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$BTC, $BTCUSD, $FB
FLASH: Bitcoin (BTC) was on life support 6 months ago, with prices at about 20% of their record highs, disappointing the world of cryptocurrency enthusiasts who had grown use to extreme moves North and South in the virtual currency.
Then last week’s Asia Blockchain Summit in Taipei highlighted how volatility is back, reviving the excitement around crypto trading.
“Bitcoin is fun, but it is a hell of a lot more fun at 100X leverage,” said Arthur Hayes, the founder and CEO of the exchange BitMEX. “That’s what people want to see in crypto, they want that high volatility,” he said. “At the end of the day, we are all in the entertainment business of traders.”
The Taipei conference was the 2nd annual iteration of an Asia forum that brings investors together with start-ups, financial services providers, academics and others to engage on the blockchain technology that powers digital coins.
“We are surfing a wave here that’s very linked to the price of Bitcoin and probably has taken a couple months to filter through,” said an official of ZVChain, a B-B blockchain project. “We do not see any more of these revolutionary ICO pitches,” he said, referring to ICO’s, which have lost favor after many tokens lost more than 90% of their value.
Much of the conference was spent on Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) plans to launch the new Libra cryptocurrency, which proponents say will spark more mainstream interest in virtual currencies.
“It will definitely bring more people into the space,” said the creator of Litecoin, speaking on a panel.
And Yes, there were skeptics present.
One of Bitcoin’s most prominent detractors, New York University Professor Nouriel Roubini, spoke at the conference to reiterate his argument that “there’s massive, massive amounts of price manipulation” in cryptocurrencies. He cited a lack of security and scalability, along with concentration of crypto ownership among his concerns with the industry.
BitMEX’s Hayes countered that “people love to speculate, we’re trying to give them an opportunity to do it in a safe manner.”
Currently, Bitcoin is trading at 11,290.35-506.84 (-4.30%), as of 12:38a BST, the market is open.
Have a terrific weekend


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Due to the necessary demolition work on Trader Joe's, Elm Street from East Broad Street to the Bank of America building will be closed beginning sometime ...[continued]
There are so many restaurants to choose from in Westfield! Here are just a few that are offering something special for Valentine's Day.
Limani Seafood ...[continued]
Look no further than Downtown Westfield for the perfect gift for the important people in your life on Valentine's Day. Here are some great ...[continued]
The Mayor, DWC and GWACC will honor Joe Aprile, owner of Mr. J Barber Shop, this Saturday, February 6 at 11am. Stop in to celebrate this business and ...[continued]
The Downtown Westfield Corporation is pleased to sponsor Dine Out Westfield, this year's Winter Restaurant Week event Sunday, February 28 - Thursday, ...[continued]

domain: news


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London’s FTSE 100 Index surged 2.2% higher as a profit upgrade from supermarket Sainsbury’s and gains from hard-hit miner Glencore spurred on the latest blue chip rebound.
The top tier added 129.9 points to 6039.2 – after losing 200 points over the previous two sessions – amid a global market fight-back as equity volatility shows no sign of abating.
Markets rose overnight on Wall Street and Asia, with Europe following suit.
The Dax in Germany and France’s Cac 40 were also more than 2.5% higher.
But experts said global markets were still on track for their worst quarterly performance for four years after a lengthy rout that first started in August as fears emerged over China’s slowing economy.
In London, the rally was also helped by economic cheer as the latest national accounts figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed the UK economy emerged from recession more strongly than previously thought.
The ONS said growth was stronger between 2011 and 2013 than first estimated as it also confirmed second quarter growth of 0.7%.
Figures also showed Britain’s current account deficit narrowed sharply to £16.8 billion in the second quarter thanks to a surge in exports and growth in earnings on investments overseas.
Among stocks, Sainsbury’s saw its shares soar by 14% or 31.1p to 260.4p after it said full-year profits would now be “moderately” ahead of City expectations after narrowing sales declines in its second quarter.
The chain posted a 1.1% drop in like-for-like second-quarter sales, excluding fuel – its seventh quarter of falling sales in a row.
But the decline was better than the 2.1% fall seen in the previous three months and Sainsbury’s said it saw the number of sales and transactions rise, while it added that lower average basket spend in supermarkets continued to stabilise.
Other supermarkets followed it higher, with Tesco 11p up at 182.3p and Morrisons 11.4p ahead at 167.5p.
Mining giant Glencore gained further ground after a dramatic 29% slump on Monday after reissuing a statement first released late yesterday assuring it was “operationally and financially robust” and pledging to slash its 30 billion US dollar (£19.8 billion) debt pile by a third.
Its shares rose by another 10%, or 8.1p to 88.3p, following a 17% bounce-back yesterday.
Energy giant SSE also gained strongly after a bullish update, lifting 4% or 57.5p to 1494.5p after saying it expected to earn around a third of its full-year profits in the first half after a robust performance from its wholesale arm and “relatively good” half-year for its residential energy supply business.


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Sony has cut the cost of its Music Unlimited digital streaming service ahead of the upcoming release of the PlayStation 4.
Previously UK subscribers would pay just under £120 per annum but now Sony has slashed the price to just £59.99 for a 12-month subscription.
And if you're a Playstation Plus member, you can get even more of a reduction, paying just £41.99 for 12 months (on top of the annual £39.99 for a PlayStation Plus subscription).
The announcement comes shortly after the electronics giant announced the release of the eagerly awaited PS4 at the E3 convention in LA.
Sony will be hoping that the move will encourage new members who sign up to its PlayStation Plus service – a necessity for anyone wanting to play PS4 games online – will also take a look at Music Unlimited.
Sony's Music Unlimited service allows you to stream music from the web, PS3 and Sony smartphones and tablets such as the Xperia Z and Xperia Tablet Z. Sony is after a piece of the action in a streaming space dominated by Spotify and soon to be joined by Apple, in one form or another, with iTunes Radio.
You can get a free 30-day trial for Sony Music Unlimited right now.


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Google Play Music stopped working in December last year. Google had planned to give users time till the end of 2020 to transfer all the data.
Tech giant Google has announced that it will be deleting all the Google Play Music library and its data on February 24 and asked users to make a backup so that there's no data loss.
In an email to users, Google said that while the data from Google Play Music has already been transferred to YouTube Music, users still have the option to transfer it again if they make any changes so that the music library is up to date.
"On February 24, 2021, we will delete all of your Google Play Music data. This includes your music library with any uploads, purchases and anything you’ve added from Google Play Music. After this date, there will be no way to recover it," read the email.
"You’ve already transferred to YouTube Music. But, if you’ve made any changes, you still have the option to transfer again so your music library is up to date. If you would like to download your Google Play Music library and data, you can do so with Google Takeout before February 24, 2021," the email adds.
It may be noted that Google Play Music stopped working at the start of December last year. It has given the users an option to transfer, or delete their data from Google Play Music, as it will all be wiped out after February 24. Originally, Google had planned to give users time till the end of 2020 to transfer all the data. However, it was later extended.
Google launched Google Play Music in 2011. It allowed people to stream music as well as purchase tracks from the music store section. While it was a great option at that time, it failed to compete against the likes of Spotify and Apple Music. It remained there for a long time but failed to get any significant attention.


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Industrial production declined 6.17 percent last month, the eighth consecutive month of annual contraction, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday.
The result translated into a 1.66 percent decline in industrial output from 2014 and was the first annual decline since 2013, the ministry said.
“The annual decline last year was the largest drop since the global financial crisis in 2009,” Department of Statistics Deputy Director-General Yang Kuei-hsien (楊貴顯) told a news conference.
The government’s industrial production gauge measures output in five major industries: manufacturing; mining and quarrying; electricity and gas supply; water supply; and architectural engineering.
Last month, the manufacturing sector’s output — which contributes more than 90 percent of industrial output — fell 5.52 percent year-on-year.
“The manufacturing sector’s fall in output last month was mainly because of a soft global economy and fewer orders before the Lunar New Year holiday,” Yang said.
Output of computer electronics, optical electronics, stainless steel and machinery goods last month registered a double-digit percentage point plunge from a year earlier.
Production in the electronics components sector, which is a pillar of the nation’s manufacturing industry, fell 4.09 percent from a year earlier, amid weak demand for consumer electronics products and flat panels, Yang said.
The only bright spot was the petrochemical sector, with output last month increasing 4.62 percent year-on-year due to inventory restocking and a lower base of comparison, Yang said.
Overall, the manufacturing sector’s inventory-to-sales ratio grew 1.6 percentage points to 74.6 percent from a month earlier, because some semiconductor companies and flat-panel makers received rush orders from clients, Yang said.
However, the sales situation in the end market remained weak, he added.
The ministry will only consider industrial production to be at a healthy level when the inventory-to-sales ratio falls to less than 65 percent, Yang said
The ministry foresees output this month to continue falling from a year earlier, but the size of the annual contraction is expected to be within 5 percent, as the semiconductor industry is likely to complete its inventory digestion and demand for solar power products might increase, Yang said.
If global demand stabilizes in the near term, industrial output might have a chance to swing into positive territory next quarter at the earliest, he said.
Separately yesterday, the ministry also released the latest statistics on the nation’s commercial sales, which showed that domestic trade dropped 1.78 percent from NT$14.59 trillion (US$432.87 billion) in 2014 to NT$14.33 trillion last year, due mainly to falling sales in the wholesale sector.
Revenue from the wholesale sector, which contributed 67.82 percent of total commercial sales, fell 3.9 percent annually to NT$9.72 trillion last year because of a sharp decline in TV and notebook orders from Japan, the ministry said.
Sales in the retail and restaurant sectors both posted record highs last year, with retail revenue edging up 0.3 percent annually to NT$4.19 trillion and restaurant sales climbing 2.7 percent to NT$424.1 billion from a year earlier, the data showed.
MOVING ON UP: Taiwan improved in all four areas measured by the IMD, making its biggest leap, from 17th to sixth place, in economic performance Taiwan moved up three spots from last year to place eighth, its best performance since 2013, in the latest annual world competitiveness rankings, released yesterday by the International Institute for Management Development (IMD). Innovation, digitalization, welfare benefits and social cohesion are critical to economic performance, with Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands and Singapore making up the top five on the list this year, the Switzerland-based institute said, after grading 64 countries and regions based on economic performance, infrastructure, and government and business efficiency. “Leading performers are characterized by varying degrees of investment in innovation, diversified economic activities and supportive public policy,” IMD
With the US opening up to travel, demand in Taiwan for US-bound flights has soared, pushing up ticket prices to most destinations in North America, tourism sources said. Fares for destinations in the US have risen dramatically since the middle of last month, and the trend is expected to continue in the coming months, as California on Tuesday lifted most social distancing and capacity limits put in place to contain the spread of COVID-19, ezTravel Co (易遊網) said in a statement yesterday. The travel agency forecast that the number of tickets sold this month is likely to be double or triple
‘MATTER OF SURVIVAL’: Vice Premier Liu He is to lead the development of ‘third-generation’ chips, a field not yet dominated by any nation or company Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is renewing his years-long push to achieve technology self-sufficiency by tapping a top deputy to shepherd a key initiative aimed at helping domestic chipmakers overcome US sanctions. Chinese Vice Premier Liu He (劉鶴), Xi’s economic czar whose sprawling portfolio spans trade to finance and technology, has been tapped to spearhead the development of so-called “third-generation” chip development and capabilities, and is leading the formulation of a series of financial and policy supports for the technology, people with knowledge of the matter said. It is a nascent field that relies on newer materials and gear beyond traditional silicon,
OPPORTUNITY: The company aims to sell its product soon, as enterovirus vaccines are not available anywhere but China, where firms are only marketing their vaccines locally Medigen Vaccine Biologics Corp’s (高端疫苗) phase 3 clinical trials for an enterovirus 71 (EV71) vaccine completed the multi-regional, multi-central data “unblinding” yesterday, with the results, including safety, immunogenicity and efficacy, meeting its expectations. The company would compile a final analysis report as soon as possible, and apply for the new drug certificate from domestic and foreign drug authorities in the third quarter, Medigen said in a Taiwan Stock Exchange filing yesterday. Its phase 3 trials were conducted in Taiwan and Vietnam with 3,049 participants ranging from two months old to six years old, Medigen said. The company enrolled its first participant for


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This animation shows the cooling and heat dissipation of the twin-coax drive. Combined electric power consumption in kWh/100 km: 28.2; combined CO2 emissions in g/km: 0 Information on fuel consumption and CO2 emissions as well as efficiency classes in ranges depending on the tires and alloy wheel rims used.
The new Skoda Octavia G-TEC Driving Video
With the fourth generation of the OCTAVIA, ŠKODA has reached new dimensions: the brand's bestseller is even more emotional and offers further increased active and passive safety. The OCTAVIA also has numerous new assistance systems and modern infotainment on board. With efficient petrol and diesel engines and three alternative drive variants, the new generation of the OCTAVIA is also significantly more sustainable. In the OCTAVIA e-TEC, ŠKODA is using mild hybrid technology for the first time. The OCTAVIA iV and the sporty OCTAVIA RS iV have modern plug-in hybrid drives and the OCTAVIA G-TEC is designed to run on environmentally friendly natural gas (CNG). Thanks to the three sustainable drive variants, the CO2 emissions of the new OCTAVIA drop significantly.
Opel has today revealed the all-new, sixth generation of the Astra. The success story of Opel's bestseller began 30 years ago with the descendant of the legendary Kadett. With the all-new Astra, the German manufacturer is now opening the next chapter: for the first time, the compact class model is available with electric drive. Opel will offer the new Astra in two performance levels as a plug-in hybrid. In addition, there are versions with highly efficient petrol and diesel engines in combination with friction-optimised six-speed manual and eight-speed automatic transmissions. The new Opel Astra is also a design statement for the brand. Dynamic as never before, with sheer, taut surfaces, detoxed of superfluous elements and with the new brand face – the Opel Vizor. With the next compact class generation, Opel shows that the Astra is ready to define a new era. The new Opel Astra will launch this year as a sporty five-door with a low-slung look and yet more space than its predecessor. With a length of 4,374 millimetres and width of 1,860 mm, it hits the sweet-spot of the compact sector. Thanks to the especially short front overhang, the new Astra is only 4.0 mm longer than the previous model, despite the considerably increased wheelbase of 2,675 mm (+13 mm). Notwithstanding the muscular, confident stance, the new Astra’s practical boot with adjustable floor still offers the driver and four passengers 422 litres of luggage volume.
Bentley Motors has outlined plans to become a global leader in sustainable luxury mobility with further details of its Beyond100 strategy revealed today. With the promise to offer truly sustainable luxury, Bentley will reinvent every aspect of its business to become an end-to-end carbon neutral organisation as it embarks on its second century. The target is driven by a transformation programme across Bentley’s entire operations and products. This includes switching its model range to offer exclusively plug-in hybrid or battery electric vehicles by 2026, and full electric vehicles only by 2030. The announcement highlights Bentley’s plans to provide extraordinary mobility for the next century, evolving from the world’s largest producer of 12-cylinder petrol engines to having no internal combustion engines within a decade, reinventing itself as a leader in sustainable luxury mobility. The Beyond100 strategic plan is an extension of two decades of forward thinking, innovation and achievement. Acutely aware of the responsibility to consider its environmental, social and economic impact, Bentley has transformed its 80-year-old headquarters into the UK’s single carbon neutral luxury car factory. In parallel, the luxury marque has grown to operate in more markets than ever before, 68, while creating a long-term, consistent, sustainable business model, a truly solid basis to build for a second century.


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The Federal Reserve’s Artificial Recession
Pain is on the way even if interest-rate hikes work as intended—which is not a given.
If we end up in a recession, will the benefits be worth the cost? That is perhaps the grandest, gravest question facing the American economy as it barrels toward what feels like an almost inevitable downturn. More companies are announcing layoffs. Hiring is slowing. Home prices are falling. Forecasters put the odds of a full-on contraction in the next year at 60 to 96 percent, with one statistical model spitting out a probability of 100 percent.
This coming recession, if it does come, will largely be an artifact of policy, with a handful of unelected bureaucrats based in Washington choosing to increase unemployment and bankrupt businesses in order to cool off the country’s high inflation rates. To get the price of milk and gas under control for everyone, the argument goes, some people might need to lose their jobs.
“We’re never going to say that there are too many people working, but the real point is this: inflation. What we hear from people when we meet with them is that they really are suffering from inflation,” Jerome Powell, the chair of the Federal Reserve, said in September. “If we want to set ourselves up, really light the way to another period of a very strong labor market, we have got to get inflation behind us. I wish there were a painless way to do that. There isn’t.”
The question is how much pain the economy needs to bear and who will bear it. Indeed, the policy the Fed is pursuing—raising interest rates sharply and quickly—carries a high human cost even if it works precisely as theorized. And things working out as the Fed wants them to is not a given, what with the persistence of inflation and the number of variables in play.
Right now, the economy is running hot. The unemployment rate, after reaching 10 percent during the Great Recession and spiking to a high of 14.7 percent during COVID shutdowns, is now just 3.7 percent. Wages are rising; job openings far outnumber jobless workers. Yet as a partial consequence of that strong labor market, prices keep rising, eroding families’ purchasing power. Indeed, inflation is at its highest level since the 1980s. The price tag for a basket of groceries was 12 percent higher in October than it was a year before, gas prices hit their highest-ever nominal level this summer, and the ratio of home prices to median household income is at a historic high—higher even than before the housing bubble burst in 2006.
Lots of people have jobs, and lots of people are earning more money than in the past. This is one reason prices are increasing so quickly. It is not the only one. Households are still spending the cash they accumulated during the early phase of the pandemic, when Congress disbursed trillions of dollars of stimulus. And inflation is coming from not just elevated demand but also restricted supply. The country’s massive housing shortage is elevating shelter costs, the war in Ukraine continues to roil energy markets and drive up the cost of food, and COVID-related supply-chain problems persist.
Whatever the cause, inflation is hurting working-class families. “Lower- and middle-income households suffer the most in this high-inflation environment,” Mark Zandi, the chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, told me. “Inflation is particularly high for the things they spend their budgets on, and they don’t have a financial cushion to fall back on” in the same way that wealthy families do.
Depending on how the Fed weighs the risks, it could end up engineering one of five scenarios:
The do-nothing option: Given the hot labor market and rapid pace of inflation, the Fed could do nothing. It could quit raising interest rates. It could choose to tolerate rising prices, satisfied that workers are at the very least also benefiting from rising wages. And many progressives argue that the Fed should do nothing, or at least do less than it is doing now. The central bank cannot fix the price increases caused by supply bottlenecks, they argue. Why sacrifice the livelihoods of low-income workers by slowing the economy down if costs are going to go up anyway?
“Rate hikes won’t make Vladimir Putin turn his tanks around and leave Ukraine. Rate hikes won’t break up monopolies. Rate hikes won’t straighten out the supply chain,” Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts told Powell at a hearing this summer. “Rate increases make it more likely that companies will fire people and slash hours to shrink wage costs.”
But many economists, including those at the Federal Reserve, believe that rising prices are the result of strong demand, not just supply problems: The cost of everything but food and gas was rising at a 6.3 percent annual pace as of October, three times faster than the Fed’s target. In time, Zandi told me, the fear is that inflation will “undermine the underlying growth rate of the economy, and you really don’t want to go down that path.”
Untethered inflation: The Fed is not afraid of rising prices, per se. It is afraid of a long spell of high inflation that results in businesses hiking prices on consumers and workers insisting on wage increases to cover their costs, which in turn leads businesses to hike prices further and workers to insist on additional wage increases. (This is known as a wage-price spiral.) The agency is afraid of everyone expecting prices to keep going up and up and up, and acting like they will. “The really bad thing is permanently rising inflation,” Jason Furman, an economist at Harvard and the chair of Barack Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers, told me.
Such untrammeled inflation tends to lead to declining living standards for families, with rising wages failing to outpace rising costs. It prompts businesses to adapt in costly ways—by, for instance, buying goods now for delivery later. It forces investors to invest in inflation-proof parts of the economy rather than the most dynamic or promising parts. It is just stressful for households and companies to deal with, Zandi said. Plus, Furman noted, “you would need a bigger downturn to get rid of it.”
The soft landing: The wiser course would be to prevent a wage-price spiral, keep inflation expectations in check, and get price increases under control now, some economists think. The longer high rates of inflation persist, the more the Fed has to hike rates in the future and the greater the eventual toll—particularly on groups that typically experience high rates of joblessness. “If all you cared about was [minimizing] the Black unemployment rate, you would want to be aggressive” about fighting inflation now, Furman told me. If the Fed waits, he said, “the cost only goes up. If expected inflation goes up half a point, that could be an extra million or 2 million jobs.”
The Fed is hoping to raise borrowing costs enough that workers quit switching jobs, but not so much that businesses enact widespread layoffs. It wants to ease rents without destroying the home-building pipeline. It wants to slow down the economy without tipping it into a recession. But, as Powell has noted, even a soft landing comes with a fair amount of pain. Rising prices hurt everyone a bit. Unemployment hurts a small number of people in a devastating fashion, and the Fed sees the unemployment rate rising to 4.4 percent by the end of next year.
Stagflation: By hiking rates so much and so quickly—the Fed has raised short-term interest rates by 3.75 percentage points this year—it risks steering the economy not into a soft landing but into one of two more frightening scenarios.
If it triggers a recession without getting inflation under control, that would be something known as stagflation. It is a “central bank’s worst nightmare,” said Ryan Sweet, the chief U.S. economist at Oxford Economics. “You raise interest rates to bring down inflation and you push the economy deeper into a recession. Or you cut interest rates to pull the economy out of recession and that raises inflation.” Generally, Zandi added, central banks have no choice but to let the unemployment rate get high enough and the recession deep enough that the rate of inflation comes down, then let the economy recover from there. “That’s very ugly,” he said. “There’s just a lot of pain that comes with that.”
The hard landing: The Fed could simply overshoot and cause a recession. That would be less terrifying than a bout of stagflation, but it would still be an awful prospect. Recessions destroy good businesses. They dampen productivity and ingenuity. They put workers on permanently lower earnings trajectories. They damage people’s health. And they hit the worst-off families the hardest. “Black and brown workers would be the first to be fired,” says Lindsay Owens of the progressive think tank the Groundwork Collaborative. “The impact on the long-term unemployed, older workers, and disabled workers would be really severe.”
Such a recession might not be entirely the Fed’s fault, and not entirely the Fed’s to avoid. “The global economy is slowing down,” Sweet told me, pointing to data showing that the United Kingdom and the euro zone are slipping into a contraction, and that China is already in a “growth recession” because GDP is expanding too slowly to stop unemployment from rising. “This could be the first recession in recent memory where the rest of the world goes down and pulls the U.S. economy down with it.” The hope, at that point, would be that a recession would be mild and could be offset with smart fiscal policy, including investments in ending the supply constraints causing high inflation in the first place.
Indeed, the country needs the Fed to manage these interest-rate hikes judiciously. More than that, it needs policies to make the country less vulnerable to high prices in the future. Energy independence, housing abundance, and stronger supply chains would make the Fed’s job easier—and would help avoid ugly choices about who has to suffer and how much.


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FedEx launches Christmas ad campaign to highlight its new shipping service
FedEx has launched a new ad campaign across the US ahead of the holiday season.
Designed to promote its new One Rate shipping service, a series of ads are appearing across TV, print and Vine, all ending with the tagline ‘Introducing FedEx One Rate. Simple, flat-rate shipping with the reliability of FedEx.’
The first 15 second spot features Santa packing lumps of coal while the other features cozies that were knit by the winner of FedEx’s small business grant contest – Darn Good Yarn. Both highlight that you can pack until the box is full, as it is shipped at one flat rate.
The print ads echo this sentiment, as does a series of Vine videos.
All work was created by FedEx’s long-time creative agency partner, BBDO NY.
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© 2023 MJH Life Sciences™ and Nutritional Outlook. All rights reserved.
Qualitas Health discusses pursuing GRAS affirmation for food and beverage use.
With a new dietary ingredient (NDI) notification already filed for its EPA-rich AlmegaPL algae strain for dietary supplements, Qualitas Health (Jerusalem) is now going after U.S. Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) affirmation for food and beverage use. A newly published peer-reviewed summary of the safety studies performed thus far on AlmegaPL puts the firm one step closer to that goal.
Published in the International Journal of Toxicology, the review highlights studies evaluating the safety of AlmegaPL at doses up to 2500 mg/kg/day, including 14- and 90-day rat studies (a maximum tolerated dose study and an oral toxicity study, respectively) as well as in vitro genotoxicity studies, deeming a safe level for human consumption of up to 1250 mg/day.
The company says that this is the first study examining the safety of an omega-3 oil from Nannochloropsis oculata, and Qualitas Health CEO Yuri Shosan said in a press release that the company is “moving steadily and deliberately toward GRAS status, which will open additional U.S. markets for functional foods and beverages.”
Achieving GRAS status “is still going to take us awhile, but this is one of the first steps,” added David Hart, Qualitas’s vice president of marketing, at Natural Products Expo West.
Can a concentrated marine ingredient like AlmegaPL work in food and drinks, given its organoleptic properties? (Read: “fishy” taste.) And what of concentrated algal oil’s dark green color that comes courtesy of its chlorophyll content? (Almega PL contains 3% chlorophyll, Hart said, breaking open an Almega PL capsule to show Nutritional Outlook editors the dark green oil-paste within.)
Only a few companies thus far have successfully incorporated algal oil in food and beverage. DSM’s Martek Biosciences Corp. (Parsippany, NJ) is one. Its DHA-rich life’sDHA algae strain has long been on the market in products ranging from bread and beverages to butter and yogurt. With its algal flour and protein, Solazyme (San Francisco, CA) is also using algae as a functional food-formulation ingredient.
Hart said Qualitas is looking at how to overcome algae’s organoleptic challenges for food and beverage, as it works towards GRAS affirmation. “There are a couple of ways of doing that,” he said. One is to use microencapsulation “to turn the oil into a powder,” he said, adding that “That’s something we’re working on looking into with different partners.” He called the initial results “promising.” Other options are to turn algal oil into an emulsion for liquid applications.
There’s yet another option. “One of the things that we’re looking towards in the future are slightly different forms of omega-3s from the algae. AlmegaPL has phospholipids and glycolipids and also chlorophyll, but if we use a different extraction technology, you get an EPA concentrate that is more similar to fish oil concentrates.” This, he said, “makes it a lot easier to formulate for food because the organoleptic impact, both in terms of color and also in terms of flavor, is less.”
Moving Ahead on Algae
Even as it pursues GRAS status, Qualitas already saw the first few dietary supplements launching with AlmegaPL last year. Hart said to expect much more this year and that as many as 10 new retail products with AlmegaPL could launch by end of year. “I’d say we’re in at an early commercialization stage,” he said. “We’re a small, lean, flexible and fast-moving innovative company.”
Qualitas is marketing AlmegaPL as an alternative to krill oil, citing the strain’s polar lipid structure, including glycolipids and phospholipids, as enhancing bioavailability. “It’s more similar to krill oil in the structure of the omega-3 fatty acids than it is to fish oil,” Hart said, noting that the glycolipids exclusive to Almega PL may even be “a better carrier for omega-3s than the phospholipids.”
Ingredients like krill and algae are inline with what omega-3 shoppers are looking for today, Hart added. “The market is moving towards high-value omega-3s, whether that’s krill oil or highly concentrated fish oils or algal oil. There’s this market shift towards higher value and bioavailability, and higher sustainability and/or vegetarian sources. We’re right in the middle of that, which is a nice place to be.”
Phototropically grown in open ponds, the ingredient-and algae in general-is a sustainable omega-3 source. Hart said that Qualitas is now purchasing sustainable energy credits for its operations, “so all of our electricity use now comes from renewable sources.”
Hart noted that the company’s regulatory and commercial successes have put the firm a step ahead in the growing algae market. “All of the people that have an omega-3 offering are also interested in algal-sourced omega-3s, so I think there will start to be a shift there as there are multiple choices of suppliers. Up until now, it was Martek, and now it’s Martek and us. I don’t know if any of the other algal startups will come to market this year, but you never know. The time to market, that road, is fairly long and complex,” including developing the right technology, commercial scale-up, as well as clinical and regulatory substantiation, he said. “That takes time.”
Nutritional Outlook magazine
Photo © iStockphoto.com/Sasha Radosavljevic


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American sports clothing and accessories company Under Armour recently announced granting exclusive distribution rights to Singaporean lifestyle retailer Triple, who will be helping the firm to expand in Southeast Asia. From Spring 2014 (the second quarter of the year), the brand’s performance footwear, apparel and equipment will be made available in brick-and-mortar stores in Singapore and Manila, the Philippines.
According to the official statement, the expansion will continue in Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia in 2015, followed by Vietnam and Cambodia. In addition to in-store availability, a full-fledged e-commerce offering will be launched later this year.
Triple was set up by three entrepreneurs, Michael Binger, Adrian Chai and Angelica Suiza, who have combined experience of more than 40 years in the brand, retail and e-commerce business. Adrian Chai, CMO, Triple, told e27 that the startup is bootstrapped. He added, “I believe many other people and companies have thought about bringing Under Amour, currently the fastest growing sports brand in the world, into Southeast Asia.”
Of course, Under Armour too thinks rather highly of Southeast Asia. Charlie Maurath, President, International, Under Armour said, “Southeast Asia is a diverse region that presents a great long-term growth opportunity for Under Armour.”
Its retail channels will include branded retail stores, dedicated shop-in-shop concepts within department stores and key fitness studios, and select sports speciality doors.
Chai added that the reason behind being granted the exclusive rights could be attributed to Triple’s ability to come up with a business plan for the region which includes e-commerce. He explained, “In addition to the omni-channel approach, Triple conveyed the right approach to “build” and bring the Under Armour brand to life in Southeast Asia, rather than just acting as a distributor.”
In the next six months, the biggest challenge, according to Chai, is learning how to work with the bigger brand in the US. He said that Under Armour is in the process of a global expansion and “resources are quite limited on their end”. He added, “Being a startup will have its teething issues as well. But we intend to overcome any challenge with speed of decision-making, and passion for the brand.”
Last year, Under Armour was reported to have generated US$165 million in e-commerce sales, a good nine per cent of its US$1.8 billion overall sales in 2012. In addition, Internet Retailer had reported back then that the company was looking at online sales to target 25 per cent of overall sales in 2013.


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We’ve spent more than a few gab sessions here talking about the natural path from states hiking up sin taxes on products like tobacco to the inevitable temptation for pirates to begin importing cheaper smokes and turning a profit. But up to this point, the majority of the culprits have been lone wolf types with a trunk full of Pall Malls or some local gangs stocking up specials under the counter at the local convenience store. Maryland, however, may have delivered a real worst case scenario when their own tax and spend policies reeled in a serious player.
A Pawtucket accountant has pleaded guilty of conspiring to bring $1.2 million worth of contraband cigarettes to Rhode Island from Virginia, where the cigarette tax is low.
Bassam Kiriaki, 46, also admitted conspiring to defraud the food stamp program, it was announced Wednesday by U.S. Attorney Peter F. Neronha. Kiriaki issued the pleas Monday in U.S. District Court.
Kiriaki and six others were indicted by a federal grand jury in May 2013, charged with allegedly participating in a complex conspiracy to import cigarettes from Virginia into Rhode Island where they were sold in convenience stores and other locations allegedly owned or operated by members of the conspiracy and others, Neronha said in a news release. The conspiracy allegedly resulted in the loss of more than $1 million dollars in state tax revenue.
That’s a million in contraband smokes that they know about… from this one guy. I wonder how much more slipped through the cracks? Rhode Island is the 7th highest taxed state for tobacco in the nation according to a new study from The Tax Foundation. (Of course, New York is number one – YAY! – once again, as the linked report shows.) When the incentive and profit motive are there, somebody will step in to fill the void, and as Maryland has shown us, it can attract some big time players.
But rather than realizing what sorts of “profits” they are reaping from this and rethinking the strategy, it looks like the Ocean State is going to double down and bump up their tax on the new e-cigarettes also. Gee… I wonder how that will work out?


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Spotify has filed an antitrust complaint against Apple with the European Commission, as CNBC reports. In a blog post, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek cited Apple’s “discriminatory tariffs” when it comes to their proprietary App Store, including a 30 percent “tax” imposed on any upgrades from Spotify’s Free to Premium service for iPhone users. Ek also decried “unfair restrictions on marketing and promotions that benefit consumers” when it came to reaching Spotify customers within the Apple ecosystem.
Apple strongly denied the claims in a statement that claims “Spotify’s aim is to make more money off others’ work. And it’s not just the App Store that they’re trying to squeeze—it’s also artists, musicians and songwriters.” Apple then cites Spotify’s recent appeal against a decision in the U.S. to raise royalty rates, claiming their case “represents a real, meaningful and damaging step backwards for the music industry.”
Ek said in his original statement, “We aren’t seeking special treatment. We simply want the same treatment as numerous other apps on the App Store, like Uber or Deliveroo, who aren’t subject to the Apple tax and therefore don’t have the same restrictions. So, let me be clear that this is not a Spotify-versus-Apple issue. We want the same fair rules for companies young and old, large and small.” Apple says Spotify is subjected to the same restrictions as all other similar apps.
Apple have been accused of antitrust action in the past. In November 2018, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the long-running case Apple v. Pepper, in which a group of iPhone owners accused the company of monopolizing the market for iPhone apps, claiming the 30 percent commission is a monopoly rent. The ruling on that case is still pending.


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Due to the rise of obesity cases among the low-income part of society, the head DHHS commissioner has proposed that junk food will no longer be acquirable in Maine through the use of food stamps, in the hopes of quelling the rising rates.
This decision that came from the Department of Health and Human Services of the state of Maine is facing criticisms across the board due to its partial cancellation of the right to use benefits that all people have.
The cancellation of food stamp application towards sweets and especially sodas has also been attacked by trade companies that claim how sweet drinking beverages are not the highest causers of obesity at all. This type of attack from trade companies is not something unusual, without taking into account whether their products are in fact or not supplying the necessary ways through which one could reach obesity. They are just concerned in both their public appearance and the revenue which selling their products brings.
The rate of statewide obesity in Maine is staggering, with almost 35% of people being drastically overweight. True, this is not caused by only their capability of using food stamps in order to purchase junk food, but it is a part of the problem.
Similar decisions to quell soda distribution have been made in earlier years and have faced the same criticisms that the new proposition issued by the DHHS faces right at this point in time. This is why the federal government has presented restraint when attempting to lower the consumption rate of junk food, instead focusing on advocating a healthier lifestyle through vegetables and healthy foods. Unfortunately, this came to no avail if one is willing to look at the increased numbers of obesity cases which plague our whole nation.
Another reason for this decision’s enactment is the increased monetary fund spending that insurance companies and the state are forced to make towards treating obesity-related afflictions, for example, diabetes. The released numbers from Medicaid expenditures in main relating to diabetes cases reach almost 1.5 million dollars.
Because the state government itself cannot ban the use of food stamps towards purchasing various items by modifying the terms and legislations of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Maine has turned to a more drastic method by contacting the federal government.
Only time will tell if junk food will no longer be acquirable in Maine through the use of food stamps or not, mainly because the federal government has the last word in this type of conversation.


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How is the enterprise monetizing new technology trends in big data? Who’s turning Spark into a service?
Kicking off today to answer those and other questions, Big Data Silicon Valley, hosted by theCUBE, will run through March 16 in San Jose, California. SiliconANGLE will provide exclusive interviews from BigData SV from its live streaming mobile studio theCUBE. (* Disclosure below.)
“The big-data rocket that was supposed to be Hadoop is fizzling — it spawned numerous projects that led to more complexities. Spark and other innovations have emerged to address those complexities,” said Dave Vellante, co-founder and chief analyst at Wikibon Research (Wikibon is owned by the same parent company as SiliconANGLE).
The Apache Spark big data processing framework has quickly grown into one of the major big data ecosystem projects. It will account for more than a third of all big data spending by 2022, which will be close to $70 billion a year by that stage, according to Wikibon big-data analyst George Gilbert.
At BigData SV, theCUBE will explore which companies will benefit from Spark. “Cloudera committed heavily to Spark and has experience selling Hadoop to enterprise,” said Gilbert.
One of the top players in the big data market, Cloudera Inc. filed its S-1 paperwork for an initial public offering last week at a $4.1 billion valuation. Cloudera is set to become only the second big data company to go public, following in the footsteps of Hortonworks Inc. The company announced a jointly tested solution last month, together with Intel Corp. that with Apache Spark and Intel Math Kernel Library Integration can speed up machine learning workloads in less time and with less hardware.
There are plenty of other companies who are doing interesting things in big data, including iguazio, Splice Machine Inc. and Snappy Data. In addition, Splunk Inc., who, according to Gilbert is the anti-Hadoop, is “building products that work right out the box, everything together.”
Other hot topics that will be explored at Big Data SV include machine learning, deep learning and artificial intelligence. “The question is, is this new wine, same bottle?” said Vellante. “Or is it new innovation that will drive substantive business models? The jury is still out, but we’re leaning toward the latter.”
How to watch theCUBE interviews
There are various ways to watch theCUBE’s coverage and interviews from BigData SV, including SiliconANGLE TV and YouTube. You can also get all the coverage from the event on SiliconANGLE.
TheCube’s coverage for day one starts on Tuesday, Mar. 14 at 10 a.m. till 6 p.m. PDT.
You can watch theCUBE’s exclusive coverage and interviews from BigData SV on the dedicated SiliconANGLE TV page. The guests who will be interviewed on theCUBE at BigData SV have not be finalized yet, but we will keep you updated on the official SiliconANGLE TV page.
Watch on the SiliconANGLE YouTube channel
All of theCUBE’s coverage from BigData SV will also be loaded onto SiliconANGLE’s dedicated YouTube channel.
(* Disclosure: Some segments on SiliconANGLE Media’s theCUBE are sponsored. Sponsors have no editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)


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The study titled 'Cyber Security India Market: What lies beneath' also notes that the regulatory landscape for privacy and data protection is expected to reach a tipping point in 2020, forcing Indian organisations to comply with not only global regulations but also with the proposed law on personal data protection, the Aadhaar Act.
With cyberattacks becoming more sophisticated, the average cost of a malicious insider attack rose by 15% in 2019 from last year
The data comes from a study by US cyber tech firm CrowdStrike. The firm covered around 300 senior IT decision-makers and IT security professionals from India as part of a survey of 1,900 professionals across countries.
Smart cities, financial services and transportation sectors led the sectoral rankings in terms of the attacks, said the report titled "State of Internet of Things Security".
U.S. urges South Korea to reject Huawei products, citing security risks - Chosun Ilbo
The Indian government has set up a National Cyber Coordination Centre to generate necessary situational awareness of existing and potential cybersecurity threats.
According to Data Security Council of India, India’s cybersecurity market is expected to grow to $35 billion by 2025 from about $4 billion currently.
The govt is looking at a firewall for govt infrastructure, at least initially, since non-state entities, particularly multinationals, may be concerned about being watched.
Malik also said that the company is in discussions with the Digital India stakeholders to add value to the ambitious state-driven initiative in terms of securing government sites and accelerating workloads.
Minister added that the types of cyber security incidents including phishing, scanning/probing, website intrusions and defacements, virus/malicious code, ransomware, denial of service attacks etc.
The report said that that IoT and operating technology devices must be considered as both a potential source and target of attack.
Unlike in the US, Indian organisations are not under an obligation to publicly declare leakage or theft of data, which is why such leakages are hardly reported publicly by Indian companies. It could possibly also explain why finding bugs in their own platforms hasn't been a priority of Indian organisations, until now.
A study by Assocham-PwC notes a surge of about 350% in cybercrime cases registered under the IT Act, 2000 between 2011 and 2014.
In February, Trump attacked Apple for refusing to help the FBI unlock the cellphone of one of the suspects in the San Bernardino shootings. "Who do they think they are? No, we have to open it,"
The company's shares were down 16.4% at $15.13 before the bell on Thursday.
A barrage of damaging cyberattacks is shaking up the security industry, with some businesses and organizations no longer assuming they can keep hackers at bay.
It will also identify gaps in the Information Technology Act, 2000, which hinder cyber surveillance operations.


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We're usually the biggest supporters of the cordcutting lifestyle, though with the current pandemic the world has on its hands, now is one of the worst times to not have access to a live news channel on your television at home. Updates are coming every few hours, and with how quickly information is changing, it's so important to have the most up-to-date info on the virus.
Hulu is helping its current subscribers out by offering a live stream of ABC News for free (opens in new tab). Access is open for all subscribers, so whether you're on a Limited Commercials, No Commercials, or a Hulu with Live TV plan, you'll be able to watch ABC News at any time of the day. This 24/7 livestream of the channel can be found by navigating to the Hulu Picks section at Hulu.
Free for members
Hulu just made the ABC News live TV channel available to all of its subscribers for free! The livestream is accessible via the Hulu Picks section whether you have a base Hulu plan, the No Commercials plan, or a Live TV plan.
Hulu's ABC News livestream is available to watch on any device which supports the Hulu app. That means you can check up on the latest updates by downloading the Hulu app on your smartphone, tablet, or streaming device.
If you're not a Hulu subscriber already, now's a better time than ever to give it a try. Though the free ABC News channel will likely not remain around forever, you have the opportunity to see how a livestreamed TV channel would perform with your current internet speeds. That could give you a good idea of how Hulu with Live TV would perform as well. Hulu's plans start at just $6.99 per month for the on-demand movies and shows, while Live TV plans start at $54.99 per month. Start a free 30-day trial (opens in new tab) today to start watching ABC News as well as the thousands of other shows and movies available to stream on the service.
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Alex is a recent graduate from the University of North Florida with a background in sales and merchandising. When he’s not hunting down the next great deals to post on Thrifter, he can be found posting music on his Soundcloud page and working on his eBay business.
Is this still rolling out? I don't see it yet under "Hulu Picks".
Hmm, it's possible you might need to update your Hulu app on whichever device you're watching on. This feature should have been available to members since March 20.
The ABC news channel has been free for a few months if not longer. I watch it on the Roku channel.
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Nordic development and publishing group Thunderful is preparing to go public on the NASDAQ First North Premier Growth Market.
The offering itself would consist of existing shares in Thunderful and new shares issued by the company, and is expected to raise around SEK 750 million ($86.9 million) before the deduction of transaction costs.
The company has confirmed that a number of parties have expressed interest in acquiring shares "for an amount of not more than SEK 600 million ($69.5 million) on a valuation of up to approximately SEK 3.4 billion ($394.1 million) ."
Thunderful said it would use those proceeds to finance more acquisitions within its Thunderful Games segment, allowing it to ramp up game development while also repaying current shareholder loans and credit debt.
"In recent years, we have worked hard to establish a structure with synergies within the group. Looking ahead, we will use our strong cash flows for investments within development and publishing of games as well as new acquisitions," said Thunderful Group chief exec, Brjann Sigurgeirsson.
"We see a high growth rate in the global gaming industry and the gaming share of the population is expected to continue to grow. It now feels exciting to be able to offer new shareholders opportunities to be part of our continued journey."


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The press release was duly sent out, and the media ran with it. Headlines included:
Two chocolate bars a day 'reduce risks of heart disease and stroke' [the Independent]
Chocolate lowers your heart disease and stroke risk [News.com.au]
New study suggests the more chocolate you eat, the lower your risk of heart disease [smh.com.au]
In short, eating lots of chocolate is apparently healthier than eating none. Even better, it doesn't have to be dark chocolate, which actually has been shown in numerous clinical trials to have a positive effect on the cardiovascular system. It can be any chocolate, including bars merely containing chocolate – like a Mars bar (40% chocolate) or a Crunchie (62% chocolate). Two bars a day!
But before everyone hits the shops for their two bars a day, let's get that bit straight. The highest chocolate-eating group didn't all eat two chocolate bars a day. In fact, the amount of chocolate-containing foods in this group ranged from 16-99g per day, with a median of 25g. That's a range of around one bar per week, to two bars a day, every day – a big difference. It would have been interesting to see the CVD results of those at the higher end of this range compared with the lower end.
And what about reducing the risk of heart disease? This kind of study doesn't show cause and effect, it only shows an association between chocolate intake and reduced risk of heart disease – and most articles did point this out. Eventually.
While some headlines correctly stated chocolate is linked with reduced heart disease risk, medical media analyst, Dr Amanda Wilson, points out that many laypeople wouldn't appreciate the difference between 'Chocolate is linked with reduced risk of heart disease' and 'Chocolate reduces heart disease risk'.
However, she points out, people are more savvy about these sorts of stories now. "There are so many contradictory health stories these days – chocolate's good, chocolate's bad, chocolate's good again – that people take them with a grain of salt."
So what's the real story?
Supposing chocolate is not, in fact, the new miracle ingredient in heart health, how would we explain the findings? The authors suggested several reasons, including:
- People who are generally healthy – and who are therefore at lower risk of cardiovascular disease – may be more likely to choose to eat chocolate than people with high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes and so on, who may be more cautious about eating unhealthy foods. This is called reverse causality: eating chocolate doesn't cause good health; rather good health causes eating chocolate.
- Unhealthy, overweight people at risk of CVD may have under-reported chocolate consumption – studies of dietary reporting have found some people, especially overweight women, tend to under-report foods such as snacks and sweets.
- Active people are more likely than less active people to eat more food in general, including chocolate-containing food, and are also more likely to have lower rates of CVD. In this study, the highest chocolate-eating group consumed the most energy and were the most active, and were a similar weight to the non-chocolate eaters.
So, does eating lots of chocolate-containing food reduce heart disease risk? We don't know, and this study leaves us none the wiser.
The authors conclude, "There does not appear to be any evidence to say that chocolate should be avoided in those who are concerned about cardiovascular risk."
The Heart Foundation agrees it's not necessary to avoid chocolate for heart health. But spokesperson Shane Landon says: "Most sources of chocolate are high in sugar and saturated fat, which is not beneficial for heart health. The Heart Foundation would recommend people focus on increasing the amount of fruit and vegetables they consume, rather than the amount of chocolate."


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By Jessica Shambora
Health care reform is front and center — and an insanely complicated issue. When someone talks about simple solutions, it’s time to listen. So we were all ears when Jacqueline Kosecoff, CEO of Prescription Solutions, came by Fortune last week and sat down with us to talk about generic drugs.
Up in New York City after a day on Capitol Hill, Kosecoff was eager to talk about how her UnitedHealth Group unit, which is a Prescription Benefits Manager (PBM) accounting for $13 billion of UnitedHealth’s $81 billion in revenue, can save the system millions of dollars. Her claim is based on a new study, released by Prescription Solutions this week, that shows a big void in consumer understanding about generics — what they are and what savings they bring.
You may already know that generics are identical to brand-name drugs, but the study found that nearly one-third of Americans either don’t know or don’t believe that. Among people who do not take generics, only 58% say it’s because there isn’t a generic alternative available. Moreover, two-thirds of survey respondents don’t realize that brand-name drugs typically cost 50-70% more than generics.
Says Kosecoff: “Many Americans erroneously believe that the most expensive drug is always the most effective drug.”
Generics have already saved the health-care system $734 billion over the past decade, according to market researcher IMS Health. Koseocoff says that a 1% uptick in generic use equates to 1.7% savings for payers, such as employers. And consumers enrolled in its drug plans typically save $20-60 per prescription by switching.
This is why Kosecoff is pushing generics hard: She talks about a “triple win” for consumers, for payers, and for Prescriptions Solutions. If her unit delivers more value, it’s likely to get more volume and make more money. And it’s all about value these days. The study also showed stretched consumers have been cutting back on prescriptions: 27% of survey respondents said that they delayed filling, didn’t fill or didn’t take a drug in order to save money.
As the generic market grows, the biggest loser is Big pharma, whose brand-name drugs inevitably lose share. Through 2013, $134 billion in branded drugs are at risk from generic competition in eight key drug markets, according to IMS Health. Popular drugs like Pfizer’s Lipitor, GlaxoSmithKline’s Valtrex, and Boehringer Ingelheim’s Flomax are among the drugs with patents set to expire fairly soon.
As Kosecoff works to spur that generics market — and cut costs for Prescription Solutions’ customers — she’s pushing another item on her agenda: cheaper alternatives for biologics. These drugs, such as Amgen’s arthritis drug Enbrel and Abbott’s Humira, also for arthritis and for Crohn’s Disease, are the fastest-growing area of pharmaceuticals — a market expected to hit $90 billion this year, up from $40 billion in 2005. But generics don’t exist for biologics, which are made from living organisms rather than the small molecules of conventional pharma.
Kosecoff wants to change that. And she’s calling for Congress to help make it happen. “A regulatory approval pathway for follow-on version of thes biologic drugs must be created,” she says.
(To read an update on the debate this Postcard ignited, click here.)


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Welp, 2023 will be the year of Matter updates. Although there are already 190 devices that have (apparently) been certified so far, only a handful of them are available today. With only a few weeks left in 2022, and the initial release of the specification taking place just a month ago, it’s clear that the smart home interoperability protocol will dribble out gradually over the next few months to a year.
One big reason for this is that vendors don’t want to roll out a brand new spec only to see users run into trouble. Chris DeCenzno, a principal engineer at Amazon, explained in an interview that his company will roll out Matter over Wi-Fi first (starting with 17 Echo devices this December), both because it wants to give the Thread communication protocol time to smooth out any wrinkles in its latest release and to ensure Amazon partners can integrate their Thread network with Amazon’s Thread network in the home.
The desire to avoid a device debacle is also why Amazon is rolling out its Matter support for plugs, outlets, and switches first (also in December, with more expected next year). Amazon has a wealth of test devices in that category, while it has fewer thermostats or security sensors to test.
Amazon isn’t the only vendor rolling out releases in a graduated plan. Let’s take a look at some of the announced plans for Matter support from major vendors. I’ll post this on the site and then add to it over time.
Nanoleaf: The lighting vendor will launch a new line of Essentials light bulbs and a light strip in early 2023 that will work with Matter. It also said it would launch a new line of products that would be Matter-certified at CES 2023. Nanoleaf has previously said its Elements and Lines product lines are Matter-ready, but we don’t have a set update schedule for them yet. Its existing Essentials lines of bulbs will not be updated, so if you like those, get ready to buy the new ones in January.
Philips Hue: Signify plans to release a Matter update for its Philips Hue Bridge in the first quarter of 2023. The existing Google and Amazon integrations in the Philips Hue App will also continue to work and will be automatically updated with Matter. For Apple HomeKit, users will need to reset to connect again via Matter.
Eve: Eve may have the first Thread devices to get over-the-air (OTA) updates to Matter for existing devices. On Dec. 12, the Eve Energy, Eve Door & Window, and Eve Motion will get optional updates to Matter. Note that if you update to Matter you cannot reverse it. And next year, starting in the first quarter, all 14 Thread-enabled Eve devices will get rolling OTA updates to Matter throughout the year. Also, Eve plans to introduce its first Android app early next year. This means that for those initial Dec. 12 updates, users will need an iPhone to update to Matter. As an Eve spokesman told me via email, “We’ve collaborated tirelessly with Apple over the last year to ensure that NO functionality will be lost in the update to Matter. So, while the update to Matter is irreversible, consumers will not lose ANY features or functionality like energy monitoring for Eve Energy.”
Level Locks: All Level Locks apparently have Thread-capable radios and will be updated over an unspecified time frame, according to CTO Ken Goto’s comments to The Verge.
Schneider Electric: The company will launch a Wiser gateway box that will bridge its existing line of switches and outlets to Matter devices. It also said it would launch a Matter-compliant Square D electrical outlet. Both products have been certified but pricing and launch dates are not yet available.
Google: Google didn’t make any announcements at the CSA launch, but it has said it will update its Android and Google Home SDKs to support Matter. It also has previously said the following devices will support Matter: Nest Wifi, Nest Wifi Pro (Wi-Fi 6E), Google Home, Google Mini, Nest Mini, Nest Audio, Nest Hub (1st gen), Nest Hub (2nd gen), and the Nest Hub Max.
Amazon: Amazon has said that it would support Matter on the following 17 Echo devices at some point in December: Echo Dot (5th Gen), Echo Dot (5th Gen) with clock, Echo (4th Gen), Echo Dot (3rd Gen, 2018 release), Echo Studio, Echo Show 8 (2nd Gen, 2021 release), Echo Show 10 (3rd Gen), Echo Show 5 (2nd Gen, 2021 release), Echo Dot (Gen 3 with Clock), Echo Dot (Gen 4 with Clock), Echo Show 5, Echo (v3), Echo Dot Gen 4, Echo Input, Echo Flex, Echo Plus (v2), and the Echo Show 8.
SmartThings: SmartThings no longer makes hardware, but people who own the SmartThings version 2 hub and the Aeotec SmartThings hub can get Matter on those devices today. SmartThings also announced partnerships with Amazon and Google, so users who want to use a digital assistant from either partner can also see their devices replicated automatically in SmartThings or vice versa.
Whirlpool: The appliance maker said it had joined the Matter working group focused on a standard for appliances, and said it would support Matter. Since the appliance device type doesn’t exist yet, I don’t expect launch dates anytime soon. I do hope Whirlpool is building in the silicon hardware it will need in its appliances for easy updates.
Assay Abloy: The company has said it will bring Matter support to its first and second-generation Assure locks through replacement modules. I don’t have an updated time frame other than Assa Abloy telling me last month that I it was “working diligently” to bring the modules to market.


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Amazon will Compensate customers up to $1,000 Property damage or personal injury caused by defective products sold by third-party merchants on Amazon.com.
Amazon said that the threshold will cover more than 80% of cases, adding that “if the seller does not respond or reject a claim that we believe is valid, it may step in to pay a higher amount of the claim.”
Amazon’s policy expansion comes as a series of court rulings threaten the company’s greater legal liability for products sold on its platform.
“Starting from September 1st, for products sold through Amazon.com, Amazon will facilitate the settlement of property damage and personal injury claims among customers, sellers and their insurance companies,” the company said Said in the blog post.
It added: “Customers can contact Amazon customer service, and we will notify the seller and help them resolve the claim. If the seller does not respond to the claim, Amazon will intervene to directly solve the customer’s immediate problem, bear the cost, and pursue the seller separately.”
Amazon stated that it will not seek reimbursement of less than $1,000 from sellers who comply with its policies and have valid insurance. The company offers a plan to help sellers find insurance.
This is an extension “Amazon Mall Transaction Guarantee” This covers returns of products sold by third parties on Amazon.com.
Consumer advocates have been calling on the company to further identify and combat problematic products sold on its platform.
Amazon has a series of procedures and technologies to identify counterfeit and fraudulent products, and said it will expand these systems and expand the work of its team as part of the new policy.
“When a customer makes a claim, Amazon will combine our advanced fraud and abuse detection system with an external independent insurance fraud expert to analyze the claim,” the company said. “We will make valid claims against sellers and reject unproven, indiscreet or abusive claims. By carrying out this work on behalf of sellers, we can save them from investigating these claims on their own.”


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It was not just Google that decided to go in a different direction with Chrome. Just before the company announced the change of the Webkit engine in Chrome to your newly created Blink, Mozilla announced a partnership with Samsung to develop something. The companies created a new rendering engine especially for Androids.
The engine is called Servo and was created based on the programming language Rust, also developed by the duo of companies together with several developers. The language is in development for several years and its main asset, according to Mozilla, is security: to be ‘secure by default’, the company says “memory management errors that can lead to vulnerabilities or crashes are preventable.” Moreover, Rust was also designed to take full advantage of the hardware’s potential for new phones, which are becoming increasingly powerful. Specifically those with ARM architecture processors.
Despite the announcement mention that the Servant will be implemented in Android devices, nothing prevents the engine is implemented in the browser Firefox. Currently in its version 20, it still uses an engine called Gecko.
Interestingly, the post’s official blog in announcing the new engine, Mozilla Firefox even mention the name. The browser already has a version for Android for some time and it would be natural that the servant was integrated in it. But nothing prevents the Samsung to implement the engine in your own browser and let the Firefox side.
Either way, Google will not like a lot of change. But as the giant web is focusing on developing Chrome (current standard Android browser), Samsung had no choice but to adopt a newer browser or create your own. And how would a certain CEO, you do not get to 500 million friends (or, in this case, handsets sold) without making a few enemies.


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Sanofi and MannKind Corporation have entered into a worldwide exclusive licensing agreement for development and commercialization of Afrezza (insulin human) Inhalation Powder, a new rapid-acting inhaled insulin therapy for adults with type 1 or type 2 diabetes. The companies plan to launch Afrezza in the United States in the first quarter of 2015. The U.S. FDA approved Afrezza Inhalation Powder on June 27, 2014.
Under the collaboration and license agreement, Sanofi will be responsible for global commercial, regulatory and development activities. Under a separate supply agreement, MannKind will manufacture Afrezza inhaled insulin at its manufacturing facility in Danbury, Connecticut. In addition, the companies are planning to collaborate to expand manufacturing capacity to meet global demand as necessary.
Under the terms of the agreement, MannKind Corporation will receive an upfront payment of $150 million and potential milestone payments of up to $775 million. The milestone payments are dependent upon specific regulatory and development targets, as well as sales thresholds. Sanofi and MannKind will share profits and losses on a global basis, with Sanofi retaining 65% and MannKind receiving 35%. Sanofi has agreed to advance to MannKind its share of the collaboration’s expenses up to a limit of $175 million.


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New Mass Effect probably due 2014 at the earliest
The next Mass Effect game will probably arrive in the next two years according to Mass Effect 3 producer Mike Gamble.
The existence of the game was revealed by Mass Effect series executive producer Casey Hudson upon the announcement that BioWare founders Drs Greg Zeschuk and Ray Muzyka were retiring from game development.
Gamble was pressed for some kind of news on the new Mass Effect game and replied, "Late 2014 to mid-2015. I honestly can't tell you an exact because full development on the game started a month or two ago."
As well as a new Mass Effect title, Casey Hudson's team is also working on a brand new IP. Even less details are available on it though.
Thanks Gamer Syndrome.
- New Assassin's Creed: Unity patch is a bit on the large side
- Wonder what Zombie mode looks like for Call Of Duty: Advanced Warfare? Here's a trailer
- Xbox 360 Titanfall players getting a massive update next week
- Ubisoft pulls the Assassin's Creed: Unity Season Pass, offering free DLC and games to apologize for the problems with the game
- Dark Souls migration over to Steam delayed into next month now
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- And here's the goodies that Games With Gold will get you in December
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“Many analysts are cheering Apple’s latest quarterly report, with Pacific Crest’s team upgrading their rating for the iPhone maker’s stock to overweight, and BTIG arguing the stock is cheap,” Victor Reklaitis reports for MarketWatch.
“In the wake of the earnings report, Pacific Crest analysts say Apple’s ‘dominant smartphone position’ and its ‘attractive valuation’ have prompted them to raise their rating for the stock to overweight from sector weight,” Reklaitis reports. “‘The smartphone is the most important consumer product ever, in our view,’ said Pacific Crest’s Andy Hargreaves and Evan Wingren in a note late Tuesday.”
“An analyst at BTIG highlights the fact that Apple is a cash-generating machine,” Reklaitis reports. “‘Apple is converting 30% of its revenue into free cash flow, generating $70 billion of free cash flow annually,” said Walter Piecyk in a note late Tuesday. “This implies an 11% FCF yield relative to its $650 billion market cap. That is simply too high of a yield given its market position, expectation of growth and high margins, regardless of the much lower level of revenue growth and EPS expectations for 2016… Even with no growth in EPS, we believe Apple’s valuation is too low based on cash generation.'”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: The company keeps on doing what it’s doing, setting records, and the only stories that change are those from the so-called analysts. Time to allow the AAPL buoy to bob up now? The time to pile on in order to once again submerge AAPL under the weight of invented “concerns” looms as usual.
Apple beats Street with record fourth quarter results – October 27, 2015
Apple’s biggest problem: Wall Street – August 6, 2015
Apple pulverizes the Street with record third quarter results – July 21, 2015
Apple pounds Street with record second quarter iPhone and Mac sales – April 27, 2015
Apple destroys Street with all-time record earnings – January 27, 2015


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In-flight meal trays designed to reduce airline waste
Author: Liam Taylor
A British design firm has created plastic-free, partially edible meal trays in an effort to reduce airline waste and encourage businesses and travellers to address their consumption habits.
The compostable trays, made from used coffee grounds, accompany a side dish lid made of algae or banana leaf, as well as a spork made from coconut wood, replacing single-use plastic cutlery. Disposable mini condiment and milk pods have also been substituted with soluble seaweed.
An estimated 5.7 million tonnes of waste, including single-use plastic, earphones and food waste, is created on passenger flights every year.
PriestmanGoode, the designers of this new set, hopes to revolutionise various elements of cabin service with zero-waste alternatives. The firm is currently in discussions with airlines as they attempt to introduce their concept throughout the industry.
Sustainability in the airline industry is gaining momentum, with Qantas operating the world’s first ‘zero waste’ flight earlier this year. The Sydney to Adelaide flight avoided the 34kg of waste typically generated on the route, with around 1000 single-use plastic items being substituted with sustainable alternatives or removed from the flight altogether. Alternative products used throughout the flight included fully compostable meal containers and cutlery made from sugar cane and crop starch.
With direct emissions from the aviation industry accounting for more than 2% of global greenhouse gas emissions, this news is an encouraging sign that improvement is on its way.
- Next time you fly take note of the waste created in-flight and be sure to contact the airline to see if any progress is being made.
- Want to enjoy your holiday and improve your sustainability all at once? Check out our Eco Holiday Hacks and get involved in National Recycling Week in November.
Subscribe to Positive Environment News
Positive Environment News has been compiled using publicly available information. Planet Ark does not take responsibility for the accuracy of the original information and encourages readers to check the references before using this information for their own purposes.
Author: Liam TaylorLiam is Planet Ark's Communications Coordinator. Prior to joining Planet Ark Liam spent his time studying global environmental issues, travelling Southeast Asia on the cheap and working for a sustainable property management company in Bali, Indonesia.
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- Unique fluorescent slug survives bushfires »


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WASHINGTON (Sept. 22, 2016) — Tireco Inc. is recalling 11,904 truck tires after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) denied Tireco's petition for a determination of inconsequential noncompliance.
The tires are Milestar BS623 medium truck tires, size 225/70R19.5 G/14, manufactured for Tireco by Chinese manufacturer Shandong Wanda Boto Tyre Co. Ltd. between June 23, 2013, and Jan. 24, 2015.
The tires are mismarked as “DUAL” on their sidewalls, instead of the correct “SINGLE,' according to a NHTSA safety report. Tireco received no complaints about the tires, but an official of NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation notified Tireco after learning of the mismarking from a tire testing laboratory, it said.
Tireco ordered Shandong Wanda to correct the molds at the factory, then submitted a petition for inconsequential noncompliance, the report said.
However, NHTSA denied the petition. “Marking the word ‘DUAL' in lieu of the word ‘SINGLE' creates a situation in which the driver or end user of the vehicle may overload the tires,” the agency said.
Tireco will replace the tires free of charge. The Gardena, Calif.-based importer told NHTSA it will notify dealers of the recall Oct. 3 and customers between Oct. 10 and Nov. 7.


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The report stated that IT related activities have seen a significant growth of 21.1% in 2015, compared to just 9.3% the year before. Statistically our country has managed to double its growth in terms of IT and the infrastructure required to facilitate it. With the ever growing developments that are happening around us, it is safe to assume that this growth is to increase in the years to come.
A significant portion of this growth can be accredited to E-Commerce which has managed to change the entire way on how the economics of the country work. This whole revolution has managed to produce an ever-growing number of websites and mobile apps to enter into the market, essentially engaging in commercial transactions. This is not something which is only happening in Sri Lanka but across the world. These new entrants to the market have fundamentally changed how people transact. In short, they’ve disrupted the market.
So what’s the Sri Lankan government trying to do?
Last week, Minister of Finance, Ravi Karunanayake revealed that the government is planning to regulate businesses operating in the e-commerce sector. Essentially, the government wants these businesses to operate under the accounts of banks which are locally based. This is in light of the whole process where Sri Lanka is trying to come up with more flexible foreign exchange laws under the Exchange Control Act.
Minister Karunanayake also stated that the Tourist Hotels Association of Sri Lanka (THASL) has requested such regulations be imposed considering the fact that budget hotel booking apps like AirBnB have entered the Sri Lankan market. With THASL representing, many of the high-end hotels in Sri Lanka, it’s not too surprising that such a request was made. He made these statements at the 9th ‘Ease of Doing Business Forum’ organized by the Ministry of Finance.
What the Sri Lankan E-Commerce industry thinks of it
ReadMe reached out to entrepreneurs operating in the e-commerce space to gather their idea as to what they think about this whole news. We found that there is a mix of opinions amongst the local E-Commerce companies regarding the issue. Not too surprising since the minister only made a vague statement, without an action plan on how the regulations will be implemented.
Some like Sachira Fernando, CEO of NicNac, were against the Sri Lankan government introducing E-Commerce regulations. Speaking to ReadMe he said, “The government should first come up with proper technologies which support local e-commerce entities such as PayPal, easy to integrate and secure payment gateways, which we don’t have at the moment.” This point was also echoed by Dhanika Perera , CEO of Bhasha and PayHere. Speaking with ReadMe, Dhanika stated that one of the biggest reason why earnings from Sri Lankan E-Commerce businesses go abroad is due to a lack of proper payment methods available locally. This is why Dhanika says, he founded PayHere.
Sachira went onto state the government first pursue initiatives supporting the growth of E-Commerce businesses. By bringing in legislation, to regulate them, it might take the industry backward. This is because it’s already a challenge to start an e-commerce business in Sri Lanka. To have it grow and expand into global markets is an even greater challenge. If the government doesn’t pursue initiatives to support these businesses before bringing in legislation, they could leave to more supportive startup ecosystems abroad.
“For AirBnB stopping operations in Sri Lanka is nothing. They will close down and they won’t care. Who is losing from it? Close to 7000 families which make a living by renting out their spare room. The sharing economy should be motivated, not put down like this.” – Sachira Fernando Sachira also pointed out that companies like AirBnB and even Uber actually promote entrepreneurship in Sri Lanka. If you rented a spare room or decided to use your car to give people Uber rides, then by definition, you’d be an entrepreneur. Should the legislation be poorly written, then it’s more likely that these local entrepreneurs would suffer, rather than the foreign companies. We recently saw this happen in Dubai when the government regulations against Uber and other ride sharing services went into overdrive. Upon further analysis of these foreign E-Commerce businesses, one could also argue that they face intense local competition. An example would be Uber, which faces competition from PickMe. To capture even a decent share of the market, they have to spend considerable amounts of money in Sri Lanka. These costs won’t be recovered overnight. Until they do, it’s unlikely these companies will see any great profits. “Disruption is a very good thing in the 21st century. It is how economies grow and how jobs are created.” – Shakya Lahiru Pathmalal Meanwhile, it’s the local entrepreneurs building their jobs and earning money with these services that truly win. This is the disruption in the e-commerce industry that the sharing economy has created. As Shakya Lahiru Pathmalal – CEO of Takas said when speaking to ReadMe, “Disruption is a very good thing in the 21st century. It is how economies grow and how jobs are created.” As such, the legislation needs to be well thought out by the Sri Lankan government. If not it would stifle innovation.
The above point was also echoed by Kumar Melvani, CEO of MyDeal.lk when he too spoke with ReadMe. However, Kumar’s opinion differed from the previous entrepreneurs. He believes that the Sri Lankan government trying to regulate the e-commerce industry might be a good thing. Why? Because this could potentially pave the way for consumer finance safety and other measures coming into place. However, Kumar went on to say that the government is only listening to one side of the story. That side is those of existing large scale corporations. The other side of the story, the side of the local E-Commerce businesses has been ignored so far. Until the government does so, no form of legislation would be effective. If at all, it would be detrimental to the e-commerce industry. Another titan in the e-commerce industry that share’s Kumar’s thoughts are Dulith Herath – CEO and founder of Kapruka. He too believed that the government needs to listen more closely and get input from e-commerce businesses. This is why some of the local E-Commerce businesses are looking at forming a collective organization. According to Dulith, the purpose of this organization would be to give the e-commerce industry of Sri Lanka a collective voice when it comes to matters such as this. Dulith went on to state that he wasn’t against the Sri Lankan government introducing regulation to the e-commerce industry. In fact, he welcomed it. This was because E-Commerce businesses in Sri Lanka are currently registered as retailers. With the introduction of new legislation by the Sri Lankan government, it’s believed that E-Commerce businesses will get proper recognition in the legal sphere.
Additionally, Dulith disagreed with the sentiments Sachira shared with us. According to Dulith, it’s actually very easy for anyone to come to Sri Lanka and start an E-Commerce business. Once the business is setup and has captured a significant share of the market, there’s nothing technically stopping them from taking all the profits they earn abroad. Whereas, in other industries, this is not the case. For example, in the tourism industry, no foreign business can build a hotel in Sri Lanka without following certain strict regulations. The e-commerce industry doesn’t enjoy such protections. To ensure that local e-commerce businesses stand a fighting chance and have a level playing field, Dulith believes that regulation will be necessary. However, Dulith also agreed with the sentiments shared by Lahiru. He stated that the government should be cautious when drafting the legislation. The biggest challenge the government could face would be with taxes. For E-Commerce businesses, it might make sense to charge a smaller tax from them. But this would be a short-lived solution. It wouldn’t be long before the owners of brick-and-tar shops decide to vent their frustration at the government. As such, it’d be best for the government to take a page from the US: charge a flat tax on both E-Commerce sales as well as those from brick-and-tar shops.


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Nokia is now rolling out the Android 10 update to the 2018 Nokia 6.1 Plus, just weeks after the Nokia 7.1, Nokia 8.1, and the Nokia 9 PureView were updated to Android 10 in rapid succession.
“Nokia 6.1 Plus users, you ready? Your phone’s are now running on the latest Android 10 update. Tap into your smartphone’s upgraded experience and access the latest features today. Have you already upgraded? Let us know in the comments below,” the smartphone manufacturer tweeted on Monday.
The latest update brings along the December 2019 Android security patch and enables features like dark mode, gesture navigation as well as smart reply.
The Android 10 OS update is an over-the-air (OTA) update and is expected to reach users in batches. Nokia 6.1 Plus users can check the update via Settings > About Phone > System updates > Check for regular updates.
In terms of specifications, the smartphone comes with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 processor, 4GB RAM and 64GB internal storage and MicroSD support.
The phone is powered by a 3,060 mAh battery which supports Quick Charge 3.0 technology.
Chinese smartphone maker Vivo became the top brand in the Indian offline market in the month of November, garnering 24.7 per cent share and beating Xiaomi and Samsung, the company’s top India executive said on Friday.
“Vivo’s offline market share went from 23 per cent in October to 24.7 per cent in November as per the German research firm GfK, making us again the top brand in the Indian smartphone market. I thank the Indian consumers who have maintained their trust in the brand,” Nipun Marya, Director-Brand Strategy, Vivo India, told IANS.
The brand took a big leap with capturing 17 per cent market share – its highest-ever — in the third quarter (July-September period), according to Counterpoint Research. In September, the Chinese handset maker recorded 22.5 per cent in terms of value, and 21.4 per cent in terms of volume.
“The growth has only made us humble as we enter 2020 with new energies. We will launch our next flagship in the popular ‘V’ Series during the Indian Premier League (IPL) that will come with unmatched specifications,” Marya added.
Vivo has presence in over 70,000 retail outlets in the country and has been a hit among the users in the small-town India. Currently the third largest smartphone player in India, Vivo is also committed to invest heavily in the ‘Make in India’ initiative.
“We are investing Rs 7,500 crore in the country in multiple phases as promised. We have the maximum capacity of producing 33.5 million handsets in a year and over 10,000 people, including women, are working at our Greater Noida factory,” said Marya.
He said that the goal of the company is to not only to launch new devices but also provide customers better after-sales service experience, which is the key motto of the company. “We are deeply focused on bringing new innovations to stay ahead in the smartphone segment,” he added.
On Thursday, iQOO, a brand from Vivo, announced its entry into the Indian market that will be the first, 5G-ready premium device and would take on Xiaomi’s new sub-brand POCO.


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The Yahoo News Digest app has been announced for Android and iOS in India and Singapore for users who prefer getting the day’s headlines from their mobile gadget instead of a newspaper. In other words, for everyone who visits the web for their daily dose of stories and thinks Google News can do better.
Yahoo News Digest was released for audiences in the US and the UK early this year and the company obviously feels its efforts have paid off. It says that 40% of people who’ve started using the application keep coming back to it. Stories are sectioned off into categories such as News, Sports, Business, Technology and World amongst.
Yahoo purchased Summly, a summarization and artificial intelligence technology, in 2013 and it looks like the company made good use of its acquisition. The News Digest app ‘algorithmically and editorially’ picks relevant stories and makes ‘Atoms’ out of them. The Atoms contain posts, infographics, maps, bits from Wikipedia, videos, images and more.
There’s a homescreen widget showing your most recent unread digest so you know what you haven’t read and can easily skip to unread articles. The one issue with the application is that it gets updated only twice a day. Erm, so it’s good if you’re upgrading from a rolled up newspaper to the internet, right? It would feel like going a bit backwards in time to anyone who keeps getting their headlines from Twitter or specific news websites.
The Yahoo News Digest app can be downloaded from Google Play Store or iTunes.


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Though HoloLens 2 is more-affordable and capable than its predecessor was, it’d be a mistake to see it as anything but a double-down on Microsoft’s first effort at building a holographic computer for the masses.
Gadgets - News
The Samsung Galaxy S10 and S10+ might improve one of the most annoying parts of the smartwatch experience: charging them.
We went hands-on with Oppo's prototype 10x lossless zoom smartphone camera. Here's a look at what we saw.
Sony Mobile has teamed up with camera startup Light.
Alongside four new Samsung Galaxy smartphones and the company's first foldable, Samsung also announced a refresh of its true wireless earbuds at their latest Unpacked press conference.
LG has reportedly scuttled plans to produce a foldable smartphone that would compete with the likes of Huawei and Samsung.
In what is presumably a bid to avoid being buried by bigger news, Samsung has announced the Galaxy Tab S5e a few days ahead of their Unpacked press conference.
The Samsung Galaxy S10 and S10+ aren't due to be officially announced until the 20th of February but there's plenty of info about the new flagship handsets (and Samsung's first foldable) that's already doing the rounds.
While Brydge's previously-announced G-Type keyboard for the Google Slate has still yet to be confirmed for the Australian market, the company are throwing a bone to existing Chrome OS users in the form of their new Chrome Desktop keyboard.
The Lumini Skincare Assistant uses a multi-spectral camera and AI-based face detection and light correction algorithms to analyse a customer's skin.
Jaybird have announced a follow-up to their Jaybird Run true wireless earbuds, the Jaybird Run XT.
If you're a Ring owner frustrated by the lack of support for Google Assistant, help may be on the way.
Jabra has added to their enterprise-focused Evolve lineup of earbuds with the Evolve 65ts.
Ecovacs has unveiled two new additions to its lineup of smart cleaning robots.
Nura have officially unveiled their second product at this year's CES, the NuraLoop earbuds.
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