, enhanced side-impact protection and a five-point harness (vs three-point).
How long should a car seat last?
In theory, you can now buy one car seat that will take you all the way from leaving the hospital with a newborn, to age 12 (though do check the manufacturer’s guidelines, as some should be replaced after six or seven years). Financially, it makes a lot of sense to make a seat last for as long as possible, because they aren’t especially cheap.
However, when you think about this practically, and envisage how many times a baby might be sick in a car seat, how much mud a toddler might ingrain into the fabric, how many times the velcro from tiny shoes will get caught on the base, and the number of sticky-finger swipes it’s going to face, you might feel happier getting rid of an older model to replace it with a lovely, new, clean one.
Should you buy second hand?
“We wouldn’t recommend buying second-hand car seats,” states Moulder. “Unfortunately, there is no way to tell – just by looking – if a car seat has been in an accident, collision, dropped or damaged, all of which can affect performance. There are lots of baby products that deliver great results second hand, car seats aren’t one of them.”
If there is no other option for you, however, Audrey Mizrahi, the UK distributor for grab-and-go car booster mifold, says you must ensure you have the answers to these questions:
- Has this car seat ever been in a crash?
- Are all the parts and pieces still attached to the car seat?
- Are all the labels for proper use still affixed to the car seat?
- Has this car seat ever been recalled?
If you cannot find the answer to these questions, or if the seat should fail in any of these areas, she recommends not making the purchase.
Top tips for buying a car seat
“Use each stage of seat for as long as possible and don’t be tempted to move to the next stage too soon,” recommends Bennett.
“Rear-facing is the safest option, ideally to at least 15 months, but many seats allow you to do this for four to six years, depending on the model.
"If your car has Isofix (a car seat fitting system), then choose this over a belted option, as it’s easier to fit and provides better crash protection.”
“If you’re buying a car seat for your third child, make sure it fits in the back seat with the two other children, who might still be in car seats themselves,” says Raviv.
Fran Vaughan, founder of Ickle Bubba, the brand behind the Solar car seat, suggests monitoring the weight and height of your child regularly, to ensure you’re using the correct car seat.
“Check that it meets ECE safety standards, too,” he adds.
“A sticker is normally located on the car seat to indicate this. Also, make sure the car seat is compatible with your vehicle. Most are universal, but it’s best to check before you purchase. I recommend choosing a car seat that includes an Isofix base as part of the package. This will make it much easier to install and removes most of the risks associated with a seat belt attachment.”
Do you have a story to share or for us to investigate?


text:
Jun 27, 2013 10:26 AM
TUCSON - You can take care of just about everything on the internet these days, from paying the bills, to applying for a job.
But in this digital age, there are a surprising number of Arizonans who still don't have internet access.
According to the most recent information from the US Census Bureau, just over 31% of Arizonans didn't have internet access in 2011. From that percentage, 16.2% of people had no home computer and 15.4% had a computer but no Internet access.
Tammi Mercado says she doesn't have internet at home because she can't afford it. "It's hard because everybody goes online and everything is online," Mercado says.
She goes to the Pima County Public Library downtown to file for unemployment and take care of other day to day tasks.
"I think internet is very important and I think it's a shame more people don't have it," says Ken Zambos.
Zambos is a library associate at the main library downtown. He says most people who don't have internet either can't afford it, or don't know how to use it. "Not everyone grew up with computers and a lot of people have worked 20 years at a career and have not had to use a computer in their daily activity," Zambos says.
But Zambos says whether you grew up with the technology or not, it's here to stay.
The Pima County Public Library offers several computer classes for people who want to learn to use the internet. Click here to see which classes are currently being offered.


text:
23-Oct-2014 - After the UK announced its' plan to submit restriction proposals on decamethylcyclopentasiloxane (D5) and octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane (D4) in January 2015, Echa has issued calls for evidence on the substances.
23-Oct-2014 - The Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing is holding a workshop that it hopes will push the boundaries of science in the new field of 'green chemistry'.
23-Oct-2014 - The company has selected digital agency Maxus to handle its media buying and planning in the Nordic countries.
23-Oct-2014 - While having hair on the head is a desire for UK men, the opposite can be said about having hair on the body after half of all Brits admit there is more pressure nowadays for men to remove or groom body hair.
22-Oct-2014 - With the beauty industry’s ‘free-from’ trend on the rise globally, brands are now scrambling to cater to the rise of 'gluten-free', which has made its' way into colour cosmetics and skin care counters.
22-Oct-2014 - Online sales growth of beauty products has grown in the last few years, and for one of the web’s largest online powerhouses and marketplaces, Amazon, this should all be good news, but is some of the potential being left unfulfilled?
22-Oct-2014 - While the aim of the EU Cosmetics Regulation that came into play last year was to harmonise the current laws, and in the most part it has, there are still some issues that need to be ironed out.
22-Oct-2014 - The 28th annual IFSCC event, which is the worldwide congress for cosmetics science, is gearing up to take place next week, confirming that innovation is once again centre stage on the beauty industry agenda.
21-Oct-2014 - L'Oreal signed this week to acquire the multicultural beauty brand and plans for it to continue under current leadership while making full use of its expertise in the multicultural beauty sector.
21-Oct-2014 - The men’s grooming market often promises great potential to manufacturers and brands in the UK could find increasing interest in male make-up products thanks to the ‘mansome’ revolution.
21-Oct-2014 - Symrise is strengthening its presence in the fast-growing West African with a new location in Lagos, Nigeria which will cover the Scent & Care and Flavour & Nutrition segments.
21-Oct-2014 - Packaging players in the beauty industry are gearing up for the annual Luxe Pack convention, due to take place next week in Monaco: here, Cosmetics Design runs you through the highlights.
20-Oct-2014 - The benefits of snail mucus on the skin have been known to the cosmetics industry for a while, and having seen a big trend in Korea, it is now heading to American shores and is expected to be the ‘newest fad’.
17-Oct-2014 - Chemicals company Clariant has launched its latest Plantasens Abyssinian Oil ingredient designed for both skin and hair applications.
17-Oct-2014 - Following a study where Russian and French consumers were found to favour 'glowing' benefits from base care products, DSM has launched a new marketing concept around naturally glowing skin.
17-Oct-2014 - French lavender farmers have complained loudly about warning labels for cosmetic and fragrance products containing lavender oil, but it seems like regulators are going through with the move regardless.
17-Oct-2014 - DSM’s Personal Care Business Unit announces a new management appointment as Gaëlle Bathany-Di Mascio joins as Head Global Key Account Management.
16-Oct-2014 - Dow has recently teamed up with the research and development team for Unilever’s Lifebuoy soap, tackling the challenge of incorporating controlled release technology to enhance ingredient efficacy.
16-Oct-2014 - How much is Europe investing in the bioeconomy today, and just what state are those sectors in? The scientific and technical arm of the EC now has a dedicated website to regularly assess progress in this area.
16-Oct-2014 - Thanks to tourism, both the UAE and Saudi Arabiaa cosmetics markets are booming.


text:
How lab-grown meat could be in UK restaurants in just two years’ time – and the firms bringing it to the table
Biotechnology company CellulaREvolution is developing new processes to speed up and cut the cost of cultured meat production
By Claudia Tanner
August 26, 2021 6:00 am
The Government’s Build Back Better campaign has seen £4bn of taxpayer cash pledged to create 250,000 “green jobs” in the drive to cut carbon emissions by 2050. With the so-called “green industrial revolution” now officially under way, this special iMoney series looks at what qualifies as a green job.
Leo Groenewegen, co-founder of biotechnology company CellulaREvolution in Newcastle upon Tyne, is developing new processes to speed up and cut the cost of cultured meat production – a revolution that could significantly help the environment.
Feeding the world’s growing population with finite resources is one of the greatest challenges of the 21st century. Livestock accounts for 14.5 per cent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions.
Climate change hit the headlines recently after a major United Nations scientific report warned of “a code red for humanity” and that human activity is causing harm in unprecedented, sometimes irreversible ways.
Scientists warn that we cannot sustain our current demand for meat. The National Food Strategy, a review commissioned by the Government, recently urged that the UK’s meat consumption has to fall by 30 per cent in the next decade to reach targets related to health and climate change.
The industry causes major pressing environmental problems, including deforestation, biodiversity loss and air and water pollution.
Cultivated – or lab-grown – meat could address these challenges by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, using less land and water, preserving habitat and preventing manure pollution and antibiotic overuse.
What is cultured meat?
Cultured meat, sometimes called lab-grown, clean or cultivated meat, is grown in a lab from cells extracted from animals.
“Cultured beef molecularly is exactly the same as the meat tissue that comes from a cow,” said Mr Groenewegen, whose company started in 2019 as a spin-off from Newcastle University.
“There is no need to slaughter the animals. You take a small sample or biopsy from the animal. It’s non-invasive, it’s the same as taking a blood sample. The cells are placed in a bioreactor and there they proliferate and differentiate to form tissue.”
He explains that mimicking more complex cuts of meat – a filet mignon, for instance – requires additional techniques, such as growing muscle and fat cells on “scaffolds” made of a material such as gelatin or collagen.
What benefits does lab-grown meat potentially bring?
Recent studies by independent research firm CE Delft show that, compared with conventional beef, meat cultivated directly from cells may cause up to 92 per cent less global warming and 93 per cent less air pollution, and use up to 95 per cent less land and 78 per cent less water.
According to the Good Food Institute, cultivated meat can be produced more quickly and efficiently, with little waste.
“In the seven weeks it takes a farmer to raise a flock of 20,000 chickens, a meat cultivation facility could theoretically produce a million times as much meat from a starter culture the size of a single egg,” it explains.
But while veganism is a growing trend in the UK, many doubt whether people are motivated to cut back their meat consumption enough to help save the planet.
Cultivated meat has the potential to help us achieve climate goals without dramatic shifts in consumption patterns.
Additionally, cultured meat could be healthier for us, says Mr Groenewegen. “You can modify it as you want, for example its fat content. There are no microplastics in your fish and no antibiotics. There’s no bacteria – E. coli or salmonella which can occur in slaughtered animals. It also reduces the risk of zoonotic disease like Covid because there’s less interaction between factory farms and humans.”
What are the challenges?
The cost of producing lab-grown meat has been the main hurdle. The first dish-grown beef burger in 2013 cost $330,000, or around £240,000, and took a Netherlands company over two years to produce. The cost of an individual lab burger is expected to fall to around £7.50 this year.
“The price has really gone down, really rapidly,” said Mr Groenewegen. “It’s still too expensive for the everyday consumer at the moment and not quite as competitive as a standard burger. That’s what we are working on with our technology.”
And of course, if you want to sell a product, there’s one group you need to convince: consumers. “I think younger people are going to lead the way in embracing cultured meat.”
How can these challenges be overcome?
“We are developing enabling technologies, which will allow other companies to scale up their production,” said Mr Groenewegen. “Specifically, we are developing multiple types of bioreactors.”
This equipment will allow companies to change from producing the cultured meat in time-consuming batch methods and switch to continuous production. This will increase their yield and bring down manufacturing costs.
“For example, a small steak will contain 10 billion cells and using traditional batch processes this could take a single bioreactor one month to produce. Our technology could shorten that to a few days.”
Mr Groenewegen predicts that far from being a thing of science fiction, lab-grown meat is definitely on the near horizon. He expects CellulaREvolution, which has 10 employees, to at least triple its workforce in the next few years.
“I think that we are two to three years away from seeing cultured meat in high-end restaurants,” he said. “For it to go mainstream and be available on supermarket shelves, I think is four to five years away.”
Mr Groenewegen said that to bring down the cost, we will likely see products that contain a blend of cultured meat and plant-based ingredients.


text:
Zoom has become a target for harassment and abuse coordinated in private off-platform chats. By Taylor…
In July of 2014 I wrote a blog post on this site, reporting the growing controversy and debate within the Internet community about the rise of a balkanized Internet, typified by the Chinese “Great Firewall.” Bill Gates and Vin Cerf argued that the Internet was too expansive and pervasive for government restrictions on the Internet to succeed. On the other side, Eric Schmidt and John Chamber of Cisco railed against the NSA metadata snooping as a contributing factor in the development of the “Splinternet,” that would severely harm American technology leadership.
It’s Still a Tower of Babble Privacy and Security Remain the Thorniest Problems I want…
A detailed report, prepared by Finite State, a Columbus, Ohio-based cybersecurity firm, concludes that Huawei telecom switching gear is far more vulnerable to hacking than other vendors’ hardware due to firmware flaws and inadvertent “back doors” that were discovered. The report has been circulated widely among cybersecurity experts in the U.S. and UK, and it is considered credible.
This post focuses on a particularly important technology market, the Internet of Things. IoT is at a strategic inflection point, due to explosive projected market growth and unresolved problems of wireless data throughput and energy-efficiency needs. The IoT market is projected to grow to 75 Billion devices by 2025. This growth is predicated on very high throughput wireless networks combined with high energy-efficiency which are not yet available. Existing wireless technologies, including 5G, will not meet this market need. Also, the extreme diversity of IoT applications will require both small sensors that operate using minimal energy and bandwidth and virtual reality applications with very high Gigabit per second data rates and substantial power requirements.
Five years ago, I wrote a post on this blog disparaging the state of the Internet of Things/home automation market as a “Tower of Proprietary Babble.” Vendors of many different home and industrial product offerings were literally speaking different languages, making their products inoperable with other complementary products from other vendors. The market was being constrained by its immaturity and a failure to grasp the importance of open standards. A 2017 Verizon report concluded that “an absence of industry-wide standards…represented greater than 50% of executives concerns about IoT. Today I can report that finally, the solutions and technologies are beginning to come together, albeit still slowly.
A year ago, a DDoS attack caused internet outages around the US by targeting the internet-infrastructure company Dyn, which provides Domain Name System services to look up web servers. Monday saw a nationwide series of outages as well, but with a more pedestrian cause: a misconfiguration at Level 3, an internet backbone company—and enterprise ISP—that underpins other big networks. Network analysts say that the misconfiguration was a routing issue that created a ripple effect, causing problems for companies like Comcast, Spectrum, Verizon, Cox, and RCN across the country.
Many know the name Kaspersky well. Others may only dimly recognize the brand name. Its anti-virus and Internet security software has been around for years in computer stores and OEM’d with computer systems. More than a year ago, I became concerned about what I was learning about Kaspersky Lab and its headquarters in Moscow, I began asking myself hypothetical rhetorical questions. What if Kaspersky was quietly working with the Russian FSB? What if Kaspersky had installed a sleeping Trojan Horse in millions of copies of its consumer computer security software? I was a user of Kaspersky Lab cybersecurity software myself. I knew that it was rated very highly by the tech journals. I liked its elegance and simplicity compared with other competitor products from U.S. based companies like Symantec and McAffee. Nevertheless, as the Russian hacking of the 2016 election became an ever-larger issue, I decided to pull the plug on Kaspersky because of my fears, though there was no direct evidence of collusion between Kaspersky and the Kremlin at that time, wiped my system clean, and installed another competitor product.
Anonymous, the murky global and leaderless hacking group has struck out on a campaign to disrupt ISIS’ sophisticated use of the Internet and social media. It claims to have disabled over 11,000 identified ISIS Twitter accounts with looped Rick Astley videos. For those of you not familiar with Rick Astley, he was a 1980’s British pop star of limited talent, whose videos are sometimes painful to watch. For unknown reasons, Astley’s videos have been used in a variety of online pranks and hacking incidents. So Anonymous did the convenient thing and used old Astley videos, a tactic now known as “RickRolling”, to disrupt and confound ISIS Twitter and other social media accounts. I like it. Striking back in this way is probably causing smiles in the French Intelligence Service, U.S. Defense Department, NSA, and GCHQ in the UK.


text:
First Quarter Market Discussion
At the start of the quarter, the mood of the market continued to alternate between euphoria over a potential Federal Reserve pivot and hand wringing over interest rates, inflation, and jobs — as was the case for much of the second half of 2022. Then in March came the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank, and Silvergate Capital, and suddenly, the economy had a banking crisis on its hands.
As financials make up the largest sector in most value indexes, it’s not surprising that value investors are paying particularly close attention to the health of banks. Are we surprised Silicon Valley Bank went from being the country’s 16th largest bank to non-existent in a matter of days? Absolutely. But was it unexpected that the financial health of certain banks would be called into question? Not at all. The lack of focus on both interest rate and credit risk following a prolonged period of artificially low rates set the stage for the Federal Reserve to “break something” following a 180-degree policy shift over the past year.
The events over the past few weeks don’t change our big-picture views, but they do make us reassess earnings power potential and valuation targets for financial institutions who may experience a more onerous regulatory burden going forward. While we are underweight financials in general, we do have exposure to banks. But the businesses held in the strategy have high-quality funding bases and conservative credit underwriting standards. We aren’t playing defense, rather we favor fundamental traits such as financial soundness and sound business strategies as part of our 10 Principles of Value Investing™ that provide potential margins of safety.
As part of our process, we also set four price targets for every security that we analyze — two for positive outcomes and two for negative scenarios. Those downside targets are particularly useful in challenging environments like this. Right now, signs continue to point to a slowing economy and deteriorating fundamentals, and recent troubles in the banking sector will likely only accelerate that.
Ultimately, the banking crisis reinforces the advantage that active value investors have over passive strategies. At a time when balance sheet strength matters more than ever, it’s important to note that passive investments do not actively incorporate financial health considerations in portfolio construction. For us, financial health is integral to several of our 10 Principles of Value Investing™.
Attribution Analysis & Portfolio Activity
For the quarter, the strategy outperformed the Russell 3000® Value Index. While stock selection gave us an advantage in Industrials and Financials, we lagged in other areas including Communications and Health Care. For the past one, three, and five years, however, security selection has accounted for the vast majority of our performance.
Late last year, we had been buying shares of well-run small-cap businesses that we thought were positioned to be the leaders at the start of the next cycle. But after the “risk on” rally at the start of this year, which drove up prices throughout most cyclical areas of the market, mispricing opportunities were harder to come by, and this became less of a priority. As depicted in the following chart, small caps outperformed large caps by ~600bps through February only to lag by ~700bps in March.
Source: FactSet Research Systems Inc., monthly data from 4/30/2003 to 3/31/2023. This chart represents Small Caps vs Large Caps against the ISM new order index. The ISM Manufacturing New Order Index is an index based on surveys of more than 300 manufacturing firms by the Institute of Supply Management. The New Orders Index compares current month orders with the prior month. All indices are unmanaged. It is not possible to invest directly in an index. Past performance does not guarantee future results.
We believe this is time for a more balanced approach, looking to take advantage of what the market gives us. For example, early in the quarter, we added to Utilities and Consumer Staples, which were largely left out of the speculative rally in January and February. We continue to see value in smaller businesses because the market is increasingly discounting an economic recession. For example, the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) Manufacturing New Orders Index (blue line) is a diffusion index that signals economic contraction below 50, a level it has hovered below since September 2022. Historically, investors have been rewarded for going down market when economic prospects are dim as they are today.
Consumer Staples. For example, we established a new position in Ingredion Inc. (INGR), a less than $7 billion market capitalization global food products company that converts corn, tapioca, potatoes, grains, fruits, and vegetables into ingredients and biomaterials used primarily in the food and beverage industries. Ingredion’s business has been under pressure in recent years for several reasons. First, high-fructose corn syrup has been in secular decline because of shifting dietary preferences toward natural sweeteners, and second, inflationary pressures have put downward pressure on margins largely due to a spike in agricultural commodity prices.
We’re attracted to several profit enhancement initiatives that, when combined with a customer-demand profile that is relatively inelastic and an attractive valuation, provide potential downside protection. The company’s self-help drivers include raising prices to offset previously realized inflationary headwinds and driving its high-margin specialty segment to a larger percentage of its overall sales. In addition, within the company’s lower growth ingredients segment, management is repurposing production capacity toward higher-value products.
INGR has historically traded at a 20-30% discount to its sector peers. Today, INGR trades at 7.9 times consensus EV/EBITDA over the next 12 months, which is around a 40% discount.
Industrials. We added a few cyclicals in the quarter that we believe can outperform regardless of which way the economy heads from here, including J.B. Hunt Transport Services (JBHT), a diversified shipping company with a focus on intermodal shipping. Customers hire Hunt, which operates an intermodal network twice the size of its next largest competitor, to move freight using different methods of transportation to reduce costs relative to alternatives.
The freight market weakened meaningfully in 2022 following a robust recovery coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic. Because supply chains were a significant bottleneck for businesses over the past few years, management teams ordered “buffer inventory” to ensure product availability for internal consumption and for sale to customers. But in 2022, shippers recognized they had too much inventory as lead times improved across supply chains. In response, JBHT’s customers slashed orders, freight rates fell, and investors grew concerned about management’s decision to double the company’s intermodal fleet by the end of 2025.
We believe weakening freight demand, easing supply chain pressures, and railroad investments will cause customers to refocus on optimizing freight cost, which should benefit Hunt. The company is investing capital now on network expansion, and we believe the associated profits will come over time. The stock normally trades at parity or a slight premium to the industrial sector. But at 9.25 times consensus EV/EBITDA over the next 12 months, Hunt shares are at around a 20% discount to the company’s peers.
J.B. Hunt operates with very little debt, and the management team has a track record of investing through economic downturns. Combining management’s history of strong capital allocation and a discounted valuation gives us confidence that Hunt can outperform through a recession and into an economic recovery, whenever that may happen.
Financials. While the broad financial sector sank in the quarter, Interactive Brokers (IBKR), a fully digital brokerage platform, gained 14.24% in the first three months of the year.
Interactive Brokers’ differentiated business model shined because the company’s management team built the business to avoid the two risks that came to the forefront for sector peers this quarter, credit and interest-rate risk. IBKR is a prime example of why analyzing businesses under multiple scenarios, both good and bad, is so important. In late 2021, when we began purchasing IBKR, the market was not pricing credit or interest-rate risk into the sector. Banks appeared optically “cheap” on P/E multiples, but after adjusting for downside risks, the upside versus downside potential was far more compelling in Interactive Brokers than in banks. Today that gap has narrowed, however, we continue to hold a position in IBKR given its lack of credit risk, which has yet to be fully priced into many banks.
IBKR enjoys industry- and sector-leading pre-tax margins thanks to its highly automated platform that drives scale efficiencies, which are partially passed on to customers in the form of attractive interest rates on cash balances. For this reason, clients have little incentive to move deposits as interest rates rise. IBKR’s management team has refused to take duration risk thereby significantly lowering the chance of a “run on the bank” scenario that proved disastrous for several banks this year. Credit risk is limited to securities-backed loans that are over-collateralized and marked to market in real time thereby significantly reducing any loss given default.
While the knee-jerk reaction to the budding banking crisis is to act defensively, we think this is a great backdrop for a balanced approach — one that considers both defensive and offensive opportunities, whichever is most attractive.
We understand that the near-term volatility caused by liquidity concerns isn’t fun. But we love a backdrop where we can find well-run businesses with sound management strategies, strong balance sheets, and robust cash flows that are being punished in the short run, with the understanding that these investments will be worth a lot more in the next few years.
We thank you for your continued trust and confidence.


text:
13 September 2011
Textile and clothing export orders were weaker in August in China, according to a survey with purchasing managers. The strong increase in production costs is further affecting demand from foreign countries, while the domestic market remains very strong, by contrast.
The level in export orders significantly declined in August in China, according to the Purchasing Management Index (PMI) of the China Federation of Logistics & Purchasing.
While the domestic textile and apparel industries should now be busy with producing at full capacity, a slowdown in export growth is expected for the end of the year, as a result.
Until now, textile and clothing exports continued strongly rising in US$ terms, but this was entirely due to a jump in prices, after production costs similarly surged.
Textile exports are one of the most affected activities amid China's industrial sectors.
The domestic market remains relatively strong, by contrast, with a good level in orders, according to the clothing industry.
Clothing retail sales continued rising more than 20% in August, in yuan terms, from the same month a year earlier.
Consumer prices only climbed by 2.9% for clothing and footwear products in August in China, from a year earlier, which means a spectacular growth in volume terms, if these official data are reliable.
The country is still confronted with a sharp increase in labor costs, a rising renminbi and tighter credit conditions.
On the other hand, textile material costs significantly fell in the first part of the year before cotton and polyester prices bottomed out in the recent period.
The growth of production costs was relatively weaker in August, possibly indicating that costs could increase at a slower pace in future months.
China's textile and apparel industry are now shifting to production of higher-priced products, while making new productivity gains, at the same time.
- Send Your Comments to EmergingTextiles.com


text:
Luckin coffee, the ambitious Chinese entrepreneur who is chasing Starbucks, could raise nearly $ 600 million from its next IPO. That’s according to a price range published by the Chinese startup.
In a new filing, Luckin said he plans to sell 30 million shares at an initial range of $ 15- $ 17. That gives an estimated increase of $ 450 million to $ 510 million, but could be increased if underwriters take on the additional allocation. 4.5 million shares. So, as a grand total, the list could raise $ 586.5 million if the entire offering is bought at the top of the range.
The company will be listed on the Nasdaq as “LK”.
Luckin was introduced to the public last month, just weeks after a $ 150 million Series B + funding round closed led by New York private equity firm Blackrock, which has a 6.58 percent stake. cent at Starbucks. The deal valued Luckin at $ 2.9 billion and led the three-year company to $ 550 million raised by investors to date.
The company has consumed incredible amounts of cash while trying to quickly build a brand that can compete with Starbucks, and the presence that the US firm has built in the last 20 years in China. Through aggressive promotions and coupons, the company posted a loss of $ 475 million in 2018, its only full year of business to date, with $ 125 million in revenue. For the first quarter of 2019, it posted a loss of $ 85 million with total sales of $ 71 million.
Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson has scoffed at the viability of such a “heavy discount” strategy.
“We are deploying capital and building 600 new stores per year. [We’re] “We generate the return on invested capital that we believe is sustainable to continue building new stores at this rate for many years,” he told CNBC in a recent interview.
Starbucks claims 30,000 stores around the world. It has been in China for 20 years and its goal is to reach 6,000 stores in the country by 2022. Luckin, fueled by that venture capital money, has rapidly escalated to 2,370 locations in less than two years with plans to add more. 2,500 this year. That would see it outperform Starbucks, which has 3,600 stores in 150 Chinese cities, though that metric provides a distorted view as Luckin specializes in digital ordering and on-demand delivery. That is in contrast to the retail model operated by Starbucks.


text:
According to a super-secret, though allegedly super-accurate, source, the iPod Nano 5G will include a camera, as well as a widened 1.5:1 aspect ratio screen and the traditional click-wheel.
The above artistic rendering shows what the fifth-generation iPod Nano will look like. According to the source, you can expect the new Nano to be announced sometime between July and September, along with a new iPod Touch. Is this legit? Too legit to quit?


text:
DSTIncomm today announced its new mobile application that allows its customers to purchase products from its stores via their smartphones.
The app is a new addition to the store’s online shopping experience. The retailer for mobile phones and mobile accessories also has an online retail store at incomm.com.bn.
“The mobile app is developed with the objective of providing our customers with a seamless shopping experience from anywhere at their own pace,” said Juliana Sim, DSTIncomm’s general manager.
Available on the Google Play Store, the new app features easy navigation for customers to browse, compare and purchase the wide range of products available at DSTIncomm.
Products purchased from the store through the app can be delivered to the customer’s doorstep. In addition, customers can also purchase POWERKad meter tokens through the app.
For more information on the DSTIncomm mobile app, please contact 8998086.


text:
What you need to know
- Apple Arcade is being teased by Apple in the Mac App Store.
- The service should be available now if you have the GM of macOS Catalina.
- Apple Arcade is a gaming service that's available for $5 per month.
Apple has begun teasing the release of Apple Arcade on Mac ahead of macOS Catalina's public release. However, if you've downloaded the GM of macOS Catalina, you can apparently access the service now.
Announced in September, Apple Arcade offers unlimited access to over a hundred games for a monthly price of $5. A subscription can be shared by family members, making it a great deal for anyone who enjoys mobile gaming.
The biggest draw of Apple Arcade is the games found in Apple Arcade don't feature in-app purchases or advertising, which has become a major point of discussion in free-to-play titles. So far, people are really enjoying Apple Arcade, with many praising the variety and quality of the service's games.
We actually got a heads up Apple Arcade would be available in some capacity on Mac after a listing, which was later pulled, appeared on Apple's website.
With Apple having released the GM of macOS Catalina, the software's public release appears imminent. Until that happens, you can access Apple Arcade on iPhone, iPad, and tvOS.
We may earn a commission for purchases using our links. Learn more.
FAQ: TikTok & WeChat ban — why it’s happening and what it means for you
Are TikTok and WeChat really being banned? When does all of this take effect? Will I still be able to use these apps? All this and more answered in our FAQ regarding the latest U.S. orders.
WeChat ban has been blocked by U.S. District Court
The Trump administration's ban on WeChat was set to go into effect today, but a U.S. district court judge just blocked it.
Plan your day with Hour Blocks and its amazing iOS 14 Home screen widgets
Planning your day is no fun but sometimes you find an app that goes some way to making it less boring. Hour Blocks does a decent job and it looks lovely, too.
Kid-friendly board games to keep your children entertained
Games can teach kids teamwork, strategy, help with basic math skills, and even give their critical thinking skills a good test. Plus, board games are fun as heck, so here's a list of our favorite games you can play with your kids!


text:
Epic Games vs. The Apple lawsuit dramatically affects the gaming industry as the issue of what constitutes a monopoly comes to the fore. Now, Valve has been sued for Steam.
Epic Games vs. The epicenter of the Apple case is antitrust violations. Antitrust laws are in place to protect consumers from corporations that have a monopoly on their markets and to protect against destructive financial practices. Court hearings are of interest to the entire gaming community, and now Valve is the latest company to get into bigger discussions about its placement within the game “hierarchy”.
As reported by , “Valve, is abusing market power to make sure that game publishers have no choice but to sell most of their games through the Steam Store, where they are subject to Valve’s 30 percent fee, ”he said.
The team states that Valve controls 75 percent of the PC gaming market; This is an important point where Epic Games faced sales cuts in their showcase to enable Valve to do the same. box recently dropped its percentage to match that of Epic Games, which put more pressure on Valve to be more developer-friendly in terms of cuts from sales through its showcase.
What will happen next is anticipated, but it seems that the effects of the Apple case against Epic Games on the industry will continue for a long time.


text:
ANDERSON COUNTY - Things that go bang are natural on the Fourth of July. But what exactly are the most popular?
According to floor manager Lucas Snedigar at Shelton Fireworks in Fair Play, artillery shells.
"Pretty much the same as last year." Snedigar said. "Artillery shells, also called mortars, are popular, but not as popular as the multi-shot ones. Those you don't have to reload."
At the other end of Exit 2 at Interstate 85, is Crazy Steve's Fireworks Superstore, where less lethal-sounding fireworks are popular.
"Probably what we're selling the most of is smoke bombs and sparklers," said manager Darren Marsh. "They are less dangerous, and families with children can be more cautious."
The staff at Crazy Steve's strives to talk to all the customers they can so each person can walk away with what they need, he said.
At Exit 1, Phantom Fireworks, a smaller store, floor manager David Roper said that mortars and multi-shots were some of the most popular this year.
Are packages better than buying individual items?
"Well it depends on what kind of show your looking for." Roper said. "The package is best when you have children, but if you want to put on a big show its best to customize."
Lewis Sisson, the owner of Big Zack's Fireworks on Clemson Boulevard agrees with Roper.
"People who travel usually get the packages, but if you can spend the time and look around, you can get just what you want," Sisson said.
The problem with the package, according to Sisson, is that sometimes people don't get exactly what they want. Sisson said artillery shells are one of the most popular items this year.
But he said sparklers sell year round.
"Sparklers are actually big for weddings," Sisson said.
The owner of Hevymann Fireworks on Clemson Boulevard agreed that a heavy hitter this year is the mortar shell firework.
Ken LeClair, owner of a small shop in the parking lot to the Short Stop gas-station on S.C. 187, said there are a lot of new things to buy this year, such as Pop Pop's.
Similar to a Snap or Crack item, this new novelty is thrown on the ground, but the reaction is 10 times as loud as the old item, he said. LeClair said fountain fireworks aren't as popular this year because of the drought.
Student and fireworks entreprenuer Will Owens turned a Tri-County Technical College project into his own store, located on Williamston Road.
"I went and got all my licenses and figured all the numbers and then I decided that I could make pretty good money and it stuck." Owens said.
Big Shots is the quirky title that Owens decided on for his business project turned real-life store. He also builds his own packages that will suit every buyer.
"I love seeing people walk away with a smile on their face," Owens said.
Need Help? Call us at 1-864-260-1284.
Monday-Friday: 6am-4:30pm / Saturday: 7am-11am / Sunday: 7am-2pm


text:
Gameloft, one of the oldest and biggest names in mobile phone games, has cut its development investment in Google’s Android platform. The Washington Post quoted Gameloft finance director Alexandre de Rochefort as saying:
We have significantly cut our investment in Android platform, just like … many others. It is not as neatly done as on the iPhone. Google has not been very good to entice customers to actually buy products. On Android nobody is making significant revenue.
While he has a point about the Android Marketplace not being as “neat” as the iPhone App Store, I think this is an amazingly shortsighted move. Android handsets have only started popping up on three of the four major American carriers this fall. A number of analysts have predicted that Android will be the leading smartphone platform by 2012. Being first and being established on Android would be a wise move for Gameloft, but I’m guessing the bean counters are only looking at immediate returns.
Do you think Android has a big future? Or is Gameloft doing the right thing by cutting the cord early?


text:
Inbev announces publicity drive for Stella Artois
Inbev has launched a publicity campaign for Stella Artois to help build a more positive image for the brand and underline its quality credentials.
The month-long poster and digital campaign will emphasise the craftmanship that
goes into creating the lager, which has suffered a drop in sales over the past two years.
The brewer claims it is making the single biggest monthly spend of a lager or cider brand in 18 months and is the biggest investment in one burst of beer advertising since 2004.
Stuart MacFarlane president Inbev UK & Ireland said: “The campaign is focused on a very short time period to ensure it makes an immediate impact with the brand’s target audience at the start of the summer which is a key period for premium lager business.
“Our campaign also emphasises the product quality and obsessive craftsmanship that goes into brewing Stella Artois. We highlight that we use only the very finest of ingredients for Stella Artois, to communicate the care and attention that we invest in our pioneering brand.”
The new campaign will continue to communicate the Pass on Something Good message, which formed the basis of last year's heavyweight TV and print ad campaign.
Click below to read OLN's exclusive interview with Inbev UK's new leader:


text:
As we count down the days until Oct. 9 — when we expectat — let us take stock of all that we know.
How to watch:
Though Google hasn’t officially announced the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL, a torrential flood of leaks — like,— has provided a remarkably vivid picture of what we can expect. spilled a whole lot of beans in posted earlier this year. And then a prototype Pixel 3 XL found in the backseat of a Lyft filled in even more details. If even half of the rumors are true, Google will be hard-pressed to conjure much surprise at the phone’s official introduction. (We reached out to Google to verify the authenticity of the leaks, but haven’t heard back.)
But Google may have some revelations in store., known as , has — such as multiplayer AR and enhancements to its already-superior voice assistant — that will likely be integrated in the Pixel 3. (Apple has showed off and .) And the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL may be more different from one another than in previous years — chiefly due to the iPhone-like notched design that Google is rumored to have given the larger model.
Again, the company hasn’t formally announced the Pixel 3 phones, so most of what we think we know is based on the voluminous rumors. However, because the Pixel 2 and the Pixel 2 XL and are among the best phones on the market today on account of their excellent cameras, snappy performance and tight Android integration, many are interested in what Google will offer this time around.
We’ve collated the major buzz on the Google Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL below, and will continue to update this space regularly with news and rumors.
Editors’ note, Oct. 4: This post was originally published on June 10, and will continue to be updated with news and rumors about the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL.
Rumor: Google will introduce the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL on Oct. 9
According to Bloomberg, Google plans to unveil. The general timeframe follows precedent: The company introduced the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL and the original Pixel phones exactly .
Rumor: New camera feature
According to the leak by Front Page Tech’s Jon Prosser, via Twitter, the Pixel 3called “Top Shot” that captures photos of people at the exact right moment.
Rumor: New UI tricks
A purported Google marketing video, first posted by MySmartPrice and embedded below, shows. The video shows familiar Pixel navigational elements — swiping down for notifications and squeezing the sides to launch Google Assistant — and new ones, like long-pressing the power button to take a screenshot. And there are other new tricks: someone uses the Pixel’s camera to recognize and draft an email from a business card. Another instance shows the phone recognizing a restaurant name in an email, and offers the option to make a reservation.
Rumor: Google to unveil new Pixel Stand charger
In addition to the new phones, Google is said to have developed a new wireless charger called the “Pixel Stand,” according to MySmartPrice. A purported image shows a white dock with an orange bottom and a small “G” logo that’s connected, ostensibly, to a USB-C cable. MySmartPrice says that the Stand will turn your Pixel into a smart display with access to shortcuts for music apps, the Google Assistant and notifications.
That noted, XDA Developers found evidence in an Android Pie beta release that points to support for wireless charging. And if the new Pixel ends up with— that’s another rumor — it would be more conducive to wireless charging. Google has made wireless charging phones before (like the and ), but stopped in 2015 with the launch of the and .
Rumor: Pixel 3 XL gets a notch, Pixel 3 does not
Traditionally, the Pixel and Pixel XL have been nearly identical — except for the size difference. That may change this time around.
Google is rumored to have bestowed the Pixel 3 XL with an iPhone-like notch to accommodate an updated camera system. The first leaked photos gave us our first look at the larger model, after which an anonymous Reddit user deliveredof the smaller Pixel 3, via 9to5Google. And now we have a pic of what leaker Evan Blass says is both handsets, side-by-side.
The images are consistent with, showing a Pixel 3 XL that has a notched display — and not just any notch, but — and a Pixel 3 with a more traditional layout. We know that , so, conceptually at least, this checks out.
Rumor: Pixel Bud-like earbuds included
Those Russian bloggers supposedly got theirfrom a . And the unboxing videos they posted showed a pair of earbuds with a meaty, design. If the package is real, this would be new; the Pixel 2 .
The images of the headphones did also have misspelled “@googel.com” email address on the label, which is a little sketch. Our email bounced when we tried emailing that address, so keep in mind this all might be a clever fake.
Separately, a Telegram user @LuchkovCH also “leaked” photos of the Pixel 3 XL and dropped a YouTube video here. In it, they walk through the Settings menu, launcher and running benchmarks. There’s a look at the (notched) front, familiar-looking back and what looks like a single USB-C charging port.
Confirmed: It won’t be the first Android Pie device
Countering speculation that Google would introduce its latest operating system on the Pixel 3, the companyto the existing generation of Pixel phones on Aug. 6. The Pixel 3 is likely, however, to be the first phone running Pie right out of the box, if that matters in any way.
Android Pie mostly focuses on behind-the-scenes improvements designed to make Android phones work faster while saving battery life, but it also.
Rumor: Pixel 3 XL will have front-facing speakers
According to a recent case leak from Gizmo China, the Pixel 3 XL has two front-facing cameras. The leaked images also show that the speaker will be located on the front bottom bezel and the fingerprint reader will remain positioned on the back below the camera.
Rumor: Two front-facing cameras and a new display for the Pixel 3 XL
In addition to the notch, Bloomberg posited that the Pixel 3 XL will have an edge-to-edge display and. The smaller Pixel 3, however, will have neither of these things apparently.
The German news site WinFuture, which has a pretty reliable record with tech rumors, also reported that Google will partner with Taiwanese manufacturer Foxconn (the same company that makes iPhones) to build “new display hardware.”
Rumor: A premium Pixel will battle 2018 iPhones
Tech blog Droid Life reported that Google has three new Pixel phones in the pipeline for 2018. This trio could include a mysterious higher-end version — perhaps intended to compete with the $1,000— in addition to the standard and XL models. As a reminder, the 64GB Pixel 2 starts at $649 and the Pixel 2 XL starts at $849 (£799 or AU$1,399).
That noted, frequent tipster Evan Blass tweeted that, according to a “reliable source,” Google will deliver a Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL — as well as the next generation ofand a . If he’s right, we’re back to looking at two phones, not three. The Pixel 3 XL might have to take on the $1,099 on its own.
Rumor: Google has a cheaper Pixel
Google is said to be developing an inexpensive “midrange” Pixel for emerging markets that could debut this summer, according to Economic Times. It’s not clear whether Google would bring this budget model to the US; the timing doesn’t sync up with the Pixel’s usual October debut. But, depending on the price, such a phone could make an interesting foil to Apple’s new $749.
Other rumored Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL specs
- Octacore Qualcomm CPU (perhaps Snapdragon 845)
- Adreno 630 GPU
- 2,960×1,440-pixel resolution
- Wired version of Google Pixel Buds connecting via USB-C
- Confirmed: Support for
- 4GB RAM
- 2,915mAh battery that supports wireless charging
- Available at least two colors: black and white
: It still has an amazing camera, but its followup is expected soon.
: Apple’s most colorful iPhone is also its cheapest.


text:
According to the Financial Times, Google and some of Europe’s biggest telecoms companies have asked EU regulators to designate iMessage as an “essential” service.
Doing so, under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), would require Apple to make its communications platform compatible with competing chat services.
Google, Vodafone, Deutsche Telekom, Telefónica and Orange said in a letter to the European Commission, the EU’s executive body, that Apple’s service meets the quality criteria of the act (over 45m active users) and therefore, should be subject to the rules for “the benefit of European consumers and businesses”.
They argued that iMessage is “fundamental” as an “important gateway between enterprise users and their customers” and that this is reason enough to designate Apple as the gatekeeper for the iMessage service. They also said the definition would benefit consumers because “rich messages” are only accessible to Apple users, according to the report.
Apple did not comment on the report, but referred to an earlier statement that said:
“iMessage is a great service that Apple users love because it provides an easy way to communicate with friends and family while offering top-notch privacy and security protections.
Consumers today have access to a wide variety of messaging apps and often use several at the same time, reflecting how easy it is to switch between them. iMessage is designed and marketed for personal consumer communications, and we look forward to explaining to the committee why iMessage does not fall within the scope of the DMA.”
Apple challenged the EU regulator’s designation as a “gatekeeper” ahead of the publication of the first list of services to be regulated by the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The legislation introduces new rules that apply to services that are considered core platform services and forces them to open up their various services and platforms to other companies and developers. For example, Apple could be forced to allow third-party companies and competing apps, such as Meta’s WhatsApp, to integrate directly into iMessage.
However, Apple argued that iMessage does not have the number of users required for the DMA rules to apply and should not be subject to them. “iMessage is not a significant gateway into the union for enterprise users to reach end users due to its small scale relative to other messaging services,” Apple reportedly told the committee. This does not apply to three other Apple products since the original EU list considers Safar, iOS and the App Store as gatekeepers.
Analysts estimate that iMessage has about 1 billion users worldwide, but Apple has not disclosed official numbers about the service in several years. Whether iMessage will be included in the initial EU list of gatekeeper services will depend on how it defines the market in which it operates.
The EU investigation into iMessage is ongoing and the European Commission has until February to make a decision.