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LiveScore Group aims to become the world's leading sports media operator, and sports betting is just the start. Chief executive Sam Sadi explains the masterplan.
“I remember the days when we used to press F5 to refresh the LiveScore.com website. That’s how long back it was,” says LiveScore Group chief executive Sam Sadi.
LiveScore launched in 1998, offering visitors football scores. Gamesys acquired the business in 2017 and, following that operator’s £490m sale to Jackpotjoy Group and then the £2.0bn merger with Bally’s Corporation, LiveScore Group stands alone as an independent business led by Sadi.
The LiveScore Bet sportsbook launched in 2020, complementing the affiliate arm, not to mention its second brand, Virgin Bet. But Sadi isn’t only interested in building a sports betting business.
“We have a plan we’re implementing,” he explains. “You could call it a ten-to twenty-year plan. We intend to become the world’s number one sports media operator.
“Not a betting operator, but a sports media operator.”
Media deals hint at the depth of LiveScore Group’s ambitions.
Back in 2021 in Ireland, the business struck a deal to stream 137 Champions League matches to Irish app users, strengthening its streaming proposition in the market. By the end of the 2020-21 football season, it streamed 1,250 matches across 15 different leagues and competitions in the country.
Sadi has a clear vision for where LiveScore Group is headed and it all centres on convergence.
Convergence is king for LiveScore Group
“What you see today was always the plan,” Sadi says. He joined Gamesys in the wake of GVC Group (now Entain) acquiring his previous employer, Bwin.party, when the business was plotting its route into sports betting.
“We met to discuss those plans and what it would take,” he recalls. “We certainly needed a different strategy and I pitched them convergence from the get-go.”
Sadi even tested the convergence model, where players move seamlessly between the media app and sportsbook, at Bwin.party. Those plans even included a deal for a media product to test the theory.
“I pitched [Gamesys] that idea […] and one of the reasons we did it inside that business was to prevent too many overheads from the beginning, to leverage some of the tech and people Gamesys Group had.”
The intention was always to spin off as a separate operation.
Building a sportsbook to drive convergence
The sportsbook launch has been on the cards since the LiveScore Media acquisition in 2017. Sadi and his team took four years to perfect the product.
“[But] you’re going into a market that’s already saturated, that’s dominated by incredibly strong operators with hundreds, and in some cases thousands, of engineers constantly developing and innovating,” he says.
“Not only do you need a different strategy – which is our convergence business model – but you also have to differentiate on a product level.”
That started with Virgin Bet for LiveScore Group. Virgin Bet was the test case, where Sadi’s team could build a betting product around a brand’s values and strengths.
“Once the acquisition of LiveScore was completed, we started constructing a timeline to make sure when LiveScore Bet came into the market, not only would it be a world-class sportsbook, it would also be the best sportsbook for LiveScore users.”
The convergence-led approach means Sadi’s team aim to answer two key questions. How can they deliver more value as a sportsbook to LiveScore users, while simultaneously delivering media value to bettors?
“That’s how we differentiate ourselves for Sky Bet or Bet365 users who need a separate media app for that total sports experience.”
Creating an ecosystem that still serves industry partners
The sportsbook launch changed the game for LiveScore – the media app operates on an affiliate model. It does so very successfully, with more than 50 million monthly users globally.
LiveScore launched 22 years before the sportsbook. LiveScore Bet followed 22 years later, adding an in-house competitor to a roster of existing operator partners. How is Sadi striking a balance between using sportsbook marketing to drive eyeballs to the proprietary product, while acting as an affiliate to other sportsbooks?
“It’s all about continuing to deliver value,” he says. “We strive to deliver that value to both our users and advertising partners,” he continues. “We’re only operating [LiveScore Bet] in four countries right now; we have all of the markets where we are not yet live.”
All the learnings, developments and innovations, therefore, benefit sportsbook and advertising partners across multiple markets.
“It’s a beneficial relationship. As long as we continue to do that, they’ll continue to be our partners. If we see that we have to become a single-brand ecosystem, we may have to go in that direction. But I don’t see that happening in the near future.
“We have a lot of users, a lot of inventory and, if our partners are happy with us, we’ll continue to deliver value to them.”
Competition and compliance challenges
Sadi is particularly bullish about the convergence model because he sees few companies capable of catching up. “We’re so far ahead of what our competitors are doing that we don’t mind visibility and transparency,” he says. “In a way, we’re debunking a lot of claims about convergence and how it could work.”
It goes much further than running a media brand and tacking on a sportsbook. “We’ve seen in the past how those ventures have failed,” he notes.
LiveScore Group’s technology investment far outstrips companies of a similar size, Sadi continues. His “tremendous” team of more than 350 working on product and technology safeguards against potential regulatory headwinds.
Sports betting sponsorship bans and advertising restrictions could separate the sports from the betting. Sadi, however, believes the technology and product focus makes LiveScore Group flexible enough to adapt to regulatory change. “We’re not seeing it as headwinds, but an advantage in a changing environment where we can be more flexible.”
LiveScore is age-gated already, for example. The volume of customer data, across media and betting consumption, means it has a deeper understanding of customers. That means there’s more data to prevent harm and problem gambling. “We see it as an edge for ourselves as more regulation comes in.”
Betting isn’t the endgame for LiveScore Group
That competitive edge sets LiveScore Bet up for success in real-money betting. However, the sportsbook is just a step on a longer journey.
There’s a strategic roadmap and Sadi is following it slowly and deliberately. He’s not afraid to say no. LiveScore Group did not rush its sportsbook launch, spending four years on the project. That means new opportunities have to really dazzle him if he is going to deviate from that path.
“We’ve said no to massive projects like entering the US,” he reveals. “We’ve been presented opportunities with hundreds of millions in investment, with an eye to a listing or a SPAC combination. We’ve run the numbers, decided we’d be burning capital and said no.”
Crazes such as NFTs, the metaverse and web3 were all similarly dismissed “because the maths just didn’t add up”.
The focus remains that masterplan, to become the world’s number one sports media operator.
“Betting is content that helps us finance this, to monetise our business model,” he explains. “Being able to say no to ventures where we don’t have a strategic edge but just sounds good or gets us capital investment, has been a positive for us.
“We’re a private company relying on a handful of shareholders to finance the business. We’ve been quite conservative in how we allocate capital.” The business must be selective where it invests, he adds, and ensure it delivers ROI.
Becoming a media behemoth
That discipline will be vital as it looks to ramp up its media presence. Rights deals don’t come cheap, with fees stretching into billions.
That makes sports betting a crucial component, Sadi argues. “I think it is always one of the best sources of income for a sports media property.”
Therefore, markets offering an opportunity to launch regulated betting, or to partner with a local brand, are priorities. The scope to launch live streaming certainly helps.
“Live is tricky,” he admits. “You have to pick your spots.” Competitors with deep pockets distort the media rights landscape. UK broadcast rights for the Champions League sold for £1.2bn in 2019 when telecommunications giant BT entered the running.
Now, the likes of Amazon and Apple are muscling into the space, pushing prices upwards.
LiveScore must pick its battles. “We’ve done well with the Champions League in Ireland,” Sadi says. “We understood what it takes for us to be successful in that space and I’m pretty sure it’s going to be relevant for us in the future.”
In a convergence-driven model, what sort of impact has that had? Sports betting was up over 100% last year, and LiveScore’s audience doubled. If it achieves the same success in Nigeria, the UK and the Netherlands, Sadi may be closer to proving the model.
Next up: Nigeria and Bulgaria
“We’re very positive about Ireland, but Eastern Europe and Africa are our next big expansion opportunities,” he adds.
LiveScore Bet Nigeria was the operator’s first sportsbook launched three years ago. “Nigeria was all about getting our product right, operations ready and waiting for the market to shift from retail to online.
“That shift has started accelerating, so this is the period where we’re going to start investing a lot more into Nigeria.” LiveScore Bet Netherlands is two years in and Bulgaria is next on the roadmap.
As more markets come into LiveScore Group’s horizon, it continues to slowly but carefully ramp up.
Sadi and LiveScore are pioneering the convergence model. As it begins to realise its vision, the operator is emerging as a formidable proposition. But Sadi is not rushing as he builds to first place in the sports media market.


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Dialog Semiconductor Plc, Synaptics Inc. and Cirrus Logic Inc. are particularly vulnerable to Apple's supply chain whims and demands, according to analysts. One component supplier, Avnet Inc., stopped working with Apple because the relationship was squeezing its profit margins too much.
Apple has developed its own processors for years, but has stepped up in-house design of components, including graphics, Bluetooth and other smartphone-related chips, in recent years. That’s expensive, and creates new risks, but it helps the company maintain leverage over suppliers as a recent wave of acquisitions cut the number of chipmakers it works with.
To secure cheaper prices, Apple likes to have at least two suppliers for any given component. But last year alone, one in five U.S. chipmakers were acquired, according to Susquehanna Financial Group. Key Apple suppliers SanDisk Corp., Broadcom Corp., TriQuint Semiconductor Inc., Intersil Corp., Sharp Corp., Elpida Memory Inc., RF Micro Devices Inc. and Fairchild Semiconductor International have all been snapped up since 2013.
Loop Capital Markets LLC analyst Betsy Van Hees, has seen 35 chip companies swallowed since 2014. “You have less competition, less pricing pressure," she said. "Which may be why Apple is going more internally than externally." In the past, it was easier for Apple to squeeze outside suppliers to improve profit margins, she added.
This year is particularly important for Apple because it’s preparing to launch three iPhones, including a flagship device with a major new design. The installation of new manufacturing lines and processes is costly, so Apple needs to find savings elsewhere. “To avoid taking a hit you put some pressure” on the suppliers, BGC Partners analyst Colin Gillis said.
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While many streaming services and studios are opting to release series and movies early in an effort to reach a large audience of families that are now stuck at home, HBO Max and Quibi say they won’t be changing their plans.
“Our plans for the app launch have not changed. The Quibi app will launch on April 6,” a Quibi spokesperson told Next TV Wednesday morning.
A source also commented that Warner Media is also on track to stick to its original launch date for HBO Max, saying “all systems are still go to launch in late May.” The source also noted that plans were subject to change.
Peacock has yet to comment on its current launch date of April 15.
Nielsen recently released a study showing that media usage will rise up to 60% as people are instructed to stay home in a crisis. “Be it snowstorms, hurricanes or a global pandemic, media users ramp up their media consumption to stay informed, kill time, find solace and stay in touch with others,” Nielsen said in the report.
While Quibi seems set on an April 6 launch date, it won’t be surprising to see Peacock or HBO Max shift plans and move up their dates if more cities across the country enact a more restrictive shelter-in-place rule.
Did you know we have a YouTube Channel? Every week we have a live Cord Cutting Q&A, and weekly Cord Cutting recap shows exclusively on our YouTube Channel!


text: Kat, Lindenhurst NY (varoom1234), wrote in about listening to eBay Radio via iPhone. eBay has formed a new eBay group, Innovation & New Ventures, to redefine commerce across the company. Griff and Lee read current events listed on the eBay Radio Seller Events Calendar. They also looked at item number 141245686209. Lee told us about a German amusement park for sale on eBay. Griff gave a short dissertation on the proper use of various sizes of bubble wrap.


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Google Pixel 7 review 2022-Check out the complete story to know more
इसके बारे में डिटेल में जानकारी के लिए इस लिंक पर क्लिक करे.
The first Pixel phone was launched way back in 2016 and at that time Google launched it in India along with the US.
Pixel 4, 5 and 6 have not been revealed in India.
Google didn't take too kindly to this brief hiatus in the world's second-largest smartphone market.
First the Pixel 6a was launched in India in August and now the Pixel 7 series has officially arrived.
Starting at Rs 59,999, the Pixel 7 hopes to be an alternative to Apple's iPhone 14 or flagships from OnePlus and Samsung, some of which cost less than Google's phone.
Google Pixel 7 Specs:
-6.3-inch Full HD+ display with 90Hz refresh rate
-Tensor G2 chipset .
-8GB RAM + 128GB Storage.
-Camera 50 MP + 12 MP
- Front camera 10 MP
-4355mAh battery with 20W charging |
Click on the button below to know more Tech News.


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High-tech companies are often among the most progressive in the world when it comes to renewable energy.
For example, Google’s got a giant 1.9 megawatt solar carport at its Mountain View, Calif. headquarters, Dell’s got a series of Envision Solar Solar Trees up at its Texas headquarters, and Intel has 508 kilowatts of solar up at its Hillsboro, Ore. plant, with the majority of those kW sitting atop a series of solar carports in the company parking lot.
Intel’s also added EV charging stations to its Hillsboro campus. And, as you can see in the photo at the end of this story — which we got courtesy of Oregon Electric Vehicle Association’s Patrick Connor, along with the photo at the top of Intel’s solar carports — someone’s now plugging in a brand new Nissan LEAF at Intel’s Hillsboro campus.
Oregon one of cleanest states for EV fueling On a bright, sunny day, some of the electricity flowing into that LEAF’s battery is likely coming from the Hillsboro Intel solar plant.
On top of that, nearly three-quarters of the electricity generated in Oregon — which is No. 3 on SolarChargedDriving.Com’s Top Ten States to Plug In An Electric Car List — comes from renewable sources, primarily hydro-electric power.
At Intel then, it’s not only “what’s inside that counts” but what’s outside — as in what’s outside company plants and offices that counts as well, in this case, lots of solar and some EV charging stations to boot!
Like this story? Interested in the solar EV/PHEV synergy? Join our Sun Miles® Cluband start meeting & interacting with other people around the world who want to drive, or already are driving, their cars on sun! Register to join us today!


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The Following has been taken from the Liverpool Echo Website (Click here for the full Article).
The finalists of this year’s Halton Business Awards have been revealed.
Halton Chamber Of Commerce And Enterprise said the event recognises and rewards excellent performance, good business practice and success in the borough.
The finalists for New Business Of The year are:
Creature Comforts Cheshire, Display Team UK, KC Marketing Range, The Transformer, Widnes Chiropractic Clinic.
Paula Cain, Halton Chamber chief executive, said:
“Yet again, we’ve been amazed at the quality of the entries for this year’s awards.
“Local businesses are really stepping up to the mark and demonstrating some fantastic success stories.
“We have a very broad spread of businesses on the list of finalists, from small to large, public, private and third sector as well as a wide range of business sectors.
“We’re in for a great evening!”
Steve Tilbrook, Quantum Event Management managing director and awards organiser, said:
“Being nominated for an award is now seen as a real benefit to businesses.
“Not just in the kudos it brings and the increased profile, but also the positive messages it sends to existing and potential customers alike.
“To reach this stage is a marvellous recognition and all finalists should be congratulated.”
The winners will be announced at a glitzy dinner on Friday, April 22, at The Holiday Inn, Wood Lane, in Runcorn.
Tickets can be bought from Halton Chamber.


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The decorations are down, the last of the Quality Street has been consumed and the New Year’s resolutions are a distant (and perhaps failed) memory…….suddenly the dreary weather leads to thoughts of sunshine and distant shores. Travel companies have dubbed the first Saturday in January ‘Sunshine Saturday’ as many holidaymakers plot their escape during the hardest month of the year. It certainly seems to be sunny for travel company TUI Group this year who reported that more than 27,500 customers in the UK booked their annual holiday with them on 7 January 2017. Erik Freimuth, Chief Marketing Officer of TUI Group, has reported that ‘many families use the Christmas break and the beginning of the new year to make their travel plans for the whole year. There could also be a psychological explanation for this post-festive season booking pattern: the cosy Christmas period is over, people have to return to work while the sky is grey. This is when the winter blues kick in. A way to escape is to think of sunshine and beaches – and book a summer holiday’.
However, January certainly isn’t a flush time for many who are having to tighten their belts after the December splurge – as can be seen from our recent blog ‘Christmas on Credit’, the post-festive period can be a tough time for some with personal insolvencies on the rise. Online statistics suggest that whilst 13% of people purchase their getaway using savings, almost 10% of people pay for a holiday on a credit card or take out a short term or pay day loan to cover the payment. Even for those who can’t strictly afford it, the January deals can be very tempting with fierce competition between travel agents promising special deals and discounts, especially for those restricted to travel during school holidays.
Note that despite the success of certain travel operators, holidaymakers should exercise caution when booking early deals. The first casualty of 2017 was ‘All Leisure Holidays’, which went into administration in January with 400 customers abroad. Thankfully, all holidaymakers abroad at the time were repatriated by the Civil Aviation Authority (“CAA”) under the ATOL protection scheme which ensures customers can return home and be refunded if a travel company becomes insolvent.
Not all holidaymakers are so lucky. Some travellers were left stranded following the collapse of online travel agent ‘Lowcostholidays’ in July 2016, demonstrating the importance of ensuring a booking comes with ATOL protection. In 2013, the CAA warned holidaymakers about booking with ‘Lowcostholidays’ after the company relocated to Spain, meaning that its holidays were no longer protected under the ATOL scheme. Fast forward to July 2016 when almost 140,000 holidaymakers who had booked through ‘Lowcostholidays’ found that they had little official protection when the firm went into administration. It was reported by the Independent that Paul Evans, Chief Executive of ‘Lowcostholidays’, warned more travel agents could collapse and that ‘Brexit, the fall in the value of the pound and fear of terrorist attacks helped scupper the rescue deal for the firm’.
With a vast number of tour operators including ‘Holidays4U’ ‘Aegaen Flights’ and ‘XL Airways’ having collapsed over recent years and even some of the larger known operators running into difficulties, travellers should always check their travel comes with the necessary protections, especially given the uncertainty of the current economic climate.
So, if you haven’t been caught by the allure of Sunshine Saturday just yet, when booking that all-important get away, make sure to opt for an ATOL/ABTA protected holiday and always take out a decent travel insurance policy. And remember your sun cream.


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Epiroc Opens National Competency Center
Epiroc, Elko, Nevada, announced December 2023 the formal opening and commencement of operations at its national Competency Center. The facility, located at 403 West Idaho Street, Elko, marks a significant strategic achievement for Epiroc USA, enhancing support for mining and exploration customers and providing a platform for business growth. Jon Torpy, president and general manager of Epiroc USA, expressed the importance of this achievement, stating: “The opening of the competency center in Elko is a pivotal strategic goal for Epiroc USA. This facility embodies our commitment to helping customers build the mines of the future, delivering reliable, trustworthy expertise. It signifies a major step forward in our mission to extend fleets’ longevity and contribute to the industry’s sustainable development.”
The Competency Center, a centrally located two-story facility, spans 48,000 square feet, featuring 8,000 square feet of office space, a 4,000-square foot training center, a 16,000-square-foot warehouse, and a 20,000-square-foot workshop equipped with multiple machine bays and an outdoor staging area.
The Competency Center provides advanced technical assistance, specialized electrification and battery electric vehicle (BEV) expertise, including diesel-to-battery conversions. It features a streamlined supply chain and circularity programs applied to full machine rebuilds, remanufacturing, and planned component replacements. While delivering customer service, field and workshop support, sales and applications assistance, the Competency Center also serves as a comprehensive training center, addressing the industry’s growing need for skilled operators.


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The Retail Innovation Theatre, sponsored by Epson, is the brain child of RBTE and Eccomplished, the business accelerator for retail tech.
At RBTE, Eccomplished took six of the biggest challenges that retailers are facing and invited companies to put forward their solutions and ideas on how they can help them tackle these issues.
Here, Eccomplished have produced 2 blog posts rounding up both days of the Innovation Theatre. Click through to read more.
There was little standing room left as Nick Wheeler, founder and owner of Charles Tyrwhitt opened The Retail Innovation Theatre at RBTE 2014 yesterday.
Sharing his perspectives on retail innovation and the reasons behind the success of his business, the packed theatre heard the secrets behind the growth of Charles Tyrwhitt from humble beginnings as a mail-order shirt business in 1986 to a multichannel retailer with over 22 bricks and mortar stores worldwide and growing fast.
A strict focus on the customer and the use of innovation such as Feefo’s rating and review technology to enable a greater customer experience was the overriding piece of advice from the UK businessman.
Day two of the Retail Innovation Theatre at RBTE 2014 started much in the same vein as day one. Packed sessions, innovative technologies and fresh insights into some of retail’s most pressing priorities and challenges.
If day one was all about the customer, then day two was about thinking outside the box. In particular:
The technologies shaping the future of retail
The need to start addressing ‘the last mile’
The opportunity outside domestic markets


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Slushy machines and high-tech scales head for ASX in Israeli IPO comeback
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Two more Israeli floats are on the way to the ASX in a sign that entrepreneurs from the Middle East nation are again favouring a journey down-under.
Some 17 Israeli companies have listed in Australia in the past three years (see table below) and there are another six in the pipeline according to the ASX.
Though there was a drop-off in 2018 when as many as ten delayed or killed off local listing plans.
This week slushy-machine maker Nice-Vend and high-tech scale-seller Shekel Brainweigh issued prospectuses to raise $7.5 million and $10.15 million respectively, from Australian investors.
They will be the second and third Israeli listings this year, after drone-parachute maker Parazero (ASX:PRZ) in June.
Israeli blockchain company Security Matters is also is preparing an IPO to raise up to $6.5 million ahead of a September listing.
Slushies on the ASX
Nice-Vend makes and sells vending machines — branded “quinzee machines” — that make slushies (or frozen soft drinks).
The quinzee can make “an unprecedented variety of flavours” including drinks from protein shakes to tea.
Nice-Vend has some big corporations circling to white-label the high-tech slushy machine and proprietary flavours, and reckon a countertop model, due for sale about two years after the IPO, is going to be a hit with hotels, restaurants and caterers, CEO Ehud Klier says in the prospectus.
They’ve even got US Department of Agriculture approval to roll them out to schools to serve sugar-free drinks, and have the go-ahead from “several” schools in Florida to start installing.
It did only have $85,000 left at the end of 2017, however.
The offer is price at 20c and is open from September 3 to 10 ahead of an October 2 listing.
Shekel Brainweigh is making new weighing technologies.
It has been in the weighing business for decades, and even has its tech incorporated into incubators for premature babies.
Now it’s added AI and is creating a ‘product aware’ scale that can work out what is on it, how much is remaining elsewhere in a store, and how often it’s being moved or sold.
And, in a blow to supermarket self-checkout thieves everywhere, they say it will be able to distinguish whether that’s an onion or an $8 avocado you’ve just set down.
Shekel Brainweigh made a $1.9 million profit last year, and $18.2 million in revenue.
It is carrying $4.6 million in debt however and had $1.7 million in cash at the end of 2017.
The 35c-per-share offer is open from September 24 to October 12. The expected listing date is October 26.
What happened to the Israelis?
There are at least 17 Israeli companies on the ASX — including HearMeOut (ASX:HMO) which was forced to admit in June that it couldn’t survive.
An ASX spokesperson told Stockhead that Israel is still a target market for the exchange and they’re talking to several prospects.
“Generally, we work with them to ensure they come to market at the right time (ie not too soon).
“The pipeline remains strong, with around six Israeli companies potentially listing in the next 12 to 18 months,” he said.
And there could be more except for a recent strengthening of regulatory focus on overseas companies listing on ASX, says HLB Mann Judd partner and IPO specialist Marcus Ohm.
The technology sector was also trending towards demonstrating greater value before coming to market, Mr Ohm said.
Here’s a list of Israeli companies that have joined the ASX in recent years:
Off the rails
After a bonanza year in 2016 when eight Israeli companies jumped over to Australia, only five of an anticipated 15 listed in 2017.
Six decided to raise pre-IPO funding instead of hitting the ASX.
Companies that promised IPOs last year included cybersecurity companies Votiro and CyberGym, Eco Wave Power, and pre-colonoscopy bowel prep company HyGieaCare.
In July last year Votiro raised $11.2 million in pre-IPO funding from investors, with a promise to list by the end of 2017.
Votiro did not respond to Stockhead’s queries before deadline.
CyberGym arrived with a bang in Melbourne around the same time last year pitching a $30 million IPO.
Eco Wave Power raised $3 million in Australia by August last year, with a view to listing on the ASX in 2018.
Eco founder Inna Braverman told Stockhead they are “currently looking at the best timing for the listing”.
“EWP is negotiating a potential joint venture deal with a local Australian strategic partner, with the goal of having local presence and we are also in advanced negotiations with a number of ports for our first power station in Australia,” she said.
In March this year Israel-based trading firm Invesus delayed plans for a $50 million to $100 million IPO for up to a year, saying it wanted to gain more licences in other jurisdictions.
And HyGieaCare, the only company talking about an IPO in 2017 to actually produce a prospectus, delayed its IPO closing date until November last year before quietly dropping off the ASX’s upcoming floats list.


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The New York Post is reporting that Google's (Nasdaq: GOOG) YouTube is talking with content providers about possibly adding a tier to the popular website that would put premium content behind a pay-wall.
The paper said YouTube would retain its free site, including its efforts to create at least 100 channels of alternative professional content, but would add a more content-owner friendly option that could increase the amount of programming from major Hollywood available.
The plan first surfaced at a conference in January where YouTube CEO Salar Kamangar discussed a subscription service that could augment the free site, a la Hulu and Hulu Plus.
"We're a media platform and we want to [have] a business model that media partners demand," he said.
Although Google no longer breaks out details about its YouTube division, it's estimated the company sees revenues of between $2 billion and $3 billion from the properties approximately 800 million worldwide viewers.
The potential of a serious play backed by a subscription tier could not only provide a significant bump to Google's bottom line, but also open Hollywood's gates to a company that has struggled to gain traction with studios.
Last month, YouTube took part in presentations to advertisers that highlighted more of its original programming, including programs and features build around the U.S. Olympic team and a new show aimed primarily at women viewers.
Google TV, which features YouTube prominently, also is getting a boost this month when it rolls out with LGs latest TV models. An executive with the South Korean firm said its new TVs with Google TV would hit the U.S. market the week of May 21.
- see this article
Online video's expanding impact on the bottom line
LG confirms Google TV sets will hit U.S. market this month
YouTube looking to score with sports fans


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As of today, developer and publisher Capcom has announced their strategic partnership with Sony Entertainment to create one of the most unique experiences for PC and PlayStation 4 players. For the first time ever, Street Fighter will be offering a unique cross-platform play between both PC and PlayStation owners. This will allow for more fans to quickly take each other on and even find themselves dueling it out for the top of the leaderboards once and for all.
“Throughout all of our discussions with Sony Computer Entertainment, it is clear that we share a mutual belief that the fighting genre has a huge opportunity for growth,” said Matt Dahlgren, Capcom’s Associate Director of Brand Marketing and eSports. “The announcement today is just the first step, of many, in creating the next generation Street Fighter experience our fans have been asking for.”
“Partnering with Capcom to deliver one of the most popular video game franchises of all time as a console exclusive to our PlayStation family is a huge undertaking and an honor we take incredibly seriously,” said Adam Boyes, VP of Publisher & Developer Relations at Sony Computer Entertainment America. “We can’t wait to show Street Fighter and PlayStation fans what we have in store for them.”
This move makes a giant leap for many gamers, with once-and-for-all sealing the link between PC and console platforms and putting players together. Capcom has also announced the first gameplay demonstration of their newly in development Street Fighter V will take place at the Capcom Cup grand finals tournament a week from today on Saturday, December 13th. The tournament will be taking place in San Francisco, CA, and will be broadcasted live on the official Capcom Fighters Twitch stream for those to take a peek at the first look as well as the announced that Ultra Street Fighter IV is headed to the PlayStation 4 in order to seal this historic partnership and demonstrating that both companies are there to provide each other a variety of benefits, but also their fighting game fans!
One can only wonder; what characters will be back? What story is there to tell? Will we see an all new cast? Stay tuned and find out! Stay tuned for our future coverage of both of these titles as well as the reviews when they become available.
About the Writer:
Dustin is our native console gamer, PlayStation and Nintendo reviewer who has an appetite for anything that crosses the boarders from across the big pond. His interest in JRPG’s, MMO’s, Handheld Gaming, and Pizza is insatiable and can’t be softened by even the biggest names in the gaming industry. His elitist attitude gives him direction, want, and a need for the hardest difficulties in games, which is fun to watch, and hilarity at its finest. To follow Dustin, hit him up on Twitter over at @GamingAnomaly, find him on his Google+. Wanna game with him? You can find him on PSN with RaivynLyken.


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Brazil will be the first market to get Mozilla’s ‘Boot to Gecko‘ open source mobile phones, the Brazilian blog Ztop reports. The announcement was made today in Sao Paulo by Mozilla and Telefonica Digital, which confirmed that the devices will be start selling in Brazil in late 2012 or early 2013.
As we reported, Mozilla’s ‘B2G’ project was made public last July, when the corporation revealed its ambition to build “a complete, standalone operating system for the open web”, capitalizing on HTML5 – in other words, a truly open alternative to Android.
Since Barcelona’s Mobile World Congress, we also knew that Mozilla would be teaming up with the Spanish telecom giant Telefonica, which would start delivering “open web devices” later this year. Here is a demo of a B2G prototype as shown during MWC:
It is also a great destination for a project that hopes to give “users a smartphone experience at feature phone costs”. While smartphones are growing fast in Brazil, they only represent a small share of the total mobile market, mostly due to their high cost (see our story on the iPhone 4S). Quoted by Ztop, Telefonica Vivo’s director of innovation Pablo Larrieux said he hoped that “the first Boot to Gecko devices will be sold for the same price as today’s feature phones.”
On a higher level, this announcement also confirms HTML5’s potential, particularly in Latin America. As a matter of fact, Brazil is also home to Zeewe, an HTML5 app store which already had over 1.5 million users last September.


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Tech leaders signed an open letter calling for a pause on training AI
An open letter calling for a six-month pause in advanced AI development has been signed by Elon Musk and more than 1,000 people, including AI experts.
The letter, published on 22 March 2023, called on AI labs to pause on any technology more powerful than OpenAI’s GPT-4, which was launched on 14 March 2023, according to the non-profit Future of Life Institute. If the pause “cannot be implemented quickly”, the letter also called on governments to step in and impose a moratorium.
The non-profit organisation said the development of high-performance AI systems should only proceed “if there is a confidence that its impact will be positive and its risks are manageable”. It cited the spread of misinformation and the widespread automation of jobs as potential risks to humanity and society.
The letter called for the creation and implementation of a set of common safety protocols for AI development, which would be overseen by independent experts.
Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, Stability AI CEO Emad Mostaque, Pinterest co-founder Evan Sharp, researchers from Alphabet AI lab DeepMind, and prominent AI professors also signed the letter.
The letter accused AI labs of being “locked in an out-of-control race to develop and deploy” high-performance technology. The launch of OpenAI’s viral chatbot, ChatGPT (we commented about ChatGPT on February, 20 2023), has apparently been the catalyst for a number of other companies to launch a number or competing AI products. The newest OpenAI product, GPT-4, is praised for being more creative and intelligent than its popular forerunner. Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI even stated that “the new technology is capable of passing the bar exam and scoring a 5 on several Advanced Placement exams”.
The open letter from the Future of Life Institute said the 6-month break was not about pausing AI development in general, but rather stepping back from the “dangerous race”.
Knowing the importance that AI is taking in our everyday lives and in the current IP debates, we will very much pay attention to this topic!
Toblerone chocolate could lose its iconic Swiss mountain logo
This week in branding news: Mondelez International Inc., the US parent company that owns the chocolate brand, is moving some of Toblerone’s production to Slovakia, meaning that the chocolate will not comply anymore with the Switzerland’s legal definition of “Swissness”.
In 2017, Switzerland indeed approved a law to protect “Swissness”. Accordingly, milk and dairy products labelled “Made in Switzerland” must have 100% of their raw materials sourced from within the country. However, there are exceptions for raw materials that cannot be produced in Switzerland (such as cocoa).
The use of Swiss symbols, including those that refer to a geographical area, is also covered by the law. This means that the Matterhorn mountain can no longer appear on Toblerone’s products, after more than 50 years on the packaging.
The same goes for the “Made in Switzerland” label, which will have to be removed from the packaging. “We will be relaunching the Toblerone packaging from this summer, saying the brand is “established in Switzerland”, stated a Mondelez spokesperson.
“For legal reasons, we have to adapt our packaging to the Swissness legislation. This includes removing the Swissness statement on the front of the Toblerone packaging”, Mondelez said in a statement. The snack food giant added that it will continue to produce some chocolate bars in Bern.
Let’s see what happens in the end, but it is possible we will buy Toblerone with a different image next time.
- Publication date
- 4 April 2023
- European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency


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THQ Nordic is celebrating its 10th anniversary with a special event, and the company has promised that it will be announcing some exciting news.
THQ Nordic, a Swedish video game company, will be celebrating its 10th anniversary with an event on November 16th. The event will include exciting announcements and free games.
Announcements That Might Happen
Gothic is probably one of the rumored iconic franchises scheduled to comeback. After presenting a playable prototype for the game only a few months previously, THQ Nordic approved the production of a Gothic 1 remake in early 2020. Fans of the classic RPG came out in droves to support the notion of resurrecting the series, despite the teaser’s mixed reception. Ideally, in a manner that is faithful to the original. The publisher established a new company, THQ Barcelona, to oversee the project, which later changed its name to Alkimia Interactive. The remake wouldn’t be mentioned again until March 2021, when Alkimia released a slew of fresh Gothic 1 Remake images to commemorate the game’s 20th anniversary.
The newly released Destroy All Humans 2 remake is another game that is highly likely to feature at the event. Sony revealed the remake on their official PlayStation Twitter account yesterday. The remake has been teased by THQ Nordic since February, so this leak isn’t surprising. However, we did discover that the game would be called Destroy all Humans Reprobed thanks to it. In addition, Sony released a teaser for the remake, confirming Black Forest Games as the developer.
We can only guess about other potential announcements. THQ Nordic has purchased a slew of properties throughout the years, several of which are in desperate need of a reboot. Darksiders, Kingdoms of Amalur, Spellforce, and The Guild are a few notable examples. Apart from rumors, Elex 2 and Expeditions: Rome are the only confirmed titles for the event.
Free Games and a Steam Sale
A Steam deal is a must-have for every celebration. The THQ Nordic publisher sale begins on September 16th at 10 a.m. Pacific Time and runs through September 23rd at 10 a.m. Pacific Time. Most of the company’s titles, including Biomutant, Desperados III, Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning, Destroy All Humans, and others, will be heavily discounted.
Even if you don’t care about the discounts, you should still go to Steam at this time since THQ Nordic is giving you two free games. Titan Quest Anniversary Edition is the first, and it’s a remaster of the hack-and-slash RPG that includes the Immortal Throne expansion. Jagged Alliance Gold Edition is the second freebie. This is an oldie but a goodie that was released in 1984. Jagged Alliance is one of the earliest XCOM-style games, and it was a major source of inspiration for Julian Gollop when he developed the original XCOM.
In addition to those two, from September 16th and September 20th, you may play Desperados III for free.
On the Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo Switch digital marketplaces, special 10th anniversary discounts will be offered.
When and where will it happen?
THQ Nordic’s digital showcase will take place on September 17th at 9 p.m. EST/12 p.m. PST and will be broadcast live on the official THQ Nordic channels on YouTube, Twitch, and Steam.
I’m a typical jack-of-all-trades author who enjoys writing about a wide range of subjects, but gaming has always been my forte. That said, I’d jump at the opportunity to report any exciting news about superhero movies, Stephen King books, or space exploration. Alternatively, there are robots. Or Stephen King-like space-traveling superhero robots.


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Oct 20, 2011 - Surplus assets of Solyndra LLC, the US solar panel maker that filed for bankruptcy protection in September, will be auctioned November 2 and 3.
The announcement was made on Wednesday by Heritage Global Partners, which had been selected by the company to manage the auction. The asset advisory and auction services firm said that it had received bankruptcy court approval on October 17 to conduct the sale.
The auction will be held at Solyndra's facilities in Fremont, California, via live global webcast and in person.
The sale will involve assets that are not needed for the restart of the company's production process, including finished inventory, spare parts, manufacturing equipment and office furnishings.
Solyndra still intends to sell its core assets on a turnkey basis in a separate process approved by the bankruptcy court.


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The meeting evaluated the maximum retail price and scarcity of paracetamol products in the country and discussed the measures for the uninterrupted supply and market availability of paracetamol goods at a reasonable price.
It has been reported that growing import prices of pharmaceutical raw materials and rising production expenses worsen the market shortage of key medications. To alleviate the shortage, the pharmaceutical executives asked for a significant increase in the price of paracetamol products.
Pharmaceutical producers have simultaneously initiated the production of paracetamol-based medications. Tariq Bajwa, the Special Assistant, also attended the meeting.


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“Irresponsible” corporate directors who profit from their company’s failure even as employees and suppliers lose out face a contemporary crackdown below govt plans.
Proposals include clawing again cash for employees and suppliers by way of reversing asset gross sales by struggling companies.
And bosses who promote a company “figuring out it could fail” would be held liable.
Ministers stated the cave in of companies akin to Carillion and BHS had sparked fears directors may just defend themselves from the have an effect on of insolvency.
Ex-BHS owner Dominic Chappell fined £87,000
Symbol copyright AFP Image caption More Than 1,000 Carillion workers have misplaced their jobs since the firm went into liquidation in January
the federal government’s proposals include:
●New sanctions together with fines and disqualification for directors selling companies recklessly
●Beside The Point asset stripping might be reversed with the money given again to employees and small providers
●Directors dissolving corporations to ward off debts and keep away from dealing with accusations of misconduct could face research for the first time
Mr Clark mentioned the federal government’s proposals would additionally supply the Insolvency Carrier new powers to analyze directors of dissolved firms.
the federal government’s Insolvency Service currently disqualifies round 1,2 HUNDRED administrators a year.
The plans will now be opened for session.
Frank Box, chairman of the Paintings and Pensions Committee, said: “I welcome any transfer that holds folks more answerable for their behavior, and strengthens the hand of the little guy as a result.”
However shadow business secretary Rebecca Lengthy-Bailey, stated the government had taken too long to act.
“The failure of BHS and Carillion confirmed how temporarily the longer term of an organization and its team of workers can also be sacrificed for the sake of a quick dollar.
“the government should have taken action then, in place of opting for to disregard alarm bell after alarm bell,” she mentioned.


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IRS warns of scams; seniors don’t need to file return for coronavirus stimulus check
The Internal Revenue Service is warning taxpayers to be on the lookout for coronavirus-related scams, bogus calls and phishing attempts that can lead to tax-related fraud and identity theft.
Taxpayers should be on the lookout for emails, text messages, websites and social media attempts that request money or personal information.
The IRS also is telling retirees who don’t normally have to file a tax return that they don’t need to take any action to get their $1,200 payment as part of the $2.2 trillion relief package just passed by Congress.
The IRS says no one from the agency will be contacting seniors by phone, email, mail or in person asking for information so that they can get their payments. The money is going to retirees automatically.
>> This story is being provided free as a public service to our readers during the coronavirus outbreak. You can find more stories on coronavirus here. Please support local journalism by subscribing to The Columbus Dispatch at subscribe.dispatch.com.
Advocates call for state action to help small, mid-sized farmers
Normally, small to mid-size farms are gearing up for farmers markets as a way to sell their produce. But that’s off the table for now because of social distancing measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
Farmers market modifications, such as pre-ordering and drive-thrus, have strained an already understaffed and underfunded market system.
Four organizations the Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association, Produce Perks Midwest, the Ohio Farmers Market Network, and the Ohio Food Policy Network are calling on state leaders to assist farmers in delivering needed food in a safe way.
John Glenn passenger traffic continues to spiral downward
Passenger traffic at John Glenn Columbus International Airport continues to decline significantly because of the coronavirus.
There has been a 90% to 95% drop in passengers at the airport compared with a year ago, according to the airport. That’s in line with what other airports are seeing.
Despite the drop, the airport remains open and operational along with Rickenbacker International Airport and Bolton Field.
Express latest to furlough employees to conserve cash
Along with keeping its stores closed, Columbus-based Express has joined the growing list of retailers taking steps to conserve cash during the pandemic.
The retailer said it has laid off most store associates and a number of a corporate personnel while continuing to provide health care benefits for those eligible until the stores are able to reopen.
It also has suspended merit pay increases for 2020, instituted a hiring freeze for the duration of the crisis and cut other costs.


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The Ministry of Health will add new rules for business, culture, and sports to the five-stage anti-epidemic system (PES). According to Jan Blatný, the Minister of Health, PES won’t be modified completely. “We do not want to change what is given by the main PES table. We are only setting specific rules for individual fields,” said Blatný on Twitter.
After the Ministry introduces the detailed rules for the education sector, they will move to gastronomy, retail, culture, and sports. The government is supposed to discuss on Sunday whether the measures should be relaxed next Monday. Czechs might move to the third stage next week where restaurants, services, accommodation, and museums can open. It will also be allowed to organize competitions without an audience. Although, there is still no information about cultural events.
According to PES, at the third stage, the stores are still responsible for controlling the 15 square meters per person and organizing the queues outside with the two-meter distance rule. Restaurants will be able to serve only half of the maximum capacity. A maximum of four people will be allowed to sit at a table. Museums will be able to fill in the quarter of their capacity. Libraries will keep one person per 15 square meters.
According to the CTK survey, some stores, such as Humanic, C&A, and Kik, are already preparing for the third stage. They are ready to follow the hygiene rules and control the number of customers in stores. All the retails except groceries, pharmacies, optical stores, and drug stores have been closed since October 22.


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- Kevin Reilly only ate the "healthy" options from these fast food restaurants for an entire week: McDonald's, Wendy's, Burger King, Taco Bell, Dunkin' Donuts, Subway, and Chick-fil-A
- He lost seven pounds in the process, but by the end of the week felt sick
- He tracked all of his nutrition, and found that the "healthy" options contained huge amounts of sodium
All those "healthy" options you see at fast food joints? According to a guy who lived off them for a week, they may be too good to be true.
Kevin Reilly, a video producer for Business Insider, tried eating healthy foods from big chain fast food restaurants for a week. Although Reilly ended up losing nearly seven pounds, he concluded there wasn't much healthy about the process — and we agree.
Reilly's rules were simple: eat only from McDonald's, Wendy's, Burger King, Taco Bell, Dunkin' Donuts, Subway, and Chick-fil-A for an entire week, and only select things from each restaurant's healthier options menu.
Kevin Reilly's 'Healthy' Fast Food Diet:
Reilly ended the week feeling like garbage — the last thing a week of "healthy" eating should feel like. He pointed to a number of problems with these "healthy" options, including that he hardly ever felt full, and that the items were priced higher than many less-healthy menu options.
But the biggest shocker Reilly discovered? The astronomical amount of sodium in these foods, despite the items being low in calories.
Want to learn more? Here's what to know about sodium and the other problems with "healthy" fast food.
What is sodium?
Sodium is a mineral that our cells depend on to function properly. It's a vital part of our health, and the only way to get it into our bodies is to consume it.
Americans get the vast majority of their sodium from sodium chloride — also known as. Most processed foods and restaurant foods contain a lot of salt, which acts as a preservative and as a flavor enhancer.
How much sodium should you have in a day?
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the average American ingests about 3,400 milligrams of sodium a day. That's over 1,000 milligrams more than the 2,300 milligrams the 2015–2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends as the maximum amount Americans should take in daily.
When we ingest sodium, our blood retains more water, which causes blood pressure to go up. For people whose blood pressure is already high, too much sodium can cause a serious problem, like increased risk of serious cardiovascular problems.
If you're someone with high blood pressure, then watching your sodium intake is something you should be doing. Harvard's T.H. Chan School of Public Health says that those over 50, African Americans and people with diabetes are also at risk of developing health problems as a result of too much salt in their diet.
The problems with "healthy" fast food
For anyone at risk of developing health problems related to high sodium intake, fast food is not your friend. Reilly mentioned Taco Bell's Fresco menu; the Steak Fresco Burrito Supreme may only have 350 calories and 17 grams of protein, but it also has 1,090 milligrams of sodium.
But high sodium levels aren't the only problems with these "healthy" fast foods.
Big chain restaurant foods are highly processed and secretly loaded with sugar — and we all know the truth about sugar.
Take Burger King's Garden Chicken Salad with Grilled Chicken. It looks healthy enough — 340 calories, 39 grams of protein, 4 grams of sugar. But that's without dressing. Add on Ken's Lite Honey Balsamic Vinaigrette, which sounds healthy, and you've got another 11 grams of sugar, bringing that salad up to 15 grams of added sugar. In a salad.
Besides sodium and sugar, fast foods are typically much more processed and stripped of nutrients, which means you're missing out on a lot of the big benefits that come from whole foods. (Check out more ways your crappy diet is literally killing you.)
So don't be fooled by the "healthy" menu options at these fast food joints — you're better off putting that money towards whole foods at the grocery store. Here are some tips on eating healthy on a budget to get you started.


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PBSC E-Bike Sharing Schemes in 15+ Cities Around the WorldSeptember 08, 2021 — Technologies
Le leader mondial est heureux de le remettre à BIXI Montréal dans le cadre du 375e anniversaire de la Ville de Montréal
Montreal, May 29, 2017 – PBSC Urban Solutions, pioneer in public bike-sharing solutions and world leader in the industry, proudly announced that it delivered its 50,000th bike. After nine years, the original Bixi, named Iconic by PBSC, is now available on three continents and more than twenty cities around the world.
As part of the 375th anniversary of Montreal, PBSC decided to hand the 50,000th bike as a gift to BIXI Montréal, where everything began. A unique model was created for the occasion, made of brushed aluminum, showcasing the colours of BIXI and embellished with an illustration from Montreal artist Benoit Tardif.
“50,000 bikes is so much more than just a number,” said Luc Sabbatini, President and CEO of PBSC. “It represents the dedication of our team and the willingness of our partners around the world to trust our systems and solutions, which include not only bikes, but also stations, kiosks and all the technology behind that ensures effective systems management.”
Almost a Decade of Innovation
With tens of millions of trips made on its thousands of bikes each year, PBSC collects an impressive amount of data that allows the company to always push the boundaries of the bike-sharing industry. Hence, PBSC developed and launched the industry's first family of bikes in 2016, with a lighter model, the FIT, and a pedal-assist electric bike, the BOOST, in addition to the original ICONIC.
Pursuing its 360° approach of urban solutions, PBSC, through its division PBSC Media, now also offers a turnkey service to its customers, including a brand new strategic support service to maximize sponsorships and advertising on city-owned assets. PBSC Media will be able to support cities by offering strategic counselling, or entirely manage their advertisement.
“We are proud to be at the forefront of the industry when it comes to innovation and we are motivated to continue to push the limits not only of the bike-sharing industry, but also of urban mobility as a whole,” continues Luc Sabbatini. “Stay tuned, there is a lot more in the pipeline. We will continue to play our role in changing the world, one city at a time.”
About PBSC Urban Solutions
With over 160 million rides since its beginning, PBSC Urban Solutions is the world leader in public bike-sharing solutions. Its systems use solar-powered wireless terminals and cutting-edge technology that is adaptable and easy to use. PBSC is the only bike-sharing provider offering cities three different types of bikes: the ICONIC, the FIT and the BOOST, a pedal-assist electric bike. PBSC is a pioneer in public bike-sharing solutions and, following its vision to change the world one city at a time, continues to pave the way in sustainable alternatives to traditional urban transportation worldwide.
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Press contact :
PBSC launches multimodal solution to dock and charge e-scooters & e-bikesOctober 14, 2020 — Technologies
PBSC URBAN SOLUTIONS LAUNCHES LATEST E-BIKE AT CES CONFERENCE IN LAS VEGASJanuary 08, 2019 — Technologies


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Great British Bake Off Winner joins Queen’s from Milan
Our Year 11 GCSE Food Preparation and Nutrition classes spent their lessons having all their Italian food questions answered by none other than the Great British Bake Off Winner 2021 Giuseppe Dell’Anno remotely from Milan, Italy.
Franky Gediking said the lesson was, “really very interesting with lots of information,” as Giuseppe spoke for an hour on different Italian dishes, ingredients, recipes and skills that the pupils could use (Jarno Ottavianelli added that it was so nice to hear someone talk from Italy and reminded him of speaking to his Italian grandparents!) Every pupil got an opportunity for their own culinary questions to be put to the international celebrity baker including Mr Mann, Head of Food and Nutrition, who got tips on different ways to cook octopus.
The First-Ever Taste Of ‘Tearless’ Onions Before They Go On Sale In The Supermarkets
Waitrose announced it will launch ‘Sunions’, which are the first ‘tearless and sweet onions’ available in the UK at selected stores this week. The only children in the country treated to an exclusive pre-launch taster of the country’s new vegetable are those taught at Queen’s College, Taunton.
Head of Food and Nutrition, Joe Mann said, “the new onions are ideal for our aspiring young chefs at Queen’s putting a stop to sobbing over chopping boards, making the vegetables safer to prepare and far more a-peeling!” It has taken more than 30 years of breeding less pungent varieties of onions to find a variety where the vapours released on chopping are not
powerful enough to bring tears to the eye. The so-called Sunions are not genetically modified products and have been grown through an all-natural cross-breeding programme creating a new tearless, sweet and mild onion.
UK Launch of Tearless Onions Exclusive Interview
On the UK launch day of the the ‘Sunion’ we had an interview exclusive! Before making tasty tarts with the NEW onions Year 9’s had a LIVE streamed conversation this morning, quizzing the Director of Moulton Bulbs and the Oldershaw Group, Robert Oldershaw, who has brought this new vegetable to the UK supermarkets.
Game Changer: Queen’s Nominated for National Food Award!
This last week Queen’s College has been nominated in the national Eat Game Awards for the ‘Best Game Educator Award’ ahead of the national awards ceremony in London on the 24th March 2022.
Last term pupils at Queen’s learnt high culinary skills with local, wild, fresh pheasant and partridge and were taught about the sustainable and nutritional credentials of game.
One week GCSE Food Preparation and Nutrition pupils learnt to portion local, wild, fresh pheasant and, using the last apples picked from Queen’s plus rosemary and lettuce picked from our new Queen’s Kitchen Garden, pupils produced a pan-fried pheasant breast dish on a garlic and rosemary bruschetta with a horseradish mayonnaise topped with julienne apple. A truly free-range rich flavoured (as well as low fat!)
Mr Mann, Head of Food and Nutrition, said, “we are absolutely delighted that Queen’s College has been nominated for such a prestigious national food award that recognises the fantastic culinary achievements and nutritional learning of our pupils.”
First Green Shoots for a New Year!
It has been lovely to return to school and see the winter sunshine over our new student kitchen garden at Queen’s College. The green shoots of the pupils’ very first garlic and onions can now be seen coming up and lettuce and chard are still doing very well. Soon the pupils will be able to prepare and eat them! Mr Mann, Head of Food and Nutrition, said “It’s a lovely time of the year and gardening in the winter feels so rewarding. To return after the holidays and see all the foods that the pupils planted come to life is so heartening”.


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Hundreds of additional temporary visas for foreign butchers have been announced by the government as part of a package of support following calls from the industry to intervene over labour shortages.
It comes after warnings that up to 150,000 pigs could be destroyed as waste as the labour shortage in meat processing has led to a backlog of animals ready for slaughter.
It is estimated that a combination of rising feed costs, dropping market prices and penalties for selling pigs “out of spec” have combined to cost Scottish pig producers £5m.
Measures announced by the government on Thursday include up to 800 visas for butchers to come to the UK for up to six months.
Under the plans, there will also be funding for additional meat storage, moves to introduce processing of animals on Saturdays and the potential for longer working hours.
National Farming Union vice president Tom Bradshaw said the visa announcement was a “step in the right direction”.
The government said the pig industry has faced challenges in recent months because of the pandemic and the temporary suspension of approval to export to China for some UK pork establishments.
These issues have led to a backlog of pigs awaiting slaughter, the government said.
Environment secretary George Eustice said: “A unique range of pressures on the pig sector over recent months such as the impacts of the pandemic and its effect on export markets have led to the temporary package of measures we are announcing today.
“This is the result of close working with industry to understand how we can support them through this challenging time.”
Mr Bradshaw told Times Radio: “We really welcome the recognition of how serious the issue is. The 800 visas is a step in the right direction that will really help to get things back on track. And I guess, for us now, the critical thing is how quickly can we get those butchers over here?”
He added: “I’m pleased that however challenging its been, we know George Eustice has really been fighting the corner for the industry. He’s managed to get this over the line. And we just now need to implement it, as I say, as quickly as possible. And there can’t be any delays in getting those visas out.”
Up to 800 pork butchers will be eligible to apply for six-month visas from the existing allocation in the Seasonal Workers Pilot Scheme up until December 31.
The government said the move is temporary and is in addition to foreign butchers already being eligible since December 2020 to apply to come to the UK through the existing skilled worker route.
In addition, a fund will be set up for a private storage aid system in England to allow meat processors to store slaughtered pigs for three to six months so they can be preserved and processed at a later date.
Details of the fund will be announced shortly, the government said.
A spokesperson for the National Pig Association said: “We are so very relieved that the Government has finally released some measures aimed at reducing the significant pig backlog on farms.
“We are working with the processors to understand the impact of these new measures and to determine exactly what will happen now, and how quickly, so that we can give pig farmers some hope and stem the flow of healthy pigs currently having to be culled on farms.”
The Liberal Democrats criticised the support package as a “half-baked and inadequate” visa scheme.
Two meat levy bodies for England and Scotland, the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) and Quality Meat Scotland (QMS), have announced a pork levy holiday which will suspend payments of the levy pig farmers and producers are required to pay for November.
This will deliver savings of just under £1 million for the sector, the government said.
The government has said it wants the industry to improve working conditions and training in the UK, and invest in technology to meet its labour needs.
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Discover Bank announced it will pay about $200 million in refunds to cardholders who bought certain credit-protection products over the phone as part of an agreement with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).
The $200 million is in addition to a $10.5 million class action lawsuit settlement Discover agreed to last year, and a $2 million settlement reached earlier this year with the Minnesota Attorney General — all over the same alleged “deceptive marketing” practices.
Federal regulators conducted a year-long investigation into telemarketing and sales tactics used by Discover agents that misled consumers into paying for credit card “add-on products” they thought were free. These services included credit score tracking, payment protection, identity theft protection and wallet protection.
Discover card customers who were charged for one or more of these products between December 1, 2007 and August 31, 2011 will be eligible for a refund based on the products they purchased and how long they held them.
Find all the details HERE.


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Digital currencies are now officially legal in Ukraine. The country’s parliament has passed a bill that paves the way for regulating and managing digital currencies in the Eastern European nation. It has also reduced the number of agencies overseeing the industry as it seeks to make it easier for digital currency related companies to operate in the country.
Ukraine’s parliament, known as the Verkhovna Rada, approved amendments to the country’s bill on virtual assets on Thursday. Rada voted 272 out of 365 in favor of the amended bill, which finally makes Bitcoin legal in a country that has seen immense adoption in recent years.
The passing of the bill is the culmination of the legislative process that has taken close to two years, after the bill on virtual assets was introduced to the Rada back in May 2020. It proposed creating an entirely new regulatory body to oversee the industry.
In September 2021, it was approved by parliament, but President Volodymyr Zelensky vetoed it, saying that Ukraine couldn’t afford a new authority just for digital assets. He sent the bill back to parliament, and after the amendments, it has finally passed.
In its new state, the bill doesn’t recognize Bitcoin as legal tender. However, it gives it legal recognition and backing, which according to the Ministry of Digital Transformation, will provide market participants the assurance and protection they have long sought.
“This will legalize crypto exchangers and cryptocurrencies, and Ukrainians could protect their assets from possible abuse or fraud,” Mykhailo Fedorov, the Minister of Digital Transformation, commented.
“Market participants will receive legal protection and the opportunity to make decisions based on open consultations with government agencies,” he added.
While the Ministry praised the passing of the bill, it was one of the casualties of the bill’s regulatory pruning. Previously, three agencies had been put in charge of the sector, with a fourth one proposed. However, with the amendments, the Ministry of Digital Transformation was dropped.
Moving forward, digital currency owners in Ukraine will be regulated by the National Bank of Ukraine and the National Securities and Stock Market Commission of Ukraine. The former will deal with digital currencies backed by currency valuables, while the latter will be in charge of virtual asset service providers (VASPs), derivative trading, and other similar aspects.
This could be beneficial to the market as it cuts down the red tape that VASPs will have to navigate to serve Ukrainians, Oleksandr Bornyakov, the Deputy Minister at the Ministry of Digital Transformation, said.
Speaking to one news outlet, he said, “Shrinking regulatory bodies can actually significantly accelerate crypto market launch. In order to ensure the growth of the crypto industry we are ready to cooperate with The National Commission on Securities and Stock Market. Ultimately, real change in any market is driven by collaboration.”
Bornyakov has been pro-Bitcoin for quite some time now. He envisions Ukraine being one of the top Bitcoin destinations in the world, touting it as the future. He was also critical of proposals by neighboring country Russia to ban digital currencies.
“Our positive stance on crypto indeed stands in contrast with neighbors where officials propose a ban on the use and mining of cryptocurrencies. I’d like to remind them crypto regulation will work better than a ban,” Bornyakov told Fortune.
President Zelensky is expected to sign the bill into law and publish it within the next ten days, Konstantin Yarmolenko from Blockchain4Ukraine said.
Even before the positive regulations, Ukraine was already among the world’s leaders in digital currencies. According to the Chainalysis Global Crypto Adoption Index 2021, the country only ranks behind Vietnam, India, and Pakistan globally for adoption.
According to the New York Times, digital currency trading volume exceeds fiat volume in Ukraine. Ukrainians trade $150 million on average each day, more than the volume of interbank exchanges in fiat currency.
Watch: CoinGeek New York panel, Government & Public Sector Applications on Blockchain
New to blockchain? Check out CoinGeek’s Blockchain for Beginners section, the ultimate resource guide to learn more about blockchain technology.


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DTW's McNamara Terminal has once again outdone itself in the food department.
In addition to Chick-fil-A, Pinkberry, Bigalora, and Papa Joe's - on top of the the tons of other dining options in the terminal - travelers can now score Avalon International Breads baked goods, to-go sandwiches, and specialty coffee drinks from Mighty Good Coffee inside the Harvest Grounds Newsstand on the "C" Concourse.
The move into the airport food services world is just one of several expansion efforts by the nearly two-decade-old Avalon. Earlier this year, the bakery opened a second retail location inside its bakehouse on the city's east.
Later this month, the bakery is supposed to open an additional café in Ann Arbor. And sometime early next year, a third location will arrive in Detroit.
See also: Die-hard fans line up 24 hours before first two Michigan Chick-fil-A openings
See also: Foodie Travel Advisory: Bigalora helping in DTW dining expansion with new location to open Dec. 11


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On a good day, Vietnam offers world class and inexpensive 3G mobile and broadband internet services to travellers. And the internet’s easy to access too. Mobile data and call plans for travellers are available for sale at Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi airports. Ubiquitous cafes, restaurants and bars offer free wifi.
But there are bad days. And they seem to be occurring more frequently and with increased severity.
On a bad day, travellers get to take an involuntary journey back to the pre-internet era, or the dial-up days of the 1990s.
Vietnam’s internet is a fickle and confusing thing. It’s pervasive – from 3G mobile services that reach to some of the most remote areas of the country, to fibre broadband services that, at their best, shame the far more expensive services I use in Australia.
You’ll struggle to find a cafe, bar or restaurant anywhere in Vietnam that doesn’t provide complimentary, easily accessed wifi.
With the exception of one or two international hotel chains, free wifi is standard at Vietnam’s hotels and resorts.
So far so good. Vietnam’s sounding like one of the world’s most internet friendly places for travellers – far better in fact than many more developed travel destinations.
And the Vietnamese people love the internet. There are more than 40 million internet users in this nation of 90 million. That’s a lot of customers for the country’s telcos. Vietnam’s internet penetration is very high in relation to its economic development too.
So what’s the problem? Well there are a few.
Vietnam has frequently been listed as one of Facebook’s fastest growing markets. But there’s an official ambivalence about the US social network. Access to Facebook can require a little finessing – at least on a desktop.
Vietnam runs a low level block on Facebook that can require DNS setting changes or a VPN to circumvent. As I say though, it’s a low level block and it’s easy to get around.
It’s nothing like the severe block China’s Great Firewall imposes on Facebook, YouTube, Google and other US tech giants. And curiously, mobile services are exempt from Vietnam’s blocks. If you’re using your mobile, you can usually expect stable access to Facebook.
Twitter’s situation is also a little complicated. Some local ISPs seem to block it occasionally. Like Facebook, these blocks only seem to hit desktops. I’ve never had a problem accessing Twitter on mobile.
Unlike Facebook, Twitter has very low user penetration in Vietnam.
Other social networks including YouTube, are popular and accessible in Vietnam. International news, current affairs and other English language sites enjoy reasonably clear access in Vietnam as well. That’s as long as you don’t want to read about Vietnam while you’re in Vietnam. Sometimes individual news pieces from the BBC and other international news and current affairs broadcasters are blocked. But most news coverage seems to make it through.
Vietnam is listed by Reporters Without Borders as an “enemy of the internet”. This is because of the harsh way the country treats its dissenting bloggers and journalists – rather than anything likely to impact on the internet experience of travellers. Vietnam’s more heavy-handed internet censorship applies mainly to Vietnamese language sites and so isn’t likely to impact travellers either.
Probably the biggest internet headache travellers face in Vietnam is frequent disruption to the country’s perilously fragile international marine fiber cable. Over the past few years, these disruptions have become increasingly frequent and can render access to international sites slow or impossible.
Much to the amusement of locals and foreigners, sharks are often blamed for these ocean cable ruptures. Information on the failures tends to be incorrect or contradictory, leaving plenty of space for Vietnam’s hyperactive legion of conspiracy theorists to speculate on what is really happening.
Whatever the cause, the inconvenience to travellers is trivial compared to the brake these outages put on Vietnam’s productivity. They usually last for several weeks. And Saigon’s just come out of the worst outage I’ve experienced.
The official line is that new cables will be connected in 2016 removing this over-dependence on a single cable. Given that Vietnam is located in one of the busiest internet corridors in the world, many have asked how this vulnerability could have been allowed to plague the country for so long?
So if you’re travelling to Vietnam, expect pretty good, inexpensive, internet access – unless you’re here during one of the country’s infamous and all too frequent outages.
Tips for getting a local SIM card in Vietnam
Viettel, which is owned by the military, seems to have the most extensive network and is the country’s biggest mobile provider. Vinaphone and Mobifone are also popular and have good national coverage.
Some of the major companies have SIM card plans tailored to the data and call needs of travellers. At time of writing, 3GB of mobile data can be purchased for around 200,000VND.


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As a child of the 1980s, before the worldwide web or mobile devices were mainstream, Matt Raithel played his share of video games. He never imagined he could earn a living in game design.
Today, however, Raithel is owner of St. Louis-based Graphite Lab, which creates video games for top brands like Hasbro. His name is in the credits for more than 50 games.
Raithel shares his talent and expertise with Maryville students as a game design and motion graphics instructor.
“What gets me excited is helping this generation go from thinking game design is something they may never be able to do, to learning how to do it, and even having ideas of how to do it better,” Raithel says. “Watching that discovery happen in my classroom is a thrill.”
“For Maryville to recognize that and start crafting a future generation of game designers is great for the students and for the St. Louis region.”
In conjunction with the BFA program in interactive design, Maryville will launch a concentration in game design this fall. Offering game design curricula is progressive, Raithel says, noting that recent statistics show the gaming industry is worth nearly $100 billion globally, and is expected to grow.
“For Maryville to recognize that and start crafting a future generation of game designers is great for the students and for the St. Louis region,” he says.
Raithel’s classroom is set up like a production studio. Students are considered team members, and have a level of autonomy and responsibility similar to his Graphite employees.
“He brings his expertise from running a business into the classroom,” says senior Mandy Weber. “He gives everything a real-world perspective and explains how the things we’re learning can later be applied.”
Raithel also uses his professional network to introduce students to working professionals who share insight about real-world projects. Although he calls upon creatives from both coasts, Raithel also introduces students to developers in the St. Louis area, where video game design is rapidly expanding.
This story was originally published in the Spring 2016 edition of Maryville Magazine.


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OpenText has announced jointly with Micro Focus International plc (LSE: MCRO) today that all regulatory conditions pertaining to the all-cash offer by OpenText, through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Open Text UK Holding Limited (Bidco), to acquire the entire issued and to be issued share capital of Micro Focus as announced on August 25, 2022 (the Acquisition), have now been satisfied. Subject to the Court sanctioning the Scheme, which is expected to occur on January 27, 2023, the Acquisition is expected to close on January 31, 2023.
The joint announcement, a copy of which is available at https://www.microfocus.com/en-us/investors, contains an updated timetable to close the Acquisition. Full details and the terms and conditions of the Acquisition can be found at https://investors.opentext.com.
“With the shareholder approval received, successful financing completed and now, all regulatory conditions satisfied, we have a clear path towards closing the Acquisition,” said OpenText CEO & CTO Mark J. Barrenechea. “We are excited to welcome Micro Focus customers, partners and employees to the OpenText family and helping our customers create the digital fabrics of the future.”


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Tesla Roadster fans and Tesla employees are equally delighted when they spotted the next-generation Roadster at the Hawthorne Delivery Center last weekend. The Tesla reservation holders spotted the next-generation Roadster about which Tesla CEO Elon Musk said that it would be a ‘hardcore smackdown to gasoline cars’ as they were waiting to pick up their cars on Sunday. The fully operational prototype Roadster was the same car used to film the recent segment of Jay Leno’s Garage where the TV host interviewed Tesla Chief Designer Franz von Holzhausen. It was also the same car which was used to launch the Roadster originally.
— Christopher Stanley ? (@cstanley) October 2, 2018
The unveiling of the Roaster saw it emerged from the back of Tesla Semi during a big Tesla media event last year. European Tesla fans who were lucky to be at the Grand Basel Auto Show in Switzerland in September got to see the Roadster’s non-functioning model. The car was painted in white, and it looked beautiful among all other elite vehicles.
Are you lucky enough to be picking your Tesla up at Hawthorne CA today? If so check out this #NextGenRoadster on display, and may be Elon or Franz will help deliver your car! Pics courtesy of Carlos R. pic.twitter.com/Kp1gbDp4mz
— TheTeslaLife (@TheTeslaLife) October 1, 2018
The Tesla Roadster will not be produced in mass quantities like the Model 3, but the all-electric sports car is expected to make a splash in the market when it gets there. The buyers in Europe who have options to choose between top car brands might be tempted by the high performing Tesla purely on price point. Musk said that he expects the car to cost around $200,000 when it will reach the market and will be $100,000 less than other mid-level supercars like the McLaren 720S and the Ferrari 812 Superfast which cost around $300,000. Tesla said that the Roadster would be able to hit 0-60mph in a time of 1.9 seconds thanks to its three electric motors.
The car is expected to have a top speed of at least 250 mph and have a range of 620 miles per charge. Musk said that Roadster is not a priority right now since Tesla is currently focusing on getting the Model 3 production car issue sorted. It is expected though that Tesla Roadster finds a willing audience in Europe and other strong electric vehicle markets like China.


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With 4 startups passing the $1 billion valuation line to become the first African Unicorns, the continent has been overtaken by a wave of optimism that promises to pave the way for the startups of the future.
A total of 4 companies have gained Unicorn status in recent years: Flutterwave, Interswitch, Fawry in the fintech industry, and Jumia in e-commerce. Other than Fawry, all of the startups are based in Nigeria, one of the region’s largest economies.
African startups have gotten notoriety over the years, with 9 companies making it into the exclusive Y Combinator summer batch this year.
The reasoning behind the success is the untapped potential the region represents with an increasingly mobile and tech-savvy population in an economy dominated by informal employment.
Rahul Shah, an analyst at Tellimer, referred to this potential by telling Quartz,
“For those companies that can succeed in drawing business away from informal providers, the opportunity is huge. This is where the next fintech unicorns will emerge.”
Nigeria’s success in the fintech industry has also been boosted by the ongoing Covid19 pandemic, which forced consumers in the region and around the world to socially distance ad find digital alternatives to complete payments and complete their purchases.
This was reflected by the spike in user numbers and transaction volume the 4 African Unicorns experienced.
Shah referred to this by stating:
“This is the key battleground for fintech in Africa. For those companies that can succeed in drawing business away from informal providers, the opportunity is huge. This is where the next fintech unicorns will emerge.”
The startup scene in Africa will not only be a place for innovation to take place, but also for financial inclusion and digital transformation to increase.
These opportunities will allow locals to easily integrate with the global economy and fully benefit from the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AFCFTA) pact formed in recent years.
The success experienced by the African Unicorns has driven investor trust in the region by proving the potential the market represents.
While this interest has been largely focused on fintech and e-commerce until now, experts expect this interest to diversify in the near future.


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SHAH ALAM - Malaysians were estimated to spend over RM3 billion in tourism at Thailand last year with RM600 million spent on food, said Thailand Tourism Authority (Tat).
Its Deputy Governor Tanes Petsuwan said this comes after a surge of over 1.5 million Malaysian tourists last year after two years of a slump due to the Covid pandemic.
Tanes said Malaysian tourists like to visit the southern region during holidays, the Thailand National News Bureau reported.
Tat estimated 21 per cent or RM600 million was used primarily on food, adding further they spend around RM655 per day on their vacation.
Consumer Finance Expert Professor Mohamad Fazli Sabri said the large outflow of money to Thailand was a loss to the country considering the country's current situation.
"This situation would compromise the domestic tourism sector as well as the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) sector preventing new job opportunities from being created.
"It's quite inappropriate to spend so much money eating abroad because there are more pressing matters. There is nothing wrong with eating in Thailand but it must be done in moderation," he said to Sinar on Monday.
The Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) Human Ecology Faculty Dean explained although food prices were competitive in Thailand, individuals must take into account other costs such as border visa fees and vehicle insurance fees if they drive by themselves there.
"It's better for us to prioritise economic growth in the country which was capable of redeveloping the domestic tourism sector. We can aid the MSMEs, when the sector develops, more job opportunities can be created," Fazli said.
Sinar on Monday reported Malaysians often enjoy Thai cuisine for its large portion size with a competitive price not far from Malaysia.
Meanwhile in Kubang Pasu, the trend had compromised local vendors primarily those in the district closer to the Thai border.
Restaurant owner Ku Mohd Fakhri Ku Azizan, 35, said many social media influencers had made certain restaurants viral in Thailand as content for their social media such as TikTok.
He said the situation caused many locals to be influenced to support the Thai businesses.
"I don't want to deny that the trend affected us, some were misleading the public that the food in Siam were much cheaper and it was reviewed by social media influencers which support the tourism industry there," he said.
Restaurant owner at Jalan Pauh-Changlun, Kubang Pasu Mohd Azwan Mohd Amran, 37, said he did not deny the trend was the reason on why customers were decreasing.
"It is normal for locals to travel to Thailand and spend but what are the local government's measures to ensure raw ingredients won't increase in price?" he questioned.
Sajaroton Rizal Tajudin, 51 said her business was not affected even though locals were often raving about the food in Thailand.
"Everyone has their own taste. The reason why businesses are affected was due to the rising cost of living, many choose to eat out less," she said.
In Kota Bharu, Kelantan customers viewed the Kelantan-Thailand border food trend was a temporary trend.
Thailand restaurant owner in Wakaf Che Yeh, Nuraini Mohd Nasir, 24 said customers ate at the border tp enjoy the change in scenery.
"I am not worried about this situation because there are times they bring their family here to eat," she said.


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With all the news to come out of the Destination D23 Connections: A Look at the Future of Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products panel, we thought it would be helpful to look back on this event with a recap of some of the most notable stories to come out of today.
Walt Disney World Resort
- The Dreamer’s Point Statue of Walt will sit in EPCOT World Celebration section of the park.
- A new quick service restaurant in EPCOT, Connections Café and Eatery, will also open in the World Celebration section.
- New concept art was shared for Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind in EPCOT. It will open in summer of 2022.
- The new generation of MagicBand+ will be coming to Disney World. It includes new technology to unlock interactive experiences throughout the parks.
- Fantasmic! and Festival of Fantasy Parade will return to Disney World.
- A new castle show for Mickey’s Friendship Faire will debut for the 50th Anniversary.
- Art was shared for the Mickey’s Toontown renovation including the return of the Toontown hills which were previously removed for the Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway construction.
- A multi-year project will begin in Downtown Disney. The AMC Theater will close to make room for a new space, including an open lawn for events, new dining, and shopping.
- The next generation of MagicBand+ will be coming to Disneyland in 2022. More details will be coming in the months ahead.
- World of Color, Fantasmic! are both returning to Disneyland Resort next year along with Main Street Electrical Parade in time to celebrate its 50th Anniversary.
- Concept art was shared for the new Disney Vacation Club Disneyland Tower pool area and rooms.
- The inspiration for the rooms was inspired by actual color scripts and the look of original artwork from Sleeping Beauty. It is proposed to open in 2023.
Disney Cruise Line
- In addition to Aladdin, two new stage shows will debut aboard the Disney Wish: Seas the Adventure which will feature Captain Minnie and a new theatrical adaptation of The Little Mermaid.
International Disney Parks
- Disneyland Paris’s 30th Anniversary begins next year and will kick off March 6th. New concept art was shown for the celebration.
- A new nighttime show will debut with the Anniversary in Disneyland Paris
- Avengers Campus will open in summer of 2022 as part of their 30th Anniversary Celebration.
- At Disneyland Hong Kong, the new Frozen Land is well underway.
- Hong Kong will see a new nighttime spectacular next year.
- Tokyo DisneySea 20th Anniversary has just kicked off.
- Fantasy Springs featuring Frozen, Tangled, and Peter Pan construction is well underway in Tokyo.
- In Shanghai, the 5th Anniversary is being celebrated and Zootopia Land construction is in progress.
- A major new attraction blending new technology and Disney storytelling will be part of the new Zootopia Land.
- D23 Expo at the Anaheim Convention Center will take place September 9, 10, and 11 in Anaheim. Tickets go on sale January 20.
- Those in attendance were given a first look at Disney’s 100th Anniversary logo.
There was truthfully not a ton of new information to come out of today’s panel. Much of the entertainment returning had already been announced and a lot of the other information was known with few added new details. Regardless, it seems that there are some exciting things on the horizon for Disney Parks, Resorts, and Experiences.
If you are interested in booking a Disney vacation, reach out to one of our expert Dreams Unlimited Travel agents today to help you with all the details. As always, stay tuned to wdwinfo.com for news and information on all things Disney.
Amy is a self-proclaimed Disney Fanatic. Falling in love with Disney after her first trip in her 20s, Amy and her husband, Paul are now Annual Passholders and Disney Vacation Club members with home resorts at Animal Kingdom Villas, Grand Floridian, and BoardWalk.
Amy is a contributor for wdwinfo.com, dvcfan.com, dclfan.com and movingtoorlando.com.
In her spare time, Amy enjoys traveling, eating, running, reading, writing, and spending time with family, friends, Paul, and their two dogs-Odie the greyhound and Hermes the Spanish galgo. She and her husband are new residents to Central Florida.


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Spearhead Machinery has announced that Scot Agri will be the company’s new dealer partner, handling sales and service throughout North and East Scotland.
Sales manager – GB East at Spearhead, Jack Norton said: “The brand has really only scratched the surface in terms of what it has to offer the Scottish farmer, contractor, parks and grounds professional or airport authority. We are excited by this new partnership and the opportunity that it presents.”
Steven Mitchell, regional manager at Scot Agri commented: “Spearhead is an established brand and has been marketed successfully here in the past. It is a product range we have sold effectively over the years without promoting it officially. We really believe that there is an opportunity for further growth by engaging the whole Scot Agri business.”
The company will offer the full Spearhead range, including its flex-wing rotary mowers, hedgecutters, flail mowers and amenity products.
Jack concluded: “The appointment of Scot Agri represents an opportunity for Spearhead to further expand and support its customer base in Scotland. We are pleased to have established this new partnership and look forward to developing and growing our business with the support of the Scot Agri team.”
For more information go to www.spearheadmachinery.com


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The new Android OS 1.5 (Cupcake) will be available for the T-Mobile G1 at the beginning of May. The update will be installed "over-the-air", i.e. the user only needs to confirm the installation.
This is T-Mobile's reaction to the HTC Magic, which is in the program at Vodafone, and is a signal against the fears that T-Mobile customers would have to wait even longer for the new Android software, which includes significant advances and improvements.
One of the innovations: the previously unavoidable registration with Google is no longer necessary, the G1 can now be used without a Google account - the functions are now optional.


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Talkwalker, the leading enterprise listening company, today adds podcasts to the list of sources it covers. With its new Speech Analytics technology, Talkwalker is powering brands and agencies to analyze conversations from this new media type.
Brands now have full visibility over what is being said about them, thanks to a complete text, image, video, and speech analytics solution. With access to the realm of podcasts, brands can gather insights that were previously inaccessible to them to protect their brand and drive greater revenue.
Podcasts have grown impressively in the past 5 years, and according to Business Insider, this will be a billion dollar industry by the end of 2021. For the US market, eMarketer estimates that the number of podcast listeners will increase 16.0% year-over-year (YoY). With more people tuning into this type of entertainment all around the world, brands must be able to monitor all organic and sponsored mentions to better protect themselves and have a holistic view of their campaigns.
“Given the rise in popularity of podcasts and other audio-based channels, Speech Analytics was the logical next step,” said Robert Glaesener, Talkwalker CEO. “As a major source of news and entertainment, podcasts hold an extensive amount of information that brands cannot ignore when looking to capture the voice of the customer.”
By including a catalog of 35,000 podcasts from a variety of platforms like Apple Podcasts, Talkwalker is opening the door to a vast world of conversations from which professionals can benefit, complementing the social listening capabilities they have today.
“With our proprietary speech-to-text recognition technology, professionals no longer need to manually sift through hundreds of hours of audio, but can find actionable insights from a variety of podcasts in a few seconds,” said Pierre Detry, Chief Product Officer at Talkwalker.
Speech Analytics is available to all Talkwalker clients within Quick Search and Analytics. For more information, visit our website.
Talkwalker is an enterprise listening company helping the world’s largest brands to drive revenue by activating the voice of their customers. Through our AI-powered social media analytics platform, we gather data from the conversations that happen around your brand – online, in the media, and within your company – to uncover, understand, and action consumer insights.
Over 2,000 companies worldwide already use this conversational intelligence to protect their brands, measure their campaign impact, and identify what drives purchase decisions. Building consumer connections, and helping to make them globally loved brands.
Talkwalker has offices in San Francisco, New York, Frankfurt, Luxembourg, Paris, Singapore, Tokyo, Milan, and London with 400+ employees across the globe. It is also the home of Talkwalker Alerts, a free alerting service used by over 500,000 communications and marketing professionals worldwide.


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Containerchain: Logistics Platform
Risk to Small Business: 1.921 = Severe
In yet another attack on freight and transport, Containerchain was hit with a ransomware attack. Systems for its shipping customers were briefly shut down entirely but were restored quickly. The company does not believe that significant data was lost and noted that impacted customers (if any) would be in AU, NZ, SG, and MY. The investigation is ongoing.
Individual Risk: No personal data was exposed in this incident.
Customers Impacted: Unknown
How it Could Affect Your Customers’ Business: A spate of recent attacks against shipping, transportation, and logistics targets has raised fears of potential cyberwarfare targets and put these essential parts of our infrastructure on notice that their cybersecurity is vital to operations.