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Sir, Matthew Parris (Mar 29) claims that “Zimbabwe is not devastated and the people are not destitute”.
Although Zimbabwe may look peaceful, it is still a vicious police state, its people ruled by fear. The government is proceeding with its “indigenisation policy” which means the confiscation of half of all the businesses in the country. Although the old, debauched currency has given way to the SA rand and the US dollar, and the shops are full of goods, the people served by Zane (Zimbabwe A National Emergency) right across the community have long since been rendered destitute and cannot afford to buy anything on offer.
Director, Zane, Bladon, Oxon


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Turkey IMSAD umbrella organization of the building materials sector, building materials due to the problems in the global supply chain pandemic made a statement indicating that they affect the industry. All the increase in the prices of raw materials experienced in the world, which underlines that many factors interact.
The president of the Turkish Building Materials Producers Association (Turkey IMSAD), Tayfun Küçükoğlu, drew attention to the problems in the global market, said in a statement:
“The imbalance in the production, prices and supply of raw materials around the world also negatively affects our construction materials industry, which works in integration with the global market. The addition of global logistics disruptions to that process made it difficult to achieve sustainability in our industry.
It is a fact that the conditions caused by the Covid-19 effect affect each sector differently. The extraordinary change in consumer demand disrupts routine, further increasing chaos in supply conditions.
We hope and hope that the effect of vaccination will develop with stability throughout the world. In this period where the effects of the pain experienced at the beginning of the pandemic are expected to decrease, different pain and opportunities will occur in each sector. The process will cause the formation of different supply-demand equilibria that cannot be explained by statistics. Any supply or demand above expectations has the potential to have a negative impact on supply.
Almost all of our subsectors are affected by changes in raw material prices and different problems related to supply and logistics. However, we believe that the more efficient operation of the supply chain in the second half of the year and the resolution of the container shortage from June-July will also positively affect raw material prices. “

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Chinese O2O retailer Suning has posted RMB172.97 billion (US$24.79 billion) in operating revenue in its third quarter performance report.
The result shows a 31.15 per cent year-on-year increase on the reported figure during the first three quarters this year. The company also generated a net profit of RMB6.127 billion ($878 million), an increase of 812.11 per cent over the same period last year.
The company credits the result to the strength of Suning’s fast-growing online sales comparative to other e-commerce platforms.
Suning currently has more than 382 million registered users. It operates 6292 direct-sale physical stores and 1453 Suning retail cloud franchise stores.
Suning says it will provide free delivery in the days approaching the holiday the 11.11 Singles Day shopping spree and will not raise its delivery fees on the day.


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"It depends" is how one local economics professor assesses the impact a Wal-Mart store will have on Palmer Township and the immediate surrounding area.
Addressing a town meeting sponsored by the Business, Industrial & Professional Association of Palmer at the Twin Rivers Community Bank in the township, Dr. Jerome Heavey of Lafayette College said he did not want to make a forecast because he did not have all the information he would like.
"It depends on what kind of neighbor Wal-Mart is," he said.
Plans call for Wal-Mart to be the anchor for a mall at Routes 248 and 33 in Lower Nazareth Township, right up against the border with Palmer.
Whether the mall has an adverse affect on traffic will depend on how well traffic planning is done.
He noted Lower Nazareth Township will be able to tax the mall, but Palmer, which may see further congestion of its roadways and increased maintenance costs, cannot.
On the question of who gains, Heavey said new employees will because Wal-Mart pays prevailing wages, mainly hires full-time, promotes from within, keeps growing and is doing well.
"Wal-Mart is likely to be an attractive employer," Heavey said, adding, consumers also gain because "Wal-Mart sells at low prices."
Heavey referred to research done by an Iowa professor who has studied Wal-Mart's impact on a community when he told the suit-and-tie-dominated crowd of nearly 100, many of whom were BIP members, that "it won't be the same world anymore. This is likely to be stiff competition for area retailers."
He suggested retailers take several steps to remain competitive, such as volume-buying, the secret to Wal-Mart's low prices. Other suggestions included staying open longer, opening on Sunday, offering cash refunds, and going to Wal-Mart frequently.
"Wal-Mart studies other retailers," Heavey said, "so you should study Wal-Mart."
Bill Lothian, spokesman for Langan Engineering, which is engineering the project, said Wal-Mart wants to be ready to open before the end of next year, but it was a "very optimistic" projection.


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Charting Global Economy: Inflation Keeps Building in U.S., U.K.
Inflation continues to pick up in the U.S. and U.K., China’s economic rebound is benefiting from firmer consumer spending, and violent unrest in two key provinces is hampering efforts to revive South Africa’s economy.
Here are some of the charts that appeared on Bloomberg this week on the latest developments in the global economy:
Prices paid by consumers surged in June by the most since 2008, topping all forecasts and testing the Federal Reserve’s commitment to sticking with ultra-easy monetary support for the economy. Excluding the volatile food and energy components, the so-called core consumer price index rose 4.5% from June 2020, the largest advance since November 1991.
Consumer sentiment unexpectedly declined to a five-month low in early July as mounting concerns over rising prices led to a sharp deterioration in buying conditions for big-ticket items.
U.K. inflation unexpectedly accelerated to the highest level in three years in June, driven by widespread price increases that challenge the Bank of England’s argument that the surge will be temporary.
The European Central Bank helped remove some of the ambiguity around its policy objectives by adopting a simple 2% inflation target in its strategy review, but plans to include the cost of owner-occupied housing in the measure add a new layer of uncertainty that could complicate the task of achieving the goal in the years ahead, according to Bloomberg Economics.
China’s economic rebound steadied in the second quarter and showed more balance as consumer spending picked up, providing support to a global recovery being shaken by resurging coronavirus cases.
The Bank of Japan joined the battle against global warming by offering a series of incentives for lenders to help businesses move toward a greener economy, with Governor Haruhiko Kuroda insisting there was no longer any time to waste.
Deadly riots in two key South African provinces have dealt a blow to the recovery of an economy that contracted the most in a century in 2020. Some parts of the country may face food shortages after rioters upended supply chains by looting supermarkets, torching goods trucks and obstructing key roads.
Chile signaled it will continue to raise its interest rate gradually after its first borrowing cost increase in two years, as policy makers weigh a strong economic rebound and risks from new coronavirus strains.
The sudden surge in balseros, or rafters, setting sail from Cuba for the South Florida shore is -- like the spontaneous protests that broke out in Havana last weekend -- a sign that living conditions on the communist island are rapidly deteriorating 16 months into the pandemic.
An overheating economy -- either because demand rebounds faster than expected, supply disappoints, or some combination of the two -- is the fastest route to durably higher inflation. If that occurs, Bloomberg Economics’ general equilibrium models show inflation in the euro area and U.K. moving significantly above expectations. In the U.S., a flatter Phillips curve means a more muted impact.
©2021 Bloomberg L.P.


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'Magic mushroom' store in Montreal searched for third time
Montreal police (SPVM) officers knocked on the door of `FunGuyz,' a magic mushroom store, on Thursday, conducting a third search since it opened less than a month ago.
SPVM Constable Julien Levesque said officers arrived at noon at the Ontario Street store near Papineau Avenue in the Ville-Marie borough.
A 24-year-old man was arrested at the scene. He was released and has an upcoming court date, the SPVM said Thursday.
As part of this third search, police seized narcotics and other materials related to the trade.
The operation also targeted a home in Place Charles-Le Moyne, in Longueuil. Narcotics were seized, but there were no arrests.
The SPVM reports that during this intervention, an officer from Longueuil fired a gun at a dog “for a safety issue.”
Montreal police did not yet have details on the circumstances surrounding this event or the animal's health.
The `FunGuyz' store sells microdosed capsules, dried mushrooms and chocolate bars, all containing psilocybin, the active ingredient in certain hallucinogenic mushrooms. However, the production, sale and possession of 'magic mushrooms' are illegal in Canada.
Just a few hours after the opening of the Montreal branch on July 11, the SPVM arrived on the scene to conduct an initial search and arrest four people.
The following week, on July 20, a second search occurred at the store, which had reopened. This time, five arrests were made, while apartments were also searched.
Despite this second visit by the police, the store started welcoming customers again.
The Montreal branch represents the first attempt by `FunGuyz' to establish itself in Quebec. It already has 11 franchises in Ontario.
-This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on August 3, 2023.


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Next-generation Audi Q7 picks up cabin design award.
The new Audi Q7 won’t arrive in Australian Audi dealerships until early 2016, but when it does arrive you can expect an impressive new interior.
So impressive is the new 2016 Audi Q7 cabin that the next-generation model has been named the winner of the EyesOn Design Awards ‘Best Designed Interior’ category at the Detroit Motor Show.
The judges were particularly impressed at how the design of the new Q7 interior allows for more cabin space, despite the fact that the external dimensions of the Q7 will be smaller in the new model.
The seven-seat model is also going to feature cleaner and simpler controls, along with improved infotainment, connectivity and driver assistance systems.
We will keep you updated on the arrival of the 2016 Audi Q7 through this year, in the meantime here are some more details on the new Audi SUV model.


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Fingerprint Cards’ Business Developer is leaving the company. Johan Carlström will make his official exit on October 15th.
In a statement announcing his departure, Carlström explained that entrepreneurial commitments beyond FPC “are becoming increasingly time consuming” such that it necessitates his departure from the company. “With the recruitment of Christian Fredrikson and the company’s strong market position, I now feel safe to leave the operational work,” he added.
Carlström will be paid a severance package of SEK 10.86 million, the equivalent of 36 months’ salary. He continues to be a major shareholder in the company, and says he intends to continue to support FPC in that role.
Meanwhile, FPC says its search for a new Business Developer “will begin shortly.” The role opens at a crucial time for FPC as the company seeks to expand beyond the mobile biometrics market that has been its mainstay.
October 11, 2016 – by Alex Perala


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National Alliance for Hispanic Health partners with Acetaminophen Awareness Coalition
WASHINGTON — The National Alliance for Hispanic Health on Thursday announced a partnership with the Acetaminophen Awareness Coalition to increase awareness among Spanish-speaking consumers for the importance of safe use of medicines that contain acetaminophen. Many Hispanic consumers are not aware of any health risks associated with taking too much acetaminophen and do not check to see if their medicines contain acetaminophen, a drug ingredient in more than 600 over-the-counter and prescription medicines, according to Community Panel Discussions recently conducted by the Alliance.
“We need to do a better job supporting Hispanic consumers in safe medicine use, including understanding their medicine labels and the drug ingredients they are taking in over-the-counter and prescription medicines,” said Jane Delgado, president and CEO of the National Alliance for Hispanic Health.
“The Alliance’s research tells us there is a need in the Hispanic community for culturally and linguistically relevant resources and tools to help make safe medicine decisions when using acetaminophen,” said Emily Skor, VP Consumer Healthcare Products Association Educational Foundation, a member of the Coalition. “We are thrilled to partner with the Alliance to develop and disseminate Spanish-language educational tools on the safe use of medicines.”
Acetaminophen awareness education will include:
- More than 50,000 Spanish-language brochures distributed to more than 250 organizations that serve Hispanics in communities nationwide;
- Distribution of free brochures at the Alliance’s “Get Up and Get Moving” health fairs across the country; and
- Promotion of acetaminophen safe-use to more than 10,000 members of the Alliance’s Buena Salud Club through online, mobile and social media platforms.
As part of this effort, KnowYourDose.org now features new sections in Spanish. It includes an interactive medicine label reader, answers to frequently asked questions about acetaminophen and a cartoon encouraging medicine safety.
Healthcare providers can order free Spanish- and English-language educational materials for patients from the Coalition’s web site at KnowYourDose.org/order.
CVS Caremark to serve 1.1M CareFirst members
BALTIMORE, Md. — CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield has entered into a three-year agreement with CVS Caremark to provide pharmacy benefit and other related services to its commercial and Medicare Part D members, CareFirst announced earlier this week.
Beginning Jan. 1, 2014, all claims for CareFirst members with a pharmacy benefit will be processed through CVS Caremark.
“As Federal health reform begins to fully take effect, we are heading into a challenging environment in which meeting our members’ pharmacy needs — and doing so cost efficiently — is more important than ever,” stated CareFirst president and CEO Chet Burrell. “We conducted a thorough and competitive process to identify the best possible pharmacy benefit partner. Through our new relationship with CVS Caremark, we expect to realize substantial savings in prescription drug costs that we will reflect in premiums to our subscribers. These savings are critical as we seek to keep coverage affordable in the face of many factors that continue to push health care costs upward.”
Under the terms of the agreement, CVS Caremark will provide a specialized account team to help support the integration of pharmacy data and information into key CareFirst initiatives, CareFirst stated.
“We are pleased that CareFirst has selected CVS Caremark to manage the pharmacy benefit for their members starting in 2014,” added Jon Roberts, president of CVS Caremark’s PBM business. “We believe that CVS Caremark’s unique integrated model for pharmacy care will provide CareFirst members with innovative, cost-effective pharmacy benefit management services that also help improve health outcomes.”
Harris Teeter to open art-deco style supermarket in Charlotte by end of May
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Harris Teeter on Wednesday announced its opening of a new store here, with a grand opening celebration to be held May 29.
“The surrounding neighborhood and corporate Harris Teeter’s passionate anticipation for the first Harris Teeter grocery store site fostered a quest for a truly distinctive design,” stated Richard Bartlett, partner at Bartlett Hartley & Mulkey architects PA. “The area’s intense focus on the arts and numerous Central Avenue corridor art deco styled building inspired the industrial deco motif. The building profile is unmistakably unique with intricate details resulting in a rare yet delightful venue for a grocery store.”
The project to develop a new Harris Teeter on Central Avenue marked a major milestone for not only Harris Teeter but also for many customers who can still recall history of Charlotte’s supermarket industry.
Harris Teeter co-founder W.T. Harris opened his first store at 1508 Central Avenue in 1936 and, many years later, announced plans to relocate the original Harris Super Market to the 1704 Central Avenue location. Harris’ store on Central Avenue was the first full service-supermarket in Charlotte, the first air-conditioned grocery store and the first to stay open until 9 p.m. on Friday nights. Harris continued to grow his Harris Super Market business to eight additional locations, and in 1960 he merged with Teeter Food Mart out of Mooresville, N.C., to form Harris Teeter.
The new Art Deco location has 45,000 square feet of sales floor, and the store features a green roof system visible from an upstairs seating area. Harris Teeter also has taken reclaimed wood from Harris’ original 1704 Central Avenue location and incorporated it into the ceiling planks of its market hall and seating area, as well as the produce stands in the Farmers Market.
The Company commissioned Charlotte-based painter, mixed-media and mosaic artist Tom Thoune to design mosaics for the side of the building using whole or broken pieces of porcelain and ceramic pottery donated by community members, as well as British-born artist Shaun Cassidy to create four sculptural bike racks inspired by the building’s Art Deco style to promote a bike friendly community.


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Samsung readying Android Nougat updates for smartphone models: report
02 January 2017
Smartphone giant Samsung is gearing up to roll out Android Nougat update for its flagship Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge smartphones and these will be ready for release in January.
It is still unclear that whether the carrier variant or the unlocked models will get the update first, but a report published on GSMArena noted that Verizon has released security updates to 11 Android smartphones models in the latest security patch.
GSM Arena reported that an update was available for each of the Verizon-branded variants of Samsung's 2015 flagship models, the Galaxy S6, S6 Edge, and S6 Edge Plus, having software versions G920VVRS4CPL3, G925VVRS4CPL3, and G928VVRS3BPL4 respectively.
The updates for the firmware do not contain anything else aside from the security improvements, according to commentators. Verizon says on its firmware support page for each Samsung Galaxy S6 models.
''The current software update gives you the most up-to-date Android security patch on your device.''
In addition to the updates for the Galaxy S6 variants, the older flagship model – Galaxy S5 – should also receive a new firmware specifically bearing the version number G900VVRS2DPL1. The phablet models of the Galaxy family carried by Verizon too would get a new security update. The N920VVRS3BPL4 firmware build was available for the Samsung Galaxy Note 5, N910VVRS2CPL1 for Note 4, and N915VVRS2CPL1 for the Galaxy Note Edge, Droid Life reported.
Further, a security firmware update was available also for Moto's line of modular smartphones, the Moto Z. Apart from the standard model, security update for Verizon's Moto Z, DROID and Moto Z Play was also being rolled out.
Meanwhile, according to commentators, the Galaxy Note 7 introduced to Samsung's device line several new features, which would surely be there on the upcoming Galaxy S8, and future devices as well.
For instance, the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 was the first Galaxy Note device to feature a dual-edge curved display and Samsung had released a number of dual edge smartphones, including the Galaxy S6 Edge, Galaxy S6 Edge+ and Galaxy S7 Edge. The Galaxy Note Edge, featured a single curve on its right side and after the Note 7, which was highly favoured for its external design, Samsung would likely continue in the trajectory, according to commentators.


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TVS aims to increase the production rate of the BMW G310R in the current fiscal further; the naked bike is being built at the brand’s Hosur plant
TVS Motors has delivered 4,500 units of BMW G310R to the German bike manufacturer in the last fiscal. In the current fiscal, Hosur-based two-wheeler manufacturer aims to increase the number of production for the bike. Interestingly, G310R is not launched in India yet and under its partnership with BMW Motorrad, TVS makes the bike in its Hosur plant for the overseas markets.
With the BMW G310R expected to launch in the domestic market sometime later this year, production will increase significantly. The BMW G310R is the most affordable bike from the German premium bike manufacturer and its adventure tourer version G310GS is also likely to be produced at the Hosur plant by TVS, once it reaches Indian shore sometime in 2018.
Also read: BMW G310R India Launch Likely Delayed to Late 2017
In recent past, TVS Motors has seen rapid growth and TVS Apache bike range along with Wego and Jupiter scooters have played crucial role behind the success of the brand. Also, partnership with BMW Motorrad has helped the homegrown brand to develop TVS Apache RR 310S like sportsbike that is based on the TVS Akula 310 concept.
The TVS Apache RR 310S shares several components and technology with the BMW G310R. The bike is expected to be launched during June-July 2017 and upon launch, it will challenge the tough and established rivals like KTM RC 390, Kawasaki Ninja 300 and Yamaha R3. No wonder, with this model, TVS will be able to take its game up.
Also read: TVS Apache RR 310S is Production Name of Akula 310 (RTR 300)
The upcoming TVS flagship model appears very appealing and sculpted looking with its fairing and sharp design and its powerful engine is borrowed from the BMW G310R. Upon launch of this bike, TVS hopes to increase its market share in the motorcycle segment in Indian two-wheeler market, where it had 14.7% share in last FY. In FY 2016-17, the company sold a total of 2,489,773 units, which marked a 12.69% rise over compared to previous year’s sales result.
BMW G310R Gallery
TVS Apache RR 310S Gallery
Source: ET Auto


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The Digital Single Market blog is a collection of opinion pieces from DG CONNECT, and guest contributions from stakeholders involved in shaping DSM policies. Feel free to comment and share your ideas by participating in the discussions.
You can also read the posts from the Director General of DG CONNECT, Roberto Viola's blog.
|28994||Roberto||VIOLA||Roberto VIOLA||27 May 2016||It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver – said Mahatma Gandhi.||https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/blog/digital-solutions-better-health|
|24785||Thierry||VAN DER PYL||Thierry VAN DER PYL||25 May 2016||Over the years I witnessed with great interest the phenomenal development of federated wifi access through eduroam. In relation to the recent announcement of the one billion connections to eduroam, I...||https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/blog/celebrating-billionth-connection-eduroam-name-education-and-innovation|
|35407||Miroslav||MILINOVIC||Miroslav MILINOVIC||24 May 2016||The eduroam® secure worldwide roaming service is celebrating 1 BILLION authentications since the beginning of 2016! Here, we take a look at the idea-to-global service story.||https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/blog/eduroam-billion-idea-global-service|
|35376||Lorenzo||MARCONI||Lorenzo MARCONI||23 May 2016||Should SHERPA focus more on technological development to fulfil short-term end-user expectations or, rather, support a long-term academic vision? What if we don't have to choose?||https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/blog/technology-readiness-level-trl-dilemma-alps|
|35240||Bruno||DESRUELLE||Bruno DESRUELLE||20 May 2016||Europe is launching a €1 billion flagship initiative to spur the emergence of Quantum Technologies and bring them to the marketplace, with the objective to tackle some of the most urging challenges...||https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/blog/quantum-technologies-europe-perspectives-pioneering-sme-quantum-sensing|
|24785||Thierry||VAN DER PYL||Thierry VAN DER PYL||17 May 2016||The "Quantum Europe: a New Era of Technology" event sets a new ambition for a dynamic Quantum Technology research and innovation ecosystem in Europe||https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/blog/entering-preparatory-phase-towards-quantum-technology-flagship|
|34743||Ernst Herlof||KRISTIANSEN||Ernst Herlof KRISTIANSEN||12 May 2016||The first industry-related initiative of the Digital Single Market comes at the right time and shows a bold political will to support the emerging markets of digital products and services||https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/blog/one-step-forward-digitising-european-industry|
|31813||Alexandru||PARASCHIV||Alexandru PARASCHIV||11 May 2016||Some afterthoughts following the Game Developers Conference from March 2016 held in San Francisco.||https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/blog/how-are-people-reacting-populate-project-until-now|
|28994||Roberto||VIOLA||Roberto VIOLA||1 comment||10 May 2016||Our plan to help European industry, researchers and public authorities to make the best of the digital transformation has been published. Lowri Evans and Roberto Viola share some thoughts on what...||https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/blog/digitising-european-industry-standards-and-skills-lowri-evans-and-roberto-viola|
|34978||Thomas||BÖCK||Thomas BÖCK||3 May 2016||Europe is investing in smart technology use and the agricultural sector is one of the driving forces behind these developments. We are fitting our farm machines with smart technology to let them...||https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/blog/potential-and-challenges-21st-century-farming|


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Taxi disrupting start-up Uber has already formed partnerships with companies as diverse as Spotify and Samsung, so it stands to reason it would make a deal with a bank.
Tuesday, the $40 billion company announced a partnership with Capital One to give certain credit card holders discounts on rides.
Passengers who use a Quicksilver card to pay for a trip on the mobile app will receive 20 percent back as a statement credit on each Uber transaction. The partnership ends April 30, 2016, Uber said in a statement. The user's credit will appear on a statement one to two business cycles after the charge is incurred.
The ride-sharing service that operates in more than 300 cities, most of which are in the U.S., had spoken with other banks, but ultimately chose Capital One for its technological innovations over the last two decades.
"I like the history of Capital One," David Richter, vice president of strategic initiatives at Uber, told CNBC.
Read MoreUber competitor bans surge pricing
"They now have two decades as an innovative disruptor in their own field and, like Uber, they led the way among many of their peers in using technology," said Richter.
San Franciscio-based Uber raised more than $1.2 billion in funding toward the end of last year, during which time it faced potential citywide bans and various controversies both in the U.S. and overseas.


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Tesla Inc is running out of money. The perennially cash-strapped firm is still spending a whole lot more cash than it’s bringing in, and that’s a problem with only one solution. Some time soon, plausibly before the end of the year, Tesla is going to need to go back to Wall Street cap in hand.
This is one of the major reasons why investors are nervous about Tesla stock right now. Though the firm’s past capital raising activities have been more or less well received, there is always risk involved in these sorts of transactions. In its oddly neutral, bullish report on Tesla, Citigroup said that the firm’s balance sheet was still a major cause for concern.
Tesla won’t make a profit in 2017, and Wall Street is skeptical about next year. The consensus is that in 2017 Tesla will lose $5.76 per share. In 2018 Wall Street is expecting Tesla to lose $0.60 per share.
Elon Musk has promised profit before, but Tesla hasn’t delivered. The losses from the EV maker mean that cash-raising is likely a necessity. While Tesla stock remains depressed, that could be a major risk.
What will a Tesla capital raise look like?
In recent years Tesla has taken a heterogeneous approach to raising capital. The firm has gotten a mix of loans, both long and short term, from Wall Street banks and supplemented that with the sale of new stock.
The firm’s most recent capital raise, which took place back in March, was a very good example of this. $1.15 billion in total was raised. $750 million of that came from a bond sale, while $250 million came from a new stock issue.
On top of that Tesla has taken a “loan” of $1000 from each and every person who reserved a Model 3. This cash can’t be functionally used, however, as it can be withdrawn at any time.
Back in June Tesla appeared to engage in a sort of stealth cash raise. The firm has a revolving credit line with some Wall Street banks, and it increased the amount it can borrow. That may stave off the need for a larger capital raise for some time, but the firm’s cash burn is still there.
Selling stock in a bear market
If Tesla Inc does decide to sell stock, it could run into big problems. Shares have been falling over the last month, and a bear market is not the best time to sell new shares. There are big risks when a firm offers new shares because it is raising supply.
This dilutes the holdings of those who bought shares before the offering. If shares sell off in the wake of a new offering, it could reduce a lot of market confidence in a firm.
Tesla Inc needs, therefore, to be very careful about timing a capital raise. The CFO Deepak Ahuja is experienced in exactly this sort of financial engineering. He returned to Tesla after the abrupt resignation of Jason Wheeler in March.
There are factors outside of the control of the firm. Despite some dire predictions, the world economy has done pretty well so far in 2017. That can change unexpectedly, however, and a bubbly Tesla stock could suffer harshly in a downturn.
The lower stock goes the more expensive capital raising will get. That’s true whether Ahuja tries to raise cash through debt or equity.
The case for a cash raise
Tesla had about $4 billion of cash on its books at the end of the first quarter. Mr. Michaeli of Citigroup estimates that number will fall to about $1 billion by the end of the year. When the firm’s cash level falls to or near that level, it’s a good sign that there is capital raising activity ahead.
Thursday’s Citigroup report recommends that Musk and his team endeavor to raise $5 billion. That’s what the analysts terms a “proper cash buffer”. If the stock remains in bearish territory, that could be a big ask.
On the other hand, Tesla Inc debt could be easier to issue. In March the firm issued convertible bonds. Those are loans that can be converted into shares in the firm. Structuring debt like that makes it cheaper, i.e. it has a lower yield.
Tesla, if following its own history, will likely offer some kind of mixed capital raise. Unless things change sharply it will likely need to signal its intentions in August and follow through sometime in the six months that follow.
Tesla bears bet on cash problems
Despite the massive rise in Tesla stock, there are still a group of dedicated traders who are certain it’s going to fail. Right now they’re betting that one of the firm’s big problems going forward will be getting its hands on more cash.
Goldman Sachs analyst David Tamberrino, who has a $180 price target on the firm, sees cash raising happening in the first half of next year.
In reality a cash raise in itself isn’t going to do much damage to the firm. What it could do, however, is become a moment of truth for a lot of people betting on the future of the Model 3. If we find out that the firm has been overspending and not ending up with a great product, some investors could get very nervous at a time of capital raising.
This is exactly the kind of push that bears are hoping for.
Is now the time to buy Tesla stock?
Tesla Inc is in a a risky position, there’s no doubt about that. The value of its stock is based almost entirely on profits to be earned far far into the future. It looks like it’s going to be taking on a lot more debt in order to reach its growth goals. Despite that, a whole lot of people are very optimistic about Tesla.
Elon Musk and his team will release earnings for the three months through June on August 2nd. The cash burn number, and the total amount of cash the firm has left on its balance sheet, will be key to Wall Street’s assessment of the performance during the quarter.
If you like Tesla Inc stock, it’s likely better to trade in the long term. Timing price movements using technical or other data has never proved reliable.
Elon Musk and his team are going to continue to try to dominate the EV market. There will be risks along the way, but the firm has already weathered a lot of big storms.
With the Model 3 currently being built, the next winds that buffet Tesla stock are likely to be cash-based. When the firm’s earnings reports arrive in the first week of August, that number is the first you should check.


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Justin Sullivan/Getty Images Tony Luong for The New York Times Mandel Ngan/Agence France-Presse Getty Images Trending. Bitcoin is not run by people saada bitcoin arvostelu with hot sexual appetites for hotel maids. In the frontier days of cryptocurrency, it seemed that every other story was about how criminals and tax-evaders were using Bitcoin to buy and sell illegal goods and services. Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. Just broke down and cried. What the average Joe hears is how friends lost fortunes, said Alex Kruger, a former banker who has been trading in the cryptocurrency markets for some time. For the new fanatics, stick around for your own 14 month, 85 downdraft and youll not regret. Im living off the little savings I have left still in my bank account,. The system we would bring in would be backed by a fund, he told Reuters. The Bitcoin dream is all but dead, I wrote.
It is down ab out 70 percent from all-time highs, rather than the 90-percent losses that.
Our columnist predicted in 2013 that Bitcoin, then a new digital c urrency, would soon die.
He points to five assumptions he got wrong.
Ethereum belongs to the same family as the cryptocurrency Bitcoin, whose value has increased more than 1,000 percent in just the past year.
It has referred the question to another court. Users can leverage their bets up to a ratio of 10:1 on Bitcoinica, meaning they can lose more bitcoin-salt lake city than their initial investment. Many of the groups that raised money last year are still working on the products they promised, with lots of serious engineers drawn to the projects. The Shift, image, people using a Bitcoin ATM in Hong Kong. The virtual currency markets have been through booms and busts before and recovered to boom again. I think Id like to see most alts go to zero before I feel like the whole space isnt overpriced,. Neither bank wanted to comment.
Nykyinen bitcoin palvelumaksu
Miten voin siirtää bitcoin alkaen bittrex että coinbase
Bitcoin hd, miten palauttaa mac lompakko
Bitcoin core lähetys tapahtuman


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The founder of Chinese IT giant Lenovo said in an interview published Monday that Apple is missing huge opportunities in the world's most populous nation because it does not understand mainland consumers.
"We are lucky that Steve Jobs has such a bad temper and doesn’t care about China," Lenovo chairman Liu Chuanzhi told the Financial Times.
"If Apple were to spend the same effort on the Chinese consumer as we do, we would be in trouble."
Lenovo holds about 30 percent share of the Chinese market, which is one of the fastest-growing globally, and is expected to become the world’s largest within a year, the newspaper said.
Chinese consumers are as keen on Apple's sleek gadgets as their international peers, but official channels for their sale are extremely limited, the report said.
The company has a flagship store in Beijing and a handful of authorised resellers in the country’s largest cities. Apple is due to open a store in Shanghai on Saturday.
The iPhone has been legally available only via China Unicom, the country’s second-largest mobile operator, and sales have been sluggish partly because the price tag for the phone is much higher than for those sold on the grey market.
Another reason has been that previous rules required Apple to disable the Wifi function in phones sold on the mainland, making them less attractive to increasingly Internet-savvy consumers in China.
The latest version of the smartphone -- the iPhone 4 -- will be sold in China with Wifi, state media reported previously.
Liu said the LePhone, Lenovo’s first signature product in its push into mobile devices, was well placed to compete with the iPhone in China because the device, launched earlier this year, was customised for Chinese users.
"This is a very practical thing. The iPhone has more than 100,000 content providers, and we have no more than 1,000," Liu said.
"But our Chinese customers feel our applications are very convenient to use."
Explore further: China Unicom in talks to launch iPhone 4, iPad in China


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As per a recent report, the new Hyundai Creta will be a 7 seater. This new 7 Seater Hyundai Creta will be for the next-generation. The company’s most successful SUV is the Creta. With the Creta, Hyundai hasn’t been just successful in India but even in other parts of the world. Hyundai has been exporting the new Creta to other markets from India. This new SUV has been doing great numbers and it has further expanded the segment. So, what will the Creta have on offer? We share our detailed preview.
7 Seater Hyundai Creta Launch Date
The new Creta will be launched in 2021. The new Creta will be making its entry into India after 6 years. The current Creta isn’t still very fresh.
Also Read: Honda BRV Price and Features
7 Seater Hyundai Creta Engines
Too early to state, but Hyundai at the moment is using 1.4, 1.6 litre diesel engines. The petrol for the Creta is the 1.6 mill. Maybe a more powerful engine will be used for the new Creta. This will be due to the increase in weight. The new Creta will have manual and automatic transmissions both. Hyundai is anyways getting new engines as there are many new ones coming up. The 1.0-litre turbo petrol could be a good replacement for the 1.6-litre petrol. So, by 2021 Hyundai will have more turbo petrol engines on offer too.
7 Seater Hyundai Creta. Why?
This is because Indian consumers have been looking at seven seats. Even though most of the SUV users do not use it, it is still seen as a great add-on. This is what makes the new Creta a good SUV to consider. The 7 Seater Hyundai Creta will be made as this is what buyers are looking at. Honda got the formula right with 7 seats for the BR-V, however it doesn’t seem to have taken off well. The Creta has been excellent numbers and is currently one of the best selling SUVs in the country.
Source: Autocar India


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For the enterprise minded, we bring in Bruce Chatterley, the CEO of Senet, to talk about LoRa networks and offer some use cases in the smart city, enterprise and residential setting. I learned some new things, including efforts to allow roaming onto LoRa networks. Chatterley also brought up a new business model and said that new partners mean that Semtech no longer holds all the cards when it comes to LoRa networks. Enjoy the show.
Our guest takes us back to the topic of IoT networks and the future 5G holds for the internet of things. Chetan Sharma is the founder of Chetan Sharma Consulting, and is a widely respected telecom analyst. He talks about what networks are likely to succeed and why, and then also digs into his thoughts on how we should rethink competition and M&A in the digital economy. He also asks if it’s too late to regulate anticompetitive data practices in the U.S. I hope you enjoy the show.
And for those tired of cryptocurrencies, we bring you block-less blockchains for the internet of things from Computes, a new startup. Computes founder, and former IoT Podcast guest Chris Matthieu, discusses why IoT needs decentralized computing and why a new type of blockchain makes the most sense. We dig into Computes, blockchain and more in a somewhat geeky interview. Enjoy the show.
We begin this week with another cautionary tale about bricked connected devices. This week it’s an automotive product called Mojio. From there I discuss the things I recently learned about building wireless networks in industrial settings while Kevin talks about how much money connected plants can save. We then get super nerdy on innovations in low-power chips before dipping into a lot of news such as IDC’s expectations for the IoT and new talents for the Google Home, Amazon Echo and Honeywell’s controller. We end the show with reviews on two connected devices we installed and answer a question about leak sensors from a listener.
Stick around and you’ll hear from Nick Langston, head of business development at TE Connectivity, talking about the future of smart fabrics. While the biggest use case so far is in smart clothing to detect health data, Langston envisions a future where those same sensors might be put into sheets, carpets or even cars. He also shares an idea about what might be the coolest jersey ever that would react to your player getting hit on the field or light up in response to your team scoring a point. It’s pretty cool.
My guest is Matt Rogers, co-founder and VP of Engineering at Nest, who discusses the rationale behind the new Nest Security system and where Nest is heading. We also talk about efforts to build a closer relationship between the Google Home and Nest teams. Plus, he offers hope for an eventual HomeKit integration, although I am not going to hold my breath. Enjoy the show.
Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel Guest: Matt Rogers, Nest Sponsors: Qualcomm and Eero
Which new Amazon device will you buy?
The FDA gets into wearables
Advice for a listener on creating audio-activated scenes
Apple’s disclosure of the HomePod, a connected speaker and personal assistant, drove much of the IoT news this week. However, research from Pew on how rapidly people are becoming connected and the lack of transparency about how our data is used might end up being the story with real legs. Kevin Tofel and I discuss both this week, along with some Wink news, how he feels about the Google Home and a brand new purchase I made.
To continue with the HomePod theme, I spoke with three different people to get a sense of how voice affects adoption of smart home technology, what the HomePod could mean for HomeKit adoption and what another voice-activated speaker means for privacy. Scott Harkins of Honeywell, Adam Justice of ConnectSense and Nuala O’Conner of the Center for Democracy and Technology joined me for the discussion.
Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel Guests: Scott Harkins of Honeywell, Adam Justice of Connect Sense and Nuala O’Conner of the Center for Democracy and Technology Sponsors: TE Connectivity and Affiliated Monitoring
This week we recorded before the big rush of news from Google I/O but we managed to cram in the details on Google’s new IoT Core beta that offers developers a cloud-based platform for connected devices. Since Google servers are used frequently by businesses it would be interesting to see how google monitoring would work within this new cloud beta. Kevin Tofel and I also discuss Android Things and the moves Amazon has made with the Echo to compete with anticipated Google news. These include notifications on the Echo and a pledge to pay some developers. Add to this, Samsung’s new ARTIK modules, Honeywell’s new venture fund and some speculation on Spotify and we have a solid show. Plus, soon I can shop at B8ta.
Our guest this week is Bill Gardner from GE Appliances, who shares the industrial giant’s thinking around connected ovens, stoves and more. There’s some bad news, an AI named Geneva that works with Alexa and Google Home, plus a call for partners in building the smart kitchen for the future. And just for fun, I find out why I may want a connected washer and dryer. Enjoy the show!
Have you ever wanted to know what Vint Cerf, a vice president and chief internet evangelist at Google, has in his smart home? Find out in our guest segment, as one of the fathers of the internet comes on the show to discuss the internet of things and the questions we should be asking. We discuss standards, architecture, privacy and more. You’ll enjoy it.
Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel Guest: Vint Cerf of Google Sponsors: Samsung ARTIK and wolfSSL
Google needs to pivot, and its latest misstep shows why
Kevin isn’t sold on ARM’s new architecture
Yes, standards are important for the internet of things
But the best part of this week’s show is my interview with Phoebe Wilkinson, a partner with Hogan Lovells. Wilkinson helps manufacturers defend themselves against class action lawsuits. We discuss what aspects of connected products might be ripe for a future lawsuit and how companies can defend themselves. We also talk about how warranties are going to have to change for connected products. We may also see a revamp of how data opt-ins are handled. Listen up. You’ll learn something.
This week’s big story was the Bentonville, Arkansas case where police were seeking data from an alleged murderer’s Echo history. Kevin and I share our thoughts on the case, what police could learn from connected gadgets and what this means for your privacy. We then talk about Google’s new smartwatches coming in 2017, two new open/close sensors I discovered and Intel’s work with Amazon to create a model smart home. We also debate what shape the smart home should take and I’m getting ready for CES next week.
After a big thank you to the companies who sponsored the podcast this year, I interviewed Guarav Garg, a managing partner at Wing VC about how the fight to be the next big IoT platform will shape up. He has some surprising views on the roles startups will play and where the innovation in IoT will come from (and when).


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The Raspberry Pi Foundation hired a former technical overseer as its creator. Amid controversy surrounding his background, the organization has doubled down on its decision.
Raspberry Pi Foundation hires former police officer
The Raspberry Pi Foundation, a charity based in the UK, has taken on an ex-technical monitoring officer named Toby Roberts. Roberts was once with the Eastern Region Special Operations Unit (ERSOU), which specializes in dealing with organized crime and terrorism threats.
The Raspberry Pi Foundation headed to Twitter to announce its new hire, who will take on the role of Maker-in-Residence.
A Raspberry Pi Foundation news post was also released, which goes into more depth about Roberts in an interview.
Roberts said that he “made stuff to hide video, audio and other covert gear” during his time at ERSOU to avoid “searches for sensitive police equipment”. Roberts also noted that he “started playing with the Raspberry Pi hardware at home at the same time [he] started using Linux at work”. It is clear that he is highly skilled at disguising surveillance technology as everyday objects.
While their capabilities are impressive, this new development has drawn a good deal of negativity from the public.
Raspberry Pi users are worried about this new hire
After the Raspberry Pi Foundation announced the hiring of Toby Roberts on Twitter, other users began voicing their concerns about what that might mean. One person commented “Any recommendations for an alternative board?”, another said they need the Raspberry Pi Foundation “to understand how bad this is and how proud you are not to work with the police on surveillance technology” should be”.
People also took to other sites like YCombinator to discuss the issue. One user commented on the YCombinator thread that it would be beneficial if the company “clarified [Roberts’] role”, as the details are currently quite vague.
Raspberry Pi Foundation defends its decision
Although reaction was mostly negative to this new development, the Raspberry Pi Foundation publicly defended its decision.
Some Twitter users also claimed that they were blocked by the Raspberry Pi account after voicing their opinion on the matter, as you can see in the post below.
Another user posted an alleged screenshot from the Raspberry Pi Mastodon server. In the screenshot, it looks like the Raspberry Pi account responded a bit unprofessionally to a critical comment, saying that “[Roberts] lightsabers makes James. Chill.”
When another commenter asked if they were really serious in their reply, the Raspberry Pi account responded by saying that they should unfollow them if they are not happy with the situation.
Another Twitter user posted several screenshots purportedly from the Mastodon servers, displaying more examples of Raspberry Pi account interactions.
In a screenshot, the Raspberry Pi account told a user “if you’re able to read more than a few words in the title, you’ll understand”. Of course, this conduct drew additional criticism from the Raspberry Pi community.
We’re yet to see the full extent of Roberts’ role in Raspberry Pi
Reaction to Tony Roberts’ hiring has been overwhelmingly negative, so it seems more clarification is needed on his role at the Foundation. Otherwise, people will fill in the blanks and guess wildly.
It’s hard to get hold of a new Raspberry Pi. Supply chain issues and demand from the educational sector have resulted in a shortage of the popular single-board computer (SBC).
But do you really need a brand new Raspberry Pi for your project? With so many Raspberry Pi options to consider, there’s a good chance you may find yourself modifying your needs and trying a different SBC.
It should also be affordable. With so many Raspberry Pi competitors out there, finding an alternative can be difficult. But with a shortage of the Raspberry Pi 3B board, Raspberry Pi 3A board, and Raspberry Pi 4S, the popular credit card-sized SBC is proving difficult to get hold of. Raspberry Pi Compute Modules are also hard to come by.
To help you find the best board for your project, we’ve compiled this list of 4 alternatives to the Raspberry Pi.
1. Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W is a smart choice
It may be half the size and more similar to the Raspberry Pi 3 than the Raspberry Pi 4, but a lot of people are counting on the Raspberry Pi Zero 2W. However, this option won’t give you the same level of processing power and not as much RAM.
That’s more than enough to handle basic desktop computing, video streaming/media center use, and retro gaming. Many other Raspberry Pi-based projects will run on the Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W. In addition, most Raspberry Pi operating systems will also run on the computer.
In the meantime, if the lack of standard USB-A and Ethernet ports is a problem, consider an expansion board.


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While NFT gaming is probably a new aspect in blockchain gaming, it can no longer be considered a niche but an established part of blockchain-based games.
Since the opportunity to make money is a huge draw for players, NFT Gaming has attracted a large number of new players. Sometime in 2021, there were game streamers making thousands of dollars in revenue every week as a result of their participation in these NFT games.
Naturally, given that most of these games had been launched during the bull market, their token prices had skyrocketed, as had player revenue. But these NFT games are now being put to the test as the crypto market has entered another inevitable bear market.
As prices have plummeted, so has player interest. A large number of games that were popular due to their rising token prices are now suffering in the bear market. Even big players like Axie Infinity have seen a significant drop in interest during this time. This has required more innovation and less focus on token pricing when it comes to NFT games. That is, if these games plan to survive the current bear market.
The token price should not be the focus
A problem with existing blockchain games is the fact that the value of the entire gaming ecosystem depends solely on how their token prices evolve. When the price of their tokens goes up, they see a lot of interest, but any drop causes players to leave in large numbers. It is evident that such a model is unsustainable, and some industry experts have even dubbed the current models as Ponzi schemes that require a steady stream of new entrants to keep them going.
Using such models only attracts players who only care about the price of the tokens they earn. The result of this is the mass exodus that has taken place in the gaming sector as crypto has welcomed another bear market.
A new entrant has taken the initiative to address the issues currently plaguing the NFT gaming space. Cradles: Origin of Species is a blockchain game that focuses on innovation and its community rather than the token price. This game promises to bring never-before-seen capabilities to NFT games to go beyond the questionable models of existing blockchain games.
How Cradles differs from others
Cradles: Origin of Species focuses on innovation to engage and interest the community, rather than symbolic price. With a gamer-first approach, the developers are introducing new Metaverse gaming experiences. These range from popular aspects of the Play 2 Earn ecosystem to new Metaverse features that make it more than just a virtual reality gaming experience. One of the innovations of the Cradles: Origin of Species team was the introduction of the EIP-3664 proposal for a new NFT type.
It follows in the footsteps of the ERC-20 by introducing revolutionary features when it comes to how tokens are created. Unlike ERC-721 or other token standards currently used for NFTs, EIP-3664 includes several new attributes that allow for different types of fungible and non-fungible aspects. Players can add and remove components to their NFTs, as well as give them new traits that allow for continuous and dynamic gameplay, unlike traditional NFTs, whose traits are preset and cannot change.
Props, characters and modes of operation of games using EIP-3664 can be fully represented as smart contracts. This encourages different gameplay and expands the types of NFTs on the Ethereum network to provide a stronger and more diverse gaming experience.
Play and earn, not play to earn
Cradles’ gamer-first strategy has seen it move away from the traditional play-to-earn model and take players into the new world of play and earn. This helps shift player focus from the price of the token earned in-game to playing the game for sheer enjoyment. This way, the tokens earned by players only become an additional incentive to play as they progress in the game and not the main motivator for playing.
It’s also the first subscription-based game to grace the blockchain gaming space. This allows all players to access the game instantly without having to purchase expensive NFTs in advance. Purchasing a monthly pass allows users to play and earn cradles throughout the month.
The game also has no transaction fees for small transactions. These are transactions that take place between players and peer-to-peer transactions. A small tax applies to transactions involving more valuable items.
Staking in NFTs
As previously mentioned, Cradles: Origin of Species players do not need to make any significant initial investments before playing Cradles. Another invention that makes this possible is the in-game Staking Into NFTs (SIN) feature.
This allows users to get into the NFTs already held by their favorite vaper or professional gamer. So if a player doesn’t have access to a powerful weapon in game and a streamer does, they can put their tokens into the streamer’s NFT to increase the weapon’s power. This gives the streamer an edge over their opponents to help them claim victory and win the prizes that will be shared between the streamer and those who have wagered in their NFT.
All in-game items in Cradles: Origin of Species are also created by the players. No external NFTs are sold before entering the game, and players are free to roam and trade items with each other thanks to a fully decentralized item supply.
Cradles recently raised $5 million in a private funding round to expand its Metaverse. The game is backed by some of the biggest players in the industry, including Animoca Brands, Signum Capital, and Huobi Global, among others.
The innovation behind Cradles: Origin of Species sets it apart from all other blockchain games. By successfully separating the game’s value from the token price, it ensures that its community is always involved, regardless of whether the token’s price goes up or down. A complete game that boosts the development of the metaverse.


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Starbucks in Russia has recently been reopened as Stars Coffee by pro-Putin rapper Timati and restaurateur Anton Pinskiy. The pair acquired the rights to the coffee chain in Russia previously owned by Starbucks and operated by its licensee Alshaya Group of Kuwait.
Timati and Pinskiy attended the launch of the first of the 130 cafes in central Moscow. A part of its rebranding, the chain’s new logo was unveiled by the duo: a woman sporting the traditional Russian kokoshnik headdress, an image that still closely resembles the original. It won’t fool anyone, but the blatant brand-theft must be aimed at transitioning previous Starbucks patrons to the new chain.
According to the company app, which was released a day before the store’s formal opening, the menu would be familiar to any Starbucks customers.
The company hopes to trade off the millions in investment that Starbucks made in establishing its brand in the country. We shouldn’t be surprised at the move, but whether the new company can operate at scale has yet to be seen. Copying a logo and a menu is one thing, but copying all the business-established operations is going to be harder.
We have a chance not just to change the sign, but to make a real live case of a cool import substitution!Timati, Rapper & Entrepreneur
At a press conference held on opening day, the Stars Coffee owners promised to reopen all former Starbucks locations under the new name and expand the business. Since its entry into Russia in 2007, the coffee giant had grown its operations in the country to around 130 stores.
The Russian authorities encourage Russian businesspeople to buy out western companies who are selling their assets at a loss in a rush to the exit after the country’s invasion of Ukraine. The intent is to communicate continuity to ordinary citizens who had become used to western lifestyles at a time when the country is becoming increasingly isolated from Europe and the U.S.
Now the economic situation is difficult, but this is a time of opportunity. For the past four months, we have been very actively looking at exiting companies following the example of Starbucks. There are several more similar examples, but we cannot talk about them yet.Oleg Eskindarov, president of the holding company that partnered in the Starbucks deal (source: AP)
Starbucks said in May that it was leaving the Russian market, joining other well-known western companies that had already left the country in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Photo by Maxim Shemetov/REUTERS


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Multiplayer modes are finally coming for Watch Dogs Legion. The game was released to the PC and previous generation consoles along with the next-generation consoles last year. Watch Dogs Legion Online will release where you can play with your friends by forming a group of up to four people and enter different missions. We shared the postponement news of the game before.
Watch Dogs Legion Online Is Out March 9
Ubisoft, Watch Dogs: Legion’s online mode on March 9; Xbox One, Xbox Series X | S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Stadia, and Windows PC. Also, Epic Games Store and Ubisoft Store announced that the game will available to all owners via a free update. Watch Dogs: Legion’s online mode will include the following features as part of the free update on March 9:
- Free-roam open-world co-op where players can team up with their friends for up to four-players and explore London. Besides, encounter city events, complete challenges, and participate in side activities.
- New co-op missions for two-to-four players using new co-op gameplay mechanics and giving players the opportunity to recruit the perfect team and fight back against London threats across the most iconic landmarks of the city.
- “Leader of the Pack,” the first four-player co-op Tactical Op which will require teamwork and efficiency. It’s made of five interconnected narrative missions which are endgame content, made for players who are seeking a challenge. Players will need to strategize and communicate effectively with their teammates and ensure they have upgraded gadgets and recruited a strong cast of characters.
- The first available Player-vs-Player (PvP) mode, Spiderbot Arena, where four players control armed spiderbots and compete in a high intensity free-for-all deathmatch.
- By completing any online activity, players will earn XP to increase their rank and unlock various rewards such as exclusive cosmetics and influence points to recruit new operatives or upgrade their DedSec gadgets.
Season Pass holders will also have access to two unique single-player missions on 9th March:
DedSec tracks an algorithm that could allow AI to override human decisions. If they don’t find it, it could be used to turn weaponized drones into autonomous executioners.
Not in Our Name:
A secret group is stealing DedSec’s name. Worse, they’re also stealing information so their employer, a ruthless tabloid owner, can use it to blackmail their victims.


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THE STAR – Bank Simpanan Nasional (BSN) aims to assist a total of 85,000 micro-entrepreneurs this year in efforts to restore business capacity affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and the recent floods.
BSN chief business officer Mujibburrahman Abd Rashid said of the total, 25,000 entrepreneurs are expected to be assisted through the Semarak Niaga Keluarga Malaysia Scheme (SemarakNiaga), while another 60,000 entrepreneurs would be receiving benefits through digital matching grants.
“We have seen micro-enterprises as one of the earliest sectors to recover after all economic sectors were re-opened and interstate travel restrictions were lifted.
“I believe that more micro-entrepreneurs need help to boost their business back to pre-pandemic levels or better than ever before,” he told Bernama in a special interview recently.
Last year, BSN assisted 88,000 micro-entrepreneurs through a combination of previous financing schemes under Prihatin, Penjana and Pemerkasa, as well as digital matching grants.
On SemarakNiaga, Mujibburrahman said applications can be made from this month with the eligibility criteria being that the applicant is a micro-entrepreneur, whether the form of ownership is sole proprietorship, partnership, or Sdn Bhd owned by a Malaysian citizen.
He said the company must also be registered with the Companies Commission of Malaysia or local authorities and have been in operation for not less than six months.
“As an institution mandated by the Finance Ministry to assist the country’s micro-entrepreneur sector, BSN offers a competitive rate of 4.0 per cent for this financing.
“Besides that, BSN also reduces the need for documentation to facilitate the applications. I am confident that SemarakNiaga will receive a very encouraging response,” he said.
The SemarakNiaga programme, which involves a financing package worth a total of RM40 billion, was announced by Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz when presenting Budget 2022 in Parliament on October 29, 2021.
Under SemarakNiaga, micro-credit financing worth almost RM1.8 billion will be provided through various agencies such as BSN, Tekun Nasional, Agrobank, Bank Rakyat, and Bank Negara.
Meanwhile, Mujibburrahman said BSN remained committed to strengthening its mandate in ensuring Malaysians had comprehensive banking access, especially in the rural and remote areas of Sabah and Sarawak through the ‘Cawangan Bank Bergerak’ (CBB) or Mobile Bank Branch initiative.
He said through CBB, the rural community was able to have access to various banking services such as cash withdrawal transactions through automatic teller machines (ATMs), account opening with BSN debit card, cash savings, purchase of BSN premium savings certificate (BSN SSP), bill payments, utility bills, and top-ups.
CBB BSN Sarawak started operations on July 15, 2021 in Sungai Asap and Sebauh, while CBB BSN Sabah started operations on October 12, 2021 in Pitas, Paitan, Sook, Nabawan and Kalabakan.
“The response received is very encouraging. The total deposit transactions received from CBB Sarawak and CBB Sabah until December 9, 2021 stood at MYR235,554 involving 1,548 transactions.
“We expect an increase in net deposit growth of 12 per cent for 2022 from banking activities through CBB,” he said.


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The Borders bookstore on Route 9 yesterday was added to the list of stores being closed as part of the Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization of Borders Group Inc. The company announced last month that the Boston, Burlington, Holyoke, Hyannis, Peabody and Wareham stores would close as part of a massive restructuring.
For the time being, the Borders bookstore in Marlboro near the Solomon Pond Mall is to remain open.
When the original list of store closings was released last month, Borders said it was working to renegotiate leases with landlords of its 140 other bookstores.
Among those stores, 28 across the country, including the Shrewsbury location, were added to the list yesterday, bringing total store closures to 228 out of 685 nationwide, according to company spokeswoman Rosalind Thompson. The Braintree Borders was also added yesterday to the list of closings.
“We couldn't cut the right deal,” Ms. Thompson said.
“The store's (closing) sales will start mid-next week,” Ms. Thompson said. She said the date for the store's final day in business will be determined by how much merchandise is sold before the end of May, the target closing date.
The Borders at 476 Boston Turnpike, Shrewsbury, opened in 1997, and was the corporation's first superstore in Central Massachusetts.
The store's open mic night has been a popular weekly event for years. Tonight's mic session will be the last, according to store General Manager Glenn Stewart, who is also a musician and coordinator of the event.
“Our weekly open mic night with Pat McCarthy packs them in every Friday from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Come early to get a good seat, as this popular music night draws up to 100 people each week.
“Tomorrow (Friday) will be the last open mic. We're gonna have FUN. We're gonna get LOUD, and we're gonna stay till they kick us out,” Mr. McCarthy posted yesterday.


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What are successful digital marketers doing to stay atop the game?
The cofounder of 180 and former CEO of JWT UK is tapped to lead the agency's global expansion.
Vane, who created Caples' Courageous Client award, was a passionate supporter of the industry for the entirety of her career.
Daily branded content poster Relevant24 becomes part of the Starcom MediaVest Group.
The agency veteran is charged with expanding customer engagement services.
Agency Business Report
Now that the recession is arguably over, direct marketing agencies are in an especially fortunate position. Given their efficiency and accountability, they're poised for success in the data driven digital marketing revolution — and business is finally beginning to grow, according to many agency heads.
At Caples, now a Direct Marketing News brand, results are secondary to the creative idea, and success is judged in terms of originality.


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With the beginning of the new year, e-commerce companies have been mandated to specify maximum retail price together with the product expiry date for packaged products. The move is aimed at checking fake discounts after inflating price of the product.
In line with the new rules, some of the e-commerce companies including leaders in the space such as Amazon, Snapdeal and Flipkart are working towards its compliance and for the same to be fully implemented in the course of their operations they will have to change their current policies with legal authorities as well as various sellers on their platforms.
Some of the players in the domain are still not ready to implement the change.
As per a leading business dailies report, variations in pricing of products from the actual MRP to that displayed on the e-commerce website is common with fake discounts on it.
And as per the new directions, e-tailers have made the changes known to sellers on legal metrology. As surveyed still only 10-12% of the products on these sites feature MRP which the companies stock on themselves.


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West Australian craft brewer Gage Roads is confident about its future despite reporting a 21 per cent drop in total sales volume, compared with the same period last year.
The company also reported that its revenue has decreased by 18 per cent, but that it is working to secure additional contract production both domestically and internationally, to help boost earnings growth in 2016 and 2017.
Woolworths holds a 25 per cent stake in the brewer and although the retailer has recently renewed its supply agreement with Gage Roads, it has reduced its inventory which resulted in approximately 56,000 cases of lost sales for the quarter.
In a statement the company said that it believed the Woolworths inventory levels have reached a sustainable point and that they were unlikely to be significantly reduced further.
Draught sales for the business did increase significantly for the brewer, up 211 per cent and managing director John Hoedemaker (pictured) believes that following a period of consolidation, the business will be in a strong position to build for the future.
“FY15 will be a year of consolidation for us as our customers re-position their products for the next summer selling period,” Hoedemaker said.
“With that in mind, total expectations for the full FY15 are expected to be down approximately 15 to 20 per cent in line with the year-to-date results.
“The business has weathered some significant challenges over the last 12 months, however, I strongly feel that the fundamentals of our business model are in a better position than ever before and we are working hard to deliver an uplift in sales and earnings for shareholders in FY16.”
As well as contract brewing Gage Roads is working on extending its export markets, with sales to Japan and Singapore already happening and further opportunities being explored in the UK and China.
Written by Andy Young, editor, The Shout.


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Turkey is once again expected to be the biggest foreign participant in this year’s edition of the Luanda International Fair (Filda), overtaking Portugal, the chairman of the company organising the event said Thursday in Luanda.
Matos Cardoso said that at the 30th edition of the fair, due to take place in July, Turkey, as in the 2012 edition, will have the largest number of exhibiting foreign companies, with a 5,000 square metre pavilion.
Cited by Portuguese news agency Lusa, Cardoso said that Portugal remained Angola’s main economic partner and that “the vast majority of the (Portuguese) companies operating in Angola, if they did not arrive in the country via Filda, they have taken part at least once”.
Cardoso noted that Portugal would continue to be the exhibitor that does the most business with Angola and added that the most important thing was doing business deals, “and from that point of view I think Portugal will continue to lead”.
At the 2’13 edition, due to be held from 16 to 21 July, participation is expected to be bigger than in previous editions due to new countries taking part, such as China, with a 3,000 square metre pavilion and Turkey, with its 5,000 square metre pavilion.
According to Cardoso, 35 countries that have a trade relationship with Angola have taken part in the fair, and this year Poland and Tunisia will take part for the first time.
This year the fair, which is in its 30th year, is entitled, “The challenges of attracting investment: Strategy, Legislation, Institutions, Infrastructure and Human Resources”. (macauhub)


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WELCOME TO The THE INTERNET OF THINGS REPORT
Feature market insights and perspectives from top C-Level executives, elite technology influencers and thought leaders from your company here. This signature initiative has garnered immense support...
ABI Research | April 21, 2021
There are currently 8.6 billion IoT connections. By 2026, the figure is expected to nearly triple to 23.6 billion. ABI Research's latest whitepaper, Connected & Protected: The Threats and Opportunities of IoT Security, examines how the rapid increase of IoT connections will usher in a new age of connectivity and productivity, as well as a slew of new threat vectors and vulnerabilities. At the same time, the looming security gaps present a huge revenue opportunity for IoT security players...
Ping Identity, Quadrant Knowledge Solutions | August 31, 2020
Ping Identity, the Intelligent Identity solution for the enterprise, today announced that it has been named a Technology Leader by Quadrant Knowledge Solutions in the SPARK Matrix for IoT IAM (Internet of Things Identity & Access Management), for the second consecutive year. The SPARK Matrix provides a snapshot of the leading technology vendors in the global market.
As part of the 2020 report on the global IoT IAM market, Quadrant Knowledge Solutions conducted an in-depth anal...
SOFTWARE AND TOOLS
Ponce | November 20, 2020
ORBCOMM Inc. (Nasdaq: ORBC), a worldwide supplier of Internet of Things (IoT) arrangements, today declared that Ponce, an Argentinian IoT organization having some expertise in horticultural effectiveness, is helping ranchers all through Latin America increase considerable cost reserve funds and safeguard water through its water system arrangements that use ORBCOMM's satellite IoT innovation.
Ponce's answer is controlled by ORBCOMM's dependable, worldwide satellite avai...
IoT tech News | March 02, 2020
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Singapore will continue to remain one of th...
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Now, Peugeot is struggling to cope with huge demand for the 607 in its home market, which has meant a further postponement of right-hand-drive production.
A spokesman said: 'We're sure the car is now totally OK - feedback has been excellent following the suspension changes. The problem now is huge pent-up demand for it in France and although we will probably have some demonstrator cars for fleets in the autumn we've decided to play it safe and move the UK launch date back to January.'
In its first full year, sales volume is expected to be no more than 4,000 units in Britain, which Peugeot believes will help maintain healthy residual values. The three new engines are 2.2-litre and 3.0-litre V6 petrol and a 2.2-litre common rail diesel fitted with a particulate filter.


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You could say thank heavens they have finally stopped buying the "dip". Then again, there apparently aren't any left!
That's the case, anyway, even if your notion of a "dip" is any day the market doesn't go up. So far there has been exactly one such occasion during 2018. Or worse still, if you assume the traditional metric of at least a 5% drop, you have already been out of the dip buying business for a lifetime—- whether measured in market lives or even dog years.
That's right. Heisenberg reminds us this morning that we are in undisputable record territory. It has been fully 395 trading days since the market had a 5% drop, and that's never happened before in all of recorded history.
Then again, the central banks of the world had never even dreamed of snatching $22 trillion of fiat credit from thin air prior to 1995, either. But in the nine years since the financial crisis they generated $14 trillion of new footings and more than $20 trillion during the last three bubble cycles combined.
Needless to say, this $20 trillion emission of something for nothing has deformed and poisoned the entire warp and woof of the global financial system. Everywhere financial asset prices have been massively inflated and falsified, causing a two-phase distortion of the global economy.
Initially, massive money printing by the Fed fostered defensive currency market interventions (i.e. "dirty floats") and exchange rate suppression by the PBOC, BOJ, BOK and other exporters of both commodities and industrial goods. Buying in dollars to sequester in their own central banks, the mercantilist exporters of the world—including the dollar-linked petro-states—essentially imported the US dollar inflation.
So doing, of course, they expanded their own monetary bases and domestic credit systems with reckless abandon. That led, in turn, to a monumental global CapEx boom funded not by real money savings, but directly and indirectly by the prodigious fiat credit emissions of the mercantilist central banks. Accordingly, capital spending by worldwide publicly traded firms increased by 5X during the decade ending in 2012.
Ultimately that tsunami of cheap capital funded monumental excess capacity in global mining, energy, shipping, manufacturing and distribution industries and mobilized hundreds of millions of subsistence workers from the rice paddies and village economies of Asia into the globally traded markets. The resulting China Price for goods and India Price for internet-based services, in turn, resulted in a massive flattening of the global labor cost curve.
Together, excess industrial and labor capacity ushered in an era of global commodity and industrial price disinflation that led to an utterly perverse reaction function among the Keynesian central bankers. That is, the only lesson they ever learned after the last remnant of real money was destroyed when Nixon trashed the Bretton Woods gold-exchange standard at Camp David in August 1971 is that too much monetary expansion leads to a rising and ultimately punishing CPI.
But the central bankers have not seen much CPI inflation in the present money printing era—especially after authorities sawed off the inflation ruler in the 1980s and 1990s via statistical tricks such as hedonics, geometric mean adjustments and imputations like homeowners equivalent rents in lieu of actual, measurable housing prices. So they perceived a green light to print central bank credit at will.


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Staples said it has agreed to pay an $850,000 fine to settle a dispute with the Federal Trade Commission over its mail-order procedures for informing customers about delayed shipments. The office-supply retailer also agreed to modify its procedures. Shares of Staples SPLS fell 1 percent, or 19 cent, to $18.71, ahead of the news.
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DETROIT (Reuters) -- U.S. auto sales declined about 35 percent in the first half of May from a year earlier, and any start of a recovery is unlikely until late summer, J.D. Power & Associates said today.
The market research firm said it has again lowered its outlook for 2009 U.S. auto sales to 10 million units, 400,000 units below its previous forecast.
"While there are some signs of stability in the automotive market, current sales rates indicate that achieving recovery will not be a quick proposition," said Gary Dilts, senior vice president of global automotive operations at J.D. Power.
New vehicle sales are expected to come in at 876,000 units in May, for a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 9.3 million, the forecasting firm said. That would mark a return to March levels, after April's 9.5 million, as demand continues at 27-year lows.
A year ago, the figure was 14.3 million.
The firm said "a high level of consumer uncertainty" has led to a flattening of retail sales and a projected delay in recovery of two to three months beyond the spring selling season.
U.S. auto sales fell 37.4 percent in the first four months of 2009 compared with the same period last year, compounding woes surrounding U.S. automakers General Motors and Chrysler.
Chrysler filed for bankruptcy on April 30, and GM has said it will likely seek court protection by June 1. Automakers will release May sales totals on June 2.


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Apple is the main 9.7-inch display consumer, a recent report from DisplayBank suggests. It appears that the company has an insatiable hunger for this type of display, since 83% of all 9.7-inch display sales were generated by Apple last month.
There are two main suppliers that provide Apple with 9.7-inch displays, namely Samsung and LG. The two companies shipped 4.5 million units to Apple in May. The Cupertino-based giant used 5.38 million displays in the manufacturing of its iPad tablets last month. A part of the remaining 17% of 9.7-inch displays went to the HP Touchpad, but the report has not revealed the exact percentage.
This size of display is not used a great deal by many tablet manufacturers, but it appears the iPad’s success could make more tablet makers embrace the idea of using this display size for their devices to become more 'iPad-like'.
The huge display orders Apple has put to its suppliers are a clear proof that iOS tablets are selling like hotcakes and this will definitely reflect in Apple’s quarterly revenues. The company’s sales will probably exceed analysts’ predictions.
The tech giant will also launch an updated version of its MacBook Air in the near future. The device will integrate the new 10.7 OSX Lion operating system and will be powered by Sandy Bridge processors.


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We Are Social’s Monday Mashup #248
YouTube beats Facebook in Superbowl ad views
If you’re reading this, you’ve either got access to the internet or a trusty friend who’s printing it out for you every week. Assuming it’s the former, you’ll probably have seen something to do with the Super Bowl – perhaps even one of the halftime ads. Figures from the day after the event say that YouTube was the top place for online views of the ads, 126m to Facebook’s 61m, but that Facebook saw the most shares: 70% of all those online. Here’s a picture from the Budweiser ad, obviously included because of the dog.
Twitter’s revenue is better than expected for Q4
Twitter announced mixed results from its Q4 report. The network now hosts 288 million monthly active users, an increase of just 4 million for the quarter, well below the 291 million predicted. However, its revenue was up 97% year-on-year to $479m, compared to an expected $453m. Ad revenue reached $432m, of which 88% came from mobile. The Guardian published a piece about what we can glean from the report, stating that growth may have been hampered by technical issues with Apple’s iOS8 launch. The British newspaper discusses Twitter’s 2015 plans, including a focus on recommendation/curation, the growth of mobile video and big plans for the Cricket World Cup.
Expect tweets to appear in Google searches
Google and Twitter have struck a deal that allows the former access to the latter’s stream of data, which will make tweets more visible in search results. There’s no ad revenue involved – rather, the move is looking for a mutual benefit as tweets become more searchable and searches more useful.
Instant Timeline for new Twitter users revealed
Twitter is testing its ‘Instant Timeline’ feature, which it hopes will solve some of the problems encountered by new users. When you set up an account, it will scan your contacts (provided you grant permission) and analyse who they are/who they follow, then begin showing tweets that it thinks will be of interest to you. Vindu Goel tested the feature for the New York Times, describing the algorithm as “eerily accurate” at divining his interests. As you can see, it doesn’t look wildly different from Twitter as we know it.
Twitter to serve ads beyond its network
Twitter is planning to serve promoted tweets on partner apps like Flipboard and Yahoo Japan. The move could well prove lucrative – the company has claimed that, in the last quarter, it gained 185bn impressions outside of Twitter itself.
You can buy promoted tweets in Analytics
Twitter wants to earn ad revenue from small and medium businesses, so it’s making it easier to buy promoted tweets. Now, users can simply log in to the Analytics dashboard, select a tweet and budget and watch the magic happen.
Instagram tweaks videos to auto-loop
Instagram videos will now automatically replay in users’ streams, much like Vines. You can change settings so that it only happens on WiFi, but can’t turn off the feature altogether. Not that you’d want to, of course.
LinkedIn shows strong growth in ad revenue
LinkedIn ad revenue in Q4 grew to $153m, up 56% from the previous year, and accounting for 24% of total revenue. During 2014, ads raised $454.5m for the company, up 46% from 2013. If you prefer your numbers columned, here’s all that again in graph form:
The Gap produces Instagram campaign but gets kicked off Tinder
The Gap is getting all romantic this Spring. First of all, it’s launched a series of Instagram videos, designed for the new looping feature, under the hashtag #SpringIsWeird. They feature influencers Jenny Slate and Paul Dano, and will track “the burgeoning romance between [the two], as they navigate chance encounters, first dates and moody spring weather in the hope of finding their perfect fit.” Their perfect fit! Very good, clothes brand.
As if that wasn’t enough, the high street retailer is now on Tinder! Or it was, until its campaign got pulled for violating the terms of service. Not sure if that’s better or worse than my own Tinder record.
Better. It’s definitely better.
Chipotle gets poetic in new campaign
High-street fast-food chain
Asks fans to send in haikus
For chance at prizes.
@ChipotleTweets And you shall find Him, Wrapped in Swaddling Foil, Burrito Jesus. pic.twitter.com/5mevITCQQS
— JakesTea (@JakeWethington) February 5, 2015
@ChipotleTweets There is a secret – love I have, for the heavy – handed employee
— Bob Plow (@bobplow) February 5, 2015
@ChipotleTweets I hate you haiku, you’re too hard to do. Burrito.
— Kathy (@Rollergirl116) February 5, 2015
Coca Cola accidentally quotes Hitler
Coca Cola asked Twitter users to tag negative tweets with #MakeItHappy, in order to have them made into cute figures using ASCII code. Lovely, right? Well, provided nobody tags a quote from Mein Kampf. And the campaign isn’t automated. And… oh dear.
UK politics is getting social
The upcoming UK general election is set to be the most social ever. Facebook has already posted a reminder on every newsfeed, prompting people to participate in ‘national voter registration day’. The parties are getting involved, too: the Guardian has posted a piece about the Tories spending £100,000 a month on Facebook ads. The article includes a number of figures from We Are Social’s very own Research & Insight team – you can read our full analysis here.


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You have searched for "CMCO"
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KUALA LUMPUR: Scientex Bhd posted a record high net profit of RM390.11mil in the financial year ended July 31,2020 underpinned by strong growth in its packaging manufacturing and property development segments.
KUALA LUMPUR: Bermaz Motors Bhd, the distributor of Mazda cars in Malaysia, sees a challenging year ahead for the company after a steep drop in quarterly profits in the three months ended July 31.
KUALA LUMPUR: Mah Sing Group Bhd recorded profit before tax of RM65.6mil on the back of revenue of RM669.8mil in the first half ended June 30,2020.
KUALA LUMPUR: Sime Darby Property Bhd (SDP) expects the property market to see gradual recovery, driven by the government’s stimulus packages such as the Home Ownership Campaign 2020 and lower borrowing costs.
KUALA LUMPUR: UOA Development Bhd's net profit fell 81.47% year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM23.19mil in the second quarter ended June 30, 2020, from RM125.09mil on lower progressive recognition of the group's projects as construction was halted during the movement control order (MCO).
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's economy shrank 17.1% in the second quarter ended June 30 as it was seriously impacted by the movement control orders, especially in April, which was a much deeper contraction compared with a Bloomberg survey of 10.9%.
KUALA LUMPUR: Maybank Investment Bank Research is retaining its Buy call on highway operator Lingkaran Trans Kota (Litrak) after cutting traffic forecasts which led to lower earnings forecasts and discounted cashflow target price (TP).
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s manufacturing sales rebounded 19.1 per cent to RM90.2 billion in May 2020 as compared to the previous month, said the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DoSM).
Originally devised as an additional tool to survive the MCO, restaurant owners are realising that DIY cooking kits might have more staying power than they had first imagined.
KUALA LUMPUR: Maxis Bhd has been identified as a technology solutions partner (TSP) by the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) for the RM500mil SME Digitalisation Grant under Budget 2020.


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Intel AI at Baidu create: AI camera, FPGA-based acceleration and Xeon scalable optimizations for deep learning
Via Intel Newsroom
Jul 4, 2018
What’s New: Today at Baidu* Create in Beijing, Intel Vice President Gadi Singer shared a series of collaborations with Baidu on artificial intelligence (AI), including powering Baidu’s Xeye* a new AI retail camera with Intel® Movidius™ vision processing units (VPUs); highlighting Baidu’s plans to offer workload acceleration as a service using Intel® FPGAs; and optimizing PaddlePaddle*, Baidu’s deep learning framework for Intel® Xeon® Scalable processors.
“From enabling in-device intelligence, to providing data center scale on Intel Xeon Scalable processors, to accelerating workloads with Intel FPGAs, to making it simpler for PaddlePaddle developers to code across platforms, Baidu is taking advantage of Intel’s products and expertise to bring its latest AI advancements to life.” Gadi Singer, vice president and architecture general manager, Artificial Intelligence Products Group, Intel
How the Camera Works: Baidu’s Xeye camera uses Intel® Movidius™ Myriad™ 2 VPUs to deliver low-power, high-performance visual intelligence for retailers. Thanks to Intel’s purpose-built VPU solutions coupled with Baidu’s advanced machine learning algorithms, the camera can analyze objects and gestures, while also detecting people to provide personalized shopping experiences in retail settings.
How Acceleration Works: Baidu is developing a heterogeneous computing platform based on Intel’s latest field programmable gate arrays (FPGA) technology. Intel FPGAs will accelerate performance and energy efficiency, add flexibility to data center workloads, and enable workload acceleration as a service on Baidu Cloud.
How PaddlePaddle is Updated: With PaddlePaddle now optimized for Intel Xeon Scalable processors, developers and data scientists can now use the same hardware that powers the world’s data centers and clouds to advance their AI algorithms.
PaddlePaddle is optimized for Intel technology at several levels, including compute, memory, architecture and communication. For example:
- Optimized math operations through advanced vector extensions (AVX) intrinsics, BLAS libraries (e.g. Intel® MKL, OpenBLAS) or customized CPU kernels.
- Optimized CNN networks through Intel® MKL-DNN library.
Intel and Baidu are also exploring integration of PaddlePaddle and nGraph, a framework-neutral, deep neural network (DNN) model compiler that can target a variety of devices. Intel open-sourced nGraph in March. With nGraph, data scientists can write once, without worrying about how to adapt their DNN models to train and run efficiently on different hardware platforms.
Intel, the Intel logo, Intel FPGA, Intel Movidius, Myriad, and Xeon are trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the U.S. and/or other countries.
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In October, Google announced that they would let customers who had a current enterprise agreement (EA) with Microsoft to use Google Apps for Work for free until the EA expires. At that point, the customer is expected to begin paying Google the regular subscription fees ($5 per month per user for the productivity apps or $10 per user for unlimited storage).
There has been a lot of media hype over the change, particularly around the claim that Google had not done its homework on the domain name. Don’t believe the hype.
The thinking behind Google’s reorganization goes much deeper than people think, and it’s been in the works for quite some time. Jim Lundy breaks down the new fundamentals, from G to Z.


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iPhone Battery Fail: Korea taking ‘close look’ at Apple phones
South Korean technology officials are “mulling over an investigation” into the iPhone 6S, according to a new report.
The Korean Agency for Technology and Standards (KATS) has admitted to taking a “close look’ at the iPhone 6S, following recent reports from users about random shutdowns. That’s according to the Korea Herald, a local new agency that says that problem “could potentially be a safety issue”.
KATS is a government standards organisation in South Korea, falling under the Ministry of Knowledge Economy. It has the power to force a national recall, if it feels one may be necessary.
“The agency is well aware of recent iPhone issues and is taking a close look at it,” a KATS official is quoted as saying, adding: “However, this does not mean that an investigation was launched.”
Users have bemoaned an ongoing design flaw with the iPhone 6S that causes some handsets to randomly shut down, even when they have sufficient charge. However, while Apple has already admitted that the iPhone 6S problem exists, it denies that the issue poses any risk to customers:
To appease consumers, Apple recently launched an online tool that lets users enter their handset’s serial number to see if they own an affected iPhone model. If so, customers are eligible for a free battery replacement.
This is the second time Apple has been under fire in East Asia in as many weeks, after a Shanghai-based watchdog recently complained that Apple’s response to user reports of exploding iPhones had been slow. The report, published last week, said: “Apple should be responsible for consumers. A large amount of consumer complaints are not solved effectively.”
But Apple denied any wrongdoing in a statement given to Agence France Press, which read: “The units we’ve analysed so far have clearly shown that external physical damage happened to them, which led to the thermal event. We treat safety as a top priority and have found no cause for concern with these products.”
Apple will likely be keen to keep a lid on reports of iPhone battery issues, given Samsung’s recent recall of the Galaxy Note 7. The Samsung handset was recalled just one month after launch due to a battery issue that was causing handsets to spontaneously catch fire. The phone is now no longer on sale, and Samsung urges all customers to turn off their devices for good.
Related: iPhone 8
Watch: iPhone 7 Plus video review
What do you think of Apple iPhones? Let us know in the comments.


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Unfortunately though, no ForgeWorld.
Rending past reports obsolete, 343 Industries officially announced the third DLC pack for Halo 4, the Castle Map Pack, to release on April 8th, Monday. The pack itself has been developed by Certain Affinity in collaboration with 343 Industries and contains three maps.
The Castle Map Pack will also provide 9 new Achievements, in total worth a 250 Gamerscore. Alas, there’s been no announcement regarding the return of ForgeWorld.
One can also look forward to a new playlist in War Games, which will allow for 6 versus 6 gameplay that emphasizes team play and objective combat. Check it out this Monday when the Castle Map Pack releases on Xbox Live.


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Jaguar and Land Rover (JLR) are reportedly taking a cue from Volkswagen by planning to dramatically reduce the number of platforms that they use.
Autocar says the British brands are looking at Volkswagen's MQB platform as a case study for how to shrink their seven platforms into two or three architectures that can be used to underpin a variety of vehicles. This would dramatically reduce production and development costs which is critical for smaller companies like JLR.
According to Jaguar’s global brand director, Adrian Hallmark, "It won’t happen overnight. VW’s MQB platform will take seven years to roll out across the models it will underpin.”


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Welcome to NCM’s The Bigger Picture blog! Watch this space for news and insights into all things cinema advertising — from the latest industry news and ad trends to the best big screen campaigns, digital initiatives and international innovations. If it’s happening at the movies, we’ll be talking about it here.
Welcome to The Bigger Picture!
Posted in NCM News