text: The results show that the environmental impact of the 3D printing process is smaller than the traditional manufacturing process in view of the material, distribution and use phases. The research team pointed out that the length of printing needed by the insole is closely related to the environmental impact. The 3D printer is different and the printing time varies greatly. Therefore, the study pointed out, "if you want to reduce the environmental impact of 3D print pads, reduce print time, use better 3D printers, and select the best energy sources."". The study concluded that the 3D printing process itself is one of the most environmentally influential factors.


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Flying Cars: The Tech Taking Flight
Article posted: July 25th, 2016
Autonomous Flying Car: From Sci-Fi to Sci-Fact
At the beginning of the film "Bladerunner," Harrison Ford soars over Los Angeles, cruising in a capsule dotted with glowing lights. During "The Fifth Element," Bruce Willis is pursued through the crowded New York City airspace – one of the first ever reboots of the hackneyed ‘police chase’ scenes by taking it from ground-based and 2D and putting it in the sky as 3D. Tom Cruise is just one of thousands of passengers ported around Washington, D.C., in
"Minority Report," riding one of the automated cars that glide through streets that operate more like pneumatic tubes than our current, archaic-seeming asphalt.
The self-driven flying car that once seemed like a sci-fi pipe-dream has just materialized into reality. At CES 2016, EHang introduced a pilotless passenger drone that can transport a single passenger weighing up to 220 pounds. That's right, the same fundamental design behind drones being used to carry GoPro camera rigs by hobbyists, photographers and tech-savvy teenagers, can be scaled-up to haul people as well.
Granted, the EHang 184 Autonomous Aerial Vehicles are much larger and have some more sophisticated navigational brains, yet the aerodynamic concept and design is comparable. The name 184 stands for one passenger in a vehicle with four arms and eight propellers. At 152.2 inches long, it's about the same size as a Honda Fit. A frame mostly made out of carbon fiber and aluminum makes it possible for the drone to fly at 62 miles per hour. And like the smaller drones, the EHang 184 isn't built to be steered by its physical occupant. How does it work? The rider steps inside, closes the door, taps on a tablet telling it to start and then it takes off. The vehicle is controlled by EHang's "low-altitude control center."
Flight on Hold
Step back out of your imaginary Delorean, Marty McFly, before you head out to zip through the skies. EHang's potentially game-changing prototype raises several questions. First, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) hasn't approved drones for passengers yet, and any new vehicle class would probably go through several rounds of exhaustive and time-consuming review. With the complexities inherent in both passenger flights and the three dimensions of commercial or passenger-based aviation, safety reigns supreme. The organization has already increased regulations for unmanned drones: In late 2015, the FAA began requiring registration of drones weighing more than a half-pound, up to 55 pounds.
FAA Administrator Michael Huerta gave a speech to CES attendees in which he explained that regulating drones wouldn't be a simple process. "Maintaining the highest levels of safety requires us to constantly evolve in our approach," he said.
The EHang 184 prototype also has technical limitations. The aircraft can only fly for 23 minutes before the battery needs to be recharged, which requires at least two hours. That means if the trip is more than 10 minutes each way, a charging station needs to be waiting at the end of the ride. Battery technology is constantly improving, but it may be some time before anyone is flying a passenger drone from LA to NYC (or even SF) on a whim. But of course the exponential nature of technological improvements means that the timeline involved may just be exponentially shrinking.
A Big Business About to Take Off
People en masse are starting to foresee a drone-filled future arriving, and in first, business and economy classes. In 2017, U.S. consumer drone spending will double to $953 million, according to the Consumer Technology Association. ABI Research expects that global expenditures on drones will reach $8.4 billion in 2018. Of course, only a fraction of that money is being spent on passenger drones, but the market niche undoubtedly has monstrous potential.
The Teal Group predicts the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) industry will see dramatic growth in the next 10 years, with spending doubling from $2.8 billion in 2014 to $5.6 billion in 2023. EHang has discussed pilot programs with government officials in Los Angeles, Auckland and China about a fleet of 184s that would fly passengers around in air taxis (no Bruce Willis required). The company has raised over $50 million in two funding rounds, although given that there are several other (smaller) drones in the product line, only a fraction of that money will be spent on the 184.
It's hard to believe the company that has made passenger drones a reality began as an Indiegogo campaign: EHang first came to fame when it posted its app-controlled Ghost Drone, which was designed to make aerial photography easy. The 184 takes some of the lessons of the Ghost Drone and expands upon them on a much larger, arguably much more momentous scale.
EHang's autonomous vehicle isn't the only unpiloted aircraft in testing. The twin-propeller Centaur plane has been testing at FAA-approved sites. John Langford, CEO of Aurora Flight Services Corporation, which manufactures the "optionally piloted" Centaur, hopes to see remote-controlled passenger planes within five years. The Centaur can fly up to 27,500 feet and 2,300 miles with a 200-pound payload.
While FAA Deputy Administrator Michael Whitaker has reported to a congressional house committee that new technologies will help these remote-control crafts from crashing into humans and planes, the question remains whether the technology will be able to integrate with the established air traffic control system.
Once these important details are figured out, Langford envisions remote piloting eventually and inevitably being safer than a system that allows for human error. "I'm a huge believer that the unmanned airplane revolution will make aviation safer for everybody," he said.
Another unpiloted vehicle, the EVolo Volocopter, combines elements of a drone and helicopter to create an electric-powered aircraft with 18 rotors. The German inventors -- Stephan Wolf, Thomas Senkel and Alexander Zosel -- have won several eco-tech awards and convinced the German government to create a new flying class for the Volocopter. While the ultra-light craft has undergone numerous tests with human-size payloads, and has been remotely controlled with joysticks, no definitive timeline for commercial sales or service has been announced.
Which craft will reach the market first? Aurora's early collaboration with the FAA and ability to comply with many of today's aircraft standards appears to give it an advantage. Although the future may not quite look like "Bladerunner," some of it’s most pop-cult elements – foremost amongst which being those imagination-igniting flying cars and unmanned drones – are already starting to fill the sky.
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domain: news


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Royal Mail have warned people what to look out for after a second scam in as many weeks.
As more people get parcels delivered scammers have been targeting people and trying to get their cash.
Last week Royal Mail reported that scam texts have been sent out trying to target bank accounts.
And now there is a new hoax which more than 1,700 people have reported - reports Birmingham Live.
The latest scam, which has been labelled a "malicious email" by ActionFraud, has forced Royal Mail to issue a warning to customers.
Royal Mail have issued the following guidance to help protect people against scammers:
- Royal Mail will never send an email asking for credit card numbers or other personal or confidential information.
- Royal Mail will never ask customers to enter information on a page that isn’t part of the Royal Mail website.
- Royal Mail will never include attachments unless the email was solicited by customer e.g. customer has contacted Royal Mail with an enquiry or has signed up for updates from Royal Mail.
- Royal Mail have also stressed that they do not receive a person’s email address as part of any home shopping experience.
The advice came after scammers had been sending out fake Royal Mail emails to try and trick victims into giving personal information.
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Royal Mail warned people to watch out urgently for a parcel scam doing the rounds across the country.
The scams are circulating by text and email and tells recipients to make payments so they ensure their packages can get delivered.
The text states: " Royal Mail : your package has a £2.99 shipping fee, to pay this now visit."
It then includes a seemingly legitimate Royal Mail website, but it is all a ruse, with phishers and scammers ready to pounce and siphon your details.
"Actions will be taken if you do not pay this fee," the text adds - but Royal Mail is warning people not to be fooled.
Keep up to date with local news in your area by adding your postcode below
ActionFraud revealed this week they had received 1,700 reports about scam emails claiming a parcel had not been delivered.
The message, which appears at first glance almost genuine, warns homeowners if they don't opt for delivery, they will return the package to the sender.
It then directs the customer to a link, asking them to fill out an information form.
The form then asks users for their card number, security code, sort code, account number and mother's maiden name.
It also provides a parcel number, while stating without this personal information, your package will not be redelivered.
ActionFraud tweeted: "Watch out for these fake Royal Mail emails. They've been reported to us over 1,700 times...Help us remove malicious emails and websites like these by forwarding suspicious emails to: email@example.com."


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The funerals took place at the 450 years old Kofukuji Buddhist Temple in Isumi and the robot dogs were sent there by electronics and vintage repair company A Fun Co. The company has sent over 800 Aibos dogs to receive this special treatment over the years.
The original Aibo was first launched in 1999 then taken off the shelves seven years later. Initially, the robots could be serviced at the Aibo Clinic but that facility was also shut down in March 2014.
Nobuyuki Norimatsu, who heads A Fun, told the Japan Times this is because he genuinely believes the robots have souls.
“We’d like to return the souls to the owners and make the robot a machine to utilize their parts. We don’t take parts before we hold a funeral for them,”
The pets’ former owners also seem to hold those convictions. Many of these decommissioned robots are sent with letters from their owners describing what these pets meant to them.
“Please help other Aibos. Tears rose in my eyes when I decided to say goodbye,”
wrote one former pet owner. This is no surprise considering Sony built these machines to bond with humans.
“Aibo can form an emotional bond with members of the household while providing them with love, affection, and the joy of nurturing and raising a companion. It possesses a natural curiosity, and we hope it will bring joy into the everyday lives of our customers while growing alongside them as a partner,” said a Sony press release in 2017.
The most recent version of Aibo was launched in Japan in January 2018 and sold 11,111 units in the first three months despite costing 198,000 yen and featuring a monthly charge of 2,500 yen for cloud based services that can program new behaviors.
The robot has been redesigned to look cuter and is now equipped with OLED eyes that can produce a variety of facial expressions. Aibo is still currently only available in Japan although there have been talks that the lively companion may soon find its way to China and America.


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A total of 50,000 students, drawn from 14 African countries, will be competing for the final of Huawei’s global ICT competition aimed at boosting their capacity in applying technology to solve problems.
The Sub-Sahara African final has this year’s theme as “Connection, Glory, Future”, is also aimed at encouraging young minds to embrace technology in day today activities and have a solution-based approach in different fields of endeavours.
Globally the Huawei ICT Competition 2019-2020 has covered over 70 countries worldwide, with 150 000 contestants from more than 2,000 universities and colleges.
Launched in the region just five years ago, the Huawei ICT Competition has developed into the largest ICT skills competition in Africa.
During the opening ceremony attended by industry partners, UNESCO and students, Huawei Southern Africa VP, Liao Yong, highlighted the significance of connectivity in the era of social distancing.
“The digital divide is widening under the new normal caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
As people migrate more work and study online, the digitally disadvantaged people are hit harder,” Liao said.
In a recent UNESCO webinar, digital infrastructure was identified among the most prominent challenges facing higher education in Africa.
“Holding the online version of ICT competition during the pandemic has a unique value, it shows that Huawei, as a pioneer in building African digital infrastructure, also takes its talent strategy very seriously.
“It encompasses three aspects; digital upskilling ICT professionals, encouraging and enabling ICT students, and promote ICT literacy among ordinary people,” Liao added.
“This training has been of great significance for the students. I began the race for the Huawei ICT competition in August 2019 while observing my internship at A.B.U. Zaria,” says Atabol Hamza Adenoi, a student from Nigeria.
He further stated that he was trained ahead of the competition’s exam and shortly after, granted the opportunity to do an internship at the Huawei Nigeria headquarters in Abuja.
Also speaking during the opening ceremony, Ydo Yao, acting Director of UNESCO International Bureau of Education, applauded Huawei for playing an exemplary role to support initiatives that create, innovate and deliver ICT skills for the continent.


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The Israeli court has declared all the digital currencies, including Bitcoin should be considered as a taxable asset rather than currencies as per the report surfaced on 21st May in a local news website.
The judgment was delivered to the case in which an Israeli startup founder argued with the Tax authority of the country to make the profit from the sale of cryptocurrencies to be tax-free. The court has delivered its judgment in favour of Tax authorities of the country, thereby endorsing the definition of the central banks for the currencies.
Noam Copel, the founder, as mentioned earlier of the startup, DAV. The network had earned a massive amount from the sale of Bitcoin which he had purchased in 2011. He claimed that Bitcoin must be considered as foreign currency and must not be imposed with tax. In response to this, the Tax department said Bitcoin is not a currency but an asset which makes it liable to taxes. And as per the definition of the chief bank of the country, it can never be considered as a foreign currency.


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Firelight Flask: A Flask Built for Sharing
The McRib is Back
The McDonald’s McRib is the closest thing the dead-souled 21st century has to a recurring deity in the vein of the Phoenix myth – every time it goes away, it’s never for the last time. And now, as a public service announcement (to the degree that informing the public about a fast food pork sandwich can be considered a service), I bring you the news that the sandwich hath returned.
According to the official McDonald’s Twitter account, “There’s a lot of mystery around why the McRib comes and goes, but to be honest it’s a local option based on consumer demand.” This honesty is paired with a official McRib locator which you can use to find the nearest Mickey D’s that carries the sandwich.
Check out the McRib locator here, and if you’re heading up to McDonald’s for one for a late lunch or dinner tonight, could you bring me back a Big Mac?


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17 June 2020
Tourism Council WA is calling on the Commonwealth and State Governments to establish a clear roadmap with anticipated dates for welcoming interstate visitors back to WA and recommencing business, cultural and sporting events.
A roadmap with anticipated dates will enable the WA tourism industry to take flexible bookings and retain jobs and allow for large-scale events to be scheduled.
“Each day without interstate visitors, Western Australia loses 42 jobs,” Tourism Council WA CEO Evan Hall said.
“A roadmap with a tentative date will give tourism businesses time to take bookings and give our venues time to program in events.”
New research by Lucid Economics shows that interstate visitors spend more than twice as much per trip than intrastate visitors, generating $1.8 billion in gross state product and more than $160 million in payroll tax and GST revenue for the State Government in 2019.
“Interstate visitors are critical to the WA tourism industry, because they stay longer, travel further, and spend twice as much as intrastate visitors. Without interstate visitors, tour operators, attractions and regional hospitality businesses and their employees are at risk,” Mr Hall said.
“Critical to attracting interstate visitors are business, cultural and sporting events – these are powerful motivators for interstate travel but need time to be secured.”
A recent industry survey showed 34 per cent of tourism businesses were not viable without interstate visitors. A majority of businesses surveyed wanted an anticipated date for removing interstate travel restrictions.
“Without an anticipated date we will lose valuable interstate visitors to other States because we could not take bookings while they could,” Mr Hall said.
“We don’t want to be in the position of the borders opening and finding we have few visitors because we can’t take bookings now.”
The tourism industry understands that the State Government will open the interstate border based on health advice, however a roadmap with an anticipated date will allow businesses to take bookings.
“While it is well understood that health advice may change and as such, the date may change, we would rather take the risk of having to cancel a booking or event than to miss out altogether,” Mr Hall said.


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April 20th, 2017
in-toto Kitchens fans Zara Goodier and Suzanne Ashton have been awarded with a Caple wine cabinet each as the winners of our recent social media competition, launched to celebrate the appliance brand becoming available through in-toto studios.
For two weeks, the competition ran on our in-toto Kitchens Facebook and Twitter pages, resulting in over 1,400 entries across both social media channels. Zara was selected as the Facebook winner, while Suzanne was picked from the Twitter entries.
“Thank you so much in-toto! I am over the moon with my prize!” commented Zara Goodier.
The prize winners were presented with their gifts at their local in-toto kitchen design studios by representatives from both in-toto and Caple. Zara (pictured right) was greeted at in-toto Salisbury by studio owner, Kate Stacey, while Suzanne (pictured above) visited in-toto Tunbridge Wells to collect her prize from in-toto Business Manager, Daniel Lloyd.
in-toto offers a variety of high-quality kitchen furniture, plus a choice of stylish appliances, worktops in the latest materials and finishes, and inspired storage solutions to create a kitchen that is individually tailored to your lifestyle.


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Nine agrifoodtech startups from across the globe are set to pitch at the third GROW Impact Accelerator Demo Day. Tune in to connect with GROW’s newest graduates as they share their pioneering technologies transforming the global agrifood system at the GROW Impact Accelerator Demo Day.
The startups’ pitches will stream online on Thursday 10 November, 5pm-7pm Singapore/China Time (11am-1pm CET; 5am-7am EST.)
The Demo Day comes after the completion of the 2022 GROW Impact Accelerator programme, delivered by agrifoodtech ecosystem catalyst GROW. Through GROW’s partnership with AgFunder, all nine startups have received investment from the AgFunder GROW Impact Fund, established in 2020 to champion investment in early-stage, impact-focused innovations across the agrifoodtech sector.
Selected from over 360 applications from around the world, each of the nine startups in this year’s GROW Impact Accelerator cohort uniquely address social and environmental pain points along the value chain to create a positive impact on our global food system. At Demo Day, these founders will share how their solutions uniquely help to tackle issues such as overreliance on single-use plastics, overuse of antibiotics, labour challenges in agriculture, food waste, biodiversity loss, and other challenges.
“When we launched GROW three years ago, our goal was to establish an ecosystem of knowledge and support to supercharge the most exciting startups operating across the agrifoodtech sector, and in doing so, accelerate the transformation of our food system,” said John Friedman, executive director at GROW and AgFunder Asia. “Demo Day 2022 embodies this work, as we’re bringing together the entire spectrum of players from mentors and partners to inventors and investors. Through AgFunder’s partnership with GROW, we have selected this cohort of entrepreneurs who are creating positive impact at scale, delivering tangible social and environmental benefits through the solutions they bring to market.”
The 9 startups who will be pitching at GROW Impact Accelerator Demo Day include:
- 3Bee (Italy): Cloud-based farm management system for beekeepers combined with marketplace technology, driving transparency and traceability in global honey production.
- Decomer Technology (Estonia): All-natural, plant-based, functional food-grade packaging for food manufacturers and FMCG.
- LYRO Robotics (Australia): Next-gen robotic solution for food packing, working to alleviate manpower constraints and to improve efficiency on the line.
- Mycotech Labs (Indonesia): Designing and producing mycelium-based goods such as animal-free leather and building materials from agricultural waste streams, including corn and oil palm.
- Phagos (France): Addressing the looming pandemic of antibiotic resistance with bacteriophage solutions to efficiently address bacterial infections in seafood and livestock.
- Tepbac (Vietnam): Revolutionising Vietnam’s aquaculture industry with a comprehensive suite of software and hardware solutions.
- VeggieVictory (Nigeria): Offering affordable plant-based meat alternatives that match local tastes and textures, while addressing chronic protein deficiency among African consumers.
- X-Centric Technologies (US): Instrumentation systems for soil carbon analysis, allowing efficient and streamlined acquisition of vertically stratified, geochemical carbon data.
- Yeap (Israel): A complete, yeast-based protein source made from industrial side streams that can be used as a functional ingredient, bulking ingredient, or concentrated protein powder.
Demo Day audience members will have the opportunity to engage directly with participating startups through GROW’s connection platform. You can read more about the 2022 cohort and the impact they are creating here.


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The Cheapskate hates paying monthly fees for anything, but exceptions are sometimes made. Here are three, along with totally free alternatives!
That's a crazy-good deal on a monitor that includes an HDMI input and stereo speakers. But there is a small catch.
Holding three tons of food and other supplies, the unmanned Progress 59 spacecraft has lost touch with ground control and a video shows it now spinning in orbit.
Priced at around $250 elsewhere, the LabelWriter requires no ink cartridges. Plus: four bonus deals!
From older gems like Syberia to newer titles like The Novelist, this bundle of top-rated adventures is a steal at this price.
That's the word from Samsung mobile chief JK Shin, who says that carriers are changing their orders to request more of curved-edge smartphones.
A Google exec says that the Chromebook Pixel 2 will be designed for developers and is coming "soon."
More than half of iPhone 6 and 6 Plus models were available in stores as of December 12, according to Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster.
The online retail giant is getting ready to add milk, cereal and baby food to its Elements brand, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Craft makers, would you decamp from Etsy for someplace called Handmade at Amazon? The e-commerce giant is looking to gauge your interest.


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The recent rally in Roku Inc (NASDAQ: ROKU) is not backed by “fundamentals” and, therefore, not very likely to be sustainable, says a senior Pivotal Research Group analyst.
Roku stock has downside to $60
On Monday, Jeff Wlodarczak downgraded Roku stock to “sell” and announced a price target of $60 that represents about a 30% downside from here. Calling it a “fundamental short” ahead of a looming recession, the analyst said in his note to clients:
Management ramped expenses into what we believe will be a 23 recession, which is likely to lead to lower than consensus revenue growth and larger loss through 23 and possibly 24 depending on the length of the inevitable recession.
A slowdown in advertising in the face of a recession is hitting all ad-facing companies but Roku, in particular, seems to be taking the brunt of it, he added.
Roku stock has now given back all of its pandemic gain.
Roku will lose share over time
Late last month, Roku published its Q2 report, the only bright spot in which was that it added 1.8 million active accounts versus 0.8 million expected. Other than that, pretty much everything, including future guidance, came in shy of estimates.
Wlodarczak is convinced the Nasdaq-listed firm will lose share over time as the streaming space continues to get more competitive.
Streaming is an important growing market (medium/long term) and if Roku is back on its heels for the next 9-12 months, it gives well capitalised existing and new players an opportunity to take share.
He’s concerned that Roku might not have any room left to expand its market share in the U.S. and Canada.
The post Roku stock is a ‘fundamental short’ at current valuation: Analyst appeared first on Invezz.


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Oppo Reno series of smartphones will be announced on April 10. Ahead of the launch event, the Oppo Reno smartphone has gone up for reservations on the official online store of the company in China. The official listing has confirmed the key features, color options, RAM and storage versions of the phone.
The official Oppo Reno listing reveals that the smartphone will be arriving in four colors like Nebula Purple, Mist Pink, Extreme Night Black and Fog Sea Green. The 6 GB RAM + 128 GB storage edition of the Oppo Reno will be available in Extreme Night Black and Nebula Purple. The 8 GB RAM + 256 GB variant will come in Fog Sea Green color.The 6 GB RAM + 256 GB storage version of the Oppo Reno will come in three colors. These include Extreme Night Black, Mist Pink and Fog Sea Green. The pricing of the aforementioned variants of the phone are currently under the wraps.
The official listing also confirms that the notch-less display of the phone offers 93.1 percent screen-to-body ratio. The phone is equipped with some other features like 48-megapixel dual camera setup, VOOC 3.0 flash charging and NFC connectivity. Since the images of the phone reveal that it is equipped with dual rear cameras, it appears that it could be Oppo Reno Snapdragon 710 chipset edition.
The Oppo Reno Snapdragon 710 model will come with 6.4-inch S-AMOLED display with in-screen fingerprint reader. The pop-up selfie camera module of the phone will have an LED flash enabled 16-megapixel selfie camera. It will be equipped with a 3,680mAh battery.


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Foxconn, Samsung and Murata at risk from China exposure
Nikkei Asian Review
Date: March 08, 2020
By: DAISUKE MARUYAMA and KENSAKU IHARA, Nikkei staff writers
Foxconn, the world largest iPhone assembler, stands to suffer one of the biggest blows, followed by South Korea's Samsung Electronics, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and other East Asian names.
The outbreak marks a setback for companies just starting to recover from headwinds such as the U.S.-China trade war and a cyclical downturn in chip demand. East Asia's tech manufacturers in turn are watched as a leading indicator of global economic trends.
"We think the pace of recovery in capacity utilization and monthly shipments over the next one to two months will determine the direction of share prices," Goldman analysts wrote in February in a report covering 105 major Asian manufacturers with various levels of mainland China exposure. [FULL STORY]


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July 17, 2018
Related Articles (171)
Demonstrating a new way to build commercial applications on an API, Google's YouTube team have announced a new partnership with Sony that uses the YouTube API to allow players to record gameplay and upload clips directly to YouTube from their game console
Amazon just made setting reminders with Alexa a lot easier. The Reminders API allows developers to include reminders within a particular skill in three simple steps. Prior to the Reminders API, customers needed to remember to create the right skill at the right time to get a specific reminder.
GE Predix Industrial IoT Developer Tool Kits are coming soon and the first to be released will run on Intel Edison. Developer Tool Kits for Raspberry Pi and GE Field Agent will also eventually be made available as well as industry-specific Predix Tool Kits such as solar energy and mining.


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Tesla owners will get to check out the company’s Autopilot software starting tomorrow.
CEO Elon Musk has confirmed that Tesla version 7 software with Autopilot will begin rolling out October 15 and will reach all vehicle owners within roughly five days. For early Tesla Model S adopters who have models not compatible with the Autopilot technology, the system will still benefit from the software upgrade with a new look, although the main user interface change will come with Tesla software 7.1.
The Autopilot software will be the same for the Model S and the Model X, according to Musk and will include highway auto-steer and lane change as well as the ability to summon the vehicle through a phone app and Autopilot parking.
Late last month, Tesla began deliveries for the Model X crossover featuring Falcon Wing doors. Now those owners will get new technology to play with as Tesla looks to steadily work towards self-driving vehicles without needing owners to purchase an all-new car.
Some exciting news this week: Tesla Version 7 software with Autopilot goes to wide release on Thursday!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 11, 2015
Discuss this story on our Tesla Forum


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Twitter industry insider states next-gen Red Dead is in development
One of several 'industry insiders' on Twitter, Shinobi602, has stated that there is a new Red Dead game in development at Rockstar.
To be honest, after Red Dead redemption sold 13 million copies on the PS3 and Xbox 360 it's pretty much a no-brainer that Rockstar would be making another Red Dead game especially seeing as Strauss Zelnick CEO of their parent company Take-Two recently described the franchise as a “permanent” one in their portfolio.
Shinobi602 stated in response to a question on the possibility of a Red Dead sequel being in development, “Yes there is.” He also quickly pointed out that an E3 reveal was pretty much out of the question as “Rockstar never debuts their games at E3.”
Rockstar does, however, have a mystery next-gen release planned for this year. It's probably going to be the widely-rumoured next-gen version of Grand Theft Auto V but there's always room for a surprise when Rockstar is concerned.
- Next week's Destiny events detailed
- Swery65's D4: Dark Dreams Don't Die is out now on Xbox One
- Silent Hills could be an episodic title
- Thomas Was Alone is making the jump to the PS4
- Destiny helps give the PS4 a 300 percent sales kick
- New Yakuza 0 trailer shows off 1980s Japan
- Bloodborne's Western release date has been confirmed
- Classic WWII RTS action returns with Blitzkrieg 3
- Tetsuya Nomura leaves Final Fantasy XV to concentrate of Kingdom Hearts III


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Microsoft impressed investors last week with solid numbers for its fourth quarter. Its revenue and adjusted earnings rose 12% and 21%, respectively, buoyed by the growth of its commercial cloud business, which grew its revenue 39% annually and accounted for nearly a third of its top line.
However, Microsoft’s gaming business was a soft spot in the earnings report. It posted a 10% annual decline in revenue and missed its own expectations. Xbox hardware sales plunged 48% annually, while sales of Xbox software and services – a bright spot in previous quarters – slid 3%.
Soft demand for Xbox consoles isn’t surprising since the Xbox One is nearly six years old and gamers anticipate new consoles next year. Soft sales of video games were also expected due to a lack of major game releases during the quarter. However, Microsoft also noted that it faced a “tough comparable” from lower sales of an unnamed third-party title.
Niko Partners analyst Daniel Ahmad claimed that title was Epic Games’ Fortnite and that gamers are spending significantly less cash in the free-to-play game. Let’s see how Fortnite’s decline is affecting Microsoft, and whether or not it will weigh down its gaming revenue in fiscal 2020.
Corruption charges: Microsoft pays $25 million to settle
Are gamers losing interest in Fortnite?
Fortnite launched two years ago and is currently available on Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, the PS4, Xbox One, and the Nintendo Switch. The game has three main modes: a shooter-survival mode, a battle royale mode, and a creative mode for building worlds and battle arenas.
Fortnite generates revenue by selling V-bucks, an in-game currency that can be spent on cosmetic skins, dances, and pre-released game modes for certain characters. It generated $2.4 billion in revenue in 2018 according to SuperData, making it the year’s highest-grossing free-to-play game with over 200 million players worldwide.
But 2019 has been a much tougher year forFortnite. Revenue fell 48% month-over-month across all platforms in January, according to SuperData. The firm also recently claimed Fortnite generated $203 million in revenue in May, marking a 38% drop from a year earlier.
Adjusting for inflation: Is ‘Avengers: Endgame’ really the biggest movie of all time?
Newzoo also recently reported that Fortnite continues to lose viewers on Twitch. As a result, Tencent’s Riot Games, the publisher of League of Legends, overtook Epic (which Tencent also holds a stake in) as the most-watched publisher on Twitch in the second quarter.
Newzoo still ranks Fortnite as the fifth most popular core PC game worldwide, but it clearly peaked as it faced tougher competition from similar games like Electronic Arts’ Apex Legends and Activision Blizzard’s Call of Duty: Black Ops 4. It also faces fierce competition on mobile devices from games like PUBG Mobile and NetEase’s Knives Out.
What does Fortnite’s decline mean for Microsoft?
Microsoft and other platform operators typically retain a cut (usually about 30%) of Fortnite’s revenue, with a few major exceptions.
Epic avoided paying Google that cut by directing Android users to download the app from its website instead of Google Play, and applied the same strategy on Windows and Mac by launching its Epic Games Store last December.
Multiple models included: Volvo issues major 500,000 car recall due to faulty engine part
Microsoft still controls its Xbox gaming ecosystem as a walled garden, so it’s likely still generating a full slice of Fortnite’s revenue on Xbox consoles. We can’t quantify the exact value of Fortnite for Microsoft without knowing the exact number of Fortnite gamers on Microsoft, their spending patterns, and its cut of the game’s revenue – but its earnings report and Ahmad’s comments indicate that the game’s decline was significant enough to dent Microsoft’s gaming business.
On the bright side, Microsoft noted that it partly offset its weaker software sales with higher sales of Xbox Live and Game Pass subscriptions, which indicates that its gaming ecosystem remains healthy.
The bottom line
We won’t know how much revenue Microsoft’s gaming unit generated in 2019 until it files its 10-K report (and releases it in early August), but it generated 9% of the tech giant’s revenue in 2018. The gaming business was weak over the past few quarters, but Microsoft easily offset that softness with the growth of its commercial cloud business – which is firing on all cylinders with the growth of Azure, Office 365, and Dynamics 365.
Microsoft expects the gaming business to warm up in the second half of fiscal 2020 as it works through the tough year-over-year comparisons. It also has several long-term catalysts on the horizon, including its new Xbox and xCloud cloud gaming service, which could both turn the gaming unit into a roaring growth engine again.
Kids are overconfident: Parents, children disagree on when they’ll be financially independent
Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Teresa Kersten, an employee of LinkedIn, a Microsoft subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Leo Sun owns shares of Tencent Holdings. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Activision Blizzard, Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), Microsoft, NetEase, and Tencent Holdings. The Motley Fool has the following options: long January 2021 $85 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool recommends Electronic Arts and Nintendo. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
The Motley Fool is a USA TODAY content partner offering financial news, analysis and commentary designed to help people take control of their financial lives. Its content is produced independently of USA TODAY.
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(Reuters) – Nokia and Microsoft have teamed up to take on Google and Apple in the fast-growing smartphone market use Windows Phone as the software platform for its smartphones as part of new chief executive Stephen Elop’s overhaul of the world’s biggest cellphone maker. Nokia has rapidly lost share in the higher-margin smartphone market to [...]
Google Gmail Priority Inbox Now Available on Mobile Web Interface. This Priority Inbox project is Google’s attempt to solve e-mail overload. It chooses the e-mails that are the most likely to be important to you and brings them to the top of the page , placing them in the “important and unread” folder using an [...]
According to comScore’s monthly smartphone data for the first time Google Android OS has surpassed Apple’s iOS in terms of U.S. smartphone subscriber share. The data, which measured smartphone usage from September until December of 2010, showed that 63.2 million people in the U.S. owned smartphones during period, up 7.3 percent from the preceding three month period. [...]
On Tuesday Microsoft confirmed that a Yahoo email (IMAP) inefficiency was the root of a data bug affecting Windows Phone 7 users. Today, that same bug is believed to extend to iPhone users with Yahoo email accounts, here’s the scoop. If you use an iPhone and setup a Yahoo email account (IMAP), chances are your phone is suffering [...]
David Chavez of Kickstarter have launched a dream project. The dream is to build this wild-looking Braille watch that shows the time by moving little rotating dots along the face to spell out the numbers in Braille. The watch will cost approximatly $250 when/if it’s made and it looks like David is pretty far from [...]
Seven airlines are running a promotion with Gogo internet to offer free FaceBook during the flight. T he airlines include Delta, AirTran, American, Virgin Atlantic, Alaska, US Airways, and United, who with Gogo now offer internet on 1,100 commercial and 5,000 private planes.
An Android Market Web Store, two and half year after the first Android phone went on sale for browsing the Android Market on a desktop computer has just been announced at Google’s Android Honeycomb press event. It lets you buy apps and push them to your Android phone from the browser. The Android Market Web Store [...]
A new iPad only newspaper, The Daily launched by the news corporation. This News Paper is a collaborative effort between Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp and Apple. The price of a subscription to The Daily, available in the US App Store will be $0.99 per week or $39.99 per year billed to iTunes user accounts. News Corp [...]


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In February AOL added the ability to message your Facebook friends on AIM, giving Facebook users a nice stand alone client to chat with their Facebook friends. Since then, more than 1 million people have used Facebook Connect on AIM to access that Facebook friends list, AOL tells me, and all of these were new installs of the AIM client.
That’s about 5% of the total 21 million monthly AIM users, according to Comscore. And those numbers should rise significantly – recently AOL also added the ability to sign into AIM directly with your Facebook credentials.
AOL is also having success with its Lifestream product that they released in March. That social networking aggregator is built into their iPad application, which is currently the second most popular social networking iPad app after Twitterific. Soon, says AOL, users will be able to sign into the AIM iPad app using their Facebook credentials, too.


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LEGO has unveiled a new set in their Ultimate Collector Series, and it’s the Republic Gunship from Star Wars. The new and amazing set comes in at 3,292 pieces and it will cost you $349.99. After becoming fully operational, the Republic Gunship measures 13” high, 27” long, and 29” wide and it comes with a stand. The two mini-figs that come with the Republic Gunship are a Clone Trooper Commander and Mace Windu.
Check out the video by David Hall from Solid Brix Studios below as well as an interview with the designers Jens Kronvold Frederiksen and Hans Burkhard Schlömer. The new Lego set will be available on August 1.


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Jay Rasulo, Chief Financial Officer of The Walt Disney Company, shared an optimistic view of the the company's plans for the Star Wars franchise during an investor conference today, according to Variety. He described Star Wars as an "evergreen property" and said, "the market is extremely hot for everything Star Wars."
"The sky's the limit," Rasulo said in describing the franchise's potential. "There's incredible flexibility. It's an unbelievable palette to create from."
When it controlled the Star Wars license on its own, Lucasfilm focused mainly on U.S. licensing deals, which limited the reach of merchandise, video content, and other products. But that's going to change, Rasulo said, when Disney's own licensing operation begins "brokering deals" next year to increase the franchise's global reach.
There are also plans to expand Star Wars "into housewares and other merchandise categories," much like what has happened with products based on the Marvel universe.
The company still intends to release a Star Wars film every year. Sequel trilogy installments will alternate with what Rasulo called "origin story film[s]"
You can read Variety's full report on Rasulo's conference presentation here.
The ForceCast is our popular Star Wars podcast that features news, commentary, interviews, and discussion about the Star Wars saga! Listen Now!
Rebelscum.com provides the latest in collecting news. The site features up-to-the-minute news and images, coverage of Star Wars conventions, several product databases, countless reference galleries and archives, and more.Visit Now!
Jedi Journals is the longest running Star Wars literature podcast in the galaxy. Listen Now!
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Affordable medical insurance launched via Safaricom
VALUE ADDED SERVICES| Jan. 23, 2014, 4:48 p.m.
Safaricom limited, Britam and Changamka Micro-insurance have jointly launched an affordable micro-insurance health cover which will widen the bracket of the population with access to medical insurance.
The health insurance product known as Linda Jamii is an affordable and comprehensive medical cover that will provide a family premium cover at an annual subscription of KES12, 000 for a cover valued at KES 290,000.
The cover will cater for in and out patient, maternity, dental, optical, a hospitalisation income replacement benefit of Kshs.500 per day to take care of lost income while in hospital and in the case of death, funeral expenses.
Linda Jamii has adopted a micro-saving model which will use M-PESA as the premium collection platform. Through M-PESA, one can pay premiums in installments and can access partial benefits after accumulating KES 6,000 in contributions.
“Kenya has for a long time been accused of lacking a culture of adopting insurance. However we believe that the real reason that 97% of the population caters for their medical expenses out of pocket, is because of the cost of insurance premiums. Therefore, Linda Jamii is to medical insurance what M-PESA is to financial services. They both promote inclusion,” said Safaricom CEO Bob Collymore.
Statistics indicate that only 3 percent of the Kenyan population has health insurance-mainly employer based policy- meaning about 38.8 million Kenyans have no health insurance.
“Linda Jamii has been tailor made to ease the medical burden particularly for people working in the informal sector. This product will enable them to access medical care in more than 600 hospitals countrywide and our goal is to grow that to 1000 by mid this year,” said Britam’s Group MD Benson Wairegi.
The idea of Linda Jamii was conceived by Changamka which recognized that many Kenyans were being locked out of the medical cover bracket by the cost of the medical packages on offer.
“The vast majority of the Kenyan population does not have a steady income. Subsequently, they cannot afford the premiums of existing medical covers which in essence leaves quality healthcare as the reserve of a privileged few. The introduction of Linda Jamii is therefore meant to fill this gap and shatter this medical cover glass ceiling thus allowing more Kenyans to access and enjoy better healthcare,” said Changamka CEO, Sam Agutu.
One can register for Linda Jamii in all Safaricom shops, Uchumi and Postbank outlets as well as select M-PESA agents countrywide. The policy covers persons from age 18-75 years at entry, children under 18 years are also covered through their parents.
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Carrefour signs up for Lipa Na M-PESACarrefour, the world’s second largest hypermarket chain, has today become the first retailer in Kenya to fully integrate Safaricom’s payments service – Lipa Na M-PESA – paving the way for the retailer to fully adopt M-PESA as a payments channel in Kenya. Read More
Tigo Insurance pays 10,000th claimantTigo Ghana says it paid over GHS 6.2 million to policyholders since the inception of Tigo Insurance in 2010. This was revealed during the presentation of a payment to its 10,000th claimant. Read More
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Youths should be given more encouragement to develop their ICT skills, an 11-year-old app developer told Kokumo Goodie.
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(Photo by Ante todo, Pablo Zárate)
On Saturday night, the city museums will be open from 8pm to 3am. The cultural event will pay homage to Astor Piazzolla to commemorate the twenty-year anniversary of his death. Additionally, there will be live shows, ballet, and more at different city venues.
Some of the highlights of the evening will be:
The Teatro General San Martín Ballet will be staging Las ocho estaciones, by Astor Piazzolla, at the Planetarium starting at 8pm. Av Sarmiento and Belisario Roldán, Palermo.
Also at the Planetarium, there will be an exhibition of fashion and automobile design from 1920-2010 sponsored by Citroen. Av Sarmiento and Belisario Roldán, Palermo.
The Museo de la Cuidad will inaugurate an exhibition on the typical florid painting style present around the city known as Filete Porteño. Defensa 219, Downtown.
La Usina del Arte in La Boca will present a photography exhibit showcasing portraits of Latin American authors. Pedro de Mendoza 501, La Boca.
There will also be open bookstores in Av. Corrientes between 9 de Julio and Callao that will not only offer books but also different cultural activities.
Find the full program here.


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Ricoh Imaging UK has expanded the Pentax lens range with the introduction of a new zoom lens.
Ricoh has announced the new Ricoh Theta m15, an update to the original Ricoh Theta, the new model captures 360-degree images and videos in just one shot.
Find out who has won this week's Photo Month competition prize with their winning shot.
The Pentax K-S1 Sweets Collection adds three new colours to the DSLR range.
Find out who's won the second Pentax rucksack in October's Photo Month competition.
Join Will Cheung & Ricoh Imaging for a fashion, 645Z photo day with Park Cameras.
Find out who's won the first Pentax backpack of the month.
Ricoh's latest rugged cameras include a Wi-Fi compatible model with smart-phone support.
This month, you can win one of four Pentax SLR backpacks in the Photo Month competition.
Pentax has announced a firmware update for the medium format 645Z camera.


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Bloggers Adrienne Keene and Dr. Jessica Metcalfe on Native Headdresses, Patterns, and "Aztec" Labels in Popular Fashion
When the Navajo Nation sued apparel retailer Urban Outfitters for using its name on a line of products with geometric prints, including flasks and panties, the community sent a message about how the fashion world is appropriating native cultures into trendy gear -- but not all companies seem to get the point.
See also: Urban Outfitters Pulls Navajo Name from Collection; Heard Museum Weighs In on Native-Inspired Fashion That Should Be Produced
See also: Beyond Buckskin: Jessica R. Metcalfe Expands Her Native Fashion Blog into an Online Shop
Sanrio just launched a new look for its popular Hello Kitty using "Aztec" to describe a turquoise and diamond-themed accessories that looks scarily similar to the UO disaster from last year.
Other companies treading the line include:
- an 'Aztec' collection from Whitney Eve (yes, one of the girls from The Hills)
- 'tribal' collections from Forever21 and Target
- Ecko's 'Weekend Warrior' line
- Native inspired fashion at No Wire Hangers
- numerous current products at Urban Outfitters including its 'printed' line and the now unavailable Staring at Stars Skull Headdress Oversized Tee
- and Black Label Boutique's Navajo line
Native bloggers including Adrienne Keene (Native Appropriations) and Dr. Jessica Metcalfe (Beyond Buckskin) use social media to point out some companies still marketing controversial lines and products -- and to explain why it's a problem.
"This huge company is using this catchphrase 'Aztec,' right now, to make sales, to profit off of indigenous communities who have suffered so much in the past 500 years and none of it's going back to the community and it's actually misrepresenting the community," says Metcalfe, who is Turtle Mountain Chippewa from North Dakota and earned her Ph.D. in American Indian Studies through University of Arizona. "When you're targeting a younger audience and you knowingly tack a name onto an item that is not correct, you are continuing perpetuating miseducation."


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R.L. Stine Finds the Funny in the World of Garbage Pail Kids
Abrams is releasing an original middle-grade book series tied to The Garbage Pail Kids, a line of collectible sticker cards launched in 1985 as a parody of the Cabbage Patch Kids. The cards, drawn by underground cartoonists, became a pop-culture sensation even as they were banned by schools. Thirty-five years later, on September 29, comes Garbage Pail Kids: Welcome to Smellville, written by Goosebumps, Fear Street, and Rotten School author R.L. Stine and produced under license from Topps. Two more titles will follow in spring and fall 2021.
Abrams has done art books with Topps in the past, including one featuring the collectible Wacky Packages brand in 2008 and one on The Garbage Pail Kids in 2012. The two companies were talking about what they could do to mark the 35th anniversary of the Kids when Charles Kochman, Abrams’s editorial director (who edits middle-grade series including Diary of a Wimpy Kid as well as Abrams ComicArts titles), suggested a middle-grade series written by Stine, whom he has known since 1987.
The idea of writing a funny series for middle graders was a selling point for Stine, who earlier in his career wrote novelizations for properties like the Pee-wee Herman movie but had never done an original series based on existing characters. “Those are my kids,” he said of middle graders. “This is the stuff I love writing. [The characters] were these gross, horrible, disgusting kids on these cards that sold like crazy and kept going for years and years. [Topps and Abrams] wanted me to see if there was a way to bring them back and turn them into a middle-grade book series. And I say yes to everything.”
Unlike with many licensed properties, there was no established world or character attributes to build on. “All we had was the brand, a sticker image, and a name, and that’s it,” Kochman said. Topps wanted to put the best-selling character, Adam Bomb—whose head is constantly exploding—front and center, but other than that they were open to just about anything. “They knew we were creating this from scratch and they knew Bob would bring a lot to the table,” Kochman explained. “I knew he was good at world-building, and basically he created a whole universe that didn’t exist. He knows how to appeal to kids and brings his own personal style to it.”
Stine came up with a premise of 10 kids living in a big old house, with no parents, in a town called Smellville. Their enemies are Peter and Patty Perfect across the street. He selected the characters, aside from Adam Bomb—“he does explode in every book,” Stine pointed out—from Abrams’s previous Garbage Patch Kids title. “There are hundreds of these disgusting kids. I just picked out ones that I thought I could create believable characters from and that were fun and funny, and not too disgusting,” he said. He turned two of the original characters, Wacky Jackie and Handy Randy, into girls. “The hard part is there are so many characters. There are 10 main characters and they all have to make sense, and two others across the street, and the kids in the classroom. That was the real challenge.”
Kochman noted that many of today’s middle-graders are not familiar with Garbage Pail Kids. “But I think parents will recognize the brand and buy it for their kids. The kids know Bob. And an eight- to 12-year-old would gravitate toward the title, Welcome to Smellville, and the artwork.” The book is set up to maintain interest, with interludes like quizzes, fictional TV episodes, and exercises that make sense within the story, as well as illustrations on every page. “You always hear about reluctant readers, and we know it’s code for boys,” Kochman said. “But boys will read if you give them something they want to read.”
The books feature cover art by Joe Simko and interior illustrations by Jeff Zapata, both key artists for the brand, and each is packaged with four exclusive collectible sticker cards, including one featuring a familiar-looking character named R.L. Slime.
Penguin Goes Down Under to Find ‘Bluey’
Penguin Random House has signed on as the U.S. master publishing licensee for Bluey, an Australian animated TV series for preschoolers that is in its second season in the U.S. on Disney Channel, Disney Junior, and Disney+. The show is co-commissioned by Australian broadcaster ABC Kids and BBC Studios (which handles licensing in the U.S.), and produced by Ludo Studio.
Bluey is about a family of dogs, including energetic, curious, and imaginative six-year-old Bluey; her sister, four-year-old Bingo; and their parents, Bandit and Chilli. In each episode, Bluey plays games that move forward with unexpected twists and turns and involve her entire family and her neighborhood. Each character in the show is a specific breed of dog; Bluey is a blue heeler, a type of Australian cattle dog.
“We see a lot of properties, but this one really jumped out at us,” said Daniel Moreton, v-p and associate publisher at Penguin Workshop. “It’s all about the interaction between Bluey and Bingo and their parents, and all of the four main characters immediately grab you. It’s a positive family show with a really warm dynamic, and it’s different from anything else out there.”
In its home country, Bluey books sold a million copies in the first seven months since being introduced last November, with all three titles ranking among the five top-selling children’s books in 2019 and eight out of nine titles published as of mid-2020 ranking in the top 20 at that time, according to Nielsen BookScan. “The reception in Australia was astronomical,” Moreton said. “They’re seeing success that licensed books just don’t have.” That early track record led PRH’s U.S. team to partner with its U.K. counterparts to secure the license for the rest of the world (outside of China).
The TV series has been embraced in the U.S. since its debut in late 2019 as well, becoming a top-rated show on Disney’s channels with both boys and girls aged two to five. The first three tie-in books will debut on October 20, along with the broader consumer products program. Playthings from licensee Moose Toys got things started this summer and have been selling out at retail, Moreton said.
The initial list, which Moreton reported has generated strong preorders, will include two Americanized versions of episode-based 8x8s released first in Australia: Good Night, Fruit Bat and The Creek, both for ages three to five, plus Time to Play!: A Sticker & Activity Book, for ages four to six. The fact that the TV series was completed and already airing in Australia and that Australian titles were available for localization made it possible for a faster-than-usual development process and introduction in the U.S.
Spring 2021 will bring a coloring and activity title, Big Backyard, and another 8x8, Bob Bilby, followed by a shaped board book of Bluey and another 8x8 in summer 2021. “The narrative and the interaction and the characters are so compelling that we knew we wanted to do 8x8s,” Moreton said, adding that character-centric formats such as shaped board books and “get-to-know-you” books also make sense for the brand. “It’s the irresistibility of the characters on the shelf.”
The plan is to grow the program slowly. “We want to get a place on the shelf and build smartly and strategically from there,” Moreton says. “With so many properties, you want to get in when it’s hot, and it seems like the lifespan is shrinking compared to what it was. But that doesn’t seem to be the case with Bluey. We feel the show has longevity.”
Moreton noted that while there was no thought of pandemics when PRH acquired the rights, Bluey seems to be perfect for the times, with its focus on a family’s life at home. “It’s so much to do with imagination,” he said. “It makes this small little world feel so big.”
LBYR Visits Paris with Ladybug and Cat Noir
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers is publishing tie-ins for Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir, a series produced by French property owner ZAG and ON kids & family. The show, which airs in 120 countries, has garnered more than 19 billion views globally on YouTube, including official and user-generated content.
The series got a slower start in the U.S. “It’s been an issue of discoverability,” said Samantha Schutz, LBYR’s publishing director, brand, licensed, and tie-in publishing. “There’s so much competition in this space.” The show aired on Nickelodeon in 2015 and 2016, before being acquired by the Disney Channel in spring of 2019. In the interim, it aired on Netflix, where it is still available.
“We were aware of the property for some time and we knew it was beloved overseas,” Schutz said. “We’re in constant communication with our sister companies around the world, sharing intel on what brands are hot, so we knew Hachette Livre has been publishing it for a few years with some nice success. And we had seen a lot of fans at Comic Con with homemade or imported costumes. Once it went on the Disney Channel about a year ago, we knew it was go-time. Disney is excited and committed to the brand and that will really increase exposure.”
Seasons four and five of the TV series are currently in production, two new TV movies are set for Disney Channel and Disney+ at the end of 2021, and a theatrical movie release is in the works. ZAG’s toy division, ZAG Lab, and Playmates Toys are producing a line of products that will debut in the U.S. in 2021, after launching abroad this fall, and a number of other licensees are developing products for the U.S. market. “ZAG is putting a lot of weight behind the franchise,” Schutz said.
The series’ fan base consists of girls 6–12 and boys 4–7, along with an additional group of fangirls aged 15–25, known as Miraculers. LBYR’s rights include picture books, leveled readers, storybooks, chapter books, middle grade novels, guidebooks, and sticker books, but it will initially focus on readers and chapter books for ages 5–10. “It will be interesting to see which performs better, or if it’s evenly split,” Schutz said, noting that the balance may change as time goes on. Currently, all the titles are based on episodes of the TV series.
The first chapter book, Peril in Paris, came out this month, with a holiday reader, Christmas Rescue!, scheduled for October. Another reader, Friends and Foes, and a second chapter book, Bubble Trouble, are set for next spring, with more chapter books and readers planned for later in 2021 and additional formats expected in 2022.
“One thing we adore about the show is the cute double love story,” Schutz said. When the characters are students in a typical Parisian high school, lead character Marinette has a crush on her fellow student, Adrien. But during the times when the two have transformed into secret superhero partners, Adrien’s alter ego, Cat Noir, has a crush on Marinette’s alter ego, Ladybug. “There’s a really fun tension there.”
The look of the show is another draw. “The ZAG animation is so beautiful, and Paris really shines,” Schutz says.
Scholastic Introduces Marsha Mello and Other Kindi Kids to Books
Scholastic is continuing its long-term relationship with Australian company Moose Toys, securing publishing rights to Kindi Kids, a diverse collectible doll line for ages three and up. In the past, Scholastic has published books tied to other Moose brands, including Shopkins and Shoppies. The Licensing Shop represents all of the Moose properties for licensing in the U.S. and Canada.
“Moose is the premium collectible toy manufacturer. They have such a great track record,” says Debra Dorfman, Scholastic’s v-p and publisher, global licensing, media, and brands. “There are fun names for all the characters, they have new characters and themes each season, and Moose is open to us creating new stories.” The dolls, which have names such as Marsha Mello, Jessicakes, Cindy Pops, and Summer Peaches, were introduced in August 2019 and quickly became a top seller, according to NPD Group estimates, with designated space carved out at retailers including Target and Walmart. The brand’s YouTube channel has generated more than 80 million views, across both Moose-produced webisodes and user-generated content.
Scholastic’s first two titles, an 8x8, Kindi Kids: Halloween, and a higher price point 64-page chunky sticker activity book, Kindi Kids: Let’s Play!, hit the market in July. They were followed by another 8x8, Kindi Kids: We Love to Share, this month. More titles are planned for next year including Easter Fun and Meet the Doctor.
Shopkins drove sales of more than five million books for Scholastic and remained a vibrant franchise for a long time, especially for a toy line with minimal media exposure to sustain it. “Moose was very smart about it,” Dorfman said. “They have a really great plan for Kindi Kids, too.”
Sesame Workshop is offering a number of new editions of its classic The Monster at the End of this Book—which has 20 million copies in print across formats—in advance of a new animated special that will air on HBO Max this fall. Random House Books for Young Readers is introducing a Little Golden Book, Put Me in the Story is releasing a customizable version, Studio Fun is publishing an interactive lift-the-flap edition, and PI Kids is debuting a sound book featuring Grover’s voice…. IDW has launched its new middle-grade comic book series Marvel Action: Origins, starting with a Peter Parker/Spider-Man title…. Insight Editions’ interactive board book series, PlayPop, has added two new licensed titles, Back to the Future: Telling Time with Marty McFly and The Dark Crystal: Book of Opposites…. British licensing agent The Point.1888 is now representing The Brilliant World of Tom Gates, a Sky Original TV series based on the Tom Gates series of books from Scholastic U.K., written and illustrated by Liz Pichon…. The Jim Henson Company paired with Felix & Paul Studios to launch an augmented reality storybook, with Neil Gaiman performing the role of the narrator, based on its 1980s puppet-live action series The Storyteller…. Random House Children’s Books’ Yearling imprint is publishing a movie tie-in edition of Robert Kimmel Smith’s The War with Grandpa, timed to the October theatrical release of a film starring Robert De Niro…. Penguin Random House’s Clarkson Potter division is launching Outlander Knitting, a book of 20 projects tied to the Sony TV show, which is based on a series of novels by Diana Gabaldon…. Dr. Seuss Enterprises has added Exim as its licensing agent in Mexico, Chile, and Peru, and Pinta as its cross-cultural marketing firm to strengthen Dr. Seuss’s presence in the U.S. Hispanic market through advertising, digital and influencer media, and PR.


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KANSAS CITY METRO — Chiefs Kingdom, you have done it again!
The Chiefs and the Kansas City community have broken the record for flag sales on the 29th edition of Red Friday, racking up a whopping $1 million.
The money goes toward the Ronald McDonald House of Kansas City, which houses families of sick children during their treatments. Over the past eight years, Red Friday sales have raised $2.8 million. Before this year, they were at $1.8 million.
This year, the flags featured a special Super Bowl LIV Champions, riding on the waves of last season’s victory. Flags were sold at sold in all Kansas City- and St. Joseph-area McDonald’s locations and Kansas City Hy-Vee stores, according to a statement from the Chiefs.
At one McDonalds in Lee’s Summit of 50-Highway and Todd George Parkway, they sold 800 flags in the first thirty minutes. FOX4 was there, seeing waves of cars lining up to get the special flag ahead of the home opener. The Chiefs ended up beating the Houston Texans, 34-20.
“Year after year we’ve seen the people of Kansas City, and Chiefs fans throughout the country, step up to show their amazing support for this team through Red Friday, as well as show their appreciation for the work that RMHC-KC does here in our community,” Chiefs President Mark Donovan said.
This year’s online sales nearly tripled last year’s online efforts, according to the statement.
Flag sales also benefited RMH elsewhere. Fans raised $65,000 to benefit the Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Ozarks, and flags sold at nine Topeka-area McDonald’s location brought in nearly $25,000 benefiting Ronald McDonald House Charities of Northeast Kansas.


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Federally regulated cannabis producer Aphria expects the 1st harvest from its Diamond facility in Leamington, Ontario, to be sold to provincial wholesalers in March, capping off a year-plus delay from when shipments have been initially anticipated to start out.
Aphria anticipated Diamond to be completed in time for its 1st sale in January 2019 – a aim lengthy-considering the fact that abandoned – as the 1.three-million-square-foot greenhouse was not authorized by Well being Canada for cultivation till Nov. 1, 2019.
Apart from attributing the setback to receipt of the federal cultivation permit, some of the infrastructure for the greenhouse seasoned a two-month delay due to an Ontario Ministry of Transportation approval requirement due to the fact the facility was positioned adjacent to a provincial highway.
Aphria Diamond is a 51%-owned Aphria subsidiary. Double Diamond Farms owns the rest of the firm.
Because securing cultivation approval, Aphria Diamond was in a position to lock up a 3-year term loan worth 80 million Canadian dollars ($60 million) arranged by an unidentified chartered bank.
In a news release, the firm stated the proceeds would be “strategically deployed.”
Aphria stated it expects the facility to be 70% planted this week.
At complete capacity, Aphria Diamond will add 140,000 kilograms (308,647 pounds) of annualized cannabis production to Aphria’s cultivation portfolio, reaching 255,000 kilograms when the producer’s other facilities are incorporated.
Well being Canada pegs the country’s annualized cannabis demand at roughly 900,000 kilograms, raising the specter of looming oversupply for the sector.
The most up-to-date expense breakdown of the Diamond facility is:
- CA$10.two million of initial capital was offered to the venture by Aphria.
- CA$9.eight million was offered by Double Diamond Farms.
- CA$42.four million was spent acquiring 100 acres of land, like 32 acres of greenhouses.
- CA$82 million of added expenses have been incurred for the greenhouse retrofit and operational gear as of Aug. 31.
Aphria’s other facility in Leamington was totally authorized by Well being Canada to commence cultivation in March 2019 at a total expense of about CA$190 million.
The Canadian firm reported money and money equivalents of CA$464 million as of Aug. 31.
Aphria trades as APHA on each the New York Stock Exchange and Toronto Stock Exchange.


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MLAN – Coffee futures prices rose sharply in New York during the last session of the week. The most active contract for March delivery posted a 690 point gain on Friday closing at a one-month high of 193.85 cents per lb. The “C” Contract in New York rallied as updated weather forecasts reduced the chances for rain in Brazil’s coffee-growing regions.
Dealers noted recent rains had mostly been in the northern half of Brazil’s coffee belt, though forecasts suggested there were likely to be showers in central areas in early February.
Strength in the Brazilian real also supported Arabica coffee as the real on Friday climbed to a 1-1/2 week high against the dollar. Furthermore, Saxo Bank, in a report, noted that a lack of containers in Brazil was leading to port congestion.
In London, March Robusta rose by 4.5% over the week to finish Friday (0.6%) at $3,269 after setting a contract high of $3,325.
Robusta coffee futures prices continue to be affected by lower crops in Vietnam and Indonesia as well as by the logistic problems caused by the attacks on shipping in the Red Sea.
Both markets also continue to be underpinned by a low level of certified stocks.
In other news, coffee shipments from Brazil reached 4.3 mln bags in December, according to Secex. This corresponds to an increase of 30% compared to the same period last year, says Safras & Mercado in a report commenting the figures.
The acceleration of shipments in December improves performance throughout the 23/24 season (Jul/Jun), with accumulated shipments between July and December totalling 22.48 million bags. An increase of only 4% compared to the same period last season.
“This slower-than-expected flow of shipments over the season, associated with the larger crop, reinforces the idea of higher stocks in the producers’ hands, particularly of Arabica coffee. This must be taken into account in selling strategies, especially when aiming at the transition period between seasons.”
In 2023, coffee shipments totalled 38.7 million bags, and revenue reached USD 7.99 billion. Secex data indicates declines of 1% in volume and 13% in revenue compared to 2022.
The official numbers were slightly below Cecafé’s indications, which indicated coffee shipments in 2023 at 39.2 million bags. Highlight on conillon exports, which totalled 4.7 million bags, which corresponds to an increase of 212% over the 1.51 million bags shipped in 2022.


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The consideration paid for Marwyn Gaming Limited which includes all the gaming divisions within the MMP group - Praesepe Plc, Restcare Limited, Baleday Limited and Beacon Bingo Limited amounts to GBP76 million in cash. In return, Merkur will gain a total of 159 Adult Gaming Centres, nine Bingo Clubs, five Family Entertainment Centres and Internet business, Beacon Bingo Online.
It is expected that after paying debt and debt-related items, and following the adjustment for target net debt remaining on the balance sheet and payment of transaction related fees, the sale is to represent net cash available to MMP of approximately GBP16 million, with a further GBP2.7 million paid into an escrow account for various indemnities given to Merkur under the sale and purchase agreement.
According to Ulrich Wüseke, chief financial officer of Gauselmann AG who will chair Merkur Casino UK Ltd, "We are very pleased to announce the purchase of MGL which fits perfectly with our long term strategy for the UK gaming market. In this deal Deutsche Bank AG acted as our financial advisor. True to our dedication to offer entertainment and gaming with stakes and prizes anywhere at any time, the operating business of MGL is an ideal complement to our existing activities in the UK."
In addition to this, Praesepe founder Nick Harding who will serve as its chief executive officer commented: "I am delighted that an organisation of this calibre has made such an investment in our business and, for that matter, in UK gaming. Even against the backdrop of the double dip recession and the handbrake of limited investment, my team has registered a series of very significant successes, which have cemented our position as operators of the most successful gaming brands on Britain’s high streets. “The financial confidence that we now have will allow us to drive forward and implement the progressive initiatives which I believe will transform the sectors that we operate in.”


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ManpowerGroup (MAN) reported second-quarter net earnings of $68.2 million or $0.87 per share, compared to $41.0 million or $0.51 per share, a year earlier. The company noted that its current year second-quarter results included a restructuring charge, primarily related to office consolidations and severance costs, of $20.0 million. Excluding charges, earnings per share in the quarter was $1.05.
On average, 12 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report profit of $0.89 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.
Revenues were $5.04 billion, compared to $5.21 billion last year. Analysts expected revenue of $5.00 billion for the quarter. Selling and administrative expenses decreased 7.7 percent year-over-year to $708.3 million from $767.3 million last year.
The company expects its third-quarter earnings per share to be in the range of $1.02 to $1.10, which includes an estimated unfavorable currency impact of 1 cent. Analysts expect the company to report third-quarter profit per share of $0.91.
by RTT Staff Writer
For comments and feedback: firstname.lastname@example.org


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After nearly 60 years, Coca-Cola is discontinuing its first-ever Tab diet soda, which gained a huge number of fans in the ’70s and’ 80s and maintained a small but dedicated sequence for many years.
Initially, saccharin-sweetened zero-calorie Tab was sold to women. People familiar with the taste describe it in terms, including “bitter” and “like bad medicine,” with a metallic and long-lasting aftertaste.
Tab’s rise was more or less cannibalistic when Diet Coke came on the scene in 1982. But Coke has supported the brand for many years.
Announcing the end of the Tab, Cox noted that the category of zero-calorie sparkling drink has changed significantly in recent years, both in terms of basic consumer base and benefits. Retirement Tab frees the company from investing in its own brands Diet Coke and Coke Zero.
“It’s not about efficiency,” said Brad Speakert, senior vice president of innovation and commercialization. “It’s a top line of growth.”


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Bridgestone Bandag Tire Solutions (BBTS) has promoted Doyle Bradford to vice president, sales, for the organization, effective immediately.
Bradford most recently served as BBTS director of strategic channels
Tim Chen, currently the vice president of innovation for BBTS, will become vice president of marketing for the company on Nov. 1.
Both Bradford and Chen will report to Kurt Danielson, who becomes vice president of sales and marketing for BBTS on Nov. 1.
In related news, Troy Geuther will become controller of BBTS on Jan. 1.


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U.S. consumers spent $7.9 billion online on Cyber Monday 2018, officially making it the new reigning champ of U.S. ecommerce and topping the 2017 record of $6.6 billion by more than 19 percent.
According to Adobe Analytics, Americans spent 95 million hours shopping online on Monday. That works out to about 20 minutes a person.
Adobe found that 2.2 billion Cyber Monday transactions came from cellphones, marking a year-over-year increase of 55.6 percent. And as was the case on Black Friday, it was the first Cyber Monday that more than 50 percent of sales were from mobile devices. This accounted for 35.9 percent of revenue, a year-over-year increase of 18.3 percent. (On Black Friday, consumers racked up $2.1 billion in smartphone transactions.)
“What’s interesting here is how a shift to online shopping, even on Black Friday, which in past years has been marked an in-store retail holiday, is heralding a new era of holiday shopping and new behavior across the Thanksgiving weekend,” said Julie Van Ullen, general manager of growth in the Americas at marketing firm Rakuten Marketing. “Mobile is an important part of that shift, as consumers, more than ever, demand convenience and the ability to shop on the go.”
Adobe also found 65 percent year-over-year growth in consumers buying online and picking up in stores, with click-and-collect orders also up 73 percent from Thursday to Friday.
Adobe attributed this to shoppers “[continuing] to look for the convenience of click-and-collect” and retailers bridging offline and online experiences.
“Converting mobile traffic to sales has long been a thorn in the side of retailers, but investments in making the experience faster and easier have paid off,” said Taylor Schreiner, director of research unit Adobe Digital Insights.
Cyber Monday shoppers most frequently bought toys like Fingerlings, L.O.L Surprise and Little Live Pets; the video game console Nintendo Switch; electronics like laptops from Dell and Apple; and TVs from LG, according to Adobe’s research.
For its part, Amazon said Cyber Monday was again the “single biggest shopping day in the company’s history,” but it was coy with specifics. Best-selling Amazon products included the Echo Dot, an AncestryDNA testing kit, noise-cancelling headphones from Bose, Michelle Obama’s new book, the game Jenga and an Instant Pot. (Other major U.S. retailers have not yet released sales data.)
Amazon, which refers to Cyber Week as the Turkey 5, said customers ordered more than 180 million items during this period. Among the highlights it shared were that millions of Fire tablets and Echo and Kindle were devices sold worldwide, Whole Foods broke its record for Thanksgiving turkey sales, and Christmas lights were a best seller on Prime Now.
Adobe found the biggest sales drivers on Cyber Monday included direct website traffic (25.9 percent), followed by paid search (21.6 percent), organic search (21.1 percent) and email (25.9 percent). Organic search was the only driver that dropped year over year.
“To reach consumers in this new holiday shopping environment, it is critical that marketers sure up their strategies for reaching new customers, and re-engaging consumers across devices,” Van Ullen said. “We see that holiday shoppers are especially responsive to new brands during the holiday shopping season, so brands should be highly invested in prospecting and influencer strategies through the end of the year.”
But just as U.S. ecommerce was patting itself on the back, Alibaba took one last victory lap, reminding us it sold $9.7 billion in the first hour of Singles Day alone, including 1,600 tons of nuts, 38 million liters of dairy products, 400 tons of chocolate, 1.33 million bottles of cooking oil, 2.83 million cold water shrimp, 1.37 million steaks, 140,000 avocados, 1,650 tons of dog food and 1,050 tons of cat food, “or the equivalent of one year … of food for 90,000 dogs and 58,000 cats, respectively.”


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New research predicts Chinese meat consumption will grow 1% a year for the next three years but warns buying and consumption patterns are changing.
The report by global consultants McKinsey and Co identifies five trends in the world’s largest market for meat that it says exporters need to understand.
In 2021 China consumed nearly 100 million tonnes of meat, 27% of the world’s total and twice that of the United States.
But on a per-capita basis, Chinese consumption was half that of the US.
China’s huge population and growing middle class are expected to increase demand for meat by 1% a year between 2022 and 2026.
The survey found consumers are looking for alternatives to pork, especially sustainable and healthy meat which they can conveniently access.
McKinsey suggests exporters offer Chinese consumers premium convenient meat products, especially beef, and utilise online sales platforms to avoid traditional distribution systems it says are fragmented.
“Global players should embrace the online sales channel. This channel, which already accounts for 5 to 10% of meat sales, is relatively advanced in China.”
The report says beyond communicating to consumers the health, safety and sustainability attributes of their product, suppliers need to ensure they deliver on those promises.
“Protein will not disappear from consumers’ diets. The question is, how will they consume it, and how will they make that decision?”
It says China is actually two markets, one where more than half the population regularly eat meat with the balance termed conscious consumers, who eat little or no meat.
Pork accounts for 60% of meat consumed and is eaten in three to five meals a week, but the report says health concerns and growing affluence will likely see greater consumption of beef.
The survey showed 28% of people expect to reduce their pork consumption.
“Chinese consumers, especially those affluent enough to pay more for meat, consider beef healthier than pork.
“They see the higher price of beef as a sign of a premium product’s higher quality, and they remember the safety issues that have historically been associated with pork.“
Meat purchasing decisions are increasingly being driven by health, safety, quality and taste due to historic health food scares and questions over the adequacy of China’s meat standards.
Consumers are also demanding greater convenience.
Most buy uncooked meat for home-prepared meals, but younger consumers increasingly view convenience as a purchasing factor.
“These consumers typically feel great work pressure and have little time to cook, so they express interest in prepared meat, pre-cooked or fried and ready-to-eat meals delivered to their homes.”
Chinese restaurants typically use frozen meat and with the restaurant and catering market picked to grow 8% year on year from 2018 to 2023, McKinsey expects increased demand for frozen meat.
Awareness of sustainability is growing among Chinese meat consumers but is not reflected in demand for alternative protein that mimics meat.
Just 6% reportedly purchased these products in the past month.
“Across the markets surveyed, the sustainability claims that resonate most strongly with consumers relate directly to meat and personal health, pasture raised or free range and antibiotic free.”


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Upbeat on India’s automobile industry growth, General Motors (GM) plans to launch six new models in the domestic market over the next 24-months besides substantially hiking its marketing spend to boost sales, a top company official said.
The auto major already sells eight products such as Spark and Beat (mini cars), hatchbacks like Aveo UVA and sedans like Aveo, Optra and Cruze in the luxury segemnt. It also has the Tavera in the SUV segment.
The models expected in the next 24 months:
1) Beat LPG: The Beat LPG is expected to be launched by year end. The LPG variant will sport the same 1.2 petrol engine with additional LPG kit.
2) Beat Diesel: The Beat Diesel is expected in 2011. Once launched will sure create more Buzz, Chevrolet needs a small diesel hatch to take on its competitors. If priced around 4 lakhs will surely be a good buy.
3) Tavera with BS4 engine: Chevrolet Tavera which is discontinued in the metros, due to strict emission norms will be re-launched with ICML’S Rhino CRDI engine. We also expect some cosmetic changes by Chevrolet to give the Tavera more life and a fresher look.
4) Wuling Honghuang: Chevrolet which has tied up with SAIC –GM will launch latest Wuling Honghuang MUV in India. The new offering will be pitted against Mahindra Xylo and Toyota Innova. Expected by end 2011 or early 2012.
5) Wuling Sunshine: The Wuling Sunshine will be pitted against Maruti Eeco and yet to be launched Tata’s Venture. We expect aggressive pricing and will be launched around 2011 end.
6) Goods carrier: Chevrolet also plans to enter the Tata Ace segment with the launch of a similar product. Expected by end 2011 or early 2012.
The uitility vehicles, a passenger carrier and one goods carrier, would be manufactured from the company’s Halol unit in Gujarat.
7) Captiva Facelift: to take on the New Hyundai Santa Fe, Mitsubishi Pajero & Outlander and Toyota’s Fortuner, Chevrolet will launch the all new facelifted Captiva, which was recently shown at the Paris Motor show. Expected early 2011.
.8) Chevrolet Sail Twins: Chevrolet Sail was the first product developed by SAIC completely on its own and has tremendous scope in emerging markets. The Twins will be launched in 2012. We hope they are revealed at the 2012 auto expo.
9) Aveo Twins: The Aveo Twins will be followed by the Sail twins. The new Aveo was revealed at the 2010 Paris motor show, and draws a lot of cues from the new Chevrolet design theme.
We also expect some refresh for the Spark and the Optra range.
So the next 24 months is going to see a lot of action from Chevrolet’s stable.
Stay tuned to Goa on Wheels for more updates..


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|Bartz in happier days|
As Yahoo continues its swirl down the bowl of failed web ventures, they've just fired CEO Carol Bartz. We realize Yahoo is desperate, but what on earth were they thinking when they hired Carol?
Bartz was known as a successful exec at Autodesk, a large software company that serves technically oriented businesses, but remains virtually unknown to the world's consumers, Yahoo's target market. From a Wall Street Journal article published in 1992:
Though the world's sixth largest PC software company, Autodesk is hardly a household name for a couple of reasons. One is that it dominates a niche: software that allows relatively inexpensive personal computers to produce powerful models for engineers, architects and other professional designers.
The other reason is Autodesk's founding genius, John Walker, a reclusive programmer who doesn't allow the company to distribute his picture or publish it in its annual report. In a rare interview granted for this article, a prickly Mr. Walker insisted that a reporter sit in front of a video camera, declared that Autodesk claimed a copyright on the ensuing discussion and debated the meaning of each question.
Bartz was brought in from Sun Microsystems as Walker was having a fit over how her predecessor, Alvar Green, was running things.
A year ago, Mr. Walker issued the ultimate in flame mail, a 44-page letter brutally attacking Mr. Green for allegedly trying to bolster short-term profits by neglecting investment in new products and marketing. Mr. Green later decided to resign, but stayed on until the selection of Ms. Bartz, 43, who formerly ran worldwide field operations for Sun Microsystems Inc.
Ironically, Bartz reports she was rudely dismissed from Yahoo with a phone call.
We give Carol full credit for positive results in Autodesk's difficult environment. That environment, however, couldn't have been more different than Yahoo's.
Update: Yahoo stock up on news of Bartz firing.
Update #2: Yahoo has now been put up for sale.


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From: RegTech Analyst
AirNow Cybersecurity is a new consultancy spun out of AirNow, the tech company specialising in air quality data.
The new venture will specialise in digital countermeasures, security testing, training and risk management services, according to Proactive Investors.
“Our rebranding as AirNow Cybersecurity represents a significant and exciting moment in the history of the company,” Mark Adams, director of AirNow Cybersecurity, told the publication.
“For over ten years our accredited team has worked across market sectors including financial services, gambling, government, retail and telecoms to help businesses achieve their security and compliance objectives, and now as part of the global AirNow Group we are in the best possible position to offer customers the full range of our expertise.”
Copyright © 2020 FinTech Global


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Rich Barton is definitely a disrupter. In his late 20s, he caused major upset in the travel industry by launching Expedia.com, which has now become one of the world's most popular travel sites.
Then there was Zillow.com, a real estate website that Barton helped to create, which has virtually become a necessity for any consumer looking for information about the housing market. Last month, 80 million people went to Zillow.
Barton also co-founded Glassdoor.com, which offers job hunters actual reviews of potential employers, along with pay data and job listings. That business is growing globally.
In April 2014, Barton was named one of 11 members of the Presidential Ambassadors for Global Entrepreneurship.
Nearly 20 years after Expedia first took off, Barton discussed his work and the evolving online marketplace with Here & Now's Jeremy Hobson.
Interview Highlights: Rich Barton
On the idea that links his three companies
"In my start-ups, the common theme is what I call 'power to the people,' and I say that with my right fist raised in the air. I think that we, as humans, love to be in control. We love to know everything, and we love to make decisions for ourselves. And something that's been so magic about the connected PC and now the smartphone connected to the Internet is that we, as consumers, can access information that heretofore had been kept from us and used against us. And so I started Expedia back in 1996, 1995, with the idea that booking travel and planning travel was just way too hard the old way, over the telephone, and that the PC, connected to the online services back then, should be a way to empower people to take control."
On how his companies make a profit
"With commerce models for start-ups, it's very easy. If you're selling something, you can make a margin off of what you're selling, and so Expedia is now a multi-billion dollar company, makes a ton of its money off of selling airline tickets and hotel rooms and the like. But in a model like Zillow — Zillow is the same idea. I co-founded Zillow and I ran that for a long time, I'm executive chairman there now. With Zillow, we gave power to the people by letting regular consumers see all the information about every home in the country, including a 'Zestimate' — an estimated market valuation that is updated every day on every rooftop. Now, that's a different model, because we're not actually selling houses, right? How do we make money off of that? Well, almost 80 million people came to Zillow last month, making it probably the largest real estate site in the world, and what we do is sell very targeted, relevant advertising to professionals in the industry to reach out and help a percentage of the users that come to our site."
On if he's concerned about hurting "the little guy"
"I am a big believer that technology is a fantastic driver of progress and new opportunity, and as new opportunity is created, as new homes are built, as new models are created, old ones do get dismantled and disrupted. But I believe that what companies like Zillow and Expedia, and Glassdoor is another start-up of mine in the job space, what they have done is created new opportunities for new professionals to make new businesses for themselves. So it is not a job replacement kind of thing that's happening here, it's simply a change that's underway."
"I think as an entrepreneur and an optimistic, forward-thinking guy, I, by nature, am one that's optimistic, and so I don't linger on the negatives. Of course, I recognize that change can be disruptive, but what I've always tried to do is to help the existing professionals who are being disrupted by technology to get on the bandwagon with the new technology."
This segment aired on June 2, 2014.