text:
Foreclosures weighed more heavily on housing markets in Nashville and throughout Tennessee last year with one notable exception: Memphis, according to figures released today.
Repossessed residential properties accounted for a higher share of overall sales and sold at steeper discounts in 2012 than in the previous year, figures from Irvine, Calif.-based foreclosure data firm RealtyTrac show.
Foreclosures made up 12.9 percent of all sales in the 13-county Nashville metro region last year, slightly higher than their 12 percent share in 2011, the firm said.
That mirrored the statewide picture. Nearly one in eight, or 12.8 percent, of Tennessee homes sold last year was a foreclosure. It was 11.6 percent, or roughly one in nine sales, in 2011.
Overall, year-over-year foreclosure sales rose 18.8 percent in Tennessee and 17.5 percent in Nashville, RealtyTrac said.
Memphis, though, bucked that trend among the 28 Tennessee metro areas tracked by RealtyTrac.
It was the only one in which foreclosure sales (3,232 vs. 3,463) and their share (18.5 percent vs. 19.8 percent) improved from 2011 to 2012. The region’s average discount was unchanged at roughly 44 percent.
Statewide, foreclosures sold for an average of 36.6 percent less than comparable non-distressed properties in 2012, up one percentage point from the previous year.
In Nashville, the average discount rose from 36.5 percent in 2011 to 38.5 percent last year. RealtyTrac said. That is a reflection of higher sales prices for non-distressed properties.


text:
In the ever-changing world of electric vehicles (EVs), the search for advanced battery technologies that deliver longer range, faster charging times, and enhanced safety is unceasing. Toyota, a pioneering force in the automotive industry, has now entered the stage with a game-changing promise: solid-state batteries capable of powering EVs for up to 900 miles on a single charge which is more than six times the current range of its flagship EV, the Mirai.
SEE ALSO: Air Taxis – no Longer Science Fiction
Toyota, the world’s leading automaker, recently unveiled its ambitious agenda to develop and bring solid-state batteries to the electric vehicle (EV) market by 2028. Solid-state batteries, regarded as the future of battery technology, promise enhanced energy density, quicker charging intervals, and heightened safety compared to traditional lithium-ion batteries.
Toyota’s groundbreaking claim revolves around these solid-state batteries propelling EVs to achieve an astounding 900 miles on a single charge, a remarkable leap from the current range of their flagship EV, the Mirai. Moreover, the company asserts that their solid-state batteries can recharge from 10% to 80% capacity in under 20 minutes, mirroring the convenience of refueling a gasoline-powered vehicle. With these innovations, Toyota’s solid-state batteries are poised to revolutionize the EV landscape, advancing us towards a more sustainable future.
Advantages of using solid-state batteries in the auto industry include
- Higher Energy Density: Solid-state batteries typically offer higher energy density compared to traditional lithium-ion batteries. This means they can store more energy for a given volume, potentially providing longer driving ranges for electric vehicles (EVs).
- Faster Charging: Solid-state batteries can be charged more quickly than traditional lithium-ion batteries. This is a significant advantage as it reduces charging times and makes EVs more convenient for consumers.
- Improved Safety: Solid-state batteries are generally considered safer than traditional lithium-ion batteries. They are less prone to overheating, thermal runaway, and fires, which is a critical safety consideration for EVs.
- Longer Lifespan: Solid-state batteries are expected to have a longer lifespan, with a higher number of charge and discharge cycles. This can reduce the need for battery replacements and lower the total cost of ownership for EVs.
- Compact and Lightweight: Solid-state batteries can be made in more compact and lightweight designs. This can lead to weight reduction in EVs, contributing to improved efficiency and performance.
- Wider Temperature Range: Solid-state batteries are more stable across a range of temperatures, making them suitable for various climate conditions and improving the overall reliability of EVs.
- Environmental Benefits: Solid-state batteries may reduce the environmental impact of EVs by using more sustainable materials and reducing the need for frequent replacements and recycling of batteries.
- Greater Design Flexibility: The compact nature of solid-state batteries provides automakers with more design flexibility. They can be integrated into different parts of the vehicle, including the chassis, without occupying a significant amount of space.
- Compatibility with High-Power Applications: Solid-state batteries are suitable for high-power applications, making them ideal for sports cars and other performance-oriented EVs.
- Reduced Dependency on Rare Materials: Solid-state batteries have the potential to reduce the reliance on rare and expensive materials like cobalt, which is commonly used in lithium-ion batteries.
- Enhanced Range and Performance: Solid-state batteries may significantly extend the range of electric vehicles and improve their overall performance, which can be a key selling point for consumers.
- Market Competitiveness: Automotive manufacturers that adopt solid-state batteries may gain a competitive advantage, as these batteries represent the next generation of energy storage technology.
- Contribution to Carbon Neutrality: The adoption of solid-state batteries can contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, aligning with the goals of carbon neutrality and sustainability in the automotive industry.
While solid-state batteries offer many advantages, they are still under development, and there are challenges to be overcome, such as production scalability and cost reduction. As technology advances, solid-state batteries are expected to play a significant role in the future of electric vehicles.

domain: news


text:
According to a post on NewTeeVee:
Regardless of how many ads were shown, 90 percent of ABC.com viewers continued to say they’d rather get the show for free than pay to get it without ads.
Why aren’t the TV networks releasing copies of their shows to pirate sites complete with the ads built in? While I do love my ad-free TV torrents, I tend to watch on Boxee even with the ads since there is simply no wait. However, I miss being able to download and watch the show on other devices or outside of a wifi hotspot.
I think most people would be perfectly ok with downloading a show with the ads built in. Sure, one could fast-forward past them but most people don’t bother, especially if the ads are short and varied.
Not only would the networks actually get to show advertisers an ever larger pool of eyeballs but they would be putting the pirates right out of business.
Just thinking aloud…
As YouTube has expanded it’s offering to video posters, some video posters are getting pretty damn creative AND smart.
A new (probably short-lived) YouTube sensation is a clever re-imagining of StreetFighter using the “annotations” feature to turn it into a sort of “choose-your-own-adventure” and as NewTeeVee says, it’s paying off big-time.
Uploaded last week, YouTube Street Fighter videos have already garnered well over 5 million views, and counting. That’s not just due to gamer nostalgia over the coin arcade classic, or because it’s currently featured on YouTube’s home page. A lot of the views are generated by the way the videos were made.
Aside from being clever, the way in which the videos are linked creates an incredible number of views. This is great for YouTube and the video producer who are collecting a pretty outrageous CPM:
After the first week it went online, Boivin told me by email, the videos had earned him $5,000 in YouTube advertising revenue.
Unfortunately, it is a total ripoff for the advertiser as viewers spend 10-30 seconds on each page and there is barely time for an ad to pop up, let alone be seen and absorbed. So, while I totally applaud the creativity and the cashification I wonder how advertisers will be responding…
Wow, NewTeeVee’s Chris Albrecht is on a tear. First, he has this rather tongue-in-cheek guide for those looking to make their own funny web videos:
“1. Use Webcams
Your show is online, and so is your character, thanks to your webcam! So meta. Sure, this method of storytelling has lost all its novelty, but what better way to dispense with showing us any action than by having the main character describe the action in their vlog?
Steal from: lonelygirl15, Dorm Life, quarterlife”
He’s got five more gems in the post.
Then Chris is on BeetTV with some more thoughts on this developing genre and let’s just say he’s not all that impressed. His main feeling is that there is certainly a glut right now of comedy-centric sites and that this leads to a lot of scattershot content.
Check out the whole interview here.
NewTeeVee has an interview with John Herman, the creator of the new web series Gravityland.
“With Gravityland there are so many ways for viewers to get involved that it recreates that feeling for me. It is a new level of intimacy that I don’t think is representative in a lot of entertainment.”
The idea is to give viewers multiple ways to interact with the cast and the story. The interview is a good read but I have to say I was not especially taken with the two episodes of Gravityland that have been posted so far. They remind me of early indie film, but not in an especially good way.
NewTeeVee is reporting about another entrant into the web video metrics game. If web video is going to become a serious advertising venue than the metrics have to improve.
“…a raft of new companies like TubeMogul and Visible Measures have launched in the past few months, joining companies like Brightcove, which has been providing this with video delivery for several years, and Google Analytics, which recently unveiled an event model that tracks user actions such as interacting with a video player.
Now web analytics giant Omniture is getting into the game. The firm hopes that by tying video player interaction to visitor outcomes, it can give marketers back some of the visibility they’ve lost, helping them to better understand the effectiveness of online video.”
This is going to be a major part of the story when it comes to the business of web video. Alongside search, aggregation and curating, metrics is gonna be huge.
Chris Albrecht over at NewTeeVee noticed that Eisner is trying to limit the distribution to his PromQueen follow-up, The All-for-Nots, to the United States, allowing him to better control later worldwide distribution.
This clearly flies in the face of the nature of the internet and leads Chris to say:
“It would just be nice if new media moguls could take the innovation they bring to developing new media shows and apply it to how they distribute new media shows.”
William Morris is one of the oldest talent agencies in the land so the fact that they’ve set up a multi-million-dollar fund to invest in online companies is a small sign that this isn’t another bubble.
According to the NYT:
“On Monday, the William Morris Agency, the Hollywood talent shop, will announce that it is teaming up with the Silicon Valley venture capital firms Accel Partners and Venrock to invest in digital media start-up companies based in Southern California. What makes the combination unusual, though, is the addition of AT&T as a limited partner.”
Though, as NewTeeVee points out:
“Don’t be looking for massive money: investments will range from $250,000 to millions of dollars. The total fund size is in the “tens of millions” so they’re not going to blow it all on one company.”
I think the big thing here is that mobile companies are seeking ways to get more video to their customers. One hopes this will push the technology forward to a place that is at least close to the sort of coverage provided in many parts of Asia, where watching video on a mobile phone is commonplace.


text:
The worst has happened and you've dropped your phone in the bath while watching Netflix and it's gone wonky, so what should you do?
If you're to believe big parts of the internet then you should be reaching for a big bag of uncooked rice to put it in so that the moisture is drawn out.
However, one Apple Store employee in the US went viral on TikTok this week saying doing that could actually do more harm than good.
In the now-deleted video, Karleigh, who worked for the tech giant for three years, told her followers to avoid putting wet phones in rice because of potential damage to the phone.
"The rice can get stuck inside your charging port, your speaker, your microphone… and the rice can actually damage the hardware inside the phone," she said.
"There are tiny little pins and things like that in your charging port that the cable connects to so the rice can be damaging.
"I would say that if you do get liquid in a device to turn it upside down or position it in a way the water can just dry out," she told her followers.
This took many by surprise, although quite a few followers backed up her advice.
"I dropped my phone into the ocean and then put it in a bag of rice and it definitely made it worse - had a few pieces get stuck and so I had to get a new phone," one wrote.
In a piece for The Conversation last year, IT associate professor Ritesh Chugh confirmed putting a phone in a container of rice to dry it out was a "myth".
Chugh said the phone should be shut off immediately and wiped dry with paper towels or a soft cloth.
A gentle shake should be used to remove water from charging ports, avoiding vigorous shaking to avoid spreading the water further.
The SIM card should then be removed and a compressed aerosol air duster used to blow out the water if one is available. Hot air dryers shouldn't be used to avoid damaging seals and the screen.
Chugh then recommended drying out the phone and ports in front of a fan before leaving it in an airtight container full of silica gel packs overnight.
"Do not charge the phone until you are certain it's dry," Chugh concluded.
"Charging a device with liquid still inside it, or in the ports, can cause further damage. Apple suggests waiting at least five hours once a phone appears dry before charging it (or until the alert disappears).
"If the above steps don't help and you're still stuck with a seemingly dead device, don't try opening the phone yourself. You're better off taking it to a professional."


text:
This article was published on Restaurant Business 1/20/21.
Fast-casual Tex-Mex chain Tijuana Flats is debuting a new prototype. But it’s not going the route of many restaurants amid the pandemic and doing away with its dining rooms.
“COVID will have an end and we anticipate getting back,” Eric Taylor, the chain’s vice president of development, said. “We are building new prototypes with a similar amount of seats. For us, it just wouldn’t work.”
The first of the new designs, which opened late last year in Noblesville, Ind., includes 64 seats indoors, plus a patio. But it has been reimagined to boost efficiency through new design and technology, Taylor said.
The chain plans to open at least four of the new prototypes this year, both franchised and company-owned, as well as remodeling a handful of the brand’s 105 locations.
The kitchen has been redesigned into a horseshoe layout, engineered to minimize the steps workers need to take to fulfill orders, he said.
Tijuana Flats has “never had a real tech package,” he said, noting that the new design features digital menu boards, as well as a pickup area with digital status boards.
None of the chain’s locations include drive-thrus, he said, but the chain is exploring mobile-order pickup windows at a couple of restaurants.
“All the food is made fresh so the drive-thru model wouldn’t work for us,” he said.
Three years ago, just 19% of Tijuana Flats’ sales were off-premise. Now, about 70% of orders are for to-go or delivery, he said.
But Taylor expects dine-in to bounce back, post-COVID.
“On Taco Tuesday, we have a line around the building, and we have to have seats,” he said.
The 25-year-old chain is getting back into franchising after a 13-year pause. It is also debuting its first locations in sports venues. Last year, the chain completed three franchising deals, for a total of nine units.
“Now, this year, we’re trying to build a pipeline of multi-unit groups,” Taylor said.


text:
The future of crypto currencies may still be a bit uncertain. There are now more crypto currency wallets than ever before, and the number just keeps growing. Big companies like Amazon and Dell are also getting into the game. In addition to this, crypto ATMs are popping all over the world.
This is a curious phenomenon and the crypto currencies can offer many advantages to online poker players. Both are obviously created for a digital era. There are no physical exchanges and transactions occur immediately. In addition to this, everything goes with the speed of light and this is what we expect for all services today and at the same time everything is completely anonymous.
Players can rake in serious amounts without having to report their earnings to the taxman. Many investors view the volatility of crypto currencies as a negative thing, online gamblers however have a more positive view on this. Players can earn money without even playing if the currency increases in value.
Several countries don’t allow online gambling but there are workarounds. The main problem is to deposit and to withdraw money from a traditional bank. One of these countries is the US but they consider cryptocurrency as property and not cash. American players can use crypto instead of real money to play online.
From a business perspective, the cryptocurrency-based poker also makes a lot of sense. Transactions are 100% secure and irreversible. There are no bank charges at all, so the operations receive a much larger portion of the income. In the end, crypto currencies going to be a win-win for everyone involved.


text:
MILAN — After a flurry of eyewear licensing deals in the last year, many exhibitors at the Mido trade fair said they were focused on cultivating new lines and consolidating their brands — but watching for opportunities.
"Our strategy is not based on the number of brands in our portfolio, but on covering the market efficiently," said Luca Biondolillo, head of international communications for Italy's Luxottica Group, which recently signed deals with Tiffany & Co. and Stella McCartney. "That said, if an important brand came available at the right time and at the right price, then we would obviously be interested."
Most vendors said they were concentrating on their own lines. However, representatives of Italy's Marcolin and America's Marchon both said they had new licenses in the offing, without providing details.
The four-day show ended here on May 12.
Although the spiraling dollar and the slowdown in U.S. consumer spending undermined first-quarter eyewear sales this year, in some cases by double-digit decreases, many of those exhibiting at the Fiera Milano pavilions said they were upbeat about business for the rest of 2008.
Speaking in his capacity as Mido president on the eve of the fair, Vittorio Tabacchi, chairman of Italy's Safilo Group said: "Given the latest analyst assumptions, the worst is over for the eyewear sector."
A number of vendors reported at least modest growth and said there was a lot of opportunity in the sunglasses and optical markets, as consumers bought more eyewear more frequently.
"Many people now tend to use [eyewear] as they do shoes," said Laudomia Pucci, image director of Emilio Pucci.
This "accessorizing" was increasingly true in optical, where designers were taking inspiration from sun frames and adapting it to medical frames without infringing on functionality.
"Seasonality for sunglasses is beginning to spill over into optical frames, which are more accessible in terms of price," said Luxottica Group marketing director Fabio D'Angelantonio.
Demand for luxury sun frames priced around 400 euros, or $623 at current exchange rates, and over had not wilted despite economic conditions, vendors said. Sales of midmarket glasses have been under more pressure, although manufacturers said they were responding to it with creativity and color.
Luxottica-owned Ray-Ban presented a new collection of its Wayfarers that played with color contrasts, such as purple for the lens and burgundy for the arms, or white for the exterior of the frames and black for the interior. Capturing the imagination of all James Bond types, Marchon-licensed Calvin Klein Collection plans to launch men's and women's sunglasses with a USB key built into the frame.
In general, collections included reworkings of vintage styles in two-tone acetate. Shapes were larger and rounder than last year, particularly for women's luxury sun frames, where butterfly shades were common. Where metal was used, it was often combined with plastics and included technical composites such as titanium and nickel, and logos and Swarovski detailing were more discreet.
Italy's Visibilia SpA, which produces eyewear for brands such as Bluegirl, Blumarine, Emanuel Ungaro, Jeckerson, Laura Biagiotti, Mandarina Duck and Trussardi, presented its new collection for Irvine, Calif.-based label St. John for the first time at the fair, after initiating the license in January. St. John styles focused on elegant interpretations of classic forms, such as aviators with intricate openwork metal temples.
St. John eyewear is available exclusively in St. John boutiques in the U.S. and Japan, although Visibilia president Dan Emanuel Levi said he intended to extend distribution to U.S. department stores and St. John units in Russia and the Middle East in the second half of the year.
Visibilia said it had also signed an agreement with U.S. firm Legacie for the exclusive distribution in Europe of the Kata and bejeweled Leiber luxury eyewear lines. Levi said Visibilia would likely not be launching any new brands until the latter part of 2009.
"We will concentrate on consolidating what we already have," Levi said. "We don't want to have a list of brands out of our door but the right number of brands, happy to work with us. That is our philosophy."
After launching Emilio Pucci eyewear last year and Karl Lagerfeld in January, Marchon is set to launch Jil Sander later this year to help further penetrate international markets, chief executive officer Al Berg said.
"That continues our strategy of rounding off our European brand portfolio," Berg said, adding that Marchon was growing in all its markets worldwide and generating "very nice profit growth."Robert Schienberg, Marchon's senior vice president of global communications, said the company had two "big European brands in the pipeline" that he declined to name. Marchon also produces eyewear for Fendi, Calvin Klein, Michael Kors and Nike.
Pucci revisited the company archives for inspiration for its collection, although "there's nothing nostalgic about it," said Laudomia Pucci, handling plastic sunglasses in two-tone purple acetate.
"Funnily enough, when we were putting together the collection, we got the idea that we had to be quite classic, but we have been using unclassic colors and shapes," she said. "Maybe because [eyewear] is becoming such an 'It' object in the fashion world, you have to be strong with it."
That was also true for Fendi, which said it was launching sunglasses to commemorate the 10th anniversary of its iconic Baguette bag. The frames, which were not on show at the Mido fair, come in 10 colors and are decorated on the inside with a cartoon illustration by Silvia Fendi, a spokesman said. The naïf pattern also is featured on the lining of the bags.
Fendi presented a $4,000 pair of white and black shades with mink-accessorized shades for luxury après-ski wear and optical frames with a cork inlay to complement the latest collection of shoes and bags.
In many cases, shape and material took precedent over color or decoration for luxury frames.
Tom Ford presented a collection of uberminimal large organic shaped sun and optical women's acetate frames in translucent tones. Meanwhile, Roberto Cavalli reined in his usual flamboyance with a more discreet selection of eyewear, still peppered with Swarovski crystal, but more sparingly.
Maurizio Marcolin, ceo of Marcolin, which produces eyewear for Tom Ford, Roberto Cavalli, Mont Blanc, Ferrari, Kenneth Cole, Timberland and Miss Sixty, among others, said shape was "more important" for luxury looks, whereas "you allow yourself to go crazy with color" for midrange frames.
Luxottica-licensed Versace and Dolce & Gabbana also presented frames, which typified a trend for symbols or more discreet logos.
Versace adorned the arms of some plastic frames with a glittering diamanté flower motif, while Dolce & Gabbana presented the face hugging black sunglasses as worn by Matthew McConaughey in the company's latest fragrance ad, which have the logo on the inside of the temples.Safilo, which has licenses with such brands as Giorgio Armani, Dior, Gucci, Valentino, Bottega Veneta and Yves Saint Laurent, showed predominantly vintage looks. Yves Saint Laurent presented a collection with its new lateral Y logo in metal worked into acetate frames, while Dior relaunched its voluminous Josephine sunglass model from the Seventies.
Financial analysts have speculated that Safilo's relationship with Gucci Group could have soured after the nonrenewal of the Stella McCartney license, which was snapped up by rival Luxottica. However, Safilo's Tabacchi dismissed that.
"The end of the Stella McCartney relationship will have no repercussions on the relationship with the maison," he said. "There remains an excellent relationship with PPR and especially with Gucci, with which we have collaborated for more than 15 years."
The 39th and next edition of the fair will run March 6-9 to be closer to Milan's shoe, leather and fur expos, following fashion week, in what organizers have labeled "a worldwide week of fashion accessories."
From Sept. 4-6 in 2009, Mido will also inaugurate a second event in Rome, dubbed Mido Business Forum, at the Italian capital's new exhibition complex near Fiumicino Airport.
@margotrobbie steps out onto the red carpet wearing @miumiu. The actress is nominated for “Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role” in “I, Tonya” at the #SagAwards. (📷: Stewart Cook) #wwdfashion
For @massimogiorgetti of @msgm, the Nineties are his favorite decade. “They had a huge impact on my personal growth. What I like of the Nineties is that they are not so precise in terms of style as other decades…there was actually a bit of everything,” he said. As seen on MSGM’s Spring 2018 show: tie-dye and a bit of grunge, two styles that are synonymous with the decade #wwdfashion #wwddecades (📷: @kukukuba)
Breaking News: @hedislimane joins @celine as its new artistic, creative and image director. One of fashion’s preeminent image-makers and trendsetters, Slimane is to join the LVMH brand on Feb. 1 and unveil his first fashion proposition for men and women next September during Paris Fashion Week. It marks a major homecoming for Slimane, who cemented his reputation – and influenced men’s tailoring for more than a decade – as the designer of Dior Homme between 2000 and 2007. He went on to reinvent and ignite the house of Yves Saint Laurent, which he rechristened Saint Laurent, between 2012 and 2016 – all the while maintaining a close relationship with the Arnault family, which controls LVMH and Dior. Read the full exclusive story on WWD.com. Link in bio. #wwdnews #wwdfashion
“Personally I believe the Eighties have been the richest and more vivacious period for international fashion,” Giorgio Armani said when asked what his favorite decade of fashion is. It was a moment of disruption and experimentation and only thinking back to the first years of that decade is always an emotion for me, for what they have meant to me and my work.” The influence is clear in @giorgioarmani spring 2018 collection, pictured here, which was full of bright colors and unexpected prints. Read more about which decades designers loved most on WWD.com #wwdfashion #wwddecades (📷: @aitorrosasphoto)
For Lady Gaga’s only Italian show on her “Joanne World Tour,” the singer wore a range of @versace_official outfits. The standout piece: this custom-made bodysuit inspired by the brand’s spring 2018 collection. #wwdfashion (RG: @ladygaga)
@_camillaruth_ is expanding on the wellness-craze concept with @westbourne – a new NYC restaurant that’s both a healthy-minded café as well as a business that gives back to the community. Marcus works with the Robin Hood foundation to give back to The Door, a non-profit providing youth development services, and also hires employees through The Door. Read our full interview with Marcus on giving back through food on WWD.com. #wwdeye (📷: @lexieblacklock)


text:
On May 13th, COFCO Chairman Zhao Shuanglian attended a banquet for Chinese and Uzbekistan entrepreneurs jointly held by the Ministry of Commerce of China and the Ministry for Foreign Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan in Diaoyutai State Guesthouse.
In his address to the banquet, Zhao Shuanglian highlighted Uzbekistan as a renowned ancient country along the Silk Road as well as the fifth largest cotton exporter and a major tea consumer country in the world. Based on many years of profound cooperation with Uzbek enterprises, COFCO Corporation will further deepen its ties with outstanding enterprises in Uzbekistan in the future. While strengthening cooperation in cotton and tea businesses, it will fully tap into growth opportunities related to other agricultural by-products, extend the scope of cooperation and expand the scale of cooperation so as to contribute to the deepening of bilateral friendship, the progress of two countries’ development and the enhancement of people’s welfare in both countries.
Uzbekistan is one of China’s major partners along the “Belt and Road”. At present, COFCO Corporation has conducted extensive cooperation with Uzbek enterprises in many sectors including cotton and tea. Uzbekistan attaches great importance to the Belt and Road Initiative and considers it a significant supplement to bilateral cooperation as well as regional economic cooperation.
Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Chair of State Investment Committee Azim Akhmedkhadjaev, Meng Jianzhu, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, Secretary of the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission of the Communist Party of China and the Chinese Chairman of the China-Uzbekistan Intergovernmental Cooperation Committee, and Yu Jianhua, Vice Minister of Commerce of PRC attended the banquet.


text:
More than 30 jobs will be created for local people in Southend over the course of the first year, with the majority of these being Deliveroo riders, who aim to deliver food, which will be cooked, fresh to order and delivered from the restaurant kitchen to the customers’ door within 30 minutes.
More than 15 restaurants have signed up to the service, meaning people can now get their favourite food from their most loved local restaurants including PizzaExpress, Mangetout, ASK Italian and Pasta Pia.
Jeremy Rawlinson, General Manager at Deliveroo, said: “We’re extremely excited to be launching in Southend and we’re looking forward to bringing some of the town’s delicious dishes straight from the hands of local chefs to customers’ doors.
“Our new riders in Southend are now kitted out in their new hyper-reflective kit and locals can order from the fantastic variety of restaurants in Southend, whatever they want, whenever they want, all from the comfort of their own home, office desk or wherever else hunger strikes.
“We already have a number of great partners across the town and we are excited to expand and widen the variety of restaurants on offer to our customers in Southend over the course of the next year.”
Deliveroo customers have the option to schedule orders via the Deliveroo app up to one day in advance or receive food as soon as possible between 12 noon and 11pm, from a variety of leading local, independent and high-quality chain restaurants, conveniently delivered to their homes and offices in an average of 30 minutes.
To download the Deliveroo app visit the app store on an iPhone or Android device.


text:
This past weekend we learned from the WSJ that a loyalty card startup, called CardStar, has attracted the attention of Verizon. The carrier has invested $400,000 in the Boston-based company, which although it isn’t much, provides yet another indication that the major U.S. cell phone operators are becoming increasingly interested in the potential of the mobile payment technology to provide an additional, and potentially major, source of revenue.
Just a couple of weeks ago, another Verizon mobile payment venture made a much bigger splash when it was announced that the carrier was teaming up with rivals AT&T and T-Mobile, payment processor Discover and British bank Barclays to enable consumers to make payments at participating merchants using their cell phones.
The CardStar project is not nearly as ambitious as the other one, but it does offer a look into how retailers may be managing their loyalty programs in the near future. It is not immediately clear how Verizon will utilize the service to generate revenue, but it is a safe bet that they are seeing CardStar as part of a larger mobile payment picture.
CardStar has developed mobile apps for the iPhone, Android, and BlackBerry, which allow users to consolidate their loyalty and membership cards in one place. The idea is that you won’t have to carry all these small pieces of plastic on you anymore. Instead, the merchant can scan the card’s barcode from the screen of the user’s phone.
What makes CardStar attractive to retailers is that they can run promotions and loyalty programs through the startup’s back end. They can load offers, coupons and incentives directly into the application. Offers can be customized using a geotargeting feature.
CardStar claims to have signed up more than 2,000 merchants already, both large and small. “We have about 30 competitors out there, but all 30 put together don’t have the numbers [of users] that we have,” boasts CardStar’s CEO Andy Miller, as quoted by the WSJ.
Miller says that CardStar has 700,000 unique users and that number is sure to grow. On top of the convenience of storing all these loyalty cards in your phone, you won’t have to clip coupons anymore.
CardStar and its competitors offer shoppers convenience and retailers opportunities, but they are also helping us see the future of plastic cards, or the lack of it. Within a few short years, most of us will be using our cell phones to identify ourselves to retailers, communicate with them, find the best prices in our area or online, and pay for our purchases.
Image credit: CardStar.


text:
Expand or die is the mantra of Iceland boss Malcolm Walker as he vows to take on one of the toughest periods in his career with the opening of new stores and export growth.
Two years after buying back his business in a £1.5bn deal, the freezer giant faces a “perfect storm” of challenges, from price cutting, net shopping and the rise of Aldi and Lidl
Despite this, Iceland has increased its market share with an aggressive growth strategy that aims to open 50 stores a year in the UK - adding to its estate of more than 800 shops.
Speaking to the Daily Post from the headquarters in Deeside he said every part of the operation was under the microscope with the roll out of online shopping and the possibility of bigger Iceland stores on the horizon. He said: “We are now in tough times, we had five or six years after 2005 when we just flew but the last 18 months has really been tough.
“The whole marketplace has changed phenomenally in the last year – I am sick of reading about Aldi and Lidl.
“This isn’t just a trading cycle, it is a fundamental shift in the industry.
“Look at the superstores, it was not that long ago they were still building these huge sheds.
“The internet has changed all that because sales of non-food are collapsing because it is all going online. Put that with the rise of Aldi and Lidl, and the prices they are going out at which is forcing everyone else to match, then there is this downward spiral on price.
“You have the internet, the big sheds going out of business, people buying less often and a convenience market growing.
“Couple that with the economy and people trading down, it is quite horrendous – as hard as we have known it. It is all coming together, it is like the perfect storm.
“Aldi, Lidl and Waitrose are in growth and so is Iceland to a smaller extent, but we are only growing because we are opening new stores. Last year we opened 46 but sales at existing stores are flat to negative, it is really very tough.
“Five or six years of doing really well, with the best will in the world complacency sets in to an extent, when things get a bit tougher you suddenly wake up and everything is under the microscope.
“Everything evolves, Iceland has gone from loose frozen foods with small shops to freezer centres and ready meal shops to the convenience store we are today, it will evolve again. Every aspect of the business is under the microscope, from packaging to products, to pricing.
“We are looking at everything, although it is early days we are looking at a new format which will be bigger, (bigger stores), and a wider product range.”
Last year Iceland, which has been voted the UK’s best employer, launched on-line shopping at a third of their stores and that will roll out nationwide over the summer. Home delivery and on-line now accounts for 20% of all sales.
They also have operations in several countries including Spain and the Czech Republic and supply deals for parts of the Middle East and South Africa. He said: “We have international expansion, it is high risk. It is not easy but it is something you have to look at. But we are still opening 50 stores a year in the UK, we go anywhere, we have a national search and wherever there is available property that we consider to be in the right location we will take it.
“You have no choice but to expand, you either grow or you die.
“It is not an option in any business, if you stand still you will be over-taken. You have no choice but to push on.”
They now have more than 25,000 staff with around 500 at the headquarters in Deeside, with no plans to ever leave the area.
Iceland began business in 1970, when Malcolm opened the first store in Oswestry, with his business partner Peter Hinchcliffe.
By 1975, there were 15 Iceland outlets in North Wales, and the North West of England.
The firm's head office moved to Deeside in 1979 and Iceland was floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1984. In 1989, Iceland bought its competitor Bejam and by February 2004, the combined chain had 760 stores throughout the UK.
Problems erupted in the early 2000s when Bill Grimsey, who had made his name at the Wickes DIY chain, became chief executive with Malcolm to move to non-executive chairman.
Malcolm, 67, was pushed out under a cloud when the Financial Services Authority launched an investigation into his sale of £13.5m of shares in the group weeks before it issued a profit warning. He was cleared of all allegations. The new team oversaw a decline in customer numbers and sales at the firm, renamed the Big Food Group.
In February 2005 The Big Food Group’s shareholders accepted a recommended offer from a consortium of investors and it became a private company once more.
The group was split into its main component parts and Iceland placed under the management of Malcolm and other senior executives.
Then in 2012 the management team, together with their co-investors, bought the company from the liquidators of two Icelandic banks.
Malcolm said: “I started the business for £30 and years later bought it back for £1.5bn.”
Last year he released the hardback version of his autobiography Best Served Cold: The Rise, Fall and Rise Again of Malcolm Walker. The soft back edition has just been released. The book chronicles the dramatic rise of the firm and the turmoil of the period in the early 2000s.
He said: “I started writing it in within a few weeks of being fired and it was cathartic. It was setting the record straight and chronicling events.”
He has also recently been in the spotlight with the BBC series Life in the Freezer Cabinet. Although a TV hit it did not bring a noticeable increase in sales.
But he added: “It had one benefit that we are very proud of the being the best company in Britain to work for and I think that came over on the TV series. As a result the hits on our jobs website quadrupled.”


text:
Ahead of its India launch, the Wolfsburg-based carmaker revealed the production-ready interior of the upcoming Taigun showcasing the dashboard design and some of its features.
Updated : May 7, 2021, 4:01 pm
Kia India will launch a new model in early 2022 that will offer seating for 6 or 7 occupants based on the Seltos platform.
Updated : April 28, 2021, 5:42 am
MG Motor India's Halol manufacturing facility will remain shut from April 29 till May 5.
Updated : April 27, 2021, 10:18 pm
Ashok Leyland has delivered its first lot of bulletproof vehicles to the Indian Air Force. Here are the details.
Updated : April 19, 2021, 8:36 pm
Safe Cams Digital Eye is providing a hardwire kit and an SD card at no extra cost with the Y Series dashcams.
Updated : April 16, 2021, 2:07 pm
With the introduction of the new Mahindra XUV700, the home-grown company will cease production of its highly-popular but now outdated Mahindra XUV500.
Updated : April 13, 2021, 12:23 pm
The Hyundai Alcazar will bolster Hyundai Motor India's SUV portfolio that currently includes the Hyundai Venue, Hyundai Creta, Hyundai Tucson and Hyundai Kona Electric.
Updated : April 8, 2021, 1:05 pm
New Mahindra XUV700 will rival the Tata Safari, MG Hector Plus as well as the Hyundai Alcazar 7-seater SUV once launched in Q2 of 2022.
Updated : April 8, 2021, 12:45 pm
The Hyundai Creta, Hyundai Venue, Hyundai Verna, Hyundai Grand i10 Nios and the ICOTY 2021-winner Hyundai i20 were the top-performing models of Hyundai Motor India in March 2021.
Updated : April 1, 2021, 4:54 pm
The Mahindra XUV500 price ranges from Rs 13.83 lakh to Rs 19.56 lakh (ex-showroom, New Delhi).
Updated : March 30, 2021, 11:08 pm
The Mahindra Scorpio price ranges from Rs 11.99 lakh to Rs 16.53 lakh (ex-showroom, New Delhi).
Updated : March 30, 2021, 12:48 am
Experimenting with cutting back one workday per week is about to go nationwide in Spain. A 3-year pilot project will be using 50 million euros ($59 million) from the European Union's massive coronavirus recovery fund to compensate companies as they resize their workforce or reorganize production workflows to adapt to a 32-hour working week.
Updated : March 27, 2021, 10:57 pm
The Tata Nexon was the official partner for IPL 2018, the Tata Harrier for IPL 2019 and the Tata Altroz for IPL 2020.
Updated : March 23, 2021, 6:59 pm
The Hyundai Alcazar will rival the likes of the Tata Safari, MG Hector Plus and Mahindra XUV500, following its launch in India.
Updated : March 23, 2021, 12:52 pm
The Skoda Kushaq will lock horns with the likes of the Hyundai Creta, Kia Seltos, MG Hector and Tata Harrier.
Updated : March 19, 2021, 4:39 pm


text:
Yea, the title sucks, but who cares? Just thrown out there was the dates and details on trying to get your hands on some of those coveted Blizzcon passes that will most likely get snagged up in a matter of minutes again. But here is a good 11 day warning to get ready for the internet to crash due to all the Blizzard fans from trying to log on at the same time. But this time around, there is a little extra for those of you who can't get passes. Not talking the ability to watching on Pay Per View either.
They are going to do the Direct TV thing again, but this time they will hook up those that don't have that service. Hook up how? Well via and online stream. This way no one has an excuse for not being able to enjoy all the highlights and show offs from this year's show. Not too bad since last year so many missed out either by not getting passes or having Direct TV. Blizzard always looking out for their fans.
Be ready to log on and try for those tickets on the 16th.
BlizzCon® 2009 Tickets on Sale May 16
Exclusive Coverage of Blizzard Entertainment®'s Gaming Convention Available Through DIRECTV® Satellite TV Service and Internet Stream
IRVINE, Calif., May 05, 2009 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. today announced that tickets for its fourth BlizzCon® gaming convention will go on sale May 16. Live coverage of the event will be available as a DIRECTV® Pay Per View event and, for the first time, as an Internet stream. BlizzCon is a celebration of the global player communities surrounding Blizzard Entertainment®'s Warcraft®, Diablo®, and StarCraft® game universes. The event will take place at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California on August 21 and 22.
"BlizzCon always offers us a great chance to meet players and celebrate our shared passion for gaming," said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. "We look forward to delivering another entertaining and memorable experience to all attendees and to those joining us from home."
In addition to serving as a gathering place for the different Blizzard Entertainment gaming communities, BlizzCon will offer an array of activities, including discussion panels, hands-on playtime with upcoming games, tournaments, contests, and more.


text:
Autumn has arrived, which means it is time to once again "Fall Into Fabulous" with the Younger Woman's Club when they hold their annual charity fashion show at the Ice House this coming Thursday. Read on for a preview of what to expect at this year's event.
The Younger Woman’s Club (YWC) of Louisville will host its annual Charity Ball on February 18, 2012, at the Seelbach Hotel.
The Younger Woman's Club (YWC) of Louisville's annual "Fall Into Fabulous" fashion show will be held on Thursday, September 29, 2011 starting at 6:30 pm at the Mellwood Arts Center.
The Younger Woman's Club's members not only make a difference professionally but are committed to others who are less fortunate. Since 1921, the group has raised more than $3 million that has benefited local, non-profit agencies.


text: Earlier this week، Mercedes-Benz put out a massive press release detailing a number of changes to its lineup for 2020، consisting of trim reshufflings، new packages and options، and a few updated models. But there was one item that instantly stood out to us on scanning the document: For 2020، the Mercedes-AMG G63 is getting what the brand is calling the AMG Trail package. And، man، is it awesome، as the Car News said. An email shot off to AMG PR confirmed that our eyes were not deceiving us and that the G63 really is getting an off-road tire as an option in the United States. Mercedes doesn't say what kind of tires they actually are—full U.S. spec details are still forthcoming—but the package is live on the German configurator، and they look chunky and rad as hell. (The images in this story are from said configurator.) The tires are wrapped around a new 20-inch wheel design that looks beefier and less outright sporty than the G63's other available designs.


text:
Monthly Cloud Security Roundup: The Rise in Insider Threats, The #1 Brand for Phishing Attacks, and More
Each month, we bring you some of the most compelling cloud and Salesforce security-related stories from the last four weeks. In this post, we discuss the rise in insider threats, Americans’ privacy concerns, the impact of data breaches on employees, and more.
A new survey from Pew Research Center reveals that 52% of adults in the U.S. have chosen not to use a product or service because they feel their personal data is not secure. Most Americans are concerned about the way private organizations and the government use personal data, whether it’s when making purchases, signing up for an account or program, or simply registering to vote.
In addition, 21% of respondents said they don’t use particular websites because they felt they’re not secure. 11% avoid using certain electronics, and some reported not using social media or specific services like DNA ancestry kits, financial tools, or healthcare applications due to privacy concerns. More specifically, the cited reasons ranged from having to share personal information to the product or service being untrustworthy. Consumers are frustrated by the lack of transparency and a clear understanding of what happens with their personal information once it is collected.
A CISO MAG survey recently discovered that 70% of respondents use a VPN to securely log in to their company’s network and 30% do not. While the majority follow robust security precautions, those that don’t use a VPN risk compromising the security of the entire company network. If a hacker were to access just one employee’s endpoint and that device doesn’t have the proper security like a VPN, the hacker may gain access to your entire network.
It’s critical to evaluate and reconfigure infrastructure security at the endpoint for all employees, including partners, suppliers, contractors, and any other parties all the way through the supply chain. This may require vendor risk assessments and management, but in the end, by closing the gaps, you’ll secure your network with a robust VPN posture, even with employees working from home where you can’t guarantee they’re using a secure Wi-Fi network or ethernet.
Insider threats are on the rise, according to the Ponemon Institute’s 2020 Cost of Insider Threats: Global Report. In just two years, threats caused by insiders rose 47% – from 3,200 in 2018 to 4,716 in 2020. Not only did the number of incidents increase, but so did the cost, and not just to accommodate for inflation. In 2018, the cost of a breach was $8.76 million, whereas in 2020, the cost grew to $11.45 million.
At an average of $307,111 per incident, insiders pose just as much risk to an organization’s data security as external attacks – in fact, a similar survey by Gurucul revealed that 65% of employees access documents unrelated to their job, and 40% abuse their privileged access in response to a negative performance review. On top of that, 58% of security professionals in the financial services industry admitted to emailing company documents to their personal accounts, which could indicate potential malice on the employee’s part.
Insider threats are one of the most significant reasons why user activity monitoring for cloud applications like Salesforce and Office 365 are critical to secure data and minimize risk.
As the most populous country in the world, India is a prime target for hackers looking to steal sensitive data from smartphones and internet-connected devices. More than half of India’s population is 25 years old or younger, which naturally means that more people are using (and therefore providing their personal information to) services and goods like mobile wallets, social media applications, etc. In fact, Symantec found that India is the second most frequent victim of cyberattacks, only after the United States and China.
The Indian IT Act of 2000 doesn’t fully protect residents from modern threats like phishing, SIM jacking, ransomware, mobile payment fraud, malware, social engineering, and DDoS attacks. As a result of the dated policy, the Indian government is planning to implement a new cybersecurity policy – the Personal Data Protection Bill – in 2020. This bill would regulate the processing of citizens’ data by the government as well as companies (both domestic and foreign).
“The bill is a ground-breaking step for the nation towards building the significant base of ‘trusted’ digital India. It will change the way privacy is perceived and practiced by various businesses. Global organizations based in India and/or providing services will be particularly impacted. Considering the data transfer mandates, as most global firms which process personal data of Indians store their data at remote locations will face challenges in terms of increased compliance costs.”
– Jaspreet Singh, Partner – Cyber Security, EY
Data breaches are an unfortunate reality in our modern, digitally connected world. Billions of people worldwide have had their data leaked, and breaches continue to increase, along with the costs. But the costs are not always financial. A recent Kaspersky study found that a company’s data breaches severely impact its employees’ personal lives outside of work. Humans are the victims of every cyber-attack – case in point, 30% of employees affected by a security incident missed an important personal event, 32% had to work overnight, and 33% suffered additional stressors as an indirect or direct result of the incident. More than a quarter of respondents reported canceling vacations due to fallout from their organization’s data breach(es).
Kaspersky offers advice for minimizing the impact of a security incident:
- Be transparent with your employees during a crisis
- Before an incident occurs, create a plan for IT to follow during a crisis
- In the event of a breach, focus on investigation and remediation, not pointing fingers
- Even a security breach can be seen as a learning opportunity; use an incident to train employees and improve security measures for the future
- Foster a corporate culture of data privacy and cybersecurity
- Have media responses and corporate-approved messaging prepared to address the public in the event of a cyberattack
According to a recent study, hackers’ favorite brand for phishing attacks is Apple. The “Brand Phishing Report” revealed that Apple iOS users accounted for a full 10% of phishing attempts, followed by Netflix (9%), Yahoo (6%), WhatsApp (6%), PayPal (5%), and Chase (5%), among others. The report posits that the reason why Apple is the primary target for attacks is that hackers want to exploit the brand’s recognition by creating a fake website that mimics the brand’s official site. On the fraudulent website, the user is prompted to enter their credentials, provide payment details, or otherwise share sensitive, personal information. According to the report, the most targeted sectors for brand phishing attacks are technology, banking, and media.
“Cybercriminals continue to exploit users by adopting highly sophisticated phishing attempts via emails, web and mobile applications purporting to be from well-recognized brands which they know will be in high demand at the moment, whether that’s a high profile product launch or just generally tapping into behavioral changes we’ve seen during the Coronavirus pandemic. Phishing will continue to be a growing threat in the coming months, especially as criminals continue to exploit the fears and needs of people using essential services from their homes.”
– Maya Horowitz, Director of Threat Intelligence & Research, Check Point


text:
Apple has published a number of steps that it aims to take, in a bid to address privacy concerns raised by the use of its object trackers, AirTags, in real-world stalking and theft. The move comes shortly after the company had updated its personal safety user guide to include sections on detecting unidentified AirTag trackers, in late last month.
The company says that with the upcoming iOS update, Apple is adding a declaration, stating that using AirTags to track individuals could attract criminal proceedings in various countries. The declaration also states that using AirTags for such purposes could lead to law enforcement agencies requesting for private information of users. The latter would be revealed through Apple ID information linked to AirTags.
The update will also help users differentiate between AirPods and AirTags in the ‘unknown accessory detected’ alert that is served on iPhones.
Future updates by the end of 2022 will deliver further safety features for AirTags, which includes ‘Precision Finding’. Apple says that the feature will be compatible with iPhone 11 and newer smartphones, and its official description says, “As an iPhone user moves, Precision Finding fuses input from the camera, ARKit, accelerometer, and gyroscope to guide them to the AirTag through a combination of sound, haptics, and visual feedback.”
The feature is designed to help users detect unidentified AirTags quicker than what the present mechanism offers. To further help this cause, AirTags will serve an alert on the nearest iPhone while making the detecting sound on the integrated speaker. The latter, Apple says, could help users detect AirTags even if the latter has been tampered with.
Finally, Apple is also upgrading its AirTag algorithms to detect unlinked devices quicker – in a bid to counter all the theft and stalking acts that have been taking place around the world.


text:
Samsung has introduced its new concept of soundbar, the HW-F850. It is an ideal model to combine with the most modern 60″ LED TVs.
It has with NFC technology, allowing linked to any device that has this wireless communication technology, as the most modern Smartphones and Tablets. In addition, if an older device it is also no problem since can connect via Bluetooth too, thanks to Soundshare technology, which also provided.
Give a warm sound thanks to the vacuum tubes leading integrated, with a total of 350W RMS power, enriching the music listening experience, thanks to an impressive sense of immersion it provides. The frequency response range is from 20Hz to 20kHz.
We have an ideal solution to eliminate cables between TV and subwoofer or the satellite speakers with wireless connectivity for its components. The bar comes ready to hang on the wall, instead of having to place it in front of the TV. Automatically detects the position of the speaker, thanks to a sensor that is internal and can calibrate the sound according to the guidance for perfect acoustics.


text:
Hyundai Eyes Boston Dynamics Buy
|Marc Raibert, Founder & CEO, Boston Dynamics.
Photo credit: Web Summit, licensed under CC BY 2.0
Korean automaker Hyundai is in talks to acquire robot maker Boston Dynamics from its current owner SoftBank, according to a report [paywalled] from Bloomberg that cites “people familiar with the matter”. According to Bloomberg, Hyundai is seeking to take control of Boston Dynamics in a transaction valued as much as $1 billion.
It’s such that a Hyundai acquisition of Boston Dynamics would make the Korean automaker the robotics company’s third owner in seven years. First, Boston Dynamics was acquired by Google in 2013 and was housed under the company before another sale to Japanese tech conglomerate SoftBank in 2017. Hyundai wouldn’t be a surprising acquirer for Boston Dynamics given the automaker has major use for industrial robots.
Boston Dynamics is more akin to a research organization rather than a business, churning out sophisticated robots that, however, don’t generate much revenue. It was only last year that Boston Dynamics launched its first commercial product, the Spot dog-like robot.
Tracing its history, Boston Dynamics is a company that was spun off from the famed Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) nearly three decades ago. Early in its history, the company worked on aircraft computer simulations for the US Navy before pivoting to making physical robots. Boston Dynamics can trace much of its work to collaborations with the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).
A transaction of as much as $1 billion would mark a big price for Boston Dynamics. Before now, the financial terms of the company’s previous sales to Google and SoftBank weren’t disclosed.


text:
How to Profit From Tax Refunds
AP Business Writer
The Internal Revenue Service says some 93 million Americans _ roughly seven out of every 10 tax filers _ are getting a refund on their federal income taxes this year, and that refund will average $1,954.
Many will be tempted to spend it all, and quickly. But financial advisers say there are a lot of alternative uses that will provide longer-term financial rewards.
"It's fun to get a tax refund, and people should use some of it for something special, like a nice dinner out, an upgrade for their computer or maybe a new spring hat," said consumer expert Nancy Dunnan, author of "How to Invest $50 to $5,000."
"But it's also an opportunity to pay down debt or to boost savings."
Greg McBride, a financial analyst at Bankrate.com, suggested that one of the most profitable things people can do with their refunds is to pay down credit card debt.
"If you pay $1,900 on a card that charges 13 percent interest, you'll save $247 in interest this year," he said. "That's money well spent."
Another possibility, McBride said, would be "starting that emergency fund we all talk about but never quite get around to."
Most experts say an emergency fund should be big enough to cover three to six months of living expenses if you lose your job, have medical problems or face other unexpected setbacks.
"The money should be accessible, but shouldn't be something you're tapping all the time because that defeats the purpose," McBride said.
He suggests savers consider putting their money in high-yield money market deposit accounts, currently paying about 2.6 percent interest, or money market funds.
Although savers shouldn't raid their emergency funds for non-emergencies, they can "leverage" the money, McBride suggested.
"Think about increasing the deductible on your auto insurance by the amount you have saved, and that will cut the cost of your insurance," McBride said.
Liz Miller, a senior vice president and investment officer at UMB Bank in Kansas City, Mo., suggests families consider investing tax refunds for their retirement.
"An IRA _ Individual Retirement Account _ is a good idea for everyone," she said.
Employees who don't have retirement plans at work can invest up to $3,000 a year in traditional IRAs. Those with 401(k) and other employer-sponsored plans can look at supplementing them with Roth IRAs. People 50 and older can put in an additional $500 under a special "catch-up" provision.
IRA accounts can be set up with banks and savings institutions as well as with brokerage houses.
Miller believes good investment options now include equity funds that invest in small companies. "Small-cap equity funds do best in the early stages of economic recoveries, which is where we are now," she said.
All the experts said that while it might feel good to get a big refund, it's not necessarily a winning strategy.
"A lot of people view a tax refund as a gift," Miller said. "You have to change that mindset. It's your money, and a big refund means you gave it to the government as an interest-free loan."
Dunnan agreed, pointing out that "in theory, you shouldn't be getting a refund if your withholding is correct, or if your estimated quarterly payments are at the right level."
If you don't want such a big refund next year, ask your employer for a new W-4 form and increase the number of exemptions you claim. IRS Publication 919, available on the IRS Web site (www.irs.gov) or by calling the IRS hot line, (800) 829-3676, can help you do the calculations.
And obviously if you ended up owing a lot of taxes this year, you might also consider revising your W-4 form so the amount withheld covers your taxes next April.
On the Net:


text:
Marks & Spencer has announced plans to cut 7,000 jobs in its shops and head offices.
The long-troubled retailer said it expects a significant proportion of the job losses to be through voluntary departures and early retirement.
“It is clear that there has been a material shift in trade and whilst it is too early to predict with precision where a new post Covid sales mix will settle, we must act now to reflect this change,” it said in an unscheduled trading update
Revenue in its clothing and homeware business was down 38.5% -on-year in the 13 weeks to August 8, while the food business recorded a rise in sales of 2.5% over the same period. “The performance of store sales has varied widely across the estate with some of the newer out of town stores trading close to last year’s level of sales overall in recent weeks but legacy town centre stores and some shopping centres still heavily impacted by social distancing and reduced footfall,” M&S said.
Freddy Khalastchi, business recovery partner at accountancy firm, Menzies LLP added, “The scale of these cuts demonstrates that M&S means business. This is not just about cost cutting, it is about repositioning the business for growth in a market that has demonstrably changed for good.
“Consumer shopping habits have transformed during the pandemic. As a result, many bricks and mortar retailers have been forced to take drastic action to rightsize their business models by stripping away superfluous layers of management and back office support services.
“Coming on top of 950 job losses announced last month by the retailer, this development is a significant step that may well encourage others to bring forward radical restructuring plans in the next few months.”


text: Netflix to users, developers: we own your viewing history | Ars Technica (click for full article) "Netflix has announced that it will change both its public application programming interfaces (APIs) and the terms of service to access them, essentially locking away users' rental history data and preventing them from using third-party applications to export it. At the same time, the company is making it harder for developers to integrate information from Netflix's API with data from other services as the company maneuvers to keep users within its own applications. On October 12, when Netflix aborted its spinoff of the physical disc rental business under the new "Qwikster" brand, it announced that the company's public API would continue to support DVD-related features (after previously announcing they would be retired as part of the split). But now Netflix is splitting its disc and streaming "catalog" databases, and dumping much of the metadata that developers had depended on from both the DVD and the streaming APIs. The functional changes eliminate nearly everything related to users' viewing history, including rental history, when rented disks are shipped and returned, when streamed films are watched, and the bookmark information for streamed videos paused in progress. The changes, most of which go into effect this September, were announced in Netflix's developer blog on June 15 by Daniel Jacobson, Netflix's director of engineering for the API. In part, they're driven by the shift in Netflix's strategic direction away from its movies-by-mail business and towards streaming movies, television shows, and its own branded content. But they also appear to prevent developers from using the Netflix library to aggregate a user's movie-watching history across competing services (combining Netflix and iTunes data, for example)-and to prevent developers from essentially wrapping Netflix's API as their own paid service."


text:
Style Notes: Tom Ford Ditches Runway for Fashion Video; Apple Files Patent for Ring
Your daily must-read fashion stories.
Tom Ford is taking his spring 2016 presentation from the runway to the small screen with a steamy new short fashion film which will premiere tomorrow, Oct. 2, on the brand's website. The film stars some of the designer's favorite muses, including Lexi Boling, Xiao Wen Ju and Valery Kaufman. [TomFord.com]
It looks like Apple has realized that smart watches aren't for everybody. On Thursday, the tech giant filed a patent for a "ring computing device," which, for all intents and purposes, appears to be an early form of what could be the Apple Ring. The device features a touch screen as well as a computer processor and wireless receiver, so basically you'll never have an excuse to let an email go unanswered ever again. But does it come in 14 karat gold? [Apple Insider]
See more Paris Fashion Week's Front Row
Yahoo Style has expanded its coverage to include interiors, too. The Yahoo Decor section will feature a look at celebrity homes as well as contributions from interior designers and decorating tips and tricks. [Yahoo Decor]
Neiman Marcus laid off 500 employees on Thursday in keeping with the company's reorganization plans. CEO Karen Katz remarked that the layoffs were part of a corporate streamlining process and an attempt to make the back-office processes more efficient. No customer-facing roles were affected in the cuts. The reduction comes just a week after the company's planned IPO has been put on hold. [WWD]


text:
Now, when players boot up FIFA 20 and open the Ultimate Team menu — a mode that allows players to collect former greats to form a fantasy all-star team — they will be greeted with a short prompt from EA that reads, “We are aware of the recent comments made by Marco van Basten. We have an expectation that our commitment to quality and diversity is upheld across our game. As such, we will suspend Marco van Basten icon items from being available in Packs, SBCs and FUT Draft until further notice. Stay tuned for further updates.”
EA’s decision to delete him from the title, at least temporarily, comes a month after van Basten’s comment, which was said off-camera while studio mics where still on. Fox Sports suspended him from the channel last month and donated a week’s worth of his wages to the Netherlands Institute of War Documentation.
Racism in the soccer world has been a recurring and visible issue in the last few months. In September, Chelsea forward Tammy Abraham faced racist harassment online after missing a penalty in the Super Cup.
Van Basten publicly apologized later during the same TV segment and said that his comment was meant to mock Heracles manager Frank Wormuth’s German accent. Fox has since issued an official statement calling his choice of words “stupid and inappropriate.”
"I didn’t mean to shock people, I just wanted to ridicule Hans’ German, but I’m sorry,” he said a week into his suspension from the broadcast network.
The removal of athlete characters from blockbuster games following real-life controversies isn’t uncommon in the video game industry. Ray Rice was pulled from Madden NFL 15 and Kareem Hunt was taken out of Madden NFL 19 after videos surfaced of both football players committing domestic abuse.
Last year, Cristiano Ronaldo was removed from the cover image and menus of FIFA 19, forcing EA to find new faces for its marketing direction. While EA officially stated that this was to coincide with a rebranding for the UEFA Champions League, this change nonetheless came shortly after Ronaldo faced sexual assault accusations and a tax evasion fine. His character model, however, wasn’t removed from the actual game like van Basten’s.
As of publication EA had not responded to a request for comment, and there is no confirmation on whether van Basten will be reinstated in FIFA 20 at a later date.


text:
New Coke Zero
How difficult it is to put a simple message across. You want to emphasize a product has zero sugar, so you call it Zero. A whole segment of Zero products develops.
Yet, ten years later, half of British consumers still do not realise Coke Zero has zero sugar. What do you do? Coca-Cola has decided the only course is to change the name to Coca-Cola Zero Sugar.
In doing so, the company also released some interesting insights about its UK portfolio.
• Low and no calorie variants make up 43% of Coca-Cola brand consumption and the aim is to increase this beyond 50%.
• “For years we have offered people a choice … Since 2012 our commercial strategy has focused on accelerating the growth of our no sugar options.”


text:
North Korea’s trade with Southeast Asian countries has dropped while its trade with Central and South American countries rose under toughened United Nations sanctions.
Seven of North Korea’s 10 largest trading partners have been replaced since the UN tightened sanctions against the reclusive state, and its exports last year amounted to a 17th of the level in 2015, Voice of America reported on Wednesday, citing the Korea International Trade Association’s reports and past data.
In 2015, China, South Korea, India, Russia, Thailand, the Philippines, Pakistan, Burkina Faso, Ukraine, and Trinidad and Tobago were North Korea’s 10 largest trading partners.
Apart from China, India and Russia, the rest on the list were replaced by Brazil, Costa Rica, Germany, Poland, Peru, Saudi Arabia and Zimbabwe last year, according to the US broadcaster.
North Korea’s trade with Brazil surged 152.6 percent compared to 2018, making the South American country its third-largest trading partner.
North Korea’s exports to Brazil amounted to $262,000, while imports jumped to $19.85 million, with pulp, soybean feed and corn as major import items.
China accounted for 95.2 percent of North Korea’s entire trade of $2.95 billion last year.
With the exception of Russia, all other countries accounted for less than 1 percent each of North Korea’s trade.
Jerome Sauvage, former head of the UN Development Program’s Pyongyang office, told the VOA that the only solution to North Korea’s economic recovery is “to find a way to work with South Korea and with the West, and to have some form of cooperation” to build infrastructure.
Pyongyang will be able to attract foreign investment and increase trade only through progress in denuclearization and expansion of infrastructure, he said.
North Korea, however, has continued to emphasize the importance of economic self-reliance and use of locally made products after it shut its border with China in January due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Localization is our republic’s war to defend dignity to the last death,” the Rodong Sinmun, mouthpiece of the North’s Workers’ Party, said on Wednesday.
“Without one’s own and with weak power, one would have to bow to others and eventually lose the right to autonomy and survival.”
Calling dependence on imported goods an “illness,” the newspaper said the party wants “true patriots” who try to raise the level of localization in raw materials and equipment, and create the country’s own products.
North Korea has sought to localize major industrial products, raw materials and equipment, and called for the use of locally made products as prolonged international sanctions have limited its trade.
By Kim So-hyun (email@example.com)


text:
Lotus decided to show a new teaser, voicing the premiere date for the debut of their first electric hypercar.
A well-known tuning studio Brabus presented a package of developments on the 639-strong Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S.
Audi has launched tests on the Nurburgring track of the "hot" modification of the electric e-Tron SUV.
The new BMW X1 will get significant updates. Small cross will change the design of the bumpers, headlights, and taillights.
An extreme version of the Acura NSX Type R supercar debuts in October 2019 in Tokyo.
Ferrari released the first teaser of the new supercar, which has a hybrid installation.
BMW teases the public with its future novelty - the iNEXT cross.
Renault representatives officially confirm that they are negotiating with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles on a joint merger with an equal 50/50 membership.
The network received new shots of the BMW M8 Hottest Coupe of the Competition version.
The Internet has flown a photo off-road version of Ceed. A novelty will be called XCeed.
Skoda presented a Citigo-e iV car at a special event in Bratislava.
The first official snapshots of the newest compact hatch Opel Corsa, which should debut only in the fall, will be distributed on the Frankfurt auto show via the Internet.
Audi has confirmed that they will have a super-slim version of the flagship sedan A8.
Certain parts declassified according to the most extreme variant of the BMW M2 coupe, which prepared with the CS name.
Ford is preparing a presentation of an electric SUV at the end of this year.
Aston Martin DBX is the first cross-country in the company history, which is still actively passing test rides in tight camouflage.
SsangYong presented an updated version of the compact Tivoli SUV.
The current spending level of Tesla's money can run out in 10 months.
An updated BMW X1 is certified for China. Photos from the country's patent office show how the car change for the local car market.
Skoda has distributed the teaser of a first commercial electric vehicle in its history.


text:
In the conventional wisdom of popular economics, commerce is like warfare. That's a core belief of economic nationalism: If they are winning, then we must be losing.
If you believe this, then you probably believe that foreigners generally, and the Japanese particularly, are attacking and laying waste to America's industrial base. In fact, the truth is just the opposite. Foreign competition and investment, notably Japanese competition and investment, are revitalizing the U.S. industrial base. In steel, American companies are competitive again after decades of disinvestment and obsolescence. In their 1991 study of the industry, Richard Florida, a professor of public policy at Carnegie Mellon University, and Martin Kenney, a sociologist at the University of California at Davis, found that $7 billion in Japanese investment played a key role in bringing cutting-edge technology to the U.S. "Without Japanese investment, technology and manufacturing organization," they wrote, "we would likely find ourselves with a much smaller domestic steel industry, if any at all." In the automobile industry, relentless competitive pressure has made the Big Three miserable, but it has also taught them to build a better car. What's true for steel and automobiles has also been true for electronics. In St. Louis, an executive of MEMC Electronics Materials told me how processes that his company learned in Japan have made the company's U.S. plants 20 percent more efficient. And Japan's quality revolution has forced companies such as Motorola to reduce defects from 6,000 per million to 40 per million. The pattern holds even for convenience stores. Japanese 7-Eleven stores are half the size, yet sell twice as much as their U.S. counterparts. Now they're teaching some of these techniques to American 7-Eleven, whose parent company, Southland Corp., they bought in 1991. International commerce, unlike war, is a positive-sum game: In the long run, everyone wins. We shouldn't be surprised, then, that figures on manufacturing output and productivity counter the idea that the U.S. industrial base is being eviscerated by foreigners. Unquestionably, Japan has particular trade policies and practices that are harmful and ought to be changed (as does Europe and America). There are plenty of issues to complain to the Japanese about. But destroying the U.S. industrial base is certainly not one of them.


text:
The past several weeks have proved to be challenging for small businesses, but one silver lining has been the ability to sell online. In fact, COVID-19 has led to record sales for e-commerce companies. In light of this, Facebook announced its latest push into the world of e-commerce with Facebook Shops. Here’s the scoop: Shops are free to create and provide the opportunity for shoppers to checkout directly from the platform (with Facebook taking a cut).
Simply upload your catalogue and add your own personal flair with custom cover images and colours. Facebook is also testing another feature called Live Shopping, which allows businesses and influencers to sell products during live video events on Facebook and Instagram (in case you needed further clarification).
In other, more recent news, Instagram is launching content monetization features for creators. Read more about this game-changer.


text:
The psychotic minds at Devolver Digital are known for two things nowadays: fantastic indie games and fever dream not-E3 press conferences and announcments. Their splattergore presentations, filled with enough swearing to almost feel out of place in an Australian conversation, have been a highlight of the Winter game announcement season that includes E3. As we get closer to the kick-off for that time of year, it looks like Devolver Digital is getting ready to bring that manic energy once again as begin to tease a possible new ‘Monetisation as a Service’ platform MaxPass+.
Now, with Devolver, there is never a guarantee that they aren’t simply being facetious or sarcastic with a tease like this. Especially when they have Nina Struthers (it took me much too long to realise Nina is character and not an actual employee of Devolver Digital) on camera. With that said, taking the Devolver Digital MaxPass+ Prologue teaser at face value, the company is promise a full reveal at 6:30AM AEST on Sunday June 13th. That is, of course, the time of their previously announced not-E3 press conference that is occurring this weekend.
Alongside the teaser trailer, Devolver Digital also confirmed that they would have five new game reveals at the showcase, with new games from Flying Wild Hog, Galvanix Games and Doinksoft, as well as release date announcements for Phantom Abyss and Death’s Door. So, if you’re looking to get your eyes on some new indie game announcements, make sure to tune in to Twitch Gaming at 6:30AM AEST on Sunday.


text:
Fort Worth Police Arrest Man Suspected Of Taking Photos Underneath Woman's SkirtFort Worth police have taken a man in custody who they say took a photo underneath a woman's skirt at Hulen Mall Thursday night.
Man Who Ignited Molotov Cocktails Inside Fort Worth Mall Sentenced To 10 Years In PrisonIn July, Craig Michael Tezeno, 46, of Fort Worth, Texas, pleaded guilty to igniting several Molotov cocktails inside two department stores in the mall.
Woman Attacked Outside Bridal Store In Fort WorthFort Worth police are alerting the community after they say a woman was attacked outside a bridal store across from Hulen Mall.
North Texas Man Pleads Guilty To Lighting Molotov Cocktails At MallCraig Tezeno placed two devices in stores at Hulen Mall in Fort Worth, hoping to start a fire and cause damage to the store and its property.
Suspect Arrested In Connection To Fires At Hulen MallA man was arrested Friday in connection to a fire set inside Hulen Mall in the shoe section at Sears.
Police Seek Identity Of Man Who Lit Molotov Cocktails Inside Hulen MallFort Worth police are looking for the suspect who lit two Molotov cocktails inside two department stores at Hulen Mall Friday afternoon.
Man Lights Molotov Cocktails Inside Hulen Mall Department StoresA man lit two Molotov cocktails inside Hulen Mall Friday afternoon before fleeing the scene, according to the Fort Worth Fire Department.
Fight Between McDonald's Workers Ends With StabbingAn argument between two McDonald's employees turned violent late Tuesday as one of the workers pulled out a knife. The incident happened at the location near the Hulen Mall in south Fort Worth.
Second Time In 3 Months Hulen Mall Has Been Locked DownFor the second time in just three months, Hulen Mall in Fort Worth was forced to lock down. This time due to police chasing down a robbery suspect.
1 Suspect In Custody After Police Evacuate Hulen MallHulen Mall in south Fort Worth has been evacuated after police followed a robbery suspect into the mall Saturday morning.
Woman Critically Injured After Fall At Hulen MallMedStar says a woman was critically injured Saturday evening after falling over the railing of the second floor of Hulen Mall.
Social Media Could Be To Blame For Fights At MallsAt other North Texas malls Tuesday, mall officials said they were aware of the situation and shoppers reported more security than usual.
Police: Multiple Fights Caused Hulen Mall To Go On LockdownFort Worth police say officers are investigating an incident that occurred at Hulen Mall that caused the mall to go on lockdown Monday night.
Fort Worth Faces Friday Crime SpreeChildren and an elderly woman are among the victims stemming from a Fort Worth robbery spree.
Two Arrested On Charge Of Capital Murder For Burning DeathTwo people accused of binding, beating and burning Ashlea Harris to death now face Capital Murder charges.


text:
Apple and Meta (formerly Facebook), at the loggerheads over privacy changes in iOS and App Store, once planned to “build businesses together” where Apple was in discussions with Mark Zuckerberg-run social network about how it could make more money from its ad revenue.
According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, Apple and Facebook discussed “revenue-sharing arrangements, including a potential ad-free, subscription version of Facebook”.
They discussed creating a subscription-based version of Facebook that would be free of ads.
Apple also reportedly argued that it deserved a cut of certain portions of Facebook’s ad revenue from so-called “boosted posts”.
A boost allows a user to pay to increase the number of people that see a post on Facebook or Instagram.
“Apple, which doesn’t take a cut of advertising from developers, argued that Facebook boosts should be considered in-app purchases, according to a person familiar with the matter,” the report said late on Friday.
The tech giants could not reach an agreement on discussions that took place “mostly” between 2016 and 2018.
Facebook is struggling to patch its ad-tracking systems after Apple brought tough privacy changes in its App Store.
Apple introduced the “Ask App not to Track” prompt as part of iOS 14.5 in 2021 which has had a significant impact on various companies, including Meta which said that Apple iOS privacy changes will cost it a whopping $10 billion in 2022.
“We believe the impact of iOS overall as a headwind on our business in 2022 is on the order of $10 billion, so it’s a pretty significant headwind for our business,” Meta CFO David Wehner said earlier this year.
Apple’s iOS 14.5 update, released in April 2021, came with an App Tracking Transparency (ATT) feature that has affected digital advertising for tech giants.
According to the WSJ report, Apple’s privacy move resulted in a “sharp business slump that has shaved approximately $600 billion from the company’s (Meta’s) market value in less than a year”.
A Meta spokesman said that the company has “made significant changes over the past five years to protect people’s data while also allowing businesses of all sizes to grow”.


text:
New Delhi, May 21 (PTI) The Delhi High Court Friday held as “unconstitutional”, the imposition of Integrated Goods and Services Tax (IGST) by the Centre on import of oxygen concentrators by individuals for personal use.
A bench of Justices Rajiv Shakdher and Talwant Singh quashed the May 1 notification issued by the Ministry of Finance which says that such oxygen concentrators imported for personal use, irrespective of whether they are a gift or otherwise, will be charged with an IGST of 12 per cent.
The court said the individuals will have to give an undertaking that the oxygen concentrator is being imported for personal use and not commercial use.
The court’s verdict came on a plea challenging imposition of IGST on the import of oxygen concentrators as gift for personal use. PTI SKV SKV RKS RKS


text:
- Expands dealer network by opening a new outlet
- It is a 3S (sales, service and spares) facility
- Toyota's 364th such touch point in India
Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) has announced the inauguration of a new dealership in Dhanbad. This is the fifth such facility in the state of Jharkhand that will cater to all the needs of Toyota car owners.
The new facility is located at Plot No- 327-328, PS- Govindpur, Bagsuma, Dhanbad, Jharkhand - 828109. It spreads across 46,000 sq. ft. and includes a state-of-the-art showroom and even a workshop. Both are well-equipped with all modern amenities. In fact, the service station will also offer body and paint repair, express maintenance and other value-added services.
This new outlet marks the opening of the 364th TKM dealership in India. It will help cater to Toyota owners across our country. Apart from the Etios, Etios Liva, Etios Cross, Corolla Altis, Yaris, Fortuner, Innova Crysta and the Camry Hybrid, the carmaker now also has to cater to customers of the new Glanza. Such new touch points will help reach out to more customers and offer them the services needed.


text:
Back in June, T-Mobile and Sprint announced that as part of their intended merger, they were planning to offer in-home internet based on 5G service, with the goal of becoming the fourth largest ISP in America by 2024.
Yesterday the Munich I Regional Court held a six-hour (including breaks, though) trial on Qualcomm’s eight lawsuits asserting four different search user interface patents against Apple’s Spotlight search, with two lawsuits per patents targeting a total of three different Apple entities.
Those waiting in line for new iPhones are one of Apple’s most visible forms of free marketing – so it’s perhaps not surprising that competitors sometimes try to hijack the event. Samsung picked a particularly dumb way to do it back in 2015, but Huawei has been a little smarter …
China is building a digital dictatorship to exert control over its 1.4 billion citizens. For some, “social credit” will bring privileges — for others, punishment. Dandan Fan is very much the modern Chinese woman.
The world’s most popular service for live-streaming video games may have just lost a big potential market. Twitch, which is owned by Amazon (AMZN), is no longer accessible to users inside China. It has also disappeared from Apple’s (AAPL) iOS App Store in China.
The Federal Communications Commission’s plan for spurring 5G wireless deployment will prevent city and town governments from charging carriers about $2 billion worth of fees.
Facebook will no longer send employees to work at the offices of political campaigns during elections, the company has announced. The social network used to offer dedicated staff to political campaigns to help them develop their online advertising campaigns.
Apple fans in Singapore waiting in line for the launch of the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max had a pleasant surprise on Thursday night (20 September) after they received free powerbanks from one of Apple’s competitors, Huawei.


text:
From CNET Magazine: Smartphones, online services and biometric scanners are already easing the way for travelers. Expect even more tech to transform your journeys in the not-too-distant future.
iPhone and iOS news
Apple's entry-level phone offers something unique. But is it too old?
Are you a bit of a shutterbug? Add that to the list of reasons to avoid the 16GB model of the latest iPhone.
The next version of Apple's Mac software is available for download. CNET explains where you can get it and how to use it.
If you're wondering what the differences are between "old" iPhone 6 cases and new 6S cases, you've come to the right place.
Better photo tech should help Google's Android-powered phones escape the techie buyer niche. Too bad there's no image stabilization.
Google has announced a pair of new Nexus Phones -- let's see how the new Nexus 6P compares to other superphones.
From London we see how the new iPhone 6S Plus shapes up against the Samsung Galaxy S6 and iPhone 6 in outdoor, low-light and selfie camera tests.
LG just unveiled its latest big-screen flagship smartphone -- let's see how it stacks up against its plus-size rivals.
You might want to bookmark this for future reference -- there's a lot!


text:
Comcast television customers will get easy access to Amazon Prime Video through an agreement announced Thursday by the two media companies.
Those who subscribe to Comcast Xfinity X1 will be able to watch Prime originals such as "Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan," "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel," "Sneaky Pete" and "Goliath," as well as exclusive live events.
“Amazon Prime Video’s growing list of originals, movies, shows, documentaries, and kids’ programming will be an excellent complement to the overall X1 viewing experience,” Dana Strong, president of Comcast's consumer services, said via press release.
Greg Hart, vice president of Amazon Prime Video, said, “We are excited for our Prime members to seamlessly find the shows and movies they love.”
The launch will take place later this year, though a specific date hasn't been identified.
Along with Prime originals, Xfinity X1 subscribers will be able to catch up on current hits streamed by Prime Video, such as "Mr. Robot" and "American Horror Story," and complete seasons of classics like "Dawson's Creek" and "Friday Night Lights."


text:
“A light-bodied cherry ale is probably not the first thing that comes to someone’s mind when they consider a barrel-aged beer,” said Co-Founder and President Dave Engbers. “We love playing with expectations and Frootwood is proof of that.”
Frootwood will be the first release in the brewery’s new Barrel-Aged Series. This offering will join KBS (April 2017), Backwoods Bastard (November 2017), and three other new barrel-aged brews as the 2017 lineup for this series. Founders will announce the remaining three releases in the Barrel-Aged Series later in the year.
Founders Brewing will begin the limited release of Frootwood in their taproom on January 13, 2017. The beer will then become available “in some states as early as January, with remaining states seeing it by February.” You will eventually be able to find Frootwood in 4-packs of 12 oz. bottles (suggested retail price of $14.99), single 750ml bottles (suggested retail price of $11.99) and on draft at select craft beer establishments located in Alabama, Florida and throughout the rest of the Founders distribution footprint. If you are a fan of any and all things barrel-aged, be sure to keep an eye out for this one over the next month or so. Prost!
Vital Information for Frootwood from Founders Brewing Co.
Release – Limited/Barrel-Aged Series, staggered release beginning January 13, 2017 Style – Undisclosed American Ale with cherries ABV – 8% Treatment – Aged in oak barrels that have previously held both Bourbon and maple syrup Availability – 4-packs of 12 oz. bottles, 750ml bottles & draft Beer Finder – https://foundersbrewing.com/find-our-beer/
With the recent release of the brewery’s upcoming Availability Calendar, Founders Brewing Co. (Grand Rapids, Michigan) has revealed their plan to add the Barrel-Aged Series to an already lengthy list of exciting offerings and changes headed our way in 2017.
In recognition and anticipation of the brewery’s 20th Anniversary in 2017, the folks at Founder Brewing have decided to celebrate by expanding their “famed and highly-regarded barrel-aging program.” With a ridiculously solid foundation provided by the fan-favorite releases ofKBS and Backwoods Bastard, the new Barrel-Aged series will also introduce the craft beer community to four additional barrel-aged brews.
The first release in the 2017 Barrel-Aged Series – and the newest barrel-aged brew from Founders – will be Frootwood. To create this offering, brewers take a “a crisp, light-bodied cherry ale” and age it in “oak barrels that have held both bourbon and maple syrup” to impart “notes of warm vanilla and earthy sweetness.” Full of depth and complexity thanks to the wood treatment, Frootwood displays tones of “tart cherry while the maple imposes a velvety texture that lingers for not a moment too long.” Frootwood Cherry Ale aged in Maple Syrup Bourbon Barrels will officially release in the Founders Brewing Co. taproom on Wednesday, January 25, 2017. This beer will then see a staggered release during the months of January and February in Alabama, Florida and throughout the rest of the Founders distribution area. Frootwood will be available in 4-packs of 12 oz. bottles (suggested retail price of $14.99) and in single 750ml bottles (suggested retail price of $11.99). Information on the three remaining new beers in the Barrel-Aged Series has not yet been made available, but those details will be released as the year goes on.
As far as the rest of the 2017 Availability Calendar goes, we will post it below and allow it to speak for itself. Before we do so, let’s just cover a few highlights first:
The brewery’s Seasonal Series –Azacca IPA, PC Pils, & Mosaic Promise– will have availability in both 6-packs of 12 oz. bottles and 15-packs of 12 oz. cans in 2017.
Beginning in early 2017, All Day IPA will be available in 19.2 oz. cans.
Since Founders Brewing Co. is constantly experimenting and adding new offerings to their portfolio, the brewery has made the difficult decision to retire Pale Ale and Devil Dancer to make room in their brewing schedule.
Alright, that about covers it. Check out the full 2017 Availability Calendar below and prepare yourself for the amazing year of beers ahead from Founders Brewing Co. Prost!


text:
Ahead of Geneva Motor Show, Nissan Motor Co has unveiled the ESFLOW, a futuristic sports car that runs on green electric power.
Nissan has captured the excitement of a sports car and the environmental benefits of an electric vehicle and blended them into one dramatic two-seater concept ESFLOW.
ESFLOW is not an existing ICE (internal combustion engine) powered vehicle that has been adapted to run on electricity, but a sports car that's been designed from the outset as a Zero Emission vehicle, the carmaker said in a statement.
The Esflow has a range of about 240 kilometers (149 miles) per charge, significantly more than the current Nissan Leaf which claims to get about 100 miles per charge.
It can accelerate from zero to 100 kilometers (62 miles) in 5 seconds, according to Nissan. Other features include LED lights, LCD screens, and small rear-view cameras mounted near the car's side mirrors.
The ESFLOW concept will be unveiled at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show, slated to take place between March 3 and March 13.