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A passenger aboard a TUI Cruises ship sailing from Turkey has died in a fall from a balcony cabin, the cruise line confirmed in a statement.
MSC Cruises has announced that MSC Opera will be joining its line-up of floating hotels in Qatar for the FIFA 2022 World Cup.
Cruise passengers visiting Abu Dhabi will no longer need to show their COVID pass when entering tourist attractions and visiting landmarks around the city.
Some 900,000 cruise tourists are expected to cruise to or from Dubai during the upcoming cruise season between October, 2022 and March, 2023.
Costa Cruises will homeport its new cruise ship Costa Toscana in Dubai for the 2022/23 cruise season, replacing Costa Firenze which was previously scheduled to cruise from the city.
The German cruise line Phoenix Reisen is returning to the Middle East next year for a cruise from Dubai to Colombo in Sri Lanka.
Silver Spirit will sail a 12-night cruise from Dubai to Singapore in 2022, with an itinerary that focuses heavily on the Arabian Gulf.
After being forced to cancel its 2021 Dubai itineraries due to the emergence of the Omicron variant of COVID-19, Seabourn has confirmed that its annual Dubai to Singapore cruise is back on.
The luxury cruise line Oceania will sail a grand voyage from the Middle East to South Africa in 2022 aboard its ship Nautica.
TUI Cruises are joining a host of other major cruise lines in sailing a Dubai to Singapore voyage during 2022.
Azamara has been forced to drop Doha in Qatar as a port of call on its upcoming Arabia & World Cup Voyage departing Dubai on November 15th, 2022.
Regent Seven Seas are returning to the Middle East during the 2022/23 cruise season with a one-off departure from Dubai in November.
Oceania Cruises has rolled out a free Land Cruise Program for select sailings in Africa, Asia, Australia, the Middle East and more for guests who book before January 8th, 2023.
MSC Cruises has expanded its Red Sea cruise season out of Saudi Arabia, adding more embarkation ports in Egypt, as well as shore excursions and pre-cruise stay options.
Saudi Arabia’s tourism sector has seen a 121% increase from pre-pandemic levels, supported by its emergent but booming cruise sector.
Azamara is brining Azamara Quest back to the Middle East for the 2022/23 cruise season out of Dubai, with the ship scheduled to sail just one roundtrip voyage in the Arabian Gulf.
TUI Cruises is set to bring Mein Schiff 6 back to Dubai for the 2022/23 Middle East cruise season, with roundtrip Dubai cruises to destinations across the Arabian Gulf.
Doha will host six cruise ships as floating hotel during the upcoming 2022 FIFA World Cup, with MSC Cruises supplying three of them.
Cruise Master, the Middle East’s leading specialized cruise agency, has announced it is bringing back its online cruise booking portal as the industry recovers from the pandemic.
Virgin Voyages will return to the Middle East in 2024 to offer a second cruise from Dubai, but this time its ship Resilient Lady will sail from Dubai to Piraeus (Athens) in […]


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On February 8, the Robert Zicklin Center for Corporate Integrity at City University of New York’s Baruch College hosted its 5th Annual Symposium on Sustainable Business. This year’s symposium, “Profits and Politics: Sustainability and the Global Corporation” covered issues from the environment to social responsibility, and featured speakers and panelists from GE, The Climate Group, the UN Global Compact, and other organizations. FLA’s Executive Director Jorge Perez-Lopez (center) and Nathan Fleisig (at the podium), Social Responsibility Manager at Outerstuff, participated in a panel discussion about the importance of upholding fair labor standards throughout a brand’s supply chain. The panel was moderated by David Matthew, Professor at Baruch College Zicklin School of Business.
Perez-Lopez explained the increasing awareness and concern among consumers over the past decade about the way products are made. He discussed the FLA Code of Conduct and the practical approach the organization takes to improving workers’ lives.
Fleisig, who led Outerstuff’s transition from a Category B Licensee to an FLA Participating Company in 2012, opened his presentation by explaining why his company decided to affiliate with FLA at the highest possible level. As a collegiate licensee, Outerstuff was required by FLA’s university affiliates to bring only its collegiate factories into the FLA program. Despite the fact that only ten percent of its revenues come from collegiate apparel, Outerstuff voluntarily decided to bring 100 percent of its supply chain into the program. This higher level of corporate commitment means that all of Outerstuff’s suppliers are required to abide by the FLA Code of Conduct.
Perez-Lopez and Fleisig discussed the multi-stakeholder nature of FLA and the benefits of collaboration between universities, civil society and companies, and shared insights and lessons learned from the recent investigation and ongoing remediation at the Style Avenue factory in El Salvador.
For more on the symposium, click here.

domain: news


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A lot of people are watching Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime. With the rise in popularity for streaming services, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find new content on traditional TV. This article will introduce you to some of the best shows on these platforms that you should watch before they disappear.
The gizmo story is a film about the world of Gizmos. It follows the life of an inventor and his quest to bring his invention to market.
Amazon Prime Video (UK), the popular streaming service, has created another another masterpiece for its users. This time, the series was created by collaborating with the social media platform TikTok. Just So You Know is the title of the series, which premiered on Thursday, August 26. The Just So You Know series was inspired by another Amazon Prime original program, Modern Love, an anthology series that premiered in 2019.
This is the first time Amazon Prime has teamed up with TikTok to create a series, which has piqued the interest of viewers. In a recent interview, the executive head strongly recognized all of the good reactions received by the series at Amazon, and stated the wish to continue creating similar collaborations in the future.
Just So You Know is available where?
Attitude.co.uk is the source of this information.
TikTok, a video-sharing app, has made the series accessible for anyone to watch. All users of the app, whether they have used it before or not, will be able to watch the program for free via the app or online. The series debuted on Amazon Video’s TikTok UK account on August 26, 2024. The program would be free to watch without requiring a membership or subscription.
Before you see Just, So You Know, here’s everything you need to know.
The series was directed by filmmaker and drag queen Joseph Wilson, who is well-known for his work in the areas of self-acceptance and identification. The director has expressed his excitement at the prospect of working on a project that would allow disadvantaged groups to share their definitions of love with a wider audience via the program. He also said that having the chance to create something that is concerned with LGBTQ+ issues and emphasizes their perspective on love representation was very important to him.
Each of the six segments of the series Just So You Know includes music composed by Daniel Molyneux. He’s a rising dancehall star. His soundtracks will also be made accessible to the TikTok community, allowing anyone to utilize the compositions in their video creations.
Who’s in the cast of Just So You Know?
OtakuKart is the source of this information.
DJ Krystal Lake, Tyreece Nye, the drillmaster Mista Strange, Bailey Mills, Elliot Douglas, and choreographer and dancer Tarek Khwiss are among the stars of Just So You Know. Religion, sexuality, and history will all be discussed on the program. It will be divided into six sections, each of which will include confessional video from TikTok performers who identify as LGBTQ+.
The show’s stars express their affection for one another by writing letters to one other. Keith Jarrett, an award-winning writer, is responsible for the adaption.
pop culture times is a blog that discusses pop culture events and trends. It also has an article about how to watch TV shows and movies.
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Production of the Bravo apple, a new Australian variety famous for its dark burgundy skin and candy flesh, is tipped to soar one million kilograms on last year.
- Industry hopes to construct 50,000 tonnes of Bravo apples annually by 2035
- Fresh changes has seen more uses for 2d-grade Bravos
- New export licenses have been granted for Indonesia and the Heart East
Nonetheless industry players say the variety level-headed has a long way to hump in reaching longer-time length production targets of around 50,000 tonnes per year by 2035.
About 3,000 tonnes of first-grade fruit will probably be branded and bought on supermarket shelves below the Bravo label in 2021 — about 45 per cent more than the old season as plantings grow and timber mature.
Bravo national pattern manager Sean Engelbrecht said regardless of the significant growth year-on-year, production was level-headed in its infancy.
“I would say at this point we’re at our lowest point of production,” he said.
“There’s more work to be done in terms of meeting that final target.
“We want to find commercial, large scale growers invested into the variety, which we really feel is looking obvious.”
Extra fruit, much less waste
The WA authorities, which owns the variety, no longer too long ago lowered shade specifications for first rate fruit amid considerations from growers that too worthy product was going to waste.
Mr Engelbrecht said the changes would probably amount to 5-10 per cent increase in pack-out rates this season compared to 2020.
Pomewest president Mark Scott said the revised standards would mean higher returns for growers and more fruit on shelves.
“Now the revised specs will allow growers to find more back without impacting eating quality to the particular person.
“This may occasionally give growers far more self assurance in the variety longer time length. Anything which improves the growers’ bottom line and encourages them to reinvest and plant more of it and assist to carrier export markets.”
Total production is anticipated to reach between 4,000-4,500 tonnes this year, meaning around a quarter wouldn’t meet first grade specifications.
Beneath the changes, there are also more allowable uses for 2d grade fruit to be bought as Bravo.
“In old seasons we now have had to limit that to the general public, so food processors and mining camps – non-retail and non-metro,” he said.
“This season we have approval to sell them into retail in metro, provided or no longer it is in a pre-pack fabricate if its going into the same store as loose Bravo.
“This year there may be been a significant increase from both a specifications point of be aware however also from the allowable uses on these specifications for both top class and class two fruit.”
Fruit growing sturdy
Tom Sheehan grows apples at Donnybrook, about two hours south of Perth.
He said regardless of teething points, he was becoming more satisfied with the variety each season.
“I think getting the hang of growing this may be the major,” he said.
“As the apple progresses I’m becoming a fan and I’m all for planting more.
From timber to overseas
Mr Engelbrecht said the growing volume and increasingly stable production has enabled industry to establish new export markets in the Heart East and South-East Asia.
The WA authorities has approved shipments to Singapore, Dubai, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Thailand.
Mr Engelbrecht said about 15 per cent of this year’s cleave would be exported however was a growing percentage of the market.
“Export has increased year-on-year by about three-fold so it level-headed represents rather a low percentage of our total break up, however the increase has been rather aggressive over the last three years,” he said.
“This is our sixth commercial season. It be handiest now that we’re starting to find ample volumes for supermarkets overseas to make an arranged offering and to find traction on it.”


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Netflix is betting big on a new slate of 40 different anime titles for 2021.
Netflix confirmed at Tokyo's AnimeJapan 2021 Expo that it will premiere a wide variety of anime shows over the next few months, Bloomberg reports. They include Yasuke, a series following an African samurai in feudal-era Japan, and The Way of the House Husband, a new anime adaptation of the beloved Japanes manga series. According to Variety, these anime acquisitions are almost double the amount of anime series that came to the platform in 2020.
Movies like Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness and adaptations like the manga series Record of Ragnarok are also set to hit Netflix in the coming days.
In 2021 alone so far, Netflix has added shows like the violent High Rise Invasion as well as anime versions of popular franchises like Valve's Dota video game series and Pacific Rim. It comes as the worldwide anime market is expected to expand to over $36 billion by 2025, Bloomberg says.
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Netflix has yet to announce all the series it plans to bring to the table just yet. We can expect to learn more in the coming weeks.
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Were quickly approaching the official wrap-up of 2019 and its been another exciting year in travel and hospitality. We are now one step closer to the future and those innovative technologies that we envisioned ever since The Jetsons aired on TV. Every year, we make it our mission to break down the most impactful and exciting technology trends that are rumored to steal the spotlight in the year to come.
To see continued success, you need to be prepared for inevitable changes. Weve rounded up whats coming up in hospitality in 2020 and beyond to help your stay ahead of the curve.
This article is excerpted from The 2019 Smart Decision Guide to Hospitality Revenue Management, which is currently available for complimentary access.
If travel plays its cards right, it will harness the acceleration of AI to achieve an end-to-end customer experience, direct revenue and a reawakening of loyalty.


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Generation Gap Radio. Random, raunchy comedy, current events and reviews of everything. Generation Gap Radio covers a lot of controversial topics and fantastic discussions. Hosted by "McFly" & Omar, two guys in their twenties with twisted standpoints on life. New guests every week with new stories from all forms of life.
The SupplyChainBrain Podcast features in-depth conversations with industry practitioners, academics, consultants and other experts on every aspect of supply-chain management and international trade. Available for streaming or downloading. Host: Bob Bowman, Editor-in-Chief of SupplyChainBrain.
For e-tailers selling their wares on Amazon.com, a lot of obstacles stand in the way of success — sometimes even Amazon itself. Read more.
Healthcare is facing a potential cybersecurity crisis.
When it comes to efficient distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine and other drugs, the pharmaceutical supply chain is falling short. Read more.
Blame the glitches in rolling out COVID-19 vaccines on any number of factors, but is there a quick solution to the obstacles encountered on the distribution end? Read more.
It takes more than the issuance of sincere P.R. statements to ensure real diversity in the business world today. Read more.
If you’re a business that’s outsourcing services, don’t think for one moment that you’re shedding responsibility for the health and safety of a vendor’s staff when they show up on your premises. Read more.
The failure of consumers to recycle their personal devices could lead to shortages of the precious metals needed to build new products. Read more.
Many of the supply-chain shortages caused by the coronavirus pandemic have one thing in common: a lack of plastic and cardboard containers to put them in. Read more.
The coronavirus pandemic has uncovered some unpleasant truths about the inability of global supply chains to withstand a disruption of such size and scope. Read more.
Retailers selling over the internet can’t hope to compete without a reliable and effective direct-to-consumer (DTC) model for fulfillment. But setting one up is anything but easy. Read more.
If U.S. manufacturing is to compete with cheap overseas production, it needs to attract a younger workforce with technology chops. Read more.
In an economic downturn, how do smaller businesses gain access to liquidity, which often isn’t available to them at any price? Read more.
The humble conveyor is no longer the symbol of warehouse automation. The robots are here. Read more.
The coronavirus pandemic has plunged the U.S. and global economies into dire straits. Read more.
The 17 “rare earth” minerals that are essential to so many high-tech products today, from electric cars to magnets and military systems, aren’t literally rare, but their mining and production is. Read more.
Is the word “omnichannel” another way of saying “spoiled consumer”? Read more.
Easier said than done: that pretty well describes the task of shifting manufacturing out of China and back to the United States. Read more.
As a tool for managing key activities throughout the supply chain, has blockchain come of age? Or is it still mired in hype? Read more.
Artificial intelligence is everywhere in global business today, especially in the supply chain. But what exactly is this thing called “AI”? Read more.
Most of us fashion ourselves as rational beings, willing to change our minds when presented with facts that contradict our position. What a lovely fantasy. Read more.
Have the U.S. and China progressed from a trade war to a cold war? Read more.
Each year, 1.3 billion tons of food are lost or go to waste — and a third of those losses occur in transit. Read more.
Spending patterns in the transportation industry are a good barometer of the condition of the economy at large — but the results can be murky. Read more.
With the pandemic disrupting global supply chains, should decades of just-in-time and Lean manufacturing practice be thrown out the window? Read more.
The pandemic didn’t launch the retail industry on the road to radical transformation. But it unquestionably sped the journey up. Read more.
For businesses today, merely surviving the pandemic and economic downturn is tough enough — but not enough. Read more.
The post-pandemic age will require a whole new way by which employers recruit, hire and retain talent. Read more.
Far from slowing down cyber thieves, the coronavirus pandemic presents them with ever greater opportunities to hack into networks. Read more.
If we didn’t think supply-chain risk management was all-important before, we know it now. Read more.
Memo to shippers: Do you know where your container is? Read more.
With the arrival of 5G cellular networks comes a whole new level of cyber risk, and a heightened need to protect against hackers, attackers and spies. Read more.
The coronavirus pandemic has revealed the need for breaking the United States’ dependence on manufacturing in China and other countries. Read more.
Supply chains today are in survival mode. Amid all the chaos, though, they need to get a clear idea of the challenges they’re facing. Read more.
The amount of truck capacity running around in the freight marketplace varies widely, but one common dilemma persists: too much empty space. Read more.
Data is everywhere. So why can’t we easily answer the question on the lips of companies and consumers alike: “How’s my product doing?” Read more.
Even if the coronavirus pandemic is winding down — and we’re not entirely sure that it is — we still face the prospect of a deep and prolonged economic downturn. Read more.
The coronavirus pandemic is offering manufacturers a rare opportunity to reduce their dependence on sourcing from China. Read more.
We “play” games. Can we also do our work with them? Read more.
Exit NAFTA. Enter USMCA — the new United States-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement. How does it affect shipments between the U.S. and Canada? Read more.
Proponents of blockchain for the supply chain talk it up as the miracle technology for ensuring the security and reliability of business transactions. Yet it’s been slow to take hold. Read more.
Trying to predict demand or supply capabilities in a time of economic crisis “is like trying to catch a falling, disease-infected knife — in the dark.” Read more.
For e-tailers today, it’s tough enough staying in the race with Amazon.com for customer-service excellence — let alone winning it, and making a profit in the bargain. Read more.
The coronavirus pandemic has thrown global sourcing strategies into chaos. Will it result in a return of some manufacturing to the U.S.? Read more.
Economic experts have warned for years about the dangers of rising corporate, personal and government debt. Combined with the coronavirus pandemic, is this what will cause the next recession? Read more.
The coronavirus pandemic has made the importance of practicing effective supply-chain risk management painfully evident. Read more.
The coronavirus pandemic could result in some permanent changes to the way in which global supply chains operate. Read more.
In the five years since its unveiling, China’s massive Belt and Road Initiative has undergone dramatic change. Read more.
Even if it’s brought under control soon, the coronavirus promises to have a serious impact on global supply chains for months. Read more.
China, Japan and South Korea rely far more heavily on robots for manufacturing and distribution than does the U.S. Read more.
What is this thing called a warehouse? Read more.


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Microsoft reported a surprise drop in sales and profit for the first three months of the year, a sign the tech giant is still trying to find its way in the post-PC era.
Wall Street was expecting the company to show positive results from a series of changes that CEO Satya Nadella has been making. Instead, revenue for the January-March quarter fell 6 percent to $20.5 billion, while profit plunged 25 percent to $3.76 billion.
Thursday’s report came as other industry stalwarts reported their own struggles with seismic shifts in the way people use technology.
On Monday, IBM reported its 16th consecutive quarter of revenue decline, as commercial customers abandon the once-standard model of buying programs to install on their own computers, and instead use more software online. A day later, Intel said it’s cutting 12,000 jobs as fewer people buy PCs that run on Intel processors, opting instead for mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets.
But many analysts were expecting Microsoft to do better. While sales of personal computers have been sliding for the past four years, Nadella has been working to make Microsoft less dependent on revenue from its flagship Windows operating system, used mostly on PCs.
Microsoft said revenue from Windows software licenses declined 2 percent during the quarter, after adjusting for currency fluctuations. That’s better than the overall drop in PC shipments, which analysts at the Gartner research firm estimated at nearly 10 percent.
But revenue from business software and Internet-based services, known as cloud computing, didn’t grow as much as analysts expected. In particular, Microsoft saw only a 3 percent increase in revenue from its “Intelligent Cloud” business, where the company has invested heavily to help business customers run their operations on Microsoft’s servers. The division’s operating profit fell by 14 percent.
In a few bright spots, the company said sales of its Surface tablet computers rose 56 percent to $1.1 billion, while revenue from ads shown with results from its Bing search engine grew 55 percent to $1.5 billion. After spending billions of dollars to develop Bing as a rival for Google’s highly lucrative search business, Microsoft said the service started showing a profit last fall.
Some of that growth can be credited to Windows 10, which comes with a redesigned Web browser and Cortana, a Siri-like digital assistant. Both are designed to encourage more use of Bing.
Microsoft says Windows 10 is now running on more than 270 million machines, a healthy figure for software that was released only nine months ago. But some of that is the result of free upgrades offered to users of older Windows versions, rather than as software sales to PC manufacturers.
Under Nadella, the company has also released free versions of programs like Word and Excel for smartphones and tablets that run competing operating systems from Apple and Google. The company hopes to make money by charging users for extra features, and for related services like Skype messaging and online file storage.
Microsoft is also nudging users to change how they buy software. Subscriptions to its Office 365 service are growing rapidly. And because Microsoft delivers regular updates over the Internet, analysts say that should help the company sell extra features, particularly to business users.
But the turnaround is taking time to materialize. Microsoft said it earned 47 cents a share for the fiscal third quarter, or 62 cents after adjusting for one-time charges. Analysts surveyed by FactSet were expecting adjusted earnings of 64 cents a share and revenue of $22.1 billion.
Microsoft Corp. executives blamed higher-than-expected taxes for cutting into its profit for the quarter.
“Overall, we had a solid quarter,” Nadella said during a conference call Thursday.
Some analysts were inclined to accept that report. In an email, Mark Moerdler of Bernstein Research said Microsoft’s earnings per share would have met Wall Street expectations if not for a “tax technicality.”
Microsoft’s stock price has been rising in recent months, as investors have generally supported Nadella’s turnaround effort. But the earnings report sent shares down more than 5 percent in after-market trading, after closing at $55.78.
Credit : Associated Press (AP) | Photo Credit : AP


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A Yahoo city guide operation is coming to the big "D" in the latest shootout between print and online media for local ad dollars.
Today the company launches its ninth city Web site with Yahoo Dallas/Fort Worth. Like Yahoo's other city guides, it gives users access to more than 5,000 sites that cover the area, as well as categories such as news, entertainment, sports, travel, theater listings, maps, and classified ads.
Sports is emphasized. ("In this very modern Texan town you'll doubtless find lots of Cowboys--but not of the Stetson, cattle-prodding variety.")
Ads include real estate and automobile listings. For news, it has teamed up with KTVT Channel 11, Reuters, and United Press International.
Like its Yahoo counterparts in other cities, the site seeks to tap the classified ad market long dominated by metropolitan daily newspapers, but competition is stiff. The Dallas Morning News already has its own Web site and isn't shy about "scooping" its print version if the story is big enough, as it proved with recent headlines about Oklahoma City bombing suspect Timothy McVeigh.
Yahoo already offers guides in San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Washington, Boston, Seattle, and another Texas city, Austin.


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KFC forced to ditch halal-only menus after disappointing sales
KFC has scrapped its policy of serving halal food only in some of its takeaways, following customer protests.
One hundred of the fast food chain's restaurants removed non-halal items from their menus last year in an attempt to attract Muslim customers.
But thousands of regular customers complained, including Alan Phillips, who was furious when the Burton-on-Trent branch refused to serve him his favourite Big Daddy chicken burger with bacon and cheese topping.
Trial: This KFC in Burton-on-Trent is one of five reverting to the old non-halal menu after poor sales
He was told it was forbidden to keep bacon on the same premises as halal meat and he would have to travel five miles to the nearest non-halal restaurant.
Now KFC has admitted five of its outlets - including Burton - are reverting to standard menus following poor sales.
Another that will drop the trial halal menu is the Colne takeaway in Burnley, Lancashire, where thousands of people joined a Facebook group called No Halal at Colne KFC.
Takeaways at: Accrington, Lancashire, Old Kent Road, London, and Hyde Road, Manchester, as well as Burton and Colne, will revert to full menus on 19 July.
A spokesperson for KFC blamed low demand. He said: 'We introduced our trial in areas where we expected a large demand for halal restaurants, and as with any trial, we continually evaluate results, and adapt as necessary.
'There are always areas which are more successful than others, and despite positive feedback, a few stores haven't met our forecasts, so for that reason, we have decided to stop trialling halal in five restaurants as of 19th July.
'We are continuing our trial in other areas and are still offering halal in 96 restaurants, and will review the trial over the coming months.'
Around 100 of KFC's 750 outlets in the UK have been included in halal trial, launched last April.
All pork products are forbidden by Muslim law, so participating outlets have to take them off the menu.
In March, Mr Phillips, who was refused a Big Daddy Burger in Burton, said the policy was 'extremely unfair' on non-Muslim customers.
He said: 'It was like they were saying I couldn't buy bacon because it might offend people.
Banned: The Big Daddy was taken off the menu at KFC branches participating in the halal trial
'I have many friends who are black, white and Muslim but they wouldn't be forced to eat non-halal meat.
'I have no problem with them selling halal meat, but I would like the choice.'
Halal meat is prepared in accordance with Islamic dietary laws which mean the animal must be slaughtered by hand and blessed in the name of Allah.
The Burton store was originally chosen to take part in the trial because of the town's high Muslim population.
The fast food chain insisted it was using exactly the same ingredients as before, except for taking pork off the menu, and that its chickens had been slaughtered humanely.
But KFC fans across the country called for a boycott, saying they wanted a choice in what they ate.
Leaflets made available to customers at Burton's branch explained the old menu was to return because the trial 'has not met our expectations'.
It went on: 'For that reason, we have decided to stop trialling Halal in this restaurant with effect from July 19.' The store added that its decision was based 'solely on sales data'.
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Fruity cargo cult Apple is so convinced that it is sweet and kind and good, it has asked the US Supreme Court to overturn a court verdict which proves Steve Jobs organized an illegal cartel in a bid to jack up the prices of books.
In 2013, U.S. District Judge Dennis Cote found Apple guilt of being “conscious[ly] committed to … engage in [the] illegal behavior” of fixing ebook prices. That decision was reaffirmed in a 2-1 federal appeals court ruling earlier this summer. Second Circuit Court Judge Debra Ann Livingston, writing for the majority, held that “the district court correctly decided that Apple orchestrated a conspiracy among the publishers to raise ebook prices.”
Fellow members of the cartel have all admitted their crimes and paid up. The only member of the cartel which is convinced of its innocence is Apple. That is despite a confession by its former CEO Steve Jobs that a cartel was exactly what he had in mind to take Amazon down a peg or two.
Now Jobs Mob is convinced that the US’s Highest Court will conform to the mighty powers of its reality distortion field and let it go free.
In its filing to the Supreme Court Apple argues that a decision against it would have grave implications for the creative economy. “Dynamic, disruptive entry into new or stagnant markets — the lifeblood of American economic growth — often requires the very type of” behavior that Apple engaged in, the company argues.
It is a novel defense. Basically it is admitting that it is evil but it is the American way to play monopoly and force people to pay more.
Should the Supreme Court decline to hear the case, Apple’s expected to pay $450 million — most of it to customers of its iBooks store — to resolve antitrust liabilities with the Justice Department and other plaintiffs.
But for Apple it has the problem that it believes that it has done no wrong and it is really good for people. That sort of reality distortion field issue means that it will probably do the same thing again.


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Orange said mobile internet usage in Africa was increasing and that its customers have been steadily moving from basic feature phones towards more low-cost Android smartphones. The shift helps increase the amount of revenue it earns from its customer base of nearly 80 million in the region.
The new Orange and Baidu browser offers a customisable but simple interface, enabling users to access web-based apps and internet services unique to Baidu and Orange, as well as services like Wikipedia, Facebook or Twitter, amongst others. The user interface provides one-click access to all local and global services. The new browser is also faster and more data efficient compared to other browsers, Orange claims.
Orange and Baidu are now working to launch French versions of the browser for countries across Orange's African & Middle East footprint.


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California-based Ordr, a startup that says it address enterprise problems with IoT connected devices, has announced an additional $40 million to the bring the total raised amount to more than $90 million to date.
The Series C funding round was co-led by Battery Ventures and Ten Eleven Ventures, along with the participation from Northgate Capital. Several existing investors also took part in the financing round, including Wing Venture Capital, Unusual Ventures, Kaiser Permanente Ventures, and Mayo Clinic.
The startup aims to address two enterprise problems with growing IoT connected devices– digital transformation and Zero Trust. Each new connection increases the possibility of cyberattacks on the IoT connected devices. Especially with healthcare and manufacturing industries, these cyberattacks can be life threatening and can cost million of dollars to the organization. Ordr says it provides asset visibility, automates and implements Zero Trust policies while accelerating the response time to provide detailed insights into each connected devices and risks associated.
“We believe the connected device security market needs a strong, open, and independent player that prioritizes customer success, focuses on time-to-value, and integrates with all the key components of a customer’s security and network infrastructure. This funding validates our best-in-class approach and solidifies our leadership in the market,” said Greg Murphy, CEO of Ordr.
Ordr has witnessed a growth of 140% year-over-year growth in new customer revenue, counting three of the world’s top six hospitals as customers. The security solution is also being adopted in more than 150 manufacturing sites across the globe, executives say. This had led to several angel investors and Silicon Valley entrepreneurs to take part in the recent Series C funding round, with contribution from René Bonvanie, former CMO of Palo Alto Networks, Dan Warmenhoven, former chairman and CEO of NetApp, and Dominic Orr, former chairman and CEO of Aruba Networks.
The funding will go to marketing and sales efforts targeted at vertical markets such as healthcare, manufacturing industries, and financial services. The company also announced a new appointment to its executive team with the addition of Paul Davis as new vice president of customer success will help Ordr to bring in new customers across wide range of industries. Paul Davis has decades of experience in customer-facing roles at Axis Security, Splunk, Cisco, and several other orgnaizations.
“Ordr is a much-needed innovator in the market, with the ability to not only deliver granular visibility into devices, risks, and behaviors, but also automate and enforce Zero Trust policies to secure these devices from attacks,” said Justin Stebbins, partner at Northgate Capital.
edge security | healthcare | IoT | Kaiser | manufacturing | Mayo Clinic | Ordr | Zero Trust


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Allen Haynes and his new Alvarez Yairi are flanked by SLM CEO Mark Ragin and Kevin Cranley, president of Willis Music/Chairman of NAMM.
A dealer of a Tennessee Music Store when to the International Music Instrument Trade Show in Anaheim (NAMM), and went home with a brand new beautiful handmade Alvarez-Yairi guitar just by stopping by the St. Louis Music booth.
Not bad, eh?
St. Louis Music dealer Allen Haynes of The Music Shop is the winner of SLM’s special NAMM show contest. The owner of the Murfreesboro, Tenn. retail operation won the drawing for a new Alvarez Yairi WY1T worth $2,199.00 that was held in the SLM booth Saturday.
Any SLM dealer who spent $100 at the booth at NAMM was eligible for the drawing. The guitar is a TS model favored by the likes of Joe Bonamassa, Bob Weir, and Ani DiFranco among many others. It featured a vintage tobacco sunburst finish, unique AY Direct coupled bridge, and is decorated with abalone purflings.
Doesn’t get more exciting than this: SLM has added a new line of brass and woodwind instruments aimed specifically at the rental market. The respected Zonda name is synonymous with great reeds, and now Zonda stands for quality flutes, clarinets, trumpets, trombones, and alto and tenor saxophones. Introduced at the recent NAMM convention on January 24th, Zonda instruments started flying out of our warehouse and into retailers everywhere pretty much immediately ….
Asked for the reasons why SLM is now … read more
SLM has a new member of the family — but it’s actually a homecoming: Patrick R. Stevenson has joined the company as vice president of sales.
“We’re excited about Patrick returning to St. Louis Music,” says CEO Mark Ragin. “We’re experiencing tremendous growth now not only in new products, but new lines like Zonda brass, Dixon drums, Sigma guitars, and so much more. His experience and talent will continue to build on and expand the service we provide our dealers.”… read more


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Actor Varun Dhawan is all set to tie the knot with his childhood sweetheart Natasha Dalal at Alibaug’s The Mansion House. With the Sangeet slated to be held today ahead of the wedding tomorrow, a recent report suggests that Varun's dear friend Karan Johar will be turning the organiser and host for the evening. According to a SpotBoyE report, Varun and Natasha's family members will be dancing to hit tracks. While family performances are a given at the sangeet, Varun's co-stars and close industry friends will also shake a leg or two. One of them is actress Alia Bhatt, Varun's first co-star and dear friend. Other big names slated to perform are Janhvi Kapoor and Arjun Kapoor.
Big names from Bollywood like, Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif, Jacqueline Fernandez and Shraddha Kapoor are also slated to attend the wedding. As reported by Pinkvilla, the number of guests is limited due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the couple has requested the wedding planners to ensure that the people at the wedding follow all the protocols. The wedding venue also has several UV disinfection devices. Not only this, there will be a counter for masks and sanitisers at the wedding. Reportedly, those who will be attending the wedding have also been requested to submit a Covid-19 test report. Varun Dhawan's wedding dress is said to be designed by ace designer Manish Malhotra, while his to-be wife who is also a designer has designed her own outfit for the wedding. Their wedding is being planned by the same wedding planner who planned Anushka Sharma and Virat Kohli's hush-hush wedding.


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Now that Escondido has approved a $56 million renovation plan for Westfield North County mall, Mayor Sam Abed says it's time to persuade the mall's department store anchors to spend roughly $20 million upgrading their buildings inside and out.
with Westfield, which was made final last Wednesday, doesn't include the anchor tenants because they reached separate deals with the city when the mall was being planned in the early 1980s.
But Abed said it would make no sense to leave the anchor stores looking drab and outdated while the rest of the 26-year-old mall is converted into a shiny, sleek
"Upgrading the anchors is a big part of revitalizing the mall, which is our number one priority," Abed said.
So he recently began discussions with Nordstrom and J.C. Penney about possible renovations, and said that he plans to contact Sears officials soon. The mall's other two anchor sites ---- a Macy's and a defunct Robinsons-May that's being transformed into a three-story Target ---- won't be part of the negotiations because they're controlled by Westfield.
Abed said he was optimistic about quickly reaching agreements with the anchors based on some preliminary conversations, and because it would be in their own self-interest to upgrade and get a lease extension in exchange.
The city agreed to delay expiration of Westfield's lease from 2038 to 2053 in exchange for the $56 million in upgrades to the rest of the mall, and Abed said similar extensions would be available to the anchors for roughly $5 million to $6 million in upgrades each.
"We want them all to be on the same timeline," he said.
But the city faces different circumstances with each anchor. J.C. Penney just completed an interior upgrade, the Sears chain has been
, and Nordstrom has significant leverage because the upscale store is considered the mall's premier tenant.
Escondido has the only Nordstrom in North County and one of only four in the entire county, with the others at Fashion Valley, University Towne Centre and Horton Plaza malls in San Diego.
City Manager Clay Phillips told the North County Times last month that Nordstrom might be the trickiest negotiation because the city lacks leverage.
"We want Nordstrom to be there," he said. "Everybody knows they are a big player."
Officials from each chain did not return phone calls last week, but Abed said preliminary discussions have been encouraging.
He said Nordstrom officials recently told him they've become more upbeat about the mall because of Target's pending arrival, the recent widening of nearby Interstate 15, and Westfield's
, which includes new restaurants, a remodeled food court and a range of aesthetic upgrades.
In addition, he said Nordstrom officials told him the Escondido store fits well geographically with a discount Nordstrom Rack in San Marcos and another Nordstrom Rack under construction in Carmel Mountain Ranch.
"The majority of their concern was Westfield not keeping the mall up to date," said Abed, referring to worries among city boosters during the recession that Nordstrom might close its Escondido store.
Katie Dickey, chief spokeswoman for Westfield, said last week that her company had begun negotiations with Macy's about similar renovations. And Dickey said Westfield wants to see all the anchors upgraded so that the mall looks and feels equally engaging throughout.
"The dialogue is ongoing," said Dickey, expressing tentative optimism that each anchor would eventually complete upgrades. "It's been our experience that it's a strong encouragement when neighboring businesses are investing in upgrades."
Escondido could demand the anchor tenants agree to pay higher rents than the so-called "sweetheart" deals they received in 1983 to entice them into a new mall with no track record.


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The Casual Vacancy, the author’s first full-length book in five years, is expected to fly off the shelves following her record-breaking Harry Potter series.
Rhiane Jones was the first to get her hands on the eagerly-anticipated novel at Foyles book shop in Charing Cross Road, central London.
The 29-year-old, from Wood Green, north London, said: “Harry Potter was a large part of the experience of growing up so I was quite curious about what she’d produce.
“I think her fan base will be curious about a novel that is targeted at them now they’ve grown up. And people who’ve bought into the hype around the book and just want a good story will be interested.
“She may not be the most stylish user of language, but she’s an amazing storyteller. It will be a good read.”
Publishers have gone to extreme lengths to keep details of the novel under wraps before its release.
It has been described as a “blackly comic” tale about an idyllic town ripped apart by an election. The story is set in Pagford, a dreamy spot with a cobbled market square and ancient abbey, which becomes a town at war with itself.
Published simultaneously in e-book and audio formats, it begins with the unexpected death of Barry Fairweather, whose demise in his early 40s leaves a space on the parish council.
Booksellers took delivery of the novel yesterday and boxes were unsealed just minutes before shops opened at 8am.
Emma Watson, who played Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter films, said she hopes readers will be open-minded about Rowling’s change of direction.
“There’s no way that it isn’t nerve-wracking when you have so much attention on what you do and your choices and everything, but she’s so wonderful and so clever and there’s no way it’s not going to be brilliant. I just hope that people are open-minded enough to be supportive,” she said.
Edinburgh-based Rowling, 47, has amassed a fortune estimated to be around £620 million from her seven Harry Potter books and all the spin-off rights. She said she left “the door ajar” for a return to the world of Harry Potter, but there would be no more books about the young wizard.
“There’s only one reason to write now: for me,” she said. It was “murder” saying goodbye to her most famous character, she added.


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Xiaomi Company today unveiled the smartphone CC9 Pro, which at least formally is not a flagship, but desperately did well in the test camera DxOMark, barely shifting from the top step of the podium as the undisputed leader of the Huawei Mate 30 Pro. And this is more than double the difference in price of these models!
At the event, the journalists managed to talk with the President of Xiaomi Lin Bin (Lin Bin) — he had not appeared in public. Of course, we are talking about the outstanding camera CC9 Pro and future developments of the company.
told Lin Bin, Xiaomi was going to target first place in the DxOMark rating. Active work in this direction began in 2016, when the company has a development center and division for research of the cameras. In 2018 subdivision development has started to become independent, it began to develop SOFTWARE to develop algorithms, etc. currently, the Department developing cameras includes 9 (!) research centers around the world.
Lin Bin said that when he managed the development of smartphones in 2017, all his energies were directed to work in R & d, and half of the money then spent it on camera. "Harder to make a camera than a smartphone" — said a top Manager.
But the past and present is SS9 Pro. According to the President of Xiaomi, the smartphone has not revealed himself fully in the test DxOMark. "Give us two or three weeks, and the result will be higher," he said. It turns out the company is already working on an update that will improve the camera and will take CC9 Pro in the rankings.
said a top Manager and a couple of words about future developments. He said that in the next year Xiaomi will introduce a few "secret projects", which will be no less speculative than the screen Mix or Alpha camera CC9 Pro.
Digress from Xiaomi: Huawei 5G Nova 6 has a surprising design 05.11.2019 at 11:12
Xiaomi spoke about three new features in MIUI 11 05.11.2019 at 10:54
The "budget" Samsung Galaxy S10 Lite can be even better than the flagship 05.11.2019 at 10:10
OnePlus is preparing a killer Xiaomi Mi Band 05.11.2019 at 09:54
MIUI For Watch — an open operating system for smart watches 30.10.2019 at 06:39
Samsung is ahead of Google... and calendar 30.10.2019 at 06:28


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There were some top AI-powered products at CES 2023.
Every year, tech has always brought vibes and scintillating spirits to Las Vegas through the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) the biggest tech event in the world.
From the Flying Car by Aska to the Flying Electric Boat (Tesla of the Sea) and the Samsung Premiere, CES 2023 witnessed top AI products presented by top tech developers and investors. Think of an AI-powered oven, AI-powered TVs, and lots more.
In this post, I’ll be sharing with you a roundup of the top AI-powered products we saw at CES 2023.
top AI-powered products we saw at CES 2023
Even after launching Samsung Premiere at CES 2023, Samsung still stunned everyone when it launched an AI-powered oven and fridge at CES 2023 in its Bespoke Home smart appliances lineup.
One beautiful thing about this AI-powered Oven by Samsung is that it can recommend what to cook for you. If you’re undecided on what to prepare for dinner, then, all you need to do is to ask this amazing AI-powered Oven.
It also has some internal cameras and sensors that can help you find over 80 dishes and ingredients that can make your cooking easier.
Here’s another top AI-powered product launched at CES 2023 by Samsung. The AI-powered TV called Neo QLEDs has features of Auto HDR Remastering technology that deploys AI deep learning technology.
Speaking on the Neo QLEDs, Samsung, said that: “Neo QLEDs uses AI deep learning technology to analyze and apply real-time high dynamic range (HDR) effects on standard dynamic range content on a scene-by-scene basis.”
Neo QLEDs provides great users experience through its machine learning technology that gives comparison and analysis to contents that are non-HRD by bringing them together with HDR materials.
Another company that stole the show at CES 2023 is Govee.
Govee added another blessing to the gaming world with the launch of the AI Gaming Sync Box Kit. Aided by AI, the set-top box through HDMI and WiFi gives you an analysis of unnumbered video game footage and also synchronizes the flashy lights.
Govee has designed the lighting to respond quickly with almost no slowdowns while the display of similar in-game lighting effects.
For those who are battling with fatigue, Citizen has got them covered with its 2023 CZ Smartwatch that helps in fighting fatigue.
One of the beautiful things this watch does is that it checks the users’ “chronotype” by retrieving their sleeping data while they sleep and thereafter give health recommendations on how to battle fatigue effectively.
CZ Smartwatch gives you an alert score of your level of tiredness via NASA’s Psychomotor Vigilance Test.
Are you a lover of birds? Then Devin Coldewey’s Bird Buddy launched at CES 2023 is just what you need to see.
The smart bird feeder which is powered by AI takes clear and beautiful photos of bird visitors and shows them on mobile devices via its companion app.
The bird-friendly feeder has an inbuilt high camera resolution that can take photos within the speed of light up to 60 mph.
Not only that, the next generation of Smart Hummingbird Feeder has the ability to identify close to 1,000 different species of birds and can also map out the directions of any birds before it can proceed to take shots of them.
CES is a trade show which is hosted by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) annually and this year’s edition of the biggest tech event in the world was nothing short of excellence after not being hosted since 2020.


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- READ MORE: ‘Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla’ review: a bold and bloody departure for the seminal stealth series
Announced yesterday (June 14) during the Assassin’s Creed Celebration Livestream, Ubisoft confirmed a new update would be coming to Valhalla later this year in the form of The Forgotten Saga, a roguelike-inspired game mode.
This new mode sees Eivor battling against waves of enemies in Niflheim, with persistence apparently the key to obtaining a variety of unlockable content. After all, the tag line is “Fight. Fail. Learn.”
There’s no release date for “their most ambitious game mode” yet but you can see a trailer for The Forgotten Saga below:
The roadmap for Valhalla also revealed that a second set of Mastery Challenges, new weapons, and new Tombs Of The Fallen are all coming to the game in the near future. After that, there will be another free chapter which will tell “the last episode of the story of Eivor”.
Ubisoft has also confirmed it will “unveil the future of Assassin’s Creed during a very special event,” in September.
Not much is known about exactly what the future will involve but last year, Ubisoft confirmed Assassin’s Creed Infinity was in development. Infinity will be a live-service version of the series, but hasn’t been given a release window as of yet and will apparently follow another Assassin’s Creed title.
Ubisoft is also reportedly planning a small-scale spinoff of a Valhalla expansion, turning it into a standalone game according to a Bloomberg report. It will be smaller than the usual Assassin’s Creed games, with more of a focus on stealth. This falls in line with what the studio did with the Far Cry series, which has had smaller, standalone games running in line with the main series since Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon.
The post ‘Assassin’s Creed Valhalla’ confirms 2022 roadmap and “ambitious” new game mode appeared first on NME.


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CAVIRTEX, Canada’s first and largest full-service Bitcoin exchange, has launched the #lovebitcoin social media contest, offering contestants a chance to win a Bitcoin digital currency prize.
The contest runs online until Thursday, August 14, 2014 and will reward the top five ranking entries with a percentage of the Bitcoin prize pool, which continues to rise in value.
It comes at a good time too, as different articles in the media reveal governing bodies making heavy-handed conclusions on the cryptocurrency, while other pieces try to explain its modern value in the midst of misunderstandings.
The #lovebitcoin contest encourages Bitcoin users and enthusiasts to upload a video on Instagram or YouTube and creatively express why they love Bitcoin. CAVIRTEX Organizers said the goal of the contest is to engage and reward Bitcoin’s passionate and diverse community while educating the world about one of the “most impressive innovations of our time.”
The Bitcoin prize pool is a public address that is open for sponsorship and continues to increase in value. The prize pool is currently over 5 BTC, which is worth nearly $3,200 Canadian dollars.
The #lovebitcoin contest winners will be rewarded as follows:
– Ultimate Grand Supreme Bitcoin Lover – 50%
– Grand Supreme Bitcoin Lover – 25%
– Supreme Bitcoin Lover – 10%
– Super Bitcoin Lover – 5% (2 available)
– 5% of the Prize Pool will be going to a Bitcoin Charity
Also up for grabs is two Limited Edition Trezor Wallets that are currently unavailable on the market, thanks to Trezor, the Bitcoin Hardware Wallet.
All you have to do is upload a video to YouTube or Instagram and explain why you love Bitcoin, along with the #lovebitcoin hashtag.
Meanwhile for the Trezor Bitcoin wallet prize, potential winners need to upload their video and tweet the link with the #lovebitcoin hashtag and mention @BitcoinTrezor. The tweet with the most retweets will be rewarded


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May 16th – VOOPOO, a world-famous e-cigarette brand, issued a new product, which is another new product in the high-end series of Argus after Argus GT II. Different from Argus GT II, the new product released this time is a pod with exquisite and compact appearance.
Essential for Business Elites
Following the classic metal leather combined process of ARGUS, the ARGUS POD perfectly integrates industrial strength and the comfortable grip. It is light and portable, anti-falling and durable, it meets the suction needs of different scenes of daily office, home, in car and outdoor leisure.
The upgraded hidden magnetic cartridge can easily meet the user’s needs of oil filling and bomb replacement while looking beautiful. At the same time, the right magnetic suction strength ensures that the cartridge will not fall easily.
In addition, to solve the common oil leakage problem, ARGUS POD is equipped with multiple air-tight silicone sealing layers and four-hole structure to firmly lock condensate and insufficient atomized e-liquid to easily achieve efficient leak proof. And there is no need to worry about oil leakage and take it with you.
The Argus pod is not only the best partner in daily life, but also the embodiment of unique taste. It is a necessary high texture portable pod for business elites.
Pleasant MTL Experience
As one of VOOPOO’s high-end products, ARGUS POD team has made great efforts in taste.
The ergonomically designed suction nozzle is strategically customized to perfectly fit the lip line and achieve a comfortable taste; Using VOOPOO’s original ITO professional taste atomization technology, equipped with four inlet ports at the bottom determined by thousands of tests, make every effort to ensure its fine atomization effect and extremely smooth taste.
Equipped with newly upgraded high-end chip GENE AI 1.2, ARGUS POD efficiently realizes the automatic matching of power according to different organizations of cartridge, so that users can easily experience different suction effects; There is also step-less air regulation, which can adjust the suction taste at will.
A NEW law in a US city has made vaping in vape stores illegal.
The ban introduced earlier this week in Milwaukee has seen some store owners worried trade will now be affected, as customers are no longer able to try before they buy.
City chiefs extended the same rules for smoking cigarettes to vaping on Tuesday (July 10th), meaning it is now forbidden in restaurants, bars, shops and businesses.
Any violators will face fines starting at $100.
Worried they could see a drop in business, vape shop owners are now asking Milwaukee’s common council for special in-store vaping permits so customers can continue to try out flavors, e-cigarettes and devices before buying.
Wisco Vapes manager Jody Courchaine, who believes the new law will hurt local businesses, said: “Nobody wants to come in here and take a wild guess at a flavor.”
Matthew Murphy, owner of Lakeview Vapor echoed his concerns, adding: “There should be some sort of permitting that we should be able to apply for. If you can have a cigar bar or a hookah bar we should be allowed to vape in our vape stores.”
Vaper Todd Hagenkord admitted the new rule could have an affect on how he buys vape juice in the city’s stores.
He explained: “It’s nice that you can taste it because you drop X amount of dollars on a bottle of juice and you go home to taste it and once you crack that seal and it tastes terrible — guess what you’re out of money.”
Alderman Michael Murphy, who proposed the change, said: “I think it will improve the overall health in the community”, explaining it was unfair for non-smokers and vapers to breathe in second-hand smoke.
Australia’s new regulations are causing wide-spread confusion across the petrol and convenience (P&C) channel.
As of October 1st, vapers in Australia are only able to purchase vaping products from pharmacies via prescription. While retailers in neighbouring New Zealand and most other countries are able to responsibly sell nicotine products over the counter, anyone caught violating Australia’s harsh regulations will face steep fines, and in some cases even imprisonment.
The National Drug Strategy Household Survey has recently reported that while over 2.5 million Australians still smoke, the number of vapers was 240,000 in 2016 and 520,000 in 2019. If the number of Australians vaping has been increasing at this rate, as many as 600,000 may be vaping now.
The AACS is pointing out that these new regulations are causing wide-spread confusion across the petrol and convenience (P&C) channel. “Retailers are expecting to see some confused customers in the coming weeks and months. We have been left in the dark on how this impacts convenience stores around the country. We are still unaware of what we can communicate to consumers on the new regulations and whether that violates the tobacco act in some states. We need information to share with our members urgently.”
The AACS is against the sales of vapes in pharmacies
The Pharmacy Guild of Australia has previously been on the record as stating that it is against selling the vaping products, “The Guild is opposed to having these products in any schedule that would allow for sale in a pharmacy. The Guild does not support the sale of personal vaporizers in pharmacies, regardless of whether or not they contain nicotine”.
While the AACS’ believes that nicotine products should still be available at existing licensed tobacco retailers. “We stand ready as responsible tobacco retailers who are trusted by our consumers to give smokers seeking a less harmful alternative and supply that to them. What the Federal Government is doing is locking smokers out of a far less harmful product, denying Australians who smoke the opportunity to reduce cigarette consumption or quit smoking altogether.”
Anti-vaping spammers posted more than a quarter of a million comments on the FDA’s public flavor ban consultation in one weekend last month.
It is reported that the online public forum was flooded with 255,000 fake comments in a single weekend, with almost every spam comment asking the FDA to ban e-liquid flavors.
FDA sources described these fraudulent comments as “extraordinary” and “unprecedented”, according to Regulator Watch.
Internet bots entered the quarter million comments between June 8 and June 11, before the FDA finally located the source of the comments and blocked four IP addresses used by the spammers.
Most of the comments were posted without a first or last name and used similar anti-vaping comments including ‘I am a concerned citizen who thinks tobacco flavored products should be banned’ and ‘Please ban JUUL flavored tobacco products.’
The suspicious comments used the same words and phrases over and over again, indicating that they were false.
It is unclear who is behind the spam submissions, but Regulator Watch suggests that the spam could slow down or even derail the FDA’s consultation.
Each comment must be read and approved by FDA staff. There are currently more than 500,000 submissions waiting to be reviewed.
Regulator Watch also suggested that the spam comments had a slow-down effect on FDA servers, making it harder for genuine posters to comment before and after the attack.
The FDA is reportedly investigating the fraudulent submissions, but has not reached a decision on whether they will be included in the final write-up.
The deadline for making public comments is July 19. Vapers can make sure their voices are heard by submitting an online comment via regulations.gov.
The War on Vape Juice Flavors
The FDA launched a public consultation on its proposed regulation of flavors in tobacco products in March.
The proposed rule change, which would include flavored vape juice as well as flavored cigarettes and cigarillos, could result in a nationwide flavor ban.
Launching the consultation, FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said: “We must also consider how best to address flavors in non-combustible products like e-cigarettes – given both their clear appeal to youth but also the potential role certain flavors may play in helping some adult smokers transition to potentially less harmful tobacco products.”
Other city-wide and state-wide bans are already coming into force.
With a court-ordered report due next Monday on its progress reviewing marketing applications for the most popular vape products, the FDA has authorized yet more products that few people use.
The agency issued Marketing Granted Orders to Reynolds American (RAI) for its Vuse Vibe and Ciro e-cigarettes, along with tobacco-flavored refills. Vuse is the brand name used by RAI—formerly known as RJ Reynolds (and now a subsidiary of British American Tobacco)—for all of its vapor products.
The Vuse Vibe is an eGo-style vape pen that uses two-milliliter capacity, non-refillable tanks. Vibe refills are available only in 3.0 percent (30 mg/mL) nicotine strength. The Vuse Ciro is a cigalike style vape that uses small 0.9 mL tank-style refill cartridges (rather than the typical cartomizers) in 1.5 percent (15 mg/mL) nicotine strength. Both products use nicotine salt-based e-liquid.
Menthol-flavored Vice and Ciro refills remain under review, while the FDA wrestles with how to handle menthol vapes in light of its plan to ban menthol cigarettes. The agency issued Marketing Denial Orders (MDOs) for other Vuse flavors, as it has for previously authorized vape products. The FDA hasn’t authorized any products in flavors other than tobacco. Last August, the agency announced a new standard for flavored products—nearly a year after the deadline for submitting PMTAs.
The FDA has still not acted on Premarket Tobacco Applications (PMTAs) submitted by RAI for the Vuse Alto, a pod-based device nearly as popular as Juul Labs’ JUUL. Combined, the Alto and JUUL currently make up about 70 percent of the convenience store/gas station segment of the vape product market.
American Vapor Manufacturers Association (AVM) President Amanda Wheeler said in a statement that “small and mid-sized businesses are being willfully strangled out of the market by FDA’s neo-prohibition policy.”
Over one-third of smokers who try to quit using cigarettes opt for e-cigarettes, highlighted Siobhain Brophy from the Tobacco & Alcohol Control Unit. The new Public Health (Tobacco and Nicotine Inhaling Products) Bill, would ban the sales of tobacco products from temporary premises, at events or locations intended for children and also forbid the sales of tobacco or nicotine inhaling products by people under 18.
Moreover, retail outlets selling vapes and tobacco products, will be required to register annually, whereas presently they are only required to register once, making it harder to track of licenses.
Claire Gordan, from the Tobacco & Alcohol Control Unit, presented data showing one out of three young people develop a smoking habit after only three or four cigarettes, adding that figures also showed 5% of school-aged children are current smokers.
Increase in cigarette prices
In 2021, an increase in cigarette prices equating to an extra 50c per packet was announced as part of the country’s budget for 2022. The Journal highlighted that this is the sixth year in a row that the duty on a packet of 20 cigarettes has increased by that amount, and this latest increase will equate to a pack now costing a staggering €15.
Ireland’s Minister for Finance, Paschal Donohoe said that this price increase aims to discourage smoking and therefore support local public health policy goals. However, the Irish Heart Foundation had argued that the increase falls short of tackling tobacco use among young adults. The group had previously suggested a price increase of up to €20 by 2025, while with regards to vaping products they suggested an excise tax of 6c on e-liquids.
Michael Landl is the author and he did a brief experiment. Michael is the director of the WVA and a passionate vape advocate.
He set a Google alert to let him know when articles about vaping appeared during the week 23/4/22 to 1/5/22.
He then rated them as being Negative, Positive or Neutral towards vaping. Note these articles are from around the world.
It is pretty shocking to see that 40% of the articles were Negative and only 29% Neutral and 29% positive.
41 articles were found and used in this experiment and you can see a pie chart of the findings above.
There were 4 articles from the UK and 3 of those were Positive and one Neutral.
I am hoping to try to monitor UK media stories regarding vaping and will be back with the results at some point in the future!
Vaping Supplier Tour – Bring UK & China Closer
The UKVIA (UK Vaping Industry Association) along with the ECCC (E-cigarette Professional Committee of China Electronics Chamber of Commerce) and 2FIRSTS (media and consulting partner to ECCC) have created an event to bring together Chinese suppliers and UK brands and distributors.
UKVIA is working with the ECCC, to bring the two countries closer together with a supplier showcase to increase manufacturer transparency and communication between distributors and suppliers
The event aims to try and bridge the gaps between the Chinese vaping industry and suppliers / brands in the UK.
The UK has always been a huge contributor to the Chinese vaping industry but due to the Covid epidemic obstacles were created which made this process more difficult.
A total of 50 participants will take part and there will be presentations, chat room question and answer (Q&A) sessions and also live streamed Q&A.
World Vape Day!
The WVA (World Vapers Alliance) are holding a global “World Vape Day” on May 30th 2022.
The date has been chosen as it is the day before the WHO (World Health Organisation) “World No Tobacco Day” to showcase vaping.
There will be a program of live streams on Facebook and YouTube or you can view them on the WVA website – World Vape Day.
Here is the schedule – note the times are in CET (Central European Time) which is 1 hour ahead of British Summer Time. If you visit the website you can click on the program to view it during or after it has been broadcast.
As you can see Michael Landl (Director of WVA) and Dr Colin Mendelsohn (MB BS Hons) are two of the speakers.
Wipe Out Smoking With Vaping!
A lovely article in the Express Online newspaper by Jonathan Walker discusses how Vaping could be the answer to making England “Smoke Free” by 2030.
A review by the Department of Health is expected to recommend smokers switch to vaping and promote how vaping is less harmful than smoking.
Javed Khan is leading the “Levelling up” Tobacco control review.
“In my review I have considered a range of critical interventions that will make the most difference. For example, I’ve looked at the promotion of vaping as a less harmful alternative; a greater role for the NHS in ending smoking and the need to tackle illicit tobacco sales”
So everything crossed – it does appear the government is taking vaping seriously as a way to meet the Smoke Free 2030 goal!
On the Government website it says the review will report back in April 2022 – so perhaps this is what this Tweet means?
Javed said when the review was launched:
“I am very pleased to be leading this review into such an important area of public health. My independent findings will help highlight key interventions which can help the government achieve its ambitions to be smoke-free by 2030 and tackle health disparities”
This is to try and reduce inequalities in health care and target those who might need help the most. The rate of smoking prevalence of those in Local Authority or Housing Association homes were a lot higher.
The smoking rates in this type of housing are declining slower than in other sectors of the population so the possibility of support being offered by the housing providers could make a huge difference.
This is quite an in depth document but does cite one case study of the “Swap to Stop” scheme in Salford where the local housing associations and Salford City council joined forces.
In the Swap to stop scheme participants were provided with a free e-cigarette kit plus a standard stop smoking program.
The scheme was highly successful with over 1,022 people taking part and 614 returned for the follow up visit 4 weeks after starting. 62% of these were still off the cigarettes (37% of the original total).
Also this offer encouraged 4 times more people to take part!
Sadly due to the lack of funding this service was not continued – but it does show how such schemes could help those who need this assistance.
And it also promoted the fact that vaping does help smokers quit! Win Win I say!
Clicking the link to the THR website they refer to an article in the Sunday Times. Sadly when I click on this link it requires a subscription.
The THR website says this:
“He will announce plans to address the root causes when he unveils his health disparities white paper this spring. It is understood this will include a “vaping revolution” that will allow GPs to prescribe e-cigarettes on the NHS.”
This also ties in with a campaign from Cancer Research UK for a 10 year cancer plan to help tackle cancer. The campaign believes we should be able to diagnose it earlier, improve research and prevent inequalities in treatment around the UK.
PMI Grabs Snus
An article on the Reuters website is discussing the news that PMI (Philip Morris International – Big tobacco who make Marlboro and many others) is in talks to buy a small company.
The company in question is Swedish Match who make Snus, Chewing Tobacco, Zyn, Cigars, Swan Matches and Cricket Lighters.
Zyn tobacco pouches are available in supermarkets and many independent stores in the UK.
The company Bronte Capital which own 15.1 million shares in Swedish Match think that the PMI offer is way too low and undervalue the company.
World’s Biggest Vape Graffiti
Voopoo have been busy – they have apparently released a song using their slogan “Spark your life” and now have commissioned a huge vape mural by well-known London based graffiti artist Woskerski.
Apparently the packaging, plastic shell, circuit board, mouthpiece and battery are all recyclable.
Eric Ding the founder and president of the ald group says…
“The innovative factor is that our extensive research showed that in the e-cigarette sector there was currently no ready-made solution for the application of biodegradable materials.”
“During development, we screened dozens of materials, repeatedly verified product performance and, finally, determined the seven best mixes of materials. Our processes included the verification of material strength, chemical resistance, extractability and degradability.”
Scottish Government – Killjoys!
An article in the Scottish Daily Express remarks on how the strict proposals to ban all vape advertising could have a detrimental effect on reducing the number of smokers.
It would basically make vaping invisible unless you purposely walked into a vape shop or had information from friends or online.
The Scottish government are proposing a ban on in store promotions, billboards, hoarding ads and any sponsorship.
Mark Oates the vape advocate and director of We Vape said this is really a bad idea…
“If Nicola Sturgeon has her way, Scotland will have the strictest laws on vaping in Europe and its chances of hitting the country’s smoke free target of 2034 will be doomed.”
“A planned ban on advertising e-cigarettes serves only to limit information to the public that could stop them dying from a preventable disease.”
“We know there is a mass of misinformation out there, perpetuated by critics who choose to ignore science and every report that states vaping is a fantastic harm reduction tool.”
“Banning in-store promotions and other advertising mechanisms would also reduce access to vaping products, which are a growing category for retailers and are widely considered to be an important smoking cessation tool.”
Also the Scottish Grocers Foundation (SGF) spoke up against the bans and called them “unjustified” and that they risked hampering efforts to encourage people to stop smoking.
This was published in the AHA (American Heart Association) Journal, but the way the results were interpreted were questionable.
They focused on the fact that dual use (smoking and vaping) would increase CVD (Cardiovascular disease) risks over a 6 period.
However the results were actually very favourable to vaping – which seems to be hidden.
This is what was concluded about vaping…
“After adjusting for covariates participants exclusively using e-cigarettes had risk of developing any CVD condition that did not differ from non users and higher, albeit non significant, risk of the MI, HF, or stroke outcome … Compared with smoking, e-cigarette use was associated with 30% to 40% lower CVD risk, although this association was only significant for the any CVD outcome.”
Basically Vapers had no extra risk of CVD developments compared to non-smokers. There was a non-significant risk of MI (Myocardial Infarction), HF (Heart Failure) and Stroke risk being slightly higher. But otherwise vaping compared with smoking had 30-40% lower risk for CVD.
The paper continues…
“We did not find a significant difference in the cardiovascular risk of exclusive e-cigarette use compared with non-use of cigarettes and e-cigarettes, although analyses were limited by a small number of CVD events in e-cigarette users.”
Again backing up the fact that their findings in vapers matched those of non-smokers/vapers. That is if you can get through the total word salad they are spewing out.
Convenient that they hid the Pro-Vaping data isn’t it – the AHA is always campaigning against vaping – ooops!
Cigarettes & Asthma
This article is quite interesting for me – as I was diagnosed with Asthma and told to stop smoking many years ago. Then the quest of Patches, Lozenges, Inhalators and the Champix / Zyban medications kicked off. None of them worked.
I finally totally quit smoking in June 2019 by Vaping. Having been a dual user (smoking and vaping) for many years, the introduction of Nic Salts was the innovation that worked for me.
I have regular Asthma checks at my local surgery and my peak flow readings were gradually improving since stopping smoking. They are not far off what a non-smoker my age would expect to see now. So vaping does work – whenever I have an Asthma check they are always very pleased to see the difference it has made.
Anyway enough of my life story – a paper on the Science Direct website discusses Cigarettes and Asthma and I quote…
“A tailored approach to the smoking cessation of the smokers with asthma has been described previously. While the preferred goal is abstinence, this is not always achievable and substitution of conventional cigarettes with alternatives that do not require combustion to deliver nicotine such as E-cigarettes may be an alternative for those smokers with asthma who do not wish to stop smoking.”
The rest of the paper is like a biology lesson so I had to skim through a lot of it, but at least it is recognises that vaping is much more preferable to smoking for people with Asthma.
I know personally the difference it has made to my lungs and will always be grateful I found vaping!
Wow that was a massive news dump – hope you enjoyed reading – sorry it was a bit late I have quite distressing real life stuff to deal with at the moment.
The American Cancer Society (ACS) has admitted the American public has been misinformed about the dangers of vaping – and is now going to promote it as an alternative to smoking.
The leading health organization has set out in a public statement that it is tobacco, not nicotine, which contains the cancer-causing chemicals and carcinogens and states there’s an “urgent need” for consumer education about the risks posed by different tobacco products
While the ACS had already confirmed vaping was a safer alternative to smoking cigarettes in a report earlier this year, its tougher stance on eradicating the current smoking epidemic through actively promoting e-cigarettes and other cessation tools, is being seen as a positive step by vaping advocacy groups and public health experts.
It said in the statement: “Although many Electronic Nicotine Device Systems [such as e-cigarettes] deliver nicotine, flavor additives, and other chemicals, they do not burn tobacco, a process that yields an estimated 7000 chemicals, including at least 70 carcinogens. Thus, public misunderstanding underscores the urgent need for consumer education about the absolute and relative risks posed by different tobacco products and to reinvigorate smokers’ understanding of the importance of quitting combustible tobacco.”
Shining a spotlight on the swathe of misinformation being fed to the public by action groups and amongst smokers themselves, it explained: “Many consumers are misinformed about the harms of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS). Many adults believe, erroneously, that ENDS are as harmful as combustible tobacco products, and the level of public understanding has deteriorated over time.
“In 2012, only 11.5% of respondents to a national survey held this view. By 2015, 35.7% of respondents mistakenly believed that the harm associated with electronic cigarettes was ‘about the same’ as that of smoking conventional cigarettes. At the same time, the Monitoring the Future study reports that, as of 2017, ‘e-cigarettes have one of the lowest levels of perceived risk for regular use of all drugs, including alcohol among adolescents.’
“Whereas complete information on all the potential risks and benefits of ENDS is not yet available, there is sufficient to allow ACS to act now with a clear focus on the primary goal of ending deadly combustible tobacco use, which is responsible for approximately a one-half million deaths per year and 30% of all cancer deaths in the United States.”
Talking about how it hopes to help eradicate tobacco smoking, one of its key strategies, amongst others, is to educate consumers on alternatives and communicate that “although the long-term effects of ENDS are not known, current-generation ENDS are markedly less harmful than combustible tobacco products”.
Earlier this year a study by pharmaceutical development company Pinney Associates indicated that while most adults are aware that nicotine is the addictive factor in cigarettes, most also wrongly assume that it causes cancer.
Additionally, the compiled data of 1,736 adults pointed out that smokers tend to be more misinformed than non-smokers, with 52.5 per cent of smokers vs 14.6 per cent of non-smokers, linked nicotine to cancer.
SMOKERS believe more advertising showing the public health and cost benefits of vaping compared to cigarettes is key in helping them quit, new research reveals.
Both smokers and industry experts now want to see a change in advertising rules on TV, radio and print media so information on e-cigarettes can reach those who would benefit most from making the switch.
The study published this week by Consumer Intelligence on behalf of the UK Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA) reveals that:
• 68% felt that changing current advertising restrictions imposed by the Advertising Standards Agency to allow public health messages to be promoted by the vaping industry would help more smokers make the switch.
• nearly 2 in every 3 smokers (63%) interviewed felt that information from their GP, pharmacist or a healthcare professional would influence their decision to make the change.
• 61% said that visible information in a healthcare environment would be beneficial.
• nearly half (48%) called for more educational advertising by public health organisations or the government in the media.
• some two thirds (61%) agreed that Public Health England’s recent recommendation for hospitals to allow vaping on their premises and to sell e-cigarettes and e-liquids on site would convince more of them to take up vaping.
John Dunne, a director at UKVIA said of the findings: “This highlights the critical role that accurate advertising has to play in realizing the public health prize that vaping represents. This isn’t coming from the industry but from smokers who could be convinced to break their habits.
“More education all round is needed to get smokers to make the switch and to realise the full public health potential of vaping.
“There needs to be a strong and cohesive message from government, public health and the vaping industry to make switching from smoking to vaping an obvious choice.”
The research, which surveyed more than 1,000 smokers, also revealed that the vaping industry, despite its fast rate of growth, was in danger of not fulfilling its full potential.
It showed that many still consider vaping to be as harmful or more so than conventional cigarettes. A significant number also wrongly believe vaping to be more expensive than smoking and are confused by the array of vaping devices on the market.
• Some 40% of smokers interviewed still didn’t think or don’t know that conventional cigarettes are more harmful than e-cigarettes, despite Public Health England (PHE) recently reinforcing its stance that vaping is likely to be at least 95% less harmful than smoking. This notably correlates with PHE’s recent finding that 40% of the UK’s 7m smokers still haven’t even tried vaping.
• Nearly half of those surveyed still did not think or did not know that smoking was more expensive than vaping. A calculation by Cancer Research UK last year showed that a smoker could be looking at a £840 saving per annum on average through a full switch to vaping.
The survey also revealed 24% of smokers are confused by the number of products on the market with one in five believing it was inconvenient to buy equipment.
The Consumer Intelligence study also looked at smokers’ experiences of and attitudes to using e-cigarettes to identify what was most likely to help them make the switch to vaping. It revealed:
• Odour of conventional cigarettes (62% of respondents), vaping being cheaper (60%) and favourable insurance premiums for vapers (50%) were viewed by smokers as being key influences in making the switch from smoking to vaping;
• 46% of smokers said media coverage of vaping hasn’t encouraged them to consider a switch to vaping, this is likely due to the significant number of conflicting or confusing stories;
• Over 55s are the least likely group to have tried vaping and are proving to be the hardest group to reach with vaping communications, with 73% claiming not to have seen any form of information from the media and health bodies. Given this age group’s proportionate consumption of TV, radio and print media, advertising restrictions on vaping will only exacerbate the lack of awareness.
Dunne added: “The research reveals that there is an appetite for better information, including clear benefits in terms of assured health implications and the cost savings that can be made by consumers.
“Current advertising restrictions inevitably make it very difficult to reach smokers on the potential health benefits.
“This is particularly concerning when considering smokers over 55, who are most likely to suffer the ill effects of smoking. We currently have few ways to let them know that a switch to vaping could dramatically improve their health.”
Innokin Technology has announced the launch of a new arrival to their industry-leading lineup of vaporizers. Introducing Lota: Innokin’s all-new sub-brand pushing the boundaries of performance, reliability, and innovation within the entry-level vaping sector.
Innokin’s Lota is set to shake up the vaping space by combining Innokin’s decade plus of industry-leading innovation expertise with Aquios Labs: a new technology firm that enables water-based e-liquid.
The partnership offers Lota an innovative new technology and approach to closed vaping systems. Aquios Labs’ first generation of water-based vape juice, AQ30, supports 30% water content. Water-based vaping delivers smoother vapour and faster satisfaction compared to traditional vaping systems, which also reduces the dehydrating qualities of vapour. In addition, water-based vapes operate at a lower temperature compared to their traditional counterparts, which allows for greatly increased chemical stability during the vaping process.
Water-based technology and e-liquids result in a vaping experience that no other device can replicate, with no leakage, enhanced flavour clarity and faster nicotine satisfaction. These strengths paired with Innokin’s manufacturing experience catapult Lota into the spotlight of the disposable vape sector.
Lota will initially launch with a portfolio of three water-based devices, each with their own position for specific global markets and consumer needs: the Lota Enviro, F600, and Prefilled Pod Kit.
The Lota Enviro is a disposable device with a clear mission to reduce the carbon footprint of typical disposable vapes. Enviro achieves this with a unique paper shell design using recyclable materials and user-recyclable components. After the Enviro has been fully depleted, the device can be disassembled by the end user, and every component aside from the e-liquid reservoir can be fully recycled. The Enviro launches with 10 flavours and provides a 600-puff lifespan with 2ml e-liquid capacity for TPD markets.
The Lota F600 is Lota’s flagship disposable vaporizer, targeted for TPD markets. Offering stylish, comfortable soft-touch surfaces and lightweight simplicity, it represents the ideal entry to vaping for transitioning smokers. The F600 features a 600-puff lifespan and delivers constant 3.6V output, which means consistent performance from the first puff to the last.
Rounding off Lota’s launch is the Lota Prefilled Pod. The Lota Prefilled Pod Kit integrates revolutionary Aquios water-based vaping technology into a closed pod system with a rechargeable battery. Each 2ml pod is designed to last for 600 puffs and the battery provides constant 3.6V output for a consistent vaping experience throughout each charge cycle.
Commenting on the launch, Innokin Technology Co-Founder George Xia said: “Innokin has always believed in embracing new technology. When first introduced to Aquios Labs, our product development team was impressed with the unique advantages of water-based vaping. Through this exciting partnership, Innokin is proud to launch the Lota brand, offering high performance water-based vaping in our continued quest of tobacco harm reduction across the globe.” You can find out more about Lota at innokin.com.
For further information and enquiring about collaborating with Innokin, please contact marketing[at]innokin.com.


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The Union government has recently rolled out ONDC in five cities of India on a pilot basis.
ONDC is a network based on open protocol and will enable local commerce across segments to be discovered and engaged by any network-enabled application. The initiative will allow local merchants to save data of buyers to build credit history and reach out to them with their best offerings. It will also provide the local players a level playing field and enable them to compete with the e-commerce giants of the world, bringing an end to their monopolistic practices.
“We are sure that ONDC will change the whole dynamics of the online retail market in the country, benefitting the local sellers to leverage the advantage of reaching out to endless customers across the digital domain irrespective of any particular application or portal,” said FHRAI.
The apex hoteliers’ body has appealed that the ONDC system may be extended to the travel and hospitality sector in the country and brought into its ambit.
“It is pertinent to mention that the hospitality industry has been facing tough challenges due to the monopolistic conduct and unethical business practices of Online Travel Aggregators (OTA) and Food Service Aggregators (FSAs). The major issues the industry faces from these agencies range from charging high rates of commissions, over commitment to customers, deep discounting, unreasonable additional charges, breach of agreements, default of payments, overbooking and underbooking of the rooms being a few of them,” the letter says.
FHRAI alleges that these online e-commerce players have created a hostile environment for the hospitality industry, while customers also face problems of non-fulfilment of prior commitments coupled with almost zero complaint redressal mechanism.


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A new service called UPC Link is available from the Produce Marketing Association to help produce companies transition toward unique Global Trade Item Numbers encoded in Universal Product Codes.
“PMA has a history of supporting the industry’s entire supply chain with data standards — dating back to the development of the first UPC code,” Ed Treacy, vice president of supply chain efficiencies for Newark, Del.-based PMA, said in a news release. “UPC Link is another example of those efforts, and it comes at a crucial time for our industry as it takes advantage of increased business efficiencies such as improved category management.”
A survey indicates that 80% of top food retailers surveyed will soon begin to require a more specific GTIN with a GS1 assigned company specific code in the near future, according to the release.
Unique Global Trade Item Numbers in the UPC code will enable retailers to differentiate between different product brands in the same category, according to the release.
PMA’s UPC Link offers suppliers a reduction in the number of transactions required to communicate their changes, according to the release. The database will create a single place to upload data and retailers will benefit by have a single source to automatically obtain and update data. The system should allow for improved category management, increased inventory accuracy and enhanced traceability, according to the release.


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LOS ANGELES How do different generations use media? That was the question of a study released last week by Deloitte & Touche's Technology, Media and Telecommunica-
Drawn from a Harrison Group survey of 2,200 consumers 13 to 75 years old, the topline findings of the "State of the Media Democracy" offered hope for traditional media and yielded some fresh insights into new-media trends, according to Ed Moran, director of product innovation in Deloitte's New York office.
For example, consistent across all generational segments—millennials (13-24), Gen Xers (25-41), boomers, (42-60) and matures (61-75)—nearly three-quarters of consumers said they enjoy magazines even though they acknowledge being able to read the same publications online.
Despite their widespread embrace of new media platforms and a "trickle up" effect on older consumers, that tendency was even prevalent (71 percent) among the millennials, Moran said.
Moran said he was also impressed with "the real popularity of user generated content," particularly in terms of its widespread demand. The survey shows that over half (51 percent) of all Internet users consume user generated content across generations.
Even so, what Moran called the "resilience of old media" remains a prominent feature of the landscape. "And one of the main activities online is going to a television Web site," he said. The survey found that 46 percent of consumers do that regularly, including over half (52 percent) of all Gen Xers.
"Television is still a core activity," Moran said. "Even though we see the expected amounts of online, text messaging, cellphone use [and] games—consumers are doing more things, but still watching television. It is always on."
For advertisers, this could be "both troubling and reassuring," he said, predicting that "participatory TV," with some level of interactivity, will become more prevalent, especially as the millennial generation grows up.
Moran said there was also an unexpected result regarding digital video recording devices such as TiVo. "It's the Xers and boomers that rely on DVRs for television use," he said. "But the number-one use for DVR is not commercial skipping."
In fact, the time shifting and the "season ticket" functions (the latter refers to being able to record an entire season of a show) rate highest, he said. The ability to fast-forward through commercials came in third. (The study showed that women like DVRs slightly more than men, and that men are more likely to watch commercials than women.)
--More than a quarter of consumers would pay for online content in exchange for not being exposed to advertising.
--Overall there was more receptivity to print ads than to Internet advertising.
--60 percent of consumers visit 10 or more Web sites a week.
--More than a quarter of leading edge millennials (26 percent) plan to shop online in the coming year.
--Search engines were rivaled by word-of-mouth in driving Internet traffic. Although search was No. 1 at 84 percent, 82 percent of respondents visited a Web site because of a personal recommendation. Ads on television (65 percent), Web site ads (55 percent) and e-mail campaigns (54 percent) followed in influence.