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"The service provided by Uber connecting individuals with non-professional drivers is covered by services in the field of transport", said the Luxembourg-based European Court of Justice. He said it is too early to say which other companies might be affected but called the overall message from the ruling worrying for startups.
A decision Wednesday by Europe's highest court hands a big win to these often decades-old groups and organized labor - and represents a black eye to the San Francisco based-ride sharing app. The governments can also ban the company from operating within their borders if they see fit.
The EU ruling is separate from a string of ongoing legal challenges Uber has faced around Europe and the world, including in Britain.
The decision stands to increase legal risks for other "gig-economy" companies - including Airbnb - a growing part of the workforce, in which people operate as freelancers or on short-term contracts as opposed to holding permanent jobs.
Almost a third of Uber's 50,000 United Kingdom drivers are logged into the app for more than 40 hours a week, and around 8 percent are logged in for more than 60 hours, the company said in a letter to government officials.
"It will however hurt the necessary reform of outdatedlaws which prevent millions of Europeans being able to find a reliable ride with just one click", the spokesman said.
Uber has faced a number of legal challenges in the European Union over the last few years.
Lane Kiffin signs big contract extension with Florida Atlantic
For FAU , the Boca Raton Bowl gives the local fans one last chance to watch this high-powered offense play in their own stadium. The Zips are bowling for the second time in three years but just the third time in 32 FBS (or Division I-A) seasons.
The matter attracted legal attention when Uber was told to follow local taxi rules in Barcelona. The case largely targeted UberPop, a peer-to-peer service that literally converts anyone with a auto to a cab driver. But the judgment dashes any hopes of regulatory rollback in those jurisdictions and could embolden regulators to impose more onerous restrictions on the company. But it's still operational in other countries including Finland, Poland, Estonia, and Czech Republic.
Uber says that it's simply an app that connects passengers with drivers. "Member states can therefore regulate the conditions for providing that service".
Uber argued in its defence that it is not just a ride-providing service instead it has a technology platform via which passengers are connected to independent drivers.
In short, this means Uber will now be officially recognised as a cab company rather than a technology company.
The ruling by the European Court of Justice will change everything.
To start with, Uber was hit with a sexual harassment scandal a few months ago. Khosrowshahi's arrival marked a change in tune at the top of the company, but the new CEO still has to fix plenty of problems created by the former leadership. But the biggest blow came from the United Kingdom where the ride-hailing service lost its license to operate in London. There is an increased optimism that the new leadership could steer the ride-hailing company into more prosperity in the future. "Without transport services, the business wouldn't exist".


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The same-day shipping and delivery marketplace is ripping with companies that wish to safeguard your packages get to you impossibly fast. One of the newest entrants is August, the smart close company that was acquired by Assa Abloy last year. At CES, Aug announced it’s expanding its hearing in-home delivery service called Aug Access by a partnership with Deliv, a last-mile delivery service that specializes in same-day delivery. Deliv now serves some-more than 4,000 retailers opposite 1,400 cities in the US, permitting Aug to yield those retailers with Deliv same-day delivery and Aug Access in-home delivery.
Now, business have the option to select Deliv delivery service for their online orders from retailers including Macy’s, PetSmart, and Best Buy. Aug Access business with an Aug or Yale smart close can opt for in-home delivery after they place their order. Once in-home delivery is authorized, Aug Access generates a one-time passcode for the Deliv employee delivering the order. Customers will be told when the delivery is happening after the Deliv employee rings the home’s doorbell and a presentation is sent to the customer. If no one is home to accept the order, the Deliv employee can use the one-time passcode to enter the home and dump off the package.
August first tested this in-home delivery complement with Walmart at the finish of 2017. Aug sees the intensity in charity business same-day and in-home delivery from mixed retailers rather than only one, even if it is a hulk like Walmart. Partnering with Deliv gives Aug a new organisation of retailers to potentially work with going forward.
Various partner retailers could help Aug Access better contest with Amazon, which launched its own in-home delivery complement last year with its Cloud Cam and Key devices. While Jason Johnson, the cofounder and CEO of August, told TechCrunch that the company isn’t indispensably trying to contest with Amazon (and even suggesting Amazon orders could be enclosed in its in-home delivery service), the two services will contest in the prolonged run. Assuming business wish a bearer to dump off their packages inside their homes, selling choices will be commanded by what the patron needs, which tradesman has the items, and how fast and seamlessly that tradesman can broach those items. Amazon has the advantage of determining every partial of its selling experience, from the initial sequence to the final delivery.
It’s also misleading how prepared and peaceful business are to use in-home delivery systems. Same-day delivery appears to be unanimously desired—Amazon, Walmart, Target, and other retailers are all scrambling and expanding to support it in as many markets as possible. But Amazon Key launched to some lifted eyebrows from business at the thought of someone entering their home, not to discuss patron regard when a flaw was found in Amazon’s Cloud Cam inclination that done business serve doubt the confidence of the system. It’s likely that in-home delivery services will have to get some-more arguable and secure before business welcome giving a foreigner entrance to their homes.

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Apple’s annual revenues fall for the first time in 15 years
Apple’s annual revenues have fallen for the first time in 15 years, amid slowing hardware sales.
The Cupertino-based tech giant released its full-year earnings yesterday, revealing that its revenues have shrunk by $4.6 billion to $46.9 billion, from $51.5 billion at the end of its last financial year.
iPhone sales also fell by over 2.5 million units year on year, marking the third consecutive quarter that this has happened, although the iPhone 7 was only released last month, meaning it has had little time to make an impact on Apple’s bottom line.
Graphic from Statista.
The company also cited record revenues from its services business, which grew by 24%, reaching a total of $6.3 billion.
“We remain very confident about the future of our services business given the unmatched level of engagement, satisfaction and loyalty of our growing installed base,” CEO Tim Cook said in a conference call transcribed by Seeking Alpha.
“We have almost doubled the size of our services revenue in the last four years, and as we’ve said before, we expect it to be the size of a Fortune 100 company in fiscal 2017.”
App Store revenue is still growing, Cook stated, and Music revenue went up by 22%. “In fact,” he said, “JD Power recently announced that Apple Music enjoys the highest customer satisfaction rating in the streaming music market.”
Apple Pay is also performing well for the company, with a year-on-year growth of almost 500% for the September quarter.
While the company’s annual revenues have gone down, CSS Insight’s chief of research, Ben Wood, said this shouldn’t be taken as a sign that the company is in trouble.”Some reports will focus on Apple having a weak quarter, which ignores the fact that it continues to be the most profitable device maker on the planet, and there seems little evidence that will end any time soon,” he said.


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The LA Times has a small blurb about TiVo being subpoenaed by the Missouri attorney general over their rebate practices:
Missouri’s attorney general subpoenaed TiVo Inc. in April for information related to the company’s rebate program.
The maker of set-top boxes that let users fast-forward through commercials is cooperating with the probe, the Alviso, Calif., company said in a regulatory filing. Atty. Gen. Jay Nixon is investigating whether the company was involved in unlawful merchandising practices with its rebates.
“We are not aware that we’re doing anything wrong,” said Matt Zinn, TiVo’s general counsel.
An unrelated blurb on the same page reports that Netflix has sold out of the $100 Roku boxes for streaming Netflix’s Watch Now videos, due to stronger than expected demand.


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PHI Statement on Biden/Harris National Strategy on Hunger, Nutrition & Health
Statement from Matthew Marsom, Senior Vice President of Programs, Public Policy and Government Relations
“Today, at the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health, the Biden/Harris administration released a comprehensive, bold agenda to address hunger, nutrition and health across the United States. The strategies proposed by the federal administration are sustainable and effective: they are grounded in research, focused on equity, and address the systemic causes of hunger, poor nutrition and diet-related chronic disease.
“The White House agenda acknowledges the upstream issues that contribute to food security, especially accessibility and affordability. It calls for addressing poverty by increasing the minimum wage, fully funding the childcare tax credit and expanding the earned income tax credit. It also underscores the role of culturally rooted practices as a critical piece of accessibility, including investing in a nutrition workforce that looks like, and comes from the communities it serves.
“PHI has worked for decades to build a stronger food system, to ensure that every family has healthy, appealing and affordable food at every meal. We appreciate the recognition given in the strategy to SNAP nutrition education as a vital part of accessible nutrition. California feeds the world, and our state serves as a pioneer in implementing practices and policies that are good for farmworkers, good for farmers, good for business and good for families.
“Our priorities include food as medicine, such as our Healthy Food Rx work; strategies to make food accessible and affordable through healthy food incentive programs, built on models like California’s Market Match program, created through the leadership of PHI’s Roots of Change; expanding incentives for fruit and vegetables in SNAP, and implementing front-of-package nutrition labeling for consumers. The incorporation of climate change into these strategies is a landmark acknowledgment of the impact that higher temperatures and shifting climate patterns, along with disasters like wildfire, flood, displacement of populations and drought will have on food availability and affordability. We look forward to including the health and safety of farmworkers as an integral part of all health, workforce, equity, and food system strategies.
“PHI is committed to contributing our expertise and research to support. Food security is a bipartisan issue, but the challenge will be making sure our country has the political will to move this ambitious agenda forward. Congress must act—quickly, with full funding, and without compromise.”
Learn More: See PHI’s Work on Food Security, Hunger & Nutrition:
- Piloting a “Produce RX” Model: Our Center for Wellness and Nutrition’s Healthy Food Rx project is piloting a “Food as Medicine” model to support better outcomes for people living with diabetes in Stockton, CA—focusing on five priority low-income neighborhoods that are generally underserved by community services and lacking in amenities, like easy access to affordable and fresh healthy food and convenient public transportation. The program prescribes food boxes of healthy, culturally tailored, home-delivered meals in collaboration with the Stockton Emergency Food Bank, twice per month for six months. Participants also receive virtual nutrition education and cooking classes in English and Spanish. Learn more about our CWN.
- Transforming CA’s Local Meat Systems for Health, Equity & Resiliency: PHI’s Roots of Change is working with the California Department of Food and Agriculture, farmers, ranchers, processors, UC Cooperative Extension experts and others to analyze and develop food supply chains with the aim of improving resilience, social equity and rural economic health. They are currently developing two high value meat supply chains serving small- and mid-size producers and their processors, and work with producers, processors and buyers to bring high quality meat from farm and ranches, processed locally, to Bay Area and Sacramento Metro markets. Learn more about the project.
- Study: What Works in Boosting Food Security During the Pandemic: Research from PHI’s Center for Wellness and Nutrition shows that increases in food assistance programs implemented by the California Department of Social Services during the COVID-19 pandemic helped decrease food insecurity for low-income Californians. The study, published in the CDC’s “Preventing Chronic Disease” showed that despite the pandemic, very low food security for low-income California families dropped by 5 percentage points between April and July 2020—a 28% reduction from the pre-pandemic period, coinciding with enhancements in state and federal food assistance programs. See the press release.
- Getting $22M in Food & Vouchers Cards to Those Most in Need: In 2020, PHI joined LA County and its partners to distribute nearly $22 million in food benefits to nearly 30,000 households or individuals in a period of just a few months, during the pandemic. PHI’s Roots of Change, the Center for Wellness and Nutrition and strategic partner Wholesome Wave worked with LA County, local governments, grocery stores and 19 local community-based groups to reach those who did not qualify for other food benefits and brought $12 million in purchases to local grocery stores. Surveys of food voucher recipients showed an overall 14.7% reduction in self-reports of food insecurity following receipt of the vouchers. Read the impact story and report.
- Supporting SNAP Shoppers in Accessing Fresh, Local Produce: Since 2018, PHI’s Center for Wellness and Nutrition has partnered with the California Department of Social Services CalFresh Healthy Living program and State Nutrition Action Council to incubate the Farmers Market Initiative (FMI). FMI uses a culturally appropriate social marketing campaign to increase awareness of fruit and vegetable incentives by using Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits at participating farmers’ markets in 10 high need counties across the state. The campaign was coupled with on-site activities implemented by bi-lingual, bicultural food navigators to create a welcoming space to address known barriers to shopping among low-income populations at farmers markets, including lack of knowledge and lack of comfort with using food assistance benefits. The results include a year over year increase in redemption of SNAP benefits at 41 participating markets. In 2021, incentives redemption increased on average by 42% monthly, with higher redemption seen at markets with a food navigator. Learn more.
- Report: SNAP-Ed Provides Critical Nutrition Support During COVID-19 & Beyond: The USDA’s SNAP-Ed programs provide nutrition education for low-income people across the country and effectively reaches them through education, social marketing and healthy community policies, systems and environmental (PSE) changes. A study from PHI’s Center for Wellness and Nutrition found SNAP-Ed state and local implementing agencies in the US Southeast Region were able to quickly pivot to meet the needs of their communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Collectively, they reached more than 1.1 million people with PSE changes primarily focused on healthy food access. Healthy food access was achieved through home and community garden projects and partnerships with food distribution sites like food banks and farmers markets. Other adaptations that proved successful included the development of digital resources, moving education classes online and maintaining and expanding partnerships. See the study.


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Leaked rules show how pubs, restaurants and hotels will reopen in England
Beer gardens will be patrolled to enforce social distancing, hotels will leave room service at the door and restaurant tables will not be set in advance under plans to reopen the hospitality sector seen by The Times.
Boris Johnson will announce next week that the two-metre rule will be relaxed from July 4 and that pubs, restaurants, cafés and attractions can reopen as he attempts to revive the economy. Guidance drawn up by the government and the hospitality industry will also be published as Britain embarks on a “new normal”.
Separately, ministers will publish legislation next week to encourage an “al fresco revolution”. Every pub, bar and restaurant will be automatically entitled to serve alcohol for people to drink on the pavement


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Looking at dairy prices in 2018
MADISON - Milk prices started to decline last December and will continue to fall first quarter of 2018. Class III reached its peak last year in November at $16.88 but fell to $15.44 in December and it looks like January will be down to near $13.90. Class IV reached its peak last year in August at $16.61 fell to $13.51 in December and will be near $13.30 in January.
While still not great, milk prices in 2017 were the highest since 2014 and averaged well above 2016. Class III averaged $16.17 compared to $14.87 in 2016. Class IV averaged $15.16 compared to $13.77 in 2016. But, another good year of milk prices is needed to help dairy farmers to recover financially from low milk prices experienced in 2015 and 2016. But, it now looks like 2018 milk prices will average lower than 2017.
The lower milk prices are being driven by relatively high milk production, a decline in beverage milk sales, slower growth in butter and cheese sales and a decline in nonfat dry milk/skim milk powder (NDM/SMP) exports all resulting in relatively high stocks levels.
Adjusting for 2016 leap year 2017 milk production was up 1.7%. With milk production this strong, favorable milk prices require good domestic sales and increased dairy exports. Latest dairy export data for November shows 2017 exports did improve over 2016 particularly through July. Nonfat dry milk/skim milk powder exports ran above year ago levels starting the last half of 2016 through July of 2017. October NDM/SMP exports fell 34% below a year earlier but improved to just one percent lower in November. Butter, cheese and total whey exports have been higher than a year ago with year-to-date exports up 13%, 22% and 8% respectively. But, with relatively strong milk production and slower domestic sales, stocks of dairy products are relatively high.
In recent months butter stocks have been below year ago levels, but butter stocks grew by 6.2% November to December and are now 1.8% higher. December American cheese stocks were 2.8% higher and total cheese stocks 6.9% higher. November nonfat dry milk stocks were 40.2% higher and dry whey stocks 65.6% higher.
The price of butter has held well above $2 per pound during December and into January. But much lower cheese and dry whey prices lowered the Class III price. On the CME 40-pound cheddar blocks averaged $1.73 per pound in October, $1.66 in November but just $1.49 in December. Blocks have been as low as $1.475 in January recovering to $1.57 only to fall back to $1.495. Barrels averaged $1.70 in October, $1.66 in November and $1.54 in December.
But in January barrels have been as low as $1.2175 with recovery to $1.36. Dry whey which was $0.51 per pound last April has been on a steady decline since with December $0.28 and now $0.25. With the butter price steady above $2 per pound lower nonfat dry milk prices have lowered the Class IV price. Nonfat dry milk started 2017 at $1.00 per pound declined each month since to $0.68 in December with January as low as $0.67 and recovering to $0.7175.
USDA has revised down its forecast for 2018 milk production to a 1.5% increase from 0.2% more milk cows and 1.3% more milk per cow. While this is a smaller increase in milk production than last year, it is still a lot of milk requiring good domestic sales and dairy exports. There are good signs that butter and cheese sales could grow better in 2018 than last year. The economy is doing better and both the consumer confidence index and restaurant performance indexes are favorable for good sales.
But dairy exports will face increased competition for markets as world milk production is expected to increase. For 2016, through the first half of 2017 milk production was below year ago levels in major dairy exporters - EU, New Zealand, Australia and Argentina. But now milk production is running much higher. New Zealand is currently experiencing a major drought which will dampen increases in their milk production the last half of their season. World demand is picking up which will absorb some of the increase in world milk production. China in particular has stepped up its imports.
So for 2018 we could see Class III prices in the $13’s first quarter, the $14’s second quarter, low $15’s third quarter and the mid to high $15’s fourth quarter and averaging around $14.90 for the year. Class IV could be in the $13’s through May, the $14’s through September and the low $15’s last quarter and averaging about $14.25 for the year. Current dairy futures for Class III and Class IV show even lower prices. But prices may well end up averaging a little higher. The low milk prices first half of the year could well lower both the number of milk cows and the increase in milk per cow. Dairy exports for the second half of the year could also do better than now expected.
December milk production may give some indication of milk production going into 2018. After declining for the previous three months December milk cow numbers increased 3,000 head and stood at 0.5% higher than a year ago. The increase in milk per cow continued below trend being just 0.6% higher resulting in December milk production 1.1% higher than a year ago bring the total for the year to 215.4 billion pounds, 1.4% higher than 2016. Increases in milk production for the past four months have been about 1%. If the increase in 2018 milk production ends up less than the 1.5% USDA is now forecasting , milk prices could improve for the second half of the year.
The five leading dairy state - California, Wisconsin, Idaho, New York and Michigan produce 51% of total milk production. In December three had December production below a year ago - California -0.3%, Idaho -0.2% and New York -2.2%; and two had more production - Wisconsin +1.0% and Michigan +2.5%. The combined December production of these five states was just 0.1% higher than a year ago.


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Dynamite and ComiXology announce the fourth weekly wave of totally free first issues.
Browsing: Digital Comics
Eisner and GLAAD Award nominees Magdalene Visaggio and artist Claudia Aguirre are collaborating on an all-new, five-part mini-series, Lost on Planet Earth, debuting April 15, 2020 on comiXology,
After the events of her origin mini-series, AMALGAMA LIVES!, Amalgama is cast out into space and begins an epic journey into explosive sci-fi grindhouse action.
Hank Kelly is a broken man. Until he finds out that he can’t be broken. Your Major Spoilers review of Cut Man #1 from Action Lab Entertainment, awaits!
AWA Studios has started sharing some of its issues online to read for free, and today, we have the first installment of Archangel 8 from Michael Moreci and C.P. Smith.
AWA Studios has started sharing some of its issues online to read for free, and today, we have the first installment of Red Border #1 by Jason Starr and Will Conrad.
Dynamite announces a third spectacular set of free first issues available right now on ComiXology. Perfect for fans to binge while staying at home and practicing social distancing!
Here is the New Comic Release list for comics that landed on comiXology on April 8, 2020.
TOKYOPOP®, a POP Media Holdings company and global manga leader, announced their adjusted release schedule during the COVID-19 pandemic.
AWA Studios has started sharing some of its issues online to read for free, and today, we have the first installment of The Resistance #1.
Action Lab Entertainment sent Major Spoilers this sneak peek of Adventure Finders Adventure, Monsters and Treasure #2 that arrives as a digital first this week.
Batman: The Adventures Continue #1 from DC Comics kicks off this book, a return to the universe created by Bruce Timm, Paul Dini, Alan Burnett, and many others! Their adaptation of the Dark Knight is considered a classic, so will this series be worthy of the legend?
If you ever wanted to get into Marvel Comics, now would be a good time to check it out, as Marvel Unlimited has announced FREE access to some of the most iconic stories ever told.


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As we head in to February 2014, I’d like to offer some predictions for the new year, specifically in the mobile game development space where I live, sleep, eat, and breathe. I know we’re already one month in, but hey, better late than never!
At the highest level, I am predicting a massive shakeout of tier 2 and 3 mobile game development companies in 2014. The mobile market for games is larger than ever and still growing rapidly, but unfortunately, game developers are facing a confluence of negative circumstances that are sure to thin the herd, as weaker companies admit defeat and sell their catalogs to "roll up" studios.
The mobile app revolution has trained smartphone owners who would not think twice about paying $5 for a cup of coffee to think that they should never pay more than $1 for a mobile game, no matter how much effort or investment went into making that game.
With so many great games out there competing for users, many developers have been forced to move to a free business model, where their main source of revenue is in-app purchases or ads. Unfortunately, mobile ads have not proven to be valued by advertisers, particularly in games. Games that catch lightning in a bottle and gain mass acceptance are monetizing well, but like all other content industries, the winners are vastly outnumbered by the losers.
The Hard Place
It's not well known in the mobile apps industry, but in 2012 the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) passed an update to the child protection law known as COPPA. This law went into effect in July 2013, but as I’ve noted in previous blog posts, very few game developers comply with COPPA. There are a variety of reasons why so many developers aren’t complying with COPPA, but one of the biggest is that the law forces game developers into a complicated personal relationship with every parent of a child who might play their game.
As written, the new COPPA law has the potential to kill the entire mobile game category. While there are efforts underway to streamline COPPA compliance for the industry, simply complying with the law could be the "straw that breaks the camel's back" for many game publishers. It adds adoption friction to a business model that relies on massive levels of engagement (see above). What’s worse, the fines for not complying can easily put a developer out of business - up to $16,000 per child user. Implementing a solution that follows the law hasn’t been easy, which is why my colleagues and I started AgeCheq – to make COPPA compliance easy for developers to implement and seamless for kids and parents to use.
Some might say that a thinning of the game development ecosystem is a good thing for the industry… Like a wintering herd of deer, the ones that survive the winter will be stronger, fewer in number, and better able to thrive. However, with so many great indie games developers out there, I think it’d be a shame to see any of the decent developers fall by the wayside just because complying with the law is a hassle. With that in mind, I’m hopeful that the consolidation I expect in 2014 leaves room for the best and most creative independents to focus on innovation while leaving the headache associated with adhering to COPPA compliance to services like AgeCheq.
If you'd like to educate yourself on COPPA, here's a page of history and links we've created for game developers at AgeCheq. To learn more about COPPA directly from The Federal Trade Commission, check out this list of answers to frequently asked questions: http://business.ftc.gov/documents/Complying-with-COPPA-Frequently-Asked-Questions


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Finding internal company datasets isnt easy, but as the concept of turning internal data into dollars gets more visibility, companies will start to actively look for potential licensees. Russell Perkins, Subscription Insider Guide to Data Strategy, urges publishers to stay alert for these opportunities and be prepared to move quickly because licensed internal company data could be the next data gold rush.
INSIDER Guide Russell Perkins reviews how businesses are applying farm data for their businesses and monetizing it many different ways.
Whats the future of Zagat? Russell Perkins believes the brand still has some life, and could be resuscitated.
In this weeks Five on Friday, well tell you more about LinkedIns new notifications tab and how it will help you streamline your use of the professional platform, Recurlys Dan Burkhart shares subscription success secrets with PYMNTS, a study by Pulp Strategy reveals that Twitter is the top non-traditional B2B marketing channel, we offer 8 (out of 48) project management tips from the Successful Project Managers blog, and LinkedIn publishes five top subscription jobs from well-known companies including Pandora, Microsoft and Tableau Software.
Netflix announced recently that its U.S. growth was lower than anticipated, due to the involuntary churn of customers from the re-issuance of credit cards to comply with the new EMV "chip card" standards. Subscription Insider spoke with Paul Larson of PLC to get his take on the story.
There are so many publicly-traded subscription companies that we want to cover each quarter, but there is never enough time to report on them all. In this round-up, we've chosen some of the companies we've covered in the past to update you on where they are now. In this particular round-up, we're including Activision Blizzard, Alarm.com, CBS Corporation, Etsy and IAC. IAC isn't a household name, but you'll recognize some of its 150 subsidiaries including Match.com, HomeAdvisors and Tinder. Next week, we'll cover five more subscription companies including Apple, Box, Onvia, SiriusXM and Tronc.
Before you head out for one of the last weekends of summer, weve got some great Five on Friday articles for you. Security Boulevard explains the costs of SaaS data loss, Chief Executive shares the sins of the customer experience, Shopify offers Instagram post ideas, CBS News reports how theaters are trying a three-screen approach to battle Netflix, and VentureBeat explores how blockchain fights ad blindness.
In this week's Five on Friday, Sitepoint shares three SaaS metrics that matter and how to improve them, PageFair identifies the demographics of people who are mostly likely to block ads, and Hubspot offers a character count guide for content marketing for blog posts, videos, tweets and more. Well also tell you about Huffington Posts redesign and new branding and how PayPal is succeeding in attracting new users and growing on mobile.
Just a few years ago, meal kits were the hot, new trend in food. A lot has changed since then. Blue Apron, the industry leader, lost more than 200,000 customers between September 2017 and September 2018. Theyve also seen their stock price tumble. Where have they gone wrong? And what can meal kit companies do to turn it around? What can we all learn from this experience? Well share our four big ideas for securing the future of meal kits.
Subscription and membership-based companies are springing up everywhere - some will succeed while some will fail. Dana Neuts takes a look at three companies that are taking a fresh look at subscriptions.


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Albuquerque, NM – January 3, 2014 Local business weekly, Albuquerque Business First, recently provided its year-end analysis of the economic climate for the city and state and people to watch in economic development and technology in 2014. The article highlights, among others, Lisa Kuuttila, STC CEO and UNM Chief Economic Development Officer, the efforts of UNM President Bob Frank who is leading UNM’s efforts in developing an innovation economy in New Mexico through its Innovate ABQ initiative, and serial entrepreneur Stu Rose, founder of the BioScience Center in Albuquerque, home to several start-up companies based on UNM technologies. See Dan Mayfield’s December 23rd and December 31st articles, “Expert Outlook, Part 1: Energy, Economic Development and More,” and “People to Watch in Technology in 2014,” linked below from Albuquerque Business First.
Source: Albuquerque Business First
For more information, contact:


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Kenya Revenue Authority officials on Tuesday impounded luxury cars imported from Britain and disguised as household goods in what appeared to be a tax evasion racket involving cartels in the UK and Uganda.
Through the racket, high value vehicles such as Range Rovers and Mercedes Benzes are imported into the country declared as household items.
Addressing the press at the port, where some 40-foot containers holding the illegal cargo were opened, Southern Regional KRA Manager Nicholas Ngeera said two Range Rover vehicles and a Mercedes Benz car would have cost the government Sh8.5 million in tax revenue.
“Through high risk profiling, KRA has smashed a tax evasion racket perpetrated by unscrupulous businessmen,” said Mr Ngeera.
He said that KRA officials, after scanning the containers, seized the three vehicles valued at Sh28 million concealed behind baby walkers and used mattresses declared as personal effects and household goods.
“The supplier of the motor vehicles, according to declaration documents, is one Mr Saidar Muteweta of London and the consignee a Mr Abubakari Sekimwanyi of Uganda,” the KRA official told journalists.
The vehicles are being held at the KRA Customs Warehouse within the Mombasa port.
LIAISING WITH INVESTIGATION AGENCIES
He said that KRA was liaising with Interpol, Directorate of Criminal Investigations, Regional Intelligence Liaison Office and other investigation agencies to establish how the cargo was brought into the port of Mombasa.
Another suspicious container is being held awaiting verification, said Mr Ngeere, adding that initial indications were that the goods had been wrongly declared.
“KRA over the weekend identified another container [and] preliminary investigations indicate that the declaration does not conform to the scanned images,” he said.
The manifesto details being held by KRA indicate that the 40-foot container is carrying personal effects and household goods.
“But the scanned images appear to be of high end vehicles,” he said adding that the suspicious container arrived at the port on March 14 from Britain and was on transit to Uganda.
“The documents indicate that the supplier is a Mr Rennie Musisi while the consignee is one Mr Robert Musisi.
“We shall subject this container to 100 per cent verification,” he said, adding that KRA was committed to stamping out the illegal trade.
He said that after establishing the circumstances of the imports, the cargo would undergo normal disposition processes including being sold at an auction or destruction.


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To open or not to open on Thanksgiving? That is the question
Thanksgiving traditions are timeless - the gathering of family, turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, football on television all day.
Set to join them - paper trails of shopping receipts, as more retailers opt to open for at least part of Thanksgiving Day to accommodate shoppers who apparently consider time spent inside a crowded store looking for doorbuster deals on shirts, dresses and pants on par with swapping stories with loved ones in front of the fireplace on Turkey Day.
But some major retailers aren't taking the plunge, instead treating Thanksgiving as what it's long been held to be: a holiday best spent in the confines of home.
Academy Sports + Outdoors, which operates stores in Jackson and Flowood, says those and its other 184 stores nationwide will be closed on Thanksgiving. "As a family-oriented store, it is important for our associates to be able to spend the holiday with family," company president/CEO Rodney Faldyn said in a news release.
Fred's Super Dollar, which has a number of locations throughout the metro area, says its stores, too, will be shuttered on Thanksgiving. What's interesting about that decision is that it stems, the Memphis-based discount retailer said, not just from its wish for its employees to have a special day off but from customers who expressed the same sentient.
That thinking seems to be in stark contrast with the trend in the last few years of many retailers opening on Thanksgiving night, making Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving and traditionally the busiest shopping day of the year, seem like a relative afterthought.
Ridgeland's Northpark mall will open at 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving, long before the last snap has been taken in the Turkey Day football slate. Pearl's The Outlets of Mississippi will open at 10 that night.
Whether those hours draw the throngs of shoppers those retailers crave remains to be seen, although I've known few people who can pass up a good deal, even if that means cranking up the car for a trip on a day many of us are happy to spend at home.
Retailers these days are in a tough spot when it comes to remaining open on holidays. Each year, more retailers join that fray, and the trend won't recoil. Storefront retailers have to do everything in their power these days to attract shoppers who could more easily browse and buy online.
Electronic merchants like Amazon and eBay never close. They'll take your business at 10 p.m. on Thanksgiving, 3 a.m. on Christmas Day, whenever, wherever. And there's no standing in line, no disappointment in finding that what you're looking for is gone by the time you get there.
And e-retailers have their own alluring holiday promotions. Often, including in Mississippi, there's no sales tax collected on online sales.
That's a lot for even the best-situated traditional storefront retailers to compete against. Even those who truly in their hearts want their employees to be with their families on Thanksgiving and Christmas may find it harder to do that from a simple bottom-line standpoint, in fear of falling behind those that do open, and online retailers who always are open.
Whether doing something for the bottom line should trump doing the opposite because the latter is the right thing to do is an argument that will be waged ceaselessly.
But given that most retailers' yearly financial performance essentially is made or broken during the holidays, those holidays increasingly are becoming workdays for many at those companies. Right or wrong, there's more risk by staying closed on Thanksgiving or Christmas and more reward by being open at least part of either or both days than people realize.
So it's actually pretty brave that Academy Sports and Fred's are basically swimming against the philosophical tide for what looks like just one day on the calendar but is arguably part of the most important stretch of days each year for retailers.
Whether more stores follow their lead ultimately falls to you, the shopper, and how many of you turn out on Thanksgiving. Will you be full from all the food you enjoyed at home, or will you have an insatiable appetite for doorbuster deals?
Contact Jeff Ayres at (601) 961-7050 or email@example.com. Follow @jeffayres71 on Twitter.


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If you are planning on heading to the Southampton International Boat Show 2022 (16 – 25 September) then make sure you take advantage of the exclusive early bird ticket offer.
Available for two weeks only, early bird tickets cost just £20, a massive saving of 37 per cent off the price of an any-one-day general admission ticket (up to two kids under 15 go free with every adult ticket).
“This is a fantastic offer for fans of the show and anyone looking to attend for the first time,” commented Lesley Robinson, CEO, British Marine. “We have a great line up in store for 2022. Alongside show favourites, we will be bringing visitors a host of new exhibitors and exciting new attractions which we will be revealing over the coming weeks and months.”
The biggest marine showcase in the UK and one of Europe’s largest on-water events, the Southampton International Boat Show offers something for everyone with hundreds of exhibitors, over 650 craft on display, a purpose-built marina and plenty of opportunities to get out on the water.
Building on the new show layout introduced last year, the 2022 show, which runs over 10 days, promises to bring even more attractions, a new VIP experiences and the best of all things marine!
Journey through the show ‘zones’ showcasing different types of watersports activities. Enjoy thrilling and breath-taking on water displays, check out some of the biggest brands from chandlery and clothing, to gadgets and lifestyle essentials, or simply take time out and enjoy great family entertainment and premium street food.
From tall ships to dinghies, paddleboards to fliteboards, kayaks to catamarans, SUPs to superyachts there’s a boat for everyone at the Southampton International Boat Show. So, if you’re a lover of all things ‘on water’ then make sure you get your ticket today.
The Southampton International Boat Show early bird ticket offer runs until 29 April 2022.
Don’t miss out, take advantage of this fantastic offer by visiting
For more information about the 2022 show visit www.southamptonboatshow.com/


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Amazon’s 5th annual Prime Day kicked off at 3 a.m. ET July 15 and for the next 48 hours the company promises more than a millions deals. Many of those deals can be had on Amazon’s expanding portfolio of Echo devices such as the Dot, Plus, Show and Look. That devices enable users to interact with the Amazon assistant Alexa and those who already have one of the devices were able to access Prime Day deals at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday July 14 by saying, “Alexa, what are my deals?”
Amazon and the third-party sells who account for more than half of Amazons’ overall volume will sell billions and billions of dollars of merchandise and some of its competitors will benefit from the consumer feeding frenzy Amazon has created. However, selling lots of stuff is really the byproduct of Amazon’s ultimate goal which is to bring millions more households into the Prime world. It’s why deals are promoted as exclusively for Prime members but a free 30-day Prime membership is offered so no one is excluded. The free trial period has proven to be an effective tactic for Amazon since the advent of Prime Day and this year for the first time the number of U.S. households who are Prime members will surpass 50%, according to eMarketer data and projections.
This trend and the volume of Alexa-enabled devices Amazon will sell during the next two days should be more concerning to other retailers than the volume of merchandise the company sells. Prime is the ultimate sticky program in that it’s hard to quit once people get accustomed to the simplicity of products arriving quickly at their home, the range of Alexa’s functionality and breadth of Amazon’s content offering. Prime Day is the ultimate gateway drug to get Americans hooked on the Amazon value proposition.
How retailers are countering Amazon
No membership required is the retail industry’s collective responsive to counter Amazon’s Prime Day promotional blitz. Walmart declared its deals are “exclusive to everyone.” The Home Depot also touted that no membership was required and took to Twitter and Facebook to let shoppers know it had everyday low prices on thousands of their favorite products. A link on Twitter and Facebook directed traffic to a page on the retailer’s web site listing 11,422 products.
Target countered Amazon with Target Deal Days to coincide with the two-day Prime Day event and said it would be its biggest sale of the summer. Ace Hardware took a similar approach with its first-ever Ace Rewards Day. The company also borrowed a page from Amazon and is made the deals exclusive to Ace Rewards members on July 15. On July 16, all customer will receive a 15% discount on qualifying orders.
Macy’s launched a Black Friday in July promotion and Kohl’s offered a two-day Summer Deals promotion. And Costco email members a promotional offer called Member Appreciation Savings Event and encouraged members to shop while supplies last.
Select insights into Amazon’s Prime Day performance are likely to be shared on July 25 when Amazon is scheduled to report second quarter results at 5:30 p.m. ET.


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Long reviled as being ultra-conservative in doing business, Europe now plans to throw a serious challenge to China and United States in the start-up business.
Last week at a summit, France and Germany pushed the European Innovation Council to fund startups based in Europe. This continent trails far behind the Silicon Valley and Chinese entrepreneurs and venture capitalists. Failure is considered a stigma in Europe and perhaps that is why Europe based start-ups are so less visible in the entrepreneurial world.
Notwithstanding this negative perception, Europe still hopes to have its own ‘European Google’ in the years to come.
A paper presented in the summit said, “A joint effort is also needed to further improve the venture capital environment and regulations to allow successful market transfer of breakthrough innovations, as well as the foundation and growth of disruptive deep technology companies in Europe. ”
A 2017 report on start-ups puts Berlin at number 7 and Paris at 11th in global rankings. The top 4 slots are occupied by Silicon Valley, New York, London and Beijing respectively. Bangalore occupies the last position at Number 20.
Both the countries aim to create a network that will enable breakthrough innovations in science and marketplace. Later, this network will be extended to other countries in the continent.
France and Germany want that their individual initiatives should be complemented by the other EU nations in order that significant value additions can be reaped later.
Paris has committed more than USD 1.75 billion to reverse its brain drain in the area of Artificial Intelligence. It also hopes to catch up with the start-ups based in Beijing and the United States.
Hottest start-up sectors in Europe
In this context, it would be instructive to look up at some of the most attractive start-up sectors in Europe.
- Internet of Things- Connected devices will continue to dominate the start-up activity in Europe, There are many consumer and social applications of IoT and a few Europe based companies are really doing some terrific work in this area.
Cleverciti, uses connected devices like cameras and sensors to tell the motorists about available parking spaces in cities. Drone Hopper, a Madrid based startup uses connected devices to find out locations of wild fire and shares this information with the Fire Department. It has already raised USD 4 million and now plans to launch in the United States. Another interesting startup is SigFox, based in France, which uses lighter infrastructure to launch Wi-Fi services.
2. Fintech- Cryptocurrencies obviously lead the Fintech sector here. But there are startups that are offering their services to blockchain and crypto-currency players. For example, Ledger, a London based start-up provides secure hardware wallets, and crypto-asset management solutions. A Finland based company, Zervant, however has decided to stay clear of the crypto-currency market and focus upon providing invoicing solutions to freelancers and other small businesses.
3. Artificial Intelligence- Like the rest of the world, European companies are also leveraging AI for their business. Opening.io is an Ireland based startup that helps recruiters take the right recruitment decisions using Machine Learning. Another startup, Babylon also uses Artificial Intelligence to help doctors arrive at correct diagnoses. This company raised USD 60 million last year and connects patients and doctors via its mobile app.


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Network neutrality crashed the party.
The hearing was called by Rep. Nydia Velázquez, D-N.Y., who in January became chairwoman of the House Committee on Small Business and declared herself a champion for entrepreneurs. But at Wednesday's hearing, Velázquez and colleagues heard from groups representing big businesses too.
Among the eight trade associations on the witness panel: USTelecom, whose members include AT&T and Verizon Communications, and the American Electronics Association, which counts Apple and Intel among the 2,500 companies on its roster.
There was agreement on most of the items discussed.
needs to produce more engineering and math students. And the Sarbanes-Oxley rules have gone too far. America
But then they got around to network neutrality--the matter of whether big Internet service providers should be allowed to charge certain customers, mainly big bandwidth consumers like Google and Yahoo!, extra for access.


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A New York federal judge has (finally) dismissed the breach of contract claim against Mariah Carey and a defamation claim against Carey and her production company, Mirage Entertainment, filed by South American promoters over shows on the continent that Carey said were canceled because of breach of contract.
Bruno Mars respects Cardi B’s decision to be a new mom rather than going on tour with him and says he will play “Bodak Yellow” in her honor every night.
— Bruno Mars (@BrunoMars) July 27, 2018
Eastside Distilling, Inc. announced an authorization from Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, to add Redneck Riviera Whiskey, developed by John Rich of Big & Rich (and winner of “The Apprentice”) to Walmart’s line-up of fine spirits in the state of Indiana.
Elton John recently popped into Toronto record store Sonic Boom to do a little shopping and snapped one with the staff.


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The Association’s exhibit hits the road beginning in November at a number of significant events attended by important targeted audiences identified within NELMA’s Marketing Program. Here’s a preview of where we will be:
NAWLA’s Trader’s Market 2015
November 4-6, 2015
Hilton Anatole – Dallas, Texas
Look for NELMA at Booth #416 at this major industry event. The Traders Market has held a unique position among lumber and building material tradeshows since it began in 1996 as the only one that is focused almost exclusively on the lumber supply chain. Exhibitors are almost always manufacturers of lumber and lumber-related products, not machinery or other equipment providers.
November 17-19, 2015
Convention Center – Boston, Massachusetts
ABX (Architecture Boston Expo) is the leading building industry event in the Northeast and draws more than 5,000 architects and design professionals for its 3-day event. NELMA’s exhibit will be in Booth #535.
January 19-21, 2016
Convention Center – Las Vegas, Nevada
For the first time ever, NELMA will be an exhibit participant at the International Builders’ Show (IBS)! Thanks to the financial support of the Softwood Lumber Board (SLB), 4 lumber associations including NELMA will share space #15293, a 20’x30’ space under the banner of “Wood, Naturally”. The Southern Forest Products Association, the Western Wood Products Association, and the Western Wood Preservers Institute will join NELMA in promoting all things wood to the more than 50,000 building industry participants expected at this annual event.


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Canada was a popular destination among American travellers in the first half of this year, with a trio of major urban Canadian centers cracking a top 10 list of international destinations for US tourists.
In the list compiled by online booking site Hotels.com, the top three most popular international destinations remain unchanged from 2014, with London, Paris and Rome leading the pack.
But rounding out the list are Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal, in fourth, fifth and sixth spots respectively, bumping other cities like Barcelona, Tokyo and Hong Kong further down the list.
The ranking of top 50 destinations also included newcomers such as Budapest and Ciudad Juarez in Mexico.
Here are the top 10 international destinations among US travellers so far in 2015:
9. Hong Kong


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Posted on July 27, 2009 – 7:58 am | Author: hackler
Uncategorized | | Comments (1)
Topps officials on Monday pulled back the curtain on Brock Lesnar’s first certified autograph card, an image that originally appeared in the Topps UFC 2009 advertisement in the debut issue of UFC Magazine.
The card will be inserted into the August release of Topps UFC 2009, the highly anticipated follow up to Topps’ history-making first UFC product released last February.
— Tracy Hackler
Fedor will destroy him
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Turkey's inflation rate rose to nearly 25 percent in September, as the economy suffers further from the Turkish lira's dramatic fall.
The IMF urged Turkish authorities faced with a falling currency and surging inflation to pursue "sound" economic policies to stabilize the situation.
Turkish President Erdogan vowed Ankara would pursue non-dollar transactions in trade with Russia and other countries, accusing the US of behaving like "wild wolves."
President Erdogan said despite efforts to target the Turkish lira, the currency collapse will end.
Turkey's embattled lira tumbled almost five percent in value as the resignation of the deputy central bank governor intensified market concerns over the direction of monetary policy.
Turkey has to deal with $179 billion external debt that is almost equal to a quarter of its annual economic output, according to an estimate by JPMorgan reported on Wednesday.
Ratings agency Moody's on Tuesday downgraded its credit ratings on 20 Turkish financial institutions due to the increased risk of a "downside funding scenario" after the collapse of the…
Consumers have been buffeted by surging costs and economic uncertainty, with the Turkish currency sinking 20 percent in a month and 40 percent since the start of the year.


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, 2 years ago
Decentralized finance is the most important application on the Ethereum blockchain. Ranging from decentralized exchanges up to lending or generating passive income there are literally thousands of different businesses that could possibly build on this technology. But there is a huge downside to it. Ethereum is not scaling well and is overrun by users trying to benefit from different DeFi products.
Many challengers tried to beat Ethereum in the past and it seems that only recently a mayor competitor rose up and is attempting to overthrow Ethereum for good. In this article we are taking a closer look at the Binance Smart Chain and the possibilities in the market for Binance Coin (BNB).
The Binance Smart Chain (BSC) is not as decentralized as Ethereum. This one of the biggest criticisms around BSC. On the other hand, BSC is scaling very well. The fees are low and transaction times are way better than on Ethereum. This is not only important to the average person using DeFi products. Developers also have to pay large fees in order to make their dApps happen. In this sense the Binance Smart Chain is also the more viable opportunity for smaller projects.
While true believers of decentralized blockchain technology doubt that a more centralized blockchain could be of any use, BSC is proving its worth by being faster and more affordable to the masses.
BNB has established its position as the third biggest cryptocurrency according to its market capitalization. Given the fact that its smart chain ecosystem has only started most recently there is still growth potential.
While it has been largely criticized that BSC is just copying successful platforms that are already available on Ethereum, it is this fact that shows how much of an opportunity BSC is. Its not only cheaper and faster, but it is also delivering those platforms that are requested the most by the global DeFi community.
What needs to be delivered are own products that empower the technology to change its image and show its real value. Yes, it is more centralized and copies successful concepts. But the smart chain is still very young and it simply needs more time to develop and grow itself. The biggest risk is not within the BSC, but in the fact that Ethereum could finally deliver what Binance Smart Chain already has to offer. Speed and affordable fees.
Nov 28, 2022
After the successful Ethereum Merge, a potential censorship issue has crept up on Ethereum. In the new block production architecture, an increasing number of transaction blocks is being built by an organization called Flashbots. This organization has chosen to be compliant with the sanctions list of the American OFAC. This poses a risk of censorship on the protocol level of Ethereum. Flashbots is aware of this and has proposed a solution.
Oct 18, 2022
Synthetix is a DeFi application that could possibly contribute to a lot of use-cases that are not typical for this sector and in this article, we are going to explore its features.
Oct 11, 2022
Stacks is a layer-1 blockchain that makes the execution of smart contracts possible. Unlike well-known smart-contract blockchains like Ethereum or Solana, Stacks builds on top of Bitcoin. Even though they're separate blockchains, Stacks and Bitcoin work together.


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'Overwatch' Update, New Feature: Blizzard Eyes Cross-Play On PS4, Xbox One; Competitive Matchmaking Date Announced!By Darren Domirez, UniversityHerald Reporter
"Overwatch's" population has undeniably grown into a massive gamer community which size exploded into seven million players only on its first week on the market. However, there is a seeming problem that arises within the gaming circle as friends, players use different consoles - PS4 and Xbox One cross-play. But you better not fret because Blizzard is open to the idea of removing these barriers at some point in the future.
Two weeks spent with "Overwatch" would have been enough to be aware that this smash hit multiplayer shooter is totally unsupported in cross-platform. And it is entirely unnatural to see PS4 and Xbox One owners kept separate, since this case has historically been the trend of almost everything on the market. This is the reason why some fans were surprised to know that there would not be a cross-play in PC/PS4 or PC/Xbox One, iDgital Times reported.
Blizzard is planning to "keep an eye" on the demand for cross-platform support, "Overwatch" tweeted. Even as the studio is dubious to change its stance on the mixing keyboard and controller players, it is not quite surprising to consider Blizzard joining "Rocket League" and "Killer Instinct" on the short list of games that may let PS4 and Xbox One players fight one another. Maybe, a little more push and demand from the "Overwatch" community could lead Blizzard to a fine decision.
@bickiya There is no cross platform play. We'll keep an eye on cross-platform possibilities on the consoles.— Overwatch (@PlayOverwatch) June 4, 2016
In other "Overwatch" news, Blizzard seemed to be uninformed about the call to pin down a return window for ranked matchmaking. Initially, the studio planned to open competitive play back up at the first part of June, which is evidently not yet happening, iDgital Times added. But last June 4, "Overwatch" tweeted its plan to release competitive matchmaking by the end of June.
@ImDaTruest Yes. We're aiming for late June for a release.— Overwatch (@PlayOverwatch) June 4, 2016
Read the full "Overwatch" Director Jeff Kaplan interview with Eurogamer here.


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Oh say can you see?
WHY THEY’RE USEFUL:
Laser lights have a range about twice that of current LED headlights
WHO’S WORKING ON THEM:
Audi, BMW and other automakers
WHEN WILL THEY HIT THE ROAD?
For decades, most automobile headlights were fairly uncomplicated. They pointed fixedly ahead, with separate high beams for greater visibility on dark roads.
Then came the more energy-efficient halogen and xenon lights and light-emitting diodes (LEDs).
Now, automakers are pioneering a generation of “smart” headlights that can automatically adjust their brightness or direction depending on conditions. And a coming wave of laser high beams promises to illuminate the road ahead for a third of a mile – twice the range of LED high-beam headlights – while using less energy.
Audi and BMW are racing to be the first carmakers to offer laser lights in a production car: BMW in its i8 plug-in hybrid and Audi in a yet-to-be-named model (maybe the Quattro) by 2015.
“We’ll be able to extend the range of headlights to (a distance of) six football fields,” said Filip Brabec, director of product management for Audi. That’s 600 yards, or more than three north-south blocks in New York.
Audi plans to use the lights in a concept car participating in 24 Hours of Le Mans, the annual endurance race held in France in June.
To keep from blinding oncoming drivers, the headlights bounce lasers off a set of mirrors and reflectors, creating a diffused white light that pierces the darkness over great distances without frying eyeballs. Even so, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will have to approve them before they appear on models in the U.S.
Meanwhile, next-generation LEDs have sensors that can detect oncoming traffic and redirect the beams in such a way as not to blind other drivers. Audi and Mercedes have developed headlights – still not available on U.S. models – containing dozens of individual LEDs for more precise lighting.
An onboard computer, linked with cameras, controls each of them to mask glare onto other vehicles while flooding the road with light. With such a system, drivers can keep their high beams on all the time instead of having to toggle back and forth.
Unfortunately for the average driver, these advanced lighting systems are being added only to luxury vehicles. But as the technology improves and prices fall, the rest of us will inevitably see a brighter road ahead.


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New screenshots and video have emerged that apparently show gameplay and champions from a League of Legends mobile version.
Rumors about a possible mobile port for the popular MOBA have been floating around since May, but these leaks seem to be first concrete evidence that a mobile League of Legends game is actually happening.
Chinese publisher Tencent has been a parent company of Riot since 2011, and the two companies have struggled over the years on how to capitalize on League of Legends – which Tencent distributes for Riot in China.
League of Legends could be coming to mobile
The leaked images and videos were posted to a Facebook page by user Ry Enriquez on August 23, but are only now starting to get noticed.
In them, we can see gameplay from what appears to be an LoL tutorial mode and the hero select screen for the Chinese mobile version of the game.
What heroes are in the leaks?
There are 27 heroes from the images and video that we can identify, including: Garen, Vayne, Jinx, Fizz, Xin Zhao, Oriana, Janna, Lux, Annie, Nami, Gragas, Ahri, Twisted Fate, Olaf, Shyvana, Tryndamere, Vi, Malphite, Nasus, Miss Fortune, Ezreal, Master Yi, Jax, Fiora, Blitzcrank, Soraka, and Dr. Mundo.
The full version of LoL features 144 heroes to choose from, so there’s a good chance more characters will be added in – if the leaks are legit, that is.
Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates on Esports, Gaming and more.
Garen is the only hero we see played in the leak, and the games appear to be set in a tutorial mode, which might be why his damage looks strong at level 1.
Why bring League of Legends to mobile?
Tencent and Riot have plenty of reasons to develop a mobile version of League, but the biggest, as always, is money.
Mobile games are big in China and the rest of Asia – according to Newzoo, mobile games made up 57 percent of video game revenue in China in 2018, but only accounted for 36 percent of the U.S. market.
Tencent already released a LoL-type game called “Honor of Kings” in China, which has become the highest-grossing MOBA game out there.
An adaption of “Honor of Kings” called “Arena of Valor” was released to Western audiences, but the game was not well received and is generally considered a flop.
Dexerto has reached out to Riot games for comment about the leak.
Even though nothing has been officially confirmed regarding League of Legends mobile from Riot or Tencent, the move would certainly make sense, especially in the mobile-game loving Asian market.