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Inflation slowed once again in December as the Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased by 6.5% over last year and decreased by 0.1% sequentially. Although progress has been made in bringing inflation down from its high of 9.1% year-over-year rise in June, the central bank remains committed to bringing inflation down to its 2% target.
Policymakers have signaled a slowdown in rate hikes but did not promise an easing. With a pause in interest rates improbable this year, the economy and the stock market are expected to remain under pressure.
With the expected macroeconomic uncertainty, investing in large-cap stocks can be considered secure investments since they are well-established companies and generally exhibit lower volatility. Moreover, these companies are considered to be least affected by economic cycles.
Hence, it could be wise for investors to buy fundamentally strong large-cap stocks Walmart Inc. (WMT) and The Procter & Gamble Company (PG).
Walmart Inc. (WMT)
WMT engages in the operation of retail, wholesale, and other units worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Walmart U.S.; Walmart International; and Sam’s Club. It has a market capitalization of $379.82 billion.
Over the last three years, WMT’s dividend payouts have grown at a 1.9% CAGR. Its four-year average dividend yield is 1.69%, and its forward annual dividend of $2.24 per share translates to a 1.59% yield on prevailing prices. It paid a quarterly dividend of $0.56 per share on January 3, 2023.
On January 12, subsidiaries of WMT – Walmart Commerce Technologies, and Walmart GoLocal, announced a partnership with Salesforce to provide retailers access to technologies and solutions that power frictionless local pickup and delivery for shoppers everywhere.
Senior VP of technology strategy and commercialization at Walmart Global Technology, Anshu Bhardwaj, believes that together with Salesforce, retailers would be able to scale their business and deliver the personalized, convenient experiences shoppers expect.
For the fiscal third quarter that ended October 31, 2022, WMT’s total revenues increased 8.7% year-over-year to $152.81 billion. Its adjusted operating income increased 3.9% year-over-year to $6.02 billion. In addition, its adjusted EPS came in at $1.50, representing a 3.4% increase from the year-ago quarter.
WMT’s EPS for the quarter ending April 30, 2023, is expected to increase 7.1% year-over-year to $1.39. Its revenue for the quarter ending January 31, 2023, is expected to rise 4.3% year-over-year to $158.09 billion.
The company has an impressive earnings surprise history, surpassing the consensus EPS estimates in three of the trailing four quarters. The stock has gained 9.4% over the past six months to close the last trading session at $140.84.
WMT’s POWR Ratings reflect its solid prospects. The stock has an overall rating of A, equating to a Strong Buy in our proprietary rating system. The POWR Ratings assess stocks by 118 different factors, each with its own weighting.
Within the A-rated Grocery/Big Box Retailers industry, it is ranked #8 of 39 stocks. It has a B grade for Stability, Sentiment, and Quality.
Click here to see the additional POWR Ratings of WMT for Growth, Value, and Momentum.
The Procter & Gamble Company (PG)
PG provides branded consumer packaged goods worldwide. It operates through five segments: Beauty; Grooming; Health Care; Fabric & Home Care; and Baby, Feminine & Family Care. It has a market capitalization of $346.95 billion.
Over the last three years, PG’s dividend payouts have grown at a 7% CAGR. Its four-year average dividend yield is 2.45%, and its forward annual dividend of $3.65 per share translates to a 2.50% yield on the current price level. It is expected to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share on February 15, 2023.
PG’s total assets for the second quarter (ended December 31, 2022) came in at $117.72 billion, compared to $117.21 billion for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2022. Net earnings attributable to PG came in at $3.93 billion, while its EPS came in at $1.59.
Analysts expect PG’s EPS for the quarter ending March 31, 2023, to increase 2.1% year-over-year to $1.36. Its revenue for the quarter ending June 30, 2023, is expected to increase marginally year-over-year to $19.68 billion.
It has an impressive earnings surprise history, surpassing the consensus EPS estimates in three of the trailing four quarters. Over the past three months, the stock has gained 14.1% to close the last trading session at $145.50.
PG’s positive outlook is reflected in its POWR Ratings. The stock has an overall rating of B, equating to Buy in our proprietary rating system. Within the Consumer Goods industry, it is ranked #8 of 57 stocks. It has an A grade for Stability and a B for Sentiment and Quality.
Click here to see the additional PG ratings for Growth, Value, and Momentum.
WMT shares were trading at $139.66 per share on Thursday afternoon, down $1.18 (-0.84%). Year-to-date, WMT has declined -1.50%, versus a 2.12% rise in the benchmark S&P 500 index during the same period.
About the Author: Malaika Alphonsus
Malaika’s passion for writing and interest in financial markets led her to pursue a career in investment research.
With a degree in Economics and Psychology, she intends to assist investors in making informed investment decisions. More…
More Resources for the Stocks in this Article


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Aguilar Amplification, the bass guitar brand best known for its amplifiers and pedals, has been acquired by Korg USA.
Aguilar announced the news of the acquisition in an email [obtained by MusicTech] sent to its business partners. According to the email, the company was renamed Aguilar Musical Instruments LLC effective January 1, 2021.
Aguilar President Dave Boonshoft will remain in his position as a consultant in charge of product development. The address and personnel of the brand’s factory will remain unchanged and orders will continue to be fulfilled according to the same procedures.
In the email, Dave Avenius, Managing Director of Aguilar, called the acquisition âthe next chapter in Aguilar’s historyâ.
âAguilar Amplification has spent the past 25 years designing legacy products and continually raising the bar for the bass guitar world,â he wrote. “To help us take the brand to the next level, we have decided to sell the company to Korg USA, one of the most respected companies in our industry.”
Musictech.net has contacted Korg USA and Aguilar for comment. Stay tuned for more on this story.
Aguilar Amplification was launched in 1995 with the all-tube bass preamp DB680. Boonshoft, a working New York bassist, teamed up with technician Alex Aguilar to create a preamp with the qualities of studio gear, like those from Neve and Telefunken. The name of the DB680 itself was a nod to the Fairchild 670 tube compressor, of which Boonshoft was a big fan.
For more industry information, click here.

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Some smaller hotels are entering the hospitality scene
- Peter Van Allen, Staff Writer
Hotel development is taking some small steps toward recovery from the recession, helped by an influx of smaller hotels and low-profile ownership groups.
While big convention-sized hotels have been slow to take root in recent years, a number of smaller hotels have sprouted up, mainly in the suburbs, as investors look to fill in niche markets in lower-cost markets. Nonetheless, they are trading under well-known hotel brands under franchise agreements, often with experienced management companies to run day-to-day operations.
“It’s opened up the opportunity for non-hotel and non-real estate people to get into the business,” said Derek W. Sylvester, vice president of development at Gulph Creek Hotels, a Wayne company that now manages eight hotels but plans to invest in as many as five hotels as an equity partner. Gulph Creek is looking at opportunities from Boston to Washington, D.C.
In Philadelphia, the most prominent of the companies operating a variety of hotel brands may be Philadelphia-based Hersha Hospitality Trust, a publicly traded REIT with 79 hotels, and GF Management, which operates 117 hotels nationwide and has an ownership stake in 15. Each company has been aggressive despite the ongoing economic uncertainty.
Hersha has continually retooled its portfolio — last month selling 18 hotels, including six in Connecticut, while building up its holdings in so-called gateway cities like New York City and Washington. GF, which specializes in distressed properties, said earlier this year it planned to more than double the number of hotels in which it holds an equity stake, from 15 to 30 to 40.
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CDW Corp. has announced that Thomas E. Richards will join the company as president and COO.
Richards comes to CDW from his role as COO for Qwest Communications, a $13.5 billion telecommunications company based in Denver. At CDW, Richards will be a member of the company’s executive committee and oversee sales, advanced technology services, marketing, product and partner management, and e-commerce. Richards will join CDW on Sept. 21, and he will report to John A. Edwardson, CDW’s chairman and CEO.
“I am excited to welcome Tom Richards to CDW. He has a proven track record of driving profitable sales as well as broad experience in marketing and advanced technology,” Edwardson said. “His leadership style is a perfect fit for our coworker-centric culture. I am confident Tom will play an important role in helping us achieve our goals now and in the future.”
“CDW is the best in its industry, and I am looking forward to becoming part of this terrific team,” Richards said. “Over the years, CDW has become known for industry leadership, innovation and success, and I am fortunate to have the opportunity to contribute to this ongoing legacy of excellence.”
Prior to serving as Qwest’s COO, Richards served as executive vice president of the company’s Business Markets Group, a $4 billion unit that designs, installs and maintains information service networks and solutions for small, medium and large companies and the federal government. Before joining Qwest, Richards was chairman, president and chief executive officer of Clear Communications Corp., a supplier of optical and digital network management software. He also served as executive vice president of Ameritech Corp., where he was responsible for sales, marketing and customer service for seven of Ameritech’s business units. In addition, Richards has held several senior sales and marketing roles with Bell Atlantic. Tom holds a B.A. in economics from the University of Pittsburgh and an M.S. in management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
SD-WAN as a Managed Service Opportunity: Register for the live webinar on May 2 >>https://t.co/D6i107ICC3
April 19 2018 @ 21:50:05 UTC


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Banks offer lifeline to Aussie small business
Australia’s banks are extending a lifeline to Aussie small business.
Anna Bligh, Australian Banking Association CEO, on Friday 20 March announced a small business relief package.
“This Assistance Package will apply to more than $100bn of existing small business loans and depending on customer take up, could put as much as $8 billion back into the pockets of small businesses as they battle through these difficult times,” Bligh said.
“Small businesses are the most vulnerable part of the economy and present the most pressing need for assistance.
“This is a multi billion dollar lifeline for small businesses when they need it most, to help keep the doors open and keep people in jobs,” Bligh said.
Banks offer lifeline
“Banks are putting in place a fast track approval process to ensure customers receive support as soon as possible.”
Bligh said financial institutions will continue to support the country through difficult times.
“While this is first and foremost a health crisis, this pandemic has begun to have serious impacts across the economy, with small businesses beginning to feel the devastating effects.”
Blight said banks have worked closely with the Treasurer and the Government to identify measures to support the economy through this crisis.
The package is designed to help small business sustain its workforce of 5 million Australians.
“Banks are already reaching out to their customers to offer assistance and packages will start rolling out in full on Monday,” she said.
Any small business who has not already been contacted should contact their bank to apply.
Banks have developed this Small Business Relief Package following discussions with APRA and ASIC to provide the appropriate regulatory treatment.
The package is subject to authorisation by the ACCC.


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Volvo C70 Production to End Next Year
“At the moment we’re offering the C70 Limited Edition - but [the current model] will be ceasing early next year,” Volvo Australia managing director Matt Braid told Drive, while company chief Hakan Samuelsson said Volvo will eventually replace the C70 with a car based on the recently-unveiled Concept Coupe.
The Volvo C70 was introduced in 1997, while production of the second-generation model commenced in 2006. The C70 received an update in 2010, which included a redesigned front end, LED taillights, and a new instrument panel. The two-door vehicle is built at Volvo’s joint-venture plant with Pininfarina Sverige in Uddevalla, Sweden since 2005.
Story via Drive


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Australia welcomed 6.3 million visitors in the 12 month period ending August 2013, an increase of 5.6 per cent relative to the previous year.
Of the total, 611,300 visitors arrived from the UK representing a three per cent increase on the previous 12 months.
The UK remains Australia’s most important leisure market in terms of total spend with leisure visitors from the UK contributing 15 per cent of the total spend for all inbound leisure visitors to Australia.
The UK also remains the most important international leisure market for Australia in terms of visitor nights and dispersed nights.
Denise von Wald, Tourism Australia, regional general manager, UK/Northern Europe, said: “Consumer confidence is finally improving in the UK and this more positive outlook is being felt in the British travel industry.
“We are delighted with the improving results for Australia and look forward to welcoming many more Brits Down Under over the coming year.
“At Tourism Australia, we are working with industry partners around the world to deliver our Tourism 2020 Strategy which aims to achieve AUD$115-$140 billion in overnight expenditure by the year 2020, up from $70 billion in 2011.
“As part of this plan we have a huge focus on attracting UK visitors, who spend a lot and travel widely in Australia.”


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PEREIRA, COLOMBIA: Our start-up is now six years old, and during that time we have learned a lot, mainly from mistakes - and from the only two initiatives that were correct from the beginning and are still present today.
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Say hello to the iPope.
Apple, unable to produce new iPod silhouette commercials due to the ongoing labor dispute, has signed Pope Benedict XVI for a new commercial set to air in the fall.
Negotiations had been at a standstill for two months, when Apple CEO Steve Jobs reeled in the reluctant pontiff by surprising him with a custom-made PopePod (photo below).
According to sources, Steve bent the confidentiality rules to check out the Pope’s past purchases at the iTunes Store, then loaded up the gift with Benedict’s faves: Mozart and Metallica.
The Vatican is delighted with the deal, as it dovetails nicely with its campaign to boost ratings with “the young people.” Apple has agreed to sponsor the Pope’s 2010 Christmas Eve Mass in Saint Peter’s Square, which will be surrounded by a row of backlit iPod posters featuring the dancing Pope.
Apple is continuing to push for advertising rights to the Sistine Chapel, offering to tastefully adorn the biblical characters on the ceiling with the iconic white earbuds. This matter was unresolved at press time.
The commercial, tentatively titled Pope Rock, is scheduled to be filmed next week in Los Angeles. Vowing to be a “one-take Pope,” Benedict has been training religiously with a team of choreographers. “The Pope is a fast learner,” says Hollywood dance guru Sal Riner, “three days into it, he’s breakdancing, doing the Moonwalk and the Whirlygig.”
Meanwhile, there is tension in Redmond. Microsoft, fearing that its Zune music player will fall even farther behind iPod as a result of Apple’s Pope coup, is closing in on a deal with the Dalai Lama.


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Even as the public broadcaster Prasar Bharati has suggested taking the services of aMap, an online TV ratings measurement firm for mapping rural homes in terms of gauging the benefits of Doordarshan to rural viewers, TAM Media, the leading TV audience measurement agency, today said that it was the first agency to have submitted a similar proposal about two years ago but was not getting a fair hearing from the government.
"We don't know why the government has not given us a fair hearing on the matter. Our proposal of creating a rural panel is 2.5 times the number of homes and half the fixed cost to what may have been suggested by others. It's unfair to us despite our detailed submission before all levels of the government," said a spokesperson from TAM Media.
TAM is a 50:50 joint venture company between AC Nielson and Kantar Media Research and provides detailed audience measurement data to its clients including broadcasters, advertisers and media agencies. About Rs 8,000 crore worth of advertising revenue on television is dependent on these viewership ratings of channels and shows.
This comes after Prasar Bharati submitted before the Parliament's Standing Committee on Information Technology saying in order to break the monopoly of TAM, it may join hands with aMap for creating a rural panel of 2,000 homes at a one time cost of Rs 10 crore and an annual recurring cost of Rs 4.65 crore.
The panel will be used for collecting and generating data, which will focus on rural homes across the country.
According to the proposal, this panel will be funded by Prasar Bharati with some investments from the online television ratings monitoring agency aMap.
Experts say the data captured from the rural homes will be of immense help to the marketers to get a better access to the rural markets as it will have several demographic details crucial for FMCG, automotive and other companies that sell their products in the rural markets as well.
Currently, the TAM panel covers 145 cities and towns with a population of more than 100,000, which represents more than 30,000 individuals and is one of the largest panels in the world.
"TAM is a neutral standalone body that is for the Indian media industry, of the industry and by the industry. This means that every single proposal and initiative that it takes up is for the industry at large and not just for one single organisation. The TAM's proposal for the rural panel to the government was for the benefit of the entire Industry," the TAM's spokesperson said.
However, in the recent past, even the broadcasters and advertisers have made moves to set up an alternative for TAM.


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With the nation-wide campaign launched a few days ago “Woman” wants to give particular attention to young mothers – as an alternative to the classic welcome package for babies. A total of 2,000 free “Woman Boxes” are sent their recipients, stocked with health and beauty products and vouchers.
The shipping partner GLS accepts packages of “Woman”, prepares each consignment, including labeling and delivers them. “The FlexDeliveryService offers private recipients a maximum of flexibility,” says Axel Spörl, Regional Manager GLS Austria & Portugal. “Apart from the content, also the delivery of the Woman Box shall feel good.”
After successful order with “Woman”, GLS Austria notifies the recipient via e-mail about the expected delivery date. They may prepare for the delivery or if necessary, select online one of many delivery options – such as another day, a different address or pick up of the parcel at a GLS parcel shop.
“The combination of surprise box, the new magazine ‘Woman Mom’ and its additional digital content we want to make mothers’ life easier and give them pleasure,” says Gabriele Kindl, Managing Director “Woman”. “The flexible delivery solution of GLS meets the needs of our community, modern women and mothers.”


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Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) still has a pretty firm grip on the mobile zeitgeist, but we’re seeing signs that it may be getting a little weaker, courtesy of a couple of recent analyst reports…
First there is the actual number of iPhone owners. Nielsen’s latest figures on the smartphone market, from October 2010, note that Apple and RIM (NSDQ: RIMM) are currently in a “statistical dead heat”: there are as many BlackBerry devices as there are iPhones in the U.S., at just under 28 percent. Android is close behind with around 22 percent of the market, and is likely to overtake both, given the sheer number of models available on the market.
It appears that when it comes to future purchases, though, opinion on the iPhone is split. Women are more attracted to the iPhone, while men prefer the Android (RIM drops out of the picture, relatively speaking). By age groups, Apple ranked above Android in every bracket, except for 35-54 year-old users.
Perhaps most significantly: the iPhone is still the most-desired device among most current smartphone owners, but among featurephone users, Android was the most-preferred OS. This is important because there are a lot more feature phone users out there compared to smartphone users – it’s a 70/30 split right now, says Nielsen.
Another report, from Goldman Sachs and picked up by Fierce Wireless and Street Insider, gives Apple a little further bruising: Android and BlackBerry both come ahead of Apple’s devices when smartphone owners were asked what they would buy next, respectively at 27 percent, 26 percent and 14 percent.
Loyalty among current iPhone owners was also down, with 62 percent saying they would buy an iPhone again, compared to 74 percent in July 2009.
As a sidenote, a report from the analysts at StatCounter noted that in the U.S. BlackBerry devices overtook the iPhone for the first time in terms of web visits in the month of November. That’s not a statistic that has any direct bearing on Apple’s current market share, but it does point to a trend of how these devices are being used. If it was the revolutionary ease of use that catapulted the iPhone into the stratosphere in the first place, then for the same reason, if other OSs are getting used more, you can expect that to trickle into buying patterns as well.
As we’ve noted before, with smartphones currently only accounting for just under 30 percent of the market in the U.S. the market is still open for the taking. What’s clear here is that Apple’s not the sure-bet for taking it that it had been before.


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Apple declined to comment ahead of its event. The iPhone is by far the company's most important device. It accounts for more than two-thirds of Apple's revenue and easily outpaces other products in shipments and sales. But the smartphone market overall isn't growing as it once did. Shipments worldwide should rise only about 10 percent this year, according to IDC, well below the 28 percent increase in 2014, with China shouldering much of the responsibility for that slowdown. Samsung and fellow smartphone makers including LG, HTC and Xiaomi have felt it, and not even Apple could avoid concerns during its most recently concluded quarter. In July, Apple reported fiscal third-quarter earnings that were better than analysts had forecast and revenue largely in line with expectations, but it wasn't the blowout Wall Street has gotten used to. The company also projected weaker fiscal fourth-quarter sales than anticipated and said it sold fewer iPhones (47.5 million) in its third quarter than Wall Street analysts expected (49.4 million).
While the iPhone has seen notable changes over the years, it has essentially remained a rectangular box with a round home button since the first model arrived in 2007, and that design limits what Apple can do, It's already boosted the overall size of the devices with the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 and 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus that arrived a year ago, Apple will hold its event at this San Francisco venue next week, Simply put, many consumers are finding their older smartphones to be snappy enough, Changes in the wireless market in the US are a factor too: Carriers have essentially done away with two-year contracts, so consumers may think a little harder the world iphone case about forking over $649 for an iPhone instead of the subsidized price of $200 they paid up front before..
For the iPhone 6S, those two-year upgraders will be crucial. "Apple has always really embraced the two-year upgrade cycle, and its strategy has been to make sure the two-year upgrade is a compelling one," Jackdaw Research analyst Jan Dawson said. "Compare the 6S to the 5S, which is the comparison most would-be buyers will be making, and it'll be a really significant upgrade."Apple has said many consumers still need to upgrade their phones, even though a record of people already jumped at the chance to buy the iPhone 6. According to Kantar Worldpanel, nearly one-third of both US and urban Chinese iPhone users -- Apple's two biggest markets -- own iPhones that are at least two years old. If Apple manages to get everyone who hasn't bought a new smartphone in a couple of years to upgrade, the device to be unveiled next week could surpass the success of the iPhone 6.
And yes, the iPhone 6S the world iphone case should still command long lines as the Apple faithful vie to be the first to get the new device on launch day, But for everyone else, a new iPhone is no longer a must-have item, With few physical changes expected in the next iPhone, it's become emblematic of a problem with the broader smartphone industry: It's just not that exciting anymore, You can feel the difference, can't you?, The excitement that once gripped you as hype built for the next Apple iPhone isn't quite there anymore..
Samsung's making a big push with Internet-connected devices at IFA in Berlin. The company's SleepSense is a disk sensor that consumers can place under their mattresses to track their sleep through a companion app. And Samsung said its $99 second-generation smart home tracker, called SmartThings Hub, is now available online in the US and Canada and will hit US retail stores next month. The device will arrive in UK stores September 10. Overall, the devices all fit into Samsung's big push to not only provide the most smartphones and TVs in the world but also tap into parts of the home that haven't yet become so smart. The so-called Internet of Things -- the concept of using sensors and other technologies to hook just about anything you can think of into the Internet -- is expected to grow to be a multitrillion-dollar market within the next five years.
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The Arkansas Razorbacks football team has recently revealed their highly anticipated Nike jerseys for the upcoming 2021 season. These new Arkansas Razorbacks Football Jersey pay homage to the program’s esteemed history while incorporating contemporary designs, bringing a fresh and invigorating look to the field.https://www.nfl-nhl-jersey.com/clemson-tigers-star-running-back-will-shipley-nominated-for-the-heisman-trophy-jersey-retirement-ceremony-announced/
The state-of-the-art Nike jerseys demonstrate precision engineering and cutting-edge technology. Constructed with Nike VaporKnit fabric, they offer optimal breathability and flexibility, allowing players to perform at their best. The team’s signature cardinal red color is featured prominently, with sleek white accents on the sleeves, collar, and numbering.
One of the standout features of the jerseys is the prominent running Razorback logo displayed on the chest. Symbolizing the team’s unwavering passion and competitive spirit, this logo adds an element of ferocity to their overall aesthetic. The Razorbacks’ iconic Hog logo also takes center stage on the helmet, emphasizing their unique identity.https://www.nfl-nhl-jersey.com/colorado-buffaloes-unveil-new-alternate-jerseys-embracing-innovation-and-style/
Head Coach Sam Pittman expressed his enthusiasm for the new jerseys, remarking, “These jerseys embody the Razorbacks’ spirit. They pay tribute to our traditions while embracing the modern era of college football. We believe they will inspire our players and galvanize our dedicated fan base.
The Razorbacks will debut their fresh Nike jerseys at their first game against the University of Texas at El Paso on September 4th. Fans can eagerly anticipate seeing their beloved team donning these new uniforms throughout the season as they strive for success in the fiercely competitive Southeastern Conference.


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One customer, in an e-mail to Computerworld, said she might just return the smart phone to Verizon, rather than bother with this or future updates, because of the hassle. "It's great that they have software updates for the phone, but you would think it would just be easier to fix it all before they come out with the phone altogether,' said Jacquelyn Pourroy, who waited in line at a Boston store to purchase her BlackBerry Storm on the first day of sale, Nov. 21.
Pourroy, a chef, said she had a mixed reaction to the device, liking its touchscreen and camera, but disliking several things, including the way it lags between some functions. "There are clear problems with the phone. The sluggishness ... is killing me. It takes quite a while for the phone to flip the screen from horizontal viewing to lateral viewing and back," Pourroy said.
According to documents obtained by Computerworld , Verizon told its customers that the upgrade, called Storm OS 188.8.131.52 (release 107), resolves several problems with intermittent power off and on; intermittent muted incoming audio while using voice-activated dialing; intermittent incomplete dialing when dialing *86; and intermittent problems with audio volumes increased to the highest level for users on wired stereo headsets.
General improvements in the upgrade provided better multimedia performance, Bluetooth audio and displaying of keys when switching between landscape and portrait mode, the documents said. The latter improvement might have been designed to address at least part of what Pourroy complained about.
The lag problem was also noted by some customers on demonstration Storm devices at the Boston store Pourroy visited, and showed up when a Verizon spokesman showed off the device to Computerworld the day before it went on sale.
One tester at The Boy Genius Report site found that one firmware upgrade it recently tested improved the lag problem , but that was a different version from the one that Verizon officially released.
Boy Genius said that it obtained the Storm OS 184.108.40.206 and found a dramatic improvement when switching from landscape to portrait, as well as improved battery time and other improvements. But the upgrade it tested was reviewed on Nov. 30, and was in comparison with versions .75 and .65 of the OS. Boy Genius didn't say how it obtained the .76 build, and Verizon said it could not discuss builds other than those it officially released.
Jeffrey Kagan, an independent analyst, said it was too bad that Verizon faced an upgrade and initial problems during the most vital selling month of the year. "This [problem] may give BlackBerry a temporary black eye," Kagan said. "It's nothing fatal, but a wake-up call." "To a device maker who has legions of satisfied customers and flawless rollouts, this can be embarrassing," he said.
Kagan said he sympathized with customers who struggled with the problem every day until a software fix is released, noting that the Apple Inc.iPhone 3G experienced problems when rolled out last summer, but Apple has issued updates and "since then, the product works great."
Verizon spokeswoman Brenda Raney said, "Upgrades are standard in the industry [and] are done because we are always looking to improve the user's experience with a device." She could not say how many people would take advantage of the upgrade. "Recognize that not everyone feels that they need the upgrade," Raney added.
This story, "BlackBerry Storm Firmware Already Updated" was originally published by Computerworld.


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It wasn't supposed to be this way: The 2017 tax cut and aggressive moves toward deregulation were supposed to pull the U.S. economy out of its glacial move higher.Economyread more
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CloudFlare is on a mission to protect millions of websites around the world from the most sophisticated cyber-attacks. That requires a lot of data centers, so the company plans to open one a week in 2015.
"If you fast forward 10 years, we'd like to be in every cell phone tower base station," said Matthew Prince, co-founder and chief executive officer of San Francisco-based CloudFlare. "The goal is to get as close as possible to the end users of the Internet. That allows us to deliver massive performance and security benefits. "
Since launching in 2009, CloudFlare has been growing with speed, doubling headcount every year and expanding revenue even faster. The company's software combines website security with Internet routing and content delivery, enabling webmasters to direct all traffic through the service in a matter of minutes. Over 1.5 million sites use CloudFlare.
Read MoreProfiting in the cloud
To offer security and maximum speed, CloudFlare has data centers across the globe. it buys cheap commodity boxes and loads them up with its own networking and security software.
The company is currently in 30 facilities, including 10 in North America, another 10 in Europe and four in Asia. By the end of next year, the total will be 82, Prince said. Many of the new locations will be in Asian cities, including Bangkok, Jakarta and Chengdu.
Meanwhile, Prince plans on doubling the number of employees to 256 in 2015 as he builds out the sales team. CloudFlare's business model is much different than a traditional enterprise software company in that 95 percent of its customers don't pay anything. In a few quick steps, free users just sign up and direct their traffic to go through CloudFlare's machines.
For the 5 percent of paying customers, the company has three plans, starting at $20 a month and going up to the enterprise product, which averages $5,000 a month. Customers include Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo and Cisco Systems, and Prince said the company will be on pace for $100 million in annual revenue at some point next year.
Prince said that 80 percent of the costs of the business go to serving the company's paying clients. At the enterprise level, that includes providing dedicated account managers, 24-hour phone support and setup consultation.
CloudFlare has raised $72 million, with the bulk of that coming in a $50 million funding round in late 2012. Prince said all of the cash from the latest financing is still in the bank. Unlike most fast-growing subscription software businesses, which take a year to earn to back the revenue on every sale, CloudFlare's deployments pay off in six months, Prince said.
With that level of profitability, CloudFlare is able to invest in growth, which helps explain why the company has aggressive plans for data center expansion. Prince said that most of its equipment will be placed in large data-center colocation facilities around the world and alongside Internet service providers.


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[UPDATE] Electronic Arts has now confirmed that Coldwood Interactive is working on a sequel to Unravel.
Electronic Arts and Unravel developer, Coldwood Interactive have extended their partnership agreement according to an announcement by the publisher.
At EA, we love working with creative and passionate development teams, in our own studios and our partners. Which is why I’m very pleased to announce that we’ve signed a new agreement with Coldwood to work with them on their next project.
There are no additional details of what Coldwood Interactive is working on next but Unravel caught the attention of gamers with the cute little Yarny taking over large areas of social media before the game launched.
Unravel is available for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.


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The lower-cost model could also attract more consumers to Apple services, a growing driver of revenue. Shares of Apple fell 1.1%, less than the 2.8% decline of the S&P 500 index.
The announcement comes as the United States and much of the world is reeling from the novel coronavirus, although U.S. political leaders have begun to talk about ending stay-at-home orders and restarting the economy, hoping record deaths and falling hospitalizations represent a peak.
Every previous iPhone has been unveiled in a polished presentation in front of fans, but large events remain banned in Apple's home base of Santa Clara County, California, where public officials ordered the first lockdowns in the United States to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Apple's cheaper phone reflects the coronavirus-driven economic downturn and job loss.
The cheaper phone enters a cut-throat market for value phones, especially in China, where Apple derives about 17% of sales. While the new iPhone adds features such as wireless charging and a high-end camera, it lacks connectivity for 5G, the next generation of mobile data networks. In China, rivals such as Xiaomi Corp last month announced models with 5G features starting at about $425.
With wavering hardware sales, Apple has been investing in subscription services such as its Apple TV+ streaming television service, Apple Music and iCloud. The new SE will come bundled with a one free year of the streaming television service, similar to Apple's flagship devices released last fall.
Apple said in January that it had 1.5 billion active installed devices and 480 million subscribers to both its own and third-party paid services, compared with 1.4 billion devices and 360 million subscribers a year earlier.
The company also set out a goal to reach 600 million paid subscribers by the end of calendar 2020.
The coronavirus has created a volatile start to the year. Sales in China, the first nation hit by the virus, plunged, then rebounded as the country began to reopen. Sales of 500,000 phones in February rose to 2.5 million phones in March, according to government sales data there.
Apple will begin selling the new model online while its stores around the world are closed, except those within its greater China sales region. Apple will start taking orders for the phone on its website on Friday, with delivery of devices expected to start April 24.
Apple gets about 31% of its sales from its elegant stores and website, with 69% coming from partners such as mobile carriers and other retailers. Apple said partners would decide whether to sell the phones in their physical stores. Many of Apple's resellers are trying to guide customers toward online sales. Major partners such as Best Buy Inc have reduced their hours, and AT&T Inc has closed about 40% of its U.S. retail stores.


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The largest packaging and processing show in Latin America continues to grow
CDMX, Mexico: Feb. 7, 2023 – Attendee registration for EXPO PACK México 2024 (June 4-7; Expo Santa Fe, Mexico City) is officially open, according to the show producer, PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies.
EXPO PACK México, the largest, most comprehensive packaging and processing event in Latin America, returns to Mexico City to showcase a wide variety of solutions in packaging and processing machinery, materials, and services for over 40 vertical markets. With over 700 national and international exhibitors exhibiting over 20,000 net square meters, the show will be the largest in its history.
EXPO PACK México 2024 will feature 9 international pavilions from Brazil, Canada, China, the United States, Spain, France, Italy, Turkey, and Taiwan. Additionally, attendees will gain insight from free show floor education, an exclusive keynote conference program, and have access to more solutions under one roof than available anywhere else in Latin America.
“No other specialized exhibition in the packaging and processing industry offers innovative solutions, networking, and training opportunities in Latin America,” comments Celia Navarrete González, Director of EXPO PACK México. “Attending EXPO PACK México is the most efficient way to move projects forward by discovering new solutions and expanding professional knowledge.”
According to the study "Trends and Opportunities in the Packaging Machinery Market in Mexico 2023-2024" developed by PMMI, companies are looking to automate their processes to keep up with demand and improve efficiencies resulting in record growth in the packaging industry. With a show floor full of more machinery than anywhere else in Latin America, EXPO PACK México is the place to see it all and find the necessary solutions to address packaging and processing challenges.
SHOW FLOOR HIGHLIGHTS
EXPO PACK México, in collaboration with Mundo EXPO PACK, will present a comprehensive program of free KEYNOTES featuring internationally renowned speakers. Topics to be discussed include carbon neutrality in packaging and artificial intelligence, both crucial aspects of the circularity and innovation demanded by the packaging industry in Latin America.
The Packaging & Processing Women's Leadership Network (PPWLN) will again host a keynote addressing gender equity and diversity in the packaging industry in Latin America.
As in previous years, visitors can participate in the daily conference program at the Innovation Stage, where exhibitors share their technological and innovative solutions for the industry. These conferences are free of charge and located on the exhibition floor.
NEW NETWORKING OPPORTUNITY:
PMMI’s Young Professionals Network (YPN), a group for engaged, young professionals in packaging and processing dedicated to advancing the industry’s next generation of leaders through education and networking, will host a free breakfast on Wednesday, June 5. Attendees will hear from an executive panel who will share their career journeys and give leadership insights.
EXPO PACK Verde will highlight exhibitors who offer sustainable solutions, materials, and/or technology such as biodegradable packaging, new reduction processes, and recyclable and biodegradable materials that help reduce carbon footprint. Participating exhibitors in this program will be marked with the distinctive EXPO PACK Verde icon at their booths and in the online exhibitor directory.
The Mexican Packaging Association (AMEE) will hold its Annual National Congress within the framework of EXPO PACK México and will host the award ceremony for the renowned Star Packaging competition, which recognizes innovation in national packaging.
For more information about exhibitors, conferences, and registration details, visit expopackmexico.com.mx. The registration fee is $100 MXN until May 3rd. After this date, the registration cost will be $200 MXN.


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Business France to Launch the 7th Edition of UBIMOBILITY
Business France, The French Embassy Trade Commission, is welcoming 7 innovative companies to the 7th edition of its Ubimobility acceleration program. Selected by a jury of experts, these laureates offer solutions in areas as diverse as acoustics, cybersecurity, blockchain or inertial navigation devices (INS)
Seven French companies have been selected by a jury of American experts to participate in Business France’s 7th edition of Ubimobility, a unique acceleration program. Ubimobility is geared towards French companies offering innovative solutions for autonomous and connected vehicles. The program helps them better understand local business practices and introduces them to North American companies looking to source new solutions.
From September 27 to October 15, the French cohort will have the opportunity to meet virtually with key North American players and VCs investing in the automotive industry. Among them will be stakeholders such as FCA, Magna, Nvidia, Valeo North America, Ford, Qualcomm, BCG, Ward’s auto, The University of Michigan. Business France selects the applications that are best suited to the U.S. and Canadian markets and can meet a demand.
Ubimobility in a few key figures: 47 alumni, 270 million USD in fundraising, a monthly newsletter, multiple articles in the American and French press, a seminar, several coaching sessions and more than 15 meetings with the key players in the industry. This year, Ubimobility is opening to new dynamic ecosystems in the autonomous vehicle sector (Florida, Washington, Ohio, Texas) and is also setting up in Canada to organize meetings with local players.
“The autonomous vehicle market – growing especially in the US and Canada – is now more than ever significantly strategic. France and its state-of-the-art companies have everything it takes to play a part in this technological revolution. Ubimobility is a unique way to introduce the best of French technologies to key stakeholders operating in the US and Canada” said Frédéric Rossi, Executive Director at Business France North America


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It seems that when it comes to Foxconn, good PR is hard to find. The tech giant (that manufactures devices like the iPhone, iPad, Kindle and the Xbox) has admitted that it employed underage interns in one of its factories in China.
In a statement (via The Next Web), Foxconn confirmed that children as young as 14 worked in its Yantai factory for three weeks as part of its internship programme. The legal working age in China is 16.
The company launched an investigation after media reports claimed that young interns were being forced to work in its factories due to a labour shortage ahead of the iPhone 5 launch. The company has previously denied the claims and it’s not clear which products are manufactured at this particular factory.
According to Foxconn:
Our investigation has shown that the interns in question, who ranged in age from 14 to 16, had worked in that campus for approximately three weeks. We have found no evidence of similar violations in any of our other campuses in China but we will not hesitate to take immediate action in any campus if any violations are discovered.
Foxconn said that it is still investigating the matter, and any staff found to be responsible for the fact that underaged interns worked illegally in its factory would be dismissed. China Labour Watch says that Foxconn did not check the identities of students who were sent to the factory by their schools.
If this is true, then this could make waves with the Chinese government as well as clients, even if their devices were not made in this particular factory. Sony’s supplier code of conduct prohibits underage labour, and Apple has previously said that it requires all its suppliers to check the ages of workers, even when they are supplied by third-party recruiters like schools. In its code of conduct, Apple says:
We also require suppliers to maintain robust documentation and age verification procedures, personnel records, and systems for communicating labor policies across their facilities and with third-party recruiters. And we hold our suppliers accountable for agencies and schools providing workers to them.
According to Foxconn, the interns received an apology and were returned to their educational institutions. The company said that it would work with the schools and local government in future to ensure no underage children were permitted to participate in its internship programme.


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DUBLIN, Feb. 17, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/hvcl6t/europe_b2c) has announced the addition of the "Europe B2C E-Commerce and Online Payment Report " report to their offering.
Growth rates of B2C E-Commerce are expected to slow in already developed areas of Western Europe
The recent ""Europe B2C E-Commerce and Online Payment Report 2013"" provides information about B2C E-Commerce and the movement toward online and mobile purchase transactions in Europe.
Growth rates of B2C E-Commerce are expected to slow in already developed areas of Western Europe. In the UK, the share of online sales on total retail sales exceeded 10% in 2012, but year-on-year growth rates are expected to decline from 2013 onwards. Mobile payments are expected to increase in use in the UK, as the UK Payment Council intends to launch a secure mobile payment service in spring 2014 and PayPal plans to offer a mobile payment solution with the name of PayPal Here in summer 2013. Similar to other major markets, online sales in France are expected to face decreasing growth rates, as more than three quarters of Internet users are already shopping online, especially for travel services. Bank card was the preferred online payment option in B2C E-Commerce in 2012 in France, followed by micropayment services.
In Germany, online sales giants Amazon.de and Otto.de helped B2C E-Commerce revenues in Germany increase by double-digit rates in recent years. The most used online payment methods in German B2C E-Commerce in the second half of 2012 were credit card, invoice and PayPal. Mobile NFC-based payments were not yet spread in Germany in 2012, but are expected to increase in use as banks, credit card companies and telecom operators test the technology involved. Other Western European nations are also experiencing increased B2C E-Commerce and the emergence of mobile payment methods.
Countries in Eastern Europe are also participating in the movement to online commerce and mobile and online payments. In Russia, the regional leader in Internet Use and E-Commerce, many foreign companies and investors have entered the E-Commerce market in recent years, but local mass merchant Ozon.ru and food and drug retailer Utkonos.ru were the leading players in terms of online sales. Though cash remained the main payment method in Russian B2C E-Commerce in 2012, online payments gained in both awareness and usage. By far the most popular among online payment methods in the beginning of 2013 in Russia was bank card, followed by e-money and online banking. Moreover, Russian electronic payment providers, such as Qiwi and Yandex.Money, saw a significant growth in 2012.
Key Topics Covered:
2. Europe (Regional)
3. Central Europe (Regional)
4. Western Europe
5. Eastern Europe
- BNP Paribas Fortis
- Everything Everywhere
- Net Element International
- Otto Group
- Sage Pay
- Telefonica Deutschland
For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/hvcl6t/europe_b2c
Media Contact: Laura Wood , +353-1-481-1716, firstname.lastname@example.org
SOURCE Research and Markets


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Use cash loans to buy a new Blackberry
Lifestyle News | Posted Friday, 26th Aug
People on the hunt for a new phone but unsure what to go for could consider investing in a BlackBerry and finding out the many features which distinguish the handset from the likes of iPhones and android phones.
Gadget fans could use cash loans to buy the latest model and be wowed by the sheer number of features it offers.
Patrick Spence managing director of global sales and regional marketing for Research in Motion, which revolutionised the mobile industry with the introduction of the BlackBerry in 1999, said the handsets are continuing to evolve in line with customer demand.
He noted that the company recently reported 67 per cent year-on-year growth in international markets, which he said is a testament to the growing popularity of Blackberry worldwide.
"As I look at it I think it is a story of the entire globe really picking up on the benefits of Blackberry, both for business users and consumers at the same time," he added.
Consumers may therefore wish to use cash loans to see just what the benefits are by investing is BlackBerry.


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If you’re one of the lucky few who can afford the new £999 iPhone X, you might want to stock up on bubblewrap.
The outrageously expensive glass box could end up costing you much more than you bargained for in repair costs, with no way to bring the price down.
Apple’s latest iPhone 8 and iPhone X devices are hailed as a bold step forward for the long-running handset, with a glass case and never-ending screen, as well some less savoury features.
Apple recently updated its website with non-warranty repair prices, and it’s not pretty.
In the UK, the quoted cost to repair a broken screen is £286. Just let that sink in for a second.
The quoted price only applies if you’ve fumbled and dropped your iPhone X and it needs its glass screen repairing. Other non-screen damage could set you back up to £556.
Apple seem to be treating British and European customers with increasing disdain.
American users will receive a comparative discount on repairs, having been told other damage would cost only $549 (£415).
There is a way around the exorbitant charges for some users, however, as Apple does offer AppleCare+, an optional two-year warranty which costs just under $200 in the US.
Unfortunately, Apple only offers bog standard AppleCare on these shores, which does little to bring down the cost of repairs.
The company is pushing more expensive features and components as standard and the iPhone 8 appears to share many of the same potential problems.
Apple hasn’t said why British iPhone users will have to pay a higher premium than our American cousins, or why repairs would be cheaper elsewhere. Repair prices vary from country to country.
There was also uproar recently when it was discovered the iPhone X would be cheaper in the US than elsewhere.
So cheap in fact that you could afford return flights and a hotel room in New York, in addition to a brand new iPhone X, for less than the cost of the device in the UK.


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Search Result For
Result(s) found: 403
DORNIER’s newest “Green Machines”
Digitalisation is advancing deeper and deeper into the fabric of the production chain, sustainability requirements are growing more demanding, new employees and experienced technicians are thin on the ground.
Archroma’s 5 innovations & 24 system solutions at ITMA
Archroma, a global leader in colour and specialty chemicals towards sustainable solutions, will launch its latest innovations and system solutions aimed to help textile manufacturers with optimised productivity and/or value creation in their markets at ITMA.
Order index for Italian textile machinery dips 3%
The order index for Italian textile machinery carried out by ACIMIT, the Association of Italian Textile Machinery Manufacturers, for 2019 January-March period ranging from January to March 2019 dropped 3 per cent compared to the same period of the previous year.
Application for India ITME 2020 opens
India ITME Society has invited to participate in the 11th edition of India International Textile Machinery Exhibition 2020, the mega and the most prestigious event for textile engineering and technology in India, the second largest textile industry in the world.
CTMC covering entire value chain
China Textile Machinery (Group) Co Ltd. (CTMC) is a holding company of China Hi-tech Group Co (CHTC), which is a backbone enterprise of a Fortune 500 Company - China National Machinery Industry Corporation Ltd (Sino-mach).
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Washington, D.C.— Today, the consumer group Food & Water Watch demanded that the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice extend the antitrust review of the proposed merger between ConAgra Foods, Inc. and Ralcorp Holdings Inc. In a letter sent to FTC Bureau of Competition Director Richard Feinstein and DOJ Acting Assistant Attorney General Renata Hesse, Food & Water Watch outlines several antitrust concerns with the proposed corporate union that deserve close scrutiny; requests the agencies to oppose the early termination of the antitrust review; and urges federal regulators to make a second request for information, extending the merger waiting period to allow more time to review the proposed merger.
“Corporations claim that these types of mega-mergers allow for efficiencies of scale that create cost savings for consumers — but the reality is, consumers rarely see a decrease in what they pay for food,” said Food & Water Watch Executive Director Wenonah Hauter. “As our food system continues to consolidate, consumers actually pay more for their food, farmers receive less, and the bankers and executives who negotiate these mergers and run the resulting monolithic corporations make out like bandits.”
Both ConAgra and Ralcorp have aggressively pursued a string of mergers in recent years, but the proposed merger would be a significantly larger amalgamation of retail grocery manufacturing market power, in terms of size, scope and breadth of products, than the prior acquisitions of either party, the letter explains.
ConAgra and Ralcorp both produce a wide range of snack foods, peanut butter and frozen entrees, so the proposed merger could reduce competition and potentially raise consumer prices. The combined manufacturers also would represent an increase in buyer power for farm goods, especially for cereals, oilseeds, meats and dairy products.
The proposed merger represents exactly the anticompetitive behavior that the Justice Department identified as an oversight priority this year. In a May 2012 report analyzing the five 2010 agricultural concentration workshops conducted with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Justice Department “stressed the importance of vigorous antitrust enforcement and detailed the ways that anticompetitive mergers and conduct can harm producers, consumers, and others.”
“If permitted to move forward, this merger will perpetuate the fallacy that consumers have choice when they go to the grocery store,” said Hauter. “When consumers learn that the variety of brand names and colorful packages conceal that a small handful of corporations control most of what they eat, they will be outraged.”
Ralcorp is a leading manufacturer of private label (or store brand) products, and ConAgra is rapidly moving into private label foods. The merger would significantly affect the dynamic between private label groceries and name brand groceries, as Ralcorp and ConAgra share competitors across the grocery store in private label and name brand products. Lower-priced private label products offer higher profits for the retailers that sell them, and this merger could undermine competition by giving retailers more leverage over other brand name food manufacturers.
“The FTC and DOJ should take this opportunity to restore some fairness in our food system by exercising their statutory authority to perform a thorough antitrust review of this merger,” concluded Hauter.
A copy of the letter can be found here: http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/sites/default/files/ralcorp_conagra_ftc_doj_letter.pdf


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• Since September 2020, the cost of the Food SMEB has been fluctuating between LBP 105,000 and LBP 111,000. The national average stands at LBP 111,457 in December 2020. Beirut and El Nabatieh governorates recorded the most expensive SMEB in December 2020.
• The Consumer Price Index (CPI) witnessed an annual inflation of 133% between October 2019 and November 2020, while Food Price Index (FPI) registered an inflation of 423% – representing an all-time high since CAS started price monitoring on a monthly basis in 2007.
• The monthly average informal exchange rate remained stable at around USD/LBP 8,000 between September 2020 and December 2020. However, a high daily volatility was registered over the past three months, tied directly to the political developments. This is double the rate applied by banks for withdrawals in LBP from dollar denominated accounts (LBP3,900/USD)
• Between January and September 2020, total imports volume decreased by 38 percent compared to the same period in 2019, while total food imports volume (excluding cereals) decreased by 18 percent. The volume of imported cereals slightly increased, at an approximate total of 1 million tons during the reporting period.
• Despite a challenging market environment, local commercial supply chains continue to be able to operate efficiently.
However, markets face the possibility of collapse due to increasing risks tied to the removal of subsidies and the LBP banknote liquidity crisis.
• Modifications to the current subsidization mechanism are expected soon. The Central Bank expects to be able to continue the current mechanism for two additional months only. These modifications will likely lead to a further increase in prices for food and essential goods.
• In 2020, an independent group of technical experts from the humanitarian community in Lebanon analysed the minimum and survival expenditure baskets and subsequently recommended a revised composition of the food and non-food items of the baskets to cover the actual consumption patterns of Syrian Refugees. As of 1st of January 2021, WFP Lebanon will be monitoring and reporting on the “new” Food Basket, which stands at LBP 129,605 in December 2020.


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Dice have revealed the first trailer for Battlefield 4, featuring slick graphics from the single-player campaign.
Readers Comments (Newest on Top)
Kage (Forums) on Sat, 30 March 2013 12:39am Breath taking for sure. That new Unreal 4 engine demo is spectacular too!
Freespace-3DT (Forums) on Fri, 29 March 2013 2:37am [QUOTE=McFly;945669]Have u seen the 17min in-game video?[url]http://youtu.be/U8HVQXkeU8U[/url][/QUOTE]Yes, it's absolutely gorgeous. :)Finally, next-gen is upon us.
McFly (Forums) on Thu, 28 March 2013 10:24pm Have u seen the 17min in-game video?[url]http://youtu.be/U8HVQXkeU8U[/url]


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US retailer Barnes & Noble says its nook ebook reader will be available in the UK from October.
The nook and nook GlowLight – an e-ink reader with a lit screen – will be available from nook.co.uk and “leading retailers” who Barnes & Noble said would be announced “shortly”.
Earlier this year Waterstones – long thought to be B&N’s most likely retailer partner – announced a deal to retail Amazon’s Kindle. WHSmith already has a deal to sell Kobo’s range in its stores.
“We are proud to be able to offer our top-rated line of NOOK reading devices and our award- winning digital bookstore to the discerning and highly educated consumers in the UK,” said B&N CEO William J. Lynch.
Both models offer WiFi connectivity to Barnes & Noble’s eBook store, allowing instant purchases and access to books.


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In case you hadn’t heard, Ron DeSantis is really, really big mad at Disney because they won’t shut up and let him be a homophobic bigot in peace. So mad, in fact, that he seems to have made it his life’s mission to not only destroy the “magical” place but do so at the heavy expense of his own damn constituents.
But, for all the time, energy, and effort the Florida Republican governor has put into exacting revenge on “the most magical place on earth,” it looks like DeSantis’ war on poor Mickey Mouse is turning out to be a big ole embarrassing flop.
While certain streaming companies are seeing a pretty massive nosedive in their subscribers right now (**cough** NETFLIX **cough**), it seems Disney+ is just chugging right along without a care in the world, as the company reports an additional 7.9 million subscribers in their most recent fiscal quarter, which brings their total global subscriber base to a whopping 138 million.
If their sky-high subscription numbers on their streaming service weren’t enough to get DeSantis’ knickers in a twist, their theme parks division has also reported doubled revenue this quarter.
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On the heels of massive, long-term shutdowns and closures amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Disney theme parks came back with a huge boom this year, boasting revenues from their parks division that doubled from $3.2 billion to more than $6.6 billion.
The Orlando Sentinel reports Disney CEO Bob Chapek actually personally praised the company’s “fantastic performance” this year, stating that they “continue to fire on all cylinders, powered by strong demand.”
To add to their successes, CFO Christine McCarthy confirmed that both Disneyland and Disney World continue to cap their attendance below their full legal capacity and utilize a reservation system that they created during the pandemic. And yet still continue to see a rising performance.
To be perfectly frank, DeSantis, I do believe you failed. Miserably. The only thing you really accomplished here was screwing your own people half to death. Good luck when your election rolls around.
Featured image via screen capture


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Northern Ireland hotel sold creating 50 jobs - owner to reveal 'exciting, energetic plans'
The Galgorm Collection hospitality group has agreed to purchase the Templeton Hotel in Templepatrick.
The Templeton Hotel was built by Stephen and David McCombe in 1990. The three-star hotel currently boasts 24 en-suite bedrooms and caters for weddings and a wide range of events.
Galgorm group said that it will soon reveal "exciting and energetic plans" for the redevelopment of the Templeton Hotel adding 50 jobs to the current staff.
The group said it would be investing £7million in the project in the local economy.
The new property will add to Galgorm’s portfolio, which includes Belfast-based restaurants Fratelli and Cafe Parisien and the £600,000 purchase and refurbishment of the Castle Kitchen + Bar at Galgorm Castle Golf Club in 2018.
The group's flagship hotel is the luxury Galgorm Spa & Golf Resort outside Ballymena.
Managing Director of the group Colin Johnston said that the move showed the company's commitment to the hospitality sector in Northern Ireland.
Please log in or register with belfasttelegraph.co.uk for free access to this article.
"Our multi-million-pound investment in Templepatrick will strengthen the local community and economy, as well as cement Northern Ireland’s reputation as a world-class tourism destination," he said.
“The Galgorm Collection is an extensive investor in Northern Ireland and our latest exciting venture in Templepatrick will bring our current employee count to just short of 1,000 people, reaffirming our commitment to the people of Northern Ireland. Over 50 jobs will be created and all current staff will be retained.”
Belfast Telegraph Digital


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The new casino in downtown Las Vegas, referred to up until now as 18 Fremont, will be called Circa, a name chosen to honor Las Vegas eras gone by, as in circa 1940, circa 1960, circa 1990, etc.
Circa will occupy 1.25 million square feet, with 777 rooms in a 44-story tower, a new nine-story 1,200-space parking garage (nicknamed “Garage Mahal”) with a pedestrian-bridge connection, five restaurants to be revealed later, the longest outdoor bar on Fremont Street, and a two-level casino.
The pool area will be multi-tiered, creating an amphitheater effect; all tiers will have a view of a 125-foot-tall video screen for pool events and watch parties. The key element will be a tri-level sports book that will be the largest in Las Vegas, with the “biggest screen in sports book history,” according to owner Derek Stevens, who also owns the D and the Golden Gate. Construction is scheduled to start in February.
Fifty-cent beers: After sustaining a price hike from 5 cents to 25 cents in October, the daily draft beer special at the Flamingo has doubled to 50 cents. The deal is available in the Margaritaville Casino area’s 5 O’Clock Somewhere Bar, daily from 5 to 6 p.m.
Boozy barbershop: A barbershop with a bar is opening at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas in March. Barbershop Cuts and Cocktails will combine a full-service barbershop and a high-end bar with a “parlor vibe,” including an entrance via a hidden door, and live music.
Question: What’s the name of the Las Vegas show that’s staged in a tent?
Answer: You’re probably referring to “Absinthe,” which plays in a tent at Caesars Palace. However, in a couple of months the answer will be any one of three shows. “Fuerza Bruta” is on schedule to open on Feb. 9 in a big theater-in-the-round performance tent at Excalibur and it will be followed later this year by “Celestia” at Stratosphere.


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LOS ANGELES (CBS.MW) -- The U.S. economic slowdown and the downtrodden stock market look to have taken a toll on the 8th Annual Internet World Spring conference in Los Angeles.
The producer of the trade show, Penton Media PME, +2.36% said it has seen a significant drop in the number of exhibitors. From 800 last year, there are an estimated 500 this year. The number of attendees has also dropped from 64,000 last year to 50,000 this year.
However, conference chairman Jack Powers said he believes that part of the drop is the result of Penton's two additional shows that focus on wireless business. "The numbers exceeded our expectations for the first show in New York," said Powers.
The audience at the conference, which focuses on pure Internet businesses, has also changed when compared with last year. Powers, notably, believes the audience is smarter.
"It's like it is 1996 or 1997, if you were in the Internet you were into it," he said.
Troy Toman, vice president and general manager of Inktomi's search solutions division, believes the mood of the conference isn't necessarily gloomy. It would seem the faithful still attend.
"There's still a lot of people that still believe in the Internet," said Toman.
The booth's toll
As for the exhibitors, Penton did notice a "whittling away" at the size of the booths, banners and souvenirs to reduce overall expenses for many of the companies. However the conference still provides a relatively inexpensive platform to build a company's client base, said Toman.
While the Internet is still enjoying double-digit growth by almost any measure, according to Penton, many of the businesses that ignored sound business practices have suffered. And attendance itself seemed to be a success, small as it may be.
"If you are here, you are a real player," said Powers.
Among some of the top-gun speakers, there was an air of fortune at the broader malaise hounding the market's less-established contenders. That was true in the speaker's lounge where you could sense this mood, according to Powers. This was also clear during the presentation of Thomas Siebel, chairman and chief executive officer of Siebel Systems SEBL who warned of a global recession while soliciting talent for his company. See full story.


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Jay Z & Pharrell’s recent “Entrepreneur” video may have just sparked the next viral social media challenge! It’s called the #BlackEntrepreneurChallenge and it dropped by Lamar Tyler, founder of the international Black business network, Traffic Sales and Profit (TSP), to sound the alarm for ALL Black businesses to join in and show off their success.
You can watch it on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/sfjCFedmvY8
“I felt both inspired and empowered when I saw Jay Z and Pharrell’s ‘Entrepreneur’ video,” says Lamar. “It instantly made me want to showcase the tons of amazing Black entrepreneurs that I know, personally.”
Lamar’s challenge video features just a few of the game-changing businesses in his network as well as a couple kidpreneurs. They include the following:
- Charis Jones – owner of Sassy Jones, who was just recently listed #75 on the 2020 Inc. 5000 list.
- Crystal Swain-Bates – celebrated children’s book author who has sold over 300K self-published books on Amazon.
- Nicole Brown – founder of Izzy and Liv, home of the Brown Sugar Box, who was also listed on the 2020 Inc. 5000 list.
- Collin, Ryan and Austin Gill – Three brothers, ages 14, 12 and 9, who are the kidpreneur founders of Frerés Branchiaux, a home fragrance and candle company currently sold in retail stores across the country.
- Freddie Taylor – founder of Urban Intellectuals and creator of the popular Black History Flash Cards, over 200K sold.
- Gabby Goodwin – Founder of Gabby Bows and Kidpreneur sensation who generated six figures by the time she was in the sixth grade.
The video also features Tyler, who as a Black business leader and digital marketing expert, founded the TSP community to coach and train Black entrepreneurs. Recently, it was announced that his private mastermind clients did a combined $49 million over the last 12 months… DURING the pandemic!
Tyler adds, “Success doesn’t stop with us, or those highlighted in Jay Z and Pharrell’s video. There are reports circulating in the media saying that 41% of Black businesses are closing their doors during this Pandemic, and while that may be an unfortunate true for some, that is not the reality for us all. There are just as many who are thriving in this season and it’s time that we change the narrative. My hope with this challenge is to spark a wave of Black business owners, around the world, who can join in and prove just how amazing and successful we are, as a people and a global community, even when the odds are stacked against us.”
On August 4, 2020, the New York Fed released a brief on the effects that COVID-19 has had on Black-owned businesses. The report wasn’t too promising; however, Jay Z and Pharrell’s video, as well as Lamar’s challenge, have come at the perfect time to shine a light on the bright side of Black businesses and bring some much needed hope to those who feel like there is none.
#BlackEntrepreneurChallenge Traffic Sales & Profit (TSP)
WATCH PHARRELL’S VIDEO FEATURING JAY-Z HERE:


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September 18, 2014Nathan Lam
A common theme that developers often face is deciding which platform they should make their apps available on next. Are the users on this platform engaged enough? Will I be able to make money on this platform? These are only some of the questions that developers face, before investing their time on transferring their apps. For Playtika, a company which builds highly immersive social games, expanding their apps onto as many platforms as possible has become a core strategy.
Playtika’s app Slotomania currently holds the #8 spot worldwide for highest grossed mobile app on iOS and Android. In addition to iOS and Android, Playtika has also launched on the Amazon Appstore, which has proved to be a big success. According to Playtika, the Amazon Appstore provided the team with the highest ARPU (average revenue per user) compared to other platforms and also contained the highest retention rate amongst its competitors. Recently I had the chance to sit down with Elad Kushnir, VP of Business Development, to discuss how their apps were doing in the Amazon Appstore and their experience working with Amazon.
“The Amazon Appstore does not only make the migration easy from an existing Google Play app, but it also has outperforming KPI’s as well.” says Elad. The team has seen some impressive results since their app has gone live in the store and have done fairly well for themselves in terms of revenue. “When we compared our 2014 data, we noticed that ARPU on Amazon was 70% higher than on Android and 15% higher than on iOS”- Elad Kushnir
The team credits the unique audience that Amazon brings in and how engaged they are. “When we looked at retention rates for 2nd day and 7th day metrics, the retention was relatively the same across all platforms. However on the 30th day, retention on Amazon Appstore was 10%-20% higher than on iOS and Google Play.” Says Elad.
Playtika Sees 150% Higher Conversion Rates from Players to Payers on the Amazon Appstore Compared to iOS and 170% compared to Google Play
Getting users engaged is only half the battle. With a free app like Slotomania, conversion rates (paying users/ DAU) is crucial in terms of making revenue which is why Playtika is using Amazon’s In-App Purchasing API. So how many of these users are actually purchasing within the game? From Playtika’s data in 2014, they determined that the average user on the Amazon Appstore is 150% more likely to become a paid user than on iOS and 170% more likely than Google Play.
Figure 1In-App Purchasing
When the team came together to decide on their next platform, they chose the Amazon Appstore immediately. So why did the team decide that Amazon Appstore was the right choice?
“When we were deciding on our next platform, we already had our app on Google Play. We realized that moving our app from Google Play to the Amazon Appstore would be pretty easy since Fire OS is built on Android. Once we started, we got our apps up and running in a couple days and the process itself was seamless. The best part was that it had relatively low development costs.” – Elad Kushnir
From previous tests, we actually found out that more than 75% of the Android apps we tested just work on Kindle Fire with no additional development required. The team has now launched several of their games on the Amazon Appstore and are working on the getting the remaining ones up and running within the next year.
Moving forward Playtika plans to take their apps to the next level by getting them onto Amazon’s newest devices. Their current focus is to get their app on Fire, in which their team is already planning on integrating Fire’s exclusive feature, Dynamic Perspective. In 2015 Playtika is planning to also have their apps on Amazon Fire TV. For now, the Playtika team tells us that they are very happy with how things are going and plan to release even more apps on the Amazon Appstore in the near future.


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Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 still remains the number one selling PS3 game; it came under fire from Army Of Two: The 40th Day, but the CoD title showed it who was boss. Digital Spy reports that in third place is Darksiders from THQ, with Assassin’s Creed II in the number for spot.
Modern Warfare 2 has now passed the $1 billion mark in sales, which we spoke about in a recent post. There does not seem to be an end as to how popular this game is, but there are still those who do not care for the game, the question is, are you one of them?
Since the game launched it has stayed in the top spot, well except for a minor outing to number 2 when Assassin’s Creed II was released, which you can read more about here. However, the game only held the top spot for one week.
From the moment that Modern Warfare 2 was released the game has had its fair share of problems. The first was where users could not gain access to online multiplayer, and then there was that whole problem with the airport scene.
The latest trouble to hit the top selling game is that a patch has now been released to fix some of its major problems. It is said that 6 problems has now been fixed get all the details here.
*Identifying Monetised Links - outgoing links that we monetise are marked with an '*' symbol.


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An Israeli company has announced plans to launch new “autonomous” surveillance products which are specifically designed to monitor large metropolitan areas.
By Derrick Broze | 8 June 2018
ACTIVIST POST — On Thursday, Israeli surveillance technology company Jenovice announced a slew of new surveillance products aimed at monitoring Wi-Fi enabled devices in order to gain intelligence on targets. The announcement was part of a presentation – “Tactical Wi-Fi Interception – Identify, Acquire, Intercept” – given at the Intelligence Support Systems for Electronic Surveillance, Social Media/DarkNet Monitoring and Cyber Crime Investigations, or ISS World Europe Conference, in Prague. Jenovice stated the presentation would “go over the challenges, limitations and operational solutions in tactical WiFi interception missions. We will cover the following: identifying targets, acquiring them and manipulating Wi-Fi enabled devices to extract intelligence.”
Jenovice’s announcement was first reported by CyberScoop in late May. CyberScoop elaborated on the new surveillance products being sold by Jenovice.
Jenovice’s Metropolink, which is only available for law enforcement and intelligence agencies, is sold as an “autonomous” surveillance system meant to monitor entire metropolitan areas. The capabilities list reads like hacker tech from a Jason Bourne movie: It’s advertised as being able to locate, list, map, track, analyze and visualize all Wi-Fi networks and identities across whatever environment a customer chooses.
CyberScoop explains that Metropolink works due to a network of sensors which are to be strategically placed around a large populated area. These sensors track various electronic devices via the MAC address and geolocation. This includes phones which are broadcasting and collecting Wi-Fi information. These sensors have a range of about 500 meters. Jenovice advertises that Metropolink can detect and track suspects even while moving at high speeds in vehicles. CyberScoop notes that Jenovice sells Metropolink as a “passive” technology which allows for less regulations and does not require a warrant in many countries. However, the term passive is a bit of a misnomer. […]


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Bengaluru-based social e-commerce startup DealShare has raised $165 million in a fresh financing round at a valuation of $1.6 billion, the company said in a statement.
With this, the three-year-old online buying platform for multi-category consumer products has entered the coveted unicorn club, the fifth to do so this calendar year after HR tech startup Darwinbox, edtech firm LEAD, analytics company Fractal, and mother care entity Mamaearth.
The series E funding was led by US-based investment firm Tiger Global Management, with participation from Alpha Wave Global, Dragoneer Investment Group, Kora Management, and Unilever Ventures.
The company, founded in 2018 by Vineet Rao, Sourjyendu Medda, Sankar Bora, and Rajat Shikhar, aims to use the funds to bolster its technology and data science, as well as ramp up its logistics infrastructure to widen its geographic reach.
"Our mission is to increase affordability and accessibility of high-quality products at low prices for mass consumers. We have created a unique network of more than 1,000 small and medium manufacturers in the grocery and essential space which allow us to enable our mission,” DealShare Chief Business Officer and co-founder Sourjyendu Medda said. “Majority of our consumers are first to e-commerce because of us. Not only are we spearheading e-commerce adoption in the country but we are also doing that with 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' as the key focus."
DealShare, which promises to deliver high-quality, affordable products to mass consumers, has a customer base of 10 million with a presence in more than 100 cities across 10 states of the country. DealShare is looking to add about 50 million new consumers in the next 12 months, Medda said.
The company, whose annual revenue currently stands at $600 million, expects to hit $1 billion in sales in the near term, and aims to then triple it to $3 billion while expanding its presence to over 200 cities across 20 states this year.


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I’m rooting for Microsoft. I know, it sounds strange for me, a longtime Apple fan, to say this — on an Apple-focused site, no less.
But Microsoft, once dominant in the personal-computing space and now a perceived underdog to Apple and Google, has recently brimmed with promising, if poorly executed, ideas. I’ve particularly liked its Windows-based Surface computers, though Windows 8 is a mess and has been widely panned.
Microsoft’s Windows Phone smartphones have not made much headway against Google Android phones and the iPhone, either. I would never consider investing in such a device — and I say this as someone who finds a number of Android devices alluring.
Now Microsoft is trying again.
In another attempt to remain interesting to the forward-looking tech community, Microsoft on 21 January 2015 staged a major software and hardware unveiling that never flagged and often amazed. Keynote topics ranged from the routine, like Windows updates, to the unexpected, such as goggles that superimpose “holographic” constructs on the real world.
Let’s take a look at what Microsoft announced, and how it compares to Apple’s offerings.
Windows 10 Everywhere — Microsoft’s take on personal computing can feel alien to Apple users since Microsoft emphasizes touch interaction on traditional PCs and pushes the concept of all-in-one devices such as tablet-like Surface PCs. In contrast, Apple has emphatically kept touch interaction out of OS X and has avoided hybrid Mac/iOS devices.
Don’t look now, Cupertino fans, but the Redmond tech giant is going even further down its rabbit hole.
Windows 10, which had previously been released in an unfinished “technical preview” form, was shown off in a more-polished state and — crucially — as a single, all-purpose operating system for all devices ranging from smartphones and tablets to traditional laptop and desktop machines.
That doesn’t mean Windows 10 looks identical on all gadgets. Tweaks are made to the interface depending on device size and such, but it’s the same basic operating system under the hood.
This makes sense, and based on what I gleaned from the keynote, Windows 10 should be usable with either finger swipes (something you’d never do on a Mac) or a keyboard and mouse. On PCs with removable keyboards, Windows 10 knows which input devices are present, and offers up the appropriate input mode.
I’m particularly excited for the future of the Windows phone platform, which has suffered from a dearth of decent apps, since Windows developers can now write apps for pretty much all Windows 10 devices at once. This could finally make Windows-based smartphones into credible iPhone rivals — and competition is always good.
Some new features in Windows 10, like a right-hand Notifications pane extremely similar to OS X’s Notification Center, seem like straight rip-offs, but all the big tech companies borrow freely from one another these days.
And Microsoft has done a nice job refining key features such as the previously reviled, tile-festooned Start Screen, now morphed into a tidy Start Menu with a full-screen option.
Windows 10 is due in late 2015, and will be free to those upgrading from Windows 7 or later during the first year.
This Is Spartan (and Office) — Starting in 1998, Microsoft’s Internet Explorer was the default Web browser on Macs, only to be replaced by Apple’s own Safari in 2003. Now Internet Explorer is being shown the door again, but this time in Windows.
Microsoft appears to be pushing aside the current Windows version of Internet Explorer for a new browser codenamed Spartan (though Internet Explorer will likely stick around a while for legacy support). Spartan is a clean-looking browser with a number of useful, though hardly groundbreaking, features, such as the option to mark up a Web page for sharing, along with controls for simplifying page text for reading, and adding a site to a reading list. These are like Reader View and Reading List in Safari.
Spartan has a brand-new rendering engine, too, but the benefits of that won’t be fully clear until the app is released.
Microsoft’s other major software announcement was a touch-friendly flavor of Office, which will be free on smaller Windows 10 devices. Millions of Windows users surely heaved a huge sigh of relief over this, since they’ve been in limbo while iOS and Android users got versions of Office for their devices. As an occasional Surface user, I felt their pain.
A non-touch version of Office for Windows, called Office 2016, also is coming, Microsoft said. So, reportedly, is a new version of Office for the Mac, but Microsoft had nothing new to say about that.
Hey Siri, I Mean, Cortana — Remember the “butler” from the Knowledge Navigator concept video created for a keynote speech by former Apple CEO John Sculley? I felt flashes of that as I watched Microsoft’s Joe Belfiori run a somewhat similar demo, though this time the technology, called Cortana, is real.
Cortana, Microsoft’s answer to Siri, has existed on Windows Phone gadgets for a while, and with Windows 10 it’s migrating to Windows PCs. Meanwhile, Siri’s move to Mac OS X remains in the realm of rumor.
Belfiori playfully sparred with Cortana during the demo while having it look up stuff such as restaurant menus. It was a bit uneven — Cortana sometimes seemed almost human, and at other times stilted and computery — but invariably quite useful.
I’d be more skeptical of Cortana, given my inconsistent experiences with Siri and Google Voice Search, if I hadn’t recently seen Amazon’s Echo voice-guided hardware assistant in action. The cylindrical gizmo is remarkably good at doing a user’s bidding. If Cortana on the PC is similarly capable in real-world use, I’ll be impressed.
Your move, Apple.
Getting Your Xbox Game On — Gaming on a Mac often feels like an afterthought, but Microsoft is not about to let that happen on Windows — and it has a powerful weapon: the Xbox One game console.
Windows and the Xbox have, until now, been almost entirely separate, since they cater to very different audiences. With Windows 10, though, Microsoft is making these realms overlap to a larger extent. The Xbox, in fact, will become a Windows 10 device.
This opens up interesting possibilities. PC and Xbox users will be able to play with each other using their respective versions of the same game. Xbox gameplay will stream to a PC, essentially turning that computer’s display into an Xbox screen. A DVR feature will record the last 30 seconds of Xbox or PC gameplay. Windows 10 will be bundled with a slick Xbox app showing games, friends, achievements, and the like.
Although casual iOS games have been enormously successful for Apple, Microsoft’s PC/Xbox integration would be tough to match. Game Center doesn’t come close, and the company hasn’t even shown inclination to put games on the Apple TV, much as it seems to make sense (see “FunBITS: Why Apple May Win the Gaming Market,” 4 October 2013).
If you are a huge Xbox gamer, however, a PC purchase will look increasingly enticing. I wonder if my son, an Xbox fanatic, might come to regret his recent purchase of a MacBook Pro with Retina display. Apple’s Boot Camp may do the trick for him, though.
Microsoft Television Arrives — Rumors of an Apple-branded large-screen TV are now widely discredited, but Microsoft unveiled something similar: the Surface Hub consisting of a Windows-based, 4K touch display to hang on an office wall for videoconferencing, white-boarding, and more.
The Surface Hub, available in 55- and 84-inch (!) models, has a laundry list of features such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and dual video cameras with microphones along with custom flavors of apps like Skype and OneNote. The Surface Hub is due later this year; pricing has not been announced.
The Surface Hub could also presumably be used as an entertainment device, maybe with an Xbox One or even an Apple TV connected to it via an HDMI port. But this isn’t the Surface Hub’s intended purpose; Microsoft is aiming it squarely at the corporate crowd and envisions it as a tech tool for collaboration and communication, not amusement.
This is an interesting contrast to Apple, which is more focused on the home. I’d love to have the Surface Hub hanging in my home office, but I fear I’d never get any work done, despite Microsoft’s focus.
Help Me, Obi-Wan Kenobi — The biggest surprise of this keynote was the HoloLens, a virtual-reality headset that lets you see the real world around you — unlike Facebook’s Oculus Rift — while adding three-dimensional digital constructs to your surroundings as enhancements or augmentations. The technology is called Windows Holographic. Neither pricing or release dates have been announced, but HoloLens is promised sometime in the “Windows 10 time frame.”
Microsoft showed, for instance, how users could see and even walk around a NASA rover on the surface of Mars, engage in a bit of human-sized Minecraft gameplay, build a little drone using a set of virtual components and an app called HoloStudio, and see a motorcycle take shape via virtual pieces installed atop a shell of a physical bike. Check out the promo video.
Microsoft said the HoloLens could have a wide range of applications, ranging from use in laboratories and other specialized professional environments, to VR gaming and other entertainment activities in the home.
It looks a bit like Princess Leia projected by R2-D2 as she asks for General Kenobi’s help, though no goggles were required in that fictional scenario. On the other hand, the holo-Leia didn’t look nearly as nice as the Microsoft projections.
I want to be deeply skeptical of this. After all, Microsoft’s motion-sensing Kinect gear is hardly a hit. High-tech headgear doesn’t have a very good track record, either. Google’s Glass hasn’t caught fire. Even 3D HDTVs have been duds, largely because consumers haven’t been eager to don bulky, dorky eyewear that is required to see 3D programming.
To counteract that consumer distaste for bizarre headgear, the HoloLens technology would have to be pretty darn amazing… but the tech writers who have tried a prototype are generally impressed with it. I’m withholding judgment until I can try it for myself, which probably won’t happen until it’s a shipping product. We’ll see when that happens.
Microsoft’s biggest challenge could be persuading developers to create Windows Holographic apps. After all, its Kinect technology spawned mostly mediocre games.
Microsoft on a Roll? — This blockbuster of a keynote has me more optimistic about Microsoft than I’ve been in years, though the success of these announcements is by no means assured.
Windows phones are in such a deep hole that achieving market viability alongside their Apple and Google rivals seems unlikely. Traditional PCs are in a better position, but the once-dominant machines are now underdogs amid an onslaught from nontraditional computing devices. Even the Xbox platform has been a pricey gamble for Microsoft, and is being outsold by Sony’s PlayStation 4.
But, damn, Redmond put on a hell of a show, and it’s nice to see innovation from any source. Go, Microsoft, go.


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Google has built its own small drones capable of delivering packages, and has been testing this hardware out in Australia.
Project Wing, which is part of Google X, the company's not-so-secret research and development lab, has actually been underway for two years, and aims to produce drones that in the longer-term could help with disaster relief, delivering much needed supplies to remote areas in trouble.
Astro Teller, head of the Google X labs, told the BBC: "Even just a few of these, being able to shuttle nearly continuously could service a very large number of people in an emergency situation."
Of course, such machines could also be used for domestic deliveries, an idea that Amazon has cottoned on to, with the retail giant developing its Prime Air drones to ensure that Prime delivery really is a speedy affair.
Google's drone, which looks more like a miniature white aircraft (with a wingspan of 1.5 metres) than Amazon's effort, has been tested dropping boxes of chocolates, dog treats and other goodies to farmers in Queensland – tests which have gone pretty well by all accounts. Check out the video above to see a sample run in action.
With a fixed wing, the drone can fly like a plane, but its propellers can also be pointed straight up to allow it to take off vertically or hover, and better land deliveries.
It can be programmed with a destination and will fly there automatically, with the emphasis on speed and efficiency – in terms of the latter, Google says it can go further than currently available commercial quadcopter craft.
Nicholas Roy, the founder of Project Wing, said it was still "years from a product", but that this was the "first prototype that we want to stand behind".
Google said: "We're only just beginning to develop the technology to make a safe delivery system possible, but we think that there's tremendous potential to transport goods more quickly, safely and efficiently."
The company is also looking for interested partners in the project, and businesses can register their interest using this form.
It's yet another finger in a pie for Google, which seems to be developing, well, pretty much everything these days.