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Autumn is here, which can only mean one thing – it’s time to bring back the pumpkin spice latte.
PSLs have become a fall favourite for millennials and coffee fans alike, with many choosing to treat their sweet-tooth with Starbucks’ original blend.
Starbucks first started developing the autumnal coffee back in 2003, but this year Greggs have decided to go head-to-head with Seattle’s number one coffee company.
Greggs have released their very own pumpkin spice lattes.
It’s the battle of the PSLs this autumn, with both companies releasing their versions of the seasonal classic on 6 September 2018.
The Greggs pumpkin spice latte contains a mixture of ground coffee, steamed milk and a sweet pumpkin-spice flavoured syrup.
It’s also topped with cream and a shortbread crumb, which sounds like a dream come true.
In terms of price, Greggs’ version is nearly a quid cheaper than the Starbucks classic, retailing at just £2.20 per cup.
As well as being healthier for your wallet, Greggs' pumpkin spice latte also has less calories, coming in at 240 compared to Starbucks’ 383 calories.
Greggs gave away 100,000 cups to existing app users to promote the brand new beverage.
This year, Starbucks changed the ingredients to their fan-favourite pumpkin spice lattes in order to cater for their growing vegan fanbase.
Which one is better? May as well try them both and find out…


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Last year Bethesda announced that in addition to launching Skyrim on the Nintendo Switch, they would also be launching DOOM and Wolfenstein II. The former has since been released but last we checked, Bethesda claimed that they were still working on polishing on Wolfenstein II.
The good news is that fans will not have to wait much longer because in a trailer announcement published on YouTube, Bethesda has confirmed that Wolfenstein II will be arriving on the Switch come 29th of June. This means that fans of the franchise will have about 2 months of waiting to do before they will be able to get their hands on the game.
According to Bethesda’s description, “As renowned hero BJ Blazkowicz, you’ll set out to take back America from Nazi reign with your band of freedom fighters — that is if General Engel doesn’t stop you first. You are the Nazi’s number one enemy, and the only thing standing in their way from a global takeover — no pressure, right? With an arsenal of powerful weapons to dual-wield, unusual contraptions, and your trusty hatchet, nothing will stop you from liberating America.”
From what we can tell from the trailer, the game looks pretty good, although it’s hard to tell what resolution or frame rates we might be looking at. However if you love the idea of being able to play on the go then we suppose this could be a title worth looking forward to.

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LOUISVILLE, KY (WAVE) - In 2015, nearly one million people came to Kentucky for its bourbon tourism industry, according to the Kentucky Distillers' Association. It says each tourists spends an average of $1,000 during their visit.
"The Kentucky bourbon trail has a significant impact," Kentucky Distillers' Association President Eric Gregory said.
Senate Bill 11 could send those numbers even higher.
"We're very proud of what bourbon tourism has done for the Commonwealth and this is another tool to grow it," Gregory said. "Kentucky's alcohol laws, especially their alcohol tourism laws, are outdated and most of them are stuck in prohibition."
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It's a longer bill that includes changes to wine and microbreweries - and not every distillery is on board. The two most debated changes would allow distillery visitors to buy nine liters of alcohol instead of three and sample 1.75 ounces per distillery instead of 1.00.
Sazerac, which owns Buffalo Trace, Pappy Van Winkle and many others is against the bill.
"We appreciate what they're trying to do for tourism," Jason Underwood, a lobbyist for Sazerac, said. "We just think there's been a bit of overreach."
He said allowing more sales at distilleries could upset retailers.
"We need retail partners to sell our products," Underwood said. "We like the customer, whether they buy our product or not, we think they should experiment."


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Rumors persist that apple could launch its own e-car. But strategically there is a lot to be said against it.
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Rumors that apple is working on its own car have been around since 2014. At that time, the highly respected engineer and developer johann jungwirth surprisingly switched from mercedes to apple. But the project "titan", as it is called internally, never really got off the ground. Jungwirth left apple after just one year. And he wasn’t the only top executive to turn his back on the project. Apple confirmed little in the years that followed, except that they were working on software for autonomous vehicles. In addition, the company wants to further develop its own infotainment system, carplay.
In 2018, apple registered nearly 30 autonomous test vehicles in california, which have since been seen regularly on the roads. But in 2019, apple first drastically reduced the number of employees who worked on the project, and then in the summer, the startup drive.Ai to buy.
A car can’t replicate the "iphone moment"
In the last few days, the rumors about apple’s e-car have picked up again. The reason for this is a $200 million investment by apple’s supplier foxconn in the failed carmaker byton. This is to get byton back on its feet and finish building the almost finished production facility in nanjing. Wouldn’t byton be ideal to build an apple car?
The real question should be: why does apple want to build a car at all?? Sure, apple has already surprised several times. For example, when it unveiled the iphone in 2007, it turned an entire industry on its head. But while apple was able to run phone manufacturers into the ground with new technologies, it won’t be so easy to do the same with cars.
And why would apple buy a company like byton that has not yet produced a single e-car?? it would make more sense to join an established manufacturer. Tesla, for example, would be an ideal partner, but elon musk tweeted that he had offered to buy his company from apple a few years ago – but the latter’s boss tim cook had shown no interest.
Supplier market is much more attractive for apple
designing a car and the software is one thing. To build it and put it on the road, another. The margins for the vehicles are low, unless you get into the upper class with vehicles from a purchase price of 100.000 euros. With a new iphone, you earn more and faster money than with an investment in an autonomous car. Even if cost should not be an issue given the funds available to apple, the stock market is not convinced by such experiments, as initial analyses revealed.
it would be much easier for apple to be a supplier. Similar to google or nvidia, who sell their software to manufacturers and are very successful with it, apple could offer a complete software suite. Which would include the infotainment system and autonomous driving. On the one hand, this would keep development costs within reasonable limits, and on the other hand, it would avoid the risk of failing to produce one’s own car.
Don dahlmann has been a journalist for over 25 years and has been working in the automotive industry for over ten years. every monday you can read his column "drehmoment" here, which takes a critical look at the mobility industry.


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While part of the fashion industry has been quite vocal in opposing Donald Trump and his policies, many are navigating such challenges as:
- What’s the best way to approach interacting with the Trump family?
- Should designers dress members of a family whose patriarch’s values are out of line with their own?
- How do you deal with an administration that contains members who are seen by some as hostile to LGBT rights, women’s rights, and civil and voting rights?
Many retailers have already distanced themselves from the Ivanka Trump fashion brand. Business of Fashion is leading the political-statement charge for New York Fashion Week, calling upon the industry this month to take a stand and “make a clear statement in support of solidarity, human unity and inclusiveness.”
In a piece published on Wednesday, BoF co-founder and editor in chief Imran Amed asks the fashion industry to wear white bandanas on the runways “as a sign to the world that you believe in the common bonds of humankind — regardless of race, sexuality, gender or religion.”
Amed is asking designers to incorporate the white bandana into their shows, encouraging photographers to key in on street-style subjects wearing the bandana and requesting that editors incorporate the cloth symbols in their coverage. Business of Fashion has also (naturally) added a social media element to the project, asking people to share images of themselves rocking their own white bandanas with the hashtag #TiedTogether.
It’s not the fashion industry’s first NYFW foray into political symbolism, as the CFDA has already announced Fashion Stands With Planned Parenthood, a collaboration between the American fashion industry’s governing body and the threatened health services provider. For that message, pink pins bearing the name of the initiative will be passed out during fashion week. “Civic responsibility is an important CFDA pillar. Defunding Planned Parenthood will impact millions of Americans,” CFDA president and CEO Steven Kolb explained in a statement. “We will raise awareness and support this fashion week and show that Fashion Stands With Planned Parenthood.”
It remains to be seen just how many people will participate in each initiative, but political statements are shaping up to be one of the hottest trends of fashion week, and perhaps all of fashion month. We will be closely watching the runways to see just how outspoken the industry gets this season.


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Nashville, Tennessee-based Crowned Heads has been named the Cigar Media Association’s Cigar Brand of the Year. 2014 was a year that saw Crowned Heads add a second manufacturing partner and make a move toward the limited edition market. At the same time, the company released several critically acclaimed cigars to the marketplace.
The big change saw Crowned Heads introduce My Father Cigars in Esteli, Nicaragua as a manufacturing partner – joining Ernesto Perez-Carrillo Jr’s Tabacalera La Alianza in the Dominican Republic. There were seven new lines introduced by Crowned Heads made at My Father Cigars including the highly successful regular production Jericho Hill.
The release of more limited editions, regional editions, and shop exclusives marked a change in direction for Crowned Heads which had focused more on regular production cigars prior to this year. The company introduced an annual limited edition series (Las Calaveras), a limited cigar for the Tobacconist Association of America (The Angel’s Anvil), several regional releases (Tennessee Waltz, the Mason Dixon Project), shop exclusives (Headley Grange Snaredrum for Federal Cigar, Arrington Vineyards Double W for Arrington Vineyards, Hecho Con Corazon LE 2014 for Hickory Cigar Club / Tinderbox of Charlotte, and the Buckingham for Cigar Federation). The change proved to be very successful as the cigars were both a critical and commercial success among cigar enthusiasts.
In a statement from the Cigar Media Association:
“There were a lot of brands, both big and small, and new and old, that had a great 2014 year. In fact, there were so many that the votes were very close at times in terms of who would receive this award. But the end of the day though, the 14 members of the Cigar Media Association voted and the votes kept pointing to one brand. It is my honor to announce that the 2014 Cigar Media Association Award for Brand of the Year Award goes to Crowned Heads.”
On January 2nd, the Cigar Media Association announced its nominees for its 1st Cigar Industry Awards. The purpose of these awards are to honor and celebrate the companies and individuals in the cigar industry. It marks the marks the first time a collaborative effort among various brands of the cigar media have come together for such a process. Cigar Coop / Stogie Geeks is a founding member of the organization.
Crowned Heads was one of six brands nominated for Cigar Media Association Cigar Brand of the Year. The nominees included:
- Crowned Heads
- Drew Estate
- Warped Cigars


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Portable security: The mobile threat
According to the Forrester 2016 Mobile and App Marketing Trends report, people experience an average of 150-200 micro-moments a day — moments where they turn to their mobile device to access apps or make transactions. Forrester also estimated that around 226 billion apps were downloaded in 2015 alone, and Comscore’s 2015 Mobile App Report showed that apps take up around 87% of the time spent on a mobile device. Now take these statistics, along with fact that 140 billion apps were downloaded from just the Apple store as of September 2016, and add them to the fact that cybercriminals target many of them, and suddenly the picture isn’t that pretty.
The NowSecure Mobile Security Report found that 24.7% of mobile apps have at least one high risk security flaw, and that 35% of communications sent via mobile device are not encrypted. The average business app is also more likely to leak log-in credentials while games will include a vulnerability more often than the average app. The 2015 MacAfee Mobile Threat Report pointed out that large numbers of infected apps were making it past the screening processes and appearing in trusted app stores. In 2016, the report covered the fact that hundreds of apps have been pulled from both Google Play and the Apple App store due to security issues. Aggressive adware, malware infections and data capture software continue to plague the mobile landscape.
Gerhard Oosthuizen, chief information officer, Entersekt, says: “More often than not, mobile apps are not developed to the same security standards as websites. App development is often done quickly as companies rush to get the app to market. However, people still have a perception that mobile is safer and the average mobile user will connect to whatever network is available to access cheap data. Unfortunately, unprotected public networks can expose them to any number of attacks, especially man-in-the-middle attacks where criminals secretly intercept, and tamper with, digital communications.”
Alongside the man-in-the-middle attacks there are several threats to mobile users and their data. One of the most devastating of 2016 was the hostile enterprise-signed mobile app WireLurker which attacks Apple’s desktop and mobile platforms, allowing it to download apps onto the device without permission or the user’s knowledge. Found in more than 467 applications, WireLurker was downloaded nearly 400 000 times. It is also the first malware which has been known to infect iOS applications in the same way as a traditional virus. As eye-opening moments go, this one was a doozy.
So was Stagefright — the name given to a bunch of vulnerabilities discovered in the Android operating system (OS) and which allowed attackers to remotely execute a code on a mobile device through the transmission of a MMS message. Instead of the cybercriminal luring the user into clicking on a malicious link or downloading an infected app they need only know the phone number to launch their attack. Even more scary was that they could wipe out all traces of having ever been there. The user would never know that their device had been hacked or was being used for nefarious purposes.
The onus is on the user
“It is important that users know what types of files can contain code, scripts or other potentially dangerous things,” says Damien Michael, chief executive, Innovo Networks. “In mobile specifically, software systems are out of date, security patches for third parties are not always developed and released on time, and mobile devices don’t have firewalls to limit internet connections. A hacker can access an unsecured communications port and obtain sensitive information from the device in minutes.”
It is this vulnerability which played no small role in the impact of Stagefright and Stagefright 2, a set of vulnerabilities found in Android and which were activated by using mp3 and mp4 files. According to MacAfee, the number of devices running Android 1.5 to 5.1, which are susceptible to this attack, sits at nearly one billion. The security giant recommends that users turn off their MMS auto retrieval, update their devices regularly and never open messages from strangers, just as a starting point.
“The biggest risk is the person using the device,” says Rianette Leibowitz, founder of SaveTNet. “Most people are not cyber savvy and click on links before they investigate the source. Ransomware has become a big threat, and many people have been caught off guard. Users hardly ever read the terms and conditions which come with apps to see what level of access and types of permission they are giving to the app. For instance, some apps can access your address book or your camera on your phone; others can post on your behalf to social media.”
The time to trust blindly in the wondrous power of the mobile operating system has passed. Cyber criminals are taking advantage of the fact that people are not as informed about the various scams and loopholes as they should be. It’s understandable. As Leibowitz points out, nobody really reads the terms and conditions that come with an app — they run for pages and pages and are less interesting than watching paint dry. However, even if it means downloading half the apps today as yesterday, read the fine print.
It’s also a good idea to avoid using open Wi-Fi networks, especially if the mobile device doesn’t have security software installed. Never do sensitive transactions such as access online banking, share card details through online shopping or enter in personal information while using an open network. If someone is watching, they just hit the motherload.
“If you do choose to use a free Wi-Fi network, for instance at a conference, and you use a password to gain access, then consider the information they request from you,” says Leibowitz. “Are you comfortable with giving that provider your mobile number, name, company details and, indirectly, your IP address and MAC address?”
Considering how much damage a hacker can do with just a simple detail like a phone number, users must become far more careful with who they hand these out to, and why. Consumers should also enable user authentication, install anti-malware capability and a firewall, ensure they have the latest security updates and implement two-factor authentication. Regardless of platform — and these each have their own inherent risks — every mobile device should have some form of antivirus installed. Some of the most highly recommended include Bitdefender Mobile Security for Android, LastPass Authenticator for both Android and iOS, and ESET Mobile Device Management for iOS.
The risk factors: OS wars
There is always the debate around which mobile platform is the most, or least, secure. Many tout Android as the most vulnerable as apps on Google Play didn’t undergo a hefty approval process in the past and there was the risk that an app would be dripping with malware and vulnerabilities. However, Google has been manually reviewing apps since 2015 and putting far more stringent controls in place. Android may be a more open system which has more people playing in the development sandbox, — Android devices currently command 81% of the market share — but as Oosthuizen succinctly puts: “No mobile operating system is invulnerable. The latest software update release of an OS is the most secure — the ones with the biggest flaws are the older versions. It is as simple as that.”
Each operating system has its own set of pros and cons. For Apple, the system is proprietary, the apps are vetted before publication on the store and the fee to put an app on the store is quite high. This means that iOS is often perceived as this wonderfully secure walled garden where users can frolic with apps to their heart’s content. Unfortunately, this is now being used against the operating system as hackers find new ways to climb inside iOS, as evidenced by WireLurker, Trident and XCodeGhost.
“Apple might have an edge on Google with regard to the threat landscape,” says Eugene Engelhardt, cief executive, Traderoot. “The Android install base far outstrips the iOS install base and attackers will always go where they have the biggest chance of success.”
Android has had its fair share of issues with security, not least of which being Stagefright, and this is made more complex thanks to the openness of the platform and the varied number of organisations which use it. However, the same organisations are also taking control over their own security, as evidenced by Samsung’s KNOX, among others. Then let’s not forget BlackBerry, Ubuntu and Windows — these operating systems may only have a fraction of market share, but they are as vulnerable to attack as anyone else. The theory that the hackers won’t pay attention to so small a part of the market is fundamentally flawed.
“Apps that request access to data and convince users to grant it are prevalent on all the major platforms. And malicious websites are accessible to all devices, regardless of OS,” adds Iain Wadds, regional sales manager, Tarsus Technology Group. “While the technology itself has flaws, the vast majority of providers have solutions to basic security issues. However, the biggest flaws are not with the technology but with the way users use it and their lack of understanding of the risks.”
So how does someone find out if they’ve been hacked? The scary answer is that often they don’t. Perhaps social media will show posts which are not theirs, or the bank calls about anomalous payments. A spike in data usage or the operating system slowing down significantly can also indicate that there is a problem. If your browser is redirected to other sites or pop-ups appear, then pay attention. However, it is very likely that you won’t know you’ve been hacked until it is way too late.


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On July 27 negotiators reached a compromise settlement in the world’s largest anti-dumping dispute, regarding Chinese exports of solar panels to the European Union. China agreed to constrain its exports to a minimum price and a maximum quantity. The solution is restrictive relative to the six-year trend of rapidly rising Chinese market share (which had reached 80% in Europe), and plummeting prices. But it is less severe than what had been the imminent alternative: EU tariffs on Chinese solar panels had been set to rise sharply on August 6, to 47.6%, as the result of a “finding” by the EU Trade Commissioner that China had been “dumping.” The threat of likely retaliation by China helped persuade the Europeans to back off from their determination to impose such high protective walls around their own solar panel industry.
A survey of economists is published in the November 2012 issue of Foreign Policy. One question was whether we thought that the US unemployment rate would dip below 8.0% before the election. When the FP conducted the poll at the end of the summer, unemployment was 8.1-8.2%. Now it’s 7.8%. Only 8% of the respondents said “yes.” (I was one. I basically just extrapolated the trend of the last two years.)
My fellow economists choose defense spending and agricultural subsidies as the two categories of US federal budget that they think the best to cut. They rate the euro crisis as the greatest threat to the world economy now and are particularly worried about Spain.read more
All of a sudden, the renminbi is being touted as the next big international currency. Just in the last year or two, the Chinese currency has begun to internationalize along a number of dimensions. RMB bank desposits are now available in Hong Kong. A RMB bond market has grown rapidly there as well, with the issuers including major multinationals such as McDonald’s. Some of China’s international trade is now invoiced in the currency. Foreign central banks have been able to hold RMB since August 2010, with Malaysia going first.read more


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Rihanna continues to line her pockets by landing one lucrative endorsement deal after another. This go round, she's been chosen to be the face of the latest campaigns for Armani Underwear and Armani jeans.
Earlier today, Giorgio Armani announced that Rihanna will be the new global ambassador for Emporio Armani Underwear and Armani Jeans's autumn/winter 2011-12 campaign.
RiRi recently shot photos for the campaign in New York, which will be launched worldwide in September.
Congrats on your modeling gigs RiRi! I guess your concert set isn't the only thing that's blazing this summer.


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Matalan Retail Limited
The idea of bringing mass-market garment production back to the UK is finally gaining momentum among manufacturers and retailers. But accord...
Is Bangladesh is a place where workers are safe to make clothes sold by Western retailers and brands - and is the lure of low costs a risk w...
Fashion retailers, brands and manufacturers are facing a "moving target" when it comes to garment sizing and fit. A focus on changing consum...
A recent seminar looking at specific challenges facing the children's wear market concluded that weight and waist sizes are a better indicat...
Andy Dunkley, the CEO of Lee Cooper has set some ambitious targets for the licensed denim brand, with plans for it to double its revenue to US$1bn over the next five years. Dunkley told Petah Marian about the Lee Cooper "family" and its plans at the company's recent licensee conference.
Value fashion retailer Matalan is implementing Lectra's Modaris 3D product development solution to enhance the fit, style and quality of its garments.
Value fashion and homewares retailer Matalan has reported a drop in full-year profit, but stressed that earnings have improved for the start of the new fiscal year.
Sainsbury's clothing boss James Brown has been promoted to director of all non-food trading, as part of a reshuffle to prepare for the departure of CEO Justin King.
Italian fashion firm Benetton has moved to defend its position on Bangladesh following accusations it has violated terms of the Accord and is dragging its feet over paying into the compensation fund.
The North Face says it remains committed to ensuring its suppliers meet the group's ethical standards despite a report accusing the outdoor wear brand of failing workers by not paying a living wage.
- MYANMAR SNAPSHOT: Textile and apparel industry
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- Clothing seen as central focus for new Tesco CEO
- INTERVIEW: David Nieper pushes Made in UK momentum
- VF Corp bullish for second-half growth
- Crystal Group improves worker communication
- TIMELINE: Charney ousting from American Apparel
- ILO backs Burma project to improve work practices
- VF Corp books "solid" Q2 performance
- UN rights expert urges further Cambodia reforms
- Global market review of denim and jeanswear – forecasts to 2020
- American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. : Reacting to a need for change
- Management briefing: Sourcing shifts: Changes and challenges
- Ethiopia – the emerging textile and clothing industry
- Plunkett's Apparel & Textiles Industry Almanac 2014: Apparel & Textiles Industry Market Research, Statistics, Trends & Leading Companies


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Zamaretto League side, Farnborough, recently annouced another new corporate partnership with German electronics manufacturer Medion becoming the club’s Technology Partner. Medion is a manufacturer of consumer electronics products including PCs, laptops, and satellite navigation devices. Its high-quality offerings incorporate the latest technology and appealing designs while still providing outstanding value for money. Medion sells its products through retail partners nationwide including Aldi, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Argos and Carphone Warehouse. Customers can also find the latest technology at bargain prices on the company’s webshop.
Nick Shenton, Managing Director at Medion UK, commented: “We’re really pleased to be Farnborough Football Club’s new sponsor and technology partner. It’s great to be linked to an up-and-coming club such as this, that is full of energy and really going places. We feel that this fits in well with our own company ethos and hope to be able to offer our expertise where required. We look forward to a long and successful relationship.”
Boro’s Chief Executive, Steve Duly echoed the sentiments. “Medion are an established company in the electronics industry, and we are delighted that they have agreed to Partner us here at the club,” he said. “The partnership will see a presence through pitchside and programme advertising, and there will be opportunities for supporters to purchase products at preferred rates through links on the club website.” Medion have a track record of supporting sporting organisations through arrangements with Bayern Munich in football and the Force India Formula One team.


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Phoenix teams up with JMC
(Posted on 11/09/18)
Phoenix is proud to announce its new partnership with JMC Capital Partners of Boston, Massachusetts.
George Wordingham, President and fourth generation owner of Phoenix, has announced his retirement and confirmed the sale of his share of the company to JMC. “I’m happy to be putting Phoenix in a position for long-term growth while also preserving the importance of its history in the industries we’ve served for decades. The trust our customers have in us is something money can’t buy, so it’s important to everyone to keep this story going.”
For decades, Phoenix has been providing light, safety and productivity to port and terminal equipment worldwide. In this time, the company has built an unmatched reputation of quality, durability, innovation and exceptional service. It’s something that everyone at Phoenix is very proud of and looks forward to expanding on with this recent announcement.
JMC will be investing in various growth opportunities for Phoenix and looking to grow its presence in the lighting industry. “We are pleased and excited to add Phoenix to the JMC portfolio as a new platform for rugged LED Lighting,” said David Logan, Operating Partner at JMC. “Phoenix’s management team has done an excellent job at growing their business, and we look forward to continued success.”
Scott Fredrick, CEO of Phoenix, shares his enthusiasm for this next step. “JMC presents great opportunities for our future in this industry,” states Fredrick, “As a 126-year-old manufacturer, we know the value of adaptability and perseverance. JMC’s strategy is a perfect fit for Phoenix and its plan for long-term growth.”
Phoenix will continue to operate out of its Milwaukee location. All employees will remain as will the commitment Phoenix has to its customers.
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Samsung unveiled the next generation of mirrors and OLED displays this past Wednesday during a tech demonstration in Hong Kong. These gadgets will be paired with Intel’s RealSense technology, paving the way to a more realistic virtual world.
The human eye is often described as one of nature’s impossibly complex creations, in no small part due to what we know as depth perception. Cameras failed to achieve this until now. RealSense is “the world’s first integrated 3D depth and 2D camera module that helps devices ‘see’ depth much like the human eye.”
RealSense was originally designed for computer use, working sort of like Microsoft’s Xbox Kinect. Instead of a touchscreen display, one could simply wave or point in order to interact with a device.
How will these mirrors and OLED displays be used?
The potential for this technology is vast, and Samsung’s simple demonstration of mirrors and OLED displays helped paint a more meaningful picture for a lot of people. For example, one might use the mirrors to find out what a set of clothes look like when worn–all without a visit to the fitting rooms.
This could also transform the way ads are used to target individual consumers. Samsung detailed that the mirrors and OLED displays will use RealSense’s voice and gesture control capabilities in a series of interactive ads. It seems what is more convenient must also be more annoying, but it’s the price we pay for advancement!
Samsung also said that the displays are more advanced than most mirror LCDs in use today, delivering clearer, sharper images at greater response times.
This is an exciting time for technology lovers that hope to interact with the world in new ways, especially with several virtual reality gaming hardware scheduled for release this year (e.g. Oculus Rift) and the recurring promise of Microsoft’s game-changing HoloLens along with the release of Windows 10. The real question is this: “Will they release something viable ahead of competitors?”


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Apple Inc. said Wednesday it has filed two lawsuits against Qualcomm Inc. in China, extending a legal battle with its longtime chip supplier into the world’s biggest market for smartphones.
The suits, which Apple said it filed on Monday in Beijing’s Intellectual Property Court, make claims similar to those in a U.S. lawsuit the iPhone maker filed last week targeting the way Qualcomm sells proprietary technology that is critical for smartphones. One of the China suits claims Qualcomm has violated China’s antimonopoly law; the other relates to Qualcomm’s licensing practices, which Apple says are unfair and unreasonable. Apple said it is seeking 1 billion yuan ($145 million) in damages in the antimonopoly suit.
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Data Centre Africa is confident that they have achieved their objectives of educating consumers on Data Centres, conscentizing people on the importance of Data Centres and putting Zimbabwe back on the agenda of becoming the digital hub of Southern Africa after hosting the Data Centre Africa Expo.
The Data Centre Africa Expo was held in Victoria Falls and it ran from the 7th to the 9th of February under the theme, ‘The Road to Africa Digital Transformation.’ Speaking to TechnoMag, one of the organizers, Dr Dunny Derera expressed enthusiasm on their efforts after hosting the first ever Data Centre Expo in Zimbabwe.
“The conference went fine. I think we achieved our objectives of putting Zimbabwe back in the digital agenda,” said Dr Derera.
The country’s geo-political position had been largely seen as a contributing factor in the country’s potential to becoming a leading digital hub of the region. But at the moment, South Africa leads the race of digital supremacy in the region.
Dr Derera believes that the telecommunication companies will invest heavily in the necessary infrastructure required to spearhead the nation to the top of the digital domination, but for their part, organizing the Data Centre Expo alone shows their belief in the country.
A lot of topics were discussed at the 3 day event that also included a two day Certified Data Centre Professional (CDCP) course during the conference, geared to put more exposure on the benefits consumers can derive from using Data Centre services.
The topic of Infrastructure sharing brought a heated debate as there were many people who didn’t think that it made sense, stemming from their misunderstanding of the concept of infrastructure sharing. But the many misconceptions people have on digital issues in Zimbabwe were part of the reason why Data Centre Africa organized the Expo.
The efforts of Data Centre Africa in lobbying for Zimbabwe to dominate the digital environment in the region is commendable and it comes at a crucial time when a lot is happening in the telecommunication sector.
Data Centre Africa in partnership with EPI is offering a two day Certified Data Centre Professional (CDCP) Course in Zimbabwe which will run from the 24th to the 25th of April, 2018 at Cresta Jameson Hotel in Harare. Their efforts to increase the exposure of data centre didn’t just end with the Expo.
The nation awaits to see what the telecommunication companies in Zimbabwe will come up with to help the country capitalize on its potential to become the digital hub of the region.


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Trump University was not an actual accredited university nor was the curriculum developed by Donald Trump. These were but a couple of the problems with Trump “University.” On the campaign trail Trump denied that there was anything fraudulent about the “school,” but more student testimony to the contrary continued to come to light.
Although on the campaign trail Donald Trump characterized those who settled lawsuits as weaklings, Trump did just that in November, 2016. Trump agreed to pay $25 million, some of which went to defrauded students and $1 million of which went to New York to pay for violations of state education laws.
Trump University wasn’t a university at all but that didn’t stop Donald Trump from selling it as one. Recruiters for Trump U. targeted the elderly and the uneducated, getting them to sign up for a free course, which led to a $1,500 three-day seminar. The idea was that Trump would be revealing his real-estate secrets, although it turns out Trump didn’t develop the curriculum nor did he hand pick the teachers as advertised. From there, the extent of the fraud surrounding Trump “University” only gets worse.
Students of Trump U. filed a lawsuit. Trump eventually settled rather than face a prolonged trial for fraud.
How defrauding Americans wasn’t enough to sink the Trump campaign during the Republican primaries we’ll never know.
Online Article: Trump University — It’s Worse Than You Think
Donald Trump’s most valuable asset is his name and for the right amount of money he’ll lend it to all kinds of products. From $50 steaks to vodka to water to wine, Donald Trump used the presidential campaign to increase visibility for his brands.
At press conferences Trump would routinely put his products on display in hopes that the press would put shots of his products on the nightly news for some free advertising. Americans looked at this a couple of different ways — some folks thought Trump was pretty good at getting free attention for his brands while others thought Trump was pretty shameless about plugging products and not really interested in running for president at all.
Whether you think Trump is smart about how he goes about promoting himself, it should be concerning to all Americans that Trump appears so obsessed with his net worth that he spends more time hawking his products and properties than talking substantively about issues that concern everyday Americans.
Online Article: Donald Trump Brands Everything from Steak to Bottled Water


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Morrisons launch investigation after Heysham man with Parkinson’s refused entry to store for being ‘drunk’
and live on Freeview channel 276
Jon, 53, a retired prison officer from Heysham said: : “It was on July 10 and I was going into Morrisons around 11am-12pm and I walked past the security guard, smiled at him and he said: “Where are you going?”
"I said ‘I’m going in the store’ and he said ‘no you’re not you’re drunk’.
"I said ‘no I’m not I’ve got Parkinson’s’ and showed him my Parkinson’s card.
"He then said ‘I apologise are we good?’
"It was quite embarrassing. I went in the store then walked out again.
"My partner Jane went into the store a few hours later and they were sympathetic but said as it was a third party employee who had said these things it was nothing to do with Morrisons.
"On Thursday of that week we asked to see the manager again and they took my name and number and that was it.
"My partner Jane sent them an email and that came back as blocked.
"I was asked to escalate the complaint to head office and to ring a number but the wait was over an hour to speak to someone.
“I’m not waiting an hour and four minutes to speak to someone.
"We left a message again with Morrisons but haven’t heard anything."
Jon gives talks to physio students at UCLAN telling of his experiences of having Parkinson’s.
He said: “I’m concerned for those people who haven’t got the strength to complain when something like this happens.
"I’m still waiting for a call back from the store.
"It makes you want to hide inside. I don’t expect to go to a store and this happens.
"People do make assumptions and there is a lot of ignorance around Parkinson’s.
"I will continue to challenge and make more people aware of Parkinson’s.
Jon was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2011 and is waiting to go for deep brain surgery to insert electrodes in the brain which change some of the electrical signals that cause the symptoms of Parkinson’s.
Jon said: “I’m really disappointed with Morrisons.
"The most they should have done is followed it up.
"I don’t seek anything but I want them to be able to tackle these issues with regular training so it won’t happen again.
"It’s so hard each day to have the courage to go in a busy shop so for this to happen it’s appalling.
"I won’t go shopping in Morrisons again after this.”
A spokesperson for Morrisons said: “We were very upset to hear about the way this customer was spoken to and have reached out to him directly to apologise.
"We are now carrying out an internal investigation to ensure this won't happen again and will keep the customer informed of our progress throughout our investigation.”


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Ninety seconds. That’s the average amount of time players spend in a session of Luca Redwood’s mobile game 10000000. It’s a minuscule amount of time, but players do it over and over again — more than 60 million times to date, says the developer.
In his talk Tuesday at the 2014 Game Developer’s Conference, Redwood detailed the evolution of his hit game, and used that story to draw conclusions about the fiercely competitive mobile space.
10000000 is a dungeon crawler powered by a matching game. Players assemble strings of swords to attack monsters, or shields to defend themselves. But Redwood says it didn’t start there. At times it was a turn-based game, others a much more traditional matching game.
Redwood says that the decisions he made in refining his design all centered around the goal of creating "the experience." And the experience that he had in mind was of a game that could be played while waiting for the train.
"I figured that on the tube to work it’s around 25 minutes," Redwood said. "Sometimes the tube’s so cramped there’s no way even to play a mobile game squashed in a corner. So in that case, it would just be played at the tube stop — waiting for the train … [for] 2 or 3 minutes."
Redwood built more than a half-dozen prototypes, all with the goal of improving the quality and consistency of short play sessions. Some moved too fast, others too slow, while still others left the player disconnected from the action on the screen. Redwood says that the matching mechanic, even though he disliked it, was the only method he could find to create sessions the right size to give his players the experience he was looking for. So he threw out the rest of the game, and charged ahead.
Aside from the tiny, addictive play sessions Redwood credited the game’s narrative for it’s enduring success. Matching games aren’t known for their story, but Redwood says that he baked multiple plot points into 10000000 by creating obstacles for the player to overcome on their path to getting stronger.
It is those plot points that paved the way for the emotional payoff in the game’s conclusion. They also helped the player past his art style.
"This is not good art," Redwood said. "I’m not an artist. But people love it … And they love it because on its own it’s crap. But after 6 or 8 hours in a dungeon it feels really good."
At the end of his presentation, Redwood revealed that 10000000 has sold over 300,000 copies, earning him over $500,000 personally. Redwood says that his willingness to spread his title over multiple platforms, including Android and PC, gave him an incredibly long and consistent sales cycle. Across all platforms, including Android and PC, the game still earns him on average $100 a day.
Redwood said he still believes that there is room for successful games on mobile that aren’t free-to-play. His game is just one example, and not even a good one at that. While 10000000 earns $100 a day, the top 1,000 games on iOS make around $1000 a day. And of those top 1,000 games at least 25 percent are paid games.
"There’s loads of room in the market to be making a paid game," Redwood said, telling developers that if they don’t want to build for the free-to-play market they don’t have to.
The sequel to 10000000 is expected in 2014. Called You Must Build A Boat, owners of the original will receive it for free.


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A popular Amazon service is set to close in a couple of weeks leaving customers devastated.
The UK-based online store Book Depository will shut forever on Wednesday, April 26. "We are sorry to let you know that Book Depository will be closing on April 26 2023," Amazon says.
Orders can still be placed up until midday that day and purchases will be delivered with support provided until June 23. "From all of us at Book Depository we want to say "thank you". Delivering your favourite reads to you since 2007 has been a pleasure," the statement adds.
READ MORE: Sainsbury's shoppers fume after spotting whole chicken being sold for £22
According to BirminghamLive, Book Depository's website said it offered more than 20 million books with free delivery worldwide, adding that its vision was to provide "all books to all" by improving range, access and affordability of books.
According to the trade magazine the Bookseller, an email sent out to vendors and publishing partners explained that Book Depository will be closing, and that the last date customers will be able to place orders is 26 April. “Over the coming weeks we will complete a winding down of the business, including discontinuing our listings as a marketplace seller and closing our website,” Andy Chart, head of vendor management, wrote.
“I would like to take this opportunity to say a big thank you, from everyone at Book Depository and our book-loving customers, for your supportive partnership over the years in helping us to make printed books more accessible to readers around the world,” he concluded. It comes amid Amazon lay-offs.
“In November, we communicated the hard decision to eliminate a number of positions across our Devices and Books businesses,” as a result of the “uncertain economy,” CEO Andy Jassy wrote. “I also shared that we weren’t done with our annual planning process and that I expected there would be more role reductions in early 2023.”
- Body found as emergency services called to car near Preston Docks McDonald's
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- Sue and Noel Radford's daughter Millie accuses them of 'making money out of grandkids'
- Ched Evans' serious medical condition as future as a Preston North End player uncertain


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After flexing his directorial muscles with his latest video “Ball If I Want To,” DaBaby returns to the director’s chair for his new visual “Red Light, Green Light.”
Just a week after the MC offered “Ball If I Want To,” Baby is bringing more new tunes highlighted by his fiery rhymes and comedic banter, this time around donning a Jheri curl and an Oakland Raiders fitted in the “Red Light, Green Light” video. Baby skates his way all the way back to the West Coast with this 1990s-inspired style video.
Earlier this week, Baby announced his partnership with the popular clothing brand boohooMan. Set to release a 100-piece limited edition collection that embodies Babyt’s bold and creative style, the Charlotte MC is ready to dominate the fashion world.
“Boom! The news is out. It’ve officially partnered with boohooMAN on a fashion collection, and it is dropping real soon! I cant’t wait for yt’all to see it – stay tuned,” said Baby in the press release. “Set your alarms and go cop it before it sells out!” With price points ranging from $8- $80, the boohooMAN x DaBaby collection will be available on boohooMAN.com and boohoo.com on Wednesday June 30.
Baby’s latest visual, “Ball If I Want To” earned a whopping 4.2 million views in under three days. With seven nominations in tow, Baby will perform at the 2021 BET Awards this Sunday night. Last month, Baby won two Billboard Awards for “ROCKSTAR,” including top rap song.
It has been a busy 2021 for Baby, who dropped “Masterpiece” at the beginning of the year. DaBaby originally teased “Masterpiece” on Instagram towards the end of 2020. It was his first single since November 2020 when he unveiled the 7-track tribute EP My Brother’s Keeper in a surprise release. It was produced by D.A. Got That Dope whose notable collaborations include 24kGoldn, Lil Wayne, Eminem, and more. “Masterpiece” was the first time the producer and rapper joined forces on a track of his own.


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By Peter Valdes-Dapena, CNN Business
Americans love Italian cars if they have big price tags and names like Ferrari and Lamborghini. But more mass-market Italian manufacturers like Fiat and Alfa Romeo have struggled to find their way into the hearts of American car buyers.
Alfa Romeo does have its ardent fans in the United States. There are dozens of clubs for “Alfisti,” as Alfa Romeo fans call themselves (singular: “Alfista”). But, while Alfa Romeo sells far more cars than those exotic brands, its sales numbers are tiny compared to its German luxury competitors that sell hundreds of thousands of vehicles in the United States each year. Even South Korea’s Genesis sold more than twice as many vehicles as Alfa Romeo’s roughly 18,000 units in 2021, according to data from the automotive website Edmunds.com.
For Alfa to have any hope of greatly increasing its sales, a new SUV is badly needed. Alfa Romeo’s current line-up is the opposite of a traditionally sumptuous Italian meal. At this feast, only two plates are now being served. There is a sedan, the Giulia, and one mid-size SUV, the Stelvio. SUVs are far more popular than sedans in the US, and Alfa’s German competitors offer countless different ones in various sizes and body styles.
Alfa Romeo, Italy’s competitor to brands like BMW and Mercedes-Benz, is hoping a new, smaller SUV, the Tonale, will help. Pronounced “toe-NAH-leh,” the new offering is a badly needed addition to Alfa Romeo’s minimal line-up.
The Tonale, unveiled on Tuesday, will go on sale in the United States early next year. It will be available to American customers in two versions: a 272-horsepower plugin hybrid with about 30 miles of all-electric driving range and a 256-horsepower gasoline-only SUV. Both will have all-wheel-drive. Alfa Romeo has not yet announced pricing for the Tonale.
Alfa faces other challenge besides its limited line-up. As it first entered the US market around 2017, the Giulia received glowing reviews for its attractive design and its quick and entertaining driving performance. It was even named Motor Trend’s Car or the Year that year.
Reliability was another matter, though. In Consumer Reports, arguably the most influential resource among American auto buyers, Alfa Romeo has received poor ratings for Predicted Reliability. Auto enthusiast publications like Car & Driver and Jalopnik also reported “unforgivable reliability issues” and critical software failures with early cars they tested.
Larry Dominique, head of the Alfa Romeo brand in the US, insists that’s changing. Based on the brand’s internal tallies of repairs, problems on more recent models are a small fraction of what what they once had been, he said.
Unfortunately for Alfa Romeo, the brand’s sales have dropped in recent years after an initial rush when the Giulia and Stelvio first hit the market, said Jake Fisher, head of auto testing at Consumer Reports. That means there haven’t been enough more recently built Alfa Romeo models among Consumer Reports subscribers, the people who are surveyed to gather reliability data, for the publication to update its ratings.
“Reliability was a nightmare,” Fisher said. “Then they kind of just fell off the map just because of their sales.”
That’s left an impression of problematic vehicles even if, assuming Dominique is correct, things have improved.
Alfa Romeo is also introducing something to, hopefully, address concerns future owners may have about a used Alfa Romeo’s maintenance and repair history. Tonale buyers will be able to have an NFT — a digital non-fungible token — that will store records any time the car is serviced or worked on. Alfa Romeo hopes that this will help with the SUV’s resale value, something that’s been a problem for the brand. According to data from Edmunds.com, the value of three-year-old Alfa Romeos, as a percentage of their original cost, is among the lowest of all major luxury brands.
Reliability issues aside, Alfa Romeos are just not for everyone. The Giulia and Stelvio have a more aggressive sound and driving feel than typical sedans and SUVs. Drivers looking for a more relaxed luxury car experience, like Mercedes buyers, for instance, could be put off by an Alfa’s edginess.
“The main feedback I get from our customers as to why they bought Alfa Romeo is that It’s not German, it’s something different,” said Dominique.
That peppery flavor is what Alfa is selling. The brand’s 21st-century reintroduction to America was led by the Alfa Romeo 4C sports car in 2014, a model that is no longer available. Even compared to other sports cars, the 4C was extremely impractical. It had no power steering and a tiny steering wheel, so maneuvering at low speeds provided a gym-quality upper arm workout. The four-cylinder engine, mounted right behind the car’s two seats, produced a high-volume snarl that made the stereo nearly pointless. With stiff suspension, ride comfort depended entirely on the quality of the asphalt under the tires. But, on a good road on a nice day, the Alfa Romeo 4C could be outrageously fun, providing an Italian exotic car look and driving experience at a fraction of the price.
The Giulia and Stelvio offer some of that fun and excitement but with less noise, better ride quality and more passenger and cargo space. They retain an emphasis on quick steering and good handling. The new Tonale, Dominique said, will allow a driver to tone things down a bit more than they can in either of the current models.
“It’s an opportunity to bring more of a lifestyle,” Dominique said, “making sure we have all the technologies and all the comforts for driver and passenger that make a great vehicle for two people or a family or whatever it might be, but it still delivers on the excitement and the energy and the fun that Alfa brings.”
There are plans to expand the model line-up further so there could be even more family-oriented vehicles in the future, Dominique said. Alfa Romeo has also announced it will become all-electric by 2027. The challenge will be to manage these transitions to more practical and more environmentally sensitive products without losing the Alfisti along the way.
“As volume grows, if eventually we [sell] 200,000 units, great,” he said. “But if we stay smaller, but we deliver on all those attributes and we have high loyalty, we’re fine with that, too.”
™ & © 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. All rights reserved.


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Corrugated packaging & displays is a $35.2 billion a year industry that is vital to U.S. distribution systems. It is the most frequently used shipping material because it is cost-effective, lightweight, functional, innovative, versatile and sustainable.
Employment opportunities for new graduates across the U.S. Over 1,153 corrugated manufacturing and design facilities promote innovation and provide new careers in almost 1,000 U.S. cities and towns.
Corrugated packaging & displays is a green industry. It, and its allied industries, plant twice as many trees as are harvested, contributing to preserving wildlife habitats, sequestering carbon dioxide and offsetting greenhouse gas emissions.
Corrugated packaging & displays is a "sustainable" industry. More corrugated packaging is recovered for recycling than any other packaging material. The recovery rate for old corrugated containers (OCC) has hovered around 90 percent for years.
Through ICPF, the corrugated industry seeks student interns and new graduates with majors in packaging, graphic design, marketing & sales, business, engineering, supply chain management, environmental science and related fields.
Acme Corrugated Box Co. Inc. New ICPF Partner Pledges $50,000
ICPF has announced that Acme Corrugated Box Co. Inc. has become the most recent ICPF corporate partner by pledging $50,000 to support the foundation's educational mission.
Initiatives, including participation by dozens of ICPF Corporate Partners, led to record recruiting in 2021, exceeding the annual average of 120 student interns and graduates recruited through ICPF resources by 25%.
Every year we repeatedly have heard from executives, who have attended ICPF’s Dialogue Dinners, Teleconference and other events, that after meeting the participating students they are very excited about the bright future for the industry. The following is an article on the corrugated packaging industry from the perspective of a recent graduate. It expresses the passion that we, at ICPF, hear daily from the latest generation of students and upcoming graduates.
“Virtual” ICPF Teleconference Draws 400 Students and Faculty
Almost 400 students and faculty from 17 universities participated in ICPF's 2021 Teleconference on the Business of Corrugated Packaging & Displays and the Career Opportunities that was conducted on April 1, 2021.
ICPF Partners with Smurfit Kappa for New Video on Corrugated Packaging Technology
For the International Corrugated Packaging Foundation’s (ICPF) recent Corrugated Packaging Teleconference, ICPF partnered with Smurfit Kappa (SK) to provide the over 500 student participants a unique learning experience of the latest testing and virtual reality technology found among today’s corrugated packaging manufacturers.
Curricula Support and Equipment Donations at Universities Continue during a Challenging Year
Though the teaching of college classes and labs have been impacted due to the pandemic, ICPF has continued its ongoing University Awards Program to provide equipment and grants to its partner universities in preparation for their return to 100% on-campus programming.
ICPF Assists Universities in Distance Teaching During Pandemic Restrictions
Throughout this past March, April, May and into June, the International Corrugated Packaging Foundation (ICPF) has been assisting 27 partner universities in transitioning to remote teaching utilizing ICPF’s online corrugated packaging curricula.
The evening before last month’s teleconference, top students from ICPF's partner universities around the country joined visiting corrugated packaging executives in East Lansing, MI for ICPF's Student / Executive Corrugated Packaging Dialogue Dinner.


text: To many's surprise, Amazon introduced a consumer-focused storage option -- unlimited photo backup for only $12 per year. This was Amazon's attempt to lure customers away from Google, Dropbox, and iCloud. But it seems, even for Amazon, $12 per year for so much storage space is not feasible. The company has reportedly started to inform the customers that the plan is being discontinued. PetaPixel reports: Subscribers of the plan, which was launched in March 2015, are taking to the web to report receiving an email from Amazon informing them of the change. Amazon is offering customers free months of the Unlimited Storage plan, which costs $60 per year. It seems that some people are being offered a standard 3-month free trial of the service, while others are being offered a 12-month free period.


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Virtual girl cam Live xxxsex chat video girls
There’s also a ton of potential for emotional cheating out there on the social and chat side: Consider Meerkat’s new live group video chat Houseparty, which seems like it’s just asking for trouble, Facebook’s upcoming integration of Oculus Rift to allow “virtual lounges,” or Snapchat’s fleeting-by-design interface that practically begs the user to take a risqué photo or video. That's the question the Terre des Hommes International Federation has been asking, and the answer comes in the form of a computer-generated little girl named "Sweetie"."Some of the men we interacted with literally give me nightmares," the anonymous operator said.On a recent Wednesday night, not wanting to get around to anything on my to-do list, I stare at my laptop, ignoring a lonely Word document with a halfhearted shopping list on it and decide to Google “college girls gone wild.” A million tabs featuring gaggles of naked women take over my screen. She’s a model on Megacams, one of the hundreds of cam-girl sites popular online, which, bizarrely enough, just began using facial-recognition software to allow the truly invested to seek out porn doppelgängers from their 180,000 different participants.The digital get down is trying really hard to be as close to the real deal as possible — adult entertainment companies are now encouraging their viewers to strap on, plug in and participate.And cam girls say that the incorporation of virtual reality headsets and "Since Cam Soda began broadcasting its live shows in virtual reality, I've noticed I receive a much more positive response from users," Cam Soda model Lexy Bandera said in an email.
Alice X will have support for the Oculus Rift in the future, with compatible smartphones needing to run Android 5.0, or higher.
It's quite a change for most users, who have become used to normal webcam shows."It's unsurprising viewers feel a more intimate connection — when you slip on the VR headset, you're essentially eliminating the screen as a barrier, bringing a model into your surroundings in real-time.
With teledildonics, you're also eliminating the need for your right hand.
"The feedback we have been receiving about them has been overwhelmingly positive, and fans haven't shied from voicing their approval."Another female talent, Charley Hart, who is also participating in Cam Soda's virtual reality content, echoes Bandera's sentiment that users behave differently in VR than in non-VR content, saying in an email that fans "seem to be more excited (literally).""We're able to connect with them on a more intimate level," Hart said.
"They seem much more upbeat and in awe of the capabilities of virtual reality.The organization said that a group of its researcher posed as Sweetie during the sting operation, visiting "dozens" of chat rooms.


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Apple is again said to be planning a folding periscope lens for the 2023 iPhone range, but will now not buy from Samsung, which owns patents on the technology.
Samsung had used Samsung Electro-Mechanics’ folded zoom technology for the Galaxy S20 Ultra for the first time. Apple is planning to apply the technology for iPhones launching in 2023, but patents are getting in its way.
Samsung Electronics had secured the patents needed for the technology by acquiring Israel-based Corephotonix in 2019. Samsung Electro-Mechanics and Jahwa Electronics, which are part of Samsung’s supply chain, also owns patents related to actuators used in folded zoom lens barrels.
However, according to The Elec, Apple is planning to exclude Samsung from its supply chain for a folded zoom camera module in 2023. The publication has previously said that Samsung will supply components to LG InnoTek to assemble for Apple.
Now, however, The Elec says that Apple is aiming to source components separately. Reportedly, Samsung’s patents are getting in the way of Apple’s plans, but it will either work around them, or pay a licence fee. Apple has reportedly been investigating introducing a so-called “periscope” lens to the iPhone. Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo initially expected it in 2022, but later revised that to the 2023 iPhone range.
A folded camera refracts light like a periscope and has lenses and sensors placed horizontally and not vertically. There are have been numerous reports that Apple plans to introduce such a iPhone. And the company has filed for and/or been granted several patents regarding such a smartphone.
Periscope lenses allow for greater optical zoom by bouncing light inside the phone off a mirror before passing it through another smaller lens which can be moved closer and further away from the sensor, amplifying the light even more.
The report says that if Apple wants to include the upgrade in 2023 it needs to finalize specs and suppliers “this year”, and is looking at potential alternative manufacturing partners.


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The “indie spirit” is a topic we have discussed in depth here at the Indie Game Magazine. If I was to name an event to define the “indie spirit” it would easily be the Boston Festival of Indie Games, or Boston FIG. When I attended the first Boston FIG, I had just joined the Indie Game Magazine, so when I was walking through the crowded halls of MIT, meeting all these developers who live and breathe indie games, I realized how much I wanted to be a part of not only this industry, but this culture.
Producers of Boston FIG 2013 have said they expect the number of attendees from last year, which reached over two thousand, will double with the help of a recently launched Kickstarter campaign. With nearly a third of their $15,000 goal already backed within three days, this should not be a problem. Backers of $25 or more will be rewarded with a digital game bundle of games from attending developers.
The current games in the “Figgie Bundle” are Fieldrunners by Subatomic Studios, Go Home Dinosaurs by Fire Hose Games, Fish Listening to the Radio by Popcannibal, and Lost Marbles from Binary Takeover, with Debojaan’s Easiest Game Ever by Debojaan, and Moonlight – Mistress of Mischief from Lantana Games. More games will be unlocked as the campaign’s stretch goals are met.
One of the most immediately noticeable differences between Boston FIG and places like PAX is the price of admission. There isn’t one for general attendees. And if you are a game developer from the New England area, you can show off your game all day for twenty dollars, with a five dollar discount for students. The only real rules are to be indie, have a somewhat new or closely finished game, and be from the general New England area. You can sign up as an exhibitor or general attendee on the Boston FIG website.
Support the Festival on Kickstarter


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J Sainsbury plc
Jan 08, 2013 12:31 EST
London equities edged down Tuesday as investors digested company news and were cautious ahead of US aluminium giant Alcoa kicking off the quarterly earnings season.
Jan 02, 2013 12:54 EST
London shares closed higher on Wednesday as investor sentiment was boosted after US talks to avert a "fiscal cliff" of tax increases and spending cuts reached a compromise.
May 16, 2012 12:45 EDT
London equities closed down on Wednesday despite promising data from the US, amid warnings from the Bank of England over the eurozone debt crisis.
Mar 21, 2012 13:33 EDT
London shares closed flat on Wednesday following the announcement of the national budget, which pledged a continuation of austerity measures.
Feb 22, 2012 05:51 EST
LONDON (Reuters) - The Prince of Wales' private estate and financier Jacob Rothschild are among a group of investors who plan to invest more than 65 million pounds ($103 million) in a clean technology start-up focused on producing energy from organic waste matter.
Nov 03, 2011 11:21 EDT
LONDON (Reuters) - Britons will spend less this Christmas than a year ago as falling disposable incomes temper the traditional urge to splash out, according to a report published on Thursday.
Jul 19, 2011 12:55 EDT
(Reuters Life!) - An early prehistoric hearth has been discovered on the planned construction site for a branch of major British supermarket chain Sainsbury's.
Jul 12, 2011 11:20 EDT
LONDON (Reuters Life!) - J Sainsbury, the British grocer which urges shoppers to "try something new today," is following its own advice after agreeing to part company with celebrity chef Jamie Oliver following an 11 year association.
Jul 06, 2011 12:01 EDT
LONDON (Reuters) - Car makers Ford, Vauxhall and Mitsubishi Motors, Britain's biggest high street lender Lloyds and billionaire Richard Branson's Virgin Holidays, have dropped advertising in the News of the World due to allegations of hacking by the newspaper.
Jul 06, 2011 09:20 EDT
LONDON (Reuters) - Car makers Ford and Vauxhall, Britain's biggest high street lender Lloyds and billionaire Richard Branson's Virgin Holidays are among companies to drop advertising in the News of the World due to allegations of hacking by the newspaper.
Jun 15, 2011 13:17 EDT
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union negotiators reached a deal Wednesday on new EU-wide food labeling rules, intended to fight rising obesity levels in Europe by helping consumers make more informed purchasing decisions.
Mar 02, 2011 13:00 EST
LONDON (Reuters Life!) - British shoppers can now pick up a solar panel while out grocery shopping as the country's third largest supermarket J Sainsbury Plc has started to sell renewable energy technology in some stores.
Jul 07, 2010 07:46 EDT
LONDON (Reuters) - U.S. online retailer Amazon.com Inc has launched an Internet grocery service in Britain, it said on Wednesday, joining a fast-growing but competitive market.
Jun 08, 2010 12:34 EDT
CEO responsible for transforming Tesco into market leader to retire. Shares in Tesco PLC, the world's third largest retailer, slipped Tuesday after it announced its chief executive would step down amid the company's expansion into the United States.
May 08, 2010 18:28 EDT
LONDON (Reuters) - The investment arm of Qatar's sovereign wealth fund has bought the famous London department store Harrods from Egyptian-born businessman Mohamed al-Fayed in a deal reported to be worth around 1.5 billion pounds ($2.3 billion).
Apr 16, 2010 06:22 EDT
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's consumer affairs watchdog has slapped a record 225 million pound ($349 million) fine on two tobacco firms and nine retailers accused of fixing prices on tobacco products between 2001 and 2003.
Dec 08, 2009 05:35 EST
LONDON (Reuters) - Tesco Plc, the world's No.3 retailer, posted quarterly sales growth toward the bottom end of forecasts, held back by a drop in food price inflation, but said a gradual consumer recovery remained on track.
Nov 26, 2009 06:12 EST
LONDON (Reuters) - Shares in banks, builders and companies part-owned in the Middle East fell around the world on Thursday and investors sought safety in government bonds on worries about Dubai's ability to pay its debts.
Oct 20, 2009 06:15 EDT
LONDON (Reuters) - Qatar is selling a 1.3 billion pound ($2.1 billion) stake in British bank Barclays <BARC.L>, stoking talk it will use a big profit to make a move on UK food retailer J. Sainsbury <SBRY.L>.
Oct 11, 2009 13:55 EDT
Abu Dhabi's Aabar Investments buys $328 million in Banco Santander's Brazilian bank subsidiary. The Abu Dhabi investment fund with the biggest stake in Mercedes-Benz said Sunday it has spent $328 million for a piece of a Brazilian bank recently floated by Spanish financial giant Banco Santander.
Facts from the Wikipedia page:
|Type||Public (LSE: SBRY)|
|Headquarters||Holborn Circus, London, England|
|Key people||Philip Hampton, Chairman|
Justin King, CEO
|Revenue||£18,911 million (2009)|
|Operating income||£673 million (2009)|
|Net income||£289 million (2009)|
Sainsbury's Supermarkets Ltd.
Sainsbury's Convenience Stores Ltd.
|Website||Corporate Website Consumer Website|


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Picture through Philip Lange / Shutterstock.com
Texas fast food chain Whataburger has set up a virtual art museum to honor its tough fan base. The works of art on display are all tributes created by artists to the state’s iconic restaurants.
Whataburger Art Museum (WMOA) lives on Instagram and has artists from across the country who had previously tagged the company in their own posts. The piece ranges from descriptions of its food, brands, and restaurants to paintings created directly on the packaging itself.
Every work of art is cropped and placed on a white background with the artist’s name, title and details neatly in a corner. It is almost reminiscent of Van Gogh watching in a traditional brick and mortar gallery.
It’s not just love burgers, which motivates this group of artists to create their featured songs. Performer Kristin Moore says the recognizable brand – orange W and similar stripes – “inspired this sense of America and a sense of being in Texas.”
“I started to see The Whataburger brand is this iconic image in the brain when I drove home to Texas, ”he says. “I was like, ‘Oh yes!’ I’m almost home. “
Fast food company picture This initiative is a “collection for fans and fans”.
The museum is continue to accept broadcasts, encouraging ads to subscribe @ WMOA account in their messages.


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Using a new mobile-viewing application, product designers
can now publish documentation and assembly drawings on iPhones, iPads and other
software, released last week by Autodesk
Inc. could allow manufacturers to eliminate the time-honored process of
creating hundred-plus-page documentation manuals, instead enabling them to put
2-D and 3-D drawings in a handheld phone, a tablet PC or even in an iPod.
hold an iPad next to the product and say, â€˜Look here, this is how you assemble
it,'" says Raymond Price, a University of Illinois engineering professor who
has seen and used the software. "It takes the translation step out. Instead of
me having to translate, I've got the information in my hand."
application, added to an existing technical communication software product
known as Autodesk
Inventor Publisher, is believed to be the first of its kind. The Inventor
Publisher software is aimed at helping manufacturers explain and differentiate
their products with documentation, even allowing them to import 3-D models into
executives believe the new mobile-viewing application could simplify the
documentation process for manufacturers and improve the interface for their
customers. In many cases, they say, product teams have been forced to assign
dozens of employees to the difficult task of creating product manuals that can
sometimes exceed 600 pages in length. Those efforts often fell short, however,
because the voluminous information they provided weren't always appropriate at
the time and place where they were needed. Autodesk believes the mobile-viewing
app could help change all that.
"This interface is very
accessible," says Keith Perrin, a senior industry manager for manufacturing at
Autodesk. "To capture an immediate thought or an immediate environment, you
need a device with immediacy, like an iPhone."
Customers at a recent rollout of
the software were encouraged by the availability of a mobile application. "This
is going to affect the dad who has to assemble a bike on Christmas Eve for his
kid," says Craig Breckenridge, a senior designer for Dynamic Structures Ltd., a
designer of commercial products and structures. "And it's also going to affect
the technicians in the field."
Perrin believes the new features
could also help bridge language gaps by enabling customers to work in a
graphical environment. "In many countries, customers can't read the
instructions that are written in English," he says. "For someone who's trying
to assemble something in another country, this lowers that language barrier."
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Targeting the mobile shopper and delivering relevant messaging get better each year.
Sometimes it can take more than a year to fine-tune how precise that targeting can get and how to make the messages most relevant to that person.
For a few years now, LocalResponse tracked all public posts and check-ins from platforms including Twitter, Foursquare and Instagram. The company then registered the activity, whether it was from a location-based service or social network where people were publicly posting either the check-in or the sentiment itself.
“We’re a B2B ad network, for lack of a better term,” LocalResponse CEO Kathy Leake told me at the time. “We realized that the data is incredibly valuable to marketers.”
Then, the goal of LocalResponse was to zero in on data related to intent, which was based on a number of factors. Once intent was determined, specific marketing messages were sent to the individual on location.
That was a few years ago. It was when intent could best be determined by check-ins, either explicit, as in Foursquare (now Swarm), or implicit, such as by someone broadcasting their location over Twitter.
The company today has been renamed Qualia and has totally re-tooled how it determines commercial intent signals.
I caught up with Qualia CEO Leake yesterday to see what’s in the new toolshed and to check on some of the results so far.
“It’s always been about the data,” said Leake. “We still use the Twitter firehose, but it’s less important now.”
The company has been adding various types of business partners along the way to aggregate a rich platform of data feeds.
For example, they now include wish-list data. “Consumers are declaring by posting to a wish list,” said Leake.
Another data set includes product comparisons, typically sold to Qualia by other companies that don’t’ sell that particular data to anyone else.
And those are just a few of the purchase intent signals.
The platform can show multiple signals of a consumer at any given time so that more relevant ad targeting can occur. The idea is that the more that is known about what a consumer wants or plans to do, the more likely a contextually relevant ad can be served.
In one campaign, Qualia partnered with Placed in an attempt to increase traffic to Microsoft stores.
That effort drove 66,000 store visitors to a Microsoft store with a 10% lift compared to the unexposed population, according to Qualia.
Leake noted similar results with various other customers in retail cosmetics, financial services and health and wellness.
Companies in the mobile commerce arena are getting better at figuring out what a consumer is likely to want.
For their part, consumers are sending all the signals.


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E-cigarette use may be on the rise but isn’t helping Americans kick tobacco addictions, according to new research
A poll of 5,679 Americans conducted by Reuters found 75% of people who use electronic cigarettes or other vaporizing devices continue to also smoke traditional tobacco products. The poll indicates that this population of “vapers” is now up to roughly 10% of U.S. adults and 15% of U.S. adults under the age of 40. This number represents a significant rise from 2013, when the U.S. government estimated the figure to be about 2.6% of Americans. Almost 70% of this poll’s e-cigarette users claim to have started in the last year.
While about 40% of e-cigarette-using respondents said they were motivated to use e-cigarettes because they could be smoked indoors and are cheaper than most tobacco products, a majority of users also cited vaping as a safe alternative to smoking. In fact, researchers have yet to corroborate this. The FDA has even proposed regulations requiring e-cigarette manufacturers to add health warnings to their labels.
Some 80% of respondents also identified vaping as “a good way to help people quit smoking.”
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 17.8% of U.S. adults are current tobacco smokers.
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Rite Aid increases store traffic with mobile coupons
When consumers texted MARCA to a specific short code they were provided a link to a coupon for $3 off a purchase of $15 or more. The message produced a 7.6 percent click-through rate.
“Rite Aid’s objectives were to significantly increase store traffic and to have Hispanic consumers transfer their prescriptions to Rite Aid pharmacies,” said Jeff Hasen, chief marketing officer of HipCricket, Kirkland, WA. “The strategy was to provide two offers to opted-in Hispanic mobile subscribers – one for a relatively modest $3 coupon to get consumers to visit Rite Aid locations.
“The second offer – a $25 gift card – was obviously more substantial because its end result would be additional repeat customers for Rite Aid,” he said.
Of the 7.6 percent that clicked through the message, 2.5 percent clicked on an offer for a $25 gift card given to those who transferred their prescriptions to Rite Aid.
The Rite Aid campaign targeted Hispanics and mobile was ideal because this demographic has increasingly eluded mainstream advertisers using traditional, broad-brush media to reach its members with culturally-relevant messages.
Key indicators show mobile, and in particular SMS, to be the ideal medium for marketing to Hispanics.
Thirty-two percent of Hispanic mobile subscribers are interested or highly interested in receiving offers via mobile, according to the Mobile Marketing Association.
A whopping 87 percent of Hispanic households have multiple mobile phones and more than half regularly text, the same study found.
HipCricket tapped into this market when it launched the first Hispanic Mobile Marketing Network. The network involves more than 70 radio and television stations and brand distribution partners. It reaches Hispanic Americans in more than 40 markets, including 14 of the top 15 Hispanic markets.
Rite Aid also has a mobile site.
But mobile in the retail pharmacy industry isn’t a new idea.
Rite Aid rival CVS, built a mobile site to reach on-the-go consumers. At http://m.cvs.com, consumers can handle many of their prescription-medicine needs (see story).
“HipCricket’s Hispanic Mobile Marketing Network provided a unique and ideal opportunity for Rite Aid to reach Hispanic mobile subscribers who had opted-in to receive information and offers from brands,” Mr. Hasen said. “The permission-based nature of the program is a key reason to why it was so successful.”


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Housed in a former Guinness fermentation plant, the Guinness Storehouse is the top visitor attraction in Ireland and has welcomed 16.5 million people since opening in 2000. The Gravity Bar boasts 360 degree views over the city and offers visitors a complimentary pint of Guinness.
The expansion will create a new 360 degree space, linked to the original Gravity Bar, and the space will be able to hold up to 500 people at a time (doubling current capacity).
Subject to planning permission, construction will start in 2018 and will open to visitors by 2019. The attraction will remain open as normal in the meantime.
A ‘Guinness Storehouse Hub’ is also included in the plans: a three-story building that will provide additional space for the archives of Guinness’ 257-year history. A retail storage and employee hub is also included.
Diageo says the investment demonstrates its commitment to Dublin and the St. James’s Gate site, as well as contributing to Ireland’s tourism sector and economy.
“This is an enormously exciting step in future-proofing the Guinness Storehouse. We are very proud of its success and our expansion plans are devised to enhance the experience that we offer to our visitors who come from all over the world,” said Paul Carty, managing director, Guinness Storehouse.
Last week Diageo also highlighted the success of its visitor attractions in Scotland, having seen a 7% rise in the number of tourists visiting its 12 distillery visitor centres in Scotland to learn more about Scotch whisky.


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The Xbox and Bethesda showcase revealed another look at Forza Motorsport, and it looks impressive ahead of release next year.
We may still be playing Forza Horizon 5, one of our Games of the Year in 2021, but Forza Motorsport’s main entry is getting back on track after an extended pit stop.
The franchise reboot, which dropped its title numbering, was announced during Microsoft’s July 2020 keynote. It marks the first entry on Xbox Series S|X hardware, and it’s coming to Xbox Game Pass on day 1 for Xbox One owners. ray-traced console and PC gamers for incredible detail.
During Microsoft’s Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase, Forza Motorsport was shown off in an in-engine demo that focuses on the visual fidelity of the Maple Valley track, as well as many improvements to the game engine.
Forza Motorsport’s in-engine demo looks amazing
Take a look at the images below:
Developer Turn10 calls the game “a generational leap”, with environments using photogrammetry and 3D material scans through grass, rocks, skies, and clouds.
A statement about the Xbox press site He says:
“We got under the hood to share the next generation of Forza Motorsport to immerse you in the spectacle of racing like you’ve never seen it before.”
“Captured in-game and running on an Xbox Series X, we present a new trailer, which debuted alongside the first Forza Motorsport game. Forza Motorsport has been built from the ground up to showcase the Xbox Series X|S consoles.”
It’s going to be a long wait until spring 2023 to get our hands on the game, but luckily Forza Horizon 5 is getting Hot Wheels DLC in the meantime.


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Chinese online retail giant Alibaba has managed to stay off the US government’s annual Notorious Markets List. The company’s Alibaba.com was dropped off the list in 2011 and Taobao marketplace was removed from the list in 2012. But rampant sales of fake and counterfeit goods on its platforms are no secret. Earlier this year, French luxury goods giant Kering dragged the Hangzhou-based company to court for promoting the sale of fake goods.
USTR to monitor Alibaba’s efforts over the next year
That’s why the American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA) had urged the US Trade Representative (USTR) to relist Taobao in Notorious Markets List. The USTR stopped short of putting Taobao on the list. But the federal agency warned the e-commerce giant that its efforts to fight counterfeiting would be monitored over the next year for visible signs of improvement.
Since its founding by Will Thomson and Chip Russell in June 2016, the Massif Capital Real Asset Strategy has outperformed all of its real asset benchmarks. Since its inception, the long/short equity fund has returned 9% per annum net, compared to 6% for the Bloomberg Commodity Index, 3% for the 3 MSCI USA Infrastructure index Read More
The USTR said it was “increasingly concerned” by reports from the intellectual property rights holders that the company’s enforcement program was difficult to use, too slow, and lacking transparency. The federal agency asked Alibaba to simplify the process for rights holders to lodge complaints and seek action against counterfeit goods sellers. The USTR also urged the Chinese company to drastically reduce the timeline for removing fake goods and levying penalties against sellers.
Alibaba had been lobbying hard to stay off the list
Though the relisting doesn’t carry direct penalties, it could have been a big blow to the Jack Ma-led com


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The strong export ties between the United Kingdom and Ireland have been a major economic driver for both countries. Not only is the United Kingdom one of the biggest export partners of Ireland – buying a total of €15 billion worth of goods in 2016 plus 50% of the country’s exported beef and 42% of its food and drink – but UK is Ireland’s only land border in EU, and vice versa. In fact, some 80% of the Irish road freight that reaches mainland Europe passes through the UK.
Those factors alone make UK-Irish trade a unique relationship. However, looming Brexit looming, there are critical border issues and challenges that are expected to disrupt this trading relationship and force Irish exporters to rethink their supply chain operations.
Yet, despite the potential supply chain upheaval Brexit could cause, a large majority of Irish export companies are yet to develop mitigation strategies. According to reports, two-thirds of Irish exporters are still unprepared for the impending withdrawal of the UK from EU and have not put any countermeasures in place to mitigate Brexit risks. Of these companies, 23% said the lack of information on alternative markets to the UK as the main obstacle to identifying and establishing a foothold in new markets.


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Excellent quality and problems with rival fruit in Florida and California should equal continued strong demand for Chilean grapes.
Strong demand during the Brazilian and Peruvian import grape seasons paved the way for Chile, which has continued the trend, said Josh Leichter, director of the grape category in the Newark, Del., office of Vancouver, British Columbia-based The Oppenheimer Group.
“Demand has been very good,” Leichter said in early January. “It’s a function of good quality, and of retailers realizing what grapes represent in sales dollars to the produce department.”
Oppenheimer is seeing an increase in its clamshell and contract business this season, Leichter said.
Looking ahead, inclement weather in Florida and California could provide additional opportunities for Chilean grapes if strawberry volumes are lower, Leichter said.
Fruit was “sailing out of the warehouse” in early January for Pandol Bros. Inc., Delano, Calif., said Dave Sudduth, the company’s director of global operations.
John Pandol, the company’s director of special projects, said there were initially fears of an overlap between the California and Chilean deals.
That turned out to be far from the case, with what Pandol called an “orderly to borderline scarce” transition, with California almost completely finished right after Christmas.
The cold weather in Florida and rain in California promised to cut not only berry but also navel volumes, opening the window wider for Chilean grapes, Pandol said.
Craig Uchizono, vice president of Southern Hemisphere for Giumarra Cos., Los Angeles, also reported a good start to the Chilean deal and high expectations for the remainder of the season.
“Demand is good and pricing is strong,” he said. “Our hope is the market will sustain itself and the market will continue throughout the season.”
Mark Lewis, executive vice president of Vero Beach, Fla.-based Seald Sweet International LLC, also anticipated brisk movement in 2011.
“Demand is good,” he said. “Quality has been good, and that always helps demand and, ultimately, prices.”
Seald Sweet, which only began importing Chilean grapes in 2008-09, expects to double its volumes this season, Lewis said.
Clamshell sales continue to be strong among club store buyers, but the majority of Chilean grapes imported by Seald Sweet will be sold in bags, he said.
“This package has really gained universal consumer acceptance,” Lewis said.
Complicating the deal, as usual, Lewis said, will be the U.S. marketing order that prohibits the import of all Chilean grapes not graded U.S. 1 after April 10.
Before 2009, non-U.S. 1 Chilean grapes had been allowed in through April 20.
“Changing the marketing order to April 10 has really put pressure on Chilean exporters,” Lewis said. “If it had stayed at April 20, I think most Chileans would have been able to meet the date and been satisfied.”
The priority, he said, is to get all green grapes shipped by the target date. The second priority is crimsons, though it’s impossible to get all of them shipped by April 10.
“Last year almost two million (boxes of) grapes arrived after the order,” Lewis said. “Like many government programs, the unintended consequence is usually disappointing. In this case, the government wanted Chilean fruit out of the way before Coachella fruit harvested. What they got was just the opposite.”
Two million was a record number, and Lewis said 2011 should be no different, particularly since Easter, which falls on April 24, is late this year.
“That (the late Easter) will create even more interest to ship beyond the marketing order,” he said.


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ATLANTA (FOX 5 Atlanta) - Popular grocery store Kroger is changing its free cashback bonuses for all customers, including card members.
Kroger says customers will have to pay a fee if they want cash back at the checkout line.
The grocery store chain will charge 50 cents for amounts between $1 and $100. A fee of $3.50 will apply to cashback requests between $101 and $300.
Kroger says the move to charge comes in the wake of increased ATM fees.
Shoppers taking to social media expressed their dissatisfaction over the change, with Twitter users calling it "not cool" and "nickle and diming the customer."
Kroger issued a tweet saying it apologizes for any inconvenience and "we want to offer our customers a convenient, low cost way to get their money."


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A GROWING garden supplies firm in Deeside will take part in a new series of TV features for ITV news.
Dandy’s Garden Centre has been selected as one of a hundred businesses across the UK to join the ITV Business Club which will produce a series of short shows for the channel focusing on current business events and affairs, the economy in general and the ups and downs of running a company.
Film crews recently visited the company’s main sales offices at Deeside Industrial Park to record footage for the programmes.
Dandy’s owner and managing director Adam Dandy said: “I am delighted to have been asked to be part of such a prestigious project for ITV.
“I really hope that Dandy’s can show that small businesses can be just as successful, and are just as important, as the large ones.”
Even though the firm has smashed its sales targets for the past four years Adam is still cautious about the future.
“Although we’ve seen success in recent years the bubble may burst at any time putting us in the same boat as so many businesses across the UK that are suffering from the devastating effects of a recession and an ever worsening economy,” he said.
“It is important now, more than ever, that we re-focus as a team and ensure that Dandy’s stays ahead of the game with products, marketing tactics and fresh, exciting projects.”
As well as interviewing Adam about his thoughts on the economy the film crew also joined the management and sales team for their new year meeting where they discussed plans for 2012 and the up-coming truck stop – which is due to be officially opened in October to coincide with Dandy’s second anniversary at Deeside.
Adam joined other members of the ITV Business Club in Cardiff on Friday (January 13) to discuss the project and the economy. There are also hopes the team will meet the Prime Minister and interact with UK government on the subject of how things in the economy are really working for those who face the day to day challenges of running a business.
Last week production company Chwarel Television also filmed at Dandy’s for a proposed documentary about life on an industrial park.
The mini-series will show what goes on in offices and production sites and will feature about five businesses which are based on Deeside Industrial Park.


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Consumer loan provider Mr. Amazing Loans Corporation (OTCQB: MRAL), previously IEG Holdings Corporation (OTCQB: IEGH), today announced its completion of a corporate name and ticker symbol change, effective April 30, 2018. The new name matches the company’s consumer brand, Mr. Amazing Loans, through which it provides online $5,000 and $10,000 unsecured consumer loans via its website and online application portal. Mr. Amazing Loans has been awarded state licenses and/or certificates of authority in 20 U.S. states.
To view the full press release, visit http://nnw.fm/4yiaQ
About Mr. Amazing Loans Corporation
Mr. Amazing Loans Corporation is a Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) reporting fintech company that provides online $5,000 and $10,000 unsecured consumer loans under the brand name, “Mr. Amazing Loans,” via its website and online application portal at www.MrAmazingLoans.com. Mr. Amazing Loans is a direct lender with state licenses and/or certificates of authority in 20 U.S. states, with all loans originated, processed and serviced out of our centralized Las Vegas, NV head office.
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