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There's been a silent — and, we'd argue, rather silly — war going on between otherwise totally intelligent publications surrounding the causal or correlative relationship of national chocolate consumption and Nobel laureates.
What? Let us explain. The New England Journal of Medicine published a study entitled "Chocolate Consumption, Cognitive Function and Nobel Laureates," about two years ago. This study, in essence, determined that, in theory, eating tons of rich, delicious chocolate could "improve cognitive function not only in individuals but in whole populations." Okay, we're with you.
Related: 20 Decadent Chocolate Cakes
Further, the study questioned if this could, in turn, lead to an increased number of Nobel Laureates from that given population — and it even included a pretty infographic that proved the correlation, though not causation, of how much chocolate was eaten and how many smarties were produced. The final verdict illustrated that there is a positive correlation on a scale of .79 between the two (a +1 correlation is considered a perfect positive correlation, leaving the chocolate-intelligence relationship in question).
In response to this iffy result — and before you run to raid the nearest candy store for all the cocoa — the Journal of Nutrition published a study (called "Does Chocolate Consumption Really Boost Nobel Award Chances? The Peril of Over-Interpreting Correlations in Health Studies" — sassy!). It warned, clearly, against the dangers of over-anazlying the correlation and, most specifically, translating it into causation, between the sweet stuff and Nobel-level brains. But it still seems like a good excuse to go ahead and indulge in that Halloween candy, doesn't it?
[h/t] First We Feast
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Social distancing leads to higher data usage
- Social distancing measures, online leaning in schools and universities along with employees working from homes, should lead to higher data revenues for internet service providers.
- Mobile revenues and mobile internet revenues as well should witness an increase, mainly on higher usage; driving ARPU growth.
- The Ministry of Communication agreed with the four mobile network operators in Egypt, to provide and increase the monthly download capacities of internet subscriptions by 20% for all users to support social distancing and online learning decisions, where the ministry bears the cost; hence no cost pressure on internet providers.
- Business process outsourcing companies and call centers should benefit from the current social distancing in the global and local market, given a witnessed increase in demand for delivery services.
Restrictions on movement support financial inclusion potential
- COVID-19 outbreak is now a motive to speed up government plans to promote financial inclusion.
- In-light of movement restrictions, consumers are gradually shifting to online platforms to pay bills and purchase goods.
- CBE waived fees and commissions on operations that are executed through mobile wallets and imposed daily limits on cash withdrawals and deposits to stimulate a cashless economy and prevent the spread of the virus.
- E-payment companies operating in the market offering basic services/necessities including bills, telecom, education and pre-paid electricity cards should witness solid transaction flow on their network.
- E-Payment companies offering services through banking channels/e-channels and mobile wallets might witness growth given the new regulations issued lately by CBE.
- However, if COVID-19 outbreak puts massive downward pressure on economic conditions and changed consumer spending patterns; e-payment companies will lose transaction volumes for entertainment and amusement.
- COVID-19 outbreak might support government plans for financial inclusion and digital transformation.

domain: news


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Hopes of a sustained recovery in the Indian economy has sprung anew with a slew of recent data showed robust growth in most sectors, but prices remain a key concern.Updated: May 20, 2010 00:24 IST
Hopes of a sustained recovery in the Indian economy has sprung anew with a slew of recent data showed robust growth in most sectors, but prices remain a key concern. Wheel of fortunes of the UPA
Latest data released showed that car sales grew nearly 40 per cent in April after having recorded healthy sales in the last few months.
Industrial output grew by 10.4 per cent in 2009-10 and consumer durables production has grow by over 30 per cent in the last five months, perhaps indicative of higher purchases of televisions and refrigerators and also growing consumer appetite.
“The economy weathered the global credit storm much better than expected, and the recovery is stronger than expectations driven by a pick-up in private sector-led domestic demand,” said Rajeev Malik, Head of Economics Research (Asean and India) of Macquarie Securities.
Last year around the same time, when Pranab Mukherjee assumed office as the finance minister, uncertainty had gripped the Indian economy.
Growth of the Indian economy slowed to 6.7 per cent in 2008-09 after growing at close to 9 per cent for four straight years before the meltdown. It is set to grow by 7.2 per cent in 2009-10.
The finance ministry responded by announcing a fiscal stimulus package of Rs 1,86,000 crore or 3.5 per cent of GDP to help industry tide over the downturn.
RBI supplemented this by slashing key rates aimed at bringing down the cost of borrowing for embattled corporations.
“As a combined impact of various fiscal stimulus measures and the supporting monetary policy the industrial sector was able to reverse the declining trend in its growth since June 2009,” a senior government official said who did not wish to identified.
Things are different this year.
Corporate India has registered healthy growth in profits and revenue for the current fiscal. A quick analysis of 63 companies on BSE 500, which have announced their annual results, reveals that they have posted a profit growth of 26 per cent, their revenue growth stood at 50 per cent.
Agri & prices: key concerns
Agricultural production is expected to shrink 0.2 percent in 2009-10 as a result of last year’s drought, the worst in 40 years. And it has had a major bearing on prices.
India's inflation in April was estimated at 9.6 per cent, as food prices continued to remain at elevated levels pummelled by a supply crunch in staple items such as cereals and sugar.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has had to carefully walk the wedge on resource for fiscal consolidation, sustain growth, signal a rollback of stimulus package and yet keep prices under check.
But inflation in manufactured products, which has reached nearly 7 per cent, has emerged as the latest worry for policy makers mirroring signs that the spectre of price rise have lengthened across the broader economy.
“I am concerned about the prevailing high inflation in the economy. Inflation erodes real income. It hurts the marginalised, the poor segment of our society the most,” finance minister Pranab Mukherjee said last week at he annual function of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) here. “I am hopeful that the way the government meticulously planned economic recovery... likewise we would beat the high inflation in the coming few months.”
Chief statistician Pronab Sen said inflation could cool down further in coming months, although concerns about high prices of industrial products remain.
“Fear of inflation spreading from food to other sectors is still there. It will take a little bit of more time for it to come down. I hope inflation would be on declining trend hereafter,” Sen said.
First Published: May 19, 2010 23:01 IST


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01 Mar 2019
Domestic vs. imported steel
India has made major advances in the quality of steel it produces. Leading companies like Essar Steel have developed the capability to produce the high-strength steel required for major infrastructure projects like Bogibeel bridge, Chenab river bridge, etc.
Pankaj Agarwal, CEO (India), DMIA Group, believes all grades of steel are indigenously produced in reasonably good quantities, but because the demand is exceptional, India ends up importing a big share of the steel consumed. “Of late, there has been no dearth of imported steel in India, as China has a huge surplus and is very aggressive in its export strategies,” he says. “Considering prevailing import duties and other levies, imported steel is a notch cheaper and there is no serious issue with the quality of product.”
However, Dr Niranjan Hiranandani, Founder & Managing Director, Hiranandani Group, and National President, National Real Estate Development Council, is of the opinion that “differences exist in the quality, price and ready availability of locally available steel and steel sourced from global suppliers. While the quality of steel made by Indian companies meets the needs of real-estate projects, there is scope for using steel sourced from global vendors for the development of infrastructure. Even developers could opt to use steel sourced from global suppliers from the price perspective, but this rarely happens.”
In future, Dr Hiranandani hopes the Make in India initiative will ensure that steel products for all sorts of projects will be available in the required quality and quantity, so that project owners can choose the better option between a local supplier and a global supplier.
Instead of the current protectionist import policy, Agarwal suggests getting major steel exporters from China and Russia to manufacture their products in India through a Make in India initiative, to create healthy competition between Indian and international steel producers.
- CHARU BAHRI


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Researchers from MIT and Hayward have developed software called ‘Sieve’ which can provide users the privilege of tracking encrypted personal data and better manage it in the cloud. The software could show significant implications for government searches of data such as in the Apple-FBI case, or for companies using personal data from fitness bands and other devices for marketing and other purposes.
According to the latest statement released by MIT, Sieve can make its users store personal data in encrypted form in the cloud. When the need for any application to search for specific items, like a name or address, arises, Sieve would send a request to the user, and, if granted, would receive a secret key to decrypt only those items kept in the cloud account of the user. Additionally, if the user wanted to revoke the application access, Sieve would re-encrypt the data with a new key.
Sieve could also better protect a person’s data from a court-ordered warrant. It can help users signing up with a new insurance company to give the insurer a specific key to access a subset of the user’s personal data in the cloud. After the access is/was finished, the key would be changed to prevent future data access.


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Wearable technology firm Omate launched a unique two-day crowdfunding campaign for its Omate Rise smartwatch on Monday, which also doubles as a standalone cellphone, having its own SIM card, and reached its funding target in just 15 minutes.
“We are delighted to team up with Indiegogo for this 'World First' 48hour crowdfunding campaign. It’s a rendezvous with our community of users made of pioneers and innovators who share the same vision as Omate,” Laurent Le Pen, Founder & CEO at Omate, said in a statement.
With the 48 hour crowdfunding campaign (most campaigns run for a month or even longer) the company says it wanted to stress the uniqueness of the offering. The phone, sorry watch, will be on offer for $199 for the next 2 days, while it would retail for $349 from mid-2016.
Omate Rise campaign stood at $61,727 in just a few hours after it started with 283 backers.
Omate, a hardware and software company designing wearable fashion tech products, made history with its first smartwatch crowdfunding campaign, raising more than $1 million back in 2013, and since then has launched other products and been in 500Startups, one of the most highly appreciated startups incubators globally.


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Puducherry government today introduced a relief of 50 per cent in power tariff for domestic power consumers in the Union Territory.
An order of the Department of the Industrial Development (Power) saiddomestic consumers consuming upto 100 units per month would be granted 50 per cent relief on actual power consumption charges.
The order would come into immediate effect, it said.
The orderalso stated that beneficiaries availing the relief should pay the current consumption charges on time failing which they would not be eligible for instant relief.
The power tariff relief would belimited only to domestic consumers whose maximum consumption is 100 months a month, it said.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)


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Bharti Airtel has said the company came under pressure with the launch of Reliance Jio’s feature phones, as its low-end customers moved to the rival network.
The company’s Chief Executive Officer Gopal Vittal said it was impacted with the advent of JioPhone as Airtel’s feature phone customers made the shift.
“There was pressure,” Vittal said in a post-earnings call with analysts.
During the festive season of Dussehra and Diwali, Jio made its phone available at a special price of Rs 699, against the earlier price of Rs 1,500.
Bharti Airtel’s Chief Financial Officer Badal Bagri said the company’s focus on


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Japanese fashion designer Kazuhiro Watanabe, 40, has held the record since 2011. His hairstyle most recently measured 3 feet, 8.6 inches tall, He said he has been growing his hair out for 15 years to protest conformity in Japanese society, the New York Post reported Thursday.
"It's all about how you feel yourself, not what others think, that's the good thing about mohawks," Watanabe told the New York Daily News through a translator.
"I always wanted to have the tallest mohawk," he said.
Watanabe is visiting New York to promote the latest version of the Guinness Book of World Records.
Benedict Cumberbatch's dramatic reading of R. Kelly lyrics is just what you need
Jordana Brewster on Paul Walker: 'He was an enormous presence in my life'


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Affected by the security breach, Apple advised owners of certain models of iPhone, iPad and Mac to update their operating software this Friday, August 19.
Fans of Apple products, this is news you could have done without. The American company, this Friday August 19, recommended owners of certain models of iPhone, iPad and Mac to update the operating software due to a security flaw, according to the company, which was informed by anonymous researchers.
Unfortunately, it lets some take away Control of your devicesAs reported France info. In fact, according to the brand with the Apple-shaped icon, there is an old version of the operating software “an application” that “uses arbitrary code” with access to the device. In other words, a hacker can run Actions without your consent. Apple says that “this potential could have been actively exploited” by hackers, as picked up by our colleagues.
This security flaw can also be exploited by “maliciously crafted web content,” claims the Cupertino (California) group Francinfo.
Which models are affected?
Everything iPhone 6 and laterEverything iPad Prothey Fifth generation iPad and lateras well as Mac Informs that will be targeted Express.
How to protect yourself?
The following are workarounds for these vulnerabilities: Download Version 15.6.1 iOS operating software for iPhones, its counterpart iPadOS 15.6.1 For iPad and macOS Monterey 12.5.1 For Mac computers, according to Apple.


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Mukesh Ambani -- India's wealthiest man -- entered the country's e-commerce market with a bang last year and take on American heavyweights Amazon (AMZN -1.68%) and Walmart (WMT -0.72%). Ambani's JioMart e-commerce venture scaled up rapidly in a short time, thanks to parent company Reliance Retail's already extensive physical footprint across the country.
JioMart is now all set to scale up to the next level, thanks to its partnership with Facebook (META -3.24%), which invested $5.7 billion in Ambani's Jio Platforms venture last year for a 9.99% stake. At that time, Ambani had spoken of his intention to connect local shopkeepers with their customers digitally using WhatsApp -- Facebook's instant-messaging service. And now, Reliance Retail has announced that it will embed the JioMart app within WhatsApp in a move that could rapidly expand its reach.
JioMart makes a big move
Citing two anonymous officials, the Indian financial publication Mint reports that JioMart will be embedded into the WhatsApp instant-messaging application in the next six months. This will allow more than 400 million WhatsApp users in India to order products from JioMart without leaving the messaging service. In simpler words, WhatsApp users can simply open the messaging app and place JioMart orders seamlessly, which eliminates the need for a separate application.
What's more, WhatsApp recently started operating its payments service in India. Around 20 million users in the country can now use WhatsApp Payments to send or receive money in a seamless manner from within the messaging app. The integration of JioMart and the payments service into the instant-messaging service will make it easier for local shopkeepers to transact with their customers.
This is what Reliance Retail had originally intended to do. Ambani had pointed out last year that the JioMart-Facebook partnership's aim will be to help 30 million local shops in India to transact digitally with their customers in the neighborhood. WhatsApp is now going to play a key role in helping Reliance Retail achieve that goal, given its wide reach in the country and augment JioMart's terrific growth.
Why Amazon and Walmart need to be worried
JioMart has made a big splash in India's online grocery market, fulfilling a higher number of orders on a daily basis than its rivals within just a few months of launch. The addition of Facebook's WhatsApp into the mix is expected to make things even more difficult for JioMart's rivals, as the upstart is expected to corner half of India's online grocery market by 2025, as per Goldman Sachs.
That's bad news for Amazon and Walmart, as online grocery sales in India are growing at a terrific pace. According to management consulting firm RedSeer, the gross merchandise value (GMV) of India's online grocery market jumped to $3 billion in 2020 from $1.9 billion in 2019, thanks to the novel coronavirus pandemic. The market is expected to maintain this terrific momentum in the future and hit $18 billion in GMV by 2024.
JioMart's impressive growth in recent months and its strategy of using WhatsApp to boost its reach put it in a solid position to take advantage of this fast-growing opportunity and hit the ambitious market-share figure Goldman is forecasting. Such a scenario doesn't bode well for Amazon and Walmart, which have a much smaller footprint.
Amazon reportedly has 60 fulfillment centers in India and access to 600 stores of More Supermarkets, in which it holds a 49% stake. Walmart, on the other hand, operates 29 cash-and-carry format stores in the country, some of which it's looking to convert into fulfillment centers for Flipkart -- its e-commerce operation in the country. However, Flipkart's grocery business is still in its nascent stages, as the company recently opened its first grocery-fulfillment center in the northern part of the country.
Reliance Retail seems to be in a much better position than its rivals, as it has a network of more than 800 supermarket stores selling fresh produce and groceries across 200 Indian cities. The company can use these stores to ensure a regular supply of fresh goods to local shopkeepers, helping them meet the demand of their local customers.
JioMart has already signed up close to 56,000 local shopkeepers across 30 Indian cities to sell products directly to customers. The company plans to expand this network to 100 cities across India over the next few months so that it can speed up deliveries of orders made on the JioMart platform. All of this indicates that JioMart isn't willing to give an inch to its American rivals in India.
That could spell bad news for Amazon and Walmart in the long run, as JioMart intends to expand into more categories such as smartphones, fashion, and consumer electronics in the future. JioMart is also planning to offer more discounts in a bid to win market share from Amazon and Walmart, which reportedly hold just over 63% of India's e-commerce market.
A potential loss of market share in India won't paint a good picture for Amazon and Walmart. The country's e-commerce market is expected to hit $200 billion in revenue by 2026, and both companies can win substantially if they control large parts of it. But upstarts such as JioMart could upset Amazon and Walmart's apple cart in India, costing them an opportunity to make the most of the world's fastest-growing e-commerce market.


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Cheap chargers fail safety tests
Consumers are being warned off buying bargain iPhone chargers online after 99 per cent failed a basic safety test.
Out off 400 counterfeit Apple chargers from online suppliers around the world and found that 397 of them failed a basic safety test, according to safety campaigners.
Knock-off cables can be bought for as little as 1p on auction sites such as eBay while Apple's official leads retail at £19.
Common problems with fakes included counterfeit plugs, non-sleeved plugs where the metal pins are exposed, live parts, two pin plugs attached and only basic insulation.
They could also cause potentially fatal electric shocks.
The Chartered Trading Standards Institute issued the warning during National Consumer Week, urging shoppers to check goods' safety and authenticity before they buy.
A second operation targeted local charity shops, antique dealers and second-hand shops and found 15 per cent of 3,019 used electrical goods were non-compliant, rising to 27 per cent in London.
Leon Livermore, Chartered Trading Standards Institute chief executive, said: "Only buy second-hand electrical goods that have been tested and only buy online electrical goods from trusted suppliers.
"It might cost a few pounds more but counterfeit and second-hand goods are an unknown entity that could cost you your home or even your life, or the life of a loved-one."
Extra guidance issued includes not over charging electricals and disconnecting them once they are charged, not covering devices while plugged-in, and not using damaged or frayed cables.
Lord Toby Harris, chair of National Trading Standards, said: "Many of us quite rightly assume that everything we buy will be safe, but recent work by our teams show how dangerous electrical goods can easily end up in homes up and down the country.
"Criminals across the globe are using online platforms to lure you in with cheap deals for fake items, many of which are dangerous and have been known to overheat and cause house fires.
"Protecting consumers from harm is our top priority and National Trading Standards teams are working closely with partners - including search engines, social media platforms and producers - to remove dangerous electrical items from our supply chain.
"Our teams help prevent dangerous goods from entering the country, undertake enforcement work to remove criminal social media profiles and seize hordes of dangerous items destined for households across the country.
"Sadly, we suspect our work is just skimming the surface and we urge consumers to be vigilant when buying electrical products online: be wary of deals that look too good to be true and search for reviews of the seller before making your purchase.
Gillian Guy, chief executive of Citizens Advice, added: "Counterfeit electrical goods are likely to be poor quality and in the worst cases unsafe.
"Look out for tell-tale signs of counterfeiting such as mistakes in brand names or logos, and check plugs for safety marks - all genuine electrical items made in the EU should have a CE mark on them."
Baroness Lucy Neville-Rolfe, minister of state for energy and intellectual property at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, said: "I am delighted to support the National Consumer Week campaign which this year highlights unsafe and counterfeit electrical products.
"The Government is committed to promoting consumer awareness of the dangers of buying counterfeit goods and encouraging consumers to choose legitimate goods and services, which helps honest traders.
"We will continue working closely with our partners to build respect for IP in line with our enforcement strategy published earlier this year.


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Customers who turn their phone on while travelling may find themselves charged for unanswered voicemail and email. The instant consumers switch on their phone abroad, it is registered to a local network. This means any activity on the handset will be billed at overseas rates, which are much higher than standard charges in the UK.
While it is common knowledge that making a call on a mobile phone when abroad will be costly, few realise that they will be charged if a voicemail is left on their phone, without even listening to it. Similarly, data roaming charges quickly add up as just receiving emails to your inbox will incurr charges.
Ernest Doku, technology expert at uSwitch, said: "Contacting your mobile network should be high on every mobile user's holiday checklist, alongside packing their passport and sun cream.
"Using a mobile phone abroad can lead to a big bill, but it people stay in control and make sure they are getting the best rates they can avoid getting burnt."
Using tablet devices such as an iPads while travelling overseas, can be as much as 1,000 times more costly than in the UK, according to consumer group Which?.
Data use such as checking emails, watching videos and downloading music on a tablet device can cost as little as £7.50 a month in the UK for a GB of data, but that equivalent use abroad could cost users several thousand pounds.
Last June, the EU ruled that mobile phone companies will be required to cap data charges at £50, and customers who wish to spend more than this would have to opt out of the limit. However, this does not protect holidaymakers who are going further afield.
Mr Doku said: "One of the biggest ways to get stung is by the high cost of data roaming.
"Mobile internet users must ensure they check that this is turned off when not in use to prevent online services such as email updating automatically."
While some mobile phone companies offer 'roaming packages', a bundle of minutes and texts charged at a cheaper rate, customers will have to sign up before departure to take advantage.
Alternatively holidaymakers can contact their network to switch off their voicemail service before departure to avoid these hidden charges.


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SBJ/November 1 - 7, 2004/SBJ In Depth
Keeping fans connected
Published November 1, 2004
The man heading the development of the next new NBA arena monitors advances in technology the way a farmer watches for storm clouds, wary that the same rain that feeds his crop might wash it away.
Barry Silberman, executive vice president of arena development for the Charlotte Bobcats, says the expansion franchise wants the building that the team will open in 2005 to be a “technological wow.” He wants to “blow people away with bells and whistles.”
But when you ask Silberman exactly what tune those bells and whistles might intone, he hesitates to answer. Technology is evolving so quickly, he doesn’t want to make predictions. He worries that the day after the franchise commits to an application that promises the “wow” that he wants, a wowier wow will roll off the assembly line.
The NBA’s Charlotte Bobcats have promised that their new arena, to open in 2005, will feature wireless coverage throughout all areas, from every concourse, seat and suite.
“We were trying to build an infrastructure that would meet our needs for the next 40 years,” said Bill Schlough, the Giants’ chief technology officer. “We were wired. And then the world went wireless.”
Last season, the Giants followed, cutting the cords and providing free wireless Internet access to fans throughout the ballpark.
In Charlotte, Silberman says he is focusing on the one thing he is sure of: Whatever gadget comes along to enhance the experience of spectators will be delivered over-the-air, either by cellular transmission or through emerging radio signal technology known as wi-fi.
He says the Bobcats will build an arena able to handle any wireless application, whether that means replays beamed to a BlackBerry, a wireless connection to the team’s Web site, interactive games played on a cell phone, or a combination of entertaining and useful functions that work equally well on each fan’s preferred device.
“We’re like the catcher that has the big knuckleball glove,” Silberman said. “We have the thing that can catch whatever it is that they’re throwing in the wireless world. Hopefully, there will be a lot of good pitches out there, and we’ll catch them. But, like with the knuckleball pitcher, there also are going to be a lot of wild pitches. And passed balls, too.”
Silberman says the Bobcats will promise wireless coverage throughout the arena, from every concourse, seat and suite. Cellular providers will be able to tap into a network of transmitters that will give all of them equally high-quality service throughout the building. In many arenas and stadiums, only the cellular provider that signs a sponsorship deal with the team is able to boost its signal in the facility.
The arena’s wireless network also will offer a wi-fi signal throughout, overlapping the signal to eliminate the dead zones that exist in most large buildings.
“We’re not going to have 80 hot spots or 111 hot spots,” said Silberman. “We’re having one. It’s called the whole arena.”
As for the manner in which people will use that ubiquitous wireless access, Silberman swears he isn’t sure. He has met with about a dozen companies that promised to wow his audience with whiz-bang uses for their wireless devices. Few have caught his eye.
“To be honest, I’m disappointed in what I see out there,” Silberman said. “We’re going to have this great environment, and I’m not sure where the killer application is for this environment. I see a lot of things that could be a distraction to the enjoyment of an event rather than an enhancement. So far, there’s not much out there that I can see us going with.
“I’d love to hear from somebody who thinks they have something.”
Scoring with PDAs
The home of Purdue University’s football team is part of a project designed to see how fans can access extra game info using PDAs.
Want to see that run again? You can download it within 90 seconds. Want to check stats? They’re updated in real time. Want to know which concession stand carries grilled pork tenderloin? A couple of clicks on the food locator give you three choices: the grill stands in sections 108, 114 and 119.
As part of an e-stadium project devised by the school’s wireless studies center and funded through a $1.2 million grant from San Jose-based Cisco Systems, the PDAs are programmed to allow fans access to a wireless Web site that delivers in-game replays and other video highlights, live stats and stadium information. Future generations could include message boards and a dedicated analyst who provides commentary.
Purdue is in its second season of the program, which it eventually hopes to expand for use by fans who would pay to lease the PDAs as part of their season-ticket plan.
“We have what amounts to a handheld JumboTron,” said Jay Cooperider, a Purdue assistant athletic director who serves on the project team. “At this point, they’re testers. But we think there’s a subscription model here that will work.”
The choice to lease the PDAs, rather than allowing fans to use their own, gets at several concerns facing teams trying to deliver in-game content through wireless devices.
Leasing allows Purdue to limit the number of devices in the stadium, ensuring that the school will have enough access points to deliver the bandwidth needed to stream video without freeze-ups. It also makes sure that all fans will be using the same Internet browser, making delivery of a clean product simpler.
“Having it more sheltered is an advantage because you can troubleshoot it,” Cooperider said. “Even after you move beyond the test phase, there’s a benefit to handing the things out every game and then collecting them at the end.”
Leasing also has been the preferred method of deployment for similar units that are catching on in auto racing.
Montreal-based Kangaroo Capital Inc. last year began distribution of a handheld
Kangaroo offers a handheld device at the track that can deliver live race telecasts.
Kangaroo debuted the units on the Champ Car series last year and lined up a seven-race test program in NASCAR’s Craftsman Truck Series for this season.
“This is a test and nothing more than a test,” said Jeffrey Pollack, managing director of broadcasting and new media for NASCAR’s digital entertainment division. “The first sport to have a meaningful wireless device at the event has been NASCAR. Audio scanners have been part of the fan experience for a long time. We think that will only expand and grow.”
Like many in the sports business, Pollack worries that too many bells and whistles might drown out his core product.
“The key to success for products like this is enhancing the event, not competing with it,” Pollack said. “It’s critical that these devices are bringing fans closer to the competition, not detracting from the live action.”
Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is another who has turned thumbs down to the interactive opportunities available with wireless.
American Airlines Center has been equipped for wireless capabilities since it opened in 2001, using it to provide in-seat food and beverage service in the suites and club seats and at courtside, and in its point-of-sales system to sell merchandise. This season, the arena added pre-paid parking passes that can be added to the bar-code on tickets, read at the gate by wireless scanners.
Still, the Mavs have shied away from using that expanding wireless technology to entertain fans.
“Mark’s concern is that if you’ve got them doing things with the PDAs, then they’re not paying attention to the sponsors and the game presentation,” said Brad Mayne, CEO of Center Operating Co., the outfit that manages the arena. “We need them to be cheering for the Mavs. That’s why he hasn’t supported it.”
Reaching more fans
Those who have stretched to be on the front end of wireless expansion with video for fans’ PDAs and wireless Web for their laptops figure that they’re reaching 100 or 300 or 500 early adopters in a typical game.
The Giants figure that they top out at about 300 fans a game who will take a laptop to surf the wireless Web in between Barry Bonds’ at bats. The Carolina Hurricanes, who were way ahead of the curve when they started pushing coupons to cell phones in 1999 and broke ground again two years ago with the first wireless team site, reach 50 to 100 fans a game with their cellular fantasy games.
Both are thrilled with those numbers. They say they are building products and learning about delivery systems that will serve them well when more fans catch up to the technology.
Some teams say simpler is better. It certainly produces results in larger numbers, at least for now.
Net Informer offers a trivia contest in which fans can text-message their votes.
Teams show a trivia question or a poll item early in the game, then invite fans to vote by using their cell phones. After they vote, they receive a thank you message from the contest sponsor — typically a cell provider — along with the opportunity to opt in to receive discounts from the team and its sponsors. When fans opt in, the team can market directly to them through the season.
The Oakland A’s, who were the first team to use the service, report participation of about 1,000 fans a game and a response rate of about 30 percent on the direct marketing offers, said Greg Pinter, CEO of Net Informer.
“You look around any stadium or arena and everybody has a cell phone,” Pinter said. “There’s big potential there. You have upwards of 50,000 people in the stadium some nights. This is a way to reach most of them.”
Unlike most in-venue games and polls, which are tied to the cellular provider that sponsors the team, Net Informer’s service works with most major cellular providers.
Four MLB teams — the A’s, San Diego Padres, Anaheim Angels and Colorado Rockies — used the application last season. The company is in discussions with 22 teams across the major sports leagues, Pinter said.
His pitch is that while a PDA may offer whiz-bang video and Internet-enabled phones can access team sites, the ubiquitous text message is the application that will connect with the most consumers.
“Wi-fi is great, but my feeling is that it’s not a good fit for a sporting event,” Pinter said.
|Turnkey Sports Poll|
|Other wireless applications|
In digitally savvy markets like San Francisco and Raleigh-Durham, team techies disagree.
Schlough, the Giants’ chief technical officer, realizes that his stereotypically geeky laptop brigade isn’t likely to grow beyond 1,000. But he isn’t ready to concede that today’s cell phone has much of a shelf life.
“As we look toward the future and the cell phone and computer become one in the same, that’s the device that you’ll be bringing to games,” Schlough said. “It won’t be a laptop, but it won’t be a cell phone, either. It will be more like the [PDA].”
The man who created the “home of wireless hockey” in Raleigh also has his eye on wi-fi — or its next-generation cousin, wi-max, a radio-based signal that travels farther, faster and more directly than standard wireless.
Howard Sadel, the Hurricanes’ director of marketing and creative services, said he is in negotiations with a food retail partner that would create Hurricanes hot spots in its North Carolina locations, 150 of which are within a 90-mile loop of the arena. The team could then push wireless coupons that drive traffic to the stores and the stores could do the same for the team.
Whatever the hot handheld device turns out to be, Sadel figures his building is a great place to display it. That’s the lesson he took away from the Hurricanes’ cell phone game in the last two years. About 85 percent of users said it was their first experience with the wireless Web. Sadel said many who played the game were carrying Web-enabled phones, but didn’t know it until they went to a kiosk to find out how to play.
“People were trying to figure out what the heck their phones could do,” Sadel said. “When you look at how phones have changed and penetration for the Web has increased and more kids are carrying phones, and you add to that the PDAs that people are carrying into the building — the potential for us in sports is fantastic.”
Even the companies at the center of the wireless revolution aren’t certain of the direction the technology will head or the ways consumers will use it.
Nextel, which is wrapping up the first year of a 10-year, $750 million deal with NASCAR, is testing broadband applications that would bring its product closer to the convergence of computer and phone. That would enable the company to deliver subscription products that include video to fans at the track.
The evolution is moving so rapidly that Nextel’s sports marketers have been careful not to invest too heavily in products that might be rendered obsolete when the next generation of cell devices comes along.
“What’s available out there in two years, never mind five or 10, is going to be awesome,” said Michael Robichaud, senior director of sports and entertainment marketing for Nextel. “A sporting event is a place where people are engaged and looking to be entertained. It’s the perfect environment for wireless.”
Staff writer Don Muret contributed to this report.


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Sony has reversed its decision to cease PlayStation Store operations for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita, which was originally slated to happen this Summer. Sony Interactive Entertainment president and CEO Jim Ryan said on the PlayStation Blog that, “Upon further reflection, however, it’s clear that we made the wrong decision here.” Of course, commerce functionality for the PSP will still end on July 2nd.
Ryan notes that the decision to close the storefront for PS3 and Vita was “Born out of a number of factors, including commerce support challenges for older devices and the ability for us to focus more of our resources on newer devices where a majority of our gamers are playing on. We see now that many of you are incredibly passionate about being able to continue purchasing classic games on PS3 and PS Vita for the foreseeable future, so I’m glad we were able to find a solution to continue operations.”
On March 29th, Sony announced that the PlayStation Store for PS3 and PSP would cease operations on July 2nd (with the PS Vita’s support ending on August 27th). Due to the number of games that aren’t backwards compatible on newer hardware, such as classics from the PS One and PS2 eras, they would essentially be lost to history. The decision was met with backlash especially in the wake of Ryan’s statements on backwards compatibility in 2017.
Sony hasn’t indicated whether the storefronts for PS3 and PS Vita will be shut down at some time later or remain open indefinitely. Whether the web versions of these stores will return also remains to be seen. Stay tuned for more details and updates in the meantime (especially with Sony rumored to be working on their own Game Pass-style competitor).
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New company Plant Power Fast Food is taking on fast-food mega-giants and making a bet on plant-based eating as the “way of the future.” With more attention on heart- and planet-healthy eating generally, plant-based fast food options are proliferating across the industry.
The company, based in California, has a strong base near colleges and recently opened its 10th location in food-centric Las Vegas, reported The Beet. That store is the chain’s first outside of California and is part of a strategic expansion plan across the golden state and beyond.
Plant-based fast food isn’t a new idea, of course. Giants Burger King and McDonald’s have tried runs with Impossible and Beyond burgers, respectively. Following a successful month-long trial run of vegan/vegetarian burger options in 2019, the former rolled out the meatless Impossible Whopper nationwide to all of its 7,200 branches. They are also currently trialing Impossible nuggets as a chicken


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Groupe Renault aims to produce short, medium and long-term actions in favour of the development of connected and autonomous electric vehicles in collaboration with the city of Paris
The City of Paris and Groupe Renault announce their intention to share their expertise and skills to develop electric mobility for Parisians, Ile-de-France residents and visitors.
This unprecedented approach between a metropolis and one of Europe’s leading electric vehicle manufacturer testifies to a shared vision of the future of mobility, in the face of challenges such as public health, climate change, easier travel, accessibility and economic attractiveness.
This will result in short, medium and long-term actions in favour of the development of connected and autonomous electric vehicles.
As a first step, the group has decided to gradually roll out a commercial offer of electric mobility for Parisians, Ile-de-France residents and visitors, starting in September 2018 which include an electric VTC offer via Marcel from Groupe Renault; an offer of self-service car-sharing electric vehicles accessible 24/7 and without stations; an offer of self-service electric vehicles in carsharing loop, for longer journeys, accessible 24/7 from Renault or partner car parks.
This offer will be based on the group’s 100% electric range: ZOE, Twizy, Kangoo Z.E, Master Z.E. By the end of 2019, they will represent a fleet of 2,000 electric vehicles.
In a second phase, the City of Paris and the group wish to initiate an open working group, associating major cities and companies, whose aim will be to think collectively about the integration of changes in mobility in the city.
This global initiative for sustainable mobility will be a space for dialogue, expertise, experimentation and acceleration of the development of new mobility services, as close as possible to citizens’ expectations and uses.
It will draw in particular on the expertise of the C40 network, which brings together some 100 cities around the world and is currently chaired by Anne Hidalgo.
“Cities and car manufacturers have a vocation to join forces for the future of mobility. Paris and Groupe Renault are now leading the way by converging their action in the areas of car sharing and electric motors.
“This will make it possible to offer Parisians and Ile-de-France residents a healthier, less polluted living environment, where everyone can move more easily. This constructive agreement is also an opportunity to promote major technological and industrial advances, which contribute to the implementation of the Paris Climate Agreement and create sustainable jobs and activities”, said Anne Hidalgo, Mayor of Paris and President of C40.
“As one of the European leader in electric vehicles, the group has also been a player in mobility services for several years, notably through Renault Mobility and the Zity car-sharing system in Madrid.
“Today, we are delighted to be part of the City of Paris’ desire to develop electric mobility for all, which is safe and respectful of the environment. This shared vision launches an ambitious model that can inspire many cities in France and around the world,” said Thierry Bolloré, Executive Vice President of Groupe Renault.


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Here we saw how the NSDCC sales have been down 9% this year – how have sales been county-wide? The closed sales between January and May this year are also down 8% compared to last year, in spite of there being 20% MORE houses listed for sale than in 2017!
The cheerleaders can’t claim that lower sales are due to lack of inventory!
San Diego County Detached-Homes Sales, Jan – May:
People want to believe that it takes longer to sell more expensive homes. But the NSDCC median days-on-market is 18 days this year, where the median SP is $1,325,000. Eight days faster in a sub-region where the median sales price is twice as much!


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Chinese 18th-century painting
Labarbe via Bloomberg
A section from a 79-foot (24 meter) scroll showing the Quianlong emperor reviewing his troops. The 18th-century Chinese painting was originally estimated to fetch between 5 million euros ($6.9 million) and 6 million euros at the Toulouse, France-based auction house, Labarbe, on March 26. It sold for 22.1 million euros and the invoice was settled within three months.


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words // Luis Sanchez
CCS will celebrate the biggest shopping day of the year in Black Friday with this exclusive release of the Nike SB Dunk Mid Pro.
The popular SB Dunk Mid Pro will be released exclusively via CCS, sporting one of the most traditional skate shoe color schemes ever. We see a board-friendly leather and suede upper covered in black, working together with contrasting white Swoosh branding. The classic look is completed with a gum rubber outsole sitting down below.
This traditional colorway of the SB Dunk Mid Pro is set to release exclusively via CCS stores and CCS.com at midnight on November 23rd (Black Friday).


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The Finance Ministry intends to privatize all activity at Eilat's port.
Under the privatization plan, rights to operate activities at the harbor will be transferred to private concerns for extended periods. In addition, the treasury intends to drastically cut back the labor force at the port: instead of the current 140 workers, between 20 to 30 workers will be employed there.
Finance Ministry officials disclosed details of the plan to port officials last week.
Port workers will be given the option of voluntarily resigning and gaining a share of the revenue to be accrued via the privatization. The share of the revenue will be determined according to severance packages received by workers at the Ashdod and Haifa ports.
Eilat port workers refused to meet with ministry officials to begin negotiations. Yesterday, the Histadrut labor federation announced that the workers oppose the harbor's privatization.
Also yesterday, Finance Ministry officials made it clear that they will continue with the structural reform at the port, and will not accept any delays in its implementation.
Eilat's port opened for cargo in 1957, and is designed to serve as Israel's southern point of entry for cargo from the Americas, Asia and the Far East. In contrast to the country's other ports, activity at Eilat is very limited in scope: it receives annual subsidies from the Ports Authority in order to stay afloat.
Acording to Ports Authority data, some 1.6 million tons of cargo passed through Eilat's port in 2002 compared to 14.7 tons in Ashdod and 17 million tons in Haifa.
The number of boats that entered Eilat port in 2002 was 115 compared to 2,742 at Ashdod 3,067 at Haifa.
The treasury plan is part of its policy of "structural reforms" for the ports that was announced five months ago. Negotiations being conducted between ports' delegates and Finance Ministry officials have led to an arrangement by which 49 percent of stock belonging to the Ashdod and Haifa port companies will be sold to the public in January 2005, while the remaining shares are to be controlled by the government.
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A new ‘Anglo-Saxon’ pizzeria will open its doors this month on Bury New Road.
This will be the latest pizzeria in the Dokes portfolio, coming from the team behind Elnecot in Ancoats, crowning Prestwich as its new destination after originally opening in the Society food hall on Barbirolli Square in May 2021.
The new restaurant will seat 40 covers, featuring a modern stripped-back design using their signature terracotta brand colours to create a laid-back neighbourhood restaurant vibe.
Seating will take the shape of booths and tables while inside the kitchen will be open plan, allowing customers to view the chefs producing the crisp-based pizzas Dokes are known for.
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British produce will be centre stage on the menu.
After extensive research over the last five years at their sister restaurant, Elnecot, chef-patron Michael Clay has worked with a long list of incredible producers across Britain.
The people of Prestwich can expect to eat cheeses from every corner of the country, salamis and nduja from Curing Rebels in Brighton; creamy British burrata from the home counties, and exquisite truffles from Wiltshire.
They will also be working with Cinderwood Farm in Cheshire using their wonderful fruit and vegetables on the ever-changing menu.
The dough at Dokes Pizzeria is made using extra virgin rapeseed oil from Yorkshire and a blend of flours, using British heritage grains from Gilchesters organic farm in Northumberland, as well as Shipton Mill in Gloucestershire, providing a truly unique recipe to their wheels, a taste like nowhere else in the city.
Beyond pizzas their menu will feature seasonal salads and pastas (pasta supplied by the wonderful Yorkshire Pasta Company) which will sit alongside other small plates that will change regularly depending on what produce is available in that season.
Brunch will also be served on the weekend.
“We are really looking forward to opening in Prestwich; it really felt like the perfect location and in the short time I’ve spent there, it seems to have a real community feel and strong spirit,” said Michael.
“We hope that we can provide a welcoming atmosphere for everyone while serving up delicious pizzas on Bury New Road.”
It’s not been plain sailing with the build of Dokes pizzeria in Prestwich, and they are opening quite a lot later than they originally intended.
“We took the lease on for the unit just before Covid struck so, finally, two years later it will be very exciting to get the doors open,” said co-owner, Wesley Downham.
“We have worked with the excellent Phaus interior architects to design the restaurant and we think it is a great looking space for the people of Prestwich to come to.
“Prestwich is a particularly exciting area at the minute, it has some great operators investing in the town and it’s being talked about in the national press as being one of the best places to live in the country.
“We can’t wait to get started and add to an already vibrant community.”
Dokes Pizzeria will open on 449A Bury New Road for lunch and dinner from 12pm until 10pm from Wednesday to Friday, then 10am until 10pm on Saturday and Sunday. Walk-ins are always welcome, and reservations will be open from Friday 15th July 2022. Find out more here.


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Contact Energy, the electricity and gas provider, posted little-changed full-year operating earnings amid signs that electricity demand is starting to grow after a long period of decline and that its investment in technology to gain and retain customers is starting to show returns.
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation and changes in the value of financial instruments (ebitdaf) were $523 million, down 0.4 per cent on the previous year's result, on revenue of $1.51 billion, a 5 per cent reduction on the previous year.
Chief executive Dennis Barnes said that ongoing improvements in operational performance in the current financial year "will be largely offset by increased carbon costs and the commencement of our 80 Megawatt Tiwai (aluminium smelter) supply contract".
Electricity retailers had managed the "first market-wide lift in energy and other component" retail tariffs since 2013 in the first quarter of 2016.
"With new products in market and retail price changes we expect to see increasing value in our retail offering but ultimately our performance will be influenced by our need to be competitive," said Barnes.
A final dividend of 15 cents per share, unchanged from the previous year, will be paid on September 23, with 7 cents imputed.
Combined with an 11 cents interim dividend, Contact is paying out 120 per cent of underlying profit, which it calculated at $157 million, down 2.5 per cent from the previous year's $161 million.
The underlying profit figure excludes a net $204 million of impairments related to the closure of the company's Otahuhu-B gas-fired power station, abandonment of its interest in the undeveloped Taheke geothermal steam field and losses on gas inventories.
Those writedowns, all announced at the half-year earnings result, saw Contact turn in a statutory loss for the year of $66 million for the year.
Reflecting the fact that several years of major capital expenditure have now ended, free cashflow improved 17 per cent to $403 million. Some $100 million of Contact shares were bought back during the year at an average price of $4.83. The shares closed last Friday at $5.26.
The result was achieved mainly under independent ownership, following the sale last August by Australia's Origin Energy of the controlling stake it had held in Contact since the early 2000s and coincided with the implementation of new customer service technology that Contact says is starting to yield gains in a retail market that remains highly competitive.
With new products in market and retail price changes we expect to see increasing value in our retail offering but ultimately our performance will be influenced by our need to be competitive.
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The company is claiming "lowest cost-to-serve" in the industry at $106 per customer, down from $124 a year earlier and said customer churn rates were now 1.3 percentage points below the market average and Contact had gained a net 5,380 customers in the second half of the financial year, compared to a net loss of 9,800 in the first-half.
Late bill payments have plummeted compared to the previous year and bad debts have fallen to 0.52 per cent as a proportion of retail revenue, compared to 0.7 per cent at the end of the second half of the previous year.
Some 82 per cent of Contact customers are now on plans that offer discounts of 10 per cent of more, a quarter (24 percent) are on fixed term products, and 22 per cent are taking more than one fuel - electricity, gas, or LPG - in a bundled offering.
The company produced a matrix of customer initiatives planned in the near future, including "new products" to "rebase the way the market prices", refreshment of its online services and increased use of cloud computing and customer self-service.
In the wholesale market, the cost of energy improved by $4 per megawatt hour; with 82 per cent of the company's electricity coming from renewable generation, up from 76 per cent from the previous year.


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A HAVERCROFT store sold booze to an underage teenager during a police operation.
Premier Stores, Cow Lane, allowed the girl to purchase alcohol during a test purchase operation by the Wakefield Rural police team (NPT).
The store assistant who sold the alcohol was issued with a fixed penalty notice.
It was the second time the store had failed a test purchase operation in six weeks. The store also has no refusals book and no challenge 21 or 25 poster displayed, both of which are required by licensing law.
A police spokeswoman said: “We will take strict action on the stores that fail to adhere to licensing laws.”


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Legendary hip hop artist Biggie Smalls is being commemorated with exclusive NFTs. OneOf is the Green Web3 company created for music, sports and lifestyle, which will partner with The Christopher Wallace Estate ahead of his 25th death anniversary.
The company plans to honor Biggie’s legacy and the release of his iconic album Life After Death by launching the first-ever official The Notorious B.I.G. NFT collection. OneOf hopes to pay tribute to the forever King of New York rap.
A portion from the groundbreaking NFT collection will support the Christopher Wallace Memorial Foundation, Inc.
“We are excited about our partnership with OneOf and their expertise to memorialize my son Christopher with this first official NFT drop to give his fans an opportunity to participate in and honor their love of him and his music,” Biggie’s mom, Voletta Wallace shares of the upcoming partnership.
The company shares:
The Notorious B.I.G. NFT collection will be minted by OneOf on the environmentally responsible proof-of-stake blockchain Tezos, preferred by music artists for using up to 2 million times less energy than proof-of-work networks.
“We’re honored to work with The Christopher Wallace Estate to celebrate the incredible legacy of Biggie Smalls,” said Josh James, COO & Co-Founder of OneOf. “Using NFT technology, Biggie’s legacy and his outsized impact on music and culture will be forever cemented on blockchain, to be honored and shared with fans around the world and for generations to come.”
Additional details on the first-ever The Notorious B.I.G. NFT collection will be announced in the coming weeks. Visit the website for more details here.
The Late, Great Biggie Smalls Is Being Honored With An Exclusive OneOf NFT Collection was originally published on globalgrind.com
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By: Stefanie Gans
Trummer’s On Main will once again convert its upstairs gallery room to Burger Bar, a Tuesday-through-Thursday pop-up. Last April, the Clifton restaurant debuted Burger Bar on the same day it announced the hire of Executive Chef Austin Fausett.
This year’s pop-up will last from March 11 to May 29 and will rotate items frequently, featuring all new burgers staring falafel, pork and sauerkraut and traditional burgers using local Martin’s Angus Beef. The menu is still in development and Fausett plans for a secret menu spanning wings to bone marrow.
Pop-ups help restaurants learn what diners want and give restaurants a safe, time-limited space to try cuisines or styles that don’t necessarily fit into the current menu. If pop-ups don’t attract crowds, then it was a short, low-risk experiment, but if it works, can lead to new ventures. “We’re open to a lot of possibilities,” says Fausett, about the future of Burger Bar, “but I think the goal of this is to promote Trummer’s and get new clientele and to also look at different opportunities for new restaurants for us.
The team also hosted an Oktoberfest-themed pop-up last fall and as both Fausett and owner Stefan Trummer lived in Austria, implementing a beer garden is on the wish list. “Maybe someday,” says Fausett. / Burger Bar, March 11-May 29; 7134 Main Street, Clifton
*This post has been updated


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Among the first models to get electrified by Renault, the Kangoo received some upgrades this year, arriving at the aforementioned show in two and five seater configurations, with the extended wheelbase version to be called Maxi.
The model is powered by a 44 kW electric motor which draws all the juice from a 22 kWh lithium-ion battery located under the floor of the vehicle. The juice is enough to keep the model going without major problems for 170 km.
Renault plans big for the Kangoo range, announcing prior to the Geneva event that it is going to offer, by the end of the current year, a range of vans which will include seven models, a choice of three lengths and three energy types (petrol, diesel or electric).
In Europe, the electric version of the model will be offered for prices starting from EUR21,200 before tax.
“Renault has always said that the success of electric vehicles will depend on the availability of truly affordable vehicles,” said the auto maker that, together with partner Nissan, has done the most to help jump start a new branch of the automotive industry.
“To attract customers, ecology and real economies must go hand in hand. With Kangoo Maxi Z.E., Renault has succeeded in combining maximum carrying capacity with zero emissions and a small price tag. “


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"Paper or plastic?" is a question you’ll hear at grocery stores for at least another year because a South Florida lawmaker was unsuccessful in his attempt to help cities cut down on plastic bags.
A bill would prevent places like Publix and Walmart from using plastic carryout bags if local governments wanted to ban them. It would also require stores to provide customers with reusable bags.
Some members of the Senate Environmental Preservation committee didn’t like a provision that would force customers to pay 10 cents to put their groceries in a paper bag.
So the bill was postponed, and this late in the legislative session, it won’t get another hearing.


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NE: "A report surfaced from China Daily last month suggesting that China could finally be ending its 12-year ban on game consoles."
I said this in another topic... While a high standard of living exists in westernized cities like Hong Kong, the rest of China is dirt poor.
I heard that it is slowly getting better but the word is "slowly"- So, population does not necessarily equate more sales. Still, Hong Kong and other cities have huge populations... and that is more sales (anyway you look at it).
Iwata doesn’t see any drastic change with China’s game console ban. Thats because all they have to do is make a knockoff version of every console out there and then sale it on the market for dirt cheap.
Basically, he doesnt see China opening its arms to videogames anytime soon...but if they do, Nintendo will be ready to get involved!
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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NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Retail shares inched higher on Friday, helped by strength in supermarket operators and home-goods retailer Bed Bath & Beyond Inc.
Shares of Bed Bath & Beyond BBBY, -3.40% rose after the company said it acquired privately held buybuy Baby for about $67 million, plus $19 million in debt repayment. Bed Bath & Beyond said the acquisition allows the company to provide merchandise to expectant parents and their friends, who are part of its current customer base. Garden City, N.Y.-based buybuy Baby is a retailer of infant gear, including furniture, clothing, and toys.
Kroger Co. KR, -3.04% and Safeway Inc. SWY, -18.37% also saw their shares rise in morning dealings. Merrill Lynch, which hosted a retail conference this week, said in a note to clients that Kroger sees further consolidation in the U.S. supermarket industry as inevitable.
Safeway, which also presented at the conference, said food price inflation hasn't yet made any meaningful impact on results, Merrill said.
Walgreen Co. WAG shares declined in morning trading. In a note to clients, SunTrust Robinson Humphrey analyst David Magee said he thinks quarterly sales for Walgreen were good, but "not great." Walgreen is scheduled to report earnings next week.
The S&P Retail Index $RLX was up fractionally at 517.99.


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UNC-Greensboro will open up its "2 Minutes to Win It" business idea competition to six other area colleges this year, according to an announcement.
The contest, which was launched last year by UNCG's N.C. Entrepreneurship Center, offers prizes ranging from $250 to $1,000 to students 18 or older for business ideas that can be described in two minutes or less. Twenty finalists will be selected to make their pitches to a panel of judges.
“We ran the contest last fall at UNCG and got tremendous response. This year, we want to make the opportunity available to more students,” Bryan Toney, director of the NCEC, said. “To enter, a student simply needs to come up with a catchy name, a brief description of products or services offered, a definition of target customers and a reason the idea will be successful. It’s that simple.”
This year's contest is open to students from UNCG, N.C. A&T State University, Greensboro College, Guilford College, Bennett College, Elon University and Guilford Technical Community College. More information and entries are available online. The deadline is Oct. 12.


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Over the past three days, Samsung has released the July 2022 security update to at least three smartphones daily. Today, the update was released to the Galaxy A53 and the Galaxy S20 FE. Now, the July 2022 update has been released to the Galaxy F62.
The latest software update for the Galaxy F62 comes with firmware version E625FDDU2BVG1. It includes the July 2022 security patch that fixes over 50 privacy and security vulnerabilities. It could also bring general bug fixes across the system and better device stability.
If you have a Galaxy F62, you can check for the latest software update on your phone and install it by navigating to Settings » Software update and tapping on Download and install. You can also download the new firmware file from our database and flash it manually.
Samsung launched the Galaxy F62 last year with a high-end processor and mid-range specs. The phone came running Android 11-based One UI 3 out of the box. It received the Android 12-based One UI 4 update earlier this year.
Join SamMobile’s Telegram group and subscribe to our YouTube channel to get instant news updates and in-depth reviews of Samsung devices. You can also subscribe to get updates from us on Google News and follow us on Twitter.


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Most of New Zealand’s ski areas have now ended their 2022 seasons, but half-a-dozen or so are planning to keep open for a week or two more, with one aiming for at least partial operation into November.
Mt Hutt currently has the deepest base in the country and plans to keep its runs open until November 24th. It then plans to keep its terrain park operating for ‘spring sessions’ for another fortnight through to at least November the 6th – …less than four weeks from the start of summertime in the country.
“Bust out that Hawaiian shirt, pack the sunscreen and get the rig ready for an additional two weeks of park focused skiing and riding. Some choose to don the whites, chase a furry ball, and give in to summer but not you! You choose the shred life, now lock it in and let’s get our jib on!” a resort statement reads, as it encourages purchases of a special Spring Sessions Pass priced at $399 NZ
The Spring sessions in the final week of October and first week of November will kick off at 10am and finish at 3pm with the resort warning that although toilet and water facilities will be available, all food, retail and rentals will be closed from the 25th October.
Of the ski areas to have finished their season already several are reporting a successful ‘bounce back’ winter after the pandemic winters of 2020 and 2021 when there were no international travellers allowed in the country. Coronet peak reported business about 60% better than they’d expected saying their biggest challenge was finding enough staff.
On the North Island Mt Ruapehu has had a different problem though, very little snowfall and temperatures often too warm for snowmaking in the first half of the season. Its Turoa and Whakapapa bases are often among the last to close in the southern hemisphere each year and a major storm due to hit the region later this week may improve things for them. However the resort announced on Turesday that it was giving up hope on re-opening Turoa this season.


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|A card leftover from a jaunt to Alberta|
A third postcard has arrived at its destination. This one made the journey to Hong Kong in 16 days. It was a trip of 10,737 kms or 6,672 miles, arriving on March 13th.
|Taking a trip to Hong Kong . . .|
The Postcrossing member who received the card has been involved with the website for over a year and has sent and received more than 150 cards.
Alisdair has now generated another address and postcard #8 will soon be sent to a new member in Essex, England.


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Virgin Mobile states that it will add the new smartphone models to its inventory system on Monday, April 9, coinciding with a launch announcement from Apple, which would likely be in the form of a press release. The memo doesn't mention a (PRODUCT)RED edition iPhone X, so there might not be one. The memo notes that there will be pre-orders, so it's unclear if the new color would be available immediately or begin shipping later in April, but it does appear that Apple will introduce the models this week.
There's also been rumors that Apple will release a Blush Gold colored iPhone X and we're expecting the AirPower wireless charging mat to launch soon.
Make sure to follow iClarified on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, or RSS to find out what gets announced!


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COVID in Iceland
In Iceland, the COVID-19 crisis has, like elsewhere, taken its toll on the tourism industry. In order to better understand the reaction of the industry, a small study was carried out during the summer of 2021 amongst tourism stakeholders in South Iceland. Interviews were conducted with SMEs in the region. The goal of the research was to get a better understanding of the situation of tourism companies during the COVID-19 crisis and to investigate the role of innovation as a response to it.
The research showed that governmental support measures and the domestic tourists have been imperative factors for the companies in question to stay afloat during the crisis. Innovation and product development was needed up to a certain extent for the companies to be able to adjust to the domestic tourist market efficiently. The recreational companies went more into the direction of making something new while accommodation businesses sought rather after cooperation with other companies in their vicinity, for example, by assembling their services into a one package. Therefore, innovation has been an essential part of crisis management, which one could say the governmental support measures made possible. Other factors have also been important, for example, flexible employees who are loyal to the companies. Uncertainty and instability due to the government’s disease control measures, affected both staffing and general operations of the companies and made the business management more difficult. To hire and have hired correctly was, therefore, deemed to be a vital factor.
Despite the great challenges brought by the global pandemic, the companies also mentioned positive aspects of the pandemic, that in the downturn they had been able to build up their infrastructure, recalibrate themselves and better form their vision for the future. According to them, the busyness before COVID-19 had made it difficult to complete certain goals and to build up their companies in a preferable way. Grants from the local regional development fund were beneficial in this work.
Interviewees who participated in a development project called “Ratsjá”, or the Radar, praised its importance. The Radar is a project managed by the Icelandic Tourism Cluster and is funded by its members and the government. It is intended for tourism executives who want to come together to increase their ability to innovate, speed up important process changes and gain increased overview and ability to develop products and services. This time around, the effort was themed around COVID-19 and was described by the interviewees as an important therapy session and an opportunity to get support by interacting with others who had been walking in similar shoes, simultaneously strengthening their network.
Most of the interviewees believed that their own experience and reputation of the company in the tourism industry had been an important factor in the crisis management, as well as their specialisation and flexibility which is due to their small size. These factors have been important to adjust to new situations and a new market. Reputation is after all, according to them, one of the most precious things a tourism company has, especially when potential customers are fewer than usual. The interviewees maintained that if they had been newcomers to the industry, the circumstances created by the pandemic might have turned out to be too overwhelming to handle.
In general, the results indicate that the crisis management of the companies in question has been rather reactive, and improvements are needed. Disaster plans need to be implemented before the next crisis inevitably occurs. These plans need to consider the capacity of small companies and their executives need to be educated about the necessity of being prepared for the crises of the future.


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Bayern Munich's Alphonso Davies to release his own NFTs in June
Bayern's Alphonso Davies controls the ball during the German soccer cup, DFB Pokal, match between FC Bayern Munich and TSG Hoffenheim in Munich, Germany, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Matthias Schrader
EDMONTON -- An Edmonton soccer star is launching a new set of digital collectibles in collaboration with a renowned artist.
Bayern Munich left-back Alphonso Davies is set to launch his first non-fungible token (NFT) collection in June.
NFTs are a unique digital item like a photo, video, or audio file that are stored on block chain, a digital ledger verification system certifying the digital item to be authentic.
The artwork for each digital item in Davies’ collection will be designed by illustrator Jack Perkins. Fans will have the ability to vote on aspects of the collections’ designs that Perkins will implement with the collectibles.
Each of Davies collectibles will be hosted on Binance, a certified blockchain ecosystem and cryptocurrency exchange.
In a statement, Davies said the digital collectibles will be a new way for fans to engage with the soccer star.
“It’s been crazy to see the way crypto has grown over the years to the point where I feel now it’s changing the game through NFTs,” he said.
“Away from football I am always looking into new technological changes to help engage with people across the world, and this is just another layer to my digital presence.”
Each piece of digital art purchased will enter fans into a raffle for an exclusive in-person experience with Davies and a signed UEFA Champions League jersey.


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Aiming to educate the elderly people about CBD and its various applications, Council on Aging organized a workshop known as “Demystifying CBD” earlier last week.
The Council on Aging’s director Haley Bolton said it was vital to hold the discussion as there were several requests for it after The Heirloom Collective launched a marijuana cultivation facility in Bernardston, Massachusetts. The event took place on Wednesday, where the Council replied to those requests with a thorough discussion in a bid to inform the seniors about CBD.
The workshop was led by Alex Abrams, co-founder of the Heritage Hemp and director of sales at The Heirloom Collective.
Abrams said that CBD has already become a trending topic currently and it is difficult to obtain correct information about it.
CBD can be described as cannabidiol. It has already emerged as the second most existing active content in marijuana. CBD has gained the status of one of the most important components of medical marijuana. CBD can be secured straight away from the hemp plant, which is also known as the cousin of the marijuana plant.
Abrams also took note of the reluctance prevailing around the usage of CBD as it is frequently linked with THC, also known as a psychoactive compound in marijuana plants. Abrams said that CBD is a non-psychoactive substance that helps in boosting relaxation.
Abrams also spoke extensively about hemp and from where it was originated. He said, “Hemp can be traced back to somewhere in the Middle East,” Abrams said. “It was carried to all continents by the hand of man through the trade system.”
It is interesting to note that Hemp was first legalized in the US way back in 1938. And, agricultural hemp was permitted on a trial basis by federal law under the Agricultural Act of 2014. And, 2 years back in 2018, commodity hemp production was legalized federally as per the 2018 United States Farm Bill.
Abrams also pointed out that CBD may prove helpful with degenerative conditions and addictive nature. It has the potential of curing anxiety and pain.


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The global event run on various cities – The Money 20/20 came to its closing in Amsterdam. During the event, various minds from the financial system, fintech and blockchain tech get together and discuss the most recent. This event is where Ripple’s CEO, Brad Garlinghouse, was quoted as saying that more and more banks were continually embracing Ripple’s technology.
By the end of this year, major banks will use xRapid as a liquidity tool. By the end of next year, I would certainly hope that we will see…in the order of magnitude…of dozens. But we also need to continue to grow that ecosystem…grow the liquidity.
This does not even close take away Ripple’s other product xCurrent showlight. It is the main engine behind Santander’s OnePayFX which has turned the international money transfer industry very excited. This is because the mobile app can complete international payments in seconds.
This strong portfolio that the Ripple’s products are showcasing that made American Express also announce the use of xCurrent to increase the transaction speed. This officially was made known during the Money 20/20 event.
Colin O’Flaherty, American Express’s VP & General Manager of global commercial services UK & Russia, had this to say during the discussion at the event:
Ripple offers instantaneous, point-to-point conversations between the sender and receiver of funds. And that provides a real opportunity to alleviate most of the issues our customers are facing.
Infusing the already existing American Express infrastructure with xCurrent blockchain based system will benefiting heavily the SMEs that facilitate payments of goods to users.


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Pennsylvania, by any applicable standards, has one of the most impactful and successful casino industries across the US. The regulatory and legislative framework in place is not only carefully drafted but also rigorous. The gambling industry has emerged as a strong economic powerhouse for this state. This industry employs over 15,000 people directly and supports over 33,000 jobs. Annually, the state casinos invest over $500 million with Pennsylvania businesses and contribute over $110 million in terms of local revenue. In 2022, the casinos in Pennsylvania generated over $2.3 billion in tax revenues in the gaming domain, which is more than any other state in the US.
Overall Impact Of Online Casinos In Pennsylvania
Online casinos across Pennsylvania have made a markedly positive impact on both the economy of the state and the social landscape. Among multiple benefits, these casinos in the state have majorly helped in job creation and tourism boost and have generated massive revenue. Among all forms of games, slot machines emerged as the top revenue generator worth $2.46 billion in 2023. Also, table games reported a decrease in revenue by 1.9%, which amounted to $971.74 million. There was a significant increase in sports wagering revenue, which totaled $458.62 million. This marked a 14.31% rise from 2022 data. However, if considered annually, the sports wagering handle reached a total of $7.68 billion, which indicated a 5.95% increase from 2022.
Creation Of Jobs
Introducing online casinos in Pennsylvania has created a significant rise in employment opportunities since 2017. To ensure the smooth operation of these online casinos, there is a continuous requirement for manpower, including gaming developers, live dealers, customer service reps, maintenance staff, and security personnel. Job opportunities also extend beyond casinos and include positions in sectors like transportation, retail, and hospitality. Online casinos have helped in reducing unemployment and so have impacted the economy in a truly positive way. Currently, Pennsylvania offers about 21 options for online gambling, and innumerable offshore casinos also operate within the state. Fanatics would be the newest addition to online casinos in the state in 2024. With the influx of modernization, there has, of course, been an increase in the use of smartphones, and online casinos have gained popularity as they offer players on-the-go accessibility.
Influx of Tourism
Online casinos and offline casinos in Pennsylvania have combined to become major attractions that draw tourists to the state. Visitors love to explore all of the gambling options available, and that, in turn, boosts the economy. Apart from gambling revenues, the state also generates revenues for the hotel and hospitality industry, where the tourists stay and dine. Various available recreational options also receive a resultant boom. A report by AGA estimated that around 16 million people visited the casinos and also signed up online in 2020 which generated over a billion in terms of revenue in the tourism industry. Keeping the rising demand for online and land-based gambling in mind, several regulations have also been put in place to ensure the security of all players. The PGCB or Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board is responsible for ensuring adherence to all legal necessities including licensing and taxation liabilities.
Taxation and Public Works
Pennsylvania’s online gambling industry has been impactful on the state’s economy. According to 2023 data from the PGCB, legal gambling operations within the state paid over $11 billion in fees and taxes to the local governments and the state. This increased tax revenue could, in turn be utilized for infrastructural improvements, establishment of neighborhood schools, and measures for added public safety.
Comparison With Other States
Pennsylvania is one of the leading states where revenue from online gambling is concerned. Other states that fully legalized gambling in the US include Michigan and New Jersey. Each state has implemented rules and regulations for protecting residents’ and visitors’ interests from any sort of fraudulent activities. Other states that have permitted some form of iGaming include West Virginia, Connecticut, and Delaware.
Future Predictions for Pennsylvania’s iGaming Industry
The future of igaming in PA is indeed bright. With an increase in the number of states in the US legalizing and regulating gambling, Pennsylvania will remain a pioneer in terms of revenue generation in the domain. The key to Pennsylvania’s success will possibly be its ability to attract new punters while serving and retaining the existing ones. This would help in the growth of the industry and benefit revenue generation. Those interested in taking a look at the features of some of the best online casinos in PA can check out Covers.com which takes a look at how PA casinos are also looking towards expanding the range of games on offer like slots, roulette, poker, live dealer games, etc.
As per 2022-2023 stats, Pennsylvania generated a 16.9% increase in revenue from 2021. This resulted in a whopping $475 million from all forms of gambling within the state. Technologies like VR, IoT, Blockchain, and others are also seeing a rise in popularity due to the multitude of virtual casinos available. Innovative gaming technologies like Web3 Incubator and zVentures have also amped up the gaming experience for people.
Challenges That PA Would Face
The overall scenario for PA’s online gambling industry looks very promising. The state would however face a couple of challenges in the coming years. One of the most prominent ones would be its competition with other states now that online gambling is becoming legalized in several other states. Another challenge is to get punters to move away from illegal or unlicensed offshore and online casinos to legal sites. This could be achieved by educating more and more people about the benefits of licensed casinos like fair gameplay and the availability of multiple secure payment methods like debit and credit cards like Mastercard or Visa and e-wallets like Paypal and Venmo.
In A Nutshell
Pennsylvania’s gambling industry has massively expanded over the years. The state is now capable of finding itself among the most successful states in the US in terms of revenue and a loyal customer base at online casinos. This has majorly helped the Pennsylvania economy to achieve a marked boost.
The future indeed remains bright as long as the state remains competitive and continues to bring necessary changes and adapt to trends of the e-gambling industry. As things stand currently, Pennsylvania has a good chance of retaining its position as one of the top online gambling markets in the US. Also, Pennsylvania’s sustained attempt at educating residents on the pros and cons of legal online gambling to facilitate a transition from illegal gambling sites to authentic ones is sure to bring about a positive change and benefit the state in the long run.


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In the lead-up to CES 2015, Qualcomm has revealed a few more details about its upcoming Snapdragon 810 SoC — the company’s first flagship 64-bit chip, which will most likely power the top Android devices released in the first half of 2015. The Snapdragon 810 is an interesting chip for a number of reasons, but most notably it’s first flagship Snapdragon S4/800 chip to not feature Qualcomm’s own Krait CPU cores. Where is your own in-house 64-bit CPU core, Qualcomm?
A new radio design from the University of Texas may have found a way to transmit and receive data simultaneously, without the need for specialized software networks. Could this new technology transform cellular broadband and WiFi data speeds?
Google’s new Nexus is a monster of a phone, designed with wireless capabilities that outclass all other Android phones today. Launching with Android 5.0 Lollipop, it’s sure to be the best flagship of the year.
With every release of the iPhone, Apple dramatically improves the wireless radio capabilities in ways that no other device maker has ever matched. With the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, Apple continues that trend, setting the bar even higher than ever before.
European regulators may be about to take a closer look at Qualcomm’s dominance of the 4G modem business, thanks to an old complaint from rival Icera. Did Qualcomm climb to the top with technological prowess or has it used its market position to take down challengers?
The common wisdom goes that we’re reaching the limits of what is possible with RF, given the technological constraints that are generally accepted in RF-based technology. But what if one of those constraints was blown away?
On Tuesday evening, T-Mobile held its Un-carrier event and launched two initiatives: free 7-day test drives with the iPhone 5S and unmetered music streaming. It also announced that it has VoLTE and wideband LTE live in over 15 markets, and VoLTE will be available nationwide by the end of the year.
Europe, perhaps a little bit embarrassed about being so far behind the US’s deployment of 4G LTE, has announced that it will work together with South Korea to develop the next-gen 5G standard. As you may be aware, though, all of this is much easier said than done: While carriers and marketing bods are keen to move onto 5G for obvious reasons (money!!!), the rest of the industry is still working on LTE and LTE Advanced, with no real intention of moving to 5G any time soon.
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Ahead of the full roll out, attendees of the Prepaid Summit in Dubai were given an early preview and demonstration of the new ‘DubaiCard’ which is due to launch in April 2015. This ground-breaking initiative, due to launch in April 2015, has been developed in a tripartite agreement between us, the newly-launched National Pay and Atam, a market leader in kiosk-based solutions. DubaiCard can be instantly issued and activated from the self-service kiosks, and its holders are able to make cashless payments – within the UAE and worldwide, at Point-Of-Sale (POS), as well as at ATMs and online. Read more here.


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Tesla's Battery Tech Director Abruptly Leaves the Company
【Summary】Kurt Kelty Tesla's battery tech director, has left, just as the company enters what Elon Musk called "production hell" for the Model 3.
Kurt Kelty, Tesla's battery tech director, has left days after the company's lavish party to celebrate the delivery of the first Model 3 sedans, and just as the company enters what Elon Musk called "production hell" for the long awaited Model 3.
The news was first reported by Bloomberg's Dana Hull. A Tesla spokesperson confirmed Kelty's departure to Business Insider, adding that his responsibilities will be distributed among existing teams. Earlier this year, Kelty accepted the award for "Battery Innovator of the Year" presented by the 34-year-old International Battery Seminar.
"We can confirm that Kurt Kelty has left the company to explore new opportunities and we want to thank him for everything he's done for Tesla," a company spokesperson told The Verge by email. "Kurt's responsibilities will be distributed among Tesla's existing teams."
Kelty has served as Tesla's battery tech director for eleven years starting in 2006, before Elon Musk became CEO of the company, according to Kelty's LinkedIn page. Before joining Tesla over a decade ago, Kelty was director of Panasonic's Energy Lab.
Panasonic manufactures and supplies the lithium-ion cells to Tesla for its battery packs and plans to invest a total of $1.6 billion in Tesla's Gigafactory, a massive battery plant in Sparks, Nevada.
Kelty was crucial to the creation of the first Gigafactory in Nevada. As a former Panasonic employee, he was the chief negotiator for the Gigafactory partnership. Tesla sought Panasonic's help keeping up with demand for EV batteries, especially with the pending Model 3 release. He also regularly made "billion dollar" deals with other suppliers, and led both quality control and recycling efforts.
Neither Tesla nor Kelty has commented on the reasons for the departure.
Originally from New Jersey, Eric is an automotive and technology reporter specializing in the high-tech industry in Silicon Valley. Eric has over fifteen years of automotive experience and a B.A. in computer science. These skills, combined with technical writing and news reporting, allows him to fully understand and identify new and innovative technologies in the automotive industry and beyond. He has worked on self-driving cars and as a technical writer, helping people to understand and work with technology. Outside of work, Eric likes to travel to new places, play guitar, and explore the outdoors.
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Neteller delivers a new global payment future
Despite all of the remarkable innovations of the digital revolution, the fact that financial transactions are still carried out in cash have led to many companies developing new 21st century payment systems.
Recently there has been the widespread use of electronic payment systems such as PayPal, as well as the surprising popularity of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. But it's the efforts of Neteller who have done much to illustrate the ease with which digital transactions can now be undertaken.
The brand is part of the British payments company Paysafe who have been providing digital wallet solutions for the emerging internet-based economy for 20 years. And with the widespread use of the service in the online casino arena, as well as increased exposure in prestigious sporting institutions, it looks like Neteller's fortunes are certainly on the rise.
The key concept behind Neteller is the way in which it provides users with access to a prepaid Mastercard that can be used to securely pay for goods, both in person, and in the online environment.
The way that the Neteller service can process payments from widely-used credit card companies such as Visa and Mastercard have quickly helped it become authorised for use in over 200 countries. And with the adaptation of the revolutionary cryptocurrency Bitcoin, it seems that Neteller holds a pivotal place in the emerging digital payment environment.
Given the fact that the Neteller card generates a different virtual card number for each transaction, it is able to curtail certain fraudulent activities. This has led to the business being used by foreign online exchange services such as FBS, as well as multiple online gaming sites. That the users can make deposits and enjoy instant payouts thanks to the quick digital access to the site's transactional pages, Neteller is proving to be right up there with Paypal, and Skrill as described by Lucky Nugget.
The fact that the digital payment service could gain great success in South Africa is just part of the way in which the nation has leapt at the chance of using financial systems that bypass the inconveniences of setting up a bank account.
But as the digital payment marketplace becomes increasingly competitive with companies such as Skrill offering a similar easy-to-use service, Neteller have sought to increase their brand's exposure thanks to high-powered sponsorship deals with football clubs such as Crystal Palace.
And with online casinos experiencing phenomenal growth and consumers requiring simpler and faster ways to buy goods online, it looks like Neteller's services will only become more in demand.


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PhonePe big festive offer! Get assured cashback on mobile recharges— Here's how to avail the offer
Users can send and receive money, recharge mobile, DTH, data cards, pay at stores, make utility payments, buy gold and make investments via PhonePe platform.
- PhonePe cashback offers.
- Cashback on prepaid mobile recharges.
- Know how to avail the PhonePe offer?
New Delhi: Digital payments platform PhonePe has announced that users of the app and across all payment instruments will get assured cashback on prepaid mobile recharges.
The company said that users recharging via the PhonePe app will win assured cashback of up to Rs 50 on prepaid mobile rechargeson. This will be applicable to users after completion of three prepaid mobile recharges, above Rs 51. (Also read: Beware! India cracks down hard on cybercriminals)
"This offer is currently applicable for all PhonePe users on the latest version of the app, across all payment instruments," it added. (Also read: Are you an Instagram Reels creator? Check 3 new effects to make videos more)
How to avail the PhonePe offer?
- PhonePe users need to open the app
- Now, click on mobile recharges.
- Select the number and recharge based on their chosen plan.
PhonePe has over 325 million registered users. Users can send and receive money, recharge mobile, DTH, data cards, pay at stores, make utility payments, buy gold and make investments via this platform. The platform is also accepted at over 22 million merchant outlets across India.
In September this year, PhonePe announced that the company has registered over one million UPI-enabled AutoPay mandates since the feature debuted in June 2021. UPI AutoPay can be enabled on PhonePe for varied use cases such as mutual funds SIPs, Wallet Auto top-ups, and for OTT subscription renewals.