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The Office of Fair Trading was accused of failing to appreciate the significance of metasearch in the travel sector when it agreed a resolution in an anti-trust investigation into hotel room pricing.
In January the OFT (now the Competition and Markets Authority) announced it had come to an arrangement with Expedia, booking.com and Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG).
This agreement meant a two-year investigation into allegations that these firms illegally set hotel prices stopped short of a full infringement investigation after they agreed to make concessions.
However, Skyscanner objected to these concessions claiming they not only allowed “residual” competition restrictions to remain but introduced a new one preventing the advertisement of available discounts.
A two-day Competition Appeal Tribunal hearing started in London yesterday, as Skyscanner sought to quash the original decision by the OFT and force the CMA to re-open the case.
Expedia, booking.com and IHG agreed that deeper discounting could be allowed, but only to closed user or loyalty groups of previous customers, and only after they had made one full price room booking.
It was also agreed that the level of discounting should not exceed the amount of commission paid to online travel agents.
Although the investigation originally focused on three firms the case was seen to have wide-ranging implications for the entire sector with other OTAs expected to comply with the commitments in their dealings with hotel suppliers.
Skyscanner launched its legal challenge to the commitments agreed with the OFT after making its views known during a second public consultation, although it claims these were rejected as baseless.
Kassie Smith, counsel for Skyscanner, told yesterday’s tribunal hearing: “The OFT identified in its Statement of Objections a number of competition concerns.
“They then accepted commitments which left in place residual restrictions, namely you can only discount to a closed group only after a first full price sale is made and only offer discounts to the extent of your commission.
“We also saw it introduce an additional restriction[on advertising prices that are available]. Our objection is one of transparency and the ability to advertise the actual prices available.”
Smith cited a Phocuswright report into the European travel sector to underline the importance of metasearch or price comparison which was said to show one third of shoppers use such sites.
But she said when the OFT conducted consumer research into the commitments it proposed to agree with Expedia and booking.com metaseach was “strangely absent” from this qualitative study.
She also pointed out that the study involved just 30 members of the public ranging from occasional to frequent hotel bookers over four sessions in London.
Skyscanner argues that the OFT was wrong to accept commitments from the firms under investigation that did not go further than what might have been the outcome of a full infringement hearing.
The OFT (now CMA) agreed to the commitments under what is known as “procedural efficiency” meaning that if the parties are prepared to make concessions they can avoid a full investigation.
Smith said: “If a regulator accepts commitments that means that regulator and the parties being investigated do not have to go through a detailed decision making process the quid pro quo is that higher demands are made as to the appropriateness of the commitments.“Being able to avoid an infringement decision means the commitments must be manifestly appropriate and the court
[EU Court of Justice] accepts that they may go further than that which may be imposed as the result of an infringement.”
Skyscanner argues the commitments agreed were not “manifestly appropriate” in addressing the competition concerns which the OFT itself found and were set out in its Statement of Objections. This is the first time such a settlement decision has been challenged in the UK.
In its Statement of Objection, which the CMA agreed to release to Skyscanner only days before this week’s hearing after a long legal wrangle, Smith said the OFT had provisionally found the agreements entered into by Expedia, booking.com and IHG were “hard core” restrictions on competition.
She said it also found that there was “a commercial link between agreements that restricted price discounts and rate parity agreements”, which were widespread in the market and monitored and enforced by parties subject to those agreements.
Smith added that the OFT had concluded that there were real benefits to price transparency and the low cost of searching for hotel rooms online by customers but that this was being “countered by the combination of restriction of discounting agreements and price parity”.
In the light of these provision findings by the OFT, Smith said questions arise over whether the commitments agreed with Expedia, booking.com and IHG addressed its competition concerns.
Supporting Skyscanner in the tribunal is UK online agent Skoosh which brought the original complaint to the OFT.
Its lawyer Duncan Sinclair sought to undermine the entire legal basis on which the original commitments were agreed saying this was an important precedent because it would be the first time accepted commitments accepted will support the continuation of unlawful behaviour.
“Our contention is that, by accepting commitments with restrictions on competition, we’ve moved a long way from manifestly appropriate procedural efficiency,” said Sinclair.
Counsel for the CMA Kelyn Bacon said the decision in agreeing commitments did not amount to a formal finding as to whether there had been an infringement of competition law.
“It provides a pragmatic and effective way for the CMA to close a case where the parties have offered, voluntarily, commitments and the CMA accepts that these address the issues raised.”
Bacon argued the OFT [CMA] had more than met all its legal obligations in coming to its decision including conducting two consultations for longer than the legally required period.
And she denied the allegation that the commitments agreed with Expedia, booking.com and IGH amounted to residual restrictions but were a mechanism for allowing discounting to take place.
“These are the conditions under which the parties have offered discounting to take place. The OFT are absolutely not saying these are residual restrictions.
“The test is a matter of judgement for the OFT. It comes down to a rational point as to whether it can lawfully accept these restrictions as being appropriate. At the end of the day the question is one of appropriateness.”
Bacon said the OFT had not made the commitments binds but had set a minimum requirements under which discounting should be allowed.
The case is due to conclude today after which the three man tribunal panel chaired by Peter Freeman CBE will retire to consider its judgement.


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Wednesday, June 27, 2012
San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC), Hi-Fructose Magazine's booth will be buzzing… first with Luke Chueh (as reported HERE) and then — on Friday, July 13th at 3PM — they will host Junko Mizuno, fresh off her newly released Dunny Series 2012 figure. To celebrate the occasion, Hi-Fructose will be releasing the above expertly printed 5-color silk screened image on 1/2" birch wood panels. Limited to an edition of 50 copies, Hi-Fructose strongly encourages people to visit their booth (#4939) early in the day to get a ticket for the release and signing.
Junko Mizuno's SDCC 2012 Wood Print from Hi-Fructose!
Nick Curtis / Trust Pigs
Exclusive|Hi Fructose|Junko Mizuno|Print|Screen Print|SDCC|SDCC 2012|Silkscreen|TrustPigs|Wood|

domain: news


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Rice price skyrockets as local production declines
Rice consumption in the country has been on a steady rise, beyond the reach of local supply, leading to a supply gap of about two million metric tonnes annually, a new report has disclosed.
This has led to an over 37 per cent increase in the price of the commodity so far in 2023. This was revealed in ‘AFEX Wet Season Crop Production Report for 2023.
The firm said, “Rice consumption in Nigeria has been steadily increasing, aligning with the consistent growth of the rice market, nearly matching the annual population growth projection of 2.6 per cent at two per cent. This has led to a supply gap of about 2 million metric tonnes annually.”
So far, Nigeria has spent over $15bn in the past decade to meet its expanding rice consumption, despite its potential to be a net rice exporter, the firm stated.
Globally, rice prices reached their highest point in nearly 12 years in 2023, primarily due to India’s ban on rice exports and the potential impact of El Nino on production in key regions. These factors, along with rain-induced disruptions and variations in quality during Vietnam’s summer-autumn harvest have further contributed to the price surge.
It noted, “A similar trend is observed in Nigeria, where the price of rice has increased by over 37 per cent year-to-date, driven by reduced production in 2022 due to the effects of flooding during the wet season of that year.” The firm also blamed the increase in prices on flooding and the ripple effect of the international market dynamics.
It, however, expects an increase in production of rice by approximately 4 per cent, and a further increase in the price of paddy rice by up to around 32 per cent.
The firm declared that the production of milled paddy rice has seen a remarkable increase of over 35 per cent in the country, reaching an estimated output of 5.4 million metric tonnes in 2022, up from 3.9 million metric tonnes in 2015. While rice is cultivated across all of Nigeria’s agro-ecological zones, the Northwest region accounts for 72 per cent of the total rice production in the country.https://punchng.com/rice-price-skyrockets-as-local-production-declines/
Published Date: November 20, 2023


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UK funds green freight projects with £200 million
The UK government announced 200 million pounds in funding to the transport industry to decarbonise their heavy goods vehicles, so-called HGVs. The money will get 370 zero-emission trucks on the road and set up 57 refuelling and charging sites.
A total of four projects have been selected. However, it is not clear who will receive how much.
One of the projects comes from charge point operator Gridserve, which is partnering with Volvo Trucks and DAF to deliver 140 electric trucks and set up 220 dedicated chargers. The Project Zero Emission North Freight is looking to deliver 70 battery-electric and 30 hydrogen-powered HGVs to Eddis Stobard and Royal Mail, among others.
CPO Voltempo is also working with truck manufacturers. Together with Renault Trucks, Scania, and DAF it will provide fleets with a total of 100 battery-electric trucks. Fleet operators include Marks and Spencer and Mercedes Distribution.
Hydrogen producer Protium will also receive a slice of the cake. It will get “around 39 hydrogen fuel cell HGVs” on the road and set up one fixed and two mobile H2 refuelling stations.
“Freight and logistics are the beating heart of our economy and it is only right that we celebrate the sector so that it gets the recognition and support it deserves,” says Roads Minister Richard Holden. “From boosting zero-emission tech across freight to attracting the future generation of talent to the industry, we are working hard to drive innovation, create jobs and grow the economy by building a brighter, more innovative future for one of our most crucial industries.”
According to the government website, “an additional £2.4 million has also been unlocked through the second round of the Freight Innovation Fund (FIF)” to help up to ten small and medium businesses to make the transportation of goods “greener, more efficient and more resilient.” Applications for the funds can be handed in as of today.


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08 October 2020
Author: Ron van der Ploeg
MADRID, Spain: Spain’s Consejo de Ministros (Council of Ministers) has approved a €10.5 million aid package to be dispersed to the country’s ornamentals sector.
In an extraordinary meeting on Tuesday 6 October, the Council gave green light to a new Royal Decree Law that will partially compensate Spanish flower and plant growers for the losses of turnover suffered due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Depending on the cultivated species, the State may grant aid of €7 up to €80 per square of ornamental crop that ended up in the landfill because there were no buyers.
Already in April, Spanish sector body sounded the alarm over Covid-19, stressing that the outbreak of the pandemic had come at a business-critical time of the year, which is usually peak season for flower and plant sales because of traditional festivals (Fallas in the autonomous region of Valencia, a combined celebration of Saint-Joseph and Father’s Day on 19 March) and Easter.
According to the Secretary General of FEPEX, Mr Jose Maria Zalbidea, the floriculture sector is the sole agricultural sector the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy* does not financially support, adding that the situation is critical as almost all cut flowers and ornamental plants growers and garden centres lost their entire spring sales.
At the height of the outbreak one of the problems the sector faced was that significant numbers of Moroccan workers returned home from Spain, while other seasonal workers who were ready to help Spanish farmers with harvesting their crops were not been able to enter Spain due to the closure of Spanish borders for the transit of people.
The closure of street food markets, flower shops, flower stalls, and garden centres meant that around 50-60 per cent of sales were lost.
Spain’s ornamental horticulture industry, relying mostly on exports for a substantial share of revenue, represents 3.2% of the country’s final plant production and occupies a production area of approximately 4,500 ha, with a production value of more than 1,000 million euros. Among the country’s major flower producing areas are Andalusia, Valencia, Catalonia, the Canary Islands, Galicia, Aragon and Murcia. The sector supports a total of 40,000 jobs concentrated in areas where dependence on this sector is very high.


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more people are paying back their auto loans so rates are at an all time low
Seattle, WA (PRWEB) December 31, 2012
Within the last month Complete Auto Loans, also known as "CAL", has established a new unique lending agreement with more high quality lenders. Their mission is to grow their network to help even more consumers experience the best with their auto lending process. With the recent changes to their lending base, they are now able to approve 100% of applicants for bad credit auto loans.
Ironically, the process is a whole lot less painful then most lending processes. Someone shopping for a car just needs to be able to apply for an auto loan from the their home computer or mobile device. It's really as simple as that. The owner says, "we've brought on more lenders to help keep the surge of online car shoppers from getting turned down for an auto loan. We've been able to successfully help thousands of applicants already but feel it was necessary to step forward with our new lenders to provide even more approvals." Auto Loan approval can be found here.
Customers seem to be having a good experience as well. A recent customer of "CAL" said that they were not only able to get approved for their loan but were surprised to find that they had cash in hand in a mere 24 hours from their original application. If "CAL" can continue to provide this service to consumers with bad credit history they will become quite a contender in the auto lending industry.
Of recent, more institutions are providing access to car loans for people with bad credit history. Interestingly enough, more people are paying back their auto loans so rates are at an all time low and the floodgates are open to anyone who needs a loan.
About Complete Auto Loans
"CAL" provides high quality loans to car shoppers. They've provided loans to thousands of applicants over the last year. Their mission is to help car shoppers get into a reliable car without worrying about procuring a loan from a dealer or local bank.


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Congress Approves Paycheck Protection Program Extension
Lingering technical and administrative issues have had some business organizations calling for more time to apply.
Set to expire March 31, applications would be accepted until May 31.
The extension would also give the Small Business Administration an additional 30 days after the May deadline to process the loans.
The bill has already been approved by the U.S. House of Representatives.
President Joe Biden, whose administration has expressed support for the program, is expected to sign the bill.
“The Paycheck Protection Program has served as a lifeline for many retailers and other businesses across the country, ensuring they can continue to pay their employees and keep their doors open,” said National Retail Federation CEO Matthew Shay in a statement following the Senate’s approval of the extension.
“Extension of the Paycheck Protection Program is vital to ensure that small businesses can continue to drive economic activity and job creation as we recover from this pandemic.”
Launched in April 2020 as part of a $3 trillion COVID-19 relief bill, the Paycheck Protection Program offers forgivable loans to small business owners.
Its rollout was fraught with issues, both administrative and technical.
Some of these issues are still plaguing the program, according to a March 15 letter from the NRF and nearly 100 other business groups.
In a letter voicing their support for the extension, the groups said members were “highly concerned” about processing issues, error codes, and application rejections related to issues with Taxpayer Identification Numbers.
“These delays and denials may put many applicants in danger of not making the March 31st authorization deadline,” stated the letter.
Even when the applications did go through, reports surfaced that the money was going to big businesses as mom-and-pop stores struggled.
The Biden-Harris Administration looked to address that issue by implementing some changes to the program in late February.
The updated program set aside a two-week period, from Feb. 24 to March 10, during which only businesses with fewer than 20 employees could apply.
This group represents 98 percent of all small businesses but has received only 45 percent of PPP funding to date, according to the Small Business Administration (SBA).
The changes also provided greater support for self-employed individuals, sole proprietors, and independent contractors.
The problem surrounding the use of Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers was also addressed, with the SBA set to issue clear guidance to prevent eligible applicants from being denied access to the program.
To learn more about PPP or to apply, visit the SBA’s website.
Joyce’s Jewelry sued the bank after cybercriminals drained its accounts of nearly $1.6 million through a series of wire transfers.
He is remembered by loved ones for his loyalty, integrity, and kindness.
Hosted by Freeman’s | Hindman, the sale will take place May 7-8.
With Ho Brothers, you can unlock your brand's true potential and offer customers the personalized jewelry experiences they desire.
The auction house said all 24 timepieces offered in its underground sale of rare and avant-garde watches quickly found buyers.
For over 30 years, JA has advocated for the industry, fought against harmful legislation and backed measures that help jewelry businesses.
The charm is a modern rendition of the evil eye amulet that has been worn for thousands of years.
Ahead of its trade show next month, TJS awarded free registration and accommodations to one jewelry professional and three students.
Members can still sell lab-grown stones, it said, but only natural gems are allowed on the show floor.
He is remembered for his charisma, passion, integrity, kindness, and wit.
The bridal collection consists of 35 engagement rings and seven wedding bands.
There is a willingness to comply with new government-mandated regulations, with an insistence that they should be practical and realistic.
The program, now live in Europe, will roll out to the U.S. this summer.
The point-of-sale software can now prompt customers to round up their credit card purchases as a donation to Jewelers for Children.
The zone’s modernization will enhance and increase India’s jewelry manufacturing capabilities while aiding small and mid-sized businesses.
Select independent jewelers and retailers can now purchase moissanite through Charles & Colvard Direct.
Amber Rank of Exclusively Diamonds will receive mentorship, registration to AGS’s 2024 Conclave, and $500.
The auction will take place Thursday and is underground, literally.


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U.S. chipmakers are still selling millions of dollars of products to Huawei despite a Trump administration ban on the sale of U.S. technology to the Chinese telecommunications giant, according to four people with knowledge of the sales.
While the Colorado Council for the Advancement of Blockchain Technology held its last meeting in early June, the state is just beginning experimenting with government use cases for blockchain technology.
Colorado’s Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) unveiled the Colorado’s Mutual Prosperity (COMP) Program, which adds incentives for employers to hire remote workers in eligibile rural areas of the state.
Denver’s technology economy is poised to get two potentially big additions — a Colorado firm that is looking to grow by nearly 1,400 jobs and a leading North American wholesale data-center provider that is considering relocating its headquarters.
A nationwide survey of nearly 1,000 information technology professionals ranks Colorado Springs as their No. 2 most desirable place to live, after Austin, Texas, according to results released Wednesday by the Computing Technology Industry Association.
The Longmont Economic Development Partnership is working with CareerWise Colorado to help local business owners find youth apprentices for hard-to-fill jobs, and give local students job training opportunities that can turn into early career options.
Denver’s tech ecosystem may not have found its Amazon yet, but behind the scenes veteran entrepreneurs with Blackstone Entrepreneurs Network are helping a variety of companies. Now BEN is in transition.
Dish Network Corp. has reached an agreement with sister company EchoStar Corp. to acquire EchoStar’s Broadcast Satellite Service business, including nine direct broadcast satellites and the key employees responsible for satellite operations.
Amazon is planning to add 400 jobs to a new 98,000-square-foot office at 1515 Wynkoop St. in downtown Denver, according to a Denver Business Journal report. The new jobs, which will double Amazon’s tech workforce in the Denver area, will be in positions such as advertising, software and hardware engineering, and cloud computing, the report said. Amazon’s Denver expansion comes on the heels of the company opening offices in Boulder at 1900 15th St. last year.
Tech-related employment rose in Colorado by more than 7,100 new jobs in 2018 and the tech sector raised its contribution to the state’s economy, according to Cyberstates 2019, a guide to national, state and metropolitan area tech sector and tech workforce analytics published annually by CompTIA, the leading technology industry association.
In the digital age, home internet access for students has been called an educational game changer, especially in rural school districts. Pueblo City Schools (D60) joined the burgeoning online education arena in the fall...
A global weather-tech company with its U.S. headquarters in Louisville has developed technology that allows its clients, from utilities to wind farm operators, to detect the most destructive lightning strikes after a storm.


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January 22, 2013
Privacy Glasses Foil Facial Recognition Cameras
Michael Harper for redOrbit.com — Your Universe Online
One of the more creepy technologies to emerge in recent years is facial recognition. With this technology, mannequins can determine what kind of people are passing by them at stores, televisions can determine which family member is watching, and bars can instantly check incoming patrons in via social networking.The automated seamlessness of this technology has the potential to do some very cool things in the future. Yet, no amount of convenience can remove the “Big Brother” aspect felt by many not yet ready to embrace a future where cameras know who they´re looking at.
Cameras are getting smarter, but at their core, they still rely on the reflection of light in order to interpret what (or who) they see.
Professor Isa Echizen is using this weakness against facial recognition cameras in his pair of prototype glasses meant to protect humans from being recognized without their intent.
“As a result of developments in facial recognition technology in Google images, Facebook, etc. and the popularization of portable terminals that append photos with photographic information (geotags), such as photo location and time, as metadata when the photo is taken, information such as when and where photographed subjects were is revealed from the disclosed photo of the person concerned via photos taken and disclosed without their permission,” writes professor Echizen in his paper outlining the functionality of these “privacy visor” glasses.
By themselves, these spectacles look like run-of-the-mill protection glasses found in any wood shop. What makes these glasses different (and what makes them effective) is an array of outward-facing infrared lights. According to Echizen, privacy is “achieved by the photographed subject wearing a wearable device — a privacy visor — equipped with a near-infrared light source that appends noise to photographed images without affecting human visibility.”
Essentially, these infrared lights confuse the facial recognition algorithms, making it unable to detect the wearer. Even better, the lights used in the glasses don´t affect the wearer´s vision.
These privacy visor glasses will be powered by a pocketable power supply and will be reasonably priced, according to professor Echizen. However, those who want to thwart facial recognition cameras have a few other alternatives in case they don´t care to walk around with unfashionable specs.
According to professor Echizen, plenty of make-up can confuse a facial recognition camera. A mask will also do the trick, though many places (such as banks and retail establishments) now have a policy prohibiting masks.
According to the BBC, the hacking collective known as Anonymous, themselves mask wearers, claim these disguises cause facial recognition cameras to believe that the wearer has no face.
Anonymous also says positioning one´s head at a 15 degree angle will fool the cameras into thinking there is no face to detect.
As the technology advances, more companies and industries are finding ways to implement a little facial recognition into their strategies.
Last October, the Federal Trade Commission issued a report offering some “best practices” for these industries that plan to forge ahead and use facial recognition technologies every day. These best practices include obtaining permission before capturing data from a person´s face, as well as offering up front the kind of information which will be gathered from the camera.


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Harris Teeter Inc. owner Ruddick Corp. posted a net loss of $8.9 million for its fiscal fourth quarter, primarily because of a $36.5 million impairment charge related to its discontinued American & Efird Inc. thread-production unit.
Ruddick’s net results for the quarter ending Oct. 2 amounted to a profit of 50 cents per diluted share on continuing operations but a loss of 69 cents per diluted share on discontinued operations. On average, analysts had expected the company to earn 65 cents per share from continuing operations.
Sales for the 13-week quarter totaled $1.10 billion, down slightly from the $1.11 billion the company reported for the 14-week quarter a year earlier.
Sales at Harris Teeter stores in operation for at least a year increased 5 percent.
In early trading Friday, Ruddick’s shares were at $41.80, down $2.29 or more than 5 percent, from Thursday’s closing price.
For the full fiscal year, Ruddick earned $91.2 million, down from $112 million the previous year. Fiscal 2011 totaled 52 weeks, but fiscal 2010 was 53 weeks. The latest year’s results equate to net income of $2.28 per diluted share from continuing operations but a loss of 41 cents per diluted share from discontinued operations.
Sales in fiscal 2011 totaled $4.29 billion, up 4.5 percent from the previous year. Comparable-store sales increased 3.3 percent.
“We are very pleased with our results for the quarter and the year,” says Thomas Dickson, Ruddick chairman and chief executive. “When viewed on a comparable-week basis, we experienced positive comparable-store sales as well as an increase in transactions, basket size and households in the quarter and for the year. We believe these positive results are the product of our continuing investment in price and promotion while, at the same time, offering outstanding customer service, thereby delivering superior value to our customers. We are also pleased that our customers recognize the value and quality of our store brands resulting in a higher growth rate in sales for these items than our growth rate in total sales for the quarter.”
The Charlotte-based company (NYSE:RDK) operates 204 Harris Teeter stores. It opened seven stores and closed two in fiscal 2011.


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a 22-year-old Detroit native uses his passion for cooking and personal experiences to launch a small food catering business.
Detroit, MI — The Detroit community has a new small catering business with a soul
food twist. "SoulBrothers Catering LLC" opened its doors officially on January 24, 2022. One Detroit native is cooking up some success in their community. Joel Thornton a.k.a. “Chef Joe” is the owner of his new business, specializing in catering mouthwatering soul food to everyone! Whether it's a birthday party, private/public event, or a wedding. "Food is my passion," Chef Joe said. "I'm dedicated to letting everyone know that good quality soul food and customer service still exist." That was the mantra for starting his business.
SoulBrothers Catering LLC started in 2017, catering its service to small events in the community. "We were just like, let's do a couple of events and see how I go," Chef Joe said. He says that he and his brothers (who are his cousins) did their first event together, which was held at the Romulus Athletic Center called “Resolution Reset” a cheat day for those who work out.
"It was a cheat day there," Chef Joe said. The business catered for the event and began to run out of food. After success with the first event, Chef Joe went on, to cater to more events. The business was like a side business to him when he started. He moved around a lot and the business gave him support to stay afloat.
In 2021, things got serious for the business. It got more clients and advertising began. "I’m networking to get my name out here," Chef Joe said. His goal is to be known everywhere in the community. The business celebrated its milestone of one year of being an official business in Michigan on January 24th, 2023!!!
Recently, the business received a small grant from Black Leaders Detroit (BLD) which specializes in providing capital to black-owned businesses, and the Metro Detroit Black Business Alliance, also known as MDBBA. MDBBA has over 650 members and specializes in getting funds for black-owned businesses. MDBBA held a holiday party for small business owners within its organization. At the event, SoulBrothers won a $2,500 grant for the business. "I'm actually still in business training with them," Chef Joe said. "Going through the process to obtain funding with them."
One of the biggest impacts of his business is how he has helped the community: providing the less fortunate with a hot meal prepared by himself on Thanksgiving. "it’s big to me because it touched my heart in a lot of different ways," Chef Joe says. SoulBrothers fed 250-plus people in need and provided light clothing and hygiene products for them with the help of several donations. "For me to be put in that position where I can help somebody that was in the same position I was in, is absolutely amazing," he continues.
Chef Joe credits how he was raised for the success of his business thus far. He mentioned that he had a tough upbringing and wanted to make an impact in the community on a day when most don’t feel loved or thankful. His current goal for this year is to continue to grow the business.
Learn more about SoulBrothers Catering, LCC or to inquire about the business, email Soulbrotherscatering@gmail.com


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Customs and NBI seized P25M Worth of Smuggled Food Products in Pampanga
In line with it’s mandate to eliminate fraud and curb smuggling, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) and National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on Thursday seized more than P25 million worth of food items, including frozen Peking ducks which are banned because of the threat of bird flu, in a warehouse in Brgy. Anunas in Angeles, Pampanga.
The teams composed of the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Services (CIIS) and the National Bureau of Investigation – Special Action Unit (NBI – SAU ) with support from the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), proceeded to the warehouse.
The composite team acted upon Letter of Authority (LOA) & Mission Order (MO) both issued by the Commissioner. The LOA was served to a certain Jimgold M. Tan, the representative of the warehouse owner upon arrival at the warehouse.
Prior to the operation, they coordinated with local Barangay and PNP units.
The team found soy sauce, oil, and frozen food products such as Peking duck, fish balls, squid balls, vegetables, pork meat, and others in the warehouse. Initial inventory of the goods resulted to 1,149 boxes, each with at least 10 heads of Peking ducks valued at P23 million while the other frozen goods worth P2 million.
The products are believed to have been smuggled into the country because of a ban on importing poultry products from a number of countries except the United States, Canada, and Australia. These imported poultry products should pass stringent requirements and tests by the Customs and other regulatory government agencies.
The Port of Clark will act on the forfeiture case of these banned food products while the bureau’s action team against smugglers, will file criminal charges against those responsible for bringing in the smuggled goods.
As the nation gears to embrace the new normal in relation to day-to-day activities, the BOC will remain committed to curb illegal imports and exports of prohibited and counterfeit shipments.


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Samsung is reportedly set to release an updated version of its Galaxy S2 smartphone during the opening months of 2013.
SamMobile claims that a Samsung Galaxy S2 Plus handset is being prepared for a Q1 2013 release. The handset will launch with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, in addition to the latest version of the TouchWiz UI.
Also set to be included in the device is 8GB of storage and a choice of two colors -- white or blue. It's currently unclear whether Samsung will implement improvements for the phone's engine such as increased RAM or a quad-core processor.
The report arrives six months following the launch of the S2's successor, the commercially successful Galaxy S3. The latter has broken records and set new ones since its release; it sold 20 million units during its first 100 days of availability, which was followed by the smartphone selling a further 10 million units to surpass an impressive milestone.
In addition, the Galaxy S3 overtook Apple's iPhone 4S as the best-selling smartphone on the planet during the last quarter. More recently, Samsung launched the device's little brother in the form of the Galaxy S3 Mini. As for the unannounced Galaxy S4, speculation has suggested an unveil during CES in January, 2013.
This phone won't even work as a prepaid, unless it wants to retail for like $200 off contract (highly doubtful), since the Nexus 4 is only $300.
To me, it seems like a decent move. They are hitting a niche market of prepaid, people who need to get a decent smartphone to replace their broken phones until they can be eligible for a upgrade, and rising markets like China and India. I can see Samsung easily hitting 7 digit sales with this phone and making around 20-30 dollars profit per unit sold.
The reason why Samsung keeps doing this is because Apple keep adding devices to their lawsuit and it will affect Samsung badly if all their devices are banned. By keep introducing new models Samsung is able to make sure there are at least some models selling in the USA market when they lost the lawsuits. You can all thank Apple for that.
and now they are doing another S2. so now they have the Std S2. then they did a S2 with 4G and now another! the S2 with 4G was as far as it should of gone.
Galaxy E1170 this is non touch screen old school brick (perfect for kids)
Galaxy ace (basic smart ph)
The Note and note 2
Then the Galaxy S2 in normal and 4 G versions
Now they have a galaxy S3 one with 4G one without.
that is why another S2 was pointless.


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VR is coming to some of China's most popular theme parks
(c)Songcheng Performance Development
Virtual reality theme park rides and video content seem to be the plat du jour around the world at the moment: from the UK’s Alton Towers to Six Flags in the USA, thrillseekers are getting a taste of g-force in VR.
And now, China’s biggest theme park operator has just signed a $30m joint venture with a US VR startup to bring the tech to its venues and online platform.
SPACES, a VR venture co-founded by two former Dreamworks DreamLab execs, will work...


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SAN FRANCISCO — A spring frost and summer heat spikes led to a lower wine grape yield this year, but it also helped vines intensify the flavor in the grapes that survived the temperature extremes.
The total statewide crop for 2001 is expected to be 3.1 million tons when harvesting wraps up.
That’s down 6 percent from last year’s harvest of 3.3 million tons, a record high, despite 40,000 new acres coming into production this year.
Abnormal weather damaged fruit, with little rain, a frost in April, hot weather in May and June and cool weather in July and August. But cool fall weather has helped balance out the flavor of the grapes, according to the San Francisco-based Wine Institute.
And the glassy-winged sharpshooter, the insect that spreads the vine-killing Pierce’s disease that has affected Southern California vines, has been controlled with a wasp that lays its eggs in the sharpshooter’s eggs.
“It’s gotten rid of about 85 percent of the eggs,” said Gladys Horiuchi, a spokeswoman for the Wine Institute.
Consumers should benefit because there’s still an abundant supply of grapes and prices have gone down. That means wineries will be able to blend better grapes into their wines, Robert Smiley, dean of the University of California, Davis, Graduate School of Management, said in a recent survey.


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A Look at the Mobile Application Development Industry Starting with the overall activity. And revenue generation in the mobile application industry. The market managed to generate a net revenue of US$461.7 billion in 2019 and is expected to exceed US$800 billion by 2022 , with the use of paid apps and in-app ads. According to Research , the top trending gaming apps that were loved by people during pre and post covid times included games like Among Us, 8 Trendy Mobile App Development Ideas You Need to Consider.
Call of Duty – Mobile, Subway Surfers, etc. While sales like Black Friday and Thanksgiving saw an almost 45% increase in overall sales via mobile apps. nline and cashless Namibia Phone Number List delivery has become a trend. Educational mobile apps With a continued delay in reopening schools. And colleges due to covid-19, educational institutions have finally turned to educational mobile apps to release the mounting pressure. 8 Trendy Mobile App Development Ideas You Need to Consider.
E-commerce and Shopping Mobile Apps
O As a result, widely used and downloaded mobile apps included Google Classroom , Schoology , and Canvas Student . A report further adds that reliance on these apps increased sharply after August and continued later. Despite covid-19, educational and e-learning apps have undoubtedly made a significant mark in the industry for several good reasons.
Click here for a better overview. While leaders in technology and mobile app development have started working on the latter. Macau B2B List Several app developers in DC are competing to find the right cord. Below is the list of all important upcoming trends to study.
Upcoming Mobile App Trends
The collaboration of artificial intelligence with machine learning is becoming a new trend in the mobile app development industry. With several technologies in development like Google and Cortana. If you’re an app developer, getting your hands dirty with AI and ML can definitely lead you to a place where there’s no turning back.
2. Foldable Device App Development Samsung’s OLED foldable devices have brought a major change in the mobile app development industry with extensive use of technology and technique. While foldable phones require better screen coverage and continuity from mobile apps and app developers. The incorporation of this feature is something to watch.


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It was revealed a few weeks ago that the excellent Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning was going to get its first major DLC release on March 20. The DLC was called The Legend of Dead Kel and it promised a new landmass to explore with new characters, quests and a mansion the player could live in.
EA was nice enough to drop us a trailer for the new DLC so we’re not going into this brave new world unprepared. The trailer gives us an admittedly awesome look at the locales and people players will encounter on their journey through Gallows End.
A few things of note in the trailer is that the new landmass is dark, and not just in the lack of proper lighting sense. It’s dark, grimy and nasty looking with a sense of foreboding covering the entire area. The part I’m most excited about, however, is the pirate ship. Dead Kel, who we get to see in the trailer, is a pirate of sorts and it looks to be a jolly good time if he wasn’t trying to kill you.
It also looks like their promise of more story content was not just empty promises. There are hints of major choices and consequences throughout the trailer that should have an interesting impact on the game’s world.
If you haven’t picked up Amalur, now is the time to do it. It’s my favorite RPG of this year by far. It’s definitely in the running for RPG of the year and maybe even game of the year once the end of 2012 rolls around.
The Legend of Dead Kel DLC will be available on March 20 across all major platforms including Steam and Origin.


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Historically, Google has been averse to policing misinformation on its own platforms and within its ad network. However, since the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, the company has taken a more aggressive position against content that could harm viewers. In April , Google committed $6.5 million to fact-checkers and organizations actively combating COVID-19 misinformation. It’s also taken steps across all of its platforms to raise factual information to the top of pages, suppress dubious claims, and pull down information that actively harms human health. In employing these new standards, Google has been very nuanced about what content violates its policies, and it’s not always clear what constitutes information that poses a risk to human health. … [Read more...] about Google is placing ads next to COVID-19 misinformation on conspiracy sites
Google adwords or facebook ads
The group’s report reflects how deceptive ads are further complicating the U.S. government’s relief efforts, along with plenty of other stimulus scams that U.S. residents should watch out for. As of June 8, as many as 35 million Americans were still waiting for their “economic impact payments,” which have spanned direct deposits, physical checks, and generic prepaid cards that some residents are—understandably—tossing out like spam. … [Read more...] about Searching for stimulus check updates on Google? Be careful what you click on
The number of registrations was significant, but so too were the types of voters drawn out by Facebook’s effort. Facebook did not disclose demographics or other data from its effort, but the platform has historically been more popular among younger users and women, according to 2019 data from the Pew Research Center, and both groups tend to lean Democratic. “It’s pretty clear that the Facebook reminder campaign disproportionately motivated young people to register,” Padilla told the Times in 2016. Still, Facebook’s users have appeared to skew older in recent years, and data from CrowdTangle show that the majority of the platform’s most shared stories come from right-wing sources. … [Read more...] about The problem with Facebook’s plan to sign up 4 million voters
Buchanan has a number of other criticisms of the Microsoft study–because of its design, she doesn’t think it necessarily reflects the views of the public at large. But she does note that it’s only now, once the initial furor has died down, that more nuance has been able to enter the conversation about Facebook’s research. Last week, Nature published an op-ed defending Facebook’s research on behalf of 27 other social scientists. Facebook changed its News Feed algorithms all the time anyway, they wrote, and the reaction to a study like this could have a chilling effect on future research. … [Read more...] about Why Did We Care About the Facebook Contagion Study? Or Did We Even Care At All?
Overall, sectors like aviation, fashion and apparel, movies and dining continued to lag, while over-the-top (OTT) entertainment services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, etc., and education platforms led the recovery. In Tier II and III towns and cities, pharmaceuticals and consumer electronics have pushed revival. … [Read more...] about UPI, mobile wallet, card transactions jump to pre-COVID-19 levels: Report


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YOINK! Toyota reveals – then DENIES – Apple CarPlay by 2015
Dashboard Siri by next year ... only joking
Toyota had a bit of a snafu on its official UK blog today when it appeared to have leaked the release date for Apple's CarPlay in its vehicles as sometime in 2015 in a post that was quickly removed.
In the first version of the post, Toyota was talking up the new "iOS in your car", saying the tech would be able to sync with iPhones and be controlled by touchscreen, Siri or physical buttons on the steering wheel or dashboard.
"Come 2015, you'll be able to get the iPhone experience you love in your Toyota with Apple CarPlay," the post bragged.
However, this morning the post was pulled and replaced with an update that said "no announcements have been made about if and when Apple CarPlay will arrive in Toyota cars". Which was a bit confusing since Toyota has already been confirmed as a partner, so there's no "if" about it, just the when.
Apple announced that the technology was in the pipeline more than a week ago and said it would be working initially with Ferrari, Volvo and Mercedes-Benz. The fruity firm also said that BMW, Ford, GM, Honda, Hyundai, Jaguar, Kia, Nissan, Subaru, Suzuki and Toyota would be partners on the project "down the road" (Apple's pun, not El Reg's).
Only the first three car-makers have made official announcements on CarPlay, giving customers an idea of which models will sport the tech and showing off demos at events like the Geneva Motor Show. ®
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Markets are underestimating the risks of accelerating inflation
RISKS of accelerating global inflation have been widely underestimated.
Yellow lights are flashing because of the Trump administration's promised economic policies, global reflationary policies, continued easy money and effective currency wars. Indeed, latest numbers show
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iTV was Steve Jobs creation in part, a patent for the device indicates.
|Image: Patently Apple|
The late Jobs was one of the inventors behind “episodic TV” as outlined in a 2006 patent for Apple, released by US Patent and Trademark Office this week.
This episodic TV concept, one of the core concepts behind Apple TV or ‘iTV’, means that menus would include “television shows that have either been recorded from a broadcast or purchased from a content provider,” the patent states.
In other words, users would be able to access content from TV stations, buy movies and other TV shows from “content providers” – certain to be a core aspect of Apple’s hyped TV, tipped for release Q3.
The concept was confirmed in a 2011 Apple TV patent, released earlier this month, which said: “media systems could also be used to connect a media environment to a video content provider, such as a cable service provider,” according to Patently Apple, who viewed the patent file.
This corroborates with Jobs’ declaration that he had “finally cracked it” – speaking about the Apple TV concept to biographer Walter Isaacson, before his passing.
“No longer would users have to fiddle with complex remotes for DVD players and cable channels. It will have the simplest user interface you could imagine,” Jobs said.
Apple TV would also be “completely easy to use” and sync with iCloud, reducing the need moving content to the TV.
However, Apple’s “episodic TV” concept means it will have to cut deals with TV providers, something which is not yet forthcoming, according to reports.


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The authorities will not stop the price increase
Deputy Prime Minister of Russia and the presidential envoy to the Far Eastern Federal District Yuri Trutnev said that if the government freezes food prices, the country will begin to move towards an economic crisis. According to Trutnev, the country will return to the state of the Soviet Union.
It is obvious that Trutnev and other state officials are most frightened by the possibility of return to the Soviet era. Of course, the Deputy Prime Minister alludes to the deficit that took place in the late USSR. That deficit was caused by the wrong policy of the authorities of the late Soviet Union, which got on the path of market economic development. It was the introduction of market mechanisms that led to the emergence of this phenomenon. It is worth noting that even under the conditions of Perestroika, the consumption of such food products as meat, milk, eggs, fish was higher than in most of the post-Soviet period with market economy. Meat consumption reached the 1990 level only in 2013, after which it decreased and again reached the Soviet level by 2017. However, there is also a nuance here: meat consumption increased due to poultry meat, while beef consumption decreased. Although pork, beef and small cattle meat are more nutritiously valuable than poultry meat. The consumption of dairy products, eggs and fish in Russia has not yet reached the 1990 level.
It is obvious that the Deputy Prime Minister’s statement was prompted by the need to calm down the business community. After relatively intensive (as for the Russian government) regulation of prices in the market, the business began a campaign of threats and blackmail. Naturally, it was not the owners of agricultural holdings and retail chains themselves who threatened and intimidated the government. This was done by specially trained and paid experts, who immediately after the start of timid attempts to regulate prices began to predict the onset of a total deficit. At the same time, manufacturers themselves began to resort to more profitable and effective steps for themselves: they stopped selling goods on the domestic market.
Autumn elections are ahead and therefore the authorities urgently need to keep food prices. At the same time, the authorities are explaining to business that there will be no serious attempts to influence prices. This means that after the autumn elections, large entrepreneurs will be able to raise prices. For workers, this means a sharp drop in their level of life.
The working people can improve their position through persistent and organized struggle. Historical experience shows that any such struggle bears fruit. In 2005, massive protests led to the cancellation of the monetization of benefits. The actions of 2018, which were not the most massive, led to some softening of the pension reform. Obviously, more massive and more organized actions will force the authorities to listen not only to business, but also to the working people.


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December 8, 2018
Corktown is coming alive for the holidays! The event will feature a FREE bus that will be making stops around the neighborhood. You can hop on and off the bus for free from 12 p.m. – 6 p.m. this Saturday to get some holiday shopping done.
You can also bring the kids to Bagley + Trumbull at 5 p.m. to roast marshmallows, drink cocoa and meet Santa himself! Then, at 6 p.m. there will be a tree lighting ceremony at the same intersection. Many of the local bars and eateries will be featuring specials during the event. The Detroit Police department will also be collecting toys and socks for families in need. You can drop off these items at any of the Corktown-a-Glow participating locations listed above.


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Tsunami & DevilRobber: scary new Mac malware hits the scene
Macs have become a popular destination for malware. The typically safe and secure Apple OS now faces two new security threats – one which could affect Pirate Bay users. “Tsunami” and “DevilRobber” are two nasty trojans.
The “Tsunami” bug is aptly-named. “The name derives from one of the commands that can be sent to computers running the malicious code, to flood a target with internet traffic,” said Graham Cluley, Sophos senior technology consultant.
According to Sophos, “Tsunami” has applications for denial-of-service and remote access cyber attacks. The backdoor trojan has been tweaked to attack PowerPC and 32-bit Intel x86 Macs.
Just in time for Halloween, the “DevilRobber” spyware may frighten Mac-using Pirate Bay members. It’s spread via torrents sites, Sophos confirmed. However, it also includes a little trick: Bitcoin mining.
“[DevilRobber] tries to generate Bitcoins, the currency of the anonymous digital cash system, by stealing lots of GPU time,” explained Cluley. It also steals Bitcoins and sensitive user info such as usernames and passwords, added the security specialist.
Cluley reiterated past warnings toward Mac users. “There may be a lot less malware for Mac OS X than there is for Windows, but many Mac users are making themselves an unnecessarily soft target by imagining that they are somehow magically protected from threats,” he said.
Earlier this month, the company divulged a new variant of the Mac “Flashback” malware was making the rounds.
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Two of the most anticipated titles for Sony’s PlayStaiton VR winter line-up have been delayed until early 2018. The Inpatient and Bravo Team from UK-based Supermassive Games will be moving to Q1 next year, the studio has announced.
The Inpatient, the horror experience that takes players back to Until Dawn‘s Blackwood Sanitarium was due for release on November 21st, 2017 but has now been pushed back to January 23rd (US) and 24th (RoW) 2018. Bravo Team, a new military shooter IP that will use the PlayStation Aim Controller, has seen a slightly longer delay moving from its December 5th, 2017 release date to March 6th (US) and 7th (RoW).
The news was announced on Supermassive Games’ blog but sadly had no information has been released as to why the delays have occurred. The release of Hidden Agenda, Supermassive’s PlayLink title, is unaffected and is due to release on November 22nd in the EU and Internationally, following its US release on October 24th.
Sony recently announced their newest version of the PSVR headset was recently released in Japan and is due to come to other markets next year. There are still titles due to be released this year to bolster the triple-A line up for the headset including Bethesda’s Skyrim VR and Doom VFR.
Supermassive Games have been big advocates of development for Sony’s VR platform with Until Dawn: Rush of Blood receiving critical acclaim on its release. Develop spoke to the studio about its VR projects and ambitions last month, which you can read here.


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Ingenico has announced its rebranding and the launch of its new visual identity. In order to reflect its evolution, from a payment terminals provider to a seamless payment services provider, Ingenico will now operate under the new dedicated corporate brand name “Ingenico Group”.
This new positioning is encapsulated in the Group’s new tagline : “global leader in seamless payment”, which demonstrates Ingenico Group’s brand promise to provide smart, trusted and secure solutions whatever the channel, empowering in-store, on-line and mobile commerce.
In addition, the logo has been redesigned to convey global brand stature and express visually the end to end value proposition whatever the channel to market.
Philippe Lazare, CEO of Ingenico, stated: “The Group’s rapid growth/evolution over the past few years has resulted in a fragmented brand architecture. With this new positioning, Ingenico Group intends to streamline and simplify its brand, reinforce its consistency across all geographies, as well as to guide its stakeholders in a fast evolving ecosystem. We also wanted to rejuvenate our visual identity to reflect our new positioning as the global leader in seamless payment encompassing our offering from terminals to multi-channel services. “
Fresh from its $4.5bn IPO, Nordic payments processor Nets has picked Spire as its partner to help with the physical roll out of mobile payments for Dankort customers.
Square has introduced a new update to its contactless and chip readers that reduces transaction speed to 4.2 seconds.
It seems laptops are about to catch the biometric fever as PayPal, Intel, Lenovo and Synaptics are collaborating to introduce FIDO-enabled embedded fingerprint solution to PCs.
Mastercard is working with Stripe to expedite the payment process for American sellers on the latter's marketplaces using the instant payouts feature from Stripe.


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Apple stock option backdating scandal
"This is venial." Apple disclosed that it had uncovered problems with its options grants in late June and said it would "proactively and transparently" disclose its findings to the SEC.
At that time, Apple said one of the problematic grants was made to Jobs but was canceled without any financial gain to the CEO and co-founder.
More than 100 companies are undergoing internal investigations or having their records reviewed by the Securities and Exchange Commission or the Justice Department to determine whether they manipulated stock-option grant dates to fatten their executives' potential payouts.
Options give holders the right to buy company stock at a set price, usually the price on the date the grant was made.
The investigation found that the company had handed out dubious stock-option grants 15 times between 19, covering all the major grants the company awarded during that time.
"That was everybody's fear," said Gene Munster, an analyst with Piper Jaffray.
"The bottom line is (Jobs) is not going to lose his job. It's a big sigh of relief for investors." Wall Street had little reaction to the announcement, which came after the close of regular trading.
Apple also said Wednesday it plans to turn over the results of its investigation to the SEC and reiterated that it expects to restate its financial statements to account for the stock-option expenses.
"Fifteen instances suggest an intentional pattern," said Greg Taxin, CEO of Glass Lewis & Co., an investment advisory research firm.
has managed to get its mitts on the Apple CEO's deposition with the US Securities and Exchange Commission conducted in the wake of Apple's backdating scandal.


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Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) could prove to be the biggest disruptor to global finance yet — is the world ready for it, though?
Flanked by increasing global recognition and technological windfall, the Central Bank-backed Digital Currency (CBDC), may indeed just turn out to be the biggest innovation to come into banking since the invention of the ATM machine. Over 50 global monetary authorities, including several of the world’s major global central banks such as the Federal Reserve in the United States and the European Central Bank are now treading, albeit lightly, the tepid waters of the CBDC bandwagon. This follows the pilot scheme already undertaken by the Chinese, who have rolled out an electronic currency (the e-Yuan) to over 500,000 of its residents.
The Recentralisation of Finance
CBDCs, or ‘govcoins’, as The Economist calls it, would essentially be a centralised payments medium that would initially run simultaneously along with fiat currencies (paper money and coinage) and decentralised payment means (such as Venmo or Paytm). Essentially, it works by eliminating the middleman – in this case, retail banks – to allow one to make a deposit directly with the central bank issuing the currency.
One major difference in the way CBDCs would function as opposed to current means of payment is through the use of distributed ledger technologies (DLT) wherein a hybrid architecture of existing payment means could potentially couple DLTs for increased transparency and fund tracing. The money would thus, in effect, be an efficient means of payment, a stable unit of account, and backed by the state itself instead of a fallible bank: conversely, for you to lose your money, the entire state machinery would have to collapse.
Whilst this may be appealing to many, such as those suffering from the bankruptcy of several major banks during the Global Financial Crisis of 2007/08, the primary agenda behind the adoption of CBDCs is the (re)centralisation of finance, where central banks (read: governments) would now be able to track all transactions being carried out in their digital currency through private blockchains (as opposed to the public blockchains used by most cryptocurrencies worldwide).
The Ramifications of Disruption
The Economist opines, “If payments, deposits and loans migrate from banks into privately run digital realms, central banks will struggle to manage the economic cycle and inject funds into the system during a crisis. Unsupervised private networks could become a Wild West of fraud and privacy abuses.”
CBDCs, in this regard, would be state-backed, universal and cheap – and would even majorly cut operating costs of the global financial industry. This, many opine, could even allow for the proliferation of finance to the 1.7 billion people who currently lack any sort of formalised banking services. Additionally, it would expand governments’ toolkits, allowing them to make instant cash injections to citizens, levy e-fines for and even cut interest rates below zero.
In spite of the several positives, certain other aspects need to be considered as well: such as the fact that if unconstrained govcoins were to enter the market and network effects were to make opting out difficult, retail banks could face the fear of destabilisation. Lenders would then have to find other sources to finance their loans, thereby handing much greater power to bureaucrats in controlling credit allocation.
Another major ramification, of course, could be the potential destabilisation of the US Dollar. As The Economist reports: “(CBDCs) could alter geopolitics, too, by providing a conduit for cross-border payments and alternatives to the dollar, the world’s reserve currency and a linchpin of American influence. The greenback’s reign is based partly on America’s open capital markets and property rights, which China cannot rival. But it also relies on old payments systems, invoicing conventions and inertia—making it ripe for disruption. Small countries fear that, instead of using local money, people might switch to foreign e-currencies, causing chaos at home.”
However, in spite of this, a global framework of CBDC interoperability could make cross-border payments much simpler than the current paradigm of SWIFT payments. Instead of travelling through a maze of financial contingencies, CBDCs could increase efficiency, improve authentication and reduce transaction costs drastically.
As it stands today, several global central banks, such as the US Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank, and even the Indian RBI have all taken a rather cautious stance on CBDC adoption and implementation. With increasing bans on cryptocurrency transactions in China and majorly fluctuating cryptocurrency prices, CBDCs may indeed turn out to be the major turning point in digital payment means for the years to come.


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Why Google’s decision to withhold programmatic data is pushing some advertisers to pull ad spending
As advertisers search for more transparency into their programmatic buys, they’re demanding more data from ad tech vendors. One holdout in those negotiations is Google. The search giant’s dominance in advertising technology has long given advertisers a cause for concern. Now, some of those advertisers are using their influence over other ad tech vendors to mitigate the risk.
The head of display at a U.S. based retailer recently decided they would not buy ads from the world’s largest online ad marketplace, known in the industry as Google Ad Exchange, for a key campaign. They wanted granular log-level data about the programmatic bids they won and lost over the key festive period last year but Google said no. Instead, the advertiser spent its media dollars with six other ad exchanges that were willing to share some of that data, as well as offer certain discounts.
“Google’s ad exchange didn’t make the list primarily because they’re not willing to give us any transparency or data around not only their take rates on our media sped but also anything we could already pull from our demand-side platform,” said the head of display on condition of anonymity.
Many advertisers share the same frustrations but have been reluctant to stop buying ads from Google’s ad exchange for fear of how missing out on all its ads. In reality, the outcome of the decision isn’t so clearcut.
“In fact, we benefited from much stronger CPMs without Google’s ad exchange versus when we used it over the same period the previous year,” said the head of display “It doesn’t make sense to continue pumping money into Google when we could reach our top publishers through other exchanges,” said the head of display.
Other advertisers are making similar moves for the same reasons.
Procter and Gamble’s marketers are in the process of reducing the amount of money they spend in Google’s ad exchange, according to three ad tech executives interviewed for this article. It’s unlikely, however, that those marketers will follow in the footsteps of the U.S-based retailer and pull of P&G’s media dollars from Google’s ad exchange, said the execs. After all, Google’s vantage point over auctions means it can keep prices down for advertisers and outperform other marketplaces.
“There are several big programmatic spenders that are saying to Google if you don’t share more granular data with us then I’m going to take my money elsewhere to someone who will,” said one ad tech executive with knowledge of those plans.”
Unlike other ad tech vendors, Google rarely shares data on the impressions it sells. Instead, it has tended to share aggregated information. That’s left advertisers with lingering questions about how much money Google makes from their bids as well as its role as a reseller of impressions on behalf of other ad tech vendors.
“Advertisers are frustrated that Google has built a programmatic business that performs well but isn’t forthcoming about how it works,” said Chris Kane founder of Jounce Media.
For now, it only seems like only a handful of the larger, more sophisticated programmatic advertisers are weighing up how much money to pull from Google’s marketplace.
“We’re seeing Google’s ad exchange become slightly less of the total pie,” said Jay Friedman, president at programmatic agency Goodway Group. ”I don’t have a percentage but it’s less but not significant.”
Google seems to have decided the risk of losing a smaller group of smarter programmatic advertisers is worth it to protect its share of the multitude of advertisers that will continue to buy from its auction regardless of whether it’s the cheapest way to win the right impressions.
Over the last decade, Google has built an ad auction model that has media buyers in a bind.
On the one hand, Google gave advertisers audience targeting data and a better chance of winning online auctions for ads in its own marketplace because its ad tech could wait for rival vendors to submit their bids before making its own. On the other hand, those benefits were only beneficial to those advertisers that used Google’s ad tech products to buy its inventory. Some advertisers balked at the setup, wary that Google’s bidding platform would funnel more spend to its media properties instead of treating all inventory objectively. Other advertisers, however, believed that the pros of buying ads from Google’s ad exchange outweighed its cons.
For a time, this predicament created an imbalance of power in Google’s favor. Then rival ad tech vendors, also known as supply-side platforms, tried to tip the balance in their favor.
Google’s ad exchange had the ability to offer buyers the opportunity to bid on every impression then SSPs used header bidding to do the same. Then the SSPs began running first-price auctions where advertisers could bid exactly what they are willing to pay for an impression unlike in Google’s own ad exchange where the price an advertiser paid for an impression was slightly higher than the bid they made.
Eventually, Google decided to rewrite the rules of its auction to make them fairer. Last year, it introduced a unified auction governed by one set of rules for all bidders where the winner will pay the amount bid and not a cent more as was previously the case. In theory, this unified auction would put Google on a more level playing field with rival ad tech vendors as it removed the search giant’s ability to give advertisers the opportunity to outbid rivals trying to buy the same impression through other non-Google marketplaces at the last second.
But the switch has also had some unintended consequences.
Now that the competition between bids to Google’s ad exchange and rival ones is fairer advertisers have more incentives to buy media from those ad tech vendors like Rubicon Project and Pubmatic that give them access to granular data.
This data helps advertisers work out the best, low-fee route to impressions, which is key in unified auctions like the one Google is pushing. In these auctions, where the same publisher inventory is made available through multiple ad tech vendors at the same time, there’s a greater chance an advertiser could inadvertently bid against themselves and subsequently be responsible for paying more for inventory. To avoid this, advertisers are using supply-path optimization techniques to broker better programmatic deals, many of which are predicated on the data they’re able to get back from ad tech vendors. And with this data, they’re realizing there could be a better alternative to buying ads from Google’s exchange.
“Off the back of header bidding, the growth of stand-alone exchanges, and the removal of the ‘last look’ feature, the advantages Google had over other SSPs has dissipated, said Kyle Dozeman, vp of advertiser solutions at PubMatic. In combination with buyers taking a deeper look at ad tech vendors run auctions, limited transparency into how Google runs its own auctions and the advent of supply-path optimization, several advertisers are starting to move to away from the online behemoth to other ad tech vendors for the first time, added Dozeman.
Google declined to comment for this article. A source close to the company, however, said that Google does not treat its own ad exchange more favorably and stressed that its auctions were fair and where the highest bid wins. The source also stressed that ad tech is a competitive market and it’s easy for advertisers to shift spend and easy for publishers to change SSPs.
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For the first time, smaller investors are participating through the venture capital investing platform OurCrowd.


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It's been a roller-coaster year for SunPower Corporation (NASDAQ:SPWR) in multiple ways. President Trump implemented tariffs on solar imports earlier this year, which would add 30% to the cost of most solar module and cell imports.
To avoid some of the tariffs, SunPower announced the acquisition of SolarWorld Americas, which will increase domestic manufacturing capacity by nearly 500 MW. At the same time, global solar panel demand has dropped, and we're expected to enter an oversupplied market, which could drive solar panel prices down. Add it up, and it's hard to tell if SunPower is coming or going in the solar industry.
The solar industry has changed in the last 6 months
Change is the only real constant for solar manufacturers, and SunPower is no different. The company was hit by Trump's solar tariffs in February, which are expected to add $50 million to $100 million in costs for the company in the first year they're implemented.
In response, the company bought SolarWorld Americas, the largest silicon solar cell and panel manufacturer in the U.S. SunPower expects to move some of its own technology into the SolarWorld facility, which had been partly shut down because it couldn't economically make solar panels in the U.S. There's no guarantee SunPower will be able to make the SolarWorld facility profitable.
In the meantime, SunPower has petitioned for an exemption from solar tariffs on its high-efficiency solar panels, but the Trump administration's aggressive stance toward imports doesn't give any indication an exemption will be granted.
As all of these ups and downs have taken place on the trade front, China cut its solar subsidies, which is expected to lead to a global supply glut. Investment banking firm Roth Capital estimates there will be 34,000 MW of extra capacity globally in 2018 and solar panel prices will plunge 32% to 36%. In other words, SunPower is facing higher costs because of tariffs and an oversupplied market that will drive down the value of the panels it's making. So 2018 doesn't appear to be shaping up well at all for the company.
U.S. manufacturing plans
The one area SunPower could leverage lower-cost commodity solar cells is with its P-Series panels. The technology behind the panels allows SunPower to buy commodity solar cells, which are now in oversupply, and assemble them into a panel that's slightly more efficient than what the competition can make.
If all goes well, SunPower could leverage lower input costs (solar cells) into supply wins with its P-Series solar panel. But just how big an impact the P-Series will have on the business remains to be seen, at least until second-quarter earnings are released.
The balance sheet
The P-Series isn't the only positive development for SunPower. Management is trying to sell most of its utility-scale solar assets in order to simplify the balance sheet and focus on manufacturing and other value-added technology.
In late June, the company closed the sale of 8point3 Energy Partners, a yieldco it had started with First Solar. The sale brought in about $360 million in cash and helped pay off $300 million in convertible debt that recently came due. This will reduce debt outstanding by about 20% in the second quarter.
SunPower also plans to sell its inverter business to Enphase Energy for $25 million, is selling 500 MW of projects in Mexico, and will complete more residential and commercial asset sales in 2018. All of these moves combined should dramatically reduce the company's financial leverage and give management the flexibility to expand production and services to residential and commercial markets where SunPower has the biggest competitive advantage.
A long road ahead
SunPower is facing tariff headwinds and falling solar panel prices at a time when it's trying to get back to profitability by simplifying its business. The trends in the market may make the company's hill all that much harder to climb, but investors should watch for signs of improvement when second-quarter results are released next week. I think SunPower's high-efficiency solar panels will eventually be a great differentiator in the market. But the company needs to prove it can make money on the panels, or there isn't much hope for a recovery in the stock.


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Client: Hisense Group
Production: Pixomondo Los Angeles
Producer: Sean Naughton / Sirena Ung / Christoph Roth
My role: Direction, Particle Setups, Animation and Compositing.
Chinese electronics manufacturer Hisense showcased its new Google TV-powered technology that will drive its television brand through 2013 at this years CES in Las Vegas. Hisense seems to be taking a significant step forward in the TV space, as it unveiled its first TV featuring a transparent, 3-D display. I did 2 Logo Reveals for their Smart and Ultra Line-up.


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Sure, it’s got a better camera, a faster processor and a clearer screen. But probably the most attractive feature of the new iPhone is its price.
Unveiled Tuesday, Apple’s iPhone 11 starts at $699 — which is $50 less than the phone it’s replacing. The new model has a faster, more energy-efficient A13 bionic chip and a bunch of camera improvements, like “Pet Portrait Mode.”
Apple also debuted the two higher-end models, the iPhone 11 Pro and the 11 Pro Max. Among the differences between the Pro versions and the standard 11 is the screen; the 11 has an LCD, while the other two have an OLED, which provides sharper contrast and higher resolution. The Pros also have three camera lenses, whereas the 11 has two. The Pro starts at $999 and the Pro Max starts at $1099.
Customers can pre-order the new iPhone starting at 5 a.m. PST on Friday. They ship September 20th.
While much of the buzz surrounding Apple’s live unveiling is focused on the iPhone 11 series, the company’s flagship product isn’t the only upgraded offering announced on Tuesday.
The new iPad features a 10.2-inch screen, expanded from the previous model’s 9.7-inch monitor. It’s priced at $329.
Also announced was the Series 5 Apple Watch. It sports an “always-on” display so users no longer have to raise their arms to wake up the screen. In spite of what would appear to be a big power draw, the device reportedly delivers 18 hours of battery life. It will sell for between $850 and $1,300. If that’s too expensive for you, the good news is the new model has knocked down prices for older versions. The Series 3 Apple Watch can now be purchased for only $199. Pre-orders for all products begin at 5 a.m. PST Friday.
Do the features and performance of Apple products make them worth the money? Or is owning one just a status thing?


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East/West Kitchen opens on East Avenue
East/West Kitchen, an Asian-fusion restaurant, has opened at 337 East Ave. The menu features banh mi, pho, rice plates, salads, Eurasian dumplings and its signature dish, a cheeseburger eggroll with catsup and pickles on the side. Beverages include beer, wine and Vietnamese coffee.
Hours are 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 11:30 a.m. to midnight Friday and 4:30 p.m. to midnight Saturday.
For more information, call (585) 337-6137 or go to eastwestkitchen.com.


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|By Business Wire||
|November 19, 2012 02:53 PM EST||
In its progression to becoming the most relevant omni-channel retailer, The Finish Line, Inc. (NASDAQ: FINL) announced today the re-launch of Finishline.com with an enhanced focus on the customer.
“We’ve simplified the look and feel for customers, while elevating the interactive experience for our premium brands and products,” said Chris Ladd, executive vice president and chief digital officer for Finish Line. “Now when customers land on our site, they’ll see a shopping experience that’s simple, easy to use and puts product and the customer at the center of everything we do. We now have behind-the-scenes technology that provides accessible platforms across an assortment of digital channels from web, to mobile, tablet and in-store.”
Finish Line collaborated with several industry innovators on this re-launch. Big Spaceship, a digital agency dedicated to creating connective experiences, products and platforms, and Demandware, a leading provider of cloud-based commerce solutions, have worked integrally with Finish Line’s digital and IT teams in the research, re-design and implementation of the site.
Highlights of the Finishline.com re-design include:
- Ease and ability to find product quickly with searching, sorting and filtering
- Scalability to meet growth demands for consumers with cloud-based solutions provided by Demandware’s platform technology
- Brand shop-in-shops showcase Finish Line’s brand partners and their product while also providing the mediums to differentiate themselves
- Simplified check-out includes improved connectivity to Winner’s Circle, Finish Line’s loyalty reward program, so customers can see their points balance
- The evolving and responsive technology integrates data and the shopping experience across technologies, platforms and applications
- Ability to purchase online and pickup in a nearby Finish Line store
- With content flexibility, the site can be updated real-time with up-to-the minute promotions, sales, shipping offers and marketing information
“We’re excited to showcase our premium brands on the site and subsequently have our customers post and share this content through their social networks as well,” added Ladd. “Customers can find product quicker with richer content and more features around that content like blogs, videos and user reviews. Whether they are in our store, curled up on their couch with their tablet or shopping on their phone at lunch, Finishline.com offers a simple, clear and clean site for our customers to find what they’re looking for and make the purchase. This is the beginning of our ongoing omni-channel transformation strategy as we continue to work with consumers and brand partners to reinvent the shopping experience.”
About The Finish Line, Inc.
The Finish Line, Inc. is a premium retailer of athletic shoes, apparel and accessories. Headquartered in Indianapolis, Finish Line has 647 stores in malls across the U.S. and employs more than 11,000 sneakerologists who help customers every day connect with their sport, their life and their style. Online shopping is available at http://www.Finishline.com/ and mobile shopping is available at m.Finishline.com. Follow Finish Line on Twitter at Twitter.com/FinishLine and “like” Finish Line on Facebook at Facebook.com/FinishLineUSA.
Finish Line also operates, through a venture with Gart Capital Partners, the Running Specialty Group, including 24 specialty running shops in seven states and the District of Columbia under The Running Company and Run On! banners. More information is available at www.run.com.
This news release may contain certain statements that the company believes are, or may be considered to be, “forward-looking” statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These forward-looking statements generally can be identified by use of statements that include phrases such as “believe”, “future”, “intend”, “plan”, “will”, “continue”, “create”, “potential”, “confidence”, or other similar words, or statements that describe objectives, plans or goals. All of these forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause the company’s actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by the relevant forward-looking statement. There are several principal risk factors that could cause actual performance and future actions to differ materially from the forward-looking statements, as noted in previous releases. The forward-looking statements included herein are made only as of the date of this report and the company undertakes no obligation to publicly update these forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.
“We help people build clusters, in the classical sense of the cluster. We help people put a full stack on top of every single one of those machines. We do the full bare metal install," explained Greg Bruno, Vice President of Engineering and co-founder of StackIQ, in this SYS-CON.tv interview at 15th Cloud Expo, held Nov 4–6, 2014, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA.
Dec. 19, 2014 10:00 PM EST Reads: 1,862
AppZero has announced that its award-winning application migration software is now fully qualified within the Microsoft Azure Certified program. AppZero has undergone extensive technical evaluation with Microsoft Corp., earning its designation as Microsoft Azure Certified. As a result of AppZero's work with Microsoft, customers are able to easily find, purchase and deploy AppZero from the Azure Marketplace. With just a few clicks, users have an Azure-based solution for moving applications to the...
Dec. 19, 2014 08:00 PM EST Reads: 1,193
The cloud is becoming the de-facto way for enterprises to leverage common infrastructure while innovating and one of the biggest obstacles facing public cloud computing is security. In his session at 15th Cloud Expo, Jeff Aliber, a global marketing executive at Verizon, discussed how the best place for web security is in the cloud. Benefits include: Functions as the first layer of defense Easy operation –CNAME change Implement an integrated solution Best architecture for addressing network-l...
Dec. 19, 2014 07:00 PM EST Reads: 1,832
SYS-CON Events announced today Isomorphic Software, the global leader in high-end, web-based business applications, will exhibit at SYS-CON's DevOps Summit 2015 New York, which will take place on June 9-11, 2015, at the Javits Center in New York City, NY. Isomorphic Software is the global leader in high-end, web-based business applications. We develop, market, and support the SmartClient & Smart GWT HTML5/Ajax platform, combining the productivity and performance of traditional desktop software ...
Dec. 19, 2014 07:00 PM EST Reads: 1,135
“In the past year we've seen a lot of stabilization of WebRTC. You can now use it in production with a far greater degree of certainty. A lot of the real developments in the past year have been in things like the data channel, which will enable a whole new type of application," explained Peter Dunkley, Technical Director at Acision, in this SYS-CON.tv interview at @ThingsExpo, held Nov 4–6, 2014, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA.
Dec. 19, 2014 06:00 PM EST Reads: 1,885
The BPM world is going through some evolution or changes where traditional business process management solutions really have nowhere to go in terms of development of the road map. In this demo at 15th Cloud Expo, Kyle Hansen, Director of Professional Services at AgilePoint, shows AgilePoint’s unique approach to dealing with this market circumstance by developing a rapid application composition or development framework.
Dec. 19, 2014 04:45 PM EST Reads: 1,244
The major cloud platforms defy a simple, side-by-side analysis. Each of the major IaaS public-cloud platforms offers their own unique strengths and functionality. Options for on-site private cloud are diverse as well, and must be designed and deployed while taking existing legacy architecture and infrastructure into account. Then the reality is that most enterprises are embarking on a hybrid cloud strategy and programs. In this Power Panel at 15th Cloud Expo (http://www.CloudComputingExpo.com...
Dec. 19, 2014 11:30 AM EST Reads: 2,926
"BSQUARE is in the business of selling software solutions for smart connected devices. It's obvious that IoT has moved from being a technology to being a fundamental part of business, and in the last 18 months people have said let's figure out how to do it and let's put some focus on it, " explained Dave Wagstaff, VP & Chief Architect, at BSQUARE Corporation, in this SYS-CON.tv interview at @ThingsExpo, held Nov 4-6, 2014, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA.
Dec. 19, 2014 11:00 AM EST Reads: 2,384
The move in recent years to cloud computing services and architectures has added significant pace to the application development and deployment environment. When enterprise IT can spin up large computing instances in just minutes, developers can also design and deploy in small time frames that were unimaginable a few years ago. The consequent move toward lean, agile, and fast development leads to the need for the development and operations sides to work very closely together. Thus, DevOps become...
Dec. 19, 2014 10:00 AM EST Reads: 2,557
"Our premise is Docker is not enough. That's not a bad thing - we actually love Docker. At ActiveState all our products are based on open source technology and Docker is an up-and-coming piece of open source technology," explained Bart Copeland, President & CEO of ActiveState Software, in this SYS-CON.tv interview at DevOps Summit at Cloud Expo®, held Nov 4-6, 2014, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA.
Dec. 19, 2014 09:00 AM EST Reads: 2,535
Verizon Enterprise Solutions is simplifying the cloud-purchasing experience for its clients, with the launch of Verizon Cloud Marketplace, a key foundational component of the company's robust ecosystem of enterprise-class technologies. The online storefront will initially feature pre-built cloud-based services from AppDynamics, Hitachi Data Systems, Juniper Networks, PfSense and Tervela. Available globally to enterprises using Verizon Cloud, Verizon Cloud Marketplace provides a one-stop shop fo...
Dec. 19, 2014 08:00 AM EST Reads: 2,448
SYS-CON Events announced today that Windstream, a leading provider of advanced network and cloud communications, has been named “Silver Sponsor” of SYS-CON's 16th International Cloud Expo®, which will take place on June 9–11, 2015, at the Javits Center in New York, NY. Windstream (Nasdaq: WIN), a FORTUNE 500 and S&P 500 company, is a leading provider of advanced network communications, including cloud computing and managed services, to businesses nationwide. The company also offers broadband, p...
Dec. 19, 2014 07:00 AM EST Reads: 2,748
The Internet of Things is not new. Historically, smart businesses have used its basic concept of leveraging data to drive better decision making and have capitalized on those insights to realize additional revenue opportunities. So, what has changed to make the Internet of Things one of the hottest topics in tech? In his session at @ThingsExpo, Chris Gray, Director, Embedded and Internet of Things, discussed the underlying factors that are driving the economics of intelligent systems. Discover ...
Dec. 19, 2014 06:30 AM EST Reads: 2,756
SYS-CON Events announced today that IDenticard will exhibit at SYS-CON's 16th International Cloud Expo®, which will take place on June 9-11, 2015, at the Javits Center in New York City, NY. IDenticard™ is the security division of Brady Corp (NYSE: BRC), a $1.5 billion manufacturer of identification products. We have small-company values with the strength and stability of a major corporation. IDenticard offers local sales, support and service to our customers across the United States and Canada...
Dec. 19, 2014 04:00 AM EST Reads: 2,458
SYS-CON Events announced today that AIC, a leading provider of OEM/ODM server and storage solutions, will exhibit at SYS-CON's 16th International Cloud Expo®, which will take place on June 9-11, 2015, at the Javits Center in New York City, NY. AIC is a leading provider of both standard OTS, off-the-shelf, and OEM/ODM server and storage solutions. With expert in-house design capabilities, validation, manufacturing and production, AIC's broad selection of products are highly flexible and are conf...
Dec. 19, 2014 04:00 AM EST Reads: 2,309
Leysin American School is an exclusive, private boarding school located in Leysin, Switzerland. Leysin selected an OpenStack-powered, private cloud as a service to manage multiple applications and provide development environments for students across the institution. Seeking to meet rigid data sovereignty and data integrity requirements while offering flexible, on-demand cloud resources to users, Leysin identified OpenStack as the clear choice to round out the school's cloud strategy. Additional...
Dec. 19, 2014 02:00 AM EST Reads: 2,618
DevOps Summit 2015 New York, co-located with the 16th International Cloud Expo - to be held June 9-11, 2015, at the Javits Center in New York City, NY - announces that it is now accepting Keynote Proposals. The widespread success of cloud computing is driving the DevOps revolution in enterprise IT. Now as never before, development teams must communicate and collaborate in a dynamic, 24/7/365 environment. There is no time to wait for long development cycles that produce software that is obsolete...
Dec. 18, 2014 09:45 PM EST Reads: 1,635
“DevOps is really about the business. The business is under pressure today, competitively in the marketplace to respond to the expectations of the customer. The business is driving IT and the problem is that IT isn't responding fast enough," explained Mark Levy, Senior Product Marketing Manager at Serena Software, in this SYS-CON.tv interview at DevOps Summit, held Nov 4–6, 2014, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA.
Dec. 18, 2014 08:00 PM EST Reads: 1,907
Mobile commerce traffic is surpassing desktop, yet less than 20% of sales in the U.S. are mobile commerce sales. In his session at 15th Cloud Expo, Dan Franklin, Segment Manager, Commerce, at Verizon Digital Media Services, defined mobile devices and discussed how next generation means simplification. It means taking your digital content and turning it into instantly gratifying experiences.
Dec. 18, 2014 12:00 PM EST Reads: 1,797


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- One more time: Use two-factor authentication on iCloud, even if there's a waiting period
- Home Depot breach could potentially be as big as Target's
- Home Depot investigates possible payment data breach
- "Outraged" Apple issues update on celebrity cellphone nude photo breach
- Apple says iCloud flaw not at root of celebrity photo hack
NBN Deployments in Melbourne
Melbourne is the second largest Australian city, and known as the country’s cultural capital.
The suburb of Brunswick, in Melbourne, was chosen as one of five mainland trial sites for the National Broadband Network.


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Today, Monday, August 5, is a bank holiday in Scotland, and many will be enjoying time off work. This holiday is known as summer bank holiday and could be the perfect time for barbecues, spending time with family and friends. If you’re running low on summer essentials, you may want to pop to the supermarket to stock up.
What time does Morrisons open in Scotland today?
Morrisons will open as normal on Monday, with all stores in England, Wales and Gibraltar will trade from 8am - 7pm and some stores will stay open until 10pm.
Scottish stores will also trade as usual, but opening times may vary depending on the size of the store.
To check your local store, you can use Morrison’s store locator here, just pop in your postcode.
Morrisons bank holiday opening hours: What time is Morrisons open today?
Tesco will also be open as usual across Scotland however, regular trading hours may be affected.
You can use Tesco’s postcode finder tool to check your local store before leaving home.
It is unfortunately not a bank holiday for anywhere else in the UK, as Scotland’s public holidays vary.
Summer bank holiday for England and Wales also falls this month, but not until Monday, August 26.
Another bank holiday difference for Scotland is an extra day off after New Year on January 2.
This is to commemorate the Scottish New Year celebration of Hogmanay.
In total there are three bank holidays left in Scotland this year, these are St Andrew’s Day on Monday, December 2, Christmas Day and Boxing Day.
While in England and Wales the three bank holidays remaining are summer bank holiday on Monday, August 26, Christmas Day and Boxing Day.
What is the weather forecast for Scotland’s bank holiday?
Unfortunately on Monday across Scotland, showers and cloudy skies are likely.
With highs of 21C, this is a far cry from the heatwave temperatures of July.
For the rest of the UK, it is not looking much better, as the Met Office forecasts heavy, thundery showers and some longer spells of rain, interspersed with warm sunshine for Sunday through to Tuesday.
However, it will feel very warm and humid in southeast England on Sunday.