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DETROIT (AP) - Six automakers, including Toyota, Honda and Nissan, are recalling nearly 3.4 million older-model vehicles worldwide because of defective air bags that can send shrapnel flying into the passenger compartment.
LAS VEGAS (AP) - As the federal government tries to encourage companies like AT&T and Verizon to create bigger, faster mobile networks, TV broadcasters are feeling like the farmers of yesteryear who were asked to sell their land to make way for the nation's highways.
ATLANTA (AP) - A tiny magnetic bracelet implanted at the base of the throat is greatly improving life for some people with chronic heartburn who need more help than medicine can give them.
NEW YORK (AP) - Rite Aid, Ross Stores and other retailers surged Thursday after turning in better sales, and major stock market indexes rose for a fourth day straight.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - If fewer people are interested in buying a new personal computer, then fewer investors want to own stakes in companies whose fortunes are tied to the sales of laptop and desktop machines.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Three influential venture capital firms are teaming to find and finance entrepreneurs who want to create applications and other accessories for Google Glass. That's an Internet-connected device that is setting out to turn wearable computing into the latest fashion trend.
WASHINGTON (AP) - The financially beleaguered Postal Service backpedaled on its plan to end Saturday mail delivery, conceding Wednesday that its gamble to compel congressional approval had failed.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - The ailing personal computer market is getting weaker, and it's starting to look like it will never fully recover as a new generation of mobile devices reshapes the way people use technology.
BOSTON (AP) - The stock market hit a record high during the first quarter, and so did the flow of cash into mutual funds.
Research group IDC said Wednesday that global shipments of personal computers fell 14 percent in the first three months of 2013, the sharpest plunge since the firm started tracking the industry in 1994. IDC said Microsoft's Windows 8 software appears to be driving buyers away from PCs and toward smartphones and tablets. According to research group IDC, here are the five leading manufacturers of personal computers worldwide in first quarter of 2013:
NEW YORK (AP) - Cookie Monster stands accused of shoving a 2-year-old. Super Mario was charged with groping a woman. And Elmo was booked for berating tourists with anti-Semitic slurs.
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama on Tuesday nominated three candidates for full terms on the National Labor Relations Board, which has been in limbo since a federal appeals court invalidated his recess appointments to the agency.
LAS VEGAS (AP) - Television stations that relay Fox programming are "on board" with a threat to transition the over-the-air network to cable and satellite TV if Internet startup Aereo keeps reselling Fox's signal without paying for rights, the chairman of a Fox group said Tuesday.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Country singer Brad Paisley says he was trying to foster an open discussion of race relations when he collaborated with rapper LL Cool J on "Accidental Racist."
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Microsoft is skewering Google again with ads and regulatory bashing that say as much about the dramatic shift in the technology industry's competitive landscape as they do about the animosity between the two rivals.
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) - Samsung sought Monday to frame its new Galaxy S5 smartphone as a lifestyle product, as it emphasized a built-in heart-rate sensor and improved camera features over its slightly larger size.
NEW YORK (AP) - Mark Zuckerberg, known for his outsized ambitions for Facebook, is applying a similar long-term vision to bringing the Internet to the billons of people around the world who don't already have access.
SAN JOSE (AP) - It used to be that "hacking" was just a type of crime, a computer break-in. But today, the term is also part of a growing - and perfectly legal - mainstay of the tech sector.
CHICAGO (AP) - For many older Americans who lost jobs during the recession, the quest for health care has been one obstacle after another. They're unwanted by employers, rejected by insurers, struggling to cover rising medical costs and praying to reach Medicare age before a health crisis.
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) - At least 10 times since 2008, freight trains hauling oil across North America have derailed and spilled significant quantities of crude, with most of the accidents touching off fires or catastrophic explosions.
MOSCOW (AP) - A trade ban on lacy lingerie has Russian consumers and their neighbors with their knickers in a twist.


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That nice little bump in server chip sales that Intel just posted in the third quarter? What happens if that's Chipzilla burning off a lot of pent-up demand for decently performing Xeon processors?
Yesterday, Intel said revenues had dropped off by 8.1 per cent in Q3, to $9.39bn, and net earnings fell by 7.8 per cent, to $1.86bn. This is what had Wall Street all feeling warm and fuzzy? No, it was the sequential numbers. The declines are getting smaller as 2009 progresses, and business is being pushed in the last two quarters by the Nehalem family of Xeon server processors.
Intel said that its Digital Enterprise Group - the part of Intel that makes chips and chipsets for desktop PCs and servers - had 14 per cent sequential growth in Q3. (The Mobility Group, which peddles chips and chipsets for laptops, notebooks, and netbooks, had an even more impressive 19 per cent sequential growth rate for revenues. But forget that for a minute. Because Xeon and Itanium chips are where the profits are).
In a conference call with Wall Street analysts yesterday discussing the quarter, Intel's chief executive officer, Paul Otellini, gave a lot of credit for Q3 to the Nehalem chips, the family of processors that the company has been rolling out in phases on desktops and servers since last November and that represent a real re-engineering of Core and Xeon processors for the better. The Nehalems offer lots more memory bandwidth, better support for virtualization, and sophisticated power management features, and it is no small wonder that in these difficult economic times, companies are buying Nehalem servers so they can get rid of boxes that might be three, four, or even five years old.
"We are pleased with the acceptance of Nehalem in the enterprise," Otellini said in reference to the server segment in particular during his opening remarks on the call. "While overall enterprise spending remains weak, the compelling value proposition of Nehalem is generating growth opportunities - even in a down economy - and will be a strong profit driver for Intel in the coming quarters."
A little later, he was more specific about the server space and how Nehalem was faring, and he gave the familiar server-consolidation, greening-of-IT sales pitch all the server makers are hanging their hopes on these days.
"As far as the server upgrade cycle, what we are seeing on the Nehalem DP is that it is not so much an upgrade cycle that is driving the volume right now as it is the economics of the data center," Otellini explained, using the old Intel nomenclature instead of Nehalem EP, which is what the chips were called prior to their end of March launch and are now known as the Xeon 3500 and Xeon 5500 for single-socket and two-socket servers.
"People are looking at swapping out eight to nine older generation servers for a single Nehalem server on a ratio basis, as it has the same performance - the same or better performance and much better power consumption. So it lowers their electricity bill and gives them a little bit more flexibility in their data center footprint."
As for the forthcoming Nehalem EX, the high-end eight core behemoth that is due before the end of the year for servers using four or more sockets, Otellini said that Intel thinks the same consolidation effect will be at work as customers ditch other larger midrange gear and collapse server workloads onto Nehalem EX boxes, but that "the bad news about this is that this part of the market is very small in terms of units."
He said that the margins are good where the Nehalem EX is going to play but that in terms of raw units, Intel can make a lot more sales getting customers using old Xeon chips in two-socket boxes to collapse a bunch of them down to modern Nehalem two-socket machines.

domain: news


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Anaheim, Calif.-based Belt Drives Limited (BDL) recently acquired Blower Drive Service (BDS), a manufacturer of superchargers and supercharger components based in Whittier, Calif.
“I’m proud to announce that my company has come to an agreement with the Railsback family, who have owned BDS since its inception, to buy their company,” said Steven Yetzke, owner of BDL, in a press release. “BDL has been making supercharger pulleys for many years and we are heavily involved with and support drag racing. We have sponsored several Top Fuel bikes through the years, so this acquisition made perfect sense for me, my company and BDS.”
Norma Iskenderian, who has been managing the BDS company for more than 20 years, has agreed to maintain her present position, and (former company president) Craig Railsback also will stay with the company to work on special projects, according to Yetzke.
The sale of the company will not interrupt the day-to-day business of BDS, which will continue to be based at its current headquarters in Whittier, the press release noted. The engineering, assembly and sales departments will also remain at the location, while some of the manufacturing will be moved to the BDL plant in Anaheim.
To learn more, visit www.beltdrives.com.


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Food stamp bills seek to restrict junk food
Ronda Storms is a Republican state senator from Florida. She is also a mom who buys the groceries for her family of four.
A few months ago, Storms, 46, started noticing that some fellow shoppers were using federal food stamp money to purchase a lot of unhealthful junk. And it galled her — at a time when Florida was cutting Medicaid reimbursement rates, public school funding and jobs — that people were indulging in sugary, fatty, highly-processed treats on the public dime.
“If we’re going to be cutting services across the board,” she said, “then people can live without potato chips, without store-bought cookies, without their sodas.”
That sense of unfairness, plus a concern about the health of needy children, is the motivation behind a bill Storms sponsored that would prohibit people from purchasing “nonstaple, unhealthy foods” with funds provided by the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.
The bill, which was approved 4 to 2 last week by a committee on child and elderly affairs that Storms chairs, is the latest in a flurry of recent statehouse efforts to restrict what shoppers can buy under the federal government’s decades-old food stamp program.
It’s a trend driven by anxiety about health — particularly the national obesity epidemic — but also, in some cases, by a renewed scrutiny of public benefits in a time of tight budgets and staggering want.
According to federal records, more than 46 million Americans are eating groceries bought with SNAP funds. In the last year, legislation seeking to restrict SNAP purchases was introduced in Illinois, Oregon, California, Vermont and Texas, though none was successful, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
That is in part because theU.S. Department of Agriculturehas been unwilling to issue further restrictions on food stamp purchases, beyond traditionally ineligible items such as alcohol, tobacco and “hot foods.”
Last year, the USDA rejected New York City MayorMichael R. Bloomberg’s “demonstration project” that would have prohibited soda purchases with food stamps. In 2004, it rejected a Minnesota plan to prohibit the purchase of soft drinks and candy.
In Florida, Storms’ bill is being resisted by anti-hunger advocates, as well as Democrats like Sen. Audrey Gibson of Jacksonville, one of two lawmakers who voted against it Wednesday.
“It’s like we’re attacking poor people because they’re poor, and because they’re asking for some assistance,” Gibson said.
But Storms noted that the other opponents had been the lobbyists for big business: the Corn Refiners of America, the Florida Beverage Assn., the Florida Petroleum Marketers and the Convenience Store Assn.
“Why is that? Because they know they are raking it in from food stamps,” Storms said.
Nationwide, the pushback has come from a rather odd coalition of activist groups and the food industry. In July, a group that included the National Council of La Raza, the Snack Food Assn. and the Frozen Potato Products Institute issued a statement asking the federal government to “preserve food choice” for the poor.
One key objection raised by the coalition — an objection the USDA echoed in its denial of New York’s demonstration project — is the possibility that further restrictions might lead to further stigma. Feeling ashamed or uncomfortable about being on public assistance, advocates believe, may deter people from signing up for food aid. Alleviating such discomfort is one reason SNAP recipients now use electronic benefit cards similar to debit cards, instead of the old paper stamps, which easily identified shoppers on public assistance.
“This business of being treated differently is a big piece of it for us,” said Ellen Vollinger, legal director for the Food Research and Action Center in Washington. “It’s a big step backward, to the age of paper coupons.”
Agriculture Department officials, in a 2007 paper, identified other “serious” problems with the idea of restricting unhealthful foods. Keeping tabs on hundreds of thousands of American food products would be costly and complicated.
Moreover, they argued, there are no “clear standards” for what constitutes healthful food: by some measurements, diet soda, which is low in calories and sugar, could be considered “healthier” than orange juice.
The USDA has also explored the link between SNAP and obesity. A 2008 report found “some evidence” to suggest that food stamp participation increased body mass index, and might contribute to obesity in non-elderly women, though not in children, the elderly and non-elderly men.
Washington is looking for other ways to encourage healthful eating among the poor: In Hampden County, Mass., a federal pilot program is kicking 30 cents on every dollar back to SNAP participants when they buy fruits and vegetables with their benefit cards.
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MARLTON, New Jersey (WPVI) -- Joe Lehman from Kroungold's Furniture in Marlton, New Jersey says in the good old days, before COVID-19, a customer would enter the store, order furniture, and then the store would deliver the furniture within a few weeks.
Now Lehman said, "You constantly have to be on the phone trying to work through the manufacturer. When can you get this done? When can you get that done? And can you move me ahead of that? And it's just very challenging."
Lehman says it's all the result of a perfect storm that developed courtesy of the coronavirus.
Over the past several weeks, the demand for furniture has increased as more and more people adapt their dwelling spaces to accommodate working and studying from home for the long-haul.
All as the furniture supply-chain has been disrupted by the pandemic.
That goes double if the components for your furniture come from China with whom American trade has slowed dramatically.
And the problem only gets worse the further your business is from major urban centers.
Miguel DelRio, owner of JMI Furniture out in Reading, Pennsylvania says once the lock-down was lifted, customers cleaned-out his inventory.
The problem is that while the stream of customers has not slowed down, the arrival of new furniture has come to a grinding halt.
"Everybody's going crazy buying furniture, everywhere," said DelRio. "So, the big corporations that sell them to us are no longer having them because the shipments are taking over, like, taking longer to come in on containers."
Lehman says this is a problem that is not going away any time soon.
Simply put, he says it's a case of adapt or die. "It is stressful, but you know it's also challenging. And I like a challenge," said DelRio.
The stores that are receiving new inventory are asking their customers for patience.
What would normally be delivered in 4 to 6 weeks could now take 12 to 14 weeks, maybe more.


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SuperSpeed USB has the backing of many major desktop makers and allows power transport as well as data transport, an advantage over Wi-Fi and other wireless, said Jeff Ravencraft, president of the USB-Implementers Forum.
Saunders and Ravencraft said USB will continue to co-exist alongside Wi-Fi and other wireless connections for a long time, as many users continue to prefer a wired connection for very large data data transfers using devices such as high-capacity hard drives.
The USB trade groups are also backing a new power delivery specification, USB Power Delivery, that was first announced last July, The standard aims to reduce the variety of chargers used for smartphones and tablets, Ravencraft said.
Ravencraft said the European Union's requirement enacted last year to have a common charging port (via micro USB) on smartphones instead of different ports specified by different smartphone makers.
Ravencraft said a common charging port is seen as reducing waste in landfills when charging cords become obsolete. He said after the power delivery spec was published last summer, that manufacturers will be developing chips in 2013 to accommodate it.
Matt Hamblen covers mobile and wireless, smartphones and other handhelds, and wireless networking for Computerworld. Follow Matt on Twitter at @matthamblen, or subscribe to Matt's RSS feed . His e-mail address is email@example.com.
Read more about mobile/wireless in Computerworld's Mobile/Wireless Topic Center.


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40Seas – a leading Order Now, Pay Later cross-border digital financing solution – recently announced it had secured an additional $6 million in seed funding, extending its initial $11 million seed round announced in January of this year to $17 million. New investors Eminence Ventures and QED Investors also participated in the extended round, including participation from existing investors Team8 and ZIM.
Along with providing 40Seas with a $100 million credit facility, leading global container liner shipping company ZIM expanded its strategic partnership with 40Seas, providing ZIM’s global customer base with an embedded and flexible digital financing solution to ease the burden of freight and inventory expenses at checkout, including through its digital freight forwarding subsidiary Ship4wd. And following a phased rollout across the US, Canada, and the UK, ZIM recently announced that it would offer the 40Seas solution to its customers in France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Australia.
Since going live, 40Seas has experienced rapid growth, financing millions in transactions and onboarding hundreds of customers in dozens of countries throughout EU, APAC and the Americas. And 40Seas has already established a global footprint with offices in Tel Aviv, New York City, Toronto, and Shenzhen – laying the foundations for ongoing international growth.
40Seas utilizes global innovation at the intersection of B2B commerce and fintech to deliver a cost-effective, user-friendly digital financing framework for SMEs involved in cross-border trade. And the solution, available as an API or stand-alone platform, enables ecosystem players to bridge the working capital gap between exporters who require advance payment and importers who wish to pay for goods only after they’ve been sold.
40Seas can be seamlessly embedded into checkout portals, facilitating easy and streamlined finance access at the customer journey’s most convenient point. And by digitizing order flows and payment processes, which in many cases still happen offline, the platform drives transactional efficiencies and makes it easier to conduct business.
40Seas’ AI-powered underwriting capabilities extract rich and actionable insights relating to importers and exporters, which can provide much more holistic and tailored financing solutions. And with greater visibility over importer and exporter transaction history, 40Seas can scalably verify creditworthiness, assess risk, and process financing much more efficiently than traditional banks – which generally lack oversight of companies that operate outside their jurisdiction.
“Less than six months after our initial seed round, our existing investors Team8 and ZIM have doubled down on their financial backing. We’ve achieved this at a pronounced increase in valuation, which is a huge sign of confidence in our unique value proposition, especially given the current market conditions. We’ve also secured funding from two renowned investment groups in QED via their seed fund and Eminence Ventures, which will help tremendously with our US and Asian expansion. This round extension will provide us with a significant financial runway to execute a robust growth strategy in 2023 and beyond.”
— Eyal Moldovan, Co-founder and CEO, 40Seas
“We’re delighted to extend our investment in 40Seas, a platform that has experienced spectacular early-stage growth. At ZIM, we are very much aligned with the 40Seas mission to help SMEs overcome payment-related barriers to cross-border trade. Thanks to 40Seas’ flexible digital financing solution, our customers can now defer payment for freight charges for up to 90 days from the invoice date, giving them invaluable flexibility. We’re excited to build on this very promising partnership in the months ahead.”
— Eli Glickman, President and CEO, ZIM
“40Seas is on a mission to provide digital access to financing for small and medium sized-enterprises (SMEs). This aligns with the overarching goal of Team8’s fintech foundry to accelerate the development of innovative, vertical-specific fintech solutions designed to address long standing industry pain points. Given the scarcity of viable choices for SMEs on a global scale, the 40Seas platform will play a pivotal role in moving the industry forward, making financial services more efficient and accessible to businesses engaged in global trade.”
— Rakefet Russak-Aminoach, Managing Partner, Team8
“SMEs need swift access to financing in order to make sound decisions around pricing and inventory management. Antiquated payment technology and trade financing offerings have made life unnecessarily difficult for importers and exporters, while exacerbating global supply chain fragmentation. 40Seas will help SMEs get faster and easier access to financing.”
— Peter Cheng, Founding Managing Partner, Eminence Ventures
“Global trade is a huge market with $32 trillion in volume of goods moved across the world every year, but access to capital is highly constrained for small and medium importers and exporters. The industry suffers from a $1.7 trillion trade finance gap in the world, and 40Seas is working to bridge that gap for some of the largest trade corridors through a powerful embedded trade financing platform.”
— Camila Key Saruhashim, Principal at QED


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Ghirardelli and Russell Stover have agreed to pay $750,000 to settle allegations brought by the district attorneys of several California counties, according to a Yolo County press release. The California counties alleged that the chocolate companies “packaged certain chocolate products in oversized containers which can give consumers the misleading appearance that they are purchasing more product than they are actually receiving.” In addition, Ghirardelli allegedly misrepresented the amount of cocoa in one of its products. “Consumers have the right to expect full value in their purchases and compliance with packaging requirements is an integral part of the process,” the Yolo County district attorney is quoted as saying. “We will continue to aggressively monitor businesses and prosecute those that violate consumer protection laws.”
A consumer has alleged that Nuts 'N More LLC's White Chocolate Peanut Spread does not contain the amount of milkfat required to meet the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) definition of "white chocolate." Morrison v. Nuts 'N More LLC, No. 18-11192 (S.D.N.Y., filed November 30, 2018). According to the complaint, FDA requires white chocolate to contain "not less than 3.5 percent by weight of milkfat," but the white chocolate spread does not contain any dairy ingredients. "Because there is no additional milkfat to supplement the Product to meet FDA definition of white chocolate, the Product cannot be marketed as white chocolate and thus must be deemed imitation white chocolate," the plaintiff asserts. She alleges that she and other consumers paid a premium for what she believed to be white chocolate "and received an inferior Product than what was represented to them by Defendant." For alleged violations of New York…
Two consumers have filed a putative class action alleging Clif Bar & Co. misleads consumers because its bars do not contain “real white chocolate.” Joslin v. Clif Bar & Co., No. 18-4941 (N.D. Cal., San Francisco Div., filed August 14, 2018). According to the complaint, “U.S., Canadian, and European regulators all define white chocolate as having at least 3.5% milkfat” while Clif’s White Chocolate Macadamia Nut bars do not contain any milkfat. The plaintiffs assert that they relied upon the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s “rules concerning white chocolate” when purchasing the bars but allegedly learned after purchasing that the bars are “misbranded” because the labels do not clarify that the white chocolate is “imitation.” The plaintiffs seek class certification, damages, restitution, an injunction and attorney’s fees for alleged violations of California and New York consumer-protection laws as well as fraud.
The U.K. Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has upheld a complaint that a “100% Natural Ingredients” claim was misleading because the processing of the snack bar's ingredients did not comply with the Food Standards Agency’s (FSA's) criteria for use of the term “natural.” United Biscuits submitted a list of ingredients for its “Go Ahead Goodness” snack bars and asserted that all ingredients were made in a traditional manner. After ASA referred to FSA guidance, it determined that the refining of sunflower oil involves the use of chemical solvents and the process of creating reduced-fat cocoa powder involves the addition of potassium carbonate. Because the FSA guidance says neither the solvent extraction process nor the use of acid or alkali solutions is “in line with consumer expectations of ‘natural,’” ASA ruled that consumers would not consider the ingredients natural and that the advertisement was misleading.
An Illinois federal court has dismissed without prejudice a putative slack-fill class action against chocolatier Fannie May Confections Brands, Inc., ruling the plaintiffs provided only “bare-bones” factual allegations and failed to allege a violation of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act that would allow their state law claims to avoid preemption. Benson v. Fannie May Confections Brands, Inc., No. 17-3519 (N.D. Ill., entered February 28, 2018). The court also dismissed the plaintiffs’ claim for injunctive relief, finding they lacked standing because they failed to adequately allege a risk of future harm. “[A]lready aware of Fannie May’s alleged deceptive practices, Plaintiffs cannot claim they will be deceived again in the future," the court held. In addition to the products they did purchase—Fannie May’s Pixies and Mint Meltaways—the plaintiffs also alleged that packages of eight other chocolate candies contained slack fill and brought the action on behalf of consumers who purchased…
Researchers at the University of Surrey have evaluated the impact of "snack" labeling compared to "meal" labeling, reportedly finding that those who ate products labeled as snacks consumed “significantly more in terms of nearly all measures of food intake than those in the other conditions.” J. Ogden et al., “'Snack' versus ‘meal’: The impact of label and place on food intake,” Appetite, October 23, 2017. Eighty female subjects ate food labeled or presented as either (i) a snack to be consumed standing or eaten from a container or (ii) a meal to be eaten from a plate at a table. The research reportedly showed that subjects consumed “significantly more” chocolate and more total mass and calories when the food was labeled as a snack. The authors concluded that “label and presentation influence subsequent food intake both independently and combined which is pertinent given the increase in ‘snacking’ in contemporary culture.”
A putative class action plaintiff has filed a lawsuit alleging that Ghirardelli Chocolate Co. puts fewer chocolates in packages of individually wrapped, single-serving chocolate squares than the number advertised on labels. Brungard v. Ghirardelli Chocolate Co., No. 17-5873 (N.D. Cal., filed October 12, 2017). The plaintiff asserts that he bought chocolates in 10-, 17- and 40-count bags in various flavors “many times over several years” and allegedly found "one less individually-wrapped square in the packages he purchased.” According to the complaint, Ghirardelli told the plaintiff that the contents were based on weight rather than the printed servings on the label. Claiming violations of the California Consumer Legal Remedies Act, unfair business practices, unjust enrichment, consumer fraud, negligent misrepresentation, intentional misrepresentation and false advertising, the plaintiff seeks class certification, damages, injunctive relief, restitution and attorney’s fees.
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has urged the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to launch a formal investigation into "Coco Loko," a "snortable chocolate" product that contains stimulants akin to those found in energy drinks. He argues that the product "isn't even pure chocolate" and is "chock full of concentrated energy drink ingredients masked and marketed under the innocence of natural and safe chocolate candy." “I can’t think of a single parent who thinks it is a good idea for their children to be snorting over-the-counter stimulants up their noses,” Schumer said in a July 10, 2017, press release. “This product is like cocaine on training wheels.” Issue 640
Ferrero SpA, maker of Nutella®, has reportedly won a dispute in the Brussels Court of Appeal over a rival’s advertising that claimed its similar product was healthier because it does not contain palm oil. Ferrero sued Belgium’s Delhaize Group after the “Choco” maker launched an ad campaign claiming its “certified without palm oil” spread was healthier and environmentally sustainable. The court held Delhaize made illegal and unproven comparisons in its environmental and health claims about palm oil and ordered the company to end the campaign. The court also barred Delhaize’s use of the word “chocolate” on Choco labels because the product does not contain chocolate. See 7 Sur 7, June 2, 2017. Issue 637
Warner Brothers, the film studio that owns the rights to the Willy Wonka movies, has asked the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to stop a Georgia craft brewer’s use of “Golden Ticket” as the name for a chocolate stout beer, claiming that the name could lead some to believe the filmmaker is promoting underage drinking. Warner Bros. Entm’t Inc. v. S. Sky Brewing Co., No. 91233169 (T.T.A.B., filed March 1, 2017). In the Willy Wonka movies, children who found golden tickets tucked inside chocolate-bar packaging won a tour of the chocolate factory and a chance to win a grand prize. Warner Brothers claims the name “Golden Ticket” is an “intent to capitalize” on the popularity of the films, alleging that Southern Sky’s beer is advertised as “reminiscent of a chocolate hazelnut candy bar and as creamy as chocolate milk,” reinforcing the “mental association”…


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Tech Data Corp. completed its fiscal year ended Jan. 31 with a 10.8% increase to more than $37 billion in net sales of computers and IT products and services, and a big part of that came in the company’s sharpened focus on serving strong demand from business involved in digital transformation projects, CEO Rich Hume says.
“Our worldwide teams executed exceptionally well during fiscal ‘19, capitalizing on a more robust IT demand environment than we anticipated entering the year, driven by a combination of strong economies and employment levels, low interest rates, and the need and desire for businesses of all sizes to transform digitally,” Hume said on a conference call with investment analysts last week, according to a transcript from Seeking Alpha.
He added that Tech Data, which sells to thousands of resellers that sell to businesses, has been developing its multi-part strategy of investing “next-generation” technologies, including a stepped-up focus on providing cloud-based products and services. Since late 2017, for example, Tech Data has been building out its new tech-as-a-service offerings, expanding them last fall to include data center technology and services as well as such products as laptops, mobile devices and related software. The TaaS offerings let customers order online and pay on a consumption basis, paying only for their use of products rather than purchasing the equipment outright.
Tech Data didn’t break out e-commerce revenue, but the company has said in interviews and prior conference calls that more than half of sales are online and over 95% of its inventory is purchased digitally. Using 51% as a minimum percentage for online as a share of total sales, about $19 billion of its fiscal 2018 sales were electronic. Tech Data defines electronic commerce as sales through its e-commerce site, Shop.TechData.com, and through electronic data interchange, or EDI.
For the fourth fiscal quarter ended Jan. 31, 2019, Tech Data reported:
- Total net sales increased 4% year over year to $10.5 billion;
- Net sales in the United States increased 10% to $4.2 billion, or 41% of worldwide sales; net sales in Europe remained “essentially flat” at $5.9 billion, or 56% of worldwide sales; net sales in Asia-Pacific increased 8% to $0.3 billion, or 3% of worldwide sales;
- Gross profit increased 5.0% to $649.1 million, resulting in a gross profit margin of 6.20%, up from 6.15%;
- Net income of $116.8 million, up from $1.3 million in the year-earlier quarter; the difference was related to changes in U.S. taxes.
For the fiscal year ended Jan. 31, Tech Data reported:
- Net sales increased 10.8% year over year to $37.24 billion;
- Gross profit increased 6.6% to $2.26 billion, resulting in a gross profit margin of 6.1%, down from 6.4%;
- Net income of $340.6 million, up from $116.6 million.
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Des Moines coffee shop reopens with masks required
Wednesday was the first day back to wearing masks at The Slow Down Coffee Co. The owners said they made the decision after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention designated Polk County as having a high risk of COVID-19 transmission.
"We can't control if other people are vaccinated or not and we also can't control whether or not COVID-19 keeps mutating or comes up with different variants, but this is a simple thing that we can do, and that we can ask our customers to do to protect other people in the community," said Kara Kelso, owner of The Slow Down Coffee Co.
Kelso said the move is especially important to protect customers that are high risk and kids who aren't eligible for the vaccine. Customers said they understood.
"We're already used to having the masks so it's not that hard at this point," said Derrek Sutherland, of Des Moines. "it's more about protecting everybody else."
Other customers said they'll do whatever it takes to get back to normal.
"I just hope that people just follow what the businesses request so that we can get back to the point where we're not wearing masks again<' said Sarah Bowers, of Des Moines. "If we don't do that then we'll probably be here for a long time."
The Slow Down Coffee Co. said they're taking it day by day and will continue requiring masks until they feel it's safe to stop.


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The holiday season is here, and Pennsylvania families are putting away their Halloween costumes, eating leftovers from their Thanksgiving feast, and pulling out their winter holiday decorations to deck their halls.
In the coming weeks, many families will soon embark on their yearly journey to a local Christmas tree farm, scouting the tallest, fullest and greenest tree the field has to offer.
The only thing that should be on their minds is finding the perfect tree for their family and home. However, this year, rumors have circulated detailing the risks consumers face by purchasing a live Pennsylvania Christmas tree, and specifically, the risk of families accidentally and unknowingly bringing home a tree laden with spotted lanternfly eggs.
As deputy secretary for the Bureau of Plant Industry and Consumer Protection at the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture and a former Christmas tree grower, it is important that I help to dispel these myths.
It takes about four to seven years to grow an average Christmas tree and since real trees are a part of an outdoor ecosystem, there is always a chance that unintended guests may hitch a ride into your home when you bring that ecosystem indoors. That could include anything from spiders to praying mantises, all things that Christmas tree growers and buyers already know to look for before loading trees onto vehicles.
Just like with any other unwelcome pests, growers are already on the lookout for spotted lanternfly, and there have not been significant credible reports of any findings made to the Department of Agriculture thus far.
Although unlikely, if spotted lanternfly eggs were laid on Christmas trees and brought indoors, the nymphs would pose no threat to humans or animals and would die quickly from lack of a food source.
Additionally, the Pennsylvania Integrated Pest Management Program provides pest management strategies to Christmas tree growers, helping them mitigate potential threats and minimize the risk of pests entering your home at the lowest cost to health, environment and their bottom line.
There are a few things you can do to ensure that your Christmas tree is pest-free. Before bringing a tree indoors, give it a good shake to remove any dried-out needles and any insects that may have crawled onto the tree during the ride home. You may also want to leave the tree in the garage for a couple of days before bringing it indoors, and then shake it outdoors and inspect it again.
Real Christmas trees are biodegradable, which means they can be easily reused or recycled. When the holidays are over and it is time to take down your tree, consider recycling.
Some cities, municipalities and townships have curbside tree-cycling programs where recycled trees are sent to a vendor where they are chipped and made into mulch, which is often provided free of charge to city or county residents to use in their garden.
Pennsylvania is home to approximately 1,400 tree farms and 31,000 acres of Christmas trees, making us the fourth largest Christmas tree-producing state with annual sales of more than $22 million. It is an industry that relies on relationships — providing a product to customers who aren’t just buyers, but neighbors, friends and yearly visitors. It is a thriving industry that provides families with tradition and memories that will last a lifetime.
Pennsylvania’s Christmas tree growers take their commitment to consumer satisfaction and high-quality products seriously and are doing their part to ensure that this year the only guests that will join you this season are the ones you invite, and the only decorations you’ll find gracing your tree are the ones that you’ve chosen.


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London, England — 19 February 2013 – The De Beers Group “’ the world’s leading diamond company “’ expects a moderate increase in diamond demand and prices this year, despite the fact that total sales, rough diamond prices and overall production dropped in 2012.
Releasing its results for the year ended 31 December 2012 here, the company said that total sales had fallen 16% to US$6.1 billion and rough diamond sales had decreased by 15% to US$5.5 billion. Rough diamond prices were down by 12% in line with those for polished diamonds.
Demand for diamond jewellery in the key markets of the US, China and Japan grew in 2012, albeit at a slower pace than in 2011. This, together with higher polished stock levels, resulted in a decline in polished prices particularly in the third quarter of 2012.
Turning to production, De Beers commented: “In light of prevailing diamond market trends and operational challenges, the company’s stated strategy of producing to demand was maintained, with 27.9Mcts recovered in 2012 “’ 11% below the 31.3Mcts output in 2011 “’ while operations continued to focus on maintenance and waste stripping backlogs.”
De Beers expects moderate growth in diamond jewellery demand in 2013. This will be supported primarily by a more positive picture emerging from China and India compared to 2012. Some upside is possible in the US, while trading conditions in other developed markets are likely to be challenging.
“In the medium to long term, industry fundamentals are expected to strengthen as diamond production plateaus and demand continue to increase,” the statement added.
Source: De Beers Group. For more information, click here.


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KATRONIC Technologies’ customers want to go with the flow – but first they have to know what that flow is.
And helping them find out, with ultrasonic meters which can be clamped on to pipes without cutting into them, is making the company an export winner.
The Leamington firm put five years of research and development into developing its range of flowmeters which are now attracting world-wide attention.
Yet, at one stage, it was almost too clever at exporting for its own good – causing the then German manufacturer of its earlier products to feel threatened by its success and begin cutting off its supplies.
That was in 2004, when Katronic went back to the drawing board to start developing and manufacturing its own products – which it found itself launching into the teeth of the recession in 2009.
But with the true grit of a small, independent British manufacturer, the company toughed it out and, while now having 10 per cent of its home market, is selling 40 per cent of its output overseas, a figure expected to rise to more than 70 per cent.
It is also a finalist in the UK Trade & Investment-sponsored International trade Award – part of the Telegraph Business Awards presented in association with Coventry & Warwickshire Chamber.
Now with distributors and sales in 26 countries – more than half of those acquired in the past 18 months – it is robustly targeting eight more, and has opened a sales office in Germany.
“The freedom brought by manufacturing our own flowmeters enables us to tailor our products to match our sales efforts,” said MD Andrew Sutton.
English versions apart: “Even after this short period we make them available in French, German and Russian. By the end of this year we will have an Arabic version and intend to add others in Mandarin, Farsi and Spanish.”
Other variants are being adapted to read in imperial units for the vast North American market.
“UKTI and the Coventry & Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce have been invaluable in helping us to achieve our export targets. Over the past few years they have supported us financially, provided export training and have always been there to give export advice.”
Another firm to make it through to the finals of the awards is NP Aerospace Ltd. The firm was founded to satisfy Courtaulds’ need for acid-resistant mouldings used in rayon fibre production machines.
But today’s company has a huge spread of products used by industries ranging from medical to aerospace and defence.
They are used in everything from ‘bullet proof’ vests and bomb disposal experts’ suits to the company’s own armoured vehicles – with 15 governments among its customers.
And in the past six years it has increased its turnover 13 fold from £14 million to more than £187 million, with two factories in Coventry, one in Nuneaton, one in Jordan and a start-up site in Uraguay.
Employee numbers have increased four-fold during the same period, and CEO Roger Medwell said: “What is amazing is that my team has increased turnover from £72 million to £187 million between 2008 and 2009.”
And they must be happy doing it: “Sixty per cent of the workforce achieved 100 per cent attendance last year and nobody leaves – there were two cases of death or retirement, but nobody wants to retire.”
The company is a finalist in the Jaguar Cars Ltd-sponsored Business of the Year.
Key to NP’s success is its continuous innovation, and its latest concept protective vehicle is the subject of six different patent applications and features 1.5 tonnes of composite armour – said to be three times as effective as the equivalent weight of steel.
That armour concept is part of the new Supacat SPV400 vehicle currently being assessed by the British Army for its light protected patrol vehicle programme.
NP’s latest concept vehicle is, amazing as it may seem, also the first internal combustion engined vehicle to be completely designed, developed and manufactured in Coventry since the Second World War.
By far the largest customer for the company’s military output is the British MoD, for which NP provides all the helmet and body armour plate.
Continuously developing new production processes, NP has just set up a new R&D department devoted to improving ceramic and composite materials.
Systematic staff training helps it maintain ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 approvals.
The Red Corner Gym on Walsgrave Road is strong on boxing and weights, but also serves as an un official ‘community centre’ – one of the reasons why the business is a finalist in the Business Awards.
On one hand its facilities attract enthusiastic amateur and pro fighters – people “chasing their dreams” according to owner Glenn Smith.
On the other a different set of dream-chasers work to improve their body shapes and fitness with, in between, many more there for the friendship and social life as much as for the training.
As a professional boxing trainer, Glenn goes the extra mile to encourage and help that middle ground of patrons – having, in his youth, turned his own life around after being taken to a similar boxing gym.
And he is proud of what is being achieved. “We have made a real difference to many people, both in the local community and the wider city,” he said.
Now Red Corner is a finalist in the Coventry City Council-sponsored Contribution to the Community Award.
“We offer a sociable and friendly atmosphere for people of all ages and confidence levels to drop in for training and sports, and for advice on healthy eating and lifestyles.”
Launching the business in 2005 he is voluntarily doing more than his bit for others, and is pro-actively engaged with several community programmes such as All About Addicts.
He has even gone into outreach work – visiting schools, colleges and youth organisations, while working with Connexions and groups such as Railway Awareness which highlights the dangers playing on tracks.
“I particularly wanted to work with children excluded from mainstream schools, encouraging anti-bullying, anger management, guidance, team-work, healthy eating and stress release.”
Other finalists will feature throughout this week.


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Study finds almost all smartphone interactions are initiated by the user, not a notification
A new study has found that the vast majority of smartphone interactions are initiated by users themselves and not by an attention-grabbing notification.
It was found that 89 percent of smartphone interactions are initiated by the user, compared to just 11 percent due to being alerted by an attention-grabbing notification like a message, call or email.
The study also discovered that many smartphone interactions are unconscious and are not noticed by users absentmindedly picking up their handsets. Regardless of context, it was found participants in the study interacted with their phones about every five minutes.
Called Computers in Human Behavior and published on November 21, the study's findings go against what was understood about smartphone behavior. It has previously been reported that smartphone notifications are the problem, pulling our attention away from work, family and friends.
The study followed the use habits of 37 smartphone owners in the UK, Germany and France, with an average age of 25 and just over half being male. The participants were each given wearable video cameras which recorded 200 hours of first-person footage and 1,130 smartphone interactions. The study was led by Max Heitmayer and Saadi Lahlou, both from the London School of Economics.
Each phone interaction lasted an average of 64 secondsiStock
The authors wrote: "Previous research suggests [smartphone notifications] can be a major disruption to the professional and private lives of users...We show how smartphone interactions are driven by a complex set of routines and habits users develop over time. We furthermore observe that while the duration of interactions varies, the intervals between interactions remain largely invariant across different activity and locations contexts, and for being alone or in the company of others."
Interestingly, the authors add: "We find that 89 percent of smartphone interactions are initiated by users, not by notifications. Overall this suggests that the disruptiveness of smartphones is rooted within learned user behaviors, not devices."
This finding echoes the longstanding liknesses drawn between smartphone applications, especially social media apps like Twitter and Instagram, and gambling machines. Their never-ending columns of content and constant potential for positive feedback in the form of messages, 'likes' and other messages from others, is likened to the psychological pull of slot machines and their promise or reward for little effort.
Reported further by Psych News Daily, the study found the average duration of a smartphone interaction was 64 seconds, with about half being 23 seconds of less. It also found that checking WhatsApp for new messages accounted for 22 percent of interactions – however it should be noted WhatsApp is far more popular in Europe than in the US.
Phone calls accounted for just 1 percent of handset interactions, while a "lock screen check," picking up the phone for a moment to check for notifications, made up 17 percent of interactions and was the second most popular behind WhatsApp.
It was even found that participants felt compelled to check their smartphones even when notifications were switched off. "Seeing this has made me realize That I don't even remember picking it up," one participant told the study's authors.


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All Starbucks stores are becoming drive-thru only
The coffee chain is taking this unprecedented step to protect staff and customers
Starbucks is taking an unprecedented step in an effort to protect customers and staff from the spread of coronavirus.
The coffee chain announced over the weekend that all of its company-operated stores in the US and Canada will be drive-through for the next two weeks at least.
The exception to this new model will be that some cafes located inside or near hospitals and other healthcare centers will stay open - to make sure our medical professionals and healthcare workers are still able to get their morning cup of coffee (well, their anytime cup of coffee).
Starbucks had initially transitioned to a ‘to-go’ model to allow customers to practise social distancing, and announced it wouldn’t be refilling reusable cups for the time being.
Rossann Williams, evp and president of U.S. company-operated business and Canada wrote in a letter to staff: “Since the onset of the outbreak, we’ve worked to exceed public health requirements by taking actions in our cafés like expanding sanitizing and cleaning processes and removing furniture to reduce risk and create the safest environments we can for partners who want to come to work.
"Even so, we’ve all recognized over the last week the challenges and complexities of trying to reduce “social gathering” in our cafés even as we removed furniture and reduced our services to grab-and-go. While we have worked hard to exceed any public health requirements, our cafés in some areas are experiencing high traffic, and we need to do more to prevent the spread of this virus. This is a crisis that is moving quickly, and we need to stay ahead of it and do our part, recognizing this is often confusing, frustrating and dynamic. Today, we are making the decision to close access to our cafés altogether for two weeks and limiting our services to Drive Thru only. "
She added: “The magnitude of managing through this situation is the single biggest challenge many of us have faced in our lifetime, and I am continually moved by your compassion for each other, our customers and our communities during this exceptionally difficult time. With daily news from friends and family members getting laid off and businesses closing, we need one another more than ever.”
Today, March 23, Starbucks announced it will now pay all employees 30 days of catastrophe pay - whether they choose to come to work or not.


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Traditional pay TV services are looking out over the edge of a cliff, as streaming giants like Netflix and Amazon get ready to take their place.
Those are not the words of an analyst, but a high-level executive – MultiChoice South Africa CEO Calvo Mawela.
“We are an established, mature industry that is looking out over a cliff,” Mawela told MyBroadband.
He also argued against new regulations on the pay TV industry proposed by ICASA, and that the regulations will push the industry over that cliff.
Around the world, streaming video services are ruling the roost while TV broadcasters are watching the end of their run rapidly approaching.
At the annual Emmy Awards, Netflix and Amazon Prime walked away with 12 of the 26 awards. When all the Primetime Emmy Awards were handed out over the course of two weeks, Netflix and HBO tied with 23 each.
HBO, the channel behind hit shows like Game of Thrones, has always been the darling of the Emmys. Last year Netflix, broke HBO’s 17-year streak as the most-nominated network.
Netflix has invested heavily in its production of original content, with the company projected to spend $13 billion (R190 billion) on its shows and movies in its current financial year.
While the scale of Netflix’s investment is second to none, Amazon and YouTube have stepped up their production and content acquisition.
Last year saw Amazon airing shows like Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, The Romanoffs, and Kung Fu Panda: The Paws of Destiny. It will also continue production of titles like The Grand Tour, and benefit from distribution deals on shows like American Gods.
New science-fiction and fantasy shows like The Dark Tower, The Wheel of Time, Good Omens, and The Expanse are also coming on Amazon.
YouTube has released solid original shows in the past year, too, although its YouTube Premium service is only available in a handful of countries.
Some of its original shows are Origin, Youth & Consequences, and Step Up: High Water.
While YouTube is making a slow play for the subscription video on demand market, its core service of advertising-supported user-made content continues to be popular.
The most recent data about the pay TV market shows that cable and satellite companies in Europe and the US are either stagnating or bleeding subscribers.
Traditional pay TV providers in the US experienced a record 3.7% drop in subscribers to during 2017, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.
eMarketer added that 186.7 million adults in the US will watch traditional pay TV in 2018, representing a 3.8% decline compared to the year before.
High prices are a major reason for these declines, and Leichtman Research Group reported that pay-TV subscribers were spending around $107 per month. Netflix’s HD service is available for $11 in the US.
In South Africa, MultiChoice has already started seeing a decline in its DStv Premium subscriber base – following US trends.
While DStv’s overall subscriber base continues to grow, this growth mainly comes from lower-end, less-profitable subscribers.
DStv’s revenue and operating profit is still growing for the moment, though its average revenue per user (ARPU) has declined. At the end of March, MultiChoice’s ARPU was R344 – down from R353 last year. By the end of September, ARPU decreased to R335.
It’s not clear for how long the more affordable DStv services will continue to grow, as factors influencing the uptake of streaming video – and cancellation of pay TV – are access to affordable broadband, live sports, and price.
As cheap, high-speed broadband becomes more available in South Africa and the rest of the continent, it stands to reason that more people will take up cheaper streaming video services.


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Facebook Outage Offers Reminder To Brands: Never Put All Your Eggs In Zuck's Basket
by Rudy Sanchez on 10/05/2021 | 5 Minute Read
At approximately 11:40 am Eastern time Monday, Facebook started experiencing widespread outages to its entire network, including internal systems and social media networks like the image-centric Instagram, messaging services WhatsApp and Messenger, and virtual reality platform Oculus.
According to the New York Times, the outage, which impacted over 3 billion users across the world, was due to a misconfiguration of the firm’s DNS settings, an internet protocol that helps direct traffic to/from servers such as those that host Facebook. A complete outage lasted around six hours, with services starting to come back online Monday evening.
The global blackout comes on the heels of a damning series of articles by the Wall Street Journal and a subsequent 60 Minutes interview with Facebook whistleblower Francis Haugen (Haugen is also scheduled to testify before Congress today).
Haugen characterizes the company as putting its interests ahead of users when it comes to hate speech, calls for violence, and misinformation. Internal studies by the social media giant also found that over 13% of teenage girls reported Instagram making their suicidal thoughts worse, and 17% reported a worsening of eating disorders due to the app. Though popular, the public has seen enough persistent negativity to push a planned “Instagram Kids” onto the shelf. The outage also occurred as Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg signals an intent to stake a claim to the metaverse this summer, announcing an executive-level team tasked with making his digitally overlaid vision a reality.
Yesterday's outage calls into question the continued reliance by brands on Facebook and its bevy of products and services. A simple IT mistake takes down three critical platforms utilized by brands in a broad range of industries and of all sizes across the globe. Businesses that communicate with clients over WhatsApp have been left today scrambling to find an alternative, similar to the teams at Facebook, as the firm relies on its own services and internally developed tools to work together. For some brands, the web effectively went dark and their connection to consumers severed because their social media strategies focused on Facebook platforms, ignoring others such as Twitter and TikTok.
It might be easy to dismiss Monday’s outage as a freak occurrence, but it's also demonstrative of an enormous organization seemingly kept together with duct tape, twine, and bubble gum. Zuckerberg’s “move fast and break things” outlook serves only Facebook’s shareholders, and often the things that are being broken are civility, truth, and young teenage girls. For a brand to gingerly place so much reliance on a persistent “minimum viable product,” it takes a lot of trust in having its own interests align with Facebook’s (spoiler alert: they aren’t).
Haugen’s assertions and the WSJ's in-depth investigation were based on internal documents she collected while working for Facebook. If anything, these revelations should poke brands towards reconsidering being advertised alongside all the hate speech, pandemic misinformation, and incitements of violence that Facebook knowingly turns a self-interested blind eye towards, especially as consumers increasingly shop with a conscience. Haugen shared examples of how Facebook knew certain content was inflammatory and either only temporarily addressed it with ramped-up moderation (like during the 2020 US election) or completely ignored most complaints. Internal discussions saved by Haugen also show Facebook employees acknowledging a years-long pattern of inaction and indifference on the social media company’s part. Being associated with a toxic platform can, in time, turn away a brand's key consumer demographic. That same demographic will also start fleeing those networks, leaving only the hostile, hateful, and conspiracy-believing dredges of the consumer pool.
Set against this backdrop of profits over users is Facebook’s longer-term ambitions to be the first to dominate the metaverse. Zuckerberg might be an off-brand Lex Luthor, but he’s no dummy either; the metaverse is coming to the mainstream soon and, with it, revenue potential. Facebook aims to replicate its dominance in social media and, like a stubborn weed, stake deep and pernicious roots in society’s upcoming cyber evolution. Facebook is one of few global firms with the human, technical, and financial capital to build the first successful metaverse platform. The rub is that no one wants more Facebook; brands, publishers, advertisers, users, and other stakeholders resent the dominance and indifference of the Facebook overlords. We live with the deal we made with the devil for pragmatic reasons, but it would be simply absurd to re-up for the metaverse version of Facebook.
We are at a crossroads when it comes to what being “online” means. Collectively, we can once again sell ourselves to be commoditized so we can make the metaverse “free,” not free as in beer, but free as in Facebook. That meta version of Facebook would squander bits and GPU-power on serving up an “immersive advertising experience personally tailored to you” while users toil away in an AR-version of Farmville, generating electricity for the Facebook metaverse server farms. We would become commodities to advertisers and be tracked across a crappy, buggy metaverse full of unchecked trolls, nutjobs, and charlatans—same as it ever was, but also maybe worse? Facebook and other social media platforms acted late when shutting out agitators-for-profit like Alex Jones from their platforms, allowing him and others to spread cynical and heartless misinformation. Did you hear the one about how the Sandy Hook school shooting was a “false flag” operation? So, why should those folks get a shot at the metaverse?
Brands would be wise to genuinely nurture consumer engagement across several social media platforms owned by companies other than Facebook, as well as build top-notch channels they have more control over, whether that's websites or mailing lists. Instead of making smaller social networks afterthoughts and destinations for unengaged crossposts, invest in those smaller audiences as you do on Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. Moreover, the Menlo Park tech firm has plenty to improve upon in the digital-only space, like curtailing hate speech, harassment, and misinformation on its platforms before it can be entrusted to lay the foundation for the exponentially more complex and intertwined reality of the metaverse for its billions and billions of users.
Facebook has yet to make meaningful inroads towards the metaverse. But evidence of the societal pollution Facebook leaves behind is significant enough to avoid following them into a new hybrid reality. If you don’t like Facebook now, there’s little reason to expect better from them in the metaverse. Rather than let it evolve into a toxic platform we later come to resent, let’s forget Facebook faster than we dropped MySpace this time. Let's build the next iteration of “online” that takes users’ concerns seriously and respects the trust of its community. Brands can lead by example and disengage with Facebook now and ignore Zuckerberg’s ambitions in the future.


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Two more retailers have announced a strident set of rules aimed at stopping the spread of coronavirus.
The Co-op has announced new measures to enforce social distancing in its stores in a bid to protect customers and staff.
The retail giant has introduced a range of measures across its 2,600 stores, including floor markers which will define a one-metre distance throughout the store and two-metre spacing for customer queues.
Halfords has also said it was "fundamentally changing" the way its stores operate, announcing that customers will not go inside.
They follow in the footsteps of all major supermarkets announcing rules and restrictions.
The Co-op is also aiming to limit the number of customers in stores at any one time as well as reducing the number of tills open, to allow greater distance between shoppers.
Chris Whitfield, the Co-op's chief operating officer, said: "The safety and wellbeing of our colleagues is our priority and we fully support the need for social distancing.
"We have introduced a number of measures in store, which will be reviewed on a daily basis, and we thank our customers for their understanding and support.
"We are immensely proud of our frontline colleagues and the work they are doing at this unprecedented time to serve our customers, members and local communities but we urge our customers to follow the Government advice to only shop for essential items and to be considerate of others when they are shopping."
The company added that to encourage the message to stay at home, Co-op stores will have reduced opening hours which will give staff time to re-stock and is encouraging contactless shopping where possible to reduce the handling of cash and speed up checkout.
Additional hand sanitiser, antibacterial wipes and soap have been provided to all stores.
Elsewhere, Halfords has announced a string of changes.
Services and collections will be provided from the front of stores, all within the social distancing rules, while workers in the most vulnerable groups have been asked to stay at home.
A statement said: "Our aim is to keep the key workers and businesses that are important to the Covid-19 response moving."
Graham Stapleton, chief executive of Halfords Group, said: "I am really proud of our colleagues and how they are supporting us in our commitment to playing our part in keeping the UK and Ireland moving.
"However, we will only continue to play our role if we can ensure the health and safety of our colleagues and customers, and compliance with government policy. That's why we are reshaping how our stores serve local communities across Britain."


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Fresh Summit exhibitor award program changes emphasize marketing
Exhibitors at Produce Marketing Association’s (PMA) 2017 Fresh Summit Convention & Expo will have the opportunity to vie for expanded awards – including two awards that emphasize marketing – when Fresh Summit convenes Oct. 19-21 in New Orleans, La., USA. Award winners will be announced on the show’s last day.
Exhibitors displaying their products and services in the Fresh Ideas Showcase, part of Innovation@work, and one of the first places attendees go to see the latest industry innovations on display at Fresh Summit, are eligible for two marketing awards:
- The “Best Packaging Promo” award: This new award is designed to encourage packaging innovation by recognizing innovative ways that packaging is being used to market fresh produce and floral. This award recognizes packaging that generates interest, appeal and differentiation on the store shelf, that is novel, and/or that promotes product sales and consumption. It replaces the former “Impact Award: Excellence in Packaging”. Fresh Ideas Showcase exhibitors must notify PMA if they want to be considered for this award.
- The “Best Overall Product Promo” award: This existing award encourages marketing innovation by recognizing the produce or floral product that a panel of retail judges believes would drive sales and that they would carry in their stores.
“Packaging is a powerful marketing tool which showcases new and familiar products in fresh ways,” said PMA Chief Marketing Officer Lauren M. Scott. “By recognizing excellence in produce and floral packaging innovation, we want to celebrate the achievements of creative pioneers in our industry and inspire new, bright ideas for the future.”
“Best of Show” awards will also be given for the best in-line booth, the best island booth and the best first-time exhibitor and all exhibitors are automatically entered. An anonymous panel of judges will select award winners/finalists and a panel of retail experts will review finalists to select a winner for the “Best Packaging Promo” and “Best Overall Product Promo” awards. That panel of judges includes representatives from Ahold, USA, Inc., Grocery Outlet, Inc., The Packer, Tops Markets, Inc., and Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
“Product packaging helps sell products and is a critical component to our industry’s success,” says Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. Sr. Director of Global Sourcing Ronald McCormick. “Knowing this, I am very excited to be a judge, and to see the latest produce and floral products/services the industry has to offer on display at Fresh Summit.”
In addition to these three exhibitor award programs, PMA also presents three individual excellence awards at Fresh Summit: the Bryan E. Silbermann Collaboration Award; the Robert L. Carey Leadership Award; and the Floral Marketer of the Year award to promote floral marketing excellence.
PMA CEO Cathy Burns and other senior management team members will visit winners’ booths to present all the awards on Saturday, Oct. 21.
For award program details, exhibitors should visit www.pma.com/events/freshsummitexhibitors, and see the links to “Fresh Ideas Showcase” and “Best of Show Contest”.
Tel: +1 (302) 781-5852
Publication date: 10/16/2017
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But, the report attributed the higher rate to new legislation „imposed for a newly managed industry.“ It included that the industry „has been really responsive“ to violations that are correcting reduced notably upon re-examination.
Increased state legislation normally resulting in the industry to adjust to endure. As an example, numerous stores are commingling various products and services. The nationwide Check Cashers Association recently changed its title towards the Financial Service Centers of America (FSCA) to mirror the truth that 40 % of their account now additionally provide payday loans, based on Henry Shyne, the team’s executive manager.
The number of payday licenses in Minnesota through August of this year has almost doubled to 34, according to Meyer of the Department of Commerce despite stringent caps on payday lending. A lot of the brand new licenses decided to go to check that is existing outlets looking to grow their manufacturer product line.
Geller is regarded as them. „In this state, it is impossible for a] that is[payday to occur at these prices,“ Geller stated. „The charges aren’t great sufficient.“
More ominous for some is just a training called „charter renting,“ whereby a payday lender partners having a nationally chartered bank. The partnership allows payday lenders in any stateВ—regardless of existing regulations thereВ—to import the more lenient usury laws of the state where the bank is located through the interest rate exportation authority of banks.
State usury regulations won’t matter more, or very little.
Up to now, just a tiny a small number of such partnerships exist, nevertheless they may have an impact that is quick. ACE money Express may be the country’s biggest check-cashing string with a community in excess of 1,000 shops in 32 states. Benefiting from the trend in complementary solutions, ACE brought payday financing to approximately 30 % of their stores in 18 states, in line with the company’s yearly report.
Stephens Inc., a good investment banking company, called ACE’s entry into payday financing „potentially the most essential occasion for the previous few years for the business.“ One explanation may be the development potential, by way of just just what ACE called a „strategic relationship“ with Goleta National Bank of Ca, that may enable Goleta „to provide little customer loans to get through the ACE system,“ no matter current state laws.
„It is appropriate, but I do not want it,“ stated Donna Tanoue, chairman regarding the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., during A june message to bankers.
The customer catch-22: Choice vs. security
Fundamentally, whom’s „right“ as it pertains to this industry depends upon whether customer security trumps customer credit and choice access, or vice versa. Obviously, there has been and continue being abuses in this industryВ—people on the market admit just as much. Similarly apparent, but, is an industry need for these services that are financial items that would otherwise get mostly unmet among a populace that both experts plus the industry consent has few other resources. Where and exactly how to draw the regulatory line is a hotly debated area that is gray.
„You have become significantly paternalistic, or [otherwise] I do not start to see the requirement for any laws that are usury“ Caskey stated. The typical fringe bank consumer is „low or middle class with small or no governmental clout,“ Caskey stated, and therefore, customer protection „ought to be disproportionately directed“ to these folks.


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After launching a new “Data Security” section for the Android app in the Play Store, Google seems poised to remove the list of app permissions from both the mobile app and the web.
The change was: marked by Esper’s Mishaal Rahman earlier this week.
The Data Security section, which Google began rolling out in late April 2022, is the company’s response to Apple’s Privacy Nutrition Labels in iOS, giving users a unified view of an app’s data collection and processing.
To that end, third-party app developers are required to provide the required details by July 20, 2022. With this deadline approaching next week, the tech giant has moved to completely remove the permissions section.
The decision also appears to have been rushed as a number of popular apps such as Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp, Amazon (including Amazon Prime Video), DuckDuckGo, Discord, and PhonePe have yet to fill their data security sections.
It’s not immediately clear what prompted Google to make the change, especially given that the Data Security section runs on a honor system that requires the developers to make full and accurate statements in their app’s store listing.
The list of app permissions, on the other hand, was compiled by Google based on a scan of the app during the vetting process, giving users a convenient way to check all rights required by each app prior to installation.
The readability improvements offered by the Data Security section are suspected to have played a role in the change, although it remains to be seen how reliable the new system is.


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- 3 Sep 2019
- Reaction score
South Koren tech giant Samsung has launched a new mid-range Galaxy M31s smartphone in India. The phone comes with a Widevine L1 certification that allows users to stream OTT content in high definition. Galaxy M31 also includes...
This thread is for the general discussion of the article: Samsung Galaxy M31s with Exynos 9611 SoC, 6000mAh battery, quad rear cameras launched in India. Please add to the discussion here.


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Now Sprint wants to buyout Clearwire?
0. phoneArena 11 Dec 2012, 20:09 posted on
Sprint is certainly trying to shore up a plan to secure spectrum as it prepares its sale to Softbank...
This is a discussion for a news. To read the whole news, click here
1. ajac09 (Posts: 1481; Member since: 30 Sep 2009)
now they have the money to. and AT&T will use this to get them not to approve the deal with softbank.
2. XPERIA-KNIGHT (unregistered)
dont get greedy sprint........you gotta close the first deal FIRST!
3. metalpoet (unregistered)
I hope Sprint can buy Clearwire and then Softbank purchase most of Sprint. if that happens and the Metro PCS and T-Mobile merger happens then AT&t and Verizon will have serious competition :)
4. Slammer (Posts: 1515; Member since: 03 Jun 2010)
---" the more difficult obstacle would likely be with Clearwire’s shareholders, many of whom have been holding on to their equities with Clearwire in hopes of recovering some of their investments (Clearwire’s share prices are down over 90% from five years ago)."---
At 90% decline, I think the shareholders are losing more than just investments. They're losing their minds if they think Clearwire will recover without help.
Haloid corporation was met with the same scenerio. They would rather lose money in hopes for recovery than have some company take it over. Most sold their stock. The ones that didn't sell, became milionaires when a little known company called Xerox took over.
5. networkdood (Posts: 6330; Member since: 31 Mar 2010)
This should get done as Clearwire is riding the road to no where.


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HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. (KABC) -- With team workouts still on hold, Chargers defensive end Isaac Rochell has been hard at work in his personal gym in Huntington Beach preparing for the upcoming season.
"You want to be physically prepared, you want to be mentally prepared because when the season comes around - it's going. Like they always say, the NFL train does not stop," said Rochell.
Now more than ever, the mental part of it is proving to be a challenge as isolation orders continue and he knows it's affecting everyone, which is why his apparel brand initiative, Local Human, is shining a light on Mental Health Month.
"Yes, it's May and it's Mental Health Month, but it's under a microscope, mental health is, because we've been locked up in our homes," he said.
For every specially designed T-shirt they sell this month, Local Human will donate $10 to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
"And that's going to go for advocacy, support and programming for them to continue to educate and support people on mental illness and suicide," said Rochell. "What we want to do at Local Human is kind of normalize this for this month. We want to work to make discussing mental health and some of these issues normal, because we all deal with it."
Rochell recently started Local Human with his neighbors after they found themselves with a lot of time on their hands.
"None of us need to do this for money. We're doing this strictly to impact people and we're juiced up about it," he said.
The last campaign, they sold over 600 shirts that benefited Meals on Wheels. Now, Local Human is taking it a step further, using each campaign to not just financially benefit a nonprofit, but also to give to foster kids in need.
"We're donating a shirt for every shirt we sell that's going to be packaged, brand new printed on shirt to these foster centers," he said.
If you'd like to be a part of Isaac's initiative, you can purchase a $30 shirt at localhuman.co.


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Guest blog written by Cassie Pierce
A growing concern for sustainability has transformed how companies are designing their products and marketing them to an increasingly green public. But these initiatives are just the start, as many have also begun making adjustments behind the scenes with regards to their supply chain — and rightly so, given that a McKinsey report reveals that it is responsible for 90% of a company’s environmental impact.
With this in mind, here’s how today’s businesses have been adding to the growing cause for sustainability, starting with their supply chains.
Planning More Efficiently
A simple miscalculation between supply and demand often leads to the overproduction of certain materials, which results in a lot of wasted energy and resources. The power of machine learning and predictive analytics can help with more accurate forecasting, so that companies—especially ones constantly replenishing stocks, like Amazon—can help procure the right amount of supply to meet the market’s demand.
Supply chain managers need to monitor how their suppliers are extracting and producing raw materials to ensure that they’re following sustainability policies in their country or region. For instance, the new EU directive requires companies to report their sustainability performances, since they’re needed in the risk analyses and investment decisions by investors, banks, and pension fund managers. In this regard, the International Resource Panel recently developed an online tool that allows countries to see possible hubs for unsustainable practises within their area, so they can take the necessary steps to address them.
Every day, massive amounts of energy are used in the production of traditional packaging materials such plastic, paper, and foam, which are quickly discarded once they arrive at a consumer’s doorstep or a company’s stock room. In response, more sustainable packaging is now being created out of recycled waste material to reduce the consumption of resources. They’re usually compostable, recyclable, and versatile enough to use for most items including—but not limited to—food, electronics, and clothes. Speaking of food, one of our participants, RefillaBowl, has even found a way to make takeaways more sustainable and solve the single-use problem of ordering food.
Using Alternative Fuels
Cars and other fuel-powered vehicles, like planes and ships, are the biggest contributors to smog and air pollution around the world. This is why a lot of companies are slowly switching to alternative fuel sources such as water and electricity to lessen the amount of greenhouse gases businesses contribute to the atmosphere. In fact, there are even organisations such as AM Group whose main purpose is to research, design, and manufacture clean energy alternatives and products.
On the other hand, electric-powered vehicles are another type of cleantech initiative, or an investment philosophy companies use to up their profits while minimising negative effects on the environment. According to Start-U-up founder Ron Bloemers’ speech at the 2019 MELT Innovation Forum, global cleantech markets are expected to rise between 2020 to 2050 for economic reasons alone.
In line with efforts to switch to alternative fuels, logistics providers are also looking to optimise the way they transport goods from one point to another. Today’s company carriers are usually equipped with GPS tracking software to determine the shortest and most fuel-efficient paths for each delivery. Moreover, a feature on Verizon Connect explains how instilling better driving habits saves a lot of fuel, too. Actions such as harsh braking and sharp acceleration all increase fuel consumption and, in turn, carbon emissions, which careful driving can prevent. Reducing the amount of unnecessary cargo they bring, such as empty boxes, is also another step.
Reducing electricity use has always been a priority for any company from both sustainability and profitability perspectives. And in supply chain management, electric consumption is an important factor in warehousing, especially for food and other businesses dealing with perishable commodities. A report by Supply Chain Dive reports on how refrigeration is one category that consumes a large percentage of energy consumption across all commercial buildings, second only to lighting. One solution is the use of Thermal Energy Storages, which balances temperature and refrigeration run time to maximise energy reduction. Glassolina has actually done something like this for greenhouses, where they have created translucent wood plastic composites to reduce buildings CO2 emissions. A similar solution can help companies reduce energy consumption and their carbon footprint while still protecting food and other perishable goods.
These initiatives, big and small, contribute to larger and much-needed environmental reforms. Although there is still much to be done towards minimising the supply chain industry’s environmental impact, these practices are paving the way towards a greener and more sustainable future.
Exclusively for climatelaunchpad.org


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Fox Broadcasting Co., Fox News Channel, IGN Entertainment and the Wall Street Journal will launch apps for Xbox this year.
Microsoft, Fox Set TV, News, Web Video Apps
Microsoft Corp. and News Corp. yesterday announced plans to launch a series of new apps for Xbox Live that will feature content from News Corp.’s broadcast, news and Web properties. The apps will incorporate content — as well as voice- and motion-activated controls using Kinect for Xbox 360 — from brands including Fox Broadcasting Co., Fox News Channel, IGN Entertainment Inc. and the Wall Street Journal.
Video content from the Fox News Channel and Fox apps will be made available to authenticated subscribers of participating cable and satellite television distributors. News Corp. expects to announce authentication agreements to support the Fox and Fox News apps in the near future.
All the News Corp. apps will be available to Xbox Live Gold members and are slated to launch in 2012.
“This new partnership with News Corp., which will bring Fox, Fox News, IGN and the Wall Street Journal to the Xbox Live service, is a significant milestone in our vision to bring consumers the entertainment they love, shared with the people they care about, made easy,” said Alex Garden, general manager, Xbox Live. “With these new properties on Xbox, you’ll have great on-demand TV options, and using the magic of Kinect, you’ll be able to find the entertainment you want by simply using your.”
“As we continue to find new ways to deliver content to consumers, this partnership with Xbox Live enables our viewers to experience News Corp.’s leading media brands in an entirely new and innovative environment,” said Jon Miller, chief digital officer, News Corp. “We look forward to working closely with Microsoft to continue evolving the media experiences on Xbox Live and to enable consumers to take advantage of this incredibly popular and fast-growing platform.”
The Fox Broadcasting app will give authenticated subscribers access to Fox’s popular primetime shows in a new category-defining app environment on the Xbox Live service. Extensive short- and long-form programming will be available through the Fox app, including on-demand availability of leading shows, such as “Glee,” “House,” “New Girl,” “Bones,” “Fringe,” “The Simpsons,” “Family Guy” and others. The app will also include a number of interactive features, such as Facebook integration, as well as voice and motion control via Kinect.
The Fox News Channel app will bring users access to hundreds of news and entertainment videos straight to their home Xbox system. The app will also include voice commands and navigation with a controller and with simple .
WSJ Live from the Wall Street Journal will offer up to four total hours of live video programming each business day from across the Wall Street Journal Digital Network, including the Journal, Dow Jones Newswires, Barron’s, MarketWatch, SmartMoney and AllThingsD.com. Users will be able to access seven half-hour live shows, breaking news updates, exclusive interviews and special events coverage. The service will also offer more than 2,000 videos per month from an extensive library of on-demand content.
Dedicated to all-things gaming, the IGN Entertainment app will offer previews, reviews, gameplay videos and live streams, as well as instant access to game help walkthroughs and IGN’s catalog of popular shows, including The Daily Fix and IGN_Strategize. Fans of IGN.com can queue up videos from a browser with a new “watch later” feature. The app will also have full support for Kinect magic, voice control, and Facebook sharing.


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New flavors are coming to Teo Gelato just in time to help you cope with the hot summer days. The Austin-based and renowned gelato master, Matthew Lee, is teaming up with local influences to host a flavor creation contest benefiting local charities.
We’re honored to be food and travel blogger Jane Ko’s charity’s choice. We’re even more excited for the new flavor: Birthday Cake. The new creation will be available April 2 to May 14 at Cafe Teo. Whichever flavor has the highest pan sales (gelato is sold from pans, not tubs like ice cream) wins the flavor contest. That means the winner will have 10 percent of pan sales donated to the nonprofit of their choice.
In the end, all participating charities will come out winners with a $100 minimum donation to support their cause. Help fight hunger with a sweet birthday cake gelato treat!


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Blind Date, a UK internet dating website, is reaching 1 million users, with the site becoming the UK’s most popular dating site.
The BBC reports the site has been downloaded more than 3.5 million times since it launched in March.
The website allows users to find people they want to date, and to meet up with them in real-time.
Users can also upload photos and videos of themselves and can choose to have a “private date”.
The BBC says it reached 1.4 million users worldwide in the last 12 months.
“In a week we have seen over 3 million new users join our network, and this week we are now on track to reach 1.5m,” says a spokesperson for Blind Date.
“As a result, we have been able to reach over 5.5million potential users and we are proud to be the UKs most popular online dating site.”
The website has had success attracting younger users.
The spokesperson says “the younger generation are now our biggest customers”.
Blind Date says the site is aiming to reach 50 million users by the end of 2018.
The company says it will continue to expand its network, adding more dates, events and services in the future.
It says the launch of its website was a natural next step in the journey towards reaching 1.6 billion users by 2020.


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Google has apologised for allowing ads to appear alongside offensive videos on YouTube as more high-profile firms pulled their advertising.
Google has apologised for allowing ads to appear alongside offensive videos on YouTube as more high-profile firms pulled their advertising for British markets from Google sites.
The British government has suspended its advertising on YouTube after some public sector ads appeared next to videos carrying homophobic and anti-semitic messages, prompting a flood of major companies to follow suit.
Marks & Spencer, Vodaphone, Sky and several leading high street banks were the latest in a string of firms to pull the plug on their Google advertising.
We take responsibility
At the annual Advertising Week Europe event in London on Monday March 20, Matt Brittin, Google’s head of Europe, the Middle East and Africa, said: “You have probably read stories about brands appearing next to content. I want to start by saying sorry and we take responsibility for it”.
He said the company was working on ways to improve its ad placement system, admitting: “Clearly we need to do more on that.”
But he would not say if it would actively seek out inappropriate material on its sites.
Sir Martin Sorrell, founder and chief executive of WPP, which is the world’s largest advertising firm, feels Google should do more. He said: “They can’t sit there and say we are digital engineers and are not responsible. They are responsible and get on and accept it and police it properly.”
“We have always said Google, Facebook and others are media companies and have the same responsibilities as any other media company. They cannot masquerade as technology companies, particularly when they place advertisements,” Sorrell added.
Duty of care
French advertising giant Havas, whose UK clients include O2, EDF and Royal Mail, was the first to temporarily withdraw its advertising from YouTube and Google on Friday March 17. The company is reported to spend about 201.6 euros million annually on digital advertising.
Havas made the decision after talks with Google bore little fruit.
Britain’s Guardian newspaper quoted the company’s UK chief executive, Paul Frampton, as saying Google had been: “Unable to provide specific reassurances, policy and guarantees that their video or display content is classified either quickly enough or with the correct filters”.
“We have a duty of care to our clients in the UK marketplace to position their brands in the right context where we can be assured that that environment is safe, regulated to the degree necessary and additive to their brands’ objectives. Our position will remain until we are confident in the YouTube platform and Google Display Network’s ability to deliver the standards we and our clients expect,” he added.
At the advertising industry event on Monday, Michael Roth, CEO of Interpublic Group said: “It is important they make a concerted effort that the adverts are not presented next to offensive material.”
— Ad Age (@adage) March 20, 2017
Clicks mean cash
The proceeds from the ads literally lines hate preachers’ pockets with every 1,000 clicks bringing them about seven euros. Other beneficiaries reportedly included a controversial Islamist preacher banned from the UK.
In a letter to Google, Yvette Cooper, who chairs the UK Home Affairs Select Committee, accused the company of “profiting from hatred”.
Google has been called to the UK Cabinet Office for a second time and will appear later this week following reports that UK government adverts had also appeared next to ‘inappropriate material’.
A government spokeswoman said: “Digital advertising is a cost-effective way for the government to engage millions of people in vital campaigns such as military recruitment and blood donation.
“Google is responsible for ensuring the high standards applied to government advertising are adhered to and that adverts do not appear alongside inappropriate content. We have placed a temporary restriction on our YouTube advertising pending reassurances from Google that government messages can be delivered in a safe and appropriate way.
“Google has been summoned for discussions at the Cabinet Office to explain how it will deliver the high quality of service government demands on behalf of the taxpayer.”
Given that the bulk of Google’s 69.7 billion euros revenue in 2015 came from its proprietary advertising service, Google AdWords, it certainly seems to be in the company’s best interests to heed calls for an overhaul in its advertising practices.
Who has paused their ads?
The companies include O2, EDF, Royal Mail, Vodafone, Sky, HSBC, Lloyds, Royal Bank of Scotland, McDonald’s, L’Oréal, Audi, Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury’s, Argos, the BBC, the Guardian and the British government.
theregister:#Google promises policy review after big brands pull #YouTube ads #advertising https://t.co/6D6ChoIgOJ
— Roberto Re (RobRe62) March 20, 2017


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Mac pundit John Gruber makes some very disparaging comments about Adobe on his Daring Fireball site, in an article titled The Fish Rots From the Head. In it he condemns what he sees as Adobes recent focus on sales, rather than on creating great and innovative software:
Rather than expand into untapped creative markets, Adobe seems hell-bent on expanding into the jerks-wearing-suits market, a market that’s completely at odds with the creative market they’ve dominated for nearly two decades.
I’ve always been a fan of Adobe products. Right now I’m eagerly awaiting the arrival of my pre-ordered copy of Creative Suite 2. I can’t help but have a sneaking suspicion that John is right about the direction Adobe is taking. The fact that Adobe is introducing product activation into Creative Suite 2 seems to be a clear symptom of the sales driven road that they are heading down. I subscribe to the belief that the only people inconvenienced by product activation schemes are paying customers like myself. Those who want a pirate copy will just wait until some kind hearted hacker releases a patch that circumvents the whole thing and makes installing much easier.
Adobe products have a lot of momentum. The wealth of features in their current applications will power their dominance for some time. But, as John Gruber points out:
When is the last time Adobe has unveiled anything truly innovative for the graphics-and-design market? InDesign 1.0? That was nearly five years ago.
[…] the main reason Adobe Systems has been a success is that they created and developed terrific, innovative software. Engineering talent isn’t enough; you need passion for innovative products at the top of a company.
If that spirit continues to wither, Adobe will continue its slide into mediocrity, and will become just another software company. But if it becomes a bigger company while doing so, I suspect that will suit Bruce Chizen just fine.
I hope Adobe can keep creating effective, innovative products. I really don’t want to end up having to use CorelDraw.