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- The Metaverse Group owns big swaths of virtual land in a variety of metaverses.
- It can be not just a landlord — it has developers who can create areas to any advertiser’s heart’s desire.
- It really is built virtual merchants for Without end 21 and threw the to start with metaverse vogue week.
If you even now do not fully grasp the strategy of getting “land” in the so-identified as metaverse, you happen to be not alone — the notion just isn’t even close to achieving mass adoption.
But that would not signify it has not grown in level of popularity for the duration of the pandemic, with some supporters saying it could be a $1 trillion market place.
A single of the industry’s important gamers is The Metaverse Team, which has quietly manufactured itself the main landlord on the digital block. Andrew Kiguel, the CEO of the firm’s dad or mum corporation, Tokens.com, informed Insider it can be poured 8 figures — or additional than $10 million — truly worth into digital authentic estate purchases.
For the organization, it truly is an early financial investment in marketing space — and people’s eyeballs.
“If you go again 15 yrs and when you happen to be scrolling through Facebook, Instagram, you are served advertisements,” Kiguel explained. “If you could go back 10, 15, 20 decades and repurchase blocks of house within these social media platforms when they had been continue to in their infancy, and you could do whatever you wanted with that area down the highway, that would be really important.”
A hybrid landlord and actual estate developer
The metaverse, in principle, will be a sweeping electronic planet where by men and women can interact by way of digital avatars, when tethered to their dwelling rooms via AR eyeglasses and VR headsets. But suitable now, these are just nascent, personal spaces with small link involving every other.
That has not stopped The Metaverse Group from snatching up house throughout different digital ecosystems, like Somnium House and Sandbox, where rapper Snoop Dogg’s very own metaverse lives. Its portfolio also consists of space in Decentraland, the largest and most well known metaverse — and the most entirely realized for holding real activities.
Decentraland is created up of about 90,000 parcels, and only about fifty percent are accessible for corporations to own and create. Kiguel declined to disclose a entire figure the business has invested but famous it experienced in November acquired a Decentraland plot for $2.43 million value of crypto. It also bought the 34-parcel New music District in Decentraland, also.
Virtual parcels derive their value from the finite character of virtual land, Kiguel reported. That’s a common conversing place amid those people who also rally driving bitcoin and its restricted 21 million coin source.
Advertisers, musicians, and shops are likely to want to use this virtual place to access their audiences, Kirguel hopes — and The Metaverse Group is perfectly positioned to aid them with that, all for a payment.
The initial metaverse style 7 days was hosted in March on the firm’s land. As Vogue famous, the style things had been fairly rudimentary and reminiscent of the 1990s. But a lot more than 100,000 users nonetheless flocked to the platform for the duration of that week — a lot additional than an in-human being display could at any time keep.
Other models come to the firm for assistance developing their virtual storefronts, digital billboards, and NFT wearables, which are exceptional, blockchain-dependent digital things that people’s avatars can have on inside of the metaverse.
It is really primarily valuable for existing providers like Without end 21, a shopper of theirs, who want to get in on the metaverse but you should not have their have in-property experts.
“We have a group of programmers and software engineers so that when a client arrives and says, ‘my eyesight is this,’ we’re ready to layout it for them, we’re equipped to make what they have in their minds and deliver it to digital lifetime in the metaverse,” Kiguel explained.
Metaverse land is for advertisers — not every day people
Gurus beforehand instructed Insider that metaverse real estate is practically nothing far more than a “risky” crypto asset, not able to appreciate in price as actual physical property can. In Truth, Kiguel said household actual estate, or daily traders getting a “residence” in the metaverse, is simply a novelty.
For advertisers, nonetheless, it can be a distinct story. If desire from advertisers for metaverse land will increase, then whoever owns it will be in a excellent place.
“If I was to go into Decentraland correct now, likely a little bit of a ghost city other than the casinos,” Kiguel explained. “But when there is certainly an function heading on or individuals are holding matters,” it is a distinctive story.


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Until the order is formally issued, liquor shops can remain open for a maximum of six days a week. They have to remain shut one day of the week, though it can be a day of the owner’s choosing. Previously, the rule was that all liquor stores had to remain closed on Thursdays.
The inquiry is still on and test results for the food samples sent to two laboratories are awaited
Construction of the SSB started a few years ago, but work was held up after a contractor moved court after being hauled up for delays.
"We have tied up with Switz Foods and Travel Food Services. Before the Pujas, we shall tie-up with Ali Baba, KFC and Pizza Hut," said Debashis Chandra, group general manager, IRCTC (East).

domain: news


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Google has expanded its mobile advertising line-up with the launch of Adsense for Mobiles,
which will contextually target advertising onto mobile site content.
According to the search giant, the ads will provide a new source of revenue for mobile publishers, as well as giving an incentive for exisiting websites to produce mobile versions.
Google’s Dilip Venkatachari told the New York Times that it would encourage mobile publishers to limit the number of ads to two per page, to avoid spoiling the user experience.
As with standard Adsense/Adwords ads, Adsense Mobile text ads will run on an auction model. The service will be available for publishers in the US, England, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, Ireland, Russia, Netherlands, Australia, India, China and Japan.
Google’s entry into the mobile ad market has been expected for some time – AdMob, which runs a similar system to Adsense, has been pretty successful so far, serving a billion mobile ads in its first year.
Nokia buys mobile ad firm


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last week said it would pay a special cash dividend totaling about $2 billion to holders of its American depositary receipts and its Hong Kong-listed shares, after late last year boosting its existing buyback program to $3 billion. Meanwhile, the offshore oil giant
said on April 28 it would pay an anniversary special dividend of 1.18 Hong Kong dollars per share, or the equivalent of about $0.15. That is a sizable payout for a company whose stock closed the same day at HK$10.84 per share.
Alibaba boosted its buyback program by $10 billion to a maximum of $25 billion in March. Others introducing or expanding similar plans include smartphone maker Xiaomi Corp., fast-food giant
Chinese stock valuations have fallen sharply compared with international peers, with the price-to-earnings ratio of the MSCI China index dropping to just 67% that of the global MSCI ACWI index as of the end of April, data from Refinitiv shows. Lower valuations tend to make buybacks more appealing.
As of Friday, the MSCI China, which includes shares listed in the U.S., Hong Kong and onshore, had fallen about 40% in dollar terms over the past year, Refinitiv data show.
A pre-markets primer packed with news, trends and ideas. Plus, up-to-the-minute market data.
Handing cash to shareholders could also dovetail with government priorities. China’s securities regulator has encouraged the use of buybacks and called on major shareholders in listed companies to increase their stakes when shares slump to stabilize prices.
Those calls were part of Beijing’s efforts to bolster a sluggish economy and lift market sentiment, said
chief China economist at TS Lombard. “It’s a symptom of weakness in China, rather than a positive buy sign,” he said.
Given regulatory uncertainty, spending cash on stocks is a relatively safe option for companies that lets them show their willingness to work toward government targets, he added.
In addition, companies have less incentive to spend on business expansion as China’s lockdowns cause short-term logistical and labor disruptions, said Kinger Lau, the chief China equity strategist at Goldman Sachs.
Buybacks are a relatively new tool for Chinese companies, especially onshore, where their use was tightly restricted until 2018. Even in Hong Kong, buyback volumes are modest compared with those in the U.S., although the volumes in the Asian city are increasing.
As of May 5, 128 companies had bought back the equivalent of about $2.6 billion of stock in Hong Kong so far this year, more than double the tally in the same period a year earlier, Wind data show. The Wind figures reflect actual repurchases, rather than potential program totals. For all of 2021, the figure was nearly $5 billion, a record for the market.
, which has bought back more than $800 million worth of shares, filings show. Tencent hasn’t detailed any particular repurchase target but has an open-ended mandate permitting the buyback of up to 10% of its stock.
Some expect the trend to gain yet more momentum. Buybacks will become a more important use of cash for Chinese companies, said Mr. Lau at Goldman Sachs. He said they made sense economically, given low valuations, and were in sync with the government’s policy direction.


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The most recent Jobs Report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) showed another improvement in retail trade, with the addition of 104,000 jobs in October and notable increases in clothing, accessories and general merchandise stores. This is encouraging news for an industry hit hard by the pandemic.
Still, as retailers look to rehire staff as the key holiday selling season approaches, tapping into a newly fragmented workforce can mean taking extra care to be candidate-focused in order to help land the right employee and get him or her onboarded quickly.
So much pivoted to digital during the pandemic, and hiring is no different. Taking a digital approach to hiring can put the power of technology and data in place to help retailers re-staff and be better ready for holiday sales. Below are three tips for retailers to keep in mind as Black Friday and Small Business Saturday quickly approach.
- Extend your candidate pool. Retailers may find the best talent in places that may not have traditionally been an option. A mid-summer poll conducted by College Reaction/Axios showed that more than 25 percent of college students were not planning to return to campus, which means they may be still at home and looking for work locally. That’s a potentially new and experienced candidate pool to tap into. Using social media along with other digital communication is key to reaching and recruiting this group. Retail websites and delivery apps are also getting higher views as shoppers check for operating hours and inventory before heading out, which means those pages and screens could also be tapped to share open positions.
- Consider scheduling flexibility. Data analysis from Equifax suggests that for hourly workers searching for employment, scheduling flexibility and hours offered are key factors to their decision making. A (pre-pandemic) study of pre-employment data for a large national restaurant chain found that nearly one-quarter of its new hires were concurrently holding another job. That’s significantly above the January 2020 national average of 5.1 percent, as tracked by the BLS. Even though the study was in the restaurant industry, it holds similar value for retailers. Such information can be confirmed through pre-employment verifications and is invaluable for hiring managers to help guide conversations around scheduling needs in the hopes of attracting the best candidates and increasing retention by offering a workable schedule. With schools, child care and eldercare still relatively uncertain, schedule flexibility may be a more critical factor for securing the best candidate.
- Make onboarding mobile. Offering candidates the opportunity to complete some of the required paperwork ahead of their start date — and even from their mobile device — could provide a better onboarding experience and allows managers to focus on selling, not paperwork. For example, electronic solutions for completing Form I-9 and E-Verify are available by subscription to employers of all sizes and offer digital completion for both employers and employees as well as storage and reporting.
With millions of individuals hoping to get back to work, balancing candidate needs with an eye towards quality hires and improved longevity is a critical consideration. With so much change and continuing uncertainty, using data and technology to help recruit and onboard candidates, retailers can work through this unusual time and help get the best employees on their front lines to help support their businesses on Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and throughout the critical holiday sales season.


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800 crypto currencies are worthless
Tuesday 3 July 2018
A large number of cryptic currencies that appeared last year were fraud, according to the US website.
Over 800 of the crypto currencies that have appeared in the last half year are now sold for less than $ 0.01. Many newly-launched crypto currencies were fraudulent or did not result in anything, according to CNBC.
Since 2017, initial coin offering (ICO) has exploded. In 2017, investors bought digital currency from newly created companies worth $ 3.8 billion, equivalent to NOK 31 billion. So far in 2018, this sum has risen to $ 11.9 billion, or NOK 97 billion.
The price of the most valuable crypto currency bitcoin has fallen 70 percent since record year 2017, and is Monday at $ 6,370 per coin, according to data from Coinmarketcap.


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Finnish food group Raisio has announced that it is considering the divestment of its feed business, as it aims to focus more on its portfolio of healthy food products.
The company said today that the move would be part of its strategic plans to renew the group's structure, and has started negotiations regarding the sale with several players.
Raisio also said that it will start statutory cooperation negotiations next week, concerning the 155 employees that would be affected by possible terminations, combinations and restructuring of functions.
The group added that it aims to complete these negotiations in March.
In December, Raisio announced that it was selling its confectionery operations in the UK and the Czech Republic to Valeo Foods in a €100 million deal.
Raisio said that it was divesting the business, which includes brands such as Poppets, Fox’s, Just and Pedro, in a bid to focus on healthier products.
"The divestment of the confectionery business is an important strategic step for Raisio towards a responsible forerunner focusing on healthy foods,” said Raisio president and CEO Pekka Kuusniemi.
“Together with our already strong balance sheet, the proceeds from the deal enable extensive acquisitions that strategically fit our core business.”
The company, which produces the Benecol range of products, reported a 6% sales increase in the third quarter of the year, and announced plans to grow its business through new acquisitions in the future.
© 2018 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Sarah Harford. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.


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- Fisker drastically reduced Ocean SUV prices by up to $24,000 to attract more customers and avoid bankruptcy. Wild move, Fisker.
- Entry-level Fisker Ocean models now start at only $24,999, making them more affordable and competitive in the EV market. Huge price cut!
- Fisker aims to rebrand itself and succeed in the tough EV market by offering quality Ocean SUVs at much lower prices.
It’s safe to say the EV world has been weird for a while. However, Fisker fans and drivers have certainly felt this sentiment even more, with the brand battling to stay afloat in the current market. The latest news is that the Ocean SUV saw a price reduction of over $20,000 made by Fisker, which is one of the most dramatic we’ve seen. It’s not every day that a ~$50,000 vehicle drops to around $25,000, and Fisker has made it clear this is its last shot at avoiding bankruptcy. Awkward. In the past 12 months, Fisker has seen dwindling sales, support, and stockholder love. The EV company is known for high-quality and durable manufacturing but can’t seem to compete with the likes of Tesla, Ford, etc.
With a slashed MSRP of $24,000 and its most expensive Ocean SUV selling for only $37,499, we could be at the beginning or end of the company as we know it. This all depends on whether people flock to Fisker because of its finally affordable sticker price or if everybody continues to bypass the brand altogether. If there has ever been proof that the market has become dependent on customers, not the other way around, it’s this recent news from Fisker. Power to the people, and for $24,000 less than before!
In order to give you the most up-to-date and accurate information possible, the data used to compile this article was sourced from Fisker and other authoritative sources, including Business Insider and CNBC.
Fisker Ocean Price: What You Get With Each Trim Level
The Fisker Ocean SUV continues to be the crown jewel of the EV company. Here’s a deeper look at its pricing.
Fisker Just Slashed The Ocean’s Prices By Up To $24,000
In more recent Fisker news and antics, the US-based EV manufacturer has announced it will cut prices on Ocean SUV models by $14,000 to $24,000, bringing your base vehicles to $24,999. This has not been done by the brand before and is unheard of at the level of discount being currently offered.
Interestingly, this could pay off majorly for the EV maker, especially if it gets entry-level shoppers into showrooms and onto the Fisker ordering page. After all, these SUVs used to start at $38,999 and went up to $61,499, with them now being between $24,999 and $37,499 for top-line Extreme models. What’s truly wild about this is that Fisker has tried to get people’s attention before, increasing range, improving specs, and releasing neat press videos and articles about its cars. Nothing worked, so here we are.
Price Cuts Ranging From $14,000 to $24,000
For those who wanted a Fisker but didn’t want to pay between ~$40,000 and $60,000+, now is your time to hop on the bandwagon. First, the price slashes for Ocean models will range by trim. You see your largest discount on top-tier Extreme trims. You would see the lowest $14,000 discount on base Sport models and then a discount of 34 percent ($18,000) to $34,999.
Fisker Ocean Price Cut Chart
2023 Fisker Ocean Trim
(Data sourced from Fisker)
Fisker-Nissan Partnership Not Happening After All
Sources close to the matter report that talks with Nissan for a potential transaction have been terminated.
We Feel Bad For Previous Fisker Shoppers
As great as this news is for non-current Fisker buyers and drivers, it leads us to wonder how the existing EV owners may feel. First, seeing someone else get your car for as much as $24,000 less has to sting. We feel the envy, and we don’t own a Fisker Ocean. Of course, other brands have slashed prices according to historical changes in the vehicle market, like Tesla chopping off a few thousand dollars here and there.
However, is an auto brand slashing prices by tens of thousands? Not common. At all. Fisker is known to be a wild card, with this decision further cementing that opinion. Of course, this company is at a crossroads, literally needing to impress shareholders as well as the broader electric market. If it can’t do it with these massive price decreases across all three trims of Ocean, what will? Giving the Ocean to people for free?
Where Fisker Went Wrong
Even though Fisker had every chance to make it big in the EV genre, this U.S.-based manufacturer never could take grasp of the electric market. With brands like Tesla dominating the SUV space within the EV market, Fisker took a chance on Ocean. Due to its timeline, Fisker’s launch was plagued by supply chain issues and a lack of overall access to a broad customer base. Unlike Elon Musk’s brand, Fisker doesn’t have a loud and proud owner or antics that follow, which could be another reason many of us sleep on it. Drama and controversy often drive people to your website, even if it’s for the wrong reason. Fisker hasn’t mastered this yet. Until today.
2025 Fisker Pear: Everything We Know So Far
With a super-affordable price, the 2025 Pear takes up the slot of Fisker’s entry-level model and is an ideal first EV choice for many.
Fisker Hopes To Make It Through This
Even though it’s not looking amazing for Fisker right now, that’s not to say the company cannot make it through this storm. First, with currently affordable SUVs on the market, Fisker puts itself in direct competition with Mach-E and Model Y and is cheaper than both across the board. That could be reason enough for us to see a mass exodus from Ford, Tesla, etc., towards Fisker because the Ocean is a great car, which would be ideal for the company heading through 2024.
You have the 2023 nameplate (current one) with its quickest version, able to sprint from a stop to 60 MPH in 3.7 seconds, and has a peak output of 564 horsepower with 543 pound-feet, making it a pretty perky vehicle on the market. To put this in perspective, the Tesla Model Y has a 0-60 MPH time of 3.5-4+ seconds, and its highest HP and torque sit at 455 and 487, respectively. This SUV starts at $43,990, which is quite a bit more than Ocean’s current $24,999. There’s a pro to this con-heavy situation!
Fisker’s Rocky History Suggests It’s Not Yet Over
Remembering that Fisker only became a thing in the mid-2000s and delivered Ocean SUVs starting in 2023, the brand hasn’t had much time to get its feet in the ground. We saw Fisker emerge following Tesla, with the first deliveries of the ‘Karma’ model happening in 2011. Moreover, Henrik Fisker and Bernhard Koehler founded the EV brand with one mission in mind: To make electric cars cool for a broad range of shoppers. Up to this point, Fisker has done a great job with its vehicles, and Ocean is a perfect family SUV that delivers up to 360 miles. That’s pretty decent.
Cool Features About The Fisker PEAR That You Might Have Missed
The Fisker Pear is a futuristic electric car that revolutionizes auto industry with modern features, sustainability, and efficient battery packs
It’s Success Or Bankruptcy
With everything happening right now, Fisker has to swim, or it will sink. Not to pour salt on an open wound, but the Ocean must be successful and easy to sell if this company wants to make it long-term. After all, everyone wants a reliable, eco-friendly SUV right now. If the Ocean isn’t checking those boxes for Fisker, we don’t see what will. It’s a story as old as time; someone has an ambitious dream, and then reality hits. Not every company can have a meteoric rise to fame like Tesla. Sorry. Fisker may fail, yes, or perhaps it will triumph and be a success story. Either way, it’s worth it to remember that electric cars are still relatively alien to shoppers and drivers in the U.S. and beyond.
We’re entering phase two of the EV game plan, and this will be the hardest. Hybrids are eating away at fully electric models’ acclaim and popularity, so brands like Fisker and even Tesla need to get very creative quickly. For $24,999, though, we can’t turn down a Fisker Ocean. So, let’s hope everyone else feels the same way.


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UPDATEUpdated official PSN Status page to state that all services are now “up and running”.
Sony had previously stated that PSN was affected by “external internet-wide problems” today. PSN users were affected by the same issues that other services such as Steam, HSBC, and Call of Duty experienced.
This issue is believed to be related to Akamai’s DNS service.
Since then, Akamai claims that the problem is now fixed. Twitter post by Akamai: “A software configuration update caused a bug within the DNS system, which directs users to website addresses, at 15:46 UTC today. The disruption caused some websites to be unavailable.
The disruption was lasting up to one hour. The services were restored to normal operation after the update was rolled back. Akamai confirms that this was not an attack on Akamai’s platform.
We are sorry for any inconvenience caused. “We are currently reviewing the software upgrade process in order to avoid future interruptions.”
Original:PSN problems are rife today with thousands of PlayStation Network users experiencing difficulties.
Independent monitoring company Down Detector recorded a significant spike in PSN-related down reports.
Down Detector UK recorded a record of more than 20,000 PSN down reports at the time this article was written.
downdetector.com registered a peak in more than 38,000 PlayStation Network down report.
Sign-in issues are the most common problem for PSN users, according to Down Detector statistics.
The official PSN status page stated that the PlayStation Network had been up when the first issues were reported.
Sony updated its PlayStation Network status page, to state that “some services have experienced issues”.
PS4 and PS5 manufacturers also stated that “PlayStation Network services have been up and running but there may be external internet issues that could affect your experience.” These external problems will be resolved and you should not have any issues connecting to the PlayStation Network.
All PSN Services were affected by the “external internet-wide problems” today.
They include account management, gaming, social, PlayStation Now and PlayStation Video, as well as the PlayStation Store.
Sony stated in the account management section that “you might have difficulties signing in or creating a PlayStation Network account.” The issue is being investigated and we will resolve it as quickly as possible. We appreciate your patience.
Another: “PSN servers down. @AskPlayStation, what’s the deal?”
Another wrote, “So I wake to play GTA V cuz it’s enjoying the new update right now and …..PSN down ………….”.
Today, gamers on Twitter were busy reaching out to the Ask PlayStation Twitter accounts in order to get help.
One affected player was contacted by @AskPlayStation on Twitter. They replied: “Sorry that you’re having problems accessing your account.
We cannot request details on Twitter in order to assist you better.
Follow us to receive further support via direct messages
Ask PlayStation UK’s Twitter account was also busy responding to PS4/PS5 gamers regarding today’s server problems.
One user was affected and the account replied with “Hello!” Network’s all good: https://status.playstation.com. The page also contains a link that will take you to the Fix & Connect tool. This can resolve any connection problems.
Down Detector UK statistics show that 83 percent of PSN users affected are having problems signing in.
PSN users also reported issues with general online gaming and social media.
PSN reports began to rise on Down Detector UK today at 4.40pm BST (Thursday, July 22).
The Down Detector monitor tracks the social mentions in order to determine when popular services go offline.
Multiple outages today are being blamed on Akamai’s DNS service.
Akamai said that they had identified the problem and are working on a solution.
Akamai Technologies posted the following tweet at 5.30 PM UK Time: “Akamai has experienced a service interruption. “We are currently investigating this issue. We will update you in the next 30 minutes.”
Akamai stated shortly thereafter: “We have implemented an issue fix and, based upon current observations, we are resuming our normal operations.” To ensure the full mitigation of any potential impact, we will keep you updated.
Akamai stated that they are monitoring the situation closely and could confirm it wasn’t the result of cyberattacks on Akamai.
Stay tuned for more information.
Publited at Thu 22 July 2021, 16:04:00 +0000


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L'ABUS D'ALCOOL EST DANGEREUX POUR LA SANTÉ. À CONSOMMER AVEC MODÉRATION.
RANDSELLIER Cocktail Launch Party at ISETAN MITSUKOSHI
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Mizuno 1906 X Shinzo Lab
On Wednesday, February 23rd, Mizuno, the famous japonese brand of sneakers was hosting at Shinzo Lab, the launch of it … Read more


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Lisa Campbell, writing for The Bookseller: Waterstones is removing Amazon’s Kindle devices from many of it stores as sales “continue to be pitiful”. The company’s m.d James Daunt said there had been no sign of a “bounce” in Kindle sales,...Show More Summary
Beginning today, the publisher's full line of monthly comics will be released on comiXology and the Kindle Store the same day as print.
If you’re an avid reader, you probably already use devices like Amazon’s Kindle or Apple’s iPad for flipping through those page-turners, but you may not be familiar with other aspects of the internet that can change the way you experience books. Show More Summary
No one product can be all things to all people, that’s the point of variety. It’s why Apple now has multiple sized iPhones and iPads and why Amazon continues to try filling in the gaps on its Kindle Fire tablet lineup with an increasingly eclectic lineup of shapes and sizes The new Kindle Fire HD 10 is of a piece with that strategy. Show More Summary
EPIX today said customers who use its mobile application will soon be able to download movies and television shows for playback when offline. Offline play will be made available to Amazon's Kindle Fire-branded devices and all Apple and Android mobile devices. Show More Summary
Amazon's Kindle Fire HD 6-inch tablet is already one of the cheapest on the market ($100 with ads), but the company is looking to release an even cheaper 6-inch device, according to a Monday report by the Wall Street Journal. The new...Show More Summary
Amazon has launched its Kindle Unlimited rental service in India, giving customers in the country the ability to choose from over 1 million titles for just ?199 ($3) a month. Amazon is sweetening the deal by offering the first month of membership for ?99 ($1.5).
Microsoft's Applied Sciences Group has demoed a brand new Surface keyboard accessory containing an e-ink display, like those found in Amazon's Kindles, that works alongside the main 10.6-inch display. Dubbed the "DisplayCover," theShow More Summary
Amazon has dropped the price of the Kindle edition of my new book, The Art of Smart Football, to 99 cents. My old book, The Essential Smart Football, is also only 99 cents right now. Note that you can read Kindle books on non-Kindle devices by downloading the free Kindle app for your computer or […]
Traffic signs using similar electronic ink technology to Amazon's Kindle e-reader could soon be lining Australian roads, after a successful trial Developed by Australia's Roads and Maritime Services (RMS), the new energy efficient signage...Show More Summary
It's no secret that Barnes & Noble has struggled to profit from its Nook reading platform. Still, there are people who continue to use and invest in the ecosystem, despite the rise of others including Amazon's Kindle. Now, after ending...Show More Summary
AT AMAZON: All-New Kindle Paperwhite.
Amazon’s Kindle app can now share previews of books and text snippets to apps like Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp or via text message. Kindle users could already share quotes, highlights and recommendations to Facebook and Twitter, but this is the first time Amazon is allowing readers to share via a messaging platform. Show More Summary
The world of indie publishing is set to undergo yet another tectonic shift, initiated by the world's biggest publisher: Amazon In a message posted to its website last week, the company announced plans to dramatically change the way it...Show More Summary
Amazon has announced a new deal with Marvel that will see over 12,000 back-issue comic books available directly from Amazon’s Kindle store. Read more...
Marvel announced a new agreement with Comixology and parent company Amazon that expands the comic publisher's digital titles onto Amazon's Kindle.
More than 12,000 single-issue Marvel comics will be available on Amazon's Kindle Store.
The Amazon Kindle Paperwhite is one of the various e-readers offered by Amazon. While there are some benefits to using the Kindle Paperwhite, its resolution has left much to be desired. Last year’s model only had a resolution that offered 212 pixels per inch with a 6-inch display which is hardly the sharpest around, but good enough to read. Show More Summary
If you’ve been wondering why Amazon‘s been selling their Kindles at a discount lately, the answer is here, and it’s fairly expected. The online retailer just revealed the brand new version of the […]
When Amazon released its $199 Kindle Voyage e-reader last year, it set the bar for the high-end of the company's e-ink reading experience Now, Amazon is bringing that high-end image quality down to its popular and more affordable $119...Show More Summary


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Saudi Arabia's First Fashion Week
Last month saw Riyadh’s Ritz-Carlton Hotel host Saudi Arabia's first ever Fashion Week, with Jean Paul Gaultier and Roberto Cavalli headlining the event.
Now, it ought to be noted this event was not wholly out of the blue. Under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia has been leaning into progress and modernization. Religious police have been reined in, cinemas and concerts have been reintroduced, and women are allowed back behind the wheel.
Yet, the occurrence of a Fashion Week still feels like a major leap for a country where women's fashion is literally regulated by law. A leap whose size is made clear by the fact that the shows themselves were open to women only, with outside photography barred.
The goal of the event was big. The country is looking to posit itself as a Paris or Milan. Of course, it might take a while to get there, but Saudis within the industry feel garnering such recognition is doable. As Layla Issa Abouzeid (Saudi Arabia's director for the Dubai-based Arab Fashion Council (AFC) organizing the event) put it “[when] people go to Paris on the Paris Fashion Week, the hotels are completely fully booked. I want to create the same demand in Saudi Arabia, twice a year. I want to create a platform for the local designers to go worldwide.”
And many designers are appreciating that, including Lebanese creator Naja Saade who travelled to Riyadh to exhibit his couture collection.
The goal doesn’t stop there. The AFC wants to introduce fashion courses, internships and scholarships to Saudi Arabia and develop a fashion district in Riyadh–a seemingly logical step given Saudi princesses are some of the biggest collectors of haute couture worldwide.
Jacob Abrian, AFC founder and chief executive, spoke of how in the past Arabs have had to leave their countries to have fashion careers, but this event empowers and encourages them to stay. “I was always asking myself, why do us Arabs have to travel abroad to find our future? Why can’t we find our future in our own countries?”
Arwa Al-Banawi, a Dubai-based Saudi designer who displayed a contemporary collection of tailored pieces intertwined with ancient Bedouin references, believes a Saudi Fashion Week could be another step on the road to female empowerment in her country; “It is so important for us that we have our own fashion week—historically I have always shown in Dubai or Paris but as a Saudi woman I really wanted to be a part of this moment,” she said. “Yes it has been the most challenging event I have ever been a part of, but the only way to look is forwards not backward. Next time will be better.”
Clockwise from top left: Designs by Mashael Alrajhi, Arwa Al Banawi, Basil Soda & Jean Paul Gauthier | Images Via
This undercurrent of hope was woven into much of the week. Yes, a Fashion Week is a big step. But it is still just a step, the nation is most certainly not about to steal Paris’ crown as the fashion capital of the world. There were still restrictions on what types of clothes could be exhibited at the show–no cleavage, nothing above the knee and nothing too transparent. And the lack of men and the floor length abayas worn by the guests felt challenging, especially given the fashion and design context.
It certainly seems that Price Salman is steering Saudi Arabia towards more modern and liberal waters, but progress is rarely as quick as one would hope. This week was important, but real change will only stem from shifts behind the scenes. And those less visible transformations can be much, much harder to catalyze. The question is, are the country and its people ready?
Feature Image Via.


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With the reporting period for third quarter life insurers’ earnings now over, we sum up items of note for a quarter whose big story was the growl of the bear market in late August and early September.
Investors heard it too. Who doesn’t when the Standard & Poor's 500 index lost 6.3 percent in August? So it’s not surprising that variable products suffered at the expense of their fixed brethren.
Remember the market swoon two months ago, which saw the S&P 500 index briefly shed as much as 10 percent of its value from its spring peak before bouncing back? This dealt a blow to variable annuities and the mutual funds held in them, said Dennis Glass, CEO of Lincoln Financial Group, one of the nation’s top variable annuity sellers.
“Spikes in volatility kill sales of those (variable annuity) products and consumers get more conservative,” Glass said during a recent conference call with analysts.
“We think that’s why variable annuity sales were dampened a little bit against volatility, it’s also why we think in part indexed annuities picked up a little share,” Glass also said in the conference call.
Lincoln reported third quarter net income of $227 million, a drop of 48 percent from the year-ago period.
Glass responded to a question about consumer appetite for the underperformance of risk managed funds within variable annuities by saying risk managed funds are designed to dampen volatility over longer time periods.
“I would characterize the last 90 days as unusual in that sense that you had so many V-shaped patterns to the S&P market in such a short period of time,” Glass said.
In the fixed index annuity segment, Ronald Grensteiner, president of American Equity Investment Life, expressed “dismay” at new indexing strategies offered by new competitors in the market.
“We believe these types of strategies detract from the real purpose of fixed indexed annuities and create an atmosphere of unrealistic expectation on behalf of the producers and the consumers,” Grensteiner said.
New indexes offered by competitors include the Barclays U.S. Low Volatility to Equity ER Index, the CROCI U.S. 5% Volatility Control Index, and the Morgan Stanley Europe, Australiana Far East index, he said.
American Equity Investment Holding Co., a top seller of fixed index annuities (FIAs), reported third quarter net income of $97.3 million compared to $67.8 million in the year-ago period, on record sales of $1.8 billion.
In addition, Grensteiner said competitors were getting more aggressive in the second half of the year with enticements to distributors.
“We’ve seen some companies introducing commission specials and others raising rates plus we have some new entrants in the market, which have been capturing some attention,” Grensteiner said in a conference call with analysts.
Security Benefit, which vowed to return to the market after a period of restructuring, has been rumored to be close to re-entering after private equity company Guggenheim Partners took a stake in the company in 2010.
“We haven’t seen anything official for them, but we have heard rumors on the street that they’re getting ready to relaunch some products as far as the timing and what that looks like … we don’t know,” said Ted Johnson, chief financial officer and treasurer of American Equity.
The other question analysts wanted to tease out of top insurance executives was how much the index annuity market is growing at the expense of the variable annuity industry, and which distribution channel was delivering the growth.
Grensteiner, citing LIMRA figures, said that in September variable annuity sales dropped to $10.2 billion from $10.8 billion while fixed index annuity sales rose to $5.3 billion from $4.8 billion.
Couple that with the fact that broker/dealers and banks are starting to write in smaller amounts a bigger share of fixed indexed annuity premiums and “I think it’s safe to say that we are getting more FIA business from those registered representatives,” he said.
Is this at the expense of variable annuities? “I don’t know, but we’ve always said we welcome the big companies that have been historically into the variable business. ” This means more competition, which is good for retail consumers, Grensteiner said.
In the disability insurance segment, Lincoln, which saw lower DI sales in the third quarter, is about 78 percent the way through the repricing of its disability book of business, company executives said.
Where does the company stand on year-end renewals?
Lincoln has been repricing its disability book because it was underpriced two years ago. However, on retained premiums, the company has achieved “really high middle single digit improvements in margins,” which the company said eventually will flow to its bottom line.
“With respect to the retention rate of business as we go through the next 60 to 90 days of repricing based on what we're doing, we would think the retention might be a little bit better than 60 percent, but will have to see,” chief financial officer Randy Freitag said.
InsuranceNewsNet Senior Writer Cyril Tuohy has covered the financial services industry for more than 15 years. Cyril may be reached at email@example.com.
© Entire contents copyright 2015 by InsuranceNewsNet.com Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted without the expressed written consent from InsuranceNewsNet.com.


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The company posted Q4 sales of $2.48 billion, down 1.3 percent year-over-year, narrowly beating analysts' expectations of $2.47 billion. Q3 sales were $2.53 billion. Meanwhile, Grainger's profit of $145.2 million was a 2.4 percent yearly decrease from last year. Q3's profit was $192.2 million.
As expected, the company attributed the sales and profit declines to ongoing foreign exchange headwinds, low oil prices, and lower pricing.
In its Q4 earnings release podcast, Grainger stated that it plans to close 55 branches in 2016 as it continues to adjust its U.S. branch network.
Grainger closed 47 branches worldwide in Q4, including 36 in the U.S. and nine in Canada, bringing its year-end branch count to 667. It has 34 distribution centers. The company closed 49 U.S. branches throughout 2015, closed 16 branches in Canada, and 16 branches at Fabory in Europe.
For the full year, Grainger's 2015 sales of $9.97 billion was a slight increase from 2014's $9.96 billion, while profit of $769 million was down 4 percent from 2014's $802 million.
“This was a challenging year for us and for most industrial companies, with an unprecedented combination of declining oil and commodity prices, low inflation and a strong U.S. dollar,” said Jim Ryan, Grainger's chairman, president and CEO. “We took action in 2015 by restructuring several of our businesses, resulting in a leaner cost structure. As previously communicated, we will continue to execute changes in the United States and Canada in 2016."
Sales in the U.S. which accounted for 74 percent of Grainger's total revenue in Q4, declined 3 percent. Here's how Grainger said its Q4 U.S. sales performed by end market:
- Retail was up in the mid-single digits
- Government was up in the low single digits
- Light Manufacturing was flat
- Contractor and Commercial were down in the mid-single digits
- Heavy Manufacturing was down in the high single digits
- Reseller was down in the low double digits
- Natural Resources was down in the low twenties
Grainger's Canadian segment – representing 8 percent of total company revenue – had a 27 percent sales decline in Q4. All end markets except Government and Forestry were down from last year. Geographically, sales in Alberta were down about 30 percent, while all other provinces were down a total 4 percent.
Grainger's Other Businesses segment – representing 18 percent of total company sales includes operations in Europe, Asia and Latin America – saw Q4 sales increase 41 percent year-over-year. The considerable increase was largely due to a 33 percentage point gain from the Cromwell acquisition, and an 18-point gain from growth in volume and price.


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- Highest recognition in worldwide cargo industry, with Delta exceeding last year’s results
- Delta Cargo achieved highest overall score in the ACE Awards carriers program for 2019, as well as record high in customer service
- Diamond Award attributed to operational performance, customer service and value
For the second consecutive year, Delta Cargo has achieved the highest level of industry recognition by being awarded an Air Cargo Excellence Award in the up to 999,900 tonnes category. This year the airline was given a Diamond Award, which is two categories up from the Gold Award achieved last year. This is a recognition by our customers who scored Delta Cargo’s operational performance, customer service, value and technology with 111 points – the highest overall score in the Awards cargo carriers program for 2019.
“These record high scores achieved across all the categories, including customer service, is an important recognition of all the work we are putting into increasing the transparency in the cargo shipment process,” said Shawn Cole, Vice President – Delta Cargo. “Through our innovative product range with tracking options, such as the DASH Critical service, the emphasis on increasing our digital offerings, and our continued focus on operational reliability with improved on-time performance and delivery notification (NFD), we are tirelessly working to make it easier to do business with Delta.”
Launched in 2005, the Air Cargo Excellence Awards are determined from the results of the exclusive, anonymous survey. Carriers were evaluated by freight forwarders, who were asked to give a numerical rating for customer service, performance and value in 2018 operations.
For further information, log onto deltacargo.com or contact the Cargo help desk at +1 800-DLCARGO.


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(Bloomberg) -- Ten-gallon cowboy hat inventor John B. Stetson Co. says a distributor is trying to vamoose with the rights to sell the head covering of choice for the likes of Buffalo Bill Cody and John Wayne.
The 157-year-old company wants a Delaware judge to find RHE Hatco. Inc. -- a maker and seller of western chapeaus -- doesn’t have exclusive authority under a 1987 license to sell Stetsons through retail or e-commerce sites. Stetson no longer possesses a copy of the 35-year-old contract, according to a May 11 lawsuit.
“For well over 1 year, they have attempted to control these rights that belong to Stetson,” lawyers for the Hoboken, New Jersey-based company said in the lawsuit. “Such rights were not covered in the license and never would have been granted by Stetson in the first place.”
The emblematic cowboy hats -- some fetching more than $5,000-- have been de rigueur among rodeo riders and ranch hands west of the Mississippi River for a century and a half. They’ve graced the noggins of politicians, celebrities and country singers such as late former President Lyndon Johnson and actors like Wayne and Johnny Depp. The Stetson is also the state of Texas’s official headgear.
RHE Hatco didn't immediately respond Tuesday to a request for comment on Stetson’s lawsuit.
Stetson claims RHE Hatco had become so aggressive in asserting rights to sell the headwear that they refused to “sell Stetson-branded products to Stetson,” according to the Delaware Superior Court suit.
John B. Stetson first created his hats in his Philadelphia factory in 1865 to keep the sun off of cowboys’ heads. Since the 1970s, the hats have been manufactured in the Dallas suburb of Garland by RHE Hatco, which is incorporated in Delaware.
The case is John B. Stetson Co. v. RHE Hatco. Inc., No. N22C-05-084-EMD-CCLD, Delaware Superior Court (Wilmington).
©2022 Bloomberg L.P.


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Companies, hobbyists get professional 3D Design Software and a 3D Printer starting at $1500.
SAN MATEO, Calif - Today, Alibre, Inc., developer of affordable CAD/CAM software, announced the availability of the industry-first 3D printing hardware and software bundles. Partnering with 3D Systems Corporation (Nasdaq:TDSC), the global leader and inventor of rapid prototyping and 3D printing solutions, Alibre now offers complete 3D design and 3D printing for creators, DIYers and businesses. To meet the 3D printing needs of a growing Maker community, the bundles deliver the first-ever total personal manufacturing package starting at under $1,500. This enables someone to go from idea to 3D model on a computer screen to actually holding the finished product in their hands within hours.
Alibre will be demoing this industry-first this weekend, May 21 and 22, at Maker Faire – Bay Area, expected to ‘draw’ over 100,000 attendees. The Alibre booth will be located in the Expo Hall at the San Mateo County Event Center. Makers will receive special event pricing and incentives for the launch of Alibre's complete modeling and 3D printing solutions and the company is giving away one complete package to a lucky Maker.
“Alibre’s 3D CAD software combined with our portfolio of personal 3D printing systems will allow individuals to become their own one-stop design and printing shop,” said Abe Reichental, President and Chief Executive Officer of 3D Systems. “It is an exciting time for the maker community, as these content-to-print bundles democratize access to affordable, easy to use integrated 3D solutions.”
Starting at $1,500, Makers can get Alibre Design Personal Edition™ software, which includes parametric modeling of parts and assemblies and 2D detailed drawings, plus the 3D Systems’ Rapman™ Kit, a build-your-own 3D printing kit capable of plastic modeling and rapid prototyping. Available for $4,999 and targeted at professional use, Alibre offers the Alibre Design Professional Edition™ software and 3D Systems’ BFB-3000™ 3D Printer, a pre-assembled 3D printer sized for the users’ desktop, capable of advanced multi-color prototyping with three print heads. Both bundles offer import and export capabilities via industry standard formats such as STEP, IGES, DXF and DWG as well as STL export capability that provides a direct interface to the Rapman™ Kit and BFB-3000™ printers.
“We are very excited to bring these 3D printing bundles to the Maker community at such disruptively affordable price points,” said J. Paul Grayson, chairman and CEO of Alibre, Inc. “Four years ago, 3D printing solutions cost nearly $25,000 without the 3D CAD software. Alibre and 3D Systems will allow creators, DIYers and Makers the ability to bring their visions to reality without having to outsource the printing. Makers will be able to effectively run 3D printing factories in their own homes, offices or schools for under $1,500, which has been unheard of until now.”
May 19, 2011
- COMET robot machining consortium meets at Fraunhofer
- EDS Technologies Signs MoU With Mar Baselios College Of Engineering
- Delcam's ArtCAM speeds ice bar production
- Rapiscan Uses Autodesk Vault to Effectively Collaborate on Security Products
- Delcam launches DentSCAN dental scanner
- Delcam's new web site for PartMaker CAM system for production machining
- InventorCAM 2012 makes its debut, reducing cycle times by up to 70% for Autodesk customers, with iMachining
- SigmaNEST Delivers Results to Tampa Bay Steel
- GE Scientists Decorate the Christmas Tree With 3-D Printed Ornaments
- Panso Solutions of India Joins the Aras Partner Program


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With the Ice Cream Sandwich updated hitting the rest of the Xperia line Sony has confirmed that it's nearly ready to give the Xperia S an ICS makeover
Sony have confirmed via a forum that the Sony Xperia S Ice Cream Sandwich update will be rolling out around late May and throughout June.
The news was revealed via a Sony employee on a forum after many wondered when Sony would be rolling out the Ice Cream Sandwich update that it had promised for the new Xperia range.
This comes just a few months after it was revealed that they have a beta version of Android Ice Cream Sandwich for the Xperia Play available to download. Lacking certain key features such as Gmail and Google Maps Sony stressed that it was definitely for developer use only.
According to the announcement on Sony's developer blog the beta version has primarily been released to work out which of the games available for the PlayStation Approved smartphone will need adjusting.
Of course for those that do download the beta there will be some drawbacks, most prominant of which being that once downloaded you won't be able to install the final version of Ice Cream Sandwich onto the phone.
Now with Sony confirming the ICS update for the newly released Sony Xperia S as well it would appear as though the company is staying on schedule to update their entire range.
Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc S running Android Ice Cream Sandwich


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Rihanna's Fenty Beauty has been giving makeup lovers multiple launches of brand new products, and to say its a blessing is an understatement. Now, though, the brand is going back to an OG product. Fenty Beauty's new Match Stix colors are coming, and they'll have you blushing more than Rihanna's Savage X ads.
Almost two years ago, Rihanna launched Fenty Beauty with a plethora of complexion products. The brand's Pro Filt'r Foundation was certainly one of its standout product given its 40 (now 50) shades for all skin tones. Of course, every one remembers the vibrant metallic gold of the Trophy Wife highlighter. Both Fenty's foundation and its highlighters have seen expansions since the brand's launch, but something that hasn't seen a major extension is its colorful, shimmering Match Stix. Now, that's changing.
On Aug. 22, Fenty Beauty announced the launch of five new shimmering Match Stix colors. The brightly-hued, hybrid blush and highlighters are a cream to powder formula and one of the brand's original creations. As for the new shades, fans will be getting access to everything from a golden champagne to a next level fuchsia hue, and just like everything Rihanna does, there's a shade out there for all of her fans.
According to the post, the new shades include Champagne Heist, Pink Lemonade, Beach Bum, Cognac, and Bordeaux Brat. When you view the shades, the names make total sense and describe the new options perfectly. Whether you want a bright flush or some extra shimmer over your bronzer, the cream to powder formula of the new Fenty Match Stix will be perfect for you.
Plus, thanks to Rihanna being the kind goddess that she is, fans of Fenty Beauty don't have long to wait until they can get their hands on the new shades. According to the brand's announcement post on Instagram, the new Match Stix will be available both in-store and online at Sephora and the Fenty Beauty website on Aug. 23. Yes, just 24 hours after the announcement. Praise, Rihanna!
Of course, the Match Stix aren't the only thing that Fenty Beauty has launched lately. As mentioned, the brand always appears to be expanding. Most recently, Fenty's Brow MVP hit the internet. The classic, ultra-fine brow pencil comes in a major 14 shades and features a smudge resistant formula (because no one wants smudgy brows). Like the new Match Stix, Brow MVP is set to launch on Aug. 23.
That's not all, though. At the beginning of August, Fenty Beauty announced a brand new foundation and primer coming fans' way. The new hydrating formulas of both the primer and foundation marked a new approach to complexion for the brand that previous only featured a matte formula. However, like the original Pro Filt'r, the new Pro Filt'r Hydrating Foundation comes in a major 50 shades.
If you want an extra flush or a bit of highlight, the new Fenty Match Stix shades launch Aug. 23 at Sephora and Fenty Beauty. With a formula that the brand has already perfected thanks to its OG status, this is one launch you can bet will be amazing.


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Commuters in the Boston area were treated to a friendly surprise earlier this year when McDonald’s workers stationed in a Boston subway station handed out free cups of coffee and Egg McMuffin sandwiches.
The giveaway, which was filmed, was part of a new localized campaign by McDonald’s franchisees in the New England area. Called the “Good Morning Campaign,” the giveaway provided footage for TV ads running in the market. More ad spots featuring giveaways in other locations across New England will run in the coming months.
“We do feel like the consumer in New England is different and can relate to the local advertising, so we love to be able to connect with them in this way,” says Nicole Dinoia, regional communications manager for the McDonald’s Boston region.
The yearlong campaign is the brainchild of H&L Partners of San Francisco, which just opened an eight-person office in Boston and became the marketing arm of the McDonald’s New England region.
“Consumers respond to the authenticity of the campaign,” says Mark Schaeffer, president of H&L Partners. “These are real McDonald’s crewmembers bringing this massive, global brand down to the community level around New England.”
Steve Walach, a McDonald’s owner/operator with units in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, was one of the owners involved in the planning session with H&L.
“As we talked through out strategy, we thought it was important to take a local approach. We are a series of local business people who operate these restaurants and wanted local customers to think about the McDonald’s in their area,” Walach says. In an effort to extend the ads’ message at Walach’s restaurants, random customers were chosen to receive free breakfast.
Aaron Allen, a global restaurant consultant, sees this as a nod to McDonald’s past, which has included a course on local marketing at its Hamburger University.
“This is a fantastic idea. McDonald’s was truly one of the early pioneers of local store marketing,” he says. “These tactics are important for the global brand. [McDonald’s is] sometimes seen as this huge corporate conglomerate, disconnected from the local community, and these localized efforts help crystalize the brand on the local level.”


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First Assault Open Beta Has Begun
Beginning next week, players in North America, Latin America, Europe, Australia and other supported regions* can join Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex – First Assault Online (First Assault) for free on Windows PC via Steam or the Nexon Global Platform. The online squad-based first-person shooter is nearing the end of its paid Early Access phase and will enter a free-to-play open beta on Thursday, July 28.
After working with fans throughout Early Access and implementing their feedback to help shape the game, Neople is now ready to introduce First Assault to a wider audience, as the developer continues to add and improve content. Now in an extended free weekend promotion, players who join this week can also take part in the “Major Reflection” in-game event and compete for a chance to win signature skins and other rewards.
As a member of Section 9, First Assault players are part of an elite force of cybernetically enhanced combat operatives tasked with protecting society and fighting terrorists on the bleak streets of a futuristic Japan.
Currently featuring eight distinct operatives to choose from, each with their own unique cyber-skills, and three modes to play across several futuristic locations in the Early Access release, Neople and Nexon America also announced a new update for the game will come with open beta. This update will introduce a new original operative, an innovative mode inspired by the classic “The Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex” series that brings a new hacking element into the game, new systems and optimizations based on feedback from Early Access and more.
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G2A and Wube Software settle $40,000 chargeback dispute
Factorio developer "satisfied with the results" after marketplace operators conduct internal audit
Online games marketplace G2A has reached a settlement with the first -- and so far only -- developer to take up its offer of paying ten times the chargeback fees for any illegally obtained game keys sold through its site.
Wube Software, the Czech-based indie behind management title Factorio, responded to G2A's offer back in July 2019.
The two companies have worked together on an internal audit and found that 198 of the 321 codes Wube queried were sold through G2A. According to the press release, "both parties assumed that the remaining 123 illegitimate keys were sold via other marketplaces or online stores."
The 321 keys were sold between March and June 2016.
GamesIndustry.biz understands from Wube that each order was approximately $20, putting the potential chargeback fees for the 321 keys at $6,420 -- slightly lower than the $6,600 Wube initially estimated last summer.
The tenfold settlement will be based on the 198 keys found to be sold through G2A, making for a final payment of $39,600 to Wube Software, which the company tells us it has received.
The offer of 10x chargebacks followed the latest series of accusations against G2A from developers, who take issue with their codes being sold via its marketplace.
The debate over the site was triggered by No More Robots founder Mike Rose, who claimed it was better for gamers to pirate titles than buy from G2A since "devs don't see a penny either way."
Vlambeer co-founder Rami Ismail agreed, adding: "These sites cost us so much potential dev time in customer service, investigating fake key requests, figuring out credit card chargebacks, and more."
As the discourse escalated into a petition to stop G2A from allowing the sale of indie games, the marketplace responded with its 10x chargeback offer in an attempt to address these concerns.
Wube reached out to the G2A Direct team last summer, encouraged by the promise of an independent auditor handling the case. However, what was a crucial promise from G2A at first became problematic.
"[An independent auditor] was an important factor for us, because we wanted to have someone who was independent and can complete the audit to the satisfaction of both parties," G2A CEO Bartosz Skwarczek tells GamesIndustry.biz. "But at the end of the conversation with Wube, we decided that we could trust each other and we conducted this audit on our own."
"I thought they probably wouldn't fake it, especially since it's still over half of the keys we sent. We are satisfied with the results"Scott Klonan, Wube Software
Shortly after the original offer, PR boss Maceij Kuc told Polygon the firm hoped to work with the "big four" -- PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ernst & Young, KMPG and Deloitte.
The two parties did negotiate with some auditors, but G2A claims the companies they spoke to would not allow them to publicly declare the results. GamesIndustry.biz has reached out to these firms and the National Audit Office to enquire whether this is a standard policy, but has yet to receive a response.
The inability to disclose the details of the audit pushed G2A and Wube to seek alternative options.
"If we could not say the result of the audit, it would be of no use to us," a G2A spokesperson told us. "So we talked to Wube about it, and they agreed it didn't make sense, so that's why we agreed to openly collaborate on an audit between ourselves. It was not only provided by us but also by them. We wanted to be as transparent as possible."
Skwarczek emphasises that G2A was not aware of this limitation when it first offered an independent audit: "Our feeling was that developers would like to have this great, independent, top of the industry auditor. We were trying to anticipate what they would want. On the other side, we're open to every solution. If they say we don't need an independent auditor, we're open to that dialogue.
"We didn't know we would have to choose between an auditor and doing it publicly, but I believe [the latter] is good. I believe in transparency, and we hope people appreciate that."
The two parties did make headway with one auditor but after long conversations over the details, G2A reports this company later said it was not able to disclose the results either.
"At this point it had been over six months with no progress, and we did not really care about the whole process, so it was up to them to determine another way to fulfill their promise," Wube's PR, community and support manager Scott Klonan tells us. "They asked if an internal audit was okay, and I said 'Yes, sure.'
"They produced quite a detailed report of the keys, who sold them, what dates and times they were sold. I thought they probably wouldn't fake it, especially since it's still over half of the keys we sent. We are satisfied with the results."
Overall, Skwarczek says the process is "something I'm genuinely proud of."
The findings still show that 61% of the illicit keys sold over the space of a couple of months were sold through G2A.
GamesIndustry.biz requested the total number of Factorio codes sold through the site to date, including those obtained legally, but G2A declined as it does not share individual games sales data.
During our interview, Skwarczek tried to present this in a broader data perspective.
"Data and facts massively confirmed what we were sure about -- that out of over 10 million transactions annually, we only have 198 [illegally obtained] keys sold through our site," he says. "That's like zero point zero zero zero something per cent. That's exactly what we wanted to prove, that this is a super safe and transparent platform."
He adds that even Amazon and eBay -- marketplaces G2A has previously compared itself to -- have a similarly small number of issues like this, and that it's "normal in every industry."
However, he did not address the fact that more than half the illicit codes in this audit were sold through his site, nor is his calculation accurate without data on how many Factorio keys have been sold there in total.
"We didn't know we would have to choose between an auditor and doing it publicly, but I believe [the latter] is good"Bartosz Skwarczek, G2A
Lack of response has frequently been an issue for G2A. To date, Factorio remains the only studio to challenge the firm's offer of 10x chargebacks, and when G2A suggested a potential keyblocker tool for developers, only 19 companies registered interest.
Klonan acknowledges Wube's role in how G2A sellers were able to obtain codes for Factorio. These codes were purchased through the game's official website, which was previously less secure than the likes of Steam or Itch.io, although did give Wube detailed records of purchases and chargebacks it could compare with G2A's audit.
The company also offers a free Steam key with website purchases, many of which are "probably flipped on G2A", although as these are obtained legally it becomes harder to challenge these transactions.
Klonan notes that after Wube switched to using Humble's widget on its site and refraining from "giving out tons of keys for giveaways to dodgy, often fake, influencers," the fraudulent purchases "stopped completely."
"In the end, contacting G2A is treating a symptom of people stealing keys," he says. "The best way to combat that is to cut it at the source.
He adds: "For us, if the offer was not 10x the chargeback, and had some precedence setting for the rest of the game developers, I don't think we would have reached out. The amount of time it takes and administrative dealings to get this refund, it's probably not worth the monetary compensation if it was not 10x.
"G2A was helpful and we got to the end after all, but I don't think many developers will be in the same situation as us."
Time will tell whether the settlement has the positive impact on G2A's reputation that the marketplace hopes, or whether more developers will come forward in the hopes of a similar payment.
The 198 illegally obtained Factorio keys may be "zero point zero zero zero something per cent" of the site's 10 million annual transactions, but so far the only concrete conclusion is that more than half of the codes queried from a four-month period in 2016 were in fact sold through G2A.


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For more than 30 years, restaurant operator Louis Miazga has been sating the palates of hungry New England diners.
Now, the owner of Hartford's Congress Rotisserie is concocting a recipe he thinks will satisfy Wall Street's ravenous appetite for new stocks while putting his chain in position to be a contender in the $90 billion franchise-restaurant market.
Congress Rotisserie Inc. this week launched a public offering of 125,000 shares of common stock at $8 apiece in an effort to raise $1 million.
The offering prospectus says the net proceeds will finance the opening of several more company-owned Congress Rotisserie outlets, plus a major franchise expansion of Miazga's concept of roasted chicken, made-to-order sandwiches and fresh-prepared trimmings to still more hungry masses.
Other restaurant chains have the same idea. Bertucci's, a Massachusetts-based pizzeria chain, went public more than a year ago to raise funds to finance an aggressive expansion into Connecticut.
And Boston Chicken, another chain expanding rapidly in the state, has notified federal securities regulators it, too, may go public later this fall.
"The climate for restaurant-chain stocks speaks for itself," said Thomas M. Griffin, senior vice president at Coburn & Meredith Inc., a Hartford investment banker underwriting the Congress Rotisserie issue.
Miazga, 54, said the timing for the offering reflects, among other things, his confidence that the worst of the slumping Northeast economy is over.
"I feel we're right around the bottom," he said.
But Miazga's main goal is to deliver his concept to diners who want a wholesome, time-saving meal at modest prices -- what he had in mind when he opened the original Congress Rotisserie on Maple Avenue in 1986. The original restaurant is not among the assets of
Congress Rotisserie Inc., the company that is selling stock to the public.
He said most of his volume is in takeout meals for busy families.
"When two people work, who wants to go home and cook?," asks Miazga, who says he and wife, Dorothy Waskiewicz, eat out seven days a week.
Americans spent $92 billion last year dining at franchise restaurants, up 8 percent from the previous year, the International Franchise Association says.
Since opening the original restaurant, Miazga has started three satellite operations that offer a full menu, but limited seating and service (no table waiters). They are downtown, across from the Civic Center; at 274 Farmington Ave. in Hartford; and, the newest one, on Bishops Corner in West Hartford.
The company also has four franchise locations in Connecticut and Pennsylvania.
The prospectus says Bishops Corner is the busiest and most profitable of the three company stores, generating $807,000 in sales and a $123,000 net profit in the fiscal year ended June 30.
The other two each generated closer to $300,000 in sales and profits of just under $20,000, the document states.
Miazga, president and chief executive officer of Congress Rotisserie Inc., and Waskiewicz, the chain's co-founder and treasurer, will own the remaining 625,000 shares of common stock, worth $5 million, plus retain voting control in the company.
Congress Rotisserie's reputation for good food has produced more than just strong sales. It led to the initiation of three franchises within the past two years "strictly on word of mouth," Miazga said.
The first franchise opened in September 1992 in the Philadelphia suburb of Dresher, Pa., after a University of Hartford student -- and a fan of the restaurant's -- convinced his father to ask Miazga for one.
That, and other unsolicited requests for franchises, prompted Miazga to register as a franchisor with the state Banking Department and the Federal Trade Commission.
Three more franchise locations have followed since then; two in Stamford, and the newest one, which opened Sept. 2, in Vernon.
Miazga is not new to franchising.
In 1960, he and Dorothy moved down from his native Amherst, Mass., to take over a company-run Burger Chef restaurant in Bristol. Miazga blamed the company's choice of a bad location for the closing of the restaurant a year later.
After stints as an operations manager for McDonald's and Kentucky Fried Chicken, he returned as a franchisee in 1970, opening an Arthur Treacher's Fish & Chips store in Worcester.
At the peak, Miazga owned seven stores in Massachusetts and four in Connecticut.
Debbie Blaine of Granby said the Miazga family's experience as franchisees and businesspeople, along with the appeal of Congress Rotisserie's concept, convinced them to come on board. Blaine and her husband, Jim, an ex-airline pilot, are searching for a site in Avon for their first franchise location.
"He's very workable," she said of Miazga. "He'll hold your hand all the way through, if necessary."
Carl Ahrens Price, founder of the Franchisee Resource Group
Ltd. in Haddonfield, N.J., said many of the disputes between franchisees and franchisors that he is brought in to resolve stem from poor communication between parties.
"The closer you come to your franchisee ... the better off you'll be," Price said


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FDA Targeting Trans Fats
Despite the fact that American intake of trans fat is down (good news), the Food and Drug Administration finds that the change isn't enough; according to a public proposal, the FDA is hoping to determine that partially hydrogenated oils (PHOs, or trans fats) will no longer be "generally recognized as safe." Bloomberg must be pleased.
If the preliminary determination is finalized, the proposal says, PHOs would have to be approved by the FDA. This means, PHOs will be seen as a food additive, and if a product is not approved to have PHOs, it cannot be sold.
According to Dennis M. Keefe, director of FDA's Office of Food Additive Safety, this could potentially lead to the end of industrially-produced trans fat in processed foods. Currently, the proposal is available for public comment, as the FDA is hoping to hear how this could affect small businesses.
Of course, trans fats do occur naturally in meat and dairy products, as well as oils, but the majority of PHOs are used in processed foods like baked goods and frozen foods, meant to increase shelf life and flavor. For the most part, trans fats can be found in crackers, cookies, cakes, pies, snack foods, frozen pizza, vegetable shortening and margarines, creamers, and ready-to-use frostings, among other products. In 2006, companies were mandated to list trans fats on the Nutrition Facts label, and since then food manufacturers have phased out trans fats from their products.
If the proposal does go through, and trans fat usage decreases, "it's going to save a huge amount in health care costs and will mean fewer heart attacks," Dr. Thomas R. Frieden of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told The New York Times. Currently, the CDC estimates that 5,000 Americans a year die of heart disease because of trans fats.


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Note that these numbers are preliminary. Complete industry data for April, including final order numbers, will be published by ACT in mid-May.
“We continue to contend that current order weakness has more to do with very large Class 8 backlogs and orders already booked, than with the evolving supply-demand balance,” said Kenny Vieth, ACT president and senior analyst. “Of course, contracting freight volumes, falling freight rates, and strong Class 8 capacity additions suggest that the supply-demand balance will become an issue later this year.”
Regarding the medium duty market, Vieth explained, “While the U.S. manufacturing/freight economy has been droopy since late 2018, the medium-duty market continues to benefit from underlying strength in the consumer economy. In April, NA Classes 5-7 net orders were 23,100 units, down just 6.8% year-over-year and up 12% from March.”
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced many lenders in the equipment finance industry to pivot their strategies to the online or digital environment. This may include payment modifications, self-service capabilities and increased bandwidth for online transactions. The equipment finance industry has... read more
When I look at the growing companies in the Monitor 101+, I see clearly that the entrepreneurial spirit is thriving in the equipment finance business. The fastest growing companies in this group share one important aspect, whether they are bank-owned,... read more


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Digital TV News: Amazon Web Services
Kaltura to migrate Cellcom TV to the Cloud
Sep 29, 2020 – Kaltura has been selected by Cellcom Israel to power Cellcom TV, the largest OTT TV service in Israel, with over 250,000 subscribing households. The service will be fully cloud-based and hosted on Amazon Web Services.
News categories: Kaltura, Cellcom, Nuno Sanches, Atara Litvak Shacham, Content Distribution, Digital TV, Israel, OTT
Socionext delivers H.264 video encoder on AWS
Sep 8, 2020 – Socionext has developed an H.264 video encoder available on AWS. The encoder helps video distributors expedite their content production to delivery time by 70% without compromising on quality.
News categories: Socionext, Content Distribution, Digital TV, Worldwide
PAOK FC OTT platform built with Insys Sport on AWS
Aug 6, 2020 – PAOK FC, the largest football club in Greece has worked with Insys Video Technologies to launch a new version of its OTT streaming service, PAOK TV. Built using Insys Sport, PAOK TV is fully cloud-based, running on AWS.
News categories: Insys Video, PAOK FC, Jarosław Narojczyk, Panagiotis Aroniadis, Content Distribution, Greece, OTT
AWS announces Amazon Interactive Video Service
Jul 15, 2020 – Amazon Web Services(AWS) [NASDAQ: AMZN] has announced Amazon Interactive Video Service (Amazon IVS), a managed service that makes it easy to set up live, interactive video streams in just a few minutes.
News categories: Amazon Web Services, Martin Hess, John Katsavrias, Scott Hurrey, Eric Hsu, Daisuke Mizuta, Luke Hubbard, Content Distribution, Digital TV, Europe, USA
NexGuard watermarking integrated into AWS Elemental MediaConvert
Jun 30, 2020 – NAGRA (SIX:KUD.S) has announced API integration of NexGuard forensic watermarking into AWS Elemental MediaConvert, a file-based video transcoding service with broadcast-grade features from Amazon Web Services (AWS).
News categories: NAGRA, AWS Elemental, Jean-Philippe Plantevin, Content Distribution, Digital TV, Watermarking, Worldwide
Synamedia and AWS accelerate end-to-end cloud TV deployments
Jun 8, 2020 – Synamedia is collaborating with AWS to accelerate the adoption of cloud TV services. With the partnership, video service providers can combine Synamedia’s Infinite cloud TV platform and AWS's reliability and cloud elasticity.
News categories: Synamedia, AWS, Nick Thexton, Content Distribution, Digital TV, Egypt, Malaysia, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Worldwide
Mirada multiscreen solution available as a turn-key proposition
May 11, 2020 – Mirada has announced that it has made its Iris end-to-end multiscreen solution available as a turn-key proposition. Iris in Swift Mode provides operators with a proven solution helping to reduce time-to-market and avoid high upfront costs.
News categories: Mirada, Antonio Rodríguez, Content Distribution, Digital TV, Worldwide
Insys Video integrates with AWS Elemental MediaTailor
Mar 2, 2020 – Insys Video Technologies has integrated its APIs with AWS Elemental MediaTailor. MediaTailor allows video providers to insert targeted advertising into their video streams without sacrificing broadcast-level quality-of-service.
News categories: Insys Video, AWS Elemental, Piotr Czekała, Advertising, Content Distribution, Digital TV, OTT, Worldwide
AWS compute and storage available at the edge of 5G networks
Dec 3, 2019 – Amazon Web Services (AWS) [NASDAQ: AMZN] has announced AWS Wavelength. Wavelength embeds AWS compute and storage services at the edge of telecommunications providers’ 5G networks, enabling developers to serve use-cases that require ultra-low latency.
News categories: Amazon Web Services, Matt Garman, 5G, Content Distribution, Worldwide
- Kaltura to migrate Cellcom TV to the Cloud
- Smart Home device market remains resilient despite pandemic
- Roku OS 9.4 to begin roll out to Roku devices
- Armstrong secures VOD launch with Verimatrix
- Global SVOD revenue to grow to $100 billion
- Amazon announces new Fire TV devices and redesigned UX
- ENENSYS announces ATSC 3.0 head end for hybrid delivery
- 605 signs measurement and analytics deal with Walmart
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- Graham Media renews with Comscore for TV measurement
- 317 million SVOD subscriptions for the U.S. in 2025
- Clearcable adds Minerva Networks IPTV platform to offering
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- Discovery acquires assets of adtech start-up AdSparx
- SimulTV picks Limelight Edge services for global video delivery
- U.S. pay TV suffers historic cord-cutting
- SpotX unveils programmatic solutions for linear Addressable TV


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The Midland City Council denied an attempt by Betenbough Homes to wall street market darknet review build smaller homes as part of... The dark net generally means using the internet in a manner that is difficult for authorities or non-state actors to monitor. We sincerely appreciate your time, and we appreciate you sharing your expertise with us today. Even before the takedown, drug enforcement agents were able to take down individual vendors through targeted buys.


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Fans and gamers can now get a new perspective on "Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes" after a Nexus mod developer released a PC mod that makes the game playable through the eyes of Snake.
Produced by Konami and developed by Kojima Productions, the action adventure stealth game initially came out last year in March for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One and PC. Initially built as a third-person stealth game, fans will now be able to experience the game in first person POV thanks to a new PC mod.
Pao, the Nexus developer responsible for the first-person mod, released it via Nexus Mods. While there are a few bugs though, such as things vanishing and pistol animations not working, but Pao has assured gamers that updates and fixes will be following soon. more >>
505 Games and Rebellion announced the upcoming release of "Sniper Elite 3: Ultimate Edition."
The game will be available in PS4, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PS3 and PC. The "Ultimate Edition" includes "Save Churchill" DLC, six multiplayer maps, six weapon packs and three modes.
The six weapon packs will contain various types such as the hunter, camouflage, patriot, sniper rifles, axis weapons and eastern front weapons pack. more >>
Naughty Dog revealed that "Uncharted 4: A Thief's End" will probably run with higher specs.
Game director Bruce Straley revealed that the developers of the game are prepared to create it above 30 frames per second but they are more concerned with the overall experience.
"We're actually above 30, but we locked it [for the demo]. We're going to do whatever it takes to make the game we want to make," Straley said. more >>
LG first introduced its latest device, the G Flex 2, in Las Vegas during the International 2015 Consumer Electronics Show, and ever since then interested consumers have been nothing if not enthusiastic over what the upcoming phablet has to offer.
The South Korean electronics company showcased its first LG G Flex in 2013, so a successor has definitely been a long time coming. So far it's looking to be a bit of an upgrade over the previous, with the G Flex 2 showcasing a curved, flexible POLED display and a more improved self-healing back that keeps the phone free from marks or scratches in as fast as 10 seconds.
The G Flex 2 also boasts a 5.5-inch display with a 1920x1080 HD resolution. It also has a special protection layer added on top, which LG stated made it stronger than its predecessor and the Gorilla Glass 3 common in other devices. more >>
Looks matter when it comes to the smartphone industry, and with new user interfaces coming out, gadget enthusiasts may be interested to know what's the better UI for them between Google's Android Lollipop and Android KitKat.
The Android Lollipop is slowly but surely being rolled out to the Samsung Galaxy S5. Right about now, it makes sense for users to wonder just how Google's latest OS will fare when its looks are compared to the outgoing Android KitKat as done in sites such as Know Your Mobile, Phone Arena and more.
When it comes to design, Lollipop prides itself on its Material Design and the fact that introduced a more realistic aesthetic. By adding in real-time shadows, the developers managed to make the design look more dynamic and layered. The KitKat on the other hand, has a more black-dominant design and some may say it looks a bit flat compared to the new additions to the Lollipop. more >>
Recent tech rumors suggested that BlackBerry Limited might be releasing a smartphone with a sliding keyboard features in early Q2 of 2015.
N4BB said that the BlackBerry Passport maker could be making two new phones with concealable keyboards which are dubbed as the BB10 "Visa" and "Victoria."
A previous BB10 slider device which was initially called the "Milan" and was later named as the "M-Series." more >>