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GSMA recently released their latest report on The Mobile Economy for 2016. It’s a massive report with a plethora of valuable information. However, the fact is that while the information is valuable, it’s still a massive and time-consuming read. So we decided to read it for you. Here’re the biggest things we learned from the report.
A good place to start would be some stats that paints us a broad outline of the industry’s magnitude. According to the report, 2015 has been a year of increasing growth. 7.6 billion Mobile connections representing 4.7 billion unique subscribers have propelled revenues. Operators have raked in revenues over 1 Trillion USD.
All that’s well and good, but how many have de facto access to the benefits of the industry you might wonder.
The global subscriber penetration is 63%. Regional numbers vary from 43% in Sub-Saharan Africa, 62% in the Asia Pacific region and 85% in Europe.
It is projected that the Global subscriber penetration will, in fact, reach 72% by 2020. Also by this year, subscribers in Europe will only increase from 85%-88%. Over 90% of the 1 billion new subscribers expected by 2020, will come from the developing markets. This projection is despite factors like low-income rates, unequal distribution of infrastructure and even political and social instability.
Staggering stats of this nature are seen across the board as the developing markets soar rapidly in reaching heights only known to the European and American regions. Developed markets, in turn, are to have issues of a different sort like disruption, heavy competition and sometimes parasitic regulations.
This isn’t to say that the rate of growth hasn’t experienced a slowing down all round. For developing markets, annual connections will grow at 4.3% which is more than a step lower to the 7.7% of growth achieved in the last 5 years. On the developed side of the world, the growth will crawl at 2.0%.
Connectivity alone will no longer cut it. 4G has been “a major highlight.” In the latter part of 2015, over 1 billion 4G connections have been reported across 151 countries. At this period, mobile broadband connections of both 3G and 4G nature made up for almost 50% of all connections. It is expected that this will spike to 70% by 2020.
Fuelling this expansion are factors like affordability of smartphones, deeper network coverage and to some extent operator handset subsidies.
Once again the trend is that in developed markets broadband makes up for over 80% of connections and is to rise to 92% in the next 5 years. Only 40% of the connections in the developing markets are broadband and by 2020 the number will expand to include a third of all connections. These numbers aren’t too far away from home since in there’s been an almost 30% higher interest in broadband connections. By 2015’s final quarter Sri Lanka 39% of all mobile connections were of the mobile broadband kind. It is also predicted that in terms of 4G connections, the developing world will overtake the developed one by the end of the year.
Much of this accelerated growth has to do with spectrum allocation. In Europe, many countries including 24 of the UE28 have moved on to digital broadcasting and auctioned off the 800MHz digital dividend spectrum. 4G has become a standard transition in Asia once the APT700 band plan has been adopted in many Asia-Pacific states.
Sub-Saharan Africa, however, is still lagging behind with issues like the lack of relevant spectrum.
Another key factor for increased dispersing of 3G and 4G connections is the availability and accessibility of smartphones. Smartphone connections are to hit 2.6 billion by the end of this decade, again with 90% of this growth spurting from the developing sphere. India alone is predicted to add over half a billion smartphone connections.
Smartphone proliferation is supported by the increasing production houses like Xiamoi, Huawei Gionee and OnePlus from China and MicroMax in India. Catering to a wider, price-conscious customer base, these manufacturers as at the third quarter of 2015 have shown progress.
Faster, the better internet has seen to the rise of data-intensive applications in use. Like video streaming, which has resulted in “an explosion” of data traffic. Data usage it to grow at a compound annual rate of 49% approaching 40EB per month in 2020. It’s also predicted that by this time, the average North American subscriber would need 22GBs and 12GBs of mobile data to make it through the month.
This is also reflected in the significant growth experienced by messaging applications like WhatsApp, which went from 200 Million users in April 2013 to 900 Million in September last year. Facebook Messenger and WeChat according to app analytics firm App Annie have also swelled.
Accordingly, mobile service operators have converged with this trend and are now offering video streaming and IP messaging as part of their data plans. Vodafone in Europe, for instance, offers Netflix and Spotify Premium at no extra charge. Verizon and AT&T have resorted to providing access to video content. This convergence according to the report is a means of staying relevant in the market which has although reached 1 trillion USD in revenue, has done so at a markedly slow pace.
We’ve moved on from feature phones and voice calls, SMS and multimedia messaging are no longer composite of the mobile experience. There is, however, a rural and under-developed populous still almost a decade behind. The smartphone era of social media, app economy and IP messaging is where developed markets are currently at. This report, however, suggests that the hyper-connected future is on the horizon. The era of big data, the internet of things and sharing economy is soon to be the way of life as developed markets are entering this stage.
By the end of 2016, apps and app-related products are to account for 140 Billion USD. Generating a market of their own, Apple, Alphabet, Facebook and Alibaba are among 2016’s biggest players in the app market. The rise of these companies, however, shouldn’t be taken to mean a value-transfer, since many of them still rely on mobile broadband networks and smartphones as access points for their users.
Although 1.3 million app developers making up for 23% of the global occupation was based in the EU28, China and India have also broken into the scene. The combination of innovation and technical prowess has organically led to digitization is slowly engulfing other industries as well.
Big players in the mobile operator industry like Orange, AT&T, Deutsche Telekom and Safaricom have started foundries and funding for start-ups to support the vibrant ecosystem. Yet another strategy to deal with disruption has been convergence. The rationale for jumping aboard the bandwagon according to the report is to the “pursuit of scale and the goal of offering enhanced customer experience.”
To make optimum use of the mobile market in all its splendor, the GSMA is backing a solution to the age-old issue of authentication. Mobile Connect is a mechanism that hopes to do away with passwords and long sign-up procedures. Instead, it hopes to use the user’s mobile number and a unique PIN number that is valid across several virtual platforms. Mobile Connect isn’t an unfamiliar name to this part of the world, for more on its local advent click here.
The industry directly employed 17 million people last year. A large majority of jobs available in the mobile ecosystem were in the content, applications and mobile service sectors. However, the Asian region is currently not fully digitally engaged due to issues like the lack of locally made, relevant content. Also problematic is the rampant illiteracy and lack of basic skills when it comes to handling a mobile device. In Latin America, the predominant trouble is with the infrastructure. While some countries like Brazil, Chile, Mexico, and Peru have more than 90% coverage, countries like Cuba has no mobile broadband within its borders. The report calls for a joint effort on the part of governments in the region to rectify this disparity.
With Chinese-based vendors like Xinwei Telecom which churns out smartphones in the sub-20 USD range in the market, affordability in the industry is seldom an issue in most parts of the globe. In Sub-Saharan Africa, however, this isn’t the only price issue. Taxes for mobile services are at a suffocating 20% on average in the region.
The short answer would be better regulations. Legal and ethical parameters are often restricting for two reasons according to the report. Firstly because of discriminatory regulations and secondly because of static regulations at play in a dynamic market.
Different sectors of the digital economy have separate ways of being regulated, however, this might bear inequitable results. For instance internet companies like Facebook as the report, sites are in direct competition with the likes of Bharti Airtel. Internet companies are subject to general anti-trust rules and consumer protection regulations while the telecoms are subject to more intrusive and industry-specific compliances. Both procedural and regulatory discrimination can not only artificially affect competition, but harm customer welfare as well.
More elastic rules when it comes to the ever-morphing, innovation-driven market, according to the report, are also in order. The smooth running of the mobile industry which pumped in a whopping 430 million USD into public funding via taxes and other service charges, can only be good news. Culturing the mobile ecosystem at a domestic level opens up an industry which directly and indirectly employed 32 million people. With a Gross National Income of 3000 USD, Sri Lanka’s own mobile industry is among those tapping into the global phenomenon.
The industry has continued to grow through 2015 as all the stats suggest. However, this growth is gradually slowing as reflected in the sluggish pace of subscriber growth, particularly in the European markets. Any dramatic increase in rates by the end of the decade will most likely be credited to developing markets. Despite the heavy congestion in the saturated developed markets and the struggle of including low-income groups in the digital revolution among the developing markets, by 2020, the global subscriber rate will rise to 5.6 billion. In other words, by the end of the decade over 70% of the world will have mobile connections.
Expected to churn out more than 3 million new jobs in the next 5 years, the mobile ecosystem will have created more than 20 million employment opportunities. As the age of mobile money and Machine to Machine, services is dawning upon the world, the industry is to be a mammoth 3.7 Trillion USD of economic value at the turn of the decade.
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Seedstars, a global organization based in Switzerland promotes, connects and invests up to $1 million USD in emerging market startups through their exclusive startup competition held in over 60 countries.
Seedstars, a global organization based in Switzerland promotes, connects and invests up to $1 million USD in emerging market startups through their exclusive startup competition held in over 60 countries. Last year, we saw Seedstars come to Sri Lanka for the first time. LayUp was selected as the winner of the first Seedstars Colombo, which was held last year. LayUp then went onto represent Sri Lanka as a finalist at Seedstars Global. Eight startups will be competing at SeedStars Colombo 2017.
The winning startup will receive an all-expenses paid trip to both the Seedstars Asia Regional Summit in Bangkok. They’ll also win a trip to Switzerland to compete at the Seedstars Global Summit for equity investments of up to USD 1 million, and to meet with international mentors and investors.
(Thursday) 5:00 pm - 8:30 pm
MAS Innovation Center
#50 Foster Lane, Colombo
Mobile Application Security Beyond Compliance Speaker Christopher Stewart is an IT Infrastructure and Security Practitioner with over 11 years of experience including cyber defense and Governance & Audit areas. Here's your chance to
Mobile Application Security
Christopher Stewart is an IT Infrastructure and Security Practitioner with over 11 years of experience including cyber defense and Governance & Audit areas. Here’s your chance to catch Christopher’s session on Mobile Application Security: Beyond Compliance.
Sign up via Email [email protected] | Call us on 011 4713290
*Priced at Rs. 500 (free for CSSl members)
(Monday) 5:45 pm - 7:45 pm
Prof Stanley Wijesundera Mawatha, Colombo 00700
Startup weekend-Trincomalee Beach Calling entrepreneurs, Growth Hackers, Dreamers, Rain Makers and Startup Catalysts to change the world in 54 hours! Bring your creativity and skills and Join Startup Weekend Trincomalee
Startup weekend-Trincomalee Beach
Calling entrepreneurs, Growth Hackers, Dreamers, Rain Makers and Startup Catalysts to change the world in 54 hours! Bring your creativity and skills and Join Startup Weekend Trincomalee ,Friday 27th to Sunday 29st Octon,2017 at Trinco beach hotel, Trinco
What’s Startup Weekend, Anyway?
Startup Weekend is a global phenomenon – 54 hours of fast and furious prototype development through to exploring potential markets and pitching. It’s an unparalleled opportunity to build lasting relationships with co-founders; mentors, and investors.The real value comes from taking an idea from concept through to execution using Lean tactics and working under high pressure with the best startups.
Google for Entrepreneurs is the global partner for Techstars Startup Weekend Program, including Startup Weekend, Startup Next and Startup Digest. Google is a sponsor of Techstars Accelerator Programs. Techstars collaborates with the Google for Entrepreneurs campuses across the globe to support engagement with entrepreneurs everywhere.
What You Can Do?
In short, Startup Weekend shapes the lives of many people as a starting point as entrepreneurs and startup enthusiasts. Ultimately, it’s an amazing spring board to get started on something (a new business, career at a startup or great relationships).
Come pitch, join a team, iron out your business model, and build away! In just 54 hours teams will come together to create startups from scratch and learn about entrepreneurship in a hands-on and meaningful way. Developers, designers, business experts, and makers will come to build prototypes and launch startups that use hardware or software to interconnect us all and change the world.
WHO GOES TO STARTUP WEEKENDS?
Experienced business people or budding entrepreneurs, Creative designers, Coders, growth hackers who are looking for new ideas and wanting to challenge their skills – Startup Weekends are a fun and exciting way to to upskill and test yourself in the world of startups
WHAT DO YOU DO AT A STARTUP WEEKEND?
Starting from 6.30 PM on Friday registration will be done, Welcome speech, Dinner, Startup pitches ideas chosen and lasting teams formed. By late Friday night you’ll be on your way with goals set and roles assigned.
Saturday is all about validation – contacting potential customers and checking out if there is really a market for your idea – and reacting fast if you need to change. Meanwhile if you’re a developer or a designer you’ll be furiously building the product.
Sunday is about making it work and preparing for the final pitch to a panel of carefully chosen judges. Throughout the process mentors from all backgrounds will be on hand. (link to timetable)
WHAT HAPPENS AFTER
Celebrate! We’ll put in place a follow up event, and there will be other opportunities, including our Co-Starters program.
What is the benefit of attending Startup Weekend ?
Startup Weekends are all about learning through the act of creating. Don’t just listen to theory, build your own strategy and test it as you go. It’s like an MBA in a weekend.
2) Build your network:
This isn’t just a happy-hour. Startup Weekend attracts your community’s best makers and do-ers. By spending a weekend working to build scalable companies that solve real-world problems, you will build long-lasting relationships and possibly walk away with a job or a even an investor.
3) Co-Founder Dating:
We all know it’s not just about the idea – it’s about the team. Startup Weekend is hands down the best way to to find someone you can actually launch a startup with.
4) Learn a new skill:
Step outside of your comfort zone. With a whole weekend dedicated to letting your creative juices flow, Startup Weekends are prefect opportunities to work on a new platform, learn a new programming language, or just try something different.
5) Actually launch a business:
Over 36% of Startup Weekend startups are still going strong after 3 months. Roughly 80% of participants plan on continuing working with their team or startup after the weekend.
6) Get face time with thought leaders:
Local tech and startup leaders participate in Startup Weekends as mentors and judges. Get some one-on-one time with the movers and shakers in your community.
7) Save money & get stuff:
Startup Weekends cost $40 (less for students). Your ticket covers seven meals, snack, access to exclusive resources our global sponsors, and all the coffee you can drink.
8) Join a global community:
Join over 30,000 Startup Weekend alumni, all on a mission to change the world.
Facilities for the Attendees?
Mentors : Whether it’s growth, design, or prototype,you’ll find a mentor who can help
Free WIFI: You will Get Free WIFI Access from our Telecom Partner
Meals : Morning Refreshment Plus Lunch and Dinner
Community Perks and Discounts : Take advantage of perks and discounts offered to all Startup Weekend participants from the Global sponsors.
Much More: Whatever you are building, our sponsors and community have put together some fantastic resources to help you build your idea.
october 27 (Friday) - 29 (Sunday)
Trinco Beach Hotel
326,Dyke Street, Trincomalee


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The Plastic Pollution Epidemic
In our current “take-make-waste” economic structure, the waste that we are producing is simply staggering. For years people have been bringing to light the issues with producing so much single-use plastic, but it’s hard to get a grasp on how big the plastic pollution problem actually is. Roughly 40% of plastic produced today is for single-use items – so something that gets a few minutes of actual use has an environmental impact that lasts hundreds of years. In fact, the environmental impact is far outweighed by convenience. Keep in mind: Half of all plastics ever manufactured have been made in the last 15 years. This is not a problem that’s getting better from awareness – it is at critical mass.
So how bad is the plastic waste epidemic?
You can watch countless documentaries like Plastic Planet on Netflix but be warned: what you will see is disturbing. There are countless studies and research materials from sources like National Geographic that detail exactly how bad the plastic pollution problem is.
Here is a small collection of plastic pollution facts that give a glimpse into the epidemic of plastic:
- Every year, about 8 million tons of plastic waste escapes into the oceans from coastal nations. That’s the equivalent of setting five garbage bags full of trash on every foot of coastline around the world.
- 3 BILLION Metric Tons (9.1 BILLION US Tons) of plastic has been produced since plastic was introduced in the 1950s.
- The amount of plastic produced in a year is roughly the same as the entire weight of humanity
- If plastic production isn’t curbed, plastic pollution will outweigh fish pound-for-pound by 2050
- There is more microplastic in the ocean than there are stars in the Milky Way
- In heavily polluted areas of the marine environment, like the North Pacific Central Gyre, the mass of plastic is up to six times greater than the mass of plankton
- Less than 20% of all plastics are recycled globally
- Production increased exponentially, from 2.3 million tons in 1950 to 448 million tons by 2015. Production is expected to double by 2050.
- ONE MILLION plastic bottles are bought EVERY MINUTE around the world — and that number will top half a TRILLION by 2021. Less than half of those bottles end up getting recycled
- 8% of the world oil reserve is used to make plastics, it will increase to 20% by 2050
- Producing the plastic bottles for American consumption of bottled water in 2006 required 3 liters of water to produce each 1 liter of bottled water. Production of these water bottles also required the equivalent of more than 17 million barrels of oil, not including the energy for transportation
- Plastic is the most common type of marine litter worldwide
- Several studies on plastic microfibers and Nano plastics have indicated that these particles are able to be ingested by marine animals and bioaccumulate up the food chain, carrying with them adhered chemicals and toxins, posing health impacts to both wildlife and human consumers of seafood
- In the United States, 94% of tap water samples contained plastic
Along with food waste, plastic pollution is the most pressing environmental issue. It’s time to re-think the way we package foods and consumer goods. With the increasing availability of bioplastics and other alternatives, the days of single-use plastic should be coming to an end. It’s up to the manufacturers to take the lead on ending the plastic epidemic.

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Microsoft released this week four different security bulletins for MS Office, but (with a few exceptions) they seem to shape us as pretty tame updates.
The old saying about March weather coming in like a lion, but going out like a lamb, is just about the way this patching month has shaped up.
If you’re responsible for updating your company’s systems,
you now face service packs (and related problems) for XP, Vista, and Microsoft’s .NET Framework — and even Mac enthusiasts have to deal with repercussions from the recent 10.5.2 OS X upgrade.
If that weren’t enough, those of you who haven’t yet deployed the latest MS Office service packs will find plenty of quirks to chew on this week.
Microsoft on Feb. 19 halted automatic downloads of a Vista patch that caused numerous PCs to reboot uncontrollably.
The patch, numbered 937287, is a “prerequisite” or “preliminary” patch that was intended to prepare machines for the installation of Vista Service Pack 1, which is expected to be released in March.
A whopping 11 security patches and 7 nonsecurity patches were released this month for Windows, Firefox, Acrobat, and QuickTime, which means a potentially rough patching month.
Rather than giving your loved ones red roses or fat-laden chocolates for Valentine’s Day, show them how much you care by fixing their systems with these updates that the patch gods have sent us.
In a change from its earlier statements, Microsoft now reports that some versions of Windows Server 2003 have a security flaw rated “critical” rather than merely “important.”
If you didn’t install security bulletin MS08-001 after its release on Jan. 8 — because you didn’t feel you really needed it when it first came out — you should make time now to test your box and install the patch.
This week, I’ll show you how to prevent the automatic deployment of Silverlight and a new build of Internet Explorer 7 throughout your company via Microsoft’s WSUS utility.
Optional software isn’t mandatory, and I urge you to skip the Silverlight download in particular unless you have a specific need for the software.
Microsoft’s Vista team is getting ready to release Service Pack 1, but a few “pre-SP1” bumps were hit along the way this week that negatively affected Home Premium users.
Those problems have been swatted by now, but there are still several other issues that relate to Vista and XP updates.
In this special, news-update edition of Patch Watch, I provide help for those of you who are afflicted by crashing in Internet Explorer 6.
Some other things to watch out for are the new service packs for Office 2003 and Office 2007, which are bringing trouble with them this holiday season.
Many people were startled on Dec. 12 to see that Service Pack 1 for Office 2007 had been auto-installed, and their machines had been rebooted.
Microsoft had said that Office 2007 SP1 would be made available on Dec. 11, but would not auto-install on that date — but the beta versions of Vista and several other Microsoft products didn’t behave that way.


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We know that developing countries need entrepreneurship — especially formal entrepreneurship — in order to drive growth, expand access to opportunity, and address youth unemployment. Yet only 4,000 to 5,000 new firms register each year in places like Belarus, Guatemala, and Tunisia. Can business environment reforms, as prescribed by Hernando de Soto and spotlighted by the World Bank’s Doing Business project, make the difference?
Searching the World Bank’s Entrepreneurship Database for business registry data, Leora Klapper and Douglas Randall analyze what business environment reforms mean in practice. The upshot: big reforms can boost private sector activity but token reforms do not. Their important research is summarized in the “Impact of Business Environment Reforms on New Firm Creation,” the latest release from CIPE’s Economic Reform Feature Service.
This article is excerpted from the forthcoming thought leader report on “Creating the Environment for Entrepreneurial Success.”
Share a message with the community: email@example.com


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Gmail is providing a new unsubscribe feature for email users. And it may not be good for email marketers with poor open rates.
The feature, which apparently has not been formally launched, consists of an “Inbox Tip” card. It asks consumers if they want to unsubscribe from mailing lists to which they have not responded in a month.
For example, it asks, “Unsubscribe from XDA.com Developers Depot? You haven’t opened any emails from this sender in the last month,” according to Android Police.
“The user is given two choices: “Unsubscribe” and “No thanks.
Digital Tends reports that the function “only seems to work on emails that Google is able to flag as promotions, so you’ll still need to keep an eye on your inbox.”
The new unsubscribe feature is not yet available to all Gmail users, reports state.
“We aren't sure exactly when this started rolling out, but it appears to be new,” Android Police writes.
9to5Google confirms that the timing is uncertain.
“As far as when Google introduced this feature, we can only guess,” writes Justin Duino. “It appears as though more users are starting to see similar cards in Inbox so be on the lookout for it on your devices. Google hasn’t announced this as a new feature, so hopefully, it’s just the first of many new changes to come.”


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The new Volvo S90 and V90 range has been crowned by new R-Design versions, which will go on sale early next year.
These performance-oriented versions of Volvo's Audi A6, Jaguar XF and Mercedes-Benz E-Class rivals receive unique exterior styling, including a bespoke front grille, fog lights integrated into the front spoiler, and new alloy wheels. Volvo says it has also re-tuned the car's chassis to provide a more "energetic, road-hugging drive."
Inside, both cars get new trim options, a sports seats and steering wheel and new interior lighting. Order books for both models are open now, but deliveries aren't expected until later in the year.
Volvo hasn't released official pricing for the R-Design models, but they're expected to command a significant premium over the regular S90 and V90, which are priced from £32,555 and £34,555 respectively.
Prices of around £38,500 for the S90 R-Design and around £40,500 for the V90 R-Design are likely and are in keeping with Volvo's current pricing structure.
Volvo Senior Vice President for marketing and customer service Björn Annwall said: "R-Design delivers an edge to our elegant estate and sedan models in our 90 Series, with a winning combination of a sportier, more responsive drive with clearly visible performance styling.”


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Bernanke says recession very likely over
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Tuesday that the worst U.S. recession since the Great Depression was probably over, but the recovery would be slow and it would take time to create new jobs. Read Full Article here.
U.S. rebuffing big banks' push to exit bailout
Some of the largest U.S. banks will remain caught in the government's financial bailout program for months, as officials do not expect to grant the next wave of exit approvals until near the end of the year, according to a source familiar with the matter. Read Full Article here.
Lehman bust highlights analyst group-think disease
All of Wall Street's bank analysts were caught out by Lehman's collapse -- and few have redeemed themselves since. Just a handful have dared to issue a buy on bank stocks that have surged since March -- after they all failed to slap that sell on Lehman Brothers before it went bust a year ago. Read Full Article here.
Airline trade group forecasts deeper losses for 2009
The world's airlines are expected to post losses of $11 billion this year, as weak passenger traffic and cargo demand pressures revenue, the International Air Transport Association said on Tuesday. Read Full Article here.
Gordon Gekko character still resonates on Wall St
Twenty-two years after appearing on the big screen, and one year after the collapse of investment bank Lehman Brothers, the film character Gordon Gekko continues to resonate on Wall Street. Read Full Article here.
Kraft: No need to sell assets for Cadbury bid
Kraft Foods Inc does not need to sell operations like Oscar Mayer hot dogs, Maxwell House coffee or any of its other brands to afford its $16 billion bid for British confectioner Cadbury , Kraft said on Tuesday. Read Full Article here.
No venture capital? Web start-ups look elsewhere
Web start-up companies at this year's Tech Crunch conference face a financial climate that has dried up venture capital, forcing them to turn to friends, family and foundations. Read Full Article here.


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• Greater range and advanced technologies make new LEAF the ultimate electric vehicle
• 2018 LEAF offers a longer range at a lower price – with stronger performance, striking new design and cutting-edge technologies
• Since its launch in 2010, LEAF has been the #1 affordable, mass production EV in the world
• LEAF’s advanced ProPILOT Assist and e-Pedal technologies offer a look into the future of Nissan Intelligent Mobility
LAS VEGAS – The all-new Nissan LEAF sets a new standard in the growing market for mainstream electric vehicles by offering customers greater range, advanced technologies and a dynamic new design.
Drivers will feel more confident, excited and connected thanks to the new Nissan LEAF’s ProPILOT Assist driver assistance technology, e-Pedal, increased power and range, and improved refinement, comfort and convenience.
The new, zero-emission Nissan LEAF embodies Nissan Intelligent Mobility, the company’s approach to changing the way cars are driven, powered and integrated into society. The three key aspects of Nissan Intelligent Mobility exemplified by the new Nissan LEAF are Nissan Intelligent Driving, Nissan Intelligent Power and Nissan Intelligent Integration.
Check out the cool infographic on the new Leaf!


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Published 6 years ago.
About a 5 minute read.
This week, Walmart updated its sustainable chemistry policy, to eliminate toxic chemicals in thousands of consumable products, such as household cleaners, cosmetics and skincare items, and infant products. This policy includes new goals for the company to restrict over 2,700 harmful chemicals in household products by 2022, increase transparency of ingredients globally, and encourage suppliers to certify their products to credible third-party standards such as EPA Safer Choice. The updated policy applies to 90,000 products from 700 suppliers.
Walmart is strengthening its sustainable chemistry policy for consumable products, reaffirming the retailer’s work to increase transparency, advance improved product formulations, and offer a larger sustainable product selection for customers.
As part of the policy expansion, Walmart aims to reduce its consumables chemical footprint for U.S. Walmart and Sam’s Club stores by 10 percent by 2022, becoming the first U.S. retailer to set a time-bound reduction goal. The goal applies to chemicals defined by the Walmart Priority Chemicals List in its revised commitment.
“We know our customers are interested in what goes into products and how they are made. It’s important for them, and we are advocating for them by encouraging innovation and transparency into that process,” said Zach Freeze, senior director of strategic initiatives for sustainability at Walmart. “Our strengthened commitment provides more clarity on our expectations for suppliers in working towards enhanced product formulations and setting concrete benchmarks to check progress along the way.”
Last month, Walmart became the first retailer to participate in the Chemical Footprint Project survey, and publicly reports its progress annually through the Global Responsibility Report and Sustainability Hub. To date, the retailer’s suppliers have removed 96 percent of high priority chemicals by volume weight from the consumables products sold in Walmart U.S. stores, up from 95 percent last year.
Walmart’s work in sustainable chemistry ladders up to its aspirational goal to sell products that sustain people and natural resources. This work was recently recognized by Fortune**’s Change the World Ranking**; the company was listed as number seven of 50 companies that are making social benefit part of their core business.
“Walmart has set an industry precedent for targeting and measuring reductions of chemicals of concern in its products,” said Boma Brown-West, senior manager at the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF). “Walmart demonstrates the Five Pillars of Leadership on safer chemicals and encourages the pursuit of safer products across the supply chain.”
The updates to Walmart’s commitment move beyond Walmart’s measures already in place to promote transparency with clear ingredient labeling and to encourage informed substitution with chemicals of concern by reformulating products customers use in their everyday lives, while maintaining the affordability they expect.
“Like Walmart, we know that today’s consumers want more information to help them make informed choices,” said Jack McAneny, director of sustainability at Procter & Gamble Co. (P&G). “That’s why we’ve recently expanded our transparency commitment to include fragrance ingredients across our product portfolio.”
Other key updates to the Walmart sustainable chemistry commitment include:
"We commend Walmart for updating its safer chemicals policy and setting new goals with a clear timeframe for suppliers to reduce the use of millions of pounds of toxic chemicals,” Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families Mind the Store Campaign Director Mike Schade said in response to Walmart’s announcement. “The company continues to show impressive leadership in leveraging its influence to transform the marketplace. Walmart's new policy will increase transparency around chemicals in products and drive the elimination of dangerous chemicals in household cleaning, cosmetics, and infant products. This will send ripple effects throughout global supply chains. We hope Walmart's new policy will help inspire other major retailers to follow suit and mind the store."
Last November, the Mind the Store campaign released a report card evaluating the largest retailers’ safer chemicals programs. Walmart is the latest retailer to announce progress in restricting harmful chemicals. Since January, Best Buy, Costco, CVS Health and Target have all announced new initiatives to address harmful chemicals in products.
Published Sep 28, 2017 2pm EDT / 11am PDT / 7pm BST / 8pm CEST


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Once a dominant player in the market, BlackBerry is now struggling to grab a market share despite the launch of BB 10.2 or any other offering recently.
Due to this, there are high chances that BlackBerry might have to start running Android so that it is able to survive in the market.
As per rumors, BlackBerry is planning to launch an Android-powered handset in autumn and as a typical offering from BlackBerry, it would be a slider device.
What’s next for BlackBerry?
When officials from BlackBerry were contacted, they said that they do not wish to comment on this news and said that they are dedicated towards the development of BlackBerry 10 OS, which offers unparalleled security and productivity benefits.
Although BlackBerry has not openly opposed Android, there are hints that they might collaborate, as BlackBerry in its new OS allowed users to download Android apps from the Amazon App Store.
In line with the other launches from BlackBerry, their first Android device is expected to have a touchscreen and a physical keyboard. In the Mobile World Congress held in 2015, we spotted a slider phone from BlackBerry. However, there has been no news about it ever since.
In 2014, Nokia embraced Android with the launch of Nokia X and Nokia XL. However, there have been no releases after these two phones. This is because Microsoft purchased Nokia. But there is still no clarity about what BlackBerry is planning to do with Android.
However, as per BlackBerry’s stand, they would definitely not stop BB10 and hence, might launch a different series of phones powered by Android.


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Call to Action for Hospitality, Event and Travel Professionals to Take Part in Research Ahead of HSMAI Europe Curate
HSMAI Europe | October 22, 2020
Research to guide debate and identify potential challenges and solutions about the future of the events and diversity and discrimination in the industry LONDON, October 2020 – Hospitality, events and travel professionals across the UK and Europe are invited to take part in two research projects ahead of HSMAI Europe Curate virtual conference which is taking place 3 - 4 November this year. The research focuses on both discrimination and diversity in the industry as well as the future of events; identifying current challenges and potential solutions faced by the industry - particularly in light of the pandemic. Industry professionals ca...
Hyatt Signs With Caribe Hospitality for Hyatt Centric Escazu San Jose
Noble House Promotes Linda Menshon to Area Director of Sales & Marketing for Laplaya Beach & Golf Resort and The Inn on Fifth
IHG Hotels & Resorts Opens Canada’s First avid hotel in Vaughan
The Adolphus Appoints Danny Estevez as Area Managing Director
As the first news aggregate for the hotel industry, Hotel-Online is the industry’s must-read daily news source for everything hotel curated for busy professionals. Sign up today for industry news delivered to your inbox.


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Last week, a reader wrote to ask me whether it was her selectively blinkered imagination or had prices on the high street gone up, abandoning their once reliably cheap origins. Being of an age when everything looks as if it's going to hell in a handbag (what's a handcart, anyway?), I instinctively answered yes, wasn't it awful, young people today, pass the Hovis.
But then I finally got out of my rocking chair and took a glance along the high street. And you know what? Prices really have shot up. Shops such as Warehouse, Topshop, Jigsaw and French Connection, which I remember going to as a teenager for that last-minute £39.99 party dress with just the requisite amount of sequins to attract the eye of a young chevalier in the upper sixth, are suddenly flashing price tags with triple figures. Coats seem to be aiming for the £90 bracket; party dresses - the very sort of garment for which God created the high street, due to their generally one-season lifespan - are now more than £100.
It is worth stressing that, in a lot of these cases, the clothes are a lot better than they were 10 years ago. French Connection, in particular, has improved this season. Still, with £90 and £130 price tags hanging from its two best dresses, you have to wonder if this improvement has come at the expense of the store's original USP, to provide affordable but half-decent clothes for teenagers with their eyes on boys in the years above and women not wanting to go into hock just for the office Christmas party. However, now that the well-moneyed likes of Kate Moss boast about shopping on the high street, it would be perverse for retailers not to take advantage of the disposable income walking into their shops.
"We feel that only offering very cheap clothes prevents us from satisfying the requirements of our very broad customer base," says Jane Shepherdson, brand director of Topshop. "It's a little," says Warehouse a little contradictorially, "a little like a designer dress on the high street."
Part of the problem, I suspect, is that some stores Get Ideas Above Their Station. Reiss, Karen Millen and French Connection have always suffered from this, pricing their clothes far above what one generally expects from a chain store on the high street simply because, they claim, despite appearances, they are more than a chain store on the high street:
"We have always been more expensive than the Topshops out there," maintains a spokesman for French Connection. "Like Reiss and Karen Millen, we are a premium high-street brand and we see ourselves as a bridge between Topshop and designer diffusion brands, such as Marc by Marc Jacobs."
Now, this is a rather sweet idea: French Connection holding our collective hand and guiding us gently into the embrace of designer clothes, like a chaperoning matron firmly easing her charge into the embrace of a new dance partner, but it's not exactly accurate. There are plenty of diffusion labels, such as Marc by Marc Jacobs, and younger brands like Cacharel and Vanessa Bruno, that do just that and, immoral as it may be to admit this, are slightly more exciting than the high street outlets where you've been shopping for more than a decade.
Another problem, which is not the high street's fault, is that all fashion has got more expensive over the past 10 years. I recently went to a Marc Jacobs press day where I was solemnly informed that next season's It bag will cost more than £4,000. "It's a little expensive but it's so beautiful," cooed the press officer, stroking a leather bag that costs much more than most people earn in a month. Compared with that, high street retailers say, £150 for a party dress, is decent value. True, but relativity is a fairly weak argument. Instead, one can't help but suspect that this is a monster of our own making: by banging on about how brilliant the high street has become, we have puffed up its prices along with its ego.
The inevitable result of high street retailers becoming more expensive is the emergence of a whole new breed of shops to fill the vacuum. Hence the rise of Peacocks, Primark and the powerful supermarket brands - which, ironically, has probably aggravated the problem on the old-skool high street as established retailers use raised prices to distance themselves from what they see as the downmarket arrivistes. "We want to invest in design and make our clothes stand out at that level," says Topshop.
A report earlier this week claimed that lower-priced shops such as Primark now take £1 in every £4 spent on clothes in this country, an incredible rise in just the past five years. All of which suggests that the rest of the high street is missing an obvious point here. Because for all the fuss they make about "improved embellishment" and "quality fabrics", no amount of obfuscation can fig leaf a three-figure price tag.


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Bravo plans 'Silicon Valley' reality show
NEW YORK (AP) — Randi Zuckerberg, the sister of Facebook's founder, is working with Bravo on a TV show about Silicon Valley.
Bravo says "Silicon Valley" is a working title for the show, which follows young professionals in real life working to create the next big thing in tech. Going by a short preview on Bravo's website, this involves drinking, driving fast cars and bragging about money.
Bravo hasn't said when it would start running the show. But it has already gotten criticism. Sarah Lacy, a former editor with the technology blog TechCrunch, calls the show unconscionable and compares it to "Jersey Shore."
Randi Zuckerberg left Facebook last year to work on her own ventures. Mark Zuckerberg remains with the company as CEO.
Bravo is part of Comcast Corp.'s NBCUniversal division.
Britannica's halt of print edition triggers sales
CHICAGO (AP) — It turns out all Encyclopaedia Britannica had to do to breathe life into the business of selling its print edition was kill it.
Three weeks after announcing it will discontinue its print editions after 244 years, people have been scrambling to buy the last of the 32-volume 2010 edition. On Thursday, spokesman Peter Duckler said all but about 800 of the last 4,000 sets have been sold for $1,395 each.
When the Chicago-based company made its announcement last month, it said sales had plummeted from a peak of 120,000 in 1990 to just 60 a week.
Decker says since customers found out the print editions were about to disappear, they've been selling at a clip of more than 1,000 a week.
MLB ticket prices flat for 1st time in 2 decades
CHICAGO (AP) — Major League Baseball ticket prices are flat for the first time in two decades.
The average is $26.92 this year, up 1 cent from last season and the smallest increase in the survey's 21-year history, the Team Marketing Report said Friday. That's a 1.5 percent increase in 2010 and 1.2 percent last year.
The average was $77.36 in the NFL last year, and $57.10 in the NHL and $48.48 in the NBA in their current seasons.
Boston has the highest average for a nonpremium ticket at $53.38, followed by the New York Yankees at $51.55.
Moving into their new ballpark, the Miami Marlins had the highest rise, a 36.5 percent increase to $26.02. Pittsburgh's average increased 15.3 percent to $17.74 and Kansas City's went up 15.2 percent to $21.84.
San Diego has the lowest average at $15.67, just beneath Arizona's $15.74.


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(Updated May 26, 2019.) Major U.S. meat producer Tyson Foods will roll out a line of vegan products this summer, the company CEO Noel White told analysts on a recent call. The news comes after Tyson divested from vegan meat producer Beyond Meat just before the vegan meat company went public last week.
While White didn’t disclose much detail on the new products, the line is expected to be rival other plant-based protein options including Beyond Meat.
Tyson took a 5 percent stake in Beyond Meat in 2016 as the company was launching its signature product, the Beyond Burger. It invested again in 2017. But Beyond Meat asked the meat producer to plan an exit strategy after Tyson announced it would be creating its own vegan meat products.
The meat producer has been moving toward more vegan options in recent years. The company announced the launch of Green Street in 2018 a ready-to-eat range featuring vegan protein-rich bowls and meals.
The launch was an effort to adapt to “changing consumer demands,” the company explained.
“Consumers expect more from food companies today, and we’re up for the challenge,” Tom Hayes, president and CEO of Tyson Foods, said, calling vegan meat “an affordable, sustainable technology to leverage to help feed the world on a sustainable basis.”
According to CEO Noel White, the move could make Tyson’s vegan meat division a “billion-dollar brand,” Drovers reported.
Vegan Meat Demand
Vegan meat is in high demand as consumers are seeking healthier and more sustainable options.
In the U.S. alone, the vegan meat market is expected to reach $2.5 billion by 2023.
Beyond Meat’s IPO last week was the largest in the U.S. in nearly 20 years. Share prices jumped 163 percent on opening day. The company’s valuation went from $1.2 billion to more than $3.8 billion.
Last month Burger King launched the Impossible Whopper made with the vegan Impossible burger patty, Beyond Meat’s largest current competitor in the space. But brands like Tyson are not far behind.
“We’re combining our size and scale with agility to make food people want to eat,” Hayes said. “That’s driving our business and helping us deliver top-tier returns for shareholders.”


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In the final episode of our discussion series on Canada’s national EV battery supply chain, representatives from Canadian battery recyclers spoke about challenges for EV battery end-of-life processes, regulation and why recycling makes more sense than re-use
Electric Autonomy Canada hosted the final episode of a six-part series on Canada’s national EV battery supply chain this week, a series which had more than 2,500 registrants over the six-part arc.
The focus was on battery second life and recycling, with panelists explaining what can and should happen to batteries once they no longer function in vehicles. They also addressed what else needs to be done in the final stage of a potential national EV battery supply chain. The discussion was moderated by Sarah Petrevan, Policy Director, Clean Energy Canada.
You can watch the full discussion by clicking on this link or the video player at the top of this article.
Continued challenges to recycling
Jean-Christophe Lambert, business development manager at Quebec-based Lithion Recycling, said the main barriers to EV battery recycling are economic and technological, such as how today’s EV batteries were designed to reduce cost, and not recycled.
Lambert highlighted how recovery processes like hydrometallurgy have improved battery material recovery rates from roughly 50 to 90 per cent, but with some industry changes, a 100 per cent recovery rate is possible.
“That’s the core focus that we need to make happen,” he said, also noting that any process has to address the removal of eventual material impurities to reach the battery-grade level.
Kunal Phalpher, chief commercial officer at Ontario-based Li-Cycle, said that when manufacturers design batteries for servicing, it helps the recycling process when it is easier to take the batteries out. He added that OEM and battery manufacturers will always change materials, chemistries and design, so recyclers will need to be adaptable.
“This is a very rapidly evolving industry and technology,” he said, “so make the recycling technology as robust and flexible as possible to accommodate that.”
Recycling vs. reuse?
Panelists also compared the merits of recycling or reusing batteries for second life purposes, and practical considerations for both.
“I do see value in second life applications, but I think economically it’s challenging,” Zarko Meseldzija said. He added that the challenges come when balancing the labour costs associated with handling, testing and repacking the batteries as well as the key consideration of customers’ willingness to pay once the price of a new battery is cheaper than a reused one.
Phalpher agreed: “the cost differential between a used and new battery by the time you re-engineer doesn’t provide the best economics. The critical material strategies that these companies have been talking about lends itself to recycling. You want to be able to secure supply of raw materials, and reuse just delays recycling.”
Need for regulation as battery warranty expires
According to panelists, most EV batteries on the road today are still under warranty. At this stage, it is mainly manufacturers and insurance companies that are responsible for negotiating recycling in the event of a car being in an accident or otherwise being taken off the road.
But as time goes on and warranties expire over the course of a vehicle’s lifetime, there are major questions remaining as to where these materials will go since there is currently no law in Canada requiring EV batteries to be recycled.
Lambert said that there’s a willingness from OEMs to recycle these materials given the dangerous and hazardous nature of battery material, but that it’s still unclear what will happen when these warranties expire — or how these materials will be transported to, and stored in places like scrap yards or reuse facilities.
“This is where regulation can be extremely important to make sure we have a good framework to protect the operators, the people handling this material.”
But the universal takeaway from the panel is that recycling is a space to watch over the next decade and that the trajectory is only upwards.
“I think the industry is growing. Compared to four years ago there has been a lot of development,” says Phalpher. “Interest and attention to this topic has drastically increased.”


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Sportradar integrates with Snapchat to advance customer engagement29th March 2023 10:18 am GMT
New York-listed sports data technology provider Sportradar has integrated its ad:s technology into visual messaging service Snapchat, opening a new channel for betting operators to engage and acquire customers.
Expanding the ad:s paid social media advertising solution to Snapchat allows Sportradar to connect sportsbook operators with the messaging service’s 375 million daily active users and 750 million monthly active users.
Snapchat’s advanced age and location targeting capabilities will ensure operators can only target users of legal age.
“More than three billion people worldwide actively engage with social media each month, so operators are increasingly turning to paid social advertising to boost their acquisition campaigns as it’s a great tool for targeting defined customers," said Sportradar global director advertising sales Florian Geheeb.
“By integrating our industry specific advertising solution into Snapchat, one of the world’s most consumed and strategically important social media platforms, Sportradar is unlocking a new channel to optimise the marketing performance of sportsbook operators."
Developed specifically for the sports betting and iGaming industries, Sportradar's ad:s paid social solution uses artificial intelligence to provide operators with a deeper understanding of customers and the means to serve personalised advertisements to individuals across Snapchat’s ad offerings.
"This partnership will provide the real money gaming operators the opportunity to dynamically reach millions of sports fans of legal gambling age in legal locations with unique creative, real-time game stats, betting odds and more," said Ross Hartnett, managerof real money gaming at Snap Inc, owner of Snapchat.
“By combining Sportradar's industry expertise with Snapchat's advertising products, we look forward to continuing to innovate unique user experiences for operators and Snapchatters."
Shares in Sportradar Group AG (NASDAQ:SRAD) closed 1.98 per cent lower at $10.88 per share in New York Tuesday.


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Wizards of the Coast, which is best known for its tabletop game, Dungeons & Dragons, has canceled multiple video games and projects. The company is cutting back on its investments in the video gaming industry as it looks to focus on existing brands and games. But while Wizards has been active in the games industry for years, it has yet to achieve a major breakthrough title. However, there is potential for new games in the future.
Several internal and external studios have been affected by Wizards of the Coast’s video game cancellations. Bellevue, Washington-based Hidden Path Entertainment is one of the companies that had a deal with Wizards. They had been working on a WotC-themed video game.
Otherside Entertainment, which is based in Boston, Massachusetts, was also involved in a deal with Wizards. They were working on a game set in the Forgotten Realms. This project was supposed to be part of a system-shock title, but Wizards of the Coast cancelled the project.
During a recent financial period, Hasbro, the parent company of Wizards of the Coast, had a difficult time. Fortunately, the company plans to make changes to its “Brand Blueprint” business model to focus on fewer brands. Those brands are geared toward building different IPs. It will be a tough reorganization for independent studios that work with Wizards of the Coast.
Wizards of the Coast has had a successful push into the digital space with its Magic: The Gathering Arena. The company also has two video games in development. One is a sequel to the game Baldur’s Gate, and the other is a game that’s been in early access for over two years. Nevertheless, Wizards of the Coast hasn’t yet confirmed which of the two projects it’s scrapping. In the meantime, employees of the company will be given opportunities to apply for new jobs within the company.
Some of the other developers involved in Wizards of the Coast’s video game projects include Skeleton Key Studios, Invoke Games, and Archetype Entertainment. These companies are involved in the creation of a narrative RPG in a new science fiction universe. Additionally, Larian Studios is collaborating with Wizards of the Coast on a video game called Dark Alliance. There are a few other projects that are still in development.
Although Wizards of the Coast hasn’t officially announced which games it has canceled, it is expected to lay off at least 15 workers. However, there’s no indication whether those positions will be filled. Depending on the nature of the projects, some of the studios involved may not be able to finish their projects, and they might even be out of a job.
Wizards of the Coast has made a commitment to digital games and has opened several development studios. There’s no way to know how this will affect the other studios that are working on the publisher’s titles. Still, the company has an abundance of source material that they can use for a future game.


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Senator Eileen Donoghue .. claimed the high costs associated with..becoming a host city would be outweighed by the economic gains from increased tourism and business.
Super Liquors is, of course, conveniently located on Truman Parkway in Hyde Park.
Exciting news, corporate name fans: On Feb. 2, NStar will officiallly change its name to Eversource Energy. Even as I type this, e-mails are going out to customers introducing the exciting new name that has the advantage of not making long suffering reporters wonder whether the 'S' in NStar is capitalized or not.
According to a new study (warning, PDF) released by Uber, yesterday, its Boston drivers - of which it estimates there are now 10,000 - are earning an average of $19 per hour, ~33-percent more than area taxi drivers and chauffeurs.
The study came under immediate criticism because its research was co-conducted in-house by John Hall, Uber Technologies' "Head of Policy Research", so, yeah, he had a conflict of interest. He has a doctorate from Harvard University, though, so there's that.
Self-employed Roslindale residents no longer have to travel out of the neighborhood if they want some office space. Micah Perlin recently opened Rozzie Cowork at 85 Robert St. (that brick building across from Fallon Field).
Ed. note: The first look at proposed Olympics venues.
The Boston Teachers Union last week filed detailed plans to tear down its current headquarters on Mt. Vernon Street and replace it with a new building and parking garage.
Hyundai Rotem, the South Korean company that started delivering commuter-rail trains 2 1/2 years late, is suing the state for awarding the contract to build new Red and Orange Line trains.
A Mongolian hotpot chain that wants to break into the US market is suing Little Lamb, 326 Cambridge St., on charges it's using the chain's name and logo without permission.
In a lawsuit filed last week in US District Court in Boston, Xiao Wei Yang Catering Linkage in Inner Mongolia, Ltd. says it originally signed a franchise deal with the owners of Little Lamb, but that it decided to pull out after learning, it says, the two owners were married, rather than competing restaurant operators. Also, company charges, Cheng Xu and Yonghua Qin then refused to pay the chef the company flew to the US to help them set up their restaurant.
Titanium Cranium noticed this sign in the window of the Boylston Street Trader Joe's about a small fire yesterday.
The Herald reports Star Market has agreed to build a mega-market in the $1-billion mixed-use development planned for that vacant space in front of the Garden and the train station.
Developers Kris Meola and Ryan Sillery of City Point Capital plan to buy the shuttered Stadium Sports Bar & Grill at 232 Old Colony Ave. so they can tear it down and replace it with roughly 20 condominiums.
The Harvest Co-op board says declining sales gave it little choice but to shut its South Street location on April 30.
In a report on its decision, the board says sales started going down even before Whole Foods opened on Centre Street and that its South Street landlord did not accede to "dramatically lowering the rent and reducing the term of the lease" to help the co-op make up the 32% drop in sales since 2009.
Lawyers for the owners of the Lower Mills Pub on Dorchester Avenue are hoping the Boston Licensing Board gives them a couple months to unravel a tangled skein of legal issues left when longtime co-owner Nicholas Byrne died after a long illness five years ago, so that they can sell the bar to a prominent Boston restaurant operator.
Jason Cincotta's Evergreen Property Group has filed plans with the BRA to replace a parking lot at 248 Dorchester Ave. with a 6-story, 33-unit apartment building that would feature retail space at ground level, large enough for a restaurant.
The Globe reports the owner of the high-end clothing store is throwing in the towel because the owner of its Northern Avenue land wants the space for development and she decided to retire, rather than sign a long-term lease to move into a building next door.
Boston Restaurant Talk reports that Sam's, the restaurant inside the clothing store, however, will remain open.
The Boston Licensing Board yesterday granted a license to a wine store proposed for Charles River Plaza off Cambridge Street.
At a hearing Wednesday, nearby liquor stores and some residents opposed the VinodiVino outlet, saying it would prove unfair competition for locally owned shops and that the eight liquor stores within a half-mile radius could already meet residents' wine needs. VinodiVino attorney Dennis Quilty, however, countered market considerations should not be part of the board's calculus on deciding on a license.
How about it, kids, let's put on an Olympics! Whadaya say?!? That, in essence, is pro-business columnist Shirley Leung's argument today.
But Leung is answering the wrong question. Many people have no doubts Boston can pull off an Olympics. The question these folks are asking is whether it's worth the costs (and not just in money).
The Boston Licensing Board today gave Maria Market, 779 Dorchester Ave. in the Polish Triangle, a license to begin selling beer and wine as owner John Nguyen tries to transform it into more of an "urban market" servicing a neighborhood going upscale.
We could find out one day: Dunkin' Donuts announced today a deal with a franchisee to open 1,400 Dunkin' Donuts in China over the next 20 years. Dunk's currently has just 16 outlets in the Middle Kingdom.
In addition to coffee, Coolattas and bagels, Chinese Dunkin' Donuts offer mochi-ring donuts, which, the company informs us, are made with mochi, a "glutinous rice that tastes far more delicious than it sounds," in flavors that include green tea, mango and banana.
An upscale wine store that wants to move into a Cambridge Street mall uncorked opposition from neighboring liquor stores and some residents at a Boston Licensing Board hearing today.
VinodiVino, which already has stores in Brookline, Newton and Needham, wants a license to open in Charles River Plaza, within feet of the existing Simmons Liquor and Jobi Liquors.
VinodiVino attorney Dennis Quilty said the area needs an all wine store that can provide the sort of service an area such as Beacon Hill and the West End deserves.


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No-frills grocer ALDI is working to remodel its area locations with changes it says will give shoppers a smarter, faster and easier shopping experience.
Fresh off the expansion, remodeling and reopening of its West Chester Twp. location, ALDI is now doing the same to its Hamilton location, which opened at 1431 Main St. in 1995 and was last remodeled in early 2014. That location closed for the changes on Sunday.
ALDI’s Middletown location, which opened at 3634 S. Dixie Highway in 2009, is set to shut down for less than two weeks in September for the changes.
MORE: Aldi vs. Kroger vs. Walmart: Which grocery store has the lowest prices?
The remodeling efforts are a continuation of the $14 million investment ALDI is making to remodel 11 stores in Cincinnati and the surrounding area by 2019, and its $1.6 billion plan to remodel more than 1,300 U.S. stores by 2020.
The store is larger, but still just five aisles to allow for expedited shopping, officials said.
The revitalized stores feature an added selection of and greater emphasis on fresh products including produce, meat, dairy and bakery items, and a greater selection of healthy, organic options.
They also boast the grocer’s new environmentally-friendly design with energy-efficient refrigeration, LED lighting, open ceilings, more natural lighting and recycled materials.
“I think it looks really nice,” said Kelley Finke, of West Chester Twp., who said she’s been shopping at ALDI for 22 years. “It’s decorated nicely, it’s easy to see.”
She said the store’s prices are what keep her coming back. “I have … five kids and you can save anywhere from 50 cents to $1.50 on every product,” Finke said.
Besides the Hamilton, West Chester and Middletown locations, ALDI also has locations in Deerfield Twp. and Lebanon.
The company previously announced plans to invest $3 billion for the addition of 650 new Aldi locations in the U.S. during the next five years, bringing its total number of stores to 2,000 by the end of 2019.
About the Author


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The LG V40 ThinQ is the company’s biggest bet in 2018. The phone has been leaked to feature a triple camera on the back with dual selfie snappers. Today, a new leak has given out some important details about the specifications of this phone. The model number of the LG V40 ThinQ is LM-V405N. Let’s look at the other specs in detail.
LG V40 ThinQ: leaked specifications
The phone has been revealed to derive its power from the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor. This processor has also been used in LG G7 ThinQ. The LG V40 ThinQ is also likely to feature a huge 8GB of LPDDR4x RAM and 128GB of ROM. The internal storage will be expandable via a microSD card. Design-wise, the phone looks quite similar to the LG G7 ThinQ. However, its triple camera on the back is something which distinguishes it from the latest G-series smartphone. A fingerprint sensor has also been shown in the leaked image and it is placed comfortably on the back of the LG V40 ThinQ.
LG has not removed the 3.5mm headphone jack and this news might come as a welcoming relief to fans. There is also a USB Type-C port on the bottom. The camera setup of the phone has a 16MP primary sensor + 12MP wide-angle lens + 8MP telephoto lens. The selfie shooter on the phone has an 8MP + 5MP configuration. The secondary 5MP camera will be useful for depth sensing and hence, will come handy in portrait mode shots.
The LG V40 ThinQ has also been mentioned to carry a 3300mAh battery with a support for Fast Charging. Rumours are ripe that the phone will also support wireless charging. The device is speculated to come with the latest Android 9.0 Pie with LG custom skin on top. The speculated cost of the phone is around $1000 (around Rs 71,000). However, we do not know whether this value is credible or not.
What do you think about the upcoming LG V40 ThinQ? Let us know in the comments section below. Stay tuned to Mr. Phone for more updates.


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Another defendant has gotten a major fine for her alleged role in a “scareware” computer scam that tricked consumers. It comes just as U.S. officials continue their crackdown on virus-cleaning scams.
A federal court imposed a judgment of over $163 million on the defendant, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced this week.
In addition, the court prevented Kristy Ross from selling computer security software and any other software that interferes with consumers’ computer use, and from deceptive marketing, according to an FTC statement.
Ross claims she was only an employee of Innovative Marketing – a company charged in the case. She added she was not a "control person," and was not aware of the wrongdoing.
The FTC alleges the defendants used computer “scareware” to trick consumers to suspect that their computers were infected with malicious software, and then sold them a software product – even though they had no problem.
In 2008, the FTC charged Ross and six other defendants with conning more than one million consumers into buying software they didn’t need.
The defendants also used ads which showed a “system scan” that always detected malicious files and programs on consumers’ computers, the FTC said.
The bogus product cost consumers $40 to $60. The U.S. District Court in Maryland stopped the scheme. Defendant Marc D’Souza and his father, Maurice D’Souza, were ordered to give up $8.2 million from company revenue. Two other defendants settled charges. And the FTC got default judgments against three other defendants in the case.
The FTC froze the assets of more alleged scammers, who trick computer users to pay for bogus computer viruses.
The FTC said the operations – mostly based in India – targeted consumers in the United States, Canada, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.
Five of the six operations used telemarketing “boiler rooms” to call consumers. The sixth put ads on Google which showed up when consumers searched for their computer company’s tech-support telephone number.
It might seem like a misnomer, as the "sharing economy" has previously been thought to mean "getting stuff for free". A new report from Juniper Resear…
Ask ten people you know what the last thing they viewed live was and eight of them will tell you, a sporting event. The others may cite the occasional…
A great example of how simple tech innovations can make even the smallest things in our lives a little easier, the Oombrella, developed by Wezzoo, is …
Facebook recently followed up with a stern position that there was no biased manipulation of presented topics in its 'Trending Topics' section.
The Tamiami Angel Fund II (T2) has been busy in recent months, adding a slate of new investment targets to its roster. T2 recently added one new opera…


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An online retailer may have revealed the released date for The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt on the PC, PS4 and Xbox One.
I'm done with these fake release dates rumors
Didn't CD PROJECT RED. Officially said it would be in February? We know it's that month so why the articles concerning it, after we got the confirmation from the horses month? Here http://thewitcher.com/news/... I'm baffled by examiner sometimes
Just wait till confirmation!
I'll wait till official confirmation and hope that date sticks and doesn't get pushed back like so many games this year have. Either way 2015 is starting to like like a busy year.
I'll believe a release date when CD Projekt Red gives us a release date. Not to mention they are having a livestream event tomorrow strictly about The Witcher 3...
These release date rumors get really annoying. It's not legitimate until it comes straight from the horse's mouth.
Examiner and Dualshockers should be banned.
Yep, I don't care until a release date is confirmed by the developer.
N4G is a community of gamers posting and discussing the latest game news. It’s part of NewsBoiler, a network of social news sites covering today’s pop culture.


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IoT Security Best Practices Begin at Your Home
With the advent of the Internet of Things (IoT), the world is going through huge transformations. There are plenty of applications where IoT can prove its potential. The list includes almost every sector such as retail, transport, factories, and healthcare as well. IoT has provided a wide range of opportunities to the growing businesses to enjoy more efficient, cost-effective, and innovative operations.
The major impact of IoT can be seen in the smart home application as it has changed the way we used to live our life.
However, the biggest trouble associated with the wide adoption of IoT is a higher risk of cybercrime. As per this study carried by New Stanford University, North America is having the highest range of IoT enabled home appliances these days. It has become the major platform for the attackers to hijack all the connected devices.
A research was carried on more than 83 million IoT devices connected within 16 million IoT enabled homes worldwide, and the stats reveal that 66% of North American homes have at least one IoT enabled device at their home. That is 40% of the global population. It can be anything ranging from smart TVs, routers, door locks, smart windows, security alarms, CCV, to refrigerators as well.
Although these devices and gadgets are designed to ease your lifestyle, many of them are posing serious security threats as well. One of the prime issues highlighted in the research is that most of the home devices make use of old protocols for communication such as Telnet and FTP. They are not able to encrypt login credentials.
One more major problem with the IoT enabled routers and devices is that owners rarely change default passwords. Research reveals that almost 88% of the FTP logins involve “Admin” as the username along with weak passwords. 36% of such weak connections belong to Telnet logins. Hence, the attackers can easily access the home IoT devices from remote locations.
The problem doesn’t limit to how vulnerable IoT devices are due to their week password and old protocols. Many harmful attacks are performed through software vulnerabilities, and they can cause huge harm. If we talk about the stats obtained from the current year, around 2 million smart doorbells, baby monitors and IP security cameras were hijacked by attackers.
IoT devices are easily vulnerable to software-based attacks because the manufacturers rarely care about updating security patches from time to time. Even if the manufacturers update them on time, many of the users are not aware of how to apply them. These types of security vulnerabilities are more common in the IoT world because developers keep on sharing various components, without working on adequate security measures.
Dealing with the cyber-attacks
The first most question everyone needs to ask is what kind of benefits hackers can have from these attacks. There are plenty of things that can be added to the list:
- The use of default, easy to crack security passwords, and lack of trustworthy encryption protocols leads to the easy hijack of smart home devices. In most of the cases, attacks are interested in doing physical harm to the systems. It can be to monitor the property via their own CCTV feed or unlocking the main entry door when no one is at home.
- Another common but most dangerous form of IoT attack is hijacking devices by simply cracking their passwords and then conscripting them to the botnet. Such compromised and insecure IoT devices can be further used to launch harmful DDoS attacks against potential businesses. They may even try to mine for cryptocurrencies, execute dangerous phishing campaigns, or infect connected computers with sophisticated malware. Another not so common DDoS attack that can be executed from compromised IoT devices is interrupting the normal processing of major websites online.
- Some researchers also reported that hackers are targeting enterprise networks via smart speaker vulnerabilities.
- One more common target point for hackers is routers used in smart homes. It can easily provide access to the important passwords of various corporate accounts that are frequently accessed from home.
The good news for smart home residents
Most of the security-related challenges are associated with poorly designed devices. It is just because most of the brands that are stepping into the smart home industry do not have adequate knowledge and experience to produce IT kits. At the same time, they do not have reliable security patches to deal with software vulnerabilities. Also, they do not prompt users to update credentials, especially passwords from time to time.
In order to fix these issues, government authorities these days are taking serious measures. As per the stats, although there are 14000 manufacturers in the IoT industry worldwide, 94% of the IoT gadgets are designed by top 100 vendors only. Hence, lawmakers can easily put pressure on those brands to follow stronger security measures as prescribed by UK legislation.
Note that, legislations usually take time to pass, till then, homeowners and security leaders in the IT industry need to take adequate steps for security.
There are very few things that IT leaders can do to deal with the threats associated with IoT devices that are conscripted through a botnet. But the most important thing they can do at present is educating the homeowners to mitigate security risks while using a variety of IoT gadgets. It is better to design a security checklist that can help corporates networks stay protected from hacker attacks.
The safety checklist must include:
- Using strong and tough to crack passwords for IoT devices.
- Downloading apps and software through official stores only.
- Prefer two-factor authentication for all logins wherever possible.
- Ensure protection to mobile devices via AV.
- Keep checking the firmware updates time to time and apply them ASAP.
- Prefer using WPA2 on all home routers to ensure encrypted connection for Wi-Fi.
- Use VPNs for corporate network logins.
- Disable all remote management features, including UPnP.
- Set up a unique guest network for the IoT devices connected within the premises, it can prevent hacker attacks.


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Published on February 18th, 2017 | by Daniel Sherman Fernandez0
Is this the new face of Mercedes?
Images of a new design language for Mercedes Benz cars have emerged on the internet. Sharper more defined lines and sleeker lines could be the new direction for the brand as it continues to impress buyers globally with its current cabin design. More will be shared soon.


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Ford steers in new direction
Timing may be good for Ford to make a comeback in the fifth-generation Explorer.
For the first half of the year, sales of midsize sport utility vehicles have risen nearly 23 percent, according to motorintelligence.com. That's compared to 2009, perhaps the worst year in automotive history since World War II and the nadir for sport utility vehicles.
While so-called crossover vehicles -- cars that look like SUVs -- are growing in popularity, no true SUV appears in the top 20 vehicles ranked by sales.
The Explorer, a vehicle that rocketed to the top of the SUV sales pyramid after its introduction in 1991, has lately given way to the oddly styled Flex crossover. Now, Ford is making a strong case for the Explorer by touting fuel economy, safety and technology.
Underneath the marketing of the new Explorer as a true SUV, however, is the fact that the vehicle is more crossover than it is a traditional, truck-based SUV. Instead of the traditional body-on-frame of a true SUV, the Explorer has a unibody like that of a crossover or car. The car beneath the SUV is the Ford Taurus.
Among the attention-seeking devices in the 2011 model are the industry's first inflatable rear seat belts and other safety features such as AdvanceTrac with roll stability control and Curve Control to keep the vehicle stable in challenging situations.
The V6 that will power most versions of the Explorer is expected to deliver more than 20 percent better fuel economy than the 2010 model. And the 2-liter EcoBoost 4-cylinder engine is expected to improve fuel economy by more than 30 percent while providing more power than the 2010 Honda Pilot and 2010 Toyota Highlander V6.
V6 models offer an intelligent 4-wheel-drive system that adds terrain management, a system that lets the driver select among "snow," "sand," "mud" and "normal" modes. The system also includes a hill descent mode.
Explorer will be sold in front-drive or 4-wheel-drive versions at prices that have yet to be announced. Ford will begin shipping the new Explorers this fall from its assembly plant in Chicago.
Ford is also pitching the new Explorer as a form of economic stimulus. The Chicago assembly plant is adding 1,200 new jobs while suppliers building parts from seats to chassis modules are adding more than 600 jobs in Michigan, Indiana and Illinois.
Perhaps the people who build the vehicle will actually be able to buy it. Henry Ford would approve of that notion.
The chief design engineer for the fifth-generation Explorer, Jim Holland, was chief designer for the Land Rover, and his imprint can be seen on the current-generation Range Rover. Holland also worked on the Ford Expedition, a more rugged SUV in a larger class than the Explorer.
"We spent our time listening to customers and addressing their needs to launch an SUV that reinvigorates the Explorer nameplate and delivers on Ford's promise of high-quality, fuel-efficient and technologically advanced vehicles with industry-leading safety," Holland said. "The all-new Explorer will change market perceptions about SUV style, fuel efficiency, technology and user-friendliness."
Offered in base, XLT or Limited trim, the 2011 Explorer, to expand its market potential, can be fitted with a third row of seats, creating a more capacious carrier for families and friends.
Standard features on the base Explorer include power accessories, cruise control, air conditioning, tilt/telescoping steering wheel, a media hub for control of entertainment devices and an array of other features.
The XLT trim adds a keyless entry pad on the doors, a reverse sensing system for backing out of your parking spot and a perimeter alarm, among other features.
The Limited trim includes 10-way power driver's seat, rearview camera and LCD screen, remote start system and the MyFord Touchdriver that uses an 8-inch touch screen to control phone, navigation, climate control and entertainment systems.
"All this capability -- and three rows of seating -- with amazing fuel economy will make Explorer the absolute right choice for families with a sense of adventure," says Derrick Kuzak, Ford group vice president for global product development.


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You may have tried frantically DM'ing your hair stylist — but did you know you could reach out to Jennifer Aniston's?
We spoke with 15 Asian beauty founders to have them share the beauty hacks they swear by.
At a time when most of us are feeling both timid and decidedly non-glowed-up, CBS’s The Bold And The Beautiful intends to continue its twin pursuits of assertiveness and attractiveness. Deadline reports that the series has just been renewed for two more years, bringing it up to a total of 35 seasons on the air, just as soon as seasons can go back to being, well, on the air.
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Treat yourself to a pampering skincare kit or update your lipstick collection
People across the world are marching in protest of the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and countless other Black people — as well as the systemic racism and tradition of police violence in the U.S. that contributed to their deaths.
Have something you think we should know? You can email any of our writers directly, or send general tips to [email protected] Sources requiring more confidential methods of contact are encouraged to reach out to their preferred reporter and request that writers’ information on Signal, Telegram, Keybase, Wickr or whatever other


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2023 Mahindra XUV300 could be showcased at the Auto Expo next January and it will get cosmetic updates and likely a more powerful engine
Mahindra revealed a total of five electric vehicle concepts on August 15, 2022 and released the launch dates for four of them underlining its commitment to having a wide EV range under two sub-brands – XUV.e and BE (Born Electric). Before the commencement of the EV assault in late 2024, the homegrown SUV maker will bring in the XUV400, based on the XUV300 on September 6.
Furthermore, Mahindra will strengthen its ICE lineup and over the last two years, the second generation Thar, all-new XUV700 replacing the XUV500 and the new generation Scorpio N have arrived. The old Scorpio has been updated with exterior changes, new features and the addition of a revised diesel engine and is now called the Scorpio Classic.
The XUV300 was first introduced in February 2019 and it has been a decent seller for the brand over the last three and a half years. The compact SUV has not received any substantial updates over this period but the competition in the segment is steadily growing. In response, Mahindra is expected to launch the updated XUV300 in the early stages of next year.
The first signs of the 2023 Mahindra XUV300 have come up on the interweb as the test mule has been caught on camera. The prototype had its front fascia concealed while the rest of the exterior remained clear of the camo. At the front, the five-seater appears to have gained minor cosmetic revisions including an updated grille and bumper section.
The headlamps, fog lamp section and air inlet could have also been tweaked. Another key update is the presence of a set of newly designed 17-inch alloy wheels and it will also carry the latest Twin Peaks corporate logo. The interior will more likely get a number of updates but no dimensions changes are expected and thus the cramped boot will stay put.
We can also expect new colour schemes and the T-GDI badge mounted on the fender indicates that a more powerful petrol motor could be employed. The four-pot turbocharged petrol engine could be capable of pumping out 130 bhp and 230 Nm and it could be restricted to the select top-end variants.


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Rovio Entertainment announced its new multi-year content roadmap for partners, which is led by the release of The Angry Birds Movie 2 in September 2019. This movie is a sequel to the 2016 hit The Angry Birds Movie which made $352 million at the global box office.
Rovio Entertainment senior vice president brand licensing, Simo Hämäläinen said, “There has never been a better time to partner with Rovio and the Angry Birds. We have the strongest long-term content roadmap that we’ve ever had. It’s driven by The Angry Birds Movie 2 in 2019. We are thrilled to have Chupa Chups to join our already impressive list of key strategic partners.’’
The animated sequel will be released globally by Sony Pictures Entertainment. Rovio plans to develop a slate of entertainment points for its fans with development of long-form animated series which is planned to go on screens in 2020, an unscripted competition TV series, new live stage shows, location-based entertainment projects and original live-action and animated content for Angry Birds YouTube channel.
Rovio also acquired licensing partnership with Chupa Chups mother company, Perfetti Van Melle. The partnership commencing in 2019 will develop a range of Angry Birds branded Chupa Chups products. Soon, new licensing partnerships will be revealed by Rovio in North America for the flagship Angry Birds franchise, keeping intact the earlier deals with TCC for global retail loyalty campaigns.
Perfetti Van Melle international area manager, Marta Poal commented, “Perfetti Van Melle, the owner of Chupa Chups, is excited to be working with the much-loved Angry Birds brand for 2019. In addition to offering one of the strongest IPs in entertainment, Rovio is unique for delivering world-class digital innovation and exciting new content. Consumers will want to stay tuned to experience what we are preparing for them.”
The release of The Angry Birds Movie 2 in September 2019 is followed by tenth anniversary of the original Angry Birds in December 2019.


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The Watch ABC set of apps have done a great job in upgrading ABC Network’s on-demand and live contents from the ancient website windows to our smartphones and tablets. And today, the Watch ABC iOS app was updated to support AirPlay, whereby you can directly play full screen videos on your Apple TV, instead of using the universal screen mirroring.
The final version of XBMC 13 Gotham (and in fact the final version of XBMC itself), is now available and ready to sneak into your Apple TV 2. XBMC 13.2 Gotham will be the last update of the popular software to bear the iconic name, as the team confirmed that all future updates will be known by the new name Kodi Entertainment Center.
We have been hearing about the NFL Now channel for Apple TV since the beginning of this month and two weeks back, the NFL Now app appeared on iOS devices. “A companion channel on the Apple TV [was] expected to launch later [that] day” and we have been waiting since. Though a bit late, the NFL Channel is finally out on Apple TV.


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Adults in Montgomery County, Maryland, will soon have more time to shop for their favorite spirits and other alcoholic beverages.
Montgomery County’s Department of Alcohol Beverage Services said it will loosen some restrictions at 25 of its 26 county-run liquor stores starting April 1.
Those locations will open Monday through Saturday, noon to 9 p.m. They have been closing at 7 p.m. since the coronavirus pandemic first impacted the D.C. area last year.
Stores remain closed on Sunday, but county officials said they will re-evaluate as more shoppers venture out and as COVID-19 vaccination levels continue to rise.
“Now that more employees and residents are getting vaccinated, we are able to get back to our pre-COVID evening hours,” said Kent Massie, who heads retail operations for the county’s Department of Alcohol Beverage Services.
“We know our customers want the convenience of shopping later into the evening, especially as the days get longer. Staying open later makes sense given we are continuing to limit the number of shoppers in stores at one time.”
The county said its Poolesville spirits-only store will continue to operate from noon to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday, adding, “the earlier closing time is consistent with the business model for the smaller format, lower volume store,” according to a news release.
Shoppers must continue to wear a mask and maintain social distancing at all store locations, the county said.


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Google’s recent confirmation of job cuts in its global advertising team, affecting “a few hundred” positions, reflects the company’s strategic shift towards leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) for enhanced efficiency and creativity. The targeted downsizing is specifically aimed at the “large customer” sales team, with the goal of better supporting small and medium-sized businesses engaging in advertising on Google’s platform. This move aligns with Google’s broader initiative to streamline operations and enhance the effectiveness of its advertising services through AI integration.
While the job cuts are occurring in specific areas, Google is simultaneously expanding its small business ad teams, signaling a commitment to catering to the advertising needs of a diverse range of businesses. Notably, the announcement does not explicitly mention generative AI, a technology disrupting various sectors, including advertising. Generative AI, which involves machines generating creative content autonomously, has the potential to transform how advertisements are conceptualized and produced.
It is crucial to contextualize these developments within Google’s broader AI strategy. Despite the absence of explicit references to generative AI in the job cut announcement, Google has been actively investing in this transformative technology. Just last week, Google’s cloud computing unit introduced new AI tools designed to assist retailers in personalizing online shopping experiences and enhancing in-store technology. This indicates a multifaceted approach to AI adoption, with Google leveraging generative AI not only for advertising but also for improving various aspects of e-commerce and retail services.
It’s worth noting that Google had undergone significant layoffs, affecting around 12,000 employees, approximately a year ago. However, the recent emphasis on generative AI and the continued investment in AI tools for diverse applications underscore Google’s commitment to remaining at the forefront of technological innovation while strategically reshaping its workforce to align with evolving industry trends.


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MINNEAPOLIS – Dairy Queen® continues the celebration of the 25th birthday of its iconic Blizzard® Treat online with the launch of Operation Happy Birthday, a video promotion that runs from now through Aug. 1.
Through Operation Happy Birthday anyone 18 years or older with a camera, camcorder or mobile device is invited to record and submit a video clip that’s no longer than one minute with an original, creative or funny version of an individual alone, with family, friends or a pet singing, rapping, rhyming, dancing or playing an instrument to the tune of happy birthday to the Blizzard Treat. No purchase is necessary.
“Operation Happy Birthday extends the online reach of our 25th birthday of the Blizzard celebration,” said Michael Keller, chief brand officer for International Dairy Queen, Inc. “As we travel the U.S. and Canada in our Blizzard®mobile handing out free new Mini Blizzard Treats as part of the 25th birthday, we see the excitement for the brand. So even if you can’t make it to one of the parties on our 25-market Blizzardmobile tour, you can still share in the experience online and one way is through Operation Happy Birthday.”
Participants who submit a video judged to be in the top 100 will receive a $25 Dairy Queen gift card and the video will be posted on the Dairy Queen blog and the Blizzard and Dairy Queen Facebook page. One video also will be selected for a coveted spot on the DairyQueen.com homepage.
Videos will be judged on creativity, originality, adherence to theme and the 60 second time limit, and the amount of page views generated after the video is posted to YouTube.com. An entry form, rules and regulations are available at http://blog.dairyqueen.com/blizzard/operationhappybirthday/.
“We are looking forward to some really fun, creative, innovative entries,” Keller said. “This is a big year for Dairy Queen and we want to share the celebration with our customers in every way we can.”
Operation Happy Birthday officially ends Aug. 1, however throughout the duration of the promotion, Dairy Queen will showcase entries on the Dairy Queen YouTube channel, Facebook fan page and Dairy Queen blog.


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The Australian market is poised to open higher later this morning after the S&P 500 eked out a modest gain overnight buoyed by gains in the energy and materials sectors as soft economic data weakened the US dollar, giving support to oil and gold prices.
The SPI futures are up 16 points to 5212.
Oil prices reached a five-month high overnight, with crude prices up more than 3 per cent which could prompt a boost in the local energy sector.
In local economic news today, the Australian Bureau of Statistics is due to release the consumer price index for the March quarter, while the ANZ-Roy Morgan weekly consumer confidence survey is also due out.
No major equities news is expected. However, Volpara Health Technologies Limited is slated to list on the ASX.
- SPI futures up 16pts to 5212
- AUD up 0.3% to 77.40 US cents
- On Wall St, at about 4pm, Dow +0.1%, S&P 500 +0.1%, Nasdaq -0.2%
- In Europe, Stoxx 50 +0.1%, FTSE +0.4%, CAC -0.3%, DAX -0.3%
- In London, BHP -0.4%, Rio -0.8%,
- Spot gold +0.4% to $US1242.40 ounce at 2.22pm New York time
- Brent crude +2.7% to $US45.70 barrel at 1.57pm New York time
- Iron ore -5% to $US62.78 tonne
What’s on today;
Local data: First Quarter CPI at 11.30am
Fed policy meeting decision.
Overseas data: China industrial profits (March); UK GDP first quarter; Italy April business confidence; US weekly mortgage applications, US advance goods trade deficit March, US March pending home sales.
Overseas earnings: Marriott, Texas Instruments, PayPal, Facebook, Modelez, Nasdaq, State Street, Boeing, Hilton, Comcast, Baker Hughes, Anthem, Banco Santander (Brasil), Moelis & Co, Nintendo, Nomura, Statoil, Nordea Bank, Total, Banco Santander, GSK, Barclays, Deutsche Boerse, Home Retail Group.