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February 28, 2014
Gamemakers are increasingly looking to other platforms. CCP Games announced its plan to create a TV series based on the popular space game “EVE Online” almost one year ago. While the company has met with numerous networks and studio execs to develop a series, they claim to be in no rush to produce it. CCP wants to capitalize on the growing number of the online game’s worldwide players, and will launch “EVE: True Stories” as a comic book before a TV series is produced.
“The success of series like ‘The Walking Dead,’ ‘Game of Thrones’ and film franchises like ‘The Lord of the Rings,’ ‘The Hobbit’ and ‘Harry Potter’ have encouraged gamemakers to consider expanding their properties onto other platforms,” reports Variety. “The successful transition of genre properties from the book to the screen has also helped Hollywood grasp the potential of games with strong followings.”
“Hollywood is getting clued into the power” of the franchise potential for game properties, said CCP Games CEO Hilmar Veigar Petursson. “If you look at things that come out today versus five or 10 years ago, it’s way more authentic and people appreciate that authenticity.”
The Iceland-based company hired Baltasar Kormakur (“2 Guns”) to direct. Petursson recognizes that for a successful series the content needs to revolve around people, their relationships, and struggles rather than the game itself and technology.
The comic book will help the storytelling go through a level of filtering. “CCP has no plans to produce and distribute the TV series on its own and go the Netflix route other produces are now embracing for their original productions,” notes the article.
“Our focus is on making the game,” Petursson said. “We know nothing about making good TV. We watch TV and have opinions, but it’s not the same thing. We don’t want to pretend to know something about what we don’t.”


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The New Year is a time to adopt healthy habits for a lot of us, which means hitting the gym and revamping our eating. There are plenty of fad diets out there that aren’t worthy of our attention, but one diet we may want to consider? Intermittent fasting.
Research suggests this trendy diet may do more than just help us shed pounds - it could help us live longer, too. A new study from Johns Hopkins University finds intermittent fasting can reduce blood pressure, help with weight loss, and boost longevity.
Professor of neuroscience Mark Mattson has studied the effects of the diet for over two decades and has been practicing it himself for 20 years. He focuses on two types of fasting: Daily time-restricted feeding - where you eat for six to eight hours a day and fast for 16 to 18, and 5:2 intermittent fasting, where you fast two days a week, usually eating no more than 500 calories a day on those days.
- His research reviewed past studies and his findings show that fasting can trigger “metabolic switching,” where cells use up their fuel stores and convert fat to energy - “flipping a switch” from fat-storing to fat-saving.
- But here’s the thing - not eating for huge chunks of the day can leave us hungry and cranky, so this diet can be tough to stick to. But if you can get past the irritability and being hangry - which Mattson says “usually passes after two weeks to a month” - your brain gets used to it and then you can enjoy all those health benefits.
Read more --> CNN
Photo Credit: Getty Images

domain: news


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November 22, 2005
For the 20th year in a row, the U.S. Public Interest Research Group released a survey warning parents about toy hazards
On the eve of the busiest shopping season of the year, the Public Interest Research Group is notifying parents about harmful toys. Researchers focused on four categories: toys that pose choking hazards, toys that are excessively loud, toys that pose strangulation hazards, and toys that contain toxic chemicals.
The usual balloons and yo-yo's made it on the list of this year's most dangerous toys.
"This toy wraps tightly around their children's necks [and] causes other injuries to eyes, face and head," said Alison Cassady, the Research Director for U.S. Public Interest Research Group. She held up a 'water yo-yo' as an example.
The group released a survey warning parents about these hazards. Other things on the list include noise. The group said a child's hearing can easily be damaged. Researchers point to things like toy electric guitars that appear to exceed noise standards.
"Exposure to noise at 117 decibels can cause hearing loss in 20 seconds," said Cassady.
Also, testing revealed that some toys that were labeled as 'non-toxic,' actually contained chemicals. Experts said there aren't enough chemicals in the toys to pose a serious threat but, these are just some of the potential hazards that parents can avoid.
"That's the way to prevent it, hands down," said Dr. Rob Trundle, of the Pediatric Associates of Charlottesville.
Dr. Trundle, is a local pediatrician, who feels there is no substitute for adult supervision.
"It becomes a parental responsibility whether or not you're going to bring this into your home and if you do, are you going to supervise your child while they're doing it?" said Dr. Trundle.
Before making any purchase, the consumer group and physicians advises parents to examine all toys carefully and look for potential dangers. Doctors urge parents to do a choke test to make sure those toys are right for your child by using an ordinary toilet paper roll. If a toy can fit through the roll, it is not suitable for a child under three years old.
Last year alone, the Product Safety Commission reported the death of 16 children, and more than 200,000 emergency room visits from toy-related incidents.
Viewers with disabilities can get assistance accessing this station's FCC Public Inspection File by contacting the station with the information listed below. Questions or concerns relating to the accessibility of the FCC's online public file system should be directed to the FCC at 888-225-5322, 888-835-5322 (TTY), or email@example.com.


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Pagani Automobili today announced the appointment of real-time 3D visualisation specialist ZeroLight, as provider of Pagani’s next generation digital retail technology, which is set to enhance the way its cars are demonstrated, specified and purchased.
Horacio Pagani, founder and chief designer, Pagani Automobili said, “The ZeroLight digital retail solution is a critical addition to our vision of how the Pagani customer will discover and configure their Pagani vehicles in the future. Customers visiting our dealerships are taken on a journey that blends the real with the virtual, where mechanical elements; carbon-fibre, paint and leather samples meet a groundbreaking digital representation of the Pagani products.
In ZeroLight we have found a partner who can tailor state-of-the-art technology to meet our unique demands of offering the highest quality virtual solution available.”
Powered by ZeroLight’s advanced car configurator solution, Pagani’s digital showroom will deliver a live and interactive 3D scene of the car that gives the customer complete freedom to explore and customise the virtual vehicle on Ultra High Definition displays located in dealerships. The digital experience is designed to empower dealerships to offer their customers a taste of the personalisation and discovery experience available at the Pagani factory in Italy.
“There is no better showcase for the capability of ZeroLight’s car configurator technology than the automotive and design excellence of a Pagani vehicle,” said ZeroLight CEO Darren Jobling. “Having Mr. Pagani select ZeroLight is the ultimate validation of our ability to showcase the quality and extensive customisation associated with this thought-leading automotive brand. We’re creating something very special with Pagani and I’m looking forward to demonstrating to the automotive industry a new supercar standard in car configuration.”
Pagani and ZeroLight will partner to present the project to dealers and selected customers in private previews during Monterey Car Week.


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In early to mid-March, most grocery stores were operating as normal, leading to concerns about their role in helping to flatten the curve.
Since then, many stores have implemented a variety of measures to protect both customers and staff:
- Security staff count how many people enter and exit the store, to control the number inside at any given time;
- Plexiglass shields (such as those made by Edmonton's Plastics Plus Ltd.) have been installed at checkouts;
- Clerks often wear gloves and sanitize checkout stands after each customer;
- Pylons outside the store and floor signs or tape inside the store (such as those made by Edmonton's Cowan Graphics) help encourage physical distancing.
For example, Safeway in Capilano is changing buckets of sanitized water at each checkout stand every 30 minutes. In between customers and every 15 minutes, clerks wipe down anything that customers might have touched. Staff must also sanitize washrooms every time they visit.
Grocery stores have been deemed essential services across Canada, and chains are recognizing the extra strain put on workers by increasing pay temporarily:
- Loblaw Companies Ltd. (Superstore, Shoppers Drug Mart, No Frills) has increased pay for employees by 15% retroactive to March 8;
- Empire (Sobeys, Safeway, IGA) has launched a "hero pay program" that provides workers with an additional $50 per week and $2/hour for every hour worked above 20 hours/week, also retroactive to March 8;
- Amazon Canada has raised wages by $2/hour through the end of April for workers and they've doubled overtime rates;
- Walmart Canada has raised wages by $2/hour starting April 3 and gave employees a $200 "appreciation bonus" in March.
UFCW Local 401, which represents more than 32,000 workers across Alberta in food processing, production, and retail, has put together a COVID-19 Resource Hub with information on support for workers, actions taken on behalf of members, and employer-specific policies.
There is a three-stage plan to relaunch Alberta’s economy.
Edmonton businesses are struggling, with 50% indicating they may shut down.
Most shopping malls in Edmonton have reopened to the public, with modified hours.
published on Saturday, March 28, 2020


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UPDATE 1-LVMH fashion and leather sales growth slows in Q3 | Agricultural Commodities | Reuters
* LVMH total like-for-like Q3 sales rise 7 pct
* Fashion and leather like-for-like sales growth slows to 3pct
* Moet Hennessy sales jump 16 pct (Adds details, analyst comment)
By Astrid Wendlandt
PARIS, Oct 12 (Reuters) - Luxury goods industry leader LVMH posted a mixed set of third-quarter revenue figures onMonday that revealed a strong rebound in cognac sales,particularly in China, but a slowdown at its key fashion andleather business.
The division, LVMH's biggest profit and revenue contributorwith brands such as Louis Vuitton and Celine, saw underlyingrevenue growth slow to 3 percent from 10 percent the previousquarter.
LVMH's Moet Hennessy spirits division, which suffered from aslump in China amid efforts to ban gifts such as cognac bottlesgiven in return for favours, said trading there had improved anddemand from the United States remained strong.
In the three months to Aug. 31, the unit's comparable salesjumped 16 percent, marking its best quarter in many years.
LVMH said Hennessy cognac, whose volumes increased 12percent, "benefited in the third quarter from a strong reboundin shipments to China and continued excellent momentum in theUnited States". Continued...


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DC’s Black Label imprint is getting an earlier launch than expected thanks to Sean Murphy’s Batman; White Knight. According to Newsarama:
Sean Murphy’s recent Batman: White Knight miniseries is now the first release from DC’s recently announced Black Label imprint. In a press release promoting the upcoming trade paperback release, DC bills it as as “[t]he first graphic novel in the new DC Black Label imprint…”
Murphy himself alluded to this possibility back in March 2018, tweeting that Batman: White Knight “was an unplanned success that caught everyone off guard. It might have been a Black Label book if I have waited a year- but in a way it accidentally jumped the gun. Who knows, maybe it’ll be absorbed by Black Label.”
Although the series was released prior to Black Label’s announcement, it was edited by Black Label’s lead editor Mark Doyle.
Be sure to keep a look out for future Black Label titles as they are released.


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An indie game about surviving the apocalypse with nothing but a rock has sold more than a million copies before its developer even finished making it.
Rust creator and Facepunch Studios boss Garry Newman revealed that his company has sold more than 1 million copies of the online survival title. The game is available now on Steam’s Early Access channel for $20, and this success comes despite the fact Rust is still in an early testing phase.
Rust has players joining online servers populated by other players, who must struggle to find materials and weapons in an effort to survive. As players gather resources like wood and stones, they can craft things like tools and shelter to improve their chances of survival. When players die, they lose everything and must start over.
Facepunch is still developing Rust but decided to launch it on Steam’s Early Access portal. This is the service on Valve online store that enables studios to release games before they’re finished. Currently, many of the most popular games on Steam are available through Early Access. In fact, Rust is the third best-selling product on all of Steam right now. Rust debuted on Steam on Dec. 11.
Rust has a lot in common with DayZ and Minecraft. All three feature survival elements and launched at a reduced price while still in development. DayZ is an online survival shooter that features scavenging. Minecraft is a block-building game that has players focusing on building and crafting. Rust has found success with a formula that combines survival and crafting into one experience.
In terms of success, Rust is also following in the footsteps of DayZ and Minecraft. While Rust has just crossed 1 million, which is very impressive for an independent studio, DayZ (which is also still unfinished) did the same only four weeks after its December 17 release. Minecraft, which first debuted in a prerelease state in 2009, has gone on to reach more than 35 million in sales.
Newman, who previously released Garry’s Mod, plans to continue development of Rust through 2014. At some point in the future, the game will move from its current alpha testing stage to a beta test, which is closer to a final version. Facepunch will likely raise the price of the game at that point.


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In the whole Apple vs Samsung saga, Apple has been basing their arguments of patent infringement largely upon the design and look of Samsung’s products, claiming that the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet resembles their iPad. Samsung on the other hand is using hardware as their argument, claiming that Apple was infringing upon wireless technology patents used in their iPhones and 3G iPads. However while Apple has been seeing success as of late, Samsung on the other hand hasn’t.
In an attempt to get an injunction against Apple’s brand new iPhone 4S in various parts of the world, such as France, Italy and the Netherlands, according to reports, the Dutch court has turned down Samsung’s request for a ban, rejecting claims and counterclaims from both Samsung and Apple respectively.
The court found that Samsung’s patents were part of an essential standards which should be under open license under FRAND, therefore both companies should work out a licensing agreement amongst themselves. It looks like if Samsung is hoping that the French and Italian courts will say any differently, Apple will be taking both French and Italian translations of the Dutch court’s ruling and use it as a precedent should the need arise.
Next Story: iPhone 4S pre-orders in Australia see delays
- 2014-04-17: Samsung Uses Eco-friendly Packaging In Galaxy Series Devices
- 2014-04-16: Samsung Exec Felt Jobs' Death Was 'Best Opportunity' To Attack iPhone
- 2014-04-16: AT&T Galaxy S4 Active Android 4.4 Update Released
- 2014-04-16: Samsung Android Wear Smartwatch Expected Later This Year
- 2014-04-16: Samsung Shows Off Curved Batteries Used In The Gear Fit
- 2013-04-11: German Court Invalidates Samsung 3G Patent
- 2011-10-17: Samsung attempts to get iPhone 4S banned in Japan and Australia
- 2011-09-30: Samsung offers Apple a deal to let them sell the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia
- 2011-08-24: Courts in Netherlands grants Apple temporary injunction for Samsung Galaxy phones
- 2011-08-03: Kodak considering selling 1,100 of its patents


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Driveclub Server Problems Are Easing Off, Team Claims
Restoration process now underway; Imminent patch will help activate more online features; No update on PS Plus edition.
Top New Games Out On Switch, PS4, Xbox One, And PC This Month -- July 2020 Top New Video Games Out On Switch, PS4, Xbox One, And PC This Week -- July 5-11, 2020 Blankos Block Party Is A User Generated Playground Mortal Shell - Souls Style Combat And Massive Boss Battle Fortnite - Collect Floating Rings At Lazy Lake (Season 3 Week 3 Guide) Your Cyberpunk 2077 Questions Answered Mount & Blade 2 As A Baby With Chris Bratt Ever Forward: Exclusive Otherworldly Exploration Gameplay Accessibility In The Last Of Us Part 2 w/ Steve Saylor | GameSpot After Dark #48 The Twilight Zone "Downtime" Season 2 Episode 2 Breakdown & Easter Eggs! Iron Man VR Gameplay - Defending The Helicarrier Who is MODOK? Marvel's Avengers Villain Origins
Driveclub servers are "building a steady increase in performance", according to its developer. The performance increases follow a string of connection problems that affected players after the game shipped last week.
Evolution Studios, the developer responsible for Driveclub's buggy netcode, has been persistently communicative during its disastrous week of connection problems and server timeouts. But late on Monday, the studio appeared to have turned a corner, claiming that an increasing number of players are now able to access the title.
"Continual upgrades to the Driveclub servers are building a steady increase in performance, meaning that we're getting more and more players connected," the studio wrote.
As an immediate response to the online problems last week, Evolution closed some of Driveclub's online features and postponed the free PS Plus edition.
While there is still no new release date announced for the PS Plus version, the developer said another server update would arrive by Wednesday that would begin the process of switching on more online features.
"We are sorry that we don't have more concrete news to share right now, but please be patient. We will have more information for you tomorrow," the studio added.
Throughout the past seven days, Driveclub director Paul Rustchynsky has been actively addressing fans on Twitter, explaining that it was the game's buggy netcode that resulted in the server woes.
He added that the team has not ruled out compensating those affected by the connection problems.
GameSpot may get a commission from retail offers.
Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email email@example.com


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Tokyo (CNN) — The Japanese government has been hit in the pocket by an unusual problem: its young people are not drinking enough.
Since the pandemic began, bars and other establishments that sell alcohol have been hit hard by covid-19 restrictions, causing sales (and booze tax revenue) to plummet in the third largest economy in the world.
The government’s solution? Launch a contest to find new ways to encourage young people to drink more.
“Viva el Sake!”, a campaign supervised by the National Tax Agency, invites participants to submit ideas on how to “stimulate demand among young people” for alcohol through new services, forms of promotion, products, designs and even sales techniques using artificial intelligence or the metaverse, according to the contest’s official website.
“The domestic alcoholic beverage market is shrinking due to demographic changes, such as a declining birth rate and aging population, and lifestyle changes due to the impact of covid-19,” said the website, adding that the contest was intended to “appeal to the younger generation… to reinvigorate the industry.”
The contest includes promotional ideas for all types of Japanese spirits, with applications open until September 9. The finalists will be invited to an expert consultation in October, before a final tournament in November in Tokyo. The winner will receive support for their plan to be marketed, according to the tax office.
But not everyone agrees with the contest and the tax agency has received some criticism on social networks.
“Are you kidding me?” one Twitter user wrote. “Staying away from alcohol is a good thing!”
Others pointed out that it seemed inappropriate for a government agency to encourage young people to drink, and the campaign seemed to have failed to consider health risks and sensitivity towards people dealing with alcoholism.
Japan’s Ministry of Health has warned in the past about the dangers of excessive alcohol consumption. In a post on his website last year, he called binge drinking a “significant social problem” that persists despite a recent slowdown in consumption. And he urged people with unhealthy drinking habits to “reconsider” their relationship with alcohol.
A ministry spokesman declined to comment on the tax agency’s competence when contacted by CNN.
Japan, along with several other Asian countries, maintained tight restrictions throughout much of the pandemic, closing public spaces and reducing restaurant business hours.
Izakayas, the Japanese version of a pub or tavern, were hit particularly hard, with the latest available figures showing sales halving between 2019 and 2020, according to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.
With fewer opportunities to drink in public, the rate of “domestic consumption” (drinking at home) “increased significantly,” the ministry said.
But young adults have stood out as the exception. About 30% of people between the ages of 40 and 60 drink regularly, meaning three days or more per week, the ministry said, compared with just 7.8% of people in their 20s.
“In this way, it is thought that the decrease in alcohol consumption habits year after year is having an effect on the contraction of the domestic market,” the ministry said.
In a 2021 report, the tax agency said taxes on alcoholic beverages had been a major source of revenue for the government for centuries, but had declined in recent decades. Japan received 1.1 trillion yen ($8.1 billion) in alcohol taxes in 2021: 1.7% of total tax revenue, compared to 3% in 2011 and 5% in 1980.
Japan lifted the state of emergency in October 2021, allowing restaurants to sell alcohol again and stay open later, but restrictions in some parts of the country remained in place until March this year.
The country’s recovery since then has been slower than expected, hampered by rising inflation, the economic impact of the war in Ukraine and recent surges in Covid cases that have led to prolonged restrictions.
CNN’s Kathleen Benoza contributed reporting.


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When Amazon.com Inc. announced its employees' average annual salary of $ 28,446 last week, the overwhelming majority of the workforce became apparent.
The figure puts Amazon on par with chocolate maker Hershey Co., somewhat above the retailer Home Depot Inc. – and miles under the $ 240,430 annual compensation on Facebook, according to the company's latest proxy statements.
Amazon is often Google compared to Silicon Valley tech giants like Facebook, Apple Inc. and Alphabet Inc., but a huge logistical apparatus separates it from its tech peers.
Most of the approximately half a million Amazon.com Inc. employees do not make six-digit numbers and spend their days writing code. They unload trucks, drive with forklifts, and run for miles to collect products to fulfill orders ̵
A researcher compared Amazon to the child that emerged through a three-way merger between Google and United Parcel Service Inc. and Walmart Inc.
"At Amazon, you have this whole group of foot soldiers out there who are at Fulfillment centers that are not part of the image for the other names in the Internet country, "said Michael Olson, Senior Research Analyst at Piper Jaffray. "It shows how Amazon differs from the other tech stocks."
More than 330 major listed companies have published for the first time this year's average annual payrolls, a requirement of the Dodd-Frank Law after the financial crisis. Median salaries so far reported $ 253,015 at biotech companies
less than $ 10,000 for retailers with large part-time workers and some high-paid manufacturers in low-wage countries.
In the S & P 500, Amazon is not classified as a technology stand, but as part of the retail industry. At the same time, according to analysts surveyed by FactSet, Amazon will reach 184x its estimated profit this year – a much higher rating than even Facebook and Alphabet.
Amazon started as a retailer, but always had technology at its core. As managing director
founded Amazon in 1994, was a bookseller, but he used the nascent Internet to connect distant customers.
Today, Amazon uses software to do everything it does, whether it commutes packets around the world, streaming movies on the Internet, storing corporate digital files on their servers, or recommending customers products. It has spent years refining its machine learning and artificial intelligence technologies to predict demand, detect fraud, and recommend products to customers.
But with more than 175 operations and fulfillment centers where workers accept, pack, and ship orders, and more than 35 sorting centers worldwide, most of Amazon's employees stand in stark contrast to the more than 45,000 Seattle and Seat employees elsewhere.
The median wage data was published under new rules that provide information for public companies. The companies have some leeway, as they specify the number that should identify the worker who is paid for all employees in the middle.
The median salary of $ 28,446 is about $ 13.68 an hour – about what typical US front-line warehouse workers do, experts say. The Median Is worth to Amazon employees from more than 50 countries and extends to the entire workforce of Amazon, including full-time and part-time employees in all areas of the company.
"These roles range from employees in our fulfillment centers to customer service representatives to software developers and product managers," said an Amazon spokeswoman. Amazon pays its full-time fulfillment centers in the US an average hourly wage of more than $ 15, including cash, stock and incentive bonuses, the spokeswoman said.
In some ways, Amazon's workforce resembles that of major retailers. According to a Wall Street Journal analysis of the corporate proxy data provided by MyLogIQ LLC, Amazon has received the fifth highest average pay of S & P Global rated retailers, exceeding the average figures of Home Depot Inc., Macy & # 39; s Inc., Gap Inc., and Walmart Inc. Walmart announced on Friday evening in a securities claim that it paid its median $ 19,177 last year, close to the middle of 18 retailers that have previously reported data.
Amazon's Average Compensation for All 10 Companies in S & P Global Leaderboards in the Transportation Industry, Including Several Rail and Airline Companies
The company's "tremendous market advantage" does not seem to imply higher pay for the middle warehouse worker Lead, said Ben Zipperer, economist at the Economic Policy Institute, a left-wing think tank in Washington, DC
Brian Devine, senior vice president at Logistics Staffing Pro Logistix, estimates that Amazon rents in the top half of its employees in logistics, but not in the top 10%.
U.S. Cities competed for the chance to host Amazon's next group of salaried jobs, which could number up to 50,000, at a planned second headquarters.
The average salary for software developers working for Amazon in the United States is $ 107,000, according to employees' salaries at Glassdoor, an online marketplace where employees can report their salaries anonymously. According to Glassdoor, the average salary for Amazon logistics specialists in the US is approximately $ 45,000.
Amazon has indicated that the average payroll for rolls in its second headquarters could exceed $ 100,000 depending on location. Please contact Georgia Wells at [email protected], Rachel Feintzeig at [email protected] and Theo Francis at [email protected]


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It's back to the future for car shoppers, who now much prefer to contact dealerships with an old-fashioned phone call rather than via the Internet.
Two years ago, Internet sales leads were gaining on phone leads, dealers and digital marketing vendors say. But ubiquitous smartphones changed all that.
"Our phone calls are going through the roof," said Mark Holian, general manager of Gulf Coast Auto Park's Ford, Nissan and Toyota stores 40 minutes from Houston.
Today, most car buyers carry smartphones. And it's easier to use a click-to-call phone link in a dealership ad than fill out a Web site information form or send an e-mail, said Holian, whose stores sold 304 new and used vehicles in May.
Holian is among many dealership managers who have beefed up phone sales training and call monitoring.
Phone leads are up 46 percent vs. Internet leads over the past two years, according to data compiled this month for Automotive News by ADP Digital Marketing, a unit of ADP Dealer Services.


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From trade credit to external trade financing facilities, there are myriad ways buyers and sellers can inject capital into their B2B trade workflows in an effort to support the financial health of either side. But assessing the right way to finance business trade can be a complex matter, and it isn’t always free from controversy.
Among the most divisive topics of the trade finance arena is whether initiatives like suppliers selling on trade credit or buyers’ initiating external financing programs actually promote large corporates’ continued habit of delaying payment to small suppliers. While proponents say the financing can help alleviate suppliers’ cash flow pressures, some critics argue it always comes at a cost to the vendor and perpetuates less-than-ideal payment habits among corporate buyers.
Sandra Nolasco, co-founder and CEO of Twinco Capital, a supply chain financing FinTech, surprisingly said she agrees with the latter side of the debate.
In an interview with PYMNTS, she, alongside fellow Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer Carmen Marin, discussed the opportunity for supply chain financing solutions to tackle the financing opportunity much earlier in the B2B trade process and explored how the offering can present a value proposition for both buyers and suppliers without reinforcing negative habits.
An Earlier Financing Opportunity
While traditional supply chain and other trade financing efforts target the invoice, Twinco Capital, which recently announced a funding round, is offering a solution that steps into the picture earlier along the trade workflow. The company works with corporate buyers that wish to initiate a financing program with their vendors and offers those suppliers to access financing on their purchase orders, not their invoices.
“Traditional supply chain finance methods are to fund the invoice, and therefore, only the payment terms,” explained Nolasco. “Funding the purchase order means reducing the financing costs imbedded within the whole chain, not just shifting the burden from the buyer to the supplier.”
By financing at the point of purchase order, she argued, small vendors can access the financing they need to procure raw materials and actually produce the goods to fulfill the order. Tackling working capital pressure from the beginning of the production cycle can strengthen their financial position before a business sends out an order and exposes itself to the risk of delayed payment.
This kind of financing can work in harmony with other financing methods in place, added Nolasco, but smaller businesses, especially those in emerging markets, are often left without many options to finance their production when traditional banks are unable to underwrite small-scale borrowers. As Marin explained, purchase order financing can be used as an ongoing financing method throughout the trading process, and it can indeed be used to finance invoices as well. Or it can be used in tandem with existing, external financing solutions, although businesses may find value in being able to consolidate their trade financing providers.
Among the biggest criticisms of certain financing models is that they may sometimes benefit only one side of the B2B equation — more often than not, it’s the large corporate buyer.
According to Marin, purchase order financing presents significant value to both buyer and supplier, and it can strengthen the overall B2B relationship as well.
“Businesses can have the best of both worlds,” she said. “The buyer is the one actually launching the finance program, offering it to their suppliers whether they want to finance their purchase order or their entire supply chain. They’re decreasing financing costs and driving the conversation to get more supplier reliability.”
Because Twinco Capital is directly financing the purchase order, those corporate buyers do not have to take on the risk of paying a vendor that fails to deliver goods as agreed. Instead, by financing production, they’re promoting the financial well-being of their vendors, while also strengthening overall production of their supply chains.
Any financing tool bares risk, and while purchase order financing may not promote late payment habits, it may not promote more responsible supplier payment habits, either. Still, expanding the opportunity to access working capital at various points along the B2B trade cycle is an important part of promoting healthy supply chains. By injecting funds earlier in that flow, said Nolasco, the supply chain finance market has an opportunity to diversify.
“There are a lot of supply chain finance solutions out in the market, but most address the tail-end of supply chain finance, once the invoice is issued,” she said. “There is not a lot of option on the production side of the supply chain.”
NEW PYMNTS DATA: BUY NOW, PAY LATER CONSUMER STUDY
About: Buy Now, Pay Later: Millennials And The Shifting Dynamics Of Online Credit, a PYMNTS and PayPal collaboration, examines the demand for new flexible credit options as well as how consumers, especially those in the millennial demographic, are paying online. The study is based on two surveys, totaling nearly 15,000 U.S. consumers.


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With the innovative blockchain-powered IPCHAIN Database, users can now protect, share or transfer their intellectual properties such as artworks, research results, and all other forms of intellectual properties, in a safe and highly secure way.
IPCHAIN Database is focused on disrupting the traditional systems of storing and protecting intellectual properties. It uses the decentralization power of blockchain to store highly valuable intellectual properties in a safe and tamper-proof manner.
The excellent functionalities of IPCHAIN have made it win the hearts of stakeholders and heavyweights in the Intellectual property ecosystem like IP Law firm, Dennemeyer Group, WIPO Green (a brainchild of the World Intellectual Property Organization) top Universities and research firms.
The need to completely protect intellectual properties using Blockchain technology was highlighted in a recent article in the official WIPO magazine. Storing intellectual properties using the distributed ledger technology will greatly secure the creations of artists, researchers, inventors and even firms.
It’s no news that blockchain technology is the most secure way of storing data. IPCHAIN uses this revolutionary technology to protect all valuable intellectual properties of users in a fast, easy and highly secure manner, making IPCHAIN the best protection for IPs.
IPCHAIN is built in such a way that makes it easy for users to securely share their intellectual properties by uploading all non-disclosure agreements to the Blockchain network. Also, IPCHAIN offers a secure marketplace that facilitates the transfer of intellectual properties, properly documenting all transfer of ownership and contractual agreements.
That’s not all, IPCHAIN Database is highly efficient in the storage of highly sensitive company data as well as other confidential documents.
In essence, the platform addresses all data storage and security needs of innovators, academicians, and business organizations.
This revolutionary program will be launched in the last quarter of 2018. The company will organize an official token generation event to introduce IPCHAIN tokens to users. The Token presale begins on March 24, 2018.
IPCHAIN in Brief
As said earlier, IPCHAIN database uses blockchain technology to offer users a tamper-proof storage for their intellectual properties.
It is the best solution for establishing proof of the first authorship via defensive publication. It also makes it easy and secure for users to transfer intellectual properties.
The platform works in compliance with WIPO standards. Users of the IPCHAIN database have evidence of being the real owners of their intellectual properties. This evidence can be used in legal proceedings and will be accepted as proof for prior art at patent offices, globally.
IPCHAIN publication can be used with patents, copyrights, and papers in scientific journals to act as a highly functional intellectual property management tool, which offers immense benefits to stakeholders.
For more information, visit www.ipchaindatabase.com
Email: [email protected]
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- Publish Date
- Wednesday, 20 December 2017, 3:58PM
HOW HOT HAS THIS SUMMER BEEN SO FAR THO.
Kiwis have been melting in the heat recently, after some of the worst rainfall patterns in over a century. A NIWA monthly climate summary for November showed we suffered rainfall levels "well below normal" and temperatures "well above average" for many parts of the country.
So basically, it's HOT AF and it's now affecting ice-cream production!
Tip Top was having to re-prioritise production so more popular products including Trumpets, Popsicles, most Frujus and vanilla ice cream would remain available, Fairfax have reported.
But that meant stocks of other products, including grapefruit and lemon Frujus, goody-goody gumdrops and cookies and cream icecream, were lower than normal and may be harder to find.
Fonterra Brands sales director Tim Carter told Fairfax:
"Sunshine drives icecream sales. It's created demand that we'd typically be carrying into January and February."
Carter emphasised there would not be a complete icecream shortage but conceded there may be times people could not get the icecream or iceblock they wanted.
Tip Top were bringing in extra staff, working extra shifts and also sourcing more from their licensed third-party suppliers, he said.


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Our eating habits say a lot about us, and nowhere is that more true than in how we consume protein. Nearly a fifth of the world’s population doesn’t get enough of it, while people in richer countries take in far more than they need. People also tend to eat more meat as they get wealthier. That has big consequences for the environment: raising livestock requires huge amounts of land and crops and now creates nearly 20% of global greenhouse-gas emissions.
The United States and Europe have been stubbornly addicted to meat for decades, eating far more than the 50 grams per person per day that is the average requirement.
And China and Brazil have indeed upped their taste for flesh as their economies have grown:
But people aren’t necessarily fated to become carnivores as they rise from poverty. India’s population of over 1 billion people hasn’t changed its meat-eating habits much:
It’s food for thought for any meat-eater.
About 2/5 of the land on earth (excluding Antarctica) is used to make food, and changing land use to feed cows and sheep that people then eat has an outsize impact:
Greener alternatives like insects and cultured meat get a lot of attention, but they’re still far pricier than commodity meats (and usually not nearly as tasty).
Asking entire cultures to abandon meat isn’t realistic. But neither is our current pace of consumption. We’re going to have to trim from somewhere.
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October is Cyber Security Awareness Month, and while the average consumer is largely
unaware of the legions of criminals in cyberspace conspiring to steal their personal information
for easy profit, Sophos Home experts know there is an entirely different scenario at play.
Sophos Principal Research Scientist, Chester Wisniewski, is intimately familiar with such
crimes, yet knows mainstream media rarely covers the topic of cybersecurity threats – and how
to stay protected – for the average household. This makes it impossible for the public to grasp
what is truly happening to their online identities and where they are vulnerable.
“Most people underestimate the value of their online identity,” explained Wisniewski. “While
some may worry about online banking or their credit cards, most do not realize criminals are
also interested in their Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter accounts.
In addition, like smart TVs, smart lights, smart thermostats, and other gadgets make their way into homes, these become new potential points of attack by cybercriminals. Most people assume that someone else is
looking after the security of these things — sadly, more often than not, no one is.”
And that is where Sophos Home comes into the play.
Sophos Home, A Solution To Cyber Crimes
The worldwide leader in next-generation cybersecurity, Sophos, is protecting more than 500,000
organizations and millions of customers from the most advanced cyberthreats. Sophos Home
protects consumers against ransomware, viruses, malware, and other damaging cyberthreats
on Macs, PCs, and mobile devices.
Its business-grade cybersecurity made simple for the home user, by providing privacy, web and ransomware protection, parental web filtering, and other vital features. Sophos Home was initially created to secure business customers’ employees’ devices and became so successful in this endeavor that it branched out to help consumers at home with their online security.
Unlike its competitors, Sophos Home is an all-in-one, simple, intuitive, and easy to use and
manage security product that’s also affordable. This helps households stay on top of new and
evolving cyber threats targeting the average home, giving consumers peace of mind that their
online identities are protected.
“Cybercrime is a big business, but it doesn’t just affect big businesses. Individuals are just as
vulnerable to malware, and other threats as are hospitals, banks, and eCommerce sites,” said
Michael Klieman, Vice President of Sophos Home Product Management.
“With Sophos Home, consumers get the same robust, business-grade security, powered by SophosAI and
SophosLabs, that’s trusted and relied on by hundreds of thousands of IT professionals at
today’s global organizations.”
From Sophos To Sophos Home
For the past 30 years, Sophos has led the industry to set the gold standard in cybersecurity.
The company has always been passionate about fighting cybercrime and unwavering in its
commitment to protecting people worldwide from becoming victims of cybercrime. Sophos
Home is now a hugely popular and widely-used consumer online security solution praised for its
highly effective protection, ease of use, and great value. Sophos Home is powered by award-
winning threat research, cutting-edge artificial intelligence, and machine learning from
SophosLabs and SophosAI.
Sophos Home makes securing family devices easier than before; whether they’re in the same
house or another state or country, users can easily view and manage their security via the
Sophos Home mobile app or any web browser. The software is easy to install and works to
protect security actively. Pairing perfectly with multiple Macs and PCs, it’s excellent for all types
of users, from non-tech savvy beginners to pro-users who want to access advanced
configuration options. This benefits parents by including web filtering to help restrict their kids’
“If a cybercriminal happens to trick you on your work computer, they may use that as a way to
attack your employer’s network,” Wisniewski explained. “But if they find it is a personal
computer, they don’t simply pack up and go away.”
Sophos Home helps combat the hidden programs that cybercriminals install in devices to
stealthily collect your usernames and passwords, credit card details, and even personal
Every criminal’s goal is to make the most money they can from every point they can access,
and Sophos Home is the security protection that can help expose and protect against these
threats. While we should be thinking about our cybersecurity every day, beginning our
acknowledgment now is an excellent place to start.


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The new flight will operate Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays, departing Cleveland at 9:45 a.m., arriving in Miami at 12:46 p.m.
Frontier said the Grand Rapids flights are among 85 new routes nationwide that it is adding.
With the expansion, Frontier can make its low fares available for 90 percent of the USA population, expecting to bring more than $1 billion dollars in savings to consumers through the lower airfares.
The nine new routes will increase Frontier's total MIA operations to 15 destinations by year-end.
The airline's arrival to the Tulsa International Airport will include nonstop flights to Denver, Orlando and San Diego starting in the Spring of 2018.
"In addition to 300 non-stop routes and 1,500 connecting opportunities, we also have a significant number of one-stops", Fisher, who also stated this is Frontier's largest expansion in recent memory, explained.
Frontier is focused on more than low fares.
United Airlines now offers nonstop service from Little Rock to Denver. Those flights will begin in October, said Tyri Sqyres, Frontier's vice president of marketing.
Frontier will fly to Orlando beginning August 16.
"With today's announcement, Frontier now offers our Low Fares Done Right product for the first time to upstate New York", Robert Westgate, Frontier's senior director of schedule planning, said during a news conference Tuesday at Buffalo Niagara International Airport. It launched operations at MIA in December 2014.


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As we announced here, the all-new GS will be unveiled on 18 August 2011 at Pebble Beach, California. With less than a month to go, you can be sure that Lexus is fine tuning every aspect of this new luxury saloon.
In fact, pre-production versions of the next-generation GS were recently test driven by a select group of top European automotive journalists.
Swathed in detail-obscuring covers to protect its identity, the cars were put through their paces at an exclusive proving ground with Lexus chief engineer, Yoshihiko Kanamori.
The journalists enjoyed the pre-production car’s luxurious and spacious interior and were able to test the dynamic and engaging handling characteristics to the full. Although disguised, these trusted correspondents were able to get a taste for the soon-to-be-unveiled styling that was foreshadowed by the LF-Gh Concept.


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The prominent advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services has given its recommendation to support Tesla’s $2.3 billion SolarCity acquisition/merger, telling shareholders that Tesla would be able to bridge the funding gap with SolarCity, and also that the acquisition was an important step in the firm’s path to becoming an integrated sustainable energy company.
The advisory firm also made note of the $30 billion cleantech giant’s decision to give minority shareholders “enough of a voice to overcome governance concerns.”
Tesla CEO Elon Musk commented in an interview with CNBC: “I thought they wouldn’t recommend us, but they did. They tend to be a bit negative.” He also saw fit to tweet a Bloomberg article on the subject.
Institutional Shareholder Services, world's top independent evaluator, recommends in favor of Tesla-SolarCity merger https://t.co/o17l0Jbswa
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 4, 2016
As it stands, a vote involving shareholders of both companies is expected to take place on November 17.
Bloomberg provides more: “The ISS report said that, while Tesla has a ‘suboptimal governance structure,’ the requirement that a majority of unrelated shareholders be required to approve the deal helps get past that issue.” As Elon has said many times, they want to do the right thing, not just what they are required to do, and that ethic has carried over into voting regarding this deal.
“ISS said Tesla ‘is paying a low to no premium to take over SolarCity.’ The announced cost synergies of $150 million, even if capitalized at a low multiple of 10 times, would create $1.5 billion, the equivalent of almost two-thirds of the acquisition price, according to the firm.
“For SolarCity shareholders, the offer represents a 14% premium over the stock price the day before the proposal was announced, ISS said. It also gives those shareholders Tesla stock, which is easier to trade, the firm said.”
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has previously commented on the synergies between the two companies, noting that they go together like “peanut butter and jelly.” He has also noted that SolarCity will add $1 billion in revenue to the new, combined company in 2017, as well as $500 million in cash to Tesla’s balance sheet over the next few years (3 years).
In response to criticism about the deal, he recently stated that “quite a few naysayers from big hedge funds” have been consistently wrong about Tesla — with a “batting average of zero.”
He’s not wrong. As with most disrupters, most of the criticism against Tesla seems to be the result of discomfort with the changes that are now coming. There will of course be those who lose out on profit and market share as a result of the changes that Tesla is helping to spearhead.


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Council’s plan to make it easier for food trucks to succeed
IPSWICH City Council will work to reduce red tape for local food truck businesses who say it is easier to operate in Brisbane than in Ipswich.
With COVID-19 causing the cancellation of events throughout most of the year, it has been an especially difficult 2020 for these businesses.
Division 1 councillor Jacob Madsen was approached by Willowbank-based Katrina Czapracki, whose Dippin Dots Ice Cream van travels across Ipswich, greater Brisbane and Toowoomba.
The council’s economic and industry development committee endorsed a motion last month to become a ‘food truck friendly’ council and work towards streamlining processes to make it easier for those businesses to operate locally.
A report presented to the council stated interest in food trucks in Ipswich is growing.
Between January to September this year, the council received a total of 158 food business establishment inquiries compared to 127 in the whole of last year.
There are currently 60 food truck operators in Ipswich, up from 53 in 2017.
The administration of a food licence for food trucks is the responsibility of local governments and once licensed, they can operate across Queensland.
“Many councils across Australia have chosen to streamline licencing and permits to support mobile food truck businesses in their regions,” the report notes.
“Council’s current processes are seen as an inhibitor to fostering more of these businesses starting and operating in the region.
“Streamlined processes and the right blend of events and preferred locations has been demonstrated in other regions to create more economic opportunity for new and existing business owners, and also build more community cohesion in the suburbs.”
Food truck operators can currently apply to use the same location 10 times a year but the council was looking at pre-approved sites.
“Within this framework, consideration could be given to ‘premium sites’ where multiple food trucks can operate simultaneously at designated times; and drive-up sites, where food trucks can operate from existing on-street carparking spaces,” the report notes.
“The multi-step and labour-intensive licensing and permit application process can be reviewed with a view to streamline the process to improve customer experience and council efficiency.
“Online permitting and licensing programs have been used successfully in other local government jurisdictions that could be piloted for food truck licensing and permits.
“Council could endorse or call for food truck events to activate community spaces or under-utilised spaces.”
The report also stated the council could publish the locations of food trucks so residents can discover what’s available near them at any time, such as what is done in Brisbane.
“We are not reinventing the wheel,” Cr Madsen said.
“We are taking a step here to ensure that doing business in this sub sector of industry should not be more difficult in Ipswich than anywhere else in south east Queensland.
“I concur raising the potential risks, but other councils have done this and managed the risks and these programs have been successful.”
Ms Czapracki said initiatives set up by Brisbane City Council and Moreton Bay Regional Council made it easier to operate there than in her home town.
The Brisbane council has a dedicated site with contact details for operators and a map where people can quickly see where and when they are setting up.
Ms Czapracki has been in business for 15 years.
“The Brisbane Food Trucks initiative allows you to trade at certain locations they consider premium spots,” she said.
“They’re all within the city limits but they also allows us to trade roadside alongside parks and places like that.
“There’s a lot of vendors in Ipswich that all live in the region but we find it hard to trade here which is disappointing.”
READ MORE : Rural practice plans to add much-needed services
She was hopeful changes being worked on by Ipswich City Council would unlock more opportunities for fellow food truck operators.
“I don’t think food trucks is something that was on their radar,” she said.
“We’re usually owner-operators and we usually have one or two staff members.
“We’re very small compared to brick and mortar shops.
“We all bring a different dynamic.
“With what we’ve all gone through with COVID, we’re all trying to do the best we can.
“If we have to travel to go and do work, it’s more cost for us.
“If we can trade closer to home and especially within our own communities, that’s what we’ll all strive for.”
Ms Czapracki said the cancellation of events throughout the year had been a huge blow.
“Some of us have teamed up with other food trucks and tried to make it like a little pop-up menu and advertised it on Facebook,” she said.
“That’s pretty much all we’ve been able to do for the past eight months.”
Read more stories by Lachlan McIvor here.


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DESPERATE Dan turned digital today as The Dandy celebrated its 75th anniversary by relaunching as an exclusive online publication.
Britain's longest-running comic has embraced the world wide web and will now be available to download online and as a smartphone and tablet app.
Dundee-based publisher DC Thomson announced in August that the weekly children's comic would make the transition into cyberspace following dwindling sales in recent years.
Coinciding with the launch, the last ever printed issue also goes on sale today.
The issue features a cameo from Sir Paul McCartney, who said in 1963 it was his ambition to appear in the comic, and a pull-out of the first issue from December 4 1937.
The website will feature old favourites Desperate Dan, Bananaman and Korky the Cat in new animated strips, featuring voice overs and sound effects.
Users will also be able to play interactive games, watch videos and create and care for their very own virtual pet, the Dandy Dollop.
David Bain, the comic's head of digital development said: "The Dandy is alive and well, and it's going to continue as usual it's just as of next week it's going to be available online on a regular basis, with all the famous characters and scripts and storylines and humour, as well as games, goodies and interactivity.
"It's all about fun, humour and a bit of mischief, a bit of pranking.
"We've been quite deliberate in making sure there's very little if any educational value, with the exception of reading."
Ellis Watson, chief executive of DC Thompson said: "I appreciate it's almost a deliberately naive venture into the unknown for a publisher that's been cutting down trees for 75 years, squishing them flat and smearing ink all over them.
"We're not super slick, we're not Silicon Valley, but what we are is some pretty talented animators and story tellers that are really excited about seeing if we can introduce these wonderful characters to another couple of generations."
Mr Watson said he hoped that the comic would continue to attract adults who read The Dandy throughout their childhood, saying: "I'm still quite happy to sit on the train with my Financial Times reading my comics inside."
The first online issue will be free of charge, with following issues being priced at £1.49. A yearly subscription for the digital comic will be £29.99, while access to the website will be free.
During its peak circulation in the 1950s, the Dandy sold two million copies each week.
This figure has dropped in recent years to around 8,000.
DC Thomson said the Dandy Annual will continue to be printed and the 2013 edition is already on the shelves.
The Cartoon Museum is hosting The Dandy: 75 years of Biffs, Bangs and Banana Skins exhibition until December 24.


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Taiping is noted for its many firsts in the country. It took another bold step by planning to organise the town’s first Malaysian Travel and Tour Agency (MATTA) Fair slated for December 21 to 23.
The event, jointly organised by the Taiping Tourist Association (TTA) and MATTA (Perak Chapter), is expected to attract about 60 exhibitors. It will be held at Raintown Plaza in Panorama Hotel, Jalan Kota. The fair will be among the highlights of the Taiping Fiesta coming at the tail end of Visit Perak Year 2012.
Taiping Tourism Association Chairman, Abdul Halim Yahaya, said the objective is to promote the town’s heritage attractions and nature destinations to local and foreign as well as first-time visitors. The selection of the dates is to coincide with the on-going Taiping Zoorama and Lake Gardens Carnival.
The fair has the tacit support of the state government, Tourism Malaysia, the Northern Corridor Implementation Authority, Taiping Municipal Council, Perak Tourist Association and is sponsored by mineral water giant, Spritzer.
Entrance is free. Among the attractions are lucky draws, stage shows, complimentary air tickets, travel and holiday packages, product discounts and special offers. There will be free shuttle services to ferry visitors from the Taiping Zoo to Raintown Plaza.
Executive Councillor for Tourism, Dato’ Hamidah Osman, will officiate at the launch.


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California-based denim and lifestyle label L’Agence launched a new category of maternitywear jeans this week.
“The launch of our maternity collection is the next step forward in our strategy to becoming a full lifestyle brand. The L’Agence woman does it all from her professional to family life, and we want to be an essential part of her style journey, every step of the way,” said creative director and chief executive officer Jeff Rudes.
The brand’s maternity offering serves as an extension of its denim, offering three styles reinterpreted from its bestselling, non-maternitywear jeans (the Margot high-rise skinny, Sada high-rise crop and Oriana straight-leg, high-rise jean), with new elastic stretch panels built into the front pockets.
Each style comes in solid dark blue and black colorways priced $265 to $305. The selection of L’Agence maternitywear denim is exclusively available on the brand’s e-commerce.


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SAWYER — Another West Michigan craft brewery plans to expand.
Greenbush Brewing Co. announced on Wednesday that it had acquired Fitzgerald’s of Sawyer Inc., a full-service restaurant and bar next door to its original location.
In the space at 5875 Sawyer Road, the brewery intends to serve breakfast, lunch and dinner as well as beer, wine and cider, in what it’s dubbing “Greenbush 3.0, diner version,” according to a post on the company’s Facebook page.
The diner — which executives wrote they expect to open in June — will make for Greenbush Brewing’s third location in downtown Sawyer in Southwest Michigan.
It wasn’t immediately clear how the brewery would handle the necessary alcohol licensing for the site, and executives didn’t respond to requests from MiBiz seeking comment as this story was published.
According to state records, Greenbush Brewing has not yet applied for a brewery license for that location.
Greenbush Brewing attributed the need to expand to the Fitzgerald’s space to increasing demand at its two existing locations, which include the taproom and another facility across the street that’s dubbed the Annex.
The owners of Fitzgerald’s confirmed the sale in a separate post on the company’s Facebook page last week.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.


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Thousands of travelers have already passed by an eight-foot-tall installation at the Pittsburgh International Airport that has enormous lit tubes of green bubbling liquid.
It is not a work of art; rather, it is an air purifier made up of more than 100 gallons of algae that produce oxygen through photosynthesis by absorbing carbon dioxide.
The aerium, built by East Liberty-based startup Algenair, is presently situated next to a former Starbucks in the baggage claim area.
""Oh, are you putting the Starbucks back?" people kept asking as we were installing it, so I think we actually let a lot of people down. "“- Kelsey Abernathy, co-founder and CEO of Algenair, stated with a smile.
People are frequently shocked to find that high indoor carbon dioxide levels have been connected to symptoms including headache, weariness, and dizziness, she claimed. In addition, research cited by Algenair shows that they impair decision-making, cognitive function, and workplace productivity.
Dan Fucich, a co-founder of Abernathy, said the "sick building syndrome" condition's negative health effects are particularly significant in today's tightly sealed, energy-efficient structures. They hold onto more of the carbon dioxide that humans exhale.
So, he added, "we're suffocating in the structures that we think are beneficial for the environment, but the people within are suffering." We seek to replace the need to compromise human health for energy efficiency with living technology, such as our aeriums.
According to Algenair, the aerium at the airport has the ability to photosynthesize more than 5,000 plants. It is a bigger version of a purifier that the business already offers to consumers directly to sanitize the air in a single room.
Spirulina, or microalgae cells, are suspended in Algenair's special nutrient solution in both products. As the algae absorb more carbon dioxide, they expand and change color from a light translucent green to a dark opaque green. At that point, it is taken away and put to other uses.
The algae can be utilized for compost and fertilizer, among other things. According to Abernathy, it can be sold to produce pigments, food, biofuels, and bioplastic. "This place offers a lot of opportunities. We will therefore investigate various alliances.
As part of a collaboration with the xBridge Innovation Center, a program that enables companies to test goods at airports, Algenair is piloting the unit in baggage claim.
Algenair's "goal for the business is to enhance indoor air quality generally," according to xBridge director Cole Wolfson. "They must begin operating on a commercial basis in order to accomplish that. Additionally, the airport is an eager and excited testing partner for these innovations.
The Pittsburgh airport can incorporate this system, which is the first of its sort anywhere in the world, into its future operations.
When Abernathy and Fucich were doctorate students at the University of Maryland, they formed Algenair four years prior to the release of the pilot. After being accepted into the East Liberty business accelerator for AlphaLab Gear, they moved from Baltimore to Pittsburgh last winter. They were drawn to Pennsylvania, according to Fucich, because of its manufacturing potential.
Fucich stated, "We wanted to [produce] as much as we could in the United States and [make] [our] supply lines as short as possible.”According to Abernathy, Algenair will test its commercial-scale purifier at a nearby business building and school system as well. In 2024, it intends to start selling the device.
Combining sustainable innovations with old useful resources is no longer a rarity these days. This avoids the demolition or dismantling of old means and adds new inventions. This can not only be good for the environment, but also animate other company managers and entrepreneurs of the Global Society for similar projects.


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ACS a Speaker and Sponsor in NFC Bootcamp 2014
Hong Kong, Sept. 11, 2014–Advanced Card Systems Ltd. (ACS, a wholly owned subsidiary of Advanced Card Systems Holdings Ltd., SEHK: 8210), Asia Pacific’s top supplier and one of the world’s top 3 suppliers of PC-linked smart card readers (Source: Frost & Sullivan), will be a speaker and sponsor in NFC Bootcamp 2014, which will be held on Sept 18 to 19 in New York City, the United States.
NFC Bootcamp has been recognized as the most comprehensive series of globally delivered NFC education programs. The event aims to disseminate best practices to help businesses use NFC, under the guidance of NFC experts. The NFC Bootcamp will also feature The NFC Showcase™, where NFC-related products and hands-on training will be offered, to help businesses build an NFC campaign immediately.
In addition to speaking about NFC, ACS will also provide all attendees with the technology they need to build an NFC campaign, including contactless cards, ACR122Uand ACR122T contactless readers, and software development kits.
“We encourage businesses to participate in this event,” says Robert Merkert, ACS’s President for the Americas, . “Consumers today expect businesses to immediately respond to their needs, even while consumers are on the go. Integrating NFC into business and marketing programs will help businesses instantly deliver information or provide service to consumers anywhere.”
Advanced Card Systems Ltd. (ACS, wholly owned subsidiary of Advanced Card Systems Holdings Ltd., SEHK: 8210), founded in 1995, is Asia Pacific’s top supplier and one of the world’s top 3 suppliers of PC-linked smart card readers. ACS is the winner of the Product Quality Leadership Award for Smart Card Readers from Frost & Sullivan. In 2010 and 2014, ACS was listed in Forbes Asia’s“Best Under a Billion” list, an inter-industry list comprised of 200 top-performingpublicly listed companies in Asia Pacific, with sales between US$5 million and US$1 billion. ACS develops a wide range of high quality smart card reading/writing devices, smart cards and related products and distributes them to over 100 countries worldwide. Visit ACS at http://www.acs.com.hk/.


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Pieces of marketing picture emerge
VAIL — Vail Resorts doesn’t reveal much about its business outside quarterly earnings calls, but Vail Mountain’s marketing manager Aug. 20 gave the Vail Town Council a peak at some of what the company is working on for both winter and summer business.
Davy Ratchford’s presentation to the council included a look at the company’s proposed Epic Discovery summer programs. Ratchford said the program — which still requires approval from the U.S. Forest Service — should be fully operational by the summer of 2015, with mountain activities ranging from a “forest flyer” ride to more and better hiking and biking trails, as well as a new focus on summer business at The 10th, the on-mountain restaurant at Mid Vail.
The winter plan is a little more simple — sort of.
“The challenge is to achieve lots of skier visits,” Ratchford said.
To make that happen, Ratchford said the company will work to build its pre-Christmas business. Last season was almost two seasons, Ratchford said, with the split coming about Dec. 20.
In addition to early-season business, Ratchford said Vail Resorts will continue to work on bringing guests from Mexico and Brazil. But, Ratchford said, a weekly flight from Toronto this coming season could be a “game changer.” That flight, announced a few weeks ago, will allow passengers in Canada to clear U.S. customs before crossing the border. That means guests catching a connecting flight from Europe or other parts of Canada through Toronto will be able to get off the plane and head straight for the mountain.
Since the flight to Eagle County arrives before noon, Ratchford said people can ski the same day they fly. With a flight later in the day back to Toronto, people can get in a few runs, or a meal or some shopping, before heading home.
Ratchford said Vail Resorts is also looking at “solidifying” service out of Texas, adding that there’s an opportunity for more business out of the Los Angeles market.
The company will presumably try to sell more Epic Passes in Los Angeles since it’s going to operate the Canyons Mountain Resort in Utah, a market popular with Southern California skiers.
Other marketing targets include “re-capturing” guests who may not have come in some time, as well as working to build weekday business, Ratchford said.
Ultimately, Ratchford said, “The opportunity is where the gaps are now.”
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Activision has released a single player demo for Call of Duty: Black Ops for Xbox Live Gold members.
The demo weighs in at 916 MB and features one of the missions from the game.
Here’s the official blurb:
“Highlights of the mission include reconnaissance in a supersonic Spy Plane, mountain top rappelling and base-jumping, and fighting enemies in stealth mode as well as full firefight mode.”
You can download the demo from here.
Treyarch released a new patch for the 360 version earlier today and a PS3 patch is confirmed to be coming on March 3.


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Beer will return to 2019-level or above discounting levels, and it appears to be happening. That is, in part, thanks to the return of more beer promotional activity.
Source: Beer Business Daily.
Remember that when price gaps get out of whack — not only within and among beer categories but compared with wine and spirits — (as they increasingly are now); and you have historically low production capacity utilization rates, (as we increasingly have now); and you take two price increases in a year, (which we did); and you are entering a recessionary period, (like we’re told we are about to); and volumes are challenged, (like they have been) — brewers are going to be brewers and they’re going to mash that price button.
You need to look no further than the comments made by aluminum can maker Ball Corporation chief Dan Fisher during their analyst conference call, where he indicated several times that beer has become more promotional in the first month of the year.
Their North American beverage can segment shipments decreased 0.3% in 2022, and decreased 7.1% in the fourth quarter, with beer accounting for the lion’s share of that falloff.
Beer is being more aggressive on the promotional activities because beer had the most precipite drop-off in volume. Given the December falloff on all consumer products, that has changed the behavior patterns initially this year, with a lot more price promotion. Will that continue for the balance of the year? I would suggest it will.
Customers (brewers) pushing price pushed it too far, and there was price elasticity that kicked in. Beer was down the most. And I think what we’re seeing is a return to more promotional activity here right out of the gate in Q1. So, I think there’s recognition of what happened there in the last four to six weeks of the year, which is well publicized.Dan Fisher. Ball Corporation.
Beer promotional activity and price increases:
Something that is perhaps not mentioned enough is the lack of beer promotional activity in the period after Covid through 2022, coupled with the two inflationary price increases and the subsequent drop in volume, creates a ripe environment for discounting.
It’s really the promotional activity during the peak season that we didn’t see any of last year. We still grew a little bit. I would probably go back to sort of that 2018, 2019 range of growth that we saw. And I would put that up against what we actually saw in 2022. And I would say that delta, just speaking out loud, is probably what we lost out on because of a lack of promotional activity in the peak season.Dan Fisher. Ball Corporation.
While all CPG categories that utilize aluminum cans saw soft volumes during the last six weeks of the year, beer “was more pronounced” and that has lead to promotions which has lead to “a really nice uplift in beer right out of the gate.” While some of that is attributed to a more dynamic Super Bowl, the promotional lift this year is “more pronounced.”
Incidentally, Dan sees greener pastures for cans in general as “historical beer customers are moving aggressively into other things from an innovation standpoint. So, within the portfolio of some of our customers, we like the fact that they’re acquiring products and they’re innovating products and they’re pushing new innovations” in cans (read RTDs, FMBs, and non-alc).
Either way, Ball wins. “There is volume ascribed to beer and there’s big volume ascribed to beer, and that’s always going to be an underpinning of us within a volume business. But as that beer skews to other drinks, and other alcohol profiles, it will be a trade-off within their portfolio. We’re selling them the cans. The label they want to put on it doesn’t matter to us. We just want to be with the winners on the brand side.”
You may be interested in: US Wineries Struggle to Raise Prices.


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Today the family of Apple has confirmed that their block buster cell phone finally sat on the ship and just waiting to arrive in China market on 13 the January. Apple has also said that it will launch 21 other country also at the same time. The announcement has come at such a moment, while Read more
“Android” is a popular name in the tech world. With time Android devices are gathering more and more popularity among people. Andy Rubin, who is the Google’s vice president of mobile, in a recent speech, has disclosed that according to their latest record everyday more than 700,000 Android devices are getting activated. The record points Read more
Intel most recently has launched the prototype of their upcoming smartphone and tablet. The smartphones and tablets will run on Intel’s forthcoming 32nm Medfield processor. The mentioned processors of Intel for the first time are designed to give the Arm chips a pretty hard challenge in mobile phone sector.
The market research firm Gartner after their recent survey has disclosed that Google’s Android based smartphone sale is growing on rapidly. Nearly 115 million smartphones have been sold worldwide in the third quarter of 2011. Out of them 60 million which is 52.2 percent of the total smartphone sale is Android Based Smartphones. The famous Read more
Apple lunched their latest iPhone 4S a few months ago. Although people were very much excited about the iPhone 4S the handset did not seem to meet their expectations. The iPhone 4S along with many other minor problems showed the problem of excessive battery drainage. To solve the battery life issue and meet people’s expectations Read more


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As the country struggles to discern its political and economic future, Egypt is coming under greater pressure to advance its free trade agreements.
The European Union announced in December that it is beginning talks about extending its free trade agreements with Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia.
But, these talks have prompted criticism from civil society groups in Egypt and throughout the region. Critics say that these economic ties would only further damage an already battered economy and result in long-term economic injustices.
According to a 14 December EU press release, the future agreements would establish “deep and comprehensive free trade areas,” and would construct new regulations for the Egyptian economy.
“The opening of trade negotiations aims at improving market access opportunities and the investment climate in Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia,” it said.
Egypt has one of the largest markets of urban consumers in the region. If large European companies were given unfettered access to the market, it could mean huge profits for them.
But history of free trade shows that the arrangements could devastate small businesses and producers and breed unemployment in Egypt and the other countries.
Civil society leaders and activists say any such agreements are a continuation of old polices and would only hamper the country’s economic growth and health.
In a 24 January letter addressed to the Egyptian government and the European Parliament, 14 regional rights organizations said that the trade talks could represent “a backlash against democratic transition processes in the Arab Region.”
“Support for economic growth should be rooted in support of people’s choices and a revised economic model, where productive capacities, redistribution mechanisms, employment and wages take forefront,” said the letter.
Continuing with such agreements, its signees said, would mean continuing with greedy policies of governments that imposed top-down economic reforms that never actually benefitted most Egyptians. They say the lack of transparency around the talks and that they are with Egypt’s interim and not-elected government means that any emerging agreements will not have popular legitimacy as well.
“The Arab Spring showed that the global financial system is not working anymore,” said Noha El Shoky, a development specialist and member of the Popular Campaign for Dropping Egypt's Debt, one of the signatories to the letter.
Though Egypt experienced economic growth in the past five years, she said, average citizens saw little of that wealth.
“Nothing was trickling down to the people,” she said. “We need to change our policies, not just in Egypt, but everywhere else.”
The European negotiations would center on the existing treaties made through the World Trade Organization, and policies signed under former President Hosni Mubarak, known as the Euro-Mediterranean Association Agreements. The arrangements are based on the capitalist principles that as barriers to markets fall, trade and wealth increases on both sides.
Egypt, a WTO member since 1995, has been implementing free trade areas with the EU through the Euro-Mediterranean Association Agreements in recent years.
These Euro-Mediterranean agreements, which cover trade in goods, also entail liberalization of agriculture, processed agriculture or fisheries, as well liberalization of trade in services and conformity assessment of industrial products, according to the EU. They also are predicated on the establishment of an international bilateral dispute settlement mechanism for trade matters.
Egypt has also for years labored to get a bilateral free trade agreement with the United States, which is seen by many developing countries as a stamp of approval on their economic and political status. US officials withheld it under Mubarak, citing political freedom and human rights violations. It remains to be seen whether the United States will bestow it on the Egypt’s emerging government or renew talks about the issue.
Minister of Trade and Industry Mahmoud Issa, who is negotiating with the EU and the US, made a trip in January to Washington, during which he discussed the future of bilateral trade between the two countries.
Egyptian officials have repeatedly shown enthusiasm for both EU and US free trade agreements. But what really emerges, critics say, is that only one side really benefits from the relationship.
Though largely touted as beacon for development, globalization and prosperity, free trade policies have been shown to pose dangers in the past, especially between economies in different developmental stages.
Large and heavily industrialized economies, for example, can mass-produce a product such as shoes for very cheap. In more localized economies, the production of shoes might employ more workers and provide important jobs.
Once the two are allowed to trade freely, the mass-produced shoe will be cheaper, even in the smaller economy, and consumers will choose it instead of the often locally made, potentially higher quality shoe. The local shoemakers and cobblers will be out of jobs, which will set back the economy far more than the few cents consumers save buying the foreign made shoes.
Examples in recent history can be found in South and Central America, were the North American Free Trade Organization opened up the trade of United States corn with its southern neighbor Mexico. Corn, subsidized by the US government, was one of the first products to cross the border. Mexican corn farmers couldn’t compete with the prices, and the agriculture industry, which employed a large portion of Mexico’s population, was decimated.
South Africa also saw Free Trade policies offered after colonialism, to the detriment of the growth of its own economy.
What’s essentially wrong with free trade, most critics say, is that it doesn’t create jobs.
European Union reports on the impact of its agreements have shown negative outcomes of free trade, particularly for less-developed economies that take part in the agreements.
In an assessment on the impact of free trade in the region, a 2007 report issued by the EU found that Egypt and other Mediterranean countries saw increased unemployment and decrease in local industry after the policies were implemented.
Without the installment of certain “mitigating measures,” the report found that there had been “a significant short term rise in unemployment, which could continue into the long term” as a result of the free trade setup. The report found that industrial products and agriculture industries were most heavily hit.
Other side effects included a drop in wages as a result of unemployment, government revenues, and a drop in the standard of living of rural women, who lost their livelihoods because of farm mechanization.
The report also stated that there had been a “greater vulnerability of poor households to fluctuations in world market prices for basic foods,” that ensued following the implementation of the policies.
As Egypt faces a currency crisis, budget deficit, and significant decrease in tourism revenues, and already rising domestic food prices, exposing the country’s poorest to world market fluctuations could plunge them further into poverty.
And these effects, which would be detrimental to any economy, could wreak havoc on Egypt’s, which is already suffering from investment withdrawal and tourism drought during the political transition, activists say.
What’s more, the talks are being conducted in arenas out of the public eye, with little media coverage and in language that an average laborer would not understand. But it’s the small shop owner and factory worker that will feel the effects of the policies first in Egypt, as they have in other countries, said Bruno Ciccaglione, coordinator of the Seattle to Brussels Network, an international organization that opposes “corporate globalization.”
“These kinds of trade agreements are responsible for the global economic crisis,” he said. “They do not serve the interests of the Egyptian people. On the contrary, they proved to be very useful to serve the interests of the big transnational companies that operate in Europe.”
But why are talks re-emerging now?
The European Union has opened talks with these countries one-on-one, according to Ziad Abdel Samad, executive director of the Arab NGO Network for Development, one of the signatories of the 24 January letter, because the international negotiations through the largely criticized and conflict ridden World Trade Organization have failed.
The European Union should respect that now is a sensitive time for Egypt and Tunisia in particular, and hold off on any agreements until a new constitution and government are formed, he said.
Abdel Samad's opinion resonates especially considering the precedent of free trade in Egypt. The 1995 free trade agreements made between Europe and the Mediterranean zone were largely aimed at protecting foreign investors rather than Egyptian workers, Abdel Samad said.
“They did not lead to improving the living conditions of the people, and it did not protect human rights,” he said. “We don't need to follow the same model, we need to assess the gaps and then try to include them in new agreements.”
Europe may have a self-serving purpose in going after free trade arrangements now, according to Ciccaglione.
He said that the EU might be motivated to seek wealth and resources elsewhere as its economic forecast grows increasingly bleak. Because of the crisis, European investors are after Egypt’s resources, he said.
“This makes the economic elite even more aggressive in their strategies,” he said. “They are well aware that the biggest part of economic growth in the future will be produced in the global south and emerging economies. And they know if they want to remain a center of the global economy, then they have to grant their investors key raw materials for the future.”


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Party Decor Entrepreneur celebrates the company’s growth during
LOS ANGELES – While many small businesses struggled during the pandemic, some local entrepreneurs have been successful.
Confetti Fiesta Party Decor Shop has just moved into a space inside the Boyle Heights Drugstore. Owner and designer Lissette Arceo couldn’t have imagined just a few months ago that her business would become a retail space.
Arceo started his party decorating business as part of an entrepreneur incubator at East LA College almost two years ago. She was working on growing her business while working part time, but that has all changed this year.
“I had a job as a receptionist and as soon as the pandemic hit I lost that job completely,” Arceo said. “It was like a safety net and extra income, but especially with the business that kept me going.”
She was forced to focus on her business full time. She realized that people still had reason to celebrate and wanted her decor to make their events festive. So she put it all in.
“I was super excited but I’m really scared because you know a month can be really good and a month can be really bad,” said Arceo.
She’s invested in new equipment and is working on a website so curbside pickup may soon be an option. She is doing everything she can to keep her business alive, and so far it is working.
“I was able to have savings and money in my savings, extra money to spend on food, groceries, paying bills, so yes, the company was definitely able to support me,” Arceo said. “I mean I’m not super rich and have a lot of money, but I managed to keep it up.”
Keeping your business in a new store is a blessing when other small businesses haven’t been able to. She is grateful.
“Without [Cake Girl] by helping me and other small businesses by helping me, I wouldn’t be here, ”said Arceo. “So I feel like my success is also theirs. “
The store is located inside the Saint Louis Pharmacy in Boyle Heights. The address is 2100 E 1st Street.
Many small businesses still need help to survive. A recent Small Business Majority survey found that 44% of small businesses are at risk of shutting down and minority-owned businesses are disproportionately affected.
The governor’s office announced the creation of a $ 500 million COVID-19 Small Business Relief Grant program to provide grants of up to $ 25,000 to eligible small businesses and nonprofits to help to cover expenses during the pandemic. Details can be found with the Office of the Small Business Advocate.


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During tonight's State of the Union address, US President Barack Obama gave a specific shout out to Apple, and indirectly to CEO Tim Cook, who is attending the speech. The President cited Apple's plans to bring production of one of its Mac product lines back to the U.S. Cook was previously ...
Deals of the Daymore deals
Software Updatesmore updates
- Agile Partners releases Lick of the Day 2.0
- Microsoft Office for Mac 2011 Update 14.3.4
- Pixelmator 2.2 available with over 100 new features and improvements
- DabKick for iPhone lets you share photos, watch videos and now listen to music in real-time
- Google Now added to search app on iPhone, iPad
- GateGuru for iPhone has been updated and greatly improved
Featured Storiesmore stories
I'm never leaving home without my pogo connect again. Love this thing.


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Forbes recognizes 50 powerful businesswomen in Asia who are driving change across diverse industries in its fourth annual Asia’s Power Businesswomen list. The full list is available here as well as in the latest issue of Forbes Asia, available on newsstands now.
The list includes following Women from India:
- Arundhati Bhattacharya, CMD, State Bank of India
- Chanda Kochchar, CEO, ICICI Bank
- Akhila Srinivasan, MD/Non-Executive Director, Shriram Life Insurance/Shriram Capital
- Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Founder, Chairman and MD, Biocon
- Shikha Sharma, CEO and MD, Axis Bank
- Usha Sangwan, MD, Life Insurance Corp. of India
There are a total of 27 newcomers to this year’s list, some of them are:
- Noni Purnomo, President Director of Indonesia’s Blue Bird Group Holding
- Lee Boo-jin, President and CEO of South Korea’s Hotel Shilla
- Sonia Cheng, CEO of Hong Kong’s Rosewood Hotel Group and Executive Director of New World Development
- Wandee Khunchornyakong, Chairman and CEO of Thailand’s SPCG
- Katie Page, CEO of Australia’s Harvey Norman
- Lucy Peng, co-founder of Alibaba and the energy behind its fast growing Ant financial-services unit
- Maggie Wu, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Alibaba and the driver of its blockbuster IPO
- Garamjav Tseden, Founder and Chairman of mining company Monpolymet
- Win Win Tint
The first time entrants to the list include Maggie Wu and Lucy Peng, Alibaba’s top female decision-makers. For the first time, two women Garamjav Tseden and Win Win Tint are included from developing nations Mongolia and Myanmar.
In addition to the powerful 50 list, 12 women in their late twenties to early forties have been singled out as “Women to Watch”. Among these women are Jean Liu of Didi Dache, a taxi-hailing app in China that has just merged with its biggest rival to form the largest company of its kind and Petrea Vela, the Co-Managing Director of New Zealand Bloodstock. Isha Ambani of Reliance Jio Infocomm and Reliance Retail Ventures, and Ruth Yeoh of YTL Singapore and YTL-SV Carbon also made the watch list.


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Now it is safe to say that Tesla’s electric car prices hit their minimum this year in February, and since then they have been mainly increasing in increments of $500. The Model Y crossover cost a little less than $50,000 at the end of winter, this week its basic version has risen in price once again, now it will have to pay almost $53,000 for it.
Since Tesla does not have its own press service in the usual sense for many automakers, some time ago Elon Musk provided his comments on the pricing policy. The price increases, he said, are due to higher prices for components and materials. It is no secret that prices for metal have significantly increased this year, this could not but affect the cost of manufacturing body parts of any car accordingly. The situation was further aggravated by the rise in prices for electronics.
As noted by Electrek, if earlier this month Tesla had already raised the price of the older Model Y by $500, now it’s the turn of the basic version of the crossover. This week it has risen in price by the same $500 to $52,990 if we focus on prices for the American market. The logistics industry also responded to a number of processes taking place within it with an increase in prices for transport services, so this could also affect the costs of automakers.
It is noteworthy that the demand for Tesla products has not decreased due to the increase in prices. In any case, the company undertakes to deliver the Model Y crossovers newly ordered in the United States no earlier than September, and the entire production program of the second quarter was distributed among buyers in advance in May this year. The company’s management has made a traditional appeal to employees to make every effort to produce the maximum number of electric vehicles in the remaining time until the end of the quarter.


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An American burns his smartphone and sells it twice as much
While fans of the new iPhone line up in long queues, hoping to buy it or even just look at it, an American got rid of it in a strange way as soon as it got it.
An American in California who was fortunate enough to get a copy of the device opened it from its box as soon as it was received and burned in the microwave oven in front of the viewfinder, until the phone turned into a block of flame that made the smartphone a charred piece of scrap useless.
All this before it came to the mind of the man who did the western act to return the burned device to its original box, hoping to sell it on the electronic sales sites, even at any price.
This was the surprise when the incident caused the device to raise its price and increase orders to buy and finally sell by about 3000 dollars.
The video of the incident also generated a large number of views on YouTube, both by fans of the iPhone and supporters of rival Samsung Galaxy.


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Intel study shows bad mobile manners, such as texting while driving and restroom cellphone chats, on the rise
People using mobile technology probably have great productivity rates, but their manners are foul, according to a study from chip-making giant Intel Corp.
Mobile manners are worse now than they were even a year ago, 75% of respondents said. More than 90% said they’d witnessed some sort of misuse of technology –- about five offenses daily.
Just 9% of U.S. adults don’t own at least a cellphone, laptop computer or tablet, leading to an epidemic of “public displays of technology,” according to the study of 2,000 people.
Users are wedded to their devices, with gadget sightings reported on honeymoons, in public restrooms and in movie theaters. Twenty percent admitted to checking mobile gadgets even before they get out of bed in the morning.
Though about two in 10 adults admit to bad mobile behavior themselves, most blamed the etiquette breach on the fact that everyone else was just as guilty, according to data compiled by market research company Ipsos for Intel.
That includes text-and-drive infractions, walk-and-blab incidents and plenty of public loudmouthing. And 24% of people have seen drivers working on laptops while behind the wheel.
-- Tiffany Hsu [follow]
Photo: Mel Melcon/Los Angeles Times