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Almost exactly a month after Google issued a statement on its plans to oust content farming, the search engine giant made good on its promise.
Google’s search improvement team has altered their search algorithm to shy away from aggregated content and look for original content.
“In 2010, we launched two major algorithmic changes focused on low-quality sites. Nonetheless, we hear the feedback from the web loud and clear: people are asking for even stronger action on content farms and sites that consist primarily of spammy or low-quality content. We take pride in Google search and strive to make each and every search perfect. The fact is that we’re not perfect, and combined with users’ skyrocketing expectations of Google, these imperfections get magnified in perception. However, we can and should do better,” wrote Matt Cutts, Google Principle Enginner, in January’s blog post.
Now Google has taken the gloves off and is ready to fight for better search engine results. While Google didn’t give specific details on the matter, the goal is pretty simple: get the most relevant results for your search queries.
Google issued a statement on their official blog explaining that this algorithmic change will impact 11.8 percent of its queries.
“This update is designed to reduce rankings for low-quality sites -- sites which are low-value add for users, copy content from other websites or sites that are just not very useful. At the same time, it will provide better rankings for high-quality sites—sites with original content and information such as research, in-depth reports, thoughtful analysis and so on,” wrote Amit Singhal, Google Fellow, along with Cutts.
The news received some critical questioning when it was first reported in late January. It was questionable whether this was Google’s way of censoring the Internet.
TG Daily reports that it sounds too close to “editorial control,” and that it is unfeasible for “Google to prove that it isn’t exercising editorial control or favoring sites carrying Google’s ads.”
Demand Media, a site that touts itself as generating “content that is unequivocally useful,” has been one of the sites targeted under Google’s latest change. Labeled as one of the culprits of “content farming,” the company recently went IPO but has since put that news on the back burner to focus on how this change will affect their business model.
“We have built our business by focusing on creating the useful and original content that meets the specific needs of today’s consumer. So naturally we applaud changes search engines make to improve the consumer experience – it’s both the right thing to do and our focus as well,” wrote Larry Fitzgibbons, executive vice president of Media and Operations on Demand Media’s blog.
“It’s impossible to speculate how these or any changes made by Google impact any online business in the long term – but at this point in time, we haven’t seen a material net impact on our Content & Media business.”
SAM is a series of kits that integrates hardware and software with the Internet. Combining wireless building blocks composed of sensors and actors con…
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L&T Construction today said it has received orders worth Rs 5,220 crore in the first two months of this year across various business segments.
As India built large bridges, concrete skyscrapers and urban transport systems, workers have continued to die in here while mines have become safer.
"L&T is a default in somebody’s portfolio but expecting Rs 1450 would be a difficult task at least in this calendar year."
L&T Hydrocarbon has secured a Rs 1,000 crore order from oil and gas firms including a Rs 700 crore order from BG Exploration and Production India.
Excise duty on capital goods which includes bulldozers, graders, road rollers and consumer durable goods has been proposed to be lowered to 10%.
At present, we have contracts worth Rs 2,500 cr in TN, K'taka & Maha. We came out with our IPO of Rs 225 cr in 2010 & it was over-subscribed by 15 times.
The net profit is expected to come in flat, up just 3% to Rs 1,154 cr, as compared to Rs 1,122 cr reported in the year-ago period, said an ET Now poll.
Defence Ministry said that the submarine accident was not connected with any nuclear-related activity and would not adversely affect the project.

domain: news


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Several Baltimore Ravens players tried out the new video game Madden NFL 2005 this week to test what is billed as a loosely based version of the team's own defense.
Electronic Arts Sports, the game's California-based publisher, holds "Madden Day" every year at the training camp of the player featured on the cover. All-Pro linebacker Ray Lewis is the cover boy for this year's edition, which officially goes on sale today.
With nearly 37 million copies sold, the "Madden" franchise is the No. 1-selling series of football video games in North America. And the new version seems to be eagerly anticipated: According to gaming site IGN. com's GamerMetrics, an interactive tool that tracks interest in games, the Madden NFL 2005 Web page was the most-viewed sports title during the past month.
EA Sports executives said the new game includes better graphics, a Defensive Playmaker Control feature and the ability to force turnovers by using the Hit Stick to make hard tackles and force fumbles.
The enhancements were popular with players such as rookie wide receiver Clarence Moore. "The overall defense is better," he said. "You just can't run around and cut back as fast on offense like you used to do in the old version."
Starting defensive back Will Demps said he uses the technology to "get a feel for how the other NFL teams play."
Backup quarterback Josh Harris said elements "like the play-action stuff and some of the fade routes," reminded him of the Ravens' style of play.
Former coach and player John Madden and EA Sports started the video game franchise in 1989 to teach users how to play football in a three-dimensional video environment. Madden said he wanted to combine a teaching tool with the recreation of video.
Since 2001, the Madden NFL franchise has featured athletes on the cover of the video game, some of whom have suffered injuries. That has led to talk of a "cover jinx" for players who appear on the game.
Last year's cover athlete, Michael Vick of the Atlanta Falcons, broke his shin bone during a preseason game against the Ravens the week the game was released. Others players who have graced the game's covers have suffered serious injuries or had subpar seasons.
But Lewis said he did not believe in any jinx.
"I only play my game one way, which is full speed," Lewis said. "If somebody is going to get hurt it's just not going to be me."
Madden NFL 2005
Rating: E for Everyone
Platforms: Six platforms, including Sony PlayStation 2, Microsoft Xbox and Nintendo GameCube.


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Dubai Taxi buys 1,100 Toyota cars from Al-Futtaim
Dubai, March 10, 2013
Dubai Taxi Corporation (DTC), part of Roads & Transport Authority (RTA) has enhanced its current fleet with 1,100 new Toyota vehicles purchased from Al-Futtaim Motors, exclusive distributors of Toyota in the UAE.
The new deal consists of 20 Hybrid Camry, 930 Camry and 150 Innova models.
The purchase agreement was signed by Ahmed Hashim Bahrozyan CEO of Licensing Agency in RTA and chairman of the Committee overseeing the Dubai Taxi Corporation and Simon Frith, managing director Al-Futtaim Motors.
Dr Yousef Al Ali, CEO of Dubai Taxi Company said: “We released a tender via "Tejari.com" to buy 1,100 sedans from Al-Futtaim Motors, one of the main suppliers of DTC’s fleet which consists of 3,504 vehicles.”
“In the framework of this cooperation which dates for more than 16 years, we believe this agreement will further strengthen and consolidate our strategic partnership, whilst increasing the Toyota share of the DTC fleet to 86 per cent. Toyota's strength lies in its legendary performance, quality, durability and reliability of its vehicles, all of which are essential requirements for taxi operations.”
In 2008, DTC embarked on a pilot project with Al-Futtaim Motors, where 10 Hybrid Camrys were added to its fleet to test the efficiency of this new technology in the road and weather conditions of the UAE.
The trial run was very successful and showed that the test vehicles which covered more than 550,000km didn’t experience failures or major maintenance issues and resulted in 33 per cent improvement in fuel efficiency and 33 per cent lower CO2 emissions.
Al Ali added, “Our confidence in Toyota vehicles has grown over the past years, as reliable cars that operate for years and hundreds of thousands of kilometers. It was not difficult to decide to purchase 930 new Camrys, especially after the improvements that have been introduced to the 2012 model. But we are mostly delighted with the addition of 20 new Hybrid Camrys.”
Simon Frith, managing director of Al-Futtaim Motors said, "Al-Futtaim Motors is proud to be a long term partner with a leading institution such as DTC. Together we formed a national phenomenon that has linked the Toyota brand with Taxi transportation in the minds of the UAE residents.”
"This new agreement is yet more evidence of the amazing reputation that Toyota vehicles have gained for generations, thanks to their low cost of ownership and exceptional residual value.
“Our Hybrid technology, which is leading the sustainable mobility world-wide has gained the trust of DTC over the last few years and we are extremely pleased with the renewal of our cooperation where 20 new Camry Hybrid will be put to the test by DTC’s restless drivers. This will help us contribute to a cleaner environment and further reinforce our position as a responsible automotive partner,” he added. – TradeArabia News Service
More Motoring Stories
- Toyota holds body and paint contest in Bahrain
- 330 tonnes of specialist racing cargo for Bahrain
- Automatic licence holders 'can't drive manual cars in Qatar'
- Jaguar Land Rover wins advertising award
- Rolls-Royce to buy key Daimler stake
- Nissan develops ‘smart rearview mirror’
- Dubai Taxi to offer Wi-Fi Internet in cabs
- Infiniti unveils new engine for Q50 Eau Rouge
- Bentley to debut Continental GT Speed at Geneva
- 17 die on Saudi roads daily
- Gargash to build showrooms for China automaker
- Jaguar to launch new sports sedan
- Jaguar Land Rover launches pre-owned programme
- Nissan Patrol sales hit top gear in Jan
- Al-Futtaim wins control of Kenya motor firm
- Dubai RTA, vehicle mortgagers improve service
- Arabian Auto posts 20pc rise in Nissan sales
- Global premiere for two Maserati models
- New Lexus wins Wheels magazine award
- Batelco to hold annual motor show
- Hyundai to unveil Intrado at Geneva
- Bahrain circuit to honour Schumacher
- Hertz unveils big plans for ME travellers
- F1 stars meet racing fans in Bahrain
- New Audi A3 Sedan launched in Bahrain
- Tata mulls Jaguar Land Rover plant in Saudi
- Nissan to showcase top models at Geneva show
- 51pc Dubai car buyers 'dissatisfied' with price
- Kia on Tour to start next week
- Al-Futtaim supplies hybrids to Cars Taxi


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By James Rogers
2023 has easily surpassed 2022 for global tech redundancies
More than 219,000 global technology-sector employees have been laid off since the start of 2023, according to data compiled by the website Layoffs.fyi.
That number has gone up more than eightfold since mid-January, the website noted.
The data show that 2023 has easily surpassed 2022 for global tech redundancies, with 869 tech companies laying off 219,809 employees since the start of the year. Last year, 1,024 tech companies laid off a total of 154,336 employees, according to Layoffs.fyi.
Related: Microsoft is cutting more jobs, after laying off 10,000 earlier this year
Software giant Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) announced more job cuts last week, in addition to the 10,000 cuts the company announced earlier this year. GeekWire first reported the latest round of cuts, which target employees in customer service, support and sales. Some 276 workers in the Seattle area will lose their jobs, according to a filing with Washington state's Employment Security Department.
"Organizational and workforce adjustments are a necessary and regular part of managing our business," a Microsoft spokesperson said in an emailed statement last week. "We will continue to prioritize and invest in strategic growth areas for our future and in support of our customers and partners."
Last month, Niantic Inc., the company that created the popular "Pokemon Go" game, announced 230 layoffs.
Related: 'Pokemon Go' maker Niantic to lay off 230 workers
At the end of June, the Wall Street Journal reported that stock-trading app Robinhood Markets Inc. (HOOD) was laying off around 7% of its full-time staff, or about 150 people. "We're ensuring operational excellence in how we work together on an ongoing basis," a Robinhood spokesperson told MarketWatch. "In some cases, this may mean teams make changes based on volume, workload, org design and more."
Earlier in the month, Insider reported that Oracle Corp. (ORCL) had laid off hundreds of employees, cut back open positions and rescinded job offers at its health unit. MarketWatch has reached out to Oracle with a request for comment.
And in early June, Spotify Technology SA (SPOT)announced plans to lay off approximately 200 people, or 2% of the company's workforce.
Related: Robinhood is laying off around 7% of staff, Wall Street Journal reports
Chinese tech giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.'s (9988.HK) cloud unit also started the process of cutting 7% of staff, Barron's reported in late May, citing a source familiar with the matter. News of the job cuts was first reported by Bloomberg.
Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc. (META) also made its latest round of layoffs in late May, according to reports, marking the tech giant's third set of cuts this year. Meta declined to comment in response to a request from MarketWatch for confirmation of the latest layoffs. The company's second round of layoffs in April cut technical positions, according to LinkedIn posts. Meta is in the midst of cutting 21,000 jobs in 2023 as part of what CEO Mark Zuckerberg has described as a "year of efficiency" for the company.
Other big-name tech companies have also been making cuts. In early May, Microsoft-owned LinkedIn announced plans to cut its workforce by more than 700 employees. The company was also getting rid of its local jobs app in China. "As we guide LinkedIn through this rapidly changing landscape, we are making changes to our Global Business Organization (GBO) and our China strategy that will result in a reduction of roles for 716 employees," LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky wrote in a May 8 email to the company's employees that was also posted on the company's website.
Related: Spotify will lay off 200 employees as it shakes up podcast strategy
LinkedIn has more than 20,000 employees, according to its website.
Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) conducted layoffs in Amazon Web Services and in its human-resources department, the company said in late April.
And in March, Electronic Arts Inc. (EA)announced its intention to slash 6% of its workforce as the videogame publisher looks to cut costs. Streaming-media company Roku Inc. (ROKU) also disclosed that it would lay off 200 employees as part of a cost-cutting plan.
Related: Microsoft in the spotlight as tech layoffs roll on
A host of tech companies, including Palantir Technologies Inc. (PLTR), Twilio Inc. (TWLO), DocuSign Inc. (DOCU), Salesforce Inc. (CRM), SAP (SAP.XE), Zoom Video Communications Inc. (ZM), eBay Inc. (EBAY), Dell Technologies Inc. (DELL), PayPal Holdings Inc. (PYPL), International Business Machines Corp. (IBM), Intel Corp. (INTC), Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) and Google parent Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL)(GOOGL), have also announced job cuts in 2023.
Since Elon Musk took control of Twitter last year, the San Francisco-based company has also made significant layoffs. In March, Musk described laying off almost 6,500 people, or 80% of the company's workforce, as "painful" and "one of the hardest things" he has had to do.
Mike Murphy, Bill Peters, Emily Bary, Jon Swartz and Anviksha Patel contributed.
This content was created by MarketWatch, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. MarketWatch is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
07-17-23 1004ETCopyright (c) 2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.


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Industry codes to protect Australians from online harms a key step closer
Development of new online industry codes to better protect Australians from online harms has entered the next phase with Australia’s eSafety Commissioner providing detailed feedback on the latest industry draft.
The new codes, which will operate under the Online Safety Act 2021, will require industry to take reasonable and proactive steps to detect and remove illegal content like child sexual exploitation material, while also taking a greater responsibility in shielding children from harmful content.
As part of the formal code development process, and as a requirement under the Act, eSafety has today also issued formal notices to the six industry associations developing codes, notifying them of their obligation to have a fit-for-purpose draft ready to be registered by eSafety later this year.
“eSafety has been working collaboratively with industry to ensure that robust codes are developed which offer meaningful safety protections for Australians of all ages online. We will continue to work closely with them through this important next phase of the drafting process,” eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said.
“Ultimately, we want the online industry to succeed in this because we believe eSafety and the online industry have a critical co-regulatory role to play here in helping keep Australians safe online.”
“If the industry is unable to establish appropriate codes in a timely fashion, the eSafety Commissioner has the power under the Act to declare industry standards.”
The codes apply to eight industry sections, including social media services, websites, search engines, app stores, internet service providers, device manufacturers, hosting services, and electronic services, including email, messaging, gaming and dating services.
The responsibility is on industry to draft the new codes and offer solutions to how they might achieve the required safety measures, including through measures like proactive human and machine monitoring, account suspensions and deactivations, deindexing of search results, and the use of forms of age assurance or parental controls.
Industry players will also be required to have tools in place that empower users, allowing them to control their own access, as well as children’s access, to harmful content.
"There is no question that these are ambitious mandatory industry codes applied to a diverse ranges of industry players. Whilst this brings complexities, it should also bring much more sweeping levels of safety protections on the range of online services we know young people, in particular, are using."
Under the Act, eSafety will be able to receive complaints and investigate potential breaches of the codes or standards, and may use civil penalties, enforceable undertakings and injunctions to ensure compliance.
"The Codes are another important tool in eSafety's regulatory arsenal to tackle safety weaknesses at the systemic and processes level, building on the fundamentals of safety by design, and working in a complementary fashion with the Government’s Basic Online Safety Expectations," Ms Inman Grant said.


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March is a tough act to follow.
Mc Donald’s is expected to report its April sales before the market open on Monday. On a year-over-year basis, April 2010 has one less Wednesday, and one additional Friday, than April 2009. The impact from the Easter shift in school and business holidays from March 2008 to April 2009 positively impacted Europe’s comparable sales by approximately 2%.
Below, I am providing my view on comparable sales ranges for each of MCD’s geographic segments as indicators of what I would rate as GOOD, NEUTRAL, or BAD results based largely on 2-year average trends.
To recall, MCD management made the following comments about April trends on its 1Q10 earnings call:
- “Our momentum is continuing into April with comparable sales trending positive across all of our geographies.”
- “I think that the consumer is starting to feel a little bit better. We see consumer confidence scores getting better over the last couple of months. We see a little more spending in the marketplace and yet the stubborn unemployment being at 9.7% still is a factor, I think, relative to that overall spending and net confidence.”
- "For April, what we said in the release was that we expect April to be at least as strong as the quarter on a global basis. So what we’re setting there is a floor, saying that it won’t any lower than 4.2 is what our expectation is.”
U.S. (facing a 6.1% compare, including a calendar shift which impacted results by 0.0% to +0.4%, varying by area of the world):
GOOD: Any result greater than approximately 4% would be perceived as a good result because it would imply that the company was able to sustain its U.S. sales momentum from the outstanding print in March. Last month’s number resulted in a 2-year average trend of 4.9% (or 5.4% if you adjust for the negative calendar shift in March 2009), which was the best 2-year number since February 2009. In order for April’s number to imply a 2-year average trend in line with what was seen in March, the comparable store sales figure will have to be approximately 4%.
NEUTRAL: Roughly 3% to 4% implies 2-year average trends that are about even with March to slightly lower, but still remain above prior month trends, confirming a real rebound in MCD’s U.S. business.
BAD: Any comparable store sales number below 3% would imply a sequential slowing from March on a 2-year average trend basis. While this would not be a disaster in the context of the trends over the last couple of years, it would fail to confirm the resurgence that was seen in March. Given that many management teams have been making positive comments on April trends, I think it would be a disappointment to see 2-year average trends slow sequentially (especially given the run that the stock has been on since March trends were reported).
Europe (facing a 8.4% compare due to Easter holiday shift, which positively impacted April ’09 by 2% and a calendar shift which impacted results by 0.0% to +0.4%, varying by area of the world):
GOOD: Above 4% would signal a sequential improvement in 2-year average trends; despite improving last month, the 2-year average trends are still at historically low levels. A +4% trend would imply a return to 2-year average trends in the region of +6%.
NEUTRAL: +3% to +4% would signal that 2-year trends are roughly even with March levels. While this level is neutral with respect to sequential trends, it would indicate continued softness in the Europe business compared to the most part of 2009 when 2-year average trends were consistently in the 6.0% to 8.0% range.
BAD: Below +3% would indicate that trends have sequentially deteriorated further from March levels.
APMEA (facing a 6.5% compare, including a calendar shift which impacted results by 0.0% to +0.4%, varying by area of the world):
GOOD: Better than 6.0% would signal that 2-year average trends have rebounded strongly from last month’s (adjusting for the calendar impact on March) dip after a strong showing in the first two months of the year.
NEUTRAL: Roughly 3.0% to 6.0% would indicate that 2 year-trends were stable-to-slightly better on a sequential basis from March.
BAD: Below 3% would imply 2-year average trends that have either stagnated or slowed further from the level seen in March. Below 1% would point to trends in line with the trough 2-year average trends indicated in December.


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Good news for one Croatian company.
After four months of search, PwC has selected 13 new companies in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) dealing with financial technology that will receive help from its Startup Collider programme, reports Poslovni.hr on January 24, 2017.
Startup Collider is a new initiative to strengthen and promote new businesses in Central and Eastern Europe, and with the first group of participants it is focused on new businesses which offer solutions for the financial services sector. PwC offers to new companies shared workspace, accommodation during the business acceleration programme, highly qualified mentors, and easier access to the market.
Financial technology is reshaping the financial services sector. This dynamic segment is located at the crossroads of the financial services and technology sectors, and includes new technology companies and new market participants that offer innovations in products and services which are today offered by the sector of traditional financial services. The PwC’s survey “Blurred Lines: How FinTech is Shaping Financial Services” says that funds for new financial technology companies doubled in 2015 and reached 12.2 billion dollars and that more than 20 percent of financial services businesses are at risk by the year 2020.
In this context, in September 2016, PwC CEE announced the launch of the Startup Collider accelerator programme. After four months of search for new companies, PwC announced companies which have been selected for the first generation of the programme. “PwC’s Startup Collider provides significant assistance to new businesses in Europe and encourages innovation across Central and Eastern Europe. Our programme offers a full range of options: solutions offered by some of the new companies will be incorporated in PwC’s services, while other companies will be able to find new customers and partners thanks to the global network of PwC”, said Jolanta Kokosinska, a partner and team leader for innovation and incentives at PwC Poland.
The first cohort of Startup Collider will focus on startups with solutions applicable to the financial services sector. Based on the maturity level of startups, they will participate in one of two programme streams. The first is Bootcamp, where eight startups (Xchanger, Cognitum, Claims Control, Blueopes, Talk Bank, finAPI, Autenti and Jumbster) with a proven minimum viable product will have the opportunity to take part in a three-month upskilling boot camp. The second is Fast Track and five startups (Noa Tech, Cyber Productivity, Dotmetrics, Transparent Data and Coinfirm) with greater initial traction and higher maturity level can expand their network with the power of PwC’s global reach.
PwC selected companies from Poland, Lithuania, Hungary and Russia, as well as DotMetrics from Croatia. DotMetrics is a big data audience measurement company. Through its user interface, agencies, advertisers and publishers can make real-time reports with the whole data set about who is using web pages (demographic and psychographic data) and the ways that people are using those web pages. On the surface, DotMetrics is a data management platform which can be used for targeting online ads based on users’ interests. Below the surface, DotMetrics is also a partner for incorporating out-of-network data into network environment for marketing purposed, suitable for companies with client relations management with many end users.
Click here for more information about companies in Croatian.


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In the Apple event CEO, Tim Cook first announced the all-new HomePod mini. It is an affordable and smaller version of the HomePod smart speaker powered by Siri. Later that night Apple announced their iPhone 12 series bringing 5G for the first time to their phones. All the iPhone in this series have OLED displays. The series also has Apple’s A14 Bionic SoC, which Apple states enables “console-quality gaming”. It also mentioned that Wild Rift would be coming to the iPhone succeeding this year, a popular PC game with a vast eSports community. The iPhone 12 will highlight MagSafe wireless charging technology that holds up to 15W wireless charging.
iPhone 12 series price
Apple launches four iPhone 12 models — iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro, and iPhone 12 Pro Max. iPhone 12 mini is priced at $699 (about Rs. 51,200) for the base variant 64GB, the iPhone 12 64GB price is $799 (about Rs. 58,600). iPhone 12 price in India starts from Rs. 79,900. iPhone 12 mini price in India starts from Rs. 69,900.
iPhone 12 Pro 128GB is the base variant at about $999 (roughly Rs. 73,000) and the iPhone 12 Pro Max is priced at $1,099 (roughly Rs. 80,600) with 128GB storage as the base variant.
iPhone 12 mini specs difference
Apple says the only significant difference between the iPhone 12 mini and the iPhone 12 is the size. It is lighter and smaller than 4.7-inch iPhones such as the iPhone 7 while proffering you a better and bigger display.
iPhone 12 Pro specs difference
The iPhone 12 Pro highlights a 6.1-inch display, and the iPhone 12 Pro Max features a 6.7-inch display. Apple has upgraded the cameras a lot on the iPhone 12 Pro series. Apple’s Deep Fusion machine and the triple rear camera setup that features a telephoto sensor and two wide-angle sensors.


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By Christian Zibreg on Nov 28, 2014
As TechCrunch reported this morning, the United States Patent & Trademark Office yesterday published a patent application for “Hand-held Video Game Platform Emulation” that Nintendo filed on June 23, 2014.
The invention describes software emulation of Nintendo’s popular mobile game consoles such as the Game Boy family on a variety of mobile devices, including smartphones and in other settings such as seat-back displays in airplanes and trains. Read More
By Christian Zibreg on Nov 18, 2014
Bloomberg is reporting this morning that Apple’s iPhone and other devices have been found to infringe half a dozen pager technology patents owned by a Texas company called Mobile Telecommunications Technologies LLC.
Six patents owned by Mobile Telecommunications Technologies are valid and infringed, a federal jury in Marshall, Texas, has found.
The iPhone maker was ordered to pay the Texas company $23.6 million in damages. Read More
By Cody Lee on Oct 23, 2014
Apple on Wednesday defeated a civil suit put forth by GPNE, a non-practicing patent holding company in Honolulu, that was seeking nearly $100 million in damages. The company alleged that three iPhone and iPad models infringed on its pager technology patents.
A jury in the US District Court of San Jose disagreed, and rejected all of patent infringement claims. Apple applauded the verdict, calling GPNE a “patent troll,” a term given to companies who acquire patents for the sole purpose of collecting licensing and lawsuit fees. Read More
By Cody Lee on Sep 22, 2014
Apple and GT are continuing their work to strengthen sapphire, according to a new report from Wall Street Forensics. The site says the pair are hoping to reduce the material’s “fundamental flaw of cracking,” as well as improve its reflective properties.
On September 18th, the US Patent and Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that covers new processes to both aid in the strengthening of sapphire, and cut manufacturing costs—a major point of contention with sapphire critics. Read More
By Cody Lee on Sep 16, 2014
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit tossed out a verdict today handed down by a Texas jury in late 2012 that would’ve forced Apple to pay $368 million to patent holding firm VirnetX. The jury determined that Apple’s FaceTime feature infringed on on the firm’s intellectual property.
The Wall Street Journal reports this afternoon that the appeals court has ruled that the verdict was “tainted” by erroneous jury instructions in the case and therefore is invalid. It also held that some trial testimony from a VirnetX IP “expert” should have been completely excluded from the case. Read More
By Cody Lee on Aug 27, 2014
Apple has once again been shot down by US District Judge Lucy Koh in its ongoing effort to win a sales ban on Samsung devices. In San Jose, California today, Koh denied the Cupertino company’s latest bid to ban select Samsung smartphones.
Despite two US juries finding multiple Samsung products to be infringing on its patents, Apple has seen little success in its injunction attempts. This time, the company had hoped to make its request more viable, asking for a “narrowly tailored” ban. Read More
By Cody Lee on Aug 8, 2014
Apple and Samsung may have called a truce in patent litigation overseas, but here in the United States, they’re still locked in a heated battle. The two firms are wrapping up post-trial hearings from their 2012 meeting, and they’ve just begun post-trial activities for this year’s lawsuit.
This week a significant development has occurred, which could have a major impact in the ongoing fight. The US Patent Office has rejected several claims of one of the patents Apple asserted against Samsung in their most recent infringement trial, saying certain parts aren’t valid… Read More
By Christian Zibreg on Aug 7, 2014
Rumors of Apple’s supposed intent to port its iOS digital personal assistant, Siri, over to the Mac have persisted for years, and intensified lately. Back in November 2012, for example, 9to5Mac claimed that Siri would be baked into OS X Mavericks.
Mavericks is here without Siri and the feature is nowhere to be seen in Yosemite, which looms on the horizon. Of course, the Mac’s Dictation feature, powered by Nuance, doesn’t count as it’s simply speech-to-text with no real intelligence.
That being said, it would seem that the Cupertino firm has been quietly researching ways of enabling Siri on the Mac. Case in point: a newly discovered patent application filed back in February of this year which details how Siri for Mac might function, what features it could include and how it should improve your desktop productivity… Read More
By Cody Lee on Aug 7, 2014
We don’t know if the upcoming iPhone 6 is going to feature wireless charging technology or not, but we do know that Apple is working on it. The Cupertino company has been awarded multiple patents on wire-free charging tech over the years, and today we’re adding a new one to the stack.
The USPTO granted Apple the rights to a new invention this week based on NFMR (or near-field magnetic resonance) technology. NFMR is different from the inductive charging tech used by most manufacturers these days, as it’s capable of wirelessly charging devices up to one meter away… Read More
By Cody Lee on Aug 5, 2014
The Financial Times reports this evening that Apple and Samsung have settled their patent disputes over smartphones and tablets in several countries around the world. In a joint statement, the two firms say that they have dropped litigation in all countries and regions outside of the US.
Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. But it doesn’t sound like there is any kind of cross-licensing deal in place, and no money changing hands, so there will be little to prevent new lawsuits between the two companies from sprouting in the future, should circumstances change…
By Cody Lee on Jul 29, 2014
Apple filed a motion with the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in California yesterday, dropping its cross-appeal of Judge Lucy Koh’s final judgement in its lawsuit against Samsung. The motion officially ends the company’s pursuit of a product ban.
Now, this is just for the 2012 trial, not the one that ended in May. Apple had been looking to win a permanent injunction against all of Samsung’s infringing devices in that case, and filed multiple appeals, but it appears to have given up on this particular battle… Read More
By Christian Zibreg on Jul 28, 2014
Notifications on mobile devices are both a curse and a blessing. I don’t think anyone in their right mind would diminish the value in receiving a timely notification about an important event while on the go.
On the other hand, virtually every app wants to send notifications these days. Even though iOS does offer some granularity as to the times of day when these alerts are allowed to buzz your device, by no measure is this sufficient.
An Apple patent publicized by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) last Thursday gives an insight into Apple’s research efforts that would automatically enable a Do Not Disturb mode (added in iOS 6) when the device has determined that a user is working out, saving you a few taps… Read More
By Christian Zibreg on Jul 25, 2014
As Apple is prepping to shell out $3 billion to buy Beats Music and Beats Electronics’ high-end headphone biz, reports are coming in that audio equipment specialist Bose has gone on the offense and is now taking Beats Electronics to court over its noise-cancelling headphone patents.
Bose alleges its patented tech is used in the Beats Pro noise-cancelling headphones and other products like the Beats Studio and Beats Studio Wireless.
Furthermore, Bose is now seeking financial damages and a sales ban on some Beats headphones, claiming patent infringement. Bose develops, markets and sells a vast range of loudspeakers, noise-cancelling headsets, automotive sound systems, amplifiers and headphones.
Needless to say, Bose holds a number of patents in this space. Its QuietComfort line of headphones has in particular proven itself popular with consumers who want to get away from outside noise. And just like Beats, Bose gets frequently criticized as some reviewers slam their high-end products for being overpriced and of average quality… Read More
By Cody Lee on Jul 22, 2014
With no physical evidence supporting the ongoing ‘iWatch‘ rumors, we continue to search for other forms of proof that Apple is indeed working on a smartwatch. And today, we are adding a new piece to the puzzle with the ‘iTime’ patent.
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office granted the Cupertino company a patent today for a new device called the ‘iTime.’ It’s described as a smart wristband that contains various sensors and wireless radios, so it can talk to other devices… Read More
By Christian Zibreg on Jul 17, 2014
Apple is researching new methods of securing data on your iPhone by sending an alert to another device or locking it altogether to protect against theft should it detect a pattern of unusual behavior.
The United States Patent and Trademark Office today published an Apple patent for “Generating notifications based on user behavior”.
The document outlines a method by which an iPhone could automatically lock itself or set off an alert in case it detects unusual changes in user behavior. Read on for more… Read More
By Cody Lee on Jul 12, 2014
In a verdict handed down late yesterday by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, Apple defeated a lawsuit brought on by Emblaze Ltd. The company claimed that the iPhone-maker infringed on one of its patents.
More specifically, Emblaze accused Apple of infringing on its live video streaming patent, with its HTTP live-streaming service (HLS) that it asks 3rd-party apps like MLB at Bat and WatchESPN to use. But the trial’s jury found otherwise… Read More
By Joe Rossignol on Jul 3, 2014
Apple has filed a new patent with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for an invention that dynamically changes the security, settings and behavior of a device based on its location. For instance, most users may only require a four-digit passcode on their iPhone while at home, but would prefer to use the more secure Touch ID while in the workplace or traveling.
The hardware and software of a device would work in tandem to identify the location of the user and adjust the security levels accordingly, based on its proximity or connection to cellular data towers, local Wi-Fi networks, other cell phones and more. There would be certain thresholds depending on how confident the device is in the security of the surrounding location… Read More
By Joe Rossignol on Jun 5, 2014
As reported by the Mexican publication El Universal, the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property (IMPI) has ruled that Mexican carriers are no longer allowed to make use of the “iPhone” name, since it violates the phonetically identical sounding “iFone” trademark owned by a small call center in Mexico. The trademark is filed under Class 38, which covers telecommunications services.
To be clear, Apple will still be able to sell the iPhone in Mexico and use its own trademark as it sees fit, but carriers won’t be able to. The basis behind the ruling is that, since Apple is not considered to be a telecommunication services provider, it is acquitted of being at fault. Instead, the IMPI has placed the blame directly on Mexican carriers, which do provide telecommunications services… Read More
By Cody Lee on May 21, 2014
Recode reports that a Dutch appeals court has upheld a lower court’s sales ban of some older Samsung Galaxy devices that infringe on Apple’s IP. The patent in question involves how iOS users are able to peak at the next photo in a gallery by swiping the current image.
The ruling will apply specifically to the Galaxy S2, and the Galaxy Ace—both of which include Samsung photo apps that run an exact copy of the feature—and it could possibly be extended to other Samsung devices found to similarly infringe on Apple’s European patent… Read More
By Christian Zibreg on May 19, 2014
Apple and its frenemy Samsung have been embroiled in a complex web of lawsuits spanning continents but now a resolution to the long standing patent dispute that has fascinated watchers around the globe could be within reach as the two technology giants are reportedly engaged in settlement talks, according to a Korean newspaper.
The unexpected development arrives hot on the heels of a surprising Reuters report last week confirming that Apple and Google put an end to a dispute with Motorola Mobility which Google inherited after snapping up Motorola 2011.
That agreement even has the two sides banding together on a patent reform, though it excludes cross-licensing of their respective mobile patent portfolio and Apple’s lawsuits with other Android makers like Samsung… Read More


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The Huffington Post has undergone its first ever rebranding, abbreviating its name to HuffPost and introducing a new logo.
The move is effective today (April 25th) and has been rolled out across all of the news outlet's platforms, including its websites and social channels.
It is the first since the brand was launched 12 years ago and includes a new homepage layout, storytelling 'splash cards' to be used across social networks, and InContent Reveal advertising, which is designed to help advertisers and brands reach their audiences effectively.
Chief executive officer at HuffPost Jared Grusd said the rebrand is a "decided leap into our future".
"The rebrand and relaunch of our products symbolize our commitment to continually evolve to help our audiences connect with a world that is changing rapidly around them," he remarked.
Editor-in-chief Lydia Polgreen added the brand's new design is a reflection of its "bold promise" to help readers know "what really matters".


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Australia saw deflation for the first time in seven years in the first quarter, as falling petrol, food, and clothing prices drove down the cost of a basket of goods and services.
The surprise drop in the price of a wider-than-usual range of items drove the Australian dollar down more than 1.5 per cent and could force the Reserve Bank of Australia to cut the cash rate as soon as next Tuesday, say economists.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday the consumer price index (CPI) contracted 0.2 per cent in the three months to the end of March, taking the annual rate to 1.3 per cent, compared with 1.7 per cent at the end of December.
More importantly, the core annual rate, after lopping off or re-weighting volatile items such as fuel, came in at 1.55 per cent, well below the bottom of the Reserve Bank of Australia's target band of 2 per cent to 3 per cent. National Australia Bank described the core inflation rate as "the lowest ever".
A survey of Bloomberg economists had expected this measure to come in at around 2 per cent.
Subdued inflation, a global trend stemming from weak demand, low energy prices and flat wages, gives the central bank scope for another cut to the cash rate.
However, persistent deflation would force it to cut the cash rate from an already-low 2 per cent to boost spending and investment while driving the Australian dollar even lower.
Falling prices discourage spending and investment as both consumers and businesses hold off.
"Whereas the RBA was previously thinking that low inflation would allow it to cut interest rates if demand faltered, it is now clear that low inflation itself is the problem," said Capital Economics' chief economist for Australia Paul Dales.
JP Morgan Australia's head of fixed income and foreign exchange Sally Auld described Wednesday's surprise data as a "game-changer for the RBA".
"We now expect the RBA to cut by 25 basis points in May, and to follow this up with a further 25 basis point cut in August," she said.
"The cash rate should finish the year at 1.50 per cent."
The ABS said the price falls were broad-based, led by fuel and fruit but including transport, travel and accommodation and recreation and culture.
As usual, the price of services such as healthcare, education, insurance and other financial products continued to climb, but even their rise was more subdued than usual.
"Education prices regularly rise 5 per cent to 6 per cent quarter-on-quarter in March quarters, but could only muster a 3.1 per cent gain this year," noted JP Morgan's Sally Auld.
Even healthcare cost rises were contained to 1.9 per cent, compared with 3.3 per cent over the past five years, partly because of a smaller-than-usual repricing of pharmaceutical sales.
Economists also noted a sharp slowdown in growth in rental and new dwelling costs, which account for almost a quarter of the CPI basket of goods and services. Quarterly growth in rents was just 0.1 per cent, while the cost of new dwellings climbed just 0.2 per cent.
Wednesday's CPI figures were well below expectations, and the Australian dollar plunged more than 1 per cent, to around US76.30¢.
Jamieson Coote Bonds executive director Charlie Jamieson said the RBA had been "caught asleep at the wheel".
"[This is] a shocking set of inflation numbers in a period when the falling currency should have boosted [tradeable goods], plus there were downward revisions for the previous period," he said.
Others, however, said the RBA would be able to look through the data at a relatively healthy jobs market and other indicators pointing to steady, if weak, economic expansion.
"With both headline and underlying inflation running below target and likely to remain so for most of this year, the odds of another RBA rate cut have certainly increased," said St George Bank's senior economist Jo Horton.
"However, there are signs that non-mining sectors continue to recover and the unemployment rate is likely to remain steady or trend lower.
"It will be a close decision next week, but on balance, we continue to expect that the RBA will leave the cash rate on hold for the remainder of the year," she said.


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Procter & Gamble’s margin and management ranks are among the topics to watch when the consumer products company reports earnings Friday. Read More »
Oct 23, 2014
General Mills plans in January to start selling Cheerios Ancient Grains, a version of the bestselling breakfast cereal brand with quinoa, oats, and two wheat varieties, spelt and Kamut–although it isn’t clear if the new Cheerios is more nutritious than regular Cheerios, Read More »
Restaurant owners facing the prospect of fines for not offering workers affordable health insurance are finding some creative ways to keep the number of eligible employees to a minimum.
While some companies are enrolling employees in Medicaid to avoid the penalties, which go into effect next year under the Affordable Care Act, others are considering changing their ownership structure. Read More »
When Starbucks helped kick off the espresso craze three decades ago, a big part of its appeal was as a higher-quality alternative to the mainstream coffee that drinkers had become accustomed to.
Now, 30 years and 20,000 stores later, Starbucks is as mainstream as coffee gets, and an insurgency of specialty coffee shops boasting of ever more elaborate brews have claimed the gourmet throne. So what can Starbucks do to push back?
Starbucks Coffee Company today announced the expansion of the company’s store formats and evolution of their customer experience segmentation in FY15 with the launch of a one-of-a-kind, interactive Starbucks Reserve™ Roastery and Tasting Room dedicated to roasting, coffee education and increased availability of their fast-growing, highly successful small-lot Starbucks Reserve® coffees. This consolidation of small-batch roasting will allow the company to expand their Starbucks Reserve® coffee line to 1,500 locations globally, as well as open at least 100 stores designed to highlight these rare coffees exclusively.
More on this after the jump… Read More »
While other food companies may be chasing the millennial generation, ConAgra Foods Inc. is doubling down on the old fogey demographic.
The maker of Healthy Choice and Banquet frozen meals announced that it’s partnering with “Wheel of Fortune” for a promotion and game. People can win prizes by collecting game pieces on Banquet frozen dinners and by watching the game show during “Meal of Fortune” week.
“Wheel of Fortune,” which first aired more than 39 years ago, remains a ratings powerhouse. It ranked second among syndicated network television programs in the week of Aug. 4, according to research firm Nielsen, with 8.7 million daily viewers. But its audience tends to be significantly grayer than the 20- to 40-somethings many food companies target as taste trendsetters, and its co-hosts, who once wooed watchers with their youthful chemistry, are now well out of that demographic themselves, with Pat Sajak now 67 years old and Vanna White 57. Read More »
Does Tim Hortons deserve to stand alone? Or does it belong as part of something bigger?
Hedge-fund manager Bill Ackman has been on both sides of the answer to that question. Here’s Mr. Ackman in 2005, urging Wendy’s, which owned Tim Hortons at the time, to set the coffee chain free:
Spinning off Tim Hortons would likely boost managerial productivity for both entities by improving resource allocation and overall corporate focus. The public listing of Tim Hortons would allow each of Wendy’s and Tim Hortons’ management teams to be compensated based on the performance of the business it runs. Having publicly traded stock would also increase Tim Hortons’ ability to attract and retain talented management. From a capital markets perspective, we are also confident that an appropriately valued Tim Hortons business would be highly sought after by Canadian and U.S. shareholders and would attract a strong research following due to its multi-billion dollar equity market value, substantial growth prospects, strong free cash flow generation, iconic brand, and unique stature in Canadian culture.
Nine years later, Mr. Ackman is a major investor in Burger King, the company looking to bring Tim Hortons back into the fold of a larger corporate parent. His firm, Pershing Square Capital Management, has owned almost 11% of Burger King since the company was taken public in 2012, and has doubled its money on the investment so far.
If Mr. Ackman still wants Tim Hortons to stay independent, he’s not letting his money do the talking–something he has a long track record of doing as an activist investor. So why the change of heart? More on this after the jump… Read More »
The world’s third-largest fast-food business is officially in the making, via Burger King’s $11 billion deal to buy Tim Hortons. The combined company would run 18,000 restaurants selling about $23 billion worth of food and drink each year, and be based in Canada, where the corporate-tax system carries less of a sting than its U.S. counterpart.
Burger King downplayed the tax aspects of the deal in an analyst call this morning. ”We don’t expect our tax rate to change materially,” said Burger King CEO Daniel Schwartz. “This transaction is not really about tax, it’s about growth.”
But whether or not the company saves on its tax bill or grows Tim Hortons abroad (currently just 1% of Tim Hortons restaurants are outside North America), a core problem remains: In its home market, Burger King is facing a generational change in the way Americans eat. More on this after the jump… Read More »
An iconic American brand takes over an iconic Canadian one, thus becoming Canadian for tax purposes? Burger King’s idea to buy Tim Hortons seems finely calibrated to annoy people on both sides of the U.S.-Canada border.
It could also turn the story of so-called inversion mergers–where a U.S. company buys a foreign one and relocates its headquarters abroad for tax reasons–into one with resonance beyond corporate and political circles.
It’s one thing for biotech companies to relocate to Ireland for a better corporate tax deal, but another for the home of the Whopper to hightail it to Canada. In terms of public awareness, could this be the inversion that breaks the camel’s back?
“Congress could stop it, the White House could stop it, and consumers could stop it,” said TV host Joe Scarborough this morning. “Everybody agrees, if Burger King does this, they make billions and billions of dollars, they pay no taxes in America, but we all pick up the tax bill.”
More on this after the jump… Read More »
Content engaging our readers now, with additional prominence accorded if the story is rapidly gaining attention. Our WSJ algorithm comprises 30% page views, 20% Facebook, 20% Twitter, 20% email shares and 10% comments.


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Google on Monday said it has made a decision to shut down its social media network, Google+. But Google says it has no way of confirming these numbers or which users may have had their data exposed improperly.
"None of these thresholds were met here", they said.
The Wall Street Journal, citing anonymous individuals, reports that Google deliberately avoided disclosing the problem at the time, in part to avoid drawing regulatory scrutiny. Thankfully, according to Google, no developer was aware of the bug, was misusing the Google+ API, or had misused private data from users' profiles.
A spokeswoman for Google said that whenever user data may have been affected it determines whether to tell people based on a number of criteria.More news: Nokia 7.1 Plus Expected to Launch Today in India
The closure is only partial, however: While consumers will find Google+'s doors firmly locked, enterprise customers will be able to continue to use the service - should they so choose - with new features 'purpose-built for businesses'. Google also said that there is no evidence that and Profile data was misused.
Google+, like Google's previous social networking efforts Orkut, Dodgeball, Jaiku, Lively, and Buzz, was not a stellar success for the company.
Google says it began reviewing developer access at the start of this year, so these new policies might have arrived even without the WSJ's reporting.
Although Google discovered and patched the potential data leak in March 2018, the company initially opted not to publicize it.
"The consumer version of Google+ now has low usage and engagement: 90 percent of Google+ user sessions are less than 5 seconds".More news: Sarah Silverman Rips 'Too Far Gone' White Women Who Voted for Trump
Google could also face class-action lawsuits over its decision not to disclose the incident, according to the Journal. Now the bug in this API allowed access to private Profile fields of users to the Google+ apps.
"If you have a Google tattoo on you, then these are the phones for you", IDC analyst Ramon Llamas said of the Pixel's limited appeal so far.
In addition to shutting down Google+, Google also said that it will limit the access it gives to developers to user data on Android devices and Gmail.
Google+ is finally shutting down on a particularly sour note.More news: Woman visits fiancé's grave on wedding day in her bridal gown
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- African Billionaire Kidnapped by Gunmen at Luxury Hotel in Tanzania
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The Ivory Coast is largely market-based and depends heavily on the agricultural sector. In a bid to increase production in the wake of a unsatisfactory cotton harvest, the Ivory Coast government increased mandated cotton price for farmers by six percent for 2016-17 seasons hoping that this increase will permit an expansion in the number of farmers and bump up production, a government spokesman said.
Ivory Coast, before a 2002-2003 civil war which split the country in two and halved production was one of the region's major cotton exporters, with an annual output of about 400,000 tonnes.
Ivorian farmers will be paid 265 CFA francs ($0.44) per kilogramme when harvesting begins later this month, up from 250 CFA francs per kilogramme last season, Bruno Kone told reporters following a cabinet meeting in the commercial capital, Abidjan.
According to the cotton ginners' association, they are expecting the raw cotton production for the 2016/17 season to reach 360,000 tonnes, The West African nation's cotton season runs from May to April, with planting beginning with the first rains in May and harvesting opening in late November.
In the 2015/16 season, due to bad weather the output dropped to 310,000 after reaching 450,000 tonnes the year before.
A weekly report covering market and price information on the entire chain of polyester along with online access to daily polyester chain prices.
One-time reports that are issued annually cover the demand and supply trends in individual products including polyester, nylon, acrylic, viscose, and cotton.
One-time reports that are issued annually cover the demand and supply trends in the individual country's natural and manmade fiber/filament industries.
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The smart home gets another boost as startup Revolv raises a $4 million round. The money will help the company serve the customers who ordered its device when it launched earlier this month.
As people throw more connected devices into their homes, home modems and gateways need a box with more networking oomph. Qualcomm is building the silicon for that box.
As people attempt to connect their homes, different protocols post a challenge. Some vendors, like ConnectSense, are doing away with that drama by embracing only Wi-Fi.
I’ve been eager to see the Revolv home hub in action since meeting with the company several months ago. The good news is the hardware is awesome. But the software could use some work.
Now that hardware is getting cheaper and mobile apps are driving simplicity, smart home system installations are expected to rise dramatically, says Berg Insights.
Ahead of our Mobilize event Oct. 16 and 17, we asked experts how 50 billion connected devices and 6 billion people change their industries. In this essay SmartThings’ Alex Hawkinson details the programmable home of the future.
Smart homes don’t have to require a lot of consumer effort, if the consumer is willing to fork over a service fee to their ISP. In this week’s podcast we chat with a Comcast executive about how it views the internet of things.
Right now people control their home automatio nsystems via keypads, smartphones or dedicated remotes. But in this demo from Revolv, an engineer uses Google Glass. Is this the future?
Smart energy startup AlertMe — which provides a cloud-based way to monitor your energy consumption — has struck a deal with British Gas, the U.K.’s largest domestic energy supplier. It’s the latest big break for the business, CEO Mary Turner explains.
While electronics maker Philips (s PHG) is working on getting its LEDs into homes, the company is also starting to focus on the bigger picture of energy-efficient homes. The Amsterdam-based company announced a new partnership this week with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory to jointly research energy-efficiency solutions for buildings. Improving lighting efficiency using integrated smart wireless devices will be the partnership’s first objective, and consumers could see a commercial product as soon as next year, Philips says.
This is a great partnership that could help deliver the next generation smart home. Philips is one of the world’s largest producers of lighting and has been pushing hard to bring LEDs to the mass market. Meanwhile, Berkeley National Lab has been researching smart energy for homes and buildings at its Environmental Energy Technologies Division.
Nothing they are proposing is that groundbreaking — there have been motion sensors to control lights for years — but this news shows that device makers like Philips are starting to “get it.” Philips is starting with lighting and building systems, but hopefully it won’t take long for them to smarten up their whole line of electronics, everything from the giant flat-screen TVs down to the Sonicare toothbrushes.
This could prove to be both competition and a strong new partner for the startups developing energy efficiency devices for the home. The Dutch electronics giant has been buying up LED companies — perhaps smart energy startups are next.
If you found this post interesting you might also be interested in Earth2Tech’s first Briefing, The Smart Energy Home.


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President Trump will bar U.S. wireless carriers from using telecom equipment and products from companies that pose a national security risk, according to a report from Reuters.
The president is expected to sign an executive order (EO) invoking the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which gives the president the ability to regulate aspects of commerce that may pose a security risk to the U.S.
The ban will not name any specific companies, but will direct the U.S. Department of Commerce to draft enforcement rules for it. That would likely include the parameters under which a company can be deemed to pose a national security risk.
During a daily briefing in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang, argued the U.S. is engaging in a smear campaign against Chinese companies.
“We urge the United States to stop using the excuse of security issues to unreasonably suppress Chinese companies, and provide a fair, just, non-discriminatory environment for Chinese companies carrying out normal investments and operations in the United States,” Geng said, according to the Reuters report.
The EO is the latest development in an ongoing global PR battle between Huawei and the U.S., and follows a federal ban on Huawei equipment established in 2018.
The dispute began in 2012, under the Obama administration, when a Congressional report raised security concerns about the company’s networking equipment. The report detailed that Huawei and ZTE both failed to cooperate with investigators compiling the report, concluding that “Huawei and ZTE cannot be trusted to be free of foreign state influence and thus pose a security threat to the United States and to our systems.”
The U.S. has recently begun lobbying its allies across the globe to ban Huawei gear from 5G networks. While some countries have followed suit, most European allies have opted instead to tighten security regulations around telecom equipment.


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opening lots of new tricks for me to handle models, thank you for the article, very helpful!
is it possible to sell this scene on gumroad
Perk, the company that used to own engine provider Corona Labs, has decided to sell the business to its own CEO, Roj Niyogi.
Roj Niyogi was chosen as CEO of Corona last December after Perk’s acquisition of the firm for $2.3m. Pocket Gamer states that he will now leave his role of President and Board Member at Perk to work solely on Corona.
Perk CEO Ted Hastings reports that his company has been investing more than $1m into Corona Labs every quarter. The sale is believed to be Perk’s idea of benefiting on those numbers.
Niyogi was also a co-founder of Perk. He will now have to return all of his stock to Perk as part of the agreement and get $1.75m in return. It is also stated that over the next 12 months, Perk will pay him up to $750,000.
I’m excited for the next chapter in building Corona and also for the ongoing partnership with Perk. It has been an amazing experience from co-founding Perk, taking it public on the TSX, and now focusing on Corona.


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For the first time in its 118-year history, the Motor Company will bring the world together for the debut of its model-year lineup. On January 19, 2021, H-D 21, Harley-Davidson’s first-ever virtual event will announce new 2021 motorcycles, parts and accessories, riding gear and apparel.
The event is open to anyone who registers H-D.com/21.
Participants will hear from Harley-Davidson leadership, product experts and enthusiasts who are leading and shaping the industry on all that’s coming to Harley-Davidson dealerships in 2021.
New Approach to Product Launches
The H-D 21 global virtual launch is part of the company’s streamlined and overhauled approach to bringing products to market. Earlier this year, Harley-Davidson it would streamline its planned product portfolio by 30%, shift its new model year debut to align with the start of the riding season and amp up marketing efforts to drive desirability and maximize impact in the market.
“We’re thrilled to bring the world together virtually to showcase the inspiration and passion behind our 2021 motorcycles, including a glimpse of our first adventure touring motorcycle, Pan America,” said VP Marketing Theo Keetell. “We look forward to sharing this moment with our customers and dealers from around the world.”
Adventurer Jason Momoa Shares his Passion
American actor, producer and motorcycle enthusiast Jason Momoa will play a key role in the H-D 21 event. Forever seeking new adventures, Momoa will share his thoughts on how Harley-Davidson’s upcoming Pan America motorcycle has expanded his passion for the brand and created new opportunities to explore endless horizons beyond paved roads.
“Harley-Davidson has unlocked opportunities for me to find adventure with amazing people, awe-inspiring places and expand my inspiration seen in the United We Will Ride content series,” said Momoa. “I was excited to collaborate with Harley-Davidson for a first look and chance to ride the Pan America 1250 motorcycle. It’s the perfect vehicle that combines my love of the outdoors, the unknown and Harley-Davidson. People are going to be completely stoked about this bike.”
Harley-Davidson Pan America Global Reveal February 22, 2021
Harley-Davidson’s all-new Pan America 1250 adventure touring motorcycle will be previewed during the H-D 21 virtual launch experience. Harley-Davidson will bring the world back together on February 22, 2021, to reveal the motorcycle’s full details in a separate digital event with the spotlight on the new Pan America.
Stay informed at H-D.com/PanAmerica.
So, where are the “new” models. Looks to me as if the PanAmerica is the only one? C’Mon H-D, prove me wrong and show us something…
When I hear “global “ I wonder if that means less “American-made” product.
HD jumps into the adventure motorcycle market! What a joke—other motorcycle manufactures have been at it for decades, and HD thinks they can compete in a market with the likes of Honda, KTM, Suzuki, and others. Even if the looks of this so called adventure motorcycle don’t make you sick to your stomach I am sure the break downs and poor performance will. Oh yes HD, make noisy ear splitting aftermarket exhaust so you can annoy the whole world!!!
HD’s biggest critics are usually those that cannot afford one.
Heard around 1965 — “what a joke, Honda and Suzuki think they can compete in a market with the likes of Harley Davidson.”
Wish they had continued with the Bronx
HD needed to get into the adventure market. I enjoyed my Buell Ulysses and would have kept it but it was getting difficult to get people to work on it and after the 7 year HD support requirement was up, my local mechanic said I needed to let it go due to parts support being dropped. The BMW GS is the #1 sales leader bike for BMW. I think there’s enough room in the market to support the Pan American. The Adventure guys want to be different and the Pan American will get all the attention at the local coffee shop. Still, a Sportser Scrambler is a missed opportunity in this market! Lastly, HD Dealers have to support this new bike. I was always was viewed as a lesser rider with the Buell at most HD Dealers. I always had to wait on parts and tires.
The Ulysses was ahead of its time. The main thing that fails to excite on Pan American is liquid cooling and styled engine jugs. I get it, and even the GS went liquid for various reasons. But the minimalism of air cooling sets a brand apart and sells bikes.
Why not try to enjoy life and focus on the Positives! Negative people are depressing to be around and our Motorcycling community would be so much more vibrant if they spent their energy on recreational activities that they can positively promote. If you like a motorcycle brand then go out and buy one. If you dislike a motorcycle brand, then quietly keep your opinion to yourself and focus on the collective positives of all motorcycling.
Lets hope the best for a 2021 recovery.
Looks great… can’t wait to see the new line up
And ride on……Bill wyo hog member
HD is always big on marketing an image or lifestyle… look at the guy on the Pan American, is he dressed like Paul Revere? Is “18th century courier” the lifestyle they’re going to use to sell the PanAm?


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RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL - Bonds tied to sustainability targets have reached the Amazon. Bemol, the largest retail chain in Brazil's Northern region, has debuted in the debt market with the issuance of a R$200 (US$40) million sustainability-linked bond (SLB).
The retailer's goal is to secure the B Corporation stamp by January 2024, a certification awarded to businesses that place social and environmental impact at the core of their strategies. Bemol had proposed the certification last year and intended to complete the process between 2022 and 2023.
The 5-year debentures (with a 2-year grace . . .
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EL PASO, Texas -- Tickets for the most anticipated musical to come to El Paso will be on sale Friday.
Tickets will be available starting at 7 a.m. at the Plaza Theater Box Office any left over tickets will be able for purchase through Ticketmaster at 10 am.
Tickets start at $60. There are a limited number of tickets available due to pre-existing sales to subscribers and groups.
The musical production will be in El Paso from February 1-12, 2012 for 16 performances.


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And this final note on the blues. Two years ago on this show, we profiled Gip's Place, a real juke joint nestled in a residential neighborhood in Bessemer, Alabama.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: It's not like going to a bar. It's not like going to a club. It's like going to your best friend's house and putting on just the newest record and sitting there and enjoying it together. Literally, there is truly a mix between the musicians and the audience.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #2: Welcome again. Y'all ready to get started?
The U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry, has been in the Middle East, Rome and Russia this week trying to find some kind of diplomatic end to Syria's civil war. He's also been trying to revive Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. Mr. Kerry has been the U.S. secretary of state for just over 100 days, spending more than a third of that time overseas.
NPR's Michele Kelemen reports on how his tenure at the State Department seems to be shaping up.
And the deaths in Bangladesh have prompted a number of American clothing companies to disclose where their products are made. Everlane is an online clothing retailer based in San Francisco that has always done that. Michael Preysman is the CEO and founder of Everlane, and we asked him where and how his company's T-shirts are manufactured.
Yngwie Malmsteen is the king of the neoclassical shred guitar. Since 1984's Rising Force, the Swedish musician and composer has somehow bridged centuries, from Paganini to his own arpeggiated acrobatics.


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Nobody really likes window air conditioners: yes, they can make a hot day more bearable, but they are also ugly, noisy, block the view and contribute to climate change. But the number of air conditioners is about to rise, both as the planet gets hotter and a growing number of people in developing countries can finally afford the technology. By 2050, according to one prediction, there will be 5.6 billion air conditioners in use, up from about 1.6 billion now.
Several companies are trying to find ways to solve the problem. course, a San Francisco-based startup, is designing an alternative that could help address the challenges of traditional air conditioners — and that doubles as an efficient heater when it’s cold. When used for both heating and cooling, the device can reduce the carbon footprint of heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) by 75%. As the grid shifts to renewables, that footprint could essentially be completely eliminated, so turning on the AC doesn’t have the ironic effect of making future heatwaves more likely due to global warming.
“We realized that air conditioning is an important public health need,” said Vince Romanin, CEO of Gradient, which emerged from the research and innovation lab Otherlab, a company that studies the energy system in detail and designs new solutions. “And we realized that we’re in a kind of vicious circle where today’s systems have really high CO2 emissions and are increasing in use. It doesn’t have to be – technology exists to make heating and cooling systems that don’t have high CO2 emissions. The company is here to break this cycle and create products that allow you to be cool and comfortable without heating the planet,” says Romanin.
Some more efficient air conditioners already exist, but they usually require professional installation and that drives up the cost. “People typically buy the lowest-efficiency product on the market,” he says. “And that’s because the upfront costs are just a lot for people to deal with.” Gradient designed his device to work like a more expensive heat pump (technically all air conditioners are heat pumps, but the industry uses the term to refer to devices that can both heat and cool), but because it’s easy to install, the buyer can it itself. The company hasn’t released the pricing of the units yet, but says it’s aiming to make the most efficient technology accessible to more people first. Ultimately, it wants to be able to compete with the cheapest air conditioners.
Because refrigerants in air conditioners: powerful greenhouse gases, the company also chose a low-emission refrigerant that goes beyond what industry regulations require. Unlike a typical air conditioner that has two options – on and off – the Gradient device has a variable speed drive, so it can run up and down, using only the amount of energy it needs. It is connected to Wi-Fi, so it can also adapt when the power grid is in high demand. The device also reduces emissions by replacing heat on fossil fuels in winter. (For now, it’s only suitable for relatively warm climates, though it could help people in colder climates turn down their other heaters, and the team is working to make it better for extreme winters.)
The company isn’t trying to convince customers to buy the product based on the climate benefits, but because it hopes they prefer the experience. It’s under the window, so light still gets in. It’s big, but not an ugly box. The noisy components are outside so it’s quieter than traditional units, and the variable speed drive also helps to lower the volume.
“We don’t think the way to move an industry forward is to ask people to pay for their reduction in their carbon footprint,” says Romanin. “We want to build products that provide a better user experience, and make their homes more comfortable and beautiful. In all other industries, you see that’s what drives change fast enough to have an impact. And when it comes to emissions, we really don’t have much time. We need to start replacing fossil fuel furnaces and inefficient HVAC as soon as possible if we are to meet our climate reduction targets. So we need to make the product people want on its own merits so we can drive adoption as quickly as possible.”
The company is now seeking participants to beta test the devices and plans to begin commercial production in 2022.


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Washington companies hope U.S. passes Russian trade bill
Everyone from Boeing to fish processors and apple growers stands to benefit if the U.S. normalizes trade relations with Russia. That’s coming up for a vote Friday in the House of Representatives.
Russia joined the World Trade Organization in August and lowered a whole bunch of tariffs on things like airplanes and fish.
But U.S. companies can’t take advantage of those lower tariffs until our government passes something called permanent normal trade relations. That wouldn’t reduce any of our tariffs – it just gets rid of a Cold War era bill that required Russia to allow emigration of Jews. The U.S. has since determined that’s no longer an issue.
Eric Schinfeld is president of the Washington Council on International Trade. He says Russia last year was Washington state’s fastest-growing export market, but the old tariff system prevented it from getting really big.
"Russia is such a huge economy and we've really only begun to scratch the surface," Schinfeld said. "Right now, Russia is I think our 32nd largest trade partner as a state, right behind Panama. So for an economy the size of Russia, we really have so much opportunity there."
Schinfeld says Russian tariffs for airplanes will drop as much as 60 percent or so when the U.S. passes trade normalization. That would help Boeing better compete against Airbus in the Russian market.
Boeing managing director Julie Felgar says the company expects Russian demand for airplanes to grow.
"The Russian market in the next 20 years we expect Russian airlines to purchase nearly 900 new commercial airplanes valued at approximately $100 billion," Felgar said.
One complication to all of this? Some people in Congress want to pass a human rights bill tied to the trade normalization – something the Russian government is not happy about.


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The BBC have recently released some surprising figures about tv license subscriptions. The figures released coincide with the 40th anniversary of colour broadcasts but show that there are still nearly 30,000 people watching TV in black and white.
This amount is based on the number of black and white subscriptions users are paying for and is quite surprising knowing the uptake of flatscreen tv’s and the online streaming services provided by the BBC iPlayer, ITV Player, 4oD and similar services is higher than ever.
To be able to continue to use these sets after digital switchover, a set top box will be required.
An advisory panel is making recommendations to protect certain sporting activities to be on a Free-to-air platform.
Rather than Pay to view providers snapping up all the main events, the recommendation is that certain sporting activities should be kept where everyone can view them without the need for a subscription to a pay-per-view provider.
The panel is calling for home Ashes, home national football qualifiers (World Cup and European), Wimbledon, The Open Golf and some rugby union to join a list of ‘nationally important’ sporting events.
These recommendations are good for viewers, a lot of sport is broadcast on pay to watch channels that a large percentage of the population can’t currently get so for more to be able to watch these events it can only be seen as good news.
What will be accepted onto the list of protected sports, we shall find out in due course.
Following on from the recent addition of the BBC’s iPlayer to the Playstation 3 platform, the BBC is shortly to release an updated version of the player specifically for Wii users.
The iPlayer is already available on the Wii, but users have complained about it being clunky to use via the Web Browser. Instead it will now gain its own dedicated ‘channel’ on the Wii.
The iPlayer is becoming a more important means of watching BBC TV Content, however with more users keen to use it it is placing pressure on ISPs who are limiting users connections with bandwidth caps or throttling during peak times.
This will only leave the Xbox 360 unable to receive BBC content via the iPlayer, and no sign of this being added any time soon.
From the BBC Internet Blog, the Red Button Controller has said his team will be switching off 2 of the 3 interactive streams used to deliver BBC content on Freeview. This will have the effect of removing the BBC News Multiscreen and closing the Red Button Interactive channel on Freeview.
This is being done to make way for the new High Definition services which are due to start broadcasting from Winterhill during December.
They have confirmed red button content such as sports coverage will continue to be accessible, but via a linear broadcasting channel rather than on the interactive stream.
The red button service will continue the same on Virgin Media, Sky and other services, including the BBC’s online service, this will just effect Freeview Viewers.
Due to start broadcasting from Winterhill during December this year, the Granada region will be the first to receive Freeview HD. From here, the rollout of HD will follow the nationwide digital switchover program.
The transmission systems will be upgraded to support the newer, DVB-T2 system to enable High Definition signals to be broadcast. The bandwidth for this new system will created by changing the compression of the BBC’s Multiplex B.
The downside to these upgrades however, is that not all televisions and set top boxes will be able to receive the new High Definition signals due to the change in compression needed to send the signals over the air waves.
While Sky users have access to plenty of high definition channels (via subscription), Virgin Media’s HD selection is more limited and currently Freeview has no HD support. These upgrades will mean the UK is leading then way with DVB-T2 High Definition TV support.
In a deal struck today between Youtube and Channel 4, we will see 4oD content being uploaded to watch on Youtube. Launching in the coming months, this will see Channel 4 content appearing on Youtube shortly after it has been aired on TV. Users will also be able to access over 3000 hours of archive TV via the site too.
The content will be available on Youtube for UK users only, it will probably also reduce the number of user uploaded snippets of Channel 4’s programming.
When the service launches, Channel 4 will use advertising to support the service. It isn’t an exclusive deal, so content will stay on Channel 4’s 4oD service too, however it will share the load and bandwidth requirements between its own service and Google, which should make it more available in the long run.
Relating to this, today Ofcom released figures showing that 1/3rd of online adults use video on demand systems, this is a key area of growth for the broadcasters as more people are preferring to watch TV when they want, instead of at the time it is aired.
Microsoft have confirmed the date that Sky Player will arrive on Xbox Live. The service will officially begin on the 27th October and provide Live and On Demand content to Xbox 360 users.
Content will be available on various subscriber packages and on a pay per view basis too. Xbox Live Gold will probably be required too to access the extra content, theres got to be a reason to pay £40 a year right?
I’m sure more information about the service will be released closer to the official launch.
At midday today (or there about) the update of Freeview took place, shifting a few of the channels between multiplexes and also to add a new channel from Discovery, Quest started broadcasting at midday today. To continue to receive the channels, everyone with a Freeview receiver needed to retune their box / tv / capture device.
If channels appear to be missing, try a full channel rescan to see if they re-appear and / or start working again. However, for some, this upgrade may cause the lose of ITV3/4 for some users and certain models by Daewoo, Labgear, Triax and Bush could possibly stop working entirely. A full list of problematic hardware can be found at the BBC, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/29_09_09_freeview.pdf
This upgrade is to pave the way for trails of Freeview HD later in the year.
Did you have any problems with the retune? Anything exciting to report?
Intel have unveiled how it sees TV sets changing in the future. It sees a more connected device, that is hooked up to the internet to receive extra content and communicate back to various social networking systems.
With more and more of us getting hard disk recorders (be it Sky+, a Freeview HD recorder or a Media PC) there are more options with how to connect these devices, and thus the TV to the internet. I personally like my MythTV driven media PC (www.mythtv.org), there are alternatives in the form of Windows Media Centre PCs, Apple TV boxes, and more recently other software solutions including Boxee.
Once connected, the options are limitless on what can be provided to your TV, from the plain old internet, to extra features overlayed over your current TV program, to catch up TV over IPTV.
Intel wants to be in on the action, developing and delivering System-on-Chip (SoC) style solutions to set top box manufacturers.
The TV as we know it is changing already, no longer do we have to be at the TV when we want to watch our favourite programmes, what the future brings for it is yet to be known but there are various new ideas under development.
The next Xbox 360 dash update, due out later in October is set to include the Sky Player. The October issue of Sky Magazine has stated the download will be available to download onto the console.
Currently the service will be accessible to all Xbox Live Gold Subscription members, with extra premium content (films and sports) accessible by Sky Subscribers. My guess is you will have to login to your Sky website account to link your Gamertag to your Sky account.
The Xbox update will also bring the talked about Facebook and Twitter upgrades to the dash.If you don’t have Xbox Live Gold, is it maybe time to get one now ready for when this update goes live?
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Ever have a really great customer experience you wanted to share with management, at, say, a leading hotel chain? Conversely, ever needed to get something off your chest, only to find there was no real feedback loop in place? Medallia Inc. has built its business on making that scenario go away. The Palo Alto-based customer experience management firm announced today its cross-platform Mobile Feedback Solution, giving customers an no-app approach to provide feedback on the most popular mobile devices.
Medallia said the SaaS solution is easy to deploy, as companies can launch one survey without needing to create versions for each mobile platform. Mobile deployment makes it easier to capture real-time customer experiences in the mobile space. It also improves the probability of accuracy and heightened response, due to what the company calls “top-of-mind feedback" on their experiences.
Mobile Feedback at Cutting Edge
The Mobile solution works across multiple platforms, including iPhone, Android, and BlackBerry. With Medallia Mobile Feedback, customers can fill out surveys without having to download any apps. Sam Keninger, director of Prod Marketing confirmed the no-app technology was built on jQuery Mobileframework -- that is, based on HTML5, now gaining popularity in the mobile web space.
The company is also at the cutting edge, offering voice control, a hot topic these days with the recent announcement of the iPhone 4S and its Siri voice support. Medallia said it will support “…speech-to-text-enabled smartphones, such as the newly introduced iPhone4S, so customers can speak their survey responses into their phones.” Beyond the iPhone, most other smartphones are also supported, including Android and BlackBerry.
Medallia Takes Innovation Award
In related news, last month the company has earned a 2011 TCM Labs Innovation Award for its Medallia Text Analytics, specifically for “…its achievement in advancing customer data analysis capabilities.” The company said it was the first “…integrated CEM text analytics solution to enable companies to analyze numerical scores and text comments from customer surveys together.”
Medallia offers an integrated solution that proved superior to traditional text analytics approaches. The big win is for non-researchers with no specialized training. The solution also provides “…a unified view of customer experience, which stand-alone text analytics products lack,” the company said.
Back in April we interviewed Elizabeth M. Carducci, director of client services at Medallia, and discussed the five steps to driving customer excellence, preached by the company to its core global 2000 companies that include ebay, Honeywell and Hyatt and Four Seasons Hotels.