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Shows & Panels
Shows & Panels
- The 2014 Big Picture on Cyber Security
- AFCEA Answers
- American Readiness: Renewable Power and Efficiency Technologies
- Ask the CIO
- Building the Hybrid Cloud
- Connected Government: How to Build and Procure Network Services for the Future
- Continuing Diagnostics and Mitigation: Discussion of Progress and Next Steps
- Delivering the Digital Government Mission
- Federal Executive Forum
- Federal News Radio's National Cyber Security Awareness Month Special Panel Discussion
- Federal Tech Talk
- The Future of Government Data Centers
- The Future of IT: How CIOs Can Enable the Service-Oriented Enterprise
- Government Perspectives on Mobility and the Cloud
- The Intersection: Where Technology Meets Transformation
- Maximizing ROI Through Data Center Consolidation
- Mitigating Insider Threats in Virtual & Cloud Environments
- Modern Mission Critical Series
- The New Generation of Database
- Reimagining the Next Generation of Government
- Targeting Advanced Threats: Proven Methods from Detection through Remediation
- Transformative Technology: Desktop Virtualization in Government
- The Truth About IT Opex and Software Defined Networking
- Air Traffic Management Transformation Report
- Cloud First Report
- General Dynamics IT Enterprise Center
- Gov Cloud Minute
- Government in Technology Series
- Homeland Security Cybersecurity Market Report
- National Cybersecurity Awareness Month
- Technology Insights
- The Cyber Security Report
- The Next Generation Cyber Security Experts
Shows & Panels
USPS identifies 3,700 post offices for possible closure
Tuesday - 7/26/2011, 1:06pm EDT
Facing budget pressures and decreased demand, the U.S. Postal Service wants to slim down its mammoth network of retail locations.
It has identified about 3,700 post offices, or about 12 percent of its stores nationwide, that could be closed.
USPS characterized the move as "optimizing" its retail network.
It will study the retail offices slated for review to "determine customer needs," according to a USPS press release.
Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe pointed to the increasing use of "expanded access locations," such as grocery stores and self-service kiosks, as well as USPS.com, in driving down demand for traditional offices.
"Our customers' habits have made it clear that they no longer require a physical post office to conduct most of their postal business," he said in the release.
USPS drafted the list based on foot traffic, revenue and workload at all post office locations.
It found that nearly 3,000 offices do little more than sell stamps.
"We have employees waiting around for customers to come into their lobby with two hours or less of work when nearly all of these operate for eight hours a day," said Dean Granholm, USPS vice president for delivery and post office operations.
The rest of the list consists of post offices that are currently suspended or located within a few miles of more popular locations.
In Washington, D.C., 19 post offices, including locations at the Pentagon, the State Department and the U.S. Capitol, are on the list.
For communities that could see their local post offices shuttered, USPS has floated the idea of the "village post office" as potential replacements.
"It's not just 'close and leave a community,'" Donahoe said. "We will not do that."
Rather, village post offices would still offer stamps and flat-rate packaging, for example, but would be operated by local businesses, such as pharmacies and grocery stores.
"By working with third-party retailers, we're creating easier, more convenient access to our products and services when and where our customers want them," Donahoe said.
He estimated that 4,000-5,000 employees, mostly postmasters, could be affected. Unions and associations representing postal staff oppose the cuts.
"Cutting service and closing post offices is not the answer to the USPS financial crisis," said the American Postal Workers Union in an email.
The review process would allow for staff and community input and take about four months. After that, any proposed closures could be appealed to the Postal Regulatory Commission.
"While we do not have any hard data to point to, the Postal Service will undoubtedly find that their review will not end up closing this large number of post offices, delivery and retail units," said Louis Atkins, president of the National Association of Postal Supervisors.
In the past, members of Congress also have opposed closures of their local post offices.
But the plan has the support of Congressman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), who chairs the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee that oversees USPS, and who has sponsored legislation to reform it.
"Today's announcement is a step in the right direction," Issa said in a statement. "There are, however, many difficult decisions ahead that must be made to improve operations, reduce costs, and return the Postal Service to financial solvency."
USPS has asked Congress to cut Saturday delivery service and allow it to regain some of the money that it says it has overpaid into the federal employee retirement system.


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Report: Apple to make iPhone 8 screen bigger than iPhone 7
Edge to edge, Apple may be making the iPhone 8's screen its biggest yet.
iPhone 8 Part of the same software dump from Apple may have leaked details on the size of the upcoming iPhone 8's screen. Forbes notes that the new screen could be the largest on an iPhone to date. The new information came again from Steve Troughton-Smith, who tweeted out the metrics.
Someone quickly made a mock-up of what the new iPhone screen could look like in terms of usable space. A noticeable notch is at the top, but the remainder of the body is all white: in other words, a screen that could be used almost edge to edge. Apple is rumored to be using an OLED screen for what will be its newest device. Of course Apple has yet to confirm that an iPhone 8 is even in the works.
But with 2017 the 10th anniversary of the iPhone, Apple fans are expecting the company to unveil something big, something almost revolutionary. The iPhone 7, while a beautiful smartphone, left many Apple users unimpressed. Also expected with a new iPhone 8 launch this year would be newer iterations of the iPhone 7 with a iPhone 7s and iPhone 7s Plus.
Props to @charavel for a quick mockup taking these numbers into account. This is what I expect usable screen space to look like on iPhone 8 pic.twitter.com/wyCmfHtusO
— Steve T-S (@stroughtonsmith) August 10, 2017
AR college Getting a college acceptance letter is thrilling enough. Getting one that launches a virtual tour of their college? That's how Northwestern Polytechnical College in China greeted its newest Freshmen. Gloves off.

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Almost two years after being acquired by Nokia, Withings co-founder, Eric Carreel was able to acquire the company back again in May. Now it looks like Withings is getting ready to make a comeback in the health and fitness industry by launching a new fitness tracker called Steel HR Sport along with a new app and a new logo.
The new fitness tracker takes its design cues from the Steel HR, which was launched by the company under Nokia’s supervision. It features the same analog face with a small digital screen embedded in it for displaying health stats and other data. It also comes in the same black and white color options. However, this time around, the watch comes with a silicon wristband, instead of the leather one featured on Steel HR. It’s water resistant up to 50 meters as well.
In terms of fitness, the Steel HR Sport supports tracking for up to 30 activities including running, cycling, swimming, gyming and more. It also comes with a heart rate monitor and GPS tracking to further help increase the accuracy with workouts. Additionally, there is also a fitness assessment feature included, which analyses the oxygen consumption and gives an estimation of how well your body can cope under intensive workouts. The smartwatch also keeps a track of your sleep cycles and stores all the data in the new Health Mate app on the smartphone.
Watch: Samsung Gear Sport and Fit Pro – Hands On
With the Steel HR Sport, Withings has also improved on notifications. The small screen supports call alerts, message notifications, email, calendar and many more. You can also set alarms on it. Withings claims the device to last for 25 days on a single charge with normal use and 5 days in workout mode. The Steel HR Sport is being priced at $199.95, which translates roughly to Rs 14,550.


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Nio Surges 7 % On Rumors Of Europe Expansion.
Shares found in Nio stock (NIO) surged 6.5 % in Tuesday’s trading, punching in the latest all-time high of $35.87 and also closing at $35.50.
Sparking the surge better had been unconfirmed mass media reports which China’s electricity automobile business is now aiming to expand straight into Europe.
As outlined by these stories, the company intends to launch its ES6 and ES8 versions within Europe next year featuring its 1st NIO House shop set for Copenhagen, Denmark. That represents a difference right from prior reports which had highlighted Norway while the company’s original targeted place outdoors China.
In a task dubbed Marco Polo’ Nio is thought to become shooting for product sales of 7,000 electrical cars or trucks throughout its first two years- also apparently already includes an overseas gadget created with sales all set to begin in the 2nd fifty percent of 2021.
Past this week Nio revealed that it shipped 5,055 cars found in October 2020, a brand new monthly record representing astounding 100.1 % year-over-year growing.
As of October 31, 2020, cumulative deliveries belonging to the ES8, EC6 and ES6 climbed to 63,343 vehicles. (See NIO stock analysis on TipRanks).
JP Morgan’s Nick Lai just enhanced Nio from hold to purchase with a Street-high forty dolars selling price objective (thirteen % upside potential). In China’s wise EV industry, we expect Nio to become much phrase winner with the premium spot one among Chinese makes the analyst revealed.
Though Lai admits he missed the stock’s considerable rally inside May, he nonetheless sees the possibility for meaningful upside during a valuation of 3x 2025E EV/sales. Shares within NIO are actually in an upward motion more than 780 % YTD.
We determine which Nio is anticipated to dominate ~30 % of the premium passenger EV industry or grasp 334k devices by 2025 Lai told investors, introducing that the following significant event certainly is the 3Q20 result in mid-November.
He expects a solid backlog orders with the newly unveiled EC6 crossover or perhaps around eight days hold on time with GPM topping ~12 % right from eight % inside 2Q20.
In general, NIO features a cautiously positive Moderate Buy Street opinion with six investment ratings, three hold ratings as well as 1 sell rating. Meanwhile the typical analyst selling price objective suggests substantial downside possibilities of thirty one % out of present-day amounts.


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Last week the authoritative news service of Dow Jones launched a bomb by reporting that Microsoft Hyper-V now has 24% of the virtualization market share.
The claims comes from Microsoft itself, specifically from Kevin Turner, the company COO, that said:
We launched our first product in October of this past year. From then till now, we gained 24 points of market share against a very, very formidable competitor.
VMware didn’t provide an official reply to Dow Jones, but answered to the virtualization.info inquiry by saying that there’s no evidence they are aware of to support this statement.
If true this would be a giant leap for Microsoft. Last time somebody checked the reports where pretty different:
- In March 2008 Gartner reported that the Microsoft market share was equal to 7%.
- In October 2008 IDC reported that the Microsoft market share was equal to 23%, but that number was obtained by aggregating the distribution of Hyper-V and Virtual Server.


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ZCBTA chairperson Killer Zivhu
By Rutendo Matanhike/Farai Matiashe
ZANU PF legislator and Zimbabwe Cross-Border Traders’ Association (ZCBTA) chairperson, Killer Zivhu has slammed the move by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) to introduce bureau de changes, saying this will encourage parallel market activities and take the country back to the 2008 era.
RBZ governor John Mangudya last week announced a new monetary policy that allows banks to trade United States dollars with real time gross settlement dollars, through an intermediate bank.
Zivhu said the system would fail considering that there were high levels of corruption in the country because some bureau de changes would most likely buy the money and trade it on the black market for quick returns.
“Some bureau de changes will buy the money for themselves or use their relatives to take money to the black market where it will fetch more. Bureau de changes are just forex dealers so where there is money, they are always there,” he said.
According to the monetary policy, bureau de changes would change a maximum of US$10 000 per day.
Zivhu said the daily limit was not sufficient for cross-border traders, considering the high unemployment rate in the country, which has forced many into the informal market for survival.
“More than two million Zimbabweans are not formally employed, hence they survive on buying and selling. Civil servants and the working class also depend on buying and selling of goods; they also sustain their salaries through cross-border business, which increases the number of people trading.
“We have bureau de changes changing US$10 000 per day, as a result these people will not be able to get money at the bank rate because they do not qualify to measures put in place for the banks. Their only option will be getting forex on the streets, thereby increasing the demand on black market,” he said.
The Chivi South MP said the re-introduction of bureau de changes does not help Zimbabwe’s economic malaise, but fuels the cash crisis and the parallel market as there is no adequate foreign currency.
“As ZCBTA, the monetary policy is not favourable to our members. We are seeing a repeat of 2007 and 2008, if the RBZ governor does not listen to our advice. We had similar problems in 2003 as well when there were cash shortages and also in 2007 and 2008 when they refused to listen to our advice,” he said.
The ZCBTA chairperson said there should be packages for cross-border traders, whereby they would buy forex in banks using mastercards and prepaid visa cards to avoid the handling of cash to reduce parallel market activities.


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Apple to Overhaul iTunes Radio as Pandora, Spotify Popularity Grows
April 9, 2014 2:03 PM
comment(s) - last by
Apple may open up its service to Android
Apple's iTunes Store will reportedly see a shakeup as the company faces increased competition and reduced customer interest in its own offerings.
, Apple is considering an on-demand streaming service, an iTunes store for Google’s Android gadgets and may even negotiate download sales windows.
iTunes Radio back in September 2013
as a way of dipping into the streaming sector, since many customers have moved to those competitive models. But the new service has seen underwhelming interest, with label executives estimating that 1-2 percent of listeners are clicking the "buy" button. Overall downloads have been declining upwards of 15 percent.
To top it off, an independent label said that iTunes’s share of the label’s revenue has decreased from more than 70 percent in 2012 to about 50 percent today -- showing that Apple's power of labels is declining while competitors continue to grow.
Some of the more successful competitors are YouTube, Pandora and Spotify, which offer streaming music and/or video in various ways, such as subscription models.
Apple has reportedly realized that its iTunes Radio has two major issues when comparing it to services by successful competitors: subscription models, and availability for Google's Android operating system.
The download model seems to be old news, as subscription services like Pandora and Spotify continue rising in popularity. Some label executives even said that iTunes Radio could still be a big player in other countries like Russia and Brazil, where "passive" streaming services still haven't caught on the way they have in the U.S. -- suggesting that iTunes Radio won't make it in the U.S. unless it changes its model.
“Two-thirds of its high-value customers are now in subscription services,” said one of
sources regarding Apple. “That has been an eye-opener for them.”
As far as Android goes, the reality is that smartphones running Android accounted for 69.5 percent of sales across 12 key countries in Q4 2013, compared to 23.7 percent for Apple’s iOS. If Apple doesn't open up the service to other platforms, namely Android, it's going to lose a chunk of the market.
Label executives predict that iTunes Radio will be completely different in three to five years as Apple eyes an overhaul that will place its service back at the top spot. Apple hasn't confirmed any changes yet, but it looks like the internal talks have begun.
This article is over a month old, voting and posting comments is disabled
RE: I don't see why anyone would buy music for $1+ per track when
4/11/2014 11:06:31 AM
It really depends on how much you spend on music. If you routinely spend less than $10/month buying music, then that subscription is not a good model.
"Well, there may be a reason why they call them 'Mac' trucks! Windows machines will not be trucks." -- Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer
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Published on Tuesday, December 03 2013 09:27
Each month, the Colorado Department of Agriculture features a different commodity to highlight the variety and quality of products grown, raised or processed in the state. This month, Colorado beef is featured in the Colorado Meatballs recipe.
The cattle industry is Colorado’s largest agricultural sector. Colorado ranks 10th in the nation for cattle numbers, with 2.6 million
Published on Monday, December 02 2013 09:45
Finding the perfect tree, hunting for special menu ingredients and searching for ideal gifts can be stressful. The Colorado Department of Agriculture has a variety of online resources to help consumers through this special, but hectic, time of year. The Colorado Food and Agriculture Gift Guide and the Colorado Christmas Tree List help shoppers connect with local producers.
Published on Thursday, November 28 2013 14:33
Giving softly everyday
Kind and grateful
Published on Thursday, November 28 2013 14:34
By Ali VanLeeuwen
Twas the night before services came on, and all through the hood...
Not a sink was dripping, it was 10 weeks of no good.
Published on Thursday, November 28 2013 14:29
Today as I arise I am thankful for so many things in Lyons Colorado. I am thankful that so many in our beautiful little town will be able to enjoy Thanksgiving in the town and home we love. I think after the flood that will forever change us, but not define us, I am aware of how blessed we truly are in overabundance of family, friends, and community. IronicallyRead more: Every Calorie Counts


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Grieg Seafood has eventual hopes of harvesting between 120,000 and 135,000 metric tons (MT) of Atlantic salmon annually, but after missing its initial 2023 harvest guidance of 87,000 gutted-weight tons (GWT) by some margin, the Bergen, Norway-headquartered producer has gone back to the drawing board to get its harvest goals back on track.
The group’s newly published 2023 annual report confirmed it harvested just 72,015 GWT in 2023; that volume was 15 percent lower than 2022’s 84,697 GWT.
Grieg said biological events impacted its 2023 harvest, particularly in the Finnmark region of Norway, where harvest volumes totaled 8,000 GWT lower than expected. The Spironucleus salmonicida parasite, winter ulcers, and microjellyfish blooms have heavily impacted survival rates and operational efficiency in Finnmark, according to the company.
“Biological challenges have impacted survival rates and operational efficiency, resulting in reduced volumes, increased handling costs, and lower price realization,” Grieg CEO Andreas Kvame said. “We are also turning every stone to mitigate winter ulcers, including new vaccines and probiotic treatments to enhance fish health. However, due to the long production cycle, it will take some time to realize the positive impacts of these measures.”
Grieg reached a milestone in 2023 after completing its first harvests from its Newfoundland region in Q4 2023. Kvame said this development, in addition to its targeting new licenses and adoption of cutting-edge technology will ...


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Target Downgraded to Underperform at Zacks (TGT)
Target (NYSE:TGT) was downgraded by Zacks from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday. They currently have a $54.00 price target on the stock. Zacks‘s price objective indicates a potential downside of 9.26% from the stock’s previous close.
Zacks’ analyst wrote, “Target’s troubles remain far from over. The company continues to reel under the effects of the massive data breach. Moreover, the company’s tepid foray into the Canadian market, weak e-commerce sales and subsequent dismal quarterly performances has put it on back foot. As a result, management provided a cautious outlook for the second quarter as well as for the fiscal given the near-term challenges. Management expects pressured operating margins and comps triggering a downtrend in the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Though the company has diverted resources to enhance domestic and online sales as well as to improve Canadian operations, but it will prove to be a time consuming affair. Therefore, we downgrade our long term recommendation on the stock to Underperform.”
A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on TGT. Analysts at Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Target in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. They set an “underweight” rating and a $60.00 price target on the stock. Separately, analysts at BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Target from $75.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, analysts at Janney Montgomery Scott reiterated a “fair value” rating on shares of Target in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. They now have a $54.00 price target on the stock, down previously from $67.00. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. The stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $63.38.
Target (NYSE:TGT) traded up 1.26% on Friday, hitting $59.51. The stock had a trading volume of 3,014,443 shares. Target has a one year low of $54.66 and a one year high of $73.50. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $57.52 and a 200-day moving average of $59.30. The company has a market cap of $37.712 billion and a P/E ratio of 19.85.
Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The company reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, missing the Thomson Reuters consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $17.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.77 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Target will post $3.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which is scheduled for Wednesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. This is an increase from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43.
Target Corporation sells a range of assortment of general merchandise and food in its stores. The Company’s general merchandise and CityTarget stores offer a food assortment on a smaller scale and its SuperTarget stores offer a line of food items comparable to traditional supermarkets.
To view Zacks’ full report, visit Zacks’ official website.
Get Analysts' Upgrades and Downgrades via Email - Stay on top of analysts' coverage with Analyst Ratings Network's FREE daily email newsletter that provides a concise list of analysts' upgrades and downgrades. Click here to register now.


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J.C. Penney is making moves to draw in the digitally connected tween consumer with a new fashion-forward apparel line.
On Wednesday, the retailer announced the launch of Obsess—a tween brand featuring rotating capsule collections inspired by young women who are role models for the demographic, and are living healthy lifestyles and demonstrating that size and shape don’t matter when it comes to fashion. Penney’s tapped Olympic gold medalist Laurie Hernandez to help develop the brand’s first collection, which features trendy tops, dresses, jeans and rompers designed for all body shapes.
Obsess, which is available for girls sizes 7 to 20, will debut at jcpenney.com on Monday and launch at 500 Penney’s locations starting Mar. 2. Items from the line retail from $21.99 to $34.99.
“Obsess is a very unique brand that allows J.C. Penney to reach a generation of girls who move rapidly from one fashion trend to another, as they discover new style inspiration through daily social media feeds. By working with inspiring young women like Laurie Hernandez for unique capsule collections under the Obsess brand, J.C. Penney is able to offer tween girls the fresh, new styles they crave,” said James Starke, senior vice president of merchandising at Penney’s. “Gen Z holds $44 billion in buying power and is on track to becoming the largest consumer segment over the next few years, representing significant sales growth potential.”
[Read more about young consumers: How Retailers Should be Tapping Into Gen Z’s Buying Power]
The brand’s introductory capsule collection reflects Hernandez’ personal style, and the athlete helped create the line, approving each piece for the capsule. Tweens will find casual and feminine looks in the line, including bright floral prints, cold shoulder peplum tops, embroidered jeans and a teal bomber jacket with pink flowers—one of Hernandez’s favorite items.
“My body changes so much between training, travel and downtime. Comfort is so important. I wanted to create casual, cool clothes for girls of all shapes,” Hernandez said. “I am so excited to launch my Obsess capsule at J.C. Penney and help girls feel confident and comfortable.”
Obsess will be located in Penney’s girls’ department, where tweens can shop from an assortment of other popular brands, including The Original Arizona Jean Co., by&by, Levi’s and Nike. By providing rotating concepts, tween consumers can find Obsess styles tailored to specific times of the year, including the back-to-school season. Penney’s will announce its next Obsess celebrity collaboration later this year.


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SHREWSBURY, Mo. (KMOV.com) -- Police are investigating reports that thieves stole catalytic converters from six cars outside Green Angel Cleaning Service in Shrewsbury.
Owner Stacey Wilund said the discovery was made Friday morning when an employee went to start one of the cars.
"It sounded like a motorcycle," said Wilund. “I exchanged out the key and then we started up and we’re going one by one by one and then all six of them were making the same sound and then we knew something wasn’t right."
As a small business, Wilund called the thefts devastating.
“We have a lot of employees who don’t have vehicles to drive so they count on those cars to drive, we count on those cars," said Wilund.
Mark Dirsa with Auto Evaluators said thieves sell the converters to scrap yards. They can make between $50 and $200 per part. You can't really drive a car without a catalytic converter.
“It’s kinda like the wash machine for the exhaust so without it raw fumes are just rolling out of this car," said Dirsa.
Wilund can't afford to replace the converters in all six cars.
“It’s gonna cost us anywhere from $1,100 to $2,300 per car to fix and you know when we do the math and what our cars are worth, essentially we lost our entire fleet," said Wilund.
Within the last two weeks, thieves also stole catalytic converters from five vehicles in the parking lot of Maaco Collision Repair & Auto Painting in Kirkwood.
It's not clear if the crimes are connected. So far, no arrests have been made.


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Okay, there's a chance the Infiniti QX56 will not go down in history as the best-looking vehicle from the Big...
After crushing in the 2011 Infiniti EX35 compact luxury crossover’s front, rear, side, and roof, the IIHS now has a crush on the compact crossover, naming it one of the Institute’s Top Safety Picks for 2011.
Read This Article
Infiniti has teased its upcoming Q30 compact luxury hatch at Nissan 360 in Southern California.
Infiniti announced today that it will begin building vehicles at Nissan's facility in Sunderland, United Kingdom.
Every week, TrueCar showcases the best deals you can find on new cars and new SUVs today.


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The Success Factors of BlackBerry 10
Blackberry prepares for a crucial moment in its history as it launches its new array of BlackBerry 10 smartphones and is relying on loyal customers to buy into Blackberry's comeback narrative.
Survival and the Corporation
Corporate and government clients are the cornerstone of Blackberry’s user-base and expansion globally. They represent the customers who are the most loyal to BlackBerry. Blackberry business users comprise 20 million of their 79 million users globally. Corporate users buy the more expensive phones and also purchase enterprise software licenses to support these devices. This has created a stable and lucrative revenue stream for Blackberry.
BlackBerry 10 is aimed at a mass audience. The BlackBerry brand has lost so much of its cachet with consumers and it will take a long time to win them back.
The strategy Blackberry is using is to persuade a large number of their 20 million business customers to upgrade to Blackberry 10. This will begin the process of ending the downward spiral and begin to take the company out of a financial nosedive through the creation of a profitable business built around these core customers.
If corporate customers buy into Blackberry 10, they will change the perception that Blackberry is irrelevant and dying and this will give Blackberry more time to turn the company around.
Blackberry die-hards like the keyboard. Many can't see themselves ever tapping on a glass screen with no tactile feedback from a clicky keyboard. I recenty bought a keyboard cover for my iPad that has a real clicky keyboard. I find myself using my iPad much more than I did before and it has now become a viable alternative to my laptop. Keyboards matter, no matter what Apple and Google say.
So the keyboard will definitely bring users back to Blackberry 10. In my opinion.
There are sone question about Blackberry confusing its keyboard message. Business customers are getting confused about whether the first BlackBerry 10 phone will launch with a physical keyboard.
Many loyal business customers like Blackberry's because they has a physical keyboard. These customers are not going to be impressed with a touch screen keyboard and want their physical keyboard.
Customers who are waiting for BlackBerry 10 devices will assume that the device will have a physical keyboard. When they find out the launch devices won't have physical keyboards they are not going to be very happy. What will they do?
Bringing Your Own Device To Work
The latest trend is for employees to bring their iPhones and Android devices to their workplace and use them for both work and play. The employees, not the corporate IT department, are deciding what device to use within the corporation.
This means, instead of buying a BlackBerry for employees, they’ll allow them to get their corporate e-mail on their own personal phones, often sharing the cost. That’s part of a broader trend that chief information officers call the “consumer-ization of IT". Devices, software, and trends that are popular among consumers spread to the business world.
Many people now prefer to use smartphones manufactured by Apple, Samsung, and HTC devices at the expense of Blackberry's smartphone marketshare. This is to be expected. Even Apple has lost market share to Samsung.
Blackberry may have a flawed strategy because smartphones have become commoditized, and Western consumers’ preference for iPhones and Android phones has slowly spilled over into the business world.
The delays in BB10 caused some businesses to supplement or replace aging BlackBerrys with other, non-Blackberry devices because they had to.
Understanding the Stakes
The stakes for Blackberry are much higher than ever before.
BlackBerry 10 is an entirely new smartphone platform launched during a time of intense smartphone competition.
If Blackberry fails or if it achieves only modest success, the company will have to explore the more realistic option in its strategy, the sale or break up of the company. Given the success of Android and iPhone devices, what do you think their chances are in the next year?
Blackberry’s top management has been able to deflect the difficult questions about the company’s future by saying, “wait until BlackBerry 10 launches."
That wait is now over. The sales figures will come in and the verdict will be cast in in February 2013. This narrative has become a great stalling tactic that will abruptly come to an end in February 2013.
Putting It In Perspective
Apple sold a record 47.8 million iPhones in Q4 2012 and this is more than half of Blackberry’s global base of 79 million BlackBerry users.
The trend is strongest in the U.S. where Apple's brand has risen while Blackberry's has fallen. U.S. corporations tend to replace BlackBerrys with iPhones because of their integration with iPads. By contrast, Blackberry’s PlayBook tablet has been reviewed as unimpressive and the tablet is unable to function properly without being tethered to a BlackBerry.
What's Going On Now
Blackberry now has 130 corporate customers evaluating BlackBerry 10 devices. These companies span financial services, government, health care and other industries.
More than 1,600 businesses, including Fortune 500 companies, are registered for what Blackberry calls the BlackBerry 10 “ready program,” which prepares companies to deploy Blackberry’s new phones at launch.
Security Advantage: The Good and the Bad
To make matter worse, the security advantage of Blackberry devices is fading. iPhones and Android devices have become more secure and not every company – particularly those that now have iPhones in the mix – need the type of security that BlackBerrys offer.
There are some industries where confidentiality is important and have never strayed from Blackberry. These industries will be happy about BB10 because they offer a better-enabled devices with newer functionality and capabilities.
Blackberry recently launched a new version of the software that helps businesses manage BlackBerrys. The new software allows businesses to manage iPhones and Android phones with Blackberry devices.
Corporations know that the Blackberry is the most secure, the most diverse mobile device management platform. Blackberry's management solutions support more devices, including BlackBerry devices and other devices. Today, the competition can't even come close.
Glimmers of Hope
The Windows Phone has largely failed to gain traction. Blackberry is still more popular than Microsoft’s Windows Phone software as a business alternative to Apple and Android.
The success of BlackBerry 10 will also depend on how well major carriers push the devices with promotions, subsidized prices and plans for businesses.
The Bottom Line
BlackBerry 10 will launch and there will be a global marketing campaign. After the die-hards have bought their devices, the BB10 will have to perform better than iPhones and Android devices or people will pass on BB10.
The word on the street is scepticism and people seem to need some convincing. There are so many fantastic smartphones out there today and the competition is brutally fierce.
What seals the fate of Blackberry for me are the iPhone and Android sales figures. Android and iPhone devices are flying off the shelves in numbers that Blackberry cannot realistically compete with in 2013.


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Prepaid debit card company Green Dot is making the next (logical?) step in its business with the launch of GoBank, a bank that exists only on the web... and on your iPhone. As reported by AllThingsD, a key component of the new bank is a mobile app developed by the team responsible for Loopt, a check-in based social network purchased by Green Dot last year.
Via the app and a website, GoBank will let customers maintain a checking account and conduct the usual assortment of transactions free of fees for things like in-network ATM use (otherwise US$2.50 per transaction) and overdrafts. As for a monthly fee, the bank is taking the unusual approach of letting customers decide how much they want to pay per month, from nothing up to $9.
GoBank is obviously hoping that customers will opt to pay something, but will supplement revenue by offering the option to create custom debit cards that contain photos and other artwork uploaded by account holders. Standard debit cards will be free, but the personalized plastic will run $9. Back on the app side of things, customers will be able to use it to snap photos of checks for making deposits and send money to others using their email addresses, a la PayPal.
The bank is currently in beta (how's that for a weird thing to hear?) and is accepting new customers on an invite-only basis (ditto).


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Mazda says it is investigating the possibility of adding all-wheel drive to the Mazda3 and new Mazda6 sold in the United States.
At the LA Auto Show, the carmaker lifted the veil on the updated 6, complete with a stunning exterior design and turbocharged petrol engine. During an interview with Car Advice at the show, Mazda North America Operations president and chief executive, Masahiro Moro, said the brand is investing all-wheel drive.
“I think we are not able to combine four-wheel drive and the 2.5-litre turbo. We have a layout issue with the sedans, that’s why a four-wheel drive isn’t deployed on the Mazda 3 and 6 so far.
“But there is a huge demand, at least what I know is that in the east coast of the USA, 80 or 90 per cent of premium sedans are sold with all-wheel drive.
“Four-wheel drive becomes a premium queue for US consumers and obviously I have asked our R&D department to think about how we can accommodate four-wheel drive capability in the future,” Moro said.
The pre-facelift Mazda6 has been sold in all-wheel drive configuration in Japan and Europe and if the marque is serious about capturing new customers in the U.S., it appears as if all-wheel drive is a must.


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Our designers and developers are already researching on the possibilities of creating innovative apps and waiting for the release of watchKit. We have started studying the various aspects of the watchkit and the possibilities with its numerous features. Apple has announced release of WatchKit in early 2015. Ours team are getting ready for it. The WatchKit collection of development tools and APIs intend to make Apple Watch device a new platform for developers. Developers can start building fully functional native apps specifically designed for Apple watch.
Using WatchKit, developers will be able to incorporate ‘Glances’ capability into apps. This enables users to swipe the face of the watch and be able to check for news, travel, and other information. WatchKit will allow developers to create apps by which the user can respond directly from their wrist.
Apple even plan on some exciting features like converting your watch to a room hey that will let you enter your room, just by waving your Watch near the door. Watchkits does not limit the development to simple pop up messages. You can find where your car is and when it is time to fuel it. Apple is trying to change the way you interact with everyday activities. Possibilities for interactions are endless in situations like a boarding a plane, waiting for a train or travelling.


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“All of our brands have their own niches in terms of target demographics and that’s the wonderful thing about Banijay and Endemol Shine North America is that we have something for everyone,” says Scott Shillet, vice president, licensing, Endemol Shine North America. “All of our brands are global, they’re beloved around the world so there’s a lot of synergies when working on global partnerships. But overall, the biggest benefit is obviously having a much deeper catalog.”
Banijayacquired Endemol Shine Group in 2020 and added a portfolio of globally loved brands to its roster, from “MasterChef” to “Mr. Bean,” “Peaky Blinders” and “Wipeout” to name a few.
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Fans of dahl-icious and mouth-watering masalas are being urged to vote for their favourite curry in the North-east.
The ballot is now open for people to have their say in the Evening Express Reader’s Choice Award.
The accolade – part of Aberdeen’s Best Curry Awards – has become one of the most highly sought after prizes for eateries in the North-east.
It is a wildcard award, where readers nominate and vote for their personal favourite – meaning anyone can win.
Evening Express features editor Scott Begbie said: “Evening Express readers know their food and they certainly know their curries, which is why we are delighted to give them this chance to name their favourite curry restaurant in the North-east as part of the Aberdeen’s Best Curry Awards.
“Now it is over to our readers to have their say … and we know they will choose well.”
This year’s Aberdeen’s Best Curry Awards chairman, Syed Abdul Hamid – known as Raj – said he was delighted to have the Evening Express Reader’s Choice as a category.
He said: “It gives the people, readers and customers from every restaurant a fair level of chance to win. It’s a great thing for every restaurant and customers to be involved in.”
Raj – winner of last year’s Chef of the Year – said it is important for businesses as it shows the loyalty of their customers.
He added: “The reader’s choice award is one of the best categories.
“Everyone has the same chance of winning, whether you’re a restaurant on George Street or whether you’re a restaurant in Albyn Place.”
This year has seen more people within the community and smaller establishments taking part.
There has already been a record number of votes, and tables for the event are set to sell out.
Two lucky Evening Express voters will win tickets to the awards ceremony.
The winners will be announced in a glittering award show at the Hilton Treetops on March 28.


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Jonathan Ross, an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for services in broadcasting, first mentioned role-playing game Fable III in May 2009. He said he "got asked" to do voice in Fable III. What was his answer?
Kotaku · Brian Ashcraft
Battlegrounds producer Chang-han Kim reportedly told Inven, “There is something called ‘Game Preview’ on Xbox One. It’s like…
Kinja is in read-only mode. We are working to restore service.


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Welcome to the Q2 issue of BUILD Magazine, your source for all the latest news and features from across the global construction and property industries! In this issue we dive into the realm of architecture, whilst also taking a look at a few creative interior design firms.
One example of the former is CL3 Architects Ltd, an innovative architecture firm based in Hong Kong. The firm’s design style has primarily been Asian contemporary, with a noted ability to preserve the natural symbioses between architecture and art. By altering Eastern aesthetics to give more of a modern interpretation, CL3 Architects Ltd’s creative thinking produces a unique showcase of distinguished designs that serve to differentiate them in a notoriously competitive market.
BUILD Magazine Announces The 2019 Infrastructure Awards Winners United Kingdom, 2019– BUILD Magazine has announced winners of the 2019 Infrastructure…
As software continues to pave the way to more advanced and complex buildings, the question arises over the shift in skills our future builders will need. Potentially, we will require builders with more technological skills than practical skills, especially as artificial intelligence continues to develop enough to be able to take over basic labour tasks.
Artificial intelligence is weaving its way into so many industries. For the construction industry, we’re seeing the technology being deployed at every stage of design, construction, and even long after the project has been completed. From organising information for easier access to taking the role of bricklayer, artificial intelligence is proving highly effective in an industry that is usually slow to integrate new technology into its processes.
Previously, the PPE Directive was completely focused on manufacturers who placed products into the market. However, this new regulation that was put into action on 21st April 2018 will involve the entire supply chain. As a result, anyone who is part of the supply or distribution chain must abide by PPE and meet the standard requirements that have been set out — while also having an understanding that only products that meet the standards will be made available on the market.


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Published March 25, 2010 at 12:32 PM
Attractive M&A targets in online video include Brightcove, Howcast, Livestream, TubeMogul and Visible Measures, says Ashkan Karbasfrooshan, CEO of online video content producer WatchMojo.com. Karbasfrooshan predicts a wave of M&A deals in online video this year, including potential shopping sprees by AOL Inc. (NYSE:AOL) , Gannett Co. (NYSE:GCI), Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG), Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO). Watch the video below or download it at iTunes. - Mary Kathleen Flynn
Ed O'Keefe, deputy general counsel and global legal operations executive of Bank of America Corp., will join Moore & Van Allen PLLC's litigation practice. For other updates launch today's Movers & shakers slideshow.
The next few months will be crucial for Panera Bread, a consumer retailer that provides sandwich, salad and bakery goods, which is in the midst of a turnaround effort that has attracted the interest of an activist investor. More video


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Annual tourist arrivals from China crossed the 46,000 mark in 2010, a five-fold jump from 2001, attesting to the growing popularity of the country among Chinese vacationers.
The number of Chinese tourists has already reached 33,375 by the first seven months of 2011.
With the growth the northern neighbor has emerged as the second largest source market after India.
Travel trade entrepreneurs said that increased flight connectivity between Nepal and China had supported the growth in tourist arrivals. Chinese carriers China Southern, China Eastern and Air China operate on the Guangzhou-Kathmandu, Kunming- Kathmandu and Lhasa-Kathmandu sectors respectively.
“An increase in flight frequency and rising interest in Nepal at both the government and non-government levels have boosted travels from China,” The Kathmandu Post daily in its Saturday edition has quoted Aditya Baral, spokesperson of the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) as saying.
Nepal’s Buddhist pilgrimage destinations and greater marketing efforts by Nepali tour operators in China also contributed to the growth in Chinese arrivals. “The significant presence of Chinese visitors has kept Nepal’s tourism sector busy even during the off- season.”
According to the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), Chinese outbound travelers have contributed to the double-digit growth in the number of people visiting the Asia-Pacific region, taking the estimated 45 million arrivals in 2010 to as much as 60 million in 2011.
Travel from China to South Asia has grown 21 percent. Since 2005, arrivals from China to India has doubled, Nepal has seen the numbers triple, while arrivals from China to the Maldives and Bhutan have increased five-fold, according to the PATA.
Although, the Chinese government had permitted Approved Destination Status (ADS) for Chinese outbound in November 2001, the number of Chinese tourists arriving in Nepal was nominal. Nepal had first participated in the China International Travel Fair in 2000 for the promotion of Nepal’s tourism.
“Nepal and China signed an initial memorandum of understanding on an implementation plan for outbound travel by Chinese to Nepal in April 16, 2001 preparing the path for the ADS,” said Kashi Raj Bhandari, director of planning and research at the NTB.
In 2002, the ADS was granted by the China National Tourism Administration and in June 2002, Chinese citizens went to Nepal officially for the first time as tourists. Before 2000, Chinese were allowed to travel to Nepal only on official visits.
Bhandari said that the central banks of the two countries had signed an agreement on bilateral cooperation that allowed Chinese currency to be convertible in Nepal aiming to boost bilateral trade, tourism and economic cooperation.
Although entrepreneurs said that the quantum leap in arrivals from China was good for Nepal Tourism Year 2011 that has projected 100,000 visitors from China alone out of the targeted one million tourists, a massive Chinese influx could also make Nepal dependent on Chinese visitors.


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The global DRAM industry will see higher prices per chip next year than in the past three because the global recession has forced many chip makers to reduce spending on new factories, the head of Japan's Elpida Memory has said.
An online retailer is taking orders for a new Clarkdale processor from Intel, providing early details of its next-generation desktop processor ahead of the product's official launch.
Intel's decision to indefinitely delay its Larrabee graphics processor is a setback for the Linux community, delaying improved performance for users of open source operating systems. Competitors Nvidia and AMD, however, saw their share prices rise fo...
Remember playing with the bulky transistors that came with your first electronics kit? The most important part of modern electronics, the transistor has been shrinking since its discovery in the 1920's. Smaller transistors mean smaller and faster c...
Although Intel delayed its first stand-alone graphics processor, code-named Larrabee, the company could use elements of the chip's design and architecture in future products, analysts said on Monday.
Alarmist news reports earlier this year warned that solar storms coming in 2012 will cripple electric power, GPS equipment and communications systems for months, creating an electronic apocalypse not dreamt of since the days of pre-Y2k hysteria. Thos...
The U.S. Air Force recently issued a request for proposals to purchase 2,200 Sony PlayStation 3 video game consoles. Does the Air Force plan to play lots of Grand Theft Auto?
People looking for one electronic device to handle all of their needs have false hopes, according to researchers at Intel.
Arm and Qualcomm led a group of investors that have invested nearly US$10 million in chip interconnect startup Arteris, the companies said Monday.
Everything gets better, right? Cheaper. Faster. Smaller. This is especially true for the smallest devices -- cell phones, netbooks and e-book readers.
Intel is delaying the commercial release of its Larrabee graphics processor, which had been due out next year, and is not providing a new launch date.
An early engineering sample of Intel's upcoming Core i9 chip has been spotted on eBay, way ahead of the processors' scheduled 2010 release date.
Intel unveiled an experimental CPU (central processing unit) cramming 48 processing cores into a single, stamp-sized piece of silicon. There are obvious implications in terms processing capabilities taking a quantum leap from what we use today, but w...
Intel Corp. is honing its sights on many-core chips that are far more powerful than today's dual and quad-core processors.
The recent legal settlement between Intel and Advanced Micro Devices will bring new business to AMD and major benefit for its customers, the chip maker said Wednesday.
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The proposals still need to be approved by the European Parliament
The European Commission has moved to further improve cross-border shopping within the EU by altering VAT rules. Under the new proposal, both companies and consumers should find it much easier to trade online. Whilst not passed yet, the new law would open a VAT payment portal across the EU, meaning that companies could sell across the continent more affordably as VAT would be paid only in the buyer’s country. Ecommerce Europe has expressed its pleasure with the idea, saying that the “proposal has the potential to minimise the burdens when selling cross-border that arise from different VAT regimes across the European Union”. The proposals are yet to be submitted to the European Parliament, but it is expected to soon begin the process of being accepted.
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The Mercedes-Benz high-performance 2007 R63 AMG model.
Scott Olson | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Daimler Truck achieved a record adjusted return on sales in its second quarter of 10.3% for its industrial business making trucks and buses, the company said on Tuesday, boosted by considerable growth in its North America and Asia business.
Unit sales rose by 9% with revenue up 15%, indicating the company had upheld its strategy of combatting rising costs by hiking prices – but incoming orders were down by 12% in the first half of the year, results showed.
Earnings per share in the quarter fell slightly to 1.11 euros compared to 1.12 euros in the prior year period, the company said.
Daimler Truck raised its guidance for annual adjusted sales returns across the group last month to a range of 8.5% to 10% from 7.5% to 9% previously, citing easing of supply chain constraints, stronger demand in its core markets and the after-sales business.
The company struggled in the first quarter with supply chain issues for semiconductors, but has maintained throughout the year that a general improvement in supply chains would lift its profits.


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If the metaverse and crypto-assets are no longer popular, generative AI could impose itself in 2023 as the new technological trend that must be seized.
End of 2021, Marketing wondered if the metaverse and NFTs wouldn’t be the flops of 2022. Even if the valuation of crypto-assets then reached peaks, Twitter adopted non-fungible profile pictures, and Facebook became Meta, entered a new era of the Internet.
As for the brands, all wanted to launch their NFT collection, and the slightest gaming operation became a pretext for a sensational entry into the metaverse… Twelve months later, enthusiasm has indeed waned. Like the course of Bitcoin, still recently affected by the FTX scandal. For its part, Meta has sacrificed its profitability, its cash flow and 11,000 employees in the development of Horizon Worlds, which attracted less than 200,000 users at the end of October, far from the 500,000 hoped for. And what about Twitter? A double page would not suffice.
Failures to qualify
One could therefore think that we had been right. And yet, no. These failures should be qualified: the adoption of these innovations is done in fits and starts, and after the euphoria, the economic context advocates sobriety. Gartner, famous for its hype curve, evokes the maturity of the metaverse for 2030. And the experts themselves are still struggling to agree on the definition of the metaverse or on the potential of Web3!
Read also: Tribune From social media to metavers brands converse with their communities
“For now, the experiences designated as representative of the “metaverse” are deceptive. As for Web3, the purchase of crypto-assets may seem expensive for the vast majority of consumers”summarizes Maria Mercanti-Guérin, teacher-researcher in Digital Marketing at the IAE of Paris and at the Sorbonne Business School.
“Hence the slow adoption of these topics, and the feeling that big companies are the only ones who want to drag us into it.” She is joined by Sébastien Badault, VP Marketing and Web3 at Ledger: “The Internet bubble, then the subprime crisis each time gave a new impetus to the development of the Web. For my part, I do not believe in the logic of an immersive world. I do not think that is what people are looking for For now, we will first see the development of hybrid approaches, with more virtual in the physical world, and vice versa.”
In its predictions for 2023, Forrester evokes this use of mixed reality in a professional setting, through meetings of avatars working on 3D models. But judges that the general public’s appetite for immersive virtual experiences has fallen with the end of confinements… Which also explains the drop in online purchases. But for all that, can we predict the end of e-commerce?
Similarly, again according to Forrester, 80% of French people are not particularly interested in NFTs. But which French, and which NFTs? Successful NFTs may be those that will not be identified as such, and which will allow “token gating”, i.e. access to content or advantages reserved for their owner, such as the Swoosh platform. from Nike.
Moreover, the drop in crypto-asset prices should encourage the development of less speculative uses to engage the youngest. “The fall in prices does not impact the group’s strategy. We remain focused on the long term, and are building the infrastructure that will allow us to be ready when the ecosystem is developed for the general public.“, assures Nicolas Joly, Director of Merger and Acquisition Projects of the Casino Group. Stéphanie Zolesio, General Manager of Casino Immobilier, completes: “We believe that the metaverse is a new meeting place with consumers, and that NFTs are a new medium for developing customer relations.” Will we one day see the development of a “CRM Web3” based on the NFTs held in our wallet, or will the latter become a unique identifier for our online browsing? Hard to say.
“The most obvious opportunity is in digital twins”says Julien Pillot, teacher-researcher at INSEEC, referring to the replicas allowing surgeons, firefighters or even special forces to train in virtual environments before taking action. “The Oasis of Ready Player One is still a fantasy in order to attract investment. Even if Horizon World and the other playful metaverses are not successful, the money invested in these projects will have advanced research in AR/VR, artificial intelligence (AI) or haptic feedback, creating new solutions and also many jobs!”, judge the economist. And indeed, we must highlight the progress made in 2022 in terms of generative AI.
AI what? Get ready, it seems hard for you to escape it in 2023. Already used in the creative and marketing industry to add or remove new elements in visuals, or even to replace actors as part of morphing, AI is now able to generate content on its own, based on a “prompt”, a command in natural language.
Read also: Web3 AI budgets How marketers are adapting to today’s environment
Another revolution: some platforms are accessible in open source, and on mobile.
Something to boost their use, and relaunch the eternal debate on the end of the DA… “We should rather consider these tools as a way to save time in the creation of moodboards for example, to focus on the concept and the creative idea. The development of cameras on smartphones has not killed the job of photographer”, reassures Mélanie Pennec, Executive Creative Director of DDB Paris. She is joined by David Raichman, her counterpart at Ogilvy Paris. He uses generative AI to power his @davethepreacher Instagram account, and is behind the recent “The Milkmaid Imagined by AI” campaign for Nestlé, in which Vermeer’s work was reimagined using the DALL-E Outpainting function: “The use of AI is not new. The revolution is rather to be found in the possibility of combining different AIs to quickly generate text, sound and image. After emojis and memes, our way of communicating online will be reinvented.”
But there again, the road will be long. First, because those who manage to master prompts to create professional quality results are rare. Then, because many ethical questions arise on the use of databases or the right of ownership of the creations generated. After the metaverse and NFTs, AI should therefore also be a pretext for great PR operations in 2023, before seeing the development of more structuring uses in the years to come, in a context increasingly favoring decentralization. , interoperability and the creator economy… See you in a year to invalidate these predictions!


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Turmeric, ginseng, a probiotic, even vitamin C — all of these, when taken in packaged form, are supplements. Some have lined store shelves for decades. Others are ancient cures processed and packaged for 21st-century consumers.
Whatever their history, supplements are everywhere these days, and consumers are eating them up, spending billions each year on capsules, powders and gummies. More than half of adults age 20 and older have taken one in the last 30 days, data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey found — and that percentage increases with age. About 80 percent of women over age 60 take dietary supplements, the same report shows.
But what many adults don’t realize is that taking some of these supplements alongside prescription drugs and other medicines can have dangerous and even life-threatening effects. A number of supplements can enhance, diminish or negate a prescription drug in ways that can be consequential and unpredictable, says Laura Shane-McWhorter, a clinical professor of pharmacology at the University of Utah.
Still, federal research shows about 34 percent of survey participants — representing roughly 72 million people in the United States — take some kind of dietary supplement along with a prescription medication.
Wondering which supplement-prescription pairings can be risky? Here are six popular supplements and their known effects on some common medications.
1. St. John’s wort
Derived from a flowering shrub native to Europe, St. John’s wort is often taken to treat mild to moderate depression, or to reduce menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes. But it has numerous drug interactions and can reduce the potency of birth control pills and hormone replacement therapy, Shane-McWhorter says. It can also interfere with omeprazole (Prilosec), alprazolam (Xanax), certain statins and some antihistamines, Mayo Clinic reports.
What’s more, St. John’s wort can render Pfizer’s new COVID-19 antiviral treatment, Paxlovid, powerless. “If a person is being treated with Paxlovid and is taking St. John’s wort, that means essentially that the Paxlovid may not work,” Shane-McWhorter says.
Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is an antioxidant produced by our bodies to promote cell growth and maintenance; the levels of it in our body can decrease as we age.
In supplement form, it’s taken by way of capsules, tablets and syrups for numerous conditions, including heart disease, diabetes and migraine. But CoQ10 can also interfere with the ability of blood thinners to do their job, which is to prevent blood clots from forming. As a result, “people could have a breakthrough blood clot,” Shane-McWhorter says.
The ancient spice has been shown to have many health benefits, from improving memory to lowering inflammation and even decreasing the risk of heart disease. It also has anticoagulant effects, which means you don’t want to mix turmeric supplements with a blood thinner or even, possibly, aspirin, due to the risk of internal bleeding, Shane-McWhorter says.
Ginkgo biloba (an herb) and vitamin E are two other dietary supplements that can thin the blood, according to the Food and Drug Administration. So taking them with an anticoagulant can augment the effect.
Cooking with turmeric? It’s still fine to use in the kitchen, Shane-McWhorter says. “When products are used as foods, we don’t think it’s that much of an issue at all,” she adds.
Full of beneficial bacteria, probiotics are often taken to aid digestion and improve gut health. But don’t take one within two hours of taking an antibiotic, or you could reduce the effectiveness of the prescription medication, Shane-McWhorter says.
5. Vitamin C
Vitamin C occurs naturally in citrus fruits, strawberries, broccoli and tomatoes, among other foods. It’s also consumed as a supplement for a myriad of reasons, ranging from warding off the common cold to preventing cancer.
But high-dose vitamin C supplements may reduce the effectiveness of some types of cancer chemotherapy, says Courtney Rhodes, a spokeswoman for the FDA. It can also interfere with niacin and statins and affect estrogen levels, according to Mayo Clinic.
6. Milk thistle
A flowering plant related to daisies, milk thistle is taken as a supplement to promote liver and heart health. It may also lower blood sugar, which could be a concern for someone who’s on diabetes medication. When combined with insulin, it can be “like taking a little bit too much” glucose-lowering medication, Shane-McWhorter says.
Bottom line: Talk to your doctor
Ideally, to head off trouble, patients would be talking to their doctors about the supplements they are taking. But these conversations don’t happen as often as they should, says Derjung Mimi Tarn, M.D., a professor of family medicine at University of California, Los Angeles.
A study led by Tarn and her colleagues in 2015 found that fewer than 50 percent of patients disclose the use of dietary supplements, and even among those who do, only about one-third of the supplements taken are mentioned to doctors.
One reason for the disconnect: Patients may not realize the over-the-counter herbs or extra vitamins they’re working into their daily pile of pills count as anything that needs to be discussed with a doctor, so they leave them off the list when their provider asks, Shane-McWhorter explains. It’s also not uncommon for consumers to confuse “natural” with “safe” and fail to fully recognize the potency of some of these products.
To help avoid any health hazards that can arise from mixing supplements and medications, it’s important to ask your doctor about possible adverse reactions before starting any new medication or supplement, Tarn says. “Greater awareness of the importance of discussing supplement use is needed in both providers and patients,” she adds.
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The FDA suggests bringing a list of everything you take — over-the-counter medicines (pain pills, allergy relief, etc.), dietary supplements and prescription drugs — with you to your next routine appointment to make sure your information is up to date. And be sure to keep track of the dosages and how many times a day you take them.
Also, if you’re planning a surgery, don’t be surprised if your doctor asks you to stop taking dietary supplements two or three weeks before the procedure to avoid changes in heart rate, blood pressure or bleeding risk.
Interested in learning more? The National Institutes of Health has a database where you can search for a supplement and find links to verified sources with information about the product and its interactions. And Herbs at a Glance is an alphabetical listing of herbs and botanicals, with information on their uses and safety concerns, from the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, a division of the NIH.
For those willing to pay, Shane-McWhorter recommends the Natural Medicines database, where subscribers can use the interaction checker and the effectiveness checker to learn more about particular supplements.


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Those of you keenly awaiting the Jawbone UP3, billed as the “most advanced activity tracker known to man” (maybe women have found something better), will likely be displeased to hear that the device has been delayed.
While you can’t actually pre-order the fitness band here in the UK just yet, you can in the US, and Wareable spotted that the shipping time was stated as 6-7 weeks in the first week of November, when orders first went live, but now over a month later the ship time has been pushed out to 8-9 weeks.
Anyway, there has been plenty of moaning from those over the pond who thought they might be waiting a long time for their product, but according to Jawbone, those who pre-ordered straight away won’t have to wait as long as Americans pre-ordering now.
However, they should have received their device by the end of this month, and won’t get the UP3 until “early in the new year” (presumably very early) – and have thus been offered a $40 (£25) credit or free Jawbone UP Move, which is an impressive gesture.
Those pre-ordering now in the US will have to wait until mid-February, and we’re guessing that us poor Brits are going to have to wait longer than that, given that we still have “coming soon” on the UP3 product page rather than a pre-order button. Such is life.
The Jawbone UP3 will set you back £150 when it is available. The fitness band is water resistant with a battery life that lasts a full week, and offers a heart health sensor, sleep monitoring, activity tracking, and you can even track food and drink calories consumed (against exercise levels). It also alerts the user when they’ve been idle and sat around for too long, so they can get up off their chair and do a little moving around to get the blood going.


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Rainoil Limited, a leading integrated oil and gas company operating in the downstream sector has won the ‘2020 Downstream Company of the Year Award’ at the Nigerian Business Leadership Award (NBLA) 2020 organised by Businessday Newspapers.
Rainoil Limited emerged the winner of the ‘Downstream Company of the Year Award’ among leading peers in the category.
While expressing his joy at the development, the Group Managing Director, Rainoil Limited, Dr. Gabriel Ogbechie, said the award is an acknowledgement of the group’s consistent focus on “strategic and value-driven investments” in the energy sector of the Nigerian economy.
He stated that the award was particularly gratifying, coming at the time the company is making great effort in contributing to the economic development of the country with its sterling efforts at ensuring in-country utilization and deepening of gas penetration in the nation.
He further noted that the group recently launched its Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) facility with a tank capacity of 8000MT and a fleet capacity of about 40 LPG trucks, which he believes perfectly aligns with the company’s vision and mission to continually proffer solutions to fill the voids in the energy sector.
He said the company has also continued to make significant investment in cutting edge technology in order to maintain and improve its excellent customer service delivery.
He affirmed that Rainoil Limited will continue to support the Federal Government’s policy on deepening LPG penetration and also improve domestic consumption of LPG nationwide.
Rainoil Limited has grown over the last 20 years to include: 3 ultra-modern petroleum product storage depots- 50 million litre capacity each in Delta State, Cross River State and Lagos State; over 81 retail outlets across the country; a fleet of over 100 tank trucks for efficient delivery of products and 1 shipping vessel with a total capacity of over 20,000 metric tonne.


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Let me take you back to January 1, 2014. This is the day that marked the end of a seven-year effort to outlaw the ordinary light bulb, thanks to the 2007 Energy Independent Security Act (EISA)* that raised minimum efficiency standards for traditional incandescent bulbs far beyond what the technology can manage. Simply put, it’s lights out for the traditional light bulb, which was essentially killed by that legislation.
*(The stated purpose of the EISA act is “to move the United States toward greater energy independence and security, to increase the production of clean renewable fuels, to protect consumers, to increase the efficiency of products, buildings, and vehicles, to promote research on and deploy greenhouse gas capture and storage options, and to improve the energy performance of the Federal Government).
The Department of Energy (DOE) started phasing out incandescent bulbs in 2012, starting with the 100-watt bulb, then followed by the 75-watt bulb. And now going back to January 1st of this year, both the 60-watt and the 40-watt bulbs are also going away. The 60-watt and 40-watt bulbs are really going to have the most impact on all of us because those are the most popular incandescent bulbs right now.
So, the next time you find yourself looking to replace your traditional incandescent bulb with an energy efficient bulb, choose your next light bulb for the brightness you want and look for lumens—the new way to shop for light.
After looking for lumens instead of watts, I found an LED bulb for my bathroom that was about 800 lumens. The light quality was great for the bathroom, the color was warm white, and my electricity bill has gone down a lot compared to using the traditional incandescent bulb.


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I said so…..
In July last year, I made a post on LinkedIn suggesting that eventually Amazon will go for both FedEx AND UPS. Looks like FedEx is the first Target (those that show first signs of weakness are the ones that go first – Darwin’s Theory- kind of !). The $150 billion of market cap of DHL, FedEx, and UPS has begun leaking to Amazon.
As I mentioned in that post, Amazon has successfuly built a brand of trust – as far as residential delivery goes. Rapid and reliable fulfillment has become associated with Prime – An Amazon product. A farsighted company like Amazon probably already had this end game in their sight years ago. Now it is playing the final chapters. The Mercedes Vans with large smile logos on them.
To add to the insult and play the Jedi mind game, Amazon embarrassed FedEx this past holiday season, Amazon announced that sellers on its site will not be permitted to use FedEx for deliveries to Amazon Prime customers. The Wall Street Journal reported a “decline in performance” as the reason for the change.
What is ailing FedEx ?
In the recent earnings call, FedEx shared a multiverse of reasons for its challenges. But in my mind, at the core of FedEx’s problem is one aspect:
FedEx, once a company that pioneered operational excellence in freight and logistics, is still stuck in 1995, like some other legacy giant companies.
So, even if you see a long list of reasons being cited in various articles behind FedEx’s struggle, like those listed below – the gist is – All those issues are coming to bite FedEx because FedEx did not feel the need to evolve and now it may be a bit too late.
- Slowing global shipments
- Increase in residential deliveries
- Emergence of Micro warehouses
Loss of foresight ?
Even though no one could have thought about Amazon becoming a logistics service provider as well 15 years ago, the eCommerce explosion was a real indicator of significant increase of volume in residential deliveries. FedEx domestic infrastructure, particularly FedEx ground was not equipped to handle the increased volume with the same precision as its international and expedited freight. The operating model was just not built that way.
But FedEx never cared to invest in upgrading its systems and processes !
That too in a era where it was becoming evident that those with the power of technology and algorithms on their side will rule the world. One of the basic tenants on any business strategy in my mind is that you should not have all your eggs in the same basket- in this case, relying heavily on international freight/global shipments as a cash cow, ignoring what was going to become the new normal in the near future (residential deliveries)
And now it may be running out of time !
And likes of Amazon and UPS have smelled that weakness
As mentioned above, Amazon has sensed that the legacy giant is faltering. In my mind, the step of blocking its third-party sellers from using FedEx a few weeks before Christmas — ahead of the busy holiday season, was an on purpose move by Amazon.
The shipping business has changed, fundamentally and specifically in residential delivery segment. Amazon is creating the future and FedEx is struggling to catch up.
United Parcel Service has also joined the party and is taking some of the business that FedEx is losing. UPS has recently invested significantly to ”expand and automate its network to handle more online orders,” according to a Journal, which reported that UPS has expanded its air shipment network to handle more packages from Amazon and others.
As a result, UPS’s financial results have been far better than FedEx’s. In October, UPS’s profit and revenue rose and it maintained its guidance for 2019. However UPS has to remember the fact that after Amazon is done with FedEx, they may be next.
Can Walmart acquire FedEx ?
A speculation is that FedEx might get acquired in next 24 months, and many are suggesting that Walmart should make the move.
A Walmart acquisition would mean the retail giant goes (more) vertical for an 11% dilution ($38 billion vs. $340 billion market caps). Walmart would recognize economies of scale, buttress their grocery offering (the gangster unlock of the last five years in business), burnish their data set, and go Yoda on Amazon’s a$$ — old, but not to be trifled with.
But with FedEx’s current legacy processes, will Walmart be able to harness the best out of it ?
So what does FedEx need if it wants to get out of this on its own ?
The very first thing that FedEx needs to understand is that:
If it wants to survive this decade, it MUST build residential delivery capability excellence and that can happen only through Digital Transformation
Keeping that as a pivot, the best strategy for FedEx is to collaborate with another big group of Amazon’s victims – retailers for example and create collaborated ecosystems. But this collaboration will not yield anything for FedEx if it decides to collaborate with its existing infrastructure and capabilities.
Blueprint a strategic partnership with Industry specific solutions
FedEx should not start investing in technology, mimicking likes of UPS. Since they will probably start, it is a good opportunity to build technology capabilities around tailored solutions- innovative solutions customized for industries (like retail).
And for that- the very first step is identifying what haunts retailers from a logistics and Supply Chain perspective and design customized solutions (blueprints first) around them. Good examples can be:
(1) Helping traditional apparel retailers leverage a “fast fashion” Supply Chain
(2) Reverse logistics process that minimizes waste and hence costs for the retailers
(3) Take over Supply Chain planning capabilities for some retailers
Such strategic solutions mean leveraging Digital Transformation
For building capabilities like the examples above, they need significant investment in Digital capabilities. The process of determining the investment required in this case needs to happen AFTER solutions are designed. A brute force method of investing in anything and everything that is shiny will not work. The high level steps that needs to be followed to leverage Digital transformation to build solution capabilities are:
- First, you determine what capabilities and solutions you need to design. This comes in close, strategic, trustworthy partnerships with major players in the target industries- by understanding their pain points
- Then you determine the following aspects that are required to build and support the solutions and capabilities:
- System investments needed to support process changes
- Analytical methods and processes required to support the solution (leveraging Machine and Deep learning)
- Talent needed to support the newly built solution/capability
There will obviously be change management issues and culture issues involved with such a massive Digital Transformation, specifically considering that the organization is still stuck in 1995 and Digital innovation mindset penetration may be extremely low.
If FedEx decides to take the route of Digital Transformation – it has a long road ahead of it !


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This week Jordan and Stephen talk about all of the latest gaming news! Stephen “reviews” SOCOM 4 and Portal 2! Read the original post to get links to iTunes and Mp3.
N4G is a community of gamers posting and discussing the latest game news. It’s part of NewsBoiler, a network of social news sites covering today’s pop culture.


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Kai Ryssdal: Pet ownership, it seems, has survived the Great Recession intact. The American Pet Products Association released sales figures from 2010 last week: up more than 6 percent to $48 billion.
Not all that surprising, when you consider almost three-quarters of households own a pet. The country’s second-largest pet supply retailer wants to be the first-largest, so it’s trying to capture some more market share. By getting smaller.
Shannon Mullen reports.
Shannon Mullen: There’s a new pet store in the suburb of Acton, Mass., near the local grocery store and a Starbucks. When you walk in, two things stand out right away. There are no animals for sale, and the shelves are full of mostly natural, high-end food brands. Next to the gourmet cookie case, there’s a big chalkboard listing store events like pet adoptions and ice cream socials for dogs.
Michelle Harding: We’re going to get to know you, your kids, your pets.
Michelle Harding oversees the store. She wants customers to feel like this place is part of their community.
Harding: I mean, it is the size of a Blockbuster video. It is very trendy, upbeat, your sales staff is in jeans and really cool T-shirts.
The new chain is called Unleashed by Petco. Yes, that Petco. In the past year, it’s opened 28 of these boutique stores in California and the East Coast.
Jim Myers: Well, clearly we’re trying to attract a different customer.
Petco CEO Jim Myers.
Myers: One of our big things we’re looking at is, you know, how do we continue to expand the market share of Petco, and find a larger group of people that aren’t currently being served in the way that they’re looking for.
Now Petco is putting its much smaller concept stores closer to where people live, with signs that say “Unleashed” in big letters, and “by Petco” in much smaller print.
Susan Fournier: So they’re growing by using their brand asset, but they’re trying to get distance from their main brand.
Susan Fournier teaches marketing at Boston University’s School of Management. She says for some consumers, bigger isn’t better anymore, and Petco is tapping into that. Plus its market has a growing number of affluent pet owners.
Fournier: So they’ve seen that there’s a new segment and people are willing to spend more money, they’re less price sensitive, let’s get them to buy more expensive things, let’s create a decor that makes them feel a little more special.
That last one — personal connection — it’s how independent pet stores separate themselves from corporate competitors. But Unleashed stores promise that now too, plus Petco’s big enough to offer lower prices than the local guy.
So, is the local guy worried? Not Mike DiTullio. He owns a shop called Especially for Pets, just a few miles from the new Unleashed store in Acton.
Mike DiTullio: My customers will say to me, I would never go to a Petco.
Mullen: What’s the reason?
DiTullio: Because they do not want to put the health and welfare of their pet in the hands of a large corporation.
DiTullio’s been selling only natural pet foods for 23 years. He says he’s noticed a slight dip in business since Unleashed arrived, but he thinks that could just be the bad economy.
DiTullio: This is not a sour grapes story for me, all right? You know, they’re coming into my market with my concept, so I guess I’m doing something right.
Petco CEO Jim Myers thinks he’s got it right, too. He says the Unleashed stores are doing well enough so far, that 18 months from now, there’ll be twice as many of them.
In Acton, Mass., I’m Shannon Mullen for Marketplace.
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Christmas Tree Farms Scorched In Oregon Amid Record Heat
Oregon’s record-breaking heat waves and raging wildfires are set to dent Christmas tree crop output, resulting in supply constraints that may send prices skyrocketing come December.
According to Reuters, who spoke with multiple Christmas tree farm operators in Oregon, one of the top Christmas tree producing states, extreme heat and wildfires are impacting crop yields.
Jacob Hemphill, the owner of Hemphill Tree Farm in Oregon City, estimates he’s already lost more than $100,000 in trees due to the latest back-to-back heatwaves. At one point, temperatures in the area were triple digits for days.
“The second day of the heat, it was 116. I came in the driveway that night and seen the trees were basically cooking. Burnt down to nothing,” Hemphill said.
He said the losses will impact his farm revenue this year but hopes the 2022 season will improve.
“I mean, you just kind of got to roll with the punches, and replant next year… and hopefully make up for the loss that we’re gonna have in the future.”
Reuters spoke to several tree farm operators across the Willamette Valley who said the heat waves have severely damaged their crops.
On top of the heat waves, the Bootleg Fire in Southern Oregon, spurred by months of drought, has burned nearly 400,000 acres and is likely to increase in size as no relief is in sight.
Oregon is the top-selling state of Christmas trees which are Douglas fir, Noble fir, Grand fir, and Nordmann fir. This could present supply constraints come December.
In other words, on the back of already record-high prices, consumers could shell out even more money this year for a Christmas tree if shortages materialize in Oregon. On top of the supply crunch, the cost of everything, from fuel to labor to transportation, has soared and will positively impact prices.


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The DIRECTV GO basic package will be available for 299 pesos per month, with a seven-day free trial offer, and a special launch promotion that includes twelve months of HBO Premium programming.
Content platforms via streaming will have a new competitor, as DirecTV returns to Mexico, but now with AT&T.
Starting March 24, users can subscribe at www.DIRECTVGO.com/mx without the need for a contract or installation service, they only need the internet.
“We are pleased to bring DIRECTV GO to consumers in Mexico, with a unique entertainment offer that combines television channels and on-demand content. The ideal mix to accompany our consumers, not only providing important information, but also entertainment, ”said Michael Bowling, President of DIRECTV Latin America to FORBES.COM
The Mazatlan Post


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Visa Provides Fraud Control Training to Kuwait Police Department
The Kuwait Police Department recently completed an electronic payments fraud control training programme offered by Visa, the world’s leading payment solutions provider, at the Ministry of Interior in Kuwait City. The workshop, aimed at training police officers on the latest trends in ATM and electronic payments fraud in addition to sharing Visa’s solutions and wealth of expertise in fraud control, is part of Visa’s ongoing initiative to combat electronic payment fraud in Kuwait and the rest of the GCC.
The training programme was organised by Visa’s Fraud Control Team and was attended by more than 50 participating police officers from the Ministry of Interior’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and other units. The CID’s Director General, Brigadier Abdul Hameed Abdul Raheem Al Awadhi, as well as Brigadier Sheikh Ali Youssef Al-Sabah, Assistant Director General, General Department of Criminal Investigations, were among the workshop’s participants.
Commenting on the training exercise which the CID underwent, Brigadier Abdul Hameed Abdul Raheem Al Awadhi, Director General, CID said: “We are very pleased with Visa’s initiative to share with us their best practices in combating payment fraud and this exercise is a clear demonstration of their commitment to combat fraud in Kuwait. The department and each participating officer have benefited tremendously from the programme and we look forward to applying these invaluable skills to proactively address financial crime in the country.”
“Visa continually demonstrates that it is a reliable partner of law enforcement departments in collaboration with the Kuwait banking sector to ensure that we are able to maintain the high security levels that are currently in force in Kuwait. We appreciate Visa’s efforts in sharing their expertise and best practices in fraud control to keep us one step ahead of the criminals.”
Wissam Abed, Fraud Control Manager at Visa International Middle East, said “Visa is committed to extending the efficiencies of electronic payments to the Kuwaiti community and economy. Electronic payments reduce underground economies, bring greater transparency, and attract capital and consumers to the banking system. When coupled with the safe and secure use of these systems, electronic payment systems can play a critical role in helping small business grow. In this respect, we hope that this programme will make a valuable contribution to the development of the banking industry and increasing its security.”
As part of Visa’s leading role in fraud control initiatives across the Middle East, a similar training workshop for the Royal Oman Police was conducted last year to highlight fraud trends in Oman. In addition to training for police departments, Visa also regularly hosts fraud control forums across the GCC for banks, risk specialists, merchants and media to present the latest trends in payment card fraud and share the best practices in combating these trends in each country.
Visa connects cardholders, merchants and financial institutions through the world’s largest electronic payments network. Visa products allow buyers and sellers to conduct commerce with ease and confidence in both the physical and virtual worlds. Visa is committed to the sustained growth of electronic payment systems to support the needs of all stakeholders and to drive economic growth.
Visa products currently generate more than $4 trillion in sales volume worldwide. Visa has unsurpassed acceptance at more than 24 million locations worldwide including one million ATMs. For more information, visit www.corporate.visa.com.
- The booming potential of e-learning in Kuwait
- Visa International Hosts the Electronic Payment Systems Fraud Control Forum in UAE
- UAE Ministry of Economy, Brand Owners Protection Group sign MoU on IPR protection and enforcement
- Visa holds risk management training for Bank of Palestine
- Fire and Rescue Middle East 2011 Conference to focus on the future of safety, rescue strategies and technologies


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It seems weird to me that, even though we’ve been able to buy reading glasses at the drug store for years, people have never been able to do the same for hearing aids.
Some form of hearing loss comes part and parcel with getting older, just like not being able to see up close, so what’s the difference?
I suppose the answer that always works is money, but since over-the-counter hearing aids are now a thing, it seems the powers that be have worked something out.
Thanks to a US Food and Drug Administration (USDA) ruling that’s being hailed as “historic,” it should be both cheaper and easier for Americans with mild to moderate hearing loss to get hearing aids in the near future.
Xavier Becerra, US Secretary of Health and Human Services, issued a statement on this Biden-Harris administration agenda item.
“Reducing health care costs in America has been a priority of mine since Day One and this rule is expected to help us achieve quality, affordable health care access for millions of Americans in need. Today’s action by the USDA represents a significant milestone in making hearing aids more cost-effective and accessible.”
One big hurdle is, of course, money; right now, hearing aids and exams are not covered by Medicare – and they’re often not covered by private health insurance, either.
Now, people who want one will not need a medical exam, and the move should drop the price of the hearing aids themselves as well.
Right now, there are a “Big 5” hearing aid manufacturers who control more than 90% of the market, so the Biden administration hopes this ruling will end that monopoly and create a more competitive market.
“This action makes good on my commitment to lower costs for American families, delivering nearly $3000 in savings to American families for a pair of hearing aids and giving people more choices to improve their health and well being…and it’s the latest action we are taking to make our economy more competitive and less concentrated. When too few companies dominate, American consumers pay higher costs.”
We’re still waiting to hear whether or not the changes have significantly affected the market, but either way, people are happier and hearing better.
Personally, I don’t see how this isn’t a win.