text:
$MTCH (owner of Tinder) stock - swipe left or right
6 August 2019:
- Online dating services provider Match Group forecast third-quarter sales above estimates and reported better-than-expected second-quarter revenue on Tuesday, as its popular app Tinder attracted more users.
- The app reported 5.2 million average subscribers in the quarter, 1.5 million more than last year.
- Revenue for the three months ended June 30 rose about 18% to $498 million, above expectations of $489 million.
IAC/InterActive Corp. is considering giving up control of its top two money-makers: Match Group Inc. and ANGI Homeservices Inc. in an effort to streamline its sprawling operations. The stock jumped on the news.
Match’s shares have gained more than seven-fold since its initial public offering in 2015. On Wednesday, its shares rallied the most ever after reporting surprisingly positive second-quarter earnings, with huge subscriber growth in the online dating app Tinder. The strength of Match’s financial results caused IAC shares to gain 11% Wednesday. They spiked 6.5% in extended trading after IAC’s earnings results and news that the company is considering spinning off Match and ANGI.
Match is among IAC’s greatest hits. The stock has nearly doubled this year alone, thanks largely to soaring Tinder membership. IAC sold a portion of Match in a 2015 IPO at $12. The stock is now $85, and IAC’s Match stake is worth close to $19 billion. It accounts for more than 90% of IAC’s current $21 billion market value.
But Match is obscuring IAC’s overall value. “Match has gotten so big and successful and is such a significant part of IAC, that one became a proxy for the other,” IAC CEO Joey Levin says.
Motley Fool are pushing this as a BUY quite heavily including the free advice if you signup to mail list
I’ve been surprised by how well Match has done throughout the pandemic, but I guess it’s been a boredom thing for singles under lockdown!?
MTCH is one of my long term holdings.
Can someone at FT please add the Tech tag on this share, it’s currently not tagged so falls into ETF, commodities or other.
Messes up my pie chart haha
This might be interesting recap of their recent earnings
Looks like Zuck might be swiping right on the whole of match group.


text:
“Fake Meat” Law in OK Challenged by Plant-Based Food Associations
A law in Oklahoma is being challenged by plant-based associations as a violation of the first amendment. The Plant-Based Foods Association (PBFA), the trade association representing more than 170 plant-based food companies, Upton’s Naturals, a small, independently owned maker of plant-based foods based in Chicago, Illinois, and a founding board member of PBFA, and the Institute for Justice (IJ) filed the lawsuit against the Oklahoma Governor and the Commissioner of Agriculture.
Representative Toni Hasenbeck (R) and Senator Micheal Bergstrom (R) authored HB 3806, which addresses labeling alternative, or "fake," meat products. The new law in Oklahoma, which takes effect Nov. 1, 2020, would make current labels illegal by requiring font size to be as large as the product’s name for qualifying terms such as “vegan” or “plant-based.”
“Clever marketing practices and deceptive labeling on plant-based meat alternatives can be confusing for shoppers looking to purchase meat-based items at the grocery store,” Bergstrom said in a press release. “This measure ensures the clarity and accuracy of labeling meat and plant-based food items, giving consumers peace of mind that they are purchasing exactly what they intended.”
“Our labels are perfectly clear that our food is 100% vegan,” said Daniel Staackmann, founder of Upton’s Naturals. “But now our meat industry competitors in Oklahoma want to force us to redesign our labels as if our safe, healthy products were potentially harmful. It’s not the first time we’ve had to fight a state law created by our competitors, and we look forward again to defending our First Amendment right to clearly communicate with our customers.” PBFA said in a news release, “even though it is obvious that Upton’s Natural’s foods do not contain meat, the law would require changes to their food labels -- something the small company would not be able to afford.”
This bill was a lead priority for the Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association (OCA) in the 2020 legislative session, as it worked with the Oklahoma Pork Council. The bill passed through the state House and Senate to the governor’s desk to become state law. OCA and the Oklahoma Pork Council issued the following joint statement this week. “We believe if a product wants to pass itself as beef, pork, or meat, then it must be properly labeled so consumers will know exactly what they are purchasing. This language clarifies that “beef” must come from cattle, that “pork” must come from a pig, and that “meat” must come from livestock. We look forward to working with the State of Oklahoma in defending this commonsense law.”

domain: news


text:
Taiwan will take on the growing cruise market by launching a program to simplify the visa application process for travelers visiting the island's ports, an official from Taiwan International Ports Corporation said Friday.
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) and Ministry of Transportation and Communications have recently reached an agreement to outline measures to simplify the visa process for travelers arriving on cruise liners, said Wei Shuo-liang, a spokesman for the Port of Keelung, which is under the management of the company.
The measures will be similar to a visa free program and will not require advanced applications, Wei said, adding that visitors will receive a temporary travel pass onboard after their cruise operators notify NIA of travelers' information.
However, Chinese passengers will not be included in the program, Wei said.
Around 10,000 cruise travelers, mostly from Southeast Asian countries, will benefit from the program, he said.
The number of cruise travelers to Taiwan is expected to increase by 250,000 to 550,000 in 2014, partly as a result of the program, according to the ports corporation.
The company is hoping to turn Taiwan's Keelung and Kaohsiung ports into cruise hubs for Northeast Asia and Southeast Asia, Liu Shih-tsung, vice president of the ration announced earlier this month at Cruise Shipping Miami 2014 trade show.


text:
Blockchain, which keeps track of all transactions, makes an excellent tool for financial services, particularly contactless
Topic: Financial Services
How banks, credit unions, and other financial services gain business value from the use of real-time analytics on transactions and products.
Billions of mobile devices around the world can now initiate payments. But can the supporting IT infrastructure keep up with the growing pressure to process …
With synthetic data, financial institutions can freely use sensitive data to bolster product or service development with virtually zero risks.
The question is no longer whether fintech will transform financial services, but which firms will apply it best and emerge as
The complexity and ever-changing nature of fraud and financial crime patterns requires an ability to quickly and effectively spot and stop
Via this initiative IBM is hoping to make it simpler for organizations to build and deploy innovative financial services applications using a common pool of …
Quantum computing processing power could cut AI model training exponentially, and increase the speed of informed decision making dramatically.
Advanced analytics and biometrics are becoming central to enterprise anti-fraud programs. AI adoption and plans are up
Many expect faster, more secure, simpler payments to transform commerce, a new Citizens Bank survey finds.
Forcefield is a digital platform for managing and tracing commodities throughout the entire supply chain


text:
Good news from products company Lantmannen AXA was not long in coming! Company asked consumers: “What ingredients do you add most often to granola?” One of the most popular answers is nuts.
We launched Super nuts Granola!
The design has acquired the corporate style of the AXA Granola line. In combination with oatmeal, crispy honey and 3 types of nuts – hazelnuts, almonds, cashews.
Why are these nuts?
Hazelnut – contains iron, vitamin C, which helps to strengthen the immune system, reduce blood pressure.
Almond is a champion for vitamin E and is it called the “vitamin of beauty”. It has also been proven that regular consumption of almonds improves sleep.
Cashew is filled with phosphorus, magnesium, improves vision and memory.
Each nut has many different vitamins, making breakfast or snacks not only tasty, but also healthy and nutritious.
AXA. Tasty way to start your day.
Apple has intensified work on its own search service, which will become a competitor to Google, writes the Financial Times, citing interlocutors in the mobile industry. One of the signs of this, the interlocutors called the fact that after updating the iOS operating system, Apple began to show its own search results and provide direct […]
American chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) is buying rival Xilinx Inc for $ 35 billion under a deal that it will be paid for in full by AMD shares. According to a press release from AMD, the operation will create a company worth about $ 135 billion. “The acquisition of Xilinx will allow AMD […]
Oil becomes cheaper due to a sharp increase of reserves in the US and an increase in the number of coronavirus cases, which has raised fears of oversupply and weakening demand. This is evidenced by the data of stock trading on the site Investing.com published on Wednesday, October 28. In particular, the price of December […]
In the last week of October, investors expect a lot of news, as more than one-third of the components of the S&P 500 index, or 186 companies, must report financial results for the third quarter. The information field is even richer given the election race in the United States, the situation with the pandemic and […]
Shares of Zoom Video Communications, which rose 716% over the past 12 months, rose 5.8% during trading on Monday, but closed with an increase of 1.23%. This is very different from the general decline in the market on Monday – major US stock indexes closed lower: the S&P 500 by 1.86%, the Dow Jones by […]
Shares of Pfizer decreased by 3.2% since the beginning of the year, fell by 1.65% on Tuesday after the company announced the results of the third quarter, which ended on September 30. Pfizer reported a 4% drop in earnings per share (compared to the same quarter in 2019) to $ 0.72, but this was slightly […]
The President’s Office stated that the decision of the Kyiv District Administrative Court (KDAC) to dismiss NABU Director Artem Sytnyk could not be considered final, as it would be appealed. This was announced on Tuesday, October 27 by the press service of the President’s Office. The President also noted that any differences over anti-corruption bodies […]
Next year, only a small proportion of people in the European Union will be able to get the coronavirus vaccine. Officials in European countries have not yet decided on the vaccination of citizens. This was announced by Reuters on Tuesday, October 27. “By the end of 2021, there will not be enough doses of the […]
Quotes of the Bed Bath & Beyond jumped from 33.47% to $ 19.99 according to the trading data. Papers are growing due to the strong report for the second quarter of 2020. The Bed Bath & Beyond chain announced the first increase in the in-store sales in almost four years. The jump in the revenue […]Next
Net profit of one of the largest financial corporations in the world Citigroup Inc. in January-September 2020 fell twice, compared to the same period in 2019 to $ 7.068 billion, follows from the reporting of the corporation. Adjusted earnings per share were $ 2.97 against $ 5.89 a year earlier. The financial giant’s revenue for […]Next
At the pharmaceutical plant “Kusum Pharm” in Sumy by the end of 2019 the production will be doubled, which will allow to produce up to 50 new names of drugs. This will be possible thanks to the implementation of the import substitution program. This was told reporters co-founder and CEO Rajeev Gupta, during an official […]Next
The Georgian Industrial Group purchased 25% of the Ukrainian pharmaceutical company, which is 70% owned by the state. Buyer of the is Luraq Investments Limited (Limassol, Cyprus), which is part of the Georgian Industrial Group (Georgian Industrial Group, GIG) bought the last 25% of the insulin producer “Indar”, PJSC (Kyiv). This information was published by […]Next
On Sunday, Dominion Energy, one of the largest energy companies in the United States, announced a final agreement to sell virtually all of its assets in the gas transportation and storage segment of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. under a deal valued at $9.7 billion, including its current debt of $5.7 billion. The deal with Dominion will […]Next
The German company Leoni AG will build a plant in Kolomyja, Ivano-Frankivsk region. This was reported by Dmitry Romaniuk, the head of the department of European integration and the development of tourism in Ivano-Frankivsk Regional State Administration. “The German company Leoni AG will build a new plant in Ivano-Frankivsk region (Kolomyja) and will create 8150 […]Next
In the second quarter of 2020, China’s economy grew after a historic downturn in the previous three months. This was reported by Interfax with reference to the State Statistical Office of China on Thursday, June 16. Thus, China’s GDP in April-June increased by 3.2% compared to the same period last year. The recovery was caused […]Next
During the times of Kyivan Rus people which came from Scandinavia, the Vikings, were often called Varangians. In the 19th century, according to the chronicle, they had not only strong trade but also political relations with Russia (it is worth mentioning that the wife of Yaroslav the Wise, princess Ingigerda, was the daughter of Swedish […]Next
Today Wells Fargo, the fourth-largest U.S. bank, reported record losses of $2.4 billion in the second quarter, which was even worse than the bank management and Wall Street analysts expected. For the three months by June 30, Wells Fargo’s loss was $0.66. This is $0.46 worse than analysts’ forecast of $0.20 loss per share. One […]Next
The outgoing 2016 was hard, and not only for business but also for the country in general. It was really difficult but not fatal: a new tax policy, the integration into the European market, difficulties of investment and many other things. There are key factors which have affected the development of a business industry much […]Next
The judicial panel on criminal cases of the Kiev Court of Appeal March 16, 2016 considered and settled the appeal, canceling the seizure of property of the GREENSTONE group of companies: “Petroprodukt-Ukraine”, “Yagotynske HPP”, “Protein-Production” and “League “. This was said in the press release. At the request of the investigator of the National Police – […]Next
Bank Arkada was declared insolvent due to a reduction in capital. The head of the National Bank Kyrylo Shevchenko spoke about the reasons for the bank’s withdrawal from the market on Wednesday, August 26. “The reason for withdrawing the bank from the market is to reduce the capital ratio to less than one third of […]Next
Considering features of construction business of Ukraine, investors often come up against a situation when the builder isn’t able to fulfil properly the liabilities – whether it be a delay of the termination of a construction or “frost” of an object. As a rule, the majority of cases with liabilities execution suspension by the builder […]Next
Ihor Doroshenko has been left in the predetention center. The appellate court of Kyiv rejected a request of Ihor Doroshenko, an ex-chairman of the board of Mikhaylovsky bank to be entitled to plead and left it in the predetention center — the press service of Appellate court of the Kyiv city reports. Therefore, the judge’s […]Next
On Tuesday, Amazon announced another innovation – Amazon One technology, which will be tested for the first time in two Amazon Go stores in Seattle. The company has established in their new turnstiles which will be the quicker alternative to make the purchases. The format of the Amazon Go stores is designed so that customers […]Next
The TAS-Agro company plans to increase its land bank from 95 to 150 thous. Ha. The company is interested in areas in the northern part of Ukraine. This was announced by the investment chief of the TAS Group company – Anton Kernasovskyi, – says delo.ua. According to him, he does not know exactly when and […]Next


text:
That's one way to beat the property boom: Art-deco homes made of SHIPPING CONTAINERS ready in a couple of weeks... ranging in price from $2000 to $1.4 MILLION
- Recycled shipping containers can be bought for just $2000
- Businesses are using more than 50 containers a month for construction
- Turnover for Container Build Group has topped $2.5 million in just 3 months
- At the low end of the
marketthey can be transformed into a home for as little as $20,000
- There's high demand for luxurious fit-outs pushing prices beyond $1 million and can be ready inside six weeks
- Some owners combine several containers and make them into 'farm stay' properties
- One home in Queensland which was built from 31 shipping containers sold for more than $1.4 million
With Australia's housing affordability at crisis point, demand for alternative accommodation like transformed shipping containers, is growing at an astounding rate.
Jamie Van Tongeren of Container Build Group said his company turned over more than $2.5 million in just the past three months, buying up more than 50 containers a month to transform.
The biggest companies specialising in turning the steel boxes into
Scroll down for video
This beach house by Container Homes Designer Domain made of shipping containers can be built for $200,000
The interior of the Hinterland container home by Container Build
Companies like Container Homes Designer Domain, run by Samuel
While most buyers are attracted to these unique homes because they are relatively cheap and quick to build, costing as little as $20,000, Mr Van Tongeren insists 'the tide is turning'.
'Everyone was all about getting it as cheap as they can get, but now every third or fourth call to our office is about building that mansion from containers,' he said.
'People ask for the best fit-out with marble bench tops, real high end and the best you can get.'
He said that an 'average' three bedroom two bathroom home can cost $270,000, installed.
'Our revenue has doubled in the past year,' he added.
THE COST OF CALLING A SHIPPING CONTAINER HOME
$2000 for a single DIY reconditioned container
$3500 for a brand new container
$20,000 gets a basic fit-out with bathroom and air conditioning
$50,000 for a 'funky boutique finish'
$300,000 for a 7 container home on the water
One home in Graceville, Queensland, made of 31 shipping containers, sold for more than $1.4 million.
'The big benefit is that you save on the on-site costs, traditionally the longer you've got the builders on there, well that is just dead money that just gets sucked out.
'If it takes you a year to build you have already paid $30,000 plus, that isn't an issue with us.'
'And they're not just for rural properties, some people might think, we do a lot of
He said the whole process, including delivery, can take up to six weeks.
At the other end of the spectrum, you can get a basic model for between $20,000 and $30,000, with bathroom and air-con.
Cheaper still, a no-frills
One of the groups doing their best to keep on top of demand is Port Container Services based in Newcastle.
The range in pricing in container homes is stark, from $2000 right through to the likes of this impressive place in Queensland which sold for $1.4 million
Most container builds can be completed from between three to six weeks
Some buyers combine two or more recycled shipping containers and use them as farm getaways
The demand for housing made of recycled shipping
'People come up with weird and wonderful ideas,' according to Port Container Services spokesman Matthew Chisholm. 'We're flat out at the moment.'
'People come up with weird and wonderful ideas,' according to spokesman Matthew Chisholm.
'We're flat out at the moment.
'A shipping container is a square frame, it is secure and robust and you can pretty much do anything with it,' he said.
'We cut out doors and windows and away we go.
'A lot of blokes will buy two 20-footers and take them out to the farm and put their own doors and windows and make it into a farm stay.
'We just slide it off the back of a track, they're
'We have done adjoining kit containers, they're building houses with them, small cabin style, places to sit on properties or in a caravan park.'
It's a burgeoning export business too.
'There's lots of abstract stuff we ship to places like PNG, New Caledonia and Fiji.'
There are those who doubt the effectiveness.
'There are uses for that sort of
'Granted there are some remarkable designs but they don't solve our major problem, it's the cost of land.'
The demand for housing made of recycled shipping containers, has gone through the roof. One Australian company has turned over $2.5 million in less than 3 months turning steel boxes into homes
Recycled shipping containers can be bought for just $2000. Businesses are using more than 50 containers a month for constructionTurnover for Container Build Group has topped $2.5 million in just 3 months
Hard to tell the difference between a traditionally built home and the steel container variety
Many buyers are now going for the mod-cons in their container homes
The 'Farm Stay' model built by Container Homes Designer Domain
Joshua Risk of Rubix Modular said smart buyers can often find what they need to accommodate their steel structure.
'One of our customers found a really cheap block of land, a good size for about $20,000, on Russell Island,' he said.
'So we will build him his dream home on the water from seven containers and have everything finished in quick time for about $300,000.
'Of course there are others who will get a nice and comfortable 20 footer for just $30,000.'
Mr Chisholm said a lot are using their steel sanctuary as getaways.
'There are blokes who live in their places in Dungog or the Southern Highlands, run it off solar,' he said.
'We just finished one, a pretty interesting fit out for a bloke on his olive farm in Victoria.
'He wanted a boutique finish, cherry colours, carpet, bamboo floors, fully tiled and a real funky architectural finish, all for $50,000.'
Most watched News videos
- Collapsed crane smashes through houses in north-east London
- CCTV shows last moment of little girl murdered by married couple
- Motorist caught on CCTV using 'car as a weapon' on another woman
- Day Two: Johnny Depp and Amber Heard arrive at the High Court
- Dutch police uncover makeshift 'torture chamber' in Holland
- Woman 'manhandled' by male police officer after assisting protestors
- Staggering aerials of 65-foot crane collapsed onto terraced houses
- Last footage of Seoul's mayor on CCTV before he was found dead
- Moment woman 'armed with knife' is detained by police in Liverpool
- Rishi Sunak admits jobs will be lost at start of COVID-19 recovery
- Police search for Naya Rivera after son found asleep onboard boat
- Armed police descend on property in Goodmayes, Ilford


text:
Mitsubishi Isn’t Giving up on Passenger Cars
The automotive landscape is an ever-changing one as consumer tastes and trends shift over the years. Case in point, the U.S. automotive market has been leaning towards crossovers and SUVs for a little over a decade now. When automakers and manufacturers are often asked about their future products, they find themselves caught in the crosshairs of what’s become an inevitable question: “Will you be shifting your resources from the innovation and production of sedans and small cars toward crossovers and SUVs instead? Mitsubishi is no exception to this, as the brand finds itself at the very same crossroads. In fact, the automaker ceased production of its classic Eclipse model and reinvented it as a crossover, the Eclipse Cross, that launched in late 2017.
While that choice to transform the Eclipse might’ve come as a bummer to Mitsubishi enthusiasts, the effect was undoubtedly compounded when the automaker announced they’d be discontinuing their other very popular model: the Lancer. But not all hope is lost as the brand appears to be recommitted to manufacturing new and improved versions of their Mirage and Lancer models. Sorry Eclipse fans, the Eclipse Cross is here to stay (for now).
Mitsubishi corporate vice-president of product strategy, Vincent Cobee, preempted these catch-22 future-of-automobiles questions in a recent interview with Goauto.com.au by saying “I know all of you guys write about the growth and emergence of SUVs and it’s correct, it’s 35-37 percent of the total market today and it’s still growing. But, that doesn’t eradicate the fact that there will be 40-50 million cars that will be traditional passenger cars.” It’s clear from Cobee’s statement that the brand is aware of the market trends, but it’s also evident that Mitsubishi is aiming to deliver traditional passenger cars to the market as well.
From what we know so far, a successor to the Mirage, which initially debuted in 2012, is currently in the very early stages of development. Also, since Mitsubishi joined the Renault-Nissan Alliance in 2016, the Japanese automaker will have access to the Alliance’s modular architecture concept that includes the main platform/manufacturing system, the Common Module Family-B (CMF-B). Aimed at reducing manufacturing costs and innovated as a way to compete with similar previous concepts by other automakers, the CMF-B platform consists of five different groups of interchangeable, compatible modules: rear underbody, front underbody, electrical/electronic, cockpit, and engine bay. The Alliance thinks of the CMF-B as more of a manufacturing system, rather than a conventional platform to base a vehicle on.
The Mirage in the works is expected to ride on the CMF-B platform, while the comeback kid, the Lancer, will likely be based on the Alliance’s larger CMF-C platform. Entry level cars, such as the Mirage and the Lancer, offers young, new potential customers a way to buy into the brand and grow with the automaker. Passenger cars have the ability to set the stage for brand loyalty, with consumers upgrading to bigger and newer vehicles as they progress through life.
While we mentioned earlier that some Mitsubishi enthusiasts may still be a little miffed about the brand’s switch on the classic Eclipse moniker, the brand has nothing to worry about. The Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross was just awarded the “RJC Car of the Year 2019” by the Automotive Researchers’ & Journalists’ Conference of Japan. Japanese researchers and journalists lauded the Eclipse Cross for its fusion of compact SUV and sharp coupe styles, high rough road performance, well-balanced dynamics, and its 1.5-liter direct-injection turbocharged engine.
Experience the Eclipse Cross for yourself, check out our latest inventory and schedule a test drive today! Follow University Mitsubishi on social media for the latest Lancer and Mirage updates as development progresses.


text:
Chancellor Rishi Sunak is to launch a non-fungible token (NFT) - a type of cryptocurrency asset - through the Royal Mint as part of a drive to make the UK a "global cryptoasset hub".
The government plans to introduce a range of measures for the notoriously unregulated cryptocurrency sector, which features incredibly volatile currencies such as Bitcoin.
It is starting with the easier end of that world with so-called "stablecoins" - cryptocurrencies whose values are pegged to existing traditional currencies (pounds, euros, etc), rather than the whims of the digital market.
The move to recognise "stablecoins" is intended to pave the way for the use of them as a recognised form of payment.
NFTs are a token of ownership attached to a blockchain. Their proponents claim they are a unique asset class, while critics say the token is fundamentally valueless and bad for the climate.
Despite this debate, more than $44bn (£32bn) worth of cryptocurrency was sent to NFT-related smart contracts last year, up from just $106m (£78m) in 2020, according to a new report published by Chainalysis.
Chainalysis, which offers a blockchain data platform for law enforcement and other organisations, has published a study identifying the scale of wash trading to artificially increase the value of NFTs.
Wash trading is a market manipulation tactic that gives the impression a financial instrument is in more demand than it actually is by trading it for higher and higher prices between accounts operated by the same actor.
Mr Sunak will be working with the Royal Mint on an NFT "this summer".
It comes as the Treasury plans to "ensure the UK financial services sector remains at the cutting edge of technology, attracting investment and jobs and widening consumer choice".
This will be in part achieved by "enhancing the competitiveness of the UK tax system to encourage further development of the cryptoasset market".
Mr Sunak said: "It's my ambition to make the UK a global hub for cryptoasset technology, and the measures we've outlined today will help to ensure firms can invest, innovate and scale up in this country.
"We want to see the businesses of tomorrow – and the jobs they create - here in the UK, and by regulating effectively we can give them the confidence they need to think and invest long-term.
"This is part of our plan to ensure the UK financial services industry is always at the forefront of technology and innovation."
It follows another government move into the cryptocurrency space in El Salvador, where the national system to support Bitcoin as legal tender crashed on the day of launch.
And in the US, mayors of New York City and Miami are engaged in a spat over who can make their cities the most crypto-friendly, despite criticisms that the financial instruments contribute to speculation rather than production.
In the UK, the Treasury said it will "proactively explore the potentially transformative benefits of Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) in UK financial markets, which enables data to be synchronised and shared in a decentralised way to potentially achieve greater efficiency, transparency and resilience".
The government has also pledged to introduce new laws creating a financial market infrastructure "sandbox" that will, it says, "enable firms to experiment and innovate in providing the infrastructure services that underpin markets, in particular by enabling DLT to be tested".


text:
Contact centre technology provider Altitude Software has announced new social media features to its customer interaction management suite.
New capabilities added to Altitude uCI 8 allows contact centres to monitor, engage and respond to customers and prospects in Facebook and Twitter through multi-media routing, customer history and business workflow processes.
The platform, which the company claims is used in 1100 contact centres globally, also includes a multimedia agent desktop and tools that measure and monitor service levels, business operations and KPIs.
Gastão Taveira, CEO of Altitude Software, said: “As consumers turn in droves to social media to solve problems, share and search for information, customer service is becoming social. In this new environment, consumers increasingly value companies’ ability to engage, respond and provide good service on networks like Twitter and Facebook.
“Our new release enables companies to meet this challenge in the contact centre with unified multichannel customer service that includes social media and effectively applies contact centre discipline, metrics and resources to this new reality.”
The new social features are now available for subscribers.


text:
According to a Standing for Women spokesperson, the account is not managed by Kellie-Jay Keen, who was banned in 2018
“Posting logos, symbols, or images intended to spread hate,” included in reporting options.
The popular radical feminist merch shop was locked out of Twitter and censored on Instagram and Facebook
A platform with free speech would be an improvement for women, but it’s not a long term solution for feminist organizing
The new book by Australian Professor Holly Lawford-Smith is set for release by OUP in May, and is currently available to pre-order
Unexpectedly, and without warning, I just lost 40% of my funding. This means that I may have to close up shop.
The video posted by Women's Declaration International also appears to have been removed by Itunes and Apple Podcasts.


text:
atau cari berdasarkan hari
Dutch Foreign Affairs Minister Stef Blok said the Netherlands is not backing the EU biofuel ban that targets Indonesian palm oil products.
A green refinery partnership initially sought by Pertamina and Italy's ENI was canceled due to the "prejudice" against Indonesia's palm oil use.
President Jokowi offered to maximize Indonesia's natural resources processing, such as the use of palm oil, to suppress current account deficit.
India's plan to divert its CPO import from Malaysia to Indonesia can also be used as a momentum to boost export performance.
President Jokowi has held a meeting with Song Tao, Xi Jinping's foreign relations adviser, in Bogor Palace, today, September 20.
The EU continues to question and inhibit imports of crude palm oil (CPO) and derivative products from Indonesia.
The government plans to redirect the country's demand for airplanes from the European Union (Airbus) to the United States (Boeing).
Domestic airlines may use crude palm oil (CPO)-based aviation turbine (avtur) fuel or green avtur in 2021.
The Trade Ministry says it will immediately counter the anti-dumping import tax by the European Union (EU) aimed at Indonesia-produced biodiesel CPO.
Tariff barrier imposed by the European Union (EU) against CPO-based biodiesel products has only been enforced to Indonesia.
Vice President Jusuf Kalla asked a number of countries to stop their discriminatory treatment to the oil palm (CPO) industry.
The Indonesian and the Malaysian governments have agreed to file a letter of objection to the European Union (EU) against a possible CPO ban.
Indonesian Embassy in Brussels has organised a dialogue on palm oil issue at the European Parliament office to promote sustainable palm oil (CPO)
The Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR) has deplored the European Union`s ban on the use of crude palm oil (CPO) for biofuels.
This option comes as a fight-back against discrimination of Indonesian crude palm oil (CPO) by the EU.
The government will also file a lawsuit with the World Trade Organization.
Minister of Economic Affairs Darmin Nasution said that the Indonesian government is yet able to sue the European Union on CPO ban.
The Indonesian government is starting to prioritize on industrial product exports such as automotive rather than CPO and coal.
Pertamina turning crude palm oil (CPO) into green fuel types like green gasoline or green diesel.
Indofood Sukses Makmur will build two new palm oil plants this year. Three more to follow during the construction.


text:
| ||Thread Tools|
|3rd May 2012, 08:52||#1|
Join Date: May 2010
Nokia gets it: launches patent lawsuits against HTC, RIM and Viewsonic
Nokia has just announced that it is commencing patent litigation against HTC, Research in Motion and Viewsonic in the US and Germany. It's claiming that a number of its patents are being infringed and has registered complaints with the ITC and courts in Delaware, Dusseldorf, Munich and Mannheim. Espoo's legal chief Louise Pentland has said that while the company currently licenses its FRAND patents to "more than 40 companies," it had no choice but to lay some courtroom smack-down on the named offenders. It appears that after losing its global market share crown and billion-dollar losses, the company is finally going on the offensive with its deep patent portfolio. You can judge that for yourself when you read the official line after the break.
Update: We've received some clarification from Nokia on what exactly is on the docket here. "Four of the patents asserted against Viewsonic in Mannheim are standards essential. The rest against Viewsonic and all against HTC and RIM are implementation patents, not declared essential to any standard and so we have no obligation to grant licenses."
|Thread||Thread Starter||Forum||Replies||Last Post|
|ViewSonic Launches the VX2460h-LED Ultra-Slim Display||Stefan Mileschin||WebNews||0||2nd May 2012 09:36|
|Apple CEO: I Prefer to Settle Lawsuits||Stefan Mileschin||WebNews||0||26th April 2012 09:06|
|Mass-BitTorrent Lawsuits Stopped Over Unlicensed Attorney||Stefan Mileschin||WebNews||0||24th February 2012 07:48|
|ViewSonic Launches the VX2336s-LED IPS Monitor||Stefan Mileschin||WebNews||0||3rd February 2012 07:55|
|Nokia Lumia 710 Review - T-Mobile's Nokia WP7||Stefan Mileschin||WebNews||0||5th January 2012 07:45|
|Undercover Cops and Politicians Escape BitTorrent Lawsuits||Stefan Mileschin||WebNews||0||17th October 2011 08:09|
|ViewSonic launches media player box||Shogun||WebNews||0||5th November 2009 23:16|


text:
Saving pennies is not the planet behind the decline in plastic bag use – study
Buyers are avoiding single-use plastic bags to save pennies rather than the planet, a “big data” study of more than 10,000 consumers has found.
Research from Nottingham University Business School’s N / LAB Center of Analytical Excellence suggests that the massive drop in the use of plastic bags in the UK may not have much to do with the fact that buyers care about the environment.
The study relied on more than one million loyalty card transactions to explore psychological and demographic predictors of single-use bag purchases.
The researchers found that the bags are more likely to be purchased by younger buyers who are often male and less thrifty but whose environmental concerns do not affect their purchasing decisions or not.
The results came as plastic bag consumption hit its annual peak during the holiday season, although all retailers in England are legally required to charge 10p per bag.
Study co-author Dr James Goulding, associate director of N / LAB, said: “Until now, very little was known about the people who still regularly buy plastic bags – or about those who do not buy it.
“Previous research has tended to focus exclusively on the personality or motivations of consumers and not, crucially, on whether an individual’s beliefs actually translate into action in the real world.
“Our approach recognizes that people today leave in their wake a substantial amount of data that can help benefit society and shed significant light on how they actually behave in practice.”
Identified from the original data set of 1,284,825 transactions in 1,222 stores, more than 10,000 consumers participated in a questionnaire exploring their environmental situation, characteristics and opinions.
Their survey responses were tied to their purchasing data, and a machine learning algorithm was then used to determine the factors that actually predicted bag buying behavior.
The survey included questions on opinions on environmental considerations in general and climate change in particular, but these were found to have little influence on purchasing decisions.
Dr Gavin Smith, Associate Professor of Analytics, said: “We expected our results to show that infrequent bag buyers are at least partly motivated by the desire to save money.
“But what we didn’t expect, especially given the role of the environment in supporting the plastic bag tax, is that environmental concerns don’t predict consumption at all.
“This suggests that future campaigns to further reduce the consumption of plastic bags could benefit from different messages. It’s about understanding who to target, how and when.
Amid growing concerns over the contribution of plastic bags to pollution and waste, Wales introduced the UK’s first tax in 2011, followed by Northern Ireland in 2013 and Scotland in 2014 .
In 2015, the year after its seven largest supermarkets distributed more than 7.6 billion single-use bags, England introduced its own 5 pence tax, which doubled to a low of 10 pence in May of this year and has been extended to all retailers.
In 2014, around 140 bags per person were distributed, equivalent to around 61,000 tonnes in total.
The supply of single-use bags, which take longer than other bags to degrade in the environment and can damage wildlife, had increased for five consecutive years prior to 2014.
A mandatory charge – with retailers supposedly donating profits to good causes – has seen the number of donated single-use bags drop by more than 90% in England, while around £ 180million has also been raised for good causes.
Northern Ireland has the highest plastic bag sales, according to the N / LAB study, with the North West and South West regions of England recording the lowest.
Study co-author Rosa Lavelle-Hill of the Alan Turing Institute said: “A better understanding of consumer behavior and psychology is critical to being able to make pro-environmental choices.


text:
Tech CEOs are looking more and more like politicians
Last week, Dennis Mitzner, an Israeli tech journalist, published a blog post on his website claiming an overemphasis on social justice had “contaminated” tech journalism.
He grumbled about how a press visit to a Nokia factory had, in his mind, been derailed. Instead of focusing on the company’s plans to build a commercial 5G network, the group of journalists fretted over Nokia’s diversity policy.
SEE ALSO: Facebook’s fundraisers now help you raise money for yourself and friends
Mitzner used the example to support a flimsy thesis — that journalists overemphasize “hiring policies and aspects that relate to social justice issues at the expense


text:
It's hard to imagine another industry where the old adage, ‘you have to spend money to make money’ is truer than in pharmaceutical advertising. The money spent on advertising every year in Germany has now reached €19.1bn. The total spent has seen a surge in the last number of years - according to figures published by Statista, German pharmaceutical companies are spending €1bn more per year on marketing than they were 20 years ago.
Major players in the market Johnson & Johnson spent €15.8bn on marketing, and less than half that figure, €7.4bn, on R&D. Fellow giant Pfizer spent over €10bn on marketing pursuits, €4.5bn more than they spent on research. However, the marketing of drugs is not without its pitfalls, particularly when it comes to issues facing the consumer. New research shows that 60% of online searches for pharmaceutical drugs leads to pages for fake medicines, putting consumers at serious risk of buying counterfeit products.
As digital advertising spend continues to grow in Germany, the commercial departments of life sciences companies must adapt to stay on track with trends. eMarketer estimates that companies and brands in Germany will spend €7.28bn on digital advertising in 2019 - 9.8% more than in 2018. Ads on mobile and desktop will account for 36.7% of all media ad spending in 2019. The healthcare and pharma sector will record a robust annual rise with at an estimated increase spend on digital advertising of 10.7%, meaning he future looks bright for those working in the sector, particularly if you’re tech savvy.
EPM Scientific is a global specialist recruitment company working exclusively in the Life Sciences industry. Our expert consultants place the best talent in the commercial sector in Germany and across Europe.
The German clinical trials market is expected to reach €186m by 2025, according to a new report by Hexa Research, a significant increase on the €104m currently being spent in the area. Key drivers impacting the market growth are globalisation of clinical trials, development of new treatments such as personalised medicine and the evolution in technology. EPM Scientific is a global specialist recruitment company working exclusively in the Life Sciences industry. Our expert consultants place talent in the clinical development industry in Germany and across Europe.
If you're a candidate, please register your CV and get discovered for all relevant roles.
If you're a client looking for the best talent, please Register your vacancy or Request a call back.
Benefits of working with us
We have over a decade’s worth of experience as a leading talent partner
A vast, global network of the best, in-demand professionals, working with the world’s largest Life Sciences institutions, to take drugs, devices and therapeutic applications through from conception to completion.
Our award-winning talent specialists offer bespoke, tailored guidance on the latest hiring trends and industry news to help you achieve your goals.


text:
Bose Ventures Made Some Really Interesting Moves in 2018: AR & Wellness
Iconic audio company Bose invested big in augmented reality and health & wellness in 2018, with smart glasses, walking tours and SleepBuds.
More about Bose
Bose Company Info
We made brief mention of iconic audio brand Bose in our mega-story of 2018 mergers and acquisitions. The longer version is this: The iconic brand made some really interesting acquisitions and investments last year Bose Ventures, and is expanding its audio innovations into new territories, including augmented reality and wellness.
Expected to ship early this year, the $200 Frames have miniaturized Bose electronics that sit right at the temples, directing “sound at you and away from others,” the company claims.
Here’s what the company says about its AR SDK:
Using raw sensor (accelerometer, gyroscope), head orientation, and gesture data, you can create new experiences for users based on interactions like head gestures for UI or raw IMU data for a variety of applications.
But Bose isn’t waiting for the rest of the world to build products for its smart glasses. In 2018, the company acquired Detour, an app by professional tourist Andrew Mason. The app, which narrates walking tours around the world, was discontinued last year after Bose acquired it, but Bose “expects the Detour content to re-emerge and be made available via a new partner.” Mason wrote in a blog.
He added, “Bose is a huge fan of the Detour experience and believes it could be even better as part of the new Bose augmented reality platform.”
In its vision of augmented reality, so to speak, Bose places audio instead of images into context, “so you can focus on the amazing world around you — rather than a tiny display,” said John Gordon, VP of Bose’s Consumer Electronics Division, in a statement last year. “It knows which way you’re facing and can instantly connect that place and time with endless possibilities for travel, learning, music and more."
Health & Wellness
Beyond AR, and as a complement to it, Bose is getting busy in wellness. In 2017, the company acquired San Diego start-up Hush, maker of “smart” noise-masking earbuds designed to help users sleep.
According to its web site, Sync Project is conducting the “first-ever large-scale studies to measure how the structural properties of music – like beat, key and timbre – impact biometrics such as heart rate, brain activity and sleep patterns. Sync Project is applying machine learning to this dataset to develop personalized music therapeutics.”
The company invites users to join them in a “global experiment using music designed to improve relaxation before sleep,” on its site. The service is “designed to respond to your natural rhythms.”
Sync co-founder and CTO Yadid Ayzenberg is now director of wellness software at Bose.
This year, Bose launched SleepBuds, which come preloaded with “sleep tracks” that are said to “mirror" the frequencies of snoring, neighborhood noise, clogs, traffic, and other common background noises.
In related news (kind of), Sonos filed a “really interesting patent application” this year for associating audio with biometric feedback. The patent describes how biometric data like perspiration, heart rate or tone of voice could inform an audio system to play music or other content that is most conducive to the listener's well-being.
Bose Ventures says it is looking for more investments in the areas of wearables, wellness, audio and AR.
7 Clever Ways to Hide Home Technology - CE Pro Download
Most technology products are not that visually appealing. Black boxes and tangled wires do not add to the character of a high-end smart home project. Luckily, our integrator readers have a number of clever solutions so these components don’t have to be visible in your next project.
Julie Jacobson, recipient of the 2014 CEA TechHome Leadership Award, is co-founder of EH Publishing, producer of CE Pro, Electronic House, Commercial Integrator, Security Sales and other leading technology publications. She currently spends most of her time writing for CE Pro in the areas of home automation, security, networked A/V and the business of home systems integration. Julie majored in Economics at the University of Michigan, spent a year abroad at Cambridge University, earned an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin, and has never taken a journalism class in her life. She's a washed-up Ultimate Frisbee player currently residing in Carlsbad, Calif. Email Julie at email@example.com
SpeakersdARTS Introduces 5.1 Flyte Home Theater System
Nielsen Data Shows Vinyl Sales Up 14.6% in 2018 Despite Streaming’s Dominance
Hands-On: QSC Premium Business Music Solutions Amps, MP-M Series
Product Briefs: Savant Video Tiler; Luxul Firmware Updates; DTS SoC for TVs; Atlona Dolby Vision
Research: Voice Assistant Adoption Growing Despite Security and Privacy Concerns
View more on Speakers


text:
The auto sector has already made significant carbon reductions in its products.
Fleet-wide automobile CO2 reductions are already more than 21 percent lower than in 2005. According to the 2018 EPA Trends Report (March 2019), the real-world emissions of new cars and light trucks went from an average of 447 g/mi CO2 in 2005 to 357 g/mi in 2017.
CO2 reductions from new vehicles are on track to surpass the goals of the Paris Climate Accord for 2025.
Under the Paris Climate Accord, the Obama Administration agreed that by 2025 the U.S. would cut greenhouse (GHG) emissions by 26-28 percent compared to 2005 levels.
Current NHTSA/EPA requirements for fuel economy/GHG reductions through 2025 would result in a reduction of more than 50 percent — almost double the stringency of the Paris Agreement during the same timeframe of 2005-2025. While the 2022-25 standards are undergoing a midterm review, the overall contribution of autos to carbon reduction will still greatly exceed the Paris stringency, regardless of the results of the midterm review.
Progress is demonstrated across the range of products in dealer showrooms.
Consumers enjoy much choice when shopping for energy-efficient autos. This year, more than 490 models are on sale that achieve high mileage (30+ MPG, highway) — up 540 percent from 2007, when there were 76 models. And, the number of models reaching 40+ MPG (highway) is increasing as well, with 79 models on sale in 2017. While gasoline engines are becoming more energy-efficient, consumers can also choose from more than 40 hybrids, 30 electric vehicles and 19 plug-in hybrids on sale.


text:
SAN ANTONIO (KTSA News) — Beto O’Rourke’s use of the “F” word in a recent TV interview is being used to sell shirts.
After seven people were killed in a shooting in Odessa, O’Rourke appeared on CNN’s State of the Union and described the situation as being “f*ed up”.
Now, the Democratic Presidential candidate is selling a T-shirt with the phrase on it.
The t-shirts have the quote “This is f*ed up” printed on the front six times.
The campaign says the shirts are selling for 30 bucks. They’re donating proceeds from the shirt to the anti-gun groups Moms Demand Action and March for Our Lives.


text:
Huobi is launching a charity initiative to support Indonesia’s fight against coronavirus.
Indonesia, or officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a state in Southeast Asia. Indonesia is the fourth largest country in the world by population and it is one of the most perspective countries for economic development. In terms of cryptocurrency, Indonesia’s central bank announced that cryptocurrency was illegal in 2017 and, after that, there were meetings conducted with the aim of creating regulations of the cryptocurrency market. Currently, Indonesia’s Bitcoin market is less than one percent of the global cryptocurrency market. There are two Indonesian Bitcoin exchange platforms. However, they sell Bitcoin only at a fixed price. Nevertheless, Indonesian authorities have recently claimed a neutral position about cryptocurrency in Indonesia.
- Bitcoin Flips Bullish — But Here’s Why BTC Price May Still Hit $3.9K
- 7 Crypto Firms Targeted by 11 Lawsuits in New York
- Bitcoin’s Hedging Performance in the Wake of the Coronavirus Outbreak
- In Legal Battle With US SEC, Telegram Sees New Support From Trade Association
- Top 5 Cryptos Not Named Bitcoin This Week (Mar 29): XMR, BNB, HT, CRO, BSV


text:
Johnson & Johnson to recall baby powders in the United States after the Food and Drug Administration found sub-trace levels of chrysotile asbestos contamination coming from a single bottle of Johnson’s Baby Powder purchased online.
According to Fox Business, the level of contamination was low but the company is set to recall Lot #22318RB of Johnson’s Baby Powder, where the contaminated sample was taken.
The company stated that they already started a “rigorous and thorough investigation” as far as the matter is concerned.
Apparently, the primary investigation could not confirm if the cross-contamination of the sample is the cause of a false positive, or whether the sample was taken from a bottle with an intact seal, maybe the product is counterfeit, or maybe the sample was prepared in a controlled environment.
Meanwhile, Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiary Ethicon Incorporated have reached a settlement of approximately $116.9 million with the District of Columbia and 41 states for the misleading marketing of their transvaginal surgical-mesh devices.
The mesh device is implanted into the vagina to support the pelvic organs of females who suffer from pelvic organ prolapse or stress urinary incontinence.
Connecticut State Attorney General William Tong said that Johnson & Johnson and Ethicon violated state consumer protection by “failing to sufficiently disclose risks associated with their use.”
The State Attorney stated that the total settlement should send “a clear message that states will aggressively pursue such deceptive medical marketing cases,” as per Hartford Courant.
Consumer Protection Commissioner Michelle H. Seagull has declared that deceptive marketing will be “even more serious when those claims are related to products that are supposed to make us healthier -but actually have a risk of hurting us.”


text:
W.W.Grainger, Lincolnshire, Ill., announced plans to expand and enhance its operations throughout the New York/New Jersey/Connecticut area as part of a multi-year expansion nationwide. The expansion involves revamping Grainger’s distribution network by opening new facilities, relocating others, and expanding some of its existing facilities in the this area.
All access premium subscription
Only Electrical Marketing newsletter subscribers have access to premium content.
Being a subscriber to the Electrical Marketing newsletter allows you exclusive access to high value content including key economic indicators measuring the health of the market and access to the Electrical Price Index and other important industry insights.
Sign up for the Electrical Marketing newsletter to get access.


text:
The leaks continue for the 2020 Hyundai Sonata, as we just received word today from the folks over at Almuraba that another undisguised example of the new mid-size sedan was captured in South Korea. These latest images that you can find in the gallery below, show the front and rear end in full. (Updated 2/26/2019)
While Hyundai isn’t ready to officially unveil their all-new Sonata, someone had a different opinion snagging a handful of images of the production model from what appears to be the factory floor.
Granted, these pictures from the Sonata XF forums in Korea (thanks to 강제헌 for sharing!) are not the best quality, but we’ll take them, as they give us a first undisguised look at the front and rear ends as well as a peek inside.
Korean officials have been promising us for some time now that the new Sonata “will make a big statement”. In fact, in an interview with Motortrend earlier this month, SangYup Lee, head of the Hyundai Global Design Center in Namyang, Korea, said that he thinks new 8th-gen model’s design will have the same impact as the coupe-style 2011 Sonata.
‘Le Fil Rouge’ influences
We’ll have to wait and see if Lee’s claims hold true, but the pictures do suggest that the 2020 Sonata will have a more distinct and aggressive styling than the soberly-styled 7th-gen car.
It’s also evident that the new mid-size sedan carries styling cues from Hyundai’s well-received ‘Le Fil Rouge’ concept from last year’s Geneva Motor Show, but as is usually the case when it comes to production cars, the execution leaves much to be desired.
Maybe it’s just us, but we also couldn’t help notice that the rear end has a Civic sedan vibe to it, at least as far as the lobster claw tail lamps are concerned.
More premium inside
We only get a glimpse of the new Sonata’s interior with the center console that looks more upscale than the current model, but Hyundai has been steadily improving the quality, both perceived and measured, of its cabins with each new generation it launches, and we expect the trend to continue.
What about powertrains?
There’s a good chance that the 2020 model will soldier on in North America with either the same or improved versions of the current car’s 245hp 2.0-liter turbocharged four, alongside the 185hp 2.4-liter naturally aspirated four and the 193hp 2.0L hybrid and 202hp plug-in hybrid options, but we don’t have any concrete information about Hyundai’s plans yet.
We’ve heard rumors of Hyundai applying a performance N treatment to the new Sonata with their new 2.5-liter turbo, though we’re not so sure there’s a market for such a model. A specced out N Line model with visual and chassis upgrades sounds like a more reasonable option.
Debut in New York
In all likelihood, we will see the first official pictures of the Korean-market 2020 Sonata coming out in the next few weeks, with the North American model to be fully-revealed at the New York Auto Show in April.
One more thing is that it seems we were right to suspect that the European i40 successor we spied last summer (pictured above) will be the same car as the 8th gen Sonata. Given Hyundai’s absence in Geneva, the Euro model could debut in Frankfurt this fall.


text:
Index Ventures and Slush will bring together policymakers, founders of startups, investors and ecosystem builders to discuss the practical steps that Europe must take to become the best place to start and grow world-changing startups.
As 500 European founders and CEOs noted in a letter to policymakers: "The European tech sector has never been stronger. From London to Lisbon, Paris to Prague, Europe is now nurturing some of the world’s most dynamic and creative companies. The days of living in Silicon Valley’s shadow are over. Europe is a shining powerhouse of bold, new business models that drive economic growth, generate jobs and improve people’s lives."
As we battle Covid and the economic impact it has caused, it has never been more critical to make startups a strategic priority, and build the most entrepreneurial continent.


text:
Phew. Now that was fun.
We just got off the stage at the 2013 GeekWire Awards at the EMP in Seattle, naming winners in 14 geeky categories representing the pillars of the region’s startup community. Winners walked away with custom-made joystick trophies to show off on their mantles, recognizing their climb up the startup charts. Check out Twitter to see some reaction from our awesome attendees.
Stay tuned for more coverage from the event, but without further ado, here’s a rundown of the winners in each category. Thanks to our intern Alisa Reznick for snapping these photos.
Startup Deal of the Year, presented by UK Trade & Investment
The fast-growing daily deal site for kid’s apparel, toys and more raised $85 million from Andreessen Horowitz and others last fall at a whopping $1 billion valuation. Zulily already has more than 10 million members using the service, and it’s expanding its operations in Seattle with plans to take over portions of the RealNetworks building.
Other finalists were Appature, Madrona, Qumulo and Smartsheet. See this post for more background on this category.
App of the Year, presented by Fresh Consulting
This app makes it easy to create and share presentations using Apple’s iPad.
Haiku Deck, from a group of Seattle startup mainstays, demonstrates the growing power and unique capabilities of tablets for everyday productivity. Released last fall to strong reviews, the app was spotlighted by Apple and quickly rose up the charts of top-selling iPad apps. Not resting on their laurels, the Haiku Deck team released a significant update in March, including the ability to add charts, graphs and bulleted or numbered lists of up to five items, plus image editing.
Other finalists were Glympse, Walk Score, Zillow Digs and Dwellable. See this post for more background on this category.
Perk of the Year, presented by Kibble & Prentice
The SEO titan gives employees a $3,000 stipend that can only be spent on vacation, and that was perky enough to win this new GeekWire Awards category.
Other finalists were Buuteeq, DoubleDown Interactive, Groundspeak and HasOffers. See this post for more background on this category.
Do-Gooder of the Year, presented by Seattle Children’s Research Institute
Edward Jiang hasn’t yet made it through the University of Washington, but he’s still stirring up the entrepreneurial community in a big way. The 21-year-old Jiang is the co-founder of StudentRND, a non-profit organization which hosts weekend hackathons and tech incubator programs for entrepreneurial high school and college kids.
As we noted last week in our voting for “Young Entrepreneur of the Year,” some of the biggest ideas in technology have been created by people under the age of 30. Jiang, along with his colleagues at StudentRND, are making sure the Seattle area has a stable crop of those up-and-comers. Jiang’s mission is pretty simple: “What we wanted to build was a community of kids who loved to build cool stuff.”
Other finalists were Artie Buerk, UW philanthropist; Michael “Luni” Libes, Fledge; Marc Nager, Startup Weekend and Hadi Partovi, Code.org. See this post for more background on this category.
Startup CEO of the Year, presented by Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati
Winner: Sam Blackman, Elemental Technologies (Award accepted on his behalf by Jesse Rosenzweig, Elemental CTO)
Sam Blackman’s Elemental Technologies has already drawn comparisons to Isilon, the Seattle-based storage company that sold to EMC for $2.25 billion. In fact, Isilon co-founder Sujal Patel joined the board of the Portland startup last year, shortly after Blackman reeled in $13 million in venture capital (even though he didn’t need the money). Blackman previously worked at Pixelworks, Silicon Graphics and Intel. Elemental’s services are now powering offerings such as HBO GO and Comcast Xfinity.
Other finalists were Christian Chabot, Tableau; Rand Fishkin, SEOmoz; Liz Pearce, LiquidPlanner; Kabir Shahani, Appature.
See this post for more background on this category.
Game of the Year, presented by Filter
Microsoft proved that Halo has a life beyond Bungie last fall with the release of Halo 4.
It was the first game in the blockbuster franchise to be developed by Microsoft’s own 343 Industries, which took over from the original Halo developer after Bungie spun off from the Redmond company. And the new Halo for Xbox 360 debuted to a big audience, setting a record of $220 million in sales on its first day alone.
Other finalists were Counter-Strike: Global Offensive; DoubleDown Casino; Hawken; and Match-Up.. More background on this category in this earlier post.
Bootstrapper of the Year, presented by HasOffers
The developer of the daily deal site for weddings isn’t married to the idea of bootstrapping long-term, but CEO Matthew Matsudaira said it did help the startup get off the ground. “It allowed us to be agile and move quickly to deliver an (minimum viable product) to the marketplace,” he says. Adorii is trying to make weddings more affordable, offering discounts of as much as 80 percent on selected goods and services.
Matsudaira prevailed in the voting over a strong field of finalists — Adam Doppelt and Brenda Spoonemore, Dwellable; Steve Murch, BigOven; David Niu, TinyHR; and Sunny Singh, Edifecs. More about this category here.
Innovation of the Year, presented by Intellectual Ventures
Handwriting recognition on iOS? Yep, Redmond-based startup Puzzazz released its TouchWrite technology for iPhone and iPad as part of its digital puzzle bookstore for the Apple platform last fall.
TouchWrite lets users draw a character across the top of the screen, then recognizes the letter and places a digital version in the active cell of the puzzle. It can work with a variety of handwriting styles and doesn’t require users to learn any special style of writing. The feature turns on automatically when the on-screen keyboard is turned off.
It’s a unique feature of the Puzzazz puzzle books, and for now, founder Roy Leban says Puzzazz doesn’t have plans to license it to others.
The Redmond company prevailed in this category over a field of innovations that included Chirpify, Hointer, Innovega and Planetary Resources.
See this earlier post for more background on this category.
Geekiest Office Space, presented by Knoll
Other finalists in this category were 47 Degrees, Appature, Globys and Simply Measured. More background here.
Hire of the Year, presented by Summit Group Solutions
We’re still not sure what secretive project that Charlie Kindel was hired to work on at Amazon.com. But the former Microsoft Windows Phone general manager will certainly be one to watch at the online retailer. Kindel left Microsoft in 2011 to create his own startup, BizLogr. And then on April 1st of this year he announced his new gig at Amazon in a blog post. “Amazon presented an opportunity to build something new that has ginormous potential. I simply couldn’t pass the opportunity up,” he wrote.
Other finalists in this category were Jeremy Jaech, Blake Krikorian, Scott Porad and Matthew Schiltz. More background here.
Next Tech Titan, presented by Wave Business Solutions
While daily deal sites such as Groupon and LivingSocial have faltered, Zulily has continued to grow its e-commerce business with a laser focus on providing unique products to busy moms. With more than 600 employees, Zulily raised $85 million at a $1 billion valuation last year from Silicon Valley power broker Andreessen Horowitz. At the time of funding, it had more than 10 million members. It’s now eyeing an expansion in Seattle, looking to take over a large chunk of the RealNetworks buildingon Elliott Avenue. Founded by former Blue Nile execs Mark Vadon and Darrell Cavens, the office move would mark its fifth in four years.
Other finalists in this category were Apptio, INRIX, SEOmoz and Urban Airship. More background in this post.
Geek of the Year, presented by Barokas PR
Winner: Oren Etzioni (University of Washington) and Rebecca Gardner (Seattle Children’s Research Institute)
A GeekWire Awards first: A tie!
Two winners here and they are both equally excellent. Etzioni, a University of Washington computer scientist and serial entrepreneur, has a knack for building businesses based on complex algorithms that help people make decisions — from Farecast (now part of Microsoft Bing Travel) to Decide, the consumer price prediction and consumer review startup.
The director of the University of Washington’s Turing Center, Etzioni has remained at the forefront of research shaping the future of search. See his past Geek of the Week profile.
Gardner, a cancer researcher, and her colleagues at Seattle Children’s Research Institute are altering the body’s infection-fighting blood cells to attack cancer in the same way those cells fight viruses. Gardner is the researcher leading a new clinical trial for young adults with relapsed acute lymphoblastic leukemia, or ALL, who are considered to have less than 20 percent chance of survival. See her past Geek of the Week profile.
Other finalists for Geek of the Year were Adam Loving, Kate Matsudaira and Ramez Naam. More background in this post.
Young Entrepreneur of the Year, presented by Appature
Price started Gravity Payments at the age of 19 during his freshman year at Seattle Pacific University. Now, at 28, he’s a well-established old-timer in entrepreneurial circles, but still young enough to qualify for this award. Gravity Payments employs nearly 100 people, and it was bootstrapped from the early days. The company provides payment processing services to small businesses, like restaurants, retailers and coffee shops.
Other finalists in this category were Lucas and Lee Brown, HasOffers; Aviel Ginzburg, Simply Measured; Kyle Kesterson, Freak’n Genius; Denny Luan and Cindy Wu, Microryza.
Startup of the Year, presented by Flinn Ferguson Corporate Real Estate
Winner: Simply Measured (Award accepted by Simply Measured CEO Adam Schoenfeld)
There’s no shortage of online tools to help manage social media activities. But Simply Measured is gaining traction with some big names. Customers using its analytics tools include American Express, AOL, Billboard, Edelman, Microsoft, Samsung and UFC, with customers paying between $1,500 and $2,500 per month to analyze social media traffic and determine social medial influencers. The Seattle company, led by Aviel Ginzburg, Damon Cortesi and Adam Schoenfeld, received a big boost in January when it raised $8 million from Bessemer Venture Partners and MHS Capital.
Other finalists included Apptentive, Buuteeq, Context Relevant and Haiku Deck. More about this category here.
Congratulations to all the winners, and thanks to the hundreds of you who joined us at the EMP this evening for this one-of-a-kind awards event and party. Stay tuned for more coverage from the scene on GeekWire.
Thanks also to additional event sponsors, DoubleDown Interactive, SEOmoz, Exsilio Solutions, and supporting sponsors Killer Infographics, Bootstrapper Studios, and Babson F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business.
Photos taken by Alisa Reznick, a University of Washington student working as an editorial intern at GeekWire this quarter. Reach her at email@example.com or on Twitter @AlisaReznick.


text:
During the Pokemon Direct, The Pokemon Company announced the release date and price for Pokemon Sword and Shield.
Pokemon Sword and Shield will launch for Nintendo Switch on November 15, 2019 worldwide. It will cost 5980 yen/USD59.99. Pre-orders for the game will begin in Japan on July 12, 2019.
Here’s a look at the boxart:


text:
Nintendo is Crushing Competition Right Now
Who says that Nintendo is dead?
Some have recently said that Nintendo is in trouble since the Wii U is not selling well and there is a lack of first-party content available. However, those critics are forgetting one, extremely important thing. The 3DS and 2DS are selling like hotcakes.
Today, the numbers of how many consoles were sold in October of this year have been released and it looks like Nintendo is doing very well. According to the numbers, the 3DS and 2DS together sold 452,000 units. The next highest selling console was the Xbox 360 which sold 166,000. It will be interesting to see the numbers for November and December as both the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One release.
It is not surprising, however, that the 3DS and the 2DS are doing so well since Nintendo is doing a great job at providing quality games for the systems. Great downloadable games like SteamWorld Dig are being received well and let’s not forget the recent releases of Pokemon X and Y, and the ever popular Animal Crossing: New Leaf. So, Congrats Nintendo! Hopefully, we will see an even brighter future for you!


text:
Cybercrime alert: In March, 93 percent of all phishing emails studied contained ransomware designed to forcibly encrypt PCs, says PhishMe chief operating officer Jim Hansen. In an interview, he offers insights on how to respond.
A federal court has ruled that P.F. Chang's cyber insurer does not have to reimburse the restaurant chain for fees it paid to its merchant services provider in the wake of its 2013 card breach. The ruling raises questions about the value cyber insurance provides to retailers.
This ISMG Security Report features a discussion of the impact on the global financial services industry of the SWIFT-related theft of $81 million from Bangladesh's central bank and similar thefts. You'll also hear reports on making IT systems more trustable and national governments' spending on cybersecurity.
NIST plans next year to clarify certain provisions in its cybersecurity framework. "Just to be clear, we're not headed toward a version 2.0 right now," Program Manager Matt Barrett explains in an interview. "We're headed to something that's more like a 1.1."
The theft of an unencrypted laptop that may have contained information on up to 400,000 inmates who served time in California prisons has been added to the federal tally of health data breaches. Experts say notifying all those potentially affected could prove challenging.
TeamViewer is strengthening the security of its remote access application after an uptick in account takeovers that the company says is the result of hackers reusing account credentials from recent data breaches.
Will a federal appellate court ruling in favor of a Minnesota bank that sued its insurer for coverage of costs associated with a fraudulent wire transfer have a big impact on similar cases? Experts offer an analysis.
Europe's biggest annual information security conference returns to London this week. Here's my pick of the top Infosec Europe sessions, with topics ranging from cybercrime and incident response to EU regulations and the Internet of Things.
A suspected breach of credit card and personal data from a train ticket booking system has turned out to be simply an irregularity in a database, says the transport agency for the Australia state of News South Wales.
Asking how many different technologies consumers will tolerate when it comes to paying for their goods and services is a bit like asking how many more superheroes moviegoers will countenance in the latest "Avengers" film.
Is SWIFT now playing good cop/bad cop? While it initially promised to not police the financial services industry, it's now considering training auditors and suspending banks found to have poor information security practices.
The theft of a backpack holding a laptop computer and paper documents containing medical information on perhaps thousands of NFL players serves as a lesson in the importance of safeguarding all health information, even for entities falling outside of HIPAA's reach.


text:
- Subscribe NowNewsletters & Alerts
Home-video charts: ‘Hunger Games’ still on fire
With more disc sales than the rest of the top 10 combined, “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” topped the home-video charts again last week. Lionsgate’s blockbuster ranked first on the Nielsen VideoScan First Alert chart, which tracks overall disc sales, and the firm’s dedicated Blu-ray chart with 48 percent of its units sold in high-definition, reported Home Media Magazine. A Walmart-exclusive two-pack with the first movie added additional sales, and the YA dystopian adventure was number one on Home Media’s rental chart as well.
With almost six times fewer sales, “Homefront” was runner-up on First Alert and fourth on Blu-ray, with 40 percent of its units sold in high-definition. Released on video by Universal, the action thriller starring Jason Statham made about $20 million in domestic theaters.
Rounding out the top 10 were “12 Years a Slave,” “Gravity” and the direct-to-video release “Barbie: The Pearl Princess.” Other new releases in the top 10 included Fox’s “The Book Thief” at sixth on both First Alert and Blu-ray and “Out of the Furnace” at ninth on First Alert, eighth on Blu-ray.
Over on Home Media’s rental chart, last week’s top three rankings remained unchanged: “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire,” “Dallas Buyers Club” and “Thor: The Dark World.” “The Counselor” and “The Best Man Holiday” rounded out the top five after 28-day holdbacks at outlets like Netflix and Redbox.
Here are the top 10 overall disc sellers for the week ended March 16, 2014, according to Home Media Magazine:
- “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” (Lionsgate): two weeks on chart/ranked first last week
- “Homefront” (Universal): one week on chart
- “12 Years a Slave” (Fox): two weeks on chart/ranked second last week
- “Gravity” (Warner Bros.): three weeks on chart/ranked third last week
- “Barbie: The Pearl Princess” (Universal): one week on chart
- “The Book Thief” (Fox): one week on chart
- “Thor: The Dark World” (Disney/Marvel): three weeks on chart/ranked fourth last week
- “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire/The Hunger Games” Walmart exclusive set (Lionsgate): two weeks on chart/ranked second last week
- “Out of the Furnace” (Fox): one week on chart
- “Despicable Me 2” (Universal): 14 weeks on chart/ranked ninth last week
If you are commenting using a Facebook account, your profile information may be displayed with your comment depending on your privacy settings. By leaving the 'Post to Facebook' box selected, your comment will be published to your Facebook profile in addition to the space below.
- Most popular
- The Lyons roar: 6 secrets to 'Empire's' ratings success
- Apartments.com launches $100 million ad campaign starring Jeff
- SunTrust buys DreamWorks Animation's Glendale campus
- TV ratings: Rise of ‘Empire’ puts Fox in tie with ABC atop demo
- Snapchat’s Evan Spiegel is the world’s youngest billionaire
- Flick picks: 'Focus,' 'The Hunting Ground'
- FDA approves Allergan's Natrelle Inspira implants
- Will users swipe right on Tinder Plus?
- J2 Global extends tender offer for Carbonite
- Nordstrom moving from Westside Pavilion to Century City
Director Business Development Adsperity | Los Angeles, CA
Rancho: FT Paramedic American Medical Response | Rancho Cucamonga, CA
RN 8HR Per Diem III, Days - Ambulatory Surgery Dignity Health - Glendale Memorial Hospital | Glendale, CA
Contract Administrator I Volt | Burbank, CA
Sales/ Marketing Representative-Verizon FiOs Marketing Werks | Thousand Oaks, CA


text:
Our two recent posting about what really may have motived Editor & Publisher magazine to switch from weekly to monthly print publication led the magazine’s Publisher Chaz McKeown to e-mail us information to show that E&P is a very healthy and competitive print publication.
Chaz McKeown is one of the most hard working and dependable trade journal publishers who we know. He rightly points out that E&P won Jesse H. Neal National Business Journalism Awards in 2001 and 2003 for Best Staff-Written Editorial content. He also notes that E&P Editor Greg Mitchell was awarded a McAllister Editorial Fellowship this year.
The material that McKeown sent us included results of a recent survey by Belden Associates of 547 executives in various departments among US newspapers. The survey showed that E&P was the most widely read publication among the entire US newspaper industry.
- Among all these newspaper industry executives: 79% read E&P, 65% USAToday, 52% NAA Presstime, 46% The Wall Street Journal, 43% The New York Times, 36% Newspapers & Technology, 35% American Journalism Review, 23% Columbia Journalism Review, and 16% NAA TechNews.
- Among newspaper publishers, general managers, and corporate officers: 90% read E&P, 74% NAA Presstime, 57% News & Technology, and 30-% NAA TechNews.
- Among editors and newsroom executives: 68% read E&P, 63% The New York Times, 55% The Wall Street Journal, and 35% NAA Presstime.
- Among newspaper production and MIS executives: E&P 87%, Newspapers & Technology 80%, NAA Presstime 58%, and NAA TechNews 43%.
- And among newspaper advertising, marketing, promotion, and circulation executives: 90% read E&P, 74% NAA Presstime, and 32% Newspapers & Technology.
All that sounds great; E&P wins in all those categorical comparisons. McKeown who recently took over one of the magazine’s sales territories himself is valiantly defending his magazine. However, we regret that we are unconvinced.
Just because E&P is the most widely read printed publication among all newspaper executives and among executives of any newspaper department doesn’t make it the most efficient in fulfilling tasks for its readers and advertisers. McKeown’s PowerPoint slides carry impressive percentages. But just because more newspaper executives own Honda Accords than any other vehicle doesn’t mean that they’d choose a Honda Accord to carry more passengers better than can a bus, or to carry more cargo than can a truck, or to outrun a sports car. E&P‘s readership is wide but E&P‘s usage is thin
Classified Advertising Revenues
Classifieds used to represent more than 50% of E&P’s advertising annual revenues. That was 15 years ago. Where has that advertising gone? We aren’t sure. Some of it simply evaporated as the number of media jobs declined throughout the 1990s, a decline which certainly accelerated during the current recession. Some other classifieds migrated online elsewhere than E&P’s own Web site; that migration shouldn’t surprise anyone because, unlike E&P , other sites (such as Monster.com) didn’t charge anyone to place a classified ad online nor required anyone to first buy a classified ad online in print with a lead time of a week or two before publication. Regardless of where went the bulk of the classified ads that E&P’s print editions used to have, they are gone and E&P no longer has most of that revenue from print &$151; a huge blow to its overall revenues.
How much worse will E&P‘s classified advertising revenues be when the magazine switches to monthly print publication? Would prefer to place your classified ad in a weekly that has a lead time of a few weeks or a monthly that has a lead time of a few weeks?
Display Advertising Revenues
McKeown’s charts might impress advertising agency people. But E&P‘s display ads have almost always been bought directly by newspaper companies or newspaper equipment vendors. The past 20 years have seen a remarkable consolidations of newspaper vendors (i.e., vendors acquiring other vendors) and of newspaper chains (i.e., more newspapers owned by fewer companies), reducing the number of E&P’s possible advertising prospects. We believe that E&P‘s average number of paid display advertising pages has shrunk to less than 5 per weekly edition, probably earning revenues less than the publication’s print costs. The magazine itself has shrunk to only 20 to 24 pages per edition.
Moreover, what growth synergies that VNU Media owner of Adweek, Mediaweek, and the Hollywood Reporter, among other publications might have hoped would develop when it bought E&P from the Brown family a few years ago haven’t developed. E&P‘s office and production costs were reduced by moving the magazine into VNU’s offices and using VNU’s existing magazine production staff, but E&P‘s ad sales and circulation didn’t grow from any of those synergies.
E&P 15 years ago had a circulation of almost 30,000. Five years ago, its circulation was just under 20,000. We believe its circulation is now around 15,000. That’s not a healthy trend. Part of that decline is due again to the reduction in the number of newspaper industry jobs. Plus, many newspapers once had six or seven annual subscriptions, but now have placed orders for only one or two.
Editor Greg Mitchell has done a very good job of improving the quality of the stories that E&P has staff to publish. No longer are E&P stories rewritten press releases. (Or, worse, press releases printed verbatim. We remember once story an E&P about the Associated Press that began “Your internationally renown new cooperative’s Chairman Louis Boccardi ”.)
However, we still believe that E&P has been editorially outflanked by a variety of more niche competitors, such as AJR, CJR, and Newspapers & Technology. Worse, during the past dozen years, E&P‘s weekly edition has gained editorial competition from the very medium it covers: National newspapers, such as The Wall Street Journal and The New York York Times, and major regionals such as The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, and Los Angeles Times, now often daily report on the newspaper and media industries. The aggregate result is that E&P has fallen from a ‘must read’ to a ‘should read’ for newspaper people.
We frankly don’t believe there is a way to maintain E&P as a weekly printed publication. That battle has been lost. In the words of one critic of it, “It will go the way of many of the publications it covered through the decades. There is no more Brooklyn Eagle, Los Angeles Herald Examiner, Miami News, San Antonio Light, Washington Star, Long Island Press, etc. Soon, there will be no more E&P.”
Can E&P be maintained, or improve its fortunes, as monthly publication? We’re not sure. Reduced publication frequency will reduce its production & distribution costs. Will give it more time to improve the story quality, but not timeliness. Will certainly hurt its print classified revenues. We don’t see how it will improve its display advertising lineage; there might be more paid ad pages per edition, but not we don’t see how reduced frequency will lead to any increase in the aggregate number of paid ad pages printed per month. Reducing publication frequency will reduce costs, but you can’t turn around a publication simply by reducing costs.
E&P‘s ancillary goal of enhancing its web site’s coverage of the newspaper industry is admirable. Increasing its Web staff beyond the current single person will certainly help. We have plans that could make much more of profitable of its Web site (and VNU’s other Web sites). Unlike Variety (archrival of VNU’s The Hollywood Reporter and one of the most successful trade journals online) VNU Media’s publication’s made the classic error of mistaking the Web as a place simply to shovel print content and of not diving more fully into Web publishing five years ago. We won’t divulge more about what we think E&P should do online (that, after all, is the what we sell, not give away for free here online).


text:
This year marked a turning point for retailers. We saw the profits of high street darling John Lewis drop 99% and, arguably for the first time, challenges extended into ecommerce as Asos issued a shock profit warning.
The Christmas shopping period – including the January Sales – is a prime time for the sector to recoup some of what it’s lost over the course of the year.
But, when you consider that most shops during this season are packed with frantic bargain-hunters, product displays in disarray and floors staffed by undertrained temporary staff, it can be battleground enough for non-disabled consumers let alone those with a physical or mental disability.
What the purple pound means for retailers
Nearly one in every five people in the UK has a disability or impairment, and over half of households have a connection to someone with a disability.
Their collective spending power – the ‘purple pound’ – is worth £249bn to the UK economy. However, only 10% of businesses have a targeted strategy to access this market, showing there is still plenty more opportunity available.
“We can’t forget that disabled shoppers represent a real, year-round market opportunity for retailers”
It’s not just a bricks-and-mortar problem. The ‘click-away pound’ – disabled people leaving a website because of accessibility – is a lost opportunity to UK plc worth £11bn a year.
Evidence suggests disabled people are increasingly using the internet as their preferred method of shopping and that as a defined target group we are more loyal to brands than the average consumer.
But online shopping is not the silver bullet. Disabled shoppers want to be able to visit shops and shopping centres for the experience – a big part of which is determined by good, inclusive customer service.
What can be done?
When you consider that 75% of disabled people and their families have walked away from a shop or left a website because of poor access and/or poor customer service, it’s clear that much can be achieved through simple changes such as staff training and better signposting.
We surveyed more than 200 disabled shoppers last year. Here are some of the small changes they said would make a big difference to their shopping experience:
- When I come to your shop, please come over to me and say: ‘Hi, can I help?’ It makes such a difference and reflects the key issue we have heard about staff swerving a conversation through fear of unintentionally offending a disabled person with perceived incorrect language and etiquette.
- We know additional stock is needed at this time of year, but can you avoid putting items in the aisles as it means I can’t get through.
- Please make sure the contactless chip and PIN machines can be removed from their case as they should, so I can pay independently. Normally they are placed too high.
More than one day
November 13 this year was Purple Tuesday, the UK’s first accessible shopping day. More than 700 organisations – including retailers such as Marks & Spencer, Argos and Sainsbury’s – came together to improve accessibility for disabled shoppers.
It did an incredible job of raising awareness of the challenges that disabled shoppers face day in, day out, acting as a catalyst for many new initiatives aimed at alleviating these.
While it’s tempting to roll out changes uniquely designed for Christmas shopping or the hectic January Sales, it’s imperative that any new initiatives are sustainable and designed for the long term.
We can’t forget that disabled shoppers represent a real, year-round market opportunity for retailers that can be accessed through simple changes to the shopping environment and approaches to customer service.
The time is now. Not only can retailers benefit from a slice of the £249bn purple pound but, importantly, it’s a chance for UK retail to lead the way and create true inclusiveness and belonging.


text:
China created the country’s largest chip maker last week, taking a giant step towards Beijing’s plan of becoming less reliant on foreign technology.
Under the government’s direction, Tsinghua Unigroup, China’s largest chip designer, acquired a majority stake in XMC, one of China’s leading chip makers and backed by the national semiconductor fund, the Wall Street Journal reported. A new holding company was created for XMC called Yangtze River Storage Technology, which has a registered capital of 18.9 billion yuan ($2.8 billion).
Yangtze combines Tsinghua Unigroup’s investment power and XMC’s engineering team, said Roger Sheng, a Shanghai-based research director for semiconductors at Gartner IT -0.75%, adding that the merger is the first case between two Chinese companies in the semiconductor industry.
China imports around $200 billion of chips a year, which is the biggest trade deficit in the global semiconductor market, according to state-run Xinhua news agency. The creation of Yangtze would benefit the country in the long run, but it will first have a negative impact on its smaller domestic players, said Sheng.
“Currently, I think other Chinese companies that want to invest in the memory business are most impacted because the new company will get the most resources and support from the Chinese government,” he said. “The other companies or regional governments can’t get as big an investment as Yangtze.”
Global chip makers are safe for a few years, with Yangtze needing at least two to three years to get commercialization capability, unless Tsinghua Unigroup can acquire companies with current mainstream 3D NAND (next-generation flash memory chips) or DRAM (computer memory chips), said Sheng.
XMC, however, is developing today’s leading-edge 3D NAND chips to be test-ready by the end of this year, said Hui He, a senior analyst for China’s semiconductor market at IHS IHS +% Technology. The company will have more advanced chips for initial mass production scheduled for the first half of 2018, she said.
After the proven product ramp-up period, “all global memory vendors will be affected,” said Gartner’s Sheng. “Chinese companies could own the market with proven product manufacturing capabilities. It will definitely impact existing market players through cheaper and volume product supply.”
Some of the global chip makers whose market shares will be affected are South Korea’s SK Hynix , Japan’s Toshiba (which has a flash memory partnership with SanDisk SNDK +%), U.S.’s Micron (which Tsinghua Unigroup tried and failed to buy for $23 billion because of national security risk), as well as Intel INTC +0.16%, which has a plant in Dalian, China, that started 3D NAND production just last month, said IHS’ Hui.
Samsung, which released its earnings for the second quarter last week and said it expects its semiconductor business to drive the conglomerate’s profit next year, will also be affected.
XMC is currently the only Chinese enterprise working on 3D NAND technology, and will be able to ship some products to the market with Tsinghua Unigroup’s capital support up until 2020, said Hui. By 2030, XMC targets to be a tier-one 3D NAND supplier, she added.
Though China’s Yangtze chip giant has the investment power and engineering team to improve the country’s memory technology, “the biggest obstacle of the Chinese memory industry is still how to get matured memory technologies from major memory players,” said Gartner’s Sheng. “Thus, before the next merger or acquisition or technology license happens, it only demonstrates that Chinese government wants to focus on the memory industry development, as we had already known.”


text:
It’s hard to imagine that someone might not use the Internet, but according to Pew Research Center 15% of Americans are not Internet users. Check out this chart to see the growing and changing trends regarding the reasons why some Americans chose not to access the web: Do you know someone who doesn’t use the […]
I couldn’t agree more with these web design trends of 2013. Trends I expect to continue and further develop into 2014: Simplicity – less clutter, faster and cleaner designs Further Unification between desktop and mobile devices Websites that are tapping into mobile device technology (i.e. Apple’s TouchID) Responsiveness – more sites will be switching to […]
A report by Sandvine found that Netflix and YouTube accounts for half of Internet traffic in North America. “For the first time ever, peer-to-peer filesharing has fallen below 10% of total traffic in North America, which is a stark difference from the 60% share it consumed 11 years ago,” said Dave Caputo, CEO, Sandvine. Netflix […]
A survey by Qmee looked at the average online activity in 2013. Sending and receiving email took the top spot at 98% in 2013. The survey is based on 2,000 Internet users ages 16+. While this is only a very small fraction of users who are active on the Internet, it provides some interesting insight […]
Google announced Thursday that it has updated its search algorithm. The update is called Hummingbird and it has changed how Google will return search results. What the changes mean. According to SearchEngineLand, Hummingbird will “focus on the meaning behind the words….Hummingbird is paying attention to each word in a query, ensuring that the whole query […]
Responsive web design is crucial for success in the digital marketplace. Responsive web design is simply a site that seamlessly adjusts to fit to your device. This means that if you look at a site on your computer it will automatically change if you viewed the same site on a smart phone or tablet. This […]
While the Internet offers many places to share information about your life, many users would like to remain anonymous when using the web. According to Pew Research Center, 86% of Internet users have taken steps online to remove or mask their digital footprints. “Users clearly want the option of being anonymous online and increasingly worry […]
With the shift toward mobile devices, it’s critical for websites to be able to display on these various devices. An easy way to do this is creating the website through responsive design.