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After this morning’s announcement that Fiat Chrysler Automobiles would be subject to one of the largest civil penalties for an automaker, reports that the automaker could be on the hook for $2.5 billion in cars aren’t true, the automaker said today.
“While such amounts may exceed the $20 million, contrary to certain reports, FCA US does not expect that the net cost of providing these additional alternatives will be material to its financial position, liquidity or results of operations,” the automaker said in a statement.
In other words, expect to find some screaming deals on Ram trucks in the next few months.
In an order detailing the largest civil penalty for an automaker so far, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Monday that Fiat Chrysler Automobiles could have to buy back 500,000 defective trucks and accept trade-in above market value for 1 million defective Jeeps .
The automaker’s record $105 million fine includes a $70 million penalty, $20 million set aside for meeting safety standards dictated by the federal bureau and an additional $15 million in penalties if an independent monitor discovers further safety violations.
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles announced that it would voluntary recall 1.4 million vehicles to patch a security exploit that could allow hackers to infiltrate a car’s vital systems.
The recall would apply to cars fitted with the Uconnect 8.4-inch touchscreen. A story released by Wired magazine this week detailed two hackers’ system that could take over a Jeep Cherokee and control the car’s systems, including throttle, braking and steering.
Jeep released the update last week, saying the patch was for “nothing in particular” and that they “continuously test vehicles systems to identify vulnerabilities and develop solutions.”
The release required owners to download the update onto a USB drive and install it themselves, or go to a dealership. FCA will mail affected owners a USB drive with the update now.
According to FCA, the company is unaware of any injuries related to the hack.
General Motors disclosed in its quarterly Securities and Exchange Commission filing Thursday that the Federal Trade Commission is investigating the automaker for selling used cars under recall, the Detroit News is reporting.
According to the automaker, the FTC notified GM that it was investigating “certified pre-owned vehicle advertising where dealers had certified vehicles allegedly needing recall repairs.”
The filing acknowledges the investigation is connected with the 2014 recall of 2.59 million cars with faulty ignition switches that could turn the car off while driving, disabling its airbags. So far, 124 deaths have been linked to the defect.
Left: Updated Tacoma Resistor, Right: Colorado Resistor
The fire-risk blower motor resistor harness has been recalled in the Hummer H3 and owners will start receiving repairs once parts become available. Owners of the Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky should be able to use the updated parts as well but will have to pay out of pocket as General Motors has not recalled them at this time. The Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon also use a similar design and pose a similar fire risk but are slightly different than the recalled part due to having one less blower speed.
Hummer owners will most likely wait a few months minimum for the updated parts to get to their dealers to perform their free recall repairs. Colorado and Canyon owners may be waiting much longer — if they are recalled at all. The only silver lining for the Colorado and Canyon is that they use a similar resistor to the Toyota Tacoma and share a connector. The Tacoma also suffered from blower motor resistor issues and received updated parts along with a Technical Service Bulletin in 2011.
Last week, we learned General Motors was recalling the majority of their Hummer H3 and H3T models due to a fire risk from a melting blower motor resistor and harness. We also learned GM didn’t issue the recall until they were threatened by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
A few days ago, Jalopnik’s Michael Ballaban pointed out the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon were also at risk due to similar components. These trucks may not be the last of the affected models as the Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky also shared many HVAC components with the Hummer H3.
Searching through the NHTSA complaints database and user forums yielded many examples of melted and burnt blower motor resistors and harnesses for the GM roadster twins.
Jalopnik has an interesting story today about how General Motors negotiated its way into recalling 200,000 Hummers only after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration threatened to launch a formal investigation.
Last week, Hummer recalled nearly 200,000 SUVs due to an increased fire risk because of a faulty HVAC harness that could melt and catch fire.
GM knew about the problem in 2008, Jalopnik writes, and did nothing until issuing a recall this July.
Two proposals for reforms to how the U.S. handles safety recalls and penalizes automakers are winding through a Senate committee.
A proposal backed by three Senate Democrats would make automakers include a recall warning light in the dashboard of new cars to notify owners of a safety recall and lift the cap on delayed recall fines and more. A less-aggressive proposal put forward by Republicans would require dealers to notify owners if their cars have been recalled, something most automakers already do but aren’t required by law.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that 25 percent of recalls are never completed.
General Motors is recalling nearly 200,000 Hummer H3 and H3T models due to an increased fire risk, Autoblog is reporting.
According to the automaker, the car’s HVAC system can overheat and melt surrounding plastic, which could increase the chance for a fire in the car. GM says the fire has burned 42 cars and injured three people so far, but no crashes or fatalities have been reported. The recall effects 2006-2010 H3 models and 2009-2010 H3T cars.
Yesterday, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration took the unusual step of hauling a single automaker to the Capitol to scold Fiat Chrysler for delays in recalls and repairs. The hearing is ahead of anticipated fines NHTSA may deal later this month, possibly as high as $700 million.
Attention was focused on Jeep Liberties and Grand Cherokees with rear-mounted gas tanks that could leak fuel if struck in a high-speed rear collision and potentially catch fire. Also of importance is the rate at which Jeep notified its owners of the recall.
FCA’s Senior Vice President for Vehicle Safety and Regulatory Compliance Scott Kunselman said at the hearing that FCA “could have done better in carrying out the campaigns.”


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Mass layoffs at Silicon Valley tech firms such as Yelp and Eventbrite are beginning to show how the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic is affecting Silicon Valley.
The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the Chinese virus pandemic is beginning to affect the tech industry in Silicon Valley. It was recently announced that food review app Yelp would be laying off 1,000 workers and furloughing 1,100 more, amounting to approximately one-third of its staff. Event ticketing service Eventbrite has laid off 450 employees, approximately half of its workforce.
Airbnb planned to go public this year and raised $1 billion this week, but bookings have plunged worldwide as travel is restricted due to the pandemic. The firm has since enacted a hiring freeze for most jobs and paused marketing in an effort to save $800 million this year. The three companies are in industries most likely to be negatively affected by the virus, retail, restaurants and travel. In comparison, companies such as Salesforce and Google are hiring rapidly and donating millions of dollars in aid.
Breitbart News reported this week that Airbnb is among the Silicon Valley darlings facing a “reality check” due to the Chinese virus.
Yelp CEO Jeremy Stoppelman wrote in an internal company email Thursday: “Yelp connects people with these great local businesses, and as their worlds have been turned upside down, these businesses are understandably forced to pause or reduce spending on the products and services that Yelp provides. To help Yelp get through this period of great uncertainty, we have had to make some incredibly hard decisions to reduce our operating costs.”
Yelp expects to spend between $8 and $10 million on severance and furloughing costs, executives are taking a 30 percent pay cut as a result and Stoppelman will not receive a salary whatsoever this year.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan or contact via secure email at the address firstname.lastname@example.org

domain: news


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Latest Tech News – 5 November
- ESPN and Microsoft get together for Xbox Live
ESPN has reached an agreement with Microsoft to release TV shows and complete games on the Xbox 360 gaming system. The content will be available at the “online entertainment network” also known as Xbox Live.
While ESPN has been in iTunes since last year, the time has come to reach a new audience with Xbox users. Some of the TV shows and full-length games that will be available on Xbox Live Marketplace include NCAAA college football games, Summer X Games, episodes of ESPN shows such as “World Series of Poker” and others.
– TV shows go for $2 in standard definition, or $2.40 for HD quality
– full-length games (not live) start at $3 for the “low quality” versions, or $4.50 for HD
- Google Translator gets better
In other web-tech related news, the Google translation service offered in the Language options that can be seen on the main Google page, has become better by introducing a new feature that lets users suggest a better translation. As you can imagine, this is very useful when translating sites from Korean or Chinese to English, because right now the final result is very poor.
Depending on the number of people that contribute to this “free service”, the recent addition can become pretty useful. On the other hand, I don’t know what happens after suggesting a better translation for a sentence because I just tried to do so, and I only got a “thank you” message. Try it yourself and if you’d like share the results on the comments.
Source – Reuters
Guest post by Tiago of Gadgetizer


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Below are a selection of our latest news stories and upcoming events. Click the news header to read the full news story.
Here at Fowlers we also buy, or sell as Sale or Return, classic rare and collectable machines. Make us your number 1 stop for quality used rare and classic bikes.
Take Mr Howlett from Cornwall for example. He picked up a stuuning ultra rare APC Wildcard from our showroom.


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By Ishita Russell
It was recently reported that Smaaash had raised funding from Sixth Sense Ventures.
Citybox, a Chinese smart vending machine operator backed by Alibaba’s Ant Financial, has raised $25 million in a Series B round of funding led by ClearVue Partners.
The Mumbai-based startup has raised $13 million in funding so far.
The venture capital firm is looking to raise more money in the wake of disruption from SoftBank’s $100 billion Vision Fund.
The investment in Stampede marks MY EG Capital’s largest funding to date.
Gene therapy is gaining momentum with the FDA recently updating guidance to help speed up development of such treatments.
Eight Roads and F-Prime Capital had also made an undisclosed investment in the company’s series A round in 2015.
Graphcore develops its own products, called IPUs (intelligence processing units), designed specifically for improving the performance of machine learning.
San Francisco-based Mirror is a custom emoji keyboard maker.
Driven by a combination of enthusiasm and fear, venture firms are developing new tricks to cash in on the cryptocurrency frenzy.


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A survey conducted by accounting company PwC found that 18 percent of consumers in Britain admitted to purchasing counterfeit alcohol. 16 percent reported purchasing counterfeit drugs such as Viagra and weight-loss pills. And 13 percent admitted to buying counterfeit cigarettes.
British consumers between the ages of 18 to 34 bought the most counterfeits, with 60 percent saying that they bought pirated movies and music and 55 percent have bought replica clothing.
Source: Rebecca Smithers, “Surge in purchases of counterfeit goods,” Guardian, October 1, 2013.
According to a study commissioned by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), 74 percent of consumers surveyed in a study stated that they first found a website offering pirated materials through a search engine.
58 percent of searches with keywords such as the movie’s title or names of television shows had links to online piracy sites, according to the report.
82 percent of search queries that brought a user to a website offering pirated materials was through Google search. This number is in direct contrast with a report released by Google last week. Google claims that just 16 percent of internet users find online piracy sites through a search engine.
Source: Eriq Gardner, “Why Hollywood Is Suddenly Marveling Over Piracy Studies,” Hollywood Reporter, September 18, 2013.
327 million people around the world was searching for pirated content online, according to a study commissioned by NBCUniversial. The people accessing pirated content accounted for 14 billion page views on websites that were proving content without a licenses. The number of page views was 10 percent higher than the amount recorded in November 2011.
149 million users visited cyberlockers in January 2013, a decrease of 8 percent from November 2011.
Online piracy accounted for 24 percent of total Internet bandwidth in 2012, a 160 percent increase from 2010.
Source: Richard Verrier, “Online piracy of entertainment content keeps soaring,” Los Angeles Times, Company Town, September 17, 2013.
In 2012, Google disabled the AdSense accounts and prevented ads from being displayed on 46,000 websites that was providing pirated content.
However, Google also stated in the report “How Google Fights Piracy” that all major search engines such as Yahoo, Bing and Google only provides 16 percent of the traffic to bit-torrent and piracy sites like The Pirate Bay. Most of the websites that provides torrents, downloads and pirated materials receive their traffic through social media, word of mouth and other marketing methods.
Source: “How Google Fights Piracy,” September 2013.
A study conducted for Ofcom indicated that nearly one in four downloads on the Internet in the United Kingdom involves a pirated material. The study covered the time period of May 2012 to May 2013.
Most of the illegally downloaded content in the UK is done by a small percentage of users. According to the study, 2 percent of UK Internet users account fro almost 75 percent of online piracy. The most popular form of pirated content during the time period was movies, with 35 percent of the total number of movies viewed online was pirated.
The Internet users who were the most active illegal downloaders were also found to spend the more money for legal content. On average, users who pirate content spend $41.10 (£26) every three months of legal downloads. Internet users who do not commit piracy spent $25.32 (£16) on legal content every three months.
Source: “Ofcom: Piracy accounts for one in four downloads,” BBC News, September 11, 2013.
According to the Motion Picture Association of America, people in Russia download 31 million unlicensed American movies each year using torrent services.
In 2012, the International Intellectual Property Alliance found that there were 0 cases of Internet piracy prosecution cases during the year.
(More movie piracy statistics.)
Source: Ilya Khrennikov, “Netflix Clones in Russia Get a Head Start With Piracy Law,” Bloomberg, July 31, 2013.
In 2008, an estimated 1.2 billion music songs were digitally pirated on the Internet in Norway. In 2012, the number of pirated musics files dropped to 210 million.
260 million movies were illegally downloaded in Norway in 2008. By 2012, the number of pirated movies downloaded online fell to 120 million.
Both declines in the number of pirated digital files were attributed to streaming Internet services such as Spotify and Netflix.
Source: Adam Sherwin, “Music and film industries winning war on piracy, says report,” Independent, July 17, 2013.
An officer from the Los Angeles Police Department told the media that some pirated movie seller who offer their DVDs on a blanket in the streets of LA can make up to $20,00 to $80,00 a month.
(More income from the underground economy.)
Source: “FBI Targets Pirated Movie, Music Sales With PSA Campaign,” CBS Los Angeles, July 9, 2013.
Over a three month period that ended in January 2013, almost 400 million digital files were pirated by Internet users in the United Kingdom.
According to a study by Ofcom, 18 percent of Internet users in the UK over the age of 12 accessed a pirated copy of an entertainment service. These files included movies, music, television shows, books, software and video games.
In the previous three month period, the number of Internet users who accessed pirated files was 16 percent.
Out of the 18 percent who accessed a pirated file, the study states that 5 percent of that figure only use illegal services.
59 percent of the digital piracy users in the United Kingdom are male, and 68 percent are under the age of 34.
Source: Mark Sweney, “Music, TV and film piracy rises among UK internet users,” Guardian, May 28, 2013.
Media companies in the United States estimates that up to $1 Billion worth of Pay-TV shows are watched in Asia without the proper licenses and fees being paid.
In China alone, the US International Trade Commission stated that $48 Billion worth of copyright materials produced by business in the US was consumed in China in 2011 without payment.
Source: Caitlin Dewey, “Why a U.S. ambassador asked Australians to stop pirating ‘Game of Thrones’,” Washington Post, WorldViews, April 26, 2013.


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Posted by Rebecca Shoosmith, Head of Support Services, 10:30 am
If you’re an avid Coronation Street fan, you’ll be fully aware of the dramatic cervical cancer storyline unfolding on our screens. It’s a story that’s sparking conversation, so even if you aren’t glued to your TV it’s not unlikely that you’ll...Read more
Posted by Pete Wallroth, CEO of Mummy's Star, 12:15 pm
It seems like everyone is discussing Coronation Street this week, as Sinead Tinker’s sad storyline draws to a close on Friday. It has been emotional and a difficult watch at times for many in our community.


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Latest paint Stories
Transparency Market Research added a new report "Global Polyester Coatings Market: Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2014 - 2020" to its report store.
MarketReportsOnline.com adds "Global Paints and Coatings Market Report: 2014 Edition" report to its research store. Dallas, TX (PRWEB) August 15, 2014
DALLAS, August 15, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the new report "Waterborne Coatings Market by Resin (Acrylic, Polyester, Alkyd, Epoxy, Polyurethane, PTFE, PVDF, PVDC,
ALBANY, New York, August 6, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Transparency Market Research has published a new market report titled "Titanium Dioxide Market for Paints & Coatings,
MUMBAI, August 6, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- 2014 Market Research Report on Global Water-based paint Industry was a professional and depth research report on Global Water-based
The market size in terms of value of protective coatings was estimated to be $10,594.6 Million in 2013, and is projected to grow with a CAGR of 9.75% from 2014 to 2019.
Leading paint-and-sip franchise hosts "Perfect Pairing" Night and Contest HOUSTON, Aug.
An environmentally conscious paint line providing exceptional performance! TORONTO, July 31, 2014 /CNW/ - Homestead Paint Co., a trusted purveyor of premium paints, is excited to announce our
- A trick or prank.


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Ukraine: Autonomous Preferential Trade Regime – pros and contras
On April 23, 2014, the Autonomous Preferential Trade Regime (APTR) for Ukrainian commodities imported to the EU came into action. According to the regulations of the European Parliament, the rates of import duties to the EU are set at the level which should act in the first year after imposition of the free trade zone within frames of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU. The regime runs until November 1, 2014.
Also, according to the reached arrangement concerning liberalization of the access to the EU market, there were set volumes of the tariff quotas under the agreement. Establishment of quotas means that Ukrainian producers are able to import the certain volumes of the reporting commodities without paying the import duties.
What impact will establishment of the APTR by the European Union provide for development of various industries of the agro-industrial complex of Ukraine? Heads of several industry associations and experts of the agricultural market shared their estimation on the further development of the situation with APK-Inform Agency.
You can become acquainted with opinions of the persons from the article “Autonomous trade preferences of the EU - chance to get better?!” in following issue of AGRIMARKET WEEKLY #19 dd. May 12, 2014.
You should be authorized to post comment
Ukraine: Ministry of Agrarian Policy estimated the grain harvest at 64.2 mln tonnes
Ukraine harvested over 63 mln tonnes of grains - Ministry of Agrarian Policy
December 2, 17:00
Ukraine: effect of additional trade preferences for product exports to the EU to reach 100-150 mln USD - Ministry of Economic Development
December 2, 13:35
ADM company modernized oil-extraction plant in Odessa oblast
December 2, 13:05
Ukraine exported 18.4 mln tonnes of grains - Ministry of Agrarian Policy
December 2, 11:35
Ukraine: Ministry of Economic Development increased the forecast of agricultural production
December 2, 11:00


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Peoria, Ill. — Caterpillar has increased its stake in Shin Caterpillar Mitsubishi, its joint venture with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to 67 percent, according to a definitive agreement announced last month. Caterpillar will acquire the shares for about U.S. $500 million.
Caterpillar and Mitsubishi formed Caterpillar-Mitsubishi in 1963, one of the first joint ventures in Japan to include partial U.S. ownership. The 50-50 joint venture was renamed Shin Caterpillar Mitsubishi in 1987. The company is primarily involved in the manufacture and sale of Caterpillar-branded hydraulic excavators, wheel loaders and track-type tractors. SCM also owns retail and rental stores in key Japanese markets, with manufacturing centers in Akashi and Sagami, Japan.
SCM has an option, exercisable after five years, to redeem the remaining shares owned by Mitsubishi, which would make Caterpillar the sole owner.
The companies added they will continue their long-term relationship with a separate joint venture to manufacture and market Caterpillar- and Mitsubishi-branded lift trucks.
In the fourth quarter of 2007, Caterpillar's North American machinery sales dropped 11 percent, while machinery sales outside of North America were up 33 percent.
“This is a strategic decision for Caterpillar, and it is an important part of our comprehensive business strategy for competing and winning in the rapidly expanding emerging markets of Asia and the Commonwealth of Independent States,” said Caterpillar chairman and CEO Jim Owens. “Our joint venture with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries has been remarkably successful, and moving forward, I'm confident that as SCM is fully integrated with Caterpillar's core operations, our customers will see greater benefits from this agreement.”
The business will be renamed Caterpillar Japan when the first phase of the deal closes, expected to be in the third quarter. Shouichi Hirano, current president of SCM, is expected to become president of Caterpillar Japan.


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Restaurant owners are complaining against the high commissions
Swiggy and Zomato together handle 70K to 80K orders everyday in the city
Restaurants said that they would not increase food prices to increase margins
A boycott of food delivery players Swiggy and Zomato by the Gujarat Hotel and Restaurant Association is now well into its second week as restaurant owners refuse paying the high commissions demanded by the two companies.
The association has also reportedly said it would not increase food prices as demanded by Swiggy and Zomato to accommodate the high commissions. It is not yet clear as to how many restaurants are participating in the boycott currently.
As per industry estimates, Swiggy and Zomato together handle 70K to 80K takeaway orders with average order size worth INR 270 ($17.83) per day in Ahmedabad city.
The boycott by restaurant owners was reportedly started on Janaury 11 with a protest against Swiggy after over 500 restaurants and hotels in the city blacklisted the platform for its poor business practices. After this the restaurant association also threatened to stop serving Zomato and UberEats on January 14.
One of the main causes for the protests are the commissions charged by the foodtech companies which can go up to 22% of the order value.
“Online companies have been forcing restaurants to raise the food price by 20% to absorb the high commissions,” Rohit Khanna, a committee member of HRA told ET, adding that it’s more than 10 days since the local industry decided to boycott Swiggy.
The list of demands put forth by the industry includes – lowering commission, 100% payment made to restaurants in case of cancellation, processing payments every 48 hours, and sharing customer database. According to a report Swiggy has conceded to the demand of 100% payment for orders against cancellation and Zomato has agreed to give restaurants the right to deliver food by giving them the hybrid model option to enable self-deliveries
Representatives of Swiggy and Zomato, have however reportedly claimed that their business in the city has stabilized, however with the boycott now in its second week it seems that the high commissions charged by online food ordering platforms is still a thorn in the side of restaurant owners in the state.
[The development was reported by ET]


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Mesa, Ariz., August 22, 2013 – Severtson Screens (
), a global leader in innovative and quality projection screens for the home theater, commercial, and pro AV markets, is pleased to announce that it will launch the new SAT-4K projection screen line during CEDIA Expo 2013, held in Denver from Sept. 26-28 at the Colorado Convention Center, booth 2761. The SAT-4K is now shipping.
“Made in the USA, the SAT-4K replicates the cinema experience in the home like no other projection screen on the market today,” said Kirk Severtson, Severtson Screens COO. “With virtually no seamless home theater size limitations, the entire sound stage can be placed directly behind the screen at the same horizontal axis, allowing the vocals and the special effects to be completely in sync with the brilliant images on display. This will allow for a completely immersive home theater experience right in the home.”
Available in Impression, Deluxe, and Deluxe Curved configurations, the SAT-4K screen meets or exceeds all industry standards for optimum video and acoustic performance, with reference quality reproduction of the digital image combined with true fidelity of the original soundtrack.
Additional specifications include:
• Surface: SAT-4K acoustically woven screen material
• Gain: 1.18
• Max height: 15 ft. 10 inches
• Viewing Angle: 160 degrees
• Flame and mildew resistant
“Severtson Screens is proud to serve the home theater market with the same service and quality that has taken the cinema market by storm and cemented us as the industry leader,” added Severtson.
Custom and standard sizes are available. Severtson asks that customers contact them directly for individual pricing for their specific needs.
After celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2011, Severtson Corporation continues to be a global leader in innovation and quality. Severtson’s extensive experience in manufacturing small home theater screens and large cinema screens has given Severtson Corporation the expertise to meet the needs of the professional and consumer AV markets for both indoor applications as well as large outdoor venues.
With its three production facilities and its state-of-the-art robotic application system, Severtson has massive production capabilities and an unusually wide array of screen sizes — from IMAX to small home theater screens — available to its clients.
For more information, please visit
, call 480-610-5155, or email
About Severtson Screens
Mesa, Ariz.-based Severtson Screens, which celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2011, is an award-winning global leader in innovative and quality projection screens in the home theater, pro AV, and cinema markets. Its low rejection rate coupled with the high quality of all its products has made Severtson Corporation the industry standard for quality and customer service worldwide.
From its unlikely origins in the family kitchen to today’s three modern production facilities, Severtson Corporation has remained committed to the principles of innovation and uncompromising quality that have made them who they are today.
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BEIJING, Oct. 7, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- The addition of the ability to monitor the fetal heartbeat through Airstrip, a healthcare app now available on the Apple Watch, shows that wearable device makers are expanding beyond their initial target markets of sports fans and early adopters and geeks by beginning to create products that cater to pregnant women's demand.
With a higher level of focus on fetal heart rate monitoring, Modoo Fetus Monitoring Patch, a new wearable device, will debut in the U.S. soon. The new device features an entirely different approach to heart rate monitoring as compared to that of an Apple Watch.
Modoo Fetus Monitoring Patch, a wearable device developed by a Chinese startup ExtantFuture, enables continuous monitoring of the fetal heart rate and movement 24/7 as well as the sign data such as sleep quality of mothers-to-be. Unlike watch wristbands available in the market, Modoo is a round flat metal device and weighs as light as an Apple earphone cord. The device is worn on the mother's belly for monitoring.
William Zhou, the director of Modoo's hardware development and a former top hardware and system expert at Nokia, said: "Modoo helps pregnant women with secure monitoring of the baby's heart rate and movement 24/7, without interrupting or influencing the normal life of mothers-to-be, a feature that is absent from all other mobile devices. As a result, this is an ideal solution that adds a lot of convenience to the daily routine for pregnant women."
Apple Watch monitors the heart rate via an electro-optical sensor, a technology that has limitations, according to technology experts after monitoring the sector. It still remains unknown whether AirStrip's new system is sufficiently accurate for doctors and medical personnel who need to keep track of the fetal heart rate. ExtantFuture is more confident in Modoo.
Following months of research and development, ExtantFuture has developed a passive monitoring mode, which helps ensure secure monitoring of the heart rate of babies and pregnant women via a highly sensitive sensor and an intelligent algorithm rather than transmitting signals in an active mode. And, Modoo is in closer proximity to the fetal heart, another factor contributing to the more accurate monitoring data.
ExtantFuture's Founder Jiliang Ma noted that pregnant women, a unique group, are easily and always concerned for the health conditions of themselves and their babies. "We know that what pregnant women seek is the feeling of being cared for. For this reason, except the essentials, we insisted on creating and designing a small and compact wearable device as a companion for pregnant women and their family members."


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Berkshire Hathaway approved to buy up to half of Occidental Petroleum
(Bloomberg) —Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. won approval from U.S. regulators to buy as much as 50% of Occidental Petroleum Corp. after spending months acquiring its shares. Occidental’s shares surged on news of the authorization.
Berkshire applied to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for the approval on July 11, according to a filing published Friday. “It is concluded that the proposed transaction is consistent with the public interest and is authorized” subject to conditions, Carlos D. Clay, the commission’s acting director for the division of electric power regulation for the west, said in the filing.
Representatives for Occidental and Berkshire didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
Berkshire has spent this year snapping up Occidental stock, digging even deeper into a bet on the Houston-based oil company that first started to play out years ago. Earlier this month, Berkshire reported a stake in Occidental that surpassed a key level that could entail new quarterly disclosures and a boost to the company’s earnings. The Omaha, Nebraska-based conglomerate reported in an Aug. 8 filing that it holds 188 million shares of Occidental’s common stock, a little more than 20% of its 931 million shares outstanding.
“No question Buffett goes to 50% from here,” said Bill Smead, who manages $4.8 billion at Smead Capital Management Inc. and is a top 20 shareholder in Occidental. “This is looking more and more like the Burlington transaction where he ended up buying the whole shooting match.”
In 2019, Buffett aided Occidental Chief Executive Officer Vicki Hollub’s pursuit of Anadarko Petroleum Corp. by agreeing to invest $10 billion in Occidental at the time, a pact that included both preferred shares and warrants. This year, Buffett praised Hollub’s leadership, a sign that the billionaire investor was all-in on Occidental. That stirred up speculation that Berkshire, with more than $105 billion in cash on hand at the end of June, could seek to buy more stock.
On March 7, CNBC’s Becky Quick said on “Squawk Box” that Buffett had told her that Berkshire started buying on Feb. 28 “and we bought all we could.” Buffett decided to start making the purchases after reading a transcript of Occidental’s Feb. 25 earning conference call with analysts.
“I read every word, and said this is exactly what I would be doing,” Buffett told Quick. “She’s running the company the right way.”
Occidental is the best-performing stock in the S&P 500 this year by some margin, rising more than 140% compared with the index’s 11% decline, driven by Buffett’s steady buying and high oil prices. The company’s shares were up 9.2% at 2:50 p.m. in New York after rising as much as 12% earlier.
Hollub has made aggressive moves to boost returns to shareholders this year by reigning in capital-intensive production growth in favor of dividends and share buybacks for investors. She’s also eliminated much of the $30 billion of debt the company took on buying Anadarko in 2019.
Occidental received a further boost this month with the passing of the Inflation Reduction Act, which boosted tax credits for carbon capture, a technology in which the company is a leading player. Hollub hailed the bill as “very positive.”
Occidental plans to make capturing carbon from the air a key part of meeting its ambition to be net zero by mid-century, one of the most aggressive plans of any US major oil company.


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2017 is likely to see further threats of cargo theft and drug smuggling in the Americas and Europe, protests over wage and other labour issues across Asia, and persistent risks of terrorism, including terrorist targeting of the supply chain.
The prediction comes from the British Standards Institution’s annual Global Supply Chain Intelligence report, which has just been published.
The report analyses the major threats that face supply chains worldwide and it says the most notable changes in threat levels in the rise in cargo theft – particularly in the Americas.
In Europe, the report identifies shifts in cargo theft trends and tactics across Germany and Italy. “An increasingly high rate of cargo theft plagued freight shippers in Germany – it’s estimated that nearly half of all cargo truck thefts were incidents in which thieves slashed into the tarpaulins of trailers to steal cargo, a common theft type due to the widespread usage of soft-sided trailers in Europe.”
Europe also experienced significant terrorist attacks in Nice, France in July and Berlin, Germany in December, along with dozens of counterterrorism arrests across Europe in 2016. Those attacks in particular also underscored the threat that terrorists will exploit the supply chain to perpetrate attacks.
In both cases, men linked to ISIS used cargo trucks to ram into crowds of civilians. The report highlighted the fact that the Berlin attacker even perpetrated an explicit disruption of the supply chain before the attack by hijacking a Polish tractor-trailer carrying a shipment of steel beams. ISIS-linked plots involving similar timing and tactics are likely to continue challenging European security into 2017.
A main concern in the Americas is cargo theft, the report says, with the most dramatic increase in cargo theft rates in Rio de Janeiro last year.
Labour disputes in Asia have been a significant source of supply chain disruption, although the BSI report says strikes at factories in China dropped ion 2016, for the first time in recent years.
It warned though, that an emerging area of concern is the growth in strikes in the logistics sector, including trucking, shipment processing, and delivery, which rose more than fourfold from nine incidents in 2014 to 40 last year.
Asia also saw an increase in labour rights concerns in Bangladesh in both the readymade garments sector and in other industries. In particular it noted that the survey found that a significantly larger proportion of children were employed in the formal readymade garments sector than had been previously believed. The study also documented abusive practices in garment factories that employed children.
For those of an optimistic disposition, this report makes for dispiriting reading. Progress in dealing with risk in one area is often countered by an increase in risk in another area.
The clear message from all this is that the risk to your supply chain might not be what you think. It cannot be assumed that problems have been permanently solved – not only is vigilance vital, but also the ability to respond quickly to changing threats.


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Theresa Hunt joins Niche as General Manager
Theresa Hunt recently joined Niche, Lawrence Group's retail furniture showroom in downtown St. Louis, as general manager. Hunt has extensive retail background and is experienced in financial planning and in-store sales. She brings over 15 years of merchandising experience from Williams Sonoma Home and Pottery Barn.
Niche also offers interior design services and recently opened a second location at The Collective in Taubman Prestige Outlets Chesterfield. “We are excited about the experience and enthusiasm that Theresa brings,” says Linda Loewenstein, owner of Niche and founding principal of Lawrence Group. The store is currently the exclusive showroom for Cisco Brothers, Gus, and Camerich.


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Thieves smashed their way into three Whangarei businesses over two hours and fled with thousands of dollars worth of cigarettes and tobacco and $3000 of herbal tobacco.
It comes only a few weeks after two other thefts targeting dairies stocking cigarettes and tobacco. Police were yesterday dusting for fingerprints at Pepes Dairy in Onerahi, Stellar Products in Kensington and Foster Food Market Four Square on Maunu Rd following the break-ins between midnight and 2am.
Whangarei police Sergeant Tai Patrick urged anyone who was selling cigarettes or tobacco to take extra steps to ensure their products were locked away.
In two of yesterday's burglaries the thieves had snapped off padlocks to the main tobacco displays and in one case emptied all the bottom drawers of products.
At Pepes Dairy in Onerahi police said two people went to the front door with one of them using a metal bar to force it open.
Once inside they got into a locked cabinet and grabbed about $5000 cash, cartons of cigarettes, and tobacco.
Both intruders were wearing hooded sweatshirts.
At Stellar Products in Kensington, which sells a selection of natural and organic products, $3000 of herbal tobacco was stolen. No one at the business would comment.
Mr Patrick said Daffodil Dairy on Maunu Rd was targeted last Friday about 2.40am with $8000 worth of tobacco being stolen. On December 7 Onerahi was hit with a large quantity of tobacco being stolen.
A dairy owner, who did not want to be named, said the theft hit them hard financially even though they had insurance.
"We have to pay the excess and then our policy goes up so we lose out in the end."
The theft impacted on them emotionally as well.
"We were woken up early in the morning and had to get here and secure the shop. Luckily I had a friend who came and helped. Then we had to open up and work all day ... it's very stressful just before Christmas.
"We work hard and we just don't need this."
Police were warning anyone who was offered cheap cigarettes to contact them immediately.
"These could be sold anywhere and given the current price of tobacco these will seem like a real bargain," Mr Patrick said.
Anyone with information should contact Mr Patrick at Whangarei police station on 09 430 4500.


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Cinemark Holdings Gets Back To Business In Los Angeles
Cinemark is reopening movie theatres in locations across Los Angeles with the necessary health and safety protocols.
Cinemark (CNK) said that more than 10 theatres reopened on March 13, and it will continue the reopening of theatres through March 15. This means that nearly 90% of Cinemark’s U.S. circuit will be open by March 15.
Furthermore, the company said that California theatres will reopen after the release of local guidance.
Cinemark’s CEO Mark Zoradi said, “Los Angeles is one of the most meaningful moviegoing markets in the world.” He added, “With an extensive list of blockbusters set to release in the coming months and nearly 90 percent of our U.S. circuit open, there is no better time to get back to the theatre.” (See Cinemark Holdings stock analysis on TipRanks)
On March 1, Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter maintained a Buy rating and a price target of $28 (16.6% upside potential). In a note to investors, the analyst said, “Cinemark has sufficient liquidity and relatively low interest expense to cover during closures and low utilization throughout 2021. The bottom line for Cinemark, in our view, is that it has not materially worsened its debt position, and we expect it to come out of the pandemic relatively unscathed.”
Overall, the Street has a Moderate Buy consensus rating on the stock based on 4 Buys and 5 Holds. The average analyst price target of $22.44 implies downside potential of 6.5% to current levels. Shares have gained over 23% over the past year.
L Brands Pops 9% On Higher 1Q Profit Outlook, $500M Share Buyback
Drive Shack Jumps 18% As 4Q Earnings Exceed Estimates
Northern Oil and Gas Posts Lower-Than-Expected 4Q Profit, Sales Decline 15%


text: (Bloomberg) — Monde Nissin Corp. will use a few of its $1 billion preliminary public providing proceeds to increase its Quorn Meals Ltd. pretend meat enterprise within the U.S., the world’s largest market by far for plant-based different meals.The Philippines-based firm, which additionally sells staple meals and is the proprietor of Fortunate Me! immediate noodles, will use Quorn’s substitute hen product to tackle heavyweights like Past Meat Inc. and Unattainable Meals Inc. in a sector dominated by fake beef, executives stated in an interview.“Our ambition is to turn out to be the king of different hen globally,” Quorn Chief Govt Officer Marco Bertacca informed Bloomberg earlier than Monde’s IPO, the biggest ever for a Southeast Asian meals firm. Monde debuted within the Philippines on Tuesday and closed at 13.48 pesos, down from its 13.50 peso IPO worth.Monde plans to extend Quorn’s manufacturing capability and ship to extra fast-food chains within the U.S., spending almost 16 billion pesos ($335 million) to increase its presence within the nation. Additionally it is constructing two fermenters and packaging services within the U.Okay., the place Quorn is predicated and has a 28% market share. Barclays Plc estimates the worldwide alternative-meat market will develop tenfold to greater than $140 billion by 2029, or 10% of the meat trade as a complete.“The choice meat class goes to blow up, and we need to get our capability prepared as quickly as potential,” Monde Chief Govt Officer Henry Soesanto stated. “We want huge cash for that.”There’s some floor to compensate for. Since its 550 million pound ($780 million) acquisition by Monde in 2015, Quorn has suffered building delays and chiller failures at its services, which depleted stock and compelled it to chop again on orders. The compound annual development price of Monde’s alternative-meat gross sales ticked alongside at solely 5% from 2017-2020 regardless of the increase out there. Past Meat’s gross sales had a CAGR of greater than 130% in that interval.In two years, Monde might carry its plant-based enterprise to Asia, with an eye fixed on the Chinese language market as the federal government goals to scale back meat consumption. Quorn distributes restricted quantities in Singapore and the Philippines.“Europe and the U.S. are on the forefront of different protein. Asia is arising a bit late, however it’s catching up within the subsequent two to 3 years,” Soesanto stated in an interview with Bloomberg Tv.We’ll All the time Eat Meat. However Extra of It Will Be ‘Meat’: QuickTakeRather than fake floor beef, Quorn will deal with hen — the most-consumed protein within the U.S. — and attempt to get fast-food chains to incorporate it on their menus. A deliberate monthlong promotion with Kentucky Fried Hen within the U.Okay. noticed Quorn hen burgers “flying off the cabinets,” stated Bertacca. The “Imposter Burger,” that includes a Quorn “hen” fillet made with KFC batter and topped with vegan mayo and lettuce, bought out in 4 days, he stated.Almost 90% of Quorn’s 2020 gross sales have been from the U.Okay. and Europe.Within the Philippines, Monde’s portfolio of meals staples together with bread, noodles and sauces ought to proceed to drive enterprise after revenue final 12 months surged 26% to 7.34 billion pesos, Soesanto stated. Monde pays out 60% of web revenue as dividends, probably rising to 90% after capital expenditure within the long-term.The snack maker plans to extend its Fortunate Me! noodle gross sales by making them more healthy and providing extra flavors, whereas additionally slicing palm-oil content material by as a lot as 70%, Soesanto stated. Prompt noodles accounted for half of Monde’s 68 billion pesos in gross sales in 2020. The common Filipino consumes solely 36 packs of noodles a 12 months, properly beneath locations like Indonesia, Vietnam and South Korea, the place the quantity is over 60, he stated.Chief Technique Officer David Nicol stated Monde is looking out for ventures the place it might present meals expertise and companions can oversee native provide chains.“Given its dominant place within the Philippines, Quorn will probably be its main development supply going ahead,” stated Gerard Abad, chief funding officer at AB Capital & Funding Corp. in Manila. The IPO ought to put Monde in an excellent place to seize a major share of the increasing meatless market, he stated.AIA Funding Administration Pte, Eastspring Investments (Singapore) Ltd. and Singapore state funding fund GIC Pte are amongst cornerstone traders, in response to Monde’s IPO prospectus. Soesanto stated in an announcement final week there’d been “overwhelming curiosity” from worldwide and home traders.Los Angeles-based Past Meat surged greater than 800% within the three months after its scorching Might 2019 itemizing in New York, and it stays nearly 500% greater than its IPO worth. Unattainable Meals is making ready a public itemizing, Reuters reported in April.Monde’s objective is for Quorn to at the very least match the tempo of development within the world alternative-meat trade, at the same time as new gamers like Nestle SA and Unilever be a part of the fray.“If we get even 5% of that massive market, we will probably be very glad,” Soesanto stated of the U.S. “We don’t need to be left by the bus.”(Closes share worth in third paragraph.)Extra tales like this can be found on bloomberg.comSubscribe now to remain forward with probably the most trusted enterprise information supply.©2021 Bloomberg L.P.


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Asda is to open its Avonmouth liquefied natural gas (LNG) station to third-party hauliers. The announcement was made by the supermarket’s gas supplier, BOC, at the Multimodal Show opening today at Birmingham NEC. Opened last year at its chilled DC in Avonmouth, near Bristol, Asda’s LNG station incorporates zero-loss refuelling technology, developed by BOC, which uses cryogenic cooling to ‘temperature-condition’ the fuel just prior to dispensing. The refuelling station supports the supermarket’s fleet of 52 dual-fuel Volvo trucks at the […]
Clipper has continued its chain of fashion retailer contract wins, having signed a deal with new high street retailer Pep & Co.
Potter Logistics is celebrating 50 years in business with an order for two Mercedes-Benz Antos tractor units.
Keyfuels is using Multimodal to unveil ControlMax, an online portal that gives fleet managers complete control over the use of their drivers’ fuel cards.


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Red was all the rage at the 15th annual Hampton Bays Chamber of Commerce Chili/Chowder Contest at the Boardy Barn on Saturday.
Riverhead’s Crooked Ladder Brewing Company, the East End’s newest microbrewery, brought their already well-loved Gypsy Red, along with two other beers, to the event via a red fire engine—because that’s just how they roll.
“We’ve seen lots of guys that have smaller vehicles like pick-up trucks or your traditional van with taps on the side,” says Steve Wirth, a partner in Crooked Ladder and owner of next door’s Irish pub, Digger O’ Dell’s. “We took it a step further because we’re us, so we went fire truck.”
The literally fire engine red beermobile, which can fit 10 half-barrels in its back, was once part of brew-master Duffy Griffith’s fleet at the Jamesport Fire Department and was converted into a rolling keggerator with help from Long Island company, Clear Beer, which also maintains the epic draft system at Digger’s. The downtown restaurant also serves as a sort of tasting laboratory for the brewing company
The Saturday afternoon event was the engine’s first public jaunt, but its owners already seem at ease with its operation and worked soundlessly by its side.
As Wirth ladled their rouge-colored wild boar chili into sample-sized plastic cups for queued-up consumers, Griffiths expertly tossed back the truck’s taps for the thirsty ones. That’s right—I said wild boar.
“We got it through U.S. Foods, which has an exotic meat department,” says Wirth. “You name it, they’ve got it.”
In addition to cubed pork loin, the chili also contained a number of local harvest vegetables, including tomatoes from Harbes and Reeve’s farms.
And though the chili’s vegetables were local, Wirth said Crooked Ladder has no immediate plans for purchasing local hops for their beer.
“We haven’t really designed an IPA we’re happy with, but once we have that recipe down, we’ll consider doing a wet-hopped ale,” he says. “We’re going to crawl before we run.”
Beer lovers may want to consider crawling too; Wirth says they’ve got an Oktoberfest on its way. “We think our seasonal beers are going to be really big. Our pumpkin ale is our number one seller right now.”


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One of the UK's two motorcycle manufacturers is relocating from Lancashire to Merseyside.
CCM Motorcycles has been established for 32 years
CCM Motorcycles is moving its operation from Blackburn to St Helens after securing £4m investment.
It is the only UK company to make specialist trail bikes which can be used both on and off road.
It has been established for 32 years
and has grown from making just 250 bikes a year in 1999 to 2,000 a year in 2002.
Managers say the firm plans to be making 5,000 bikes a year by 2005.
Some of the funding will come from the Merseyside Special Investment Fund which helps support local businesses.
The news is a boon for Merseyside's motor industry which has been hit by a week-long shut down at Jaguar's Halewood plant caused by falling sales.
Luxury car manufacturer Jensen closed its doors in 2002 after falling sales.
The UK's other motorcycle manufacturer is Triumph.


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BIBBY DISTRIBUTION SHORTLISTED FOR MOTOR TRANSPORT AWARDS
8 May 2015
Bibby Distribution has been shortlisted for its second award of the year, in the Motor Transport Awards, the Oscars for the road transport and logistics sector.
The 3PL’s milk collection fleet is now in the running for the Technical Excellence Award, for its work in developing a new generation of farm collection vehicle that provides greater efficiency in getting milk from farms to dairies.
Terence Tory, Director, Bibby Distribution, says: “Our engineering team has spent months developing the true milk collection vehicle of the future, which offers greater convenience for drivers, lower costs for our customers, and greater environmental benefits for Bibby Distribution. We’re delighted the team’s hard work has been recognised by industry peers and hope that we will soon have an award to add to the outstanding carbon savings and roadworthiness scores that the new fleet has already delivered.”
The New Generation Milk Collection vehicle makes use of a fuel efficient Euro VI engine and incorporates a variety of customisations designed to make milk collection quicker and more efficient, while retaining a lower cost of ownership. The fleet collects 2.5m litres of milk every day from farms in Scotland, Cumbria and Wales and the new vehicles are estimated to take around 1,800 tonnes of carbon out of the supply chain over the next five years.
This is the second year running Bibby Distribution has been recognised by the Motor Transport Awards judges, with its collaboration with Morrisons shortlisted for the Partnership Award in 2014. This comes on the back of Bibby Distribution also making the shortlist for Logistics Supplier of the Year for the yet-to-be-awarded Grocer Gold Awards.
The Motor Transport Awards will be held in London on 1 July.
Notes to editors:
As one of the top ten logistics providers in the UK, Bibby Distribution exists to enable other companies to drive value from their supply chain activities. The company specialises in providing contract logistics, warehousing, distribution, systems integration and added value services to a wide range of customers.
Bibby Distribution operates from 90 locations across the UK, employs 2,500 people and manages 2 million ft² of warehousing space.
The majority of Bibby Distribution’s business is based on long-term partnerships. Its diverse capability also means it can share best practice across the various industry sectors it operates in, from Automotive to FMCG.
The company is part of the £1.4bn-turnover Liverpool-based Bibby Line Group, a 200 year old family owned business-to-business services specialist. It is involved in ship-owning and operation, shallow water accommodation, offshore oil and gas services, contract logistics, financial services, memorial parks, employment law, health & safety advisory services, specialist plant & equipment hire and retail.
Further press information:
James Boley and James Keeler at Garnett Keeler PR on 020 8647 4467.


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Nine New Hotel Indigos in the Works
In the first seven months of this year, InterContinental Hotels Group has signed nine development agreements for its boutique brand, Hotel Indigo, all of which are expected to open in 2015 and 2016. In addition to adding two more hotels in Atlanta, where the brand was launched, other cities soon to be flying the Hotel Indigo flag will be Austin and El Paso, Texas; Baltimore; Gainesville, Fla.; Orange Beach and Tuscaloosa, Ala.; and Seattle. The new development deals are in addition to those signed in 2013 for properties in New York City, Miami and Philadelphia. The Hotel Indigo global pipeline now stands at 56 hotels, with 28 of those in the Americas. The brand currently has 58 properties in its portfolio.


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If you have been around in the Tablet models then this Samsung’s latest tablet shouldn’t be missed. In fact, with the number of choices tech enthusiasts can choose these days, it has become a lot easier for us as a customer to choose our favorite [...]
Results showed children control their emotions after playing this game.
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This time TechBoom try to give a brief review of the latest security system from Symantec, Norton Internet Security 2013. What are the advantages? Consider the following reviews.
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Hewlett Packard (HP) as one of the printer manufacturers claim the new printer, the HP Officejet Pro X Series X476 and X451 Color MFP, the fastest printer in the world.
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Electronic Arts (EA) has recently announced a new game highly desirable, Battlefield 4.
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This week, modifier application to be like a cartoon face or an application iMadeFace in the 4th position popular iPhone apps in iTunes. IPhone users is being fond iMadeFace. So what’s so special?
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(From left): Horlicks has a novel campaign around Pongal; ITC is integrating Mangaldeep agarbattis around the festival’s rituals
In an indication of the growing importance of the south in terms of consumer power, the Tamil harvest festival of Pongal, which began on Tuesday, ending on Thursday, has an A-list of brands turning up the advertising
While the south has traditionally been an important market for companies, engagement has increased.
Brand Horlicks from GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Consumer, which is merging with Hindustan Unilever, has an on-ground activation as well as a digital campaign this week in the south around Pongal.
ITC is running a 360-degree campaign to pitch its brand of incense sticks called Mangaldeep. While others such as McDonald’s, Maaza, Reliance Fresh, HDFC Bank, Parle-G, and Tata Sky are all promoting their brands using local themes around the festival.
Advertisers have long accepted the importance of regional markets in India, but involvement with local consumers has increased only now as disposable incomes inch up. Not surprising then that local festivals have gained prominence as has multi-lingual communication. “Festivals in India are driven by the value system of celebrating life. They are a perfect opportunity to connect and celebrate with consumers,” says Vikram Bahl, executive vice-president, marketing, GSK Consumer Healthcare about the sustained engagement that Brand Horlicks has around Pongal.
Siddharth Bhardwaj, chief marketing officer and national sales head, UFO Moviez, says, “While regional movies already attract ads from local brands, interestingly, of late, national advertisers are showing more interest to promote their products around regional festivals.”
According to Google India’s Year in Search Report (2018), more Indians are engaging with vernacular content than ever before. There has been a ten-fold increase in local language searches in 2018, almost 90 per cent of video is consumed in local languages and 88 per cent of language users of the internet are likely to respond to a digital advertisement in their language. “In almost every vertical, search query growth rates are far higher in non-metros. And while Hindi is still the dominant language, Tamil, Marathi and Bengali are quickly gaining prominence online,” the report adds.
Horlicks, for instance, is running a campaign asking for consumers to hand in their empty jars and using these to create a larger-than-life installation of the ‘Pongal Paanai’ (pot) in Madurai, Tamil Nadu. It also has a digital campaign that has already been shared widely on social media. Bahl explains that the brand’s connection with the state has grown over the years, and in 2018, the company launched a country-wide platform on how ‘Horlicks kids’ are re-imagining festivals including Pongal. The campaign gathered force through Onam, Durga Puja and Chat pujas last year. In 2019, the brand has launched its digital campaign around the need to promote drip irrigation among farmers in Tamil Nadu.
While ITC is pushing its incense sticks during Pongal, it is conscious of local tastes. A company spokesperson said, “Festivals and religious congregations are great platforms to build salience among consumers. The brand engages with devotees during various important festivals by integrating Mangaldeep and its variants with the identified rituals of the local festival.”
Morarji Anand, an ad film maker and who was involved with the campaign for Horlicks said that regional festivals offer one of the most effective engagement opportunities for brands. He says that the demand for short films and other digital properties around local festivals has been growing year on year.
For cola brands too, the south offers a big market opportunity and over the years both PepsiCo and Coca-Cola have used local festivals to promote local favourites from their family of brands. This year, Coca-Cola has used Pongal to push Maaza via a new ad campaign that leverages nostalgia around the way festivals are celebrated in the country.
To connect strongly with consumers, Coca Cola India said it followed a hyper-localised approach, both with its product portfolio as well as its campaigns. “We try to customise our messaging to strengthen connections with our consumers and deepen our engagement during moments of celebration,” a company spokesperson said.
Apart from the overall message of celebration around a festival, Coca-Cola said it wanted to talk about women and their time to let go during special occasions. The Maaza campaign has been released in Tamil and Telugu and across all media in the two states.
Brands have begun to appreciate the need to be present across media, even during local festivals because as the spokesperson for ITC says, “The objective is achieved through multiple vehicles including on-ground work, TV, print, outdoor and digital.”
Brands also pay attention to design and launch limited-edition products around festivals. Usha International says that it places its products in such a manner as to enhance their utility and relevance around a festive occasion. “We understand the importance of regional festivals. We have worked towards marrying our product offerings and bundling them with festive offers,” a company spokesperson said.
Consumers are engaging more with vernacular content
| There has been a 10x growth in local language searches
| More than 90% of video consumption in the country happens in local languages
| There has been a 100% jump in watch time for regional entertainment on YouTube
| 88% of Indian language internet users are likely to respond to a digital ad in their language rather than in English


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Whitbread to quit German restaurant market
WHITBREAD, the leisure group, is to quit the German restaurant market after agreeing the sale of its chain of Maredo steakhouses to a private equity firm for between £15 million and £20 million, The Times has learnt.
It is understood that the management of Maredo, led by Uwe Buescher, managing director, and Klaus Farrenkopf, finance director, have secured backing for a management buyout from German Equity Partners, a venture capital firm.
Maredo, which has about 60 restaurants across Germany and Austria, has enjoyed mixed trading in recent years as the German economy has struggled. Although it has been deemed non-core by Whitbread for several years, it was formally put up for sale only in October.
The Argentinian steakhouse chain is one of several assets that


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Smart cards for Abu Dhabi public buses
In its continuous pursuit to develop and improve public bus service in terms of accessibility and sustainability, the Department of Transport in Abu Dhabi (DoT Abu Dhabi) announced on Tuesday the launch of its new automated payment system with ‘Hafilat’ smart cards that are designed to pay public bus fares in Abu Dhabi as of May 15.
The new payment cards also enable adding a certain balance and recharging them apart from including other services such as weekly and monthly passes.
Operating these contactless cards is simple – commuters just need to pass them over the fare collection devices installed at the entrances of buses. Thus the new system offers a smooth and smart bus-fare collection within seconds as well as helps reduce congestions while boarding/descending from buses.
Hafilat automated payment system will be implemented in phases on all public buses throughout Abu Dhabi.
"This smart card or ticket deducts the fare of bus trips directly from cash value stored in the T-Purse. The fare is calculated automatically based on the distance of passengers’ journey from the moment they board the bus until they descent," said Mohammed Nasser Al Otaiba, Acting General Manager of Bus Office at DoT.
The launch will also reduce queues before bus drivers as it will only allow authorised passengers to board buses. This will also eliminate free rides.
Al Otaiba explained that these cards have distinct features that enable passengers to register their cards in order to protect their balance in the event of card loss or theft, as well as allow frequent bus users to avail special offers and loyalty programmes.
Hafilat cards can also be recharged using cash or credit card payments via automated payment devices distributed across the emirate.
Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.


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Meta plans to release a new version of its Quest VR headset this year, followed by two more advanced models later.
This is according to a detailed presentation of the roadmap, obtained by The Verge(Opens in a new tab)that Meta shared with its employees on Tuesday.
The new Quest 3 headset will be twice as thin and at least twice as powerful as the company’s current model, the Quest 2. It will also be slightly more expensive (the Quest 2 retails for $400), employees said during the presentation. The company also plans to release 41 new apps and games for Quest 3.
This is just the beginning, though. In 2024, Meta plans to release a cheaper handset codenamed Ventura. And while there are no plans for a follow-up to the $1,499 Meta Quest Pro that launched late last year, the company plans to release a more advanced handset sometime after the Ventura. Codenamed La Jolla, it will feature photorealistic Codec Avatars.
One very interesting tidbit from the presentation came from Mark Rabkin, Meta’s vice president of VR, who told employees that the company has sold nearly 20 million Quest headsets so far. But he also said that people who recently bought Quest 2 “aren’t as excited” as users who bought it earlier.
Meta Quest 2 vs PSVR2: How the two VR headsets stack up
This is interesting. We know Meta is losing money(Opens in a new tab) about its virtual and augmented reality efforts and we’ve seen reports(Opens in a new tab) about users not being too eager to return to some of Meta’s VR experiences after trying it out, but it’s different to hear that from the company itself.
Meta is also planning a follow-up to its augmented reality glasses, co-created with Ray-Ban parent Luxottica, as early as this fall. We didn’t like the first version, but since Meta didn’t share any sales numbers, it’s hard to say if they made much of an impact on users (I certainly haven’t seen them worn). There are few details about the second version of the glasses, but Meta is already planning a third generation for 2025, which will feature a “viewfinder” that will allow users to see incoming text messages, translate text and scan QE codes . They will also have a “neural interface” band that will allow users to control them with gestures.
Finally, Meta is also planning a smartwatch that will work with the smart glasses, placing it as an optional upgrade to the neural interface band.
There are more. While the Ray-Ban stories and their immediate successors are pretty limited in what they can do, Meta is also working on a pair of augmented reality glasses, codenamed Orion. The company plans to release them internally to employees in 2024, but doesn’t plan to release them to the public until 2027.
You’ve got to hand it to Meta: Despite recent layoffs (and possibly more to come) and a lukewarm reception to many VR and AR efforts (including complaints from employees), the company seems to be redoubling its efforts to build the Metaverse.
Meta’s VR and AR efforts are sure to make for an interesting matchup with Apple, which is reportedly planning to release its first mixed reality set this June.


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Some months ago, Nokia backed out of supporting MeeGo, its big partnership with Intel to create an open source smartphone operating system (based on Intel processing architecture, of course). Things looked bleak for MeeGo, even after Nokia released its lone MeeGo device, the N9. Today, the MeeGo project has been canceled, according to its blog. From its ashes, however, a new smartphone OS is rising: Tizen, a new collaboration between Intel and Samsung. Tizen will also be open source, hosted by The Linux Foundation, and support HTML5-based applications as well as other Web standards.
The move makes some sense for both parties and for MeeGo, whose code is no doubt being plundered and put at the heart of Tizen, which is currently slated for release as soon as the first quarter of 2012. Intel is currently completely shut out of the exploding smartphone and tablet world, which relies on open ARM processors that are more battery friendly. If it hopes to stay relevant, it must correct its series of failures in this market and find success. On the other hand, Samsung is currently the number two phone maker in the entire world and seems to be getting nervous about its unilateral support of Android now that Google is buying Motorola. The Korean manufacturer already supports Windows Phone and is beefing up development on its homegrown Bada OS to look and feel more like a modern smartphone platform. Some rumors pegged it as interested in developing for or purchasing HP’s WebOS platform as well, though Samsung executives have ruled this out. It’s becoming quite clear that Samsung is okay with Android, but doesn’t want to be left in the cold should things go sour for the OS. It is currently taking a lot of heat from Apple.
Tizen has a difficult road ahead of it. 2011 has already seen the death of WebOS and likely BlackBerry’s Tablet OS as well, which is based on QNX. More and more, consumers and manufacturers are heading toward Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android OS (another open source Linux project) as the market leaders. Even Microsoft’s sleek Windows Phone OS has actually lost market share in the last year as has everything RIM has to offer.
Could a new Linux-based smartphone platform edge out Android? Tizen will work on smartphones, tablets, netbooks, in-vehicle dashboards, and smart TVs.


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San Francisco sources reported that according to a report in The Verge on Tuesday, the iPhone maker Apple has introduced a new section on crypto currency in its guidelines on App Store that apply to iOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS app. As per the guidelines "Apps, including any third party advertisements displayed within them, may not run unrelated background processes such as crypto currency mining”.
Meanwhile the apps may facilitate virtual currency storage, provided they are offered by developers enrolled as an organization. As per report "In addition, apps may not mine directly for crypto currencies, unless the mining is performed in the Cloud or otherwise off-device". Moreover the apps may "facilitate transactions or transmissions of crypto currency on an approved exchange, provided they are offered by the exchange itself".
Earlier Apple March removed "Calendar 2" app from the Mac App
Store after it started mining crypto currency on devices in exchange for
premium features. Accordingly Facebook and Google have already banned crypto currency,
token sales and Initial Coin Offerings (ICO) advertisements on their platforms.
Meanwhile Twitter stated "We have added a new policy for Twitter Ads
relating to crypto currency and under this new policy, the advertisement of
Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) and token sales will be prohibited globally”.
Mahindra & Mahindra rolled out electric 3 wheeler auto rickshaw in Bengaluru According to sources "The 3 wheeler range Treo and Treo Yaari are powered with lithium ion battery, which gives 170 km ride for a single charge, said Mahindra Electric Mobility Ltd Chairman Pawan Goenka on the occasion. Meanwhile the $21 billion Mahindra group has invested Rs 100 crore in setting up a technology plant in the city's southern outskirts, with an installed capacity of 25,000 units per annum to make the e-autos for Karnataka initially.
- Sabarimala Temple Police Officers instructed to follow new Dress Code
- Will Pawan Kalyan contest from Eluru Constituency?
- TN CM announced Rs. 10 lakhs for families of deceased hit by Cyclone Gaja
- California's deadliest wildfires soared to more than 600, Trump to make his visit
- Granddaughter of TDP founder & late Chief Minister NT Rama Rao get TDP ticket
- Will forecast come true for TRS & give KCR another chance to rule Telangana?
- TN govt against Gaja!
- Secret pregnancy revealed by actor!
- Post Gaja, there's another threat!
- Vedaranyam heavily impacted by Gaja!
- Chandrababu Naidu leaving no leaf unturned to take on Modi
- Arvind Kejriwal to campaign in Telangana for AAP candidates
- Wedding Photos of Deepika Padukone & Ranveer Singh leaked out
- Will KTR quit politics, if TRS lost Elections?
- Cyclone Gaja crossed Tamilnadu coast between Nagapattinam & nearby Vedaranniyam


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The U.S. stock market had an impressive run in 2023, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite posting gains of 24.2% and 43.4%, respectively. Although the stock market seems to have started with a correction in 2024, a strong earnings season and upcoming interest rate cuts may boost it further in 2024.
With artificial intelligence (AI) being the hottest investment theme in 2023 and expected to persist in 2024, it makes sense to ride this wave under a friendly market backdrop. Investors don't even need boatloads of money to make this move. If you have even $500 which you don't need for paying down bills or for contingencies, then picking up small stakes in UiPath(NYSE: PATH) and Roblox(NYSE: RBLX) could prove to be a smart move.
A leading robotic process automation (RPA) player, UiPath helps clients automate repetitive tasks to increase overall efficiency and enables employees to focus on creative and strategic responsibilities. The company also leverages artificial intelligence and communication mining technologies (analyzing all forms of communication) to identify more business processes suitable for automation.
UiPath has differentiated itself from competition by tailoring its automation solutions to specific industries. The company focuses on playbooks, marketing events, and enablement programs to support its team in understanding the unique automation requirements of various industries. The targeted solutions are helping the company attract high-value clients, as evidenced by the 31% year-over-year rise in customer count with annual recurring revenue (ARR) of $1 million or more to 264, at the end of the third quarter.
UiPath has also strategically collaborated with several major companies, such as Amazon and SAP, to integrate its automation offerings with a broader partner ecosystem. These partnerships not only help attract new customers and improve user engagement, but also make it easier for them to deploy automation solutions. UiPath considers the partners and global service integrators as an important part of its go-to-market strategy, helping the company scale its customer base in an efficient, scalable, and cost-effective manner.
UiPath also posted impressive numbers in the third quarter of fiscal 2024 (ending Oct. 31, 2023), with revenue growing 24% year over year to $324 million, and non-GAAP (adjusted) earnings per share (EPS) of $0.12. The company also reported an impressive dollar-based net retention rate of 121%, meaning that existing customers spent 21% more on its offerings as compared to that in the same quarter of the prior year.
Polaris, a market research firm, estimates the global RPA market to grow at an annual compound average growth rate of 38.2%, from $3.6 billion in 2023 to $66 billion by 2032. With its advanced cutting-edge automation technology and robust commercialization strategy, the company seems well positioned to leverage this opportunity over the next few years.
A prominent social entertainment player, Roblox enables players to create, host, and participate in hordes of different games and activities across virtual worlds. However, investors do not consider the company as a mere gaming platform. With its focus on leveraging AI and machine learning technologies to provide interactive and immersive experiences, the company is also seen as a prominent metaverse player.
While the metaverse opportunity may take a few years to contribute meaningfully to the company's revenue, Roblox's core business remains strong -- marked by record user engagement levels, impressive sales growth, and improving operating margins despite being unprofitable. In the third quarter, the company posted a 20% year-over-year rise in number of total hours of engagement to 16 billion, while revenue rose 38% year over year to $713.2 million.
Roblox is striving to make its platform accessible across age cohorts and devices. The company is also focusing on expanding into international markets such as Japan, Brazil, Germany, and India. Since the company earns the bulk of its revenue from user subscriptions and in-game purchases, an expansion in the user base can directly translate into more revenue.
Further, Roblox is also allowing game developers on its platform to offer subscriptions to users within their created virtual worlds. This move makes the platform more attractive for existing and new developers, while also increasing user engagement. Roblox also has access to huge data sets about social graph, context and nuance-rich voice communication (social relationships and voice communication among users on the platform), and a large collection of functional online 3D objects on the platform. This data is further helping Roblox create a complex, vibrant, and immersive virtual economy. This, in turn, creates more opportunities for brands and users to interact on the platform, thereby opening up multiple avenues for advertising.
Roblox is further leveraging AI technologies to enhance the safety of the platform and improve overall user experience through content moderation and avatar customization. Hence, while advertising is still a small part of the company's revenue mix, these initiatives can help unravel the opportunity.
Considering the growth prospects of these potential revenue streams, the company seems to be an attractive pick for 2024.
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Hurricane Dorian evacuees fill Americus hotels
AMERICUS, Ga. (WALB) - South Georgia’s hotels are also filling up with evacuees.
Every chain hotel in Americus is completely full right now.
Evacuees are taking advantage of their time in the city.
Almost everyone WALB News 10 met while just walking around Americus Wednesday have been evacuees.
They’ve been from places like St. Simon’s, Savannah and even St. Augustine. While they’re all from different cities and even different states, they do have one thing in common, they’re escaping Hurricane Dorian. And they’ve been doing it with smiles on their faces.
On a usual day in Americus, people are out shopping and brunching.
“Oh it’s fun to go somewhere you’ve never been,” said Dorian evacuee, Marie Thomas.
And listening to music playing in the street.
“Oh that’s really unusual,” Thomas said.
This week, the city will see a few more visitors than usual, around 500 to 700 to be exact.
“It’s my first trip to Americus and I have to say it’s a very interesting town,” said Tom Garrigy, another Hurricane Dorian Evacuee.
While it’s being described by everyone as a “trip”, it’s actually an evacuation.
“We left about 10 o’clock from Savannah and we just road up here and got here about 1:30 yesterday afternoon,” said evacuee, Suzanne Meadows.
Every chain hotel in Americus is full. Evacuees, Suzanne Meadows and her mom Marie Thomas, had to book an Air BnB.
Living on the coast, they said they’ve been through their fair share of storms. But Hurricane Dorian took them by surprise.
“This one’s been so slow coming it’s changed three or four times,” Meadows said.
Dorian also brought one evacuee home again.
“I was born in Americus and lived here until I was five,” said evacuee, Helen Donnelly.
Now, evacuating from St. Augustine, Helen Donnelly and Tom Garrigy, said they’re really enjoying their “trip’ away from home at the Windsor Hotel. Taking a tour, and more importantly, taking their minds off of the storm going on back home.
“He took me by the Varsity and all the great places that I remember,” Donnelly said about her tour guide.
While the Windsor is full, prices this week won’t go up. They’ve taken special measures to make sure there won’t be any price gauging going on.
“You know, you just want to be the best person you can be. We’re a community hotel if that makes sense,” said The Best Western’s Windsor Hotel Director of Sales and Marketing, Divya Patel.
Most people said they’re waiting to see how the storm develops before they make plans to head back home.
At last check, we’re told Americus Garden Inn Bed and Breakfast still has openings.
Other things Americus is offering:
To help all of the Dorian evacuees, the Americus Visitor Center is offering people something special.
Anyone escaping the storm can spend their time taking free tours around the city.
The center is offering walking tours, a haunted history tour, trolley tours and tours to Plains and Andersonville.
Plus, it's all free.
Director of Tourism Nicole Kirksey said this is something that takes peoples minds off of the storm at home.
And it helps when people are already spending a lot of money to get to safety.
“We realize that when the evacuees are coming into town, they’re probably on a budget. They’re going to have to look at the hotel room. They’re going to have to figure out how to eat. And many are traveling with pets and children and what to do with all that time,” said Kirksey.
Kirksey said the hotels do have openings later in the week.
People are still waiting to see how the storm will hit.
But they will host these free events while people are in Americus.
Copyright 2019 WALB. All rights reserved.


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Bachoco recently reported an 8.5 percent decline in net income for the second quarter of fiscal year 2018, but a 7.3 percent increase in net sales.
The quarter ended on June 30.
In a press release, Bachoco, a Mexico-based poultry company that also has operations in the United States, stated that it achieved a net income of MXN1.58 billion (US$80 million), down from the MXN1.72 billion (US$90 million) from the same quarter of the 2017 fiscal year.
However, its net sales of MXN16.2 billion (US$870 million) was a 7.3 percent increase from the MXN15.1 billion (US$810 million) in net sales from the second quarter of the 2017 fiscal year.
Rodolfo Ramos Arvizu, Bachoco CEO, called the second quarter “challenging in both our Mexico and U.S. operations.”
“In Mexico, cost of raw materials increased, in part due to a weaker Mexican peso, offsetting the increases in prices leading to pressure in margins. In the U.S., we observed atypical lower prices in the white mat market which combined with higher cost of raw materials, resulted in a difficult comparison versus 2Q17,” he stated.
“Overall, the good balance between supply and demand allowed us to observe a net increase in price of our main products and to increase total sales by 7.3 percent in the quarter and 9.4 percent in the semester, compared to the same periods of 2017.”
Net sales breakdown by geography
Bachoco’s net sales in Mexico for the quarter were MXN11.6 billion (US$620 million), a year-over-year increase of 1.5 percent. In the United States, however, the net sales for the quarter were MXN 4.66 billion (US$250 million), a year-over-year increase of 24.9 percent.
O.K. Foods is Bachoco’s U.S. subsidiary.
Looking forward to the third quarter
Ramos, in the press release, stated that as the company enters the third quarter, it is observing prices in Mexico trending down, which is unusual for a third quarter. However, Ramos said, raw material costs are declining and the exchange rate on the Mexican peso versus the U.S. dollar has strengthened.
“At the same time, we keep working to capture efficiencies across our processes in order to be the best option for our customers,” he said.


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NEW YORK (Reuters)—Wireless chip maker Qualcomm Inc. said on Wednesday new chipsets, designed to comply with a court's patent infringement ruling, were now available and expected to be in handsets before the end of March.
Qualcomm also said it is evaluating options including stays and appeals after a federal judge in California ruled on Monday that Qualcomm must immediately stop selling third-generation, or 3G, WCDMA cellular chips that are seen to infringe on patents of rival Broadcom Corp.
A Santa Ana, California, court ruled last year that Qualcomm infringed three Broadcom patents.
The new chipsets are available to device manufacturing customers for product shipment into the United States. Chipsets for devices aimed at international markets were not affected by the ruling.
(Reporting by Ritsuko Ando)
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Vendor Management Negotiations Budgeting Mergers and Acquisitions
- January 23, 2015
News roundup: An of onslaught Adobe, Oracle, OpenSSL, Chrome and Firefox patches highlights the sad state of software security in 2015. Plus, security budgets increasing; HealthCare.gov security woes; false-positive alerts cost millions annually.
- November 26, 2014
Information security managers say the challenges posed by vendors' onerous security product-licensing models often increase the risk of shadow IT and threaten enterprise security.
- October 24, 2014
- September 05, 2014
News roundup: The recent Goodwill security breach has been blamed on a third-party service provider, highlighting the need for due diligence. Plus: Mobile device theft; Android app vulnerabilities and a 12-year-long cyber-espionage network.
- August 08, 2014
At Black Hat 2014, Yahoo CISO Alex Stamos decried enterprise security companies' inability to handle scale and system diversity, and called on vendors to seize the opportunity for innovation.
- April 11, 2014
FireEye and Palo Alto Networks take issue with the new NSS Labs report on breach-detection systems, calling the review process into question.
- March 28, 2014
Security vendors had money to spend in March as acquisition activity featured Trustwave scooping up Cenzic and Palo Alto's purchase of Cyvera.
- March 20, 2014
Symantec Thursday fired its CEO, Steve Bennett, amid ongoing struggles to adjust to a changing infosec product market.
- February 27, 2014
At the inaugural TrustyCon event, F-Secure's Mikko Hypponen decried the lack of trust in security vendors like RSA and warned of government malware.
- January 07, 2014
On the heels of FireEye's purchase of Mandiant, Palo Alto Networks has announced the acquisition of stealth startup Morta Security.


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Google is known for thinking out of the box or starting something new. From Google services to automated driverless car, Google is always into something new. Following its legacy, Google is ready for its first festival which aims at celebrating indie games on Android.
Google is taking up sign-ups for people who are willing to attend the Google Play Indie Games Festival in San Francisco. It’s also announcing the exhibitor line-up. The event includes 30 games. Half of them have been released to the public and the remaining ones are yet to be disclosed or are in beta version.
Google is unveiling its plans regarding the event. The plans explain how this festival will allow developers to show off their titles to the public as well as to others in the industry. They will be competing for prizes which include Google ad campaign or event tickets to Google’s annual developer conference. Other prizes include Google Cloud credits, NVIDIA SHIELD Android TVs and K1 tablets, and Razer Forge TV bundles.
Fortunately, the event is free and public will also be able to vote on their favourite games at this event. Not only vote, they will also be able to play their favourite games at the event. Initially, event submissions were opened up to the U.S. and Canadian game developers who had 15 or fewer people on their staff. This is how they qualified as “indies.” As per Google, there are over 200 developers who have applied for this event.
There will also be a panel of judges that will help to select the final winners. The judging panel has experts like Ron Carmel,co-founder of Indie Fund and co-creator of World of Goo; Noah Falstein, Chief Game Designer at Google; Hyunse Chang, Business Development Manager at Google Play; Emily Greer, CEO of Kongregate; David Edery, CEO of Spry Fox; Lina Chen, Co-founder & CEO of Nix Hydra; Alex Lee, Producer, Program Manager, Daydream & Project Tango at Google; Jordan Maron, gamer and YouTuber “Captain Sparklez.”
Who next? This event is also being taken care by veteran game designer Richard Lemarchand, who was a lead designer at Crystal Dynamics and Naughty Dog. He is now an Associate Chair and Associate Professor at the University of Southern California, School of Cinematic Arts, Interactive Media and Games Division.
Parallely, Apple has launched their developer site which teaches newcomers on how to navigate the app business using guides, videos and case studies. Apple is revamping its App Store with things for the betterment of developers.
So be updated with the festival of Indie games and be a part of it.


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French electric sports car startup Exagon, a spinoff of the Exagon Engineering motorsport firm, first presented its Furtive-eGT in concept form at the 2010 Paris Auto Show. Exagon started taking orders for the car soon after the debut and since then a handful have reportedly made their way into customer hands. DON'T MISS: Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder Destroyed By Hotel Valet: Gallery A couple of years ago Exagon showed off the performance of the Furtive-eGT by getting ‘Ring queen Sabine Schmitz to take a prototype on the Nürburgring. Now, Exagon is showing off the Furtive-eGT in...
Sabine Schmitz Tackles The 'Ring In French Electric GT
Few people know their way around the treacherous Nürburgring Nordschleife better than German race driver and TV personality Sabine Schmitz. She may have retired from 'Ring Taxi' duties last year, but during her career she's lapped the famous Northern Loop more than 20,000 times. We doubt too...Antony Ingram