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Factory press releases about the different race series and our own reports of race weekends we visit.
Rainy and hectic… but above all promising It is no secret that the organization of an event like Spa Classic
Zuffenhausen celebrates the original sports car and style icon It is the archetypal sports car for everyday driving, and a
Partnerships with innovators in new technologies and venture capital companies Porsche is taking the next step in its digitalization campaign:
The new TECHART GrandGT is a new stage of highly individual sports saloons. The TECHART GrandGT is available based on


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Do you remember when Google inserted a "kill switch" into Android phones so its programmers could sneak into your phone and destroy malware? Experts were concerned because these Android phone owners were not asked if they wanted Google to crack their phones and delete all their malware. The incident exposed questions about people's rights when it comes to smartphones, and now Samsung is getting into the act.
It's been a few months since Samsung had to discontinue its newest flagship smartphone only weeks after it debuted. Unfortunately, these phones were exploding and causing property damage and injuries. However, Samsung has yet to say why it's latest smartphone was combusting. Now a new study could shed some light on the cause of this catastrophe.
It all went down in September. People all across America were shocked to find out that there was a problem with their brand-new Samsung phones. The darn things liked to blow up, and safety advocates wouldn't let that slide. Before the month was out, the Galaxy Note 7 had been recalled and removed from the market. However, this wouldn't be the only recall to hit Samsung this year.
Remember when everyone found out that Samsung Galaxy Note 7s were catching on fire. Internet memes started, videos surfaced, and everyone was claiming their other Samsung products were exploding too. Well, hang on to your shorts because they weren't kidding.
First we heard reports of exploding smartphones, but would you believe there are reports of exploding washing machines too? Both products have something in common, they were made by Samsung, and consumers are not happy. Could these product issues send Samsung into a tailspin?

domain: news


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New freight service to launch
Harbour Facilities (St Helier) is launching a new direct and regular freight service between Jersey, France and Guernsey.
The company, under Captain Peter Crafter, had started the Granville to Jersey freight route in 2006, but most recently Mr Crafter was captain of the Rozel Shipping boat which has been servicing the route.
Harbour Facilities has bought their own vessel, the MV Thora, and they intend to provide a twice-weekly service between Normandy, Brittany, Jersey and Guernsey. They are currently awaiting confirmation of their licence from Ports of Jersey.
Operations director Edward Dunn said: ‘We will not be ignoring the route first pioneered by the company to Granville and we will indeed have secure warehousing available for deliveries to be received during working hours. However, we will also be operating from Saint-Brieuc in Brittany with similar facilities.’ The vessel, MV Thora, can carry 100 tonnes of deck cargo and 12 passengers.
It has a bow ramp and is also being fitted with a marine crane for cargo handling. It will carry building materials and any other cargo which is too heavy or awkward to be carried on the ferry.
Mr Crafter said: ‘There’s always been trade ever since we started and it’s shown growth year on year, so I am confident we will do well.’
Meanwhile, Rozel Shipping managing director Grant Feltham said his company was still trading and refused to confirm or deny if the company still owned its freight boat, the MV Grima, but said they were continuing to move freight and logistics.


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The live stream will be shown below:
PhocusWire Pulse events are a series of virtual gatherings of industry leaders, dedicated to a single trend or topic in the sector.
For our fifth event this year, we focus on the complex and fast-evolving world of payments in the travel industry.
We look at issues and trends ranging from delayed payment programs, fintech divisions in major travel brands, credit cards, customer trust and much more.
Progress In Payments will take place on Tuesday, July 27.
PhocusWire Pulse: Progress In Payments features the following speakers:
- Sophia Melas, head of partnerships at Fly Now Pay Later.
- Mike Carlo, CEO at XanderPay.
- Thomas Heldorff, vice president of airlines and travel at Worldpay.
- Daniel Marovitz, senior vice president of FinTech at Booking.com.
- Will Plummer, CEO at Trust My Travel.
- Alvin Kumarga, senior vice president for financial services, Traveloka.
- Chan Che Chong, co-founder and CEO, GlobalTix
- Ken Ling, vice president for hotel finance, Dusit International
- Chew Ann Wee, head of saes, NTT DATA Hong Kong
The interviewers for this event:
- Linda Fox, senior reporter, PhocusWire
- Jill Menze, news editor, PhocusWire
- Mitra Sorrells, senior reporter, PhocusWire
- Yeoh Siew Hoon, founder, WebInTravel
- Kevin May, editor in chief, PhocusWire


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Mobile network 3 has revealed it is planning to launch a mobile Wi-Fi service in the UK before Christmas.
Running out of power while on the road is something every gadget user has to deal with at sometime or another, but a new portable solar charging system from Sanyo Electric could help in such situations.
Australian budget airline Jetstar today announced a trial allowing passengers to receive boarding passes via SMS. The Qantas-owned airline says the technology, developed by Melbourne-based IT company Sissit Group, is a world first. The company intend...
Verizon is engaging in a broad-based summer smartphone sale as the company has slashed the prices of many of its smartphones by $100.
Mobile phone outfit INQ Mobile has launched two low-cost smartphones that feature tight integration with social-networking site Twitter, it said on Tuesday.
Hot on the heels of news that Tesco Mobile has launched an 'unlimited' sim-only tariff that allows mobile phone users to call, text and surf the web as much as they like for a one-off £30 per month, Virgin Media has unveiled a similar deal in the UK.
Woolworths has announced the launch of a new mobile phone company in Australia, Everyday Mobile.
Samsung plans to launch a mobile application store in Europe this quarter, following an increasingly popular path to revenue inspired by Apple's iPhone App Store.
Verizon will launch its long-anticipated VCast App Store in the fourth quarter, promising to bring new mobile applications to market in less than 14 days.
Sprint Nextel is buying Virgin Mobile USA, a subsidiary of the UK-based entertainment and communications giant that has over 5 million prepaid wireless subscribers in the United States.
Drivers of heavy trucks who were texting while driving were at a 23 times greater risk of a crash or near crash than those who were not, the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute reported last night.
Mobile operators positioning themselves as 'smart enablers' in the industry must live up to the hype, global analyst firm Ovum warns telcos recently.
Palm has released a webOS update for the Pre smartphone that features expanded support for Exchange Active Sync policies, a change aimed at enterprise users.
The touch screen is taking over cell phones, and soon mobile computing and even desktop computing. Both Apple and Microsoft are working on a transition to touch-enabled versions of OS X and Windows. Touch screens are coming in, and keyboards and mice...
Samsung has a new phone coming out, but you would have never guessed it by the buzz surrounding the presentations the company has been giving.
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Naadam, a sustainable, luxury cashmere brand based in New York,
Community-driven marketplace for curated men’s clothing Grailed closed a $15
Thieve is an ecommerce product that provides a daily updated, curated list of the best finds on the direct-to-factory site AliExpress – the retail
Wardo is an outfit inspiration and planner app that helps users make sure not to wear the same outfit too often. Users can use
Electronics company I.am+ announced the acquisition of $117 million in financing from Salesforce Ventures.
I.am+ is a Los Angeles-based company creating products that combine fashion
Team collaboration software company Slack has launched The Slack Shop, a nonprofit online store to purchase such items as Slack socks, pins, stickers, coaster
According to a recent SEC filing, Armarium, a women’s luxury styling service that allows users to borrow top fashion brands for a fraction of
Hexatope is a web app that allows users to customize their own sterling silver or 18 ct gold pendants through intuitive interaction with a
In between posing for selfies and going on adventures, the Millennial generation is quickly approaching the next big phase of life: parenthood. According to
Digital media startup Authentic Brands Group announced the completion of a new round of financing from General Atlantic.
Authentic Brands Group is a branding, marketing,


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An Auckland telemarketing firm is considering legal action against Internet commentator Bruce Simpson, in the wake of email threats and abusive phone calls directed at its manager, Penelope Webb.
The threats began after Simpson claimed last week that The Web Directory Ltd would be making local Internet users “a prime target for all the low-life spammers” by publishing their email addresses on a CD-Rom. He had earlier criticised the company’s business model on his Aardvark Website.
Webb claims her company’s turnover dropped from $20,000 a week to $3000 last week, “so it has caused us considerable damage. I don’t want to get dirty on it, because it’s cheap-shot journalism, I think. I’m trying not to react too much, but it did upset me greatly last week when I had a couple of death threats and abusive phone calls. We’re referring those to the police.”
Civil action would relate specifically to claims made by Simpson in a Usenet newsgroup posting, and could thus be breaking new ground in this country.
In his newsgroup posting in nz.general, Simpson said that if readers had “a web site and an email address maybe you should be concerned that this company is going to be adding your email address to their CD-Rom and printed product, making YOU a prime target for all the low-life spammers who think nothing of firing off thousands of emails a day using mail-relaying software.”
Simpson said Webb told him his address would be in the directory and when he asked if it could be removed, “she declined, saying that it most certainly would, whether I wanted it to or not.”
Simpson’s email address does not appear anywhere on his Website or in his newsgroup postings and he admits “it turns out I don’t think she’s got my address but she was getting stroppy and threatening me.
“She got quite angry and I tried to stay relatively rational, which probably flustered her.”
Simpson’s account of what was clearly a lively exchange of views was enough to convey the impression to some other people that Web Direct would be gathering and using email addresses without permission.
Subsequent posts in response to Simpson’s raised the idea of redirecting Internet junk mail to Webb personally and to her company’s email addresses. Simpson says he was careful not to respond to these followups and says the threats received by Webb are “not my fault”.
The idea that The Web Directory would be extracting and using email addresses without permission also concerned some ISPs, among them WebWorld, whose managing director Peter Belt sent the company a letter declining permission to use addresses in any of the domains he managed without written permission from the holders. Belt says he was suspicious that the Web Directory Ltd was the company which had called ISPs some time ago requesting lists of customer email addresses.
Webb says she has received the letter “and many others. “I now have letters saying ‘I believe you have my details on your CD-Rom that’s to be released in June.’ And we don’t. We’ve never, ever picked up the phone and contacted a personal or home user.
“Every letter I’ve received I’m responding to straight away and saying ‘to date we have not been in contact with your company to seek authorisation – nonethless, we will take this letter as final that we will not be including your details in the Web Directory. So it’s quite simple – they’re not going to be in there.”
Webb denies telling Simpson his address would be included without his consent and says the Web Directory is a standard telemarketing business, selling entries in a print directory to businesses, at between $163 and $345 per entry.
"I’ve got a couple of personal users, people who’ve enquired via our Web page. We've never ever claimed that we’re going to illegally extract information from anywhere and put it on a CD-Rom. We’ve actually backpedalled on the CD-Rom because there’s been such a panic about it."
Webb admits that a CD-Rom version was referred to on the company’s former Website, but claims it was not being considered until next year’s edition of the directory.
"We’ve got a new [site] up and running. The timing was really poor for us. The company which was hosting our Website – whose service I was never happy with – went belly-up about a month ago and the page had been frozen since then. I couldn’t get in to make any changes."
A statement on the company’s new, completely redesigned Website – at www.webdirect.co.nz - says it is still weighing up plans for a CD version of its directory, "in a read-only format such as PDF" next year.
"The businesses that are included in our directory – like Microsoft and Canon and Hewlett Packard – have all signed a written consent, showing the price and agreeing to go into the directory," says Webb. "We never marketed them on the CD-Rom anyway. We’ve sent a bulk letter to them, and anybody who feels they purchased for inclusion in a CD-Rom is welcome to a refund."
Microsoft New Zealand marketing manager Steve Jenkins confirms that he agreed to a listing and is holding an invoice for $345 for "one alphabetical directory listing, and one complimentary classified entry in the computer services section of their directory. There’s no mention of a CD-Rom."
But Jenkins says he has yet to pay up, because "everything is on computer-printed stationery, there’s no nice letterhead. So we’ve got the cheque created and signed right now, with a note saying to check it’s bona-fide before we pay."
Jenkins says he called the company and spoke to a staff member but has not yet had a mangement response to his query.
Simpson says that prior to his initial article he called the company’s number and spoke to a young woman "and asked a few questions as if I was a customer looking at signing up. I said that if it was coming out in print, wouldn’t it go out of date very quickly and she said oh no, it’s coming out on CD-Rom as well and that will be updated quarterly."
Webb says when Simpson called "a 17 year old girl answered the phone and he said ‘is your company Australian’? Looking at his previous articles, I think he might have a bit of a problem with that. It’s an easy shot, I suppose - this Australian scam company comes in and stitches everybody up.
"But I’ve been consulting to American Express and Pepsi-Cola and people in telemarketing for seven years and it seems to me it’s just targeting a volatile business – especially at the moment with the scam in the publishing companies, with the [false invoicing prosecution] handed out last week, it's an easy time to sensationalise.
"I can't be too personal in my comments, but he was incredibly rude to me on the phone. It's like a little vendetta. I'm just waiting for him to say 'this Australian woman' and then I'll have him for discrimination."
Webb says her company would drop any plans for legal action if Simpson were to make "some sort of retraction". Simpson insists he has said nothing that needs retracting.


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Ink Protocol, a decentralized platform for peer-to-peer (P2P) payments, announced Tuesday that its decentralized application (dapp), Ink Pay, is now available on Coinbase’s Wallet app.
According to a news release, the new dapp enables buyers to evaluate a seller’s reputation prior to making purchases – as well as leave their own feedback – and conduct transactions through third-party marketplaces using either Ink’s XNK token or ethereum’s ether. At some point in the future, Ink also said it intends to add a mediator or escrow function.
The XNK token is currently used as the primary form of payment for all transactions on its own marketplace, Listia, the release notes.
Currently, Coinbase doesn’t seem to offer its app store in all jurisdictions served by the Wallet app.
According to Gee-Hwan Chuang, co-founder and CEO of Ink Protocol, over three million “real-world items” have been listed on the marketplace using XNK.
Chuang told CoinDesk:
“Ink Pay enables secure buying and selling on any marketplace, while earning public, transferable reputation for each transaction. With over three million real-world items listed using XNK already, we are joining Coinbase in moving past speculation and ushering in the important utility phase for crypto.”
Ink Protocol’s founders previously raised $15 million in an initial coin offering (ICO) to power the Listia platform, as previously reported by CoinDesk. ConsenSys Ventures and Tetras Capital participated in the funding effort, among other firms.
Coinbase image via Shutterstock
The leader in blockchain news, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups.


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Last summer news broke about the fate of the retail movie rental chain Blockbuster after their bankruptcy filing in 2010. After much negotiation and consideration, Blockbuster was bought out by the cable television provider Dish Network. While Dish vowed to allow many Blockbuster stores to remain open, a main office headquarters will soon be relocated.
Texas To Colorado
Blockbuster was lucky to have been salvaged by Dish Network nearly a year ago, but has continued to face challenges even after the buyout. Continued drop in sales and losing more employees over location closings has brought dim light to Blockbuster in the last 12 months. Even Dish Network hasn’t been able to find much profitability the remaining open locations.
In order to keep a close eye on operations, Dish Network is closing the Blockbuster headquarters in McKinney, Texas and relocating it to Colorado. The obvious loss in employment and tax revenue for the Dallas suburb is likely to hit close to home, as the relocation of the headquarters is expected to take its toll on the local economy. However, Colorado is expecting up to $2.5 million in job growth as the result of the relocation.


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Double Honor! The 2022 Future Medical Top 100 List was Released, and SVision was Selected!
Recently, the 6th Future Medical Top 100 Conference hosted by VBDATA.CN and Eggshell Research Institute was held on line. At this highly credible and influential industry conference in the medical industry, as the leader of domestic high-end ophthalmic medical equipment, and relying on the world-leading advantages of surpassing imported similar products in many aspects, SVision Imaging has been honored on the list of “Top 100 Future Medical Device Companies and Top 100 Innovative Medical Devices List in China”. Moreover, Dr. Li Bing, co-founder and CEO of SVision Imaging, was selected for the “2022 Future Healthcare VB100 Wei Lan Award for Entrepreneurs” and was listed as one of the top ten “ Most Innovative Entrepreneurs” of the year.
The Future Medical 100 list was established in 2015, which is the first innovative medical and health list for unlisted enterprises in China. It is the annual selection of the life and health sector that attracts the most attention from industry and capital circles, known as the “industry wind vane”. After several rounds of review and selection, SVision Imaging stood out from thousands of participating companies and won the double list, which represents the industry’s high recognition of SVision Imaging and demonstrates its professional strength and industry influence.
“2022 Ophthalmology Industry Research Report” refers to the SVision
At the “2022 Ophthalmology Industry Innovation Forum” in the sub-venue of the conference, the “2022 Ophthalmology Industry Research Report” was released. Through in-depth research on a number of ophthalmology companies, the report comprehensively analyzes the ophthalmology industry from the dimensions of industry overview, sub-field scanning, development opportunities and challenges, typical corporate innovation cases, and future trend judgments.
Eggshell Research Institute senior researchers fully affirmed the leading position of SVision in the domestic high-end ophthalmic equipment field when interpreting the report in the forum. She pointed out that OCT equipment has undergone the transition from time domain to frequency domain to swept source. Since 2018, a number of domestic enterprises have entered the OCT market, breaking the pattern of import monopoly. Although most domestic enterprises are still concentrated in the middle and low-end market, it is very pleased to see that domestic enterprises represented by SVision have begun to make a major breakthrough in the high-end market.
According to the report’s research and statistics, in 2021, the domestic ultra-high-end OCT market with more than 2 million have a market share of 42%, surpassing imported brands to rank first, and achieving a major breakthrough in domestic high-end OCT; In the high-end OCT market with a value of more than 1.5 million, the market share of SVision is 20%, second only to Zeiss.
In addition, the chapter “Research and Judgment of the Future Trend of the Ophthalmic Industry” of the report pointed out that in recent years, domestic high-end ophthalmic equipment has ushered in a new round of technological innovation. In the field of OCT, as a major expansion of OCT functional imaging, OCTA is gradually becoming a major development trend. In the future, in addition to the further improvement of technical parameters, the new generation of OCT products represented by the newly released “Ruyi Whole Eye OCT” can organically integrate the anterior and posterior segment OCT, anterior and posterior segment OCTA and other modules to achieve “one machine for multiple purposes”. And it will become a major trend in the OCTA industry.
At present, within three years of the launch of the self-developed OCT product of SVision, it has been installed in more than 60 ophthalmic hospitals across the country (including more than 20 national and regional leading ophthalmic centers), and it has become the main machine for more than 80% of the TOP30 clinical research and nearly 400 ophthalmology departments. The hospital is trying out the equipment, and currently cooperates with authoritative experts from many leading hospitals in China to produce 46 SCI international journal documents. SVision imaging is at the forefront of OCT technology with epoch-making technological innovation, leading the future development trend of OCTA, and at the same time achieving an ultra-high application rate in domestic hospitals and achieving wide recognition by domestic head experts. It has successfully subverted the domestic high-end ophthalmic medical equipment market, leading the rapid development of the high-end ophthalmic equipment track.
Innovation leads development, SVision Imaging has won numerous awards
In addition to being on the list of the 2022 Future Healthcare VB100, SVison OCT products have recently topped the “Top Ten Advances in China’s Ophthalmology” in 2021, and were selected into the 2022 8th Outstanding Domestic Medical Equipment List. With the world’s advanced AI algorithm, by the end of 2021 Won the third and tenth best results in the Asia-Pacific ophthalmology big data competition… The SVision Imaging freezes various “highlight moments”, and the reason why it has won various national and even world-class awards is due to its continuous innovation and development.
SVision Imaging was founded in Silicon Valley in the United States in 2014. In 2015, with the support of the national industrial policy, the company’s headquarters was moved to China, and three R&D centers were established in Silicon Valley, Shanghai and Luoyang respectively. As a national high-tech enterprise, SVision also has the world’s top optical design and software algorithm research and development teams. It quickly became the global leader in OCT technology.
In 2019, the first domestic swept source OCT developed by SVision was successfully registered and listed in China. In 2021, SVision OCT won the evaluation of scientific and technological achievements by the Ministry of Science and Technology: it has fully reached the international advanced level. Its imaging quality, range, depth, speed, and Angiography algorithm all surpass imported high-end products. Truly becoming a “Chinese original” and reaching the world’s leading OCT product, which not only fills the gap in the field of high-end ophthalmic equipment in China, but also can be called a major innovation in the field of high-end ophthalmic medical equipment in the world.
In 2022, the world’s first Ruyi whole-eye OCT technology platform, equipped with the world’s leading Ruyi swept source engine, integrates a large number of advanced AI algorithms based on deep learning, and integrates the anterior and posterior segment structure OCT, and anterior and posterior segment Angiography OCTA for the first time in the world. In one device, the problems of OCT imaging inflection, inability to quantitatively analyze choroidal structure and Angiography, and automatic segmentation of OCTA in patients with high myopia in the past have been solved, and super-depth imaging, ultra-widefield Angiography imaging, choroidal vascular quantification, AI precision layering and other functions, and each function has reached the world’s leading level, thus opening a new era of whole-eye OCT.
A world-class R&D team led by founders from Silicon Valley
Why can SVision Imaging create a world-class product that surpasses imports, and achieves wide domestic application and word-of-mouth in a short period of time? This depends on a world-class R&D team with more than 10 years of Silicon Valley engineering experience.
Xianzhao Peng, founder and chairman of SVision Imaging, was recommended to enter the Department of Physics of Peking University as the champion of Henan Province in the National Physics Olympiad in his early years. He obtained a master’s degree in optoelectronics from the Institute of Electronics, Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1997, and went to the United States for further studies in the same year. In 2001, he obtained a PhD in laser spectroscopy from Oregon State University. He has been engaged in the R&D and design of the third-generation OCT core technology tunable laser in New Focus, an optical company in Silicon Valley. He has 21 years of experience in Silicon Valley laser and precision optics R&D and more than 20 domestic and foreign patents.
Li Bing, co-founder and CEO of SVision Imaging, was amazingly listed in the “Weilan Award – Innovative Entrepreneur of the Year” of the “2022 Future Healthcare VB100”. In 1999, he was admitted to the Department of Electronics of Peking University as the top scorer of the college entrance examination in Fuzhou, Fujian Province. After graduating in 2003, he received a full scholarship to study at the University of Virginia in the United States. He used to be the head of the Chinese algorithm team of a former Silicon Valley multinational company. He has published 23 papers on image processing algorithms, which have been cited more than a thousand times. He has three US patents and published three sets of medical atlas and supporting software.
Since the establishment of SVision Imaging，the two founders have been committed to creating world-class software and hardware technology and AI-driven ophthalmic medical equipment. With the advantage of Silicon Valley, SVision has attracted several world-class software and hardware R&D experts and a large number of domestic top R&D talents to join in. The dual-engine drive of hardware and algorithm makes the products of SVision truly reach the world’s leading edge in terms of technical parameters, user experience and clinical effects. SVision has become the Chinese representative in the field of high-end ophthalmic devices in the world.
Future: Continue to expand product lines and go global
Based on the current performance of all aspects beyond imported OCT products. SVision will also create AI-assisted diagnosis products with real clinical value based on the multimodal images obtained by OCT equipment, and the massive data with domestic partners. At the same time, SVision continues to rely on its strong system, optics and algorithm research and development capabilities to incubate more high-end ophthalmic equipment with high added value and high technical barriers, such as optical biometers, ultra-widefield fundus cameras, microscope OCT, femtosecond etc., a full line of ophthalmic products. SVision is gradually developing into a comprehensive high-end ophthalmology platform enterprise.
At present, SVision OCT products have completed FDA and CE type inspections, and will soon be listed in the core markets of Europe and the United States, taking a key step in realizing globalization. The company will also expand its overseas talent team this year, and further upgrade the Silicon Valley R&D center to an American R&D operation center. SVision plans to set up a new European R&D operation center in Germany, striving to become a “global leader in high-end ophthalmic medical devices”.


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A$AP Lou's COZY WORLD debuts at JUICE!
The critically-acclaimed A$AP Mob is known around the world not only for it’s hard-hitting bangers, but for their fingers in all aspects of the creative industry. Be it creative direction, art, fashion design, or music production the group has always been known to challenge themselves creatively. This time, group member A$AP Lou has launched his new fashion label, COZY WORLD.
The up-and-coming fashion label will likely see trends soar as high as previous A$AP brand, VLONE. The brand has already collaborated with Taiwanese brand, Necessity Sense, exhibiting a short sleeve button up shirt which features a graphic motif of a painting which took an entire month to complete.
Now releasing the brand’s true-to-name Fall-Winter 2020 collection which displays a variety of comfort-wear ranging from hoodies, t-shirts, sweatpants and sweaters to pillows, rugs and more. Each heartening piece comes in a range of playful pastel hues of pink, blue and green. With the collections debut in JUICE Taiwan, and now releasing in Hong Kong, the array has already seen huge appreciation from the Asian market displaying the international love for A$AP Mob as a collective.
Available now at JUICE K11 Musea and online at JUICESTORE.com.
Check out COZY WORLD's lookbook and pop-up at JUICE Taichung below!
JUICE Taiwan COZYWORLD POPUP:


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An Italian court is expected to rule on whether legendary fashion duo Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana should be sent to prison for allegedly hiding hundreds of millions of euros from the tax authorities.
MILAN, ITALY (REUTERS) - An Italian court is expected to rule on Wednesday (June 19) on whether legendary fashion duo Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana should be sent to prison for allegedly hiding hundreds of millions of euros from the tax authorities.
The case, one of the few prominent tax disputes to go to court in Italy, dates back to 2004, when the pair sold their brand to Luxembourg-based holding company Gadoto allegedly avoid declaring taxes on royalties of about 1 billion euros ($1.3 billion).
Dolce and Gabbana, who count pop singer Madonna and model Naomi Campbellamong their clients and who draw inspiration from Italy's "dolce vita" (sweet life) style of the 1950s, have denied the charges.
Several of their business associates are also on trial in Milan.
Separate to the criminal case, Italy's Tax Commission slapped the stylists earlier this year with 343.4 million euros in fines for not declaring in Italy earnings related to Gado, current owner of the D&G and Dolce & Gabbana brands.
Prosecutor Gaetano Ruta, who is working on the criminal case, said late in May the two should be sentenced to two and half years in jail as they were the people who "indirectly" benefited most from the operation.
The harshest sentence available to the court in these cases is five years.
Previous tax cases involving celebrities in Italy have led to out-of-court settlements.


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Minister outlines ‘export double’ vision for primary sectorPrimary Industries
Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy has outlined his goal for the primary sector to double the value of exports by 2025 today in a speech to industry leaders in Wellington today.
“The export double goal is an ambitious but achievable target, which will require export growth of around 5% a year,” says Mr Guy.
“This target is based on 2012 export figures of $32 billion for the primary sector, with the aim of raising this to $64 billion by 2025.
“There are three key challenges and opportunities ahead of us in achieving this. The first is increasing our competitiveness through things like improved collaboration and trade access.
“Adding value to what we produce is critical, by using science, research and innovation.
“Protecting the value of our products is just as important through industry earning its ‘social licence.’ This means producing our products sustainably, bringing the community with us, and earning their respect and understanding.
“Environmental sustainability is no longer a ‘nice to have’ - it’s a necessity for the New Zealand public and our global consumers.
“Thirdly, we need to attract the best people into the primary industries. Industry and Government need to start working closely together because we are facing a skills shortage in the future.”
The speech was delivered to the Primary Sector Bootcamp, which is made up of chief executives from primary sector organisations including beef, sheep, seafood, viticulture and horticulture.
Mr Guy has challenged members of the programme to report back to him in February with the three biggest obstacles and opportunities their industries in reaching the export double target, and how the Government can help overcome these.
He has also asked Bootcamp members to form a skills working group to work closely with the Ministry of Primary Industries to help deliver practical solutions.
A full copy of the speech is available at: http://www.beehive.govt.nz/speech/speech-new-zealand-primary-sector-bootcamp-programme


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During the interview, McCarthy said:
“I like Bitcoin. Is it where it needs to be? No, but the real thing I like when it comes to Bitcoin is blockchain, ‘cause I like the security. I want government to actually start using blockchain.”
He also explained that his concern over technology companies joining finance is anticompetitiveness. McCarthy believes that companies entering the space are looking to create a centralized system while tricking consumers into believing that it is decentralized. This, per McCarthy, would prevent others from participating in the market. He explained that companies have to pay $10 million to be allowed into the system:
“If you’re already a big, powerful company, that you can pay $10 million, you can enter this and you’re gonna take away all competition. So you can only use Uber, so you can only go to one certain bank, so you can only use Facebook.”
His opinion is seemingly in stark contrast with the declarations of senator Pat Toomey, who said that he believes that Libra will be launched and the issues surrounding it resolved in another interview with CNBC published the same day.
When an interviewer asked Toomey whether he expects Libra to launch or not, Toomey said that he expects it will. He declared:
“I’ve got a gut feeling it probably will. I think there are legitimate concerns that can be addressed. [...] I assume that all of the regulations that apply to any financial institution would apply there as well.”
Still, Toomey admits that regulators “really need to think through” the fact that digital currencies may in the future be a threat to the monopoly on currencies so far held by nation-states. Nonetheless, he also noted that we are not near such a danger from realizing itself while admitting “who knows, adoption rates could be quite quick if there’s a real, major, breakthrough.”
As Cointelegraph reported in March, McCarthy previously said that blockchain can make the US Congress a more efficient and transparent place.
Also, yesterday news broke that former Republican congressman and presidential candidate Ron Paul says he is in favor of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology because he likes competing currencies.


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Gov. Brown’s marijuana tax revenue estimates were included in the budget he proposed for the upcoming fiscal year.
How much is recreational marijuana worth to California? Gov. Jerry Brown believes that the state’s regulated recreational marijuana market will generate $643 million in tax revenue in its first full fiscal alone. The tax revenue estimates were included in the governor’s recently released budget proposal for the upcoming fiscal year starting in July.
Between July 1, 2018 and June 30, 2019, the state Department of Finance expects Californians to purchase nearly 1 million pounds of marijuana. That would amount to $3.4 billion in recreational marijuana retail sales, a figure in the ballpark of previous estimates.
A state-sponsored economic study by the University of California Agricultural Issues Center last year projected California’s massive marijuana market will eventually surge to $5 billion in annual sales. An earlier report from ArcView Market Research and New Frontier estimated that the first full year of California’s recreational sales would hit $1.6 billion before surging to $6.46 billion by 2020.
California’s adult use marijuana sales began January 1. Of the six months that remain of this 2017-2018 fiscal year, the budget estimates that the state will generate $175 million from taxed sales. That’s more than enough to cover the $52 million the state had budgeted for regulatory costs.
Estimates from California’s Finance Department project that the state’s recreational market, while expected to be the largest in the nation, will grow at a slower rate than Colorado, Washington, and other states where adult use marijuana is already legal. Over their first three years, the recreational markets in Colorado and Washington grew by 40 percent and 50 percent, respectively. California’s is expected to grow by 22 percent per year.
“The amount and timing revenues generated from the new taxes are uncertain and will depend on various factors including local regulations, and cannabis price and consumption changes in a legal environment,” the budget reads.
Is California’s Marijuana Tax Rate Too High?
California voters approved Proposition 64 November 2016 to legalize adult use marijuana and establish a statewide regulated marijuana market. The law permits adults ages 21 years and older to buy and possess up to 1 ounce of marijuana or 100 milligrams of edibles. Adults can also grow up to six marijuana plants for personal use.
Some cannabis entrepreneurs and advocates are concerned that California’s 15 percent excise tax on marijuana sales is too high, which would discourage consumers to obtain cannabis from licensed dispensaries and allow the state’s illegal market to continue to flourish.
The California Growers Association supports reducing the 15 percent excise tax on retail sales to 5 percent. It also suggests eliminating a $2.75 tax per dry-weight ounce of cannabis leaves to the existing cultivation tax.
Hezekiah Allen, head of the California Growers Association, told the Los Angeles Times, “Proposition 64 set the tax rate too high, and everyone I talk to knows it.”
The state will be able to make changes to the tax rate. Proposition 64 requires the state Legislative Analyst’s Office to make a recommendation by January 1, 2020 on whether the tax rate needs to be adjusted to keep the legal market competitive with illegal marijuana sales.
“We definitely think the state Legislature should put a cannabis tax reform measure on the ballot in 2018,” Allen added.
The generated marijuana tax goes to pay back the general fund for costs related to regulating marijuana. There are also dollars allocated to youth treatment and prevention, environmental protection and remediation, studies on marijuana impacts, and to invest in communities most harmed by prohibition.
Keep Up with Cannabis News
With public attitudes regarding cannabis evolving and more states legalizing marijuana for medical or recreational purposes, the nation’s cannabis industry continues to change and grow quickly. You can keep up with all the latest developments by regularly visiting our news feed.


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Last night hacktivist group Antisec released one million and one Apple iOS IDs, device names and push notification tokens it claims were taken from an FBI laptop.
Antisec said it was releasing the details as a publicity stunt to make people stop and realize the level of state surveillance that is going on in the modern world.
While some mainstream media quickly reported it as a hacker attack on privacy and Apple’s security, it was neither. Antisec said it removed any personally identifiable information from the subset released, and gained access to the file in March from a Dell Vostro notebook owned by a special agent, Christopher Strangl. The group claims to have used a known Java exploit to access the notebook, and while browsing through its contents found a file named, “NCFTA_iOS_devices_intel.csv.”
This purportedly turned out to be a list of 12 million Apple iOS devices including the unique device identifiers (UDID), device name, and Apple push notification service tokens, along with the postal codes, telephone numbers, addresses and other personal details of the smartphone owners
The list leaked, it must be stressed, only includes three fields without the personal information. I downloaded the file, unencrypted it with the key that was posted, and got a huge plain text file with those three fields.
As long as you know how to use a Linux command line, all of that was trivial.
Had this file been released before May last year, that same query would also give out the GPS coordinates and in some cases, the Facebook profile of that same user. However, those glaring breaches of privacy were plugged by OpenFeint – a mobile social gaming network for iOS devices that I used to access the UDIDs.
The UDID is collected by many apps, not just Apple’s own, but OpenFeint, DropBox, Amazon and many others who specialize in analytics.
The other nugget of information is the Apple Push Notification (APN) token. APN was announced in iPhone OS 3 in 2008 to allow a much more battery friendly way of pushing real time notifications to the phone rather than rely on background processes to pull information, which by nature are very battery intensive.
The system works through having the phone maintain a single open connection with Apple’s servers at all times for all push notifications. An app that wishes to push information to a phone will need the APN token (generated when the app was first used) and to send that and the payload to Apple’s servers, which will then push messages of up to 256 bytes to the phone.
Since the connection to Apple’s servers is encrypted, access to the APN token should not be a problem. At most, it should mean that a rogue software developer could sign up and then use the token to send a push notification to your phone that you were not expecting, triggering some app that is in that phone.
Actually, judging from the discussions on developer website StackOverflow, this is already a problem with developers where notifications for one device are pushed to other devices and apps by mistake. Contrary to Apple’s own documentation guidelines, the APN token is the sometimes the same for every app on the phone and in some cases, across phones belonging to the same person.
Of course, the real question we should be asking is what is the FBI doing with 12 million records of this nature?
We are rapidly moving towards a surveillance society. The question is: can we entrust our privacy to the big corporations? Or do we forgo the ease and take responsibility into our own hands by using proper computers that are self-contained and do not rely on the cloud?
When the BlackBerry craze took hold I, for one, shuddered at the thought of surrendering my email credentials to a third party to aggregate. At the time, I was branded an old-school refusik, but it took scandals in the Middle East and India to make people wake up and realize the danger.
Today’s leak highlights not just the enormous amount of data that Apple has on its users, but that someone, FBI or not, is actively collecting that information. It is a wake-up call. Question is, how many people will take heed?
[EDITOR’S NOTE: Since the time of writing, the FBI has denied collecting the information or that the agent’s computer was compromised.]


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Retail giant Walmart was able to stop the attempts of PlayStation 5 scalpers/bots trying to buy the new console during its November 25th online restock, canceling 20 million various scalper/bot orders within the first few hours of the restock alone.
The PlayStation 5 preorder period and its ensuing online restocks have infamously been full of website crashes, inconsistent listing times, and most of all a myriad of scalpers/botters trying to avoid reaction time and human errors in order to secure consoles for resale.
It became such an issue this year that PlayStation 5 bots and scalpers trying to mass purchase the new system has come under considerably more analysis than usual, customers disappointed over the malicious practice and how uncontrollable it appears to be.
One scalper group in the United Kingdom allegedly boasted about receiving more than 3000 PlayStation 5s during its first month of release, something that was especially upsetting given the reports that fans trying to get their hands on a PlayStation 5 on the secondary market had been targeted as robbery victims. Since then, the consideration around how to stop the practice of scalpers and bots taking advantage of online preorders has been a hotly debated topic.
A few hours ago, Jerry Geisler, Walmart’s Global Tech Chief Information Security Officer, published a blog posted on the company’s corporate website discussing how it managed to stop PlayStation 5 bots from taking advantage of Walmart’s November 25 online restock.
Geisler explained that these “Grinch bots” had seen an uptick this year and that Walmart took preventive measures to stop what they believe was 20 million PlayStation 5 bot attempts within the first few hours of the restock alone. Geisler also noted that the company checks and cancels orders that they believe were made by bots that “slipped through” Walmart’s security actions that were already in place.
Perhaps the most intriguing implication of the article, however, was that Geisler took the time to ask other sellers to join Walmart in “asking lawmakers to do more to prevent these unwanted bots on retail sites.”
Regardless of the approach of Walmart as a corporate entity, it’s difficult to argue against the fact that it has a decent bit of sway in determining what kind of action could be taken against bots and scalpers in the future.
Hopefully, this call to action is one mirrored by other sellers, and customers – who would benefit considerably from stopping the access of bots and scalpers to be so efficient – will see some improvements soon.


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Google Assistant on iOS gets Siri shortcut
iOS users can set up Siri shortcuts for phrases frequently used with Google Assistant.
The Google Assistant app on iOS is now backed with Siri shortcut to make the use of Assistant more convenient for iOS users.
"We added support for Siri Shortcuts to make it even easier to access your Assistant," read the app description on Apple's App Store.
You can also set up Siri shortcuts for phrases you frequently use with Assistant, come up with a custom voice command for a single smart home action, trigger Google Assistant smart home routines inside of Siri, The Verge reported on Tuesday.
"Like saying 'Goodnight Google' to Siri could open Assistant and run a routine like turning off all your lights and locking the door," added the report.
Users can already add an Assistant widget on the iPhone screens and with the new feature, users could cross stream and use Siri to connect to Google Assistant.
The new shortcuts integration is available as part of the updated version of Assistant for iOS.
Earlier in May, Microsoft Cortana and Amazon Alexa performed the first ever integration of two intelligent assistants at the Build 2018 developers' conference held in Seattle.
Their integration worked with the command: "Alexa, open Cortana" and while Alexa accepted personal requests, Cortana helped with business needs.
Follow HT Tech for the latest tech news and reviews , also keep up with us on Twitter, Facebook, Google News, and Instagram. For our latest videos, subscribe to our YouTube channel.


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It has been very quiet on the Nexus 10. We haven’t heard a single thing about the Nexus 10 since last month when the current Nexus 10 with 16 GB ran out of stock and a press render of the 2013 Nexus 10 released. A Telefonica employee has released what could be the upcoming Nexus 10 (2013). The new Nexus 10 is running on Android 4.4 KitKat.
Fascinatingly it seems the Google experience launcher is utilized, unlike other Nexus devices which received the Android 4.4 KitKat update.The Nexus 10 rather has a thin bezel and it looks like the speaker grill has been shifted to the top rather than 2 on it’s sides. Attached to the Telefonica leak there is even a possible release date, 22nd November.
The image has LG ‘s watermark pasted on the top. The interesting part is Samsung made the current model of the Nexus 10 and it seems that LG manufacturing the Nexus 10 is really sensible because it could be the device that received Bluetooth Certification 2 weeks ago. The model number “LG-V510″ appears on both this new image and the certified device. So unfortunately there may not be a Nexus 8 in the works, although Google may want us to believe there is.
As for specs, The UK retailer Tesco revealed some specs of the upcoming Nexus 10. It is likely to sport a 10-inch IPS display with a resolution of 2560×1600 pixels. On the hardware side, one can expect the Nexus 10 to be powered by a 2.3GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor coupled with 3GB of RAM. Some other specs revealed by the retailer include Android 4.4 KitKat, a 4-megapixel front camera and a 10-megapixel rear camera. On the storage front, it will come in 16GB and 32GB variants. Tesco also reveals that the tablet could be released on November 22, as mentioned before.


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Gujarat-based manufacturer Renon India and Taiwanese EV giant Ahamani EV Tech have announced that the two companies have set up a joint venture to produce battery packs for the Indian automobile market. The new joint venture aims to provide reliable and cutting-edge technology battery packs with a higher lifecycle to automobile manufacturers to meet consumer needs for the EV market and to address issues related to energy and climate change.
It is to be noted that a joint investment of US $ 3.7 million has been made in JV Company to make customized battery packs. JVC is developing a battery factory in Surat, Gujarat with an initial capacity of 200 MW per year, which will expand to 1 GW in the next few years. In addition to offering advanced technology, the joint venture will also aim to tackle a number of battery-related challenges, including cost, energy density, lifecycle, charging time and safety, ensuring stable supply capacity, and effective recycling structures.
According to sources, Renon India says that this is our third venture in Sustainable Business from our group company. We see two and three-wheelers being the first to convert to electric and this creates a lot of opportunities for us to get into the market. We cannot have better partners than Ahmani, who gave his vast experience of 20 years in the electric vehicle field globally and has become his partner of choice for making reliable and high-tech lithium batteries for electric vehicles. The company's initial offerings on the product line will include 2-wheeler and 3-wheeler EVs in LFP (lithium ferrous phosphate) and NMC battery packs. As per industry requirements, we see India as leading the EV sector globally in the coming future and fully determined to be a catalyst in this growth.


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Blizzard is working on a new game, codenamed Titan. This new game is an all-new franchise, and it will be a subscription-based MMO. Except it’s not, with the company announcing a major shakeup to the project today.
In an Activision Blizzard earnings call earlier today, company president Mike Morhaime has confirmed the game is still in development, but it’s not the game it used to be.
We’re in the process of selecting a new direction for the project and re-envisioning what we want the game to be. While we can’t talk about the details yet, it is unlikely to be a subscription-based MMORPG.
Titan was last acknowledged as going through “large design and technology changes” earlier in the year, with Morhaime today confirming that development team members have been siphoned off to make contributions to World of Warcraft and Blizzard All-Stars.
I also want to reiterate that there has not been an official announced or projected release date.
This is fairly standard procedure, he explains. The studio has “gone through this type of iterative process several times in the past”, so it’s nothing new or alarming. It’s just surprising, as fans had pegged Titan for a big reveal at this year’s BlizzCon in November.


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Fishing licenses for the private beats in Lakselva
It has taken some time, but the fishing licenses for the private stretches in Lakselva are just around the corner.
Martin Rognli Johansen
Wednesday 24.May 2023 / 20:33
We are now working hard to get the last details in place before the fishing licenses are put up for sale via the Elveguiden in the next few days.
We can already reveal that our fishing licenses include several new stretches, several of which may have certainly been on the wish list of many of our fishermen. More info to come...
Link to the sales site: Elveguiden


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It seems apple aren't keen on Spire and it's growing popularity. So much so that they're enforcing more rules to break it for Spire users.
Previously, you only needed Spire, a host and a certificate and you were away. Now Apple have added a "SetActivationToken" which has disabled Siri for almost everyone on illegitimate devices.
A temporary (hopefully) workaround of deleting "com.apple.assistant.plist" from "/var/mobile/library/preferences" on the device appears to resolve the issue for now, but will this become another game of cat and mouse for apple, just like in Jailbreaking?
No doubt we'll soon find out!


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Retail sales in Japan exceed forecast
Updated: 2012-02-29 07:59
TOKYO - Japan's retail sales exceeded economists' forecasts in January, signaling a recovery in consumer spending will help the world's third-largest economy return to growth this quarter.
Sales rose 1.9 percent from a year earlier, after a 2.5 percent increase in December, the Trade Ministry said in Tokyo on Tuesday.
The median forecast of 15 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News was for a 0.1 percent decline. From a month earlier, sales gained 4.1 percent.
Car sales jumped 24 percent, the most in 22 years, after the government re-introduced a subsidy for buyers of so-called eco-cars.
A pick-up in household spending and reconstruction work after last year's earthquake and tsunami may aid an expansion in gross domestic product this quarter after a contraction in the final three months of 2011.
"The unusual surge in retail sales in January is mostly due to the special factor of government subsidies for eco-cars," said Takuji Okubo, chief Japan economist at Societe Generale SA in Tokyo. "Excluding that factor, Japanese consumption is resilient."
While Japan's economy shrank an annualized 2.3 percent in the final three months of last year, RBS Securities Japan Ltd has forecast an expansion of 1.6 percent this quarter.
The consumer confidence index climbed to 40 in January, the highest since February 2011, the Cabinet Office said on Feb 9. Monthly wages including overtime and bonuses rose for the first time in 7 months, increasing a revised 0.1 percent in December from a year earlier, according to the Labor Ministry data released on Feb 17.
A recovery in household demand, which slumped in the aftermath of the March 11 disaster as weaker confidence and electricity shortages kept people at home, is helping retailers.
Yamada Denki Co, an electronics-store operator, forecast earnings that beat analysts' estimates on Feb 9. Seven & I Holdings Co, a convenience store chain, plans to open 300 outlets over the next three years that include self-service gas stands, the Nikkei newspaper reported on Feb 21.
Japan's shipments of rolled-aluminum products dropped 0.1 percent on year in January, a slower pace than December, as recovery in demand from the auto and building sectors almost offset weaker sales to machinery and can makers.
Supplies to domestic and export markets dropped to 156,455 tons last month from 156,643 tons a year earlier, the Japan Aluminium Association said on Tuesday in a statement. The pace of decrease decelerated from December's 6.1 percent.


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State looks to tap
China outbound travelers
More than 1 million Chinese visitors travel to the United States each year, but only about 3 percent or 4 percent of them stop in Hawaii.
With China projected to be the fourth largest source of outbound travel in the world by 2020, travel industry professionals and business leaders met yesterday to discuss how Hawaii can better capture its share.
The state plans to increase the inflow of business and vacation travelers from China by lobbying for improved security and entrance procedures and launching a tourism plan targeted to this niche market, said Frank Haas, vice president of marketing for the Hawaii Tourism Authority.
A growing number of countries have relaxed their visa requirements for Chinese visitors. Hawaii's tourism industry can't afford to let visa restrictions, flight problems or negative publicity interfere with its ability to grow this market, said Marsha Wienert, Gov. Linda Lingle's tourism liaison.
Lingle, who plans to meet with Washington officials next week to work on Hawaii's security and visa impediments, will carry the message that tighter security must be weighed against economic development, Wienert said.
Lingle has joined other states in asking for the creation of multiple-entry visas for visits to the United States. She is also seeking more resources for processing visas, and a way to fast-track visa applications found to contain minor mistakes, Wienert said.
Tourism officials also have hired Marketing Garden Ltd. to promote Hawaii in other Asian countries, primarily China, South Korea and Taiwan, Haas said. The firm, which has offices in Shanghai, Taipei, Tokyo and Seoul, will use market research to create a standard image of Hawaii's destination market that appeals to Chinese visitor, he said.
Members of the tourism industry also are hoping these measures will inspire airlines to offer more direct flights to Hawaii, said Henry Ou, president of the Hawaii Chinese Tourism Association, who said tourism can't grow unless more airline seats are made available.
The state's efforts are aimed at making the visa application process run more smoothly for countries such as China and Korea that send a small number of visitors to the state, but have huge potential for growth.
China, a country of 1.3 billion people, sent 38,923 visitors to Hawaii in 2002, while South Korea sent 48,174 visitors. The markets each represented less than 1 percent of Hawaii's total visitors days in 2002, but they are expected to hold long-term potential. China is expected to have 100 million outbound tourists by 2020, according to the World Tourism Organization.
Despite the negative impact of SARS, the war on Iraq and other geopolitical problems, state officials have predicted tourism from Asian countries outside of Japan will grow up to 5 percent this year, Wienert said. And while the cumbersome visa process presents challenges, China's outbound travel market to Hawaii is already increasing, Ou said.
In July, the state will host the first annual Asia Pacific Conference, which will bring 500 tourism people from China and 300 from the U.S. mainland, he said. "We need to make Honolulu the gathering place for all Asia tourists," Ou said.
The state is working to ensure that conference attendees are able to enter Hawaii with ease, Wienert said.


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Hyundai Motor India Limited (HMIL) is ready for a big show at Auto Expo 2020. The manufacturer’s theme, this time is ‘Freedom i Future Mobility’.
Auto Expo 2020 starts on 5th Feb, and goes on till 12th Feb. First two days, 5-6 are media days. General Public days are 7-12 Feb. At the Hyundai stall, there will be about 15 product unveils that include its current product range, and future concepts. Highlight of the show will be the new gen Creta, which will be unveiled on 6th Feb. Tucson facelift will make its India debut on 5th Feb.
Hyundai India will showcase its tech prowess that offers an insight to brand capability. The manufacturer is committed to ‘offer people quality time as well as happiness and joy while continuously evolving the mobility solution with Human Centric Technologies’.
An exciting and much awaited showcase is the all new Hyundai Creta. A vehicle that is capable of selling in large numbers as is evident from past sales. In 2019, with Kia entering India, the closely inspired Kia Seltos too started putting in quite a show, raking in huge numbers. If the new-gen Creta is something that sounds attractive, one can take a look at the second-gen Creta that’s already made its global debut in China as ix25.
Another focus area is connected tech. With seamless connectivity on the move an essential requirement, Hyundai BlueLink tech will be showcased on an interactive wall for customers to experience and understand it. The well connected Hyundai Venue and Elantra will highlight smart tech.
Hyundai has already expressed its desire to up its SUV market share, and the Auto Expo will be just the place to reiterate the SUV focus. Leading its ‘Zero Emission Mobility’ path, the Hyundai Kona EV that’s available on sale here will be showcased, alongwith NEXO FCEV.
Hyundai N brand will highlight the ability of the brand’s high-performance vehicles that are great for daily commute, and have track capability. HMIL’s Le Fil Rouge concept showcases the ‘Future of Design and Technology’. It is the coming together of the brand’s past, present and future designs being connected. Hyundai Kite two-seater dune buggy concept interestingly converts into a single- seater jet ski.
Hyundai Walking Car Concept, Elevate is described as an Ultimate Mobility Vehicle (UMV), and brings together the workings of electric cars and robots. This enables it to traverse diverse terrains that may be otherwise difficult.
Hyundai, not only fights hard to improve its position in India, but triumphs the export market, having recently announced that exports from India have surpassed the 30 lakh mark. It’s easy to see why Hyundai is able to introduce vehicles in the country that enjoy repute overseas.


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PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - An Oregon man has filed a lawsuit claiming Dick's Sporting Goods and Walmart discriminated against him when they refused to sell the 20-year-old a rifle.
Dick's and Walmart restricted gun sales to adults 21 and older in the wake of the Feb. 14 Florida high school massacre. The 19-year-old accused in the school slaying bought the AR-15 used in the attack legally.
Oregon law allows residents to buy shotguns or rifles starting at age 18.
The Oregonian/OregonLive reports Tyler Watson's lawsuit filed Monday claims he faced age discrimination from Dick's and Walmart. The lawsuit is believed to be the first filed over the new gun policies.
Walmart spokesman Randy Hargrove says the retailer will defend its new policy. A representative from Dick's hasn't responded to a request for comment.
Information from: The Oregonian/OregonLive, http://www.oregonlive.com
(Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
- Oregon man sues Dick's, Walmart over new gun policies
- Starbucks changes bathroom policy
- Walmart's online sales grow 33%
- Three dead in Walmart shooting
- Dick's to stop selling assault-style rifles in its stores
- Monkey can't sue over selfie
- Women arrested for Walmart fraud scheme
- Madison Walmart cleared after bomb threat
- Death row inmate sues after 'botched' execution
- Second Auburn University worker sues for discrimination


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COVID-19 has impacted many businesses this year. The HVAC industry included. Many manufacturing facilities were forced to close due to the pandemic. This has created a shortage of central air conditioning units. The shortage is not specific to any brand or particular units. The halt of production during the height of the pandemic stopped majority of all central air production.
We understand that cooling season is upon us. Many of us rely heavily on our air conditioning units to keep our homes comfortable during these warmer months. We want to let you know we are always here for our current and future customers. We are doing our best to handle the shortage and make our customers aware. We appreciate your understanding and support during this time and throughout the pandemic!


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The new role is being handed to Michael Payne and is part of the newly formed customer marketing organisation at Virgin Media. It follows the appointment of Jeff Dodds as executive director of brand and marketing.
Payne is currently 1-2-1 marketing director at Lloyds Banking Group retail division. He joined Lloyds in 2006 as sales and marketing director of the consumer banking division of Lloyds TSB. He has also led the customer marketing and strategy group at Accenture.
The shake up at Virgin Media to create a “Customer Marketing Organisation” department is led by recently appointed chief marketing officer Nigel Gilbert. The aim is to bring together customer insight and other departments alongside brand and marketing.


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USA – Eat Just, a renowned producer of plant-based eggs and cultivated chicken, has recently secured a substantial round of funding, marking a significant development for the company’s ambitious endeavors.
The funding, led by VegInvest Foundation, an organization dedicated to supporting companies, aims at replacing animals in the food system and other industries.
While the exact financial figures of this investment remain undisclosed by the company, a Bloomberg report suggested that it amounts to a substantial US$16 million in fresh capital.
The primary goal of this funding injection is to enable Eat Just to continue its growth trajectory and enhance its sustainability, as stated by Satish Karandikar, a principal at Ahimsa and VegInvest Trust.
Eat Just plans to allocate this funding across both of its core divisions: Just Egg and Good Meat, its cultivated meat arm.
The strategic decision underscored the company’s commitment to advancing both plant-based and cultivated meat technologies, demonstrating its unwavering dedication to revolutionizing the food industry.
The recent financial boost arrives on the heels of some operational challenges faced by Eat Just earlier this year.
In March, the company implemented a series of cost-cutting initiatives, including workforce reductions in its Just Egg division, resulting in the layoff of 18% of its employees, or 45 individuals.
Notably, this move was part of a broader industry trend, with major players like Impossible Foods, Beyond Meat, and Maple Leaf Foods’ Greenleaf Foods also announcing job cuts in the same timeframe.
The plant-based meat sector, in particular, experienced a slowdown in demand, contributing to a decline in sales over the past year.
Despite these challenges, Eat Just has made substantial progress which includes the obtaining of regulatory approvals both the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
With these regulatory milestones achieved, Eat Just now faces a new set of challenges, including consumer education and addressing the cost and scalability of its products.
While the recent funding injection is undoubtedly a significant step forward, CEO Josh Tetrick acknowledged that Eat Just still needs to secure a substantial amount of capital to fund the construction of a large-scale cultivated meat facility in the United States.
Prior to this latest funding round, the company had already raised an impressive $850 million in capital.
The new investment is poised to not only enhance the quality of Eat Just’s products but also propel the company further along its path to profitability.


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P.FRANCO IS CROWDFUNDING TO REOPEN
After closing earlier this month, the team behind the Clapton-based wine bar are asking for support in getting the restaurant back open
In mid-March, P.Franco announced suddenly that they were permanently closed, as were their sibling sites Noble Fine Liquor and Bright. But, just two weeks later, they’ve taken to Instagram to call on P.Franco fans to support them in their efforts to relaunch.
P.Franco’s manager of nearly two years, Will Gee, has launched a Crowdfunder with the goal of raising £30,000 – at the time of writing, they’ve raised nearly £4000. Gee writes “the thought of seeing P.Franco close its doors permanently isn’t something I’m willing to accept. Seeing the response from the public to the announcement was incredibly moving; its impact over the last 9 years has been made so clear by all the messages of support and desire for something to be done.”
He also commented on why the three spots closed down in the first place, saying that the company under which P.Franco was traded (We Are Noble Ltd) had been liquidated after financial negligence led to substantial fines. This new P.Franco project has been launched with the blessing of original owners Phil Bracey and Will Gleave, but they will no longer be involved, and none of the money raised will go towards We Are Noble Ltd’s costs. If you want to donate, you can do so here.
STAY IN THE LOOP. SIGN UP TO OUR DROPS
107 Lower Clapton Rd, London E5 0NP


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ELBURN – Village authorities ordered a massage parlor to close after a compliance check revealed the business did not meet the state's licensing requirements, according to an Elburn police report.
A police officer and Elburn Building Commissioner Tom Brennan visited Asian Spa Massage, 151 E. Route 38, Suite E, on May 28 and reportedly told personnel that the Asian massage therapy diploma displayed on the wall was insufficient.
A license from the Illinois Department of Professional Regulations is required, police reported.
Police Chief Steve Smith said Tuesday the business was given notice it cannot open as a massage facility until it obtains proper licensing from the state.
Despite "open" signs in the spa's windows, Brennan said the business is closed. He said he drives by the business every day and has requested the police also check it after business hours to ensure it is compliant with the May 28 order.
Proper licensing would make the business legal, Brennan said.
While the business was once in conflict with the village's zoning code, Brennan said it now meets the requirements because it also offers beauty services.


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SEB has promoted Lars Millberg to head of SEB Merchant Bank’s global transaction services (GTS) unit. GTS offers cash management, trade finance and custody services and employs 670 staff in 17 countries.
Millberg brings extensive experience from a number of roles at SEB Merchant Banking. In his role as head of GTS corporates, he was responsible for the bank’s cash management, trade and supply chain finance products for large companies. Millberg, who was previously acting head of GTS, succeeds Rikard Josefson who has joined Swedish Länsförsäkringar Bank as managing director.
The annual BNP Paribas Cash Management University kicked off on Thursday morning with treasury professionals congregating in Paris from across Europe.
APIs may be a solution to MT940 challenges, says Karen Fagan, treasury operation manager, for British television company, ITV.
Kicking off the first day of the Singapore Fintech Festival, issues with cryptocurrencies were addressed by MIT media labs director, Joi Ito, and panels of technology leaders discussed how they’re using data analytics.
Sibos 2017 day two highlights: Brexit and banking, and why ‘data is the new oil’ in financial services
How nation first politics can impact global financial organisations It’s clear that data and regulation are the two key topics that are ... read more


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In Western culture, romantic letters have been part of Valentine’s Day since the Middle Ages. Poet Geoffrey Chaucer, best known for “The Canterbury Tales,” is credited with writing the first Valentine’s poem in 1385.
The connection between chocolate and Valentine’s Day, on the other hand, is a fairly recent one by
"the marketing machine took over,"
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Heart-shaped candy boxes abound today, as sweethearts celebrate loves old and new. But love of chocolate transcends Valentine’s Day, especially during a global pandemic....The Roanoke Times 2021-02-14, 02:40


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‘World’s first’ bitcoin ATM opens in CanadaWeekly Round Up: Bitcoin ATM debuts in Vancouver, Blockchain.info reaches 500,000 wallets and Reddit shuts GirlsGoneBitcoin 1.
World’s first Dogecoin ATM launches in Vancouver | GeorgiaIt went live last night, after an afternoon of tinkering and testing at the downtown cafe.Robocoin, based in Las Vegas, installed its first bitcoin ATM in Vancouver last fall and will also start operating one in.
Customers can then feed cash into the machine to deposit as bitcoins, or withdraw bitcoins from their electronic wallet and get physical cash.The same applies to sellers looking to cash out, but having to wait for their payment to arrive.First Bitcoin ATM Installed in Vancouver. is looking to make that happen by installing the first bitcoin ATMs on Tuesday at a.Following the successful launch of an ATM in Vancouver last year, Bitcoin ATM maker Robocoin will install similar machines in Seattle and Austin this month.
World’s first Bitcoin ATM unveiled in Vancouver - TheThe coffee shop was packed with newscasters, Bitcoin enthusiasts and a handful people who had no idea what was going on.According to reports from CBC, Mitchell Demeter, co-founder of Vancouver bitcoin trading.
‘World’s first’ bitcoin ATM opens in Vancouver coffeehouseA Canadian Bitcoin broker is opening its first automatic teller machine which will dispense the digital currency at a coffee shop in Vancouver.The ATM is called Robocoin and provides a way to trade cash for Bitcoins and.Because the bitcoin currency itself is distributed among all of its users, there is no centralized bitcoin bank.
World’s first bitcoin ATM opens in Canada | Arab News
Austin, known for its vibrant tech community as well as scores of music clubs, was a.
Worlds First BITCOIN ATM Opens in Vancouver Canada - Is
Canada’s First Bitcoin ‘Gift Card’ Launched
World's First Bitcoin ATM Goes Live in Vancouver, butVANCOUVER (Reuters) - A silver and blue ATM, perched up next to the espresso bar in a trendy Vancouver coffee shop, could launch a new era for the digital currency.
Luckily, the number of places to accept Bitcoin is growing by the week and the price seems to be on a stable rise so I expect to get good value for my investment.VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Oct 26, 2013 (UPI via COMTEX) -- A Canadian Bitcoin broker is opening its first automatic teller machine which will dispense the digital.An ATM that converts bitcoins to Canadian dollars and vice versa opened for business in a Vancouver coffee shop today, marking a world first.My first Bitcoin purchase of the morning was an English breakfast tea.
First Bitcoin ATM opens in Vancouver BC - Canadian ChatWhen Bitcoin first landed in the early part of the decade, many people.Robocoin, a company based in Nevada, is looking to make that happen by installing the first bitcoin ATMs on Tuesday at a Waves Coffee House in Vancouver, Canada.
Bitcoin goes mainstream with ATM in Vancouver coffee shop
Bitconiacs, a Vancouver based broker and local operator has ordered 5 machines.
World's First Bitcoin ATM Set to Launch This Week inThe ATM itself has a palm scanner to confirm the user and a QR code scanner to connect your Bitcoin Wallet app to the ATM.
On Tuesday 29th of October startup Robocoin (based in Las Vegas) has partnered with.The first Bitcoin ATM was set up at a Vancouver coffeehouse last year.Closing bell of the New York Stock Exchange closing at all time high.Discover relevant and timely Vancouver news, events, and culture.The first ever Bitcoin ATM is being installed in Vancouver this week.The latest Bitcoin ATM to arrive in Vancouver actually looks like, you know,.Instead of waiting around a couple of days, the process only takes a couple of minutes.


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The discounts have been started in Amazon.com.tr. They stated that the discounts, including electronics, book, fashion, sports, outdoor, games, personal care, construction market and more, will continue till July 21.
Various brands are included in the campaign
The products with reasonable prices of many brands such as Apple, JBL, Bose, Jabra, Sennheiser, Remington, Fitbit, HP, Lenovo, Bosch, Stanley, Samsonite, Adidas, Levi’s, Dockers, Philip Hue and more will be presented with the assurance of Amazon.com.tr. Here are some of the discounts; up to 50 percent discount in personal care tools, up to 20 percent in electronics and sports tools, up to 30 percent in smart illumination and more.
Delivery throughout the Turkey
The clients that are shopping from the site for the first time will be able to use the campaign of ‘’Free Delivery for the First Order’’ regardless of the price of the bought product.
While, the consumers from specific districts in Istanbul are offered with the standard, same-day and Sunday delivery, consumers from İzmir, Ankara, Kocaeli, Bursa, Bilecik, Eskişehir, Kütahya, Afyon, Burdur, Isparta, Antalya, Manisa, Balıkesir, Yalova, Sakarya, Düzce and Bolu only are offered with the standard or next-day delivery.
source: anadolu agency / translated by bazaar team


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A new top 10 list of industries most likely to lose your personal data should put those in agriculture on especially high alert.
The list comes from a study conducted by cybersecurity experts at VPN Overview. The group analyzed major data breaches registered since 2004 to determine which industries are most prone to losing data. The top 10 should be a call for agricultural entities to improve security.
1. ONLINE COMPANIES. Top on the list for losing data are online (web) companies, with 53 major breaches since 2004. Those breaches accounted for more than 5 billion pieces of data lost, with 81% of the breaches caused by hacking, 7.4% by accidental publication and 3.8% by poor security. Three billion records were breached in the 2013 hacking of Yahoo, reported four years later by the company. This is the largest data breach in history, according to the report.
2. HEALTHCARE. The healthcare industry was reported to have had 47 major data breaches, affecting nearly 200 million records. Of this number, 43% were due to a stolen computer and/or stolen media, 38% to hackings and 10% to poor security. The largest breach reported was suffered by Anthem Inc., the second-largest health insurer of the U.S., where in 2015, 80 million records were hacked. This targeted personal information, including social security numbers, emails, home addresses and employment information.
3. FINANCIAL. The financial industry was reported to have had 38 major breaches for a total of nearly 2 billion records lost. VPN Overview reported that 50% of the breaches were data being hacked, 18% were due to stolen media, 16% were breaches by company insiders and 5% were due to poor security. Within the industry, the largest leak took place in 2019, when 885 million records from insurance giant First American Corporation's website were found to be publicly accessible. The breach included bank account details, Social Security numbers, wire transfers and other mortgage paperwork dating back to 2003.
4. GOVERNMENT. Thirty major breaches were reported over the time under review.
5. RETAIL. Twenty-seven major breaches were reported.
6. TECH. Nineteen major breaches were reported.
7. ACADEMIC. Thirteen major breaches were reported.
8. GAMING. Twelve major breaches were reported.
9. TELECOMS. Twelve major breaches were reported.
10. SOCIAL NETWORKS. Eight major breaches were reported.
A spokesperson for VPN Overview commented on the findings in its release, saying: "The digitalized era comes with plenty of pros, but lots of cons at the same time, with possible data leaking probably being the most dangerous one. In fact, while it is wise to remember that everything we put on the internet cannot be 100% deleted, it is also important to be able to trust organizations which are supposed to protect and store their consumers' data safely. The hackings and data leaks on this list, as well as may others, should serve as a reminder of what can be done to improve security within plenty of industries, as it (makes it) clear that no company is really safe from them."
VPN Overview's Mirza Silajdzic reported that about 51% of passwords are reused in North America today, and that nearly 21% have been compromised. He sources that from a report by password manager software company Dashlane.
Dashlane's report noted that the average internet user has 240 online accounts that require a password.
One of the best ways to improve password health and security includes using a password manager, replacing reused or compromised passwords, and using more secure sign-in methods including two-factor authentication.
(c) Copyright 2022 DTN, LLC. All rights reserved.


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Naming names, award-winner points to advantages
Knowing the customers name is part of the battle that you can win against larger competition.
That’s an insight from the playbook of McDaniel’s Do-It Center, the 2012 Golden Hammer “Tools of the Trade” Award winner.
Also when battling big boxes, it’s important to use brand names, said Brad McDaniel, owner of the store in Snohomish, Wash.
“When we found out the box stores were coming, one of the things that really helped us fight it was the brand names,” said McDaniel, during the Golden Hammer Retail panel in Las Vegas, held during the National Hardware Show. One of those names is Benjamin Moore, he said — “because people know that name.”
And speaking of names, knowing the customers’ names is a big part of the battle. “The advantage for us independents is we learn people names,” McDaniel said. “We know people’s families. Their dad shopped at the store, their grandfather shopped at the store. I have employees who have been with us a long time and know them; that also helps us in the fight.”
Bird feed and feeders has given the retailer a strong niche. “That’s one department that is totally recession-proof, and it’s something the boxes do a horrible job at,” he said.
“Another niche that does really well for us and is a little off the wall is the glass bottled soda, the old-fashioned soda,” he said. “We just keep expanding that area because it’s an excellent draw for customers for us.
“We’re finding out the niches, learning customers names and also the old adage that 20% of your customers do about 80% of your business. We just really decided we’re going to focus on that 20% extra hard and really smother them. Meet them early at the store or stay later for them — anything we can do to let them know we’re going to take care of them,” he added.
HDW to hold boot camp for young retailers
Hardware Distribution Warehouses (HDW), the Shreveport, La.-based distributor, is holding a five-day “boot camp” training program at its corporate headquarters to introduce younger generations to the hardware industry. Scheduled for July 16 to 20, the program hopes to address the implications of an aging work force by encouraging more young people to become hardware retailers. Attendees will have the opportunity to see how distributors and retail dealers work together, and gain a greater understanding of retail and manufacturing operations.
Kenneth Beauvais, CEO of Hardware Distribution Warehouses, said the goal of the training program is to create a pipeline of skilled workers. He explained that in recent years, many manufacturing and distribution companies have become “top heavy” with employees who have several years’ experience and are now eying retirement. “As an employee-owned company, we knew it was important to put into place a plan to replace our loyal and valuable employees as they retire,” Beauvais said.
Part of that plan includes the boot camp, which will expose different generations to all facets of the hardware industry, including distribution, sales, marketing and merchandising. “It is especially important for those second- and third-generation family dealers to expose their children, who are the future owners, to the opportunities within their store,” Beauvais said.
The HDW boot camp will focus on:
• Operations: Attendees will experience all aspects of operations, including warehouse, shipping and receiving.
• Sales: A territory manager will give an overview of sales operation and communication with dealers.
• Financial: Boot camp participants will look at an income and expense statement.
• Customer service: Customer service agents will demonstrate how they work with customers to process orders and credits.
• Merchandising: Attendees will learn how product orders originate and how warehouses are stocked. They will get to set up a display and learn about store gondolas.
• Marketing: Boot camp participants will get a behind-the-scenes glimpse at how they work with dealers to creatively advertise and market products to their retail customers.
Deadline for registration is June 15, 2012. Applications are available at hdwinc.com. Applicants will be notified of their acceptance after June 30, 2012. Those selected will have all expenses paid, with the exception of the cost of travel to and from Shreveport.
Hardware Distribution Warehouses is an employee-owned company that serves as a complete retail source for independent hardware and lumberyards. HDW has distribution centers located in Greenwood, Miss., and Shreveport, La., and is a member/owner of Distribution America.
Retailer gets his motor running
An Indiana hardware store gained some notoriety last week when a photo of a motorized barstool went viral on the Internet. But for the last three years, Hardware Plus, a Do it Best dealer in Osceola, Ind., has been making any number of unusual motorized vehicles, according to an article in the South Bend Tribune.
Owner Chris Hughes and his staff have strapped on motors — usually from power washers or lawn mowers — to anything you can sit on, including Lazy Boy recliners and toilets. Hughes said he got the idea from a motorized cooler he once saw at a trade show.


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2020 Toyota Yaris To Go HybridJun 24th, 2019
Toyota Prius C is set to be phased out next year. It will be replaced by a hybrid version of the 2020 Toyota Yaris.
Toyota’s cheapest car is due to get a major makeover and include the option of hybrid power.
Although a hybrid option has been available overseas in this generation, Toyota dealers have been told the next-generation Yaris, due on sale next year, will be available with a choice of petrol or hybrid.
It means the pint-sized Toyota Prius C – at $24,000 currently the brand’s cheapest ticket into a hybrid – will be phased out after eight years on sale.
Prices of the next Yaris are yet to be announced – and Toyota is yet to confirm the arrival of the new model to anyone outside its dealer network – but buyers can expect a cost increase.
The current Yaris five-door hatch, pictured above, is available from $15,990 drive-away for a manual and $17,490 drive-away for an auto.
However, the new Yaris in its most basic guise will likely start close to $20,000 drive-away given every new-generation Toyota released over the past three years has come standard with the company’s full suite of safety tech – including radar cruise control, autonomous emergency braking and speed sign recognition – which has pushed up prices.
For example, the Toyota Corolla hatch used to be available from $23,990 drive-away, but when the new model went on sale last year the starting price jumped to $27,990 drive-away.
The popular Toyota Yaris city car is way overdue for an overhaul.
The current model will be almost nine years old when it gets replaced which, according to dealers, will be in the first half of next year.
Most passenger cars get replaced by completely new models after five or six years.
There have been three types of the current-generation Yaris, introduced in October 2011, September 2014 and March 2017.
The last update in 2017 was when the new model was originally due, but its arrival was pushed back to adopt Toyota’s new global architecture and safety systems.
In addition, development costs of all-new models are massive but the profit margins on city cars such as the Yaris are slim.
Although sales have slowed as the Yaris has aged, it remains among the top three sellers in a competitive class.


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Tomorrow is Halloween, and even amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, people are still planning to celebrate. More than 148 million Americans still plan to celebrate Halloween this year, with 53 percent of consumers planning to decorate their homes, 46 percent planning to carve a pumpkin, spending an estimated $8 billion while doing all of it.
Haunted houses attract around $300 million in revenue each year, supporting hundreds of other local businesses across America, as vendors that supply these haunted house effects, props, costumes, masks, animation, and other things.
Listen to today’s full WJR Business Beat segment here:
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Today’s WJR Business Beat is brought to you by Dell Technologies
Well, Paul, another week is winding down. Time for a little football and this weekend, time for a little trick-or-treat, as well. It’s Halloween tomorrow, and while this will go down as one of the most unusual, and maybe even stressful Halloween seasons for parents ever, more than 148 million Americans still plan to celebrate Halloween this year, with 53 percent of consumers planning to decorate their homes, 46 percent planning to carve a pumpkin, and spend an estimated $8 billion while doing all of it.
The average consumer is projected to spend $96 on decorations, candy and costumes this year.
Now the haunted house industry is expected to be brisk this year as well. Haunted house attractions attract around $300 million in revenue each year, and it supports hundreds of other local businesses across America, as vendors that supply these haunted house effects, props, costumes, masks, animation, and other things really benefit from these haunted attractions.
People enjoy being scared while in a safe environment, and as long as this trend persists, all aspects of this holiday will continue to have a positive impact on America’s local and national economy.
And while no doubt, there’ll be fewer people out trick-or-treating this Halloween season, families will be celebrating albeit likely at home with direct family only.
Only 23 percent plan to take children out trick-or-treating this year.
So, let’s get to the fun stuff: what are American spending this $8 billion on this year? Shoppers look to get a big bang for their buck, and Halloween always delivers. Well around 62 percent still plan to hand out candy, spending up to $11 or more on the sweet stuff per household. Decorations are another big category. Now, the most expensive part of Halloween tends to be the costumes. And despite COVID-19, 46 percent still plan to dress up, even though they’re at home parties this year. And speaking of costumes, let’s close it out by highlighting the most popular costumes of 2020.
Here we go. Top boy’s costume this year? Spider-Man. Top girls? Princess. Top of all costumes, witch for women, vampire for men, and top pet costumes too: pumpkins and hot dogs most popular this year for the pets.
So listen, Halloween is big business. If you’re in the retail space, get ready for big buying yet today and Saturday as people do their last-minute shopping.
I’m Jeff Sloan, founder and CEO of StartupNation.com, and that’s today’s Business Beat brought to you by Dell Technologies, on the Great Voice of the Great Lakes, WJR.


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iPhone devices usually run Apple’s iOS but have you ever wondered if Android can run on an iPhone? It can and it has. A recent case was revealed by developer Nick Lee that somehow makes Android run on the Apple flagship. The result is nothing short of amazing and proves the creativity of the tech community.
The same developer that got a 3D printed iPhone case to run Android is the one that got Windows 95 working on an Apple Watch back in April. The booting took a whole hour but this was more for showcase than any other practical reason. Now this developer 3D printed a case that gets Android on your iPhone. Besides the Android OS, this case also has a boost converter, a battery, and a resistor. The case was revisioned once because initially it was too bulky and now it has HDMI and USB ports as well as a MicroSD card slot which hasn’t been in an iPhone for ages now.
A Feat Of Tech
All this is very impressive but what does it tell us? Well, it tells us that Apple is all about the business and nothing more. If a simple developer was able to get all of this running on an iPhone, why can’t Apple do something as simple as incorporate a MicroSD card slot? The answer is business as always. By not doing that, the tech company forces its users to pay more money for storage than they’re supposed to. The tech giant even got rid of the 32 GB storage option which is the most purchased on worldwide, forcing users to get 64 GB if they want some storage.
What do you think about this latest feat accomplished by Nick Lee? Drop us with a comment below.


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Reebok ZigTech is set to break Erin Andrews ad
The first ad featuring ESPN broadcaster Erin Andrews is set to break in the April issue of Fitness Magazine, the Canton-based athletic footwear and apparel brand said today.
The ad, shown above, will be a cover wrap of the Fitness Magazine edition, a monthly magazine aimed at women that focuses on fitness and lifestyle, Reebok said.
Last month, the brand said that Andrews would be the first women to be featured in a campaign for its ZigTech shoes, a footwear line that features athletic shoes that, according to Reebok, allows "wearers' key leg muscles to do less, so they can do more."
Football's Peyton Manning and Chad Ochocinco and hockey superstar Sidney Crosby are among the male athletes that have promoted Reebok ZigTech.