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Traffic was heavy last week on cable's two-way boulevard.
As operators tooted their own horns over deals with five more manufacturers on revised licensing terms for tru2way interactive TV technology, one of the industry's key partners in the initiative — Panasonic — apparently crashed on its first test drive in CableLabs certification testing.
Meanwhile, Comcast submitted a copy of the industry's binding tru2way licensing agreement in a filing with the Federal Communications Commission, revealing that consumer-electronics manufacturers are allowed to displace an MSO's own navigation screens only under specific circumstances.
The eight-page “memorandum of understanding” outlines specific commitments the operators must meet in deploying and supporting tru2way.
The agreement was first signed last month by Sony Electronics in a breakthrough deal with the six largest cable operators. Five other licensees were announced last week — Panasonic, Samsung Electronics, Advanced Digital Broadcast (ADB), Digeo and Intel — each of which were prior licensees of the technology.
The tru2way specification theoretically will let any certified two-way device access interactive cable services, including switched digital video channels, video-on-demand and an MSO's interactive program guide.
Comcast included the MOU as part of a June 10 filing with the FCC's Media Bureau after agency staffers requested a copy of the agreement. CableLabs initially said the agreement was not being made public because other consumer-electronics companies were reviewing the terms.
Among other things, the agreement restricts the way third-party CE devices may use on-screen real-estate. The issue had been one bone of contention in the years-long standoff between the Consumer Electronics Association and cable on opening access to two-way services.
Tru2way-based products — such as HDTV sets or digital video recorders — may display the CE manufacturer's navigation controls only if a user has initiated an action to access those controls, they appear the same way regardless of channel and are “transitory.” Licensees are also prohibited from displaying on-screen ads.
With respect to guide data, the MOU requires the operators to provide only a pass-through of the CBS broadcast signal containing Gemstar-TV Guide International's electronic programming guide data.
As previously reported by Multichannel News, under the terms of the MOU, five of the operators — Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cox Communications, Cablevision Systems and Bright House Networks — have committed to rolling out tru2way in 100% of their systems by July 2009. Charter Communications will do so by July 2010.
In addition, according to the agreement, the MSOs are required to include tru2way support in 20% of their own set-top boxes bought after July 1, 2009, a commitment that will end when 10 million tru2way-based devices have been deployed industrywide.
There's also a “sunset” provision that ends the operators' obligation to support tru2way if CE makers ship fewer than 500,000 tru2way-based devices over the course of any 24-month period after July 1, 2009.
Meanwhile, the agreement calls for the formation of an advisory board, with representatives from operators, content companies, CE manufacturers and information-technology vendors.
Members of this board will meet at least once a year. If a change to tru2way is being considered, each of the six MSOs will have one vote on whether to accept or reject it.
The three other constituencies on the advisory board — content, CE and IT companies — will have one vote each, so the cable operators could overrule any proposed changes if they voted as a bloc.
In another two-way development that surfaced last week, Panasonic's first tru2way TV units encountered “dozens and dozens” of bugs in testing, according to telecom-industry blogger Cynthia Brumfield, citing anonymous sources.
The unusually poor results may indicate that Panasonic's first tru2way-based products won't be ready in time for the 2008 holiday shopping season, according to Brumfield's post last week on IPDemocracy.com.
However, Panasonic spokesman Jim Reilly said the company still expects tru2way-enabled HDTVs to deliver in time for the holiday selling season this year.
Panasonic announced plans to launch 42- and 50-inch models of plasma HDTVs with tru2way digital cable capability at the International Consumer Electronics Show in January.
CableLabs responded to the blog post with a statement saying that Panasonic has entered an upcoming certification wave and will have “ample time” to meet its rollout schedule.
“It is common for devices to require multiple test runs before achieving CableLabs certification,” the R&D organization said. “Manufacturers generally account for such timing in their product plans.”


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What to expect at Ashland Berry Farm store
Wilco Farm, one of the biggest food chains in the country, is opening a retail store in Ashland, Ballycarny, Co. Down.
It will be called Wilco Ballys, and it will be in a converted warehouse.
Wilco farm is a company which is owned by the Wilco family, who run the world’s largest supermarket chain, including The National, Tesco and Sainsbury’s.
The retail store will be at the end of a five-acre site which Wilco owns in the area.
It is expected to open this summer.
WilfCo Ballybain was the third biggest supermarket chain in the world in 2015.
Its annual turnover of £6.7 billion was nearly double that of the next-biggest supermarket chain.
It also has more than a billion customers around the world.
Its store in Ballycastle is owned and run by the family.
WilCo Balycott was founded in 1920, when a farmer named George Wilco was looking for a farm to build a small store.
It now has more stores in the UK than the Gap.
It has 1,000 stores across the world, with stores in almost 80 countries.
Wilcolts Ballycott, on the other hand, is owned in part by the billionaire brothers Andrew and David Wilcox, who are known as the Wilcoxs.
The store will have its own drive-thru, and is expected at the Ballymores.
WilColts Balybain is expected in September WilcoBallys is expected this summer, but there is no set date yet for opening.
WilCoxBallycott is expected later this year Wilcoltons Ballybybain and Wilcoltys Ballybs BallyBain are expected in October Wilco is expected for mid-2018, with an opening date of mid-2019 WilcolsonBallyd, in Broughton, is expected late this year or early next.
WilFos Bally, on Wilco, is also expected to be coming in late 2018.
Wilo has had two retail stores in Ashburn since the mid-1980s.
Wilcox Bally was built in the 1970s, after a major renovation of a warehouse in Derry, County Tyrone.
The Wilcox family is now known as Wilco Holdings, and the chain has more then 700 stores worldwide.
Wilcos Ballynag is expected from next year Wilcois Ballybhain is also being built in Blythe, County Antrim, which is the northernmost county in Northern Ireland.
It was the site of a former Woolworths factory, which opened in 1967.
The company now owns more than 500 stores in Northern England and Wales.
The location is in the centre of the town, in a large, green area.

domain: news


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Will spend 140 days in the mission.
A Russian rocket carrying two cosmonauts and a U.S. astronaut blasted off into space on Tuesday (10/23). The three astronauts will be on duty on the International Space Station (ISS).
Oleg Novitskiy and Evgeny Tarelkin [...]
Casio introduces intensified digital camera products. Vendors who are familiar with the calculator’s current product offering premium grade camera at a price of Rp 3.9 million or about $390 U.S. dollars, is kind Exilim, the ZR 700 and ZR 1000.
Jobs family have not paid off a fee designer.
Venus, ships super sophisticated and minimalist late founder of Apple, Steve Jobs, was confiscated because the ship designers claim the Jobs family have not paid off a fee.
Philippe Starck, designer of the [...]
Theory that claims the existence of super-particles.
Researchers at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in Switzerland has detected a rare decay of a particle that could undermine the theory of super-symmetry, one of the main theories in physics.
Ranked first App Store in just 2.5 hours After released.
Rovio as Manufacturer game Angry Birds released an announcement about the success of Angry Birds Star Wars is the latest game that they controlled the first rank App Store.
Amazingly, this position [...]
Electronic Arts announced Saturday game four-person co-op shooter called Fuse, which will be launched on May 28 in North America and May 31 in Europe.
Fuse is the first multiplatform game from Insomniac Games for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3, but not [...]
Beijijng / San Francisco – Mandiant, an information security services company from the United States accused China are responsible for some cases of hacking, conducted by a secret military unit.
Mandiant accused 61 398 units of the military Chinese [...]
Have you ever imagined playing your favorite PC games with an XBOX controller? If so, your dream might come true with the release of some updates from XBOX. As confirmed by XBOX official website, now it is possible to use an XBOX controller on our PC [...]
Among other things, failing to hide bank accounts.
Millions of Android app users, according to a research, be lured to reveal personal data.
The researchers tested 13,500 Android apps and found nearly 8 percent failing to protect his bank account and [...]
The news about the release of Windows Phone 7.8 update for the Nokia Lumia line of smartphones from the old series yesterday NaviFirm seem right. Nokia Lumia 800 is the first smartphone that will get the updated Windows Phone 7.8 and will soon be followed [...]
Through a practical point of view, Asus (7/5) in the Grand Ballroom Grand Indonesia, Jakarta, Asus launched Fonepad.
Fonepad is a combination between a tablet and a 7-inch phone, with 3G mobile data and an Intel Atom Z2420 processor.
“Looking at [...]


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Microsoft HoloLens, the world’s first self-contained holographic computer, is now available for preorder in New Zealand, with devices starting to ship in late November.
The news comes while HoloLens is experiencing growing interest from developers and commercial customers and partners around the globe, with New Zealand among six new countries added to the list.
“Since the launch of Microsoft HoloLens, we have seen really passionate developers and world-class companies develop groundbreaking computing experiences - experiences only possible on HoloLens,” Microsoft technical fellow of Windows and Devices Group, Alex Kipman, said.
“When we set out to pioneer the mixed-reality category, we knew that many of the best innovations would be discovered when others got their hands on the technology.
“It has been quite inspiring to see what our partners have built and what individual developers have created. Together, we have only scratched the surface for what mixed reality can do. I can’t wait to see what happens next as we welcome these new countries to our holographic landscape.”
According to Kipman, Microsoft’s mixed-reality movement is just beginning.
“Today, HoloLens customers are developing innovative solutions that are already having a positive impact on their business,” Kipman said.
For Kipman, these customers are the early adopters of the kind of mixed-reality solutions that are poised for exponential growth in the years to come.
Globally speaking, IDC reports that worldwide revenues for the augmented reality and virtual reality market will grow from $US5.2 billion in 2016 to more than $US162 billion in 2020.
Off the back of such growth, Windows 10 will be updated in 2017 to include Windows Holographic, the platform that powers the mixed-reality experiences.
Microsoft announced that Windows Holographic is coming to Windows 10 PCs and head-mounted displays in June, with Kipman branding the development opportunity as “significant” for partners and customers.
“The development opportunity is significant - as all holographic apps are Universal Windows apps, and all Universal Windows apps can be made to run on the Windows Holographic platform,” Kipman added.
“This means the investments that developers of all shapes and sizes make today will take advantage of the growing ecosystem of Windows Holographic devices.”
The release follows the opening of a HoloLens practice by Datacom locally, who now offers customers access to mixed and augmented reality technologies with Microsoft HoloLens across Australia and New Zealand.


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Tierney, C. (2011, April 20). World’s automakers stake claim to fast-growing Chinese market. The Detroit News. Retrieved on April 21, 2011, from
In this article, the author said that automobile market in China is developing quickly and highly. It is very amazing that every auto maker that is in America, Europe, and East-Asia is now competing in sales and shares in the market. Therefore, in the Shanghai motor show, there are more than seventy new models that were exhibited. Also the auto makers are launching some new technology cars such as fuel-efficient cars, hybrid cars, and electric cars, because China has a very large number of population.
China’s economy and industry are growing amazingly. We can see it visually from Japan. Fukuoka city, in the west part of Japan, is covered with polluted air that flew from China on the jet stream. I think air pollution is a sign of development. In this article, there is a phrase “Car and truck sales grew 32 percent in China last year.” Everyone must be surprised at the fact, and the Chinese government should take care of environmental problems. Anyway most auto makers are going to launch cars that are considered the earth friendly. My company also has three companies and five plants in China. Each of them is joined with some local company. It means that I am also receiving benefit from the amazing country.


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eBay Enterprise study of greater than 1,000 online stores identifies cellular business, cloud and global development as critical people of increases
MASTER OF PRUSSIA, Pa.–( COMPANY WIRE )–Retailers anticipate expidited growth for 2015 per analysis introduced nowadays from e-bay Enterprise, an eBay Inc. business. The 2015 shopping increases perspective, a U.S. survey in excess of 1,000 e commerce and advertising and marketing gurus from merchants with incomes of $3 million to $250 million, analyzed projected profits forecasts and critical conclusion merchants makes this year to reach predicted progress. The outcome furthermore disclosed challenges impacting 2015 conclusion, tech priorities as well as the importance of global growth to supply growth.
Assessing current Shopping Conditions
Twenty-eight percentage of retailers of sizes fear so much brand new competitors going into the marketplace
while huge stores prioritize the speed of invention (25 %), staffing (23 percentage) and the risk of re-platforming (22 %) as supplementary questions.
Merchants pointed to fast-growing mid-sized and B2C businesses as travel by far the most development for the commerce space according to 51 and 55 per cent of respondents, correspondingly. Big retailers ($50 million to $250 million in web revenue) identify advancement as determining brand-new networks to activate buyers, while mid-sized merchants (ten bucks million to dating african $50 million in web income) define development as engaging buyers across multiple channels. More →


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December 3, 2019, Coast Salish Territory (Vancouver, BC) – The Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada (ITAC) has completed the first phase of a successful contract with the Government of Chile, helping develop the country’s Indigenous tourism industry and utilizing ITAC’s best practices and expertise.
“ITAC was honoured to be asked by the Government of Chile to support growing their Indigenous tourism economy and we undertook three missions and significant internal work with senior team members, evaluating opportunities within the country,” says Keith Henry, ITAC’s CEO and President. “By sharing our learnings and expertise globally, we not only help Indigenous tourism grow worldwide, but we also continue to build ITAC’s reputation as a tourism leader.”
While in Chile earlier this month, Henry presented Chile with its first-ever national manual for Indigenous tourism, which will be used by Chile’s tourism industry to better support and nurture Indigenous tourism operators. Henry is now in negotiations for Phase Two, which will focus on new tools and guidelines to help develop an estimated 35 new Indigenous tourism businesses across the country, as well as export-ready, signature Indigenous experiences for the South American country.
“We have the opportunity to bring Chile’s Minister of Tourism and other Chilean industry leaders to Canada to experience our own signature experiences first hand,” says Henry. “This special best practice mission will allow our Indigenous tourism members to showcase their best work, knowing they are supporting Indigenous communities within a country which will realize phenomenal benefits by growing their own Indigenous tourism economy.”
About the Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada
The Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada (ITAC) is the lead organization tasked with growing the Indigenous tourism industry across the country. Inspired by a vision for a thriving Indigenous tourism economy sharing authentic, memorable and enriching experiences, ITAC develops relationships with other groups and regions with similar mandates. By uniting the Indigenous tourism industry in Canada, ITAC works to enable collective support, product development, promotion and marketing of authentic Indigenous cultural tourism businesses in a respectful protocol. With Indigenous tourism outpacing Canadian tourism activity overall, and international demand for Indigenous experiences at an all-time high, ITAC recently updated its five-year plan. Additionally, ITAC just launched their Nations magazine, highlighting Indigenous people and experiences across the country. To book packages and experiences travellers may visit IndigenousCanada.Travel.
For more information on ITAC visit IndigenousTourism.ca.
Deirdre Campbell, Beattie Tartan
Keith Henry, Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada


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US telecommunications giant AT&T has added two additional high-definition television (HDTV) channels to its internet protocol television (IPTV) service, U-verse. The addition of History Channel HD and Lifetime Movie Network HD takes the U-verse HD line-up to more than 30 channels.
"Our U-verse TV channel lineup keeps growing, and we're thrilled to add these quality networks to our service, providing more choice for customers," said Dan York, head of content and programming, AT&T Entertainment Services.
"With our increasing number of HD channels and international programming, we want all of our customers to know they can get the content they want from AT&T U-verse TV."
U-verse launched in June 2006 with 200 channels and now offers more than 320 channels.
Lovelace Consulting | 12.10.2007


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by: Ethan A. Huff
(NaturalNews) Are the supposed "humanely-raised" eggs you buy from the grocery store really "natural" and "free-range"? What about the all-too-common claim made that eggs come from "cage-free" chickens? And what do all these terms actually mean in practical, legal terms? In a new study, Sheila Rodriguez from the Rutgers University School of Law asserts that many of these claims are both unsubstantiated and deceptive, and that consumers need to be aware of the dirty truth behind the eggs they buy.
Many of the eggs produced in these horrific conditions, of course, are later sold in cartons blanketed with nice-sounding animal welfare language, which gives consumers the false impression that such eggs are superior to conventional eggs. Even "cage-free" eggs can come from birds that have lived in factory-farm hatcheries, and that continue to be confined in indoor pens where they never see the natural light of day — and this all occurs because of the dubious laws that govern the issue, as well as lax enforcement of existing laws.
"[M]any of the production method claims made by egg producers cannot be accurately verified," adds Rodriguez. "Industry standards are factory farmed standards. Federally-verified claims made under the National Organic Program, though comprehensive, are problematic because of lax enforcement."
And yet many producers continue to make glowing claims on their cartons, which in turn allows them to charge consumers more for them. Even organic eggs, which typically bear the highest price tags, often come from hens that, while fed organic feed, still live in confinement or get little-to-no outdoor access.
True pasture-raised, free-range hens on the other hand produce eggs with solid shells, deep-yellow yolks, and superior overall taste. Many backyard and small-scale family farms produce and sell genuine pastured eggs from hens that are allowed to roam and peck freely, and anyone who has tried or that regularly eats eggs from such hens will be able to discern an obvious difference.


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A new digital experience for publishers, brands and users that transforms every page into an infinite stream of Discovery while providing publishers with a blank canvas with full editorial control
LONDON — Outbrain, the world’s leading native advertising platform, announced its launch of SmartFeed, an endless feed of content discovery that allows publishers to customize the user experience, improving both engagement and revenue.
Outbrain helps publishers win back audiences from Facebook and Google newsfeeds
Continuing its commitment to unique, personalized content experiences, Outbrain’s launch of SmartFeed has all the markers of quality digital advertising: a blank canvas for publishers to define, a brand-safe environment for marketers, and an infinite feed of digital discoveries for readers.
“The excitement of flipping each page of a magazine, unsure of what content you’ll discover next, is what inspired Outbrain’s foundation over a decade ago,” said Yaron Galai, Founder and CEO at Outbrain. “We’ve brought that same excitement to digital, replacing flips with scrolls of vertical discovery. Now, the content doesn’t have to end when the article does.”
This smarter feed has already resulted in a 60% average increase in organic CTR and a 40% average increase in publisher revenue.
SmartFeed not only gives publishers the opportunity to engage readers more intelligently — utilizing all forms of content — from editorial and outstream video to sponsored and native placements, all within a highly visual, card-based design that is modularly flexible. This is also a more creative and user-friendly way for brands to do advertising, with the capability to target specific placements or leverage the carrousel format into SmartFeed, in a brand-safe and mobile-first environment.
A feed experience is how users prefer to engage with content on mobile devices, which led Facebook, Google and Apple to gain momentum.” said Ayal Steiner, VP of International Revenue at Outbrain. “Publishers must rethink the experience users are having on their mobile sites, and Outbrain’s SmartFeed is a technology solution to help publishers on that transition.”
Outbrain is the world’s most powerful native advertising platform, guiding the digital discoveries of consumers around the globe. Genuinely connecting marketers, publishers, and the consumers in-between, Outbrain serves more than 275 billion personalized recommendations, organically personalizing the reader experience.
Outbrain’s expansion to some of the web’s largest global properties is a reflection of its rapid growth and its successful innovations in supporting a new era of digital publishing. Top-tier premium publishers that currently leverage the Outbrain platform include: CNN, ESPN, Time Inc., Fox News, The Guardian, The Telegraph, New York Post, Sky News, TF1, Condé Nast, Orange, and L’Equipe.
Headquartered in New York City, with a global presence across 16 offices, Outbrain was founded to natively narrate the web. To learn more about Outbrain, visit www.outbrain.com.


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Alan Grau, Icon Labs
embedded.com (December 01, 2015)
Security challenges continue to make headlines in the IoT - and no vertical market has been spared. Automotive security has been in the headlines recently, but lighting systems, white goods, home security devices, medical equipment, airplanes and industrial automation systems have all had their unfortunate turn in the cyber vulnerability spotlight.
With high profile cyber-attack headlines a weekly occurrence, companies are finally beginning to get serious about IoT security. Building a secure IoT device requires a solution crafted specifically for the types of threats these devices will be exposed to and, more importantly, designed to run on the specialized, low-cost hardware usually found powering IoT devices. IoT devices are by nature, highly connected and therefore provide broad attack surfaces for would-be hackers to exploit. To secure these devices, designers need a comprehensive security framework that provides enterprise-level security in these small devices.
Click here to read more ...


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PUCO seeks comments on utility treatment of federal tax reductions, approves Amazon/AEP Ohio rate arrangement
COLUMBUS, OHIO (Jan. 10, 2018) – The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) today issued an entry seeking comments regarding the impacts of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 on the rates of regulated public utilities. Comments are due Feb. 15, 2018.
“While it’s too early to know how consumer bills may be affected, it is important for the PUCO to fully understand federal tax code changes and the impact it will have on Ohio’s utilities and consumers,” stated PUCO Chairman Asim Z. Haque.
Specifically, the Commission is asking stakeholders to identify the components of utility rates that the Commission will need to reconcile with the modifications to the federal tax code, and how the Commission should do so. Comments should address the level of tax expense recovered through base distribution rates, the treatment of individual bill components, and deferred tax assets.
In separate business, the Commission approved an economic development arrangement between Amazon subsidiary Vadata, Inc. and AEP Ohio. The arrangement will provide Vadata a discount for its data centers operating in the AEP Ohio service territory over the next 10 years.
“This arrangement recognizes the unique electric load profile of data centers and could represent a new era of economic development in Ohio,” stated PUCO Chairman Asim Z. Haque. “It is important to note that consumer bills will not increase as a result of the Commission’s approval today.”
Copies of today’s decisions are available on the PUCO website www.PUCO.ohio.gov. Click on the link to Docketing Information System and enter the case number in the search box.
The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) is the sole agency charged with regulating public utility service. The role of the PUCO is to assure all residential, business and industrial consumers have access to adequate, safe and reliable utility services at fair prices while facilitating an environment that provides competitive choices. Consumers with utility-related questions or concerns can call the PUCO Call Center at (800) 686-PUCO (7826) and speak with a representative.
Subscribe and unsubscribe to the PUCO Media Release email service


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By Ankur Singh
With the launch of low-tier and mid-tier smartphones in the market and the various data packages available at throwaway prices, online gaming is no longer a luxurious pursuit for most online gamers in India. Several research reports have revealed that the increasing availability of affordable smartphones coupled with high-speed internet has prompted many people to take up gaming in small towns in India.
India’s gaming market, currently generating $1.5 billion in revenue, is expected to triple to over $5 billion by 2025 due to the “mobile first” phenomenon.
But the exciting part of it all is that it’s just the beginning.
With the increasing popularity of the Indian gaming industry, it takes advantage of the latest technologies, software and gadgets to make it even more immersive and widespread. For example, native content and localized game interfaces make online games popular even in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities in the country. Online gaming now comes with video chat capabilities, allowing players to interact and participate in games via live video and real-time chat.
Some popular online games have even earned a reputation for being mainstream entertainment and a social media alternative.
In the coming years, the advent of 5G data networks in India will drive this momentum even further, enhancing the gaming experience with technologies such as virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR). With the gaming craze in full swing, avid gamers are now looking for a profitable entertainment experience. Because of this, another major factor that will continue to transform the industry is the availability of a variety of secure online payment options, which have enabled players to play both free-to-play and pay-to-earn formats .
The emerging gaming studios in India are not only limited to cash prizes but are also creating more opportunities in unconventional sectors such as; B. Technology-oriented careers in IT and game development. Lockdowns and social distancing during the global Covid-19 outbreak saw more and more people turn their passion for gaming into a full-time career.
While online gaming helps make money and provide entertainment, gamers have shown that it also helps develop life skills. A recent study also revealed that online gamers have acquired various skills such as critical thinking, creative thinking, decision-making, and problem-solving skills that are essential for one’s growth in life. Of the research participants, approximately 40% of men and 34% of women believe more than half of online gaming skills are useful for real-world experiences. Interestingly, gamers also showed that they had more positive attitudes toward their online gaming teammates compared to their real-world work relationships.
As the Indian gambling ecosystem develops at a rapid pace, this lucrative industry is expected to reach new heights in the future. To capitalize on the untold potential of the Indian gaming market, global investors have started acquiring and partnering with local companies to expand their geographic footprint. As investors continue to support the sector, local companies will expand their operations and establish a broader presence in the coming years.
As the industry promises to grow exponentially, a consistent and transparent regulatory framework will continue to empower it. A discussion between the primary stakeholders of the countries and the central government and the self-regulatory bodies of the online gambling industry can also help to create a consistent regulatory framework that benefits all stakeholders.
The presence of a government regulator that removes uncertainty will not only protect the interests of the online gambling industry but also improve its overall reputation.
In addition to government mandated regulatory policies and new technologies; Talented professionals from diverse backgrounds will be key to growing the gaming industry’s unprecedented popularity in both rural and urban parts of the country.
The author is CEO and founder of Witzeal Technologies
Also Read: Discord Helps Creators Make Money Via Subscription Plans
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TEL AVIV (Sep. 13)
Israel has shut down the makeshift port at Nakoura in the southern Lebanon security zone because it was being used to ship Israeli goods to Iraq in violation of the U.N.-imposed embargo, sources in Tyre reported Thursday.
Israeli officials refused to comment on the reports.
According to reports attributed to “security sources,” Israeli-produced food was being sent through Nakoura to Christian East Beirut, where Lebanese labels were affixed and the food transshipped to Iraq via Syria or Jordan.
Businessmen in Tyre, a port on the southern Lebanon coast, said Lebanese merchants have sent food to Baghdad through several Middle Eastern countries in defiance of the U.N. blockade.
The reports said the closure of Nakoura has dismayed officers of Gen. Antoine Lehad’s Israeli-backed South Lebanon Army, who were collecting customs and other fees on incoming goods.
Nakoura, the only port of entry for goods consigned to the SLA and residents of the security zone, was an important source of revenue for Lehad’s forces.


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The bumper anniversary issue features stories on how celebrities such as Karan Johar and Ekta Kapoor throw popular parties to commemorate occasions such as coming of age.
To reflect the experiences of the past 18 years in its anniversary issue, it has featured Priyanka Chopra on the cover page. Chopra, a youth icon, has also shared her coming of age moments while Johar and Kapoor also shared their ways to celebrate a occasion.
The issue has contributions from several international writers such as Camilla Gibb, a Toronto based writer, Radhika Vaz, international stand up comedian and writer, Prasoon Joshi, an advertising industry stalwart, among others.
Three lady bartenders also share their exclusive recipes, along with quirky DJs and Hrishikesh, MasterChef Australia participant from Kohlapur, Maharashtra.
It also takes a walk down the memory lane and presents some of the finest images from the archives, along with a quote from 18 cover girls, and an interesting mix of contemporary art, dance and social trends.
Speaking about the issue, Sitanshi Talati Parikh, editor, online, Verve Online, says, "It has been 18 fabulous years for Verve. The home grown brand has always gone beyond in fashion and has done in-depth stories. The theme behind this issue was to celebrate while believing that it has come of age. We have kept in mind our readers who are stylish and fashionable."
The bumper issue has 278 pages (101 ad pages and 177 content pages) and is priced at Rs 150. The magazine has taken to OOH and the digital media to promote the issue. It has erected three billboards in Mumbai and one in Delhi, and is also promoting the anniversary issue through its Facebook account (https://www.facebook.com/verve.lifestylemag). It is running small contests on FB to ensure a conversation is built around the issue.
Verve has a monthly circulation of 60,000 copies. The magazine targets the affluent stylish Indian who is fashionable, well travelled and educated. It began operations in 1995 and is published and edited by Anuradha Mahindra.


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When you think of the average internet user – and the typical social media exponent within that – one tends to think of teenagers glued to their smartphones, conversing online with friends or gaming into the early hours. But at the other end of the age spectrum, older generations are becoming increasingly tech-savvy and are using computers for a variety of reasons, chief among them staying in touch with family.
A cursory Google search throws up plenty of anecdotal evidence – a 109-year old war widow on the Isle of Wight celebrating her birthday with Facebook friends; a 99-year old in Oxford adept at using Skype and email when she’s not completing online word searches. Dig further, and these are clearly not isolated cases, but rapidly becoming the norm.
Indeed, internet usage among the older generation has increased at such a rate in the past decade or so that the media has seen fit to give them their own moniker – ‘silver surfers’. There is even a UK-based lifestyle website for the over-50s called Silver Surfer Today which, along with comment pieces aimed at the Victor Meldrews out there (Are council car parking charges excessive?) carries a number of articles that should catch the attention of equity release advisers (Are you selling up for retirement…Alarming pensions shortfall revealed…Generous grandparents dig deep for grandchildren to name a few).
This website is just one example, but everywhere you look is further proof that older generations are far more computer literate then you may think. A recent US study claimed that two-thirds of people aged between 50 and 64 are on Facebook and while the percentage may be lower in the UK, it still serves to highlight the extent to which senior citizens are logging on and going online.
So what does this all mean for equity release advisers? Well, if they didn’t know it already, it proves that by not having an online and social media presence, they could be missing out on new business. It’s probably fair to say that advisers haven’t embraced social media with the same gusto as professionals in other fields and specialist equity release advisers who think they are wasting their time by establishing a presence on Facebook and other sites could be making a dangerous assumption.
In the same way that businesses used to look behind the times if they didn’t have a website, the same can now be said of companies not embracing social media. It’s not just older homeowners that advisers and providers can cater for online either. Many advisers have referral relationships with local financial firms and these partnerships can be nurtured online through the use of shared content and exchanged links. Resources such as LinkedIn forums can also be a useful place to make contacts, share information and discuss topics affecting the equity release market with like-minded individuals.
Like many things, equity release advisers will probably find that they get out of social media and online activity what they put into it and, while they are within their rights to continue to ignore it, they could be missing out on new business if they do so.
Chris Prior is manager, sales and distribution at Bridgewater Equity Release


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Overwatch Halloween Skins 2020 Time
To bridge the gap between the Summer Games and Halloween events, Overwatch has a new limited-time challenge with a stellar skin up for grabs. If you caught yesterday’s news about a five-issue comic . Stars events, and, as ever, Blizzard is releasing a couple of special All-Stars skins that you can get your hands on for a limited time. If you have enough Overwatch League tokens to spare, you can . Dying to know which Overwatch skins are the best? Although ranking the best skins is subjective, here are some of the most popular skins in the game now. .
Halloween Terror Overwatch
- Overwatch Seasonal Event | Halloween Terror 2019 YouTube.
- Overwatch’ 2020 anniversary event skins, start time, end date, and .
- Overwatch Halloween 2019 start time, new skins, update patch notes .
The Tracer Comic Challenge event has officially gone live in Overwatch. The event is active on all platforms and lasts until September 28, 2020. It’s based on the new Tracer comic . Blizzard is saying ‘Tanks a lot!’ to the Overwatch League viewers by revealing a pair of Legendary skins to celebrate this year’s All-Stars weekends. .
Ranking The Overwatch Halloween Skins Game Informer
Blizzard released the first part of a new, five-issue Overwatch digital comic mini-series, London Calling, that follows Tracer’s life in London after the Omnic crisis and the disbanding of Overwatch. Overwatch is still one of the best multiplayer shooters out there, but 4 years later, there are still problems since the game first launched. .
Overwatch news: What time does Halloween event start? New 2018
- Here are all the new Overwatch Halloween skins | Dot Esports.
- Overwatch Anniversary 2020 event RELEASE DATE, start time, new .
- Overwatch’ Halloween 2019 skins, event, release date, start time .
Overwatch Halloween Event 2019: When does Overwatch Halloween
Yes, autumn is almost here and with it comes the 2020 Lush Halloween collection. What better way to unwind after watching a marathon of Scream movies than in the tub with a Halloween themed bath bomb? . Overwatch Halloween Skins 2020 Time Overwatch turned four this past June, and despite attempts to keep the game fresh with new events, skins, and game modes Depending on the role you choose, your time in the queue can last .


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If you’re waiting in line to purchase the new OnePlus Nord 2 handset, there’s some good news for you as the company has revealed what the device will look like. An art piece featuring the upcoming smartphone has been posted on the firm’s official Instagram account, where it’s mentioned that July 22 is when it will be officially showcased.
It will act as a successor to the OnePlus Nord, which was launched in July last year. As has been confirmed by the makers, it will be the first to be powered by a MediaTek chipset. The Dimensity 1200, to be exact. This new strategy will allow the phone to be more competitive in terms of pricing and will set up a competition with OPPO handsets, benefitting the parent company despite the cannibalization of sales.
The photograph in question shows a blue back panel with the OnePlus branding in the middle. You can also spot a triple rear camera setup on its back, which features two large sensors and a third smaller sensor. We don’t know any details about this camera setup but there have been rumors that it will adopt a 50MP Sony IMX766 sensor for one of its cameras. OIS is also expected to form part of this setup.
Given that the Dimensity 1200 processor will be going into the OnePlus Nord 2, it’s obvious that 5G support will indeed be present on it. We’re expecting the device to be priced around the Rs 30,000 mark but the final cost will only be revealed at the launch event that’s scheduled to take place online on July 22 at 4 pm CEST.
We’ll have more on the new OnePlus Nord 2 when official details are finally made available by the company.


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The Block payment system, co-founded by Jack Dorsey, has been accused of its executives and employees of facilitating fraud and misleading investors. Those are the conclusions reached by the authors of an investigation by Hindenburg Research, an investment-research firm that specializes in short-selling.
Two years of studying various documents and interviews with dozens of people, including former Block employees, partners and industry experts, allowed the authors of the investigation to make a rather loud statement: while representatives of the payment system advertised it as a solution to the problems of those who remain outside the banking sphere, "underfunded," behind the facade of revolutionary technology were hidden criminals who use Block services.
Block Inc. formerly known as Square Inc. was founded in February 2009 by Jack Dorsey and Jim McKelvey. Block's main products are Square's merchant payment service and the Cash App mobile app. As Bloomberg wrote today, Block had a market capitalization of $130 billion at its peak in 2021. But since then, the company has already lost most of its value. And after Hindenburg Research published it, Block's stock started falling and lost 22% at the low, but then rebounded to minus 13%. At the close of trading on March 23, Block was capitalized at $41 billion.
For example, aiding and abetting fraudulent government stimulus programs during the pandemic. In the United States, it was possible to get unemployment benefits approved through the Cash App from one account on behalf of multiple individuals from different states. Now, the Massachusetts administration alone is trying to recover more than 69,000 unemployment benefits illegally obtained through the Cash App. Cash App's partner banks have sometimes had 8 to 10 times the number of applicants for benefits than other banks, which, according to investigators, looks like a clear "red flag." They believe that billions of dollars were withdrawn through Cash App as a result of government payment fraud.
Block vastly overstated the number of real users and understated the cost of attracting customers. Former employees estimated that 40% to 75% of the accounts were fake and may have been involved in the fraud. Several Jack Dorsey's and dozens of Ilon Musk and Donald Trump's have successfully coexisted on the platform. Investigators at Hindenburg Research write that they, too, set up accounts in Musk's and Trump's names, were able to get bank cards on them, send money and receive payments.
Even when users were caught doing something illegal, Block blacklisted the account, but did not block it. A former support representative shared screenshots showing how people from blacklisted accounts regularly contacted dozens or even hundreds of other active accounts. This phenomenon of allowing blacklisted users was so common that rappers sang about it in their songs.
In general, the work of rap and hip-hop artists is given a special place in the Hindenburg Research investigation. The authors studied (!) a lot of tracks mentioning Cash App as a great tool for fraud, drug dealing and even paying for murders.
Block responded to the investigation with a statement that it intends to work with the Securities and Exchange Commission and explore legal action against Hindenburg Research "for a factually inaccurate and misleading report." According to Bloomberg News calculations, Hindenburg Research has already examined 30 companies since 2020, and their stock lost an average of about 15 percent the day after the investigation was published. Six months later, their shares were down an average of 26%.


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Sales and marketing expert Roar Ambition has confirmed its growth goals for 2018, after learning of a fascinating study outlining digital customer service is leaving customers cold.
Roar Ambition was shocked by a recent claim that workplace happiness in the UK has hit an all-time low this year. The firm has been investigating how businesses can boost happiness and loyalty among workforces, and shared what it’s doing to boost workplace happiness and fulfilment.
After research revealed that those under the age of 22 are expecting different things from the workplace, Roar Ambition has spoken on why it’s good for every industry to shake things up and adapt to new ideas.
Some people seem to succeed more quickly than others, and maintain success over decades, where others fail to do so. But why is it that this small sub-sect of highly successful people seems to be so varied?
Roar Ambition recently hosted a morning meeting with their team of contractors to discuss how to develop the confidence needed to be the best version of themselves.
In an incentive held for their contractors, Roar Ambition recently gave their top five performers the opportunity to win an all expenses paid trip to New York.
Following one of the most highly anticipated boxing matches in the last ten years, between UFC fighter Conor McGregor and boxing champion Floyd Mayweather Jnr., the sales and marketing specialists at Roar Ambition have been discussing what lessons can be learned from the epic sporting event.
Enterprising SME, Roar Ambition claim competition is the number one factor for success. They have recently released a statement to announce that they are looking for contractors who believe the winning mentality and competitive nature is key.
A recent study indicated that financial rewards are not enough to encourage people to perform certain tasks. In a report conducted by the National Bureau of Economic Research, they discovered that despite receiving an Amazon gift card, customers were not sufficiently motivated to visit the gym any more.
Sales and marketing firm Roar Ambition has spoken out about the importance of upskilling and responded to a study outlining why in the current market investing in self-development is so valuable.


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If you want to know how cozy business gets in Japan, take a look at NTT DoCoMo's hot-selling i-mode wireless data service. In just two years DoCoMo has signed up 22 million of its 35 million wireless customers for the data feature; 40,000 more join each day. I-mode lets cell phone users tap into banking, games, news and shopping. Every i-mode phone has a button that grants easy access to 1,600 DoCoMo-endorsed sites.Some are free; others charge up to $2.50 a month. DoCoMo handles the billing for the official sites and keeps 9% of their revenue.
It's a great deal for DoCoMo, since wireless data fees will account for 10% of mobile-phone use and help boost revenues to an expected $40 billion this fiscal year. But it's a terrible arrangement for 40,000 "unofficial" sitesthose not blessed by DoCoMo. They are raising a ruckus about how closed the system is. The unofficial sites aren't named on the phones' menu screens. The fastest way to access them is to enter their web addresses manually. These sites have almost no way to charge for their services.
DoCoMo executives "have set themselves up according to their own group of exclusionary alliances centered on Old Economy companies," says Yoshihiro Shimizu, Director of IT business for Mobilephone Telecommunications International (MTI). His company runs more than 200 outsider sites, including a dating service.Isn't it strange, he asks, that Softbank, a big web player in Japan and the U.S., can't be found on DoCoMo sites?
MTI has asked several times to join DoCoMo's list of preferred sites but has been turned down without explanation. DoCoMo claims that it shuts out some sites to bar unscrupulous operators.
"We have been inundated with complaints from companies that say they are unfairly shut out of DoCoMo sites," says Hideyuki Ohashi, a government official who oversees wireless policy. Regulators have set up assorted panels to look at opening the i-mode network to rivals and creating an independent body to manage fees now controlled by DoCoMo. It's an open question, though, just how far the government will go in busting open thei-mode system, since it owns a 53% stake in Nippon Telegraph & Telephone (NTT), which in turn owns 67% of DoCoMo, a company spun off from NTT in 1991.
DoCoMo seems taken aback by its critics. "We never expected i-mode to be this successful, so we were a bit slow to come to grips with the consequences," says Shiokazu Fujiwara, DoCoMo's chief lobbyist. He says that by 2003 the company will open the i-mode network to third-party ISPs as high-speed, third-generation (3G) services emerge. However, DoCoMo won't promise to let other carriers' customers tap all mobile websites, nor will it commit to more transparent criteria in selecting official sites, he says.
Despite the hurdles, the independent sites are gaining. A recent survey shows more than 50% of all i-mode traffic goes to unofficial sites. "There is a question mark over their ability to control the situation," says Richard Timmons, the marketing managing director at J-Phone, a wireless rival partly owned by Vodafone and British Telecom.
The cracks in the DoCoMo colossus come at a pivotal time. The wireless industry is being consolidated into the hands of a few global carriersnames such as Vodafone and Deutsche Telekom. Even after a 50% drop in its share price since February 2000, DoCoMo has a $187 billion market cap, the highest of any company in Japan and the second-most-valuable wireless company in the world (after Vodafone). DoCoMo's domestic customer base is double the size of its closest rival's. Half the Japanese population own cell phones, so DoCoMo needs i-mode and 3G services as its ticket to growth elsewhere.
"By being first in the world with [3G], we will have a huge advantage over other companies,"says Kiyoyuki Tsujimura, DoCoMo's managing director in charge of overseas business.
Since 1998 Tsujimura has spent $17 billion overseas with the aim of promoting i-mode and his version of 3G technology. DoCoMo now owns minority stakes in at&t Wireless and kpnMobile in the Netherlands, among others. It also raised $8 billion in a February stock offering, most likely earmarked for acquiring interests in carriers in China, Korea and France. Yet some DoCoMo allies have doubts about the merits of 3G. "There is risk and a lot of money involved. We will wait to see how it develops in Japan," says Chey Taewon, the chairman of the SK Group, the owners of SK Telecom, Korea's largest mobile network. Partly as a result, his plan to sell a 14.5% stake to DoCoMo has been put on ice.
By the Numbers
DoCoMo's i-mode data network has
proven to be the most successful
Internet service ever created.
40,000 Number of customers per
day signing up for i-mode service.
41 million Total wireless data
subscribers. DoCoMo's share: 64%.
81 cents Approximate monthly
charge for DoCoMo users to
download Disney characters and
ringer tunes to their i-mode phones.
Sources: NTT DoCoMo;
Credit Suisse First Boston.
DoCoMo's scattered minority stakes provide little operating control on a global stage. Contrast Vodafone, which controls some of the biggest networks in the world (see map, opposite). "Just because you have a huge home market doesn't mean you are a major international player. DoCoMo has a long way to go before it will be able to deal with different regulatory environments, technologies and capital markets," says Ron Boring, the head of Vodafone in Japan.
Unlike rivals, DoCoMo hasn't struck any global purchasing deals with handset makers, such as Nokia or Ericsson. As a result of this and because its phones pack in features that have not proven popular elsewhere, its handset costs are double those of European carriers.
DoCoMo's Tsujimura admits that his company lacks the experience to do anything more than settle for minority stakes. But he adds: "Three years from now, we will review our strategy. If we have the international resources, we will switch to majority ownership." But the wireless industry is rushing toward winner take all. Patience is not a virtue.


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Peter Quill/Star-Lord, Gamora, Mantis, Drax and Nebula are getting dramatic makeovers for Marvel’s new Guardians of the Galaxy collection.
Originally introduced throughout New York Comic-Con in 2022, Marvel’s new Guardians of the Galaxy collection comes from Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty writers Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly and Predator artist Kev Walker. The writer teased, “This hot new creative team will chart a course into dangerous new territory as Marvel’s beloved team of intergalactic super heroes venture to new, never-before-seen planets, encounter brand-new alien species, and discover long-hidden galaxy-bending truths that will make readers question everything they thought they knew about the cosmic side of Marvel!”
Guardians of the Galaxy‘s New Creative Team Welcomes Fans to a New Era
Previously teased within the days main as much as the announcement, the brand new Guardians of the Galaxy collection will focus on a phenomenon known as “Grootfall.” Marvel teased this risk will pressure the Guardians right into a state of affairs that’ll drive them to their breaking level. The writer additional mentioned, “One year ago, the Guardians of the Galaxy were destroyed. Their optimistic future shattered by the betrayal of one of their own. Now they ride the space lanes of a lawless corner of the galaxy, trying to outrun their tragedy. Can they rediscover their heroism and humanity on the bleakest frontier? Can they forgive the failures of their past? Or will they fade into the dark, eternally unforgiven?”
“Welcome to a whole new era for the Guardians of the Galaxy, riding like mad through an endless alien dust storm of sun-soaked tragedy, intense violence, and deeply dysfunctional heroes,” Lanzing mentioned of the brand new collection. “The optimistic peacekeepers that defeated the reborn Olympian Gods and overcame ‘The Last Annihilation’ have fallen about as far as they possibly could – and now Peter Quill and what remains of his found family will have to fight like hell in a new western-fueled frontier to find a scrap of forgiveness. After all, the Guardians are a fire – and a fire only ends one way.”
Kelly added, “Sharing the reins with us is the amazing Kev Walker, our partner from Captain America & the Winter Soldier Special #1. His unique blend of realism and wild imagination brings the alien frontier of the Manifold Territories to windswept life like no one else could. Together, we’re guiding the Guardians on a new trail – one that will make them look inwards, even as they face the threats over the next horizon. Grab your element gun, True Believers – it’s time to go for a brand new ride.”


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In line with the bigwigs at Digital Arts, EAFC 24’s launch managed to show the favored FIFA sequence right into a “highly effective, interactive platform for the way forward for soccer fandom.”
Sure, that’s the identical recreation which, fairly lately, briefly suffered from an concern involving sticky balls which proved such a giant downside that some gamers have been afraid to leap into their typical slate of weekend video games till it’d been fastened. It’s now fortunately been rectified.
That stated, it undoubtedly doesn’t look to have impacted EA FC’s capacity to generate huge numbers that look good in company earnings reviews, enjoying a fairly large position in EA’s abstract of its lately launched Q2 monetary outcomes.
“We delivered a robust Q2 and efficiently launched EA Sports activities FC,” EA CEO Andrew Wilson stated within the writer’s report for the monetary quarter that drew to a detailed on September 30, “reworking one of many largest franchises on the earth into a robust, interactive platform for the way forward for soccer fandom.”
So sure, it will appear that EA believes it’s efficiently assembled some sort of profitable footy-based gaming Loss of life Star now that it’s ditched the FIFA licence in favour of its personal model of branding.
To be honest, the writer cites EA Sports activities FC 24 as having amassed over 14.5 million energetic accounts throughout the first 4 weeks following its launch. When taken alongside the 11.3 million gamers it recommended had taken to the pitch throughout its the sport’s debut week, paints the image of an “interactive platform” that’s doing fairly effectively thus far.
EA additionally alluded to “the continued power of EA Sports activities FIFA 23” as having performed a task in its success throughout this specific monetary interval, whereas the Madden NFL sequence did its half by outperforming final 12 months’s web bookings by 6%.
When it comes to the writer’s plan for the longer term, Wilson added: “Trying forward, our unbelievable groups will proceed to innovate and increase throughout our world-class IP, constructing experiences that entertain our huge on-line communities, have fun fandom, and improve connection for our rising world participant base.”
So, proceed to construct up a much bigger Loss of life Star, it will appear.
Should you’re making an attempt to win your means up by means of the web ranks of EA Sports activities FC 24, ensure to take a look at our array of extremely helpful guides to the very best Centurions and Trailblazers at a bunch of various key positions.


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50 Million Lines of Trouble
Microsoft Corp. announced a delay in its long-awaited Windows Vista operating system, and people familiar with the matter said the company is planning a major management shake-up in its Windows group. The Redmond, Wash., software company said it will begin broadly selling a version of Vista for consumers in January, compared to its earlier plan of offering the product in time for the holiday selling season. —Wall Street Journal Well, it only lasted about a month.
I’m speaking about the 30 days or so that Microsoft was not everybody’s favorite technology whipping-boy—and it was Google’s turn to find out what happens in America when you disappoint people.
Following its fourth quarter earnings report and right up until last night’s admission by The Evil Empire that the so-called “Vista” consumer operating system would be yet-again delayed, Google had been the former whiz-kid-led outfit everybody wanted to mock.
A week or two after its earnings miss, Google’s CFO made some off-the-cuff remarks that panicked the market; then came the Analyst Day when management recanted those comments; which was followed by the accidental sales guidance release on the web site, not to mention Congressional appearances and Justice Department lawsuits.
The Google-bashing culminated in yesterday’s reaction to Google Finance, the underwhelming knock-off of Yahoo Finance: even Jim Cramer—the man who once declared National Google Day on his show and urged everybody who would listen to buy the stock a hundred and fifty points lower than the current price (and two hundred fifty points below its peak)—dismissed Google Finance on air to the hundreds of thousands of Cramericans to whom his word on Google is, rightly so, the last.
But last night Microsoft disclosed yet another delay in the already-delayed “Vista” operating system launch—and everybody can go back to making fun of Microsoft while Google catches a break.
Last night’s news probably comes as no surprise to anybody in the industry, given the fact that Vista contains 50 million lines of software code and is based on an operating system that’s about as secure as an unlocked Yugo on blocks.
Over a year ago I asked the CEO of a large software company (which had managed to flourish in Microsoft’s shadow despite being viewed as eventual road-kill) about the impact “Vista” would have on his company’s business.
At the time, “Vista”—then known as “Longhorn” for whatever reason—was expected to be the Swiss Army Knife operating system that would finally make his company’s product obsolete.
“It’s not the same Microsoft,” he told me. “They have so much on their plate just trying to deal with virus attacks on their core operating system, it’s hard to get all the new features right.”
He said he still worried about Microsoft, and never counted them out. But, all the same, he felt pretty sure that “Longhorn” (or “Vista” or “Slowpoke” or whatever Microsoft wants to call it) wasn’t going to launch on time—and, when it launched, it wouldn’t run him over.
So far, he’s right.
Jeff Matthews I Am Not Making This Up
© 2005 Jeff Matthews
The content contained in this blog represents the opinions of Mr. Matthews. Mr. Matthews also acts as an advisor and clients advised by Mr. Matthews may hold either long or short positions in securities of various companies discussed in the blog based upon Mr. Matthews’ recommendations.


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Sears Holding Corp. said Friday the payment systems at its Kmart retail chain had been breached as a result of malware, compromising shoppers' credit and debit card numbers.
Sears Holdings said a review of its systems does not show evidence yet of a data breach as retailers continue to stay on guard in the light of payment card terminal hacking at Target and Neiman Marcus.
MacroSolve, an Oklahoma company focused on enforcing its patents, has added Sears to a growing list of companies it has targeted with patent infringement lawsuits, it said Wednesday.
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First impression on unpacking the Q702 test unit was the solid feel and clean, minimalist styling.


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The allure of low pricing, as opposed to the increasingly expensive second hand ships, is starting to prove hard to ignore by more and more shipowners, particularly cash-rich ones. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Allied Shipbroking noted that “the amount of interest circulating the market over the past couple of weeks has shown a remarkable recovery. It seems as though the positive sentiment from the improved freight market in the dry bulk market has over spilled here too and with secondhand prices having increased at such a fast pace, there is an increased number of buyers now looking at this option more favorably as they seek to secure in the low prices currently being quoted by shipbuilders rather then wait for the market to show improved fundamentals on the demand side. This has already started to shift the prices being quoted by most shipbuilders, while given the cash flow difficulties faced by the large majority, we could well see them increase their prices at an even faster pace if the market starts to heat up further. For the moment however, the actual number of new orders coming to light are still relatively few in number and are likely to stay as such, given that the largest majority of shipowners are steering clear from this option for the time being”, said Allied.
In a separate newbuilding report, shipbroker Clarkson Platou Hellas said that “there is one tanker order to report for previous week, with DSME signing a contract for three firm 318,000 DWT VLCCs from Clients of Maran Tankers. It is understood that the deliveries for the three units will be from the later part of 2018. In Dry, Clients of Chartworld Shipping have placed another Kamsarmax order by signing a contract for four firm 82,000 DWT Kamsarmaxes with Penglai Jinglu Shipyard in China for delivery in 2018 and 2019. The Owners already have placed an order for four firm 82,000 DWT Kamsarmaxes at Jiangsu New Yangzijiang earlier this year. It came to light this week that Torvald Klaveness have extended their series at Jiangsu New Yangzijiang for one 83,563 DWT Kamsarmax for delivery in 4Q 2018. In the Gas market, Solvang ASA have added two 21,000 CBM Ethylene/LPG Carriers in their orderbook at Hyundai Mipo Dockyard by declaring an option. The duo are set for delivery in 2Q and 3Q 2019, respectively. Finally in the Passenger / Cruise market, Viking Line have announced an order for one firm plus one optional 63,000 GT Passenger/Car Ferries at Xiamen Shipyard. The firm vessel will deliver within 2020 and will be able to accommodate 2,800 passengers. Eastern Shipbuilding Group in the US have received an order for three firm 4,570 GT Passenger Ferries from The City of New York Department of Transportation (NYCDOT). Delivering in 2019, the vessels will be able to carry 4,500 passengers between Staten Island and Lower Manhattan”, Clarkson Platou Hellas concluded.
Meanwhile, in its latest note, ship valuations’ specialist, VesselsValue said that in the dry bulk market, “despite many sales in the bulker sector this week, values remained relatively constant. The Panamax vessels Libertas and Imperial (75,500 DWT, Aug/Oct 2007, STX Offshore) sold en bloc for USD 27.0 mil to Navios Maritime Partners. The Supramax Casta Diva (52,400 DWT, Mar 2006, Tsuneishi Cebu) was sold by Kambara Kisen for USD 9.6 million. Ultramax vessels: JS Amazon, JS Colorado, JS Danube, JS Sanaga, JS Columbia (63,500 DWT, Mar/Mar/Apr 2012, Aug 2013, Apr 2015, Dayang Shipbuilding Co) sold en bloc for USD 85.4 mil to JP Morgan. Handy Bulker values remain stable with the sale of Jin Yu (38,500 DWT, Jun 2012, Naikai) to Inui Global Logistics for USD 15.0 mil vs VV value USD 15.1 million”, said VV.
In its own S&P analysis, Allied noted that “on the dry bulk side, activity continues to keep pace, with further prices now being noted across most size and age groups. With the buying frenzy having taken hold of the majority of the market, we are seeing a greater rush to secure the higher spec units that do emerge as sales candidates, while sellers are still holding back their units as they have started to feel that delaying the decision to sell by only a few weeks could fetch a considerable gain. On the tanker side, things have started to look slightly more promising despite the fact that activity still remains limited at this point. The number of available sales candidates circulating the market at this point is minimal, while the fact that we have gone through the first quarter of the year, with activity still remaining fairly buoyant and rates having held to considerably good overall levels has created a renewed confidence amongst buyers albeit only a marginal one”, the shipbroker concluded.


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The World Rallycross Championship has named Champion Lubricants as its Official Lubricant Partner for the forthcoming 2020 season and in 2021.
The two-year deal was made with promoters IMG Motorsport, which organises the World RX competition in conjunction with the International Automobile Federation (FIA).
As part of the agreement, the Champion brand will have a strong multi-media presence at the race circuits, in industry publications and on social media.
David Gillett, the strategic partnerships director for Rallycross at IMG Event, said Champion will prove an invaluable partner for the series.
The 2020 World RX season will consist of 10 two-day events driven on closed circuits. Acting on the advice of government health authorities amid the Covid-19 pandemic, the final, revised schedule for 2020 is yet to be confirmed.
The series was set to be transformed into an electric car-racing competition for the 2021 season however those plans have now been postponed until 2022 because of Covid-19.
In a separate rally-related deal, WRC Promoter, the company responsible for the commercialisation of the World Rally Championship (WRC), has struck a presenting sponsorship with Toyota Gazoo Racing, a WRC manufacturer team, for the 2020 and 2021 esports WRC seasons.
The tournament will be called the esports WRC Championship presented by Toyota Gazoo Racing.
The announcement coincides with the parent car brand’s recent unveiling of the new Toyota GR Yaris, which will be presented as a prize for the esports WRC champion.
The deal was made in collaboration with video game publisher Nacom and will span promotions around the WRC 8 game as well as WRC 9 – the latest edition of the official WRC game scheduled for release on 3 September 2020.
Andrea Carlucci, director of product and marketing management at Toyota Motor Europe, said the growing interest in esports and Toyota’s increasing sports car offering informed the deal.
He noted: “E-motorsports is key for us to make motorsport and sports cars more accessible to more people and to foster a new generation of car lovers everywhere.”
The esports WRC is currently in its fifth year of competition with the final slated for October. The competition’s sponsorship portfolio also includes endemic esports brands Fanatec, BenQ and PlaySeat.
In March, IMG launched the first-ever World RX esports series – the RX Esports Invitational – in partnership with game developers Motorsport Games and Codemasters.
The one-off series has been held on the dates of selected rounds of the World RX Championship postponed due to Covid-19 and has included participation from official World RX drivers.


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Google Stadia launched in November but only has 28 games still. Business Insider interviewed some developers to find out why they aren't on board with Google's streaming service and found a lot of skepticism around the tech giant's commitment to gaming.
Business Insider said that it interviewed developers and publishers who pointed to two "main reasons" for withholding their games. "Google didn't offer them enough money, and they don't trust the mercurial company to stick with gaming in the long term," the publication said.
- Google Stadia review: Not ready for prime time
- Prefer PC gaming? Here are the best graphics cards for that
- Nvidia GeForce Now games: The Long Dark pulls the plug
"There are platforms you want to be on because they have an audience and you want to reach that audience," one unnamed developer reportedly said. "That's what Steam is or that's what [Nintendo] Switch is. They have big groups on their platforms, and you want to be with those groups so they can play your games."
From a developers point of view, it's not an easy task to port a game to work on Google Stadia, and without the right incentives, it's easy to see why developers wouldn't want to pour resources into a platform that might not work out.
The publication noted that every individual they interviewed mentioned Google's inability to commit to services at some point.
One developer also said "But with Google's history, I don't even know if they're working on Stadia in a year. That wouldn't be something crazy that Google does. It's within their track record."
Without the right developers supporting the platform, the audience on Google Stadia won't grow. And that would mean developers would continue to be hesitant to commit.
Perhaps one way out is for Google to dig into its deep pockets and help developers out financially to cover the risks associated with developing for a platform still in its infancy.
Meanwhile, Nvidia is also struggling with its GeForce Now service over agreements (or lack thereof) with developers.
That's not to say that all hope is gone. Google has promised to add over 120 games to Stadia this year, including big AAA titles like Cyberpunk 2077. We'll see if these additions help pull the service past the invisible threshold holding developers back.


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|Small-scale production and poor logistics services are preventing smooth movement of agricultural goods from the southern to northern regions. — VNS Photo Văn Châu|
HCM CITY — Consumers in the north are fond of many products from the southern region, but have had difficulty accessing them, particularly at supermarkets, because of a lack of supply in the northern market.
The supply in Hà Nội, for example, meets only 35 per cent of consumer demand for fruit, 35 per cent for rice, 15 per cent for beef, 5 per cent for aquatic products and 20 per cent for processed food. As such, the region depends on the south for much of its agricultural produce.
Although Hà Nội has more than 10,000ha of vegetable growing area, it meets only 66 per cent of demand, according to the Hà Nội Centre for Agricultural Trade Promotion under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
Beside rice and aquatic products, Hà Nội consumes a large amount of fruit from the southern provinces such as oranges, Hòa Lộc mangoes, Bưởi Da Xanh and Năm Roi (green-peel and pink-flesh) grapefruits, Lai Vung persimmons and Tích Khánh rambutan.
However, consumption is not high at supermarkets, trade centres and wholesale markets channels in Hà Nội. Most of the goods pass through traders' channels where promotion and marketing is more difficult.
Fruit is a major product from the south, accounting for 60 per cent of the country's fruit growing area. The region has improved fruit cultivation by using modern farming techniques and using higher quality seeds for dragon fruit, longan, durian and rambutan.
But overall, the total area of VietGAP certification in the region is making up only 2 per cent of the total area of fruit trees nationwide.
To improve the value of products, the Department of Crop Production is issuing certificates of geographical indication for Tân Triều, Năm Roi Bình Minh and Bến Tre grapefruit, Bình Thuận dragon fruit, Hòa Lộc mangoes, Bảo Lâm seedless persimmons, Ninh Thuận grapes, Lò Rèn milk apples and Long Khánh rambutan.
Under the plan, each province will have key fruit trees, create concentrated production areas and invest in developing commodity lines along the value chain as well.
Many localities have organised trade promotion programmes on agricultural markets, safe foodstuff and promotion weeks, which have improved connectivity and efficiency.
However, connections between the southern and northern provinces still face problems due to management and construction of sustainable linkages.
The domestic logistics service industry has yet to develop well, which has led to weaknesses in the transport of goods, thus causing product losses. — VNS


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LSIS signs tech agreement to provide parts to MyanmarLSIS, a major Korean electricity solution provider, said yesterday it signed a technology cooperation deal with Myanmar’s Asia General Electric (AGE) for a high voltage distribution panel board. The company said it won the contract after beating competitors like Siemens and ABB.
The affiliate of LS Group will also supply more than 3,000 vacuum circuit breakers (VCB) for the next five years to Myanmar’s top electric device maker, which was founded in 2008. LSIS will help AGE make an electric distribution panel board of 12-36kV. The company expects to earn revenues of at least $13 million from supplying parts.


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Toyota to seek price cuts from suppliers after 1-year pause
NAGOYA — Toyota Motor plans to ask its parts makers to cut prices for the first time in about a year, perceiving that it needs to gain competitiveness independent of a weak yen and other tailwinds.
The automaker made the decision even as it expects to report a record 2.8 trillion yen $22.3 billion in consolidated operating profit for the year ending March 2016. Toyota negotiates prices of autobody and engine components every six months with about 450 suppliers, including members of the Kyohokai organization consisting of its key vendors. Generally, Toyota would ask the suppliers that they cooperate with cost-cutting, and request that part of the savings be returned to the automaker in the form of lower prices. Often, Toyota asks discounts ranging from 1% to 1.5% depending on the progress of streamlining efforts. But in an unusual move, Toyota withheld the request for the second half of fiscal 2014 to help vendors gain strength and increase wages following rises in electricity and raw material costs. The move seems to have been effective. The Japan Auto Parts Industries Association said the 82 major autoparts manufacturers saw their consolidated operating profit rise 6% on the year in fiscal 2014. This spring, the average wage increase rate in Aichi Prefecture, home of many Toyota suppliers, reached a 17-year high.


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E3 is a gaming expo that has long been a major part of the community. Unfortunately, with scandals in its leadership and problems caused by COVID-19, it goes without saying that E3 has been in a tight space for quite a while. However, it is making a return in 2021, though it will be in a different capacity than it was before. There was a teaser of sorts last week, but the Entertainment Software Association has officially announced their plans for the upcoming E3, which they have described as "reimagined" and "all-virtual.” This year, this all-virtual event is going to be from...
If you’re a Pokémon fan that has been around since the age of the Nintendo 64, then you almost definitely remember Pokemon Snap, one of the most interesting and beloved spinoffs of a franchise that mostly involves having superpowered animals fight. Despite so immensely popular, it took more than two decades for Nintendo to actually deem a sequel worthwhile, but it’s finally happened. By the end of next month, we’ll finally have our sequel to the original Pokemon Snap, and based on what we’ve seen from the preview demonstration, it seems to keep fairly well with the original formula.
Most everyone knows about Game Pass these days: it’s the Microsoft subscription service that grants you access to a huge library of games, for a monthly fee. Since its inception, Game Pass has been very well received, since it is a very affordable way for gamers to experience a wide variety of titles without paying for each and every one of them. Needless to say, $15 for a month’s worth of access to a hundred games or more is a pretty good deal.
During the recent showcase from publisher Square Enix, Crystal Dynamics revealed their roadmap for the immediate future of Marvel’s Avengers video game. In their announcement, they revealed upcoming content in order to let fans know that the game would be getting more, and that support was ongoing. Perhaps most importantly, the showcase confirmed that the game will see the addition of new characters to the roster, such as Black Panther.
It wasn’t that long ago, so most everyone probably remembers the Reddit fueled Wall Street battle for GameStop that happened earlier this year. Thanks to very large number of people trying to bump up the chain’s value, GameStop’s stock value is actually ten times higher right now than it was at the beginning of 2021. One might think this was actually a good thing for the company, having good value after the debacle that was 2020, but unfortunately, this stock increase has very little to do with the actual performance of the business. This is made pretty clear by GameStop’s fourth quarter and 2020 fiscal year results.
In a recent announcement made by Sony, it has been stated that PlayStation has acquired the rights to the Evolution Fighting Games Tournament, better known by its abbreviation, EVO. On the Sony Interactive Entertainment blog, Sony claims that EVO is to begin the next chapter of Esports for PlayStation and its many multiplayer titles. This acquisition also includes a partnership with esports venture RTS. The reveal will be a heavily online-focused event starting on August 6th and again on August 13th. Each event will last 3 days, ending on the 8th and the 15th respectively.
Halo Infinite Devs Reveal Some New Information About the Game: Dual-Wielding, Playable Elites, and...
Very recently, Microsoft released a deep and thorough 44-minute video with a number of Halo Infinite developers, in which they spent that time answering the questions of fans. Halo Infinite was supposed to release as a launch title for the Xbox Series X|S, but that didn’t happen because the devs felt it needed more time to be complete. Naturally, fans have had a lot of questions about the game now that they know it’ll be getting more time in the oven, including whether or not the infamous dual-wielding will make a return, or whether there will be playable Elites in the game.
If there’s one thing that would evoke images of an earlier time in media, it’s the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. They’re zany, they’re kind of ridiculous, and they’re classic enough to have a bunch of games on consoles that today’s kids don’t even know existed. NES? It’s practically a floppy disk to kids these days. Needless to say, the heroes in a half shell have been around the block: they’re old, and attempts to reboot them over the years have been met with mixed results.
Following approval from a number of regulators in both Europe and the United States, it’s official: Microsoft’s $7.5 million deal to buy ZeniMax is over and done with. Naturally, Microsoft had some things to say about the acquisition and what it means for the future of Bethesda, the well-known name behind immensely famous series like Fallout and The Elder Scrolls. The most important bit of information for gamers is the confirmation that Bethesda will indeed be making games that are exclusive to Xbox and PC in the future. Before PlayStation fans freak out, don’t worry: only some games from the studio will be exclusive, not all of them.
New consoles are hard to find when they are first released, under any circumstances. But with COVID going on, causing delays and stock shortages, getting your hands on a PS5 is extremely difficult right now. When these much-desired pieces of technology are restocked, they are almost always bought out in an extremely short amount of time. In other words, it’s really hard to find these things, and we’re going to go over how to maximize your chances of finding one for yourself.
Everyone remembers the scenario with the Nintendo Switch, in which it was nearly impossible to find the console at a fair price. Scalpers were at large, stock was coming in pretty slowly, and people were buying the things as fast as they appear on shelves. Thankfully the situation isn’t quite as bad anymore, though things aren’t perfect. That being said, if you still haven’t gotten your hands on a Nintendo Switch or you just want another one for whatever reason, there’s a new limited-edition Mario-themed Red and Blue Nintendo Switch that just came out for you to consider.
Almost every RPG lover in existence has heard by now that the illustrious Mass Effect trilogy is getting a special, remastered edition of sorts. In a recent presentation, BioWare did us all the favor of highlighting exactly what those changes are going to be. Several members of the BioWare team provided details regarding what types of enhancements and quality of life improvements gamers could look forward to. Such improvements include but are not limited to: gameplay adjustments, performance upgrades, Integrating downloadable content, a revamped character creator and other quality of life improvements. The reveal trailer for all of this debuted on February 2nd while also announcing the Legendary Edition’s not terribly far off release date of May 14th.
Ah, Steam. For years now, it’s been one of the top places to go for PC gamers to get their hands on titles from across the decades. It’s a nifty platform that makes managing one’s PC gaming library a lot easier, and it even supports mods through the client for many of those games. Needless to say, it has a fairly good reputation with the public. But it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. In fact, there’s apparently a darker side to Steam and the Valve overlords who run it, if recent legal activity is anything to go by.
Everyone knows about console exclusive games and series. Sometimes, there are video games you can only play if you do so on a certain platform. It’s terrible for people that want to play and don’t have that console, and one of the most lamentable cases was that of the legendary Yakuza series. Yakuza is an action-adventure video game developed by Sega that was originally released on the PlayStation 2 in 2005
Usually, there’s only four free games with an Xbox Live Gold subscription per month. However, this time Xbox is being awfully generous, with five games instead, one of which is a pretty major title. For all the Xbox gamers that have a Gold subscription, the five games they will get for free in February are Resident Evil, Dandara: Trial of Fears Edition, Lost Planet 2, Indiana Jones and the Emperor’s Tomb, and Gears 5, by far the most noteworthy of the bunch. As always, the games remain freely accessible and playable so long as you have a valid Xbox Live Gold subscription, which, thankfully, Microsoft decided to keep at its usual price after considering an increase. They’re all playable on both the Xbox One and the new Series X/S.
People that have been keeping tabs on the online Xbox community may have been aware that Microsoft was looking to change the price of Xbox Live Gold subscriptions. This change in pricing was originally going to be an extra dollar for one month of Gold ($11) and an extra five dollars for three months of Gold ($30). Needless to say, a lot of the Xbox community was unhappy about this, and they made sure to let Microsoft know. The good news is that Microsoft actually listened!
Delays are hardly anything new right now, considering that the pandemic that still holds its grip over the world has forced many forms of media to be delayed from their initial release date. Unfortunately, we’re not quite out of the woods yet, and so even more films have been delayed: this time, it’s both Ghostbusters: Afterlife and Uncharted movie that’s been in development since before 2020.
2020 was a rough year for media, even the ever-popular Star Wars series. But thankfully for fans, Ubisoft has kicked off 2021 by announcing their partnership with Lucasfilm Games and Disney in order to produce a brand-new Star Wars game. The development team in charge will be led by Julian Gerighty and Mass Entertainment, a duo that is most well-known for the game series “The Division.”
We would not blame anyone for thinking that the above statement is some sort of joke. However, we can absolutely assure that it is not. It may be hard to believe, but KFC has a game console now. Oh, and it keeps your chicken warm.
Don’t worry about the headline to this article: there are still a ton of MCU movies in our future. Even so, it seems that those movies are actually secondary in Marvel’s bug upcoming plans, as much of the focus right now is actually on the rather high number of Marvel shows slated for Disney+, of which the first will be WandaVision coming next month. Marvel Boss Kevin Feige has spoken about the future of Marvel and its big plans for streaming.


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Seiko Japan recently started purchasing lithium batteries from Highpower International Inc. for its watch and wireless digital products. Highpower is a developer, manufacturer, and marketer of lithium and nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH) rechargeable batteries, management systems as well as battery recycling services.
“The wearable device market presents tremendous opportunities for Highpower. We are very proud that our lithium batteries are adopted by Seiko, a world famous watch brand,” commented Mr. George Pan, Chairman and CEO of Highpower, “Battery performance is critical to today's ever-developing smart devices. Highpower will continue to target the wearable device market, utilizing its superior quality and manufacturing flexibility to win customer orders. We are excited by the potential of our comprehensive product offerings, and are committed to upholding our reputation as a diversified power solution provider."
A recent survey conducted by Accenture showed that wearable devices will become more popular worldwide over the next five years. The survey was conducted online between October and November 2014, with 24,000 respondents in 24 countries, including China, Australia, Brazil, France, Turkey and the United States. The survey states that 73% of Chinese consumers want to purchase a smart watch in the next five years. At present, wearable devices are marketed by a number of companies, including Timex, Apple, Samsung, and China's Xiaomi.


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A REDDISH road has a royal problem – and it’s wreaking havoc.
Housing estate, Woodville Grove, and the flats at Rosemead Court – also on Woodville Grove – have been allocated the exact same postcode by Royal Mail.
But the postal problem causes confusion and residents claim letters are regularly delivered to the wrong address.
It means that post intended for number 10, Woodville Grove, often ends up at 10, Rosemead Court – and vice versa.
Now residents say the only postie who ever gets it right is set to be removed from the round – and they’re outraged.
"Most businesses have computerised postcodes so it results in wrongly addressed mail every day," said Pat Ruanne, of Woodville Grove. "We’ve had important letters and parcels missing for weeks because flats or houses have become vacant.
"But our regular postman understands this and he’s the only person who succeeds in imposing some sort of order on the chaos.
"He’s gone above and beyond on several occasions – and when he’s off everything goes haywire."
The residents have sent a petition to Royal Mail not to take postie, Phil Hablet, off the estate. But Royal Mail say he’s been removed due to a reorganisation of the rounds.
A spokesperson for Royal Mail said: "To improve our efficiency, we are currently revising delivery routes in a number of areas including Stockport.
"This may result in a different delivery person in some areas, but with the exception of a settling in period while the new delivery person familiarises themselves with the area, quality of service to our customers will be maintained.
"The delivery officer will be made aware of any delivery points which need extra care and customers can assist by encouraging senders to use their full address to assist with the correct delivery of their mail."


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In a pre-trial “tentative view,” Judge Denise Cote said the U.S Department of Justice will likely be able to prove that Apple colluded with major book publishers to falsely inflate the prices of e-books sold through the iBookstore, reports “Reuters” (http://tinyurl.com/nfw824c).
While she stressed that the view was not final and that she had read only some of the evidence so far, her comments could add to pressure on Apple to settle the lawsuit, in which the Justice Department accuses the company and five publishers of conspiring to fix e-book prices, the article adds.
“I believe that the government will be able to show at trial direct evidence that Apple knowingly participated in and facilitated a conspiracy to raise prices of e-books, and that the circumstantial evidence in this case, including the terms of the agreements, will confirm that,” Cote said.
Orin Snyder, a lawyer for Apple, said in a statement, “We strongly disagree with the court’s preliminary statements about the case today.”
The brouhaha centers on Apple’s move to change the way that publishers charged for e-books as it prepared to introduce its first iPad in 2010. Traditionally, publishers sold books to retailers for roughly half of the recommended cover price.
Under that “wholesale model,” booksellers were then free to offer those books to customers for less than the cover price if they wished.


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Blackwake Pre-Alpha Kickstarter Trailer
Blackwake is a pirate-themed naval FPS, focused on team based tactics.
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Mentha oil up on spot demand
Amid pick up in demand from pharmaceutical units in the spot market and less arrivals from producing belts, mentha oil prices traded higher by Rs 10.70 to Rs 1,281.10 per kg in futures market today.
At the Multi Commodity Exchange, mentha oil for delivery in September rose by Rs 10.70, or 0.84%, to Rs 1,281.10 per kg, with a business turnover of 16 lots.
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The July contract moved up by Rs 8.30, or 0.68%, to Rs 1,237.70 per kg, with a business turnover of 677 lots.
Market analysts said besides pick up in demand from pharmaceutical units, less arrivals from Chandousi in Uttar Pradesh mainly led to a rise in mentha oil prices at futures trading.


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Heinz income falls 6% in fiscal 2010
May 27, 2010
PITTSBURGH — Strength in emerging markets contributed to a 9% increase in income during the fourth quarter, but income was still down 6% for the full 2010 fiscal year.
For the year ended April 28, Heinz posted income of $864,892,000, equal to $2.73 per share on the common stock, down 6% from $923,072,000, or $2.93, during the previous year. Sales for the year were $10,494,983,000, up 5% from $10,011,331,000 during the previous year.
“Heinz delivered strong profit with record sales and cash flow in fiscal 2010 as our businesses and iconic brands around the world performed well in a challenging and volatile global environment,” said William R. Johnson, president and chief executive officer. “Heinz’s emerging market businesses drove much of our growth paced by outstanding performances in India, Indonesia, Russia, Latin America and the Middle East.
Overall, it was another excellent year for Heinz as we significantly increased marketing and innovation to enhance our brand equity and drive volume growth in the second half after focusing on maintaining prior-year pricing to offset commodity inflation in the first half. Heinz improved gross profit margins, reflecting strong productivity gains while also improving shareholder equity and return on invested capital.”
For the fourth quarter ended April 28, the company had income of $192,366,000, or 61c per share, up 9% from $175,135,000, or 55c per share, during the same quarter of the previous year. Sales for the quarter were $2,724,810,000, up 8% from $2,515,768,000 during the same quarter of the previous year.
“We expect another year of strong growth on a constant currency basis for Heinz in fiscal 2011,” Mr. Johnson said. “Our outlook is based on robust plans for our brands and businesses. We continue to execute our proven strategy to grow our core portfolio, accelerate growth in emerging markets, leverage global scale and make talent an advantage. However, in this volatile economic environment, our reported results will likely be affected by significant currency fluctuations.”


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Ford of Canada appoints veteran exec Dianne Craig as new president and CEO
October 31, 2011 By The Canadian Press
Ford of Canada has appointed longtime executive Dianne Craig as its new president and CEO. Craig will replace David Mondragon, effective November 1.
She has been the general manager for the southeast market in the U.S. since 2009, where she was responsible for all marketing, sales and service operations for 520 Ford and Lincoln Mercury dealers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama and Florida.
Craig joined the company in 1986 in an entry-level position and has since held a variety of sales and marketing positions. She has also led the company’s Ford and Lincoln Mercury U.S. dealer relations efforts.
Craig was born in Buffalo, N.Y. She graduated from the State University of New York and holds a master’s of Business Administration from Ohio State University.
Mondragon, who took the head position in 2008, will become general marketing manager for Ford and Lincoln for the automaker in the U.S.
Mondragon led the company to become the best-selling automaker in Canada for the first time last year.
“This positive marketplace momentum will continue to build as Dianne shares her extensive dealer relations skills, sales background and marketing expertise with the Ford of Canada team,” said Mark Fields, Ford’s president of The Americas.
Ford is the only of the big three Detroit automakers that avoided government bailouts from the Ontario, Canadian and U.S. governments during the recession, but it too undertook a major restructuring of its operations.
In the U.S., General Motors and Chrysler both filed for bankruptcy and shed billions in debt and costs with the help of billions from the U.S., Ontario and Canadian governments.
Ford Canada has assembly plants in Oakville and St. Thomas, Ont., two engine plants in Windsor, Ont., and parts distribution centres in Brampton, Ont., and Edmonton, Alta.