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Not surprisingly, the postage increase that took effect mid-May and its consequences were the big topic at this year’s Annual Conference for Catalog and Multichannel Merchants, which took place last week in Boston.
When it was announced in February that the increase would be as much as 40 percent for some catalog mailers, the industry was caught off guard because it had expected a much smaller increase. As a result, businesses big and small were at the conference looking for strategies to help them reduce costs. However, they were also trying to figure out if there’s something more they should be doing to ensure that they aren’t surprised like that again.
“Everybody is freaking out about the postage increase,” said Phil Donahue, vice president of strategic accounts and development at Catalogs by Lorel, King of Prussia, PA.
This thought was echoed repeatedly by merchants and vendors. The big surprise at the show, however, was that circulation rates appear not to be declining significantly in response to the postage increase.
“We’ve been through this before,” Mr. Donahue said. “Everybody knows by now that if you decrease circulation this year you’re just going to increase it again next year.”
Brian Fiderlein, product manager at CMS Direct, Minneapolis, MN, said catalogers realize that at some point they can’t reduce circulation without hurting their business, and that’s the point where many are at right now.
“With the postal and paper cost increases that we’ve had over the past couple of years, circulations have already gotten so lean that the usual knee-jerk reaction of cutting circulation really isn’t an option this time,” he said.
An informal survey of merchants and vendors at the show seemed to indicate this was correct, with many large catalogers planning to stay the course or even increase their circulation going into the fourth quarter and next year. The exception was some of the smaller catalogers, who are cutting their prospecting efforts.
“Catalogers are dealing with cost challenges comprehensively,” said Rick Erwin, senior vice president and general manager for Experian’s Marketing Information Services, Schaumburg, IL. “Many of our clients are asking us to help them mail smarter.”
Mr. Erwin said a vast majority of his firm’s clients have engaged it to audit their mailing programs and optimize their lists going forward in anticipation of new rules from the U.S. Post Office that will go into effect in August regarding list hygiene.
“Catalogers are reviewing their entire process and focusing on every area of business to look for ways to reduce costs, including list hygiene, prepress, manufacturing capability through to distribution,” said Bruce Jensen, vice president, U.S. sales, Transcontinental Printing, Montreal, Canada.
Transcontinental was showcasing its recently launched Virtual Edge press side proofing technology at the show, which enables catalogers to approve color proofs remotely. Using a combination of highly calibrated monitors and specialized software, publishers can view and manage color proofs online and the final output will mirror what they approve, improving workflow automation and reducing costs, Mr. Jensen said.
Representatives from The Tribune Publishing Company were walking around the show to talk about Direct Delivery +, a program it launch late last year that offers catalogers an alternative, less-expensive method from the Post Office for delivering their catalogs.
“We have this amazing delivery force that is delivering newspapers seven days a week when the post office is only delivering six days a week,” said Kristin Sullivan-Stoesser, target marketing manager at The Chicago Tribune.
Alternative modeling methods was another popular topic at the show as catalogers look to improve their prospecting efforts.
Williams-Sonoma Inc., for example, has launched a new prospect modeling initiative intended to help it develop better models and simplify the process, said Angela Caltagirone, director of direct marketing services and new customer acquisition, Williams Sonoma, San Francisco, during a session on circulation strategies at show.
She also said the company is having some success with reactivating relapsed customers. The Williams-Sonoma catalog, for example, has a large relapsed file and the company has discovered that the lifetime value on these customers is much stronger than expected.
CMS Direct’s Prefer Network introduced a new mail file optimization tool at the show to help multichannel merchants identify low performing prospects and replace them with qualified Prefer Network names. The company spent the last 12 months developing the model for identifying “the worst of the worst” prospects, said Mr. Fiderlein.
However, realizing the importance of business efficiency wasn’t the only reaction prompted by last week’s postage increase. A lot of people at the show were also wondering if there was something more that could have been done to prevent the hike from being so steep.
“The catalog industry needs to look in the mirror” when it comes to how the recent postage increase came about, said Mike Muoio, president/CEO of Lillian Vernon, Virginia Beach, VA.
He was referring to the fact that the catalog industry did not take a more active role in its own representation during the proceedings that lead up to the rate increase.
Mr. Muoio and a group of other catalogers and industry-related firms have recently come together to form the American Catalog Mailers Association, which held its inaugural meeting on the first day of the show last week. The group, which has hired a law firm and lobbying firm in Washington, seeks to represent the interests of the catalog industry with regard to legislative issues of concern to it.
However, the Direct Marketing Association’s president/CEO John A. Greco Jr. has repeatedly expressed his concern that the actions of a splinter group could have a negative impact on the DMA’s own efforts in Washington on behalf of the direct marketing industry as whole, including catalogers.
It was this perceived adversarial relationship between the two groups that also received a lot of air time in Boston.
“It’s not a cat fight at all,” Mr. Muoio said, insisting that the ACMA is not looking to promote any tension between the two groups.
Many attendees, most of whom spoke off the record, also expressed surprise at what appeared to be a smaller show this year. However, this could have been the result of the fact that the show floor only took up half of the exhibition space it had been given and attendees had to get to the floor by descending an escalator into the empty space.
According to the DMA, it was expecting more than 400 booths featuring approximately 300 companies. At last year’s show in Chicago, the DMA reported that there were 420 booths.
Attendees also reported having a lot of off-site meetings in downtown Boston, which was approximately a $10 cab ride away. As a result, many weren’t returning to the conference center after their meetings.
Still, quite a few exhibitors reported that they were pleased with the amount of traffic stopping by their booths.
“The traffic is up [compared to previous years],” Mr. Donahue said.
Mr. Jensen echoed this sentiment, adding that Transcontinental has already signed up for next year’s conference at the Gaylord Palms in Orlando, FL.
“I’m excited about the Gaylord Palms – the location keeps everybody contained,” he said.


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In the wake of a string of high profile data breaches reported by banks, retailers and credit card companies, a U.S. House panel on Thursday approved a bill drafted to protect consumers from identity theft and credit card fraud.
The House Financial Services Committee cleared the Financial Data Protect Act of 2005, which spells out requirements for companies to investigate breaches and notify law enforcement and consumers. The law seeks to ease compliance for the financial industry by setting a national standard for data security that overrides state notification and credit freeze laws.
Democrats are criticizing the bill, claiming it erodes essential protections that allow consumers to prevent identity thieves from opening credit accounts in their names and require companies to inform consumers when their personal data have become compromised. Meanwhile, privacy lawyers and information security companies are beginning to weigh in on the potential ramifications of this pending legislation.
An Ironic Bill?
“It is ironic that after a year in which over 55 million Americans’ identities were put at risk through preventable data breaches, the House Financial Services Committee would repeal state laws that have protected consumers from identity theft,” said Susanna Montezemolo, policy analyst with Consumers Union, nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports magazine.
Montezemolo compared the bill to buying a fire detector after your house has burned down — it is too little, too late. Consumers shouldn’t have to wait until an identity thief has already bought a Lexus in their name in order to have the right protect themselves, she said.
“Rather than voting to protect consumers, the Committee made things worse. All consumers should have the right to sleep at night without worrying about identity theft — this bill takes us in the exact wrong direction,” said Ed Mierzwinski, Consumer Program Director for the U.S. Public Interest Research Group.
Businesses Face Perception Issues
Despite consumer advocacy backlash, the Financial Data Protect Act of 2005 has potentially positive implications for businesses, according to Randy Gainer, an attorney with the law firm of Davis Wright Tremaine LLP in Seattle.
Businesses need to respond to the perception among consumers that if consumers provide sensitive private data to businesses, the data are at risk of being misused for fraud and identity theft, Gainer said.
“That perception has apparently contributed to a decrease in the number of consumers who are willing to provide their information, for example, to online businesses. That, in turn, has caused some businesses that, in the past, have opposed privacy and security regulations to support effective privacy and security laws,” Gainer told the E-Commerce Times.
Microsoft’s Two Cents
Gainer pointed to Microsoft General Counsel Brad Smith’s March 9 keynote address to the International Association of Privacy Professionals in which he said Microsoft now supports the effort to develop a comprehensive national privacy law.
Notably, Smith said that Microsoft does not favor complete preemption of state authority to enforce such a law; rather he said that state attorneys general should have a role in enforcing any such national law.
Microsoft opposes a national law that addresses only data breach notification requirements because there are already too many disparate laws that impose various duties related to data privacy and security, Smith said. Instead, Microsoft favors one comprehensive data privacy statute.
There are more than 20 state laws that require consumers to be notified when sensitive data are disclosed. These laws include several different standards for when such notices must be sent. This generally requires businesses with consumers from multiple states to apply the most restrictive standard, which is to notify consumers when there is any unauthorized disclosure, Gainer said.
“Because notifying consumers is expensive, may trigger class action lawsuits against a business, and causes harm to businesses’ reputations and goodwill, many businesses a favor a notification standard that requires that consumers be notified only when consumers are likely to be exposed to fraud or identity theft as a result of a data breach,” Gainer said.
Security and Compliance
The legislation may offer benefits, but it also offers new challenges for businesses, said Bruce Eissner, CEO of information security firm Polar Cove, and those challenges may be more than technological.
“The purpose of the legislation is to ensure consumers” privacy via secure management of relevant data. That kind of management requires people — people who are qualified, trained, vigilant, and have strong senses of responsibility. It requires training those people, not just in using technology but in understanding the risks their companies and customers may face,” Eissner told the E-Commerce Times.
Beyond just implementing technology solutions, Eissner said businesses need to build security and compliance into their cultures and into their business strategies: Noted Eissner: “The businesses that become proactive will not only be leaders but could become winners in the current environment.”

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Big changes are coming for drivers in British Columbia!
During a live press conference on Monday, ICBC announced that customers will soon be able to renew their personal insurance policies online as well as their decal disposal plan.
The online process, which will be accessible via computer, tablet or mobile device, is set to launch on May 1, allowing eligible ICBC customers whose policies expire on or after that date to renew their policy online.
Although the official launch date is May 1, customers will be able to renew their insurance up to 44 days earlier. This means, for some, that they will be able to renew online as early as March 17.
In addition to renewing their personal auto insurance coverage, the online system will allow customers to change their address, request discounts, update the drivers listed on their policy and change how they use their vehicle.
“The online insurance renewal initiative provides British Columbians with a more convenient way to renew their ICBC auto insurance,” said Mike Farnworth, Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General.
“Working with the RCMP, British Columbia Police Services will improve and expand the automatic license plate recognition program that exists today.
May 1 will also mark the last day for drivers in British Columbia to display a license plate validation sticker on their car, similar to provinces such as Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Quebec and the Northwest Territories which did the same.
To ease the transition to decal removal, ICBC will make a one-time investment of $1 million to improve and expand the Automatic License Plate Recognition program, which helps law enforcement across British Columbia to detect illegal, unlicensed and uninsured drivers.
Insurance brokers will continue to offer their services in person and over the phone for those who prefer to do so in person or have additional questions.
“We know that online insurance renewals are something our customers have been waiting for, and we are happy to announce that we are on track to have this option going live next month,” said Nicolas Jimenez. , President and CEO of ICBC.
“Online insurance renewals add to the growing number of digital options available to customers, providing more convenience, choice and flexibility for British Columbians.”


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Forever 21 warns of possible credit card data breach
15 November, 2017, 16:50 | Author: Regina Silva
Forever 21 announced on Tuesday that customers who shopped in certain stores this year may have had their credit-card information stolen.
On Tuesday, the USA clothing retailer said that the company recently received a tip from a third-party that there "may have been unauthorized access to data from payment cards" at a number of Forever 21 outlets. Right now, Forever 21 doesn't know how far the breach extends, but an investigation is underway with the help of an unnamed "leading security and forensics firm".
Card transactions made at stores between March 2017 to October 2017 may have been affected.
Forever 21 operates more than 815 stores in 57 countries including the US, UK, Australia, Canada, China, Germany, Japan, India, Latin America and Philippines. Because the investigation is continuing, complete findings are not available, and it is too early to provide further details on the investigation.
See what stores in New Orleans will open on Thanksgiving
To protect you on Black Friday , the BBB advises consumers to not believe all they see or hear without doing their own research. If you'd like to receive one daily message with the main headlines, as well as breaking news alerts, text NEWS to 07790 586202.
Shooting reported at Northern California elementary school
The alleged shooter often fired multiple rounds during the early morning hours, and Flint said living near him was "hell". A reporter at Action News Now described anxious parents trying to get to their children at Rancho Tehama Elementary.
Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc
Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE: IPG ), its shares were trading at $18.67 a retreat of $-0.12, on the trading floor. In the most updated research from a number of analysts on Wall Street, the company gets 11 Buys and 1 Sell among 17 analysts.
"We regret that this incident occurred and apologize for any inconvenience", Forever 21 said.
It advises customers to keep a close eye on their credit- and debit-card statements and notify their bank or card issuer if any unauthorized charges pop up on them. "We will continue to work to address this matter".
Until more specific detail is released by Forever 21 it's hard to pin down which retail locations are affected.
The police suspect that the crowd had attacked Umar Khan and two others under the impression that they were smuggling cows. The deceased's family members are camping in Jaipur after the body was referred to SMS Hospital here from Alwar .
AAPL's profit will be $19.25B for 11.43 P/E if the $3.75 EPS becomes a reality. (NASDAQ:AAPL) to report earnings on January, 30. Apple comprises approximately 1.1% of Parkside Financial Bank & Trust's portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding.
One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Quantbot Techs Lp accumulated 3,062 shares. $5.59M worth of AbbVie Inc (NYSE:ABBV) shares were sold by Schumacher Laura J.
All powerful Scorpio came up with auto temperature control and more secure 9.1 new generation bosch ABS system. Mahindra & Mahindra has launched the Scoprio facelift at an introductory price of Rs. 9.97 Lakhs (Ex.
There have been calls for Johnson to quit in the wake of the gaffe, but Ratcliffe said he should stay and clean up his mess. Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson is to meet the husband of a British-Iranian woman jailed in Iran later.
FYI, Serena and Alexis began dating in 2015, and their wedding will reportedly be held at New Orleans' Contemporary Arts Center. In other news, Serena Williams recently complained that her fiancé spends a little bit too much money on toys for their baby.
Boots has said it will slash the price of a controversial £50 advent calendar after it received a barrage of criticism online. The Boots and Zoella collaboration features 12 items, which many fans do not believe equate to the cost of the calendar.
Starcraft II is available for both Windows and Mac, but before you can get it, you'll need a Blizzard Battle.net account. As for the rest, all the multiplayer units will be accessible in the Unranked Multiplayer and Custom games.
The Amazon Music app has been around for years and has supported connecting to a number of external devices for music playback. It's also not of much interest to Amazon Prime members who already get Amazon Music Unlimited included in their package.
Police shoot vehicle to stop it, killing driver
A 19-year-old man has died in a police officer-involved shooting in Fall River, according to family members. Neither Quinn's office nor Fall River police answered additional questions about the shooting yesterday.


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BK Franchisees Lose Sleep Over Late-Night Rule
CHICAGO (AdAge.com) -- How would you like to be behind the counter at a Burger King at 2 a.m. in a high-crime area -- or one near boisterous bars at closing time?
The idea doesn't appeal to many people, which is why the fast feeder is embroiled in a late-night fight with franchisees over the company's mandate that all its restaurants stay open until 2 a.m. -- during those wee hours that account for a growing 2.4% of fast-food-industry traffic.
Three Miami operators started a revolt last month in a lawsuit that alleges the extended hours, which Burger King is pushing with a splashy ad campaign directed by Spike Lee and starring Sean Combs, don't make money and overtax the work force. While the suit encompasses only 57 locations, it has drawn the support of the company's franchise association, which represents 5,000 of Burger King's 7,000 U.S. locations.
"Nationwide, franchisees have advised our franchisor that serious safety, security and financial concerns surround the company's extended-hours initiative," Joseph Anghelone, chairman of the National Franchise Association, said in a statement. "Many franchisees are implementing this new initiative, although their compliance should not be construed as acceptance of this policy."
Burger King maintains it has right to enforce hours of operation by way of a clause in the franchise agreement, stating that hours of operation are 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., "unless otherwise authorized or directed." "As a matter of fact, 95% of our largest competitors' restaurants operate some form of extended hours, with 42% of their restaurants open 24 hours a day seven days a week," said Burger King spokeswoman Denise Wilson. "These extended hours will enable us to effectively compete."
An executive familiar with the matter said Burger King is offering exemptions on the late-night mandate to franchisees who can demonstrate competitors within a mile radius aren't open during those hours. While applications have been filed, the executive said it's too soon to know if they've been granted.
As the last major player to join the late-night crowd, Burger King has gone a few steps farther than rivals McDonald's, Wendy's and Taco Bell, by mandating -- rather than strongly suggesting -- that stores stay open past 11 p.m. Thursday through Saturday. The chain has also bankrolled the national broadcast TV spots with Mr. Combs from Crispin Porter & Bogusky, Miami.
The company declined to comment on its late-night media spending. But it's clearly expecting to reap financial rewards from insomniacs and post-partiers with the munchies. Russ Klein, Burger King's president-global marketing strategy and innovation, told investors in May that its late-night hours, which started in June, and breakfast value offerings are expected to boost same-store sales by a full percentage point over the summer.
The late-night concept is still in the nascent stages. According to NPD Group, the 11 p.m. to 2 a.m. window accounts for 2.4% of traffic in the quick-service industry. That's up from 1.4% a year ago, because more stores are staying open.
Darren Tristano, exec VP at Technomic, estimated that late-night transactions account for less than 10% of quick-service sales, although he stressed that the business "can be profitable" because most overhead costs are already covered.
But franchisees, already beset with rising commodity costs, gas surcharges, minimum-wage increases and more-cautious consumers, are having trouble keeping workers in the restaurant overnight. Many have multiple jobs and rely on the late-night hours to catch a few winks before a morning shift somewhere else.
Security is another concern. Chris Ondrula, chief operating officer of Spence Group Services, said robbery and violent crime has happened only late at night or early in the morning at his company's 58 Burger King locations in Illinois, Ohio and Pennsylvania. The company closed a restaurant in Lindenhurst, Ill., six months after an employee was murdered in November 2006. Sales at the location never recovered.
Mr. Ondrula said while his company is particularly sensitive to security issues, "being open hours that are not financially viable is something that we are keenly aware of." He added that some of his company's locations had been successful in the late-night hours, even before the mandate, while others had not.
Roger Webb, a Wendy's franchisee in Florida, said late night probably isn't a concept that would make sense across the board for the chain. "It may work in some urban areas, but when you start getting into Middle America, there's not much traffic out there at three in the morning."
Burger King could face liability issues in the event of a violent crime during late-night hours, said attorney Rich Reinis of Steptoe & Johnson, but exposure would vary by state. He added that an indemnity clause in franchise agreements generally exonerates the franchisor.
This is the fast feeder's second legal fight with franchisees this year. Luan and Elizabeth Sadik charged that Burger King's value menu, particularly the double cheeseburger, had driven them to insolvency. The Sadiks lost their case, but Burger King quietly terminated its test of the item at $1.


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Three Rivers’ annual Household Hazardous Waste Collection Day is Saturday beside the Oxford Conference Center
Published 10:04 am Thursday, April 6, 2017
Spring is in full swing in Oxford and for many, that means it’s time for a good spring cleaning.
Oxford and Lafayette County residents can clear up some space and get rid of hazardous waste sitting around in sheds and garages this weekend.
Three Rivers’ annual Household Hazardous Waste Collection Day is Saturday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the National Guard Armory parking lot beside the Oxford Conference Center.
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The event is held annually to keep hazardous household waste from ending up in landfills or other parts of the normal waste stream.
In previous years, more than 600 cars dropped off waste that included everything from TVs to paint to batteries. Those bringing waste to the collection event can just pull up in front of the armory and volunteers will unload the items to be dropped off.
The waste is organized and given to vendors who turn around and recycle the items.
Commercial waste is not accepted, nor is regular household trash or furniture.
Household items that can be dropped off include aerosols, all-purpose cleaners, ammonia, antifreeze, brake fluids, batteries, barbecue lighters, fluid, chlorine bleach, computer/electronic waste, detergents, disinfectants, drain opener, engine fluids, fertilizers, furniture polish, gasoline, gas additives, glass cleaner, glues, herbicides, insecticides, mothballs, motor oil, oven cleaner, paints/paint thinner, pesticides, photographic chemicals, propane cylinder tanks, rodent poisons, silver polish, swimming pool chemicals, stains, tires, toilet bowl cleaner, turpentine, varnish, water sealant, old appliances and old medical supplies.
For more information, call 662-489-2415.


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Almost 200 paramedics, Tube and bus drivers and cabbies working in London are attacked by members of the public every week, according to shock new figures.
Croydon is to get its strongest boost since it was ravaged by riots two years ago when Britain’s biggest designer outlet store opens there this week.
17 September 2013
06 September 2013
No one delights his customers quite like Giorgio Armani. At least that was the message at Paris couture week as the designer unveiled his latest high-end Armani Privé line at a show packed to the rafters with high-paying clients who had travelled from China, Russia and the Middle East.
03 July 2013
Actress Milla Jovovich dazzled on the red carpet at the One Night Only event hosted by Giorgio Armani in Rome last night.
06 June 2013
Princess Charlene of Monaco perfected the “garçonne” look that was the theme of yesterday’s Giorgio Armani show at Milan Fashion Week.
26 February 2013
Giorgio Armani and the razzmatazz of Hollywood have long gone hand in hand. It came as little surprise then, that when the veteran Italian designer presented his couture collection in Paris last night, screen sirens Hilary Swank and Uma Thurman were there to support him.
23 January 2013
Giorgio Armani reinvented his signature suit at Milan’s men’s fashion week.
16 January 2013
09 December 2011
21 November 2011
24 October 2011
- Watch: Hilarious viral video emerges of 'Northern Line Tube carriage transformed into nightclub'
- Amy Winehouse bronze statue unveiled in Camden
- Hundreds of Tube drivers, cabbies and paramedics attacked each week in London
- Lecturer badly beaten in raid at his home has been left with permanent double vision
- 'Burglars dressed up as police' and handcuffed homeowner in raid
- Business leaders in revolt over Boris Johnson's cycle superhighway plans
- EXCLUSIVE: London children as young as ten being 'trained to be junior jihadis,' warns Deputy Mayor, as extent of extremist threat in the capital is revealed
- Poll jump puts Ukip in with Clacton by-election chance
- Boris Johnson plays down Tory leadership ambitions after being selected for Uxbridge and South Ruislip seat at General Election
- British student Ghoncheh Ghavami is jailed in Iran for attending men's volleyball match
- Flight makes emergency landing because woman wouldn't stop singing Whitney Houston song I Will Always Love You
- Identity of notorious serial killer Jack the Ripper finally revealed
- Oscar Pistorius verdict: 'Blade Runner' cleared of murder of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp
- Man arrested at London Bridge station after 'claiming to have bomb in bag' during rush-hour
- Woman forced to burn belongings after finding eggs of one of world's most venomous spiders in Tesco fruit


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According to a recent report prepared by a government office in another state, Floridians are prone to falling behind on their credit card bills.
Many Tallahassee residents have no doubt seen credit card companies and stores offer same as cash incentives in which a Floridian can buy a big-ticket item, like furniture, an appliance or even a car, and then pay it off over several months without having to worry about interest.
Although the numbers have gotten better in recent years, many Americans would not be able to pay off their credit cards in an emergency, as they do not have enough in their emergency savings accounts to do so even if they needed to.
The federal CARD Act, passed about 10 year ago, offers important protection to residents of Tallahassee who use credit cards. It is important for Floridians to understand what their rights are under the CARD Act. If they realize that their credit card company has not followed the law, then they may want to consider contacting a credit card debt relief attorney in Florida to evaluate their legal options.
Recent reports have suggested that once the final numbers come in for 2017, they will show that Americans collectively are carrying more credit card debt than they ever have before, at over $1 trillion. This will be an increase over the last year of about $50 billion.
While most residents of Tallahassee either have and use or at least are familiar with how credit cards work, some might not know about federal laws which are designed to protect Floridians and people throughout the country unfair or unscrupulous practice at the hands of credit card companies.
The latest reports available suggest that, while the vast majority of people in the Tallahassee area and around the country continue to amass or at least owe different types of consumer debt, a surprising number of them, more than 1 out of 4, have no real plan as to how they will pay off their debts.
As the holidays quickly approach, the struggle of giving quality, personalized gifts to friends and family with a price tag that fits your budget is sure to arise for many. Especially if you have children or young relatives, you want to give them a gift they can brag about, or at least be able to proudly proclaim to friends what he or she received.


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Roseville Mi! What a bunch of tools! We will know better and not show up next year!
Here is where I find that the city of Roseville was a bunch of amateur cruise wanna be’s. They changed up the format with some poor communications and stealth advertising. I find this a perfect reason not to go there and the “free cruise” label was totally misleading. And then , to top it off, when cruisers did show up they, the Roseville Police Department, took advantage of the misinformation and were passing out $300 to those who chose to cruise Gratiot. What a bunch of asshats! But I guess you have to get your revenue enhancements somehow, Right!?
Roseville’s annual classic car event Saturday will not include any cruise whatsoever and instead will feature stationary car shows. The Roseville Heritage Foundation’s Classics on Gratiot from noon to 8 p.m. will have 25 locations along a four-mile stretch between 10 Mile and 14 Mile after the foundation decided not to hold a cruise because of poor turnout and high expenses for extra police and safety personnel in previous years. Detroit News – June 10
Well, they kinda told ya but not really well!
After more than a few years of not being able to get it right the city of Roseville, MI decided to have a “Cruise In” rather than a “Cruise”
Along the way they just kinda forgot to tell the major media that it was no longer a cruise but a car show with 25 locations in Roseville. The Roseville Gratiot Cruise page is still up on Facebook but hasn’t had any activity since March 3rd.
However, on April 4 the press release on Roseville Heritage Cruise site still touted the event as a car cruise. No mention of a car “show”
But it was immediately followed on the same day by this release –
“We are excited to inform you of some changes in this year’s cruise event. The title of the 2016 event will be “Classics on Gratiot” hosted by the Roseville Heritage Foundation. Various participating events will be happening along Gratiot Ave between 10 Mile Rd & 14 Mile Rd. This will include several car shows, entertainment and venders. As it was many years ago, Gratiot Ave will have a good old fashion “Cruise In” (Open Cruise). Car enthusiasts will be able to show off the pride and joy of those beautiful classics, Hot Rods, and Customs as they “Cruise In” at various locations.”
On the Roseville Heritage Cruise site for May 5 they put up a small entry with a new poster
On June 10 the Macomb Daily posted
“Classics on Gratiot is the revised name for the Roseville Gratiot Cruise, but no cruising will be allowed. Instead, organizers have arranged a series of static car shows at bars, restaurants and shops featuring vintage vehicles, live entertainment and related events along Gratiot between 10 Mile to 14 Mile roads. Hours are noon to 8 p.m. Macomb Daily
Consider us totally informed now and the City of Roseville has given itself a black eye so that those that didn’t want to go there before just got a taste of why they don’t want to go there again. I know I won’t!


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Capcom revealed the first trailer for the upcoming fighting game “Darkstalkers Resurrection” which will come out on 2013. The game is a compilation of Night Warriors: Darkstalkers’ Revenge and Darkstalkers 3 currently under development by Iron Galaxy Studios.
The game will feature HD graphics, online multiplayer with 8-person lobbies, Youtube replay sharing, unlockable in-game rewards, and a lot more features. The game will be available on 2013 on Xbox Live and Playstation Network. Check out the english trailer for the upcoming game. What do you think?


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Computer crime, or cyber crime, is a crime that involves a computer and a network. The computer may have been used in the commission of a crime, or it may be the target.
Dr. Debarati Halder and Dr. K. Jaishankar (2011) define Cyber crimes as: “Offences that are committed against individuals or groups of individuals with a criminal motive to intentionally harm the reputation of the victim or cause physical or mental harm, or loss, to the victim directly or indirectly, using modern telecommunication networks such as Internet (Chat rooms, emails, notice boards and groups) and mobile phones (SMS/MMS)”.
Such crimes may threaten a nation’s security and financial health. Issues surrounding these types of crimes have become high-profile, particularly those surrounding hacking, copyright infringement, child pornography, and child grooming. There are also problems of privacy when confidential information is intercepted or disclosed, lawfully or otherwise. Dr.Debarati Halder and Dr.K.Jaishankar(2011) further define cyber crime from the perspective of gender and defined ‘cyber crime against women’ as ““Crimes targeted against women with a motive to intentionally harm the victim psychologically and physically, using modern telecommunication networks such as the internet and mobile phones”.
Dr.Debarati Halder and Dr.K.Jaishankar(2011) further define cyber crime from the perspective of gender and defined ‘cyber crime against women’ as ““Crimes targeted against women with a motive to intentionally harm the victim psychologically and physically, using modern telecommunication networks such as the internet and mobile phones”.
Internationally, both governmental and non-state actors engage in cyber crimes, including espionage, financial theft, and other cross-border crimes. Activity crossing international borders and involving the interests of at least one nation state is sometimes referred to as cyber warfare. The international legal system is attempting to hold actors accountable for their actions through the International Criminal Court.
A report (sponsored by McAfee) estimates that the annual damage to the global economy is at $445 billion; however, a Microsoft report shows that such survey-based estimates are “hopelessly flawed” and exaggerate the true losses by orders of magnitude. Approximately $1.5 billion was lost in 2012 to online credit and debit card fraud in the US.
India has emerged as a favorite among cyber criminals, most hackers and other malicious users who use the Internet to commit crimes such as identity theft, spamming, phishing and other types of fraud.
As per the study’s findings, a total number of cyber crimes registered during 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 stood at 13,301, 22,060, 71,780 and 1,49,254 respectively.
“What is causing, even more, a concern is that the origin of these crimes is widely based abroad in countries like China, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Algeria, among others,” Assocham Secretary General D S Rawat said.
Phishing attacks of online banking accounts or cloning of ATM/debit cards are common occurrences. The maximum number of offenders belong to the 18-30 age group, added the report.
Content Courtesy: Wikipedia, Indian Express
Featured Image Source: cio.com


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Are Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs Really Better?
House Republicans on Tuesday failed to stop the enactment of new energy-saving standards for light bulbs.
The GOP bill to overturn the standards set to go into effect in January fell short of the two-thirds majority needed for passage. The vote was 233-193.
The law requires manufacturers to phase in bulbs that produce the same amount of brightness with less energy.
The practical effect is that most incandescent lights – the iconic bulbs invented by Thomas Edison in 1879 – won't make the grade. Beginning in January, most stores will stop stocking 100-watt bulbs. By 2014, 75-watt, 60-watt and 40-watt incandescents also will be phased out.
Click here for EPA guidelines on cleaning up broken CFL light bulbs
Click here for recycling information.


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New York is considering legislation (S1763/A4614) that would remove the restriction on direct sales of electric vehicles. That is, if it can summon the political will to overcome the objection of America’s least-favorite interest group: car dealers.
New York still restricts direct sales from companies like Tesla, Rivian, and Lucid, despite passing the country’s most ambitious climate law two years ago and planned investment of $1 billion to encourage electric vehicle deployment over the next five years.
While these actions are important and necessary, New York may find it gets the biggest bang for its buck by following the lead of California, Massachusetts, Colorado, and Florida and allowing the companies currently selling 80% of America’s battery-electric vehicles to open dealerships in the state.
Dealerships vs. Tesla & Other EV Manufacturers — A Backstory
In order for all of the dots to be connected, you need to know the backstory behind the importance of what’s happening in New York right now.
The current legislation is trying to solve a problem created seven years ago when a group of car dealers worked to change existing state law to kick Tesla out of the state. The fledgling electric car company had opened five stores and had sold a modest total of 645 cars in the state by then. The dealers had first tried using lawyers — filing a lawsuit against the New York DMV for what it claimed was a violation of New York’s Franchised Dealer Act in granting Tesla its licenses.
That suit was dismissed by the New York Supreme Court, which, in its ruling, stated, “The Franchised Dealer Act regulates the relationship between a car company and its franchised dealers.” In hindsight, maybe the dealers should have known that from the title of the Act, but oh well.
Having failed in court, the dealers turned to lobbyists. While their original bill would have forced Tesla to close its five stores, a compromise allowed the five existing stores to remain open but closed the door to future stores owned by Tesla or any other electric vehicle manufacturer wishing to follow in its footsteps. Since then, Tesla has grown to over 10,000 annual sales in NY, and Rivian and Lucid have begun production of EVs that will hit the market this year.
Given New York’s landmark climate goals and billion-dollar investment in deploying electric vehicles, one wonders how it could justify maintaining a restriction on electric vehicle sales that has only been in place since 2014, the same year Governor Cuomo set a goal of 850,000 EVs on the road by 2025 and 2 million by 2030, ironically.
A quick search of New York’s lobbying disclosure site shows that car dealers spent $1,092,868 in lobbying in 2019–2020. They have a powerful PAC that allows them to, in their own words under a section of their website titled Halting Direct Sales, “continue to support and elect candidates for public office that are pro-business and pro-dealer, no matter their party affiliation.” This could explain why the legislation is held up in committee despite its endorsement by 114 environmental groups from every region of the state.
While money talks in the halls of Albany, the dealers are waging a different sort of battle in the court of public opinion. Their central claim in the media has been that franchised dealers provide important protections to consumers that are absent in the direct sales model. This is best articulated by Rochester Automobile Dealers Association President Brad McAreavy in a story yesterday from an upstate NBC affiliate.
Of direct sales, McAreavy says, “Tesla came to the market with that model. They thought they had a better way of doing business. It’s better for them, I suspect, financially, but it’s not better for consumers. To not have the dealer, the independent franchised dealer, in your corner, it’s going to hurt consumers. It doesn’t give them a protection that they currently enjoy today.”
One assumes that after making this point Mr. McAreavy needed to pause for laughter. The illusion presented by the dealership lobby — of the local dealer as an ally and protector of consumers — is so completely at odds with car dealers’ reputation in Americans’ collective psyche that it almost doesn’t need to be refuted. Rivian’s VP of Public Policy, James Chen, recently discussed this matter at length with CleanTechnica in a CleanTech Talk podcast. Have a listen:
Given the success the dealers have had with this talking point, despite how laughable it is, it deserves some attention. In short, the data tells a dramatically different story. To restate an earlier point, car dealers have been rated the least honest and ethical profession in America for four years running according to Gallup’s annual poll on the topic, and have earned the “Least Trustworthy” title more frequently than any other profession — over the last 35 years!
This speaks to the breadth and depth of the negative experiences Americans have had buying cars at franchised dealerships, and the horror stories they have no doubt heard from countless friends and family members. But going beyond that anecdotal evidence reveals a sales model that systematically fails to protect consumers in ways that give the lie to the New York auto dealers’ principal argument against allowing direct sales.
A recent illustrative example of this failure is a case brought less than a year ago by the FTC and the Bronx District Attorney against Bronx Honda, in which the dealer was found to have systematically discriminated against African-American and Hispanic car buyers. From the FTC’s press release on the settlement:
“According to the FTC’s complaint, the defendants told salespeople to charge higher financing markups and fees to African-American and Hispanic customers. The defendants told employees that these groups should be targeted due to their limited education, and not to attempt the same practices with non-Hispanic white consumers. According to the complaint, African-American and Hispanic customers paid more for financing than similarly situated non-Hispanic white consumers.”
The practice of marking up loan rates is nearly universal in the franchised dealer business, where more than half the gross profit from the new and used car departments comes from negotiations in the “Finance and Insurance” office. With many lenders competing for a loan, a dealer may choose the lender that gives the greatest leeway in marking up the interest rate, which can add thousands in pure margin to a deal.
Here is a concise summary of the practice from a Yale professor who has been examining this for three decades, and whose research has informed many successful settlements. In this case, Bronx Honda paid a $1.5 million fine to settle the case and is now prohibited from misrepresenting the cost to buy or finance a car. Unfortunately, this is far from an isolated example.
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The Myth Of Consumer Protection Provided By Dealerships
Although some may buy the illusion of the protective dealership, most people would find it laughable. In fact, dealerships protect their customers about as well as burning buildings do. A simple Google search will show exactly what I mean here.
According to HG.org, most types of fraudulent activities that take place in auto dealerships include withholding information that affects the value of a vehicle, such as whether or not it was involved in a collision, had any other type of damage, or has an expired warranty.
In another type of common dealership fraud known as affirmative misrepresentation, auto dealer salespeople may tamper with the odometer, use bait-and-switch advertising, and promise that the vehicle has options or features that it actually doesn’t have. In other cases, dealers have been known to lie to customers about a car being new when it’s actually used or falsely label the vehicle as pre-owned when the manufacturer made no such endorsement.
How is lying to customers “consumer protection?” The answer: it’s not. The idea is a myth. For the past four years, car salespeople have been rated as least trustworthy in Gallup’s annual poll on honesty/ethics in professions. The question that is asked is, “Please tell me how you would rate the honesty and ethical standards of people in these different fields — very high, high, average, low, or very low?”
The National Consumer Law Center, widely known as the premier consumer protection group in the United States, has produced several reports and co-litigated numerous class-action lawsuits in recent years focused on dealer interest rate markups and their disproportionate impacts on people of color buying cars. These lawsuits resulted in settlement agreements between 2003 and 2007 with Toyota, Daimler, Chrysler, Ford, GM, Nissan, and Honda, with each paying millions in fines and agreeing to limit discretionary rate markups for five years.
According to data obtained in those lawsuits, “dealers were twice as likely to add a markup to loans to African-Americans than to loans taken out by comparable white borrowers.” And when both were marked up, African-Americans paid significantly more. The data from this study casts New York car dealers in a particularly harsh light. Interest rates at New York dealerships were 311% higher for Black customers than for White customers. Only three other states showed a greater disparity than New York.
In the neighboring state of Connecticut, itself the subject of a battle between car dealers and environmental groups over a similar direct sales bill, interest rate markups were 279% higher for Black customers than for White customers.
NCLC’s 2019 report Time to Stop Racing Cars: The Role of Race and Ethnicity in Buying and Using a Car notes that these practices continued immediately upon the expiration of the last of those settlement agreements in 2012, and GM, Honda, and Toyota began settling cases based on new charges starting the following year, this time from CFPB and DOJ after those agencies found that 235,000 minority customers had been charged significantly higher interest rates in loans arranged by dealers between 2011 and 2013.
When the Obama CFPB sought to create permanent regulations banning this practice, the National Automobile Dealers Association made it a top priority to roll them back, and succeeded under the Trump administration. Even though NADA has a page dedicated to arguing that this problem doesn’t exist, it continues to be documented by consumer organizations like Consumer Reports, the Center for Responsible Lending, NCLC, and the Fair Housing Alliance.
Recently, New York’s Attorney General joined 32 states and the District of Columbia in pursuing a $550 million settlement with the nation’s largest subprime auto financing company for, among other things, “turning a blind eye to dealer abuse and failing to meaningfully monitor dealer behavior” in marking up interest rates offered to vulnerable customers.
These adverse outcomes are not limited to interest rate markups. In a sales process in which pricing on everything is discretionary, from the price of a car to a loan rate to the cost of service contracts and other add-ons, car dealers are remarkably consistent when choosing which customers to squeeze the hardest in each of those negotiations. A 2003 analysis cited in NCLC’s 2017 report Auto Add-Ons: How Dealer Discretion Drives Excessive, Inconsistent, and Discriminatory Pricing studied over half a million car purchases at over 3,500 dealerships and found that among in-person car buyers, Black and Hispanic customers paid significantly more in purchase price than White customers.
“Black and Hispanic customers paid significantly more in purchase price than White customers.”
For service contracts, which represent over a quarter of the gross profit from the vehicle sales departments of a typical dealership, the average markup was significantly higher for Hispanics than for non-Hispanics in 14 states, two of which were New York and Connecticut. It is important to note here that service contracts were marked up to an egregious degree across all customers in the study, regardless of race, with an average profit margin of 83%.
How This Relates To Direct Sales
So, how does all of this relate to direct sales, other than by demonstrating the absurdity of the auto dealers’ argument against it? The connection is perhaps best made by the FTC in a statement made almost exactly seven years ago, ironically about a month after the dealers had succeeded in changing New York law to block Tesla. It summarized the issue well, while also providing some insight into how a more competitive marketplace can benefit consumers:
“When the automobile industry was in its infancy, auto manufacturers recruited independent, locally owned dealers to reach consumers in localities across the country. State laws progressively embraced wide-ranging protections for these dealers due to a perceived imbalance of power between the typically small local dealers and major national manufacturers. Dealers persuaded lawmakers that they needed protections from abusive practices by manufacturers. Federal laws, too, developed to protect auto dealers from abuse.
“These protections expanded until in many states they included outright bans on the sale of new cars by anyone other than a dealer—specifically, an auto manufacturer. Instead of ‘protecting,’ these state laws became ‘protectionist,’ perpetuating one way of selling cars—the independent car dealer. Such blanket bans are an anomaly in the broader economy, where most manufacturers compete to respond to consumer needs by choosing from among direct sales to consumers, reliance on independent dealers, or some combination of the two.
“We have consistently urged legislators and regulators to consider the potential harmful consequences this can have for competition and consumers. How manufacturers choose to supply their products and services to consumers is just as much a function of competition as what they sell—and competition ultimately provides the best protections for consumers and the best chances for new businesses to develop and succeed.”
In many places, there is only one way of selling cars — through the franchised dealer model. Tesla has chosen a different way to sell cars — one that offers transparent, uniform prices and doesn’t have to add points to an interest rate between a lender and the borrower in order to generate a profit. People like buying cars this way, as is evidenced by Tesla’s #1 ranking in the Consumer Reports customer satisfaction poll for the last four years.
Tesla’s success in popularizing electric vehicles has been achieved by building compelling cars that people want to buy and finding innovative, simple ways to sell them. And just as Tesla’s success in building compelling cars has played an important role in pushing the broader car industry toward electrification, alongside many other efforts — including those by elected officials and environmental advocates to pass laws like New York’s climate law and 2035 ZEV mandate — so can its success in finding a new way to sell them play an important role in pushing the broader industry toward a sales process that doesn’t leave people feeling as if they’ve been taken advantage of, ripped off, and discriminated against.
The Climate and Community Leadership Protection Act (CLCPA), as New York’s climate law is known, includes a mandate from the legislature to state agencies to consider equity outcomes as well as climate outcomes when evaluating agency decisions in pursuit of the law’s emission reduction targets. As the legislature considers the direct sales legislation now before them, there is hope that they will apply the same consideration and find that maintaining this protectionist policy fails both tests.
New York’s energy future is hanging in the balance and the bill is what could unlock that green future if it’s made into law. The bill would enable EV manufacturers to sell directly to consumers and increase the accessibility of EVs while allowing all New Yorkers to join the EV revolution.
The website EV Freedom NY noted that New York will not be able to build its clean-energy economy or achieve its goals unless it changes the way it operates and overhauls the outdated rules that protect the fossil fuel industry. The market needs to be opened for EV manufacturers to address climate change and meet the state’s environmental goals. On that, a total of 114 environmental groups agree.
The State of New York has a goal to encourage 2 million people to adopt zero-emissions vehicles by 2030. If the state’s citizens are blocked from making purchases by outdated rules that favor the dealerships, there is a chance the state will fail at meeting its goals.
Although the EV market in New York has flourished along with the state’s climate policies and goals, New York has a long road ahead. What would help accelerate its growth is the passing of legislation that would remove the sales location cap and ensure that all of the state’s citizens have access to this new technology, thereby enabling the state to achieve its clean energy goals.
How You Can Help
If you live in New York and you want your state to pass legislation that would support clean energy and electric vehicles, then EV Freedom NY has a way for you to do this. It encourages you to contact your legislators, which you can do quickly and easily through their website — just click here.
Your voice counts. If I was in New York, I’d add mine to that list.
All images designed by Johnna Crider.


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Chandrakant IsiMar 17, 2016 08:17:20 IST
Now in its 30th year, GDC 2016 (Game Developers Conference) will encompass innovation on multiple platforms including PC, console, handheld, and even mobile. As usual, there has been a flurry of product announcements at GDC, but unquestionably, VR is the star of the show.
Codenamed Project Morpheus in its developmental phase, PlayStation VR is finally ready for the mainstream. Slated for release in October 2016, this headset is comparatively late to the VR party. What may work in its favour though is the PS4's 40 million install base, competitive pricing and low system requirements. The PlayStation VR will cost $400 a pop, as compared to $800 for the HTC Vive and $600 for the Oculus Rift. Considering that Microsoft hasn't finalised its plan to bring Hololens to the Xbox One, this should give Sony a head start in the console-backed VR space. According to the Japanese company, there are over 230 developers building content for PlayStation VR. Sony also announced that its in-house Playroom VR app featuring six virtual reality games will be made available free to all PS4 users.
The VR headset sports a 5.7-inch screen with a resolution of just 1920x1080, which is very low for VR. Sony has, however, indicated that the device pack in true RGB sub-pixels, meaning that the screen-door effect that plagues low-resolution VR shouldn’t really be a problem.
Of the announced games, London Heist looks incredibly fun. Check out the gameplay video below:
Sulon Q AR/VR Headset
Canadian company, Sulon, has entered the virtual reality space with an AMD powered headset. Although it looks like the Oculus Rift, it is in fact more like Microsoft's Hololens. The device will fuse virtual reality with the real world around you.
Dubbed the Sulon Q, the headset is powered by an AMD FX-8800P processor and a Radeon R7 GPU. All this fits in the headset itself so cable management is not an issue. It runs on Windows 10 and incorporates full support for DirectX 12. You can create a huge virtual computer screen, and work using the wireless keyboard/mouse combo included in the Sulon kit. The company claims that the device delivers console-quality visuals on its 2560x1440 OLED display, which is understandable, given the hardware.
The Sulon Q features spatial audio, much like the Hololens. The device is also fitted with various gesture and motion tracking sensors. Using some perceptual algorithm, the headset lets you explore larger worlds in a relatively small room. The company claims to be applying finishing touches to the product, which should be ready to ship later this year. There is still no word on the price tag though.
AMD's absurdly powerful Radeon Pro Duo GPU
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) unveiled the world's most powerful single slot graphics card. Christened the Radeon Pro Duo, the card is positioned as a platform for VR (virtual reality). To crank up the performance, the company fused two top-end Fiji GPUs onto a single card. It has 8 GB of VRAM shared between GPUs clocked at 1 GHz. The result is a mind-numbing 16 teraflops of computing power. Like most top-end graphics cards these days, the Radeon comes with liquid cooling technology. Of course, you can use it for PC gaming.
Slapping two cards together on one GPU is nothing new however and just because AMD’s slapped a VR Ready logo on it doesn’t mean it’s better for VR than, say, an SLI or X-Fire setup.
The Radeon Pro Duo is the first of many to come in AMD's VR Ready Creator line. The graphics card is expected to launch in the second quarter of 2016 with a $1499 price tag.
Razer Blade 2016
An American company with a focus on gaming, Razer announced a refresh for its Blade series laptops at GDC 2016. The new machine packs in the latest 6th generation Intel Core i7 quad-core processors and an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970M GPU with 6 GB of VRAM. All the variants of the Blade will feature 16 GB of DDR4 RAM. Storage will be taken care of by SSDs. The 14-inch touchscreen boasts of a 3200x1800 resolution.
Other specifications include Wi-Fi ac, Bluetooth 4.1, USB-C, USB 3.0 port x3, HDMI, 3.5 mm headphone/microphone combo port, webcam, Dolby Digital Plus Home Theater Edition 7.1 Codec support and a 70 Wh rechargeable lithium-ion polymer battery. Similar to the Stealth Ultrabook, this mean machine will feature individually backlit RGB keys. If you ever wanted a rainbow to emanate from your keyboard, this is your chance. Despite the beefy hardware, the laptop is only 0.70 inch thick. It is enclosed in a sleek aluminium body, and weighs in at a little less than 2 kg. The Razer Blade is already up for pre-order and is expected to hit the market next month. The 256 GB version is pegged at $1999 (approx..), whereas the 512 GB variant will burn a $2199 hole in your pocket.
Find latest and upcoming tech gadgets online on Tech2 Gadgets. Get technology news, gadgets reviews & ratings. Popular gadgets including laptop, tablet and mobile specifications, features, prices, comparison.


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The country's largest car-maker Maruti
Suzuki India on Wednesday reported a 1.9 per cent increase in total sales for May to 1,04,073 units from 1,02,175 units in the same month last year.
In May, 2011, the national capital-based firm reported an increase of 3.9 per cent in sales in the domestic market to 93,519 units from 90,041 units in May, 2010, Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) said in a statement.
MSI's exports, however, fell by 13 per cent to 10,554 units from 12,134 units in the year-ago period, the company added.
The sales of the company's once bread-and-butter model M800 fell by 11.6 per cent to 2,262 units from 2,558 units in May, 2010, the statement said.
The A2 segment (comprising Alto, WagonR, Estilo, Swift, A-Star and Ritz) witnessed a 2.6 per cent decline in sales to 61,048 units from 62,679 units in the same month a year ago.
A3 segment sales (consisting of SX4 and DZiRE) increased by 24.2 per cent to 13,514 units from 10,883 units in the corresponding period a year ago, the company said.
Last month, the company sold 50 units of its Kizashi
luxury sedan, which was launched in February, 2011.
MSI's total passenger car sales rose 1 per cent to 76,874 units in May from 76,120 units in the same month of 2010, it added.


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We've already heard much about the two upcoming mobile phones from Apple, however, the timing may have been confirmed by one of Apple's key suppliers; Foxconn.
The firm is due to ship two iPhone models to the masses this autumn.
According to the Wall Street Journal, sources have revealed that Apple has told its supplier Foxconn to deliver two different iPhone models next month. This supports the notion that Apple will reveal at least one of its handsets at the company's event on September 10th.
This would be a bit of a change for Apple, which has always left a significant window between the release of handsets.
However, with Samsung now having dominance over the smartphone market and Sony and HTC developing quickly, a change could be exactly what the Cupertino firm needs.
The company's biggest rival Samsung has also released the Galaxy S4, S4 Mini, S4 Active and S4 Zoom along with having the Galaxy Mega lined up for later this month.
It appears variety is what users want and so a duo of smartphones could be a success for Apple.
Posted by Samantha Green


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VK IN Ukraine after the ban: Still #4
The Internet association of Ukraine reported that in August 2018 the forbidden Russian social network VK remained in the top-5 most visited online services, KP.ua reported.
Google tops the rating by popularity, followed by YouTube and Facebook. The fifth position belongs to the free Ukrainian email service Ukr.net.
Google pulls 64% of Internet users daily and is visited by 83% of Ukraine-based web surfers monthly. YouTube pulls 42% daily and 69% monthly, and Facebook reaches 32% of users daily and 54% monthly.
The prohibited VK is visited by 16% of Ukrainian users every day and 32% reach out to their online friends at least once a month.
Instagram became a part of the top-10 popularity ranking as well, having pushed the local weather forecasting site to #11.
Yandex, the most popular Russian search engine, is also in the top-10.
Before the ban in May 2017, VK had been attracting 71% of Ukrainian visitors monthly, more than YouTube is managing today. Locals now use VPN to get around blocks by Internet service providers.


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AirAsia may have earned a huge heap of brownie points in the midst of election fever in Malaysia after it responded to an overwhelming call by netizens to abandon surge pricing during peak travel period around election day on May 9.
CEO Tony Fernandes and the carrier's official social media accounts yesterday announced several measures to help Malaysians who have to return to their hometowns to cast their vote including fixed rates for key...
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Stay on Top of Enterprise Technology Trends
Get updates impacting your industry from our GigaOm Research Community
Some news items this morning from American high-efficiency solar panel leader SunPower give a good indication of how much things have shifted for the solar industry over the past two years. First, the good news — San Jose, Calif.-based SunPower reports that it has built a solar module that can achieve greater than 20 percent efficiency in converting sunlight to electricity, using its solar cells with efficiencies of 22.4 percent. The more power you can get per square inch of panel, so to speak, the cheaper the rest of your “balance of system” costs will be. Two years ago, efficiency ratings were about all you heard anyone talk about in the solar manufacturing field — that, and costs per watt. But that brings us to the bad news for SunPower today, as the company reports that falling solar markets in Germany (the world’s biggest buyer of solar panels) and Italy (which has seen a government incentive-fueled boom sputter amidst program cutbacks) will likely drive down prices by 20 percent or so over the coming year. SunPower got about one-third of its business last year in Italy, so it has to compete with everyone else — particularly low-price Chinese panel manufacturers — on price elsewhere. Efficiency is critical — but so is keeping down costs.


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Eleven Organic Trade Association members — including one fresh produce company — are participating in a pilot program to deter organic fraud.
Companies involved will test out a best practices guide created by the association’s Global Organic Supply Chain Integrity Task Force.
The pilot runs from June to September, according to a news release.
“We’ve worked for a year to develop a fraud prevention program for organic, and now we need to have companies put our recommendations to the test in their everyday business activities to find the elements that have to be further developed,” Gwendolyn Wyard, vice president of regulatory and technical affairs for the OTA and staff coordinator for the task force, said in a news release.
“This pilot project is key to advancing the adoption of an industry-wide systemic approach to preserving organic integrity from the farm to the plate and to ensuring the honesty of global control systems.”
Mike Dill, food safety and compliance manager for Organically Grown Co., which distributes organic fresh produce to retailers and restaurants in the Pacific Northwest, said the best practices being tested focus on assessing risk.
Risk varies based on the commodity, the growing region, the route the product travels, and other factors.
“You need to know that supply chain so you know it was handled properly from the source all the way through the supply chain,” Dill said.
Each company participating in the pilot will focus on specific items.
Rebecca Willows, senior compliance specialist and pricing control for Organically Grown Co., will be tracking pineapples, berries and likely a vegetable.
Willows said pineapple is a good candidate for the pilot because it is an import item that often goes through multiple handlers, and as a bulk item it is not labeled the way a packaged product would be.
Berries are another ideal product for the pilot due to the growth in the category and the relatively strong price point, because the potential for fraud is always higher when prices are higher, Willows said.
At the end of the pilot program, participating companies will make recommendations, and results will be collected in September, Willows said.
The goal is to finish revisions in October to submit for the fall National Organic Standards Board meeting. If approved, the best practices would be implemented in November.
Dill applauded the OTA’s efforts to crack down on the relatively small amount of organic fraud that goes on.
“If we can take these best practices and pass them down the supply chain, I think everyone benefits,” Dill said.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Organic Program, the Accredited Certifiers Association and NSF International are collaborating on the pilot, according to the release.
They will provide feedback on the recommended best practices and support implementation.
The National Organic Program has also been working on ways to ensure the integrity of organic products.
Those efforts include increasing collaboration with the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and Customs and Border Protection; encouraging increased reporting to the Organic Integrity Database by certifiers to improve data quality; and increasing reporting of enforcement actions. P
Those are a few of the changes that began in 2018, according to the Organic Oversight and Enforcement Summary of Activities and Overview Action Plan released in May.
Other practices include increasing use of risk assessment when processing complaints so resources are invested in the most important areas. The National Organic Program has also been increasing the number of inspections at complex organic businesses, according to the report.


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The week’s news included; WeWork rescued as co-founder receives $1.7bn exit package, JustEat rejects $5bn takeover bid, payday lender QuickQuid to shut down, Netflix launches $2bn bond sale as streaming competition heats up
Below are our top 10 stories that you need to know about. Be sure to check our twitter page, Facebook page and Instagram Page, for regular posts of important headlines. Get all the important stories and insights straight into your inbox by subscribing to our mailing list here.
Opinion articles of the week:
Opinion articles of the week:
- FT – Lawyers’ next challenge: too much technology.
- City A.M. – How to invest in Veganism.
- The Verge – After this week’s hearing, Libra really might be in trouble
- City A.M – Debate: Is the re-election of Justin Trudeau as Prime Minister good news for Canada?
1.WEWORK: BOUGHT FROM THE BRINK
WeWork’s board has accepted Softbank’s $8 billion takeover deal to save the company, but at the cost of thousands of jobs. The firm’s largest shareholder will buy out the company for $8 billion, providing crucial funding. This sum is however, a far-cry from the $47 billion valuation touted earlier this year. As part of the turnaround plan however, 4000 jobs will reportedly be cut. This comes after the office-space sharing firm abandoned its IPO plans last month, foregoing $10 billion in critical funding. SoftBank’s new deal will provide $5 billion funding in debt and additional funding from stock purchases from current shareholders.
WeWork’s co-founder, Adam Neumann, will be forced leave the company but not before receiving nearly $1.7 billion in pay-outs. $1 billion of this is to buy his stock, while $500 million is a credit line to help him pay money due to JP Morgan Chase, WeWork’s largest lender. Astoundingly however, Neumann will receive a $185 million consulting fee. This figure is so high because WeWork’s voting structure gave Neumann too much control of the company, part of the reason investors snubbed its IPO plans. Neumann’s shares were initially worth 20 times more than ordinary voting shares, although this ratio was shrunk to 3:1 after public scrutiny. The payout shows how badly SoftBank wanted Neumann to leave. WeWork is now worth $11 billion less than SotftBank alone has invested into the company.
2. DRUG FIRMS SETTLE OHIO OPIOID CASE
Four US drug companies have settled opioid cases with two Ohio counties for $260 million. The counties had sued drug maker Teva and three distributors AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson. All companies denied allegations of downplaying risks of opioid addiction and contributing to the crisis but agreed to settle. McKesson, Cardinal and AmerisourceBergen agreed to pay a total of $215 million. Teva will pay $20 million and is ordered to contribute $25 million to treatment medication.
Teva is also party to a much larger global settlement which is nearly finalised. This will see Teva pay $250 million in fines and contribute $23 billion worth of opioid addiction treatment medication over 10 years.
States across America are taking action against big pharmaceutical companies for contributing to a huge opioid crisis ravaging the USA. In the 20 years to 2017, there have been roughly 400,000 deaths from opioid overdoses in the USA, with nearly 50,000 deaths in 2017 alone. Johnson & Johnson recently struck a $572 million deal with the state of Oklahoma. Drug companies such as Purdue Pharma and Allergan have also struck deals.
3. JUSTEAT REJECTS TAKEOVER BID
JustEat has rejected a $4.9 billion hostile takeover bid for internet consumer group Prosus. The food delivery platform is already set to merge with competitor Takeaway.com in a $8.3 billion deal. Prosus sought to spoil the party with its own hostile takeover bid. This could now spark a bidding war for JustEat and jack up the acquisition price. Prosus’ bid is 20% higher than the 594p per share offered by Takeaway.com. Despite this, shareholders feel takeaway.com provide greater growth opportunities. Prosus already boasts large stakes in food delivery services across the globe and argue that they will provide what it deems necessary investment in JustEat to help it realise it’s potential.
A hostile takeover involves bypassing the board and putting a bid directly to shareholders. Just Eat shares soared by nearly 25% in response to the news.
4. HONDA CUTS GASOLINE CAR LINE
Honda has announced that it will stop making petrol and diesel-only cars for Europe by 2022. The company already revealed these plans but targeted 2025 and has now brought this target forward to 2022. It will now ensure all its model will either be hybrid or fully electric. This follows the trend of the shift towards electric models as Western governments clampdown on petrol and diesel vehicles. The UK government has committed to banning the sale of all petrol and diesel vehicles by 2040 and this could even be brought forward to 2035.
5. QUICKQUID TO CLOSE
The UK’s largest payday lender, QuickQuid is closing down and its US owner Enova will take a £58 million hit. The company was on the brink of collapse and was preparing for bankruptcy proceedings. The UK Financial Conduct Authority seriously clamped down on payday lenders in 2014, capping interest payments at 100% of borrowed money. QuickQuid’s interest rates had been as high as 1300%. In addition, more stringent lending rules were introduced, leading to a slew of claims against payday lenders for irresponsible lending. Last year, Wonga also collapsed after being inundated with claims. Now QuickQuid is facing the same fate, with over 3000 complaints in the first 6 months of 2019 alone. Enova said it is closing UK operations due to regulatory uncertainty. Payday lenders relied on exorbitant rates and came to prominence in the wake of the financial crisis. The regulatory clampdown has forced lenders to reshape their business models but for many, like Wonga and QuickQuid it has proved fatal.
6. LIBOR INVESTIGATION CLOSED
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has unexpectedly closed its investigation into the rigging of Libor, despite evidence implicating of Bank of England. Libor is an index which tracks inter-bank interest rates. Banks estimate interest rates they think they will have to pay to borrow money and the average estimate is published daily as the London Inter Bank Offered Rate aka Libor. A scandal broke when traders were found to have been “low-balling” estimates. This is where banks move Libor estimates to suit trading positions linked to Libor. In the UK, thirteen traders and brokers have been prosecuted by the SFO in connection with Libor rigging. In the US, the DoJ has prosecuted six. Traders have protested that this so called “rigging” was common commercial practice. The SFO claims it has taken the decision to close the investigation after a detailed review. BBC News looks at the developments in greater detail.
7. CHINA ECONOMY SLOWS
The US-China trade war is hitting the Chinese economy. The economy has slowed to a thirty year low at just 6% per year. This is 0.1% lower growth than expected by economists. This slow down has been fuelled by falling global demand for Chinese exports and a wider global international slow down. The escalating US-China trade war has had a significant impact on industrial production and construction. The US currently has imposed tariffs on $500 billion of Chinese imports with the latest round set to take effect in December. Chinese construction is at its lowest rate since records began in 1992.
8. RBS LOSSES
RBS has posted a £8 million loss after taking an additional hit from PPI claims. The bank had to put aside £900 million for PPI claims as the 29 August deadline brought thousands of unanticipated last-minute claims. In addition, RBS’s investment banking arm, Natwest Markets, revealed losses of £193 million. The bank had been returning to profitability after being bailed out by the UK government in 2008. In 2018 it posted its first full year profit since the crash, with a £961 million profit in the third quarter 2018. The bank is still 62% owned by the UK government and recently appointed its first female CEO, Alison Rose.
9. NETFLIX BOND SALE
Netflix is preparing for war. The streaming giant has announced a $2 billion bond sale as competition heats up. The sale will be for activities such as production and content acquisition. Netflix will need to boost its original content in order to stay on top of competition. Apple and Disney are now entering the streaming market with their own offerings launching next month. Netflix has preferred bond offerings as a way to fund content production, with a similar offering in April. Netflix currently has 150 million subscribers and turned over $15.79 billion in 2018.
10. SNAP SURPRISES
Snap surprised investors with strong revenue and user growth in the third quarter. The parent of the social media app posted revenue of $446 million, up 50%. Active monthly users rose by 7 million up to 210 million. Snap was also able to cut its losses by nearly $100 million year on year down to $227.3 million.
Snap is seeking new ways to attract users and diversify its income streams. It has invested heavily in augmented reality tools and it’s original entertainment productions. Viewers of Snap’s Discover feature were up 40% year on year. The company has been able to recover from the all time low share price of $5 and now trades at around $14.


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Samsung Electronics has forecast a 60% fall in quarterly operating profit from a year ago because of slowing Galaxy smartphone sales.
The world’s biggest mobile phones and TV maker said it expects an operating income of 4.1tn won ($3.8bn; £2.5bn) for the three months to September.
That is below analysts’ expectations for earnings of 5.2tn won.
The South Korean company will publish full financial results later this month.
Samsung’s mobile division, its biggest business, has been struggling to maintain its dominance against rivals such as Apple and Chinese smartphone-makers Xiaomi and Lenovo.
Its flagship Galaxy smartphone line has been losing market share to cheaper models that also have large screens and multiple features.
The firm said quarterly sales amounted to 47tn won, which was below analyst estimates for 50.3tn won.
“Smartphone shipments increased marginally amid intense competition,” Samsung said in a statement.
“However, the operating margin declined due to increased marketing expenditure and lowered average selling price.”
The company also said it is “preparing new smartphone line-ups featuring new materials and innovative designs, as well as a series of new mid-to-low end smartphones”.
Samsung shares rose about 1.6% in Seoul despite the weak profit outlook.
Analysis: Rory Cellan-Jones, BBC technology editor
Samsung has been the standout success of the smartphone era – certainly in terms of building market share, with the South Korean firm overtaking Nokia to become the world’s leading phone manufacturer.
It is still holding on to the number one spot, but competition at both the top and budget ends of the market is now exerting an intense pressure on its profits.
Samsung still has around 25% of the market, down from 33% a year ago, but a trio of Chinese firms Lenovo, Huawei and Xiaomi have rapidly grabbed a big slice. It was the whole Galaxy range which propelled Samsung’s profits ever higher and phones like the latest Galaxy Note 4 still get glowing reviews.


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Gartner Predicts PC Market Growth to Slow in 2011
June 8, 2011 7:32 PM
comment(s) - last by
The iPad is still the most popular tablet on the market by far
Tablet market will continue to grow at the same time
Gartner says that the growth in the PC market in 2011
will slow to 9.3%
, which is lower than the previously predicted 10.5% growth. The total number of computers predicted to ship this year is 385 million. Part of the reason growth in the market is slowing according to Gartner is that there are fewer compelling reasons for the consumer to upgrade their computer today. The company also predicts that there will be few direct replacements of PCs with tablets. The tablet is expected to be a complementary device to a computer.
"Consumer mobile PCs are no longer driving growth, because of sharply declining consumer interest in mini-notebooks. Mini-notebook shipments have noticeably contracted over the last several quarters, and this has substantially reduced overall mobile PC unit growth," said Ranjit Atwal, research director at Gartner. "Media tablets, such as the iPad, have also impacted mobile growth, but more because they have caused consumers to delay new mobile PC purchases rather than directly replacing aging mobile PCs with media tablets. We believe direct substitution of media tablets for mobile PCs will be minimal."
Gartner predicts that over the next 18 months, PC growth will be supported by healthy replacement in the professional markets. Many of these professional users have been holding onto existing computers in the face of the sagging economy. "Businesses sharply reduced replacements and extended PC lifetimes in response to the recession," said Raphael Vasquez, research analyst at Gartner. "Businesses have begun replacing aging PCs more vigorously. We expect the growing urgency for businesses to migrate away from Windows XP will drive significant professional replacements."
The tablet market is continuing to grow with very robust sales of tablets like the iPad. The iPad is in such high demand that Apple is having a hard time keeping up with the demand and some users are willing to go to
to purchase one.
are also increasing in popularity and
are starting to hit the market with capabilities more like a notebook than Android tablets or the iPad.
This article is over a month old, voting and posting comments is disabled
6/9/2011 10:07:09 AM
What you talking about? You can have 40 players on Resistance, 32 on SOCOM and frigging 256 in MAG. It's completely possible to have 64 online.
6/9/2011 9:23:28 PM
Go tell that to DICE cause it's them who said the console version would have 24 players and smaller ground maps.
MAG can achieve that number of players cause the devs had that in focus, there aren't planes, helicopters, destructible environments etc...
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text:
Three new franchise properties in Melbourne and Adelaide have been added to the Choice Hotels Asia-Pac network as the company continues its objectives of assisting the recovery of its franchisee members.
In the Victorian capital, the company has added a new member hotel under the Comfort brand in the Comfort Apartments Royal Gardens. Located in the inner-city suburb of Fitzroy, the property features apartment-style accommodation with between one and four bedrooms overlooking the manicured gardens or courtyard.
Separate living and dining spaces and equipped kitchens are also in place to help guests enjoy cooking in their own space. Guests can also make use of a swimming pool.
In Adelaide, a new dual-branded property has also joined the network, operated under a franchise agreement with 1834 Hotels, which also operates the nearby Quality Apartments Adelaide Central and joined the Choice network earlier this year. The new addition operates partly under the Econo Lodge budget brand, with part as the upscale Comfort Hotel Adelaide Meridien.
The property features one and two-bedroom apartments, with guest facilities including a fitness centre and outdoor swimming pool.
Choice Hotels Asia-Pac CEO, Trent Fraser, said he was thrilled to be welcoming such strong additions to the Choice network.
“I commend each of our hoteliers for their perseverance during these challenging times while we continue to navigate and bounce back from rolling lockdowns around the country,” Fraser said.


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MALAGA’S olive oil is in such demand that it is now being exported to shores as far-flung as China.
Montexaquez Oliva, a family company founded in Montejaque in the Serrania de Ronda three years ago is also marketing its liquid gold in India, Bahrain and Kazakhstan.
This small company produces 30,000 litres of oil per year from just 16 hectares of olive groves and has been exporting to China for three years already.
‘Vinas Vijas’ branded oil – made from a combination of the ‘hojiblanca’ and ‘lechin’ trees – is also sold domestically by Sabor a Malaga.
Manager, Cristina Garcia, said the competition in Spain was so fierce that to approach the international market – which pays more for quality products and buys in bulk – was a wise move and that the company will expand further in the gourmet market this year.


text:
, the locally-owned organic grocer, has signed a letter of intent to put a store near the Forest Hills T.
The new location would be in the "Arboretum Project" on a parcel along Washington Street, according to Harvest General Manager Mike St. Clair. [It is the MBTA's "Parcel W," as detailed in the map to the right in the photo section.]
Harvest has also won the right to be the anchor store for a new development in the Fenway.
"The developers selected Harvest because of our excellent reputation in the metro-Boston area for our high-quality and healthy foods, our many years of community involvement and our commitment to environmental stewardship," wrote Christina Lively in a note posted on Harvest's site. "While we have signed letters of intent for both projects, neither is certain. We will continue to keep members updated on the status of these projects."
Access to healthy, affordable food has become a big issue in Jamaica Plain since news broke that in Hyde Square would be .
Residents of Forest Hills do not have a grocery store of their own, though is the nearest one.
St. Clair said they plan to keep their South Street location open.
"The new store will be larger and will enable us to carry a greater variety of fresh and healthy products, including organic produce, fresh meat, deli, seafood and grocery products as well as beer and wine," he wrote in an email.
The tentative schedule for completion is late 2012, St. Clair wrote.
[Editor's note: This story has been updated with comments from Harvest General Manager Mike St. Clair.]


text:
Xbox Project Scorpio: Everything you need to know about Microsoft’s newest console – Yahoo News
This year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo — aka E3 — saw the reveal of several hotly anticipated games, as well as new trailers and gameplay footage for titles that had previously been announced. From the dragon-centric Scalebound to dystopic thriller We Happy Few, Microsoft’s press conference was loaded with new IPs and returning favorites that Xbox One owners — and Windows 10 users, thanks to Microsoft’s new Xbox Play Anywhere initiative — will undoubtedly be excited to get their hands on.
The games were just a side dish for Microsoft, though. Xbox head Phil Spencer bookended the 90-minute conference with the announcement of two new consoles, including a new Xbox One model that will be capable of streaming 4K content upon its debut. Then, after an hour of game-focused programming, Spencer returned to the stage to announce the next iteration of Xbox, codenamed Project Scorpio.
Here’s everything we know thus far.
Performance and specs
With Project Scorpio, Microsoft aims to set a new standard for console performance. The system, billed by the Xbox team as “the console [that] developers wanted us to build,” promises to deliver four times the graphical power of the current Xbox One. This power — which should allow the console to run games at higher resolutions with better framerates — is measured in teraflops, of which Scorpio supposedly boasts six. A teraflop is essentially a measure of graphical potential, which is largely dependent upon the console’s GPU.
The Scorpio, confirmed to use an as-of-yet unreleased AMD GPU, should feature four times as many shaders per compute unit than its predecessor, which, in turn, should render the console capable of running games in 4K resolution at 60 frames per second.
If this all sounds rather abstruse, that’s because it is. Despite Project Scorpio’s appearance in the coveted final slot of Microsoft’s press conference at E3, few details or specifications have been officially announced. The six-teraflop figure was thrown around quite a bit by Phil Spencer & Co., but it’s still unclear how the console will reach that level of computing power. Team Xbox was fairly transparent about the fact that gamers without a 4K television shouldn’t spend their money on the ultra-powerful Scorpio, but how many gamers do own a 4K TV?
Spencer also made it clear that Scorpio is intended to exist alongside Xbox One and Xbox One S — and that all games will be available for each console — but it appears developers might be forced to choose which platform their game is optimized for. Do they design a graphically superior title for Scorpio and hope that enough gamers are willing to pony up the cash, or do they settle for a game made to perform well on Xbox One that simply upscales when played on the Scorpio?
VR compatibility and price point
While traditional developers might have some questions about Microsoft’s plan for the Scorpio, there’s another field of gaming set to experience a huge boost when the console comes out: VR. “[Project Scorpio]… is very attractive to some of the VR companies out there, and we’ve architected it such that something will be able to plug right in and work,” Spencer said. Microsoft hasn’t released any information regarding potential partnerships in virtual reality, but Oculus Rift seems like a potentially good fit, given that the Rift works natively with Windows 10 and already ships with an Xbox One controller.
Though Microsoft was predictably quiet regarding the price of the Scorpio, cryptic statements from Spencer like “We’re not ready to announce something right now… but think about consoles and where they live in terms of price point” provide some bread crumbs to follow, at the very least. The Xbox One debuted at $500 and, based solely on Spencer’s statement, it appears as though the Scorpio may be in the same ballpark when it hits shelves during holiday 2017.


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Easy Solutions, the Total Fraud Protection® company, today announced that it has signed a reseller agreement with Qatar Datamation Services to provide Easy Solutions’ full range of Total Fraud Protection solutions to the Qatari market. As part of the agreement, Qatar Datamation will be authorized to offer the entire Easy Solutions anti-fraud solution product line, including Detect Monitoring Services®, DetectTA®, Detect Safe Browsing® and DetectID®, which includes new biometric features.
“Qatar has been identified as a high-growth market for cyber security solutions thanks in part to its hosting of the FIFA World Cup in 2022. This, in turn, has spurred an increased demand for all types of security services”
The Easy Solutions product portfolio delivers omni-channel, multi-layered, flexible fraud protection across transactions performed on online and mobile platforms, as well as via ATMs, Point-of-Sale terminals, and Interactive Voice Response (IVR) systems for enterprise organizations across a range of industries, including financial services, retail and professional services.
“Qatar has been identified as a high-growth market for cyber security solutions thanks in part to its hosting of the FIFA World Cup in 2022. This, in turn, has spurred an increased demand for all types of security services,” said Jeremy Boorer, Director of Europe, Middle East and Africa Markets at Easy Solutions. “Through our partnership with Qatar Datamation Services, we are positioning the company for further expansion and are poised for significant growth throughout the region. We are very excited about what this partnership will bring to both firms going forward.”
Every element of the Total Fraud Prevention portfolio can work independently, but can also deliver a collaborative protection suite of products to leverage every aspect of a fraud prevention program when deployed together. By understanding complex fraud attacks, Easy Solutions is able to engage fraud throughout the attack cycle – planning, launching, and cashing – while ensuring that authorized users can conduct business. The solutions allow for proactive monitoring, detection and take-downs, effectively mitigating fraud before it happens. This approach reduces false positives and the overhead of managing tools while lowering the costs associated with supporting an anti-fraud program.
Qatar Datamation Systems is a pioneer System Integrator providing complete IT solutions for organizations that are looking for a trusted provider to mitigate the responsibility of IT solutions so that they may remain focused on their own core business. With its holistic approach to IT, Easy Solutions’ customers can rest easy, knowing that their technology is safe, secure and running smoothly,” said Muhammad Omair Siddiqui, cyber security consultant in Qatar Datamation Systems. “We are excited to be able to bring this comprehensive fraud prevention solution to companies across Qatar.”