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Cisco estimates that there are approximately 10 billion things connected to the Internet today – and that’s only 0.6 per cent of all the things that could be connected. In short, the Internet of Things (IoT) has taken hold and shows no signs of slowing down. We are living in a radically interconnected world.
Other leading organisations and analyst firms share this assessment. Gartner, Inc., in its 2014 Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies Report, noted that by 2019, companies would ship 1.9 billion connected home devices, bringing in about $490 billion in revenue. This stunning statistic has started more than the wolves of Wall Street talking; in fact, it has unleashed a new pack of wolves, and one with very big teeth.
Hackers are always hard at work devising schemes to take advantage of any new technology development. Last year, they became more efficient and effective at developing new methods to manipulate the protocol and accessibility of any home device that has an operating system and an open IP address. They create a nearly instantaneous volumetric assault on intended targets through the use of a massive number of networked machines (often called botnets or “zombies”) that can be overwhelming, flooding unsuspecting networks with unnecessary requests that eventually lead to a server crash or the insertion of malware. Either way, it’s bad for business and brand reputation, and very bad for the bottom line.
The New Threat Innovation
The simple home router, used to enable Internet access throughout a house, has today become an instrument of what is now known as the simple service discovery protocol, or SSDP, reflective amplification distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack. That’s a mouthful with a significant impact when we understand that globally, more than seven million SSDP devices have the potential to be exploited to launch SSDP and other DDoS attacks.
Because of its power, this new attack rose through the ranks last year to become the weapon of choice among hackers. SSDP attacks use smart devices (routers, webcams, etc.) to amplify attack bandwidth by as much as 75 times. With IoT bringing billions of such devices online, there will be an exponential growth in this type of attack.
Today’s smart devices are susceptible, here’s why
• Always accessible. Unless you have programmed your home to automatically shut down when you leave or go to sleep, routers and webcams generally stay online 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
• Fairly high bandwidth. It’s the router’s job to provide your household with the bandwidth you need to access the Internet, send email, stream movies and so on.
• Routers need a password. Like your home computer, laptop or phone, any equipment that connects to the Internet must be password protected. While consumers are familiar with creating passwords in those environments, accessing the interface to password-protect a router or webcam may not be quite as intuitive.
• Routers require updates. When was the last time you updated the firmware on your router? For most of us, the answer would be, “Never.” In fact, certain smart devices may never be upgraded after deployment.
• No lifeguard on duty. While there are federal standards groups investigating these types of attacks and developing recommendations, it is not up to the manufacturers to secure the consumer home network. Instead, currently this responsibility falls to the consumer who purchases the device.
A Response to the New Threat
Though the industry is aware of and working to defend against this new attack vector, it is obvious that in securing this rolling train of accessible end points, the battle against DDoS will continue to challenge enterprises and ISPs. At RSA 2015 in San Francisco, IDC analyst Chris Christiansen noted that with consumer devices, there is no money in security. He went on to say that as such, the security that is embedded in a consumer IoT device is minimal, which, he noted, will eventually lead to major privacy and future litigation issues, especially in Europe.
ISPs, hosting providers and enterprises alike need to think outside of the traditional security stack in order to prevent these traffic-based attacks that lead to unavailable network infrastructure or congestion of available bandwidth.
It’s important to know what to look for when researching solutions to mitigate DDoS attacks. It is important to not only defend against DDoS attacks on the transport layer, such as flood attacks related to SYN, SYN-ACK, ACK, FIN/RST, UDP, ICMP and IP Fragment, but also those targeting the application layer, such as HTTP GET/POST Flood, slow-rate attacks, DNS attacks, game service attacks and audio/video attacks. Furthermore, in terms of application scenarios, look for solutions that defeat DDoS attacks launched via a multitude of agent servers, like CDN and WAF gateways.
There are more evolved DDoS mitigation solutions available as well. For instance, instead of relying solely on traditional fingerprint matching or similar methods, these solutions also conduct behaviour anomaly detection, which can then be filtered through an intelligent multi-layer identification and cleaning matrix. This consolidates the mechanisms of anti-spoofing, protocol stack behaviour analysis, specific application protection, user-behaviour analysis, dynamic fingerprint identification, bandwidth control and so forth.
The IoT offers increased revenues, lowered costs and seemingly endless possibilities for businesses and consumers alike. Financial, governmental and other regulatory bodies are still working out how to implement standards and restrictions that will provide the greatest protection and benefit at the same time. The regulation process can be slow going, so enterprises and hosting providers need to act quickly to do what they can on their end to protect their own and their customers’ assets. They need a solution that can monitor and defend against today’s advanced traffic-based attacks.
For a more comprehensive discussion about SSDP DDoS attacks, other types of DDoS attacks and potential upcoming threats, download the NSFOCUS DDoS Threat Report here.
Rishi Agarwal is Chief Evangelist and Director of Product Marketing at NSFOCUS, Inc. He has 12+ years’ experience in Product Marketing, Strategy, Business Development and Product Management. He has broad domain expertise in Network Security, Compute and Storage. Prior to NSFocus, he was a Senior Manager at Arbor Networks. Additionally, he has worked for leading technology vendors such as Microsoft, Intel and SanDisk.


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Micromax's Yu Yureka
smartphone will be available on Thursday in its 14th flash sale, which kicks off at 2pm IST on Amazon India for registered users. The company has revealed
20,000 smartphones will be made available in the sale.Update
: The company has revealed
that the 20,000 Yu Yureka smartphones made available in the 14th flash sale went out of stock in 6 seconds.
In the 13th flash sale last week, the company announced
that 25,000 units had gone out of stock in 7 seconds. The company did not provide figures of how many units were up for 12th sale; though it announced that the available handsets went out of stock in 8 seconds. Similarly, Yu did not reveal how many Yu Yureka units were available to buy in the 11th sale on Amazon India; however later announced that they went out of stock in 7 seconds
The Yu Yureka smartphone is set to get a sibling soon, the Cyanogen OS powered smartphone previously codenamed 'Project Caesar'
. Running Android 5.0 Lollipop out-of-the-box, the smartphone has been named
Yu Yuphoria after a naming contest.
To recall, Micromax's Yu Yureka, priced at Rs. 8,999, offers some rather impressive specifications at the price. The dual-SIM smartphone features Cat. 4 4G LTE connectivity, and runs Cyanogen OS 11 based on Android 4.4.4 KitKat. It bears a 5.5-inch HD (720x1280 pixels) IPS display with Gorilla Glass 3; a 64-bit 1.5GHz octa-core Snapdragon 615 SoC (MSM8939); an Adreno 405 GPU; 2GB of RAM; a 13-megapixel Sony Exmor CMOS sensor rear camera with an f/2.2 aperture and flash; a front-facing 5-megapixel fixed-focus camera; 16GB of inbuilt storage expandable via microSD card (up to 32GB), and a 2500mAh Li-Po battery.

domain: news


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MTS expects elimination of payment for Internet sharing to increase rates for all users
MOSCOW. Oct 31 (Interfax) - Mobile TeleSystems (MTS) , Russia's leading mobile service provider is opposed to eliminating payments for unlimited sharing of mobile Internet connections, or tethering, and warned that this could lead to an increase in service prices for all users.
Mobile service rates are calculated for individual use of mobile Internet traffic, the company told Interfax. MTS offers a different line of rates for laptops and desktop PCs, which need far more traffic.
"The absence of restrictions for isolated users who use the mobile network for torrents and streaming will lead to a significant deterioration in the quality of connections for the majority of subscribers," MTS said.
The absence of additional payment for Internet sharing and, consequently, the leveling of the cost of traffic for all categories of devices "will lead to providers being forced to raise the cost of traffic for all rates."
"Therefore, regular subscribers with smartphones will essentially pay for subscribers who actively share traffic," MTS said. The company did not specify the amount by which rates could increase.
The company currently charges 50 rubles for sharing 3 GB of Internet traffic per day (1 GB for same price in Norilsk and Chukotka).
Rival mobile providers MegaFon, Vimpelcom and Tele2 said on Monday that they have begun to comply with a Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) notice on the elimination of payment for sharing Internet connections from mobile phones.
The regulator said in September that Vimpelcom, MegaFon, MTS and Tele2 were forcing unfavorable service contract terms on customers by charging for mobile device tethering. The FAS sent queries to the providers based on a large number of customer complaints. However, the regulator found that the companies' responses did not provide sufficient economic, technological or other grounds for charging for this service.
As a result, the regulator issued a notice to the companies that they need to put an end to violations within a month.


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according to foreign media reports, the blackberry CEO, kirsten Haynes (Thorsten Heins), said he expected the Q10 smartphone shipments will reach tens of millions of units.
Q10 began Monday in the UK sales, many stores inventory quickly sold out. Q10 hot stimulus blackberry shares rose 3.9%, reached $15.61 in pre-market trading.
Haynes says, “Q10 sales start well. Q10 will be sold to more than 70 million blackberry users, we have high expectations of its sales, and is expected to reach tens of millions of sales department.
last week, andeven Q10 physical keyboard and battery life praise, said Q10 is many users expect for the return of the qwerty keyboard.
after being marginalisation of apple iPhone and Android phones, blackberry will revive hopes on the BB10 operating system. The blackberry smartphone market share in global shrinking fast, earlier this year has dropped out of the top five.
the blackberry so far only released two BB10 equipment. Configuration of touch screen Z10 since January release shipments has reached 1 million units, late march began to enter the American market. The blackberry plan by the end of the second quarter in the global range launched Q10.


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China has topped the list of buyers of Cambodian milled rice for the first five months of 2022, accounting for more than half of the Kingdom’s total exports of the commodity, which has seen a nearly 22 per cent year-on-year surge overall.
A report from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries showed that from January to May, Cambodia’s milled rice exports to foreign markets reached 283,675 tonnes, an increase of 21.73 per cent year-on-year. Of that, in May alone, milled rice exports reached 62,537 tonnes, a surge of 54.28 per cent compared to that of the same time last year.
The report stated that the Chinese market bought up the most Cambodian milled rice at 149,477 tonnes, representing a 52.68 per cent year-on-year increase.
European exports reached 81,931 tonnes, rising by 28.88 per cent year-on-year, while ASEAN countries took in 25,691 tonnes, an increase of 9.06 per cent. Other destinations accounted for 26,606 tonnes, up by 9.38 per cent.
Exported milled rice varieties included fragrant milled rice (18,412 tonnes) in a 64.9 per cent year-on-year rise, long grain milled rice (95,539 tonnes), with a 33.68 per cent gain, and long grain parboiled rice (4,024 tonnes), representing a modest rise of 1.42 per cent.
Cambodia Rice Federation secretary-general Lun Yeng told The Post that the increase in milled rice exports was due to the January end of EU tariffs that had been imposed in 2019 as part of “safeguarding measures” aimed at protecting European rice producers.
He added that the market has begun returning to pre-tariff levels, with orders from China remaining steady and accounting for more than 50 per cent of total exports from Cambodia.
However, he noted that the export market largely favours fragrant rice, “which has the lowest profit margins, and is not as important as white rice. The price of fragrant rice has only increased by about 10 per cent due to the latest export being mostly white rice”, he said.
Hong Vanak, director of International Economics at the Royal Academy of Cambodia, highlighted that global food demand could be an opportunity for Cambodia to increase paddy rice production productivity and maximise milled rice exports.
“According to the [agriculture ministry] report, we see that … most of the ordering countries have demand for fragrant milled rice. Therefore, the ministry, as well as stakeholders, should establish an appropriate policy to promote the cultivation of paddy rice for the production of fragrant milled rice,” Vanak said.
“They should figure out how to turn Cambodian agricultural products from largely domestic use to a high-value export.”


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Tomorrow, SoleXChange will be taking over iPlay America Encore Event Center in Freehold, New Jersey. From noon until 5pm, those in attendance will be able to experience 80+ vendors as well as take part in a Galaxy Foamposite raffle, go kart racing, video games and more. Of course, the usual buy, sell and trade footwear antics will be on display, as you can go ahead and grab a ticket to the event here. See the flyer above for additional info.
iPlay America Encore Event Center
110 Schanck Road
Freehold, NJ 07728


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The Monstro tiki mug is swimming its way east to Trader Sam’s Grog Grotto at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort.
The Monstro tiki mug debuted at Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar at the Disneyland Hotel last month. News of its eventual arrival came from @EnchantedTikiBar on Instagram, though they didn’t disclose any information about just when Walt Disney World guests can come face-to-face with the imposing whale from “Pinocchio.”
The post reads: You may have caught word by now that Monstro mugs are completely sold out. They lasted a week which is longer than the Gargoyles last year but far shorter than the Jungle Cruise boats. Stay tuned for Monstro updates coming to Trader Sam’s Grog Grotto.
When it was available at the Disneyland Resort, it sold for $50.00, and was limited to two per person. Guests were able to reserve theirs via a virtual queue and pick it up at an assigned time. Currently, there’s no word if this will be the same case when it comes to Walt Disney World, but it’s very likely that the price will be similar.
Are you looking forward to a whale of a new mug? Share your thoughts in the comments!
The post Monstro Tiki Mug Coming to Trader Sam’s Grog Grotto at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort appeared first on WDW News Today.


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25 Women: Barbara Wescott takes buying local to new level
Barbara Wescott, founder and CEO of Swellcoin, has big ideas for the Buy Local effort in Tallahassee, as well as the advancement of entrepreneurial women in our area. That sets her apart as one of the 25 Women You Should Know.
A Maine native, Barbara and her husband, Les Beitsch, have called Tallahassee home for over 20 years. She felt it was the ideal place to raise their two children, Rebecca and Evan. Wescott’s professional background runs the gamut from electronic intelligence while serving in the United States Air Force, to owning a successful vacation rental business.
After many years of honing her tech skills, she’s found her passion: to make a positive impact on the local economy with her new company called Swellcoin. She described it like this: “Swellcoin is a buy local, cash back platform that any city, county, or state can use to enhance their Buy Local initiatives. Businesses can super-charge their customer base by giving cash back for customer loyalty.”
She explained that while city governments are trying to stretch budgets, local shops are losing business to the online giants like Amazon, causing losses in local sales tax dollars too. “Encouraging residents to build loyalty with neighborhood businesses is good for the local economy because, for every $100 spent locally, $45 stays in the local economy, versus $13 from big box stores, or $0 for online shopping,” Wescott said. Her hope is to grow a strong buy local community here in Tallahassee in order to keep more money and jobs in our area.
In addition to fostering the buy local movement, Wescott believes that she can help “make Tallahassee the number one city for women entrepreneurs and leaders.” As a woman in the technology field dominated by men, Wescott longed for more diversity. When Leon County opened Domi Station, described as a tech incubator and co-working space, she saw that once again women were missing out on the dynamic atmosphere it provided to entrepreneurs.
She set out to change that by partnering with Tallahassee Woman Magazine’s Women Who Mean Business networking community and helped create Lean In With Women Wednesdays at Domi Station.
The program offers free workspace each Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. for women to set up their laptops, network, and be empowered by speakers during Lunch and Learn sessions. “You’d be amazed at the people you meet and the connections you make. Domi Station is a powerful environment, and I wanted women to feel that power too,” Wescott said. She invites all to attend Lean In Women Wednesdays at Domi Station (WomenWednesdays.co.)
Wescott is piloting her new company Swellcoin now, and believes it will provide ground-breaking technology that will make a big impact on the community. (You can find out more by emailing firstname.lastname@example.org, or “liking” Swellcoin on Facebook.) When it comes to free time, she says “I am laser focused on my business, but I get excited to see more women becoming part of the start-up community. I am having a blast.”


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Ethereum Startup Parity Launches DIY Blockchain Tool Substrate
Parity Technologies has launched a beta version of Substrate, a tool that lets users create custom blockchains for decentralized applications.
Parity adds support for Polkadot in the latest beta version of its mobile cold wallet app.
A new code release of the Parity ethereum client was released on Thursday to patch a security vulnerability found by blockchain startup Amberdata.
As part of the transition, Parity has agreed to build certain business-logic features on Polymesh’s base layer.
The Web3 Foundation launched a live experimental version of the Polkadot network on Friday. Here's what Kusama will be testing.
Developers behind ethereum-based application Aragon are investigating the use of Parity Technologies' Polkadot Network to launch a smart contract framework.


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About Beaumont Village
Exciting changes coming to Beaumont Village
Exciting changes are coming to Beaumont Village including a host of exciting new tenants, plans for a fresh updated look and free outdoor fitness sessions.
The centre has recently welcomed its new Beaumont Hills Bakery to the mix and is now counting down to the opening of popular café The Dining & Co. and a brand-new supermarket, Heartland Market Grocer, in October.
We’re still open and offering drive thru service
Although ‘stay home’ restrictions have eased, we know that keeping a safe physical distance is still as important as ever.
Our stores and restaurants have adapted to this constantly changing environment, ensuring you – our community locals – can continue to pick-up your everyday essentials here.
With our drive thru / express pick up option, BV now offers the convenience and access to many of our products and services without getting out of the car.
Shop small and local at BV!


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The fine is the equivalent of around 3 percent of Alphabet's global turnover. It has been imposed on Google by the EU's competition regulators after it found that Google had abused its dominant position in Search in order to push its own shopping ads over rival services, such as price comparison services.
"What Google has done is illegal under EU antitrust rules. It denied other companies the chance to compete on the merits and to innovate. And most importantly, it denied European consumers a genuine choice of services and the full benefits of innovation," European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said in a statement.
The U.S. multinational was given 90 days since the ruling to stop favoring its own services in search results related to shopping, or face a further daily penalty of up to 5 percent of Alphabet's daily turnover.
Google has responded with respectful disagreement with the conclusions reached by the European Commission and is assessing its options.
Kent Walker, senior vice president and general council, writes that the European Commission has underestimated the value of the ads placed by Google on such search results. He points out that when users search for a product while shopping, they naturally prefer direct links to such products.
However, some complainants against Google want their price comparison services to be better represented, but that would entail users clicking through to their service and then searching for a product again, according to Walker.
In additon, the ads are placed on behalf of thousands of European merchants who use the ads as a means to compete with far larger entities, like Amazon or eBay.
Written by: James Delahunty @ 28 Jun 2017 10:16


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"Lamb Chop 2.0," a live, holiday-themed performance, arrives at the Trump International Hotel & Tower Chicago on Saturday, Nov. 23. Children and adults can save 30% on admission with this exclusive offer; all proceeds benefit St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
General Admission, which includes a greeting card keepsake designed by pop artist Nicolosi, is priced:
Level 3 admission -- which includes VIP seating, a meet and greet, photo opportunity with printed picture and frame, and a greeting card keepsake -- is priced:
Following the performance, attend the "Reindeer on the River" festivities featuring two live reindeer and a 30-minute a capella performance by the award-winning Saint Luke's Choir, taking place on the Riverwalk at Trump Chicago.
Please go to your email and confirm your subscription.


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Tech Dump, your locally-based electronics recycler, has two good-news items: a new name and a new partnership with Ramsey County that means free electronics recycling for county residents.
Our new name: Repowered
You may have used the services of Tech Dump or Tech Discounts.
But we feel our new name, Repowered, sums up the benefits of our multifaceted environmental, digital equity and social missions.
We are an impact-driven nonprofit that securely collects technology from businesses and individuals for recycling or refurbishing. This keeps e-waste out of landfills, offers affordable tech items to the public and provides jobs and training to our Work Readiness employees, who are overcoming barriers to employment.
Each year, we provide thousands of employment hours, nearly a million dollars in wages and practical experience for adults facing these barriers. Most have experience in the justice system or are in recovery from addiction.
Since we opened our doors in 2011, our team has processed nearly 40 million pounds of e-waste. We adhere to the highest standards of data security while also prioritizing our environmental and social mission. We address several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, including poverty, vocational skills, material footprint, sustainable industry, discrimination, urban waste management, hazardous waste and climate change.
Free recycling with Ramsey County
Earlier this year, our company announced an exciting partnership with Ramsey County to offer electronics recycling to all county residents.
Through it, residents pay nothing to drop off televisions, computers and most devices that connect to them, such as VCRs, DVD players, keyboards and printers, for recycling. A list of accepted items can be found on the Ramsey County website. (The free service does not apply to businesses.)
The county is thrilled to offer free electronics recycling for its residents in partnership with Repowered, said Rae Eden Frank, Ramsey County interim environmental health division director.
“This organization has been a critical partner,” she affirmed, “not only for secure electronics recycling but also for providing affordable technology to the community as we so successfully demonstrated with our collaboration on the 2020 TechPaks project.”
Frank continued, “The additional fact that Repowered offers paid employment training for adults re-entering our community after incarceration is so crucial and also adds to our local economy. The partnership with Repowered is an example of the county’s environmental, economic and equity goals in action. This truly is a win for all parties involved.”
We all have a role to play
It’s important for all of us to prioritize extending the lives of all electronics. That might mean buying refurbished from our Repowered retail store, 860 Vandalia St., which is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
It might mean fixing gadgets rather than tossing them, or perhaps clearing out that pile of denial: the various cables and cords you might be saving in a heap. Items you bring to Repowered get back into use, decreasing the need to extract and make new materials.
We all have a role in providing fair chances for people, planet and technology. Thanks for joining us in that work! For more info, visit getrepowered.org.
Amanda LaGrange is the CEO of Repowered. She has testified before the Minnesota Legislature on the right to repair and is a founding member of the national Impact Recyclers Coalition.


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Microsoft has released the Kinect for Windows SDK beta, as expected, allowing PC developers to use the motion-tracking accessory. A free 100MB download, the SDK offers support for the depth sensor, color camera and quad-microphone array, along with all the clever skeletal-tracking systems that Xbox 360 game developers have had access to.
There’s also integration with Windows’ speech recognition API. That potentially means developers will be able to use the microphone array – which can pinpoint which user is talking thanks to beam formation – to transcribe speech to text, open and control applications, and more.
Microsoft has thrown in plenty of technical documentation, samples, all the drivers you’ll need and support for C++, C#, or Visual Basic. This current iteration of the SDK is only for non-commercial purposes; Microsoft says it will be releasing a commercial version later on. You’ll obviously need a Kinect sensor, too, which currently costs around $140.


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Monthly Archive for October, 2009
Luigi “Gegè” Mangano, chef-owner of Ristorante li Jalantuumene in Puglia, Italy, will cook a special wine dinner at Angelo’s 677 Prime in Albany on Thursday, Nov. 5, featuring five courses paired with wines from Puglia’s Alberto Longo Winery. Seating is at 6:30 p.m. for the dinner, priced at $78 per person, plus tax and tip. Read More
The Capital Region’s second Chipotle Mexican Grill will open Friday, Nov. 6, at 694 Troy-Schenectady Road, in a new shopping plaza at the corner of Route 7 and Wade Road. As pre-opening promotional events, the restaurant will be giving away free burritos from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Nov. 5, and, on the evening of Read More
Frank Tardio, executive chef of Angelo’s Tavolo at Glen Sanders Mansion, will host a cooking demonstration prior to Anthony Bourdain’s Nov. 15 appearance at Proctors in Schenectady. Tardio will be cooking — and, presumably, offering samples — of highlights from Tavolo’s menu. A tasting of wines from Joseph Carr also will be available. The demo, Read More
Glen Sanders Mansion’s catering operation once again will be offering complete Thanksgiving meals — turkey, starches, veggies, cranberry sauce, rolls, desserts — for home delivery or pickup at the mansion in Scotia or the Hall of Springs in Saratoga Springs. Dinner for 10 is $185, or $245 to serve 18 (tax included); home delivery is $55 Read More
Gio Culinary Studio in Voorheesville, the home of pastry master Giovanni Morina, has closed its café, which began serving breakfast and lunch last year. Morina tells me via e-mail that he is still serving wholesale clients, making special-order cakes and conducting private classes. He’s also working on book of recipes. An e-mail Morina sent to Read More
To celebrate (???) the release of Windows 7, Burger King in Japan has introduced a Whopper with seven patties.
In today’s Food section, my colleague Jennifer Gish profiles the Slingerlands-based barbecue team Mr. Bobo’s Traveling Barbecue Allstars, which has been chose to compete in this weekend’s Jack Daniel’s World Championship Invitational Barbecue. Below is the team’s brisket.
For today’s column I stopped in to visit with Dave Khan, the chatty chef-owner of Burger Centric on Delaware Avenue in Albany, which has been suffering since opening in August because of ongoing road construction. The burger below has chicken and beef patties and two kinds of cheese. Photo by my colleague Michael P. Farrell.
The new New York Times dining critic, Sam Sifton, has luscious paragraph in his review today: The very first item on the menu at Marea is ricci, a piece of warm toast slathered with sea urchin roe, blanketed in a thin sheet of lardo, and dotted with sea salt. It offers exactly the sensation as Read More
To celebrate the 14-year-old World Pasta Da on Monday (10/26), Buca di Beppo locations will be offering a free serving of spaghetti with meat sauce or marinara to customers who order an entrée or pasta dish. Customers will also receive a 16-ounce package of Rummo-brand Italian pasta to take home. The local Buca is at Read More


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- “Just over eight in ten merchants — or 81.5 percent — had implemented site help live in the second quarter.
- Just over seven in 10 merchants — or 72.5 percent — had implemented free shipping in the second quarter.
- Approximately one-fourth of merchants — or 27.8 percent — had implemented rewards in the second quarter.
- About half — or 48.2 percent — of merchants had implemented a guarantee or refund in the second quarter
- About two-thirds — or 67.5 percent — of merchants had implemented product ratings, reviews or recommendations in the second quarter.”


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Apple has released iOS 7.1.1 to iPhone and iPad users today, and it’s a rather minor update that addresses a few bugs and brings improvements to the keyboard and the iPhone 5s’s Touch ID fingerprint sensor.
Specifically, the update fixes a bug that could impact keyboard responsiveness and also fixes an issue when using Bluetooth keyboards with VoiceOver enabled. However, iPhone 5s users will most likely get the most benefit from the update, as it comes with improvements to Touch ID fingerprint recognition.
Whether or not the Touch ID fix addresses concerns from a while ago about the degradation of the fingerprint sensor recognizing fingerprints, but we wouldn’t be surprised if this was the update that has been rumored for a couple of months, and we knew it was coming soon, since we spotted iOS 7.1.1 traffic in our own analytics.
This minor update arrives just one month after Apple released iOS 7.1, which came with a wealth of big fixes and performance improvements, as well as a slightly new look in some apps, including a modified keyboard, a new calendar look and circular buttons in the Phone app instead of long, rounded rectangles. The update also came with CarPlay support, which is Apple’s own in-car infotainment system that works by connecting with your iPhone and displaying an iOS-esque user interface on the dashboard touchscreen.
The Calm Before the iOS 8 Storm
iOS 7.1.1 arrives just as iOS 8 rumors are heating up. The newest version of Apple’s mobile operating system is rumored to be unveiled at WWDC 2014 coming up in June. This is the same event that iOS 7 was unveiled at last year, so it makes sense for Apple to keep that tradition.
iOS 8 has been rumored for a couple of months now, and we were even treated to screenshots of what the new version will look like, which also reveal new apps coming to the iOS ecosystem, including iOS versions of TextEdit and Preview, as well as Apple’s own health and fitness app called Healthbook.
It’s also rumored that iOS 8 will come with a bit of third-party app support for Siri, which means that Siri wouldn’t necessarily be able to fully control third-party apps, but it could be used to obtain certain info, such as allowing users to ask Siri what song is playing in the background, using Shazam for instance.However, something like this is already available through a minor tweak.
Overall, though, iOS 8 will look very similar to iOS 7, and the only major changes will most likely just be new features and apps, bug fixes and performance improvements.
Of course, iOS 8 isn’t official yet, but if history is any indication, we’ll most likely see a successor to iOS 7 at some point in the future. Even if the screenshots aren’t real, they at least give us an idea of what we can expect with iOS 8 when it eventually pops up hopefully later this year or early next year.
Will We See an iOS 7.1.1 Jailbreak?
With this minor update brings up the question once again of whether or not we’ll see an iOS 7.1 jailbreak now that iOS 7.1.1 is released. Even with today’s update, the chances are as about as slim as before, and we most likely won’t see an iOS 7.1 jailbreak of any kind.
Jailbreak developer Pod2g was previously asked if an iOS 7.1 jailbreak is in the cards, and he simply replied with an “I don’t know.” He continued by saying that “there is a big chance the Evad3rs won’t focus on it as a team…expect that for iOS 8.”
This certainly is grim news for iOS 7 jailbreakers, but Pod2g says that “if one day, I find myself bored and can put enough time and energy into it, I have some ideas for how to make a 7.1 jailbreak…depending on how it has been fixed and other external events.”
So it really comes down to whether or not the Evad3rs team wants to spend the time and energy to come up with a new exploit for iOS 7.1, which it sounds like they’re not open to spending a lot of energy on it, at the moment, especially if iOS 8 is just right around the corner.
Even with that, don’t expect another jailbreak until iOS 8. For now, you can jailbreak iOS 7.0.6, which is the latest iOS version that is jailbreakable. It’s been said for several months that iOS 7.1 would be the update when Apple finally patches up the jailbreak exploit for good, and speculators were certainly correct. Of course, it’s not surprising, though, considering that iOS 6.1 patched up the iOS 6 jailbreak, but a new exploit was discovered soon after, but the same might not be said for iOS 7.1.
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In order to provide essential goods to serve the local people who are social distancing, in addition to setting up sales points, two large postal enterprises Vietnam Post and Viettel Post also supply goods through Seashell and Postmart floors. .
This is a content in the plan “Ensuring the supply of essential goods of major postal enterprises in the provinces and centrally-run cities that are implementing social distancing” recently approved by the Ministry of Information and Communications.
Solve the problem of supplying essential goods to serve people in epidemic areas
The plan to ensure the supply of essential goods in localities with social distancing along with the plan “Support to bring farmers producing households on the e-commerce platform, promote the development of the agricultural digital economy , rural areas” to perform one of the tasks assigned by the Government to the Ministry of Information and Communications. That is: Directing large postal enterprises to focus on transporting and providing essential goods at postal service points or via mobile form for people in localities that are social distancing according to Directive 16″.
The two new plans approved by the Ministry of Information and Communications also aim to support agricultural production households across the country to connect and promote consumption of agricultural products through e-commerce floors to consumers. At the same time, support provinces and cities to consume agricultural products and promote the development of the agricultural and rural digital economy.
|Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Pham Anh Tuan chaired an online meeting on July 22 on the implementation of the plan to ensure the supply of essential goods in provinces and cities that are undergoing social distancing.|
The representative of the leadership of the Ministry of Information and Communications pointed out that the implementation of the plan to ensure the supply of essential goods to people in the provinces and cities that are undergoing social distancing is an urgent task, which must be approved by two large postal enterprises. is the Vietnam Post Corporation (Vietnam Post) and Viettel Post Joint Stock Company (Viettel Post).
According to the plan, there are 6 main contents that need to be focused, including: Transporting goods to provinces and cities; Deploy essential goods supply points; Supply goods to people; Ensuring supply for KT1 services (services for accepting and transporting postal items on the postal network serving Party and State agencies within the province and inter-province – PV) and public administrative services; Collect digital addresses and electronic identifiers of citizens to serve the development of digital maps for epidemic prevention and control and national digital maps; Organizing communication and information activities.
In order to establish local supply points for essential goods that are being isolated, in addition to actively developing plans, arranging premises and means of transportation, two businesses Vietnam Post and Viettel Post need to have an official document. copies to the People’s Committees of provinces and cities, the Department of Industry and Trade, the Department of Market Management, and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to propose the form of goods supply.
Supplying essential goods to people through 2 channels online and offline
Also according to the plan, essential goods will be provided by Vietnam Post and Viettel Post to people in provinces and cities that are social distancing in the following forms: directly at essential goods supply points at the post office or at the post office. mobile point of sale.
Specifically, with fixed points of sale and mobile points of sale (selling cars), the two businesses will coordinate with the Farmers’ Union, the Women’s Union, the Youth Union, the Labor Confederation of the province and the city. city and local agencies and mass organizations to implement 5K measures.
Businesses can also organize sales at the address. At that time, people register essential goods with employees of the business to be delivered to the required address. With the method of selling via hotline, people will call the phone numbers of the post offices to place an order to be sent to the required address.
|After people place an order on Seashell or Postmart, essential goods will be delivered to the required address.|
In particular, essential goods are also provided to people in provinces and cities that are undergoing social distancing through the e-commerce platforms Postmart and Seashell of Vietnam Post and Viettel Post. After people place an order, the goods will be delivered to the requested address.
To facilitate the implementation of the plans, on July 21, the Ministry of Information and Communications asked the People’s Committees of provinces and cities to create conditions for Vietnam Post and Viettel Post. At the same time, assign the focal point responsible for the Department of Information and Communications to assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with relevant departments, agencies, agencies and units with Vietnam Post and Viettel Post to implement local plans. It is expected that, in the near future, the Ministry of Information and Communications will hold an online meeting with the Departments of Information and Communications on the implementation of 2 plans.
In fact, since July 13, Viettel Post and Vietnam Post have participated in providing food and essential goods for people in Ho Chi Minh City and southern provinces and cities that are applying social distancing measures. .
According to statistics, up to now, the total number of essential goods supply points has been 1,971 points in 21 localities. The total volume of essential goods supplied is 217 tons, with a total value of 4 billion VND. The total volume of goods transported by the two enterprises under the direction of the local government is 325 tons.
In the coming time, when the contents of the plan to ensure the supply of essential goods in localities undergoing social distancing are realized, the transportation and supply of essential goods of 2 enterprises Vietnam Post and Viettel Post will be more methodical and synchronous.
The list of members of the Working Group to support agricultural production households on the e-commerce floor and ensure the supply of essential goods in the provinces and centrally-run cities that are implementing social distancing has just been approved by the Ministry of Information and Communications. The working group is responsible for developing a detailed plan to perform the tasks in the two plans to ensure the supply of essential goods of large postal enterprises in the provinces and centrally-run cities that are implementing social distancing. society”, “Support to bring farmer-producing households to the e-commerce floor, promoting the development of the agricultural and rural digital economy”.
The working group is led by the Director of the Postal Department Nguyen Vu Hong Thanh, and the deputy is the Deputy Director of the Department of Enterprise Management. There are 9 members who are representatives of leaders of units under the Ministry of Information and Communications, including IT Department; Office sets; Departments: Education and Training, Press, External Information, Grassroots Information; VietNamNet Newspaper and Information Center. The working group for the Working Group has 7 members, with 3 members from 2 enterprises Vietnam Post and Viettel Post.
The Ministry of Information and Communications approves the plan to put agricultural production households across the country on the e-commerce floor
Vietnam Post and Viettel Post, two businesses that own Postmart and Seashell floors, were assigned by the Ministry of Information and Communications to lead the implementation of the plan “Support to bring farmer households to the e-commerce platform, promoting the development of the digital economy. agriculture and rural areas”.


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The court's decision has global significance, since India's $26 billion generic drug industry, which supplies much of the cheap medicine used in the developing world, could be stunted if Indian law allowed global drug companies to extend the life span of patents by making minor changes to medicines.
Once a drug's patent expires, generic manufacturers can legally produce it.
Pratibha Singh, a lawyer for the Indian generic drug manufacturer Cipla, which makes a version of Glivec for less than a tenth of the original drug's selling price, said the court ruled that a patent could only be given to a new drug and not to those that are only slightly different from the original.
"Patents will be given only for genuine inventions, and repetitive patents will not be given for minor tweaks to an existing drug," Singh told reporters outside the court.
Novartis called the ruling a "setback for patients," and said patent protection was crucial to fostering investment in research to develop new and better drugs.
Ranjit Shahani, the vice chairman and managing director of Novartis India, said the court's decision made India a less attractive country for major investments by international pharmaceutical companies.
"Novartis will not invest in drug research in India. Not only Novartis. I don't think any global company is planning to research in India," he said.
The Swiss pharmaceutical giant had fought a legal battle in India since 2006 to patent a new version of Glivec, which is used mainly to treat leukemia and is known as Gleevec outside India and Europe. The earlier version of Glivec did not have an Indian patent because its development far predated the country's 2005 patent law. Novartis said Glivec was patented in nearly 40 other countries.


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Turkish mobile operator, Turkcell, is launching a mobile wallet solution (view press release). The solution dubbed Turkcell Wallet, will allow consumers to buy goods and services in store or online via their smartphones. The solution is a SIM based application, meaning that transactions can be initiated through the SIM menu on phones, or with a native application on smartphone. In addition, it supports contactless payments through NFC-enabled phones.
Consumers can also bank via their mobiles, transfer funds, top-up their prepaid accounts and have access to mobile loyalty programmes. Turkcell customers can activate Turkcell Wallet by adding their cards with an SMS or by loading cash into their wallets through Garanti ATMs or Turkcell Communication Centres.
“It’s time to drive through the front window of financial services” – Tandem Bank, Azimo co-founders
An auspicious dinner threw Michael Kent and Ricky Knox together at business school more than a decade ago, laying the foundations of a business partnership that would see the pair create financial tech companies remittance firms Small World FS, Azimo and most recently challenger bank Tandem.
In a week when Sainsbury's finally revealed it will go contactless this year and when Eurovision said it will be cash-free and payment wearable full, it shouldn't come as a surprise that new data from Visa Europe confirms contactless payments' dominance in Europe.
The recent hypothesis that creating economic growth and investment opportunities in many parts of the world is, according to some governments, the responsibility of business – in particular small and medium sized companies (SMEs).
Opportunities to write about the Eurovision Song Contest are far and few between in the world of payments, but that ends today with news Gemalto and Visa are teaming up to hand out contactless payment wristbands at the show this year.


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Mr Witold Stępień, Marshal of the Łódzkie Region and member of the CoR will host a selected group of the ENVE commission members in Łódź, Poland in the framework of the study visit "The role of the local government in development of a circular economy".
This event aims at presenting various aspects of circular economy implemented in the Łódzkie Region by scientists and entrepreneurs, with the participation of representatives of non-governmental organizations and administrative support.
The study visit is an opportunity to show an unprecedented example of cooperation between quadruple helix actors, inspired by the regional authority, thanks to the involvement of Łódzkie Region in the project "Synergic Circular Economy across European Regions" SCREEN.
Many bottom-up initiatives in the field of environmental protection, bio-economy, renewable energy sources or eco-innovation have been inspired by the European Commission support, provided by the Horizon 2020 Program and international cooperation with the partners from the regions, where awareness of the necessity of conducting a resource and energy efficient economy, based on the principle of 3 R (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) is at a much higher level.
The circular economy theme and cooperation of different actors, animated by the regional authority, allows for creation of further ideas and project consortia, including those related to the development of optimal models for supporting innovative solutions, leading to the increase of the competitiveness of the economy and ensuring an efficient financing mechanism.
In addition, the educational and pro-environmental dimension of the carried out activities allows us to create a new quality in social contacts and further activation of local communities for the development of circular economy ideas.
This is especially important for entrepreneurs, for whom implementation of the "circular" business models can bring a number of real benefits related to the changes in the organization of the production and distribution process, as well as consumers who, thanks to their conscious attitude and purchasing decisions, will be able to support products and services of the environmental - friendly companies.
The full programme will available soon.


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EA SPORTS NHL 21 has released a new gameplay trailer, displaying the game’s superstar inspired innovations ahead of its global release on October 16. Gameplay adjustments affect all three areas of the ice, with more offensive zone creativity, smarter transitions … Read more
Now that the NHL season has concluded, the SSG EASHL team for NHL 19 is picking up momentum heading into the summer months. We’re actively recruiting new members to join us, so check out the information below to get setup.… Read more
EA Sports has released a 16-minute video covering some of the new additions to NHL 19’s franchise mode, most notably the expansion of scouting.
NHL 19 is available worldwide on September 14, 2018 for Xbox One and Playstation.
Are … Read more


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Thursday, 17 November 2011
Marc Jacobs's Spring Summer Collection Stolen
To add to the list of fashion scandals this year, tonight it was announced that Marc Jacobs's Spring Summer collection has been stolen. The collection was in transit from Paris ready for a press day in a Marc Jacobs's store tomorrow, when it became apparent that it had disappeared.
We must bear in mind that these are some of the most sought after sample garments of the moment, with editors already shooting their Spring Summer fashion stories. Having said that, these are only sample editions, which means there's no other designs around; these haven't been mass produced. So only a fool would dare to step foot outside in their new Marc Jacobs's wardrobe. Keep your eyes peeled fashionistas of the globe! If you spot anything suspicious, let Anna Wintour know, she probably won't sleep until they've been found.
Phong Luu of The Telegraph: 'If the fool is quaking at the prospect of a face-off with the police, he/she should be on knees praying there isn't a showdown with the editors; angry, they're far scarier than any man of law.'


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What Richard Mille did, few could. In fact, no one had attempted to bring back the Concours D‘Elegance, a French institution that celebrates style and substance in the auto industry, since the event died out in the 1930s.
Richard Mille kicked off the festivities with a fabulous gala dinner in the Chantilly horse museum. More than 500 of the brand’s closest friends surrounded Richard Mille, who spent the evening with Natalie Portman and her husband Benjamin Millepied, fresh from his appointment as the new director of the Opera de Paris.
On Sunday, nearly 10,000 people gathered in the bucolic gardens of the Château de Chantilly to see a unique collection of the world’s most beautiful and iconic cars. Richard Mille, the brand, remained very discreet during the day, while
Richard Mille, the man, was seemingly overjoyed to spend it sharing his own passion for cars with his closest friends. But we did catch a couple of timepieces, including the RM 033.
The brand has already announced the second Chantilly Arts & Elegance Richard Mille would take place again next September at the Château de Chantilly, with a host of new mechanical surprises! The bar certainly has been set very high this year, and we can’t wait to see the next edition.


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Motorola, many years later, returned to what it was trying to promote in the market ten years ago. It’s about turning a smartphone into something like a PC.
Recall that in 2011 the company released the Motorola Lapdock device, made in the form of a laptop, the heart of which was a smartphone connected to it.
However, at that time, the performance of platforms in smartphones for such tasks was too low. In recent years, similar technologies have been promoted by Samsung and Huawei. And now Motorola decided to remember that once upon a time it was a pioneer of this market.
So the new technology is called Ready For. It allows you to connect smartphones to monitors or TVs via USB-C. When connected, a special shell is automatically launched, similar in design to desktop operating systems. At the moment, only the flagship Edge + supports the technology, but Motorola is unlikely to stop there.
In addition, the American brand has the function of turning a smartphone into a video conferencing station. Of the rest, we can note the possibility of using a smartphone as a game console or set-top box – here only software acts as a limitation.
An offline game has appeared in the Opera gaming browser in case of an unstable Internet connection or network disconnection
Opera Software has announced the launch of an innovation for the Opera GX browser. As a reminder, Opera GX is being promoted as a browser designed specifically for gamers. The innovation is intended to brighten up the moments when Wi-Fi suddenly disappears for game lovers.
In this case, the arcade game Operius appeared in the browser, which can be played offline. Created with GameMaker Studio 2 engine, the game will automatically appear in the browser every time the connection fails. If someone wants to play Operius on a stable internet, they can simply type opera: // operius in the Opera GX address bar.
Operius was selected through a competition involving more than 900 games created in GameMaker Studio 2. As a result, Operius won a poll where more than 100,000 Opera GX and GameMaker users voted for eight games selected by experts.
Operius features retro graphics inspired by 1980s space arcade shooters and a soundtrack from Catonator. Multiplayer is available to players without the Internet: in order to do this, you need to enter the mode for two players and then share the keyboard with a friend.
The most popular sports video game in the world. Electronic Arts spoke about the achievements of FIFA 22
Electronic Arts today announced that the recently launched FIFA 22 has become the world’s most played sports game. Of course, this refers to the video game market.
FIFA 22 was released 22 days ago, but now it is played by gamers from more than 200 countries, and on average 89 million matches are played per day.
In the game’s Career Mode, 3.1 million new Custom Clubs were formed with Create Your Club, and 2.1 million players were involved in this mode. More than 57.7 million matches have been played in the Pro Clubs game mode, and over 326,000 female avatars have been created.
The growth of our global football platform continues at an unprecedented pace and our fantastic community is participating at an unprecedented level. We are delighted to continue this momentum by delivering the most immersive football games available to fans anywhere in the world.
Along with hundreds of licensing partners including the Premier League, Bundesliga, La Liga, UEFA and CONMEBOL, we are honored to create the most authentic interactive football platform in the world, allowing over 150 million fans around the world to connect with their favorite leagues, clubs and players
Nintendo Switch OLED scratches, burns and tries to break. The console has been tested by blogger JerryRigEverything
Well-known blogger JerryRigEverything got to the new Nintendo Switch OLED game console to test its strength.
The console screen is covered with a plastic sheet, so it is very easy to scratch. For owners of all versions of Switch, this is nothing new. The heating test is still as useless as it always has been, but it can be noted that a trace of the flame remains.
At the same time, the strength of the console is quite high. Despite the size and the presence of the attached parts, as you can see, the application of serious efforts does not lead to any damage. However, you shouldn’t repeat this with your own prefix, of course.
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra will be a fake flagship: 45-watt charger will be able to charge it up to 70% in 35 minutes
The authoritative insider Ice Universe has published the characteristics of the battery, power and charging speed of the new flagship...
The Redmi Note 11 Pro + charges as fast as the Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra. It supports 120W charging and has a powerful cooling system
Xiaomi has published a new batch of teasers about Redmi Note 11 smartphones. It follows from them that the top...
First on Snapdragon 898, tiny bezels and mid-December launch. New details about Xiaomi 12 from a famous insider
According to the information published by the verified Chinese insider Digital Chat Station, the first smartphone based on the Snapdragon...
Five years ago, a generation of full-screen smartphones was born: the first was the Xiaomi Mi Mix
It’s hard to believe, but exactly five years have passed since the announcement of the first smartphone, which was devoid...
Security5 days ago
Acer was cyberattacked for the second time in a week
Software5 days ago
What Google was silent about at the presentation of the Google Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro: the new flagships did not receive unlimited space in Google Photos
Electric Cars7 days ago
Tesla has tensed: Foxconn unveils three “model” Foxtron electric vehicles – sedan, crossover and bus
Wearables6 days ago
1.3-inch AMOLED screen, heart rate and SpO2 sensors, waterproof and NFC, 110 training modes and a week of battery life for $ 95. Realme T1 smartwatch presented


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For banks and fintechs, especially those in the payments industry, the decline is probably due to a hangover effect from the Federal Reserve's 75-basis-point interest-rate increase on Wednesday. Rates have now increased 75 basis points each of the past three times the Fed has convened. Rising interest rates are the tool the Fed is using to slow down the economy and combat high inflation.
As Affirm (AFRM) will not charge late and hidden fees, it is expected to witness significant demand growth from Amazon Canada customers for its payment products.
Shares of several payments and fintech stocks struggled to shake off a hangover from the Federal Reserve's September meeting yesterday, in which the Fed delivered another big rate hike. Shares of the large payments rail Mastercard (NYSE: MA) traded nearly 1.5% lower in the final hour of trading today. Shares of the buy now, pay later (BNPL) company Affirm (NASDAQ: AFRM) traded more than 6% lower, and shares of digital bank SoFi (NASDAQ: SOFI) were down nearly 5%.


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Skip to comments.Disagreeing with Obama can ruin Christmas, says White House report
Posted on 11/26/2012 10:51:48 AM PST by Sub-Driver
Disagreeing with Obama can ruin Christmas, says White House report
Posted By Neil Munro On 6:00 AM 11/26/2012 @ 6:00 AM In DC Exclusives - Original
Any Republican refusal to accept President Barack Obamas fiscal plan may ruin Christmas for the nations retailers, the White House claimed in a report released Monday morning.
The National Retail Federation is forecasting that holiday sales will grow 4.1 percent this year [but] if Congress does not act on the Presidents plan to extend tax cuts for the middle-class, it will be risking one of the key contributors to growth and jobs in our economy at the most important time of the year for retail stores, says the report, which was prepared by the Obama White Houses National Economic Council and the presidents Council of Economic Advisers.
The holiday season is no time to threaten middle-class pocketbooks, urges the report, titled The Middle-Class Tax Cuts Impact On Consumer Spending & Retailers.
Democrats made the same claim June 28, 2011, during talks about increasing the federal governments ability to borrow more funds.
Happy Holidays America: [Rep. John] Boehner plan would have the debt ceiling all over again during the holiday season, which is critical for the economy, White House communications director Dan Pfeiffer declared. (RELATED: GOP aims to gut Christmas, White House alleges)
Obama spokesman Jay Carney and top political aide David Plouffe also made the same claim that day.
The new report is part of Obamas media campaign to blame Republicans for scheduled tax increases, spending cuts and the stalled economy during Obamas tenure.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailycaller.com ...
resorting to scare tactics and blackmail...the ante just went up.
Obama AKA Mr. Grinch.
The king of sinful sots!
Are they admitting that Obama is Santa Claus, just like Rush said?
Is this a JOKE????? Electing the guy RUINED Christmas, at least for the MAKERS....they're just worried about the TAKERS!
Obama and Plan ,would that been an oxymoron
Huh? Didn't both the Democrats and the GOP establishment get their panties in a twist when Rush Limbaugh compared Obama to Santa Claus a couple of weeks ago?
Yes, the Obama Zombies in the Miami Florida media have begun beating this drum today....they are repeating the Obama line that Republicans will be to blame if the Christmas shopping season is bad—because the “middle class” is worried over the fiscal cliff.
Journalism is dead. ABC/CBS/NBC/FOX local tv in Miami may as well be Pravda.
So, basically, Obama knows that the holiday selling season is going to be a disaster so he’s (again) setting up Republicans to be the fall guy, to which the corrupt MSM will undoubtedly accede.
I am so sick of this garbage and there is no relief in sight.
DAMN ALL of those that allowed this corrupt bastard another 4 years in power.
You have to have money to spend in order to purchase gifts for Christmas. The number of Americans receiving food stamps combined with those who qualify but don’t take them indicates that there is not a whole lot of disposable income from the masses to spend on anything. Maybe Warren Buffet can go out and buy a bunch of stuff from WalMart, Target, and JCP and save Christmas. Then he can get a big tax write-off as he gives all the goods to some charity.
“Any Republican refusal to accept President Barack Obamas fiscal plan may ruin Christmas for the nations retailers”
Any Obama plan WILL ruin the retailers....there, fixed it....
Bring it on. With that idiot in the WH, the next FOUR YEARS are ruined, not to mention, Christmas.
+4.1% is a lie... -11% maybe!
Funny. I remember when the Democrats said those tax cuts were only for the very wealthy.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.


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PlayStation 4 has now sold more than 70.6 million units worldwide through to customers as of December 3, 2017, while the PlayStation VR has surpassed two million units sold worldwide. More than 617.8 million copies of PS4 games and over 12.2. million units of PSVR titles have been sold as of December 3 as well. This includes both retail and digital sales.
"I cannot thank our fans and partners enough," Andrew House said, Sony Interactive Entertainment president and CEO. "Their support, since the launch of very first PlayStation in 1994, has helped to make PlayStation one of the biggest console gaming networks in the world."Earlier this year in June, Sony revealed PS4 exceeded 60 million units sold worldwide while more than 487.8 million copies of PS4 were sold at the time. Sony also gave an update on PSVR sales in June as well, confirming the VR headset surpassed one million units sold worldwide with over five million PSVR games sold as well.
Alex Gilyadov is a freelance writer for IGN. Be sure to check out his YouTube channel and follow him on Twitter.
Diablo 4 Interactive Map
8h ago - From locations, services, collectibles, quests, and more, our comprehensive Diablo 4 map has you covered.
Diablo 4 Received Its First Big Patch and It's All About Class Balance
12h ago - Blizzard also revealed its thought process on these changes.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse Has an Amazing $208.6 Million Global Debut
13h ago - Miles' latest adventure earned more than three times that of the opening of the original.
Every New Spider-Man in Across the Spider-Verse (Full Spoilers)
3d ago - Who's who in the sequel to Into the Spider-Verse?
Spider-Man Movies in Chronological Order
6d ago - Not sure? Come swing through all the Spider-Man movies in chronological order with us!


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The national average price for diesel is up 75% from a year ago
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Much of the U.S. economy runs on diesel fuel. That's what powers those giant trucks on the highways. And truckers are saying they are struggling with diesel costs. NPR's Brittany Cronin reports the surging price of fuel is making everything even more expensive, posing a threat to the economy.
BRITTANY CRONIN, BYLINE: If you thought gas prices were high, thank your lucky stars you're not paying for diesel.
ERIC JAMMER: I can pretty much count on setting on fire five to seven hundred dollars a day, minimum.
CRONIN: That's Eric Jammer. He owns and operates a truck out of Houston, Texas. An 18-wheeler is a really big truck, and Jammer's has 22 wheels. He hauls the big stuff - military and construction equipment. He once hauled an Apache helicopter. His issue isn't how much fuel he needs, it's how costly it's become.
JAMMER: I've joked with a number of drivers, we basically are driving to pay our diesel bill right now.
CRONIN: The national average price for diesel is up 75% from a year ago - at more than $5.50 a gallon. That's a much bigger jump than gas prices in the same period. Jammer has all kinds of fixed costs - monthly payments for his truck and trailer, insurance, permitting, broker fees. And that's before adding in the cost of fuel.
JAMMER: After everyone gets their piece of the pie and you look at what's left, there's either nothing or very little for you.
CRONIN: Jammer says this isn't just about him. Trucking touches almost everything in this country.
JAMMER: Because everything in your house was on a truck at some point in time.
CRONIN: Whether it came off a cargo ship, a railway or sat in a warehouse, trucks are the connective tissue that move 70% of all freight in the U.S. But the cost to move that freight is rising, in part because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The U.S. is also exporting more diesel to Europe to reduce its reliance on Russian fuel.
Bob Costello, chief economist with the American Trucking Association, says these rising fuel costs don't just land on truckers.
BOB COSTELLO: Ultimately, you and I, as consumers, will see this on the store shelves in the price of the products.
CRONIN: There's no doubt rising fuel costs are contributing to higher retail prices, but just how much is hard to quantify. And it's not just trucking. Diesel is a crucial input in industrial business. It keeps factories humming, construction moving and it helps grow our food.
MARK DARRINGTON: Diesel plays a role in everything that we do on the farm.
CRONIN: Mark Darrington and his sons own Big D Farms in Declo, Idaho. They grow potatoes, sugar beets, wheat. If you've had Coors or Budweiser, you may have tasted their malt barley. Darrington has about 70,000 gallons of diesel stored in tanks on his property for his tractors and other farm equipment. He bought the fuel in December, when it was about $2 a gallon cheaper than it is now.
DARRINGTON: Yes. But when that's gone, it's gone, and it has to be replaced.
CRONIN: Darrington is already paying double what he did last year for fertilizer. He says there's no way he and other farmers can eat the increased cost of fuel.
DARRINGTON: My increased costs of production have got to be passed on to the consumer. Otherwise, literally, the countryside will shut down.
CRONIN: For his part, Texas trucker Eric Jammer says he's just trying to hold on and outlast the price hike. He thinks he can make it to the end of the year at current prices.
JAMMER: As long as we don't get to California diesel pricing in Texas. You know, if it gets that bad in Texas, then we're done.
CRONIN: If you thought the supply chain problems were bad before, Jammer says just wait until store shelves are empty because trucks can't afford to move the product.
Brittney Cronin, NPR News.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.


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Canal+ wants Yomvi to become Spain's Netflix
Juan Fernandez Gonzalez
| 04 October 2014
With Netflix delaying its arrival in Spain, Canal+ has decided to launch a Yomvi service centred on video-on-demand (VOD) content, putting aside the live streaming programming that Yomvi was focusing on before.
Yomvi Play will include series and movies on demand for €6 a month -although it will be free until the end of the year, as the service is still being tested. The regular Yomvi service will also add a huge VOD catalogue while keeping the live option for a higher price.
According to Europa Press, Canal+ aims to increase Yomvi's catalogue to 5,000 titles including more than 100 complete series, starting with The Sopranos, True Blood and Friends, plus movies, documentaries and kids shows.
Yomvi Play will also follow the multi-platform road of the original Yomvi service, and will be available on browsers, computers, smartphones, iPads and LG and Samsung smart TVs.
The service doesn't have many rivals in Spain's pay-TV market, with Wuaki.tv and its one million users being the largest one. The Canal+ service, which will be soon owned by Telefónica if the market and telecom authorities agree, intends to conquer the market before the big players arrive. Although Netflix has not confirmed anything, the OTT platform's European plans place Spain first in the queue for new expansion announcements. inShare0


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Sling Media has put a stake in the ground and intends to meet their goal of delivering a Blackberry SlingPlayer this year. On December 30th, the company will release a free public beta to Slingbox owners – supporting most modern GSM Blackberry models, such as the Curve and Bold. Meaning Verizon and Sprint customers are out of luck “until RIM resolves a platform issue.” Once official next year, I assume the software will run for a one-time $30 fee, like the Windows Mobile, Palm, and Symbian clients.
I’ve been playing with development builds for about a year. And the Blackberry SlingPlayer features the most efficient mobile interface Sling has produced, plus it’s also the first mobile client to support Sling Accounts. Meaning, customers don’t have to mess with tracking a Slingbox Finder ID – that number is associated with an email address, which most folks hopefully have no trouble remembering.
Of course, the inevitable commentary will ask about Slingbox iPhone software… According to Sling, “It is still in development but progressing nicely, there will probably be some public news next month given CES & MacWorld.” Stay tuned!


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LendingTree Adds Financial Partners to Automated Pre-Approval Platform
CHARLOTTE, N.C., Feb. 1, 2022 / — LendingTree®, the nation’s leading online financial services marketplace, today announced Mercury Financial, Avant, and Ally Credit Card (Ollo) as the founding partners of TreeQual, LendingTree’s automated pre-approval platform designed to make it even easier for consumers to achieve their financial goals.
TreeQual was built to bring more certainty and transparency to LendingTree’s financial product marketplace, significantly improving the likelihood of its members being approved while adding greater efficiency and scale for its credit and lending partners. After a simple, low-friction onboarding process, lenders and card issuers are able to easily identify qualified LendingTree members and display customized pre-approved offers. Qualified members can shop and compare actionable offers enriched by member-provided financial information with greater confidence in being approved, bringing them one step closer to achieving their financial goals.
The automated pre-approval engine was first launched with Mercury Financial, a financial inclusion technology company, as the initial partner, and recently welcomed Avant and Ally Credit Card (Ollo) to the platform, enabling LendingTree members to shop and compare pre-approved offers from a growing network of progressive, consumer-centric financial partners
“LendingTree strives to build great products, like TreeQual, that help our members achieve their financial goals, help our partners build great businesses and improve the efficacy of LendingTree’s business model,” said Doug Lebda, founder and CEO of LendingTree. “With TreeQual, LendingTree members can comparison shop with more confidence than ever before among real, actionable offers while our financial partners have access to high-quality consumers who are ready to transact. This is a meaningful step towards fulfilling LendingTree’s mission of being the ultimate consumer advocate in financial services.”
“We’re proud to be a founding partner on the TreeQual platform and look forward to our continued relationship with LendingTree,” said Jim Peterson, CEO of Mercury Financial. “Having such a collaborative, open, and hardworking partner aligned with our mission is how you want to do business.”
“We remain steadfast in our mission to help customers get financing in an efficient and straightforward way, and being part of TreeQual will help us do just that,” said Matt Bochenek, CEO of Avant. “We’re focused on building our business in a way that benefits non-prime customers by giving them solutions to take ownership of their financial journeys and futures.”
To log in to an existing LendingTree account or to become a LendingTree member and shop among all financial offers, visit https://my.lendingtree.com/.


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BEIJING--Marlboro Classics, the casual clothing brand marketed by Philip Morris Cos., has appointed Zhang Yimou, perhaps the most famous movie director from the Chinese mainland, to be its image ambassador in China. Mr. Zhang said of his appointment to help advertise the brand: "I began wearing the clothes eight years ago because I liked the style, and they are durable andeasy to clean -- which is great for people with jobs like mine." Marlboro Classics has recently opened its flagship store in China on the ground floor of the Beijing Oriental Plaza. Marlboro Classics now has stores in 10 Chinese cities.
Copyright November 2000, Crain Communications Inc.


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Online dog house auction benefits Pets Fur People
POSTED: Tuesday, September 2, 2014 - 12:48pm
UPDATED: Thursday, September 11, 2014 - 3:38pm
Tyler, Texas — Local East Texas celebrities and businesses creatively decorated nine wooden doghouses to auction off in hopes of reaching a goal of $50,000 for Pets Fur People.
The Campaign will run from August 20-September 18, 2014. Online bidding will close on Thursday, September 18th at 7:30pm.
Also included in the auction is a Johnny Manziel autographed Aggie dog house.
For more information go to to www.petsfurpeople.org/doghouses


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It was a bit of an understatement. Menlo Park-based Facebook had its best quarter ever, blowing past analyst estimates on both the top and bottom line. Its stock shot up nearly 10 percent in after hours trading. It's currently trading at over $58.
Facebook's revenue hit $2.59 billion for the fourth quarter, an increase of 63 percent over last year. Earnings per share came in at 31 cents, or $1.5 billion, excluding some expenses. Analysts were expecting earnings of 27 cents per share on revenue of $2.33 billion, so Facebook beat the street handilly.
Facebook's earnings jump came primarily from a big increase in ad revenue, particularly mobile ad revenue, which accounted for 53 percent of the social network's sales in the fourth quarter, up from 22 percent the year before. That likely comes as a relief to Facebook investors, who have been watching mobile revenue closely as an indicator of the company's future growth potential.
More and more users were accessing Facebook from mobile devices in Q4, with daily active users shooting up 44 percent to 556 million, so investors took heart that Facebook seems to be well on its way to making money off that traffic.


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Travis Scott’s first collaborative release with Jordan Brand is set to release on June 9th at select retailers worldwide. Featuring a primarily university blue colorway, the soft tone joins hands with a red lining and black for a soothing palette that is said to be inspired by one of Travis Scott’s favorite sports franchises – the Houston Oilers. While the hype surrounding these are incredibly high, the H-town based rapper has been spotted in two different colorways of the Air Jordan 4, so perhaps this just the beginning of larger collection of collabs that may drop somewhere down the line. Againm these will officially release on June 9th based on information by Canadian footwear boutique Livestock, so peep these detailed shots below and stay tuned for the epic release going down next Saturday. The shoes will also release on Nike SNKRS at 10:00 AM EDT.
Travis Scott x Air Jordan 4 “Cactus Jack”
Release Date: June 9th, 2018
Color: University Blue/Black
Style Code: 308497-406


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Sean Burke, Head of Technology Solutions Group is Leaving Company
Nortek Inc. released yesterday the financial results for their fiscal second quarter and first half showing a solid overall sales gain of 13.9% to $718.6 million, up from $630.7 million in the same quarter last year. Sales increased at a more moderate pace for the first half, coming in at $1.266 billion or 10.1% higher than the $1.149 booked last year.
But in a bit of a surprise, the company chose to break out the results of their AV division separately – clearly exposing what many had suspected for a couple of years now – this division is in serious trouble. Even more surprising, in a filing with the SEC, the company revealed that Sean Burke, Group President of the Technology Solutions Group is leaving the company “to pursue other interests.”
See more on just what Nortek’s latest financial results show…
In what must surely be frustrating to Nortek’s top management, the company had solid sales gains in the quarter for each of its reporting segments, except AV. And while three divisions showed declines in operating earnings, the AV division’s operating loss almost doubled.
As we reported at the end of last year, the company noted that AV’s revenues had dropped a disappointing $24.4 million in fiscal 2013. But instead of stemming this tide, the company says AV revenues declined yet another $14 million in the first half of fiscal 2014.
AV operating performance continues to decline…
For the quarter, AV revenues dropped to $37 million, down 16.1% from $44.1 million in the same quarter last year. For the half, revenues dropped to $72.9 million, off 16.1% from $86.9 million last year.
Operating loss for AV in the quarter almost doubled, coming in at $8.1 million, much deeper than last year’s loss of $4.1 million. For the half, the division lost $12.8 million, or more than double the $6.1 million loss last year.
Company writes down AV by $80.4 million in Q2…
As a result of this troubling trend in the AV division’s performance, and based on the company’s expectation for the future value of the division’s brands, the company booked an impairment charge of $80.4 million in the quarter, wiping out the profit for the whole company and forcing a net loss of $46.2 million for the quarter and $54.8 million for the half. The company had booked a profit $11.5 million for the second quarter last year and a much more moderate loss of $3.5 million for the half.
It was interesting to see the company decide to break AV out of the TECH segment. This may have been to eliminate the drag it was having on the performance of the TECH segment, which saw very solid revenue and earnings increases…sans AV, that is.
Brighter view of TECH…
TECH saw sales come in at $161.5 million, up an impressive 46.7% over the $110.1 million in the quarter last year. And even more impressive, operating earnings in the division came in at $22 million, up 209.9% over the $7.1 million in the quarter last year.
The company’s brief announcement about the departure of Sean Burke is also interesting. As the head of TECH, Burke has been responsible for the company’s AV division whose performance has been dismal. And while the company says he’s leaving to pursue other interests – it says little else about the departure of such a key executive. The timing of this move seems suspicious.
“Nortek’s sales growth accelerated in the second quarter, driven by strong demand for our home security and automation products, as well as our air management solutions for non-residential applications,” said President and Chief Executive Officer Michael J. Clarke in a prepared statement. “Net sales were up from the second quarter last year in all five of our major business segments reflecting organic and acquisition related growth. Adjusted EBITDA margins increased year-over-year in our Technology Solutions (TECH), Custom and Engineered Solutions (CES), Residential Heating and Cooling (RHC) and Display Mount Solutions (DMS) segments.”
AV seems less important to management…
In Clarke’s prepared statements, he barely mentioned AV or the $80 impairment charge – other than to briefly mention it’s no longer part of TECH. We also noticed that Clarke referred to results from their five “major” divisions…suggesting that AV is clearly seen as a minor division.
But Clarke did have this to say about AV: “Management has made the strategic decision to separately manage the audio-video businesses that were previously part of our TECH segment. We are focusing on the structure of the businesses and improving operational efficiencies to best position the businesses for the future.”
Just what this corporate-speak – “focusing on the structure…improving operational efficiencies” – means, is not entirely clear. It could be, however, that the company is positioning the division to be spun off or sold.
The rather significant $80.4 million impairment charge is an indicator of dramatically reduced future expectations. In an SEC filing, the company even warned of the possibility of yet more write-downs of the division in the future.
But AV seemed quite important to Wall Street analysts…
In a conference call with investors today, the company addressed the issue of their AV division with CFO Almon Hall making it his first topic during his prepared presentation. Hall told analysts that the company is taking steps in view of the “sharp decline is AV operating performance.”
Like Clarke, Hall seemed to suggest that the decision to pull AV out of TECH was as much to give a clearer picture of the positive performance of TECH – and to allow it to address the problematical performance of AV in-and-of-itself. (Clarke said this step will “effectively unmask our strong underlying performance in security, access, and home automation.”)
But in the question-and-answer session with analysts, several analysts asked questions specifically about AV…a sign that they were clearly concerned about this surprising development. In responding to analyst questions, the executives sounded a little more concerned, choosing their words carefully with muted optimism for the future of this segment.
Was AV (Core Brands) too high end?…
During his presentation, Clarke told analysts, “We’re catching up with some technology changes in this market. In addition, we’re putting a team in place to look at the structure of the AV business and implement systems and processes to improve operational performance.”
Clarke assured analysts that, “We’ve invested in developing major new product platforms which we’ll be rolling out at the major yearly CEDIA trade show next month.”
But analysts wanted more detail on just what went wrong. In response, Clarke attributed it to the AV division’s legacy products being too high end.
“Our products were really high-end…really expensive integration…probably really right at the top,” Clarke told one analyst. “We didn’t get the medium- and low-end products. You know people can’t afford to spend $250,000 in home audio-visual anymore. So there’s a combination of hard-wired and wireless that’s taking place. So you’ve got to have a low-end controller to do it. So we’ve redesigned a new one, we’ve put different chipsets in…it can link to many other wireless or other products out there – from other manufacturers as well as our own. So we’ve got some really exciting products going out there. But that’s what we’ve sort of realized…that, you know…the market’s changed for that business. You have to go to this sort of mid- and to low-end…and all the products we’ve got to do to fulfill that.”
A little defensive…
Clarke sounded slightly defensive as he rattled off this rapid-fire explanation and then, as if an after-thought, he added: “That being said, we’ve got some great products on the high-end as well. So if you look at the stuff that we’re bringing out, we can now – with the new product – go from high-, mid-, to low-end…both wireless connectability and hard-wired.”
Management has clearly made significant progress in its TECH segment, but AV – so far – has seemed immune to their best efforts to revive it. Taking AV out of TECH is likely a move of great significance.
Last word from Clarke: “We’ve made no decisions at all, like with any of our businesses that we’ve got, to divest of the business.”
For more on Nortek, see: www.nortek-inc.com.


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Ramsey, NJ, (August 16, 2021) Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc. (Konica Minolta) is pleased to announce The Cannata Report has named Stacey Sujeebun, Marketing Communications Director, as one of its 2021 Women Influencers. The prestigious honor is showcased in the media brand’s annual Women Influencers issue that demonstrates its dedication to acknowledging and promoting vital contributions made by women in the industry. This year’s cover story highlighted curiosity as a key component of success.
Stacey Sujeebun joined Konica Minolta nearly ten years ago from the marketing agency side, where she worked as a consultant within brand communication and media agencies in London, providing advice on rebranding, repositioning and stakeholder engagement initiatives. She is a Chartered Institute of Marketing qualified marketing professional, and in perfect alignment with this year’s Women Influencers theme, holds an MSc in Social Anthropology from University College London.
“Being named a Women Influencer by The Cannata Report is something I have aspired to for a number of years, and the theme of this year’s program really struck a chord with me,” said Sujeebun. “The pandemic challenged us to rethink how we do things, find new opportunities and better ways to execute, and that is where the element of curiosity really comes into play. By being curious and asking questions, it allows us to be even more innovative than ever before.”
Sujeebun is best-known throughout Konica Minolta for helping reposition the organization’s reputation from a brand previously known for cameras and printers. She spearheaded the launch of Konica Minolta’s Workplace Hub, unveiling the product to the world’s press at Konica Minolta’s ‘Spotlight’ event in Berlin in March 2017. This was the first global product release of this nature in Konica Minolta’s history, through which it trended on Twitter for the first time, and was cited by the press as producing an ‘Apple-esk’ launch.
In 2018, Sujeebun took on marketing for All Covered, Konica Minolta’s IT services division. Since that time, All Covered has begun to emerge as an industry leader, winning dozens of awards and gaining significant traction in the media, with a noticeable increase in press interviews and articles.
In 2019, she led the company’s marketing efforts at PRINTING United. The immersive experiences created at Konica Minolta’s exhibit booth by Sujeebun and her team truly showcased the breadth of Konica Minolta’s print expertise and results from the show went way beyond expectation. Konica Minolta had significantly more traffic than any other booth, and generated sales of nearly 70% over target.
Most recently, when the pandemic changed nearly every aspect of work, Sujeebun encouraged her team to rethink every effort, pivoting quickly to support sales in a world without face-to-face contact and where customer needs were suddenly different. An aggressive virtual event strategy was quickly built out to serve dealers and customers in this new, remote business world to help maintain business continuity.
“I am so proud to see Stacey recognized by The Cannata Report with this honor,” said Kay Fernandez, Senior Vice President, Marketing, Konica Minolta and 2014 Women Influencer. “She has an amazing ability to not only overcome challenges that come her way but thrive in the face of them, and through her leadership her team has successfully driven engagement and sales within a dynamic business environment.”
“Stacey Sujeebun is an innovative, strategic marketer distinguished for her dynamic and unique contributions to Konica Minolta’s successful marketing platforms. She is an out-of-the-box thinker driven by what ifs and why nots, resulting in inspirational initiatives,” said CJ Cannata, President and CEO, The Cannata Report. “Stacey is a leading role model in the industry’s new generation of influencers and stands out for her passion for making a difference, whether professionally or personally. We are proud to name her a 2021 Women Influencer.”
About Konica Minolta
Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc. is reshaping and revolutionizing the Workplace of the Future™. The company guides and supports its customers’ digital transformation through its expansive office technology portfolio, including IT Services (All Covered), content services, managed print services and industrial and commercial print solutions. Konica Minolta has been included on CRN’s MSP 500 list nine times and The World Technology Awards recently named the company a finalist in the IT Software category. Konica Minolta has been recognized as the #1 Brand for Customer Loyalty in the MFP Office Copier Market by Brand Keys for fourteen consecutive years, and received Keypoint Intelligence’s BLI 2021 A3 Line of The Year Award and BLI 2021-2023 Most Color Consistent A3 Brand Award for its bizhub i-Series. Konica Minolta, Inc. has been named to the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index for nine consecutive years and has spent four years on the Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World list. Konica Minolta partners with its clients to give shape to ideas and works to bring value to our society. For more information, please visit us online and follow Konica Minolta on Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn and Twitter.
About The Cannata Report
Since 1982, The Cannata Report has been the leading intelligence resource for imaging reseller principals and senior executives within the business technology, managed services, and imaging industry. We combine forward-thinking analysis and thought-leadership with in-depth coverage across a wide range of topics including professional services, workflow solutions, IT management, office products, production and industrial print, supplies, vendor finance, mergers and acquisitions, breaking news, market trends and more. While we write and produce content specifically for resellers, or the independent dealer channel, our audience includes senior business leaders in the hardware, software, IT, leasing, and supplies segments. Our unparalleled expertise and comprehensive reporting are essential for business professionals throughout the evolving imaging industry.
Konica Minolta Contact
Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc.


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Long-time owner Ginger Phiefer sells Kirker's Inn in Hawthorne
Kirker’s Inn, the homey German restaurant in Hawthorne, has been sold by former owner Virginia “Ginger” Phiefer to Paul Casale.
Kirker’s has been a local favorite for more than 50 years. The original owner, for whom the restaurant is named, ran Kirker's for 40 years, making it one of the only German restaurants in the area. Dishes such as wiener schnitzel ($12), sauerbraten ($12) and bratwursts ($12) are still available at Kirker's.
Phiefer, 67 of Wyckoff, and her husband Andy bought Kirker’s 25 years ago and added the popular thin-crust pizza to the menu. The family also owned the now-closed King's Ransom in Waldwick.
According to Phiefer, she sold the restaurant because she wants to take a break and spend time with her grandchildren. Her husband passed away two years ago and her son has no interest in running the family restaurant.
The new owner Casale, who also owns Franklin Steakhouse in Nutley, will likely officially take over in mid-May.
Phiefer said Kirker’s will be “freshened up” a bit under its new ownership, but no other major changes will be made.
Kirker’s is located at 237 Diamond Bridge Ave., Hawthorne; 973-427-7700, kirkers.com.
More food news
Dinner with Esther:Meet celebrity chef David Burke, eat his food at a special Ventanas dinner


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Macy’s began its first-ever NFT series with an unique drop of 9,500 free NFT artworks utilising iconic balloons from its rich nine-decade past in favour of Make-A-Wish® last fall in honour of the 95th Annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade®. Macy’s was able to raise $300,000 for Make-a-Wish, with secondary sales continuing on a regular basis.
At Adweek’s Mediaweek, Sarah Kramer, CEO of Spark Foundry, and Anne Dunn O’Connell, svp of Media & Site Merchandising at Macy’s, sat down for a fireside talk to discuss Macy’s NFT debut and how the relationship will continue to move Macy’s into the future of consumer engagement.
Macy’s and Spark Foundry collaborated to use the burgeoning phenomena of digital collectibles to bring Macy’s into the holiday discourse in a completely new way. Macy’s wanted to be a part of Web3’s multitude of prospects, according to Dunn O’Connell.
“The sky’s the limit when it comes to things like AI to improve customer experiences, or new ways to allow customers to browse, shop, and buy in the metaverse, or even leveraging blockchain wallets and NFTs as portals to exclusive access and perks,” she said. “The NFTs were so popular last year, and the Macy’s Parade has always mirrored American pop culture, it seemed like a natural fit.”
One of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Procession’s goals, according to Dunn O’Connell, is to bring the parade closer to the audience each year.
“The parade has always been our present to New York City and the country, and as we began the holiday season last year, we wanted to add another method to provide a gift to our shoppers while generating funds for Make-A-Wish, our holiday philanthropic partner.”
The NFT campaign was the first generative art collection of NFTs distributed for free by any business, and it was also Macy’s first Web 3.0 promotion. All 9,500 free NFTs were grabbed in just one hour and six minutes, according to the duo. More than 4,000 of those NFTS were then sold on the secondary market, providing the seller and Make-A-Wish with a one-of-a-kind source of cash. The Macy’s NFT campaign also racked in over half a billion earned media impressions.
“With Web 3.0 and the metaverse, Macy’s is enthusiastic about the possibilities,” Dunn O’Connell said. “We’re excited to keep looking beyond the usual episodic/tentpole approach to marketing in order to build a lasting presence with both existing and new customers.” It’s about the brand showing up in a relevant way and demonstrating that a 160-year-old brand can develop and innovate.
Get started with as little as $10.
Wondering what NFTs are? Here’s a guide on – What are NFTs
Want to get one yourself? Here’s more info on – Where to buy NFTs
Wondering how NFTs work? Here’s your guide.
How to invest in NFTs – Earn money from NFTs by investing, maybe?
How to buy NFTs – Buy an NFT yourself.
Also, check out the guide on – How to make money with NFTs
You could make an NFT yourself – Here’s how to make NFTs
And finally, read on how to sell NFTs. Useful stuff! 😉


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Bashkiria actively prepares itself for the exhibition “Golden Autumn-2010”
Bashkiria started active preparations for participation in the all-Russian agricultural exhibition “Golden Autumn-2010”. It will be held in Moscow on October 8-11. According to information of the press-service of the Ministry of agriculture RB the Bashkir exposition will be located in the 69th pavilion of the all-Russian Exhibition Center on the area 140 square meters. Presentation of the investment projects and sales of the traditional Bashkir foods are scheduled too. Thus, the day of milk foods will take place on October 10 as well as the presentation of the Bashkir food enterprises and the tasting ceremony. It has to be said that in the course of “Golden Autumn-2009” the enterprises and farmings of Bashkortostan have won 504 medals in total complexity.
The information on the business program is located on the official site of “Golden Autumn-2010”: www.goldenautumn.ru.