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|By Business Wire||
|January 4, 2013 06:38 AM EST||
Go Daddy has signed actress and model Bar Refaeli to star with Danica Patrick in one of its two 30-second Super Bowl commercials this year. The question now is how the two women will illustrate the Go Daddy customer story for television’s most-watched event.
The commercial is titled “Perfect Match,” though details of the ad concept are not being released. This will be Bar Refaeli’s first-ever Super Bowl commercial. Bar is an Israel native and ranks number one on the Maxim Hot 100 list for 2012. She’ll share the screen with Danica, the Go Daddy Girl known for being in more Super Bowl commercials than any celebrity in television history, 12 after this next campaign.
“We think we’re going to make special Super Bowl magic with ‘Perfect Match,’” said Go Daddy Chief Marketing Officer Barb Rechterman. “This ad marries Go Daddy’s edgy brand with our reputation for taking care of customers in a way we think will be surprising and, more importantly, entertaining.”
The ad was developed by Deutsch NY and is being filmed in Los Angeles today.
“The opportunity to be in a Super Bowl commercial is thrilling … and to partner with Go Daddy is something I just couldn’t resist,” Bar said. “I feel like the ‘Perfect Match’ commercial is a chance to be in an iconic Super Bowl spot that not only leaves people talking, but shows everyone what Go Daddy is really about. I really look forward to meeting Danica too!”
The two have a few things in common. Both have been featured in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition, each have built strong brands using the Internet and understand the power of the Web. “I think we both know how important online is for any up-and-coming business today and Go Daddy is THE place to go if you’re looking to build a brand online,” said Danica.
“Go Daddy attracts a lot of marketing attention,” Danica explained. “What really makes Go Daddy special, though, is the way they ‘get it done’ for their customers – their brand of personalized service is unlike anything in the tech industry … the commercials are just the icing on the cake and I think ‘Perfect Match’ will be one of those ads people rewind to see over and over.”
This is Go Daddy’s ninth consecutive Super Bowl campaign. Over the years, the iconic TV commercials have generated massive media attention for Go Daddy, the world’s top Web hosting and domain name provider serving nearly 11 million customers, many of whom are small business owners looking to leverage the Internet.
“The Super Bowl ads definitely got my attention over the years,” said Van Bond at Van-Tech Industries, a longtime Go Daddy customer. “But what really makes Go Daddy a great company to do business with is how they take care of their customers. I challenge you to name an Internet company that offers round-the-clock, bend over backward telephone support … and provides top-notch, easy to use products to help small businesses grow. That may not sound all that sexy, but when you’re building a business, that’s the bottom line. That’s why I use Go Daddy.”
While the commercials aren’t Bond’s top reason for loving Go Daddy, he did confess his plan to watch for the ads on Super Bowl Sunday.
Read why our customers recommend Go Daddy.
About Go Daddy
Go Daddy is the world's largest domain name provider, Web hosting provider and new SSL certificate provider, focused on helping small businesses grow larger. Go Daddy provides dozens of cloud-based services and is the largest worldwide mass-market hosting provider by annual revenue according to 451 Research (Mass-Market Hosting Report-Fall 2012) and is the #1 provider of net-new SSL certificates for 2012, according to the Netcraft, LTD Secure Server Survey. To learn more about the company, visit www.GoDaddy.com/PR.
- Go Daddy Operating Company, LLC -
Copyright © 2013 GoDaddy.com, LLC All Rights Reserved.
"Dice has been around for the last 20 years. We have been helping tech professionals find new jobs and career opportunities," explained Manish Dixit, VP of Product and Engineering at Dice, in this SYS-CON.tv interview at 19th Cloud Expo, held November 1-3, 2016, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA.
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More and more brands have jumped on the IoT bandwagon. We have an excess of wearables – activity trackers, smartwatches, smart glasses and sneakers, and more that track seemingly endless datapoints. However, most consumers have no idea what “IoT” means. Creating more wearables that track data shouldn't be the aim of brands; delivering meaningful, tangible relevance to their users should be. We're in a period in which the IoT pendulum is still swinging. Initially, it swung toward "smart for smar...
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Successful digital transformation requires new organizational competencies and capabilities. Research tells us that the biggest impediment to successful transformation is human; consequently, the biggest enabler is a properly skilled and empowered workforce. In the digital age, new individual and collective competencies are required. In his session at 19th Cloud Expo, Bob Newhouse, CEO and founder of Agilitiv, drew together recent research and lessons learned from emerging and established compa...
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Extracting business value from Internet of Things (IoT) data doesn’t happen overnight. There are several requirements that must be satisfied, including IoT device enablement, data analysis, real-time detection of complex events and automated orchestration of actions. Unfortunately, too many companies fall short in achieving their business goals by implementing incomplete solutions or not focusing on tangible use cases. In his general session at @ThingsExpo, Dave McCarthy, Director of Products...
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Businesses and business units of all sizes can benefit from cloud computing, but many don't want the cost, performance and security concerns of public cloud nor the complexity of building their own private clouds. Today, some cloud vendors are using artificial intelligence (AI) to simplify cloud deployment and management. In his session at 20th Cloud Expo, Ajay Gulati, Co-founder and CEO of ZeroStack, will discuss how AI can simplify cloud operations. He will cover the following topics: why clou...
Dec. 4, 2016 08:00 AM EST Reads: 697
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In his keynote at 18th Cloud Expo, Andrew Keys, Co-Founder of ConsenSys Enterprise, provided an overview of the evolution of the Internet and the Database and the future of their combination – the Blockchain. Andrew Keys is Co-Founder of ConsenSys Enterprise. He comes to ConsenSys Enterprise with capital markets, technology and entrepreneurial experience. Previously, he worked for UBS investment bank in equities analysis. Later, he was responsible for the creation and distribution of life sett...
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20th Cloud Expo, taking place June 6-8, 2017, at the Javits Center in New York City, NY, will feature technical sessions from a rock star conference faculty and the leading industry players in the world. Cloud computing is now being embraced by a majority of enterprises of all sizes. Yesterday's debate about public vs. private has transformed into the reality of hybrid cloud: a recent survey shows that 74% of enterprises have a hybrid cloud strategy.
Dec. 4, 2016 05:30 AM EST Reads: 1,761
WebRTC is the future of browser-to-browser communications, and continues to make inroads into the traditional, difficult, plug-in web communications world. The 6th WebRTC Summit continues our tradition of delivering the latest and greatest presentations within the world of WebRTC. Topics include voice calling, video chat, P2P file sharing, and use cases that have already leveraged the power and convenience of WebRTC.
Dec. 4, 2016 04:30 AM EST Reads: 1,558
Amazon has gradually rolled out parts of its IoT offerings, but these are just the tip of the iceberg. In addition to optimizing their backend AWS offerings, Amazon is laying the ground work to be a major force in IoT - especially in the connected home and office. In his session at @ThingsExpo, Chris Kocher, founder and managing director of Grey Heron, explained how Amazon is extending its reach to become a major force in IoT by building on its dominant cloud IoT platform, its Dash Button strat...
Dec. 4, 2016 04:00 AM EST Reads: 6,236
Internet-of-Things discussions can end up either going down the consumer gadget rabbit hole or focused on the sort of data logging that industrial manufacturers have been doing forever. However, in fact, companies today are already using IoT data both to optimize their operational technology and to improve the experience of customer interactions in novel ways. In his session at @ThingsExpo, Gordon Haff, Red Hat Technology Evangelist, will share examples from a wide range of industries – includin...
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"We build IoT infrastructure products - when you have to integrate different devices, different systems and cloud you have to build an application to do that but we eliminate the need to build an application. Our products can integrate any device, any system, any cloud regardless of protocol," explained Peter Jung, Chief Product Officer at Pulzze Systems, in this SYS-CON.tv interview at @ThingsExpo, held November 1-3, 2016, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA.
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"Once customers get a year into their IoT deployments, they start to realize that they may have been shortsighted in the ways they built out their deployment and the key thing I see a lot of people looking at is - how can I take equipment data, pull it back in an IoT solution and show it in a dashboard," stated Dave McCarthy, Director of Products at Bsquare Corporation, in this SYS-CON.tv interview at @ThingsExpo, held November 1-3, 2016, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA.
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The cloud promises new levels of agility and cost-savings for Big Data, data warehousing and analytics. But it’s challenging to understand all the options – from IaaS and PaaS to newer services like HaaS (Hadoop as a Service) and BDaaS (Big Data as a Service). In her session at @BigDataExpo at @ThingsExpo, Hannah Smalltree, a director at Cazena, provided an educational overview of emerging “as-a-service” options for Big Data in the cloud. This is critical background for IT and data professionals...
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Fact is, enterprises have significant legacy voice infrastructure that’s costly to replace with pure IP solutions. How can we bring this analog infrastructure into our shiny new cloud applications? There are proven methods to bind both legacy voice applications and traditional PSTN audio into cloud-based applications and services at a carrier scale. Some of the most successful implementations leverage WebRTC, WebSockets, SIP and other open source technologies. In his session at @ThingsExpo, Da...
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As data explodes in quantity, importance and from new sources, the need for managing and protecting data residing across physical, virtual, and cloud environments grow with it. Managing data includes protecting it, indexing and classifying it for true, long-term management, compliance and E-Discovery. Commvault can ensure this with a single pane of glass solution – whether in a private cloud, a Service Provider delivered public cloud or a hybrid cloud environment – across the heterogeneous enter...
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Today we can collect lots and lots of performance data. We build beautiful dashboards and even have fancy query languages to access and transform the data. Still performance data is a secret language only a couple of people understand. The more business becomes digital the more stakeholders are interested in this data including how it relates to business. Some of these people have never used a monitoring tool before. They have a question on their mind like “How is my application doing” but no id...
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Ev3 Inc. initiated a recall for certain lots of its NanoCross .014″ OTW PTA dilatation catheter.
The Plymouth, Minn.-based Covidien plc (NYSE:COV) subsidiary is taking the peripheral artery surgical instruments off the shelves because of a potential for the catheter’s shaft to crack or break during procedures using balloons to dilate blood vessels.
The failure of the device could result in its "inability to inflate or deflate the balloon, and may result in material separation and potential embolization. The device failure may lead to unplanned intravascular or open surgery, significant vasospasm, prolonged tissue ischemia, injury, infarct, bleeding and/or death," the company said in prepared remarks. The device is intended for to "dilate stenosis in the iliac, femoral, ilio-femoral, popliteal, infra-popliteal, and renal arteries, and for the treatment of obstructive lesions of native or synthetic arteriovenous dialysis fistulae," according to the company.
The recall only affects NanoCross .014 catheters manufactured between May 27, 2010 and Oct 18, 2010, the company said. Ev3 sent a letter to all affect health facilities on Nov. 10. Healthcare provides with questions about their Ev3 products should contact their vendors.

domain: news


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Throughout his career, Naylor has held various managerial positions at top tyre brands such as Michelin, Kumho Tyre, and Apollo. He has even served as managing director of Group Tyre UK. With his extensive background and expertise, Naylor is well-equipped to take on this new challenge and help drive the success of Yokohama (UK).
Yokohama UK is excited to announce Karl’s appointment as the company’s new commercial director. With Naylor at the helm, Yokohama is confident that it will be able to continue its impressive track record of sales growth and market share expansion. The company’s tyre line-up, including the popular Advan and Geolandar ranges, already has a strong presence in the premium segments of the market. With Naylor’s expertise and leadership, Yokohama is poised to solidify its position as a leading player in the tyre industry.
“I look forward to joining Yokohama UK to help build on its existing relationships and establishing new partnerships in the industry. Yokohama has gained significant brand awareness in the premium tyre sector and I’m excited to be using the skills I have gained throughout my time in the industry to elevate this even further across the UK.”
Karl Naylor, Commercioal Director – Yokohama (UK).
“Karl has extensive experience and an abundance of industry knowledge which I’m sure will prove invaluable as we continue to strengthen the senior management and commercial teams at Yokohama UK.”
Peter Fairlie, chief executive officer of Yokohama (UK).


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IFA Berlin 2013: LG’s G Pad and Acer’s Liquid S2 phone to be launched at tech show
LG and Acer are both claiming “world firsts” with their latest product launches, revealed ahead of Berlin’s IFA tech show.
LG is returning to the tablet market with the G Pad, which the company is marketing as the only 8in-class device to feature a “full-HD display”.
Acer has announced the Liquid S2 , the first smartphone capable of recording video in the 4K “ultra-HD” format.
It allows the companies to get the jump on rivals in what will be a busy week.
Sony, Samsung, Panasonic, Lenovo, Toshiba, Philips and Dyson are among other companies to have scheduled press conferences between 4 and 11 September at the consumer electronics event in the German capital.
The 8.3in G Pad marks LG’s return to the sector following its announcement in June 2012 that it was putting “tablet development on the back burner” in order to focus on smartphones.
LG has since improved its standing to become the world’s third best-selling smartphone-maker after Samsung and Apple, according to tech analysis firm Gartner.
Its latest figures suggest LG sold 11.5 million handsets in the April-to-July quarter giving it a 5.1% market share.
LG hopes to replicate that success by launching an 8.3in tablet with a display featuring 273 pixels per inch (ppi), which is actually slightly higher than that needed to show 1080p video in full-quality.
The extra resolution should also make text sharper, although it also means the device’s processor has to work harder to display all the pixels which will take its toll on battery life.
LG is also promoting the inclusion of its proprietary QPair app which allows the G Pad to be paired with other Android smartphones so that calls or messages can be handled via the tablet.
“LG’s recent financial results have looked quite promising when it came to smartphone sales, but I think this particular tablet might struggle to match them for third place in the market,” said Jas Badyal, an analyst at telecoms consultancy CCS Insight.
“Along with the iPad Mini and Amazon tablets there’s also reports that Tesco plans a tablet of its own, so the firm even faces the worry of the supermarkets getting involved in the future.”
Acer’s Liquid S2 is able to shoot 4K video thanks to its inclusion of Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 800 processor.
But as the 6in-screen on the Taiwanese company’s phone has a lower resolution, owners will need a 4K-television or alternative display to make the most of the format.
The extra processing horsepower does, however, mean that users can film video in 1080p at 60 frames per second allowing them to create a four-times slow-motion effect.
Other devices running off Qualcomm’s chip – or alternatively Nvidia’s rival Tegra 4 processor, which also supports the ultra-HD standard – may also be announced at Ifa, meaning the Liquid S2’s unique status could be short-lived.
French company Archos has also opted to unveil its new devices ahead of the tech show.
Its new line-up includes the 80 Childpad – a tablet featuring an application which takes owners to a special version of Google’s Play Store which only features programs that Archos’ staff have judged to be suitable for a younger audience.
Sony has already announced plans for its Android-compatible SmartWatch 2 but has yet to put the device on sale.
The Korea Times has quoted a Samsung executive as saying the firm would unveil its first Galaxy Gear smartwatch at Ifa, but that the device would not feature the flexible display shown in recent patent documents.


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True Corporation Plc (TRUE) has announced that its shareholders have approved its merger deal with Total Access Communication Public Company Limited (DTAC), Thailand’s third largest GSM phone company after AIS and TRUE itself.
The announcement was made by TRUE President Manat Manavutiveth, following the company’s annual shareholder meeting.
Manat said the move would enable the company to evolve from a telecommunications company into a technology company. If successful, the merger is also expected to expand TRUE’s business capacity amid challenges in the fast-paced telecommunications and technology markets.
The president added that the new company resulting from the merger would become a leading, high-performance telecommunications service provider. He added that it would be a top-tier solution provider for artificial intelligence, cloud computing, Internet of Things, Smart City innovations, digital media and space technology – all with business applications.
Manat nevertheless indicated that the merger is still being vetted by the responsible government agencies, with business to continue as usual until the deal is finalized.


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Homes sales in Huntsville and Madison County increased in May by just more than 22 percent, according to data released Wednesday by the Huntsville Area Association of Realtors.
Home sales rose 22.68 percent from April and 17.25 percent from May 2009. At 168,000, the May 2010 single-family home median price - the figure at which half of the homes sold for more and half sold for less - increased by 6.4 percent from April 2010. That was a 4.17 decrease from May 2009.
"The home buying and selling season opened at a very brisk pace and shows no signs of slowing,'' Oscar Gonzales, CEO of the Huntsville Area Association of Realtors, said in a release. "Home prices reflect reasonable and steady growth, which signals continued growth in home sales.''
There were 85 more available properties - a 2.7 percent increase - compared to April 2010.
The average number of days on the market fell 12 days, to 98. That was a decrease of eight days from May 2009.
Most of the homes sold in May - 129 - were in the $150,000-$199,999 range. Next was the $99,999 or under range with 82 sales.


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Apple's Beats brand in April unveiled the Powerbeats Pro, a redesigned wire-free version of its popular fitness-oriented Powerbeats earbuds.
Music Publishers and Writers Lobbying Congress for Additional Compensation for Digital Distribution
At a time when many iTunes shoppers are still fuming over Apple's first-ever increase in song prices, the demands by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI), and other performing-rights groups, would likely lead to more price hikes at iTunes. This would also undoubtedly confirm the perception held by many that those overseeing the music industry are greedy.At the heart of the issue is the "performance fee", a type of licensing fee used to compensate composers and publishers when their work is performed in public. The music groups argue that digital distribution of their work, including 30-second song samples and in TV and movie downloads such as those found on iTunes, constitutes public performance and thus requires performance fees to be paid by the distributors.
Apparently, the music industry can't obtain the fees through negotiations. They have begun lobbying Congress to pass legislation that require anyone selling a download to pay a performance fee, according to David Israelite, president and CEO of the National Music Publishers Association.
"If you watch a TV show on broadcast, cable or satellite TV there is a performance fee collected," Israelite said. "But if that same TV show is downloaded over iTunes, there's not. We're arguing that the law needs to be clarified that regardless of the method by which a consumer watches the show there is a performance right."
"This is really a fight about the future," Israelite said. "As more and more people watch TV or movies over an Internet line as opposed to cable or broadcast signal, then we're going to lose the income of the performance. For people who do production and background music, that's how they make their living."On the topic of 30-second music samples, Jonathan Potter, executive director of the Digital Media Association that represents distributors such as Apple, argues that copyright law protects distributors from being charged performance fees for such offerings.
"They are picking on Apple because they say Apple is making a bundle of money," Potter said. "But these companies should be thrilled that Apple and the other services are selling music and generating millions, maybe tens of millions, in royalties."The music groups have so far had little success in their lobbying efforts with Congress, and courts have consistently sided with digital distributors in their claims that downloaded songs are not considered public performances. Composers and publishers have not, however, given up the fight.


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Hanoi – Vietnam’s export growth in 2018 is hoped to be 8-10 percent higher than in 2017, according to a plan set by the National Assembly and the Government.
The country aims to keep its trade deficit below 3 percent of total export revenue.
Reports from the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) show that Vietnam earned 19 billion USD from exports in January 2018, up 33.1 percent compared with the same period last year.
Export revenue of the domestic economic sector rose 31.6 percent, reaching 5.41 billion USD while that of the foreign direct investment (FDI) sector expanded 33.7 percent to 13.6 billion USD.
Notably, the processed industry’s export turnover reached 15.62 billion USD, a year-on-year increase of 34.6 percent, accounting for 82.2 percent of total exports.
Items mainly contributing to the export turnover in the period were phones and spare parts, garment-textiles, electronic products, computers, footwear, machines, equipment and tools.
Asia was Vietnam’s largest export market with total turnover of 10.81 billion USD, up 54.4 percent year-on-year, followed by Oceania, America and Europe with respective growth of 31.1 percent, 17.5 percent and 7.4 percent.
Meanwhile, Vietnam’s exports to Africa fell 9.5 percent compared to the same period last year.
China remained the largest import market of Vietnam with turnover of 5.7 billion USD, up 45.6 percent year-on-year. It was followed by the Republic of Korea, ASEAN, Japan, the EU and the US.
The ministry said global trade is predicted to grow by 3.9 percent in 2018 and this is expect to help Vietnam’s trade growth.
The MoIT will work to devise measures to improve national competitiveness, thus creating a foundation for sustainable exports.
Efforts made by the Government to promote administrative reform, simplify investment procedures and support start-ups, are hoped to create more commodities for export, especially in terms of processing and manufacturing and heavy industry.
Vietnamese exporters of textiles, footwear, machines, equipment, tools and farm and seafood products will continue benefiting from free trade agreements between Vietnam and foreign partners.
Experts forecasted that exports posting high growth in 2018 will be farm produce, textiles and footwear, adding that Vietnam need to develop new products to create breakthroughs in exports, and reduce dependence on FDI enterprises.
Vietnam has 200 trade partners across the world with 29 export markets and 23 import markets.
Photo: CBR Investment AG


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Microsoft’s $69 billion acquisition of writer Activision Blizzard took one other step to the end line when it obtained approval on Friday from China’s competitors regulators.
China’s State Administration for Market Regulation permitted the deal with none situations, based on the AP. This comes every week after The European Commission, the manager physique of the EU, gave its approval on the merger on the situation that Microsoft addresses considerations it had concerning competitors within the online game business.
Microsoft first introduced its plans to accumulate Activision Blizzard in January 2022. Closing the deal would put the Xbox maker into the highest three online game publishers proper behind its rival Sony. Activision Blizzard is among the largest third-party publishers with some main franchises together with Call of Duty, Candy Crush and Overwatch, which might give a much-needed increase to Microsoft’s video games catalog.
While Microsoft received a number of battles lately, it nonetheless has a number of extra hurdles to clear earlier than the deal is finished.
Who’s left to approve the deal?
Microsoft nonetheless has to obtain approval from regulators within the US. The Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit in December to problem the acquisition, saying the deal would “allow Microsoft to suppress opponents to its Xbox gaming consoles and its quickly rising subscription and cloud-gaming enterprise.”
A listening to for the lawsuit is ready for Aug. 2.
In April, the Competition and Markets Authority blocked the $69 billion deal, saying it could end in greater costs and fewer selections for avid gamers.
Microsoft has continued to disclaim the deal would hamper competitors inside the online game business and continues to barter with regulators with a view to get approval.
What does this deal imply for avid gamers?
For Xbox Game Pass subscribers, the deal means Activision Blizzard’s catalog of video games can be integrated into the service, probably much like how Bethesda video games had been when Microsoft acquired that firm in 2020.
How avid gamers who do not have an Xbox, and as an alternative use a Sony PlayStation or Nintendo Switch console, can be impacted is much less clear. Critics of the deal are involved that Microsoft may make future video games developed by Activision unavailable on rival consoles. (Microsoft did simply this for recreation developed by Bethesda.) This is very regarding for a serious Activision title like Call of Duty.
Microsoft already agreed to a 10-year take care of Nintendo to carry Call of Duty video games to its consoles, however Sony reportedly rejected an identical settlement. Sony stays in opposition to the deal and continues to submit filings to regulators about its considerations over the acquisition.
What is cloud gaming?
Cloud gaming is the know-how to stream video video games remotely to a tool similar to a telephone, pill or good TV. While the know-how has been round for greater than a decade, it is solely in recent times has it actually taken off thanks partially to it being an added function for Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass and Sony’s PS Plus.
Other corporations developed their very own cloud gaming providers, similar to Amazon’s Luna and GeForce Now. The former made an settlement with Microsoft in February to carry extra of its video games to the service over the course of the subsequent 10 years.


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Google Inc could receive government clearance to purchase airline fare tracker ITA Software in a US$700 million deal that could make the search leader the hub of online travel, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.
Although talks were ongoing and could still fall apart, Google appeared close to a deal with the Justice Department on an agreement that would let it buy ITA. Google must accept government conditions to protect other companies in the travel industry, the person said. The person was not authorized to discuss the review and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The government review of the deal has been seen as a test of how aggressively US antitrust regulators intend to police Google as the company uses the wealth and influence gained from its dominance in Internet search to expand into other markets.
The acquisition would give Google control over software that powers the reservation systems of most major US airlines and many popular online fare-comparison services, including Kayak, TripAdvisor and Hotwire.
Google has said it wants to use ITA to improve its search results for travel — giving consumers more choices and better ways to search for plane tickets. That would enable the company to command higher ad rates from airlines, hotels, rental car agencies and other leisure services.
Rivals fear that Google could use ITA to build its own online travel service and then use its control over Internet search to steer consumers to that service while burying competing sites further down in its search rankings.
The person said Justice Department officials might subject Google to government oversight to ensure that the company does not favor its own travel products and services in its search results.
Such a condition would go to the heart of broader antitrust concerns surrounding Google as it enters new markets. The company’s Internet search results already highlight some of its own services, including mapping, video and finance.
The European Commission and the Texas attorney general are currently looking into whether Google manipulates search results to extend its monopoly into other online businesses.
Companies that rely on ITA also fear that Google could deny them access to the software, particularly as it introduces upgrades. Google so far has only promised to honor all of ITA’s current contracts, which expire over the next few years. They also worry that Google could use its control over ITA to get access to their proprietary technology.
Justice Department officials are therefore considering conditions that would require Google to license ITA software to rivals and prohibit it from gaining access to other companies’ technology, the person said.
News that an agreement was close was reported earlier by the Washington Post.
DEVELOPING TALENT: The electronics contractor is looking to recruit people to work in core tech fields and emerging industries like electric cars and robotics Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), the world’s largest contract electronics maker, has launched a recruitment drive, offering a monthly salary of no less than NT$45,000 (US$1,485) to university graduates. For those with a master’s degree, the starting pay would be NT$52,000 per month at the minimum, while doctorate degree holders would receive at least NT$60,000 a month, Hon Hai said a statement issued early this week. The latest recruitment drive is aimed at attracting talent in core technology fields — artificial intelligence, semiconductors and next-generation mobile communications — and emerging industries — electric vehicles, digital healthcare and robotics, the
MRT TRAVEL FALLS: In February, ridership on the Taipei MRT System fell 8.96 percent from an average of 2.01 million per day in January Scooter sales jumped 13 percent last month as more commuters turned to two-wheelers to avoid public transportation amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the latest statistics showed. Sales expanded to 74,493 units last month, compared with 65,913 units in February, statistics released on Wednesday by Kwang Yang Motor Co (光陽工業) and the Ministry of Transportation and Communications showed. In the first quarter, aggregate sales slid 0.51 percent year-over-year to 186,627 units, from 187,580 units, data showed. Kwang Yang, the nation’s biggest scooter manufacturer, continued to lead the market by selling 24,136 vehicles last month, growing 6.12 percent from 20,785 units in the previous month, while
Asustek Computer Inc (華碩), the nation’s leading PC vendor, yesterday launched its first dual-screen gaming laptop powered by Intel Corp’s latest central processing units (CPUs). The PC manufacturer’s announcement closely followed the US chipmaker’s unveiling of its 10th Generation Core H-series, the fastest commercial mobile processors with speeds of up to 5 gigahertz. Although Asustek’s Zephyrus Duo 15, the highlight of its Republic of Gamers line, is not the company’s first laptop with two screens, it is its first designed specifically for gaming. Nestled between the primary display panel and the keyboard, the secondary display, which Asustek calls the ScreenPad Plus, is angled
NO ILL EFFECT: Last month’s data mainly reflected deals made in February, when the spread of COVID-19 was still relatively mild in Taiwan, housing brokers said Housing transactions in the six special municipalities totaled 19,824 units last month, up 7.8 percent from a year earlier, brokers said, citing government data. Last month’s data mainly reflected deals made in February, when the pinch of the COVID-19 pandemic was not yet evident, they said. Taoyuan posted the largest improvement, with housing transactions soaring 36.6 percent year-on-year to 3,676 units, local government data showed. Taiwan Realty Co (台灣房屋) attributed the pickup to the completion of two presale residential projects in the municipality. Houses in Taoyuan have increasingly gained in popularity in the past few year years due to relatively affordable home prices and


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A new campaign designed to stamp out late payments from the UK’s biggest businesses has gained the backing of the Forum of Private Business (FPB).
The ‘Be Fair – Pay on Time’ campaign is calling for the top 100 FTSE companies to sign the Prompt Payment Code (PPC).
Businesses have to agree to Suppliers paying suppliers within a fixed and reasonable timeframe agreed at the start of the contract, without retrospectively changing payment terms and conditions.
A letter encouraging sign-up to the code, which received support from a number of leading business organisations, was sent to the top 100 FTSE companies that had not already agreed to the PPC initiative.
Currently only a quarter are signed up to the voluntary code, so it is hoped that the letter will encourage dozens more to sign up, benefitting suppliers up and down the country.
The FPB’s Chief Executive Officer, Phil Orford, felt that the UK’s biggest companies should set a good example as the leaders of the private sector, “This is something all large firms could and should subscribe to.”
“It asks nothing more from responsible businesses than to pay suppliers as and when agreed, without changing terms and conditions retrospectively.”
“This is their (Top 100 FTSE companies) chance to lead by example on what's an extremely important issue for small businesses,” he concluded.


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In a week where there was more thought of gravy than special sauce came the news the nation's largest fast food chain is closing its remaining pair of outlets in the St. Paul skyway system.
The Pioneer Press reported that downtown's two remaining McDonald's, in the Securian Center and the Alliance Bank Center, closed after lunch on Wednesday. A third downtown St. Paul McDonald's, in the Wells Fargo Place, closed about a year ago.
The newspaper reported that the Alliance Bank Center space will be leased another restaurant that will open in the spring.
The Business Journal noted that the pair of St. Paul closures means that there is now no place to buy at Big Mac in either downtown. The McDonald's in downtown Minneapolis closed its Gaviidae Common store last month. But a new McDonald's opened earlier this month at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, following a high number of customer requests for the golden arches.
Earlier this month in St. Paul, the Turkey To Go outlet in the skyway closed. In October, Jerabek's New Bohemian Bakery closed its skyway satellite location in St. Paul as well as its longtime location on the west side of the city.


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Very low frequency
IBD Stock Analysis
- A hard break above the 10-week moving average flashes a sell signal.
Industry group ranking
*Non-real-time data. All information displayed was captured as of April 3, 2024 at 1:39 pm ET.
ELF beauty is Daily IBD Stock Wednesday, but that’s not because the stock is a buy. Elf stock is issuing a sell signal as it breaks below a key support level.
Ulta Reviews Spark Cosmetics Drop
Beauty and cosmetics stocks plunge on Wednesday on cautious comments ultimate beauty (ULTA) executives at J.P. Morgan Chase’s annual retail investor conference.
According to The Fly, Ulta CEO Dave Kimball and CFO Paula Oyibo said the company is growing “a little slower” than expected this year and expects First-half comparable sales growth will be at the “lower end” of its guidance.
“We had planned to slow total category growth to the mid-single-digit range,” Oyigbo said. “So far, what we’ve seen is a slowdown in total category growth across price points and segments. So it’s a little bit bigger than we thought. It’s earlier and bigger.”
Ulta has previously directed Comparable sales growth in 2024 is between 4% and 5%, with low single digits in the first half and mid-single digits in the second half.
The company now expects first-quarter comparable sales to be at the lower end of the low-single-digit range provided in its first-half guidance.
CEO Kimball said consumers remain “passionate about beauty,” but noted rising economic pressures.
“The engagement we’re seeing on social media, in stores and online and all the touch points we have is still very high,” Kimball said of the data points. “
Kimball pointed to healthy employment and wage growth, but added that rising credit card debt and student loan dynamics are adding to the pressure. More broadly, he said, there are political challenges and global conflicts during an election year.
Elf Beauty Stock
Trading volume surged to over 272% of daily average levels on Wednesday. market surge Data Display.
The company’s stock price rose nearly 151% from a low on October 31 to an all-time high of $221.83 on March 4. Beats third-quarter expectations and raises outlookHowever, Elf’s earnings growth has slowed from triple-digit growth over the past three quarters.
Investors who bought at 139.85 saw shares rise nearly 59% to the March 4 peak. Before issuing a sell signal on Wednesday, the stock had pared gains to about 33% by Tuesday’s close.
Elf beauty has 95 Overall rating The maximum score is 99 points. The composite rating combines various technical indicators into an easy-to-read score. The stock has a score of 98 EPS Rating.ELF relative strength line It has fallen back from its highs in early March, with the index at 96 RS rating.
Elf Beauty leads the cosmetics/personal care group according to survey IBD inventory check.
Despite Wednesday’s decline, ELF shares are still up 13.5% in 2024.
You can follow Harrison Miller on X/Twitter for more stock news and updates @IBD_Harrison
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Blizzard’s crackdown on toxic players of “Overwatch” seems to be working, as the game reports that players are encountering less abuse during play. One tactic that the developer is implementing is finding toxic behavior in social media sites like YouTube in order to dish out punishment to responsible accounts.
The game publisher recently released a developer update video wherein Jeff Kaplan, the lead designer for “Overwatch” detailed some of the company’s efforts in combating player toxicity.
In the past, players had a hard time reporting toxic behavior in the game because of a confusing system for reporting players. However, the developer revised how the game handled reporting, which led to a more positive general experience across the title’s massive player base.
In the video report, Kaplan revealed that Blizzard is also proactively checking social media sites for videos that feature unwanted behavior. This way, the game can find accounts that perpetrate toxicity in the game outside of the reporting system.
“We now proactively seek out social media sites like YouTube, for example and look for incidents of very toxic behavior and track down the accounts that are participating and action them often times before anyone’s even reported them,” Kaplan said.
Blizzard’s crackdown on player toxicity started last year. Since then, the developer has implemented a number of changes to the game that encouraged players to report players with unwanted behavior. Players who report other players are also notified when those players get banned, and the game gives in-game warnings to players to have been reported.
Because of the company’s efforts, player reporting have increased by 20 percent, while instances of abuse in the game’s chat have been decreased by 17 percent.
According to Blizzard, the reports of bad behavior are validated before action are taken against the user accounts. “We take toxicity seriously and take appropriate steps to monitor and we validate claims regardless of how it is brought to our attention,” said Blizzard.


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Chair has today announced the launch of a new game update for Infinity Blade 3, after launching it earlier last month, they have today revealed that they will be releasing an update called Soul Hunter for the game on October 31st. Compatible with devices running on iOS 6 and iOS 7, the new update with add a new campaign quest which will pit Isa and Siris against a new enemy.
That new enemy is named Oslim the Deathless Bloodmage, sent by the Worker of Secrets, Oslim’s goal will be to prevent the duo from uncovering the secrets of an ancient observatory.
READ THIS NEXT: Infinity Blade III review
Alongside that, the new update will also include new Infinity weapons as well as two new sets of armour, as well as the inclusion of a new Pumpkin themed Holiday Helm.
The update will bring a number of new features to Infinity Blade 3, which will include new Infinity Weapons, and two new full sets of armor.
Check out the trailer below for a quick look.
Source Infinity Blade


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MEXICO CITY — If you think paying $3.50 for a gallon of gasoline in the U.S. is a hardship, consider Mexico, where motorists are really getting stiffed.
Nine in 10 gasoline stations in Mexico have rigged their pumps to dispense less than what their meters promise, according to federal authorities, who calculated that purloined petrol cost consumers at least $1 billion last year.
Random checks have revealed that the average retailer, known here as a gasolinero, skims a little more than a liter of gasoline for every 20 sold.
But the most audacious stations would make Al Capone blush. One in the tourist haven of Acapulco was recently caught shorting its customers by nearly half the volume displayed on the pump.
The station was busted by Profeco, the nation's chief consumer watchdog, which has launched a nationwide crackdown on dishonest owners. The agency has mounted surprise inspections, gathering evidence with the help of undercover agents armed with video cameras and vehicles outfitted with special gas tanks that can be removed for lab analysis.
About 1,100 stations, nearly 15% of the country's total, have been caught in the dragnet this year.
Profeco, or the Procuraduria Federal del Consumidor, is closing stations and fining owners to force them to clean up their acts. It plans to post inspection results on the Internet to expose swindlers. And it has launched a public relations campaign to urge motorists to report gasoline cheats.
It's no easy task in Mexico, which is dominated by powerful business interests and which has never been friendly to consumers. Decades of corruption at the government petroleum monopoly have conditioned Mexicans to expect a soaking at the pumps.
"To be a gasolinero is synonymous with being corrupt," said Roberto Karam Ahuad, head of fuel verification for Profeco. "It's like Chicago in the 1930s."
The big difference is that even Windy City mobsters had competition. Mexico's 7,400 retail stations are all franchises of state-owned company Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex, which has a lock on production and sales.
Because the Mexican government sets the price of gasoline -- currently the equivalent of $2.18 a gallon for regular unleaded in most of Mexico -- consumers can't shop for the best deal. Most station owners don't even bother posting prices. They just switch on the pumps and wait for customers to arrive, a process that critics liken to inviting sheep to the shearing.
Many of the attendants bustling around the pumps in jumpsuits emblazoned with the official Pemex logo are actually unpaid freelancers angling for tips -- and a chance to shortchange distracted customers.
Cab driver Guillermo Tinoco had his game face on as he pulled his green-and-white Volkswagen Beetle into a gas station here recently. He handed a 100-peso note to the attendant and trained an eye on the spinning fuel meter to make sure there was no funny business.
"I don't know this place, so I'm only buying a little out of necessity," he said of his $8.82 purchase. "I try to go where they rob me the least."
Station owners have been known to dilute their fuel with additives to stretch their profits, causing engine damage to clients down the road.
"It's hard to know" what you're getting, said Carlos Ivan, 20, a student and part-time taxi driver who said he dreaded his twice-weekly trips to the filling station.
Mexico's tax collectors aren't too happy either. Gasoline is a popular deduction for taxpayers here. Slip some Pemex pump jockeys a few pesos and they will whip up an official sales receipt for any amount you like. It's a practice that officials say is costing the nation millions in lost tax revenue.
Authorities tried last year to close that loophole with legislation requiring taxpayers who want to claim a fuel deduction to pay for their gasoline with a credit card or check, because those sales are harder to falsify than cash purchases. The measure was defeated after stiff lobbying from the nation's gasolineros.
"Many of these cash transactions are susceptible to fraud," Jose Maria Zubiria, head of Mexico's version of the Internal Revenue Service, said in a statement. "The documentation ... is very weak."
Jose Angel Garcia Hernandez, president of a trade group that represents 80% of the Mexico's service stations, said he supported a crackdown on scofflaws. But he denied Profeco's assertions that cheating was rampant or that his members were getting rich on ill-gotten gains.
"[Our] station owners give consumers what they pay for," he said.
One thing franchisees and consumer advocates agree on is that things are a lot better than they used to be.
Mexican officials for decades handed out Pemex concessions to cronies who ran them like personal fiefdoms. Stations were renowned for their poor service, crumbling facilities and restrooms so foul that many travelers preferred the roadside.


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According to the Long Island Press
, a Capital One bank customer had gone to an ATM to withdraw some cash at 8:15 a.m. Sunday in Valley Stream, Long Island.
When Kevin Ferraro slipped his card into the ATM, he felt something was off when he felt it stick.
The 39-year-old man noticed the machine was loose, gave it a tug, and a recording device fell off right into his hands.
"Just before I put my code in, I said, let me check out this ATM because, you know, you hear stories on the news. And as I went to wiggle where you put it in, it was loose and I pulled it right off in my hand," Ferraro told NBC News
Nassau police confirmed the ATM had a skimmer taped to the machine, and also found a camera hidden that was aimed to capture customer PIN numbers as they type in the keypad.
Ferraro said the skimmer contained "a lot of technology". He said the skimmer had a USB port, scan disc, "everything to store a lot of information."
Nassau authorities are currently seeking to find those behind the ATM scam.
Skimming has become big business. ATM scams are unfortunately becoming more frequent, but ATM stations are not the only machines targeted. Using a debit card at the store can be risky, and pay-from-the-pump gas station have also created scam victims.
Last year Michael's stores discovered its PIN pads were tampered with
in various stores in 20 states. Fraudsters also often attach devices to gas pumps and/or sit in the vicinity with a laptop or other wireless device and intercept data as it is transferred from the pump to the store.
In 2010 Avivah Litan, a fraud analyst at Gartner, estimated that frauds
which involve debit cards, PINs and point-of-sale (POS) equipment had "surged" 400 percent in the previous five years.
Earlier this month
Federal officials arrested Laurentiu Iulian Bulat, a Romanian citizen who allegedly placed skimmers on over 40 ATMs in the New York City area. Bulat is accused of participating in a fraud ring that netted at least $1.5 million between May 2011 and Jan. 5, 2012.
"ATM skimmers are high-tech bank robbers. Instead of using a gun and a note, skimmers use fake card readers and hidden cameras to steal a customer's information to get to that customer's money and take it," said Manhattan U.S. attorney Preet Bharara, in a statement. "Often it happens completely undetected."
Unfortunately ATM and other skimming scams are a real risk in the modern day. Often these devices are hard to detect
as they may be designed to 'fit' with the machine naturally. Other skimmers may be inserted into the ATM and not be as visible to the consumer. Any error message returned should be perceived as questionable as this may be a warning sign that a device may be trying to intercept your debit card data. If anything feels amiss, report it immediately to the bank. As good practice, it is advised to always cover the keypad when entering a PIN.
As for Ferraro about his ATM experience, he told NBC, "I couldn't believe it." He advises, "If you have to shake the whole machine to make sure it looks legit, shake it!"


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Time to bury the hatchet
When will America accept that it has lost the softwood war?
FOR more than two decades, the export of Canadian wood to the United States has been the subject of a trade war. So it would be reckless to predict that peace is about to break out. Late last month, a ruling of a dispute panel of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) demolished the United States' case for punitive tariffs, which is based on a claim that Canada's exports are subsidised. But Canadians are not celebrating yet.
The dispute is rooted in the two countries' different systems for managing forests. In the United States most are privately owned; timber prices are set by private contracts or auctions. In Canada, almost all forests are owned by the provinces, which grant long-term cutting rights and set stumpage rates (cutting fees) according to market conditions. To the American industry lobby, this government-led system with its “administratively set prices” confers subsidies.
In 2002, the United States Department of Commerce imposed countervailing and anti-dumping duties totalling 27% on Canadian imports. That forced Canada's lumber firms to shut some 50 mills and lay off thousands of workers. But despite the duties, Canada continues to supply a third of America's softwood market.
Canada denies subsidies are involved; it sees the duties as old-fashioned protection of a less efficient industry. In a series of rulings over the past two years, tribunals of the WTO and NAFTA have upheld Canada's argument. On August 31st, the NAFTA tribunal (with three American and two Canadian members) made a final, unanimous, ruling. Yet again, it rejected the claim that Canada's allegedly subsidised exports pose a “threat of material injury” to the American industry. It gave the United States International Trade Commission (ITC), a branch of the Department of Commerce, ten days to accept this.
Jim Peterson, Canada's trade minister, welcomed the ruling as “an important first step” towards “long overdue” free trade in lumber in North America. He said that the next step is for the United States to revoke the duties, refund the C$3.4 billion ($2.4 billion) paid by Canadian firms, and then discuss ways to avoid further disputes.
Fat chance. On September 10th, the ITC said it accepted the NAFTA ruling. But only grudgingly: it lambasted the tribunal for “overstepping its authority...and committing legal error”. That seems to open the way for an extraordinary challenge to the ruling. A final decision may rest with the Office of the United States Trade Representative, which is reviewing the case. It is being lobbied by the mighty producers' Coalition for Fair Lumber Imports—for years, a driving force behind the American duties. American consumer bodies, however, are delighted. The National Association of Home Builders, for instance, called the NAFTA panel's decision a “victory” for free trade that would help make homes more affordable.
The consumer lobby has gained strength in recent years. The Bush administration is keen on home ownership. American homes use much softwood; its price has risen by around a third since January. Recent hurricane damage in the south-east has jacked up demand for timber. But for now, the Commerce Department insists the duties will remain in place. Canadians are left to wonder whether their neighbours' rhetoric about free trade and the rule of law is just that.
This article appeared in the The Americas section of the print edition under the headline "Time to bury the hatchet"
From the September 18th 2004 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contentsExplore the edition
The bigger trend in recent elections has been anti-incumbency
Partly because of the war in Ukraine, the United States is rethinking its relationship with oil producers
But the area needs better education rather than boondoggles


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Godox has announced its new KNOWLED line of RGBWW Pixel Tube LED lights. Coming in three sizes, we’ve got the TP2R, TP4R and TP8R, measuring around 2ft, 4ft and 8ft, respectively. The first two are already available to pre-order. However, no price has yet been announced for the latter of the three, and the Godox website simply says “8′ to be availble” (the typo is theirs).
Also announced is the Godox TimoLink wireless DMX transmitter and receiver system. This essentially converts a wired DMX console to wireless by sending and receivings signals to and from CRMX-compatible fixtures or transmitters/receivers. The system employs frequency hopping to eliminate interference, even in busy location and complex setups, to provide wireless control up to a distance of 300 metres.


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Heavy discounts await the customer taking a car loan this festive season. Discounts offered can be a dip in interest rates or lower processing fees and documentation charges.
These festival offers have been given by many PSU banks like IDBI Bank, Bank of Baroda, Punjab National Bank (PNB), Allahabad Bank, UCO Bank and Bank of India. The offers would be applicable till year end for most of them. Festive season schemes are likely to be launched soon by other banks too.
Although base rate has been hiked by many banks, car loan rates remain unchanged in order to wade in line with customer sentiment of heavy car purchases this festive season.
October-November period is expected to see a surge in personal loans, car as well as home loans considering the Indian idea of considering this period as auspicious for buying home, car and other assets.
IDBI Bank has offered discount of 0.5 per cent in interest rate in auto loans and 50 per cent reduction in processing fee for smaller cars. Interest rates on car loans have also seena 0.5% dip for Punjab National Bank. While Allahabad Bank is giving 1% waiver on loans, UCO Bank has offered waiver on processing and documentation charges.
"During the festival season, especially on Dussehra and Diwali, many people buy vehicles and homes. It is considered an auspicious time to buy new things. So, we have come out with festive schemes. It is also a good time to attract new customers," said RM Malla, CMD, IDBI Bank.
Bank of Baroda has also waived off processing charges on car loans expecting the surge in demand in this category, said a senior official of the bank.


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Uber allowed the Chinese servers of partner company Baidu to track the location all of its users around the globe, according to a study released Thursday. That study also found that Uber is failing to enforce its data encryption policies on more than half of its hundreds of app partners, leaving user data vulnerable to exploitation.
Titled "Uber: Security Risks Come Along with Your Ride," the study was conducted by Appthority, a San Francisco firm that specializes in helping enterprises and government agencies find secure mobile solutions. Appthority often analyzes popular apps, such as Uber, to determine whether its customers should use those services.
"We wanted to raise awareness, with the sheer number of apps that connect to Uber's services, what information they're collecting and the fact that it's not very well protected," said Domingo Guerra, Co-founder and President of Appthority.
The analysis of Uber revealed several points of concern that companies and government entities with sensitive information might want to consider before using the ride-hailing app for business purposes, Appthority said.
Of highest concern was Uber's partnership with Chinese tech giant Baidu. In most parts of the world, Uber uses Google for some of its location services, Appthority said, but because Google does not operate in China, Uber relied on the technology of Baidu to provide those types of services in that country until the company's app ceased to operate there late last year. As a result, the Uber app contained Baidu code that could send the data of all of Uber's users from around the world back to the company's servers in China. This is especially concerning considering that the Uber app asks users for permission to pull their location data even when the app isn't open on their smartphones, Appthority said.
"There are very strong connections between Chinese companies and the Chinese government's ability to collect or access information from those companies, so just the fact that there's a link back to a Chinese company on everyone's device without users knowing is also something to look into," Guerra said.
Uber denies that this code was ever used to track the locations of users outside of the U.S. The code was meant to serve those using the app within China, Uber said. The code was present in the Android of the version of the app since 2014 and was present in the iOS version since 2015. The company also said that a new version of its app that did not contain the Baidu code began rolling out in waves to iOS and Android users in early November. Appthority said it found the code in the version of the app that it analyzed as recently as December, and it said that Baidu continues to connect to Uber's API.
The most current version of Uber continues to contain lines of Baidu code, but Appthority said it has not yet concluded what that code is doing and plans to further analyze. However, the remaining Baidu code is not a run-time service, which means that it is not running constantly in the background of users' smartphones.
At this point, Appthority said it has not found any signs of abuse of this data, but allowing data of users outside of China to be stored in the country is a risky endeavor, said Su Mon Kywe, the lead security researcher behind the study.
John Dickson, a former U.S. Air Force intelligence officer and a principal at security specialist Denim Group, said that if a Chinese company has access to this type of data, he would expect the Chinese government to use big data analytics tools to sift through the information and track the location of key individuals, such as American government officials, politicians and businesspeople.
"I think that if you asked 10 security folks whether or not this data would fall into government hands, I think nine out of 10 would say that you can assume the Chinese would be cooperating with their government to make sure they have it," Dickson said.
Additionally, Appthority found that among the more than 600 apps tapping into Uber's data via the company's application program interfaces, or APIs, more than half of them are failing to properly encrypt the user data they pull from Uber.
Third-party apps connect with Uber for a variety of reasons. Some allow users to easily play music from their streaming accounts in their rides. Others deliver news articles to users within the Uber app. Some allow users to connect their social networks with the ride-hailing service while others allow users to hail cars from apps other than Uber's.
Although these services properly encrypt the data as it is pulled from Uber, they do not always use a secure protocol when connecting with the APIs of other companies. That leaves sensitive user data from Uber -- which may include ride history, payment history and pick-up and drop-off locations -- vulnerable to hackers.
Uber has policies that require its API partners to keep the data secure, but the Appthority team said it was able to confirm that this data is not being properly encrypted by Uber's partners.
"We were able to verify that it's something that anyone can do. It's pretty trivial if you know what to look for," said Guerra, explaining that by using the API tokens of certain partners, a hacker can "pretend to be that service and get any information there."
Companies that use Uber for Business to provide employees with rides may want to consider the company's handling of their data before continuing to use the service. Guerra said he can imagine scenarios where data can be exploited to track where companies' executives live or, perhaps more importantly, the places that they frequent.
For example, if a business executive's calendar integration into the Uber app showed that he's taking rides to the hospital for "cancer treatment once a month or once a week and anyone intercepts that -- if it's a publicly traded company, it could cause the stock to crash," Guerra said.
"We really feel that location tracking is identifiable to a user -- it's considered Personal Identifiable Information, or PII -- so it needs to have better security," Guerra said.
Uber denied claims that its partners are abusing the data collected by the company's app.
"We have strict terms of service for developers who use our APIs," a spokeswoman said in a statement. "Under this policy, user data can only be shared with API partners if the user gives their permission through the oauth process. In the case of trip history, only distance, type of Uber service, start and end time, and city are available. Exact pick-up or drop-off location is never shared. This policy is publicly available at: https://developer.uber.com/docs/riders/terms-of-use"
"Our terms of service also requires any Uber data or data otherwise related for a developer integration of the Uber API to be encrypted and transmitted over a secure, encrypted channel (e.g., HTTPS)," the spokeswoman added. "Even if an app requests data from Uber's API without HTTPS, we redirect them to HTTPS before our server will respond."
Appthority said it shared the report with Uber via its support channel, but they have not received a formal response thus far.
The company could protect user data by simply better enforcing its API policies and shutting out partners that do not keep data secure, Kywe said.
"Uber needs to realize that it's Uber's reputation and it's Uber's users' information at risk whenever they allow just any third-party to access that data," Guerra said.
At this point, Appthority said companies with highly sensitive data should think twice before using Uber, or they should take extra steps to educate their employees on ways to use the service without putting their valuable information at risk. Another option to consider is Lyft, which has less API partners and only tracks users' location data when they open the Lyft app, Appthority said.
"Security researchers, whether individuals or companies, are always welcome to discuss any issues they believe they've found with Uber's security team by reporting it through our bug bounty program," the Uber spokeswoman said.


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Setúbal, Portugal (PortSEurope) January 10, 2019 – Negotiations for a collective bargaining agreement for the dockworkers at Setúbal port were resumed this week, Lídia Sequeira, president of the ports of Setúbal and Sesimbra said.
Sequeira said that talks resumed on Tuesday with an agreed target to reach agreement by end-February.
She said that workers of Setúbal port do not have a collective bargaining agreement, but the port administration is not part of the negotiation adding that, however, the administration has promoted meetings with concessionaires of the port. She added that there should be a collective bargaining agreement to help avoid issues developing into labour actions.
Sequeira emphasised that an agreement is the responsibility of the employers’ associations and the union.
The president confirmed that 73% of the workers in the port of Setúbal are temporary, noting that the port handles seven million tons of cargo annually, mostly for export.
The labour conflict in the Port of Setúbal, which has been dragging since the beginning of November last year, was overcome with the signing of an agreement last December 14, achieved through the mediation of the Ministry of the Sea.
This agreement allowed the integration of 56 temporary workers into the staff of the companies Operestiva and Setulsete and ensured the preference of the rest in the distribution of labour, compared to other workers who do not yet work at the port.
The labour action has affected exporters locally, who have been using alternative ports in Portugal and Spain to exports products.
Copyright (C) PortSEurope. All Rights Reserved. 2019.


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Status. On July 29, 2019, Cuba legalized private wifi in homes and businesses, although one must obtain a permit to have access. As of December 6, 2018, Cubans can have full mobile Internet access provided by Cuba’s telecommunications company, ETECSA, at 3G speeds.
Is there WiFi in Cuba?
Originally the WiFi in Cuba was available only in major cities such as Havana, but eventually, they expanded, and now you can connect from almost every location you are in. There are over 700 WiFi hotspots in Cuba.
ETECSA also announced different internet packages and their prices, ranging from 600 MB for 7 Cuban convertible pesos ($7) to 4 GB for 30 Cuban convertible pesos ($30). The cost is still high in a country where state salaries average $30 a month.
Internet in Cuba is severely limited due to the United States embargo against Cuba. Cuba’s Internet connection is via the ALBA-1 cable to Venezuela, which has had technical problems limiting its speed. The United States refuses to allow an undersea cable to pass 100 miles from Cuba to Florida.
There are currently three official ways to get data in Cuba : Buy a regular Cuban SIM card. Buy a tourist SIM card. Roam using your data at home.
Your U.S. mobile phone will work in Cuba if your mobile phone is capable of roaming in Cuba and your mobile service provider has an international roaming agreement with ETECSA, Cuba’s state-owned telecommunications provider. AT&T, Sprint, Verizon and T-Mobile currently have roaming agreements with ETECSA.
11 Things You Should Never Do in Cuba Don’t talk about politics. Don’t stay in the orange casa particulares. Don’t work on a tourist visa. Don’t take photos of police or soldiers. Don’t be shy. Don’t get confused by the two currencies. Don’t expect to find creature comforts. Don’t forget to tip.
CAN I USE WHATSAPP IN CUBA ? Yes. It is possible to use WhatsApp in Cuba .
So it’s really just about how much cash you’ll need each day. At a bare minimum, you should aim to budget at least 50 convertible pesos each day (which is equivalent to $50.00 US dollars).
Yes WhatsApp works fine.
Summary about cost of living in Havana, Cuba : Family of four estimated monthly costs are 2,004.10$ without rent (using our estimator). A single person estimated monthly costs are 575.26$ without rent. Cost of living index in Havana is 44.33% lower than in New York.
Although Cuba is generally a safe country to visit, a trip to Cuba may expose you to “minor” crimes such as currency scams, pickpocketing, and theft. You should also be aware of threats to your health like contaminated tap water, mosquito-borne diseases, and terrible road conditions if you are driving.
Identity. Cubans are far more likely than other Hispanics to identify themselves as white when asked about their race. In the 2004 Census data, about 86% of Cubans said they were white , compared with 60% among Mexicans, 53% among other Central and South Americans and 50% among Puerto Ricans.
Can I buy a SIM card in Cuba ? No, you cannot buy a Cuban SIM card and phone number. You can only rent a SIM card and phone line. Bring you existing phone and rent a Cuban sim card once you are in Cuba .
Cuban peso Cuban convertible peso
Thanks to an agreement inked earlier this year, T – Mobile customers can now talk for $2.00 a minute, send text and multimedia messages for $0.50 per message and receive them for free, and use data for $2.00 per MB while roaming in Cuba . And, now, Un-carrier customers can stay connected while travelling in Cuba .
Cruise lines Royal Caribbean and Norwegian said on Wednesday that they will no longer sail to Cuba , joining Carnival Corporation, which announced earlier in the day that it will no longer operate cruises to the island, effective immediately. “ We all planned this cruise anticipating our stop in Cuba .


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Here is one of the scariest data points I’ve seen this year: nearly 80% of consumers are willing to pay extra for drone delivery. We’re talking everything from books to pizzas.
I can just imagine what the skies over my little burg of Delray Beach, Florida, will look like.
And the noise! It will be like an armada of terrier-sized mosquitoes making Stuka dive-bombing runs.
Regardless, on February 15, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) officially opened Pandora’s Box. That’s when it announced its proposed rules for small commercial drones (those fewer than 55 pounds).
The proposed rules are considerably less strict than expected. Here are some concerning details:
-- Commercial small drone operators will not need a commercial pilot license, just a special “Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) operator certificate.” This will be much easier to get than a pilot’s license and will cost less than $300. A 17-year-old can get a UAS certificate.
-- Small drones will not need to meet airworthiness standards. Just a quick preflight check by the operator will suffice.
-- The FAA is considering a different set of rules for “Micro UAS” drones (drones under 4.4 pounds). These drones would face even lower regulatory hurdles.
The news isn’t all bad. A drone will need to be flown within an operator’s eyesight and can’t climb above 500 feet or go faster than 100 mph. Flights can be made only during daylight hours. They cannot be flown over people (though how will that be enforced?). And drones still can’t drop objects.
But to all this I add “for now.” Because once you open Pandora’s Box ‘o Drones, who knows where it ends?
The End of Backyard Privacy?
Look, I don’t mean to sound like a Luddite. I’m not against new tech. Far from it. I’m also not the guy who types up rants about kids these days (I save those rants for home). But anyone who can’t see the downside to fleets of drones flying through our neighborhoods needs to wake up and smell the drone-delivered coffee.
For one thing, it’s an end to backyard privacy. Period. And I’m not just talking about police snoops, though there will be plenty of those. How do you know when a drone is piloted by the police or your friendly neighborhood pervert? (Answer: You don’t.)
Then there are the hazards. It’s dangerous enough driving to work as it is. Just wait until some barely licensed idiot loses control of their drone over I-95.
And, again, there’s the noise. Yeah, I’m probably going to hate the noise the most.
The president is worried, too. And not just because some drunk recently landed a drone on the White House lawn. On the same day the FAA announced its small drone rules, Obama issued a presidential memorandum on “Promoting Economic Competitiveness While Safeguarding Privacy, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties in Domestic Use of Unmanned Aircraft Systems.” It lays down guidelines on how long drone-gathered data can be kept and addresses other privacy concerns.
Of course, the problem with guidelines is they’re just guidelines.
Here Come the Lobbyists
Already, Washington is getting pushback on any serious drone regulations. Lobbyists representing Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) and Google (Nasdaq: GOOG), as well as aerospace firms and the news media, say they will try to convince regulators that some proposed limitations are unnecessary.
The reason, according to the drone lobby, is that cutting-edge technologies make drones inherently safe. And they might get their way…
Lobbying by drone special interests surged from $35 million in 2011 to more than $186 million in 2014. Could money triumph over the public good?
This big trend may be unstoppable. Here are some other fascinating facts:
-- Only 12% of consumers say they wouldn't trust drone deliveries.
-- A whopping 28% of U.S. consumers make Web-based purchases at least once a week.
-- The number of drones in the U.S. is projected to hit 30,000 by 2020.
-- Right now, the Air Force has between 65,000 and 70,000 people working to process drone-collected data and footage.
-- Cape Canaveral is now a drone base. U.S. Customs and Border Protection fly drones on our northern, southern and southeastern borders. And few Americans even know it.
On the Bright Side: Profits Take Wing
Drone spending is on track to stretch to $98 billion worldwide in the next 10 years. About 12% of that should be for commercial purposes.
For example, farmers want to use drones for crop dusting and disease detection. Oil and gas companies want to use drones to inspect rigs and pipelines.
And news media companies, including NBC, The New York Times and Thomson Reuters are planning to test news-gathering drones in coming months.
So if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. It turns out there are plenty of profit opportunities in drones.
How You Can Play It
There are a half dozen or so tradable drone stocks. Many of them are in the Robo-Stox Global Robotics & Automation ETF (Nasdaq: ROBO). The Robo-Stox ETF holds a basket of companies operating in robotics, high-tech automation and drones.
And if you look at the chart below, you can see that the Robo-Stox ETF is looking very bullish.
The ETF recently broke its downtrend. It pushed to the upside on high volume. That’s bullish.
The Robo-Stox ETF’s second-largest holding is AeroVironment (Nasdaq: AVAV). The company manufactures drones along with charging stations for electric vehicles. (Investment U’s Senior Research Analyst, Ryan Fitzwater, took a look at the stock back in January. You can check out his findings here.)
Another, smaller position is Elbit Systems (Nasdaq: ESLT), an Israeli drone manufacturer.
Sure, the Robo-Stox ETF has a lot of non-drone robot and automation stocks. But if drones are as big a trend as some say, this fund should be poised for liftoff. Just be aware that the expense ratio is rather high - at least for my blood - at 0.95%, or $95 per every $10,000 invested.
As always, be sure to do your own due diligence before buying anything.
This article originally appeared on InvestmentU.com: Watch the Skies... for Profits


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Real Estate prices have stabilized in most cities and may even be cooling down for 2019. If you are thinking of buying or selling now may be a great opportunity for home buyers.
According to the National Association of Realtors, home sales have been down in 2018 and forecasting to be down in 2019 as well. A combination of interest rates rising, and an inventory shortage slowed down the market this past spring and summer.
Ralph DiBugnara of Home Qualified believes that this is good news for home buyers. This shift in the market will create a value buy for home buyers. In a less competitive market buyers are much more likely to obtain a house at what it is worth or below its value depending on the demand in that market. Even with rates being up borrowing money is still very cheap, and over the last two years creative financing has become available to make mortgages more affordable
If you are considering selling now would also be a good time to list your property before we see a large reduction in demand which would drive prices down.


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President and Founder of Search Optics, Troy Smith, Featured in Forbes
Search Optics was recently featured in a Forbes article, “The Pathetic State of Mobile Marketing and Advertising,” written by contributor Steve Olenski. He discussed how little things have changed in the digital marketing world when it comes to mobile, despite the dramatic shift in consumer behavior toward smartphone use in the last few years. The post cites a recent study Search Optics released in partnership with ClickZ, entitled The State of Mobile Advertising 2016. The study analyzed more than 400 global marketers to discover their best practices and to explore “the extent to which brands are putting mobile at the center of their integrated marketing activities.”
Troy Smith, president and founder of Search Optics, also provided his insight into this phenomenon:
“Needless to say, without a strong partner who has deep understanding of how to run and measure mobile advertising effectively, advertisers have little to no information on the true ROI of their efforts. This decreases their willingness to invest in mobile advertising, therefore limiting their reach to audiences across multiple digital channels.”
Read the complete article on Forbes.com.


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TheStreet's Jim Cramer has some positive comments on Hormel Foods, following the company's impressive earnings report.
The trading panel discussed Apple's performance and what it needs to do to move the stock higher.
Jim Cramer says analysts are warming up to the restaurant industry, noting upgrades to Panera and Dunkin' Brands. He thinks Starbucks will go even higher.
TheStreet's Jim Cramer says that Hain Celestial has become an attractive takeover target. He also reminds investors that the company still has growth.
The trading panel looked at Home Depot, home builders and Apple.
Jim Cramer says Facebook and Google will benefit from the shift to digital advertising from retailers like Home Depot.
Jim Cramer says select retail stocks should increase over the next few trading sessions, as investors put money back to work in the sector.
The trading panel discussed whether the S&P 500 can go to 2000 and what consumers really want in the new iPhone.
TheStreet's Jim Cramer says shares of General Electric could outperform because they have lagged the broader market so much in 2014.
TheStreet's Jim Cramer says he does not agree with a recent bearish call by Goldman Sachs on the semiconductor space.


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Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks has entered the 1 Tbps DDoS attack era. However, research shows that DDoS attacks are not just getting bigger; they’re also getting more sophisticated.
Interpreting sensor data and the spatial distribution can be used to determine how the field should be managed to achieve the best yields, and where and when to harvest the crops.
Nowadays businesses are increasing their online presence and to promote the brand in an unsurpassable manner the role of visual content can’t be underestimated, so they need to improve their ability to create highly impressive visual content.
Technology advancements, especially in the area of IoT, AI, Voice, and Blockchain, could pave the way forward for the eHealth in India.
As organizations create new products and applications post-implementation of GDPR, privacy by design must be kept in mind.
GDPR is teaching the world to collect less information from customers: Sophos Senior Security Advisor Chester Wisniewski
GDPR is teaching us to collect less information from our customers unless we really need it. Even if you don't need to comply with GDPR, this is simply a good practice.
Technology that deals with Regulations and Compliance – RegTech– is still at a nascent stage in India. However, it is already aiming to achieve digitization that would reduce the compliance cost to a bare minimum.
Many vendors make expansive marketing claims about mitigation capabilities, but when it comes to making contractual commitments to performance, the claims vaporize into thin air. It is fair to say that DDoS protection is only as good as your SLA.
As technology becomes ubiquitous, it’s turning into a driving force that is disrupting, transforming and reshaping business landscapes across different sectors.
AI or Artificial Intelligence, is impacting the daily life of every human, and this impact is increasing at a rapid rate.
Dark data is data that is typically not used by enterprises for decision making. It could be data from sensors, logs, and any other transactional data that is largely available but ignored.
Based on past attacks, Quant Loader is a trojan that typically distributes malware such as ransomware and password stealers.
Facebook is flawed, sooner you delete, better it would be for your life: CEO Network Intelligence KK Mookhey
The entire model of most social media sites – Facebook most of all – is inherently flawed. People and businesses produce the content and then the same people and businesses consume the content.
Too often, organisations assume a certain level of protection from a cloud service provider and don’t take steps to ensure applications and data are just as safe as those housed in the data center.
While it is difficult to predict whether Blockchain is a thing of the past and whether Hashgraph is the final answer, one thing is sure, Hashgraph definitely addresses a lot of the critical challenges that Blockchain has been grappling with.
Server downtime is an issue that plagues the vast majority of organisations. But the reality is that most organisations do not know the answer to this question. Here’s what they should do to know the true cost of downtime for cost-effective protection.
With Artificial Intelligence, chatbots are overhauling customer service business: Girish Nayak of ICICI Lombard
Sales and customer support services have already undergone a sea change from how they were a decade back. With artificial intelligence and chatbots, they’re leapfrogging into another era.
With speed becoming a critical parameter, developers and software architects have been exploring a new approach to application architecture: decoupling the frontend from backend.


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St. Peter’s Episcopal Church Thrift Shop has been open since June of this year and business has been thriving. The church members and workers of the endeavor are taking a moment to not only thank the community for the warm welcome, but also to introduce the store to others. This Saturday, August 15, the thrift shop will host a Grand Opening Sale-a-bration. The store will be open from 9 am to 3 pm with special sales occurring all day long. From 11 am to 1 pm, they will be serving free hot dogs and chips.
During this grand opening, clothing will be 50% off and special sidewalk sales will be taking place throughout the day. According to Senior Warden Brent Jones, the grand opening is meant to not only be a formal introduction of the shop to the community, but also to thank the community for welcoming the endeavor with open arms. According to Jones, business has been brisk and the donations keep flowing in.
Read more in the August 12 edition of the Westmoreland News.


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The city of Vancouver has been considering a ban on single-use cups, or at least finding strategies to lessen their use by consumers on a day-to-day basis.
Single-use coffee cups, along with other disposable items like plastic and paper shopping bags, foam food packaging and takeout containers are the city's largest source of waste, and so an initiative to lessen their use is currently underway. Strategies to reduce the use of items such as single-use cups could come in the form of offering consumers incentives to bring in their own takeaway mugs from home when ordering beverages in-store, requiring businesses to ensure that their disposable items are compostable or recyclable, and forming more robust educational initiatives for the public that ensure they are aware of the importance of recycling and composting properly.
Vancouver's City Council is Considering a Ban on Disposable Coffee Cups
Mishal Omar — July 18, 2017 — Eco
References: bc.ctvnews & globalnews


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Google has been working on driver-less cars for a while, with a pretty good success rate.
Now they’ve set their sights on flights.
The chief of Google Inc.’s experimental cargo-drone program wants to see automated flight go beyond pilotless planes and extend to commercial air travel.
Just as automation has proved its worth in factories by removing tedious work from employees’ hands, flying can be made safer once aircraft aren’t designed around the need for humans at the controls, according to Dave Vos, who leads Google’s Project Wing.
I think this idea is cool and would create safer flight. But I don’t think it would fly–at least for a long time.
First of all, FAA regulations are much more complex than road regulations. And they take forever to adjust.
I also think there would be a distinct passenger distrust of the system. For a driver-less car, you just need the buy in of the driver.
For a pilot-less plane, you need the buy in of the passengers who would buy tickets on it.
Did you know it is safer to sit backwards on an airplane? In the event of a crash, you have a higher rate of survival, plus less severe injuries.
I think it will basically take a generational shift before people would be comfortable will pilot-less planes. Driver-less cars would have to be more of a norm before the public would be okay with flying in them. Even if they are safer.
What do you think?


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Congressman Bradley Byrne’s Plant Tour Scheduled for May 27
ROBERTSDALE, Ala. (May 15, 2015) -- Congressmen Bradley Byrne, R-AL, is scheduled to visit Bay Wood Products, Inc., from 10:00-11:00 a.m. CT on May 27, 2015, to tour the 20-acre site and learn more about the $11.5 billion wooden pallet and container industry in the U.S. and worldwide.
“I always enjoy visiting local businesses to learn more about their operation and how policies in Washington impact businesses on the Gulf Coast. My visit to Bay Wood Products is no different. I look forward to visiting with Mr. Wilson, meeting some of his employees, and learning more about his impressive business.” – Congressman Bradley Byrne (R-AL)
Baldwin County-based Bay Wood Products’ Founder and President Jimmy Wilson said he hopes the Congressman’s visit will allow him to gain a better understanding of the sometimes complex issues facing small business owners, including the 625 who belong to the National Wooden Pallet & Container Association (NWPCA). Wilson previously served on NWPCA’s Board of Directors, and continues to work to raise awareness about the wooden pallet industry and its broad impacts on the Alabama Gulf Coast and beyond. (Photo: Jimmy Wilson)
While wooden pallets literally move most products across the globe, the industry often remains a mystery to those not directly involved in it. Statistics show the vast majority of consumer and manufacturing goods, domestically and internationally, move on pallets, with 94% of all pallets crafted from wood. The wooden pallet industry is an $11.5 billion American success story with nearly 3,000 mostly small family businesses operating in all 50 states.


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QY Research has recently released its new report, titled “Global Liquid Silicone Rubber Injection Molding Machine Market Professional Survey Report 2019”, which provides unique insight into the market during the forecast period. The report covers various aspects that are contributing to the growth of the global liquid silicone rubber injection molding machine market. The report has also provided crucial information about the elements that are driving and impacting the sales of the market. Competitive landscape is the utmost important section of the report that describes the key players functioning in the market.
The analysts predict that the global liquid silicone rubber (LSR) injection molding machine market was valued at US$98.28 mn in 2018 and is estimated to reach US$178.98 mn by 2025. The market will register a CAGR of 8.93% throughout the forecast period.
Global Liquid Silicone Rubber Injection Molding Machine Market: Trends and Opportunities
The liquid silicone rubber injection molding machines have made a significant impact on the medical sector due to its special properties. These machines are chemical and heat resistant and are exceptionally durable. It also includes factors such as easy sterilization, biocompatibility, and transparency that are expected to fuel the growth of the market during the forecast period. In the automotive sector, the LSR injection molding machine has high thermal stability, tear resistance, tensile strength, and fatigue properties that makes it an excellent choice for the components, which are used under the hood of the vehicles.
In addition, the market is also witnessing growth due to increasing demand for consumer products such as plastic showerheads, bottle dispensers, kitchen bakeware, and electronic gadgets. Other factors such as valves and gauges, lighted panel buttons, and membranes and seal rings are also estimated to increase the demand for liquid silicone rubber injection molding machine.
Global Liquid Silicone Rubber Injection Molding Machine Market: Geographical Outlook
Asia Pacific is the largest growing region for the liquid silicone rubber injection molding machine market due to high economic growth rate, rapidly increasing demand in the healthcare sector, and growing research and development activities. North America is also expected to lead the liquid silicone rubber injection molding machine market because of the growing demand for medical devices, equipment, and implants.
Global Liquid Silicone Rubber Injection Molding Machine Market: Segment Analysis
The global liquid silicone rubber injection molding machine market is segmented into application and product type. The application segment includes building, automotive, industrial, electronics, consumer goods, and medical. Medical segment is the largest growing segment in the LSR injection molding machine market due to rising demand for healthcare products. The product type segment includes the automatic type and semi-automatic type.
Global Liquid Silicone Rubber Injection Molding Machine Market: Leading Manufacturers
The top players that are operating in the global liquid silicone rubber injection molding machine market are Tayu Machinery, Arburg, Riva Machinery, Engel, MULTIPLAS ENGINERY, Tianyuan Technology, Yizumi, Nissei Plastic, SODICK, and FUICHA.
Global Liquid Silicone Rubber Injection Molding Machine Market: Competitive Landscape
Engel has launched its new Engel Technology Centre Innovation at Schwertberg, Austria. The company has created its pilot plant for vertical integration in injection molding and supports the customers to implement the smart factory in more detailed. This Technology Centre is the latest expansion at the Engel’s headquarters.


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Facebook is testing out a new, slimmer Timeline layout featuring a single column of posts instead of the current double column. The test layout keeps the boxes that highlight friends and activities to the right.
The social network is currently rolling out the test, first noticed by Inside Facebook, to a small number of users.
"This is a new design Facebook is testing with a small percentage of people to make navigating timeline even easier," a Facebook spokeswoman told CNET.
When, , with some hating the change. But really, any changes to the social network's design seem to send folks into a frenzy.
This news, however, may actually make some users happy since they won't have to look back and forth between the columns when looking at posts. The layout eliminates the timeline format, removing the line separating the columns, but keeps the bar of dates to the right of the right column for browsing through posts from different years and months.
The right hand column keeps the existing boxes such as "Recent Activity," "Friends," "Photos" and "Likes," as well as any app activity displayed by users. But with the new design, the boxes are a smaller size than posts. Below those boxes, the test design features only whitespace where the current design would display more posts.


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Over the past week, several ministries, including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the Ministry of Civil Affairs, have publicized figures that related to the Spring Festival holiday, environmental protection, and responded to a number of questions.
Mobile data traffic rises
Data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology shows that China’s mobile data traffic rose during the Spring Festival holiday as more people prefer to send greetings through mobile platforms.
Over the holiday, mobile data traffic jumped 236 percent from the same period last year to 849,000 terra bites. On Feb 15, the eve of the Chinese Lunar New Year, mobile data traffic was up 245 percent to 121,000 TB.
The Chinese Lunar New Year is traditionally a time for family gatherings and blessings, and with the increasing penetration of digital devices and improved internet infrastructure, more people are using mobile phones to socialize.
Nursing home numbers surge
The number of nursing homes has surged in the past five years. Statistics from the Ministry of Civil Affairs shows China had more than 144,600 nursing institutions as of September 2017, 226 percent more than at the end of 2012.
High-quality goods in focus
A growing number of Chinese consumers, seeking higher-quality consumer goods, are splashed out more money during the Spring Festival holiday on imported fresh food and intelligent home appliances.
Figures from the Ministry of Commerce show that the retail and catering sectors posted sales of 926 billion yuan ($146 billion) during the holiday period that began on Feb 15 and ended on Feb 21, an increase of 10.2 percent over the same period last year.
The ministry said the key term for the Lunar New Year holiday is “consumption upgrade”, as shoppers spent more in restaurants, retailers and the movies, with higher quality and diversified products and services gaining popularity.
Emission permits issued
Authorities have issued more than 20,000 pollutant emission permits by the end of 2017, an official from the Ministry of Environmental Protection said.
The permits were granted to companies in 15 sectors including steel, iron, and cement, which started reforming the permit system in 2016 to better protect the environment, according to the ministry.
Liu Youbin, spokesperson for the ministry, said the ministry will continue improving legal standards and technological aspects of the emission permit system and formulate norms and standards for the application and approval of emission permits for other major industries.