text:
Inter Parfums Inc. may be bidding adieu to the Burberry license, but it is expecting big things from Karl Lagerfeld.
“Karl Lagerfeld is a fabulous addition to our luxury portfolio,” Jean Madar, Inter Parfums chairman and chief executive officer, told analysts during the company’s third-quarter earnings call on Thursday. “We will give the brand a fresh start.” The company inked a 20-year global licensing agreement with the Karl Lagerfeld brand last month, and said it plans to introduce the first new fragrance in 2014.
As part of the deal, Inter Parfums will pay an advanced royalty payment to the licensor of 9.6 million euros, or approximately $12.5 million at current exchange.
As previously reported, Burberry plans to move its beauty business in-house and will buy back its fragrance license from Inter Parfums, which has a portfolio of fragrance brands that includes Lanvin and Jimmy Choo. As part of the transition agreement with Inter Parfums, Burberry will pay 181 million euros, or about $230 million at current exchange, exclusive of receivables, inventories and other assets, before the end of the year.
“We had a great run with Burberry and we are very enthusiastic about our corporate life without Burberry,” said Madar. The company’s French subsidiary, Inter Parfums SA, will continue operating the business for this brand until March 31, at which time the business will be turned over to Burberry.
Inter Parfums on Thursday reported that net income attributable to the company for the quarter ended Sept. 30 declined 3.9 percent to $10 million, or 33 cents a diluted share, from $10.4 million, or 34 cents a share, in the prior-year period.
Net sales for the quarter declined 3.2 percent to $166.3 million, from $171.7 million. At constant exchange, revenues gained 2 percent.
Sales from the company’s European-based operations declined 4 percent to $148.6 million, while sales by U.S.-based operations gained 4 percent to $17.7 million.
For the nine-month period, net income attributable to the company gained 11.7 percent to $31.5 million, or $1.03 a diluted share, from $28.2 million, or 92 cents. Net sales during the period gained 12 percent to $477.2 million, from $426.1 million. At constant exchange, revenues gained 16.9 percent.
Madar said the company has a full pipeline of products planned for 2013. He said, “Almost all of our brands will have a new fragrance next year.”
@margotrobbie steps out onto the red carpet wearing @miumiu. The actress is nominated for “Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role” in “I, Tonya” at the #SagAwards. (📷: Stewart Cook) #wwdfashion
For @massimogiorgetti of @msgm, the Nineties are his favorite decade. “They had a huge impact on my personal growth. What I like of the Nineties is that they are not so precise in terms of style as other decades…there was actually a bit of everything,” he said. As seen on MSGM’s Spring 2018 show: tie-dye and a bit of grunge, two styles that are synonymous with the decade #wwdfashion #wwddecades (📷: @kukukuba)
Breaking News: @hedislimane joins @celine as its new artistic, creative and image director. One of fashion’s preeminent image-makers and trendsetters, Slimane is to join the LVMH brand on Feb. 1 and unveil his first fashion proposition for men and women next September during Paris Fashion Week. It marks a major homecoming for Slimane, who cemented his reputation – and influenced men’s tailoring for more than a decade – as the designer of Dior Homme between 2000 and 2007. He went on to reinvent and ignite the house of Yves Saint Laurent, which he rechristened Saint Laurent, between 2012 and 2016 – all the while maintaining a close relationship with the Arnault family, which controls LVMH and Dior. Read the full exclusive story on WWD.com. Link in bio. #wwdnews #wwdfashion
“Personally I believe the Eighties have been the richest and more vivacious period for international fashion,” Giorgio Armani said when asked what his favorite decade of fashion is. It was a moment of disruption and experimentation and only thinking back to the first years of that decade is always an emotion for me, for what they have meant to me and my work.” The influence is clear in @giorgioarmani spring 2018 collection, pictured here, which was full of bright colors and unexpected prints. Read more about which decades designers loved most on WWD.com #wwdfashion #wwddecades (📷: @aitorrosasphoto)
For Lady Gaga’s only Italian show on her “Joanne World Tour,” the singer wore a range of @versace_official outfits. The standout piece: this custom-made bodysuit inspired by the brand’s spring 2018 collection. #wwdfashion (RG: @ladygaga)
@_camillaruth_ is expanding on the wellness-craze concept with @westbourne – a new NYC restaurant that’s both a healthy-minded café as well as a business that gives back to the community. Marcus works with the Robin Hood foundation to give back to The Door, a non-profit providing youth development services, and also hires employees through The Door. Read our full interview with Marcus on giving back through food on WWD.com. #wwdeye (📷: @lexieblacklock)


text:
Whether you are flying private to Basel to check out the newest trends in jewelry and timepieces, or touching down to share the spotlight with the many millionaires and billionaires who are sure to be strolling up through the gallery halls, your first stop most likely will be at EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg.
I’m sure that we are not the only ones breathing a sigh of relief at the close of the first decade of the 21st century. While there were some great highs over the course of the last 10 years, 2009 proved to be the year that separated the true power players from the amateurs just getting their toes wet. Proudly reporting that we made it out alive and will live to see another prosperous day, we have bid adieu to last year and are ready to celebrate all of the successes that 2010 has in store.
With BaselWorld starting in Switzerland on March 18, the silver anniversary of the Palm Beach International Boat Show on March 25, then off to the burgeoning Pebble Beach Food & Wine event commencing on April 8, and rounding it all up with a trip to New York City for the Tribeca Film Festival on April 21, it will be a season full of celebrations. For our elite audience of jetsetters, we have the 411 on your best bets for arriving in style to strut the red carpets at each of these world-renowned events.
March 18 to 25, 2010
Exhibition Center Basel
March 18, 2010 will be a big day in the world of luxury timepieces, as it will mark the official kickoff celebration of BaselWorld, the world’s most preeminent watch and jewelry show in Basel, Switzerland. Close to 2,000 luxury brands from 45 countries wait for this globally revered annual fair to showcase their latest innovations for the coming year to an audience that consists of close to 94,000 affluent attendees from 100 countries, and 3,000 journalists from 70 countries. Whether you are flying private to Basel to check out the newest trends in jewelry and timepieces, or touching down to share the spotlight with the many millionaires and billionaires who are sure to be strolling up through the gallery halls, your first stop most likely will be at EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg.
EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg (BSL)
• Even though it is located in France, the EuroAirport is just less than four miles northwest of Basel, Switzerland, making it only a 10-minute car ride away.
• BSL is one of the only airports across the globe that is operated by two countries, France and Switzerland. And though the headquarters can be found on French soil in Blotzheim, both countries appoint eight representatives to sit on the airport’s board.
• The FBO at BSL is AMAC Aerospace, founded in 2007 in Basel. Two new state-of-the-art hangars are currently operational, one with two A320/BBJ/G550-sized bays. A third hangar is expected to be completed in early summer 2010, which will accommodate a B747-8, B787, or A330-200 and an A320 or BBJ.
• Though a bit further away, another option for your pilot to land your private plane for BaselWorld is Zurich International Airport, which is less than one hour from Basel.

domain: news


text:
JCB announced today that they received an order for 50 of its innovative Hydradig 110W wheeled excavators from a major UK hirer in only a few weeks after it was launched.
The deal from Kent-based H.E. Services (Plant Hire) was secured at the Bauma construction equipment trade fair in Munich where the brand new product was shown last week for the first time to thousands of international customers. H.E. Services Chairman Hugh Edeleanu visited the JCB show stand to see the Hydradig in action and immediately placed an order, which will be supplied through JCB dealer Greenshields JCB.
JCB Excavator Sales MD James Richardson said: “The response to the Hydradig launch has been fantastic and to win a big order so quickly from a very important UK hirer is overwhelming. We have had a sensational response at Bauma to the Hydradig with unprecedented interest levels.”
Hugh Edeleanu said: “I am hugely impressed with the JCB Hydradig and I see massive opportunities for it in the UK market. It’s not often that a truly innovative product comes along but the JCB Hydradig really does break the mould. The fact that it has been developed specifically for modern construction sites will really resonate with our customers.”
The JCB Hydradig – which goes into production next month – was unveiled to JCB dealers and the press last month and is a completely new, innovative tool-carrying solution, which is set to radically change the way in which modern construction projects are undertaken, particularly in congested urban environments and on busy road networks. The machine has been developed to have the best visibility, stability, mobility, manoeuvrability and serviceability.
Founded in 1972, H.E. Services is based in Strood and runs a fleet of more than 3,500 items of plant which are offered for hire nationwide form 12 strategically located depots. The company’s fleet includes excavators from 1.5 to 45 tonnes, telehandlers, dumpers and rollers.


text:
Brexit fears pushing up the cost of holidays as pound slumps to lowest level against euro for more than a year
- Holidays in the EU may cost more this year due to the weak pound
- Holidaymakers will have less spending money and prices will be higher
- The pound could fall further ahead of the EU referendum on 23 June
Holidaymakers may have to fork out extra to visit Europe this summer after the pound slumped to its lowest level against the euro in more than a year.
Currently, £1 buys you around €1.27, down from €1.42 at the end of last year.
The weaker pound is likely to hit holidaymakers twofold: they won’t be able to buy as much spending money and the conversion rate will push up holiday prices.
Prices up: The price of a European holiday is rising as concerns over Britain leaving the EU have caused the pound to slump to its lowest level against the Euro in more than a year
There are fears that the pound could fall even further in the run-up to the EU referendum on June 23 this year.
In the months prior to the Scottish Referendum in 2014, sterling fell by around 4 per cent against the euro, which meant £1,000 worth of euros cost holidaymakers an extra £40.
Those travelling to the United States will also have less spending money, and may see higher holiday prices, as sterling has also fallen against the U.S. dollar.
One pound now buys $1.40, compared with $1.71 two years ago.
This is not a new trend and according to FairFX the pound has fallen against the dollar by around 10 per cent a year for the past five years.
That means that every £1,000 you convert to dollars costs you around £100 more than it did in 2011.
But in destinations further off the beaten track, the value of the pound is soaring.
Those travelling to South America are likely to get better value for money as sterling has risen 175 per cent against the Argentinian peso over the past three years.
This means that if you convert £1,000 into pesos today, you get an extra £800 worth of currency compared with 2013.
You can also get more money for your pounds in Norway - 45 per cent more at the moment compared with 2013. The pound has also risen against the Canadian dollar by 28 per cent in the same time period.
However, if you're choosing to travel to a destination further afield, you will need to factor in the increased flight costs of doing so - which may outweigh any savings made in the exchange rate.
Most watched Money videos
- Take a look at clutter-free EV chargers trialled in London
- Rolls-Royce plans to mine on the moon
- Britain's Garage of the Year 2021 nominee's incredible construction
- Cinematic video of Lamborghini Countach with a top speed of 221mph
- £2M 1980s Lamborghini Countach is back with a top speed of 221mph
- Taking a look at the Jaguar XJ220 from all angles on a test drive
- A 'mortgage-free' way for first-time buyers to own their home
- The Mini Moke: The cute utility vehicle without windows or doors
- Dacia unveil the Jogger: the UK's least expensive seven-seat car
- Morgan's Plus Four CX-T is a mad £204k off-road sports car
- Which? finds out if an electric car runs out of battery in traffic
- Porsche 928 driven by Tom Cruise in Risky Business sells for a bomb


text:
StageAngel | Alive
Last Raised$2.97M | 5 yrs ago
Prasos is a Finnish cryptocurrency service provider. The Company's main product is the website Bittiraha.fi, which provides informational services, a discussion platform, Bitcoin brokering service, Bitcoin billpay service, and a Bitcoin merchant service.
Missing: Prasos's Product Demo & Case Studies
Promote your product offering to tech buyers.
Reach 1000s of buyers who use CB Insights to identify vendors, demo products, and make purchasing decisions.
Missing: Prasos's Product & Differentiators
Don’t let your products get skipped. Buyers use our vendor rankings to shortlist companies and drive requests for proposals (RFPs).
Expert Collections containing Prasos
Expert Collections are analyst-curated lists that highlight the companies you need to know in the most important technology spaces.
Prasos is included in 1 Expert Collection, including Fintech.
Latest Prasos News
Jul 12, 2019
Prasos, a Finnish cryptocurrency service provider, has obtained a payment institution license , making one of the few nationally licensed Bitcoin exchange in the world. The license was obtained through the European Union’s passport program, which allows financial services providers legally established in one member state to operate in others. Therefore, with the Finnish Financial Supervisory Authority’s license, Prasos will be licensed in all 28 European countries. The crypto provider was required to undergo annual audits, including anti-money laundering and know your customer rules required of financial institutions. The license is likely to open a lot of doors to banking partnerships for Prasos, which was founded in 2012 and last year reported €140 million in cryptocurrency deposits, while trading volume in its brokerage unit exceeded €220 million. Prasos also runs websites such as Coinmotion.com, Bittiraha.fi and Denarium, through which retail investors can exchange Bitcoins into euros. The company also hosts digital wallets for customers to store their crypto assets. Suggested articles How to Weather the Storm: Why Safe Haven Assets Should Interest You Go to article >> Prasos CEO Heidi Hurskainen said the process took 1.5 years to prepare and obtain the license, “during which legislation on the EU level has become clearer.” Even though crypto regulations are not in place for Finland, the regulators take a cautious stance toward cryptocurrencies as they fear that they are aiding in money-laundering scams. Rules vary, but all regulators are cracking down Meanwhile, Prasos has sought to improve client identification and clear up misgivings about the origins of the funds. Earlier in 2018, the company signed an agreement with Aussie fintech iSignthis to use its Paydentity platform to process identity verification and payments. Although it is hard to generalize the attitude towards cryptocurrency across Europe, some major countries – including in France and Germany – have repeatedly called for more discussions on the topic. Rules vary wildly by country because of the lack of pan-European legislation. But overall, local regulators across Europe are cracking down on trading venues that lack permission to offer brokerage services. In this context, ESMA has already proposed restrictions on cryptocurrency CFDs for retail investors, including lowering the maximum leverage that companies can offer. The European Union has previously proposed that cryptocurrency service providers be brought under the scope of its anti-money laundering and countering terrorist financing regulations. Share this article
Prasos Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
When was Prasos founded?
Prasos was founded in 2012.
Where is Prasos's headquarters?
Prasos's headquarters is located at Lutakonaukio 7, Jyvaskyla.
What is Prasos's latest funding round?
Prasos's latest funding round is Angel.
How much did Prasos raise?
Prasos raised a total of $2.97M.
Who are the investors of Prasos?
Investors of Prasos include Invesdor.
Who are Prasos's competitors?
Competitors of Prasos include Membrane Finance and 4 more.
Compare Prasos to Competitors
Covario provides a full-service crypto prime brokerage for institutional investors. The company builds the technology and solutions that asset managers need to trade cryptocurrencies with the professionalism, reliability, and security that they are used to with traditional assets. It was founded in 2019 and is based in Zug, Switzerland.
Cybrid is a Crypto Banking-as-a-Service provider that enables its partners to seamlessly launch cryptocurrency and defi products. It was founded in 2021 and is based in Toronto, Ontario.
Provider of blockchain data and analytics solutions.
YouHodler is a Switzerland-based company with a financial technology platform that focuses on lending solutions backed by cryptocurrency.
2TM is a financial technology company. It creates an infrastructure for the financial market based on the technology blockchain. It was founded in 2013 and is based in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Rally is a platform where unique, high-value assets are securitized, split into shares, and then offered up as equity investments to users of all income levels. The mission is to democratize alternative asset investing by providing access, liquidity, and transparency to markets that have traditionally only been available to a select few. Utilizing blue-chip classic cars as the initial asset class, Rally Rd. is the first platform allowing investors to create a portfolio of shares in individual automotive assets just like one would purchase stock in a public company.
Discover the right solution for your team
The CB Insights tech market intelligence platform analyzes millions of data points on vendors, products, partnerships, and patents to help your team find their next technology solution.


text:
Opel parent company Stellantis is looking to make headway in the Chinese market by acquiring a majority stake in its joint venture GAC-Stellantis. Stellantis will increase its 50 percent stake to 75 percent, the carmaker merger between Peugeot and Fiat Chrysler announced on Thursday. The Chinese government still has to approve the deal. Details of Stellantis’ plan for the Chinese market are to be announced as part of its global strategic plan on March 1.
Continue reading now
Get 30 days of free access to the Professional Briefing to read these and more quality news every day.
Are you already a guest at the China.Table? Log in now


text:
Apparel, retailer and home textile industry professionals can now access the latest information regarding restricted chemicals.
The American Apparel and Footwear Association has issued the 18th edition of its Restricted Substances List (RSL), which includes additions and changes to the regulations covering chemicals in apparel, footwear and finished home textiles around the world.
“The RSL is the go-to resource for apparel and footwear professionals tasked with tracking restricted and banned substances,” said Rick Helfenbein, president and CEO of the AAFA. “As national and international regulations are continuously evolving, it can be difficult to keep track of the latest regulations. That is why AAFA does the heavy lifting for the entire industry with this report, to ensure that the products being sold in stores are safe for consumers.”
The RSL, which is updated every six months, covers 12 categories with more than 250 chemicals. For each substance, the RSL identifies the CAS number, common chemical or color name, as well as information on the restriction or limit on final products or tested components.
Print PDFPrint PDFWhen times are tough, companies are more willing to test new ideas and Target, Warby Parker and Amazon are pushing the boundaries of traditional retail. Target gets in bed with Casper After failed attempts at an acquisition, Target has instead invested in Casper...Read more
J.Crew has been shifting in its seat trying to adjust to a new normal of shrinking sales and growing debt, but nothing has quite yet paid off, so the company is cutting its prices.Read more
It’s official. Coach, Inc. is snapping up shares of handbag brand Kate Spade.Read more
This week, consumers called for better children's apparel, retailers turned internally to remedy their financial woes and apparel incubators improved China's manufacturing sector.Read more
Whether and how much consumers care about sustainability may be an ongoing question the industry wants an answer for, but one thing that’s clear is that though some consumers do care, sustainability isn’t the first thing they think of.Read more
Gymboree tapped former Tilly's executive Daniel Griesemer as its new CEO, JC Penney appointed Marci Grebstein as its new EVP and Wolford creative director Grit Seymour is leaving the company.Read more
Aiming to clear up potential conflicts with state laws, the Reinforcing American-Made Products Act now moves to the full Senate for consideration after the chamber’s Commerce Committee gave approval to the measure.Read more


text:
are trending down for a second straight day on mixed reports out of the US. Retail sales for March did not improve as much as had been hoped and may still have been impacted by brutal winter weather in many parts of the country. On the other hand, earnings from three senior companies in the banking and health care sectors beat the street with JP Morgan coming in particularly strong.
Major European indices are drifting lower again this morning, except for the UK which appears to be benefitting from a better than expected same store sales report overnight. Singapore also had a particularly strong rally overnight after GDP beat the street by a wide margin and its central bank didn’t cut rates like the street had thought it would. The Hang Seng sold off again in the wake of disappointing Chinese trade figures reported earlier this week.
In currency markets today, gold is retreating once again while NOK and to a lesser extent CAD are benefiting from moderate gains in the price of crude oil. USD has fallen to the bottom of the heap with soft retail pushing off rate hike expectations to later in the year. June looks increasingly unlikely unless we were to see a major bounce back in April from a rough winter like we did last year.
Earnings reports continue to ramp up this week, influencing action in individual stocks and sectors. Retailers and banks in the US may be particularly active on this morning’s news. We also may see positioning ahead of tonight’s Chinese Q1 GDP report which is due at 10:00 pm EDT.
JPMorgan Chase $1.60 vs street $1.41
Wells Fargo $1.04 vs street $0.98
Johnson and Johnson $1.56 vs street $1.53
Shaw communications $0.34 vs street $0.39
Economic reports released overnight and this morning include:
People’s Bank of China cut the interest rate on 7-day reverse repos to 3.35% from 3.45%
Monetary Authority of Singapore maintained its benchmark rate when a cut had been expected
US retail sales 0.9% vs street 1.1%
US retail ex auto 0.4% vs street 0.7%
US retail ex auto and gasoline 0.5% vs street 0.6%
US producer prices (0.8%) vs street 0.9%
UK same store sales 3.2% vs street 0.6%
UK consumer prices 0.0% as expected
UK core CPI 1.0% vs street 1.2%
UK retail prices 0.9% vs street 1.0%
UK producer input prices (13.0%) vs street (13.5%)
UK producer output prices (1.7%) vs street (1.8%)
UK ONS house prices 7.2% vs previous 8.4%
Eurozone industrial production 1.6% vs street 0.8%
Sweden unemployment rate 4.0% vs street 4.1%
Sweden consumer prices 0.2% vs street 0.3%
Spain consumer prices (0.7%) as expected
China new Yuan loans 1,180B vs street 1,040B
China M2 money supply 11.6% vs street 12.4%
Singapore GDP 2 1% vs street 1.7%
NZ house prices 6.7% vs previous 0.8%
NZ house sales 20.3% vs previous 12.6%
Economic reports due later today include:
There are no major announcements or speeches scheduled for North America later today.


text:
Holidays are underway in Old Town Spring
Old Town Spring is all decked out for the holidays – decorations are hung around all the shops with care and St. Nicholas is already there.
The 34th annual Home for the Holidays celebration kicked off with a tree-lighting ceremony on Saturday, Nov. 8. The community gathered to see the 20-foot-tall decorated tree illuminated while the Invincible Czars performed.
The fun continues every weekend through Dec. 21. Strolling performers will greet families, as they visit festive exhibits and shop for unique holiday gifts at the town’s specialty stores.
Event chairwoman Carol Holland said the local shops and businesses come alive during the holiday season.
“It’s a historic community, and it just has a festive atmosphere,” Holland said. “It’s all about the whole spirit of the holidays.”
There will be live entertainment each weekend, including school and church choirs, bell ringers, dancers, cloggers and carolers. Most of the entertainment is scheduled between noon and 4 p.m.
Kris Kringle and Mrs. Claus will be available for pictures from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. every Saturday and Sunday in Santa’s Workshop, which is located at 326 Main St., directly across from the Spring Historical Museum.
“Children can also come and have breakfast with Santa Claus,” Holland said.
St. Nick will also be dining from 9 to 10:30 a.m. on Saturdays at La’Deville Café, 421 Gentry St. – and kids are invited to join him there and take a photo over breakfast.
Children may also run into their favorite characters in Old Town Spring – from Disney princesses to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
“We will have a kids electric train without track, face-painting and children’s rides too,” Holland said. “It’s a great way to spend the day with the family.”
Rides on the 40-foot Be-An-Angel small electric train run through town and make a stop in Preservation Park. All proceeds benefit the Be-An-Angel Foundation, which provides assistance to children with disabilities. Guests can also assist by dropping off an unwrapped gift for a child, infants through 18 years, at one of the drop centers – Moore Time at 202 Main St., Little Dutch Girl at 210 Gentry St. or Ellen’s Café at 307 Gentry.
Wreaths Across America, an organization which honors veterans by placing wreaths on graves across the United States, including Houston’s Veterans Memorial Cemetery, will be collecting donations during Home for the Holidays.
Visitors may support the Brookwood Community, a residential program for adults with special needs, by shopping at the organization’s retail store at 318 Gentry St.
Executive director Vivian Shudde explained that 40 percent of the center’s operating budget comes from the enterprises on the Brookwood campus.
“We do not take any government money, and instead we rely on the American free enterprise system,” she said. “All 200 of our citizens have jobs in enterprises on our campus.”
The Horticulture Enterprise began with two greenhouses and a small tree farm. Now there are 47 greenhouses and residents grow approximately 500,000 plants each year.
The horticulture department grew about 44,000 poinsettas this year.
“We’re planning on selling out all of our poinsettas,” Shudde said.
She said residents have also made 14,000 holiday ornaments that will be for sale.
“We have the most awesome selection of nativities – all homemade,” Shudde said. “We have a Santa collection, and we add a new one each year. They’re hand-painted and awesome.”
There are several other gift items and home décor options in the store.
“Your dollar does double duty,” Shudde said. “By purchasing at Brookwood, all proceeds go to underwrite the community. It’s critical for people to come shop, because it literally provides opportunities for adults with special needs.” Click this website to buy quality trackless trains.
Mary Paquette, administrative assistant for the Spring Preservation League, said the shops and boutiques in the area offer a variety of unique holiday gifts.
“We have a lot of different merchandise – from antiques and collectibles to T-shirts, kitchen gear and formal wear,” she said.
Paquette said that the German Gift House, 210-B Gentry St., The Little Dutch Girl, 210 Gentry St., and stores selling sweets are particularly popular during the holidays.
She added that several stores serve holiday treats for the customers.
“A lot of the stores have been around for a long time and have a following,” she said.
Paquette said people come just to stroll the decorated pathways and then dine at one of the local restaurants.
“There’s a little something for everyone to do during the holidays,” she said. “Everything is decorated and it’s just beautiful.”


text:
TECNO has amassed considerable appreciation in Pakistan’s market after the release of its latest SPARK GO (Full Review).
The phone became an overnight success and within no time, its demand exceeded its supply. This made the smartphone manufacturer come into notice of its biggest competitors and they now know that this is the dawn of cut-throat competition amongst smartphone brands.
Here’s the video review of the Tecno Spark Go
TECNO entered Pakistan’s market two years before and within the shortest span of time, the company became popular amongst the users. TECNO has created quite a stir in the mobile market with the release of the teaser of its upcoming smartphone.
The upcoming phone has literally become the talk of the town. Users across social media have been asking anxiously about the launch date of the phone.
A lot of rumors are already speculating that the upcoming phone will be an improved version of SPARK GO. The smartphone manufacturers have ensured that the phone is superior in three areas i.e Storage capacity, screen and battery.
Some reports suggested that SPARK 4 is going to feature a mega 6.6-inch dot notch screen, triple camera set up, powered with 4000 mAh battery and having 3GB+32GB big memory.
A lot of users are asking about the price of TECNO SPARK 4 on social media. Price is still not confirmed. But there have been speculations by tech influencers regarding the price. The features of the phone are suggesting that this mid-range is going to definitely be the game changer for TECNO in terms of capturing major chunk of market share.
Here’s the PUBG Gameplay of the Tecno Spark Go (a phone that cost less than 13 thousand Rupees in Pakistan)
TECNO is winning when it comes to understanding the needs of the users and then designing smartphones in every category, catering to every need. This is how we know that TECNO is here to stay for long.


text:
With the constantly increasing need for customer service and sales support, contact center operations continue to expand, generating over $300 billion in revenue each year according to JLL Research. Given the vast amount of sensitive data that flows through contact center environments, security -including insidious insider threats – has become a serious concern. According to a recent report by UK-based Contact-Centres, the rate of contact center fraud has gone up dramatically over the past four years, increasing by 350 percent. This has created what Gartner calls “an epicenter of vulnerability.”
In the US, as many as 1,300 breaches were tracked last year by the Identity Theft Resource Centre1. Fraud perpetrators are becoming more sophisticated, leveraging today’s omnichannel shopping techniques. For example, a fraudster can employ social engineering to reset a password on a victim’s account, using information now easily found via social networks and Google searches to obtain usernames, passwords, and other personal data. Criminals then employ that newly reset password to hoodwink a live agent into giving away additional information and sometimes even performing fraudulent financial transactions.
For contact centers, finding effective methods of tackling this daunting challenge calls for a multi-faceted approach, including ways to prevent attacks emanating from both outside and inside the company. That means identifying dishonest individuals who call in masquerading as legitimate customers, or try to hack into contact center data, as well as keeping dishonest agents from stealing customer information. The caveat is that contact centers need to implement such security measures without creating barriers to a positive customer experience for honest consumers.
One method now coming into widespread use is biometric authentication to verify customer identity. Some solution providers offer tools that support self-service interactive voice response (IVR) via voice and face recognition and when the customer is using a smartphone, can even support fingerprint authentication. Others offer voice biometric identity verification which relies on more than simply the physical characteristics of a voiceprint when authenticating end users. An advanced voice biometrics engine can also account for how a user speaks and what is said. taking note of variations in the pitch and tone of a customer’s voice.
So, how can forward-thinking organizations take the right measures to adapt to this new reality and protect their customers from fraud without negatively impacting satisfaction ratings? On Tuesday, December 10 at 2:00 pm ET, CrmXchange is offering an complimentary, in-depth webcast entitled “The Biometrics Win-Win – How Leading Brands Are Beating Fraud While Improving CX.”
The session is sponsored by Nuance, named a leader in Conversational AI for Customer Service, including voice and speech engines, human/AI blending, omni‑channel delivery and security and authentication in the in Q2 2019 Forrester New Wave. The presenters are established authorities on improving contact center security: Simon Marchand, Nuance’s Chief Fraud Prevention Officer, and Dima Cichi, Senior Principal Product Manager, Security and Biometrics for Nuance. Among the topics addressed will be:
- How the fraud battle lines are shifting and why AI tech can help win the fight in the contact center and beyond
- Enabling stronger authentication to co-exist happily with exceptional customer experience
- A first-hand look at how combining voice, behavioral and other biometric modalities deliver a powerful cross-channel defense
- An examination of the latest Nuance innovations for authentication and fraud detection
- The benefits both large and small organizations are realizing from faster, stronger authentication and real-time fraud detection
Register now for this eye-opening session: if you can’t attend the live presentation on December 10, it will be available for download 24 hours after it is completed.


text:
At Japan Blockchain Conference, which gathered some of the world’s leading experts in the blockchain industry, the Chief Executive Officer of financial services company SBI Holdings Yoshitaka Kitao said he is certain that blockchain related technologies will fuel the next boom for the Japanese economy after decades of its struggling to bring back its 1980’s growth.
During its last economic boom, which happened in the 1970-80s, Japan reached the world’s second-largest GDP. The United States was in the first place. However, things haven’t been going so well for Japan in the years that followed. In the early 1990s, Japan’s economy had started to fall behind, leading to the “lost decade” of growth.
But now it seems like something’s changing. The rapid development of new technologies has led to the whirlwind of ground-breaking changes in the financial markets. Better mobile connectivity with the new 5G technology, together with the Internet of Things (IoT), fast development in the fields of computing power and artificial intelligence, could all lead to a beginning of another economic boom, with Japan being the leader in the process.
SBI is well-known for its investments in companies in Japan and across East Asia through its “AI & Blockchain Fund” which they established at the beginning of 2018.
“We want to take blockchain beyond financial. There's a lot of speculative demand around cryptocurrencies, which is why the price is going up so quickly, but people need to think about how these technologies are being used in real life and how they can improve people's businesses.”- Yoshitaka Kitao
In Yoshitaka’s opinion, economic boom might happen in the next few years, and this is why he’s moving his company’s focus toward blockchain and virtual currencies.
Earlier in June 2018, SBI revealed its in-house cryptocurrency exchange, called VCTRADE is now live, but only open for users who have pre-registered with the platform in October 2017. The company expects VCTRADE to become available for a wider public in July 2018.
SBI has also invested in a renewable energy wind farm to begin mining Bitcoin Cash, which Yoshitaka believes is more profitable and safer than original Bitcoin.
“Bitcoin is too expensive and people are just holding it and hoping it increases in value,” Yoshitaka explains.
Yoshitaka is not alone in his views on Japan and blockchain industry. Aaron McDonald, the CEO of New Zealand-based decentralized app marketplace Centrality (which closed an $80 million ICO in early 2018), also believes Japan and East Asia could be the core driver of global Bitcoin, cryptocurrency, and blockchain adoption.
“We’re focused on the region because people in Japan are far further ahead than the rest of the world when it comes to blockchain and cryptocurrencies,” said McDonald, who echoes the views that the blockchain boom will happen in the next few years.
The first Japan Blockchain Conference, which took place on 26 and June 27, 2018, at the Tokyo International Forum, in the organization of the General Incorporated Association Global Blockchain Council, is one of the largest blockchain conferences in Japan.
It aims to expand blockchain awareness by accommodating blockchain business corporations and organizations. The conference also enables strengthening of links between local Japanese and international companies and blockchain enthusiasts, to facilitate cooperation and transfer of knowledge.


text:
As the planet's resources dwindle, the population places a larger significance on environmentally friendly products and companies. To meet consumer demand, businesses are putting an emphasis on corporate social responsibility. In their attempts to clean up their supply chains, organizations have dedicated themselves to creating visibility and more sustainable resources. Recently, businesses have pledged to protect the environment by eliminating deforestation from their practices.
Companies commit to sustainability
At the 2014 United Nation Secretary-General's Climate Summit, various companies and organizations signed on to promote The New York Declaration on Forests. This action plan calls for a reduction of the deforestation of natural forests by 2020 and the practice's elimination by 2030. Businesses would need to look for new eco-friendly and sustainable methods to source their materials and products. They also pledged to do their parts to rebuild natural forests, planting 150 million hectares by 2020 and gradually increasing that rate throughout the years.
Various companies have started looking at where they are procuring their products from, and many have committed to strategically sourcing from sustainable suppliers. Cargill is one of the businesses that are determined to create an environmentally friendly supply chain. The corporation is working with farmers, governments, other organizations and consumers to ensure its methods meet green standards, according to Cargill's vice chairman Paul Conway. Cargill is evaluating its carbon footprint and building sustainable resources of soy, palm, cotton and maize.
McDonald's has also pledged to eliminate deforestation from its practices, Supply Chain Digital reported. The corporation has partnered with the World Wildlife Fund to create more sustainable practices and globally source from certified suppliers.
"At McDonald's, we view protection of forests and High Conservation Value areas as important business and societal issues and believe our role is not just to avoid negative impacts, but to promote responsible production that benefits people, communities and the planet," Francesca DeBiase, chief supply chain and sustainability officer at McDonald's, told the source.
Environmental practices lead to company-wide benefits
While abiding by The New York Declaration on Forests is currently voluntary, the policy - or one like it - could eventually become mandatory. Instead of focusing on adhering to only the minimal environmental regulations, companies should hold themselves to a higher standard, Harvard Business Review suggested. Only following the basic requirements can actually hinder business. Companies will need separate systems to manage the various parts of the business. By making more sustainable implementations early on, these organizations will be able to create a more streamlined workflow and can see an increase in efficiency and production.
Sustainability changes take time, and eco-friendly corporations may also have more sway over the agencies that create new regulations, the source explained. If businesses are already working to make their supply chains environmentally friendly, they may find that government organizations are willing to give them the time they need to implement new systems.
Many businesses also save money by making their processes greener. Reusing old products, recycling scrap materials, reducing water usage, limiting transportation and creating sustainable resources can significantly cut expenses and lead to a better bottom line.


text:
A coalition of companies and associations have banded together to advocate for the approval of the United States-Mexico-Canada deal as it’s debated by the American congress.
The USMCA Coalition consists of representatives for farmers and ranchers, manufacturers, service providers, and technology companies. The coalition will also work to educate the American public about the benefits of the new deal.
“USMCA is critical to the success of American businesses, farmers, and workers,” said Cathy Van Way, head of government relations for Cummins Inc., and coalition co-chair. “For Cummins, our two largest export markets in the world are Canada and Mexico, and our trade with these countries has contributed to significant growth and global reach. When Cummins is successful globally, we add high quality jobs in communities across the country.”
For autoworkers, the USMCA is critical as it affects the jobs of thousands of workers in Canada, the U.S. and Mexico, according to Shane Karr, head of external affairs for Fiat Chrysler Automotive-North America and coalition co-chair.
“The new trade agreement incentivizes the auto industry to make new investments to build our most advanced vehicles here and will ensure that our products remain competitive in markets around the world.”
Provisions in the USMCA regarding automobiles require that all vehicles contain at least 75% of North American made parts to be granted duty-free treatment by 2020 versus the current 62.5% mandate. It will also require greater use of domestic steel and other materials and establish a new requirement that at least 30% of all auto workers earn at least $16 an hour by 2020 and for that figure to increase to 40% by 2023.
As for the agricultural sector, Canada’s dairy industry opened up allowing more American milk and milk products to enter the country.
“The United States, Mexico and Canada have been transformed by nearly 25 years of open agricultural trade, creating a level of economic integration that has made North America one of the world’s most competitive and successful trading blocs,” said Devry Boughner Vorwerk, corporate vice-president of global corporate affairs for Cargill and coalition co-chair. “We must ensure that the uncertainties that exist about the future of this vital relationship are removed, and passing USMCA is a critical step. We look forward to working with Congress to make this a reality.”


text:
The Vancouver Art Gallery’s new eatery is officially open, and just in time for the holiday season too.
1931 Gallery Bistro welcomed customers in for the first time yesterday, offering them a selection of eats for breakfast, lunch, and dinner in a revitalized space.
- See also:
The new 70-seat spot will have some grab-and-go options as well as a summer patio for patrons. The space can also be booked for large parties and private events.
The gallery is calling it an “unforgettable new culinary experience” — read more about what the new downtown bistro has to offer, and be sure to stop in and check it out for yourself!
View this post on Instagram
Address: 750 Hornby Street, Vancouver


text:
Cloetta said its merger with Leaf in December had resulted in a combined overcapacity and the decision had been taken to “achieve savings”.
Cloetta will close its factory in Aura, Finland and its Gävle and Alingsås sites in Sweden. Production at these sites will move to existing factories in Levice, Slovakia and Ljungsbro, Sweden.
A move to reduce costs
Jacob Broberg, senior vice president corporate communications at Cloetta, told ConfectioneryNews.com: “We have a high fixed cost at the factories in Sweden and Finland. And there is overcapacity in the group’s structure.”
The company said the move would result in annual cost savings of €11.2m (SEK 100m) with gradual effect in 2013 and full effect during the second half of 2014.
Cloetta CEO Bengt Baron added: “Fierce competition requires us to continue producing products with high quality at a low cost.”
The production move will cost Cloetta between €35.9 and €41.5m (SEK 320 and 370).
Broberg said Cloetta had invested heavily in the Levice facility which was practically a new factory.
He said the modern production methods at this site would help keep costs low.
The company also announced that warehouse in Malmö, Sweden and Slagelse, Denmark would be outsourced and consolidated into a new warehouse in southern Sweden.
Around the time the merger was sealed, Leaf closed its factory in Slagelse and moved production to Levice, Slovakia.
The human cost
The closures will results in 345 job losses. 150 jobs will go at the Gävle site, 140 in Aura, 30 in Alingsås and 25 warehousing jobs.
Broberg said that “emotions ran high” when staff were told this week.
Production of Cloetta’s Ahlgrens bilar brand will move from Gävle to Ljungbro and remaining products to the Levice site.
The Aura and Alingsås closures are due in early 2013, while Gävle will close in early 2014.
Euromonitor analyst Pasi Hanonen previously told this site shortly after the merger that the potential synergy benefits and savings from the merger could lead to a lower number of production facilities.
He said at the time: “In the short time, this can be somewhat risky – when Leaf closed one of its production facilities in Finland a few years ago, the initial local reaction to the relocation of the production of long established Finnish brands abroad was negative.”
When asked how the closures would affect consumer sentiment, Broberg said: “As long as the products are the same standard, consumers will continue to buy the brands.”


text:
Samsung has released details on their estimated profits for the first quarter of 2015 and the company says that their operating profit until the 31st of March will be 5.9 trillion won, which is about $5.4 billion.
This is down some 30 percent on the same time in 2014 and about the same as their previous financial quarter.
Whilst Samsung’s profits may be down in this quarter, things could be different in their next quarter with the recent release of their Galaxy S6 And S6 Edge smartphones.
The Samsung Galaxy S5 was not as popular as Samsung has hoped, although initial reports on sales of the new S6 handsets have suggested that things may be different this time around.
Samsung will announce their full earnings for the first quarter of 2015 later this month, as soon as we get some more details we will let you guys know.


text:
Uber London loses licence to operate
The leading cab service company, Uber got a big shock. That they loses their license to Operate in London. Thus decision made about 40,000 drivers future were confused. The London Transport Regulator said the Uber company could not move its cabs in the City of London after September 30 this month. Uber will not be issued a new private hire licence, Transport for London (TfL) has said.
According to Transport for London regulations, ride-hailing app firm was not fit and proper to hold a London private hire operator licence. It said it took the decision on the grounds of “public safety and security implications”.
Uber did not take care of the safety of the passengers, including the backdrop of corporate-style liabilities, and claimed that they did not take any security measures. Uber has the right to appeal the decision. It is possible to apply this appeal within 21 days. However, Uber did not make any statement on the decision taken by the London Transport Authority.
Confirming it would appeal against the decision, Uber said it showed the world “far from being open, London is closed to innovative companies”.
Already there are a lot of concerns from various unions, lawmakers and black people drivers against this agency.


text:
A few days ago, a new version of the most widely used Bitcoin implementation, Bitcoin Core, was released. Version 24.0 includes the configuration “mempoolfullrbf”, which has already been the subject of lively discussion within the Bitcoin community for several weeks, in addition to numerous other undisputed updates.
At issue is the replace-by-fee (RBF) feature, a mempool policy that allows nodes to decide between competing unconfirmed transactions based on the fee rate.
RBF allows senders to replace an unconfirmed transaction in the mempool with another transaction. This is provided that there is at least one of the same inputs and pays a higher transaction fee.
This way, the creator of a transaction can expedite it if it is stuck in the mempool. Until the upgrade, it was the case that RBF was an opt-in feature.
With Bitcoin Core 24, this is changing as RBF will no longer be optional, but the default. Bitcoin Core has used opt-in (BIP 125) RBF since 0.12.0.
Critics fear that this decision will open the door to abuse by shaking the confidence that unconfirmed transactions are accepted.
Why RBF Is Such A Big Deal For Bitcoin
There are industry players that use these “zero-confirmation transactions” in their applications. Bitcoin ATMs are one example. Customer transactions are processed immediately at ATMs even though the transaction has not yet been included in a block.
Most operators view the likelihood of something going wrong with the transaction as very low and focus on the customer experience. “This is something everyone knows is theoretically dangerous but hasn’t been an issue,” said Thomas Fahrer co-founder of Appolo.
Alternatively, the customer would have to wait outside the machine for the transaction to be confirmed, which can sometimes take several hours depending on the transaction fee and network load.
Thus, some companies relied on the vast majority of full nodes to refuse transactions that have not actively opted in to the RBF option. With “Full RBF,” this option is eliminated.
“The chances of facing a double spend have gone up significantly *IF* you’re someone who’s accepting 0-conf transactions,” Fahrer stated.
Full RBF Follows Satoshi’s Vision Of Bitcoin
As Bitcoin developer Gloria Zhao wrote via GitHub, such assumptions make the proof-of-work mechanism absurd, which is why opting for full RBF is the only right decision.
“Full RBF is the natural state of the network. The point of Bitcoin blocks, PoW, etc. is to prevent double spending; there has never been a guarantee of the finality of unconfirmed transactions,” Zhao said.
Another strong argument for “Full RBF” is that companies will be strongly motivated to rely on Lightning payments instead of zero-conf transactions.
In addition, the implementation will strengthen the struggling miners, as it is assumed that the replace-by-fee mechanism will increase revenues.
However, an engineer under the pseudonym of Rijndael emphasized that Bitcoin Core 24 has many other great things in store and summarized them in a Twitter thread.
Most of the discussion lately about Bitcoin Core 24 has been around the new "full RBF" mempool policy option. But there's lots of other great stuff in this release! Here are some things you might have missed 👇
— Rijndael (@rot13maxi) November 26, 2022
At press time, the BTC price was trading at $16,222, trying to overcome the resistance at $16,310.


text:
It’s been a tale of mixed fortunes for Sega’s parent company Sega Sammy this year. It’s taken a hit on the amusements side following the pandemic, which has led the company to sell its arcade business and close its iconic arcade in Akihabara, Japan. Things have appeared rosier for its videogames, however, despite the lack of a Sonic game this year.
Sega Europe chief studios officer Tim Heaton caught up with GamesIndustry.biz and mentioned that Creative Assembly’s Total War: Troy “did great”, though didn’t delve any further. He did, though, say more about the studio’s future plans. Heaton goes on to explain that Sega’s studios are focusing on developing new IPs while being supported by their more established games.
“Each one of our studios really does own a franchise, and they’re all mature now by and large,” he explains. “So what we’re trying to do now is look at new IP. There’s a new FPS game coming from Creative Assembly, and [it’s] growing teams around new IPs. Our internal studios have this two-pronged strategy: do more with what you’ve got, and think about new IP.”
We’ve heard bits and bobs about the studio’s FPS game over the years. People caught wind of it through a job ad before the studio confirmed it by sharing online that director Neil Blomkamp came around to have a gander at it. A real power move. That there’s stuff going on beyond the FPS, though, is new information as far as we can tell.
— Creative Assembly (@CAGames) February 4, 2019
Elsewhere in the realm of Creative Assembly, the studio has been drawing back the curtain on Total War: Warhammer 2’s new Wood Elves DLC. Just recently, we saw some gameplay featuring some zoats and a massive dragon, which Ian is rather excited about.


text:
Mohammad Ikmal Hisham, General Manager Marketing said currently Mutiara is only sold in Malaysia. "We produce about three tonnes of feed for cattle, goats and fish every day. Next year, we intend to export our feed to countries like Australia, Japan and South Korea," he said.
Nuinfra Mutiara Feedmill, a wholly-owned Bumiputera company, started operations at the Gong Badak Industrial Estate in 2008.
Mohammad said his company would increase its production capacity when it adds one more feed processing machine next year.
"Now we have two feed processing machines. With the addition of another machine, we hope to achieve our higher production target," he said.
He said the demand for feed in the country was higher than production, about 1,000 tonnes a month, while production was only 700 tonnes.
Nuinfra also has a feed processing plant in Jakarta which has a production capacity of 250 tonnes a month.
Mutiara received the halal certification in October this year. A 50kg bag Mutiara goat feed is sold at RM37 (€7.30) and RM29 (€5,72) per 150kg bag cattle feed in the domestic market.


text:
Gaming is now one of the most lucrative industries of all time. With billions of people dedicating much of there free time to it, it now has a massive influence on both society and technology, and because of this, it is something that marketers should not overlook.
Below are some of the reasons why including gamification in your marketing strategy is a must.
Consumers can be Brought Closer to Your Brand
With over 2.2 billion gamers worldwide, it’s clear that gaming is one of the world’s favourite pastimes. This huge number of players can partly be put down to the wide range of interests that are catered for through games, from sports to shooters and more.
Emma McDonald, Director of Marketing at Newzoo commented “Game companies are the champions of interactive entertainment and are outstanding at stimulating social, creative and sharing behaviour,”
“As traditional media struggles to offer an interactive component around their content, game companies are quickly learning how to monetise video content and its millions of viewers.”
She continued, “This could ultimately lead to a media landscape in which game companies hold a key position as they master both skills. The biggest game companies already entertain a far greater audience than most of the world’s biggest traditional media and entertainment companies.”
Marketing through gaming is an excellent way to reach your audience as it is done through a channel they prefer and it’s already in a space where they spend most of their time.
There are a huge number of gamers who now have a massive following from posting frequent gameplay videos to online platforms such as YouTube. This makes them prime candidates to become influencers for your brand.
Pro-gamers such as Kim Jung Woo, have been known to partner with brands and sponsors. He has been seen partnering with sportswear brand FILA.
Using gamers in your marketing strategy could potentially open up your brand to a whole new audience.
Electronic sports, also known as eSports, is a form of competitive gaming which attracts millions of online spectators and sells out stadiums. The sport is rising in popularity on a global scale and the people that take part in these competitions do this for a living.
Big brands like Coca-Cola in recent years have started sponsoring eSports tournaments over other massive tournaments such as the Super Bowl because eSports comes much closer to the desired demographic they aim for.
Rebecca Sentence, Deputy Editor at Econsultancy commented, “The world of eSports mostly revolves around major tournaments, in contrast to the world of traditional sports, where casual matches and local competitions take place all the time,”
By sponsoring eSports tournaments, you can align your brand with an audience that consists of millions of games. Gaming covers the smallest of niches, so it’s almost guaranteed that you reach your intended audience.
In-game marketing is pretty much untouched by traditional advertising, making it a great place to insert your brand into virtual worlds. There are three main ways of advertising in games, these consist of:
- Static In-game Advertising – This type of advertising in-game is done through product placement. Brands can insert their product/service as part of the character’s image/clothing, or maybe as an object the players can interact with. It could also be integrated into a storyline in the game.
- Dynamic In-game Advertising (DIGA) – This type of advertising takes place directly in the virtual world. Adverts are placed exactly where you’d expect to see them in the real world, from bus stops to billboards, and posters.
- Advergames – These are games that are built with the sole purpose of promoting a brand or product. It allows your target audience to be entertained while engaging with your brand.


text:
Security experts have warned of a convincing Facebook phishing scam doing the rounds in Australia.
At the end of 2010, the United States remained on top of the "Dirty Dozen" list of spam relaying nations compiled by IT security firm Sophos.
So, you want to play some Call Of Duty on your PC? You could do that the old fashioned way, or you could spice things up a little by hooking your PC up to Microsoft's Kinect and Nintendo's Wii Remote for some added FPS awesomeness, One avid gamer has...
In 2010, worldwide IT spending totalled US US$3.4 trillion and this year spending will be US$3.6 trillion, according to a Gartner report titled 'Forecast Alert: IT Spending, Worldwide, 4Q10 Update'.
Federal court papers name a former Akamai Technologies employee who allegedly revealed insider information to stock traders who were later charged with reaping millions of do...
If you're looking for a good movie to watch tonight while curled up in the sofa with your significant other, Arduino: The Documentary may...not be the right film for you. But if you're as crazy over hacks and DIY projects as we here at GeekTech are, ...
Microsoft is asking the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to deny Apple a trademark on the name "App Store," saying the term is generic and competitors should be able to use it.
Android version 2.4 is slated to be released sometime this summer, Pocket Lint sources report.
Fujitsu demoed its next-generation tablet at the Consumer Electronics Show. It came as no surprise, as the company has long been a player in highly mobile and slate-style products--especially ones aimed at corporate and vertical markets in previous p...
It seems like hackers who inatall the Android operating system on everything decided to mix it up a bit. The folks over at XDA Developers have successfully ported Ubuntu HD2 version 0.3 to the Samsung Nexus S phone. You read that correctly: They repl...
Your move Apple: Google announced that they are changing Chrome's support of HTML5 'video' to be, in Google's view, more friendly towards open development. The H.264 codec is being removed in favor of the Theora and VP8 video codecs as well as any h...
After more than a year of rumors, Verizon announced it would start selling Apple's iPhone 4 on Feb. 10.
Some analysts said Tuesday the iPhone 4G on Verizon Wireless will cannibalize Google Android smartphone sales across various carriers including AT&T early on, while others disagreed.
Blizzard sent out a press release announcing 4.7 million sales of World of Warcraft expansion Cataclysm in just one month. Guess how much it sold in just one day?
Here are seven key facts you should know about the Verizon iPhone 4 before you decide to buy it.
Enhance your TV experience with extra channels, on-demand movies and more
Most Popular Reviews
- 1 Microsoft Surface Pro 3 Windows 8.1 tablet
- 2 Samsung Galaxy Tab S (10.5) 4G review
- 3 TomTom Runner Cardio GPS watch
- 4 LG G3 review
- 5 Nokia Lumia 930 review
Best Deals on GoodGearGuide
Latest News Articles
- Intel developer kit focuses on IoT market
- Facebook apologizes to LGBT community, clarifies names policy
- Conservative group says 2.4 million opposed to net neutrality rules
- Xen Project discloses serious vulnerability that impacts virtualized servers
- FCC takes steps to make room for 'white spaces,' wireless microphones
GGG Evaluation Team
First impression on unpacking the Q702 test unit was the solid feel and clean, minimalist styling.


text:
The idea of privacy software gained momentum during the summer of 1996, when the Federal Trade Commission held the first in series of hearings about online privacy. That winter, the CDT hosted a meeting of an ad hoc group it called the Internet Privacy Working Group. Invited guests included privacy activists as well as representatives from IBM, America Online and even the Direct Marketing Association. “They had a pretty diverse group,” says AT&T research scientist Lorrie Faith Cranor, who participated in several of the W3C working groups.
In the spring of 1997 this ad hoc group realized it “didn’t have enough expertise on the technical side,” says Cranor, so it asked W3C to take on the project. The W3C membership approved the idea in a nonbinding vote and Berners-Lee authorized the project. Roughly a year later, the group had created a draft recommendation called P3P, and companies such as Microsoft and Netscape were making formal commitments to implement the technology.
P3P, which stands for the Platform for Privacy Preferences Project, won’t by itself protect anybody’s privacy. That’s because the technology isn’t really designed to prevent Web sites from gathering information about a Web user, but rather to convey personal information explicitly from the Web user to the Web site-as long as the Web site promises to abide by certain privacy policies.
When your browser connects to a Web site, it looks at the privacy “proposal” the site provides, indicating which kind of personal information the site requests and what it intends to do with it. Your browser then looks at your preset privacy preferences. If there is a match-if you don’t mind your e-mail address being used for research purposes, for example-your browser can automatically provide the requested information. If in your view the site’s proposal constitutes a violation of privacy, however, the page won’t load and you’ll see a message on the screen explaining the mismatch.
W3C director Berners-Lee acknowledges that this reliance on trust is a weakness in P3P: “I am concerned that we can make a beautiful protocol until we are blue in the face, but if it isn’t backed by legislation, there will be sites that simply don’t talk P3P. These sites may ask you for your mailing address and then may be abusing your privacy.”
Privacy advocates are split on the value of P3P. Some believe that while the technology isn’t perfect, it’s better than nothing. P3P can be used to create greater privacy than exists on the Web right now, says Ann Cavoukian, the privacy commissioner for Ontario who also participated in the P3P working group. “I support P3P and other technologies that will come along and empower the individual,” she adds.
Others, however, have sharply criticized P3P as being less a means to protect privacy and more a way for businesses to gather personal information from Web users. Marc Rotenberg, director of the Washington-based Electronic Privacy Information Center, says P3P in effect waives privacy rights that are unwaivable. Both U.S. and European privacy laws outlaw some kinds of privacy-violating transactions even if they are entered into voluntarily. For example, in the United States it is illegal for a video rental store to reveal the names of the movies that its customers rent. The video store may not say to its customers, “We will protect your privacy and charge you $5 per day, or you can give up your privacy and pay just $4 per day.” But that sort of deal could be both proposed and accepted using P3P.
“P3P reflects the Clinton administration’s enthusiasm with what are essentially notice-and consent’ techniques to resolve privacy issues,” says Rotenberg. Unfortunately, he says, this approach all too often becomes a take-it-or-leave-it dilemma for the consumer: accept that the business is going to violate your privacy, or go play somewhere else. “The emphasis in P3P is on negotiating the terms of privacy between a data subject and the data collector, but that really runs contrary to what privacy law and policy has always been about,” says Rotenberg. “P3P says that anything goes.”
If P3P is adopted, one critical question remains: What will be the default settings provided to users? Few computer users ever learn to change the preference settings on their software. Therefore, the way a Web browser equipped with P3P sets itself up by default is the way the majority of the Internet population will use it. “That’s where the public debate ought to be,” says Miller. “The marketing industry would want the defaults on the client to be set so that everything is preapproved; privacy advocates are going to say that the appropriate setting is that nothing is preapproved. My take is the W3C should not be involved in making that decision. That is a public policy debate.”
There might not be much of a debate, however. That’s because companies like Microsoft and Netscape, which both create Web browsers and run massive Web sites, are likely to establish their own settings-regardless of what the W3C recommends. This spring, for instance, Microsoft bought a company called Firefly, which had contributed heavily to the P3P standard. Since then, Firefly has become Microsoft’s “Privacy Czar,” says Thomas Reardon, Microsoft’s program manager for Internet architecture. Firefly is “the core of our entire [privacy] strategy,” Reardon says, guiding the software giant’s decisions about the commercial value of personal information collected from customers as well as “what is the right thing morally.” W3C’s influence is strong, but it only goes so far.


text:
Petition to stop privatization of Mountain Equipment Co-op nearing 75K target
Canada’s venerable outdoor recreation gear and clothing retailer Mountain Equipment Co-op is being sold to Kingswood Capital Management, LP ending the long-run of MEC, which was founded in 1971. But, there is already opposition gathering momentum just days after the announcement.
According to a press release, the acquisition will “strengthen MEC's balance sheet, preserve jobs and guarantee members continued access to authentic advice and high-quality products at competitive prices.”
"MEC is an iconic brand founded on strong values and has a loyal following," said Kingswood's Managing Partner, Alex Wolf. "We have tremendous respect for those values and the loyal membership and are honored to be partnering with Canadian operating partners who will represent us on the ground in Canada working with MEC's management team following the closing to ensure a bright future for MEC. Upon completion of this transaction, we – together – can inspire and equip Canadians in leading an active outdoor lifestyle for years to come."
Eric Claus, who is described as a longstanding MEC member and Canadian, will lead the new group as Board Chair and CEO.
As MEC was facing what is described as “persistent financial challenges,” in recent years, that were only exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, a special committee was set up to look at refinancing and other options that would preserve MEC’s core values.
"After careful consideration of all viable options, the Board made this difficult decision," said MEC's Board Chair Judi Richardson. "Despite significant progress on a thoughtful turnaround strategy undertaken by new leadership, no strategy could have anticipated or overcome the impact of the global pandemic on our business. Today's announcement, including the transition from a co-operative structure, is creating a positive path forward for MEC. Kingswood's commitment to honouring the MEC ethos and the solid financial footing that this transaction will provide gives us tremendous confidence in the future. Since our founding in 1971, MEC's deeply loyal customers have been synonymous with who we are and what we do. That won't change."
Since details of the deal were announced, some have questioned how the self-described co-op could go ahead with such a major deal without a vote from the membership.
MEC has taken in more than $27 million in $5 membership payments for its shareholders. Now that they are selling to a US private equity firm, will they pay back each and every member? Here is the form to cancel your membership: https://t.co/pAodZW2ltG #MEC #MountainEquipmentCoop— James D. Schwartz (@jamesschwartz) September 15, 2020
While others have tried to rally opposition via an online petition that already has over 71,000 names.
"This decision to take one of Canada's treasured co-op businesses private was made by the board with no mandate from or consultation of the 5.4 million MEC members across Canada," the petition reads, in part.
"We call upon the MEC Board and Management team to cancel this decision to sell to a private equity firm - and engage with and consult MECs members."


text:
Tuesday, August 5, 2014
Thanks to the companies NDA, most people have no idea what it is.
Stingray is a mobile NSA like device that can gather data from phones and tablet up to a mile away. It's a complete invasion of privacy. See the report here :
Share to Twitter
Share to Facebook
Share to Pinterest


text:
Fifty Percent of Newcomer Guitarists are Women18.10.2018
Latest research data released by guitar manufacturer Fender indicate that fifty percent of all people beginning their adventure with playing the guitar buying their first instrument are women.
The guitar giant has been committed to a more pro-woman approach for the past two years, focusing its efforts primarily on the British and American markets. The approach can be seen in Fender’s recent marketing campaigns and the launch of a new women-oriented line of guitars endorsed by renowned female guitarists, including Bully frontwoman Alicia Bognanno and the women of Warpaint.
– The fact that 50 percent of new guitar buyers in the U.K. were women was a surprise to the U.K. team, but it’s identical to what’s happening in the U.S. (…) There was also belief about what people referred to as the ‘Taylor Swift factor’ maybe making the 50 percent number short-term and aberrational. In fact, it’s not. Taylor has moved on, I think playing less guitar on stage than she has in the past. But young women are still driving 50 percent of new guitar sales – said Fender CEO Andy Mooney in an interview with Rolling Stone.
Fender’s research revealed another interesting diagnosis—it turns out that most women who buy guitars do so online, because they’re put off by the gruff, overly masculine atmosphere of most guitar stores.
- AI-Powered Text Generator Too Dangerous to Release
AI-Powered Text Generator Too Dangerous to Release
- How Femtech is Capitalizing on Women
How Femtech is Capitalizing on Women
- Less Waste — We Don’t Want to Drown in Trash
Less Waste — We Don’t Want to Drown in Trash
- Buckingham Palace Reimagined as Living Space for Fifty Thousand Londoners
Buckingham Palace Reimagined as Living Space for Fifty Thousand Londoners


text:
Arion Paylo spent nearly a decade working on product design at Apple, before recently trying his hand at coffee. Paylo is now head of retail development at Blue Bottle, the Oakland, Calif-based coffee roaster that has more than 30 locations from New York City to Tokyo. Since its inception in 2002, Blue Bottle has fast-become the go-to watering hole for Silicon Valley's elite.
On a recent summer Thursday, Paylo helped lead a tour through the company's newest location in Bushwick, Brooklyn. This is where, in addition to selling drips and lattes as a cafe, Blue Bottle actually produces the coffee it supplies to each of its nine East Coast stores. (That only encompasses New York City at present, though the company will soon launch in Miami, Boston, and Washington, D.C.)
Blue Bottle's CEO, Bryan Meehan, explains that setting up a commissary was necessary for maintaining the quality of the product as the company expands. Here, it processes as much as 2,000 pounds of coffee per week, though it has the capacity to do even more. The company spent a total of $6 million to build out the plant.
"We don't want our signature espresso to taste differently here [in Brooklyn] than it does in San Francisco," Meehan told Inc. over freshly baked scones and pour-overs in the cupping room. "Obviously the water and milk changes by region, but the coffee more or less tastes the same. That's because of how we produce it, and how we train the baristas," he adds. (Pro tip: When pouring over grounds, be sure to start in the middle and spiral outwards. That way, you spread water over the folds of the filter, so no grounds are left behind.)
The roasting process
Perhaps most integral to the success of the company--and what has helped it to attract more than $100 million from investors such as Chris Sacca and Ev Williams--has been the method by which the coffee is roasted. In Brooklyn, new beans sourced from countries such as Colombia and Brazil are received daily and stored in sacks. The beans are then processed in a special machine, which comes equipped with a 10.4-inch touch-screen. This lets roasters control the precise bean temperature, or change heat levels inside the machine's roasting chamber. It takes around 15 minutes to produce one batch.
Next, the roasted beans are sent to a separate room for packaging. A machine vacuums and weighs the beans, which are then portioned into individual bags. On a slow day, says one staffer, she'll package around 500 pounds of coffee.
An industry heats up
To be sure, Blue Bottle is not the only specialty coffee roaster gaining traction in the U.S.; it's competing for market share with companies such as La Colombe, based in Philadelphia, as well as Intelligentsia and Stumptown, both of which were acquired by Peet's Coffee in 2015. Since 2010, more than $300 million has been invested into coffee companies, according to CB Insights data. Consumers are increasingly interested in high-quality and ethically sourced products--even if it means paying more. (Consider that an individual cup of coffee from Blue Bottle can cost as much as $16.)
Still, the sheer cost of production can be a barrier to growth, as startups go to great and expensive lengths to preserve and enhance taste. A single roasting machine can cost as much as $200,000--depending on the desired make and model.
Taken in broader context, then, bringing in Paylo, Blue Bottle's retail chief, seems smart. "We see ourselves as the Apple of coffee," Meehan said, explaining that everything from processing to store design is meant to appear basic on the outside--though it requires a significant amount of time, money and effort. In the Bushwick cafe, for instance, Paylo decided to decorate using sound-absorbent materials such as felt and perforated wood. This makes for a quieter atmosphere that's more conducive to conversation, he explains.
Yet to what extent the company can generate sustainable profits over time--given these costly methods--does remain to be seen. While Meehan refused to disclose revenue, he notes that the company is on track to grow by 75 percent in 2017.


text:
TRW’s corner module product line expanded with 637 new part numbers last year. Its offerings now cover 376 million vehicles. The additions all came in 2021. They included 170 chassis components covering nearly 117 million vehicles in operation (VIO), 301 suspension components covering more than 211 million VIO and 112 braking components covering almost 52 million VIO. The new SKUs include coverage for a stabilizer bar link kit for Ford Escape 2013-2019 and Lincoln MKC 2015-2019; control arm for Cadillac Escalade, Chevrolet Avalanche, Suburban and various other GM models from 2002-2019; and brake pad kit for various 2017-2020 Audi models.
Have your say:


text:
Latest in Highlight
The launch occurred under the auspices of the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood (NCCM) in cooperation with UNICEF, and with funding from the European Union (EU).
Egypt’s digital transformation programme and the government’s swift response to the pandemic were among the topical issues explored by Talaat in an in-depth video interview (vidcast) with Oxford Business Group (OBG).
TE achieved revenues of EGP 15bn during the first half (H1) of this year, reflecting a growth of 18% over the same period last year. The growth was supported by a 37% increase in data services revenues compared to the same period last year.
Kenya, Mauritius, Namibia and South Africa are only countries where share of internet shoppers tops 8%, the trend is below 5% in most other African countries
Accessing rate of electronic learning sites affiliated with the ministries of education and higher education has increased to 19% in Ramadan, bringing the rise rate to 395% since the beginning of curfew, the National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (NTRA) said on Monday.
According to a Ministry of Communications and Information Technology report, the number of Internet users increased to 53.15 million users at the end of January. This compared to 49.9 million subscribers reported in December 2019, an increase of 3.25 million new users.
Egypt’s ranking also moved up 69 spots to 97th place compared to 166th globally in December 2018, and its ranking advanced 34 ranks to 6th in Africa, up from the 40th in December 2018.
The number of Internet users through USB Modem devices increased to 3.58 million customers in October, while ADSL users increased slightly to 7.17 million in October
Pompeo urged Iranians on Thursday to send photos and other information documenting repression amid ongoing protests
Three members of the Iranian security forces have been killed by protestors in Tehran province late Monday
Upset you can’t access the website you want to watch your favorite shows or catch the latest news? No problem – here’s what you can do to unblock them.
Google provides tips for enhanced safety during online surfing
App includes over 40m songs, 3bn lists, 20,000 songs added daily, 87 million users pay subscriptions
Parliament imposed an EGP 50 fee for buying a new mobile line, a monthly EGP 10 on mobile bills
The number of mobile subscribers decreased during May by 1.45% month-over-month. According to a report from the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, the number of mobile users fell from 107 million in April to 105.6 million in May. The report noted that the internet market saw 800,000 more clients join in May, rising from …
About 43.7% of Egyptians using PCs could move or copy files on their devices
Orange Egypt managed to make net profits in internet activity for the first time in several years.
The Egyptian state has been long pointing on several occasions that social media platforms are the main reason of spread of rumours and negative energy among citizens in the country, suggesting the creation of legislation to criminalise or fine any users who posts or publishes something that could be seen as a threat to the …
In our daily lives, a minute does not seem like much time, but when it comes to the internet, even seconds may be valuable, because the internet sees the way our human minds think as rather linear, and not used to working. The information map today from Lori Lewis and Chadd Callahan from Cumulus Media …
The number of mobile subscribers in Egypt has declined by 1.1% in March, compared to February, according to a report issued by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, as the number of mobile subscribers declined from 100.2 million in February 2018 to 99.1 million subscribers in March. On the other hand, the report showed …
The total number of internet users in Egypt declined in January by 3.6 million, reaching 37.8 million users compared to 41.4 million in December 2017. According to a report issued by the Ministry of Communications, the number of mobile internet users decreased from 32.8 million in December 2017 to 29.3 million in January 2018. The …
Government continues to seek means to control online content, enforce penalties
The number of mobile service subscribers increased in December by 0.6%, bringing the total number of mobile service users to about 101.3m versus 100.7m in November 2017. Meanwhile, the number of internet users in Egypt climbed in December by 6.4m, reaching 41.3m, up from 34.9m in November. The jump in the number of mobile internet …
Mobile internet users reach 34 million
The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) revealed, in a report, an increase in the number of internet users in Egypt to 33.19 million in April 2017, compared to 30.45 million in March and 26.8 million in April 2016. The report showed that the number of ADSL subscribers rose to 4.57 million in April …
The fixed Internet sector (ADSL) attracted 10,000 new clients in August. According to a report by the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, the number of ADSL subscribers in Egypt increased from 4.91 million in July to 4.92 million in August. Internet users have increased by 1.4% in June over May, rising from 34.3 million …
Cairo, Dubai, and Bangkok are the main destinations for tourist trips, according to Tajawal


text:
TL;DR: Through May 25, save 10% sitewide in the Lenovo bank holiday sale using the code BANKHOLIDAY.
It's another bank holiday weekend in the UK, and if you were thinking that it couldn't possibly get any better, you'd be wrong.
Loads of retailers take the opportunity to celebrate the long weekend with a sale, which is great news for anyone looking to save. It's a perfect opportunity to bag yourself a deal, especially if you're looking for a new laptop, desktop, or accessory.
Lenovo has just dropped a massive bank holiday sale on pretty much everything on its site. You can now save 10% sitewide using the code BANKHOLIDAY. This code is valid until May 25, but does exclude Motorola phones, Ideapad 3, IdeaPad 5, and ThinkPad X1 laptop ranges. Read more...More about Lenovo, Mashable Shopping, Consumer Tech, Shopping Uk, and Uk Deals


text: Must Read Google Unveils New Shopping Ad Formats And Packs More Demand Into Performance Max Streaming Was The Star Of This Year’s Upfronts Why This Server Company Launched Its First Ad Product – And Why It Won’t Be The Last Brands Lean On New Attribution Tech – Just Don’t Call It MTA – As Budgets Split To New Channels AdExplainer: The Difference Between AVOD and FAST The Pivot To AVOD Is Happening And The Trade Desk Is Here For It How TikTok’s Ad Platform Stands After A Half Year Of Whirlwind Growth And New Products Why Alternate Currencies Probably Won’t Take Center Stage At This Year’s Upfronts AdExplainer: The Evolution Of Retail Media » Programmatic I/O: Don’t Forget Take Rates When Sizing Total Addressable Market For Ad Tech by Kelly Liyakasa // Friday, April 17th, 2015 – 6:00 am Share: Programmatic ad tech companies aren’t properly estimating their total addressable market, said BMO Capital Markets equity research analyst Dan Salmon. Salmon presented a report Thursday at Programmatic I/O in San Francisco that pointed to two areas where these estimates tend to get thrown off. First, most ad tech vendors don’t factor in take rates – the percentage of a media buy that ad tech companies keep after a publisher or media company gets paid. Applying take rates drives down programmatic total addressable market (TAM) estimates. This decrease is mitigated, Salmon points out, because of a second factor influencing incorrect TAM estimates: the tendency to account only for brand advertising and not direct marketing spend. Salmon estimates brand advertising TAM at $140 billion in the US and $420 billion globally. But those numbers swell once one adds direct marketing: $320 billion in the US and $950 billion globally. Direct marketing spend tends to go ignored, Salmon speculated in his report, in part because direct response advertising tends to be a closed loop system – opaque to third parties estimating TAM. So without factoring in direct marketing, programmatic TAM estimates for 2015 are just south of $2 billion. Factor in direct marketing, and programmatic TAM estimates for 2015 shoot up to about $7 billion. Salmon breaks down programmatic into three categories: human-sold, narrow programmatic (which is real-time bidding) and broad programmatic (which includes self-serve digital ad buying platforms, programmatic direct/guaranteed and programmatic TV). These categories are important because take rates vary depending on how inventory is sold. In his report, Salmon points out that even human-sold inventory is affected by take rates: “Even if one ignores media agency fees, there is some level of spending for trafficking software and ratings data; and while programmatic tools are largely replacing them, human-sold ad networks (whose revenue represented a material portion of these dollars up until the past 5 to 7 years) generate revenue by delivering targeted ad impressions that are acquired at lower prices, thus creating the ‘take.’” Salmon suggested ad tech companies should size programmatic ad dollars by the manner in which they’re transacted. Nevertheless, take rates aren’t going anywhere but up, in part because ad network arbitrage has fallen out of favor and it’s being replaced by managed service or self-serve models. “Because there is more transparency being brought to the ecosystem, it’s harder for ad tech companies to keep the portion they were used to,” said Salmon. Salmon said he foresees more power shifting to premium content owners, notable in the digital video space. As traditional ad networks struggle to automate their models, platforms with direct access to consumers – and content production – will be the beneficiaries of the economic shifts in programmatic. “I believe video will continue to grow as total percentage of all ads, and we will see more [digital] companies share revenue with TV companies,” Salmon said. “The idea of TV vs. video is a false choice. This is more about the changing nature of branding and video advertising.” Ryan Joe contributed Enjoying this content? Sign up to be an AdExchanger Member today and get unlimited access to articles like this, plus proprietary data and research, conference discounts, on-demand access to event content, and more! Join Today! Related stories: The Big Story: Ad Tech’s 2021 Payout CTV And Mobile App Growth Are Behind 2021’s Sizzling Slate Of M&A Unlike Meta, Snap Says It’s On The Rebound From ATT Due To First-Party Measurement And AR Investments Disney Kicks Off 2022 In A Good Position Thanks To Streaming And A Rebound In Parks Publisher Supply-Path Optimization Matters. The Question Is, To Whom?


text:
Entertainment retailer Zavvi has upped the stakes in the Christmas price war, by slashing its price for the Xbox 360 Arcade to under £100.
In a last minute festive sale, the company has reduced the price of the Arcade to £99.99 - the first time it has gone under £100 with a UK retailer since Sainsbury's offer earlier in the year.
Also slashed are prices for the 360 Premium, down to £149.99, and the Elite which has been cut to £199.99.
Sony's PS3 console has not been forgotten in Zavvi's sale and has been cut by £30 to £269.99.
Games such as Gears of War 2 and Pro Evo Soccer have also been reduced to £29.99.
A Zavvi spokesperson said: "Our organisation believes in giving our customers the best deal and service. We've put in place some great offers on Xbox hardware, giving customers the best value possible in the run up to Xmas. We appreciate how people's wallets are being tightened because of the economy".


text:
Netflix CEO Confirms Adverts Are Coming To Streaming Service
| Last updated
Featured Image Credit: Shutterstock
Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos has confirmed adverts will be coming to the streaming service in the near future.
The streaming giant is planning to introduce a brand new lower priced tier for potential customers who may have been turned off by current subscription prices.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Sarandos explained that the company has ignored a segment of the market so far – those who are willing to pay less by sitting through ads.
"We’ve left a big customer segment off the table, which is people who say: 'Hey, Netflix is too expensive for me and I don’t mind advertising'," he explained.
"We're adding an ad tier; we’re not adding ads to Netflix as you know it today. We’re adding an ad tier for folks who say, 'Hey, I want a lower price and I’ll watch ads'."
The streaming service had previously forecast 2.5 million new paid subscribers in Q1 and now expects to lose an additional 2 million global subscribers in Q2.
Across the UK, both basic and standard Netflix subscription plans increased in price this year by £1 per month to £6.99 and £10.99 respectively, while premium subscriptions went up by £2 to £15.99.
The home to global hits such as Bridgerton, The Crown and Sex Education said the price hike in the UK and Ireland – where the service boasts around 14 million subscribers – was introduced in order to provide the same level and consistency of content for its subscribers.
They added the price hike comes as a response to added competition from rivals such as Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ and Apple TV.
Netflix is not the only streaming service to introduce ads. Amazon Prime began introducing adverts for certain films and TV shows in 2020.
Disney+ previously announced in March a similar ad-based service for the US in 2022 and 2023 for international customers.
The US streaming service Hulu also offers an ad-based tier for customers.
The price of the new tier has not yet been announced.
Netflix is also working on introducing a fee to stop customers from sharing their passwords.


text:
Bendix will aggressively pursue suppliers of counterfeit products, said Joe McAleese, president & CEO of Bendix at the Mid-America Trucking Show.
McAleese said most of the trucking-related counterfeit goods Bendix encounters are manufactured in China and other parts of Asia. Although foreign governments, including China, are helping Bendix shut down counterfeit manufacturing sites in their countries, the operations often re-open quickly in different locations. He says the focus will be on pursuing those who import the goods, rather than those who produce them, as facilities open up faster than they can be shut down.
“Counterfeits and knockoff parts continue to flood the North American market at an alarming rate, so we plan to continue emphasizing our intellectual property and brand protection efforts and…pursue legal action where warranted against infringement of either one,” he said during a press conference here at the Mid-America Trucking Show.
“Once we bring the issue of fake goods to their attention, most importers do the right thing to cease and desist their activity; we rarely need to go to court. We’ve only had to pursue two with civil proceedings.”
Although the company has managed to prevent knockoff-related losses in market share and considers the situation stable, McAleese acknowledged that counterfeit parts are becoming very hard to identify visually.
“We haven’t yet faced an accident caused by a counterfeit part, but that’s our fear,” he added. “Visual appearance is so similar to our goods even our engineers can’t tell them apart until we break them down and test them. That’s when you see significant differences, especially in terms of poor performance.”
Have your say:


text:
You have searched for "Rehda"
Showing 1-10 of 429
PETALING JAYA: Over 100,000 workers have undergone Covid-19 testing under the Social Security Organisation’s (Socso) Program Saringan Prihatin (PSP) since April.
PETALING JAYA: The Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association (Rehda) has praised the government over its incentives to mitigate the Covid-19 economic fallout.
PETALING JAYA: While many have welcomed the move to provide housing for foreign workers, some industry players have raised concerns over it, including asking for a longer grace period.
PETALING JAYA: Developers and contractors are reminded to display the highest compliance required of them to reduce negative perception on the industry.
PETALING JAYA: Construction industry players are appealing to the government to create a proper Covid-19 testing protocol for each sector to ease worker bottlenecks.
IPOH: The Perak Coffeeshop Association is requesting for the government to share at least half the cost of Covid-19 testing for foreign workers.
PETALING JAYA: The Federal Government's decision to allow the majority of businesses to resume operations under the conditional movement control order (MCO) has the support of 59 Malaysian chambers of commerce and industry associations.
PETALING JAYA: The National Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia (NCCIM) held a meeting with the International Trade and Industry Ministry (Miti) to discuss the industries and suppliers along the supply chain that should be allowed to operate during the movement control order.
PETALING JAYA: The Housing and Local Government Ministry will come up with a standard operating procedure (SOP) to protect residents at private condominiums and apartments during the movement control order (MCO) period.
PETALING JAYA: It is too premature to offer rental rebates to retailers as further monitoring is needed to assess the impact of Covid-19, says Malaysia Shopping Malls Association (PPKM).