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Optus has today announced the launch of two new Android tablets, both which will be sold on 24 month contract plans with no upfront cost.
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First impression on unpacking the Q702 test unit was the solid feel and clean, minimalist styling.


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Sherri Van Es opened for business in the Queens Way Mall in March. She's not even in the phone book yet.
Tricia Dyer has been in the same Hampton downtown mall for five years, and she's seen merchants come and go. Her store, Best of British, was alone in the building for a short time a year ago.
''It was scary when you came in in the morning,'' she said.
The city has launched a new assistance program aimed at both new and established merchants. With $300,000 from the City Council, they hope to chase away a few ghosts from vacant storefronts.
The Downtown Hampton/Phoebus Business Loan Program is almost up and running, said June McPartland, the city's director of marketing. Applications are being readied.
Actually, the name is deceptive.
It is a loan program that doesn't make loans. And although it is a public program, the $300,000 does not come from the pockets of city taxpayers.
The program offers assistance in two ways, McPartland said:
Loan guarantees to qualified businesses. The program will guarantee up to $50,000 or half of the total loan, whichever is less. This does not involve lending money, but committing funds to back the loan amount.
Paying the bank, or other lender, so it will reduce the interest rate, known as ''buying down'' the rate.
These lures work for different types of businesses, McPartland explained.
The loan guarantee will help a new or expanding business seeking a conventional loan - a Van Es type of business. By the way, it's Ole Hampton Sportswear, in case you can't wait for the new phone book.
The interest rate buy-down will be offered to an established business that needs an extra incentive to move into the downtown or Phoebus - for example, a restaurant with an established clientele, or a merchant such as Dyer, whose store has a loyal following.
Downtown Hampton and Phoebus need both types of merchants, and that's why the city is dangling its lures in those ponds.
Neither the downtown nor Phoebus has the ''critical mass'' of retailers that surround Coliseum Mall, McPartland said. Because retailers feed off other retailers, it is more difficult to attract businesses where others haven't set up, she said.
City figures show that Coliseum Central accounts for 79.84 percent of the retail sales in Hampton. Newmarket has 12.13 percent. The downtown and Phoebus lag at 5.81 percent and 2.22 percent, respectively.
With a $300,000 budget, the city expects to leverage at least $1.5 million in bank loans to help fill storefronts in the downtown and Phoebus.
The program has won the endorsement of area banks, McPartland said.
''They were pleased to participate,'' she said, ''because we weren't just going to throw money at businesses and walk away.''
The city found its $300,000 in the garbage. It comes from fees paid to USA Waste, which operates the Hampton landfill, and is based on the volume of usage of other localities, McPartland said.
The program is ''innovative,'' especially the interest rate buy-down, said Bill Holloran, who will help administer the program. He's the former head of the Small Business Development Center of Hampton Roads, and is being retained by that group to work with the city.
A buy-down is normally offered to larger commercial or industrial businesses but not to prospective downtown merchants, he said.
Innovative or not, Van Es and Dyer agree it would be nice to have a lot of neighbors.
Van Es, who is from Hampton, said she does not regret starting her business in downtown.
''We came into this knowing it would be the hardest thing we would ever do,'' she said. But ''We have been very fortunate with the downtown.''
She agreed that more retailers would help her business, because merchants feed off each other. That lesson is not lost on Dyer, either.
''Everybody needs that passing trade,'' she said.
Dyer is fortunate enough to have a loyal clientele for Best of British. After all, where else can you find ''Welsh only'' parking signs? And with more neighbors like Ole Hampton Sportswear, things aren't as scary as they used to be.
''Now that the mall is filling up again, it's been getting better,'' she said.
Hampton has set up a non-profit corporation to review and approve applications for its newest downtown assistance program.
The Hampton Business Incentives Corp. has a seven-member board made up of local business people and city officials.
The Small Business Development Center of Hampton Roads Inc. will administer the program. The center is a non-profit group sponsored by Thomas Nelson Community College.
The center has an excellent reputation among banks and can steer applicants toward other loan programs it operates, city officials said.
Bill Holloran was the center's executive director until he left recently. He is being retained by the center as an independent contractor to administer the Hampton program and others, said Warren Snyder, the new center's executive director.
FEELING THE PAIN
Property owners feel the pain when a business district suffers. Consider these figures provided by the city of Hampton.
From 1980 to 1985, Hampton's retail sales grew 10 percent. In that same five years, the City Council cut the property tax four times.
The 1990s have not been as kind. Retail sales grew only 2 percent between 1990 and 1994. During those same four years, the city boosted its property taxes three times.
With such slow growth during the 1990s, Hampton is losing its share of the market to its neighbors on the Peninsula.
In 1991, Hampton accounted for 33.70 percent of sales on the Peninsula. It has inched down every year since then. In 1996, it stood at 28.46 percent.

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Google has introduced new tools for people with disabilities that will allow them to use Android phones to change their facial expressions.
According to AFP, Google has said that people with deafness and physical disabilities can now use their smartphones without raising their eyebrows or smiling.
Google’s two new tools, machine learning, and smartphone front camera detect users’ facial expressions and eye movements. Users can choose any option by smiling, raising eyebrows, opening their mouths, or looking right, left, up, and down. People use the phone in their daily lives with voice commands or with their hands. However, this is not possible for people with physical disabilities and deafness.
Google has introduced two new features in this regard in which users will be able to operate smartphones with the help of ‘Face Switch’. Similarly, Google has also introduced a new application called ‘Project Active’ through which mobile can be used using facial expressions.
The application is available for free to users on the Google Play Store in Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 61 million people in the United States live with a physical disability.
The data has forced major technology companies such as Google, Apple, and Microsoft to create products that are more accessible. It should be noted that Apple, Google, and Microsoft are bringing a number of new innovations that make it easier for people with disabilities or other people to use technology.


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By: Mageline Concepcion, Account Director
Recently the wildly popular socialebrity and comedic actor LeJuan James expressed gratitude on his social channels “for all the corporations and brands that appreciated [his] work and feel strongly enough to utilize [him] as a spokes person.” He was referring to a recently signed annual contract with Honda to become their spokes person. LeJuan is one of many socialebrities who have created and nurtured their brands almost exclusively on social media—and in the process amassing a significant network of followers (LeJuan’s social media stats as of 4/11/15: FB 1,269,943 likes, Instagram 684k, Twitter 30.3k followers, Vine 465.2k).
The Internet made information accessible to all, in turn giving birth to social media’s ubiquity. Could it be that in the process it’s democratizing who brands will consider celebrity influencers? Long live socialebrities.


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Kaleidescape has won it eight-year legal battle with the entertainment industry, and is now going to be doing business with Hollywood, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The Sunnyvale-based company manufactures high-end media servers, and beginning Tuesday, will make available about 3,000 Warner Bros. movies and 8,000 TV episodes.
“Kaleidescape is well-known for its user-friendly system that lets consumers access and watch movies from their home collections with the touch of a button,” Thomas Gewecke, president of Warner Bros. Digital Distribution, said in a statement. “Now their users have the same one-touch simplicity with purchasing new movies electronically.”
Prior to the decision, the Kaleidescape system only allowed users watch movies that copied from a DVD or Blu-ray disc. It was that ability that led to litigation by a consortium of studios and electronics companies known as the DVD Copy Control Association, and an appeal is still pending on a technology that allows for the breaking of copy control on a DVD.
But over the eight years of court battles, DVDs have rapidly been replaced by streaming video, and studios have become desperate to increase sales.
Kaleidescape’s servers, of which the company has sold 14,500, start at about $12,500. Its average customer average customer owns 506 movies; the U.S. average is about about 100, the Times reports.
Its customers have become used to perfect copies of DVD and Blu-ray, so it is offering movie downloads at higher quality than traditional outlets. The downloads take a few hours, typically, but they match the video quality of DVDs or Blu-rays, and include all of the bonus features, according to the report.
The company is reportedly working on a server that it hopes to sell for closer to $3,000.


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Sarah Jessica Parker signs up to fashion label
Sarah Jessica Parker has been snapped up by iconic New York fashion house Halston. She will head up its secondary, more contemporary line Halston Heritage as chief creative officer. She is seen pictured (above) wearing Halston Heritage on the set of Sex and the City 2, out in May.
This is the first time SJP has put her hand to the creative development of a fashion label and if she’s anything like her on screen character, I’m sure it will be a huge success.
Halston Heritage takes designs from the brand’s archives and updates them with a modern twist, but the brilliant thing is..the price points! The white dress (pictured above) would retail for £220, much more affordable than Halston’s mainline collection, or most of Sarah’s SATC outfits!
Sarah Jessica Parker has also taken an equity stake in the fashion house, whose investors include Harvey Weinstein and Jimmy Choo founder Tamara Mellon, and will sit on the board.
It is unclear what SJP’s stake is, but the deal is rumoured to be worth around $5 million (£3.05 million).
Sarah said: “I think this is a brand new kind of business model and it illustrates how serious I am about this position. I think it’s wonderful to feel invested in something.
You can buy Halston Heritage at Start London.
HISTORY OF HALSTON
Roy Halston Frowick was born in Iowa, where he developed an interest in sewing from his mother and began creating hats and altering clothes.
After moving to Chicago with the family, his first big break came when the Chicago Daily News ran a brief story on his fashionable hats. In 1957, he opened a shop and from then on began to use his middle name professionally.
Halston moved to New York City in late 1957, first working for milliner Lilly Daché. He soon made a name for himself and moved to become head milliner for department store Bergdorf Goodman. His claim to fame was designing the pillbox hat Jacqueline Kennedy wore to her husband’s 1961 presidential inauguration.
Halston later moved into womenswear and his brand went on to define the decadent style of the ’70’s.
Halston’s designs became synonymous with Studio 54 and the glamorous, international jet set- worn by the likes of Bianca Jagger, Liza Minnelli and Elizabeth Taylor, it oozed sez appeal with silk jumpsuits and fluid jersery dresses. This led Newsweek to name him “the premier fashion designer of all America”.
Halston mainline is now headed up by Marios Schwab, who was recently named creative director. You can buy it online at Net-a-Porter.


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Here’s another Star Wars news story that is rooted in the Original film Trilogy that started the whole saga in the late 70s and early 80s. Just this Thursday, December 21, has taken action against a software firm for developing a mobile app that purportedly recreates the card game of Sabacc, mentioned in the Star Wars films and the Legends series of books, formerly known as the Expanded Universe.
A scene in the second Original Trilogy Star Wars Movie, The Empire Strikes Back, has the Sabacc card game mentioned by name. The novels elaborate on the event where Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams) originally lost the Millennium Falcon’s ownership to Han Solo (Harrison Ford) by gambling, stating that they were playing Sabacc when it happened.
Ren Ventures released a mobile app in 2015 depicting a special card game they identify to be Sabacc, as it might have been played in the Star Wars galaxy. They registered the Sabacc name as a trademark in 2016, spurring Disney to issue a challenge this year, demanding that the registration be cancelled to avoid brand confusion. Lucasfilm merchandise had released a short-lived Sabacc card game years before their acquisition by Disney.
In their defense, Ren Ventures argued that Lucasfilm never bothered to trademark the name Sabacc itself, merely grouping it with the general Star Wars trademark. Disney’s point however, is that the rules in Ren Ventures’ Sabacc game app is an exact mimic of how the game was fictionally played in the Star Wars setting.
Disney therefore wants Ren Ventures to take down its game app and be barred from using the name Sabacc, along with proprietary damages and such as expected. Ren Ventures has yet to reply to this.
This is all interesting to note, considering that the spinoff Solo: A Star Wars Story, chronicling a past adventure of young Han Solo (Alden Ehernreich) and Lando Calrissian (Donald Glover), is due to premiere in cinemas on May of 2018. Whether or not the Sabacc game that cost Lando the Millennium Falcon to Han will be depicted here, only time will tell.


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According to professor of nutrition Barry Popkin’s research, sugar is added in 60% of the packaged foods in U.S. grocery stores. Dr. Popkin did us the huge favor of compiling a list of dozens of names used by the food industry as stand-ins for sugar. Don’t be fooled. If it’s on this list, it’s sugar, even when it’s not called sugar.
“In case you haven’t heard of it, Galentine’s Day (Feb 13th) is a phenomenon. Competing this year, in importance and glorious celebratory activities with its ancestral grandmother, Valentine’s Day…”


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Columbia, SC (WLTX) - Just because the Gamecocks are on the road this weekend doesn't mean there isn't something to do in the Midlands.
"It's just a lot of fun," said Cathy Campbell.
There is always something going on in the Midlands on the weekend and this weekend is no exception.
Just to name a few, the Italian Festival on Main Street, Viva la Vista, and the Okra Strut in Irmo.
"Pizza the traditional pizza, lasagna and dessert, we try to give the people an experience that is really Italian," said Paolo Dallazorta.
If you are in the mood to experience a different culture then Main Street will be the spot for you.
"If they want great food then they want to stop by the Sons of Italy, Italian festival," said Carmella Roche.
But if Italian is not your thing, walk over to Gervais Street for Viva La Vista.
"It's 20 of the best restaurants in the Vista, they put together some of their signature dishes and sell them for tokens," said Brian Dukes.
Last year more than eight thousand people came out and this year they expect even more.
"I definitely think go see some other things, but come by the vista, hang out for a couple hours and have a blast."
Ok let's says downtown Columbia is not your thing you can head out to Irmo for the Okra Strut.
"The bands are great, looks like we are going to have wonderful weather weekend so we are really excited about it," said Cathy Campbell.
"Tomorrow we have the big parade, the arts and crafts, and food vendors and of course live music again."
No matter where you go it's something for the whole family.
Want more details about all the events this weekend CLICK HERE.


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Jason Wu talks new Eloquii collab and the importance of celebrating plus-size bodies through design
When it comes to designing clothing with plus-size women’s needs in minds, few brands have put in the same amount of work as Eloquii.
Whether it’s tapping plus-size fashion bloggers to star in its campaigns, creating plus-size bridal wear or even helping actresses find plus-size clothing for red carpet premieres, Eloquii has been at the forefront of recognizing and celebrating women sizes 14 to 28 since it was founded in 2011.
And now, in a climate where plus-size women are being told by major retailers that they do not matter, Eloquii is stepping up once more, this time with a holiday capsule collection by Michelle Obama-approved designer Jason Wu.
“Their fashion-forward thinking defined with an emphasis on embracing femininity speaks to my philosophy in designing modern yet timeless pieces for strong women,” Wu said in an interview, noting another factor that helped bring him on board: creating clothing at an accessible price point.
The 11-piece collection, which includes dresses, luxe outerwear and separates, starts at $89.95 (pants) and goes up to $259.95 (fit-and-flare opera coat with satin details).
Speaking of all silhouettes: Accessibly priced plus-size designer clothing is already a rarity, but especially a range that goes all the way up to 28. “I am inspired by the brand’s trend-driven community of powerful women and wanted to design for them a collection of elevated statement evening wear that celebrates the female form,” Wu said.
Check out images from the campaign featuring model and body-positive activist Paloma Elsesser below:


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Leading Payments Platform Bolsters Customer Wins with eBay, Tinder, ofo, Lorna Jane, Budgy Smuggler, Showpo, Bed Bath N’ Table, L’OCCITANE and ASICS
Cloud-based business software provider Freshworks has opened its first data centre in the Asia Pacific region, choosing Sydney to begin the expansion of its footprint in the region.
Tell me something new – a person leaves the company with its customer list, intellectual property, designs, and more, walking out with a USB drive or simply emailing it. The fastest way to take down the competition is to work for them, or a close supplier.
I guess we can safely assume they're mining and selling our personal data to others.It's your ABC, but not your[…]
I agree. Not much new in these devices these days, but there is a big market out there for the[…]
Copying Samsung, which also has a A3x, A5x, A7x, A9x line up at similar price points.
Has Jennifer put the Dud in Dudley-Nicholson?
The problem lies with so-called pundits who are trying to push a particular line and do not bother to verify[…]


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The 34th annual “Taste of Amelia – – A Culinary Crawl” is happening in downtown Fernandina Beach.
The 8 Flags Car Show (free admission), Oct. 19, 2019, features hundreds of classic cars on display in downtown Fernandina Beach. Presented by Amelia Cruizers.
Enjoy two vintage car shows at two historic venues — Fort Clinch and Fernandina’s downtown historic district. Fall 2019 outdoor events.
Fernandina Beach officials have wanted to buy the “old” post office building located downtown on Centre Street for many years.
See beautiful classic cars parked in historic district, hundreds of vintage vehicles, FREE admission.
Fernandina commissioners listened and decided against closing Centre Street at the waterfront.


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SEMA, or the Specialty Equipment Market Association, has announced the winners of its second-annual Hottest Cars award for the 2011 SEMA aftermarket trade show, currently going on in Las Vegas.
Read This Article
What a fly-by-night union the one Ford and Toyota had was.
"Camaro, Shma-maro," says Ford.
Ford's 1.5-liter EcoBoost engine fails to deliver projected fuel economy improvements.


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Plymouth & South West Co-op said turnover rose 5.2% to £154m in the year to 24 January. Trading profits at the business, which has 69 food stores in Devon and Cornwall and has proposed a merger with The Co-operative Group, rose 69% to £6.4m.
Its food division had its "best year ever" thanks to an ongoing refurbishment programme and improved product range, said CEO Douglas Fletcher.
"The society is in a fantastic financial position despite the turbulent market conditions and the deepening of the recession," he added.
Plymouth & South West Co-op members are expected to vote on the merger in a series of meetings next week.
Heart of England Co-op, which has 33 food stores across Coventry and Warwickshire, reported a 4% increase in sales to £81m and a 6% increase in trading profits to £4.2m. Like-for-like sales in its food division rose 8.6%, boosted by store refurbishments.
"Everywhere has been hit hard since the start of the downturn and the society is no exception to the current economic climate," said CEO Ali Kurji.
"However, policies we've had in place in recent years are allowing us to continue to build a strong regional co-operative business."


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In support of the launch of The Little Prince animated adaptation’s 3rd season, series producer Method Animation and distributor PGS are launching a global children’s drawing competition. The winners of said contest will have their pictures become part of the show via different episodes in the new season, which is currently in production.
“We are proud and happy to be launching the first ever international drawing contest for a TV series,” says Method Animation co-founder and president Aton Soumache. “The enthusiasm of all our broadcasters to participate in this challenging new third season is a strong and positive proof of the international success and appeal of The Little Prince.”
Founder and President of PGS, Philippe Soutter adds, “We are delighted to be a part of this exciting new adventure with The Little Prince. The commitment from broadcasters worldwide on all three Seasons is very positive and also essential for the growth and expansion of the brand. The international drawing competition for kids has added an additional dimension to the interactivity of the show and we consider that this will be instrumental in taking the brand to the next level.”
For more info, visit www.pgsentertainment.com or www.thelittleprince.com/tv-serie/the-origins/.


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Mr Rock Demo2
by lab member Yizhou Pan(Shawn)
Augmented Reality New York Meetup — Nov 26, 2013
1) Brendan Scully – Metaio – first ever SLAM demo on Google glass from the Augmented Reality Company
2) Niv Borenstein – Kazooloo – A truly fun to play Augmented Reality game-toy combination
3) Jeff Hyson – Xsyon – Introducing Xscope an immersive virtual reality, augmented reality, movies, games and more
4) Keiichi Matsuda – Hyper-Reality – A new vision for the future with plenty of Augmented Reality goodness
5) Dhan Balachand – Founder and CEO, Sulon Technologies – a new head mounted console that will fully immerse players into games where the real world and the virtual world become one.
6) Ori Inbar – The latest and greatest from around the world of augmented reality featuring AR on Sony Playstation 4, 2013 DEMO Gods winners review, MIT’s Tangible Interfaces InForm, Moto X box opening AR experience, Re+Public new app, and more!
Hosted by NYU’s Mobile Augmented Reality Lab
hear it on the voice of AR – AR Dirt!
The Mobile AR Labs projection mapping for CSAW 2013 gets press!
KEIICHI MATSUDA LECTURE’s AT NYU’S MOBILE AR LAB
The conference will take place at Islamic Azad University, UAE Branch, United Arab Emirates in cooperation with The Society of Digital Information and Wireless Communications, from December 11-13, 2013,


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Google Survey Reveals Interesting Smartphone Usage Patterns Among Indians
With a 51% mobile penetration, mobile phones are in abundance in India. Considering the rising incomes and the addictive nature of smartphones, their number is only bound to go up. Google partnered with IPSOS and the MMA (Mobile Marketing Association) to understand user behavior with smartphones in India and gain a greater insight. And that, they did.
The phone is no longer just a means of making calls and sending sms, the survey identifies that people today use their smartphones to search, follow news, watch TV, listen to music, connecting with family and friends. Here are some key points from the survey:
- Smart phone usage between the age group of 18-‐ 29 is the highest.
- A comparison of Internet usage on smart device versus desktop reveals that 56% of smartphone owners in India prefer accessing Internet multiple times a day through their phones.
- 59% of males access the Internet more through smartphones versus 48% of usage by females.
- 78% of smartphone owners indulge in searching from their device, 77% of smartphone users in India like listening to music on their smart device and close to 35 % of smartphone owners either read newspapers, book and magazines or watch TV and close to 33% enjoy playing games.
- 97% of smartphone owners are heavy users while at home. Men have a higher usage of smartphones when at work with close to a figure of 80% as compared to 71 % women at work.
- While people are engaging more into online shopping it is found that 40% of smartphone owners do not feel secure to purchase online through their smart device and prefer PC/ laptop for the same.


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Better Touch Better Business
Metal processing and industrial products in Vietnam have a bright future
The uncertainty of the global economy can be clearly felt from the manufacturing industry in the Asia-Pacific region. Economic growth is slowing in some major Asian countries such as Japan, China and India, which is expected to have a 'trickle-down effect' on the metalworking industry, which relies heavily on manufacturing. The global economic crisis in 2009 had a huge impact on the manufacturing industry, resulting in a slowdown in the growth of the metalworking industry. Growth in the Asia-Pacific metalworking industry is expected to remain subdued in 2012 as another global economic crisis looms. In 2009, the global machine tool production value dropped from $81 billion in 2008 to $55 billion. Asian countries account for about 50% of the global machine tool market share ($27 billion), surpassing European countries. In this economic crisis, the hardest hit Asian country is Japan, whose output value of machine tool industry has dropped by nearly 60% compared with the previous year. In 2009, China ranked first in the world in new machine tool consumption. In 2010, China's CNC machine tool production increased by about 65% year-on-year. In the past few years, the Vietnamese government has taken some reform measures in order to realize the transformation from an agricultural-driven to an industrial-driven economic structure. In 2011, Vietnam's economic growth rate is expected to reach 5.9% (6.78% in 2010), which is quite an achievement considering the weak global economic environment. Vietnam has established trade relations with more than 150 countries and regions, and the trade volume with other countries has been rising steadily, which has played a vital role in its economic development. Vietnam mainly imports machinery, components, refined oil, steel, textile raw materials, leather and cloth from mainland China and Taiwan, Singapore, Japan and South Korea. In 2010, the annual growth rate of Vietnam's industrial production was 19%, while the annual growth rate of imported modern technology reached 30%. Only 7% of Vietnam's metal processing and industrial products are domestically manufactured, and the remaining 93% are imported. Among imported products, machine tools and spare parts account for the largest proportion. Vietnam is the fifth largest motorcycle producer in the world, and its motorcycle parts market has great potential. In order to increase industrial competitiveness and add value to export products, the role of machine tools is crucial. Vietnam's industry is developing rapidly, resulting in a huge demand for machines, equipment and technological solutions. It is expected that Vietnam will take some policy measures that will have a significant positive impact on the metal processing industry, including the introduction of zero tariffs on imported machine tools. The metalworking industry in Vietnam is also expected to grow substantially in the coming years due to strong growth in some important industries such as shipbuilding, electrical and electronics, automotive, etc. Vietnam's goal is to develop into an industrialized country by 2020. Manufacturing companies in the country are keen to adopt modern machinery and technical solutions to improve production capacity and product quality. This also provides opportunities for machine tool manufacturers from other countries to enter this market.


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Fiverr riffs off Trump Four Seasons Landscaping chaos in first Super Bowl spot
You may not be anywhere near the office water cooler right now, but we still want to spotlight the most talked about creative from the brands that should be on your radar. Today, we look at Fiverr’s first Super Bowl ad, which takes place at Four Seasons Total Landscaping – where former US president Donald Trump held a very unusual press conference.
Fiverr, the Israeli marketplace for online services has unleashed a Super Bowl salute to a memorable Trump campaign news conference set against the insalubrious backdrop of an industrial yard on the outskirts of Philadelphia.
A far cry from the glitz and bling of Trump’s normal stomping grounds, the Four Seasons Total Landscaping yard eclipsed the Beltway for a brief moment as the hub of American politics last November, when a bemused US media descended on the down at heel concession speech given by Trump’s lawyer, Rudy Giuliani.
Now the yard, sandwiched between an adult book store and a crematorium, is back in the limelight as the tongue-in-cheek backdrop to a new marketing campaign that trumpets that success is about being ’in the right place at the right time’.
As the roller shutter opens, Fiverr workers are depicted hoisting a makeshift ’press venue!’ sign above the unassuming warehouse, later revealed to be a hi-tech hub of operations hub where jetpack-operating employees can be seen planting a green oasis.
Building on Fiverr’s previous ’It Starts Here’ campaign, the piece celebrates the army of small businesses that constitute the backbone of the economy.
The creative concept and multichannel campaign was produced in partnership with Publicis, with MJZ producing and Tatari as media buyer.
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Apple has been sued for over $200 million on allegations that it deliberately slowed down iPhones to mask problems with the batteries. The lawsuits are being made by a consumer advocacy group Euroconsumers in Europe.
This is similar to the class action that was filed in the US following allegations that Apple software updates were intended to slow down phones and make consumers buy newer models and the case was settled at $500 million.
“Apple pushed updates to mask problems with the battery, knowing it would slow down phones,” said Els Bruggeman, head of policy and enforcement at Euroconsumers.
The company is filing class-action lawsuits in Belgium and Spain, and additional lawsuits will be filed in Italy and Portugal in the coming week. The class action relates to three million units sold of iPhone 6, iPhone 7, and iPhone SE in these four countries between 2014 and 2020.
And in a statement to the Financial Times:
Our goal has always been to create products that our customers love, and making iPhones last as long as possible is an important part of that.
Apple started facing backlash in 2017 when they admitted to slowing down iPhones, saying it trying to manage power on older phones to prevent unexpected shutdowns.
For more news: YouTube will show ads on non-monetized channels, and won’t share any revenue


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Tesla’s Full Self-Driving costs $15,000 but lawmakers say it does not live up to the name
Tesla’s FSD has increased in price by $3,000 but is still an unfinished product.
Tesla’s Full Self Driving Beta option costs now a whopping $15,000. Tesla CEO Elon Mots announced on Twitter at the end of last month that the price would be increased by $3,000
The change is official as of this week. Anyone who chooses the FSD option on their Tesla must pay the higher price. Musk said in a tweet he sent out back in August that the old price would \”be honored for orders placed before September 5 but delivered later\”.
What is the value of Tesla’s FSD offer?
Tesla CEO Elon Mots announced on Twitter in late November that the price of the option would be increased by $3,000


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Through a collective group of more than 4,000 pet adoption agencies, facilities and rescue groups, Home 4 the Holidays has become the largest pet adoption campaign on record, saving more than 10 million pets since its inception in 1999. The campaign saves the lives of thousands of orphan pets during the holiday season and educates the public about the importance of choosing pet adoption.
For the fourth year, Helen Woodward Animal Center is excited to partner with Blue Buffalo for this impactful program. The pet food company not only provides impressive national marketing to spread the word about adopting over the holiday season, but also distributes “Adoption Kits” to all participating rescue facilities to gift to each new pet parent who takes home an orphan pet throughout the campaign.
Home 4 the Holidays DC features 40+ animal rescue organizations, promoting the responsible adoption of pets during the holidays when more families add pets to their households than at any other time of the year. The event will also feature local pet-related retail exhibitors and fun for the kids! Free to the public! Rain or shine!


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World of Speed: Ford Mustang GT vs. Chevrolet Camaro
Mad Studios and My.com have released a new trailer today that pits two iconic muscle cars, the Ford Mustang GT and Chevrolet Camaro SS, against each other in the massively online racing game, World of Speed. The modern day Mustang and Camaro continue their historic rivalry with a race through the streets of San Francisco, complete with ninety degree turns, twisting hills and bridge straightaways that push both cars to their limits.
Players that want to jump into the passenger seat of the Mustang GT or Camaro SS early can join the upcoming World of Speed closed beta via: http://wos.my.com/
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November 26, 2020News
CHOOOSE joins Tech5’s network of top technology companies across Europe and is considered one of Europe’s hottest scale-ups by TNW and Adyen as part of Tech5 2020.
"It's a big honour for CHOOOSE to be part of the Tech5 network, and a major acknowledgement that our technology is ranked amongst the best of the best in Europe", says CEO of CHOOOSE, Andreas Slettvoll.
CHOOOSE builds climate tools providing everything a business needs to deliver credible, seamless climate compensation options to its consumers. World-leading travel, mobility, and consumer brands use CHOOOSE to elevate their customer experience with impactful and trusted climate protection solutions.
Tech5 is the leading showcase for Europe’s fastest-growing scale-ups, giving tech-companies the opportunity to join a network of the best companies, investors, and experts from across the continent.
“Every year the Tech5 competition gets harder and harder, and this year’s level definitely exceeded our expectations. European businesses truly embrace innovation and creativity now more than ever, and we are happy to give these companies a platform to meet like-minded entrepreneurs,” says Roelant Prins, Chief Commercial Officer of Adyen.
Here you can find the full overview of the country winners of this year’s Tech5 2020:
Refurbed (Austria), Cowboy (Belgium), Neuron Soundware (Czech Republic), Dixa (Denmark), eAgronom (Estonia), Wolt (Finland), Stuart (France), Tier Mobility (Germany), Codecool (Hungary), Urban Volt (Ireland), Milkman (Italy), Ziticity (Lithuania), SwapFiets (The Netherlands), CHOOOSE (Norway), Tylko (Poland), Defined Crowd (Portugal), Jeff (Spain), Cellink (Sweden), Ava (Switzerland), and Starling Bank (UK).
About Tech 5
The Tech5 showcases the hottest young scale-ups in all European countries based on their performance, growth, and potential. Criteria include notable investment rounds, team growth, media coverage and social impact.
For more information, visit https://tech5.io/


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Ainsworth Game Technology Limited announced today that the Company has entered into an online content licensing agreement with Playtech Limited (Playtech), an international designer, developer and licensor of software and services for the online, mobile, TV and land-based gaming industry.
The cooperation between the two companies will feature Ainsworth’s most popular game titles made available via the Ainsworth GameConnect remote gaming server across all Playtech platforms in regulated UK and European online sites for desktop, mobile and tablet devices.
Danny Gladstone, CEO of AGT commented “Playtech is a renowned industry leader online and we very excited in partnering with them to expand our market leading land based slot content to new consumer audiences in the online industry.”
Shay Segev, COO of Playtech, said: “The Ainsworth game supply agreement is our first partnership with the world’s leading land-based content providers whose games will be distributed across all our channels. This will give our existing and future online licensees access to proven, premium, localised land-based content, enriching both our and our licensees’ casino offerings as well as giving their players access to an even greater choice of quality titles.


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California (Department of Technology) – 06/02/2022. 16:59
Apple may unveil a new iPhone and an updated iPad at a low cost
- The new phone will be the first update to the iPhone SE model in two years, and it will include the capabilities of the fifth generation network
- Last October, Apple announced two new MacBook Pro models with more powerful processors
According to reports from media sources, including “Bloomberg”, it may be presented Camel Next March, a low-cost 5G iPhone and an updated iPad.
According to reports, the new phone will be the first update to the iPhone SE model in two years, and it will include the capabilities of the fifth generation network, an improved camera and a faster processor.
The new iPad will be the iPad Air, which will feature a faster processor and 5G network capabilities as well.
Apple is planning a new “Mac” with processors designed by the company, which could be announced in March as well.
Last October, Apple announced two new models of the MacBook Pro, the company’s laptop, with more powerful processors.
But the report indicated that with about a month left for the expected launch, Apple could change the plan and might face production delays or other obstacles.
It is noteworthy that Apple has overcome the global shortage of digital processors, and recorded record sales last January, exceeding estimates and expectations of profits.


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Courtney Stodden - A variety of celebrities were snapped on arrival as they attended the Star Hollywood Rocks presents Jason Derulo event which was held at The Argyle Hollywood in Los Angeles, California, United States - Wednesday 15th April 2015
Plastic Martyr, Courtney Stodden and Anderson Brooks - Shots from the Art Heart Fashion Show as stars Arrived at the Taglyan Complex in Los Angeles, California, United States - Wednesday 15th October 2014
Courtney Stodden - American TV personality Courtney Stodden was photographed as she arrived at the 2014 Art Love and Fashion Show wearing w revealing black and silver dress in Los Angeles, California, United States - Tuesday 14th October 2014
Courtney Stodden and Doug Hutchinson have reportedly ended their three year 'controversial' marriage.
Stodden married Hutchinson when she was 16 and he was 51, on May 20th 2011.
RadarOnline reported that a source close to the 19 year-old told the website, "Courtney has called it quits on her marriage."
Continue reading: Courtney Stodden Ends 3 Year Marriage To Doug Hutchinson
Saved By The Bell star Dustin Diamond and actor Doug Hutchison's teenage wife Courtney Stodden are among the famous faces giving up their privacy for...


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The next Galaxy M-series phone from Samsung may be coming to an offline store near you, according to a new ET report. The Galaxy M-series, to recall, has been an online-only affair in India since launch. The Galaxy M line-up is sold via Amazon India and Samsung’s own e-store.
The lineup – which is an exclusive to the Indian market – was launched earlier in the year to take on Xiaomi’s Redmi lineup. Not only has Samsung opted to sell these Galaxy M phones online-only, it has also adopted a flash sales model for a few models – like the Galaxy M10 and Galaxy M20 – to generate hype.
That said, Samsung bringing an online-only series offline won’t be totally surprising. Xiaomi has been bringing more and more of its phones to brick-and-mortar stores as well. With Samsung’s pan India reach, the Galaxy M-series, which has been witnessing positive response from buyers, is surely to help the company reach more buyers.
But more than anything, the move will help offline sellers gain traction from buyers who’re increasingly flocking to online channels tempted by schemes and offers. In some cases, there’s also a price disparity – online prices are generally more aggressive than their offline counterparts. Although the ET report suggests Samsung may launch its next Galaxy M phone offline “at the same time and same price,” which could be an interesting proposition.
The Galaxy M-series made its debut in February this year with the Galaxy M10 and Galaxy M20 phones. Samsung has since added a slew of options to the line-up with competitive specs and competitive pricing. Its latest Galaxy M phone, aka Galaxy M30s, brings a Super AMOLED display, 4GB RAM and 64GB storage, 48MP triple rear cameras, and a ginormous 6,000mAh battery with USB Type-C fast charging, for Rs 13,999.
Samsung is yet to announce its next Galaxy M phone, but going by the nature of the line-up, the company may start dropping hints about it soon enough.


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J.C. Penney reported a smaller loss in the second quarter as the department store operator’s sales improved, fueled by such moves as bringing back appliances and refreshing other areas of the store.
Its shares edged up in premarket trading,
The news is encouraging, but Penney still faces an uphill climb as it continues to claw its way back after a catastrophic reinvention plan under former CEO Ron Johnson sent sales and profits into a free fall in 2012 and 2013. Business has stabilized, though it has yet to fully recover.
Under Marvin Ellison, who has been CEO since August 2015, Penney is looking for new ways to increase sales while playing catch up in e-commerce. One area that it’s betting on is appliances. Penney is getting back in the business after more than 30 years. Penney is also expanding its Sephora beauty shops and is updating its beauty salons now branded Salon by InStyle
Still, like other department stores, J.C. Penney faces big challenges. Shoppers are shifting their money away from clothing toward experiences like beauty treatments and furnishing their home. And when they do buy clothing, they are increasingly going to off-price stores like T.J. Maxx or online. In fact, Amazon.com is expected to surpass Macy’s as the largest online clothing seller next year, according to some analysts.
After a tough start to the year, Macy’s, Kohl’s and Nordstrom all reported second quarter results Thursday that showed an improvement. But they’re all trying to reinvent themselves from offering more exclusive merchandise to pushing online services. They’re also pruning their fleet. Macy’s, the nation’s largest department store chain has been the most aggressive, announcing Thursday that it plans to shutter 100 stores by early next year.
Penney, based in Plano, Texas, reported a loss of $56 million, or 18 cents per share, in the quarter ended July 30. That compares with a loss of $117 million, or 38 cents per share a year ago.
Adjusted for certain items, the loss was five cents per share, which much smaller than the 14 cent loss estimated by FactSet.
Revenue increased 1.5 percent to $2.92 billion from $2.87 billion. That was slightly below the $2.93 billion estimate from FactSet.
Revenue at stores opened rose 2.2 percent, which matched the estimate from Wall Street analysts. In the first quarter, the company reported a 0.4 percent dip in in that measure, reversing five straight quarters of growth.
Its shares rose 15 cents, or 1.5 percent, to $10.09 in premarket trading Friday about 30 minutes before Friday’s the market open.
Penney shares have climbed 49 percent since the beginning of the year. The stock has climbed 19 percent in the last 12 months.


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COVID-19 is hurting businesses in Canandaigua
This content is being provided for free as a public service to our readers during the coronavirus outbreak. Please support local journalism by subscribing to the Daily Messenger: https://mpnnow.com/subscribenow
CANANDAIGUA — Business certainly has changed for Expressions in Needleart.
Thanks to the novel coronavirus outbreak, fewer people are walking through the door of Lorie Maloletszy’s business on Main Street.
But, after two customers inquired about the availability of knitting, needlepoint and counted cross stitch supplies, Maloletszy hit on an idea — she would pack them up and run them out to the customer parked curbside, so he or she wouldn’t have to come into the store.
Customer service and social distancing, all knit together in one package that shows the creativity of doing business in this uncertain time.
“People need to feel safe and feel you’re thinking of them,” Maloletszy said.
She, like others, is hopeful they will weather the coronavirus storm — somehow, someway — although many acknowledge it won’t be easy.
Downtown is alive and well, said Denise Chaapel, who owns the Sweet Expressions chocolates and candy store and is manager of the downtown Canandaigua Business Improvement District.
Business owners are taking all of the recommended safety precautions and many are posting signs on their doors and windows alerting customers of their actions, Chaapel said.
Still, business owners have expressed concerns about letting staff go, which is “the hardest part,” Chaapel said.
The hope is to get the message out for “locals to support locals,” Chaapel said.
“It’s all about everybody working together,” Chaapel said. “We will be here. We have a group of 100 small businesses. We’ll make it work.”
That message of togetherness is consistent, as the Canandaigua Chamber of Commerce is building a resource base and when it goes live, the URL will match the hashtag already in use: #CHAMBEResilient, according to Executive Director Ethan Fogg.
“We’re a small business and we’re investing our time, talent and connections to keep people informed and connected,” Fogg said. “Because together, we can do anything.”
State Sen. Pam Helming, R-Canandaigua, and state Assemblyman Colin J. Schmitt, a downstate Republican, are proposing help to small businesses in the way of legislation.
They are calling for the creation of a $890 million Small Business Emergency Assistance Fund for New York.
The $890 million would come from state settlement funds that are earmarked for use during economic uncertainty. The monies would be distributed by the state through grants, loans and emergency assistance relief to small businesses in New York impacted by the coronavirus outbreak.
This is a necessary step to protect local job-creating small businesses, said Helming, who is ranking member of the Senate Standing Committee on Commerce, Economic Development and Small Business.
“I see the obstacles our small businesses face on a daily basis and the red tape they must continuously push through,” Helming said in a prepared statement. “The economic environment of our area relies upon the success of small business, agriculture and tourism. With new challenges related to the coronavirus, I will be leading the efforts to bring much needed assistance to these small businesses as we work to complete the state budget.”
The hope is that help comes sooner, rather than later; as Chrissy Colabatistto, owner of Wally’s Pub in Canandaigua, put it, the unknown is “scary.”
Uncle Sam’s Antiques, like other small businesses, has seen a downtick in business since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus.
Mike Mrocinski, who on this day was sweeping the front step of his Main Street, Canandaigua, business, said he hopes it’s not one of those things where people keep saying it will be OK, and it’s still here six months later.
“You want it to run its course as quickly as possible and get through this with the least amount of impact as possible,” Mrocinski said.


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Micronas and Planetweb Join Forces
Micronas, a supplier of innovative application-specific IC system solutions for consumer electronics, announces an alliance with Planetweb, a provider of embedded software and developer tools for the consumer electronics industry, to produce fully featured reference designs for IPTV and Hybrid IPTV/Digital Broadcast Television set-top boxes. The product designs incorporate both the Micronas DeCypher DHM 8100 High-Definition Multi-format Decoder and Planetweb's SpectraWorks user interface platform and applications. The combined technology solution will be demonstrated at a Micronas sponsored event to be held during the IFA Trade Fair at The Hotel Adlon in Berlin from September 1-4, 2006 and at the IBC Trade Fair in Amsterdam from September 8-12, 2006.
write your comments about the article :: © 2006 Exhibition News :: home page


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Pay day loans orem. The industry the next has more stores compared to the quantity of 7 Elevens, McDonald s, Burger Kings and Wendy s in Utah combined.Pay time loans orem. The industry the next has more stores compared to the quantity of 7 Elevens, McDonald s, Burger Kings and Wendy s in Utah combined
Alot more Utah metropolitan facilities restrict the levels of pay day loan stores which offer bi weekly loans, or in front of the payday that is next for about 500 % yearly interest the as soon as explosive development considering the fact that industry has cooled right here. The number of such offline shops expanded by 5 per cent in Utah this from 380 to 399, centered on Deseret Ideas analysis of enrollment information distributed by the Utah Department of finance institutions year.
Furthermore, another 65 advance loan providers based not even close to state are registered to work with in Utah through the mail or internet. Meaning last amount of many associated with payday lenders registered to found in the state expanded from 447 year this is certainly last 464 this current one year.
That development cost completed up being comparable. But it really is much sluggish in comparison to current years. Abdominal muscles payday that is provider that is first in Utah. Their figures expanded to 17. and then it exploded to 427 stores and online organizations being monetary.
Western Valley City became stomach muscles city that is first restrict what amount of cash loan providers it might probably enable within its edges.
Through the time then, such metropolitan facilities as US Fork, Draper, Midvale, Murray, Orem, Sandy, Southern Salt Lake, Southern Jordan, Taylorsville, western Jordan and unincorporated Salt Lake County offer restricted their figures. Salt Lake City and Provo will also be limits that are considering. Most limit them to 1 or maybe more shop per 10,000 or more residents Р“СћРІвЂљВ¬ which will permits you can forget shops become built.
The industry claims the growth this is really slowing due mostly to maturing and saturation due to the industry, and possesses little connected to restrictions by metropolitan facilities although experts using this industry disagree.
Wendy Gibson, spokeswoman when it comes to Utah consumer Lending Association for payday lenders, states its people believe the growth this is really moderate precisely precisely precisely how loan that is numerous from the continuing state of Utah could possibly be due to the maturing through the industry, also itвЂ™s additionally similar to development by finance institutions or credit unions.
The zoning restrictions enacted by some municipalities has gotten little to do along with the maturation, she reported. Gibson included that such restrictions have inked a little more than hamper consumers ability to have the numerous loan that is convenient, and thus it can limit competition.
But, data reveal some development that is big in places where restrictions weren t yet set http://paydayloanscalifornia.net/ up but have been under consideration.
The amount that is true of time loan stores expanded from 30 to 38 in Salt Lake City, which is considering a ban but have not yet enacted it for instance. The numbers in unincorporated Salt Lake County expanded to 16 now from nine one year this is really last in front of the county enacted a moratorium then as time goes on limitations that are permanent the figures it would likely enable. That is an example that the few organizations making the effort to start outlets anywhere they may be able prior to the house closes, claimed Linda Hilton, a payday this is certainly online critic and manager associated with Coalition for Religious Communities.
Her team and the like have actually battled town by city for limitations through the industry after failing continually to convince the Legislature to limit it.
pay day loans stay the worst financial option that any client could make, she stated because (based on a 2005 Deseret Information show) such creditors charge an ordinary 521 % yearly interest from the loans, or just around $20 per $100 lent in financing this is certainly bi weekly. Mafia loan sharks into the 1960s charged merely 250 %.
Nevertheless, the industry claims loans that are such many situations are actually a less alternative this is actually high priced the indegent than things such as for instance bouncing checks or having to pay belated costs on lease or resources. In addition it states almost all of clients have the ability to pay the loans. Gibson reported the bucks that is typical debtor has a home team earnings of $42,000.
Nevertheless, the Deseret Suggestions discovered early whenever you glance at the this that lawsuits by payday loan providers for standard on the loans are swamping Utah courts day year. They taken into consideration 58 % of numerous claims that are small circumstances filed in Utah in 2010 this is certainly previous. In Provo, 81 percent of several claims that are small had been certainly filed by pay loan providers day.
new data reveal that the towns utilizing the most useful degrees of unsecured guarantor loan providers are: Salt Lake City, 38; Ogden, 24; Orem, 23; Layton, 20; and St. George, 18. a total that is general of towns plus Salt this is certainly unincorporated Lake have in fact really actually at least one advance loan shop. Also, data expose that 195 for the 399 loan that is payday if you feel the continuing state moreover offer vehicle name loans. Those loans frequently charge about 300 per cent yearly interest for the thirty day loan guaranteed in full by vehicles and automobiles name. If borrowers standard, they lose their automobiles. Their state has 231РІР‚С–title that is total, counting those that provide merely such loans alternatively than moreover improvements that are payday.


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|HOME | INFOTECH | HEADLINES|
|October 6, 1997||
Soletron may buy stake in PCL hardware unitThe cash-strapped computer group, PCL, is close to selling off a substantial equity, which could be up to a majority stake, in its high-tech computer motherboard unit at Gurgaon to Soletron, the US-based $3.5 billion giant.
The Gurgaon facility was recently hived off as a 100 per cent subsidiary of Altos, the group's hardware manufacturing arm. PCL Limited is the marketing and servicing arm of the over Rs 13.5 billion group.
PCL is also negotiating with ING Baring's equity fund to pick up an equity
The PCL group's plan is to use the cash generated through equity sale to finance its working capital needs, acute shortage of which has forced the company to drastically slash the production of PCs.
At the same time, financial institutions including IDBI and ICICI are preparing a debt restructuring package for the company which is likely to be finalised soon. The Gurgaon unit has piled up debts worth nearly Rs 250 million.
Leading management consultants Arthur Andersen, appointed to evaluate the business prospects of Altos Limited, has made an indicative valuation of the Gurgaon unit at Rs 900 million to Rs 1.2 billion.
Sources indicated that besides investing in the equity, the Us company, which is the second largest contract manufacturing outfit in the world, is also interested in management of the Gurgaon Electronic Hardware Technology Park facility.
Soletron is also considering a proposal to establish its global training facility at Gurgaon and has asked for more time from the PCL group to work out the details of the plan.
The 100 per cent subsidiary undertakes contract manufacturing jobs using the sophisticated surface mounted technology to make PC motherbords for leading OEMs.
- Compiled from the Indian media
INFOTECH | TRAVEL | LIFE/STYLE | FREEDOM | FEEDBACK


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Brewer InBev has appointed ad agency Mother to handle the global advertising account for its Stella Artois brand.
The agency, which earlier this year picked up the ad account to launch Stella's new 4% variant, won the global business after a protracted two-way pitch against Publicis.
"We can confirm that Stella Artois has selected the agency Mother, to work on Stella Artois' new global advertising campaign," said an InBev spokeswoman.
The appointment ends a pitch process that begun in August after Stella Artois and ad agency Lowe parted company after 26 years, bringing to an end one of adland's most enduring and creatively lauded relationships.
Lowe made Stella Artois famous with its "Reassuringly expensive" strapline and big budget cinematic ad campaigns.
Last month Mother launched a major ad campaign, including its first TV work for Stella, to launch the brand's new 4% "smooth" lager in the UK.
The TV ad features a lothario on the French Riviera in the 1960s who makes a slick getaway after charming a bikini-clad woman.
This year also marked the close of Stella Artois's 30-year relationship with the eponymous tennis tournament at the Queen's Club in London in the runup to Wimbledon.
Lowe came up with the idea for the Queen's Club sponsorship, but in recent years the Stella brand name has been dropped from the association.
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William Hill has been fined a record £19 million for breaches of the strict rules around gambling that are intended to protect consumers.
The breaches, described as “widespread and alarming” failures on social responsibility and anti-money-laundering regulations, led to an unprecedented penalty announced at the end of March by the UK’s Gambling Commission.
The news made the whole sector sit up and take notice, particularly as it came just weeks before the publication of a whitepaper which will herald new rules on responsibility around betting.
The company admitted a string of transgressions of existing consumer protection rules, including allowing some customers to lose tens of thousands of pounds within minutes of opening an account.
Some of the most extreme malpractice examples took place during Covid-19 lockdowns, when the Commission, which regulates the gaming industry, had specifically warned bookmakers that the public, isolated and bored as they were, were particularly vulnerable to developing problems around gambling.
Admittedly it’s a relatively small amount compared to turnover: the 888 Group, which owns William Hill, reported £1.85 billion in revenue for the year up to the end of December. But despite what some anti-gambling lobbyists might like people to believe – that these kinds of fines are a price that unscrupulous companies are willing to pay to be able to exploit the public – this is very much not true. WIlliam Hill’s breaches were almost certainly down to systemic failures rather than any deliberate and therefore cynical attempt to ignore the rules.
How can we be sure? Well firstly take note that the regulator said it had seriously considered suspending William Hill’s licence – something it has never done before – and only decided against this when the company worked rapidly to make changes. When they’re turning over nearly £2 billion a year, would they really want to risk being shut down?
Secondly the fines are much, much bigger than any amount they made by rule breaches.
And finally there’s the reputational damage to the William Hill brand to consider: this story was leading the BBC news on the day it came out, making it a huge PR own goal.
Put simply, the company didn’t have systems in place that would let it know in sufficient detail who was using their services: their insight into the identity of and issues around their customers just wasn’t up to scratch.
Had they been on top of this they could and should have been able to identify issues around these problem accounts at the point of onboarding.
Industry research shows that 89% of gambling and gaming transactions are carried out on a mobile device. That means that the key to being able to spot problem customers – those who have previously self-certified as having issues, for example – lies in their phone numbers. Because their data history and their live status tell a very detailed story.
Is the person who has registered with you and asking to place a bet really who they say they are? Are they really using the telephone number they say they’re using?
When you’re dealing with problem gamblers the history of their phone usage is very likely the single verifiable piece of information in the picture they present.
These are the sorts of checks that companies like ours are able to perform in a fraction of a second to a very high degree of accuracy. And failing to set up to ensure these checks are made as a matter of routine has cost William Hill £19 million.
Regulators have been more and more steely on these issues in recent years – and the penalties for any breaches have been getting more severe: the previous record fine in the field, for example, had only been set last August when Entain, the parent company of Ladbrokes and Coral, was fined £17 million for a similar series of failures.
When that gambling whitepaper comes out – which could be any day now – and in all likelihood sets out even tougher consumer protection rules for his sector, this function will only become even more critical.
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According to internal sources, Samsung Electronics Co. is about to release a new smartphone, a variant of its Galaxy Note 10, marketed under the name of KlaytnPhone and featuring applications based on blockchain technology.
A certainly arduous task in an era in which many consumers are still confused by everything related to crypto. According to some rumours, Samsung’s new smartphone will be sold starting from Thursday, but only in South Korea.
KlaytnPhone represents a real step by Samsung towards this technology that is slow to establish itself in everyday life and that not everyone can understand. As a result of this development, Samsung joins Ground X Corp., the creator of the Klaytn platform.
Ground X itself has repeatedly pointed out that the commitment is to bring blockchain technology into everyday life. The release of KlaytnPhone is expected to take place just the day before the launch of Galaxy Fold, Samsung’s new flagship smartphone that folds like a book and was presented at the beginning of the year at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona.
As for size and hardware, Samsung’s new smartphone will be identical to the Galaxy Note 10, with no aesthetic or internal differences, apart from the crypto wallet and the support for blockchain technology, with an estimated price of around $1000.
It will feature an internal wallet for cryptocurrencies, whereas buyers will receive Klay, a new cryptocurrency.
The blockchain-apps running on Klaytn are accessible from any Android operating system, but only KlaytnPhone will boast the full range of services.
Even if Samsung’s new smartphone were to take off, there would be no huge sales as South Korea is only a fraction of the company’s business. The CSLA predicts that in August, the company will sell about 10 million Galaxy Note 10 worldwide.


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Sad news that the Old Sale Rooms is closing down. Since 2011 when Jane Osborne reopened the former church as a vintage emporium and café, the Mantle St business has become a Wellington landmark.
“We’d like to thank all our customers over the past almost three years and say we’ll miss you popping into The Old Sale Rooms,” said Jane “We won’t be reopening after the festive break.
“It’s been an amazing time as a business as well as socially, but there just never seem to be enough hours in the day and we’re exhausted.”
“So [almost] EVERYTHING MUST GO, we’re turning our end of year sale into a CLOSING DOWN SALE with some ever more AMAZING BARGAINS.
“The Old Sale Rooms closes for the last time on Saturday 20th December so come and visit as soon as you can!
Jane & Rick, and Nebbie, of course, wish everyone a Very Merry Christmas & Happy New Year.


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Lindsay Bzdok's great retail discovery came 18 months ago when she was looking for a pair of jeans and didn't like what she saw at the usual suspects: Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF ), Old Navy (GPS ), Express (LTD ). So the 23-year-old computer-systems major at Madonna University in Livonia, Mich., ventured into terra incognita: a Nordstrom department store. There she found the perfect jeans. "Nordstrom's had 10 different brand names and 10 different styles," she marvels. Over the past year, the intrepid Bzdok has planted her flag in other parts of the store: Now she gets her cosmetics, bedding, and dressier clothes there, too.
Bzdok would seem to be an unlikely success story for department stores. With many of their core family customers fleeing to the likes of Kohl's, Target (TGT ), specialty stores, and the Internet, department stores' share of retail sales has shrunk from 9.5% to 6.4% in the past decade. Lately, though, most major chains have cranked up efforts to bring in a new generation of shoppers by reconfiguring stores, adding amenities from tea shops to tattoo parlors, and offering more inviting private-label apparel.
CUT TO THE GOOD STUFF
Given department stores' stodgy image, those efforts might seem to stand as much chance as portly Uncle Bill winning a skateboard contest. Nevertheless, some retail watchers are picking up the first glimmers that the strategy may be working. An influential annual survey of 17,000 consumers conducted by Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu this fall found that the number of consumers planning to shop in a department store during the holidays jumped from 37% last year to 50% this year. And the gains were driven entirely by consumers age 18 to 34. "It's too early to call it a trend, but it's still a remarkable change," says Tara L. Weiner, national managing partner of Deloitte's consumer business practice.
The boost can't come too soon. After a solid back-to-school season buoyed by consumers' tax-refund checks, department stores saw sales slide 3.9% in October. Major chains such as Federated Department Stores Inc. (FD ) and May Department Stores Co. (MAY ) have managed to raise their operating profits by improving efficiency and shuttering unproductive stores in bad locations, but they haven't figured out how to get their top lines growing. That's where younger shoppers come in: They represent the future, and in contrast to time-pressed families seeking convenience at discounters and strip malls, young shoppers are hanging out in the malls anyway.
To get them in the door, department stores have undertaken an unprecedented bout of experimentation. Some are creating separate entrances that go straight to the apparel sections without forcing customers to navigate a clutter of cosmetics and handbag counters. Others, such as Neiman Marcus Group Inc. (NMG ) and Bloomingdale's, are creating more theatrical environments that use music and light to mimic the excitement young shoppers have learned to expect from specialty stores. On State Street in downtown Chicago, Marshall Field's turned over some of its real estate to popular specialty apparel vendors such as London shirtmaker Thomas Pink.
If there are some glimmers of hope, department stores' ability to screw up their prospects should never be underestimated. Some of the most intriguing experiments so far are limited to a handful of downtown stores or those in high-end malls, while many stores are messy and help is impossible to find. And while apparel offerings have improved, many are still cut for the older core customer. "I'm a size zero," sniffs Teresa Fralish, 20, a University of Notre Dame student from Mishawaka, Ind. "They don't really carry that size at department stores."
Still, the best news may be the growing evidence that, to win over younger shoppers, department stores simply need to get better at being what they used to be: beautifully designed emporiums that gather unique products in one place. If department stores can deliver that, they may have a chance.
By Gerry Khermouch in New York, with Robert Berner and Ann Therese Palmer in Chicago, and Anand Natarajan in Atlanta


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Choline is an essential nutrient linked to so many incredible health benefits, but chances are you haven’t heard much about it.
A relative newcomer to the nutrient scene, choline is a vitamin-like nutrient that’s crucial to your body’s function. But, a shocking 90 per cent of Australians aren’t getting enough choline, so Starts at 60 spoke to Sharon Natoli, director at Food and Nutrition Australia, to find out why choline is so good for you and how you can easily include it in your diet.
Choline is not very well known, but it has been the subject of a number of studies in recent years, the Sydney-based dietician explains.
Choline plays an important role in many processes in your body, including fat and cholesterol transport, energy metabolism, and cell and nerve signalling.
Studies have also shown a link between choline intake and Alzheimer’s disease. A recent study published in August 2019 in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that choline is associated with a reduced risk of dementia.
There is also evidence that a choline-rich diet builds stronger bones, Natoli explains. This is particularly important in older adults, as everyone gradually loses muscle and bone mass as they get older, and if not addressed, weaker muscles and bones can impact your strength and balance over time.
Meanwhile, a higher intake of choline is also associated with a reduced risk of heart and liver disease.
Although your body produces some choline naturally, most of us don’t produce enough to meet the body’s requirements, so adding choline to your diet is super important.
Natoli recommends eating choline daily – according to the National Health and Medical Research Council, the recommended daily intake for choline is
Choline can be found in foods such as eggs, meat, fish and dairy, as well as some green vegetables, fruits and whole grains. However, eggs are the best, providing more than double the amount of choline per 100g than other choline-rich foods.
Apart from whipping up boiled or scrambled eggs every day, Natoli says choline can be prepared in a number of ways. When it comes to quick and tasty dinners, it’s hard to go past a delicious leafy green salad topped with red meat or tuna. If you follow a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle tofu or lentils are a fantastic meat substitute, Natoli advises.
And if you’re short on time, an omelette filled with choline-rich veggies, such as mushrooms, broccoli and beans, served on wholegrain toast is also a winner.
“An omelette [filled with] vegetables is a great idea for breakfast to give you a good start,” Natoli advises.
Or try whipping up a veggie-packed frittata or a classic salmon patty for dinner (they make a yummy snack for the next day).
Sound delicious? Here’s a tasty frittata recipe from Australian Eggs.
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Yellow Card, a cryptocurrency exchange focused on Africa, recently announced the closing of its $40 million Series B investment round. Just over a year after raising $15 million from its Series A round, the exchange announced the details of its latest capital raise.
A $40 million Series B funding round for Africa-focused cryptocurrency exchange Yellow Card was recently announced as closed. The cryptocurrency exchange stated that it will use the funds received to “foster strategic collaborations across Africa” as well as to fund new product development.
Funds to be used for the development of new products
The exchange platform’s recent round of fundraising, led by Polychain Capital, included Raba Partnership, Jon Weiner, Alex Wilson and Pat Duffy, as well as Valar Ventures, Third Prime Ventures, Sozo Ventures, Castle Island Ventures, Fabric Ventures and DG Daiwa Ventures.
African interest in crypto
Yellow Card Chief Executive Officer and co-founder Chris Maurice added the following in the remarks accompanying the statement:
According to a report published by Bitcoin.com News in September last year, Yellow Card has raised $15 million in its Series A funding round. Third Prime, Castle Island Ventures, Square, Coinbase Ventures and Blockchain.com Ventures joined Valar Ventures to lead this round.
Our team has worked nonstop for the past three years to produce a product of the highest quality while making this technology available to everyone. This fundraiser in this area not only shows the tenacity of our team, but also underlines how important and sought after cryptocurrencies are in Africa.
For his part, Will Wolf, a partner at Polychain Capital, commended the Yellow Card team for their flexibility in responding to “the unique opportunities and requirements of the various African markets”.
Since the last fundraising, Yellow Card has opened operations in four other African countries: Gabon, Senegal, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the cryptocurrency trading platform claims. There are now 16 African nations where Yellow Card does business.
Summary of the news:
- Yellow Card, a cryptocurrency exchange focused on Africa, raises $40 million in a Series B round
- Check all the news and articles from the latest business news updates.


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Word on internet has it Archos is planning to launch a new tablet in the market — the Archos 97 Carbon. This one’s a 9.7-inch tablet powered by a single core ARM Cortex A8 1GHz processor and based on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system.
Specification include 1GB RAM, 16GB storage, 9.7-inch IPS display (1024×768), and microSD card slot.
Archos 97 Carbon also provide WiFi, 0.3MP front camera, 2MP rear camera, micro USB, and HDMI.
Archos 97 Carbon tablet will be launched in second half of this year for $249.


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As of Tuesday, August 11, 2015
OKANOGAN A medicinal pot store on Elmway was raided last month and its inventory seized by the North Central Washington Narcotics Task Force.
Alternative Medicine Okanogan and Grow Okanogan, 2163 Elmway, offered medical marijuana and medical products, and gardening supplies.
The case will be referred to the Okanogan County Prosecutor’s Office for possible charging, Okanogan County Sheriff’s Office Chief Criminal Deputy Steve Brown said.
Prosecuting Attorney Karl Sloan said he hasn’t yet reviewed the case.
An investigation began last November after the store opened, in light of changes in medical marijuana laws after the 2012 passage of Initiative 502 legalizing recreational marijuana, Brown said.
Task force operatives allegedly made five purchases at the store, some by customers with medical marijuana cards and some without.
No arrests were made.
Brown said store co-owner Don Manchester apparently has a marijuana producer’s license. Initiative 502 prevents producers from operating retail operations.
According to information provided to The Chronicle about the store when it opened last fall, Manchester and Janie Wallace co-owned the store. Managers were Diane Manchester and Aleta Sewell, and operators were Duncan Wallace, Brianne Hubbard and Michael Dean.
The Alternative Medicine portion of the store offered medical cannabis and products to medical marijuana patients only.
Grow Okanogan offered gardening supplies.


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While progressive ideas like sustainability and inclusive fashion strutted as the main attraction on Arab Fashion Week’s catwalk Saturday, the buying power of attendees and of regional fashion consumers is shifting behind the scenes.
The Dubai Design District’s quarterly event hosted 35 designers from across the region and globally, including the sustainable start-up brand Atelier Forger — the first Syrian label to debut in the history of the event.
“It’s black and white,” said Tarek Abou Samra, the brand’s creator, describing the simple classic-chic style of his clothing line — and also the dire need to be sustainable, as the future of the planet, and fashion, depend on it.
Syrian designer Tarek Abou Samra walks on stage after displaying his women’s fashion line at Arab Fashion Week in Dubai, Oct. 14, 2022.
“Fashion is the second-most polluting industry in the world,” said the creative designer, who practices slow fashion, or conscious fashion that focuses on quality rather than quantity to support the local environment and craftspeople.
For materials, he uses an organic supply chain of slower-to-produce cotton to avoid damaging chemicals and high water consumption. To manufacture, he works with a handful of hand-picked artisans in Beirut to create his signature forged brass buttons.
“This is the part of fashion you don’t see,” said Abou Samra, who believes that the global fashion industry lacks transparency and that buying ethical clothing is a growing priority among consumers.
As a whole, the fashion industry is responsible for 10 percent of the world’s annual global emissions, according to the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) in 2019, which is more than the annual impact of international flights and maritime shipping combined.
It is also resource-intensive, using significant amounts of water, land, and pesticides for the farming of raw materials, including cotton.
About 20 percent of wastewater worldwide comes from fabric dyeing and treatment. Half a million tons of plastic microfibers are dumped into the ocean yearly, which cannot be extracted from water and spreads through the food chain, the report stated.
Despite these figures, measuring the various impacts of fashion and retail on the environment is difficult, as it is interwoven into various industries.
“The Gulf is a heavy weight when it comes to retail,” said Mahdiah El-Jed, an environmental, social, and governance (ESG) and sustainability advisor in the UAE. Egypt, Jordan, Tunisia, Morocco, and Algeria are regional textile manufacturing hubs, she told Al-Monitor, and their economies depend on it.
“Tunisia and Morocco’s textile industry flourished due its proximity to Europe,” explained El-Jed, with Inditex, the parent company of Zara, producing fast fashion products and employing Moroccans.
“Similarly to the greenwashing problem of the fashion industry, we’ve seen the fashion industry pledge itself to bettering its diversity and inclusion practices in the past couple of years, with marketing attempts at showcasing diversity in ads and on the runway for example, all the while maintaining status quo when it comes to its workers working conditions, the majority of whom are people of color,” El-Jed told Al-Monitor.
But she said this is likely to change as fashion companies face increasing scrutiny from initiatives such as the Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action created by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), launched in 2018 at COP24 in Poland, to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 and keep global warming below 1.5 degrees.
As ESG ratings spread, investors will increasingly expect companies to be transparent on the treatment of all the workers in their supply chain, said the sustainability consultant, in addition to disclosing their environmental impacts, decarbonization efforts, climate risk exposure, and mitigation plans.
The global ethical fashion market size is expected to grow from $6.93 billion in 2021 to $7.57 billion in 2022, according to the Ethical Fashion Market Size and Growth Analysis report.
While this is still a tiny percentage of the greater $2.5 trillion dollar global fashion industry, reports McKinsey, it’s a growing market. And it has increasingly attracted the buying power of Arab shoppers.
“The MENA region is definitively becoming more interested and active in ethical retail,” said Celeste LoTurco, a director at PwC Middle East Government and Public Sector services.
About 75% of Middle East consumers say they buy from companies that are environmentally conscious, compared with 54% globally, according to a 2022 PwC report. Also, nearly 72% compared to 55% globally say they choose products with a traceable and transparent origin.
This consumer mindset has impacted the greater fashion and retail industry as well, said LoTurco. “North African manufacturers are integrating and promoting sustainability into their textile and fashion supply chains. The Moroccan government is providing incentives for fashion companies to be sustainably certified,” she added.
The UAE is among the most active countries in sustainable fashion, said LoTurco, establishing councils looking to develop a sustainable design industry and recognition of its designers in the region, in addition to launching initiatives such as online aggregators to collect luxury secondhand items.
Emergency Room Beirut models walk on the platform in unison to deliver the finale of the “Borderline” line at Arab Fashion Week in Dubai, Oct. 15, 2022. (Image courtesy of Emergency Room Beirut)
Some start-up brands feel that the burden of being sustainable still sits heavily on their shoulders in the regional industry.
Emergency Room Beirut designer and founder Eric Mathieu Ritter told Al-Monitor that he works with local artisans in Lebanon, paying them about ten times the standard salary for clothes makers.
“As a sustainable brand it's always very hard to come and arrive in a market that is not built for us,” said Ritter, describing the added finances and labor required to be a true slow fashion brand.
Fast fashion has a massive waste problem. Clothes production has doubled over past 15 years, yet only 1% of it is re-used to make new clothes, according to the World Economic Forum.
To contribute to the solution, Ritter created his entire clothing brand from upcycled materials, repurposing the fabric of old clothes he gathers from the streets of Beirut and Tripoli.
While he says succeeding as a sustainable brand in the industry is a constant struggle, he found encouragement from events such as Dubai’s Arab Fashion Week, where he shared his upcycled ready-to-wear collection called “Borderline” on the last day of the event to a supportive, and growing, audience.


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Seoul: Samsung Electronics, the world’s top maker of memory chips and LCD screens, posted a 72% drop in quarterly profit and said it was too early to call a recovery in demand or prices.
But a rebound in mobile phone margins helped Samsung, the world’s No.2 mobile maker after Nokia, beat market profit forecasts by some distance.
A battered global memory chip sector is showing some signs of emerging from a severe downturn as big production cuts have helped eased a supply glut, but Samsung remained cautious.
“We believe it is still premature to expect a global economy, as well as consumer demand, recovery in the near term,” said Robert Yi, head of Samsung’s investor relations.
He said a sharp recovery in the memory chip or LCD markets was unlikely, but Samsung aimed to outperform in semiconductors and mobiles.
Samsung shares fell 4.9% by 9:52am, in a flat market. Shares in South Korea’s biggest company had risen 39% this year through Thursday, beating the KOSPI’s 22% rise, with expectations that earnings could top forecasts fuelling recent gains.
Smaller rival Hynix Semiconductor Inc, the world’s No.2 memory chip maker, earlier reported a sixth straight quarterly loss, but forecast an upturn as chip prices recover.
Samsung’s semiconductor business posted a bigger-than-expected 17% operating loss margin, following a 14 percent loss margin in the fourth quarter.
The company forecast prices of its mainstay dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chips, mostly used to power personal computers, would rise in the low single digits this quarter, but added that oversupply would stifle big price rises.
“The memory chip market seems to have passed the most difficult stage ... but it’s too early to predict when prices will peak,” said S.R. Kwon, analyst at Hana Daetoo Securities. “It should also be noted that the rise comes from limited supply rather than increasing demand.”
Research firm iSuppli forecast memory chip prices would stabilise over the rest of this year but oversupply would still be acute. In a note dated Thursday, it kept its rating on near-term DRAM market conditions at “negative.”
Samsung’s January-March net profit fell to won619 billion ($458.1 million) from won2.19 trillion a year ago, but was well above an average forecast for won149 billion.
Operating profit was won148 billion, well below last year’s won2.15 trillion, but trumping expectations for a won152 billion loss.
Quarterly sales of won18.6 trillion also beat expectations.
Samsung said its telecoms margins surged to 12% from 2% in the fourth quarter, and it hoped to continue outperforming a shrinking broader market, focusing on high-end phones and marketing.
Nokia last week reported a 27% drop in quarterly sales and a first-ever pretax loss, and reaffirmed a forecast for a 10 percent decline in global cellphone market volumes this year.
But LG Electronics, Samsung’s home rival and the world’s No.3, said on Tuesday its mobile sales would rise more than 10 percent this quarter from the first.
Samsung’s LCD division reported a loss margin of 8%, unchanged from the previous quarter. Samsung said its LCD lines would run at full capacity this quarter, but cautioned prices may fall again if everyone ramps up output, triggering more oversupply.


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Today, Bloomberg reported that according to the Experian Group Ltd., British consumers made fewer visits to retail outlets in July, the third consecutive fall, as fears of an economic decline and rising energy and household bills deterred shoppers. Retail visits fell 2.6% from a year earlier and Experian forecasts sales volumes in the next 12 months will be ``the slowest period since the early 1990s.”
- McDonald’s management said on its recent 2Q08 earnings call that “even in spite of declining consumer confidence in the U.K., our sales, our guest counts, and our margins continued to grow in the second quarter and were a strong overall contributor to our overall results.”
- It is important to remember that MCD stated on its 4Q07 conference call back in January that “historically though McDonald's has not been as affected by a slowdown in consumer spending as other retailers because of our everyday affordability.” Although MCD’s U.S. comparable sales have held up relative to other restaurant companies after flattening in December and then turning slightly negative in March, its margins have suffered significantly (down every quarter since 1Q07). MCD’s U.S. margins have been hurt as more of its customers use the Dollar Menu. In 2Q, U.S same-store sales were up 3.4% with guest counts accounting for 75% of the growth. Pricing was up 4%, which implies negative mix or some trading down. MCD’s U.S business has been impacted by the economy and signs of a weakened economy in the U.K. will inevitably emerge in MCD’s Europe results as the U.K., France and Germany account for two-thirds of MCD’s operating income in Europe.
Everything levered to cheap money has either crashed, or is in the midst of crashing. Commodities of course were the hold out, until they had their worst month in 28 years (July).
In a market where access to capital continues to tighten alongside cost of capital rising, CASH IS KING.
- Keith R. McCullough
Chief Investment Officer
Research Edge, LLC
the macro show
what smart investors watch to win
Hosted by Hedgeye CEO Keith McCullough at 9:00am ET, this special online broadcast offers smart investors and traders of all stripes the sharpest insights and clearest market analysis available on Wall Street.
After this week's alarming Japanese economic data, I am much more comfortable being outright short Japan, than hedged with a qualitative catalyst, like China's upcoming Olympics.
China led Asian advancers overnight, closing up another +0.94% at 2939 on the Shanghai Index, which has equated to a +5.7% advance since July 1st, outperforming most major asset classes, globally, for the month.
Buy low, Sell High.
*Full Disclosure: I sold my FXI this morning into a strong open.
(chart courtesy of stockcharts.com)
Old bridges and their structures are being investigated, and rightly so...
For the first half of the year and after adjusting for inflation, average disposable income in urban areas has risen by 6.3% to 8,065 yuan (CNY) and average personal expenditure by 5.7% to CNY 5,490.
The official report continues that the growing and economically powerful middle classes are beginning to be concerned about the trend towards rising food prices.
ThePoultrySite News Desk


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Could there be a regional recycling center in the Magic Valley?
One of Idaho’s senators toured the Hilex Poly plant in south Jerome. The senator was shown the possibility of a regional recycling center. In recent years the plastic bag has caught a bad wrap; blamed for clogging up landfills. One company would like to change that image.
Senator Mike Crapo got a first hand tour of the Hilex Poly facility that has operated for 5 years in Jerome.
Crapo says, "What we learned here is that they can literally recycle again, again, and again a thousand times if necessary and take the plastic bag and make them back into plastic bags."
In many towns across the county, and right here in Idaho, there are movements to do away with plastic bags and they have legitimate concerns.
But, plant manager mike shoots says they want to educate the public on how to better use their product. How many times have put milk jugs in a bag that didn't need to be in one, or laundry detergent?
Schutz says, "We'd like to see those as well as anyone else not go back into the landfill but we'd rather, instead of banning those bags, bring them back to our facility through some type of recycling center and we'll re-use that material and that s our preference."
The company already collects used bags, you can find these bin in most grocery stores. They are then sent off to an Indiana recycling center to be made into new bags, and the company hopes to open a similar center right here in the Magic Valley.
According to Schutz, "We're the plant that is the gateway to the west coast. We think there's unique opportunities for one of those to be positioned here."
Crapo says, "This is an opportunity for us to become a center for expansion of that entire notion of reusing our natural resources and our materials rather than just sending them to landfills."
The facility already recycles on a small scale from within, any defective bag or cut off plastic is chopped up and sent back into the system to become a plastic bag. Basically there isn’t any waste.


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NASHVILLE, TENN. — Tecton Products, a formerly shy pultruder based in Fargo, N.D., now is trying to make its presence known.
The company, born as a supplier to majority owner Marvin Windows & Doors of Warroad, Minn., recently tripled its manufacturing capacity and is looking for custom work, Tecton President John Jambois said at the International Composites Expo '98, held Jan. 19-21 in Nashville. Tecton exhibited at the show for the first time.
Tecton's Fargo facility grew from 40,000 square feet to 110,000 square feet after an expansion project completed in late 1997, Jambois said.
Jambois, a part-owner in Tecton, said the firm hopes to expand on its experience making lineals for Marvin's Integrity line of composite windows.
``Our expertise is in thin-wall pultrusions with complex shapes and with weatherable surfaces,'' he said. ``Those are the types of applications where we feel we have a competitive advantage.''
While the transition from purely captive production for Marvin to both captive and custom work may seem dramatic, Jambois said the move was in the cards from the start.
``It was really part of our original business plan,'' he said. ``We started out with an aggressive business plan and we're just at this stage now.''
That plan also includes future expansions, Jambois said: ``We have some ambitious growth plans down the road.''
Tecton operates its own tool and die shop, and builds its own pultrusion machines specifically for thin-wall applications, Jambois said.
Marvin's fiberglass products, which feature a composite core with wood cladding, prove pultrusion can be a cost-effective window manufacturing process, he said.
``Our partnership [with Marvin] has been really, really good. We developed breakthrough technology,'' Jambois said, adding that Tecton found ways to boost pultrusion output levels.
``Pultrusion always has been considered a little bit too expensive for mainstream windows, but we don't think it is,'' he added.
Tecton does not talk publicly about sales figures, numbers of pultrusion lines or throughput. But, according to Jambois, the company's 110,000 square feet of manufacturing area, automated resin-handling system and Environmental Protection Agency-approved emission controls should give customers an idea of Tecton's capabilities.
Meanwhile, Fargo is becoming a center for pultruded window manufacturing. Marvin completed a 175,000-square-foot window fabrication plant next to Tecton in 1995, and an insulated glass manufacturer is putting up a plant of its own across the street to supply Marvin, Jambois said.
Marvin, which exhibited at the International Builders' Show, held Jan. 16-19 in Dallas, is expanding its Integrity line to include pultruded patio door lineals.
The window maker touts the high strength of pultruded windows as well as their thermal expansion behavior that matches the window glass.
Vinyl, wood and aluminum window frames expand and contract at different rates than glass, a trait that can create problems as windows made with those materials age, Jambois said.


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Chinese motorcycle brand CFMoto has officially entered India by launching 4 new premium models in the country. The company has tied up with Bengaluru-based AMW Motorcycles to assemble its bikes and to set up its sales network. Deliveries of these bikes will commence in October. CFMoto 300NK Priced at Rs 2.29 lakh (ex-showroom), the 300NK […]read more...
- CFMoto 650NK
Chinese motorcycle maker CFMoto has officially announced its India entry next month. The company will launch two new bikes – 300NK and 650NK. The CFMoto 300NK is a street fighter which is powered by a 292 cc, single-cylinder engine which is tuned to produce 33 bhp and 20.5 Nm. It comes with premium equipment such […]read more...