text:
The device was also reduced a few months ago and now starts at $349 for the 64GB model.
Apple might be in works to big alterations to its iPhone lineup, but there's a chance that its 2018 lineup won't include only the models projected to go on sale in the fall. This device will be made for the countries like China and India, where there is a huge market for the premium smartphones, with a price tag less than $400 (₹24,000). Any iPhone SE 2 launch would likely to take place in spring next year, as Apple looks to wrest the initiative from mobile makers in the wake of February's Mobile World Congress.
What are your thoughts on a new iPhone SE?Читайте также: Broncos Turning to Paxton Lynch as Starting QB This Week
While the report did not provide any further details about the handset, previous report suggests that it could feature a faster A10 chipset found on the iPhone 7.
It looks like Apple iPhone SE, the affordable edition of iPhone will soon get a successor. As the SE was significantly less expensive than Apple's luxury phones, it may very well be that the company is looking to focus their efforts on increasing their representation in the huge market that is India.
The iPhone SE was first launched in March 2016, with Apple boosting storage space earlier this year. Moreover, the SE also supports 4K video playback, which was not available on the iPhone 5S.При любом использовании материалов сайта и дочерних проектов, гиперссылка на обязательна.
«» 2007 - 2017 Copyright.
Автоматизированное извлечение информации сайта запрещено.
Код для вставки в блог


text:
Motorola’s CEO has confirmed that the company is developing a “consumer device” in partnership with Google. While announcing Moto’s fourth-quarter financial results – we’ll zip through those in a minute — Sanjay Jha said the company will launch “at least one direct-to-consumer device with Google” in 2011. The CEO’s comment has …
Guilty by association
So Motorola's next to have its name sullied by Google's horrible customer service?
- Ex-Soviet engines fingered after Antares ROCKET launch BLAST
- Review Pixel mania: Apple 27-inch iMac with 5K Retina display
- NASA: Spacecraft crash site FOUND ON MOON RIM
- Hate the BlackBerry Z10 and Passport? How about this dusty old flashback instead?
- Google's Mr Roboto Andy Rubin bids sayonara to Chocolate Factory

domain: news


text:
Thursday, August 03, 2017View Showroom
Last week’s The Edge featured a posting on how what consumers say and what they do may be very different when it comes to the adoption of technology. Specifically, my colleague, Mike Carter, asserted that while consumers consistently state in survey after survey that their reason for not adopting this or that new technology comes from a concern about security, the actions taken by consumers to be more secure when using new technology tells another story. Netting out Mike’s argument, consumers’ behavior suggests not only that convenience rather than security is the key consideration for whether new technology is adopted, but also shows a near disdain for taking the most basic measures to protect their sensitive data if to do so erodes any of the convenience they would otherwise enjoy.
I would have agreed with Mike until last week when this headline appeared in the UK: “Northerners denounce contactless payment as 'the Devil's hocus pocus." Obviously, both Mike and I have underestimated just how comprehensively Satan works to use the payments industry as a means of spreading evil. Or maybe not so much. The headline was from The Daily Mash - an irreverent news parody site that plays on the farcical notion that those in the northern part of the British Isles are bumpkins while those who reside in the South are allegedly sophisticated, educated and have only ten fingers and toes.
Though parody is by definition something overplayed to prove its absurdity, I do live "up north" in rural Scotland and I have had a number of conversations with small retailers and fellow shoppers on the use of contactless payments as part of my personal crusade to reassure the population of the Kingdom of Fife that contactless payments are secure and safe. While, to date, no one I have spoken with has specifically mentioned the Devil as a reason for not using contactless payments, I do find myself having more sympathy with the unfortunate Southerner from the Daily Mash article on occasion.
Nonetheless, despite The Daily Mash’s paradox and my experiences in village life, when it comes to contactless payments in the UK, it would appear that – as with the Borg of Star Trek lore – resistance is futile. There are now 109 million contactless cards in circulation in the UK, which may not sound like a lot to some until you do the math. Give a population of approximately 65 million, including around 15 million children to whom a bank won't issue a card, the “average” adult has two or more contactless cards. Also, if you consider that in the month of April 2017, over 416 million contactless transactions were made by that base of contactless cardholders, you get to a usage rate that suggests this type of card is a staple in the everyday life of many. This week I contributed to the growing number of contactless transactions by dumping my London Underground Oyster prepaid card in favour of simply paying directly from the contactless card provided to me by my bank. The burgeoning number of contactless acceptance points, especially in traditionally cash focused establishments such as pubs and cafés, provides – to circle back to Mike’s previous posting – a level of convenience that trumps security fears and makes them a compelling choice.
Prior to the 2003 introduction of EMV chip and PIN cards in the UK that changed the way in which debit and credit cards were used at the point-of-sale, a campaign was undertaken to increase public awareness of how and why the new system was better. Without such an effort, it is unlikely adoption of EMV in the UK would have gone as well as it did. However, this level of customer education was missing from the contactless launch yet adoption has been rampant. What’s the difference?
That question will be the topic of discussion in the second part of our look into “the Devil’s hocus pocus."


text:
The installation of the finishing equipment follows on from spend on two Ricoh 9200 presses with the capability of producing a long sheet, leading to spend on a machine to deliver an A4 landscape product. It has been specified with two VAC ten-station tower collators, supplied by IFS.
The St Helens company was founded 34 years ago, becoming a fully digital printer five years ago built around an HP Indigo 5000. There is now less of a premium attached to the Indigo, says managing director Martin Winders, while the quality and reliability of the Ricoh is ahead of the perception of the brand.
“It’s similar to the way that Skoda has shaken off its past reputation and is today recognised as a high quality car manufacturer,” he says. “Customers that used to insist on Indigo to achieve their brand colours with consistency are realising that it’s not about the machine that is used, but that it’s about the people operating the machines.
“We run to Fogra 39L and have colour management software involved, so that everything we print is absolutely consistent. What our customers in the corporate world get is that degree of quality and the guarantee that we will deliver on time. It’s about service. We don’t let our clients down.”
This is working. PPS increased turnover 9% last year and is course to do so again, says Winders.
With the new digital presses the company can print at 4,500sph putting pressure on finishing. Fast set up on the Horizon via touch panel controls enables the company to shorten turnaround times if needed, leading Winders to comment: “Investing in the new system means we can complete more work in a faster timescale.
“For example when we were hand finishing landscape books we could work at about 100 to 150 an hour. Now that figure is around 3,000 per hour. We had one job recently that would have taken seven hours before. This time it took just half an hour.
“It will pay for itself very quickly – between two to three years – because it allows us to cost effectively handle a lot more work.”
The SPF-200L joins a Horizon BQ 270 single clamp perfect binder, AFC-546 folder and Foliant Vega 400 laminator which is also able to apply foils. And while there are no immediate plans for further investment, Winders says the company is always looking for equipment that can provide flexibility and services that its customers want.


text:
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), the charity which campaigns against the meat and fur industry, praised the development of the 'Frankenburger' as a step forward for animal rights.
But it said the burger did not meet the terms of a competition launched four years ago which offered a $1m (£630,000) prize to the first team to sell laboratory-grown meat in commercial quantities.
Prof Mark Post, of Maastricht University in the Netherlands, yesterday announced the world's first test tube hamburger would be served up in October. Heston Blumenthal, the experimental chef, will cook the patty grown in a lab from a cow's stem cells. Each portion will cost £220,000, but Prof Post hopes if the burger is a success he can develop the technology on an industrial scale.
"This is meat produced without the cruelty, carbon footprint or waste of resources," said Alistair Currie, a spokesman for the vegan campaign group.
"It's a hugely beneficial development for animals. We welcome this development, which shows this is a viable idea."
He added the charity had no ethical objections to the fact that the test-tube patty will technically be a meat product.
He said: "Peta has no objection to the eating of meat. Peta objects to the killing of animals and their exploitation. I personally don't fancy eating this, but if other people do that's fine."
In 2008 Peta's US arm launched a competition with a £630,000 bounty for the first team to develop and sell large quantities of chicken grown in a lab by July 2012. The animal was chosen because it is reared and slaughtered in the largest quantities.
The rules said the 'chicken-meat product' must have a "taste and texture indistinguishable from real chicken flesh to non-meat-eaters and meat-eaters alike".
And to prove it was a commercially viable product, the makers had to sell at least 2,000lbs (907kg) across ten US states over three months at the same price as real chicken.
At the time the project sounded like science fiction. But Mr Currie said: "The pace of development has pleasantly surprised all of us. People thought that was a hugely ambitious target. It's now looking that someone will produce a beef product by the end of the year."


text:
The reigning Miss International Kenya 2022 has revealed that she will no longer take part in pageantry competitions opting to venture into mentorship of upcoming models.
Speaking to the Nation, Cindy Isendi, who is also an accountant, will take part in her last pageantry in December where she will represent Kenya and Africa at the 60th edition of the Miss International Beauty Pageant 2022 in Tokyo, Japan.
She divulged that while she will still be a model, she will no longer actively pursue beauty pageantry after the Tokyo competition but instead offer consultancy services within the industry.
“I have a soft spot for modelling, so I won’t be leaving it soon, but this will be my last Miss International to attend. However, I will still venture into mentoring young kids,” said Ms Isendi.
The 25-year-old started her journey into modelling back in 2015, when she modelled for fashion designers before switching to beauty pageantry.
“I started modelling in 2015, and I started with high fashion modelling which is basically showcasing clothes and started pageantry in 2016, with a pageant called Miss Earth,” she said.
Since then, she has done several pageants and in 2019 she joined and won the Kenyan crown of Beauty of Africa International Pageant and soon after the African title.
“I did a couple of pageants in between, and in 2019 I did Beauty of Africa International Pageant and won the Kenyan crown. I went to Nigeria to represent Kenya in the African finals and also won the African crown, and now I‘m Miss International Kenya 2022,” said Ms Isendi.
Having substantial experience in the Kenyan modelling scene, Ms Isendi believes the Kenyan modelling industry has a lot to offer as many young girls in the country have a lot of untapped potential.
“I think Kenya has a lot to offer in pageantry and modelling, but we don’t have many opportunities to do so widely. So I feel grateful to have the chance to represent Kenya.”
As is a common notion that beauty pageants are all about societal beauty standards, Ms Isendi promulgates it is hardly the case when it comes to beauty contests. With pageantry, she says, one needs to have beauty and brains as what is highly considered is one’s ability to communicate with the masses and promote growth within a particular region.
“Pageantry is a forum for ladies to make the world a better place because every pageant has its own personal cause. Right now, it does not have any physical standards as it was before, as before, they were very keen on height and body size,” she said.
“Right now, what is looked at the most is authenticity and having the voice to talk to people and convince them that you have the ability to change the community around you.”
Ms Isendi, currently working as an accountant for a Non-Profit Organization, has a project where she teaches Mathematics to primary school children at an informal settlement.
“I’m doing a pet project for education working with a school called Glad Kids education, which supports informal education for kids who cannot afford school fees,” she said.


text:
Google to dump Flash in ads from June
Security gaffe prone technology to disappear by the summer
Google is to ban the use of Flash in ads it carries from this June.
The search engine giant said in the blog post that display ads on its network will be 100 per cent HTML5 from 30 June this year.
It said that over the last few years, "we've rolled out tools to encourage advertisers to use HTML5, so you can reach the widest possible audience across screens".
"To enhance the browsing experience for more people on more devices, the Google Display Network and DoubleClick Digital Marketing are now going 100 per cent HTML5," the firm said in a statement.
It said that from 30 June this year, display ads built in Flash can no longer be uploaded into AdWords and DoubleClick Digital Marketing. From 2 January 2017, display ads in the Flash format can no longer run on the Google Display Network or through DoubleClick.
It urged advertisers to update display ads to HTML5 before these dates. But Google did say that video ads using Flash will still continue to work and be served.
Last year, Google took the step of automatically converting Flash ads to HTML5 when displayed on mobile devices that did not support the technology.
The banning of Flash in Google's ad network is the latest in a line of setbacks for the deeply insecure technology. Last December, Adobe took the step of renaming its Flash Professional product Adobe Animate CC in a bid to distance the software from its Flash origins.
Firefox made the move to block Adobe Flash Player automatically in its browser following the discovery of various cybersecurity issues inherent in the software. Since January last year, YouTube has made HTML5 the default way to play videos on its website rather than use Flash.
The state of Salesforce: Future of business
Three articles that look forward into the changing state of Salesforce and the future of businessFree Download
The mighty struggle to migrate SAP to the cloud may be over
A simplified and unified approach to delivering Enterprise Transformation in the cloudFree Download
The business value of the transformative mainframe
Modernising on the mainframeFree Download
The Total Economic Impact™ Of IBM FlashSystem
Cost savings and business benefits enabled by FlashSystemFree Download


text:
PIRTEK USA Chairman Glenn Duncan is asked to clarify CEO Kim Gubera’s contention that PIRTEK had zero closures in 2020 despite (seemingly) strong evidence to the contrary. Is PIRTEK hiding franchise failures? Is Duncan’s fears about growing too fast coming to pass? by Sean Kelly
(UnhappyFranchisee.Com) Last November, PIRTEK USA CEO Kim Gubera told Franchise Times editor Beth Ewen that, in 2020, “we’ve had no closures.”
In PIRTEK USA CEO Kim Gubera Claims They Had No Closures in 2020 we cited the company’s attempt to erase its previously celebrated Bronx franchise that appears to have closed in 2020.
The Bronx franchise had just been open for a few months.
We hope Chairman Glenn Duncan, Kim Gubera or Nick Ridgway can clarify how PIRTEK Long Beach, PIRTEK Norfolk and PIRTEK Meacham (Fort Worth) as well as PIRTEK Bronx are not “closures.”
PIRTEK Long Beach Permanently Closed
Google reviews states that PIRTEK Long Beach / Signal Hill is permanently closed.
PIRTEK Long Beach was listed on the website as open in Spring, 2020 as open, then was deleted some time before Spring 2021.
Franchisees Paul Martin & Marian Martin opened the PIRTEK LONG BEACH location (3299 Walnut Ave, Signal Hill , CA 90755 Phone: 562-426-9219 Fax: 562-426-9261) in 2012.
The latest review for PIRTEK Long Beach on Google was left in October, 2020.
The PIRTEK USA FDD 2021 dated March 26, 2021 still lists the Long Beach location as open. The FDD does not include the Long Beach closure nor does it list the Martins as having left the system.
2 PIRTEK Franchises in Texas Ceased Operation in 2020.
While there is a new Dallas franchisee, there is no longer a Meacham location.
At the very least, it would seem that the Fort Worth/Meacham franchise was a closure.
Yet Kim Gubera states that there were been no closures in 2020.
Anonymous sources tell us that the PIRTEK Palo Verde (Tucson AZ) location likely closed at the end of 2020*, but the closure was not announced, even internally, until the 2021 FDD was filed in March 2021.
The troubled PIRTEK Palo Verde was on its 4th owner (Mike (David) Johnson, PIRTEK USA, Paula Meyer, Ron Trombetti) and was consistently ranked among the lowest sales producers in the chain.
Insiders believe that it’s likely Kim Gubera would have known about the impending closure when she told Franchise Times they had none for 2020.
* not confirmed. We have asked PIRTEK USA for closure dates of these franchises
Not Disclosed: PIRTEK Norfolk Owners Jeff Ohstrom & Debra Ohstrom Exited the System in 2020
PIRTEK FDDs claim that PIRTEK USA sold its Norfolk, VA location in May, 2018 to Jeff Ohstrom.
The 2019 FDD lists Jeff & Debra Ohstrom as the franchise owners.
The 2021 FDD states that the company took back the Norfolk franchise on November 6, 2020.
The 2021 FDD fails to list Jeff & Debra Ohstrom or their contact information, as required, in the LIST OF FRANCHISEES WHO CEASED TO DO BUSINESS UNDER THE FRANCHISE AGREEMENT, OR HAD AN OUTLET TERMINATED, CANCELLED OR NOT RENEWED AS OF DECEMBER 31, 2020.
Churning Alert: In general, the practice of franchisors selling non-viable locations to franchisees then taking them back and reselling them again is called churning. It can generate ongoing revenue for franchisors but the failed franchisees don’t show up as “closures.”
The Need for Transparency from Franchisors Like PIRTEK USA
At present, franchisors have the power to sidestep the intentions of the FTC when it enacted The Franchise Rule.
Rather than the open flow of information available to prospective franchisees, franchisors and their attorneys have used NDAs, confidentiality clauses, legal threats, mandatory arbitration and other methods to hide negative information and, in some instances, perpetuate bad behavior and unethical business practices.
And while their franchisees find themselves hesitant to share their honest opinions and experiences, franchisors seem to be able to make any representation to the press and it will be accepted as fact.
High-level efforts are underway to prompt the GAO and other agencies to do a thorough review of The Franchise Rule and the FTC’s enforcement of it.
Hopefully, Glenn Duncan & Kim Gubera will adopt a new policy of transparency and begin to respond directly to questions and criticism made on behalf of prospective franchisees and their right to true and accurate information.
NOTE: We invite Kim Gubera, Glenn Duncan, Nick Ridgway and other PIRTEK USA representatives to provide corrections, clarifications, rebuttals or statements regarding the opinions and questions stated on this site. We research from publicly available sources and post what we find for discussion and debate – all points of view are welcome and will be fairly represented. Post in comments below or email ADMIN at UnhappyFranchisee[at]Gmail[dot]com.
ARE YOU A PIRTEK USA FRANCHISEE OR CORPORATE EMPLOYEE? OR INVOLVED WITH FRANCHISE THAT MARKS UP PRODUCTS TO FRANCHISEES? SHARE A COMMENT BELOW.
TAGS: PIRTEK, PIRTEK USA, Pirtek franchise, Pirtek USA franchise, PIRTEK franchise opportunity, PIRTEK Bronx, PIRTEK New York, PIRTEK Long Beach, PIRTEK Palo Verde, PIRTEK Virginia Beach, Kim Gubera, Glenn Duncan, Nick Ridgway, Asim Iqbal, unhappy franchisee


text:
Previously CEO of Diebold Nixdorf and senior advisor at McKinsey, Mattes takes over from John Ambroseo, who is becoming advisor to the firm.
SPIE develops interactive conference using its SPIE Digital Library platform in response to beat Covid-19 limitations.
Photonics organizations and companies continue to adapt to the pandemic, with significant trading continuing in new ways.
Competition demonstrated versatility of fluorescence microscopy in imaging biological samples.
Components and subassemblies for molecular diagnosis of polymerase chain reaction testing to boost researchers' resources.
Data from Copernicus Sentinel-5P reveal strong reductions in NO2 pollution levels over Paris, Rome, Madrid.
Global economy headed for recession, smart phone output could drop 30% in H1 2020 – but many photonics companies dig in.
“Pro” cameras, LiDAR, motion sensors and its Liquid Retina display suit the iPad Pro to augmented reality applications.
Interactions between backside plastics, weather, environment and design thought to be speeding up degradation.
HELIOS system meets US Navy requirements; to be integrated on Arleigh Burke destroyer in 2021.
Canceled Strasbourg event is reborn online for April 6-10; other US SPIE events following suit.
Postponed conference and technology exhibition was due to take place at the end of March.


text:
The Thailand Foundation, in cooperation with Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Thai Beverage Public..
This year’s popular Thailand Tourism Festival (TTF) held at Lumphini Park in Bangkok from 17..
Seventeen winners of the inaugural ASEAN Sustainable Tourism Awards (ASTA) received recognition at a dedicated..
Mrs. Srisuda Wananpinyosak, TAT Deputy Governor for International Marketing (Europe, Africa, Middle East and Americas),..
Mr. Tanes Petsuwan, TAT Deputy Governor for Marketing Communications, delivered the following speech at the..


text:
The pandemic has changed many aspects of our lives over the past 12 months, some only temporarily, but some for a lifetime. What we eat and drink has certainly been impacted, with most of us forced to eat at home almost exclusively. This has led some of us to brush up on our cooking skills, some to start growing our own at home, and many more to long for the day when restaurants reopen!
In this edition of Overseas, we take a look at how food and drink is changing, not only in terms of what we are eating, but also how it is produced, how it is cooked, and how it is disposed of.
Natalie Healey looks at how you can get started in your garden, or even on your window ledge, with growing your own vegetables and herbs. No experience needed! The rise in so-called flexitarianism over the past few years has seen many take a closer look at their diets and try to reduce the amount of meat they eat as a result.
In December 2020, the first lab-grown meat product was approved in Singapore, making its restaurant debut a few weeks later. Abi Millar asks if now the time for cultured meat – billed as an ethical alternative to farmed meat – to start gaining traction?
In the UK alone, 4.5 million tonnes of edible food is wasted by families every year, equivalent to £700 per household. We find out how can we get better at buying, storing, using, and reusing our food?
We also take a trip around the Commonwealth by asking ROSL staff about the cuisine and favourite dishes of their home countries. Of course, no discussion of food and drink would be complete without talking about ROSL’s own catering. The decision was taken at the end of 2020 to bring our catering back in house. With plans progressing at speed, we hear from ROSL’s Warren Miller about the exciting plans lined up for the clubhouse.
Read all these features and more, plus news from ROSL HQ and upcoming events to look forward in the new edition of Overseas, out on 1 March.


text:
In a matter of seconds, some smash-and-grab robbers swiped a half-million dollars worth of watches Friday night, according to police.
Investigators believe at least five men entered the Mayors Jewelers store around 6:30 p.m., Sgt. Greg Lyon with Atlanta police told the AJC.
Two of the men then produced hammers and smashed the display case containing Rolex watches, Lyon said. The robbers grabbed at least 20 timepieces, worth at least a half-million dollars, in about 30 seconds, he said
The men then left the mall in a white van, which was found a short distance later, Lyon said. No one was inside, he said.
Investigators were reviewing surveillance video from the store late Friday.


text:
A state commission charged with studying how to legalize marijuana in New Hampshire has issued its final report, capping off months of meetings at which members failed to agree on a way forward for cannabis policy in the state.
“Ultimately, the Commission voted not to recommend legislation for the 2024 Session,” the new report says. “The Commission was unable to reach a consensus because of a large number of unresolved issues.”
As the new legislative session kicks off next month, says the report, submitted by commission chair Sen. Daryl Abbas (R), the commission “expects legislation to be introduced but with no recommendation.”
Among the issues the group failed to craft agreements on, Abbas said, were the allowable THC levels in legal cannabis products, penalties for public consumption, rules around the operation of motor vehicles, the creation of an oversight body to approve Liquor Commission rulemaking, measures to prevent access by minors, the number of allowed retail stores statewide and whether to allow or prohibit home cultivation.
During the bulk of its hearings, the Commission to Study With the Purpose of Proposing Legalization, State Controlled Sales of Cannabis and Cannabis Products conducted a line-by-line review of draft legislation submitted by Abbas in October, which his staff emphasized was intended as a starting point. But after weeks of sometimes testy debate among members, the body voted against recommending the bill to lawmakers.
“The first motion of recommending draft legislation that the Commission worked on be introduced next session was defeated by a vote of 5-4,” Abbas wrote in his report to Gov. Chris Sununu (R), leaders of the House and Senate and other state officials. “A subsequent motion to make no recommendation was made and passed by a vote of 7-2.”
The panel was initially formed this summer to consider state-run cannabis stores, a model supported by Sununu that would mirror how the state handles liquor sales. But in September, members turned to consideration of an alternative, franchise-style system, under which the state would regulate the marijuana industry and oversee its look and feel while private licensees would handle cultivation and day-to-day retail sales.
While the body was already at loggerheads going into its final meeting, a list of last-minute demands by Sununu was a dealbreaker for some of the committee. The governor said he would support no more than 15 licensed marijuana retailers statewide and wanted to include provisions specifying that cannabis businesses be barred from lobbying or making political contributions.
Included in the commission’s December 1 filing are four additional reports submitted on behalf of certain members of the group. Abbas’s note says explicitly that those reports represent the views of the members who signed them, not the commission as a whole.
Notably, the so-called “majority report” included in the commission’s filings represents just four of the body’s 19 members. Several of those members—including Rep. Tim Cahill (R) and Debra Naro, executive director of Communities for Alcohol- and Drug-Free Youth (CADY)—seemed to broadly oppose legalization during commission meetings.
Naro, for example, at one point called the emerging legalization proposal “the most irresponsible, dangerous legislation that I have ever participated in,” while Cahill openly relished establishing harsh penalties for illegal use.
The four-member faction wrote in its report that “the majority concludes the proposed legislation proffered by the Commission is insufficient to protect the citizens of NH from the harmful public health and public safety effects arising from the legalization and commercialization of marijuana or cannabis in NH.”
Moreover, the four said, “the majority concludes there are no set of comprehensive safeguards, laws, policies or procedures that will adequately protect the health, safety and quality of life NH currently enjoys if marijuana was legalized.”
The group of four, which also included John Bryfonski of the New Hampshire Association of Chiefs of Police and Sen. William Gannon (R), said it “strongly rejects the proposition that legalization is inevitable but rather cites the fact that use of harmful controlled substances is a choice, not a foregone conclusion.”
In comments to local news station WMUR this week, two bipartisan lawmakers on the New Hampshire panel—Sens. Becky Whitley (D) and Timothy Lang (R)—disagreed.
Lang said while he personally has “almost…no position” on legalization, he agrees with Sununu that the policy shift is inevitable.
“I think I agree with the governor. It’s inevitable,” Lang said. “And so under that condition, being inevitable, I want to make sure that we have a good strong regulatory environment that will keep it away from children and keep our public safe.”
Whitley, the elected official on the commission who appeared most supportive of legalization, said that 74 percent of New Hampshire residents want to see marijuana made legal, “and so I think we have an imperative from our constituents to work towards that.”
Both Lang and Whitley doubted whether Sununu’s proposed ban on marijuana businesses lobbying or engaging in political advocacy would survive a court challenge.
Lang said he understood Sununu’s goal in restricting political activity, but he worried the proposal would raise First Amendment concerns.
Another of the included reports, from CADY’s Naro alone, consists of 18 pages of “substance misuse prevention guardrails” such as criminalizing public consumption of marijuana and setting a “presumptive level of marijuana impairment” at a blood THC level of 2 nanograms of THC per milliliter of blood.
Naro attempted to raise some of those issues during the commission’s meetings, but the suggestions were not incorporated into the group’s draft bill.
A third included report comes from ACLU of New Hampshire, which was represented on the commission by Frank Knaack. It opposes increased fines or criminal penalties for public cannabis consumption, saying they would “further the harms created by marijuana prohibition without any evidence to support the stated claim to curb public smoking.”
Knaack argued in commission meetings that there is no evidence to suggest that stiffer penalties effectively reduce public consumption, but Abbas and Cahill argued that with harsh enough penalties, people would get the message.
The ACLU report also recommends the establishment of a justice reinvestment fund that would reinvest in communities that have been disproportionately harmed by the drug war. That fund, which was recommended by the nonprofit New Futures, was left out of the commission’s final draft legislation despite Abbas saying he intended to include it.
ACLU also supported annulling past cannabis arrests and convictions and explicitly stating that the smell of marijuana alone does not constitute probable cause for purposes of a search. Abbas had said such a provision was unnecessary due to a state precedent involving alcohol, but some members of the commission pushed to include the provision in statute.
Yet another report, from the New Hampshire Medical Society, which was represented on the committee by Kimberly Youngren, encourages “increased research” on the impact of adult-use marijuana legalization as well as “the biologic actions and interactions of active constituents in cannabis and the development of U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved cannabis medications.”
So far no legislative member of the commission has indicated they will introduce the body’s draft bill in the new session, though many nevertheless expect another push for legalization.
Already a number of proposals have been pre-filed or requested by lawmakers for the 2024 session. Among them include measures to legalize home cultivation of cannabis among medical patients and add eating disorders to the state’s list of qualifying conditions for medical marijuana.
Another requested bill, sponsored by Rep. Erica Layon (R) and eight lawmakers others, would legalize and regulate cannabis for adults. Other lawmakers are expected to introduce competing proposals.
Meanwhile another Republican-requested bill, from Rep. Kevin Verville, relates to “the use of psychedelics for therapeutic purposes.”
Under the legislation that created the legalization study group that issued the new report, commissioners were tasked with studying the feasibility of a state-run cannabis model and specifically drafting legislation that:
- Allows the state to control distribution and access
- Keeps marijuana away from kids and out of schools
- Controls the marketing and messaging of the sale of marijuana
- Prohibits “marijuana miles” or the over-saturation of marijuana retail establishments
- Empowers municipalities to choose to limit or prohibit marijuana retail establishments
- Reduces instances of multi-drug use
- Does not impose an additional tax so as to remain competitive
Rep. John Hunt (R), a commissioner who chaired the House Commerce and Consumer Affairs Committee this year, worked extensively on marijuana reform issues during the session and attempted to reach a compromise to enact legalization through a multi-tiered system that would include state-controlled shops, dual licensing for existing medical cannabis dispensaries and businesses privately licensed to individuals by state agencies.
Hunt’s House panel, however, reached an impasse on the complex legislation, which was being considered following Sununu’s surprise announcement that he backed state-run legalization. Meanwhile the Senate defeated a more conventional legalization bill, HB 639, despite its bipartisan support.
In May, the House separately defeated a different marijuana legalization amendment that was being proposed as part of a Medicaid expansion bill.
Also, the Senate moved to table another piece of legislation that month that would have allowed patients and designated caregivers to cultivate up to three mature plants, three immature plants and 12 seedlings for personal therapeutic use.
After the Senate rejected reform bills in 2022, the House included legalization language as an amendment to separate criminal justice-related legislation—but that was also struck down in the opposite chamber.
States Where Marijuana Is Illegal Typically See Higher Rates Of Treatment Admissions, Federal Study Says
Photo courtesy of Philip Steffan.


text:
Google Increases Android Guidance Beyond Coding
- By David Ramel
- June 29, 2016
Google has been bolstering its non-coding guidance for Android developers who are trying to get their wares noticed on the increasingly crowded Google Play app store.
According to Statista, Google Play has an inventory of about 2.2 million apps, while rival Apple's App Store has about 2 million. However, a recent report by App Annie indicated that the Apple store generated almost twice as much revenue for developers in the first quarter as did Google's store.
Google reportedly matched Apple's new initiative to share more store proceeds with developers to alleviate that situation, and has also picked up the pace on business-related advice to help Android devices fare better.
Last week, it introduced the Playbook for Developers mobile app to help Android devs pay more attention to the non-coding side of things. "The app helps you stay up-to-date with the features and best practices to grow your business on Google Play," Google said in a blog post.
Google said developers can use the app to:
Choose topics relating to business interests to personalize My Playbook with curated articles and videos from Google and experts across the Web.
- Explore the in-depth guide to Google's developer products, with articles grouped by task: develop, launch, engage, grow and earn.
- Take actions on items -- complete, share, save or dismiss them -- and read saved articles later, including offline if they're written in the app.
The app garnered a positive review from XDA Developers. "In summary, the Play Console application brings a lot to the table," XDA Developers said. "With a clean and familiar design as well as quick access to a lot of information, it's clear that this will be a useful tool in any developer's arsenal. The app is so good, however, that the user begins to yearn for just a couple of enhancements to truly unleash the potential."
And last month, Google introduced yet another business-oriented mobile app, moving its Google Play Developer Console to the device.
"Access your Google Play Developer Console data from your Android device," the app store page says. "Review your app's performance statistics and financial data. Be notified about your app's status and publishing changes. Read and reply to user reviews on the go."
The two new mobile apps for Android developers follow up on other business-related initiatives Google has launched, such as the ebook, "The Secrets to App Success on Google Play (Second Edition)," which is also available on Google Play.
"Read this business playbook for app and game developers to learn about the best practices and Google tools that will help you improve the quality of your app, grow a valuable audience, increase user engagement and retention, and earn more revenue on Google Play," the store page says.
Last week, Google thanked those who helped test the Playbook app during its six-week beta program and invited Android developers to check it out and provide feedback via e-mail to [email protected].
David Ramel is an editor and writer for Converge360.


text:
The Daily News reports the new system will be effective this month, and according to the company’s chief executive officer (CEO) Jackson Midala customers in the all of the stations can pay their bills via mobile cash transaction services such as Tigo Pesa, M-Pesa, Airtel Money and ZANTEL’s EZY PESA.
Additionally customers can use the banking system at banks such as CRDB, NMB, Postal Bank, Akiba Commercial Bank (ACB), EXIM, Barclays and BOA Bank.
"They could as well pay their bills through Maxmalipo and Selcom services," said Midala, adding that the objective was to improve services and cut down long queues associated with paying bills at DAWASCO’s stations.
“This new system will help customers to make payment at any place or point even outside Dar es Salaam and outside the country,” he said.
The CEO was however quick to point out that only customers with bank accounts at the above mentioned banks could process payment. He advised consumers to use the system because it is simple and affordable to all users.


text:
Western Union Business Solutions named the Official Foreign Exchange Partner for the Professional Golfers Association of Australia and as an Official Partner of the Australian PGA Championship
The Western Union Company (NYSE: WU), a global leader in cross-border, cross-currency money movement, today announces a major sponsorship program between its global payments business division Western Union Business Solutions and the PGA of Australia.
In addition to becoming the Official Foreign Exchange Partner of the PGA of Australia, Western Union Business Solutions will sponsor the 17th hole of the Australian PGA Championship on the Gold Coast, taking place in December 2018 at RACV Royal Pines Resort.
“We are excited to deepen our support for PGA Australia, its members, associated partners and business and the broader Australian golfing community,” said Jacqueline Keogh, Western Union Business Solutions Global Head of Payment Product. “This is a key strategic partnership for us and we look forward to our increased involvement as sponsor of the 17th hole. We look forward to being a part of the ongoing growth of the PGA Championship as the premier golfing event in Australia.”
Chief Executive Officer for PGA Australia, Gavin Kirkman, said, “We’re delighted to have a renowned global brand like Western Union Business Solutions supporting the PGA as we continue to advance and create more value for our Association, our consumers and the Australian golf industry.”


text:
Within hours of The Last of Us Part II’s release, angry gamers were giving the title ultra-low scores on Metacritic. Since the story unfolds over 20 to 30 hours of gameplay, it was hard to believe the reviews pouring in after just a few hours. Metacitic took note of this score bombing and quietly changed its policy. Now, users have to wait 36 hours after a game’s release before they can post a review.
When you visit the Metacritic listing for a brand new game, you’ll see, “Please spend some time playing the game,” followed by the date and time that reviews open. This appears to be Metacritic’s way of ensuring that users actually play a game before they review it and don’t rely only on their biases, leaks or streamer playthroughs.
“We recently implemented the 36 hour waiting period for all user reviews in our games section to ensure our gamers have time to play these games before writing their reviews. This new waiting period for user reviews has been rolled out across Metacritic's Games section and was based on data-driven research and with the input of critics and industry experts,” a Metacritic spokesperson said in a statement provided to Engadget.
Metacritic isn’t the only platform that’s trying to keep users from destroying scores before giving games a fair chance. Steam’s review system attempts to hold users accountable by noting how much time they’ve spent playing the game. Steam also shows how many reviews a user has made and lists recent reviews.
Neither solution is perfect. In Metacritic’s case, postponing user reviews isn’t going to fix the issue of score bombing, and it might create release-day issues when people visit a game listing for buying advice only to find zero user reviews. Ultimately, the problem isn’t the review platforms or how they’re structured. There’s no silver bullet to stop people from blasting their baseless opinions online.
Update 7/17/2020 12:00PM ET: This story was updated to include a statement from Metacritic.


text:
ASSUMPTION, ILLINOIS, U.S. — Whether it’s in the middle of the U.S. or in Biatorbagy, Hungary, GSI Inc. wants to be the most local manufacturer for its customers. The grain handling company, based in Assumption, Illinois, U.S., is expanding its presence across the globe with acquisitions and new construction of manufacturing facilities.
“We want to be able to service our customers at a more local level. By having facilities locally, we are able to leverage global designs and knowledge. We use local components, which they prefer and service is much easier,” said Tom Welke, senior vice-president Global Grain and Protein. “We didn’t want to rely on being an export business. We want to be as local as we can. It is a benefit as projects become more complicated and more local support and help is needed by our customers.”
Before it became a global powerhouse, GSI was a small company operating out of a 5,000-square-foot garage with only three workers. Established by Craig Sloan in 1972, the company started as a manufacturer of a variety of corrugated steel storage bins. By 1988, it had grown to be one of the largest steel storage bin manufacturers in the world.
Currently, GSI provides equipment and services to more than 70 countries worldwide. In addition to steel grain bins, the company offers commercial storage bins, grain silos, grain dyers and a large variety of material handling systems including grain bin sweeps, grain spreaders, chain loop systems, bucket elevators, chain conveyors, enclosed belt conveyors, support towers and catwalks. Now with a footprint on four continents, GSI started its international expansion in 1998 with the establishment of an office in Shanghai, China, and a few years later expanded to Brazil. The company also has a new manufacturing facility in Hungary.
AGCO, a worldwide manufacturer and distributor of agricultural equipment, acquired GSI in 2011. With the backing of AGCO, GSI has been able to expand its presence across the globe, Welke said, and will continue to do so. “This is only possible because we are a part of AGCO. They are a very global company,” he said. “We are investing aggressively for growth. It has been a tremendous benefit to be owned by someone in the agriculture business who already services many of our customers.”
Some of its acquisitions in the last several years have included Johnson System Inc. (JSI), a leading manufacturer of catwalks, towers and support structures based in Marshall, Michigan, U.S. The 2013 acquisition included the manufacturing operation and JSI employees. JSI also produces temporary storage systems, aeration systems, superstructures, decks, stair systems, grain ladders and numerous other agricultural products.
More recently, GSI acquired InterSystems Holdings Inc. in June 2014. The Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.-based company is a leading manufacturer of commercial material handling solutions. With the acquisition, GSI entered into the higher capacity material handling business, filling product gaps such as commercial grain distributors, truck probes and bulk weighers and also bringing quality people and a company with strong brand recognition into the business. “We now have a full product line, add that to our material handling expertise, the dealer network we have, the relationships with the contractors and engineering firms, and we are the strongest player in the market,” said Randy Stauffer, director of commercial sales, GSI NA. “InterSystems and GSI coming together as one family is a win-win; our customers win and we win as employees.”
InterSystems has a strong reputation in the commercial industry, particularly in its ability to customize products, said Derek Hemphill, global product manager, material handling, GSI. Another attractive feature was the company’s manufacturing facility in Omaha.
“It gave us an opportunity to expand our manufacturing further west to serve customers in the western half of the United States better,” he said. “The knowledgeable staff that they bring, the ability to really work with the customers, and design the project that fits with the customers’ needs was very attractive.”
As population and affluence grows in emerging markets, there is an increasing need for solutions that GSI can offer, said Welke. “We feel good that there is demand globally for products like ours, and the technical support that we can provide on how to improve productivity. We are going to continue to invest to be the most local manufacturer for our customers.”
In June 2014, GSI opened its third international manufacturing plant and its first in Europe in Biatorbagy, Hungary. The facility focuses on producing and distributing grain material handling equipment including bucket elevators and conveyors. Given its centralized location, the Hungary facility gives GSI the perfect site to serve customers in Europe, the Middle East and Africa with equipment tailored for local needs and shortened transport time. Hemphill said there is a strong desire from end users to be able to purchase everything from one place. Providing that for customers does require a significant amount of coordination, Welke said. One previous project had equipment coming from five factories in three different countries. “Our strategy is to provide as much of the system and equipment as we can,” he said. “We can ask a customer if they want a specific product out of China, Brazil or the U.S., and offer the pros and cons of each. We want to give them solutions to help maximize their ROI. Sometimes that might be with the more expensive, heavier duty product, while other times they prefer the lower spec equipment.”
Challenges and opportunities
In terms of the overall grain industry, Stauffer said there is a continuing push for larger capacity and faster receiving, as well as consolidation. “Customers are fighting for the same producers in the area, and are trying to make their customer experience better by increasing their speed for unloading,” he said. There is going to be a lot of grain to move in the next year and the outlook looks strong for the next three to four years. In North America, there continues to be logistical changes with build out in the Northwest, upgrades to the Panama Canal, and improvements on the Mississippi River. That means more business as grain companies try to build storage facilities in the proper place, Stauffer said.
“They will have more bushels that they are trying to handle faster,” Hemphill said. “They are rebuilding facilities, adding on, or in some cases, trying to build new facilities.”
Globally, the areas with the most demand for grain storage include Ukraine, Russia and Brazil in the short run, with future opportunities in India, China and Africa, Welke said. “They are all difficult places to do business in,” he said. “With the conflict in Russia and the Ukraine, we are getting a little bit of business, but not a lot of business.”
Due to the lack of liquidity and available capital, farmers are putting their working capital into inputs, meaning few of them are able to invest in more than just maintenance, Welke said. At some point, Africa and India will need to import more grain as population continues to grow.
But no matter the location of its next project, GSI stands behind it, Welke said. "I don’t care if the project is in Romania or Iowa, we are a lot better and more efficient when we have people locally,” he said. “We’ve been on this path aggressively for the last three years. We’re seeing a nice return on it, and we will keep getting better. Our customers will benefit and we’re excited about that opportunity.”
|Sign up for our free newsletters
From daily reports on breaking news to weekly updates, World Grain has the grain, flour and feed industries covered.


text:
Apple warned by US lawmakers over using Chinese YMTC chips in new iPhone
Calm down - it's potentially only meant for units sold in China
Republican lawmakers have said Apple is "playing with fire" if reports of its plans to source 3D NAND flash from China's YMTC (among others) for the upcoming iPhone 14 prove true.
Apple currently sources NAND flash from Korean giants Samsung and SK hynix, as well as Japanese producer Kioxia (formerly known as Toshiba Memory Corporation). It also buys RAM from SK hynix and Samsung, making its supply chain heavily reliant on Korea.
The lawmakers in question were Marco Rubio, vice-chair of the Senate intelligence committee (R-Florida), and Michael McCaul (R-Texas), who is on the House foreign affairs committee and would potentially lead that committee if his party wins control of the House of Representatives in November's midterm elections. Democrats currently hold a slight majority in the House and Republicans are aiming to reclaim control.
The pair were speaking to business daily the Financial Times.
"Apple is playing with fire," Rubio told the FT. "It knows the security risks posed by YMTC. If it moves forward, it will be subject to scrutiny like it has never seen from the federal government."
McCaul added: "This could very likely devastate the memory chip market and give China even more control of this critical national security technology."
The pair were reacting to unconfirmed reports that YMTC had been added as a supplier from news site Business Korea.
We asked Apple about this. The manufacturer typically divulges nothing at all about manufacturers of individual components at launch. Only subsequent teardowns of the iPhone 14 could confirm YMTC as a NAND supplier, and most folks will be waiting for a specialist to take it apart. Then there's the fact that repeated queries about YMTC from the US government have reportedly not borne fruit.
The company told the FT it was "evaluating sourcing from YMTC for NAND chips" for some iPhones, but clarified that it would be only in devices "sold in China."
Apple currently uses NAND flash from Kioxia in the iPhone 13, pictured below (surrounded by the red rectangle). Repair specialist iFixit last sliced open the phone in September 2021, when it noted Apple had stuck to its unfriendly approach to third-party and DIY repairability, although the vendor has since floated plans to make this a little easier with its Self Service Repair Store.
Kioxia NAND in the iPhone 13 (click to enlarge). Pic via: iFixit
The vendor will ship the iPhone 14 (from $799) this Friday (September 16) and iPhone 14 Plus ($899+) on October 7. The iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max (the highest end model has a 1TB capacity) also start shipping on September 16, although pre-orders are open.
It's not the first time YMTC, China's top NAND flash manufacturer, has been whispered about as an additional storage supplier for the iPhone.
- Apple debuts iPhone 14, Watch 8, other sparkly things
- Elon Musk claims SpaceX was in talks with Apple on iPhone 14 satellite services
- Apple Silicon takes a back seat at iPhone-heavy launch event
- Apple to replace future iPhone Lightning port with USB-C next year, this guy claims
Rumors that Cupertino was considering diversifying its memory chip supply chain first surfaced in March this year, with Bloomberg sources already claiming that China was in the mix. The March reports came shortly after contamination disruption at Kioxia, based in Japan, exposed the risks to Apple's global supply.
In February Kioxia and Western Digital said their 3D NAND fab facilities had lost "at least" 6.5 exabytes in flash availability. Adding to the mystery and uncertainty, the contaminated chemical substance and its supplier were never identified, with little insight into whether the debacle could happen again. We'll update this article if Apple responds. ®


text:
A new research note from analyst Jeff Pu suggests the iPhone 15 Pro series will feature a titanium frame, 8GB of RAM and more.
The latest leaks and rumors suggest Apple could launch a 15.5-inch MacBook Air in the spring of 2023, alongside the current model.
According to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the iPhone 15 will offer faster data transfer speeds in thanks to the switch to USB-C.
Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo took to Twitter to state that the iPhone 15 Pro series will likely not see the rumored 8P Lens for the main camera.
In a Twitter thread, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicts that the higher-end iPhone 15 models will replace physical buttons with Taptic ‘buttons’.
Rumors suggest that the iPhone 15 Pro Max may rebrand as the ‘Ultra’, and Kuo reports possible segmentation in iPhone 15 Pro lineup.
Mark Gurman’s latest “Power On” newsletter said it is likely that Apple will announce the second-gen AirPods Pro at the Sept. 7 Far Out event.
Twitter user Majin Bu has shared several images alleging to be the official silicon and leather cases for the new iPhone 14 series.
Multiple sources, including photos, are indicating that the iPhone 14 Max will actually release under the name iPhone 14 Plus.
A new “Geared Up” podcast has leaker Jon Prosser suggesting that the next-generation iPhone SE will be based around the iPhone XR design.
Twitter user DuanRui suggests that the new iPhone 14 will feature a stand-alone 30W GaN charger, supporting rumors from March.
Reports indicate that the iPhone 14 has been found in regulatory filings in India, suggesting that a release is imminent.
Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo suggests that Apple may anticipate the possible global recession by releasing the iPhone 14 earlier than past releases.
Rumors suggest that the iPhone 14 Pro series will start with a 128GB storage model despite the possibility of price hikes.
Reports from analyst Ming-Chi Kuo suggest that the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max are likely to see a price increase due to several factors.
According to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Sunny Optical is looking to lead the supply chain for 7P wide-camera lenses for the iPhone 14.
A user on Reddit has shared an image for an accessory that is allegedly for the iPhone 14. Their place of employment received the accessory.
In this week’s “Power On” newsletter, Mark Gurman makes predictions about a new original HomePod, as well as a new chip for Apple TVs.
A report from “TrendForce” suggests that the iPhone 14 lineup is expected to start with 6GB of RAM, which is up from the iPhone 13.
Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo is predicting that the Apple Watch Series 8 will receive body temperature measuring should Apple perfect its algorithm.
A developer discovered within the code for the 15.4 Studio Display a not yet released Mac mini. This device may be announced this year.
Co-founder and CEO of DSCC Ross Young took to Twitter this morning to make some bold predictions about the new MacBook Air. Ming-Chi Kuo backed many of his ideas.
Rumors are circulating that a new MacBook Air will be announced in 2022. No new MacBook Pro models are expected until 2023, though.
There are new rumors circulating that the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max will feature LTPO style screens. A departure from the typical OLED.


text:
Famous wine maker hires Lucian Freud to illustrate label
on Friday,February 27,2009 22:02
Baroness Philippine De Rothschild has announced that a well-known artist will design the label for the 2006 vintage of the Chateau Mouton Rothschild.
The tradition of commissioning artists to create an original artwork for the label goes back to 1945, and this year it is honored with the exhibition titled Mouton Rothschild - Paintings for the Labels at the Wolfsonian-Florida International University which will be held until March 8.
According to Chateau Mouton Rothschild, Freud''s illustration represents a transposition of the pleasure of drinking, depicting the transformation of the vinestock into a palm tree and the wine lover into a "happily anticipatory" zebra.
"I am particularly happy to have been given this opportunity by the Wolfsonian to present an exhibition which brings together the most famous names of modern and contemporary art," said Baroness Philippine alluding to works by Joan Miro, Marc Chagall, Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali, Andy Warhol and many others who illustrated labels for Mouton.
She adds, "It will allow those who until now have only been familiar with reproductions of the artworks on the labels, to admire at last the originals created since 1945 to the glory of Mouton."
Lucian Freud was born in 1922 and is considered to be a master of contemporary portraiture. His 1995 portrait Benefits Supervisor Sleeping was sold in 2008 for $33.6 million, the highest price ever fetched by a living artist.
Latest Articles & News
It is no secret to many that music artist Kanye West is no stranger to fashion, and now he will be showing his new collection during Paris Fashion Week later this week, according to the Elle Magazine.
Teenlike.com, an ongoing online competition for young home decor designers, announced its second winner. Brandon Dover of Apply Valley, California, was this year's winner, as he created an abstract pen and inkwork design for a bedspread.


text:
Jakarta – At least 50 companies have proposed to the government that they can downsize their employees following the unstable economy due to recent monetary crisis.
The 50 companies are predicted to employ around 10 thousand workers. "At least 50 companies at present apply to the Ministry of Manpower to dismiss their workers," director general of manpower development and control of the ministry S. Sianturi said here yesterday.
So far the ministry was still studying why the companies applied for the dismissal, he said, adding that most them argued that their companies were in financial crisis due to recent monetary turmoil.
Four of the applying companies had reduced the amount of shifts applied in their companies from three shifts into two or one, besides asking for the dismissal, he said. Even, one of them had temporarily stopped a number of their workers' activity in the company.
The companies applying to hold the dismissal deal with several fields including textile, shoes, and the most are forestry industries such as sawmill and plywood.
A major policy the companies are proposing is to cut the number of their workers. The measure will increase unemployment rate if the economic uncertainty fails to end.
"I don't dare to say that the dismissal case will increase, but it is possible that a number of companies will propose for similar measures," Sianturi said.
After being controlled, most of the 50 companies applying to hold the dismissal had fired their workers, he said, adding that their sending information to the ministry was just to ask for agreement.
He named 90 pct of the dismissal process as running "smoothly" as there was no protest and demonstration. "Board of directors and workers generally agree the policy which should be taken by the companies."
The agreement was able to be reached as several materials concerning the right of the dismissed workers – including separation pay – could be fulfilled by the companies, he said.
But the ministry hoped that the companies did not directly dismiss their workers, he said, adding that if any time in the future the companies would return normal, the workers should be recruited again. Different from other companies, household goods producer PT Unilever, however, decided to improve its employees' wage amounting to 11 pct. In a meeting last October with its workers, Unilever director Sri Urip also increased the workers' housing payment amounting to 15.5 and health payment 10 pct.
However, Urip admitted that the country's economic uncertainty as well as the rupiah slide-down value against US dollar had affected people's purchasing power, including to buy Unilever's products.


text:
photograph by ann labate
There’s a growing trend to help the world’s poor coffee growers earn a fair return for their beans
By John Lux
Gasoline is the most common international product you and I must make decisions about buying, but don’t ask the clerk at your local station if the workers who pumped the oil got a fair wage for their labor, or if the Earth was treated right when the oil was extracted.
But coffee, the second biggest commodity in international trade, has a face the consumer can really see. Most of the world’s coffee is grown by family farmers. And most of them can’t make a decent living because most of the profits from green coffee — the unroasted beans — go to wholesalers.
It doesn’t have to be that way, and the picture is slowly changing. Change is coming from movements such as Fair Trade Certification, an international program that ensures farmers are paid a fair price for their coffee, and from individual companies, such as Chicago’s Intelligentsia.
Geoff Watts, the head buyer for Intelligentsia, said that while Fair Trade has certainly helped many farmers, it doesn’t address quality issues and has limited scope in regard to environmental concerns. “It is basically a price support mechanism,” he said.
Watts makes regular trips to coffee-growing areas to find the best coffee and the best farming practices. “We buy 50 percent of our coffee from small farmers, who produce 500 or 600 pounds a year on small plots of land, also growing much of their own food. Most of them are in co-ops,” he said.
Watts said there’s nothing wrong with larger farms if they do things the right way. He cites the Finca Malacara operation in El Salvador’s Santa Ana area, one of the producers Intelligentsia buys from. The owner pays good wages and has built a health clinic and day-care center. “I pay one guy but the money supports a lot of people,” Watts said.
Watts believes Fair Trade Certification also has helped the quality of the coffee. “When buyers squeeze growers on price, they’re hurting themselves because quality suffers when growers are in debt and can’t pay people to do the job right.”
Most coffee is grown in the tropical areas of Africa, Asia and Latin America. While there are major commercial plantations, notably in Brazil, most of the world’s coffee is grown by family farmers scratching out a living on small plots of land in poor countries. The International Coffee Organization estimates that Colombia, for example, has 560,000 coffee growers and the industry accounts for 30 percent of total rural employment.
Because it takes about four years for a coffee tree to bear fruit, it isn’t easy for these small farmers to adjust their production to changing market prices. So when prices are high, farmers plant more trees, but by the time the trees bear fruit, supplies are rising and market prices fall. Because the current price might not even cover the cost of production, coffee farming families — both those who own their own land and those who labor for others — suffer. With no real social safety net, some of these farmers are in real danger of starving to death.
Fair Trade Coffee
Fair Trade Certification, begun in Europe 16 years ago and growing in importance in the United States, is a way for coffee drinkers to channel more dollars to coffee farmers, as well as to encourage sound environmental and social practices. Fair Trade coffee is bought from farmer cooperatives at $1.26 a pound ($1.41 for organic coffee), with individual farmers and cooperative social programs sharing the premium.
More than 85 percent of Fair Trade coffee sold in the U.S. is certified organic.
Fair Trade Certification proved a godsend to small farmers as coffee prices fell to an all-time low of 45 cents a pound in 2002. While prices have more than doubled since then, a bumper crop this year could send them down again.
TransFair USA is the third-party certifier of Fair Trade products in the United States, and the non-profit organization makes sure farmers and farm workers are paid a fair, above-market price and that sound socioeconomic criteria are met, using increased Fair Trade revenues.
TransFair, based in Oakland, Calif., says that in addition to providing price support, Fair Trade Certification ensures fair labor conditions for all workers on the farms; freedom of association for farmers and workers; lines of credit for cooperatives and environmental standards that restrict use of agrochemicals.
Higher Grounds Coffee
Small companies with a conscience, such as Higher Grounds Trading Co. of Leland, Mich., have found Fair Trade Certification a good way to go. Jody Treter, 30, and husband Chris, 31, founded the company in 2002, not so much to make money but to make the world a little better.
“We would shut our doors before selling anything but Fair Trade coffee,” Jody Treter said. “Our model is that of a non-profit. We pay living wages and we donate a lot of money” to the community, both their own in the Traverse Bay area and places where their coffee is grown.
The Higher Grounds operation is small — Jody Treter estimates it will gross less than $300,000 this year — and some months are profitable while some are not. While that may limit their donations, it doesn’t dampen their spirits.
“We are in an importing cooperative called Cooperative Coffees,” Jody Treter said. “The cooperative gives small roasters like us the opportunity to meet with small farmers.”
They buy coffee from Mut Vitz and Maya Vinic, two cooperatives in Chiapas, one of Mexico’s poorest states, and visit them each year. In addition, Higher Grounds is partnering with Catholic Relief Services in Nicaragua and also buys Fair Trade coffee from Sumatra, Ethiopia, Colombia and Peru.
While Higher Grounds sells 90 percent of its coffee in Michigan, much of it to churches, the company has its eye on the Chicago market, especially since the Fair Trade Futures conference will be held here in October. Higher Grounds’ main outlet in Chicago is the Wellington Cooperative in Lincoln Park.
Certification Red Tape
Intelligentsia’s Watts, while praising the goals of Fair Trade Certification, said the biggest problem with the program is the expense of certification and the time it takes to achieve it. And, he said, there are other ways to help the farmers.
Intelligentsia expects to contribute about $20,000 this year to a cooperative in Nicaragua that grows the Flor Azul coffee Intelligentsia sells. That is in addition to the money the co-op gets for the beans.
The cooperative is called Las Brumas (The Mists) and its 52 families benefit from a fund to build schools in the community.
But for the vast majority of Americans who don’t take the time to learn the policies of their favorite coffee roaster, Fair Trade Certification is useful shorthand for coffee that is good for workers and the Earth.
Even Starbucks seems to be moving in that direction, although it will take a while to persuade its critics that the Godzilla of coffee shops isn’t just blowing PR smoke. Starbucks said it increased purchases of Fair Trade coffee in 2003 to 2.1 million pounds. Whole-bean Fair Trade coffee is sold in all American company-operated stores and the company says its purchasing guidelines give preference to farmers who score high in measurements of economic fairness, socially responsible working conditions, and progressive environmental practices.
Thinking Man’s Java
Michael James, co-owner of Rogers Park’s Heartland Café, has been a leader in healthful eating and progressive politics for 30 years, but he’s a fairly recent convert to the organic and Fair Trade movements.
Since he opened Heartland in 1976, he’s been buying coffee from family-owned Community Coffee of Baton Rouge, La. (“I became addicted,” he said.) “We’re moving in the direction of Fair Trade and organic coffee,” James said. “We sell Fair Trade coffee from Equal Exchange Coffee of Massachusetts both in the store and as a coffee of the day, but you’ve got to ask for it. It costs 25 cents a cup more, but people don’t mind paying it.”
He brews mainly Intelligentsia coffee both in Heartland and the companion No Exit Café, but choices are increasing. The store within the café carries Coalition Café, an organic Fair Trade coffee that benefits the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless.
“I avoided going organic over price, trying to keep the cost low for consumers,” James said. “I started changing a few years ago.” Health was one of the reasons. “In my 60s I started to have pains I didn’t want to have and shifted to a conscious diet. I find myself feeling very, very good.”
Originally published inn the September issue of Conscience Choice
John Lux is a Chicago-based freelance writer who likes his morning coffee with a shot of social conscience.
Posted by bean at 2:04 PM


text:
quote: So I thought there was some sort of legislation a while back making it so all cell phones had to be unlocked at the users request. Is that just wrong remembering?
quote: ...Established telecoms are obviously none too thrilled about initiatives like this, as they have lobbied fiercely in the past to stop cities like Seattle from laying fiber when the ruling provider—Qwest, in this case—doesn't even have plans to lay its own.
quote: It's the law in parts of Europe and elsewhere around the world, but here in the U.S. the telecoms have won out over consumers thanks to the vast amounts of money into lobbying and pressuring government officials.
quote: Apple, in fact is trying to get the government to do the reverse -- outlaw jailbreaking and outlawing.
quote: It claims that jailbroken/unlocked iPhones are a terrorist threat as it claims they can be used to attack cell phone towers. To call such claims ridiculous is to put it mildly, but what worries me is that with all the lobbying money supporting locking, our elected officials might actually go along with them...
quote: One can only wonder if Apple is truly trying to defeat the unlockers.
quote: It also allows tethering -- a feature currently banned by Apple and AT&T
quote: STEVE. iPhone sales are down this month. You know what that means.PHIL. Time to release another update?STEVE. That's right. Make it a little harder to get them unlocked this time, why don't you? The more hackers we can sell extra hardware to, the better.
quote: With iPhone unlocking, the powerful handsets are no longer constrained to only run the apps that Apple allows. And with jailbreaking, users can jump onto other networks...
quote: One can only wonder if Apple is truly trying to defeat the unlockers. If so, how can the schemes of its seasoned engineers continually be foiled by Hotz and his legion of young iPhone hackers?


text:
Trump NFTs Surge Post Georgia Mugshot Release; Investors Excited About Borroe’s NFT Marketplace Launch
Donald Trump’s non-fungible tokens (NFTs) prices have experienced a notable increase following the release of the former U.S. president’s mugshot. Amidst this bullish phase for Trump-linked NFTs, investors are excited about the upcoming launch of Borroe.Finace NFT marketplace, which is expected to provide a platform for buying and selling the coolest NFTs.
Trump’s Mugshot Goes Viral, NFT Sales Surge by 163%
Donald Trump’s recent mugshot release in Georgia has caused a surge in NFT sales, leaving Market participants and investors actively searching for the best NFTs to buy.
The image, which shows Trump looking angrily at the camera amid his surrender at the Georgia Sheriff’s Office in Fulton County, has gone viral, leading to a 163% increase in the floor price of
his digital collectibles.
The criminal case against Trump in Georgia alleges that the former president and 18 associates were part of a fraud scheme to overturn the 2020 presidential election results, amongst other alleged corrupt practices.
Despite the controversy surrounding Trump’s legal troubles, his NFTs have become increasingly popular among collectors and investors. The surge in Trump NFT prices is unsurprising given the growing interest in trending NFTs as a new asset class.
NFTs are unique digital assets verified on a blockchain, making them unique and valuable to collectors. The launch of Borroe’s NFT marketplace is expected to provide a new avenue for buying and selling NFTs, making it easier for investors to participate in this emerging market.
The Borroe Finance: AI-Driven NFT Marketplace
Borroe Finance is the world’s first AI-powered Web3 NFT marketplace aimed at making life easier for startups.
The Borroe marketplace enables content creators and Web3 market participants to generate immediate cash flow by minting their future earnings from various sources like subscriptions, royalties, and invoices as NFTs and selling them to investors at discounted rates.
Borroe is on the brink of transforming how Web3 businesses access funding through utilizing blockchain technology, artificial intelligence (AI), smart contracts, and tokenization. This multifaceted approach presents a promising alternative to conventional financing methods.
The Borroe Finance NFT marketplace is gaining traction as a better way to raise funds for Web3 businesses with distinctive characteristics. These businesses include content creators, DeFi companies, NFT platforms, and social media influencers.
Borroe’s innovative integration of blockchain, AI, and NFTs positions it as a game-changer in Web3 fundraising. It offers a dynamic and efficient solution to businesses seeking financial support in the evolving Web3 landscape.
In doing so, Borroe aligns with the principles of Web3, the next evolution of the internet, which strongly emphasizes equitable value sharing between creators and users. Borroe ($ROE) fosters a peer-to-peer ecosystem that easily empowers investors to trade their purchased discounted invoice NFTs on secondary markets for profits.
As investors explore what NFT to buy and new ICOs, Borroe’s ($ROE) unique features make it a top DeFi project to invest in this season.
Borroe’s ($ROE) presale is ongoing, and 72.37% of $ROE tokens have already been sold. Investors can purchase these tokens at a low price of $0.0125 and grab the opportunity to reap over 100x gains in the upcoming bull season.
In Stage 1 of the presale, Borroe allocated 70 million $ROE tokens for sale. Over 68 million $ROE tokens have already been sold at the time of writing.
During the Beta phase in July, Borroe successfully sold out all 25 million $ROE tokens at a price of $0.010 each within just five days, raising a decent $250,000 before entering its presale stage 1.
In the upcoming Stage 2 presale phase, the $ROE altcoin price will increase to $0.0150. Apart from its growth potential, Borroe is presently one of the few thoroughly audited DeFi projects currently on the market.
BlockAudit, a leading auditing firm has audited the entire Borroe ($ROE) smart contract, further boosting investor confidence in the platform.
Learn more about Borroe ($ROE) here:
Any data, text, or other content on this page is provided as general market information and not as investment advice. Past performance is not necessarily an indicator of future results.
The Trust Project is a worldwide group of news organizations working to establish transparency standards.


text:
Here are 11 of the best cannabis stocks of 2020
Cannabis stocks have been riding high – here's a bunch you wish you'd bought a year ago.
Just a few years ago, small-cap firm Canopy Growth Corp barely registered among investors at less than CA$2 a share. These days, fund managers must be banging down the doors with stocks jumping as high as CA$69 last year – a tidy 3,798% in 5 years.
The Canadian company (TSX:WEED/NYSE:CGC) is the world's biggest medicinal cannabis supplier. Like other cannabis stocks, WEED's price shot up after Canada and several US states announced the legalisation of cannabis for recreational use in 2018.
It has been a rocky journey since then. Despite the initial bullishness, investor sentiment fizzled in 2019 as the challenges facing the industry became more public.
Many companies reported worse than expected losses thanks to stringent regulations which resulted in an oversupply of pot. That, coupled with the reality that deregulation at a federal level in the US was still far in the making, sent prices crashing as much as half.
But the last few weeks has brought renewed optimism. With Joe Biden's election victory all but official, there's hope that a Democratic administration will bring the debate back on the agenda.
While there's no hard evidence Biden is any more lenient on marijuana legalisation than his predecessor, stock prices in Canopy Growth Corp jumped as much as 50% in the last 4 weeks and 20% in the last 5 days.
What are cannabis stocks?
Sparking a doobie without getting arrested seems to have been the biggest driver of pot stock prices over the last couple of years, but many cannabis companies aren't producers of marijuana (the part you smoke) at all.
Aside from recreational use, cannabis plants are used for medicinal and research purposes, while hemp (the non-psychoactive strain) is used in everything from food and beverages, clothing, beauty products and even building materials.
The differences between the three are important. For example, in Australia, medicinal cannabis was only legalised in 2016, hemp wasn't allowed until 2017 and recreational pot use has only been passed in the ACT as of January this year on a limited basis.
What are the best performing pot stocks?
Of the dozens of cannabis companies listed in Australia and around the world, many haven't recovered since the 2019 pot stock crash.
But while stringent rules might be a dampener on business, there's little doubt the legal cannabis sector will grow substantially over the next decade as legislation eases. By 2025, the industry is expected to be worth over US$38 billion, according to New Frontier Data.
If you're a believer, we've sourced some of the best performing weed stocks of 2020. We used eToro's handy CannabisCare portfolio to source top US listed medicinal cannabis stocks. And we sorted the best performers from our ASX-listed cannabis stocks list, which you can check out here.
- Market cap: US$197.893 billion
- YTD performance: -5.21% (+6% in the last month)
- Headquarters: Basel, Switzerland
- About: Novartis AG produces and develops healthcare products. It signed an agreement with Tilray Canada to distribute medical cannabis products globally in 2018.
- Market cap: $136.178 million
- YTD performance: 76.83%
- Headquarters: Northbridge, Australia
- About: Develops therapeutics for the treatment of skin diseases. The company also develops a cannabis-based pharmaceutical ingredient known as cannabidiol, which is used to treat epilepsy, pain, arthritis and schizophrenia.
How to buy cannabis stocks
To invest in the rise of cannabis, it pays to understand what part of the industry you're most bullish about. After all, a company that offers products like hemp soap alone might not see much of an impact simply because marijuana use is more widely legalised.
Once you've done your research and you understand the risks, you'll need to open a brokerage account. The platform you choose will depend on which market you plan to tap into. Planning on buying US stocks? You'll need to find a US broker, such as eToro, or an ASX broker if you're looking to buy Australian stocks.
Once you've chosen a share trading platform, you'll be able to search for the company name of your chosen pot stock or its stock code. Depending on the broker you choose, it might offer additional information about each company, including broker rating, price targets, dividend payments and debt-to-value ratio.
Your other option is to invest in an ETF that tracks a whole collection of cannabis stocks. Alternatively, eToro has a medicinal cannabis portfolio that you can also track.
Buy shares with eToro
We update our data regularly, but information can change between updates. Confirm details with the provider you're interested in before making a decision.


text:
The recent release of the FDA’s proposed guidelines for menu labeling has taken the foodservice industry one step closer to the required posting of calorie and nutritional information. While any change in consumer behavior as a result of menu labeling is guesswork at this stage, there’s no doubt that the rapid increase in nutritional information will raise awareness of the healthfulness of restaurant meals.
In an effort to reach consumers who are looking for healthier options, restaurants have been marketing more items as healthy, with a 72% increase in healthy menu item claims in the past 2 years. But they may be missing the mark, judging by a new study by the NPD Group.
According to the study, “When consumers where asked what they look for in terms of healthy eating when they go to eat, the top features related to food quality, balanced meals, portions and cooking methods.”
Operators can make a simple change to give consumers the balance and food quality they want by turning to Barilla® PLUS®. It is the first multigrain pasta that is a good source of important nutrients, delivering 200mg of ALA Omega-3, twice as much fiber and over forty percent more protein (10g) than traditional pasta.
 Mintel Menu Insights, 2011
 Consumers Define Healthy Eating when They Go Out to Eat, NPD Group, 2011
See us at NRA Booth #4054


text:
Uniqlo Sees Need to Raise Prices Due to Higher Material Costs
(Bloomberg) -- Fast Retailing Co., which became one of the world’s biggest apparel companies by selling simple, affordable and stylish clothing at its Uniqlo stores, will probably need to raise prices, its chief financial officer said.
“It’s time to review and increase prices of some items as we face higher costs of materials, logistics and weaker yen,” CFO Takeshi Okazaki said at an earnings briefing in Tokyo Thursday. “Our baseline is trying not to raise prices as much as possible. It will be extremely limited.”
Although core inflation runs well below 1% in Japan, consumer expectations for higher prices have climbed to their highest since 2008, according to a recent quarterly survey by the Bank of Japan. Higher input prices from raw materials, supply chain disruptions and economies flush with cash are fueling a wave of price gains across the globe, most notably in the U.S., where the consumer price index climbed 7% in 2021.
Earlier on Thursday, Fast Retailing reported that operating profit rose in the latest fiscal quarter ended November to 119 billion yen ($1 billion), despite weaker sales at its Uniqlo stores in Japan and slower foot traffic. The result topped an average analyst projection for 99 billion yen. The retailer kept its profit forecast for the current fiscal year intact at 270 billion yen.
Fast Retailing will give a more thorough price review after the autumn and winter season, Okazaki said.
©2022 Bloomberg L.P.


text:
Can South Africa's economy get a break? A go-slow has hit the port operations of state-run logistics company Transnet, affecting production in the key auto industry and exports such as citrus. In this winter of our economic discontent, this is the last thing South Africa needs.
Transnet has confirmed in a brief statement sent to Business Maverick that workers at "port operations continue to engage in an illegal industrial action in the form of a 'go-slow'. Workers at the Ngqura Container Terminal have been on a go-slow since last week which has had a negative impact on other port operations." That is 20 km northeast of Port Elizabeth and is a key port for the auto industry.
"Meanwhile, operations at the Durban Container Terminal have also been impacted by equipment failure and high-level absenteeism," it said. Transnet has not provided any further details, including the reasons behind the dispute or the unions involved. Unions with members at Transnet include Satawu, but it did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
This latest wave of industrial action to hit South Africa is already taking a bite. Volkswagen South Africa spokesperson Andile Dlamini told Business Maverick that on Wednesday 10 July, it...


text:
Kudo CEO Albert Lucius said, the funds will be used to establish a “network presence” throughout suburban and rural areas in Indonesia.
“Using our technology, we enable millions of underserved, unbanked and less tech-savvy Indonesians to have access to online bank transactions. From Sabang to Merauke, our agents will be many Indonesians’ gateway to e-commerce,” said Kudo CEO Albert Lucius.
The Emtek Group has previously invested in other local sites, including bukalapak.com, rumah.com, lakupon.com, and bobobobo.com. Founded in 1983, Emtek now has three main business divisions – media, telecommunications and IT solutions, and connectivity.
The media division consists of two FTA channels, SCTV and Indosiar. The connectivity division consists of new initiatives under development in TV and internet services, while the solution division provides services solutions for communication and technology, telecommunication, banking and retail payment industries.
Emtek’s latest investment, Kudo, focuses on a cash-payment system and reliance on agent-customer trust to push transactions. It works by appointed sales agents that the general public can visit and use to help them shop online.
Since its launch in 2015, Kudo has reportedly delivered web access to over 1 million Indonesians who have never shopped online before. It also supports more than 150,000 agents.


text:
We will be updating this article throughout this evening's Galaxy S4 event, so please check back for more information as we learn more details from Samsung.
Arguably the biggest event of the year for Samsung, Thursday evening's Unpacked 2013 event in New York City could very well decide what kind of year Samsung's going to have, as the Korean electronics giant is prepared to announce the follow-up to its most successful smartphone yet, the Samsung Galaxy S3.
If you're looking for any and all information related to the Samsung Galaxy S4, you've come to the right place: This page will serve as our veritable hub for all things Galaxy S4, including links to other stories we're writing all night long about the phone's specs, features, price, release date and more. Everything you need to know about "The Next Galaxy" is right here.
Samsung informed the press on Thursday that doors to Unpacked 2013 will open at 6 p.m., just one hour before the official presentation begins at 7 p.m. The official show will be closed to the public, but will be live-streamed onto the Internet (we have it for you here, and embedded below as well).
We assume the event will last roughly one to two hours at most -- just one hour if the Galaxy S4 is the only thing we're seeing today, two hours if Samsung's feeling particularly confident -- and then the press will be able to go hands-on with the phone itself. Our reporters are attending Unpacked 2013, and we will return with videos and update this page when we have them.
Samsung has a live stream page for Unpacked 2013, which features a live-updating comments system and Instagram feed. But why leave when there's a perfectly good live stream embedded below? Radio City Music Hall attendees and online viewers alike can watch the Samsung Galaxy S4 event beginning at 7 p.m. EST:
(Updated at 8:51 p.m.)
As we believed, the Galaxy S4 is powered by Samsung's own Exynos 5 Octa CPU, which was initially used in the company’s Chromebook model -- the new processor is said to have eight cores for enhanced work flow and power efficiency.
Last year's ARM-based GPU was also replaced by a new 1.9 GHz Snapdragon 600 chip from Qualcomm, which will help power the display and the phone's operating system (Android 4.2 Jelly Bean). The new Snapdragon chips don't quite touch NVIDIA's top-of-the-line Tegra 4 SuperChip Processors, but Qualcomm's 600s clock in at about twice as fast as the Exynos 4 chip in the Galaxy S3.
Display And Appearance
(Updated at 7:37 p.m.) It looks like Samsung is following its own formula from when it transitioned from the S2 to the S3: Make the screen a little bigger, but the phone a little thinner. The Samsung Galaxy S3 measured 136.6 x 70.6 x 8.6 mm, but the Samsung Galaxy S4 measures the same length at 136.1 mm but slightly wider at 71.8 mm and much thinner than its predecessor at just 7.9 mm thick. Furthermore, the 4.8-inch, 1280 x 720 Super AMOLED display from the Galaxy S4 was upgraded to a full 5-inch, 1080 x 1920 Full HD Super AMOLED Display with a whopping pixel density of 441 ppi.
(Updated at 8:21 p.m.) The Samsung Galaxy S4 is packed with more features centered around the human experience. The Galaxy S4 is the first phone to feature Samsung Knox, the company's security feature; Air Gesture, which lets the user hover their finger over the screen to activate the lock screen; Dual Camera, which lets you take photos and/or video with the rear and front-side cameras simultaneously to include both images in the same frame; Smart Scroll, which detects whether or not you're looking at the phone to either scroll through text or pause and play videos if you look away; and Group Play, which allows multiple Galaxy phones to link together to play the same game together. Clearly, Samsung wanted a phone more dynamic than its specs might suggest.
(Updated at 7:58 p.m.: Samsung has ended its presentation without releasing any information about the phone's price.) We fully expect Samsung price the Galaxy S4 exactly as it did the Galaxy S3. Since the Galaxy S3 has seen a price drop (Samsung is selling last year’s model anywhere between $49 and $99) Samsung can now sell the Galaxy S4 at last year’s prices. If the company follows last year's plan exactly, the Galaxy S4 may very well cost $199 for 16 GB or $249 for 32 GB. Without a two-year contract, it’s possible Samsung could also sell the new handset at $599 and $649 for 16 and 32 GB storage models, respectively, like it did last year.
(Updated at 7:58 p.m.: Samsung has ended its presentation without announcing any information about the phone's release date -- more on this later.) Last year, Samsung unveiled the Galaxy S3 on May 3 but didn’t release the device until May 28, and that was in Europe. The U.S. didn’t even get the Samsung Galaxy S3 until June 21; it’s possible Samsung will roll out the Galaxy S4 in a similar manner, releasing the phone in the U.S. roughly a month after its public unveiling.
But while Samsung could certainly capitalize on building hype for a prolonged release date, we don't believe the Korea-based company would come all the way to New York City just to tell the home crowd that their Galaxy S4 release date isn't for another two months.


text:
Recently launched private equity firm Delos Capital has bought water-based specialty chemical coatings, manufacturer California Products Corporation.
The company’s products are used in various consumer and industrial applications including tennis court and track recreational coatings, consumer paints and stains and environmental remediation coatings.
Delos founder Matthew Constantino said, “Delos is excited to partner with CPC’s management team for the next stage of the Company’s growth.
“CPC is a best-in-class company in the specialty coatings and paints sector, and we are confident that this partnership between management and the investor group will strengthen the Company’s market position.”
Delos, which was launched earlier this year, invests in lower mid-market companies in the chemicals, packaging, industrials, and consumer sectors.
Copyright © 2013 AltAssets