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As the COVID-19 outbreak continues globally, startup accelerators are turning to virtual setups to continue running their programs.
The global startup community has suffered from the coronavirus, according to a new report by Startup Genome, which is tracking post-pandemic investments.
WordPress.org has launched WordPress 5.4 with new blocks, clearer navigation, a faster editor, privacy improvements, and developer additions.
Strivr, which creates a VR platform for companies to train their employees, has raised $30 million in a series B round of...
PlanetScale announced the public launch of its database-as-a-service, which runs on Kubernetes and is designed to help companies rapidly scale operations.
Orion Labs, a startup developing voice-activated communication and automation solutions for deskless workers, has raised $29 million in venture capital.
AI lifecycle management startup Cnvrg,io, launched a free community tier -- CORE -- designed to help enterprises manage and scale AI.
Perceive, an edge AI startup, has emerged from stealth with a chip: Ergo. It claims it's working with partners to integrate it...
Axonius, a cybersecurity startup developing an end-to-end device management platform, has raised $58 million in venture capital.
ModelOp, a startup facilitating the deployment, monitoring, and management of enterprise AI models, has raised $6 million.


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ComScore: number of US mobile web users doubled in January
The number of mobile web users doubled in United States, from January 2008 to January 2009 - a new study by Reston, Virginia based leader in internet researches - comScore says.
The report released by comScore, on Monday, articulates that about 22.37 million (35 percent) US people used their mobile devices to access internet on a daily basis, in January 2009, which indicates that the mobile web usage was 107 percent up from 10.8 million in January 2008.
According to the comScore report, the number weekly mobile web users (who accessed internet once in week through their mobile devices) surged 87 percent, from about
10.3 million (January 2008) to about 19.3 million in January 2009, and the number monthly mobile web users (who accessed internet once in month through their mobile devices) surged 71 percent, from about 36.9 million in January 2008 to about 63.2 million in January 2009. It is important to mention here that comScore analysis did not include the US mobile web traffic on social networking.
The comScore report says that 63.2 million people used their phones to access news and information in January, and at number two were about 9.28 million people who accessed social networking and blogs through their mobile devices in January, 2009; the number was 427 percent up from 1.76 million in January, 2008.
The report also states that the number of people who used their mobile devices to access entertainment news on Internet in January, 2009, was 5.5 million, 160 percent up from January, 2008. According to the report, the number of mobile web users who accessed stock and financial information in January 2009 was 3.3 million, up from 1.1 million in January 2008.
The report also reveals that 3 million US mobile web users searched up info about movies and 2.4 million searched up business directories in January, 2009. The mobile Web uses that showed more than 100 percent growth, in January 2009 from January 2008, included the mobile Web uses - accessing financial accounts or stock information (188 percent), accessing movie information (185 percent), and accessing business directories (160 percent).
In a statement, ComScore's senior VP of the mobile division, Mark Donovan said, "Over the course of the past year, we have seen use of mobile Internet evolve from an occasional activity to being a daily part of people's lives. This underscores the growing importance of the mobile medium as consumers become more reliant on their mobile devices to access time-sensitive and utilitarian information."
"Social networking and blogging have emerged as very popular daily uses of the mobile Web, and these activities are growing at a torrid pace. We also note that much of the growth in news and information usage is driven by the increased popularity of downloaded applications, such as those offered by the iPhone, and by text-based searches," Donovan said.
The comScore report also articulates that maps were the most popular downloaded applications in January; 8.2 million US mobile web users downloaded maps.
SMS-based news and information were second most popular category among the US mobile web users; about half of males aged 18 to 34 (the most active demographic group) accessed mobile news and information and about 40 percent of females aged 18 to 24 used mobile news and information in January 2009.
United Kingdom News
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- Ashok Leyland in search of right investors for EV business
- China’s Autoflight successfully completes first flight of autonomous V1500M eVTOL aircraft
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domain: news


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Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has been sued on its failure to crackdown on alcoholic spirits in 250 millilitre containers retailing at below Sh150 on fears they are not tax compliant.
In a petition filed at the High Court, Mr Justus Mombis, a bar operator, says retailers selling the 250 millilitre spirit at below Sh150 are tax cheats and that production expenses and duty cost do permit alcohol to be sold at the price.
“There has been massive losses of revenue due to the government whereas the bodies mandated to seal the loopholes through which tax cheats evade payment of taxes, have failed to act, thereby resulting to constitutional violations and more particularly consumer rights and discrimination,” he said, adding that drinks retailing at less than Sh150 have 80 percent market share.
The trader also wants the Auditor General to audit and submit a report on the effectiveness of the Excisable Goods Management Systems (EGMS) system, which tracks alcohol fixed with tax stamps.
The audit, he said, should entail a physical visit to all the companies to ensure they have EGMS system installed by KRA, flow meters installed on storage tanks, blending tanks and bottling lines as well as dispatch records and excise tax records.
He says many companies have not installed the flow metres at the spirit holding tanks to enable KRA to vet duty payment.
He also wants the court to compel KRA to table in court an updated list of licensed manufacturers of spirits and a list of directors.
He is also seeking a list of all the companies licensed to manufacture alcoholic drinks and installed with EGMS system.
Mr Mombis says KRA published a list of licensed manufacturers and registered importers of alcoholic spirits in December 31, 2018 and the list has never been updated.
He has named KRA, CS Finance and Anti-Counterfeit Authority as respondents in the case.
Justice Weldon Korir directed Mr Mombis to serve them with the court documents within seven days.
In 2019, KRA ordered distillers not to sell alcoholic spirits in 250 millilitre containers at below Sh150, but the Competition Authority of Kenya pointed out that it could breach sections of the antitrust law that bars the setting of binding prices.
Via Business Daily


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Warner Bros Discovery is hyping up the release of House of Dragon, a prequel series for Game of Thrones that premiers in a few days on HBO Max. Streaming device manufacturer Roku is getting in on the excitement with an officially-licensed Roku Ultra.
Roku has released an onslaught of promotional marketing for House of Dragon, with a dedicated page on the home screen menu that links to trailers, information, and the show itself on HBO Max. The company has also launched a giveaway for a “limited edition House of the Dragon Roku Ultra,” running from now until October 23, 2022 at 11 PM Eastern Time.
Roku is giving away five Roku Ultra devices in total, and judging from the page and image, it looks like a simple sticker on top of the regular streaming box. Roku launched a similar giveaway before the final season of Game of Thrones, but that Roku Ultra also had a sticker on the remote. There’s no mention of a custom remote this time around.
House of Dragon and a streaming box is already a funny combination, and the (seemingly) low-effort redesign brings back memories of limited-edition game consoles from the mid-2000s, like The Simpsons Movie Xbox 360. Still, a free Roku Ultra is a free Roku Ultra.
You can enter Roku’s giveaway from the company’s website.


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Take-Two has announced that it has shipped 17 million copies of Red Dead Redemption 2 so far, adding that it has shipped more copies of RDR2 in the first 8 days of its release than the original RDR in all of its 8 years on sale.
It wasn't too long ago we reported that Red Dead Redemption 2 had made $725 million in just 3 days, making it the second-fastest entertainment product of ALL TIME, only behind Rockstar's other behemoth: Grand Theft Auto V.
Red Dead Redemption 2's success has driven Take-Two to increase its financial estimates for its financial year, with the company now expecting $2.55 billion to $2.65 billion in revenue, up from the previous estimates of $2.5 billion to $2.6 billion.
Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick said: "Red Dead Redemption 2 is now tied with Grand Theft Auto V as the highest rated title on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, with a 97 Metacritic score. A massive commercial success, Red Dead Redemption 2 has set numerous records, including achieving the biggest opening weekend in the history of entertainment, with over $725 million in retail sell-through during its first three days".
He added: "As a result of our strong second quarter performance and outstanding early results from Red Dead Redemption 2, we are raising our financial outlook for fiscal 2019, which is also poised to be a record year for Net Bookings and Adjusted Operating Cash Flow".


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By Samuel Ouma
Kenya is currently facing a shortage of honey, forcing it to rely on neighbouring Tanzania to sustain its honey demand.
According to Kenya’s National Farmers Information Service, the country is only producing 20,000 metric tonnes instead of an approximation of 100,000 metric tonnes per year.
Due to the decline in honey production in the East African nation, the rise of cheap and adulterated honey from unscrupulous traders both locally and internationally has been reported.
Such honey is said to be laced with additives, eroding consumers’ confidence.
Excessive use of insecticide by farmers and heavy deforestation are the main causes of deficit production in honey in Kenya, said agriculture experts.
They averred that excess insecticides and cutting down trees have led to a decrease in the number of bees.
The government’s large-scale spraying operation to contain locusts is also believed to have killed thousands of bees.
“The chemicals are also killing bees which are also insects and this will definitely have effect on honey production in the country as bees are critical in pollination,” said the director of the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) center in Naivasha, Dr. Evans Ilatsia.
To address the challenge, the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) has partnered with Premier Foods Limited to build the capacity for farmers involved in bee farming for sustainable honey production.
Through the partnership, KALRO will also invent technologies to enhance honey production and tackle post-harvest challenges.
The CEO of Premier Foods Limited, Joseph Choge, expressed his confidence that farmers would produce higher and better quality yields under the project.


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Wabash National Corporation, a leading manufacturer of commercial trucking equipment, announced that it will be introducing a new rear impact guard for trailers. As TSC noted in our comments on NHTSA’s notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to address underride protection in light vehicle crashes into the rear of trailers and semitrailers, this is just one example of available technology that highlights how woefully inadequate the agency’s safety standards are for trucking. Currently, NHTSA is proposing to enhance the U.S. standard by adopting the Canadian standard for rear underride guards and protections. While we welcome improvements to safety, we also noted that NHTSA’s NPRM would be a meaningless move and a missed opportunity to actually advance truck safety. Not only did the agency determine that 93 percent of new trailers meet or exceed the proposed Canadian standard, but as Wabash notes in this article, it has been producing rear impact guards that exceed the Canadian standard since 2007. TSC appreciates the Wabash improved guards and we will continue to educate the public about the dangers of underride crashes, like passenger compartment intrusion (PCI), as well as how improved underride guards and protections can prevent PCI at higher speed and/or overlap crashes between light vehicles and trailers.
The Truck Safety Coalition Team


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DRIVER Dave Stainton forked out £35,000 for a rare imported car.
But the Dodge cab — one of only a handful in the country — proved a big disappointment.
Full-time carer Dave claims the vehicle has spent more time at the dealership than on the road.
And he wants his money back after driving just 700 miles in nine months.
Big-car fan David, who looks after his disabled wife Mary, said: “We wanted something special to go to American car shows and we found a Dodge Ram SRT-10 Quad cab.
“We picked it up in May but, within a month, there was the start of one problem after another.
“As far as I am aware, this is only one of four vehicles of this exact type in the country.
“I am astonished it has been lying in the garage for most of the time I have owned it.”
David, of Ingleby Barwick, near Stockton, Teesside, said the battery repeatedly went flat, the alarm went off for no reason, and there was a control unit problem.
David claimed repairs were carried out but warnings still appeared on the dashboard.
He said: “The dealership claims the problems are caused by us not using the vehicle enough.
“But we have not been able to use the vehicle as it has been in their possession more than it has been on our drive!”
He wants Kings Chrysler (Jeep) Stockton to give him his money back.
When the Sunday Sun first started looking into the case, Kings Chrysler spokesman David Pengilley acknowledged there had been complaints.
He said: “We are following the manufacturer’s procedures.”
Later, service manager Bill Wilson said: “This car is being looked at by the manufacturer. They are waiting for a part to come in.”
He then referred further inquiries to Chrysler. He did, however, say the car could be driven.
A spokeswoman for Chrysler said: “We’re looking into this but so far the customer has not been in touch with our customer services team.
“This is the usual route for complaints if a customer can’t resolve issues with the dealer. I will keep you posted. They will give him a ring because the case has been flagged up.”
David said no one had contacted him at the time of going to press and that emails to the customer services department had not been answered.


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Those of you who are not familiar with the automotive industry in China will probably be surprised to hear that Volkswagen is the largest brand in the country by annual sales. More interestingly, the Wolfsburg-based manufacturer runs two joint ventures, VW-FAW and VW-SAIC, which are competing on the market as separate companies.
Volkswagen Group has a bazillion models under its different brands currently available in the People’s Republic, and it is constantly working on new products.
One such new vehicle will come from the VW-FAW joint venture and will take the shape of a sport utility vehicle. Our photographers managed to capture a prototype of that new model testing on public roads and, surprisingly, it was spied in snowy Sweden. The fact that it was snapped up in Europe shouldn’t make you believe it will be available on the Old continent, though - this SUV is only for China.
Gallery: VW FAW SUV spy photos
It’s a little difficult to explain where this new model will be positioned but let us give it a try. VW-FAW currently has a number of utilities on sale in China and this new one, codenamed VW416/3, will take the role of a slightly larger version of the Talagon based on the modular MQB platform. Unofficially, this new product is known as the Talagon X and we are told it will feature a five-seat cabin configuration and a large cargo space.
VW-FAW is expected to launch this new SUV as a direct competitor for the Teramont X, a compact coupe-style SUV designed and produced by the VW-SAIC joint venture. Yes, you read that correctly - the two joint ventures run by Volkswagen in China have competing products and work as separate entities on the market.
According to preliminary information, the new Talagon X will be offered with a 2.0-litre turbocharged engine in two power stages, mated to a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox. The standard Talagon is also available with a 2.5-litre unit and we could also see the same V6 as an option for the Talagon X.


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Over three million people visited Washington wine country last year — so we’re putting a CG twist on one of the state’s most popular weekend getaways
As we looked back at our first 40 issues for our 10th Anniversary issue in June, we kept coming back to our initial foray down what we called the “Cascade Golfer Wine Trail,“ a journey that took us from Chelan, to Yakima and the Tri-Cities, and eventually to Walla Walla, sipping Washington’s finest wines and teeing it up at some of our state’s most scenic courses.
Outside of Northern California’s Napa Valley, there’s literally no other place in America where you can enjoy a similar experience — and if I’m being entirely honest, I think our golf courses are better.
What struck me most as I read the article, however, was how much the landscape has changed in just eight years. Rope Rider didn’t exist in 2009. Neither did Gamble Sands. Desert Canyon had yet to be revived by the ownership of Bear Mountain Ranch’s Don Barth. Wine Valley opened its doors just six weeks before the magazine hit the streets — well, opened its tee boxes would be more accurate; the “doors“ of the still-under-construction clubhouse wouldn’t officially open until later that summer.
On the wine side, the growth has been even more significant. In 2008, Washington boasted just over 600 wineries, producing roughly 12 million cases of wine per year — second only to California among U.S. states. In less than a decade, those numbers have grown to more than 900 wineries and over 16 million cases per year — were Washington a country and not a state, its premium wine production would rank sixth in the world, bettered only by the state of California and four entire countries (France, Italy, Australia, Chile).
Washington wines claimed six of the top-45 spots in Wine Spectator’s 2016 list of the world’s top-100 wines, with three of those priced at under $35 (and one, Charles Smith’s Kung Fu Girl Riesling, at just $12). Likewise, the seven Washington wines that made Wine Enthusiast’s 2016 top-100 list boast a median price of just $30.
This is the point where you pinch yourself and say, “Wait, I actually live here?“
You sure do. Nearly three million visitors flocked to Washington wine country last year, drawn by the promise of premium wine at an affordable rate, and — for some of them, no doubt — world-class golf at half the price of America’s more publicized golf destinations. Hit a pitching wedge anywhere along the path of the Columbia River from Brewster in the north down to Walla Walla, and you’re likely to land your ball on either a pristine playing surface, or among endless rows of Cabernet and Riesling.
That combination, of course, makes the Cascade Golfer Wine Trail an ideal vacation for golfers and non-golfers alike. Slip out early in the morning while the others in your party sleep off a fun night of dinner and dancing, or sip their coffee while watching the sun’s first rays dance across Lake Chelan or the Horse Heaven Hills. Then join up for an afternoon tasting the world’s most outstanding wines, before sitting down to a dinner made from locally-sourced produce. Then wash, rinse, repeat.
Given the significant changes in both industries over the past decade, we decided to take another trip down the Wine Trail this spring, mixing some of our favorite stops from 2009 with new obsessions we had yet to discover. On the following pages, you’ll travel with us to each of Washington’s three primary golf-and-wine destinations — Chelan, Walla Walla, and the Yakima Valley.
We’ll tee it up at some of the state’s top tracks, and drown every bad shot with some of the finest Syrahs and Merlots we’ve ever sipped. We’ll also throw in a few tips for planning your own Wine Trail getaway — (We’ve found, “Hey, honey, any interest in going wine tasting with me this summer?“ to have a nearly 100-percent success rate) — and help narrow down those 900 wineries and dozens of courses to the ones that we think are most worth your time.
If you took this trip when we recommended it eight years ago, then you know exactly why we wanted to go back. If you didn’t, that’s O.K. Because the golf and wine in Washington have both gotten better with age.


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September 9, 2016
AUVSI: How drones and the wireless industry will take flight together .
Drones celebrated a major milestone August 29 as new federal regulations for small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) set the stage for vastly expanded commercial applications of the technology.
The small UAS rule, also known as Part 107, requires flights stay within the visual line of sight of an operator, stay under an altitude of 400 feet, and restricts flights over people who are not a part of the UAS operation. However, many of these rules can be set aside via a new waiver process, which also went into effect the same day.
“Under the new rules, we’ll be able to get more and more folks flying,” said Brian Wynne, CEO and President of the Association of Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI).
Wynne is excited about more drone operators, since it means exploration of new uses, which could lead to an explosion of new commercial opportunities. A similar story played out under prior Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) guidelines, where exemptions to the rules pointed companies in the direction of new commercial opportunities.
“This is really an inflection point,” Wynne said. “We have had industries out there pining for this technology, wanting to utilize it, and increasingly, we’ve been able to see all of those different use cases through the regulatory process of folks flying under exemptions. How fast we’re going to realize that future is of great debate right now but there is a large motivation to get it done and get it done right.”
The wireless industry stands to be a key winner under the new rules because it will be both a user and part of the value chain for UAS.
Drones used in safety inspections could eliminate the need for workers to scale cellphone towers while other drones could be used to help extend and ensure wireless signals in hard-to-reach areas.
With stronger, more reliable wireless technology, there are fewer lost connections between drones and their operators, for example, increasing their utility and effectiveness across a wide array of applications.
“There’s a large motivation and a natural drive, an economic drive, toward greater advancement of the technology on the wireless side that will benefit UAS,” said Wynne. “The wireless industry will work hand in hand with the UAS community to offer greater and greater services which we think brings a lot of value.”
Where could these better-connected UAS be put to use?
- Smarter unmanned traffic management for the world’s growing metropolises.
- A revolution in both business logistics and commercial shipping, particularly for unmanned delivery of the high percentage of packages weighing under five pounds.
- Helping deal with the impact of natural disasters, such as keeping weather forecasting technology in operation under adverse circumstances or even helping fight forest fires.
“Some of the most stunning numbers, the most compelling numbers, in terms of savings to the taxpayer, come by reducing the duration of wildland fire,” says Wynne, whose son is a firefighter.
Using drones, authorities can better assess the spread of fires and fight them more effectively — and in unexpected ways.
The Department of the Interior is working to allow the general public to access the visual feed from fire-observing drones. This has the dual benefit of providing better public awareness in critical situations and keeping civilians from potentially derailing firefighting operations by flying their own drones.
All of this adds up to some $82B in economic impact and over 100,000 high-paying jobs generated in the first 10 years of UAS integration into America’s air space, AUVSI estimates. Those impacts will likely grow even more given the new small drone rules.
The technological challenges are real. Wynne notes with a laugh that “we’re still integrating manned airplanes into the airspace” more than 50 years after the FAA was founded.
“We feel like we’re on our way,” Wynne said.


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Fallout 4's latest patch is live on Xbox One and PC
Fallout 4's latest update has been released on Xbox One and PC, with a PS4 patch to come soon.
The new Fallout 4 patch mainly focuses on general mod fixes, as well as fixes to Nuka-World DLC, Far Harbour and Contraptions.
Unfortunately, however, there's no official date for the latest Fallout 4 update on PS4, with Bethesda telling fans that it's "coming later".
The full Fallout 4 1.7.19 Update patch notes can be found below:
- General updates to Bethesda.net Mods
- Fixed issue where "The Grand Tour" could not be completed if Gage was your active companion when the quest started.
Far Harbor and Contraptions Workshop
- Far Harbor and Contraptions were also updated on PC, Xbox One and PS4 with minor updates
- Far Harbor (JP) was updated to fix untranslated strings
Fallout 4 mods were recently cancelled on PS4, after Sony and Bethesda failed to come to an agreement about how they would be implemented.
However, some fans have accused Bethesda of signing an exclusivity deal with Microsoft and then pinning the blame on Sony.
Bethesda marketing boss Pete Hines has categorically denied the accusations, telling fans that the studio wanted to release PS4 mods some time ago.
"That is absolutely not true," he said, after being accused of having an exclusivity deal with Microsoft. "We would have released mods on PS4 some time ago if it was up to us. We were told no."
Bethesda has since said that it is trying to bring mods to PS4 versions of Skyrim and Fallout 4 in some form, although the company has failed to go into specifics.
Hines told one Twitter follower: "We can't get into specifics. We still want to get mod support of some kind out on PS4."
Asked what he meant by some kind of mod support, Hines replied: "I'm not going to guess at what it might look like."
Hines also ruled out future DLC for Fallout 4, which just received the Nuka-World expansion.


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Google Pixel phone leak season is here once again. Not that we have any idea when the next Google Pixel phone is coming, but we’ve got a 6-minute video of an unreleased Google phone that fully reveals it because that’s how this happens for every Google phone. It’s weeks (if not months) before we believe the Pixel 4a will be announced and yet here is a prototype giving up the goods.
Over the weekend, this particular prototype first popped up and looked semi-questionable. At this point, though, the phone is shown off in detail and is more than likely what we thought it was: the Pixel 4a.
The video here is in shows off the front and back designs, reveals the important specs, and certainly gets us excited for the final product that won’t look this rough.
Here’s what we know for sure from this clip:
- 5.8″ 1080p display
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 730
- 6GB RAM
- 64GB storage
- 3080mAh battery
- 12MP rear camera
- Android 10 (with April’s security patch)
We also know that this phone uses the codename of “sunfish,” which has been suspected to be the Pixel 4a for some time. We’ve talked about “sunfish” here, here, and here. These specs also match-up to previous reports on it, as does the design. Remember these renders from December? They sure look to be spot on.
Overall, this looks like it’ll be a nice follow-up to last year’s Pixel 3a, assuming Google can keep the price down.


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Gordon Ramsay Holdings International made losses of more than £8m in 2009 as the celebrity chef's company wrote off nearly £6m of investment at its US restaurant operations.
The company, which includes all of the Michelin-starred chef's restaurant openings since September 2007, made a loss of £8.32m in the 12 months to 31 August 2009, nearly double the £4.32m it lost in the previous year.
The company blamed one-off costs of £5.81m, up from £849,510 in 2008, which it incurred as it wrote off unrecoverable loans at its US operations in New York, Los Angeles and Florida, which it no longer owns but now runs on a consultancy basis. The group's operating loss was reduced by £1m to £2.45m in 2008.
Meanwhile Gordon Ramsay Holdings (GRH), which includes the company's established restaurants at Royal Hospital Road and Claridge's as well as Maze and Maze Grill, posted a profit of £515,373 in 2009 as turnover increased 44.4% to £10.1m.
Both Gordon Ramsay Holdings International and GRH underwent an external business review in 2008, which has resulted in the company reducing head office costs and disposing of its central production kitchen and putting two of its pubs, the Devonshire and the Warrington, up for sale.
Chris Hutcheson, chief executive of GRH and Gordon Ramsay International, said that following the business restructure, the group was optimistic about the future. "While we expect economic conditions to remain challenging, structural changes that were made early in 2009 within the group leave us well positioned for the future," he said.
Gordon Ramsay Holdings International recently completed on a new restaurant site at the One New Change development in the City of London. The group plans to roll out a new casual-dining concept similar to its Plane Food operation at Heathrow's Terminal 5. The company is also set to open the Savoy Grill at London's iconic Savoy hotel in October.
By Kerstin Kühn
E-mail your comments to Kerstin Kühn here.
If you have something to say on this story or anything else join the debate at Table Talk - Caterer's new networking forum. Go to www.caterersearch.com/tabletalk
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The Galaxy Z Fold3 and Galaxy Z Flip3 are becoming box office successes in South Korea. Samsung has surpassed the million-unit mark a little over a month after launching its newest foldable. The phenomenal success of the Galaxy Z Fold3 and Galaxy Z Flip3 demonstrates Samsung’s right to be the first to bring foldable to the general market this year.
Although there is no information on sales figures in Kenya or Africa in general, the Galaxy Z Fold3 and Galaxy Z Flip3 have been genuine box office successes in South Korea. According to industry sources contacted by The Korea Herald, the millionth Samsung foldable is anticipated to be sold this weekend, marking an unexpectedly big success for the still-young category of folding phones.
By contrast, this is approximately the rate of a Galaxy Note10 or Galaxy S8 a month after introduction, indicating that Samsung’s third Foldable generation has seemingly entered the mainstream, at least among the South Korean populace. Indeed, the substantially cheaper pricing compared to the previous year helped, notably the Galaxy Z Flip 3, which was lowered in price by almost a third.
It’s hardly surprising that Samsung’s beautiful flip phone won much more hearts than the tiny foldable tablet, which is still somewhat awkward for some. The Herald says the Galaxy Z Flip3 has sold almost twice as many units as the Galaxy Z Fold3. With the release of the first waterproof folding phones this year, the foldable specialist intended to go from the speciality to the mainstream, and so far, the strategy seems to be working. Other manufacturers are anticipated to join the foldable smartphone bandwagon later this year, such as Google with the Pixel Fold or Honor with the Magic Fold. Xiaomi is slated to release a Mix Fold 2 before the end of the year.


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Various strains have actually consistent number of THC and CBD!
A newly posted research by scientists during the University of British Columbia has discovered that numerous cannabis strains have virtually identical quantities of cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). This despite The street that is unique associated with the strains.
Relating to Susan Murch, a chemistry teacher at UBC Okanagan, it really is projected that we now have a few hundreds or tens and thousands of various cannabis strains currently developed. She said which they wished to understand exactly how truly various these strains are, provided their uniquely diverse and exotic names.
Murch further explained that cannabis growers have actually historically chosen and bred strains to create CBD, THC, or both. Nevertheless, these growers and breeders have experienced access that is limited the various kinds of cannabis plants. Continue reading


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CommBank introduces iPad and tablet friendly apps
The apps are available for iPhone and Android smartphones as well as iPad and Android tablets. There is also a version of the CommBank app for Windows Phone 7.
Users can make quick transfers and bill payments in as little as three taps on the device’s touchscreen.
Apart from transactions in real time, the new app allows users to access foreign exchange to check the latest currency rates. Another handy addition is the currency exchange rate calculator that is now built into the app.
Users can even set alerts to buy and sell currency at their desired price.
Even those who are travelling will also find the CommBank app a handy and secure way to top up their Travelcard.
When customers log on to the app it will automatically advise where the nearest branch and ATM to your current location rather than having to seek it out manually as was the case with the previous version.
The app is a hybrid which means there are certain functions and transactions which can only be performed on the web.
So rather than close down, the app connects users to a mobile browser within the app to save time and added convenience.
There is also a social aspect to the new CommBank app with links to Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to find out the latest news or communicate with the bank directly.
Part of the Commonwealth Bank mobile banking road map will be NFC (near field communication) transactions where the mobile becomes an extension of your wallet and allows customers to quickly and easily pay for goods and services on the go.


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MILLIS, Mass. — If this keeps up, Black Friday may become known as “Green Friday.” Local Christmas tree growers report a robust start to the season — with some cut-your-own farms already selling out for the entire season.
That was not exactly the case at Deerfield Tree Farm in Millis. They had a big weekend, as well, and the most popular sizes did sell out. But more trees are on the way, said owner Greg Dowd.
“We’re going to be ready to go this week and this weekend with a full supply of trees,” Dowd said.
Those trees will largely be coming from Dowd’s second farm — a 30-acre spread in northern Vermont dedicated to growing conifers. Last summer’s unprecedented rains in Vermont didn’t seem to affect Dowd’s trees much — so prices are comparable to last year.
A weekend rush at Allandale Farm in Brookline helped lower its stock of Christmas trees by 900. CEO and General Manager Helen Glotzer expects this coming weekend to be even busier.
“We get shipments of trees from both North Carolina and Nova Scotia,” said Glotzer. “We’ve had three truckloads come already. We’ve got three more coming, including this week.”
Glotzer said pricing is only slightly higher than last year for most trees. “Though the bigger trees went up a lot because of supply and demand,” she said.
Allandale’s tallest Frasier Firs are retailing for $275. Drop down a foot or two and so does the price — to $220. Balsam Firs are less expensive than Frasiers — sometimes dramatically so if the tree is not considered a “premium” grade.
“A number one grade is a slightly lower grade,” said Glotzer. “Which might mean that it has an extra hole or it’s a little less dense. Particularly if you’re not looking at the tree from 360 degrees, which most of us aren’t, that’s a good insider tip to get a better value. Just shop down a grade.”
Another thing you can shop for — if perfection is in the eye of the beholder — are “wild” trees.
“They’re kind of unpruned,” said Dowd. “You can get a 10 or 12-foot tree for maybe $40 to $80. A lot of people really like that style of tree. We try to have trees for everybody.”
In Westwood, Lamberts is still stocked with multiple piles of pines — but many trees went out the door last weekend.
“People are excited,” said Nino Lambert. “That’s the most fun weekend for me. Those are the diehards. They come in the day after Thanksgiving with their Santa hats on. It was a very busy weekend. It was good.”
Lambert said tree prices this year are actually down from last year — by $10.
“Last year, the customers pushed back a little bit,” he said. That led Lamberts to push back on its supplier from Quebec, resulting in a nice win for local consumers.
Price is an important consideration. But Dowd said there’s something more crucial to know about a Christmas tree: its cut date — which gives an indication how long the tree will stay fresh.
“You have trees coming from nobody knows where — and when they were cut, no one would know,” said Dowd. “I planted them, I grew them, I pruned them and I cut them. I think that makes a difference in the long run.”
Glotzer said that nationally there is a shortage of Christmas trees. While that may be true, Dowd said it’s also possible that the shortage is in getting trees to market — because of a lack of labor among Christmas tree farmers. It’s one of the many industries in the U.S. having trouble finding workers.
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By Lisa Johnston
New products on display at the American International Toy Fair, held in N
KANSAS CITY, MO. — Sprint expanded its network-based voice-dialing service to include voice access to Web-based content and e-mail.
Sprint said it is the first U.S. wireless carrier to offer voice-enabled Web services on a nationwide basis. Regional carrier Qwest Wireless offers a voice-portal service in its Northwest and Rocky Mountain network.
Sprint subscribers can also respond to e-mail messages or originate e-mail messages by speaking into the handset. The user's voice is converted into a Wav file that's sent as an e-mail attachment.
The talking Web service is part of the Voice Command service, which enables subscribers to voice-dial up to 2,500 different numbers by name (500 names, with five numbers per name). The service is free for three months and costs $5 a month after that.
To access Web content, subscribers press *TALK and then say "call weather," "call email," "call traffic reports," "call news," "call stocks," etc.
Qwest's service does not include e-mail, driving directions, nor other services that are part of Sprint's offering, Sprint said. In addition, Qwest's offering is not integrated into a network-based voice-dialing feature. As a result, Qwest subscribers can't listen to information and then say "place a call" to immediately act on the information, a spokeswoman said.
Sprint PCS was the first wireless carrier early this year to launch network-based, voice-activated dialing on a nationwide basis.
In addition to being able to voice-dial by reciting multiple word variations, such as "Call Tom," "Call Tom Smith," "Call Tom at home" or "Call Tom at work," Voice Command users can voice-dial by reciting specific digits — for example, "Call 816-555-1212" — even if the phone numbers have not been entered into the personal address books.
This TWICE webinar, hosted by senior editor Alan Wolf, will take a look at what may be the hottest CE products at retail that will be sold during the all-important fourth quarter. Top technologies, market strategies and industry trends will be discussed with industry analysts and executives.


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An undetermined number of Pinterest accounts are being hacked for the second time in as many weeks. This most recent incursion appears to be ongoing with account breaches still continuing at the time that this article was published. The new breach is nearly identical to the one that happened on June 4 where an untold number of Pinterest accounts were compromised with unauthorized "Pins" (Pinterest vernacular for "post"). The latest breach has so far produced a similar flood of over 900 equally unauthorized posts to Twitter. As revealed in ProgrammableWeb's exclusive investigation of Pinterest's June 4th breach, the posts to Twitter relied on a fake weight-loss promotion that's designed to lure unsuspecting followers into a malware trap. That trap attempts to obtain additional personal information and login credentials.
In contrast to defacto best practices for Internet breaches involving the personal accounts of end-users, Pinterest has so far disclosed very little detail regarding the June 4 incursion and it remains to be seen if this second successful attack within 11 days of the previous one will force the company to pursue a policy of more proactive transparency. A great many questions remain including how exactly the accounts were breached in the first place and what steps Pinterest is taking to lock the problem down. Based on what ProgrammableWeb has learned from impacted users, it appears as though the hackers are programmatically enabling Pins to echo themselves to Twitter even if the option to do so was initially unchecked in the Pinterest User Interface. What isn't clear -- again due to the lack of disclosure so far -- is whether the programmatic breach involves Pinterest's API or if hackers have successfully developed some sort of Web-scraping routine.
Responding this past Friday via email to ProgrammableWeb's initial investigation into the matter, Pinterest spokesperson Malorie Lucich said "We don't have any evidence of a database breach. We saw a small number of compromised accounts, which we quickly placed in safe mode and worked toward helping the Pinners recover. We're constantly working on ways to prevent further issues through reactive and proactive steps, as well as educating users on the importance of using complex and unique passwords." According to Pinterest's Web site, "safe mode prevents any changes to your account until you reset your password." While it's not 100 percent certain, Lucich's statement could suggest that non-unique passwords --- passwords that end-users re-use across multiple Internet services --- could be one of the sources of the problem. While the number of affected users continues to climb, Pinterest has so far not clarified what it considers to be "a small number of compromised accounts."
In its ongoing investigation of the June 4 breach, some of the impacted Pinterest users admitted to ProgrammableWeb that their Pinterest password is the same as for their accounts on other services such as Twitter. Such password re-use is rearing its ugly head as a key vulnerability in Internet security; one that the providers of many popular services have yet to collectively address with a standard approach. One reason is that there are very few workable solutions to the problem. As users rely more and more on Internet-based services, the more they are also forced to re-use passwords because of how impossible it is to remember a unique password for every service they use. Password re-use was a key vulnerability in an attack on Buffer last October. That attack resulted in a compromise to tens of thousands of Buffer accounts that, like these last two breaches of Pinterest users' accounts, used a fake weight loss scheme to draw the attention of followers and friends on Twitter and Facebook.
One potential solution involves what to many will appear as a preferred single sign-on to the Internet. In this scheme, end-users maintain one user ID and one password with a trusted authority like Google, Facebook, or Twitter that's supported by every other service on the Internet to which those users would normally login. Whereas the user logs in once to the central service, that service interacts with the other secondary services using a token-based architecture such as OAuth to authenticate the end-user (or, in many cases, an application working on behalf of the end-user). Many users of various Internet services rely on this approach today ---where they login to a Web site using their Twitter or Facebook IDs.
Unfortunately, as proven in the attack on Buffer, token-based schemes are not infallible. In certain cases, if the tokens fall into the wrong hands, they can be used like fake IDs to gain unauthorized access to certain sites. To address that problem, companies like Google offer solutions that involve a second factor of Authentication. For example, users of Github can configure their accounts to use Google's Authenticator with the Two-Factor Authentication option enabled. That second factor in this case is the Google account owner's cell phone which, upon an attempt to login to Github or other supporting Web site, receives a one-time code via SMS text that must be entered as a part of the login process in order to complete the login. However, such capabilities are far from ubiquitous. Google is somewhat alone in offering a two factor-based centralized login service and it isn't often the first social network login choice for either sites that support social network logins or the users that rely on them.
Meanhwile, in the case of Pinterest, it still remains to be seen what the company's long-term solution to its ongoing breaches will be and it's impossible to speculate what the company might do since it has been so tight-lipped about the actual problem (see the update below). The company claims that its databases remain secure but has fallen short of offering more specifics about how its users accounts continue to get hacked. According to Lucich, Pinterest recently announced a bug bounty program in May as part of the company's steps toward creating a more secure environment for Pinners. However, given the dearth of details regarding this latest round of attacks, the connection between that bounty program and Pinterest's ability to reign-in the securithy of its users' accounts isn't clear.
ProgrammableWeb will continue to report on the breach as more information comes to light.
Update (June 17th, 2014): Late last night, Pinterest spokesperson Malorie Lucich contacted ProgrammableWeb with the following statement "We were alerted to some instances of spam and responded by immediately placing impacted accounts in safe mode, and reaching out to Pinners as we solved the issue." In response to ProgrammableWeb's inquiry regarding how many accounts were impacted, Lucich wrote "We don't have specifics to share on the number of impacted accounts."


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Today, Riccardo Tisci has unveiled the first ever bag campaign for the house of Burberry, showcasing the brand’s newest signature handbag, the Pocket Bag. The new campaign – shot before COVID-19 social distancing measures were in place – highlights the new silhouette in a series of snaps featuring Bella Hadid and shot by Inez and Vinoodh.
The campaign was inspired by the Burberry Animal Kingdom and in the images, Hadid can be seen posing alongside various big cat figures. On choosing her for this campaign, Tisci said, “Animals have always been a creative obsession and signature of mine, and it was so amazing to see Bella bring this to life as the panther. She has this fierce power and raw femininity that perfectly embodies the animal spirit.”
Speaking of the shoot, Hadid – for whom this shoot marked the second time she has fronted a campaign for the brand – said in a release, “I absolutely loved shooting this campaign, letting my inner animal spirit run free. I felt we were really capturing that feline energy and power.” Inez and Vinoodh echoed the sentiments, remarking that “Bella translated the feline qualities beautifully” and that animalistic movements “are always inspiring as a starting point for a photograph [because] it gives a very unusual body language to the shot.” Global beauty director Isamaya Ffrench says Inez showing Bella “how to walk like a panther” was a “highlight” of the “fun” shoot.
The Pocket Bag was first introduced as part of Tisci’s A/W19 collection for the brand and its design was inspired by an archival Burberry handbag. The updated version of the bag has a front pocket and leather taping, and is finished with contrast topstitching and hand-painted edges. The structured tote, which features a reinforced top handle, as well as a detachable, adjustable shoulder strap, is available in various colourways (including canvas and leather in reference to the brand’s equestrian heritage) and three sizes (mini, medium and large). Prices start at $1,350.
The campaign comes just weeks ahead of the brand’s planned Spring 2021 show in London. Back in June, Tisci confirmed Burberry would hold a physical runway presentation but that there would be no public audience present.


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The KFC restaurant on Mainstreet has been closed for months, but it could eventually be replaced with another fast-food chicken chain.
The Star Tribune reported Friday that AFC Enterprises, Popeyes' parent company, wants to buy 14 Twin Cities KFC restaurants from a bankrupt franchisee. If a judge approves the agreement, AFC would spend $11.5 million to convert the former KFCs to Popeyes restaurants and quickly bring them into operation.
The closed Hopkins restaurant is one of the 28 KFC locations affected—half of them in the Twin Cities.
KFC is reportedly fighting to keep as many of the restaurants as possible operating under its banner.
Click here to read the full Star Tribune story.


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Fresh off some more-than-encouraging sales numbers for its mainframe business, IBM is looking to extend its lock on the market with new tools designed to appeal to a broader swath of enterprise users. But now that it has proved the mainframe's worth in an age of leaner, meaner servers, will it be able to fend off competition for much longer?
First, the numbers. IBM reported a 12 percent gain in mainframe revenues from the end of 2006 to the first quarter of 2007, contributing to a 25 percent year-on-year gain for the quarter. And at the company's System z Summit this week, we saw the unveiling of the first new toolsets in a $100 million makeover targeting everything from security and data management to virtualization. There's also the new Destination z Web portal that lets z customers swap ideas and develop partnerships.
Much of IBM's focus will be on driving the mainframe downmarket, pitching the idea to SMBs that mainframes aren't the clunky old iron of the past but innovative new platforms that are more flexible, easier to maintain and reconfigure, and consume less power than the clustered server approaches of HP and Sun. Key to this strategy is the new z/VM virtualization software that lets you reconfigure the system virtually on a whim without the cost of major hardware upgrades.
So far, IBM's success with the mainframe has drawn out only low-level competition from startups like Platform Solutions. The two companies are waging a legal battle over licensing rights to IBM's z/OS and OS/390 operating systems, which Platform Solutions wants to run atop its own Itanium 64-based hardware via a proprietary emulation system. For its part, Platform couches the argument as an attempt to break down a corporate monopoly.
Regardless of how the legal process shakes out, IBM is poised to be the dominant mainframe player for some time to come. The major challenge now is to convince users that big iron is still the way to go.


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According to the World Health Organization it likely causes cancer. This year alone it’s expected that millions of pounds will be used on crops. And according to a shocking report by Newsweek, since the early 1970s enough of the stuff has been used that it adds up to half a pound being sprayed ... Read More ›
August 23, 2018
Ready to jump start your diet… starting RIGHT NOW?
Follow these eight fool-proof tips to help you reach your weight loss goals! The Best part is... these tips are cheap -- OR FREE! -- and you can do them right at home. As an added bonus I'll also share with you 5 natural supplements to shed stubborn belly fat... fast!


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Integrating Your LIMS System With State Tracking Systems
By Hannah O’Brien, Operations Manager, Confident Cannabis
Running a lab is hard. Running a cannabis lab is harder. Watch this webinar hosted by Confident Cannabis, the most popular and only free cannabis LIMS in the country, to learn how cannabis compliance and regulatory burdens impact analytical testing laboratories in any state, and how important purpose-built software solutions are to make their business run smoothly.
The post Integrating Your LIMS System With State Tracking Systems appeared first on Cannabis Industry Journal.
Arizona lawmakers have the opportunity to implement mandatory lab testing for cannabis products, but SB1494 needs to pass the House first.
The post Arizona Still Doesn’t Require Lab Testing, But That Could Change Soon appeared first on Cannabis Industry Journal.
Chris Dacus takes a closer look at new rules in the EU regarding vaporizing products.
The post EU Regulations Address Heavy Metals In Consumer Products appeared first on Cannabis Industry Journal.


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Next steps and hurdles to recovery
“A reputation once broken may possibly be repaired, but the world will always keep their eyes on the spot where the crack was.” — Joseph Hall
Samsung did well painting a picture of an issue that’s been thoroughly researched and resolved, but the proof is in the pudding. The brand’s next flagship smartphone is going to face a public just waiting to find a problem; and that, of course, will be a problem on its own. The most immediate risk is that we see an actual repeat of something that reminds stakeholders of the previous issues – anything from batteries that get uncomfortably hot to actually igniting. In this situation I see a huge possibility for fakers or trolls to deliver a blow to Samsung’s barely recovering reputation too. It would be easy to create a convincing video of your new device “lighting on fire while charging” when there was nothing actually wrong it at all, and a quick way to go viral. In fact, I’d be more surprised if someone doesn’t try this trick.
What it boils down to is that Samsung needs to be ready to manage the crisis on both the communications and operations sides of the issue. False accusations needs to be firmly swatted down before they can catch on, and any actual device-related hitches need to be figured out at lightning speed. If people are left in the dark, if rumor, innuendo, and fear are allowed to creep up, then the efforts of the recent past will be for naught.
For part 1 of this article click here.


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NEW YORK — Prada is thinking big about its future.
The Italian luxury goods firm is projecting its profits will grow by an average of 23.5 percent a year over the next five years, while its sales will increase by an average of 3.2 percent annually, reaching 1.51 billion euros, or $1.83 billion, by 2010, according to a document Prada issued to bankers over the summer and which it released to WWD last week.
The growth will come from increased focus on the core brands of Prada and Miu Miu, as well as labels such as Azzedine Alaïa and Car Shoe. Meanwhile, Prada has formed a new company called Prada SpA Group that excludes money-losing businesses Jil Sander, Helmut Lang and a minority interest in Church’s. These operations now fall under the jurisdiction of other group holding companies.
Prada has isolated “nonstrategic brands [Jil Sander and Helmut Lang] from the core group with a view to their subsequent disposal,” the document states, adding that Prada’s shareholders are assessing “nonbinding offers for Jil Sander and Helmut Lang brands from various industrial partners and private equity funds.”
However, company sources downplayed any imminent sale of Jil Sander. Prada wants to relaunch the brand under the new design leadership of Raf Simons, whose first collections will bow for fall 2006.
When asked for further comment on Prada’s restructuring efforts, chief executive officer Patrizio Bertelli said the following regarding Jil Sander: “The restructuring plan is on course to make the company profitable on an operational basis as early as next year.”
Bertelli was just as bullish about Prada’s overall future prospects, particularly the spring collections shown in Milan last month.
“The Prada and Miu Miu collections were met with overwhelming praise both by the press and the trade. This praise is reflected in the strong orders we have received thus far this year,” the executive said. “It is proof that our efforts on product design and development, production efficiency, effectiveness of the distribution and communications are going in the right direction.”
In typical Italian fashion, a cascading chain of companies control the business. The Prada family and Bertelli hold their stakes through ITMD Investments BV, which in turn owns 100 percent of Prada Holding NV. Prada Holding controls, either directly or indirectly, all the brands and business units, meaning Jil Sander, Helmut Lang, Prada SpA Group and the minority stake in Church’s.
The document forecasts that Prada SpA Group will see its 2005 sales grow 6.9 percent to 1.29 billion euros, or $1.57 billion, and post a net profit of 51.7 million euros, or $62.8 million, the document states.
“We have posted strong results for the first six months of 2005,” said Bertelli. “With sales, margins and overall profitability on the rise, I am confident this year will be positive for Prada as our priority remains increasing efficiency in all parts of the value chain.
“Looking back, I believe that 2004 can be characterized as a transition year for the group,” he said referencing Prada Holding’s 2004 net loss of 61.96 million euros, or $75.2 million.
Prada’s banking document released first-half 2005 figures, as published in WWD last month. Prada SpA Group’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization jumped 23.3 percent to 97 million euros, or $117.8 million, for the six months ended July 31. Sales advanced 5.6 percent to 659.2 million euros, or $800.2 million. Net bank debt totaled 605 million euros, or $734.4 million. That figure is set to drop to 549.6 million euros, or $667.2 million, by the end of next January.
Undoubtedly, the reorganization creates a more attractive set of accounts for Prada to present to the financial community. Armando Branchini, chairman of luxury brands consultancy Intercorporate, said the reorganization is logical. “They want to make it clear what are the businesses that have problems and what are the businesses that are profitable,” he said, adding that improving market conditions overall might make it easier for Prada to sell off Helmut Lang and Jil Sander.
The report states that proceeds from any eventual sale of Helmut Lang, Jil Sander or the minority holding in Church’s would help pay back group loans. The Church’s stake generated 2.9 million euros, or $3.5 million in losses for Prada in 2004. Still, it looks like the group’s focus right now is growing margins at the healthier parts of the company, namely the Prada and Miu Miu brands.
Prada has been busy reorganizing its production logistics to maximize efficiencies. After years of extensive retail expansion, it’s also looking to boost sales at existing stores. At the end of January, Prada SpA Group owned 180 directly operated stores and sales there accounted for 54 percent of the company’s revenue.
The company is also focusing on Asia for growth. Japan accounted for 15 percent of 2004 sales, while the rest of Asia accounted for 13 percent. This year Prada opened in Osaka, the latest example of a retail push there. It also opened in Seoul, where a second store is slated to open in the coming months.
While Prada works to grow its margins and prioritize its brand portfolio, it’s also trying to chip away at the debts it amassed through a series of acquisitions. To that end, Prada booked a gain of about 35.1 million euros, or $42.6 million, on a series of real estate transactions in 2004, including the sale of the Aoyama epicenter store in Japan and retail properties in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles and offices in Milan.
Prada’s corporate restructuring also redistributes the group’s debts at various levels of the company.
Prada declined to disclose a global debt figure encompassing all levels of the company, but it appears that most of the debt is concentrated at the Prada SpA Group subsidiary and at parent ITMD Investments.
Prada SpA Group’s debts came to 818 million euros, or $993 million, at the end of January, including 420 million euros, or $509.8 million, owed to holding companies elsewhere in the Prada structure. The company’s net bank debt is seen dropping over the next five years until the company reverses into a positive cash position in 2010.
Meanwhile, ITMD Investments owes a group of banks 800 million euros, or $971.1 million. The five-year loan agreement was inked in June, when ITMD had to reimburse a large bond issue. Those bonds, issued in 2001, could have been converted into shares had Prada followed through on a planned stock market listing. Prada has postponed going public four times but Bertelli said the company will start to reconsider the stock exchange at the end of next year.


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A Nottingham prankster couple decided to surprise "every mum" at a West Bridgford supermarket in celebration of Mother's Day.
Mark and Roxy Hoyle - known online as LadBaby - gave away £1,000 (well £998 as Mark bought two sausage rolls for himself) worth of gifts at Asda to unsuspecting mums.
It was a bit of a blast from the past for Mark who actually used to work at the West Bridgford store about five years ago.
Paul Hadfield, a spokesman for Asda, said: "It was great fun to work with them and as you can see from the video, and reaction to it, it was lovely thing that made lots of people smile."
The Post has launched a Whatsapp group to help you keep up to date with the latest news. If you'd like to receive one daily message with the main headlines, as well as breaking news alerts, text NEWS to 07790 586202. Then add the number to your phone contacts book as 'Nottingham Post'. Your phone number won't be shared with other members of the group.


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The biggest heap of junk in the galaxy it is not. To celebrate tomorrow’s Force Friday II and the impending release of the latest Star Wars movie, The Last Jedi, in December, LEGO announced the piece they’ve been teasing for months: an updated Millenium Falcon. It’s bigger and badder than ever.
What was already one of company’s largest kits at 5,195 pieces, the new Falcon now measures almost 3-feet by 2-feet (stands 8-inches tall) and is comprised of a whopping 7,541 pieces. So, yes, plan to take a few days off from work. Han and Chewy’s upgraded Corellian freighter is also more detailed and includes a concealed blaster cannon, lowering boarding ramp, and a detachable canopy. Pop off the hull panels and you can get down to making stop-motion videos of Luke wielding his lightsaber or R2-D2 fixing the hyperdrive. There’s also a gunnery station from which the mini figurines can blast Tie-Fighters while waiting to make the jump to hyperspace.
And speaking of mini figs, the new Falcon comes with eight of them: four from the classic crew (Han, Chewbacca, Leia and C-3PO) and three from Episode VII/VIII ⏤ an older Han, Rey, and Finn. Plus, BB-8. All equipped with their classic weapons.
While news of the new Falcon just dropped today, the actual kit won’t be available until October 1. Also, it will cost a handsome ransom at $800. You didn’t think 7,500 pieces come cheap, did you? That said, you can’t pre-order it but you can add it to your wishlist and check back daily to daydream.


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Samsung to Drop Snapdragon from Galaxy S6 Handset
With the next Mobile World Congress scheduled to kick off in Barcelona in early March, details are swirling about the next batch of flagship phones that are slated to come out from the major mobile players. And despite Samsung’s recent woes in the mobile field, the company still represents the face of Android to the world at large – and news hit this week that the company plans on dumping Qualcomm’s ubiquitous Snapdragon processor from the upcoming Galaxy S6 in favor of a chip of its own design.
According to a report from Bloomberg from Monday, Samsung insiders have said that the company will use its own CPUs in the S6 – in fact, they will be Samsung’s “most advanced chips.” Meanwhile, Qualcomm has supplied Samsung with chips for its smartphones for years, and this news immediately led to a 1.2 percent drop in Qualcomm’s share values.
It isn’t immediately clear as to why Samsung is eschewing Qualcomm’s chips in its upcoming flagship – if this report is to be believed, of course. However, Samsung has been making a habit of trying to get away from any kind of dependence on other companies to make its products work. For instance, with the exception of one single device, every other smartwatch produced by Samsung runs on Tizen, its homegrown operating system. Furthermore, Samsung finally released its long-awaited first Tizen-based smartphone in India.
Both of those focuses on Tizen represent Samsung’s desire to lessen its dependence on Google and its Android ecosystem. The reason, of course, is that Samsung wants to earn money on app sales, and can do so if it holds the purse strings on whatever operating system is being used on a particular device.
However, that logic doesn’t quite apply to dropping Qualcomm, unless it’s simply a cost-cutting measure. After all, Samsung can use its own CPUs and pay production costs for them. As long as that costs less than whatever prices Qualcomm would provide, it’s a solid financial move. The real question, then, is whether or not Samsung’s CPUs can outperform Qualcomm’s. The Snapdragon processor is found in huge amount of smartphones across the board, so if Samsung has figured out how to beat one of the industry leaders, it might turn its mobile luck around with the Galaxy S6.


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Sony have stated that Uncharted PS4 Compilation is a System Seller
We are not certain of other countries, but the marketing of Sony has the potential to be the major system seller of PS4 in the UK this Christmas. Considering that huge game like Until Dawn up to a lesser degree Bloodborne only got a shorter shift, it is a surprise to know that Naughty Dog’s series appeared during commercials for every sporting event. However, this may be since the Japanese giant sees the PlayStation 4 as a system seller.
According to Joe Palmer, the PlayStation UK product manager, PlayStation 4 certainly has the influence to be a system seller this Christmas. Since it gives newcomers the opportunity to pick up a PS4 with great games at a very reasonable price, it offers fantastic value as a gifting proposition. Since the original Uncharted games were released, its audience base has also transformed significantly. For this reason, there’s a massive number of gamers looking to purchase a PS4, who will never play these games before.
Recently, the team saw a statistic stating that only 80 per cent of present PS4 owners have not played the Uncharted game. Apparently, the platform holder is invested in the brand with its contemporary advertising bombardment. Palmer further said that they have strong expectations for the success of this title. In fact, it is genuinely something that gamers want to anticipate in March 2016 launching. In North America and the UK today, the title’s launching is being accompanied by pricing promotions. If you are in the US, you can pick the game alongside for $349.99, if you are in the UK, the same bundle will be available for £299.99.


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Google recently ran a campaign where you could get a free Google Stadia Premiere Edition if you were subscribed to YouTube Premium. Today, is Google Stadia’s One Year Anniversary. Today, they announced that Stadia it will soon work in iOS on Safari. We plan to check out Star Wars: Fallen Order when it is released on Stadia later this month.
Below is our unboxing of Google Stadia.


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Beech Creek launches 'natural' holiday fundraiser
Beech Creek Botanical Garden and Nature Center has launched a holiday fundraiser it says it hopes will “help ensure its future.”
The Alliance facility has struggled during the COVID-19 crisis, with most of its programming canceled because of limits on gatherings in the community.
“Strength, Hope and Happiness from Nature” is the theme of the fundraiser.
Melinda Carmichael, executive director of Beech Creek Gardens, based it on the historical significance of using plants and flowers to convey messages through their specific symbolism.
“I personally have always loved the history of the language of plants and flowers, and I feel that we don’t utilize these symbolisms enough,” Carmichael said. “This fundraiser seemed like a perfect way to use this important piece of history and inspire people to think about nature while sharing the message of ‘strength, hope and happiness’ with their friends and loved ones.”
The event is being conducted primarily through the organization’s online storefront, with ordering available through Dec. 14. Visitors can also place orders in person at Beech Creek’s Visitor Center.
Patrons who support the nonprofit organization with donations toward the fundraiser will receive special gifts as a token of appreciation. These gifts include a wooden tree slice ornament, hanging car charm, Christmas wreath and a tussie-mussie floral arrangement.
Gifts are adorned with an assortment of symbolic fresh plants, and each comes with a card highlighting the special holiday symbolisms. For example, the “Life, Hope and Victory Christmas Wreath” includes boxwood, which represents endurance and patience; hemlock for healing and warmth’ eucalyptus for abundance; pinecones for life; and winterberry for hope.
Carmichael said her favorite offering is the tussie-mussie, which dates back to the Middle Ages and was made fashionable during the Elizabethan and Victorian eras.
“The tussie-mussie is something I have been teaching about, doing workshops on and making for people as gifts for the past several decades. It's near and dear to my heart,” Carmichael said. “The tussie-mussie is full of sentiment with all the different evergreens and the rose, which means love. So when you're giving it as a gift, you're sharing so many really wonderful things.”
This current fundraiser is another of Beech Creek’s efforts to stay afloat this year due to the severe impact of the pandemic.
“Without the fundraisers this year, we would have had to shut down, unless there was some other kind of miracle,” said Carmichael. “For the holiday fundraiser, our organizational goal is to raise enough funds so that we don’t start the new year in a financial deficit.”
Carmichael said she’s been touched by the community’s reactions and overwhelming support. She said she loves the excitement people express when picking up their gifts.
“We don't necessarily get to speak to everyone and see everyone who supports us, but we feel their optimism and their spirit when they are picking up their items or sending their donations in,” said Carmichael said. “My personal goal for the holiday fundraiser is to bless other people with the items that we’re sharing because I feel so strongly about using nature to communicate how much you appreciate other people.”
Most of the financial stimulus that has been available for the economy during the pandemic has been designated for businesses and nonprofits that support human needs, such as food banks, housing assistance, and other similar organizations. As a result, other types of nonprofit organizations, such as botanical gardens, have been excluded from assistance, leaving them struggling.
“It's very important for people to remember all of those different types of nonprofits and continue to do what they can,” said Carmichael. “Donating every couple of months, even $5, to your favorite nonprofit does more than you would imagine.”
Patrons can pick up their gifts from Dec. 15-23. Pickup hours are 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday; 3 to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday; and 5 to 9 p.m. Sunday. Local delivery is available up to 30 miles from Beech Creek Gardens for an additional $15 per order. The minimum order total to qualify for delivery is $40.
For more information about the holiday fundraiser, visit www.beechcreekgardens.org.


text: FAIRFIELD BEACH – Matthew Norton is a busy man. The sales and operations manager for the Buckeye Lake Winery was unloading pallets of wine Tuesday afternoon, preparing the brand new facility for a July 3 opening. “We’ll be working overnight,” he said. “This is music and wine weekend,” said Carol Thress, general manager. She said the winery will feature live music all weekend beginning with Chris Gill and Reid Coleman July 3, Forcynthia July 4, Second Story July 5, and Gayla Smith and Sticks & Stones July 6. Thress said the official ribbon cutting is set for July 11 in conjunction with a Licking County Chamber of Commerce after-hours event. The Buckeye Lake Winery is one of the only wineries locally (and possibly the only) with boat access, featuring slips for more than 35 boats, and is located between Compass Point and Crescent Cove. “I’ve always had a passion for good food and great wine,” said owner Tracy Higginbotham. “Now, after spending over 20 years in Corporate America, I’ve chosen to shift gears and turn my love of food and wine into a legacy for my family.”As a fan of the Napa Valley wines, Higgenbotham consults with Napa Valley vintner Johns Edwards. He’s blending Buckeye Lake Winery wines at the facility and he plans to begin growing his own grapes in spring. Beacon photo by Scott Rawdon.


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Fitness trackers are increasingly popular. In the first quarter of 2016 alone, almost 20 million units have been sold worldwide. By GPS, these devices measure the distances walked by their users, they measure heart rates and notice if the wearer sleeps. But these data are not used solely to the purpose of determining the user’s personal health status; instead, they increasingly are used by third parties for other purposes, notes Ahmad-Reza Sadeghi, professor for system security at the University of Darmstadt’s Cyber Security (CYSEC) department.
In the United States, for instance, data from fitness trackers are already admitted as evidence in lawsuits. They are regarded as a kind of “black box” of the human body, wrote newspaper NY Daily News recently. What’s more, several health insurers offer discounts if the customer allows them to process their data. This openness in handling the data is frequently attracting fraudsters who manipulate the data to gain unfair benefits or even manipulate lawsuits, Sadeghi says. For these reasons, it is essential that ways transfer, processing and storage of these sensitive private data meets high security standards.
In order to investigate the security level of these trackers, Professor Sadeghi and his team performed a study along with the University of Parma (Italy). They scrutinized 17 fitness tracker models from market leading vendors such as Xiaomi, Garmin or Jawbone as well as from less well known brands. The tests focused on manipulating the data sent from the tracker to a cloud server by means of a man-in-the-middle attack.
The result was less than satisfying: Though all cloud-based tracking systems encrypted their data transfers through the HTTPS protocol. Nevertheless the researchers in all cases succeeded in intercepting and manipulating the data. Most of the trackers in the test had no protection mechanisms in place; just four vendors used minor measures to protect data integrity. “These hurdles cannot stop a determined attacker. Even with little


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This is the golden age of content creation — 2023 is the year of the creator economy.
Estimated to be worth more than $100 billion as of July 2022, content creation has proven its value, especially when it comes to powering marketing for brand building.
Companies continue to make big investments in the creator economy with 75 percent of marketers leveraging the community to amplify products and services — a number expected to reach 86 percent in the next three years.
The creator economy has proven two things: that anyone can garner fame online and that influence and popularity can be monetized. It’s direct-to-consumer, accelerated.
Thanks to social media and Web 2.0, YouTubers, podcasters, photographers, and bloggers are redefining how we create, share, and consume content. They’re setting a new standard for creativity, redefining celebrity, and in doing so, building some of today’s most exciting consumer brands.
“Creators have a huge platform and are able to connect with their followers. They have the ability to listen to the consumer, learn what they want, and create a product that aligns with their needs,” ForceBrands’ Senior Director of Client Strategy and Operations Jessica Tully said. “It’s imperative that creators hire the right executive leaders with industry experience to help them scale their brands. Through the years, we’ve worked with individual creator brands to understand their unique vision for growth, develop a deep understanding of their needs, and identify talent that makes an impact.”
Read on as we share some of the most innovative creator brands on our radar:
As YouTube’s first billionaire and an award-winning digital content creator, Jimmy Donaldson (dubbed MrBeast) has amassed more than one hundred million followers on YouTube by regularly posting videos of expensive stunts. His success on the platform led to the launch of several ventures including MrBeast Burger, a virtual American restaurant, and Feastables, a chocolate bar company he introduced in 2022.
Clean beauty brand Kinship offers cruelty-free products that are created by scientists and industry experts. Founded by beauty industry veterans Alison Haljun, a former marketing executive at Benefit Cosmetics, and Christin Powell, a co-founder of Juice Beauty, Kinship is one of Gen Z’s most beloved brands. The company’s first investor was Tiffany Zhong, dubbed “the Gen Z whisperer,” who, in addition to offering financial support, helped Haljun and Powell connect more deeply with Gen Zers — their target audience.
Founded by entrepreneur and reality TV star Kyle Cooke, Loverboy’s sparkling hard teas and premium canned cocktails have a cult-like following, especially among fans of the Bravo shows “Summer House” and “Winter House,” both of which star Cooke. “We are a complete outlier in our space in that we’re profitable and haven’t had to spend a penny on marketing. It’s a true testament to the power of the brand and its integration with the show,” Cooke told ForceBrands in our exclusive interview with him. “We’re a digital-first alcohol supplier. Not many brands can say that.”
Archer Roose — named after a rebel world traveler of the Gilded Age — delivers artisan-quality wine at an affordable price point. The idea for the canned wine company was born over dinner when Marian Leitner-Waldman, co-founder and publisher of the literary magazine Explosion-Proof, met her husband David Waldman, co-founder of award-winning winery Pheasant’s Tears. Together — and with the help of actress, writer, producer, and Chief Creative Officer Elizabeth Banks — they set out to democratize fine wine.
CALIROSA is a category-creating tequila that’s aged in red wine barrels and aims to bottle the feeling of being with friends and family watching the sun sink below the Pacific. Owned by Maroon Five’s frontman Adam Levine, who is involved with every aspect of the brand, CALIROSA’s pink-hued tequila is made in Jalisco, Mexico by the Real family, longtime producers of high-quality tequila since 1942.
In a world where creators can build their own following, anyone can be a celebrity. Creators will continue to push boundaries and drive the creator economy with their innovative ideas, creative visions, and unique voices.
Whether it is through collaboration or sponsorship, aligning with the right creator can bring an authentic and engaging audience for brands.
Interested in building your brand with a creator or scaling your creator brand? Reach out to us to start the conversation.


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Audio chat app Clubhouse goes invite free
New Delhi: Clubhouse is no more an invite-only audio chat app as the company on Wednesday announced that it is now out of beta and open to everyone.
The company said that it has removed its waitlist system so that anyone can join the platform hassle-free.
“If you have a club, you can post your link far and wide. If you are a creator with an audience, you can bring them all on,” the company said in a blogpost.
“If you’re hosting a public event, anyone can attend. You can bring close friends, classmates, family members, coworkers, and anyone else you like — on iOS or Android,” it added.
The company says it has added 10 million people to the community since its launch on Android in mid-May and has seen 90 million DMs sent since it launched Backchannel last week.
Backchannel has both 1:1 and group chat and an optional second inbox for message requests.
Users can send and receive questions from the audience. And speakers can now take questions from people via text — and use that to decide who to call up from the audience. Listeners can now submit questions, even if they are not able to come up on stage.
The app arrived on Android after spending a year on the Apple iOS platform.
The new release is out today on both iOS and Android platforms and the company says it will be shipping new updates for users every 1-2 weeks.


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All eyes are surely on advertising this quarter, as supply-chain challenges cause in-stock issues for brands.
And while some believe reports of supply constraints influencing the outcome of the holiday season across the advertising industry are exaggerated, Microsoft CFO Amy Hood told investors the company is keeping a close eye on the advertising market through the quarter.
“There are a few challenges this quarter, particularly in premium devices,” Hood said during the company’s Q3 2021 earnings call Tuesday, warning of possible disruption ahead. “We'll just need to watch the advertising market through the quarter, because obviously their willingness to spend is entirely connected to their supply as well.”
She said that in Search and News Advertising the company expects revenue growth in the low to mid 20s. If supply-chain uncertainty reduces advertising budgets, Microsoft’s results would be negatively impacted.
Microsoft reported 22% revenue growth -- reaching $45.32 billion in the quarter. Its More Personal Computing business drove performance. The category includes Windows devices, gaming and search advertising, which posted a 12% jump in revenue to $13.31 billion. Net income rose 48% to $20.5 billion.
It’s not typically a topic that Microsoft discusses during the company’s quarterly earnings call, but yesterday when reporting numbers from Q3 2021, executives mentioned advertising at least eight times.
LinkedIn advertising also drove revenue, rising 61% year-on-year. The company’s social network is a growing business for Microsoft, with sales expanding 42% in the quarter. All this despite its plans to scale back in China.
Cloud services, embraced by companies and consumers, also drove growth. Microsoft’s cloud business is one of the fastest-growing for the company because everything from games to business software is supported from the cloud.
Microsoft is the second-largest player with nearly a 20% worldwide market share, but Amazon dominates the industry more than a 40% share, according Gartner.
Worldwide end-user spending on public cloud services is forecast to grow 23.1% in 2021 to total $332.3 billion, up from $270 billion in 2020, according to Gartner.


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Surface Go’s new firmware update improves Surface Pen support
Microsoft’s Surface Go has picked up a firmware update late last week, as spotted by Neowin. The update includes several fixes for issues many users of the lower-end model of Microsoft’s premium tablet were facing, including a fix that caused the Surface Pen’s top button to fail. The update also fixes issues with the device’s UEFI bootloader, as well as improvements to the Bluetooth and Wireless drivers.On MSFT
Hit the page number below the Related posts to see more stories.


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"The new Rosalina Amiibo has been completely removed from Target.com. The previous URL for the page leads to an error page, and doing a quick Google search on the Rosalina figurine brings you to the same error page as well" -- Nintendo Enthusiast.
I just got one tonight, thank God!
N4G is a community of gamers posting and discussing the latest game news. It’s part of NewsBoiler, a network of social news sites covering today’s pop culture.


text: Although considerable efforts have been made recently to limit access to drugs in prisons – according to official figures, these efforts have met with some success – the problem still exists as prisoners find all sorts of ways to get drugs smuggled in to them. One of these is to soak socks in heroin. One of the stock phrases in Korydallos is «How much per centimeter?» – referring to the part of the sock containing the heroin. Others ask their visitors to bring them roast chicken stuffed with drugs. Others ask for fruit, mainly oranges and mandarins injected with liquid heroin. «Of course the prisoners also get alcoholic drinks, most of them homemade and very dangerous to their health,» one source told Kathimerini. «Cell searches often come up with makeshift stills where prisoners produce moonshine they sell at high prices.» According to a prisoner, fruit, fruit juice and sugar are used to make the potent brew.


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Resonance Sound has announced the launch of its XMAS Sale 2017, offering a 40% discount on nearly all its sample packs, synth presets and plugins for a limited time.
Get nearly all our products during this year Christmas Sale for 40% off than regular, till 5th january 2018. Just use the voucher code “XMAS2017” on the ShareIt checkout page.
Not all products are included in this offer, such as the recently released Black Octopus Leviathan 2 (which is also on 20% OFF launch sale), D16 PunchBox Kickdrum synthesizer and of course our Bundles – which are already heavily reduced in the price with a discount of up to 80%!
The sale ends January 5th, 2018. Use coupon XMAS2017 at checkout to take advantage of this offer.
More information: Resonance Sound


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Apple has recently reinstated Epic Games’ developer account, signaling a potential shift in the ongoing saga between the two tech giants. This move follows a contentious legal battle over App Store policies and fees. Let’s delve into the implications of this development and what it signifies for the broader app ecosystem.
Epic Games and Apple: A Renewed Chapter
After months of legal wrangling and public disputes, Apple’s decision to reinstate Epic Games’ developer account marks a significant turn of events. The move suggests a potential thawing of tensions between the two companies.
The Legal Landscape: A Brief Recap
The conflict between Epic Games and Apple stems from Epic’s introduction of direct payment options within its popular game, Fortnite, circumventing Apple’s App Store payment system. This move led to Apple’s removal of Fortnite from the App Store and the subsequent legal battle.
Implications for App Developers
The reinstatement of Epic Games’ developer account could set a precedent for other developers seeking more autonomy and flexibility within the App Store ecosystem. It may embolden developers to challenge Apple’s policies and fees, advocating for a fairer and more transparent marketplace.
Consumer Impact: What Users Can Expect
For consumers, this development could mean greater diversity and innovation within the app ecosystem. It may encourage developers to explore alternative monetization models and foster healthy competition, ultimately benefiting users with more choices and improved experiences.
The Road Ahead: Navigating App Store Dynamics
As Apple and Epic Games navigate their renewed relationship, both parties will likely reassess their strategies and priorities. The outcome of this ongoing dialogue will shape the future of app distribution and monetization models, influencing developers, consumers, and industry stakeholders alike.
The reinstatement of Epic Games’ developer account by Apple marks a pivotal moment in the evolving dynamics of the app ecosystem. While it signals a potential thawing of tensions, the broader implications remain to be seen. As the tech landscape continues to evolve, the relationship between platform owners and developers will undoubtedly remain a focal point of discussion and debate.
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