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NEW DELHI: India is fast-tracking negotiations for proposed free trade agreements with certain developed countries like the UK as well as with the European Union, and maybe by this year end, the government would be able to give a final shape to few of these pacts, minister of state for commerce and industry Anupriya Patel said on Friday.
She also expressed hope that the trade pact with Australia would be operationalised "very soon".
India has already implemented a trade agreement with the UAE, and "we are fast-tracking our FTAs (Free Trade Agreements) with lot of other developed countries like the UK, and the EU- and maybe by this year end, we would be able to give a final shape to few of these," she said while launching the Indian Business Portal of exporters' body FIEO here.
The minister added that these agreements will create better opportunities for domestic businesses.
The portal is a B2B digital marketplace to empower SME (Small and Medium Enterprise) exporters, artisans and farmers to identify new markets for their products and grow their sales globally.
The minister said that the portal will address issues like digitising exporters, supporting MSMEs (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) and encouraging greater exports of products made in India.
It is witnessed during the pandemic that online platforms such as e-commerce have shown immense potential in supporting millions of businesses to sustain themselves, she said.
Speaking at the function, Santosh Kumar Sarangi, Director General of Foreign Trade, said that tech-enabled governance will play a key role in determining India's growth and competitiveness.
A Sakthivel, president, FIEO (Federation of Indian Export Organisations), said that the platform will empower SME exporters to identify new markets for their products and grow their sales with new buyers.
Khalid Khan, vice president, FIEO, said that the portal would act as an international trade hub for Indian exporters and foreign buyers.
"The portal focuses on empowering MSMEs to leverage e-commerce and drive Indian exports to help us address the prime minister's vision of 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat' and 'vocal for local'," Khan said.


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Banking & finance
"Very well done for getting this over the line. Despite the complexities and testing timescale, it has been handled with pragmatism and good grace throughout."
With the coronavirus pandemic causing global panic and an unforeseen impact upon the economies across the globe this bl...Read article
In the wake of the Prime Minister’s announcement on 1 November 2020 of a second, UK-wide lockdown starting on 5 November...Read article

domain: news


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PLACING CHIPS on lions, elephants and wolves doesn’t sound like a job for the faint-hearted.
Bosses at vet drugs company Animalcare have built a profitable, debt-free business around mankind’s desire to protect all creatures great and small.
The company’s chips can stop large beasts from going astray, and its veterinary products keep thousands of pets healthy.
Yesterday, the company revealed that its revenues in the year to June 30 had risen by 6.3 per cent to £12.9m, while its pre-tax profits rose 14.7 per cent to £2.7m.
York-based Animalcare’s pet chipping division – which is known as the Companion Animal Identification arm – has returned to growth following an announcement that microchipping will soon be compulsory for all dog owners in England.
But it’s not just dogs that are being chipped. Animalcare has 1.8m dogs and 1.3m cats on its chip database. Perhaps surprisingly it also has 50 badgers, 32 camels, two deer, four elephants, two fish, 39 foxes, 20 goats, three lions, 16 lemurs, one monkey, five otters, 12 wolves, five sheep and one rodent on its database too.
Every captive animal, from the elephant to the humble tortoise, is covered by strict rules governing how the chips are used, to ensure the animal doesn’t suffer any harm.
Commenting on the annual results, Iain Menneer, the chief executive of Animalcare, said: “These are a solid set of results which show good overall growth.
“It is pleasing that with our strong cash position, we will be able to fund our investment programme while maintaining the dividend policy.
“Our investment in infrastructure and people, as well as our pipeline of enhanced generic products, provides a strong platform for a business that is already debt free and cash generative, and hence is well positioned for future growth.”
In the annual results, the company said its Companion Animal Identification group sales and marketing strategy had started to deliver results, with revenue growth of 7.8 per cent to £2.4m and gross profit up by six per cent to £1.7m.
The company said this was “an even more pleasing result against the backdrop of uncertainty over new legislation and the Dogs Trust free microchipping campaign through veterinary practices”.
Microchip sales grew by 8.2 per cent while the database of pet owners, Anibase, has now grown to 4m.
The revenues derived from services sold to these owners also grew in line with microchip sales revenues, at 7.1 per cent.
Last year, Parliament voted to make it compulsory for all dogs in England to be implanted with a microchip. Owner contact details must be on a database from April 2016.
The Welsh Assembly announced that the same legislation would be introduced in March 2015. Microchipping of dogs is already compulsory in Northern Ireland and the Scottish Parliament is reviewing the situation.
The Dogs Trust announced that it would fund a million free microchips in a year-long campaign leading up to April 2016.
The report to accompany the annual results states: “As a result of this activity, the microchip market has seen some price pressure in the short-term.
“The lack of clarity and disruption in the market around both announcements has now settled and we better understand how both will be implemented, however uncertainty remains as to what extent owners and veterinary practices will engage in either the legislation or free microchipping campaign respect-ively.”
The company’s licensed veterinary medicines product group grew by 9.5 per cent to £7.9m and gross profit by 6.2 per cent to £4.4m.
Animalcare said this “represented a strong result against the prior period”.


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Carnival Cruise Line today unveiled some more details of its newest ship, Mardi Gras, which is set to sail starting in summer 2020.
The ship, which is already scheduled to feature the first roller coaster at sea, will boast some one-of-a-kind features in its balcony, oceanview, and interior staterooms that were created through a partnership with DCA Design International. Aside from some aesthetic details that include muted turquoise hues, those features will give guests more storage space than ever, and give them easier access to power outlets.
“We took a unique approach to our stateroom design with Mardi Gras, utilizing DCA’s design experts who are well known for innovative product design and partnered them with Miami-based interior architect Studio Dado,” said Ben Clement, Carnival’s senior vice president of new builds.
The staterooms will feature floor-to-ceiling glass sliding doors on almost of its verandahs. The staterooms will also include sofa-beds that flip from bed to couch and foot stools that open up for in-cabin storage. Guests will also be able to take advantage of other in-cabin storage options including two pull-out bins, a sliding shoe rack, folding shelves, and under-the-bed luggage storage.
Say hello to your newly designed stateroom on Mardi Gras! Here’s a sneak peek at the top 5 features of all balcony, ocean view and interior staterooms. #ChooseFun #CarnivalMardiGras pic.twitter.com/xJ47MKZjkd— Carnival Cruise Line (@CarnivalCruise) March 13, 2019
Each cabin’s mini-fridge will boast a see-through door so guests can look in to see what’s inside without opening it up.
Guests will also be able to charge all of their devices in-cabin with more power outlets and USB connections both in their vanity and by their stateroom bed. The bed will also incorporate an attached reading lamp.
Mardi Gras, which is named to pay homage to the first-ever Carnival ship that entered service in 1972, is set to sail a schedule of six- to 15-day itineraries through Europe and the Caribbean starting in summer 2020.
Those sailing include its nine-day maiden voyage from Copenhagen to Southampton that kicks off on Aug. 31; a 14-day trans-Atlantic sailing from Southampton to New York Sept. 9; and a 15-day Carnival Journeys itinerary from New York to Port Canaveral on Sept. 30.
When it arrives in Port Canaveral, Mardi Gras will sail one special eight-day cruise on Oct. 16 and will then alternate Eastern and Western Caribbean seven-night sailings. The Eastern option will visit San Juan, Amber Cove, and Grand Turk, while the Western sailing will include calls at Cozumel, Costa Maya, and Mahogany Bay.
Staterooms, including suites such as Carnival’s Family Harbor, Havana Cabana, Cloud 9 Spa options, balcony, ocean view, and interior rooms, are all on sale. In total, Mardi Gras will offer 20 different stateroom categories.
Family Harbor stateroom. Photo: CCL.
Elsewhere onboard, Mardi Gras will feature six distinct “zones”—Grand Central (decks six through eight) that is Carnival’s take on a traditional atrium and includes Bonsai Sushi and Bonsai Teppanyanki along with the Punchliner Comedy Club; the French Quarter (deck six aft), a New Orleans inspired area with new bars, music venues, and eateries; La Piazza (deck eight), an Italy-inspired area with Cucina del Capitano and Pizzeria del Capitano, a new


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Tech tidbits from around the web.
2/13/2017 9:47:49 AM
You can still extend your Office 365 subscription out by five years
Back in December, I exclusively revealed how you can extend an Office 365 (consumer) subscription out to a total of five years. The reader who told me about that time limit, Roger H., just checked in to say the policy is still in place.
Just to let you know that I was able to successfully apply my Office 365 code today and extend it by a year to Feb 2022. So hopefully there are no sinister plans for the future by Microsoft to stop me maintaining a five year rolling extension.
“Microsoft Won’t Stop At Smartphones, Wants to Make Smartcars”
Sure. Why not seek the same success in a new market?
Intel goes for yet another tock with next-gen CPUs
Anandtech has an interesting story about Intel’s continued stumbling around. It looks like 10 nm will need to wait.
Intel’s 8th Generation Core microarchitecture will remain on the 14 nm node. This is an interesting development with the recent launch of Intel’s 7th Generation Core products being touted as the ‘optimization’ behind the new ‘Process-Architecture-Optimization’ three-stage cadence that had replaced the old ‘tick-tock’ cadence. With Intel stringing out 14 nm (or at least, an improved variant of 14 nm as we’ve seen on 7th Gen) for another generation, it makes us wonder where exactly Intel can promise future performance or efficiency gains on the design unless they start implementing microarchitecture changes.
“Why Microsoft Is One Of The Most Innovative Companies Of 2017”
Because it’s not even mid-February yet?
Google Assistant on the Pixel can now control your smart home devices
You no longer need a $130 Google Home to take full advantage of the search giant’s connected tech.
Teased a couple of weeks ago via a blog post, the Google Assistant on the company’s own Pixel phones will now be able to control your smart home with a voice command. Simply go to the settings of the Google Assistant and pull up “Home Control” and you’ll have access to the same connected tech as the Google Home.
“Tim Cook Thinks Augmented Reality Could Be as Big As the iPhone”
Reality check. He said the same thing about the iPad and Apple Watch.
Google offers a Google Home/Google Play Music bundle
Google talks up a new deal for its music service.
If you haven’t tried Google Play Music yet, starting today through February 27, you’ll get six months of Google Play Music for free when you buy a Google Home device. Complete your home music system by adding a Chromecast and get $15 off when you buy the two together.
*With Purchase. Ends 2/27/17. Redeem by 3/6/17. $9.99/mo. charge unless you cancel before trial ends. New subscribers only. Terms apply.
Apple is giving away three months of Apple Music with wireless Beats products … Even if you’re already a subscriber
The Verge reports that Apple is countering Google’s music offer, sort of:
Apple’s BeatsX wireless earbuds will finally hit store shelves tomorrow after a few months of delays. But it turns out there’s a slight silver lining, because buyers will find a card inside with a code that’s good for three free months of Apple Music — a $30 value. Better yet, Apple will also include the promo card in other Beats products, like the Powerbeats 3 Wireless, Solo 3 Wireless, Studio Wireless, and Beats Pill+ for a limited time.
The offer applies to existing Apple Music subscribers, too.
Sony is adding Google Assistant to its smart TVs
Sony’s latest 4K panels boast powerful processors that improve the look of just about any video you throw onto the screen. But the chips inside these TVs don’t stop at making movies look better: Like giant Pixel phones, the TVs will have Google’s voice-controlled Assistant built into them.
Well, they will eventually. According to Sony, Google Assistant will be added to their new sets via a firmware update later this year.
Sony’s sets already come with Android TV, but this year’s models will be the first television sets with Google Assistant.
Tagged with Thurrott Daily


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Customers living within the 6km radius of the Wortley store can choose from around 400 Aldi grocery items through the Deliveroo app.
Once ordered, products are picked and packed by Aldi colleagues before being delivered by Deliveroo’s network of riders in as little as 20 minutes.
To get the latest email updates from LeedsLive, click here.
The trial was initially launched at eight stores in England last May and is available at around 120 stores across the UK, including three stores in Leeds.
Richard Thornton, Communications Director at Aldi UK, said: “We’re finding customers really value having more ways to shop at Aldi, particularly in Leeds.
“That’s why we’re extending our partnership with Deliveroo to the Wortley store, offering Aldi’s unbeatable value to even more customers.”
Carlo Mocci, Chief Business Officer UKI at Deliveroo said: “Bringing great selection to our customers is at the heart of what we do here at Deliveroo. That’s why we are delighted that even more customers across the UK will be able to choose from a wide range of Aldi’s great quality and affordable groceries delivered directly to their door."
In addition to Deliveroo, Aldi is also trialling a Click and Collect service at over 200 locations, where customers can also order a full range of groceries online at groceries.aldi.co.uk then collect them in pre-booked one-hour collection slots from their local store.
To find out more about Aldi Deliveroo or Click and Collect services in your area, click here.


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SEOUL, Nov. 30 (Korea Bizwire) — Kakao Corp., the operator of South Korea’s top mobile messenger KakaoTalk, said Monday that about 300,000 sets have been sold and 220 billion emoticons have been sent among users through the messenger service since it launched its emoticon business ten years ago.
KakaoTalk released its first emoticon in Nov. 2011. Over the past ten years, KakaoTalk emoticons, excluding its own characters like Ryan and Apeach, have generated sales revenue of 700 billion won (US$588.8 billion).
Among them, the number of emoticons with cumulative revenue of more than 100 million won totaled 1,392.
Another 92 emoticons generated sales revenue of more than 1 billion won and five emotions generated sales revenue of more than 10 billion won.
According to Kakao, there are about 10,000 emoticon creators selling character illustrations on the platform.
Of emoticon creators, 49.9 percent were in their 20s, followed by those in their 30s at 34.5 percent and those in their 40s at 12.4 percent. The youngest creator was 12 years old, while the oldest creator was 81 years old.
Ashley Song (email@example.com)


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Allergan third-quarter revenue rises 11.4 percent
Botox-maker Allergan Plc said on Wednesday its quarterly net sales rose 11.4 percent on higher demand for its medical aesthetics products.
Net loss attributable to shareholders was $4.03 billion, or $12.07 per share, in the third quarter ended Sept. 30, compared with a profit of $15.15 billion, or $38.58 per share, a year earlier.
The company said it took an impairment charge of $3.2 billion related to its dry-eye drug Restasis, as well as $1.3 billion in impairment charge related to Teva securities.
Net revenue rose 11.4 percent to $4.03 billion.
(This article has not been edited by Zeebiz editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)
Get Latest Business News, Stock Market Updates and Videos; Check your tax outgo through Income Tax Calculator and save money through our Personal Finance coverage. Check Business Breaking News Live on Zee Business Twitter and Facebook. Subscribe on YouTube.


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The next digital yuan will be compatible with the country’s major payment networks.
Mu Changchun, head of the Digital Currency Research Institute at the People’s Bank of China, said the central bank-backed digital yuan will be compatible with major mobile payment wallets such as WeChat Pay and Alipay.
According to a report from the South China Morning Post, Mu said at the conference that the digital yuan will not compete with WeChat Pay and Alipay:
“They don’t belong to the same dimension. WeChat and Alipay are wallets, while the digital yuan is wallet money.”
These latest announcements appear to contradict previous reports from local sources that China may launch its digital currency as an alternative to the two payment giants.
Digital Yuan is currently available to limited users through an exclusive mobile wallet app. At the conference, Mo said that a portable digital yuan wallet faces a long-standing problem of fraud, and said that there are many fake digital yuan wallets in the market.
Mo said that curbing the impact of fake wallets would only be possible if all parties involved, from the central bank to the users, took precautions.
In another post, Mo said the digital yuan operates in a centralized infrastructure, separating it from private currencies such as Libra and Bitcoin (BTC) on Facebook.
China quickly launched the central bank’s digital currency initiative. Last week, he published a bill providing the regulatory framework and legitimacy for his digital yuan. The central bank is currently testing its central bank digital currency across the country.
In one of the largest trial runs, local authorities distributed $ 1.5 million in digital yuan to 50,000 of the 1.9 million people who signed up for the gift.


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The town of Lata in Solomon Islands' remote Temotu province has been making do without some basic grocery items for several weeks.
Our correspondent reports that for 3 weeks all 27 shops in the small township have been without sugar and noodles after there was only one shipment from Honiara in September instead of the usual two.
Other basic food items such as rice, milk, flour and coffee are also running low.
The last shipment of grocery items was four weeks ago but a boat is expected this weekend.
Meanwhile the price of betel nuts has shot up, rising 1000 percent to two Solomon Islands dollars for a single fruit.


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Thankx to the Identity Management platform, airpim let companies collect and analyze data in full respect of privacy. Data's ownership belongs to companies and users choose whom they want to share them.
Cantine Lenotti were already producing their own Bardolino classico as far back as 1906. Since then the winery has continued to produce high quality wines; their white, rosé and red wines, also aged in oak barriques, produced in limited quantities, include: Amarone DOCG Classico, Ripasso Valpolicella DOC Classico Superiore, Di Carlo, Massimo and Le Olle. 90 percent of the bottles are destined for foreign markets, especially Germany. In order to continue to improve their business and enhance customer loyalty, Cantine Lenotti have embarked on a digital transformation.
Alperia Fiber has chosen to use airpim’s digital technologies to acquire information, in real time, about the development of the fibre optic network. Installation technicians use their smartphones to scan the unique code on the socket to automatically transmit a flow of data to the company’s IT systems.
The first edition of the Italian Investment Showcase, an annual forum aimed at creating a bridge between Italian innovation and financial markets, will take place on Tuesday 11th and Wednesday 12th April.


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Mayonnaise is no stranger to controversy. France and Spain have duelled over who can claim credit for the mother of cold sauces. At the same time, the fat-laden filling has been attacked by public health officials, described as the “devil’s condiment,” and criticized as being synonymous with the pedestrian palates of Middle America. At Katz’s Deli in New York, customers are warned to “ask for mayo at your own peril.”
Now mayonnaise is at the heart of a new debate, one that has the potential to be even more divisive than whether or not it deserves to accompany pastrami. As inflation ticks to the highest level in more than a decade, the slimy spread has been caught up in a highly emotive argument over recent price increases and who’s to blame for them.
The great mayoinflation controversy began humbly enough with a local news report focused on the impact of food inflation on nearby restaurants. “I am paying $200 more a week in mayonnaise,” the owner of The Sherwood, a self-described “neighborhood restaurant” in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, told NBC affiliate WXii earlier this month.
The comment was soon picked up by the official Twitter account of the North Carolina Republican Party, which tweeted the $200 stat with a quip about “Bidenflation.” Soon the tweet was smeared across social media as people pointed out that based on official inflation rates — the Consumer Price Index (CPI) was 5.4% year-on-year in July — the restaurant would have to be going through gallons of the stuff in order to be spending an additional $200 a week.


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New Businesses — February 2016
Confluent Space has opened at 285 Williams Blvd. in Richland. The business is a maker’s space offering members access to tools/materials that can be used to create, design and build and also attend classes. For more information visit www.confluent.space or email firstname.lastname@example.org.
Copper Top Tap House & Growler Fills is now open at 5453 Ridgeline Dr., Suite 110 in Kennewick. The business serves 40 rotating craft beers, hard ciders and wine. The hours are Monday through Thursday 3 p.m. – 10 p.m., Friday 3 p.m. – midnight, Saturday 10 a.m. – midnight and Sunday 10 a.m. – 9 p.m. For more information visit coppertoptaphouse.com or find the business on Facebook.
Desert Sky Women’s Healthcare has opened at 919 S. Auburn St. in Kennewick. The clinic provides comprehensive obstetrical, gynecological and infertility care for women. The hours are 9 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. on Tuesday and 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. on Friday. For an appointment call 509-491-3889. You can also find the clinic on Facebook.
Jordan’s Barber Shop has opened at 1177 Lee Blvd. in Richland. The shop offers haircuts and styles for men. For an appointment or more information, call 509-946-0522 or find the business on Facebook.
Liberation Bike Shop has opened at 104 W. First Ave. in Kennewick. The business offers bicycle repairs and rentals. The hours are 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. For more information, visit www.bikeliberation.com or call 509-820-3047.
PerplEXIT is now open at 750 Swift Blvd., Ste. 13 in Richland. PerplEXIT is a live-action, escape room great for groups and team building. For more information or to schedule a game, visit www.perplexitpuzzlerooms.net or call 509-591-5914.
Rattlesnake Mountain CrossFit has opened at 2016 Logston Blvd. in Richland. The gym focuses on strength, condition and functional fitness practices. Class times vary. For more information call 509-375-7755 or visit rmxfit.com.
Thairapy Hair Salon is now open at 4001 Kennedy Road, Suite 4 in West Richland. The salon offers cuts, colors, and styles for men and women. To book an appointment or for more information, call 509-579-0555. The business is also on Facebook.
Vybe Salon has opened at 8551 W. Gage Blvd., Suite H in Kennewick. The salon offers haircuts, styles, colors and specialized facials and waxing. The hours are 10 a.m. – 8 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. on Saturday. To book an appointment or for more information, call 509-820-3702. The business is also on Facebook.
Goodwill Industries has opened a new thrift store at 810 S. Dayton St. in Kennewick. For more information visit www.goodwillotc.org.
Bruchi’s has moved the location on Louisiana St. in Kennewick to 8903 W. Gage St. in Kennewick. For more information visit www.bruchis.com.
Hometown Mortgage Group has moved to 8500 W. Gage Blvd., Suite C in Kennewick. For more information visit www.tri-cityloans.com or call 509-579-0157.
Kennewick Irrigation District Administration Office has moved to 2015 S. Ely St. in Kennewick. For more information 509-586-9111 or visit www.kid.org.
Shape Cosmetic Surgery & MedSpa has moved to 8656 W. Gage Blvd., Suite 102 in Kennewick. For more information or to book an appointment, call 509-735-2636 or visit www.shapetricities.com.
3C Prime Steakhouse at 1408 N. Louisiana St., Suite 100 in Kennewick has closed.
Arbor Healthcare for Women at 900 Stevens Dr. in Richland has closed.
FELLAS Hair has closed its location at 4005 W. 27th Ave. in Kennewick. The location at 321 N. Columbia Center Blvd. in Kennewick will remain open. For more information call 509-736-1590 or visit fellas-hair.com.
Gap and GapKids has closed in the Columbia Center mall.
K&M Sweet Treats at 140 Gage Blvd., Suite 204 in Richland has closed.
Therapeutic Associates has closed its office at 4303 W. 27th Ave., Suite C in Kennewick. The offices at 1408 N. Louisiana St., Suite 104-A in Kennewick and 1109 Jadwin Ave. in Richland will remain open. For more information visit www.therapeuticassociates.com.
West Richland Liquor Store at 4083 W. Van Giesen St. in West Richland has closed.
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Google announces upgrades to Google Meet, Amazon is bringing its palm scanner to Whole Foods and Microsoft looks at the effect of video calls on our...
Sorry, what did you say? I was watching my music.
If you were wondering whether or not you can use your 24-inch iMac’s 4.5K Retina display as an external monitor, well, you cannot. 24-inch M1 iMac...
Match Group's chief legal officer accused Google of calling to threaten the company the day before the hearing.
A lot has changed in the last decade-ish of instant photography, yet all the while the boxy build of instant cameras has stayed more or less...
Some bugs have been fixed, but the experience is still an overall mess.
A new processor, 5G, a promising camera, Thunderbolt and... a high price tag.
As promised, Oculus had new details to share about the upcoming VR remaster of Resident Evil 4.
You can't buy the Apple AirTags yet, but we'll tell you how to get the trackers set up ahead of time.
AirTag's most important differentiating feature isn't the technology inside the $29 coin-sized stainless steel gadget. It's other people's iPhones.


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As the fight for higher minimum wages continue, the restaurant industry is caught in the middle of the battle.
But according to a new industry report by BTIG, rising minimum wages aren’t necessarily a bad thing for restaurant owners.
To understand why this is the case, let’s first look back to 2009.
During the depths of the recession, restaurant operators experienced a material moderation in labour turnover as employees faced significantly reduced job opportunities. The decline in labour turnover drove improvements in guest satisfaction as more tenured employees were better capable of serving guests and a reduction in hiring and training costs which benefited earnings.
In other words, limited opportunities during the worst of the recession left restaurant workers content with their jobs. Thus, employers had more experienced workers and less turnover.
As the job market continues to improve, increased turnover is returning to the restaurant industry. But, according to BTIG, restaurateurs can change this with higher wages and other employee benefits.
Several fast food chains have already boosted wages and benefits, granting them positive publicity while also working to reduce employee turnover.
“While investors may initially be concerned about the cost of these benefits we believe the more significant impact is through reduced labour turnover which improve the guest experience, store efficiency and unit level economics,” BTIG wrote.
And so then on this view, the long-term benefits of being able to keep employees who are better paid — and because of experience better workers — outweigh the conventionally viewed detriments of having to pay workers more.
As of July 1, McDonald’s raised wages at all corporate-owned locations to $US1 more than the local minimum wage. The company will also start offering five days of paid vacation to employees who have been with McDonald’s for at least one year.
On the same day, Chipotle announced it would offer tuition reimbursement to all employees, in addition to paid vacation time and paid sick leave.
Starbucks has perhaps taken the lead in terms of industry benefits. The coffee chain has partnered with Arizona State University, to cover four years of tuition for employees working towards online degrees from the school.
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Name: Ben Thomas
Company: Banana Blossom
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The latest stories, funding information, and expert advice. Free to sign up.
Based: New South Wales
Ben Thomas says being a chef is a lot like being an entrepreneur; there is often an underlying dream to steer your own ship.
“I think when you’re cheffing, you always want to do your own thing and have control – it’s always a chef’s dream to have your own restaurant,” Thomas tells SmartCompany.
However, it wasn’t a dream come true when Thomas and his wife Nat opened their first Thai restaurant, Banana Blossom, in Cremorne, New South Wales, in 2004.
The pair had successfully proved themselves selling out of their signature crispy coconut chicken salad at Sydney’s night noodle markets, but after the Global Financial Crisis hit and the restaurant industry took a downturn, the couple found themselves back at square one in 2008.
“We had no money left, we were pretty much broke. So we just took some time to work on the concept and it became what it is today,” Thomas says.
Today, Banana Blossom is a network of three hugely popular Asian-inspired salad restaurants in New South Wales – a concept Thomas had not thought possible when declaring to his mother as a child he would own a burger shop, or when he was cooking steaks at a pub in the Gold Coast hinterland as a part of his apprenticeship.
“Everybody totally changed how they were eating, especially the younger generation, everyone is really health conscious these days,” he says.
But Thomas says it was catching on early to the healthy eating trend with their tweaked new salad concept at the start of 2009, which helped Banana Blossom ride the wave of success.
“Our timing was perfect,” he says.
“We had that time off to get the concept right and the flavours perfect. We had the offering people were looking for – gluten free, free range chicken.”
Fast forward six years and Banana Blossom’s three stores in Mona Vale, Manly and Bondi now collectively turn over more than $2 million annually and employ close to 30 staff.
Thomas chats to SmartCompany about why being an entrepreneur is harder than being a chef and what his response is to the multiple offers to franchise his business.
Thomas is up at 5am four mornings a week to hit the Flemington Market to source the freshest produce for the stores.
“It’s all about using the freshest ingredients, we would never use crap,” he laughs, saying his background as a chef means as a business owner he’ll never put his name to something he’s not proud of.
“You do have to have pride in what you put up,” he says.
After the three stores are stocked up with fresh produce, protein and sauces, Thomas will hit one of the stores for prep and then help out with the lunch rush.
Banana Blossom has many loyal customers; some eat lunch there almost every day.
“When you think about it, people have their favourite pie shop, but they’re not going to eat pies five days a week. With salads, it’s healthy and it’s guilt free, so we have plenty of people that come in every day,” Thomas says.
While Thomas is at one store, Nat will visit one of the others. He says their business partnership is built on communication, making an effort to spend time outside of the business and, he laughs, “tolerance”.
“She’s the really driven one, I have to keep up with her energy,” he says.
“But we both know we’re working towards a goal and we don’t mind if we have to work that bit harder right now to make something really successful down the track.”
Thomas says as a business owner, there are a lot more balls in the air at any one time than when he was a chef.
“It’s definitely more challenging being a business owner. With being chef, you’ve got to control your kitchen, your food costs and staff costs. It’s the same scenario as a business owner but you also have public relations, marketing, media, thinking about staff and incentives and regulations. Not to mention the accounting,” he says.
“The other thing with a business is looking at future markets and coming up with new concepts and ideas. It’s similar to being a chef, but on a much grander scale.”
True foodies, the couple love to visit new restaurants and show their kids different cuisines in their leisure time.
“As a chef, I never got to go out on a Saturday, so I love any excuse to go out for dinner now,” Thomas says.
Thomas also likes to make time to exercise, play a round of golf or go surfing.
“You’ve definitely got to set time aside out of the business,” he says.
“You’ve got to have a work-life balance or it all falls apart. I mean, what’s the point of work otherwise? You’ve got to enjoy your life.”
Thomas says after opening its third store in Bondi six months ago, Banana Blossom is now “really just starting to hit the accelerator”.
His plans for the business include a range of pre-packaged salads, which already has interest from IGA supermarkets and several Australian airlines.
“We’ll also probably open a new store next year. We want to get to ten stores in Sydney alongside the pre-packaged salad business.”
And Thomas says he gets plenty of calls from investors who see an opportunity to franchise the successful concept.
“People have been asking so much to franchise, but we’re not really keen at the moment,” he says.
“The thing is with franchising, you’re answering to other people and not yourself. I think a lot of franchises lose direction and it becomes about profits rather than products. That’s not what we represent, we don’t like second best – our whole brand is about quality.”
While Thomas admits he and Nat have an exit plan to eventually sell the business once it’s built up into a larger operation, he says there is still plenty of opportunity in the healthy eating market to capitalise on.
“I think a lot of people are going back to their roots and learning about what they can and can’t eat,” he says.
“We get so much positive feedback, I feel good about serving it. I don’t mean to sound like a wanker, but it’s nice to have the opportunity to feed people well.”


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Sigma Corporation of America has launched a website to celebrate its 50th anniversary. In addition to videos detailing the company's history and technologies, the site offers the chance for US residents to sign up for a chance to win various prizes, including the as-yet-unreleased SD1 DSLR. The site also provides the chance for Sigma owners and users to learn, interact and share their photos. The familiy-owned photography company, best known for its lenses, was founded by optical engineer Michihiro Yamaki, who remains the company's CEO.
Sigma Corporation of America lauds 50 years with anniversary site, giveaways
Special web pages feature videos, photo sharing, photography tips
and monthly chances to win
Ronkonkoma, NY, April 20, 2011 – Sigma Corporation of America is celebrating its 50th anniversary by launching an online community where Sigma users can interact and learn about the company’s history.
The Sigma Corporation of America 50th anniversary site was launched this week to commemorate the company’s founding in Japan in 1961. The page will be updated throughout the year to feature videos about the company and its products, advice from Sigma Pros, links to social media channels, and photo-sharing and tagging via Flickr.
The site will also host monthly product giveaways, which start immediately with a chance to win one of Sigma’s soon-to-be released, flagship DSLRs, the SD1. New giveaways will be introduced monthly and participants must enter each individual contest for a chance to win. To enter to win or to view the site’s other features, visit Sigma’s dedicated anniversary pages at www.Sigma50th.com.
“We’ve made a number of unique, technological advancements in the past 50 years, and we’re incredibly grateful to our loyal customers who have continually appreciated our work and pushed us to innovate,” said Mark Amir-Hamzeh, president of Sigma Corporation of America. “It’s an honor to share this moment with Sigma users and to give them something in return for their unwavering support. We hope our fans will check back regularly to see what we have planned and to enter to win some of our most exciting products.”
Sigma’s theme for the anniversary year, which is noted throughout the site, is “Exploring the Possibilities.” Christine Moossmann, the US subsidiary’s director of marketing, said this theme speaks to the company’s dedication to innovation, and Sigma users’ artistic expression and creativity.
“This tagline expresses our commitment to pushing the technological envelope and exploring gaps and niches that other manufacturers aren’t addressing. It also speaks to what we believe Sigma users can accomplish with our unique lineup of products. We look forward to continuing that work, while encouraging Sigma users to explore their own possibilities, in the year ahead,” said Moossmann.
Sigma Corporation of America is a leading researcher, developer, manufacturer and service provider of some of the world's most impressive lines of lenses, cameras and flashes. For information about Sigma Corporation of America or to view Sigma products, visit www.sigmaphoto.com.
Apr 18, 2014
Apr 18, 2014
Apr 18, 2014
Apr 17, 2014
By combining his skills as a time-lapse filmmaker and an engineer, Julian Tryba created this out-of-this-world creative 'layer-lapse' of New York City that alternates between night and day in time with the music.
Canon Japan's new lineup of novelty camera-themed gifts was just revealed online, including a lens mug and lens thermos, two retro camera-themed USB drives, and a picnic mat.
The Profoto A1 most certainly isn’t for everyone [...] But for those who are used to using the Profoto systems, and want something that pairs seamlessly with the strobes you already have, there is no better companion.
Fujifilm has asked a US district court to clear it of any wrongdoing, after allegedly being threatened with trademark litigation by Polaroid.
While a couple of our reviewers are out testing the Sony a7R III in Arizona, back in Seattle we slapped the camera in front of our studio scene to get a close look at its image quality. See how it stacks up against the competition.
We're counting down our top 10 most popular sample galleries of 2017, and the #8 ranking belongs to the Nikon D7500.
B+W has announced a new aluminum filter holder that offers three slots so users can use multiple filters at the same time. The holder goes with the 2mm thick 100mm square filters it launched earlier this year.
8K video is coming a lot faster than you think, and Blackmagic is ready for it. Meet the DeckLink 8K Pro, a new high performance PCI-E capture and playback card built to handle 'real time high resolution 8K workflows.'
"Glass is everywhere in photography. From Eugène Atget’s reflective vitrines to Lee Friedlander’s sly self-portraiture, photographers have long been in thrall to the visual complications glass can inject into a composition."
Former Apple Aperture lead developer Nik Bhatt has designed an iOS app called RAW Power that lets you edit raw photos from your professional camera using your phone and tablet.... color us intrigued.
Advertising photographer Blair Bunting got his hands on the new Microsoft Surface Book 2, and it blew him away. Bye bye MacBook Pro...
The OnePlus 5T retains many of the 5's features and specs, but comes with an edge-to-edge display and a dual-camera that is optimized for low light.
Sony's recently announced IMX461 backside illuminated medium format sensor will bring 100MP resolution and almost 2x the speed to the next-gen Fuji GFX and Hasselblad X1D.
With the ‘Rent a Hasselblad’ camera equipment renting program, the camera makers is aiming to give enthusiast and professional photographers easier access to its medium-format photography products.
They say seeing is believing, and that's exactly what happened when one DPR staffer took the Google Pixel 2 out for an afternoon shooting under challenging conditions.
We're counting down our top 10 most popular sample galleries of 2017. At the #9 spot we have the Fujifilm GFX 50S, a medium-format camera that took CP+ 2017 by storm.
Instagram is testing a new feature that lets you follow hashtags in addition to people, making it possible to keep track of your favorite #landscapes or #portraits without leaving your home feed.
Despite the gigantic volume of second hand film bodies in existence, it seems there is still a demand for new 35mm SLRs with a retro feel. The latest is a remake of the Ihagee Elbaflex from the 1960s, but with a Nikon F mount.
The Polaroid Insta-Share Moto Mod straps an instant printer directly to your Moto Z smartphone, so you can print your photos as soon as you've captured them.
The Mitakon Speedmaster 135mm F1.4 lens is being relaunched in 7 different mounts, including: Sony A, Sony E, Canon EF, Nikon F, Fujifilm G, Pentax K, and Leica L. Got an extra three grand lying around?
In January, Kodak announced it would bring back the beloved slide film Ektachrome. The timeline has been pushed back a bit, but Kodak says you can expect to purchase Ektachrome again in 2018.
Instagram popularity is threatening some of the most beautiful landscapes in the US, as hordes of 'nature lovers' trample over the same spots over and over again in search of the same exact shot.
You’d have to be pretty brave to immerse your $50K RED cinema camera underwater. But if you've got the guts, Gates just released a new housing you can be pretty sure won't wreck your unbelievably expensive toy.
Adobe has released a 'Lightroom Downloader' app for Windows 10 and macOS High Sierra that allows you to download all of your images from the Adobe Cloud, all at once.
After releasing a popular 4K action cam and an affordable mirrorless M43 camera, Chinese camera maker YI is diving into yet another market: 360° VR. Meet the YI 360 VR: a powerful little two-lens camera that can shoot and stream in 4K.
The DJI Spark has received a lot of attention thanks to its diminutive size, but how does it stack up? In our review, we take a look at what it's like to fly this pint-sized drone, as well as what's in it for photographers.
Between now and the end of the year we'll be counting down our top 10 most popular sample galleries of 2017. Coming in at #10 is a fast wide prime and part of the highly-acclaimed Sigma Art series.
DxOMark has awarded the Pentax 645Z 101 points, making it the second-highest scoring medium format camera it's tested (or the highest scoring from 2015 to now, based on the originally published results).
A small explosion that sounded like a gunshot caused a panic and 24 flight cancellations at Orlando International Airport last Friday. As it turns out, it was a camera battery that exploded inside a traveler's bag.
At last, a premium superzoom bridge camera with phase detect autofocus. Is this the best all-in-one camera ever made? Read on.


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Facebook To Shut Down Standalone Gaming App In Oct
Meta is winding up its standalone Facebook Gaming app on both Android and iOS from October 28.
The app will also be not available on Google Play Store or Apple App Store.
Meta did not elaborate on why it is shuttering the standalone gaming app.
“Despite this news, our mission to connect players, fans, and creators with the games they love hasn’t changed, and you’ll still be able to find your games, streamers, and groups when you visit Gaming in the Facebook app,” reads a banner on its website.
“We want to extend our heartfelt thanks to all of you for everything that you’ve done to build a thriving community for gamers and fans since this app first launched,” the notice added.
The app was launched in April 2020 to let users watch their favorite streamers, play instant games and take part in gaming groups.
“Facebook experienced some hurdles trying to launch the app, as Apple rejected the app numerous times, citing its rules that prohibit apps with the main purpose of distributing casual games, reports TechCrunch.
Apple’s rules had forced Facebook to remove gameplay functionality from the app.
The company said that it will continue to support gaming communities, developers, and creators on the main Facebook app.
Facebook Gaming has rolled out a new ‘Clips to Reels’ feature for all creators to convert live gameplay clips into Reels.


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This is the web version of CEO Daily. To get it delivered to your inbox, sign up here.
Were it not for the pandemic, I would be in Aspen today, for Fortune’s annual Brainstorm Tech confab. Instead, it’s been postponed to December 1-2, when it will be held virtually. But Fortune did assemble a distinguished group of tech leaders yesterday for a virtual discussion of how the pandemic is changing business.
One prediction they chewed on was the death of distance–that with the rise of remote work, location won’t matter. “I feel like there is more opportunity now for people to get out of the bubble,” said Jewel Burks Solomon, head of Google for Startups, U.S. “I’ve experienced what it was like to have investors say, ‘Oh, you’re in Atlanta, you’re not in Silicon Valley, so sorry, companies we invest in have to be close to us.’ Now that is no longer valid.”
Maybe. But not everyone on the call agreed. Some, like former GoDaddy CEO Blake Irving, concurred that where you live “just doesn’t matter anymore. There is no plan to go back to the way we were before.” But others, like Joe Marchese, CEO of Attention Capital, suggested “these are such extraordinary times, and it is hard to trust current trends.” Entrepreneur Mark Johnson questioned whether the lockdown would give the edge to people who had existing relationships, and disadvantage newcomers who lacked “the opportunity to break bread, have a coffee, see someone in person.” And Electronic Arts CEO Andrew Wilson, while citing a surge in virtual sports, also acknowledged that “there is a certain kinetic energy that comes from putting creative people in a building together.”
Who’s right? Time will decide. But interestingly, many companies are having to make bets now on the future, deciding whether to allow employees to work remotely or ditch costly city real estate.
More news below.
JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Wells Fargo stockpiled a collective $28 billion in Q2 in order to prepare for a wave of consumer and business loan defaults. The preparations hit all the banks' profits in the quarter. JPMorgan expects unemployment rates to remain at double digits into 2021. Fortune
Joe Biden is working with former primary rival Bernie Sanders to come up with economic proposals that will turn the centrist's campaign platform more progressive (others involved in the project include John Kerry and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez). One plank of that platform is a rollback of President Trump's big tax cuts. "A lot of you may not like that, but I’m going to close loopholes like capital gains and stepped-up basis," Biden told donors at a digital fundraiser. Fortune
The White House has backed down on much-criticized rules it unveiled only last week, that would have barred foreign students from entering or staying in the U.S. if they were only studying online at an American university. Harvard and MIT had sued the government over the policy, calling it "arbitrary and capricious." Wall Street Journal
President Trump has approved legislation that will strip Hong Kong of its special economic status in American eyes, meaning the U.S. will now treat Hong Kong as it does mainland China. The Hang Seng appeared to shrug off the move, rising slightly at open, before ending slightly down. Fortune
AROUND THE WATER COOLER
Tesla's value keeps shooting up, prompting CEO Elon Musk to simply tweet: "Wow." Piper Sandler, which previously estimated the value of a Tesla share at $939, now pegs it at $2,332. The actual share price for the electric-car firm hit $1,790 yesterday—or four times the price back during March's selloff. Financial Times
American billionaires need to step up their giving, writes WhyNot Initiative director Alan Davis for Fortune. Davis says Bill Gates' $300 million donation for COVID-19 relief is "a big number, but it's pocket change for him." He continues: "Food shortages and unemployment are at record highs, yet billionaires managed to add over $400 billion to their collective holdings just since this crisis began. Yet so far this year, the ultra-rich have barely increased their giving at all." Fortune
ByteDance's hugely popular and controversial TikTok social media app (check out this video explainer by Fortune's Devin Hance) has been hit with a fine in South Korea for collecting the personal data of children under the age of 14 without consent from their legal guardians. The fine, levied by the Korea Communications Commission, came to around $155,000. ZDNet
Sony has reportedly boosted its order for the upcoming PlayStation 5 console by half, probably because it expects a huge sales lift from people staying at home for their entertainment rather than heading out. The PlayStation 4 sold 4.2 million units at launch, but Sony apparently hopes to sell 9-10 million. Facebook is also reportedly boosting production of its Oculus VR headsets. The Verge
This edition of CEO Daily was edited by David Meyer.


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In 2 weeks TRX, Tron's cryptocurrency, doubled in price and the reasons came from Justin Sun's endeavors in the world of non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
First, celebrity and investor Paris Hilton announced on her Twitter account that she was prepared to resume NFT ventures and exchanged messages with Justin Sun.
In the initial message, she asked if the Tron network was ready for this.
In August 2020, Hilton sold a digital painting of her cat in NFT for 17 ETHs, and recently spoke about NFTs and Bitcoin in an interview with CNBC.
Then the CEO of the Tron chain began to delve deeper into the NFTs by purchasing some expensive pieces from more renowned artists on the NFT trading platforms.
One of these works was the digital art “Green” by the artist Beeple.
Continuing, Sun won the auction held by Christie’s and acquired the work “Femme nue couchée au collier”, by Spanish painter Pablo Picasso, for US $ 20 million dollars.
Together, he also won the work “Three Self-portraits”, by North American Andy Warhol, for US $ 6 million dollars.
Both works will be transformed into NFTs.
All of this Sun did while launching an NFT investment fund, JUST NFT, to invest in digital artwork and make blockchain itself more popular, which has the functionality to produce NFTs.
TRX's biggest leap came when pop star Lindsay Lohan released the song “Lullaby” in NFT over Tron's blockchain.
Only on this day did the TRX jump 50%.
Finally, Sun won one of the auctions that TIME magazine is doing with NFTs.
The magazine is transforming covers of its copies into non-fungible tokens, and Sun bought the cover of "The Computer In Society", from 1965, for US $ 200,000 dollars.
Many believe that NFTs are going through a Hipe period, but like the DeFi protocols, this is not quite what is happening.
In the middle of last year, many thought that the DeFi wave was a hipe, and they got it wrong.
The DeFi evolution remains, so much so that even after many “forget” about DeFis, in January this year DeFis broke capitalization records.
For those who think that NFTs are a hipe, they should realize that the future is digital, and that NFTs are being discovered now.
Several companies, celebrities and artists are starting to undertake in this medium, which is expected to grow a lot.


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US and China to start talks over an investment treaty
The US and China have agreed to start negotiations on a bilateral investment treaty.
American businesses have been pushing for such a treaty, hoping for greater access to the Chinese market.
The progress came at the end of security and trade talks between the world's two largest economies in Washington. Michelle Fleury reports from New York.
12 Jul 2013
- From the section Companies


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2013 tipping point as smart devices change media delivery models
Joseph O'Halloran | 25-04-2013
The emergence of the smart mobile device platform as a preferred means to access digital media could change fundamentally the traditional business model of media and entertainment companies, according to new research by MRG.
Such a dynamic, says MRG, may mean that media companies will be forced to enter the over-the-top (OTT) services business or establish relationships with OTT service providers to control content access in order to profitably accommodate these new consumer behaviours.
The analyst says that 2013 will be the first year in which smart mobile device shipments surpass those of computing and digital media devices combined, leading to a new reality in media distribution.
In its analysis of the home of the future, MRG stresses that what makes smart devices so important is the fact that they are at the intersection of industries that have to date remained separate. That is computing, media and entertainment, and wireless mobile services.
MRG calculates that by 2017, shipments of smart mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets will reach about two billion while computing and digital media devices combined will barely reach 900 million, representing a CAGR of 20.7%. Moreover, 2013 is set to be the first year in which smart mobile device shipments surpass the total shipments of computing and digital media devices combined.
Driving the trend, according to MRG, is that that these devices’ operating systems — that is Apple iOS, Google Android and Windows RT — have been developed for smart mobile devices and are creating a platform upon which media and entertainment companies can build media applications that provide significantly more value to end consumers while fundamentally changing the relationship between consumers, their pay-TV service providers and digital content access.
Yet the analyst warns that such proliferation will also lead to a number of challenges to the value of traditional media and entertainment digital content delivery business models. For one, MRG argues that media companies can no longer use their delivery assets (i.e., broadcast technology) and customer premise equipment (CPE) to control consumer access to digital content since smart mobile devices access content directly from the distribution channel.
Additionally, MRG cautions that since smart mobile devices are generally linked to individual consumers, and consumers are using these devices to access digital media content directly from the distribution channel, the relationship between the pay-TV service provider and the consumer is fundamentally changing.


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Rubiks: Having been around this space and learnt the subject to its roots, he believes this space is expanding its reach unbelievably.
The gaming space has drawn the interest of enthusiasts ever since they were introduced, and with time they have evolved to the digital space that they occupy in large at present. Now, with the introduction of Web 3, the focus has shifted to play-to-earn space and the gaming community couldn’t ask for more and the experience is twice as thrilling as before. Furthermore, NFT gaming has also seen a constant rise as many play-to-earn gaming platforms are stepping in at a fast pace, which has taken its popularity to the next level altogether.
Out of the many such interesting formats that have been enthralling gaming enthusiasts comes one which is guaranteed to amaze all to optimum limits, it’s called Gaming Ape Club, founded by Alex aka Rubiks, who has been a gaming enthusiast having strong interests around this space since long. “Gaming Ape Club is built to take the NFT gaming space two steps ahead as it has the potential to leave other similar projects far behind owing to its outstanding features which are unique and sets them apart from the rest,” says Rubiks who is also the CIO of the project.
According to him, this would perhaps be one of the most anticipated NFT games of present times which will create history owing to its distinctive characteristics which makes it stand out and shine bright as compared to other play-to-earn projects. Rubiks also manages Optimal Ambition, which is an E-Sports organization aiming at creating a vast gaming community via its platform. He has consistently tried to give the gaming community what they deserve, and his endeavors have given birth to such wonderful projects which have the potential to revolutionize the play-to-earn gaming space.


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Comcast says it expects its $45 billion purchase of Time Warner Cable to take longer because of a long-running regulatory review.
The bigger that Netflix gets, the bigger that its catalog becomes, a benefit no matter where its subscribers live.
Digital television is here, but there are plenty of reasons that we're not hopping on the trend. One involves what Apple hasn't done yet.
Most would-be cord cutters will need to pick and choose from multiple services to cobble together all the shows they watch. Here's a look at the options.
Disney's Hollywood Studios is going in for an extreme makeover, probably starting with its name and replacing all those closed attractions.
Apple has two big, new reasons to make the switch to its set-top device: The price is down from $99 to $69, and HBO Now will be an exclusive.
Vera Bradley hit all-time lows after a spate of bad news, including a downgrade, and the FCC feels that DirectTV isn't playing nice to get new subscribers.
Yes, it will cost more to visit the world's largest theme park resort. It's just not as big a deal as you might think.
Universal is building more hotels next to its theme parks, and a new water park is planned as well. What is Disney World doing to improve?
YouTube may soon let you buy your way out of ads with a premium subscription called Music Key that'll battle against Spotify and Pandora.
Amusement parks are doing great these days - unless you happen to be SeaWorld Entertainment, which posted another disappointing quarterly report Thursday.
The leading streaming video service is no longer riding on a single hit show. Four more exclusive series debut now through May.
Simply being nominated for an Oscar may be enough for many stars, but for film studios the real money is in winning. And this year, one stands to win big.
Small budgets and creative distribution could make for prestigious awards and serious profits for the up-and-coming movie studio.
For Oscar weekend, let's review the states that generated more than $1 billion for jobs associated with movie and television productions.
A one-day ticket to the Magic Kingdom may soon burst through a $100 threshold like fireworks exploding over Cinderella Castle.
Box office ticket sales have been dropping for more than a decade. We could be seeing the slow end to the movie theater as we know it.
Disney releases a blowout quarterly report, and Microsoft finally ends an ill-advised mobile platform. Acquisitions help Staples and Under Armour.
Glu Mobile takes a hit as the once-hot Kim Kardashian: Hollywood game starts to fade, but a deal with Katy Perry could fire up the stock.
Major indexes fell at the opening bell, as a drop in crude oil tugged energy stocks down. Uncertainty over corporate earnings has helped drive volatility.


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Geek of the Week
Dr. Phillip AlveldaDr. Phillip Alvelda is the founder of MobiTV, a media platform that delivers live TV, video-on-demand, and the ability to download content for offline viewing all major wireless networks and major mobile operating systems. Alvelda stepped down as CEO of MobiTV in 2007 to start another company, Stealth Tail, a stealth mobile company. Alvelda has also founded the Westminster Institute for Science Education and MicroDisplay, a company that was based on his graduate school dissertation on Integrated Optoelectronic Computers. Prior to his entrepreneurial endeavors, Alvelda worked building spacecraft sensors and new computer architectures at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Alvelda has several degrees from Cornell and MIT and has previously served on the Federal Communications Commission’s Advisory Committee on Diversity for communications in the Digital Age.
People’s Hero of the Week
The Federal Communications CommissionThis week, the Federal Communications Commission made three decisions that have significantly improved opportunities for diverse ownership in broadcasting and eased burdens placed on the families of those incarcerated. Yesterday, the Commission voted to adopt rate caps for all local and long distance calls from correctional facilities, eliminate and cap an endless array of fees, and ensure that every call made from prison or a jail is delivered with reasonable, just, and fair rates to the benefit of the incarcerated and their family and friends. In addition, the Commission voted to streamline its broadcast foreign ownership review process and standardize the review process for broadcast, common carrier, and aeronautical licensees and applicants – an issue on which MMTC and dozens of other national organizations have advocated for over ten years. During a press conference following its monthly open meeting, the Commission made another informal announcement: the commissioners have voted to approve AM revitalization efforts to bring regulatory relief to struggling AM broadcasters. MMTC, along with 50 signators representing 140 minority-owned AM stations, have advocated for the Commission to act to revitalize AM radio, and Commissioners Mignon Clyburn and Ajit Pai recently released strong statements voicing their support. Details on the Commission’s Order are expected to be released Monday.
Multicultural Entrepreneur of the Week
Jesse MartinezJesse Martinez is the founder of several organizations dedicated to promoting opportunities for Latinos in media and tech. In 2011, Martinez Co-Founded the Latino Startup Alliance, an organization dedicated to encouraging the inspiration and cultivation of Latino-led startup technology ventures by providing a strong support network of fellow Latino entrepreneurs, investors, innovators, and business owners. In 2012, he co-founded Youth Startups to bring awareness to public high schools as to what it means to be a tech entrepreneur and have them participate in a number of startup activities while promoting higher education. In 2014, he co-founded Avión Ventures, the first global startup pre-accelerator focused specifically on launching and accelerating the growth of Latina-led mobile first startups. He has also co-founded media and tech firm Brasil Country Director, online Spanish daily deal site Mercado Latino, and imaging consulting group Western Imaj Systems. Today, Martinez serves as an advisor for Hackers/Founders, a group he co-founded that has grown to become the largest network of entrepreneurs in the world, with over 200,000 members in 40 countries. The organization also has an H/F Co-op accelerator program that has been featured in The New York Times, Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, and Bloomberg Business. In addition to his work, Martinez serves on the advisory boards of #YesWeCode and the Mission Economic Development Agency.
Digital Divider of the Week
Websites that Sell Stolen Digital InformationThis week, Intel Security Group’s McAfee Labs released a report that found several websites, chat rooms, and communities that sell stolen digital personal information – from login credentials to video streaming services to credit card and social security numbers – for as little as 55 cents. The details on the types of information bought and sold was particularly alarming. The types of data being bought and sold can allow thieves to steal entire identities for a few hundred dollars, armed with the victim’s email, financial accounts, social media accounts, and more. The cost of some of this information? For as little as $5 in the U.S., buyers can purchase software-generated payment card information; for $15, the bank ID number is included; and for $30, “full info” including date of birth is included. In Europe, the prices are significantly higher – $25 to $45 for the same information – presumably because the European Union has tougher security measures in place on consumer credit and debit cards. The sites also sell bank account login information for $20 to $300, depending on the balance in a particular account. According to Raj Samani, chief technology officer of Intel Security for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, “This ‘cybercrime-as-a-service’ marketplace has been a primary driver for the explosion in the size, frequency, and severity of cyber attacks.” While it is difficult to completely protect yourself in today’s world, a good start is to call all three credit bureaus – Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion – and implement a credit freeze to ensure no one can open accounts in your name. And of course, as always, use complex and differing passwords for all online accounts, and only login from secure devices.


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Plastic ban starts: Use eco-bags, vendors told
Satellite market vendors in Mandaue City are encouraged to use eco or reusable bags as checkout bags for their customers as the city government implements the 2010 Plastic Ban Ordinance today.
Ernie Manatad, Association of Barangay Councils president, said barangay tanods and eco-wardens would serve as the enforcement team of the ordinance.
“We will warn them siguro. Tagaan namo silag warning mark violation depende ni unsay reaction ugma (We will just give them a warning mark for the violation, but this will depend on their reaction tomorrow),” said Manatad, who is the Subangdaku barangay captain.
He said they would need the cooperation of the public to make this undertaking successful.
“This is for our common goal. No program of the government will be successful kung way support sa public,” Manatad added.
Manatad said the enforcement of the ordinance was moved to today from Monday since the city government wanted to conduct more information dissemination about the ordinance.
He said they had already started their information dissemination in the barangays especially those with satellite markets.
“There were a lot of questions like what to use instead of plastic bags. But we explained to them that the city is serious in its campaign against the use of plastic bags, and they should require their customers to bring their eco-bags,” said Manatad.
He also advised business owners, who still had stocks of plastic bags left, to ask suppliers whether they could return these plastic bags to them.
Since Thursday this week, the city already posted the contents of the ordinance in the city’s official Facebook page with video support showing the situation in the city during a heavy downpour.
Jocelyn Cando, owner of a sari-sari store in Mandaue Market, has been selling plastic bags for three years.
“Consumo ra unta ni namo ang plastics, unya kay daghan man akong kumprahon sa Carbon, naay mo hangyo nga mopalit baligyaan ra pud namo (These are supposed to be for our personal use, but since we buy a lot of plastic bags in Carbon market, some of our customers would request that we buy them plastic bags also),” Cando said.
Shift to paper bags
She said she was not against the implementation of the plastic ban ordinance and, in fact, she had already started shifting to selling paper bags (bulsita).
She said she was hoping that the city government would strictly enforce the ordinance.
Mandaue City Mayor Gabriel Luis “Luigi” Quisumbing ordered the strict implementation of the plastic ban ordinance after the city experienced widespread flooding during a heavy downpour early this month.
The city government found out that plastic garbage, which clogged waterways had contributed to the floods.
The ordinance prohibits all stores, shops, eating places, food vendors, carenderias or sari-sari stores, and retail food vendors from using plastic bags in their businesses.
It requires them to instead provide their customers with paper bags, cloth bags or recyclable or reusable bags as their checkout bags.
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January 18, 2024
Harlem’s Fashion Row Announces ICON360 Scholarship With Nordstrom For HBCU Students
The nonprofit launched by Harlem’s Fashion Row has a new scholarship in partnership with luxury retailer Nordstrom.
As part of Nordstrom’s growing partnership with Harlem’s Fashion Row (HFR) through its nonprofit ICON360, the retailer announced how the scholarship will continue ICON360’s mission to provide financial assistance to Black designers and fashion programs at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and help advance marginalized talent through educational programming.
“As the founder and CEO of Harlem’s Fashion Row, I know firsthand the barriers in our industry. ICON360 is excited to partner with Nordstrom to provide more pathways for the next generation of Black designers and HBCU fashion students,” Brandice Daniel, founder and CEO of Harlem’s Fashion Row and ICON360, said.
“Together, we can create a more equitable fashion industry that reflects the diversity of our communities and celebrates the unique perspectives and talents of designers of color.”
Launched in 2007, HFR aimed to provide designers of color with the recognition they deserved in an industry that had historically overlooked them. Now, with over 15 years of experience, HFR has emerged as a leading agency that builds connections between brands and designers of color in the fashion world.
Through its initiatives, HFR aids diverse fashion designers with brand strategy, collaborations, new media engagement, experiential marketing, recruitment, and pipeline programs with notable brands and retailers like Nordstrom.
Nordstrom has been partnered with NFW for years, joining the agency at its annual Fashion Show and Style Awards, Designer Tech Summit, and Black History Month Fashion Summit. It’s part of Nordstrom’s commitment to work with expert organizations that improve pathways for diverse communities and foster an equitable fashion industry.
“Nordstrom set ambitious marketplace diversity and equity commitments. To reach these goals, we need to invest in improved pathways for fashion, design and retail talent,” said Colleen Mitchell, senior director of diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging at Nordstrom.
“ICON360 has built authentic relationships with HBCUs to connect with and foster emerging talent. We look forward to building on our work together to create more pathways for future fashion and retail leaders.”


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TSMC Confirms 28nm Chips in Mass Production
October 24, 2011 3:43 PM
comment(s) - last by
New 28nm GPUs are on their way
The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has announced that its 28nm node has achieved mass production, and the first 300mm wafers have been delivered to its customers. The firm is most famous for producing GPUs for the graphics arm of AMD and NVIDIA.
TSMC has several 28nm processes for its customers, generally varying according to the intended application. The 28nm High Performance (28HP) process is for graphics chips, while the 28nm High Performance Low Power (28HPL) process is for mobile graphics. 28nm Low Power (28LP) and 28nm High Performance Mobile Computing (28HPM) will be used mostly for
, but there will of course be some overlap. 28HP, 28HPL and 28LP are currently in volume production, while 28HPM will be ready for mass production by the end of this year.
Although the company is optimistic about its latest technology, TSMC has had problems with launching new nodes in the past. Delays and
problematic yields in the 40nm process
led to shortages of
Radeon HD 5800
series video cards during 2009 and 2010.
Radeon HD 6000 series
(Northern Islands) family was originally designed for TSMC's 32nm HKMG process. That entire node was scrapped due to various problems, and all of its engineering resources were put into the 28nm process instead.
AMD ended up having to redesign Northern Islands for 40nm, leading to significant launch delays. The GPUs ended up being bigger than intended, resulting in higher production costs, lower clock speeds, and higher energy consumption compared to the original 32nm design.
The latest chips for AMD will be in the Southern Islands series, which will supplant the Radeon HD 6000 series. The first cards are to be released by the end of the year, but the current production schedule could indicate a launch as early as the end of November. The first AMD 28nm GPUs taped out earlier in the spring, and the company has already demonstrated them several times at various industry events.
NVIDIA's Kepler GPUs have also taped out at 28nm, but will not be launched until Q1 of 2012. Sources have indicated that the chip is quite large and yields are not yet high enough to ensure a successful launch at this time.
Other notable 28nm customers for TSMC include Xilinx, Qualcomm, and Altera. More than 80 of TSMC's customers have already taped out at 28nm. As the largest semiconductor foundry in the world, this process is not only vital to TSMC, but the entire semiconductor industry. Delays will not only affect TSMC, but slow down the advance of technology. Competitor GlobalFoundries is not expected to begin mass production of its own 28nm process until 2012.
This article is over a month old, voting and posting comments is disabled
10/24/2011 6:24:06 PM
After I read FITcamaro's comment I thought to myself, "I wonder how many comments will be posted before some knucklehead mentions AMD drivers."
I figured it would be at least 10 or 15 posts. I was not expecting it to be the second comment! Congrats on being completely oblivious! :)
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The firm has branched into five major beverage categories in China, spanning its trademark soft drinks to coffee, tea, sparkling water, juices, dairy, alcohol and more.
With such an enormous portfolio of products, the company is no stranger to innovation and the science behind creating new drink options.
But the firm now believes that there is a need to go beyond the R&D and tug at consumer heartstrings in order to remain at the forefront of the beverage sector in China.
“From a scientific point of view, innovation needs to focus on technology and data, but although there is always need for this, experience tells us that it is no longer enough to create truly satisfactory products for consumers here,” Coca-Cola APAC R&D Centre Senior Director Amy Song told the floor at the Food and Beverage Innovation Forum (FBIF) in China.
“Today’s consumers want more than just the physical experience concerning things like ingredients and functionality, but also the emotional connection when making their purchases – this means that they want more than offerings of zero sugar or immunity-boosting products, where in reality all companies and brands can offer the same thing.
“The emotional connection is what needs to come in for consumers to feel trust and confidence in a brand, whether this is by feeling respect, acceptance and so on – and this is where culture comes in, as it is what brings human experience into the context of the foods or beverages.”
Mentions of Chinese culture tend to automatically link with images of Chinese New Year or Mooncake Festival– but Song highlighted that apart from these traditional correlations, there is also the modern aspect of culture in China today that should be incorporated.
“Of course China is very rich in culture and heritage, but beyond this there are also many elements of the lifestyle today that consumers will also link to local culture, such as popular trends locally,” she said.
“One of these is the rise in popularity of the game League of Legends locally, and with this in mind we launched a limited edition ‘The Hero Has Arrived’ product in collaboration with the game, creating an entire platform for players and consumers to really connect with it – this was also designed to have a unique limited edition flavour with zero sugar, so it remains in line with current trends as well.
“Here it is clear that this sort of innovation requires thinking that is less dependent and far beyond just the science of beverage creation – it comes from a focus on understanding local trends, consumers, items and the connections between them to form the culture, and integrating this culture into the innovation.”
Sustainability as a culture
Although sustainability might not come to mind immediately when culture is mentioned, in China this could see some link with the government implementing initiatives to reduce food and packaging waste in the country.
“Coca-Cola sees sustainable packaging as a global strategy that we implement based on the characteristics of the different markets, and we already have technologies available all over the region that are applicable in many different places,” Song added.
“For example, we already have the label-free bottle ILOHAS in Japan that utilises a debossed logo and symbol to remove the need to separate the label from bottle during recycling – and based on local business plans and regulations, if such an innovation becomes viable we will certainly apply this existing technology in new markets.”


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Kia Motors has announced their sales figures in the Indian market for the month of June 2020. As per the report, the South Korean carmaker has registered 7,275 units of sales in the country in the previous month. This is a relatively massive improvement compared to its sales in May 2020, when the lockdown regulations were eased.
Out of the total vehicles sales in June 2020, the Seltos registered 7,114 units while sales of the Carnival MPV stood at 161 units. The Kia Seltos also became the third best-selling car and the second best-selling SUV in the country for the month of June 2020.
Kookhyun Shim, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, Kia Motors India said
"While the pandemic refuses to subside, the country is somehow trying to sustain and prepare itself to live with the COVID-19 effects. Last few months have been testing for the consumers as well as the industry. The COVID-19 and lockdown constraints limited our sales this month, but we are sure of delivering many more cars to our customers in July."
Kia recently introduced the 2020 Seltos SUV in the Indian market recently as well. The new Kia Seltos 2020 comes with a host of updates, including a new dual-tone paint scheme. However, mechanically the 2020 Seltos remains unchanged.
The Seltos SUV comes powered by three engine options: two petrol and one diesel; all of which are compliant with the BS6 emission norms. This includes a 140bhp 1.4-litre turbo-petrol, 115bhp NA petrol and 115bhp diesel engines. All three engines come mated to a standard six-speed gearbox, with the option of three different automatic transmissions, depending on the engine and variants chosen.
Apart from the current two models on sale in the Indian market, Kia Motors is also working on introducing the Sonet SUV in the country. The Kia Sonet is scheduled to go on sale in India from August this year and will be positioned below the Seltos in the brand's product lineup. The Kia Sonet was first showcased at the 2020 Auto Expo and once introduced in India will rival the likes of the Hyundai Venue, Maruti Vitara Brezza and the Tata Nexon; among others.
Thoughts About The Kia Car Sales In India For June 2020
The Kia car sales in the month of June 2020 has witnessed a significant improvement, compared to May. The demand is further expected to increase in the coming months, especially with the arrival of the Sonet compact-SUV.


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In a move to counter extension of free benefits by Reliance Jio under its ‘ Jio Happy New Year Offer ’ and to improve its subscriber addition... ...http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/trakin/~3/ZnwfacIQFzc/
The family that owns Ansal API, the real estate giant, seems all set to fly off to foreign shores after selling off its properties at lower than... ...http://www.tehelka.com/2016/12/is-ansal-api-chief-the-next-mallya/
Among the top four, globally, Huawei continued to lead the market in revenue at a 51.17 percent share in 2015, up from 45.95 percent in 2014. It... ...http://communicationstoday.co.in/index.php/carriers/carriers-vendors/6409-reinvention-is-the-name-of-the-game
Prices of plots in these unauthorised colonies of Delhi have gone up by 30-50 per cent lately As the prices in all segments of realty projects... ...http://www.newindianexpress.com/thesundaystandard/2016/dec/03/realty-legal-down-illegal-up-1545335.html
While Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) is exhibiting signs of revival, the other state-run operator, Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL),... ...http://www.tele.net.in/company-stories/item/20475-mtnl-struggling-to-achieve-a-turnaround
Vaanya Properties is a leader in real...


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Research Reveals 5 in-demand Side Businesses That Pay N45 Million or More Yearly
- There has been an explosion in the side hustle industry as more people look to be independent
- Research has shown that more people are more inclined to work from home than in-person or office jobs
- Side gigs like Design, website development, and mobile app development are raving at the moment
PAY ATTENTION: Сheck out news that is picked exactly for YOU ➡ click on “Recommended for you” and enjoy!
A strong internet connection is all that is required to start earning a six-figure income working from home.
The widespread acceptance of remote working has made more opportunities available for people to find flexible, high-paying side businesses they can do virtually.
Nigerians wants to be more independent
Research shows that Nigerians, especially millennials and Gen Z are more entrepreneurially inclined.
PAY ATTENTION: Share your outstanding story with our editors! Please reach us through firstname.lastname@example.org!
More people are moving from in-person jobs that described the gig economy of the mid-2000s such as driving for Uber, delivering food for Jumia, Konga or others to pursue high-paying opportunities in professional services. Rather computer programming, IT, Marketing and business are the in-thing side hustlers of these days, according to CNBC
Freelancer has identified the best five in-demand side hustles that be done from home, according to 300,000 listings posted on the company's website between October and December 2022.
They have dozens of active listings and offer remote part-time opportunities.
Top five side hustles
- Graphic Design: $75,000 to $263,000
These people have to be good at design software such as Photoshop, Website design and illustrator.
- Game development: $56,000 to $258,000
They must have skills in game design, Unity 3D and animation.
- Coding: $101,000 to $219,000
Java, HTML, CSS, PHP and Backend development are necessary for these.
- Mobil App Development: $56,000 to 145,000
iOS, Android App Development, and User Interface (UI) design are necessary skills for this.
- Website Development: $63,000 to $141,000
WordPress, PHP, MySQL and HTML are needed.
More companies want remote workers
There has been an explosion in the online market for freelance tech talent in the last 12 months despite mass job cuts and layoffs by big tech companies.
More firms relied on contractors at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, especially in tech as more firms pivoted to online businesses and kept pace with the rapid growth of new trends in technology ranging from crypto to AI.
To pick up a tech side hustle, you need to build skills through online courses, coding boot camps and programming podcasts.
You can then create a digital portfolio of work samples to share with potential clients. List your own services and create accounts with sites like Upwork, Freelancer, Fiverr, and TraskRabitt, among others.
29-year-old woman says she makes N16.2 million monthly from her online art business
Legit.ng reported that Dominique Brown said she worked 80 hours weekly for two full-time marketing jobs at the pandemic's start, earning $129,000 per annum. She always felt something was a mission.
She was always passionate about making art and wanted to pursue it desperately.
In April 2020, Brown quit one of her jobs to start a side hustle. She wanted to see if she could make something for herself as an artist.


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Originally published by the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin, by Vicki Hillhouse, January 17,
How best to leverage digital media wasn’t just a timely topic for attendees at Visit Walla Walla’s annual meeting Thursday
It’s also been an ongoing endeavor for the destination marketing organization that had one of its best years for media exposure in 2018.
Creating content that takes followers behind the scenes of business is key to engaging customers in a social media landscape that is far beyond collecting “likes,” said Will Gryna, senior digital strategist for marketing firm DVA Advertising & Public Relations.
Gryna told the standing room only crowd gathered at Reid Campus Center at Whitman College to think of what they would like to see from business when planning their own digital content.
How-to’s, offers and unique stories were among the suggestions for content development at a time when engagement is more important than ever in translating to investment.
The presentation comes just a little over a month after Visit Walla Walla rolled out a new website that includes a direct-booking feature for lodging.
Visitors who land on the site no longer have to book their lodging through a separate search, Visit Walla Walla CEO Ron Williams explained.
The feature helps streamline the marketing service that ties in things to see and do, and now where to stay when you’re catching it all.
Visit Walla Walla, he said, does not get a cut for the service, but does potentially get the benefit of keeping visitors to the site on its platform a bit longer.
More attention for the town is the overall mission of the marketing organization. Its annual report included a breakdown of marketing recaps from public relations, print and digital exposure, plus traction and resulting impressions and clicks from the agency’s array of Facebook campaigns.
Outgoing board President Chris Garratt said the organization had about $1.6 million in what is known in the industry as “earned media.” That means attention from editorial coverage that wasn’t purchased.
In what he characterized as a “fantastic year for media,” stories in a regional, national and international platform brought attention to the community from all over the globe.
That includes April coverage in fashion magazine Vogue, which captured about 6.6 million eyeballs, Garratt said. After that, Sunset named Walla Walla the best wine region.
A wine bloggers conference last fall brought 222 writers to town and has so far resulted in at least 209 posts.
How to translate that into more weekday group and conference visits will be the focus of 2019, tourism officials said.


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Featured video from a previous report.
This comes shortly after the Centers for Disease Control issued a second warning to customers urging them to avoid Big Olaf products, according to WWSB.
All flavors, cuts, codes and expiration dates up to 06/30/2022 are included in the returns. The recalled ice cream was sold or served at Big Olaf retailers, restaurants and seniors’ homes in Florida, and at one location in Fredericksburg, Ohio.
The alert, posted July 8, wrote a listeria outbreak that killed one person and admitted 22 more to Big Olaf Creamery during their ongoing investigation, so customers should throw away products and disinfect anything they touch.
The FDA, along with the CDC, is helping the Florida Department of Health and the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services investigate the listeria outbreak.
See more: Listeria in Florida? CDC says new outbreak linked to death of Illinois resident, 22 hospitalizations
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a press release earlier this month that Big Olaf Creamery had previously voluntarily contacted retail locations to recommend that they not sell their ice cream products. Officials said consumers who have Big Olaf Creamery’s brand ice cream at home should throw out any leftover product, regardless of the “Best By” date.
Listeria is a deadly bacteria that causes symptoms such as fever, muscle aches, nausea, and diarrhea. It can be treated with antibiotics, but it is especially dangerous for pregnant women, newborns, the elderly, and those with a weakened immune system.
RELATED: Florida-based candy likely source of outbreak that killed IL woman, CDC says
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials say all 23 people known to have been infected in the outbreak either lived in or traveled to Florida about a month before they became ill. Big Olaf Creamery’s ice cream is produced at a central facility in Sarasota and then distributed to Big Olaf Creamery stores and other retailers.
What is Listeria?
Listeria is one of the most serious forms of food poisoning. Symptoms usually begin one to four weeks after eating contaminated food, but can begin as early as the same day. CDC officials said the first cases occurred in January of this year, but continued into June, when two people fell ill.
ABC7 Chicago contributed to this report.