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The RIAA released its aggregated annual recorded music revenue numbers for the United States last month. They show that the industry has completed its transition to streaming — and more particularly, to interactive or on-demand streaming. Last year interactive streaming — a la Spotify, Apple Music, Google Play, Napster, Deezer, Tidal, etc. — turned in […]
A ruling from a California district judge last month impacts an area we explore here from time to time: when you purchase a digital content product, what rights do you have to that product, and are you buying it or licensing it? Judge Dean Pregerson’s recent ruling in Disney v. Redbox helps define the boundaries between sale and […]
I’ll be speaking on a panel on music copyright reform on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, March 20, from noon-2pm, hosted by the Technology Policy Institute. The primary topic of conversation will be the Music Modernization Act (MMA), the bill that would establish a blanket mechanical license on musical compositions for streaming music services […]
Last Thursday, a working group of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), the web standards body, published a Recommendation for two documents related to the Open Digital Rights Language (ODRL), making ODRL an official web standard. From the vantage point of those of us who were involved in this space 10-15 years ago, this would […]
Here are the slides I presented for my keynote speech at the US Patent and Trademark Office’s conference on Developing the Digital Marketplace for Copyrighted Works, January 25, 2018: Video of my talk and the rest of the conference is also available here.
The Music Modernization Act (MMA) has been getting traction in the United States. It was introduced into the Senate two weeks ago, and it has become part of a larger package of music copyright legislation which has become known as the “Music Bus” bill. More and more organizations have announced their support for the MMA. Many […]
An announcement from the startup Dot Blockchain Media a couple of weeks ago heralds an exciting new development in the potential for blockchain technology in the media industry. Dot Blockchain has partnerships with the New York-based recording artist STOLAR and the indie distributor FUGA. These partnerships enabled Dot Blockchain to take STOLAR’s track “Forget And Feel” and […]


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Fake loom toys may carry cancer risk
Popular craze taking hold of SA’s children may contain carcinogenic chemical.
Image: via Amazon
In almost every school the looming craze has been taking hold of SA’s children. Kids weave the tiny flexible bands together to create bracelets and other creations, but an SA researcher is examining the possibility that that fake loom-related products may contain high levels of phthalates, a carcinogenic chemical, according to TimesLive.
International studies provoke local jitters
A recent study conducted in the UK found that while genuine Rainbow Loom products had acceptable levels of the chemical, some counterfeit ones contained massive levels of the chemical which is used to introduce elasticity to the product.
The researcher said that in the US products were only allowed to carry less than 0.1% phthalates, but that in knock-offs sometimes up to 50% of their weight (500 times the legal limit in the US) was made up of phthalates. He warned that the chemical can be absorbed if the child chews the toy. A cumulative effect from this exposure could lead to illness, including cancer.
The demand for the product is so high that parents are scouring every shop in their vicinity searching for Rainbow Looms; many stores are sold out of the genuine product.
Cheaper copies are available in smaller stores, tempting these parents and kids to buy them. The children often swap these at school or sell the finished jewellery at school functions and market days.
The UK has also warned of choking risks and also the risk that the elasticated product may be placed on fingers leading to circulation being cut off. The Daily Mail also reported that a boy was temporarily blinded after a band struck him in the eye.
Animal activists have also declared the toy unsafe, suggesting that animals may ingest the bands.
Being a craze, it’s likely that the Rainbow Loom frenzy may blow over soon, but it may be wiser to ensure that you are obtaining your Rainbow Looms from an official supplier, and that your child doesn’t buy fake products or swap them in the playground until the studies into the presence of the chemical have offered more concrete evidence that there’s a risk.
If your kids are loom-crazy, there are loads of project ideas on Pinterest. Why not take a look? Whole families are getting involved with this fun activity.
From the Parent24 Facebook page:
Sharlene: How would we determine the fake from the original?
Marinda: Look out for CE on the packaging which means it has been tested according to European safety standards.
22/08 CORRECTION: Although the local researcher is collecting all products associated to looms according to TimesLive,
the international studies conducted at the Assay laboratory in
Birmingham, UK, found the chemicals in the charms which come in loom packs only according to the Independent Irish News.
The US guidelines restricting phtalates were also incorrectly stated as
0.01% instead of 0.1%. We apologise for any inconsistencies which may
have occurred during editing.
There have been no reported incidents of injury or health problems relating to loom products locally.
Do your kids play with looms?

domain: news


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Highland Park launches new assistance program, matching grants for COVID-19 related operational expenses
CHICAGO (WLS) -- Surging COVID-19 cases across the state caused Gov. JB Pritzker to impose nearly statewide restrictions affecting bars and restaurants in recent days, and those in the industry worry if they can survive the shutdowns.
Indoor dining has been prohibited throughout much of the state. The closures began in Chicago Friday and go into effect Saturday in Lake and McHenry counties. The western suburbs are already facing the restrictions, and downstate Illinois is also affected, due to rising COVID-19 cases.
It's Deja Vu all over again for Steve Geffen after he's forced to shut down the dining room inside his Highland Park location of his Once Upon a Bagel restaurant because of a new temporary ban on in-person dining.
"It's definitely tough to have to go through this again," Geffen said. "We had just started building up our business again where we're having some people come inside and sit down. To start all over again, it's definitely rough."
The recent order is forcing establishments like Geffen's back to only take-out and delivery.
The measure went into effect Saturday and was imposed earlier this week after both Lake and McHenry counties saw the rolling average of their COVID-19 positivity rates surge to at least 8% for three consecutive days.
The reinstated restrictions have forced Chloe Mandel to make some tough choices when it comes to her plant-based cafe and lifestyle boutique Madame Zuzu's, which she opened in September.
"It's hard because we are already at a fraction of our capacity and we augmented our menu," she said. "We changed things around so we could thrive during these times, which are already hard enough."
The city of Highland Park is hoping to help struggling retailers and restaurants by launching a new assistance program that provides matching grants for COVID-19 related operational expenses.
The financial assistance for retailers and restaurants program (FARR) will give a maximum of $5,000 to retailers and a maximum of $10,000 for restaurants.
"To us, it is an investment in our local economy," said Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering. "Hopefully it will help them close whatever gaps they have."
But for North Shore resident Mark Leonard, this latest set of restrictions is just another reminder that the pandemic may be with us for a while.
"It's tough for everyone. It a once-in-a-generation type event," he said.
Restaurant industry leaders are warning of mass layoffs unless Pritzker relaxes those mitigation strategies.
The Illinois Restaurant Association has previously supported the governor on restrictions but is now standing against the state, supporting lawsuits filed by Illinois restaurants.
Dozens of McHenry County restaurants filed a lawsuit, challenging Pritzker's emergency powers, but a judge's order Friday sided with the governor.
A judge also rejected a lawsuit filed by a DuPage County restaurant owner.
As of now, the new restaurant and bar restrictions are only meant to last a few weeks. But some fear they will last much longer, becoming a death sentence for many Illinois restaurants.
The governor's order says, in designated regions, all restaurants and bars must stop indoor service. Outdoor service must stop at 11 p.m.
With the weather getting colder, outdoor dining is becoming increasingly difficult to sustain, and the Illinois restaurant association fears a prolonged shutdown of indoor service could cost over 120,000 jobs.
But the governor is digging in on his decision, saying restaurants and bars have the potential to rapidly spread COVID-19.
"We are getting into territory that most of these hospitals had never seen before," Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike said. "We do predict that there could be shortages in as short as two to four weeks."
But the restaurant industry feels singled out in the governor's new restrictions, arguing that it has safety measures in place to ensure dining in a restaurant will not be riskier than going to other businesses.
"Restaurants are in complete crisis," said Sam Toia, with the Illinois Restaurant Association. "They are scrambling to find solutions and are having painful conversations with their dedicated team members, many who they will no longer be able to employ this winter."
The Illinois Restaurant Association estimates that at least a fifth of the state's restaurants won't survive if shutdowns last for six months.
The industry is also calling for federal aid like the airline industry has received. But so far, Democrats and Republicans have failed to agree on the terms of more stimulus.


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A new trailer has been released for Operation Babel: New Tokyo Legacy, the upcoming sequel to the dungeon-crawling RPG, Operation Abyss. You can watch the video above.
The game doesn’t appear to have changed fundamentally, although the character portraits have been diversified, and more items for abilities and spells are now available. The biggest change was inspired by From Software’s Souls series: players can leave messages online for other players now.
Operation Babel‘s opening movie was released in January, in case you missed it.
Operation Babel: New Tokyo Legacy is due to release on April 30 in Japan, for the Playstation Vita. The first-print run will include a bonus, in the form of Chaos;Child skins for the heroines of the team. The DRPG is yet to be announced for Europe and North America. However, Westerners will be able to play its predecessor, Operation Abyss: New Tokyo Legacy, which launches in early June in the West.
(Thanks, Game Kult.)


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If you are interested in the Global Shipping Industry and international forwarding, you may have some questions. This article will answer some of those questions. This article focuses on several issues and trends affecting the industry. In addition, it offers a wealth of resources to help you understand this growing sector. We also discuss the potential for alternative fuels in shipping. We discuss the latest news and regulations affecting the industry. Keeping up with these trends can help you better understand how shipping companies are trying to save the environment.
The challenges facing the global shipping industry are many and complex. These issues include massive congestion, vessel backlogs, container shortages, and inefficiencies in trade finance. Blockchain-based data utility platforms could streamline these issues and help companies work collaboratively to provide better customer service. Moreover, such a platform could facilitate a more efficient supply chain, creating more opportunities for all participants. If this happens, it will help the industry to become more competitive, reducing costs and increasing profitability.
While there is no universal model, many common practices can be identified. In particular, it is critical to understand the role of states in global shipping. In addition to exploring the part of states, this article sketches an argument about supply chain capitalism. It shows that the frictionless global container economy cannot be achieved without intensive work and improvisation. A key to understanding the human labor in international freight forwarding required to move goods along the maritime logistics chain. It will provide an insight into the way the industry works.
Various countries have issued their own sanctions lists against individuals and companies. One of these is hydrogen, the most promising clean fuel for the global shipping industry. Although this technology is not yet commercially available, many leaders have already started investing in R&D to decrease production costs. Governments need to help the global shipping industry adopt hydrogen as the fuel of choice for shipping. If they do not, the industry will likely never benefit. In any case, there are some ways to ensure sustainability.
You can visit this infographic from Excelsior Worldwide Freight Logistic Corp. if you want to know more about the different conflicts that have affected the global shipping industry.


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RSPCA Assured – the RSPCA’s ethical food label – is now recognised by 64% of young professionals and families (its target market) less than six years after it was rebranded from Freedom Food.
This is more than three times the awareness level (of 19%) measured when the new logo first launched in 2015, vastly exceeding the charity’s expectations. General consumer awareness has also continued to increase from 15% in 2015 to 58% today.
RSPCA Assured – which now has more than 1,100 different labelled product lines – has also reported a significant 52% increase in the amount of food carrying its label between 2016 and 2020.
Further, this upsurge is mirrored by a 63% increase in the number of animals being farmed under the scheme over the last five years – from about 15.9m terrestrial animals in 2015 to 25.9m in 2020. This equates to nearly 12% of the UK terrestrial farming market for the species covered by RSPCA Assured. The majority of all Scottish salmon farms are also now under the scheme.
Commenting on its success Clive Brazier, CEO of RSPCA Assured, says: “Despite an incredibly turbulent 12 months, fraught with the challenges of Covid-19, Avian Influenza and Brexit, these results show that the trend for ethical food is unwavering. Consumers are standing firm by farm animal welfare even during the toughest of times, which means the future is looking very promising for higher welfare farming.”


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THE Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) company has again postponed this year’s exhibition edition in line with Covid-19 level four national lockdown prevention protocols.
The biggest trade show case in Southern Africa was expected to run between August 23 and 25.
This is the third time for ZITF to be postponed as it was initially supposed to be held in May. It was moved to between July 20 and 23 but was rescheduled following an upsurge in Covid-19 cases.
It will now run from September 21 to 24.


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Ah, good ole Consumerism. We live to earn and buy. The joy of achievement and the never-ending supply of the next shiny new thing make life more exciting. However, in recent years, the world has gone far down the toilet, with the rich getting richer by the day while the middle class struggles to put bread on the table.
Most of us want to make the most of the limited amount of hard earned money. So when big companies decide to stop adding more product at the same or higher price, the public has questions, most of them starting with “What’s in the fuzzy-bedded Sky Daddy Bell Crenals?” running?”
Brazil decided to take a stand against Apple selling its phones without chargers to combat “deliberate discrimination” against consumers. However, is it all just a matter of money, profit and injustice, or did Apple have their reasons? Let’s dive into the details.
More information: Brazilian Ministry of Justice and Public Security
Brazil is taking a stand against Apple for selling its phones without chargers as a means of fighting “deliberate discrimination” against consumers.
Image credit: HS you (not original picture)
A decision, the first of its kind, was made last Tuesday in Brazil — the country banned the sale of iPhones and fined Apple 12.275 million reais ($2.38 million) because their boxes included chargers. were not
As reported. ReutersBrazil’s Ministry of Justice and Public Security (MJSP) considers it an inadequate product, arguing that the iPhone was being marketed without its essential components in “intentional discrimination” against consumers.
The decision to stop selling the phones comes after Brazil’s consumer protection agency (SENACON) opened a case in December last year, after Apple was sued for the same reason: selling phones without a charger, which is a There is a contract.
Apple has been fined 12.275 million reais ($2.38 million) for not including chargers in its boxes and is banned from selling phone models that don’t include them.
Image credit: Carlos Dambrance (not original photo)
A binding contract, as defined. Merriam Websteris often an illegal agreement by one party to sell a product or service on the condition that the buyer will also purchase another and different product or service from the same supplier.
“Bundling chargers, selling an incomplete product or lacking essential functionality, refusing to sell a complete product by discriminating against the consumer and shifting liability to third parties,” MJSP said in a statement. said in the statement. News for the newspaper. Thus, currently, Apple will not be able to sell iPhone 12 and later models in the country unless the charger is included.
Brazil’s Ministry of Justice and Public Security (MJSP) said, “Bundling chargers, selling an incomplete product or lacking essential functionality.”
Image credit: Toshiyuki IMAI (not original photo)
So what prompted Apple to release chargers in the first place? In 2020, the trillion-dollar company stopped including chargers with its phones, leaving consumers outraged. However, Apple argued that the move offered environmental benefits and was aimed at reducing its carbon footprint.
F. Cucchietti et al. More than a billion new mobile phones are sold annually, with about the same amount of old devices being discarded, contributing to e-waste. Old chargers, often incompatible with new phones, are also discarded, adding to the e-waste problem and increasing costs for the end user.
Image credit: Sean McEntee (not original photo)
Smart Company According to the report, there are approximately 4.78 billion mobile phone users worldwide (61.2 percent of the world’s population). And mobile phone chargers alone generate more than 51,000 tonnes of e-waste each year. Based on this, it would make sense if more tech consumers reuse phone chargers and if tech companies shift to standard charging sources to work across brands.
Brazilian officials rejected Apple’s argument that the practice was aimed at reducing carbon emissions, and said there was no evidence that selling smartphones without chargers provided environmental protection.
Tying is the illegal practice of selling a product or service on the condition that the buyer will also purchase other products from the same supplier.
Image credit: bfishadow (not original image)
In response, Apple announced that it would continue to work with SENACON to “address their concerns” but plans to appeal the decision. “We have already won several court decisions on this topic in Brazil and we believe that our customers are aware of the different options for charging and connecting their devices,” he said.
The long-term effects of this move could indicate a new trend to come, as many major companies, including Samsung and Google, are launching new devices without charging adapters.
This could be a big problem if more countries follow Brazil’s lead and start speaking up, which makes us question how much these companies are actually doing to reduce their environmental footprint. Going and removing chargers will really change nothing, other than make the common man spend more money on essential products.
Back in 2020, Apple stopped including chargers with its phones, aiming to reduce its carbon footprint and claiming it provided environmental benefits.
Image credit: Mike Mozart (not original photo)
KristenBellTattoos.com News recently covered the EU’s move to USB-C ports for all devices to reduce the need for multiple different chargers. This will come with a significant impact on iPhone models, which still use a Lightning cable, yet will negate the need for users to purchase different chargers for different devices.
People argue that switching to a universal USB-C charging standard would be a better way to reduce their environmental footprint, if that was indeed Apple’s goal. However, even with their new model, the iPhone 14, the move is still to come.
Some have called it a way to push consumers into buying wireless chargers, which raises a plethora of other concerns. Not only is it another form of charger, but it’s seen a lot. FutileConsumes about 47% more power than a normal cable. Globally, energy use is by far the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions from human activity, so we are by no means escaping.
Although Apple aims to be carbon neutral by 2030, that remains to be seen, especially when it comes to universal ports and energy-efficient wireless charging.
Image credit: Lucas Koster (not the original photo)
Apple has a goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2030, but that remains to be seen. Let us know your thoughts on it — do you think Brazil is right? Or is it a stark reminder that we are far from united in the cause of fighting climate change? Difficult topics make for interesting conversations, so sound off below!
Don’t forget to do Vote As it supports the author—hello, everyone!—and I wish you all a great day!
Many are debating the potential implications of Brazil’s decision. Let us know your thoughts in the comments!


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It’s been more than eight years since I first drove one of BMW’s MINI E electric prototypes around downtown Los Angeles. One of the first characteristics I noticed about that car was the extremely aggressive regenerative braking that enabled driving virtually without touching the brake pedal. While BMW has persisted with that strategy as the only control mode on the production i3, other automakers have provided similar abilities only when shifting the transmission to Low mode. After driving the new Chevrolet Bolt EV from Tesla’s Silicon Valley backyard into the heart of San Francisco, I think all Bolt drivers should consider driving this way all the time.
The launch of the second-generation XC90 marked the beginning of a new era for Volvo a couple of years ago. The XC90 is the first model to ride on the company’s all-new scalable product architecture (SPA), the first all-new platform to come from Gothenburg since Ford sold the Swedish brand to China’s Geely in 2010. After initially being available only with boosted four-cylinder engines, the XC90 is now the first regular production plug-in model Volvo is offering in America and I recently spent a week driving one.
It’s now been about a decade since BMW first announced its plans to get into the hybrid game and it was another three years before any production models with electric drive assist hit the streets. A lot has changed since BMW launched the ActiveHybrid X6 and ActiveHybrid 7 essentially as experiments in 2009. Electrification is now becoming relatively mainstream with batteries and electric motors no longer limited to super-efficient cars like the Toyota Prius. After a week with the 2016 X5 xDrive40e, there’s no doubt that the future of the ultimate driving machine includes plugs across the board.
If you’ve been following along over the past year or so, you’ve probably noticed that I’m quite enamored with the current generation Hyundai’s midsize sedan, the Sonata. Since early 2015, I’ve driven the 1.6-liter turbocharged Eco, the 2.0-liter Hybrid and now the newest member of the lineup, the Plug-in Hybrid. The Sonata PHEV is the first Hyundai-branded model sold in North America with a plug and it’s one of only two plug-in hybrids in the midsize family sedan segment, the other being the Ford Fusion Energi.
A good rule of thumb when attending an auto show is that the more radical looking a concept car is, the less likely it is to ever make it to production. Virtually every major brand is guilty of producing pieces of rolling sculpture that end up doing little more than introducing a couple of new design cues that end up on more mainstream models. When we first saw BMW’s Vision EfficientDynamics concept at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show, it seemed to fall squarely into this category. Nevertheless, five years later something very much like that concept emerged as the first-ever i8.
As I sit down to write these words about the 2016 Chevrolet Volt, I just realized that it has been almost exactly 10 years since Jon Lauckner and Bob Lutz sat down and sketched out the basic architecture for what they hoped would be a truly practical plug-in car. In the days and weeks that followed, Lutz and Lauckner gathered up the core of an engineering and design team that would eventually bring the first-generation Volt to production four and a half years later. A decade on from those first discussions, the second-generation Volt is now on sale and it’s vastly superior to the original in every way.
Like most things in the real world, when it comes to automotive electrification, there is a continuum of approaches rather than a binary electric or not. At the minimal end, you’ll find automatic stop-start systems while the maximal solution relies on electric motors alone for propulsion. Lying somewhere in between is the Ford C-MAX Energi, the Dearborn automaker’s first production plug-in hybrid. After three years on the market, is the C-MAX Energi a good solution for those interested in going electric without range anxiety?
When I first started speculating on the idea of an Apple car last February as rumors about Project Titan emerged, I was enormously skeptical that it would ultimately happen. However in the days since Apple’s most recent media event where they announced the iPhone 6s, I’ve begun to rethink my assessment. I now see a way that might lead to Apple’s entry into the car business based on their latest approach to selling smartphones.
Nine years ago, I was beginning my career as a professional writer just as a little Silicon Valley startup was emerging from stealth mode to introduce its first product. Taking its name from one of the greatest engineers and inventors of all time, Nicola Tesla, that company reignited the pursuit of battery electric vehicles with a heavily modified Lotus Elise chassis packed with 1,000-pounds of lithium ion cells. It would take another two years before paying customers would finally take delivery of the first Roadsters and another four after that before Tesla would finally deliver its first completely in-house developed product, the Model S. During a recent trip to California I finally got my chance to drive the insanely fast Tesla Model S P85D.
The car business is an enormously expensive place to play. Building factories can cost anywhere from hundreds of millions to billions of dollars, especially if you want to mass produce anything. In late 2008 and early 2009 at the height of the financial crash, we saw General Motors go from $16 billion in cash reserves to virtually nothing in a matter of months as they raced toward bankruptcy. Tesla Motors is now standing on the precipice of major investments to grow the company and they have been spending their reserves at such a prodigious rate that they too need to raise more cash.
In the recently released Q2 2015 earnings report, a more troubling aspect than the operating losses which have been typical of the company’s finances from day one, was the cash burn rate. Tesla went from having $1.905 billion on December 31, 2014 to just $1.15 billion on June 30. A good chunk of this went to paying for equipment in the Fremont, California factory for production of the Model X crossover and ongoing construction of the “Gigafactory” battery plant near Reno, Nevada.
However, the outflow is just getting started as the company prepares to start equipping that $5 billion battery factory (although a significant chunk is coming from Panasonic and other suppliers) as well as developing and producing the more affordable Model III. Tesla has publicly stated a goal of expanding production from 50,000 units this year to 500,000 by 2020. While selling half a million cars would raise significant revenue, they have to spend a lot of money before they ever get there.
To help keep things going in the near term, Tesla announced plans today to issue $500 million worth of new common shares in the company. CEO Elon Musk has committed to spending $20 million of his own money to buy new shares. Given the enormous investments that will be required for equipment and engineering in the next five years, $500 million seems like a pittance and it likely won’t be the last time we see Tesla going to either the equity or debt markets to raise more money. In this case, Tesla’s stock price has already taken a hit in the last few weeks dropping from a high of $282 on July 20 to close at just over $238 yesterday. Right now they are probably balancing the need for cash with not overly diluting the stock and sending the price down even faster.
These are perilous times for Tesla Motors.


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Hyundai IONIQ 5 News
At peak charging speeds, even the Ioniq 5 EV can charge from 10 to 80 per cent in under half an hour
The premium electric crossover claims a range of 631 kilometres on the go
These are the most exciting models among the sea of local and global offerings and concepts on display at the motor show
The list also covers Citroen and Skoda's first upcoming electric cars in India.
Car News That Mattered This Week (Dec 19-23): India-Spec Ioniq 5 Unveiled, Toyota Innova Hycross Reaches Dealerships And More
We also got a scoop on upcoming cars at the Auto Expo 2023, from various manufacturers like Tata and Maruti.
The three EVs in question promise at least 400km of real-world range with a premium set of features
Let us help you find the dream car
The electric hatchback is based on the carmaker’s E-GMP platform dedicated for EVs
Car News That Mattered This Week (December 12-17): Crash Test Reports, New Unveilings & Launch, Details On Upcoming Cars And More
Apart from a few significant crash test results, we also received information and updates on a couple of new EVs and upcoming products in India.
Bookings for Hyundai’s flagship EV will begin on the same date
Car News That Mattered This Week (Nov 28-Dec 02): MG Hector Facelift Fully Revealed, Mercedes-Benz GLB And EQB Launched, Mahindra Recalls 2 SUVs, & More
In a busy week, the industry was also struck by the sudden loss of Vikram Kirloskar, Vice Chairman of Toyota Kirloskar Motor.
The premium EV is expected to be CBU import, like the Kia EV6
All the electric models mentioned on this list are priced under Rs 1 crore (ex-showroom)
All models in the list have secured five-star ratings in both adult and child occupant protection
You’ll get to see a new hybrid and two EVs along with ICE and CNG models
The test mule was spied testing in Chennai, launch later this year
- MG Air EVRs.10.00 LakhEstimated PriceExpected Launch: Feb 2023
- Citroen eC3Rs.12.00 LakhEstimated PriceExpected Launch: Feb 2023
- Audi Q3 SportbackRs.55.00 LakhEstimated PriceExpected Launch: Feb 2023
- Toyota Innova CrystaRs.23.00 LakhEstimated PriceExpected Launch: Feb 2023
- Tata Altroz RacerRs.10.00 LakhEstimated PriceExpected Launch: Mar 2023
Stay Updated. Subscribe to Cardekho News


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What can the wine trade learn from Team GB's success?
As has been exhaustively reported, Team GB's performance in the 2016 Rio Olympic games was its best ever. As this BBC article says:
Yet "only 20 years ago, GB were languishing 36th in the Atlanta Olympics medal table, their entire team securing only a single gold between them." Indeed, this meteoric rise caused some competing nations to question how it was possible that Team GB have become so successful.
The answer is ostensibly simple: money. Through National Lottery funding, the amount given to sport increased dramatically. Hundreds of millions has been spent on elite athletes to support their training and give them the best chance of becoming the best in the world. This even extended to customising the bedrooms for the boxing team, to ensure they had the optimal amount of sleep.
Earlier this month, a minor kerfuffle erupted when the Wine Institute of California closed its UK office. At first it seemed that funding was going to be cut severely, but an announcement was soon made stating that spending on the promotion of Californian wine actually going to increase within the UK, to reassure the trade that support was not going to lapse.
It's hardly a revelation that money makes a difference, but it is a timely reminder that investment is critical to help an industry succeed. There is a lot of negative pressure on the UK wine industry currently - unfavourable exchange rates, declining consumption, anti-alcohol health lobbying - so maintaining good levels of funding is vital to overcome such adversity and ensure that we all prosper.


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A tablet computer originally made for an educational scheme run by the Indian government has launched in the UK for only £30.
Starting at £29.99 the self-proclaimed “world’s cheapest tablet” the UbiSlate 7Ci significantly undercuts the competition on price including the £119 Tesco Hudl, £80 Aldi Lifetab and the £200 Google Nexus 7, but does not compare favourably on specifications.
The UbiSlate features a low-resolution 7in touchscreen, 1GHz processor, 4GB of storage with a microSD card slot, and runs a modified version of Android 4.0.3 “Ice Cream Sandwich”. It comes bundled with a series of apps for education, entertainment, gaming and productivity, aiming to bring computer and internet access to everyone.
"With recent ONS figures showing that in the UK, 29% of the poorest households have no computer and 36% no internet, we’re working to bring affordable technology to the hundreds of thousands of households excluded from the digital revolution”, said Datawind’s chief executive Suneet Singh Tuli.
Aakash mark two
The UbiSlate 7Ci is the cheapest in a new line of Datawind tablets, which include the £50 3G data-enabled UbiSlate 7C+ and the £129 UbiSlate 3G7 – a slightly faster tablet with a higher resolution screen and 3G mobile data.
The UbiSlate tablet was originally produced by London-based Datawind for the Indian government as the Aakash (or “sky” in Hindi) series of tablets as part of India’s effort to put ultra-low cost tablets in universities and colleges.
The Aakash was initially announced as a development by Indian scientists for a tablet computer that could be manufactured for just $35 in 2010. Datawind later won the tender to build the tablets from the Indian government in 2011, before shipping them to Indian students in 2012 and following up with the Aakash 2 tablet on which the UbiSlate 7Ci is based.
“The development of the tablet stemmed from the realisation that lack of internet adoption in many parts of the world was primarily due to lack of affordability,” said Singh Tuli. “We’re bridging the gap by offering cost-effective, high-specification devices and internet access that offers excellent value to all.”
‘Tablets under £100 have excellent gifting potential’
According to data provided by research firm IDC, tablet computers are set to overtake PC sales this year, growing to 229.3m units worldwide fuelled by lower cost devices.
"Tablets under £100 have excellent gifting potential this Christmas," says Francisco Jeronimo, smartphones and tablets analyst with the research firm IDC. "Parents looking to give gifts to children and teenagers are unlikely to spend £400-500 on a tablet, so tablets sub-£100 are less of an investment and more of an attractive disposable gift."
In 2012, 8.3m tablets were sold in the UK, according research firm CCS Insight with over half of those sales coming in the last three months of the year. Retailer Argos sold 1m tablets in 2012.
In the first half of 2013 alone, almost 6m tablets were sold in the UK and demand is expected to accelerate into Christmas.
UK retail giants Tesco, Argos and Aldi recently launched tablets of their own available for £119 and under competing with sub-£200 Android tablets from Google and Amazon. The Datawind UbiSlate undercuts the competition by at least £50.
"When it comes to tablets, the intensity of competition between UK retailers is staggering," said Ben Wood, mobile analyst with CCS Insight.
Since launch at the end of September, Tesco has sold over 300,000 of its Hudl tablets, and has struggled to keep store shelves stocked.


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McDonald’s all-day breakfast menu hasn’t been the same since March 2020, when America’s favorite fast food chain announced that breakfast would only be available in the morning in order to streamline kitchen operations during the pandemic. Since then, McDonald’s has reintroduced all-day breakfast, but not with a menu full of McMuffins and McGriddles—instead, a line of breakfast pastries and coffee is available all day, and the hot sandwiches are only served until roughly 11 a.m. at each location.
But when will McDonald’s all-day breakfast return to its former glory? We will continue to keep you updated on this situation as it develops. For now, the most updated information we have is below.
Update, September 1, 2021: Today marks the release of McDonald’s new Glazed Pull Apart Donut, the latest pastry to join its utterly sandwichless all-day breakfast menu. We had the chance to review it before it rolled out nationwide (it arrived early in Chicago), and our thoughts were... middling. It’s fine! This donut is fine. In fact, if you let it sit on the counter for a while, it gets pretty good. But it doesn’t quite hit the spot like a midday McGriddle. Read our full review here.
Update, August 18, 2021: Rather than bring back all-day breakfast favorites like McMuffins, McGriddles, and the Sausage Biscuit, McDonald’s seems to be doubling down on its plan to serve only sweet pastries as its all-day breakfast option. As we shared yesterday, McDonald’s will begin serving the Glazed Pull Apart Donut on September 1 at locations nationwide. The pastry joins McDonald’s roster of all-day breakfast pastries introduced late last year: the Apple Fritter, Blueberry Muffin, and Cinnamon Roll.
The Glazed Pull Apart Donut is described in a press release as “airy,” “delightful,” and “sharable,” and it’s described as pairing well with a cup of coffee. That all sounds great, but what about customers who crave more savory breakfast options in the middle of the afternoon? Might McDonald’s consider some kind of cheddar and chive scone, or a bacon-bit-loaded biscuit?
McDonald’s has stayed tight-lipped about the possibility of restoring the all-day breakfast menu to its former glory, so in the meantime, we might just have to rally for the pastries we wish to see, if not the sandwiches. And, of course, we’ll be on the lookout for rogue locations serving breakfast after 11 a.m.
Update, February 7, 2021: It’s been months since McDonald’s put the kibosh on its popular all-day breakfast menu in an effort to streamline kitchen operations amidst the pandemic. And it’s been a while since the chain offered up a subpar alternative in the form of all-day breakfast pastries (which The Takeout found mostly lackluster).
But ever since the Sun-Sentinel got wind back in November that many McDonald’s franchises in Florida were still selling McMuffins and McGriddles around the clock, other eagle-eyed reporters have tried to figure out how widespread the rogue breakfast items are. And Eat This Not That recently clued readers in on some stats about where breakfast is still being served past 11 a.m. each day.
“We decided to investigate by conducting a phone canvas of McDonald’s locations across the country,” Eat This reports, “And our hopes were up as soon as the information started to pour in from the West Coast restaurants, confirming that Florida isn’t the only place you can still get a McMuffin in the afternoon.”
Not all of these franchises are serving breakfast all day, but many are serving it until mid-afternoon, which is a vast improvement for those who like to indulge in some lunch pancakes. It sounds like if you’re an eager customer willing to do the sleuthing, you’ve got a good shot at finding a McDonald’s location where your eggy needs are met. Good luck to those of you tirelessly pursuing your dreams.
Update, November 9, 2020: While America grapples with the reality of only having pastries to satisfy their McDonald’s breakfast craving for the majority of the day, Florida’s Sun-Sentinel has revealed a major scoop: Some rogue McDonald’s franchisees are still selling the all-day breakfast menu items we know and love, from hash browns to burritos.
“We’re not supposed to sell them all day long,” a McDonald’s employee at a location in Broward County, Florida told the Sun-Sentinel, “but the Hotcakes, we can just slap on the grill, and the Sausage Burritos are pre-made so we just have to heat them up. And the hash browns, we just put in the fryer.”
So, barring more complex breakfast orders like scrambled eggs or bagel sandwiches (which are made to order), a lot of customer favorites can be purchased any time of day, whether McDonald’s corporate gives it the formal green light or not.
Brent Upchurch, whose family operates 30 McDonald’s locations in Florida, pointed out that franchises aren’t breaking any strict rules by serving all-day breakfast; it’s just that they don’t get to promote it with signage, advertising, and the like. Nor would they want to, in fact, because as the Sun-Sentinel puts it, all McDonald’s franchisees must adhere to “tight standards of uniformity that are intended to ensure a consistent and predictable experience across its 14,000 U.S. locations.” To that end, breakfast items are being treated sort of like a secret menu: you won’t find it on the menu board, nor on the mobile app, nor any third-party delivery apps. You just have to ask when you get there, and see if you get lucky.
If the Sun-Sentinel was able to find over 20 Florida locations serving breakfast favorites on the sly, then surely some of the locations where you live might be doing the same. Start doing some reconnaissance, readers, and let us know what you turn up.
Update, November 3, 2020: ICYMI, we recently got our hands on the new McDonald’s breakfast pastries—Apple Fritter, Blueberry Muffin, and Cinnamon Roll—for a comprehensive Taste Test. See how they fared by reading our full review.
Original post, October 8, 2020: One of the early casualties of the COVID-19 pandemic was the McDonald’s all-day breakfast, a fan favorite since 2015. In the interest of “streamlining” its menu, the chain put an end to midnight biscuits and dinner McMuffins. But now, as restrictions have lifted and happier days are here again (really?), McDonald’s has announced that it will be serving breakfast all day again!
But wait. Nothing is ever as great as it seems. Because by “breakfast,” McDonald’s doesn’t mean hash browns and McGriddles and all the other menu items Americans have grown to know and love and depend upon at all times of day. No, it means that it’s introducing three new pastries: the Apple Fritter, Blueberry Muffin, and Cinnamon Roll. None of these require cooking, which presumably makes things easier for employees, particularly those working the drive-thru. As one employee told Business Insider, “I absolutely do not think we should bring [all-day breakfast] back.”
Higher-ups in the chain remain noncommittal. “We know our customers deserve a break now more than ever, and are excited to give them another reason to visit their favorite breakfast destination by offering delicious flavors they crave, any time of the day,” Linda VanGosen, the vice-president of brand and menu strategy, in a statement. And those flavors are sweet McPastries. Understood?
The new items launch October 28.


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On Monday, April 7th a very serious internet security bug was discovered. This bug affects nearly two-thirds of all internet websites. The bug is called Heartbleed and it causes a vulnerability in the OpenSSL cryptographic library.
Everyone should know what the Heartbleed bug is, how it affects them, and what they need to do about it.
How bad is the Heartbleed bug?
Heartbleed is being considered one of the Internet’s biggest security threats since it has been around for two years, but it was only recently discovered.
In an effort to deter cell phone theft, U.S. wireless carriers have made a first step towards “a joint ‘blacklist’ database of identifying information about cell phones reported lost or stolen”. Now, cell phone companies check phones against the database before reactivating phones. Before this joint action, carriers would suspend the service on a phone after was reported as lost or stolen; this phone could still be reactivated by a thief on a new account. According to Chris Guttman-McCabe, vice president of regulatory affairs for CTIA, “the point of the blacklist database is to dry up the aftermarket for stolen phones. If you can’t reactivate a stolen phone, it’s just a worthless hunk of plastic and metal.”
AntiSec, short for anti-security, claims they stole 12 million Apple iOS device Unique Device Identifiers (UDIDs) by breaching FBI security. The group released a million of them on a website. AntiSec alleges they had a computer belonging to a FBI agent to gain access “to a file containing the list of the Apple IDs”. The online posting “did not identify the agent or who the ID numbers belonged to.”
AntiSec said that they chose to only “release a portion of the Apple IDs list to get people’s attention to its claims that the FBI is gathering people’s Apple device details.” In the note that AntiSec posted online, AntiSec said they have learned that people do not pay attention when one says, “hey, FBI is using your device detail.” The AntiSec group claims that a portion of the devices on the list contains names, telephone numbers, addresses, and ZIP codes, but they chose to only reveal Continue reading Hacker Group Steals Millions of Apple Device ID’s
Mashable’s article titled “38% of us Would Rather Clean a Toilet Than Think of New Password” reports that login credentials and site authentications are a hassle for many people. In a recent Harris Interactive poll, “some 38% of us think attempting to solve world peace would be a more manageable task than trying to deal with yet another set of login credentials.” All of this hassle makes it easier for hackers to gain access to our online accounts because we tend to either use to same passwords for multiple accounts or we forget our passwords.
I find it difficult to create and remember every password for every online account that I have. For each site that I visit, there are different sets of password rules. The rules dictate how many Continue reading How secure are your passwords?


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Street fair season is upon us! And to kick off a warm and sunny season of eating, shopping and mingling outdoors, a special Japanese food festival is popping up in Chelsea.
On Saturday, April 9, Japan Fes New York will take over Sixth Avenue between 24th and 26th Streets, offering three full blocks of Japanese, pan-Asian and global street food, culture and wares to shop. Dozens of vendors are confirmed to participate and entry is free. Bring money to buy treats and souvenirs, of course. And don’t forget your appetite!


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Exhibition showcases Cuban trade, tourism and health care
People visiting the Shanghai Hongqiao Import Commodities Expo and Trade Center will see an exhibition of Cuban products ranging from rum and coffee to lobsters and sea cucumbers.
Some can be purchased online by scanning QR codes.
The exhibition is a part of the "Charming Cuba" Promotion Week launched at the center's Shanghai International Sister Cities Hub on Friday by the Shanghai government's foreign affairs office and the Consulate General of the Republic of Cuba in Shanghai.
The exhibition also features an introduction to Cuba's high-end biomedical industry and its attractive tourist resources.
This event aims to showcase Cuba's unique tourism industry and world-famous biomedical industry, along with its specialty products, further strengthen Shanghai's economic and trade relations and industry cooperation with Cuba, and solidify the long-standing friendship between China and Cuba.
At the opening ceremony of the two-week promotion event, Kong Fu'an, director-general of the Shanghai Foreign Affairs Office, recalled the history of Sino-Cuba ties and the sisterhood between Shanghai and Cuban cities.
Cuba was the first country in the Western Hemisphere to establish diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China 63 years ago. In 1996, Shanghai became a sister city of Santiago Province, where the largest Cuban port is located. In 2019, it established a friendly cooperative relationship with the Cuban capital Havana.
"Over the past few years, pragmatic cooperation between Cuba and Shanghai has yielded fruitful results and our cultural exchange has been in full flourish," he said.
"The imports of Shanghai from Cuba reached 66.43 million yuan in 2022, with a year-on-year growth of nearly 150 percent. Among the imported goods, there are cigars and lobsters of high quality, which are very popular in Shanghai."
Zhang Guohua, deputy director-general of the Shanghai Commission of Commerce, said Cuban enterprises have invested 13 projects in Shanghai, covering industries including tourism, catering, culture, arts and textile, with a total investment of US$ 214 million.
Meanwhile, Cuba has participated in the China International Import Expo for five consecutive years, showcasing strengths in agriculture, industry, architecture, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, and other areas.
Mario Alzugaray Rodriguez, deputy head of mission of the Embassy of Cuba in China, said the event "will help our Chinese brothers and sisters to have a better knowledge about our country, a friendly and hospitable destination with rich cultural characteristics."
Mileidy Aguirre Diaz, consul-general of Cuba in Shanghai, said: "China is today, and will continue to be in the future, one of the main destinations for Cuban exports".
The Grand Kempinski Hotel Shanghai is one of the exhibitors, presenting food and drinks at the exhibition.
"I am super excited to be part of this exhibition to share some of our products with people," said Mark Stephen Kirk, general manager of the hotel.
"The Chinese market is the most important market for us. What we try to do in the hotel is to share the Cuban culture with the Chinese market to make it more exciting."
He said the hospitality industry in China is recovering well.
"In the past May Day holiday, we had one of our most successful days since the hotel opening," he said. "I think now is probably the best time to get involved in the hospitality industry. The future, especially for the Chinese hospitality market, is going to be amazing."
After the opening ceremony, around 40 Shanghai enterprises engaged in commerce and trade matchmaking activities with representatives of Cuban entrepreneurs to explore more potential for development in Shanghai-Cuba economic and trade fields.
The promotion activity will run through May 19. More food manufacturers from Cuba will travel thousands of miles to Shanghai to engage in trade matchmaking activities with Chinese enterprises.
If you go:
Date: through May 19, 10am-5pm
Venue: Shanghai Hongqiao Import Commodities Expo and Trade Center 虹桥品汇
Address: 1988 Shenkun Rd 申昆路1988号


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SHOPPERS are facing rationing on sunflower oil in supermarkets including Morrisons and Iceland.
Industry experts have warned that supplies of the cooking staple could “run out in days” due to shortages sparked by the Ukraine and Russia conflict.
Morrisons, Waitrose and Iceland have imposed buying limits on sunflower oil due to the shortages.
Shoppers can only buy two bottles of the oil at Morrisons and Waitrose and Iceland has set the limit at one bottle per person.
Supermarkets are trying to increase the number of alternative cooking oils available on the shelves, but they are likely to be more expensive due to manufacturing rules.
As it's also an ingredient in household favourites such as crisps and oven chips, popular recipes including Walkers have been changed.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
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Ukraine and Russia make most of the world’s sunflower oil and the war has disrupted production.
“The war in Ukraine has disrupted supplies of sunflower oil to the UK,” Tom Holder from the British Retail Consortium said.
“Some retailers have introduced limits on the number of bottles customers can buy as a temporary measure to ensure availability for everyone.
“Where sunflower oil exists as an ingredient in products, retailers will be substituting it with other safe oils, such as rapeseed oil.
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“Retailers are also working with suppliers to ramp up production of alternative cooking oils, to minimise the impact on consumers.”
The Sun has contacted Defra and the Food Standards Agency for comment
Meanwhile, cracks in the supply of eggs have been caused due to rising feed prices for chickens and energy costs.
Industry figures have warned of an egg shortage as frustrated farmers have threatened to quit.
The British Free Range Egg Producers Association (BFREPA) said “scores “ of farmers are considering stopping work at the end of their current flock.
That would wipe hundreds of millions of eggs from supermarket shelves each year.
It has pushed up the cost of free range eggs by at least 40p per dozen, while a pack of organic eggs are up 80p.
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Robert Gooche, CEO of BFREPA said: “Many of my members are losing money on every egg laid, and our data shows that even those who are making a small profit do not see a long-term future.
"The appetite for eggs from the public is extraordinary, but I’m afraid we will see shortages of British free range and organic eggs on the shelves before long.”
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Finally, three months after Uniqlo started selling their AIRism face masks in Japan, and after much anticipation and endless enquiries about when the masks would arrive at our shores, Uniqlo Singapore has given us a date — the Uniqlo AIRism masks will launch here on Aug 24.
Made with the same technology as their uber-popular AIRism clothing and lifestyle items, the mask boasts a triple-layer structure that has UV Cut UPF50+, with a middle layer filter that delivers a bacterial filtration efficiency of 99%, blocking bacteria and pollen. Sandwiching the filter is AIRism mesh fabric.
According to the press release, the mask retains high-protection filtering even after washing, and is washable up to 20 times. It’s also more comfortable than cotton masks, and is said to feel silky smooth on the skin, and is breathable and light.
The AIRism masks prompted huge demand and snaking queues in Japan, but do we still need them in Singapore? After all, the market here has been flooded with all kinds of masks in varying materials for different needs — from sports masks and fashionable masks to anti-ageing skincare masks and masks that can last up to 100 washes.
Is Uniqlo’s AIRism mask a little late to the game here? Many people might have already found a favourite reusable mask that suits their needs. Moreover, the masks are rather plain, available only in black and white, at a time when far fancier and more colourful masks and mask accessories have infiltrated the market.
The answer is probably that despite being a little tardy to the mask party, the AIRism masks will fly off the shelves here, thanks to their affordability ($14.90 for pack of three) and the fact that Singaporeans love anything Uniqlo, and better yet if it’s Uniqlo AIRism. Also, the pandemic isn't over and face masks will continue to be the accessory du jour. So, get ready to queue?
The mask is available in three sizes (S for children, M for small adult faces, and L for regular adult faces) and is sold in a pack of three in the same colour (either all black or all white). There is a daily purchase limit per person of one pack of AIRism Mask for every size and colour.
The AIRism mask will launch Aug 24 at all stores in Singapore and online.


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This is why the iPhone 16 Pro will have a new screen
In 2022, Apple finally removed the iPhone X notch on the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max models. Instead of positioning itself on this notch, the front photo sensor and FaceID module are located in the bubble and pill at the top of the screen. And since it’s not necessarily very aesthetically pleasing, Apple has found a way to hide this hole, using the area around it to offer Dynamic Island functionality.
As a result, thanks to software modifications, the company was able to improve the design of the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max (imagine what the screens would look like without this feature). However, the ideal is to have a smartphone screen without holes. And clearly, Apple is thinking about it. However, this is shown by a recent article from Korean site The Elec, reported by our colleagues from MacRumours.
Dynamic Island is just the beginning
This source corroborates previous rumors that on the iPhone 15 series, all models will have a screen without a notch, but with two holes for the front camera and FaceID (and a Dynamic Island to hide things). On the other hand, in 2024, Apple wants to offer something new. And for that, the company can make the FaceID module invisible. How ? By hiding the facial recognition system under the screen. So when FaceID is not in use, it will be hidden under a special area of the screen.
Therefore, in 2024, it is likely that the iPhone 16 Pro screen will only have a hole for the front camera, while FaceID will be invisible, hidden by a part of the screen. But that’s not all. Indeed, according to The Elec, Apple could later hide the front camera under the screen. In this way, we will have an iPhone screen without notches or holes to distract the user.
As always, this information should be considered with caution. It should be noted, however, that the information from The Elec corroborates another source, analyst Ross Young. In 2022, this one correctly predicts that the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus will have a notch, while the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max will have bubbles and pills (but he doesn’t anticipate Dynamic Island).
We’ve already talked about the 2026 iPhones
For future models, Young estimates that:
- iPhone 16 (2024) still has bubbles and pills, while iPhone 16 Pro will hide FaceID under the screen
- On the iPhone 17 (2025) series, all models will have FaceID hidden under the screen (while the camera is still visible
- The iPhone 18 (2026) will hide FaceID under the display and the visible front camera, but on the iPhone 18 Pro all sensors (including the camera) will be hidden under the screen
Ross Young says he made this prediction based “the remaining technical challenge for under-panel cameras is to meet the quality requirements of the most demanding brands as well as the cost requirements of panel manufacturers”
Based on the remaining technical challenges for under-panel cameras to meet savvy brand quality requirements as well as panel manufacturers’ cost requirements, I still believe this roadmap makes sense for iPhone. pic.twitter.com/3ck5X3sVcL
—Young Ross (@DSCCross) May 10, 2022
A technology to improve
Note that the technology for hiding sensors under OLED screens already exists. In essence, the idea is to position this sensor below an area of the screen that becomes transparent when you want to take selfies or use facial recognition. ZTE and Samsung have marketed smartphones using this system. However, if the sensor hidden under the screen is still not democratized, it is due to a decrease in quality caused by the passage of light through the screen, before it reaches the sensor.
Eventually, this problem could be solved within a few years, allowing savvy brands like Apple to embrace the technology.


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Everything seems to be offered in 3D today. It’s almost hard to find a family movie that’s not in 3D. The new Nintendo 3DS is a big hit in my house. So is 3D safe for those developing eyes?
The American Optometric Association says it is. In it’s 3D Eye Health FAQ, the association says “no detrimental effects of 3D viewing have been reported at any age.” It offers that handheld devices held close to the face place higher demands on vision so frequent breaks are recommended. As for those warnings that come with all your video games about seizures, the optometrists say it is not a concern for most children.
The optometrists have even said that the 3DS may help identity eye health problems. If your kid can’t see the 3D effect on the game, get him an eye exam.
So, game on, my friends. The docs say it’s OK.


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Payments services company Worldline has launched a partnership with travel website travelplanbooker.com.
“At its core, this is new partnership empowers today’s traveler to be their own travel agent, planning and tailoring their trips to their own personal desires and budget,” Worldline said in a news release Monday (June 5).
The three-year partnership will combine travelplanbooker.com’s interactive travel platform and Worldline’s acquiring solutions and payment services for an easier booking experience, according to the release. Travelers enter data and payment details once through Worldline’s solution as they search for and plot out their itineraries.
“We want our customers to be able to enjoy the exciting phase of building their perfect itinerary all through to the end: plan, search, book and pay all-in-one with their preferred payment method,” Ruedi Hesstravelplanbooker.com’s founder and president, said in the release.
He added that Worldline lets his company “give travelers a stress-free and simple experience, so they can focus on what truly matters: easy travel booking, with time and money saved.”
PYMNTS research found that consumers still consider travel essential even as they seek out deals. Between the first quarter of 2022 and Q1 2023, two categories related to travel activities saw the highest increase in digital engagement. Online travel information was up 11%, and online airfare was up 14%.
meanwhile, Ivan GuerreroWorldline’s director of Airlines and Travel EMEA – Digital Commerce Division, told PYMNTS last month that as international travel continues its rebound, merchants can make the most of that momentum by offering efficient and localized cross-border payments.
This is “very important when we talk about an industry such as the airline and travel industry, which is global by essence but very local if you want to reach the consumers in their own language, in their own currency, in their own country,” as they browse and book travel, he said.
Guerrero pointed to preferred local payment methods as the key consideration, noting the historical and cultural aspects that make localization a potent conversion tool.
Also important, he said, is optimizing currency conversion.
“If I am in Thailand, if I’m a Thai consumer, I want to ensure that I can pay in my own currency,” he said. “That gives me comfort, that gives me security, and that makes it easier for me to click on that buy button.”


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Lyris Exhibits at E Commerce Expo
Lyris Shares Online Marketing Best Practices to Help Marketers Better Engage Customers this Holiday Season
E Commerce Expo, UK – October 20, 2009 – Lyris, Inc., the online marketing expert, today announced that it is exhibiting at E Commerce Expo, the conference and exhibition for the online sales channel. At stand #332, Lyris experts will share best practices for strategies and tools that organizations can use to engage with potential and existing customers in the evolving online environment.
Despite the current economic climate, the online retail market continues to grow. According to Forrester, more than 54 percent of adults will shop online by 2014; additional demand and greater promotion by merchants will drive the number of online shoppers in Europe from 137 million in 2009 to 187 million in 2014¹. Within this growing online environment, customers are increasingly turning to user-generated reviews and social networking to guide their purchasing decisions.
“Online shoppers are becoming much savvier, and are more interested in discovering the range of offers available to them before making a decision about what to buy,” said Andrew Robinson, director of international professional services at Lyris. “Taking an integrated approach to online marketing, by including social media, and mobile marketing into email marketing strategy, means retailers can pinpoint the particular interests of their customers and provide them with relevant and timely information, driving customer loyalty and revenue.”
With the holiday season well underway, now is the time for online retailers to evaluate the results they are getting from their online marketing efforts. In a survey conducted by Forrester, in the run up to the last holiday season, 77 percent of respondents said they would shop online to avoid queues and another 77 percent would shop online because they didn’t want to rely on shops’ opening hours². With the six week period leading up to and just after the holidays accounting for 15 to 20 percent of annual sales, according to Forrester³, this is a make or break season for retailers. At the E Commerce Expo, e-commerce professionals will learn how tools from Lyris can help them optimise online marketing results in 2010.
WHAT: E Commerce Expo – the annual conference for e-commerce and Internet retailing
WHEN: October 20-21, 2009
WHERE: Stand #332, Earls Court, London
Conference delegates and those unable to attend E Commerce Expo can connect and join in on conversations with Lyris executives via Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube and can find a vast repository of marketing commentary and best-practices guides on LyrisHQ.com.
- Lyris HQ
- Lyris Upcoming Events
- E Commerce Expo Web site
- E Commerce Expo List of Exhibitors
About Lyris, Inc.
Lyris, Inc. (OTCBB:LYRI.OB) is the first online marketing solution provider to integrate email with diverse online marketing channels to create more efficient and effective marketing organisations. The company’s flagship offering, Lyris HQ, is an all-in-one online marketing solution that combines email marketing with search, social, and mobile channels, enhanced by embedded deliverability and web analytics. Lyris HQ provides online marketers actionable insights that help them make intelligent decisions and improve results. Clients include American Apparel, Body Glove, British Museum Company Ltd., Minnesota Timberwolves, PC Recycler and Student Advantage. For more information, please visit www.lyris.com.
¹ Source: Forrester Research Inc., Western European Online Retail and Travel Forecast, March 16, 2009 (updated July 30, 2009)
² Source: Forrester Research Inc., Outlook for European Online Retail: Christmas 2008, December 19, 2009
Press Contact: Erick Mott, Lyris; Tel. 510-604-2200


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Coway’s CIROO 2.0 filter system for direct water purification was awarded the CES 2019 Innovation Award in the home appliances category. Short for Coway Intensive Reverse Osmosis, the CIROO filter was recognized for enabling unlimited use of room-temperature and cold water. Its replaceable water channel and detachable faucet structure ensure excellent hygiene, according to the award.
|Coway’s CIROO 2.0 filter receives the CES 2019 Innovation Award in the home appliances category. (Coway)|
At its CES 2019 booth, Coway displayed a transparent version of the purifier to fully exhibit the process of unfiltered water passing through its CIROO 2.0 system and coming straight out through the faucet for immediate consumption. Users can choose between two modes -- either to continuously add more filtered water to the reservoir as they drink, or to automatically empty it every 24 hours to maintain the direct purification effect.
Coway also displayed its Interior Smart Air Purifier equipped with the independently developed double HEPA filtration system and a new Air Simulation System. Unveiled for the first time at the CES 2019, the Air Simulation System can identify some 196 billion aerial particles that the firm has been researching to assess air quality of a household, and give customized feedback on the best air care solution and location to install a purifier in a house.
|Coway's smart toilet bidet (Coway)|
The firm’s next-generation smart toilet bidet presented at CES 2019 can monitor the sanitation level of the toilet and monitor a person’s health condition by analyzing chemical levels in the urine. Another line of bidets introduced this time focuses on the interior aspect of the washroom appliance, incorporating cover designs by industrial designer Karim Rashid, the company said. It added that it will launch its toilet seats in North America.
By Lim Jeong-yeo (firstname.lastname@example.org)


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Developer ObjectGraph built iRetroPhone, an iPhone app that lets you dial your iPhone as if it were an old-fashioned rotary dial phone in a day… first day sales at $2.99 each? 15,000 copies.
Old enough to remember the old Mattel football game? It’s coming out for the iPhone:
Via bb Gadgets
(Thanks to John)
Techcrunch is reporting that Flixster bought an iPhone application called Movies.app last week, and re-released it last night. It’s basically an app that shows movie times, has maps to local theaters, and lets you watch movie trailers.
I’m a little surprised that Flixster went out and bought the App, when it could have been developed internally. Maybe they learned a thing or two from the Hasbro vs Scrabbulous fight – if you see a great program, buy it. Now Flixster has a popular app under it’s umbrella. Hasbro has a replacement app for Scrabbulous, but I hear it’s not as popular.
Update Techcrunch says that Scrabbulous has been taken down world-wide now…


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Fyllo raises $30 million to expand digital marketing and compliance solutions beyond cannabis industry
Some 60% of the funds raised in the Series B came from outside of the cannabis sector, validating the Israeli company's potential to scale beyond the endemic market
Meir Orbach | 20:45 06.04.2021
Fyllo, which develops digital marketing and compliance solutions technology for highly regulated industries, including cannabis, has raised a $30 million Series B co-led by JW Asset Management and Sol Global. Additionally, Peter S Kraus, chairman and CEO of Aperture Investors, and former Alliance Bernstein CEO joins the company's Board of Directors. Fyllo has raised nearly $60 million since it was launched in 2019 to solve the most pressing marketing and compliance challenges facing the cannabis sector and other highly regulated industries. Fyllo's Compliance Cloud suite of SaaS software is used by multi-state operators that include Columbia Care and Grassroots Cannabis. Fyllo has rapidly expanded its suite of services via acquisitions such as CannaRegs in 2020, which provides a regulatory compliance tool, and DataOwl earlier this year, which provides retail marketing, loyalty, and point-of-sale solutions.


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23 April 2013
China's much toasted future
- report from Vinitaly 2013, Verona
|Wine tasting at Vinitaly.|
Over the past few years, Asian buyers recorded double-digit sales growth, and this year's edition of Vinitaly was the most China-focused ever recorded, according to observers.
Overall, the presence of international operators grew some 10% over the past year.
Media commentators and exhibitors said they're concentrating on Chinese mainland opportunities, which are widely perceived to be increasing.
For the first time, a delegation from China's Ministry of Commerce participated at the fair, including a China-focused seminar aimed at explaining the latest statistics. The seminar discussed China's import regulations as these relate to Italian companies.
Vinitaly's management was keen to forge a strategic partnership with the Hong Kong International Wine and Spirits Fair next November as a venue for Italian exporters.
The General Director of Vinitaly's management company Veronafiere, Giovanni Mantovani, said the China-focused seminars at Vinitaly (including one arranged with HKTDC) were particularly useful to exporters.
Besides visits to the Hong Kong event, Vinitaly will arrange similar opportunities in the US and Russia this year.
Vinitaly 2013 had 148,000 buyers that visited the 4,255 exhibitors from 20 countries.
As far as international buyers were concerned, some 50% were from the EU, 15% from other European countries, with 20% from North America and 9% from Asia.
Italy, while still among the top wine consumer markets, has seen its consumption rate slow over a number of years.
At the same time, exports provide the only growth engine to support the wine production market.
Vinitaly also featured wine gatherings dedicated to foreign buyers. One was OperaWine, a tasting event in which the 100 top Italian wineries displayed their products to international buyers.
|Saluting Chianti Classico.|
The tasting event will also play a role in the six-month Milan Expo in 2015, themed on "feeding the planet, energy for life".
To add a new dimension to sales, a new e-commerce initiative called Vinitaly Wine Club was unveiled this year, a platform to support promotions of Italian winemakers throughout Europe.
The platform featured Wine Shop, an e-commerce site featuring the best Italian wines, with Wine Club mailing subscriptions and news and blogs bringing producers closer to their consumers.
Vinitaly officials said the fair had established a partnership with Chinese online B2C platform, tmall.com.
Hong Kong investor in Tuscany?
Hong Kong and Chinese mainland investors are said to be increasingly active in wine production investment in Italy, to add extra muscle to the SAR's distribution and collectors' hub.
An unnamed Hong Kong investor has reportedly purchased a mid-sized vineyard called Casa Nova, located in Tuscany.
The area is important for Chianti Classico, a red wine renowned worldwide.
The Chianti area, located around Florence, has been a preferred choice for international investors, with some of the most renowned wineries owned by American investment funds.
According to the magazine Winenews the Hong Kong entrepreneur has established strong business relationships in both Italy and France.
Vinitaly ran from 7 to 10 April, with next year's event due from 6 to 9 April.
from Alessio Pulsinelli, Milan Office


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China’s Accession to CPTPP: A Futuristic Orientation
Editor's Note: The author is Executive Director of the Center for South Asia & International Studies (CSAIS) Islamabad and Regional Expert on China, BRI & CPEC. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily the views of Gwadar Pro.
For the further strengthen of socio-economic integration, sustainability of industrial supply chains, development of human capital and last but not least regional peace and harmony China has submitted documents for its accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) which is indeed good omen for regional economies and communities alike.
It seems that China has the economic willingness and structural capability to join the CPTPP. The accession of the CPTPP requires certain policy measures, initiation of structural reforms, administrative adjustments and last but not least, implementation of specific rules & regulations which has already been started by the policy makers of China.
To match the pre-requisite terms & conditions of the CPTPP the government of China have already initiated policies of opening-up, modernization and industrialization. At the Two Sessions held in March, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced and assured further opening-up, modernization and qualitative industrialization in the country, which is now paying its huge dividends in terms of increasing exports volumes, economic prosperity and sustainability in industrial supply chains. It would be a stimulating factor in the further consolidation and expansion of the CPTPP.
Hopefully, the Chinese desired accession will benefit all members of the CPTPP in terms of investments, industrial cooperation, trade & commerce activities, joint ventures, digitalization and e-commerce among all the member countries in the days to come.
Ultimately, it will further foster economic liberalization and political stability in the Asia-Pacific region because economic prosperity and integration of social development has direct correlation with the political stability which would create healthy good-will gestures among all the member countries of the CPTPP. It would also be good for quick economic revival, social development, new job generation and poverty eradication thus it carries holistic and comprehensive socio-economic development package for the entire region and beyond.
Obviously, economic wisdom of further diversification of macro-economy, formation of regional and global partners, regions and countries are also an important and encouraging factor in the Chinese remarkable efforts in boosting its accession to the trade bloc because CPTPP stands for complete zero-tariff regime moving towards a grand economic paradise of merchandize trade among the member countries. Thus free moving of finished products in the CPTPP would bring more socio-economic prosperity and converging of human innovations and ideas in the days to come.
It is not a planned political move to build its own economic dominance as propagated by the blind and pseudo intellectuals of the west rather a strong commitment of the Chinese government to jointly work for the further strengthening of economic ties, trade relations and industrial growth in these countries which should be appreciated.
The CPTPP was formed in 2018 after the US withdrew from it which also showed its keen interest in the economic prosperity and social stability of the region. It now comprises of 12 members after it accepted the UK in March 2023.
It predicts that if China is succeeded in accession with CPTPP, it would be big boost to regional trade and bring spirits of economic positivity, productivity and participation among the member countries. Moreover, China’s membership in the CPTPP will also boost the country's high-level opening-up and contribute to its economic recovery.
Moreover, drastic reduction in the Chinese negative list of foreign investment access and launching of more free trade pilot zones would be a value addition for the CPTPP’s future prosperity and performance.
In this regard, recent visits of Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and Apple CEO Tim Cook, Tesla CEO Elon Musk and JP Morgan Chase & Co's CEO Jamie Dimon to Beijing vividly reflected increasing economic and investment confidence of the world multinational companies and organization in the economic potential and societal vibrancy of China, encouraging more international firms and figures to visit China for investments and partnerships.


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Vietnam's rice output in 2012 is expected to remain steady at this year's record levels of around 42 million tons of unhusked grain, a government minister said on Friday, which could help ensure supply in Asia and soften food prices.
"We will strive to keep production figure next year at least on par with this year," Deputy Agriculture Minister Bui Ba Bong told Reuters.
A steady production in Vietnam, the world's second-largest rice exporter after Thailand, would help provide some supply reassurance amid forecasts calling for a 50 percent drop in Thailand's 2012 exports to 5 million tons.
The output target would be achieved despite a delay caused by floods in the planting of the winter-spring crop, Vietnam's biggest crop with grain used mostly for export, Bong said, dismissing earlier worries in the rice industry.
He was speaking on the sidelines of an international conference looking at stopping the misuse of pesticide on rice fields across Asia.
The delay in planting the winter-spring crop prompted Vietnam to cut its paddy output projection by 1.2 percent next year to 41 million tons, Director Nguyen Tri Ngoc of the ministry's Crops Department was quoted on Thursday as saying.
Vietnam's average rice yield has been rising in the past two decades, reaching 5.3 ton per hectare now -- the highest among Southeast Asian nations -- from 3 tons in 1990, Bong told scientists and government officials at the conference.
He declined to comment on Vietnam's rice export target for 2012, saying it was in the hand of the trade ministry.
Record volume in 2011
Ngoc was quoted on Thursday by a state-run newspaper as saying the nation's rice export next year could fall to 6.5 million tons after shipping a record 7.2 million tons in 2010.
As of Dec. 15, Vietnam has exported 6.89 million tons of rice, up 6 percent from a year earlier and higher than a record shipment of 6.83 million tons in the whole of 2010, the Vietnam Food Association said in a weekly report.
Its revenues rose to $3.38 billion, from $3.21 billion for the whole of 2010, suggesting the average export price so far this year has risen to $490 a ton, free-on-board basis, from $470 a ton last year.
Vietnam would have around 7 million tons of milled rice available for export in 2012, based on Bong's assessment of 42 million tons of paddy and domestic paddy consumption of 27.33 million tons estimated by the Agriculture Ministry.
If the export volume is lowered while production is seen steady, Vietnam could have a larger stockpile of rice in 2012, which may lead to lower domestic prices, which is in line with a government target to cut inflation next year.
Paddy price stood at VND6,200-7,200 (29.5-34.3 US cents) per kg in the Mekong Delta food basket this week, softening from the year high of 8,200 dong reached in early November but up 5 percent from the end of 2010.
The Vietnamese government has planned to slow the annual inflation, now at around 20 percent -- the highest in Asia -- to below 10 percent in 2012. Food prices account for 8 percent of the price basket used for calculating inflation.
In Thailand, rice production has been affected after recent floods, with damages expected at 6 million tons of the major crop, from 25 million tons it had expected to produce.
"The floods bought us to ground zero, but farmers in Thailand can replant their rice quickly," said Kukiat Soitong, a rice department expert at Thailand's Agriculture Ministry.
He did not have any immediate forecasts on output for 2012.


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At Oyster Harbors Marine, we pride ourselves on satisfying our customers’ needs. That’s why we were excited to recently learn that our efforts to satisfy customers have resulted in a prestigious national honor.
NMMA’s Customer Service Index awards honor dealers who actively measure customer satisfaction and pursue continuous improvement to better serve customers. This is the first year NMMA has presented customer satisfaction awards to dealers; they have previously awarded boat and engine manufacturers.
Award-winning dealers achieved an independently measured standard of excellence of 90 percent or higher in customer satisfaction during the past program year. Data was collected as part of a survey among customers who purchased a new boat or engine during 2016. The program surveyed more than 122,000 customers.
“Boat dealers play a vital role in fostering customer satisfaction and upholding a positive ownership experience through their approach to sales and service, and it’s critical that we not only measure and understand their role, but recognize those dealers who excel at serving boaters,” said NMMA Vice President of Engineering Standards and Membership Robert Newsome. “We thank the inaugural class of marine dealers for their commitment to their customers and for creating an incomparable boat ownership experience, ensuring that today’s boater remains the boater of tomorrow.”


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Getting your Trinity Audio player ready…
Inputs designed to increase crop production, yields, and quality are not immune to volatility and high prices, the two common threads linking all 21 sessions comprising Sosland Publishing Co.’s 45th annual Purchasing Seminar in early June. For the first time, a breakout session at the seminar was devoted specifically to fertilizers with an outlook that prices will remain elevated for some time.
Andy Spahr, vice president of wholesale with The Andersons, Maumee, Ohio, US, educated attendees in Fertilizer 101, addressed the impacts of Eastern European fighting on the fertilizer market, and issued a price outlook.
“As this market’s gotten crazy, people have realized how global the fertilizer market is, the fact that we really do rely on other parts of the world, a lot of friendly and not-so-friendly places in today’s context,” Spahr said. “To make a lot of this stuff we use in North America and also globally, a lot of fertilizer production is done in places that have natural resources in the case of potassium and phosphates, and then have the economic ability to access those resources and ship them.”
The two mined materials, potash and potassium, each have industrial applications competing for supplies. Together with nitrogen, which is manufactured mainly with natural gas, they are the primary active fertilizer ingredients. (Usually) inexpensive natural gas fuels a robust domestic nitrogen market that sufficiently supplies the United States with a critical plant protein and tissue formation booster. It’s what gives recently top-dressed wheat a neon green appearance from an aerial perspective. US supplies are supplemented by imports that are a function of trade flows and arbitrage. There is interest in expanding US nitrogen capacity, but a recent Biden administration plan to ramp up US nitrogen production fell far short, Spahr said, since a proposed $500 million investment wouldn’t even cover the engineering study for a new nitrogen plant costing between $3 billion and $5 billion.
“We can make more of this in the US, build more plants if we wanted to, control more of our own destiny,” Spahr said.
Less feasible domestically is increased production of phosphate used to assist photosynthesis, plant growth, and development. It’s mined from phosphate rock, processed with sulfur and ammonia in Florida and Idaho, and used in numerous agricultural, industrial, and energy processes. But the resultant commodity isn’t cost-competitive in the global market.
Saskatchewan, Canada, is a major supplier to North America of potash, or potassium, which fortifies crop quality as it defends crops from disease and extreme weather and has industrial applications. The major global players in potash — Belarus, China, Russia, and Ukraine — supply palm-oil-producing countries, especially those in Latin America.
As the supply base for the world’s crops and the demand base for fertilizer, the value chain centers around growers, Spahr told the audience composed of buyers and sellers, millers and manufacturers of ingredients and food. The fundamental structure of the crop side is the reverse of the fertilizer market, he explained. In the case of the former, central demand from a wide base of growers narrows as crops pass through the supply chain to a narrow end-user base. For fertilizers, the commodity begins with a limited group of extractors and manufacturers who sell to a wider distributor base that spreads supplies even wider to retailers and then to the farmer or industrial user.
That narrow origin point for fertilizer “is where all the pricing power exists, especially when you start layering on anti-dumping, countervailing duties, sanctions and trade restrictions.” Spahr said. “That’s a key difference in how these markets function and part of the reason there’s so much opacity around fertilizer prices and how they work.”
Pivoting to recent market history, Spahr indicated numerous forces escalated a “perfect storm of building pressure” even before Russia began massing troops along its border with Ukraine. The US International Trade Commission in 2020 levied significant anti-dumping and countervailing duty import tariffs on phosphates from Russia and Morocco and urea and ammonium nitrate for nitrogen production out of Trinidad and Tobago and Russia. Constrained supplies were exacerbated further by a polar vortex, Hurricane Ida and sanctions against the world’s No. 2 potash exporter Belarus after the Ryanair Flight 4978 incident, all in 2021. Taking note of constrained supplies, China halted fertilizer exports.
When Russia attacked Ukraine in February, the resultant sanctions had a major impact. Russia had been the world’s top exporter of urea, ammonium nitrate, ammonia and urea ammonium nitrate, and the No. 3 potash exporter globally. The European Union shifted ammonia imports partly to the United States, further constraining domestic supply. Fertilizer jumped from 30% of the variable cost of crop production in 2020 and 2021 to about 45% in 2022, he said.
What should US producers expect in the inputs markets for fall 2022 and 2023?
“I think what it means is things will be pretty expensive as this all sorts out, and it’s not a six-month thing, it’s protracted,” Spahr said, “Moving forward, we’ll see the market adjust to the new pricing paradigm over the next period, especially if crop prices remain elevated.”
Sanctions, tariffs, and export limits, justified or not, disrupt fairly efficient global trade flows, he said. The stark shift from relatively low fertilizer prices will potentially pull up the bottom of the cost curve, especially for the mined products as extractors spend more to obtain more difficult resources. The tight global grain supply-demand stance will help keep prices high as well since crop prices are highly correlated to fertilizer prices, he said.
Source: World Grain


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If you thought it might be a dream, here's the commercial for the cheesy President Barack Obama memorial coin. We have arrived.
As American as Apple Pie and Brawls at Wal-Mart
MSNBC reported that a knife fight over a parking space broke out at a Wal-Mart in West Virginia, a man was shot carrying his new TV home from a store in Vegas and shoppers in Rialto, Calif., brawled over alleged line-cutting in a Wal-Mart. In Orlando, Fla., a man was arrested when he left his baby in his car in a store parking lot. What a way to end Thanksgiving!


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The head of Vietnam’s Communist Party will make a first-ever visit to the White House next week, meeting President Barack Obama on the 40th... ...http://dc.asianage.com/international/barack-obama-host-head-vietnamese-party-403
WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama has been called a leftie liberal and a closet socialist so often that he might as well wear it as badge of... ...http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/Socialist-Obama-reaches-out-to-Vietnam-Kenya/articleshow/47932680.cms
The financial topic is either...