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Brian Kelly, chairman of the Online Regional Travel Group, parent company of St Brelade-based Bellingham Travel, said the situation was worse than he could recall in nearly 40 years in the industry.
And he warned that there could be other casualties in the sector after Flybe collapsed into administration on Wednesday. The airline had been struggling financially for years but blamed disruption caused by the coronavirus for its accelerated
Elsewhere, Juliet Twena, a travel consultant who runs a franchise of the international firm Travel Counsellors, said calls have almost completely stopped, and compared the impact on the industry to that caused by the 2010 volcanic ash cloud.
And Fiona Kerley, managing director of the Ommaroo Hotel at Havre des Pas, has called on Islanders to support local tourism businesses by ‘eating at restaurants and arranging staycations’ amid uncertain times.
Mr Kelly said: ‘We’ve had a lot of storms with all different names coming across Britain in the past few months, but this is the perfect storm.’
He said that business in recent weeks had shrunk to around 30% of normal levels, adding that he believed this was a similar situation to the one being experienced by other parts of the travel sector.
‘We have been planning for this and are budgeting for levels to remain low until the end of June,’ he said. ‘Our group is in a strong position, but this sort of situation will expose weaknesses in the sector. Flybe was the first, but I think there will be other casualties as this bites hard into the tourism sector.’
While optimistic that much of the fallout from Flybe’s collapse could be dealt with within days, Mr Kelly said the coronavirus situation was likely to take much longer to recover from.
‘The industry had a difficult year last year with operators like Superbreak and Thomas Cook going out of business, as well as Brexit,’ he said. ‘Business had been good since the start of 2020, but now there’s a major effect.’
Mr Kelly said the Channel Islands should be more resilient than the Isle of Man, where his company is based and where more than half of all flights were operated by Flybe, and some of the Scottish islands.
Mrs Twena, who has been in the travel industry for 15 years, said inquiries about new bookings had all but dried up. At least 87 countries have confirmed cases of the coronavirus, including popular holiday spots such as northern Italy, Spain and Tenerife.
Mrs Twena added that two firms she deals with for corporate bookings had put a blanket ban on all overseas travel and many customers with existing holidays were changing their destination or delaying their trips for up to a year.
‘I have not seen anything like this since the ash cloud. With the Zika virus and Ebola we did not see much effect to be honest. With the ash cloud, people could just not go anywhere but we always knew it was going to come to an end soon. It’s harder to see an end to this. It’s unprecedented.’
Speaking about business at the Ommaroo, Ms Kerley said: ‘We have recruited really well for the new season and have gained work permits for staff who have signed contracts and booked tickets and arranged visas,’ she said.
‘We had a real focus on staff after having difficulties this year.
‘We will be trying to put ourselves in the best position by offering flexible deals that allow holidaymakers to cancel their trips if need be. But businesses need to have contingency plans. Our bank is being very supportive and we hope that would be the case for other Island businesses who need help.’


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Earlier this month, we posted how Americans have adjusted to the $4+ a gallon gasoline prices to the point they're buying so-called "gas guzzling" mid to full-sized SUVs at steady numbers.
Read This Article
Toyota is recalling select RAV-4 crossovers produced for the 2006 to 2008 model years thanks to several complaints filed by consumers with the Office of Defects Investigation.
Could there be a Raptor fighter in the Chevrolet Suburban's future? There's a good chance of it.
The 2013 GMC Acadia was first unveiled earlier this year at the 2012 Chicago Auto Show sporting a new front-end and some other tweaks.

domain: news


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Microsoft published a news item announcing Xbox All Access on the Xbox blog and then unpublished it. But multiple news outlets spotted the article before Microsoft could take the post down. So now that the cat is out of the bag, it looks like Microsoft’s new hardware and software subscription is real. (Update: Microsoft has […]
Microsoft is about to share the last details on the Xbox One X with a press conference ahead of the Gamescom in Cologne, Germany. You can watch it live right here at 12 PM on the West Coast, 3 PM on the East Coast, 8 PM in the U.K., 9 PM in Germany.
The company already said on Twitter that we can expect to hear more details about pre-orders for the Xbox One X:
#XboxOneX pre-order info is… Read More


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British multi-billionaire and enormous Land Rover enthusiast Jim Ratcliffe’s plan to create a new off-road vehicle based on the original Defender has reached a new stage as it is reported they want to secure a factory by the end of the year.
Projekt Grenadier was formed as a way to create a “spiritual successor” to the Defender as production of the original wound down in 2015. It was already known that the new Defender would be taking a more modern direction, and Ratcliffe felt there was still room for a British-built traditional 4x4 in the marketplace.
With a huge fortune built on owning the Ineos chemical company -- in May of this year he became the wealthiest person in Britain -- Ratcliffe has taken what started as an idea in a pub (named the Grenadier, thus the name of the “Projekt”) and moved continuously towards making it a reality. Now there are reports they intend to find a factory to produce the new 4x4 by the end of the year.
The goal is still to build the vehicle in Britain, though there is still a possibility that it will be built in Continental Europe if the costs make significantly more sense.
Rumors right now say that the primary focus is a Ford engine factory in Bridgend, Wales. It currently builds the 1.6-liter EcoBoost 4-cylinder for Ford, and has a “plant within a plant” for Jaguar Land Rover’s V8 engines designed during their ownership by Ford. JLR plans to move that production to their new engine plant in Wolverhampton, England by 2020. By that time, production in Bridgend will have gone from 750,000 engines to 250,000 engines in only a few years.
With their general transition to electric and autonomous automotive platforms, Ford may be interested in turning all or part of the Bridgend factory to Ineos.
Projekt Grenadier will be a clean-sheet off-road vehicle, meeting all current safety regulations that the old Defender did not. It will not be a direct copy of the old vehicle, but it is intended to recapture its simple, do-anything spirit. Ratcliffe has offered to personally contribute over 600 million pounds to the project, and hopes for government backing for the rest. There have been plenty of automaker startups that never got anywhere, but it looks like Projekt Grenadier may have a decent chance of coming to fruition.
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Chartboost and Smadex are committed to supporting your app's success and helping you thrive in a highly competitive market. This integration is a testament to that commitment.
Mintegral and Smadex are excited to announce their new partnership, bringing together Mintegral's vast mobile inventory and Smadex's advanced targeting and optimization technology.
Alongside the release of iOS 16.1, Apple has also published the documentation for SKAd Network 4.0 for developers.
Another year has flown by and it's that time again [...]
The TV commercials have started, that means that Holiday Season [...]
We’re excited to announce that mobile advertising veteran Paul Childs [...]
We will be hosting an MWC party with drinks and [...]
GSMA Mobile World Congress February 22nd to 26th Barcelona It's [...]
The latest mobile LUMAscape by LUMA Partners now includes a [...]


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DTI pushed PH trade and investment initiatives in the 9th CAEXPO
Despite the challenging global economic situation, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) placed forward the Philippine trade and investment initiatives in the recent China-ASEAN Expo (CAEXPO).
“The Philippine Department of Trade and Industry and the Board of Investments concentrate on the institutional connectivity, which involves linking various international and regional agreements and protocols to facilitate international transactions of goods and services as well as the movement of natural persons across boarders,” DTI Undersecretary Cristino L. Panlilio said during the 9th CAEXPO.
The ASEAN connectivity masterplan, which was signed by the ASEAN leaders in October 2010 at the 17th ASEAN Summit in Hanoi, Vietnam, paved the way to improve the region’s physical infrastructure, institutional and people-to-people connections.
“We intend to work with all relevant sectoral bodies to enhance coordination with the view of facilitating and ensuring the effective and timely implementation of the master plan of the ASEAN connectivity. We shall undertake more specific and targeted outreach and advocacy activities. And finally, we look forward to an institutionalized ASEAN Private-Public Partnership (PPP) development agenda that will focus on information-sharing on PPP regulations, technical support on infrastructure and project development and public-private sector engagement,” Panlilio said.
In the Philippines, the government launched its PPP, which recognizes the essential role of the private sector as the main engine for national growth and development. To stimulate private resources for the purpose of financing construction, operation and maintenance of infrastructure and development projects normally undertaken by the government, pertinent incentives were provided.
Panlilio also said that the government together with various multilateral organizations are working on establishing the Philippine Infrastructure Development Fund to provide a long-term fund structure to sustain and further promote PPP in the country. Since its successful launch in late 2010, the PPP program has achieved considerable success.
“Another strategy that the Philippine government has adopted to push the infrastructure program of the Philippines is its inclusion in the 2012 Investment Priorities Plan,” Panlilio said.
The IPP is a list of specific economic activities wherein investments are to be encouraged for domestic and export market. It promotes the government mandate of creating jobs for the people and economic development through the grant of fiscal or monetary and non-fiscal incentives for investors with proposed activities deemed qualified for registration.
“The Philippines is strategically located in ASEAN and can be reached within 3 to 4 hours by plane. This strategy makes our country a prime location especially for export-oriented businesses,” Panlilio added.
In 2011, China is the Philippines’ third trading partner next to Japan and the US. Bilateral trade between the Philippines and China accounted to US$12.32 billion or 11.32 percent of the Philippines total external trade in 2011. Out of this, the country’s exports to China went up by 8.96 percent from US$5.72 billion in 2010 to US$6.24 billion in 2011 making China as the third largest export market. On the other hand, China ranked as the Philippines third largest supplier of imports in 2011.
In 2011, top Philippine exports to China consisted of equipment and parts of electrical and electronic machinery, which accounted US$776.76 billion or 12.45 percent of total export receipt; storage units, US$686.61 million or 11.01 percent; portable digital automatic data processing machines, US$660.17 million or 10.58 percent; nickel ores and concentrates, US$ 413.73 million or 6.63 percent; and semi-conductor devices, US$392.22 million or 6.29 percent.
The Philippines’ major imports from China consisted of parts of electrical apparatus for line telephony or line telegraphy, liquefied petroleum gas, parts and accessories of automatic data processing machines, light petroleum oils, and other materials, accessories and supplies for the manufacture of semiconductor devices.
From January to June 2012, China ranked third as the Philippines’ top trading partner, as export market and as import supplier.
“More importantly, the Philippines offer access to the 500 million strong ASEAN market. This is very important given that in 2012 the ASEAN Free Trade Agreement on the common effective preferential tariff went down to 0.5 percent. I am sure you would like to capture the opportunities that this brings,” Panlilio said. (end)


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Google today announced a refresh of its privacy and security dashboard, its one-stop shop for checking and changing your privacy settings, opting out of personalized ads and seeing which third-party services have access to your data. This isn’t a radical change and you’re not going to find any new controls here, but the company says that the update is meant to make the tools easier to use on mobile, where it was previously almost unusable.
When the Google Dashboard first launched back in 2009, it was a pretty bare-bones experience that let you check on your searches and see how many emails you had in your inbox. Since then, it has grown into a far more comprehensive service (no surprise, given that Google’s product portfolio has also grown steadily), though privacy advocates will surely note that this doesn’t stop Google from knowing a lot about you.
Google also used today’s announcement to share a number of new metrics for the Google Dashboard, something the company doesn’t do very often. According to Google’s own data, more than 150 million people have used the My Activity tab to check on their past actions on various Google services like Search, Maps and YouTube since this feature launched last year.
In addition, the company says that Google Takeout, its tool for letting you export your data from its services, now sees more than 1 million exports per month (I admit that’s more than I expected) and that its users have downloaded more than an exabyte of data since its launch in 2011.


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Dhaka, Monday, August 29, 2022: BRAC Bank and SME Foundation have jointly conducted a comprehensive entrepreneurship development training programme for women entrepreneurs in Rangpur.
The three-day intensive training programme is part of a series of entrepreneurship development training sessions to be organised in six Bangladesh districts. The programme aims to assist aspiring women business owners based in rural and semi-urban areas in honing their managerial and entrepreneurial skills.
The training programme will be conducted in Barishal, Jashore, Bogura, Cumilla and Rangamati, with 30 up-and-coming women entrepreneurs taking part in each region. The entrepreneurs do not have to pay any fee for participating in the training programme.
Syed Abdul Momen, Deputy Managing Director & Head of SME, BRAC Bank, expressed, "We thank SME Foundation for making us a partner of this entrepreneur grooming programme. BRAC Bank has always been passionate about nurturing women SMEs in Bangladesh. This programme aims to help grassroots women entrepreneurs grow by up-scaling their businesses. We want them to make the best use of this course to become successful in business. It will ensure their readiness through getting finances from formal banking channel.”


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Updated from 4:29 p.m. ET
Network storage systems company
reported fiscal third-quarter earnings surpassing Wall Street's expectations Thursday after the close of regular trading. But the company's sales came in a hair lower than forecast, an uncharacteristic shortfall for a company well-positioned in one of the fastest growing technology markets, and yet another sign that corporations aren't spending as freely on tech gear as they once were.
The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based firm said that income excluding certain items totaled $38.9 million, or 11 cents a share, in the period ended Jan. 26. That figure bests the 10 cents a share that analysts polled by
First Call/Thomson Financial
were looking for, and is up 95% from the $20 million, or 6 cents a share, the company earned in the same period last year. Actual earnings were $34.1 million, or 9 cents a share, compared with last year's $19.8 million, or 6 cents a share.
Revenue, meanwhile, came in at $288.4 million. That's up 91% from the prior year's $151.3 million, but about $5 million below the number analysts had been expecting.
You can blame the recent convulsions and contractions in the capital-expenditure budgets of some of NetApp's large customers. "We lost a certain amount of business from some of our largest installed base accounts because of their reassessments of their capital spending plans," CEO Dan Warmenhoven told
. "During those reassessment periods, they just chose not to spend anything." He cited the example of
, a large NetApp customer reviewing its capex plans. "They ordered nothing from us in January. It doesn't take many of those to take $10 million off the top line."
The Big Story
NetApp makes server appliances -- mainly filers and caching devices -- for network-attached storage, of NAS, systems. Unlike the traditional server-attached storage, or SAS, model, NAS detaches data-storage devices from the servers that run applications for a network's workstations. Putting storage devices directly on a network helps alleviate bottlenecks and allows technology managers to add new storage capacity easily by attaching additional appliances to the existing network.
NetApp's single-minded focus on NAS has turned it into the prime beneficiary of the recent explosion of networked storage. The company holds more than 60% of the NAS market and has turned in 21 consecutive quarters of more than 70% revenue growth. But competition has been heating up as the immense opportunities have become clear. New initiatives by large, established hardware companies like
and storage giant
, which has vowed to be the dominant company in networked storage, have led a number of brokerages to adopt more cautious stances on NetApp in recent weeks.
Accordingly, NetApp has lost more than 40% of its value in 2001, amid fears of declining profit margins and a general slowdown in corporations' spending on technology infrastructure.
With NetApp's stock having tumbled more than 20% in the two sessions prior to its earnings release, a $5 million revenue shortfall was certainly not the disaster that many had been fearing. But there were negative signposts that bear watching.
First, there was a big jump in accounts receivable, often a sign that a company is letting its customers take longer to pay. Receivables grew to $222.6 million, up 37% from the previous quarter and easily outstripping sales growth on both a sequential and year-over-year basis. According to the company, the largest single cause of the jump in receivables was a slowdown in early January that pushed bookings and shipments out toward the end of the month. NetApp says it was simply unable to collect payment on those sales before the end of the quarter.
Whatever the cause, the jump in receivables caused a correspondingly large leap in days sales outstanding, a measure of accounts receivable that counts the number of days between the time a product is shipped and when payment is received. In the third quarter, DSOs rose to 70 from 57. The highest point DSOs had reached in the prior 12 quarters was 62.
On top of all this, inventories posted a massive 67% sequential increase, reaching $37.1 million. Inventory turns, or the number of times on average that a company is able to sell its inventory each quarter, fell to 12, a 29% decline from the prior quarter's 17.
NetApp hardly dodged these issues. On a conference call following the earnings release, CFO Jeffry Allen said that measures had been taken to get inventory turns back to the company's target of 15. He also pledged to get DSOs back down to the company's targeted range of 50 to 60 in the next two quarters, though Warmenhoven later told
that a range of 55 to 65 would be more realistic in the current environment. These numbers will be closely watched in coming quarters.
Spinning It Forward
NetApp maintained its normally positive tone concerning the competitive landscape. Warmenhoven touted his sales force's customer-win rate, which he puts at above 80% in competitive situations. He said that the company wasn't feeling any extreme pressure to cut prices, though CFO Allen did tell analysts to expect gross profit margins to decline "moderately" over the next several quarters. As for the EMC juggernaut, NetApp management boasted that recent NAS product introductions had done nothing to disrupt its ability to compete, since EMC's salespeople are reluctant to lead with a product that threatens that company's main SAS business.
However, at the same time, guidance was considerably more sober. Allen told analysts to expect sales growth to come in at the low-end of the company's targeted range of 10% to 15%. Growth of 11% would put NetApp's fiscal fourth-quarter revenue at $320.1 million, about $11 million below current estimates.
The rest of the company's guidance was similarly conservative. Allen predicted 2001 sales of $1.1 billion -- about $15 million below estimates. For 2002, he forecast sales growth of 55% to 60%, the low end of which equates to sales of $1.7 billion, about $50 million below estimates. (The company's guidance for fiscal 2001 and fiscal 2002 earnings was squarely in line with estimates: 41 cents a share for 2001, which ends in April, and a range of 55 cents to 60 cents a share for 2002.)
All this considered, investors shouldn't be surprised to see analysts do some trimming Friday morning. In the current cautious climate, it would be more surprising if they didn't.
"We were basically suggesting that some of the analysts need to lower their numbers," Warmenhoven bluntly put it. "Some are sitting at the high end of that range, sort of like this quarter. They'll have to look at their models. I can't do it for them."


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US: Lifts ban on imports from Burma
The US has lifted a decade-long ban on most imports from Burma (also known as Myanmar), in a move that is likely to boost the country's garment industry.
The easing of restrictions on Friday (16 November) is in response to reforms by the country's military regime over the past year, and was made ahead of a historic visit by President Obama this week.
The import ban has been in place since 2003. Before the ban was introduced, garments made up the country's largest exports to the US.
Burma has taken progressive steps over the past year to improve human rights and implement democratic reforms. These steps have resulted in, among other things, the election of opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi to the legislature.
In July, the US eased financial and investment sanctions against Burma, allowing the first new US investment in the Asian country for nearly 15 years.
Similarly, the European Union (EU) in April decided to suspend most of its trade and economic sanctions against the country.
And in September the European Commission took a step towards reinstating trade preferences for Burma with a plan to bring the country back under the so-called 'Everything But Arms' trade regime, which is part of the EU's Generalised System of Preferences (GSP).
This would give products such as clothing duty- and quota-free access to the European market for the first time since 1997.
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In January 2009, the apparently pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamoto mined the first Bitcoin based on a decentralized and distributed network described in the 2008 paper entitled Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System. Since its initial creation, Bitcoin has soared in value, reaching a high of nearly US$60,000 per token, but has dropped to nearly US$36,000 per token, as of this writing.
In addition to Bitcoin, thousands of other cryptocurrencies have likewise been developed, creating a thriving market for digital tokens with a market value well over one trillion dollars. This growth has occurred amid legal uncertainty as to what extent US investment and financial services laws apply to these digital assets.
US regulators have thus far created a patchwork framework for the regulation of cryptocurrency. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has yet to provide legal guidance as to the status of cryptocurrencies under the securities laws, instead relying on a combination of public remarks and enforcement actions.
In 2018, the SEC’s director of the Division of Corporate Finance stated at the Yahoo Finance All Markets Summit that “applying the disclosure regime of the federal securities laws to current transactions ... would seem to add little value” with respect to Bitcoin and Ether, the second most widely exchanged digital currency. However, in December 2020, the SEC charged Ripple Labs Inc. and two of its executives with conducting an unregistered securities offering through the sale of its signature cryptocurrency, XRP.
Newly confirmed SEC Chair Gary Gensler is widely expected to provide a more fulsome explanation of the SEC's role in this area. However, doing so will likely require finding agreement with another federal regulator Gensler used to head, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)
The CFTC has taken the view that Bitcoin is a commodity and has not prevented Designated Contract Markets from listing futures and options contracts based on Bitcoin. Under the Commodity Exchange Act, the CFTC is given authority to regulate certain commodity transactions, provided such contracts do not (with limited exceptions) involve the sale of a security.
The law gives the CFTC exclusive jurisdiction over “transactions involving swaps or contracts of sale of a commodity for future delivery,” meaning that any exchange-traded commodity future based on a cryptocurrency brings with it the CFTC’s implicit judgment that the asset is not a security.
Although the CFTC’s actions clearly indicate its belief that Bitcoin is not a security, the agency has yet to provide similar clarity with respect to most other cryptocurrencies.
While the CFTC has not explicitly stated that particular cryptocurrencies are commodities, it has stated broadly that it views “any digital representation of value … that is or can be used as a form of currency … and may be distributed by way of digital ‘smart contracts,’ among other structures,” which would include DLT or blockchain, as a cryptocurrency and therefore a commodity.
This definition is broad and would encompass most cryptocurrencies.
Nevertheless, while the CFTC’s view toward defining cryptocurrencies as a commodity is expansive, its attitude toward regulating cryptocurrency derivatives has been less than comprehensive. A 2018 Staff Advisory issued by the CFTC’s Division of Market Oversight provided guidance regarding the heightened scrutiny that would be afforded to these uniquely challenging, emerging derivatives, which would include enhanced market surveillance, coordination with the CFTC’s surveillance staff, large trader reporting for contracts that exceed five bitcoins, and outreach to stakeholders before listing new contracts.
And while the advisory promised the division would revisit the stated standards as more information became known and the market developed, three years later it remains the primary published guidance for listing of cryptocurrency derivatives. As a point of reference, when the guidance was published, bitcoins were trading at around US$7,000.
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), a unit of the US Treasury, has provided clear guidance with respect to the application of its regulations with respect to the use of cryptocurrencies by "users," "administrators," and "exchangers." The guidance describes “convertible virtual currencies” as having either an equivalent value in real currency or acting as a substitute for real currency.
FinCEN’s guidance states that a user of cryptocurrencies who “obtains convertible virtual currency and uses it to purchase real or virtual goods or services” is not engaged in money transmission services. However, administrators (persons engaged as a business in issuing a virtual currency, and having the authority to withdraw it from circulation) and exchangers (persons engaged as a business in the exchange of virtual currency for real currency, funds, or other virtual currency) are deemed to be Money Services Businesses, and subject to FinCEN’s registration, reporting, and recordkeeping regulations for such entities.
In December 2020, FinCEN issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to apply certain Bank Secrecy Act/anti-money laundering requirements to banks and Money Services Businesses whose customers engage in transactions with “unhosted wallets.”
If enacted the rule would require those entities to submit reports, keep records, and verify the identity of customers in relation to transactions above certain thresholds in virtual currency or digital assets held in digital wallets not hosted by a financial institution, or hosted by banks in certain jurisdictions. FinCEN extended the comment period and updated the proposal in January.
Other federal financial regulators have provided statements or otherwise discussed cryptocurrencies without taking formal action. In 2014, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a consumer advisory regarding potential risks to consumers engaged in virtual currency transactions, but declined the opportunity to bring cryptocurrencies under the Prepaid Accounts Rule as part of its 2016 rulemaking on the topic.
And although the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency issued its first national trust charter to a “digital bank” in January, and has clarified that national banks and federal savings associations may offer digital currency custodial services, its 2018 Policy Statement on Financial Technology Companies’ Eligibility to Apply for National Bank Charters remains in legal limbo after a federal court ruled in favor of New York State’s challenge to the proposal.
Despite the ongoing evolution of federal regulatory interest in this area, the market for cryptocurrency continues to grow globally. This includes an increasing number of corporations that are not only willing to accept cryptocurrency as payment, but even to hold digital tokens as assets.
For example, Paypal and Sotheby's will accept cryptocurrency as payment, and Tesla, Microstrategy, and Square will hold cyrpto as assets. Even as US regulators continue to mull the appropriate scope of federal law as it applies to cryptocurrencies the market has strongly voted with its pocketbook.
Nonetheless, the legal risks associated with regulatory uncertainty doubtless remain an obstacle for some investors and potential crypto users. Federal regulators can help resolve lingering doubts and foster onshore growth in the industry by providing a clear and reasonable framework for cryptocurrencies that will allow for innovation while affording appropriate legal protections.


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Following the disassembly of an iPhone XS, the first drop tests of the new Apple smartphones began to appear on the web. The authors of the YouTube TechSmartt channel tested the iPhone XS Max for strength and waterproofness. The Max version was of the greatest interest to them, since the regular XS is not much different from last year’s iPhone X, while larger devices are often more fragile.
During the presentation of iPhone XS and XS Max, Apple representatives said their latest products employ the most durable glass among all modern smartphones. The company probably does use improved materials, as the screen of last year’s iPhone X cracked when the presenter dropped it from the height of his head. The new models remained undamaged when dropped from the same height.
When the iPhone X was dropped from 3 meters, its front and rear panels broke completely. Possibly, the result was aggravated by the damage from the previous fall. With iPhone XS, a drop from the same height didn’t result in a single crack. As to iPhone XS Max, it was less lucky and its screen was shattered.
Another change in iPhone XS and its enlarged version XS Max is the improved water protection, from IP67 to IP68. According to the Apple website, the smartphones survive a 30-minute immersion in water to a depth of 2 meters. During the test, an iPhone XS Max was immersed into the river water to a depth of about 10 meters for half an hour. Once the testers got up the phone, it was turned out, and they weren’t able to turn it on. Interestingly, when they pressed the screen, water began to leak out from under the panel. The device likely could not withstand the pressure, because the other iPhone XS Max they tested remained in working condition after sitting in a bowl with clean water for a while.


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Sbarro is using high tech to get back to basics.
The Melville-based Italian quick-service restaurant chain wants to go toe to toe with local pizzerias when it comes to pizza crust and taste. The company is relying on technological innovations to move toward less-processed ingredients and still maintain consistent results throughout its 1,000 restaurants.
The pizza sauce concentrate Sbarro once used has been replaced by all natural, vine-ripened, whole, peeled tomatoes sorted for size and red color. And the company has switched from packaged, frozen shredded mozzarella to fresh whole-milk mozzarella cheese, delivered in blocks and shredded regularly on location to preserve its taste.
"The technology of the '90s allowed us to move from less consistent fresh product to consistent frozen and concentrated products," said Anthony Missano, president of Sbarro's business development and a 38-year company veteran. "Evolving technology has improved to such a degree, that we are now able to move back to fresh products with the highest level of consistency."
For a large chain such as Sbarro, producing food with the same taste, flavor and texture at every location every time is critical, Missano said.
In the past, the tomatoes packed for the company varied, so the company decided to use tomato-sauce concentrate that was packed with spices to give it a more uniform flavor. Now, the farm that grows Sbarro's tomatoes uses a harvesting machine equipped with a laser optics sorter. The machine is able to harvest tomatoes with similar traits, leaving behind those with serious blemishes or discoloration, Missano said.
The skins are removed with steam, without using chemicals. The tomatoes are packed with no artificial preservatives or citric acid, and the taste is maintained throughout all the restaurants, he said.
For many years after its founding, the company's locations shredded fresh mozzarella cheese. But like the tomato supply, the cheese shipments differed significantly in taste and texture throughout the seasons. Back then, Sbarro began purchasing frozen shredded mozzarella cheese to solve that issue.
Today the company has returned to the practice of shredding cheese. Since what cows eat affects the taste of their milk, its dairy farmers use technological innovations that allow a more uniform balance to the dairy cows' feed.
"Today," Missano said, "technology has controlled dairy feed, making corrections in the feed so the milk used to make the cheese provides consistent product coast to coast."


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Aptec Distribution FZ LLC, a fully owned subsidiary of Ingram Micro Inc., one of the largest technology distributors in the …
Aptec – an Ingram Micro Company, a technology distributor operating in the Middle East region, has expanded its partnership with …
Intelligent marketing strategies have the ability to put a brand on the map and increase its sales and reputation considerably. …
Reseller Middle East has paid tribute to channel players who are committed in creating value for their customers and partners at the fifth annual Hot 50 Awards
Aptec, an Ingram Micro company, one of the largest value-added technology distributors in the Middle East, Turkey and Africa, has been awarded the Best Distributor of the Year award at Avaya Partner Forum 2016, held last month in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Microsoft Gulf along with its regional distributors – Aptec, Mindware and Redington Gulf; held a partner event recently focusing on the importance of using the right digital marketing tools, social media and product offerings in order to encourage growth in the small and medium businesses (SMBs) space.
The lab is a strategic investment by the company to meet the growing demand for its vendor authorised training, to improve the speed and accessibility of course materials, and to strengthen and extend Ingram Micro’s training deliveries across the Middle East and Africa.
Veeam Software has announced new technical training and certification programmes for both its reseller pro-partners and end-users, in emerging markets.
Aptec – an Ingram Micro Company has announced that its sister company, Track Distribution Middle East (TDME), will now operate under the Aptec brand name. The move combines TDME’s existing distribution portfolio of Cisco, Oracle and Belkin products and strong presence in the Gulf region with Aptec’s as part of the region’s go-to-market strategy for technology solutions.
Kaspersky Lab has announced a new distribution partnership with Aptec, an Ingram Micro company.


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Apple is offering a free repair service for faulty components inside iPhone 6 and 6s units.
Rockstar Games is releasing "Red Dead Redemption 2" on PC and many storefronts soon.
The U.S. is also convincing India to ban Huawei for security reasons.
Apple is currently enjoying a sales surge with the iPhone 11.
The iPad OS has some unique gestures to activate quick shortcuts for some of its features.
Microsoft is said to be working on a new Surface Pen to be revealed in an upcoming event this early October.
Apple's iOS 13 has hidden features that its users need to try for better phone experience.
Apple's iPadOS has a feature which allows users to split its screen to display two apps at the same time.
Sony has a patent that seems to be hinting at a new AR gaming device after the PlayStation VR.
Apple has pushed out the latest iOS 13.1 updates which fixed many issues and bugs for its users.
The two PlayStation Plus free games for October are the award-winning masterpiece of the PlayStation 3 generation ported to the PlayStation 4, “The Last Of Us Remastered,” and Sony's annual baseball video game “MLB The Show 19.”
The new iOS 13.1 update has some new upgrades, features and even bugfixes which many iPhone users can appreciate.
The Apple iPadOS updates may bring in some minor problems as it's freshly installed into the device. These issues often require simple solutions to clear them out.
Apple has recently stocked its online storefront with refurbished Apple Pencil 2 units, and this is why people should get one.
The iOS 13 iTunes currently has a problem where users could get credit card details of complete strangers due to bugs. Apple has yet to resolve the issue.
The release date of Naughty Dog's "The Last Of Us 2" has been leaked by an online storefront and lists that the game will come out in May 2020.
A newly granted Apple Watch band patent could potentially be included in the next Apple Watch Series 6.
Apple's iPhone 11 needs a different method for force reboot if needed.
Huawei's new Mate 30 doesn't have access to the Google Play Store but can manually have it through third-party means.
Apple iPhone 11 is now available for sale in Apple Stores around the globe.
Respawn Entertainment's "Apex Legends" is getting its third set of new content, comprised of a character, gun and a battle pass full of loot, for its third season.
Huawei's Mate 30 can't use Google apps despite having its open source Android OS installed.
Riot Games might announce big things on the 10th anniversary of the "League of Legends" game.
Facebook is planning to make its own smart glasses.
Snapchat has introduced a new 3D Camera feature.
Apple’s iPhone 11 series could soon get more advanced features because of the U1 chip.
The iOS 13 update has added some new features for the Mail app in iPhones and iPads.
New "Final Fantasy 7 Remake" character details were shown in the game's appearance on the recent Tokyo Game Show 2019 reveals.
The new Apple Watch Series 5's Always-On Retina display has garnered many positive reviews for the device.
Apple's iOS 13 update has introduced some new features to the Photos App.


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AT&T will also offer the 5G Galaxy S10 next year
AT&T, the United States’ second-largest wireless carrier, has announced that it will offer a 5G Samsung phone starting sometime in spring 2019. The announcement comes just a day after Verizon and Samsung confirmed plans to launch a 5G smartphone in the first half of 2019.
AT&T 5G Galaxy S10 to arrive in the first half of 2019
Samsung is known to be developing a 5G variant of the Galaxy S10 for some time now. While no launch date has been confirmed yet, carriers are already starting to line up to offer the upcoming Samsung flagship. After Verizon, it’s AT&T who have confirmed the plans, though neither of them mentioned the Galaxy S10. But it’s obvious. No other Samsung smartphone will likely come with the next-gen network support before the Galaxy S10.
AT&T also said that it would work with Samsung to create a manufacturing technology-focused 5G “innovation zone.” The Dallas-based carrier has been deploying such 5G zones around the country lately. The company also plans to launch its 5G service in 12 markets by the end of 2018, and in another seven markets in the first half of 2019.
Samsung, meanwhile, is attending Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Technology Summit in Maui this week. The company will show off a proof of concept 5G device at the event. It’ll be powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X50 5G NR modem, the same modem which will likely power the Snapdragon-powered 5G Galaxy S10. Samsung will also launch an Exynos-powered 5G variant of the phone.
It will officially unveil the Galaxy S10 at MWC 2019 in February. The company should start shipping units in the US the following month.


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Buybacks have gotten a bad rap from both Republicans and Democrats. But stocks would be trading at a massive discount without them.Marketsread more
The president's state visit comes amid tensions with carmaker Toyota over potential auto tariffs. Trump has repeatedly threatened Japanese and European carmakers with tariffs.Traderead more
The biggest U.S. gasoline price surge in years is running out of steam just in time for the start of the summer driving season.Energyread more
The federal minimum wage has remained $7.25 per hour since 2009. But several states, and even some companies, have since taken matters into their own hands to pay employees a...Workread more
Stocks rose on Friday, but notched weekly losses as investors worried the U.S.-China trade war is hurting economic growth.US Marketsread more
The combination of mounting recession fears, bets on a more cautious Fed and a regular uptick in market volatility could spell more losses.Marketsread more
The therapy, Zolgensma, is a one-time treatment for spinal muscular atrophy — a muscle-wasting disease and leading genetic cause of infant mortality, affecting 1 in every...Biotech and Pharmaceuticalsread more
SpaceX has raised just over $1 billion in financing since the beginning of the year.Investing in Spaceread more
An analyst for Ark Invest, which has a major investment in Tesla, says recent drastic price-target cuts by others on Wall Street are missing the big picture.Investingread more
A federal judge in California has blocked President Donald Trump from building sections of his long-sought border wall with money secured under his declaration of a national...Politicsread more
Consumers are flocking to McDonald's, according to one Wall Street firm.
Nomura Instinet reiterated its buy rating for the restaurant chain's shares, saying McDonald's will report sales above Wall Street expectations.
"Based on the results of our McDonald's Franchisee Survey, we raise our Q3 U.S. same-store sales forecast," analyst Mark Kalinowski wrote in a note to clients Tuesday entitled "Franchisee Survey Indicates MCD More than Holding Its Own."
"We believe that drivers of the Q3 U.S. business included value oriented promotions (such as $1 any size soft drinks and a McPick 2 for $5 promotion)."
McDonald's shares rose 0.5 percent midday Tuesday after the report. The stock is up 36 percent year to date through Monday versus the S&P 500's 14 percent gain. Kalinowski raised his price target for McDonald's shares to $183 from $176, representing 11 percent upside from Monday's close.
The analyst said it talked to 27 domestic franchise owners with nearly 240 stores. He noted the northeast and western regions showed the most sales strength, while southern states lagged. As a result, Kalinowski increased his McDonald's third-quarter comparable sales growth estimate to 3.9 percent from 3.3 percent versus the Wall Street consensus of 3.4 percent.
"Given the better-than-expected sales momentum in the U.S. and Japan, and McDonald's status as a relative 'safe haven' stock during challenging times in the broader consumer landscape, we raise our target multiple on 2018E EPS by 1.0x to 26.0x," he wrote.
Famed short seller Jim Chanos told CNBC PRO in Sept. he is betting against other burger chain stocks because of McDonald's recent resurgence.


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Latest Polyurethanes Stories
Bostik, a worldwide leader in adhesive and sealant technology, announces a new family of transportation-related adhesives and sealants.
GREENVILLE, S.C., May 1, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- JPS Industries, Inc.
PORTLAND, Oregon, April 30, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Big Market Research gets its latest report that is published by AMR titled "Bio-succinic Acid Market - Size, Share, Trends,
DALLAS, April 29, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- According to a new market research report "1,6-Hexanediol Market by Application (Polyurethanes, Coatings, Acrylates, Adhesives, Unsaturated
DUBLIN, April 23, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Research and Markets ( http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/2tv8jz/blowing_agents) has announced the addition of the "Blowing
Company's Southeast Technical Service Manager Certified by the Spray Polyurethane Foam Alliance (SPFA) as Instructor and Field Examiner PHOENIX, April 22, 2014 /PRNewswire-iReach/
Ultra-Smooth HDU Signboard Supports Intricate Detail, Cuts Production and Finishing Time Tacoma, WA (PRWEB) April 15, 2014 Sign•Arts Products Corp.
ATLANTA, April 7, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Productivity, sustainability and quality are key drivers in the coatings industry today.
Waterborne-based formulation provides up to 60 percent solid content, low VOCs ATLANTA, April 7, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- For many years, polyurethane coatings have been applied to various
- To give a box on the ear to.


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YoFresh Frozen Yogurt Cafe goes mobile
Mike Anderson knew he had to become more health conscious for the sake of his kids, who both have type 1 diabetics.
However, like every kid, Anderson’s children also have a sweet tooth.
“This opportunity for a health alternative kind of fell into my lap,” Anderson said, referring to his all-natural frozen yogurt shop in Brighton, called YoFresh Yogurt Cafe. “My wife and I weren’t looking at all (for a business opportunity), but we’re always looking for healthier eating habits for our children.”
While many community members have already heard of the downtown frozen yogurt location, many may not know they no longer have to travel to Brighton to get a tasty treat.
Anderson recently purchased a mobile kitchen that he uses for graduation parties, private events, charity events, and school and church events.
“It’s been a learning process, but the yogurt really sells itself,” he said.
Anderson serves frozen yogurt in driveways, lakesides and parking lots.
“That is the beauty of a mobile kitchen,” he laughed. “You can go anywhere.”
This past winter, Anderson decided to look into purchasing a truck and partnered with 2/42 Community Church in Genoa Township and the Legacy Center and started off serving at their winter events with the truck.
Anderson was surprised at the positive response.
“It honestly was a huge hit, and I started to become booked with graduation parties and school events in the summer months,” Anderson said. “It’s been a great way to get out to the community and do what I enjoy.”
The mobile kitchen truck offers two machines, with four flavors and toppings. In the store, Anderson has six machines with 12 flavors and toppings.
“I always carry the top four flavors — vanilla, chocolate, cookies and cream, and birthday cake,” he said. “I also have seasonal flavors, such as pumpkin, apple pie and eggnog that will be coming.”
Don’t worry though — customers aren’t limited to the top four he carries on the road. Anderson has 93 different flavors his customers can recommend and choose from.
“If my vendor can distribute it, I’ll have it,” he said.
In the past, Anderson has done charity school events, something he said the truck would help with.
“Being in a community, it’s a two-way street, so I’m more than happy to give back when I can,” Anderson said, noting he gives a percentage of proceeds back to the charities he works at.
Before the truck, traveling with the frozen yogurt was a concern because he didn’t want to compromise the taste of the yogurt.
“It tastes so different when it’s in a frozen cup versus it coming straight from the machine, which is more creamy and soft,” Anderson explained. “It’s just not the same, so I’m happy I now have this truck that has similar machines to serve it soft and creamy — the way it should be served.”
Anderson’s truck hasn’t taken attention away from his shop in Brighton, even if he is busy most weekends with the truck.
“We still see lots of customers (at the shop) and it’s doing really well,” said Anderson who noted the shop opened in May 2014. “The truck is helping me meet people and get the word out there.”
Anderson uses social media to let the community know where the truck is headed.
Updates can be found on Twitter by following @YofreshBrighton or online at www.yofreshbrighton.com.
“I’m very excited to see where the truck takes me,” Anderson said.
Yofresh is at 8373 W Grand River Ave, in Brighton.
Contact Livingston Daily education reporter Abby Welsh at 517-552-2848 or at firstname.lastname@example.org. Follow her on Twitter @abby_welshLD.


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In case you were wondering, Subway listened. Better chicken is here. Well, that’s the name of their newest commercial at least. In this 30-second advertisement, they flash sensational clips of the new sandwich, and emphasize their savory, antibiotic-free chicken and turkey – a new addition since February. In past commercials, they have advertised premium ingredients as well.
As the title of the commercial implies, they listened, but who did they listen to? What are the items that most people care about, and is Subway currently in line with them? Did Subway listen to the “right” people?
What Does Healthy Mean?
With so much craze surrounding healthy food, and Subway’s emphasis on healthy food in the past, there is still little consensus on what it means. As a result, it becomes incredibly difficult for restaurants to pinpoint what people really want.
The chain has been emphasizing antibiotic-free meat since February, as a possible appeal to those who care about health. However, we found that it is not (yet) a primary word people associate with healthy food.
Though Subway advertises their premium and antibiotic-free food first and foremost, that only comprises 9% of what people associate with healthy food. When people say they want healthy food, rather, it looks like what they really mean is organic and all-natural.
However, those who do not like Subway or have no strong opinion are more likely than fans to choose antibiotic-free as their association with healthy food. It’s possible that Subway is trying to win over these two groups with their newer menu and specific advertising.
If that is not that case, and even if it is, other technicalities will have to be considered to appeal to the growing number of people on the lookout for healthy food options.
How Important Is Healthy Food?
In the next year, many people (31%) expect healthiness to be the main factor when buying lunch from a fast food or quick serve restaurant. To appeal to customers, it’s not enough for the food to be “healthy”. The food must also match consumers’ ideas of what healthy means.
29% of those who say healthiness will guide lunch expectations define healthiness as organic, while 14% suggest all-natural. As Subway looks to increase its perception as a forward-thinking, premium-ingredient, health and sustainability-conscious restaurant, maybe they can find new ways to bring “organic” into their vocabulary.


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The game "Cyberpunk 2077" has a huge arsenal of weapons, which allows you to actually change the mechanics of comple ...
In Cyberpunk 2077, there are a huge number of implants that significantly increase the damage inflicted, including when using fists. ...
In the game itself, a huge number of different clothes, cars, weapons and other things, but from all this variety, the items that belonge ...
Cyberpunk 2077 is probably the most dominant title in the world of video gaming as of late. The game is being developed by CD P ...
Find out all about gangs in Cyberpunk 2077. Moxes, 6th Street, Animals, Valentinos, Tyger Claws, Voodoo Boys, Maelstrom’s.
After a series of high-profile postponements of key game releases this year, CD Projekt RED hastened to reassure its fans and pro ...


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A US man has purchased a copy of a video game in an unusual, non-digital currency – bottle caps.
In the virtual, post-apocalyptic wasteland of Fallout 4, bottle caps are currency – hence the unnamed fan's decision to inundate Matt Grandstaff, community manager at Bethesda Softworks, which produces the game.
Cute and amusing though the purchase maybe, the 2240 bottle caps, about five kilos worth, would probably have cost well over $1000 in beer.
Suffice to say, the fan receive his "free" copy of the game, which will be on sale in November for about $80.
But maybe Mr Grandstaff, who tweeted that his office now smells like beer, will throw in a collector's item to honour the fan's dedication.
Source: Business Insider


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British games developer Sumo Digital has set course for an initial public offering, with a $194m valuation.
That's according to Reuters, which reports that placing of ordinary shares has raised in the region of $51.4m, with a further $53m raised for selling shareholders. The firm will be listed this Wednesday on London's junior market.
Private equity firm Perwyn LLP will retain a 43 per cent stake in the developer.
That Sumo was headed towards an IPO was reported on October of this year, with rumours that it had its heart set on a $200m valuation.
Founded in 2003, Sumo has been a work-for-hire developer for the bulk of its lifetime. The firm has been trusted with IP such as Disney Infinity, Crackdown and Dead Island, but this year has also started to work on its own IP in Snake Pass.
Sumo isn't the only UK development firm preparing for an IPO, with rumours that racing specialist Codemasters is also setting course in this direction. Reports point to a $133m valuation for that studio.


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The Association for United Kingdom Interactive Entertainment or Ukie (pronounced YOU-KEY) is a trade body that aims to support, grow and promote the whole of the UK’s games and interactive entertainment industry. Founded in 2010 (although formerly known as ELSPA), Ukie’s membership includes all the major UK and global games publishers and the best of UK development talent - from promising start-ups to some of the biggest, most successful studios operating in the UK today.
Ukie works with government to champion a range of issues including age ratings, education and skills, access to finance and protecting intellectual property rights. It also works with the media to ensure true and accurate representation of the sector by raising awareness of the industry’s positive economic contribution and the societal benefits of gaming to policy makers, regulators and consumers.
One of Ukie’s key roles is to support its members by providing them with key market information, promoting careers and offering the business support services, training and best-practice knowledge to enable them to operate most effectively.
We also offer comprehensive events programme to give the games industry access to key information, leading industry figures and give everyone the chance to network. You can see our events programme here.
In addition, Ukie compiles weekly, monthly and annual retail charts and sales reports for the UK market.
For press questions email email@example.com
Or call +44 (0)20 7534 0580
Latest press releases
- Ukie’s annual UK market valuation increases 1.2% from 2015
- The UK mobile games market is worth nearly £1bn
- VR hardware included for the first time, worth £61m
- Record-breaking results seen for digital and online, mobile games, PC game hardware, toys and merchandise, books and magazines, movies and soundtracks, and game events and venues
London, United Kingdom – Report identifies access to talent as biggest concern to UK games businesses ahead of triggering Article 50
Games trade body Ukie have today launched a new report, at a Westminster event, outlining the potential impact of Brexit on the UK games sector.
Monday 6 March 2017 - London, United Kingdom – Trade body announces new Head of Public Affairs
Games trade body Ukie have today announced that Tim Scott is joining the team as Head of Public Affairs. Tim joins the organisation from London First, where he was Programme Director for Tech and Creative Industries, following ten years in the civil service where he led Creative Industries and tech policy in the Cabinet Office and Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
Friday, 17 February 2017 London Games Festival Unveils Exciting Cultural Line-Up
December 2016 - London, United Kingdom – Boxed sales of Grand Theft Auto V top 6m in UK
Rockstar Games’ flagship title has contributed more to the British economy than any other single game title in history
Grand Theft Auto V has sold over 6 million boxed copies of the game in the UK since its launch in September 2013, Ukie GFK Chartrack data has shown this week.
Monday 28 November 2016 - London, United Kingdom - esports whitepaper launched today by games trade body in collaboration with UK esports sector to educate policymakers about the opportunities that esports presents to the UK
The trade body for games and interactive entertainment consulted with members of the UK esports community and today released the results in a whitepaper outlining eight recommendations for how the UK can become a global leader in esports.
04 November 2016 - London, United Kingdom
-Headline sponsor Epic Games and partner sponsor Amiqus Recruitment support Ukie’s third annual Student Conference
-Full schedule announced with speakers from top games companies, including Rare, Ustwo, Sony and Radiant Worlds
Ukie AGM calls for games industry support for Digital Schoolhouse and announces 2016-17 Board of Directors
Thursday 22 September - London, United Kingdom – Trade body uses AGM at EGX to call for games businesses to support their local Digital Schoolhouse, take control of their data in The UK Games Map, and announce new Board of Directors
Ukie also formally announced the results of its 2016-17 Board election at the trade body’s AGM at EGX.
Thursday 22 September - London, United Kingdom


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Sex toy maker Maude is attempting to generate a bit of hype by trying to impose politically correct terminology on sex toys. Maude claims that it is tired of seeing an 'outdated and gendered approach', their designers created a line up of vibrators
and 'gender-neutral sex essentials'.
Dakota Johnson, who is now an investor and co-creative director, has joined the brand and spouts:
For too long sexual health has been poorly marketed, hyper-aggressive, and
highly gendered. Maude is a company based on universal design making modern, body-safe, high-quality essentials for before, during, and after sex, with yourself or with another lovely human. The caliber and aesthetic of these products is excellent and
Now, Maude is taking things a step further with a new campaign denouncing supposedly outdated language that refers to vibrators as toys. Johnson added:
With our This Is Not A Toy campaign,
we aim to activate hearts and minds in an effort to destigmatize sexual and intimate tools. Often the use of language surrounding sexual products is antiquated, gender-specific, and belittling.


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Many entrepreneurs are attracted to the idea of opening a restaurant in Budapest, but many soon end up closing their doors, according to company data service Opten. Whereas the number of establishments has continually fallen in the past three years, remaining businesses are doing well, however.
Opten said in a report on Wednesday that the number of employees is constantly expanding in the hospitality market in the capital, though businesses are now struggling to find quality labour. Around 40,000 people are working in Budapest’s restaurants and similar entities this year, as opposed to 38,500 last year and 36,755 in 2015. The number of businesses operating in the sector, however, fell by more than five hundred, to 7,008 last year. At the same time, their operating revenues have been increasing.
Opten said that labour shortages that are causing acute problems in many other areas are not exactly reflected in the employee statistics of Budapest restaurants.
In this area, Budapest enjoys a better labour market position compared to the countryside and offers slightly better wages, even if the average wage in the sector is lower than the general average wage.
Fully 44 percent of domestic catering companies are located in Budapest, so the performance of these businesses has a big influence on domestic hospitality results as a whole. Based on real earnings growth, VAT cuts and positive tourism indicators, further growth in demand in the sector is expected, Opten said.


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V8, 200mph, Gordon Murray chassis, £90,000. Where do we sign?
The Japanese car maker's back catalogue is pretty amazing...
The classic E-type could go all-electric!
Our video roundup of the classic car stars
Only 12 will be made, each costing £1 million
Our highlights of the hottest new car deals this September
The biggest midweek car show in Britain
Rolls-Royce pulls the wraps off its majestic new flagship: the eighth-generation Phantom
The world's most luxurious motor car is all new for 2018
McLaren's new drop-top is here in time for summer


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Sega Japan is looking to release a new miniature arcade cabinet that will fit in the palm of your hand, according to a translated Game Watch article.
The Astro City Mini is apart of Sega’s celebration of its 60th anniversary, which will include 36 Sega arcade games.
Unfortunately, as of right now it’s only scheduled to release in Japan, with no word on a western release.
Only 10 of the 36 games have been listed, according to translator Sega Driven.
The announced games include:
- Alien Syndrome
- Alien Storm
- Altered Beast
- Columns II
- Dark Edge
- Fantasy Zone
- Golden Axe
- Golden Axe: Revenge of Death Adder
- Tant R
- Virtua Fighter
The miniature cabinet itself features an off-white colour, a bright green eight-way joystick and six arcade buttons on a black layout.
Each game is playable in its original format through the cabinet and its HDMI output. It features two USB slots for anyone wanting to join in on the fun by connecting an additional joystick to the machine.
There is no official Japan release date for the device as it’s slated to come out at some point later this year. For anyone interested in the cabinet it will cost you 12,800 yen (about $162 CAD).
Image credit: Game Watch
Source: Sega Driven
View original article here Source


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Ministry of Furniture, the company which emerged from Remploy Furniture, has doubled the size of its premises in Neath Port Talbot and created two purpose-built showrooms as it gears up for a boom in business as economic restrictions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic lift.
The company, based in Baglan Energy Park, Port Talbot, has taken an additional 3,200 sq. ft of office space, doubling its existing space in those premises and complementing its 10,900 sq. ft manufacturing facility in the Swansea Valley. The move also comes on the back of it creating eight new positions at the firm earlier this year.
Ministry successfully realigned its business in 2020 moving to produce personal protective equipment and protective screens to help its clients manage the challenges of COVID-19 while protecting jobs. More recently, it has also expanded its offering to the education sector, notably by upskilling its staff to allow it to produce and install all forms of fitted furniture for classrooms including science and technology laboratory equipment and desks.
One of its new showrooms will showcase this new offering for the education sector; the other will illustrate its extensive skills and offering around workplace interiors, which includes loose furniture and associated graphics, wall art and signage. Its offering is also designed to support the construction industry from concept to completion.
While the number of visitors to the new showrooms is limited at present, due to social distancing requirements, it is able to welcome visitors by appointment now and hopes to organise an open day once such a gathering is considered safe and legal.
The showroom dedicated to its education offering fits well with its growing portfolio of work in education, itself partly driven by the Welsh Government’s 21st Century Schools Programme – a multi-billion investment. The firm is already working with a number of schools in the region including Cefn Saeson School in Neath, Ysgol Y Graig in Merthyr Tydfil and Whitmore High School in Barry.
Graham Hirst, Ministry Group CEO, said:
“This is another positive step forward for the business as we eye an economic recovery for the country and what we hope will be a period of growth and expansion for our own business.
“We proved our agility last year in the way we repurposed the business and realigned our offering. We are now reaping the rewards of that as we have invested in our staff and offering to serve new sectors and work with new clients. We have already created a number of new jobs this year; these new showrooms will allow us to take the next step forward in showcasing our work and offering in all its forms.”


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Tesla Will Resume Accepting Bitcoin When There is ‘Reasonable Clean Energy Usage by Miners,’ Musk Says
Bitcoin spiked again last night, following comments from Elon Musk, who tweeted that Tesla would resume accepting the crypto when there’s “reasonable clean energy usage by miners.”
Musk’s company said in February that it had purchased $1.5 billion of bitcoin and would start accepting the crypto as a form of payment Tesla. However, in May, Musk said, “Tesla has suspended vehicle purchases using bitcoin.”
“We are concerned about rapidly increasing use of fossil fuels for bitcoin mining and transactions, especially coal, which has the worst emissions of any fuel. Cryptocurrency is a good idea on many levels and we believe it has a promising future, but this cannot come at great cost to the environment,” Musk added at the time.
Yesterday, Musk reacted to comments from Magda Wierzycka, CEO of South African asset manager Sygnia, who said that Musk’s tweets on bitcoin prices were “market manipulation” and should have triggered an investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, according to Cointelegraph.
“This is inaccurate. Tesla only sold ~10% of holdings to confirm BTC could be liquidated easily without moving market,” Musk tweeted. “When there’s confirmation of reasonable (~50%) clean energy usage by miners with positive future trend, Tesla will resume allowing Bitcoin transactions.”
More From GOBankingRates


text: Student group No Sweat! wants to end Indiana University’s dependence on apparel produced by sweat-shop labor. Events like last October’s “Check your Tags” Awareness Day (link this to the IDS article) raise awareness about international labor abuses and highlight the direct connection between students and the workers who have produced their clothing. Group members also educate university administrators about apparel companies and advocate for a university-wide switch to fairer, more sustainable apparel. No Sweat! is an affiliate of United Students Against Sweatshops (USAS).


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Although it looks like electric vehicles may be a crucial factor in the medium-term future of automotive design, there are certainly still more than a few factors that need to be fixed before they will be supported. That’s why there is a critical question of ethics about the mining of materials used in batteries. You have the question of where all the power to run them will come from. Not to mention the actual infrastructure problem is that people living on a Victorian street have access to a chargeable car.
One major factor is that under the current design, the batteries used in vehicles only have a long lifespan. If they are to blame, they can be recharged a few times before the original 100% turns into more like 30% — but instead it’s more like a normal iPhone. Unfortunately, after a report from the Independent, BMW announced a new Battery Model, which, at the least according to them, has the problem solved by the whole system!
Yes, BMW might have just created a battery that never loses 100% of the charge!
BMW upgrades the Solid State Battery.
In an attempt to introduce it to a revolutionizing design, BMW said they’ve found a way to take away one of the most notable issues of lithium-ion batteries. When they test the new battery, they claim that after more than 300 recharge cycles, the new battery didn’t lose any of its original capacity. Why is that important? Well, not only does this largely increase the potential long-term lifespan of an electric car, but can clearly be transferred over to virtually anything with a battery.
Yes, BMW may have just discovered a way to live on your iPhone for a day-to-day basis for more than five years! I’m not sure what Apple will think about that though I’m not sure what Apple will think about it.
Although there is still a long way to go, the manufacturing process is far away from an final product, with BMW saying they have to find a way to get more refined. The EV industry needs that refinement in general.
What do you think?


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- Data breaches
- 2 min read
Privacy nightmare: Tesla, Ford among 25 major car brands alleged to sell personal data
Mozilla Foundation alleges that 25 leading car manufacturers are guilty of collecting and sharing deeply personal data, including sexual activity, facial expressions, and genetic and health information.
A new report by the Mozilla Foundation, the American non-profit organization which supports the 'Mozilla' free software community alleges that 25 leading car manufacturers are guilty of collecting and sharing deeply personal data, including sexual activity, facial expressions, and genetic and health information.
Mozilla claims that it tested 25 major car brands, and all 25 of them failed, with the company going on to claim that cars are the 'worst product category' they have reviewed for privacy.
The test examined the privacy and security flaws of car brands spanning five countries: the U.S., Germany, Japan, France, and South Korea. Researchers are claimed to have spent 600 hours reading privacy policies, downloading apps, and corresponding with brands, as per its *Privacy Not Included (*PNI) buyer’s guide. "All new cars today are privacy nightmares on wheels that collect huge amounts of personal information," said Jen Caltrider, *PNI Program Director, Mozilla.
A 2016 study by McKinsey & Company estimates that by 2030, car data monetization could be an industry worth $750 billion. “Many people think of their car as a private space — somewhere to call your doctor, have a personal conversation with your kid on the way to school, cry your eyes out over a break-up, or drive places you might not want the world to know about. But that perception no longer matches reality. All new cars today are privacy nightmares on wheels that collect huge amounts of personal information," added Caltrider.
With the rising trend of connected-tech in cars, the risk of privacy invasion is growing by the day. Would you consider purchasing a car with the latest gizmos and connected-tech even if it could compromise your privacy? Let us know in the comments down below.


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It looks to be another banner year for online holiday sales, anchored by Cyber Monday on Dec. 1, when online marketers offer discount deals to get American consumers to shirk work and dot-com shop instead
IBISWorld predicts Americans will spend 15 percent more time shopping online on Cyber Monday this year than they did on the same day in 2013. Overall, holiday retail sales are predicted to rise 4.2 percent over 2013 levels, according to IHS Global Insight. Sales rose 3.1 percent year-over-year in 2012 and 2013.
“Shopping over this weekend – whether Thursday, Friday, Small-Business Saturday, Cyber-Monday — you’re doing it for the sport, more than you’re doing it for the prices,” says analyst Patty Edwards at U.S. Bank Wealth Management in Seattle.
Since consumers can instantly compare prices online and find better deals, the value of these “special shopping days” for consumers is increasingly the ritual team effort among mothers, daughters, aunts, and co-workers, Edwards says.
Jessica Harper, 28, of Portland, Oregon, says special holiday shopping days devoted to hyper-consumption don’t grab her generation, with the exception of Small-Business Saturday.
“It’s becoming a little more trendy to shop local,” she says.
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E3 2017 has brought forth a lot of games, some good and some bad, and speaking of games being revealed comes Nintendo’s E3 presentation, which brings the existence of a new Yoshi game to the forefront. The new Yoshi title is set to launch sometime during 2018 for the Nintendo Switch.
That’s right, Mario’s green lizard or dinosaur-thing has a new game in the works for the Switch. And although I’d prefer a new Yoshi’s Island with graphics resembling the older game just with today’s tech, we do instead get a new 2D/3D title featuring said character.
The new game follows Yoshi on a new adventure that sports action and platforming elements in an unfamiliar world. Decorated like a miniature diorama, the world map and stages rock a new art style to represent the new game’s latest features:
“Lead Yoshi on a brand new adventure that will turn everything you’ve come to expect from side-scrolling games upside down! Explore a great, big world decorated like a miniature diorama in a new art style for the franchise, where each side-scrolling stage has the traditional front side as well as a flip side with different views and surprises. Look for items throughout the stage as Yoshi makes his way to the goal. You can even join up with a friend!”
Each course is said to offer both a main and hidden path that explores different views and surprises. I’m not sure how fun the game will be, but what I do know is that a lot of people seem to be split on the upcoming Yoshi Switch game. You be the judge and as to whether the game is worth keeping an eye on or if it’s something to skip by watching the latest E3 video trailer.
Announced During Nintendo’s E3 2017 spotlight presentation, the new Yoshi game, like a lot of the newly announced titles, is set to debut sometime in 2018 for the Switch.


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• Strategic Vision surveys 200,000 new car owners in the US
• Apple as a potential car brand more popular than Tesla
• Established car manufacturers must be prepared for stiff competition
According to its own statements, the international consulting firm Strategic Vision has been surveying 200,000 new car owners in the USA every year for almost 30 years, whether they would consider buying a certain car brand and how they feel about the quality of the car manufacturer. The list of car brands includes more than 45 names, including some that are not even available in the US. This year, for the first time, the Apple iGroup was included in the list as a potential car brand, which led to a surprising result of the survey.
Apple very popular as a potential car brand
The tech group, led by Tim Cook, made it to third place in the “Brand Consideration” category with 26 percent. Outperformed only by Toyota (38 percent) and Honda (32 percent). After Apple, the tech pioneer Tesla followed with 20 percent. But that’s not all. With regard to the quality of the brand, the iGroup even achieved first place with 24 percent. Toyota with 15 and Honda with 13 percent followed in second and third place. Tesla, Lexus, BMW and Porsche shared fourth place with 11 percent each.
Established automakers should dress warmly
According to Strategic Vision President Alexander Edwards, this result should give established carmakers pause. It shows that consumers love Apple “more than any other car company, even twice as much as powerful brands like Honda, Toyota and Tesla,” Edwards said in a press release. More than 50 percent of Tesla owners said they were “definitely” considering a future Apple vehicle.
So, as Strategic Vision senior vice president Christopher Chaney says, other automakers should now prepare themselves warmly and take steps to fend off potential competition: “If others don’t prepare now for this type of disruption, they might be left with the question ‘What happened?’ similar to what happened when Tesla entered the market.”
So far no precise information about Apple Car
To date, it is uncertain what an Apple Car should actually look like. The tech group is extremely cautious about the project. At the last WWDC developer conference, however, the iGroup announced that it would completely revise its CarPlay car interface. This is already supported by some established car manufacturers and allows users to connect their iPhone to the vehicle. Bloomberg’s tech reporter Mark Gurman sees the revision as a kind of advertisement for Apple’s own car, which is rumored to be in development. In a Bloomberg article, he also assumes that Apple is planning to build an autonomous electric vehicle that could be launched around 2025.
In addition to Apple’s good rating, Chaney points out that 34 percent of those surveyed said they did not know enough about a possible vehicle from the smartphone manufacturer to be able to consider it: “The good news for current car brands is there “Apple’s fate is not yet decided. Designing future strategies and building cars on the basis of ‘true innovation’ involves rich and influential impressions, a mix of art and science. Highly motivating qualities that each one possesses connected to the customer’s values and feelings keep a potential Apple car on a relatively level playing field.” Ultimately, the senior vice president said, each vehicle manufacturer would largely control its own destiny.
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The Bitcoin Academy, a coaching college created by Jack Dorsey and Jay Z (Shawn Carter), has accomplished its preliminary run. The undertaking got here to an finish after 12 weeks by airdropping $1000 in Bitcoin to each participant who selected to simply accept a grant.
- Jack Dorsey’s First Tweet’ NFT Went on Sale for $48M However It Got here To A Shut With A Prime Bid Of Solely $280.
- Bitcoin surges above the $50,000 for the first time since May
- Walmart, McDonald’s, Starbucks and A lot of Different U.S Retailers Are Now Accepting Bitcoin Cost through Lightning Community!
- Why hasn’t the Bitcoin price risen again yet?
- Brief Bitcoin Now Is The Proper Determination?
- Overseas Commerce College and Diplomatic Academy introduced the admission standards quickly
- The EU might ban Bitcoin and PoW cryptocurrencies by 2025
- Ukraine Has Made Bitcoin And Cryptocurrency Authorized.
- Whether or not the Mt. Gox distribution of 150k BTC is Coming, Will Bitcoin Go Via a “Black Swan” Occasion?


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Early last November, Matthew Farrell, President and CEO of Church & Dwight Co., which owns the Trojan condom brand, offered analysts a rather blunt reason for why condom sales are declining: young people are having less sex.
While this may play a role, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also reports that condom use among sexually active high school students has declined from 63% in 2003 to 57% in 2015. This six-point drop follows a period of increased condom use among American teens in the 1990s and early 2000s.
According to the latest data from YouGov BrandIndex, fewer men aged 18-34 recall talking about either Trojan or Durex with friends or family than they did last September.
Last fall, 9% of male millennials said they remember talking about Durex in the past two weeks, while 8% reported the same for Trojan. Now, about six months later, the percentage is down to 4% for both brands.
At the same time, the perceived quality gap between Trojan and Durex is also diminishing. Asked whether they think the Durex brand represents either good or poor quality, US men aged 18-34 have consistently given Durex a score ranging between 6 and 16 since last September. Trojan’s score, however, has dropped from a high of 35 in October to a low of 12 in December.
The current gap in Quality scores reported by young men is a mere 9 points (21 for Trojan and 12 for Durex).
Additional numbers from YouGov Profiles shows that men between the ages of 18 and 34 are by far the most likely consumer group to be current customers of either Trojan or Durex. These individuals are also likely to live in a city or suburb and vote Democratic.
We are the only daily consumer perception research service of brands, interviewing 5,000 people each weekday from a representative U.S. population sample, more than 1.2 million interviews per year.


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Kolkata: Despite higher prices and confusion over the star rating system, this summer may be a “cool” one for air conditioner makers who are projecting around 15 percent sales growth over last year.
Business was quite dull last year due to a delayed and cooler summer and multiple price hikes.
But this year industry experts expect total AC sales for both domestic and industrial uses will be about 15 percent higher in terms of volume than that of last year.
The sales growth would be despite a 7.5-15 percent average price increase of air conditioners (ACs) across models compared to last year mainly due to higher input cost and a depreciating rupee against the dollar which has made imports costlier.
“The industry views that this year air conditioner sales will register 15 percent growth over last year when a total of 3.4 million units (both home air conditioner and industrial air conditioner) were sold in the country,” B. Thiagarajan, president (Air Conditioning & Refrigeration Products Group), Blue Star Ltd, told IANS.
“We are expecting this sales growth despite on an average 7.5 percent to 15 percent price hike across models. Higher prices are mainly due to rupee depreciation and higher material cost like copper and tin,” Thiagarajan said.
According to him, due to higher prices, consumers, who would have liked to buy a 5 Star AC, will actually end up buying a 4 Star, and those interested in buying a split AC, will opt for a window AC.
Air conditioner major Samsung said home air conditioner sales this year is expected to clock an 8-10 percent increase to 3.3 million units.
Prices of domestic ACs have soared by 5-10 percent on an average across segments compared to last year.
“Last year business was flat due to a cooler summer as air conditioners are a seasonal product. A total of 3.1 million units of home air conditioners were sold in 2011. This year we are expecting 8 to 10 percent industry growth over that,” said Ruchika Batra, Samsung India Electronics general manager, corporate communications.
Godrej, however, said the market this year could be a bit “unpredictable” as “some confusion” over the Star rating system exists.
The Bureau of Energy Efficiency, a statutory organisation under the power ministry, recently increased the efficiency norms for the highest rating of 5 Star to a new level, following which last year’s 5 Star ACs became 4 Star this year and so on.
“Some confusion exists in the market in terms of Star rating of air conditioners. So we do not know how the industry will evolve this year,” said Ramesh Chembath, Godrej Appliances assistant vice president, sales and marketing.
Chembath said over phone from Mumbai that a 5 Star air conditioner would cost at least Rs.2,000 more this year compared to last year.
He, however, said if the summer was hot then this would be a good year for air conditioner makers.
“In the last two months of this year sales were ok. If the summer is good, then there will be a decent sales figure. And there is no reason till now to think that the summer will not be good,” he added.
– By Mithun Dasgupta


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AT&T DIRECTV is taking its first jab at Virtual Reality (VR) with a new app that takes users ringside to a boxing fight to experience the blows and knock downs on their VR ready smartphones as if they were actually at the fight. With the Big Knockout Boxing (BKB) VR App on the Samsung Gear VR Innovator Edition, users can watch highlights and close up camera feeds from several of the the Big Knockout Boxing events that took place at Vegas’ Mandalay Bay on June 27 of this year.
Apart from Samsung Gear VR Innovator Edition, the BKB VR app which is available on the Oculus Store, Google Play, and Apple App Stores is also accesible via the Cardboard (Android and iOS) headset. The BKB VR app was designed as a short form immersive experience focused on presenting a selection of the most exciting fight moments. The app’s immersive content was filmed by a five-camera system designed to capture the event from the perspective of a fan in the audience.


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As businesses begin to receive Paycheck Protection Program funds, many business owners are shifting their focus to ensuring they are spending and recording the funds appropriately in order to qualify for loan forgiveness.
The MV Small Business Development Center is offering a webinar, Paycheck Protection Program Loan Forgiveness Guidelines, from 2 to 3 p.m. Thursday, April 30. This webinar, hosted by the Mohawk Valley Small Business Development Center and presented by Center Director Roxanne Mutchler, will explain the requirements for PPP forgiveness using the most up-to-date guidance from the U.S. Small Business Administration.
A question and answer session will follow the presentation. To register, go to https://bit.ly/PPPForgiveness.
A second webinar, Manage Your Business Remotely in Times of Uncertainty, will take place from noon to 1 p.m. Wednesday, May 6.
Join Google and the Mohawk Valley SBDC in celebrating National Small Business Week by learning about tools your can use to manage your business remotely. To register, go to https://bit.ly/MVSBDCRemote.
IN OTHER BUSINESS NEWS:
• The Workforce Development Board of Herkimer, Madison, Oneida, Chenango, Delaware and Otsego counties is offering Metrix online training free of charge to all businesses and unemployed and underemployed residents in these six counties. Metrix Learning is a comprehensive learning platform that helps set job seekers up for success. Job seekers can gain skills and keep current skills fresh, helping their resumes stand out and readying them for re-entry into a new job market. Along with online skill training, the platform also offers career exploration tools, career pathways, job search tools and assessments, giving job seekers a clear picture of where they are and what skills they need to gain to get them where they want to be. Job seekers can take an unlimited amount of classes and can choose from more than 5,000 workplace skills, business and IT courses. In Herkimer, Madison and Oneida counties, Metrix training and other virtual services can be requested at: www.working-solutions.org.
• Northland’s video conferencing and hosted phone software, Accession, has a new name — MaX UC. The product manufacturer, Metaswitch, announced the rebrand, along with several new product enhancements, which users can look forward to. More than 2,500 local remote workers are currently using MaX UC to stay connected with colleagues and customers while working from home. Northland is currently providing this software free to new customers, as well as current customers who need to expand their services, through Tuesday, June 30. Enhancements to the platform, which will become available to Northland users Thursday, April 30, include SMS texting capabilities, BG Call Analytics and iACD, Integrated Automatic Call Distribution. Cloud-based Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) systems, like MaX UC, enable users to work from anywhere with an internet connection. In addition to video conferencing, MaX UC licenses include a hosted soft-phone client, which is essentially a complete phone system that sits on the user’s computer or mobile device. To learn more about MaX UC, join Northland for a free webinar, “Technology to Unify Your Remote Team,” on Friday, May 1. Register at www.northland.net/webinar.
• The Lewis County Agricultural Sustainability Council will be launching a free online Agribusiness Directory to providing local farmers and growers with information on where they can find the goods and services they need and to support agricultural businesses and agencies serving Lewis County. In order to ensure that the directory is as complete and accurate as possible, all agriculture-related businesses and agencies in the region that serve Lewis County are invited to complete a simple online form on the Naturally Lewis website at www.naturallylewis.com/submitagresource by Friday, May 15. There is no charge for this listing. The directory will be available to all at www.naturallylewis.com/business-support/agresources, and also will be linked to the Lewis County Government and Cornell Cooperative Extension websites. Not only will it be possible to access and use online, but it will also be available to download, so users can also print a hard copy. Once the current situation with COVID-19 has passed, CCE Lewis will also offer a printed version for pick-up at their offices for a nominal fee.


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MONTICELLO, AR – Zilkha Biomass Energy will build a $90 facility in Monticello, AR to manufacture wood pellets for commercial use.
The Texas-based energy company’s new plant will produce the Zilkha Black Pellet, a wood pellet the company says burns cleaner and more efficiently than traditional wood pellets. Jack Holmes, company CEO, said the pellets are water resistant , so the product cannot be compromised if it becomes wet.
The new plant is expected to create 52 new jobs, Zilkha officials said. Forests cover more than 18.8 million acres in Arkansas – more than half of the state – making the state an good location for biomass production, officials said.
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Quanta Computer has reportedly landed orders for Apple’s rumored large-size iPad for mass production in the second half of 2014, while Inventec, Quanta and Foxconn Electronics (Hon Hai Precision Industry) are currently competing over Apple’s iWatch.
Thee new iPad 12.9 inch display is expected sometime in 2014.
The complements the already existing 9.7 inch iPad, and the 7.9 inch iPad Mini.
Apple is manufacturing 500,000 iPhone 5s per day! That number is staggering to say the least. This number is ramped up for the holidays.
Foxconn employees 1 million to work on the production of iPhone. 300,000 dedicated to just the iPhone 5s.


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San Diego’s premier startup competition to feature 10 finalists
According to Chad Robley, Founder and CEO of Mindgruve, and Co-Chair of Interactive Day, “PitchTech is a competition where founders and entrepreneurs can pitch their early stage startups on the industry’s biggest stage. This is a unique opportunity to put your brand in front of some of the top innovators, angels, VC’s and influencers in the tech community.”
"PitchTech has been a part of Interactive Day for four years. This is the most innovative group of startups that have ever pitched. San Diego’s start up scene continues to grow and thrive. This year’s participants include everything from ad tech to 3D printing technology to ecommerce platforms” added Mike Hodges, President of Mindgruve and Co-Chair of Interactive Day.
The 2015 PitchTech Finalists are:
• Wrapify - Offers...
West Coast’s Premiere Digital Marketing Conference on June 12, 2015
at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront
San Diego, CA – SDX, San Diego’s premiere media, marketing and technology organization for brands, agencies, publishers and startups, announced the keynotes for the 11th Annual Interactive Day San Diego (IDSD) which will be held on June 12, 2015 at the San Diego Hilton Bayfront.
The 2015 Keynotes include:
• Kevin Knight, Head of Agency and Brand Strategy, Pinterest
• Bryan Kramer, President/Founder Purematter & Author of “Human To Human: #H2H”
• Lucie Greene, Global Head of Innovation, J. Walter Thompson
• Kevin Swanepoel, CEO, The One Club
According to Michael Warburton, Brand Manager at San Diego Zoo Global and 2014/15 President of SDX said, “We are pleased to welcome our keynote speakers as well as nearly 40 additional speakers for a day of sharing the best thinking on digital marketing strategies, “how to” sessions, brilliant creative from around the world, and a glimpse into what’s next in the world of marketing technology.”
Interactive Day San Diego delivers the latest industry trends and best...
Welcome to the new digital home of Interactive Day San Diego – the West Coast’s premier digital marketing and ad technology event. This year marks the tenth anniversary of the San Diego Ad Club’s showcase event catering to marketing, communications, and advertising professionals at all stages of their career. The 2014 event will include 20 hour-long informative sessions, 4 keynotes, and a real-time pitch competition among young startups.
Here’s the skinny on Interactive Day 2014:
- What?: A digital marketing and technology conference
- When?: Friday May 16, 2014, and don’t forget about the pre-event mixer on Thursday night
- Where?: Hilton San Diego Bayfront - 1 Park Boulevard, San Diego, CA 92101
- Who?: Marketing, communications, and advertising professionals
In addition to a jam-packed day of industry trends and best practices, conference attendees are invited to the pre-event mixer atop the rooftop at the Andaz San Diego Hotel’s bar RoofTop600 on Thursday night. Interactive Day San Diego tickets are reasonably priced and networking opportunities are aplenty with over 1,200 attendees last year ranging from CEO's, to hungry young...
During his IDSD session, “The RTB Revolution: What it is and how Agencies and Brands can Master It,” VISISEEK CEO Colin Walsh discussed RTB – that’s real-time bidding – and its enormous potential for brands and publishers moving forward in the digital world. Real-time bidding allows for purchasing and selling online ads in, well, real-time.
Colin opened with some promising stats on RTB. In 2013 alone, related spending is slated to increase by 72%. It accounts for 20% of all display ad spending and 21% of all video ad spending. Although it’s been around since 2007, Colin explained, things really started picking up for RTB in 2009 – within a year, the popular ad exchange DoubleClick saw an 850% increase. Because of its massive uptake, the creative potential of RTB is endless and has become widely adopted by major brands including Volkswagen, Zappos, and Steve Madden shoes. Colin provided examples of brand utilization and presence on leading websites. Colin then dove into a more granular example of how real-time bidding works and what brands can do to get into the game, including working with a DSP, or demand side platform.
To see Colin’s full explanation and...
Dan started with some statistics on the growth of digital video:
• Spending on digital video ad content will increase by 41% in 2013; spending on TV ad content will increase by 28%
• That spending will climb to $8 billion and $73 billion, respectively, in less than three years
• Digital video is the advertising format seeing the most rapid growth, but TV ads are still the most dominant
• 23% of advertisers’ budgets will be allocated to video in 2013. This will increase to 30% by 2015.
He then addressed four questions brands need to ask in order to make a smart video investment and achieve maximum ROI:
1. Can you take my campaign across screens?
2. Do you provide video brand safety across screens?
3. Do you offer data-driven targeting?
4. How do you benchmark video results?