text:
R professionals are key lines of defense when it comes to protecting information that provides your business with a competitive advantage.
In September 1997, Victor Lee, a research scientist for Avery Dennison Inc., a Pasadena, Calif.-based manufacturer of office supplies and adhesives, went to a hotel in Westlake, Ohio, to meet P.Y. Yang, the owner of a Taiwanese company called Four Pillars. Lee handed Yang confidential documents, including an Avery patent application related to a new adhesive product.
Lee emphasized that the information was the confidential property of Avery Dennison. Yang responded by tearing the “confidential” stamps off the papers.
Lee had been conducting meetings like this for eight years, providing Yang with a stream of proprietary information from Avery Dennison. But the 1997 meeting was their last. Lee’s industrial espionage had been detected, and his meeting with Yang was a sting operation, videotaped by the FBI. Yang was subsequently convicted in federal court of violating the Economic Espionage Act of 1996.
While Lee did not profit greatly from selling this highly valuable information—his annual “consulting” fee amounted to $25,000—the cost to Avery Dennison was far greater. The company lost trade secrets worth $200 million, estimates Steven B. Fink, a security consultant who worked with the business during the crisis provoked by Lee’s espionage.
Because it involved one of the first prosecutions under the Economic Espionage Act, this case received more attention than many cases involving the theft of trade secrets. Such thefts are, however, a chronic, everyday worry for businesses of all kinds.
For example, Kforce, a specialty staffing company based in Tampa, Fla., has been going to court three to six times a year to ask for injunctions against competitors and former employees. “In the specialty staffing business, customer information can be very valuable,” says William S. Josey, the company’s general counsel. “Customer contact information, customer history and job order information, the makeup of a customer’s business—this is information that may not be generally available.”
Protecting such information is “especially tricky” in a business like Kforce’s, Josey continues, “where your employees must have access to this information to do their jobs. But when they’re no longer your employees, the information could be valuable to a competitor. Companies spend enormous sums of money to develop these databases, and it’s very tempting for a competitor without those resources—for example, a startup—to get this data the easy way, by misappropriating it.”
The damage from such thefts can be difficult to measure, but its dimensions appear to be enormous. In the most recent data available, the American Society for Industrial Security (ASIS) estimates that, during the 12-month period from July 2000 through June 2001, 138 companies that responded to the organization’s survey lost a total of $59 billion, most of it in lost revenues and legal fees. Of these companies, 40 percent had lost proprietary information, about half in research and development. Customer lists and financial data also were targets.
The ASIS survey focused on the Fortune 1,000, but Fink, who is president of Los Angeles-based Lexicon Communications Corp., says these “are not the companies that are targeted most by economic espionage. It’s the mid-level companies. Most of the thefts of trade secrets are done by competitors, or people working for competitors, and there are more competitors of medium-size companies than there are of Fortune 1,000 companies.”
Regardless of the dollars involved, Fink says, “if you steal the right trade secret from the right company, you’re going to put that company out of business. The only relevant question is, how much loss can a company sustain?”
Protection of trade secrets from misappropriation by employees or competitors has long been established under common law. The Uniform Trade Secrets Act, now adopted (sometimes with modifications) by 45 states, embodies and strengthens those common-law protections.
The Economic Espionage Act goes even further by providing for criminal sanctions, but prosecutions under that statute have been rare, and some of the sentences imposed under the act have been remarkably light.
Corporate secrets can take many forms, but to qualify as legally protected trade secrets, they generally must have the following essential characteristics:
First, a trade secret must truly be secret—that is, not something generally known or ascertainable through legal means. If a company claims that a former employee has stolen a trade secret by taking its customer list, but its marketing department has posted a list of those customers on the Internet, no court is likely to be sympathetic. Likewise, anything that has been copyrighted or patented does not qualify as a trade secret, even when it qualifies for legal protection on other grounds, because it has already been made public.
Second, a trade secret must have real economic value or bestow a competitive advantage. The “shelf life” of a trade secret can be critically important in such determinations. Some trade secrets hold their value for many years—the secret formula for Coca-Cola is perhaps the most famous example—but others lose their value very quickly. A high-tech firm’s current strategic plan may very well qualify as a trade secret, but its plan from 1996, even if it is kept secret, may have no value at all.
Finally, the owner of a trade secret must take reasonable steps to protect it. This may be the area where employers, and the courts, will face their greatest challenges in the years ahead.
So far, says Richard Stim, a Berkeley, Calif., attorney and co-author of Nondisclosure Agreements: Protect Your Trade Secrets & More
(Nolo Press, 2001), the only test the courts have applied is “basic reasonableness. Did you lock your cabinets? Are your computers secured inside and outside? Can the janitor turn them on at night? Do you have password protection of your really valuable information?”
But technological change has made it much easier to steal trade secrets, thanks to the ways that data can be compressed. “Basically, someone can put an entire file cabinet onto something they can slip into their pocket and walk out with,” says Mark F. Radcliffe, an attorney with the technology-focused East Palo Alto, Calif., law firm Gray Cary—and that’s not to mention the ease of transmitting secrets via e-mail. (For more information on preventing secrets from escaping via e-mail, see “Control E-mail the Right Way.”)
Radcliffe believes that “as technology evolves, the standard of reasonableness is going to change,” so that locking the cabinets will no longer be enough.
Moreover, although documents can be stamped “confidential” and locked in a safe, employees’ knowledge cannot. In an increasingly information-based economy, many of a company’s trade secrets are likely to be walking out the door at night, inside employees’ heads.
“Companies spend about 80 percent of their security dollars trying to keep outsiders out,” says Fink. “They build walls and fences and have security guards walking around the perimeter of the building. They build firewalls so people can’t access their computers. But in terms of trade secret theft, the people who are doing most of the stealing are already on the inside.”
Thus, the job of protecting trade secrets is likely to devolve more and more from traditional security departments onto human resources.
But a significant proportion of HR professionals may not be ready for that shift, suggests a March survey from the Society for Human Resource Management. Of the 247 HR professionals who responded to the poll, 47 percent said their HR department did not play a key role in protecting trade secrets, and 30 percent said their organization had not taken any measures to protect its trade secrets.
When organizations did take steps to keep secrets safe, two of the techniques they used most often were non-disclosure and non-compete agreements. (See the chart “Steps Businesses Take To Protect Trade Secrets.”)
Nondisclosure And Noncompete Agreements
A critical element in protecting a company from miscreant employees is usually a nondisclosure agreement between employer and employee, through which the employee agrees not to reveal trade secrets in a new job. Such contractual obligations are “really the cornerstone of any effective trade secret program,” says Paul J. Kennedy, an attorney with the Washington, D.C., office of the national employment law firm Littler Mendelson.
State law uniformly prohibits employees from disclosing an employer’s trade secrets, but, Stim says, a nondisclosure agreement “adds extras that go beyond the state law, that make it easier, perhaps, to get an injunction to stop the dissemination of the secret, to get attorney’s fees if you have to pursue that person, to guarantee that your lawsuit will be heard in a certain state.”
Despite the importance of such agreements, “a lot of companies, at the front end, don’t pay a whole lot of attention to them,” Kennedy says. “You pull out a one-size-fits-all form, slap it up and throw it in somebody’s file. That only takes you so far.”
The critical first step is determining what information needs to be protected—that is, what’s really a trade secret. “Each industry is unique,” says Robert M. Tils, an attorney with the Garden City, N.Y., law firm Moritt Hock Hamroff & Horowitz, and businesses in each industry “have to examine what gives them a competitive advantage.”
In New York, for example, the law does not protect the names of an insurance company’s customers—but it protects renewal information, which is far more valuable. “If I know when a company’s insurance policy is up for renewal,” Tils says, “and I target my solicitations to them 60 to 90 days before they re-up their insurance, I have a competitive advantage over someone who cold-calls them six months after they renew.”
Tils suggests that identifying the most important trade secrets needn’t be an exhausting exercise. “It doesn’t cost a lot of money for a couple of key executives to sit down over lunch and talk about how the business really works,” he says. “What’s important to us? Why are we better than our competitors? The more specific you can be, the stronger your argument that it’s really a trade secret.”
Says Stim: “I’m sure if you narrow it down, there are only a few things, for a lot of businesses, that they really don’t want anyone else to know. If you isolate those, and keep them secret among key employees only, and tie those key employees with a stricter nondisclosure agreement, I think you’re in a fairly good position.”
There is, however, an inherent problem with nondisclosure agreements. It’s summed up by Wilbur A. Glahn III, an attorney with the Manchester, N.H., law firm McLane, Graf, Raulerson & Middleton: “You can have all the nondisclosure provisions in the world, but if your key person goes to work for one of your competitors and has access to information and knowledge that would be very damaging to the company and is going to be working in a field that is directly competitive with the company, I don’t think you can trust the other side or the employee when they say, ‘We have a nondisclosure agreement and we’ll abide by it.’ ”
Glahn thinks that agreements that bar an employee from working for a competitor are more effective, as long as they’re reasonable in scope and time—and they’re legally permissible.
But so-called “noncompetes” also have limitations. These agreements have been outlawed by statute in several states, most notably California, and the courts generally frown on them.
“A noncompete says you can’t go to work for a competitor,” Tils explains, “which basically says that you can’t work in this industry anymore, which means in a lot of situations that you can’t work anymore. Courts are loath to enforce those.”
Taking Legal Actions
When businesses find evidence that a former employee is violating a nondisclosure agreement, they usually seek an injunction. As Radcliffe says, an injunction barring the former employee and new employer from using a trade secret acts as “kind of a catch-up,” restoring to its rightful owner the head start that came from possessing the trade secret.
Injunctions are a rapid-response option. “In the vast majority of these cases, there’s a burning building,” Kennedy says. “They have a meeting tomorrow with your best customer, or somehow they’ve gotten hold of your source code and they’re going to be using it,” or something of that sort.
Sometimes, though, it makes sense to seek judicial relief of another kind, as when the employee’s loyal customers follow that employee away from the company. “If the employer gets an injunction,” Tils says, “the customers aren’t coming back. In fact, if they get an injunction against the employee, it will harm the employee, it will prevent him from earning any money. But the customers will just scatter and go to 90 other suppliers.”
That outcome might serve as a deterrent to other employees, but it might be more effective for the employer to file a suit for recovery of the profits the former employee makes from sales to the former customers.
In interpreting nondisclosure agreements, some courts, struggling to balance the rights of employers and employees, have fallen back on a doctrine called “inevitable disclosure.” Under that rubric, a nondisclosure agreement is interpreted as barring a former employee from working for a competitor for a time because disclosure of the former employer’s trade secrets would be unavoidable in the new job. So far, that doctrine has not made much headway.
Balancing Control and Trust
Efforts to protect trade secrets may be vital. But, if handled clumsily, they can potentially create mistrust and suspicion that is destructive to the employer’s business.
“You want to keep people loyal to you, and you want to keep morale high and maintain a level of trust that induces a productive working relationship,” Kennedy says. “When you inject something like a noncompete agreement into the process, people start to feel defensive, and concerned about their future livelihood if they leave.”
Despite their potential downsides, nondislosure and noncompetition agreements are business necessities, Kennedy says. “I think it’s something that employers really have to do. If you’re going to protect your trade secrets, you’d better do it while your employees are still employed and you can communicate with them.”
Although a great deal of attention is focused on employees who deliberately take trade secrets, either for their own use or to sell to competitors, Fink points to what he calls a “large, large segment: employees who are uninformed, who don’t know what a trade secret is, because they’ve never been told, and who don’t know how to handle a trade secret, because they’ve never been told. Because a lot of trade-secret theft is done through ignorance, just by educating employees you can reduce the risk of trade-secret theft by a significant factor.”
Educating employees as to the worth of proprietary assets is not without its hazards, says Chicago attorney R. Mark Halligan, who specializes in trade-secret cases with the firm Welsh & Katz. The problem, he says, is that if a company makes its employees more sensitive to the value of proprietary assets, “you proselytize them to how valuable they’d be if they went to work for a competitor or started their own company.”
Michael Schonberg, who as an attorney at the Dallas law firm Thompson & Knight has litigated numerous trade-secret cases, says such an outcome can be forestalled if the company not only educates employees as to the value of its trade secrets, but also impresses upon them what their responsibilities are throughout the “life cycle of employment.”
“Upon the departure of the employee,” he suggests, “visit with them and remind them of all they learned through their years with the company about the significance of confidential materials. Remind the employee that those materials need to be returned and not used or disclosed in any future employment. Provide them with a copy of the confidentiality agreement on their way out the door and suggest they show it to any prospective employer. That way, the prospective employers are made aware immediately of the confidentiality agreement and are, in my experience, much more hesitant to let the employee tread on thin ice.”
(For more information on how to respond when a new employee appears to be passing trade secrets to your company, see “What If You’re on the Receiving End?”)
Unfortunately, Schonberg says, the typical exit interview is still not geared to protecting trade secrets but is instead “conducted along the lines of making sure the company gets the employee’s parking pass back.”
Halligan believes that relaxed attitude is widespread: “Most companies pay lip service to trade secrets. When most trade-secret cases are filed, the plaintiff really doesn’t know what the trade secrets are. When the plaintiff takes a deposition from the former employee, and the former employee says he kept something, that’ll become the trade secret.”
If people who deal frequently with trade secrets are in accord on any one thing, it is that such a lackadaisical stance will become increasingly dangerous in a future driven by rapid changes in technology and intensified global competition.
Michael Barrier is a former senior editor of Nation’s Business and former senior editor of American Lawyer Media. He holds a J.D. from the University of Chicago. He served as assistant attorney general in Arkansas.


text:
Hugh: Netflix to Introduce Cheaper Subscription Plans That Feature Ads
Published on April 20th, 2022 @ 6:20 PM
Someday soon you may be sitting through an ad while streaming your favourite shows. Following a reported loss of 200,000 subscribers in the first quarter of this year, Netflix will shift to accommodate cheaper plans. The price of subscription to the streaming service has steadily risen over the last few years, and now a major loss of customers has the company re-thinking its ad-free approach. Tuesday, the streaming giant revealed that over the next year or two, they’ll offer cheaper, ad-supported subscription tiers. Netflix had repeatedly been asked over its history if it would consider bringing ads to the platform, and they’ve always shut it down. We don’t know exactly when these new plans will be rolled out, how many ads there will be, or what the new prices will look like, so there’s still a lot to pay attention to as the story develops.

domain: news


text:
Disney Internet Group is not expecting its US operations to approach its success in Japan anytime in the near future, one of their executives told me. The guess here is that things will change when color phones saturate the market. One in every three cell phones in the US will have a color display within 6 months, according to Seamus McAteer at Zelos Group, a San Francisco-based technology consulting firm.
Wrap-up report from the West Coast
– Reported by Michael Thuresson
THQ Wireless, a division of L.A. entertainment software maker THQ, now has 50 game titles in the US, up from 20 a year ago (see last week’s Wireless Notes). They told me one area they are working on is helping the carriers train their retail salespeople on how to get people to sign up for data services when buying a phone. This has been a problem, apparently.
THQ Wireless, which is known for its sports games, has had games running in Japan through Cybird since December, but they told me the performance has been disappointing so far. The content must be updated frequently to keep pace with the ultra-competitive market – taking more of their resources – and is sold at a lower price than their US games. The US market, though still small, offers bigger margins.
Verizon claims to have sold over a million BREW handsets in the US since last September, but a good portion of people with these aren’t using data at all.


text:
Solo Jonas brother carries Merz's new tune in Botox rival campaign
As the lyrics of his band’s 2019 pop-rock single suggest, Joe Jonas is only human — and that means even he gets frown lines. The 33-year-old singer-songwriter is Merz’s newest celebrity brand partner for its Botox rival Xeomin, as medical aesthetics brands target a younger audience.
Merz kicked off its “Beauty on Your Terms” campaign on Tuesday, featuring the Jonas brother in a video ad for its double-filtered anti-wrinkle injection Xeomin.
Unlock this article instantly by becoming a free subscriber.
You’ll get access to free articles each month, plus you can customize what newsletters get delivered to your inbox each week, including breaking news.


text:
In Nadym “Dongluwang” went riding reindeer sleighs and signed the protocol on intentions
16:04 4 марта 2018
Категории: News in English
The trilateral protocol on intention of cooperation was signed on the 4th of March in the town Nadym between the department of international and external economic relations of Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, the Chinese company “Dongluwang” and the production firm “Nyda-resource”. This information was given to a correspondent of the news agency “Sever-Press” by a representative of the specialized department Ivan Timkin.
According to his words, the negotiations on practical fulfillment of the agreement are continued: about possible investments and deliveries of equipment to the territory of Yamal. The foreign partners are ready to bring its specialists to the region and to share technologies.
The head of “Nyda-resource” Zhanna Gusak is an established export-oriented entrepreneur, who has experience of procurement of reindeer-herding products, as Ivan Timkin notes. On the basis of available but still not used capacities of “Nyda-resource” she is ready to re-equip some buildings for the joint enterprise. Now the sides are discussing two variants: just deliveries of products from the territory of the region (now its characteristics are being defined) or creation of the joint enterprise (processing and further delivery to foreign countries, at that, not only to China but, probably, to Europe).
The company “Dongluwang” is the largest manufacturer of pharmaceutical preparations on the basis of reindeer-herding products in China. Its representatives for the first time appealed to the authorities of Yamal with the request to render assistance on deliveries of products for their enterprises. As Ivan Timkin explains, this request received a respond, as Yamal is interested in legal export.
Working places will be created in a case of fulfillment of the agreement with the Chinese side, and if the enterprise is profitable, the region will only benefit. The representatives of “Dongluwang” invited the delegation of Yamal to get acquainted with their production. Now terms of the visit and the staff of the delegation are being discussed.
As Ivan Timkin notes, the head of “Nyda-resource” is very content with the course of the negotiations. She has presented potential of Yamal and uniqueness of its local products abroad not for the first time. Ivan Timkin expressed gratitude to Zhanna Gusak and hope for her experience, which will be in the basis of this project.
The guests from China were on the XXIII Open traditional competitions of reindeer herders for the Cup of the governor of Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, went riding reindeer sleighs and snowmobiles, got acquainted with native population and watched the competitions. They even left the VIP seats to take better photographs. They were very impressed.


text:
CHICAGO (MarketWatch) -- Best Buy Co. on Tuesday said first-quarter profit dropped 18% as consumers reined in spending on consumer electronics in what the company called the first industry-wide "interruption" in six years.
The nation's largest consumer electronics retailer also said profit was hurt by heavy sales of low-margin items such as notebook computers and gaming hardware. The company said it expects the trends to continue and lowered its full-year profit projection to take account of the forecast.
The financial results sent shares
The Richfield, Minn.-based company insisted that it has gained market share and has stayed ahead of its competitors during this rough patch. That spells trouble for closest rival Circuit City Stores
Best Buy's profit fell to $192 million in the fiscal first quarter, or 39 cents a share, from $234 million, or 47 cents a share, in the year-ago period. The results also included Best Buy's China businesses, the Five Star appliance stores and Best Buy China, which operate under a lower-cost operating model and whose quarterly figures included infrastructure investments.
Revenue rose 14% to $7.93 billion from $6.96 billion.
The per-share profit fell well below Wall Street's expectations, though sales exceeded them, underscoring the margin pressure. Same-store sales, receipts rung up at stores and site open longer than 14 months, were up 3%, considered healthy.
Analysts, on average, expected Best Buy to earn 49 cents a share on revenue of $7.85 billion, according to Thomson Financial.
"It is still early in the year, but we do see evidence to suggest that consumer spending will be more difficult to read, particularly down to the product level," CFO Darren Jackson said on a conference call with analysts.
"The environment indicates more potential variability in consumer spending, leading us to see a wider range of outcomes for the year. We remain confident that flat-panel TVs, notebook computers and gaming will remain very appealing to our customers," he said. The exact mix of those sales could have an impact on the short-term gross profit rate, he added.
Analysts appeared to understand that. "We believe Best Buy is willing to sacrifice some margin in pursuit of market share, particularly given the vulnerability of competitors such as Tweeter
Circuit City is in the midst of a reorganization. Tweeter filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last week and CompUSA has struggled with declining sales too. All three are closing stores.
"Underlying trends at the company remain stronger than Best Buy's substantial first-quarter earnings-per-share miss would suggest," said UBS Investment Research analyst Brian Nagel.
Still, based on those results, the company lowered its profit forecast to a range of $2.95 a share to $3.15 a share. Total sales are still pegged at about $39 billion with same-store sales rising 3% to 5%. Analysts, on average, expect Best Buy to earn $3.15 a share for the year.
"We believe it is prudent to adjust our outlook given what we have seen thus far -- but it is early in the fiscal year," Jackson added. He thinks, he said, that the second half of the year will be helped by less competition as rivals close stores and as Best Buy "expands its high-ticket merchandise mix and there's more seasonal interest in flat-panel TVs."
The fall-off, for example, of flat-panel TV sales in the first quarter came at the expense of a fourth-quarter surge, tied to consumers' wanting the oversized and better-picture TVs in time for the Super Bowl.
"We expect home theater to start to get materially better as the teams hit training camps and the pigskins start to fly this fall," Brian Dunne, Best Buy's president, said on the call. "That has been the historical pattern that we don't see changing here."
Dunne said the company's overall market share rose 1.5%, "more than twice the rate of our closest competitor," he said. "Our market share is at an all-time high, all at a time when the market itself has never been more competitive."
The company nearly doubled last year's pace with a first-quarter share buyback totaling about $412 million and Jackson said Best Buy will step up its repurchasing activities throughout the rest of the year.


text:
What a timing! Both m43 partners announced a new CEO and President.
Olympus named Hiroyuki Sasa (medical equipment marketing) as president and Yasuyuki Kimoto (Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp.) is the new chairman. Sasa said: “My duty is to win back as soon as possible the trust from everyone and repair this damaged brand.” (Source: Engadget)
Panasonic named Kazuhiro Tsuga new CEO of the company. He was the one guy pushing Panasonic to support Blue-ray in the famous HD-DVD versus Blue-ray battle. You know who won :) So this may be a good sign for his talent. (Source: Engadget)
Anyway, hope both companies can recover from their recent financial (and not only) issues.


text:
The 2008 American Suzuki Spring Series presented by Fox & Pro Circuit kicks off this weekend March 29-30, with Saturday being a Test & Tune Day from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
sunday sign-up opens at 7:00 a.m. with practice starting at 8:30 a.m.
New fro 2008 PAMX American Suzuki medals for the top three overall winners in each class!
Other changes and 2008 rules are posted on www.gopamx.com under "Series Information."
Also save the line at sign-up and join PAMX today online at www.gopamx.com under "Buy PAMX."
2008 will be PAMX's largest year so get ready; it's been a long winter, Spring is here and so is PAMX Racing!
See you all at Roaring Knob!


text:
Most Asian stocks ended lower Thursday after early gains inspired by U.S. markets, where stocks got a boost from a Federal Reserve report that painted a rosy picture of the economy, faded.
The Fed’s Beige Book, a collection of anecdotal account of business conditions, showed that 11 of the 12 districts surveyed were expanding at a “modest” or faster pace.
The country’s trade surplus soared 67% to 721.4 billion yen ($6.4 billion) in June thanks to strong demand for semiconductor chips and chip-making equipment from China offset a drop in car sales to the U.S., Dow Jones Newswires reported.
“Today’s trade data show a renewed plunge in imports in June and suggest that net trade continued to support gross domestic product growth in the second quarter,” said Marcel Thieliant, senior Japan economist at Capital Economics, in a note.
China’s currency hit lows not seen since last July, and the gap between onshore and offshore rates widened, suggesting greater pessimism among foreign traders.
The yuan has been hurt by a worsening trade conflict between the U.S. and China, and expectations that Beijing will ease the monetary policy, while the Federal Reserve is likely to keep raising U.S. borrowing costs.
On Thursday morning, the People’s Bank of China set the dollar’s daily reference rate at 6.7066 yuan, weakening the yuan by 0.2%. The central bank allows the currency pair to move as much as 2% above or below that level onshore, while trading in other financial centers is unrestricted.
In subsequent trading, the currency fell as much as 0.6% to 6.7534 per dollar in the mainland, and by a similar proportion in the Hong Kong offshore market to 6.7861 per dollar, both levels not seen since July 2017.


text:
Facebook is not just trying to be a publishing platform with its Instant Articles thingy. While they’re at it they wouldn’t mind being a media platform as well. So they’re going a live video interview show with Fortune called The Chat.
Social Media Examiner’s 2015 Social Media Marketing Industry Report shows that 92% of marketers say social is important to their business
Harris did a poll for Lithium Technologies and found brands are definitely feeling the pressure you’re putting on them through social.
The top social marketing, social media and social networking news of the week delivered quickly and smartly by Mike Stiles & Brand Content Studios.


text:
Lumia 530, the latest entry level Lumia comes with great pricing, much lower than what
Lumia 930 is Nokia / Microsoft's latest flagship with a 20 MP PureView camera and
We received Nokia XL and started the coverage by posting an unboxing video. We plan
Lumia 1520 is the Lumia Phablet flaghship with a 20 MP PurView camera while Sony
AAWP has posted a video capture shootout between all-conquering smartphone camera king Lumia 1020 and
When most people buy a Nokia Lumia with a beefy camera one thing that they
PhoneArena decided to pit Lumia 1520 against the flagship competition in a "Blind camera test".
In weekend roundup, we are bringing to you some highlights from our coverage. We covered
Lumia 1020 has been declared the smartphone camera king by some margin. Lumia 1520 doesn't
In weekend roundup, we are bringing to you some highlights from our coverage. We
We usually bring to you camera comparison between top-end devices from various YouTube channels.
Sometime back we brought you camera comparison between Lumia 1520 and Sony Xperia


text:
Tesla Falls On Facing Calls To ‘Respect Chinese Consumers’, Issues Apology
By Dhirendra Tripathi
Investing.com – Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA ) shares fell more than 2% Wednesday on worries that the electric vehicle maker would come under increased scrutiny in China, its biggest market.
The company had to issue an apology following an incident Monday that showed a woman climbing atop a vehicle at the Shanghai Auto Show to protest against what she claimed were malfunctioning brakes in a Tesla she owns.
The video was live-streamed and it went viral on local social media platforms.
Tesla apologized to Chinese consumers for not addressing a customer's complaints in a timely way, and said it would begin a review of its service, according to Reuters.
A report in the state-owned Xinhua news agency cited rising concerns over the quality of cars made by Tesla. That prompted officials in the country’s Communist Party to call upon the company to respect Chinese consumers and comply with local laws and regulations.
The company must work on winning consumers’ trust, the article said.
A little over a month back, China banned Tesla vehicles from entering its military complexes on security concerns about the cameras they carry. CEO Elon Musk subsequently said the company would never share its data with anyone.
New competition for the company is also growing in the Chinese market with local rival Geely (OTC: GELYY ) already working out electric vehicles under a new marquee with different branding and sales strategies.
Add Chart to Comment
We encourage you to use comments to engage with users, share your perspective and ask questions of authors and each other. However, in order to maintain the high level of discourse we’ve all come to value and expect, please keep the following criteria in mind:
- Enrich the conversation
- Stay focused and on track. Only post material that’s relevant to the topic being discussed.
- Be respectful. Even negative opinions can be framed positively and diplomatically.
- Use standard writing style. Include punctuation and upper and lower cases.
- NOTE: Spam and/or promotional messages and links within a comment will be removed
- Avoid profanity, slander or personal attacks directed at an author or another user.
- Don’t Monopolize the Conversation. We appreciate passion and conviction, but we also believe strongly in giving everyone a chance to air their thoughts. Therefore, in addition to civil interaction, we expect commenters to offer their opinions succinctly and thoughtfully, but not so repeatedly that others are annoyed or offended. If we receive complaints about individuals who take over a thread or forum, we reserve the right to ban them from the site, without recourse.
- Only English comments will be allowed.
Perpetrators of spam or abuse will be deleted from the site and prohibited from future registration at Investing.com’s discretion.
Drop an image here or Supported formats: *.jpg, *.png, *.gif up to 5mb
Drop an image here or


text:
Old Navy and the Backstreet Boys were both at the height of their cool in the late ‘90s. Now, in an appropriate pairing, the clothing store chain and the boy band are getting together for a fit of retro appreciation.
The Backstreet Boys are set to play a free show in New York City’s Bryant Park on Friday for the occasion of Old Navy’s “Rockstar Jeans” fashion show — an event open for the public. The band will also star in an upcoming commercial for “Rockstar Jeans” premiering next Wednesday, according to a press release.
This isn’t the first time Old Navy has hired forgotten celebrities in order to push their products, according to the Huffington Post. In 1997, it hired ‘80s soap opera stars Morgan Fairchild and Joan Collins — the ads were hugely successful. Let’s see if the strategy works out for them again!
Published in The Express Tribune, September 17th, 2012.


text:
There’s already plenty of footage going around that suggests Forza Horizon 5 will be one of the best-looking racers ever when it debuts later this year, but Microsoft and developer Playground Games have shifted the hype into overdrive with an extensive preview of what players can expect early in the festival.
Premiered during today’s Gamescom 2021 event, Forza Horizon 5’s Initial Drive Trailer gives Forza fans an eight-minute look at the beginning of the game. It teases a number of the open-world racer’s locales, which include an active volcano and other areas inspired by the lands in Mexico, as well as some interesting surprises such as cargo planes dropping cars from the skies.
Of course, the trailer also provides a glimpse at a small sample of the exciting vehicles that Forza Horizon 5 will be able to collect and race in the game. They include the Mercedes-AMG ONE, a limited-production plug-in hybrid sports car with Formula 1 technology, and the 2021 Ford Bronco Badlands, a modern revival of the SUV classic.
Forza Horizon 5’s virtual counterparts can also be observed in a separate Cover Cars Reveal Trailer that offers a closer look at each vehicle, showing off an impressive level of 4K detail that’s accentuated by the game’s lighting system.
Microsoft and Playground Games also surprised Forza fans today with the announcement of the Forza Horizon 5 Limited Edition Xbox Wireless Controller. It features a transparent yellow finish; a custom-colored, visible rumble motor; and “lighting effects that play off the Xbox button.” Users can also expect “textured grips on the triggers and bumpers, and custom bottom and side dimple patterned grips inspired by perforated style performance car steering wheels.”
The Forza Horizon 5 Limited Edition Xbox Wireless Controller will launch alongside Forza Horizon 5 on November 9. It includes an exclusive DLC for a Forza edition car, cosmetic item, and victory emote.
We’re thrilled Ford and Mercedes-AMG fans can drive the year’s biggest vehicles in-game, thanks to their great partnership. And thanks to the capabilities of the Xbox Series X|S consoles, we knew we could dial-up the detail and authenticity more than ever before. For example, raytracing in Forzavista – we get a new level of material response and reflections, that are more like what you’d see with your eyes in real-life.


text:
Cott Corporation announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement pursuant to which Cott will acquire Primo Water Corporation for $14.00 per share payable in cash and stock (or a combination thereof) at the election of Primo’s stockholders, subject to the terms of the merger agreement. The transaction, which values Primo at approximately $775 million, was unanimously approved by both the Cott and Primo Boards of Directors. Primo is a provider of water dispensers, purified bottled water, and self-service refill drinking water in the U.S. and Canada.
The combination of Cott and Primo, along with the recent announcement of Cott’s evaluation of certain strategic alternatives for its S&D Coffee and Tea business, including a sale of S&D, will transition Cott into a pure-play water company.
Billy D. Prim, Primo’s interim CEO and Executive Chairman, commented, “This combination of two highly recognized water companies creates compelling value for all stakeholders, including our customers, employees, shareholders and suppliers. The newly created company will have approximately $2 billion in combined water sales and a presence in 21 countries worldwide. We are excited about the opportunity to provide sustainable hydration solutions to more people than either company could have done alone.”
Print this page


text:
Many teens interest-free on finance
Quiz on personal economics yields worrisome picture
Updated 10:00 pm, Wednesday, April 5, 2006
WASHINGTON -- They like to spend it, but young people don't know much about how money works.
On average, high school seniors answered correctly only 52.4 percent of questions about personal finance and economics, according to a nationwide survey released Wednesday.
Still, that was a smidgen better than the 52.3 percent in the previous survey in 2004 and was up from the lowest-ever score of 50.2 percent in 2002.
"This indicates that, despite the attention now paid to the lack of financial literacy, the problem is not about to resolve itself anytime soon," said Lewis Mandell, a professor of finance and managerial economics at the University of Buffalo School of Management who conducted the survey and analyzed its results.
- Chicago Picks Elon Musk's Boring Company For High-Speed Airport Link Cheddar TV
- AT&T Merger Could Threaten Netflix, Amazon Competitive Edge Cheddar TV
- London First CEO On Brexit and Business Fortune
- Trump tariffs impact businesses Morning Call
- This CEO Says That Data and A.I. Are at the Center of the Modern Business Fortune
- Your Coffee from Starbucks Just Got More Expensive Fortune
- Happy connections key to success for autistic woman's recycling business KMBC
- Microsoft Buys GitHub For $7.5 billion Cheddar TV
- Internet speed insufficient for 4 in 10 NH businesses surveyed WMUR
- Trump Tariffs Draw Immediate Retaliation Threats Associated Press
- Sears Will Close 72 More Stores Fortune
- Microsoft Passes Google in Market Value Wibbitz
- CloseUP: Crochetiere wants to bring business perspective to Congress WMUR
- These Will Be the 3 Busiest Travel Days at The Airport This Summer Buzz 60
- Netflix Is Now Worth More Than Disney With Boost From The Obamas Buzz 60
- The Silicon Valley Shoe Start-up Betting Simple Is the New Sexy Cheddar TV
- Sony buys EMI to become the world's biggest music publisher Euronews
- New policies rolled out at Starbucks following controversial arrests Fox29
- Adorable Baby Girl Makes an 'Important Business Call' Storyful
- FBI Probing Another Controversial Payment Involving Michael Cohen, This Time Not Dealing With A Porn Star Buzz 60
- Aurora Buys Medreleaf in the Biggest Cannabis Merger Ever Cheddar TV
The latest survey -- the fifth -- was released by the Federal Reserve.
The surveys, done every two years, were sponsored by the Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy, which wants students to have the skills to be financially competent.
In the survey, 55.8 percent said they would have no liability if their credit card was stolen and a thief ran up $1,000 worth of debt.
Liability is limited to $50 after the credit-card issuer is notified.
Only 15.1 percent knew they could be responsible to pay $50.
Two years ago, 18.1 percent gave the correct answer.
Only 14.2 percent correctly said that stocks likely would offer the higher growth over 18 years of saving for a child's education.
That was down from 17.2 percent who knew the right answer in the 2004 survey.
In this year's survey, 44.8 percent thought a U.S. savings bond -- one of the most conservative investments -- would offer the highest growth.
"Clearly the survey demonstrates the large gap between what students know and learn from life experiences and the need on the part of adults to find the right combination that will make financial literacy meaningful to young adults leaving the safety of high school," said Laura Levine, executive director of the Jump$tart Coalition.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said financial literacy for both the young and old is a topic of vital importance to the nation's economic future.
"Increasingly, personal financial security requires the ability to understand and navigate the financial marketplace.
For example, buying a home, saving for retirement or for a child's education, or even effectively managing the family budget now requires more financial sophistication than ever before," Bernanke said.
Some other results in the survey:
Nearly 51 percent said that earnings from savings account interest may not be taxed. In the last survey, 23.9 percent chose the correct answer.
That's up from 34.2 percent who answered right in the last survey.
Still, close to 59 percent in the current survey thought it was called Social Security or a 401(k).
In the previous survey, 35.3 percent chose the right answer -- that such bonds are not federally protected against loss.
Seniors from higher-income families scored better than those from lower-income households, Mandell said.
For instance, 12th-graders from families with incomes greater than $80,000 a year scored an average of 55.6 percent, while students from families at the lowest rung -- less than $20,000 a year -- had a score of 48.5 percent.
By race, white students scored an average of 55 percent.
Blacks and Hispanics scored 44.7 percent and 46.8 percent respectively.
Asians scored an average 49.4 percent.
Given the ever-expanding financial decisions people face, it is especially crucial that they sharpen their financial skills, experts said.


text:
What we wanted to tell you about the Mobile World Congress 2017
The Mobile World Congress was held in Barcelona from 27 February to 2 March and brought together all the mobile actors from around the world. This year, 107,000 visitors flocked to see the exhibitors from France, who were the second biggest delegation, behind organizing Spain.
Unlike the Las Vegas CES, which aims to present innovations aimed at the general public, the MWC is more of a BtoB show to present a whole range of solutions and services ready to be integrated by the actors of the mobile sector (operators, manufacturers , Etc.).
This year, mobile payment is deployed concretely through Wallets and contactless payment solutions. Among the exhibitors, Famoco and Ingenico. They featured a common solution that combines product screen selection and payment terminal. The objective is to allow salespeople on the shelf to make orders and receipts on a single device and on the move. Famoco has also presented a solution that simplifies the subscription process on smartphone thanks to the scan of identity card with validation of its authenticity. Mastercard and Visa offered cards solutions that regularly change cryptograms.
Security was in the spotlight both for the protection of the data collected and the security of its mobile phone. Biometrics was present in some of the solutions proposed as for Irisys which integrates facial recognition and pupil. A new consortium was set up to standardize and ensure the security of connected objects, the so-called “iot cyber security Alliance”.
Several initiatives have been unveiled to reduce the bandwidth or to recharge its mobile in a situation of mobility precisely. For this, more and more local processing and compression.
Artificial intelligence and bots
They were obviously present, as at the CES in Las Vegas. Watson caused a sensation by creating a work inspired by the work of Gaüdi, Barcelona obliges.


text:
The increasing importance of flammable refrigerants to the cooling industry as it aims to meet the requirements of EU F-Gas regulation, as well as fears about ensuring the appropriate and legal use of such products, are among the key themes of a new joint industry guide.
Please register to start receiving monthly copies of the magazine for free
RAC Magazine is the leading source of news, information and analysis for the refrigeration and air conditioning industry. For over a century, RAC has provided decision makers with unrivalled coverage of the latest technical innovations that drive this sector.
With a RAC subscription you’ll get access to:
The latest news and product launches across the sector
Unrivalled coverage of the latest technical innovations
Unlimited access to online content
Free registration will allow you to set up and receive newsletters


text:
Pixalate provides a deep-dive into the risks–ad fraud, privacy, national security–that stem from the mobile app ecosystem.
Read this report from Advertiser Perceptions to learn what advertising decision makers think about data, measurement, and research tools.
The 4A’s is pleased to introduce the Brand Safety Playbook, designed to help you reduce your agency’s overall risk profile in the digital landscape, so you can focus on executional excellence, building brand equity, and performance. This is an industry-leading effort to create cohesive guidelines for brand safety across fraud, malware, and content adjacencies, giving […]
Integral Ad Science surveyed digital ad professionals to learn how the challenges they face will drive change in the digital advertising industry.
The Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG) has released results of its study of digital advertising fraud in Europe. The report shows that TAG Certified Channels reduced the level of fraud by more than 94% from the industry average.
The Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG), an advertising industry initiative to fight criminal activity in the digital advertising supply chain, has released an updated analysis by The 614 Group that shows a reduction in fraud of more than 84 percent in TAG Certified distribution channels, compared with the broader industry average. Click here to view the […]
PubMatic provides insights for media buyers and publishers on how to successfully operate in the new programmatic environment. This paper focuses on fraud prevention and practices that encompass inventory quality control.
Washington D.C., April 16, 2018 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today unveiled a public service announcement (PSA) to encourage investors to check the background of their investment professional by using the free search tool on Investor.gov before investing.
The Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG), an advertising industry initiative to fight criminal activity in the digital advertising supply chain, today released a study conducted by The 614 Group that found the use of TAG Certified distribution channels for digital advertising reduced the level of fraud by more than 83% from the broader industry average.
Today the industry came together to address the massive “Methbot” fraud operation exposed by White Ops, an active TAG participant and one of the inaugural group of companies to receive a TAG Certified Against Fraud Seal last month. (Coverage of the fraud attack and the joint efforts to address it can be found on Reuters, […]
WPP confirmed subpoena on December 19
Justice Department examines whether ad companies rigged bids to favor in-house production units


text:
Today in Japan, Apple previewed a arriving grand opening of their newest sell store. Located in a city of Kyoto, a store will be a company’s 504th plcae worldwide and ninth handling in Japan.
Samsung Gear 360
Kyoto’s Shijo Street is a blurb and sell center, home to many oppulance shops and retailers including a upscale Daimaru dialect store. Steps from Daimaru is Kyoto’s Zero Gate, a bend of a selling formidable sequence owned by tradesman Parco. Apple will occupy a vast space on a dilemma of a initial building of a building, that initial non-stop in Nov 2017. A brief stretch from a Karasuma sight station, a storefront will accept inexhaustible feet trade directly next a Hankyu-Kyoto Line.
Overnight, Apple nude construction barriers and scaffolding divided from a building, divulgence an Apple trademark teasing a store’s attainment over a winding potion facade. An perplexing settlement imitative woven bamboo – a normal qualification in Kyoto, covers a signage. We initial saw hints of Apple’s Kyoto store in March, after an talk with sell SVP Angela Ahrendts strew light on Apple’s five-year devise for Japan. In and with a opening of Apple Shinjuku, images on Apple’s sell site – one relating a pattern of today’s banners – indicated a attainment of dual some-more stores before a finish of 2018.
Banners from Apr teased dual new Japanese stores entrance in 2018.
This morning, Apple also began compelling games done in Kyoto with a new App Store Today story. Apple Music Japan’s Twitter comment featured a musician vital in Kyoto. On a store’s central webpage, a celebratory wallpaper is accessible for download concomitant a fun new animation (below). Apple calls a store an intersection of ideas and creativity.
Kyoto’s store will move a Today during Apple knowledge to a segment of Japan until now underserved by Apple stores. Customers in Kyoto now contingency transport to Apple Shinsaibashi in Osaka for first-party support, scarcely an hour divided by car. Apple’s many new store in Japan non-stop in Apr in Shinjuku, and noted a initial plcae in a nation to underline complicated store pattern elements including a video wall. Shortly after Shinjuku’s opening, Apple’s final pop-up Watch emporium sealed opposite a street.
Rumors of an Apple store in Kyoto have been floated given during slightest Aug 2017, when Macotaka reported that Apple had begun employing for sell positions in a city. Photos taken final Dec during Kyoto Zero Gate minute construction of a rumored location, display a winding potion wall peeking above tell-tale vacant construction barriers. Signage on a building listed a construction execution date by a finish of August.
Apple many recently distinguished a opening of a fantastic new tellurian flagship store in Milan, Italy. Several some-more store completions are designed before a finish of 2018, including a replacement of Washington D.C.’s ancestral Carnegie Library. Stay tuned to 9to5Mac for some-more sum about Apple’s initial store in Kyoto, and follow along with the extensive beam for some-more sell news.
Check out 9to5Mac on YouTube for some-more Apple news:
Welcome! To move we a best calm on a sites and applications, Meredith partners with third celebration advertisers to offer digital ads, including personalized digital ads. Those advertisers use tracking technologies to collect information about your activity on a sites and applications and opposite a Internet and your other apps and devices.
You always have a choice to knowledge a sites but personalized promotion formed on your web browsing activity by visiting a DAA’s Consumer Choice page, a NAI’s website, and/or a EU online choices page, from any of your browsers or devices. To equivocate personalized promotion formed on your mobile app activity, we can implement a DAA’s AppChoices app here. You can find most some-more information about your remoteness choices in a remoteness policy. Even if we select not to have your activity tracked by third parties for promotion services, we will still see non-personalized ads on a site.
By clicking continue next and regulating a sites or applications, we determine that we and a third celebration advertisers can:
transfer your personal information to a United States or other countries, and
process your personal information to offer we with personalized ads, theme to your choices as described above and in a remoteness policy.
A Houston male is out some-more than $400 over what he believed was a legitimate use price from Apple.
Shawn Madison pronounced he perceived a call to his landline phone from a tourist identified as “Apple Inc.”
“When we saw Apple Inc. on my phone, we got a phone call and insincere it’s Apple Incorporated,” pronounced Madison.
The tourist on a line told him his program had been compromised.
“He tells me, ‘We can get this spotless adult and make certain it doesn’t happen. It will cost $499,’” Madison recalled. “What did we do? we lift out my credit label and gave him $499.”
Warnings about what happened to Madison are being talked about all over amicable media.
It’s impossibly plausible when a tourist ID on a phone comes adult as Apple. We even reverse-checked a numbers, and some of them come behind to tangible Apple store fronts in California.
It’s not only singular to Apple. From a phone to email, a scams are everywhere.
Dan Parsons, boss of a Better Business Bureau, has perceived identical phishing emails from Microsoft. He says a scammers adore to burst on breaches and genuine events in a news to make a phone call or email seem really genuine and urgent.
“A story about a information breach, a story about some new record that’s left afoul, and everybody has to go check, and that means me too. Here we go, and we walked right in on it,” Parsons illustrated.
Madison satisfied he was scammed after job Apple directly. He says it’s a tough doctrine learned.
“Apple said, ‘That’s not us, that’s not us.’ we had both of them on a line, and that’s how we found out. we had paid. we told a guy, we said, ‘You guys are scammers.’”
Apple has announced that a sell stores in Orland Park, Illinois and Irvine, California will immigrate to incomparable and some-more complicated storefronts this arriving Saturday, Aug 18th.
Samsung Gear 360
Apple Orland Square Mall creatively non-stop on Jul 21, 2007 reduction than a month after a launch of a strange iPhone and has remained comparatively unvaried since. The slight space Apple occupies has turn one of a suburban mall’s hotspots, and can get crowded, fast. Apple has remodeled a dramatically wider space usually dual doors down. During a mall revisit this past June, proxy barriers lonesome a storefront, and a look between a opening in a wall suggested early construction progress.
Apple Irvine Spectrum Center creatively non-stop on Feb 11, 2006 and is located in an outside selling core south of Los Angeles. Similar to Orland Park’s store, a space has seen usually medium updates in a 12 years of operation. Earlier this year, a Irvine Company announced plans for a $200 million enlargement during a mall.
Apple’s little Orland Park store on June, 2018.
Across a U.S., Apple is in a midst of several enlargement projects during identical suburban selling malls. Six stores are now sealed for remodeling, and a seventh, Apple Waterside Shops, will tighten on Sep 2nd. In July, Apple Broadway Plaza transposed an aging store in Walnut Creek, CA with a radiant potion pavilion during a core of a city square. The remodeling efforts are partial of Apple’s incomparable idea of bringing a full Today during Apple knowledge to each customer.
Earlier today, Apple announced a Aug 25th grand opening of their initial store in Kyoto, Japan. Located in a Kyoto Zero Gate blurb center, a store will be Apple’s ninth in Japan.
Follow along with the sell beam for some-more Apple store news.
Check out 9to5Mac on YouTube for some-more Apple news:
Last week, Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT) and Samsung announced a new partnership, in that a music-streaming personality would turn a new “go-to song use provider” for Samsung devices. In no capricious terms, a twin is looking to improved plea Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) on a particular fronts where any association competes with a Mac maker. The proclamation was song to investors’ ears, as shares jumped 5% following a news.
Here’s since a partnership is a ideal fit for both Spotify and Samsung.
Spotify CEO Daniel Ek vocalization during a Mar 2018 financier day. Image source: Spotify.
Spotify is everywhere
One of Spotify’s biggest strengths as a use is a ubiquity, that is facilitated by a opposite operation of third-party hardware integrations as good as a platform-agnostic model. Being means to entrance a music-streaming use on usually about any device — from intelligent speakers to mobile inclination to gaming consoles to cars — a reward subscriber competence possess adds a whole new turn of preference and strengthens Spotify’s value proposition. In contrast, Apple Music is usually accessible on Apple hardware and Android phones.
“We know that listeners waves opposite kinds of song during opposite times, in opposite places, and many importantly, on opposite devices,” Spotify CEO Daniel Ek remarkable in a statement. “We consider song should be easy to entrance on ALL of your inclination — and we wish it to be seamless to switch from one device to another.”
The deeper a integration, a improved a experience. Seeing as how Samsung is one of a many inclusive consumer hardware makers in a world, a partnership will dramatically enhance Spotify’s strech while enjoying low formation opposite devices, including Samsung’s practical partner Bixby and a new Galaxy Home intelligent speaker. You’ll shortly even be means to entrance Spotify on your Samsung intelligent refrigerator, if you’re into that arrange of thing.
Samsung has never been good during song streaming
For years, Samsung has attempted to mangle into a music-streaming space with small to no success, like with a infrequently named and since-shuttered Milk Music service. The South Korean firm has also tried using Alphabet‘s Google Play Music as a default song service, though Samsung has a prolonged story of perplexing to revoke a faith on Google, saying as how a hunt hulk already provides a handling complement that powers a many renouned devices.
It’s also not as if Google has done most of a hole in song streaming, either, carrying rebooted a possess plan countless times, including usually a few months ago. By partnering with Spotify, Samsung is alleviating a vigour to rise a possess song service, instead outsourcing song streaming to one of a widespread players.
The altogether marketplace is growing
Apple recently overtook Spotify in a U.S. music-streaming market, that could supplement a clarity of coercion for Spotify. On a final gain call, Apple CEO Tim Cook reframed a foe as one where a rising music-streaming waves rises all use providers:
But really, a pivotal thing in song is not a foe between companies that are providing music, it’s a — a genuine plea is to grow a marketplace since if we supplement everybody adult that’s providing subscription song currently or streaming music, it’s — outward of China, it’s reduction than 200 million substantially around a world. And so it does seem to me, there’s an unusual event in that business to grow a marketplace well.
The altogether marketplace for music-streaming subscribers is indeed growing, though a foe to squeeze those subscribers is usually going to intensify.
Apple might shortly have some association in a trillion dollar club. Amazon is value about $940 billion.
Shares of Amazon popped 2% Monday to strike a new all-time high. The batch usually needs to go adult another 7% for a Jeff Bezos-led association to tip a trillion dollar marketplace valuation.
Amazon(AMZN) is banishment on all cylinders this year. Shares of a retail/cloud/media/consumer tool hulk are adult scarcely 65% in 2018. Health caring might be a subsequent large marketplace that a association disrupts, following a merger of online pharmacy PillPack.
Analysts are presaging that Amazon’s sales will swell 32% to a whopping $265 billion this year — and gain per share will scarcely triple. If there’s an barrier in a trail to a $1 trillion marketplace cap, it’s not transparent what that would be.
But Wall Street analysts aren’t certain either Amazon could pierce forward of Apple.
According to information from Thomson Reuters, a accord aim cost for Amazon’s batch is about $2,100 — adult 9.5% from where a batch is now, giving Amazon a $1.02 trillion valuation.
The aim cost for Apple is around $216.40. That would value Apple during $1.05 trillion.
James McQuivey of Forrester Research wrote in a new news that he thinks Amazon will pass Apple — especially since consumers like Amazon better. According to a new consult by Forrester, Amazon was deemed some-more infallible than Apple.
Apple and Amazon aren’t a usually tech behemoths value around $1 trillion.
It’s altogether probable that Google owners Alphabet and/or Microsoft could jump forward in a marketplace top race. Alphabet(GOOGL) is now value about $875 billion while Microsoft’s(MSFT) marketplace value is scarcely $840 billion.
Samsung’s latest aspirant to a Apple Watch is here: a Galaxy Watch, a $330 fitness-focused smartwatch.
Samsung introduced a new smartwatch on theatre during a Unpacked eventuality final week. The Galaxy Watch isn’t Samsung’s initial wearable, though it’s a initial with a Galaxy code name — in a past, Samsung’s smartwatches have been underneath a “Gear” branding.
The Galaxy Watch also sets itself detached with dual pivotal features: battery life (the watch can final adult to 4 days on a singular charge, Samsung says) and a rotating climax that lets we control a watch like a dial. Plus, it looks some-more like a customary watch than many other smartwatches on a market, Apple Watch included.
Still, Apple Watch is a best-selling smartwatch in a world, and Samsung faces an ascending conflict if it wants to replace Apple as a black of smartwatches.
So as a Apple Watch and a Galaxy Watch ready to go head-to-head — a Galaxy Watch will be accessible Aug 24 — here’s how a dual watches are identical and different.
When Apple rolls out a subsequent vital iPhone and iPad refurbish this fall, iOS 12, it will not embody organisation FaceTime video chat, a association said.
Apple primarily discussed organisation FaceTime during WWDC in June, where it minute all of a new facilities entrance to iOS 12. Group FaceTime allows adult to 32 people to video discuss during a same time. It also includes support for Apple’s Animoji, so users can discuss with opposite digital masks on their faces.
Group FaceTime was one of a few vital underline updates in iOS 12, that was differently clinging to incremental nuts-and-bolts updates such as faster performance.
While it has been accessible to exam in some of a progressing growth versions of a software, Apple has apparently motionless it isn’t prepared for everybody to use.
A identical conditions occurred when Apple initial announced AirPlay 2, Apple’s new wireless streaming technology. AirPlay 2 was ostensible to launch in final year’s iOS 11 though didn’t launch until Jun of this year.
“Group FaceTime has been private from a initial recover of iOS 12 and will boat in a destiny program refurbish after this fall,” Apple pronounced in a latest developer recover of a software.
Apple typically launches a new versions of iOS in Sep in tandem with a introduction of new iPhone models.
Share this video…
Got a trusted news tip? We wish to hear from you.
Sign adult for giveaway newsletters and get some-more CNBC delivered to your inbox


text:
Good news for those of you who enjoy chicken salad: Chicken Salad Chick, the fast-casual restaurant devoted to the poultry creation, is coming to Oakley.
Slated to open Dec. 18, Chicken Salad Chick is an Alabama-based chain that literally specializes in different variations of chicken salad: traditional white meat with celery and mayo; Old South with sweet pickles and egg; Sassy Scotty with ranch, bacon and cheddar; Fancy Nancy with Fuji apples, seedless grapes and pecans... You get the idea. You can get the salad as a scoop or on a sandwich.
The forthcoming Oakley restaurant (3365 Vandercar Way) is Chicken Salad Chick's third Greater Cincinnati location, with additional locations in Mason and Anderson.
To celebrate its grand opening, the restaurant will be holding four days of giveaways, the first day being free chicken salad for a year for the first 100 guests. The Thursday, Friday and Saturday following opening day, the first 50 guests at 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. will receive a variety of swag like tote bags, tumblers and blankets.
“This year, we’ve been able to grow our Ohio presence from zero locations to four, in truly welcoming Cincinnati and Columbus communities,” said Scott Deviney, CEO of Chicken Salad Chick, in a press release. “While our team has been diligently working to expand our footprint in the state, it’s ultimately Chicken Salad Chick’s devoted guests that propel our growth in the area. Day after day we see repeat customers bringing in new family, friends and co-workers, which has increased curiosity and demand for the brand in cities across Ohio. We are thrilled that our journey has brought us to Oakley and can’t wait to see what the future holds.”
Chicken Salad Chick was founded in 2008 by Stacy Brown and includes more than a dozen chicken salad flavors, plus side salads, soups, pimento cheese, egg salad and a couple other non-chicken-salad sandwiches. Under Eagle Merchant Partners, the company now has 115 restaurants in 13 states.
For more information, visit chickensaladchick.com.
3365 Vandercar Way, Oakley.


text:
Despite shifting product releases and delayed launches due to the coronavirus, Apple appears to still be on track to deliver its first ARM-based Mac in 2021, according to a new Bloomberg report.
According to Mark Gurman, Apple is working on a trio of processors for the Mac, all based on the design of the upcoming A14 chip in the iPhone 12. The project, codenamed Kalamata, has been ongoing since 2012, when Apple developed its first Mac chip based on the iPad Pro’s A12X processor, according to the report.
Previous rumors suggested Apple might be launching its first ARM-based Mac later this year.
Of note, the A14 chip is rumored to be designed using a 5nm process versus Intel’s current 14nm process. A smaller manufacturing process will enable Apple to offer chips that are both more powerful and more power-efficient, which could make for a dramatic leap in Apple’s lower-end Macs.
Bloomberg says that the first Mac processors will have eight high-performance cores and at least four energy-efficient cores, codenamed Firestorm and Icestorm, respectively, a massive boost over the 1.1GHz dual-core 10th-generation Intel Core i3 processor in recently refreshed MacBook Air. In Geekbench benchmarking scores, for example, the latest iPad Pro’s A13Z processor is way speedier than the MacBook Air in multi-core tasks.
Apple would likely begin the transition with a new laptop, Bloomberg reports, since the first chips “won’t be able to rival the performance Intel provides for high-end MacBook Pros, iMacs, and the modular Mac Pro.” Any new devices will likely still run the macOS operating system, however, and Gurman notes that Apple is “exploring tools that will ensure apps developed for older Intel-based Macs still work on the machines.”
Most recently, Apple moved away from 32-bit Mac apps and launched a framework called Catalyst that lets iOS developers port their applications to the Mac. Apple’s most recent transition to Intel processors was completed in 2006.


text:
A new Google feature allows people to search for events on mobile and in app.
As of this post date, the feature is live in US only, if proved successful, will likely roll out globally in the near future.
Here is how it works:
Doing a search for events brings up a clear summary of activities from sites from across the web like Eventbrite, Meetup and more. With one tap, you can see at a glance details about the event such as title, date, time and location. Once you find an event that takes your fancy, select it and you can buy tickets directly from the website.
If you have events on your website and want to implement this new feature, Google have created a developer guideline to do so


text:
Windows 11 is coming to the market this time, putting an end to many speculations. If all goes well, the new ‘Windows 11’ will be launched on June 24, 2021.
Microsoft plans to announce the next generation of Windows in the second half of this month. The announcement will come on June 24. The software company has already started inviting the media to the event. There, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadela and CEO Panos Pan will make new announcements. The program will start at 11 am ET.
A week ago, however, Nadela hinted at a new version of Windows. It is expected that there will be some changes in the user interface of Windows. The Windows logo may also change slightly. The new version is currently code-named ‘Sun Valley’.
However, new icons, including the development of File Explorer, have already come to Windows 10. This time Microsoft is also bringing changes in the basic infrastructure of Windows.
What’s in the new version of Windows? Will it protect the minds of users? Among the previous versions of Windows, Microsoft had to face a lot of criticism and criticism due to various problems with the version of Windows 8. The next fastest time was the launch of Windows 10. And Windows 8 users were given a free update to Windows 10 and it was said that Windows 10 would be the last version of the Windows operating system. But Microsoft could not keep that promise because Windows 10 also has a number of bugs, so Microsoft Corporation is going to start a new modern operating system by removing all the errors.
What’s in Windows 11?
The main surprise of Windows 11 is its ‘Microsoft Store’. Although Windows 8 and Windows 10 are short-range Microsoft Stores, the Microsoft Store has been redesigned for this new version. There will be different types of Windows software in this ‘Microsoft Store’ and everything has to be installed from here. However, there is a huge opportunity for developers in this new ‘Microsoft Store’. In this store, developers will be able to upload their developed applications and users will be able to download and install those applications directly from the Microsoft Store for free or for money, just like in the case of Google Play Store.
The user interface or look-and-feel has also been made quite interesting. The various icons have been made slightly rounded instead of square. Security features have also been given a lot of importance in this new version. However, the current Windows 10 may not have the facility to update to this new version of Windows 11, which means that this version will have to be purchased anew.
All in all, look forward to seeing the surprises on June 24.


text:
The brand has secured a new partnership in Ethiopia by focusing on modern and flexible hotel management solutions.
Dubai, UAE – LEVA Hotels has partnered with Afro-Tsion Construction LLC to launch LEVA Afrotsion Semera Resort in Ethiopia. The new location will serve as the brand’s flagship hotel in East Africa and is the sixth property in its growing portfolio.
The 4-star resort will undergo renovation by the end of this year to create an atmosphere that embodies LEVA’s dynamic and innovative brand lifestyle, which includes cutting-edge technologies, stylish design, and engaging guest experiences.
LEVA Afrotsion Semera Resort will be the only upscale resort in the area and aims to be a hub for business travellers, tourists and locals alike. Conveniently located near the airport, the property boasts amazing amenities, including four restaurants, two bars, two 400-person banquet halls, many shops and an open-air terrace.
Accommodation options include Presidential Suites and villas, and all guests have access to a spa, tennis courts, swimming pools, a fully equipped gym, and a children’s playground.
Speaking about the project, J.S. Anand, Founder and CEO of LEVA Hotels & Resorts, says, “With the tourism industry rapidly developing in East Africa, LEVA has set its sights on expanding into top-tier markets in key locales. The LEVA Afrotsion Semera Resort is the only 4-star resort at this scale in the country, so we are excited for what the future holds. We are also working on incorporating the advanced technologies we use at our flagship hotel in Dubai to support sustainability and ensure positive guest experiences.”
Afro-Tsion Construction LLC, owner of the 4-Star resort has played a significant role in the completion of large infrastructure projects such as this one in the past, along with other complex buildings and public roadways. The CEO and management are happy and proud to present their collaboration with LEVA as well as their previous accomplishments, which can be ascribed to the enormous amounts of effort, work and devotion of its employees and interested stakeholders.
Regarding the development of the resort, Gudeta Gelalcha, CEO of Afro-Tsion Construction LLC, notes, “This is an exciting time for both Afro-Tsion and LEVA. We are changing the tourism experience in Ethiopia and we look forward to welcoming our first guests when the LEVA Afrotsion Semera Resort opens its door.”
Ethiopia will emerge as a prominent player in East Africa’s tourism and development sectors, bringing opportunities for new brands to invest and grow. The country continues to be a gateway to Africa with Addis Ababa being the seat of the African Union Commision and the home of The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, in addition to being the undisputed diplomatic capital of Africa, as it ranks third globally.


text:
The ex trade minister, who served in the role from 2007 to 2008, poked fun at former predictions from the Remain camp boasting “a plague of frogs and locusts” did not happen.
Speaking on the BBC’s Sunday Politics West Midlands, the former director general of the CBI from 2000 to 2006, cited rising export levels as a result of a weaker pound as a positive since the Brexit referendum.
He said: “What were we promised? We were promised death of the first born by Friday, we were promised a plague of frogs and locusts and all this, it didn’t happen.
Lord Digby Jones mocked Remain forecasters after a rise in UK export figures
We were promised a plague of frogs and locusts and all this, it didn’t happen
“The fall in Sterling has really helped because of course what it’s done is it’s made our exports cheaper around the world and it’s actually made sure that we’ve reached out more to the rest of the world and that’s no bad thing.”
Official statistics last month revealed Britain’s trade deficit with the rest of the world narrowed in the final three months of last year, as the value of UK goods sent to non-EU countries surged.
The gap between what the country imports and exports fell to £8.6 billion in the final quarter of 2016, to give the economy another boost after it voted to leave the European Union.
Exports of goods to non-EU countries leapt by 17.3 per cent to £43.8 billion between third and fourth quarter in 2016.
There was also an increase of 3.5 per cent for exports to the EU, to £38.3 billion for the same period, according to data from the Office for National Statistics.
Overall, goods exports volumes jumped by 7.1 per cent from -4.9 per cent in the third quarter of the year, while goods import volumes fell from 3.8 per cent to -0.4 per cent.


text:
Apple’s iPad mini has the most responsive tablet touchscreen, according to some new tests by Agawi. The app-streaming company recently ran it and several other slates through its rigorous TouchMark benchmark to measure the field.
The mini registered a 75ms delay on the latency test, coming in just 6ms ahead of the iPad 4, which posted an 81ms lag. And the rest of the competition was pretty far behind, with the Surface RT at 95ms and the Kindle Fire HD at 114…
Here are the full results from Agawi’s TouchMark test:
For those wondering what goes into these tests, it’s actually very impressive. Agawi has developed a custom “Touchscope” device for its TouchMark reports, which uses a lightweight application that flashes the screen when it registers a tap.
From Agawi’s blog post:
“In a result that’s perhaps now unsurprising, the iOS devices are more responsive than its competitors. Interestingly, the iPad mini – with its smaller screen and 1024×768 resolution – performs similarly to the larger fourth generation iPad and its 2048×1536 resolution, suggesting that responsiveness is not reduced by the larger screen size or resolution.
Our previous speculations continue to apply – more responsive devices may process touches earlier in the stack, poll for touches more frequently or have touchscreens optimized or calibrated to be more responsive. In our latest review of our test apps, we discovered an optimization that suggests that the GPU or GPU drivers in the devices might also add significant latency.”
The company says that it performs these tests and publishes the results in hopes that companies will focus on improving the responsiveness of their devices. Last week, Agawi ran its TouchMark benchmark on smartphones, and the iPhone 5 came out on top.


text:
South African Women Who Made Major Moves in 2019
1. Palesa Mokubung
Mokubung’s fashion brand, Mantsho reached a major milestone this year when it became the first African label to collaborate with the Swedish retail giant, H&M. The Mantsho X H&M Collection is currently sold online and is available in 11 countries, including South African H&M retail stores.
Mantsho means “Black is Beautiful” in Mokubung’s native language Sesotho. Mokubung founded her clothing brand Mantsho in 2004. Since then her clothing brand which is known for its vibrant fabrics, bold and edgy designs, has been seen on runways in Senegal, Greece, New York, India and Nigeria.
2. Ofentse Pitse
Pitse carved her name into the history books this year when she became the first black South African woman to conduct and own the first ever all-black orchestra. Her 40-piece symphony orchestra is called Anchored Sound. Pitse is following in the footsteps of her late grandfather, Otto Pitse, who was an orchestra conductor and trumpet player.
Initially Pitse put together a youth choir in 2017 made up of classically-trained youth from Soweto, Katlehong, Tembisa and Pretoria, according to online newspaper Soweto Live. This later grew to become an orchestra.
After learning that there are no all-black orchestras in the world, Pitse approached established classical musicians in various orchestras to boost the ensemble, which gradually grew from eight to 19 to 40-piece symphony orchestra.
3. Mogau Seshoene
The Lazy Makoti‘s brand reached new heights this year when Seshoene’s cookbook won the international award at the Gourmand International Awards ceremony for Best Cookbooks of the Year in Macao, China. Her book The Lazy Makoti’s Guide to the Kitchen was placed second in the world.
Seshoene first launched her business as a cooking project, which later developed into a fully-fledged cooking lessons business based in Pretoria, The Lazy Makoti (makoti is an IsiZulu word for bride).
Locally her cookbook is currently a bestseller and is on its fifth run. The former auditor has her eyes set on a television show, she said in a recent interview. The Lazy Makoti’s Guide to the Kitchen is a South African cookbook that celebrates Mzansi’s heritage and culture through African meals.
4. Bonang Matheba
TV presenter Matheba, also known as Queen B, gave South Africans another reason to celebrate with her new product on the market: a luxury beverage brand called House of BNG. Matheba’s House of BNG offers a Brut Methode Cap Classique (MCC) and a Brut Rose MCC. MCC is South Africa’s equivalent of champagne. The term refers to local sparkling wines that are made in the traditional French method.
Another win for Matheba this year was when fans all over the continent voted for her as the African Influencer of the Year at the 2019 E! People’s Choice Awards. According to The Citizen, Matheba won, beating out other African celebrities like Cassper Nyovest (South Africa), Minnie Dlamini-Jones (South Africa), Yemi Alade (Nigeria), Tiwa Savage (Nigeria) and Davido (Nigeria).
5. Ntombezinhle Jiyane aka DJ Zinhle
The disk jockey and music producer who has produced hits like “Umlilo” and “My Name Is”, reminded us of the importance of having diversified income streams. DJ Zinhle, who is co-author of Meeting Your Power, in October this year launched Jiyane Atelier, a decor and design company with long-time friend Brandon Reynolds.
She is also the owner of the bespoke watches and jewellery brand, Era by DJ Zinhle. Recently DJ Zinhle hosted a pop-up store for Era by DJ Zinhle at Mall of Africa in Midrand, Johannesburg. DJ Zinhle also received a nomination at the All African Music Awards (AFRIMAs) in the “African DJ of the Year” category.
6. Amanda Dambuza
This was the year Dambuza shared her inspirational story. Her book, Baked In Pain: Your Traumatic Past May Just Be the Fuel You Need to Soar, chronicles her journey from humble beginnings to today as CEO of Uyandiswa Project Management Services, a company which provides services to some of the biggest corporates in the country. She also currently sits on the boards of some listed companies as well as several private companies.
Dambuza’s company employs 90 people and has incubated several professional businesses at the company’s Bryanston offices as part of her mentorship programme.
She continues to be an inspiration to many and is currently on the cover of the November/ December issue of Destiny magazine.
7. Nosipho Siwisa-Damasane
Damasane was the first woman COO at Transnet Port Terminals in 2009. This year she was appointed Bombela Operating Company CEO. Bombela was appointed by the Gauteng Provincial Government to design, build, operate, maintain and partially finance the Gautrain project.
She completed her articles at Ernst & Young and spent the first ten years of her career working for audit firms. She became the first woman Port Manager in the country in 1998 at the Port of East London.
She is also the author of Finding the Woman Within–How to Thrive in a Male-Dominated Society.
8. Basetsana “Bassie” Kumalo
Businesswoman, executive chairman and CEO of the Basetsana Woman Investment Holdings, finally shared her story in her book, Bassie – My Journey of Hope, which recounts her life journey, including her relationships with mentors like Nelson Mandela.
Kumalo was crowned Miss South Africa in 1994 and was the first black presenter of magazine TV programme, Top Billing. Together with husband, Romeo Kumalo, she established the Romeo and Basetsana Kumalo Family Foundation.
9. Precious Moloi-Motsepe
Moloi-Motsepe was elected the new chancellor of the University of Cape Town (UCT) this year. She is expected to occupy her new office in January 2020.
The businesswoman and philanthropist is taking over from Graça Machel who was first elected in 1999 – her second term concludes at the end of 2019. Moloi-Motsepe, who is married to mining magnate and billionaire Patrice Motsepe, together with her husband, founded the Motsepe Foundation in 1999 and became the first couple from Africa to join The Giving Pledge, a commitment by the world’s wealthiest individuals and families to dedicate the majority of their wealth to giving, in 2013.
10. Phuthi Mahanyele-Dabengwa
Mahanyele-Dabengwa made big news when she become the first black woman to be appointed Naspers South Africa’s CEO. She is to lead the group’s day-to-day business in South Africa and represent its interests in-country. Mahanyele-Dabengwa will also be responsible for Naspers’ recently announced units, Naspers Foundry and Naspers Labs, which are designed to help stimulate the South African tech sector and tackle youth unemployment, respectively.
Mahanyele-Dabengwa was previously executive chairperson at Sigma Capital, a privately held, majority-black owned investment group based in South Africa. She is also on the board of the Cyril Ramaphosa Foundation, according to online news platform Fin24.
11. Penny Streeter
The owner of Benguela Cove Lagoon Wine Estate, Penny Streeter OBE, received yet another accolade this year. She is one of the most successful women entrepreneurs in South Africa and the United Kingdom.
In May this year, the South African Chamber of Commerce Awards, announced her as its Business Woman of the Year. Streeter OBE is CEO of the A24 Group and the Benguela Collection.
In 2006, Penny was honoured by the Queen of England, with the title of Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) for “Services to Enterprise”.
12. Lauren Dallas
Dallas and her co-founder, Cerina Bezuidenhout, had a good year with their initiative Future Females. They recently announced a partnership with First National Bank, the bank became the main sponsor of all the organisation’s South African chapters in a bid to accelerate the pace of developing women entrepreneurship.
According to a press release, Future Females and FNB will host monthly, regional events focusing on specific themes in business and personal development. Future Females has over 13,000 members, with a digital reach of 85,000. It holds monthly events in 10 chapters across South Africa, namely Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg, Khayelitsha, Limpopo, Mahikeng, Port Elizabeth, Pretoria, Paarl and Stellenbosch.
13. Shaney Vijendranath
Vijendranath made waves in the tech industry when she launched her data analytics platform, MomSays, in May this year. The platform is the first of its kind in the country and helps brands engage with new moms, who make up a very influential demographic. This platform utilises the collective knowledge of thousands of experienced moms in the country.
Recently Vijendranath, a mom of three, announced in 2018 that Momsays secured a R1-million investment from the I’M IN Accelerator program which is part of IDF Capital. Another win for Vijendranath, who is the Chapter Lead for SoGal Johannesburg, was being chosen as one of Forbes Africa’s 30 Under 30 List in 2019.
14. Nureshka Viranna
Viranna founded her second business, Lit Academy, this year. The academy offers online courses and uses video and study guides to help learners improve their marks.
“Lit Academy has given us the opportunity to make quality education available to learners, at a fraction of the cost of tuition.
“Our aim is to disrupt the education system in South Africa,” she says. Viranna was chosen for the Forbes Africa’s 30 Under 30 List in 2019.
Viranna is also the co-founder of the e-commerce company, ShopLi which designs and develops online stores and catalogues for businesses that can’t afford high rentals or to additional staff.
15. Shirley Machaba
Earlier this year PwC Southern Africa made history when it announced Machaba as its CEO for Southern Africa, the first black woman to take up this position. Machaba took over from Dion Shango, who had held this position since 2015.
Machaba’s career history includes serving as a member of the PwC Africa Governance Board and also as Chairperson of the PwC South Africa Governing Board from October 2012 to June 2018. She was the PwC Africa’s Governance, Risk and Internal Audit Leader, and Diversity & Inclusion Leader for PwC Southern Africa.
16. Lindiwe Matlali
Earlier this year, Queen Elizabeth II recognised Matlali at the 86th Commonwealth Point of Light for her exceptional voluntary service in South Africa providing technology education to youngsters. Matlali was also appointed as a member of the Presidential Commission on the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR).
Matlali is a social entrepreneur and founder of her own VR studio, Apodytes. She is behind Africa Teen Geeks (ATG), which she founded in 2014. The non-profit organisation provides coding lessons to school children and unemployed youth.
Africa Teen Geeks signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Department of Education in 2018 to develop and implement the coding and robotics curriculum for grade R-9.
17. Olwethu Leshabane
Media entrepreneur, blogger and podcaster, Leshabane recently landed a television presenting gig as the host of the TV show “Oh Baby”, which is screened on 1Magic on DStv. The show is about pregnant women’s experiences and baby showers.
Leshabane also launched and hosts the podcast, The Sit Down with Olwethu Leshabane, which unpacks everything that affects women, from career development and relationships to parenthood and marriage. Leshabane is also founder of the Red Wings Project, a NPO aimed at highlighting the lack of sanitation and misery of disadvantaged women unable to access adequate sanitary products and care.
19. Mihlali Ndamase
This year Ndamase confirmed herself to be one of South Africa’s top influencers. UK-based media company Hopper HQ revealed that the South African beauty and lifestyle vlogger was among the highest-paid Instagram users from all over the world. She made the list with businesswoman and reality TV star, Kylie Jenner, who appeared at the top as the highest paid Instagram user, making R16.6 million per post. Ndamase reportedly makes $1,800 (R25,000) per post.
20. Mbali Sebapu
Sebapu is a former SA Navy employee who took a big leap of faith when she quit her job this year to follow her passion. The fitness fanatic and social media influencer is co-founder of Lesedi Influencer Marketing, a company that helps brands with social media strategies and digital campaigns.
Recently she launched her cosmetics brand named Hermosa Flor. Hermosa Flor means beautiful flower in Spanish.
Dr Thandi Ndlovu
This year we mourned the death of Dr Thandi Ndlovu, a ground breaker in South Africa’s construction industry. Ndlovu was on her way to a funeral in Rustenburg when she was involved in a car accident. She had launched Motheo Construction in 1999, the company acquired a grade 9 certificate level from the Construction Industry Development Board. She also served as the president of the Black Business Council for the Built Environment.
To read more visit SME South Africa.


text:
On Monday, Coca-Cola released its first alcoholic beverage—called Lemon-Do, which is currently only being rolled out in a ‘soft launch’ on the Japanese island of Kyushu. For those of you that are good and tired about laboriously adding your own spirits to your favorite Coke products, don’t get your hopes up about seeing it in your local corner store any time soon: senior Coke execs have said this is merely an experiment in a small slice of the marketplace for the time being.
The product is part of a campaign that aims to capture a growing market of young drinkers, and in particular, women. Described by Coca-Cola as “unique” in the company’s 125-year history, the three drinks range from 3% to 8% alcohol and are modeled after the already popular ‘Chu-Hi’ drink (an abbreviation for shochu highball). Though local producers like Suntory, Asahi and Kirin dominate the market, one can only imagine that should they be so-inclined, Coca-Cola could make some serious waves against even entrenched brands.


text:
Before this year ends, Timbaland will release a brand new mixtape titled King Stays King. Due on Christmas Day, the compilation project — produced entirely by Timbaland, of course — will consist of 16 tracks with appearances from Mila J, Young Thug, Rich Homie Quan, Blaze and more. The mixtape will also feature an unheard song by the late Aaliyah.
“It’s been a while since I’ve been able to give the world some new music. I’ve spent a lot of time working on this project and I am just looking forward to giving my fans some dope sounds to close out the year,” says Timbaland.
Following the mixtape’s release, Timbaland will release a video for “Get No Better” featuring Mila J and “Servin” featuring Blaze. Both videos are being filmed in Atlanta. At the top of the year, Timbaland will kick-off his 20 date club tour.
Timbaland’s long-awaited album, Textbook Timbo, is also set to release in early 2016.


text:
The iPhone 6 is expected to be revealed in just a few weeks, so it’s not unusual that rumors are starting to pile up. Two separate reports surfaced today that point to larger batteries in both the 4.7 inch and 5.5 inch devices.
The first comes out of China, and shows pictures of a purported 2,915mAh battery, which is supposedly headed towards the 5.5 inch, aptly named by the same source, the iPhone 6L. Previous to this, there have been very few leaks pertaining to the larger version of the new iPhone. Most rumors for the 5.5 inch version point to an announcement alongside the 4.7 inch iPhone 6 on September 9th, but a release sometime towards the end of 2014.
The second report points towards a bigger battery for the 4.7 inch device. It purports to show a 1,810mAh battery, which is about 25% smaller than the current generation iPhone 5s. This seems to confirm a report that came out in July that showed similar pictures of the iPhone 6 battery. However, it seems to contradict analysis from famed Apple speculator Sun Chang Xu, who claimed that the 4.7 inch device would contain a 2,100mAh battery.
Of the two reports, the second seems to be the most reliable, as it confirms another rumor that appeared in the press before. What’s most interesting, however, is that this marks the first time that parts for the larger version of the iPhone 6 have appeared online. There are two possible reasons for this. Either the report is false (read: made up), or the 5.5 inch iPhone 6 really is much farther behind in production than the 4.7 inch version. Which it is, is still a matter of speculation and doubt, and will be until the devices are launched in early September.
In addition to parts leaks, iOS 8 is still getting closer to release, with a new beta expected sometime in the next week and half. iOS 8 contains highly anticipated additions to Apple’s iPhone operating system, including Extensions (for inter-app communication and third party keyboards), Continuity (for app continuous client between Apple devices), and Health (Apple’s first foray into the health market).
There are still many questions, however, when it comes to Apple’s next iOS devices. For example, it is still unknown what is going to happen to the iPhone 5c. Will there be an update to it, or will that wait until next year? Will the iPhone 5s be this year’s marked down phone (replacing the 5c)? All of these will only be answered once Tim Cook stands on the stage on September 9th.