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ABB’s acclaimed Ultrafast DC and Fast DC electric vehicle (EV) chargers will support the new GRIDSERVE Electric Highway charging network across the UK as both companies seek to drive the adoption of electric vehicles, especially by making charging easier and more accessible. This is key to increasing the momentum of the growing EV market which experienced a three fold increase in registrations in the UK from 2019 to 2020*.
GRIDSERVE’s Electric Highway will include coverage for 85 percent of the UK’s motorway network, plus towns and cities across the country. This multi-million pound investment will be supported by ABB’s Ultrafast DC 350 kW chargers at 50 of the new Electric Charging Hubs, with each site having between 6 and 12 charging units. A further 300 Fast DC 60 kW chargers will provide enhanced reliability to upgrade 150 existing sites that GRIDSERVE has acquired from Ecotricity.
GRIDSERVE selected ABB for its proven reliable and flexible technology, which includes the ability to support GRIDSERVE’s Autocharge, a new feature for most UK EV drivers that recognises the unique identity of cars and initiates automatic charging power and payments. Secondly was ABB’s ability to support rapid deployment, with more than 10 new Electric Hubs planned to be in service before the end of 2021.
Toddington Harper, CEO of GRIDSERVE said: “GRIDSERVE’s purpose is to deliver sustainable energy and move the needle on climate change. We’ve chosen to use ABB EV chargers as they have the technology and capability to help deliver our ambitious plans for the GRIDSERVE Electric Highway network, and provide the best possible charging experience for EV drivers.”
Frank Muehlon, President of ABB’s E-mobility Division said: “GRIDSERVE’s choice of ABB for its Electric Highway is a notable endorsement of our leadership in e-mobility, our strong relationship and shared desire to revolutionise EV charging in the UK.”
This latest project builds on ABB’s experience of delivering EV chargers for GRIDSERVE’s inaugural Electric Forecourt® in Braintree, Essex. The forecourt is part of the company’s ‘sun-to-wheel’ infrastructure built to deliver low cost, net zero carbon energy to every vehicle that uses one of GRIDSERVE’S chargers. They use power generated by solar canopies above the chargers together with a network of hybrid solar farms. The focus is to make EV ownership practical and realistic for thousands of drivers who don’t have access to private chargers.
Since entering the e-mobility market in 2010, ABB has sold more than 400,000 electric vehicle chargers across more than 85 markets, including more than 20,000 fast chargers.
To explore ABB’s electric vehicle charging technology, visit www.abb.com/ev-charging.
*Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders
ABB (ABBN: SIX Swiss Ex) is a leading global technology company that energizes the transformation of society and industry to achieve a more productive, sustainable future. By connecting software to its electrification, robotics, automation and motion portfolio, ABB pushes the boundaries of technology to drive performance to new levels. With a history of excellence stretching back more than 130 years, ABB’s success is driven by about 105,000 talented employees in over 100 countries. www.abb.com


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Stocks continue to go higher, but look at the sectors that have taken top honors.
The consumer finally has some fun money to spare. That is the good news.
Apple, Energen and McKesson are among the top stock picks of Mizuho's analysts for 2017.
A senior analyst at Mizuho says investors can still find opportunity in renewable energy stocks.

domain: news


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Federal Minister of Energy, Mining and Industry Nermin Dzindic leads a delegation of companies at the world’s largest dedicated industry fair “Shot Show 2020”, held in Las Vegas.
In addition to private companies from the Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina entity, the fair also includes companies majority owned by the FBiH Government, namely Unis Ginex from Gorazde, Igman Konjic and Pretis Vogosca.
It is a fair where more than 2,500 exhibitors have presented their weapons, ammunition and military equipment.
The Government explained that numerous meetings had been held with delegations from other countries and discussed potential joint projects.
Dindic revealed to Dnevni Avaz news portal that Pretis and Igman companies had agreed a multimillion-dollar deal with a United States companies.
“The contract should be finalized in the coming days. It’s a contract worth hundreds of millions of dollars. This is the result of the joint appearance of the two companies and this is a very good business,” said Dzindic.


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Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) mentioned Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is afraid of his employees unionzing as a result of they might “tackle his greed.” Sanders’s statements come amid the information surrounding the union drive at an Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama and at this time’s deadline for handing ballots over to the regional Nationwide Labor Relations Board workplace.
“Jeff Bezos, value $180 billion, is getting nervous. He’s afraid that if Amazon employees in Alabama vote to unionize, it’ll give employees throughout America the braveness to tackle his greed & win financial justice. He’s spending tens of millions in opposition to this union to maintain billions for himself,” Sanders mentioned.
Earlier this month, Bezos declined to testify earlier than Senate Finances Committee on inequality after Sanders invited him.
“We totally endorse Senator Sanders’ efforts to cut back revenue inequality with laws to extend the federal minimal wage to $15 an hour for all employees, like we did for ours in 2018,” an Amazon spokesperson informed CNN on the time.
“Jeff Bezos, the wealthiest particular person on the earth, is in lots of respects emblematic of the unfettered capitalism that we’re seeing in America at this time,” Sanders mentioned in an announcement to CNN earlier than it turned clear that Bezos wouldn’t attend.
Sanders famous that Bezos was invited to testify “to elucidate to the American folks why he believes it’s acceptable for him to be spending an entire lot of cash denying financial dignity to Amazon employees in Bessemer who need to type a union, whereas he has turn into $78 billion richer in the course of the pandemic and is now value $183 billion,”


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Issue 8.06 | June 2000
this article for free.
|JDS Uniphase (JDSU)|
|FY 99 sales||$282.8 million|
|FY 99 loss||$171.1 million|
|Market cap||$69.8 billion|
Bandwidth is the difference between delivering ASCII and full-screen, full-motion video with 5.1 surround sound. Uncork bandwidth, and you make way for unfettered digital communication between every node on the Net. That's just what JDS Uniphase, formed by last July's merger of JDS Fitel and Uniphase, aims to do.
The first company to manufacture a full range of opto-electric components, JDS Uniphase averaged 100 percent growth in 1999, igniting Wall Street's recent love affair with fiber optics. Meanwhile, the company has changed the structure of the industry, shifting the components business away from kingpins like Lucent and Nortel and into the hands of upstart suppliers. In the coming year, it will quadruple its manufacturing capacity, broaden its product portfolio, and bundle complex components into simple modules.
The phenomenal growth of the optical components industry has yet to show up on JDS Uniphase's bottom line. For the last six months of 1999, sales totaled $511.8 million, up from $121.2 million - but profit was down $255.7 million. Wall Street accepted this as the typical goodwill loss when you combine companies that have intangible, rather than physical, assets. Nothing stands in the way of a blazing 2000.
Analysts suggest that, like railroads, fiber might go bust when the building boom is over. But where trains gave way to airplanes, JDS Uniphase will be optimizing the light-carrying capacity of fiber for a long time to come.


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The latest U.S. inflation numbers have been released, and they show that prices continue to increase. Inflation in the US is outpacing most of the world by over 3 percentage points, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. This could be the reason why the US inflation rate is higher than the global average rate over the past decade. However, the bank’s top policy advisor, Oscar Jorda, cautions that it is crucial not to take too much notice of those percentages. The overall picture is evident.
Different factors influence the inflation rate. The CPI is the price index that is used by the government to gauge inflation. It is calculated by the Labor Department through a survey of households. It measures spending on services or goods however it does not include non-direct expenses, making the CPI less stable. Inflation data must be considered in relation to other data and not as a stand-alone figure.
The Consumer Price Index is the most commonly used inflation rate in the United States, which measures the price increase of goods and services. The index is updated monthly and gives a clear picture of how much prices have increased. The index is a helpful tool to plan and budget. Consumers are likely to be worried about the price of products and services. However it is crucial to understand the reasons why prices are rising.
Production costs rise and this in turn increases prices. This is sometimes called cost-push inflation. It’s caused by the rising of raw material costs, for example, petroleum products and precious metals. It can also impact agricultural products. It is important to keep in mind that when a commodity’s prices increase, it can also affect the value of the commodity.
It’s not easy to find data on inflation. However, there is a way to estimate the amount it will cost to buy goods and services over a year. Utilizing the real rate of return (CRR) is an accurate estimation of what an investment for a nominal year should be. Remember this when you’re planning to invest in bonds or stocks the next time.
At present the Consumer Price Index is 8.3 percent higher than its year-earlier level. This was the highest rate for a year since April 1986. The rate of inflation will continue to rise because rents make up a large part of the CPI basket. In addition the increasing cost of homes and mortgage rates make it more difficult for many people to purchase homes which increases the demand for rental properties. The potential impact of railroad workers working on the US railway system could result in disruptions in the transportation and movement of goods.
From its near-zero-target rate, the Fed’s short term interest rate has risen this year to 2.25 percent. According to the central bank, inflation is expected to rise by only a half percent in the coming year. It is hard to determine if this increase is enough to stop inflation.
Core inflation excludes volatile oil and food prices and is about 2 percent. Core inflation is reported on a year-over- one-year basis by the Federal Reserve. This is what it means when it says that its inflation target of 2 percent is. In the past, the core rate has been below the target for a long period of time, but recently it has started increasing to a degree that has caused harm to many businesses.


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The domino effect of high inflation is continuing in full swing, with many manufacturers proposing hikes. Morris Garages (MG) Pakistan is the newest to do so for its most popular automobile MG HS, according to a recent report from carspiritpk.com.
Also Read: MG releases trailer for HS PHEV launch
MG, like many others, has announced a three-part increase in price in which:
- Those who paid in full for November and December 2021 delivery would be required to pay an extra Rs. 200,000.
- Those who submitted installments for delivery over the same time period as above would be required to pay an additional Rs. 500,000.
- Those who made installments for January 2022 deliveries or placed fresh orders would have to pay an additional Rs. 850,000.
The price increase is as follows:
Although the firm has yet to formally declare the price hikes for other variants, the MG ZS’s price has also been hiked by Rs. 306,000, putting it to Rs. 4.44 million, according to the source.
The firm, like other car manufacturers, has claimed the depreciation of the Pakistani rupee (PKR) against the US dollar, a rise in freight, the cost of transportation owing to high fuel prices, and high semi-conductor chip costs due to a worldwide shortfall as reasons for the price hike.
Despite the fact that the business has already established a local assembly factory in Lahore, it has only supplied Completely Built-Up (CBU) MG HS units. There is no word on when the firm will start building automobiles domestically.
The government is considering raising automobile import levies in order to lower the country’s soaring import bill and current account imbalance. If import taxes are raised, MG’s preference for selling just CBUs will not serve them well.


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Oct 6 (Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said new data indicate that the generic version of the popular antidepressant Wellbutrin is not equivalent to the original drug manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline.
Budeprion XL 300 mg, or bupropion hydrochloride extended-release tablets, are manufactured by Impax Laboratories Inc and marketed by Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc.
The FDA, in a notice posted on its website on Wednesday, said it has changed the therapeutic equivalence rating for the product in the agency's Approved Drug Products with Therapeutic Equivalence Evaluations to show that Budeprion XL 300 mg fails to demonstrate therapeutic equivalence to Wellbutrin XL 300 mg.
Impax has requested that the FDA withdraw approval of budeprion XL 300 mg extended-release tablets, the FDA said. Impax and Teva have stopped shipping the product, the agency said.
(Reporting by Debra Sherman; Editing by Will Dunham)
Keywords: FDA ANTIDEPRESSANT/


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Apple, a company you have heard of around these parts, released its 2012 Proxy Report yesterday, revealing how much executives at Apple Inc. made in the past year. So in the post-Jobs era, how much more might the new CEO, Tim Cook, be taking in as the new boss? Approximately 377,000,000% more than Jobs.
I know, that sounds like Monopoly money, but the reason Cook is making out like gangbusters at Apple is because Jobs collected all of $1 as his annual salary for the last three years he was at Apple. No stocks, no bonuses, no other compensations – one single greenback and… that’s it. Cook, on the other hand, is taking in a cool $377.9 million a year. Some may say this is justifiable given Apple’s continued success after Jobs left the company last year, especially after yesterday’s flusher-than-usual day at the stock market.
What’s more interesting – to me, at least, because I didn’t know this – is that former Vice President and enviro-paladin Al Gore is on Apple’s bankroll. He’s actually been on the Board of Directors since 2003, which I guess is just a fun tidbit to drop in conversations at the watering hole on top of everything else he’s got on his resume. He’s also listed in the report as the Chairman of the Climate Reality Project. You go, Mr. Gore.
Aside from the re-affirming fact that an Apple executive makes more money than you will ever see in your lifetime, the rest of the report appears to be pretty routine. Despite what any of you might think of Jobs and his humble $1-a-year compensation for being Apple’s Chief Executive Wizard, it’s somewhat amusing to wonder if Cook feels any self-applied pressure to mimic the magnanimous actions of Jobs and decline the beaucoup bucks that he’s making.


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LTC/USD Medium-term Trend: Bullish
- Resistance Levels: $66, $68, $70
- Support Levels: $30, $28, $26
Last week, the price of Litecoin was ranging above the $33 price level. On February 8, the bulls broke the EMAs as the price reached a high of $43.81. The bulls continued its bullish movement and reached a high of $47.60. The crypto’s price is retracing as it faced resistance at the $48 price level.
The LTC price is above the EMAs and has the tendency to rise if the price is sustained above the EMAs and the resistance level of $48 is broken. The LTC price is expected to reach a high of $55. Meanwhile, the MACD line and the signal line are above the zero line which indicates a buy signal. Also, the crypto’s price is above the EMAs which indicate that price is in the bullish trend zone.
LTC/USD Short-term Trend: Bearish
On the 1-hour chart, the price of Litecoin is in the be trearishnd zone. The crypto’s price reached a high of $44.56 and began fluctuating above the 12-day EMA and 26-day EMA. The LTC price reached a high of $48.10 and was resisted. The bears have broken the EMAs and the crypto’s price is now in the bearish trend zone.
If the crypto’s price remains in the bearish trend zone, the LTC price is likely to fall. On the other hand, if the bulls break the EMAs and reach the bullish trend zone, the bulls will retest the $48 price level. Meanwhile, the MACD line and the signal line are above the zero line which indicates a buy signal. Also, the crypto’s price is below the 12-day EMA and the 26-day EMA which indicates that price is in the bearish trend zone.
The views and opinions expressed here do not reflect that of BitcoinExchangeGuide.com and do not constitute financial advice. Always do your own research.
LTC Founder Charlie Lee Discloses Investment in BTC Development Firm Casa
On Aug. 16, Litecoin (LTC) founder Charlie Lee disclosed in a tweet that he is “an investor in Casa,” a Bitcoin (BTC) personal key security firm. He also noted that he has high hopes for the company:
“I have the same feeling about Casa today as I had about Coinbase when I joined in 2013 as the 3rd hire. Casa is making Bitcoin easy to use and that is extremely important for this space. Looking forward to great things!”
A notable hire
The tweet was posted in response to Casa announcing the hire of a former engineer and product developer at Microsoft and software firm Tableau, as well as a Seattle Bitcoin Meetup organizer Brian Lockhart. The tweet states:
“We are thrilled that we were finally able to convince him to come out of retirement and play in the big leagues at Casa.”
According to Crunchbase, Casa received $2.1 million in funding so far during its seed round in March 2018.
As Cointelegraph reported in June, Casa Node, one of the industry’s popular pre-synced node products, relied on an inbuilt Raspberry Pi, though earlier iteration of the model caused frustration for some users due to its reported slowness.
In July, Facebook reportedly hired Standard Chartered Bank’s head of public affairs Ed Bowles for its cryptocurrency project.
Litecoin’s Charlie Lee says signing a message with genesis key is the only way to authenticate Nakamoto’s true identity
Over the years, Bitcoin has grabbed the attention of crypto Twitter repeatedly, with BTC always being a trending topic, yet the identity of its founder is surrounded by a cloud of mystery.
Recently, crypto community’s attention was caught by yet another person claiming to be the “real Satoshi Nakamoto”. The news went viral on Twitter after the self-proclaimed individual claimed to hold 980,000 BTC. Since the inception of the king coin, many individuals have made attempts of claiming to be the real Satoshi Nakomoto. At this stage, Satoshi Nakamoto Renaissance Holdings, a blockchain company, stated that the “real” Satoshi would finally break his silence after a decade of anonymity.
As this is NOT the first time someone has come forward and claimed to be Satoshi Nakamoto, many wondered how such “claims” can be proved/disproved.
Litecoin’s Charlie Lee, shared his opinion over Twitter,
“Satoshi Nakamoto brought to the world an open-source, decentralized, trust-less, censorship-resistant currency based on math and cryptography. If Satoshi wanted to reveal himself, he would sign a message with the genesis key. Anything short of that is most likely fraudulent.”
Many enthusiasts backed Charlie Lee’s comment that signing a message with the private key to the genesis block is the sole method of authenticating Nakamoto’s true identity.
Litecoin Founder Charlie Lee Invests in Startup Casa to Make Bitcoin ‘Easy to Use’
Litecoin founder Charlie Lee has revealed on Twitter that he is a supporter and investor in cryptocurrency custody startup Casa.
Charlie Lee is a fan of cryptocurrency custody startup Casa. The founder of Litecoin congratulated Casa on Twitter for hiring a new product lead, after which Lee revealed that he has invested in the startup.
Casa, the cryptocurrency custody startup that aims to maximize safety and security for its crypto users, are supported by Litecoin founder Charlie Lee.
Today, Charlie Lee tweeted about the startup, congratulating the company for hiring a product lead. Furthermore, Lee shared his confidence in the startup. The Litecoin founder compares Casa with the times when he joined Coinbase back in 2013.
The cryptocurrency startup has raised over $3.5 million over the past year. The goal of Casa is to offer a “key manager app in every pocket and a node in every home.”. The Keymaster mobile app is available for iOS and Android.
Last year the company released its first premium product dubbed “Keymaster,” a multi-signature service for bitcoin investors. Soon after, Casa announced its plug-and-play Bitcoin Lightning node, the “Casa Node,” to much fanfare, selling out its initial batch in two hours. Casa has shipped over a thousand Casa Nodes since it was released.


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Johnson & Johnson has been ordered by a South Carolina court to pay $327 million for minimizing the links between its antipsychotic drug, Risperdal, and diabetes.
The case centers on allegations that Johnson & Johnson marketed Risperdal in a way that was misleading in product labels, “Dear Doctor letters” and in personal sales calls to physicians.
In 2004, the Food & Drug Administration sent Janssen Pharmaceuticals (the division of Johnson & Johnson responsible for Risperdal) a warning letter. The FDA had received post-marketing reports of diabetes mellitus developing in patients who were prescribed Risperdal. The FDA had previously demanded that Jannsen send a warning letter to physicians and it its 2004 correspondence sets forth that Johnson & Johnson minimized the “…risks associated with Risperdal and claims that Risperdal is safer than other atypical antipsychotics, when this has not been demonstrated by substantial evidence or substantial clinical experience”.
In the South Carolina case, the state sued Johnson & Johnson and alleged that deceptive information was disseminated about the dangers of Risperdal and, in particular, that the company downplayed the significant dangers of diabetes secondary to taking the drug. In the ruling, the judge, Judge Roger Couch, wrote a 17 page decision that the drug maker’s executives had “allowed the profit-at-all-costs mentality to cloud” good judgment that would have resulted in a clear warning about Risperdal.
Risperdal was a very big seller for Johnson & Johnson until it lost its patent on the drug. Sales in 2007 were $4.5 billion and declined to $527 million last year. The drug maker still made over $8 billion in the years 2007 to 2010 in sales of the drug.
Judge Couch found that Johnson & Johnson had marketed the drug using labels with deceptive information, marketing letters to physicians and sales calls to doctors’ offices. He fined the drug manufacturer in hundereds of thousands of individual instances for violation of South Carolina’s state consumer protection laws.
Similar cases have been heard in Pennsylvania, Louisiana, and West Virginia.
Johnson & Johnson has indicated they will appeal Judge Couch’s decision.


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Increasing its stake in EMI Music Publishing to 90%, Sony just became the world’s largest music publisher while giving EMI a value of around $4.75 billion, including debt, or more than double its value in 2011.
Apple on Monday published a new advertisement through its YouTube channel in South Korea. The 60-second video features the new single “Citizen Kane” by the popular Korean group HYUKOH and the latest Animojis singing karaoke.
Apple Music has passed 40 million paying customers and an additional 10 million people who are taking advantage of its free trial service. By comparison, it hit 40 million paying customers and 8 million on a trial about a month ago.
Is your computer running low on that precious storage space? You can save quite a lot of storage space on your Mac or Windows PC by having iTunes reference your media files rather than create copies when adding songs, movies and other items to your library.
Meanwhile, Apple Music recently hit a milestone of its own after reporting the more than 40 million members who are paying a monthly subscription fee.
Apple is offering some users who previously trialed Apple Music but didn’t subscribe an extra free month of service.
The leading music-streaming service Spotify has decided it is high time it beefed up its free tier as Apple Music continues to gain traction.
Apple’s proposed acquisition of British music discovery app Shazam has reportedly sparked an in-depth antitrust investigation in Europe through September 4 because the European Commission is concerned the deal might give the iPhone maker an unfair advantage in poaching users from its rivals, like Spotify.
Looking to change the color scheme of your Spotify Music app? Try Colorify.
If your Mac is running low on precious storage, consider cleaning up your disk space by finding and removing songs that show up more than once in your iTunes library by following the step-by-step instructions in this tutorial.


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Ellicott City's old-fashioned ice cream parlor is back, with more flavors and an indoor seating area.
Soft Stuff, which sells soft-serve, nonfat yogurt and snowballs on the former site of the Forest Motel and Forest Diner, has been open since Aug. 1. On Monday, the shop will hold a grand-opening and ribbon-cutting with County Council member Courtney Watson.
The ice cream parlor first opened in 1984, inspired by boardwalk soft serve vendors at Delaware's Rehoboth Beach. The shop closed in 2012 for a makeover to coincide with redevelopment of the surrounding area, a project called Forest Green Center, which will include apartments, restaurants and shops.
According to its web site, Soft Stuff has expanded its selection to offer up to 32 flavors of ice cream, snow balls, milkshakes and sundaes.
Once a wooden stand and winding ramp, with outdoor picnic tables for seating, the shop now has both indoor and outdoor seating, as well as customer restrooms. Pictures online show a wall painted with an ocean view, harkening back to the parlor's roots.


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Endurance International, the company that owns HostGator and Domain.com is has filed for a $400 mn Nasdaq IPO and will spend $110 mn to buy Directi, the Indian domain name registrar, for $110 mn, according to a new report.
Endurance will also finance Directi’s new generic top level domain auctions up to $62 mn. Endurance International Group Holdings said in an SEC filing:
In August 2013, we entered into a master share purchase agreement to acquire all of the outstanding capital stock of Directi from Directi Holdings, the seller, for an amount we estimate will be between $100 million and $110 million in cash or, at the election of the seller, a combination of cash and shares of our common stock, subject to the satisfaction or waiver of specified customary closing conditions and the achievement of specified financial targets.
The company plans to close the acquisition during the fourth quarter of 2013. “We paid $5 million to Directi Holdings, which will be credited against the purchase price and will be refunded if the acquisition does not close for specified reasons,” said Endurance International. The development was first reported by Domaincite.
The statement also said that Endurance International has entered into agreements with entities affiliated to Directi Holdings to participate in the auction of new top level domain extensions. “We may be obligated to make aggregate cash payments of up to a maximum of approximately $62 million, subject to specified terms, conditions and operational contingencies,” said the statement.


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COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Sun Microsystems has created a new partner program in a bid to broaden the way partners and customers view the company and its products.
Replacing the existing iForce program, Sun Partner Advantage (SPA) is a global program with a consistent channel framework across all geographies.
“iForce was very hardware-centric,” said Christian Primeau, vice-president of Partner Alliances at Sun Microsystems of Canada.
“The new program allows us to make sure we give partners the opportunity to put the right investment that makes sense for their business and develop a level of relationship with Sun based on what Sun technology they want to go to market with.”
The company announced the program at Access Distribution’s annual conference here, where it could take advantage of the large number of Sun VARs attending.
SPA will have four levels and according to Primeau, once the program is rolled out in Canada in October. “Sun will align the leveling based on the relationship we have with the partner, what and where they’ve sold and the volume of business they’re driving from Sun.”
Primeau said it is important to respect and secure the investment that was made by existing partners. So all of current partners, he added, will be grandfathered into this program with the same accreditation that they had in the old iForce program.
“For existing partners, its business as usual. New partners need to go through the proper level of accreditation,” he said.
Also with the SPA program, partners will be able to get certified in only one product line. “If a partner just wants to push our x64 product line, we’ll allow them to get certified only on products related to x64 and develop the accreditation and know-how around that product line,” said Primeau.
He added that one of the biggest opportunities for Canadian partners is Sun’s x64 offering. “Over the last six months, we grew this business in Canada by over 75 per cent,” he said. “It’s a very fast growing market.”
“We have really integrated the four S’s — systems, software, storage and services — in a way that allows resellers to be more flexible in where they want to invest in Sun,” said Bill Cate, director of Sun’s U.S. partner program.
One Canadian Sun partner is happy about the stronger emphasis the SPA program has on the channel.
Fred Dimson, vice-president of sales and professional services at KTI Kanatek Technologies in Mississauga, Ont., said he is already seeing a change in some of the accounts he deals with which in the past traditionally bought direct from Sun.
“They’re realizing that partners can bring some interesting value and I see that only improving over the next year,” said Dimson.
Kanatek has been carrying Sun’s storage and server product lines for the past 25 years but Dimson said the company has taken a more storage centric approach for the past six years.
“We are a good value-added partner already so we should only get better with that kind of a program.”
Dimson said Kanatek is still looking at the details of the new program to outline margin potential, but “it’s important that Sun dedicate more to the channel and keep us profitable from their product lines.”
Comment: [email protected]


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Potato Industry Shifts
When the pandemic started to impact the U.S. and global economies, one of the commodities that felt the brunt of the economic impact first was the potato industry.
With restaurants and schools closed across the globe, demand plummeted, meaning many contracts went up in smoke.
The Idaho Potato industry, like many others, worked around the clock to pivot their business model, ensuring many of those spuds would find a new home.
Idaho Potato Commission President and CEO Frank Muir.
“In some ways it was shocking because retailers weren’t necessarily set up to start bringing in cartons, they were typically bringing in loose pack or brining in bags. So, kudos to the produce industry for responding quickly to the programs that we put together. We had to move very quickly, because obviously the concern was prices would just drop because there would be no food service market.”
“This isn’t going to be a short-term issue. Consumers have changed as a result of this pandemic and we’re seeing it in a lot of different ways and we’re adjusting our programs to accommodate that.”
This year, Idaho potato growers, harvested 296,000 acres which is slightly down from 2019 figures. While tonnage may be down a bit, Muir noted this year’s crop looks excellent, and consumers will be happy.


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White House Surrenders on Auto Industry
Why are President Clinton and Vice President Gore so frightened by the automobile industry that they are fleeing their lawful duties in the areas of health, safety and energy policy?
Look over the scene. The federal auto safety agency (NHTSA) has never been more moribund. It is asleep at the wheel in not upgrading obsolete vehicle and tire safety standards, not issuing new standards to reflect available life-saving technology, not toughening bumper protection rules to save your insurance premiums nor doing anything on fuel efficiency research. The NHTSA has abandoned its statutory duty as a regulatory agency and has become a consulting firm for Detroit under Clinton-Gore.
Over at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) the auto industry lobby, while reporting record profits, is battering EPA on long overdue air pollution regulatory enforcement and, making sure that there is no effort there to do something about the abysmally wasteful fuel behavior of the internal combustion engine. The energy crisis is still here and oil imports are at a record. Though supplies are plentiful and prices low, the conditions for the next squeeze are still untreated by the auto moguls.
At the same time, the domestic auto companies are relentlessly exporting their factories to Mexico, Brazil and other nations where the top wage is $2 an hour or nearly one tenth the wages plus benefits of UAW workers here. The auto executives claim it is necessary to replace American workers with Mexican workers to meet the global competition. Yet these same bosses never replace themselves and their multimillion dollars a year compensation with capable $200,000 a year Brazilian management, for example.
On the contrary, the bosses are jacking up their massive pay packages to unheard of and undreamed of excess.
Take the “incentive” pay grab by Chrysler Corporation Chairman Robert Eaton who just sold the company to Daimler-Benz AG in Germany. As co-chairman of Daimler-Benz, Eaton will receive a cash outlay of $3.7 million, 628,277 Daimler-Chrysler shares valued at $66 million and an additional bonanza of 2.3 million shares to replace his old Chrysler stock options.
In July those Daimler-Chrysler shares were worth about $239 million. In total, Eaton would make about what 9000 Chrysler workers together would earn. In the 1970s, by comparison, the auto chiefs made about 40 times the entry level worker’s wage in their company.
Just to cover all his leases, Eaton negotiated one last final goodie. If he is fired on the day of the merger, expected to be formalized in a few weeks, he would receive an additional lump sum payment of $24 million!
Against the background of regulatory defiance, abandoning the country and overweening avarice at the top of the auto companies, Albert Gore trots out to Detroit a few months ago to give a speech that was designed to curry favor with the top executives.
Instead of Clinton and Gore performing their ‘law and order’ responsibilities that they are sworn to uphold for the interest of the American people — safer cars, cleaner air, more economical vehicular travel and energy independence, the two politicians cower and grovel. Not even statements or addresses exhorting the industry to more responsible heights have come from the White House. A more abject surrender to the auto industry has not occurred since federal authority over these companies was established in 1966.
If in the midst of year after year of record output and profits, Clinton and Gore choose not to get this stubborn industry to liberate its engineers to build vehicles that could proudly cross the bridge to the 21st century, we can only imagine what the White House would do if the auto companies get themselves into a recession — such as repeal of safety rules, taxpayer funded corporate welfare and who knows what else?


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Heineken USA this summer will roll out special music packaging and daily music-themed prizes that include Spotify and Live Nation gift codes.
Beginning April 15 and continuing to September 30, 2019, consumers are invited to enter a daily sweepstake for a chance to win six-month Spotify Premium memberships and $100 Live Nation gift cards. The grand prize will include an exclusive music experience with flights, hotel accommodation and Live Nation gift cards.
Consumers who enter using the special packaging and share through social media platforms Twitter and Instagram, with #HeinekenEncoreSweeps, will be eligible for prizes. The special packaging will be available in 6-, 12- and 24-pack bottles.
The integrated marketing program combines national and regional broadcast and digital media to drive awareness, high-impact off-premise shelf, display and cooler merchandising, a light up label and digital resource tool on-premise, specially marked packaging and social engagement platforms that urge consumers to share stories, photos and music with friends online.


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SatLink Communications, a global teleport, content management and HD playout services provider, has announced it has been selected by global channel, Fashion TV (FTV), to playout, uplink and stream its HD channel onto AsiaSat 5. FTV feeds live content to 193 countries across the world and will be utilising SatLink’s Playout, Digital Archival and uplink services as their gateway to the Asian market to reach out to Asia’s Pay TV platforms across the continent over the AsiaSat 5 satellite.
SatLink will be providing FTV with full HD Playout services and digital archiving from its centre in Tel Aviv, Israel, and uplinking to AsiaSat-5 satellite located at 100.5 East to broadcast to Asia-Pacific mass markets including India, China and Indonesia. SatLink operates two full C-band transponders on AsiaSat 5; a cost effective DVB-S2 MCPC platform, which delivers higher throughput and greater bandwidth efficiency, and a DVB-S platform that enables customers to benefit from high quality content contribution and distribution solutions to the Asia Pacific region.
The Playout service SatLink is providing with FTV Asian HD feed includes fully managed services including graphics, multi-language crawls, subtitles and commercials insertion adjusted to FTV’s Asian audience. SatLink will also be providing Real-Time Messaging Protocol (RTMP) streaming to YouTube as well as encryption services using a Viaccess system.
As a global multimedia leader in fashion and lifestyle content, FTV is the only 24/7 international TV network exclusively dedicated to fashion, beauty, glamour and style. Broadcasting across five continents, FTV is one of the most widely distributed satellite channels in the world and pushes content out using 530 different TV platforms, which includes mobile and IPTV, whilst catering for 20 million monthly viewers via its YouTube channel alone.
Expanding our distribution reach into the Asian region means that we needed to work with a partner and satellite provider that we trust implicitly to deliver a seamless and reliable service to our audience in Asia” said Michel Adam, President & Founder of FTV. “SatLink’s expertise and experience in playout and satellite distribution services for international broadcasters, such as Fashion TV, means that we know we are getting a high level of service. More significantly, we needed a partner that could provide the localisation of our content, be our satellite gateway to Asia and help us reach our viewers also via the Internet over YouTube. These innovative and comprehensive services have been instrumental for us in selecting SatLink as our partner as we look to deliver rich media content across the Asia-Pacific.
David Hochner, CEO of SatLink Communications, said: “We are providing that crucial bridge between the East and West and enabling broadcasters, such as Fashion TV, the ability to penetrate this rapidly growing market from our strategic location, bordering three continents. Using our global end-to-end broadcasting services, we will continue to provide this gateway both in and out of Asia on the region’s premium satellite platform.


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|| Print ||
|Articles - July/August 2013|
|Monday, July 08, 2013|
Page 1 of 2
BY LINDA BAKER
The wireless-communications industry thrives on the latest and the greatest; witness the masses who camp out in front of Apple stores every year or so anticipating the newest iPhone. Consumer Cellular, a Tigard-based wireless service and phone provider, is not one of the trendsetters.
“There are a lot of wireless companies that get really excited about the youth, business users, those early adopters,” says CEO John Marick, 48. “We’re the boring category. We target people who want cellular phones for the safety and convenience.”
Most of those people are seniors. Founded in 1995, Consumer Cellular has carved out a niche targeting older users with simple, inexpensive and no-contract cell phone plans — with basic service starting at $10 a month. The company grossed about $263 million last year, up from $44.6 million in 2007.
Almost 20 years after Marick and co-founder Greg Pryor identified a void in the marketplace — “the cell phone was a luxury item then; nobody was trying to make it affordable,” Marick observes — Consumer Cellular is growing strong yet faces a few challenges ahead. More competitors are entering the low-cost wireless space. Plus, Consumer Cellular’s target market, the over-50 set, is becoming increasingly tech savvy, “making it harder for us to get our message out,” Marick says.
To stay competitive, Consumer Cellular is setting its sights on an initiative that might seem a contradiction in terms: adapting the ultimate tech status symbol for customers who care little about tech or status. That device would be the smartphone, a product Marick says “could be our next big thing.”
Consumer Cellular — which employs about 800 people, including Marick’s wife, Tami, and sister, Jill Leonetti (both are part of the management team) — has enjoyed its share of next big things. During its first 10 years, the company focused almost exclusively on the Oregon market. That changed in 2005, when Consumer Cellular signed an agreement with AT&T to buy and resell space on the wireless conglomerate’s network. “That’s what really made us a true national player,” Marick says.
In 2009 the company forged a partnership with another big player, the AARP, giving Consumer Cellular a direct line to the association’s 40 million members. That relationship helped grow the company’s customer count from about 30,000 in 2006 to more than 1 million today.
Wednesday, August 27, 2014
BY KLINT FINLEY
Treehouse CEO Ryan Carson builds a 21st-century trade school.
Tuesday, August 26, 2014
BY COURTNEY SHERWOOD
Janice Levenhagen-Seeley reprograms tech.
Monday, September 29, 2014
BY LINDA BAKER | OB EDITOR
Wehby disappears, Kitzhaber fails to disclose and Seattle gets bike share before Portland.
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
BY JONATHAN FROCHTZWAJG
A flare-up in the Elliott Forest raises questions about détente in Oregon’s timber wars.
Wednesday, August 27, 2014
BY JENNIFER MARGULIS
As schools implement more rigorous academic standards, holistic and flexible approaches to K-12 education flourish.
Thursday, August 28, 2014
OB Research Editor Kim Moore shares some pointers about the 100 Best Companies to Work For survey.
Friday, October 17, 2014
BY TOM COX | OB BLOGGER
How can you move from a command-and-control leadership model to one of true empowerment and accountability? David Marquet did, and he took notes along the way.
|The 100 Best Nonprofits to Work for in Oregon 2014|
|A Recipe for Success|
|Verizon posts higher Q3 revenue|
|Oscar Pistorius sentenced to 5 years in prison|
|IBM to pay Globalfoundries to take chip unit|
|Spotify introduces family plan|
|GE profit rises 11%|
|Google profits slide 5%|
|HBO to launch streaming service|
Is your business ready to join us in the call for action? This opening panel includes Oregon businesses who will discuss why they signed the Oregon Climate Declaration, the investments they are making to reduce carbon emissions, and how their actions are affecting their companies.
Get ready for two days of special events produced with the EPA, Portland Timbers and ISOS before and after the GoGreen Conference on October 16.
Finding a health insurance plan that makes both financial sense for the bottom line and provides choice for plan participants is a huge challenge for employers.
The right financing at the right time is critical for small businesses to succeed.
Among Oregon universities, Oregon Tech is special in the way it incorporates applied research into the curricula of every department.
More than 400 "Change Makers" will gather to invest in a socially sustainable community.


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Maktheshim plans to expand Indian pesticide market
Jun. 18, 2010
Israel-based market leader in crop protection solutions, Maktheshim Agan India, is keen on expanding its business portfolio in Andhra Pradesh and is going to set up a Research and Development Wing in Hyderabad, according to Josef Goldschmidt, senior vice-president, MAI,
"Andhra Pradesh is the biggest market for pesticides in the country. We will also set up a formulations plant in the State to promote farmer-friendly insecticides in the State, Mr. Goldschmidt said here after launching ‘Agil, an anti-weed pesticide that can be used on cotton, chillies, black gram and other broad-leafed crops.
But he cautioned against using the pesticide on rice, maize and sugarcane which have excessive grassy growth.
He went on to say that the pesticide market was about Rs.7,000 crores in India, but that was expected to significantly increase in the years to come. India remains an attractive marketing hub with increasing consumption of quality food and life expectancy rates.
Indian farmers have also adapted themselves by opting for genetically modified BT varieties and reaping good harvest.
Ran Maidan, president & CEO, Asia Pacific Region, said that the companys products were available in more than 100 countries with a combined credit portfolio of $2.5 billion.
"We have the largest product portfolio with over 1,500 products across the world, he said.
The new insecticide, Agil, was launched amid much fanfare at a public meeting. More than 10,000 farmers from Krishna, Guntur and Prakasam districts took part in the meeting.
More from AgroNews
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Nokia has today unveiled a camera phone incorporating a ’41-million-pixel’, 1/1.2″-size, imaging sensor.
The Nokia 808 PureView boasts an f/2.4 Carl Zeiss lens and ?superior low-light performance’.
It captures images at a maximum resolution of 38MP, according to Nokia.
“It means the ability to capture an image, then zoom, reframe, crop and resize afterwards to expose previously unseen levels of detail,” claims the firm.
Features also include Full HD video.
Compact camera makers will likely see the newcomer as a further threat in an already cut-throat market.
However, earlier this month we reported how UK sales of compact cameras, at the bottom end of the market, have dodged the impact of the smartphone revolution.
Sales of fixed lens compacts, priced £50 and under, shot up 26% in volume and 29% in value in 2011, according to GfK Retail and Technology UK Ltd.
They bucked the trend of a declining compact market which showed an overall drop of 13% in value and 9% in volume last year.
In total, compact sales in the UK fell from 5.4m in 2010, to 4.9m units in 2011.
Speaking to Amateur Photographer last month, GfK account director Richard Gregory said the figures flew in face of a widely held belief that all compact cameras are doomed as the cameraphone market escalates.
He believes many consumers may have been tempted into the lowest end of the compact category by price cuts, or a desire for better picture quality, having first enjoyed taking pictures using a smartphone.
Demand for more expensive superzoom cameras (10x optical zoom and above) also faired better than mid-range models last year.
UK consumers snapped up 54% more superzoom compacts in 2011 – a rise of 26% in revenue terms.
The Nokia 808 PureView went on show at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain earlier today.


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The all new Etios Xclusive comes with refined style, plush comfort and a host of features such as dual front SRS bags, reverse parking sensors.
Toyota, which clocked a net profit Rs 529-crore in FY15 after being in the red for the previous two years, is not looking at buying out its partner Kirloskar.
Panasonic, which has a product development center 5 km from the blast site, kept its offices closed Monday, out of concern for employee safety
Toyota plans to restart its manufacturing operations near the Chinese port of Tianjin, which has been halted after the deadly chemical explosions on August 12.
Toyota on Tuesday said its net profit for the three months to June jumped 10 per cent to $5.2 billion, crediting a weak yen and cost cuts.
HCIL on Friday announced that it will voluntarily replace airbag inflators of 223,578 vehicles of 'previous generations' of CR-V, Civic, City and Jazz.
Toyota Motor Corporation was the first company to start local production of hybrid cars with the Camry Hybrid in August 2013.
Toyota on Monday said more than 50 employees were injured after two giant explosions last week in the Chinese city of Tianjin.


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The Home Hub is Google’s first smart speaker to come with a screen. It works seamlessly with Google’s other products, which means it has some very interesting features. This has impressed almost everybody who has had a chance to play around with it and the Home Hub has subsequently been getting rave reviews across the internet. One person who hasn’t been impressed, however, is security advocate Jerry Gamblin. In a blog post, Gamblin has raised a rather serious security issue with the Google Home Hub so we thought we’d take a look at how secure Google’s latest product really is.
Is the Google Home Hub a secure product?
Surprisingly, the Google Home Hub doesn’t run on Android. Instead, the Home Hub runs on a version of the Google Cast software the company developed for use with its Chromecast products. According to Gamblin, this decision has led to a product that is “beyond dismal” at protecting user privacy and that is vulnerable to third-parties taking “near full remote unauthenticated control.”
— Jerry Gamblin (@JGamblin) October 27, 2018
In Gamblin’s very technical blog post he showed that he was able to reboot the device remotely, delete the saved Wi-Fi networks, and disable all notifications. If done correctly, he believes these vulnerabilities could be used to commandeer the device, turning it into a potential listening device and putting all user information at great risk. Gamblin’s research also discovered that Google has known about these vulnerabilities for a long time and still not acted on them. This last point is why he, as an independent security researcher, decided to go public with his discoveries rather than contact Google about the potential holes in their security.
Since Gamblin released all of his findings, many news outlets picked up the story that Google’s Home hub is an unsecured device. This has caused Google to react quickly and refute the claims. In a statement to Android Authority, Google said:
“All Google Home devices are designed with user security and privacy top of mind and use a hardware-protected boot mechanism to ensure that only Google-authenticated code is used on the device. In addition, any communication carrying user information is authenticated and encrypted. A recent claim about security on Google Home Hub is inaccurate. The APIs mentioned in this claim are used by mobile apps to configure the device and are only accessible when those apps and the Google Home device are on the same Wi-Fi network. Despite what’s been claimed, there is no evidence that user information is at risk.”
Google is saying that what Gamblin has discovered is true, but that he has missed one small point. As the Home Hub is supposed to be a control and display unit it needs to communicate with other smart objects connected to the Wi-Fi network. Gamblin was able to execute several worrying commands but only because his computer had been authorized to work on the same Wi-Fi network as his Google Home Hub. A hacker would not be able to execute the same commands unless he already had access to the home Wi-Fi network. This would explain why Google hasn’t acted on the issues Gamblin highlighted.
In answer to the original question then, the Google Home Hub is as secure as your home Wi-Fi network. For tips on how to boost your home Wi-Fi network security, check out our guide below.


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The original Ethereum value driver was the ICO (initial coin offering), another casino on Meth. The regulators did what they do well and snuffed it out but crypto at its base is a way of creating value outside of the maw of fiat monopolies and you can’t keep that at bay indefinitely. So snuffing out ICOs didn’t snuff out Ethereum, it just left it ticking over until the distributed computer got another hit app. Here it is.
Gold has had at least three millennia to establish itself as a store of value people turn to when social systems are in stress. Bitcoin has only existed for 11 years. While plenty of investors are willing to speculate on the possibility bitcoin might supplant or compete with gold, the idea is far from ingrained across society. When will it be more widely accepted? Perhaps when the international crisis of global leadership unleashed by COVID-19 undermines the capacity of institutions like the Federal Reserve to sustain economic and social confidence. Whatever new institutions and systems we create going forward will need to address how the internet has upended society’s centralized systems of governance. When that happens, we’ll need a decentralized, digital reserve asset as the base value layer. As I said, it will take time. Meanwhile, the developers will keep building.
Demeester, an analyst and co-founder of crypto investment fund Adamant Capital, announced last month that he’s scaling back his public involvement in Bitcoin. But his recent statement doesn’t mean he's shifting wholeheartedly from Bitcoin to Ethereum. He’s emphasized that he’s still a Bitcoin believer, and retains plenty of reservations about Ethereum.
Paid to click sites help certain advertisers to promote their products and services to targeted customers by paying for ad views. Advertisers will focus on leads and sales through advertising i.e. they spend money to sell their products or generate leads for their services. And remember that you will get paid to read ads whether or not you make any actions(sale & Opt-in).
Though it’s too early to know who the eventual winners will be, I believe this trend captures the early beginnings of a new, decentralized global financial system. So to describe it, an analogy for the existing one is useful: bitcoin is the dollar, and Ethereum is SWIFT, the international network that coordinates cross-border payments among banks. (Since Ethereum is trying to do much more than payments, we could also cite a number of other organizations in this analogy, such as the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) or the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC).)
The latest saga in the cryptocurrency market and especially that related to the Ethereum is that the leading internet giant Google could have blacklisted “Ethereum” keyword from the company’s Ads platform. This comes after a Serbia –based blockchain startup, Decenter realized that the keyword ‘Ethereum’ can no longer be found on the Google Ads platform. The startup moved swiftly and made an announcement via Twitter where Google responded to the allegations almost instantly:
Ethereum is another use-case for a blockchain that supports the Bitcoin network, and theoretically should not really compete with Bitcoin. However, the popularity of ether has pushed it into competition with all cryptocurrencies, especially from the perspective of traders. For most of its history since the mid-2015 launch, ether has been close behind bitcoin on rankings of the top cryptocurrencies by market cap. That being said, it's important to keep in mind that the ether ecosystem is much smaller than bitcoin's: as of January 2020, ether's market cap was just under $16 billion, while bitcoin's is nearly 10 times that at more than $147 billion.
Lee Smolin: Quantum Gravity and Einstein's Unfinished Revolution | AI Podcast #79 with Lex Fridman
So, let’s dismiss claims like those of Ethhub.io co-founder Anthony Sassano. He argued that because bitcoin token transactions on Ethereum deny miners fees they would otherwise receive on the bitcoin chain, bitcoin is becoming a “second-class citizen” to ether. You’d hardly expect people in countries where dollars are preferred to the local currency to think of the former as second class. And just as the U.S. benefits from overseas demand for dollars – via seignorage or interest-free loans – bitcoin holders benefit from its sought-after liquidity and collateral value in the Ethereum ecosystem, where it lets them extract premium interest.
Paid to click is a kind of online advertising similar to Pay per click advertising. But PTC is an incentivized promotion method while PPC is the standard advertising. In simple PTC advertising pays both the publishers(PTC sites) and the ad viewer(customer/members/you) but in the case of PPC advertising, only the publishers(site owners) will be paid for the ad clicks.
Make cash on-line on your pc or smartphone, get cash for browsing sites, clicks, likes and subscriptions. Withdraw your earned cash in any method convenient for you. For advertisers United Nations agency need to push their website, we tend to ar able to provide high-quality targeted traffic, any clicks on links and ad units, increasing the depth of viewing the positioning and therefore the time guests ar on that. further as integrated promotion in social networks: likes, reposts, comments, subscriptions, application installation. careful statistics, geographical and demographic targeting...
New Ethereum Ads Clicking Site 2020 - Best PTC Site By adeth.cc


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Black Twitter Reacts To Mihlali Telling Fitness Enthusiasts Where To Get Off After Lipolytics Session. Mihlali Ndamase always has a way of being on the social media trends list.
Mihlali Ndamase always has a way of being on the social media trends list. On Tuesday, the YouTuber had trended for a reply to that she had for fitness enthusiasts. The YouTuber went to go do a lipolytics procedure for fat pockets by her arm pits. That’s when fitness enthusiasts told her about working out and other ways they think are best in removing the fat pockets.
The YouTuber says the people who talk about wellness and fitness on Instagram like protecting their insecurities. She also went on to say that she is sure that when people had the money to afford lipo they would also do it. She also noted that workouts don’t kill fats under the armpits, the fat pockets that she had. “Sis I’m sure if you could afford to do lipo you’d probably do the exact same thing. Don’t tell me about going to workout…Please man, I’ll smack you. Don’t try to s**t with me,” says Mihlali Ndamase.
The YouTuber also replied to a social media user who said her Chanel bag was fake. She told the social media user “lol, heal.”Most of the people on social media stood up for the YouTuber. Podcaster Lebo Lion says, “My new response to people who want to try me: “Lol, heal”…Dankie (Thank you) Mihlali.” One tweep says, “Mihlali is a for force. Protect her and while you’re there – leave her alone.” One tweep says, “I’m really enjoying Mihlali being so assertive and no-nonsense as of late, yes wena girl…” One tweep says, “If I wasn’t a hard [Mihlali] stan before, I definitely am now…”
by Alexandra Ramaite


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LUCKY Content, a digital outreach company, is approaching one year in Woodlawn this December.
The company was started by Annah Lauren Kelley as a freelance project in 2015 and grew quickly to include her partner Dedric Duncan and an office in One 55th, a REV-owned and managed starter space.
LUCKY Content specializes in affordable, high quality website design and digital marketing, especially for non-profits and small businesses in the Birmingham area. Kelley says they aim to have a responsible role in the growth of Birmingham by helping other small business and nonprofits “achieve their best selves.”
“Whether nonprofit leaders seeking to better the lives of other people or small business owners providing valuable local services, their inspiring stories make every bit of the hard stuff worth it,” Kelley says. “We have a lot more to accomplish but being thoughtful and mindful along the way, appreciating every day and every client, makes the journey rewarding itself.”
Learn more about LUCKY Content at their website: luckycontent.net
Health Foods – West in Five Points West is now Bama Health Foods. Newcomer to Birmingham, Jacquie Fazekas has taken on ownership of the store.
Vendor applications are open now for Woodlawn Street Market, returning to the heart of the historic Birmingham neighborhood for its sixth season.
Couple behind Five Points South's Filter share entrepreneurial lessons learned through opening coffee parlor
As they near their opening day, coffee parlor dream team James Little and Jill Marlar share their start-up steps to help more entrepreneurs pursue their dreams.


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Manual Transmission Vehicles Make Slight Comeback in 2012
August 2, 2012 9:19 AM
comment(s) - last by
Don't call it a comeback...
Many automotive enthusiasts have been lamenting the fact that automakers are starting to shy away from the manual transmission. Most automakers cite that take rates for manual transmissions are in steady decline. This is due to several factors, one of which being that many modern automatic transmissions now get better fuel economy than manual transmissions thanks to
having more forward gears
Some sports car companies are sticking with the manual transmission and are actually adding gears, such as Porsche. Porsche unveiled a seven-speed manual transmission for its sports cars not long ago.
While Porsche is sticking with the manual transmission, BMW has announced that it is
axing the manual
as an option for its M5 and Audi has
discontinued manual transmissions
in some of its vehicles in Europe.
According to Edmunds.com, the manual transmission has made a slight comeback this year. According to statistics put together by the website, 7% of all new cars sold in 2012 are equipped with manual transmissions. That is a massive decline from 20 years ago when one out of every four cars sold had a manual transmission. However, 7% is much higher than the 3.9% take rate for manual transmissions last year. 2012 is on track to be the year with the highest rate for manual transmission vehicle purchases since 2006.
"A combination of factors - from the growing age of vehicle trade-ins bringing more manual drivers back to market, to a greater proportion of smaller cars on the road - is creating a small spike for stick shifts," says Edmunds.com Industry Analyst Ivan Drury. "But even though manual cars are on the rise now, they're on track to be virtually extinct in the next 15 to 20 years."
Edmunds.com also reports that 64% of all 2012 model year vehicles are only offered with automatic transmissions. Ten years ago, the number of vehicles that weren't available with the manual transmission was must lower at 48%.
It's worth noting that some sports cars are only offered with manual transmissions, including the Audi TT RS, Aston Martin V12 Vantage, Fiat 500 Abarth, Ford Shelby GT500, MazdaSpeed 3, and Volkswagen Golf R.
This article is over a month old, voting and posting comments is disabled
RE: Not much point really.
8/3/2012 10:14:31 AM
I have been driving stick for 25 years, and I have admittedly just purchased the dreaded automatic. This time I wanted a tech car and got the Ford Focus Titanium which only comes with automatic. Though they claim it's an automated manual and not the same traditional auto transmission. I'm not hip on the differences between a dual clutch transmission vs a conventional automatic.
Both types of transmissions have their place. Some of the old thoughts no longer apply though. 20 years ago manuals always had better gas mileage. That's no longer the case. Automatics aren't more costly to maintain these days. I've had costly trasmission repairs. The last one was having to replace the master cylinder on my 2001 explorer. I don't have a single friend that's had to put any repairs into their automatic transmissions over the past 20 years.
I personally find Manuals give me better performance and fun driving, but let me tell you, there is nothing fun about a Boston Commute driving a stick.
If it's a manual in a truck you lose utility with stick. Towing capacity of manual transmissions are typically 1500lbs+ lower than automatics.
There is a "security" advantage to stick. So few know how to drive them it is a deterant. Heck, a few months ago in Lynn Mass there was a bank robbery and the suspects tried to hi-jack a womans car (with a baby in the back seat) and they got in the car, and right back out because they didn't know how to drive stick!
Fewer friends want to borrow you car as well! :)
Honestly though, I find the biggest reason for fewer manual sales are because of how manufacturers sell options. I have often seen cases where if you wan't a GPS you have to also get a trim level that includes an automatic transmission. There are many times you only have limited trim choices if you want a stick.
"Well, we didn't have anyone in line that got shot waiting for our system." -- Nintendo of America Vice President Perrin Kaplan
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SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Hub Group HUBG, -2.64% on Wednesday said third-quarter profit surged to $9.6 million, or 47 cents a share, from $3.5 million, or 17 cents a share, a year earlier. Analysts polled by Thomson First Call had expected a profit, on average, of 44 cents a share. Revenue for the freight company rose to $399.4 million, from $362.1 million, topping Wall Street targets of $392 million. The Downers Grove, Ill.-based company also said its "comfortable" with analyst profit estimates for 2005 of $1.45 to $1.53 a share.
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2023 Visa Accelerator Fintech Startups Stand Out at Singapore Demo Dayby Fintech News Singapore November 16, 2023
During the 2023 Singapore Fintech Festival, Visa showcased the progress of seven startups from its Asia Pacific Visa Accelerator Programme 2023. These startups, selected in May 2023, have been working on innovative solutions in digital payments, benefiting from Visa’s global network and expertise over a six-month period.
The cohort includes Dowsure, Doxa Holdings, Kadmos, Pi-xcels, Playbux, Transpure, and Twid. Their work, spanning areas such as global money movement, embedded finance, and open banking solutions, was demonstrated at the 2023 Visa Accelerator Programme Demo Day.
Kunal Chatterjee, Head of Innovation at Visa Asia Pacific, stated that the programme aims to assist startups in growing and expanding their market presence. The Visa Accelerator Programme focuses on creating viable proof of concepts that can be brought directly to clients.
At the Demo Day, the startups presented their progress, showcasing developments in product design, technical integration, and the refinement of their solutions. The next phase involves introducing these solutions to Visa’s network of financial institutions and partners to facilitate further commercial opportunities.
“The achievements of the startups are a testament to Visa’s commitment to fostering fintech and digital payments innovation,”
“Using Visa’s expertise in areas such as digital payments, cross-border financing and loyalty, these startups were able to overcome market challenges from securing stakeholder participation to refining user interfaces and meeting market needs for consumers.”
Previous Visa Accelerator cohorts from 2021 and 2022 have gone on to secure commercial deals with notable regional clients and partners, while Visa itself has agreed partnerships and commercial agreements with six of the startups.


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- Digiway Net (AS135212)
Vodafone Essar has launched two new Vodafone Mobile Connect Packs for its prepaid customers in Kolkata.Vodafone Mobile Connect 499, priced at Rs. 499, offers customers 10 GB data usage free and comes with a validity of 30 days. Whereas Vodafone Mobile Connect 1400, priced at Rs. 1400, offers customers 30 GB data usage free and comes with a validity of 90 days. Customers will be charged at 5 paise /10KB for subsequent data usage. Vodafone Mobile Connect Packs enable customers to access internet services on their mobile phones even when they are on the move. Additionally, customers can also access Internet on their laptops using their mobile phones or Vodafone USB Sticks/Data Cards as a modem to connect. Vodafone Mobile Connect Packs are now available across all Vodafone Stores, Mini Stores and other retail outlets in Kolkata through e-top recharge.


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Customer Due Diligence
RESOLVED, Shareholders request the Board of Directors commission an independent third-party report, at reasonable cost and omitting proprietary information, assessing Amazon’s process for customer due diligence, to determine whether customers’ use of its products or services with surveillance or computer vision capabilities or cloud products contributes to human rights violations.
WHEREAS, Amazon’s surveillance and cloud products may exacerbate systemic inequities, compromise oversight, and contribute to mass surveillance. Amazon Web Services (AWS), the top cloud provider with 2019 revenue of $35 billion, serves all U.S. intelligence agencies, and international governments.
In 2019, the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression recommended “an immediate moratorium on the global sale and transfer of private surveillance technology until rigorous human rights safeguards are put in place.”1
“Know Your Customer” due diligence mitigates clients’ risks and human rights impacts,2 and informs decisions around which business to pursue or avoid. It can reveal whether “the technologies provided by the company will be used to facilitate governmental human or civil rights or civil liberties violations.”3 In 2020, the Department of State offered due diligence guidance for companies on foreign sales of “products or services that have surveillance capabilities,” including to consider if “the end-user will likely misuse the product or service to carry out human rights violations.”4
Inadequate due diligence around surveillance and cloud products presents material privacy and data security risks. Negative perceptions about Amazon’s ties to U.S. government surveillance may impact competitiveness with other governments.
Amazon’s surveillance technologies perpetuate human rights impacts, including systemic racism, even if used according to Amazon’s guidelines:
● Amazon’s work with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Palantir drew employee and customer protests over ICE’s human rights abuses.
● Ring’s 1,600 police partnerships threaten civil rights and civil liberties, and may threaten sales.5 Police disproportionately seek surveillance footage from Black and brown communities. Lawmakers have requested information on police partnerships. Civil rights groups asked Congress to investigate Amazon’s “surveillance empire.” 6 Senator Markey’s 2019 Ring investigation found “no oversight/compliance mechanisms” protecting privacy.7
● Despite content moderation, racist speech is rampant on Ring’s Neighbors application, and users disproportionately labeled people of color as “suspicious.” 8
● After police murdered George Floyd, Amazon announced a yearlong moratorium on Rekognition sales to police. While it is unclear how this impacted existing customers, Amazon facilitated increased police surveillance: Ring established 280 new police partnerships following Floyd’s killing.9 In 2020, Amazon reported increased police requests for customer data.
● Amazon lacks systems to effectively monitor customer use of its technologies. AWS’s top executive said: “I don’t think we know the total number of police departments that are using facial recognition technology.”10 Jackson, Mississippi police used Ring footage for real-time surveillance without Amazon’s involvement.11
Despite potential misuse and lack of effective oversight, Amazon continues releasing surveillance products (home drone, vein scanner) with civil liberties concerns.


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Myer lowers guidance as sales slide
Myer's third quarter sales have fallen and the department store chain has downgraded its forecast for full-year net profit.
Myer said total sales in the 13 weeks to April 28 were $651.1 million, down 0.9 per cent from the same period in the previous year.
Like-for-like sales in the period to April 28 were down 2.1 per cent on the previous corresponding period.
The company said it now expected its net profit for the full fiscal 2012 year to be no more than 15 per cent lower than the $162.7 million it made in fiscal 2011.
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Myer previously had forecast a fall in full-year net profit of no more than 10 per cent.
Chief executive Bernie Brookes said the majority of Myer's second half profit was made in its mid-year stocktake sale, with consumer sentiment remaining subdued heading into that period.
"While there may be a delay in any positive impacts on discretionary spend, the recent rate cut by the Reserve Bank, as well as an improving employment rate and the upcoming cessation of the flood levy, are timely as we head into the fourth quarter and the important mid-year stocktake sale in June," he said in a statement.
"However, the fallout in equity markets and the ongoing turmoil in Europe continue to influence consumer sentiment.
"The mid-year stocktake sale in 2011 was disappointing, but changes had been made to improve its offers in 2012, Mr Brookes said.
There was a significant deterioration in trading conditions in April, reflecting the subdued consumer sentiment, Myer said.
Sales of whitegoods, movies, music and gaming consoles weighed on Myer's third quarter performance, the company said.
Miss Shop, womenswear and menswear were the best performing categories in the period to April 28.
The strongest sales came in Western Australia, South Australia and Queensland, but the performance of those states was offset by weak sales in Victoria and NSW, Myer said.
The fall in third quarter sales follows a 3.0 per cent fall in comparable sales in the first half of Myer's fiscal year.
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September 26, 2007 4:00 AM PDT
FAQ: What does the digital-TV switch actually mean?
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The other guys in digital TVJanuary 2, 2007
- Related Blogs
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December 19, 2005
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September 19, 2007
(continued from previous page)
Q: Are there any limitations here? Can I use the coupons toward the cost of a digital TV?
The coupons may only be used for converter boxes certified for use by NTIA, and the agency placed a number of restrictions on what features they can employ. For instance, it's acceptable for the boxes to include an electronic program guide feature, equipment necessary for processing software upgrades, antenna inputs and video outputs. They also must meet certain energy efficiency and interference standards.
But the coupons can't be used toward digital TVs themselves or toward more "deluxe" devices that also contain, for instance, DVD-recording or playback capabilities.
Q: Does DTV mean HDTV?
Nope. As federal officials themselves note, digital television comes in many flavors. It can be low-resolution standard definition, or SDTV, or it can be high-resolution, or HDTV, or somewhere in between.
Q: Have any specific models been certified for use with the coupons yet?
Yes. NTIA confirmed that it gave the green light last week to two models produced by a Korea-headquartered company called Digital Stream. In a press release dated Friday, that firm estimated the price for each of those models would be about $70. (A more detailed spec sheet is posted at its Web site.) Several other companies, including LG, Samsung, RCA, Broadcom and Echostar, are reportedly in the process of seeking certification.
NTIA said it plans to include with the coupons it issues a final list of eligible devices, along with retailers near the household's ZIP code that sell some or all of them.
Q: When will the coupon-eligible boxes be available in stores?
The answer to that question remains a little murky. None is on the market yet, but NTIA has said retailers expect to have them by "early next year"--a statement that Best Buy, for one, echoes on its Web site.
Radio Shack vice president of merchandising Larry Harris told attendees at an NTIA public meeting this week that he expects all of the company's approximately 6,000 company-owned and franchise stores to carry coupon-eligible boxes as close to January 1 as they're available. He said the company hopes to begin outfitting its point-of-sale systems to work with the IBM-contracted coupon system within the next 30 days.
Q: What if the coupons run out?
Some consumer groups have argued that Congress should really be making double the number of coupons available to accommodate all of the some 70 million television sets they expect will need the converter boxes. Some Democrats have thrown support behind that idea.
Echoing statements he and other Republicans made earlier this year, Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), the ranking member of a House of Representatives telecommunications panel, said this week that he doubts the coupons will run out. He told NTIA public meeting attendees that about 23 million are expected to be requested, based on the number of consumers who rely on over-the-air television.
If there aren't enough, he added, "I'm sure there will be a bipartisan effort to make sure the funds are there, but I think we'll be OK."
Q: How can I tell whether my TV is currently able to receive digital signals?
Check your owner's manual or the TV set itself for indication that it contains either an integrated HDTV tuner or an Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) tuner, which refers to the American digital-TV standard. If you can't track down the manual in paper form, try searching for your TV's make and model number at the manufacturer's Web site.
A TV designated "HD-ready" or "HDTV monitor," by contrast, does not have a built-in ATSC tuner, which means you must supplement it with a converter box or subscribe to cable or satellite.
The newer your TV is, the greater the chance that it's already primed for the switch. If it's older than a 1998 model, when TV manufacturers first began offering a limited quantity of TVs with integrated digital tuners, it likely needs a converter box. An uptick in the number of TVs equipped with digital tuners began in 2004.
Q: Remind me again--why are we even making this shift?
The U.S. government has actually been attempting to clear off the analog TV spectrum for many years to make the prime airwaves available for public safety responders and for mobile broadband projects. A portion of the vacant spectrum will automatically be set aside for use by emergency broadcasters. The FCC plans in January to start auctioning off the rest to companies, including the likes of Google, eager to take advantage of the spectrum's inherent physical properties, which allow signals to travel farther and penetrate walls.
All told, the auction is expected to generate between $10 billion and $15 billion to offset the government's deficit.
Q: Then who's to say this whole process won't be delayed again?
So far, all we have to go by is the word of Bush administration officials presiding over the plan, and they say they're determined for it to go off without a hitch. "It is critically important for a host of public policy reasons, and that's why it's so important that we get it done," Commerce Department Assistant Secretary John Kneuer told about a hundred people gathered for a digital-television expo (PDF) at the agency's downtown Washington headquarters this week.
Q: What's in this for me as a TV watcher?
Digital television delivers clearer pictures (meaning less-snowy versions of your favorite broadcast TV shows) and sharper sound than its analog counterpart. It also allows broadcasters to do "multicasting" of various channels at the same time--say, weather on one channel, a soap opera on another, and news on a third. According to the National Association of Broadcasters, more than 1,600 television stations already offer digital-broadcasting streams.
CNET News.com's Declan McCullagh contributed to this report.
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Upcoming 2021 Royal Enfield Classic 350’s Instrument Cluster Revealed
Royal Enfield is expected to launch the new-generation Classic 350 bike in the coming weeks and it will be the brand’s biggest launch of the year.
Now we have known for while now that brand is working on the 2021 Classic 350. Expected to become available for sale in the Indian market sometime over the next few weeks, the upcoming Royal Enfield motorcycle in our country was spotted on a test run yet again. Sure, that may not be news, but what does make this one worth noting is the fact that now we get a look at the Royal Enfield Classic 350’s instrument cluster. Yep, we now have access to new updates about what its instrument cluster will look like. And based on what we can see, the console gets considerable updates as compared to the unit seen on the current iteration of the RE bike in India.
2021 Royal Enfield Classic 350 Design Updates
The 2021 Royal Enfield Classic 350 continues with its signature retro profile that has remained one of its primary unique selling propositions. However, there are several smaller modifications that give the vehicle a distinct identity. A rugged circular headlamp cluster with integrated LED daytime running lights is among the key design highlights at the front end. Other components such as handlebar grips and switchgear have also been updated. The instrument console has been updated and it comprises a display screen along with an analog speedometer. It also gets a fuel gauge. In addition, there are trip meters, clock, Odometer as well as the mention of ECO in the display.
2021 Royal Enfield Classic 350 will also get Tripper navigation, which was introduced with the Royal Enfield Meteor 350 model last year. This feature comprises a small screen that displays directional arrows for the inputted destination. It works in conjunction with the Royal Enfield app and Google Maps.
349 cc Oil Cooled OHC Engine
The next-gen Classic 350 will be powered by the same engine and gearbox as the Royal Enfield Meteor 350. That means it will now get a 349 cc air-cooled, OHC, single-cylinder engine that produces a max power output of 20 bhp at 6,100 rpm along with a peak torque of 27 Nm at 4,000 rpm.
Talking of the expected price, the new 2021 Royal Enfield Classic 350 model will likely be launched at a starting price of close to Rs 1.75 lakh (ex-showroom).


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The Multihull Solutions team is preparing for a huge season of boat shows starting with the Singapore Yacht Show in April, which will be the platform for some of the most exciting developments ever seen in the Asia Pacific yachting industry.
Multihull Solutions will hold the spotlight at the event as we stage an unprecedented three exclusive launchings, as well as celebrating Fountaine Pajot’s 40 years of building the world’s leading cruising catamarans.
Don’t miss out on viewing the magnificent Lucia 40 and Victoria 67 by Fountaine Pajot, shown for the first time in the Asia Pacific region, as well as the magnificent Saba 50.
In this edition we also present you with news of the latest models to be released to the market, plus you can now view brand new photos of the Fountaine Pajot Lucia 40.
Read on to discover the latest specials across our entire new and pre-owned, power and sail range. Whether you want your boat delivered or pick up ex-factory, we have something for you to get you on the water in time for cruising season.
Read the full March edition here.


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Palo Alto to ban plastic bags at stores, restaurants
Original post made
on Mar 11, 2013
The era of plastic bags is about to come to an end at shops and restaurants throughout Palo Alto after city officials decided Monday night to greatly expand the city's existing ban on the notorious creek polluters.
Read the full story here Web Link posted Monday, March 11, 2013, 11:11 PM


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According to the magazine, some traders were suspiciously well-positioned ahead of huge swings in the trade war, either by buying or selling hundreds of thousands of electronically traded futures contracts, called "e-minis" on the S&P 500.
The magazine noted that on September 10, a trader or group of traders bought 82,000 e-minis in the last 10 minutes of trading in New York.
Markets surged, and the buyer who bought the e-minis made $190 million, Vanity Fair found.
He emerged an hour after saying that trade war talks were "back on track." That week, the stock market surged, and whoever made that bet had a profit of $1.8 billion, Vanity Fair calculated.
But the following week, Trump lied saying that trade war talks were going well after a phone call with China.
Nevertheless, the S&P bounced 80 points and a person who had bought 386,000 e-minis the week before made $1.5 billion, Vanity Fair found.


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SAP is partnering with IBM to test an analytics package designed to speed queries by integrating the NetWeaver platform with IBM's blade servers and storage systems.
The product will be aimed at customers using IBM BladeCenter and IBM TotalStorage DS4300 system configurations. The bundled products are intended to speed interactive queries against large volumes of data by using the IBM blade and storage systems.
The SAP announcement, released at its TechEd '05 conference in Vienna, Austria, comes on the heels of Oracle's agreement with IBM to cooperate on standards that will allow their applications to work together. Oracle's Project Fusion applications will be services based, allowing them to run on IBM's WebSphere platform.
Under the SAP-IBM agreement, NetWeaver will be optimized and bundled with those systems, said Peter Graf, executive vice president of product marketing. The product is designed to be used with SAP's Business Information Warehouse and SAP NetWeaver Business Intelligence, Graf said.
IBM has worked closely with SAP in recent years to package SAP software with IBM hardware. The two vendors recently launched a version of IBM's DB2 database management system bundled with SAP software. The products are sold by IBM with pre-packaged configurations to simplify installation and get the system up and running quickly, Graf said.
Partnerships between large software and infrastructure vendors have been increasing in recent years as companies look to cut the costs of innovative technologies, said Charles King, principal analyst with Hayward, Calif.-based Pund-IT Research.
"The level of technical expertise and sheer cost of the development effort to put something compelling together from a price performance standpoint may not be beyond the capabilities of a single vendor, but it's a little easier if the cost pain is shared," King said.
Oracle, meanwhile, is trying to build out its product set through a mixture of acquisitions and partnerships, King said. In the last several weeks, the company announced it would acquire Siebel Systems Inc. in a $5.8 billion deal. In a smaller acquisition announced this week, Oracle plans to purchase G-Log, a privately held company based in King of Prussia, Pa., which sells logistics management software. The terms of the G-Log deal were not disclosed.
SAP executives have said they plan to focus on partnerships and add in much smaller, more strategic acquisitions over the coming months to add industry-specific functionality to existing products. This week SAP said it would acquire Toronto-based Triversity, which makes point-of-sale software for the retail industry.
"There is a strong movement in the ISV [independent software vendor] community of people approaching SAP from the application side, and from the technology infrastructure side -- the stuff that runs underneath NetWeaver, and we very much want to foster those partnerships," SAP's Graf said.
Graf said more than 400 ISVs are attending the TechEd conference.


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Is your privacy secure online? There’s no way to tell
Long before Facebook got blamed for turning the concept of online privacy into a sick joke, I could tell that the Internet was going to make the control of one’s personal information a challenge.
That moment arrived in the late 1990s, when I realized that my listed phone number, previously accessible only to those who knew enough about me to know where I lived and therefore which local phone book to check or which 411 operator to call, had become available to anyone capable of typing my name — and that’s all — into an online database.
Well, it was a listed number, after all. No great loss there. But things have headed straight downhill since then.
Internet companies persuaded Congress to let them regulate themselves. They promised to develop explicit policies covering to whom and under what circumstances they would share users’ personal data, and stick to their promises. They awarded each other seals of good privacy housekeeping, so we’d trust them to safeguard our names, addresses, Social Security numbers and browsing habits.
What’s the harvest? Scandal after scandal in which some big Internet service admits to having collected more data than it promised to, distributed it to people who shouldn’t have seen it, or let it get hacked in ways that weren’t supposed to happen. All these failures expose innocent users to identity theft or other invasions of privacy.
Typically, the guilty company responds by sending forth a top executive to say “We screwed up” ( Google co-founder Sergey Brin) or “We just missed the mark” (Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg).
Facebook is the face of this problem because it has been a serial violator of fair practice. The site purports to give its hundreds of millions of users “control” over how much of their personal information gets disclosed to strangers — name, birthday, likes and dislikes, gender, age, “friends” — but these controls are famous for being devilishly confusing and hard to use. Worse, several times over the last year or so, Facebook has unilaterally reset users’ preferences to make such information more public without their consent.
This behavior finally provoked the Electronic Privacy Information Center and other advocacy groups to file a complaint last month with the Federal Trade Commission, alleging that Facebook is deceiving its users. The FTC has the matter under consideration.
Facebook responded by promising to simplify its settings. Plainly it has a lot further to go. I recently spent the better part of an hour tweaking the settings on my Facebook page, and I think I’ve arranged it so that my personal information and that of my “friends” is open only to the extent I want it to be. But for all I know, I’ve actually exposed myself and the visitors to my page to wholesale identity theft by every resident of the Planet Zarg. There’s no easy way to tell.
Nor does that cover all the ways that information in Facebook accounts gets “leaked” to other sites, without any control by the users. Some of this happens through external applications Facebook allows users to access through their accounts. Some happens when outside websites collect user data from Facebook and compile it with the same users’ data from other social networks or e-commerce sites.
In other words, while you think you’re maintaining your privacy, your identity is leaking out to sites you don’t even know about in ways you can’t possibly imagine.
As Balachander Krishnamurthy of AT&T Labs and Craig Wills of Worcester Polytechnic Institute showed in a 2009 paper, networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace and LinkedIn have done a poor job of shielding user information that might be accessed from their accounts by third-party sites. This is the sort of “leakage” that can’t be commonly controlled by user settings, only by the websites themselves.
“People are led to believe that they can make privacy settings and things will happen,” Krishnamurthy told me. “But what happens underneath in the protocol exchange mechanism is something most people don’t even know about and so would not be able to block.”
Every time a popular online service rolls out a new feature, a new unforeseen potential opportunity for leakage arises. “We’re always one privacy fiasco behind,” says Ari Schwartz of the Center for Democracy and Technology, another privacy watchdog.
There’s a notion in cyberspace that we’re more comfortable sharing information about ourselves publicly today than we used to be, and that’s good. One of Facebook’s “core principles,” according to an op-ed Zuckerberg published last month in the Washington Post, is that “a world that’s more open and connected is a better world.”
It can’t be a coincidence that the leading promoters of such ideas are executives hoping to profiteer from snarfing up free-floating private information, like Zuckerberg. But there’s no evidence that people have become more comfortable about letting their personal information loose.
A recent study by the Pew Research Center found that 44% of young users of social networking sites (those 18 to 29) took pains to limit the personal information they disclose online, compared with 33% of users aged 30 to 49 and 20% of those aged 65 and older. They had also done more than older users to tighten their privacy settings.
I doubt most people regard an entirely “open and connected” world with unalloyed glee, as Zuckerberg contends. Think about your high school or college graduating class — do you really want to hear from everybody in it right now, much less share your current address with them? And by the way, how many “friends” on your Facebook page are really friends, as opposed to randomly interconnected strangers of no value or interest to you?
They are, however, extremely valuable to the proprietors of Facebook, LinkedIn, et al., and extremely interesting to those sites’ commercial partners.
That brings us to a facet of social networking that users often overlook: They are not the sites’ customers; they’re the merchandise. The real customers are the advertisers and the aggregators who suck up the data on the users and use it to target commercial come-ons more effectively.
When Mark Zuckerberg promises, as he did in his op-ed, that “We will always keep Facebook a free service for everyone,” he’s giving the game away. Of course it’s free for users — why would he want to discourage the cattle from walking into the abattoir?
Because Facebook earns money from business partners thirsting for knowledge about its users, “Facebook’s incentives will always be to expose as much personal information as it can,” says Marc Rotenberg, EPIC’s director. He says the answer is regulation to require that users opt in to every disclosure of personal information, rather than letting the sites expose the data unless the user opts out.
Remember the New Yorker cartoon of a dog at a computer remarking, “On the Internet, nobody knows you’re a dog”? That was in 1993. In 2010, lots of people would know he’s a dog, what breed he is, who his owners are, where they live, and what they bought each other for Christmas.
But he wouldn’t know they knew. And that’s where the danger lies.
Michael Hiltzik’s column appears Sundays and Wednesdays. Reach him at email@example.com, see past columns at https://www.latimes.com/hiltzik, check out https://www.facebook.com/hiltzik, and follow @latimeshiltzik on Twitter.