text:
Stakelogic has broadened its position in the Romanian market after forming an alliance with online casino operator MaxBet.
Looking to extend the reach of its igaming titles in Europe, the partnership will see Stakelogic’s range of both modern and classic slot titles integrated into the MaxBet.ro platform.
Danila Dzehs, Senior Sales Manager at Stakelogic, stated: “Our games have been designed to provide unrivalled levels of fun, excitement and entertainment, and MaxBet.ro players can now experience this for themselves for the first time.
“Our classic and video slots have hit the mark with players across Europe, and it will be no different in Romania.
“This is another important partnership for us, adding a player-favourite operator to our impressive roster of customers. We now look forward to seeing MaxBet.ro players enjoy the max entertainment our games have allowed us to build our reputation on.”
Through the partnership, which has been facilitated by aggregator EveryMatrix, Stakelogic’s traditionally-styled slot releases will access another corner of the Romanian market.
This classic slot offering consists of releases said to provide ‘a sense of nostalgia’, with common fruit machine themes and symbols depicted in games such as Multi6Player, Multi Player, Bonus Runner, Runner Runner Megaways and Big Runner Deluxe.
Additionally, Stakelogic’s portfolio of modern video slot titles, designed to provide ‘explosive gameplay’, will become available to MaxBet, including Money Track, Treasures of Ra, Spartans vs Zombies Multipays, Greedy Fox and upcoming release Money Track 2.
Secaci Matei, Promotional Manager at MaxBet.ro, added: “The addition of Stakelogic allows us to turbo-charge our game lobby with content that gets pulses racing with every spin.
“Classic or video, the developer’s slots are proven with players across Europe and they will absolutely be a big hit with ours in Romania.”


text:
Hassad, Qatar’s premier investor in the food sector is planning to invest QR200mn in the fodder sector over the next three years, as part of the strategy to achieve self-sufficiency, according to its top official.
The expansion plans comprise developing 15 additional new pivots on 1,200 hectares, to produce 25,000 tons of green fodder annually, said Hassad chief executive Mohamed al-Sadah.
Hassad plans to cover more than 50% of the local market needs from the primary fodder materials, he said, emphasizing the availability of strategic stock from both green and manufactured fodder at the firm’s warehouses.
“Alaaf Qatar” currently produces the main products needed by the local market, such as the Alfa Alfa and Rhodes at its farms (Irkiyyah, Sailiya, and Rifa), which spans a land area of 900 hectares, producing more than 8,500 tons (in 2019).
“Furthermore, there is a plan to increase the production levels to 10,000 tons this year,” he said.
More than 100,000 tons of primary fodder materials (barley, soy, and corn gluten), which currently covers about 30% of the market’s need was provided by Alaaf Qatar.
The company also provided 8,000 tons of fodder supplements and imported green fodder during the past year. In 2020, Alaaf Qatar is scheduled to supply 200,000 tons of primary fodder materials, with the aim to cover more than 50% of the local market needs.
Highlighting that in coordination with the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Alaaf Qatar distributed more than 3.5mn bags of state-subsidized products to livestock owners in 2019, he said: “This percentage is expected to increase by 15% for the current year.”
Alaaf Qatar currently owns seven fodder sales points distributed across the country; Simaisma, Um Slal, Abu Hamour, Al Wakra, Irkiyyah, Al Shahaniya, and a new sales point has been recently opened in Al Wakra Central Market to meet the needs of livestock owners.
Other sales points are currently being developed in Abu Nakhla and Al Karaana, scheduled to open during this year.
On the poultry sector, Arab Qatari Company for Poultry Production- Al Waha’s second phase will increase the local production to 16mn a year – the additional 6mn chicken to be allocated to frozen poultry production lines and cuts. Furthermore, the company’s production of table eggs would reach 130mn per year.
“We are currently working in full capacity to operate the second phase of the expansion, which will see a noticeable increase in local poultry production levels,” al-Sadah said, adding the first phase saw the company cover 70% of the market demands.
Mahaseel for Marketing and Agri Services Company has marketed 15mn kg of vegetables during the current agricultural season.
“We founded Mahaseel after studying the market needs, and identifying the suitable mechanism to support the private agricultural sector, in order to contribute in achieving self-sufficiency,” he said.
Mahaseel currently markets 30 different vegetable varieties in the local market, through 44 hypermarkets outlets around the country. Moreover, 200 local farms are registered with Mahaseel, to benefit from the marketing and agricultural services provided to them.
As for international investments, Hassad has invested in A’Saffa foods, which is considered the largest poultry project in Oman.
“The company is currently undergoing expansion plans to double its production by next year, to reach 44mn birds per year,” he added.

domain: news


text:
Kenya went on overdrive gear to woo investors in the Motor industry
KENYA GOES ON OVERDRIVE GEAR TO ATTRACT INVESTORS
NAIROBI, MAY 5, 2023
Kenya went on overdrive gear to woo investors in the motor industry to pitch camp in the country.
Opening the 24th edition of Africa Auto Expo encompassing automotive assemblers, spare part makers, industrial tools, and equipment, the Principal Secretary for Industry Dr. Juma Mukhwana said Kenya will continue to improve manufacturing environment to ensure that the country becomes number one choice for investors.
He said Kenya was a politically stable country with a well-developed communication infrastructure and top-notch skilled personnel in every sector preferred by most investors.
Dr. Mukhwana assured investors of a ready market in East Africa Community, COMESA and the greater Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCTA) with a population of 1.3 billion for products manufactured in Kenya.
He said Kenya was the only country in the region hosting a World Rally Championship event where motor manufacturers come to compete and test their rally cars.
The PS said that Kenya was mulling on constructing a special automotive industrial park in Athi River. He invited potential investors to team up with Numerical Machining Complex (NMC) for a joint venture in assembling motor vehicles and making spare parts.
Presently, Kenya assembles 12,000 motor vehicles and 2.5 million motorbikes annually. “Kenya is open for business and any willing investor will be assisted by the government to begin manufacturing”, said Dr. Mukhwana.
The exhibition was attended by more than 400 exhibitors from various parts of Africa and the world.


text:
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s industrial production index (IPI) rose 5% in October from a year earlier on growth in all three segments — manufacturing, mining and electricity — of the output gauge.
According to data released by the Statistics Department yesterday, manufacturing output grew 3% while mining and electricity production rose 11.5% and 3.4% respectively.
The figures came in better than expected.
For the January-October period, the IPI expanded 4.9% compared with the corresponding period last year.
Meanwhile, the Statistics Department said in a separate statement Malaysian manufacturing sales rose 2.4% to RM55 billion in October from RM53.8 billion a year earlier.
Cumulative 10-month sales climbed 6.5% to RM545.8 billion from RM512.5 billion.
“The recent data releases point towards a subdued outlook in both domestic and external conditions. However, October IPI growth slowdown was not as sharp as expected. In fact, October IPI growth came above the Bloomberg consensus estimate of +4.2%,” commented Alliance Research economist Manokaran Mottain in a research note yesterday.
“Nevertheless, we still think that IPI growth would taper in the coming months in tandem with the expected broad slowdown in economic activities. The economy faces headwinds from expected moderation in domestic demand and also a weaker external outlook,” Manokaran added.
He expects the mining component to soften in months to come given the “sustained fall in crude oil prices since June”. In recent months, export of petroleum-related goods have already shown signs of moderation.
The export of refined petroleum products have contracted for two consecutive months in September (-15.1%) and October (-19.1%), according to Alliance Research.
Besides, Manokaran noted that the sharp increase in growth in the mining subsector during the month could be attributed to the low base from the previous year.
“It is important to note that exports had fallen 3.1% in October (September: +2.0%) due to the weak demand for electrical and electronic goods (-4.5%) and refined petroleum products (-19.1%). Therefore, we expect weak exports in light of the subdued external conditions to pose further downside risk to industrial production in the months ahead.
“However, we see the dampening sentiments and recent weak data releases as a moderation of the pace of growth in the economy rather than an outright contraction.”
Meanwhile, Citi Research said in a note yesterday that growth in October suggested a fourth-quarter gross domestic product “pickup” to around 5.6% year-on-year and 7.8% quarter-on-quarter compared with the third-quarter levels.
“Looking ahead, desynchronised global outlook is likely to see a sharper differentiation among export industries — manufacturing is likely to do better given stronger dependence on US final demand, while commodity exports could be muted, given softer price outlook and greater dependence on Japan,” commented Citi Research.
It pointed out that the pickup in October consumption and capital goods imports suggests resilient domestic demand for now. Unless the growth outlook — especially for consumption — improves sufficiently to fuel demand pull pressures, Citi Research expects Bank Negara Malaysia to continue to maintain its “accommodative” policy stance.
“We see the earliest window for the next hike in September 2015 when there is sufficient data to assess the growth/inflation impacts of GST [goods and services tax], and when the Fed [US Federal Reserve] starts hiking, though risks are likely tilted towards further delays,” Citi Research wrote in the research note.
This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on December 12, 2014.


text:
US agencies reportedly split over blacklisting Huawei hardware spinoff
Federal agencies like the Pentagon and Commerce Departments can’t decide whether to place Huawei’s former smartphone company, Honor, on the US’s export blacklist, according to a Washington Post report on Sunday.
According to The Post, top officials at the Commerce, State, and Energy departments, along with the Pentagon, met last week to decide whether to place the smartphone manufacturer on the US’s entity list. Pentagon and Energy staffers supported placing the company on the list while Commerce and State Department officials opposed the idea. If blacklisted, Honor would be unable to receive US tech exports without a license.
Huawei launched Honor in China in 2013 to compete against other popular smartphone companies like Xiaomi. Nearly…


text:
July Fourth business best in years
Business over last week’s Fourth of July celebration was better than it has been locally since before the recession, according to industry officials.
Part of this can be attributed to July 4 falling on a Friday, a general willingness to spend more during stronger financial times, or both — depending on the source.
“The number of people here having the time of their lives was the best holiday period I’ve seen in many years,” said Carol Chaplin, executive director of the Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority, adding. “It was a very strong weekend for the entire town.”
Many hotels reported 100 percent occupancy over the holiday weekend, and rooms are expected to refill quickly for the upcoming celebrity golf tournament.
Dan McHale, general manager at Inn by the Lake, said business last week was similar to that of the “old” days. People are willing to spend more on a “good, quality” experience again, and it shows in the number of room bookings.
“We have forecasted to be back where we were five years ago,” he said.
Meanwhile, restaurants have kept busy trying to feed the masses.
Bear Beach Café reported it was “packed” all weekend with a standard wait time of about 45 minutes. The restaurant conducted about 600 transactions on July 4 alone, and it sold about three times the usual amount of beer, manager Mike Nalder said.
“It’s our biggest weekend of the year,” he said, “and it didn’t let us down.”
Edgewood Tahoe also reported “massive crowds” on its premises during the holiday.
The company hosted two public events, including a sold-out Beach Party that drew in about 700 people. The event had sold-out a month in advance.
The golf course and restaurant also remained busy throughout the holiday weekend, said Bryan Davis, marketing manger for Edgewood Companies.
“We had a successful weekend,” he said. “A lot of it is attributed, of course, to the Fourth falling on a Friday.”
Looking forward, business and community leaders expect tourism and visitation to remain strong in the area. Chaplin said it will continue next week with arrival of the celebrity golf tournament.
“I think that is a great turnaround for us,” she said, “and hopefully that continues into the winter.”
Support Local Journalism
Support Local Journalism
Readers around the Lake Tahoe Basin and beyond make the Tahoe Tribune's work possible. Your financial contribution supports our efforts to deliver quality, locally relevant journalism.
Now more than ever, your support is critical to help us keep our community informed about the evolving coronavirus pandemic and the impact it is having locally. Every contribution, however large or small, will make a difference.
Your donation will help us continue to cover COVID-19 and our other vital local news.


text:
Illustrative photo (Photo: VNA)
The Vietnam Steel Association (VSA) said that within the last one month or so, the steel industry encountered eight trade remedy cases in seven markets. They include safeguard measures by the Thai Ministry of Commerce and the European Union, and anti-dumping investigations by the Canada Border Services Agency and the Malaysian Ministry of International Trade and Industry.
Meanwhile, the US Department of Commerce has launched two anti-circumvention probes into corrosion-resistant steel and cold-rolled steel imported from Vietnam.
The Eurasian Economic Union also started global safeguard measures for alloy and non-alloy steel. The Directorate General of Trade Remedies under the Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry has also commenced a countervailing duty investigation into stainless steel pipes from Vietnam and China.
Iron and steel products top the list of Vietnamese exports suffering from trade remedies.
Director of the WTO and the Integration Centre at the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry Nguyen Thi Thu Trang said that by June 2018, Vietnam had faced 78 anti-dumping cases, 12 anti-subsidy and countervailing measures, and 17 anti-circumvention cases. Notably, steel products are involved in 37 of the anti-dumping cases and nearly three-quarters of the countervailing cases.
VSA Chairman Ho Nghia Dung said trade protectionism is increasing in the context of strong integration at present. Most trade remedies come from key markets of Vietnam like the ASEAN countries, the US and the EU.
These cases will greatly affect Vietnamese exports from not only now until the year’s end, but also over the years to follow. To sustain export growth, businesses and the VSA will have to exert their utmost efforts to seek new markets and deal with trade remedy cases, he noted.
Vietnam shipped abroad some 3.6 million tonnes of steel in 2016 and 4.7 million tonnes in 2017.
“Obviously, the rapid export growth has made other countries pay attention to Vietnamese steel and apply trade remedy measures to protect their domestic production,” Dung added.
A majority of Vietnamese steel is suspected of hailing from other countries like China and the Republic of Korea with circumventing duties imposed on products of these nations.
He said that in order to handle this problem, the steel sector has to perfect its production process and improve its competitiveness. In particular, they need to form a closed manufacturing cycle from input materials to production, gradually eliminating foreign factors to minimise the suspension that other countries’ products take advantage of Vietnam to circumvent duties.
Nguyen Thanh Trung, Chairman of the Board of Directors and General Director of the Ton Dong A Corporation, said that other countries’ protection measures are causing difficulties for the domestic steel industry. His company is upgrading technology as it will not only help protect the environment, but also it will ensure the quality of steel is maintained. This will help Vietnamese steel become more confident on foreign markets and reduce the application of trade remedies from other countries.
A representative of the Hoa Phat Group said that by building an iron and steel complex in Dung Quat Economic Zone in Quang Ngai province, the firm will become the second hot-rolled steel maker in Vietnam, as well as the only company owning a complete production chain from ore exploitation to steel distribution. It will help Hoa Phat promote competitiveness and minimise involvement in anti-circumvention and anti-dumping cases in export markets.
The Trade Remedies Authorities of Vietnam under the Ministry of Industry and Trade recommended that to cope with and avoid trade remedies, businesses should actively diversify its markets and avoid over-dependence on one single market. They also need to diversify products, boost product quality, reduce the competition tactic of cheap prices, and use more local materials.


text:
Dish has asked a Central California U.S. District Court to
deny Fox's request for a preliminary injunction against Dish's Hopper over the
introduction of two new features that allow it to place-shift programming to
It had earlier tried to block the service focused on its
ad-skipping function, but last month tooka new tack after Dish introduced new iterations at the Consumer Electronics
Show that stream and record programming for Internet, out-of-home viewing. Fox
says that clearly violates Dish's contract with Fox, as well as copyright law.
In its response, filed late Friday (March 15), Dish argues
that the underlying Sling hardware used in its new iterations has been around
for seven years during which Fox not only did not complain but its lawyers told
a Second Circuit Court in 2012 that Sling use "would not be a public performance."
Dish also says that in a 2010 joint press release about a
Dish DVR, both companies touted its built-in Sling functionality and that Fox
News it was a "legitimate" way to watch a game and that Fox News
called it a legitimate way to "watch any game."
"Fox's knowing delay destroys the other necessary
elements for a preliminary injunction," said Dish. "Fox's inaction
for the better part of a decade destroys any notion of irreparable harm, and
its licenses in the meantime make clear that any damages for a purported breach
of contract can be readily calculated."
The four-pronged court test for granting a preliminary
injunction is: (1) likelihood of success on the merits; (2) likelihood of irreparable
harm absent the injunction; (3) the harm/equities balance of the stay tips in
their favor; and the balance of equities tips in his favor," and (4)
"that an injunction is in the public interest.
Dish also pointed to a 2008 Copyright Office decision that
Sling "made "existing licensed programming available to individuals
for personal use in
a controlled fashion and without the need for an additional license."
"Dish does not infringe Fox's public performance right
by providing the Dish Anywhere feature nor do the million other Sling-based
devices already in consumers' homes," the company told the court.
"Consumers -- not Dish -- make the transmissions using Sling. Those
transmissions are private and controlled. There is no infringement..."
The court deniedFox's initial request for an injunction based on the ad-skipping Hopper
function, but saw an opportunity to file again.
Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.
The smarter way to stay on top of broadcasting and cable industry. Sign up below.
Thank you for signing up to Broadcasting & Cable. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.


text:
The luxury electric car maker Lucid Motors will become a publicly traded company, opening up access to billions of dollars in funding. Lucid is set to merge with special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Churchill Capital IV Corp (CCIV) at a $11.75 billion combined equity valuation and a $24 billion pro-forma equity value.
Churchill Capital’s founder, investment banker Michael Klein, is said to have sought out the deal to challenge Tesla. Lucid Motors is run by an ex-Tesla executive, Peter Rawlinson, who is both the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Technology officer at Lucid. Since joining Lucid in 2013, the company has focused its efforts away from their initial engineering and tech divisions to EV manufacturer, and they’re set to launch the Lucid Air later this year.
Funding has been the issue for Lucid Motors over the past few years, fueling the deal with blank-check firm CCIV. In 2018, they received $1 billion in capital from the Saudi Arabia sovereign wealth fund, providing a much-needed boost. However, expanding Lucid’s production capabilities will cost much more to become a viably competitive carmaker with Tesla.
Through the merger with CCIV, $4.6 billion in funds will become available for Lucid. That includes $2.1 billion in cash from CCIV as well as $2.5 billion from PIPE, or private investment in public equity, through investors in the deal.
With public trading in place, Lucid stands to become much more authoritative in the EV industry, even as their first model has yet to hit the roads. They plan to deliver 20,000 units through 2022 and 251,000 annually by 2026. The Lucid Air was postponed from spring 2021 to the second half of this year and will have a starting price of $77,400. It could be the first sedan to have 500 miles of driving range.
When Lucid revealed the pricing for the Lucid Air, a direct competitor for the Tesla Model S, Elon Musk tweeted, “The gauntlet has been thrown down!” and a price cut was announced on the Model S.
SPAC mergers a popular option for auto
Lucid motors is not the first EV carmaker to seek funding with an SPAC merger well ahead of any sales. In July 2020, Fisker revealed a deal to go public with Spartan Energy Acquisition Corp. A month earlier, Nikola Motor Company announced a merger with VectoIQ Acquisition, a SPAC, and began trading under the ticker NKLA. Lordstown Motors also secured a SPAC deal with DiamondPeak Holdings Corp in August, soon after revealing a prototype of an all-electric pickup truck.
One major difference between the Lucid Motors merger and those of other EV makers is in valuations. Lucid’s valuation at $24 billion is exponentially larger than any of the others to date. Lordstown Motors was valued at $1.6 billion while Nikola was valued at $3.3 billion. Fisker’s deal assumed a valuation of $2.9 billion.
Comparatively, General Motors Co is valued at $76 billion.
Speculation in EV tech has become big business for investors. Although the success of carmakers like Lucid firmly rests on their product being embraced by car buyers, the amount of money invested by large firms is indicative of the potential they see.


text:
Staff theft costs small firms £112m
LIGHT-FINGERED staff have cost small businesses more than £112m in the past three years - by helping themselves to everything from petty cash to office equipment.
One in seven firms have suffered from staff theft, according to a report by insurance giant Eagle Star. The amounts, though averaging only £1,000 a year, not only affect the bottom line but also make bosses distrust employees.
Plumbers are the worst hit - one in six have seen equipment or money disappear - followed by convenience stores and newsagents.
Most watched Money videos
- Rare 1960 crashed Jaguar heading to auction for £10k to £15k
- The app that allows you to order cash to collect at a shop
- Will investors see a Roaring Twenties on the stock market?
- 2007: Levi Roots pitches his Reggae Reggae Sauce to the Dragons
- Mercedes' new all-electric EQB is a seven-seater compact SUV
- Volkswagen's Up! is a stylish city car with big performance
- Citroen unveil the My Ami Cargo, a dinky electric van
- The all-new 7-seater SUV Kia Sorento with a panoramic sunroof
- Are unloved bank shares primed to bounce back?
- Prince William and Kate's 2013 Range Rover to be auctioned off
- New Pagani Huayra R is so powerful it can only be driven on track
- Ineos Grenadier 4X4 is tested for sturdiness on the toughest roads


text:
Supermarket giant Sainsbury's will cut thousands of jobs in a management shake-up.
The retailer is consulting with staff over plans that will see the number of senior in-store posts slimmed down and replaced with fewer management roles.
Affected staff, thought to run into the thousands, will be given the choice of applying for the new roles, accepting a more junior position or facing redundancy consultation.
Sainsbury's said the changes at both its supermarkets and convenience stores are "designed to meet the challenges of today's retail environment" and will result in more "efficient" structure.
The announcement comes just a day after Tesco announced it is axing 1,700 jobs across the UK.
Asda, another Big Four player, has also announced swingeing cuts recently.
Simon Roberts, the supermarket's retail and operations director of Sainsbury's, insisted that the "intention is not to reduce overall head count".
He added: "We're proposing a store management structure that will deliver best-in-class leadership and, in many cases, will offer an improved reward package for new management roles.
"The proposals will introduce a more efficient and effective structure, designed to meet the challenges of today's retail environment.
"They will deliver cost savings to be invested in our customer offer and in our colleagues as they continue to provide the very best service for our customers."
Sainsbury's is undergoing a major cost-cutting drive as it struggles amid a brutal price war that has engulfed a sector also reeling under inflationary pressures and diminished consumer spending power.
Late last year it announced that it was axing 2,000 jobs, mainly from human resources and payroll staff, adding to 1,000 head office job cuts in August, as part of efforts to cut another £500 million of costs.
Earlier this month Sainsbury's warned of a challenging market amid weaker sales at Argos, which it acquired in 2016.
Martin Lane, managing editor of money.co.uk, said: "This is distressing news for employees of Sainsbury's and their families. Now is the time to check what redundancy rights you have and dig out any income or mortgage protection policies you hold just in case.
"This is the second time this week we've heard of job cuts impacting two of the UK’s biggest grocery stores. The supermarket giants are clearly facing turbulent times with competitive pressure from discount rivals and online sales.
"I suspect this may just be the tip of the iceberg for the industry, shoppers habits are changing, purse strings are tightening and our reluctance to pay full price grows."


text:
Blackberry 71XX Series (240*260) Devices Models: 7100, 7110t, 7105t, 7100r, 7100v, 7100g, 7100x, 7100i, 7130e, 7130c, 7130g, 7130v/Blackberry 81XX Series (240*260) Pearl Devices Models: 8100, 8110, 8120, 8130/Blackberry 82XX Series (240x320) Pearl Flip Devices Models: 8200, 8220, 8230
Box.net announced today the launch of Box Mobile for BlackBerry smartphones from Research In Motion (RIM). With the push of a button, Box Mobile enables Box.net users to access their Box.net accounts as well as share files directly from their BlackBerry smartphone.
BlackBerry smartphone owners can use Box.net’s service to quickly and easily access content stored online. Box Mobile saves time for users who are on the road or out of the office and need access to their data – from documents to videos to photos – and want to share these files with colleagues, friends and family. Box.net also plans to develop and expand the functionality in future releases.
"The announcement reflects the growing importance for anytime, anywhere connectivity so that you can access your information for business or personal use," said Karen Appleton, VP of Business Development, Box.net. “The Box Mobile application makes it easier than ever for Box.net users to stay connected and be productive using their BlackBerry smartphone."
Box Mobile is available now for download from Box.net’s website (www.box.net/blackberry) and mobile site (m.box.net).


text:
ChargePoint and Tesla lead the way: Charging has always been the “chicken or the egg” dilemma for EV advocates — and now both the vehicles and infrastructure are taking off. The numbers in this table don’t include the entire U.S. market, with other suppliers also serving EV drivers, but it’s a good look at how far all of it has gone and which companies have contributed quite a lot. Special thanks to data-driven analysis and forecast firm EVAdoption for making such valuable information available to all of us. ChargePoint has kept a steady pace deploying significant large installations of charging stations. The company accounts for 42.8% of all US public charging ports and 42.9% of all charging locations, according to EVAdoption. Kudos to Tesla for opening up its Supercharger network to any electric car. Open sourcing has been pushed by Greenlots and other fast-charging advocates, and while Tesla isn’t going down the open-source technology lane, in spirit much of the same will be happening by opening up its fast chargers to other brands.
As for me……
As I’d mentioned about a year ago, I’m working on my master’s degree. I just had the opportunity of attending a weekend course on campus — the Missouri School of Journalism in Columbia, the oldest J school in the nation; and the best, according to graduate members of the “Mizzou Mafia.” I will be finished in December 2023, and I look forward to teaching college courses in journalism (and related — media and communications being part of it). I’ve also been honored to become a freelance reporter for the Beachcomber News in Long Beach, Calif. I cover the economic trends in the city — companies setting up shop to build aerospace of the future (such as Virgin Galactic and SpaceX), the role Amazon is playing at the port and the city, and creation of a task force to deal with a major social dilemma — absuse of the elderly. But I will continue to put out Green Auto Market; and I am available for expert/consulting time on the business of green vehicles, fuels, and technologies. As I’d done before, I’ll also have a subscriber section and reports on the market data and stratgic issues shaping the future of clean transportation. I’ll get the word on that section in the near future. Any questions, you can always contact me at email@example.com.
And in other news………….
Califiornia Climate Investments: California’s cap-and-trade funds continue being spent on good causes. A California Air Resources Board (CARB) mid-year report said that California Climate Investments implemented over $1 billion from December 2021 through the end of May 2022, bringing the cumulative total to just over $11.4 billion. Of that total, $5.4 billion of all implemented funds have gone to California’s priority populations, which include disadvantaged and low-income communities. Overall, 567,143 California Climate Investments projects are expected to reduce an estimated 78.6 million metric tons of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, in addition to 102 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent in expected reductions attributable to the High-Speed Rail project.
BMW’s Plug&Charge feature: From mid-2023, a Plug&Charge function will be available in the first BMW models, enabling customers to charge electricity at public charging points without having to use a charging card or app. It will all happen through a data exchange between the vehicle and the charging station. BMW Charging will also be expanding its charging with this feature provided by Digital Charging Solutions GmbH (DCS). The new functionality allows Plug&Charge access to the IONITY charging network initiated by BMW.
Mercedes and Rivian: Mercedes-Benz Vans and Rivian have initiated a strategic partnership to jointly produce electric vans. A new joint venture company will be established to create a manufacturing plant in Europe that will build large electric vans for both the Mercedes-Benz and Rivian brands. It will be coming from a new EV plant next to an existing M-B plant in Central/Eastern Europe. At least two vans architectures will be built from there — VAN.EA, the electric-only platform used in M-B vans; and a second-generation electric-van, built on the Rivian Light Van platform. Future models will also be explored.


text:
Apple still sells the G5 iMac next to the Intel iMac, and on Wednesday the company cut the price of the 20-inch version to US$1,499, a $200 drop. The 17-inch model is still $1,299, the same price as the 17-inch Intel iMac. MacCentral reported the news.
During its conference call with analysts earlier this month, Apple confirmed that it will sell the G5 version until supplies run out, but executives rebuffed a questioner who wondered why prices werenit cut, given the companyis emphasis on the better performance of the Intel model.
AppleInsider on Wednesday cited unnamed sources who said that the 17-inch G5 iMac continues to sell well enough to not warrant a price cut. Last week, the site confirmed that the 17-inch G5 iMac has been declared "end-of-life" and canit be ordered in large quantities anymore. They also noted that Amazon.com is offering $125 and $150 rebates on the 17- and 20-inch G5 iMacs.


text:
Design Innovations Fuel Advancements of Next-Gen Diagnostic Wearables
The COVID-19 pandemic has been a harsh taskmaster, schooling virtually everyone with indelible lessons about the undeniable value of virtual consultations, medical monitoring and home testing. As a result, the market for diagnostic wearables is gaining momentum while continuing to evolve rapidly, especially in the areas of redefining various applications for remote monitoring and self-diagnosis.
According to Vision Research Reports, the global market for wearable medical devices is expected to reach $196.5 billion by 2030, growing from $21.5 billion in 2021, at a CAGR of 28%. The soaring demand for high-tech products and continuous health monitoring is fueling the market growth.
Wearable technology has gained steady traction, with fitness tracking, performance monitoring and heart-rate tracking applications gaining permanence in daily lives. Over the past two years, however, the future of medical monitoring came into clearer focus as a convergence between medical device companies and tech innovators altered the diagnostic wearables landscape.
Moreover, a steady emergence of new applications is creating new requirements for design engineers who must fully understand the wide-ranging needs of all stakeholders. This enlightened perspective will affect decisions across the entire product lifecycle—from early-stage device design concepts and usability studies to commercialization at scale, and every step in between.
Exciting Opportunities for Designers
The rapid growth in diagnostic wearables is creating exciting opportunities, especially for designers who are on the front lines of devising and delivering the next generation of products and services. Alongside the opportunities, however, are a multitude of complex design challenges.
Identifying the major market drivers guiding the development of diagnostic wearables is crucial, as it impacts how patients, caregivers and consumers monitor and analyze data regarding health status. To that end, Molex and Avnet commissioned a survey, called “Diagnostic Wearables: The Future of Medical Monitoring,” to gain insights on how this industry segment is expanding and unfolding.
Some 600 design engineers and engineering managers from around the globe were queried on a range of questions. Overall, the responses showcased a strong sense of optimism, especially from designers in the ranks of startups and technology companies. Respondents broadly agreed that the technology is ready and barriers to innovation can be overcome—it’s just a matter of time.
According to the survey, leading the way for design challenges are consumer expectations for ease of use (42%), the need for simple user interfaces and complete documentation (41%), design difficulties in uncontrolled homecare settings (40%) and complexity of regulatory approval processes (34%).
In addition, factors that could impede design processes also include cost (38%), durability (37%), power (35%), miniaturization (33%), data capture (30%) and connectivity (30%). Issues with connectivity could emerge as the largest challenge as three in four respondents revealed that constraints could negatively impact the ability to collect relevant data for tracking and analyzing health.
Of particular interest, survey respondents have high expectations for use cases in three categories:
- Fitness (e.g., activity and heart rate tracking, performance monitoring)
- Wellness (e.g., sleep tracking, sun exposure, weight monitoring)
- Medical (e.g., monitoring of vital signs and glucose levels, remote EEG/ECG/EMG)
Looking for the silver lining in the COVID cloud, the entire world was given an education on the value of wearables during the pandemic. The reality and validity of at-home testing, remote monitoring and virtual consultations forced everyone to think about healthcare in different ways. Rewritten boundaries emerged in the survey, revealing that 80% of the design professionals saw a change in attitudes in the wake of the pandemic.
Sixty-one percent said they believe medical device companies are applying increased efforts in their home-based products—and roughly half said they saw greater interest in these products from patients, caregivers and other medical professionals.
A Growing Roster of Advocates
According to the survey, there also is good news in the growing roster of advocates who are encouraging adoption of diagnostic wearables. The impetus is led by patients and consumers (61%), along with doctors and other medical professionals (47%) as well as in-home caregivers (44%). Unsurprisingly, insurance providers, some doctors and other medical professionals, as well as medical technicians, remain hesitant or object to increased use.
It was no surprise that design professionals who responded to the survey felt that insurance companies—those that would pay the tab for these advancements—were the most hesitant to embrace wearable diagnostics (31%) and therefore are most likely to impede progress. While it is understandable that a certain contingent will always be cautious about new and emerging solutions, there was almost an equal number of respondents who felt insurance companies could be advocates. Perhaps this harkens the potential for innovations gaining a faster foothold in healthcare.
Nevertheless, as with any new development in the medtech space, gaining regulatory approval is always a challenging hurdle. That was the No. 1 impediment to adoption considered by nearly half of the survey respondents. Ensuring data integrity of the information garnered from existing wellness and fitness trackers ranked second on the list of challenges.
Where Will the Innovation Come From?
Understanding demand for wearable diagnostics is growing, so where will the innovation come from? Fifty-one percent of the respondents cited tech companies while 48% named medical device startups as the two groups most likely to take the lead over the next five years. However, almost two-thirds of the survey respondents believed collaboration from multiple groups is critical for achieving the most advancements across the sector. The importance of cross-industry cooperation and collaboration cannot be overstated as it is imperative for mutually beneficial parties to join forces.
Skeptics need look no further than the collaboration between SOTECH Health and Phillips-Medisize to recognize the fruits of good work between a medtech startup and established manufacturing solutions provider. In a show of further collaboration, the two companies leveraged research from The University of Texas at Dallas to create a breath analyzer that detects COVID.
An escalating pace of innovative collaborations is expected to come from industry, government and academic groups, according to 63% of the respondents. More thought provoking, however, were the findings that while nearly three quarters of respondents from China ranked group collaboration as the highest in importance, the U.S. came in at 61% while participants from Germany (59%), France (57%) and the United Kingdom (52%) followed.
Look for Consumers to Push for Progress
While insurance companies’ willingness to pay reimbursement costs will remain a looming determinant in the fate of many promising new medtech products, look for consumers to continue to push for progress. More and more products, such as wellness trackers and self-administered diagnostics, continue to gain popularity via the over-the-counter designation.
Many of these consumer offerings enjoy the advantages associated with well-established platforms, such as smartphones, tablets or watches, while others like Fitbit, favor a new hardware platform, which most likely will expand their capabilities in coming years.
Designers recognize consumer goods as a promising landing spot for their innovative products. The survey showed that more than 50% of the respondents agreed that applications such as obesity control, posture sensing and correction, breath-based disease detection, reproductive health monitoring and infectious disease monitoring showed intriguing promise.
Consumers’ acceptance of new diagnostic wearables is not a given, however. Key to gaining popularity, according to respondents, is ease of use (noted by 42%). Following just a point behind is the necessity for the user interface and documentation to be complete and simple.
A Market Ripe with Opportunities
The number of emerging applications for wearable diagnostics is extensive. While diabetes testing was most frequently mentioned by survey takers, mobile CT scanning, hazardous exposure sensing and mood monitoring show life-changing promise.
Overall, the survey paints a positive picture. As the applications for wearable diagnostics continue to expand—and as more stakeholders become comfortable using these technologies—this marketplace is ripe with opportunities for innovative designers and engineers to drive widespread acceptance for a new generation of wearable devices.
Article Source: Medical Design & Outsourcing


text:
Kanye West recently released a new song dissing NIKE titled ‘Facts’. photo: Kanye West
Kanye West recently released a new song dissing NIKE titled ‘Facts’.
Kanye takes a swipe on Nike, the sportswear company he reportedly worked with on his sneakers line.
He later left Nike to work with Adidas last year, 2015.
Since then Kanye West has gone ahead to release trendy and fashionable footwear, the Adidas YEEZY Boost.
In the new song ‘Facts’, here are some punchlines explained…
1. ‘Yeezy Yeezy just jumped over Jumpman’
It was obvious that in 2015 the YEEZY line had a lot of hype, sold out of all footwear in no time and had people line up in stores across the globe.
At the same time the Jordan Brand apparently started having issues selling out some of its Retro releases towards the end of the year.
The Jordan Brand of course had a lot more releases than YEEZY and is a billion dollar brand.
2. ‘If Nike ain’t had Drizzy man they would have nothing. If Nike ain’t have Don C. they would have nothing’
Kanye affirms that only Drake and Don C. came to the rescue of Nike shoe line.
3. ‘I ain’t drop an album but the shoes went platinum’
Kanye West spells it out straight and lets it be known that he sold over a million shoes in 2015, which is impressive, but certainly nothing that will impress Nike.
4. ‘Tell Adidas that we need a million in production. I done told y’all all I needed was the infrastructure’
The rapper believes he could be selling a lot more sneakers, which is probably true, but the high resell prices would probably drop quickly if that was the case.
5. ‘James Harden, Swaggy P running up the budget.’
The $200m deal with James Harden was certainly one of the biggest announcements of the year and it is likely …Read More
Source:: The NET


text:
Concerns over contracting the coronavirus has created a run on face masks, causing a problem for some construction businesses.
Joe King, owner of 1st Patriot Enterprising in Evansville, Ind. has seen the issue first hand. His painting company uses the masks every day, but he is one of a number of business owners seeing their supplies running out. “Anyone involved in drywall or painting, will constantly need a protective mask of some kind," King told a local NBC news station.
Ironically, the commonly purchased N95 masks are not effective for bacteria or viral protection. Instead they are made solely to keep dust and other particulents out of the lungs. US Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams has stated that wearing a face mask can actually increase the risk for many people. "Folks who don't know how to wear them properly tend to touch their faces a lot and actually can increase the spread of coronavirus," Adams said during a March, 2nd interview on Fox & Friends.


text:
The FDA has sent warning letters to seven companies selling quack "energy based" vaginal rejuvenation "therapies," in which repurposed laser and radio-frequency-based tools that are used to remove warts and precancerous growths are used to scorch peoples' vaginas, a process that is claimed to have benefits for sexual dysfunction, urinary problems, dryness, "laxity," itching and a host of ills. Some of these companies specifically target breast-cancer survivors.
Actually, letting unqualified quacks fire lasers and powerful EM signals into your ladybits is really dangerous, which may come as a bit of a surprise, I'm sure.
That's why FDA Commissioner Scott Gottleib also took to Twitter and tried to inform women that this is all a bad idea, saying that these companies' customers experienced "numerous cases of vaginal burns, scarring, pain during sexual intercourse, and recurring or chronic pain."
The FDA plans to monitor and follow up with the companies, as well as look into ways to revamp its oversight of such medical devices. For patients, the FDA suggests discussing any vaginal issues with your doctor.
The seven companies called out by the FDA are: BTL Industries, Inc; Cynosure, Inc.; Alma Lasers; Sciton, Inc.; Thermigen, Inc.; BTL Aesthetics; and Inmode MD Ltd.
Don’t try to rejuvenate your vagina, FDA warns after scolding companies [Beth Mole/Ars Technica]
A new study reported in Nature (Sci-Hub mirror) tracks down the origins of the mysterious rise in CFC-11, a banned ozone-depleting greenhouse gas whose rise was first reported a year ago, and blames the increase on manufacturing in eastern China.
Mark Zuckerberg offered to let Chinese premier Xi Jinping name his firstborn (seriously), Apple purged the Chinese App Store of privacy tools at the request of the politburo; Google secretly built a censoring search-engine for use in China, but America's Big Tech companies are sounding the alarm that they will no longer be able to […]
Mountain View -- home to some of Silicon Valley's most profitable companies, including Google -- is one of the most expensive places in the world to live, thanks to the sky-high wages commanded by techies, who have gone on to bid up all the real-estate in the region.
If you can build a cloud infrastructure, you can build a business. Companies are overwhelmingly turning to cloud computing to set up or bolster their network, and it’s easy to see why. It allows on-demand access to processing power, a la carte services, and nearly unlimited storage, all without adding extra systems and the maintenance […]
Does your gaming setup need an upgrade? No need to wait for Christmas. We’ve rounded up the latest tech accessories for your favorite video game platforms. All of them are already sale priced, but you can knock an additional 15% off the final price for Memorial Day by using the online code WEEKEND15. Audeze Mobius […]
Raspberry Pi is one of the world’s most versatile open-source computers. Alexa is a home automation hub with limitless potential. Together, they’re a dream team for ambitious makers, opening the door to everything from automatic lights to voice-controlled robots. Learning Raspberry Pi is meant to be relatively easy for newbies, but its applications with Alexa […]


text:
Happening journey amid pandemic? Google provides new COVID-19 associated journey planning features- Expertise Information, Firstpost
FP TrendingAug 14, 2020 22:11:34 IST
Whereas many nations are nonetheless reporting a rising variety of COVID-19 circumstances and are imposing lockdown to comprise the unfold of the virus, a number of will now be opening up journey. To assist travellers plan correctly, Google has now added a number of tweaks to its search outcomes, providing data concerning resorts and availability of flights.
In a weblog publish, Google has talked about, “As a result of the affect of COVID-19 on locations can differ, it’s necessary to remain updated on the most recent travel-related data for locations it’s possible you’ll wish to go to.”
The search engine large stated that when a person will search on Google for data like resorts, flights or issues to do, they’ll now see when there’s a COVID-19 journey advisory or restriction for his or her vacation spot.
It added that a number of days earlier, driving alerts has been launched to inform customers about COVID-19 checkpoints and as restrictions and advisories start to raise. It’s including details about journey resuming in a specific vacation spot on Google Search.
Based on Google, within the subsequent week, customers will see the proportion of open resorts with availability and flights working within the metropolis or country-level primarily based on Google Flights and Inns information from the earlier week.
The weblog publish by Google stated that when customers go to google.com/journey and faucet on a visit that they’re planning, or seek for resorts and issues to do, they’ll see developments for resort and flight availability. Hyperlinks to further native assets, together with the variety of COVID-19 circumstances are being offered as properly.
It additionally talked about that resulting from uncertainty round COVID-19, persons are taking a look at flexibility when planning travels. Plenty of resorts now provide free cancellation to present travellers extra confidence whereas planning journeys. Google will now permit travellers to go looking resorts and trip leases on google.com/journey and filter to see solely rooms or properties with free cancellation insurance policies.
Discover newest and upcoming tech devices on-line on Tech2 Devices. Get expertise information, devices evaluations & rankings. Common devices together with laptop computer, pill and cell specs, options, costs, comparability.
#journey #pandemic #Google #provides #COVID19 #associated #journey #planning #options #Expertise #Information #Firstpost


text:
“That pretty much takes the gas out of our tank.”
That’s what Jim Allen, president of the New York Apple Association, told Good Fruit Grower when asked about the impact of the European Commission’s decision to lower permitted residue levels of diphenylamine (DPA) on imported apples.
Some packers in New York State had built a marketing empire selling Empire apples into the United Kingdom and Ireland.
“It’s a very specific, critical market to us,” Allen said. “They take a lot of medium to small apples—138s, 125s, 113s. It’s a very good niche market.” New York growers had been selling them 600,000 to 700,000 boxes per year. New York exports about 10 percent of its fresh market crop each year, and this market for Empire apples made up half of the exported crop.
The European Commission ruled in late April to reduce the permitted level of DPA residues from 5 parts per million to 0.1 ppm, a 50-fold reduction. That level is so low, it would require dedicated storage rooms and bins never exposed to any level of DPA, Allen said. The risk of cross contamination at 0.1 is just too high, he said.
Permitted residue levels of DPA in the United States and many other countries is 10 ppm; the Codex standard is 10 ppm. Canada, Europe, and China have been at 5 ppm.
Allen said he expects New York will abandon the European markets, pull their marketing representatives out, and concentrate on developing new markets in Brazil and India.
The decision to lower the maximum residue level (MRL) will become final in July unless there is a last-minute change of mind at the commission’s meeting then. “We will attend that meeting,” Allen said.
Expectations are the reduction—which is essentially a ban on use of DPA—will take effect in January 2014, six months after the final decision.
In the Pacific Northwest, the reduction will have less effect—because packers there had already been backing out of the European markets. The key reason was Europe’s decision two years ago to ban the wax ingredient morpholine.
“We used to do 1.3 to 1.4 million cartons to European,” said Mike Willett, vice president for scientific affairs at the Northwest Horticultural Council in Yakima, Washington. “We backed off and were building back up. This year through April we shipped 480,000 boxes to Europe.”
Shippers don’t dip apples in DPA solution for no reason, Willett said. It is used to reduce the incidence of storage scald in apples in controlled atmosphere storage. When SmartFresh (1-MCP) came to the market, it also reduced storage scald—but created new problems of carbon dioxide injury. DPA reduced that injury, so now many stored apples are treated with both DPA and SmartFresh.
Organic apples, which are not treated with either chemical, will be unaffected by the reduction in permitted levels. But organic apples go out of condition and can’t be stored for sale beyond the start of the new calendar year. Apples that aren’t treated with DPA must be picked later and sold earlier. Storage issues are more serious when fall picking conditions are warm.
“Growers in Europe will be affected, too,” Willett said. “Maybe growers in northern Europe, where it is cooler, will be less affected because there is less risk of scald.”
Willett said most packers knew the Europeans were considering reducing DPA residue levels, but the size of the reduction—effectively a ban—surprised them. “They didn’t consider tweaking the levels,” he said. If they had reduced the level to where cross contamination was acceptable, the growers might have been more willing to attempt to comply.
“More surprising was the fact there was no specific finding of risk,” Willett said. The European agency that evaluates safety of chemicals cited “data gaps,” but no specific safety issues. The product is used in every market in the world, and has been for many years.
It is the DPA residue that protects the apples in storage, so lowering the permitted residue level effectively makes the product useless.


text:
Here’s some exciting news from our brand partner, AT-A-GLANCE®.
Nonprofit organization to receive portion of all Wounded Warrior Project® product sales; AT-A-GLANCE® committed to minimum donation of $125,000 through 2014
To help raise awareness of injured U.S. service members’ needs, the makers of
AT-A-GLANCE planning and organizing tools today announced its new line of products supporting Wounded Warrior Project® (WWP). AT-A-GLANCE is a part of ACCO Brands, a leader in branded office and consumer products and print finishing solutions.
Wounded Warrior Project is a nonprofit organization dedicated to honoring and empowering Wounded Warriors of the United States Armed Forces. Its vision is to foster the most successful, well-adjusted generation of wounded service members in our nation’s history. With this new alliance, WWP will receive a portion of the proceeds generated by the new AT-A-GLANCE WWP items through the end of 2014. A minimum of $125,000 has been pledged by AT-A-GLANCE, with the total donation expected to exceed that amount.
“We are extremely excited about this new relationship with AT-A-GLANCE and ACCO Brands,” said Brea Kratzert, director, Strategic Partnerships, Wounded Warrior Project. “It is through the support of the American public and iconic companies like ACCO Brands, that Wounded Warrior Project is able to offer 19 programs and services to our nation’s injured service members and their families.”


text:
One winery worker at China's northwestern Xige Estate in Ningxia has died after inhaling toxic carbon dioxide during grape fermentation, the first known case reported by media in China's domestic wine industry. Read More
China's premier wine region, Ningxia, has set out clear goals to significantly improve its production capacity by 2025 to rival other international wine regions and boost its domestic wine consumption.
Ningxia, China's premier wine region in northwestern China, seems to have uncorked more overseas markets in the pandemic year, with a record year of wines exported, according to data released by the province's customs department. Read More


text:
Tag Archives: Lebron James
After announcing his number selection this weekend (23) Lebron’s jersey hits production at the adidas plant this weekend with a new sleek look. Stay tuned! Shout out to Darren Rovell
Never understood the level of hatred this man gets, he should be applauded.. he does it HIS way.
For game 2 of the NBA finals Lebron broke out the Yeezy Colorway of the Zoom Soldier 7s – Dope?
King James arrived in style to San Antonio for game 1 of the NBA Finals!
Via Nathaniel S. Butler
He may not ever do an NBA All star Slam Dunk Contest but The King is just showing us that he still has it, so don’t sleep!
King James took to his instagram to show off his latest footwear, you know people had something to say, hey folks its all under the same umbrella..NIKE! These guys are superstar athletes but they are people first.. shout out to … Continue reading
Black History Month is always a reminder that athletes worldwide representing the NIKE, Inc. brand have been inspired by a legacy of Pan-African achievement. For the fourth year, Nike is honoring Black History Month with a collection that pays tribute … Continue reading
“He is not called “King James” for nothing. American basketball has discovered its star in LeBron James. A champion in all aspects of the game, the Miami Heat forward is a player with multiple talents: unclassifiable, powerful, intelligent, and rightly … Continue reading


text:
L'ABUS D'ALCOOL EST DANGEREUX POUR LA SANTÉ. À CONSOMMER AVEC MODÉRATION.
No42 4th Birthday X Modzik 51st Issue
On the occasion of the 4th anniversary of the No42 shop, MODZIK magazine was invited to celebrate the new release … Read more
PINGHE AW17 PRESENTATION
PINGHE AW17 PRESENTATION Photos by Courtesy of YouConcept … Read more
GANT Rugger launch at PHM Concept Store
On March the 16th GANT Rugger has launched its summer-spring 2017 collection at PHM concept store in Paris, 50 Rue … Read more


text:
The first sales data of Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet had immediately outlined an extraordinarily successful debut for the pair of games, but it seems that the rise was only just beginning.
After confirming themselves as the best launch ever for the Game Freak series, a Nintendo Switch title and a console exclusive game, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet in fact they win a further recognition. According to data from the Rising Sun, the two titles now hold the record for best launch ever for a video game in Japan.
To take the top spot on the podium, Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet sold out 4.05 million copies in just three days and in the Far East only. A fact that took the gold medal away from the previous record holder, who also recently made his debut. In second place in the ranking, we now find in fact Splatoon 3which in the first three days of presence on the Japanese market had sold the beauty of 3.45 million copies.
With about 600,000 more copies, the open world of Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet conquers the PokéFan of the Rising Sun, who wanted to reward the new direction undertaken by Game Freak with the pair of games, which for the first time offer an open world and the possibility of developing your own story through three different narrative arcs.


text:
A Sacramento-based smartphone app for people with legal questions recently made a splash by winning a tech contest and signing up users.
In October, Quicklegal Inc. just launched its app for Apple and Android users.
The application links people who have legal questions with attorneys seeking clients. Users can ask some questions for free. They can also pay $39 for 15 minutes of legal advice in real time on the app. The app puts the customer face-to-face with the attorney in an on-demand video chat.


text:
Maybe it’s something in the water.
But for the third time in about six months, a Quebec-based investor has unloaded a substantial part of its stake in a public company.
The latest example played out this week, when Metro Inc. agreed to sell 10 million subordinate voting shares of Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. at a price of $47.90 per share. The sale represents about half of Metro’s stake in Couche-Tard.
Metro has been a key shareholder since 1987 and the sale will allow it to monetize part of its almost $1-billion stake. At the same time, the sale will add a little diversification to Metro given the market value of its holding in relative to Metro’s total value (market cap of $6.25-billion.) The sale – on which BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc. was the bookrunner with National Bank Financial Ltd. and TD Securities Inc., being in the syndicate – is being done by way of a block trade. Accordingly no prospectus will be filed.
For Couche-Tard the secondary sale of is shares by is its second equity financing in the past six months: earlier, the company that has not raised equity in about a decade, raised $330-million of equity (at $47.25 a share) to help fund the purchase of Norway’s Statoil Fuel & Retail.
Prior to Metro bowing out and taking its profits, there were two other secondary sales in Quebec-based companies. In both cases, a $129.3-million offering of shares in Saputo Inc. (at $41.70 a share) and a $148.4-million sale of shares in TransForce Inc. (at $18.55 a share) the seller was the same, Jolina Capital Inc., a company associated with the Saputo family. On both deals, National Bank Financial and BMO Capital Markets were the two agents.
The two stock sales were different in one key aspect: Jolina’s sale of some of its stake in Saputo was from a control block which meant that a prospectus had to be filed; Jolina’s sale of about half its interest in TransForce wasn’t from a control block, so no prospectus was filed.
But to show that companies outside Quebec can also dispose of their interests in an issuer consider Fairfax Financial. Last September Fairfax disposed of a $65 million investment it made when it purchased convertible debentures issued by Mullen Group Ltd.
The debentures, part of a $125-million offering, were issued in March 2009, came with a $10.73 conversion price and a 10% coupon. When it decided to sell, Fairfax received 6.058 million Mullen shares – which were then sold via a designated trade at $$22.40 a share. For Fairfax the sale represented more than a double on its investment while it received 10% a year to hold the stake.


text:
European automaker PSA announced the plan to introduce several electric cars to their brands lineup in 2019 and 2020 during the meeting with investors. According to Automotive News Europe, those would be Peugeot and DS models.
Compact crossover DS 3 Crossback is expected to start the PSA lineup upgrade – its unveiling is scheduled on early 2019. Compact hatchback Peugeot 208 should hit the market a little later – in September 2019. Remarkably, this car is going to be presented both with a traditional internal combustion engines and electric powertrain. Finally, the premiere of a Peugeot 2008 crossover is appointed on 2020.
PSA’s strategic plan implies 11 electrified cars to enter the automakers’ lineup by 2020 – at least 4 all-electric cars and 7 plug-in hybrids.


text:
JAPANESE GAMES FIRM Nintendo has finally acknowledged the widespread connection issues affecting its new Joy-Con controllers.
The issue, which has seen the left Joy-Con controller randomly disconnected from the Nintendo Switch console, has been plaguing many, including us here at the INQUIRER.
It's also been affecting CNET's Sean Hollister, who took the problem straight to Nintendo and subsequently discovered that the firm already has a fix for the issue.
He sent his shonky Joy-Cons in for repair and promptly received a replacement controller. Naturally, Hollister opened up the fixed controller and noticed that the only thing that has changed was a small piece of conductive foam added to the lower right corner.
This foam, treated with some conductive metal, is used to lessen the interference of external radio signals on the Joy-con's own antenna. When Hollister removed the foam, the controller stopped working as expected.
Since Hollister shared his findings, Nintendo has put out a statement, publicly acknowledging that the problem exists due to a "manufacturing variation".
"There is no design issue with the Joy-Con controllers, and no widespread proactive repair or replacement effort is underway," Nintendo of America said in a statement.
"A manufacturing variation has resulted in wireless interference with a small number of the left Joy-Con. Moving forward this will not be an issue, as the manufacturing variation has been addressed and corrected at the factory level.
"We have determined a simple fix can be made to any affected Joy-Con to improve connectivity.
"There are other reasons consumers may be experiencing wireless interference. We are asking consumers to contact our customer support team so we can help them determine if a repair is necessary. If it is, consumers can send their controller directly to Nintendo for the adjustment, free of charge, with an anticipated quick return of less than a week."
It's also been revealed that the Nintendo Switch suffers from a dead pixel problem, although the firm has said that this is normal and that you should probably stop complaining about it.
"Small numbers of stuck or dead pixels are a characteristic of LCD screens. These are normal and should not be considered a defect," the firm said. µ
It's now safe to eat croissants over your laptop again
'Supply constraints' mean it won't be available to purchase seperately
Happy BA-has-screwed-something-up-Thursday everyone!
Top-end Core i9-9900K will allegedly be firm's first mainstream octa-core CPU


text:
Many online customers of HSBC were unable to access their internet and mobile banking services early on Friday morning - instead, they received a message telling them to "try again later".
By mid-morning, the bank said services had been restored, but some customers - taking to social media to air their displeasure - disputed this.
HSBC did not give a reason for the outage and could not immediately identify how many customers had been affected, but it apologised for the glitch, saying: "We are sorry for any inconvenience caused".
Outages of this kind are not uncommon and earlier this year, some NatWest customers were horrified to discover that cash had appeared to disappear when they attempted transfers.
Lloyds, Halifax and RBS customers have also suffered glitches to online services this year.


text:
Driverless cars would be majority in US cities by 2025, according to John Zimmer, co-founder of Lyft said in 2016 (Michaels & Elliott, 2022, October 27). This week driverless technology is hotspot for different reasons.
On Wednesday, October 26, Mobileye offered its initial public offering price at $21 per share. However, Mobileye made a better than expected IPOs and landed at $28.97 on Wednesday. There was worrisome due to current US stock market’s cooling off. In addition, standing alone business model for driverless technology was viewed as unsustainable according to Daniel Morgan, a senior manager at Synovus Trust co. (Driebusch & Higgins, 2022, October 26). Also, other competitors are better funded, for example, Waymo by Alphabet Inc. and Zoox by Amazon.com.
On the other hand, US Justice Department and Securities regulators are investigating Tesla if it may have misled consumers and investors (Michaels & Elliott, 2022, October 27). Tesla’s Autopilot system is most popular and highest driving assisting system on the roads, whether it may overstate its functions.
Driverless technology or autopilot technology is, fully or partially, applied for most new cars, as Intel’s CEO, Mr. Gelsinger, observes. We are just witnessing Mobileye going alone in public equity markets this week. US car industry is going driverless, which might be slower than the expectation. Still, it seems going that way.
Provided with The Blue Ocean Asset Management Partners, LLC. Further information, please contact us


text:
The US dollar is currently trading at a four-month high against the Euro, making a trip to Europe this summer seem like a smart move. But some travel industry insiders say the robust greenback may not necessarily translate into more Americans crossing the pond for their next vacation, thanks mainly to rising airfares.
Travel website Kayak says US-European fares are up 11 per cent over last summer, which would negate the lure of more affordable accommodation – a 100 euro hotel room will set a US traveler back around $125, as opposed to $132 in August 2010.
Supporting this theory, a spokesperson for Kayak told USA Today that users of its website were searching less for summer flights to European destinations and more for flights to US cities.
Marian Marbury, president of travel specialists Adventures in Good Company, echoed this sentiment, telling the newspaper that interest in its European trips was down, with “more than one person” backing away after seeing a $1,200-plus fare.
According to a spokesperson for travel website Priceline, European summer airfares “are at a 10-year high”. And although economic unrest in Greece has lead to a drop in prices, summer hotel rates have yet to fall significantly, even in struggling Ireland, Italy and Portugal.
US tourists could also be deterred from traveling to the UK this year, thanks to a hike in prices due to this year’s Olympic Games and the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth. The dollar was trading at around $1.57 to the pound earlier this week.
According to USA Today, US Department of Commerce figures show a year-on-year increase in European departures of 3 per cent for the second half of 2011, confirming that travel to Europe has picked up slightly since the rise of the dollar.
You must be logged in to post a comment.


text:
This German startup that's opening up access to funds at top PE firms like KKR, Carlyle, and Silver Lake just hit $100 million in US client assets less than a year into its expansion
Moonfare, a startup where retail investors can access PE funds, launched its US operations in January and has already seen significant growth.
The future of fintech: Analysts explain why crypto and 'super apps' will transform finance — and share 3 stock picks that are 'about to take over the world'
Robinhood's 50% stock surge showed enthusiasm for fintech firms. Two analysts share their top fintech stock picks, investing ideas, and crypto views.
Walmart announced a partnership with Ribbit Capital to offer financial products to customers and employees in January.
JPMorgan has announced the winners of its third annual $3 million competition.
Consolidation is on the way.
The most innovative financial services providers with the BI list of top fintech startups and financial technology companies. Stay on top of the future of financial technology.


text:
The influx of trends like electrification of the powertrain, connected cars and self-driving cars is ushering in changes at a pace the Indian auto sector has never seen before.
Tata Technologies, a pioneer in automotive technologies is poised at a spot that makes it unique in the Indian automotive space – it provides turnkey support from concept, all the way through to production and launch.
The auto-tech major has, at the moment, eight electric vehicle programs around the world. Tata Technologies is now competing with American, Japanese and German companies.
The man at the helm of Tata Technologies, Warren Harris, Managing Director & CEO, paints us a picture of the auto sector in 2020 and beyond. We touch upon critical challenges faced by the sector, roadblocks, and best practices to follow before embarking on the journey towards autonomous driving.
Could you throw some light on Tata Technologies’ focus on electric vehicles. What are the current roadblocks in the Indian market?
The development in the EV space has seen the industry develop a much bigger appetite to outsource the development of the mechanical product.
*/ /*–>*/ The constraint in India is the price point at which products are being sold. If you look at individual components, the biggest cost in an electric vehicle is the battery. Although we’ve seen an exponential reduction in battery prices over the last five years, it’s still a very expensive part for the Indian market. Warren Harris MD & CEO, Tata Technologies
If you look at the Chinese market, most of the new electric vehicle companies are much more interested in the connected experience and investment in software, when compared to investment in the mechanical product.
We’re now finding ourselves increasingly responsible for things that until 3-4 years ago, were the exclusive responsibility of OEMs. This is a trend we’ve observed globally as well as in India.
The constraint in India is the price point at which products are being sold. If you look at individual components, the biggest cost in an electric vehicle is the battery. Although we’ve seen an exponential reduction in battery prices over the last five years, it’s still a very expensive part for the Indian market.
The appetite shown by China, the US, or the Scandinavian countries has not been seen in India because of the price point.
However, the government has signaled the importance of electric vehicles and some of their procurement decisions made over the last couple of years reinforced their commitment to EVs.
Related: Indian Auto 2020: Impact of shared mobility and e-vehicles
Additionally, a lot of industry consortia are coming together to talk about infrastructure challenges and how that’s going to be addressed.
The government will have to help in terms of incentives and the industry has got to work hard to make the pricing of electric vehicles competitive with that of IC engine-driven vehicles.
Additionally, the availability of natural resources like lithium will impact the cost of electric vehicles. If you see how global politics has played out around oil, I think we’ll see the same thing with regard to commodities like lithium.
And that’s why I don’t think we can bet on the fact that lithium ion is going to be the pervasive standard around which electrification is driven, although it looks like this is where everybody is investing.
How has supply chain evolved in the automotive space?
If you look at the industry today, there’s an evolution from the traditional OEMs and vertically-integrated supply chain. Traditionally, the OEM used to make the decision and the suppliers would be be challenged to fulfill that decision.
Today, the responsibility for the value chain is being disaggregated, and so the OEMs are influencing their supply chains, but not controlling them. So organizations like ourselves are being given much more responsibility to exert ownership over the delivery of product to the market.
Now this requires that we upskill in terms of our capabilities, and to be much more ambitious in what we can do.
“About 60 percent of the ER&D spend is still focused around mechanical products, the rest is on software. By 2022, the ratio will flip and stand at around 70:30. For us to be relevant and useful to the industry, software will have to play a much more important part”
How is the Indian startup space influencing automotive trends?
India is seen as resource pool for very talented people. It is seen as a resource that could be leveraged for innovation and IP capitalization. We are committed to grow our business not just through adding headcount, but through complementing our services with investment in IP and with the investment in capabilities that we can package.
And the startup community is most certainly a source for that. What’s coming out of incubators and startups is really transforming the paradigm around which mobility is being viewed.
We have to now ensure that the decisions that we take in terms of skills and capabilities around what we support in the future are aligned with where the industry is going. It’s an opportunity for us to get access to IP and thought leadership.
For instance, we spotted a new entrant that has developed a material, which under pressure, generates electricity. And so we looked at the potential for using the material for car seats. At the moment, the industry uses fairly expensive sensors that signals whether or not the seatbelts have been fastened. We could use the new material to replace the sensor. The same thing can be done for aircraft seats as well.
What’s the focus on the software side of connected cars? It’d be great if you could compare it vis-à-vis the focus on the mechanical side.
We’ve observed that about 60 percent of the engineering, research & development spend is still focused around mechanical products, the remaining is on software.
But by 2022, that ratio is going to flip and stand at around 70:30. For us to be relevant and useful to the industry, software will have to play a much more important part.
Also, akin to the way the smartphone space has evolved, some auto OEMs will look to develop a very controlled ecosystem, while others will be much more open and inclusive.
Quite recently, we saw a leading manufacturer having to recall over 22,000 cars. What do automotive manufacturers need to do to ensure that recalls can be kept to a minimum?
It’s about getting the design right first. It’s about making sure that the product development process and the testing and validation of vehicles – both offline and physical testing – are maintained at a very high standard.
A lot of traditional manufacturers are under tremendous pressure with emerging OEMs demonstrating their ability to develop products faster.
They have also demonstrated their ability to respond to the market in a much more agile way. Traditional OEMs are trying to play catch up.
Take the example of what’s happened with Tesla – there are great innovations, there are wonderful products that have been launched in the market, but when it comes to manufacturing at scale, Tesla struggled. It’s very hard getting this right.
*/ /*–>*/ If I were to go to a CIO of an OEM 3-4 years ago, they would talk about productivity and optimization. If I talk to a CIO of an OEM today, their top priority is cybersecurity; everything else comes after that. Warren Harris MD & CEO, Tata Technologies
The automotive space, globally, is working very hard to reduce carbon emissions and meet regulations. What is your take on tackling climate change?
Countries are putting a lot of pressure on manufacturers through stringent regulations, as a result of which IC engines have now become much more efficient and much cleaner.
I think it’s very regrettable that the US has signaled, over the last six months, that it is going to soften expectations in terms of transitioning the industry towards being environment-friendly.
It sends the wrong message at a time when we all need to be taking responsibility for climate change. It’s a driver for the industry, and it’s going to be constant till the time electric vehicles are pervasive.
With connected cars coming to the forefront, there is growing concern around cybersecurity challenges arising from connected components. How serious is the problem?
I cannot overstate how serious the issue is and how seriously the industry is taking it. If I were to go to a CIO of an OEM 3-4 years ago, they would talk about productivity and optimization. If you talk to a CIO of an OEM today, their top priority is cybersecurity; everything else comes after that.
We, at Tata Technologies, are packaging cybersecurity solutions into products and we are developing capabilities around system integration and testing, and the validation of those solutions. With cybersecurity, you’re always playing catch-up.
Tell us about Tata Technologies’ focus on autonomous vehicles. Is there something the industry might be overlooking before hopping on to the autonomy bandwagon?
Tata Technologies is working on some really exciting projects with very progressive customers. We’re working with a number of OEMs around the integration of LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) and the sensor systems. We’re also packaging the software for this.
However, one of the things that is not always recognized with the move to autonomy is that the product itself will fundamentally change. The utilization of passenger vehicle averages at around 5 percent.
With the move towards autonomous driving and shared mobility, the utilization will grow at a rate between 50 – 70 percent. So the product itself will have to be much more robust – this is impacting the way in which the mechanical structure is put together.


text:
|By PR Newswire||
|December 10, 2012 07:34 AM EST||
GURGAON, India, December 10, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --
WeChat, one of the leading mobile communication apps, now allows users to create their own QR code identity and share the same with friends via WeChat, Facebook and email. Sharing mobile numbers, user names and email ids to connect are now things of the past. Every WeChat user can now have a unique, personalised QR code identity. WeChat users can generate their unique QR code identity from their WeChat account on their Android, iPhone, and Windows handsets. Recently, WeChat has been promoting users to generate their QR codes and share with friends to connect with each other in a new, fun manner.
As per the latest QR code promotion contest, WeChat users in India are encouraged to post their own WeChat QR code on facebook and scan their friends' QR code to connect with them. Users adding the maximum number of friends using their QR code scanned, stand to win iPhone5, iPad3, Google Nexus 7 along with many other exciting gift vouchers. WeChat has witnessed a great response to the contest and already more than 10000 users have shared their QR codes on their respective Facebook walls.
WeChat users are going one step ahead, by making their own QR code as their facebook profile pic. This new way to connect is fun and hassle-free without any need to exchange pins, numbers, ids or run exhaustive search - all you need to do is, scan the QR code, make connections and win.
Mr. Dennis Hau, Head of International Product Center, Tencent International Business Group, said, "At WeChat, we believe in offering our users innovative and fun ways to connect with the world. The concept of personal customised QR codes has found huge popularity globally. QR codes provide a unique identity to users along with a non intrusive form of connecting in the social media space. WeChat has become very popular in India within a short span of time and we will continue to offer new, exciting ways of engagement to our users."
Keeping a step ahead of the industry developments, WeChat, the No. 1 social messaging app, has marked itself as one of the flag bearers in revolutionising the digital space with the use of distinctive personalised QR codes. The customised personal QR code generated for every WeChat user provides a unique innovative identity to the users along with an opportunity for brands to reach out to their customers. Globally, well-known brands like Starbucks, Nike and McDonald's have been aggressively using WeChat QR codes to reach out to their target audience and offer specific discounts and privileges.
WeChat is now one of the leading communication apps in India. Interestingly while WeChat has already been a No.1 app in 16 other countries, in India it achieved the top slot within three months of its launch. After announcing its popularity with a strong user base of 100 million in March 2012, WeChat has recently reached a new milestone of 200 million registered accounts globally, within a short span of six months. Also, notable is the fact that WeChat has been generating over 700 million location-based activities along with other Tencent mobile products on an average each day.
The app sets itself apart with its unique smartphone offerings like free voice message and free video call features. It also enables excellent group chat with free voice message, animated emoticons, customisable backgrounds, and mini games like Rock-Paper-Scissors. The app also encourages creative expression by allowing users to apply artistic filters to their photos, create a personal photo journal, and share photos with friends. WeChat allows users to seamlessly connect with their social circles from phone contacts and Facebook. People can also use location-based social (LBS) features to discover other members of the WeChat community like 'Shake'and 'Look Around'.
Download link: http://www.wechatapp.com
Contest link: http://www.facebook.com/wechatindia
Founded in November, 1998, post establishing itself as China's largest and most used Internet service portal, Tencent is now the largest internet company in the whole of Asia Pacific region and the third largest in the world. Tencent is heralding entrance in the Indian market with the launch of its flagship product - WeChat. At the cusp of attaining a user base of almost 800 million active user accounts, Tencent has maintained steady growth under its user-oriented operating strategies, ever since its establishment. Total revenues of the company for the year 2011 stood at USD 4,522.5 million.
Primary Media Contact: Nilay Arora, [email protected], 91-124-6749000
Internet of @ThingsExpo, taking place June 6-8, 2017 at the Javits Center in New York City, New York, is co-located with the 20th International Cloud Expo and will feature technical sessions from a rock star conference faculty and the leading industry players in the world. @ThingsExpo New York Call for Papers is now open.
Jan. 20, 2017 10:45 AM EST Reads: 3,687
WebRTC sits at the intersection between VoIP and the Web. As such, it poses some interesting challenges for those developing services on top of it, but also for those who need to test and monitor these services. In his session at WebRTC Summit, Tsahi Levent-Levi, co-founder of testRTC, reviewed the various challenges posed by WebRTC when it comes to testing and monitoring and on ways to overcome them.
Jan. 20, 2017 10:45 AM EST Reads: 6,068
DevOps is being widely accepted (if not fully adopted) as essential in enterprise IT. But as Enterprise DevOps gains maturity, expands scope, and increases velocity, the need for data-driven decisions across teams becomes more acute. DevOps teams in any modern business must wrangle the ‘digital exhaust’ from the delivery toolchain, "pervasive" and "cognitive" computing, APIs and services, mobile devices and applications, the Internet of Things, and now even blockchain. In this power panel at @...
Jan. 20, 2017 09:45 AM EST Reads: 2,911
WebRTC services have already permeated corporate communications in the form of videoconferencing solutions. However, WebRTC has the potential of going beyond and catalyzing a new class of services providing more than calls with capabilities such as mass-scale real-time media broadcasting, enriched and augmented video, person-to-machine and machine-to-machine communications. In his session at @ThingsExpo, Luis Lopez, CEO of Kurento, introduced the technologies required for implementing these idea...
Jan. 20, 2017 08:30 AM EST Reads: 4,738
Buzzword alert: Microservices and IoT at a DevOps conference? What could possibly go wrong? In this Power Panel at DevOps Summit, moderated by Jason Bloomberg, the leading expert on architecting agility for the enterprise and president of Intellyx, panelists peeled away the buzz and discuss the important architectural principles behind implementing IoT solutions for the enterprise. As remote IoT devices and sensors become increasingly intelligent, they become part of our distributed cloud enviro...
Jan. 20, 2017 08:15 AM EST Reads: 4,920
"A lot of times people will come to us and have a very diverse set of requirements or very customized need and we'll help them to implement it in a fashion that you can't just buy off of the shelf," explained Nick Rose, CTO of Enzu, in this SYS-CON.tv interview at 18th Cloud Expo, held June 7-9, 2016, at the Javits Center in New York City, NY.
Jan. 20, 2017 08:15 AM EST Reads: 4,704
The WebRTC Summit New York, to be held June 6-8, 2017, at the Javits Center in New York City, NY, announces that its Call for Papers is now open. Topics include all aspects of improving IT delivery by eliminating waste through automated business models leveraging cloud technologies. WebRTC Summit is co-located with 20th International Cloud Expo and @ThingsExpo. WebRTC is the future of browser-to-browser communications, and continues to make inroads into the traditional, difficult, plug-in web co...
Jan. 20, 2017 07:15 AM EST Reads: 2,970
In his keynote at @ThingsExpo, Chris Matthieu, Director of IoT Engineering at Citrix and co-founder and CTO of Octoblu, focused on building an IoT platform and company. He provided a behind-the-scenes look at Octoblu’s platform, business, and pivots along the way (including the Citrix acquisition of Octoblu).
Jan. 20, 2017 07:00 AM EST Reads: 9,072
For basic one-to-one voice or video calling solutions, WebRTC has proven to be a very powerful technology. Although WebRTC’s core functionality is to provide secure, real-time p2p media streaming, leveraging native platform features and server-side components brings up new communication capabilities for web and native mobile applications, allowing for advanced multi-user use cases such as video broadcasting, conferencing, and media recording.
Jan. 20, 2017 07:00 AM EST Reads: 6,860
Web Real-Time Communication APIs have quickly revolutionized what browsers are capable of. In addition to video and audio streams, we can now bi-directionally send arbitrary data over WebRTC's PeerConnection Data Channels. With the advent of Progressive Web Apps and new hardware APIs such as WebBluetooh and WebUSB, we can finally enable users to stitch together the Internet of Things directly from their browsers while communicating privately and securely in a decentralized way.
Jan. 20, 2017 03:00 AM EST Reads: 895
WebRTC is about the data channel as much as about video and audio conferencing. However, basically all commercial WebRTC applications have been built with a focus on audio and video. The handling of “data” has been limited to text chat and file download – all other data sharing seems to end with screensharing. What is holding back a more intensive use of peer-to-peer data? In her session at @ThingsExpo, Dr Silvia Pfeiffer, WebRTC Applications Team Lead at National ICT Australia, looked at differ...
Jan. 20, 2017 02:30 AM EST Reads: 5,032
The security needs of IoT environments require a strong, proven approach to maintain security, trust and privacy in their ecosystem. Assurance and protection of device identity, secure data encryption and authentication are the key security challenges organizations are trying to address when integrating IoT devices. This holds true for IoT applications in a wide range of industries, for example, healthcare, consumer devices, and manufacturing. In his session at @ThingsExpo, Lancen LaChance, vic...
Jan. 20, 2017 02:00 AM EST Reads: 6,577
With all the incredible momentum behind the Internet of Things (IoT) industry, it is easy to forget that not a single CEO wakes up and wonders if “my IoT is broken.” What they wonder is if they are making the right decisions to do all they can to increase revenue, decrease costs, and improve customer experience – effectively the same challenges they have always had in growing their business. The exciting thing about the IoT industry is now these decisions can be better, faster, and smarter. Now ...
Jan. 20, 2017 01:45 AM EST Reads: 4,269
Fact is, enterprises have significant legacy voice infrastructure that’s costly to replace with pure IP solutions. How can we bring this analog infrastructure into our shiny new cloud applications? There are proven methods to bind both legacy voice applications and traditional PSTN audio into cloud-based applications and services at a carrier scale. Some of the most successful implementations leverage WebRTC, WebSockets, SIP and other open source technologies. In his session at @ThingsExpo, Da...
Jan. 20, 2017 12:45 AM EST Reads: 2,858
Who are you? How do you introduce yourself? Do you use a name, or do you greet a friend by the last four digits of his social security number? Assuming you don’t, why are we content to associate our identity with 10 random digits assigned by our phone company? Identity is an issue that affects everyone, but as individuals we don’t spend a lot of time thinking about it. In his session at @ThingsExpo, Ben Klang, Founder & President of Mojo Lingo, discussed the impact of technology on identity. Sho...
Jan. 20, 2017 12:45 AM EST Reads: 4,130
A critical component of any IoT project is what to do with all the data being generated. This data needs to be captured, processed, structured, and stored in a way to facilitate different kinds of queries. Traditional data warehouse and analytical systems are mature technologies that can be used to handle certain kinds of queries, but they are not always well suited to many problems, particularly when there is a need for real-time insights.
Jan. 20, 2017 12:00 AM EST Reads: 6,350
You think you know what’s in your data. But do you? Most organizations are now aware of the business intelligence represented by their data. Data science stands to take this to a level you never thought of – literally. The techniques of data science, when used with the capabilities of Big Data technologies, can make connections you had not yet imagined, helping you discover new insights and ask new questions of your data. In his session at @ThingsExpo, Sarbjit Sarkaria, data science team lead ...
Jan. 19, 2017 09:45 PM EST Reads: 6,833
WebRTC has had a real tough three or four years, and so have those working with it. Only a few short years ago, the development world were excited about WebRTC and proclaiming how awesome it was. You might have played with the technology a couple of years ago, only to find the extra infrastructure requirements were painful to implement and poorly documented. This probably left a bitter taste in your mouth, especially when things went wrong.
Jan. 19, 2017 09:45 PM EST Reads: 7,723
WebRTC is bringing significant change to the communications landscape that will bridge the worlds of web and telephony, making the Internet the new standard for communications. Cloud9 took the road less traveled and used WebRTC to create a downloadable enterprise-grade communications platform that is changing the communication dynamic in the financial sector. In his session at @ThingsExpo, Leo Papadopoulos, CTO of Cloud9, discussed the importance of WebRTC and how it enables companies to focus o...
Jan. 19, 2017 07:30 PM EST Reads: 4,247
Providing secure, mobile access to sensitive data sets is a critical element in realizing the full potential of cloud computing. However, large data caches remain inaccessible to edge devices for reasons of security, size, format or limited viewing capabilities. Medical imaging, computer aided design and seismic interpretation are just a few examples of industries facing this challenge. Rather than fighting for incremental gains by pulling these datasets to edge devices, we need to embrace the i...
Jan. 19, 2017 05:30 PM EST Reads: 3,662