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Online lingerie brand Zivame unveiled its new brand identity with a new logo and tagline – ‘Love Yourself Inside Out.’ The new logo, unlike the previous text-based branding, now has both a standalone letter – z – along with the full name in the text – ‘Zivame’. The brand’s team maintains that the new changes signify fluidity in terms of innovating and keeping up with varied consumer choices.
The logo has been designed by OPEN Strategy & Design, a Mumbai-based branding and design consultancy.
According to the Zivame team, the ‘z’ at the center of the monogram signifies that the brand is still rooted in its core fundamentals of delivering great products for all occasions moods and sizes coupled with customer experience. The lower open end of the monogram represents that they are inclusive and inclined to experiment and innovate.
Amisha Jain, CEO Zivame, says, “Zivame has come a long way since its inception and has played the pivotal role of a catalyst in growing the category and shifting perceptions. The past two years have been particularly good for us as our revenues have grown 63 percent in FY18 to Rs 86.6 crore. FY19 has seen 50 percent plus growth in revenues. The Zivame brand’s gross sales reached a 220 plus crore run rate at the March 2019 exit. The new tagline – ‘Love Yourself Inside Out’ – invites women into a world to discover their personal style, space where they can browse, discover and shop while retaining a sense of their individuality. Every element of this new identity, be it the choice of color or the design, is truly a reflection of what our customers expect from us.”
Jain adds, “Our R&D team is studying the Indian body type that will help us in bringing out products to address and suit every Indian women’s needs. We have also recently raised Rs 60 crore funding as part of a bridge round which will be used for the ongoing and future retail expansion, augmentation of technology, product development and strengthening.”


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Amazon.com Inc. is laying off a total of 18,000 people, including 143 in the Los Angeles area. This represents about 6% of the company’s workforce.
The e-commerce company is one of a wave of cuts by technology companies. Crowdsourcing site Layoffs.fyi, which has tracked tech layoffs since the pandemic began, reports that about 150,000 tech workers nationwide lost their jobs last year.
Santa Monica-based Snap Inc. was one of many tech companies to lay off employees last year. A social media company has cut about 20% of its workforce as part of a restructuring plan. As we enter the new year, we continue to reduce staff. Last month, Microsoft CEO Satiana Della announced that the company would lay off 10,000 of his employees. On January 20, Google’s parent company, Alphabet, announced it would lay off 12,000 jobs. And in early January, Burbank-based HR tech firm CareerArc announced through LinkedIn that it was laying off staff.
“Today has been a tough day. Very smart and talented people have lost their jobs as the company restructured,” the company said in a post.
Tech companies, large and small, continued to hire during the pandemic. Amid lockdowns, people were forced to upgrade their home tech hardware to work from home, e-commerce shopping hit a record high, and tech revenues soared. With inflation and rising interest rates, the economic outlook for tech companies isn’t as bright now as it was then.
As the technology industry changes and companies move to new technologies such as artificial intelligence, they are forced to reorganize their resources to make room for innovation.
In a blog post titled “Focusing on Short-Term and Long-Term Opportunities,” Nadella wrote: the following. We also know that organizations in every industry and region are paying attention as some parts of the world are in recession and others are expected to be. ”

domain: news


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Google has announced that AT&T is making Google Messages the default on its Android smartphone.
A new streaming service will be created with the combined forces of AT&T’s WarnerMedia and Discovery. The new company will compete globally.
Hurricanes are chaotic and it's a time we rely on our smartphones more than ever. Here's what the biggest carriers in the US are doing for customers impacted by Dorian.
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An unused first-generation iPhone recently sold for USD 35,414 (about Rs 28 lakh) at an auction in the US. The auction also saw the selling of the first-generation iPod. It debuted in 2001, and it brought in USD 25,000 (around Rs 20 lakh).
RR Auction conducted an auction for the fully loaded iPhone. This is a turning point for rare devices as they are being auctioned off worldwide. Moreover, now because auction prices are reaching millions of dollars. They also sold the Apple I computer’s original circuit board. The hand-soldered board made by Apple co-founder Stephen Wozniak was sold for USD 6,77,196. It was also offered in the most recent auction of the unopened iPhone (Rs 5.41 crore).
The Latest iPhone Auction in history
It is not breaking a world record to sell an iPhone at an auction. Still, it is the most recent in a long line of expensive, rare, unopened technology sold at auction for millions of dollars.
Similar, significant events have occurred in the history of personal technology with the recently sold iPhone. With a touchscreen interface, up to 8GB of storage, an MP3 player, a web browser, and other features, the original iPhone, released in 2007, stood out as significantly different from what mobile phones were at the time.
In many respects, the first-generation iPhone established a standard that other touchscreen smartphones have since surpassed. It dethroned industry juggernauts like Nokia and BlackBerry. Since then, Apple has grown to become one of the largest corporations in the world. Also as well as one of the major phone manufacturers.
Super Mario 64 Auction last year
For instance, Heritage Auctions sold a sealed, unopened copy of Nintendo’s best-selling video game last year. An auction in July 2021 sold Super Mario 64 in the US for $1.56 million.
Super Mario 64 stands out for its significantly improved visuals and video quality over Nintendo’s previous generation of games. Thus making it one of the most recognisable games of all time.
Also read: 7 Best Nintendo Switch Games To Play Right Now.
An accounting student & a CA aspirant from Kolkata having a knack towards the world of the latest tech. A part-time writer who is completely obsessed with footall.


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The Google Pixel 4a 5G has appeared on the Geekbench benchmarking platform today. The handset is slated to go official with the Pixel 5 smartphone on September 30.
The Geekbench appearance suggests that the company could be internally testing the smartphone before its official announcement. The Google Pixel 4a 5G Geekbench listing reveals that it has scored 610 in the single-core test and 1553 in the multi-core test. The name of the processor that fuels the device is not mentioned in the Geekbench listing. It only states that the phone is powered by an octa-core processor by Qualcomm that has a base frequency of 1.80GHz.
Rumors surrounding the Google Pixel 4a 5G have revealed that it is fueled by the Snapdragon 765G. The same processor will be driving the Pixel 5 smartphone too. Coming back to the Geekbench listing of the Pixel 4a 5G, the handset can be seen with 6 GB of RAM and Android 11 OS. It appears that the Pixel 4a 5G and Pixel 5 will be arriving as the first smartphones that will offer Android 11 out-of-the-box experience.
Google Pixel 4a (5G) Specifications
The Pixel 4a 5G is the 5G-variant of the Snapdragon 730 powered Pixel 4a that was announced in August. The smartphone comes with a 6.2-inch OLED screen with punch-hole design. It offers Full HD+ resolution and 60Hz refresh rate. The Pixel 4a 5G may offer users with an internal storage of 128 GB.
The Pixel 4a 5G smartphone will be flaunting a Sony IMX520 8-megapixel selfie camera. The backside of the phone features a Sony IMX363 12.2-megapixel single camera with LED flash. The device is expected to house a 3,800mAh battery. It may come with support for 18W fast charging. The rear shell of the phone features a rear-facing fingerprint reader.


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After a huge gap of 16 years, 2K has re-entered a partnership with the NFL to form a produce a non-simulation based NFL video game fuelling the excitement of the followers of the sport. In their last stint as partners, they had come up with NFL 2K5 in 2004 after which the rights were sold off to 2K’s parent company Take-Two in 2005. The major focus of the latter has been on NHL, WWE and NBA based games.
The status of the development of the game as of now is announced as being in an early development stage. It is uncertain which 2K studio will be working on the franchise. However, the release is expected by next year.
The Bigger Picture
One of the leading factors that led to the production of the game is the intent to expand the fanbase of the game and consolidating a stronger global presence. NFL despite being a big name in the sports business is no doubt lagging when it comes to popularity when compared to other major sports. This step by the franchise is an effort to fill this void and attract a larger number of devoted followers of the game.
Does This Mean A Feud With EA?
EA has been dealing with the production of NFL games which are simulation-based and with the presence of 2K’s non-simulation based game from the coming year certainly raises questions about how they will be able to coexist. But it is reasonable to consider the fact that both the games are catering to different types of the platform when we consider the factor of simulation. So it will not be wrong to assume that both of them will be having a non-competitive coexistence keeping in mind the varying nature of the platforms.
This is what the president of 2K David Ismailer had to say
“We’re thrilled to be back in business with the NFL in a partnership that will span multiple video games centred on fun, approachable, and social experiences,”
The world of gaming has been used by a lot of leading sports organization in an attempt to popularize their sport and now the NFL has taken an extra measure to ensure their future growth and the expansion of their reach in the globe. It will be interesting to see what this brings for the NFL after the release of the game in the
coming year. Maybe this could be the missing link that will lead to a rise in the popularity of the sport.


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Yahoo Japan, an affiliate of the US internet portal, has chosen Google to power its web searches in a snub to Microsoft’s Bing.
The deal extends Google’s dominance of the global search market and cuts off another avenue for Bing to make substantial gains, as Yahoo – which owns 35 per cent of Yahoo Japan – struggles to increase revenues.
Last summer, Yahoo signed a 10-year agreement to use Microsoft’s Bing search technology elsewhere in the world.
The partnership is expected to come into effect this autumn. Microsoft is a distant competitor in the Japanese search market to Yahoo Japan, which handles more than a 50 per cent share of queries, and Google, which has more than a 30 per cent share.
Microsoft on Tuesday threatened to raise the deal with regulators. “It means there will be no search competition in Japan,” the company said.
Yahoo Japan will build its own services on top of Google’s “backbone”, which includes elements of its algorithms and web index, so search results from the two sites will vary.
“Our internet services are completely different from Google’s,” said Masahiro Inoue, Yahoo Japan president. It chose Google in part because its search engine was better at handling Japanese, he added. Nonetheless, the licensing agreement means that Google’s technology will underpin the vast majority of Japanese language search queries.
While European Commission regulators are investigating Google’s dominance of the market in Europe, Google said Japan’s Fair Trade Commission had made no objection to its deal with Yahoo Japan.
Daniel Alegre, Google’s vice-president for Asia-Pacific and Japan, wrote in a blog post that the two companies “will remain independent search and advertising providers, will not share any customer or pricing information, and will continue to vigorously compete in Japan”.
The non-exclusive partnership rekindles an earlier agreement between Google and Yahoo Japan that ran between 2001 and 2004.
Yahoo Japan will pay Google an upfront fee for use of its platform and a share of ongoing revenues from its search service under the deal.
Financial terms were not disclosed but Yahoo Japan is committed to using Google’s platform for a minimum of two years.
Yahoo, last summer, agreed to use Microsoft’s search technology across the rest of the world. The 10-year deal was praised by advertisers at the time as potentially providing a stronger competitor to Google.
Yahoo began testing Bing in its search results earlier this month.


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CBS Radio Sales Promotes Thomas Mancusi To DOS/NY
March 28, 2007 at 2:38 PM (PT)
INTEREP's CBS RADIO SALES ups THOMAS MANCUSI to Director/Sales for the NEW YORK office. He joined in 2000 as an AE.
CBS RADIO SALES President MICHAEL WEISS said, "Since THOMAS joined CBS RADIO SALES over seven years ago, he has shown tremendous growth and sales leadership. He is a true street fighter who will not rest until he has found a solution to any given sales problem. THOMAS offers a great role model for our entire team, and I know he will excel in this new role. It's a promotion well deserved."


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Rick Valdez of Alchemy Kustom just released a new video teaching viewers how to shape bench seat foam from scratch. … [Read more...] about Watch Alchemy Kustom Shape Seat Foam
Lately it seems every car owner wants to swap his front bench seat for two buckets, or upgrade his existing bucket seats to a more stylish, comfortable or sporty set. … [Read more...] about 7 Things to Consider Before Retrofitting Bucket Seats
Super luxury automaker Rolls-Royce Motor Cars recently dropped jaws with the introduction of its latest and greatest concept car, the 103EX — an all-electric, fully autonomous vehicle unlike anything the industry has ever seen. … [Read more...] about Step Inside the Rolls-Royce 103EX Concept
In 2011, we published an article lamenting the imminent death of the front bench seat. Three years later the Chevrolet Impala, the last U.S. sedan with a front bench seat, was redesigned with two front buckets and no bench option. Jalopnik recently published an article explaining why the classic seat is no more. It's a must-read for all automotive history buffs. … [Read more...] about What Killed the Front Bench Seat?
Check out the custom wraparound bench seat in this 1967 Oldsmobile Toronado 70-X built by world-famous hotrodder George Barris. … [Read more...] about 1967 Oldsmobile Toronado Wrap Seat


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The Corporate Group Perez, which has taken part in logistic of the country for more than 60 years through its companies Ricardo Pérez, S. A. – distributor of Toyota, Lexus and Hino, and Interoceanic Cargo Carrier, identified the need to invest in the country’s logistic infrastructure by developing Panama Logistic Park, an industrial and logistic platform for global businesses.
PLP, is a logistic and industrial development “Class A+” of 46 hectares, strategically located in the East Sector of Panama City, at only four kilometers from Tocumen International Airport, 35 kilometers from the Pacific ports and 80 kilometers from the Atlantic ports. PLP was designed and built with high quality standards to offer an integral solution for enterprises that require infrastructure and first class services for their logistic operations.
PLP has its own 15 hectare free zone, the Zona Franca del Istmo, which is available for national and multinational companies with regional and global reach, for them to establish their manufacturing, warehousing with added value and redistribution of products to the region with tax and labor benefits as per the free zones legislation.
PLP as part of its offer has an option to build to size (BTS) as part of its long term rentals.


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Chinese tech big Huawei is preparing for a large spherical of layouts in the United States, principally due to the impression the US ban towards the firm had on its native operations.
A report from the WSJ reveals that Huawei will let go a number of tons of of workers at Futurewei Technologies, the firm’s very personal analysis and improvement subsidiary primarily based in the United States.
While the precise variety of workers affected by this determination is unknown at this level, Futurewei has some 850 employees, which signifies that a major a part of its workforce may very well be left with no job.
The report notes that Huawei has already notified a few of the workers about this determination, providing the choice to a variety of Chinese employees to relocate and proceed working for the firm at a home facility.
An official announcement in this regard isn’t out there, but it surely’s not troublesome to determine why Huawei turns to layoffs in the United States.
Huawei sticking with Android
According to the ban introduced mid-May, Huawei is not allowed to work with firms primarily based in the United States and use their merchandise, and this includes its personal R&D subsidiary. While the US authorities now permits firms to request momentary licenses to do enterprise with Huawei, such an strategy clearly slows down a collaboration that was presupposed to go a lot smoother between the Chinese tech big and its American unit.
While the US authorities seem like reversing the ban, at the very least partially, Huawei doesn’t appear to be anxious that a lot about the prospect of a full ban stopping it from utilizing Android on new smartphones.
Huawei just lately stated that it hasn’t but developed an Android substitute and the working system that everyone believed would exchange Google’s is, in truth, an IoT platform. The firm claims Android stays the prime possibility going ahead, so it’s assured that the US blacklist could be eliminated slightly before later.


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The amount payable for vital services or utilities is stated on a utility bill. Electricity, water, and gas bills are common utilities. Sewage, trash, and recycling, as well as TV, internet, phone, and streaming services, can all be included to the list.
TIP: Utility bills are frequently used as proof of residency, especially when applying for licenses and passports. If you don’t have an energy bill, contact the company directly to find out what other documents, such as tax or financial paperwork, they accept.
Is internet usage accounted for as a utility bill?
Electricity, gas, water/sewage, and waste disposal are all examples of utility costs. Other services, such as internet, cable TV, and phone service, are sometimes considered extra utilities, despite the fact that they are now regarded standard in most American homes.
Is Wi-Fi classified as a utility?
“It is a fundamental public good that should be enshrined in legislation, as several countries have done,” she said.
Equality of opportunity, access to credit, access to other public goods, and access to education are all dependent on it.
This is unrelated to disputes about internet content regulation or whether behemoths like Google and Facebook wield too much influence.
The US government, as well as phone and cable corporations, believes that the internet is a free-market service in its entirety. It’s not a service.
The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Ajit Pai, believes the internet business deserves only “light-touch regulation,” or little control at all.
That appears to be the case at first glance. According to a recent analysis from BroadbandNow, a service comparison site, the percentage of Americans with access to broadband internet increased from 74.5 percent to 93.5 percent during the last decade.
Meanwhile, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the consumer price index for internet service has stayed largely consistent over the same time period.
However, industry observers argue that we’re gauging things incorrectly. We should compare current internet pricing to what individuals in other industrialized countries pay, rather than comparing them to what we paid 10 years ago.
Americans, by that metric, are receiving a bad bargain, not just in terms of price, but also in terms of service quality, or speed.
According to a recent comparison of worldwide broadband pricing conducted by Britain’s Cable.co.uk, the United States rated 119th out of 206 countries, with monthly expenses substantially exceeding those of Germany, the United Kingdom, and Japan.
“With a little hyperbole,” Ernesto Falcon, senior legislative counsel for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, stated, “Americans have the slowest, most expensive internet in the world.”
To compensate for the increased number of cord cutters who are canceling their TV subscriptions, telecom firms have been slowly hiking internet fees. The firms frequently claim that investment in new high-speed lines is the primary reason for the price increases.
However, Harold Feld, senior vice president of the advocacy group Public Knowledge, believes that this is inaccurate. According to him, the majority of the necessary fiber-optic cables for contemporary internet use are already in the ground.
“If you want to make your network go faster these days, you’re talking about software enhancements, not additional fiber,” Feld said of industry changes.
“The only reason our broadband prices are pretty consistent is that there isn’t much competition,” he explained.
According to a Pew Research Center research from last year, almost 44% of households with yearly incomes under $30,000 do not have broadband connectivity. Approximately half of the population does not have access to a computer.
Many people may not consider the average monthly internet price of $60 to be excessive. However, when it comes to competing with other necessities like food and rent, it can be a significant burden for lower-income households.
Alok Gupta, an information and decision sciences professor at the University of Minnesota, advocated to me that we give all Americans “a free base rate of internet access, and then charge more to folks who want faster speeds or greater data use.”
To put it another way, everyone would have enough bandwidth to surf the web and send emails. People who want to watch Netflix in high definition all day can pay a premium for the privilege.
This appeals to me, similar to the idea of the government giving basic health coverage to everyone and then allowing private insurers to charge for more complete plans.
However, this does not negate the necessity for oversight. The basic fact is that, like power and water, if the internet is a necessity, we need clear standards to assure the most possible availability at the lowest possible cost.
According to Jeff Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy, a digital rights advocacy group, “the internet is a direct descendant of the United States telephone network.”
It was the first information utility, he told me, until the phone sector was deregulated in the 1980s and 1990s, a move that enhanced competition for a time until the industry consolidated into a handful of huge players.
One reason we lag behind other industrialized countries, according to Aaronson of George Washington University, is that we don’t see internet as a right, just as we don’t see healthcare or higher education as something that everyone is entitled to.
“Broadband access is critical for the success of society as a whole,” Aaronson remarked.
Is there anything I can use as a utility bill?
Electricity, water, and gas are examples of utilities. You might also include sewage, trash, and recycling, as well as TV, internet, phone, and streaming services, depending on how you define utilities. The customer’s name, address, and account number are all listed on a utility bill.
Why isn’t the internet considered a utility?
Many people are assessing the benefits and drawbacks of providing internet connection as a public utility in an era when the digital gap is more visible than ever. Water, gas, and electricity are examples of public utilities that have monopolistic control over the services they provide, which implies that the internet, as a public utility, would be subject to rules and rates would be set at the discretion of the corporation. The infrastructure for public utilities in the United States is already obsolete, and the nature of these services does not correspond to the nature of the internet. Given the business structures of other public utility companies, offering internet access as a public utility would be a mistake because it would eliminate healthy competition between internet companies and national cohesive coverage, both of which are necessary for the advancement of technology, internet freedom, and keeping rates low.
Campbell, Martin, and Fabos (2017) define the digital divide as the disparity between those who can afford internet service and associated technology such as phones and computers, and others who cannot afford to acquire a computer or pay for online services. As the digital era continues, the gap is widening, and “One of the key arguments in support of establishing internet as a public utility is the inability to receive service from the nation’s leading internet providers, which is why 39% of rural Americans do not have access to broadband internet (1). According to Campbell, Martin, and Fabos, the number of Americans who use smartphones will increase from 55 percent to 77 percent by 2020. Because the internet is such a crucial element of job seeking, communication, arranging appointments, and other important tasks, it’s critical that equal access to the internet be prioritized.
The internet is a resource that should be available to everyone in some manner, shape, or form, but, similar to how one must pay a water or electricity bill, the internet can still be made available to the entire public without being a centralized and monopolized utility. Making the internet a public utility, with only one provider per specified area, would only injure consumers in the long term since it would reduce the necessary competition for technology and economics. “Food, clothing, and shelter are examples of “essentials,” according to Larry Downes, and, like the internet, individuals require these commodities, yet they are not considered a public service. Currently, the majority of American households have a choice of at least three internet providers, and restricting this to just one would be a mistake “dangerously inadequate fit (2). Most people’s capacity to pay for their own internet in the same way they pay for clothing and housing eliminates the necessity for it to be a public service.
The internet sector relies on competition between internet providers, and making it a public utility would eliminate this healthy competition. Because of their monopolization and lack of competition, public utility corporations are frequently unable to innovate, putting a halt to internet-related innovation (2). Furthermore, unlike competing internet providers, public utilities do not go out of their way to impress customers. The ideal answer is for the US government to regulate internet providers’ abilities to limit users’ use of the networks, such as not allowing providers to manipulate the speed of specific cities in order to promote one business over another (3). Making the internet a public utility and monopolizing it in specific places is a less effective approach of providing equal access to the internet than regulating internet providers.
Classifying the Internet as a public utility and operating it similarly to water and electricity would not only be costly for taxpayers, but it would also impose unneeded restrictions on internet users. According to the National Cable and Telecommunications Association, regulating the internet would simply remove the government’s incentive for internet innovation, and it would become a neglected, stagnant utility similar to the outdated infrastructure that currently supports water, electricity, and gas (4). Repairing America’s infrastructure for current utilities would cost over $3 trillion, thus adding the internet to the list would merely add to an already antiquated and damaged system (2). If the internet is combined with local services such as electricity, the quality of service is likely to deteriorate, something that Americans are already frustrated with (2).
While having access to the internet is crucial for citizens, it should not be regarded a public utility like water, electricity, or natural gas because the current system is the best fit for the nature of the internet. The internet’s purpose would be undermined by the regulations that would be imposed on it. The FCC is currently monitoring the power of internet providers such as Verizon and AT&T to ensure that users have equal rights, such as equal speed on all websites and privacy protection. Monopolizing the internet business would be detrimental since competition among internet providers is essential for internet technology advancement and the economy. Because of the nature of the internet’s consumers and the architecture of the network, introducing the internet to the United States’ aging electrical infrastructure would be undesirable. While the internet is required for many crucial functions such as job hunting, research, and communication, it should be seen as a necessity in the same way that clothing and shelter are.
- R. Campbell, C. R. Martin, and B. Fabos (2017). An introduction to mass communication through the media and culture (11th ed.). Bedford/St. Martins is a neighborhood in Boston.
What is the internet expense category?
Internet services that are only business support services and are not required for efficient operations are classified as office expenses.
How do I deduct my internet usage from my taxes?
You must file Form 2106, Employee-Related Expenses, to deduct Internet expenses as an employee. Your deduction is limited to the amount that exceeds 2% of your adjusted gross income, according to the IRS. As a result, if you make $50,000, you can only deduct expenses that total more than $1,000. If you are self-employed or own a business, you can deduct all of your business-related Internet expenses from your gross income.
Is the internet included in the home office deduction?
Because having an Internet connection is theoretically required if you work from home, you can deduct some or all of the cost when filing your taxes. The deductible expense will be included in your home office expenses. Only if you use the Internet for work purposes are your Internet expenses deductible. Unless you use your Internet connection for work, you cannot deduct your Internet expenses if you use it to simply surf the web, engage in social networking, or send emails.
Is a cellphone bill considered a utility bill?
Is a telephone bill considered a utility bill? Phone bills are commonly classified as utility bills. However, this only applies to landlines, not mobile phones. Telephone companies’ invoices are utility bills, and they, like energy suppliers, provide a service to the general public.


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There are very few in the industry that can make an impact by throwing the weight of their numbers, like Apple does. In fact, when the news broke about the FY 2015 Q1 results were about to be announced, you could very easily have written this post but left the space before billion empty so you could fill that up. It is a given that usually every Quarter, the results only improvise and things only get better.
For the FY 2015 Q1, which ended on December 31, 2014, Apple has reported a net revenue of $74.6 billion with profits alone for $18 billion. Needless to say, this is the best the Cupertino-based company has done. No prizes for guessing that the large chunk of this income and profits came from the marquee product that the iPhone is.
Apple sold a total of 74.5 million of iPhones. The internal sales numbers alone accounted for 65% of the revenue, which is 5% greater than what was achieved in the last quarter. The sale of iPhones practically doubled in developing countries like China, Singapore and Brazil.
Hold your breath for this one, Apple reportedly sold over 34,000 iPhones every hour in the last quarter, which once again is an unprecedented number. Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook also reportedly told during the earnings call that he expected the Apple Watch to start shipping by April this year.


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Did you forget HomeSync existed? That’s forgivable, especially because Samsung’s 1TB wireless file storage device has, until today, only been usable by select Galaxy phones. Thankfully, that’s changing for the better: Samsung announced that it intends to release a remote app compatible with a broader range Android smartphones and tablets.
The HomeSync is part of Samsung’s tepid living room initiative. Positioned as a competitor to products like Apple TV and Roku, the device is intended to serve as a central hub for all of your media. To that effect, users can configure HomeSync to automatically synchronize photos, videos, music, and documents across devices; “up to eight users with five devices each” can use the HomeSync as a sort of private iCloud. In addition, the HomeSync is capable of mirroring mobile device content on a television via HDMI, and has access to Google Play apps and games.
The HomeSync is priced at $299, and is available from a number of online and brick-and-mortar retailers.
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As builders throughout the world have begun to face the reality that concrete, the dominant construction material in many countries, is also responsible for 7% and more of global carbon emissions, biomechanical engineers have sought other ways to “architect” the construction industry of the future. To do that, they have increasingly turned to wood as the starting point for this new approach.
One of Woodoo's Augmented Wood touch panels included embedded electronics and illuminated displays. Photo: Tom Dahlstroem, via Twitter
One such company which is leading the way in this is Woodoo, a French enterprise which has already found multiple ways to replace conventional building materials such as concrete and steel with wood, but in ways well beyond what most have ever considered.
Woodoo, founded by French engineering entrepreneur Timothée Boitouzet, looks to one of the oldest building materials on the planet – wood – as what he sees as the next wave of the future.
The inspiration for this came when Bouitouzet studied architecture in Japan. After being raised in France, where stone and concrete dominate modern construction, he was inspired by the ways that ordinary wood was used in Japan for the most complex of structures. Yet despite being used in one of the most geologically active regions in the world, with regular powerful earthquakes shaking the entire nation, and with more powerful typhoons coming across that nation’s shores, wood continued to prove resilient and less prone to damage than its more modern building counterparts.
After returning home, Boitouzet took his inspiration, founded Woodoo in 2016, and with that company took so-called “ordinary wood” to places it had never been before. It did so by simultaneously retaining what makes wood so versatile and strong and by reconfiguring it in multiple ways.
While most builders still design in wood for support pillars, roofing, and more in a conventional manner, Woodoo’s engineers have gone down a different path.
As part of that group’s investigations, they have begun a process of extracting lignin, the material within wood which makes up its cellular wall structure and also makes it opaque. They then replace that lignin with a polymer. The polymer for now is made from petroleum-based extracts so it still feeds the fossil fuel industry, but the company is currently researching alternatives made of bioplastic resins.
With the current polymers in place, what used to be ordinary wood becomes transformed, becoming something almost otherworldly.
The new wood, Boitouzet explained, “is weather-proof, more fire resistant, three to five times stronger [than wood], and transparent.”
With optimum polymer design, the transparency characteristics of the wood allow light to pass through the transparent structure without bending or distorting to any great degree. That provides many possibilities for its use in the future, both as a construction material for buildings and for other applications as well.
The Woodoo Augmented Wood project, as it is called, was launched with the goal of “making wood as strong as concrete.”
It was funded under a grant sponsored by the European Union via a € 2.27 million (U.S. $2.7 million) development grant and with an overall budget of € 3.25 million (U.S. $3.8 million), the original project concluded with the creation of, among other things, doing no less than “making wood as strong as concrete.”
After the initial success of the effective “rewiring” of the cellular structure of the wood with polymers, Woodoo has expanded its innovation. It now has created transparent wood panels with embedded electronics. The company is currently exploring the use of those panels as “tactile dashboards” to be installed in cars and other vehicles, and in other applications where pure plastic, glass, or metal solutions are more common.
Other products Woodoo has recently introduced are augmented wood materials to be used in everything from luxury eyeglass frames and even watches. It has even created alternatives to woven fabrics and plastic bottles which are genuinely biodegradable, unlike many of the materials they were designed to replace.
Woodoo has also worked hard to confirm and solidify the sustainability of the value chain for the most materials it incorporates in its products.


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We knew long ago that Star Wars: The Force Awakens would do well. The fact that it now has the title of the highest-grossing film of all time in the United States and Canada beating 2009’s Avatar makes a strong statement to what it has achieved. Given it has also claimed the title of the highest-grossing worldwide opening and it reached the much coveted $1 billion dollar mark faster than any other film in the history of cinema, there is little question that it should not be viewed as anything other than a complete success.
There is debate whether it will topple James Cameron’s Titanic and Avatar for the highest grossing film of all time, and that battle continues as tickets sell even today. As reported in Cinemablend though, performance of the film in Asia and Latin America may yet hamper it making a clean sweep of all the top honors. As of now, it shows no signs of stopping and given Disney announced earlier this week of a revised screen date for Episode VIII means this battle will only continue. Why? That new date puts Star Wars in a head-to-head battle with Avatar 2, debuting 10 days after Episode VIII. If you ask me, I wouldn’t want to have blue skin and a tail when these two meet up with fans, but that’s a showdown and a discussion for another day.
What is not in question is how well the toys and associated collectibles tied to The Force Awakens faired in 2015. We reported previously on the impact the franchise had on toy shelves leading into the holiday season. Now, per the NPD Group, Star Wars: The Force Awakens was “the number-one property” in the toy industry for 2015. They should know, given they do analysis in 20 countries, interview 12 million consumers a year, and monitor consumer purchase data from over 165,000 stores. By generating $700 million in sales, Star Wars toy and collectible sales totaled more than the movie franchises Jurassic World, Minions and Avengers combined!
Domination doesn’t feel like a strong enough word here. Star Wars utterly destroyed and continues to destroy all competition when it comes to toys and collectibles. Considering this whole phenomena really didn’t get rolling in earnest until September 4th, aka Force Friday, these numbers are even more staggering. Looking at this from an even broader perspective, you have to tip your hat further to the fact that toy sales in the United States rose 6.7 percent to $19.4 billion in 2015. The force was most certainly at work in the final 118 days of 2015 as The Force Awakens is now credited with pushing the usual November/December holiday buying season into September for the first time.
With Rogue One: A Star Wars Story debuting on December 16, 2016 and Episode VIII now hitting theaters on December 15, 2017, it is clear that Disney and Star Wars are simply going to own the Christmas shopping season for the foreseeable future. To tell you the truth, I’m okay with that.


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Tom Price featured in recent meeting hosted by athenahealth
How to protect your company from an unlicensed-software crackdown
How to fight fraud by updating credit card terminals before it's too late
Activist investor to Progress Software: 'We’re not going away'
Executive Profile: Yuchun Lee and Mark Magnacca, the Odd Couple of the corporate world
Progress Software defends chairman Jack Egan from activist investor
Insurance-comparison startup The Zebra hires Kayak exec as new CEO
Talla aims to build a trusted foundation for AI in the workplace
GE deepens relationship with Cambridge big data startup
What would 50,000 Amazon jobs mean for Boston tech? It's complicated.
Amazon denies Boston is a front-runner for HQ2 after report
Nasuni raises $38M from Goldman Sachs
Viewpoint: Why social media apps should be in your disaster kit
Needham tech firm PTC to relocate HQ to Boston’s Seaport District
CCA: Bullhorn helps get the message out for Career Collaborative
GE Ventures adds to $40M round for Andover industrial software company
Facing challenges, new Brightcove CEO willing to make 'hard choices'
Jeff Immelt says he will not pursue CEO job at Uber
Globespan Capital's Andy Goldfarb turns a passion for photos into a startup
Private equity firm to buy Goldman-backed Applause, with IPO still a possibility
Arizona firm gobbles up Amazon-backed Dragon Innovation
Executive Profile: CEO adapts dating app into a medical device, product tracker
Kleiner-backed CloudHealth triples office space, plans hiring spree after $46M round
Boston-based SnapApp raises $10M to expand sales team, fuel acquisitions
Fidelity sells off more than half its stake in Snap
After 6 months, Uber and Lyft have not had 'dramatic' impact on taxis at Logan
American Well expands office space as workforce nearly doubles
Somerville-based marketing analytics company raises $10M
LogMeIn buys Israeli AI startup for $45M
Athenahealth to make $100M in cost cuts as Bush cedes some control
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Western Union, a payment service provider, has extended its contract with U.S. Bank for money transfer services.
Under the renewed deal, US Bank customers will have access to Western Union Money Transfer services through the bank’s branches, online banking website and mobile banking application.
The contract will allow U.S. Bank customers to send money throughout the Western Union network.
Western Union provides banks a cost-effective and reliable way to meet consumer demand to send money from bank accounts globally.
Western Union US senior vice president and general manager Carter Hunt said: "We are pleased to extend our relationship with U.S. Bank, and we remain committed to bringing customers the high level of customer service and innovation they have come to expect from our company."


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Samsung Predicted to Ship 12 Million Note 7 Units This Year
Now that Samsung has launched its highly anticipated Galaxy Note 7, it was only about time for the sales predictions to come in. According to financial analysis firm Hyundai Securities, the Korean giant is expected to sale 12 million units of their “next big thing” before the year end.
Well, this numbers are still small compared to 26 million performance of Galaxy S7/S7 Edge duo in first 120 days of availability. But for a niche product like Galaxy Note, these are still encouraging figures for Samsung.
So clearly with Galaxy S7/S7 Edge and now with Galaxy Note 7, Samsung’s dream run in 2016 isn’t going to end anytime soon. It wouldn’t be very surprising if Samsung come up with another blockbuster box office results in upcoming quarter.
Source: The Korea Herald


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The international goes inexperienced. “Green” is the color of environmental problem, the impetus that drives modern technology, the buzz phrase of the socially aware. Concern for the surroundings and man’s effect on it’s far bringing a slew of new merchandise to market, and pest control is not any exception. Environmentally-pleasant pest manage services are developing in recognition, especially inside the business zone. Even eco-savvy residential customers are asking approximately natural options to conventional insecticides, however their ardor regularly cools while confronted with the 10% to twenty% value differential and lengthier treatment times, once in a while several weeks.
The elevating of America’s environmental cognizance, coupled with increasingly more stringent federal rules governing conventional chemical insecticides, seems to be moving the pest manipulate industry’s attention to Integrated Pest Management (IPM) techniques. IPM is considered not most effective safer for the environment, but safer for human beings, pets and secondary scavengers along with owls. Of 378 pest management organizations surveyed in 2008 by using Pest Control Technology mag, -thirds stated they supplied IPM offerings of some sort.
Instead of lacing pest web sites with a poisonous cocktail of powerful pesticides designed to kill, IPM focuses on environmentally-pleasant prevention strategies designed to hold pests out. While low- or no-toxicity products will also be used to encourage pests to % their luggage, removal and control efforts focus on locating and casting off the reasons of infestation: access points, attractants, harborage and meals.
Particularly popular with mosquito control near me richardson tx faculties and nursing homes charged with guarding the health of the nation’s youngest and oldest citizens, those at finest danger from risky chemical substances, IPM is catching the attention of resorts, office homes, condo complexes and different business organizations, as well as eco-conscious residential clients. Driven in same parts through environmental issues and fitness chance fears, hobby in IPM is bringing a number of recent environmentally-friendly pest control merchandise — each high- and low-tech — to marketplace.
“Probably the fine product out there’s a door sweep,” confided Tom Green, president of the Integrated Pest Management Institute of North America, a non-earnings corporation that certifies inexperienced exterminating companies. In an Associated Press interview published on MSNBC on-line final April, Green defined, “A mouse can squeeze via a hole the dimensions of a pencil diameter. So if you’ve were given a quarter-inch hole underneath your door, as far as a mouse is involved, there’s no door there at all.” Cockroaches can slither via a one-8th inch crevice.
IPM is “a higher technique to pest manipulate for the health of the house, the surroundings and the family,” stated Cindy Mannes, spokeswoman for the National Pest Management Association, the $6.3 billion pest control industry’s alternate association, inside the equal Associated Press tale. However, because IPM is a noticeably new addition to the pest manipulate arsenal, Mannes recommended that there is little enterprise consensus at the definition of green services.
In an attempt to create enterprise requirements for IPM services and companies, the Integrated Pest Management Institute of North America advanced the Green Shield Certified (GSC) program. Identifying pest manage merchandise and businesses that eschew conventional insecticides in prefer of environmentally-friendly manipulate strategies, GSC is encouraged through the EPA, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and HUD. IPM favors mechanical, physical and cultural strategies to control pests, but may additionally use bio-insecticides derived from certainly-going on materials which include animals, flowers, bacteria and certain minerals.
Toxic chemical sprays are giving way to new, now and again unconventional, strategies of treating pests. Some are extremely excessive-tech like the quick-freeze Cryonite method for putting off mattress bugs. Others, like educated dogs that sniff out mattress insects, appear decidedly low-tech, but rent modern-day strategies to attain outcomes. For instance, farmers have used dogs’ touchy noses to sniff out trouble pests for centuries; but schooling dogs to sniff out explosives and tablets is a enormously current improvement. Using the ones equal strategies to educate dogs to sniff out termites and bed bugs is taken into consideration contemporary.
Another new pest manage approach is birth control. When San Francisco changed into threatened by mosquitoes sporting potentially existence-threatening West Nile Virus, bicycle messengers have been hired to cruise the city and drop packets of organic insecticide into the town’s 20,000 storm drains. A kind of delivery manipulate for mosquitoes, the brand new approach was taken into consideration safer than aerial spraying with the chemical pyrethrum, the standard mosquito abatement method, according to a recent tale published on the National Public Radio website.
Naturally, there are efforts underway to construct a higher mousetrap. The modern Track & Trap gadget attracts mice or rats to a meals station dusted with fluorescent powder. Rodents leave a blacklight-visible trail that lets in pest manipulate experts to seal access paths. Coming quickly, NightWatch uses pheromone studies to lure and entice mattress insects. In England, a sonic tool designed to repel rats and squirrels is being tested, and the aptly named Rat Zapper is alleged to deliver a lethal shock the usage of just two AA batteries.
Alongside this influx of latest environmentally-pleasant merchandise rides a posse of federal policies. Critics of new EPA rules proscribing the sale of positive pest-killing chemical compounds accuse the government of unfairly proscribing a homeowner’s ability to guard his property. The EPA’s 2004 banning of the chemical diazinon for family use multiple years in the past removed a strong ant-killer from the owner of a house’s pest manipulate arsenal. Similarly, 2008 EPA rules prohibiting the sale of small quantities of effective rodenticides, unless bought interior an enclosed trap, has stripped rodent-killing chemical compounds from the shelves of hardware and domestic improvement stores, proscribing the owner of a house’s ability to shield his belongings and own family from these disorder-sporting pests.
Acting for the general public true, the government’s pesticide-manipulate moves are specially aimed at defensive youngsters. According to a May 20, 2008 report on CNN on line, a take a look at performed via the American Association of Poison Control Centers indicated that rat poison become responsible for nearly 60,000 poisonings between 2001 and 2003, 250 of them ensuing in severe injuries or loss of life. National Wildlife Service checking out in California discovered rodenticide residue in each animal examined.
Consumers are embracing the concept of natural pest manipulate and environmentally-friendly, modern pest management products and techniques. Availability and government policies are an increasing number of proscribing clients’ self-treatment alternatives, forcing them to show to expert pest manipulate companies for relief from pest invasions. While this has proved a feasible alternative for commercial customers, few residential clients seem inclined to pay higher expenses for more recent, extra labor-extensive green pest manage products or even fewer are willing to attend the additional week or it could take these products to paintings. It is taking leadership efforts at the part of pest control agencies to educate clients within the long time advantages of inexperienced and natural pest treatments.


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Business Standard: July 28, 2016
Investments by major venture capital (VC) funds seem to be slowing. Ask entrepreneurs and they will tell you the difficulty in raising Series-C or even Series-B rounds. But, angel investors insist there is value to be had in the Indian tech start-up market. YourNest Angel Fund sees it in the business-to-business (B2B) sector.
Sunil Goyal, the founder and chief executive officer of YourNest, says he doesn’t shy away from consumer-led companies. However, he would like these to be big business houses with immediate adoption, high return and a scope of growth that is not driven by feverish customer acquisition and marketing hoopla, but by revenue.
“The fund investment thesis has been to invest in asset-light business models that have low customer acquisition costs. Hence, we have deliberately stayed away from pure B2C (business to consumer) models,” says Goyal.
B2B business is considered to grow at a slow pace and the chances of exits are lower, especially in Series-A investors like YourNest. Goyal will argue this isn’t really the case. He can visualise exits in plenty of his companies over the next two years, lower than the four-year cash-outs that a Series A investor wants.
He won’t pick his favourites but will nudge you toward one called GolfLan.com. Its concept is very similar to BookMyShow. It develops the backend for most golf clubs and then provides a platform for enthusiasts to book tee off times.
“There is one in the US that uses a similar model. But, very few courses are actually on it. Can you see the potential that we are dealing with?” he asks. When YourNest chooses to exit, he says, it would be easy. “It will be a company with a captive high-ticket user base not just in India,” he adds.
He also has the likes of an artificial intelligence company called Arya.ai. A budding star, the Mumbai-based company became the first Indian start-up to be selected by Paris&Co as one of the 21 companies in the standout innovations list.
Goyal insists that YourNest’s investments are still maturing. But, he points to his personal exits that have been on the mark to showcase his business acumen. Goyal says he was one of the first to see potential in ZipDial, a missed-call-based marketing company, and when it was bought out by Twitter for $30 million, he saw it as a win not just for him but also the company.
But, there is a certain way he likes to build his portfolio of companies. “We have made 15 investments from our first fund. We plan to make four to six investments every year,” says Goyal. The company runs camps where successful entrepreneurs and those who have made mistakes guide their portfolio companies. But, it isn’t unusual. Several VCs have investor days.
“Yes, true. But, those are more social gatherings. This is a coaching class. We are not hands off. We are with these entrepreneurs each and every step of the way,” says Goyal. And, with a Rs 100-crore fund, they need to be elbows deep to maximise the company’s potential. Their due diligence even for small cheque sizes takes three months and the cheque doesn’t land immediately into the company’s bank account. It takes a little while until some metrics are not met.
“In those few weeks when the cheque hasn’t been credited yet, that’s when the entrepreneur listens to you the most,” he says. The strategy means there should be no failures. But, there has been one: BookMyCab, a company that he says should have made money from day one.
And, it had hit the ground running until the landscape changed and the entrepreneur got carried away by the big-cheque enthusiasm. The company had no exits, it merged with a Pune-based company, Wings Travel, in an all-stock deal. At one time, BookMyCab was being wooed by Jugnoo and a $10-million exit for everyone was being visualised.
“Yes, it has been one of our biggest lessons. Looking back, it seems we forgot the simple principle of economics that “abnormal returns attract fierce competition”. We should have raised larger funding rounds early on or should have been open to quicker exit to a larger player. Faster exits shall be the norm in case our start-ups do not reach leadership position in their space,” he says.


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The pandemic is seemingly ending, but has global air traffic recovered from COVID-19 yet? IATA’s November 2022 report shows a promising sign. And though the numbers are not as good as those of the pre-pandemic year (2019), it’s getting there.
Global Air Traffic Rises (as of November 2022)
IATA November 2022 data reveals a rise in total traffic by approximately 41.3% from the same month last year. The traffic is measured by revenue passenger kilometres (RPKs); which accounts for the number of passengers and distance travelled. In perspective, last year’s traffic was at 75% of the pre-COVID year.
Domestic travel has been growing at a rapid rate. Compared to November 2021, domestic travel increased by 3.4% with Australia being the country with the highest air traffic. Despite China’s restrictions – which posted an unfavourable impact on global air traffic – the 2022 domestic travel was 77.7% of the 2019 level.
International travel is also blooming; total traffic rose 85.2% versus November 2021, with Asia-Pacific airlines generating the most impressive year-on-year growth at; a 373.9% increase from the year prior.
Europe, on the other hand, had the most settled number of international travel. European airlines together pulled off 45.3% growth compared to November 2021, but its load factor level (how much of an airline’s seat capacity is being booked) was at 83.8%, which was the highest of all regions.
We also see an overall increase in capacity by airlines across continents.
Read the full report here: IATA Air Passenger Market analysis
Air Cargo Traffic Flops as Export Drops
People are rightfully enjoying the freedom of travel after being cooped up inside since 2020. But while the demand for commercial flights is ramping up, the air cargo market is going the other way
The global air cargo market shrunk by 13.7% compared to the year prior, which equals a minor contraction of around -10% when compared to the number from November 2019.
But on a larger scale, the new export orders (an indicator of international demand for a country’s goods and services) have been shrinking in most countries, except for Germany, South Korea, and the US.
The overall global goods trade had expanded by 3.3% towards the end of 2022, which suggests that the traffic had shifted from aero to marine. And this might be due to the rising price of jet fuel.
Currently, Jet A1 (mostly used type of jet fuel) costs a little over $810 per metric tonne, while VLSFO ship fuel is only $636.
As for performances by regions, in contrast to passenger traffic, the air cargo volumes of Asia-Pacific decreased by almost 15% from the month prior, and by 18.6% when compared to the number from November 2021. But this is never a surprise given that the region was faced with issues involving low manufacturing activities, disruptions in supply chains, and lower trade levels due to the COVID situation in China.
Will We See a Full Recovery in 2023?
The November 2022 data truly shows a potential growth of the air industry in this current year, but there is still a catch. Willie Walsh, Director General of IATA states:
Traffic results in November reinforce that consumers thoroughly enjoy the freedom to travel. Unfortunately, the reactions to China’s reopening of international travel in January remind us that many governments are still playing science politics regarding COVID-19 and travel.
Meanwhile, aviation experts at Eurocontrol speculate that European airlines should be at a 95% recovery by August 2023. They also added that the obstacles that will slow us down remain the same as last year; staff shortages, unstable economic conditions and fuel prices.
But Walsh thinks otherwise. Walsh told Reuters that the air industry will pick up a pace of recovery throughout 2023 and the mentioned obstacles are unlikely to get in the way.
Do you think we will match the pre-pandemic number by the end of this year? Let us know down below!


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MetroPCS to continue on as a nationwide prepaid brand
GoSmart Mobile, which is T-Mobile's latest nationwide prepaid brand, is confirmed to be sticking around even as the merger with MetroPCS comes to a close this year. The brand, which is completely owned by T-Mobile but operated as an independent carrier, just launched nationwide in February and caters to a price-sensitive crowd with $45, $35 and $30 tiers that offer unlimited talk, text and either 2G or 3G data service. With the MetroPCS merger now confirmed, T-Mobile plans to keep that brand around as a nationwide prepaid carrier as well -- which would make sense considering the brand equity it has.
Because both MetroPCS and GoSmart will continue operating concurrently, we would expect the carriers to both hit different price points and service levels. Given the pricing structure of GoSmart, we expect the MetroPCS brand to slot in above it with higher prices and more options. This is not unlike the strategy of Sprint, which operates its self-branded postpaid services separate from Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile, which are completely owned prepaid subsidiaries.
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This is one lawsuit that has definitely caught our attention. The Wall Street Journal reports that Apple has filed a lawsuit against Samsung for allegedly copying the iPhone and iPad and applying its ‘style’ to their own consumer electronics. The devices in question here include the Galaxy S 4G, having strikingly similar features with the iPhone 3G/3GS; and to a lesser extent, the Nexus S and the Galaxy Tab.
Apple filed the lawsuit last Friday on the Norther California District court and seeks to prove that Samsung’s ‘plagiarism’ of the look and feel of the said devices were intentional. This also includes the software apart from the hardware infringement as the UI from both devices are also similarly looking. With this, are we seeing another lawsuit against Google? We’ll have to wait for that update, but in the meantime, here’s an excerpt from Apple’s infringement claim.
“Rather than innovate and develop its own technology and a unique Samsung style for its smart phone products and computer tablets, Samsung chose to copy Apple’s technology, user interface and innovative style in these infringing products.”


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One Microgaming new slot release for November that will have sports fans cheering is Basketball Star. The game has 243 ways to win rather than traditional paylines (any adjacent symbols left to right are considered to be on a “line”). Add that feature to free spins and “Rolling Reels” and you have a game that could deliver a slam dunk on any given spin.
When players spin a winning combination the symbols involved in the win will blow up and new symbols drop down to replace them, creating the possibility of even more wins from a single spin.
Mike Hebden, head of casino games at Microgaming told readers in a release earlier that Basketball Star is not the only sports-themed game coming out this month. He also mentioned that the game launched for download, browser, and mobile play at the same time so everyone can enjoy it.
“This month we’re adding to the collection of sporting games we offer with Basketball Star. Packing the excitement of a major league final, we’re confident the game will be a crowd-pleaser. Plus its simultaneous release ensures players are able to enjoy the game no matter their preferred playing device, adding to the industry’s biggest portfolio of mobile games available to our operators,” Hebden said.
Three more mobile optimized games will be released this month including on-the-go versions of So Many Monsters, So Much Candy, and So Much Sushi – a trio of related games originally released for PC and Mac in September
Players can find Basketball Star at Luxury Casino and many other fine Microgaming powered establishments in regulated markets (unfortunately Microgaming slots are not available to US players). Luxury Casino is licensed by the Kahnawake Gaming Commission and certified by eCogra. Slot percentage payouts are monitored by third party independent auditors.


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Blockchain firm BTCS soars on retail rush for Bitcoin dividends
Shares in BTCS rocketed as more retail investors scooped them up after the company offered to pay dividends in Bitcoin.
Shares in blockchain technology-focused firm BTCS Inc rocketed on Thursday, set to extend a four-day rally, as more retail investors scooped them up after the company last week offered to pay dividends in Bitcoin. The Silver Spring, Maryland-based company has seen its stock value more than double since Jan. 5, when it proposed to pay $0.05 per share in bitcoin to those who opt for it. Its first bitcoin dividend, or "bividend" as BTCS calls it, is due on March 16.
Shares of BTCS climbed 20% to a six-week high of $7.80 in early trading on Thursday as the online buzz over its plan grew in forums such as Reddit and stocktwits.com, which were instrumental in the "meme stock" frenzy last year.
Nearly 9 million BTCS shares changed hands within the first few minutes of trading, more than double the company's public float of 4.2 million shares. A smaller number of free float shares makes the stock vulnerable to sharp moves.
"This is a moment we have long anticipated since the Company purchased the domain, bividend.com, in February 2015," CEO Charles Allen said in a statement last Wednesday.
BTCS, last valued at $69 million, claims to be the first Nasdaq-listed firm to offer dividends in bitcoin. Video game retailer GameStop on Friday jumped as much as 22% on plans to launch a division to develop a marketplace for nonfungible tokens (NFTs).
Meanwhile, prices of highly-volatile cryptocurrencies have tumbled since hitting all-time highs late last year. Bitcoin was last trading at $44,306.29 on Thursday, about 36% below its all-time peak.
Coinbase buys crypto futures exchanges, plans to sell derivatives in U.S
(Reuters) - Major cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase said it is buying a crypto futures exchange, FairX, as part of a move to offer crypto derivatives to traders in the United States.
FairX, which was launched last year, is the operating name of LMX Labs. It sells futures products and is regulated by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
Coinbase said it wants to make trading of regulated crypto derivatives accessible to retail and institutional customers.
"The development of a transparent derivatives market is a critical inflection point for any asset class and we believe it will unlock further participation in the cryptoeconomy for retail and institutional investors alike," it said in a blog post on Wednesday.
Trading of cryptocurrency derivatives has grown rapidly since institutional investors have over the past 18 months begun to embrace digital coin trading, presenting big opportunities for platforms that offer future and options.
Crypto derivatives volumes totalled $3.3 trillion in November, according to UK research CryptoCompare, accounting for almost 55% of the total crypto market.
Crypto futures and options products, especially those offered by regulated platforms, are widely seen as less risky than buying and selling cash trading.
That likely makes them more appealing for institutional investors seeking to gain exposure to cryptocurrencies, many of whom are balancing the lure of fast gains with the lingering risks in the emerging industry.
The deal is expected to close in the first quarter, the company said.
Shares in Coinbase ended 1% lower on Wednesday after registering its first day of net gains this year on Tuesday reaching above $246 though it remains down around 39% since it went public in April last year.
Shares were up nearly 3% at $241.20 in premarket trading.
Shares of blockchain-related firms fell earlier this week as bitcoin slid below $40,000. It remains significantly below the all-time high of $69,000 it reached in November last year.


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Chancellor unveils £7bn support package to help industry with rising energy costs, fueling concerns decarbonisation efforts could be undermined
Chancellor George Osborne today surprised industry by accompanying his heavily trailed freeze of the carbon price floor with the unveiling of a new £7bn support package to help manufacturers cope with...
Supermarket currently uses 120,000 tonnes of plastic packaging each year, but aims to switch to alternative materials and embrace lightweighting and refillable packaging in pursuit of new target
USA offshore wind boost, Dutch climate court case, collapsing clean energy investment in Australia - a round up of green business news from around the world
Policy paper set for debate at Lib Dem conference on Monday calls for 2045 net zero goal, 2030 fossil fuel car ban, and major tree planting drive
SSE says proposed sale supports its plans to focus on low carbon infrastructure, as OVO looks to beef up presence in a retail market that is being reshaped by clean technologies


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IT has been more than two years since the United States first launched investigations into China’s trade and intellectual property. Since then, four different rounds of US tariffs have been slapped on Chinese goods, with a fifth round due to come into effect on Oct 15.
By the time this fifth round of tariffs is applied, virtually all of the US$550 billion imports from China into the US will be subject to an average tax of about 25 per cent at the US border. In retaliation, China is set to impose its own tariffs on more than US$185 billion worth of US goods.
As the trade conflict rages on, battle scars all over the world are becoming increasingly apparent, compounded by a backdrop of global geopolitical uncertainty. Global trade growth has slumped into contractionary territory, recording the slowest growth since the Global Financial Crisis. Likewise, global industrial production has softened, and policymakers and market participants are becoming increasingly wary about the prospects of an impending global recession.
The US, long regarded as a bright spot of economic activity, has also seen its growth engines begin to sputter. Even US President Donald Trump, a steadfast cheerleader of US tariffs, has been forced to concede that American businesses have been harmed. In recent months Trump has expanded the number of tariff exclusions and increased subsidies to US farmers. The macro numbers have certainly turned less cheery, too: over the last two months, US core capital goods orders, a proxy for business investment, have contracted.
The Chinese economy, which was already structurally slowing even before the tariffs, has been further buffeted despite the best efforts of Chinese policymakers to mobilise monetary and fiscal stimulus to bolster growth. Economic growth has continued to inch down to multi-decade lows.
Measures of manufacturing activity have tumbled into negative territory, while China’s exports to the US have declined sharply.
Elsewhere in Asia, two opposing effects are playing out: the first is a negative effect from a general decline in global demand amid increased uncertainty. The second is a positive effect from potential trade and investment diversions. The longer the trade war persists, the more this negative effect will wipe out any positive diversion effects.
For economies like Vietnam and Taiwan, which have been some of the biggest beneficiaries from trade diversion, things have been relatively smooth sailing so far. Yet, for most economies in the region, the effects of the trade conflict have been more ambiguous.
East Asian economies like Japan and South Korea have seen gains in exports of specific goods like motor vehicle and aircraft parts to the US, yet on aggregate, export growth has moderated. Similarly, the latest economic data from both economies have been worrying, with capital spending and industrial production showing fresh signs of weakness.
Meanwhile, almost every major central bank in Southeast Asia has either already cut interest rates over the past year, or are expected to cut rates soon. Likewise, despite seeing some limited gains in trade diversion, Southeast Asian economies like Thailand and Singapore have also seen economic activity slip to multi-year lows with measures of exports and factory production tumbling. In Malaysia, growth has so far been somewhat more resilient, though exports have also taken a hit, with export growth trending downwards in the past year.
Amid the turmoil, countries in the region have begun to respond. Thailand has recently unveiled a “relocation” package which includes tax incentives and investment-friendly regulations aimed at attracting investment diversion.
Likewise, Malaysia has established a new committee to fast-track approvals for foreign investment and assembled a “trade war task force”. Meanwhile, Asian economies in the region have stepped up efforts to complete the signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership trade agreement — while non-ratified signatories of the CPTPP may consider accelerating their ratification efforts.
Yet, for developing Asia, boosting international trade and investment alone is not enough. Perhaps more important is ensuring that foreign investment is channelled towards national development and towards increasingly high-value-added domestic production — rather than just being conduits for foreign profits. To this end, developing Asian economies, including Malaysia, would do well to avoid using overly-generous tax incentives to pander to corporate interests who do not play a role in national development.
Simultaneously, other longer-term policies aimed at improving human capital development and increasing domestic investment are crucial too.
After all, it is becoming increasingly clear that trade wars are far from “good and easy to win”, even for onlookers in Asia looking to gain from trade and investment diversion. Nevertheless, the economic conflict between the US and China will not diminish anytime soon, even if a trade deal is signed. Just as the last full-blown trade war during the Smoot-Hawley tariffs in the 1930s set in motion the creation of the system of world trade we know today — so too could this US-China tariff conflict bring about a new global trading order.
This article first appeared in the New Straits Times on October 3, 2019


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Epic is considering the respawning mechanics for Fortnite
Epic is considering the respawning mechanics for Fortnite ⚡⚡⚡ Esports and gaming news, analytics, reviews on WePlay! The latest news on WePlay!
One of the greatest additions made to the Battle Royale formula by the recently released Apex Legends was the respawning mechanics, which allows you to bring back fallen teammates given you’ve acquired their banner. It was a pretty obvious addition, to be honest – just look at the name of the studio behind the game. Respawn it is.
And while this feature is currently available in Apex Legends only, it turns out that Epic Games has been considering the very same idea for quite some time. This information came directly from the recent Reddit AMA with Epic Games, and it shouldn’t be surprising that gamers asked the developers of Fortnite about the most exciting features available in the game if their competitors. While Epic is indeed considering the respawning mechanics for Fortnite, the studio still needs time to find out whether it adds to gameplay in a positive way. The devs left an intriguing remark that the players should wait for updates regarding this topic during Season 8.
As for Season 8, it is going to be pirate-themed and it’s just around the corner. The respawning might be actually introduced during the traditional rollout of new features as it often happens in Fortnite seasons. It is also worth noting that the flow of gameplay differs a lot in Fortnite and Apex, and what’s helpful in one game might turn useless in the other.


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Nokia C2 Handset Coming
Nokia is going to launch its next mid-range handset, the C2. This is another classic phone in the C-series.
Earlier, Nokia had released its three QWERTY phones, C3, C5 and E5. And, there is buzz about the new 12MP camera phone, N8. So, Nokia is gearing up to strike the chord of the younger generation.
As per the folks, the C2 looks like the Nokia 6800 and will run with S40 OS. However, the new Nokia phone is a nice design with a larger QVGA touchscreen. The 6800 model was carrying an odd looking split QWERTY keypad and small screen.
Apart from that, the C2 is expected to carry e-ink technology with its keyboard that can help in folding the keypad. There is supposed to be a 2MP camera with Carl Zeiss optics too.
However, the details like the specs and the release date might come to the public later.


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Job growth was stronger than expected in October, despite the Federal Reserve raising interest rates aimed at slowing a still-strong labor market.
Nonfarm payrolls rose by 261,000 in the month, while the unemployment rate rose to 3.7%, the Labor Department said Friday. Those pay numbers were better than the Dow Jones estimate of 205,000 more jobs, but worse than the 3.5% jobless rate estimate.
Average hourly earnings rose 4.7% from a year earlier and 0.4% for the month, suggesting that wage growth is still likely to put pressure on inflation. Year-on-year growth met expectations, while monthly earnings slightly beat estimates of 0.3%.
Health care led the job gains, adding 53,000 jobs, while professional and technical services contributed 43,000 and manufacturing rose 32,000.
Leisure and hospitality also posted solid growth, up 35,000 jobs, although the pace of growth slowed considerably from the gains seen in 2021. The group, which includes jobs in hotels, restaurants and bars along with related sectors, is growing by an average of 78,000 a month. this year compared to 196,000 last year.
In the pre-Christmas shopping season, the retail industry saw only a slight increase of 7,200 jobs. Wholesale added 15,000, shipping and warehousing added 8,000.
The unemployment rate rose 0.2 percentage points, even as the labor force participation rate fell a tenth of a point to 62.2%. The alternative unemployment rate, which includes discouraged workers and those holding part-time jobs for economic reasons, also rose slightly to 6.8%.
Stock market futures rose after the nonfarm payrolls releasewhile treasury yields were also higher.
September jobs were revised higher to 315,000, up 52,000 from the original estimate. The August figure fell by 23,000 to 292,000.
The new numbers come as the Fed is campaigning to lower inflation running at an annual rate of 8.2%, according to one government gauge. Earlier this week, the central bank approved a fourth consecutive interest rate hike of 0.75 percentage points, pushing benchmark interest rates to a range of 3.75% to 4%.
These increases are partly aimed at cooling the labor market, where there are still nearly two jobs for every available unemployed worker. Even with the reduced pace, job growth was well ahead of pre-pandemic levels, when monthly wage growth averaged 164,000 in 2019.
However, recently there are signs of cracks.
Amazon announced on Thursday that it was suspending hiring for positions in its corporate workforce, an announcement that came after the online retail behemoth said it was halting new hiring for corporate retail jobs.
Also, Apple he said he would freeze new hires except for research and development. Riding company Lyft announced it would lay off 13% of its workforce, while online payments company Stripe said it would lay off 14% of its workforce.
The chairman of the Fed Jerome Powell on Wednesday characterized the labor market as “overheated” and said the current rate of wage growth is “significantly above” what would be consistent with the central bank’s 2% inflation target.
“Demand is still strong,” said Amy Glaser, Adecco’s senior vice president of business operations for staffing and recruiting. “Everyone assumes at some point we’ll start to see a shift in demand. But for now, we’re still seeing the labor market defy the law of supply and demand.”
Glaser said demand is particularly strong in warehouses, retail and hospitality, the sector hardest hit the Covid pandemic.
This is the latest news. Updates can be found here.


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GroupM has joined with Twitter to roll out Moat viewabilty beta program across its client portfolio.
Committed to increasing the confidence into digital advertising and combating such issues as brand safety, ad fraud and viewability, GroupM has rolled out the trial with Paramount Pictures (MEC) and Kathmandu (GroupM Connect).
GroupM has analysed 2.5 billion lines of viewability data per month for the past 18 months and has been working with key publishers to set out the new standard.
As an existing partner of the verification company Moat, GroupM will now be able to track viewability across all Twitter ad products – including video – and analyse the findings, including measuring Twitter performance versus expectations and other channels.
John Miskelly (pictured above), head of digital from GroupM commented: “The importance here for GroupM is the fact that this is third party accreditation and it has to be; players can’t be the referees. This deep and independent insight into the data strengthens GroupM’s position in regards to viewability and will give our clients yet another unfair advantage to further boost the performance of all their campaigns.”
Earlier this year, GroupM announced its focus on lifting the viewabilty standard for its clients by adopting a new viewability definition. Being a viewable ad by GroupM standards means 100 per cent of a digital display ad must be on the screen and within view for at least one second in order to count as “viewable.”
Viewability will continue to be a core focus in the advertising industry. It is in the best interests of both the publishers and the advertisers to improve viewability measurement.


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Steelmakers try to raise prices to reflect costsKorean steelmakers are raising the prices of their products to reflect increased costs of raw materials, industry sources said Monday, though the price hikes are likely to be lower than expected.
Posco, Korea’s largest steelmaker, recently agreed with a local carmaker to raise the prices of its automobile steel sheets, according to the sources. It is the first time since 2017 that Posco has done so.
Posco also increased the prices of its cold rolled steel, picked oiled steel and galvanized steel in recent months.
“We can’t confirm the deal with our customer, but it’s true that the company has been trying to raise the prices of our products due to increased raw material costs,” a Posco spokesperson said.
The price of iron ore jumped from $72.63 per ton in January to $124.05 in July - a more than 70 percent increase - before decreasing again.
This hike in raw materials ate into steelmakers’ bottom lines in the first half of the year.
Posco saw its operating profit drop 15.3 percent on year to 1.5 trillion won ($1.2 billion) in the first half, while No. 2 player Hyundai Steel posted an operating profit of 445 billion won, down 33.5 percent from a year ago.
Japan’s Nippon Steel recently inked a deal with Toyota Motor to raise the price of steel sheet for automobiles, and industry insiders have said local steelmakers are in talks with their customers to raise steel prices.
“We are still negotiating with our customers over automobile sheets prices,” a Hyundai Steel spokesperson said. “If Posco and others have raised their product prices, then it will serve as a good reason for us to push for a price hike.”
Korea’s major steelmakers are also pushing to raise the prices of steel products used in the shipbuilding industry, though negotiations have not been easy.
Local shipbuilders have been demanding a freeze in prices of thick steel plates.


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INDIANOLA, MS: The Catfish Institute is launching a $1.1 million PR campaign to promote catfish among US consumers and retailers.
Working with Fleishman-Hillard, its longtime agency, the institute has already begun reaching out to retailers with point-of-sale materials.
That effort, called Spice It Up, coincides with the Lenten period (traditionally a time when fish consumption increases), which begins March 5 and extends into late April.
A media tour beginning in May and extending through the summer will be the second phase of the campaign.
Fleishman will reach out to 2,000 food and lifestyle journalists across the country, said Steve Dubinsky, a VP in the agency's Kansas City office.
Four Fleishman Kansas City staffers are working on the account.
The spring media tour, dubbed "The Great All-American Catfish Tour," will begin in late May, and will target publications and TV outlets in the top 100 US markets. Also planned are sampling opportunities at such events as state fairs and summer festivals.
The institute has developed a line of catfish seasonings that will be featured in the PR campaign, and are available at its website. Fleishman is revamping the institute's website as part of this year's overall campaign.
Fleishman has been pushing catfish to the Food Network for several years.
This March, food superstar Emeril Lagasse will devote an entire show to catfish to coincide with the new PR campaign.
"The Food Network has been a great way for us to reach the savvy cook," said Dubinsky.
Catfish sales rose to a record 630 million pounds last year, but prices were down because of the recession and increased competition from other types of fish, explained Henry Gantz, president of the institute.
"The bottom line for me is, are catfish farmers making money? And right now, they're not," Gantz said. The campaign will hopefully increase demand to the point where prices will rise accordingly. Key message points will be the ease of preparation, and catfish's versatility and convenience, said Dubinsky.
"We think that we have dispelled the myth that catfish is a bottom feeder," said Gantz. "We think we know that when people think of catfish, they know it is farm-raised."
Dubinsky said research done for the institute showed that consumers know catfish are farm-raised, but want to know more about what that means, as well as what the process involves.
The institute has also begun a new ad campaign. The Richards Group is handling advertising, and is coordinating its efforts with Fleishman.


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Meet the restaurant where you can pay for your meal with crypto – and learn a bit about it at the same time…
by Manoj Sharma for CNR
A local restaurant in Kenya has recently started accepting cryptocurrencies payment from customers. And on top of that, the restaurant owner is also offering tutorial lessons on how to use digital assets.
According to a BBC report, Beatrice Wambugu, the owner of Betty’s Place in Kenya, is allowing customers to pay using Bitcoin and other virtual currencies. Located in Nyeri, a rural town nearby to Nairobi, Kenya’s capital, the restaurant is famous for its barbecue mutton dish, ‘Nyama Choma’.
Wambugu shared his thoughts on the acceptance of virtual currencies and said that “since the world is becoming more global, my place is also becoming a global restaurant. I attract different customers from different parts of the world, whichever coin they have. As long as it’s a viable coin, we accept it”.
Apart from running the business, Wambugu also teaches the customers about how to use the digital currencies.
He comments on the matter that “I’ve set aside one day where I can teach my customers. Whoever asks about crypto-currencies: ‘How does it work? What is Bitcoin?’ I train them. At my place, it’s ‘nyama choma’ and ‘nyama Bitcoin.’”
In terms of business, Betty’s Place appears to be booming. In less than a year, the restaurant has significantly expanded as the business has also acquired a nearby two-story hotel. The place has now become the location for the restaurant.
In rural areas in Southeast Asia and Africa, virtual currencies offer a means of making payments to people with limited access to financial services. As telecommunications begun to get more effective in a remote area, cryptocurrencies become substitutes for banks, allowing residents to engage in trade and commerce.


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Dezeen Awards 2019 winners have been selected by 16 leading architects and designers, ahead of the Dezeen Awards party in London next month.
Winners will be announced online in mid-October
The event will take place on the same day as Dezeen Day, our new conference, which aims to set the agenda for the global design community.
Judges also included Aric Chen and Matali Crasset
The architecture master jury panel included architect Kunlé Adeyemi, Morphogenesis founder Sonali Rastogi and Tokyo-based architect Fujimoto, along with SO-IL co-founder Jing Liu and Neri&Hu founder Lyndon Neri.
Head curator of DesignMiami Aric Chen, Atelier NL co-founder Lonny van Ryswyck, London-based furniture designer Yinka Ilori and Front co-founder Sofia Lagerkvist also decided on winners in the design categories.
An exclusive judges dinner took place at Israeli restaurant Bala Baya on the night before the master jury day, where the master jury was joined by other Dezeen Awards judges including Pernilla Ohrstedt, Ron Arad, Sevil Peach, Ivan Harbour and Bethan Laura Wood.
Early-bird tickets for the Dezeen Awards party now on sale
After the master jury day the next big date on the Dezeen Awards calendar is the culmination of this year's programme – the Dezeen Awards party.
This dazzling event held on 30 October at a the beautiful and historic Ennismore Sessions House will feature music, drinks and canapés, plus Dezeen Awards winners will be able to collect their trophies.
The party will be a chance for everyone who entered Dezeen Awards or attended Dezeen Day to celebrate and network.
Photography is by Gary Handley


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The deadline to participate in the Transamerican Auto Parts’ Life is Better Off-Road SEMA builder award is a week away. Entries must be submitted by Oct. 27.
To submit an off-road SEMA display vehicle for award consideration, visit transamericanautoparts.com/award to complete the entry online, or download the PDF application that must be completed and emailed to firstname.lastname@example.org.
Now in its third year, the Life is Better Off-Road award is given to the best presented, truly off-road capable truck, Jeep or SUV on display at the show. The SEMA Show is set for Oct. 31 through Nov. 3 in Las Vegas.
The Life is Better Off-Road award is open to all off-road vehicle builders and product manufacturers that are on display at the SEMA show and will again be judged by an elite panel of the off-road industry’s leading authorities.
This year’s panel of judges will represent all facets of the off-road industry including fabricators, journalists, industry personalities and professional off-road racers. Past judges have included off-road champion and action sports icon, Brian Deegan, legendary off-road fabricator, Rick Geiser, off-road champion and personality Casey Currie, motorsports media personality and fabricator, Bill Caswell along with respected automotive journalists, Sean P. Holman and Craig Perronne.
The panel will select 10 semi-finalists from the submitted entries based on such criteria as off-road reliability and capability, real-world functionality, quality of craftsmanship and overall vehicle presentation. The panel will then choose one Jeep and one truck / SUV as the two finalists to be considered for recognition as the most authentic off-road-capable vehicle at the SEMA Show.
The award, a custom-designed trophy, will be presented by Transamerican Auto Parts President and CEO, Greg Adler at 2 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 2 at the Pro Comp/Transamerican Auto Parts booth (No. 62112) within the SEMA SCORE Baja 1000 Experience Area, located outside the South Hall in the Silver Lot.
In addition to the trophy itself, the winner will receive a cover feature and multi-page vehicle spotlight in ORA Magazine, a professional photo shoot and recognition across the broad spectrum of off-road media as well as Transamerican social media and digital channels. Transamerican Auto Parts also will extend an invitation to display the vehicle in featured locations at TAP-sponsored events, trade shows and national Truck & Jeep Fests. The 10 semi-finalists will also be included in a full media campaign in addition to receiving ribbons in recognition of the accomplishment.
The 2016 Life is Better Off-Road award winner, Daystar’s 720 horsepower, 1941 Dodge Power Wagon Bootleggerwas highly distinguished as a beautifully crafted machine while being acknowledged for its collection of parts and accessories that allowed it to be a more than capable off-road vehicle, according to Transamerican Auto Parts. The Bootlegger, was chosen from among hundreds of submissions by a carefully selected panel of leading industry authorities at the 2016 SEMA show in a ceremony hosted by Supercross and off-road racing champion Ricky Johnson.