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This article is more than 1 year old
Apple promises iCloud security alerts, better 2FA after, er, NAKED Internet of Thingies flap
Star Hack: The Nude Generation
Apple plans to roll out new iCloud security alerts as well as extending its two-step authentication technology in the wake of this week's privacy flap over nude selfies of Jennifer Lawrence, Kate Upton and other celebs.
Private pictures of disrobed (female) celebrities including Oscar winner Lawrence and swimwear model Upton surfaced on 4Chan and anonymous image board AnonIB over the weekend. It seems that in many cases miscreants siphoned off nude snaps stored on victims' iCloud accounts, among other locations.
Metadata in the pictures suggested that many of the leaked photos were taken with iPhones and Apple's backup feature has therefore been implicated in the leak, which came from a collection of images put together by several people who may have traded them between themselves.
Apple acknowledged that a "targeted attack" on "user names, passwords and security questions" had taken place earlier this week, advising users to "always use a strong password and enable two-step verification" as a defence.
However, as previously reported, turning on Apple's two factor-authentication technology wouldn't have blocked the attack apparently behind this week's celebrity nude selfie leak. Apple's 2FA is necessary (when enabled) to make iTunes purchases or to get support from Apple.
But iCloud backups can be installed on new devices with only an Apple ID and password – two step verification codes are not required, as things stand. Police using ElcomSoft's mobile forensics tools are able recover data from iCloud using only iTunes authentication token obtained from seized devices.
One popular theory is that the celeb iPhone hackers might have illicitly used unlicensed copies of Elcomsoft's Phone Password Breaker tool to rip private data from iCloud accounts based on the email addresses and passwords of targets.
"Signing into iCloud in order to access say, your backed up photos, does not require two-factor authentication," mobile security firm Lookout explains in a blog post. "In this case, enabling two-factor authentication would not have helped anyone involved in this latest leak."
Apple bashing, a favoured sport amongst infosec geeks
Hackers may have obtained celebrity passwords through guessing security questions, phishing or malware-based attacks. Security experts faulted Apple for failing to rate limit password reset guessing attempts, a defence against brute force hacking tactics apparently in play, among other factors. This is a particular problem for celebs because their answers to password reset questions (eg pet's name, where did you graduate) are the stuff of trivia.
Crucially, there's good reason to think security shortcomings so graphically exposed by the celebrity nudie leak have previously been abused before. For example, last year Norway had a iPhone indecent pic theft incident, in which a suspect hacked into the iCloud accounts of teenage girls.
The issue goes beyond just pictures, as serious and as upsetting as that may be to victims. If pictures are exposed, so is contact information, SMS messages and other data backed up to iCloud.
Security watchers have occupied themselves all week pointing out Apple's security shortcomings. Noted security expert Dan Kaminsky even made a guest appearance on the Daily Show, in a segment entitled Star Hack: the Nude Generation. The whole issue has gone mainstream like nothing in information security since the early antics of Anonymous and LulzSec several years ago.
This level of ridicule is serious for Apple, which has ambitions to push into the enterprise. The timing just days before the expected iPhone 6 launch next week (9 September) hardly helps either.
The consumer electronics giant has wheeled out its biggest guns to defend its security record and deny that a lax attitude towards security had allowed miscreants to plaster the darker corners of the web with stolen celebrity nude shots. Apple chief exec Tim Cook told The Wall Street Journal that even though it wasn't to blame, it would take additional steps to keep hackers out of user accounts. This, as it turns out, largely centres around more password change notifications.
To make such leaks less likely, Mr. Cook said Apple will alert users via email and push notifications when someone tries to change an account password, restore iCloud data to a new device, or when a device logs into an account for the first time.
Until now, users got an email when someone tried to change a password or log in for the first time from an unknown Apple device; there were no notifications for restoring iCloud data.
Cook added that Apple will extend its "two-factor authentication" as part of the next version of its iOS mobile-operating system without going into details. Gizmodo, however, reports that 2FA will be extended to cover access to iCloud accounts from a mobile device.
"As part of iOS 8, the next version of its mobile operating system due out later this month, two-factor authentication will also cover access to iCloud accounts from a mobile device," it reports. "Apple said a majority of users don't use two-factor authentication, so it plans to more aggressively encourage people to turn it on in the new version of iOS."
This two-factor authentication, once activated, means that codes could be sent to either a pre-registered email address or back-up mobile phone. Rik Ferguson, security research VP at Trend Micro, told El Reg that the technology also also allows for calls to registered landlines. Access to email addresses used to send the access codes could themselves be protected by third-party two-factor authentication technology unconnected to Apple, he added.
Extending the application of 2FA technology in this way would get around the stumbling blocks of sending codes to the lost or stolen iPhone or iPad device itself – as outlined by ElcomSoft chief exec Vladimir Katalov in our earlier story.
Ferguson explained: "Apple could easily extend 2FA to cover the restoration of iCloud backups by sending the 2nd fator to a registered email address. The process would go something like: Do you want to restore? Yes. Please select the email address to receive your authorisation code select Please enter code. Thanks your restore is in progress.
"As a process, it’s really no different to the current 2FA via SMS, it’s just an alternative channel and one that is ideal if you are restoring in the case of a lost device. It has the additional benefit of course that hopefully your email address is also protected by its own 2FA, so represents a theoretically more secure channel than plain SMS," he added. ®
A good summary of the infosec angle to this week's celebrity picture leaks can be found in a blog post by DNS megaflaw discoverer turned Daily Show guest star Kaminsky here. An analysis on the Hacked Celebrity iCloud Accounts metdata by Jonathan Zdziarski can be found here.
And a good take on the sub-culture that spawned the leak, and the circumstances around it, by Nik Cubrilovic, can be found here.


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Bio-IT World Conference & Expo 2017
Boston, Massachusetts, USA
May 23-25, 2017
Bio-IT World Conference & Expo was once again a great success. The 2016 meeting brought together more than 3,300 attendees from 41 countries to navigate the new era of precision medicine and build collaboration across the industry.
With over 13 tracks, 14 pre-conference workshops, and three industry awards, the 2017 Bio-IT World Conference & Expo promises to be bigger than ever with more expert content, more industry insights, and more opportunities to build relationships that will drive the bio-IT industry forward.

domain: news


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- NATO security certification opens new markets for Australia's Senetas
- Senator wants Whisper to explain how it tracks users, shares their data
- The 'Backoff' malware linked to data breaches is spreading
- Cyberespionage group launches sophisticated phishing attacks against Outlook Web App users
- Disaster as CryptoWall encrypts US firm's entire server installation
symantec - News, Features, and Slideshows
symantec in pictures
Security vendor Symantec has donated $260,000 to not-for-profit charity beyondblue to help the organisation combat cyberbullying amongst Australian children.
A type of distributed denial-of-service attack, DNS amplification, has risen sharply, according to new research from Symantec.
Dropbox's file storage service was used for a tricky phishing attack, although the service was quick to shut down it down, according to Symantec.
A group of security companies say a collaborative effort has helped counter several hacking tools used by a China-based group most known for provoking strong condemnation from Google four years ago.
Symantec’s announcement that it is splitting into two companies – one focused on security and the other on information management – could lead to more innovation and better customer solutions, according to Australian Information Security Association (AISA) spokesperson Lani Refiti.
The new Apple-IBM partnership seems sure to help Apple sell more iPads to businesses, but it may also be setting off alarm bells at mobile device management companies large and small.
In these lean times, backups aren't what they used to be; it's inevitable that IT staffers will be called to help, especially when an important issue is brewing.
Dropping prices, fast processing speeds and more user-friendly designs have given a boost to this highly accurate biometric technology.
Microsoft's board of directors wants to wrap up its search for a new CEO before the end of the year, according to Bloomberg, citing anonymous sources close to the action.
At the entrance to The Vault, the most secure room within the most protected building operated by security services provider, Symantec, an iris recognition system stands guard as the last line of defense.
Whitepapers about symantec
Cyber Attacks are painful and destructive. It’s essential to defend your business with a powerful protection system. In this whitepaper, you’ll learn how to get cyber resilient and safeguard your data: • Find out which questions you should ask to find a security solution that works with your business • Understand why your business is a bigger target than you thought • Learn how to protect your brand and bottom line by quickly detecting and responding to attacks
- 5 great examples of augmented reality in marketing
- Catch of the Day retailer hooks fresh customer insight with NPS
- Tourism Australia's Nick Baker wins AMI Marketer of the Year
- Content marketing can't be measured on the last-click: Outbrain CEO
- Latest crowdsourced guide rates top A/B testing vendors for marketers


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Nearly 20 years after he founded Alibaba, the Amazon of China, Executive Chairman Jack Ma plans to retire to focus on philanthropy, according to a report. He is the first among a generation of Chinese internet entrepreneurs to leave the companies they've founded.
"There are so many things that I want to devote my time to - education, the environment, philanthropy", Ma said, denying that he's thinking of handing over the reins at a time when the business environment has soured.
Huge conglomerates like Alibaba, Tencent, Baidu and JD.com are China's equivalent of western tech giants such as Amazon, Facebook and Google.
Alibaba is active in sectors across the Chinese economy and has transformed many.
Ma started Alibaba in 1999 in his apartment in the Chinese city of Hangzhou and is now among the richest people in the world.
Ma also controls Ant Financial, the online financial platform that runs China's largest mobile payment system and money-market fund.More news: Leaders of Russia, Turkey and Iran meet for high-stakes Syria talks
While Ma's retirement from a formal role is a milestone, analysts and industry professionals say it is unlikely Ma's involvement will change significantly. "This is something I think I can do much better than being CEO of Alibaba".
Ma's announcement was somewhat unorthodox; the Times is blocked in China by Communist Party censors, while there was no official statement from Alibaba.
The company's value has soared in recent years thanks to a growing portfolio that includes cloud computing, films, electronic payments and retail.
According to Alibaba's annual report filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Ma is a lifetime member of the Alibaba Partnership, a group of 36 senior managers who are responsible for maintaining the mission and culture of Alibaba.
Ma has inspired strong devotion among his employees and users, drawing comparisons with late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs - although he practised a more open management style.
He is one of the most colorful of China's growing crop of billionaires, performing a Michael Jackson-inspired dance routine at the company's 18th anniversary celebration previous year, and starring in his own kung fu short film.
Earlier this week, Mr Ma told Bloomberg TV that he wanted to create a personal foundation, following in the footsteps of Microsoft's Bill Gates.


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GameStop Will Have Fingerlings Available Between Thursday and Sunday
Fingerlings are the “it” toy of 2017. We reported on the trending toy back in September, and since then, the animatronic animals have been pretty much impossible to find. But GameStop is promoting a batch of Fingerlings for shoppers willing to brave the stores early on Thanksgiving.
We haven’t seen Fingerlings showing up in many other Black Friday ads, so this is a big deal. And it’s coming hot off the trail of news around maker WowWee’s temporary restraining order against third-party sellers who were making counterfeit Fingerlings. Yes, the struggle is real.
GameStop’s Black Friday Ad Promises Fingerlings As Doorbusters
Opening its doors at 4 p.m. on Thanksgiving, GameStop’s Black Friday ad is, in fact, showing Fingerlings ($16.99) as doorbusters. But you know these are going to move fast. We also aren’t able to confirm whether these will be available online, but it can’t hurt to check.
If you plan to try your luck at GameStop, get there early. The store is also promoting a 25% off deal to the first 25 customers. How this works is you’ll pay $1.99 for a bag that you can then fill up with as many toys, statues, apparel and drinkware as you can. Everything in the bag will be 25% off. Cue the madness.
GameStop’s Black Friday Store Hours
Thanksgiving: 4 p.m.–10 p.m.
Black Friday: 6 a.m.–10 p.m.
November 25 and November 26: 10 a.m.–9 p.m.
In the Event You Can’t Find Fingerlings on Black Friday
Stay tuned for additional retailers to likely stock their shelves with limited supplies through December. Chances are that stores do have supplies but are holding on to them until closer to Christmas. You can also track Fingerlings via RetailMeNot’s Facebook (where we will be posting toy alerts) or through the sites NowInStock and zooLert.


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Brave has now onboarded 20 million active users and almost 1 million content creators.
Basic Attention Token News
Basic Attention Token (BAT) is a cryptocurrency designed with the Ethereum technologies as an ERC-20 standard token. The BAT coin was developed as a utility token for the Brave browser’s blockchain network. Basic Attention Token is used within the platform as a payment tool, covering the expenses that websites carry due to the Brave functions of advertisement filtering and data protection. Bith the BAT coin and the Brabe browser were developed by Brendan Eich - a founder of Mozilla project. As a part of the internet browser ecosystem, the token is used as a tool for the enhancement of digital advertising and “attention-based services”. The Basic Attention Token utilizes the work with the user mental engagement to provide efficient information delivery.
What do eToro, Nexo, BlockFi have in common with underwear?4196
FXCoin announced XRP remittance testing, one company began its security token initiative, and more headlined news from Japan this past week.7117
GMO Coin unveiled BAT lending, Japan's stay at home order affected crypto businesses, and more headlined news from Japan this past week.4149
The Crypto Rating Council brings more regulatory clarity to crypto by analyzing whether certain coins constitute securities.8510
The privacy-centric crypto-powered web browser Brave now has four million daily users, while the number of publishers is currently approaching 500,000.5001
Brave Browser wants the UK to Crack Down on Google Using GDPR or will take it to court.5189
Brave browser now has 8 million monthly active users and 2.8 million daily active users, the company says.7481
Coinbase Pro is adding support for Ripple’s XRP token, which will be fully tradable after the platform establishes sufficient liquidity.17270
U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has launched full trading for the Basic Attention Token at Coinbase.com, as well as on the Coinbase Android and iOS apps.16142


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Stocks to watch for today, which are expected to see heavy trading in Wednesday’s session include; UBS AG (NYSE:UBS), Oracle Corporation (NASDAQ:ORCL), General Motors Company (NYSE:GM), Knight Capital Group Inc. (NYSE:KCG) and Navistar International Corp (NYSE:NAV).
UBS AG (NYSE:UBS): The Swiss Bank admitted to fraud on Wednesday. UBS AG (NYSE:UBS) agreed to pay $1.5 billion, which is over three times what Barclays PLC (LON:BARC) (NYSE:BCS) paid in June, in penalties related to the labor rate-rigging scandal. The bank acknowledged that about 45 of its employees were involved in manipulating the Labor rates in several currencies. The bank’s Japanese subsidiary pleaded guilty on one count. Shares were almost flat in early market trading.
At this year's SALT New York conference, Wences Casares, the chairman of XAPO, and Peter Briger, the principal and co-chief executive officer of Fortress Investment Group discussed the macro case for Bitcoin. Q2 2021 hedge fund letters, conferences and more XAPO describes itself as the first digital bank of its kind, which offers the "convenience" Read More
Oracle Corporation (NASDAQ:ORCL): The software giant reported better than expected second quarter results on Tuesday. Analysts were estimating 61 cents in earnings per share on a revenue of $9.01 billion. The company earned 64 cents a share on $9.09 billion in revenues. The results improved primarily because of cloud software subscriptions revenue and new software licenses, which jumped up 17 percent from the same quarter a year ago. Shares gained 2.95 percent to $33.85 in early market trading.
General Motors Company (NYSE:GM): The Treasury Department announced Wednesday that it has decided to sell off its entire holding in the automaker within 12-15 months. General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) said it will purchase 200 million of its own shares at $27.50, a 7.9 percent premium on the stock’s closing price this past Tuesday. The Treasury Department will sell the remaining 300.1 million shares in an orderly fashion. Stocks jumped as much as 8 percent to $27.55 in pre-market trading.
Knight Capital Group Inc. (NYSE:KCG): The market maker’s board has approved the merger with Getco LLC, an electronic trading group , in a $1.8 billion deal. The merger values Knight Capital Group Inc. (NYSE:KCG) at $3.75 a share or $1.4 billion, plus $400 million in debts that Knight received from Getco. Shares surged 6.01 percent to $3.53.
Navistar International Corp (NYSE:NAV): The Lisle, Ill.-based engine and vehicle manufacturer reported worse than expected fourth quarter losses on Wednesday. The company is undergoing a vast restructuring campaign, and sales in the fourth quarter saw a double-digit drop. Shares slumped 4.07 percent to $21.89.


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Australian wine and sugar to hit Peru thanks to new free trade agreement
A new free trade agreement between Peru and Australia is set to benefit Australia’s wine and sugar exporters.
Benefits to wine industry
The Winemakers Federation of Australia have welcomed the agreement that comes into effect within five years and eliminates the 9 per cent tariff on bottled win exports into Peru.
Winemakers Federation Australia (WFA) Chief Executive, Tony Battaglene, said multiple industries would benefit from the agreement.
“We have been at a competitive disadvantage in Peru because exports from the United States, Canada and European Union have been enjoying duty-free access under various trade deal,” Battaglene said.
Free trade agreements are seen as important in removing trade barriers and giving exporters a level playing field globally, according to Battaglene.
“All credit must go to the Australian Government in continuing its expansive Free Trade agenda,” Battaglene said.
Benefits to sugar industry
Chairman of Canegrowers Australia, Paul Schembri, said under the agreement Peru has agreed to market access for Australian sugar under terms it has never granted to any other country.
The new access to Peru is 30, 000 tones per year from the first year of the agreement increasing to 60, 000 tonnes in year six and 90, 000 tonnes in year 18.
“While the initial amounts of raw sugar Peru may purchase are small compared to our annual production of more than 4.5 million tonnes, the FTA will enable Australian exporters to establish and grow commercial relationships with refiners in Peru which has one of Latin America’s fastest growing economies,” Schembri said.
With a population of approximately 32.1 million, Peru’s largest current trade partners are China and the U.S.
- Australian winegrape prices increase, Wine Australia Vintage Report 2016
- Free trade agreement pays off for Australian wine exporters
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The number of independent brewing companies operating in Australia has increased tenfold over the la...
An Israeli start-up has developed an app which takes all the guess work out of deciding whether a pi...
Woolworths is continuing to turn itself around, with supermarket food sales helping out.


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We already count many of Hollywood's top talent as loyal customers and look forward to having the opportunity to win over many more.
Austin, TX (PRWEB) February 11, 2015
On Oscar® night, win or lose, some of Hollywood’s biggest talent including Keira Knightley, Reese Witherspoon, Julianne Moore, Bradley Cooper, Emma Stone, Edward Norton and Wes Anderson could be driving away with a year’s worth of Silvercar rentals valued at $20,000. The all-Audi A4 challenger brand has been selected as the first-ever airport car rental company to partake in Distinctive Assets’ 13th annual, “Everyone Wins At The Oscars®” VIP Gift Bag.”
The awards ceremony takes place on February 22, 2014 in Los Angeles, California, and no nominee will leave the Oscars® empty handed. Honoring all nominees who don't take home Oscar® gold in the five major event categories: Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress, Best Supporting Actor and Best Director, as well as this year’s Host, Neil Patrick Harris, Distinctive Assets has been producing this coveted consolation prize for the past twelve years. Last year’s Nominee Swag was valued at $85,000 with this year’s bag valued in excess of $125,000 (a Distinctive Assets record).
Valued at $20,000 (top value amount included in this year’s swag) the non-winning nominees and Oscars® Host will receive a year’s worth of Silvercar rentals and fuel, which means they’ll hit the roads happy in a fully-loaded (in-dash navigation, Wi-Fi, and Sirius Radio) Silver Audi A4 whenever they drive.
“We’re honored to have been selected as a gift for this year's nominees at the height of their careers,” says Silvercar CEO Luke Schneider. “We already count many of Hollywood's top talent as loyal customers and look forward to having the opportunity to win over many more.”
About Silvercar: Car Rental The Way It Should Be
Founded with a mission to eliminate typical frustrations and points of friction that have plagued its industry for decades, Silvercar is paving the way for the future of car rentals. The company’s seamless car rental business—offering ONLY fully loaded silver Audis A4s—eliminates lines, counters, paperwork, and hassles by delivering the entire experience through an easy-to-use mobile app and friendly concierge service. Silvercar is continually earning the highest customer satisfaction and loyalty scores in the industry and is currently offering service in five of the six busiest car rental markets in the U.S. (SFO, DEN, LAX, MIA, PHX as well as DFW, DAL & AUS). To learn more, download the Silvercar app and/or visit Silvercar.com.


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“34: Reborn Clothing Company, known for upcycling unused garments, is donating 15% of the proceeds from their cotton-soft, Reborn Process Graphic Tee to the Carolina Textile District for producing personal protective equipment.” Check out the full article from Walter Magazine to learn more about how Reborn and other Triangle businesses are doing good for our community.
Reborn Clothing Co., Counter Culture Coffee, Fullsteam Brewery, Videri Chocolate Factory and Murphy’s Naturals are partnering amid the COVID-19 pandemic for the Triangle Bundle Project. Learn more about the project from Durham Magazine.
A group of Triangle businesses are teaming up for a special bundle featuring locally made products. The bundle includes a Videri sea salt dark chocolate bar, a Fullsteam Brewery hat, Counter Culture’s limited-release Sanctuary whole beer coffee, Murphy’s Naturals Mosquito Repellant candle and a Reborn Clothing Co. “Walter” Teddy Bear. The baskets are $50 andContinue reading “Reborn Clothing Teams with Videri, Counter Culture for Triangle Bundle”
“We really try to focus on storytelling at Reborn,” Emily Neville, founder and CEO of Reborn Clothing Co. said. “One time, a dad sent in the shirt he was wearing when his baby boy was born, and it came with this long, hilarious story about that day and about how special it was for him.Continue reading “Reborn Clothing: Keeping Memories Alive and Supporting the Triangle”
At Reborn, we’re always committed to being a part of the solution. Right now, people and businesses in our community and beyond are struggling—and we want to be there for those in need. The Reborn Team is currently practicing something everyone can do to slow the spread of COVID-19: social distancing. The goal of sociallyContinue reading “Being Part of the Solution: COVID-19 Relief Efforts”


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Caseys Furniture reveal their 2023 magical Christmas windows. A Christmas tradition since 1921.
Caseys Furniture revealed their iconic Christmas window display on Oliver Plunkett Street and introduced the Caseys Christmas Appeal, embodying the true spirit of Christmas by supporting two deserving children's charities in Cork and Limerick.
The furniture retailer is now offering their beloved Caseys Bedtime Bear, both in their stores and online, for the festive season.
All proceeds from the bear sales will go directly to children's hospital wards at Cork University Hospital (CUH) and University Hospital
Peter Casey of Caseys Furniture shared his thoughts on the Christmas window and charity
appeal, ‘The Caseys Family is extremely proud of creating magical Christmas displays for
over a century, connecting generations through cherished traditions. Additionally, we are
committed to supporting these two deserving charities, having donated more than €12,000 to
them last year. The return of the iconic Caseys bear is a gesture of gratitude to our loyal
customers for their ongoing support and a way to give back to the local community’.
Caseys Furniture was founded by John Casey in Cork in 1921, initially providing furniture to
local residents after the devastating Burning of Cork in 1920. The business expanded to
Limerick in 2005 and now serves homes throughout Ireland.


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For decades, Playbill has monopolized our attention as we wait for the lights to go down at a Broadway show. Look around a theater now, and you’ll see the glow of smartphones. So if you are Playbill, the obvious answer is to get on those phones, too. Playbill’s finally doing that, too, through an upgraded digital strategy that is one part smart business and one part snobbery. This is Broadway, after all—not community theater.
Playbill doesn’t pop up at the top of online search results (Google “Broadway shows”) and its 500,000 monthly unique viewers at playbill.com is a solid, not huge, audience. The site doesn’t have the color of Broadway.com or the busy call to actions of Telecharge and ticket exchanges. But publisher and CEO Philip Birsh says his company isn’t out to play the traffic game, so you’re not alone in not knowing Playbill currently operates eight separate websites.
“We only want very passionate people,” Birsh says. “I only want the orthodox members, not the reformed who only go on the high holidays.”
If that sounds exclusive, haughty even, that’s by design. Playbill has a print monopoly: 130-years-old, the publication that choked out its only paper rival a decade ago and has been online since 1995. Playbill’s chief intellectual property, its monthly paper publication, is a staple of the premier theater going experience and also has a presence in regional productions as well. Operating its own printing plant of 60 employees, Playbill didn’t need to go digital to survive.
That doesn’t mean going online in a bigger way would ever be a bad idea. And Playbill got that, even if Birsh pooh-poohs the pursuit of search-engine traffic and massive audiences. That’s why the company commissioned Icreon Tech, a New York City web design firm, to build several additional sites like its Memory Bank, which allows users to share playbills of shows they’ve seen and schedule watching shows with others.
Users have since uploaded 100,000 playbills to Memory Bank since it launched in beta in September. The site’s most sharable feature, an upcoming events tool, now has 1,500 scheduled events in the future, the company says. Playbill now has another modern-looking offering, sister site the Playbill Vault, that allows users to search a database of past productions for cast members and other information. Memory Bank took Icreon eight months to build, the company says.
Those sites look in stark contrast to Playbill’s flagship site, which remains faithfully true to the print publication’s mustard coloring and layout, almost anachronistically so compared to the newer web properties. Under that old-school hood, however, hums the company’s team of 23 digital-only staff, who are now producing 30 posts a day on the theater scene.
That content is part of what Birsh calls “feeding the dragon,” a peculiar way to look at one’s digital strategy but one the executive grounds in the company’s brand needs. Such posts are necessary to “bribe” visitors to trust Playbill over the plethora of other sites, Birsh says, while also proving to advertisers in Playbill’s hallowed print offering that the company is up with the times.
Birsh is enthusiastic about his Icreon-built sites and his company’s digital strategy, he’s just very much invested in engaging that “orthodox” theater community. Doing so leads Playbill to charge higher prices for its online ads reaching its older, more financially well-heeled audience base, which in turn can drive better sales of ad inventory in its print publication.
Playbill is protective of its brand and the power of reaching an email base of 350,000 theater buffs every week, but it’s looking into newer advertising strategies like targeting, too. The data from its Vault information, for example, can tell shows advertising on the site what a user hasn’t seen yet, meaning its pitch of “Phantom of the Opera” would be more likely to reach a fresh potential viewer.
The company also offers a cottage online merchandise business that handles about a thousand transactions a week and has recently gone into virtual playbills for license by high school and college productions. That business is “galloping,” Birsh says, all without the company ever looking to social networks like Facebook to give it fresh juice.
The early engagement numbers behind Playbill’s new websites suggest that the company’s approach to its core audience has been effective so far. It might not be the best strategy for getting onto Google’s front page of search results, but it’s an approach that avoids risk to your brand name. Playbill won't stop fighting for you to check it over your phone in the show, but if you do surf the Web later, its destinations there are aimed to add to print, not replace it.
“Playbill is the good housekeeper of Broadway,” he says. “There’s deference to us that we have to take advantage of every day.”
Follow Alex Konrad on Twitter here:


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AGCO Application Equipment Division is accepting nominations for the 2010 Operator of the Year Award, which recognizes the outstanding achievements and professionalism of the industry's premier custom applicators.
Finalists and the winner of the 2010 Operator of the Year award will be recognized at the 2010 ARA Conference and Exposition. The winner will be awarded a 2010 Harley-Davidson motorcycle. New for 2010, the ag retailer who nominates the winning Operator of the year will receive a Harley gift as well: A three-day/two-night Harley Road Trip for the nominator and a friend.
Ag retailers can nominate their top operators for consideration for the 2010 Operator of the Year program by going to http://search.applylikeapro.com. Submit nominations by Oct. 31.


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Abbey investors question motives
Key investors in Abbey National believe the bank's non-executive directors should seek independent advice to ensure shareholder interests are properly safeguarded. The suggestion comes as Abbey continues to promote a merger with Bank of Scotland while rejecting takeover proposals from Lloyds TSB.
Abbey has eight executive directors, including chief executive Ian Harley, and seven non-executives, as well as the chairman Lord Tugendhat. Shareholders fear the executives' judgment may be clouded by concern over their own job prospects in a combined Abbey/Lloyds TSB entity.
'The question of jobs could influence the board's perspective,' said one institutional investor.
It is almost unheard of for investors to suggest a company's non-executives need separate advisers since the board as a whole is supposed to act in the best interests of shareholders. There are clearly misgivings, however, among investors. 'The non-executives should have an insurance policy in the shape of independent advice,' said one.
Institutions have not yet begun openly to campaign Abbey's non-executive team and may wait for the outcome of the Office of Fair Trading's investigations into the merger proposal with Bank of Scotland and Lloyds TSB's takeover offer.
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- Renault unveils retro drone based on classic 4 for 60th anniversary


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As more movie buffs discover the many advantages of watching movies online, renting a DVD to watch a video can soon become a thing of the past. In a three-month stretch, one of the big DVD-rental companies lost more than 800,000 subscribers. According to Fox News, other subscribers are expected to follow suit. “The near future is clearly streaming now – it’s only a matter of time before all disk-based media becomes obsolete,” technology analyst Rob Enderle told reporters.
Going to the video store or rental box, finding parking, and then browsing the aisles for your favorite titles might not seem like a lot of work, but it’s a lot more work than plopping down on your couch and pressing a button to watch the same movies online. When you watch movies online, the titles that are available are still available. You will no longer be left with an empty DVD case waiting for another user to return the video, nor will you be stuck with damaged or low-quality DVDs. Streaming technology produces a clean, transparent image with enhanced optical sound to go along with it. The cost of renting a DVD film may be exorbitant. True, the cost of seeing a movie in a theater is no longer in the double digits, but it can also involve late fees that add up quickly. Subscriptions to movie streaming services can provide unlimited viewing for a single fee or a per-movie fee that is usually less expensive than renting a DVD. Instead of being enraged or confused as DVDs become ever more expensive and difficult to find, you’ll have a head start on the new wave of movie watching. With faster downloads and simpler use than ever before, technology has progressed drastically. Furthermore, the internet movies have yet to include the plethora of previews and even advertisements that are now packed into the beginning of several DVDs.
It’s worth checking out just for that. Apple TV+ and Disney+ debuted last year, and HBO Max, WarnerMedia’s streaming film, will debut in the new year. These releases signal a variety of items, including traditional media companies’ willingness to compete with Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu, as well as retake ownership of their lucrative library content. HBO Max, for example, will debut with Friends, which was a staple of Netflix’s programming. The popularity of Disney+’s The Mandalorian, set in the Star Wars universe, is a perfect example of how these new streamers can use their existing properties to attract subscribers. It’s a whole new television paradigm, and the next few years will reveal if their bets pay off. TV ads had been the 800-pound gorilla in the media for what seemed like an eternity a decade ago. When we reach 2020, we can expect unprecedented spending declines in the medium, which we can attribute to the growth of streamed content. Television spending will continue to be driven by events such as the Olympics and elections. It’s not like it’s about to fall off a cliff. However, since advertisers follow the viewer eyeballs, streaming has clearly influenced where they spend their money.


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On Thursday, September 10, the OIFHA will host an online hemp mini-conference to help educate and connect the hemp industry as the 2020 harvest season approaches.
From 1-2 PM, talks will run on a number of key pre-harvest topics. Attendees will receive updates on crucial USDA rulemaking and legislative shifts from our President Courtney N. Moran, LL.M. and Sunny Summers, Cannabis Policy Coordinator of the Oregon Department of Agriculture.
Following the policy talks, OIHFA member Matt Ochoa will focus on best practices to preserve harvest value. Avoiding costly mistakes that arise from taking ill-informed shortcuts and sharing logistics and resources will be features of his talk.
There will also be updates on the hemp shipping pilot program by UPS as well as new developments in banking for hemp.
The second hour will focus on networking. OIFHA members will be spotlighted first, then members and non-members alike will engage in a couple of rounds of facilitated “speed” networking aimed at connecting the community and helping build relationships.
The event is free to join. TICKET LINK: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/hempstory-vii-connections-for-a-successful-harvest-tickets-116953331563
© 2020 All Rights Reserved. Hemp Industries Association ®


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Not all SaaS data is protected. Is yours?
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In 2015, Rewind began with the idea of going back. It all started with the world's top ecommerce platform, Shopify. Merchants needed a “magic undo” button that helped them recover from catastrophic data loss. So we built and launched it. Since then, over 45,000...
Ottawa, Canada - November 20, 2020: Rewind, a leader in data control solutions for eCommerce, today announced the launch of Copy for BigCommerce (Nasdaq: BIGC). It lets merchants automatically transfer products between multiple sites. Merchants no longer need to waste...
Ottawa, Canada - November 12, 2020 - Rewind, a leader in data control solutions for web accounting tools, today launched the newest version Rewind Copy for QuickBooks Online. Part of the Rewind Backups app, it allows users to automatically transfer data between...


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| Oct 18, 2012
| 2:08 PM
Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. enjoyed double-digit increases in both its net income and revenue in its third quarter, but consider Wall Street unimpressed.
The burrito chain’s stock is tanking following its after-market earnings release, with...
| Oct 19, 2012
| 9:45 AM
McDonald’s Corp. underperformed yet again, reporting profit levels Friday below what Wall Street had anticipated along with sliding sales this month.
Net income was down 3.5% to $1.45 billion, or $1.43 a share, in the third quarter ended Sept. 30....
| Oct 19, 2012
| 10:30 AM
Chipotle Mexican Grill will open the first West Coast branch of its ShopHouse Southeast Asian Kitchen concept in Santa Monica in early 2013, the company said.
The nascent chain already has two locations -- one operating, one still under construction --...
| Oct 30, 2012
| 11:56 AM
Taco Bell is giving out free Doritos Locos Tacos nationwide Tuesday afternoon in honor of the World Series, which the San Francisco Giants won in a four-game sweep of the Detroit Tigers.
The Mexican-style chain, a sponsor of Major League Baseball,...
| Oct 30, 2012
| 2:56 PM
Metro Balderas, named for a Mexico City subway station, is well-known in the tacovore community for the D.F.-style carnitas it serves on weekends – carnitas made from not just the usual pork shoulder, but from ears, snout, stomach, tongue and...
| Nov 6, 2012
| 6:45 PM
It’s 3:30 in the morning and you have no particular destination in mind, and you’re at J&S because you’re in Montebello and everywhere else is closed, and J&S kind of exists to be the place to go when there’s no place else to go....
| Nov 7, 2012
| 2:49 PM
Taco Bell is trying to color outside of the fast-food lines, launching several new items designed to compete with higher-end restaurants.
On Thursday, the Irvine-based chain will officially launch XXL Steak Nachos, which it calls “restaurant-...
| Jun 2, 2012
First of all, Black Hogg, the name of the new Silver Lake gastropub, doesn't refer to a heritage pig or even a plain old hog or wild boar. According to the staff, it takes its name from the alternative definition of hogg, which the Oxford English...
| Jun 5, 2012
| 11:57 AM
We don’t know what Subway ever did to Pizza Hut, but the quirky pizza chain is attempting a “takeover” of the sandwich giant’s market with its new P’Zolo concept.
Pizza Hut? Making a sandwich? Coming from the company that...
| Aug 31, 2012
| 11:37 AM
Taco Bell doesn’t serve wake-up calls quite like anyone else – the fast food chain has added a soda and orange juice mix to its breakfast menu called Mtn Dew A.M.
The Mountain Dew and Tropicana concoction – think a non-alcoholic...
| Sep 1, 2012
I remember the stories -- L.A. chefs renting fast cars and and doing a Michelin three-star restaurant blitz through France. Ten restaurants in five days. Wallowing in foie gras, truffles, baby lamb, Brittany lobsters and newborn vegetables. Not to mention...


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Sony Ericson has been amongst the early adopters of the Android platform and have rolled out a multitude of phones. Recently we saw the Xperia Mini being unveiled in India and now its the turn of the slightly upgraded Xperia Mini Pro to make an appearance in the Indian market. Here’s a look at the specification that make this a phone to watch out for
- 2.55 inch TFT capacitive touchscreen
- Android 2.3Gingerbread,
- Full QWERTY keyboard
- 1 GHz processor,
- 512 MB RAM, 400MB storage
- 5 MP camera with 16x digital zoom,flash/pulsed LED,
- VGA front facing camera
- EDGE, GPRS, 3G
- Wi-Fi b/g/n, DLNA, Wi-Fi hotspot,
Price Rs. 15,399
Sony seems to have realised that the key to a successful Android smartphone in India is the pricing. With a price tag that pins this device against the likes of Samsung Galaxy Ace ( no front camera) and HTC Wildfire S, Sony wants to give the customers that extra something. Not to mention that this phone ships with the latest Android OS available for phones.
This will be the first phone in this price category to offer a front facing camera, a full QWERTY keyboard and Gingerbread at such an affordable price. We haven’t gotten our hands on one of these but it looks like a winner to us. Finally a phone manufacturer brings a product that will compete not only with its competition because of the great features it brings but also its own offering Xperia Mini. We cant wait to get our hands on one of these.


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Second Cup is raising the price of coffee
Second Cup is telling customers the price of coffee is going up after Valentine's Day, they're just not saying by how much.
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Second Cup is increasing prices for coffee on Feb. 18, but it’s not telling customers by how much.
Signs are up at some of the locations, advising customers of the increase.
Second Cup says the increase was caused by the “continuing increase in raw materials and operating costs,” but won’t say specifically what factors are contributing to the increase, or how much prices will rise.
“We are still trying to determine the exact price change and this won’t be known until closer to February 18,” said Jessica McGraw of Harbinger Communications, the firm that handled the request for Second Cup. “We just wanted to give consumers fair warning that a change was happening.”
Second Cup won’t say when it last increased prices for coffee or baked goods.
Tim Hortons spokeswoman Michelle Robichaud said coffee prices were last increased in April, 2011. Robichaud said the costs of baked goods at Tim Hortons increased modestly toward the end of 2012, due to an increase in the cost of ingredients. The largest increase was five cents.
Prices for coffee at Starbucks increased by about five cents at some locations in Western Canada on Jan. 3, according to Luisa Girotto, public affairs director for Starbucks Canada.
In Ontario, coffee prices at Starbucks were last increased in September 2011. In the fall, prices on food were increased at some locations in some markets.
“We haven’t done straight, across-the-board increases,” said Girotto.
- Foreign medical grad dismayed with roadblocks to practise in Ontario
- NEW NATO to ask Canada to support new rapid response force
- Updated Mayor Rob Ford drops out of two planned debates
- Jermain Defoe stays, Toronto FC and MLS dodge bullet
- Updated Ottawa to slash National Defence budget by $2.7 billion in 2015
- Popular Montreal bar allegedly kicking out two men for kissing
- Former Canadian Nazi runs for office in Ontario’s cottage country
- NEW The Ex goes out with a roar
Weakness occurred in Apple’s Find My iPhone software, reports Engadget, a web magazine that covers consumer electronics and technology.


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Launching to mixed reviews on April 6, Quibi began with a massive ramp in subscribers, comparable to that of Disney+. Yet, many are questioning if Quibi can succeed in an already saturated market. As the leading emotion and behavior insights platform using AI and machine learning to analyze unstructured open-ended text, Canvs decided to take a look at how consumers are assimilating Quibi. Using consumers’ written dialogue, or Emotional Reactions (ER), we proceeded to gather the evidence of how people feel about Quibi.
Short for “quick bites,” Quibi is nothing less than the evolution of storytelling targeted toward a younger demographic with the design of bringing great stories to an on-the-go audience. Some of Quibi’s differences compared to other streaming platforms are: it’s only available on Android and iOS mobile devices; its 10-minute shows and 10-minute episodic movie chapters; and its investment power, raising $1.75 billion and using it to attract top tier talent such as Chrissy Teigen, Idris Elba, and Steven Spielberg to create content.
But the biggest secret weapon according to Quibi is their patented Turnstyle technology, the first and only for a streaming service. It effectively allows its videos to instantly flip between vertical portrait framing and horizontal landscape framing as the phone moves. The technology is designed to always be “side-loading” some of the other video offscreen to avoid lag time as the viewer switches between orientations. Aside from choosing the desired orientation, turnstyle allows creators to experiment with filmmaking techniques by changing the viewer’s point of view based on the orientation of the mobile device.
However, as a product designed to be viewed on the go and in quick bites, the value proposition has gone down while everyone has been quarantined at home with their television. While there are still many in-between moments during quarantine, these moments are not the same as pre-quarantine. “It’s out of sync,” said Katzenberg. Despite the roughly 3 million downloads, there were only about 1.3 million active users. The numbers have been disappointing, but not regrettable as Katzenberg and his team have pivoted to adjust to the incoming feedback. “There are a whole bunch of things we have now seen in the product that we thought we got mostly right,” he said, “but now that there are hundreds of people on there using it, you go, ‘Uh-oh, we didn’t see that.’”
The real question centers around the increasingly saturated nature of the streaming market. Netflix, Amazon Video, Disney+, and Apple TV all have their hands in the proverbial cookie jar, with others like HBO Max having launched and Peacock launching in the coming weeks. Katzenberg confidently stated, “The essential thing in having them [Hollywood studios] as our partners was the access to their show running talent and their IP.” It’s the first time Hollywood studios have agreed to create content for a streaming service. Whether it’s a sustainable business model is another matter that only time will tell. Despite the less than anticipated start, Katzenberg remains optimistic as 80% of Quibi viewers complete the episode they are watching.
Quibi’s fans and dissenters have made strong arguments for their respective points of view. Seeking to shed some light on this debate, Canvs has been analyzing Quibi and the emotional response to its creative content to determine how viewers feel, why they feel that way and what that might mean for the business going forward. Canvs identifies feelings as they occur in language and categorizes them as specific Emotional Reactions (ER). An ER is the Canvs proprietary metric for an explicit written expression of emotion, such as Happy, Sad, Funny, Excited, Crazy, or many more. We developed an unnatural language processing engine, which recognizes slang, acronyms, emojis, misspellings, and subtle nuances such as sarcasm and “shade.”
Canvs analyzed the emotional reactions from each network’s top original content that premiered since April 1st. Unsurprisingly, Netflix’s viewership reactions dwarfed the other shows on the list, so for the purposes of these insights the OTT behemoth was capped at its top five premieres during this time period. Nevertheless, looking below the numbers of the veteran service, Quibi’s Cup of Joe fell right behind Apple TV’s Defending Jacob, Hulu’s Normal People, and Amazon’s Upload, which were their respective number one premieres.
While it’s clear that Quibi cannot be compared to the Netflix giant, the numbers speak for themselves that Quibi shows can hold their own.
Katzenberg acknowledges that it is not “the avalanche of people they wanted and were going for out of the launch.” Therefore, after listening to Quibi’s freshmen audience feedback, they’ve now added support for both Chromecast and Airplay allowing users the ability to cast the service from mobile phones to their televisions. At this point, there are those, including Katzenberg, who say Quibi’s story is ongoing, while others vote that July could be the beginning of the end for the service. Quibi has quickly attracted millions of people to sign up for the free trial, but there are no assurances in retaining their viewership. The production freeze due to the country’s lingering quarantine status, new competition on the horizon, and a possible depression in the economy suggest Quibi could fail if many people cancel before their first payment as their current funds will only carry them through the fall. With so many variables flipping between viable and volatile within its industry, and so many others out of its control like a change in users’ lifestyles, Quibi’s future will be interesting to watch.


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On the day that marks the fifth anniversary of their partnership, adidas and Parley for the Oceans are renewing their commitment to their mutual mission of helping to end the global plastic crisis, bringing eco-innovation and change to the industry, and driving the Material Revolution to replace plastic altogether.
The partnership was originally announced at the 2015 Parley ‘Oceans. Climate. Life.’ event at the United Nations in New York, where Cyrill Gutsch, the founder and CEO of Parley, introduced an ambitious vision: to end marine plastic pollution with the strategy called Parley AIR. This approach is based on three pillars of action: Avoid plastic where possible. Intercept plastic debris from the environment and turn it into Ocean Plastic, when plastic can’t be avoided. Redesign plastic by inventing new materials.
It was on that occasion that the adidas and Parley unveiled a concept shoe with an upper made of yarns and filaments reclaimed and recycled from ocean waste and illegal deep-sea fishing nets – a first for the industry.
Since then, the partnership has driven eco-innovation within the industry, creating a global ocean movement through the power of sport.
“We are not just focused on changing how we do business; we are dedicated to changing how our industry does business”, says James Carnes, adidas VP Brand Strategy.
In the last five years, adidas has gradually eliminated virgin polyester from its products and by the end of 2020 more than 50% of all the polyester used in the company’s products will be recycled. These achievements put adidas well on track to achieve its goal of phasing out virgin polyester in its products by 2024.
With Primeblue, the partners jointly developed a high-performance yarn for the sports industry, made with Parley Ocean Plastic. By the end of 2020, adidas will have made more than 30 million pairs of shoes with Parley Ocean Plastic.
“Today is the day to look back and evaluate, to dive deep into our consciousness and ask ourselves if we did enough, if we used the time wisely, if we lived up to what we promised ourselves, what we promised our network and the general public. With the scale of the problems we’re up against, it never feels like we’re doing enough, or moving fast enough. Looking back, what we’ve achieved together with adidas feels like a miracle. In the last five years we delivered the proof of concept for our Parley AIR Strategy. Now is the time to drive the Material Revolution like never before. We have 10 years left to end the Toxic Age we created. The path to survival is to unite as a species and collaborate with nature”- says Cyrill Gutsch, CEO and Founder of Parley.
Moving forward, adidas and Parley will work on developing, testing and implementing new materials to replace plastic for good. Adidas joins the Parley Institute for Material Science as a founding Partner; the Institute identifies, evaluates and funds material replacements for plastic and other harmful, toxic or exploitative materials.
To celebrate the anniversary of the partnership, adidas and Parley released the adidas Parley UltraBOOST DNA, a shoe that is inspired by the historic prototype presented in 2015. For every pair of this limited-edition shoe purchased between June 26th and 29th, adidas will contribute 30 USD / EUR to support Parley.
Other highlights achieved over the last five years include:
Avoided plastic wherever possible and increased the use of recycled plastic instead of virgin plastic.
- Adidas ended the use of plastic microbeads across all body care products.
- In 2016, adidas removed plastic shopping bags from its own retail stores globally. This move eliminated approximately 70 million plastic shopping bags per year.
- Adidas eliminated single use plastic from all of its offices globally.
Scaling up the use of Parley Ocean Plastic
- Beginning in the Maldives, the sourcing of plastic waste for the making of Parley Ocean Plastic has expanded into areas such as the Philippines and the Dominican Republic.
- Scaled up the production of products made using Parley Ocean Plastic from 1 million pairs of shoes 2017; to 5 million in 2018; to 11 million in 2019; and now planning for around 15 million in 2020 – meaning less virgin plastic, reduced CO2 emissions and more awareness of the issue.
- To further accelerate the use of recycled materials, adidas and Parley have developed Primeblue, a high-performance yarn made with Parley Ocean Plastic.
- The use of Primeblue will help adidas achieve its goal of phasing out virgin polyester in its products by 2024; by the end of 2020 more than 50% of all the polyester used in products will be recycled.
- New applications of Parley Ocean Plastic for sport have been developed when adidas and Parley unveiled a brand-new turf field at South Florida’s Miami Edison High School in January 2020, which was composed of approximately 1.8 million plastic bottles, or 40,000 pounds of plastic waste collected on beaches and coastal communities.
- Parley’s Global Cleanup Network has gradually evolved and is now operating in up to 28 countries on every continent except Antarctica.
- More than 3 million people across the globe have joined the movement and Run for the Oceans. Cancelled in 2020 due to COVID-19, the event will return in 2021.
- Through the power of sport, adidas and Parley have turned the ocean cause into a global movement – involving partners like Real Madrid, the MLS, Manchester United, Bayern Munich, NHL hockey and countless athletes, influencers and artists.
Inspired the next generation of Ocean activists.
- Run for the Oceans funds raised in 2018 and 2019 were used to develop Parley’s youth education program, aimed at inspiring and empowering youth to join the ocean movement and to establish schools as local hubs in the fight against marine plastic pollution.
- The in-school program started in the Maldives, where in 2019, 92 schools were enrolled in the programme and they are now education hubs as well as plastic interception points for the local community.
- Additionally, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, schools and NGOs, Parley Ocean School in the Maldives has helped more than 100,000 youth and their parents went snorkeling to experience the world beneath the blue surface, many for the very first time.
- In 2019, Parley also organised its first Ocean Uprise Youth Leadership Camp, on the island of Oahu in Hawaii.
- Additional Ocean Schools were organised in the Maldives, Europe and North America.


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News stories featuring Gartner:
February 9th, 2017
Some 8.4bn connected “things” will be in use worldwide in 2017, up 31% from 2016, with 20.4bn in use by 2020, Gartner predicts. “Total spending on endpoints and services will reach almost US$2tn in 2017,” the company says. Greater China, North America and Western Europe will represent 67% of the overall Internet of Things installed base in 2017.
December 15th, 2016
Smart machines incorporating cognitive computing, artificial intelligence and machine learning will enter mainstream adoption by 2021, with 30% adoption by large companies, a report from Gartner says. Spending on smart machine consulting and system integration services will rise from US$451m in 2016 to nearly US$29bn in 2021, the technology research company adds. “Smart machines will profoundly change the way work is done and how value is created,” says Susan Tan from Gartner.
April 26th, 2016
Worldwide spending on Internet of Things (IoT) security will reach US$348m in 2016, a 23.7% increase from 2015 spending of $281.5m, Gartner predicts. “Spending on IoT security is expected to reach $547m in 2018,” the firm says. “Gartner predicts that IoT security market spending will increase at a faster rate after 2020.”
December 15th, 2015
Half of consumers in mature markets including North America, Japan and parts of Western Europe expect to be using smartphones or wearables to make payments by 2018, research from Gartner shows. “Any mobile payment wallets that are tied to the device will have limited adoption,” says the firm’s Annette Jump. “Cloud-based solutions will have a better chance to succeed as they can reach a wider audience and can support many use cases beyond face-to-face or in-store options.”
June 12th, 2013
Just over 950m mobile phone users worldwide are forecast to use their handsets for mobile ticketing by 2018, up from 458m this year, according to a new report from Juniper Research, but NFC ticketing will…
June 5th, 2013
Worldwide mobile payment transaction values will reach US$235.4bn in 2013, a 44% increase on 2012’s $163.1bn, according to a new forecast from Gartner — but NFC transactions will account for a smaller than expected proportion…
August 16th, 2012
NFC payments are five to ten years away from mainstream adoption and on the crossover between the ‘Peak of Inflated Expectations’ and the ‘Trough of Disillusionment’, according to this year’s Gartner Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies. NFC as a whole is expected to hit the mainstream more quickly, but is still two to five years away from maturity.
May 30th, 2012
Global mobile payment transaction values are set to grow by 42% a year, say the analysts, but the market will be fragmented over the next two years and NFC payments won’t hit the mass market until 2015.
August 11th, 2011
The Emerging Technologies Hype Cycle is designed “to highlight the common pattern of overenthusiasm, disillusionment and eventual realism that accompanies each new technology and innovation,” says the company.
July 25th, 2011
More than 140 million people will use mobile payments services of one type or another this year, but Gartner believes mass market adoption of NFC payments is still at least four years away.
Feed for stories featuring Gartner.
• Find a list of all the companies and other organisations that have been featured in NFC World in our directory.


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Vanda names chief commerical officer
This article was originally published in Scrip
Vanda Pharmaceuticals has named Tom Gibbs senior vice-president and chief commercial officer of the company. Mr Gibbs has 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, including several senior-level leadership roles in global sales and marketing. Prior to joining Vanda he was vice-president of worldwide commercial operations at Bristol-Myers Squibb. Before joining Bristol-Myers Squibb, Mr Gibbs held the position of vice-president of US sales for Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics.


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The New Yorker, June 28, 1958 P. 22
Talk. Interview with Bernard L. Salesky, president of the Hat Corp. of America, about the newest fashion in men's hats - the boater, or stiff straw sailor. (Two years ago the company added Champ Hats to a stable already consisting of Cavanagh, Knox & Dobbs). He said hats make a man look important. He got the idea of reviving the boater, a style of the twenties, after seeing women wear chemises. When boaters came out on the market this year they sold very well - the demand exceeding the supply. Striped ribbon on the hats sell best. They cost $5.95 to $10.00. The hats are being sewn in Italy now. Mr. Salesky says he sells hats on the basis of style, not comfort. The derby is coming back next fall, he says, because it goes with boaters. Business for the first 6 mos. of the year was $10,300,000.


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This article [zdnet.com] and several others making the rounds in the past few days point to Microsoft re-branding the cloud backup service it included with its’ short lived Kin line of mobiles. The cloud backup – Kin Studio – was the coolest feature of the Kin phones, maybe not the most sexy but the most useful. Now it looks like Microsoft may add it to Windows Phone 7 handsets – if they combine it with the Windows Live service, providing 25GB of free cloud storage connected to the users Hotmail/Windows Live and Office Live accounts then they may have a compelling offer.
Of course Microsoft is not the only mover, Apple has long had its’ MobileMe service which has significant overlap. To date this product has only attracted hardcore Apple fan-boys, but for over a year now there has been a rumor that Apple will drop the subscription fee and include as a free service for all iOS devices (more recently there has been a rumor that Apple will drop the subscription fee to $20 a year, I think maybe it will be free for 1 year with your iOS device and then $20 a year unless you buy a new iOS device). Link this to the rumored iTunes media cloud service that will run out of the billion dollar datacenter Apple has built in North Carolina. Again this could be a very useful service providing automated backup and streaming of all of your media (movies, photos, music, contacts, messages) from the cloud.
Google wouldn’t have to move very far to offer the same sort of service with Android.
In my time in the telco industry I’ve seen several projects at mobile operators around the world try to provide this type of data backup service. Unfortunately I’m not aware of any that actually succeeded. They died for many reasons —customers not willing to pay for the service, limited features, crippled features, lack of marketing, lack of handset support…
All in all I think the data-backup-as-a-service boat has already set sail and the telcos will be left behind due to their own dithering on how to make money on the offering. The same thing that happened to them with Location Based Services —they could not figure out how to make money on it so they never launched it, the phone makers opened the on-device location services (initially mandated for emergency number calling) to application developers and they figured out how to make money from it. So the telcos are left with LBS systems that cost them money but generate no revenue and don’t provide any value even in generating ‘customer stickiness’.
C’est la vie. Real consumer service innovation in the mobile market continues to move away from the telcos and towards the internet. It’s one more step on the road to mobile dumb pipe networks.


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Correction, 2:38 p.m. PST: This story initially gave an incorrect name for the firm that released the report. It is Strategy Analytics.
Samsung Electronics became the top mobile phone provider in the U.S. during the third quarter, unseating longtime rival Motorola, according to a report Friday by Strategy Analytics.
Samsung grabbed 22.4 percent of the market share based on U.S. shipments in the quarter, compared with Motorola, which was slightly more than 1 percentage point away, and LG Electronics which was a close third.
Samsung and LG, which have been rapidly closing the gap on … Read more


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The task of tracking travel-related carbon emissions has a new tool — MasterCard and Brighter Planet announced a program, MasterCard Carbon Emissions Reporting, designed to make the carbon emissions analysis process easier and more accurate.
Powered by Brighter Planet cloud-based CM1 calculation platform, the data for flights, hotel stays, car rentals, and other contributing activities is automatically tracked and reported for users of the MasterCard corporate card based on their card transactions. The Brighter Planet platform analyzes all of this accumulated travel transaction data and calculates carbon footprints for the activities. Corporate card account holders gain access to employee travel carbon data through the same MasterCard software they already use to manage purchasing card business intelligence.
The data processed by CM1 platform is output as carbon scores into MasterCard smartdata.gen2 management and reporting solution. The carbon scoring is based on independently validated, standards-compliant calculation methodologies, will let companies benchmark, compare, and report various emissions metrics across organizational divisions.
Last year 39 percent of Global 500 companies analyzed and reported their employee travel footprint, up from 34 percent the year before, according to Brighter Planet.
Rolling out later this year, MasterCard developed the reporting tool after conducting an online study in June 2010. They found that nearly 80 percent of companies surveyed had an interest in green travel initiatives.


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Kenzo loves David LaChapelle, David LaChapelle loves Kenzo, and we love what happens when they collab. The iconic photographer conjured a whimsical "kenzotopia" for the French house's spring 2019 campaign and he's back behind the camera for their fall 2019 spread.
Around his last shoot for Kenzo, the photographer explained that he's of seeing "people slumped over and looking so sad in their really expensive clothes." He's continuing his joyful tirade through fashion with the new shoot: a euphoric series in the style of vintage postcards. The cool-kid clique cheeses as '70s tourists, advertising the must-see destination of Kenzo, Paris.
Longtime co-creative directors Humberto Leon and Carol Lim recently announced that they'll be departing Kenzo to focus on original collaboration, Opening Ceremony. They're the auteurs who turned Kenzo into the beloved, accessible brand it is today, but this latest campaign promises that Kenzo's playful spark isn't in any danger of dimming.
Photos courtesy of Kenzo


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The financial industry is undoubtedly preparing with tokenization its next big technological revolution. Central banks cannot stay away from these transformations, even if they tend to resist on some.
Thus, Facebook’s Libra electronic money project had caused a outcry from the authorities and central bankers. In response, they had accelerated their experiments around central bank digital currencies or MNBC.
Facebook’s Libra threat is no longer
Since then, Libra (now the Diem) has died and the sting has become less pressing for the institutions. However, the central banks have not abandoned their ambitions in terms of CBDC. According to the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), 93% are interested in it – more or less seriously.
In addition, more than half are conducting concrete experiments or working on a pilot. But in this sector, initiatives are part of the long term. The BIS estimates that 15 retail CBDCs and 9 wholesale CBDCs could be issued in 2030.
The first category consists of a currency usable by individuals, when the wholesale or wholesale CBDC is intended for banks only. And it is more particularly on this second category that the developments of the Bank of France concern.
Even if the impacts and the stakes – in particular for financial stability – of such a currency are a priori lower than for a retail CBDC, the French institution does not intend to rush. Its work effectively started in March 2020 and has already made it possible to highlight the advantages of a digital currency.
CBDC: assets for the Governor of the BdF
For its governor, François Villeroy de Galhau, the wholesale CBDC responds to two “decisive” use cases and likely to “improve the payments ecosystem”, namely the tokenization of securities and cross-border settlements.
To date, the Bank of France has carried out 12 tests and published two reports to take stock of its achievements – the last one a few weeks before, on July 21. The BdF thus indicates that it has conceptualized and implemented three digital currency models.
And for the issuance of a digital currency directly on DLT, all three are feasible: the interoperability, distribution and integration model. And the central bank to consider them as “complementary rather than exclusive. »
But when is the end of the research and a transition to practical work? At the end of last year, the Governor of the Bank of France expressed his wish to reach a viable prototype by 2023.
As for a finalized issue, it has not yet been announced – nor has it been announced for the digital Euro, in which the BdF is also collaborating. The French institution has two new steps on its horizon: “to support the Eurosystem’s exploratory work and to explore the limits of cross-border payments. »


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WASHINGTON, Feb. 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Trade & Travel (T&T) announced its next accelerator focused on how emerging technology can leverage the opportunities and challenges posed by unmanned aerial systems. The purpose of Trade & Travel's second accelerator, kicking off in April 2021, is to marry the needs of the industry with innovative emerging technology in the drone space. Applications to Trade & Travel's next accelerator cohort open today.
To lead this and future accelerators, the Trade & Travel board appointed Alexis Long, a proven leader in the industry with over 16 years of experience across the public and private sector, as the company's new Chief Executive Officer.
As Trade & Travel's first CEO, Long will focus on building upon the success of the combined Pangiam and Dcode teams that launched Trade & Travel's inaugural accelerator, focused on passenger screening and safety. He will lead the company's 2021 program connecting high impact emerging tech with high opportunity challenges facing the trade, travel, policing and security industries.
In line with its commitment to be a requirements-driven accelerator, Trade & Travel is expanding its Leading Voices network and is also announcing today new collaborations with Airports Council International and Airpol. Airports Council International is the trade association of the world's airports, serving 668 members, operating 1979 airports in 176 countries. Airpol is the European Union Network for Police and Border Guard Units at Airports responsible for the policing and security at hundreds of airports in the 27 member states across the EU. Airports Council International and Airpol will provide its expertise and that of its members to help to shape future accelerator events and identify opportunities for innovation in aviation.
ACI and Airpol will join existing partners, defense giant SAIC and international law and technology specialists Bird & Bird. Together they will play a pivotal role in the accelerator programs.
The growth, sophistication and application of drones has been dramatic. While defense continues to be a key driver in the drone market, commercially available small drones have seen tremendous growth as well. In the United States alone, the FAA has 1.7 million drones registered, and more than 1.2 million of those drones belong to recreational users. Drones are changing the international airspace and giving rise to both new opportunities and new challenges, specifically for the trade and travel and law enforcement industries.
Long stated, "Drones can be virtually invisible to today's radar systems, causing flight cancellations, delays, enormous economic damage and in the most serious cases, endangering people's lives. It is vital that we help accelerate tech solutions that can help solve this challenge."
Patrick Flanagan, CEO of Pangiam, stated, "Alexis' experience as a mission-focused innovator and thought leader, both at Heathrow and at the Transportation Security Administration, gives him a unique perspective to lead Trade & Travel. Alexis is uniquely suited to turn the challenge posed by drones into an opportunity."
Dcode CEO Meagan Metzger said, "Knowing the regulatory side and the emerging tech side of this equation is critical to Trade & Travel's success, and Alexis brings exactly that expertise. The trade and travel industries are looking for innovative solutions, which Alexis knows firsthand, but they are extremely challenging for tech to break into, which he also understands and can help with."
About Trade & Travel
Trade & Travel is a commercial partnership between Dcode and Pangiam to de-risk and accelerate emerging tech companies that can advance the trade and travel and law enforcement industries. Trade & Travel runs accelerators connecting high-impact emerging tech companies with high-opportunity challenges in these sectors. Click here to apply.
Trade & Travel is sponsored by SAIC, a premier Fortune 500® technology integrator solving the most complex modernization and readiness challenges across the defense, space, civilian, and intelligence markets.
Dcode connects the tech industry and government to drive commercial innovation in the federal market. Dcode has worked with more than 100 tech companies and hundreds of government organizations, driving more than 200 new implementations of commercial technology in government and millions in federal contracts. Visit dcode.co to learn more.
Pangiam is a public-private partnership company creating a network of industry partners aimed at revolutionizing the future of operations, security, and safety at airports, seaports, and land border crossings through the use of emerging technology. As a team of customs and security professionals with over 50 years of experience at senior levels of the U.S. government, Pangiam has an intimate understanding of the security, facilitation, and disaster response challenges and aspirations of governments and industry leaders around the world.
Contact: [email protected]
SOURCE Trade & Travel


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TV ads urge people to “Step Up, PrEP Up,” but HIV preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) led to the U.S. health system ponying up $2.08 billion in 2018, researchers reported.
A retrospective analysis of a prescription database of payments for tenofovir disoproxil fumarate with emtricitabine (TDF-FTC, Truvada) showed that annual PrEP prescriptions increased from 73,739 in 2014 ($114 million) to 1.1 million in 2018 ($2.08 billion), according to Nathan W. Furukawa, MD, MPH, of the CDC in Atlanta, and co-authors.
However, the CDC estimated that only 18.1% of those with an indication for PrEP were covered during 2018, and about half of those receiving PrEP do not persist throughout the entire year, they stated in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
Additionally, U.S. regional data showed the South had the largest percentage of PrEP payments (29.2%, $606 million), followed by the West (27.4%, $569 million), the Northeast (26.2%, $543 million), and the Midwest (16.2%. $337 million) in 2018.
The authors reviewed the IQVIA Real World Data Longitudinal Prescriptions database, which represents approximately 92% of retail pharmacy prescriptions and between 60% to 86% of those dispensed from mail-order outlets in the U.S.
A study limitation was the fact that IQVIA database captures the majority of commercial and retail pharmacy PrEP prescriptions, but it does not capture data from government systems or closed healthcare systems, such as Kaiser Permanente. That may have resulted in an underestimation of national payments for medication, the authors explained. Also, IQVIA does not have data on transgender identity, HIV risk factors, and whether or not the prescription was for daily or on-demand PrEP.
In an editorial accompanying the study, Kevin L. Ard, MD, MPH, and Rochelle P. Walensky, MD, MPH, both of Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston, stated that “Despite modest limitations related to data availability, the study’s main message is crystal clear: Payments for TDF-FTC are high and rising, and high expenditures for PrEP likely hinder scale-up and undermine PrEP’s promise.”
A 2019 Washington Post article highlighted that the finances surrounding tenofovir disoproxil fumarate with emtricitabine, which was developed with federal monies and held under patent by the government, earned Gilead Sciences billions of dollars in sales. Advocacy groups have also accused the drugmaker of deliberately delaying the development of HIV-related treatments, along with charging “exorbitant prices,” according to an AJMC article.
Ard and Walensky noted that PrEP prescriptions were dispensed for 204,720 persons in 2018, fewer than 20% of those estimated to benefit from the therapy.
Regarding the data from the southern U.S., they pointed out that “The South has lower rates of PrEP coverage and the largest burden of HIV infections. But Furukawa and colleagues showed that average out-of-pocket payments were higher in the South than in the Northeast or West, likely because most Southern states have not expanded Medicaid, which generally has lower out-of-pocket payments than commercial insurance.”
Widespread availability and adoption of PrEP is recognized as an important tool to reduce HIV infections, but the reality is that only those who can currently afford it can benefit from it, they emphasized.
“In the meantime, as drug costs escalate 5% per year, the work of Furukawa and colleagues reminds us of the untenable status quo: billions spent to provide PrEP to a minority of those who could benefit, rising out-of-pocket payments, and a mismatch between where PrEP is most needed and most used,” Ard and Walensky wrote.
Furukawa’s group identified third-party, out of pocket (OOP), and total payments for TDF-FTC from 2014 through 2018. These were then compared by third-party payer, which was classified as commercial, Medicaid, Medicare, manufacturer assistance program, or other.
They found the average total payment for 30 TDF–FTC tablets increased from $1,350 in 2014 to $1,638 in 2018, representing a 5% compound annual growth rate. In addition, the average OOP payment increased from $54 to $94, a 14.9% compound annual growth rate.
Although OOP payments increased over time, the brunt of PrEP cost was borne by the third-party payer.
“Of the $1,638 in total payments per 30 TDF-FTC tablets in 2018, OOP payments accounted for $94 (5.7%) and third-party payments for $1544 (94.3%),” the authors wrote.
They also found that whatever entity was the third-party payer impacted the OOP cost to the beneficiary. A 30-tablet prescription OOP cost in 2018 was $3 for a Medicaid recipient, $80 for those with Medicare, and $107 for patients with commercial insurance.
A breakdown of the TDF-FTC medication data from 2018 showed that the bulk of the $2.08 billion in prescription payments came from commercial insurance (80.7%, $1.68 billion), then Medicaid (9.6%, $200 million), followed by manufacturer assistance (6.1%, $127 million), and Medicare (2.3%, $48 million).
Demographic analysis of 2018 data found people, ages 25 to 44 years, accounted for 55.8% ($1.16 billion) of PrEP payments, with men accounting for 95.8% ($1.99 billion).
While a generic PrEP option of TDF-FTC is slated for availability this year, Furukawa’s group said they did not that as a price panacea.
“Unfortunately, generic antiretroviral drugs typically retain about 80% to 90% of their brand-name cost, so the savings may be limited,” they stated.
Payments for tenofovir disoproxil fumarate with emtricitabine (TDF-FTC, Truvada) for HIV preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in the U.S. increased nearly 20-fold, from $114 million in 2014 to $2.08 billion in 2018.
Less than 20% of those with an indication for PrEP were covered during 2018, and about half of those receiving PrEP do not persist throughout the entire year, according to CDC data.
Shalmali Pal, Contributing Writer, BreakingMED™
Furukawa and co-authors, as well as Ard and Walensky, reported no relationships relevant to the contents of this paper to disclose.
Cat ID: 339
Topic ID: 338,339,339,730,27,192,925


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Backgammon Masters Celebrate Queen's Day - Launches Poker and 21 Blackjack Platform in Dutch
April 30, 2008 -- In honor of the yearly Netherlands celebration of Queen’s Day, http://www.BackgammonMasters.com online game software is now available in Dutch, in addition to 14 other languages. Backgammon and skill games have always been popular in the Netherlands and the online market is no exception. BackgammonMasters CEO stated, “We have a very large Dutch audience who absolutely love our software, and although they fully enjoyed playing in the English version, it is now time that we present one of our most loyal customer bases with their favorite games in their native language.”
Originally, Queen’s Day was a celebration of the birthday of Queen Wilhelmina, and eventually became a 'free market' day, where anyone is allowed to sell anything in the streets. “What better day to launch our Dutch version then on such an upbeat and pro-lazes faire holiday,” added the Company CEO.
Any of the 15 languages offered can be downloaded directly by selecting the country flag of choice directly from the BackgammonMasters home page. What’s more, it’s now possible to switch to any language offered in the application itself. By clicking on the country flags offered in the game lobby, players can instantly change the entire interface of the game from English, to Dutch, to Japanese and back again with no additional download.
BackgammonMasters boasts the largest community of players from around the world participating in the most popular online games including Poker, Backgammon and 21 BlackJack and interacting with each other on the net while communicating via real-time chat. The next language to be added is Russian and Romanian.
Dutch version is available at http://www.backgammonmasters.com/nl/
More about BGM Blackjack and Poker available at: http://www.backgammonmasters.com/blackjack.html and http://www.backgammonmasters.com/poker.html


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Huawei's next-gen P30 series is expected to release next year, and just recently we were treated with case renders of the P30 Pro variant. The renders tipped that the P30 Pro variant will sport a quad camera setup, a waterdrop-shaped notch, and possibly an in-display fingerprint scanner. Now, the P30 base variant has been leaked, and the latest information suggests that the Huawei P30 will sport a triple camera setup at the back, with a maximum of 40-megapixels and up to 5x lossless zoom. Separately, a new Huawei P30 Pro render has been leaked, showing the quad rear camera setup on the smartphone, and a waterdrop-shaped display notch.
Noted tipster Evan Blass has tweeted that the Huawei P30 will sport a triple camera setup this time, an upgrade from the dual rear cameras seen on the Huawei P20. The Huawei P30 is tipped to sport a maximum of 40-megapixel sensor, and support 5x lossless zoom. At the front, there is expected to be a 24-megapixel selfie camera as well.
If this is true, then the Huawei P30 series will once again be an imaging power house, given that the base variant sees equivalent camera specifications as the Huawei P20 Pro variant launched this year. To recall, the Huawei P20 Pro is on top of the DxOMark charts for imaging, and it sports a triple camera setup with an 8-megapixel sensor with 3x optical zoom thanks to its Leica telephoto lens, a second 40-megapixel RGB 1/1.7-inch sensor, and a third 20-megapixel monochrome sensor.
The successor Huawei P30 Pro variant, as mentioned, was leaked in case renders just last week, and cases are already up for pre-order on MobileFun. The P30 Pro is also rumoured to sport a 38-megapixel Sony IMX607 sensor that will be powered by Exmor RS image processing technology. It will also reportedly use a curved OLED display panel that could be manufactured by China's BOE or South Korea's LG Display.
The latest leaked Huawei P30 Pro renders, shared by a Weibo tipster and first reported by ITHome. As we mentioned, it shows a quad rear camera setup, a gradient finish back panel colour, and a waterdrop-shaped display notch. The display is also seen to have minimum bezels.
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…when women are featured in ads, there’s a bias to those with lightest skin tones. Across all ads, women with darker skin tones featured 80% less than women with the lightest skin tones. In addition, these same women appeared 58% less frequently in professional settings.
Aline Santos, chief brand officer at Unilever, told The Drum that it made for “sad”, but ultimately “unsurprising” reading. To explain what’s happening, she pointed to the recent Gender Equality Attitudes survey from the UN which found that since Covid-19, 50% of women have reported an increase in time spent cleaning (vs 33% of men), and a 37% increase in time spent cooking and serving meals (vs 16% of men).https://www.thedrum.com/news/2023/03/08/the-stereotyping-women-ads-getting-worse


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Richland Library is expanding its capacity for teaching life skills with the opening of its new teaching kitchen in the Northeast branch. The 536-square-foot kitchen includes 16 prep spaces and 1,400 square feet of classroom and meeting space.
The teaching kitchen will be for children and adults alike to learn about culinary techniques, different regional and international cuisines, health, and culinary literacy. Though a schedule for activities in 2019 has not yet been released, sample class types include: indoor grilling, vegan baking, mystery ingredient challenges, food photography classes, and a teen culinary camp, just to name a few.
“We’re very excited about our new space and the ability to help people learn life skills,” says Caroline Bradley, the library’s culinary arts coordinator. “This is going to be life-changing for so many customers. I can’t wait for you to come and cook with us.”
The high-tech kitchen includes convection-capable wall ovens, induction cooktops, an espresso maker, ice cream maker, tilt-head stand mixer, Vitamix blender and wall-mounted teaching screens.
The Northeast Library is located at 7490 Parklane Rd. in Columbia. — April Blake
Drip Coffee owner Sean McCrossin just doesn’t stop trying new things. In the past few years, on top of his two caffeination parlours, he’s added the Scoopy Doo Gelato Shoppe attached to Drip in Five Points, a mobile Mystery Bus that slings both coffee and gelato, and revived Sit-n-Spin, the record label he started before moving to Columbia from North Carolina.
And this Halloween, he unveils Evil Weiner, a pop-up hot dog shop that will share space with Scoopy Doo (725 Saluda Ave.). But these are more than your average hot dogs. In addition to a beef dog, there will be a chicken dog, veggie dog and italian sausage (ranging from $3.95 to $5.95 with relishes, mayo, ketchup or mustard), along with an ambitious selection of “Evil Toppings” that you can add for an additional $1.50 to $2.95, including the “Gaylen Ross” (duck confit with City Roots microgreen arugula aioli and sliced almonds), the “Neve Campbell” (brie and pepper jelly) and the “Linda Blair” (housemade Jack Daniels chipotle barbecue sauce, pulled pork and flower honey).
Hot dogs are available Wednesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. — Jordan Lawrence
Eat All the Korean Food
The South Carolina Korean Festival is happening Saturday, Nov. 3, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at 1212 Richland St. and brings plenty of flavorful Korean food and culture to the table.
The family-friendly festival has free admission, but food, drink and items from vendors do cost money. Try bulgogi, kimbap, kimchi and other Korean foods while enjoying traditional Korean dances, K-pop and Tae Kwon Do demonstrations.
All proceeds from the festival are donated to local charities. — April Blake
Vote for Discounts
Sure, discounts on tasty treats shouldn’t be a primary motivator for voting, but it can help knowing that voting can net you 60 percent off of coffee and espresso drinks at Drip and gelato at Scoopy Doo on Nov. 6. Proprietor Sean McCrossin is offering the discount to anyone who shows up to either store that day wearing an “I Voted” sticker, so don’t let the election workers forget to give you you that little symbol of democracy (and discounts). — April Blake
Got food or drink news? Email email@example.com.


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That didn’t take long. Amendment 64 to the Colorado Constitution, which passed on Election Day 2012 and allows citizens the right to own and use pot in private, does not allow for public consumption of marijuana. However, it does not explicitly forbid social clubs. So, at 4:20 PM on New Year’s Eve, Club 64 opened the doors for its first-ever members meeting/party, held at a Larimer Street shop just north of downtown.
Club 64 membership was available for $30 online or $50 at the door, but has since sold out, though you can still sign up on the organization’s website (Club-64.com) to get on the waiting list. What does membership bring? A place to gather with others to use cannabis. As of yet, the club will not sell any pot, because the state has not yet formalized licensing (regulations are expected to be passed later this year). The social club plans to move from location to location, informing members of the next meeting via email updates and the website. Check out a video from the first night filmed and broadcast on CNN here.
Backing Club 64 is prominent attorney and longtime cannabis proponent Robert J. Corry, Jr., who is acting as the club’s general counsel. Corry is joined by club founder Chloe Villano. The idea behind the organization is to provide a place for people who can’t enjoy marijuana at home — whether because of their spouse, landlord attitude or other restrictions — in a social setting. In the future, refreshments could be sold.
According to the Denver Post, there has been no decision about action by the Denver Police, who are waiting to consult with city attorneys. But the district attorney’s office told the paper they will not weigh in until a specific case is brought by the police. So for now, Club 64 looks like it will continue.
That’s not the case for what was actually the very first marijuana social club to open, which was launched earlier on December 31 in Del Norte, CO. Owner Paul Lovato wanted to provide a place for pot consumption in a building he leased right next to a shop where he planned to sell other items like paraphernalia and refreshments. However, this club closed just a day after opening, when the landlord for the location withdrew the lease from Lovato after all of the publicity, according to the New York Times.
What will happen next? Stay tuned, it should be interesting.
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Dr. Mario World launching on iOS and Android next month, free with in-app purchases
Tuesday, 18 June 2019 Nintendo announced today that Dr. Mario World will launch for iOS and Android on July 10th. The game was first announced in January, with Nintendo touting that “action puzzle” game would be released globally during the summer of 2019.
The post Dr. Mario World launching on iOS and Android next month, free with in-app purchases appeared first on 9to5Mac.
*Update:* Dr. Mario World is now available for iOS a day early as a free download from the App Store (coming soon for Android).
Nintendo announced today that... 9to5Mac Also reported by •Business Wire •9to5Google