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Online and offline market research giant Millward Brown has acquired online research firm Dynamic Logic.
The acquisition follows a competitive bidding process initiated by Dynamic Logic after the privately held company was approached by several research firms last year. Media-focused investment banking firm Ad Media Partners handled the transaction. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“It’s a sign of the times. Online has become very important, and advertisers want accountability across many forms of media,” said Nick Nyhan, president and co-founder of Dynamic Logic. “Clients are looking for new tools and approaches to measure the cross-media consumer, and we will have some great offerings together.”
Millward Brown, which is part of the consultancy division of WPP Group, will combine its Audience Audit, BrandImpact and SiteImpact offerings with Dynamic Logic’s digital marketing effectiveness research products and services. The two companies share several mutual clients, but Nyhan declined to name them without first conferring with Millward Brown.
“They have a 30-year history of doing ad effectiveness research and brand research, and that’s the space we were heading toward,” Nyhan said. “They’re going to help us with deepening our analysis, determining the cause and effect of performance, and comparing different forms of media.”
Dynamic Logic said the companies would use their combined assets to create a range of products and services for advertisers, agencies and publishers, to be launched in the coming months. After that, the two will look toward creating more integrated services in the cross-media space.
“There are a lot of similarities in what we measure, and that made this very easy. That should also make it easier for advertisers who want a consistent measuring stick across different media channels,” Nyhan said.
Millward Brown will also leverage its 60 worldwide offices to help Dynamic Logic expand geographically. Dynamic Logic is headquartered in New York with offices in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago and London. Nyhan said that it has had inquiries from clients who want to move into new regions, and this will enable them to do so.
Nyhan, who co-founded the company with CTO Ronit Aviv in 1999, will remain president of Dynamic Logic, which will now be known as “Dynamic Logic — A Millward Brown Company.” Nyhan will report to Mary Ann Packo, CEO of Millward Brown North America. Dynamic Logic will remain intact, and is hiring to accommodate expected growth, Nyhan said.
Businesses near ‘PokeStops’ are enjoying a huge surge in footfall due to the popularity of Pokémon Go, according to our first major ... read more
A new organization, The Coalition for Better Ads, has been launched to “leverage consumer insights and cross-industry expertise to develop and implement ... read more


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New Designers celebrates its milestone 30th edition from 24-27 June and 1-4 July 2015. One of the highlights is On Year On, a curated showcase of 50 young designers who have set up their businesses in the last year. Some of the designers featured this year will include; Leah Jensen, Laura Melhuish, Sophia O’Connor, Charlotte Beevor & Augusta Akerman.
‘New Designers is where those in the know go to find fresh ideas and snap up the work of talented young designers before it hits the high street. In the last 30 years it has become known for kick-starting the careers of some of the UK’s best-loved designers, including those of Thomas Heatherwick, Bethan Gray and Alex Monroe.
This year sees over 3,000 of the most creative and talented design graduates and new businesses from across the nation show off their work in the Business Design Centre in Islington, London.’

domain: news


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The last quarter of the last year marks Google’s announcements concerning the new family of Nexus devices, starting with the LG manufactured Nexus 4 smartphone, revived Nexus 7 tablet variants and prices, and the Samsung made Nexus 10 Android tablet.
Barely did the Nexus 4 penetrate the market according to the demand and already there are rumors about the device that is going to replace it this year. So is the case with the Nexus 7, that apparently is going to be replaced by a greater improved version. Courtesy of a Korean forum, some specs regarding the new Google devices have leaked on the Internet.
The next gen Nexus smartphone will apparently be made by LG and called the LG Nexus 5. It will feature a 5-inch full-HD (1920 x 1080) display, offering no less than 440 ppi. It will be powered by NVidia’s Tegra 4 chip, along with 2GB of RAM, 8/16GB of internal storage, a 13 MP auto-focus rear camera with LED flash and a 3 MP front-facing camera. There will be a retail unit price for the 8 GB variant of $299.
The Nexus 7.7 is the next mid-range Google tablet, going to offer a 7.7-inch WUXGA display (1920×1200, 294 ppi). It will offer a 720p HD rear and front cameras and will be powered by the same NVidia Tegra 4 chip, along with 2GB of RAM and 8/16GB of internal storage. The price will be of $299 for the 8GB model – while both devices are expected to come with Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie. An announcement is expected durring this year’s Google I/O event.


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Visitors to Alaska reached an all-time high of 1,966,700 visitors between May 1, 2013, and April 30, 2014, according to a report recently released by the Alaska Division of Economic Development.
The Interim Visitor Volume Report 2013-14 shows that visitation exceeded the previous peak of 1,961,500 visitors, set during 2007-08, by more than 5,000 visitors, according to a press release.
“Alaska’s tourism industry enjoyed a robust 2013,” said Susan Bell, commissioner of the Alaska Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development, or DCCED. “Increased cruise ship calls and new air service, including domestic and international routes, are driving the growth.”
The report highlights recovery in Alaska visitor numbers in recent years. More than 6 percent growth during the 2013-14 visitor season marks the most significant period of growth in a single year since 2005-06, and the third consecutive year of growth after the recession-impacted period of 2008-09 to 2010-11.
“We are seeing the benefits of an effective tourism marketing program, exemplified by events like NBC’s recent broadcast of the Today Show from Juneau, which featured some of the state’s many travel attractions,” said Bell.
A strong marketing program, combined with reduced taxes, reasonable regulations and a positive business environment are all part of a comprehensive strategy to grow Alaska’s tourism industry, according to the press release.
The interim visitor volume report is part of the Alaska Visitor Statistics Program VI and is found at http://www.commerce.alaska.gov/dnn/ded/DEV/TourismDevelopment/TourismResearch.aspx.


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1. From pole to pole
2. A case for more efficiency
3. Big ships steer clear
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British container ports have a real need to expand with the increase in world trade, but with land scarce and becoming more expensive, they are faced with having to rely more upon the rail infrastructure. Britain's container ports are fast running out of capacity, due to increasing world trade. For the distribution industry, this lack of land poses a major dilemma. Successful ports such as Southampton, which handles almost half the UK's trade with the Far East are coming under increasing pressure to expand, yet the little space available is very expensive. Three new ports are being proposed, all in the south-east: at Dibden Bay, across from Southampton port; Bathside Bay next to Harwich, and Shell Haven in the Thames Estuary. Within the industry lies the view that either one of Shellhaven or Dibden will go ahead, at the expense of the other. The Dibden proposal, put forward by Associated British Ports (ABP), is undergoing a year-long planning inquiry in Southampton, while ProLogis Developments has bought three strategic sites within 20 miles of Shell Haven. Earlier this year P&O and Shell submitted a planning application to turn the 1,500 acre (607 ha) refinery site into one of the South East's largest container ports.
As the UK's leading vehicle-handling port, there are fears that the incapacity of Southampton, as well as other ports, to accommodate more may see Britain losing out to competitors.
Robert Orrett, director at ATIS Real Weatheralls' Bristol office says: "If ships can't fit into Southampton they will go to Rotterdam. Business
will move away from the UK in favour of other European ports." Others in the industry say this is already the case.
From pole to pole
The market is showing signs of polarisation, with Southampton and the Humber coming under pressure for land, while opportunities in less crowded locations such as Felixstowe still exist for expansion.
According to Phillip Williams, group property director at ABP, development at each of its ports is looked at on its merits. Teignmouth on the south coast is too compact to offer more land, whereas in Barry; South Wales, 198 acres of surplus land has been identified, with similar significant acreage set aside in Swansea; 100 acres has been developed in Cardiff over the last 10 years.
On the east coast Humberside ports such as Goole, Grimsby and Immingham, extra space is even scarcer, although parcels of land do exist on the peripheries of each.
As much of this is mixed-use development, does this mean distribution land is losing out to residential developments as waterside living becomes increasingly fashionable?
Williams says: "There are premium land values for waterside sites, which means in many cases it is more cost effective to locate distribution on the hinterland." He does not see this as presenting logistical problems, in terms of moving cargo from the ports.
While lack of land proves a continuing conundrum, Bowles points to novel ways of increasing activity, such as looking for modern ways of providing covered storage. He says: "Even if ports can't provide floor space they can provide storage space."
He suggests building terminals into water areas. In Hull, parliamentary powers have granted permission to develop four river berths. One has been developed for the berth of super cruisers, while the development of a second is currently being considered.
A case for more efficiency
Mike Hill, estates manager at ABP Hull, says: "Hull has seen a steady increase in tonnage but there is a shortage of space. All sites are fully let and areas of land are dwindling. Lack of space means using the areas we have in a more efficient way. Land that is available is further from
the quay, which is a problem when customers want to be as near to the quay as possible. In fact, very few land areas are in close proximity." However, he stresses that expansion into water must consider environmental issues.
Ports nationwide face opposition from green groups, but Orrett of ATIS Real Weatheralls contends: "The planning green paper is supposed to help balance development with the environment. If you work for the ABP, I think it is pretty obvious they should proceed with Dibden Bay. We have got to have some progression. We can't let the country lose its competitiveness." The other option for the distribution industry focuses away from land issues to improving logistics, which addresses the problem of property by allowing goods to be located further away from the ports themselves. ABP has set up a logistics division, ABP Connect, for road and rail freight distribution. ABP Connect is also looking at other distribution markets such as cargo handling facilities within sites and also manages various storage facilities. It was set up to support the traditional port business by adding value with logistic services.
Mike Fernandez, sales and development director at ABP Connect recently attended a conference in Amsterdam, where he says: "They were saying if we don't gear property to what the customer wants, the customer may take its business elsewhere. A port in South America began to lose business and then convinced shippers to return by building facilities. ABP Connect is about working out what the customer wants." He has noted the move in customer requirements towards a one-stop shop.
Fernandez says of the property perspective of operations: "In ports land is very expensive and very scarce, so we have to move produce away from the port. We look at where the customer is. Some want goods delivered directly to where they are located and some want a cost-effective service taking goods inland."
Orrett is concerned that getting out of the port world and into transportation will bring problems of its own with the rail network. He says: "Freight is a minor part of our rail system and there is only so much throughput. Neither is road freight the answer in the long term." Fernandez believes in the future ports will move to more up-river locations.
Traditionally ports have not got involved with logistics operations, nor conversely have logistic companies partnered with ports. While the
logistics industry has moved to managing the supply chain at closer quarters with ports, he thinks there still exists a lack of recognition from the ports for the role of logistics companies.
Big ships steer clear
As smaller feeder ships in the UK ports replace the larger container ships which now head to other European locations, Fernandez believes initiatives such as Dibden will attract the larger cargoes back to this country. But for now bigger ships are a physical impossibility for our ports.
In terms of offering a more innovative approach, he says: "We are looking at where produce is going. For example, with one of our customers, the vast majority of produce is going to the West Midlands, so why not store it there where the client is."
He stresses the need to look at orders received and how the customer wants them delivered. His message to port owners is: "They should recognise that in 10 years, the structure of our business will be different. Service will have to be innovative. Ports should investigate techniques used by third-party logistics people as well as learning from the rest of the world how commodities are handled."
PHOTO (COLOR): As feeder ships in UK ports replace the larger container ships, initiatives such as Dibden Bay will attract the larger cargoes back to ports like Southampton (above)
By Helen Osborne


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Job advertisements rise by 2.0 per cent in December quarter
18 February 2019
Job advertisements rise by 2.0 per cent in the December 2018 quarter
Jobs Online figures released today by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment show the number of job advertisements rose by 2.0 per cent in the December 2018 quarter. Dr Rose Ryan, Workforce and Workplace manager, in the Evidence and Insights group, says “This increase is slightly higher than the 1.7 per cent quarterly average seen in September 2018, with Health and Primary Industries contributing most to the rise.”
This quarter’s growth in vacancies is consistent with the trend for business confidence. The New Zealand Institute of Economic Research (NZIER) Quarterly Survey of Business Opinion shows a net five percent of businesses increased their headcount and their hiring intentions remained steady in the December 2018 quarter.
Construction and Engineering, Business Services and the Health sector showed the strongest increase across most of the regions. Dr Ryan says the three regions with the highest increase over the quarter were in Gisborne/Hawkes Bay, Northland, and Manawatu – Whanganui/Taranaki. Only Canterbury had a fall in vacancies in the December 2018 quarter.
Online advertising saw the strongest increase in Professional occupations and Machinery Operator and Driver groups across almost all of the regions. Semi-skilled jobs, especially in sales continued to show the weakest increase.
The delay in publishing the data for this quarter was necessitated by an adjustment for shared inventories in job boards since June 2018. The matter only came to light during our processing of the December data. Accordingly, we have reprocessed the last six months’ data and published an extended table of revisions.
Jobs Online measures changes in online job advertisements from four internet job boards – SEEK, Trade Me Jobs, Education Gazette and Kiwi Health Jobs. Job vacancies are an important indicator of labour demand and changes in the economy.
The trend series is used as the primary indicator as it reduces the month-to-month volatility. Only basic highlights are published monthly. Every quarter a detailed report will be published.
Visit our website for more information on MBIE labour market analysis.


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The owners of Goldendale, Wash.-based Maryhill Winery say their 2004 distribution will dwarf figures posted in 2003.
Craig and Vicki Leuthold projected that, at 7,000 cases, the winery's distribution load will increase by 99 percent over 2003's numbers.
The Leutholds are reaching the high marks in just their third year of business.
The couple credited "aggressive sales and marketing" in pitching the winery as a Columbia Gorge destination spot.
The winery has further announced several private-label partnerships with various restaurants. One eatery, Azia, of Minneapolis, has agreed to a 2,500-case contract beginning in fall 2005.
The winery operates in tandem with an amphitheater that has attracted the likes of Willie Nelson -- who's slated for a sold-out Sept. 17 show -- and Don Henley. The venue grossed 60 percent more in receipts during 2004 in 2003 despite hosting two fewer shows, the Leutholds reported.


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AIB reveals spending data celebrating app landmark
To celebrate one million users of its mobile app, AIB have released anonymised and aggregated data to reveal consumer trends. The data shows what AIB users have spent their money on over the last six months.
It revealed that on average, Irish people spend €91 a month on restaurants and takeaways. Men (€103) spend more than women (€79). Those aged 25-29 (€106) were the biggest spenders of them all in this category. Dubliners came out on top here, with average monthly expenditure of €115. While those from Monaghan spend the least, at €59.
Each month, the average Irish person spends €228 on groceries. Women’s (€249) grocery bills are larger than men’s (€210). Those aged 50-54 pay the most for their foodstuffs (€367), while 19-24-year olds spend the least, at just over €100. County-by-county, people from Wicklow have the greatest grocery bills (€275), and those from Donegal have the smallest, at €186 each month.
Almost every €1 of €5 is spent online versus in store, as individuals spend 22% of their money online, and 78% in store.
It also found that each month, Irish women spend €119 on clothing. This is twice what men spend (€59).
Still, the data on our charitable donations was less than impressive. Clare is the most charitable county in Ireland, with the average person contributing €6.64 per month. Second on the leaderboard was Dublin, with monthly donations of just €4.32.


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GE and crowdsourced innovation platform Quirky are teaming up to support and encourage the creation of connected devices for fleet management, health care and sustainability solutions that participate in the so-called "Internet of Things."
Under the new relationship, GE will make thousands of existing patents available to the Quirky product development community starting in May.
The two companies hope these technologies will serve as the foundation for next-generation smart appliances and consumer products -- co-branded under the Wink: Instantly Connected -- that can communicate status, updates or other data to smartphones or Web software dashboards.
The idea is to encourage innovation that builds on GE technology without fear of potential patent infringement or retribution akin to the ongoing conflict between Apple and Samsung over smartphone innovation.
"For years, patents have become widely misunderstood and misused. We are going to return patents to their original purpose to act as a blueprint for technological and societal progress while protecting inventors and becoming the source of inspiration for future creators," said Ben Kaufman, founder and CEO of Quirky, in statement about the new GE-Quirky collaboration.
"This is good news for innovators, consumers and our country," said David Kappos, partner at law firm Cravath, Swaine & Moore, commenting on the GE-Quirky relationship. "There is tremendous value in patented ideas, and it is wonderful to see new collaborative ventures aimed at moving ideas into the marketplace."
Three initial areas of focus
Quirky, launched in 2009, is one of several Web platforms focused on encouraging collaboration on new product development. Its in-house team of engineers and designers considers ideas from all over the world, bringing concepts from sketch to store shelves. Some of its national retail and sales partners include Target, Bed Bath & Beyond and Amazon.com. Right now, the community includes almost 400,000 inventors.
Next page: Starting out


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LIVONIA, Mich., June 24, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- A123 Systems LLC, a developer and manufacturer of advanced lithium-ion batteries and systems, and Ionic Materials, an advanced materials company, today announced their milestone advancements in solid state battery development.
Working together through their joint development agreement, A123 and Ionic Materials have developed an innovative and industry first approach to an All Solid State Battery (ASSB) that will accelerate the commercialization of the technology. By combining Ionic Materials' advanced ionically conductive polymer with A123's next-generation NMC/graphite lithium-ion chemistry, the companies have created a battery with high energy density that is exceptionally safe and uses no flammable liquid electrolyte. By not using more exotic electrodes such as lithium metal, an ASSB with a solid polymer electrolyte can be introduced to the market much faster.
The innovation enables the manufacture of a full scale ASSB using today’s high volume lithium-ion manufacturing equipment. The result is a cost effective way to make electric vehicles safer, lighter, and less complex. Applications in the energy storage markets can also benefit from this technology which could reduce or eliminate the need for cooling and the need for fire suppression. This unique approach is expected to enable the high volume launch of solid-state technology into the market as soon as 2022.
This development demonstrates A123’s continued commitment to innovation. “The efforts of A123 Systems and Ionic Materials have been a creative and successful collaboration that has resulted in a state-of-the-art product we are proud to bring to market before anyone else in the industry,” said Jim Paye, acting CTO of A123 Systems. Mike Zimmerman, CEO of Ionic Materials agreed, “The synergy between our two companies produced a level of cooperation that is required to succeed in the ever advancing battery space. We look forward to our continued success in commercializing this technology.”
Mike Zimmerman from Ionic Materials and Brian Sisk from A123 will be presenting results of this development at the Advanced Automotive Battery Conference (AABC) on Tuesday, June 25 in San Diego, CA.
About Ionic Materials
Ionic Materials is a materials technology company that enables next-generation solid-state batteries. Its breakthrough polymer is the first solid electrolyte to fully function at room temperature and be compatible with lithium and alkaline-based batteries, and enable new and advanced electrode chemistries to significantly improve battery safety, performance and cost. Developed by a world-class team of polymer scientists, Ionic Materials is headquartered in Woburn, MA. For more information, please visit www.ionicmaterials.com.
About A123 Systems
A123 Systems is a global leader in the design and manufacture of lithium-ion battery cells and systems. Built upon the pursuit of bringing innovation to the market, A123 offers an ever growing portfolio of world-class lithium-ion batteries from a full line of high power mild-hybrid systems to energy dense solutions for the transportation and energy storage markets. For more information, please visit www.a123systems.com.
Paulette Spagnuolo Marketing and Communications Manager, A123
+1 734.772.0467 firstname.lastname@example.org


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The Better Business Bureau today warns two Beaverton companies may be taking customers for a ride after taking money to sell their time shares.
Kyle Kavas with the B.B.B. said, after the consumers are convinced to pay big fees, they don't receive any follow up from the company they don't get any contracts and then they assume their properties been sold or listed when it hasn't.
According to the B.B.B. Universal Timeshare Sales Associates has 26 complaints and Leisure Property Management has 13 complaints. Both list the same Beaverton address as the business location but with different suite numbers.
KGW discovered the address of 14525 SW Millikan Way in Beaverton does not exist. A customer representative of Universal told KGW it s new address is 11790 SW Beaverton Hillsdale Highway but that too is a non-existent location.
When asked of the representative who said they were speaking from Beaverton , What is the name of the largest city near Beaverton? the representative said they didn t know.
Most of the nearly 50 consumers who have filed formal complaints against Universal and Leisure with either the BBB or the Oregon Attorney General are from states back east. A man from Canada who only wanted to be known as Gerardo said, $1,900 is what I paid for them (Universal) to sell my timeshare for them to find a buyer and sell my property but if they don't sell it in 90 days I was going to pay nothing.
But Gerardo who said he paid $1,900 to Universal last September says the company has never called him back and keeps telling him they have a buyer but then never come through.
The Oregon Real Estate Agency says neither company is licensed in the state to sell time shares. The agencies best advice, Never pay up front for someone to sell property or a timeshare. No one from either Universal or Leisure returned KGW s calls for comment.


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Panasonic Australia has handed its media account to Universal McCann after a final three-way pitch with Ikon and OMD to handle all aspects of its media business. Essence Media had handled.
A key focus of the review was to clearly map the future for Panasonic in Australia as well as to evaluate the communications potential of all media to reach consumers effectively and accelerate the brand’s presence and appeal.
“UM most clearly demonstrated the synergies that can be created in leveraging the Panasonic brand across a gamut of media channels,” Gemma Lemieux, director, market communications for Panasonic, said. “In particular, the agency’s understanding of how to command earned, paid and owned media to make Panasonic a more holistic brand, in a very crowded marketplace, was most impressive. This is a significant year for Panasonic where we are looking to build on the market success on sub-brands such as Lumix cameras, as well as introducing 3-D TV to Australian consumers for the first time.
Henry Tajer, CEO of UM Australia and president of UM Asia Pacific, said the Panasonic win was a major development for the agency.
“We have been building capabilities that not just match, but are ahead of today’s dynamic media communications environment,” Tajer said. “The shape and scope of the agency’s operations have changed dramatically over time so we can bring truly new and effective solutions to our clients.
The work in Australia is worth an estimated $10-12 million in annual media spending.
Marketing Magazine Asia


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Update: Now available on the Google Play Store
We're live from Google's event in San Francisco, where the search giant has just announced its new games center app for Android, Google Play Games.
Google Play Games allows users to view leaderboards and achievements for games, compare scores and discover games based on what friends are playing.
The new Google Play Games app launches today on Google Play, and it'll ship on the new Nexus 7.
More: Google event liveblog


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Mixed reactions to two projects
Latham Circle store is welcomed, opposition rises in Ballston Spa
Published 8:25 pm, Wednesday, October 22, 2014
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has two current major projects in the Capital Region, one welcomed, one controversial.
The retailer is building what will become the first anchor store at the Shoppes at Latham Circle, the former site of Latham Circle Mall, a 180,000-square-foot supercenter with a full grocery store.
That Walmart will replace a 116,000-square-foot store at nearby Latham Farms shopping center.
Walls and roof beams have been going up at the site, which is expected to take a year to complete.
"It's going to be a beautiful new store, a great opportunity to really refurbish and modernize a store that has always been a good one for us," said William C. Wertz, regional spokesman for the Arkansas-based chain. He met with a Times Union reporter on Wednesday to discuss Wal-Mart's projects and plans in the region.
In Ballston Spa, the discount chain wants to build a supercenter at routes 50 and 67 but it has faced some heated opposition from Smart Growth Ballston.
An earlier attempt to build a Walmart store there a decade ago was dropped because of public discontent. The town then set a maximum store size limit, but the new proposal for a 137,000-square-foot store falls within those parameters.
Earlier this month, Smart Growth Ballston announced the results of a survey that said between 65 and 70 percent of respondents opposed big-box store development. Wal-Mart's attorney, Frank S. Rossi II, dismissed the survey as deeply flawed.
Wertz said the chain hopes the town will hold public hearings on the project next month.
"We are told the community really has wanted a grocery store for a long time," he said.
Darren Dopp, a partner in Patricia Lynch Associates public relations firm who works with Wal-Mart, said the area where the chain proposes to build has an auto parts store and a dollar store being built next to the site and an Agway store around the corner. Wertz said no homes are next to the site.
"I don't see that we're going to contribute to congestion," he said. "We certainly want our stores to be safe and convenient to shop."
Despite the public opposition, with competing pro and con signs on residents' lawns, Wertz said the chain has listened to neighbors' views.
"The concern that we heard a few years ago was that we were thinking of too-big a store," he said. "We listened to that and came back with a smaller plan."
Besides building its traditional supercenters, Walmart last year built its first upstate Walmart Neighborhood Market in Niskayuna.
The 39,000-square-foot market sells groceries, cleaning, gardening and automotive care products.
"We're really moving into smaller market stores," Wertz said. "Certainly that's part of our growth plan."
While there are no specific plans for more in the Capital Region, he said, Wal-Mart is committed to building more such stores in markets where groceries are not readily available.
"We have a corporate goal to build a certain number of stores in areas designated as food deserts," he said.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture says "food deserts" are urban areas where the nearest supermarket is a mile or more away. For rural areas, supermarkets must be 10 or more miles away. T
he poverty rate also must be 20 percent or more of the population, or the median family income must be at or below 80 percent of the area median income.
On Sunday, the Times Union reported on food deserts in Albany, Troy, Rensselaer and Schenectady.
Wal-Mart also has recently begun testing medical clinics in some of its Southern stores. There are no plans yet for such clinics in the Capital Region, Wertz said.
"It's something we're going to take a look at," he said. "Some of these areas have a real lack of access to health care."
The chain is also working to compete with online retail shopping. It recently launched a warehouse-style operation as a test, where customers can order online and then pick up at a drive-thru.
"More and more people are using our stores as a pickup point," he said. "They enter the store order online and then pick it up in person."


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EghtesadOnline: The secondary foreign exchange market started working in earnest on Tuesday, with reports suggesting that the first trading at a negotiated exchange rate was almost equivalent to that of the open market rate.
Mohammad Mehdi Raeiszadeh, a banking advisor to Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture, said exporters and importers agreed on an exchange rate close to 80,000 rials for hard currency earnings of some non-oil exports, IBENA reported.
The news marks a victory for campaigners seeking a free market approach in the secondary market, which initially faced the threat of government rate controls.
On the same day, the rial was reportedly being traded at around 79,000 rials against the dollar, finally breaking below the support level of 80,000 rials, Financial Tribune reported.
Earlier, in the midst of a strong rally, the USD exchange rate had reached the all-time high of 90,000 rials.
The gold coin, which has also tagged along the forex bull run, cooled down, with the benchmark Bahar Azadi Gold coin fetching 27.82 ($662 at the official exchange rate), marking a 2.44% decline from the previous day.
Rial also gained against other major currencies on Tuesday.
"The launch of the secondary forex market has given a positive signal to the forex market and caused a relative stability to set in," Raeiszadeh said.
The advisor noted that the forex supply for the services sector has not yet entered the secondary market and the government has not yet devised a strategy for extending up to €1,000 to outbound tourists at the unified rate of 42,000 rials.
The government decided to unify the US dollar's exchange rate at 42,000 rials on April 9 in response to volatility that saw the rial sink to all-time lows against the greenback.
At the time, it also banned the physical trade of hard currency by exchange shops and at any rate other than the official rate.
Including More Goods
The acceptance of forex trade at open market rates, however, came after the government saw itself unable to meet a tsunami of demand for imports at the subsidized rate that became all the more alluring when the gap between the official and black market rates widened.
Mehdi Kasraeipour, the head of CBI's Foreign Exchange Policies & Regulations Department, confirmed on Monday that only 20% of exporters have been allowed by the government to offer their currency earnings or their license at negotiated rates at Samasa to an importer or to put it up for sale at Nima.
Nima is the local name for the Integrated Forex Deals System the government launched after it unified the USD forex rate in April and Samasa refers to the System for the Management of Export Currency Earnings.
Some senior lawmakers asked President Hassan Rouhani this week to significantly limit the multi-tier foreign exchange system, based on which a big portion of imported goods receive their hard currency at the preferential rate of 42,000 rials by including more products into the "negotiated rate" system.
Mohammad Reza Pour-Ebrahimi, the head of Majlis Economic Commission, told Fars News Agency on Tuesday the government's decision to unify the foreign exchange rate at 42,000 rials was wrong from "day one".
"In conditions where the market rate is higher than the official rate, the hard currency, which should be used for the import of essential goods and medicine, is being used to import mobile handsets, luxury goods, cars and pet food," he said.
The unified rate has been criticized for creating a fertile ground for rent seeking whereby a select few get access to cheap currency.
At the behest of President Rouhani and public pressure, the CBI published the list of car importers that had received the cheap currency.
The list followed an earlier disclosure by ICT Minister Mohammad Javad Azari-Jahromi, which involved the names of cellphone importers who had benefited from cheap currency but did not honor their commitment to offer their goods at the same rate to consumers.
Tehran Police Chief Brigadier General Hossein Rahimi also announced this month that cellphone importers, who enjoyed access to cheap dollar, had sold 300,000 handsets at open market rates.


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Members of business development agencies from Colorado Springs and Pueblo will travel to California next week to try to convince companies to move to Southern Colorado.
David White, chief business development officer for the Colorado Springs Regional Business Alliance, and Jack Rink, chief executive officer for the Pueblo Economic Development Corp., will fly into San Francisco Monday. They'll meet with various corporate owners and executives in the area, tour Silicon Valley, and attend a medical device conference to tell business leaders that Colorado's lower tax and less restrictive business environment could lead to larger profits.
White and Rink also will meet with site selection specialists who help businesses executives find locations for a business to start, expand or relocate. They hope to visit at least 15 companies during their four-day trip.
White and Rink will focus on Silicon Valley companies with locations in Colorado Springs that may be willing to expand their local presence; small- to medium-size businesses that are struggling to survive in California; and medical device manufacturing companies.
Statistics show that when a company relocates, it tends to hire mostly local employees, rather than transferring the majority of its workforce, White said.
"When someone relocates they tend to hire 87 to 90 percent of their employees locally," he said.
Rink said that by accompanying White on the California trip, the two can promote a larger region with benefits that could attract more companies. He cited Trane in Pueblo as an example: While Trane manufactures air conditioners in Pueblo, it gets the majority of its sheet metal for its units from a Colorado Springs company.
"Each area has its own strengths, and we share a lot of strong business relationships," Rink said. "So, we can give companies more options and things that appeal to their business model."
But convincing California companies to move to Colorado will not be easy, despite that state's economic problems. Persuading a company to uproot and move is problem enough because of the cost and time involved, White said.
And White and Rink are not the first to try and lure companies away from Gov. Jerry Brown's state. Texas Gov. Rick Perry has visited California and other states several times, offering incentives to businesses to move to his no-income-tax, low business-tax state. While the state, Pueblo and Colorado Springs can each offer some incentives to companies that relocate here, such as tax abatements or cash payments for each job created, Colorado's offerings pale in comparison to some Southern states, such as Tennessee, Texas and Virginia, Rink said.
"There are well-documented cases where states have offered hundreds of thousands of dollars per job (created)," Rink said, "so if it becomes a bidding war, Colorado is outgunned in that."
Still, Rink and White believe their trip will be successful if they encourage larger companies to go slowly and first establish a "beachhead," rather than relocating an entire company at once. White used Bal Seal Engineering on Elkton Drive as an example. The company manufactures spring-loaded connectors for the medical and automotive industries. Bal Seal arrived in Colorado Springs in 2006 as a place to handle overflow orders from the main factory in California, White said. In December 2011, the company announced it would increase its Colorado springs staff to 80 and construct a $45 million, 135,000-square-foot plant in the city's InterQuest business park area instead of California.
"Over time," White said, "they realized it was cheaper to do business here in Colorado."
Contact Ned Hunter: 636-0275.


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April could be a good month for several cannabis stocks
Cannabis investors are not missing out on the new opportunities that the industry can offer. With much of the sector in a volatile position, it is possible to generate some good momentary options that cannot be overlooked. This definitely makes it much easier to buy the best marijuana stocks today. When a market has unpredictable patterned behavior, finding lower entry levels becomes easier due to pullbacks in trading. With a new month just around the corner, taking a look at this pair of companies is a must.
Planet 13 Holdings is a company that never fails to see what opportunities the industry has to offer at this time. According to a recent earnings call, the management team assures that the company could be poised to expand its footprint in Nevada as many competitors are struggling to survive due to the current difficult financial times.
With a possible acquisition strategy, this integrated marijuana company is primarily engaged in the cultivation, production, distribution and marketing of cannabis and cannabis-infused products for the cannabis markets. Planet 13 could also continue to focus on the Las Vegas area, a highly touristic location that is ideal for cannabis sales.
And then there is TerrAscend, a company that has also proven to grow strongly even when the scales are not in its favor. The company develops, processes and sells medical and adult-use cannabis in Canada and the US. In addition to manufacturing cannabis-infused artisanal edibles, the firm produces and distributes hemp-derived wellness products to retail stores.
In recent news, the company announced that its subsidiary, Gage Cannabis, will embark on a new and exciting era in marijuana retailing. Through its joining forces with Cookies, Gage will bring to life the grand opening of Lemonnade Center Line, Michigan’s first sativa-focused sourcing center, a 4600-square-foot retail store located at 24729 Sherwood Avenue in Center Line.


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- Omega Marketers warn, complain of hardship
By. Jerromie S. Walters
Paynesville, Liberia, November 2, 2022: Hundreds of angry marketers in Omega market, which is the center of business, have said they will go back to the famous Red Light market in the next few days if the government fails to remove those that are disobeying its order.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, November 1, 2022, the women said they are being challenged with the purchase of their goods due to the presence of other marketers that have resettled in Red Light, where more customers will find it easier to stay than go to Omega.
Esther Tantany, a marketer who’s solely involved in the sale of vegetables, said the majority of her goods have been damaged due to the poor or low buying in the Omega market.
“Our markets are spoiling, and even the money we brought here, everything is damaged because others have left from here and gone back to Red Light, and every customer that belongs to us is stopping at Red Light, so there’s no one to buy from us,” she said.
She continues, “We are the marketers that respect the President. We respected his order that we should come, and because of that, we came, but all of a sudden we saw other people going back to making their businesses in Red Light and other places, and it has brought embarrassment to us, so if it can’t be addressed between now and Thursday, we will go back to Red Light also.
She said they feel betrayed, especially after they leave Red Light because the government told them to, but nothing is being done to help them with their problems.
“We are calling on the President, so he can work with the superintendent to bring back Red Light to Omega, but if he can not do it, we will go back, and even if it will cause us to sell on the main road, we will sell there because it has been difficult for us and there’s no understanding in our business,” they said.
However, Garmah Tokpah said due to the challenge from the low consumption in the Omega market, her children are not in school currently and she has not been able to pay her house rent.
She encouraged the President and his cabinet to collaborate with the superintendent to restore Red Light to Omega, but added that if their concerns are not heard, they will return, even if it means having their goods sold on the main road, because there has been absolutely no understanding in their business for the past few months.
“This one is about two weeks old, it’s about 6, 000 in total, and I’m owing the people’s club money and all the markets have spoiled.” “I’m worrying until I get sick, George Weah; if the Red Light people don’t come from now to Thursday, we will go back there too,” an elderly woman believed to be in her late 60s lamented.
While speaking in dismay, Kemah P. Kollie said the current state of business at Omega is extremely difficult for them. As such, the President should use his authority to ensure that the marketers are relocated back to Omega
“When we were in Red Light, we used to make money, but here we are selling and not getting anything while our businesses are damaged, and this is what we depend on to support our children, so the government needs to try,” she noted.
She said that if the government fails to do so in the coming days, they will be left with no other alternative but to move to Red Light and other markets that are ahead of Omega to continue their business.
The marketers say that their coworkers who suddenly went back to Red Light after the President’s order told them that the government told them they wouldn’t be taken off Red Light.
They believe the President’s inability to address the issue is being prompted by politics, as he thinks he will be voted against if he gets them off the market
At the same time, the Superintendent of
Mr. McClain B. Jallah, confined to the marketers’ concern, thus
We want the government to use their influence to get the marketers from Red Light to go back to Omega.
“You can’t have people selling in front and have people pass by them and come behind here to Omega, so they are right and those people that respect the order of the government are here, so the government needs to prioritize them and not those that are disrespecting them,” he added.
He said that the Omega market is getting worse because a lot of marketers are going back to Red Light, which he thinks is because of politics.
“We know politics is being played by some other guys that are moving the people back to Red Light, and
People don’t want the image of the president to be praised when they come and incite the marketers to move.
“Like some of the small traders, they are trying to get other business people to move,” he said.
He also said that people have tried to get in touch with the Public Works Minister and other cabinet members, but so far they haven’t answered his calls.
Mr. McClain B. Jallah said that Omega Market has enough room for all of the Red Light marketers, but he doesn’t know why they won’t move there.
In early June 2021, hundreds of sellers moved from Red Light Market to the 14th Gobachou Market in Omega, which had been opened earlier that year by President George Weah. This made Red Light Market a less stressful place to do business.
The relocation of marketers to the Gobachou Market followed a series of negotiations between the heads of the market, the Ministry of Public Works, and the Government of Liberia, and it officially started on Monday, July 12, 2021.
The Red Light Market is a huge commercial site that is situated in Paynesville, outside Monrovia. People have thought of it as the best place to buy cheap goods, and street vendors are always there.
Contractors from the Ministry of Public Works have had a harder time building and finishing the Redlight to Kakaata highway expansion because of how many people live there. This has slowed down progress.
However, the locomotion tragedy attracted scores of media entities in the country, as the marketers raised countless concerns while trooping to their new home. People said they needed more time because the new place didn’t have some things they needed.
As a result of the different concerns, big changes were made to address the things they brought up. For example, roads were opened and more markets were built to accommodate them.
The departure of merchants from Red Light was a dramatic event that Liberians and people all over the world watched. It was the end of a process that several governments had tried to complete but failed.
But many Liberians still didn’t believe that the marketers would ever come back to Red Light again, which is what they have finally shown.


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Nasser Marafih: We have a very strong portfolio, and a strong
team that we have built up. It is important to focus on the customer
There aren’t many CEOs of operators who can claim growth rates averaging 57% a year over five years. But that’s the achievement of Nasser Marafih, who has headed Qatar-based Qtel for the past decade.
“We are now one of the biggest companies in the region,” he says. At the end of 2011 it had 83.4 million customers, spread across 17 countries from Algeria in north Africa to Indonesia.
At the company’s capital markets day, held in Doha, the capital of Qatar, at the end of January he compared Qtel’s growth over the period since 2006 with Etisalat at 18%, Saudi Arabia’s STC at 11% and Zain’s 3%.
“We believe we have a very strong position,” says Marafih — almost universally known in the company as “Dr Nasser” — speaking to Global Telecoms Business at Mobile World Congress at the end of February.
Growth has slowed after a period of rapid expansion, he admits. In the annual figures for 2011 published just a few days after the interview, Qtel reported year-on-year revenue growth of 16%, with a 12.4% increase in the number of customers.
The rapid expansion was achieved through a programme of buying businesses outside the independent state of Qatar, a monarchy with a population of only 1.8 million. A map of the company’s interests shows operations from north Africa — Algeria and Tunisia — across the world to Indonesia and the Philippines, via Iraq and Pakistan.
Now, he’s looking for the next growth opportunity for the company. Not further acquisitions, it seems, but more services in the territories where it already operates. “Data is still very low, and in some markets we don’t even have 3G,” he says. There are still only 2G services in Tunisia, where Qtel owns Tunisiana; in Algeria, where its brand is Wataniya; and in Iraq, where it has a 30% stake in Asiacell.
The company bought Kuwait-based Wataniya, with operations in six countries, in 2007. “In Algeria we started with 3.5 million customers. Now we have 8.5 million,” says Marafih.
Having gone through a period of strong growth, there’s a feeling that Qtel is now entering a period of consolidation. “We have a very strong portfolio, and a strong team that we have built up,” says the CEO. It is important to review the challenges for the future, he adds. “It is important to focus on the customer. We have to prepare the company to build the tools and insight. We have a strong portfolio.”
The company “has to buy content”, he adds. “We have a lot of hard work to do. Customers are becoming more demanding, not just about telephony but about over-the-top. It’s important for us to be ready. We have to give them the attention they need.”
At the same time the company is investing heavily. “We spent roughly $2 billion on capital expenditure in 2011,” he says, “most of it in growing markets like Indonesia and Algeria.” But it’s also starting to plan LTE in Qatar, “though we have to keep an eye on the return on investment”, he adds. “We see a real demand for LTE. In Qatar the 3G is getting full.”
The company has opened extra 3G capacity on the 900 megahertz spectrum, “but every time we add a site it is filled”, he says. “Qatar is very hungry for services.”
Marafih has been associated with Qatar Telecom — as it was called before its international expansion plan went into operation — for 20 years, first spending two years as an expert advisor from the University of Qatar, where he was a lecturer and assistant professor in the electrical engineering department. He studied engineering at George Washington University in the US capital, where he also earned a PhD in communication engineering. He formally joined Qtel as director of strategic planning and development in 1994 and became CEO in 2002.
Content is important, especially as broadband data services expand across the many emerging markets that Qtel operates in. “The penetration is still low but the prize is big,” he says. “Customers are going to demand content and that has to be customised and localised.”
He’s not proposing that Qtel turn itself into an end-to-end production house. “There are things we have to do on our own, and there are other people doing things already,” he says. “The challenge is to partner with them.”
And when it comes to partnering, Qtel is in a strong position, he believes, because of its presence in 17 markets and its 83.4 million customers. “We are in key markets. That will be the difference for us compared with small operators.”
Qtel isn’t, though, just a mobile operator. In its home territory of Qatar, it offers an integrated package of fixed and mobile plus cable television. “We were the first to bring cable TV services to the region,” he says.
Now the company is pursuing an aggressive plan to build a fibre-to-the-home network, replacing copper with fibre in 1,500 homes a week. The aim is to boost customers’ internet speed to 100 megabits a second, he says.
“We also have fixed telecoms businesses in Oman and — the biggest market we have — Indonesia. We are getting a fixed licence in Tunisia.”
So he believes that content providers have an attractive potential partner in Qtel, especially because most of its countries are Arabic speaking. “The great benefit of most of our operation is that there is one language.” For the Arabic world, “we can serve all of our customers with the same language and we share the same cultural values”, he says.
One of the exceptions is Indonesia — but that’s also a significant market, with more than 230 million people, as is Pakistan, with more than 170 million. “Of course, the needs of the different markets are different.”
The company has also been benefiting from scale over the last few years by moving towards central procurement. “We meet frequently as a group, and we are trying to coordinate products.”
As Mobile World Congress was closing the company announced what it called “a comprehensive frame agreement” with ZTE, covering 3G and LTE for the Middle East, north Africa and Asia. Its FTTH programme in Qatar is mainly equipped by Huawei, he says.
Meanwhile Qtel is developing content services for its markets — including mobile finance, mobile education and mobile health.
“The focus is financial,” he says. In late 2011 the company launched Qtel Mobile Money, its own m-wallet service. It allows customers in Qatar to transfer money not only to others in the same country but internationally — a service designed so that the country’s many foreign workers can send money home. After the launch in Qatar, the company plans to roll out integrated mobile money services across the other key markets.
The group “has made the launch of mobile money services across our operations a strategic priority, recognising the strong demand from our customers, and the important social benefits this service will provide”, says Marafih. “The services provide access and security for a whole cross-section of the community that is under-served by traditional banking, and we aim to be a leader in the countries we serve.”
Qtel’s partners in the project are Sybase 365, a mobile money specialist, EastNets, which ensures compliance with anti-money laundering rules, and wholesale operator BICS. “We are working with the Qatar National Bank,” he says. “It’s just been launched in Qatar. Now we are looking to see how to roll it out [to other countries].”
The service will be “an important new revenue source”, but it will also have “a demonstrable social impact”, says Marafih. “Customers will have greater security in sending money to friends and family overseas, as well as greater control over their spending at home.”
In a more recent addition to the service, any customer with a mobile money account can pay cash into their m-wallet via a number of self-service machines. The company is also working with employers in Qatar to enable them to make direct payments of salaries into mobile money accounts.
Education is a bit further away, says the CEO. “We’re looking at it, but it is very challenging, because we need to work with governments and schools. And in the digital world things have to be looked at differently. To compete for the attention of children it is very challenging,” he says. “When I look at my kids I see that content has to be something that is very exciting.”
Qtel is talking first of all to the Qatar government “and others, to share their experience”, he says.
Not all initiatives start in Qatar. In another MWC announcement, the company announced that its Indonesian operation, Indosat, is working with Nokia on a project to give women the opportunity to own and use mobile phones. This project is backed by the GSM Association’s m-women programme, a global public-private partnership aiming to reduce the global mobile phone gender gap. Indosat and Nokia will be launching a package available on selected phones which will include a service focusing on women’s empowerment.
Meanwhile the company is starting to explore opportunities in the corporate market. “The idea is not just to provide access but to provide solutions.” It is examining business-to-business possibilities as well as trying to build services for larger companies — particularly cloud services.
Corporate customers in Qatar need data centres, he notes, and cloud services “are one of our key initiatives”, he adds. “But you have to do it with the companies that have the skill set. That’s started.” Qtel has a five-year partnership with AT&T, aimed at providing managed services to companies in the region. “We have services that are being built.”
No doubt the company will seek to improve its stakes in some of its international operations — “We believe that it’s important to take control of these assets,” says Marafih — but it has a lot of work to do to build up advanced services across the 17 countries where it operates.
A few years ago 100% of Qtel’s revenues came from Qatar. Now 80% come from outside. The days of 57% annual growth have gone, though 16% annual revenue growth is nothing to be sad about. GTB
More from GTB
Palestine to offer third mobile licence 07 Apr 2010
Qtel and Tata to develop Gulf cable project 08 Mar 2010
Interview: Adrian Dilworth of Vodafone Qatar 02 Aug 2009
The emerging face of M&A in the telecoms industry 01 May 2009


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Television just posted its best month of ad spending in almost two years, with a 10% increase over a year ago pushing the October results for the segment to the highest monthly total since January 2014, Media Life reports.
The article cites a new report from Standard Media Index, which found that advertisers who have been moving to digital are now returning to TV.
The shift comes after analysts have been predicting that the trend toward digital would continue and even increase, with some forecasts saying digital would surpass TV as early as 2016.
James Fennessy, chief commercial officer at SMI, which tracks spending at 80% of domestic agencies, told the publication: “We have seen a number of categories of advertisers really ramping up their spend on TV following a sharp decline in the previous broadcast year. These advertisers probably over-invested in digital and didn’t see the returns they were hoping for.”
Digital did continue to post higher numbers, up 34% for the month. But the TV side remained robust, with ABC, CBS and NBC all posting double-digit increases over a year ago, Media Life notes.
“Pharmaceuticals drove part of TV’s improvement, with a 46 percent spending increase over last year,” the report notes. “Automotive and fast food also saw healthy growth, each up 21 percent.”


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Financial institutions piloting Cardlab’s fingerprint activated credit card
Cardlab announced that Texas-based card provider Epic One and two banks in Dubai and London are trialing its new biometric credit card.
The biometric credit card was developed in cooperation with Danish firm Quardlock using both companies technologies and patents.
The authentication system combines a fingerprint with a one-time-password (OTP). The card generates standard OTP for every successful fingerprint authentication
No data is send to the magnet strip, NFC or EMV chip if the owner of the card is not recognized by the fingerprint scanner.
Previously reported, last June BioSSL partnered with CardLab to integrate CardLabs’ biometric bank card with fingerprint sensor into the BioSSL secure platform to create a complete and fully secure financial platform.


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Big thanks to Philly Grub for featuring our Veterans Memorial Rink in their recent article.
Break out those mittens, sweaters, and scarves, and get ready to lace up your skates! Flight on Ice is gliding into Delaware County with a giant outdoor ice skating rink and winter village that will pop-up in Edgmont. Four Philadelphia region business partners and friends are bringing a festive winter village to Delaware County, next to Bonefish Grill, at 4889 West Chester Pike.
Flight on Ice will bring with it ice skating, festive lighting and decor, light dining, hot cocoa, special events, and lots of outdoor fun. This brand-new, full-sized ice rink will debut just in time for the holiday season, and it will run through at least February of 2022.
“Working with the deBotton family, Visit Delco and all of our great community partners have made it possible to bring a ‘real’ ice skating rink concept to Edgmont,” said Flight Entertainment President and Managing Partner Jon Schaffer. “As a lifelong resident and business owner in Delaware County, supporting a great cause and operating in my own backyard makes this extra special to me.”
Flight on Ice presents the Veterans Memorial Rink with a portion of proceeds to benefit and support local veterans and the Delaware County Veterans Memorial.
“Now, more than ever, we are proud to be a part of Delaware County and are thrilled to allow Flight on Ice to build the ice-skating rink on our property for the enjoyment of the community,” said Paul deBotton, rink landowner and chair at the Veterans Memorial. “We wish to thank everyone who helped make this happen. As with the Delaware County Veterans Memorial, it is my hope that this location will unite family and friends.”
Flight on Ice will feature a 60’x100’ full-sized outdoor skating rink as its centerpiece, surrounded by food, drink, shopping and vibes. Visitors can enjoy a safe, outdoor gathering spot that will be the perfect family day out, date night spot, and place to catch up on winter fitness. Great for aficionados and newbies alike, ice skating is a classic winter delight. Skate rentals will be available.
On top of ice skating, visitors will be able to warm up in the heated hospitality tent, perfect for relaxing with friends and family after a skate session. Taste buds will be tempted with a full menu of sweet and savory treats, and more from local restaurant partners. On top of food and drink, look for merchandise and shopping, winter and holiday vibes, and great music to keep you in the holiday spirit.
Flight on Ice can also host holiday gatherings and private events at the 6,000 square foot rink, as well as in the hospitality tent that can hold up to 100 people.
Flight on Ice is only 20 minutes from Philadelphia and many spots on the Main Line and Western Suburbs – making it a great destination for day-trippers!
The timing of Flight on Ice’s debut in December makes it the perfect holiday destination in Delaware County. After Christmas and New Year’s, the rink will remain open through February to allow people to soak up the fun all winter long.
During the duration of the pop-up, look for special events and programming for Christmas Week, Winter Break Week, New Year’s Eve, Super Bowl, Valentine’s Day, and President’s Week.
Season passes are now on sale for $99.99 and family four-session passes are on sale for $39.99.
Out-of-town guests can book overnight accommodations via Visit Delco.
“This temporary ice rink will be a wonderful addition to our community and the local holiday traditions,” said Rep. Chris Quin. “Children and adults ice skating has been part of many idyllic holiday scenes and now Delaware County will have its own version of a winter wonderland. Additionally, the rink will create seasonal employment opportunities for individuals in need of extra income around the holiday season. In many ways, this rink will be a fantastic addition to our holiday season here in Delaware County.”
Marilyn Johnson is a freelance food and travel writer covering the food and drink scene of Philadelphia, South Jersey, and beyond. Food news: email@example.com. Travel tips: firstname.lastname@example.org.


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Sony has release the 30.1.B.1.46 software update for the Xperia M5 and M5 Dual. If you were expecting Android Marshmallow, we're sorry to disappoint you. The update simply includes the January Android security update bug fixes which should fix inadvertent shutdowns of the phone.
UK residents can pre-order the new Xperia M5 direct from select retailers. It looks like Carphone Warehouse has exclusive rights in the region to the Gold variant.
We're being told that this product will be in stores and ship by February 8th.


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This week, an alleged phishing scammer using the alias “Monkey Drainer” allegedly stole around $1 million in Ethereum (ETH) via dubious copycat NFT minting websites. ZachXBT, a well-known blockchain sleuth, was among the first to track and highlight the activity.
Longer term, the blockchain scam investigator claims, Monkey Drainer has allegedly stolen more than $3.5 million from their schemes, with “that number rapidly increasing by the day.”
Phishing scams frequently involve criminals sharing links to websites impersonating real projects or companies in order to dupe victims into handing over private information by promising a lucrative purchase or free promotion.
Four addresses, including monkey-drainer.eth, have been flagged as being related to Monkey Drainer.
When these addresses are searched on the blockchain community-driven Web3 security network Chainabuse, a long list of reports relating to airdrop scams, NFT scams, and phishing attacks appears.
Airdrop scams via the Astrobot Society discord channel, a Fake Wolf Game and Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT marketplace, and a fake Aptos Airdrop are among the reported incidents.
Web3 security group Wallet Guard also responded to ZachXBT’s Twitter thread, stating that it had “spotted several other mint sites recently created” with Monkey Drainer on the backend, including a phishing website with a fake Garbage Friends whitelist link.
Over the last few years, ZachXBT has established himself as a respected independent blockchain investigator, exposing a slew of nefarious behavior in the space.


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Randall Munroe of XKCD has compiled a chart in which all the world's land mammals have been sorted according to weight. A quick glance shows that we humans — and our livestock — take up a disproportionate amount.
Munroe aquired much of this data from a book published by Vaclav Smil in 2011, Harvesting the Biosphere: The Human Impact. Smil says that we're now dominating the biosphere and that our "global anthropomass" is now an order of magnitude greater than the mass of terrestrial mammals.
"As a result, our dependence on harvesting the products of photosynthesis for food, animal feed, raw materials, and energy has grown to make substantial global impacts," he writes.
Relatedly, and as pointed out by NPR, ants are so numerous that they weight almost 10 times as much as all the world's humans combined. And as Munroe notes, "Bacteria still outweigh us thousands to one—and that's not even counting the several pounds of them in your body."


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Dubbed one of the world’s best restaurants three years in a row, Noma has opened its doors in London. Just two hours after announcing its opening, all of the 3,000 tickets for “A taste of Noma at Claridge’s” had sold out. Each ticket cost $322.
According to reports, around 10,000 people had pre-registered for the 10-day event and all 3,000 tickets sold out within hours of the famous restaurant announcing the event, which will feature Rene Redzepi, who founded Noma. The event will take place in the 170 seat Claridge’s hotel ballroom for lunch and dinner over 10 days and will feature a five-course menu during the Olympics.
Source: Luxury Launches


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Vulnerability researchers at Core Security recently turned their attention on internet-enabled cameras, finding lots of holes.
And when security holes arise from features, not bugs, you really do feel like shouting aloud, "What WERE they thinking?"
After a widely publicised hack or data breach, you'll often find "password check" sites springing up.
Some of them are legitimate, but other password check sites are as bogus as they sound on the surface...
A study by Ofcom, the UK communications watchdog, has unearthed some appalling statistics which reveal just how badly the general public treat password security.
When there's nothing funny on American TV, you can always rely upon an infomerical selling some crazy product to have you chuckling or simply agog in disbelief that anyone would ever buy such a thing.
Watch this video, you won't believe your eyes.
If you have a web service that supports remote users, you will know that malevolent login attempts are an everyday occurrence.
But hosting providers worldwide are reporting an onslaught at well above average levels...
Malware researcher Paul Baccas reveals how an Excel spreadsheet using the password "VelvetSweatshop" could be designed to put your computer at risk.
Burglars broke into offices at video service Vudu late last month and stole hard drives containing customers' personal data, the company told customers in an email sent on Tuesday.
With WordPress.com powering more than 60 million websites worldwide, anything to improve the safety and security of its users is to be welcomed.
Paul Ducklin tries out the new WordPress 2FA service on his Naked Security account...
San Francisco-based document sharing site Scribd has admitted to a network intrusion.
Details are scant, but fortunately a notification published by the company suggests that no more than 1% of users are at risk...
Why, and more importantly, *how*, would you go about weeding out rude passwords?
Surely an April Fool?
Paul Ducklin takes a look...
After celebrity Web 2.0 journalist Mat Honan had all his iDevices remote-wiped by a cybercrook last year, Apple's login security has been under scrutiny.
Good news! Apple has finally bitten the bullet and started offering two-factor verification for Apple ID users...
Former US Secretary of State Colin Powell is the latest public figure to have fallen victim to hackers, with a series of out-of-character messages posted to his Facebook page.
Japanese boffins think they might have found an imaginative way to stop malware stealing your passwords as you enter them online.
But will it really work?
Have you taken a close look at the email that Evernote has sent out, with the subject line "Evernote Security Notice: Service-wide Password Reset"?
It looks like the hacked company has made a blunder.
Evernote, the online note-taking service, has says that it has suffered a serious security breach which saw hackers steal usernames, associated email addresses and encrypted passwords.
Account takeovers are down a mammoth 99.7% compared with what they were at the height of the spear-phishing plague of 2011, the company (rightfully) brags.
Do not relax: such success doesn't let us users off the hook when it comes to account security beef-up.
The controversial presenter of BBC's "Top Gear" programme, has had his Twitter account compromised by spammers... and he wants his revenge.


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The placards on the counter at Carrows Restaurant on Fremont Avenue read: “This spot reserved for memories.”
That’s how I felt wandering around town a few days ago.
That’s not to say South Pasadena is a memory. It’s alive and as unique as ever.
Our city is, however, a changed place, as we are all changed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The lights at Carrows are dimmed, and there doesn’t appear to be anyone home. On the door, a sign says the restaurant is temporarily closed, as is the Canoe House restaurant on Fair Oaks Boulevard.
Some things will never return, and I’ll miss them.
After running Reimagine Your Home for 25 years, John Vandercook decided to give in to the crushing blow the pandemic had given and closed the business on Mission Avenue. Instead of saying good morning as I did when I saw him sweeping his sidewalk each morning, I now pass an empty storefront.
I loved the quaintness of the small Cookies and Cream ice cream shop on Fair Oaks. A sign in the window says the store is changing into a cooperative that lists some lofty goals and fun intentions.
One evening, I went over to Penguins in the Vons mall — opposite the UPS store — to get some soft ice cream, and the shop was gone.
And many merchants I talked to said they wonder, “Am I going to be able to hang on?”
“For several businesses, the longer [the pandemic] goes, the thread they are hanging on is getting thinner and thinner,” said Laurie Wheeler, president of the South Pasadena Chamber of Commerce.
The thread holding up the future of the Arroyo Vista Inn, a bed and breakfast on a hill with a lovely view on Monterey Road, is thin indeed, according to manager Janice Lupien.
“We’ve been having having one, two people people a night since March,” she said. “Usually at this time we’d be nearly booked on weekends and have 80% reservations filled throughout the week.
“Lots of people are delaying or canceling travel.”
The result is the owners are working with the bank to see if they can defer payments.
“We’re hanging in there,” Lupien said.
One of the well-known small businesses in South Pasadena is the Dinosaur Farm, which has been ranked in polls as one of the top independent toy stores left in the country.
When owner Dave Plenn told me he was pondering the future, that’s when I knew for sure how insidious the pandemic has been for the businesses of our city.
“It’s a consideration,” Plenn said about the possibility of closing, “but we’re going to stick it out for the rest of the year for sure and see how it looks for the future.”
The Dinosaur Farm, like all businesses, saw the bottom fall out in mid-March, and it is just now starting to see business come back.
Plenn admitted he’s kind of resigned himself to how things will end up at the end of the year.
“I love everything about this place. I love the customers. I love coming to work every day, but I’ve got to make sure that we can pay our bills,” he said.
Plenn, like several business owners, is also trying to improve his presence on the web.
I saw evidence of owners trying to be creative and cope with the hand they were dealt by health and county officials.
There is a big sign on the side wall of American Pie that reads: “Pizza Is Essential” — an apparent reference to businesses that have always been allowed to be open during the pandemic.
The Barkley Restaurant and Bar has been serving and pouring since the 1950s at the corner of Fremont Avenue and Huntington Drive and it reminds me of the kind of place where “everybody knows your name.”
The gang is now outside at tables in the parking lot. That’s great except when temperatures soar into the 90s as they have been during the last several days.
The restaurant is serving a limited menu from 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Monday through Saturday and it has a Sunday brunch and dinner, with a jazz trio playing 10 a.m.-noon and 7-9 p.m. on Sundays.
“We have had a good response. We are getting back the local regulars and we are glad to be seeing a few new faces,” said Corina Johansen, a manager, who admitted that business had been reduced by “a lot.”
Nearby, TLC Veterinary, on Huntington, has a sign outside its front door saying that no one except employees is allowed in the office and that customers should call from their cars and someone will come and get their pets to be treated. Another sign informs customers how long they can expect to wait for their animals to be treated.
Carlos Jimenez at Swarthy’s on Fair Oaks and the barbers at the Square Deal on Mission are playing by the rules and cutting hair outside their shops.
The Square Deal has set up two barber chairs in a lovely terrace behind their shop. There are even patio chairs where patrons can wait their turn.
“We’re trying to make the best with what we’ve got,” said Ronnie Hernandez, one of the barbers. Apparently, things are good enough, since Hernandez said business has been “crazy.” with no appointments available for several days out last week.
Mama’s Italian Restaurant on Fair Oaks is also making good use of its “backyard.” It welcomes guests to an “under the tent” experience where a large canopy shelters tables and is bordered by a picket fence.
Temperatures of 100 degrees on Saturday challenged even the best-laid plans.
An email from South Pasadena Arts & Music announced its online one-on-one virtual music program, and Radiant Music Studio on Mission also has online one-on-one lessons. The South Pasadena Music Center’s answering machine is promoting help by video from instructors.
And then there is SaraRose Orlandini, who has found success at her SugarMynt Gallery on
Meridian Street. She is showing what she describes as “cult movies” in the side patio next to the gallery and has sold out her 18 spaced seats every night — Thursday through Sunday — for the past two months.
“Entrepreneurs are a scrappy bunch of people,” Wheeler concluded. “They are the type of people who get creative to stay in business.”
Why a Longtime Store Owner Called It Quits
John Vandercook is 72 and he expected that he’d probably retire in a few years as the owner of Reimagine Your Home. He just never imagined that the future would be now. Like so many businessmen in town, Vandercook was hit right in the bank account by the COVID-19 pandemic, and it sent him straight into retirement. “Even during the recession [of 2008], you figured there would be a way out of that,” Vandercook said. “The pandemic is just so uncertain. The thing that is killing small businesses is that you don’t know what or when the ending is going to be.” Business at his flooring and wall covering store on Mission Avenue dropped 80% starting in March, and he soon found himself dipping into his savings to pay the bills. With the lease on his store up for renewal in August, Vandercook decided to retire early. “Small businesses are going to need a year to rebuild reserves,” he said. “Those [government] loans didn’t go very far, but we are all in the same boat economically.” Vandercook said his store was also faced with changing demographics. He said 85% of his business involved referral and repeat customers, and those people were aging out of the market. Younger buyers are now finding deals on the internet. “I’m just thankful I’m not in my 30s or 40s right now,” he said. “There are just so many challenges facing small business right now.” Vandercook has been active for years in city campaigns, clubs and activities, and said he is typical of the small business owner who is invested in the city. The next business owners — especially if they are corporate — may not have that personal interest, he warned. “It’s a changing landscape,” he concluded. — Andy Lippman


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His co-hosts were discussing the recent suggestion by scientists that chemicals in plastic are 'shrinking male genitalia' when co-host Anthony 'Lehmo' Lehmann asked: 'Waleed, is this the real reason you started the ban the bag campaign?' he said, referring to Waleed’s recent call for retailers such as Coles and Woolies to ban single use plastic bags.
Waleed was left squirming, before replying, “Do you get the feeling the scientists behind this were trying to look for justification?”.
To which Lehmo crassly replied that it was more like 'self-fulfilling research!'.


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Recent retro trend in buying music on vinyl is more environmentally conscious than using digital music?
The vinyl record is moving back into the homes of music fans around the world. The trend started with DJs that either never gave up on vinyl or went back to carrying around huge boxes to their gigs. Now I heard from many sources that the young generation of music listeners is also buying again music on vinyl. Labels are reacting to the trend and offer more and more new releases on vinyl as well.
Don't Miss: The hottest Apple Rumors for 2017
Digital Music News and Alpha Music Manufacturing make some arguments that using vinyl is actually cleaner than using digital music on CDs or from the cloud. Arguments include that vinyl albums rarely get discarded, broken vinyl albums get shredded and re-used to make new ones and vinyl breaks down better in landfills than plastic. Digital music requires huge server farms and end user devices.
For me these arguments are like the question paper or plastic at the groceries. Environmentally it does not matter. Despite vinyl being trendy right now, it will never become mass market again. Creating clean energy is a general problem not just for data centers.


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There’s no shying away from the fact that the stock market has had a pretty rough 2022 so far. There’s little to no economic growth and this factor is continuously poking the investors. Kings of the stock market such as the Technology sector, are not delivering at the level they used to.
Nonetheless, economists are convinced that some stocks might pay back in abundance right now. They are urging investors to refrain from leaving the market as there’s still room for improvement. A way to resolve the stock crisis is to invest in a dividend-paying company. The below-mentioned companies will guarantee a dividend with a 3% yield alongside a reasonable 2023.
Shell has certainly made peace with the rising prices of energy reserves and this has led them to an absolute monstrous position in the market. So far, the company has been able to pile up $13.7 billion in free cash flow, which is the double as to what they had in 2021. Up till now, Shell has payed almost $7 billion to shareholders and investors as dividends. Shell’s stock is indicating towards a 3.6% dividend yield.
Undoubtedly, Citigroup is America’s biggest bank. Citigroup is a globally renowned financial hub that has made its mark through retail banking and investment banking. On top of all, Citigroup has managed to become a dividend stock since the start of 2022.
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. invested $55 million in the form of shares in Citigroup. This investment was made earlier this year and it subsequently shows that Warren Buffett is closely monitoring the bank’s financial overhaul. Citigroup now offers a 4.1% dividend yield.
Life Storage Inc.
Inflation surely does good to the real estate industry and this statement can fit the description of Life Storage’s current turnaround. Although storage units are rented out on a month-by-month basis self-storage owners hold the power to incline prices according to the economic situation.
These businesses also don’t require the need to hold any sort of staff so inflation can’t affect them from a labor point of view. Just the previous month, Life Storage announced how pleased they are with the progress they are making and have managed to grow by 14% up till now. This has allowed Life Storage to increase its dividend yield to 3.3%.
Verizon Communications Inc.
Telecommunication sectors are usually better off investing in rather than any other sector if seeking a high-dividend stock. Although it must be mentioned that after AT&T’s horrific dividend outing last year, many investors have swayed away. The same cannot be said for Verizon as they didn’t take any significant amount of money as in debt. Verizon has seen decent revenue growth and they are currently offering a 5.9% dividend yield.
VF is a renowned clothing and footwear company that owns other brands like Vans, The North Face, and Timberland. The company has surprisingly been able to increase its dividend for almost 25 years. That’s abnormal for a company operating in an industry that can eat others alive.
VF mainly made all that possible since it acquired brands like Vans or The North Face. Although they have faced several lows this year on the front of the stock. Many investors got scared thinking that consumer spending might change. But VF will hang in there because their diversified options can easily come to their rescue. VF currently offers a 4.6% dividend yield.


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(above : Tim Lincecum, whose tickets will undoubtedly cost a bit more than Surfin’ Barry’s)
Calling the Giants’ plans to charge fluctuating ticket prices based on the appeal of certain matchups “downright evil”, the SF Weekly’s Joe Eskenazi decries the new system “because it completely upsets the ‘Hey! Let’s go out to a game!’-notion that makes baseball unique.” Though that notion was upset an awfully long time ago in places like Boston or the Bronx.
The oft-quoted model for the new, likely soon-to-be-ubiquitous baseball pricing system is airline ticket purchasing. It’s almost certain readers have experienced first-hand the joys of last week’s $300 tickets this week being priced at $410. It’s a strong incentive to buy early before myriad contrived supply-and-demand factors are tossed into the algorithm and you end up paying through the nose. As noted before, inducing people to spend quickly and pinging those who do not is a sound business practice — if not an endearing one.
On the other hand, it just seems downright wrong that you should be made to pay more for a baseball game because it’s a “great day for baseball.” It seems exploitative that you should be made to cough up extra dollars when Tim Lincecum is on the mound; will we be given a deep discount when Zito is pitching or Pablo Sandoval takes a day off? Further following the airline model, will we be charged extra for using the restroom? Do clean seats cost more? Do I have to pay extra to stay out of the all-felon, all-drunk, all-jerks talking loudly about work on their iPhone section?
I can understand why the same seats that cost $5 vs. Pittsburgh will run you five times that when Boston comes to town (or more, if it’s a really nice day and Lincecum ends up taking on Josh Beckett). But the notion of “premium game pricing” sends fans an unmistakable message. It means “premium” teams visit AT&T Park, but the home squad is not one of them.


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Original article by Joe Flint
The Australian – Page: 21 : 16-May-19
US media group Comcast has struck a deal to sell its one-third stake in streaming video service Hulu to Walt Disney Company. The deal could allow Disney to assume full ownership of Hulu in 2024. Hulu boasted more than 25 million subscribers in 2018, compared with just six million in 2014, and Disney has forecast that Hulu’s domestic operations will become profitable in fiscal 2023 or 2024. Disney plans to launch its own streaming service, which expected to target a different audience to Hulu.
HULU LLC, WALT DISNEY COMPANY, COMCAST CORPORATION, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, 21ST CENTURY FOX INCORPORATED


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In early September President Vicente Fox announced the Fénix project, a joint venture between Canada's Nova Chemicals and Mexico's state oil company Pemex, would be downsized from US$2bn to US$840mn because the finance ministry would not approve discounts on raw material feedstock sought by potential investors.
Prommex International Trade is a Mexican company based in Santa Catarina, Nuevo León state, which distributes petrochemicals raw materials - mainly polyethylene and polypropylene - for the domestic plastics industry. The company has started to depend on imports of petrochemicals raw materials, from the US in particular, since Pemex cut its petrochemicals production, Peña said.
Peña said that when Prommex started operations in 1992, Pemex produced 65-70% of the petrochemicals raw materials for the domestic plastics industry, but at present Pemex only produces enough to satisfy 40% of demand for polyethylene in its different grades and has stopped producing polypropylene altogether.
Mexican businessmen from a variety of industrials sectors are worried that the slowdown in the petrochemicals industry will damage the country's ability to compete with countries like China and India, according to Peña.
The Prommex CEO said Arab countries are also expanding their petrochemicals infrastructure at surprising rates and accused Mexico's government of not having any real interest in this key sector of the global economy.
Peña expects the Mexican petrochemicals industry to slow down in 2006 as it is a presidential election year, although he said it should recover its pace in the following years if energy sector reforms can be completed before President Vicente Fox's administration ends in December 2006.
Mexico's economy and trade balance will be affected if the country continues to export crude oil and then imports it in the form of higher value-added products, Peña warned. Peña was speaking on the sidelines of the 25th annual meeting of the Latin American petrochemicals industry in Mexico City.
Most Popular Articles


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Apple has canceled its AirPower wireless charger release, citing the company’s difficulty in achieving their “high standards” for the product.
“After much effort, we’ve concluded AirPower will not achieve our high standards and we have cancelled the project. We apologize to those customers who were looking forward to this launch. We continue to believe that the future is wireless and are committed to push the wireless experience forward,” said Apple SVP of hardware engineering Dan Riccio in a statement.
The AirPower charging mat was first announced back in September 2017 during the company’s iPhone X event, when Apple unveiled AirPower wireless charging as a new way to charge the iPhone X. At that time, Apple said it would ship around 2018, but then the company was silent for a long time, almost 18 months.
Apple had promised very important features of the AirPower charging mat, including the ability to charge three devices at once (Apple Watch, AirPods headphones and an iPhone), unique technology with multiple coils that would let the charger work without having to find an exact place on the mat to charge, and a software overlay for the iPhone to display all three charging devices on the AirPower.
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NEW YORK — This year, for the first time in living memory, Hanukkah will start on Thanksgiving, creating a Jewish-American frenzy.
There's the commerce: A 9-year-old New York boy invented the "Menurkey" and raised more than $48,000 on Kickstarter for his trademarked Turkey-shaped menorah. Woodstock-inspired T-shirts have a turkey perched on the neck of a guitar and implore "8 Days of Light, Liberty & Latkes." The creators nabbed the trademark to "Thanksgivukkah."
|The article you requested is no longer available on BostonHerald.com.|


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Chinese firm, Turkish individual sued by Meta for scraping data from Facebook, Instagramtext_fields
SAN FRANCISCO: Octopus, the US subsidiary of a Chinese high-tech enterprise, and a Turkish individual was sued by Meta for scraping data from Facebook, Instagram and other big tech platforms.
Octopus claims to have more than a million customers and provides scraping services and access to software that customers can use to scrape any website.
Octopus customers, for a fee, can perform scraping attacks from its cloud-based platform or hire the company to scrape websites directly.
"Octopus offers to scrape data from Amazon, eBay, Twitter, Yelp, Google, Target, Walmart, Indeed, LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram," Meta said in a statement late on Tuesday.
Octopus designed the software to scrape data accessible to the user when logged into their accounts.
It included data about their Facebook Friends such as email address, phone number, gender and date of birth, as well as Instagram followers and engagement information such as name, user profile URL, location and number of likes and comments per post.
"We are seeking a permanent injunction against Octopus," said Meta.
The social network also filed an action against a Turkish-based individual, Ekrem Ates, for using automated Instagram accounts to scrape data from the profiles of over 3,50,000 Instagram users.
These profiles were viewable to logged-in Instagram users.
Ates then published the scraped data on his own websites or "ceclone sites".
In the first half of 2021, Meta tracked over 100 different Instagram clone sites.
"By mid-year, through our disruption efforts, the known clone site ecosystem was reduced by approximately 90 per cent," the company informed.
A clone site is a third-party site that duplicates all or part of the content of an existing site. Among other things, clone sites can be used to display people's scraped data, trick people, and destroy the credibility of the original site.
With inputs from IANS


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Video Gamer Play // It took just under 19 hours for a Destiny 2 clan to bea...
It took just under 19 hours for a Destiny 2 clan to beat the Forsaken raid
Just under 19 hours after it went live, Destiny 2 Forsaken’s raid has been defeated.
Last Wish went live at 6pm UK time on Friday 14th September, and at around 12.45pm a day later, Clan Redeem finally finished the raid. It took 18 hours and 48 minutes, to be exact. That’s the longest it’s taken for a Destiny raid “world first” – even longer than vanilla Vault of Glass took.
Clan Redeem, playing on the PC version of the game, has now scored five world firsts in Destiny.
- Legendary Final Fantasy composer Nobuo Uematsu ceases work due to illness September 20, 2018
- No plans for a Vita successor, Sony says September 20, 2018
- Nvidia DLSS analysis: how AI tech can make PC games run 40 per cent faster September 20, 2018
- PUBG for PC is getting a ranking system September 20, 2018
- FIFA 19 in-game message warns FUT players against coin distribution September 20, 2018
- If they destroy Loot Lake I will be properly upset September 20, 2018
- Frostpunk adds free story DLC the Fall of Winterhome September 20, 2018
- New Street Fighter 5 costumes may be the closest we get to a new Darkstalkers for a while September 20, 2018
- Capcom reveals Ada Wong’s new look for the Resident Evil 2 remake September 20, 2018
- Devil May Cry 5’s third playable character is V September 20, 2018


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Lest you think next year's BF4 beta is the only new content in store for Battlefield players, BF3 is due to receive a number of DLC updates. The next one is called Armored Kill, and it's scheduled for release in September. EA has unveiled a new trailer showing gameplay footage from the expansion. Check it out:
The trailer promises all-out vehicle warfare, and there's certainly plenty of it on display. Armored Kill will include new tanks, ATVs, and mobile artillery in addition to a flying gunship. There are four new maps, one of which is billed as the largest ever for the franchise. A tank-centric gameplay mode has been added, as well.
Armored Kill is but one of three DLC updates still to be released for Battlefield 3. According to an official Battlelog post, the Aftermath update is coming in December, followed by the End Game DLC in March. That should give Battlefield addicts plenty of new content before the BF4 beta kicks off next fall.
|Leica M10 further refines rangefinders for the digital age||10|
|NZXT adds purple-and-white finishes to its hardware catalog||8|
|Asus shows off Zenbook 3 Deluxe UX490A in detail||37|
|Tom's Hardware hammers an Intel 600p SSD for science||26|
|Antec Cube Mini-ITX chassis gets EKWB-certified||1|
|iBuypower Snowblind is a fresh take on case side panels||15|
|Radeon 17.1.1 drivers bring support for Resident Evil 7||15|
|NexDock offers a home for Intel Compute Cards||10|
|Imagination Technologies freshens up mid-range PowerVR GPUs||5|


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I like this as well:
"Finally, we believe that we are well positioned with our enterprise SSDs customized for the data centers of leading Chinese internet companies and industrial SSDs tailored for Japanese OEMs."
You mean the technologies that Apple already stole from somebody else!
The thing is, it will probably drop down to the $12 - $14 range again before anything happens. I will buy then.
The Centerview PR last week was BS. This is a shady company with questionable motives. I would not be surprised to see an SEC investigation / Trading HALT at some point in the near future.
Man, so glad I sold at $23.60. I thought I was going to be stuck in this stock indefinitely. Bought at $18, and it promptly went to $13. Whew!!! Thank goodness for pop a few weeks ago.
I've been in this stock for nine years, and I would still rather have a management team on the conservative side, rather than pom poms and air horns. By now, the analysts know this, and I don't believe it hurts the SP as much as it did 5 or so years ago. Steady, steady, steady.
A very strong week, despite the pullback from "crazy Wednesday". Next week will be interesting.
Quite the contrary, they put a Morgan Stanley employee on the board. This is to help facilitate the sale of the company.
SSD prices dropped by 12% in just the last quarter alone, now within striking distance of their hard disk drive (HDD) counterparts. The market for SSDs with a capacity of 250GB to 500GB is expected to grow at the highest annual rate between 2016 and 2022. - Computerworld.


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An elegant designer crowd hit the magazine's Milan Fashion Week party.
— Jan 14, 2012
The Republican presidential hopeful is cashing in on his preppy sartorial style.
— Jan 10, 2012
The punk rock band will star in the designer’s spring advertising campaign.
— Jan 5, 2012
Made for the iPhone and iPad, the app will allow users to watch the brand’s fashion show live on Jan. 14.
— Jan 4, 2012
Hayman has received much appreciation this year, sometimes uncomfortably for the man referred to as the Godfather of Rodeo Drive, or Mr. Rodeo Drive.
— Dec 28, 2011
J.C. Penney's Steve Lawrence, Delta Children's Products' Joe Shamie and the Levi's brand were honored at the event.
— Dec 12, 2011
The English actor will appear in the brand’s spring 2012 men’s campaign.
— Dec 8, 2011