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POSITIVE OUTCOMES from a sugar-sweetened beverage taxes like reduced consumption and improved health will depend on how well the tax is designed, the World Bank (WB) said.
“Sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) taxes are an important fiscal and health policy tool since they raise tax revenue and improve health by reducing demand, as well as reduce health expenditures by alleviating the burden on the health system,” the bank said in a note.
“SSB taxes can be designed efficiently to reduce costs of over-consumption related to both negative externalities and internalities and do not generally distort other aspects of economic activity,” it added.
Last year, former Finance Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno proposed to increase the excise tax on sweetened beverages. The initial proposal sought to raise the tax to P12 per liter for beverages using any kind of sweetener.
Under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion law, the government introduced an excise tax of P6 per liter for drinks containing caloric or non-caloric sweetener, and P12 per liter for drinks containing high-fructose corn syrup or any such sweeteners in combination.
The tax increase on sweetened beverages along with another proposal for a “junk food” tax could yield up to P76 billion in revenue in the first year of implementation, according to Mr. Diokno.
Current Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto said he is not pursuing his predecessor’s proposals for these taxes.
The World Bank said that SSB taxes must take into account each government’s capacity to implement taxes.
“Overall, SSB taxes can be considered a win-win policy that can help to improve health outcomes and at the same time generate tax revenue, while generating benefits for equity, health system efficiency, and further societal gains,” it added.
The bank noted that one concern often raised about SSB taxes is that they “lead to job losses.”
“However, it is important to keep in mind that when consumers reduce their purchases of SSBs they will reallocate their spending to other goods and services, including untaxed products from the same beverage industries, and governments will spend the revenue generated by the tax,” it said.
“Studies of employment and unemployment outcomes following the introduction of SSB taxes in Mexico, Peru and two local jurisdictions in the US have found no impact on jobs or unemployment claims, including in industries that produce and sell SSBs,” it added.
It also noted concerns on the tax’s impact on lower-income groups.
“Indeed, while consumption taxes can be regressive because lower-income individuals spend a higher share of their income on consumption, from a health tax perspective they can be considered progressive for several reasons.”
“Low-income individuals tend to be more price sensitive and so are likely to be more responsive to the tax and reduce their consumption to a greater extent. They therefore garner a relatively higher health improvement and, therefore, a commensurate benefit,” it added. — Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson


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A NEW management team at the Hope House shop in Nant- wich is inviting prospective volunteers to pop in for tea and mince pies.
The High Street branch has launched the volunteer drive, offering the drop-in sessions for anyone interested in giving up a few hours a week to help in the running of the shop going into the new year.
Manager Janet Farrington, who along with deputy manager Tracy Thomas arrived in Nantwich a month ago, says that the shop and the charity need any help they can get.
Janet said: “We would like some more volunteers. We’re not struggling as such, but there’s always room for more so that we have greater scope to vary the hours worked.
“We have a lovely bunch of ladies working at this shop and we’re in a prime location.”
Refreshments are being offered for anyone interested throughout December. The shop is also opening up on Sundays during the month for extra Christmas trade.
Hope House Hospice at Oswestry provides respite, palliative care and terminal nursing for life-limited local children.
To register an interest in volunteering, call in at the Nantwich branch or phone Janet Farrington or Tracy Thomas on 01270 629394.

domain: news


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L'ABUS D'ALCOOL EST DANGEREUX POUR LA SANTÉ. À CONSOMMER AVEC MODÉRATION.
Audi City Paris 1 Year Anniversary Party #1ANAUDICITYPARIS
Last Monday evening to celebrate the 1st anniversary of Audi City Paris’ showroom, a very special event was organized at … Read more
Hotel Bleu X NDA Paris
To celebrate the launch of the Hôtel Bleu brand and the 1 year anniversary of NDA Paris (who have realized … Read more
Immersion Magazine Launching Party
There is many way to talk about video game but Immersion does it on it’s own way. Last wednesday, the … Read more


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OnAudience.com, one of the world’s largest audience data providers and subsidiary of Cloud Technologies Group, supports Tech To The Rescue (TTTR) as a Founding Partner. TTTR is an international initiative that gathers tech companies to help social impact organisations around the world implement digital solutions to scale up their influence.
OnAudience, as a part of Cloud Technologies Group, is one of the ten technology companies and VCs from Europe that unite to support TTTR in the first fundraising round. After the incubation period, Tech To The Rescue is now an officially registered foundation, with potential to become one of its kind biggest foundation in the world.
As a partner of the TTTR, OnAudience will use its technology to help charity and non-profit organisations build online awareness of social problems. Thanks to TTTR, non-profits can receive support from tech companies in areas like ecommerce, web apps, mobile apps, machine learning, data science, business intelligence, consulting or online ads.
‘I’m proud that we can use our technology to help non-profit organisations in creating solutions for the most needy communities across the world’ says Maciej Sawa, the CEO of OnAudience.com. ‘We will support this initiative in data and technology providing - areas in which we are one of the global leaders. OnAudience will also use online ad inventory for charity organisations’ purposes. It’s exciting to see that technology that we developed can be used for such a good and great purpose.’


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Feb 28, 3:20 AM EST
Everything You Need To Know, Right Now.
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Hood By Air Bows Out Of PFW
The popular streetwear brand canceled its spot at Paris Fashion Week.
Google Announces 4 New Daydream VR Games
All four gaming titles will be available in the Google Play Store soon, according to the company's official press release Monday.
Riverside Plane Crash Leaves 3 Dead
The cause of the crash is not yet known, but officials reportedly believe that bad weather is likely to have resulted in the accident.
Trump Reduces His Twitter Use Ahead Of Tuesday Speech
President Donald Trump has stopped his morning tweets as he is no longer watching the MSNBC weekday show "Morning Joe," his aide told the Associated Press.


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UK house sales set to plunge 60% on virus lockdown impact
UK house sales are set to plunge by 60 per cent in the next three months as the novel coronavirus outbreak batters the economy.
The slump in the second quarter, which is usually among the most active sales periods, will be followed by a further decline in the three months through September, according to a report released on Thursday from real estate portal Zoopla.
The hit to prices should feed through more slowly and will depend on the extent of the economic slowdown.
"Covid-19 presents a major new challenge," Richard Donnell, director of research and insight at Zoopla, said in an e-mailed statement.
"The initial impact of external shocks is to reduce consumer confidence and put a brake on housing demand and the number of people moving home, which we can see in our latest figures."
The partial lockdown of the country ordered by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has restricted people's movements and closed all but essential businesses.
That has made it nearly impossible for sellers to market homes, with potential buyers unable to view properties. And the government has warned that stricter rules could be imposed if necessary.
While the logistics of the lockdown impede deals, the economic fallout from the pandemic will dictate the impact on house prices, according to Zoopla.
"The greater the economic shock and rise in unemployment, the greater the potential impact on house prices over the spring and into the summer months," according to the report.
The UK economy will contract by at least 10 per cent in the first half of the year, according to Bloomberg Economics' estimates.
Senior UK economist Dan Hanson said that support provided by the Bank of England and the Treasury should prompt a turnaround in the second half of the year if the outbreak is contained by the summer.
The virus is already weighing on deals, with the number of homes placed under offer in the seven days through March 22 down 15 per cent from the previous week, Zoopla data showed.
Prior to the outbreak, the UK housing market was off to its best start in four years, with price growth of 1.6 per cent in February, up from 1.2 per cent a year earlier, according to Zoopla's UK cities index. BLOOMBERG


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Forget buying shirts made from recycled fabric; a new wave of fashion brands and influencers are leading consumers towards a more environmentally friendly habit. Enter the capsule wardrobe, where the adage of “quality over quantity” is elevated to encourage disposal of low-quality items and investment in seasonless staples.
Cara Bartlett, a former buyer at Rue La La and Saks Fifth Avenue, had a closet full of clothes but constantly felt like she had nothing to wear. In 2016, she launched a Kickstarter campaign to start a capsule wardrobe label. In just one month, she tripled her goal of $30,000, and VETTA Capsule was born.
“We exist to help create a curated option for our customers that they can easily mix and match,” Bartlett said, describing VETTA Capsule’s 5-piece sets—each of which retail for $449—as “starter kits” to a capsule wardrobe. The kits, she reveals, constitute 30% of the company’s sales revenue.
Similarly, Katie Demo and Jay Adams launched a Kickstarter campaign for Brass Clothing in April 2015, raising more than $27,000. The brand sells a 3-piece “Closet Kit,” which comes with a prepaid bag clients can use to send their old clothes in to be recycled.
“Now more than ever, women are working full time, taking care of their families and still wanting to look put together for work, but do not have time to spend worrying about getting dressed,” Demo says. “The Clean Out Bag stems from our desire for women to get rid of clothes in a responsible way and build a better wardrobe.” Based in Boston, the company offers 45-minute in-person appointments at its “studio,” where customers work one-on-one with a Brass team member to build a simpler wardrobe.
Mobile apps are also leveraging the new trend. Cladwell—which raised $3 million in seed funding from 500 Startups, M25, Sovereign's Capital, and other angel investors—allows users to input their wardrobe items into its database. Similar to Brass Clothing’s “Clean Out Bag,” the company encourages users to reevaluate excess clothing. The app designates a red dot to items that have not been worn in a month, and pulls the daily weather forecast—as well as the user’s planned activities—to generate outfit ideas.
“A [capsule wardrobe] is similar to a crash diet, because it’s breaking the cycle of mass consumption and allowing people to kickstart a better long-term lifestyle,” says the company’s co-founder and CEO Blake Smith. “Cladwell is a guide to that lifestyle: we facilitate capsule wardrobes, but we champion a broader philosophical shift of ‘doing more with less.’”
Consumers are often drawn to capsule wardrobes through social media, where a handful of influencers have made their names—and incomes—in the business of sharing their journeys to a slimmer wardrobe.
After being diagnosed with stage one cervical cancer at the age of 25, Jessica Rose Williams—a UK-based lifestyle blogger—was “stopped in her tracks” and reevaluated the way she was living. “I made a promise to myself that I’d start being more intentional with my life, and after stumbling across minimalism and the freedom this new mindset gave me, I wanted to share it with others,” she says.
Williams now runs day-long capsule wardrobe workshops in her home in the UK’s scenic Peak District, during which participants discuss the challenges of decluttering and engage in creative exercises. She encourages participants to lean into timeless classics instead of caving into last-minute shopping. “A capsule wardrobe is full of clothes that make you feel amazing that you wear on a regular basis,” she said. “It contains all the clothes you’ll ever need throughout the year.”
On that same thread, author and blogger Courtney Carver created Project 333: a wardrobe minimalism challenge that invites participants to wear 33 items of clothing for three months. Since Project 333 was launched in 2010, thousands of people have participated in streamlining their wardrobes. “Most people wear the same few items over and over again already,” Carver says, “but hiding everything except your 33 items creates space in your closet and many other benefits.”


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Two insurtech managing general agencies plan to merge in an effort to tap into embedded insurance demand for travel and other e-commerce businesses.
Seeto, which focuses on helping e-businesses build embedded coverage, said it will merge with Pattern, a startup coming out of stealth mode that’s designed to offer parametric and traditional insurance cover as embedded insurance.
The new joint company will be called Pattern, with a business model centered around helping businesses generate new revenue streams and boost customer satisfaction through tailored insurance products.
Since merger plans were announced, the companies have jointly raised $25 million in funding, including a recent seed round of $10 million for Pattern. The joint company is backed by Kamet Ventures, the venture builder where Setoo was incubated, Comcast Ventures, MS&AD Ventures, Foundation Capital, FinTLV, TechAviv Founder Partners, Kli Capital, Abstract Ventures, and others.
They hope to close on the merger near the end of August. At that point, AXA, Spinnaker Insurance Co., Wakam and others will provide Pattern’s insurance backing.
Setoo operates as an insurance managing general agency in the European Union and United Kingdom. Pattern is in the process of finalizing becoming an MGA in the United States. The joint company will operate both in the EU and U.S.
Goal of Merging
Pattern will offer a one-stop-shop for embedded insurance products for businesses using real-time underwriting data.
“We believe that offering frictionless access to personalized insurance, tightly coupled with the core product, experience or service sold, is key to increasing consumer confidence and transaction volumes,” Meitav Harpaz, CEO and founder of Pattern Insurance Services, said.
Coverages will include both parametric and traditional insurance products. Pattern allows businesses to protect shoppers from unexpected changes to plans, inclement weather, utility outage or surcharge, shipping delays and other risks.
Noam Shapira, who co-founded and is also the co-CEO of Setoo together with Eyal Gluska, said the merger makes particular sense after the pandemic.
“Following the COVID pandemic, global markets were severely altered, and consumer concerns of unprotected risks grew even bigger,”said Shapira, claiming that its customers are seeing accelerated recovery ahead of the rest of the market.
Assaf Wand, Hippo’s CEO, is a Pattern board member.
This is an edited version of a report originally published by CarrierManagement.com.
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IPM Foods, a leading natural food manufacturer and co-packer in the United States is expanding into the surging wet pet food market with the launch of an exciting new company – NaturPak Pet – and, with an announcement that the company will be increasing its capacity by moving from its current location in Beloit, Wisconsin to a new 162,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art packaging facility opening in neighboring Janesville in the summer of 2019.
Family-run IPM Foods was excited to start this new venture in the natural pet food industry with the launch of NaturPak Pet which designs, manufactures and packages natural wet pet food products and offers a green alternative to packaging with recyclable, BPA-free Tetra Pak cartons.
“As a leader in natural food products, with 35 years of experience with packaging container technology, we saw a huge opportunity to expand into the wet pet food market by providing nutrient-rich pet food products and packaging services to pet food brand owners,” explains IPM Foods co-owner Pawel Marciniak. “We are so excited to see the pet food industry embracing the high-quality and natural products that can be made available to the US and Canadian markets via this innovative technology, and we see a bright future in our partnerships.”
Due to the ever-increasing demand for natural food products made in eco-friendly packaging, the company’s current facility in Beloit is already at capacity, which is why NaturPak Pet is expanding to a new location and adding additional warehousing space to accommodate growth. The expansion into the wet pet food industry also means staffing numbers will more than double by 2020, to upwards of 100.
Increasing consumer trends towards natural, organic and eco-friendly products has fueled the premium pet food segment; consumers are increasingly looking for natural ingredients for their pets and, are looking for transparency in ingredient sourcing and manufacturing process. According to the Packaged Facts report, retail sales of natural pet products in the U.S. hit close to $9 billion in 2016, reflecting a four-year compound annual growth rate of 11.6 percent. Annual sales growth has been consistently in the middle double-digits, and pet food retail sales reached $8.2 billion in 2016 with natural pet food accounting for approximately 25 percent of the total pet food market.
NaturPak Pet sees this growth first-hand. The company is currently in talks with approximately a dozen various-sized pet food companies about packing opportunities for their wet dog and cat food, which is offered as a complete and balanced meal, or as a top-up to dry food.
The new plant will include increased warehousing space and new processing equipment and is near some of the best farmland in the United States, ensuring NaturPak Pet is perfectly positioned to take a leadership role in the wet pet food industry.


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Biz briefs 12-5
Wake Forest Baptist physician wins NCI award
WINSTON-SALEM — John H. Stewart IV, M.D., associate dean of clinical research and innovation and vice chair of general surgery at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, has been awarded a 2013 National Cancer Institute’s (NCI) Cancer Clinical Investigator Team Leadership Award. The two-year award, one of 11 given this year to cancer investigators across the nation, is presented by the NCI “in recognition of outstanding clinical investigators whose participation and activities promote a culture of successful clinical research.” Stewart’s research focuses on immunotherapeutic approaches to the treatment of cancer.
Goodwill to host job fair
ASHEBORO — Goodwill Industries of Central North Carolina will be hosting a job fair Monday, Dec. 30, 11 a.m.-2 p.m., at the Asheboro Community Resource Center, 1064 E. Dixie Drive in Asheboro. The job fair is for the following seasonal positions for Liberty Tax Service: Tax preparers/no experience needed/training; five call center employees; three marketing positions and 10 waver positions. Come dressed for an interview. For more information, call 610-0400.
Lee Hawley certified in family law
HIGH POINT — Wyatt Early Harris Wheeler LLP, a full-service law firm in High Point, announced Attorney Lee C. Hawley has been certified by the N.C. State Bar Board of Legal Specialization as a specialist in the area of family law. Lee joined Wyatt Early Harris Wheeler LLP in 2007.
Holiday shopping off to a good start
NEW YORK — In spite of a shorter shopping season and challenging economic environment, Small Business Saturday helped jump start the holiday shopping season for small businesses across the country. According to the second installment of the 2013 Small Business Saturday Consumer Insights Survey, released by the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) and American Express, consumer awareness of Small Business Saturday across the U.S. jumped to 71 percent from 67 percent during the same period a year ago. Of those aware, 46 percent said they shopped on Small Business Saturday. With awareness up, the end result was increased spending at small businesses. This year, consumers who were aware of Small Business Saturday reported spending $5.7 billion with independent merchants on the day, an increase of 3.6 percent from a strong $5.5 billion in 2012.


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Future of payments market — faster innovation implementation and stronger competition
Even though positive changes are seen in the payments market, unfavourable trends for bank customers — limited competition and delayed payment innovation implementation — hamper faster progress. Hence the Bank of Lithuania took the initiative to implement measures encouraging market openness and accessibility of payment services and innovations.
‘Insufficient development of payment services and limited competition leads to higher payment service fees for consumers (compared to other Baltic States) and higher costs for businesses. We seek to diminish deficiencies in the payments market and are preparing a strategy for developing Lithuania’s retail payments, hence we will invite all market participants and interested parties to contribute to the creation and implementation of this strategy’, said Marius Jurgilas, Member of the Board of the Bank of Lithuania.
Restriction of the price of basic payment services, the possibility to easily switch accounts from one payment service provider to another, while keeping set regular payments, prohibition to request users to acquire financial services not related to mortgage loans, provisions for payment card transactions, favourable to merchants, and the possibility to use the payment initiation service — all these are measures that are being implemented at the moment and will improve the operation of the payments market.
Even though banks are the main payment service providers in Lithuania, they have not yet taken the initiative to invest in modern payment innovations. For example, unlike in Scandinavian countries, users in Lithuania do not have the possibility to carry out interbank instant payments, which ensure that transfer of funds takes only a few seconds. Such instant payments simplify payments between natural persons and could become an alternative not only to cash payments but also to payment cards.
In 2015, 421.5 million payment transactions were initiated in Lithuania through payment service providers. Approximately half of transactions were made using payment cards — for a total of EUR 4 billion. However, compared to other EU countries, card payments are rare in Lithuania. The number of payments per capita in the EU is almost 60 per cent greater, while the numbers for some EU countries are 3–4 times greater.
Cash remains one of the most commonly used means for retail payments among Lithuanian residents, although in recent years it has been used less. For example, the share of funds withdrawn in cash using cards decreased from 78 per cent (in 2011) to 67 per cent (in 2015).
Read more about the achievements, deficiencies, trends and expected developments in the Lithuanian retail payments market in the latest Payments Market Review (927.8 KB download icon), published on the website of the Bank of Lithuania.


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Redfall is Arkane Studios’ next big video game release, and it’s nearly here. Fans who are interested in going through the game might have been waiting on more insight into what they can expect. For instance, one of the significant components that might have steered fans away was the constant always online connection the game would require. However, since then, the developers have noted their push to remove this feature. Now the developers are alerting fans that this game will be their most supported title in the studio’s history.
Arkane Studios has been around since 1999, and their line of games includes the likes of Dishonored, Prey, and Deathloop. But their next release will outdo the past titles by being their most supported video game. This information comes from WCCFtech, who was recently at the Redfall preview event. Getting a chance to try the game out, it was afterward that the publication managed to speak with the creative director behind Redfall, Harvey Smith. During their conversation, Harvey noted that not only will this game be their most supported title, it’s a game that will not feature any in-game store or microtransaction.
The studio wants it to be clear that there won’t be an in-game store for Redfall and that every item and costume within the game is available to unlock. While we know that the studio has plans to ensure that this game will be supported, we’re not given any insight yet on what future content will be added. There will likely be updates bringing new content within the game. But we can also expect DLC releases. For now, we’re just left waiting on the roadmap for Redfall’s post-launch content.
Additionally, Harvey Smith noted that they are looking into the server for information, with developers able to see where players are having a difficult time. This could be a bug that could be cleared out or a general area of the game which they can tweak to make the gameplay a bit more accessible for players. But again, previously, it was noted that Redfall developers are working to provide a means for players to enjoy this game offline. We’re just not sure if we’ll see this feature roll out into the game before it launches or if this will be a feature implemented in the game after its initial release.
Currently, Redfall is slated to release on May 2, 2023. When the game launches into the marketplace, you’ll find it available for the PC, Xbox Series X/S, and the Xbox Game Pass subscription service.


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Analysts Predict Apple Could Be Sitting on $170 Billion in Cash This Year
March 19, 2013 9:40 AM
comment(s) - last by
Some shareholders want cash returned as a dividend to investors
Apple continues to be incredibly successful in the technology market and one of the most valuable companies in the world. So far this year Apple is sitting on a cash stockpile that amounts to $137 billion. Some
Apple shareholders are upset that the company is sitting on that much cash
and isn't paying out dividends to shareholders.
Moody's Investors Services issued a report this week predicting that Apple’s cash stockpile could grow to as large as $170 billion by the end of 2013. That assumes that Apple doesn't change its philosophy towards dividends and stock buybacks. Apple has been under pressure from a hedge fund manager named David Einhorn and other major investors to return some of that cash to shareholders.
Apple has noted that it is in "active discussions" on returning some of that money to investors but no details were offered. Einhorn is currently
involved in the suit
against Apple that CEO Tim Cook has dubbed "a sideshow."
Moody's wrote, "Unless Apple changes its philosophy towards liquidity/shareholder returns by increasing its $10 billion annual common dividend, or if Apple increases it stock buyback program, we estimate Apple’s cash balances could increase by another $35 billion in 2013 and exceed $170 billion."
When it comes to cash reserves, Apple has roughly twice as much as its closest competitor. Microsoft was sitting on total cash reserves of $68.3 billion as of December 31, 2012. Google is slightly behind with $48.1 billion.
The only non-technology company in the top five biggest cash-rich companies in the United States was pharmaceutical giant Pfizer with $46.9 billion in cash taking the number four spot. Rounding out the top five is Cisco Systems with $46.4 billion in cash.
This article is over a month old, voting and posting comments is disabled
RE: There is no "returning"!
3/19/2013 12:26:23 PM
If a shareholder does not like how the corporation acts, he can sell his shares. Everyone knows how Apple acts, so they shouldn't be surprised to not receive any dividend or anything more except the value of the share, which is the only thing which belongs to them and not more.
If the company does well, the share rises. If the shareholder forgets to sell his shares then or buys them at its maximum peak then it's his fault if he loses money because of a falling share and not directly Apples.
Sure, Apple could handle counteractive and buy shares up or pay huge amounts of bonuses, but they don't have to.
The only thing you can do is blame them for not using the money for new devices. And if you don't like the way they act, you can sell your share, just as many currently do.
The Apple share constantly increased to a ridiculous amount and shareholders made a lot of money with the Apple share. No one really complained that Apple put back lots of cash.
But then, the Apple shares fell and suddenly big investors want money from Apple. Coincidence?
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Manufacturing innovations coupled with extraordinary demand are revolutionizing the industry and offering new opportunities to players in the sector. On October 15, our chief people officer and Operations practice leader Katy George joined the Washington Post’s Jonathan Capehart for a discussion on the promise of new manufacturing technology, the potential for industry transformation, and the central role that people will play in success. Earlier in the segment, Mr. Capehart was joined by US Labor Secretary Martin J. Walsh.
You can watch the entire event at Washington Post Live or read on for edited highlights from Katy’s remarks.
On America’s manufacturing opportunity
The future of America depends on sustainable and inclusive growth, and, as Secretary Walsh said, technology is key to that. And that is about shifting from 20th century manufacturing to 21st century manufacturing. We have this really exciting window [to make this shift] because supply shortages and the lack of resilience in our supply chain has been incredibly painful and damaging. But the flip side is that it has accelerated many companies’ journeys to digitize and use automation and advanced analytics in modernizing their manufacturing and their supply chains.
On the fear of automation
The companies that have been on the forefront of the technology frontier have actually created more jobs. There are some types of jobs that will diminish in size, but as companies are successful in driving productivity and growth, they actually create more jobs, different types of jobs.
One of the pieces of work that I think is most interesting in this space is the work that we’ve done with the World Economic Forum, where we have identified what is now about 90 different manufacturing sites or supply chains around the world that are at the forefront of adopting Industry 4.0, or Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies, including automation.
What’s so exciting is that all of these examples, all of them, have been really marked with a worker centricity. They are all about actually supporting the frontline workforce, upskilling them, and making their jobs easier.
On manufacturing’s “people shortage”
It is absolutely the biggest issue that the sector faces. When we talk to the CEOs of our [client] companies, people are their number one issue. That’s across the board but particularly in manufacturing where, frankly, some of the shortages that we’re seeing now started pre-pandemic and they’ve just gotten worse.
One of the things that the manufacturing sector is trying to do is to convince American workers that manufacturing is an exciting, high-tech industry with long-term career potential. And that’s a real change in mindset from the manufacturing of yore.
On successful manufacturing-tech transformation
Many companies are trying to introduce new technologies into their existing sites, and they’re doing so one technology at a time as opposed to really thinking through what is the business impact they’re trying to have. The problem is that that one technology alone doesn’t transform the way work is done or operational performance.
The companies that we’re seeing that are most successful take a specific area, and they typically introduce 30 or 50 different technology use-cases all at the same time. It’s augmented reality paired with digital performance management; paired with using the data from that performance management system to do advanced analytics to improve yield; paired with a digital solution to connect to the demand signal and really understand the total supply chain.
When you put all of those things together, which sounds daunting but can be done in a pretty pragmatic way, you get real transformation in performance, and the companies who have been successful truly are resetting benchmarks.
What I think is exciting is they are resetting benchmarks on productivity and the output that they can achieve. At the same time, they are resetting benchmarks on flexibility and also on carbon emissions, energy usage, and sustainability. We are no longer seeing this tradeoff between cost and flexibility, cost and sustainability. You can have both.
On inspiring manufacturing’s next-generation of workers
There is kind of an old-fashioned paradigm of manufacturing being very repetitive and difficult work. And although automation will disrupt some roles, it will also create new roles that actually are much more high-tech than the roles of the past, and frankly, not as repetitive.
We can automate the repetitive stuff, we can automate the dirty stuff and the dangerous stuff. And if you do that, the workforce of today in manufacturing really is operating in a high-tech environment. It’s actually a very exciting profession.


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Two friends from Timmins are spreading a positive message with their new business.
Noah Lacroix and best friend Vincent Cavalieri have developed the brand Egothentic, offering a line of clothing and other items with a special message.
“The message of the brand is for everyone to be proud of who they are regardless of what other people think,” Lacroix explained. “It has turned into a movement which we are calling the We Are Us movement, we are who we are, we are us.
“The entire movement is based on a symbol that I had come across in the birth of the company, the O-X symbol, which is an O that is crossed out, representing crossing out opinions.”
Personal experiences inspired the development of the message and the brand.
“It all came to be because I personally was witness to people being victims of bullying, discrimination and being shunned for who they were trying to be,” he said. “I was also a victim as well, which, in a way, motivated me to try and combat that.
“The best way I found to do it was to take something as simple as clothing, something that we put on every single day — you know, we throw the shirts on our backs, pull our pants up every morning and we go out. I thought, let’s make that mean something. Because a lot of people are now wearing clothes that are somewhat out of the ordinary and they’re being shunned for it. Let’s make clothing mean something and put a symbol on it and make a movement behind it.”
The Egothentic brand was launched this past spring. Customers can order shirts, hats, towels, mugs and other items through the Egothentic website.
“I founded it myself April 1, and my partner showed interest in it mid-April,” Lacroix said. “To develop the clothing (for customers), it can vary, but at least a week. We use a third-party manufacturer right now to development the clothing, then it is immediately sent freshly made to our customers.
“We started in April, now we are in our fifth month operating.”
The duo has relied heavily on social media to spread the word about their business.
“We done multiple interviews … we’ve had a couple of podcasts, we’ve had a lot of shares on Facebook, likes on Instagram too,” he said. “We’re now moving into a new chapter where we’re going to start doing wholesale soon, so we’re going to be present in the city, we’re going to be in public stores and trying to put ourselves out there even more to eventually be outside of Timmins.
“Vincent is in Ottawa right now, so he’s probably going to be doing some sales down in Ottawa, so we’re trying to get further around Ontario to get people to see the message.”
Lacroix described the thought process used to develop the logos used in the Egothentic brand.
“I wanted to make something simple. There are opinions people want to get rid of out there that shouldn’t matter, the only opinions about yourself that matter are your own,” he said. “So, I thought of crossing it out, something very simple that you can put on a hat, you can actually incorporate it into a logo, the actual Egothentic name.
“The name itself, Egothentic, is symbolic. Ego meaning pride, yourself proud, and thentic meaning authentic, which when you put them together means authentically proud. Egothentic is being authentically proud of yourself.”
People on social media have embraced the brand and help spread the message behind Egothentic.
“Every share that everybody does, every small exposure doesn’t just help us, it helps those who are being shunned or discriminated against for who they are,” Lacroix said. “We’ve gotten some sales, not only in Canada but in the United States as well.
“The feedback has been widely positive, very little negative. People understand the message we’re trying to push, what we’re doing.”
One of the keys to the success enjoyed by Egothentic so far is that the brand’s message is genuine.
“People love the symbolism. People love the fact that we’re real people,” he said. “We enjoy staying close to the customers that we have. We enjoy hearing people’s stories, supporting everyone who is trying to be themselves. It’s not just a company that we’re trying to put out there, it’s also me and my partner trying to say, ‘Hey, we’re real people. We’ve been through everything.’”
Spreading their positive message is most important to these young entrepreneurs.
“We want to continue to grow, continue to push the message that everyone should be proud of who you are,” Lacroix said. “That’s what we’re really standing behind.”


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We are proud to announce that Relocality has been chosen as one of 15 emerging technology companies that will compete at the Realogy FWD Innovation Summit on Tuesday, June 18 in Madison, NJ.
From the Realogy press release:
"The response we received from technology entrepreneurs was tremendous, and we are thrilled to be hosting a select group of 15 companies that will compete for the right to be crowned the Realogy FWD Innovation Summit Champion," said Alex Perriello, president and CEO of the Realogy Franchise Group. "This invitation-only event is designed to find and attract the best new technology products and services for our franchise networks and company-owned residential real estate brokerages."
Approximately 100 companies applied for the opportunity to present their most innovative new technology products or services designed for the real estate industry."
If you're around don't be shy and say hi, we'd love to hear from you!


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The need for efficient and low-cost internet connectivity in Nigeria
The poor state of internet connectivity has been detrimental to economic development in Nigeria. The Ookla Speedtest Global Index reports that Nigeria’s average internet download speed currently stands at around 10.02 megabytes per second, which is way below the global average of 22.99 megabytes per second. As a result of this, Nigeria ranked 108th in internet download speed out of 132 countries in August 2018. The Nigeria Communications Commission reports that within January and July 2018, 956,546 new internet users were recorded, making the number of total internet users 105 million as of August 2018. This represents a 22% minimum internet penetration.
Photo credit; thepcworks
These numbers show that Nigeria ranks 8th among the top 20 global internet users, surpassing the number of users in developed nations like the United Kingdoms and France. (internetworldstats). It is high time Nigeria puts its ranking as the world’s most populous black nation making the country level-up with other developed nations. According to the World Bank’s World Development Report 2016, internet connectivity is a major accelerator of economic growth; with every 10% increase in connectivity, there is a 1.38% corresponding growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The high cost of internet connectivity in Nigeria is of great concern due to the fact that many businesses and individuals, most especially the start-ups and youths can barely afford its cost. It also adds to overhead costs of small-scale enterprises which drastically increases the cost of doing business in Nigeria. Therefore, the high cost of internet connectivity affects the growth of businesses and the quest for acquiring valuable knowledge through the internet, thereby impeding the probability of businesses and individuals to produce world-class technological innovations. Despite this challenges, a certain level of progress has been recorded in the information technology sector, but not enough to compete with the rest of the world. Therefore, there is a need for government to create an environment for proper funding, creative capital support, and proper policies to support a robust economic and social environment, as well as protection and sustenance of investments already on the ground, in order to make connectivity more accessible, efficient and affordable. Indeed, the internet has paved way for quite a number of Nigerian start-ups which started with a few employees to grow into multi-million dollar corporations like Andela, Ventures, Itanna, and CCHub. Director-General of the National Information Technology Agency (NITDA), Dr. Isah Ibrahim, during an IT program aimed at encouraging innovations in the ICT sector stated that start-ups contributed $101 million to the Nigerian economy in the first three quarters of 2018. The advent of these companies has increased employment opportunities in the tech sector, thereby contributing to the nation’s socio-economic development. Economic opportunities are brought to millions of people within the shortest possible time to trade in goods and services. Also, the required skills to enable individuals survives in an ever-changing technology-driven world can easily be acquired at the individual's pace through fast and affordable internet connectivity, thereby giving room for other economic and social activities to thrive. It is quite common for Nigerians to make great advancements in innovation if the conditions are favorable. Lately, a few private firms have made moves to boost internet connectivity in the country, most notably the launch of 5 new Google Stations in Lagos State, which is Nigeria’s largest commercial city and more recently on December 6, 2018, in Abuja, the nation’s capital. This move is aimed at granting access to millions of Nigerians across the country in order to spur economic and social growth. Therefore, it is imperative for the government to capitalize on this move by funding or subsidizing a national backbone network in order to encourage the building of critical infrastructure needed to create a platform where access to efficient connectivity would be high and at minimal cost. This would also lead to lifting the pressure 105 million Nigerian internet users are putting on existing infrastructure. The Government needs to put measures in place to checkmate the vandalization of communication infrastructure across the country. The government also needs to speed up implementation of the National Broadband Policy (NBP), which was launched in 2013 by Former President Goodluck Jonathan, and finalise permits to licensed Infrastructure Companies (InfraCos) to ease the development of infrastructure in that regard, as well as the licensing of additional backbone networks to improve internet connectivity and drive down cost.; this move is expected to provide internet access to every nook and cranny of the country and boost every sector of the nation's development. Strong policies also need to be formulated to pave way for competitiveness and creation of values in Nigeria’s socio-economic sector Looking at the nearest future where internet connectivity goes beyond connecting devices and people, to connecting almost everything from cars, planes, home appliances, water plants, fish ponds, and many others; it is high time Nigeria explored the potential of its massive number of internet users to revolutionize the nation’s socio-economic status and take its rightful place as the giant of Africa.


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Mate 30 renders leaked in full courtesy of Evan Blass
Huawei’s keenly anticipated Mate 30 line has been leaked in full ahead of its launch this week. The Mate 30 comes in three principle models; the Mate 30 Pro, the Mate 30 and the Mate 30 Lite. As you can see from the photos, each has a unique design although the common ground between all of them is a four-camera set up on the rear.
The Mate 30 Pro, for better or worse, picks up a larger front camera notch than its two junior siblings. This is because Huawei continues to promote 3D facial unlocking technology on the device necessitating the larger display cut out. Like the Vivo NEX 3, the Mate 30 Pro also continues with a curved front AMOLED display that bends over the edge in a ‘waterfall’ display style. On the rear, it features a circular quad camera array which it has, once again, co-designed with Leica.
The Mate 30 is arguably the best looking of the three, just as the mid-range Mate 20 was last year. It features a more iPhone-like approach with a flat edge-to-edge screen and this year, features a slightly larger notch than last year. Where the Mate 20 went with a tear-drop notch, the Mate 30 has a larger notch to accommodate a second front-facing selfie camera. Based on early rumors of what the iPhone is going to look like in 2020, the Mate 30 could provide a pretty good preview of what Apple fans might expect for next year’s model.
The Mate 30 Lite keeps a rear design that looks similar to last year’s mid-range Mate 20 with a square quad-camera module. It also gets a more upmarket full-screen look on the front, losing the rather large notch on the Mate 20 Lite in favor of a circular cut-out (punch hole) for its single front-facing selfie camera. Bezels are also thinner this time around too.
The only question mark hanging over the range is how international sales and/or models might be affected by the gimped version of Android, a direct result of the Trump Administration ban on the company. Although not a major issue in Asian markets, the Mate 30 range won't have access to Google Services or the Google Play Store in international markets.


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While initial reports last week indicated that an enormous warehouse discovered in Ukraine packed full of PS4 consoles was being used to mine crypto, a little further investigation has found that the machines were probably being used to farm FIFA Ultimate Team cards.
Is that better? Worse? I’ll leave it up to you. Ukrainian site Delo didn’t buy the initial explanation of it being a crypto farm based on the type of machine being used (PS4s? Not very economical vs graphics cards) but also the fact


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Brew Hub closer to brewing its first batch
LAKELAND - Florida's young but fast-growing craft beer scene is about to get an accelerant. Construction is underway on the 50,000-square-foot Brew Hub on South Frontage Road. The St. Louis-based company plans to offer a model similar to contract-brewing, in which growing breweries use manufacturing capacity at another company to meet demand. The concept allows craft brewers to grow steadily without incurring the debt that comes with building new facilities. The plan is to build Brew Hubs across the United States that will provide brewing operations along with a new twist: marketing, sales and distribution consultation in a partnership with craft labels. Brew Hub aims to reach 70 percent of the U.S. population by building six regional operations.Craft brewers, defined generally as small, independent companies that produce fewer than 6 million barrels of beer annually, supply 6.7 percent of the domestic market. Brew Hub CEO Timothy Schoen said the goal is to tap into a growing beer trend that is projected to reach 15 percent of U.S. beer drinkers within the next few years. "To get to that critical mass, the current craft infrastructure can't handle that," Schoen said. "It's called leverage and scale. They have little and none." Craft beer producers also struggle with quality control as they brew in larger batches and their equipment is pushed to the brink of its capacity. "The challenges become exponential, and that's really where we come in," Schoen said. Lakeland was chosen as the launching spot after the company surveyed 40 sites during the past two years. Access to a major highway was key, as was water, and large populations within 400 miles. Lakeland was within a 100-mile radius of 8.5 million people. Realizing that craft brewers come in different sizes, Brew Hub plans to target three segments: large breweries that produce 70,000 barrels and above, mid-size brewers making between 20,000 and 70,000 barrels, and small-batch operators who make fewer than 20,000 barrels. Brew Hub is starting with a 75,000-barrel capacity, as well as a 100-barrel brew house and an eight-barrel pilot brewery where small-run products and barrel aging can be done. If the company decides to expand, the Lakeland plant would have a 180,000-barrel maximum. Schoen says Brew Hub has signed six clients to the first runs at the Lakeland brewery. He declined to give their names. "The smaller guys who can barely get out of their ZIP code need all of our services, and even some of our liquid development and sales, to expand their footprint and go into new geographies within their own state and into other states," he said. Schoen knows the area well. His first job out of college was working for Anheuser-Busch in Tampa. "Who was my running mate back then?" he asked. "None other than (Tampa beverage distributor) Tommy Pepin." Schoen spent three decades in the beer industry with Anheuser-Busch, managing products such as Bud Dry, Bud Ice, Red Wolf, Michelob Ultra and Michelob AmberBock. When he left the company following Anheuser-Busch's merger with Belgian-Brazilian beverage and brewing company InBev, he was global vice president of the company's sports and entertainment division. Joining him in the Brew Hub management is chief brewer Paul Farnsworth, who will oversee operation of the new facility, including a tasting room. Farnsworth is best known for owning Pedernales Brewing in Fredericksburg, Texas, and for being brewmaster at Nexus Brewing Company in Albuquerque, N.M. For a fast-growing brand like Cigar City Brewery, the Brew Hub is an attractive facility for keeping pace with customer demand. Vice President Justin Clark says the company will reach fermentation capacity by the end of the year, tapping out at about 60,000 barrels annually. For Cigar City, a decision is fast approaching: Spend millions building a new facility or borrow capacity from another brewery? "If Brew Hub was open and ready to brew now, we'd probably be making some beer there," Clark said. Proximity is a huge issue, he said. Contract brew with a company on the other side of the country and the beer's quality might suffer. The expense of shipping thousands of barrels of liquid also adds up. That's why brands such as Sierra Nevada Brewing, Oskar Blues and New Belgium Brewing have opened facilities on the East Coast. "Brew Hub will be 25 exits up from us on I-4," Clark said. "They're in our area. We could literally go brew at their facility and it still would be beer from Cigar City Brewery." The brewery has struggled to meet demand for its Jai Alai IPA as the brand has moved into grocery stores such as Publix and Whole Foods. "You've seen our struggles with being out of stock," he said. "They're going to have all this built-in capacity already. If you start too small, you're going to be catching your tail forever and not be able to gain any traction." email@example.com (813) 259-7324
Hot Wheels: Kids are driving Pinellas County's car-theft epidemic. It's a dangerous, sometimes deadly, game.


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Samsung acknowledged today that some Android Market apps on the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Tab will run at a smaller resolution than the 7-in. screen allows.
"If you download Android Market apps to the Galaxy Tab, you will find that many of those applications are fully scalable," a Samsung spokeswoman said via e-mail in response to an inquiry from Computerworld. "Those applications that are not scalable are framed in the display at 800-by-400 [pixel] resolution." The full 7-in. screen offers a larger 1024-by-600 pixel resolution.
The problem appears to be limited to apps downloaded from the Android Market. The spokeswoman said that Samsung did work with Google on the Galaxy Tab to make certain that Google's "entire suite of mobile services, including Google Maps, are fully scalable to fit the Galaxy Tab's 7-in. screen at 1024-by-600 resolution."
The extent of the problem is still unknown because the U.S. version of the Galaxy Tab, to be sold by all four major U.S. wireless carriers, is not final.
"It has not been exactly determined how many of the Android Market apps will be fully scalable/non-scalable," the spokeswoman said. "What Samsung is focusing on is bringing all of its own proprietary services and apps such as Social Hub, calendar, e-mail, etc., as fully scalable, along with Google mobile services like Google Maps, Gmail, etc. What we do know now is that many of the Android Market apps will be scalable, but it is just too early to put an exact number of percentage."
The problem with sub-optimal screen resolution was anticipated by Google's director of mobile products, Hugo Barra, in a recent interview with TechRadar. Barra said Android 2.2, or Froyo, is not designed for the larger tablet form factor and was intended for smaller screens of perhaps 4 inches or less used on smartphones and other smaller devices.
Some industry analysts, including Rob Enderle of Enderle Group, said the use of Froyo on tablets might result in applications, including games, that appear a "little ugly." Stretching an application to a larger screen can result in out-of-focus images and jagged edges or pixelation, he said.
The problem does not appear to affect applications native to the device or Web browsing or playing of videos.
The issue has raised a dilemma for third-party developers who make applications for the Android Market. Some have suggested the use of scripts for applications intended for smartphones that would run the apps on Froyo-based tablets at a smaller size than the full screen allows.
Samsung appears to be saying it will run some apps smaller on the 7-in. screen automatically, without third-party developer intervention. Some tablets, including the iPad, run applications intended for the iPhone at a smaller size, although those apps can be blown up to full-screen width on Apple's tablet. Doing so causes some elements to appear pixelated, however.
The concern over resolution issues extends beyond the Galaxy Tab. On Monday, HP admitted that its new Android tablet, a companion to its PhotoSmart eStation printer, isn't suitable for applications found in the Android Market. Jeff Walter, a marketing manager of inkjet and Web solutions, said the device has a 7-in. display and that "most Android apps are not designed for 7-in. displays."
Walter's comments, those of Samsung, and even those of Google's Barra were contradicted by a Google official on Friday who asked not be identified and who said Android is optimized for all sizes of devices and that Barra had been quoted out of context. Officials at Google have not responded to repeated requests for further clarification.


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Air conditioning Sony sells an air conditioner to wear inside your clothes and beat the heat on the street
Air conditioning The invisible stove for less than a euro to leave terraces without freezing cold
the whitest paint in the world
according to the
However, the objective of its creators has not been to appear in the famous anecdote, but to seek economic alternatives to the widespread use of air conditioning.
With the aim of saving energy as a backdrop, this peculiar white paint is an invention
of Purdue University
(Indiana, USA) and it took
more than seven years
"When we started this project, we had in mind to save energy and fight climate change," says mechanical energy professor Xiulin Ruan, who has led this project.
A project that arose during classes in Rouen with his university students while they discussed the possibility of creating an exterior paint that was capable of reflecting the radiation of sunlight and making
the surface impregnated by it had a temperature lower than the objects in their environment
without being impregnated by said paint.
Unlike conventional paints that can be found in marking, the paint developed at this university has
a high concentration of barium sulfate
(a compound commonly used in beauty products and photography) present in
particles of different sizes
A component that is also responsible for
its unique tonality
A color that, as they discovered during the course of their experiments, was
necessary to create the highly reflective paint
they were after, they explain from Purdue University.
In this way, the university group was able to develop a painting capable of
reflecting 98.1% of solar radiation while emitting infrared heat
Two properties that make it an ideal replacement for air conditioning systems.
This occurs because the paint absorbs less heat from the sunlight than that emitted by the object impregnated with it, achieving that
the painted surface has a lower temperature than its surroundings without the need to consume energy
paints that can be purchased on the market
only reflect between 80% and 90% of the solar radiation and do not make the object with which they are impregnated colder than its surroundings.
To understand the benefits offered by the paint developed by Ruan and his students compared to the products that can be found on the market, the university explains that if it is used to paint a ceiling with an area of 92 square meters, the interior of
the structure it experiences cooling equivalent to that achieved using air conditioners powered by 10 kilowatts of power
. A figure higher than "the majority of air conditioners that are installed in homes," says Ruan.
Despite the fact that it is an invention recently presented by the University, the painting developed by Ruan and his students will
soon be on sale
thanks to an agreement between the
and a private company that will be in charge of its commercialization and distribution.
According to the criteria of The Trust Project
Gadgets Apple event: iPhone 13 to be announced on September 14
Interior Police buy 15 Israeli equipment to hack "mobile phones at borders"
Technology: Apple gives in (a bit) to pressure to change its app store
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Home THE WORLD TODAY
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The Duluth City Council Monday (Aug. 13) passed the first comprehensive overhaul of the city’s Alcohol Beverage Ordinance in 20 years with little fanfare. The city council had been discussing and revising the potential changes, including a controversial proposal that would have allowed outdoor drinking in a downtown hospitality zone on weekends, for several months.
Council members arrived at final versions of the amendments at an Aug. 6 work session. It was ito remove allowing outdoor consumption of alcoholic beverages purchased from restaurants in the downtown “red zone” on Fridays and Saturdays from consideration.
Outdoor consumption in the two-block red zone near the Duluth Town Green will continue to be allowed for about a dozen city-sponsored, alcohol-sanctioned events a year.
The vote last night on the amendments was 4-0. Councilwoman Marsha Bomar recused herself from the vote since she still has a financial interest in Chocolate Perks, which she recently sold. She financed the sale. The new owner plans to apply for a license to sell beer and wine. Bomar held a license but did not reapply for it since she planned to sell the café/coffee shop.
Other changes that were approved by the city council included:
- Creating a new category of taverns that could operate only downtown. Taverns would not be required to serve food. A 1-1 ratio of restaurants to taverns would be allowed. There are four restaurants located downtown, which would presently allow three taverns.
- Allowing growler shops downtown to sell or give away beer samples.
- Permitting wine, beer and malt beverage tastings in grocery stores at a designated counter. Stores would be allowed to give away or sell samples.
- Allowing overflow restaurant patrons to take their cocktails, beer and wine outside in designated areas while they wait for tables. This would apply citywide. Restaurants would pay $50 for a permit to allow this practice.
- Eliminating the cap on the number of package stores in Duluth. Based on population, there are currently five package stores selling distilled spirits in the city.
- Prohibiting karaoke bars in the city from having private booths and locked rooms. Karaoke and live entertainment would have to take place in open areas, a requirement that would also apply to other establishments with licenses allowing on-premises liquor consumption.
- Establishing a $15 fee for caterers and vendors to apply for permits to sell beer and wine at events in the city.
The proposed changes were the result of a comprehensive review of the Alcohol Beverage Ordinance by city staff. The city’s Alcohol Review Board forwarded the potential changes with their revisions to the city council for action.
Some of the changes support the council’s vision of creating a downtown entertainment district.
The changes were effective wth adoption. Letters are being sent to alcoholic beverage license holders affected by the changes, Duluth City Clerk Teresa Lynn said.


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Correct Answer : Option (D) - Federal Bank
Note : Federal Bank has entered into a Bancassurance partnership with Star Health and Allied Insurance Co Ltd as a corporate agent to provide health insurance products for the Bank’s 8.90 million customers across India. The Bank’s customers can avail benefits of Star Health’s retail products and group affinity products through the bank’s various distribution channels which help the customers to address their complete financial needs under one roof.
Correct Answer : Option (B) - Bharti Airtel
Note : Bharti Airtel on 9th Dec 2021 announced the launch of Airtel India Startup Innovation Challenge in partnership with Invest India. Under this, early-stage technology companies are being invited to demonstrate differentiated solutions in areas such as 5G, Internet of Things, cloud communications, digital advertising and entertainment, Airtel said in a statement.
Correct Answer : Option (A) - Narendra Modi
Note : US President "Joe Biden" is hosting the first of two Summits for Democracy, which takes place virtually between 9th Dec 2021 -to– 10th Dec 2021. India's Prime Minister "Narendra Modi" virtually addressed the summit saying that 'democratic spirit' and 'pluralistic ethos' are ingrained in Indians. A total of 100 nations participated in this ‘Summit for Democracy’.
Correct Answer : Option (B) - Uttar Pradesh
Note : The Haiderpur Wetland abutting the Madhya Ganga barrage, about 10 km from Bijnor in western Uttar Pradesh, has been recognised under the 1971 Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. Uttar Pradesh is now home to 9 Ramsar wetlands. The wetland has also been identified under Namami Gange, a central flagship, as a model wetland along the Ganga.
Correct Answer : Option (C) - Uttarakhand
Note : Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, Pushkar Singh Dhami has launched the 'Milk Price Incentive Scheme' in Dehradun. The scheme is aimed to provide incentives benefiting around 53,000 people of Uttarakhand. The state government is targeting to spend INR 444.62 crore to open 500 milk sales centres in Uttarakhand. It is a Direct Bank Transfer (DBT) scheme, the amount under the scheme would go directly into the accounts of the beneficiaries through their linked bank accounts.
Correct Answer : Option (D) - Microsoft
Note : Microsoft has launched a cybersecurity skilling program with the goal of training over 1 lakh learners by 2022 to address the skills gap and prepare India’s workforce for a career in cybersecurity. The program is meant to give students hands-on experience with security, compliance, and identity fundamentals.
Correct Answer : Option (B) - 8th Dec 2021 to 14th Dec 2021
Correct Answer : Option (A) - Uttar Pradesh
Correct Answer : Option (A) - Shri Narendra Modi
Note : Ken-Betwa inter-linking of rivers project has been approved by the Union Cabinet, which is chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. At 2020-21 price levels, the overall cost of the Ken-Betwa link project has been estimated at Rs. 44,605 crore. The Union Cabinet has approved central support for the project in the amount of Rs. 39,317 crore, which includes a grant of Rs. 36,290 crore and a loan of Rs. 3,027 crore.
Correct Answer : Option (C) - 9th Dec 2021


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What's The Fuss Over Inflation Targeting?
The biggest policy difference between Alan Greenspan and Ben S. Bernanke is over something known as inflation targeting. Greenspan is against it, Bernanke is for it. Here's a guide to understanding the debate.
What is inflation targeting?
It's a policy of announcing what you're going to do, and then doing it. Either the central bank or the elected government chooses and publicizes a target goal for the inflation rate -- say, 2% a year. The bank then publicly estimates how high it expects inflation to be in the coming year. It steers monetary policy to try to hit the target inflation rate. If inflation is getting above the target, the bank would ordinarily raise interest rates to cool the economy and bring inflation back down. If inflation gets too low, the bank would lower rates to juice up growth, raising inflation.
Where is this approach in use?
It is the official policy of Britain, Canada, Australia, Sweden, New Zealand, Brazil, and South Korea, among others.
Is it working for those countries?
Apparently so. According to a Goldman, Sachs & Co. (GS ) study in June, countries that implement inflation-targeting policies tend to stabilize their inflation rates while keeping economic growth on an even keel. The study found that the U.S. and Japan, which don't have formal targets, have more volatile stock and bond markets -- perhaps indicating more investor uncertainty about the direction of inflation.
Why does Bernanke favor inflation targeting?
He thinks that a more "transparent" Federal Reserve policy would promote stable, noninflationary economic growth by giving businesses and consumers more certainty about the future course of interest rates and inflation.
Why is Greenspan against it?
He thinks the Fed can control inflation without announcing a target rate. Plus, he worries that an announced rate would make it harder to respond flexibly and intuitively to a financial crisis or changing economic conditions. Greenspan recognized from a variety of subtle indicators in 1997 that rapid productivity growth was likely to curb inflation -- even though most conventional forecasts predicted accelerating inflation. He persuaded fellow Fed policymakers to not raise interest rates, allowing the economy to flourish.
Does Bernanke admit that inflation targeting would decrease the Fed's flexibility?
No. He says that in a crisis the Fed would do whatever it takes to stabilize the economy. Frederic Mishkin, a Columbia University economist and longtime Bernanke collaborator, says that establishing credibility with the financial markets as an inflation hawk gives an inflation-targeting central bank more, not less, flexibility to tackle recessions.
By Peter Coy in New York
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Years ago, BlackBerry (NASDAQ:BBRY) had little to say about its home nation’s foreign investment regulations and the Investment Canada Act. But then again, years ago, BlackBerry was the world’s top smartphone maker, and if that realization says anything, it’s that time changes everything.
These days, the Canadian smartphone company isn’t doing too hot, and that’s why it’s now working to address foreign-takeover issues in case acquisition problems end up presenting themselves. According to Bloomberg, BlackBerry is meeting with lawmakers to discuss the options it has with the Investment Canada Act, especially now that it is growing increasingly unlikely that a local investment firm will be able to pull off an acquisition.
The legislation in question is that which determines rules for foreign acquisitions of Canadian companies, and because the nation’s government automatically reviews any takeover bid of more than $344 million, BlackBerry is preparing itself for the reality that it could just be the next company to undergo assessment.


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The U of L will soon be launching itself into the mobile age thanks to a mobile application version of the Student Portal coming later this summer. Students will soon be able to download the app from the iTunes App Store and Google Play for iOS and androids respectively. Jamie Chinn, IT Services Applications Development Manager, says an email went out to all summer students the week of June 23 to make them aware and to solicit feedback for future versions.
“We are very aware of how much students use their mobile devices, and we thought providing a mobile app version of the Student Portal would be a good place to start. While the portal performs quite well on a mobile phone browser, this app will make it even easier to navigate from feature to feature on a smaller device like a smartphone,” says Chinn.
The team is busy polishing the prototype with the University’s brand, colors and images, and testing the app for functionality. Following that will be getting it into the App stores. “It takes about a week to get an app approved by Google Play and three weeks to get approval from Apple.”
Chinn says the first version of the app will include much of the same functionality in the portal, and as new features are added to the latter, they will likely be added into the app as well. Mobile app-specific features such as push notifications when final grades are entered are being investigated for a future release.
Students can provide feedback on the App by visiting the Portal site: https://portal.uleth.ca/ , and either submitting a vote in the features poll, or by clicking on the blue Feedback tab on the right side of the page to submit ideas not found in the poll. With each suggestion or vote, students’ names are entered into a weekly draw for a $100 gift card until the end of August.
The Development team expects to have the app available mid-to-late August, which will coincide with the full launch of the student portal.
For more information, contact the Solutions Centre at (403) 329-2490 or firstname.lastname@example.org.


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Facebook Buys Madrid-based Gaming Company PlayGiga To Step Into Cloud GamingFacebook is apparently working on building its own operating system in an attempt to reduce its future dependence on the likes of Apple and Google for its hardware products like Oculus and Portal.
First reported by The Information, Facebook appears to have tasked Microsoft's Windows NT co-author Mark Lucovsky with building an OS from scratch. "We really want to make sure the next generation has space for us," Facebook's VP of hardware Andrew Bosworth told the publication. "We don't think we can trust the marketplace or competitors to ensure that's the case. And so we're gonna do it ourselves," he added.
The planned operating system would be focused more on future products, such as AR glasses, as per a Facebook spokeswoman. Facebook has shared plans to build this type of glasses, with software built in, but the company's likely years away from launching anything in this area.
Facebook has previously thought of ways to alleviate its dependence on Apple and Google though. The Mark Zuckerberg-led social media giant previously tried to build its own smartphone and developed a software layer to work on HTC handsets, though both projects failed and quite miserably at that.
Facebook also previously had another fall-back plan in place, called Project Oxygen, in case its apps were ever blocked or inaccessible from the Google Play Store and Facebook had to ensure users could get them somewhere else.
As noted by TechCrunch's Josh Constine, building its own operating system could potentially allow Facebook more freedom to integrate social interaction and privacy deeper into its devices (hopefully).
It could also prevent a disagreement between Google and Facebook from derailing the roadmaps of Oculus, Portal, or future gadgets. It could actually also make it tougher to force Facebook to spin out some of its acquisitions, especially given how lucrative the likes of Instagram has been for the company.


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Google's mapping solution for cars is getting an HD upgrade at CES 2023. Google's HD map, unlike Google Maps, is not a consumer-facing application. Instead, it is an extra layer of data sent through Google Automotive Services to a car's L2+ or L3 assisted driving systems.
The extra information sits on top of the data from Google Maps and gives details like exact lane markers and the location of objects (like road signs) to help self-driving cars figure out where they are on the road. The driver won't be able to see the HD map or data directly or get to them. At this point, whether the driver will even know if the vehicle is using HD mapping is still being determined. However, the vehicle's ability to help the driver will likely improve when HD mapping is used.
A Google representative said that the HD mapping would first focus on high-traffic roads like freeways, but the representative still needs to say which cities or freeways. They said that Google is working with car companies to determine where the HD map will be most helpful.
Automakers that use Google Automotive Services can now get Google's HD map. Volvo and Polestar said that the Volvo EX90 and the Polestar 3 would soon be able to use the HD map from Google.


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Black Friday 2022 is still over a month away, but that doesn’t mean shoppers have to wait for a good deal on their must-haves for the holidays.
The traditional kickoff to the holiday shopping season typically is on Black Friday on Nov. 25, 2022.
This is good news for shoppers, who are looking to cash in on the savings ahead of the crowds on Black Friday.
Here’s a rundown of which retailers have early Black Friday deals going on now.
Samsung is holding a Black Friday in October sale with up to 40% off on major appliances, including refrigerators, ranges, dishwashers, washers and dryers. You can also find savings on Samsung’s mobile devices, including Galaxy Z Fold4 and Galaxy Z Flip4 memory upgrades, plus up to $1,000 trade-in credit.
Kohl’s is serving up big savings with an extra 20% off online and in-stores through Tuesday. Plus, every $50 purchase gets $10 in Kohl’s Cash. Price reductions are also available on clothing, shoes and accessories for men, women and children.
Amazon is continuing to drop prices just days after its Prime Early Access Sale. Electronics are marked down, including TVs, Amazon devices, Apple iPads, and these Beats wireless headphones. More savings are available for clothing, pet products and home goods items.
Target is releasing new early Black Friday deals each week leading up to the holiday shopping season. The retailer has price reductions on electronics and kitchen products and features a Deal of the Day that offers a deeply discounted item on sale for only 24 hours.
Wayfair has also dropped the price on several items across its site ahead of its Way Day sale that will run Oct. 26 and 27. Price reductions are available on cookware, furniture, bedding and holiday decor.
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Rockstar Releasing A Game Next Year, According To American Hip-Hop Group
There's mounting evidence to suggest that Rockstar Games is releasing a new project in 2020. American hip hop group City Morgue recently took to Instagram to tease that they'd collaborated with the Grand Theft Auto V and Red Dead Redemption 2 studio on... something.
It's currently unclear what exactly the group could be teasing. It might be something fairly mundane, like a new soundtrack for the still-thriving GTA Online. On the other hand, it could very well be a soundtrack for a brand-new game... like GTA VI. It's impossible to say for sure at this point, but City Morgue's Instagram revelation is the latest in a long line of hints that Rockstar has something big on the way.
City Morgue, a hip hop group, teased this on Instagram today pic.twitter.com/SgmuT6jAK7- Yan2295 (@Yan2295) November 10, 2019
Most recently, it was discovered that Rockstar North - the Edinburgh-based branch of the company that led development on Red Dead Redemption 2 - was hiring for an Animation Systems Programmer to work on a new project. The job listing specified that the company was looking for someone to work on developing advanced animation systems for a next-gen open world character-based game.
"Next-gen" presumably refers to the the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Scarlett, both of which are currently expected to arrive towards the end of 2020. Given that City Morgue's mysterious collaboration allegedly arrives in the Summer of 2020, that wouldn't actually line up with the next-gen console launches. Damn.
One of the members of City Morgue later revealed in a DM that the group would be sharing more details "soon." As much as I hate to admit it, it's looking more likely that the collaboration is nothing more than an updated soundtrack for GTA Online.
More Like ThisMore Like This
Having said that, there's every possibility the famously secretive Rockstar could have one more title planned to release before the end of the current-generation's life. Steven Ogg, who played Trevor in GTA V, recently suggested that a sequel would be released by 2020/2021.
According to an attendee at Ogg's appearance on a panel at the Brazil Game Show, the actor revealed that GTA VI would be releasing at some point in the near(ish) future, reasoning that Rockstar's "games take 7-8 years to make, do the math." At this point though, it really doesn't make much sense for Rockstar to release the next Grand Theft Auto on PS4 and Xbox One.
I suppose there's a small chance that Rockstar could see the current generation out with a surprise release of Bully 2. Rumours of a sequel to the 2006 fan-favourite have been flying around a lot this year. It recently came to light that Rockstar started work on a follow-up years back, but ultimately scrapped it.
That's not to say the studio would never start up work on it again, though. Perhaps enlisting a group like City Morgue to work or appear on the game's soundtrack? Honestly, it probably is just an update to GTA V/Online though. Temper your expectations, basically.
Featured Image Credit: Rockstar


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In recent years, the world pineapple market has expanded rapidly with production increasing by nearly 50% since 1998. According to FAO statistics, pineapples are the 11th most cultivated fruit; in 2013, over 24.8 million tonnes were produced.
The growing pineapple market is in part due the popularity of the new ‘Sweet’ or ‘Gold’ pineapple variety which is bigger, has a high sugar content, appealing taste and colour, and is consistent in quality. This variety has sold well since Del Monte launched the first ‘Gold’ pineapple on our supermarket shelves in 1992. The other major fruit companies followed suit.
Most exported pineapples are grown by banana producing companies, often on former banana plantations, employing the same workers and using the same transport and distribution networks. Large-scale pineapple production is at least as environmentally damaging as banana production and workers also face social and economic difficulties.
A Consumers International (CI) film made in collaboration with The Guardian and based on research carried out by Banana Link investigates working conditions in the pineapple industry and its impact on communities and the environment in Costa Rica. See below to watch the film Pineapples: Luxury fruit at what price?
Download The story behind the pineapples sold on our supermarket shelves written by Banana Link on behalf of Consumers International.
Read 2014 research conducted by Fairfood International exposing ‘Paradise Lost: The bitter reality behind working in the Philippine pineapple industry‘
Download Update on the 2010 Report from Consumers International and Bananalink (November 2013)
Read The Guardian Weekend magazine feature Bitter fruit: The truth about supermarket pineapple.
Two years on, the investigation into the pineapple industry in Costa Rica is showing some signs of progress. Read the report by Consumers International: Pineapples: The true price of luxury fruit revisited.


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This was only a rumour earlier this week, but lo and behold, it is now official: Google is buying Fitbit for a whopping $2.1 billion, which comes up to about RM8.7 billion. With this acquisition, Google will have the resources it needs to enter the wearable market.
Previously, Google’s role in the wearable market was limited to the software side of things with its Wear OS platform. But now that it owns Fitbit, the search giant can now release its own wearable hardware too. It may not be that long before we start seeing smartwatches and fitness bands with Google’s very own branding.
According to the Google’s Senior Vice President of devices and services, Rick Osterloh, the Fitbit acquisition will allow the company to “invest even more in Wear OS as well as introduce Made by Google wearable devices into the market.”
But what about existing Fitbit users? How will this affect them? Well, both Google and Fitbit assure these users that their health and wellness data obtained by Fitbit will not be used for Google ads. Google also elaborated that existing Fitbit users “will be given the choice to review, move, or delete their data.”
Given Google’s continued push to move beyond providing software for smartphones and wearables, its acquisition of Fitbit isn’t all that surprising. After all, it took over a part of HTC’s smartphone team just two years ago to further bolster the development of its Pixel phones. That particular deal seems to be going relatively well for the company, especially with the release of the Pixel 3A and Pixel 4.
Then again, it remains to be seen just how Google’s purchase of Fitbit will benefit Wear OS in the long run; a smartwatch platform that has been largely ignored for the past couple of years. While there’s still a lack of new Wear OS devices in the market, Apple is making strides with its Apple Watches, Samsung has its own Tizen-based smartwatches, and heck, even Fitbit itself doesn’t use Wear OS.
Hopefully, Google’s acquisition of Fitbit will see even better Wear OS offerings in the near future. If that’s the case, Android – and even iOS – users will have even more options when it comes to smartwatches, which should make the wearable market that much more competitive.


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Fresh fears over the health of the nation emerged last night as a report claimed that on average, each person in the UK is eating 4kg less fruit and veg a year than in 2007 - a drop of 3 per cent.
It works out at 75 grammes - roughly an apple - less a week.
Each day, we eat an average of 346g-worth of fruit and veg, below the Americans, Irish and the 400g threshold recommended by the World Health Organisation.
The report, by food experts at investment bank Rabobank, blamed the effects of the credit crisis on family spending power and the power of processed and convenience food companies.
Cindy van Rijswick, Rabobank food analyst, told the Daily Telegraph: "The UK economic crisis had a larger effect on consumer habits than other countries such as Germany where there wasn't much of an effect at all.
"Also, the impact of promotions and advertising and marketing from the processed food industry is higher than other countries."
She added: "People often have a wrong perception about healthy food, they thjink healthy food is expensive. In the UK you see lower income families where children are eating crisps for breakfast because the parents think it's cheaper."
The Rabobank report, based on Euromonitor figures, shows that while fruit and veg consumption has fallen 3 per cent since the start of 2007, it's fallen 1.1 per cent in Spain, 1.4 per cent in France and 4 per cent in Italy.
In the US, famed for its obesity crisis, fruit and veg consumption has gone up to an average of 134.3kg a year, compared with 126.7kg in the UK.
The Department of Health launched it's 5-a-day campaign, encouraging people to eat more fruit and veg, in 2000.
The National Diet and Nutrition Survey last year showed that despite the campaign, adult were still only eating four portions a day and children were eating even less. A review of eating habits in 19 EU countries last year ranked the UK 14th.
Asked for a response, the Department for Health said consumption had gone up over the past decade.
On Monday, it emerged the Government is seeking a crackdown on multi-buys such as buy-one, get-one-free on fatty snacks and fizzy drinks as part of an anti-obesity drive.


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To be more precise, a total of 2.09 million vehicles were handed over to customers, an increase of over 12 percent over the 1.86 million shifted in the same period of last year. The brand reported another noticeable increase in deliveries for the month of May, with 436,400 vehicles sold, a rise of 16.1 percent over the 376,100 achieved in the same month of last year.
“Our positive trend continued in May and we have posted yet another delivery record,” Christian Klingler, Board Member for Sales and Marketing for the Volkswagen Group and the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand, commented in Wolfsburg on Today, June 14h.
The brand delivered 792,100 vehicles in the Asia / Pacific region from January to May - an increase of almost 19 percent - of which 714,200 units were handed over to customers in China alone, the largest single market in the world for the German carmaker. Meanwhile, in North America Volkswagen Passenger Cars handed over 194,600 vehicles to customers in the first five months, and you’d be forgiven for thinking things are going to pick up even more with the arrival of the 2012 Beetle and facelifted Tiguan.
The brand reported a noticeable increase in the Central and Eastern Europe region, with deliveries rising 40.2 percent to 71,900 units. The company almost doubled deliveries in the single market of Russia to 34,400 units.


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Webjet (WEB) $7.58
WEB +3.84%: reported a big turnaround in FY23 at their full-year results today, plus they confirmed the first 7 weeks of trade in FY24 have been solid, despite saying a more firm number on guidance will be given at their AGM in August. Reported sales today of $364m came in around 6% above consensus while underlying earnings (EBITDA) came in at $135m, about 9% above expectations. Clearly, the rebound in travel has been strong, although they did talk to capacity constraints amongst flight booking as an ongoing issue.
- What comes next is now more important for the travel stocks, and we are more neutral than bullish in the short term


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When: Monday 28 November – Friday 2 December 2016
Where: AU Headquarters, Addis-Ababa, Ethiopia
Who: Organised by the Department of Trade and Industry in collaboration with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA)
Objective: The ATW2016 will focus on the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA), with emphasis on Trade Facilitation, implementation as well as building Productive Capacities for Industrialisation.
The post Africa Trade Week 2016 (ATW2016): Invitation to Representatives of the Media appeared first on African Business Magazine.
from African Business Magazine http://ift.tt/2faGaT1


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Netflix shares are sinking sharply after the streaming service suffered its first subscriber loss in more than a decade.
The company’s customer base fell by 200,000 subscribers during the January-March period, the company disclosed Tuesday in releasing its latest earnings report. Netflix’s stock price plunged more than 37% to $219.50 in early trading on Wednesday as investors fretted about the company’s slowing growth and mounting competition.
UBS analysts downgraded their rating on Netflix’s stock from “buy” to “neutral,” citing fierce competition in streaming, economic headwinds and market saturation.
The decline in subscribers is the first since Netflix became available throughout most of the world outside of China six years ago. The drop this year stemmed in part from Netflix’s decision to withdraw from Russia to protest the war against Ukraine, resulting in a loss of 700,000 subscribers.
Even so, Netflix acknowledged its problems are deep-rooted by projecting a loss of another 2 million subscribers during the April-June period.
The company reported revenue of nearly $7.9 billion in the period, falling slightly short of Wall Street forecasts. For the current quarter ending in July, Netflix said it expects revenue of just over $8 billion. Analysts surveyed by Zacks had expected revenue of $8.2 billion.
A series of declines
If the stock drop extends into Wednesday’s regular trading session, Netflix shares will have lost more than half of their value so far this year — wiping out about $150 billion in shareholder wealth in less than four months.
Netflix also lost 800,000 subscribers in 2011 after it unveiled plans to begin charging separately for its then-nascent streaming service, which had been bundled for free with its traditional DVD-by-mail service. The customer backlash to that move elicited an apology from Netflix CEO Reed Hastings for botching the execution of the spin-off.
The service also saw a decline in U.S. subscribers in 2019.
But the latest subscriber loss was far worse than a forecast by Netflix management for a conservative gain of 2.5 million subscribers. The news deepens troubles that have been mounting for the…


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eReaders, tablets, and digital tools to assist in further education
In an age where students are taking untraditional routes when it comes to higher education and their tools, we’re taking a look at what’s new in the eReader market. As less and less people rely traditional textbooks and libraries to gather their needed information, and more and more students go to digital textbooks and the Internet to get what they need, eReaders are becoming ever-popular in classrooms and Ivy League campuses around the nation.
Bookless libraries seem to be the buzzword these days on college campuses and offer rows of computers and access to millions of electronic platforms and items to better assist with students’ education. Take for instance Drexel University’s new Library Learning Terrace which opened this June.
Scott Erdy, designer of the new library says that the space promotes open and flexible space, movable furniture and a wall that acts as one giant whiteboard allowing students and staff members the ability to transfer knowledge. Danuta Nitecki, dean of Drexel’s libraries tells Time.com, “We don’t just house books, we house learning.” It looks like Kansas State University was the first to go bookless in 2000 with its engineering library and Stanford University and the University of Texas at San Antonio followed suit in later years.
Read on about what’s new in the eReader market, whether it’s new devices, apps for students, or digital textbook programs that are taking students into the digital age even further.
Amazon Kindle Textbook Rentals
Just in time for the back-to-school shopping season, Amazon announced its new Kindle Textbook Rental which will allow students to save up to 80 percent on its retail prices of textbooks – while also promoting its popular eReader device. Students can rent out eBooks from the Kindle Store instead of buying them the traditional way. Amazon says that tens of thousands of textbooks are available as students start the 2011 school year. Rental length options equally abundant ranging between 30 to 360 days.
Students only pay for the time they need a text book and can extend rentals in specific time periods, like a single day or even convert a rental to purchase it at a discounted rate. Additionally, students can even access their notes and highlights after their rental period ends by visiting Amazon’s website. The company already announced that it will launch a free version of its Kindle Lending Library later this year so we can imagine consumers will be keeping an eye on this sector of the business.
Kindle with Wi-Fi
The ever-popular Kindle by Amazon was one of the first ways to read digital books and became a standard toy when traveling, hitting the beach, and pretty much any other opportunity when users knew they would be in need of a distraction for a couple hours. The Kindle is sleek, light, has a battery life of up to two months, stores up to 3,500 books and can download new books in 60 seconds.
The best part of the Kindle has to be the built-in Wi-Fi in addition to its 3G wireless capabilities so you can search the web for new reading ideas. If you don’t mind constant advertisements, the Kindle 3G with Special Offers is $50 cheaper and offers special offers for Amazon.com gift cards and sponsored screensavers.
In our opinion, Apple’s tablet devices are the prettiest ones out there. From better graphics, usability, and special programs designed for better efficiencies, the iPad is always our top pick for eReaders and beyond. The next generation iPad device is in the woodworks and the term “iPad HD” seems to be the buzzword around the block.
Reports are coming out saying that the next-gen device will be equipped with the Retina display that made Apple’s iPhone so loved. It’s also been leaked that Samsung and LG have both provided Apple with high-resolution LCD displays that are being quality tested at Apple’s China facility. While the next-gen device will probably hold on to its 9.7-inch display, its resolution is allegedly going to be quadrupled and we can imagine the price points will be equally hefty.
Sony’s Reader Touch Edition offers a 6-inch clear touch screen that reads just like a real book. Page turning is easier and content can be purchased from the online Reader Store if you’re looking for new releases and best sellers. More than two million free titles are also available, as well as links to borrow eBooks from local public libraries is another novel option provided by the Sony Reader. The Reader’s 2GB of storage space allows you to hold up to 1,200 books.