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Almost 2 billion people around the world use smartphones -- typically worth hundreds of dollars a pop on the black market. A former smartphone thief explains their allure to street criminals.
Apple's latest ad, in which Justin Timberlake and Jimmy Fallon behave as you might expect gamers to, causes online ructions among some gaming devotees.
What good is a digital assistant if she can't tell you to leave early because of traffic reports? That's a question asked by Microsoft at any rate.
Keith Law gets into a Twitter debate with former pitcher Curt Schilling on the subject of evolution vs. creationism. ESPN confirms Law's Twitter use has been suspended but won't say why.
The most important things to know when shopping for a new laptop, hybrid, or Windows tablet.
Fourteen of the year's most embarrassing blunders in technology, by Amazon, Apple, Google, Uber and more -- all for your holiday enjoyment.
Facebook has decided to exert more control over posts that it deems "overly promotional." Ultimately, though, isn't every Facebook post by a company promotional?
The company made it through the toughest phase of its turnaround plan and now hopes to actually grow again, says John Chen, who is marking his one-year anniversary at the helm.
As part of its group-wide restructuring plan to focus on electronics, finance and construction, Samsung is selling its defense and military affiliates for almost $2 billion to South Korean compatriot Hanwha.
Oculus VR chief Brendan Iribe anticipates a continuing close relationship with Samsung Electronics and says more joint products are on the way.


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In Connecticut, the sale of cannabis can result in a prison sentence of 20 years, an absurd amount of time to be lost in one’s life. Cannabis legalization has long been a topic of interest in the United States, owing to its increasing use and the overwhelming public support for its legalization.
On June 8, the State Senate narrowly voted to legalize recreational cannabis use. This represented yet another development in the long-enduring debate about cannabis legalization, and is but one step closer to that reality. However, with the house GOP threatening to filibuster the bill, cannabis legalization remains in jeopardy. It is, therefore, vital that the importance and benefits of legalized cannabis be recognized, including the inefficacy and expense of current prohibition policies, the economic benefits of legalization, and the racial inequity that prohibition perpetuates.
One of the most obvious questions, and yet one of the most frequently overlooked, is that of whether or not cannabis bans are effective. Supposing the goal is prevention of cannabis use, historically, prohibition has not done much to this end. As law enforcement has made cannabis arrests more of a priority, usage has only increased. Ironically, it reached an all-time low in 1990 when arrests for possession were at their lowest and other priorities in drug policing took precedent. In Alabama, for example, a state with some of the most severe cannabis possession laws, cannabis use increased over 20%, according to the Executive Office, in the years from 1992 to 2010. This, despite dedicated laws and enforcement thereof, is manifest evidence of the inefficacy of cannabis prohibition.
In 2010, to enforce laws such as those in Alabama, states spent a combined 3.6 billion dollars, as per the ACLU. This, clearly, is a significant number, and represents a large portion of taxpayer capital to be dedicated towards the enforcement of ill-conceived policies that aren’t working. In contrast, in states where recreational cannabis use is legal, the economic benefits for the state and for individuals have been significant. According to the Colorado Department of Revenue, Colorado collected almost 400 million in tax dollars from cannabis, and in total, sales in the state were more than 2 billion dollars in 2020. Furthermore, a legalized industry for cannabis provides both employment and investment opportunities. The dissimilitude is striking: cannabis prohibition is both ineffective and wildly expensive, whereas its legalization is profitable and creates more resources that can be dedicated to other issues.
More than its economic benefits, cannabis legalization is promising in the continuing struggle for racial equity in the United States. Though cannabis’s status as contraband is generally seen as a given in the United States, cannabis was legal until the 1930s, and its prohibition has always been tied to racial prejudice and fear-mongering rather than concrete medical evidence. The common use of its Spanish name, marijuana, was employed as a way to connect it to Mexican immigrants–– who began arriving in larger numbers in the early 1900s––and link them to scientifically unsupported claims of cannabis engendering violence. During the War on Drugs, another racially discriminatory era and set of policies, it’s no surprise that cannabis, too, was used to disproportionately punish communities of color. This, unfortunately, has persisted into today, something obvious even in Fairfield County. According to the ACLU, black people in Fairfield County are more than 4 times more likely to be arrested for cannabis possession than white people. To varying degrees, this disparity, without exception, is echoed in every American state. The enforcement of cannabis prohibition is inconspicuous in its racial biases, and that basis alone should prompt a thorough reconsideration of its ethical merits.
Though Connecticut has decriminalized the possession of small amounts of cannabis, arrests have remained steady. According to the ACLU, states where cannabis is legal to have a cannabis possession arrest rate eight times fewer than that in states where cannabis possession is merely decriminalized. Furthermore, states that have legalized cannabis use have a lesser racial disparity between cannabis-related arrests than states that have decriminalized cannabis possession.
More than anything else, cannabis legalization is a human issue that demands we pay attention to all of its nuances. The prohibition of cannabis use is an ineffective, expensive, and racially discriminatory policy that now, in Connecticut, has the chance to be reversed. With any luck, it will be. Beyond that, now is an opportunity to personally advocate for recreational cannabis legalization by contacting one’s representatives in the state House of Representatives, spreading awareness amongst peers, and taking it upon oneself to learn more about the implications of cannabis legalization. Now is a time of unique opportunity and potential, and we would all be remiss not to take advantage of it.

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One enduring mystery of Wall Street — aside from where on Earth the wall went to — is how a place that should put profits over personalities often gyrates in the opposite direction. Yet the “why” is so simple, you can sum it up in three letters: CEO.
Certain CEOs, whether they capitalize on it or not, function as celebrities who draw attention to the companies they helm and the brands they represent. Just in case you think that’s a given, rack your brain for the last time you surfed the web for Craig Menear, Ginni Rometty and Mike Wirth. They’re the chief executive officers of Home Depot (ticker: HD), IBM ( IBM) and Chevron Corp. ( CVX) respectively, not exactly small potatoes on the stock market.
Now, compare those no-name big names with the likes of Warren Buffett, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Jamie Dimon. Even if you don’t know stock from livestock, they’ll be familiar as the heads of Berkshire Hathaway ( BRK.A, BRK.B), Tesla ( TSLA), Facebook ( FB) and JPMorgan Chase & Co. ( JPM). And on many an occasion, reading headlines about the company and the CEO are one and the same.
“A celebrity CEO will garner a following and thus the market for their stocks will remain efficient,” says Kenneth Orr — who also happens to be a CEO himself, at KORR Acquisitions Group. “In addition, celebrity CEOs will always garner a higher multiple than unknown CEOs because their stewardship gives investors more peace of mind.”
Yes, but, is that fair? What if the CEO is more a master of sizzle than steak? As certain investors go, Orr says this: Whether the CEO’s leadership and stewardship is “perceived or fact-based makes no difference.”
That especially applies to a figure such as Musk, who ranks about as polarizing as celeb CEOs get. To be certain, Musk has produced cars as sleek and frisky as environmentally friendly. This may explain, as often noted over the years, why so many Tesla owners became Tesla shareholders.
But Musk has often pitched unmet production projections and hyped Tesla as an investment, even when the financials weren’t there to back it up. Over a seven-month stretch — from December 2016 to July 2018 — Tesla stock more than doubled, and reached a record high of $383 per share. It now trades at about $320.
Still, Tesla over its entire history has only reported four profitable quarters. And in 2019, it hit the $1 billion loss mark in the second quarter, even as chief technology officer J.B. Straubel stepped down after 15 years with the automaker. But in the end (at least for this year), Musk’s indomitable hand at the wheel may calm Tesla investors again, as he’s pushing news that Tesla set a delivery record for the third quarter: about 97,000 vehicles worldwide.
Much like a roadside fender bender, “It’s hard to look away” from Musk, says Erika Rasure, assistant professor in the online MBA in financial services program at Maryville University.
“His celebrity is derived in part from his various and widely criticized displays where his disruptive genius takes center-stage alongside his willingness to be candid and authentic,” Rasure says.
Yes, she says, he’s thin-skinned and a lightning rod for criticism.
“Are they the traditional qualities we’ve been told to value in corporate leadership and governance? No, but it works for Musk and there’s some value in that to all of us,” she adds.
Speaking of which, consider how Buffett’s investment career translates to value on many levels. For one, he’s the unquestioned king of value investing and that alone would prove enough to enshrine him in the hearts of grateful minions who apply his moves to their own portfolios.
Yet Buffett also knows the value of shunning billionaire braggadocio — inspiring the same affection in investors that folks normally reserve for Joe the Plumber types. He drives a 2014 Cadillac XTS. He lives in the same Omaha house he bought in 1958 for $31,500. He loved Dairy Queen ice cream so much, he bought the company. He plays ukulele and sings at shareholder meetings. All this and record profits, too.
“Warren Buffett’s plainspoken modesty is perfectly suited to engender trust,” says James R. Bailey, professor of leadership at the George Washington University School of Business. “Goodness knows how much money he has made people: not just the elite, but the bread-and-butter, salt-of-the-earth folks. He’s perfect.”
Far from perfect — often reviled, in fact — is Zuckerberg. The Russian hackers who infiltrated Facebook impacted the 2016 presidential election: able to worm their way in because of a vulnerable news-feed feature Zuckerberg instituted to beat down Twitter. In testimony before Congress, Zuckerberg was mocked for his ill-fitting tie and criticized for flippant responses. Still not having presented satisfactory evidence that Facebook had fixed its data cracks, he pushed ahead with Libra, a proposed cryptocurrency, which is struggling even before getting off the ground.
Now, Facebook is facing scrutiny as a monopoly that gobbles up its competitors, especially from Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren. Earlier this month, leaked audio of a two-hour company meeting exposed Zuckerberg as caustic and defiant in his views of the U.S. government, Warren, competitors and critics. No one, it seems, is pressing the like button; Facebook stock has been relatively flat since April, recently trading at about $189 per share.
Bailey puts Zuckerberg and Musk in the same camp: “They have about worn out their welcome. Early on, no one cared about their personal flaws — be they awkwardness or mercurial attitude. But Facebook and Tesla have graduated from college. It’s time for these two CEOs to move on.”
Yet another CEO who may soon move has risen to a new level of respectability. Dimon, now nearing 20 years at the helm of Chase, defies the cash-grabbing banker stereotype. At a time when “greed is good” has actually become the unofficial slogan of many banks, he’s gone in the opposite direction — and stated as much publicly.
Dimon is the CEO of CEOs, so to speak: head of the Business Roundtable, a group of more than 180 heavyweight company heads. And in a statement of purpose, Dimon and his peers declared in August that corporate America is responsible for providing economic benefits to all, not just its investors.
He’s also smart enough to know that those things aren’t mutually exclusive. People like Dimon, and they like his financial services company: Chase stock is up close to 25% this year.
“Dimon is my current favorite CEO,” Bailey says. “He’s globally present — especially in compliance and regulation realms — opinionated and aggressive, yet not self-aggrandizing.”
You might want to take the George Washington University professor’s word for it. “The way some people are bird or whale watchers,” he says, “I’m a professional CEO watcher.”
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The COVID-19 pandemic crashed through the Med City restaurant scene in 2020 like a toddler smashing a tower of blocks.
Now as the virus’ deadly tantrum is calming down, many of the blocks remain standing as others have been rebuilt into a new landscape. Some old pieces are in new places. Some new pieces stand in places left open by closures. Of course, some popular restaurants are completely gone.
Of the ones still standing, many had features that helped them weather it.
“The ones that had a drive-thru and pizza places that already knew how to do delivery seemed to do OK. Everywhere you went, you saw lines at drive-thru windows. Some pizza places stayed busy and even had one of their best years,” said Rochester Restaurant Supply owner Tom Fleming.
Of course, many places without those advantages didn’t make it through the worst of the pandemic. Rochester saw Tonic - Local Kitchen & Juice Bar, Daube’s Bakery, Dooley’s Irish Pub, Legends Bar, The Loop, the Petite Cafe and Lettuce Unite close their doors forever.
Others closed, but then returned either in a different form or under new owners.
Chef Youness Bojji and his wife, Amber Bojji, closed Casablanca in the Barlow Plaza. However, they were soon back serving Rochester with Chez Bojji and Amber’s Pub in the former Petite Cafe space on North Broadway.
Charlie Zhao sadly closed Rochester’s Jenpachi Japanese Steak House, but a customer purchased it and re-opened it, five months after it went dark. “I thought Rochester deserved to have this restaurant open again,” said Jenpachi’s new owner, Greg Zoller, in December.
The popular Taco Lab food truck is transforming the ex-Daube’s building at 1310 Fifth Place NW into a space for a new restaurant. Scooter’s Coffee stepped up to open in Daube’s former South Broadway Daube’s location.
Many fans were unhappy when the Currie brothers of Creative Cuisine closed their popular 300 First restaurant in July. Now Linda Black, sister to the Curries, is cooking up a new eatery in that space. She hopes to soon start serving wood-fired pizzas there under the name of Tilda's Pizzeria.
Overall, there is a new energy among Rochester’s restaurants as the weather is starting to warm up. Customers are returning in crowds, which is causing stress as most places are still short-handed and struggling to find employees. However, that is a good problem compared to days of empty dining rooms.
“The parking lots look full again. Everybody is getting their outdoor seating ready,” said Fleming of Rochester Restaurant Supply.
Even more encouraging signs than full parking lots and “Help Wanted” notices are the “Coming Soon” banners for new Med City restaurants.
Andy and Kari Friederichs are in the final stages of transforming a forgotten industrial building from the 1930s at 1232 Third Ave. SE into a classic-style food hall with six food vendors, a bar and an old-school men’s barbershop under the same roof. The complex will be called The Workshop. They hope to open in June.
David and Mark Currie of Creative Cuisine have their own new project cooking on the west end of the former Shopko North complex at 3708 U.S. 63 North. They are building out a new 6,700-square-foot restaurant to be called The Purple Goat.
The Purple Goat will add to Creative Cuisine’s Med City portfolio that includes four Newt's, City Market Deli, Hefe Rojo, and Redwood Room. When completed, this will be the largest Creative Cuisine restaurant in Rochester.
A couple of smaller scale eateries are also gearing up to bring new tastes to Rochester diners.
Lance and LaRayne Patterson are working on opening a Rosati's Authentic Chicago Pizza restaurant franchise in Rochester’s Barlow Plaza. Chicksie’s Hot Chicken Joint is being built out in the former Subway spot at South Broadway and 20th Street Southeast.
Elsewhere, Popeye’s Chicken and the beloved IHOP chains are in the early stages of building Rochester restaurants.
Tallying up the damage done to the Med City food scene by the pandemic is tough to calculate, There were some big, permanent losses. However, some changes or “pivots” made many survivors stronger than before. And now new restaurants are starting to sprout up.
It doesn’t look the same, but Rochester’s restaurant scene is still standing.


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BumblePuppy | Making a living in the world of junk
What would you do if you were cleaning a shed and found an arm?
Janel Bedor Griffiths handles estate sales for a living, which means she gets calls to go into homes, sift through possessions and sell items off for the best prices she can get.
As the owner of BumblePuppy Estate Sales in Grand Chute, she handles three or four homes a month, and oftentimes the properties are being cleaned out by heirs who want the money and not all the stuff.
She also handles high-end estates, hoarder’s homes and moving sales. At the end of August, for example, she's in charge of Green Bay Packers player James Starks’ moving sale in Howard.
But back to that arm story.
On the day of the gruesome discovery, Griffiths and her brother were cleaning a shed’s attic on a remote rural job.
“My brother found it. It was the complete shoulder and arm down to the fingertips,” she said.
It wasn’t the work of a serial killer or connected to a crime, they figured, because it was sliced opened and all the veins were numbered. It looked very old.
“I called the owner the property and said we’d found something,” Griffiths said. “She said, ‘oh, you found the arm.’”
The woman’s great grandfather taught at a medical college in the 1930s. He shouldn’t have kept the arm, but there it was, in a shed with a lot of other medical college materials.
“Can’t you sell it?” the woman asked Griffiths.
“No,” Griffiths said. “There are huge fines for selling body parts.”
She set the arm aside and doesn’t know what the woman did with it.
Finding bizarre objects is part of the joy, or horror, in cleaning out homes.
“There are things that are awesome. You also have to deal with things that are not awesome, like animal feces,” she said. “There are examples of unmentionable things, but we aren’t here to tell everyone’s secrets.”
She does admit to finding “cremains,” or ashes from a cremation, fairly often.
“Lesson learned: If you plan to be cremated, please leave yourself with someone who will take you with them when they move, or arrange to have your ashes scattered,” she said. “The estate sale people don’t really know what to do with you.”
Some of the interesting things she’s found included canned food from the 1940s, binnacles and ship parts from the 1800s, and a book worth $30,000 in a box of old books in a garage. An eight-foot grandfather clock installed in Jefferson Elementary in 1923 was dropped off this week.
She’s found fully stocked mid-century bomb shelters.
There are also scary things.
“We’ve found grenades,” she said. “And just about every dead animal you can think of.”
Salable and mentionable items are either sold in on-site auctions, or the items are brought back and sold in her BumblePuppy shop at 621 N. Westhill Blvd. in Grand Chute. BumblePuppy has an email list of 6,000 people, including plenty of resellers, repurposers, upcyclers and collectors who want specific things, like vacuum cleaners.
The staff is sometimes surprised at what sells.
A load of life-sized cardboard cutouts of 1990s political figures came in early last year including Hillary Clinton, Newt Gingrich, Bill Clinton with a sax, John Kennedy Jr. and George Bush, Sr.
“We though Hillary would go first, but she’s still here. Newt Gingrich sold first. Everyone asked for a Donald Trump, but we didn’t have one,” she said.
In online sales, they’ve found an eager market for old car brochures. A pair of unworn Jockey underwear from the 1950s went for $150 even though the elastic had disintegrated. They’ve sold an old cocoa box and a vintage tampon box for more than $200 each.
BumblePuppy does estate sales on commission, anywhere from 20 to 60 percent of the sale, depending on what’s for sale and the difficulty level of selling those items.
“I don’t have tons of competitors because it’s hard work. It’s not glamorous or easy. You get dirty,” she said.
Still, she’s been successful at making money from other people’s junk, starting as a hobby nearly 20 years ago. It has grown steadily. Five years ago, she left her full-time day job in school administration where she was on track to get her doctorate.
“I never looked back. I love this,” she said. “I work 12 to 14 hours a day. I try to take one day off a week.”
BumblePuppy, by the way, was a name she plucked out of Aldous Huxley’s novel “Brave New World.” It's led to a lot of phone calls over the years from people asking what kind of puppies they sell. For the record, she doesn’t sell puppies and still loves the name.
BumblePuppy is now a large operation, with 18 employees and annual sales of nearly $1 million, mostly from online operations and on-site auctions.
The store’s narrow facade is deceptive. It’s actually 13,000 square feet of space between its long and narrow retail floor, e-commerce section and back warehouse.
The shop is shocking yellow inside. Stock changes weekly, and includes furniture, clothing, appliances, collectibles and jewelry.
It attracts a loyal bunch of shoppers who tend to worry about store renovations, knowing that retail sales could become extinct someday as businesses move online.
Regulars were alarmed recently, for example, when she converted a 1,000-square-foot back section of the store into the e-commerce area. They asked if the store was closing, which it wasn’t. Griffiths was just adjusting the space according to the business’ needs, which are increasingly online. The bricks-and-mortar store is the least productive part of her business, but still necessary as a hub, she said.
A former flea market section of the store is now used as a warehouse for merchandise waiting to come into the store and a growing online auction business she started at buzzworthyauctions.com.
She also sells goods on eBay, Amazon, Etsy, Craigslist and the newer Facebook Marketplace, which she describes as “more fruitful than Craigslist.” Links are on her website bumblepuppysales.com.
On Tuesday, more than a dozen regular customers lined up for the store’s 9:30 a.m. opening, as they do every week. They know that’s when new merchandise hits the shelves and older merchandise is discounted.
One regular, Herb Heritage, of Appleton, comes “pert near every week” and looks for old tools. “I like the American-made stuff,” he said.
This past Tuesday, he bought a new-looking Badgers stadium seat for $10, flea and tick spray for $1, a hedge trimmer for $6, a toolbox for $4 and a garden claw for $1.
“I used to be an auctioneer,” he said. “I like the way she does displays here. You can see things without clutter. It’s a well-run place.”
Another customer, Rita Pishotta of Appleton, also comes every Tuesday to look for Oriental collectibles.
“It’s feast or famine,” she said as she came up empty-handed this week. “I enjoy a lot of the old things. It’s the nostalgia. It’s disturbing that it’s a throw-away society. I like this place because it’s not the mall. It’s not new things that you throw out.”
Griffiths knows the Tuesday morning group is a passionate bunch and she knows many by name.
Griffiths has scaled back her collecting. At one time, she collected toys from her 1980s childhood.
“I don’t feel the need to have my own collections,” she said. “I try to keep it simple.”
One prized possession is a battered suitcase she purchased when she was just getting started in the business. It was owned by woman orphaned in Germany in WWII who’d lived out of the suitcase on the streets of Berlin. The seller didn’t want the suitcase anymore because of its memories.
“I can’t get myself to get rid of that suitcase, and they are not even my memories attached to it,” Griffiths said. “So I guess if I collect anything, it’s stories.”
Maureen Wallenfang: 920-993-7116, or email@example.com; on Twitter @wallenfang
Words of wisdom and caution
Janel Bedor Griffiths’ nuggets of advice are based on two decades of clearing out people’s houses.
She’s found hundreds of dollars sewn into curtain bottoms. “It’s an oddly common place to find money,” she said. She’s also found money in freezers, books, old letters, under rugs, any place jewelry is kept and in fake wall outlets.
The power of stuff
“A lot of people focus on the wrong things,” said Griffiths. “They put time and energy into preserving things. Letting go of things is hard. People have things in storage units for 10, 12 years. They have guilt selling things that their mother gave them. I see a lot of people whose lives are ruled by stuff.”
Battle over estates
“It brings out the worst in people. Even the best of relationships become strained when it comes to dealing with stuff in an estate. Sometimes people are fighting over paper clips. Before you die, you should make it clear who gets what. Make it clear who’s in charge.” She knows one estate that has dragged out for years. When it’s done, the lawyers will get everything. “There will be nothing left for the kids because of the fighting,” she said.
Jobs she won’t take
“I walked away from a house that had been partially destroyed and parts were not safe. Sometimes hoarder situations are beyond what we can do because it’s an environmental hazard. Some houses have rooms that animals have used as a bathroom,” she said. “I also say no if someone has unrealistic expectations, like they’re expecting prices that are two, three or four times what I know we can get.”
The value of things
She cautions people to not get carried away with purging possessions before she gets a look. “People feel good about what they’ve gotten rid of. It’s cathartic. But inevitably, they’ll throw away something we can sell. I had one woman who said she threw out a lot of old dishes because they didn’t match. Turns out they were 1950s vintage Fiestaware.”


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Burglars had burning desire for cigarettes
Updated 9:22 pm, Wednesday, July 17, 2013
Burglars who pried their way into a closed Heights convenience store early Wednesday may have been having a serious nicotine fit. Their only haul: about $10,000 in cigarettes.
The break-in took place about 1:45 a.m. at the Little Buddy store in the 2300 block of White Oak, according to the store's manager, who asked that his name not be used.
He said burglars apparently used a crowbar to pry open a metal security gate across the front door. Then they forced open the front door, the door to an enclosed counter area and the door to the manager's office. Inside the office on storage shelves were stacks of cigarette cartons.
The burglars grabbed as many as they could stuff in bags and dashed out, leaving the shelves practically empty. The manager said Houston police told him the culprits were likely in the store for no more than a few minutes.
The manager said the thieves didn't touch the packs of cigarettes on display above the counter. He said they probably considered the cartons easier to carry and sell.
The store has been broken into before, with thousands of dollars worth of cigarettes stolen last year, the manager said. In that case, police tracked down the burglars and returned the merchandise, which had been stuffed in large plastic garbage bags.
No descriptions of the thieves in the latest heist were available.


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The Mid-America Economic Development Council’s annual Economic Development awards ceremony took place in Chicago in December, and Columbus received some special recognition. The ColumbusRegion.com website, which launched in June 2011, took home the first place prize for websites in the large market category.
“Our goal for the ColumbusRegion.com website was to create an online presence to showcase all of the characteristics that make our 11-county region attractive to businesses,” says Kenny McDonald, chief economic officer at Columbus2020. “It’s an honor to be recognized among our peers by MAEDC, especially in Columbus2020’s first full year of existence.”
The ColumbusRegion.com website was created by local web engineering and development firm Dynamit.
More information can be found online at Columbusregion.com.


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The recent popularity of GPS functionality built into smartphones and stock vehicles might eventually phase out third party portable navigation devices entirely, but folks who currently own Tom Tom systems can now hear their driving directions read by classic Star Wars characters like Yoda and Darth Vader. Tom Tom will release one Star Wars character a month, available as a $13 download- check out this hilarious promo for the Yoda version.
July 13 is the official Embrace Your Inner Geek Day so we're celebrating this annual holiday by doing...the same thing...we normally...do. And just for kicks, we go around the table and recall the exact moment we realized we were geeks. Jeff's epiphany came when he chose indoor gaming over outdoor activities, I understood my geekdom as a kid obsessing over action figures, and I won't spoil Wilson's story, because it's just too tragic (and kind of funny) to retell.
Sometimes it pays off to geek out, and YouTube is financing amateur video creators as a way to encourage more creative use of its Web site, because let's face it- 94% of content on YouTube is a waste of Internet real estate.
YouTube is launching a $5 million Partner Grants program that will distribute thousands of dollars in contributions to content creators whose work appeals to mainstream viewers and could possibility generate ad revenue similar to their profit sharing program that recently netted David After Dentist's parents $100,000.
YouTube videos have to engage the viewer within the first ten seconds, however, or risk losing their attention, which has become an issue itself, according to a study in the Daily Mail UK that claims children who spend long hours watching TV and playing video games are twice as likely to develop attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD. If you're still reading this blog, you might be off the hook, but the article points out that teachers in classrooms might struggle to keep up with the rate of stimulation kids are used to in video games and television shows.
Happy Embrace Your Inner Geek Day! Now that the three of us have sufficiently embarrassed ourselves with stories of our young geekisms, we want to hear about the time that YOU let your inner geek out of the closet. E-mail us at the404(at)cnet(dot) or call us up at 1-866-404-CNET and tell us about it! Also, don't forget to watch Bonnie Cha and Jeff Bakalar test thein New York City!
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The competition watchdog is to scrutinise “green” claims used to advertise household essentials such as food, drink and toiletries to ensure shoppers are not being misled.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it was concerned many shoppers were being deceived and potentially paying a premium for products “that aren’t what they seem” as it launched a review of the accuracy of “green” claims on a wide range of grocery items.
A significant number are marketed as “green” or “environmentally friendly”, including up to 91% of all dishwashing items and 100% of toilet products, the CMA said.
The move will extend the CMA’s work on so-called greenwashing, which seeks to ensure that products and services that claim to be green or eco-friendly are being marketed to shoppers accurately.
The latest review will examine products known as fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) – essential items used on a daily basis and repurchased regularly, such as food and drink, cleaning products, toiletries, and personal care items.
The CMA will check whether companies are complying with UK consumer protection law and focus on the use of “vague and broad eco-statements”, such as “better for the environment” while lacking evidence, misleading claims about the use of recycled or natural materials in a product and how recyclable it is, and entire ranges being incorrectly branded as “sustainable”.
In 2021, the average household spent almost £70 a week on food and drink alone, and the FMCG sector as a whole is worth over £130 billion annually.
CMA chief executive Sarah Cardell said: “These products are the essentials on everyone’s shopping lists: food and drink, shampoo, laundry detergent, toothpaste, cleaning products.
“As more people than ever try to do their bit to help protect the environment, we’re concerned many shoppers are being misled and potentially even paying a premium for products that aren’t what they seem, especially at a time when the cost of living continues to rise.
“Our work to date has shown there could be greenwashing going on in this sector, and we’ll be scrutinising companies big and small to see whether their environmental claims stack up. Now is a good time for businesses to review their practices and make sure they’re operating within the law.”
Last year the CMA launched enforcement action against fashion brands ASOS, Boohoo and George, writing to the three firms outlining its concerns. The investigation is ongoing.
The CMA also produced the Green Claims Code – a guide to help businesses understand how to communicate their green credentials while avoiding the risk of misleading shoppers.


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Scientists make breakthrough in fight against methane gas – Adrien Taylor:
Scientists in Palmerston North have found a way to reduce methane emissions from cows and sheep by up to 90 percent.
The breakthrough came after trials found certain compounds inhibited methane being produced during digestion of food.
Chambers help scientists accurately monitor the amount of methane being produced by sheep, with the goal to reduce it.
Peter Janssen of AgResearch says they’re one step closer to finding a solution. . .
Table Hill farmers Dave and Janene Divers have won the Supreme title in the 2015 Otago Ballance Farm Environment Awards (BFEA).
The Divers, who farm a 1600ha sheep and beef property ‘Table Hill’, inland from Milton, were presented with the award at a BFEA ceremony on April 17. They also collected the Massey University Innovation Award, the Donaghys Farm Stewardship Award and the Ballance Agri-Nutrients Soil Management Award.
BFEA judges described the Divers as an “an extraordinarily focused, motivated and enthusiastic couple” who have embedded their philosophy of ‘Sustainable Farming, Sustainable Tourism, Sustainable Lifestyle’ into their personal and business lives. . .
Te Anau sheep and dairy farmers Robert and Anna Kempthorne are the Supreme Winners of the 2015 Southland Ballance Farm Environment Awards (BFEA).
At a BFEA ceremony on April 16 the Kempthornes also received the PGG Wrightson Land and Life Award, the LIC Dairy Farm Award, Ballance Agri-Nutrients Soil Management Award and the WaterForce Integrated Management Award.
The couple runs Mavora Farms Ltd, a successful self-contained dairy and sheep operation spread over 613ha in the Te Anau Basin. In partnership with Robert’s parents Bruce and Linda, the Kempthornes converted the family drystock farm and a neighbouring property in 2007, creating the first dairy farm in the district .The dairy operation now milks 550 cows on 235ha of mainly river-terrace contour, with the crossbred herd producing 231,000kgMS last year. . .
The 2015 Beef + Lamb New Zealand Steak of Origin competition charges ahead with today’s announcement of the successful semi-finalists.
The competition, sponsored by Zoetis, seeks to find the nation’s most tender and tasty sirloin steak – and the Grand Champion title is hotly contested by farmers.
Carne Technologies has now completed scientific testing of all entries for tenderness and colour. The top 20 per cent now go through to the semi-final at Auckland University of Technology on Friday 1 May, where they will be tasted by a panel of chefs and foodwriters. . .
The 11 finalists in the 2015 New Zealand Dairy Trainee of the Year competition begin a three-day study tour of the Central Plateau and Waikato today, where they will visit award-winning farmers and gain a greater insight into the dairy industry.
“The trainee study tour has quickly gathered a reputation for enabling the trainees to see what is possible to achieve in the industry with the right attitude and aptitude,” national convenor Chris Keeping says.
“It really focuses them on their own career, what they need to do and who can assist them. The dairy industry has a great co-operative spirit with people willing to share knowledge and assist others to achieve their goals. That’s really what the study tour is all about.” . . .
A resurgent ASEAN will provide a significant opportunity for New Zealand exporters to diversify and reduce their reliance on the China and Australian markets over the next decade, according to ANZ Bank NZ.
A new ANZ Research report finds that greater economic integration could see ASEAN replace China as the world’s leading manufacturing centre over the next 10 – 15 years and emerge as a key market for New Zealand food and agriculture products with the potential for NZ-ASEAN trade and investment to increase from US$13 billion last year to US$22–US$27billion by 2025.
“ASEAN: The Next Horizon,” released today, highlights the region’s enormous potential driven by closer economic integration, demographics, low labour costs and its strategic position at the intersection of global trade and shipping routes. . .
Signs of a revival in demand in the important, high-income Japanese wine market present opportunities for New Zealand wine producers, according to Rabobank’s latest Wine Quarterly report.
After a nearly two decade-long hiatus, beginning after the Asian financial crisis in the late 1990s, the Japanese wine market has now ‘come of age’ with the country’s wine drinkers increasingly open to new consumption occasions, wine styles and innovations, the report says.
Emerging indications that white wines are beginning to grow in popularity amongst Japanese wine consumers, albeit from a relatively low base, signal opportunities for New Zealand producers, according to report co-author, Rabobank senior wine analyst Marc Soccio. . .


text: Shares of Amazon.com Inc. AMZN, -1.79% rose 0.6% in midday trade to $988.07 in midday trade Wednesday, to put them on track to close above a widely-followed technical level for the first time since July 28. The 50-day moving average, which many chart watchers use as a dividing line between short-term uptrends and downtrends, currently extends to $987.29. The last day the e-commerce giant's stock closed above the 50-day MA was the day after the company reported second-quarter earnings that missed expectations, and two days after it closed at a record of $1,052.80. Analyst Eric Sheridan at UBS said he learned from a meeting with a former executive with Amazon's consumables and Amazon Fresh business that there is likely to be "increased online penetration" within the grocery industry, with Amazon's purchase of Whole Foods helping accelerate growth in the consumables space. Sheridan reiterated his buy rating on Amazon's stock and his $1,200 price target, which is about 21% above current levels. Amazon shares have edged up 0.7% over the past three months, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 NDX, +0.78% has climbed 4.1% and the S&P 500 SPX, -1.57% has gained 2.2%.


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According to latest leaks from OsitaLV, the upcoming DJI Osmo Pocket will be able to shot 4K video at 60p, it has a 12MP 1/2.3 inch image sensor. 24mm lens. The official announcement will be on 2PM ET, November 28th, 2018. Stay tuned.
DJI today officially announced this year’s Black Friday & Cyber Monday sales for DJI Drones, Handheld Products and Goggles RE, you can save up to $100 off on these products. The Black Friday deals for DJI drones includes DJI Spark, DJI Mavic Air, though there will be no discount on DJI Mavic Pro & Mavic 2 Pro/Zoom, but usually you will get $100 to $200 off at Black Friday season, you can find Mavic Pro Black Friday deals here.
DJI has officially announced their Spring sales of all their DJI drones. You can save up to 20% Off on DJI products. The DJI Spring sale is available from Apr 1, 12:01 am, to Apr 14, 11:59 pm (UTC-8), 2018.
Ahead of CES 2018, DJI has unveiled an Osmo Mobile 2 for smartphone users and a Ronin-S for DSLR & mirrorless videographers. The Osmo Mobile 2 is an updated version of its popular Osmo Mobile camera gimbal for smartphones. It is now has 15 hours of battery life, and it can also charge a smartphone for hours of streaming. The Ronin-S is made specifically for DSLR and mirrorless cameras. These two new gimbal stabilizers are built to prevent shaky footage, meaning anyone can now shoot like a pro.


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Online backup company Backblaze made waves last year when it announced a beta test last year of B2, a new public cloud storage service that would be cheaper than competing offerings from Amazon and Microsoft.
B2 has now exited beta with some new features that may make it more appealing to business users. It now has a service level agreement guaranteeing 99.9 percent uptime for all data stored within it, matching the baseline offerings from Amazon Web Services’ S3 and Microsoft Azure’s Blob Storage service.
In addition, users can now purchase expanded support from Backblaze, which will give them guaranteed rapid responses to support questions and – at the highest level – access to a phone number for around-the-clock support.
According to Backblaze CEO Gleb Budman, the company has shifted away from trying to steal customers away from S3 and other storage services, and towards eliminating companies’ reliance on tape-based storage.
“There are still just hundreds and hundreds of petabytes of tape that get deployed [inside companies],” he said in an interview. “And in almost all of those cases, everyone that uses them hates them, and has for a long time. There’s really nothing redeeming about tape, except for cost.”
In addition, companies can now more easily get their data out of Backblaze’s cloud. B2 users can take advantage of a “Snapshot” feature that lets them select up to 3.5TB of files stored with Backblaze and get that mailed to them on a physical hard drive for US$189.
It's similar to a service that Backblaze already offers customers of its cloud backup service, which allows them to get files from their computer mailed to them in the event they need physical access to that information.
As part of this launch, Backblaze also revealed a quartet of partnerships for B2, including an integration with network attached storage provider Synology. New NAS models from Synology will be able to back themselves up to B2, and the storage hardware company will be updating many of its recent storage devices to support that capability, too.
Businesses that use Cloudberry to do their cloud backup can now also use B2 through that service, building on its integrations with other providers including Amazon and Microsoft.
Looking towards the future, Budman said that Backblaze is looking to launch another data center in California, near its existing facility. After that, the company is looking to expand its geographic footprint to another location in North America.
Companies that want to make sure they have their files stored in multiple data centers can still benefit from B2, according to Budman. In his view, companies will still end up saving money by storing one copy of their information with B2 in Backblaze’s California data center and storing another copy in another storage service like Amazon S3.
So far, 30,000 people signed up to try B2 during its beta period. With Backblaze’s partnerships, it has the potential to pick up many users going forward, but it’s going to face tough competition against the likes of Amazon and Microsoft.


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Microsoft will hold an event focused on devices in New York City next month, as it prepares for the busy holiday shopping season.
In an invite to media, Microsoft gave few details beyond time — 1 p.m. Pacific Oct. 2 — and a message asking for “a moment of your time.” Expectations are that Microsoft will announce a refresh its existing Surface device line. But Microsoft fans are holding out hope that the event will mark the debut of a flashy new product such as the heavily rumored handheld foldable Surface device that blurs the lines of PC, tablet and smartphone known as Andromeda that was reportedly on hold as of a couple months ago.
Microsoft isn’t the only tech giant planning hardware announcements in the next few weeks. Apple will hold its next iPhone event Sept. 12, and Google is expected to unveil the third generation of its Pixel smartphone Oct. 9.


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THe COVID-19 Pandemic has shown it's a really bad face in the United Kingdom. The SME segment fo the UK is been facing worst kind of challenge with this pandemic, it its bid to support the Small Busines owners, the British government announced a new fast-track finance scheme providing loans with a 100 per cent government-backed guarantee for small businesses hit by the novel coronavirus outbreak.
Under the new loan scheme, announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak on Monday, small businesses can apply for Bounce Back Loans up to a maximum of 50,000 pounds (about US $62,073), or 25 per cent of turnover, with the government paying the interest for the first 12 months.
Designed to ensure that small firms which need vital cash injections to keep operating can get finance in a matter of days, the loans will be easy to apply for through a short, standardized online application since Monday next week.
The move came as British business group the Institute of Directors (IoD) urged the government to "improve and widen" the scope of coronavirus finance for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a survey of 879 SMEs leaders conducted recently by the IoD, an organisation representing some 30,000 business leaders across Britain, some half of respondents said the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS), launched by the government in March, wasn't "suitable" for their firms.
About 47 per cent respondents said "it (CBILS) is not suitable for my organisation right now", with 25 per cent saying "my organisation is not eligible", the IoD said in a statement released last Friday.
"Our smallest businesses are the backbone of our economy and play a vital role in their communities. This new rapid loan scheme will help ensure they get the finance they need quickly to help survive this crisis," Sunak said.
"This is in addition to business grants, tax deferrals, and the job retention scheme, which are already helping to support hundreds of thousands of small businesses," he added.
Mike Cherry, national chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses, said: "This crucial new initiative should enable thousands of small businesses to access the working capital they need quickly, helping to protect the millions of jobs they provide in every part of the UK."
According to the Treasury, British COVID-19 support schemes have provided over 15 billion pounds (about 18.6 billion dollars) for businesses in just a few weeks. The new loan scheme will run alongside the existing Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) and Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBILS).
In March, among other measures, the British government pledged to provide 330 billion pounds (about US $410 billion) of loans and guarantees to businesses in a bid to support firms getting through the tough times as the coronavirus outbreak escalates in the country.


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Ernst & Young, Microsoft to Develop Royalty Copyright Blockchain Solution
Major Tech Companies work to Develop Administrative Business Blockchain Solution
Microsoft and Ernst Young, two big names in the traditional tech sector, have recently announced a combined effort to create a joint blockchain project which will assist in the copyright and royalty management sector.
The management of content rights is in dire need of blockchain intervention. Other startup companies have experienced success using the technology for the patenting process, taking advantage of the immutable nature of the blockchain to store key bits of information essential to the copyrighting process. Now, EY and Microsoft plan to use their own blueprints to integrate blockchain technology into a joint project poised to change the way content rights management happens.
The project was first launched Wednesday, and will be rolled out first on Microsoft’s massive gaming business. Entities using the product will be able to streamline the vast processes involved in intellectual property management and the creation of royalty agreements. The platform will allow a wide array of different content creators to interact on a central structure.
The main problem which this blockchain solution is poised to solve involves the high number of intermediaries involved in the copyright and royalty payment process. With the joint effort by Microsoft and EY, it will be possible for content creators to make payments and negotiations happen between themselves—without the need for several intermediate parties’ involvement.
Additionally, this new solution is supposed to cut costs and build more trust between creators on the platform. Furthermore, the creators speculate that inefficient parts of the processes will be reduced, along with the errors created by inefficiency of system.
Unsurprisingly, this autonomous system works off of a smart-contract model. Smart contracts function by executing a certain command, such as paying an artist, every time a certain parameter is satisfied, such as when a song is played or a piece of art viewed. Because the process pays off without the need for outside intervention, it is possible to conduct many different kinds of contracts while never needing an intermediary.
For the Microsoft-partnered project, the smart contract model will be used in order to assess the royalty positions of players in the industry. This will allow for a higher visibility in recording and in the follow-through of transactions involving royalties. Microsoft will be integrating their existing Azure technology on the cloud, as well as Quorum’s blockchain protocol.
Microsoft will first deploy the technology with notable gaming partners such as Ubisoft. Once this trial run has yielded favorable results and revisions, Microsoft will roll the technology out with thousands of its existing royalty partners. They suspect that the platform will handle millions of transactions daily. The smart contract platform’s ease of use means that less resources need to be allocated to conduct any given transaction, leading to a higher amount of potential transaction volume each day.
Speculators argue that this solution by these two tech giants may very well be among the largest blockchain ecosystem from a notable enterprise.


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There are huge indoor climbing walls, indoor and outdoor water parks and one of Europe's largest mountain bike centres, and all in the stunning scenery of the Brecon Beacons.
So it perhaps it's no wonder that more than 1.2 million people visited Merthyr Tydfil as tourists last year, bringing more than £66m to the local economy.
At an event this week leaders of the borough's tourism sector, along with representatives of government and support agencies, saw a video showcasing the leisure opportunities available in the area.
The Destination Day event was held to launch a package of tourism products, including the activity tourism video featuring the town’s BikePark Wales, Rock UK Summit Centre and Parkwood Outdoors Dolygaer. There is also a new visitor guide, website and Destination Management Plan (DMP).
“The Destination Management Plan has been drawn up after extensive consultation with public, private and third sector organisations,” said Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council chief executive Gareth Chapman.
“We’ll be delivering it in partnership with local stakeholders with the view that everybody has a part to play in ensuring Merthyr Tydfil sustains its position as a diverse and welcoming destination which people wish to live in, visit and enjoy.”
The Destination Day event, held at the Orbit Business Centre yesterday, featured speakers including Mr Chapman, council leader Cllr Brendan Toomey, Visit Wales head of policy and programmes Gerwyn Evans and the managers of the three activity centres.
“Tourism is vitally important to the economy of Merthyr Tydfil bringing in 1.23m visitors and over £66m last year, and we offer huge opportunities as a destination through our natural environment, unique history and excellent geographical location,” said Mr Chapman.
“The accommodation sector in particular has grown significantly over the past decade, with the number of accommodation providers having doubled. Our thriving activity tourism offer has seen more international visitors come to the region than ever before.”
BikePark Wales had matured into a "truly world class facility" with planned developments for Rock UK Summit Centre also cementing its international reputation, Mr Chapman added. New facilities such as Parkwood Outdoors Dolygaer would strengthen the sector further.
“Our suite of activity tourism opportunities, combined with our unique cultural heritage offer made up of attractions such as Cyfarthfa Park, castle and museum, has seen significant investment attracting 500,000 visitors last year.
"In addition, the Welsh cultural centre Canolfan Soar, will undoubtedly ensure that Merthyr Tydfil sustains its position as a leading visitor destination.”
Cllr Toomey added: “The tourism sector supports 879 full-time equivalent jobs in Merthyr Tydfil and last year alone more than 400,000 visitors stayed overnight.
“So it’s essential that all partners make sure there are no gaps or failures in our tourism provision and that the package is professional and covers everything required by the visitor. We’re confident this plan will help us achieve that.”


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Mar 29, 2018
Mar 14, 2018
- Cheaper entry-level Macbook rumored to launch at WWDC
- March event technically still possible.
- Chrome notifications may start using Windows Action Center.
- Mixed Reality update coming with more features.
- Teams gets another update. Caleb still hates it.
- Android P Developer...
Mar 8, 2018
- The rumored high end headphones are probably going to be geared more toward the noise cancellation space.
- KGI is saying a new and cheaper Macbook Air coming in Q2.
- March security updates are...


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Published Sunday February 12, 2012 at 12:01 am
Rhode Island-based Ocean State Job Lot, a close-out retailer with more than 100 stores in seven states, trucked 22 pallets of food to the Worcester County Food Bank in Shrewsbury on Jan. 27. The shipment was part of more than $1 million in food that Ocean State Job Lot purchased, donated and trucked to food banks in its market areas.
Ocean State Job Lot said it matched the first $100,000 of customer donations then used its buying clout to purchase food valued at up to four times retail cost. Adding to the charitable leverage, the retailer delivered the food with its own 18-wheelers.
Worcester County Food Bank in Shrewsbury has received 1,231 pounds of nonperishable food collected from customers and employees through Charter Communications’ recent Charter Movies for Food program, and is also sharing in a $10,000 cash donation from Fitchburg-based Rollstone Bank & Trust Co. that was given to five food pantries. The other pantries were: Ginny’s Helping Hand Inc., Leominster; St. Vincent de Paul Society, Leominster; Townsend Ecumenical Outreach, Townsend; and Loaves & Fishes, Devens. The grant reflects $5,000 from customers and a $5,000 match from Rollstone.
The Webster Five Foundation, which is funded by Webster Five Cents Savings Bank, has given $2,000 to the Worcester-based Center for Women & Enterprise, a regional economic development organization that trains and assists women entrepreneurs and business owners, especially those with low to moderate incomes. The money will support CWE’s business, entrepreneurship and financial literacy training programs.
With $540 million in assets, Webster Five Cents Savings Bank has offices in Webster, Dudley, Oxford, Auburn, Worcester and Shrewsbury.
Saint-Gobain’s operations in Worcester and Northboro have donated $10,000 to the Worcester Historical Museum to help replace the 30 Elm St., Worcester, museum’s main entrance doors and refurbish the entrance steps and railings. The project will increase the building’s energy efficiency and provide safe and easy access.
Saint-Gobain has abrasives, ceramics and plastics operations in Worcester; a research center in Northboro; and a bottle-making plant in Milford.
Living history will benefit from a recent $1,000 donation by Southbridge Credit Union’s Community Champions Fund to Old Sturbridge Village, which recreates the work, family and community life of rural New Englanders from 1790 to 1840.


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Acer has just launched India’s first Honeycomb tablet, the Acer Iconia Tab A500.
The Iconia Tab A500 which was announced in January this year, runs on Android 3.0 with Acer’s UI on top and sports a 10.1″ capacitive touchscreen with a Dual core NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor.
It includes a 5MP rear camera with a 2MP front cam, Wi-Fi support, a 3260 mAh battery and 16GB internal memory which can be expanded upto 32GB by using SD cards.
The tablet also comes preloaded with Acer’s clear.fi media sharing system using which you can play movies, games, photos and music on Clear.fi enabled devices through Wi-Fi.
The tablet will arrive in the next couple of weeks and you can choose between 2 different variants, an Android version which will be retailing at Rs 27,990 and a Dual boot version with Windows also known as the Iconia W500, will be available for Rs 32,499.
Update: Acer has also announced the launch of its dual screen Iconia TouchBook, the 7″ Iconia A100 tablet and the 4.8″ Iconia Smart A300 phone.
Iconia TouchBook features two 14″ Touch Screen Display made out of Gorilla Glass, a Core i5 processor and will run on Windows 7. The Iconia A100 comes with features like 7″ display, Dual Core Tegra 2 Processor, 1530 mAh battery and a 5MP rear camera with 2 MP front camera.
And finally, competing with the likes of the original Dell Streak, Acer Iconia Smart is a Gingerbread phone with Acer UI, a 4.8″ HXGA screen, 1GHz Snapdragon Processor, 8 megapixel camera with LED Flash on the back and 2 Megapixel on the front, 720p Video recording and 8GB Internal Memory.


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VW CEO may stay on to launch next Golf - report
BERLIN (Reuters) - Volkswagen Chief Executive Martin Winterkorn said he may stay at the helm of Europe's biggest car maker beyond the term of his current contract to launch the new Golf model, German magazine Der Spiegel reported.
VW Chairman Ferdinand Piech said in an interview last November that Winterkorn could stay for another five to seven years and that he had asked his chief executive to take charge of the next Golf.
"I want to play a decisive role in shaping the next generation of the Golf" hatchback, Winterkorn told the magazine in an interview published on Saturday. The next makeover of VW's best-selling model may come to market around 2018.
Winterkorn's second term as CEO of VW runs out in December 2016. The 65-year-old has been at the helm of the Wolfsburg-based auto manufacturer since January 2007.
Winterkorn also told Der Spiegel that VW currently has over 120,000 orders for the seventh-generation Golf which went on sale last year. (Reporting by Andreas Cremer; Editing by Toby Chopra)
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- UPDATE 6-Obama warns on Crimea, orders sanctions over Russian moves in Ukraine
- Privacy groups ask regulators to halt Facebook's $19 billion WhatsApp deal
- RPT-With Crimean appeal, Putin goes head-to-head with West over Ukraine
- Exclusive - Pimco's Gross declares El-Erian is 'trying to undermine me'
- Singapore's megachurches move to export lucrative religion
The Nifty rose to a record high, and the benchmark BSE Sensex hit its record for a second consecutive session, as foreign investors bet big in a country that just months ago was gripped by market turmoil. Full Article


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Consumer complaints about debt collectors up 17%
Despite federal efforts to protect Americans from debt-collection abuses, the number of consumer debt-collection complaints filed with the government last year reached 140,036, up 17% from 2009, according to a Federal Trade Commission annual report.
The FTC said it received more complaints about debt collection than any other industry. Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, debt collectors may not harass consumers. But consumers are apparently still vulnerable.
In about half of the debt-collection complaints, 54,147, consumers said they were badgered by collectors who called repeatedly.
Some complaints, 27,554, also said that collectors had threatened dire consequences, such as criminal prosecution and seizure of property. Even worse, 4,182, filings said that debtor collectors threatened violence.
“I’m very sorry to see some of these longstanding problems are still problems,” says Gail Hillebrand, director of Consumers Union’s Defend Your Dollars campaign. “Threats of violence have been illegal for many years, and to see these things still happening suggests that there is tremendous need for more enforcement.”
The FTC’s debt-collection program includes law enforcement. For example, this month it reached the largest civil penalty ever obtained in a debt-collection case resulting in $2.8 million from a leading debt collector, West Asset Management.
The program also provides consumer education, with a written and online “Facts for Consumers” brochure. Last year 678,051 consumers asked for the brochure on its website.
The growing debt-buying industry is driving a surge in lawsuits against consumers even though debt collectors often don’t have proof to back their claims, said a Consumers Union report on debt collection that was released last month.
Last year about 30% of consumers who filed a debt-collection complaint said that they had not received a required written notice with basic information about the debt. And without the notice, many consumers are unaware that they must dispute the debt in writing if they wish to obtain verification of the debt, the FTC says.
“The fact that many did not get the notice is troubling,” Hillebrand says. The Consumers Union recommends a number of reforms, including that consumers receive more information, not less. And that a time limit on old debt is established. When the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau opens in July it will have power to impose debt collector regulations, the FTC says.


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The days of poorly-designed restaurant websites may finally be coming to an end. Restaurant Engine has launched their restaurant website design solution, helping restaurants turn all of those hungry online visitors into customers.
What makes Restaurant Engine so appealing to restaurateurs is that it’s completely turnkey: Restaurants get stunning website design, hosting, a WordPress-powered back-end, and personal consultation, all packaged in an affordable monthly subscription model. There’s even a free trial so restaurants can take their new website for a test run.
“We collaborate with some of the most talented web designers in the industry (who normally charge thousands for a custom website design) to give restaurants a level of quality that creates more credibility for their business on the web,” says founder and lead web designer, Brian Casel.
For restaurants, boosting one’s credibility online really pays off. The Pew Research Center released a study showing that the Internet is the number one source people turn to for information about local restaurants. Another recent study shows 75% of visitors judge a website’s credibility based on the quality of it’s design.
Today’s restaurant customers aren’t only using their computers to surf the web. Smartphones and tablets like the iPhone and iPad account for a huge chunk of Internet traffic — especially when you consider most people searching for restaurants are already out and about using their mobile device. That’s why Restaurant Engine provides restaurants with a mobile website, built in, without the need for additional apps or setup.
“The feature I like most about Restaurant Engine is the mobile optimization and simplicity of setting up the site. Practically, everything is already there and one only needs to plug in their content,” says a user of the service.
Other features Restaurant Engine users can take advantage of include managing food menus, photo galleries, online reservations, events calendars, and more. Since it’s built on WordPress, the web’s leading content management system, it’s easy to add a blog and manage unlimited web pages.
Social media and search engine optimization (SEO) round out the product, giving restaurants all of the tools they need to market their business online and spur word-of-mouth promotion on social networks like Facebook, Twitter, and Foursquare.
Restaurants in search of a quality restaurant website design solution can learn more about Restaurant Engine and start a free trial by going to http://RestaurantEngine.com.


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MARKHAM, Ontario –
The Canadian Black Book Wholesale Used Vehicle Retention Index, which covers vehicles 2 to 6 years old, was down 5.0% year-over-year in May and fell 3.1% month-over-month, according to an update from the company this week.
The index’s reading was at 100.5 in May. In the last three months, it has dropped 7.8 points since reaching 108.3 in February. That streak includes a record 3.58-point dip in April and last month’s 3.2-point decline.
“It is our expectation that there are approximately 10 more points of potential decline before values begin to trend upwards towards the end of 2020,” Canadian Black Book said in a news release.
The CBB used index has remained above 100 for nearly three straight years, according to data from the company. In June 2017, it was at 99.9. Then beginning with July 2017, the index has been above 100 each month.
May’s reading was the lowest since June 2017.
As far as the rest of this year, the used-vehicle market is likely to see several more months of soft prices, CBB said, as additional vehicle supply hits the market. Then, look for an improvement in the economy and used-vehicle prices.
Such reflects the “very strong cyclical nature” of the car business.
“We fully expect that once some of the extra supply we are expecting over the next 5-6 months has run through the market and the economy starts to strengthen that prices will start to rebound,” CBB said. “Until that time, it is a buyer’s market, and there are deals to be had out there in the lanes.”
Looking at more recent data, wholesale prices of cars ages 2 to 8 years old were down 0.58% last week. The week before, they dropped 0.6%, according to the latest COVID-19 Automotive Market Weekly Update from Canadian Black Book.
The average weekly decline the past eight weeks for cars has been 0.54%.
As for trucks, their wholesale prices were off 0.68% last week and 0.85% the week before. The weekly average the past eight weeks has been a 0.61% drop.
“Please note that these are weekly adjustments, so when you consider how much of a decline this would be over 52 weeks over a year, the numbers are daunting,” CBB said in a release.
Going back to the monthly index, CBB said June’s decline could be larger than May’s 3.2-point drop.
“It remains our outlook that wholesale prices will continue to decline, until we reach a total decline of 17% industry wide,” CBB said. “We have not yet seen retail asking prices follow the wholesale trends, but that is to be expected in the coming months.”


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Washington, D.C. businesses with a history of “gifting” cannabis will be allowed to obtain a medical cannabis license under a law that took effect in the District late last month, WTOP News reports. There are currently over 100 shops in D.C. that sell items at inflated prices and include cannabis equal to the purchase price, the report says.
The law also expands the types of licenses that retailers may apply for, including internet retailer and a courier license for cannabis deliveries, as well as “safe-use facility endorsement” to allow events, such as tasting or sampling events, cannabis-based cooking classes, and summer garden events that allow sales in private outdoor spaces.
The law sets aside at least 50% of the new cannabis licenses for social equity applicants. Retailers have 90 days to apply for a license and civil enforcement of the new licensing program won’t begin for 315 days, the report says.
In August, the city council approved a law to allow DC residents 21-and-older to self-certify for medical cannabis, providing them immediate access to medical cannabis. Adult-use cannabis is legal in D.C.; however, adult-use sales have been blocked by a rider in the congressional budget prohibiting local officials from spending funds on setting up the industry. D.C.’s budget is set forth by Congress.
The bill also changed the name of the Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration to the Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Administration (ABCA).
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Authored by Wolf Richter via WolfStreet.com,
TV falls further behind, suffers first ad revenue decline since the Financial Crisis.
You might think you never look at these ads or click on them, and you might think they’re the biggest waste of money there ever was, but reality is that internet advertising revenues in the US are surging, and are blowing all other media categories out of the water. But only two companies divvy up among themselves nearly 60% of the spoils.
Internet advertising revenues in the US soared 21.4% in 2017 from a year earlier to a record of $88 billion, thus handily demolishing TV ad revenues, which declined 2.6% to $70.1 billion, according to annual ad revenue report by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB).
It was the second year in a row that internet ad revenues beat TV. In 2016, internet ad revenues (or “ad spend”) had surpassed TV ad revenues for the first time in US history.
And 2017 was the first year in the data series going back to 2010 that TV advertising actually declined. That formerly unstoppable growth industry is now a declining industry.
Of the $254 billion spent on advertising in 2017 in the US, online ads obtained a share of 35%. In the chart below, there are two big media categories: Internet and TV. The rest are also-rans. Newspapers (print) are still on the list, if in much diminished form, down about 25% from 2010, but still nearly double the ad spend of OOH (out-of-home advertising, such as billboards, ads inside public transit, etc.):
Why is the Internet so successful in attracting the big bucks?
Read IAB’s explanation carefully because it discusses what happens with your personal data, which is precisely makes internet advertising so appealing to advertisers:
Current technological advances in big data, predictive analytics, artificial intelligence, and robotic process automation (RPA) have all greatly impacted the industry and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.
The volume of digital data being created on the internet is increasing exponentially. Every year the digital universe doubles in size with many estimates indicating a 50X growth between 2010 and 2020 [“Inside Big Data, Exponential Growth of Data,” February 2017].
These large volumes of data provide the raw ingredients to enable greater advertising efficiency. The ability to apply analytics and AI to massive volumes of data enable marketers to target end users in ways not previously possible. Furthermore, these same advances when combined with RPA have allowed for increased automation throughout the ecosystem – driving further efficiencies.
Mobile is hot. Internet advertising on mobile devices surged 36.2% in 2017 from a year earlier to $38.1 billion of the $88 billion in total internet advertising.
Among the major internet ad formats, search ads – hello Google – get almost half the share to total spending:...


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Published 8 years ago
Last updated 8 years ago
Dubai, 25February2015:Building on the new partnership between NIVEA Invisible Black & White and Abaya engineer Sara Al Madani, NIVEA, the leader in deodorants across the Middle East, is delighted to announce the launch of its facebook competition granting three winners abayas designed by Sara Al Madani. To participate in the competition, consumers are requested to log on the NIVEA Middle East Facebook page or access the competition onhttp://www.en.nivea-me.com/experience/ext/en-ar-ME/Black-White. The competition, which runs until March 2015, is open to consumers across the GCC. The winners of the competition will be announced in March on NIVEA Middle East Facebook page. NIVEA Invisible for Black & White is the first and the world’s top anti perspirant range of deodorants that protects against yellow stains on white and white marks on black clothes. It protects your skin and your favourite clothes, so black stays black and white stays white while leaving no white marks on your clothing. It also helps to prevent build-up of yellow stains on white clothes, keeping them white for longer, and offers a 48h anti-perspirant protection. For more information on NIVEA Invisible for Black & White, you can watch Sara Al Madani’s video on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SimQZolotQand visit NIVEA’s Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/NIVEAMiddleEast?ref=br_tf.


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The corona virus has hit many sectors hard, but none as hard as the Airline, Energy, Cruise, Hotel, and Hospitality industries. Companies like Darden, Cheesecake , Dennys, and Bloomin’ Brands have lost as much as 80% of share value during the Pandemic Sell-Off of 2020, while the broad market has corrected only 37%. The overreaction to the downside is quite understandable with the fear of the unknown. One must realize with great volatility comes great opportunity. With that said, let's examine the hardest-hit industries and what people will do once the Great American Lockdown ends - potentially as early as May 1st. Will people be running to catch a flight on an airplane for business or leisure travel? Probably not. Will people rush to get on the next tightly-packed cruise ship with limited medical facilities? Probably not. Long car trips across the country burning gas and staying at hotels? Doubtful at best. However, the first thing Americans will do across the country with their stimulus money is get out of the house and go eat, and indulge in the favorite American pastime: food! So when we look for value in the most beaten down sectors, the restaurant industry stands out to us. Americans, who are tired of being locked up and cooking every meal at home will want to get out of their homes and eat, safely . We anticipate that restaurants will employ social distancing in the dining rooms. As well, we anticipate early-bird and late-night dinner specials will spread their prime-time income hours out. Instead of getting a rush of people for lunch from 12-2pm or dinner from 6-8pm, expect restaurants to promote normally low-traffic time slots to bring people in for safer social distance dining. It will take time for America to get back to normal. Wall Street is forward looking, so expect share prices to rebound ahead of the actual rebound - smart money knows!
One restaurant name that stands out to us is BLMN at $8.62. Their brands include Carrara’s, Outback, Flemings, and Bonefish Grill. They have over 1000 locations in mostly suburban areas, many of which are located outside the hard-hit Covid-19 cities. A 50 % retracement from February prices would be $12.50 per share. Weeks ago, the company accessed its 400 million dollar credit revolver for liquidity. They allowed Jana Partners , a NYC based hedge fund who owns significant chunk of stock, to appoint 2 board members. A financial back stop in place? The CEO has forgone base salary and recently purchased almost a million dollars of stock in the open market. BLMN has paid a handsome dividend for many years which has grown at 27% per year since 2015. It recently suspended the dividend and cut guidance like many other companies. The stock boasts a 90+% institutional ownership and had been a pillar of stability at over $20 per share for years. With steady dividend growth and share appreciation we can understand why the big money has liked BLMN. It has recently attracted heavy Call purchase option activity, shown above. This month Bloomin is launching in Florida, The Aussie Grill, which will be a fast casual cheap price point dining experience aimed the fast food customer with the ability to handle high volume, drive through and pickup business. . President Trump has discussed at his evening press briefings of pushing through legislation that would allow every business meal at any restaurant to be a tax deduction. The CEO of Bloomin will be with the President at the White House this week ,along with a handful of other restaurant Ceo's to participate in the Economic Council the President has constructed to re-start the economy. President Trump is famous for signaling his next moves in advance through his twitter account or press briefings. This would be an enormous shot in the arm for the battered hospitality industry. Once the institutional money starts to redeploy in the stock market, backed by the bazooka of the FED, many over cooked stocks will rebound sharply. The upside for BLMN is looking Bloomin' good!
We currently own shares in BLMN


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Google has been working with Adobe to improve battery life drain caused by Flash and today flipped the switch on a new Chrome feature that does exactly that. The new feature aims to detect Flash on a webpage that is actually important to the main content and “intelligently pause content” that isn’t as important. The result is to hopefully make the web experience with Flash more power efficient to improve battery life on your laptop. Here’s how it works: expand full story
browsers Stories June 4, 2015
browsers Stories April 29, 2014
Mozilla announced a major overhaul of its desktop browser today and Firefox’s Android build isn’t being left behind. Now available to download from the Play Store, Mozilla’s refreshed mobile browser ships with several technical tweaks, but the standout here is Firefox Accounts for Firefox Sync.
browsers Stories March 3, 2014
Google has announced an experimental feature in the developer version of Chrome OS that allows you to access more than one user profile at the same time, easily flicking between them, as well as passing both tabs and files back-and-forth between profiles.
Switching profiles is as easy as clicking on the profile picture in the system tray popup. […] One nice thing, but still highly experimental, is that you can move windows to different profiles with a simple right click in the window top bar. As you can see in the video, even the Files App even supports this feature.
To access the feature in the Chrome OS dev channel, enter the following line:
If you’re not currently using the dev channel, you can find instructions for switching here, but note that by definition you can expect to experience some glitches. The stable channel is always recommended when working on anything important.
browsers Stories September 29, 2011
Amazon yesterday outed its Kindle Fire tablet, the lower-priced $79 Kindle and the new $99 Kindle touch. They also unveiled a brand new browser written exclusively for the Kindle Fire, dubbed Silk. There has been some concern among web developers about the browser’s rendering engine given how numerous web sites are optimized for the open-sourced WebKit rendering engine. According to a post by Mike Mainguy, a software architect with Lemans Corporation, the Silk browser does leverage WebKit as its rendering engine. Moreover, it also employs SPDY, Google’s optimized hypertext transfer protocol introduced in late 2009 as part of the search giant’s “Let’s make the web faster” initiative. It’s currently used in Chrome and now in Amazon’s Silk browser, too. Mainguy explains:
All told this isn’t as big a technological change at the front end and is more of a story about amazon trying to use their infrastructure to make the mobile browsing experience better. Frankly, this is a scaled up and modernized version of what blackberry did years ago (are they still doing that?).
It appears that Amazon combined SPDY with Amazon Web Services to caches files and offload page rendering to the cloud, depending on workload. According to the Silk team:
browsers Stories August 25, 2011
Several new enhancements have surfaced in the latest developer version of Google’s Chrome browser. As previously announced, the software now respects Apple’s multitouch gesturing philosophy in OS X Lion. This means you can flick your finger left or right on your Magic Mouse (or two fingers on a trackpad) to advance and go back in your history. Unfortunately, the browser doesn’t yet support double-tap or pinch to smoothly zoom in and out of web pages iPhone-style, like Safari on Lion. Another handy treat: You can now rest assured that accidentally hitting the Command + Q combo won’t quit Chrome because a subtle overlay appears telling you to hold down the combo briefly in order to quit.
In addition, Chrome now supports Lion’s Full-Screen feature through the standard full-screen button found in the upper right corner of the window. The latest nightly build across all platforms also sports the brand new Omnibar history syncing feature which comes on top of the previously available syncing capabilities for Chrome extensions, passwords, bookmarks, web apps, autofill items, browser settings and themes. A multi-profile feature has also seen some work in the visual department, even though it is not yet available in nightly Chrome builds for OS X. If you wish to try out those experimental features, we recommend installing the Google Chrome Canary build. This particular version, unlike other Chrome channels, runs without a hiccup alongside your existing stable Chrome installation.
browsers Stories August 18, 2011
Image credit: dropit2entrecard.blogspot.com
Something fell off our plate amid the late craze in tech reporting, especially with Google buying Motorola and HP abandoning PC biz and webOS devices. That doesn’t mean this little nugget is not worthy your attention, quite the contrary. Three years ago, Google mentioned it would eventually enable the so-called native code execution in Chrome. The latest beta of Chrome 14, unleashed a week ago, now supports this functionality, the Google Operating System blog has discovered.
In Layman’s terms, native code execution lets the Chrome browser run snippets of web code specifically optimized for your computer’s processor rather than analyze, interpret and painstakingly turn HTML code line by line into a machine-readable format – that takes a lot of time, slowing down code execution as a result.
Google’s definition simply states the technique lets developers “build web applications that seamlessly execute native compiled code inside the browser”. For our tech-savvy readers, Google outlined some of the benefits of this technique in the announcement blog post three years ago:
Modern PCs can execute billions of instructions per second, but today’s web applications can access only a small fraction of this computational power. If web developers could use all of this power, just imagine the rich, dynamic experiences they could create. At Google we’re always trying to make the web a better platform. That’s why we’re working on Native Client, a technology that aims to give web developers access to the full power of the client’s CPU while maintaining the browser neutrality, OS portability and safety that people expect from web applications.
The stable Chrome 14 release is expected within a month, when native code execution will become standard feature for the 160 million active Chrome users, as of May 11. So, why should you care? Read on…
browsers Stories August 15, 2011
We here at 9to5Google are no strangers to Chrome Experiments, sweet little snippets of code that highlight the many advances Google’s been adding to its browser. Take, for example, a tech demo where you write your message and have the band in a music video dance it out. Today, Conceivably Tech points us to another interesting showcase that highlights the efficiency of Google’s WebGL support in Chrome.
WebGL is for the web what OpenGL stands for on your desktop, a standardized way for web developers to tap the power of your graphics card directly, by embedding an OpenGL code right inside web pages. The WebGL Water demo runs smoothly full screen on my 1.6GHz Core i5 MacBook Air and the water ripple effect, particles and lighting effects have to be experienced first hand in order to be fully appreciated.
The code runs best in Chrome due to the use of the OES-texture-float extension, which is currently only available for Chrome. If this is a sign of things to come, soon we will be able to run complex visualizations and shiny 3D games right inside our browser.
browsers Stories July 27, 2011
We here at 9to5Google love Chrome Experiments, nifty little web apps that showcase what can be achieved with HTML5 and the Chrome browser. Be it a simple project like the Google I/O countdown timer or mind-boggling stuff such as this interactive music video, Google Experiments is a go-to place for a glimpse of where web technologies are headed. All Is Not Lost, the latest Chrome experiment and an HTML5 music collaboration between the band OK Go, the dance troupe and choreographers Pilobolus and Google, is one such example.
It lets you embed your message in a music video and have the band dance it out, Keiko Hirayama, senior marketing manager with the Google Tokyo team explains in a post over at the Chrome blog. Upon visiting the experiment’s landing page, you’re only required to type in your message. The web app will then load the video and make the band dance it out with a little bit of HTML5’s canvas magic…
browsers Stories July 1, 2011
A big milestone today as Google’s Chrome hits a cool 20 percent web usage share according to StatCounter numbers for the month of June (via TNW) based on aggregate data collected from their network of three million websites.
For the first time ever, Chrome passed the 20 percent mark globally, accounting for 20.65 share of all web browsing the world over. Compare that to just 2.8 percent in the year-ago period. Google’s browser is now chasing Firefox which fell from 30 percent in June 2010 to 28 percent in June 2011. All versions of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer have also fallen to 44 percent globally, down from 59 percent in June 2010.
In the United States Chrome’s rise was less rapid, hitting 16 percent in June while Microsoft’s and Mozilla’s browsers scored 46.5 percent and 24.7 percent, respectively. What’s especially interesting is Chrome’s share in South America where it grabbed 29.72 percent of the market, beating Firefox (24 percent) to the browser punch (Microsoft’s browser had 44.1 percent share). An indication of things to come globally?
browsers Stories June 3, 2011
WebKit – an Apple-developed, open-sourced rendering platform – is picking up steam on desktop. On laptop and desktop computers, WebKit-powered browsers are closing in on Mozilla’s Firefox, which is the world’s second most-popular browser. Look no further than Net Applications’ numbers derived by monitoring more than 40,000 websites in their network (see above chart). Adding May 2011 web usage share numbers for Safari (7.28 percent) and Chrome (12.52 percent) brings us to the combined 19.8 percent market share.
That’s just shy of one fifth of all desktop browsing, putting WebKit within spitting distance of Firefox’s 21.71 market share. Trends do not favor browser vendors who have been pretty much bleeding market share to Google and Apple in past months. Chrome and Safari have managed to grow their user base over the past couple of months at the expense of Mozilla’s Firefox, Microsoft’s Internet Explorer and Opera Software’s Opera. A StatCounter survey supports those findings (see below). Why is Mozilla failing?
browsers Stories May 11, 2011
Google just said at Day Two Keynote that users have installed 70 million web apps found in the Chrome Web Store in the first three months. To put things in perspective, Google said Chrome has been downloaded 160 million times worldwide so far. The store is also available in 40 new languages as of today.
The company also introduced a simple way to enable one-click purchases withing web apps themselves, via Google Checkout. So, what’s the deal? Unlike Apple which takes 30 percent cut on iTunes content sales or in-app purchases, Google said it would take just five percent. “We at google felt we can do a little better”, a Google engineer said during the keynote in a hint at Apple’s 70:30 revenue sharing deal.


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Burlington considers ban on plastic shopping bags — would it work?
Plastic bags are marvelously useful — until they become unsightly litter, or worse.
In March, Burlington voters will have the option of steering the city toward making them scarce, or even banning them.
The advisory ballot (embedded below) reminds voters that cast-off, single-use plastics pollute waters worldwide and pose health risks to fish.
What's actually on the ballot?
Burlington's proposal makes no promises and sets no deadlines.
Nor does it mention the lively market for old plastic bags and other thin, "film" plastics used in packaging: Some local businesses collect and sell tons of it to factories, where it is recycled into composite decking and lawn furniture.
City Councilor Joan Shannon, D-South District, the proposal's chief sponsor, says the ballot is nonetheless worthwhile — because it might spur Burlington's well-meaning but sometimes-complacent residents into more thoughtful action.
Even if paper bags turns out to be in some ways "less-green" than plastics, Shannon said, the debate must quicken.
"We're not just looking for a 'yes' vote," she added. "We'd like to get a better feeling for how strongly people feel about this."
Would a ban disrupt local recycling?
Many Vermonters already contribute to the thriving market for used film-plastic. They stuff clean, dry bags (regardless of origin) into barrels at Price Chopper/Market 32, Shaw's or Hannaford supermarkets; Lowe's hardware, Target and Wal-Mart.
Shoppers at Burlington's two City Market/Onion River Co-op stores likewise find bag-friendly bins.
Regularly, hundreds of thousands of Vermonters' bags are baled and hauled to Virginia and Nevada, where the Trex corporation transforms them into decking, fences and outdoor furniture.
The appeal of that venture, according to the Trex website, is the relatively clean, pre-sorted stream of raw material.
What happened when Brattleboro banned bags?
Price Chopper, the Schenectady, New York-based food chain, recycles about two million pounds of film-plastic every year, according to Mona Golub, vice president of public relations and consumer services.
When Brattleboro enacted its ban on plastic bags in July, Golub looked at the bright side: "I hoped that the noble intent of the law would encourage conversion to heavy-duty reusable bags."
It didn't work out that way.
"About 15 percent of Price Chopper customers have converted to reusables — the rest switched to paper bags," Golub said. "The Brattleboro bill made no provision for paper."
In October, Price Chopper began charging Brattleboro customers a nickel per paper bag.
Golub hopes that policy will shift more folks away from those bags, which actually cost municipalities to recycle due to depressed markets.
Her short list of the environmental downsides of single-use paper bags echoes that of the Environmental Literacy Council:
- Manufacturing paper requires a lot of energy; and creates polluting by-products;
- Paper is heavier to ship than plastic, and therefore accounts for more transportation-related greenhouse gases;
- Paper bags cost about three times more than plastic bags, and are less likely to be re-used;
- Paper bags degrade poorly in light- and oxygen-starved landfills.
In towns that have no ban on plastic bags, Golub said, less than one percent of customers request paper bags because "it's just not as useful" for other uses, such as pet-waste disposal.
Either way, she added, supermarkets like Price Chopper would be better able to contribute to waste-reduction and recycling if Vermonters enacted a statewide policy, rather than "patchwork" rules.
Healthy Living Market & Cafe in South Burlington, meanwhile, took plastic grocery bags out of circulation in 2015. It still offers paper bags. But, like Price Chopper, its over-arching goal is to promote reusable bags.
What would a ban mean to Seventh Generation?
Burlington-based Seventh Generation, a company with an international reputation for its earth-friendly home products, relies on recycled plastics — and to a lesser extent, plant-based materials — for its containers and packaging.
The company plans to move its entire sourcing-and-disposal chain to that model by 2020, Derrick Lawrence, director of packaging development, said Thursday.
Seventh Generation uses thin-film plastics for bundling some of its bulkier products, and labels the wrapping as recyclable at drop-off stores.
A ban on single-use plastics might reduce the incentive for supermarkets to support drop-off recycling, Lawrence said — potentially redirecting a community's plastic into landfills, where its value is lost.
Seventh Generation is constantly working to improve its commitment to cleaner air and water, fully aware that that there is no single, perfect solution, he added.
Vermonters might likewise consider a wider perspective as they craft recycling laws, Lawrence said: "There are some trade-offs, right?"
Why plastic bags don't belong in your blue bin
Plastic bags are considered a "top contaminant" at the Chittenden Solid Waste District's mechanized sorting plant in Williston.
Shopping bags, plastic bubble wrap, dry cleaner bags and other "film" plastics regularly snarl conveyor belts and other machinery, explained Michele Morris, CSWD's director of communications: "It's super-problematic."
The district's Material Resource Facility (typically shortened to MRF and pronounced "Murf") is operated by Casella Recycling and relies on workers to hand-pick plastic bags and other incompatible cast-offs from the conveyor belts.
There is no shortage in Vermont of posters, labels, decals and video spots that spell out what's allowed and what's not allowed in a residential blue bin.
But those details are often overlooked in a culture that has come to value the convenience of a one-spot drop-off, Morris said.
Furthermore, a misplaced sense of virtue compels folks to toss anything that's recyclable — even such potentially dangerous items as car batteries, lawn mower engines, propane tanks and plastic bags, she continued. Morris calls the phenomenon "the halo effect" or "wish-cycling."
That impulse has it half-right.
"Almost everything is recyclable, " Morris agreed. "But not everywhere."
Contact Joel Banner Baird at 802-660-1843 or firstname.lastname@example.org. Follow him on Twitter @VTgoingUp