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Hurricanes are the Focus at AAMA Southeast Region Fall Meeting
With a record-high attendance of 103 people, representatives from
the American Architectural Manufacturers Association (AAMA) felt its Southeast Region’s fall meeting was a success. The meeting, held August 16-17 in St. Augustine, Fla., focused on how to keep the region safer in future hurricanes.
Among the topics discussed was the new Florida labeling task group, which was formed because inspectors requested that certified products have a clear label for identification.
“A temporary label will show its size, grade, how it’s fastened and information on energy,” said Sigi Valentin, AAMA Southeast regional director.
The association’s technical director, John Lewis, also said that the association’s validator has run into some problems because individual unit labels are being placed on double and triple units, implying that the label refers to the whole assembly.
“You’re going to be hearing more about that in the future,” Lewis said.
Scanning the Panhandle
The enforcement of windborne debris construction in the panhandle area of Florida was of interest to many members.
Joseph Carson, president and owner of Carson Construction and a member of the Florida Building Commission, informed the group of the commission’s progress.
On June 19, the commission voted, 12 – 3 in favor, to adopt the 130-mile per hour contour as the Windborne Debris Region designation in the Panhandle, including all areas within 1,500 feet of the Inland Bays that are not within the 130 miles per hour contour. The commission also voted unanimously in favor of adopting the Panhandle Windborne Debris Region designation, and to integrate the definition into the 2006 supplement to the Florida Building Code.
“Trees through roofs are 99 to 1 over something blowing through a window—I have been through it,” said Carson.
The commission voted to extend the windborne debris region to the 130 mile per hour contour of the panhandle region at a final hearing held on August 23 at Miami Lakes. The commission is aiming for March 1, 2007 as the implementation date.
Of utmost importance is the building codes’ affect on the region, and how to improve it.
After going through the evolution of building codes from 1976 to the present, Jim Schock of the First Coast Chapter Building Officials Association of Florida concluded that from a manufacturing stand point, the building code is state of the art.
“However, from an installation and water intrusion stand points they [the codes] have fallen short,” he said.
In order to understand this issue and how to get past it, the Florida Building Commission has set up a work group and looked at the issue.
Every state in the Southeast region will be impacted by a major hurricane sooner or later, emphasized Jeff Burton from the Institute for Business and Home Safety.
In Alabama, to date, there’s an action, which will be final on March 27, adopting 2003 IRC and 2006 IBC. Mississippi has also finally adopted 2006 IBC and
Two states—Alabama and Delaware—have no building codes. Some states, such as Texas and Mississippi have voluntary codes.
“Mississippi perturbs me the most. You’ve seen what happened in Katrina—and they are ignoring it. Two cities have already opted out of the voluntary code, and one of these cities is Pascagoula,” said Burton.
North Carolina, South Carolina, Louisiana and Florida all have mandatory requirements.
“My opinion is that it will be at least five years before Louisiana is doing it (building to mandatory requirements) at a nominal level,” he said. “Florida code is the gold standard—it’s torqued-up from the national code.”
“Panhandle states” such as lower Alabama, Rhode Island, New Jersey and Connecticut also have mandatory requirements.
“Whatever dollars are being spent (by the states for protection), spend it better,” he emphasized.
Water Performance Standards
One of the more controversial discussions of the conference regarded the test method for optional water performance standards for hurricane-prone areas.
Pete Thornton of Silver Line Building Products summarized the method the group has been studying for 18 months by saying that the biggest focus is on the pulsating test method and the dynamic testing.
“We’ve looked at all standards, both U.S. and International (standards), and we’ll have a final report to AAMA National in the fall,” said Scott Warner of Architectural Testing Inc.
The group then reviewed the draft. The method is to first test for 15 psf. Then, it is to test to ASTM E 2268 test – and vary the pressure rapidly. At this point, there are five levels of performance.
“We expect water leakage, but there’s going to be some discussion over what is acceptable. Four or five hours of a hurricane-force storm may pass only 15 ml,” said Thornton.
The group went over the three options of tables in the current draft proposal. Feedback was mixed.
“The pressures we are talking about are only a fraction of a real storm. Let’s find out what the performance is and what we can do before we put numbers up (in the chart),” said Charlie Everly of PGT Industries.
“My only advice is that we be careful with these test methods, that while they are voluntary, they don’t become political and that the state doesn’t tell you how much water should come in,” said Ivan Zuniga of AFG Glass.
“We are talking about two to three years of testing to answer some of these questions.” said Bill Emley, president of AAMA’s Southeast region.
“We need to continue the table out (to the right, further) to include the pressure you would see in a major storm,” said Lewis.
MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS
Georgia Gulf Announces Agreement to Acquire Royal Group Technologies
Atlanta-based Georgia Gulf Corp. (GGC) has announced a definitive agreement to acquire all of the outstanding common stock of Royal Group Technologies Ltd. of Woodbridge, Ontario, for $11.82 per share. The total transaction is valued at
approximately $1.6 billion.
The combination of Royal Group’s diversified product portfolio, which includes vinyl building and construction products such as windows, with GGC’s vinyl resins and compounding technology as well as operational efficiencies is expected to result in a stronger, more competitive combined company in the vinyl building and construction products industry, according to information provided by
Representatives of GGC say the acquisition will allow the company further integration downstream and provide earnings growth potential. It will also allow GGC to leverage competitive advantages of compounding, operational skills, chlorovinyls integration and a larger scale and more diversified asset base.
“We are very excited about the potential value of this combination for our shareholders, customers and employees,” said Ed Schmitt, chairperson, president and chief executive officer of GGC. “The integration of the two companies provides an opportunity for improved earnings by leveraging the competitive advantages of each company while creating a foundation for future growth opportunities.”
“Georgia Gulf is a recognized leader in the area of vinyl resins and compounding technology, known for the high quality of its products. We believe that the combination of Georgia Gulf and Royal Group will result in a formidable force in the vinyl building products industry,” said Lawrence J. Blanford, president and chief executive officer of Royal Group Technologies.
GCC expects to close the transaction following approval by Royal Group’s shareholders as well as regulatory approvals.
Stiles Integrates Intelligent Automation Solutions
Stiles Machinery Inc. of Grand Rapids, Mich., has announced it is organizing software, robotics and project engineering into a single entity: Intelligent Automation.
“We recognize the growing needs of our customers to take automation and integration beyond just communicating with machines,” said Jerry McCall, product group manager. “I am excited to see these disciplines come together as Intelligent Automation because our customers want the highest level of cooperation between all of their automation needs.”
According to Don Leblanc, director of systems engineering, “Properly configured manufacturing techniques provide our customers the flexibility to meet today’s market demands while assuring profitability.”
BSI-Balance Systems Expands in N.C.
BSI-Balance Systems has announced it will expand its plants in Statesville, N.C., to create 50 new jobs and an investment of $1.2 million over the next three years. The expansion is being made possible in part by a $50,000 One North Carolina Fund grant.
“BSI-Balance Systems’ decision to expand in North Carolina is a testament to our business-friendly climate and skilled workforce,” Easley said.
The company employs 235 people at two plants in Statesville. After the expansion, both current and new positions will be located in one new manufacturing facility in Statesville. The company also maintains manufacturing facilities in South Dakota and Nevada.
“Over the past eight years, our Statesville facility has proven that quality and service are the driving forces of any successful company,” said Eddie Kistler, operations manager of BSI-Balance Systems. “Due to our history of success with the East Coast customers we service in Statesville, we have increased our sales and have been able to expand into a new, larger and more accessible facility.”
JoTiKa Seeks U.S. Agent for Add-Ons to GED WinIG Software
U.K.-based glass processing software developer JoTiKa Software has launched add-ons for GED machinery controlled by WinIG software.
The add-ons are designed to allow full external optimization, including the company’s full shape nesting which allows any polygon to be nested with any other polygon, while ensuring that overall waste, including rectangle cutting on the same sheets, is minimized.
Complete pre-optimized data is sent via the WinIG merge file. This allows the company to implement its full shape nesting solutions. The solution allows manufacture of spacers to be separated from glass cutting, and allows a more extensive range of shapes to be cut, and where feasible to use the Intercept spacer system. Full control over cutting sequence allows for fast and efficient glass storage strategies, such as A-frames, and can eliminate the use of slot racks, according to the company.
The add-ons use the WinIG merge file interface to fully control all aspects of manufacture outside of WinIG, and to allow integration with existing bar code tracking systems.
JoTiKa is now actively seeking a U.S. agent for its WinIG add-ons and for its full range of Gtrak glass processing software.
Ontario Window Company Showcased in U.S. Model Energy Home
Pollard Windows of Burlington, Ontario, has announced a partnership with chemical company BASF to produce the BASF Better Home, Better Planet Initiative: Near-Zero Energy Home. The home, in Paterson, N.J., is intended to be an international showcase for innovative energy design.
“Pollard Windows provided the Near-Zero Energy Home with elegant, high-performance windows,” said Gary DeSantis, BASF senior corporate architect and project manager.
According to DeSantis, the lead-free vinyl cladding is weather-resistant and will not flake, peel, rust or corrode, also making the windows maintenance-free.
According to information from the company, Pollard’s low-E windows help make the Paterson house 80 percent more energy efficient than a home built to model energy codes established by the U.S. Department of Energy.
“The particular brand of low-E glass we use, Solarban® 60, makes all the difference,” said Gary Pollard, owner of Pollard Windows. “Solarban® 60 is unique because it also offers solar control and that’s essential for comfort.”
Pollard noted that the vinyl extrusions in his windows are 500 percent thicker than typical aluminum cladding, increasing durability while allowing for air to circulate between the cladding and the wood, and reducing heat loss. The windows are tested to the American Architectural Manufacturer’s Association and the National Fenestration Ratings Council standards. It is also an Energy Star®-qualified product.
Milgard Expands with New Fiberglass Entry Doors
Milgard of Tacoma, Wash., is expanding its product mix with the addition of fiberglass entry doors. The company says it has added entry doors in response to its customers’ growing interest in one-stop shopping for high quality vinyl and
fiberglass doors and windows. The company debuted its new door line at the 2006 Pacific Coast Builders Conference in June in San Francisco.
Product rollout began in July in California and the continental Northwest with eventual rollout to its full marketplace. In addition, the company has changed its name and logo to Milgard Windows and Doors referencing both businesses.
MI Windows Acquires CertainTeed Facility
In a move intended to strengthen its position in the replacement products market and expand its presence in the Midwest, MI Windows and Doors Inc. of Gratz, Pa., has acquired a 210,000-square-foot CertainTeed window fabrication facility in Lebanon, Ind.
With the acquisition, MI has been granted exclusive rights to fabricate CertainTeed vinyl window and patio door products for many of the primary markets throughout the Midwest. In addition to producing CertainTeed windows, the plant will be fabricating MI’s line of XACT replacement windows and patio doors.
“We’re seeing a lot of opportunity in the Midwest for replacement products and that makes this acquisition a key part of our growth strategy,” said Matt DeSoto, MI’s executive vice president of the Eastern division. “We also feel that this will be the beginning of a long and prosperous relationship between two great companies. CertainTeed has a strong reputation within our industry and they have a brand that is recognized by consumers throughout the supply chain.”
TRACO to Build New Facility in Georgia
TRACO of Cranberry Township, Pa., plans to build a new 180,000-square-foot facility in Bainbridge, Ga. The new facility is intended to augment the company’s current capability to produce impact-resistant door and window systems for its retail and residential markets. The company plans to locate the facility strategically to service the entire Southeast market, including Texas.
“Our strategy is to continue to meet the demands of the marketplace and best support our customers,” said Robert P. Randall, president and chief executive officer. “TRACO is in an extraordinary position with proven products to meet the needs of our customers in the coastal area.”
PGT Files for an Initial Public Offering
PGT Inc. of North Venice, Fla., is filing a registration statement with the Securities Exchange Commission relating to an initial public offering of its common stock. According to a company news release, the net proceeds of the offering are expected to be used to repay indebtedness and for working capital and general corporate purposes.
The manufacturer has filed to raise up to $150 million, according to public documents from the Securities and Exchange Commission. However, the company has not announced how many shares it will sell or the price of shares. The company has applied to list its common stock on The NASDAQ National Market under the trading symbol “PGTI.”
PGT reported that in 2005 the company generated net sales of $332.8 million, and had an adjusted EBITDA of $58.4 million.
Sika Expands to Increase Production Capacity
Sika Corp. has announced that it will invest $17.8 million over the next two years to increase capacity for polyurethane sealant and adhesives production at its headquarters facility in Lyndhurst, N.J.
According to William E. Loven, president and chief executive officer, the investments will be made “to transform the factory into a focused polyurethane factory with up to 100 percent more capacity. In addition, we will begin upgrading our equipment in order to increase manufacturing efficiencies and reduce costs.”
Loven adds that the company’s existing powders and mortars manufacturing operations in Lyndhurst will be moved to other Sika locations or to certain alliance partners. High-performance mortars and grouts still represent a large portion of Sika
Construction division sales. Such products are used in the repair and refurbishment of concrete structures like building facades, interstate highways and bridge structures.
Formation of VEKA Canada Announced
VEKA Holdings Inc., a member of the VEKA AG Group headquartered in Sendenhorst, Germany, has announced that its Berlinex plant has been fully integrated into the operations of VEKA North America and will now be operational as VEKA Canada.
Berlinex, acquired by VEKA from the Epwin Group Plc. in 2002, is an extruder of PVC fenestration products based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, and currently employs approximately 60 people. This new VEKA Canada site will continue to serve as a member of the VEKA Group and will supply current VEKA and Berlinex customers in Western Canada with products specific to that market.
FeneTech Adds Staff and New Division
FeneTech Inc. of Aurora, Ohio, has formed a manufacturing services division within the company. Headed by industry veteran Joe Mueller, the manufacturing services division will offer process efficiency audits, ROI analysis, project prioritization analysis, equipment selection, process layout and facility layouts. The new division will also provide engineering services for plant expansion planning, energy efficient utilities planning and project management.
“Many door, window and glass fabrication companies do not have the engineering talent on staff to tackle projects that will provide the significant improvements in their business,” said Ron Crowl, president. “The new manufacturing services division is targeted to meet the needs of these organizations to help keep them competitive in today’s market.”
Simonton Windows® Breaks Ground for Addition to Georgia Facility
To meet the growing need for coastal doors and windows in the Southeast, Simonton Windows of Parkersburg, W.Va., has completed a 120,000-square-foot addition to its Lyons, Ga., manufacturing facility. The addition more than doubles the space the company has at the facility dedicated to producing coastal products.
“Our Lyons facility began window production in January of this year and we [quickly saw] the need to add more production space,” said Jody Garrett, vice president of manufacturing. “We’ve been constantly ramping up operations there with additional procedures going on-line every few weeks. At the same time, we recognized that the need for coastal doors and windows will only strengthen in the future. That’s why we decided to move ahead quickly with the expansion of the facility by starting construction on an addition.”
Ground was broken in February for the Lyons addition on land next to the original site earmarked for future development. The company expects to employ more than 200 people at the facility.
Gorell Receives Energy Star® Sustained Excellence Award
Gorell Enterprises Inc. of Indiana, Pa., was recently honored with the Sustained Excellence Award from the U.S. Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency for its record of manufacturing energy-efficient windows, as well as the company’s work in promoting the Energy Star program. Gorell became the first window manufacturer in the country to receive this distinction, an honor bestowed on organizations that win Energy Star Partner of the Year three or more consecutive times, according to the company. Gorell was named Energy Star Partner of the Year for the third consecutive year in 2006.
Edgetech Celebrates One Billion Feet of Super Spacer®
Edgetech I.G. Inc. of Cambridge, Ohio, celebrated the production of its one-billionth foot of Super Spacer on July 24.
Edgetech’s one-billionth foot of spacer came off the line as the company was filling an order for Jeld-Wen Windows and Doors. Edgetech’s executive vice president Larry Johnson and regional sales manager Erin Barker presented the one-billionth foot in a commemorative shadow box to Jeld-Wen Canada general manager Martin Seier and Jeld-Wen Winnipeg general manager Tod Blanchard at a celebration held July 27 at the company’s Winnipeg facility.
Just how long is one billion feet? Employees did some research and learned that they would be able to wrap the insulating foam tape around the earth more than seven times, or stretch it from New York to Los Angeles more than 38 times (roundtrip).
“It took us by surprise when we looked at our data and realized we just produced one billion feet of Super Spacer,” said Edgetech president Mike Hovan. “It’s a very impressive mark and we are extremely proud of our employees who made it happen.”
According to Hovan, Super Spacer can be found in more than 100 million insulating glass units—or 50 to 60 million windows—in as many as 60 countries.
“This symbolizes more than 1 billion feet,” said Hovan. “The milestone is exciting, but it’s the fact that our customers are part of this milestone that truly makes it a success. High quality products; valuable relationships; dedicated employees: these are the constants over the last 17 years that have led to this exciting achievement.”
Simplex Building Products Inc., based in Houston, Texas, has announced that Anhui GuoFeng has joined the ranks of AAMA certified PVC extrusion licenses. Simplex has an exclusive North American distribution agreement with Anhui GuoFeng … Edgetech I.G. Inc. of Cambridge, Ohio, has named PRYSM Marketing Inc. of Doylestown, Pa., as its manufacturer’s representative for the Northeast. PRYSM Marketing markets and sells component parts and related products to manufacturers of doors, windows and insulating glass in the eastern United States … Paragon Door Designs of Louisville, Ky., has announced that it has joined the nationwide effort to help the environment and make homes more comfortable through participation in the Energy Star® program for residential entry door manufacturers … Frank Lowe Rubber and Gasket Co. Inc. of Farmingdale, N.Y., a supplier to the fenestration industry, has announced that Hastings, Minn.-based The Kragenbring Group LLC will become the company’s representative in Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, South Dakota and Nebraska.
© Copyright 2006 Key Communications Inc. All rights reserved.
No reproduction of any type without expressed written permission.


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New leaks have emerged that reveal the possible champions who are getting Project, Star Guardian, Debonair, Crime City, and some other skin lines in 2021.
Similar to last year, 2021 has already started to become a great year for Riot Games in terms of skin/content release. Lunar Beast, Battle Academia, and Space Groove skins received a massive response from the League of Legends community while the Bee skins were adored by most.
We are not even halfway through season 11 but there are already some leaks that reveal major skin lines for the rest of 2021 along with the champions who will get them. Moreover, Prestige skins for Jax, Sylas, Pantheon, and Zed are also confirmed by Riot Games releasing in 2021.
Based on leaks and rumors, here are the skin line releasing in 2021 along with the champions. Even though all of the previous early 2021 skin leaks did come true, you will have to take the following with a grain of salt as Riot is yet to make an official announcement. Moreover, also note that they are not in release order or anything.
According to a new leak/data mined file, Dragonmancer is the upcoming new skin line in League of Legends. There is also some new content for patch 11.19 PBE that strongly hints at Dragonmancer’s release — including the Dragonmancer Kai’sa emote.
Here are the speculated champions who are getting Dragonmancer skin in 2021:
- Dragonmancer Volibear (with Prestige)
- Dragonmancer Kai’sa
- Dragonmancer Karma
In the Worlds 2021 event trailer Riot pretty much hinted at the Dragonmancer Kai’sa and Dragonmancer Yasuo skin.
Some additional data mined files potentially revealed all the champions with their skin name:
- Dream Dragon Yasuo (Legendary)
- Truth Dragon Yasuo (Legendary)
- Steel Dragon Thresh
- Tranquility Dragon Karma
- Lagoon Dragon Kai’sa
- Duality Dragon Volibear + Prestige
Sentinels of Light
According to leaks here are few champions that might be getting the upcoming Sentinels of Light skins:
Sentinels of Light leaks for patch 11.14 did come true. However, it seems there are more Ruined and Sentinels skins that are coming out in patch 11.15 as well. Here are some confirmed/rumored skins:
- Ruined Miss Fortune
- Sentinel Graves (Legendary)
- Sentinel Pyke
A recent leak also reveals some more skins for the event:
- CyberPop Akshan
- Unbound Thresh (Event Shop Only)
Leaks also suggest that the Coven skin line is making its return in 2021. Here are the champions who might get it:
- Dark Yordle Champion
Here are some leaked splash/arts:
Update: Here are the confirmed champions:
Update: here are the confirmed champions:
- Senna (Epic)
- Renekton (Legendary)
- Mordekaiser (Legendary)
- Sejuani (Epic)
- Varus (Epic)
- Sylas (Epic)
- Sylas (Prestige Edition)
- Camille (Epic)
- Ekko (Epic)
- Leona (Epic)
- Dr. Mundo (Epic)
- Malzahar (Epic)
Debonair 2.0 and Crime City Nightmare both came out top in voting results to be on the skin thematic. And Riot confirmed that City Nightmare and Debonair 2.0 will hit the Rift in 2021.
During the voting phase, Riot already revealed Leona and Malzahar’s Debonair 2.0 skin. And now according to leaks, it seems Camille, Ekko, and reworked Dr. Mundo might join them.
Crime City Nightmare
- Kayn (Epic)
- Akali (Epic)
- Twisted Fate (Epic)
- Unknown (Epic)
Twisted Fate and Akali’s skin was previously confirmed and now Kayn, Sylas, and an unknown champion will join them to be on the Crime City Nightmare skin line. And Sylas could get his Prestige skin as well.

domain: news


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Timegate’s dated upcoming FPS sequel Section 8: Prejudice for 360 and PC. In a tweet, Timegate said the game would launch on Xbox Live Arcade on April 20, with it coming to Games for Windows on May 4 for $14.99. The PS3 version is down for just this summer. And that’s your lot.
Sometimes we include links to online retail stores. If you click on one and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. For more information, go here.


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IKEA Subscription Rentals
In what is surely a bold move, IKEA recently announced that it will be offering a furniture rental subscription service. Wow! True leadership move!
A bold leadership move, yes, but not without a nod to some proven models. Just look at what Netflix and Uber and Airbnb did to their industries. Well now furniture is up for a re-haul!
I’m sure that lots of brands will be keeping a close eye on this one. What’s your experience? JIM


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Recent years have seen a significant rise in the trend for brands to bring agency work in-house, with a report released last year by the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) stating that almost 8 in 10 (78%) of its client-side members had an in-house agency, compared to just 42% in 2008. However, bringing agency functions in-house isn’t all plain sailing. Here are four pressing issues highlighted in a new report [pdf] from the ANA.
Note that the percentages represent those who checked one of the top 2 boxes on a 7-point scale, with the other points resulting from qualitative interviews with ANA members.
Keeping in-house agency talent energized
The majority (63%) of survey respondents said that keeping in-house agency talent energized was a significant concern for them. This may not be for a lack of work: the ANA’s earlier study revealed that in-house agency workload had increased.
Some tactics used by the respondents to keep talent energized include: having creatives work with multiple internal stakeholders or brands to expose them to new challenges; providing workshops that allow for the enhancement and sharpening of skills; and celebrating successes as a team.
Attracting top-tier agency in-house talent
Some 44% of respondents are very concerned that they are not able to attract top-tier talent to their in-house agency. This concern is reflected in other research: one study found that 53% of US advertising executives reported having difficulty finding creative professionals. A more recent piece of research noted that companies with an in-house agency report that one of their challenges is hiring and retaining talent.
Applying key marketing processes
While more than one-third (37%) of respondents voiced concern about applying key marketing processes when bringing their advertising in-house, some see it as an opportunity as well. They are able to refine the processes and put them into action internally and with their external agency partners.
Separate research on marketing operations has shown that many larger companies have room for improvement with their own processes.
Losing healthy creative tension
Some 1 in 5 (19%) respondents to the ANA survey also feared losing a healthy tension between client and agency as a result of in-housing. However, to avoid any illusion that working at the same company might improve communication, it’s worth noting an earlier report by InSource and inMotionNow where communication between in-house creatives and stakeholders was a significant issue.
The full ANA report can be downloaded here.
About the Data: Quantitative figures are based on a survey of 111 ANA members, 50% of which had an in-house agency budget of $5 million or more.


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This year, Technicolor celebrates 20 years of innovation for its range of ACCESS modems & gateways.
Technicolor’s broadband story started back in 1998 with the A1000 high-speed modem under the Alcatel brand. Although the first trials of the A1000 started in mid-1996, high-speed modem production ramped up in 1998 after the company signed its first contract with the Joint Procurement Consortium, formed by Ameritech, BellSouth, Pacific Bell, and SBC Communications telecom operators in the United States.
The DMT-based ADSL system provided a maximum bitrate of 6 Mbps downstream and 500 Kbps upstream, far from the 10 Gigabit downstream and upstream speed that can be offered today.
Building on 20 years of design and field experience in broadband solutions, Technicolor has developed a strong customer and partner intimacy, expert knowledge in wireless technology, and delivered more than 250 million modems and gateways around the world.
Our technology approach has changed from a device-centric, closed ecosystem to an open ecosystem platform enabling a wide range of in-home services. The HERO program, launched by Technicolor at BBWF 2018, helps further accelerate operators’ access to innovative technologies and offerings.
If, as a Service Provider, you are looking for a broadband and video expert with a forward-thinking business model approach, Technicolor is your best partner to drive and support the evolution of home gateways.


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Thursday 16 November 2023
Transition from 3E to 3A: The next era of electric vehicles
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Friday 20 October 2023
Infineon signs multi-year chip supply contract with Hyundai, Kia
A multi-year supply deal for silicon carbide (SiC) and silicon (Si) power semiconductors has been struck by Infineon Technologies, Hyundai Motor Company, and Kia. Infineon will build...
Thursday 12 October 2023
Kia's new EV range includes cars that can turn into bedrooms
Kia Corp. unveiled a compact electric sport-utility vehicle and two concept EVs as it builds out a range of cheaper models to appeal to budget-conscious drivers.
Friday 6 October 2023
Hyundai, Kia the latest carmakers to adopt Tesla's charging port in North America
Tesla's North American Charging Standard (NACS) keeps gaining traction. Hyundai Motor and its affiliated Kia announced on October 5 that they will integrate NACS ports into their...
Tuesday 26 September 2023
Hyundai, Kia to cut EV prices in South Korea as demand slows
Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Corp. plan to slash the prices of some electric vehicles as the South Korean government expanded subsidies in a bid to boost flagging demand for clean car...
Thursday 21 September 2023
ASC 250 sidelines: traditional automakers to decline 30% by 2035
DIGITIMES unveiled its Asia Supply Chain (ASC) 250 rankings survey and organized a launch event that featured Johnny...
Friday 28 July 2023
Carmakers under pressure to transform business or face elimination, says Kia Taiwan executive
About 30% of existing carmakers will face elimination from the market in 2030 due to a failure to transform their business, according to Calvin Lee, managing director of Sime Darby...
Thursday 18 May 2023
Kia considers building EV plant in Mexico to receive tax credits
Kia, Hyundai Motor's subsidiary, is considering adding EV production capacity in Mexico, where it already makes ICE cars. The company's vehicles will be eligible for the US EV tax...
Wednesday 26 April 2023
Kia aims to lift electric vehicle sales after record profit
Kia Corp. wants to increase sales of electric vehicles so they account for 9% of revenue by the end of the year, up from 5.5% last quarter.
Friday 21 October 2022
Hyundai Mobis to make chassis modules for Mercedes Benz EVs
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Tuesday 11 October 2022
Hyundai Motor charging ahead with multiple bold investments
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Thursday 1 September 2022
With smart vehicles, South Korea aims to be pioneer in smart city development
South Korea has been dedicated to developing electric vehicles (EVs) and self-driving vehicles, all for the goal of making the smart city vision more complete, according to Calvin...
Tuesday 30 August 2022
Three key fields to determine winner for future vehicles
There are three key factors for car manufacturers that will determine the winner for future vehicles, according to Calvin Lee, managing director of Sime Darby KIA Taiwan.
Thursday 14 July 2022
Samsung creates advanced packaging department; Chinese makers keen on building 8.6G panel line; Huawei AITO M7 electric SUV unveiled
Wednesday 29 June 2022
Japan luring foreign chipmakers to set up factories; Hyundai Kia lags competitors in operating margin
Dec 8, 10:41
ASUS Handheld Ultrasound LU700 series: lightweight, high resolution and long battery life solution for mobile healthcare
Friday 8 December 2023
Clientron garners the prestigious 2024 Taiwan Excellence Award for innovative Smart eCockpit of Electric Vehicle
Wednesday 6 December 2023
AIRA features CPU-powered face recognition to address market challenges
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PowerArena uncovers human factors causing production line bottlenecks, boosting productivity and quality
TSMC likely to win it all, with Samsung's 3nm reportedly losing several significant orders
Approximately 1,400 ASML equipment installed in China, limited application for advanced chip expected
Huawei's 5nm chip in L540 NB could be inventory made by TSMC before US ban
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Huawei's NearLink wireless technology signals a decoupled connected world
Intel cuts off manufacturing in IDM2.0, TSMC is expected to benefit
Tesla's humanoid robot 'Optimus' debuts in Taiwan, showcasing AI advancements
ASML reportedly sees first big EUV equipment order cut from TSMC
US, Japanese, and Dutch semiconductor equipment export values to China dropped; more substantial strategies demanded by expert
Global top-5 notebook brands experience over 20% on-month shipment drop in October, says DIGITIMES Research
Global notebook shipments rise in 3Q23 but to slip in 4Q23, says DIGITIMES Research
Research Insight: order backlog, China demand to drive Infineon automotive segment in FY24
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Flipkart has worked with Google Zoo to develop a ‘Hagglebot’ for its annual online sale, with the immersive voice-based bot reportedly bringing an authentic market experience to the online platform.
Flipkart kicked off its Big Billion Days sale Wednesday morning, but this year’s sale comes with a difference – haggling. Replicating a real-life local market experience, the Indian e-commerce platform is using a bot from Google Assistant to help customers snag a bargain.
According to Flipkart, two new products for customers to haggle over will be released each day. Using voice-based technology through Google Assistant, consumers will be able to search for the latest products and negotiate the best possible price with the bot. At the end of each day, the best price negotiator will be crowned the ‘boss’ and will win a free product. The deal secured on each item will then become the price of the product for everyone else.
Google Zoo and Flipkart reportedly worked together to create the Hagglebot, which is available on both Android and iOS devices, and according to Flipkart’s Head of Brand Marketing, Kartikeya Bhandari, it offers a unique online shopping experience.
“Bargaining is rooted in our culture and we have now integrated that with the convenience of online shopping,” she said. “We hope our customers have a great time with this unique, rich and immersive experience.”
Flipkart’s Big Billion Days sale is offering special deals and the chance for consumers to ‘haggle’ with new Google tech.
Flipkart is one of the first companies to utilise voice-based search in a large-scale promotional activity, using Google’s technology to create an authentic, engaging customer experience.
“The Flipkart Hagglebot experience should feel very natural and respond quickly across a large range of devices. We hope Flipkart customers love this next-generation voice experience,” said Gene Brutty, the creating director of Google Zoo, APAC.
According to Brutty, the bot has been built through DialogFlow on Google Assistant and is remotely powered by the Google Cloud Platform. The bot has been designed to use natural language processing and machine learning to understand and respond to consumers in real-time. Never miss our best stories. Sign up for Power Retail’s free weekly newsletter and find our daily stories on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.


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GPU Technology Conference -- NVIDIA today announced availability of the NVIDIA® Tesla® K10 GPU accelerator, designed to address the most difficult challenges in two high-performance computing (HPC) markets: seismic data processing in oil and gas exploration, and signal and image processing in the defense industry.
The Tesla K10 is based on the new NVIDIA Kepler computing architecture, the fastest, most efficient, highest-performance computing architecture ever built.
The Kepler architecture enables two high-performance Tesla K10 GPUs to be placed on a single accelerator board. Delivering an aggregate performance of 4.58 teraflops of single-precision floating point and 320 gigabytes per second memory bandwidth, the Tesla K10 is the world's highest throughput GPU accelerator.
The Tesla K10 GPU was introduced at the GPU Technology Conference (GTC), as part of a series of announcements from NVIDIA, all of which can be accessed in the GTC online press room.
Seismic Data Processing -- Oil and Gas
Seismic processing uses large data centers to crunch through petabytes of information about the Earth's subsurface area, generated from reflected seismic waves. Geophysicists analyze the resulting 2D and 3D images to discover oil and gas deposits, and to determine the best and safest locations to drill.
NVIDIA GPUs improve the accuracy of seismic processing by enabling the use of more detailed, computationally intensive seismic processing software algorithms such as reverse time migration, full waveform inversion and Kirchoff time / depth migration.
Leading seismic processing companies -- including Schlumberger, CGGVeritas, and TGS -- and oil and gas companies -- such as Chevron, Petrobras, Total, ENI, Repsol and Saudi Aramco -- are using GPUs to dramatically increase their success rate in the identification of new reserves. By generating higher-quality images in a more affordable and timely fashion, GPUs give these companies a much greater degree of accuracy and confidence in drilling decisions.
"The Tesla K10 is simply amazing," said Paulo Souza, developer in the Geophysical Technology Group at Petrobras RTM. "My seismic application is 1.8x faster on the K10, compared with the Tesla M2090 GPU within the same power envelope. This transformational technology will dramatically accelerate our ability to find and safely reach new oil and gas reserves, as 90 percent of our computational power comes from the GPUs."
Signal and Image Processing -- Defense
The NVIDIA Tesla K10 GPU can help agencies increase national security by improving the quality, and speeding the delivery of, actionable video analytics and image forensics to security and law-enforcement officials. GPUs speed up by as much as 100x the process of analyzing thousands of video feeds generated by security cameras and drones, enabling analysts to better identify events and individuals of interest.
"The massive amount of video data being generated from security cameras and UAVs presents a 'new big data' problem for the defense industry," said Yiannis Antoniades, director of ISR Technology at BAE Systems. "We now have broad access to robust, high-quality video, but often we cannot analyze it quickly enough to generate actionable intelligence. GPUs are being used to accelerate nearly every aspect of video analytics, from video stabilization to orthorectification, enabling us to provide real, valuable data to the field quicker than ever before."
The new NVIDIA Tesla K10 GPU Computing Accelerator is available beginning this month from leading OEMs, including Appro Supercomputer Solutions, Dell, HP, IBM, SGI and Supermicro, as well as through NVIDIA distribution partners. More information about the Tesla K10 is available on the NVIDIA Tesla website.
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Telecommute Jobs Now Listed on InstantCommute.com »
InstantCommute.com has started publishing its list of telecommute jobs. The list, available at http://www.instantcommute.com, has hundreds of telecommute jobs and is updated daily. Unlike most traditional online job boards, InstantCommute.com only publishes jobs that can be done from home or other remote locations.
Read Telecommute Jobs Now Listed on InstantCommute.com now »
By Tim Spagnola
Weekly news and industry insights delivered straight to your inbox.


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Rhode Island Democratic state Senators Frank Ciccone (@senatorciccone) and Hanna Gallo (@hannagallo27) have proposed grandstanding, unworkable legislation, "Relating to Public Utilities and Carriers—Internet Digital Blocking" which would mandate the state's ISPs to identify all the pornography on the internet, and then block it for all Rhode Islanders, unless those Rhode Islanders specifically requested their porn to be unblocked and paid $20 for the privilege.
The law also requires ISPs to identify and block every piece of content on the entire internet that is "patently offensive" and to block access anything prostitution or human-trafficking related.
The law is unconstitutional, unrealistic and unworkable. It will likely never get out of committee and if it does, it will likely fail to be enacted. If enacted, it will certainly fail at the first court challenge. However, it will let two dumb senators look like heroes to their low-information constituents by claiming that their stunt was in some way cleaning up the internet.
The required digital blocking capability could only be deactivated by the ISP after a consumer does the following:
Requests in writing that the capability be disabled;
Presents identification to verify that the consumer is eighteen (18) years of age or older;
Acknowledges receiving a written warning regarding the potential danger of deactivating the digital blocking capability; and
Pays a one-time twenty-dollar ($20.00) digital access fee.
$20 porn-unblocking fee could hit Internet users if state bill becomes law [Jon Brodkin/Ars Technica]
Frontier is the bottom-rung of the top-tier of US ISPs, serving customers in 29 states. Despite enjoying monopoly control over its customers' online lives, and despite massive government handouts and a lackadaisical approach to maintenance, and despite out-and-out theft from customers, the company is filing for bankruptcy, having accumulated $16.3b in debt through mismanagement.
Bruce Schneier's Foreign Policy essay in 5G security argues that we're unduly focused on the possibility of Chinese manufacturers inserting backdoors or killswitches in 5G equipment, and not focused enough on intrinsic weakness in a badly defined, badly developed standard wherein "near-term corporate profits prevailed against broader social good."
Long before 4chan and other anything-goes forums existed, every major online community had a similar community: the Well had its "weird" forum, Usenet had alt.syntax.tactical (among others), and Something Awful had the "Fuck You and Die" forum, where people were funny, mean, obscene, and gross, sometimes all at once.
First, they were all about serving a protective necessary function. But now, about 10 weeks after the explosion of the COVID-19 outbreak, face masks are beginning to serve a different role. Just like all the fashion accessories that came before them, face masks are now showing off a little piece of ourselves to the everyday […]
Promoting products is almost nothing like it was back in the Mad Men days. In fact, the digital landscape has changed the ad game so much that it barely even resembles early Grey’s Anatomy days anymore. Marketing a product digitally isn’t about the right ad slogan or color scheme. It’s about crafting the narrative around […]
Every once in a while, we see a new product come along that’s so versatile and elegantly simple that it’s strange no one’s ever gone there before. Portable lights themselves aren’t new, but there’s something about the MOGICS Coconut Light that’s so seamlessly well-designed and adaptable that it feels startlingly original. The Coconut is basically […]


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THE government has called upon members of the private sector to support the ongoing campaign to boost domestic tourism by increasing investment.
This was said over the weekend by the Director of Tourism, Mr Ibrahim Mussa, at the tourism promotion draw dubbed 'Talii na Uchumi' where more than 30 winners were picked.
"The promotion has come at the right time when the Ministry of Tourism and Natural Resources is investing substantial resources in promoting domestic tourism to enhance its contribution of the sector to the economy," he said.
Last week, the Minister for Tourism and Natural Resources, Mr Khamis Kagasheki was quoted as saying his ministry plans to spend about 5bn/- for promoting domestic tourism, basically through improving services and advertising tourism attraction sites abroad.
Mr Mussa said the participation of the private sector as the engine of the economy in promoting domestic tourism has a far reaching impact to creating employments to the youths.
The grand winner in the draw would have seven days fully paid stay at the Sea Cliff Resort & SPA Zanzibar while the others will have a four days rest in the hotels, which have partnered with the Dar es Salaam based Uchumi Supermarkets (T) Limited in the promotion.
The hotels include Golden Tulip Dar es Salaam, Kijiji Beach-Kigamboni, Ocean Bay, Regency Park Hotel and JB Belmont.


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Sensing the opportunities in gaming industry Rediff.com, an online news, information, mail service and shopping portal from India, has stepped into online gaming industry by launching Gaming platform named as RediffPlayGully. Rediff gaming platform has got the capabilities to enables game developers from across the world to integrate their games with the platform through Rediff APIs.
When the going gets tough, the tough get going. But that doesn't seem to fit in case of LG Smartphone business.
The streaming landscape of India is going through a rapid transformation. Seems like it is no longer about raking in subscribers by...
You know that ads play an important role in driving people to your website if you run a small business and sell...
Chad Hurley never cared about success, he mended his ideas and tried to garner the fruits from those. But not every time...


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Malaysia launches 5G in test mode next month. Tests will be carried out on the basis of Huawei equipment, REGNUM reports.
According to data, among the countries of Asia, Malaysia will launch the fifth generation network one of the first. However, unlike, for example, South Korea or Vietnam, Huawei will become the supplier of equipment for the Malaysian 5G, since in this country cooperation with the Chinese tech giant is not prohibited.
It is expected that by 2025, a fifth of cellular connections in Malaysia will use 5G.
Despite the conflict with the US government and the subsequent refusal to cooperate by many companies, Huawei today remains the industry leader, in particular regarding the introduction of 5G technology in the world. The Chinese manufacturer has signed 50 commercial contracts for the launch of the fifth generation network, beating all major competitors.
Only this year it became known about the participation of Huawei in the implementation and testing of 5G in Thailand, Turkey, Russia, Spain, Hungary, the UK, Monaco, Uzbekistan, as well as in the countries of South and North Africa.


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Electronic Arts suffers big losses and loses CEO
Effective March 30th, EA CEO John Riccitiello will be leaving his post after a lackluster performance. Since his tenure, EA’s stock price has fallen from $61.40 a share to $17.97 as of March 22. EA has seen its consumer confidence suffer as well under his command, earning the infamous title of “Worst Company in America” in 2012 in a Consumerist poll, with a strong chance to regain the title in 2013.
In Riccitiello’s own words: “My decision to leave EA is really all about my accountability for the shortcomings in our financial results this year. It currently looks like we will come in at the low end of, or slightly below, the financial guidance we issued to the Street, and we have fallen short of the internal operating plan we set one year ago. And for that, I am 100 percent accountable.”
A lot of factors have culminated in EA’s fall from grace. Under Riccitiello’s six year reign EA switched focus several times, most disastrous was an attempt to pin down the digital marketplace. Poor sales and reception of Star Wars the Old Republic, which was seen as EA’s major entry into the MMO market, was a huge blow to both Riccitietello’s overall strategy and to EA’s revenue stream. This, combined with the failure of recent Medal of Honor entries to compete with Call of Duty, the Mass Effect 3 ending debacle, Origin’s failure to grain much traction next to Steam’s marketplace, and the recent SimCity disaster, has pushed EA into a dangerous situation.
In the mean time, Larry Probts has been appointed Executive Chairman. Before Ricitello, Probts had wild success growing EA’s reach into several markets. In a press release EA said that their decision to put Probts in charge was because, “As CEO, Probst successfully grew the Company’s annual revenues from $175 million to approximately $3 billion, led EA into new platforms such as mobile, online and other emerging markets and expanded its international presence to more than 75 countries.”
But Probts has a daunting task ahead of him. EA’s brand has long been toxic amongst gamers at the ground level. Citing everything from crushing DRM, the way EA’s games handle micro-transactions, and poor management of existing IPs, many see EA as a place where game franchises go to die. Some drastic changes will have to be made in the way EA both presents itself and how they move forward if EA wants to reverse its fortunes.


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Michelle Henery enjoys the culinary equivalent of a hug
SINCE Sophie Conran started her pie business last November, she has transformed what was a staple at football matches into haute cuisine.
Her product is a far cry from the traditional dish that evolved as a way for poorer families to prepare hearty meals with less expensive meats. In modern times, the parcels of puff pastry, encompassing savoury meat stews, are considered the preserve of pub lunches or an easy, ready-made meal — until now.
As her name suggests, the 39-year-old entrepreneur is another scion of the Conran clan, of which Sir Terence Conran, the designer, is at the helm.


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, a young tech company working to make fleet management easier, seamless, effective, affordable and more productive, has set up its sales and design operation in downtown Northville.
Driver Buddy, 114 E. Main Street, is growing as companies sign on for the service that brings handheld control of company vehicles, orders, sales, service techs and more.
CEO Ray Lark has assembled a team that brings 30 years of experience in automotive, building materials, medical devices and the hospital and transportation industries.
Driver Buddy combines handheld technology, cloud hosting and powerful computing technologies to solve all sorts of fleet and delivery management issues, from dispatch, communications, and shipping solutions to data control and retrieval.
The start-up recently added two new employees and plans to add more.
Source: Ray Lark, CEO, Driver Buddy
Writer: Kim North Shine


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2nd of two components
The customer Financial Protection Bureau, which started supervising the pay day loan industry in www.quickpaydayloan.info/payday-loans-or/ January 2012, has started rein in punishment, producing a written report critical for the industry and needing two payday organizations to give refunds and pay million-dollar fines. The bureau is also rules that are drafting could offer further defenses for customers.
The bureau, founded by the Dodd Frank Act of 2010, started running in July 2011. The bureau supervises consumer financial businesses and will enforce and compose rules to restrict unjust, misleading or practices that are abusive.
As a new enlisted guy or lady, you’re selecting a vocation like no other. The discipline and commitment needed will challenge you every day. Friendships can be family members, while the experiences will determine your lifetime.
Your patriotism is mirrored and compensated in your wage, and that is one thing you’ll want to benefit from.


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Posts Tagged ‘TFM+A’
Posted March 5th, 2010
Visualsoft recently attended the annual TFM&A event in London. At Technology For Marketing & Advertising (TFM&A), the UK’s largest marketing event grew even bigger, as over 10,000 marketing, media and advertising professionals walked through the doors of Earls Court 2 on Tuesday 23rd and Wednesday 24th February to attend what has been described by Chris Underhill, CEO of smartFocus as “the busiest we have ever seen the show”. TFM&A has enjoyed phenomenal growth since its launch...
Posted March 6th, 2009
Visualsoft recently exhibited at the TFM+A digital marketing event at Earl's Court, London. The event was attended by over 9000 people with developing business online a keen priority. As well as meeting new companies and advising visitors on moving forward with their online business presence, it was also good to meet with some of our existing London based clients with whom we had only conducted business over the phone with to date. We would like to thank everyone who took the time to...
Amazon offers a range of services to online retailers, including Amazon checkout. We work closely with the online retailer to integrate the latest technology into our client's websites.
As a Google Adwords Qualified Company we have passed the Google Advertising Fundamentals Exam and have met other requirements in order to achieve this level of recognition.
Sage Pay is the fastest growing payment service provider and specialises in secure card payment solutions. As a premier partner we work with Sage Pay to deliver essential services to online businesses.
A number of our clients have won awards at the nebusiness awards including Attends, Farmway and Ramsdens, who have all picked up awards for 'Best use of Internet and ICT' in recent years.
Paypal is a global leader in online payments with over 164 million customers world wide, including a large proportion of Visualsoft clients.
In the prestigious 2010 Drapers Etail Awards Visualsoft clients accounted for no less than SIX of the final places (from nine categories).
In order to improve the satisfaction of our customers, Visualsoft has partnered with Trustpilot. We're currently ranked number 1 in the eCommerce category, web design category and CMS category.
Visualsoft beat 1,750,000 entrants to win 'Design of the Year' at the 2009 iStockphoto Punctum Awards! The international awards are in recognition of outstanding quality and artistic merit.
In 2008 Visualsoft's own Goofbay.com won both it's categories for 'Best Use of API' and the overall award for 'Digital Innovator of the Year'.
Visualsoft are part of the largest business membership organisation in the region. With NECC membership we can help you deliver more business, better business & better conditions for business.
Skrill, formerly known as Moneybookers, is one of the world's largest online payment providers currently being used by over 120,000 merchants.
We have experience of running our own online retail businesses. This gives us first-hand experience of the problems & pitfalls of online retail and know what solutions are required to sustain growth.


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Toyota cites the redistribution of engineering resources to ensure a smooth launch for the redesigned Camry as the main reason for the delay. Other automotive news outlets are speculating that the real reason is because Honda's new Civic has forced Toyota to go back to the drawing board.
For our part, we believe Toyota. The Honda Civic is currently enjoying a 17.1% increase in sales through the first six months of 2006 and has moved 165,056 units. Despite the Honda's critical success, the Corolla continues to steam roll its competition, including the new Civic, with a 38.7% increase in sales during the first half of the year, selling nearly 200,000 units. Clearly the Corolla can hold its own for one more year, which gives Toyota 365 more days to build a better Civic slayer.
[Source: Automotive News via The Detroit News]


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Three weeks ago, the long-awaited Zeiss ZX1 camera reappeared for pre-order on B&H Photo after months and months of silence regarding the availability of the Android-powered mirrorless camera. While B&H has since pulled its listing, a new report from Nokishita claims the camera will be available on October 29 with an MSRP of $6,000/€6,000 (the same price B&H had it listed for).
When B&H listed the Zeiss ZX1 for pre-order earlier this month, we contacted both B&H and Zeiss on the matter, but both passed on the opportunity to comment on the matter. Sometime between then and now, the pre-order option on B&H was removed with no further information on when we might see more. That is, until Nokishita published the above tweet earlier this morning.
We have contacted Zeiss for confirmation and will update this article accordingly if we receive a response. While we wait to hear more about the camera, you can check out our hands-on with it back at CP+ 2019.


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We are just a month away from the release of Samsung’s current year’s flagship which is in highlight as Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus. The company didn’t even teased the smartphone on any social media and are making the suspense bigger. Samsung has confirmed that they will be unveiling their Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus on at MWC in February.
Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus under rumors which will keep on going until the day when the company will showcase their flagship smartphone. We have some solid confirmations about the specifications, release date and prices of the smartphone.
The report made by our tech analysts says that the Galaxy S9 will carry a 5.8-inch QHD+ Super AMOLED curved display with 570ppi while the bigger one Galaxy S9 Plus will carry a 6.2-inch display of same screen quality with 529ppi.
Both the smartphone will run on the latest Android 8.0 Oreo and will carry a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 for the United States units while a Samsung Exynos for the United Kingdom units. Reports also say that the Galaxy S9 will carry 4GB of RAM with storage variant of 64GB and 128GB while the Galaxy S9 Plus will arrive with 6GB of RAM and storage variant of 64GB/128GB/256GB.
Both the smartphone will carry Cat 18 LTE support which enables a fast download speed. When it comes to design, the smartphones will carry a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner packed with the camera slot.
A 12MP Dual Pixel camera with OIS (f/1.5, f/2.4) and vertical dual Rear-facing camera presence will be there. Along with that, the Bixby AI assistant with the dedicated button will be there. USB-C, 3.5mm headphone jack with wireless charging support. In terms of resistibility, the company stands at first and hence providing IP68 water and dust resistance in both the handsets. A built-in FN radio and updated Dex docking station will help in enhancing the user engagement.


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For some in the franchising world, monogamy is not their style.
Many franchisees get involved with their prospective business and decide they can take on more responsibility as an owner of multiple brands.
For example, Jay Hummer recently added MOOYAH Burgers, Fries & Shakes to the list of franchise brands for which he is a proprietor. He also owns four Kennedy’s All American Barber Club locations, plans to open a Native Grill & Wings franchise in Spring 2016 and is working to help develop the Whole Hog Café franchise brand.
“I have a large appetite and a lot of energy,” Hummer said regarding his decision to work with multiple brands.
Hummer is not only serving as a franchisee for MOOYAH Burgers, Fries and Shakes, but is representing the brand as a Development Agent for New England, hoping to open 20 locations in the region in the next five years. The first two locations will be in Boston and Northborough, Massachusetts.
“First and foremost, brands have to delivery high quality for their category. MOOYAH, for example, absolutely delivers a great quality product,” he said. “In addition, the organization has great people and I have a lot of respect for them.”
And Hummer isn’t alone in his efforts to seek versatility in the industry.
Irfaan and Faisal Lalani were introduced to the franchise industry when they became Little Caesars franchisees in 2005. They saw huge success with this investment and decided to diversify their offerings and target an additional demographic by opening a Which Wich franchise in 2009.
“With Little Caesars, we liked the simple operating model and limited menu options.” Lalani said. “The brand has been around for over 50 years and it’s well recognized. For Which Wich, we started off as customers and loved the product. There’s no better hot sandwich on the market.”
The Lalanis also said they’re always looking for additional opportunities with their current brands as well as new franchises that may peak their interest.
So whether specializing in burgers, pizza, or beard trims, one thing is clear – less isn’t more for these versatile business owners.


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Charles County commissioners, citing potential traffic problems, say they may move to slow the proliferation of convenience stores that also sell gasoline.
Business leaders said such a step would hinder competition and harm a type of commerce that has sprung up to meet local needs.
Commissioners raised concerns about the "gas-and-go" stores at a meeting last week but took no immediate action. They discussed whether to give county planners the power to reject stores, even in commercially zoned areas where such facilities are now routinely allowed.
Commissioners said their attention was drawn by the sudden advent of three gas-and-go stores on a three-mile stretch of Berry Road in Waldorf. One store recently opened, another is under construction and the third is planned.
"If our regulations are allowing this, my sense is our regulations aren't properly drawn," said Board of Commissioners President Murray D. Levy (D-At Large).
Levy said the convenience stores could hinder traffic, as motorists pull into and out of parking lots.
"It's not a question of not allowing" the stores, Levy said. "The question is, how do you situate these? You cannot have one on every corner."
Convenience stores and gas stations represented the largest single category of commercial projects in Charles County last year, accounting for five of 24 commercial building permits, according to county statistics.
David Cooksey, a land planner who monitors commercial activity in the Waldorf area, said the gas-and-go stores are being built to meet demand created by the county's residential growth.
Cooksey said restrictions would discourage other businesses from coming into the county.
"What's next? Car dealerships? Or retail stores?" Cooksey said. "They're scaring people off. It's an anti-business climate."
Among the three stores that drew the commissioners' attention is one under construction at the corner of Middletown and Berry roads. The store's owner, Elliott "Sonny" Burch, said the facility has been planned for three years.
"I don't think it's going to affect traffic at all," said Burch, president of Burch Oil Co., of Hollywood, which owns roughly a dozen convenience stores throughout Southern Maryland.
Another convenience store owner, Lock Wills, said the stores do not create traffic, but draw customers from motorists who would be driving by in any case.
"People don't go out of their way to stop and buy bread and milk and sodas," said Wills, chairman of Dash-In food stores, a La Plata-based chain with roughly 40 stores in Maryland and Delaware.
Levy said congestion on main roads through Waldorf and Hughesville has left commissioners wary.
"We don't want to put every road in the county in the posture of killing it from overuse and poor planning," Levy said.
Commissioner Marland Deen (R-Waldorf) said he was uncomfortable with restrictions. "There's something called the free enterprise system," Deen said.
Deen suggested regulations to ensure the convenience stores offer water and air for automobiles -- and public restrooms, too.
"I find it remarkable that . . . you can buy gas and oil but you can't empty your own tank," Deen said.


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StartupNation has just announced their second annual Home-Based 100 Competition sponsored by Microsoft Office Live Small Business. The top 100 home-based entrepreneurs will be ranked in 10 very unique categories. The categories are: best financial performers, most innovative, boomers back in business, greenest, yummiest, wackiest, grungiest, recession busters, most slacker friendly, and most glamorous. Entries will be taken until midnight Pacific time on September 30, 2008. The top 100 winners will be announced mid-November.
If you would just like to browse thru the current nominees and place your votes, you can do so here. There are a lot of interesting small businesses to vote for. Last year’s home-based 2007 small business winners are available to explore also.
Wow, this sounds interesting!
I remember this from last year. It’s an interesting event with tons of inspiring stories. Can’t wait to see who this years winner is!
I agree on that, Chris. I have read their unique , inspiring stories of success.
What a nice opportunity to get noticed. Some of the nominees look like very interesting businesses.
The winners have been posted


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They may not come in trucks, per se. But Uber commissioned its fleet of private rideshare vehicles around the world to become purveyors of ice cream – and all-round happiness – for one day only.
Yesterday, July 24, poor schmucks stuck at the office could place an order for ice creams to be delivered curbside using the Uber app.
The programme rolled out across 252 cities in 57 countries worldwide.
In some destinations such as London and Paris, ice creams were free. Otherwise, the frozen desserts ranged from US$10 to US$20 for up to five pieces.
Each city got its own local ice cream flavour.
Select cities in China, for instance, were served treats from Baskin-Robbins. Other partners around the world include Dairy Queen, Magnum, Wall’s Cornettos, and local froyo bars. – AFP Relaxnews


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- A video has since gone viral on social media as it captures the image of a cake designed in the form of a white dress
- In the video, the baker is seen cutting a huge chunk out of the cake which could pass for a skater mini dress
- The video has sparked mixed reactions amongst social media users with some expressing shock over the creativity
Bakers are gradually taking the place of makeup artist in the area of creating powerful illusions.
This can be seen in yet another video in which a baker puts on display a creation which - at first glance - looks like it belongs in every fashionista's wardrobe.
In the video, an image of a white dress with studded design on the bust, hanging on a dark grey mannequin is what many people see.
However, a lady - presumably the baker - appears in another montage as she cuts off a large part of the 'dress' revealing it is infact a cake.
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The inner part of the cake gives off a flesh-like effect as it appears to be a velvet cake which is red, with white filling in between.
Watch the video below:
Social media users share thoughts on cake dress
"Nonsense..I won't eat."
"This is an atrocity. "
"Are you sure I’m not a cake? Cus what!!!!!"
"These cake people needs to be stopped."
"Bakers be doing the most."
"This just annoyed me."
"At this point, I’m beginning to think I’m cake too."
"I feel heart broken as she dey cut am."
Reactions as Balenciaga unveils destroyed version of Paris sneakers, reportedly selling for N768k
Social media users are buzzing with mixed reactions following Balenciaga's latest campaign which features destroyed shoes going on sale.
For the campaign of their new Paris sneakers, the luxury fashion house released an exaggerated version of the distressed shoes.
Paper reports that according to a release, the still-life portraits of the extremely dirty shoes are simply meant to suggest that the new Paris sneakers "are meant to be worn for a lifetime."


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A few months after selling its bankrupt business to a Chinese company, Waltham battery maker A123 Systems LLC is starting an incubator to help startups refine and more quickly commercialize their energy storage technologies.
New division A123 Venture Technologies is offering startups its research and development expertise, lab space and funding.
But at least one expert reached by the Herald yesterday was skeptical.
Litchfield Hills Research analyst Theodore O’Neill said the incubator “looks like bait to try to lure in a new technology that would incorporate A123’s batteries and doesn’t require A123 to figure it out.”
“There is some technology that they’ve got that is useful if you’re trying to generate energy really fast,” he said. “This doesn’t look like a bad idea at all, but it’s all but saying that A123 can’t figure out what it is that will make money.”
The company said it sees some real advantages to establishing the incubator.
“We have a market around ... batteries and automotive, but a lot of what’s going to come is high-energy technologies for electric vehicles,” said Mujeeb Ijaz, chief technology officer of A123 Systems, now owned by Wanxiang Group. “We need to prepare for that. We thought the best the way to leverage the assets that we built ... is to open the lab to developers.”
Earlier this year, A123 Systems Inc., which focused on batteries and battery systems for electric vehicles and received millions of dollars in state and federal taxpayer money, won government approval for the $257 million sale of most of its assets to the Chinese auto parts conglomerate. A123 had filed for bankruptcy protection last fall after being dragged down by manufacturing and safety issues, and insufficient orders.
“I don’t think our company going bankrupt is a sign that we don’t know how to commercialize technology. The market wasn’t ready for global commercialization at the time when we were ready, and we had no other business to rely on to fund our balance sheet,” Ijaz said.


text: Download Print Chrysler Pacifica Takes Family Vehicle of Texas Award, Dodge Charger Claims Performance Sedan Win at TAWA Auto Roundup 2021 Chrysler Pacifica corrals four awards, including a fifth Family Vehicle of Texas award and Best Minivan honors, at Texas Automotive Writers Association (TAWA) Auto Roundup Pacifica also brings home hardware for Best New Feature (FamCAM interior camera) and Best New Interior (Chrysler Pacifica Pinnacle) at event held at Texas Motor Speedway April 19-20 2021 Dodge Charger drives to win in TAWA Auto Roundup Performance Sedan category Dodge Challenger recognized as Best Value Chrysler Pacifica, the most awarded minivan over the last five years, has earned more than 150 honors and industry accolades May 19, 2021 , Auburn Hills, Mich. - The 2021 Chrysler Pacifica and 2021 Dodge Charger left a recent visit to the Lone Star State lugging away a load of trophies. Pacifica earned four awards, including a fifth-consecutive Family Vehicle of Texas award, while Charger claimed bragging rights in the Performance Sedan category at the Texas Automotive Writers Association (TAWA) Auto Roundup. Pacifica is the most awarded minivan over the last five years, and has now earned more than 150 honors and industry accolades since its introduction as a minivan. In addition to the Family Vehicle of Texas honor, Pacifica was recognized as Best Minivan at the event, which took place at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth on April 19-20. Pacifica’s FamCAM interior camera, which offers a segment-exclusive view of rear-facing child seat occupants, won for Best New Feature, while the top-of-the line Pacifica Pinnacle model, with quilted Caramel Nappa leather seats and a unique set of movable lumbar pillows, won for Best New Interior. Dodge brand also added to its haul with a merit award for the Dodge Challenger. Challenger tied for Best Value pick at the event, which featured approximately 40 TAWA journalists driving 35 vehicles during the two-day event. Chrysler Pacifica The Chrysler brand continues to set the pace for the minivan segment with the new 2021 Chrysler Pacifica. The first-ever minivan to offer both gas and hybrid powertrains, Chrysler is elevating its minivan game to new levels, creating a new top-of-the-line Pinnacle model in the segment, offering AWD capability paired with Pacifica’s class-exclusive Stow ‘n Go seating, more standard safety features than any vehicle in the industry, new FamCAM interior camera, wireless charging, next-generation Uconnect 5 connectivity, an athletic new look and loads more creature comforts and interior storage for the 2021 model year. The Pacifica Hybrid delivers more than 80 miles per gallon equivalent (MPGe) in electric-only mode, an all-electric range of more than 30 miles and a total range of more than 500 miles. The Chrysler Pacifica continues to hold its status as the most awarded minivan five years in a row with more than 150 honors and industry accolades. As the first company to introduce the minivan and through six generations of the vehicle, 116 minivan firsts have been produced, including nearly 40 minivan-first features on the Pacifica. The company has sold more than 15 million minivans globally since 1983, twice as many as any other manufacturer over 37 years. Dodge Charger Dodge muscle gets even stronger for the 2021 model year with the new “Demon-possessed” Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye, the most powerful and fastest mass-produced sedan the world. Raising the bar to performance levels never seen before in a four-door family sedan, the Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye serves up 797-horsepower and 707 lb.-ft. of torque and a top speed of 203 miles per hour (mph), delivering the ultimate in high-performance, comfort and road-ready confidence as the world’s only four-door muscle car. The Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye features the same Widebody introduced on the Charger SRT Hellcat in 2020. Integrated fender flares add 3.5 inches of body width and new 20-by-11-inch lightweight Carbon Black wheels ride on wide Pirelli 305/35ZR20 tires. With a new horsepower rating of 717 for the 2021 model year, the Charger SRT Hellcat Widebody fills out the Charger SRT performance lineup. Both Charger SRT Hellcat models feature a new performance hood that gives this four-door sedan an even more sinister look. With power output ranging from nearly 300 horsepower on Pentastar V-6 models to nearly 800 horsepower on the new SRT Hellcat Redeye, the 2021 Dodge Charger lineup offers a full range of powerful engine options designed to meet the wants of a wide range of Dodge performance enthusiasts. The 2021 Dodge Charger lineup includes eight distinct models and five different engines, including: The award-winning 3.6-liter Pentastar V-6 with up to 300 horsepower on the Charger SXT, SXT AWD, GT and GT AWD models The legendary 5.7-liter HEMI® V-8 with 370 horsepower on R/T models The naturally aspirated 392 HEMI V-8 with a best-in-class 485 horsepower, offering the most horsepower per dollar of any sedan in the industry on Scat Pack models The 717-horsepower 6.2-liter supercharged HEMI SRT Hellcat V-8 The new-for-2021, 797-horsepower supercharged 6.2-liter HEMI high-output V-8 on the SRT Hellcat Redeye Standard on every Dodge Charger model is the innovative TorqueFlite eight-speed automatic transmission. The Charger is unrivaled when it comes to sheer horsepower, available all-weather capability on V-6 models, overall interior roominess, performance options and packages, and unique heritage design cues that Dodge//SRT customers count on in the world's only four-door muscle car. About TAWA TAWA is one of the most reputable automotive press organizations in the industry, with a mission to promote quality and accuracy in automotive journalism and disseminate information about the industry through news-related print, online and broadcast media. TAWA produces two driving events each year — the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall. Media members enjoy driving and evaluating new vehicles competing for the coveted Family Vehicle of Texas and Truck of Texas.


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Next month, in selected theaters in California, Illinois and Washington state, Sony will debut a new video game, "UNCHARTED 2: Among Thieves" on movie screens that have Sony’s digital projection technology, Reuters reports.
According to the report, the theaters "will provide viewers with PS3s connected to Sony’s 4K digital cinema technology, which is in about 500 theaters nationwide and which Sony says provides better image resolution than traditional projectors."
The report also quotes Mike Fidler, senior vice president of Sony Electronics’ Digital Cinema Solutions and Services Group, as saying, " ‘This is the first time we’re doing it in a theater. We think it’s a start of something for us, and hope we can build this into a standard element in the movie-going experience," he said. "Our goal in converting theaters to digital is to go beyond the traditional movie-going experience and focus on helping exhibitors find ways to fill seats.’ "


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For the first time in seven years, the Elermore Shopping Centre in Elermore Vale, 9kms west of Newcastle has sold, with a private syndicate snapping up the neighbourhood centre for circa $18 million on a 6.8 per cent passing net yield.
The single level, enclosed and strong performing centre comprises a large Ritchies SUPA IGA supermarket supported by 17 non-discretionary specialty tenants, with 4,048sqm of gross lettable area on a 23,882sqm site including additional land ready for development, car parking for 235 vehicles and an estimated fully leased net income of circa $1.44million.
According to Steven Lerche, national director retail investments at Savills Australia who sold the asset with colleagues Andrew Palmer and Ben Nastasi, on behalf of Bamm Group, Newcastle is seeing a surge in investment activity, largely stimulated by the $6.55 billion State Government investment mandate which has brought to light the new light rail system on Hunter Street, the new transport interchange at Wickham, construction of the Newcastle City University Campus and much more.
“We are seeing a lot of investor interest come from the Sydney investment market and interstate markets such as Melbourne and Brisbane due to the significant growth prospects of Newcastle,” he said.
“Retail assets have been in particular favour with developers due to their strategic locations, large site area, existing income stream and potential to redevelop under the existing planning controls.
Lerche said an immediate development opportunity exists on two blocks of undeveloped land (4,382sqm) that has favourable B2 Local Centre Zoning.
“There is also further value-add opportunity through an expansion of the existing shopping centre (STCA) and future mixed use development upside” he said.
Newcastle is the largest regional economy in Australia and is the second most populated area in NSW.
According to Andrew Palmer, associate director retail investments at Savills, the median house price in Newcastle is $595,000 compared to approximately $1.17million in Sydney, based on Domain Group’s rental and house price report, and investors are taking notice.”
Palmer went on to say that it is interesting to note that a new State Custodians Galaxy Poll showed while a high proportion of Victorian investors (72 per cent) are still set on buying in Melbourne, almost half of NSW investors (49 per cent) are looking beyond the big smoke to invest their money.
“Elermore Vale and its surrounding suburbs are certainly set to reap the benefits of this surge in investor demand” he said.
Steven Lerche sold the Elermore Shopping Centre to Bamm Group in 2011 for $8.3m with Ben Nastasi acting on behalf of the purchaser. At the time, the property was anchored by BiLo on a short lease.
“The sale of Elermore Shopping Centre some six years ago was timely and enabled Bamm Group to more than double their capital with the sale of the property achieving a price of close to $18m,” said Nastasi, director, retail services, asset management at Savills.
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A California man has sued the creators of Pokemon Go Fest, alleging the company knew — or should have known — about the problems that hampered the Chicago event.
The suit, filed against developer Niantic in Cook County Circuit Court by attendee Jonathan Norton, seeks class action status. It alleges violations under Illinois, California and Washington state law.
Pokemon Go Fest brought as many as 20,000 people to Grant Park last weekend for a day-long event to celebrate the cellphone game's one-year anniversary. But with hours-long lines and widespread problems connecting to the internet to play the game, Niantic officials offered attendees refunds and $100 worth of in-game credit.
The suit claims Niantic failed to account for the number of people who attended Pokemon Go Fest, as well as technical problems with the game's software. Those factors led to fest attendees being "unable to play the game as (Niantic's) advertising had led them to anticipate," the suit says.
Like many others, Norton traveled to attend Pokemon Go Fest, the suit says. If the attendees had known they wouldn't be able to play the game as advertised, "they would not have purchased tickets or paid money to travel to and attend the fest," the suit says.
While tickets to the event originally cost $20, they sold out within minutes and quickly began reselling for hundreds of dollars.
The suit is seeking actual and punitive damages against Niantic, as well as attorney's fees. That includes compensation for attendees' travel costs, according to a press release from the Chicago-based Zimmerman Law Offices, which is representing Norton.
A spokesman for Niantic did not immediately respond to a request for comment.


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Target is selling its 1,660 in-house pharmacies in 47 states to CVS Health for $1.9 billion in a deal that most observers are applauding as a win for both sides. They will be operated in a store-within-a-store format and branded as CVS/pharmacy.
Forget the somewhat so-so reviews and ignore the fact that first iteration is as old as "Groundhog Day," there's plenty of life left in those rampaging behemoths of the Jurassic period.
Whole Foods smaller, more affordable chain of shops will be called 365 by Whole Foods Market, the chain said Thursday, extending the numerals that define its more private-label goods to apparently convey that it's the same, but different.
With sales diving, customers carping about poor design and high prices, and analysts getting antsy about pinched revenue and profitability, J.Crew announced Wednesday that Somsack Sikhounmuong, who has led design for its Madewell brand for two years, will replace a departing Tom Mora as head of women's design for the J.Crew brand. It is also laying off 175 people, primarily at corporate headquarters in New York.
McDonald's yesterday named former White House Press secretary Robert Gibbs as its global chief communications officer and appointed Silvia Lagnado, who created the Dove "Campaign for Real Beauty" while she was at Unilever, as global chief marketing officer.
Reactions to Apple's announcement at its Worldwide Developer's Conference Monday that it was indeed launching Apple Music - which it positioned as a service that takes the best of what's already out there and adds a heaping does of its secret sauce - were generally favorable although some details about execution remain murky.
Like songs leaked on music-sharing site before their official release, the big news of the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) opening today has already been out there for days: It's launching its own streaming music service, reportedly called Apple Music. Then Sunday, during a q&a session at Billboard's Midem Music Industry Festival conference in Cannes, Sony Music chairman/CEO Doug Morris put the outro on the rumors. "It's happening tomorrow," he said.
A hearing room packed with supporters of the female libido pill flibanserin burst into applause yesterday when an advisory panel voted 18 to 6 to recommend its approval to the Food and Drug Administration. The FDA has twice before rejected the daily treatment over concerns about the risks of side effects such as low blood pressure, dizziness, nausea and sleepiness measured against what some see as minimal results in clinical trials but the company claims are "significant" improvements in desire.
Dish Network and T-Mobile US are talking deal in a combination that would link the No. 2 satellite TV enterprise with the No. 4 - and hard-charging - mobile operator, according to a report in the "Wall Street Journal" yesterday. Dish CEO Charlie Ergen would be chairman of the combined entity; T-Mobile CEO John Legere would be CEO.
After about three years of hush-hush development, Disney Consumer Products yesterday allowed beat journalists and analysts who had gotten a recent peek to reveal their inner child about a product line called Playmation - "the next step in the evolution of play, where digital gets physical and imagination becomes real."


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Visa, UnionBank tie up for money transfer business
Global credit card company Visa Inc. has entered the local remittance market with the launch of a new service that allows Filipinos in the Middle East to send money directly to their loved ones’ credit cards in the country.
In a briefing earlier this week, the company announced its new partnership with UnionBank of the Philippines for a new service that lets users receive cash from abroad to their Visa debit cards—the first of its kind in Asia.
The service, which uses Visa’s Personal Payment technology, was developed in partnership with United Arab Emirates (UAE) Exchange, a leading provider of remittance services in the Middle East.
“(This) will be the first remitter to offer the service to the Philippines, with other key markets for Filipinos working overseas added in the coming months,” it said in a statement.
It said the new service would give “millions of cardholders a faster and more convenient way to receive everyday remittances.”
Dubbed as Visa Personal Payments, the new service would allow Filipinos with local Visa debit cards, issued by UnionBank, to receive funds in near real time, putting money from thousands of miles away in recipients’ hands in a matter of minutes. The cash is sent by overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) through UAE Exchange branches abroad.
The cash can then be withdrawn at the nearest automated teller machines (ATM) or used to pay for services such as bill settlements or even grocery purchases.
“Adding a remittance feature to Visa cards makes a lot of sense as the Philippines is one of the most sophisticated remittance markets,” Visa Philippines country manager Iain Jamieson said.
About eight million Filipinos currently work abroad, remitting a total of $18.8 billion to their families in the Philippines every year based on 2010 figures from the central bank.
“Visa cards offer the best way to make purchases and withdraw cash, and they are now the best way to receive overseas remittances as well,” he said.—Paolo G. Montecillo
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Nissanreleased the first 10-seconds of the ad on Wednesday. The spot...
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Binder Singh is hard at work wiping down a presentation glass for the grand opening of his new shop, Nanak Sweets & Spices on the corner of Wible Road and Panama Lane in southwest Bakersfield.
The new specialty shop sells traditional Indian treats and staple ingredients that, as Singh hopes, will be a success among the growing Indian communities in the neighborhood.
Home to Indian restaurants, specialty stores and various shops, Singh is not alone in his business ventures in the Panama-Wible area of southwest Bakersfield. In the past few years, new Indian-owned and operated businesses have found success in the area.
The strength of the Indian community is becoming the driving force in the flourishing market.
“Ten years ago, that neighborhood was an empty field,” Bakersfield Planning Director Jim Eggert said.
Indian-owned businesses may be gravitating to this neighborhood because commercial space is more affordable than the spaces in the Northwest Promenade or The Marketplace, Eggert said, and is considered a prime location to open up shop.
A former truck driver, Singh opened Nanak’s after seeing the potential of the neighborhood.
“Opening my business near where I live, and the convenience of being near the Indian community were some of the main reasons I brought my business here,” Singh said.
Manny Brar, owner of PostNet on Panama Lane, immigrated from Vancouver to start his business in Bakersfield in 2002.
“Back then, I was one of few Sikh business owners in this area,” Brar said. “The growth of Sikh-owned businesses in this area is huge.”
Among the larger Indian communities in Bakersfield, Sikh families share a strong multi-general family structure and bond. With the average head of household in the community being 63 years old, according to 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data, it’s not uncommon for grandparents to live with their children’s family.
The neighborhood is also home to a new generation.
Amanpreet Sarai, a Sikh teenager and senior at Ridgeview High School, is on track to become valedictorian of her class, and recalls growing up in the neighborhood.
“When I was younger, there were 11 of us living in a three-bedroom house. I have no idea how we did it, but it was so much fun,” Sarai said. “Each afternoon we would go to the neighborhood park or to the backyard and just run around.”
Having many age groups in one household is a boon to aspiring businesses in the southwest that rely heavily on word-of-mouth to advertise business. On a typical weekend, families usually attend Gurdwara, or temple, where they worship and socialize with friends.
That’s the case with Kamal Gill, pharmacist and owner of the recently opened Panama Pharmacy & Medical Supply. His business relies heavily on the Sikh communities in the area who visit his pharmacy for medical advice from a trained professional who speaks their language.
“Before I opened my business, almost no one else in the area could address the pharmaceutical and medical supply needs of this community,” said Gill, whose pharmacy also delivers prescriptions and medical supplies to patients. “Many older people in the Sikh and Indian communities no longer have their driver’s licenses. Our pharmacy tries to give access to them to address their medical needs safely and conveniently.”
Indian businesses rely heavily on families and its community to succeed. During Nagarkirtan, a Sikh parade, Gill and other Indian business owners market massively to the thousands of Sikhs living in the greater Bakersfield area.
“Events like these are a huge opportunity to let people know of upcoming events or new businesses like my own, which can help them in their daily lives,” Gill said.
For Binder Singh, he’s hoping the community with strong Indian familial ties will bring business to Nanak Sweets & Spices.
If recent successes in this thriving neighborhood is any indicator, it’s likely Nanak’s will do just fine.
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