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The Loudoun County Board of Supervisors will consider establishing a disposable plastic bag tax of five cents per bag that, if approved, would take effect July 1 as officials aim to reduce the use of the ubiquitous bags.
The proposed plastic bag tax would apply countywide, including to all of the incorporated towns, and are subjected to any grocery store, convenience store, or drugstore from customers who make in-store purchases, to-go purchases, delivery purchases, and curbside pick-up purchases from its establishments, according to county staff.
County staff estimate revenues from such a tax would generate between $275,000 and $340,000 in fiscal year 2023.
Vice Chairman Koran Saines (D-Sterling), who brought the item forward in September 2020, said the action would help the environment and give residents a choice.
“The data shows a small fee will change behavior,” Saines said.
“That is what we’re trying to do while minimizing the impact on Loudoun residents by allowing people to completely avoid the tax and by keeping the fee at a [minimum] for people who decide to pay it,” he said. “This represents a step forward to a cleaner and greener Loudoun.”
In the spring of 2020, Gov. Ralph Northam (D) signed into law legislation that gave localities and cities the authority to impose a tax in the amount of five cents ($0.05) for each disposable plastic bag provided, whether or not provided free of charge, to a consumer of tangible personal property by retailers in grocery stores, convenience stores, or drugstores.
County staff said the Virginia Code delegates the Virginia Department of Taxation to administer, enforce, and collect the disposable plastic bag tax.
Other jurisdictions in the region have adopted or are currently considering a disposable plastic bag tax, according to the Dec. 15 staff report.
County staff said the five-cent tax will be effective in the counties of Fairfax and Arlington, and the cities of Alexandria, Fredericksburg, and Roanoke on Jan. 1. Prince William County has indicated that any proposal for the tax would be considered as part of the FY 2023 budget process.
Vice Chairman Koran Saines (D-Sterling) made a motion to suspend the rules to vote on the matter, but it failed 5-4 needing a supermajority vote. Supervisors Tony Buffington (R-Blue Ridge), Caleb Kershner (R-Catoctin), Matt Letourneau (R-Dulles) and Kristen Umstattd (D-Leesburg) voted against the motion.
Supervisors opposing the motion said they were concerned with the impact on residents, businesses and adding a new tax.
“What bothers me most about this is that it’s just another tax,” Kershner said. “I have a real problem with supporting new additional taxes. This will never go away. As a matter of fact, it may incentivize keeping plastic bags because it’s because small localities may end up depending on them.”
Saines’ motion to send the item for action to the Jan. 18 business meeting with the board voting 6-3 in support of the action. Buffington, Kershner and Letourneau voted against the motion.
Retailers are permitted to keep a portion of the tax collected, accounting for the discount in the form of a deduction when submitting their tax return, the Dec. 15 staff report stated. The amount of the discount decreases over time as follows:
Until Jan. 1, 2023, retailers are allowed to retain two cents from the tax collected on each disposable plastic bag and one cent afterwards.
Outreach efforts are expected to cost $50,000 in advance of implementation of the disposable plastic bag tax. Staff said sufficient funding has been identified in existing fiscal year 2022 appropriations.


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'We're here, we're open.'
LA PINE, Ore. (KTVZ ) -- Businesses in La Pine are gearing up for a comeback, and many business owners are making changes to their establishment so that guests feel safe.
La Pine Florists and Gifts has already put down direction tape on the floor to guide guests from the entrance to the fresh flowers, ending at the register. The business will continue curbside pickup, as many of their orders are done over the phone.
Employees will be required to wear masks in the shop and customers are encouraged to do the same. The shop also does no-contact deliveries for customers, and the option is still available for those who do not feel comfortable.
Owner Sandie Lichtenhaan says since the closure they've had difficulty sourcing flowers as their main distributor closed down. She believes the reopening will be a slow and gradual process but says the la pine community has been supportive.
"Everybody has been so helpful and appreciative that we're here and we're open," Lichtenhaan said Thursday. "Since they can't see their families or their moms and dads they want to send flowers to. So we're here, we're open. We have flowers, and we're ready to send them to your loved ones."
While Lichtenhaan makes changes to her shop indoors, the Harvest Depot Restaurant in La Pine is making changes outside their restaurant and indoors.
The Harvest Depot has been running for 17 years, and now they'll have a new tent and outdoor seating for guests to enjoy meals outdoors.
The restaurant plans to reopen the inside, but will only allow seating for three tables to maintain the required six-foot separation. The breakfast and lunch menu is now drawn on dry erase boards, and there will be one-time-use printed copies for the visually impaired.
Owner Joel Brader says this reopening will be slow and intentional for the Harvest Depot, to ensure the safety of guests.
"We're grateful that we are one of the businesses that can open, unlike some of the retail stores, stadiums and churches that can't do mass seatings yet," Brader said.
"We will have very limited seating, three tables. That's not much, but three is better than none, and we're asking people to make reservations and work with us, because we're doing what we can. We're not going to jeopardize stuff just to get more tables in here."
Both owners, Lichenhaan and Brader, said they are excited to reopen, and are grateful to the La Pine community for their support during this time.

domain: news


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Back in 1994, while the hosts of The Today Show were still grappling with the concept of the internet, a Knight Ridder think tank put together an amazingly prescient presentation on the tablet-y future of news consumption.
Titled The Tablet Newspaper: A Vision of the Future, this video imagines a world in which people carry around portable computing devices that will "weigh under two pounds," have a display "comparable to ink on paper," and will be able to "blend text, video, audio and graphics." Oh — and the prototype demo looks exactly like an iPad.
"We may still use computers to create information," this video says. "But we'll use the tablet to interact with information: reading, watching, listening." Care to add the media Nostradamus in the video to your high tech brain trust? His name is Roger Fidler, currently the Program Director for Digital Publishing at the University of Missouri.


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Senior officials and business representatives from 27 Latin American countries are expected to attend a ministerial forum on Vietnam-Latin America trade and investment, slated for Hanoi on July 5-6.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs press release on June 1, the event, which will take place at My Dinh National Convention Centre, aims to boost policy-making and discuss bilateral cooperation in trade and investment between Vietnam and Latin America.
It will offer a good opportunity for businesses on both sides to exchange information, seek investment opportunities and sign cooperation agreements.
Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung will lead a delegation of Vietnamese ministers, provincial leaders, mayors and CEOs to the forum, which will focus on strengthening economic ties between Vietnam and Latin America, especially in trade, telecommunications, transportation, agriculture and energy.
A symposium on opportunities and challenges to boosting trade and investment between the two sides will also be held under the chairmanship of Minister of Industry and Trade, Vu Huy Hoang.
Le Cong Tien, deputy head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Department for South America, said with a GDP of more than US$5,500 billion and a population of 580 million, Latin America represents great investment opportunities for Vietnamese companies. Their two-way trade turnover reached US$4.5 billion in 2011, 15 times higher than the US$300 million recorded in 2000./.


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Skoda has updated the features list for its European-spec Superb sedan. The Czech automaker’s flagship four-door cruiser is already pretty luxurious for its class but now with these new set of upgrades, it should boost the sedan’s premium appeal. The updates are both for the interior and exterior and cover a broad base. Here then, is a round-up of the changes.
Revised infotainment system
One of the major grouses that had been pointed out against the Superb was the size of the display for the Infotainment system. Skoda had addressed this issue by updating the size of the display as well as adding SMARTLINK+ technology which allows users to make use of their navigation, music and communication apps directly from their smart devices. The largest size display which was 8.0 inches and offered with the Columbus spec system which has now been upgraded to 9.2 inches while in the Swing spec infotainment system, the display size has been boosted from 5.0 to 6.5 inches.
Optional seat massager and memory function
The driver’s seat for the first time can be had with an optional seat massager and ventilation function. In addition, there is also have a memory function for the seat. What’s more, Skoda has added a mic in the cabin between the front and rear seats to improve communication between the two sections.
All forms of infotainment system offered with the Superb now get remote smart device connectivity as well as emergency calling in the event of an accident or if the restraint system is triggered.
Park distance control
This updated Superb now gets Park Distance Control system with extended function manoeuvre assist, which now also detects obstacles in front of the vehicle. The system not only warns the driver but also applies the brakes if necessary.
The comprehensive cabin updates have been followed by new design for the alloy wheels as well as a new shade called Velvet red. Finally, chrome strips on side and doors and a black interior ceiling will be available for the top-of-the-line L&K trim level.
The updated Superb will go on sale in European markets from next week onwards and is expected to be sold as a 2018 Model year car. We will get these updates for the Superb in India, probably around the festival season and obviously, once the Kodiaq has been launched in the sub-continent.


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March 3, 2023
The Dee’s Open Farm Day 2023
An inspiring and successful day
The day finally came!’: The Dee’s Open Farm Day! The day kicked off at 10AM with people arriving from around Victoria and beyond, all eager to witness the first robotic compost barn in the state.
March 15, 2022
Lely discontinues commercial activities in Russia and Belarus
Lely is shocked by Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine. The Ukrainian people are in the midst of a war and face great uncertainty. Our thoughts are with the people directly affected by this crisis. Lely condemns Russia’s invasion and is immediately ceasing commercial activities in the region. This means that we will stop supplying robots to Russia and Belarus. We will continue to supply spare parts and consumables to our existing customers in these countries, considering that otherwise cow welfare and food supply in the region would be compromised.
Nov. 14, 2021
50 years of automatic calf feeding
Förster, Lely's fixed supplier for Calm products, is celebrating its 50th anniversary this month. Thanks to the anniversary, customers worldwide can take advantage of the special anniversary promotion packages until the end of February 2022.
Oct. 11, 2021
Lely proudly announces Oculyze as winner of the second ‘Feed the Future’ challenge
Maassluis, 11 October 2021– Oculyze based in Wildau, Germany, is named as the winner of the second edition of ‘Feed the Future by Lely’. Lely is the leading supplier of robotics and data management for the dairy farm. In partnership with Rockstart - one of Europe’s first startup accelerators - Lely scouted the next generation of tech pioneers, who could innovate and improve the dairy industry with technology solutions.
July 14, 2021
Lely Service Provider in South Australia
O’Brien Electrical Goolwa
Lely Australia is pleased to announce their new partnership with O’Brien Electrical Goolwa, taking control as the new Service Provider for Lely farms in South Australia.
June 29, 2021
Lely releases annual review 2020
Today, Lely publishes its annual review – an online report that focuses on developments and Lely’s most important achievements and launches in 2020. We share some key figures, take you around the globe, and preview the roll-out of our sustainability programme – the first steps of which were taken in 2020. We also take the opportunity to explain our vision of future farming and offer plenty of practical examples of our solutions and working methods that underline this vision.


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GameStop has decided to take down a controversial non-fungible token (NFT) listed in its fresh-out-of-the-oven marketplace for digital assets depicting a picture of an astronaut falling that resembled one of the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attack.
The NFT called the “Falling Man” was listed by an artist identified with the name “Jules” who included the following description to the photo: “This one probably fell from the MIR station”.
The photo was immediately compared by the NFT community and other observers on Twitter and Reddit to the picture taken by Richard Drew, a photographer with the Associated Press, who captured the moment in which a victim of the attack on the World Trade Center jumped from the collapsing building in a desperate attempt to escape the flames.
According to a Twitter response, the company has taken down the NFT. Even though we could not find the specific tweet cited in this picture to confirm that the user that provided confirmation was the official GameStop Marketplace account, the “Falling Man” is no longer available in the web3 marketplace.
Gamestop got rid of the nft and removed the creators ability to mint thankfully. pic.twitter.com/tJpcmXqkJz
— Thrawnbelina (@AltStacie) July 23, 2022
OpenSea Has the Falling Man Listed Multiple Times – The Literal One
Some of the toughest critics on Twitter stated that GameStop should put in place a team to screen the digital art that comes into its marketplace to avoid similar incidents in the future.
The company’s NFT marketplace was officially launched on 11 July and statistics from its official website indicate that its top 50 collections have produced trading volumes of approximately 8,000 ETH since then – around $13 million based on the price of ETH today.
Comparatively, the monthly trading volume of the leading marketplace for NFTs – OpenSea – was over $800 million in June and almost reached the $6 billion mark in January this year before the crypto winter started as per data from Dune.
Curiously, several NFTs named “The Falling Man” are listed on OpenSea at the moment this is written including the actual picture of the individual who committed suicide posted by different users and slight modifications of that same picture. See one of the listings here.
However, OpenSea has not received a similar backlash for allowing the images to be listed on their platform despite the fact that several users have commented on the irony. According to the site’s information, most of these “Falling Man” NFTs have been listed for a year or longer. OpenSea has not made any official comments concerning these listings.
The fact that only GameStop has been grilled for this particular incident puts into question the motivations behind this campaign to boycott the website only a few weeks after its official release.
GameStop is Betting a Lot on the Success of its NFT Marketplace
GameStop (GME) is betting a lot on its web3 pivot as the management is convinced that this is the way to go to turn around the firm after years of declining sales due to its outdated business model, which involves the sale of physical games.
During its first fiscal quarter of 2022, GameStop’s profit margins slid and operating losses increased significantly compared to the same period a year ago. As a result, the company burned nearly $304 million in cash. Its cash reserves by the end of this period stood at $1.04 billion.
Shares of the used video game retailer are down nearly 12% this year after progressively recovering since May. GME’s stock surged to $40 per share at some point in July following the launch of its NFT marketplace but the price has slid since then to its current level of around $33 per share.
GameStop jumped to the spotlight in January 2021 as its stock rallied significantly on the back of a short-squeeze. Retail traders back then coordinated efforts via a Reddit messaging forum called WallStreetBets and collectively managed to push the price higher by buying short-dated options and placing highly leveraged bets.
The incident prompted various stock exchanges such as Robinhood and Interactive Brokers to limit the number of GME shares that investors could trade or completely halt all buying activity.
The company took advantage of this spike in its share price to raise capital and sanitize its balance sheet. In addition, they built a sizable war chest to finance their efforts to turn around the business. However, it is still too early to tell if its web3 bet will save the company – especially in the midst of a relatively unfavorable macroeconomic backdrop.
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In just 90 days on iOS it seems Epic Games can't be stopped with Fortnite absolutely dominating on Apple's iPhone and iPads, with Fortnite making $100 million in the three-month span.
Knives Out is the PUBG-like Battle Royale giant on iOS, but Fortnite made 335% more money over the 90-day period which is quite simply insane. In just 30 days, Fortnite made $25 million joined by another $50 million in the 45 days after, with no signs of slowing down.
Fortnite might have made $100 million in 90 days but it only comes close to the $154 million that Clash Royale from Supercell made in its first 90 days on iOS. PUBG on mobile doesn't count yet because it has only been on iOS for 60 days now and hasn't reached $100 million, yet.


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WWE will hold its Money in the Bank pay-per-view event on the same weekend that they resume live touring.
The pre-sale tickets went on-sale on Tuesday and are selling out quickly. AEWTicketInfo noted on Twitter that out of the 11,634 tickets listed for the event, there were just 247 tickets left as of Tuesday night.
Ticket Smarter noted there are 1,193 tickets still available for the show while Dave Meltzer also mentioned that tickets were going fast. It should be noted that tickets for the public go on-sale this morning.
WWE will kick off its 25-city tour on July 16th with SmackDown in Houston, Money in the Bank on July 18th from Fort Worth and Raw the following night in Dallas.
More seats made available (and tickets being held but never actually purchased):
Available => 1,225
Unavailable => 10,402 pic.twitter.com/SOnIfNGKmw
— AEW Ticket Information (@AEWTicketInfo) May 25, 2021
WWE's first PPV back in Fort Worth on 7/18 looks to be a quick sellout.
— Dave Meltzer (@davemeltzerWON) May 25, 2021


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Hospitality businesses offer perks to lure staff
author:Press center7 source:Press center8 browse: 【big medium small】 Release time:2023-06-02 06:04:57 Comment count:
Discounted accommodation and shorter working weeks are some of the perks being offered to hospitality staff as it faces a recruitment crisis.
Unsociable hours and low pay have been cited as reasons behind an exodus of staff after the Covid pandemic.
And insiders say staff retention could be the difference between staying open and shutting up shop in 2023.
The Welsh government said it had announced Â£460m in non-domestic rates support for struggling businesses.
Figures from industry body UK Hospitality say the sector employed 140,000 people and contributed about Â£3.6bn a year to the Welsh economy pre-pandemic, but it is believed these figures have since shrunk.
The closure of businesses and furloughing of staff at the start of the pandemic is thought to have contributed to workers in the industry considering a change in career, which has led to a shortfall.
Director of operations for the Seren Collection, a group which includes the Grove of Narberth hotel and restaurant in Pembrokeshire, said this combined with a labour shortage following Brexit had created a "perfect storm" for businesses.
"What's nice about what's happened actually is it has made us and the industry in general look at how we remunerate staff, at working conditions and benefits," Thomas Ferrante said.
"Hospitality had been getting better, and there was a push to being a generally happier, nicer place to work; taking consideration that sometimes it is long or antisocial hours, and compensating for that.
"But nowadays we've gone even further."
pursueing the pandemic, Mr Ferrante said the Seren Group introduced a four-day working week with staff able to opt-in but still retain their weekly hours and wage.
From this year, the group has also launched a profit-sharing scheme for staff.
Mr Ferrante said the industry was on a "knife-edge" in terms of worker numbers and that retaining staff was crucial "to allow you to keep taking in business".
Heaneys restaurant in Cardiff is one business providing accommodation for staff after office space above its premises in Pontcanna was renovated into a three-bed flat.
The accommodation is being let to employees at more than 50% below market rates, which owner Tommy Heaney said had helped attract workers from outside the area.
The business has also reduced the length of shifts for staff, with some also working four-day weeks.
"It's helped with retaining staff and it's benefitted all parties, really," he said.
"We looked at the bigger picture. If I've got guys coming in doing five 16-hour days, yes it saves you money.
"But in the long term, they're not going to stay. So you've spent time, energy and money on their training, but you're going to lose them."
The Celtic Collection group, which includes the Celtic Manor Resort in Newport, has focused on promoting employee benefits like free access to online GP appointments and financial advice, while introducing more flexible shift patterns.
Hannah Elliott, the group's talent and development director, said: "We've probably had to adapt and try more initiatives to attract and retain people in the last two years than we ever have.
"We've had to evolve in terms of trying to get rid of some of the traditional ways of working in hotels such as split shifts, which no longer exist.
"From a people perspective, if you stay still with your resourcing and your talent attraction strategy, you will not survive."
But other businesses have found that extending incentives and addressing work-life balance has been unable to attract people back into the sector.
John Evans owns the Black Boy Inn pub and hotel in Caernarfon, Gwynedd, and said this was the most difficult period he had known for recruiting staff.
He offers staff flexible hours and accommodation after late shifts but said he had several vacancies he had been unable to fill.
"We have tried offering different incentives but they just don't seem to work," he said.
"We pay more than other similar businesses in the area but we're still having serious problems recruiting, and we're far from alone. I know other pubs and hotels just can't get the staff.
"Brexit has undoubtedly had an impact but many people now want to work from home or only want limited hours."
David Chapman, executive director of industry body UK Hospitality in Wales, said there had been a "radical reboot" of what the sector offers workers since Covid, but that it was still experiencing a difficult time.
"I can't sugar-coat the bitter pill that we're suffering at the moment, particularly with the news on energy support. And I fear there will be a lot of businesses that will either cut back, reduce staff or even close once it goes past April and that support changes.
"On the positive side the industry is incredibly resilient. It keeps bouncing back, it will bounce back. And I think we are, once we do come back, in a better position and shape than we were before Covid in some ways."
A Welsh government spokesperson said it recognised the "extremely challenging situation for businesses", adding it had previously announced Â£460m in non-domestic rates support for the next two financial years to help all businesses struggling with rising costs.âï»¿âï»¿âï»¿âï»¿âï»¿âï»¿âï»¿âï»¿âï»¿âï»¿âï»¿âï»¿âï»¿âï»¿âï»¿âï»¿âï»¿âï»¿âï»¿âï»¿âï»¿âï»¿âï»¿âï»¿âï»¿â


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Edible consumers may note a change in the appearance of gummies this week. Dispensaries discontinued the fun shaped edibles, such as animals, fruits, and characters on October 1. Colorado’s new law disallows the creative shapes, but the edibles can still be fruit flavored.
Lawmakers and partakers alike want to increase public knowledge and awareness about these types of products.
The purpose of the new requirements is to add a level of security to protect children from mistakenly consuming edibles believing they are candy. A year ago, the word ‘candy’ or ‘candies’ were banned from use on packaging, and this law applies the same reasoning to the shape requirements.
In addition to the lack of creative design, all edibles will now be required to have larger fonts on the packaging, and the product’s potency must be highlighted or circled.
According to new legislation:
“Potency for medical and retail marijuana, concentrate and product, must be labeled in a font size that is at least two font sizes larger than the surrounding label text and also not less than 10-point font.”
It is lawmakers’ hope that by providing more attention to the amount of THC within a product, there will be fewer instances of people consuming more than they can handle.
Edibles have become notorious for their delayed effects. Often times, people assume they have not consumed enough for the product to take effect. They choose to take more, not recognizing their mistake until it is too late.
Bud-tenders recommend users wait at least two hours after an initial dose before deciding on whether to consume more.
Both aspects of the new legislation seek to save folks the panic, as well as a trip to the emergency room, 1) by being more upfront about potency levels, and 2) keeping tiny hands off what can look to be regular gummy candy.
These new restrictions are far from the first and likely not the last in this new and growing industry. Since marijuana became legal in Colorado in 2014, the original Amendment 64 has seen its fair share of revisions on how marijuana is sold, grown, and used.
In the spirit of greater awareness, it is worth noting that, as with alcohol, there is value to knowing one’s own limits. Before consuming edible marijuana, you can check out the local Denver Post publication The Cannabist for some beginner’s tips.


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Apple has finally released a new iPhone generation. Some rumors are true, while others are false. First, the mini has been discontinued, leaving the 6.1-inch iPhone 14 as the smallest and cheapest alternative. With the advent of iPhone 14 Plus, the iPhone 14 family includes a total of four members.
The iPhone 14 and 14 Plus are now available
The iPhone 14 Plus has the longest battery life of any iPhone, including the iPhone 14 Pro. Up to 26 hours of video may be seen on the Plus, 20 hours on the iPhone 14 and 19 hours on the iPhone 13. Apple is also able to improve the cooling system thanks to the increased size.
These two iPhones employ the A15 Bionic technology from the prior year. Notably, this is the version of the 13 Pro pair with a 5-core GPU, as opposed to the 4-core version found in the iPhone 13 and 13 mini. As a result, its graphics performance is 18% better than last year’s non-Pro models.
Apple says that, regardless of pricing, it remains superior to Android in performance due to its superior processing power. And a portion of this processing power will be utilized to enhance the quality of the camera.
iPhone 14 and 14 Plus continue to employ a 12-megapixel camera. The primary camera now has a bigger sensor with 1.9m pixels (compared to 1.7m) and a brighter f/1.5 aperture (compared to f/1.6). Consequently, it captures 49% more light than the camera on the iPhone 13.
This is merely a hardware gain over the previous year’s model. Apple’s Photonic Engine is the result of software processing and is based on Deep Fusion. The Photonic engine significantly enhances low-light images; compared to the iPhone 13, Apple promises a 2x improvement for the front camera, 2x improvement for the ultrawide camera, and a 2.5x improvement for the new primary camera.
Another new feature is Action Mode, which functions like an action camera; it offers improved stability so that a gimbal is unnecessary, and it also supports Dolby Vision HDR video recording. However, the camera’s maximum resolution remains 4K. (60 fps).
For the TrueDepth camera, the iPhone 14 duo retains the notch design. However, it is the first camera to use focusing. In addition, hardware enhancements allow the camera to catch 38% more light for improved low-light performance, thanks in part to a brighter f/1.9 aperture (compared to f/2.2).
Let’s now discuss connectivity. Tonight, Apple dropped two bombs. First, satellite. The iPhone only includes an eSIM.
To deliver communications to satellites without the need for cumbersome antennas, satellite functionality necessitates an entirely new unique hardware design and custom software. The service is text-only and will mostly be used for emergencies, but it offers two-way communication, so you will be alerted when a rescue occurs. The Find My app will also enable friends to track you by sharing your location with them.
You can construct personalized messages to explain your predicament, but when time is of the essence, you can send a thorough SOS with only a few taps by answering certain predefined questions. In areas with a good view of the sky, messages can be relayed in around 15 seconds, but it can take several minutes if there are trees overhead. The satellite service will start in November for users in the United States and Canada, and purchasers of the iPhone 14 will receive a complimentary two-year subscription.
If you pay attention to the new Apple Watch, you will see crash detection. The iPhone 14 and 14 Plus have this feature as well, thanks to a new accelerometer that can detect up to 256G of acceleration.
For eSIM-only iPhones, presently available only in the United States. Apple promotes the ability to swiftly switch between several eSIMs and add carriers without a dealer. The new duo naturally supports dual sim.
Beginning September 9th, the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus can be ordered (Friday). The vanilla iPhone 14 will be available on September 16 at the same $800 pricing as its predecessor. The iPhone 14 Plus will be available starting at $900 on October 7. These prices reflect the 128GB devices; 256GB and 512GB capacities are also available.
The colors offered for the iPhone 14 and 14 Plus are Midnight, Starlight, Blue, Purple, and (PRODUCT) RED.


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"It's been a challenge, no question about it," said Dave Byrd. Mr. Byrd is the director of risk management for the National Ski Areas Association, based in Lakewood, Colo., and his job title and description has been put to the test this winter. All across the country, warm temperatures have put a damper on traditional winter activities, such as skiing.
There were 60.5 million visits to ski resorts in the U.S. last season, "and that 's going to be down this season," Mr. Byrd said. "We don't collect skier visits until end of season, but they're going to be down. We just don't know by how much. What's unusual is , this has affected a large portion of the country, not just the northeast."
Last year, the 2010-11 ski season, was fueled by an incredibly snowy winter. This season? Not so much. By way of example, in Albany, the state capital of New York, approximately 17 inches of snow has fallen this season -- the city was blanketed with 87 inches last year.
And it's that way all across the country, leaving marketers in a quandary.
"Everyone is struggling. It's been a bizarre winter," said Jessica Pezak, marketing and communications manager for the Hunter Mountain Ski Resort in upstate New York. "We've been lucky because of our snow-making capabilities."
Indeed, Hunter Mountain is the self-proclaimed snow-making capital of the world. Even with that lofty title and its artificial snow machines dusting tons of snow on the mountain, Hunter still had to close seven of its 55 trails. And while 90% of the trails are open and completely covered with snow, it's still been a challenge to market.
"When there's no snow in the metropolitan [New York] area, it's hard to get people up here," said Ms. Pezak, who has ads running in New York City touting the fact that Hunter's trails are covered and advising skiers to check out the mountain's webcam on its online site for verification.
Paul Pearlman, president of Forest Hills, N.Y.-based Emilio's Ski & Snowboard, knows exactly what Ms. Pezak is talking about. Not only does Emilio's sell ski equipment, it also arranges about 20 bus trips a month for denizens of the concrete jungle to travel upstate and to Vermont to ski.
"We're off. There's no question about it," Mr. Pearlman said. "We're off a good 15% compared to last year but, to be fair, last year was a banner year. But, right now, we could stand outside and give the stuff away but nobody is taking it."
Asked how to combat that when his business is so reliant on the weather, Mr. Pearlman said that "we ask skiers to temper their expectations. If they were looking to go up and ski from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. non-stop, it's not that kind of winter. If they are looking to go up and ski, do a few turns, have some optimal runs, have lunch, get some sun and enjoy the day, that 's what this season is like."
Many ski resorts have dropped prices in hopes of luring customers. Ski Sundown, in New Hartford, Conn., for instance lowered its lift tickets to $30 from $54 on Thursdays.
The warmer-than-usual temperatures have also made it challenging to book travel from traditional cold spots, such as the Northeast, to sunnier climates.
"Clients who booked trips a year in advance, six months in advance, they're still going," said Richard Beck, president of luxury travel agency Classic Travel, New York. "Clients who call and say 'Get me out of here!' are not calling at this time. The people who in years past were so cold they couldn't stand it and said they wanted to get out of town, aren't getting out of town. The last-minute people are just not going anywhere because it's warmer and more tolerable where they are than in years past."
Even something as simple as the mom-and-pop hardware store is taking a hit over the warm weather, as sales of snow shovels, snow blowers and even rock salt are down.
"To put it in perspective, we get our bags of rock salt by the pallet," said Watler Letanski, owner of Walter's Hardware Store in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., noting that each pallet contains 120 bags of rock salt. "We got two pallets early in the season this season and we still have a pallet left. Last season we went through two pallets before Christmas. Two years ago, when we had a lot of ice storms, we went through a pallet a month. There's no question that sales have been off."


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Dezeen's top 10 movies of 2016
Dezeen's videos received over 30 million plays in 2016. For our review of the year, studio director Ben Hobson has selected the 10 that sum up the year, including our interview with Bjarke Ingels at the opening of this year's Serpentine Gallery Pavilion and our video tribute to the late Zaha Hadid.
Architecture stars pay tribute to late Zaha Hadid
Architecture lost one of its leading stars in 2016 when Zaha Hadid died suddenly from a heart attack in March.
Dezeen teamed up with Architizer to create this memorial video, which features moving tributes from architects including Norman Foster, Bjarke Ingels, Richard Rogers, Daniel Libeskind, Amanda Levete and Patrik Schumacher.
Schumacher calls for social housing to be scrapped in live Dezeen broadcast
Zaha Hadid Architects director Patrik Schumacher set out a series of controversial proposals for solving London's housing crisis during his keynote seminar at World Architecture Festival 2016, which Dezeen streamed live on our Facebook page.
The talk was the catalyst for a series of vigorous debates on the Dezeen comment boards, which was soon picked up by the national press.
Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2016 by Bjarke Ingels
This year's Serpentine Gallery Pavilion was designed by Bjarke Ingels' firm BIG.
In this exclusive movie filmed at the opening of the pavilion in June, Ingels explains how he used stacks of fibreglass boxes to create a huge undulating structure on the lawns of Kensington Gardens in London.
Joris Laarman explains how he will create world's first 3D-printed bridge
At the beginning of the year we spoke to Dutch designer Joris Laarman about the 3D-printed bridge his startup company MX3D is planning to build over a canal in Amsterdam.
The video is part of our Future Makers video series in collaboration with Autodesk, which explores how designers are harnessing new digital tools and advanced manufacturing technology to pioneer the future of making things.
Sebastian Wrong reflects on being woken up in the night by his Font Clock
London designer Sebastian Wrong reflects on living with the distinctive sound made by his 2007 Font Clock for Established & Sons in the this movie from our Most Loved video series in partnership with MINI, which celebrates design objects that have found a special place in people's hearts.
Oki Sato reveals Nendo's biggest ever project
Oki Sato of Nendo explains the concept behind the Japanese studio's redesign of a 40,000-square-metre shopping mall in this video Dezeen filmed in Bangkok.
Kim Jones creates compact Nike travel kit for Olympic athletes
In this world-exclusive movie, fashion designer Kim Jones unveiled his compactable collection of clothes and shoes designed for athletes travelling to the Rio 2016 Olympics, which he created by reinterpreting classic Nike designs.
Forests installation by Asif Khan for MINI
MINI worked with London architect Asif Khan to create a series of installations during London Design Festival this year.
MINI's Oke Hauser explains why the car brand is experimenting with architecture in this movie.
Exclusive video interview with Chinese architect Wang Shu
Dezeen spoke exclusively to Chinese architect Wang Shu of Amateur Architecture Studio when he was in London to deliver the prestigious Annual Architecture Lecture at the Royal Academy.
In this video, he explains why he used recycled material from traditional Chinese buildings to construct the Ningbo History Museum, one of his studio's most iconic buildings.
Patrizia Moroso gives Dezeen a private tour of the Moroso factory
Moroso creative director Patrizia Moroso gave Dezeen a personal behind-the-scenes tour of the "hidden heart" of the furniture brand's factory in Italy.


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Kate Upton was named model of the year at the 10th annual Style Awards.
The event, which kicked off New York Fashion Week Wednesday night, was hosted by Nicole Richie.
Project Runway judge Zac Posen won top designer of the year and Rachel Zoe was named top celebrity stylist.
Victoria’s Secret was named most visible brand.
Upton, 21, skyrocketed to fame after appearing in the 2011 Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. She graced the cover of the issue for the next two years, and has starred in campaigns for major brands including Guess.
She’ll also appear on the cover of the 100th anniversary October issue of Vanity Fair.


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Uber wants to deliver clothes and jewelry from fancy stores
Uber is currently testing a same-day delivery program for high-end retailers, according to a report from TechCrunch. As many as 400 brands including Louis Vuitton, Tiffany’s, Hugo Boss, and Neiman Marcus are in talks with the company, with some of these merchants already testing out the new delivery service.
this is just the latest in Uber’s many delivery experiments
Delivering items for stores would be the latest attempt by Uber to find new uses for its logistical network. Last year, the company launched UberRush — a Manhattan-only courier service that has since expanded to new locations — and it’s also tried its hand at delivering essentials like toiletries. After successful trials in Barcelona and Los Angeles, the company also…
Source:: The Verge


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Yachtestimation.com Launches Revolutionary Yacht Valuation Tool for Boat Owners and Industry Professionals
Yachtestimation.com, the leading provider of yacht appraisal services, is proud to announce the launch of our new and innovative yacht valuation tool. Our state-of-the-art platform is designed to provide boat owners and industry professionals with accurate and reliable yacht valuations.
With our yacht valuation tool, boat owners can easily obtain an estimate of their yacht’s value. Our tool takes into account numerous factors that impact the value of a yacht, including the year, make, model, condition, and location of the vessel. Additionally, our tool incorporates data from industry sources, providing the most up-to-date and accurate valuations possible.
Our yacht valuation tool is also a valuable resource for industry professionals, including yacht brokers, insurance companies, and Bankers. By utilizing our platform, industry professionals can obtain precise valuations quickly, making it easier to conduct business transactions with confidence.
“We are thrilled to offer our new yacht valuation tool to boat owners and industry professionals,” said, CEO of Yachtestimation.com. “Our platform is the most advanced and accurate tool of its kind, and we believe it will be a game-changer in the industry.”
Yachtestimation.com has been providing yacht appraisal services for more than a decade. Our team of experienced appraisers is dedicated to providing accurate and reliable valuations to our clients. With the launch of our new yacht valuation tool, we are excited to expand our offerings and provide an even greater level of service to our clients.
For more information about Yachtestimation.com and our yacht valuation tool, please visit our website at www.yachtestimation.com


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Kattakkada: Tribals are finding a way to earn a living during the COVID-19 lockdown, thanks to Vanika.
A bunch of young forest personnel came up with an online initiative, Vanika, to help in the sale of the forest and agricultural produce of tribespeople. The project currently benefits those living in tribal hamlets near the forest regions in Thiruvananthapuram.
The initiative ensures that the tribespeople get fair value for the forest produce and guarantees consumers organic food.
Even those in the urban areas are awaiting the forest department's vehicle, delivering the organic produce, during these lockdown days.
The main aim of the project is to ensure that the tribespeople get the fair value without any fears of exploitation. Tribespeople do not have to interact with the outside world to sell their produce.
The eco-development committee (EDC) pays the tribespeople and collects the agricultural produce, which is then delivered to the consumers.
The marketing is done through WhatsApp groups.
The forest department vehicle reaches the Agasthya forest hamlets twice a week to procure the items. Details of the items are put up on the WhatsApp group. Depending on the orders placed, these are delivered to the homes.
These are taken to homes in both rural and urban areas. The first priority is for online booking. The remaining items are taken to the Kani market at Kottoor by the forest personnel and EDC workers.
During the lockdown period, forest personnel section officer C K Sinu, beat forest officer Gopika Surendran, and P P Prashanth came up with the novel idea. Warden J R Annie too backed their project.
From jackfruit to turmeric
Pepper, mango, lemon, cashew nuts, honey, kasthuri turmeric, curry turmeric, Malabar tamarind, jackfruit banana and tapioca among other vegetables are brought to the consumers.
Apart from these, baskets and other such products are also put up for sale on Vanika.
All the items need not be available every day. The quantities also differ. Banana and cashew nuts are available only in small quantities.
On day 1, the items were sold for Rs 23,000, while the price increased to over Rs 30,000 on second day.
Beat officer Gopika Surendran, and watchers Ramachandran and Sheeba point out that the consumers are happy to have pesticide-free vegetables delivered at home.


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Publicado no e em "Negócios", idioma — English. 48 páginas.
R&M’s Oli Barrington talks about data centre heat
A changing world
Darren Watkins, managing director of Virtus Data Centres, talks us through the new breed of global data centre providers
Navigating the fibre landscape
Alberto Zucchinali of Siemon reviews the latest fibre applications, standards and technologies
What’s next for the data centre?
Isaac Roybal, director of product marketing at ExtraHop, talks us through the future for data centres.
Data centre products Mais


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TCBY is honoring past and current members of the military this Veterans Day by offering veterans and active military personnel their first 6 ounces of frozen yogurt for free today at participating
TCBY is celebrating fall with two classic pie-inspired frozen yogurt flavors: Butter Pecan soft serve and Butter Pecan hand scooped.
TCBY is celebrating 38 years of business on Tuesday, August 13 from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. by offering its fans Buy One, Get One for only 38 cents.
TCBY (The Country’s Best Yogurt), the original frozen yogurt brand, is celebrating Father’s Day on Sunday, June 16 by inviting all dads and father figures to enjoy their first six ounces of frozen
TCBY, The Country’s Best Yogurt, the world’s original frozen yogurt brand, is celebrating Mother’s Day on Sunday, May 12 by gifting moms across the country with a free small cup (first 6-ounce) of
TCBY is embracing the season with a fan favorite flavor, Peppermint.
TCBY is welcoming the fall season by featuring three, limited-time seasonal flavors starting in September including Apple Pie, Pumpkin and Graham Cracker.
TCBY is celebrating 37 years in business on Tuesday, August 7 by offering its loyal fans Buy One, Get One for only 37 cents (excluding cakes and pies). From 3 p.m.
TCBY announced two new flavor offerings for the month of July, including Coconut and Chocolate Peanut Butter-Palooza.
TCBY, the original frozen yogurt brand, is celebrating Father’s Day on Sunday, June 17 by offering dads their first 6 ounces of frozen yogurt free.
TCBY introduces two mouthwatering flavors in Watermelon sorbet and Peach frozen yogurt to kickoff summer.
TCBY is celebrating Mother’s Day on May 13 by gifting moms their first 6 ounces of frozen yogurt free. Any mom who visits their local TCBY from opening to closing will receive the sweet deal.
TCBY is serving up two new flavors in celebration of spring.
TCBY, The Country’s Best Yogurt, the world’s first and largest frozen yogurt brand, is celebrating National Frozen Yogurt Day on February 6 in a big way, by gifting fans with a free 6 ounce cup of
TCBY is partnering with Twentieth Century Fox Film’s highly anticipated animated film: Ferdinand, opening in theaters December 15.
TCBY, The Country’s Best Yogurt, the world’s first and largest frozen yogurt brand, introduces three delicious, autumn-inspired flavors including Pumpkin, Graham Cracker and Apple Pie that fans can
Famous Brands International, parent company of TCBY Yogurt and Mrs. Fields Cookies, signed a new master franchise deal with Dubai-based The Luxury Gourmet Sweets and Candies.
As a way of expressing gratitude and recruiting exceptional franchisees, Famous Brands International, the parent company of TCBY Yogurt and Mrs.
Famous Brands International, the parent company of TCBY Yogurt and Mrs.
Forget New York and Los Angeles. Quick-serve operators have all the resources they need in these four mid-American cities.
In another first for frozen-yogurt stalwart TCBY—and the fro-yo category as a whole—the brand is unleashing Silk Chocolate Almond, an almondmilk-based frozen-yogurt option.
Made with creamy satisfying Greek yogurt, TCBY’s newest flavor, Wildberry Greek, is a protein-packed brand of frozen yogurt.
Frozen-yogurt chain TCBY may be the category leader—ahead of brands like Pinkberry, Red Mango, and Menchie’s with nearly 18 percent market share, according to an October 2012 report fro
Our third-annual report singles out the top large, medium, and small markets in the U.S.
TCBY, The Country’s Best Yogurt and frozen yogurt, announces its plans to open a new flagship store in Broomfield, Colorado, which will also serve as the company’s training center for i
The holidays are usually a time to splurge on less-than-healthy treats, but one frozen-yogurt chain is instead offering customers healthy seasonal favorites that are full of added fiber, vitamins,
For years on end, the restaurant industry has been the scapegoat for everyone from health organizations and critics to consumers who are looking for someone—anyone—to blame for the ball
TCBY, The Country's Best Yogurt and frozen yogurt innovator, takes pride in offering unique flavors and innovative products at TCBY locations nationwide.
Most licensing relationships fail. So why are more quick-serve brands jumping into the retail space?
In April, TCBY introduced the first-to-market Greek Frozen Yogurt, and the response was astounding.


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The New Bern area’s newest Dollar General had a grand opening last Saturday at its Grantham/Neuse Forest location.
The first 50 adults visiting the store, located at 2302 U.S. 70 service road, received $10 gift certificates, and the first 200 customers received “goody” bags.
Crystal Ghassemi, spokeswoman for Dollar General, said when most people think of a grand opening they think of ribbon cuttings, but not Dollar General.
“Our grand openings are for welcoming in the community and showing them the new store,” Ghassemi said. “It’s more about the community than about us.”
Several things influenced Dollar General’s decision to locate in the Neuse Forest community, Ghassemi said.
“It is a pretty due diligence phase we go through,” she said. “We look at the demographics and whether they will be able to support a store, the traffic patterns and a whole range of things. But we saw this as just a great step for us.”
Ghassemi said it doesn’t look like another store is targeted for the Craven County area soon.
“But Dollar General is planning to build 700 stores across the country this year, so it may change,” she said. “We are getting strong community support.”
Dollar General has more than 11,000 stores in 40 states, Ghassemi said. In addition to the new Grantham/Neuse Forest store, there are three Dollar General stores in New Bern, one in River Bend, one in Bridgeton, two in Havelock and one in Vanceboro.


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Automotive Floor Mat Maker WeatherTech will run a Super Bowl 2014 ad. This is another surprise entry in the expensive Super Bowl ad chart.
The Super Bowl 2014 takes place on February 2, and will have the Broncos play against the Seahawks in the Big Game. Besides the game there will be again a huge line-up of Super Bowl ads. Fox managed to charge $4 million on average for 30 second spots. A surprise new entry in our Super Bowl 2014 Ad Line-up is WeatherTech. Automotive floor mat manufacturer WeatherTech has purchased a 30-second slot for their You Can’t Do That titled Super Bowl ad
The purchase of the ad time by WeatherTech represents a size-able marketing investment for the Bolingbrook, Illinois based manufacturer and distributor of automotive accessories. The company known for their revolutionary DigitalFit FloorLiner automotive floor mats, which are sold worldwide, is using the ad time to further increase the brand awareness and reinforce their Made in America business philosophy.
“We have been thinking about buying ad time during the Super Bowl for the past three years,” David MacNeil, founder and CEO of WeatherTech said. “With our confidence in the improving economy and the reach of over 111 million viewers that the Super Bowl coverage provides, we thought it was the right time to make the investment. It is a big outlay for our company, but we are looking at as an investment in our brand as well as in the future of our employees and their families. The huge Super Bowl audience was the deciding factor for us to make such a large marketing commitment.”
“Our You Can’t Do That commercial is meant to evoke a strong reaction from the viewer on our commitment to produce the best automotive products on American made machines with domestically sourced raw materials manufactured by American workers right here in Bolingbrook, Illinois,” MacNeil continued. “I think the You Can’t Do That spot is a bold statement about our company’s strong belief in manufacturing and creating jobs right here in America. I think it is going to shock a lot of people watching in their living rooms and bars around the world.”
The spot is scheduled to run within the second quarter of the game. Let’s see if WeatherTech can pull off a memorable Super Bowl ad.
Super Bowl 2014 will take place in New Jersey on February 2. The big game will be played in the Metlife stadium in East Rutherford. It will be the first outdoor, cold-weather Super Bowl. We are bringing you again full coverage of the Super Bowl Ads in our Super Bowl Hub and on Super Bowl Ads for Geeks. Check out the complete list of Super Bowl 2014 Advertisers and watch the already released Super Bowl 2014 Ads.
Find all the facts and answers about Super Bowl 2014 in our Super Bowl 2014 FAQs.


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Stone Ridge Asset Management's bitcoin spinoff firm – NYDIG – already has enough institutional buy orders lined up to push its bitcoin (BTC) holdings over $25 billion by the end of 2021, according to CEO Ross Stevens.
- "I am confident we'll have over $25 billion of bitcoin [by EOY 2021]. I just got this order book. I'm not guessing, I see what's happening," Stevens told MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor Tuesday.
- NYDIG currently manages $6 billion in bitcoin for its 280 institutional clients, with at least 96 more waiting in the wings, Stevens said. He said NYDIG can onboard at least 75 a month.
- "I didn't realize there were so many institutions moving so aggressively into this space," Saylor said. He has personally shepherded over $1 billion in bitcoin buys for MicroStrategy this year.
- Stevens delivered the first bitcoin-focused talk of MicroStrategy's annual World.Now conference.
The leader in news and information on cryptocurrency, digital assets and the future of money, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups. As part of their compensation, certain CoinDesk employees, including editorial employees, may receive exposure to DCG equity in the form of stock appreciation rights, which vest over a multi-year period. CoinDesk journalists are not allowed to purchase stock outright in DCG.


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General Motors South Africa (GMSA) employee, Louis Maritz, has been appointed the new General Manager of Vehicle Sales, Service and Marketing (VSSM) for GM in Israel.
Brian Joss – The 47-year-old industrial engineer has been with the company for 21 years and has worked extensively in manufacturing, supplier quality and after sales service related operations. He also holds a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) from the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University and is currently a senior manager responsible for after sales service in the Sub-Saharan Africa markets, as well as the Israeli market that forms part of the GM Sub-Saharan Africa region.
Based at the GM offices in Herzliya, Israel, Maritz will report directly to Ian Nicholls, president and managing director of GM’s Sub-Saharan Africa and Israel Operations.
Maritz said he is excited to take on this new role. “My immediate priority is to make sure that we focus on growing our sales volumes through superior customer experience and that we continue to bring the right product to our Israeli consumers.
“This exciting new challenge gives me the opportunity to expand my experience in a highly advanced and competitive vehicle sales and service market,” said Maritz.
General Motors has two distributors in Israel representing the Chevrolet, Cadillac and Opel brands. Last year more than 13 400 GM vehicles were sold in the country.


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AutoComplete: Honda's new Civic Si is the most powerful one yet
Today is November 16th, and here's what's making news on Road Show.
Honda's last Civic SI was a bit underwhelming.
Thankfully, the new one is anything but.
The new Honda Civic SI, shown here in prototype concept form promises to be the fastest SI yet, packing a high torque variant of the 1.5-liter 4 banger from the Civic lineup.
The outside is red.
The inside is red.
The whole damn thing is red.
It'll probably be available in other colors, though.
You might not be able to tell, but what you're looking at is a new Lamborghini.
It's official name is Lamborghini Rear-Wheel Drive Huracan Spyder.
Which is not only long, but completely explains what's new about it.
It's a drop-top variant of the rear-wheel drive Huracan which reduces weight by getting rid of two driven wheels.
But it's also a little slower to 60 miles an hour.
Nevertheless, it's a stunner.
Every single one of Mazda's cars is fun to drive, and the 2017 CX-5 is likely to keep with that tradition.
This crossover is rocking a sleeker exterior, and revised interior with a floating screen dashboard.
It also packs G-vectoring control which is Mazda's new system that limits axle torque to improve cornering.
A family crossover that cares about handling?
Sign me up.
Find more on these stories over at the roadshow.com and we'll talk to you tomorrow.
AutoComplete: Continental creates a high-tech self-filling tire...
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Immersive 360-degree photos and videos are a spectacular way to showcase your best adventures… until you need to edit them. But now that’s easier than ever, thanks to VeeR Editor, the world’s first 360-degree photo and video editor for iOS.
If you love Legos and the clicky feeling of using a mechanical keyboard then prepare to meet the keyboard of your dreams.
Lego master builder Jason Allemann revealed his latest creation today that transforms an old school mechanical keyboard into a fully customizable Lego creation. The Lego keyboard uses a Cooler Master Quick Fire Rapid keyboard as a base and replaces the frame and keys using 3D printed Cherry MX Lego compatible keycaps.
You can snap photos of your iPhone, edit them on your iPad, and view them on your giant-screen iMac, with everything almost instantaneously in sync. But what if you have a video clip that you want to watch on your Apple TV? Oh man, maybe it’s best not to even ask. Now, though, there’s an app that lets you do just that: DropStream.
DropStream’s function is right there in its name. You drop a movie onto its Mac window, and the movie starts playing on your Apple TV (or Chromecast). You don’t have to convert it to the right format, or add it to iTunes, or anything like that. It just, as they say, works.
Stories, the short-video format popularized by Snapchat, is making its way to YouTube.
Everyone from Instagram to Facebook Messenger has already copied Snapchat’s popular, so it should be little surprise that YouTube has decided to get in on the action too. The video platform revealed to creators today that it’s working on a new feature called “Reels” that is a lot like Stores. Only it comes with some major differences.
November 28, 2001: Apple says QuickTime 5 is being downloaded for Mac and PC a million times every three days, putting the software on track to exceed 100 million downloads in its first year of distribution.
The announcement comes as more and more websites adopt the MPEG-4 format for streaming videos, which is just starting to take off in a big way. In a pre-YouTube world, Apple has everything to gain!
The first big Apple ad of the holiday season is here just in time for Thanksgiving.
Apple published its holiday ad “Sway” to Youtube today. The whimsical ad features a winter holiday cityscape that transforms into something magical as a couple dance through it. Of course, they’re rocking AirPods and the iPhone X the entire time.
Ever since Apple unveiled the iPhone X, naysayers have been complaining about “the notch.” But in today’s video, I’m going to do my best to convince you that the controversial cutout at the top of the iPhone X screen is totally not an issue.
Here’s why I think the iPhone X actually needs the notch.
Tiny iPhones could make a big comeback in the near future if Apple ever decides to bring the iPhone X display to an iPhone SE-sized device.
It’s only a matter of time before the edge-to-edge display of the iPhone X makes its way to all of Apple’s other iPhones and based on some new concept mockups, we can’t wait to see it on the smaller iPhone SE body.


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WASHINGTON — The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers increased 0.6% in May, before seasonal adjustment, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor said. The May level of 207.9 was 2.7% higher than in May 2006. The index for food and beverages was 202.2 in May, up 0.3% from 201.6 in April.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, the C.P.I. increased 0.7% in May, following up a 0.4% advance in April. Within the overall C.P.I., energy costs, which advanced 2.4% in April, rose 5.4% in May. Within energy, the index for petroleum-based energy rose 9.8%, while the index for energy services declined 0.2%.
The index for food at home continued its upward climb, rising 0.4% to 200.3.
The index for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs was 196.6, up 1.2% from April and the third consecutive month of stronger numbers. The indexes for pork and for other meats rose in May after declining in April, advancing 2% and 0.8%, respectively. Poultry prices climbed 0.8%, while beef prices slowed from their recent trend, gaining 0.1%. Through the first five months of 2007, beef prices have risen 5.1%, poultry prices 4.3%, and pork prices 3.4%.
The C.P.I. for fruits and vegetables, which rose 0.4% in April, eased 0.5% in May.
The indexes for fresh vegetables and for processed fruits and vegetables declined 1.8% and 0.3%, respectively, while the index for fresh fruits rose 0.7%, the B.L.S. said.
A month after gaining 0.9%, the index for cereal and bakery products was virtually unchanged, the B.L.S. said.
The indexes for dairy products increased 0.5% as a 2.2% increase in milk prices more than offset a 0.4% decline in prices for cheese.
The index for other food at home was basically unchanged.
The index for nonalcoholic beverages rose 0.9%, largely reflecting an upturn in prices for carbonated beverages and for coffee.
The other two components of the food and beverage index — food away from home and alcoholic beverages — both increased 0.2% in May, B.L.S. said.


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On Thursday, Dec. 13, 2012, The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced its proposed policy to allow companies to test new consumer disclosures on a case-by-case basis. As part of its Project Catalyst initiative, the Bureau’s goal is to encourage banks, credit unions, and other financial services companies to propose and conduct trial disclosure programs by offering them waivers in exchange for the valuable feedback they provide. NAR in its meetings and through its comments strongly advocated further testing and refinement of proposed RESPA/TILA forms with consumers. CFPB is apparently moving in that direction ahead of finalizing the RESPA/TILA rule. If executed properly, there is the potential to avoid significant expense and confusion once a final rule is issued.
Search Washington Report


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A Member Who Visited Babel Fit In TTDI And KLCC Has Now Tested Positive For COVID-19
A member has informed Babel Fit, a fitness gym, that they have tested positive for COVID-19 after their multiple outstation trips to a high-risk zone, according to a statement released by the fitness gym
In the statement posted on their website at 10.40pm, Friday 25 September, Babel Fit said that they were informed by the member that they tested positive on 23 September.
"The date of contraction is still uncertain, however, it is with hope and care that we wish Member A a swift recovery," the fitness gym said without naming the person, whom they identified as 'Member A'.
The member had visited Babel Fit's TTDI and KLCC branches
They visited the TTDI branch on two separate occasions on 14 and 17 September.
The KLCC branch was visited by the member on four separate occasions between 9 to 11 September and then on 13 September, according to the fitness gym's statement.
The gym said that they have reached out to everyone who is affected
"We have already identified members who have been in contact either verbally or physically over an extended period of time through our comprehensive contact-tracing investigation," Babel Fit said.
The gym added that they created a minute-by-minute report analysing every second of their closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage involving the infected member's visits.
According to Babel Fit, while test results taken on 24 September are all negative, all those who have been tested have been instructed to self-isolate at home to be under Home Surveillance Order (HSO).
"We will continue to update all stakeholders as we receive more results in time. We sent out another email update to all members with regards to the latest development thus far."
Here's what Babel Fit said they are doing moving forward
"We have implemented a travel declaration form, of which on a weekly basis, will require any member who has travelled to a high-risk destination to be socially responsible and transparent to declare and to self-quarantine for the safety of our community," the statement read.
The fitness gym thanked all those who continued to cooperate and support them, "especially our members and the frontliners" whose "understanding and patience" they appreciated.
Keep practising social distancing and wash your hands often. Watch the latest update on the COVID-19 situation:
On 23 September, UMNO Information chief Shahril Hamdan tested positive for COVID-19 after campaigning in the Sabah elections:


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Asics-owned sportswear brand Haglöfs names Fredrik Ohlsson CEO
Swedish sport and outdoor brand Haglöfs, owned by Asics Corporation, has announced the appointment of Fredrik Ohlsson, formerly the company’s global sales director, as CEO. He replaces Carsten Unbehaun, who has in turn been appointed general manager of Asics EMEA.
“I’m honoured and excited to be the new CEO. My goal is to ensure the company’s constant growth and to lead it according to our 2022 strategy, paying great attention to consumers and sustainability. Carsten Unbehaun and myself have worked closely together to draw up Haglöfs’s strategic plan, and I am happy to continue collaborating with him in his position as board chairman,” said Ohlsson.
Haglöfs’s strategic focus is on the relationship with customers, thanks to an increasingly targeted, sustainably developed product range, and on digital tools. Last year, the brand introduced new e-tail sites in eight countries, and also opened three monobrand stores.
Haglöfs was founded in Sweden in 1914 as a small-scale backpack producer. It is currently active in 20 European and Asian markets, via approximately 1,250 multibrand retailers, and has a staff of 200 people. Haglöfs also operates 11 monobrand stores in Europe: two each in Helsinki and Stockholm, one in Åre, Avesta, Haparanda and Göteborg (Sweden), one in Oslo, Chamonix (France) and London.
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The rise of China as an economic superpower has impacted the entire world — including wildlife.
Although economists and investors have been studying — and profiting from — China’s powerful trend, Barron‘s stated in its July 2 cover story (“Falling Star“) that the Chinese economy is slowing and hard times are ahead.
Many investors have recently questioned China’s continued growth. The most famous, of course, is Jim Chanos.
Chanos’ track record speaks for itself: He was perhaps the first to see Enron’s demise, and profited significantly from the subprime crisis. Chanos has targeted China’s real estate market for years — and his thesis is gaining more supporters.
Chanos contends that China is headed for a hard landing of epic proportions because of its shaky financial system and an imminent collapse in its property market which undergirds the entire economy.
What may be surprising is that the Barron‘s article inferred that one of the most famous China economic bulls, William Overholt, could be souring on China’s future growth.
China faces the prospect of long-term stagnation — a prospect far worse than that of Japan some 20 years ago.
While economists do agree that China’s economic growth is slowing down, camps are divided about the impact of the slowdown.
How will China’s slowing economy impact our planet’s endangered wildlife? That is a good question.
Many conservationists and wildlife trade experts state that plummeting wildlife populations have mirrored the rise of China and its increasing upper and middle classes. Indeed, there has been a dramatic increase in China’s disposable income; items such as ivory and tiger bone wine are status symbols.
Economic slowdowns reduce disposable and discretionary income. On the surface, this might lead to lower demand for high ticket items whose purchasing decision can be postponed or substituted. Granted, the highest end luxury items may not falter, as the wealthiest consumers will continue to afford even the most expensive items.
However, the larger, growing numbers of the middle class will be forced to cut back their spending.
Perhaps this is an opportunity to provide a population under economic stress with lower cost, medically proven treatments for common ailments, such as using aspirin — not rhino horn or tiger bone — as a pain reliever.
Development of such a change would take time, but it would also create industry and domestic consumer demand. And China’s export-driven growth engine needs to create consumer demand on its own soil.
Here lies the problem: China’s government has been subsidizing the traditional Chinese medicine industry. Endangered species such as rhinos, tigers, and bears are believed to contain “key ingredients” for traditional Chinese medicine — an ancient practice based more on myth than medical fact.
In the early 1990s, tiger farms were created to harvest tiger parts, such as bones, for health tonics and tiger bone wine. Bear farms were created to extract bile. Bears with little hope for survival are kept in cages without room to turn around, while they await the insertion of dirty catheters into their gallbladders with no anesthesia.
And in the late 2000s, a formal plan for the creation of farming rhinos for their horns was subsidized by the Chinese government.
As the Chinese economy continues to slow, the government will pump great amounts of stimulus into the faltering economy. And funds directed towards the traditional Chinese medicine industry may very well have a dire effect on imperiled wildlife.
While it is hard to tell if the slowing Chinese economy will have a positive or negative impact on our planet’s wildlife, of this we can be certain: Endangered species need help from the human race. We have the resources and technology to save them, and the decision is in our hands.
Sadly, the human race does not always favor wildlife conservation.
Image by Moni Sertel via Wikimedia Commons


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Business groups bash Biden order targeting anti-competitive practices
Prominent business groups on Friday criticized President Biden’s sweeping executive order that aims to promote competition in the economy and counter corporate consolidation.
Biden’s order targets several industries controlled by a small number of powerful companies in an attempt to crack down on “anti-competitive practices” that the administration says drive up prices for consumers, reduce workers’ bargaining power and stifle the growth of small businesses.
Neil Bradley, executive vice president and chief policy officer at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said in a statement that the order “smacks of a ‘government knows best’ approach to managing the economy.”
“Our economy needs both large and small businesses to thrive — not centralized government dictates.” Bradley said. “In many industries, size and scale are important not only to compete, but also to justify massive levels of investment. Larger businesses are also strong partners that rely on and facilitate the growth of smaller businesses.”
Biden’s order directs federal agencies to scrutinize mergers and acquisitions involving the nation’s largest companies, including tech giants such as Amazon, Facebook and Google. It tasks the Federal Trade Commission with banning tech platforms’ “unfair methods of competition on internet marketplaces” in an effort to help small businesses compete.
The order also directs federal agencies to work with states on importing lower-cost prescription drugs from Canada, a move that is strongly opposed by the U.S. pharmaceutical industry. It also aims to ban “pay for delay” agreements where brand-name drug manufacturers pay competitors to delay the introduction of generic drugs.
In response, Steve Ubl, president and CEO of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, said American patients “benefit from the world’s most competitive market for prescription medicines.”
“We support common sense solutions that would lower out-of-pocket costs for patients that don’t risk the health and safety of patients or undermine future innovation,” he said in a statement to The Hill.
National Association of Manufacturers President and CEO Jay Timmons said some of Biden’s actions are “solutions in search of a problem” as the economy shows improvement.
“[T]hey threaten to undo our progress by undermining free markets and are premised on the false notion that our workers are not positioned for success,” he said in a statement.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki brushed aside the lobbying groups’ criticism, telling reporters that Biden “has a responsibility to act” to help middle class Americans when it comes to wages and rising prices.
“We understand some may be opposed to that and that’s OK, it’s a free country,” Psaki said at Friday’s press briefing.
The business groups’ rebuke of Biden’s policies come one day after they endorsed the president’s bipartisan $1.2 trillion infrastructure proposal alongside influential labor unions. Business groups are pushing Congress to pass the plan, which would not raise taxes on corporations.
Updated at 4:35 p.m.


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On the cusp of a new generation of electric vehicles and the buildout of a smart grid, connected cars — vehicles linked to the power grid as well as communication networks — have the potential to give us a transportation system for the digital age. Smart charging infrastructure, energy storage tech and devices, telematics, the vehicles themselves, and even smartphone apps for automotive platforms, all add up to a sizable market opportunity.
A web of key players is starting to take shape as entrepreneurs and global corporations race to carve out a piece of the nascent EV market, as government agencies dole out billions of dollars to jump-start that opportunity, as big thinkers churn out innovative ideas and business models based on the intersection of information technology and advanced vehicles, and as the pressure to reduce carbon emissions from vehicles grows. Listed alphabetically, not order of importance, here’s Earth2Tech’s top 15 most influential people in the connected car space.
- Shai Agassi, Founder and CEO of Better Place
- George Arnold, National Coordinator for Smart Grid Interoperability, NIST
- Robin Chase, Founder and CEO of GoLoco.org and Meadow Networks
- Steven Chu, Secretary of Energy, DOE
- Mark Duvall, Director of Electric Transportation, Electric Power Research Institute
- Wan Gang, Minister of Science and Technology, China
- Carlos Ghosn, CEO of Renault-Nissan
- Scott Griffith, CEO and Chairman of Zipcar
- Lisa Jackson, Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency
- Jon Lauckner, Vice President of Global Product Planning, General Motors
- Elon Musk, CEO and Chairman of Tesla Motors
- Fumio Ohtsubo, President of Panasonic Corp.
- Danilo Santini, Senior Economist, Center for Transportation Research, Argonne National Laboratory
- Allan Schurr, Vice President of Strategy and Development for Energy & Utilities at IBM
- Jonathan Silver, Director of the DOE green car loan guarantee and loan programs
Shai Agassi, Founder and CEO of Better Place
Influence: Heading up one of the highest-profile, biggest-budget efforts to build out infrastructure for electric vehicles with an innovative business model.
When former SAP exec Shai Agassi founded Better Place back in 2007, he had one of the most audacious business plans around: Build nationwide networks of battery charging and swap stations for electric vehicles, and sell electric mileage like minutes on a cell phone plan. In the years since, the startup has won over governments and some deep pocketed investors — and helped to put the need for innovative business models and software front and center in discussions about how to deploy large numbers of grid-connected vehicles.
George Arnold, National Coordinator for Smart Grid Interoperability at NIST
Influence: Leading the standards-making process for the smart grid, including standards required for large-scale integration of plug-in vehicles.
Appointed last spring to lead the intensely complex task of developing standards for the smart grid, Arnold joined the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) after more than three decades in the telecom and IT industry (he served as a VP at Lucent Technologies Bell Laboratories, among other firms). Ultimately, the standards emerging from Arnold’s group will shape the basic platform needed to enable widespread adoption of plug-in vehicles and two-way flow of electricity and information between vehicles and the grid.
Robin Chase, Founder and CEO of GoLoco and Meadow Networks, Co-founder and Former CEO of Zipcar
Influence: Developing innovative business models for greener mobility and advancing ideas about how to reinvent the transportation system.
Robin Chase, one of GigaOM’s Top 15 Mobile Influencers, co-founded car sharing startup Zipcar back in 2000. She has since left the company, founding a new venture called GoLoco, which puts social networking to work in the service of carpooling, as well as the transportation consulting firm Meadow Networks. She’s pushing for further reinvention of mobility systems, envisioning ways to dramatically reduce emissions from the transportation sector using open standards and wireless mesh networks.
Steven Chu, Secretary of Energy
Influence: Overseeing national energy directives and allocation of federal funds for advanced vehicle technology.
Secretary Chu, a Nobel Prize-winning physicist and former administrator of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, said in his confirmation hearing more than a year ago, “These first electric hybrid cars don’t have the energy capacity and the battery lifetime we need…Let’s push hard towards more fuel-efficient personal vehicles.” As energy chief, he has done just that, helping to get long-delayed funds (as well as a heap of new cash from the stimulus package) flowing out for projects across the spectrum of energy tech for connected vehicles, next-gen battery materials and smart charging systems for electric vehicles.
Mark Duvall, Director of Electric Transportation, Electric Power Research Institute
Influence: Overseeing partnerships and collaborations with electric utilities, automotive companies, government agencies, national laboratories and research institutions.
The non-profit Electric Power Research Institute, or EPRI, is the “glue” between the utility and auto industries — that’s how CalCars.org founder Felix Kramer put it to us — and Mark Duvall is at the center of EPRI’s activities related to electric transportation and infrastructure. A mechanical engineer by training, Duvall held the post of Principal Development Engineer at the University of California, Davis Hybrid Electric Vehicle Center before joining EPRI. These days he’s focused on projects including plug-in hybrid demos, advanced battery system development, charging infrastructure, analysis of greenhouse gas emissions from plug-in vehicle tech.
Wan Gang, Minister of Science and Technology, China
Influence: Promoting electric vehicle manufacturing and purchasing in China, the world’s largest auto market.
Since taking the helm of China’s Science and Technology Ministry in April 2007, former Audi engineer Wan Gang has helped lead the country’s charge to “leapfrog” the world’s leading automakers when it comes to hybrid and electric vehicles.
For several years starting in 2000, Wan coordinated through Tongji University a nationwide research program for electric (and hydrogen) vehicle technology development. And last spring, when Wan and other top officials outlined incentives and policies designed to make China the world’s largest electric car producer, he explained the move as a key component of the country’s environmental goals — and competitiveness on international markets.
Carlos Ghosn, CEO of Renault-Nissan
Influence: Investing €4 billion ($5.62 billion) in a zero-emissions mobility program, launching a full line-up of plug-in vehicles.
“We are convinced that the mass availability of affordable zero-emission vehicles is the most significant breakthrough our industry could deliver,” Ghosn (on our GigaOM Pro list of Green IT Winners and Losers of 2009, sub. req’d) proclaimed in mid-2008, “and, together with Renault, Nissan intends to be the breakthrough leader.”
The French-Japanese alliance’s first battery electric vehicle, the LEAF — equipped with an onboard transmitting unit connected through mobile networks to a global data center — won’t launch until later this year. But Ghosn’s strategy may provide cues for other automakers. Under his direction, Renault-Nissan has directed a pile of cash into the technology, partnered with battery makers as well as utilities and started looking at battery leasing and recycling as keys to affordable electric cars.
Scott Griffith, Chairman and CEO of Zipcar
Influence: Leading the world’s largest car sharing network.
Few companies have done as much to put the notion of networked vehicles into practice at the scale and speed of Zipcar, the world’s largest car-sharing network. Griffith, who took on the chief executive role in 2003, has steered the company through a 2007 merger with top competitor Flexcar, overseas expansion, the launch of a software-as-service business unit (for fleet management) and to the company’s current status as the world’s largest car sharing network, with an initial public offering reportedly in sight.
Griffith has told us that while the company doesn’t plan to go all-electric anytime soon, he sees Zipcar as “a terrific early platform” for electric vehicles. After all, the startup has a few things electric automakers, utilities and charging infrastructure companies need: a large consumer fleet and mass of data about driving patterns and vehicle status. Each car in the Zipcar fleet has a custom circuit board, processor, and modem that receive data over AT&T’s wireless network and allow remote monitoring. (See “Location-Based Services: From Mobile to Mobility,” on GigaOM Pro, sub. req’d).
Lisa Jackson, Administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency
Influence: Overseeing agency that will develop vehicle emissions standards and new fuel economy rating system for alt-fuel vehicles.
“When it comes to the auto industry, the EPA apparently is the Emissions Permissions Agency,” Jackson said, back in 2007, of the agency she would later come to lead. The EPA under the leadership of Jackson (and the Obama administration), however, has changed course. In December 2009 the EPA issued a ruling that greenhouse gases endanger human health, paving the way to the first regulation of emissions from vehicles and other sources by the EPA.
In addition to helping to shape the regulatory environment for lower-emission and more fuel efficient vehicles, Jackson’s EPA is developing a new system for plug-in vehicle fuel economy ratings— already shaping up to be a competitive marketing point for electric car makers.
Jon Lauckner, Vice President of Global Product Planning for General Motors
Influence: Co-creator of the Chevy Volt.
Lauckner’s a company man — he’s been at General Motors since 1979. Appointed to VP of global program management in 2005, Lauckner is credited as one of the founding fathers (along with Vice Chairman Bob Lutz) of the extended-range electric Chevy Volt, due out later this year, and he has overseen its development. The vehicle — intended to help restore GM’s image as a technological leader — represents one of the first serious attempts by the Big Three to launch a plug-in vehicle for the consumer market (after the EV-1), and the automaker has reportedly invested a billion dollars or more on the project. As Lauckner said in an interview with BNET, “Whether you are a supporter of the Volt or not, you have to acknowledge that it has changed the conversation.”
Elon Musk, CEO and Chairman of Tesla Motors
Influence: Funding and later leading the only company selling a highway-capable electric car in the U.S.
For all its delays, detours, financial hurdles and legal distractions, startup Tesla Motors has stuck around for seven years, launching in 2008 what’s still the only highway-capable all-electric vehicle in the country: the high-end Roadster sports car, which deserves more than a little credit for changing public perception of electric vehicles.
Musk invested in the startup early on, and took over the chief executive role in late 2008. Last year, the company won a federal vote of confidence when it snagged one of the first conditional loan commitments under the DOE’s Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing program to help Tesla deliver a long-promised mid-range electric sedan.
Fumio Ohtsubo, President of Panasonic Corp.
Influence: Controlling world’s largest rechargeable battery maker, developing HD-PLC system for integrating electric vehicle data into home network via standard outlets.
Already Toyota’s joint venture partner for hybrid battery production, Panasonic has embarked on a campaign to bolster its energy storage business and become a heavyweight player in the world of electric cars. As of early January (when Tesla announced a development deal with the electronics giant), Panasonic was around the halfway point in what it expects to be a $1 billion investment over three years in facilities for lithium-ion cell research, development and production.
Late last year, it bought a controlling stake in Sanyo, the world’s largest rechargeable battery maker. And as a result of the move, the company is poised to be at the leading edge of an industry shakeup, analysts told Bloomberg, in which “the auto and electronics industries fuse,” and Panasonic/Sanyo’s dominance gives it “more bargaining power” over car companies as they develop electric vehicles. The firm also has a role to play beyond batteries when it comes to connected cars: Panasonic unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this year an HD-PLC system (High Definition Powerline Communications) meant to enable integration of electric vehicle data into a home network via standard outlets.
Danilo Santini, Senior Economist, Center for Transportation Research at Argonne National Laboratory
Influence: Producing evaluations of the market potential for plug-in vehicles and quantitative analysis used for development and refinement of regulatory structures related to advanced vehicles.
Santini has served since 2001 as the Department of Energy’s primary technical representative for the U.S. to the International Energy Agency Implementing Agreement on Hybrid and Electric Vehicles. He’s worked for more than 35 years at the Argonne National Laboratory — where energy storage is one of three core research areas, and which often licenses tech to corporations — focusing for the most part on energy and environmental tech. When policymakers or business leaders face decisions related to batteries, plug-in vehicles and hybrids, Santini’s numbers offer a widely respected point of reference — he’s written or contributed to more than 150 reports, articles and conference papers.
Allan Schurr, Vice President of Strategy and Development for Energy & Utilities at IBM
Influence: Spearheading IBM’s work with utilities to implement smart grid technologies and integrate plug-in vehicles.
A veteran of the utility and meter industries (he held posts at both PG&E and Itron), Schurr is now responsible for computing giant IBM’s market strategy, regulatory policy and partnerships with global utilities. He also heads up the firm’s involvement with smart grid legislation, and its work with automakers, researchers and utilities that are building out the smart grid and readying for an influx of demand from plug-in vehicles. For IBM, a spokesperson put it simply to us, “anything EV-related” basically goes through Schurr.
Jonathan Silver, Executive Director of the Department of Energy Loan Guarantee Program
Influence: Heading up the DOE’s potentially king-making $25 billion green car loan program and $32 billion loan guarantee program.
The Obama administration named Silver, a former venture capitalist with Washington, D.C.-based Core Capital Partners, to head up the Department of Energy’s highly competitive loan guarantee program and green car loan program in November 2009. His task? Overseeing the application process, analysis and negotiation for loans and guarantees, as well as staffing — and working to streamline the agency’s operations. At the head of a program that will pick winners and losers in the electric car race, Silver is kingmaker in chief (at least for the short term: see “How EV Battery Startups Can Cross the Valley of Death,” on GigaOM Pro, sub. req’d).
Photos: Danilo Santini courtesy of Iowa State University; Elon Musk courtesy of Flickr user jurvetson; Allan Schurr courtesy of U.S. House of Representatives; Robin Chase credit robinchase.org; all others courtesy of the companies or agencies.


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While laser printers are standard in most offices, inkjet printers have started to make inroads thanks to major improvements in the technology. HP has been among the vendors leading the way with its PageWide line of inkjets, such as the HP PageWide 586dn. But vendors such as Dell have also been innovating in the laser printer realm, and the company recently debuted new laser printers for business including the S3845cdn. Which of the two A4 color multifunction printers is a better fit?
As part of CRN Printer Week 2017, the CRN Test Center takes a look at how the HP PageWide 586dn and Dell S3845cdn compare on key specs and price.