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Personal device assistance platform, Servify has raised an undisclosed amount of funding in Pre-Series A investment led by Blume Ventures and Beenext. The investment round also saw participation from existing investors including Germany-based Barkawi Holdings GmbH, TM Service Technology Holdings Gmbh and Sreevathsa Prabhakar, Founder of Servify.
The investment raised will help the company in further enhancing product, service and technology offerings, Sreevathsa Prabhakar, Founder & CEO of Servify said.
Founded in 2015, the Mumbai-based startup is a device ownership platform that lets users list their mobiles, personal gadgets, electronics and home appliances on it, store bills, and access authentic brand authorised service during in-warranty and as well as out of warranty periods.
The platform integrates with OEM brands, retailers, carriers and service providers to facilitate seamless after-sales service experience for customers.
“We have doubled our user base recently and now manage over half a million devices on our platform. A major part of this investment will be deployed in aggressively building our product, engineering and business teams.” added Pravin Jadhav, Chief Product & Growth Officer at Servify.


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A digital publisher is using Google’s new technology to ensure ads are 100 percent viewable, attempting to eliminate one of the big obstacles in the way of brands shifting more money online.
The publisher IDG Communications, which is behind sites including PCWorld and MacWorld, can serve the guaranteed impressions using a new capability in Google’s DoubleClick product called vCPMs — the “v” stands for viewable and CPM is the cost per thousand ad impressions.
Google introduced the DoubleClick feature at the end of September, and IDG was among the partners of the limited launch.
“Right now, there are three big topics: viewability, fraud and ad blocking,” said Peter Longo, CEO of U.S. media at IDG Communications. “Publishers are dealing with all of them.”
Google’s viewability guarantee works like this: It forecasts when an impression is absolutely viewable, meaning it’s not sitting at the top of a page when a user has scrolled to the bottom or it’s not playing on one tab when a user is in another. Google’s technology automates the process of delivering full viewability to advertisers that are willing to pay a premium for the guarantee.
The ads come with a 30 percent higher price, Longo said.
Industry standards say that ads are considered viewed if 50 percent of the pixels are on screen for at least a second, and at least two seconds for video ads.
The definitions of viewable can vary by platform, though, and it is a point of contention among brands looking for the most generous definitions.
Four of IDG’s advertisers are currently buying only 100 percent viewable impressions, and Longo said he expects more.
Google would not say what other publishers are offering the guarantee option. However, Laurent Cordier, director of partner business solutions there, said that the search giant has been investing in viewability technology for some time, and that eventually all impressions could move to the 100 percent viewable standard.
“We’re convinced viewable impressions will become the currency rather than impressions on which advertisers, brands and publishers transact,” Cordier said.
There are still challenges, he acknowledged. The industry has varied measurements and standards, and publishers’ websites are not all optimized for implementing the technology, Cordier said.
Advertisers are pressuring the major digital ad sellers to offer these solutions because of concerns that a large portion of spending goes to low-quality Internet traffic. Google has even issued reports that show more than half of Internet ads may not be seen.
Google’s main rival in display and video advertising, Facebook, also recently launched a viewable guarantee with third-party verification from measurement company Moat.
Still, not all advertisers, actually want these viewable impressions, according to Simon Hayhurst, senior vp of products and development at Rocket Fuel, which also offers these vCPMs. Hayhurst said that the most viewable impressions tend to be the ones at the top of a webpage, but those aren’t necessarily the most valuable impressions.
“VCPMs might not drive the highest return on ad spend,” Hayhurst said.
As for publishers, embracing viewability could lead to a better user experience on the websites, Cordier said.
AppNexus, another ad tech platform, conducted a study this year that found 92 percent of publishers believed an increased emphasis on viewability would benefit business.
“Viewable buying is both an imperative and the logical future of digital advertising,” said Josh Zeitz, vp of corporate communications at AppNexus. “It benefits all market participants.”
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domain: news


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Meta's vision for generative AI is making it more accessible to the masses. That means integrating various features and tools within Meta-owned Instagram, WhatsApp, and Facebook in myriad ways.
At Meta Connect 2023, CEO Mark Zuckerberg's keynote spent a good chunk of time announcing AI features for image generation, as a personal assistant, and as an AI-generated version of your favorite celebrity... kind of. Read on for all of the AI announcements at Meta Connect.
Meta AI as your personal assistant
One the most applicable use cases of generative AI is as a personal assistant that can provide you with information perform mundane online tasks. Meta AI is Meta's version of that for WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Instagram, and soon, Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses and Quest 3.
Powered by its open-source large language model Llama 2, Meta AI is a tool that chats directly with users to answer questions or share information, such as restaurant recommendations or biking trails nearby. Meta AI has access to real-time information, thanks to a partnership with Bing, and can generate images from text prompts in a matter of seconds. Meta AI will be available in beta in the U.S.
Celebrities as AI characters
So you want to talk to an AI chatbot, but you want it to be a celebrity playing a character of a certain persona? Well, Meta has your answer. In addition to Meta AI, or what you might consider "AI Classic," Meta announced 28 more AI characters that have unique personalities and interests, available on WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram. Meta's AI characters are designed to humanize the experience of talking to a chatbot so that's it's more fun and interactive — much like Character.AI.
To make these AI characters even more personable, they're curiously embodied by real celebrities. So you're not chatting with an AI-generated version of a celebrity, you're chatting with an AI-generated version of a celebrity playing a character. For example, former basketball pro Duane Wade plays Victor, an "Ironman triathlete motivating you to be your best self," Kendall Jenner plays Billie, a "no-BS, ride-or-die companion," and Charli D'Amelio plays a dance enthusiast named Coco. And then there's Snoop Dogg as Dungeon Master for Dungeons & Dragons — because people can never seem to get enough of the Doggfather.
It's confusing and we don't totally get it either. But Meta's AI characters are available to chat with in Beta in the U.S. starting today.
AI image-editing on Instagram
Coming soon to Instagram, you'll be able to edit photos using Meta's new image generation model Emu (Expressive Media Universe). With this new tool, you can change backgrounds and styles of an image from a text prompt. For example, making an image look like a watercooler, or changing the background to look like you're surrounded by puppies. Given the transparency pitfalls, AI edited-images will be indicated and fairly obvious, and Meta says it is exploring the idea of invisible or visible watermarks.
For those who believe a message isn't complete without a sticker, you know have to ability to make your own stickers using AI image generation.
Meta's new image model Emu can turn your text prompt into a sticker in a matter of seconds. This new feature is rolling out next month to WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram, and Facebook Stories.
Future AI features in the Meta pipeline
Zuckerberg also announced AI-related tools for developers, businesses, and creators. AI Studio is a platform for training AI models and developing third-party AIs that non-coders can use. Businesses will be able to develop their own AI characters for customer service and communications, and creators can build AI personas for expanding their brand and virtual presence. Meta will also release a sandbox for experimenting with building AIs. Meta's AI studio will launch in the coming weeks, with the business-friendly version rolling out next year.


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Vallejo pins hopes on state tourism promotion in China
By RACHEL RASKIN-ZRIHEN/Times-Herald staff writer
Posted: 01/09/2009 01:04:31 AM PST
Vallejo tourism officials hope the city will benefit from the establishment of a California tourism office in China, agency officials said Thursday.
The California Travel and Tourism Commission opened an office in China to promote group travel here, the agency announced. Since they will especially focus on "selling" theme parks and other attractions, Vallejo tourism officials hope to benefit both as the home of one of the state's few theme parks and as a central and less expensive place from which to visit San Francisco and the wine country.
"We're a member of the CTTC, and it's a wonderful organization," said Mike Browne, Vallejo Convention and Visitors Bureau executive director. "If they're going to promote tourism in California, and specifically theme parks, I doubt they'll overlook the largest theme park in Northern California, and one of the most unique parks in the state."
Susan Wilcox, CTTC spokeswoman, said it's not unreasonable for local attractions including Discovery Kingdom to expect an increase in Chinese visitors as a result of these new efforts.
"It's the role of the tourism commission to promote all of California in order to grow the pot, so to speak, for the entire area," she said.
The CTTC appointed East Communications Inc. as its sales and public relations representation office in the People's Republic of China, according to the agency's announcement.
China is the seventh international tourism office for California, following the United Kingdom, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Germany and Mexico.
Group leisure travel to the United States from China began in 2008 following a historic bilateral agreement between the two governments, according to the announcement.
In 2007, 227,000 Chinese visited California and spent about $327 million, the announcement notes. According to the World Tourism Organization, China will have 100 million outbound travelers by 2015. Global visitation to California generates $16.7 billion, or 17 percent of overall tourism spending in the state.
For more information about the CTTC and for a free California vacation packet, go to www.visitcalifornia.com.
E-mail Rachel Raskin-Zrihen at RachelZ@thnewsnet.com or call 553-6824.


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Two teenage boys, who won a young entrepreneur competition in 2014, say revenue has hit $1 million, and they hope to increase overseas sales this year.
Sixteen-year-old Toby Carr, and 15-year-old Elliot Smith started their company DeXTech as part of the annual, national Young Enterprise Competition last year. They didn’t expect to win the competition – or the prize money.
But now they claim turnover for the trading and website development company has topped $1 million, with sales both internationally and locally.
Toby says the introduction of bring your own device (BYOD) programmes in hundreds of New Zealand schools will bring opportunities for DeXTech, which sells computers, laptops and phones, as well as sister site DeXProTeX, which sells cases and screen protectors online.
“Originally clients were your average consumer which we would reach via Facebook Advertising. Many original clients were gained via word of mouth about what I was doing, opening many opportunities for growth,” he says.
The company, which offers free shipping, expects to be supplying more international clients and stocking a wider range of products this year.
The company got started because of the boys’ long-standing interest in fixing problems with phones, and websites.
“I had also been doing some very low-key trading prior to officially launching the company, which gave me the base for what products would be viable and which wouldn’t.”
The Year 11 students reached into their personal savings to start up the business under the Young Enterprise scheme. They say they saw a gap in the market when they noticed that most websites cost $700 or more, and found they could make them cheaper.
“We went out and sold websites to companies around Auckland who didn’t have one, and then we actually starting selling smart phones through that,” says Elliot, who was part of the Liston College Young Enterprise team which founded DeXTech.
As the 2014 winners, the boys won $200 each in gift vouchers, $1000 prize money to split between them, as had their costs covered for their trip to Wellington.
Bryan Choromanski, head of the business department at Auckland’s Liston College, says that he and the school are proud of the boys’ achievement.
“When I spoke to one of the conveners she said that to me, that after doing the interviews with the boys, they were heads and shoulders above the others,” says Choromanski. “They should be really stoked with themselves.”


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(BPT) – Homes in the United States continue to get smarter as many people frequently use voice assistants, smart doorbells, smart appliances and more to make life easier. Now, as the smart home evolution continues, homeowners want more than just convenience — they want smart devices that help keep them safe, too.
The ability to protect your home and your family will always be a priority. In addition to everyone staying safe and healthy, you want your home to remain strong and secure. Smart devices can now help with this as they are working to detect threats and provide alerts of fire, carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning, air quality concerns, water pipe freezes, leaks and more.
A Harris Poll survey conducted on behalf of Kidde, the #1 most installed fire safety brand in North America, found that today people are more connected than ever, with 83% of Americans having at least one smart device in their home and three in five smart device owners relying on those devices to keep their families and them safe. These technologies grant homeowners and renters confidence with 69% having peace of mind that those devices will alert them in real-time when an issue arises.
One issue that is a top concern is fire protection. Every 23 seconds, a fire department in the U.S. responds to a fire somewhere in the nation, according to the National Fire Protection Association. Unfortunately, three out of five home fire deaths result from fires in properties without working smoke alarms.
CO poisoning is another common safety concern as it’s a potentially deadly gas with no smell. Every year, at least 430 people die in the U.S. from accidental CO poisoning and approximately 50,000 people in the U.S. visit the emergency department annually due to accidental CO poisoning, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Smart home devices and alarms can help detect threats and provide you and your family alerts to common safety concerns such as smoke and CO, as well as additional threats such as water leaks, frozen pipes and indoor air quality issues. Comprehensive technology is transforming how these issues are monitored and how you are alerted, giving you elevated peace of mind.
For example, the new Kidde HomeSafe™ suite of products includes a Smoke + CO Alarm with Indoor Air Quality Monitor. This alarm detects smoke, CO, adverse temperature, humidity levels and total volatile organic compounds (TVOCs), which include harmful particles in the air that can lead to health issues. Another option is the Water Leak + Freeze Detector that helps prevent frozen pipes and alert property owners to water leaks that can lead to mold, mildew and compromised property integrity, not to mention potentially extensive repair costs. These Wi-Fi enabled devices include smart features that can be connected to consumers’ Kidde app, which allows for real-time alerts to be sent directly to a smartphone, even if you’re not home. Additionally, the HomeSafe products are compatible with some of the most popular voice assistants, offering the use of voice commands to check alarm status and connection.
Mobile alerts also allow you to notify your emergency contact of a potential threat (911, friends and family), and you can silence false alarms when you are home, like when you accidentally burn your toast. Kidde’s HomeSafe products provide greater control and more confidence, right at your fingertips.
In today’s world, having a smart home should mean keeping your family healthy and safe. It’s about having the technology and features you need to give you the confidence to protect the people, places and things that matter the most.


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Earlier this month I gleefully tore Microsoft’s launch of the Xbox One to shreds like the intolerable Playstation cheerleader I am. But as one chapter in this story ends another one is written; with Microsoft announcing that it has reversed its decision to impose restrictions on pre-owned games on the console to be launched later this year.
Having pulled off one of the most merciless product U-turns since, I don’t know, the reinstatement of the Windows start button three weeks ago, Microsoft is asking for another blast.
But lots of tech journalists have already done that, so I’m going to talk about PR for once. Are inconsistent messages such as these poisonous for the public’s perception of a brand? Or is holding your hands up and admitting you got it wrong actually the more virtuous action?
In the blue corner: The customer is always right
It’s one of the cornerstone principles of any consumer product. The positively rapturous reception of the Sony’s next console, the PS4, made a bit of a laughing stock of Microsoft’s more ambitious and general entertainment focused alternative.
Rightly or wrongly, the biggest bee in everybody’s bonnet was that the PS4 took the more lenient approach to digital rights management (DRM), allowing consumers to trade-in and play pre-owned games. Whereas reselling Xbox One games would be greatly restricted and users would require an internet connection for every game they played to authenticate their content.
Microsoft was accused of turning its back on the core gaming audience while its biggest competitor was applauded. So, rather than be stubborn and be the brand that doesn’t listen to its customers, Microsoft has reversed its policy and issued a lovely statement telling its customers that they have listened to them and acquiesce to their demands.
That’s not a bad bit of PR is it? Identify the problem, address the problem, solve the problem, tell everyone you’ve solved the problem, let them tell everyone else that you’ve solved the problem.
In the red corner: Who’s in charge here?
Well there is a problem. PRs don’t tell their clients to be consistent in their brand messaging because they’re lazy and it makes things easier for them. Sometimes your customers aren’t right (at first anyway). More to the point, people on the internet aren’t always right. I’m not an Xbox customer and never will be – what I think is irrelevant to them.
Gizmodo did some star-gazing as to what Xbox’s new model would have actually meant for gamers and the point is, Microsoft were about to try something different. It could have been a really cool way of doing it, but we never gave it a chance and now neither have Microsoft.
To me, the U-turn smacks of a company that doesn’t have the courage of its convictions. Do I want to buy from a company that doesn’t believe in its own innovation enough to brush aside a few scathing reviews from idiots like me who haven’t even tried their revolutionary idea out? Did Apple allow the non-believers to dictate their product pipeline?
Since the outset, it’s felt more like the Xbox One is taking things from the gamer rather than giving them more; ‘they took away our DRM support’ not ‘they showed us a new way of doing things’. The U-turn has been presented as a concession rather than a value-add.
PR can be a rollercoaster for massive brands that provoke opinion, and with social media empowering the masses with a voice those brands have to learn to deal with criticism without abandoning new ideas that aren’t received well straight away. If Facebook had aborted its timeline update every time people moaned about it we’d still have the same layout we had in 2009.
I’m not one for flogging a dead horse, but with the right messaging, a consistent line and presenting the changes as an innovative step forward rather than brushing them under the carpet and hoping people wouldn’t notice, Microsoft could have turned this around. The fact they’ve changed sides at the first sign of an argument just tells me they didn’t believe in the idea enough in the first place.


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Here we are with the Maserati Levante SUV ending up in our news again, this time the model coming with some new shots, thanks to the guys from Motor Authority online car magazine.
The forthcoming Maserati Levante SUV was long rumored, the model borrowing some design cues taken from the Maserati Ghibli, which makes it pretty odd, I might add.
At a closer look, we might also find some new wheel arches and suspensions or the raised roof which will make it stand out from the crowd.
Unfortunately, we don’t know exactly the platform that it will stand on, or what drivetrain it will use, but rumors state that it would come with an all-wheel drive layout.
In terms of performance, we can only rely on some speculations from last year, stating that the new Maserati Levante SUV will come with an engine lineup, starting with the smaller 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6 unit, from the Ghibli, or the newly V8 twin-turbo that will equip the Quattroporte in 2015.
The upcoming Levante SUV will be also equipped with two diesels, like the V6 and the fresh V8 diesel that equips the future Fiat generation models.


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Manila, Philippines – Global digital payments company Visa has appointed Jeff Navarro as its new country manager for the Philippines and Guam. He succeeds previous country manager Dan Wolbert, who has moved to a new role for Visa North America.
Navarro was previously the regional vice president for the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Indochina at Western Union. He also served as the president and chairman of the board at Western Union Processing Services Inc. Prior to joining Western Union, he has also worked with SMART Communications and Shell across sales, brand, and business development roles.
Speaking on his appointment, he said, “It is a great pleasure for me to join Visa, a global leader in payments and money movement, areas which are near and dear to my heart. I am excited and honoured to have the opportunity to lead a team of seasoned professionals, who share the drive and passion to further widen financial inclusion for all Filipinos.”
He added, “I look forward to working closely with our clients, fintechs, the regulator, and all stakeholders to grow digital payments in the country, and enable individuals, businesses, and economies to thrive.”
Meanwhile, Tareq Muhmood, Visa’s Group Country Manager for Regional Southeast Asia, said, “I am delighted to have Jeff lead our team in the Philippines and Guam as the country manager. Jeff’s regional experience and in-depth knowledge of the financial services industry will be an asset for Visa and will serve him well in leading our team.”
He added, “Jeff and the team will drive our business agenda with clients, consumers, and regulators in the Philippines and Guam, in line with our purpose to uplift everyone, everywhere by being the best way to pay and be paid.”


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Police crack down on Dr. Greenthumb, where cannabis candy shaped like a revolver was on the menu
Last month Ontario Attorney General Yasir Naqvi declared war on the province’s illegal pot shops, and this week Ottawa police ramped up their efforts to shut down the illegal businesses.
Police swooped down on the busy Cannabis Culture store on Bank Street, the Dr. Greenthumb on Montreal Road and “several” outdoor grow-ops on Tuesday, arresting eight people.
“The provincial government has made it clear that independent storefronts will not be part of a legal framework in Ontario,” said Ottawa police Staff Sgt. Rick Carey of the drug unit in a news release. “These storefronts are now and will continue to be illegal operations and property owners need to be aware that they could face serious repercussions for allowing them to continue to operate.”
When Naqvi announced last month that Ontario plans to sell pot at stores run by the LCBO, he warned that dispensaries will be shut down.
Ottawa police have staged sporadic raids on dispensaries over the last year, but many re-open and new ones pop up. The raids this week also hit grow-ops, with police reporting they confiscated just more than 1,200 pounds of marijuana plants. A key police strategy is to try to disrupt the supply chain for the shops, according to a report prepared by the force.
The Cannabis Culture shop on Bank Street was also raided in March, but re-opened. It was back open Wednesday after the latest raid.
Dr. Greenthumb on Montreal Road opened last summer in a strip mall adjoining a Subway shop. Staff prided themselves on having the lowest dispensary prices in town: $8.50 a gram.
“Everybody else is gouging everyone,” said Melissa, a clerk behind the counter when the Citizen visited the shop in the summer. “They rip everybody off.”
Other dispensaries commonly charge $11 to $14.
Melissa said she was a volunteer who travelled from Belleville to work at the shop. “I’m part of the movement.”
She said the weed sold at Dr. Greenthumb was “guaranteed” free of mould, pesticides and other nasty things that might be found in pot bought on the street. Before she started buying from the store, she would get a lung infection every few months from street weed, requiring puffers and prednisone, she said.
She didn’t know the source of the store’s marijuana. “Maybe B.C.?”
Dr. Greenthumb, like most of the dispensaries in town, sold to anyone over 19.
“There’s a fentanyl epidemic out there. Everybody is dropping like flies. They could just smoke (weed) and they’d be fine,” said Melissa.
She said she did her best to educate customers. “Indica is on the couch, sativa is awake,” she advised one customer, explaining the difference between the two major cannabis strains.
“And hybrids for people who can’t make up their minds!” chortled an older man in a wheelchair behind the counter, puffing on a vaporizer and patting an Italian Mastiff named Chomper flopped on an old chair beside him.
The shop was plastered with psychedelic posters with slogans like “Good Buds Stick Together” and “Have a Nice Dab!” No fewer than two signs announced: Sorry, I’m Stoned.
It was cash only.
The Citizen visited the shop a couple times, both before noon, and there was a lineup, mainly of young men. Customers were allowed to sniff and even take dried weed out of glass jars to feel it.
The shop also sold a variety of cannabis concentrates and edible products.
When one customer asked for a recommendation, clerk Logan, 21, suggested a “fully loaded 375 mg gummy for $30.” He pulled out a plastic Ziploc bag containing a black candy shaped like a revolver. The candy was made locally, said Logan proudly. The 375 mg is a reference to the amount of THC, the chemical that makes users high. For reference, a “single serving” edible in Colorado is 10 mg.
Logan, a sweet, softspoken lad, said marijuana helps his stomach cramps. “I smoke because of the pain. If I didn’t, I’d be doubled over clutching my stomach all the time.” His doctor couldn’t figure out what was wrong, so McMahon began medicating himself with marijuana.
He said marijuana also helped him overcoming crippling anxiety that made it difficult to leave his bedroom.
“This is a really good way to get back into the community and interact with people.” He said he felt safe and welcome at the shop, and that he was helping people. “And it’s something to put on your resume, right?”
Reached by phone on Wednesday, Logan said he wasn’t at the shop when it was raided, and he’s not sure whether he’ll be back working there. “It’s still a grey area.”
One of the most popular items sold at Dr. Greenthumb was vaporizer pens loaded with cannabis oil. “They are so popular, they just fly out of here,” said Melissa. They were sold out the day the Citizen visited, but she pulled a pen out of her pants pocket and offered a puff.


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This was an interesting week, huh? I’m worn out. Whether you’re elated or deflated, let’s hope our country can come together. America really needs to get to a better place. And please stay safe, and take sensible precautions. It’s getting bad out there.
This week in Diamond Shavings: Have jewelers rebounded from COVID? Diamond District landlords go into battle. And meet the Diamond Dentist. All below.
Survey predicts lower holiday sales.
– Still uncertainty as holiday nears.
Ken Gassman: Specialty jewelers rebound from COVID disaster.
Retailers board up storefronts, fearing Election Day upheaval.
How jewelers can prepare for hurricane season.
Top social media trends, according to experts.
Signet to co-brand Jared and James Allen.
Takes on Tiffany and LVMH:
– Bloomberg: Ends with “a lot of bad blood.”
– New York Times: A signature move by the “Sun Tzu of luxury.”
– The Independent: How can they justify that price tag?
Pandora to temporarily close 18% of stores.
The 2019 diamond pipeline.
The Argyle diamond mine is shutting down.
– My thoughts.
De Beers lets sightholders defer smaller goods.
Louis Vuitton wants to cut this diamond for you.
More retailers selling lab-grown diamonds, survey finds.
Extell sues Diamond District neighbor.
New York City Jewelry Week is still happening.
Zimbabwe’s riches being pillaged, and governing elites are helping.
Swiss refiner breaks industry silence on sourcing gold from risky areas.
Watches of Switzerland hires Kelly Yoch.
Yoram Dvash to chair Israel Diamond Institute.
Canadian Jewelers Association elects new chair.
Ex–De Beers Botswana boss Sheila Khama goes into consultancy.
WJA announces Cindy Edelstein Scholarship winner.
Former Attica, N.Y., jeweler Hans Moeller dies.
CBI rejects former director’s plea in Winsome Diamonds case.
Saudi princess robbed of all her jewelry, handbags.
Teacher finds out her diamond ring is fake.
Man finds scary-yellow big diamond on Halloween.
A round-up of Baby Yoda pendants.
The Diamond Dentist makes celebrity smiles sparkle.
Very happy to be on the Writer’s Bone podcast, with former colleague Dan Ford.
From the Blog
From the Magazine
From the Podcast
Have a safe and healthy weekend.
– Email: rbates – at – jckonline.com.
– Twitter: @robbatesjck
– Connect on LinkedIn
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Follow JCK on Facebook: @jckmagazine


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WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo was holding a pair of meetings Thursday with senior U.S. auto industry leaders and other industry executives on a semiconductor shortage that has cut production, two sources briefed on the matter said.
Reuters had reported the planning meetings on May 10.
The Alliance for Auto Innovation, an automaker trade group, said Thursday it welcomes “Raimondo’s continued commitment to addressing the microchip shortage. … We look forward to continuing our work with the Department of Commerce and other stakeholders to strengthen transparency and resiliency in the automotive semiconductor supply chain and to create additional semiconductor production capacity.”
Earlier this month, Raimondo said the department was pressing Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) and other Taiwanese firms to prioritize near-term needs of U.S. automakers to ease chip shortages.
TSMC said in response that tackling the shortage remained its top priority.
Last month, Ford warned the chip shortage might slash second-quarter production by half, costing it about $2.5 billion and about 1.1 million units of lost production in 2021, while GM has extended production halts at several North American factories because of the shortage. Both continue to announce new production cuts.
On April 12, President Joe Biden convened semiconductor, tech and auto industry executives to discuss solutions to the crisis.
On Wednesday, U.S. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer unveiled revised bipartisan legislation late Tuesday that includes $52 billion in emergency funding to significantly boost U.S. semiconductor chip production and research over five years.
The emergency funding proposal will be included in a more than 1,400-page revised bill the Senate is taking up this week, as first reported by Reuters on Friday, to spend $120 billion on basic U.S. and advanced technology research to better compete with China.


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Blackberry Mobility Featured Article
Snaptu Announces Indian Content Partnerships With MiD DAY and Network18
By Raju Shanbhag, TMCnet Contributor
Snaptu has added two very popular media organizations MiD DAY and Network18 on the occasion of reaching two million Indian users, the company has announced.
Snaptu works on thousands of different device models that run Java. It’s a completely free application, partially ad-sponsored, and allows the users to access the Internet from their mobile phones.
The company has forged partnerships with the country's major operators and handset vendors, including Airtel, Vodafone (News - Alert), Reliance and Micromax since launching in India just over twelve months ago. The company changes popular web services into a fast all-in-one application that runs on any mobile phone. The company has now joined hands with MiD DAY and now has exposure to an additional 2 million users of this platform in India.
“The people of India have embraced Snaptu like no other, so we are giving them more to embrace by providing even more top level local services, such as MiD DAY and Network18," said Snaptu International Managing Director Simon Davies. "We already have the most popular Facebook (News - Alert), Cricket, News and Weather mobile services in the country and plan on continuing the innovation to ensure every Indian can reap the benefits of the mobile web.”
Snaptu provides services for applications such as Facebook, Picasa, Cricinfo, MyMovies, Big Picture, Twitter, Weather, News, Football/Soccer Scores and Soduko. Snaptu's fast, simple app works on virtually any phone and users can go to www.snaptu.com or m.snaptu.com on their mobile phone browser to download Snaptu. They can simply select Add Applications from the main menu if they already have Snaptu and want to add MiD DAY or Network18.
In June 2010, the company announced that they now have 10 million users. Snaptu also said that they got a secured $6 million funding in B round that's headed by Carmel Ventures, a venture capital fund in Israel whose investments are focused primarily on early stage companies in the fields of Software, Communications, Moblity, Internet, Media, Semiconductors, and Consumer Electronics.
Raju Shanbhag is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To read more of Raju’s articles, please visit his columnist page.
Edited by Chris DiMarco


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Redmond, Oregon – December 1, 2014
After more than 20 years growing, harvesting and manufacturing high quality, whole herbal supplements in Sandy, Oregon the company was literally bursting at the seams. The discovery of a 47,000 sq. ft. facility in Redmond near a recently purchased 139-acre farm with clean soil and good water along the Crooked River in Culver, Oregon was just too good an opportunity to pass up.
So, in early October 2014 Oregon’s Wild Harvest moved their entire operation to Redmond, Oregon. The farm in Sandy will remain operational through the summer.
It was very hard to leave the Sandy farm where it all began for co-founders Pam Martin-Buresh and Randy Buresh. Randy Buresh said: “When my wife Pam and I started this company we couldn’t have known what an amazing trip it would be. Now, after more than 20 years of working the land manufacturing herbal products in Sandy, Oregon we’ve moved to Redmond where we can really spread out.”
“People who have visited us in Sandy are often amazed by how much we can accomplish in such a small space. It’s very hard to leave such a special place. I know many visitors have fond memories of all the herb walks."
“The move to Redmond is a huge opportunity for us to spread out. We’ll have more room for plant testing, quality assurance and research into improvements in herbal medicine. Our success as a company has always been fueled by the complicity of our commitment to Mother Nature and science."
“This mission we’re on is about our future generations. Our job is to protect clean soil, seeds and water and insure that there will always be access to good quality certified organic plant material. It’s important for our health and the health of the planet.”
Upon announcing the move to employees, about 50% of them agreed to move with the company to Redmond. A few are staying behind in Sandy but continue working for the company virtually.
Randy Buresh, co-founder and owner of Oregon’s Wild Harvest said: “It is indeed humbling that so many of our employees uprooted their families and sold their homes to move with us. They believe in the same mission as we do. It’s just so much bigger than us now.”
For more information, contact Randy Buresh at 541.548.9400.
Oregon’s Wild Harvest is a whole plant herbal supplement company headquartered in Redmond, Oregon. Many of the herbs are organic or biodynamic. The company is committed to growing and procuring the very highest quality fresh, whole herbs, which are tested for optimum potency and prepared in small batches the way nature intended.


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Seattle-based cannabis information resource company, Leafly, today laid off 54 employees, which is nearly 20% of its workforce, GeekWire has reported. There were 33 people let go from the company’s Seattle headquarters.
However, as a good indicator of the strength and future of the Arizona marketplace, Leafly made no changes to its presence in our state, ACN has confirmed. Leafly has developed a strong presence in Arizona over the last few years, surpassing all competitors as the most important platform for both industry and consumers. This is welcome news for Arizona consumers and industry alike as Arizona is a battleground state for legalization in 2020.
According to a statement from CEO Tim Leslie, Leafly cut roles,
“to more closely align our business operations with the market realities of the technology and cannabis sectors in which we operate,”
The CEO told employees late last year that Leafly was implementing a company-wide effort to limit spending and slow down hiring. Leslie indicated the moves were necessary to integrate the 150 new employees who came on board in 2019 — doubling the size of the company in the process.
Here’s the full statement from Leslie:
“Today, we eliminated the roles of 54 talented people to more closely align our business operations with the market realities of the technology and cannabis sectors in which we operate. These individuals have invested their time and passion into helping others learn more about cannabis, and enabling retailers, doctors, and brands to connect with them. We are so grateful for each of them and their work. We enter 2020 coming off of a banner year of innovation. In 2019, we launched the Leafly Cannabis Guide to help people learn more about cannabis strains. Our editorial team continued to deliver exceptional reporting, most notably leading coverage of EVALI. We launched new tools and services for retailers and brands and expanded our Leafly Pickup service. And we started Leafly Market so our customers can get a curated selection of hemp-derived CBD delivered straight to their door. In 2020, you can expect to deliver even more innovation in helping people learn about, find and buy cannabis, while empowering the businesses of retailers, doctors and brands. Today is a hard day at Leafly. We wish our colleagues the best as they pursue the next steps in their careers. We look ahead to continued innovation in service of our customers and the cannabis industry.”


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To celebrate the launch of the all-new GS, Lexus has partnered with The Telegraph for two amazing competitions.
Take part and you could win a trip-of-a-lifetime to Tokyo, Japan or a new GS for a month!
We’ve shortlisted the ‘Amazing 15’, a handpicked group who represent Britain’s most exciting talent today. Your votes could help one of them pursue their passion, as the five individuals with the most votes will win a year’s support from The Telegraph.
The group includes experts from across the fields of sport, arts and culture, technology, food and drink, and design. But you need to be quick – voting ends Saturday 22 June 2012.
The fantastic prize includes return flights to Tokyo, transfers from the airport to your hotel, seven nights accommodation at the centrally located 4-star Shiba Park hotel, £1,000 spending money plus travel insurance.
To ensure that you experience something truly amazing, we’re taking you to the top of the newly opened Tokyo Skytree, the tallest tower in the world, where you’ll get to enjoy dinner for two 350 metres above the ground at the Sky Restaurant 634.
After dinner, you’ll get the chance to take in the incredible view of Tokyo from the observation gallery, some 450 metres above the streets of the city, making this trip nothing short of amazing.
Vote for your favourites and enter our competitions to win a Lexus GS for a month or an amazing trip to Tokyo, Japan.
Vote for one person from each category and the five individuals with the most votes will win a year’s support from The Telegraph.
To celebrate the launch of the new Lexus GS and The Telegraph’s Amazing 15, we’re offering three lucky Telegraph readers the chance to win a Lexus for an entire month.
Simply request a brochure and you could be driving around in a brand new Lexus GS.
Lexus exceeds expectations with the next generation GS by producing the world’s first full-performance hybrid luxury car.
The Lexus GS 450h combines a 3.5 litre V6 direct-injection petrol engine and two high-output electric motor that are charged through regenerative braking and surplus power, so it never needs to be recharged.
This delivers acceleration that is extraordinarily fast and amazingly smooth. With a bold new design, the new Lexus GS redefines the performance saloon.
Request a Lexus brochure here
All requests must be submitted by midnight on July 31, 2012


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CEO Tesla, Elon Musk, said how close his company came into the Axios interview which was broadcast on HBO Sunday night.
"Tesla was very seriously threatened by the Model 3 product ramp," said Musk.
He said that his company was "crazy as cash," and the money was moved to the place where it was "single-digital weeks" away from falling.
The Chief Executive reported that he worked seven days a week on both sides of the production. "I worked in the paint shop, a general meeting, the company's shop," he said.
Read more: There was no other way to do this, "- Elon Musk says" Tesla "everyone works half-hour weeks to climb up a Model 3 model
He suggested that the hours were not good for his benefit. "No one should then enter the job, this is not good," explained Musk.
You can check the current that the Module 3 product ramp caused here:
Musk has talked about the illness caused by Tesla to " make up her Module 3, and her; Stay all night at the office and try to go to the office; sleep without help from sleeping pills.


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Parthian Climbing, the community-focused indoor climbing concept, is to open a 25,000 sq ft state-of-the-art climbing experience at Landsec and Invesco’s Southside Shopping Centre in Wandsworth.
The launch of Parthian Climbing Southside this summer will herald an expansion programme for the brand as it seeks to open in select sites around the country.
Founded in 2004 by climber John Dunne, Parthian Climbing is a high-quality provider of climbing instruction and coaching. Parthian Climbing Southside will be the first indoor climbing facility in the UK to include an exact replica of “The Titan”, the bouldering wall which will feature at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. The space will also include a 2,000 sq ft café, bar and co-working space taking advantage of the extensive views at the venue. The 60-cover café will have a light menu available throughout the day. Completing the offer will be a strength and conditioning gym, and a specialist climbing retail offer.
Working in collaboration with Olympic climbing wall supplier, EP Climbing, the leading edge wall is set to attract professional athletes worldwide as a training tool in the run-up to the Olympics. In addition, the bouldering, auto-belays, and roped climbing (both top rope and lead) will appeal to all levels, from families to climbing enthusiasts. Southside joins Parthian Climbing’s existing sites in Manchester, Reading, Harrogate and Southampton.
CEO of Parthian Climbing, John Dunne, said: “Parthian Climbing Southside is going to be a unique experience. Our relationship with EP Climbing has enabled us to create a new concept that will appeal to all levels and abilities, with The Titan putting us on the map as a global climbing attraction while also embedding Parthian Climbing in the local community. Landsec has been a great partner too, working with us to understand our concept and then deliver the ideal space. This is a key moment for Parthian Climbing and the whole team is committed to creating something exceptional.”
Mike Dawe, Managing Director of EP Climbing UK, added: “Parthian Climbing Southside is an amazing project that has pushed to new heights what is possible in indoor climbing. Re-creating The Titan is a milestone, and we are confident it will boost Britain’s hopes of climbing medals in Paris next year, while also delivering a real legacy piece for the community.”
Mark Warne, Brand Director for F&B and Leisure at Landsec, said: “With guests increasingly looking to experience something new, a strong leisure offering is essential for any successful retail destination.
“Gravity has performed ahead of expectations since opening at Southside two years ago, and has driven demand amongst our guests for more unique experiences. We’re always on the lookout for innovative concepts which can add to the already strong line up at Southside, so we’re excited to work in partnership with Parthian Climbing as they build on their success and open their first location in London.”
Parthian Climbing is the latest in a series of innovative experiences introduced by Landsec across its portfolio, following the launch of Gravity’s 80,000 sq ft leisure experience at Southside, Hangloose, the UK’s fastest zipwire at Bluewater, and, more recently, F1 Arcade, a racing-themed experience at One New Change in St Paul’s.
Stárka Property acted for Parthian Climbing and Colliers represented Landsec.


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Briefly: Chili Peppers limited-edition iPod, Q2 earnings callApple Computer is offering its iTunes music fans a chance to win a limited-edition Red Hot Chili Peppers iPod and also recently announced the date for its second quarter financial conference call.
RHCP Special Edition iPod
As part of its recently announced iTunes promotion with rock band The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Apple plans to dish out a limited-edition Red Hot Chili Peppers iPod, tipsters have noted.
The Red Hot Chili Peppers Promotion is a sweepstakes in which shoppers who pre-order the Red Hot Chili Peppers' new album "Stadium Arcadium" through the iTunes Music Store between 9:00 p.m. (PDT) on April 3, 2006 to 8:59 p.m. (PDT) on May 8, 2006, will be eligible to win a 60 GB iPod with the Bands signatures and logo engraved on the back.
The band and iTunes have also teamed up with Ticketmaster to offer a special concert ticket pre-sale for their upcoming North American tour.
Apple has posted the official contest rules to its Web site.
Apple sets earnings date
Meanwhile, Apple this weekend announced it will hold its Q2 conference call webcast discussing Q2 - 2006 financial results at 2pm PT/5pm ET on Wednesday, April 19, 2006.
The company will release the results just prior to the call. Analyst are expecting the Mac and iPod maker to post earnings of around 44 cents a share.
On Topic: General
- Apple to reportedly bolster iAd user targeting with phone numbers and emails
- Apple researching device waterproofing via vapor deposition, silicone seals
- Judges skeptical Apple suffered irreparable harm from Samsung patent infringement
- Judge approves $415M settlement in 'no-poach' class-action case involving Apple, Google, others
- Yerba Buena Center getting 'Spring Forward' makeover for Monday's Apple Watch event


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NISSAN will begin building the Leaf electric compact car at its Sunderland plant from early 2013, securing hundreds of jobs.
The site will start with annual production capacity 50,000 of the zero-emission vehicles.
The investment is backed by a £20.7m government grant and up to £220m from the European Investment Bank.
Nissan’s move is part of a £420m investment in electric cars.
Business Minister Peter Mandelson said in a statement: "This investment is a fantastic vote of confidence in the Sunderland plant and its excellent workforce."


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TOKYO (Nov. 21, 2001) — The top executives of Bridgestone Corp., parent of Bridgestone/Firestone Inc., and Ford Motor Co. met in Honolulu the weekend of Nov. 17-18 in a step towards reconciliation after the two companies had severed ties over the recall of Firestone tires on Ford Explorers.
Shigeo Watanabe, Bridgestone's CEO, met with Ford COO Nick Scheele, according to Taiji Nishijima, a Bridgestone spokesman. The meeting marked the first high-level talks between the two companies since they terminated their century-old supply relationship in May.
“It seems like they had amicable discussions,” said Mr. Nishijima, who declined to provide other details about the meeting.
Bridgestone and Ford, the world's second-largest auto maker, agreed to have further meetings, with Bridgestone/Firestone Chairman and CEO John Lampe participating next time. Those talks haven't been scheduled yet.
Interviewed on Nov. 6 by Automotive News, a sister publication of Tire Business, Mr. Watanabe said formation of new management at Ford could give Bridgestone “a chance” to be reconciled with the auto maker.
According to a Reuters story published by Automotive News, analysts believe the talks between Mr. Watanabe and Mr. Scheele centered on Ford's demand for cash to cover the cost of its massive recalls of Firestone tires. The Dearborn, Mich.-based car maker has spent $2.6 billion on a program replacing 13 million Firestone tires on Ford vehicles since last year.
While confirming the Honolulu meeting took place, Ken Kitawaki, a Bridgestone Corp. spokesman in Bridgestone/Firestone's Nashville, Tenn., headquarters, declined to comment to Tire Business on the content of the discussions, other than to call the meeting “meaningful, fruitful and productive.”


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U.S. Sen. John Thune
, (R-S.D.), chairman of the Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, Innovation, and the Internet, will convene a hearing titled, “The PACT Act and Section 230: The Impact of the Law that Helped Create the Internet and an Examination of Proposed Reforms for Today’s Online World,” at 10:00 a.m. EDT/ 9:00 a.m. CDT on Tuesday, July 28, 2020. The hearing will examine the important role of Section 230 in promoting and disseminating speech online , and the history, evolution, and expansion of Section 230’s protections for online platforms. The hearing will provide an opportunity to discuss ways to ensure platforms are accountable for their content moderation practices and what legislative measures, from transparency to accountability tools, can empower consumers online.
On June 24, 2020, Thune joined Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), ranking member of the subcommittee, in introducing the Platform Accountability and Consumer Transparency (PACT) Act, bipartisan legislation to update Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. The PACT Act would strengthen transparency in the process online platforms use to moderate content and hold those companies accountable for content that violates their own policies or is illegal.
- The Honorable Christopher Cox, counsel, Morgan, Lewis & Bokius LLP; director, NetChoice
- Ms. Elizabeth Banker, deputy general counsel, Internet Association
- Mr. Jeff Kosseff, assistant professor, Cyber Science Department, United States Naval Academy
- Mr. Olivier Sylvain, professor of law, Fordham University
Thursday, July 28, 2020
10:00 a.m. EDT/ 9:00 a.m. CDT
Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, Innovation, and the Internet
Witness testimony, opening statements, and a live video of the hearing will be available on www.commerce.senate.gov.


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The Post Office could soon handle packages for Amazon as its historic exclusivity deal with Royal Mail comes to an end.
Royal Mail, the UK’s largest parcel delivery company which handles over a billion packages every year, yesterday announced that it had signed its first ever “non-exclusivity” deal with the Post Office.
According to the Post Office, which is still state-owned, this new agreement “allows us to work with other third parties, marking an important milestone.”
Amazon and delivery giant Hermes are understood to have already approached the Post Office, which has 11,500 branches across the UK, and are engaged in talks to potentially gain access to its extensive network.
The Post Office’s chief executive Nick Read said in a video message to staff: “The growth of online retailing means there is much more competition…We can provide online retailers access to the UK’s biggest parcels pick-up and drop-off network.
“You won’t be too surprised to know that we have been approached by third-party providers already. And clearly we will be having conversations with them to understand what the opportunity looks like.”
Royal Mail and the Post Office’s exclusivity deal is due to come to an end in March next year.


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Eight new marijuana markets slated to launched in 2018. Get ready for the next iteration of the green rush.
The marijuana industry is poised to grow by leaps and bounds in 2018, when at least eight of the 11 states that passed significant medical or recreational cannabis measures last year are expected to start sales.
That will lead to billions of dollars in additional annual revenues for the cannabis sector and create thousands of business opportunities.
Marijuana markets are expected to launch, as of now:
MMJ has been legal in Montana since 2004, but a law passed in 2011 limited dispensaries to just three patients, effectively eliminating the state’s medical cannabis industry. Voters approved a ballot initiative to legalize and regulate commercial MMJ cultivation operations and dispensaries in November, and some dispensaries have already begun reopening their doors to customers.
Though Montana’s basic MMJ system has been allowed to relaunch, lawmakers are still drafting final rules for the new program, which probably won’t take effect until the end of 2017 or the beginning of 2018.
Florida must begin implementing regulations, issuing ID cards and distributing business licenses for its new full-strength medical marijuana program by September.
Six licensed, vertically integrated businesses are already operating in Florida through the state’s CBD-focused program. Traditional MMJ could be ready as soon as dispensaries become licensed under the new program, meaning sales could start as early as September. However, it’s not clear if dispensaries will be ready to sell MMJ to patients immediately after receiving a license, and a launch window of Q4 2017 seems more likely.
Arkansas has postponed the rulemaking deadline for its emerging MMJ program. Officials now have until early May to finalize program rules instead of the original deadline of early March.
The deadline for the state to begin accepting applications for dispensaries and cultivation facilities also has been pushed back a month, to July 1. As a result, sales are expected to begin in the first quarter of 2018.
North Dakota passed legislation in late January preventing the state from issuing or receiving applications for MMJ dispensaries – as well as handing out certificates of registration – until July 31, or the start date stipulated in any new measure enabling the sale and use of MMJ, whichever comes first.
While the market should get off the ground sometime in 2018, legislation is still being drafted, so no further details are available.
Maine passed a bill in January giving lawmakers extra time to draft regulations for its recreational marijuana program, delaying the start of adult-use sales until February 2018. Under the original ballot initiative passed by voters in the 2016 election, the program would have launched as early as September 2017.
A bill to allow existing Maine dispensaries to sell to the recreational market while lawmakers draft adult-use program regulations will be proposed this year, though it’s not clear whether it has enough support to pass.
Massachusetts lawmakers delayed the start of adult-use sales even further, giving the state six more months to establish regulatory and licensing procedures. Rec stores were originally scheduled to open in January 2018, but that’s now been extended until June 2018.
By January 2018, Nevada must issue regulations and begin accepting applications for recreational businesses in the state, though only current MMJ license holders will be allowed to apply for a rec license.
Under the original plan, sales of recreational marijuana likely won’t begin until the second quarter of 2018. But regulators have proposed a plan that would allow rec sales through existing MMJ dispensaries as early as this July.
California’s adult-use market – set to be the largest in the nation – will begin accepting applications for recreational businesses on Jan. 1, 2018.
While sales could begin by the middle of 2018, delays in the rollout of the program are likely. Regulations are being drafted simultaneously for California’s massive MMJ market – previously governed by a patchwork of local laws and regulations – which may interfere with the implementation of the rec program.
Pennsylvania’s MMJ program appears to be moving along at a slightly quicker pace than Ohio’s, as the application window for the first phase of the licensing process just wrapped up on March 20.
During Phase 1, 27 dispensary licenses and 12 grower/processor licenses will be awarded. Growers/processors will have six months to get up and running from the date they win licenses, and dispensaries are expected to begin operating by mid-2018.
Final details regarding the application process for medical marijuana cultivators in Ohio will be in place by May, with license winners announced in September. Applications for dispensaries and processors will also become available in September. A lot remains to be done in Ohio, but if the rollout goes smoothly, dispensaries could be open by the third quarter of 2018.
Legislation passed last May paved the way for a viable, regulated MMJ program in Louisiana.
Two state-run universities – Louisiana State and Southern – will oversee all cultivation and processing of marijuana and hope to start planting by the end of 2017. By mid-2018, product should be available for sale in “pharmacies,” privately run retail businesses that sell MMJ and operate much like a traditional dispensary.
March 27, 2017 by Eli McVey for Marijuana Business Daily
Marijuana Marketing for Businesses teaches entrepreneurs the “how to’s” of marketing with focus on increase profitability and market position. The lack of a good marketing strategy and the knowledge to initiate it affects profitability and expansion. Your marketing campaign can make or break a business.
Starting a business is a huge commitment of time and money. You can have the best product or service available. You have a website, logo, fanpage, cards, you are ready for the customers or clients. “If you build it they will come” only worked the movie (Field of Dreams). You need a plan to bring the customers or clients.
It’s called a marketing plan and strategy.
You may be thinking that you do not need a multi-level marketing plan and strategy, all you have to do is set up a table at an event. But, how do you distinguish your business from the other businesses using the same strategy? How do you reach the people who cannot get to your table? How do you turn the attendees into your customers or clients?
It’s called a marketing plan and strategy.
How do you reach the people who do not attend the events?
What type of networking events are effective?
Are print ads profitable?
Can you be doing more with social media platforms?
Is your SEO current?
Are you doing SEM?
You don’t have the answers, so you either randoming select an action to focus on or you begin looking into hiring a marketing agency and realize it is not in your budget.
Marijuana Marketing for Businesses is limited to four entrepreneurs and is an intense one day workshop that provides you with a personalized marketing plan and strategy, the tools to initiate and maintain it, and marketing resources. Marijuana Marketing for Businesses is a cost-effective solution. Marijuana Marketing for Businesses is an investment in the success and growth of your company.
For more information visit The Women’s Cannabis Chamber of Commerce


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For an industry whose lot in life is to invent the future and challenge the status quo, technology’s giants are astonishingly stubborn when faced with change. And no two companies personify that more than Microsoft (s MSFT) and Intel (s INTC) — the glimmer twins of the personal computer revolution. For decades the PC buying cycle left these two companies sitting on a mountain of cash higher than even the highest Himalayan peaks. I guess when you are sitting at such heights, it is hard to look down and recognize that the base is being chipped away.
To be sure, I am not saying that Microsoft and Intel are going to go away tomorrow. Their fiscal muscle is enough to put even Popeye to shame. And monopolies (even quasi-monopolies) take forever to fade.
But for the first time they are facing a challenge that is much more profound and broader than they have ever faced in their monopolistic lives: competition and changing tastes. How they deal with these changes is going to write the next chapter of their corporate history.
PC sales horror show
But let’s take a step back. The signs of crumbling came last week when research companies like IDC and Gartner shared data that showed double digit percentage declines in PC sales during the first quarter of 2013. To be sure, the first ninety days of the year are relatively slow for sales of consumer goods, considering that people go on a buying binge during the holiday season, but still a 14 percent year over year decline during the quarter is not something to skim over. It was so bad that even downward trend defying Apple (s AAPL) PC sales are expected to head south.
Many media reports blamed the Windows 8 operating system for this debacle, but this is the fourth quarter in a row we have seen PC sales sagging; we can’t blame the new operating system. The reason why media and analysts continue to make that correlation is because we have in the past made that correlation: new Windows equals big PC sales, almost like clockwork every three or four years. Except now it is not true because our relationship with PC (as we knew it) has changed.
The new personal
It has been just about six years since Apple’s (s aapl) iPhone launched and changed our expectations of computers and our relationship with technology. It became more intimate and personal than either Intel or Microsoft had imagined. It wasn’t as that the companies were unaware of mobile phones, or that iPhone was the first smartphone — Nokia and Palm had been selling them for quite a few years — but the iPhone and later Android phones became truly “personal.”
They made us spend less and less time on our PCs. They were always there, and even when the PC sat on the table, the phone in your hand was more fun and easy to use. And then three years ago came the iPad (and later other tablets) to take away even more of our attention from the PC. And when the iPad launched, I knew my PC was going to become less important. The iPad was my slate of imagination.
In the end, an increasing number of people are finding that they don’t need a whiz-bang PC anymore and they don’t need to upgrade because they can do a lot of things on their iPad or Kindle Fire or Samsung Android tablet.
The signs of this change were obvious to anyone who was paying attention. When Apple dropped “computer” from its name, the late (and then chief executive) Steve Jobs pointed out that it was a sign of the times and where the world was going. Here is what I wrote then:
Apple is making the phone do all things a computer does – surf, email, browse, iChat, music and watch videos. Nary a keyboard or mouse in sight, and everything running on OS-X. While I am not suggesting that this replaces our notebooks or desktops for crucial productivity tasks, the iPhone (if it lives up to its hype) is at least going to decrease our dependence on it.
The future is here
Six years later, the world has really changed for the twin gods of the PC. Unlike Apple and Google, who have hitched their bandwagons to wireless devices, Microsoft and Intel are still weighed down by the legacy of their past. I mean, it is hard for Microsoft to look beyond the profits from Windows and Office. It will always look at the future through the lens of those two products. I have been suspect of Intel’s ability to come out ahead as well.
Intel, too, is so married to the idea of selling more expensive PC chips and silicon for servers that it doesn’t know how to readjust its focus and its fiscal models around a world that wants lower priced chips for a different and always shifting market. Since then the world has embraced the little pocket marvels with amazing speed and that in turn has unleashed a new cellphone economics. The mobile chips are getting faster and faster. And thanks to demand that far strips the demand of classic PC devices, they are getting cheaper.
The mobile phone market is so big that it has attracted all sorts of chip makers into the business: Qualcomm (s QCOM), MediaTek and Nvidia (S NVDA) are some of the players in the mobile chip business that are relentlessly flooding the market with faster, cheaper and more powerful chips. They are being helped by ARM Holdings, (s ARM) which keeps beefing up its chip technology and expanding its possible uses by focusing on not making chips, but instead licensing chip designs to others like Qualcomm.
Intel has to react to these guys; not to Advanced Micro Devices, the perennial also-ran that was always weighed down with an anemic balance sheet and an inability to compete even when it had better chips. And we all know, Qualcomm is no AMD. MediaTek knows how to play the mobile chip game better than anyone else. What does Intel have to show for its mobile efforts?
Change is hard
A lot of noise – press releases, product releases and a handful of devices. Sorry, but I remain resolute in my belief that the company’s DNA is making this transition to anywhere computing very difficult. That inability to change is reflected in the company’s current dilemma over the chief executive position. In an article this week, The New York Times detailed the likely replacements for outgoing CEO Paul Otellini.
Analysts say the two top contenders to be Intel’s next C.E.O. are Brian Krzanich and David Perlmutter, who are close to Intel’s core business. Mr. Krzanich, Intel’s chief operating officer, oversees its fabrication facilities. Mr. Perlmutter, the chief product officer, oversees chip design. Renee James, the head of Intel’s software group, is considered a more remote chance to run what has long been a hardware company. And Stacy Smith, Intel’s chief financial officer, is well liked inside and outside the company, but like Mr. Otellini, lacks an engineering background, which diminishes his prospects.
Regardless of who becomes the new Intel chief, the problem is that they were all weaned on the classic PC business, one that is changing with the rise of smartphones and tablets and lower power anywhere-computing devices.
That said (and as my wise colleague Kevin Tofel continues to remind me), Intel is doing relatively well with its Atom lineup of chips and he feels it is one of the reasons why Microsoft RT on ARM devices is facing challenges.
The full Windows 8 tablets that run on Atom processors priced at the same price as RT devices (and with the similar battery life) should give Intel some hope. However, their addiction to the PC-style model and hefty margins that come from being almost monopolistic are going to challenge Intel in the future. As I wrote in the past, companies are defined by their corporate DNA and that determines their outcome.
Microsoft too has similar challenges as it grapples with the idea of competition and a world it doesn’t and can’t control anymore. More on that another day, but in closing, I would like to repeat what I said at the start of this piece: the companies that spearhead the talk of disruption and innovation are the ones who are afraid to disrupt themselves.
17 thoughts on “Intel's dilemma and the slowly crumbling PC ecosystem”
Between Intel and Microsoft, Intel has the better chance of surviving the transition. It holds a key advantage over its rivals: it owns the process development technologies and manufacturing facilities, whereas its competitors are limited by the ability of companies like TSMC to bring on new process technologies and have to compete with each other (and Apple) for capacity. As Intel gets serious in mobile, I believe you’ll see much faster and lower power processors at better price points than what’s available today. It’s very similar to what happened in the transition from desktop to laptop. Intel was slow to move, but when they did, they eventually dominated the market due to their superior processing technology, processor knowledge and manufacturing prowess.
Greg Borodaty is quite right. The breathtaking Microsoft reversals, surprises and immense new challenges have not occurred overnight, or without management culpability. Those of us who were forced to contend with the legendary Microsoft arrogance in the 1990’s see its current situation with some irony.
As you’re saying, Intel’s biggest obstacles are the company’s DNA and the cost structure. The first one because it means Intel will still focus on doing things the “old way”, and until they adapt, it could be too late.
And the second, because Intel simply can’t survive in the consumer space (and probably even the server space later, if ARM catches up to them there, too) as long as they don’t adapt their business to be profitable on $20 chips.
Sure, Atom may be “okay” (it’s not great, certainly not enough to beat the best ARM chips out there), but that Atom business is currently subsidized by the much more profitable Core business. Even if Intel can’t stay competitive with ARM on performance/battery life, it’s going to be very hard for them to stay competitive on price.
As the ARM chips become faster and faster, Intel will need to either make Atom just as fast or faster (which then presents another problem – what happens to the Core business, if Atom undercuts it?), or make the Core chips as energy efficient as the ARM chips, which even if it were possible, they would still be several years away from achieving it.
But in both cases, Intel is not going to be profitable. If they continue with Atom, and end up virtually eliminating the Core chips from the consumer market, because they aren’t competitive on price, then Intel *as a company* will have to survive on $20 chips (actually I think Atoms are about twice that right now, so even Atom isn’t competitive on price with ARM chips).
And if they do get the Core chips to the ARM level in efficiency, that will also mean regressing or stagnating in performance for the “ultra-super-mobile” Core versions, or whatever they will call them. They’ve already showed a proof of concept earlier this year with that dual core 800 Mhz IVB chip (that still had 10-12W TDP I think). And if finally, the ultra-mobile Core chips are just as fast and efficient as ARM chips, they will still be $100+ chips, so again, Intel can’t seriously use that to compete.
So in the end, what might kill Intel is not the lack of technical expertise in the ultra-efficient chips, but the fact that they will have to lower the prices of their chips so much, that it may not be sustainable for the company – at least without dramatically slashes costs, salaries, and all the “bloat” from the company, so they can be just as “lean” as ARM chip makers.
Intel actually has an advantage over the other ARM companies in terms of pricing power. The reason is that Intel has its own foundries where as the ARM companies are fabless and have to pay companies like TSMC a lot of money to make their chips. TSMC has margins of 50%, its not cheap.
Intel not only has their own manufacturing but they are several years ahead in technology. This is a big advantage because it gives Intel a much higher yield on their chips. So, their cost per chip is lower because of the more advanced technology then on top of that Intel gets to keep the foundry margins for themselves instead of paying them to TSMC.
Also keep in mind that Intel doesn’t just make the chips. They make many different kinds of components. So while the chip itself may only be $20, Intel will also get money from the other components.
The foundry advantage that Intel has is applicable throughout their product lines. Those factories are not restricted to just one type of chip. They make chips for all kinds of uses. So when you look at market share as a factor driving down costs, you need to look at the entire picture. Its not just smartphones or tablets, it is smartphones + tablets + pcs + servers + embedded devices. That’s a lot of market share for Intel right off the bat even starting at low levels in smartphones and tablets.
Om, There is another trend, computing is going away from computers (things that need booting) towards appliances. People are just sick and tired of being constantly made aware of the short comings of the operating system. They prefer an invisible OS.
Om Malik’s post on Intel is a classic case of “visualizing” a glass half full or half empty. Other competitor bloggers have come to a much different conclusion, as recently as yesterday, based on the identical facts. As one blogger pointed out, Intel and IBM have a prestigious history of reinventing themselves over many decades by plowing money into R&D.. Another problem is seizing on short term Intel results. Peter Drucker is famous for saying, “long-term results cannot be achieved by piling short-term results on short-term results.”
Longer term, one speaks pessimistically about Intel at their own peril.
I don’t agree that Intel is in any kind of trouble. Intel makes chips and they are way ahead of competitors in their foundry capabilities. They just released a lot of new chips this year that will go into smartphones and tablets. In another year or two they will be able to put out chips using their 14nm technology. So I believe that Intel chips are going to be widely used in the Android market.
Intel also has a fantastic data center business which is growing very quickly. From what I understand for every six smartphones sold, in aggregate one server is needed to support them.
Also I would like to mention that even if Intel is never able to get business for Apple’s ios devices they would still have a huge opportunity to provide foundry services for Apple. Intel has the most advanced foundries in the world and Intel could make a lot of money partnering with Apple in this way. The other large foundries like TSMC have margins of 50% and their foundries are not as leading edge as Intel’s.
Intel had better hurry, once Apple gets the A-Series chips into the performance range of laptop and desktop computers look out.
Intel’s mythical fabrication advantages have largely been irrelevant in the market section that could most benefit from them: Mobile. Node shrinks are supposed to bring advantages in power consumption. At a full node advantage Atom = ARM in performance per watt. That’s kind of bad news since Atom was originally designed to use the spare capacity on older process nodes and maximize the revenue from those investments.
Also, we’re hitting diminishing returns on node shrinks. We’ve already seen that with the move to 22nm. With both a die shrink and the additon of a Finfet architecture, they barely managed to get half the advantages in speed and wattage that previous shrinks netted them. This may have been due to inefficiencies in the Ivy Bridge chip itself (likely induced by the lack of compitition in the x86 space), or an indication of other issues. From my understanding of the issue ever since 40nm, this has been an issue though with everyone, and can be seen from the modest gains in ARM and GPU architectures as they’ve scaled down, speed and wattage haven’t scaled down in the same ways they used to.
This means that increasingly the advantage to be had out of die shrinks is a minor performance bump, minor reduction in wattage, and the inevitable price advantages of squeezing more chips onto the same amount of silicon. However, as we move into needing hard radiation to do the lithography at increasingly smaller resolutions, those price advantages are being offset by tremendous R and D costs, as well as ramp up costs.
We’ll see what Haswell brings. But looking at the market form the outside, it certainly looks like Intel is getting to the point where the competition is able to reach ‘good enough’ faster than Intel can move the CPU performance ceiling. That plus decreased need for more CPU power in the consumer market means that for the first time, Intel is facing a market where it can’t just make a better product that consumers can’t live without. This time they face the very real threat of A) overserving the market, and B) facing disruption from below and on the side. The top of the market may be enough to keep them going, but probably not. Especially if they stumble, or their process advantage fails to net them actual benefits, in which case they could suffer the same fate that Intel inflicted on the Big Iron makers they displaced on their way to market dominance.
Intel is too big. Break it up. This idea will be as welcome as a skunk at a garden party. Break out some of the fabs, like AMD did. Slice the company horizontally, vertically, or both. Some parts won’t survive. This is key. Fear of failure is a great motivator, and Intel can’t see that happening from atop its huge pile of cash.
Roland, you said it right… the idea will be as welcome as a skunk.
I don’t see the PC disappearing any time soon – you just cannot replace serious hardware with a luxury toy.
Intel is in a much better position than Microsoft, they have diversified technologies and are not only dependent on the PC market. Currently the PC/Server market is their cash cow, but they can move into other areas as they have the know-how.
Microsoft is in a worse position, their mobile efforts is not yielding the results they hoped for, Windows 8 is not the big attraction they bargained on, and Azure not the trumpcard they bargained on.
Intel’s numbers came out yesterday. PCs are only down around 6% while servers are up 8%. The sky is not falling.
Intel put out 22nm Atom products this year. In another year or two they will have 14nm Atom chips. Intel will be a big player in smartphones and tablets within the next few years.
Just wondering company setup by Moore (law) and Andy groove (only paranoid can survive) , why had missed the boat and can’t cop up with changes?
It seems like we are entering a new era. The convergence of smartphones, tablets and video lliberated from legacy hardware and software have created the neXtWave.
I go for weeks without my laptop. Wondows did not help their cause with the confused Windows 8 platform. Apple’s laptops seem ridiculously overpriced for what they offer. Google seems to be closer to how our digital lives are unfolding.
Certsknly there will continue to be a market for laptops. Writing a novel on a smartphone is not practicable. But key market segments are abandoning phone companies, cable companies. The advent of Netflix and other on-demand video sources make older business models seem increasingly irrelevant. Netflix acquired more new clients than HBO. Even Verizon is experimenting with a newer business model.
The convergence of disparate devices poweted by incompatible operating systems able to combine data from all manner of devices. Cloud storage is eliminating the need to chose one type or format.
Intel’s market claiim is dwindling. As is Microsoft.
But as IBM showed jn their latest esrnings reports, good is no longdr good enough.
Whichever company or companies meet the needs of the convergence evolution will be the future the neXtWave web.
The reason for the shift into mobile devices can be also attributed to the availability of the cloud


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ANA 2012 Annual Conference Opens with Record Attendance
ORLANDO, Fla. – October 11, 2012 – The 102nd Annual ANA (Association of National Advertisers) “Masters of Marketing” Conference began today. The theme of this year’s conference is Growth: Mastering Brands and Driving Results; it is ANA’s largest event to date.
During his opening remarks to more than 2,000 attendees, ANA President and CEO Bob Liodice gave a ten-point assessment of the state of the advertising and marketing industry:
- Brands – Liodice noted that brand value has grown 66 percent in the past six years, and emphasized the importance of brand valuation in the industry.
- Media Investment – Given the weak economic climate, Liodice is pleased with reports of five percent media growth, and year-over-year statistics indicating that media spending is tracking higher than real GDP. Liodice discussed excitement and growth in a number of channels, including digital, mobile, social, iTV, outdoor and TV.
- Creative – Liodice congratulated a number of Cannes Lions winners and praised the industry’s creative prowess.
- Effectiveness – Beyond creativity, Liodice stressed the importance of superior effectiveness. He highlighted the Effies as the industry’s premier effectiveness yardstick.
- Measurement and Accountability – Liodice spotlighted industry efforts to bolster this category, particularly the 3MS (Making Measurement Make Sense) initiative. He also touched on the role of The Media Ratings Council as the new governing body for industry standard creation and announced a summit on brand-specific commercial ratings in November.
- Industry Productivity – The boards of the ANA, 4A’s and many other organizations have ratified Ad-ID as a key focus point to enhance industry productivity, and Liodice reemphasized this, touching on the billions in savings and high return on investment the standard promises.
- Industry Leadership – Liodice pointed out several key industry leadership/advocacy initiatives:
- Procurement – Liodice emphasized the need for transparency in the procurement process, and the proper handling of media and state rebates and incentives
- ICANN – While the gTLD rollout proceeded as planned, the ANA and its partners successfully elevated the issue and advertiser concerns. The ANA continues to support the creation of a “Do Not Sell” registry.
The conference is being held at the Rosen Shingle Creek in Orlando, Florida, through Saturday, October 13.
About the ANA
Founded in 1910, the ANA (Association of National Advertisers) leads the marketing community by providing its members with insights, collaboration, and advocacy. ANA's membership includes 450 companies with 10,000 brands that collectively spend over $250 billion in marketing and advertising. The ANA strives to communicate marketing best practices, lead industry initiatives, influence industry practices, manage industry affairs, and advance, promote, and protect all advertisers and marketers. For more information, visit www.ana.net, follow us on Twitter, join us on Facebook, or visit our YouTube channel.
Luna Newton, CooperKatz & Company for the ANA
Onsite at the Conference: (917) 755-1655 or firstname.lastname@example.org
Marcus Hardy, CooperKatz & Company for the ANA
(917) 595-3043 or email@example.com


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[Tribune] Leveraging AI to provide a more human customer experience
Within a customer service department, artificial intelligence pinpoints the customers most likely to respond and allows back, middle and front office processes to be brought into line, according to Estelle Villard, vice-president and head of Medallia France.
Not long ago, listening to customers across all business interaction channels was an overwhelming task. However, by harnessing artificial intelligence (AI), and in particular deep learning, to study various experience data (direct or indirect customer feedback, digital engagement data, individual preferences, buying habits, etc.), it is much easier to detect patterns, predict behaviours and anticipate customer needs. This is thanks to AI's ability to analyse and interpret structured and unstructured data from fragmented channels in a manner that is beyond the reach of human beings. Moreover, it can do so in real time, allowing companies to make instant decisions based on the information obtained.
At a time of enforced digital transformation, business leaders are realising the necessity of deploying AI to speed up and optimise their day-to-day operations if they want to stay ahead of their competitors. Improving the customer experience is the main benefit of implementing it in business.
Deep learning can contribute to the rapid discovery of rich customer insights with minimal effort. For example, text analytics can be used to intelligently categorise survey results, social media comments, customer reviews. It can be used to effectively analyse customer feelings and even discover impact by theme. It prioritises unstructured data and helps companies prioritise enhancements to retain customers and reduce customer churn.
Using AI in this way turns qualitative analysis into quantitative science. Once structured, the information can be combined with operational and financial data to identify patterns, trends, risks and opportunities, just as other departments do with digital data.
The decline of face-to-face interactions despite customer preferences
Customer behaviour has changed significantly in the last year and companies have had to adapt to the mass shift to online interactions. We have all become accustomed to interacting via the internet and so it seems that this shift to digital, fuelled by the exponential growth of the global datasphere, is here to stay. Furthermore, while digital technologies will continue to grow, the human touch points available to customers will continue to shrink.
However, this trend runs counter to the regularly expressed preference of customers for a more human and personalised experience. When asked, customers may be reluctant to accept AI in their day-to-day interactions with brands, particularly when it replaces human contact. However, Gartner predicts that by 2022, 70% of customer interactions will involve emerging technologies such as machine learning applications, chatbots and mobile messaging, a significant increase from the 15% reported back in 2018.
AI can offer a more personalised experience
It may sound like a headache, but technology actually provides a solution. Effective customer strategy in the digital age is all about leveraging technology to deliver a more personalised experience. Even as face-to-face interactions decrease, AI makes it possible to pay attention to each individual customer to a degree that was previously unimaginable and to humanise digital customer contact processes.
Let's take the example of a call center. The combination of artificial and human intelligence can transform and personalize the customer experience. As one of the few channels through which consumers can interact with other human beings, the call center is typically where the most complex problems are solved (simple requests, such as a password reset, having already been transferred to online self-service). So it's important that any interaction with a call center goes smoothly.
Artificial intelligence can contribute to this. Chatbots, for example, are able to efficiently filter out customer challenges that can be solved with ease and speed without human thought. Smarter and more adaptable than FAQs, these bots can handle problems with minimal complexity while the customer retains the feeling of having received the personal attention they deserve. This frees up call center agents to handle more complex issues that require human intervention. In this way, AI can help humanize the ongoing digitalization that affects one of the main remaining touch points between companies and customers.
Using AI for empathy
While AI clearly has the ability to analyze masses of data to discover trends, its use goes far beyond that. There may be times when a customer hits a novel obstacle on their journey. While the problem may not be symptomatic of a larger trend, the moment should still be captured and analyzed to determine what went wrong. An individual customer is no less important than groups of customers. Effective experience management is about ensuring that each customer's problem is solved to their satisfaction.
These technologies can foster an empathetic approach to potential difficulties, which could lead to a negative customer experience, just like financial services. Banks are using AI to analyze behaviors to determine the best communication channels when it comes to collecting debts from customers. Most notably, the technology can identify which customers are most likely to respond when contacted by phone, email, or even social media.
Similarly, companies can intelligently identify customers who should be considered vulnerable, based on their demographics, age, account history and even speech patterns, to ensure that communications to them are tailored to their specific situation. The bank may even seek to make a personal connection by mimicking the customer's language, so that an automated process seems human to the customer.
The importance of providing a human customer experience in an increasingly digital world
The preference to be assisted by humans rather than machines is frequently cited by consumers. But what if AI itself can help deliver a more human customer experience? The incorporation of bots and other solutions for process alignment between back, middle and front office can transform customer services. Basically, technology holds a unique power to humanize. In an increasingly digital world, this is one way to continue to provide that all-important human customer experience.
Customer experience used to be an aspect that companies focused on during times of stability, and one of the first to fall off the agenda in times of crisis and budget cuts. These priorities have been quickly shifted. An AI-based customer experience strategy is proving valuable in the face of today's challenges. Moreover, it is essential to keep companies close to their customers, to show empathy, and to anticipate and satisfy consumer needs in an agile, customer-centric decision-making culture.


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Ever since 2011, Marvel Comics had codes along with their printed books, both individual issues and trade paperback that offered a complimentary digital copy of whatever customers had just purchased. That’s all about to change come next month.
Marvel has announced that it is completely overhauling the digital redemption codes and only offering them about two or more digital issues starting in February and that the digital books being offered will change from week to week.
The digital issues being offered when this is implemented are Civil War II #0, the first issue of the current Captain Marvel run, and Wolverine #66, the first issue of the Old Man Logan story arc.
Senior Vice President of Sales, David Gabriel said of the decision, “Marvel is continuing our commitment by offering our fans the best value in comics along with honoring our cornerstone of the comic book industry – the retailers. Our intent in evolving our digital code program is to offer our fans more value per dollar spent. Replacing the free digital copy, our bonus digital comics will offer fans free entry points for current on sale collected editions and, in turn, invite additional and repeat traffic into our trusted retailers.”
I’ve taken advantage of these redemption codes myself in the past and found them to be a great read in addition to a nice value. I’ve personally been reading all single issues of comics digitally for the past few years now and bought the trades in print, depending if I like the series enough or a certain storyline.
Though this move has been met with some criticism, particularly from a Change.org petition started by James MacDonald of Calgary Canada, which is almost certainly a pseudonym since James MacDonald is the civilian identity of Alpha Flight leader, Guardian. Or maybe his parents are really big fans of the popular Canadian superhero team; take your pick.
The petition reads, “Marvel Comics has just decided to change how they run their digital code program. They will no longer give digital copies of the title purchased but instead give a set book(s) each week. Please help have this decision changed to actually give fans/customers the best value for their money.”
There are as of right now 576 signatures out of the desired 1,000.
What are your thoughts on this? Upside? Were you a big fan of the redemption codes? Let us know in the comments below!


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High-efficiency solar panel maker Solaria announced today it has raised $65 million in a fourth round of financing, $20 million more than its original target.
Solaria’s success flies in the face of recent speculation that the sun is setting for solar venture capitalism — and is another example of how investors are favoring crystalline silicon panels, which Solaria makes, over thin-film silicon makers. The company raised $45 million in May, and then locked down the additional $20 million in funding.
A number of solar players such as MiaSolé and Nanosolar bet on the trend of less silicon use when silicon prices were high, and banked on thin-film modules that are cheaper to make but have less efficiency than crystalline silicon modules. But silicon prices have since dropped, and those companies have struggled to get financing. In fact, Applied Materials dropped out of the thin-film business altogether in July, although Oerlikon stays firmly in the game with its announcement yesterday of a cheaper, more efficient line of thin-film products.
Solaria plans to use its new influx of cash to increase availability of its patented modules, which are currently available in North America, Europe and Asia. The new financing includes $10 million set aside for a new growth loan facility.
The company’s appeal lies in its technology, which can cut capital expenditure dramatically for solar module manufacturing. Its solar modules are built for use in tracking systems, which follow the sun’s movement across the sky to maximize absorption and are used in large-scale solar projects by industrial companies and utilities.
Solaria’s modules also pack a powerful punch thanks to its optical concentrators, which absorb more sunlight and can increase output by up to 30 percent. Its modules have about a 14 percent efficiency rating.
The company has high-profile backers such as CMEA Capital, which led this round of financing along with DBL Investors. It also signed on new investors in this round – Adams Street partners, Cycad Group and Western Technologies.
Other investors include Sigma Partners, NGEN Partners, Mitsui Ventures and Savitr Capital and EnXco.
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