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Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX) announced two new original documentary movies this week, further evidence that its original programming ambitions do not end with serialized TV shows.
The company said it bought the rights to the movie "The Square," about the Egyptian revolution. The movie has already picked up several film festival awards and could be a contender for the Academy Award for Best Documentary. Separately, Netflix said "The Short Game," an original documentary about children's golf, will debut online next month.
"The Square is documentary filmmaking at the highest level," Lisa Nishimura, Netflix's vice president of original documentary and comedy programming, said in a press release. Terms of the deal weren't disclosed, but the movie will be available in all Netflix territories in early 2014.
The move into documentaries could also give Netflix a way into movie theaters. Last month Netflix's programming chief, Ted Sarandos, upset theater owners when he suggested they were stifling innovation in how movies are distributed by blocking movies from appearing online the same day they hit theaters.
- the Los Angeles Times had this story
- read "The Square" press release here
- read "The Short Game" press release here
Netflix's Sarandos upsets theater owners with same-day streaming pitch
Netflix makes its next exclusive bet
Netflix to boost spending on originals, updates 'Long Term View'


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Wednesday, July 23, 2014
The book fair is open Saturday, July 26 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and on Sunday, July 27 from 11 a.m to 4 p.m.
More than 40 dealers from around the country will be there. The fair will include a variety of collectible and rare books, autographed documents, and other ephemera.
The book fair will be held at University of the South, McClurg Dining Hall. University Ave. Sewanee, TN 37383. That's enough to get you complete directions on Google Maps. It's close to a 10-to 11-hour trip from the Tampa Bay area.
Admission is $10, which will go toward book purchases.
You can get some more information here: www.tennaba.org

domain: news


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China’s exports fell 6.1 percent year-on-year to 1.20 trillion yuan (around $188 billion) in August, Customs said on Tuesday, the latest figures showing weakness in the world’s second-largest economy.
But the drop was slightly ahead of the median forecast of a 6.6 percent decline in dollar terms in a survey of economists by Bloomberg News, and an improvement from July’s 8.9 percent fall in yuan terms.
China is the world’s biggest trader in goods and its exports have been a major driver of its decades-long economic boom.
Authorities are now trying to rebalance the economy to one where domestic consumer demand is the main force for hopefully more sustainable growth, but the transition is not proving easy and global markets have been rocked by worries over slowing expansion.
“Exports to the US and the Association of South-East Asian Nations continued to grow but shipments to the EU and Japan declined,” Customs said in a statement on its website.
Imports fell 14.3 percent in yuan terms year-on-year, Customs said, attributing it to widespread commodity price falls.
It was the 10th consecutive monthly decline in imports, and worse than the Bloomberg survey’s projection of a 7.9 percent decline in dollar terms.
The trade surplus rose 20.1 percent to 368.0 billion yuan, Customs said.


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Investors want to know if the U.S. economic recovery is alive and well, or if it has stalled out.
A surprisingly strong report on national manufacturing yesterday lifted the Dow Industrials to their highest level since December of 2007. The ISM survey for April registered a reading of 54.8, up from 53.4 in March and the strongest reading since June.
While the rally faded towards the close Tuesday, it’s fading further this Wednesday morning, with stock futures set to open modestly lower.
Investors are focusing on fresh data on the jobs front, with ADP's private-sector data showing that just 119,000 jobs were created in April, far fewer than the 177,000 expected. Factory orders for March, meanwhile, are expected to slip 1.6%.
The big government jobs report for April comes Friday morning and economists expect that 165,000 jobs were created last month, with the unemployment rate staying at 8.2%.
Facebook will reportedly go public on May 18, according to The Wall Street Journal. Facebook is reportedly set to start its IPO “roadshow” with prospective institutional investors on Monday, and the company is looking to raise $5 billion for a market valuation of $100 billion. The stock will trade on Nasdaq under the symbol “FB.”
As auto sales rev up, so do stick shifts. Edmunds.com says that manual transmissions were in 6.5% of new cars sold in the first quarter, the highest level since 2006. While manual transmissions are not necessarily more fuel efficient, they’re often cheaper.
Ford (NYSE:F) says demand for manuals in its redesigned Focus compact is running close to 10%.
Meanwhile, Ford said yesterday that sales fell 5% in April. Sales of the Fiesta subcompact unexpectedly dropped 44% from last April, a puzzling trend when gas prices remain high. The Ford Focus is likely biting into some Fiesta sales.


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While broadband customers are down, the telecoms company saw an increase in mobile and TV customers and continues to increase its fibre and 5G presence.
Eir’s second quarter for 2023 saw a 7pc increase in revenue, while its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation saw a year-on-year increase of 3pc.
The results announced today (29 August) follow an earnings report in March of this year which showed stable revenue for last year following a solid fourth quarter ending 31 December 2022.
The telecoms company saw a 2pc increase in its total fibre broadband base year-on-year. However, the company’s actual broadband customers dropped by 1pc – a total of 13,000 customers.
The increased earnings and revenue likely came from areas such as mobile and TV, with total mobile customers up 8pc, or 107,000 and Eir TV customers up 14pc or 11,000.
Eir CEO Oliver Loomes said the results were solid and focused on the company’s progress in fibre and 5G.
“Our fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) roll-out continues at pace. We remain on track to deliver high-speed broadband to 1.9m premises or 84pc of homes and businesses in Ireland by 2026,” he said. “Eir now has more than 1m customers in our postpay mobile base, connects 852,000 homes and businesses to fibre broadband, and brings ultrafast 5G to 567 towns and cities across Ireland.”
Earlier this year, the company brought 5G internet to Kerry’s Black Valley, home to one of Ireland’s most remote communities. And in February of this year, Eir passed the 1m premises milestone for fibre broadband connections.
The latest earnings also show a reduction in customer complaints, with ComReg’s Consumer Line statistics report showing a 28pc drop in fixed complaints and a 20pc drop in mobile complaints since the last report. This follows a ComReg report in May of this year that Eir had overcharged an estimated 76,000 customers in the past, resulting in a €2.45m fine. Loomes said there is a “continuous drive to deliver a step-change” in its customer care.
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EDS bills itself as the “premier distribution event of the year”, and fittingly, the festivities kicked off with a breakfast/networking event hosted by TTI, a Fort Worth-based distributor of passive, interconnect, and electromechanical components on pace for $3 billion+ in worldwide sales in 2014.
You may recall that, in 2000, TTI acquired Mouser Electronics, a foremost catalog-oriented distributor based in Mansfield, TX, but in recent years, TTI has become famous for its specialized inventory focused on capacitors, resistors, and connectors and for its quirky video series starring “The Specialist,” a corporate superhero who fights crime and solves tough distribution problems.
But at EDS, they were all business. The theme of this year’s presentation was “The Unbreakable Supply Chain,” which includes in-house solutions and TTI’s family of partner companies including Mouser and Sager Electronics, among others.
Mike Morton, the president of TTI Americas, explained how their goal for this year is $1 billion in North American sales, which would place them at 8% growth. Right now, they’re on pace for a 15% boost in worldwide growth, taking them to $3 billon in global sales.
More than 50% of TTI’s business is in the passives space, but their fastest-growing segment is interconnects, and by 2015, it’ll be a 50/50 split between passives and interconnects. As of now, 80% of their components going into the transportation sector are interconnects.
Since 2010, TTI’s customer base has been steadily increasing, through 13,755 customers (active & parent) in 2013. And TTI wasn’t above acknowledging areas in need of improvement — last year, 60% of customers bought two or less product types from them. Obviously, they’d like to increase that figure to at least eight product types.
Still, sales are booming, and Glenn Smith, the CEO of Mouser, noted that in Q1 2014, they have more than 205,000 accounts, which includes 50,000 new accounts. For Mouser, the Americas represent 54% of their business, and by next year, North American sales will account for less than 50% of global activity. This isn’t a slight on the American market but an indicator of rising European and Asian markets.
And here’s a figure that’s a touch surprising — 48% of Mouser’s total sales are web orders. But considering that Mouser.com enjoys 205,000 daily visits — including 89,000 unique visitors — and the expanding e-commerce landscape, perhaps this isn’t the most shocking news.
Here’s to a fantastic EDS 2014!


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"Search — the very cornerstone of the Web — has begun to show signs of decline on desktops and laptops.
Meanwhile, search is surging on smartphones and tablets. Mobile searches are quickly becoming the main way in which consumers find everything they need — whether it's information, services, or physical and digital goods.
That means there's a great opportunity, but also that search has more work to do. There are kinks to figure out in areas ranging from app discovery to tracking the effectiveness of local search ads"


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There are few places as important as the home. It sets the stage for unforgettable family gatherings, cheerful holiday celebrations and all of life’s most memorable moments—big and small. Recognizing the importance of the home, we are committed to bringing our customers a range of relevant interior and exterior home options to fit each individual buyer’s functionality and style needs. In continuing our annual design trend tradition, we invited a group of design experts from coast to coast to share the latest trends for 2022:
Old Meets New
Just like fashion from the past, home design styles never really leave for good. In 2022, our designers predict homeowners will mix traditional design elements, like colorful patterned wallpaper, chinoiserie and rich wood tones—recently coined as grand millennial, or granny-chic style—with more contemporary pieces.
To combat the ever changing trend cycle and take part in this style, our design experts recommend keeping staple pieces classic and timeless and utilizing trendy accent pieces to refresh the look. “People are staying in their home longer so they’re opting for a look that doesn’t go out of style quickly,” shared Las Vegas Division Design Center Manager Laurie Jiu.
For the second year, Taylor Morrison has compiled a palette of paint colors for our 2022 Color Collection in collaboration with Sherwin-Williams. “More than ever before, we’re embracing nature and the great outdoors in the home,” said National Director of Design and Model Experience, Lee Crowder.
Color Collection is centered around Sherwin-Williams’ Color of the Year: Evergreen Fog SW 9103—a color that speaks to wellness and nature. Complimenting this statement shade are Warm Wicker SW 9104, Dark Night SW 6237 and Snowbound SW 7004.
This shade range can stand strong on its own or exist harmoniously,” added Lee. “And while our overall color story is biophilic in inspiration, these colors can be woven into any home.”
The COVID-19 pandemic has led many homebuyers to place a renewed focus on comfort and functionality of home design. “Our customers want homes with expanded everyday entry zones, more bulk storage, bigger kitchens, increased outdoor space, and more dedicated areas to study and work from home,” shared Taylor Morrison Vice President of Product Design, Brian Juedes.
In 2022, expect to see people mixing organic design features with more modern elements. According to Austin Design Center Manager Nicole McCall, “We’ve seen buyers bring in pinecones and crystals as inspiration and ask us to design their home around these items.” This trend lends itself to neutral, warmer hues, live plants and bohemian décor accents like jute and ratan.
Heather Collins, Southern California Design Center Manager added, “We’re seeing a lot of natural stone floors like travertine and marble and dramatic veining in countertops.”
Idyllic and Industrial
Based on the 18th to 19th century industrial era, this trend relies on the combination of exposed brick, concrete, dark metals and distressed wood elements to create a peaceful and picturesque living space.
“We’re seeing a lot of modern concrete and black hardware,” said Laurie.
Technology is changing the way homes are built in 2022. Through Taylor Morrison’s partnership with GE Appliances, buyers can start the dishwasher from hockey practice or begin a forgotten load of laundry from the office.
“Being able to control your appliances through your phone is greatly improving the lives of our homeowners,” explained Lee. And it’s not just appliances, Taylor Morrison is reinventing the home buying experience through its best-in-class virtual offerings like the digital reservation system for to-be-built homes.


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Shares of trucking firm Yellow prolonged their rally on Tuesday, extending a busy buying and selling day after the corporate shut down operations forward of an anticipated chapter submitting.
The inventory has just lately risen about 80%, as inventory buying and selling has been halted and resumed a number of instances. It doubled yesterday, posting its largest single-day rise ever, and gave Yellow a market capitalization of about $91 million, based on market knowledge from Dow Jones.
The corporate, based mostly in Nashville, Tennessee, informed workers and prospects on Sunday that it was ceasing operations. It started in 1924 as a bus and taxi operation in Oklahoma.


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Numbers seeking support double - can you help Uttlesford foodbank?
- Credit: Sophie Durlacher
"What would be really nice is cash to pay for our fresh food voucher scheme."
Sophie Durlacher of Uttlesford Foodbank is looking for community help, as well as two new trustees.
Foodbank referral numbers have doubled, linked to the Covid pandemic.
Their collaboration with shops across the district, both supermarkets and independent food shops in Saffron Walden, Dunmow, Thaxted, Stansted and Newport, ensures foodbank clients can choose their own fresh food.
"We give our clients laminated vouchers. They swap that for food. It's a way of getting fresh food to our clients and giving them a degree of choice," she said.
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"It can't be spent on alcohol, cigarettes or lottery tickets.
"We have worked out what it's going to cost is £40,000 over the next three years."
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Sophie said people have gifted baked beans and pasta. But they also need items like custard, tinned potatoes, peas and sweetcorn, microwave sponge puddings and toiletries such as children's toothbrushes and toothpaste.
She added: "We have a really nice thing on our website where you can buy a virtual basket of food - it takes you through to our online giving page."
Last year they expanded their warehouse and have access to storage for donations. September to January are normally busy times and last year Sophie said they were fortunate that donations kept coming in.
"We are giving out twice what we were giving out the previous year.
"Our numbers have gone up by over 100 percent."
Sophie said self-employed people have been hit hardest and many people who struggle have lost informal support networks who fed them, such as mum providing a Sunday lunch.
She added: "We have had people turning to us who never in their wildest dreams thought they would need a foodbank."
Sophie said many Uttlesford organisations have been amazingly supportive including Rotary Club members.
The foodbank is looking for two trustees, and volunteers can get involved as much or as little as they wish.
She said her volunteers have gone "above and beyond" in the last year. "I can't begin to thank them enough. They have just risen to the occasion."


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Much has been written about artificial intelligence (AI) software and robotics in the warehouse from a technology and functionality perspective. Far less has been written about the broad question of who “owns” this type of “smart fulfillment” in an organization.
In the context of AI software and the robotics it manages in the warehouse, everyone involved in the fulfillment operation — regardless of job title — claims ownership in one capacity or another. It resides at three levels: senior management, operations and labor.
What are the characteristics of these three levels of ownership? And how do they fit into the larger picture of scaling up e-commerce business and improving its performance and profitability?
The answer is complex, and has its basis in, among other things, the rapid growth of e-commerce in the past three years. This growth is fueled, in large part, by the permanent changes in consumer buying behavior wrought by COVID-19. The pandemic’s ripple effects are a key driver for the upsurge in interest in smart fulfillment platforms, which leverage AI software and robotic-enabled automation for the e-commerce fulfillment center.
Technology and Digital Commerce
Pre-pandemic, e-commerce volumes were rising rapidly — growing at a rate of 25%. COVID-19 doubled that to 50%. This number is an average; some retailers are experiencing much higher volume increases. Walmart, for example, saw its e-commerce business skyrocket 170% in the last year.
Clearly, consumers now make a substantially larger percentage of their purchases online, a trend that industry believes is a permanent change in buying behavior. Thus, the 50%-plus e-commerce growth rate is likely not to abate. According to Gartner Inc.'s State of Digital Commerce: 2022 Outlook, 86% of surveyed companies — leaders in their respective industries with an e-commerce business — believe digital commerce will be the most important route to market for their companies over the next two years.
As part of this growth trend, consumers have become much more demanding in their customer service expectations. Companies are scrambling to meet these demands and do so at a profit.
That’s good news for e-commerce companies. However, there’s a catch. Fulfillment operations are experiencing significant warehouse labor shortages, a fact that’s been widely publicized. They stem from the effects of the pandemic, but also from worker disenchantment with the often grueling, monotonous, sometimes dangerous and frequently low-paying nature of traditional warehouse work.
Labor statistics bear out this reality. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), in mid-2021 the warehouse and transportation industry had a record 490,000 job openings (BLS doesn’t split out job openings for warehouse workers versus truck drivers). BLS expects this number to climb in 2022.
It’s certain that all levels of the organization involved in fulfillment — management, operations and warehouse labor — will feel the pressure not just to sustain performance and meet customer expectations, but also deliver steadily improving results. This puts extraordinary pressure on every level of the organization, but particularly on warehouse worker labor.
“A smart fulfillment platform can ease pressure at all levels,” says Jim Brownell, partner at warehouse automation company GreyOrange. “Using a platform that continuously prioritizes decisions and workflows to orchestrate tasks, people and robots and optimize performance across a distribution center creates a modern fulfillment operation that best utilizes the resources you have.”
Current adoption rates in warehousing hover around 10%. Experts expect this number to skyrocket significantly as senior executives come to grip with a hard truth: Their business is losing customers in droves, demanding speed they can’t deliver.
Three Levels of Ownership
There are three constituencies that have an ownership stake in the warehouse smart fulfillment platform: senior management, operations management and fulfillment center labor. Some of those roles overlap, because serving the customer at a profit requires a coordinated strategy that spans all three groups.
Pinning down a CCO job description can be tricky. Tasks and responsibilities can vary based on the organization. Overall, the CCO oversees an organization's entire relationship with its customers, and drives efforts to assess and elevate experiences at each touchpoint across the customer journey.
Gartner describes the position as “a C-suite member who focuses on building, growing and nurturing relationships with customers as soon as they convert and become customers. The CCO is tasked with generating a complete view of the customer, including their needs, expectations and perceptions of their experiences with the company, and communicating these insights to other C-suite members. They lead the organization’s customer-centric initiatives and support front-line employees to provide exceptional customer experience.”
The CCO, together with the CTO, CSCO and other senior executives, are the technology stewards for warehouse operations, retail store fulfillment and other fulfillment sites. Their concerns include right cost, speed to market, order accuracy and customer service, all supported by real-time order information.
The owners of fulfillment center operations include a cross-section of titles, from the CSCO to all facets of supply chain operations management. Within this group, a new job title has begun to emerge: the chief robotics officer (CRO). “Supply chain-dependent industries need a CRO to manage the blending of human and robotic workers,” says Gartner vice president analyst Dwight Klappich in a recent report. He argues that this position should be elevated to the C-level management ranks because of its strategic impact on the bottom line.
“While robots are rapidly growing in use, development of effective principles, processes and disciplines for managing automated workers [is] still in the very early stages,” Klappich says. Appointing a CRO would accelerate this evolution.
The CRO position would blend engineering, IT and human capital management skills in order to develop the management structure to oversee all facets of the robotic life cycle, Klappich says. This includes evolving the role of robots as they assume more warehouse functions.
This is particularly important given the changing complexion of the warehouse workforce. Millennial workers now make up an increasingly large proportion of the warehouse workforce. For this generation, raised on technology, paper-based processes and outdated legacy warehouse management systems aren’t acceptable. Millennials quickly embrace mobile and wearable technologies and robotics. They see these technologies as an indication of a progressive company that values its employees by providing the latest technology that improves their day-to-day work experience and performance.
The relationship between workers and robots is a symbiotic one ⎯ not a replacement relationship. Getting robotics right in the warehouse is a matter of creating the appropriate division of labor. Repetitive, low-value, error-prone or injury-prone tasks are best suited to robots.
Jim Brownell says, “Robots augment the human worker, performing repetitive, time-consuming and low value tasks. In doing so, they free up the worker for higher-value work. This improves worker job satisfaction while boosting productivity and, ultimately profitability.”
Yet another benefit of a smart fulfillment platform that leverages robotic automation is its ability to scale e-commerce operations up and down in accordance with volume surges and troughs.
By equipping the workforce with innovative technologies such as smart software as well as robotic teammates, companies signal that they value the fulfillment center’s employees and the jobs they perform. Thus, these technologies help warehouses recruit and retain skilled workers by making them a more attractive employer.
The Bottom Line on Ownership
E-commerce companies that adopt this three-tiered approach to integrating a smart fulfillment platform into their operations reap savings in several areas. In the warehouse, they come from improved productivity for the tasks being automated, along with greater worker satisfaction for employees working with software and robotics.
Other ROI benefits come from better utilization of facility space, improved accuracy, increased throughput and the ability to accommodate surges. Taken together, these tangible and intangible benefits fuel greater profitability and higher customer satisfaction.
Realizing these benefits requires commitment from all three tiers of owners. Each tier plays an essential role in ensuring the success of smart fulfillment.
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Vivendi is undecided over whether to make a bid for Ubisoft or simply sell off its stock, Bloomberg reports.
Citing Vivendi COO Stephane Roussel, the owner of Universal Music may be in a position in November to make a move as double-voting rights will move Vivendi's stake in the company to near the 30% threshold (it currently owns around 26%), which is when the firm will be required to make a bid under French law.
Vivendi didn't force a vote at the latest Annual General Meeting in an effort to get on Ubisoft's board. Despite this, it did abstain from a vote that would have granted free shares to employees, which meant the measure failed.
Ubisoft boss Yves Guillemot has been defiant in his efforts to keep Vivendi at bay, telling Bloomberg: "A video game company cannot grow within a media conglomerate." Ubisoft has grown its business significantly in the last 12 months, with aggressive expansion into Asia, plus growth in digital and mobile - something it has been able to achieve following Vivendi's hostile takeover of another Guillemot family-run business, Gameloft.
As a result, shareholders are happy for now with the current situation at Ubisoft, with sales predicted to rise by almost 20% during the next financial year.
Guillemot said that shareholders would have voted against Vivendi taking a Board seat because "shareholders don't want creeping control."


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China, powered by a swelling middle class, last year became Apple Inc. AAPL 0.78 % ’s biggest market after the Americas. To keep growing as China’s economy cools, though, Apple needs to reach people like Wang Tian, a waitress near the southwestern city of Chongqing who isn’t part of the brand-conscious market that has made the iPhone a booming success until now.
Ms. Wang makes about 1,000 yuan ($152) a month, putting Apple’s flagship iPhone 6S, starting at 5,288 yuan, out of reach, she said. “It’s just not worth the money.”
The iPhone and soaring sales in China vaulted Apple into the world’s most profitable and valuable company. But it has trimmed orders for the latest iPhones amid signs of softer-than-expected global demand. On Jan. 19, China said its 2015 economic growth was its slowest in 25 years. The combination has sent Apple shares down 25% since July.
As Chief Executive Tim Cook prepares to release results on Tuesday for Apple’s quarter ended Dec. 26, investors are focused on the iPhone’s prospects in the world’s largest smartphone market. “People will be paying attention to what Tim Cook has to say about China,” said Mizuho Securities analyst Abhey Lamba, “and whether they can buck the trend of what’s happening in the macro economy.”
Mr. Cook’s challenges: how to keep growing in China’s saturated smartphone market without the red-hot economy that made Apple’s pricey product attainable, how to persuade budget-conscious consumers to move from lower-cost domestic brands, and how to continue maintaining good relations with a government whose policies are sometimes at odds with the West’s.
Apple declined to comment for this article.
A key market
It is hard to overstate China’s importance to Apple’s growth. It represents about 25% of the company’s global sales. In the three months around Lunar New Year in 2015, Apple sold more iPhones in China than in the U.S.
In the fiscal year ended Sept. 26, Apple recorded $58.7 billion in revenue in China, up 84% from a year earlier. In the rest of the world, Apple grew 16%.
In August, as Apple shares declined amid concerns about China’s growth, Mr. Cook took the unusual step of assuring investors its business there remained strong. In October, he said Apple was not “largely dependent on minor changes” in China’s growth rate.
Apple’s China success contrasts with experiences of some U.S. tech giants. Amazon.com Inc. AMZN 1.00 % has struggled against local competitors. Microsoft Corp. MSFT 0.35 % and Qualcomm Inc. QCOM 1.56 % were targets of antitrust investigations. Qualcomm settled with regulators last year; Microsoft’s investigation continues. Sites of Alphabet Inc. GOOGL 0.18 % ’s Google, Facebook Inc. FB 0.14 % and Twitter Inc. TWTR 0.17 % aren’t directly accessible in China.
Apple’s consumer products are less politically sensitive than technology such as networking equipment or social-media platforms, which are monitored closely by the government.
And Apple has thrived on the rising prosperity of China’s urban upper-middle class, defined by McKinsey & Co. as households with annual incomes between 106,000 yuan ($16,000) and 229,000 yuan—36 million households in 2012. By 2020, it projects 193 million such households.
These consumers, with disposable income and a penchant for brand cachet, have made Apple China’s third-largest smartphone seller after homegrown rivals Xiaomi Inc. and Huawei Technologies Co. Apple has said the iPhone is also serving as a gateway to its other products in China, trumpeting strong sales of iPads and Mac computers in recent quarters.
The iPhone, a status symbol like a Prada bag or Rolex watch, is sometimes called a “street phone” in large cities for its common sightings in the streets. “If you don’t have one,” said Dong Lin, a 48-year-old Chinese-army officer outside a Beijing Apple store late last year, “it feels like you are missing out on something.”
But that traditional turf of Apple’s may not sustain the company’s growth, said Cowen & Co. analyst Timothy Arcuri. “Apple has gained pretty much all the market share that it’s going to gain in China,” he said, estimating Apple holds about two-thirds of China’s high-end smartphone market. Any growth, he said, will come from lower-end markets Apple has avoided in the past.
That would mean Apple needs to reach people like Ms. Wang, the waitress, who is from Chongqing’s remote Changshou district of 900,000 people. Ms. Wang, 40, uses a Nokia NOK 1.22 % phone with only basic functions that can be bought used for under 100 yuan. She says her colleagues at the restaurant tend to avoid iPhones because “our generation is more frugal so we don’t want to spend that much money.”
Non-smartphone users like Ms. Wang represent the last largely untapped customer base amid a stagnating overall Chinese smartphone market. Research firm IDC estimates the Chinese smartphone market grew 1% in 2015, the segment’s slowest since inception.
Such consumers of domestic lower-end brands are also moving upmarket to Apple rivals like Huawei, which is pitching more premium offerings. And the Chinese smartphone market increasingly comprises consumers who are replacing their smartphones rather than buying their first, which means Apple’s growth will partly hinge on taking share from Huawei on the higher end and Chinese brands like Oppo and Vivo in the midtier.
Peng Xiu, a saleswoman at a China Mobile store on Changshou’s modest main street, said the iPhone is a tough sell there. “The iPhone is for young people and the nouveau riche,” she said, and customers tend to select phones from Oppo, whose flagship model has a large screen and half the iPhone’s price.
“It’s very difficult to get share” from domestic rivals, said Nicole Peng, a Shanghai-based analyst for research firm Canalys, who said Apple needed to find new ways to keep customers loyal through services and apps tied to the iPhone while shortening the time between new phone purchases.
Apple is, indeed, expanding into services and apps to curry customer loyalty. In September, it started selling movies and books through iTunes for the first time. It introduced Apple Music, its new streaming-music service, at a steep discount to the rest of the world. In 2015, China passed the U.S. as the world’s biggest market for apps downloaded to Apple’s mobile devices, according to research firm App Annie.
Apple has been taking steps to expand beyond big urban markets. The majority of its 31 stores in China, including Hong Kong, are outside so-called tier-one cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen. By midyear, Apple plans to have 40 stores.
The move into smaller cities, said Joseph Foudy, an economics professor at New York University’s Stern School of Business, presents “more virgin territory for Apple and an even greater opportunity for growth.”
Apple officially entered China in 2001 with a Shanghai-based trading company. Early on, it struggled for a computer-market foothold but won a following among urbanites by the time it opened its first Chinese retail store in 2008. It started selling the iPhone in 2009.
Ron Johnson, former head of Apple’s retail business, remembers harboring doubts about opening stores in inland China when he flew to Chongqing in 2010. His doubts disappeared as his plane descended on the sprawling municipality of 30 million people. “It looked like Manhattan,” said Mr. Johnson, now CEO of e-commerce startup Enjoy. “All we could do was laugh at how uninformed we were about the potential opportunity for Apple.”
Over time, Apple has molded products and marketing to Chinese preferences. Until 2013, it made the iPhone in two colors. Then it added a gold-color iPhone 5S version, because “many Chinese consumers like the color gold,” Mr. Cook told Bloomberg Businessweek last year.
In 2014, Apple opened its iPhone software to virtual keyboards created by developers outside of Apple, addressing complaints the iPhone keyboard wasn’t well-suited for Chinese characters.
That year, after years of negotiations, Apple reached a deal with state-owned China Mobile Ltd. CHL -0.60 % , the country’s largest carrier, helping Apple expand the iPhone’s reach by tapping China Mobile’s nationwide network of branches.
Apple also released its first television commercial specifically for China last year ahead of Lunar New Year. The spot is similar to a U.S. ad featuring a young woman using Apple products to create a new version of an old song to play on an iPad for her grandmother.
Navigating the current economic risks in China, Apple is also arguably better equipped to handle the political risks because of lessons from early missteps.
In 2013, state-run China Central Television accused Apple of skirting warranties and offering Chinese weaker service policies than elsewhere in the world. It criticized Apple for repairing iPhones with replacement parts instead of providing new replacement phones.
It was the type of charge that state-run media sometimes level against Western companies and that usually elicits apologies. Apple didn’t apologize immediately, trying to explain its warranty and saying it was operating within Chinese law. That triggered angry editorials in state media. Two weeks later, Mr. Cook apologized and vowed to change customer-service policies in China. Apple agreed to replace faulty iPhones under warranty with new handsets and restart the warranty periods. Apple has no such policy in the U.S.
The uproar ended. “Some of what’s important here,” said Mark Natkin, managing director of technology-market-research firm Marbridge Consulting, who has been in China since 2002, “is demonstrating a certain sense of humility, an understanding that having market access here is important and a privilege.”
In 2014, CCTV called the iPhone a “national security risk” because of a feature that can track user locations. The earlier dust-up in mind, Apple a day later said it “appreciates” CCTV raising an issue the company cared about and explained Apple doesn’t have access to user locations. A month later, Apple said it had moved Chinese customers’ data from overseas into a domestic facility operated by China Telecom, CHA 0.79 % assuaging some of Beijing’s security concerns. At the time, Apple said the move would improve performance for its Chinese customers, noting the data are encrypted and not accessible by China Telecom.
“There’s no alternative,” said Duncan Clark, chairman of BDA, a Beijing-based business consultancy. “If you’re going to be a certain scale in the country, you just have to” house data locally.
Apple complies with Beijing’s wishes in other ways. Inside China, its App Store doesn’t carry apps involving the Dalai Lama or certain apps from free-speech activists. Apple blocks its News app from working in China.
Mr. Cook has also fostered personal connections, traveling to China more than any other country in the past three years. He is on the advisory board of Tsinghua University’s School of Economics and Management. He opened an account on Sina Weibo, WB -2.43 % China’s version of Twitter, and sat at the head table at September’s Washington, D.C., state dinner for President Xi Jinping.
Despite China’s sputtering economy, many consumers remain cachet-conscious, positioning Apple’s strong brand to continue profiting among them. In a January Bank of America Merrill Lynch survey, 39% of 1,093 Chinese consumers said they expected their next smartphone purchase to be an iPhone; 25% said Huawei.
Canalys said Apple sold 11% of China’s smartphones in the 2015 third quarter, compared with Huawei’s 16% and Xiaomi’s 15%. A year earlier, Apple’s share was 5%.
Carl Pei, co-founder of OnePlus, a Shenzhen-based smartphone manufacturer, said Apple distinguishes itself with a “culturally relevant” brand to which consumers flock because it represents something meaningful to them.
“Once people reach a certain economic level,” he said, “they will select products that they have an emotional or cultural connection to instead of just price.” In an economic downturn, he says, people may forgo big purchases like cars but still buy smartphones.
Apple’s three Chongqing stores include one in a pedestrian mall that resembles Apple’s Fifth Avenue branch in Manhattan. A glass cylinder with Apple logo appeared to float above a plaza surrounded by flowers as shoppers lined up last fall for preordered iPhones.
Pan Jiahui, a 23-year-old personal trainer who owns an iPhone and Apple Watch, explained the long lines. “The iPhone is not just a phone. It’s a fashion statement,” he said, adding that Apple products’ cachet overrides the financial burden of buying them.
“Whatever Apple releases, people will buy it.”
—Lilian Lin contributed to this article.
Write to Daisuke Wakabayashi at Daisuke.Wakabayashi@wsj.com


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It is not surprising that the majority of comments we receive on Drive articles is in regards to the disparity of prices Australians pay for luxury vehicles in comparison to similar cars sold in the US or Europe.
Most people tend to think we get royally ripped off and, at face value, that is understandable with some exotic cars costing up to half the price overseas.
But Australia has a number of unique factors that most fail to consider when looking purely at comparative showroom sticker prices with the majority of any variation soaked up by the extraordinary Luxury Car Tax – a free shot in the arm for the government that isn't in place in the US, Europe or Japan.
We also have a raft of specific design rules, shipping and transport costs and usually a higher grade of specifications that have to be factored in, so comparing apples with apples is generally not as clear cut as it seems.
This is why we have examined the pros and cons of the government's proposed relaxation of parallel import laws in this week's cover story, as well as the impact it could have on the local car industry and the pitfalls consumers need to be aware of it goes ahead.
The temptation to save thousands – or potentially tens of thousands – of dollars on a new car is the biggest incentive, but it will also come with a price as car makers have warned the government there could be massive ramifications in safety and long-term ownership security as well as opening up to the prospect of crime syndicates selling stolen vehicles in Australia.
It is a heated debate currently going on behind closed doors, and this week's cover story explains only where it is at right now.
If the government gets its way, however, then buyers beware. We will be sure Drive keeps you informed on this topic as it develops.


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This exciting project came to our attention a little over a year ago, and we’re excited to see that it’s going full steam ahead!
What’s up with fish?
The world’s population is growing rapidly, and the global demand for animal protein—from fish to poultry, beef, and pork— is growing with it. But there’s a problem: animal feeds are made from wild-caught fish like anchovies and sardines. These fish are caught using highly destructive fishing methods that result in unintentional by-catch and the destruction of coral reefs. One third of global fish catch doesn’t go towards direct human consumption; it goes to feeding animals. As a result, more than 85% of the world’s fisheries are exploited. We are feeding fish to other animals, and it doesn’t make sense.
Meanwhile, the world’s population is increasing rapidly and is projected to hit 9.7 billion by 2050. We desperately need a new way to feed a growing population that is not at odds with the health of our oceans.
Meet the black soldier fly.
A wonderful aspect of both young people and entrepreneurs is their ability to find creative solutions to apparently insoluble problems. The two overlap beautifully within the Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR) and the Youth Agripreneurs Project (YAP), where the goal is to pilot innovation to help rural communities world wide.
Kulisha, which is the verb ‘to feed’ in Swahili, the national language of Kenya, is a proposed project that addresses both the problem of creating a sustainable food source in Kenya and the extractive fishing methods of coastal trawlers. Aquaculture is an important food industry in East Africa, but the method of using fish meal from wild caught anchovies is destructive on all levels. Kulisha’s goal is to produce sustainable fish feed in Kenya made from black soldier fly larva.
Our idea, Kulisha, will provide a low-cost, high-quality sustainable fish feed made from black soldier fly larvae. We will sell dried insects to these rural fish farmers to replace the anchovies they are using to mix their own. In addition, we’ll produce a nutrient-rich fertilizer as a by-product from raising the insects which will be sold at a low cost to local crop farmers. It is our long term goal to formulate and sell our own feed. Continue reading


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Tencent Games is experimenting with facial recognition technology as part of its agenda to comply with new Chinese policies. Testing is being done with the game Honor of Kings, the Chinese version on which Arena of Valor was based.
The measure seeks to restrict the amount of hours children can play per day. Since September 29, the company has started testing in Beijing and Shenzhen, with thousands of randomly selected players. The purpose is to confirm a player's identity and age, and whether gameplay limits should apply.
It's unclear exactly how Tencent will confirm users' identities through facial recognition, what technology is being used, and whether it can be used on a larger scale. Honor of Kings is one of the most popular games in China, even defeating League of Legends at the height of its fame.
According to Tencent, a survey of 600 gamers also showed concern of half of respondents about showing their face in the game.
Some checks have already been put in place. A real-name recognition system was integrated last month into efforts to prevent users from circumventing game restrictions.
Such gameplay limits were implemented last year after criticism from the Chinese government about the game being "addictive".
This means that children under the age of 12 are restricted to one hour of play per day. Those aged 12 to 18 were limited to two hours a day.
Whether facial recognition technology will roll out to all Chinese gamers remains to be seen.
China's Ministry of Education has blamed games for myopia rates among children and teenagers, which it aims to reduce through new regulations.
For those who don't know, in China, there are several restrictions for electronic games. We will address the topic soon in an exclusive article. Don't miss out.
- Honor of Kings – IPHONE E IPAD
Chinese version link on App Store China (Playable in Spain)
- Honor of Kings – ANDROID
Chinese Version Link (playable in Spain)
Fonte: Pocket Gamer Biz.


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Nasal Spray Can Lead to Loss of Sense of Smell
A researcher has found scientific evidence to back up the claim that nose sprays containing zinc might cause loss of sense of smell, known medically as anosmmia. About a year ago, the Food and Drug Administration warned consumers to stop using these nasal spray cold remedies that contained zinc:
• Zicam Cole Remedy Nasal Gel
• Zicam Cold Remedy Swabs
• Zicam Cold Remedy Swabs for Kids
The FDA had received approximately 130 reports regarding loss of sense of smell after using these products. Though the manufacturer of these products, Matrixx Initiatives, pulled the products from store shelves, the company denied any link between the nasal sprays and anosmia.
A study of 25 patients at the University of California, San Diego Nasal Dysfunction Clinic was performed. These people said they used zinc-containing nasal sprays, experienced intense pain and lost their sense of smell within several hours.
Though Matrixx maintains there is no link between the two, the company settled a lawsuit brought by 340 Zicam users for $12 million in 2006.
If you or a loved one has been harmed by a defective drug, please contact the pharmaceutical liability attorneys at Schlichter, Bogard & Denton today.


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We all know that legal weed, for both recreational and medicinal use, is on the rise, but if you ask the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the green rush might as well be non grata. Case in point? This: the EPA refuses to regulate pesticides on weed crops—and with the legalization of weed in more than twenty states, it’s proving to be a problem that’s growing exponentially.
The Problem With Pesticides and Cannabis
“I don’t want some farmer with no one looking over their shoulder spraying away all kinds of pesticides that they don’t really understand, that they are not really trained to use,” said Josh Wurzer, the president of cannabis-testing company SC Labs, on the issue. “I choose to get cannabis from people I know aren’t using pesticides.”
Because of this, Wurzer highlighted how crucial it is for him to be selective when acquiring cannabis, for which he has a medical license. In short: he needs to know that it’s grown without insecticides, he relayed to reporters at Bloomberg, simply because the EPA refuses to regulate pesticides on weed.
“I choose to get cannabis from people I know aren’t using pesticides,” he added.
Wurzer is more or less an expert on the subject: his firm is in the business of testing for “health-threatening chemicals” in plants—well, cannabis plants, specifically. According to data collected by SC Labs, at least three or four samples out of every ten contain the presence of pesticides. And for an industry currently valued at $6 billion—one that is projected to meet $50 billion by the year 2026—the ramifications of not instituting any sort of agricultural regulation could be astronomically devastating.
What’s more infuriating is the research the EPA has conducted on the subject but refuses to implement. According to Bloomberg, the EPA recently blocked an effort by the mainstream brand gardening staple Scotts Miracle-Gro Co. to register pesticides specifically for cannabis cultivation as recently as June.
How Dangerous Are Pesticides in Your Weed?
Even if you’re only familiar with pesticides on a cursory level—and come on, we all know about DDT thanks in part to Rachel Carson and Joni Mitchell—it doesn’t take much to realize that smoking chemicals made to kill insects and other tiny organisms isn’t good for your health. But what exactly are the risks?
“Those in the cannabis community who feel that all cannabis is safe are not correct given this data. Smoking a joint of pesticide-contaminated cannabis could potentially expose the body to lethal chemicals,” Jmichaele Keller, the president and CEO of the cannabis-testing lab Steep Hill, told LA Weekly this past October. “As a community, we need to address this issue immediately and not wait until 2018.”
Not even pesticides marketed as “organic” are safe. Late last year, a testing facility in Oregon discovered a toxic compound called abamectin in the product Guardian Mite Spray, a pesticide that touts itself as a natural. safe pesticide. Abamectin, which was not included in the spray’s ingredient list, is banned in weed cultivation and production nationwide and can have some nasty effects on consumers with compromised immune systems.
If you want a specific example of how harmful these pesticides can be, look no further than this recent expose by, again, LA Weekly about another deadly ingredient named Eagle 20:
“…researchers found chemical residue belonging to myclobutanil, a key ingredient in pesticide Eagle 20, in more than 65 percent of samples tested during a 30-day period. Eagle 20 is commonly used by growers due to its effectiveness against powdery mildew and other pests. But when it’s burned, myclobutanil turns into hydrogen cyanide or prussic acid, a colorless and extremely poisonous compound that can be lethal in high doses. Hydrogen cyanide affects organs most sensitive to low oxygen levels, including the brain, cardiovascular system and lungs, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It has ‘a distinctive bitter almond odor. but most people can’t detect it.”
Sounds like something you’d absolutely want to put in your body, amirite?
Final Hit: EPA Refuses To Regulate Pesticides On Weed
But why are these pesticides used in the first place?
“Because marijuana has been developed in the black market, pesticide regulators were never involved in the development of that agriculture,” says Clean Green founder Chris Van Hook, who is also an agricultural lawyer. “Growers would use whatever was easy and effective regardless of how poisonous it was.”
Fortunately, state agencies are beginning to pick up the slack. Even if the EPA refuses to regulate pesticides on weed, states like California are placing regulations, which will be implemented as soon as January of next year.
“It’s really a good thing for the general cannabis consumers that California is regulating now,” Wurzer said. “People can assume that someone is actually looking out for them.”


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Global adtech firm BlisMedia has appointed Nick Ballard as managing director for ANZ.
Ballard will oversee the company’s growing presence in the region, manage business operations and expand the company’s sales and advertising operations teams.
Ballard is an experienced mobile and digital industry leader who has successfully managed regional business operations and client relationships at digital marketing firms in Australia for more than 12 years. Prior to BlisMedia, Ballard was general manager of Amobee in the region and head of client services at mobile innovation firm MIA.
“I’m thrilled to join one of the top adtech and big data firms,” says Ballard. “We are at a point today where only the most relevant digital ads resonate with an increasingly sophisticated consumer base and BlisMedia provides the right data to build intelligent audience profiles while offering the best platform to serve these ads,” he adds.
To expand the company’s presence in the region, Ballard will focus on developing existing partnerships to fully utilise the audience behavioural insights that BlisMedia generates by tapping into location-based data. Ballard will also introduce the firm’s self-serve demand-side platform (DSP) and location-based intelligence to the market.
Ballard is based out of BlisMedia’s Australasia hub in Sydney and will report to Harry Dewhirst, BlisMedia’s president and chief commercial officer.
“Nick’s knowledge of the adtech and media landscape in Australia and New Zealand will be pivotal to our business growth in the region,” says Dewhirst. “We are excited to have Nick on board, and are confident more brands will be able to leverage BlisMedia’s advanced technology as a result,” he adds.
BlisMedia works with over 400 of the largest global brands across all major industries, including American Express, Woolworths, Peugeot, News Corp Australia, GE Commercial and more in Australia and New Zealand. The company was established in the UK in 2004, bringing audience location data and consumer targeting expertise to brands.
The company recently appointed Dewhirst, co-founder of adtech firms Amobee and RingRing Media, to its executive team and board of directors in July 2014 to propel its global expansion.
The Monkeys has been named Effective Agency of the Year at the 2020 Australian Effie Awards, scooping four Golds, two Silvers and one Bronze across three clients, Beam Suntory, NRMA Insurance and Telstra. One Gold was awarded to BMF for ALDI Australia for ‘ALDI Good Different’, which also went on to win the coveted Grand […]
Inner Health has revolutionised its famous blue bugs as part of a new brand platform launching this week. Developed by VMLY&R, the new platform ‘Listen to your Gut’ re-introduces the bugs in a whole new environment. VMLY&R Client Service Director Jo Millington said the new platform aimed to reposition Inner Health as an overall health […]
Insight-led communications consultancy, The Mint Partners has expanded its technology portfolio with the addition of luxury audio lifestyle brand Bang & Olufsen. Founded in 1925 in Struer, Denmark, Bang & Olufsen has pushed the boundaries of audio technology for almost a century. The company continues to be at the forefront of acoustic innovation with its […]
WA car and home insurer, RAC has launched a new campaign to show locals that they understand the priceless relationship members have with their belongings. Created by Wunderman Thompson Perth, the campaign titled ‘We See What You See’ uses computer generated imagery (CGI) to depict the unique relationship a family has with their insured items – […]
Paper Moose has created a campaign for the recently announced carbon-neutral telco brand, felix, due to go to market towards the end of the year. This is the first work from Paper Moose since winning a competitive pitch for the new TPG Telecom brand. The teaser campaign raises awareness of the nearly 1 million tonnes […]


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U.S. stock futures climb Friday after Google Inc. reports stellar quarterly earnings and as investors await a string of economic data, including retail sales and consumer sentiment. See full story.
G-20 kicks off crucial weeks for euro crisis
European finance ministers will find themselves under pressure to find a solution to the region's debt crisis when they meet counterparts from the G-20 in Paris this weekend. See full story.
S&P downgrades Spain’s credit rating
Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has downgraded Spain’s credit rating, citing rising worries over sluggish growth and highlighting the vulnerability of the euro zone’s bigger economies as the region tries to tackle its sovereign debt crisis. See full story.
How the euro zone can learn from football
The euro zone could learn from the European Champions League: Not everyone can compete at the international level, writes Pawel Kowaleski. See full story.
Occupy Wall St. to stay put; park cleanup delayed
Protesters can stay put in lower Manhattan park as owner balks at proceeding with cleanup. See full story.
Instead of acknowledging that banks have become a part of government, we keep pretending they are private institutions, writes David Weidner. See full story.
For some home sellers, it was a long summer without a home sale. That means this fall, some buyers — smelling the desperation — may be able to cut a better deal. See full story.


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Many iPhone users are experiencing issues with getting the NHS COVID-19 app to launch on their phones.
People have been reporting over the past week that the app does not load, with it instead becoming stuck on the blue screen with the NHS logo.
The NHS has published afor the glitch, advising iPhone owners to make sure they have the latest version of the Apple iOS software.
If that fails, the guidance says to reset Location and Privacy in Settings.
The NHS has not explained the cause for the glitch or when it will be fixed, while Apple doesn’t believe the issue is at its end because other countries’ apps are running smoothly.
Some iPhone users are also reporting the app no longer works after installing the update.
One Twitter user wrote: “After installing the update the app will no longer open on my phone, it just gets stuck on the loading screen with the NHS logo.”
Offering advice to another user experiencing the same issue, the official Twitter account for the NHS COVID-19 app said: “If you’ve recently upgraded to an iPhone 12 and are seeing an error with the NHS COVID-19 app, you may need to manually turn on Exposure Notifications in your settings.”
Other iPhone users have advised people to delete and reinstall the app to get it to work.
The Department of Health and Social Care said it was aware of the problem.
It said in a statement: “The app is still scanning, even if the screen appears blue.
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There are simple steps iPhone users can take to resolve this issue, which are set out on the app’s website, and work is underway to identify the cause.
“Users experiencing this issue should make sure their Apple iOS is updated to the latest version of the software.”
Earlier this month, an error with the NHS COVID app leftthat they were exposed to coronavirus and needed to self-isolate.
While the technology should have been recognising people as having been in close enough proximity for a transmission, it had instead recorded that they were too far away for the virus to be passed between them.


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This subscription service mails books by Black authors directly to you
Many of our New Year’s Resolutions may involve reading more, but just how diverse is your TBR list? It’s always a good thing to broaden the diversity on your bookshelf, and a new subscription service is helping readers do just that — by bringing books by Black authors straight to you!
So how does it work? Derick Brewer and Zellie Imani, creators of Noir Reads subscription service, delivers two or three books written by authors across the Black diaspora per month, ranging from fiction to nonfiction.
The monthly service brings diverse reads straight to readers who crave them, and helps you make new literary discoveries each month.
The best part? There are over 100 subscribers to the service already, selling almost half of the initial 200 subscription boxes put together for the launch. And for $35 per month or $100 f0r three months, these books can be yours as well.
Imani, a Black Lives Matter activist and educator, is conscious of the necessity that these reads will play in the coming months, especially post-election. He said: “The goal is to identify and connect people with great work, whether we can place it in the box or not. That’s important.
So what are you waiting for? Support diverse reads and subscribe to Noir Reads today.


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- Articles tagged "strontium"
SSDs are the latest must-have components for users who are serious about performance. And with prices hitting record lows, there's no better to snap one up than now. To help you pick the right one, we tested 10 of the most popular SSDs from the biggest names around.
- Samsung will not announce the Galaxy S8 at MWC 2017
- China invests 100 billion yuan into state fund for Internet
- Foxconn considering building US$7 billion display factory in the U.S. with Apple
- Aggressive battery design caused Note7's demise; this is how Samsung will prevent it from happening again
- New firmware update is available for the Surface Pro 4
- Apple sues Qualcomm for US$1 billion over royalty fees
- LG G6 rumored to come with Google Assistant
- These Samsung Galaxy devices are getting the Android 7.0 update


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skills gap - News, Features, and Slideshows
Rackspace launched the Open Cloud Academy today, a training program to teach skills in various open source areas, such as OpenStack, Hadoop and Linux, with a specific focus on Cloud computing.
Freelancing website oDesk seeks to address a skills gap and save money for startups by connecting Australian businesses with freelancers from around the world, according to the company’s CEO, Gary Swart.
- Adopting mobile marketing for the masses
- Report: Consumers worry more about privacy even as they share personal info online
- Anytime Fitness looks to bring on first CMO
- Don't drop leadership intuition for data analytics, says Accenture researcher
- Optus claims world-first with Facebook trending campaign launching pre-paid offer


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U.S gold futures prices rose for a third straight session and silver for a second on Tuesday. Bargain-hunting, inflation concerns, rising oil prices and worries over Europe’s debt woes were among several factors analysts cited for precious metals’ gains.
June gold prices added $13.70, or 0.9 percent, to close at $1,516.90 an ounce on the Comex in New York. Gold traded from a low of $1,505.20 to a high of $1,519.30. The yellow metal has gained 6.7 percent this year.
"From loose monetary policy to fiscal uncertainty and geopolitical unrest, those factors that have driven gold higher still exist. Until you see some normalization of those things, gold is going to stay higher," Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist of broker-dealer Janney Montgomery Scott, was quoted on Reuters. "Having taken a bigger blow than gold did in the sell-off last week, silver actually looks appealing."
"Inflation has already been on the rise in many emerging market countries, some say due to the U.S. quantitative easing policies, and many commodity markets remain at historically high levels. Gold, long considered a traditional hedge against inflation, could continue to garner strength if price pressures continue to build.
On the economic data front this week, metals traders are awaiting Wednesday’s release of the Chinese inflation and industrial production figures, which could provide clues as to that government’s next move to battle the rising prices seen there. Higher-than-expected inflation figures could be supportive to gold prices."
Silver prices for July delivery jumped $1.370, or 3.7 percent to $38.486 an ounce, trading between $37.300 and $38.695. The white metal rose 5.2 percent Monday, contributing toward a two-day rally of 9.1 percent. Silver plummeted 27.4 percent in the previous week. It has risen 24.4 percent in 2011.
Platinum prices for July delivery added $5.80, or 0.3 percent, to close at $1,800.90 an ounce. Platinum hit an intraday low of $1,789.50 and a high of $1,807.80. The precious metal is up 1.3 percent this year.
Palladium prices for June delivery advanced $3.65, or 0.5 percent, to $732.65 an ounce. Prices ranged between $727.25 and $740.75. Palladium has plunged 8.8 percent in 2011.
When comparing London PM bullion fixings on Tuesday to those on Monday, palladium declined while the other metals rose. Gains included gold for $11.50 at $1,513.50, silver for 40.0 cents at $38.400 and platinum for $2.00 at $1,793.00. Palladium lost $34.00 at $733.00.
In United States Mint bullion product sales, advanced were limited to the one-ounce gold bullion coins, and those rose modestly. The American Gold Eagle coin picked up 1,500 and the American Gold Buffalo coin added 500. The latest bullion coin sales figures as provided by the Mint follow:
|US Mint 2011 Bullion Coin Sales|
|Gold Eagle Coin (1 oz.)||1,500||67,000||425,000|
|Gold Eagle Coin (1/2 oz.)||0||17,000||50,000|
|Gold Eagle Coin (1/4 oz.)||0||4,000||56,000|
|Gold Eagle Coin (1/10 oz.)||0||15,000||215,000|
|Gold Buffalo Coin (1 oz.)||500||5,000||63,500|
|Silver Eagle (1 oz.)||0||1,421,000||16,669,000|
|ATB Silver Bullion (5 oz.)*||0||54,400||237,800|
*Sales figures for the five-ounce America the Beautiful Silver Bullion Coins were last published by the United States Mint on Monday, May 2. All other sales figures are as of Tuesday, May 10.


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The global beer market is on track to generate $688.4 billion in sales by 2020. So, in having just a couple of percentage points share of this market, a beer brand can be hugely lucrative.
In recent years, the hierarchy of international brands has been massively shaken up by the increasing popularity of the alcoholic drink in China. In fact, four of the 10 top-selling brands globally are now Chinese, according to data shared with Business Insider by research firm Euromonitor.
We ranked the top 10 beer brands according to Euromonitor below — some of which you may not recognize:


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- Best Black Friday Video Game Deals [VIDEO]
November 25 2013 6:09 PM
Where gamers should shop this Black Friday for the best deals on consoles and accessories
- NSA And Hackers Alike Spy And Hijack Via the Man In The Middle
November 21 2013 4:06 PM
A recent rise in Man-in-the-Middle hacking attacks shows hackers are not the only ones using this method.
- Chromecast: Top 5 Apps For Google's Dongle
November 21 2013 2:54 PM
Google can now add HBO Go support to the growing list of apps that support the Chromecast. Here are the top 5 apps for the dongle.
- Life and Times of Winamp
November 21 2013 11:15 AM
After 15 years, Winamp announced on its website that it will be closing for good on Dec. 20.
- Mass. Police Department Infected With CryptoLocker, Pays Ransom
November 20 2013 5:34 PM
A local police force in Swansea, Mass., recently had to pay $750 in Bitcoins to recover images and documents encrypted by CryptoLocker.
- Estella’s Brilliant Bus Crosses The Digital Divide
November 20 2013 12:14 AM
Retired guidance counselor Estella Pyform’s Brilliant Bus provides technology resources for residents in need throughout Palm Beach County, Fla.
- How Cookies Cost Google $17 Million
November 19 2013 12:25 AM
Google altered its DoubleClick code to evade the default privacy settings on Safari, without users’ knowledge or consent.
- Has Apple Bought The Technology Behind Microsoft's Kinect?
November 18 2013 4:07 AM
Despite a recent increase in the valuation of PrimeSense, the deal is not likely to be a huge win for Apple's investors, a new report said.
- Meet inFORM Dynamic Shape Display
November 15 2013 3:09 PM
TMG has developed the inFORM, a “Dynamic Shape Display” that lets users render 3D content with physical objects.
- Study Finds Porn Is Popular Cause Of Corporate Malware
November 14 2013 5:08 PM
A study found that 40 percent of malware analysts have removed malware that originated from a senior executive visiting a pornographic website.
- Wolfram Research Unveils New Project, The Wolfram Language
November 14 2013 2:29 PM
A synthesis of Stephen Wolfram's blog post about new project the Wolfram Language.
- HP Chromebook 11 Pulled From Shelves Due To Overheating
November 13 2013 7:31 PM
Google and Hewlett-Packard announced they would stop sales of the HP Chromebook 11 after reports of the charger overheating.
- NSA Starts University Programs
November 12 2013 4:26 PM
The NSA announced a new program, in a partnership with the Department of Homeland Security and 181 Universities across the country, to help train the next generation of analysts and cybersecurity experts.
- MakerBot Introduces 3D Printing Tech To US Schools
November 12 2013 3:52 PM
MakerBot Academy, mentioned in the 2013 State Of The Union Address, called for a return of manufacturing and technology jobs to the U.S.
- Google Glass Getting Music Features
November 12 2013 11:54 AM
Google is expanding Glass to musicians and music lovers with a new set of features that it announced Tuesday morning on Google Plus.
- NSA, GCHQ Deployed Fake LinkedIn Pages
November 11 2013 11:41 AM
Snowden revealed that U.K. intelligence agency GCHQ used fake LinkedIn and Slashdot pages to plant malware within a Belgian telecom company.
- Bitcoin Wallet Company Hacked, Loses 4100 BTCs
November 07 2013 12:50 PM
Bitcoin wallet company Inputs.io hacked and loses 4100 BTCs, worth anywhere from $800,000 to $1 Million
- Arden Hayes, Adorable 5-Year-Old Genius And Apple Enthusiast, Rejects Free Sony Xperia Tablet Z On ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’ [VIDEO]
November 07 2013 10:58 AM
5-year-old genius Arden Hayes gave Apple some free publicity on "Jimmy Kimmel Live."
- Apple Discloses Data On User Information Requests By Governments
November 06 2013 1:51 AM
Apple's report, published for the first time, shows requests made by the U.S. government for user-account information dominate the list.
- CryptoLocker Hackers Offer Second Chance At Decryption
November 05 2013 6:03 PM
Did you catch the CryptoLocker malware and refuse to pay the ransom to get your files back? The hackers responsible are offering you a second chance.


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The city kicks off New York Fashion Week Thursday with a new $5 million investment designed to tout, support and nurture the Big Apple’s fashion industry.
Most noticeable to non-fashionistas will be a blitz of “Made in NY” ads to run on 75 buses, 600 taxi tops, five billboards, and in ferry and airport terminals and fashion publications, according to the New York City Economic Develoment Corporation. The ads feature the work of local designers such as Prabal Gurung, Public School, Chromat, A-Morir, Rosie Assoulin, Tim Coppens, Ohne Titel, Eugenia Kim and Alexis Bittar. The campaign, which is starting now, will run through Oct. 15.
According to the EDC, fashion designers will be able to apply for various forms of assistance at MadeinNYFashion.nyc, a digital hub dedicated to promoting local designers and manufacturers that also showcases products made in NYC and serves as a fashion industry information watershed.
Early-stage designer financing and lines of credit will be offered as well as trade show partnerships and assistance with sales opportunities.
Qualifying New York designers will be able to put a “Made in NY” logo on their products and use it in print, digital and video advertisements, store decals, websites, look books, packaging and product inserts, according to the EDC.
The new initiatives are designed to boost the fortunes of emerging talent, and build on existing programs to help the city’s design and manufacturing sectors.


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Personalised advertising already stalks us across the web, and it's coming to our TVs, with Channel 4 the latest broadcaster signing up to use Sky's AdSmart to target commercials. While such a system isn't quite as invasively personalised as the behavioural advertising clogging up the internet in order to show us shoes we've already bought, it could have a big impact on television – and risks being rather creepy.
AdSmart is Sky's system for targeted, addressable ads, which are commercials that can be swapped out and personalised based on location or other personal data – even in live-broadcast, linear TV. Sky has used the platform on its own channels since 2014, and has this year signed up Virgin Media and Channel 4 to do the same.
For viewers, the benefit is not being shown irrelevant ads – Sky won't show you ads for its broadband if you're already a customer, for example – and Sky points to research that suggests there's a 48 per cent drop in channel switching when such targeted ads are shown. For businesses, small companies can target a specific, hyperlocal catchment area rather than throw away money on nationally shown commercials, opening up TV advertising to smaller companies.
And for broadcasters, the benefit is they can charge more, perhaps as much as ten times more, for what they say are more effective ads – helping to claw in more cash as advertising revenues stall. "Better targeting can be beneficial for both advertisers and viewers: it can not only increase ad return on investment for advertisers, but also deliver more relevant information to viewers," says Yiting Deng, assistant professor of marketing at UCL. Richard Broughton, researcher director at Ampere Analysis, suggests by a rough estimate it could bump revenue at Sky by as much as 10 per cent and across the wider industry by 2 per cent – it's positive for broadcasters, but its financial impact is limited.


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A closed Galway restaurant has re-opened in the city to a rapturous reaction as its new resident hopes to last forever.
The hugely popular takeaway Apache Pizza has just opened its new location at An Grianan Geal, Newcastle Road just a few months after the closure of its previous tenant.
In September, Wholly Cow announced they would be closing their busy spot near UHG and University of Galway.
Apache Pizza will be taking its place, with the doors already open this week.
The news was announced on Apache Pizza's Facebook page, they said: "Hi Galway.
"Our New Apache Pizza Newcastle Store is opened now.
"You're welcome to order our delicious pizzas and other stuff like milkshakes, ice cream, hot chocolate cookies."
The opening hours will see pizza served from their new location from 12pm to 10pm.
Earlier in the year, Wholly Cow thanked customers for their loyalty as they said they were excited for the next chapter.
They said in a post back in September: "We will be closing our doors this Sunday 25th September for good.
"We set out to create a zero waste fully sustainable “Irish produce only” family run burger restaurant 5 years ago and we are so proud of Wholly Cow!"
"We cannot thank our regulars who have been so loyal, you all know who you are, we will miss you all and the chats. An exciting new chapter is starting in our lives and we are so excited to turn the page and move on to our next project. We wish all of our customers the best. Val, Jacinta, Molly and all the team at Wholly Cow."
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ProSiebenSat.1-owned Maxdome is using Irdeto Rights to support different DRM solutions for web browsers through a deployment combining MPEG-DASH and Widevine.
“For Maxdome, the ability to reach customers through browsers is crucial. Irdeto recognised this threat early on and offered a solution that had a quick roll-out and gave the business a flexible, easy to manage system,” said Richard Scott, senior vice president, sales and marketing, Irdeto.
“DRM fragmentation is a challenge that will be faced by many other operators, and they must consider how their business strategies can be impacted by this and future industry shifts in technology.”
Brazil adopts key ATSC tech for next-gen TV standard digitaltveurope.com/2022/01/19/bra… https://t.co/lxvkgazW86
19 January 2022 @ 16:00:00 UTC
Viaplay enters Dragon’s Den for first Dutch original digitaltveurope.com/2022/01/19/via… https://t.co/6phQSqzdxJ
19 January 2022 @ 14:00:30 UTC


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Week In Review: Courtroom Triumphs, and Sad Passings
This week's news was dominated by two important events. First, on Wednesday, a Torrance, Calif., court handed down a decision in the Heather Peters vs. Honda case. The result: Ms. Peters isn't going to be making much money on lawsuits anytime soon. The second is that racing and race car legend Carroll Shelby passed away on Friday. The 89-year-old legend's influence went far beyond the racetrack, and he'll be missed.Monday, May 7 The 2013 Cadillac ATS has had its sights set on the BMW 3 Series since the get-go. We knew what it would look like and its basic specifications. But we had no idea how much the new entry-level luxury sports sedan would cost until this week. Coming with three different engine options--a base 2.5-liter four-cylinder, a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder, and a top-range 3.6-liter V-6--the ATS will span a wide array of performance options and prices, starting at $33,990, including destination and handling, undercutting its German rival. But with options aplenty, including all-wheel drive, the new CUE infotainment system, and a choice of six-speed manual or automatic transmissions, prices look like they're going to mirror the Bavarian in most respects.Tuesday, May 8 The Hyundai Sonata has become something of a one-plate buffet where it's paid the price of admission like the rest of its competitors but piled its plate twice as high with many more features than some of its rivals. The 2013 Hyundai Sonata sweetens the deal, adding heated seats as standard to all models but the base Sonata GLS and reshuffling some of the sunroof options. Hyundai says its most popular Sonata packaging for 2013 is priced at $21,720. And the Sonata recently knocked off class-favorites like the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord for best residual values over three years. With a flood of new rivals coming next year, the Sonata will need all the momentum it can get to stay ahead of the pack.Wednesday, May 9 After more than four months of hearings, appeals, stories, and general confusion, Honda won its appeals case against Heather Peters, the woman suing the automaker for fraud after not achieving EPA fuel economy numbers. Our Jacob Brown was the only reporter covering much of the appeals hearing, exposing various angles of the case no one else explored. Why wasn't her car tested by an independent shop to see if it could get close to its EPA-estimated 50 mpg? Did Peters really hock a $15 how-to CD on her website? And was this case all really a way for her to restart her long-dormant legal career? We explore the story in a detailed report that covers the whole case in depth, from her initial win to her ultimate defeat.Thursday, May 10 If you thought your stress level was the only pain you were suffering because of your long morning commute, think again. A new study from the American Journal of Preventative Medicine said having a commute longer than 15 miles very strongly correlates to suffering from high blood pressure, gaining weight, having a higher than healthy BMI level, and can lead to other health problems. All of that further correlates with longer commutes leaving little time to get in some much-needed exercise. Our advice: Make some time to treat yourself right and hit the gym once in a while.Friday, May 11 We end on a sad note as we learned this week of racing legend, sports car icon, and American hero Carroll Shelby's passing at the age of 89. We're not sure of the cause of his passing, but we know he suffered with heart conditions for most of his life. Instead, we'll focus on his life, a life dedicated to building some of the most memorable performance cars the world had ever seen and building a brand synonymous with going fast. Competing in racing events early in his career, Shelby soon carved out his niche in history with his Cobra sports car and various high-performance Mustang models. Rest in peace, Shel.
The Mercedes-Benz G-Class is a nearly three-ton full-size SUV, at home transporting soldiers to and from the...


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The Land Rover Defender mini version is expected to debut in 2022 with a 1.5-liter 3-cylinder turbocharged engine and front-wheel drive.
British auto magazine revealed on November 1, 2020, a sketch of a prototype Land Rover Defender mini version in pre-production, which will hit the market in 2022.
The magazine wrote that the Land Rover Defender mini version will launch with front-wheel drive and a turbocharged 1.5-liter, 3-cylinder petrol engine.
Other powertrains, including plug-in hybrids, will join the lineup later in line with the all-wheel drive variant.
The ‘con’ Defender will be two-thirds in size and priced “softer” than the current version of Jaguar Land Rover.
While the full-size off-road vehicle is listed from over £ 40,000 ($ 51,800) in its home market, the smaller SUV is expected to start at around £ 25,000 ($ 32,400). .
If true, it would also be more affordable than the Discovery Sport, priced from nearly £ 32,000 ($ 41,500) in the UK.
The official name of this model is yet to be confirmed, but it is reported that it could be named Land Rover 80 or Land Rover Defender 80.


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After three years in limbo, Threshold will make an official return to the audio market at the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show. The new company's initial emphasis will be on professional equipment with crossover appeal for audiophiles, according to Threshold's former national sales manager Chris English, a principal in the new venture. A name for the new company has yet to be decided.
On Tuesday, May 5, beleaguered Carver announced that it had received a financial transfusion of almost $400,000 and that it would make a move into direct marketing in an attempt to bolster flagging sales. The Woodinville, Washingon-based company announced in a press release that it "had closed a sale of 3,000,000 shares of restricted Common Stock of the Company to one of its preferred shareholders, Renwick Special Situations Fund, L.P., for $375,000, or $0.125 per share."
One of the more interesting displays at Home Entertainment 2001 was a small booth belonging to West Hollywood, CA–based AIX Media Group, which was manned by company president Mark Waldrep. At the show, Waldrep discussed his work in creating DVD-Audio recordings with multiple perspectives, selectable by the listener via remote control.
Last week, the Secure Digital Music Initiative announced that it would allow free MP3 downloads to co-exist with new encrypted forms of digital music transmission. Despite this, widespread concern in corporate legal departments about copyright-violation liability has prompted software developers to come up with blocking techniques to prevent pirated music from entering company "Intranets."
Engineering facilities and a finished-goods warehouse at Altec Lansing Technologies' Milford, Pennsylvania, headquarters were damaged by fire late Sunday, May 31. The blaze was said to have been exacerbated by severe weather. No injuries were reported.
The "world's largest bookstore" may be on its way to becoming one of the biggest music stores, too. Two weeks ago, Amazon.com began a big push into CD retailing, more than doubling the number of its musical offerings to over 100,000 titles. (Competitor CDnow offers over 500,000 titles.) Visitors to the Amazon website can now click on a tab that will take them to a new music site, where they can listen to audio previews and read reviews, reprints of articles on bands and musicians, and music-industry news.
Digital radio company American Mobile Radio Corporation announced last Wednesday that it has exercised a $52.9 million option to upgrade its satellites. The move will potentially double the channel capacity of AMRC's nationwide satellite-direct audio radio service (SDARS), scheduled for the year 2000.
Former PolyGram Music Group president Roger Ames has been named to head the Warner Music Group, parent company Time Warner announced August 16. Warner's music division, formerly the top domestic money-earner, has been stagnant in the past few years. Still one of the top five music conglomerates, it now trails Seagram's Universal Music, Bertelsmann AG, and Sony Music in total business, but retains the #2 spot in total number of albums sold, according to the Wall Street Journal. Warner's foreign business is far weaker.


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LastPass Data Breach Results in $4.4 Million Crypto Loss for 25 Victims in a Single Day
Around 25 individuals have reportedly lost $4.4 million in cryptocurrency from a total of 80 wallets, all due to the 2022 data breach that affected the password storage software LastPass.
On October 27, in a Twitter post, the on-chain sleuths ZachXBT, along with MetaMask developer Taylor Monahan, reported that they’ve tracked the movement of funds from at least 80 compromised wallets that were targeted on October 25. They also mentioned that many of the victims were long-time LastPass users who had stored their cryptocurrency wallet keys or seeds on the platform.
If you suspect you were already a victim of the LastPass hack send a DM with the txn hashes of the theft.
— ZachXBT (@zachxbt) October 27, 2023
This security breach has been affecting LastPass since last year and continues to impact its users. In September, it was discovered that at least $35 million in cryptocurrency had been stolen from approximately 150 victims affected by the platform’s security breach that occurred in 2022.
LastPass, in its usual function, is a popular password manager designed to secure users’ login credentials. The attack on it involved unauthorized access to user accounts, with a focus on obtaining seed phrases and wallet keys used for cryptocurrency storage, indicating that they were primarily interested in exfiltrating cryptocurrencies.
LastPass Discloses 2022 Data Breach Exposing Customer Data and Source Code Theft
However, in a blog post in December 2022, LastPass disclosed that an attacker had used previously stolen information to target an employee, gaining access to their credentials and decrypting customer data. The attack on LastPass allowed the hacker to gain access to the corporate laptop of a software engineer on the platform, which provided them with the means to infiltrate the company’s system. In the process, they stole source code, confidential technical documentation, and internal system secrets.
Additionally, a backup of encrypted customer vault data was stolen, which could be decrypted if the attacker successfully guessed the account’s master password through brute force.
This initial breach enabled the hacker to extract 14 of LastPass’s 200 source code repositories. Subsequently, the hacker conducted a more extensive attack, leading to the acquisition of a copy of the LastPass customer database.
This database contained information such as unencrypted account details and associated metadata, including multi-factor authentication settings.
LastPass Faces Lawsuit After $32 Million Crypto Theft
LastPass’s CEO initially claimed that the hack had been contained and that the compromised data did not include personal user information. It was later reported in August 2023 that over 1200 BTC, valued at $32 million, had been stolen from wallets associated with LastPass users in the year following the security breach.
Earlier this year, several users reported losing significant amounts of cryptocurrency from wallets whose keys were stored on LastPass.
This incident resulted in the US District Court of Massachusetts filing a lawsuit against the company in January, alleging that it failed to protect user data adequately.
Also, in January, LastPass faced a class-action lawsuit from individuals who claimed that the August 2022 breach led to the theft of around $53,000 worth of Bitcoin, which was valued at $34,317 at the time.
In his recent post, ZachXBT advised anyone who had ever stored a wallet seed or private key in LastPass to transfer their cryptocurrency assets immediately.


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CruisingCo.com, based in Seattle, has announced the opening of a new division, UncommonCruises.com. The new unit will provide an online travel center devoted exclusively to specialty cruises. The parent company says it's an online host agency and will continue to sell traditional cruises, which it has successfully done since 1987.
The new specialty cruise unit was formed in response to clients' requests for river cruises, polar expeditions, and other unconventional itineraries. “We really feel the timing is just right,” says Jami Sales, president of CruisingCo.com.
“Our independent affiliates report a growing ‘been there, done that’ attitude from many of their repeat cruise clients, and we’re seeing their discretionary funds leaving the traditional cruise market”, added Sales.
The new niche cruise venture provides a solid selling opportunity for agents who want to specialize in niche cruising or who already have specialized knowledge that is not being used to its full potential, Sales says. Weekly marketing will be sent out on behalf of each agent, and the opportunity exists to be showcased on the site to get leads as top experts in their field of expertise.
“This is a hand-in-glove fit for those who have a narrow but invaluable niche of expertise, but who simply aren’t finding enough prospects— or receiving enough leads— with whom to share their insider knowledge”, says Sales. “Needless to say, we are always looking to add savvy agents who want to focus on this lucrative market.”
Creating a niche travel division to meet growing consumer demand isn’t new for Sales. She has previously launched MouseEarVacations.com, already a multi-million dollar Disney destinations division. UncommonCruises.com belongs to Signature Travel Network and is a member of CLIA, IATAN, OSSN and NACTA.


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October 20th, 2014 by Patrick Johnson
Heads up New York! Are you ready for another Sneaker Con? The world’s greatest traveling sneaker show is back in town on Saturday, December 6th, 2014 and has moved locations once again, this time being hosted at Jacob K. Javits Convention Center along W. 34th Street. The show promises even more vendors so be prepared to bring your best. Check out more information after the break and reserve your tickets before it’s too late right here.
Jacob K. Javits Convention Center North
655 W 34th Street,
New York NY 10001
12:00 to 7:00pm
Saturday, December 6, 2014
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July 2nd, 2012 by Brendan Dunne
You made it out to Sneaker Con NYC this weekend right? As you undoubtedly know, just as exciting as scouring the vendor tables and various collections scattered about the room for rare pairs and the like is peeping what kind of gems other folks showed up in. And being that the show landed right in the the mecca of sneaker culture and all you can bet people came prepared, with the likes of the Nike Air Yeezy 2, plenty of awesome adidas Originals Jeremy Scott creations, a crisp pair of ‘Amsterdam’ Air Max 1′s, some Jason Negron sole-swap pairs, and much much more in attendance. Hit the jump with us for the extensive gallery of on-feet shots to see if you made the cut and let us know in the comments below who had the best pair on the weekend.
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June 8th, 2012 by Aaron Hope
On the precipice of a weekend defined in part by its line-ups (or lack thereof), we can’t help but think of another, considerably more comfortable way for like-minded sneakerheads to gather before copping some serious heat. Following up on the success of May’s Chicago premiere engagement, Sneaker Con NYC returns for the first 2012 rendition of the original gathering that started it all. Growing crowds mean a departure from the Sullivan Street venue to one of the newer buildings on Baruch College’s New York campus. The June 30th event will feature 10,000 square feet of the best sneakers in the world, nearly a hundred vendors and thousands of sneakerheads, and tickets for the Saturday, June 30th Sneaker Con are available in advance from EventBrite. Let us know if you can make it, ‘Like’ Sneaker Con on Facebook and stick with Sneaker News for updates in the coming weeks.
Sneaker Con NYC
Saturday, June 30th, 2012
12:00pm to 7:00pm
Baruch College | MAP
55 Lexington Ave (@ E.24th St)
New York, NY 10010
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December 12th, 2011 by John Kim
Sneaker Con returned to NYC this past weekend, opening up to one of the biggest crowds in Sneaker Con history. With an endless line-up wrapping around the entire block for most of the day, sneakerheads from the tri-state area showed up to buy, sell, and trade their kicks in time for the Holiday season. Again, adidas Originals represented with a sick look-see preview of its upcoming Originals and Jeremy Scott models, and hundreds of vendors and patrons filled up the venue with some of the latest sneakers to have hit the market. It was sneaker hysteria for the entire event, and as the day wore on, sellers made some attractive deals to unload some of their stock, like offering free snap-backs or discounted t-shirts with sneaker purchases. Sneaker Con once again proved to be the best sneaker event of its kind, but for those who are SCNYC veterans, say good-bye to the venue because the next time Sneaker Con hits the Big Apple, it’ll be at a larger venue. Check out a quick recap from the event below and don’t forget that Sneaker Con will hit Los Angeles next week on December 17th!
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