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Kayo now has more than 600,000 paying customers, as audiences return to the streaming service following the global pause on live sport, according to reports in the Herald.
While many streaming services enjoyed an increase in subscriptions owing to the pandemic, COVID-19 decimated Kayo’s numbers, with paying subscribers falling by 136,000 in the month of April alone.
However, with the AFL and NRL having successfully returned in Australia, Kayo has now surpassed its pre-COVID subscriber numbers.
The current 600,000 is up from 408,000 paying subscribers as of March 31 (although this figure was likely already negatively impacted by COVID).
According to the Herald, Foxtel CEO Patrick Delaney told advertisers Kayo’s recent surge brings Foxtel’s total sports customers to beyond 2 million.
“We’ve gone from really big lows to great highs. As we sit here today we have more sports subscribers than we’ve had in 25 years,” Delany said.
“[Kayo] is now sitting at over 600,000 paying subscribers which makes it one hell of a sports platform especially when you add it with the Foxtel premium platform, we now have close to 2 million sports subscribers.”
Foxtel could also become the sole broadcaster of cricket in Australia, with Seven West Media currently exploring legal avenues to terminate its agreement with Cricket Australia.
Foxtel recently asked Cricket Australia for a discount on its multi-million-dollar agreement with the organisation.
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Twitter has just experienced its fastest growth in revenue since 2014, with the social media platform benefiting from increased interest from advertisers. Revenue was up 74 per cent YoY, according to the company’s Q2 results, reaching $US1.19 billion ($1.6 billion) from $US683.4 million ($925 million) 12 months ago. The strong results came in the same […]
Wild Turkey has announced the launch of its new global creative campaign and platform, ‘Trust Your Spirit’, featuring the brand’s creative director and spokesperson, Matthew McConaughey. The global campaign and platform ‘Trust Your Spirit’ is to encourage people to be bold, unapologetically themselves, and stay true to who they are. The global tagline and ethos […]
Telecommunications company Optus has announced it will launch the world’s first TikTok sign-language activated filter. Featuring Optus ambassador Ian Thorpe, Optus will unveil a branded effect that shows TikTok users how to say key phrases in Auslan sign language, including ‘How are you?’ and ‘It starts with Yes’, through the hashtag challenge #SignYes. Optus will […]
Podsights has revealed new insights into the effectiveness of advertising in podcasts, tracking global and Australian podcast advertising trends. This is the first Australian report to be published since ARN partnered with Podsights to set the standard for best-in-class podcast advertising measurement. The report includes additional analysis and follows a series of Measurement Masterclasses held for […]
NGEN’s 2021 charity cup has raised over $175,000 for UnLtd charity partner Gotcha4Life. Gotcha4Life is a not-for-profit foundation raising awareness and funding to provide educational workshops and innovative programs that build mental fitness in individuals and communities. While Sydney and Brisbane completed the Charity Cup in June, before Covid restrictions hit, the final leg in […]
Australian tech incubator Cicada Innovations and Biennale of Sydney are launching the ‘New & Sustainable Materials Challenge,’ in an effort to create a more sustainable future. The works of chosen material-makers will be showcased to millions of Biennale audiences, exhibition partners, and exhibition makers globally. The Challenge is open to any Australian and UK startups, […]


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Former Canopy Growth Corp. (WEED.TO)(CGC) co-CEO and chairman Bruce Linton says he has been “leaning in super hard” on the team at a small Canadian technology firm, borrowing from the business playbook he used to build the world’s largest cannabis company.
TSX Venture-listed shares of Martello Technologies Group Inc. (MTLO.V) surged after investors spotted Linton sporting a t-shirt with the company’s logo in place of his usual Canopy Growth apparel in television interviews after his ousting from the cannabis producer last week.
Linton jokes the shirt is now worth about $50 million due to the attention it drummed up for Ottawa-based Martello.
The company specializes in cloud and enterprise network solutions. Or as Linton puts it, they make things like streaming and video conferences “way less annoying and functional” for corporations around the world.
Linton, who worked mainly in the technology sector before he founded Canopy Growth in 2013, has been involved with Martello for the past six years. Now, he says he wants to pass on some of the strategies he used to scale Canopy Growth from a $100 million market capitalization to $17.5 billion in just a few years.
“I’ve been leaning in super hard on them to say, ‘Guys . . . you can buy companies one at a time, or you can sign three or four or five up, make it binding on them, and then figure out which one you want to buy,’” Linton to Yahoo Finance.
“What I’m doing is taking some of the things that I have learned, a little bit more of my standard ‘put the screws in as fast as you can’ (strategy),” he added. “What I really want to do is make it a solid serious business which could either make a good home in a private equity firm or be a bigger market capital company.”
Linton has a track record for bold strategy, innovative deal-making and scaling businesses faster than his competition.
Canopy Growth became North America’s first publicly traded cannabis company in 2014. During his tenure, Linton spent billions acquiring or investing in at least 30 companies, including an option to buy U.S.-based Acreage Holdings Inc. (ACRG-U.CN) should cannabis become federally legal in the states.
He oversaw the build-out of over five million square feet of licensed growing capacity, expansion to 12 countries, and the development of celebrity partnerships with Snoop Dogg, Martha Stewart and Seth Rogan.
Then there’s the blockbuster $5 billion dollar investment Canopy Growth received from Constellation Brands Inc. (STZ) The deal was largely seen to legitimize investment in cannabis when it was announced last year, sparking a sector-wide rally.
How much are Canopy Growth’s new products worth? Call me in five years
Constellation Brands’ massive stake in Canopy Growth would eventually see Linton pushed out by board members from the beer and wine-maker who grew wary of his big spending ways.
Linton sees the Smiths Falls, Ont.-based cannabis producer more akin to Amazon Inc. (AMAZ), Netflix Inc. (NFLX), or a tech startup, rather than a slower-growth company meant to live and die by quarterly results.
“Canopy is really in my mind a startup which has created a really good base in Canada. But even the opportunity in Canada is just beginning to open up with new products coming out at the end of the year,” he said, referring to the cannabis-infused edibles, drinks and vapes expected to be available in late 2019.
“I have this idea that massive creative energy focused on a field that is coming out of prohibition should be measured on intellectual property achievements, and novel creation of products, because those will be the branded differentiated good versus a rolled joint. All these things come with a big cost. How much is it worth? Call me in five years, I’ll tell you.”
A non-compete clause prevents Linton from joining another Canadian cannabis company, but that does not mean he is turning his back on the sector. He said he will “need to be selective” in choosing his next opportunity in cannabis.
Linton said he is also eyeing 5G, AI or other spaces where he can see a big marco trend or policy change spurring rapid growth. (Like recreational cannabis legalization in Canada did for Canopy Growth.)
As for Martello, Linton says his plan is to “push” the company forward.
“Right now, it’s just push, push, push,” he said. “And I like that.”

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Japan's trade deficit widened sharply to a record in 2013 as import costs outpaced export receipts due to a weaker yen and higher fuel bills.
The third annual shortfall in a row was a reminder of the challenge facing Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
The record run of annual deficits by a nation that for decades had racked up hefty trade surpluses has raised questions about how Japan can fund and contain public debt of over $10 trillion, or more than twice the size of its economy.
Abe's reflationary policies have weakened the yen, driving up the value of export receipts in yen terms and boosting exporters' earnings, but so far have failed to shore up volumes.
Economists have anticipated a so-called "J-curve" effect from the weak yen, where a spike in import costs would over time be more than offset by gains in exports.
But the currency's decline has not led to the export turnaround needed to bring the trade balance back into the black, because exporters have not yet passed on their price advantage to customers overseas.
Ministry of Finance data today showed exports rose 9.5% in 2013, the first gain in three years, but export volumes fell 1.5%, a third consecutive fall.
Japan's annual trade gap was a record 11.47 trillion yen ($112 billion), about two-thirds larger than 2012's 6.94 trillion yen shortfall. It was the third annual deficit in a row, the longest run in the data that goes back to 1979.
Analysts say monthly trade deficits may narrow in coming months as a global recovery boosts export demand and a surge in consumer spending eases after a sales tax increase in April.
The MOF data showed exports rose 15.3% in December from a year earlier, led by car exports to the US, a key market. While below economists' median forecast for a 17.8% gain, it was a 10th consecutive month of gains.
Imports rose 24.7% in December from a year earlier, compared to an expected 26.1% gain. Import costs have risen both due to the weaker year and higher fuel imports after Japan shut down nuclear power plants following the Fukushima disaster in 2011.
Japan's current account logged a record deficit in November, remaining in the red for second month.
Some analysts say trade shortfalls could pull the current account into the red in coming years, meaning that Japan may start chipping away at its vast pool of domestic savings and increasing the need to rein in its huge public debt.


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The growing prevalence of cybercrime has made securing federal information systems a top priority for the U.S. government. National and international pressures on the U.S. government regarding cybersecurity regulations and standards have expanded the federal cybersecurity market considerably.
Business owners should take note of how the U.S. government is investing in cybersecurity. By monitoring the federal cybersecurity market closely, business leaders can gauge how much they may need to invest in cybersecurity to keep their business safe. This information can also be useful for keeping up to date with recent developments in cybersecurity best practices.
The Current Cybersecurity Landscape in USA
Cybersecurity attacks and data breaches happen more often than ever. They also have more devastating consequences than ever before. 2018 saw the infamous Equifax data breach, followed by other high-profile breaches. Breaches at Marriot and Quora compromised the collective data of over 600 million users. Other data breaches at Google, Facebook, Chegg and TicketFly compromised the data of hundreds of millions of individuals. If these numbers aren’t shocking enough, Yahoo revealed in 2017 that all 3 billion of its user accounts were compromised.
It’s not just big businesses that are suffering from a dramatic uptick in cybercrime. Forty-three percent of cyberattacks target small businesses, and 60% of small businesses go out of business within six months of a cyberattack occurring.
In addition to increasing their output of cyberattacks, cybercriminals are constantly evolving their approach to cybercrime.
Here are some of the biggest upcoming threats in cybersecurity:
- Phishing is becoming more sophisticated. Cybercriminals have moved away from obviously fake emails or letters and have started infiltrating messaging services to enact cyberfraud.
- Ransomware is on the rise. The infamous WannaCry ransomware attack affected over 300,000 institutions globally. The WannaCry software is still alive and well today, and continues to cause problems for health care institutions.
- Cryptojacking is a new threat. Cryptojacking allows cybercriminals or state spies to compromise infrastructure elements such as electrical grids, water treatment facilities and military systems.
- The vulnerabilities of the IoT and smart devices are being exploited. Smart devices or devices connected to the IoT are notoriously easy to hack. They’re also more popular than ever. Projections indicate that some 75 billion devices will be connected to the IoT by 2025.
Trends And Drivers Shaping The Federal Information Security Marketplace
The U.S. government has invested heavily in curbing cybercrime even when it is not directed at federal resources. When big businesses on U.S. soil suffer data breaches, U.S. citizens are often the most impacted. Additionally, the costs of private data breaches often wind up on the shoulders of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Lastly, the increase in cyberattacks on small businesses has incredibly negative implications for the U.S. economy. A staggering 99.7% of employer firms are small businesses, and small businesses account for 64% of new private-sector jobs. It is in the best interests of the U.S. government to increase cybersecurity regulations across the country to protect the economy and businesses.
More and more pressure is being put on the U.S. government to increase cybersecurity standards and create new cybersecurity regulations. Other entities have adopted rigid cybersecurity regulations to counter the efforts of cybercriminals. One example of such regulations is the EU Cybersecurity Act. The lack of similar legislation in the U.S. puts international pressure on the U.S. to increase cybersecurity spending.
What Increased Federal Cybersecurity Spending Means For Businesses
Projections estimate that the U.S. government will increase spending on cybersecurity from $10.9 billion in 2018 to well over $14.1 billion in 2023. This represents a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 5.3%. The global cybersecurity market is expected to reach over $269 billion by 2026.
This means that businesses as well should be investing heavily in cybersecurity. Business leaders should realize that it only takes one data breach or cyberattack to cripple or even destroy a company. In fact, 60% of small businesses hit by a data breach fold within six months.
Improved cybersecurity is an investment sure to pay off in the long term. According to research by Accenture, the average data breach costs a business $2.4 million. That’s not even accounting for the decreased client loyalty and PR disasters data breaches often cause. Investing in cybersecurity hardly seems burdensome in comparison.
SecureTech has been a leading provider of Cybersecurity Services in San Antonio for over 20 years. We can help your company set up a secure network or increase the security of your existing network, data or systems.


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Cryptocurrencies are the future and could replace the dollar in 10 years, says chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov | Currency News | Financial and business news
- Cryptocurrencies are the future, said chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov.
- He told Coindesk they could replace the dollar within 10 years.
- Kasparov said they offer protection against inflation, although critics are skeptical.
Chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov said he wouldn’t be surprised if cryptocurrencies replaced the dollar in 10 years, and hailed digital assets as the future.
Kasparov, considered by many to be the greatest chess player in history, told Coindesk on Monday that he believes cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin are “digital gold” and can hold their value as inflation rises.
In particular, he said cryptocurrencies are a good tool for people to fight against what he sees as excessive government spending, which he says leads to high inflation that erodes the value of assets.
âIn democratic countries in America and Europe, trillions of dollars will be printed,â he told the crypto news site. “I’m not happy to see that the government has carte blanche to use my taxes, mainly to devalue [the dollar]. “
He added, âI think it’s very important that technology gives me an opportunity to fight back, to protect my hard-earned fortune. And I think bitcoin – which I believe to be online gold – and other cryptocurrencies is the way of the future. .
“I’m no financial expert, but I wouldn’t be surprised if, in 10 years, the dollar is replaced by the basket of coins as standard.”
The idea of ââbitcoin and other cryptos like ‘digital gold’ that can hold their value has gained credibility over the past year as investors seek assets that offer protection against the highest US inflation. since the 1980s.
Proponents say bitcoin is rare – only 21 million coins can be “mined” – like gold, and is therefore more likely to hold its value than other assets.
But critics argue that bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are far too volatile to be reliable stores of value. They point to the bitcoin “winter” which saw the price drop from around $ 20,000 in late 2017 to around $ 3,000 in early 2019.
Kasparov, opposing Russian President Vladimir Putin, has long supported crypto and bitcoin projects. He told Coindesk that he first got involved through the Human Rights Foundation, which advocates cryptocurrencies as a way for people to get funding without government control.
In December, Kasparov published a series of non-fungible tokens – works of art or collectibles whose ownership is verified using cryptographic technology. They feature images from major moments in his life, such as the famous chess match against IBM’s “Deep Blue” computer in the 1990s.


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By Haley Murphy
It seems that more and more lifestyle brands are replacing models with celebrities as faces to represent them. With Fergie for MAC cosmetics, Lindsay Lohan for Fornarina and most recently, Hayden Christensen for Lacoste, it’s no surprise that a California-friendly line like Ocean Pacific (a.k.a. Op) has gathered a few of the hottest Hollywood stars to front its new fall line.
Op started using familiar personalities in ads for its Spring/Summer 2008 “OPen Road” campaign, which starred Kristin Cavallari, Rumer Willis, Christina Milian, Josie Maran, Pete Wentz, Corbin Bleu and Wilmer Valderrama. The original beachy lifestyle brand has now stepped up the ante with "One Tree Hill" actress Sophia Bush, Good Charlotte’s Joel Madden,"The Hills" playboy Brody Jenner, "90210" vixen AnnaLynne McCord, singer (and sister to Beyoncé) Solange Knowles and "Dancing with the Stars" contestant Cody Linley.
The pics and video for the label's new campaign, “OPen Campus," were shot at University High School in L.A. "Op is all about having fun," Anna Lynne said in a press release. "The cast is now great friends and we had a lot of fun shooting this campaign and showing off what's going to be in style for back to school."
What do you think of Op's newest models? And what other celebs do you think would be great for future campaigns?


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Nirav Modi is a luxury jeweller and designer. He is also a fugitive businessman charged with criminal conspiracy.
Founder of Firestar Diamond & Nirav Modi Brand, he owns many stores in locations like Mumbai, Delhi, Hong Kong, London, Macau, and New York.
Nirav Modi is also the key accused in the Punjab National Bank fraud worth Rs 14,000 crore in 2018. Right since then, he escaped India.
Nirav Modi is currently lodged in a UK jail and is fighting extradition to India. But how is he still managing to make money?
Fugitive billionaire diamantaire Nirav Modi, accused in PNB fraud case, is living openly in a swanky 8-million pound apartment in London’s West End and is now involved in a new diamond business, according to a report in Hindustan Times.
Exclusive: Telegraph journalists tracked down Nirav Modi, the billionaire diamond tycoon who is a suspect for the biggest banking fraud in India’s historyhttps://t.co/PpsjGeFEsy pic.twitter.com/v3dN5NotzQ— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) March 8, 2019
Apparently, Nirav Modi has been given the Nation Insurance Number, which allows him to do business in the UK.
At the age of 19, Nirav, with his father, came to Mumbai to work with his uncle Mehul Choksi, the head of Gitanjali Group.
He soon realised jewellery making was his passion, and he wished to do it for the rest of his life.
Many of his designs have been worn to the Oscars by ‘Hidden Figures’ star Taraji P. Henson & the Golden Globes by Dakota Johnson, among others. Actor Priyanka Chopra is the brand ambassador.
The price of his jewellery pieces ranges from ₹ 5 lakh to ₹ 50 crores.
Married to Ami Modi, he has three children. Niraj Modi is probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED). He broadly faces three sets of criminal cases.
Forbes, which ranked him 57 in the Forbes list of billionaires in 2017, also removed him from the list. But after all this, his estimated current wealth is still $100 million.
“Bad Boy Billionaires” a Netflix documentary, talks more about the scams & his life.
So far, the case is ongoing & Niraj Modi is fighting extradition to India.
Read more about How Is Vijay Mallya Still Making Money?
You may also want to know How Does Mukesh Ambani Make His Money?


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This Date June 12, 2017 British Prime Minister Wins Party Backing; Questions Over Uber CEO's Future and Scandal; Qatar Airways CEO Threatens Legal Action; New Trump Lawsuits Could Force Release of Tax Returns; June 09, 2017. Aired 3-4p ET December 18, 2018 Trump Foundation Agrees to Dissolve Amid Lawsuit; Belgian Prime Minister Resigns Over Migration Backlash;.K. Aired 4-5p ET September 13, 2016 Wells Fargo Drops Sales Goals Tied to Scandal;.S. Senator McCain Lying in State at Arizona Capitol; Trump White House Counsel McGahn to Leave Job; Dam-Burst in Myanmar Displaces 50,000 People; San Juan Mayor Blames Trump Administration for Storm Response; Jimmy Carter: West May Need to Seek Peace with Assad; Aston Martin on the. Aired 4-5p ET August 20, 2018 Tesla Stock Is Under Pressure Once Again; Pepsi Makes A Bet On Bubbles With A 3 Billion Deal For SodaStream;.S. Conservative Lawmakers Quit Party Over Brexit; British PM Holds Constructive Meeting with European Commission President; Donald Trump: Decision on Car Tariffs Depends on a Trade Deal with Europe; Samsung Unveils New Folding Galaxy Smartphone;.S. November 14, 2016 Did Not Air November 11, 2016 Did Not Air November 10, 2016 Did Not Air This Date Trump And Obama Meeting At The White House; China-U.S.
Cash Rich and Ready to Spend; Tesco Reports 408 Million Error; 130,000 Syrians Flee to Turkey September 19, 2014 Alibaba Shares End First Day of Trade; Alibaba Valued at 229 Billion; Alibaba Shares Close at 93; iPhone 6 Launches; Scotland Rejects Independence; Sierra Leone Not. East Coast; Embraer, United Airlines Sign 25-Plane Deal; Amazon Recovers from Prime Day Glitches; nasdaq Hits Record High; Amazon Prime Day Sales Soar Despite Rough Start; Amazon Workers Across Europe Strike on Prime Day; Apple Releases New Icons on World Emoji Day. Submit by joy22, triangle formation: Its called a triangle because when you draw the support and resistance lines, you get the shape of a triangle. States Release New Early Voting Numbers; CNN Poll of Polls Shows Clinton Leading Trump; Nervous Investors Push Stocks Lower on Wall Street; Randgold CEO; Both Candidates Good for Gold Price; Iraqi Forces Now Fighting Inside Mosul; Trump Promises to Bring Jobs Back.S.; Final.
Aired: 3-4p ET October 10, 2018 Did Not Air October 09, 2018 Donald Trump Says China Is Not Ready For A Trade Deal, Not Yet; News From South Africa That Finance Minister, Nhlanhla Nene Was Stepping Down; Google Tries To Move Past The Data Disaster. Aired 4-5p ET March 03, 2016 Trump Hits Back After Romney Attach;.U. Embassy in China Issues a Health Warning After.S. Stocks Fall; Major Setback for Obama's Free Trade Agenda; Twitter Stock Pop Doesn't Last after CEO Shuffle; Salesforce CEO on the Role of CEOs in the World; Zimbabwe Abandons Its Currency. Aired 4-5p ET November 06, 2017 Media Merger Talk Pushes Markets to Record; Saudi Crown Prince Leads Huge Crackdown;.N. Secret Service Tells CNN It Spoke to Trump Camp; New Batch of Clinton Emails Released; Staff: World Bank Faces "Crisis of Leadership.S. Blames China for Massive Cyber Hack; Protesters and Police Scuffle at G7 Summit; China Behind Largest Cyber Attack Ever on Government Computers?; opec to Keep Production Up; The fifa Investigation; Landon Donovan Talks Football; Fracking in North Dakota. Pubs; Food Brands Combine in Mega Merger; Over 200 Million Worth of Goods Seized from Former Malaysian PM's Properties. Trade Tariffs; Terrorist Situation in Thebes, France; Deadly Car Bomb Rocks Southern Afghanistan;.S.
As practice shows, all these Wolfe wave indicators aren't perfect, but can certainly be of some help, while manual trading remains the best option still. Forex Trend lines are simple to use and easy understand. Whether you're a beginner or a professional trader - you'll always draw a couple of lines on your chart. For there to be a valid triangle formation, prices must hit the support and resistance lines at least 4 times.
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Trade forex and bitcoin


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Porsche has been talking about making a 911 Hybrid for a number of years, and CEO Oliver Blume would like to remind us all that it's still coming. While a purely electric version of Zuffenhausen's iconic sports car won't arrive before 2030, the partially electrified derivative is arriving sooner rather than later. In a roundtable interview with the media, the company's top brass shared some preliminary details.
Chief of which will be the type of hybrid powertrain it'll use as Blume mentioned Porsche will implement a non-PHEV setup. In other words, owners won't have to plug in to charge the battery. This decision tells us the first-ever 911 fitted with an electric motor is going to feature a small battery to keep the weight penalty down to a minimum. Going the PHEV way would've made the car heavier, aside from causing problems related to packaging.
Gallery: Porsche 911 Hybrid Spy Shots
The man in charge in Stuttgart went on to describe the car as being a "sporty hybrid," suggesting the electric component will be geared towards performance rather than efficiency. Of course, the main reason Porsche is going down the hybrid avenue is to meet increasingly stricter emissions regulations. The extra oomph delivered by the electric motor creates a win-win situation for the German automaker and its customers.
Speaking with Car and Driver, Oliver Blume said the 911 Hybrid will take after the 919 Hybrid endurance race car, which triumphed at Le Mans from 2015 through 2017. He was likely referring mainly to the hybrid technology implemented in the hugely successful track machine. When asked by the media whether the GT3 will be hybridized at one point, the 53-year-old executive only said the firm has a few "surprises" in tow for the track-focused models.
During the annual media conference on Friday, Porsche estimated half of its annual sales will come from hybrids and EVs by the middle of the decade. By 2030, the EV share is projected to increase to over 80 percent. To get there, the Taycan sedan and wagon will be joined by a zero-emissions Macan in 2023 due to be followed by a 718 Boxster / Cayman EV due by 2025.
At Porsche HQ, reducing emissions is not all about hybrids and EVs since the company expressed its commitment to continue the development of synthetic fuels. Ideally, these will save the combustion engine or prolong its life at the very least.


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At Microsoft Corp’s mid-market Business Summit earlier this week, CEO Steve Ballmer suggested that Microsoft is going to go the same way as SAP and Siebel by performing an about-face and launching hosted offerings.
We do believe that there will be a set of services that our mid-market customers, and small [customers] will be interested in using and running, he said. He went on to suggest that anti-virus and anti-spam software services are examples. You will see us respond and address those needs, along with [providing] a variety of other services that we will announce over the next 12 months, he said.
Hosted software is more closely associated with CRM due to Salesforce.com’s runaway success, and although Ballmer made no direct reference to hosted CRM plans, he did say the company would provide details when appropriate. He believes there will be a balance between hosted and on-site software. We are absolutely working very hard. We expect to give Salesforce.com a run for its money by having hosted and on-premises solutions, he said.
Hosting is not an unknown concept for Microsoft because some of its partners already offer a hosted service around its CRM application, and applications designed for the .NET framework can be run in hosted mode, but Microsoft has always insisted that there is little call for this deployment model, despite Salesforce.com signing up 308,000 subscribers and 17,000 customers.
Salesforce.com was gleeful in the face of Microsoft’s comments. Microsoft’s failed enterprise software strategy has let the industry down. We have competed against them in the CRM market since 2002, and they have failed to deliver a competitive product, said Marc Benioff, chairman and CEO of Salesforce.com. They just cancelled version-two of their product and skipped ahead to three. In the meantime, we are on the 18th generation of our service in just six years. Customers are tired of waiting for Microsoft to innovate.
Salesforce.com is not alone in successfully building a business around web-based application services. Companies like RightNow, Salesnet, and NetSuite are all undergoing extraordinary growth.
Where they were considered small upstarts, the hosted approach has gained acceptance as a legitimate software model, and the vendors are gaining market share and threatening the traditional players. As a result, Siebel has a major on-demand initiative, and SAP has announced it will launch a hosted CRM service for the high-end enterprise areas of the market. Oracle has a low-key on-demand service for its flagship suite with about 200 customers on board. Now Microsoft has indicated it will join the fray.


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Services, tourism will still be CV’s economic drivers if …
BIZ LEADERS’s region’s H2 OUTLOOK
The services and tourism sectors are expected to drive the economy of Central Visayas in the second half of 2017, helping the region to even surpass its economic growth in the previous year.
Glenn Soco, president of the Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI), said this (the economic growth) would be driven by the region’s strong service sector.
“The local economy continues to be robust. Although there might be effects on the tourism sector for this year, but this will be compensated by other sectors like retail, real estate, and BPO (business process outsourcing), which will sustain our growth momentum,” Soco told Cebu Daily News.
Philip Tan, MCCI past president, also said that he too would be expecting the region’s economy to grow between 5 to 10 percent this year, but this would depend on how the industry would deal with the issues regarding tourism in the next six months.
Tan said as he believed that tourism would continue to be one of the drivers of the region’s economy if the issues faced by the sector would be addressed.
He was referring to hurdles faced by the tourism industry in the first half of the year because of the several travel advisories issued by the US and European countries as well as the Abu Sayyaf group encounter in Bohol among others.
In 2016, Central Visayas grew by 8.8 percent, ending the year with a P525-billion gross regional domestic product (GRDP) and cementing its place among the fastest growing regional economies in the country.
The services sector had the biggest contribution to the growth with 55.5 percent share. The Industry sector contributed 39.1 percent, and agriculture, forestry and fisheries contributed 5.9 percent.
In terms of growth, industry sector registered the highest growth, specifically the construction subsector, which grew by 40.4 percent.
The services sector grew by 5.9 percent while the agriculture, forestry and fisheries sector contracted by 0.6 percent.
Fourth fastest economy
The region registered the fourth fastest economic growth in the country after Eastern Visayas (12.4 percent growth), Central Luzon (9.5 percent growth) and Davao Region (9.4 percent growth).
But while the region continued to grow in the first half of the year, Tan said that the tourism sector’s contribution would continue to play a big role in helping the region to hit its economic targets in the second half.
“We need to anticipate the performance of tourism and how it is being affected by the current situations. If the tourism sector will not perform as expected, then we might not be able to hit those targets,” said Tan.
5.9M visitors in 2016
Central Visayas saw gains in the tourism industry in 2016 and while there are no official data for the first half of 2017 yet, sources said arrivals have been strong despite security issues the country has been facing since the start of the year.
Data from the Department of Tourism in Central Visayas (DOT 7) showed that the region welcomed 5.95 million tourists from January to December 2016, up by 29.17 percent from 4.6 million during the same period in 2015.
“Tourism is the backbone of the economy because it has a multiplier effect. Restaurants, hotels, consumer spending, retail outlets, and logistics complete the cycle,” he explained.
The business leader said stakeholders should make sure tourists feel good about coming to the Philippines by creating an image that the Philippines is an interesting place to visit.
Tan said he also hopes to sustain the growth of the construction industry, pointing out the need for sustainability through 2018.
“So far, we have many ongoing projects, but if there aren’t any new ones that will be started, we will create a vacuum in the first quarter of 2018,” he said.
Cebu and Central Visayas are assured of more investments when business confidence, whether among foreign or local investors, is high.
Among the external or internal factors that Tan cited which may affect investor sentiment include tax reforms, depreciation of the peso against the dollar, and fluctuating oil prices.
He also pointed out that the purchasing power of the locals, which is spurred by employment, serves as the lubrication of the economy to move forward.
Melanie Ng, Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) president, said the organization was confident the region would equal or even surpass its growth in the previous year.
Ng anchored her optimism on the increase in government spending and private sector investments, particularly in the areas of construction and manufacturing.
Disclaimer: The comments uploaded on this site do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of management and owner of Cebudailynews. We reserve the right to exclude comments that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial standards.


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Belu hits landmark figure for WaterAid
After six years of operation, Belu has annouced it has reached a landmark figure – £2m of profit has now been handed over to WaterAid, which provides clean water and sanitation in developing countries. The announcement coincides with World Water Day.
The bottled water is one of the poster children for social enterprise. In London at least (where Pioneers Post is based) it’s increasingly common to spot Belu as the bottled water offering in bars and restaurants. Nationwide it is available in bigger chains such as Cafe Rouge and Zizzi.
Belu purposely targets the bars and restaurants market rather than general retail outlets. That a social enterprise’s product is becoming as established a brand as some of the major players is encouraging.
We estimate we have 5% market share in hotels and restaurants, which is no small feat for what was a small social enterprise
CEO Karen Lynch, who earlier this year was given the SE100 Social Business Awards Leadership Award, told us: “We have been successful at growing in the hotel and restaurant market – we estimate we have 5% market share which is no small feat for what was a small social enterprise.”
Lynch puts that market penetration down to the hard work and dedication of her team along with “focus” She adds: “We purposely wanted to work with restaurateurs and hoteliers who want to make ‘good’ the best choice for their customer.”
Belu is yet to make a dent on supermarket shelves though, which Lynch describes as “tougher in terms of margin and dominated by the biggest brands”.
The UK bottled water market is worth £2.1bn and Lynch is mindful to put the enterprise's success into context. She says: “While Belu has grown from strength to strength, in the context of the wider market we are still a blip and we have to make strategic decisions on how we grow while still reducing our carbon footprint year on year.”
Water Aid and Belu are working towards UN Sustainable Development Goal 6: “water and sanitation for all by 2030”. Lynch feels it is achievable, but only by different sectors working together.
“We’ve already seen enormous progress as 2.6 billion people have been reached with access to water since 1990.
“However, achieving this ambitious target will require political will and funding and the participation of everyone, including world leaders, governments, the private sector, development agencies and NGOs. None of us can do it alone.”
Read more about Karen Lynch and the other SE100 Social Business Awards winners in the latest issue of Pioneers Post Quarterly, out now.


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Mobile user experience solutions developer ZenZui announced it will continue operations as Zumobi, explaining the new brand better reflects its Zooming User Interface and mobile platform business. The firm also said the Zumobi mobile web interface will launch in beta across Windows 5 and 6-based devices on December 14--the UI enables consumers to personalize the mobile experience via custom-designed interactive tile widgets relevant to their particular interests and lifestyles. Last month, ZenZui was named to sister publication FierceMobileContent's Top Mobile Applications 2007 list.
For more on ZenZui/Zumobi:
-read this release


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As to why Amex is buying Kabbage
Western Express may use Kabbage’s application and you may skill to provide good broad range from services to small enterprises who competition one bank’s, observers told you.
“It makes sense having American Show since it lets these to bring on certain even more good technology and you may a related technical team at the a good speed as opposed to strengthening one up and hiring naturally,” told you Sam Kilmer, elder manager away from Cornerstone Advisers. “Western Display has already been among the country’s top small-business loan providers, which allows them to bequeath using you to definitely technical more than a massive consumer and you may applicant feet.”
Amex did not say the goals investing in Kabbage, even though latest news account said the lending company is worth as the very much like $step one million after the an effective $250 mil investment of the SoftBank.
The technology you to Kabbage has generated are a credit platform that accumulates analysis regarding small-organization consumers, including family savings investigation, fee processing study, societal data, distribution studies, bank card transaction study, and you may accounting suggestions.
“All of this studies gives us a special look at on the you to definitely company show,” Kathryn Petralia, co-founder and you may president out-of Kabbage, told you when you look at the a young interview. “It is what enables the consumer feel we have today, which is a very rapid onboarding procedure.”
Kilmer told you the point that Amex is actually obtaining the people and you will technical rather than the mortgage collection alone talks with the value of the technical itself.
“This isn’t market show just take otherwise move-right up buy,” the guy said. “This really is on the rational possessions, the time to market from it and its own effect on potential.”
Actually, in a report mention to dealers blogged Monday, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods specialist Sanjay Sakhrani asserted that the offer would have little influence on Amex’s winnings regarding near term.
Long term, although, it could bring Amex a bonus over other lenderspetitiveness inside the short-organization lending, just like consumer lending, necessitates the power to generate choices immediately, Kilmer said.
“This is the urban area where credit card loan providers eg American Share and you may Funding That has actually tended to stick out and you will in which fintechs particularly OnDeck and Kabbage shined,” the guy said. “The financing cards loan providers features over the years done specifically better which have investigation analytics whenever you are online lenders for example Kabbage and you can OnDeck features excelled at screen and consumer experience. That is because charge card lenders you prefer solid statistics in order to survive money and you can regulating analysis while on the internet loan providers like Kabbage and you can OnDeck got in order to be noticed into user experience to acquire one another customers and you can dealers to try him or her.”
The brand new card company currently has the benefit of charge and you can playing cards or other short-identity organization financing situations, with Kabbage’s technology, “we are able to finest target the needs of smaller businesses whom get be underserved from the finance companies and possess limited focus on monetary administration systems giving expertise and you will information regarding their expenses and profit,” the organization said in a pr release proclaiming the deal.
“Western Share doesn’t want the present Kabbage company,” told you Todd Baker, dealing with dominating out-of Broadmoor Contacting and older fellow at Columbia University. “They wants the capacity to originate brief-business loans effortlessly, inexpensively and efficiently. They desires brand new underwriting degree that can be acquired from the Kabbage credit algorithms and you may investigation. It’s basically making for the last about and starting fresh with all the things which is really rewarding title loans Tennessee.” American Display and you will Kabbage told brand new Financial Times they establish and you can cash in an organization that may service all of Kabbage’s a fantastic fund, and that consumers won’t be inspired.
“The audience is thinking about Kabbage’s unit room integrated into a single on line system using actual-go out study operating to help small businesses best know, anticipate and you can would their cash move,” an Amex representative told you.


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GamesBeat Summit 2022 returns with its largest event for leaders in gaming on April 26-28th. Reserve your spot here!
Zordix Gaming Group has named Christina Seelye as its new CEO. She will become the second woman CEO of any public company in the gaming business.
Seelye has more than 20 years of experience in tech and games, and she was previously CEO of game publisher Maximum Games, which Sweden-based Zordix acquired three months ago in a $42 million deal.
Seelye started Maximum Games in 2009 and evolved it into a publisher of double-A games, or titles that stand in between indie titles and triple-A games. Walnut Creek, California-based Maximum Games has served as a distributor of hit titles including Kena: Bridge of Spirits, Among Us (collector’s edition), and Five Nights at Freddy’s.
“We had a really transformative year in 2021 because Zordix acquired Maximum Games, and now we are a group with multiple studios all over the world with a full value chain of video games from all over the world with the full value chain of video games from development all the way through sales and marketing and publishing and lifecycle of the game,” said Seelye. “We are a group of entrepreneurs who have joined together and rolled up into a larger company.”
She added, “I was the founder and CEO of Maximum Games for the past 10 years. And and what we really realized is that in order to kind of stay competitive, we really wanted to control the whole value chain within the gaming industry and have everything from content creation to transmedia to growth and being able to have larger budgets of moving up to double A games and still have our core of working with independent studios, which we’ve we’ve really enjoyed. We will continue to have that be a big part of our strategy moving forward. But the combination with Zordix leapfrogged us up to more studios, development capabilities, content, and a truly global publishing infrastructure.”
In its history, Maximum Games focused on PC and console games. Now it can expand its audiences to games as a service and free-to-play games.
“We’re looking at a lot of different games and a lot of different categories,” she said. “So we have games in the horror category, fighting games. We have puzzle adventure games and a wide breadth.”
It grew its Super Animal Royale game to two million players with a high rating on Steam.
“We’re really proud of that,” she said. “As a publisher, sometimes when you’re working with an independent studio, everybody has to be really respectful of each other’s strengths. We have to be respectful of what are they really good at and what are we really good at. And we’re really proud of that relationship with them.”
Zordix and Maximum Games’ capabilities are a mix of physical retail distribution and digital live service games.
“We are one of the only publishers out there that really believes in all of those channels,” Seelye said. “We really like to launch games with gravitas to make sure that they have as many ways to make revenue as possible. We still like to have a physical copy at the same time a digital copy is released because we think that that’s actually the most efficient use of the marketing dollars that we’re using.”
In 2019, Maximum Games formed its Modus label and shipped Override: Mech City Brawl, its first title under the label. It then purchased the developer, The Balance, and rebranded it is Modus Brazil. In three years, Modus has shipped more than 15 games.
At Umeå, Sweden-based Zordix, Seelye will be head of a business that also includes Dimfrost Studio, Invictus Games, Modus Games, Modus Studios, Merge Games, Just For Games, Zordix Racing and Mane6. She replaces Matti Larsson, who will remain at the group as director of Innovation. Seelye will also remain as CEO of Maximum Games.
In her position at the publicly traded Zordix, Seelye joins Debbie Bestwick, who is CEO of Team17, which also went public in 2021, as the only woman CEO of a public game company, as far as we know.
Shane Bierwith, executive vice president of marketing at Maximum Games, has been promoted to president of Maximum Games.
“I have had a fantastic time at Zordix as founder and CEO and feel proud to have built a global video game group,” said Larsson, in a statement. “This shift is a natural next step that serves to secure the execution of our growth. I have decided to take up another role within the group and hand over the baton to Christina, who will take the company to a new level.”
In November 2021 Zordix announced the purchase of Maximum Games in a move to strengthen the company’s positioning as a leader in double-A game publishing. Partnering with game creators and franchises around the world, Maximum Games is a full-service video game publisher and distributor with over 300 titles in its catalog and operates publisher Modus Games (Super Animal Royale, Cris Tales, and Trine 4), as well as Modus Studios development team.
In January of 2022 Maximum Games acquired Mane6, the development studio behind Them’s Fightin’ Herds ® , a 2D fighting game featuring a cast of characters designed by acclaimed cartoon producer Lauren Faust (producer and developer for “My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic”; creator, director, and developer for “Super Best Friends Forever”).
Zordix is a multinational publishing and development group that now consists of five studios and four publishers and
leverages each entity’s unique capabilities and brand identity to deliver influential and entertaining content to gamers worldwide. Overall, the company has 200 people across offices in the U.S., Latin America, Sweden, France, UK, and Hungary.
Regarding being a rare woman CEO, Seelye said, “I’m really excited about that piece of it. I’m more excited about the work. It’s what I do. I feel good about where this company is going. I do feel it’s important to represent, and to have more examples of women leading companies in this industry. It’s like a source of inspiration for other women.”
She added, “It think it is important be at a position at a listed company where I can have access to capital, access to growth than I have ever had before. And I get to bring my view to the table and workstyle and aesthetic about what games get greenlit. I’m proud and excited to be in a position where I get to have an influence on that.”
Seelye is hoping to use her resources to expand the company. She thinks that gamers will want to play games that are premium $70 games, but they will also want to play games like double-A titles that cost $30.
“What I want to do as CEO of Zordix is to use our resources to bring more people into the family and bring many more strengths to the table,” Seelye said. “In 2022, we’re looking to both grow organically, as well as grow creatively with additional acquisitions. So we’re really looking for content. We’re really looking for studios that are like minded and content that feels like it’ll be part of where we want to go as a company.”
As for her advice to others climbing up the ladder, she said, “First and foremost, start with not sucking at your job, and then work hard. And you’ll be fine. It’s very simple. And I’m not trying to be dismissive because it’s not easy. It’s just that sometimes I think that especially over the course of people’s career, you get hung up with the fact that it’s hard. And it is hard. But competence always trumps. The other things are also important. For women who are in a position of influence within the industry, they should not just mentor but sponsor other people. And I’m going to widen that out to not just be women, but any kind of diversity. We all get to a better decision when we have creative, different views in the room.”
And she reiterated, “I think it’s our responsibility to sponsor, not just mentor, because I want it to be active. To to bring people up within the organizations. You see them being good at their job and competent. It’s our responsibility to go grab them and say, ‘Hey, I think you’d be a good fit over here, go try to do it. And I’ll help you.’”


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The global apple crop is expected to be at its lowest for eight years, down 9% to 68.7 million tons, according to FAS/USDA data. The slump is mainly due to China’s substantial weather-afflicted campaign, which more than offsets gains in the EU. China’s crop size is forecast to drop 25% to 31 million tons – nine-year low. The smaller output is set to lead to a fall in exports of around a third, to 880,000 tons, while imports are expected to rise 20% to 75,000, with the greatest increase constituted by shipments from New Zealand and the EU, which more than offset lower supplies from the US. Despite the ongoing trade war with China, which has resulted in a 50% retaliatory tariff, the US remains China’s top Northern Hemisphere.
The EU apple crop looks very different from last year’s, and is set to rebound from last year’s weather-damaged campaign. Volumes are up 40% to 14 million tons. The higher supplies have spurred a massive increase in exports to Egypt and India, with total shipments reaching 1.2 million tons. Meanwhile, imports to the EU are projected to drop markedly.


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SpiralFrog.com, an ad-supported Web site that allows visitors to download music and videos free of charge, has launched today in the U.S. and Canada after months of "beta" testing. The music service, which has arranged...
...of Windows updates, more Marshmallow, and the Edge of glory
Nokia Lumia Icon finally gets Windows 10 Mobile upgrade
Windows 10 Insider Preview build 14372 out now for PC and Mobile
The Oukitel C3 is an entry level device that ticks all the right boxes
99% of Windows 10 Mobile devices are Lumias (and other Windows phone insights)
SpiralFrog has reached an agreement with EMI Music Publishing, one of the largest music publishers in the world, to use its songs and lyrics for a music download service scheduled to roll out in a...
This coming December Universal plans to launch a website offering free downloads of their music catalog. The site will be called SpiralFrog, and according to CEO Robin Kent the site "will offer consumers a better...


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While half of Americans foresee no change in their travel spending in 2010 compared with 2009, a larger proportion plan to spend less this year than say they will spend more, especially when it comes to air travel and hotel stays, according to a USA Today/Gallup poll.
The study found that the percentage of Americans saying they will spend less on vacations in 2010 exceeds the percentage saying they will spend more by a slight margin, 27% vs. 22%.
Less on Airline Flights
In addition to broad changes in vacation spending, nearly three in 10 Americans (29%) plan to spend less on airline flights in 2010 than they did in 2009, while 16% say they will spend more, and about half say they will spend about the same. The same pattern holds for hotel stays, with 30% planning to spend less and 16% planning to spend more.
Age and Income Differences
The poll also found that there is little variation in Americans’ 2010 travel spending intentions according to household income. All income groups – from those earning $75K+ each year to those earning less than $30K -? plan to spend less rather than more in each travel area.
Some significant differences are evident by age, with young adults expressing the greatest likelihood of increasing their travel expenditures. This is seen most clearly when asked about spending on vacations in general, as this is the one area where a higher percentage of those ages 18-34 plan to spend more rather than less (30% vs. 25%). By contrast, adults ages 35-54 and ages 55+ are more likely to say they will spend less in each area, not more.
The spending intentions of young adults slightly less robust relative to airline travel and hotel stays than they are for vacations. Roughly equal percentages plan to spend more rather than less on airline travel (24% and 25% respectively), while a slightly higher percentage plan to spend less rather than more on hotel stays (29% vs. 22%). Still, the spending intentions of young adults are greater than those of older adults in all three areas.
These findings somewhat mirror data from the same poll showing 15% of Americans planned to travel over the holidays this year without taking steps to significantly cut back on costs, while 20% are either not traveling or reducing their holiday travel costs because of the economy.
However, Gallup noted that consumer attitudes about their overall travel spending in 2010 may actually differ from how they ultimately behave. The latest government report on travel and tourism reports a significant rebound in US travel spending in Q309 compared with the same period a year ago, reflecting increases in both business and leisure travel. This coincides with an increase in the US gross domestic product more generally and is likely to extend through the fourth quarter. If so, the current data may simply, but importantly, indicate that Americans remain vigilant about their spending and therefore that airlines, hotels, and resorts must continue pushing major discounts and package deals in order to attract consumers’ travel dollars.
About the study: Results are based on telephone interviews with 1,025 US adults ages 18+. Fielding took place from Dec. 11-13, 2009. Interviews were conducted with respondents on land-line telephones (for respondents with a land-line telephone) and cellular phones (for respondents who are cell-phone only).


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Instagram announced this week that it’s officially hit 300 million users, which means its user base is bigger than Twitter, which has around 284 million users. Instagram also reported that users are posting around 70 million photos a day.
According to TechCrunch:
Instagram is now looking to strengthen its authenticity. Soon it plans to launch verified badges for celebrities, brands and athletes so people don’t accidentally follow parody, tribute or look-alike accounts. The tactic helped Twitter boost confidence, and Facebook started verifying profiles in May 2013. The badges will surely be coveted by the types of users desperately trying to grow their following, and make Instagram’s new Explore tab more trustworthy.
With so many users, verified accounts are going to be a big deal, ensuring posts that people actually want to see don’t get lost in the mix. They’re also purging fake accounts, so some brands might see a slight decline in followers, but it’s for the best. Verified badges will start showing up next week.


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Apple gives the iPad its biggest update since the original in 2010
Tech giant also releases long-awaited updates to its entry-level Macs
Apple has made the biggest updates to the iPad since its tablet was first introduced in 2010, adding facial recognition cameras and packing a larger screen into a smaller overall casing.
The two new iPad Pros signal the death of the physical “home button”, first introduced with the original iPhone in 2007, across all of Apple’s latest iOS devices. Only the entry-level iPads, last given an update earlier this year, now feature the familiar circular button, which was replaced by touchscreen swipes and gestures across all of this year’s iPhones.
The products, unveiled at an event in Brooklyn on Tuesday, continue Apple’s theme of raising prices across its line-up. An 11-inch iPad Pro starts at $799, compared with $649 (€571) for last year’s 10.5-inch version, while the 12.9-inch model starts at $999, up from $799 a year ago.
The iPads were introduced alongside new Macs at a productivity-focused launch event in New York.
“We’ve always believed deeply in the power of creativity to change things - to push the human race forward,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s chief executive.
The new iPad Pro mimics the iPhone X’s techniques of using a Face ID camera and thinner bezels to stretch its display closer to the edges of the device.
Critics of the previous 12.9-inch iPad, first released three years ago, had said that it was too large to hold comfortably. Apple is hoping to address that with the new slimmer design, which has 25 per cent less volume overall than its predecessor. The iPad is roughly the same size as US letter paper, which is 8.5 x 11 inches, and weighs “about a pound”, Apple said.
The iPad Pro uses the same LCD-based “Liquid Retina” display as the iPhone XR, which went on sale last week, rather than the richer and more expensive OLED screens employed on the iPhone XS.
The new iPads swap Apple’s proprietary Lightning connector for the industry-standard USB-C, allowing it to connect to accessories such as cameras or an external display, while also ditching the analogue headphone socket in the process.
A new Apple Pencil attaches magnetically to the side of the iPad Pro, charging and pairing wirelessly for the first time. Apple has also updated the keyboard case that attaches to its tablet. The two accessories help to make the iPad a fuller competitor to both standard laptops and so-called “convertibles” such as Microsoft’s Surface. They are also slightly more expensive than their predecessors, at $129 for the Pencil and $179 for the keyboard case.
Inside the new iPad Pro is an A12X Bionic chip, a more powerful version of Apple’s custom silicon found in the iPhone XS. The 7-nanometer chip brings Apple’s “neural engine” processing to the iPad for the first time, allowing more sophisticated apps such as Adobe’s Photoshop.
Apple also released long-awaited updates to its entry-level Macs – but it is making the cost of its cheapest laptops and desktop computers higher too.
The product introductions in Brooklyn on Tuesday morning came as Apple said it had reached 100m active Mac users, out of an overall 1.3bn Apple devices that the company said were in use earlier this year.
The new MacBook Air marks the first significant redesign of Apple’s popular laptop since 2010.
The latest model features a high-definition 13.3-inch Retina display and thinner bezels that reduce the notebook’s overall volume by 17 per cent. Apple has added a TouchID fingerprint reader for simpler login and Apple Pay, alongside an improved keyboard.
The MacBook Air’s casing is built entirely from recycled aluminium, in the latest example of Apple’s attempt to reduce the environmental footprint of its products.
The new MacBook costs upwards of $1,199, depending on configuration, compared with the previous price of $999.
Niche Mac mini
At the same time, Apple updated its niche Mac mini, which starts at $799 — up from $499 for the older model. The standalone computer, which does not come with a monitor, was last given a significant overhaul in 2010.
The Mac price increases follow a similar strategy that Apple has taken with the iPhone, which now costs as much as $1,100 for the new iPhone XS Max, and the Apple Watch. Apple is relying on average selling prices to increase its revenues even if unit sales are flat or declining.
“These new Macs are going to help our customers be even more productive and even more creative,” said Cook. – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2018


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Large Tech corporations reported combined quarterly earnings on Thursday, a day after their high executives confronted a troublesome congressional grilling over their market energy and alleged monopolistic practices.
All 4 have been affected by the pandemic, though in strikingly other ways. Google and Fb reported slowing development within the April-June quarter on account of lagging digital advert gross sales, whereas Apple and Amazon noticed income and income rise.
Shares of all 4 corporations rose in after-hours buying and selling, reflecting monetary efficiency that exceeded Wall Avenue expectations.
Alphabet, Google´s holding firm, reported its first-ever drop in quarterly income in comparison with the prior yr. Though it was solely a 2% decline, it was a telling signal of a serious downturn within the digital advert market – and of the truth that the financial system is in even worse form than it was a decade in the past through the Nice Recession. Google´s earlier low level got here through the second quarter of 2009 when its income edged up by simply 3%. Alphabet´s revenue for its most up-to-date quarter plunged 30% to almost $7 billion.
Income from Google´s core search enterprise declined almost 10%, although Chief Monetary Officer Ruth Porat mentioned there have been indicators of enchancment on the finish of the quarter as web customers looked for extra business merchandise and advertisers started spending extra on the platform. Nonetheless, she mentioned, it´s “untimely to gauge the sturdiness” of these traits due to ongoing financial uncertainty all over the world.
Fb, which additionally makes most of its cash from digital advertisements, recorded an 11% improve in income from the prior yr, the corporate´s slowest development since going public eight years in the past. Revenue almost doubled to $5.2 billion from the identical time final yr, though it will have fallen if not for $Three billion in tax and authorized expense gadgets a yr in the past, a lot of that associated to a a serious antitrust settlement with the Federal Commerce Fee.
The common quantity of people that use Fb, Instagram, Messenger or WhatsApp – all of which Fb owns – a minimum of as soon as a month climbed 14% to three.1 billion. That’s roughly 40% of the world´s inhabitants. And a couple of.5 billion folks used a minimum of considered one of its apps each day. Fb mentioned pandemic-related shutdowns drove extra folks to its providers.
The social community mentioned it expects advert income to develop about 10% within the present quarter, just like the second quarter. Whereas that´s greater than analysts anticipate, it components in points together with financial uncertainty, much less time spent on its apps because the world reopens from the pandemic in lots of locations, the influence of a July advert boycott focusing on hate speech and rules affecting its enterprise like California´s new privateness regulation.
The promoting business has been hit by a pullback in spending from the journey business, retailers and different consumers, contributing to what analysis group Forrester predicts will probably be a 29% decline in US promoting spending this yr. However Google and Fb are possible to assist lead a comparatively fast rebound because the pandemic accelerates the shift to buying on-line, provided that the tech corporations are capable of exactly goal advertisements to particular audiences, mentioned Forrester analyst Jay Pattisall.
Apple delivered surprisingly sturdy outcomes with rising income and revenue, defying analysts´ lowered expectations. The iPhone maker´s income rose 11% to almost $60 billion whereas revenue rose 12% to $11.Three billion.
The pandemic initially walloped Apple twice: First by quickly shutting down iPhone manufacturing whereas the coronavirus ravaged China, then by hitting family incomes, making its high-end devices much less inexpensive. It softened the blow with the mid-April launch of a price range iPhone promoting for nearly $400, serving to the corporate increase its gross sales of its greatest moneymaker by 2% from final yr.
However the subsequent iPhone will probably be delayed. Apple CFO Luca Maestri advised analysts on a convention name that pandemic-related points will push again the discharge a “few weeks later” than Apple´s typical late September window, which means customers aren’t prone to see the telephones till October on the earliest.
In one other expression of confidence, Apple introduced a four-for-one inventory break up. Whereas the transfer doesn’t have an effect on the corporate’s intrinsic worth, it’s going to make particular person Apple shares extra inexpensive – though such strikes usually additionally gas investor demand that may drive share costs increased. Apple’s inventory has already risen roughly 50% because the begin of the pandemic. Individuals shopped extra on Amazon through the pandemic, sending its revenue and income to document highs, at the same time as the corporate spent extra to hurry up deliveries and hold its employees secure.
Amazon struggled to maintain up with orders as on-line buying surged within the spring amid widespread lockdowns. However the firm has since employed an extra 175,000 folks to maintain up with orders and started paying its warehouse employees bonuses to maintain them packing containers through the pandemic.
Amazon mentioned it spent greater than $four billion on COVID-19 associated prices, together with disinfecting its warehouses and protecting gear for employees. It expects these prices to fall to $2 billion within the third quarter. The Seattle-based firm mentioned its second-quarter revenue doubled to $5.2 billion from final yr whereas income soared 40% to $88.9 billion.
Amazon, which is the second-largest US employer after Walmart, additionally mentioned Thursday that its worker rely topped 1 million for the primary time.


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- About Us
"Business tells all about gemsA new business based in Freeland, DiaMonte Gems, aims to educate the public about gems, according to owner Jane Helten.She offers educational seminars, appraisals, insurance replacements, custom jewelry, wholesale/retail sales, consulting, and personal shopping.I educate the public about gems and have the ability to buy direct and pass the savings on to clients, Helten said. She has four years of experience in the business. For information call 331-7328.Island Chem-Dry earns high ratingIsland Chem-Dry Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning has earned the ValueStar certified symbol of very high customer satisfaction by passing all four steps in the rating process.Random samples were taken from Island Chem-Dry's customer base, and those customers were asked to measure the company's performance. In addition, its record was examined for complaints, proper licensing and adequate insurance.Customer satisfaction has always been important for us, but we felt it was important to have an independent company evaluate our service and give us a report card on just how we are doing, said Randy Rovang, Chem-Dry owner.Less than half of all companies that apply for certification achieve the ValueStar symbol, according to a ValueStar news release."


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Latest Shelby Car News and Reviews
1967 Shelby GT 500 E
In the last year of Unique Performance a group of new employees were disheartened by the quality of vehicles being built and took on the mission of bringing these vehicles to a level of performance and quality that matched their reputation. This group dre...
Read Full 1967 Shelby GT 500 E Review
2010 Ford Shelby GT500
Ford will celebrate the 45th anniversary of the Mustang by auctioning the first retail 2010 Ford Shelby GT500 and a pair of Mustang GT concept cars during the 7th Annual Barrett-Jackson Palm Beach Collector Car Auction on April 9-11, 2009. The three histo...
Read Full 2010 Ford Shelby GT500 Review
All images courtesy of and copyright their respective manufacturers, unless otherwise indicated. They may not be reproduced or retransmitted in any way without the express written permission of their respective owners. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Model news and specifications are presented as provided by manufacturer, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of DIGIADS. No warranty is made by DIGIADS with respect to the accuracy or timeliness of the information contained herein.


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Southgate 10 Theater Announces Grand Opening!
The countdown is on for the new Fairchild Cinema 10 to open in the Canyon Lakes area. The official name is the Southgate 10 Cinema and it finally opens in a few weeks.
Construction started last year and little by little, the future movie theater has taken shape.
We finally have a grand opening date for the movie theater. Fairchild Cinema is eyeing Thursday, November 21st for the grand opening. It means we're are only 11 days away from the opening.
You can start buying online tickets for the theater on Tuesday, November 19th.
Tickets for the new Star Wars flick for the theater go on sale there December 3rd.
The Cinema will feature all of the amenities of the Queensgate 12 even with the folding back comfy chairs.
I live in the area off 27th Avenue so I'm pretty excited for the new Cinema. It means not having to drive clear across town to see a movie and I think it'll be a huge success.
You can check out their new website here


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Decrypt’s Art, Fashion, and Entertainment Hub.
Marking the first official entry of a true-blue financial services incumbent into the cryptoverse, Fidelity Investments, a 72-year-old firm that manages some $7.2 trillion in assets annually, has announced the launch of Fidelity Digital Assets, a new branch whose goal is to make "digitally native assets, such as bitcoin, more accessible to investors.” It really is big news; for those gunning for a blessing for their crypto assets from the lofty reaches of Big Finance, that is. With Fidelity, investors will now be able to entrust their digital assets to Fidelity’s secure “offline” vaults, in “cold storage,” where it’ll be invulnerable, supposedly, to the grand scale hacks bitcoin et al are increasingly known for.
What brought on Fidelity’s newfound crypto lust? The long-held interest of Tom Jessop, Fidelity Digital Assets’s CEO, who invested in bitcoin as early as 2014. So it’s no surprise Fidelity’s going mainstream where others have shamelessly prevaricated; it has somebody behind it who not only understands but actually likes cryptocurrency (as much as you can "like" peer-to-peer consensus protocols. They're not ice cream.)
Sony is trying a similar tack. A “partnership” between three of its branches—Sony Corporation, Sony Music Entertainment, and Sony Global Education—has announced plans to build a “system for authenticating, sharing, and rights management of educational data,” which includes electronic textbooks, educational content, music, films, VR content, and e-books. It’s nice to see Sony cooperating with itself in service of the crypto dream.
But let’s not beat around the bush here—Sony, in its new blockchain-fuelled educational drive, is now one step away from that most dreaded of use cases: putting children on the blockchain. They shouldn’t be on a blockchain—they should be in school, studying.
Standing at the fulcrum of all this institutional hullabaloo is Steve Wozniak. The Apple co-founder, you see, is now also the co-founder of EQUI, the first startup he “actually said yes” to in twenty years. After, you know, Apple.
So what was it about EQUI that got Wozniak squealing with glee? Decentralized space travel? Distributed immortality? Edible hash functions? Not quite. EQUI, he explains with breathless excitement, is "a technology-focused venture capital fund which combines the conventional principles of investing with a blockchain ‘back end’ that allows value to be realized and then traded in the open market through the EquiToken.” Yeesh. Imagine what he said no to.
This onslaught of mainstream investment, somewhat bizarrely, comes amid the steady collapse of Tether, the so-called stablecoin that’s recently shown itself to be anything but. Now Binance, which holds 768.5 million tethers in its enormous reserves, has temporarily suspended tether withdrawals, citing “wallet maintenance” and roundly denying all rumors that it’s simply dropped the coin out of sheer, unhinged terror.
It’s a somewhat less circumspect approach than that taken by exchange OKEx, which opted to list four more stablecoins—TrueUSD, USDCoin, the Gemini Dollar, andthe Paxos Standard Token—to give its concerned customers a better range of stablecoin choice amid the stablecrash. Indeed, tether’s weekend spelunking expedition has unearthed a frightening truth—the markets have grown worryingly dependent on stablecoins and their mystical, dollar-value granting qualities. Thank God there are no other massive institutional heavyweights poised to gatecrash the crypto party. Oh wait.
Read next: Wolves in coins' clothing


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As large and small brands alike fight for domination of social media applications such as Twitter, marketers should focus on dispersing new content via promoted hashtags that feature organic messages and authentic consumer reactions to keep buzz trending and entice more users to join the conversation.
Fast food chain Burger King recently saw significant social media frenzy surrounding the promoted hashtag for its announcement of the return of the beloved Chicken Fries product, #ChickenFriesAreBack. However, although the hashtag was paid for and promoted on Twitter, the success stemmed from users’ joyful responses that permeated the feed, suggesting that other brands should follow this model of leveraging a promoted hashtag while focusing on the organic and authentic feedback from consumers.
“When it comes to spreading the word about products or services, leveraging a mix of both brand-created and organically-developed hashtags are ideal,” said Elaine Feeney, president and CEO ofWayin, Denver, CO. “Regardless of how these originate, both require an engagement strategy integrated across paid, owned and earned media.
‘Hashtags are an excellent way to create and track a conversation,” she said. “The key concept for a hashtag is to surface a relevant topic and encourage broader audience interest and participation.
“The challenge with using hashtags is that they often are not part of an overarching marketing strategy or campaign leaving marketers unable to drive the business results desired.”
Brands must also be respectful of trending hashtags that are not directly related to their products or services. While it may be tempting to jump on the bandwagon of a trending item or piece of news, marketers should ensure that users will find it relevant instead of intrusive.
“Generally users want to maximize their impact/reach, and being able to follow an existing hashtag that a brand started and put some effort behind is the best way to go for that social media user,” said Dennis O’Malley, CEO and co-founder of ReadyPulse, San Carlos, CA. “Same for a brand, the last thing they should do is ‘hijack’ an organic trending hashtag.
“It’s always important to know what other hashtags are being used along with others’ hashtags – too bad there isn’t a “hashtag buddy’ app in Twitter to view that.”
However, if a brand is not able to purchase a promoted hashtag, one solution for ramping up awareness may be leveraging a live event and compiling a clever post or video to share with social media users. Creating organic mobile moments is imperative, and can see widespread success if done correctly.
JCPenney was able to cleverly promote items on a different trending hashtag
When the Internet went into a full-fledged frenzy regarding the color of a dress that went viral several weeks ago, retailers such as Amazon and JCPenney immediately joined the conversation on #TheDress trending hashtag by making jokes about their own blue and gold-colored garments for sale (see story).
“A content creator wants to stand out and generally not be part of a larger crowd that may not be focused on quality content,” Mr. O’Malley said. “Smaller brands have a great opportunity to find great content creators – seed Twitter or Instagram hashtags through them, then join the conversation.
“The best small brands in marketing are making their content shoppable and displaying the content across marketing channels.”
For brands that do intend to engage in promoted hashtags, incorporating calls to action must be a top priority. In the case of Burger King, consumers posted their personal reactions to the return of Chicken Fries, from dramatic selfies to adoring photos of the food item (see story).
These photos were then reposted by the brand and helped turn the promoted hashtag into an organic one, filled with engaging mobile moments.
Joking posts such as these resonated emotionally with mobile users
“To get the most out of social media marketing, brand marketers should integrate social tactics such as hashtag use with proven marketing strategies that drive results, including social calls to action or other conversion-driving activities that encourage consumers to interact with your brand in a meaningful way,” Ms. Feeney said. “For example, retailers might ask customers who have recently purchased a product to send a picture or comment (using certain hashtags).
“Then, the retailer can feature the best UGC on their Web site or on an in-store display. Some retailers take it a bit further to show the top submissions on their Web site or in-store display and request the public to vote on the best and offer a prize to the winners,” she said.
“That really serves the ultimate business goal by building stronger brand awareness, driving people to your own site and creating a fan wheel effect of turning your loyal customers into personal marketers for your product.”
Alex Samuely is an editorial assistant on Mobile Marketer, New York


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At the 2016 Paris Motor Show in September, Mercedes-Benz announced its all-electric division called EQ. Now the company has confirmed that the first production model of the new EQ product brand will be produced in the North German city of Bremen by the end of this decade.
“Emission-free automobiles are the future. I am pleased that for the series production of our first electric EQ model, we can count on one of our most important partners in the global production network: our colleagues from Bremen. The Bremen plant delivers a maximum of flexibility and high speed as well as Mercedes quality from the beginning, also for our electric models,” says Dr. Dieter Zetsche, CEO of Daimler AG and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars.
The production model will be based on the EQ concept car which was unveiled at the 2016 Paris Motor Show. The EQ is an electric vehicle in the look of a sporty SUV Coupé. It has a range of up to 500 kilometers and the typical Mercedes strengths such as safety, comfort, functionality and connectivity.
Mercedes-Benz Cars aims to have over 10 all-electric vehicles in its portfolio by 2025. The new electric vehicles can be built within the existing global production network with sites on 4 continents.
At the moment, the Bremen plant produces 10 different models. Next to vehicles with conventional combustion engines, plug-in hybrids of the C-Class and the GLC are also rolling off the production line. In addition, the GLC F-CELL – the worldwide first fuel-cell vehicle with plug-in technology – will be produced in Bremen. With the confirmation for the new Electro-SUV of the EQ brand, cars “made in Bremen“ will cover the entire range of intelligent drive technologies in the future.
The battery for the new electric vehicle will be developed by the Daimler subsidiary, Accumotive and produced in Kamenz (Saxony). The production is currently being expanded with an investment of 500 million euros. With this, one of the largest and most modern battery factories in Europe will be built.
In the future, Accumotive will produce lithium-ion batteries for all electrified vehicles of Mercedes-Benz and smart – including plug-in hybrids as well as fully electric vehicles. On top of that, the site will produce batteries for stationary Mercedes-Benz energy storage units as well as 48-volt-systems. The company plans an overall investment of more than one billion euros in a global battery production compound.


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A beloved Indian restaurant in Essex has been nominated for a prestigious award - the results of which will be revealed at a glitzy London ceremony next month. Sazzad Ullah opened restaurant Cinnamon in North Weald almost 15 years ago in 2007 and says he is "deeply honoured" for it to be considered for the Asian Restaurant and Takeaway Awards (ARTA) this year.
Known to everyone as Shaz, the owner and manager admits he is a total food lover and has spent his whole life working in the industry, making it his dream to be nominated for 'Restaurant of the Year - Essex'. He loves the customer relations part of his job and serving people authentic Indian food, the recipes for which are devised between him and his chef.
Read more: New Waffle Bar set to open in Hornchurch after successful start in Maldon
"I love being with customers and talking to them," he said. "I am really a lover of food and I love serving people with different food all the time and always trying to make it better and healthier. I always like to be the best at what I'm doing and always trying to be better than everybody else."
Shaz says his restaurant has something for everyone to enjoy, no matter their taste when it comes to spice or flavour. He has dishes totally unique to Cinnamon and takes great pride in introducing people to new food.
Shaz added: "It would really mean a lot to win this. All this hard work we've done will pay off the last 15 years. I've been working so hard to achieve this goal. I'll be very deeply, deeply honoured if I win this award."
The Cinnamon team doesn't have to wait too long to find out if they've made it to the top or not, as results will be announced in early October. The red carpet event will be taking place at the InterContinental Hotel at the O2 London on Sunday, October 2. This year the ceremony will be hosted by BBC journalist Samantha Simmonds and magician Paul Martin. Categories include regional awards, national prizes, chefs, takeaways and restaurants.
Every award entry was nominated by restaurant goers and food lovers of over 700,000 customer base of ChefOnline – the digital application to order food and book tables on the go – to unveil the finalists. The UK’s Curry industry contributes £5 billion annually, which as of 2015 has accounted for a fifth of the restaurants in the UK dating back to the 1800's. Today there are more Indian restaurants in Greater London than in Delhi and Mumbai combined.
The ARTA awards are in celebration and recognition of Britain’s vibrant Asian restaurants and takeaways and offered solidarity and morale for the industry which is currently facing headwinds including with the high cost of energy, inflation, and the impact from the pandemic.
Mohammed Munim, founder member and CEO of ARTA, said: "Britain has some of the most vibrant and dynamic Asian restaurants, and they are an integral part of the fabric and culture of the country.
"The ARTA awards are a celebration and recognition of these exceptional restaurants, takeaways, chefs, and restaurateurs all across the country, who are serving their local communities so exceptionally well. Each nominee is a worthy winner, and we look forward to celebrating with them all at the award ceremony on October 2."
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Dave & Buster’s is on track to acquire Main Event Entertainment for $835 million.
Dave & Buster’s Entertainment, Inc. has entered into an agreement that will lead to the acquisition of Main Event Entertainment for $835 million, with a projected closing of late 2022.
Main Event announced today, April 6, 2022, that Ardent Leisure Group Limited and RedBird Captial Partners private investment firm are the entities that have entered into the acquisition agreement with Dave & Buster’s Entertainment, Inc.
Main Event currently has 50 locations nationwide, offering entertainment such as state-of-the-art bowling, laser tag, hundreds of arcade games, and virtual reality, all geared toward family fun.
“We are thrilled to join the Dave & Buster’s family,” said Chris Morris, Main Event’s chief executive officer. “We will undoubtedly benefit from the collective expertise and strong culture of both brands, particularly as we continue to accelerate Main Event’s aggressive expansion plans.”
Upon closing the deal, Morris will be the combined entity’s’ CEO, and Kevin Sheehan, Dave & Buster’s restaurant and entertainment center chair and interim chief executive officer, will return to his role as Board Chair.
Ardent Leisure shareholders must approve the move, and an extending waiting period must elapse, under the HSR Act. Additional standard conditions that could disrupt the expected acquisition also apply.
Dr. Gary Weiss, chairman of Ardent Leisure, said, “Ardent Leisure has partnered with the Main Event brand since 2006 as the company has grown from its Dallas foundations to 50 locations nationwide today. We are particularly proud of our significant involvement in the rejuvenation of Main Event over the last four years, and this transaction reflects the culmination of significant value creation that has been achieved by Arden Leisure and the Main Event management team over this time.”
Once the acquisition takes place, the combined entities will reach uniquely different demographics, enhancing the breadth of offerings and experiences to each brands’ guests.
Main Event will continue to operate as a distinct brand, serving families of all ages.
“Main Event is a perfect compliment to Dave & Busters,” Morris added, “and I feel very honored to lead the growth of both brands.”


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Welcome to English Language Listening Library Online.
My name is Todd Beuckens and I create ELLLO to help students and teachers get free listening lessons online.
Palimpsest, a company based in Falkirk that produces e-books for JK Rowling, Stephen King and more than half the current Booker shortlist, is to launch a series of literary classics.
Orange Digit is one Korean startup getting into the interactive e Book space in a big way. Now all Amazon has to do is convince someone that any e-reader, even one as lovely as the Voyage, is worth 0.
For the past few years, both the California State University and the University of California libraries have been experimenting with packages that replace paper books with e-books…
September 2014 Amazon launches Kindle Unlimited — a Netflix-for-books — in the UK Amazon is launching its Kindle Unlimited ebooks subscription service in the UK, following its US debut in July.
Oh, and don’t forget your browser’s back arrow to return for more stories, or Ctrl D to bookmark this page. October 2014 It’s now legal to make backups of movies, music, and e-books in the UK Back in June, the United Kingdom outlined new copyright rules that would allow citizens to make backups of their music, movies, and e-books. Digital content sales platform Gumroad is launching an i OS app today to help authors and other content creators sell their work directly to consumers.
The new i Phone app allows users to create custom mobile libraries of digital content purchased through Gumroad.Pro Quest Ebooks has partnered with O’Mahony’s, Irish booksellers and library suppliers, to deliver key content from leading publishers to institutions across Ireland and the UK.