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European stocks rebounded on Wednesday after investors took stock of recent market sell-offs following concerns over Western sanctions against Russia following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The Pan-European Stoxx 600 index rose 2.6 percent after four days of losses. According to the Reuters news agency, the hard-hit banking, travel and leisure sectors and automakers made gains in the morning trade.
Shares of European “Apple” suppliers such as “ASML”, “AMS” and “Infineon” increased by 3.5 to 5 percent, after adding the feature that connects to “Apple” generation networks – from the fifth to the lowest – the fastest chip for the iPhone SE and iPad Air. Provided by.
Shares of Adidas rose 7.6 percent as German sportswear expected sales to rebound in China, but warned that shutting down business in Russia could cause damage of up to மில்லியன் 250 million ($ 273.10 million).
Shares of Unicredit, Italy’s second largest bank, rose 7.4%, while shares of French BNP Paribas rose 7.9%, with both banks exposing themselves to Russia.
Global stock markets plummeted yesterday (Tuesday), raising global inflation fears after the United States and Britain took steps to ban Russia’s oil imports. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index has lost nearly 13 percent since the beginning of this year.
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Patriot unveiled new 64GB, 128GB and 256GB Torqx solid state disks, these models feature 64MB of DRAM cache but it is unknown which controller they use.
The 128GB and 256GB units have a sequential read speed of up to 260MB/s and a sequential write speed of up to 180MB/s, while the 64GB model has to do it with a read speed of 220MB/s and write speed of 135MB/s.
The Torqx SSD line is one of Patriot's latest releases designed with Patriot's new cutting-edge technology that adds 64MB of DRAM cache in conjunction with its current equipped NAND technology.
"With SSD technologies becoming more 'mainstream' in the consumer market, Patriot's goal is to give their customers discretion across their purchasing preferences," says Meng J. Choo, Patriot's Flash Product Manager. "In these tough economic times, consumers are looking for options; our goal is to give them that opportunity to add new technology, and have no reservations about their decisions."

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With the spread of coronavirus happening across the world, businesses everywhere have been forced to either shut their doors or greatly modify their services. One industry which has been affected greatly by the rise of COVID-19 cases, is the restaurant industry.
Dining rooms at restaurants are no longer allowed to stay open which forces customers to choose delivery or take out options only. In order to try to assuage some of the revenue losses businesses face in the Eastern Sierra, Local Real Estate Broker Jake Rasmuson has created a Facebook group called “Bishop Restaurants Offering Take-Out and Delivery.”
The hope is that the Facebook group will encourage people to order takeout in order to keep these businesses afloat.
“Well as a group, we set up so that we can keep the general public abreast of which restaurants are open, who is offering what food, and where for delivery.” Rasmuson said during an interview with KIBS/KBOV News. “It really gives the restaurants a chance to keep moving forward in this time of need.”
So far, the community has responded enthusiastically. This Facebook group was created about a week and a half ago, and it already has over 1,000 people in it.
“You know we are just over a thousand members. The response in our community has been amazing, just the number of people who are offering to help and who are offering to promote other restaurants. I think the biggest part is the local community members who are really trying to support the local restaurants and get up there and patronize the restaurants that are still open,” Rasmuson said.
Though Rasmuson implemented the idea locally, he says he stole the concept from a friend who lives just north of the United States border in Ontario, Canada. He stated, “You know I’ll be honest, another real estate agent friend up in Ontario, Canada, started a group very similar up there. I thought it was a great idea, and frankly, I stole it and got it started for our area. And I would encourage other areas to do the same thing because I really think it provides a great data base for our community to help those local restaurants.”
It’s safe to say none of the local restaurants or his friend care that this plan was not conceptualized by Rasumson.
Local restaurants aren’t the only businesses on board with this group. Jake Rasmuson conveyed that he is working with Bishop Chamber of Commerce Executive Director, Tawni Thompson, to get retail businesses included.
“Things have been great.” Rasmuson expressed. “Everybody has really been promoting their businesses and their friend’s businesses. I got an email from Tawni Thompson, so we are going to add several of the local retail shops that are still open that are doing take out or delivery as well, so we are really trying to expand that aspect.”
At this time, Rasmuson is not sure how big of a dent the “Bishop Restaurants Offering Take-Out and Delivery” Facebook group is having when it comes to keeping the lights on for these businesses, but he guesses it is definitely helping. “I would guess that just from a takeout standpoint, their orders have increased. I think really the goal is to supplement the income they are going to lose form having to close down their dining rooms. So, if everybody who has the ability can go out and patronize our great local restaurants, I’m sure the owners and then the employees would absolutely benefit there.”
Not only can an individual order delicious food from a local restaurant, they can also enjoy an alcoholic beverage dropped right on his or her front door.
“I do want to add, I know the state ABC laws have changed slightly due to the temporary restrictions, so I know quite a few of the restaurants have the ability to deliver wine, beer, and mixed drinks. So, if someone is at home and wants dinner and a cocktail, I’m sure that can be set up.”


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SAN FRANCISCO (CBS.MW) -- Hewlett-Packard on Thursday took the wraps off a $750 million initiative meant to attract more small and medium-sized businesses to the computing technology giant.
The "Smart Office" program is to provide technology and advisory services to businesses with fewer than 1,000 employees. It includes the release of more than 100 new products ranging from desktop systems to storage devices, from printers to servers.
"Small and medium-sized businesses tell us they need to get more from technology," said Carly Fiorina, H-P's
H-P shares rose 61 cents to close at $20.97.
Calling technology "the lifeblood" of small and midsize businesses, Fiorina outlined the philosophy behind Smart Office as appealing to smaller businesses seeking a technology partner that treats them with the same attention and support as it would a Fortune 500 company.
H-P plans hardware packages featuring printing and imaging, personal computers and infrastructure, and it aims to expand its tech support and financing programs for smaller business with options such as zero-percent leasing.
John Brennan, an H-P senior vice president who's directing the effort, said H-P intends to make elements of Smart Office available around the world, but he didn't give a timetable for when it would be rolled out in countries outside the U.S.
Fiorina said H-P understands small and midsize businesses' concerns as it receives about $21 billion of its more than $70 billion in annual sales from such customers.
"The bottom line is that H-P's technology works better together because it's built to work better together," she said.


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CenterCal eyes waterfront redevelopment in Long Beach
Developer who sought to revitalize King Harbor has a proposal for Alamitos Bay Marina project.
LONG BEACH — Plans to tear down a waterfront hotel and replace it with a visitor serving retail center earned the unanimous backing of Long Beach’s Planning Commission on Sept. 7, as the advisory committee backed CenterCal Properties’ proposal to revitalize a large commercial lot across the street from Alamitos Bay Marina.
Nearly 245,000 square feet of visitor serving uses could be built at the Second Street and Pacific Coast Highway lot, which has been vacant since Seaport Marina Hotel shut down in February. A Whole Foods market would likely be the anchor tenant of the proposed commercial center.
The plan in front of planning commissioners called for the new “2nd & PCH” project to feature a series of one- and two-story buildings with transparent architecture. Each building would, according to a Planning Commission staff report, include a combination of operable glass walls, porches, patios and verandas.
Adding the CenterCal project at the northeast corner of Alamitos Bay Marina would certainly make a busy area even busier. At least three shopping centers already exist in the area, in addition to a dense commercial destination blocks away at Belmont Shore.
An official website for the project stated the commercial center’s design is inspired by Alamitos Bay Marina.
“2nd & PCH will be a coastal contemporary retail and restaurant destination inspired by the neighboring marina,” the opening salvo of the redevelopment project’s website stated.
Other planned uses of the 2nd & PCH project include a health and fitness club and dining options.
Long Beach city staff added the 2nd & PCH project is part of a larger improvement plan for Marina Drive, which separates the former Seaport Marina Hotel property from Alamitos Bay Marina.
The city’s Marina Drive Complete Street Improvement project would ultimately allow for expanded development adjacent to a stretch of Alamitos Bay Marina. Changes could include reducing road size for vehicular traffic, allowing for increased bicycle uses and introducing other streetscape enhancements.
Construction of the retail and visitor serving project would take about 16 months to complete, according to Long Beach city staff; 2nd & PCH is expected to be operational in 2019.
The developer identified eight objectives for the redevelopment project, such as “[redeveloping] an underutilized site with a high quality, vibrant shopping center designed to capitalize on the property’s unique location adjacent to an active marina” and “[strengthening] the economic vitality of [Long Beach].”
The Second Street/Pacific Coast Highway intersection is home to one of Los Angeles County’s largest marinas and also serves as a gateway into Orange County. Also in the area are residences, restaurants, the Marina Pacifica Mall, Los Cerritos Wetlands, Davies Boat Launch Ramp and a variety of retail or grocery stores.
CenterCal – an El Segundo-based developer – recently proposed to revitalize Redondo Beach’s King Harbor, but whether such plans would move forward became uncertain after local residents approved a ballot initiative to restrict commercial growth on the city’s waterfront.
The CenterCal proposal called for a new waterfront mall to be built adjacent to the recreational boating venue, similar to the company’s redevelopment plans for the old Seaport Marina Hotel property.
Parimal M. Rohit photo


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American Express Company (NYSE: AXP) plans to host its annual Investor Day on Wednesday, March 25, 2015 at 1:30 p.m. (ET). At the meeting, Kenneth I. Chenault, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and senior executives will discuss the Company's financial outlook and strategic growth opportunities.
A live audio webcast of the Investor Day will be accessible to the general public through the American Express Investor Relations website at http://ir.americanexpress.com. Presentation materials will be posted on the website prior to the meeting and an audio replay will be available on the website following the event.
Editor's note: This meeting was originally scheduled for March 11, 2015.
About American Express
American Express is a global services company, providing customers with access to products, insights and experiences that enrich lives and build business success. Learn more at americanexpress.com and connect with us on facebook.com/americanexpress, foursquare.com/americanexpress, linkedin.com/company/american-express, twitter.com/americanexpress, and youtube.com/americanexpress.


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Quebec gin-maker must invest in region: Makivik Corp.
Nunavik Inuit willing to work with producer, if approached
If a Quebec-based gin-maker wants to brand its product as Ungava-made, it’s going to have to invest in the region, said Nunavik’s Inuit birthright organization.
Makivik Corp. has yet to hear from the makers of Ungava gin, which recently came under fire for its marketing, which has been called racist, sexist and an appropriation of Inuit culture.
The Quebec-based company, Domaine Pinnacle—recently purchased by Toronto’s Corby Spirit and Wine Ltd.—says it uses botanicals harvested from Nunavik’s Ungava region, including juniper berries, wild rose hips, cloudberry, crowberry and Labrador tea.
And those ingredients have guided the product’s branding: the gin bottle is adorned in syllabics, while its advertisements feature Nunavik landscapes, tiny Inuit caricatures and, in recent years, non-Inuit models dressed in revealing parkas.
“It’s false advertising,” said Andy Moorhouse, Makivik’s vice-president of economic development. “We’re our own people.”
The company has since apologized and removed the offensive material, pledging now to work with Inuit groups to develop more cultural-appropriate marketing and learn how to direct benefits to Inuit communities.
Makivik said it’s willing to sit down with the people behind Ungava gin, if approached.
“We’re open to meeting for sure, to hear what they actually need,” Moorhouse said.
“But if they’re going to promote it as coming from the Ungava region, they’ve got to spend their money in the region.”
When asked, the company couldn’t specify which herbs are sourced in Nunavik and where, only saying some of the botanicals in the gin have come from Nunavik, and others from different regions of Quebec, like the north shore of the St. Lawrence River and the Gaspé region.
“As far as we know, they’re not getting any of their products from any of the communities in the region,” said Moorhouse, noting that would typically require a commercial permit.
“It’s something we’ve never been made aware of.”
The only commercial harvest Makivik oversees is that of Pandalus montagui, a type of northern shrimp fished in the region under permits.
Otherwise, Avataq Cultural Institute harvests Nunavik herbs and berries for its line of Inuit herbal teas.
Ungava gin first contacted to Avataq to purchase its botanicals through the organization, but Avataq decided it did not want to be involved in producing an alcoholic beverage.
Moorhouse said the fact that the company is producing alcohol with Nunavik ingredients and imagery shouldn’t be an issue, so long as Inuit are well represented.
“If they want to create a real Ungava product… there are a number of things that need to be put in place before that happens,” he said.
“I’d want to make sure they hire Inuit pickers. We also have a rehabilitation facility in Kuujjuaq (Isuarsivik)—they should be involved, because they deal with alcohol-related addiction.”


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Poundland has received a big boost from its major move into the clothing sector and despite the problems at its South African parent company, its fourth quarter (the period to September 30) and full-year were strong.
Steinhoff International Holdings , now expects to publish its group audited financial statements for 2017 and 2018 by mid-April 2019, as an investigation by auditors PwC has been delayed, the retailer said on Thursday.
Steinhoff said on Thursday that the High Court of Justice in England and Wales had granted permission to its subsidiary, Stripes U.S. to convene a meeting with creditors about a proposed restructuring.
Steinhoff's former CEO, Markus Jooste, told a parliamentary inquiry investigating an accounting scandal at the retailer that he was not aware of any accounting irregularities when he left the firm in December.
Steinhoff reported a slight increase in nine-month sales on Friday as its managers remained pre-occupied with cleaning up after an accounting fraud that nearly tipped the South African retailer into bankruptcy.


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In what organizers hope will be the start of an annual tradition, sections of Plandome Road will be closed on Sunday to make way for an outdoor dining, shopping and entertainment event known as Manhasset Al Fresco.
Hosted by the Manhasset Chamber of Commerce and inspired by a similar slate of events in Port Washington and Garden City, the pedestrian-only event will showcase local restaurants and businesses for a series of eight summer nights every other Sunday. No tickets are required to enter and parking will be available at Town Hall.
Matt Donno, co-president of the Manhasst Chamber of Commerce, spoke about the benefits of the event for small businesses, especially as pandemic health restrictions ease.
“It’s time to reopen the world,” Donno said. “We’re proud that this is going to be beneficial to the businesses.”
Donno chose Sunday evenings after consulting with the participating businesses, allowing certain establishments that would typically close earlier to stay open longer.
In addition to food, Manhasset Al Fresco will feature live entertainment from local musicians, with the John Byrnes Band performing at 7 p.m. on Sunday.
In organizing the street festival, Donno attested to coordinating all the moving parts, but reaffirmed his relationship with the Town of North Hempstead, saying how good it was to see people come together and supporting each other.
“The Town of North Hempstead has been fabulous working with us,” Donno said. “It’s great to see that you have the support of the people running the Town of North Hempstead, the Fire Department, police; everybody’s coming together because they see the benefit of this for the business community and the town itself.”
But even as coronavirus health restrictions relax, Donno said support for businesses is just as necessary now as it was during the height of the pandemic.
“As co-president of the Chamber of Commerce my goal is to always look out for the businesses,” Donno said. “Support your community, especially in an Amazon-run world where everybody’s online shopping.”
And for those that survived the past 15 months, Donno offered the event as an opportunity for locals to show the same support businesses give for community events.
“Every sporting event or theater production or anything that goes on in this town, the businesses are who donate,” Donno said. “So this is a great opportunity for our community to come out and support these businesses too.”
Among the businesses participating in Manhasset Al Fresco is Villa Milano. The restaurant’s co-owner, Don Bekteshi, predicted that the nights will be a great success for his locally celebrated restaurant and neighborhood.
“I am very confident, and I am very positive that it’ll do well,” Bekteshi said. “We might be a little rusty; we have to oil ourselves a little bit, but we should be OK.”
From 3:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., partial closures of Plandome Road will extend between Park Avenue to Dennis Street and Webster Avenue to Hillside Avenue.
“There’s nothing wrong with change,” Bekteshi said about the event. “You always have to experiment things.”


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- Fintech startup BharatPe on Thursday said it has raised USD 15.5 million (about Rs 106.7 crore) in funding from global venture capital and private equity firm Insight Partners and existing investors, Sequoia and Beenext.
- The company, which provides merchants with interoperable UPI QR codes, said the proceeds from the series A round would be deployed towards scaling its operations and empowering millions of merchants with UPI payment within the next two years.
- Founded in 2018 by Ashneer Grover and Shashvat Nakrani, BharatPe has established operations in 11 cities Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Delhi, Pune, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Indore, Bhopal, Nagpur, Chandigarh and Jaipur.
BharatPe raises $15.5 mn funding from Insight Partners, Sequoia and Beenext
4 April 2019 2:42 AM GMT


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CHICAGO — Cows may be able to relax a little, but chickens should get nervous. New research from Mintel Menu Insights shows that chicken has grown in popularity in the foodservice scene, and is expected to continue growing as the beef industry faces bad press related to ‘pink slime’ and a recent case of mad cow disease in California.
“In addition to the recent health-related issues surrounding beef, and the already high beef prices, we expect restaurants to start focusing their attention on other proteins,” said Kathy Hayden, foodservice analyst for Mintel. “Steakhouses have been struggling in this rough economy and have tried to compensate by offering smaller cuts or more “surf and turf” options, but ultimately, chicken menu innovation is giving restaurant-goers a fresh and less expensive option while dining out.”
The number of U.S. menu items that include poultry as an ingredient has increased an average of 12 percent during the last three years, and expected to continue rising over the next one to two years, according to Mintel. The casual dining segment has seen the greatest growth, followed by fast casual restaurants.
Chicken fingers are the most popular poultry dish, boasting a 10-percent increase on menus from the first quarter of 2009 to the first quarter of 2012 and dominating quick service restaurants (QSR) and family/midscale settings, in large part due to their popularity as children’s menu items and appetizers. Meanwhile, buffalo wings increased their presence by 19 percent; the steep, 36-percent decline of chicken sandwiches has been offset by a 35-percent increase in chicken wraps; and the use of chicken as a pizza topping has increased by 26 percent.
Chicken snacks have also been a more noticeable presence on menus, with McDonald’s Chicken McBites, Whataburger’s Whatachick’n Bites and White Castle’s Chicken Rings having notable introductions in the QSR segment. Better-quality full-pieced, white-meat chicken and distinct sauces are primary ways brands are distinguishing themselves from the competition in a crowded field.
“Chicken is a versatile ingredient,” concluded Hayden. “In the future, you can expect to see it used in more ways, from pulled chicken sandwiches and bowls to more home-styled meals, like pot pies and stews.”


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When shopping for maple syrup at the grocery store, consumers should read the label to be sure the product is 100 per cent pure.
But when it comes to which flavour suits their needs, the labels can be confusing.
New uniform labelling based on colour and texture developed by the International Maple Syrup Institute is being phased in after being approved by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and the United States Department of Agriculture.
Colour and flavour of syrup can vary during the season because its natural composition varies.
Only two grades will exist under the new rules, Grade A for retail and Grade B for processing. Syrup available for consumers will only be labelled Grade A with four different colour classes:
– Golden with a delicate taste
– Amber with a rich taste
– Dark with a robust taste
– Very dark with a strong taste
New Brunswick and Nova Scotia are following the federal regulations.
Quebec producers who export maple syrup will use the new system this year. Those who sell their syrup in the province will continue to use the provincial labelling system, which includes two categories and five colour classes according to clarity, density and flavour.
Ontario's system also has two categories and five colour classes. Jim Leal, minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, said Wednesday he was aware of the new national standard grading of maple syrup but that consultations with Ontario producers on the new labelling was continuing.


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Watching your wedding go up in smoke isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
With marijuana legalized in New York, Massachusetts, Maine and a growing number of states, more couples are looking to take things higher, with cannabis-infused cocktails, canapés and pre-rolled joints available to wedding guests.
“People are starting to treat marijuana the same way they treat alcohol,” said Sabrina Ely, the Boston wedding planner behind Defined Luxe Events, who has planned weddings that incorporate the newly legal drug. “But right now the law is really gray. You can have it. But it’s not like getting a liquor license that tells you when, where and how much.”
While weddings on cannabis farms that include everything from marijuana flower arrangements and bouquets to THC-infused dinners have been popular on the West Coast for several years now, New England is just starting to catch up.
However, Ely says the confusion about what is and isn’t allowed makes many venues hesitant to host parties with pot.
Organic farms and independent hotels, or other venues run by owners who use marijuana themselves, are good places to start your search. (Unfortunately, cooler climes on the East Coast mean that the weed farms are typically indoor facilities under growing lamps and make poor venues.)
That’s what Connecticut couple John Filippides and Luckesha Joseph discovered. After proposing at a cannabis expo, the couple, who met at Boston College, knew from the start that they would incorporate the crop into their I dos.
“We knew it would be more complicated, so a planner was our first priority,” said Joseph, 28, who works as a talent manager in the entertainment industry.
The couple plans to have a “bud bar” during a cannabis cocktail hour prior to their ceremony this October at a farm in Massachusetts. There will be weed-infused edibles, as well as smokable marijuana flowers.
“We had to be flexible,” said Filippides, 31, who works as a television writer. “We had to venture out a little ways, and rearrange our budgets a little bit.”
As they discovered, there are definitely some dos and don’ts when it comes to lighting up at your wedding.
“A wedding planner can vouch for you,” said Ely, who will be on site for Filippides and Joseph’s wedding as a point person in case of any issues, as per the venue’s request. “You also need to get everything in writing, with a contract that includes cannabis. You also need insurance, just in case. I won’t try to do anything hush-hush.”
Creating a cannabis-only area that separates those who want to indulge can put operators at ease. Ely also recommends hiring transportation to and from the venue. Hiring a specialty cannabis caterer who is experienced with controlling dosages is also a must.
“Our basic packages include pre-rolls, or we can send someone to roll joints right in front of you,” said Johnny Maden, the owner of Buddha Som, which caters cannabis events in Brooklyn, Boston and Connecticut. “Vapes are the most popular option because it’s much less likely to make your wedding dress smell. There are some cool tabletop vape devices out there.”
For a more upscale experience, spring for food and mocktails infused with cannabis butters and oils. Services like Maden’s can bring credentialed ganjiers to pair out your dinner while sharing information on the history, horticulture, aromas, flavor profiles and effects of different types of Mary Jane.
“You are paying for a lot of knowledge,” Maden said, whose services start at $50 per head.
Something to consider: Non-intoxicating CBD options, “preferably in mocktails,” said Maden. “If somebody’s gone a bit too far, or if they are inexperienced, CBD does tend to mellow the experience.”
If you are a couple that wants to go green without being stricken from your grandparents’ will, there are diplomatic ways to make your wedding 420-friendly.
“I like gift bags,” said Samantha Kanter, the cannabis-friendly caterer behind Dinner at Mary’s. “You can have joints or edibles, for people to use in their personal time. I find that you really run the gamut with how people feel about cannabis, so it’s nice to be subtle.”
But for couples like Filippides and Joseph, having cannabis at their wedding is also a statement.
“I don’t think everyone in my family is happy about it,” said Joseph. “But they know I smoke and I would say that there is an activism aspect to it for me because there are so many black people, in particular, incarcerated because of weed. It’s not harmful. I don’t think my family expected it to be incorporated into my wedding day, but, yeah, it’s going to happen.”
#Couples #higher #cannabisthemed #weddings


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Your daily selection of the hottest trending gaming news! According to IndieGames (This article and its images were originally posted on IndieGames August 22, 2018 at 01:55AM.) Gravitational orientation becomes … Continue reading Liminal Turns Gravity On Its Side Through Brain-Bending Spatial Puzzles
The Humble Book Bundle: Unreal Engine & Unity 5 presented by Packt just launched on Monday, July 31 at 11 a.m. Pacific time! We’ve teamed up with Packt Publishing to bring you … Continue reading EGaming, two new bundles just launched!


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While the first Internet appliance dates back to the 1980s, development of such devises is still picking up steam. The Object Management Group's CEO Richard Soley says that now it's clear the Internet of Things (IoT) technology is making its way into systems.
"What you are seeing is the convergence of industrial systems, Internet solutions, big data and the ability to build systems that use an enormous amount of compute power potentially distributed all over the planet," Soley said.
For example, Coca-Cola Co. uses sensors in every part of its distribution, according to Soley. This entails everything from tracking down where a bottle needs to be delivered to orders of a specific syrup flavor. "They are sensing potentially hundreds of thousands of sites all over the world based on communication systems," he said.
Roger Ordman, director of product marketing at Red Bend Software, says the IoT technology is altering how products are being made. "Nowadays when devices are being built, it's the device itself with the software [that] enables it to work and the software [that] enables services around it to do more," he said.
It's possible to have a picture frame showing a handful of pictures, Ordman noted. That frame can be connected to the cloud and constantly be updated with uploaded pictures from sources like Facebook. "When you look at the way devices are being manufactured today, it's all very much software and services driven," he said.
One of the first areas to feel the impacts of IoT technology may be consumer-like devices, some experts say. On the enterprise side, it may take longer, especially depending on the vertical market.
"I think we will see the first impact in supply chains," said Soley. "There is an enormous amount of supply chain optimization that you can do if you know more about where the parts are coming from, how they are being integrated, how they are being delivered and what the distribution looks like."
Maxine Giza is the site editor for SearchSOA and can be reached at [email protected].


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Samsung Electronics reports higher quarterly results
IT WAS a glorious evening at the 12th Putra Brand Awards as Malaysia’s favourite brands in their respective fields were once again recognised in a gala event after the 2020 edition ceremony was skipped due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Apple may roll out a feature to accept credit card payments directly using the iPhone, without connecting to any extra hardware, say sources.
AS one of the global technology leaders, Xiaomi will be introducing its newly launched Redmi Note 11 series locally on Feb 10.
KUCHING: Samsung Engineering Co Ltd, one of the world’s leading engineering, procurement, construction and project management companies, has signed a memorandum of understanding to develop a green hydrogen and ammonia project in Sarawak.
News highlights from Asean countries in the Star-AseanPlus section for Wednesday (Jan 26)
PHNOM PENH (The Phnom Penh Post/Asia News Network): South Korea’s Samsung C&T Corp has expressed interest in investing an undisclosed sum in Cambodian transport infrastructure, to enhance the economic growth of the Asean country.
Store promises luxurious space to feel and test electrical and electronic products.
Shares were mixed Monday in Asia after Wall Street logged its worst week since the pandemic began in 2020.
Here's a look at the news highlights from Asean countries in the Star-AseanPlus section for Saturday (Jan 22)


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Global chip shortages will continue to improve in the second half of 2022 as the gap between supply and demand narrows for most components, according to the latest report from Counterpoint Research analysts who track the supply of smartphone components.
Chip shortages have plagued many industries over the past two years, but since the end of 2021, the gap between supply and demand has been narrowing, indicating that the shortage will close soon.
Inventory levels for 5G smartphone chips, including application processors, power amplifiers, and RF transceivers, are said to have increased significantly, although bottlenecks remain, such as 4G-enabled chips and power controllers.
In the PC market, the gap in the supply of important components such as power controllers, Wi-Fi and I / O interfaces has narrowed. Moreover, analysts believe that shipments will be revised down in the first half of 2022, mainly due to increased inventory in the channel and a slowdown in consumer PC sales growth.
“Last year, the lack of supply coincided with a recovery in consumer and business demand, causing a lot of headaches throughout the supply chain. But over the past few months, we’ve seen a decline in demand, which is perfectly combined with an increase in inventory,” said Dale Gai, director of Semiconductor and Components at Counterpoint Research.


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WhatsApp has mechanisms so that users can recover their conversations and files whether they restore the application from scratch on the same mobile device or if they migrate to a new one.
This is not so easy in those alternative messaging services that try to have as little user data as possible on their servers, such as Signal Private Messenger, which must resort to other ways.
Offering more facilities to its current and future users
In this sense, although Signal allows conversations and files to be transferred to a new mobile device through a process that is carried out completely manually, in the new beta of the application for Android devices, launched a few days ago, a new beta is appearing. function that makes it easier, but above all, much faster and safer.
The new migration tool, available through the Transfer Account section, automatically carry all the contents from one device to another in a secure way, using end-to-end encryption, using a private local wifi connection.
As indicated in the news section of the Signal beta in the Google Play Store:
Your next update deserves an update. Quickly and securely transfer your Signal information to a new Android phone. Use the end-to-end encrypted migration feature to move your account and messages from an old device to a new device via a private local WiFi Direct connection.
In this way it is facilitated that conversations are available in case of brand new mobile, even for users with less technical skills.
Here, the only aspect that remains to be known is to know if this new migration tool will also reach iOS, which would further facilitate the adoption of Signal for those users who may also contemplate the migration from Android to iOS or vice versa.
It will already be a matter of waiting a while for the new migration tool to begin to be available in the stable version of the application, so that users have it easier to always have their conversations regardless of the mobile device they use at all times.
Those who want to use it now can become a beta tester if they are not already and download the new beta version of Signal from the Google Play Store.
It is certainly one more push to apply as an alternative in a year that started in turmoil for the popular Facebook messaging platform, which still insists that users accept the new rules before May 15 arrives, for which When the date arrives, delete some functions from those users who have not yet accepted them until they say yes, or rather, the accept button that allows them to recover all functions.


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Global facial recognition market to reach $2.19 billion by 2020, says research firm
According to a new market research report, Facial Recognition Market, 2014 – 2020, published by Transparency Market Research, the global market for facial recognition will reach $2.19 billion by 2019.
The market is driven by increased demand for surveillance systems by civil and government agencies. This is due primarily to rising number of crimes and terrorist activities across the globe that would elevate the demand for efficient facial recognition solutions in the near future.
In addition, acceptance of facial recognition in the entertainment industry coupled with extensive use of facial recognition in consumer electronics is expected to fuel the demand for facial recognition technology in future. The report provides in-depth analysis of the market by segmenting it on the basis of parameters such as technology type and end-use industry.
The global facial recognition market was valued at $1.17 billion in 2013 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 9.5% from 2014 – 2020.
The global facial recognition market comprises the following technology types: 2D facial recognition, 3D facial recognition, and facial analytics. Of these, the market for 3D facial recognition technology segment, because of its high and better accuracy in terms of identifying facial features, is expected to record faster growth as compared to 2D facial recognition technology during the forecast period.
In addition, growth of the market for facial analytics, an emerging technology used for examining facial images of people without disturbing their privacy, is further expected to record steady growth as compared to that for 2D facial recognition technology.
The demand for these facial recognition technologies is further influenced by increasing demand from various industries, namely, government and utilities, military, homeland security, retail, banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI), and others. Of these, government and utilities, which includes law enforcement and passport and visa programs, accounted for the largest share.
However, with increased proliferation of retail outlets globally, retail industry is identified as the fastest growing segment in the overall facial recognition market. This is supported by rising concerns of security and use of marketing strategies to analyze the customers based on their age, gender, and other facial attributes. It will help in customer engagement at retail stores. Moreover, rising concerns of security have led companies to adopt tools such as CCTV recordings which are analyzed by facial recognition technique, alarm systems, and source-tagging.


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Amazon announced the addition of a new member to its board of directors. Judy McGrath, former CEO of MTV Networks, was elected to the board in an appointment that will take effect on Oct. 1. She will join the company’s Leadership Development and Compensation Committee, according to the SEC filing that detailed her election.
This announcement fits the recent actions Amazon has taken to improve its multimedia offerings. The company introduced Prime Music in June, then in July it beefed up its library a and added a curated playlist feature. It seems likely that, given her vast experience and great connections, McGrath will get involved with these digital ventures at some level.
McGrath headed MTV Networks from 2004 to 2011, giving her unique insights into the entertainment world. After leaving the television job, she worked on a media joint venture with Sony Music Entertainment called Astronauts Wanted: No Experience Necessary. This online video project is aimed at the usual MTV audience and its future shows may fall into the music category.


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“This is another step forward in creating the new T-Mobile, so we can deliver on our promise to bring robust competition to the 5G era, giving consumers more for less and creating jobs,” said John Legere, T-Mobile's CEO.
Legere proudly points to his company's record of disrupting the wireless industry and says joining forces with Sprint will make the wireless landscape even more competitive. Both Verizon and AT&T are moving ahead with 5G deployment, offering the upgraded service in a handful of markets before the end of the year.
The bulk of T-Mobile shareholder approval of the deal came from Deutsche Telekom Holding B.V., holder of approximately 63.5 percent of T-Mobile common stock. But that was the easy part.
Regulators still considering the deal
The deal must still clear the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Justice Department. The FCC is studying the engineering aspects of combining T-Mobile and Sprint. The Justice Department is examining the competitive aspects.
Consumer advocates have already come out against the merger and several Democratic senators have expressed concern that combining the two wireless providers could result in higher prices for consumers, particularly those who purchase the companies' low-cost prepaid wireless plans.
In May, the lawmakers sent a letter to the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division and the FCC to express their thoughts on the areas of the merger they considered problematic.
“As more than three-quarters of American adults now own smartphones, including many who depend on these devices for their primary connection to the internet, an anticompetitive acquisition in the wireless market could result in higher prices for American consumers or force some people to forego their internet connection altogether,” the lawmakers wrote.
New York reportedly questions the deal
In recent days, New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood has reportedly opened an investigation into the proposed deal over similar concerns.
According to a report in the New York Post, Underwood’s staff already views T-Mobile’s MetroPCS service and Sprint’s Boost and Virgin Mobile services as aggressive and has asked executives at both companies for clarification on how pricing would be affected.
Legere, meanwhile, is expressing confidence the deal will clear every regulatory hurdle, telling Bloomberg News that discussions with regulators have gone well and "we feel pretty good about our chances."


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Montreal (Canada) – March 1st, 2006 – InSpeck has announced this week that 3D service provider experts, Nexus Digital Studios LLC, have purchased InSpeck’s 3D Full Body system. The system will be used primarily to digitize actors and athletes for a variety of entertainment, industrial design and engineering applications.
“We’re honored that Nexus Digital Studios decided to add our technology to their service bureau expertise. They are the leading 3D digitizing facility in North America and to be considered and acknowledged by them says a lot about our products,” says Chris Rochefort, InSpeck’s Sales Director. “InSpeck’s technology has earned its stellar reputation by consistently providing its users with affordable and portable highperformance systems since 1994. That’s what Nexus has to look forward to,” concludes Rochefort.


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Vivo recently launched the X90 Pro+ as the world’s first smartphone that uses the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor. While that phone sits on the higher end of the price spectrum, Vivo’s new phone is on the opposite side. The new Vivo Y02 is an entry-level phone that has been launched in Indonesia. It comes with modest specifications and an appealing design, but you cannot buy it in India yet. Vivo has not a word on the phone’s availability outside of Indonesia.
The new Vivo Y02 is the successor to the Y01, which was launched earlier this year. Coming in less than a year’s time, the successor Y02 brings several improvements over the Y01. But it is less powerful than the Vivo Y02s phone, which was launched in August earlier this year.
Vivo Y02 price
The Vivo Y02 has been launched at a price of IDR 1,499,000 in Indonesia. This is around Rs 7,800. The phone comes in Orchid Blue and Cosmic Grey colours.
Vivo Y02 specifications
The dual-SIM enabled Vivo Y02 comes with a 6.51-inch IPS LCD that has a waterdrop-style notch on the top. The display has a resolution of 720×1600 pixels and an aspect ratio of 20:9. On the front, you get a 5-megapixel camera, while on the back, there is an 8-megapixel camera accompanied by an LED flash in a round camera island. Powering the phone is an octa-core processor, the name of which has not been specified in the official listing. However, previous rumours have suggested the Vivo Y02 uses the four-year-old MediaTek Helio P22 chipset.
The Vivo Y02 features 2GB or 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage, but you can add a microSD card to expand the storage if you need more. The phone is backed by a 5000mAh battery that supports 10W charging using a MicroUSB 2.0 port. The Vivo Y02 runs Android 12 (Go edition), which means you get the Go suite of apps, such as Gmail Go, YouTube Go, and Maps Go. For connectivity, the phone comes with support for 4G VoLTE, dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS, and a 3.5mm jack. There is no fingerprint scanner on the phone, but there is a face unlock feature.


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In the second high-profile move on arsenic in the food supply in recent months, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced it will remove three arsenic-containing drug types used to treat food animals, most notably chickens. Altogether, the three drugs were used in 101 formulations as feed additives.
The move follows its study of arsenic in rice, which found: there is arsenic in rice, but not at levels that should concern most consumers, according to the FDA.
This latest move on arsenic in the food supply will result in an almost total elimination of arsenic from animal feed. The manufacturers of the three drugs indicated to the FDA that they wanted the approvals withdrawn after receiving questions about arsenic in the food supply from the FDA, prompted by the Center for Food Safety’s 2009 petition to remove arsenic from animal feed. They had already “largely removed” them from the market after studies showed arsenic in the food supply, according to Center for Food Safety, but this FDA decision formalized the decision.
Arsenic has been used in feed in the U.S. since the 1940s to induce faster weight gain on less feed, and create the perceived appearance of a healthy color in meat from chickens, turkeys and hogs. Arsenic was found at detectable levels in samples of meat purchased in grocery stores.
The remains one drug outside of this FDA action, now used in approximately 3% of cases, that still contains arsenic. The Center for Food Safety argues that the arsenic is directly toxic to animals and humans, and can be transformed into a form that is cancer-causing inside chickens, in manure-treated soil and in humans.
“The withdrawal of these harmful feed additives is a major victory for consumers and the health of our food system. It is unfortunate that legal pressure from outside groups was necessary to spur action by FDA, yet in the end, we are pleased that FDA listened to our scientific objections and is now working to rid arsenic from our meat supply,” said Paige Tomaselli, senior attorney with Center for Food Safety.
Consumers who choose organic chicken should have avoided much of the fuss. If any arsenic is found in organic chicken, it’s likely because arsenic is present in the soils where those chicken are raised–not because the chickens were fed it, as was common on U.S. conventional chicken farms.
One drug containing arsenic, used to treat a potentially fatal disease in farmed turkeys, is still on the market.


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The agency has been investigating cases where drugs were bought using bitcoin, and recently it arrested Makarand Pardeep Adivirkar. Hydra market's servers, 25M in bitcoin seizedby German police in dark web Hydra vendors offered a variety of illicit drugs for sale. The amount of cryptocurrency spent on so-called dark net markets, where stolen credit card information and a wide array of illegal drugs can. Another high stakes bitcoin heist may have happened on the deep web as Evolution Market, the biggest drug marketplace on the darknet. This first EMCDDA investigation into the world of online drug markets brings Andrew bitcoin drugs market 4: Staying in the shadows: the use of bitcoin and. Law enforcement seized server infrastructure and 543 Bitcoins The Russian-language Hydra Market platform was used for drug trafficking.
Drug dealers are using bitcoin to finance the deadly wave of fentanyl flooding into the country from overseas. We follow the money from Main. Context: Mining refers to bitcoin's consensus mechanism, Medicare's limits on Aduhelm coverage sparks questions about future drugs. Prosecutors say Christopher Boden offered to exchange bitcoin for swapping out drug dealers' dirty cash for bitcoin, prosecutors say. By J Aldridge 2024 Cited by 112 Cryptomarkets represent an important drug market innovation by bringing buyers and sellers of illegal drugs together in a 'hidden' yet public online. The qu4ntum drug organization distributed anabolic steroids and other Market Reddit Best Darknet Markets silkkitie market darknet Biggest Darknet Market 2024 Bitcoin Drugs on A. 2 This paper aims to understand the role of the internet's Deep Web 3 and Bitcoin (and other Crypto currencies) in dealing drugs online.
Context: Mining refers to bitcoin's consensus mechanism, Medicare's limits on Aduhelm coverage sparks questions about future drugs. Cryptocurrencies are among the largest unregulated markets in the world. We find that approximately one-quarter of bitcoin users are involved in illegal. Drug and human traffickers are increasingly using online marketplaces and and by some market participants' noncompliance with bitcoin drugs market anti-money. By S Foley 2024 Cited by 608 The numerous online cryptocurrency exchanges and markets have daily dollar volume of around 50 bitcoin drugs market Over 170 cryptofunds have emerged (hedge funds that. By J Aldridge 2024 Cited by 77 There are limits on the extent to which cryptomarkets may reduce drug market violence. The vast majority of the cryptomarket drug trade is generated by cannabis. Following the Wall Street Market takedown in May 2024 and the filing laundering cryptocurrency, and spreading drugs around the world,.
Thomas White silkkitie link pleaded guilty in 2024 to drug trafficking, Thomas White has been ordered to hand over Bitcoin he made on darknet markets. 80 percent of all dark web market-related cryptocurrency dealings. say that Hydra enabled users to buy and sell illegal goodsdrugs. New Jersey, United States - The research study on the Bitcoin-Mining Machine Market offers you detailed and accurate analyzes to strengthen. A new study on Silk Road, the recently shut-down illicit online marketplace that first brought bitcoin to notoriety in 2024. Darknet marketplace that they say specialized in drug dealing. has facilitated over 5 billion in bitcoin transactions since 2024. Agency says a hacker stole funds in 2024, 2024 from drug website, left untouched for years. A large cache of seized bitcoins once belonged to.
Drug dealers are using bitcoin to finance the deadly wave of fentanyl flooding into the country from overseas. We follow the money from Main. By A ElBahrawy 2024 Cited by 15 We analyse 24 separate episodes of unexpected marketplace closure by inspecting 133 million Bitcoin transactions among 38 million users. Drugs market, keeps us hooked to the bitter end in Silk Road, and a small fortune in bitcoin thanks to an article about the site. About 25M of Bitcoin was seized from Hydra's bitcoin wallet. German servers of Hydra, a Russian darknet market, used for selling drugs. Sites similar to Silk Road already exist within the Tor network. Two stores called Atlantis and Sheep Marketplace offer illegal drugs, equipment. Since their inception in 2009, it has become a medium for all kinds of black market activities online. Here's what silkkitie darknet market you need to know about the.
Onion Darknet Market
MakerDAO is the Ethereum-based protocol that issues Dai, a stablecoin that tracks the value of the US dollar. Uncategorized bitcoin drugs market A Florida man will spend the next 36 months in prison for manufacturing counterfeit Xanax pills and distributing them over the Internet. International shipments, on the other hand, can spend two-to-four weeks in the mail. Police allege that AlphaBay was set up by a Canadian and at one time housed about 2200 vendors with about 12,000 drug listings. All dispute resolutions adhere to Spurdomarket’s bitcoin drugs market own policy, rather than any policy of vendors on the darknet market. At Cannazon you can find the finest lineup of weed, cannabis products and shrooms anywhere inside darknet Intuative Desing & Payment System Cannazon uses easy-to-use design for customers to shop comfortably, and uses cryptocurrencies for anonymous transactions.
Nor are they problematic for many the many Silicon Valley entrepreneurs interested in the blockchain technology underpinning the currency. And any employee with access to the Tor browser can solicit anonymous bids for sensitive corporate data, code, bitcoin drugs market or 2024 darknet market access. Key on your profile Market Links from our site to buy from Dream as.


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NIGERIA: V-MOBILE OFFERS SHARE OPTION TO ECONET BUT WANTS CELTEL
A three-year battle for control of one of Africa's hottest cellphone properties, Nigeria's V-Mobile, took a new twist last week when a 65% share-purchase option was offered to Johannesburg-based Econet.
Although the Nigerians want to accept a US$1bn bid from pan-African operator Celtel, Econet already owns 5% and has the first right of refusal to any other shares that are offered for sale. http://www.armdiscoveryfund.com/
Econet dispatched a team of 20 legal, financial and technical experts to Nigeria yesterday to begin due diligence, although it would not comment on whether it believed the asking price of $1bn for 65% was fair.
"Our lawyers are going through the documents to confirm whether it's a bona fide and valid offer," said spokesman Sure Kamhunga.
Econet originally agreed to buy 33% of V-Mobile for $150m in 2003 until the Nigerians began negotiating to sell their shares to the far larger Vodacom instead.
Econet won an interdict preventing the sale of any shares until the issue was resolved in court. That legal stalemate was one reason why Vodacom quit its long-running quest to buy V-Mobile in February.
However, V-Mobile has continued to negotiate with other potential investors, resulting in an announcement by Celtel on Sunday that it had struck a condit-ional deal to buy 65% for $1bn.
Celtel's communications manager, Martin de Koning, would not say what the conditions necessary to firm up the offer were, but they should include settling the dispute with Econet so that a change of ownership can proceed.
Celtel will now be hoping that Econet cannot afford to buy the shares, or finally agrees to an out-of-court settlement to drop its legal action.
However, Kamhunga said Econet had enough money to buy the shares and had no intention of being paid off.
Celtel is Africa's third-largest cellphone operator after MTN and Vodacom, and it bid for V-Mobile through its new parent, the cash-flush Kuwaiti operator MTC.
V-Mobile has about 5-million subscribers, so $1bn for 65% worked out at about $310 a customer, said telecoms analyst Dobek Pater of Africa Analysis. Recent takeovers in Africa have seen companies pay anything from $400 to $500 a subscriber, making the V-Mobile deal substantially below the prevailing rate. "A Nigerian operator should expect more because the market is still in the early stages of growth," said Pater.
"There are about 22-million subscribers at present and we calculate it will go to 50-million in the next few years.
Nigeria is going to be a bigger telecoms market than SA, so Nigeria is key for any operator that wants to be counted in Africa." Pater expects Nigeria's cellphone market to ultimately hit 90-million customers.
V-Mobile's shareholders include the First Bank of Nigeria with 20,1%, three state governments and some institutional investors.


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WD has announced the availability of its My DVR Expander, a storage device that will allow users to expand their DVR storage by a massive 1 TB. My DVR Expander can be integrated seamlessly with a TiVo Series 3 or TiVo HD DVR.
DirecTV subscribers who have DirecTV Plus HD DVRs will be able to access the 30 new HD movies that the company has released on its pay-per-view service. Those without the DVR can access these films through a broadband connection.
Seven popular national channels have been added to the Dish Network HD offerings. Six of these new channels, CMT, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Spike TV and VH1 are offered to those currently subscribing to Classic Bronze 100 HD and above, and these six as well as BET are offered to current Classic Silver 200 HD subscribers.
Digeo is rolling out a Spring update to the Moxi HD DVR unit this weekend. Notable features include access to streaming video (Hulu, Youtube), access to Rhapsody, a streamlined photo browsing interface and integration into home automation devices.
The VuNow HD PoD from Verisimo Networks is now being sold through Amazon. This device allows customers to connect to online video streaming services through their TV. The list price for the VuNow is $148 on Amazon.com, and it comes with an HDMI cable as well as a wireless adapter.


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Hackers have created a sub $200 Linux-based tablet device, all thanks to a little tinkering with an Internet Media Display.
The device used to create this basic tablet was the Insignia Infocast — a simple $170 Chumby-powered Linux media device that was originally designed to share pictures and display information from the Web.
Out of the box the 8-inch Insignia Infocast houses an 800MHz processor, 128MB of DDR2 memory, 2GB of storage, and an LCD touchscreen. It also packs in two USB ports and built in Wi-Fi. But hackers have discovered that, despite the device’s limited capabilities out-of-the-box, it can do far more than just run the closed environment offered by the default Chumby operating system (OS).
A recent mod shows how hackers are tweaking the fairly inexpensive tablet to run a WebKit browser, making it much more usable for general Web surfing. The mod also lets you use an external keyboard with the Infocast.
Performing the hack is apparently a fairly easy process. According to the Bunnie Studios blog–home of Chumby co-founder Bunnie Huang–some modders are working on getting Google’s Android OS playing nicely on the touch enabled device.
One things for sure, this is no iPad or Galaxy Tab, especially considering the Insignia Infocast has no built-in battery, but for the comparitively low cost of entry it could well be a viable yet incredibly basic option for some.
[Via Hack A Day]
Follow Chris Brandrick and GeekTech on Twitter.


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Microsoft is leading the way in the AI revolution, with a 230% surge in stock prices, a battle with the FTC, and a potential acquisition of Zynga. This article will explore the impact of Microsoft’s actions on the tech industry, and how their moves are setting the stage for the future of artificial intelligence. From the implications of their stock surge to the potential acquisition of Zynga, this article will provide a comprehensive look at the ever-evolving world of Microsoft’s AI revolution.
Microsoft’s 230% Stock Surge: An AI Revolution
Microsoft’s stock surge of 230% over the past year has been nothing short of remarkable. Investors have been drawn to the company’s strong financial performance, with its revenue growth and profitability exceeding expectations. Microsoft’s cloud computing business has been a major driver of this growth, with the company’s Azure cloud platform becoming the leading cloud provider in the world. Additionally, Microsoft’s investments in artificial intelligence and machine learning have enabled the company to develop innovative products and services that have been well-received by customers. Microsoft’s success in the stock market has been a major boon to shareholders, with the company’s stock price increasing significantly since the beginning of the year.
FTC Battle Over $69 Billion Acquisition of Activision Blizzard
on Facebook Settlement
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has been in a heated battle with Facebook over a proposed $69 billion settlement. The FTC has accused Facebook of violating consumer privacy laws by allowing third-party companies to gain access to user data without permission. Facebook has denied any wrongdoing and has argued that the settlement amount is too high. The FTC has argued that the settlement is necessary to ensure that Facebook takes steps to protect user data in the future. The battle between the two parties has been ongoing for months, with both sides refusing to budge from their positions. The outcome of this battle could have lasting implications for how tech companies handle user data in the future.
Potential Acquisition of Zynga to Stay Relevant in Mobile Gaming Space
The potential acquisition of a business is an exciting opportunity for many entrepreneurs. It allows them to expand their operations and gain access to new markets and resources. The process of acquiring a business can be complex and involve a variety of legal, financial, and operational considerations. It is important to research the target business thoroughly and understand the potential risks and rewards associated with the acquisition. Additionally, the entrepreneur should consider the impact the acquisition could have on their existing operations and the potential for synergies between the two businesses. Ultimately, the acquisition of a business can be a great way to expand and grow a company, but it is important to ensure that the decision is well-informed and carefully considered.
The past few years have seen Microsoft make a major push into the world of Artificial Intelligence (AI), and the results have been remarkable. From a 230% stock surge to a potential acquisition of Zynga, Microsoft’s AI revolution has been a success. Despite the FTC’s investigation, Microsoft has managed to stay one step ahead of the competition and remain a leader in the AI space. With the potential acquisition of Zynga, Microsoft is poised to take its AI revolution to the next level and continue to be a major player in the industry.


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tech2 News StaffJul 03, 2018 19:09:32 IST
Based on the details provided by Vivo India on its website, the only difference between the Vivo Z10 and last year's Vivo V7+ is the fact that the Z10 comes with 32 GB of onboard storage instead of the standard 64 GB on the V7+.
The Vivo Z10 will be an offline exclusive and will not be sold by the company on e-commerce stores. The smartphone will be available only across the states of Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu. The price and date of sale of the smartphone, however, has surprisingly not been made official yet.
As far as specifications are concerned, the Vivo Z10 features a 6-inch HD+ resolution display with an aspect ratio of 18:9. A Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 SoC and 4 GB of RAM. Camera optics include a 16 MP camera on the back and a 24 MP selfie camera with an LED flash. The rear camera also gets an Ultra HD mode that makes 64 MP photos through image stacking.
The phone runs on Vivo's Funtouch OS based on Android Nougat 7.1. Vivo has also thrown in a 3,225 mAh battery and a face-unlocking feature.
Tech2 is now on WhatsApp. For all the buzz on the latest tech and science, sign up for our WhatsApp services. Just go to Tech2.com/Whatsapp and hit the Subscribe button.


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Despite the boom in online shopping during the pandemic, online retailers remain amongst Australia’s least trusted businesses when it comes to personal data privacy and sharing information, according to a new report from Deloitte.
As privacy awareness grows, comfort with trusting online retailers with personal data in Australia lags at 4.2 out of 10, on par with trust in the general IT industry, according to the 2022 Deloitte Australian Privacy Index – surveying 1,000 Australian consumers over the age of 18. Only real estate agents scored lower, with a trust rating of 4.1 out of 10.
Around three-quarters (74%) of Australian consumers believe the companies they interact with online collect browsing information about their online activities. Half (51%) are uncomfortable with their online activity being tracked, while 82% are unhappy with their location data being shared with other companies.
“What is clear is that a disconnect remains between consumer expectations and how brands collect and use personal data,” says Deloitte national privacy and data protection lead partner Daniella Kafouris.
“As a result, there needs to be a better balance between consumers finding personalisation helpful and what could be considered over-reaching.”
Improving personal data privacy trust
Despite their concerns, Australian consumers are growing more comfortable with the concept of sharing personal details in return for improved service or other benefits. Almost half of consumers (43%) are happy to share their personal information, even when aware of how it will be used in terms of personal data privacy.
While 80% of consumers see value in online personalisation, only 30% are happy with their current personalisation experiences. More than 54% of brands offer no tangible incentive to consumers – beyond access to services – in exchange for creating an account and revealing personal details.
Only younger consumers aged 18 to 34 see value in online personalisation, while those aged 35 and over see it, in the absence of transparency, as going too far.
“Working, learning, buying and even entertaining from home and online has significantly shifted the dial in positive and perhaps not-so-positive ways – from consumers benefiting from greater personalisation in their digital experiences, to genuine concerns about how their data is used,” Kafouris says.
To improve a business’ privacy perception, Deloitte offers five key recommendations to empower consumers and build trust. Businesses must provide transparent disclosures, use consistent language to describe their activities, set privacy as default, allow consumers to set personalisation preferences, and communicate privacy protections upfront.


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Celebrities are escalating their cannabis commercialism beyond paraphernalia, like the Snoop Dogg G-Pen or Tommy Chong’s bongs.
For the first time, artists, directors and even authors are directly lending their likeness and name to marijuana products.
Northern California dispensary operator David Spradlin said it’s been a process of slow evolution from cannabis celebrity endorsement to mainstream endorsement.
“There have always been the ‘cannabis celebrities’ — your Tommy Chongs and Jorge Cervantes, Ed Rosenthal etc. The people that have been the trailblazers in this industry for a long time,” he said. “Now you’re seeing the television and movie stars popping up at cannabis festivals and events and attaching themselves to various brands. It’s the natural evolution of the thing.”
“This is definitely a new trend,” said Steve Bloom, former High Times editor and creator of CelebStoner.com. “Now that marijuana is more and more coming out of the closet, pot-centric companies are lining up to get the hottest CelebStoners on board with their products.
Wiz Khalifa expertly partnered with RAW papers, Bloom notes. “That’s just a partnership made in weed heaven. That guy really loves RAW. It’s a great way to expand the reach of their brand.”
“The Wonderful Pistachios TV ad featuring Snoop is another example,” said Bloom. “What’s next? Doritos, Taco Bell? They already have suggestive spots geared towards stoners. When they hire a pot star to hype their products, then you’ll really know marijuana has crashed through the Green Curtain. And let’s not forget Tommy Chong being hired for Dancing With the Stars. That’s huge. He’ll reach more people than ever before. And the show will suddenly have a stoner audience. Works both ways.”
“I’ll call it the Golden Age when a leading world politician is ok with signing off on his/her favorite strain or vape, lol,” Spradlin writes.
Here’s our top five favorite celebrity weed tie-ins.
Wiz Kahlifa – KK
The Grammy-nominated, chart-topping rapper and new father has his own Khalifa Kush, sold in San Jose, CA. Khalifa gets an unlimited supply of the knock-out, indica-dominant hybrid, in exchange for lending his name to the cut. The Cookie Co. in San Jose aren’t some newbies, either. Cookies fam is responsible for the hit strain of 2013 and 2014 — Girl Scout Cookies.
Snoop Dogg – Moon Rocks
The indomitable Snoop already blew up the G-Pen, now’s he’s touching fire directly with an endorsement for Kurupt‘s Moon Rocks, which is a potent bud dipped in concentrated weed oil and rolled in keef.
COHIBA OF CHRONIC
Ed Rosenthal – Ed Rosenthal Select Sativa Medi-Cone
The famed cultivator and author Ed Rosenthal of Oakland partnered with the Bay Area’s Medi-Cone on ‘The Eddie’ — a dynamite blend of Blue Dream and Mango that retails for $17.
Kevin Smith – Mr. Tusk / White Walrus
Iconic indie filmmaker Kevin Smith expertly promoted his new film tusk with a highly credible tie-in to Buds and Roses in Los Angeles. Buds & Roses’ equally iconic grower Aaron Justis has released two strains — White Walrus (aka Veganic Chernobyl, (Trainwreck x Trinity x Jack the Ripper)) and Mr. Tusk (Ken’s OG Kush)
Redman – Caviar Gold
Rappers have really high tolerances, so platinum-selling rapper Redman’s tieup with Caviar Gold is a good fit. Caviar Gold is a popular, Los Angeles-based cannabis company that makes fortified flower buds and pre-fabricated joints loaded up with cannabis oil and keef. Redman cut an entire commercial/official music video for Caviar Gold with Dr. Zodiak, and Kurupt.


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- The Fed lowered rates for the second time this year.
- Housing sales of new and existing homes gained.
- Credit defaults, delinquencies deteriorate.
The stock market failed to make it four straight weeks of gains as the UAW strike at GM, turmoil in the Middle East, floods in Texas, and global economic weakness collectively dampened moods. The Fed also made news every day, and, when the Fed has to take action, it’s not usually because things are looking good.
Fed rates: The Fed lowered official short-term policy rates for the second time this year. Longer-term rates drifted lower, not as a result of the Fed rate cut but more in reaction to concerns about a reversal in China-U.S. trade progress and heightening concerns about global weakness. Overnight financial system liquidity problems are causing the Fed to buy billions of dollars in treasuries to keep short-term rates in line with their rate policy.
Housing gains: The best news was in housing as both new construction and existing home sales have seen gains in July and August. Housing is starting to see the benefit of lower interest rates.
Credit warning signs: Credit defaults are growing, and auto loan severe delinquencies are warning signs about the health of consumers.
Dealers less optimistic: Dealers collectively are less optimistic about the fourth quarter, but independents have become pessimistic in contrast with franchised dealers who still see a strong market. Learn more details on our Q3 Cox Automotive Dealer Sentiment Index.
Looking ahead: This week, we’ll get August new home and pending home sales data and personal income and spending data as well as September consumer confidence and final consumer sentiment readings. We’ll be watching for progress on negotiations between the UAW and GM.


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The British financial institution HSBC mentioned Friday it has agreed to promote its French retail financial institution to the Cerebus-backed My Money Group at a lack of $2.Three billion.
In response to Reuters, the sale has a silver lining for HSBC, permitting it to “finish its lengthy battle to eliminate the enterprise because it focuses on Asia.”
Cerberus, a U.S.-based personal fairness fund, already has stakes in different European banks, together with Deutsche Financial institution and Commerzbank. With this newest deal, My Cash will purchase HSBC’s 244 branches, roughly 3,900 staff and 24 billion euros in belongings, successfully creating what the corporate calls a brand new challenger financial institution in France.
My Cash may also convey again the Credit score Industrial de France (CCF) model and make investments 200 million euros within the HSBC unit’s know-how infrastructure.
“The deal marks HSBC’s second exit from a significant Western market this 12 months after it offered its U.S. retail banking companies, as Chief Govt Noel Quinn cuts his losses in markets the place HSBC has lengthy struggled to be worthwhile,” stories Reuters. “HSBC put its French retail enterprise beneath ‘strategic overview’ in September 2019, with a sale launched in December the identical 12 months, because it deserted an extended battle to generate enough income from the unit.”
HSBC made a loss earlier than tax of 288 million euros for the monetary 12 months that ended Dec. 31, 2020. Reuters notes that the financial institution had hassle attracting bidders, who balked at the opportunity of restructuring and coping with native regulators.
Banks are in an uncommon place proper now, as PYMNTS famous final 12 months in our dialog with Pollinate Founder and CEO Alastair Lukies.
Lukies mentioned the stability of regulatory belief that banks as soon as loved has shifted, opening the door to issues like open banking and permitting FinTechs to tackle a few of the monetary providers banks used to supply, equivalent to mortgage underwriting and debit accounts.
The businesses declare to supply these providers sooner and extra easily than banks, Lukies mentioned, that means they’ll now start “driving over the rails that was once solely owned by the financial institution.” For extra on this subject, download our study, AI in Focus: The Financial institution Know-how Highway Map.


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Alexis Nadal, CEO of Nayar Systems, has been in charge of presenting the award to the Verbella project.
Nayar Systems, firm in its commitment to support talent, has sponsored a new edition of Reset Weekend. Reset Weekend is an event of entrepreneurship projects that has gathered more than 60 participants in its 2021 edition. It consists of a weekend where synergies, good ideas, creativity and innovation have flowed to choose three winning ideas that have been awarded with € 2,500 in prizes.
Alexis Nadal, CEO of Nayar Systems, has been in charge of delivering the check of 500 € to the Verbella project, a brand of cosmetic products by Bernardina de la Paz to reduce hair loss made with all-natural products. In her presentation, the founder of Verbella explained that for generations her family has used an extract from a medicinal plant, with which her grandmother made a product that prevented hair loss. This project is the result of the work of many generations that today Bernardina wants to expand, hoping that the essence of the brand is not lost and with the aim of reaching thousands of people to give them back their smile.
The other winning ideas were: Malaerba, a sustainable and regenerative agriculture project by Alba Cebrián, which recovers abandoned plots for organic produces, won 1.500€; and Vocesía, a solution by Juan Santos to transform texts into synthesized and humanized voice models, which can be used professionally just by writing the text, won €500.


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Discover more from unicorn chats
🦄 vol. 1
karl and sash chat about bitclout and fake news
what's your worth? 🤑
Early last year, Instagram rolled out a huge experiment fuelled by the negative side effects its platform has on users. They removed likes from the bottom of their pictures to reduce user anxiety and social comparison. Unless you were a stalker on Firefox or using an iPhone 5 with an outdated app, all you'd see was 'Liked by x and others'.
Fast forward to March this year and we have a new platform centred around monetising people's reputation, without an ad revenue model like that of Instagram, YouTube or other influencer rich platforms. On BitClout every user has their own "creator coin" (stock) pegged to BTCLT (BitClout’s cryptocurrency). Go viral on Instagram for something cool - bull run. Get cancelled on Twitter - face a bearish sentiment.
If you believe in a content creator, simply buy their creator coin. Should they grow in popularity, you’ll both benefit financially. But that’s not all, according to their WhitePaper, BitClout will enable a host of different offerings like Stakeholder meetings: only people who own a certain amount of a creator’s coin can participate in their comments section. A tad bit exclusionary 🐸 ☕, but definitely forces people to put their money where their mouth is and limits negative commentary. BitClout’s decentralised nature also means that just like Bitcoin, applications can be built on top of it, e.g. SoundClout.
Far-fetched? VC backers don't seem to think so; Andreessen Horowitz, Social Capital, and the 'evil' twins from the Social Network, Winklevoss Capital - amongst others have pledged around $165 million worth of Bitcoin in funding to the platform.
This proof of concept screams Black Mirror’s Nosedive episode and raises the question: to what extent will people go to drive up their value, sorry, BitClout? Speculating on someone’s ‘value’ seems like a step back in our journey to mastering self-worth. Nevertheless, if you’re looking for some solid diversification, I’ve got you covered. 😉
reading through the bs 💩
Now that it thankfully didn’t come home, I wanted to touch on a modern day phenomenon: fake news (for maximum effect, read in Trump’s voice).
A couple weeks back, Cristiano Ronaldo (the most followed person on Instagram) was caught on camera removing two bottles of Coca-Cola from in front of him at a UEFA EURO 2020 press conference. He then went on to shout “agua!” while holding up a bottle of water.
The video went viral, but the tournament organisers weren't amused. 😂
What happened next? 🤔
And despite internally debating whether I believed this story or not, I still went on to share the news article on social media.
I have confirmation bias (I’m a CR7 fan, I think he’s influential and this story confirmed it)
The news publications seemed credible
The truth 😯
The news headlines were misleading. It’s true that by the time the press conference was over, the Coca-Cola share price was down 1.6%. But if you zoom in to the minute, the share price had already dropped before Ronaldo moved the bottles (read more here).
It’s also worth noting that online publications are incentivised to share clickbait. If you aren’t paying to read an article, they’re probably making money from serving you ads on their site (the more traffic on the site, the more money for the publisher).
We suffer from chronic confirmation bias and latch on to any opportunity to further perpetuate our beliefs. We retweet, repost and reshare. But do we think critically enough in the moment? Given what’s been happening in South Africa over the past few weeks, I’d urge you to exercise caution before you jump to any conclusions.
sash loved watching the naomi osaka netflix documentary.


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Nokia Only Getting Linux-Based OS Onto One Phone Next Year
Now, according to a new report, it looks like Nokia may be lagging behind for a little while longer. Reportedly, the company will only install Linux software on a single phone next year, which isn't what loyalists were hoping to hear. The N900 is definitely Nokia's highest-profile device at the moment, and it's also the firm's first with the Linux-based Maemo 5 operating system. Early reviews have been generally positive, but if Nokia plans to stop the sliding, it should probably get those positive vibes flowing to other phones in its lineup as soon as possible.
In related news, Nokia marketing head Anssi Vanjoki purportedly told German magazine Wirtschaftswoche that it wasn't ruling out "an eventual sale of its core handset manufacturing business." It's tough to say how much longer Nokia can rely heavily on Symbian if it wants to maintain its position as #1 in the industry. Many feel that Symbian is dated and aging fast, and it seems that shifting to Maemo 5 quickly would be in Nokia's best interest. Can you imagine what a Droid-level marketing blitz would do for a new OS like Maemo 5? Guess we'll never know--at least not this year or next.


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Spain reports weak inflation in May as deflation strikes eurozone
May 31, 2014, 12:00 am TWN
MADRID--Spain reported Friday a feeble increase in consumer prices in May as the eurozone struggled with the specter of an economically damaging deflationary spiral.
Spanish consumer prices rose at an annual rate of just 0.2 percent in May, held down by lower food and soft drink prices, said an initial estimate by the National Statistics Institute calculated in line with European Union norms.
In a period of deflation, when consumer prices fall for a broad range of items over a sustained period, people and businesses tend to postpone purchases while hoping for further price declines in the future.
Deflation can thus push an economy into a vicious spiral of falling growth and rising unemployment, and it is notoriously difficult to reverse.
Consumer prices in Spain appear to be skirting in the danger zone, after declining by 0.2 percent in March and edging up by just 0.3 percent in April — still well below the European Central Bank's target inflation rate of about two percent.
ECB president Mario Draghi said this week the eurozone bank was alert to the risk of persistently low inflation. Draghi told analysts in Sintra, Portugal that the eurozone's central bank expected low inflation eventually to return to close to 2.0 percent.


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Oct 6, 2009
Aeon first half operating profit falls 40%, keeps outlook
Oct 6, 2009
TOKYO, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Japan's second-largest retailer, Aeon Co Ltd (8267.T), reported a 39.5 percent fall in first-half operating profit on Tuesday 6 October, hurt by prolonged weak consumer spending, but it reiterated its full-year outlook above the market forecast.
Supermarkets and department stores remain in a slump even as the country's economy crawls out of recession, with record deflation and rising job losses dampening hopes for a speedy recovery.
Aeon and rivals such as Seven & I Holdings (3382.T) have been hit by sharp falls in sales for months as thrifty consumers cut back spending on clothes and other non-daily items and defect to cheaper specialty stores like Fast Retailing's (9983.T) Uniqlo.
Aeon has been trying to lure back shoppers by expanding offerings of cheap store brand items and sprucing up shops, but its attempts to revamp its general merchandise stores -- supermarkets that sell clothes and housewares in addition to groceries -- have failed to reverse the trend.
The retail conglomerate runs about 600 supermarkets, including Jusco stores, 1,200 grocery stores and thousands of specialty shops, including U.S. apparel chain Talbots (TLB.N).
The company said its operating profit came in at 35.5 billion yen ($397 million) for the six months that ended in August, down from 58.7 billion yen a year earlier.
The firm kept its full-year forecast at a range of 130-140 billion yen in operating profit, up 4.5-12.6 percent from a year earlier and above a mean estimate of 119.8 billion yen in a poll of 12 analysts by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Shares of Aeon have fallen 5 percent so far this year, underperforming a 9 percent gain in the benchmark Nikkei average .N225.
Prior to the announcement, Aeon shares ended down 2 percent at 830 yen, underperforming a 0.2 percent gain the broader market. (Reporting by Taiga Uranaka)
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