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Logging into our Zoom meeting, I see B. Amrish Rau, CEO of fintech company Pine Labs, fiddling with the virtual backdrop. He’s not too happy with the image of what looks like a business district. He tries another—it’s the same place but at night, with lights twinkling within buildings. “This is the first time I am trying this feature. It doesn’t come through very well though. I don’t think it’s working for me,” says Rau, doing away with the background altogether.
The decisiveness is apparent. And necessary to run a firm, build a team and a culture, and gain the trust of team members. In the fast lane of growth, Pine Labs became the country’s first unicorn (with a valuation of over $1 billion) in 2020, after it received investment from the American corporation Mastercard that January.
For any leader, settling into a new organisation takes some time. For Rau, 48, who took over the reins at the 3,000-employee Pine Labs just two weeks before the pandemic-induced lockdown last year, it was even more difficult. In addition to the challenge of getting to know the team without meeting it in person, there was the issue of navigating, and surviving, the pandemic. As the pandemic tightened its grip, business collapsed to 20% in the first two phases of lockdown till April, only picking up from July, when the country started opening up.
A merchant platform company, Pine Labs provides last-mile retail transaction technology, basically the point-of-sale (POS) terminals you see in retail stores, from small kirana shops to mutli-chain companies like Pizza Hut, Big Bazaar, Croma and Starbucks Coffee. But it’s not limited just to payments—over the years, they have added products to help customers digitise all their business processes.
Rau, who went to the office on only three days last March, admits it was a tough start. “The easy part was being nice with people on Zoom. The tough part was being tough with people on Zoom but, at the same time, hoping that they know who the real you is,” he says. “Now how do you build that relationship over Zoom? I found it extremely difficult, where I still had to be me, be tough, get things done, get business going on a certain area,” says Rau, who lives with his family in Singapore.
He moved ahead with his plans, overriding reservations to expand his sales team in April so that they would be ready by the time the pandemic “softened up”. Pine Labs hired 150 salespeople in April and plans to hire another 300 by March. “I remember putting at ease the CFO and the board members that I was sure about what I was doing,” he says.
The risk paid off. The number of Pine Labs payment terminals across India rose from 700 in April to 24,000 per month by October. The current valuation of the company, headquartered in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, stands at over $2 billion (around ₹14,480 crore), after it raised nearly $100 million in funding in December.
Rau, who has considerable experience in the fintech space and ran his own startup for three years, took up the Pine Labs challenge as a founder would. Started in 1998, the company operated in a niche segment—providing smartcard payment and loyalty solutions for the retail petroleum sector. A little over a decade later, it pivoted to the mainstream payment market, connecting merchants to banks and financial services. The POS platform was set up three years later, in 2012. Today, it has over 1,50,000 merchants in its network across 3,700 cities in India, South-East Asia and the Middle East. “The platform was the biggest attraction for me, as I can create a massive organisation on it,” says Rau.
Attempting greater visibility among both merchants and consumers, he has aggressively pushed a slew of features, like “Buy Now, Pay Later”, to gain new ground. With the pay later feature, for instance, Pine Labs closed transactions worth ₹2,000 crore from April last year to January this year. The expansion has come largely from the smaller cities, where the growth has been to the tune of 300% since February last year. The feature is being used increasingly for two-wheeler purchases but they are noticing an uptick in the apparel and furniture segments as well, Rau says.
Pine Labs has amped up its effort to educate merchants and salespeople about the role of POS and other services and help in digitisation, a need acutely felt during the pandemic. “Ultimately, we want to be the gatekeepers of digital technology coming into the merchant’s environment by offering more products and increasing our engagement with the customers,” says Rau.
The company has helped him fill the void that emerged when his startup, Citrus Payment Solutions (or Citrus Pay, as it was known among consumers), was acquired by South Africa-based Naspers Ltd’s fintech company PayU in September 2016. The $130 million all-cash deal was one of the largest in the fintech space, and Naspers offered him the job of PayU CEO.
He seized the opportunity but it was a challenging phase: He had to reassure his team in Citrus Pay and gain the trust of the team at PayU. “Nobody liked me on that day,” he says. After three years at PayU India, however, Rau was itching to start something of his own again. For although the Citrus Pay deal ensured he didn’t have to work again for money, he missed the chance to build. He even approached the VC firm Sequoia India but heeded suggestions from one of the partners there that it might be wiser to look at a platform that was already up and running.
“We had a great exit (from Citrus Pay). But it’s not a monetary aspect at all. What you miss is the fact that once you have a platform, you can then keep building on top of that. With Pine Labs, I was getting another chance to have a platform, which I so very much missed. I want to create something massive on the platform that I have,” says Rau, who has invested in startups like Kunal Shah’s Cred, Mobile Premier League and KhataBook in his personal capacity over the last four years.
His philosophy is simple. “I actually treat everything as a game, as 11 players in the football field. Invariably, my leadership style is that I am somebody who’s helping everyone solve their problem. That’s something you learn on the sports field, and I have tried to be consistent with it,” says Rau, who is a member of the Cracking Willow Thunder Club, which is part of the Singapore Cricket Association.
Looking To The Future
Fintech is one of the industries that has recovered quickly from covid-19’s blow and, in fact, has seen growth through the pandemic. Over the next two decades, digital payments are expected to race ahead of cash, says Rau. “The way I look at it is, every day when we go to bed, we know for sure tomorrow is going to be better than today. And there are very few industries you can say that about,” he says.
But it’s also an industry where errors can have a major impact on consumers’ lives. Recently, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) pulled up startups offering high-interest instant loans because of the harassment customers faced when they couldn’t repay on time. Rau believes such action is necessary to ensure the entire industry doesn’t get tarred with the same brush.
He recalls the 2010 microfinance debacle in Andhra Pradesh, when the high interest rates charged by some institutions led to borrowers taking their lives. The state government responded with severe regulations. “It wasn’t that one entity which got hammered, the entire sector collapsed. And to be honest, microfinance is much needed in India. Similarly, fintech and fintech credit are solving a real problem. But two or three bad actors out there can completely mess the entire industry. So, following good governance, best practices, staying on the right side on what you do for society in general, is extremely important while you grow a business,” says the Pine Labs CEO.
Rau has certainly come a long way. After graduating from Mumbai’s Shah and Anchor Kutchhi Engineering College, he got his first break in 1996, thanks to his brother, who was working with Siemens at the time. His stint in sales with Siemens Nixdorf Informationssysteme offered invaluable experience. “It’s (all) about how can I serve my team better,” he explains.
A year-and-a-half later, he joined NCR Corporation, the ATM manufacturing company, working for seven years in multiple roles, from regional sales manager to general manager of the ASEAN region. He then moved to the US-headquartered First Data Corporation, an electronic payment services company, setting up their India team in December 2005. It was during his stint there that he met Jitendra Gupta, who would go on to found Citrus Pay with him in 2013.
Getting into the work groove while working remotely may have been challenging but it has been a smooth ride at a personal level—Rau has been able to spend more time with family. “Over the last eight years, I used to be out of home for at least 10 days of the month. And now I have been at home for 11 months, and so family life is good,” he says with a laugh. Then again, Rau has always ensured work doesn’t impact the time he spends with his children—a 20-year-old son and a 16-year-old daughter. “I have never really messed around with that part,” he says.
When asked about the takeaway from the last 11 months, Rau isn’t keen to merely list achievements. “If I say in the pandemic I built 17 products, that would be such a loser of an answer. If I didn’t feel what happened during the pandemic, how front-line workers worked very hard to get our lives back…. There was a time when, for a week, we kept a rose for anyone who delivered anything at home. We wanted to be appreciative of people who were on the street and kept us going. Those small things are what will stick in our head 20 years later,” he says.
How do you de-stress?
By playing sports and watching my children play squash. Following the kids for their squash game is something that completely de-stresses me.
Your pet peeve
Currently, it’s about how much people like to preside or manage over situations instead of executing on their own. Delegation and hands-off supervision is one thing, and not being competent enough to execute is another. I see this mistake from senior leaders again and again.
A person who has inspired you
(Former HDFC Bank chairman) Aditya Puri. He’s easily the most inspiring leader from India. I was lucky to know him and see him closely build HDFC Bank. Some of his greatest traits were in team-building, work-life balance, and simple uncomplicated thinking in institution-building.


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Here at The Grocer we like innovative products and we also like to support smaller businesses so are always keen to feature companies that we feel are offering something different to British shoppers.
It's great to hear, then, when one of those companies is enjoying success - especially when we have played a role in it.
So we were delighted to discover this week that Chokolit - a Staffordshire family business that makes handmade Belgian chocolates packaged in a box that is entirely made of chocolate - has secured a trial in Waitrose stores.
We featured the company in Brand News in our 22 July issue, having spotted it at the Heart of England Fine Foods' Find event.
The idea of Eating the Chocs, then Eat the Box really appealed to a chocoholic in our team.
Proprietor Phil Barnett rang to tell us that life "went crazy" after the article appeared in
"I was on holiday in Wales when a kid on a bike shouted that I was in the paper. I said yes, I knew I was in The Grocer, and he said no, The Sun. It had picked up the story," says Phil. Stints on BBC local radio and digital television among other media followed.
Phil is now excited that Chokolit has secured a listing with Irish-based Pallas Foods for its 2007 hospitality brochure as well as a six-strong London store trial in the spring with Waitrose.
Phil has also been called in for talks about possible listings with other major retailers.

domain: news


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Nbc12 - nbc12.com - WWBT NBC12 News - NBC12 News
Men enter closed store by accident, pay for purchases 27 Aug 2013 | 05:20 pm
A group of young men thought the store was open because the door was unlocked and lights were on.
Report: Underage tobacco sales at record lows 27 Aug 2013 | 04:52 pm
New statistics show that the sale of tobacco to minors in the U.S. were held near all-time lows last year under a federal-state inspection program intended to curb underage usage.
Starbucks to roll out snack bars, fruit packs 27 Aug 2013 | 03:25 pm
Starbucks says it will start rolling out its own brand of snack bars and fruit pouches, marking yet another push into the packaged food category.
Sheriff: Missing Arizona teen found dead in Oregon 27 Aug 2013 | 03:15 pm
The father of an Arizona teenager whose body was found near his abandoned SUV in the woods of southern Oregon said his son was "a young man who had a broken heart."
Hearing held for Va. inmate seeking sex change 27 Aug 2013 | 03:12 pm
A transsexual Virginia prison inmate should find out soon whether she will be evaluated for sex-change surgery.
Squadron leader at Va Navy base relieved of duty 27 Aug 2013 | 02:48 pm
The commanding officer of one of the Navy's largest fighter squadrons has been relieved of his duties a month before he was scheduled to turn over command.
Aluminum products maker to expand Va plant 27 Aug 2013 | 02:40 pm
Aluminum products maker Service Center Metals is marking its 10th year in business with an expansion of its plant in Prince George County.
Manning lawyer gives more details on gender change 27 Aug 2013 | 01:04 pm
A lawyer says the Army private convicted in the Wikileaks case wants estrogen treatments that would promote breast development and other female characteristics, which she'd be willing to pay for, whil...
Couple, married 65 years, dies hours apart 27 Aug 2013 | 12:52 pm
The couple, who first met in elementary school, stayed together to the very end.
Metro to do track work on long Labor Day weekend 27 Aug 2013 | 12:48 pm
Metro says it will use the long Labor Day holiday weekend to work on several lines.


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Usually Ford and GM follow the same playbook for their pickup trucks.
But in pursuit of higher fuel economy goals, the two may diverge in years to come.
While Ford is fitting more fuel-efficient EcoBoost turbocharged V-6 engines to its pickup trucks, it has no plans to offer any pickup smaller than the full-sized F-150 line.
Chevrolet, on the other hand, has already said it will offer a new version of the mid-size Colorado pickup along with its full-size Silverado line.
(Its counterpart GMC will do the same as well, with a Canyon to complement its Sierra.)
Now, it appears there may even be a third Chevy pickup joining the lineup in future years.
Are you ready for a return of the car-based El Camino?
That squares with earlier reports that GM will import and sell the Australian-built Holden Commodore "ute" (or car-based pickup) here in the States.
GM also filed to renew the Nomad name earlier in the year, perhaps indicating that it will sell the rear-wheel drive Commodore wagon.
That would make three Holden models, with the supposed El Camino and Nomad joining the Chevrolet SS sedan that it will unveil next year.
Whether U.S. pickup buyers would willingly downsize from today's full-size pickups to the mid-size models whose sales have declined greatly remains an open question.
And it's even less clear that buyers would downsize even further, to a car-based pickup with perhaps half the bed volume or less.
2010 Pontiac G8 sport truck
GM had planned several years ago to bring the Holden ute into the U.S. as a Pontiac, with rapper 50 Cent unveiling it at the 2008 New York Auto Show as the Pontiac G8 Sport Truck.
Those plans died with GM's bankruptcy and restructuring that year, which killed off Pontiac altogether.
The Holden ute can be ordered in its home market with a range of engines, from a 3.0-liter V-6 up through a 6.0-liter V-8.
So it may be best to view any upcoming Chevy El Camino as more of a niche vehicle--or fashion statement--than a serious effort to downsize U.S. pickup truck offerings.
That role will like fall to the Chevy Colorado, which is almost sure to be offered at some point with a fuel-efficient four-cylinder engine.
As for Ford? Down the road, look for a greater array of EcoBoost offerings in the next generation of its F-150 pickups.


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"China is willing to export armed drones to almost anyone."
The combat drone business is booming in China, where the state-owned Aviation Industry Corp (AVIC) has been making a killing selling its heavily-armed combat drones to countries around the world.
In recent years, AVIC has sold hundreds of its Wing Loong II — the name translates to the dinosaur "Pterodactyl" — drone, which carries a dozen missiles, to 16 countries including Nigeria, the UAE, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia, Bloomberg reports. While American companies still dominate global military drone exports, the proliferation of Chinese combat drones seems to be prompting a global arms race that results in more war machines flying all over the world.
"China is willing to export armed drones to almost anyone," European Council on Foreign Relations policy fellow Ulrike Franke told Bloomberg.
The Wing Loong II drones have exploded in popularity because they're about 15 times cheaper than comparable American-made drones, and China doesn't seem to mind how they're used once another country buys them, according to Bloomberg.
"Maybe Chinese drones aren’t as good as American drones," Pawel Paszak, director of the Warsaw Institute's China Monitor program. "But 15 drones instead of one, and without any fuss about human rights? This is a good offer."
The Chinese government denied the notion that it's fueling a global arms race, but Bloomberg points out that countries like Russia, Japan, South Korea, and Turkey are all ramping up their own military drone production in response to China's recent surge in exports.
"Armed drone proliferation is inevitable because of Chinese exports," University of Pennsylvania political scientist Michael Horowitz told Bloomberg.
America still leads the global military drone trade — AVIC trails behind five US companies in total military weapons sales — but the fact remains that the company is getting these machines in more hands than ever before.
READ MORE: Combat Drones Made in China Are Coming to a Conflict Near You [Bloomberg Businessweek]
More on drones: Three Words: Supersonic. Combat. Drones.
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Blockchain.com has launched a full banking integration for Turkish Lira (TRY) to create a native payment gateway for users to deposit and withdraw Lira on its trading platform. With this development users in Turkey no longer have to incur high fees and conversion rates from third-party payment processors. Turkish traders have consistently been one of the most active countries on the company’s exchange since it launched last Summer.
Also Read: Blockchain.com Launches High Speed Crypto Exchange for Retail Traders
Native Turkish Lira Gateway
Blockchain.com, the well-known provider of cryptocurrency products with over 40 million wallets created to date, has launched a full banking integration for Turkish Lira (TRY) to create a native payment gateway for users to deposit and withdraw Lira on the Blockchain.com Exchange. Turkish users can now go from account creation to buying crypto without having to use a third-party payment processor. On the trading platform, Turkish people can now deposit, withdraw, and use TRY to buy bitcoin BTC,


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Department of Consumer Affairs ordered NCCF and NAFED to sell tomatoes at retail price of Rs.50/- per kg from 15th August 2023 due to falling tomato prices in wholesale markets.
The tomato retailing in Delhi-NCR had started since 14thth July 2023. Until 13th In August 2023 the two agencies purchased a total of 15 lakh kg of tomatoes which are continuously being disposed of to retail consumers in major consumption hubs across the country. These locations include Delhi-NCR, Rajasthan (Jaipur, Kota), Uttar Pradesh (Lucknow, Kanpur, Varanasi, Prayagraj) and Bihar (Patna, Muzaffarpur, Arrah, Buxar).
The retail price of tomatoes purchased from NCCF and NAFED was initially set at Rs.90/- per kg and later reduced to Rs.80/- per kg from 16th July 2023 and subsequently at Rs.70/- per kg from 20.07.2023. The latest reduction to Rs.50/- per kg will further benefit consumers.
In recent days, NCCF has significantly increased the amount of tomatoes supplied to retail consumers by stationing its mobile vans at 70 locations across Delhi and 15 locations in Noida and Greater Noida. In addition, NCCF continues to sell tomatoes retail through the ONDC (Open Network for Digital Commerce) platform.
It can be recalled that on the recommendation of the Department of Consumer Affairs, NCCF and NAFED had started the procurement of tomato from mandis in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra for simultaneous disposal in the main consumption centers where retail prices recorded the maximum increase in the last month .


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A man waits for pharmacist Joe Borge in Danvers, MA on Feb. 1, 2021. On the first day of Phase 2 of the COVID-19 rollout, seniors, 75 and over, get vaccinated in the Walgreens Pharmacy, at 107 High Street, in Danvers.
Pat Greenhouse | Boston Globe | Getty Images
The U.S. will increase its weekly shipments of Covid-19 vaccine doses to states by 5% and send some doses directly to pharmacies to expand access to the life-saving shots nationwide, the Biden administration’s Covid-19 response team said Tuesday.
The federal government will now send a minimum of 10.5 million doses per week for the next three weeks across the U.S., White House Covid response coordinator Jeff Zients said on a conference call with reporters Tuesday.
The increase comes a week after the White House said it would up supply to states by 16% over the next three weeks. The administration is also buying an additional 100 million doses of both Pfizer and Moderna‘s two-shot vaccines and said last week it will provide enough doses for 300 million Americans by the end of the summer or early fall.
The federal government will send doses directly to drugstores beginning Feb. 11, Zients said. Due to constrained supply of the vials, however, the program will start with about 6,500 retail stores nationwide with plans to eventually expand it to 40,000 pharmacies.
The U.S. has allocated 1 million doses to pharmacies in addition to the 10.5 million it has set aside for states, tribes and U.S. territories beginning next week, Zients said.
Zients said the expanded vaccine supply is “all a result of the manufacturing scaling up.” He said the administration has been able to secure the resources necessary to extract an extra sixth dose from Pfizer’s vaccine vials, which were originally supposed to hold five shots.
The supply kits sent to states with the company’s vaccine will now include a special “low dead space” syringe needed to draw the extra shot, which should result in a 20% increase in the nation’s supply of Pfizer’s vaccine.
The federal government has already paired with CVS and Walgreens to vaccinate people residing in long-term care facilities. That program, however, is different from a plan announced in November under the former Trump administration that would make doses available at a wider swath of retail pharmacies.
Some drugstore chains have already started vaccinating people in certain states that directly allocate some of their doses to those pharmacies. The new partnership would allow the shots to be directly routed from the federal government to brick-and-mortar retail chains.
“This pharmacy program will expand access in neighborhoods across the country so you can make an appointment and get your shot conveniently and quickly,” Zients said.
Drugstore chains and pharmacies were supposed to take on a larger role in distributing the vaccine once the government expanded access to more people. But the slower-than-expected rollout has frustrated pharmacy chains which have said they could leverage their existing footprint to speed up distribution.
The Biden administration had previously indicated it would “quickly jumpstart” efforts to ensure vaccines are available at local pharmacies across the U.S. President Joe Biden has said that the plan would ensure that most Americans have access to a vaccine just miles from their home.
— The Associated Press contributed to this report.


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Universal Companies, a supplier of spa products, will invest $1.5 million to expand its distribution operation in Washington County, VA. Virginia successfully competed against Tennessee for the project, which will create 30 new jobs. The company delivers spa solutions to more than 30,000 customers around the world and provides industry-leading advanced education in the spa and wellness industries.
“Universal is dedicated to investing in our local economy by bringing more career opportunities to our region,” said Brenda Elliott, CEO of Universal Companies. “We have seen significant growth since our founding and see only more in our future. We employ the full spectrum of employees from entry-level to corporate executives. We are proud to partner with Washington County to advance our distribution operation.”
The Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP) worked with Washington County to secure the project for Virginia. Governor Terry McAuliffe approved a $90,000 grant from the Commonwealth’s Opportunity Fund to assist the county with the project. In addition, the Virginia Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission approved $210,000 in Tobacco Region Opportunity Funds for the company. Universal Companies is eligible to receive state benefits from the Virginia Enterprise Zone Program, administered by the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development, and funding and services to support the company’s employee training activities will be provided through the Virginia Jobs Investment Program. The company is a graduate of VEDP’s award-winning Virginia Leaders in Export Trade (VALET) Program. VALET is an application-based, two-year international export acceleration program.
“The combination of Virginia’s central location on the East Coast, paired with our extensive transportation infrastructure, makes the commonwealth an ideal hub for the distribution and global logistics industry,” said Gov. McAuliffe. “Universal Companies has been an important corporate steward and employer in Southwest Virginia and Washington County for nearly 15 years, and we are proud that the company is once again investing in the commonwealth and adding 30 well-paid jobs. As we continue to diversify and build the new Virginia economy, it is critical to support this vital sector and the growth of our existing businesses.”
According to Secretary of Commerce and Trade Todd Haymore, Virginia’s distribution industry employs nearly 80,000 Virginians.
Relocating or Expanding Your Business In Virginia
Considering Virginia for your company’s relocation or expansion project? Check out Business Facilities’ Virginia Incentives and Workforce Development Guide.


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HAVANA,Nov. 10th. (AP) — Cuba says it has begun to grant licenses to new private restaurants in Havana after a brief freeze to help authorities grapple with the rapid expansion of one of the most important openings in the state-run economy.
Isabel Hamze is the acting vice president ofHavana’s provincial government. She tells state-run media in comments published Wednesday that the freeze lasted from Sept. 15 to Oct .23. Inspectors visited restaurants to ensure compliance with health and safety codes and other regulations. She said 32 restaurants were inspected and one had its license revoked.
She said private restaurants employ some 150,000 people in Havana, making them an important source of growth, but one that needs strong regulation. She said inspectors were looking for violations ranging from prostitution to purchase of stolen goods.


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TECNO SPARK 8T, with 50MP AI dual rear cameras, launched
TECNO has launched its latest affordable SPARK-series smartphone, the SPARK 8T, in India today. It carries a price-tag of Rs. 8,999 and is available for pre-orders via Amazon. As for the key highlights, the handset comes with a Full-HD+ display, a 50MP AI dual rear camera setup, a MediaTek Helio G35 processor, and a 5,000mAh battery. Here are more details.
Why does it matter?
- The TECNO SPARK 8T offers a good set of specifications, including a 6.6-inch large display, a 50MP main camera, a Helio G35 gaming-centric processor, and a big battery.
- Owing to its sub-Rs. 10,000 price-tag, the handset is expected to be a crowd-puller in India and will rival other budget smartphones like the Redmi 9, Realme Narzo 30A, and Samsung Galaxy F12, among others.
The phone has a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor
The TECNO SPARK 8T features a waterdrop notch design with a prominent bottom bezel. On the rear, it has a dual camera unit and a fingerprint scanner for secure authentication of biometric data. The handset bears a 6.6-inch LCD display with a Full-HD+ (1080x2408 pixels) resolution and 500-nits of brightness. It is offered in Iris Purple, Turquoise Cyan, Atlantic Blue, and Cocoa Gold colors.
It sports an 8MP selfie camera
The TECNO SPARK 8T is equipped with a dual rear camera unit comprising a 50MP primary sensor with an f/1.6 aperture along with a secondary AI lens. For selfies and video calling, it has an 8MP front-facing camera.
It boots HiOS 7.6 based on Android 11
The TECNO SPARK 8T is powered by a MediaTek Helio G35 processor, paired with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. Under the hood, it runs on Android 11-based HiOS 7.6 and packs a 5,000mAh battery with optimized power saving modes. For connectivity, the device offers support for dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS, a headphone jack, and a Type-C port.
TECNO SPARK 8T: Pricing and availability
The TECNO SPARK 8T is priced at Rs. 8,999 for its solo 4GB/64GB model. It is currently available for pre-orders via Amazon India and will go on sale from December 20 onwards.


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Oliver Cragg works for Android Authority.
Android Authority employs Oliver Cragg.
This week, WhatsApp released a beta version of its iPad app.
The application enables you to access WhatsApp on your iPad independently from the web version.
For years, WhatsApp has not had an official iPad app, requiring users to access the web version if they wanted to use it on their iPads. However, it seems that a full-fledged version of the messaging app is now accessible on Apple’s tablets.
This week, the WhatsApp beta for iPad was noticed by WABetaInfo. The specific beta version that is compatible is 184.108.40.206.


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How an L.A. indie bookstore’s GoFundMe inspired a small business lifeline
On a Tuesday morning in September, Raymond Wurwand was in his Southern California home sipping tea and reading the newspaper when he happened upon a story about struggling independent bookstores. The print headline read: “Spine-tingling bookstore woes: Some shops, including Diesel, are turning to fundraising to survive. Shelve 2020 as horror.”
He turned to his wife, Jane Wurwand, and said: “We’ve got to do something.”
In partnership with Pacific Community Ventures and TMC Community Capital, the owners of skin-care company Dermalogica decided to launch Found/L.A. Small Business Recovery Fund, a $1-million grant program to help small minority-owned businesses in Los Angeles County stay open during the pandemic. Among the eligibility requirements: Applicants must own at least 50% of a brick-and-mortar shop, employ fewer than 20 people, and provide evidence of profitability before the pandemic. The Wurwands received 2,430 applications for the first round of grants — from restaurants, salons and cafes as well as gyms, retail stores and day-care centers. Ten were randomly selected. Applications for the second cycle open Jan. 11.
“We built Dermalogica through selling to small salons, so we built our business through selling to small entrepreneurs who have been devastated by COVID-19,” said Jane in a recent Zoom interview. “So as we read the piece, we realized that could’ve been our story, but we’ve been extremely fortunate. Our salons were exactly like Diesel,” she said. Diesel, a Bookstore, with locations in Del Mar and Brentwood, is one of many businesses that have made public pleas for support. “That’s who employs the neighborhood.”
Beloved L.A. bookstores like Diesel are turning to fundraising platforms to survive the financial blows dealt by COVID-19.
The longtime philanthropists typically offer minority businesses micro-loans through their Wurwand Foundation, but Diesel’s pandemic struggle put into sharp focus the need for direct, no-strings assistance — some small businesses just can’t take on any more debt.
Some 7,500 businesses in L.A. have permanently closed since March 1, according to a local economic impact report published by Yelp in September — the largest number of closures in any U.S. metropolitan area. Stores and restaurants represent the bulk of closures, with owners of color disproportionally affected. A university study published in May found that 41% of Black-owned businesses across the country shut down between February and April. The number of shops owned by Latinos, Asians, immigrants and women dropped 32%, 26%, 36% and 25%, respectively.
These closures are what worry Jane Wurwand. “The thing I’m fearful the most of after this is, when we lift our heads and look around our communities and neighborhoods, I think we’re going to see a lot missing, and we have to rebuild our main streets in our neighborhoods because otherwise we just don’t have a point of connection,” she said. “I want to live near the local bookstore and the local salon. I don’t want to live next door to the Amazon warehouse.”
One new beneficiary, Rice and Noodle, has been holding on by a thread this year.
Lunch sales at the tiny Thai and Vietnamese restaurant fell by more than 60% after offices in the area closed. Owner Kwan Chotikulthanachai, 43, was forced to lay off all her employees. She hasn’t been able to pay full rent since May, and she didn’t qualify for Paycheck Protection Program or economic injury disaster loans. Cleaning and sanitizing supplies have added more costs. But with her partner and chef, Son Ongjampa, she’s managed to hang on, her 8-year-old son, Hugo, and 6-month-old baby, Ethan, at her side.
When she found out Monday night via email that she would receive a $5,000 grant, she cried.
“I was so happy,” Chotikulthanachai said tearfully in a phone interview Wednesday. “It’s like I won the lottery.” Hugo joyously jumped and screamed. She called her mother in Thailand — who cried, too.
“I’m working so hard,” she said. “This time has been incredibly difficult, but I cannot give up. I don’t want to close my restaurant.”
Owning a business has been a dream for Chotikulthanachai. She grew up in the restaurant world in Bangkok, where her mother ran her own place. She opened Rice and Noodle in 2018 with the help of family, and hopes someday to hand it down to her son. “I cannot let my family fail with me.”
Adrianna Cruz-Ocampo also sighed with relief this week. The owner of U-Frame-It Gallery, a custom frame shop with locations in Tarzana and North Hollywood, closed her store for four months at the start of the pandemic. Sales dropped up to 50% after movie and television studios shut down, stripping her of a reliable source of revenue. She received PPP and Small Business Administration loans, but the latter money was sent to the wrong person; she doesn’t have the funds, but she’s getting invoiced for payments.
Through it all, she kept her employees on the payroll, building cabinets, tables and other pieces to organize the store while the doors remained closed to the public.
Cruz-Ocampo, 55, kept working, too, despite fears of contracting the virus. She has scleroderma, an autoimmune disease that makes her vulnerable to severe complications from COVID-19.
On Tuesday morning, while she was getting ready for work in the bathroom of her Northridge home, Cruz-Ocampo opened an email: “Congratulations on the L.A. Small Business Recovery Fund,” it read. “U-Frame-It Inc. has been awarded a FOUND/LA Recovery Grant for the amount of $22,500.”
“I’ve been behind on rent, and this will help me keep my employees,” she said in a phone interview. “This is like a bridge, a lifeline, to get through a very, very hard year. This is a blessing.”
Cruz-Ocampo left Colombia for the U.S. with her family when she was 9. After getting her associate’s degree in business administration from Pierce College, she bought the frame shop in the 1980s with savings and a business loan. She opened a second location in Tarzana in 2000.
“It’s like a Christmas present, a huge Christmas present,” said Cruz-Ocampo. “It makes me feel something good about this Christmas. As bad as it’s been, it’s ending really well.”
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De Beers' ASM Diamond Initiative Critical Step for IndustryApril 19, 18
By far the most important announcement this week was that of the De Beers Group that it is preparing to pilot a program called GemFair to create a secure and transparent route to market for ethically-sourced artisanal and small-scale mined (ASM) diamonds. The diamond miner said that GemFair will use dedicated technology to record ASM production at mine sites that meet demonstrable ethical standards, with the aim of purchasing of rough diamonds from approved locations while helping improve working conditions and livelihoods for those working in the sector.
GemFair will team up with the Diamond Development Initiative (DDI), an NGO that has been working for a decade to formalize the diamond ASM sector in several parts of Africa. Miners that wish to participate in the GemFair pilot must be certified by the DDI as meeting their standards, as well as additional standards specific to the GemFair business model.
Once ethically certified, De Beers will provide qualified miners with a technology solution that includes an app and dedicated tablet, supported by a diamond ‘toolkit’ that will enable the digital tracking of ASM diamonds throughout the supply chain. The pilot will run in Sierra Leone where a number of artisanal mine sites are already participating in the DDI’s Maendeleo Diamond Standards program and where significant advancements have been made by the government of Sierra Leone to formalize the ASM sector.
As Bruce Cleaver, CEO, De Beers Group, said: “The ASM sector represents a critical income source for many poverty-affected communities. However, due to parts of the sector being largely informal and unregulated, it lacks access to established international markets and the ability to derive fair value for participants. By providing a secure route to market, offering fair prices and helping to raise standards, we hope to play a role in enhancing the prospects for those working in the sector, while also potentially opening up a new source of supply for De Beers over the longer term.”
Explained Dorothée Gizenga, Executive Director, Diamond Development Initiative: “The DDI is focused on ensuring artisanal and small-scale miners have access to the opportunities, information and tools that help create self-sustaining communities and formally recognize the sector’s contribution to economic development. We believe GemFair has the potential to significantly transform the sector by providing a new and secure route to market through the world’s leading diamond company. We look forward to continuing to work with De Beers, the government of Sierra Leone and all other stakeholders as we progress.”
The pre-pilot phase of GemFair will involve setting up a local presence in Sierra Leone and working with the DDI and registered mine sites to ensure the agreed standards are being met, that participating miners are trained in how to use the technology solution, and that they have an enhanced understanding of diamond classification.
Once GemFair and DDI are confident the sites are compliant and the technology is working effectively, the pilot will commence with GemFair starting to purchase diamonds from participating miners. While offers will be made for any diamonds presented for sale, regardless of quality, miners will be under no obligation to sell to GemFair if they elect not to do so. Any approved purchases would be sold via De Beers’ auction sales channel. The pre-pilot phase will commence this month, with the aim of a first purchase occurring later in 2018. There is no set timeframe for the pilot to be completed.
Following extensive research to understand the ASM sector and its specific needs, De Beers is developing a technology solution comprising a tablet and a software application that incorporates GPS locations and QR-coded ‘bag and tag’ equipment. The software has been designed to work both online and offline, to support the ability of miners to use it in different locations. The diamond toolkit includes hardware that can work in tough rural conditions, including being powered by solar chargers. The program also involves providing participating miners with training on diamond classification to help improve their understanding of the products they sell.
If proven successful, the technology used in GemFair will be integrated with the diamond industry blockchain platform De Beers is currently developing, allowing the ASM sector to participate in the blockchain and providing an added layer of assurance for ASM production.
As much as 20% of the world’s gem-quality diamonds are produced by artisanal miners – people who dig for diamonds using rudimentary equipment. Often the whole family is involved, including children. There are 1.5 million artisanal miners in Africa and South America, working in 18 different countries, and in conditions that are hard, dirty and often dangerous. Nevertheless, artisanal mining contributes heavily to the livelihood of millions of people.
The internal trading chain in artisanally mined diamonds was, and still is, largely conducted informally, without paperwork or record keeping, thus making it largely untraceable.
De Beers is certainly to be congratulated for its latest initiative. The diamond industry must show the general public that it is committed to fair trading that increases the livelihood of artisanal and small-scale miners. Traceability is also critical in this respect. Compliance and transparency are vital at every step of the chain of custody, from production to export and all the way through manufacturing to retail.
If, at each stage of the chain of custody, the tracing mechanism is not in place, the jewelry industry and the consumer are left with a product that does not fit their requirements for guaranteed ethical, responsible sourcing. But in a blockchain environment, each buying/selling event is registered on the so-called chain that automatically becomes a ‘block’ that represents this unique information, data or characteristics about a diamond as it passes along the value chain.


text: According to the EU Press Room, “On the eve of a meeting of 27 national enforcement agencies and stakeholder groups in Brussels, Vice President Tajani, EU Transport Commissioner and EU Consumer Commissioner Meglena Kuneva have stepped up pressure on airline companies selling tickets on the web to meet their legal obligation to fully comply with all the requirements of EU law. In a joint letter to the airline representatives, the two Commissioners have set out a 30 point checklist of consumer rights which all web pages selling air tickets must respect. Following industry feedback, the checklist will be consolidated. The Commission’s letter requests that members of the airline associations amend all websites to ensure they fully comply with all the listed obligations. A user friendly version of the checklist should also be made available on websites for consumers. The letter informs the airline representatives that the Commission intends to make public the results of ‘health check’ of the sector- an independent study which will identify compliant and non-compliant operators – in May 2009. The work with industry is taking place in parallel with additional efforts by the Commission to increase enforcement controls at national level. Commission Kuneva addressed Ministers at the Competition Council on 1st December 2008 calling on them to concentrate all the necessary additional efforts and resources on the airline investigation to enable a final wrap up in May 2009. The letter from Vice President Tajani and Commissioner Kuneva makes it clear that if national authorities persistently fail to act on violations of the law, the Commission would need to consider infringement procedures.”This release is available in full text.


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Shares of Rivian briefly fell below their IPO price on Thursday in a broader selloff among electric vehicle (EV) makers as the race for market share intensifies with legacy companies ramping up EV production.
Rivian shares fell as much as 16.5% to $75.13, slipping below the debut price of $78 for the first time. They pared losses and were trading down 5% at $85.66 in midday trading.
Other EV makers Tesla, Lucid and Fisker also lost ground, with valuation of the high-flying tech sector coming under pressure against the backdrop of the Federal Reserve’s hawkish signals.
The slide in Rivian shares comes a day after one of its biggest investors, Amazon, teamed up with carmaker Stellantis.
They will develop cars and trucks with Amazon software and deploy electric vans made by Stellantis on Amazon’s delivery network.
“Amazon has invested a lot of money in Rivian… That was a key factor for a lot of people in demonstrating this is a viable company that has a product that maybe relatively unique in the marketplace,” Guidehouse Insights analyst Sam Abuelsamid said.
Rivian and Amazon had signed a contract in 2019 to build 100,000 electric delivery vans for the e-commerce giant by 2025. But now the electric commercial vehicle business, a vital market for Rivian, is flooded with more options.
General Motors’ electric commercial vehicle business, BrightDrop, has signed deals with Walmart and FedEx, while Ford is expected to deliver its E-Transit cargo van to customers this year.
Deutsche Bank analyst Emmanuel Rosner said the fall in Rivian shares indicates that investors perhaps assumed Amazon would primarily rely on Rivian vans for its EV fleet and perceived the latest announcement as reducing its opportunity.
Meanwhile, General Motors announced the launch of its electric Chevrolet Silverado pickup and Ford is ramping up production of F-150 Lightning, both pick-up trucks that would compete with Rivian’s R1T, at a time it is struggling to stick to delivery dates due to supply chip constraints.
“Investors are probably getting a little spooked by the legacy industry making a comeback,” Abuelsamid said.
Rivian, which still has no discernible sales, is expected to deliver cars to customers this year. Production at its second plant in Georgia, in which it has invested $5 billion, is likely to begin only by 2024.
“It’s still sort of unproven in terms of investability of that as a stock versus some of the other names like Tesla and arguably Ford,” said David Keller, chief market strategist at StockCharts.com.


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A rare source of hope for the U.S. is the possibility that China will recover stronger and sooner from its pandemic reopening slump. S. fears of a recession are growing in the economy.
According to figures made public by Beijing on Monday, the Chinese economy expanded by only 3% in 2022 and by a annual rate of 2% in the third quarter. Although that is significantly less than the 8-point one percent growth in 2021, both the annual and quarterly growth rates exceeded expectations and gave hope for a quick recovery in 2023.
China still has to overcome a number of challenges as it attempts to recover from the pandemic-induced slump, including problems with its real estate markets and the nation’s continued refusal to approve Western COVID-19 vaccines with higher efficacy. Additionally, the population of the nation decreased in 2017 for the first time since the 1960s, which is not good for longer-term economic growth.
However, given that the United States may experience a recession this year, economists are hopeful that a recovering Chinese economy will be able to maintain demand for American goods and lessen supply chain pressure.
In a Tuesday analysis, Jeffrey Buchbinder and Thomas Shipp of LPL Research wrote, “China’s reopening — uneven or not — is well underway and may be a catalyst for supply chain fixes and more global demand.”
Protests against China’s stringent coronavirus containment policies and an increase in cases following the relaxation of those restrictions consumed the final months of 2022. Both had a significant impact on the economy, causing millions of Chinese to become ill and businesses to struggle.
Louise Loo, an economist at Oxford Economics, provided the following explanation: “Data in December surprised broadly to the upside, but remains weak, particularly across demand-side segments such as retail spending.”
She went on to say, “The good news is that there are now signs of stabilization.”
According to Loo, although China’s economic indicators may take some time to catch up, more recent data tracking foot and automobile traffic are displaying “signs of a tentative rebound.”
Other experts, like Goldman Sachs economist Andrew Tilton, are hopeful that the worst of the COVID-19 surge has passed for the Chinese economy.
Tilton wrote in an analysis earlier this month, “It appears the peak in daily cases is already past, based on news reports as well as related information such as the frequency of Internet searches for virus-related topics,” and there is evidence that mobility is beginning to recover.
This reinforces our belief that economic activity will resume in the coming months. Additionally, “it appears that policymakers are very focused on reviving economic activity in 2023,” he said.
The American economy needs the Chinese economy to avoid another serious setback while the United States is attempting to limit China’s economic influence and dominance over essential raw materials.
If a resurgence of COVID-19 causes disruptions in China’s supply chains, consumers and businesses in the United States may face additional price increases and shipping delays. While a weaker Chinese economy could lower oil prices and reduce energy demand, it could still raise inflation if it is accompanied by factory closures and shipping bottlenecks.
“Commodity prices will fall as a result of China’s lower output, but it could ultimately affect supply chains. Additionally, this may increase inflation in the West. During a press conference in December, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell cautioned, “It’s very difficult to say, you know, how much — how those two will offset each other.”
Worldwide COVID waves have the potential to disrupt economic activity. He went on to say that China is very important for manufacturing.


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Profiles, people news, training and recruitment.
Congratulations to Steve Wyn-Harris, a Hawke’s Bay sheep and beef farmer and farming commentator, who has just been announced as the 2012 Landcorp Agricultural Communicator of the Year. Wyn-Harris started his farming career in 1985, […]
High quality speakers and ample opportunities to network are on offer to delegates from the meat industry, farming and their service sectors at this year’s Red Meat Sector Conference. We’ve been given a sneak preview […]
AsureQuality has a new chief executive. Michael Thomas, previously PGG Wrightson’s group general manager for agri services, financial services and its South American operation in Christchurch, started on 5 June 2012. During his time with […]
Mark Clarkson, managing director of ANZCO Foods Ltd and a Meat Industry Association (MIA) Council member, has recently been appointed to the Board of Beef +Lamb NZ (B+LNZ) as one of two processor-exporter representatives nominated […]
New Zealand venison featured in a British competition for young chefs in April. The winner of the 2012 Air NZ UK-NZ Culinary Challenge is 20-year-old Louisa Matthews, a young chef from Eton College in Windsor. […]
A hearty congratulations goes to meat industry legend and processing pioneer, Graeme Lowe, who has been made a Fairfax Media New Zealand Business Hall of Fame laureate for 2012. Graeme Lowe founded Lowe Corporation more […]


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The coronavirus crisis has changed our lives in many ways. We’re taking photos via video chat, skiing in our living rooms or taking photos with them. Some photographers have found ways to turn their gear into exercise equipment… But Rotem Rogovsky of Skypro – 360 Video Productions has something else in mind with his gear, and it’s hilarious and brilliant at the same time.
DJI’s Newest UAV Adresses Function Over Form, and Manages to Keep its Form As Well
As UAV photography continues to become more prevalent in today’s technology, DJI is undoubtedly the leader in the field. With how many times its products have popped up in news stories and controversies in the past few months alone, it’s clear that photographers have spoken on who they choose to shoot their aerial footage. So when DJI makes announcements for a new model, you can bet on a lack of gimmicks. This isn’t a trend, and DJI knows it; they’re ready to bring improvements to UAV photography, and they’re ready to become its household name.
This isn’t the DJI Phantom that many of you may have come to know. With the Phantom lineup categorized for “Everyone” on the company’s website, this one is placed under the “Experts” tab, and rightfully so. Meet the new Spreading Wings S900 Hexacopter.
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* Chrysler CEO: natural gas vehicles most cost effective
* Says U.S. government aid needed to support adoption
DETROIT, June 3 (Reuters) - Natural gas could be a near-term alternative to gasoline as automakers race to develop electric vehicles, and presents the most cost-effective solution to reduce U.S. reliance on oil, Chrysler Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne said on Thursday.
Chrysler is the only one of the six top-selling automakers in the U.S. market that does not have a hybrid vehicle offering and is under mounting pressure to improve the fuel economy of its lineup, which has relied heavily on big trucks and SUVs.
Most major automakers including General Motors Co [GM.UL] and Toyota Motor Corp 7203.T are rushing to introduce battery-powered hybrids and electric vehicles, while Honda Motor Co 7267.T, lagging behind in plug-in hybrid technology, has bet on hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. Nissan Motor Co 7201.T is pushing to launch its pure electric car Leaf at the end of 2010.
Marchionne, speaking at an event sponsored by the Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce, said that natural gas is a “rational alternative” that can provide a near-term environmental solution on the road to vehicle electrification, by cutting greenhouse emissions by 25 percent compared with gasoline while being 25 percent cheaper.
“This project needs adequate attention and needs to become a priority in federal and state political agendas,” Marchionne said at the event in Mackinac Island, Michigan.
“It is the most effective solution, in terms of costs and timing, to lessen this country’s reliance on oil, especially foreign oil, while delivering a significant reduction in emissions.”
Fiat SpA, which acquired a 20 percent stake in Chrysler last year in return for providing the U.S. automaker with fuel-efficient engines and vehicle platforms, already sells a fleet of natural gas-powered vehicles in Europe.
Marchionne said the main impediment to adoption of natural gas-powered vehicles was a lack of infrastructure that would allow customers to conveniently refuel and government support was needed to spur development.
“Without a shared vision in which government assists industry, for example, with customer incentives and development of infrastructure, the potential for (natural gas) vehicles in the U.S. will continue to be limited,” he said. (Reporting by Soyoung Kim; Editing by Gary Hill)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.


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Data Talks is proud to announce its partnership with the 28th IHF Men’s World Championship, in Sweden’s goal to deliver an outstanding supporter experience
Before we dive right in...
Subscribe to our blog today to ensure that you never miss valuable posts such as this one. We are passionate about helping sports organizations deliver a world-class fan experience, because better fan experience means better business. So why not use this opportunity to the fullest?
“The 28th IHF Men’s World Championship will be a global-scale event with a magnificent amount of attendees as well as supporters in front of TVs and broadcasts. It’s an exciting opportunity to combine a vast amount of online and offline, transactional and behavioral data, in order to use the smart insights to deliver exceptional supporter experiences and increase revenue streams. We saw the need of partnering up with Data Talks because of their vast knowledge in sports and understanding of how to convert data into revenues, and how to deliver smarter, more personalized campaigns and experiences. We’re excited to also welcome Data Talks as one of the sponsors of the 28th IHF Men’s World Championship.”
– Krister Bergström, CEO at Handbolls-VM 2023 AB
The sports industry is moving from traditional ways of marketing to a more personalized and customized way of communicating with fans and supporters. The 28th IHF Men’s World Championship marks the first time Data Talks supports an event of a global scale that will attract an international fan base, with games taking place across five different cities in Sweden. When a huge event like the Men’s World Championship takes a step in the right direction, demonstrating that the benefits of using data aren’t limited to clubs and federations alone, they can inspire other sports events, big and small, to use data to increase matchday revenue and increase the lifetime value of each supporter. Data Talks is proud to also sponsor the 28th IHF Men’s World Championship in the home country of the current European Champions.
“It is a great pleasure to become the Business Data Supplier for the 28th IHF Men’s World Championship, providing the technical backbone for delivering a personalized customer experience to their supporters. By combining the various touchpoints of the supporter, both online & offline, we will provide an awesome supporter experience while tremendously increasing the supporter lifetime value. As Data Talks is a global sports CDP with Swedish roots we’re super excited to support a truly global scale event with worldwide reach.”
– Stefan Lavén, Chief Executive Officer at Data Talks


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Experts believe that the skyrocketing price of petrol diesel is one of the reasons for the increase in people’s demand for electric scooters. Therefore, seeing the huge profit potential in this business, many small and big companies are trying their hand at making electric two wheelers. SAR Electric Mobility, the arm of SAR Group, which owns popular brands like Luminous, Livguard, Livfast and Livpure, has announced that it will unveil a new premium electric scooter under its Lectrix brand this month. Bookings will start from July 22.
Lectrix will launch a new electric scooter this month
Recently, Lectrix’s new electric scooter was spotted testing in a camouflage wrap. The design features LED DRLs and LED headlamps. It is considered to be a family electric scooter. That will attract many buyers. Reportedly, it will offer several features and technologies that are first in the segment.
The electric scooter will come with good software and hardware benefits at a low price. It may have emergency assist, smart ignition and auto cancellation indicator. It will also get navigation, Bluetooth connectivity etc. The company claims that the scooter has been tested for more than 1.25 lakh kilometers so far.
The company has not yet released any information regarding the official name and other specifications of the Lectrix e-scooter. But it is expected to be able to run 100 km on a full charge. The company is currently working on a battery management system to optimize thermal performance. Apart from working well at high altitudes, the scooter will automatically slow down when the battery heats up.


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The new Vehicle Privacy Report doubles the geographic coverage and deepens the analysis of manufacturers' vehicle data practices by adding privacy implications from infotainment apps and more.
ATLANTA, Nov. 16, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Privacy4Cars, a privacy technology company focused on solving vehicle privacy challenges, announced new features and the expansion to Europe of its innovative Vehicle Privacy Report™ tool. Following its successful launch in the US in May 2023, a series of critical media reports and regulatory investigations drew international attention to the importance of automotive privacy. Consumer feedback came in from around the world, leading Privacy4Cars to prioritize this important update.
Privacy4Cars has doubled the number of vehicles for which consumers can obtain key privacy data by simply entering their car's VIN to approximately 600 million, making the Vehicle Privacy Report 2.0 now available in the US. Canada, UK and EU, exclusively at https://vehicleprivacyreport.com. Your Vehicle Privacy Label™, the icon-based tool that shows what data manufacturers collect and share or sell, has been expanded to include information about the privacy practices of popular infotainment apps (SiriusXM, Android Auto, Apple CarPlay and Amazon Alexa). A section called Vehicle Privacy Protections™ has been added to help vehicle owners understand what policies their auto insurance and financing companies have in place to safeguard personal data in their vehicles and empower consumers to demand greater protections.
"European residents, while they have some of the strictest privacy regulations in the world, will be surprised to see how much personal information is collected, shared and abandoned by automotive companies, and how wide the gap can be between legal requirements and business practices," said Andrea Amico, CEO and founder of Privacy4Cars. "Our research found that 4 in 5 cars in Europe - including samples from the UK, Italy and Germany - are resold and contain sensitive, unencrypted consumer data, despite controllers (car lenders, fleet leasing , insurance and dealers) who have no legal basis to process them and, consequently, have an obligation under the GDPR and ePrivacy to delete them. Our goal with the expansion of the Vehicle Privacy Report is to provide greater transparency to consumers and help them to assert their rights, free of charge. At the same time, we seek to provide opportunities for automotive companies to demonstrate how they make privacy part of their value proposition and better serve their customers."
Consumers have accessed the Vehicle Privacy Report site nearly one hundred thousand times since its launch to obtain its free reports, solely through word of mouth. On the B2B side, car dealers have used the technology to prominently display vehicle-specific privacy labels to online car buyers; Privacy4Cars currently places over 1.5 million tags for its partners weekly. These licensees have successfully leveraged the service to build trust, make fair and transparent disclosures, and make privacy a distinctive standard of care. The company is confident that the expansion of the Vehicle Privacy Report will attract similar attention and success in Europe.
The work that Privacy4Cars has contributed to the global automotive industry does not go unnoticed: yesterday Privacy4Cars won the title of "European Start Up of the Year" 2023 by WardsAuto for its prestigious European Informa Tech Automotive Awards. Privacy4Cars was recognized as the featured startup in Europe for its solutions-based approach to privacy in the automotive sector. The award cements Privacy4Cars' position as a privacy technology business leader in the global automotive sector and is a win for the industry as a whole, putting privacy innovation at the forefront of conversations about the industry's evolution.
For more information about the Vehicle Privacy Report, visit: https://vehicleprivacyreport.com.
ABOUT PRIVACY4CARSPrivacy4Cars is the first and only privacy technology company focused on the automotive ecosystem. Their mission, Driving Privacy, means leading research and creating solutions that expand protection for both individuals and businesses, focusing on privacy, security and compliance.
Privacy4Cars' patented AutoCleared™ has been used in over a million vehicles to efficiently manage, execute and record the removal of personal information from cars (phone numbers, call logs, location history, garage door codes and more). Its Vehicle Privacy Report™ tool is the first-of-its-kind solution for privacy disclosures. Both are free for consumers and a solution for businesses looking to increase trust, engagement and compliance standards. For more information, visit: https://privacy4cars.com
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For retailers looking to establish or maintain local dominance, innovation is key. This holds true for Pascale’s Liquor, led by its manager Nick Pascale, as they have been dedicated to cultivating and deepening their competitive advantage from the start. With a forward-thinking approach, Pascale’s became the first retailer in Central New York to sell using Drizly and had established an e-commerce website prior to the industry-wide paradigm shift caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Founded by Neal and Charles Pascale in 1978, Pascale’s Liquor has flourished, growing into a +$8M business, and solidifying its position as a Central New York staple. From the outset, Pascale’s success has been fueled by its unwavering commitment to providing customers with exceptional value and an extensive product range. One such example is the publication of their weekly ad in local newspapers, which showcases the week’s specials, highlights “Nick’s Corner” for recipes and more, and promotes case discounts. This approach garnered significant returns from the budget-conscious consumers of Central New York. However, facing escalating advertising costs and declining newspaper readership, Nick recognized the need for an alternative. That’s why, in March 2020, Pascale’s went live with City Hive.
- Pascale’s converted their weekly print ad to a digital newsletter
and not only saved “thousands,” but created a more dedicated
- Driven by the success of their digital marketing, Pascale’s has brought on a new employee to manage their marketing through City Hive.
- With City Hive’s marketing tools, Pascale’s says that they have customers coming in every day “because of an email they received earlier in the week.”
- Since the Covid-19 pandemic, Pascale’s has increased their use of the City Hive platform “100%.”
- According to Pascale’s, they’ve been able to use the City Hive platform to create repeat customers solely through digital marketing and the ease of use of their website and app.
Marketing has always been a focus for Pascale’s. Alongside its long-standing advertisement, the company has invested in physical marketing tactics like roadside billboards and various other strategies. However, as consumers increasingly spend their time shopping and browsing online, digital marketing has become an essential component of a modern marketing approach. And so, when traditional methods fell short of Pascale’s ambitious objectives, Nick and his team went live with City Hive to give themselves the tools they needed to continue their steady growth.
With City Hive, Nick’s team gained access to all the necessary tools to bring Pascale’s into the modern era. They built an attractive e-commerce website featuring a tasting calendar, special orders, sales, and more. Then, they developed an app and harnessed the power of City Hive’s comprehensive marketing and engagement platform.
Using the engagement platform, Nick took their weekly ad online and began sending it as an email newsletter to customers, yielding immediate results. Utilizing City Hive’s email platform, Nick happily reported that “customers are visiting us at specific dates and times because of emails they received earlier in the week.” The digital ad’s success led Nick to make the decision to completely cease newspaper advertising, as he noted, “we used to spend thousands on newspaper ads, but now it’s integrated into our existing expenses.” Then, despite initial concerns about a sales decrease due to customers resisting the transition online, the opposite occurred. According to Nick, “Moving our efforts online hasn’t resulted in a drop-off. In fact, what we’re doing now is more effective than a year ago.”
Of course, digitizing the weekly ad was just one facet of Pascale’s broader marketing strategy. Leveraging other promotional emails and City Hive’s 1-Click Campaigns, Pascale’s significantly improved their ability to reach customers in a timely and impactful manner. A shift that has completely transformed their marketing approach. However, Pascale’s didn’t stop there. As the world emerged from the Covid-19 pandemic, Nick and his team committed themselves to increasing their utilization of the City Hive platform by 100%. This heightened effort resulted in Pascale’s exploring new marketing strategies through City Hive, such as push notification marketing on their app, leveraging City Hive’s events management tool to promote and track in-store events, and harnessing the platform’s data and analytics.
Nick confidently attested to the clear benefits of partnering with City Hive. He not only pledged Pascale’s commitment to expanding platform usage, but he also recommended that any new beverage retailer entering the market should follow suit. Nick firmly believes that after setting up a new location in-store, “digital advertising is the way to grow, both for customer acquisition and fostering repeat customers.”


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Due to the 2019 Elections scheduled for 8 May, the Sign Africa Cape Town Expo dates have been moved to 22-23 May. Additionally, the Sign Africa Zimbabwe expo dates have been moved to the 26-27 June. All other dates remain unaffected.
Visitors to the 2019 Sign Africa expo’s, and the Johannesburg FESPA Africa and Sign Africa expo, can take advantage of opportunities in wide format digital printing, garment decoration, textile printing, screen printing and signage.
The confirmed dates for the 2019 expo’s are:
• Nelspruit: 20 February 2019, Emnotweni Arena.
• Port Elizabeth: 27 March 2019, Boardwalk Convention Centre.
• Cape Town: 22-23 May 2019, Cape Town International Convention Centre.
• Zimbabwe: 26-27 June 2019, Sango Conference Centre at Cresta Lodge Harare.
• Johannesburg: 11-13 September 2019, Gallagher Convention Centre.


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As we look into the upcoming 2023 edition of our Brewmaster’s Collective beer club, we reflect on a year of great beers, experiential events, and memorable moments with our members.
This year marked the second edition of the beer club – and if you want to get in the mix, now is your chance. Details on the 2023 season will be coming on 11.7.22.
“It took us 25 years to launch our first beer club, and now we can’t imagine life without it,” said Brewmaster Matt Brynildson. “It is not only enabling us to create some really interesting beers – it’s also fostering a deeper personal connection with our most passionate fans.”
Standouts & Exclusives
Some of the most notable Brewmaster’s Collective offerings this past year included our three exclusive collaborations with WhistlePig Farm Distillery in Vermont: Whistle Monkee, Stickee Pig, and Boiler Maker – all matured in rye whiskey barrels that were emptied right here in Paso Robles during a barrel swap for the ages.
Other standouts included reprises and reinventions of several Firestone Walker classics, including Double DBA, Walker’s Reserve, and PNC. And we produced some epic collaboration beers with some of our favorite brewers, including Highland Park, The Bruery, Side Project, pFriem Family Brewers, and Beachwood Brewing.
“The beer club provides a ready platform for our most artisanal brewing efforts,” Matt said. “We can dust off some of our greatest hits, collaborate with some of our favorite breweries, and let our creative juices run wild.”
Special experiences have also marked the 2022 Brewmaster’s Collective experience, including the recent beer pairing dinner hosted by David Walker to celebrate the beers in the Lion’s Den Collection.
Our members also enjoyed preferred access to the sold-out Firestone Walker Invitational Beer Festival, where they got to hang out in the private Member’s Lounge. Throughout the year, members also enjoyed complimentary brewery tours, discounts on all beer purchases, VIP Taproom access, and monthly member happy hours.
Four members also won our club lottery to participate in the annual blending of our Anniversary Ale among the company of local brewers and winemakers. To say that they joined the inner circle of that day would be an understatement.
Now comes the 2023 Brewmaster’s Collective with even more in store. We’re looking forward to taking this next yearlong journey with you.


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Hai Robotics, a supplier of autonomous case-handling robot (ACR) warehouse systems, has announced the opening of its first UK office at Vulcan Works, a business space in Northampton.
According to Hai Robotics, it is currently undertaking more than 30 projects across Europe and four in the UK and hopes to grow its presence here with partnerships with UK companies.
On such partnership is with Logistex, with which Hai Robotics recently partnered to optimise John Lewis Partnership’s new e-commerce distribution centre in Fenny Lock, Milton Keynes.
The maiden office will house the sales, solutions, implementation, testing, after-sales support, PR and marketing functions of Hai Robotics UK Ltd, with support also being provided by the company’s European HQ in the Netherlands.
“Launching our inaugural UK office signifies a critical milestone for Hai Robotics and underscores our enduring commitment to this vibrant market,” said Damien Skinner, country manager of the UK & Ireland, Hai Robotics.
“Our decision to establish ourselves at Vulcan Works was driven by a multitude of factors. Northampton’s strategic location in the heart of the UK’s ‘Logistics Golden Triangle’—Bedford-Birmingham-Nottingham—ensures our close proximity to customers and site references.
“Additionally, the comprehensive facilities at Vulcan Works, which feature beautifully restored spaces, well-equipped meeting rooms with flexible booking options, provide an environment conducive for growth and innovation. Above all, the flexibility and security offered by Vulcan Works are paramount in fuelling our progressive journey.”
The project is centred around the deployment of a picking solution powered by Hai Robotics’ ACR robots and HaiPort workstations, which are designed to provide flexibility and scalability for future expansion.
The company has reportedly secured two further contracts in this market.
“We are thrilled to welcome Hai Robotics to Vulcan Works,” said Garrick Hurter, centre manager at Vulkan Works.
“To have a global company who is at the forefront of such impressive digital technology and forward-thinking automation choose our space as a location for its first UK office is a real coup.”


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How Did The Search For Coffee Lead To The Creation Of The Webcam?
As per industry estimates, the global webcam market was reported to be $6.69 billion in 2020, with a projected growth rate of 8% in the next decade.
The device that has become the foremost tool for 24/7 security and remote meetings can be traced back to the pursuit of a single pot of coffee!
THE TROJAN ROOM
The story began at Cambridge University, where the coffee pot was situated in the main computer lab, known as the Trojan Room.
"One of the things that's very, very important in computer science research is a regular and dependable flow of caffeine." said, Dr Quentin Stafford Fraser, who invented the webcam along with Dr Paul Jardetzky.
THE COFFEE MONITOR
Whenever researchers came looking for coffee, they always found that it had all been drunk. To solve the problem, the two scientists set up a camera to monitor the coffee pot in 1991. The camera worked by grabbing images 3 times a minute, with software that allowed researchers in the department to run the images from the camera on their internal computer network.
MAKING IT TO THE WWW
What helped the webcam reach the World Wide Web in November 1993 was
once again, coffee.
Dr Martyn Johnson was not connected to the computer network at the Cambridge lab, so he could not run the coffee pot cam software.
He wrote a code that copied the most recent image to the requester whenever it was asked for, and thus the webcam made it to the internet!
A word about the webcam got out, and before long millions of tech enthusiasts from around the world were accessing images of the Trojan room coffee pot.
The Cambridge Tourist information office even had to direct visitors from the US to the computer lab to see it for themselves.
THE END OF COFFEE-CAM
10 Years and Millions of hits later, the scientists found that the software was becoming unmaintainable.
Despite nostalgic protests from webcam fans around the world, the coffee pot and the webcam were eventually switched off. The last image captured was the scientist's fingers pressing the 'off' button.
WHAT HAPPENED TO THE COFFEE POT?
The Trojan Room coffee pot was reportedly sold at auction for 3,350 euros. It was bought by Der Spiegel news magazine in Germany, which soon pressed the pot back into active services.
" In 10 years, it had gone from being a wacky new idea to a novelty that a reasonable number of people knew about, to a widely viewed icon of the early web, to a historic artefact, and then to something that people were mourning over when it was no longer there." - Dr Stafford-Fraser
Thanks For Giving Your Time !!!


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The pursuit of streaming profitability over subscriber numbers has seen the major studio groups turn their attention to content licensing deals. The sweet spot is finding the balance between exclusivity and non-exclusivity, and in the case of non-exclusivity using that content to drive licensing revenue.
New research published by Ampere Analysis shows that after four years of major studios employing a walled-garden approach to the distribution of their TV content on streaming, licensing is steadily making a comeback.
Between 2019 and 2021, media company studios s began to pull content from Amazon and Netflix and other licensing partners prior to debuting their own SVODs, ensuring that content exclusivity was a major part of their launch proposition. A notable move was WarnerBros’ removal of Friends from Netflix ahead of HBO Max launch.
“Having content exclusively available particularly when its hugely popular or part of major franchises can help when building a brand at launch and therefore helps in penetrating an increasingly competitive market,” said Rahul Patel, research manager at Ampere Analysis.
Now the industry is moving to a new period where cross licensing is becoming a lot more common. “This also reflects the state of maturity these platforms are reaching,” Patel told StreamTV Insider. “They now better understand what content is keeping consumers engaged or attracting new subscribers and what other content can be additionally monetized through cross licensing.”
Ampere’s analysis highlighted significant recent increases in catalog overlaps between different platforms. Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery, for example, started 2023 with 22 TV seasons shared between them and ended the year on 68 (including HBO/Max shows Band of Brothers, Insecure, Ballers).
Amazon Prime Video and Peacock’s season overlap jumped from 156 to 275 in the same period (including Mon, Chicago Fire and Chicago P.D).
Its data also illustrates the scale of popular content that has been retained by the studios “highlighting the potential and room for growth in licensing.”
Disney has most muscle here with 148 TV shows identified as having licensing power still only available on its platforms at end of 2023. That is about to change when a major Netflix deal for around 14 Disney and Fox series rolls out on Netflix between now and January 2025, including Prison Break, and How I Met Your Mother. This totals in excess of 90 TV seasons.
For context, Ampere data shows Netflix and Disney+/Hulu had an overlap of 152 TV seasons in Decemeber2023, up just 13% from January 2023’s 134. So the deal in its entirety represents a big change.
Paramount has the second largest cache of high value content. Star Trek and its spin-offs are core to the Paramount brand and are understandably retained exclusively for Paramount+ but these “also reflect some of the most popular licensing assets if they choose to go down that route,” said Patel.
AVOD platforms are also licensing partners. NBCUniversal has been most active in this area, sharing the most content not just between SVOD platforms but also with AVOD platforms. WBD is distributing over 2000 hours of its content, including through Warner Bros-branded FAST channels on Tubi and The Roku Channel.
Ampere’s research also shows that studios are considering changing their strategy around core IP exclusivity. WBD for instance has been very protective of its theatrical slate, in contrast to Paramount and Universal whose theatrical releases have often landed on other platforms a few months after the first pay window, noted Patel. “Yet in Q3 last year WBD licensed a whole host of its movies to Amazon including DC titles and then rolled them out to Netflix and Tubi for limited periods.”
Reaching wider audiences through licensing
While the principal driver to cross license is for increased revenue, another benefit for studios is to reach wider audiences with their content.
“I see licensing as part of a marketing tool,” Patel said. “It’s not by accident that Warner Bros. licensed a set of DC titles to other platforms like Amazon and Netflix on the eve of releasing Aquaman 2 at the end of last year.”
WBD is also featuring its Oscar winning hit Dune prominently on Netflix in the run up to the sequel’s release next month.
“By licensing these franchise titles to platforms with a large audience, studios can market to more people and hope for a positive return as more people engage with content in its original home.”
AMC+, a far smaller streamer, sought the wider reach of Max when it created a ‘streaming pop-up’ on Max to carry seven AMC series for two months beginning September, including Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire and Killing Eve.
WBD itself will be hoping to engage new audiences in seeing Sex and the City revival series, And Just Like That, on Max after making all six seasons of HBO’s original series available from April on Netflix.
Similar activity has not yet been witnessed by Apple TV+ which seems to be pursuing a policy of quality of quantity when it comes to content.
Ampere’s analyst doesn’t rule out a change in Apple’s strategy, particularly given the shifting chairs of bundles, mergers and acquisitions in the industry.
Amazon, meanwhile, has licensed some unscripted originals to WBD for distribution on broadcast TV in some EU markets in what Patel called “another change in the playbook for streaming originals.
“Netflix meanwhile is at the forefront of the streaming game and perhaps calculates less of a need to license out content,” he said. “It has found other avenues to generate revenue such cracking down on password sharing and the launch of its ad tier.”
The industry can expect more licensing deals for high profile titles to be struck in 2024 between major VOD providers. Patel added that cross licensing can be seen “as a first step in wider partnerships between platforms” as the industry reshapes itself with bundles, mergers and acquisitions.
Broadcaster, SVOD overlap ahead for the European market
Ampere’s research is based on the U.S SVOD market and the conditions around exclusivity around what the studio and streamers catalog looked like at the end of 2023.
“The walled garden approach is slightly differently in Europe because some of the major U.S streamers aren’t operating in certain markets,” said Patel. Peacock, Hulu, Max for example have not launched in the UK. Ampere will publish research in the market later this year.
However, Ampere predicts more licensing between UK broadcasters and streamers following that between Disney and UK commercial broadcaster Channel 4 which saw ten Disney series including Abbott Elementary and X Files made available to the broadcaster’s eponymous streaming platform.
ITV continues to strike carriage deals with Warner Bros for TV and on streaming platform ITVX including the Harry Potter franchise and The Vampire Diaries.
Patel said, “We expect the partnership and overlap between broadcaster led VOD and SVOD platforms both in the UK and other major European markets to increase, in the same way we are seeing cross licensing between major SVOD providers in the U.S.”


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It’s no longer a rumor and we can now stop searching for Amazon listings and adverts of PUBG’s impending launch of PlayStation 4 as it’s just been made official. PlayStation has today announced that battle royale phenomenon PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (better known as PUBG) will be landing on PS4 on December 7.
With PUBG finally launching on Sony’s PS4, the company has finally decided to kill off its exclusivity on Microsoft Xbox, only a couple months after the 1.0 release of the game landed on the console. PlayStation 4 users will now be able to get the taste of real, life-like intense battles on PUBG’s 3 existing maps – Erangel, Miramar, and Sanhok.
— PlayStation (@PlayStation) November 13, 2018
Speaking of the game’s development, Koo Sung Jeong, PS4’s Lead Project Manager in an official statement said, “It’s always exciting and tense presenting our work to the players as a developer. Getting our game into the hands of the PS4 community that haven’t experienced PUBG is a thrill equal to creating a new game.”
As we had speculated, PUBG will be making its official debut on PS4 on the same day as ‘The Game Awards 2018,’ where a host of game studios are known to make some major announcements about upcoming titles. PUBG on PlayStation 4 will be available at the same $30 price tag as its Xbox and PC counterparts. Here are the details for the pre-order bundles, coming both in physical and digital form:
- Disc Edition ($30): includes base game
- Looter’s Digital Edition ($30): includes base game
- Survivor’s Digital Edition ($50): includes base game, Vikendi Event Pass, 2,300 G-Coin Pack, 20,000 BP
- Champion’s Digital Edition ($60): includes base game, Vikendi Event Pass, 6,000 G-Coin Pack, 20,000 BP
PUBG Corporation has also partnered with Sony to bring some exclusive content, including the Nathan Drake desert outfit from the Uncharted series and Ellie’s backpack from the Last of Us.
With increased competition not only from Fortnite, but also from the likes of Call of Duty, PlayerUnknown’s BattleGrounds has waned in popularity, even as PUBG Mobile has scaled newer heights. Even though it may have kickstarted the battle royale trend, the free-to-play Fornite has attracted a horde of gamers to the title on PC.
PUBG is now looking to expand its user base and though it may seem late, the one-year Xbox exclusivity didn’t really let the game get out of Microsoft’s garden.


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Amazon Launches "Edition M" Thriller/Mystery Imprint in Germany
Amazon announced on Wednesday that it was expanding its three-year-old German publishing division with the launch of a new imprint.
According to Boersenblatt, Edition M will be a crime imprint for German-language detective novels and thrillers. The first five original titles will be released in July and August, and will include books by Hendrik Falkenberg, Bernadette Calonego, Ulrike Busch, Jan de Fries, and Leonie Haubrich.
"We are particularly pleased to present this new program, which is aimed at German-language crime and thriller readers, "says Dominic Myers, Director Amazon Publishing Europe. "We are proud to present great writers – including newcomers as well as established authors – to a widee audience of avid readers.
The new books will be found on Amazon.de.
Amazon Publishing first entered the German book market in the summer of 2013 with the launch of a Kindle Single store, and then expanded into publishing original titles in 2014. Since then, Amazon Publishing has published more than 130 titles of German writers of various genres, including fantasy, contemporary and historical novels, thriller, and science fiction.
Amazon also recently expanded the Montlake romance imprint to include German-language titles.
image by Sean MacEntee
Hannah Steenbock July 7, 2016 um 3:45 am
Very nice. Now I just wish they would sell Kindle Worlds titles in Germany.
News Roundup [July 8, 2016] | No Shelf Required July 8, 2016 um 9:20 am
[…] Amazon Launches “Edition M” Thriller/Mystery Imprint in Germany [The Digital Reader] […]


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Linda Yaccarino is the new CEO of the social media network. The two companies are considering a more extensive partnership. This potential collaboration would involve using the social media platform’s data access tool, as revealed by the source.
Businesses can use dialer technology and ringless voicemail to reach new audiences without compromising on quality or efficiency. telemarketers can create contact lists and send personalized messages with just a few clicks of the mouse using this software With Ringless Voicemail Drop Software, companies don’t have to waste money on unnecessary phone calls or efforts to get sales interested in their services or products. The potential for cost savings is one of the key benefits of sustainable practices. Implementing energy efficient technologies can lead to lower utility bills.
Significant savings can be achieved by sustainable practices. Ringless voicemail and dialer technology can help reduce customer annoyance and create a more positive user experience for call recipients. It is a fundamental shift in telemarketing as it allows companies to reach out without sacrificing people’s comfort or privacy, which is always appreciated.
Ringless voicemail technology has changed the way businesses interact with their customers. The technology allows companies to reach out to potential clients while still complying with the rules. It gives them access to new markets and opportunities for growth that weren’t available before.
In March of last year, attackers gained access to Microsoft employees. They set up a new email address and used it to impersonate the finance department of the organization. The employees thought the documents were from the finance department. Users have been trying to download an application that is not in the store. It is one of many unvetted apps that can cause users to run malicious programs on their PCs. The persistence mechanisms in the extension make it almost impossible to remove it.
Saving Money Through Sustainable Practices
The buzz around the Metaverse seems to be the focus of the world of artificial intelligence. Is it because large language models have made a big splash and Tech News the Metaverse is taking a back seat in these tech discussions? Digital twins can be used to aid the implementation of the Metaverse. THe combination of these two technologies allows telemarketers to quickly track customer responses and analyze data to refine their campaigns according to customer behavior.
Circular economy models aim to keep products and materials in use for as long as possible, rather than throwing them away. The shift towards circularity benefits the environment and also presents opportunities for businesses to reduce costs. Innovations and trends are shaping the way we live and do business in the future of sustainable living.
There Is A Tech Flaw That Allows Hackers To Control Cameras
Businesses can maximize their reach with these changes. It is time to take our campaigns to the next level by embracing the power of these technologies. Businesses can use sustainable practices such as energy efficient lighting, recycling programs and remote work policies once areas for improvement are identified. Investing in renewable energy sources, such as solar panels or wind turbine, can provide long term financial benefits. Telemarketers can use ringless voicemail and dialer technology to do more with less time. The technology streamlines the entire process of reaching customers, from automatically dialing numbers to leaving voice messages without ringing phones.
According to a report by news agency, the job cuts affect less than 1 per cent of the 32,700 global staff at the ride share company. People can save money by following sustainable habits. Simple actions like turning off lights when not in use can lead to savings on utility bills.
There are spy balloons, secret police stations, and dissidents on the run in China. We show how similar devices that line our streets could be exploited by hacking Beijing’s fleet of spy balloons and a Chinese made security camera. Hikvision says its devices were not programmed with this flaw and that it released a firmware update to address it almost immediately after it was made aware of it. The test is not representative of today’s devices. There are more than 100,000 cameras online that are vulnerable to this issue. In order to see if it was possible to hack a Hikvision camera, Panorama worked with a US based company.
The plant that would be built at Sanand Industrial Park in Gujarat will focus on packaging chips rather than manufacturing them. According to a report by Indian Express, the company would transform wafers into ball grid array integrated circuit packages, memory modules, and solid state drives. “We are hopeful that within the next six quarters, we should have the first made in India Semiconductor chip rolling out of this factory,” Vaishnaw was quoted as saying last week in an interview.


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In a year that is finally bringing tuning into music tech headlines, here’s a tool from ODDSound and Richard James that promises to help – and it’s free to get started. Let’s talk to the developers.Read more
Following entries from Eventide to Soundhack, plug-in maker U-HE seems to be next to be bitten by the modular bug. A teaser image reveals new gear is coming at Berlin’s Superbooth.
Urs Heckmann just combined “reverb” with “experimental, possibly sonically unstable plug-in with unpredictable results.” And it’s free. Urs – how did you know exactly what I wanted for Christmas?
brings together the latest breaking news on music, technology, gear, and live visuals. Got a project, found a news tip, or want to share your product? Submit to us directly.


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Although Samsung still faces the problems of its Galaxy Fold. Today, the South Korean company’s mobile business is not going so badly. According to a recent study by Counterpoint Research, the sales of the new Galaxy S10 exceeded those of Galaxy S9 in the same period last year.
The Galaxy S10+ is the most popular smartphone of the new family.
Gizchina News of the week
Going into more detail, it is possible to notice that the S10+ is the most popular of the three. With 42% of sales, followed by the S10 (32%) and the S10e (22%). The Galaxy S10 5G, launched only in some countries, does not seem to have been taken into consideration. However, we know that, at least in South Korea, Samsung has sold more than one million units.
These results have enabled the industry leader to gain valuable market shares among high-end smartphones. This range is the most profitable among manufacturers. Samsung now controls 25% of the market, with a three-point increase over the previous year.
This good news will allow the company (and in particular its president) some comfort after the failure of the Galaxy Fold launch that he called “embarrassing”.
Have you also purchased a Galaxy S10 device?


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Google wants its very first permanent physical retail space to be more than just a gadget store.
The 5,000-square-foot flagship, which opens on June 17 in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood, will feature elaborate demo stations, lounge-like areas for customers waiting on tech help and a central event space for panels, lessons and performances. The goal is to create a space that functions as a sort of community hub and experiential site at a time when more and more people are doing their straightforward shopping online.