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Manage episode 246282153 series 1442404
- Bloomberg TV broke news of both a rower and a less-expensive treadmill.
- Peloton is working on an Amazon Fire and an Apple Watch app.
- Peloton Google searches are way up.
- The OPP hits 200K.
- We share info about some changes coming to The Clip Out.
- Peloton has another new commercial for the holidays.
- There's a new UK commercial featuring Ben Alldis.
- We pick square #12 in The Clip Out Challenge.
- Becs Gentry is featured in Runners World.
- Jess Sims creates an exclusive workout for Self Magazine.
- The UK has two new instructors - Sam Yo and Hannah Frankson
- The UK gets a new showroom in Oxford.
- Selena and Alex visit South Carolina's new showroom in Mt. Pleasant.
- Billy Joel gets the Peloton spotlight with a ride, a run, and a yoga class.
- Aditi Shah celebrated a birthday this week.
All this plus we interview Ann Kingman!


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Tim Murphy is CEO of Boomers Parks, which is comprised of eight parks; six family entertainment centers and two water parks.
Last spring, thousands of family entertainment centers around the country were forced to shut down because of the Covid-19 pandemic, which caused huge financial losses from attempts to prevent the spread of the virus. FECs, which are indoor and outdoor amusement parks and fun centers, cater to families with kids of all ages as well as adults who want to get out and have fun.
With millions of Americans tired of being cooped up at home, they’re eager to get out. That means FECs are poised for a strong future. The global outlook for FECs is favorable, positioning these companies as one of the fastest-growing markets in the United States and across the world. The industry is expected to grow 10.93% between now and 2026, which would be huge progress. The past year has pushed FECs to innovate in order to survive difficult situations. New interactive experiences, updated menu items and fun ways of ensuring safety are all ways FECs are successfully getting through this global pandemic.
As a veteran financial expert with decades of experience rebuilding businesses, I acquired Boomers Parks in June 2020, just three months after the shutdown, through Cerberus’s private equity acquisition. The timing could not have been worse. That was a frustrating time, but I knew my team members and I had to get to work to think boldly and creatively about how to reinvent our parks. Here are my recommended strategies:
1. Extraordinary Health And Safety Protocols
The No. 1 concern among FEC owners is safety and health. Last year, a survey of FEC owners showed 98.1% of the facilities frequently sanitized touched surfaces several times a day, and approximately 60% said they were doing this at least every hour.
Our company created a committee and companywide training program for all park employees to practice sanitizing and other health protocols to protect guests and employees. It established standards so stringent that they exceed most of the minimum expectations in the states we operate: California, Florida and New Jersey.
2. Reengineering The Business Model
FECs are seasonal businesses that traditionally thrive for about six months of the year; however, they should be focusing on 12-month revenues. Additionally, many of them fall into a pattern of pricing strategies that lower profits and decrease revenue per hour. FEC owners should move away from traditional “season pass” strategies or lower prices during peak times that eat away at revenue but don’t attract repeat customers.
The past year has taught many FECs to charge admission prices that offer guests a valuable experience. This includes offering great deals for these customers and creating ways to get them to spend more time at the park, resulting in more money spent on food, rides and games.
FECs also need to expand their thinking about target audiences, look beyond teens, and expand their reach to young adults and local businesses that are looking for fun group activities. Even post-pandemic, many companies will be rethinking their strategies for far-off corporate retreats to see what they can do in their own backyards. FECs serve as close, affordable and highly engaging environments for companies to host retreats and team-building activities.
3. Quality Food Experiences
FECs are recognized through the years for their fan-favorite snacks such as burgers, hot dogs, fries, cotton candy and pizza. The time has come to add a wider variety of food, including healthier options. Sliders, grilled chicken sandwiches, flatbreads, wraps and salads are among the new varieties of foods that could expand menu appeal to a broader audience.
Building areas with comfortable seating, atmosphere and the ability to watch TV sporting events that sell soft drinks and adult beverages also helps to create a better food experience and encourages longer time spent at the park. Making some of these favorite foods available to guests via online ordering and delivery services is another strategy. Everyone, even those who are unable to attend the parks, should be able to enjoy a piece of the park experience from the comforts of their own homes.
4. VR: Going Beyond Roller Coasters And Laser Tag
FECs typically have four or five “anchor” attractions that are most popular among customers, e.g., roller coasters, bumper cars and go-karts. FECs will need creativity to continue to attract a generation of guests who are looking for more interactive and high-tech experiences in addition to adventure thrill experiences.
With the drastic improvement of technology in recent years, VR is one of the hottest new opportunities to upgrade and replace traditional arcade games that have lost their appeal to newer generations. Some FECs have added black-light bowling alleys and miniature golf. But I predict that the next wave of additions to parks is going to be the inclusion of virtual reality gaming, competitions and adventure rides and attractions to create more challenging and daring experiences.
VR and adventure also offer the opportunity to expand marketing to older guests during less busy weekdays. These new games could attract local businesses that want to offer new ways for their team members to relax, experience new thrills and have fun trying out the latest technology and thrill experiences.
With these strategies, I’m a firm believer that FECs can avoid becoming a dying industry and successfully survive as the nation moves toward herd immunity.

domain: news


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Summer is over and it’s almost autumn, so Fifa the season is right around the corner, and if you’re itching and scratching to get your hands on the next FIFA 23 version, you may also be wondering about the web application. The FIFA 23 The web app will be the first opportunity for players to get acquainted with Ultimate Team players and start building their player portfolio through SBCs and daily giveaways. But, when is the FIFA 23 Web application release date?
FIFA 23 web app explained
The FIFA 23 The web app is a condensed version of the popular Ultimate Team game mode. By giving dedicated fans a chance to access their custom squad before the game is fully released, you can start to accelerate the transfer market and is often used to arbitrate the prices of your favorite players to avoid massive inflation the public week of the game. opening.
Fans who use the web app can receive their annual bonus packs, start building their squad, complete squad building challenges, and earn freebies by logging in each day. The FIFA 23 The web app works almost exactly like the Ultimate Team hub, but without the ability to play a match.
FIFA 23 Web App Release Date
With the full game releasing on September 30 and pre-trials coming three days before September 27, the FIFA 23 The web application will be released on Wednesday, September 21.
The Fifa The web app is usually released a week before the first players get their hands on the full game, giving them seven days to start building their clubs before they can play a game. The Companion app isn’t too far behind either and will be released a day later on September 22.
If you can’t wait to see your favorite new recruits in their new kits, you might want to check out the FIFA 22 Pre-season cut…


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Undercover police officers patrolled Aylesbury town centre in an operation to raise awareness of pick pockets.
The officers singled out individuals whose bags were visible and easily accessible in order to insert a warning slip saying, ‘I could have stolen your purse today’.
PC Glen Crosland said: “I don’t want it to become a big problem in Aylesbury.
“The purpose of this is to try to raise awareness.”
Tinemui Desilua was out shopping in H&M when she was targeted by police.
She said: “I’ll make sure to pay more attention in the future. I wasn’t aware and my bag was unzipped.”
Christine Grey was in Sainsbury’s when police targeted her.
She said: “I’ll make sure to zip up my bag.
“I was very much surprised with how easily these things can be done, I wasn’t paying attention because of the distraction of children.”
Also in Sainsbury’s, Linda Stevens was reaching up to collect some bread when the police officer got into her bag.
She said: “I’m very shocked and will be more careful in the future. I’m too trustworthy and just wasn’t paying attention.”
PC Claire Furness was one of the undercover officers.
She said: “This exercise just shows you the precautions people need to take when out in public.
“ Simply forgetting to zip your bag up or when distracted by shopping and children, it would be so easy for someone to quickly get into your bag.”


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The forever-rising Powerball jackpot has finally found its winners! The incredible $1.6 billion jackpot will be split three ways.
The winning tickets for Wednesday night’s jackpot, which set a world record, were sold in suburban Tennessee, Los Angeles and Florida, according to California lottery officials and CBS News.
The California Lottery wrote on Twitter: “It’s official! There were 3 jackpot-winning tickets in tonight’s #Powerball draw: California, Florida & Tennessee.”
It's official! There were 3 jackpot-winning tickets in tonight's #Powerball draw: California, Florida & Tennessee.
— California Lottery (@calottery) January 14, 2016
Each of the winning three tickets is worth $528.8 million, according to the California Lottery. The winning numbers were 08 27 34 04 19 and Powerball 10.
The winners’ identities have not been announced, and it is possible that we may never know. The winners in Tennessee and Florida have not stepped up, said lottery officials in those states, and no one from California has tried to claim their fame.
But, we do know where the winners bought their tickets.
One ticket was sold at a 7-Eleven convenience store in Chino Hills, which is east of L.A., said California Lottery officials. The two other Powerball-winning tickets were sold at a Publix grocery store in Melbourne Beach, Fla. and at an unknown location in Munford, Tenn., lottery officials confirmed.
This is the second year in a row that a Powerball jackpot winner emerged from Tennessee, according to Reuters. The last lottery winner got lucky in November, when a ticket holder claimed $144.1 million in Tennessee.
Wednesday night’s drawing for the $1.586 billion prize was the largest prize North America has ever seen. The odds of picking the right number were 1 in 292 million!
Many people gathered at the 7-Eleven in California after they found out a winning ticket had been sold there. Several customers took photos and congratulated the sales associate. Lottery officials say the store will get $1 million in bonuses.
The store’s owner, Balvar Atwal, told CBS Los Angeles that selling the winning ticket was “amazing.” “It feels so good!” he exclaimed.
To get the full amount of the prize, winners must accept a multi-year annuity instead of a lump sum payout, which was $983.5 million. Winners must pay 39.6 percent of the jackpot in federal income taxes on top of any state taxes.
For every dollar worth of Powerball sales, 50 percent goes to prizes, 40 percent goes to various causes and 10 percent goes to retailers who sell the tickets and administrative costs, Reuters reports.
If there weren’t any winners on Wednesday, the prize would have been bumped up to nearly $2 billion, putting the cash value at $1.24 billion.


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Top Advertisers Using Online More
Top traditional advertisers have begun to finally make online advertising a noticeable part of the media mix, according to new research by Nielsen//NetRatings. Looking at ad impressions for 2002, the researcher found that the top 100 traditional advertisers’ share was 30 percent.
Two years ago, the top 100 made up just 15 percent. AOL Time Warner and Microsoft led the way, posting large increases in their ad impressions for their much-hyped launch of competing Internet service offerings, AOL 8.0 and MSN 8.
Click below to read this article at the Internetnews.com website:
Internetnews.com contains award-winning real-time news focused 100% purely on the Internet industry. Internetnews.com is part of the internet.com Network of websites and email newsletters which are owned by Jupitermedia. Jupitermedia provides business professionals with the up-to-the-minute technology news, resources and product information that they need to do their jobs. Our internet.com and EarthWeb.com network consists of over 150 targeted Web sites and 200 e-mail newsletters serving vertical markets in the technology sector and serve over 20 million unique users each month.


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The next time you request an Uber, you could be waiting longer and paying more if the City Council moves on anti-sharing economy measures. Airbnb could be crushed entirely.
New Yorkers have voted for these tech platforms by making them overwhelming successes, but a number of city politicians have decided they know better.
Homesharing, driven by Airbnb, created $500 million in economic value for the city. That estimate by American Action Forum came in 2016, just as the state and city upped enforcement and increased fines against rentals under 30 days.
These benefits largely occur outside the hotel industry’s stronghold in Midtown and offer a boon to the outer boroughs and minority communities. For example, in 2016 Airbnb boasted 8,100 listings in Latino communities, areas with a total of only 35 hotels.
Uber and Lyft have revolutionized transportation. They have stepped in where a taxi industry, crippled by arbitrary government caps, was barred from meeting demand.
In the past year, Uber surpassed taxis in offering 289,000 rides per day to taxis' 277,000. This was largely from growth in outer boroughs. By a 5-to-1 margin, respondents to a Pew Research Center poll from majority-minority areas agreed ride-sharing “serves neighborhoods taxis won’t visit.”
Ride-sharing has even reduced drunken driving accidents by an estimated 25% to 35%, according to a CUNY Ph.D. candidate’s analysis.
Yet, these benefits could all be thrown away in New York City.
Councilwoman Carlina Rivera sponsored a bill that would take out an already-crippled Airbnb by forcing the company to give all listing information on its platform to the city.
This would be another blow to the value Airbnb creates for New York. It would also insert aggressive enforcement agents further into users’ lives.
The Office of Special Enforcement has already persecuted hosts with summonses for infractions against codes designed for large hotels, costing law-abiding users thousands of dollars in legal fees.
Councilman Ruben Diaz Sr. is pushing a measure to force ride-hail drivers to pay huge licensing fees annually, and limit them to working for just one company in a limited part of the city. Of course it would also implement a cap on cars, a point for which Mayor Bill de Blasio and City Council Speaker Corey Johnson have voiced support.
This would make rides more expensive for consumers, and make it even harder for workers to make ends meet. For what?
Critiques that ride-sharing is driving traffic problems are weak. De Blasio commissioned a McKinsey analysis in 2015 that found Uber was not to blame.
The more likely culprit: Population increases, at the same time the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (under Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s control) let the subway decline.
Recent tragedies where taxi and black-car drivers have taken their own lives have drawn attention to their plight—one fostered by decades of city politicians, not Uber. Arbitrary caps on taxi cabs, unmoved for decades, fueled a bubble in medallion prices that served those who hoarded them and contributed to politicians, but not drivers.
People of all political stripes see this. Pew polling found just 27% of ride-sharing users and 30% of Democrats support applying taxi-style regulations to Uber and Lyft.
Meanwhile wild claims about Airbnb driving high rents are fueled by politics instead of facts.
Comptroller Scott Stringer’s recent report overstated Airbnb’s impact on rent prices by a factor of 50. Then he went blatantly political, recording scary robo-calls for the hotel industry’s ShareBetter campaign. These are dishonest attacks driven by the Hotel Trades Council, which pulls strings at City Hall and put $100,000 into 2017 elections.
Reality check: Airbnb listings, including those with owners staying in the home at the same time, amount to just 0.6% of total rental units in the city.
New Yorkers have made the sharing economy a smashing success. They should tell their council members to find something better to do than destroy it.
Doug Kellogg is state projects director with Americans for Tax Reform.


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SEMA Group forced its embattled non-executive director, Hartmut Lademacher, to resign from the board yesterday, a month after it emerged he had sold £24m of company shares in breach of the Stock Exchange's listing code.
The company said he would get no compensation and added it had referred his conduct to the Financial Services Authority. A terse statement said: "Hartmut Lademacher has today resigned from the board of Sema Group at the board's request."
Mr Lademacher sold shares worth £24m in the week before Sema's interim results on September 5. Directors are not, ordinarily, allowed to sell shares in the two months ahead of results under the listing rules. The sales were not disclosed to the market until October 27.
However, it was not until Sema issued a profits warning last Friday that the share sales became a hot issue. Mr Lademacher joined Sema's board in July, after Sema completed the acquisition of LHS, an American software business. He was LHS's chairman.
It was poor trading at LHS in the summer that primarily caused the profits warning and wiped 44pc from the shares. Mr Lademacher could not be reached yesterday. An office assistant said he "was in a meeting". Sema shares fell 21 to 308p.


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The Federal Communications Commission this week will begin its examination of mobile phone industry practices, including the relationships between wireless carriers and their subsidies - and sales restrictions - of mobile handsets. At its monthly meeting on Thursday, August 27, the FCC is expected to launch its formal inquiry and will pass its findings to Congress, which has been saber-rattling about the deals between wireless carriers and electronics-makers. Although it's hard to predict what actions the FCC or Congress may take as a result of the investigation, the results could overhaul the structure of the U.S. handset market. While the inquiry is apparently fueled by the exclusive iPhone pact between AT&T Wireless and Apple, several other issues are expected to emerge. The Commission is interested in mobile pricing and billing since the handset subsidy translates into the U.S. having among the world's highest rates for mobile service.
Regulators indicate they want to find out if the current structure is limiting competition and reducing consumer choice. Depending on the eventual outcome of this inquiry, mobile equipment dealers could face restructured relationships with all segments of the expanding wireless market, including changes in the common two-year contract commitments.
You can watch a live stream of the FCC session at 10 am ET on Thursday, August 27 via the FCC's Audio/Video Events web page: www.fcc.gov/realaudio.


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Farmville for iPhone coming today, office assistants worldwide rejoice
0. phoneArena 24 Jun 2010, 10:08 posted on
Coinciding with the iPhone's official launch date today, Zynga's Farmville game will be finally arriving on Apple's platform to waste even more hours at work...
This is a discussion for a news. To read the whole news, click here
3. elpuser (Posts: 50; Member since: 26 Nov 2009)
Sexist idiot! Stop basing masculinity off of a game.
2. Mateo8326 (Posts: 472; Member since: 15 Jul 2009)
man believe or not thousand of guys plan this stupid game my brother forgot to pick me up one day b/c he was on this stupid mess
4. elpuser (Posts: 50; Member since: 26 Nov 2009)
I love farmville, an I'm a guy. But I heard the game is slow and laggy for iPhone.


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One particular of Cheyenne’s leading occasions for connecting area businesses and persons in our community is quick approaching. Townsquare Media Cheyenne presents The once-a-year Cheyenne House and Backyard Present, April 9 as a result of 11, 2021 at the Cheyenne Ice and Functions Center. It’s a free event and anyone is welcome!
No matter if you are scheduling on creating, renovating, landscaping, or just hunting for ground breaking ideas, there’s a thing for every person. Meet the nearby specialists in creating, decorating, landscaping and so a lot much more.
The health and fitness and safety of our celebration attendees, employees, distributors, and their households is our variety a single worry.
You can be expecting the adhering to COVID-19 safety precautions at the Cheyenne Household & Yard Show:
- Masks are strongly encouraged and will be readily available at the entrance
- Hand sanitizer will be readily readily available and every vendor will be essential to have hand sanitizer at their booth
- We have decreased the amount of booths and permitted for supplemental spacing in amongst vendor booths to give a lot more space to continue to be socially distant
- Masks are strongly inspired and will be readily available at the entrance
- A person-way targeted traffic in all aisles
- Improved cleaning and sanitation
- Encouraging patrons to stay 6 toes apart
Cheyenne House and Backyard Clearly show Hrs:
- Friday, April 9,2021, from 11:00 AM – 6:00 PM
- Saturday, April 10, 2021, from 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
- Sunday, April 11, 2021, from 11:00 AM. – 3:00 PM


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Rapper Travis Scott recently shared a photo when he was visiting Ronnie Fieg’s Kith store in NYC. He was wearing a Raf Simons x Sterling Ruby navy camo hooded parka ($2,138).
F1 champion racing driver Lewis Hamilton was seen leaving a restaurant in London with his girlfriend Nicole Scherzinger. He was wearing a Kenzo Peaks Sweatshirt ($289) and a pair of Christian Louboutin rantus purple suede sneakers ($895).
Actor Justin Theroux was spotted riding a bike through East Village in New York City. He was wearing a BLK DNM green bomber jacket from the Fall/Winter 2013 Collection with ripped jeans and boots.
Actor and director Ben Affleck was seen leaving a store in Brentwood, California. He was wearing a dark tee, dark blue jeans, and a pair of Bally Oldani dark brown leather hightop sneakers ($495).
Justin Bieber was spotted in Beverly Hills, California wearing an 11 by Boris Bidjan Saberi Embroidered Jacket ($1,070). The 20-year-old singer was also rocking a pair of Black Scale x Timberland 6″ Premium Olive Boot ($240).


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SAN FRANCISCO (CBS.MW) -- America Online Inc. on Tuesday previewed its newest Internet software, AOL 5.0, which will debut within a few weeks, a company executive said.
The new software will feature an online calendar that can store an AOL subscriber's daily schedule, send appointment reminders and link to other site features, including horoscopes.
"Look for the sticky applications that make (people) stay with the service," Mike Kelly, AOL's chief financial officer, said at the Banc of America Securities Conference in San Francisco.
Other features will include improved shopping, thanks to an electronic "wallet" for taking payments, and more chances for subscribers to customize their AOL main page.
The improvements are aimed at keeping subscribers on AOL for longer time periods. The average subscriber now spends an hour a day on the service, more than four times the average time spend on the site in 1995.
Keeping people glued to AOL should help boost advertising revenue over the next three years, Kelly said. Advertising on the Internet will make up 11.5 percent of all media advertising by 2003, up from 1 percent today, he said.
Shares of AOL aol rose 8 3/4 Tuesday to close at 109 7/8.


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EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — If you are behind on paying your electric bill, El Paso Electric says you need to call the electric company because they are gradually returning to standard billing practices.
Since March 2020, electricity has not been shut off for customers behind on payments, but that will soon change.
“What that means is beginning the first weeks of February, we’re asking customers to call us, but that would be the first time that you would see a potential interruption of service,” said Eddie Gutierrez, EPE’s vice president of Customer and Community Engagement. “For commercial accounts in Texas, it could happen as early as the week of the 18th.”
EPE will gradually resume its collections process for residential customers in Texas the week of Feb. 1. However, a disconnection moratorium is still in effect for New Mexico residential customers, who will be notified prior to resuming its regular billing procedures.
At the beginning of the pandemic, there were state moratoriums that stopped disconnections, but those expired back in 2020.
However, El Paso Electric told KTSM 9 News that the company has continued services for customers behind on payments beyond the expiration of the moratorium. But now El Paso Electric is returning to the normal collection process.
According to El Paso Electric, 10 percent of customers have fallen behind on paying their electric bills during the pandemic, with a total of 40,000 customers behind and 9,000 of those customers owing more than $300.
El Paso Electric is urging those customers to reach out before their electricity is disconnected in the coming weeks.
“We want customers to call us,” said Gutierrez. “We are being extremely flexible with our payment arrangements.”
Gutierrez also warned El Paso Electric customers that scammers may try and take advantage of the situation.
“In the event that you do have an employee or a company representative at your doorstep, obviously with social distance, but in the event that that does happen, they will not collect payment in person,” said Gutierrez. “If your gut starts telling you that this person doesn’t sound or doesn’t quite sound like an El Paso Electric employee or it seems like they’re being too aggressive, that’s not how we do business.”
Gutierrez advised customers to call 1-800-592-1634 if someone asks you about payment or if you want to talk with El Paso Electric about payment options.


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Retail sales in Canada are way up as more people now shopping than before COVID-19
Retail sales in Canada are booming. Perhaps one of the ways you've been able to conquer those quarantine blues is by taking part in some retail therapy. If so, you're not alone.
According to recently released numbers by Statistics Canada, Canadians have been shopping now more than ever.
On Friday, the agency reported that Canadian retailers earned a whooping $53 billion in June as sales increased in all types of stores. That's a 23 per cent increase from the month prior.
Sales increased 142 per cent in clothing stores, 80 per cent in furniture stores, 13 per cent in building and garden supply stores, 53 per cent in car and car part stores, and 65 per cent in hobby, book and music stores.
These numbers mean that sales surpassed the level they were at before COVID-19 hit and are four per cent higher than they were a year ago.
While sales fell by a third between February and April, things began to improve in May, and especially June.
Unsurprisingly, online sales have done extremely well, increasing 70 per cent from the same time last year and raking in $3.2 billion.
"Hard to believe anyone would have expected this just a few months ago. Indeed, those with a bearish bent will no doubt go silent, perhaps going into hibernation for the time being."
Join the conversation Load comments


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2017 is the year of the10th anniversary for Apple Company. Just like Apple releases a new phone every year, there is an iPhone 8 launch expected this year as well. The phone is believed to have new features with a better camera and display. Although Apple itself has not disclosed any details about the much-anticipated phone, the excitement has led to hundreds of rumors and expectations which we are going to combine them all in this article. Have a look at possible iPhone 8 specifications here.
DESIGN AND BODY
Rumors suggest that iPhone will be redesigned in a way that touch ID will be directly built into thedisplay. This means there will be no physical home button.
It is expected that design will be similar to iPhone 7 but with a body size of 5.8 inches and display size of 5.15 inches, the virtual buttons replacing home button will cover rest of the area.
The display could be OLED type instead of LCD, unlike previous models of iPhone and body will be made of glass instead of aluminum. The Apple Supplier company itself confirmed that at least one model will be having glass body structure.
WHAT WILL IT BE CALLED?
It is suggested from rumors that there will be no ‘s’ series this time. Moreover, however,iPhone 8 is the tentative name for theupcoming major model, Apple can possibly change the device’s name owing to its tenth anniversary.
BETTER WATER RESISTANCE
The new iPhone would have a better and improved resistance having anIP68 rating, contrary to IP67 in previous phones, rumors suggest. It would be able to withstand 1.5 meters of water for 30 seconds. It is also dust resistant to a good extent.
NO MORE LIGHTNING PORT?
According to a report from The Wall Street Journal, the Lightning port will be replaced by USB-C port instead, making it look like MacBook. However, reports from other sources refute this prediction and affirm the lightning port.
All the iPhone models releasing this year are expected to use A11 chip by Apple. This A11 chip is expected to pave way for speedier performance and longer battery life.
Apple is said to introduce long-range wireless charging for quite a long time now. However, some inside reports suggest that Apple is focusing more on inductive-style charging and has hired people with expertise on inductive-style charging.
Moreover, usage of glass body supports this type of charging even more. What remains a point of thequestion is how this charging method could be implemented? Whether it will be incorporated in mobile’s body or a separate accessory will be introduced? No idea.
The Apple is expected to include NAND storage system just like in Samsung. As iPhone 7 had 256GB storage, it is suggested that iPhone8 too will have same or additional storage.
Like the iPhone 7 Plus, the iPhone 8 is rumored to have 3GB RAM.
While Apple might implement glass body and introduce OLED, these features will require a better touch.
The iPhone 8 is said to have a larger battery which will be used to increase performance and speed of the new model.
Reports from reputable sources suggest that Apple will continue with thedual-faced camera on therear side in 5.5-inch models while smaller ones would have a single camera. As far as thefront camera is concerned, Apple is believed to introduce a revolutionary system that will enable 3D sensing and facial recognition capabilities.
According to many reports and articles, the Siri version in new iPhone 8 will be much more advanced and developed as compared to previous versions. It will be able to answer our problems and questions even quicker and more efficiently.
EXPECTED RELEASE DATE
Apple has released new iPhone updates in September for last several years and we expect the iPhone 8 to be unveiled in the same month this year as well. However many rumors say that there could be a delay in supply and manufacturing of components, extending the date of release to October or even November for the worst case scenario. The iPhone 8 release date in Pakistan will be announced.
The price of iPhone is expected to be higher than at least $1000 per model. The smaller model could possibly be sold at $950 each. The iPhone 8 price in Pakistan will be announced soon.
Whatever the features, iPhone 8 is expected to earn huge business just like all iPhone new updates did.


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Written by Jeffrey Dustin
DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) – Consumers and small businesses can purchase a subscription to access more features of its artificial intelligence service Copilot, Microsoft said on Monday, in a bid to drive sales beyond large enterprises. announced.
After introducing the free AI Copilot for its Bing search engine last year, Microsoft will now offer what it calls Copilot Pro to individuals for $20 per month.
This subscription adds an AI assistant for text creation and number crunching to Microsoft's widely used applications like Word and Excel, and gives buyers access to new tools and AI models like GPT-4 Turbo It will look like this.
The company also announced that it will remove the 300-person minimum requirement to purchase the enterprise software, making the security controls and Microsoft Teams upgrades that come with Copilot available to small and medium-sized businesses for $30 per user per month.
Microsoft now expects virtually all business customers to sign up, corporate vice president Jared Spataro said in an interview.
“I can't imagine a commercial organization that wouldn't at least buy a co-pilot seat to know what it's about,” he said.
Alphabet Inc.'s Google competes with Microsoft in marketing productivity-enhancing AI and cloud software to business customers.
Microsoft's Copilot Pro is also entering the increasingly competitive consumer market. About a year ago, ChatGPT's creator OpenAI, which is funded by Microsoft, announced a $20 monthly subscription called ChatGPT Plus that gives it early access to new features and AI models.
Spataro said Copilot Pro is unique because it's integrated into applications “that people use every day.”
(Reporting by Jeffrey Dustin; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)


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Kia has just posted some teaser shots of their upcoming SUV concept, known as the SP Concept. While concept cars aren’t typically something we get excited about, often never arriving or typically watered down by marketing before hitting the showroom, this is different. This announcement marks the South-Korean brand’s...
Science February 20, 2017
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- Australian Government wants to force tech companies to provide user data August 14, 2018
- Meet the Model 3, Aug 21st in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane August 13, 2018


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Provinsys.com, is a web development firm located in Guelph, just West of Toronto, Ontario. They specialise in creating highly functional and visually pleasing websites for a diverse range of customers worldwide.
Today they are pleased to announce that they have just added a content manager system as part of their webdesign and hosting package. Jim Mombourquette, Co-President of Provinsys.com noted, ”today we have taken another step forward with the development of our webdesign business. Clients will now be able to add content to their site using our very easy to use, content manager system. ”
Clients of Provinsys.com will be assigned a login and password which will allow them to make content changes themselves without having to pay a high rate to a programmer. With their very affordable rates Provinsys looks to be a force in the webdesign and hosting business.
You can contact them for package deals at email@example.com


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Japanese researchers have created a 3-D vision-guided artificial skin that enables high-performance touch sensing and can solve one of the great problems of robotic systems: the inability to perceive human touch to interact more closely and efficiently. with the people. It also opens doors to countless applications in medicine, healthcare, and industry.
A group of specialists from the Advanced Institute of Science and Technology of Japan has developed an artificial detection system that manages to collect and process tactile information using a 3-D stereo camera. According to a release, the innovation is applied in an artificial skin device to be incorporated into robots.
Beyond the great advances in robotics, one of the pending subjects in this specialty is to ensure that robots can communicate in a more natural and efficient way with humans. For this, it is vital that they manage to perceive touch.
The new technology, called TacLINK, advances in this sense and does so through a more dynamic and functional proposal in relation to previous developments, which required excessively bulky and complex electronic accessories.
Instead, the new system uses a relatively simple and inexpensive structure, which obtains information from the environment from a 3D vision mechanism. In this way, it is able to determine the strength and geometric characteristics of the shapes it contacts.
Functional and simple
The innovation took shape from a study published in the journal IEEE Transactions on Robotics. Scientists describe the new system as a transparent acrylic tube, which functions as a rigid frame simulating bones, covered by a very soft artificial skin.
The artificial skin sector has a detection area, which is responsible for collecting environmental data by connecting to 3D cameras. Silicone rubber was used to manufacture the leather, taking into account its excellent elasticity and smoothness conditions.
According to the researchers, the material can inflate, change its shape and vary from a rigid state to a more flexible one. To obtain the ability to detect touch, the specialists printed a series of markers on the surface of the artificial skin.
This characteristic marks a great difference with respect to other previous developments, which included sensors or electronic devices inside the skin. Thanks to the new approach, it was possible to reduce the volume of the system, make it more economical and also safer.
Based on the results obtained, the researchers believe that artificial skin could lead to the emergence of a new generation of robotic devices with touch sensitivity.
They clarified that the new artificial skin can be incorporated into many parts of the robot’s body, such as fingers, legs, chest and head. In addition, it could be used in new intelligent prostheses for human beings, making it possible for a person with a disability or physical pathology to perceive sensations in almost the same way as someone healthy.
Another application of this new technology could be the design of sensory devices for use in medicine or in different branches of industry. The aforementioned prostheses, or accessories to perform tasks that require tactile sensitivity but at the same time are dangerous could be some of the specific applications.
Finally, specialists believe that the new artificial fur it can be ideal for creating new robotic systems to provide remote services using avatars. These technologies may be widely required at the end of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Large-Scale Vision-Based Tactile Sensing for Robot Links: Design, Modeling, and Evaluation. Lac Van Duong et al. IEEE Transactions on Robotics (2020).DOI:https://doi.org/10.1109/TRO.2020.3031251
Photo: Pete Linforth en Pixabay.
Video: HO lab.
Eddie is an Australian news reporter with over 9 years in the industry and has published on Forbes and tech crunch.


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This story confirms my long-held suspicion that certain elements of the National Public Radio news team were brought up on Pluto.
For many workers and employers, that money is a godsend — a way to keep food on the table while also cutting payroll costs.
So this is a good thing, right, especially when pandemic disease and economic distress are dancing us on the edge of the abyss? Ah, but you did not reckon with NPR’s stunning ability to find The Other Side, even when said Other Side doesn’t make any sense.
But the extra money can create some awkward situations. Some businesses that want to keep their doors open say it's hard to do so when employees can make more money by staying home. "We basically have this situation where it would be a logical choice for a lot of people to be unemployed," said Sky Marietta, who opened a coffee shop along with her husband, Geoff, last year in Harlan, Ky...
But even though she had customers, Marietta was reluctantly forced to close the coffee shop just over a week ago. With the federal government now offering $600 a week on top of the state's unemployment benefits, she said her former employees can make more money staying home than they did on the job. "We're very committed to paying a living wage," Marietta said. "It happens that a living wage in Harlan, Ky., is not exactly the same thing as it is in other parts of the country.”
Seems like I recall from my history classes that the concept of a “living wage” in Harlan, Kentucky has been a matter of some dispute for quite some time now. But let’s leave that aside for the moment. The fact is that unemployment insurance doesn’t work the way this story frames it as working. And the fact also is that we are paying people to stay home so that they don’t spread a deadly disease. And I would also note that the story includes quotes from Steven Mnuchin and the mayor of Cincinnati, and warnings from “some Republican lawmakers,” but not a word from any of the “lovely baristas”—according to the shop owner—from the coffee shop in question.
Ms. Reece is waiting for an answer to her question, NPR.
Respond to this post on the Esquire Politics Facebook page here.
Charles P Pierce is the author of four books, most recently Idiot America, and has been a working journalist since 1976. He lives near Boston and has three children.


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Global playing card producer Cartamundi is working with Holst Centre, an initiative set up by Belgian nanoelectronics research centre Imec and Dutch research institute TNO, to develop NFC tags that make use of metal-oxide (IGZO) thin-film transistor (TFT) technology on plastic film. The new tags are designed for embedding in products like game cards where there is a requirement for a solution that is both ultra-thin and flexible.
- India to rank states on digital transactions
- HSBC to launch Hong Kong P2P mobile payments app
- Indian mobile wallet adds healthcare services
- Singapore commuters to get NFC-enabled transport payment wearables
- Call to ‘digitise Indian rupee’ using blockchain


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PITTSBURGH — GetGo Cafe and Market, the convenience-store arm of grocer Giant Eagle, is launching checkout-free technology from Grabango. The first Giant Eagle location to make Grabango available is a GetGo store in Fox Chapel, Pa., which serves the greater Pittsburgh area.
To get started, shoppers download the free Grabango app from the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store. Once shoppers have the app, they may enter the store and shop normally. There is no check-in required or turnstile. When they are finished in the store, shoppers scan the code in their Grabango app on the way out. Afterwards, they receive a digital receipt in the app.
“Together, Giant Eagle, GetGo and Grabango are offering new levels of convenience by solving everyone’s No. 1 frustration—waiting in checkout lines,” said Will Glaser, CEO of Grabango. “Checkout-free convenience has arrived, and we’re so proud to be offering it with Giant Eagle.”
The system was installed without any interruption to store operations and it does not use facial recognition, according to Grabango.
“We’re excited to bring checkout-free technology to our Pittsbrurgh-area shoppers. With Grabango, our GetGo guests are able to get in, get out and get going even faster with a more convenient, contactless shopping experience,” said Laura Karet, president and CEO of Giant Eagle. “We look forward to success at our Fox Chapel GetGo and to rolling out more Grabango-powered convenience and grocery stores in the near future.”
The upgrade of the Fox Chapel GetGo unit comes less than a month after Alimentation Couche-Tard announced it is working with autonomous checkout provider Standard Cognition and with Mastercard to retrofit selected Circle K stores with no-checkout tech.
Berkeley, Calif.-based Grabango is a provider of checkout-free technology for existing, large-scale store chains. The Grabango platform is a network that processes millions of simultaneous transactions. The system places no limits on who can enter the store, what can be sold there or how the shelving is configured. Grabango was founded in 2016 by Will Glaser, who is also a co-founder of Pandora Media.
Pittsburgh-based Giant Eagle operates 175 corporate and 54 independently owned and operated supermarkets in Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Maryland and Indiana. It has approximately 220 GetGo c-stores in several states, as well as nearly 60 Ricker's c-stores in Indiana. Giant Eagle’s Convenience Division is No. 30 on CSP’s 2020 Top 202 list of c-stores by store count.
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.


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TERA goes free-to-play in Japan and Korea
MMO will remain subscription-based in North America and Europe
Korean online operator NHN has announced that announced action MMO TERA will be going free-to-play in Japan and Korea. NHN publishes the game in both regions, with En Masse Entertainment handling the North American and European releases of TERA. MMO Culture has translated both announcements, which state that TERA will convert to the new business model on January 10 in Korea and mid-February in Japan. The Japanese operation has already gone free-to-play, but the in-game cash shop has not gone live yet.
“As you may have read today, NHN (the publisher for TERA in Korea) has decided to change TERA's business model to be free. The industry has shifted in this direction and the Korean gaming market has always been on the forefront of this shift. NHN's decisions are their own as is every territory that services TERA. TERA currently remains a subscription-based game in North America and Europe,” said En Masse Entertainment community manager Catherine Park in a post on the official TERA forums.
“Regardless of the news from Korea, the good news is that TERA will continue to grow and improve with new game content in North America, and all content will be available for us should we decide to evaluate their use. We know you are full of questions but that is all we have for now. Enjoy the holidays and look to January for more information - 2013 is going to be huge for us and we can't wait to get started.”


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Household expenditure increased 1.3 percent in the fourth quarter (vs 0.7 percent), driven by consumption of both durable goods (1.5 percent vs -1 percent) and non durable goods and services (1.2 percent vs 0.9 percent). In addition, government spending rose 0.3 percent, after being unchanged in the third quarter.
By contrast, fixed investment shrank 0.6 percent, following a 0.8 percent growth in the previous three-month period, due to lower spending on other machinery and equipment including weapon systems (-5.2 percent vs 0.2 percent) and transport equipment (-2.7 percent vs 6.7 percent). Still, increases were seen in intellectual property products investment (2.5 percent vs 1.9 percent) and construction spending (1.6 percent vs -0.2 percent). Net external demand also contributed negatively to the GDP as imports surged 1.9 percent (vs -2 percent in Q3) and exports increased at a slower 1.1 percent (vs -3.7 percent in Q3).
Year-on-year, the economy grew 1.7 percent in the fourth quarter, also unrevised from the preliminary estimate and below the 2.1 percent expansion recorded in the previous period. Domestic demand was the main driver of growth while net exports contributed negatively to the GDP. Considering 2018 full year, the economy expanded 2.1 percent, slower than 2.8 percent in 2017.


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MUMBAI (Reuters) - Indian gold futures eased from their highest level in nearly two months weighed by a reversal in the rupee, which hit a record low in the previous session.
* The actively traded gold for August delivery on the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) was 0.49 percent lower at 27,754 rupees per 10 grams, falling from a Tuesday high of 28,288 rupees, a level last seen on April 13.
* The rupee was stronger tracking gains in most other Asian currencies. The rupee plays an important role in determining the landed cost of the dollar-quoted yellow metal.
* In the domestic physical market, demand remained subdued and importers and wholesalers struggled to vacate supplies from May, when imports were almost double of a month's average.
* The government does not need to act as of now to further moderate gold imports as the recent steps have already had a considerable impact, a government official said.
* "Retail demand is totally absent...," said Daman Prakash Rathod, director of MNC Bullion, a wholesaler in Chennai, adding that the supplies are enough to meet a week's demand in case of a sharp fall in prices.
* The government raised the import duty on gold to 8 percent after a ban on consignment imports by banks, state-run agencies and premier trading houses. The festival and wedding season has ended and will re-start in August.
* Silver for July delivery on the MCX was 0.30 percent lower at 43,480 rupees per kilogram.
(Reporting by Siddesh Mayenkar; Editing by Supriya Kurane)
Updated Date: Jun 13, 2013 04:30 AM


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Should food stamp recipients get more meat?
Recession turns more people into semi-vegetarians, which may be healthier.
It’s no surprise that people are eating less meat during the recession.
The magazine noted that meat is the most expensive thing Americans eat, and reported a survey by the American Meat Institute that found that 51% of shoppers have changed their meat purchasing habits because of the economy.
That means there is a lot of surplus meat around, and the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture has proposed the recipients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as food stamps, get increased benefits with the added benefits card good only for specified dairy, poultry and pork products. The proposal also calls for the government to buy up some meat products and distribute them to school lunch programs or food banks.
The industry sees its Meat the Need proposal as a win-win plan: Farmers would benefit from the sale of their products, and poorer families would be able to buy meat products they couldn’t otherwise afford.
Is it really conscionable to dump products that the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association and almost every other health group say to limit on poorer people because no one else will eat them? To boost the economy? Because they have less choice? Especially when the products include processed meat, known for its carcinogenic potential?
Aren't people with lower incomes who receive food aid disproportionately plagued with diabetes, obesity, heart disease, metabolic disorders, high blood pressure, gallstones, fatty liver and obesity-related cancers already?
It doesn’t appear as if the proposal has gained much traction in Congress. A record number of Americans, one in eight U.S. adults and one in four children, receive food stamps, The New York Times reported last week. Many of them probably would appreciate the chance to buy more meat. And whether it would be harmful to their health would depend on their diet as a whole.
Which brings us back to the flexitarian lifestyle, which some have adopted by choice and some by necessity.
Many people have signed on the Meatless Monday movement, which asks people to give up meat once a week to benefit their health and the environment.
- Bing: best vegetarian recipes
If you’re looking for suggestions on how to eat well on a budget, we like the blog Cheap Healthy Good, which is full of great tips on how to feed yourself and your family healthy food without breaking the banks. It includes a weekly Veggie Might feature by Leigh Angel. A recent post asked the blog’s readers for suggestions on how to feed a family with some vegetarians and some meat eaters.
Are you eating less meat, and is that by choice, by necessity or both? What are your greatest challenges in trying to cook healthy meals on a budget? What are your favorite recipes or places to find recipes?
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Turkey was named the favorite country of Russian tourists to travel during the coronavirus pandemic. In the first nine months of 2021, the republic accounted for 63 percent of all foreign trips. Such information appeared on the website of the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR).
Among the popular resorts, ATOR Executive Director Maya Lomidze also mentioned Cyprus, Egypt, the UAE and the Maldives.
According to analysts, in 2021, Russians made 5.24 million trips to the most popular foreign destinations. Nevertheless, in comparison with 2019, the indicators of outbound tourism have significantly decreased. For example, the number of international air traffic decreased by 3.3 times.
Lomidze noted that due to insufficient volumes of air transportation abroad and covid restrictions, there is an increase in the price of tourist services.
Earlier in October, experts of the travel and travel service “TUTU.” revealed the main reasons for Russians’ love of travel. As a result, it turned out that the majority goes on trips to other cities and countries to change the situation (36 percent of respondents). For 19 percent of respondents, traveling is a way to take a break from work.


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Ubisoft to host another Forward digital event in September
Ubisoft’s first Forward event was such a huge success that it’s hosting another one in September.
Video Games Chronicle reports that Frederick Duguet, Ubisoft’s chief financial planning officer, announced the September event during a recent earnings call.
According to Duguet, the first Ubisoft Forward “achieved record-high peak concurrent viewership during this event, surpassing our previous E3 conferences.” The event probably got some help from leaks and rumors about Far Cry 6, which started surfacing days prior.
It’s unclear exactly what Ubisoft plans to show off during the September Forward. Watch Dogs: Legion is launching on October 9th, and Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is launching on November 17th. Getting some gameplay footage of Far Cry 6 would be nice, too, considering the game is already scheduled for February. Maybe we’ll finally get release dates for Gods & Monsters and Rainbow Six Quarantine after both games were delayed out of 2020. While the pricing for Legion and Valhalla will remain consistent with current-gen games, Ubisoft has not committed to the same with its future titles.
Meanwhile, questions and concerns about Ubisoft’s toxic workplace culture remain, a topic that the publisher did not address during its previous Forward. It’s unclear if Ubisoft plans on taking time out of a marketing event to talk about the rampant accusations of sexual harassment, firings, and resignations that have happened over the course of the last few weeks.


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Following claims by the National Association of Telecommunications Subscribers of Nigeria (NATCOMS) that telephone users in the country lose about N30 billion to unsolicited Short Message Service (SMS) monthly from the activities of Value Added Service Providers (VAS), the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has charged the Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) to find a lasting solution to the menace immediately.
While the MNOs search for a lasting solution to the menace, they (MTN, Globacom; Airtel and Etisalat) have equally claimed that most of the unsolicited text messages do not come directly from them but through the VAS providers.
NATCOMS had lamented the losses in Lagos, at the NCC organised Industry Consumer Advisory Forum (ICAF) with the theme: Effective Service Delivery: Issues and Challenges.
NATCOMS President, Deolu Ogunbanjo, who presented a paper titled: “Service Providers’ Compliance; Unsolicited SMS, Automatic Data Plan Renewal and Credit Depletion”, said so many Nigerians are bleeding through this menace.
Ogunbanjo, who said the time has come for better regulation of this aspect of Nigeria’s telecommunications sector, based his analysis on the fact that on the average, telecommunications subscribers in Nigeria spent about N200, which the operators deduct from their accounts without permission.
Telecommunications subscribers lose N30 billion monthly to the activities of VAS providers, who unleashed various unsolicited SMS on customers. Even when they tell you, after deducting money from your account to press STOP, after pressing STOP, more messages will come and your money will still be deducted.“Atimes, they will tell you they have automatically renewed what you never subscribed for and deduct money. Such messages claim between N50 to N200 to N500 monthly from subscribers. Our investigations showed that on the average, subscribers lose N200 monthly and when you multiply that by the about 150 million mobile telephone users in Nigeria, you will arrive at N30 billion. By the end of the year, we may be getting around N360 billion shared by telecommunications operators and their VAS collaborators reaped illegally from subscribers.
“The industry must look at this very fast and act on”, Ogunbanjo stated.
In a post event interview, the Director, Consumer Affairs Department, NCC, Alhaji Abdullahi Maikano, admitted that there challenges as regards the control of menace of unsolicited SMS, stressing that operators must sit up and work on the challenges.
Maikano disclosed that the NCC will meet with the operators soonest to identify what could be the challenges they are facing in checkmating the activities of VAS providers on their networks, stressing that this has become very important so that consumers will not continue to suffer from the menace.
Earlier in his opening remarks, Maikano said since its creation, ICAF has made numerous valuable recommendations and suggestions on topical issues affecting consumers and as such, has identified issues that need to be looked into, ranging from billing (dropped balance), Automatic Data Plan Renewal/Forceful migration of consumer to unsubscribed platform, unsolicited text message, undelivered text messages, dropped calls, inability to deactivate caller tune(s) and unsolicited services.
Admitting that consumers have been bombarding operators about various complaints, which unsolicited SMS has become the chief, MTN Official at the event, Eghertor Idehen, said telecommunications firm, including MTN are working to assuage the pains of subscribers, stressing that most of those messages don’t actually come from their networks, but through short codes VAS operators use.
Idehen advised consumers to limit the way they give out their details, especially their telephone numbers at events and functions, stressing that VAS providers latched on them when they have access and the whole complaints go to operators.
Speaking for Etisalat, a representative, Oladotun Muyiwa, called for more support from NCC, especially for subscribers in roaming environment, lamenting that telecommunications operators have little or no control on VAS providers, “but at Etisalat, we are working to ensure all of them have identifiable route on the network”.
Speaking at the event, the Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Gbenga Adebayo, said, on the issue of unsolicited text messages, which is impinging on the quality of service deliver, all hands must be on deck.“We all must work together as stakeholders. The regulators, the operators as well as the consumers must take collective responsibility on the state of quality of service. We must understand the workings of the industry; we must understand issues of policies and regulations and we must understand issues of consumer concerns and address those issues,” he said.
Adebayo noted that aside those span text messages that come from the operators, there are others that flow from the Internet, which is open platform as well as those that emanate from the VAS operators.He therefore called for stringent regulation by the regulator to come hard on, especially the VAS operators, saying without such tough rules, it might be difficult to regulate their platforms.


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The metaverse is creating hype, while Asia turns towards play-to-earn
The latest trends around the metaverse have yielded high interest levels not only in a specific region but across the entire globe. There was a notable increase in Asia, a market that accounts for 60% of the world’s population and almost half of the worldwide gamers. The metaverse looks to transform the way we socialize, play, and monetize by forming a decentralized space. A region where the play-to-earn movement truly thrived may become the missing piece in the path towards mass adoption.
The following document belongs to the Blockchain User Behavior Reports series. A set of reports by DappRadar intended to provide users with a different perspective of the blockchain industry, combining traditional behavioral finance analysis with blockchain metrics and indicators. The document analyzes trends from the blockchain industry perspective but also identifies patterns in the DeFi, NFT, and Gaming spaces respectively.
- Blockchain metaverses and play-to-earn were two of the most talked about topics in the Asia region, growing 33% month-over-month while reaching 1.7 million mentions across Asian media outlets.
- The metaverse trend is dominated by the US. However, the Asia presence is becoming more visible with India, Singapore, and Indonesia increasing their audience by 500%.
- Generation Z is getting more involved with dapps; people aged 18-24 experienced the highest growth in terms of traffic (44% increase projected in November month-over-month).
- More than half a million Indians show interest in NFTs as Bollywood and famous Cricketers make their way into the space.
Table of Contents
- Positive signals state that the Asia region audience is roaring
- The highest growth of 44% is spotted within Generation Z
- Play-to-earn traffic expected to grow by at least 63% in November
- Increased interest in the Metaverse boosting play-to-earn growth
- Bollywood spreading NFTs awareness in the Indian market
Positive signals state that Asia region audience is roaring
More than 1.1 million users connected to DappRadar since October 1st. Continuing with the dominance observed in previous months, the United States is still the region that drives the largest audience. Based on November numbers, the projection estimates that the traffic coming from the USA will increase by 8% month-over-month.
Whilst the US dominates the blockchain scene, certain scenarios unfolding on the other side of the globe signal an increase in audience numbers in Asia. For instance, China is now the second largest audience. Web traffic from Asia doubled October’s numbers despite all the well-known restrictions from their government.
But the growth in the Asian audience is not limited to China. The Southeast Asian footprint is quite visible as well. A region closely tied to the play-to-earn movement saw the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Singapore all increase by at least 33% with Thailand up 50% from October. The growth in Asia is confirmed with 80% traffic surges identified in South Korea, Hong Kong, and Japan, while the 20% traffic increase in India is the icing on the cake.
Overall, the Asian market is well-involved within the industry. The combination of emerging economies, high population density, and a strong appetite for games and technologies, made the region one of the industry’s most enticing for adoption. It’s a region that braces the play-to-earn movement more than anywhere else.
Highest growth of 44% is spotted within Generation Z
Besides increased interest from Asia, perhaps the most interesting trend observed in the demographics analysis is age. People aged 18-24 experienced the highest growth in terms of traffic – a 44% increase estimated from October. Meanwhile, the presence of people aged 65 or more diminished 20% month-over-month (MoM). As previously mentioned, the low age thresholds are closely related to the game category.
It is important to maintain visibility on other factors like age, device use, and gender, as these factors may hint at the possible directions the industry may take. In the not-so-distant future, Millennials and GenZ will be the dominant workforce that will shape the market. Their close relation to digital environments certainly boosts the narrative around blockchain in general.
Play-to-earn traffic expected to grow by at least 63% in November
In our last Games Report, we observed increasing interest from VCs and investment organizations, particularly in blockchain gaming. In 2021 alone, VCs have invested almost $3 billion into games, virtual worlds and NFT related projects. With play-to-earn and metaverse narratives at their peaks, blockchain-based games have dominated the headlines lately.
On-chain data confirms the trend. In November, game NFTs amassed over $675 million, surpassing October’s total by 6%. Also, the number of trades, a metric that shows in-demand trends, are on pace to increase 25% from the previous month.
DappRadar’s traffic confirms the growing interest in the play-to-earn sector. Game-related traffic has already increased 14% from the numbers observed in October and is projected to increase 63% by the end of November. Meanwhile, the interest in NFTs is projected to decrease slightly (-3%) with DeFi’s traffic projected to grow 17% from the previous month. Moreover, the dominance of games within DappRadar’s traffic is also increasing.
The play-to-earn narrative is not new for Asian countries. Still, attention on blockchain games continues to grow. Six out of the top 10 countries driving play-to-earn traffic trends come from Asia, and four of them are Southeast Asia emerging economies. The other two are India and Japan, markets with a strong appetite for games.
Considering the region’s demographics, the potential is massive. According to Statista, 1.47 billion or 45% of the worldwide gamer population resides in the Asia Pacific region. In addition, it is expected that by 2025, Millennials and GenZ will represent 25% of the population’s share on that side of the globe. These demographic insights, coupled with the socio-economic situation in that region, provide the region with a tremendous market potential for play-to-earn games.
Based on the revised numbers, it is expected that the play-to-earn audience will grow even further. Big capital firms appear to be invested in the future of blockchain games, while the demographic opportunity is too big to ignore.
Increased interest in the Metaverse boosting play-to-earn growth
Sparked by mainstream announcements, the metaverse has become the latest trending topic. The results are already easy to see in the industry. Virtual world games, which are highly related to the metaverse concept, have generated over $78.2 million in 12,550 sales in November so far – a 170% and 30% increase respectively from the end of October.
The US dominates the metaverse narrative. With a wide player base in games that evoke a metaverse like Minecraft, Roblox, and Fortnite, it is not surprising. However, after the dominance, Asia is the next biggest. India, along with Indonesia and the Philippines, fast-growing countries that are part of the emerging Asian economy, have shown a strong appetite for the play-to-earn movement, and the industry in general. In India for instance, the social metrics surrounding the metaverse are 500% greater than September numbers.
Nonetheless, the metaverse is not exclusive to a specific region. Countries like the UK, Turkey, and Canada saw their interest in the metaverse grow more than 840% in the same period. This variety is also observed in The Sandbox’s traffic metrics, where Turkey represents the third most important source of traffic after the US and India.
Most countries that show a strong interest in the metaverse have some of the largest gaming markets on the planet. Other countries have been closely monitoring the state of the blockchain game sector. With more tangible events that include The Sandbox gameplay alpha, the recent appraisal of the digital land market, and the development of the next generation of play-to-earn games, the metaverse narrative will only gain relevance going forward.
Bollywood assist in spreading NFTs awareness in the Indian market
NFTs play a vital role in the development of both play-to-earn and the metaverse. Another topic dominated by the North American market may have experienced an important trend that positions Asia, specifically India, as a region avid for this category.
In recent weeks, Bollywood and Cricket stars made their presence felt in the NFT space. Amitabh Bachan, one of the most influential Indians in the world, launched four limited edition NFT collections that collected almost $1 million in separate auctions through the Indian marketplace BeyondLife. Bollywood’s Salman Khan has partnered with Bollycoin, an NFT Indian-based marketplace that aims to become a fully functioning DAO in 2022. Meanwhile, Dinesh Karthik, a recognized IPL cricketer, is auctioning an animated digital art piece on Ethereum’s marketplace Rarible.
India has been no stranger to the industry. In past behavior reports, we identified India as a country providing high levels of DeFi-related traffic. This goes in line with the close relation with Polygon, an Indian-based project that became the third most prominent blockchain in terms of DeFi for the majority of 2021. Nonetheless, it is worth highlighting the increased interest in NFTs and games with more visible growth in the former category.
The effect of NFTs will be felt in the play-to-earn space as well. As these digital collectibles play a crucial role in the blockchain game mechanics, NFTs will shift the way we use and monetize these game items within the decentralized metaverse. Also, it is worth mentioning that Polygon is revamping its digital experience offering. With the involvement of important projects like Animoca Brands, and partnerships that include OpenSea, Decentraland, The Sandbox, Somnium Space, and many more, both NFT and game outlooks in the Indian market strengthen.
All in all, India is poised to play a significant role in blockchain’s path to mass adoption. With the second largest population on the planet estimated to reach almost 1.5 billion habitants by 2025, Indian market behavior is something to keep on the radar.
The blockchain industry is undergoing an organic expansion phase in all of its main categories. Geographically, the industry is still driven by the USA, however, events unfolding in the past several weeks confirmed that the Asia market is thriving.
India is the prime example. Prior to the involvement of Bollywood and Cricket celebrities in the NFT space, India had already shown signs of interest in NFT collectibles and marketplaces. Yet after the public announcements by Indian celebrities, the interest in the space spiked higher than ever before. In what could become a similar trajectory as NFTs and American celebrities, the latest involvements of Indian celebrities have shone a spotlight on the Indian NFT market.
Furthermore, with almost half of the traditional gamer population, Asia’s relevance in the play-to-earn and metaverse narratives should grow. The latest surges of 500% in the interest for these topics confirm that the region is ready to play a critical role in the path to mass adoption.


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Stock in Netflix increased by 5%, what does this mean for traders?
What is happening with Netflix stock? following a brief outage on all platforms, Netflix Inc.’s streaming services are now operational, the firm announced on Wednesday night. According to the outage-tracking website Down detector, which compiles status updates from many sources in the United States, at its height, there were over 1,300 occurrences of users reporting problems with Netflix.
Here are the relief estimates that are beginning to bring life back to normal in the same way that Netflix’s business thrived during the Corona period when people were confined to their homes due to the quarantine, and the company added more than 36 million new supporters in 2020 and about 18.2 million others in 2021. Due to the organization’s limited opportunities for supporter development and the fierce competition in the internet broadcasting market, over $60 billion has been deducted from its value.
The mentioned outage continued for more than an hour. After the media giant disclosed slower subscriber growth as part of its Q4 FY2021 earnings report, Netflix stock plunged. Netflix announced that it expected to have 2.5 million paying customers in the current quarter. This is a significant drop from the 4 million paying subscribers predicted for the same period of the previous year.
With about 221 million paid subscribers worldwide, Netflix continues to be the leading streaming provider globally. In the case of Netflix, the lockdown did indeed make extensive use of the service. However, this does not shield it from macroeconomic influences. Like any other mega-cap firm, Netflix has high expenses and needs access to financing. When the economy is growing and people are spending money, it is much simpler to obtain capital. Fortunately, Netflix is not struggling financially, which may be one of the reasons it is currently on fire. Netflix also experienced a significant decline in March 2020, during the wild decrease. From the high $300s to the mid $200s, it decreased.
What will aid the rebound of Netflix’s stock?
During the first three months of this year, Netflix lost 200,000 subscribers. The stock price of Netflix declines by 35%, marking the largest one-day percentage drop since October 15, 2004. This is the second time that Netflix stock has declined. Shares of Netflix fell by more than 20% in January.
If they can convince account sharers to become their own subscriptions or have the current account holder pay for separate sub-accounts for them in a friends and family plan kind of way and the $5 with-ads plan attracts all the people who only stopped using the service due to its price. That would mean a second stream of income from advertisers and combined could see their number of subscribers double within a year.
Although the share value is currently $226 and is declining, it is still not advisable to invest in this stock due to its extremely high volatility. Only those traders who intend to play for a longer period of time can invest in this one, and those traders who want to play intraday must be really skilled. Currently, Netflix has a cash balance of around $5.15 billion. It has a gross margin of 41%. One of the few justifications we have for believing Netflix can survive the recession is the company’s enormous cash pile.
The post Netflix stock resurgence – It has increased by 5% appeared first on forexinsider24.com.


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SEATTLE Pleased with improvements made in store performance and profitability, Starbucks Corp. on Wednesday said it has identified 30 company-operated stores once slated for closure that will now remain open. Company officials said they would announce which stores would be saved from closure at the end of the day on Thursday, once all impacted employees are informed.In a statement Wednesday, Starbucks said, “This decision was made after carefully monitoring these stores for sales, ...
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Ecommerce and auction giant eBay’s earnings exceeded expectations in the second quarter, but stocks are down on worries about slowing growth.
Sean Gallup / Getty Images
a slightly chaotic but better-than-expected second quarter result as the e-commerce and auction giant is close to closing a series of deals that have sharpened the company’s focus on its core e-commerce business. Results were also affected by a difficult comparison with the year-ago quarter at the height of the pandemic – and pressure from the company to cut down on the site’s sales of some low-priced, low-margin items.
For the quarter, eBay (ticker: EBAY) posted revenue of $ 2.7 billion, up 14% year over year, excluding the company’s Korean operations, which will be reported as a discontinued operation. In June, eBay announced an agreement to sell 80% of the shares in the entity to Korean retailer eMart for approximately $ 3 billion in cash.
Adjusted for this business, the company had expected sales of 2.58 to 2.63 billion US dollars for the quarter, eBay said in a presentation on the quarterly results.
EBay bought back $ 1.5 billion of common stock in the quarter. The company increased its full year buyback program from $ 2 billion to $ 5 billion.
Non-GAAP earnings were 99 cents per share excluding Korea; the adjusted guidance to reflect the Korea deal was for non-GAAP earnings of 89 cents to 94 cents per share. According to generally accepted accounting principles, the company earned 43 cents per share.
“On an apple-to-apple basis, all key business metrics met or exceeded expectations, and revenue growth was driven by the acceleration of our payments migration and the growth of advertising,” eBay CEO Jamie Iannone said in a statement. “We’re simplifying our portfolio and growing our core while delivering significant shareholder value.”
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Gross merchandise value was $ 22.1 billion, down 7% as reported and 11% in constant currency. In an interview with Barron’s, Iannone said the decline reflected a combination of a difficult year-on-year comparison and a concerted push to remove some low-value items from the site. He also noted that growth slowed over the quarter with some constraints on consumer mobility – the same pattern as
com (AMZN) recently noted in the release of the June quarter results.
For the third quarter, eBay forecasts revenue of $ 2.42 billion to $ 2.47 billion, with non-GAAP earnings of 86 cents to 90 cents per share and GAAP earnings of between 64 cents and 68 cents per share.
Iannone said the underlying business is healthy and growing – he says the company is now a year after a multi-year turnaround and that the strategy is working. For example, he notes that 71% of transactions are now being processed through the company’s payment platform, with a target of 90% of all transactions in the September quarter.
“Our innovation playbook really works,” he says, with sustained strong growth in categories such as watches, sneakers, trading cards and certified refurbished electronics.
EBay stock is down 1.3% in late trading to $ 67.16.
Write to Eric J. Savitz at [email protected]


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Arzooo, a B2B retail platform announced that they are foraying into a B2B seller platform – Falcon.
With this announcement the new product has been designed to extend it’s platform to over 5000 consumer durable sellers to join the B2B wave to scale their business. Falcon is open to individuals or businesses who are distributors, wholesalers, a large format player or an OEM to take their products to a larger offline market with Zero distribution cost
The seller platform is end to end tech driven based on all Do It Yourself (DIY) service where Sellers have to register on the Falcon platform with relevant details which will eventually create an order dashboard for their business where they can list their products, view and manage new orders from retailers. Arzooo’s logistics arm Arzooo express that manages the end to end logistics for every Falcon order, picking up from seller and delivering it to the buyer
Falcon’s supplier management portal further amplifies information transparency as all suppliers are allotted a Product ASN No. (Arzooo Serial Number), district level information to enable integration of every product at every customer level to the sellers
Before Launching the seller platform this week, Arzooo has been doing a pilot of the platform in last 4-5 months and during this phase of pilot itself sellers have done business of over 200 crores on Arzooo
The company stated on this recent announcement and added, “Arzooo’s core focus over the years has been growing retail stores and the success story of over 30,000 retails stores has encouraged us to extend the growth window to a larger seller ecosystem. Our seller platform is creating a whole new opportunities for everyone in consumer electronics value chain to scale their business and the initial traction is overwhelming”


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If you’re paying attention to international business headlines these days, you might come away thinking that there is big trouble brewing in not-so-little China. In a burgeoning economy that became the world’s second-largest on the strength of perennial double-digit growth, the worm seems to have turned. Gross domestic product grew by “just” seven per cent in the first quarter, the lowest three-month growth in six years. Exports in March were down 15 per cent, and industrial output has grown more weakly than the general economy – a remarkable reversal for a manufacturing powerhouse. India is now poised to become the fastest-growing large economy in the world.
So the buzz words for China’s economic performance these days – “anemic,” “disappointing,” and so on – tell the story everyone seems willing to accept: The miracle is over.
If this really is the case, then nobody seems to have told Chinese investors. The Shanghai composite index is up more than 35 per cent year-to-date, while the Shenzhen exchange, which mostly comprises smaller companies, is up more than 60 per cent. This isn’t just a big-investor rally, either. According to a recent report from BCA Research, there are 125 million investor accounts on the Shanghai exchange, which means that about one in six Chinese urbanites are exposed to equities – three times more than the last big stock rally in 2007.
Do these folks know something the naysayers don’t?
Maybe they do. It’s true that stock markets in China, unlike in developed countries, represent a small part of the economy. They are also notoriously capricious and sentiment-driven. (As one Chinese businessman once told me, “In China, investing is gambling and the stock market is the casino.”) But even if stocks are overheated, and even if a correction is inevitable, there is some good reason to believe that “anemic” China still holds enormous potential for investors. You just have to put those economic numbers in perspective.
For one thing, slowing growth should be a surprise to precisely nobody. China’s GDP is now US$9.24 trillion. That’s big. And the economy has been maturing, away from primary manufacturing (which is being picked up by satellites like Vietnam) towards tertiary production and services. Growth is slowing because the economy has moved well out of the “start-up” phase, and it’s just harder to grow when you’re that big.
As well, Chinese officials have for years been saying their goal is to shift from a manufacturing export- and investment-fueled economy to a consumer economy. They have also been clear that this will entail some slowdown in economic growth, as the emphasis on wealth production gives way to wealth distribution.
But this is a long way from a hard landing. Most big countries would give their central banker’s right arm for China-style “slow” growth. At 6.8 per cent (the International Monetary Fund’s projection for 2015 growth), annual output will grow by more than US$625 billion. In other words, China will produce another Canada about every three years.
Meanwhile, the long-talked-about transformation to a consumer economy is actually happening. The consumer sector is accounting for a bigger and bigger share of GDP growth, and there is still a lot of potential there. Compared with the United States, where shoppers generate about two-thirds of economic activity, consumer spending in China accounts only about 35 per cent of GDP. Consumer confidence, even dented by a continuing weak real estate market and doom-and-gloom about growth, hit a record high last April. BCA Research points out that the rising stock markets will boost confidence further and likely increase retail sales.
None of this is to say that the transformation will be smooth or easy, or that success is guaranteed. Chinese consumers are notorious savers – changing them into spenders will take time. But the government is actively taking steps toward encouraging domestic consumption, including recently lowering import tariffs on popular goods and cutting taxes. The central bank has lowered interest rates twice since November and eased reserve requirements in an effort to encourage more lending.
The big question is whether a nominally communist government can really generate a robust consumer sector. It’s harder to play puppeteer to a billion shoppers than a few million factories, and consumers’ growing clout may present a challenge to China’s social and economic engineers. Even short of political unrest, keeping consumers happy and confident enough to spend will be an ongoing problem for policymakers.
Let’s not forget, though: China has transformed its economy before. For two decades, it not only managed double-digit growth while keeping inflation largely in check, but also pulled nearly 700 million people out of abject poverty.
Whatever you think of China’s politics, there is no denying the scale of that achievement. Maybe China won’t be able to pull off its next transformation, which is perhaps no less daunting or difficult. But I wouldn’t bet against it.


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ERJ staff report (TB)
Kobe, Japan -- Sumitomo Rubber Industries Ltd. (SRI) suffered a 27.7-percent drop in net income in the quarter ended 31 March despite 8.2-percent higher sales of $1.76 billion (euro 1233 million).
Sumitomo's net income fell to $51.6 million, or 2.9 percent of sales, and operating income slipped 0.6 percent to $118.1 million, or 6.7 percent of sales. SRI did not comment on the results, released in the firm's quarterly â€œFlash Reportâ€ for investors.
SRI's tire segment reported 17.4-percent higher operating income of $103 million on 11.4-percent better sales of $1.51 billion.
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Article from Tire Business - a Crain publication


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Stocks closed broadly higher on Wall Street as investors welcomed China’s move to exempt some U.S. products from a recent round of tariffs and more in Wednesday’s Stock Market Update.
Technology, health care and communication services stocks powered much of the gains Wednesday for the S&P 500, which has been essentially flat for much of the week. Investors also continued to favor smaller-company stocks.
Apple climbed 3.1% a day after announcing a new lineup of iPhones and a low-priced video streaming service to compete with Netflix.
Health care and communications stocks also made strong gains. Medtronic climbed 1.1% and AT&T added 3.1%.
The financial sector wobbled between small gains and losses after pulling out of an early slide. Wells Fargo gained 1.1%.
Energy stocks fell the most as the price of U.S. crude oil slumped 2.9%. Chevron slid 0.4%.
Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 1.74% from 1.70% late Tuesday.
China on Wednesday said it will exempt American industrial grease and some other imports from tariff increases, though it kept in place penalties on soybeans and other major U.S. exports ahead of negotiations next month.
The move could indicate that both sides are settling in for an extended conflict even as they prepare for talks in Washington aimed at ending the dispute that threatens global economic growth.
Financial markets have been roiled this summer as the trade war escalated. Investors worry the impact of tariffs and a slowing global economy could tip the U.S. into a recession. The economic uncertainty has also become a drag on companies.
STOCK MARKET UPDATE
KEEPING SCORE: The S&P 500 rose 21 points, or 0.7%, to 3,000. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 227 points, or 0.8%, to 27,136. The Nasdaq climbed 85 points, or 1.1%, to 8,169.
Investors continued to shift money to smaller-company stocks. The Russell 2000 index climbed 2.1%, far outpacing the broader market.
Major indexes in Europe rose broadly.
ANALYST’S TAKE: In the first couple days of this week investors favored stocks that sold off in recent weeks, including energy and financials. But the trend reversed Wednesday, as traders bid up technology and other more growth-oriented stocks.
“Today you have a little bit of a rotation back,” said Rob Haworth, senior investment strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management. “You’re getting some movement that trade may not be as bad as we think, with China relieving some of the restrictions on its own tariffs.”
DEEP EXHALE: Shares in tobacco giant Altria Group rose after a brief slide following the Trump administration’s announcement that it is looking to ban thousands of flavors used in e-cigarettes amid an outbreak of breathing problems tied to vaping. State and federal health authorities are investigating hundreds of breathing illnesses reported in people who have used e-cigarettes and other vaping devices. No single device, ingredient or additive has been identified. Altria rose 1.1%.
WEAK GAME: GameStop plunged 9.8% after the video game retailer slashed its full-year profit forecast following a disappointing second quarter. The company continues to struggle as it competes with online game sellers. It is also spending to revitalize existing locations in an effort to attract more customers, but said it will take time to see any results.
ARCADE MIRE: Dave & Buster’s Entertainment fell 4.6% after the restaurant and arcade operator cut its sales forecast for the year. The company is facing increased competition. The downturn hit food and beverage sales especially hard during the second quarter.
A GOOD LOOK: Shares in RH, the owner of furniture company Restoration Hardware, rose 5% after its latest quarterly results topped Wall Street’s expectations. The company also raised its financial forecast for the year.
© The Associated Press. All rights reserved.


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And so thanks to the crazy fans from China, the annual DOTA 2 World Championship named The International has become a professional game with the highest bonus history in history, surpassing the Fortnite World Cup with the number Bonus of 30 million USD divided into professional gamer teams and individuals participating.
The International 2019 will take place in Shanghai, China from August 15 to 25. Currently when watching on Valve's website, the total value of the prize has been at 30,155,158 USD until 4pm on July 22, and it will definitely increase again because it is still possible to buy Battle Pass as a level up for Battle Pass to receive gifts, thereby contributing a quarter of the money you spend on virtual goods to contribute to the prize. This number was initially only 1.6 million USD, Valve's money went from his pocket to the prize, and it increased to more than 30 million thanks to the money he bought for "books."
Last year, Europe's OG won after an impressive reversal against China's LGD, won 3 – 2 in the BO5 series, thereby winning over 12 million USD. This year Chinese people expect them to win the championship, and that is why the DOTA 2 neighbors love to give up money to support the tournament. The International's prize until now is always higher than the previous year, when TI8's total prize pool last year was only $ 25.5 million.


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The grocery chain Albertsons plans to close several stores in the Northwest, one of which is in Pendleton.
The Pendleton store located at 1300 SW Court Avenue is one of seven stores closing in Oregon, Washington and Western Idaho.
About 46 employees work at the Pendleton store which is expected to close by February 20th.
A spokesman for Albertsons says the grocery chain is continuously evaluating stores, closing locations that are less profitable.
None of the other stores are in our region -- as the rest are in western Washington and central Oregon.
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