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Morgan takes to the mainland highways
Morgan Motor, the boutique British manufacturer of hand-made, vintage-styled luxury cars, is going onto business in China.
A family-owned company that has been making cars at the same location in Malvern Link, England since 1909, Morgan last month appointed its first mainland car dealers in Beijing and Shanghai, as well as a Hong Kong dealer for its new tri-wheel, motorcycle-engine-powered throwback to the early days of motor racing, the Morgan 3 Wheeler.
The company is betting 1930s styling and peppy performance will help set its cars apart from other top-end British makers in the already crowded and competitive mainland luxury market, where its cars will retail for up to 4.2 million yuan (HK$5.1 million).
'For the likes of Rolls-Royce, Bentley or Aston-Martin, all of the press is about how the downturn in the rest of the world has basically been swallowed up by an upturn in China,' Morgan Motor operations director Steve Morris says.
'Morgan is slightly different ... The market is in its infancy for us but we see it as a great opportunity to get some nice organic growth.'
Luxury car sales on the mainland rose 30 per cent last year to almost 600,000, and are projected to continue double-digit growth this year, according to industry consultants LMC Automotive. That compares with overall passenger car sales growth of 5.2 per cent, according to official data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.
The boom in luxury sales saw the mainland become the top global market for the first time last year at companies including Rolls-Royce, Audi and Lamborghini.
Morgan lacks the marketing dollars that other high-end makers have deployed to help build their brands in the mainland market.
Globally, Morgan sells about 1,000 cars a year, with the main markets being Britain, France, Germany and the United States. The firm planned to ship its first cars to the mainland by next month and was looking to sell 50 cars there this year and 100 next year, Morris said.
'What's a hundred cars in China?' Morris says. 'For Morgan, the unique pitch globally is exclusivity ... and an absolutely, quintessentially British-manufactured product.'
In addition to the eye-catching body styles of the cars, the driving performance is also a selling point. Several models accelerate to 100 km/h in about five seconds and, unlike nearly all mainstream cars, Morgan's classic line-up do not have power steering, power brakes, or other electronic handling controls.
Newly appointed Beijing dealer Jim James, who also runs a public relations firm in the capital, says this creates 'something very personal about the drive feel'.
He said he was relying on 'guerrilla tactics' to push the Morgan brand on the mainland, including posting videos of himself cruising Beijing's boulevards in his six-cylinder, convertible Morgan Roadster in British racing green on Youku - the mainland's answer to the blocked YouTube website.
James has also set up a bilingual Morgan website and posts Twitter-style messages that have around 200 followers.
'I'm really building awareness through low-cost means to start with ... it's quite a digital strategy,' James said. 'We only need to find maybe 20 customers out of a billion people.'


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// Court hears Dominic Chappell’s defence for evading tax on £2.2m income received when he bought BHS from Sir Philip Green
// Green allegedly refused to allow advisers to see all the financial materials for the deal on loss-making BHS
A series of broken promises and a refusal to sell BHS to a business rival by retail tycoon Sir Philip Green plunged its new owner into a tax evasion nightmare, a jury has been told.
Dominic Chappell, whose consortium controversially bought BHS from Green for £1 in March 2015, denies three charges of cheating the public revenue related to his bankrupt finance company Swiss Rock Ltd.
Chappell is accused of dishonesty regarding VAT, corporation tax and income tax between January 2014 and September 2016.
- Dominic Chappell evaded tax on income from buying failed BHS, court told
- A quarter of BHS stores remain vacant since 2016 administration
- Ex-BHS director Lennart Henningson handed 5-year boardroom ban
Last Friday, defence counsel Trevor Burke QC told a jury at London’s Southwark Crown Court that the case is not about “yachts, Bentleys and the Bahamas” but they should ask themselves if there was something which stopped Chappell from paying the taxes.
Green – who had run BHS for 15 years via his Arcadia Group retail empire – allegedly thwarted attempts to rescue BHS by failing to “sort” out a £250 million to £500 million pension deficit as he promised, to secure finance for suppliers and with a blanket refusal to “entertain” the retailer being sold on to rival Mike Ashley, the court was told.
It was also alleged that Green also refused to allow consortium advisers to see all the necessary financial materials as the deal on the loss-making BHS chain was being closed.
The company which was used by Chappell’s group to purchase BHS was called Retail Acquisition Ltd (RAL)
Burke said: “Sir Philip Green would not permit anyone access to the pension scheme materials, so the due diligence by Grant Thornton (the consortium advisers) and others in advising RAL was in its very nature limited due to the non-disclosure.”
Within two weeks of buying BHS, which was losing £1 million a week, the “pension problem exploded”, Burke told the court.
Chappell later began talks to try and sell to Ashley, who was described to the jury as being as “rich beyond the dreams of avarice”.
Ashley, whose business empire includes roles as Sports Direct chief executive and ownership of Newcastle United Football Club, was “content” in trying to “rescue (BHS) and he had the money and muscle to do it”.
Burke said Green would not “entertain the notion of selling to a competitor and refused to engage”.
BHS limped on before collapsing just over a year later into “chaos” for its staff, pensioners and Chappell, causing the loss of 11,000 jobs in April 2016.
The collapse remained in the headlines for months after the revelation of a huge £571 million pensions deficit escalated it into a scandal.
Chappell maintains that BHS was forced into liquidation because of the actions of Green in reneging on promises of financial support for the pension fund and going back on a promise to provide working capital to BHS after the sale.
His defence suggests that, had BHS not failed, he would have had the funds to pay his tax liability.
The prosecution alleges that Chappell evaded paying tax on £2.2 million of income he received from the BHS deal and instead used it to buy a Bentley car and a yacht.
In his opening statement to the jury, Burke said that, not long after buying BHS, and because of circumstances that were out his control, Chappell was “utterly broke” and this is a situation which “continues to this day”.
There was an “assurance” from Green in striking the BHS deal that the pension deficit would be transferred to him and his company debt, the jury heard.
Burke said Chappell was left with the impression that he would be running BHS with a “clean sheet”.
He added: “The pension deficit, as it was, was to be Sir Philip Green’s problem.
“(He said) ‘I will be sorting it’. He reassured everyone.”
With BHS’s finances allegedly being choked off in this way, the jury was told that the Pensions Regulator launched an investigation into the BHS retirement fund which “utterly frustrated” attempts to try and revive the ailing business.
Raising funds for BHS also became difficult, along with a desire to headhunt a titan of industry to become its new chief executive, the court heard.
It was alleged that suppliers, who needed their money upfront to provide goods to stock the shop shelves, would also have been wary of doing business with the cash-strapped BHS that was being sold to Chappell.
Burke said: “Both Sir Philip Green and Dominic Chappell appreciated that the moment BHS was hived off from Arcadia, part of a company that was rich and profitable, suppliers would be uncomfortable dealing with a company that was haemorrhaging money like BHS was.”
Burke also told the jury: “The more that Sir Philip Green realised that his own conduct in having owned BHS for 15 years was subject to scrutiny, he took his ball and left.”
Chappell is charged with providing false or misleading information and also failed to submit VAT returns.
It is alleged that Chappell did not arrange for the correct VAT amounts to be registered and he also did not pay VAT.
Chappell is also accused of failing to pay corporation tax as well as personal income tax from dividends he received from Swiss Rock.
The hearing was adjourned for today.
with PA Wires

domain: news


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BlackBerry is set to launch several new devices before the years out, and while the BlackBerry Passport has gotten a lot of attention, the BlackBerry Classic has a lot of fans. If you dig the old-school BlackBerry, you’ll appreciate the new Blackberry Classic photos that have just hit the net.
Canadian smartphone manufacturer BlackBerry has been seeing its market share falling off a cliff in recent times despite the launch of a new operating system and hardware, and if rumours are true the company could possibly be set for another nail in the coffin. A new report is claiming that White House staff could soon […]
Since the BlackBerry Messenger service finally went cross-platform with iOS and Android apps, the company appears to be going all out to make it the best that it can be. The company previously pledged that new features and improvements would arrive regularly and now a BBM update is to add some features most often requested […]
There were many that felt that Nokia should have adopted the Android platform as it looked to regain some of its market share, and now BlackBerry see’s itself in a similar situation that Nokia once did with dwindling market share but a BlackBerry with Android hasn’t completely been ruled out. We heard recently that BlackBerry […]
2013 has been a turbulent year for Canadian smartphone manufacturer Blackberry as it has seen its market share plummet despite launching an all new operating system, and that’s not forgetting the issues surrounding the launch of the BBM app for rival platforms. Now it has been announced that the BlackBerry buyout deal has fallen through […]
The smartphone market is highly competitive but there are certain manufacturers that are leading the way with a larger proportion of the pie, and now according to the latest market figures BlackBerry is almost extinct as Android and Samsung surge. According to figures for smartphone shipments during the third quarter of this year by ABI […]


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- A federal legal influenced you to definitely starting in 2022, the consumer Financial Safeguards Agency can also be limit pay-day lenders off dinging customers’ bank account many times when they falter at first owed in order to decreased fund.
- The brand new behavior can rack upwards higher costs for payday individuals, which usually took away loans before everything else to prevent financial costs.
- The fresh laws try recommended in 2017 however it is come tied when you look at the judge.
A week ago, a national court sided towards the User Economic Safety Agency (CFPB), a good watchdog agencies, into the a long-running court race up against cash advance change teams more whether the bureau is actually permitted to enforce a different laws on loan providers out-of pay day, auto, and you will specific highest-costs installment financing. The new regulation finishes loan providers out of wanting to withdraw money from a good debtors’ savings account whether it had already were unsuccessful in 2 straight tries-a habit that will cause consumers becoming strike that have numerous financial fees to have came back money and shortage of fund, plus with its accounts signed. Regarding the Aug. 30 ruling, the latest U.S. Area Legal courtroom with the West District away from Colorado told you new the latest laws, first created into the 2017, could go into impact from inside the , giving the loan providers time to desire the decision.
Payday loan is actually small-identity fund that come with quite high rates of interest and you can charge towards the consumers. When borrowers take out an instant payday loan, they often approve the lending company to debit the make up the new financing when the mortgage happens due. In the event the, when one day appear, the lenders discover the bank account doesn’t have adequate currency so you’re able to coverage your order, they are going to constantly is actually once again, both for less money hoping the smaller exchange will go through-usually trying possibly five times, when leading to overdraft fees.
If you find yourself these attempts was cheap on the lender, usually up to 5 so you’re able to fifteen cents, he or she is expensive into consumer, which have overdraft costs averaging $34 at the top of most other some fees, the fresh CFPB told you from the 2017 code, mentioning a beneficial 2012 research. The additional fees are specially dangerous for consumers whom, depending on the CFPB, usually took aside cash advance to stop overdraft costs regarding the beginning. Sometimes, the brand new repeated range initiatives head banks to close customers’ accounts.
Starting the following year, pay day lenders won’t be permitted to a couple of times you will need to withdraw money from the lending company membership regarding users just who can not spend her or him back, on account of a recent courtroom ruling
“I am happier the fresh new judge reaffirmed our capability to cover individuals out of unfair and you may abusive percentage strategies throughout the pay day financing and most other avenues covered by this new laws,” said David Uejio, acting manager of your own CFPB, when you look at the a statement.
The trade communities you to put this new suit, The city Financial Features Relationship away from The united states therefore the Consumer Provider Alliance from Tx, told you they would attention.
“The audience is troubled of the area courtroom governing regarding our difficulty for the fee conditions of your own CFPB’s harmful 2017 quick-dollar financing laws,” new groups said for the a message. “The fresh percentage supply criteria remaining about amazing code demand unnecessary burdens for the customers and you may unwarranted will set you back into loan providers, making short-dollar money less smoother and accessible for those trying to find credit.”
The latest long and you installment loans in California will contentious reputation for the fresh pay day financing laws happens completely back into the brand new government out of Chairman Barack Obama, if recently designed CFPB started to read the brand new payday financing business, posting a light papers into the 2013, the initial from inside the a number of account. The studies and you will records did not turn into a real rule, yet not, up to 2017, whenever outbound Obama-designated CFPB movie director Richard Cordray wrote it one of his true finally serves prior to resigning from inside the first 12 months of one’s Donald Trump management.
Before rule may go on feeling, Trump’s far more providers-amicable CFPB rescinded a major piece of the latest controls who does are making lenders confirm borrowers’ ability to pay, when you find yourself making the brand new part speaing frankly about banking institutions undamaged. But the code has been fastened from inside the courtroom once the 2018.
Borrowers which will just take issues in their very own hand rather than simply waiting around for government protections to start working currently have this new choice to revoke consent of businesses to help you electronically debit the membership, even though this doesn’t make the debt go-away. Customers will do this both from the calling the mortgage merchant or its bank.


text: New York - The kosher food industry is preparing for a major holiday season again, this time the 8-day Chanukah which begins on the eve of December 6th. Industry experts say that it is the third most important holiday on the Jewish calendar, following Passover and the High Holy Days. It is a heavy gift-giving season and for caterers and restaurants it is party-time. At this year’s Kosherfest, Chanukah was in the air somewhat especially at the Izzy n Dizzy booth where candles and other Chanukah items such as menorahs and dreidels were on display. Ironically, some industry officials believe that the calendar is not in their favor and prefer a Chanukah date that is close to Christmas. Next year, for example the first day of Chanukah falls on Christmas eve. The reason many non-traditional kosher customers buy kosher as gifts for Jewish friends and co-workers. In Israel, the popular custard doughnuts were already on display. In many markets, the focus was on Thanksgiving Day as kosher turkeys and other products are big sellers.


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As the more discerning of you out there may have noticed … Actually, scrap that. As the more alcoholism-inclined of you out there may have noticed, there has been a boom in craft beer production in Beijing over the past few years with small-time breweries cropping up left, right and center. But it’s not just craft beer that is thriving; beer production nationwide is seeing healthy profits roll in.
China Daily reports that beer industry revenues hit RMB 181 billion in 2013 – an increase of over nine percent, with 21 percent profit and four percent in overall output – now surpassing that of wine and liquor. The east and south still account for the majority of beer consumption but it is the west that has seen the largest growth in the ingestion of liquid gold.
Although sales in all alcoholic drinks have suffered due to the CCP’s push to eradicate lavish banquet spending at the public’s expense, it appears officials and businessmen as well as the common consumer remain loyal to beer, which on average falls into the cheaper beverage bracket.
Also, despite the call for austerity, it is predicted that premium beer products will see the biggest turn in profits over the next decade, eventually accounting for 20 percent of the market but 50 percent of the takings.
At home, this is great news for innocuous, Tsingtao taste-alike Carlsberg, one of five companies now in control of 80 percent of the Chinese market, whereas abroad, Carlsberg taste-alike Tsingtao flourishes, with sales increasing by 30 percent annually in the US and 10 percent in Europe. Soon we won’t have to buy beer at all, given how contented we are with a delicious and refreshing glass of H20.
Photo: China Daily
Visit the original source and full text: the Beijinger Blog
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The popular NFT collection 'Bored Apes Yacht Club' was hacked again, causing damage worth 48 million yen.
Bored Apes Yacht Club (BAYC) was hacked and the NFT worth about 48 million yen may have been affected. BAYC has also been hacked on itsofficial Instagram account , and this is the second time the Discord server has been hacked .
It is reported that the Discord server of the popular NFT collection
Bored Ape Yacht Club Discord compromised in $ 357,000 NFT phishing attack | Engadget
Bored Ape Yacht Club, Otherside NFTs stolen in Discord server hack
Early in the morning of June 4, 2022 local time, the Discord account of Boris Vagner , community manager of Yuga Labs, the developer of BAYC, was hacked. The hacked Vagner's Discord account posted the URL to the phishing site on BAYC's Discord server and Otherside Metaverse's Discord server managed by Yuga Labs, and multiple people who clicked this link were damaged. It is reported that it is.
???? BAYC & OtherSide discords got compromised‼ — OKHotshot (@NFTherder) June 4, 2022
Seems because Community Manager @BorisVagner got his account breached, which let the scammers execute their phishing attack. Over 145E in was stolen
Proper permissions could prevent this pic.twitter.com/lCl2DfZQ0W
If you click the link, all Ethereum and NFTs held in the cryptocurrency wallet linked to your user account may be stolen. Analyst OK Hotshot, who reported this issue, tweeted that 145 ETH (about 35 million yen) was already stolen.
According to blockchain cybersecurity firm PeckShield, 32 NFTs have been stolen via this phishing site, and the list is below.
In response, BAYC's official Twitter account said, 'Our Discord server was compromised today. The team responded quickly to the compromise, but it seems that about 200 ETH worth of NFTs were affected. We are still investigating, but if you are affected, please contact [email protected]. '
Our Discord servers were briefly exploited today. The team caught and addressed it quickly. About 200 ETH worth of NFTs appear to have been impacted. We are still investigating, but if you were impacted, email us at [email protected].— Bored Ape Yacht Club (@BoredApeYC) June 4, 2022
It's unclear how Vagner's Discord account, which was the source of the turmoil, was compromised and whether two-step verification was enabled. Technology media Bleeping Computer is asking Yuga Labs for comment, but hasn't received a response at the time of writing.
in Security, Posted by logu_ii


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US: Attune and SAP team up on vertical fashion tool
Software companies Attune Consulting and SAP are teaming up to design and develop a new vertical tool to help fashion wholesalers and manufacturers become omnichannel retailers.
The new solution will use the SAP HANA platform and will integrate best practices within fashion wholesale, manufacturing, and retail, the companies say.
Fashion wholesalers and manufacturers who run retail stores and have direct-to-consumer (D2C) web channels face a number of supply chain challenges - including the management and distribution of inventory globally.
SAP's new vertical solution intends to help fashion brands address these challenges, while Attune's expertise in the fashion and lifestyle industry will support the development.
In addition to collaborating with SAP on the design and development of the new solution, Attune will be working on the development of a tool that will allow customers to migrate from the SAP Apparel and Footwear application to the new solution.
Tech solutions provider Attune Consulting has developed a new suite that it says will enable apparel companies to bring wholesale, manufacturing and retail operations onto a single integrated platform...
Wearable technology mainly concerns devices and apparel/textiles. This is the only up to date analysis on wearable technology available and the only one covering the big picture, including the study o...
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Digital Assets: MicroStrategy Posts Q2 Loss Of $1B; Saylor No Longer CEO
MicroStrategy booked a $917.8 million charge in Q2 on account of the impairment in the value of its bitcoin holdings.
In another fallout of the crypto winter, bitcoin evangelist Michael Saylor, who is currently Chairman & CEO of business intelligence company MicroStrategy (NASDAQ: MSTR), has relinquished his role of CEO with effect from August 8. The organizational change came the same day that the company announced a net loss for the second quarter of $1.062 billion, or $94.01 per share, $93.17 worse than the analyst estimate of ($0.84). The loss was primarily on account of impairment losses of $917.8 million on the company’s bitcoin holdings. (Businesswire)
Michael Saylor to focus on bitcoin
As of August 8, 2022, Michael Saylor will assume the new role of Executive Chairman and Phong Le, the Company’s President, will serve as the Company’s new Chief Executive Officer and as a member of the Board of Directors.
Saylor, who founded the company in 1989, will remain the Chairman of the Board of Directors and an executive officer of the Company.
“I believe that splitting the roles of Chairman and CEO will enable us to better pursue our two corporate strategies of acquiring and holding bitcoin and growing our enterprise analytics software business,” said Saylor in a statement. “As Executive Chairman I will be able to focus more on our bitcoin acquisition strategy and related bitcoin advocacy initiatives, while Phong will be empowered as CEO to manage overall corporate operations.”
Saylor pioneered investments in bitcoin by listed corporates in August 2020. He steadily grew the size of MicroStrategy’s bitcoin holdings since then to more than 129,699 Bitcoin, worth roughly $2 billion after considering the company’s cumulative impairment losses, as of June 30.
However, a vicious bear market took hold after the crypto touched a high of $68,991 in November 2021, and at its current price of $23,381 bitcoin is down about 66% from that level. However, a slide from MicroStrategy’s Q2 earnings presentation (pictured above) shows that the MSTR stock has outperformed most other assets.
Late last month, analysts at Jefferies downgraded MicroStrategy’s stock to underperform from hold, with a price target of $180.
MicroStrategy closed Tuesday at $278.26.
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The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) and the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) today announced the results of a nationwide survey of small businesses and manufacturers. The results cast a harsh light on the state of the U.S. economy six weeks before Election Day.
The poll, conducted by Public Opinion Strategies (POS), surveyed 800 small business owners, manufacturers and decision-makers at small and medium-sized companies, with a majority (55 percent) saying the national economy is in a worse position compared to three years ago. Among the chief factors survey respondents cited were federal regulations, taxes, government spending and the cost of health insurance and energy.
Key survey findings include the following:
- 67 percent say there is too much uncertainty in the market today to expand, grow or hire new workers.
- 69 percent of small business owners and manufacturers say President Obama’s Executive Branch and regulatory policies have hurt American small businesses and manufacturers.
- 55 percent say they would not start a business today given what they know now and in the current environment.
- 54 percent say other countries like China and India are more supportive of their small businesses and manufacturers than the United States.
“Manufacturers have told policymakers in Washington time and again that uncertainty and a negative business environment is turning the American Dream into a nightmare,” said NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons. “The findings of this survey show that manufacturers and other small businesses have a starkly negative outlook for their future—with good reason. There is far too much uncertainty, too many burdensome regulations and too few policymakers willing to put aside their egos and fulfill their responsibilities to the American people. To fix this problem, we need immediate action on pro-growth tax and regulatory policies that put manufacturers in the United States in a position to compete and succeed in an ever-more competitive global economy.”
NFIB President and CEO Dan Danner said, “The small businesses who are the engine of our economy are clamoring for their elected representatives to stand up and lead so they can focus on the business of getting America back on its feet. Yet, instead of smoothing the way, our government continues to erect more barriers to growth through burdensome regulations that increase costs for small businesses and all Americans. It’s time Washington started listening to America’s job creators and offered real solutions to help us back to prosperity.”
Bill McInturff of POS said, “The data in this survey offer a striking picture of how American businesses view the current state of the U.S. economy. It’s clear that small business owners and manufacturers are becoming increasingly more frustrated by the federal government’s inability to solve America’s economic problems. Manufacturers place most of the blame squarely on policies coming out of Washington.”


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On 3 August 2019, Bunting Magnetics Co. celebrated its 60th anniversary as a company. Since being founded in 1959, Bunting Magnetics Co. has grown from a small company in Chicago, Illinois, to an expanding global force with multiple locations in the US, as well as abroad. Bunting Magnetics Co. has acquired several different companies over the years and, in celebration of the 60th anniversary, the company has made the decision to launch a major rebranding effort, unifying all of its divisions under the single brand name ‘Bunting’.
Previously, the acquired companies retained their original names and were designated as being ‘a Bunting Magnetics Company’. Now, rather than having multiple names to differentiate between divisions, each division will be described as Bunting – Newton, Bunting – Redditch, and so on.
The decision to rebrand was made with the goal of uniting all companies associated with the Bunting brand under one name, eliminating confusion for customers and establishing the Bunting brand as a world force. It is hoped that, when people hear the name, people will think of the best customer service and highest quality magnets, magnetic assemblies, and magnetic equipment in the industry.
Read the article online at: https://www.worldcement.com/the-americas/08082019/bunting-rebrands/
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The company's operating result has risen to a record level – group revenue is at €21.2 billion (+4%), with the result from current operations (RCO) at €3.0 billion (+29%).


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Businesses across Australia are being urged to join the mission to end the use of single-use plastic (SUP) during “Plastic Free July.” The call is spearheaded by start-up Zero Co, which produces locally-made, zero-waste personal care and home cleaning products. Zero Co is also calling on businesses to encourage their employees to go SUP free at home as well.
The call comes on the back of recent reports suggesting that there are almost 2.5 million businesses in Australia buying and throwing away SUP bottles such as communal hand wash and dishwashing liquid each week. Even with the correct office recycling system, the National Waste Report 2020 noted that an overwhelming 85 per cent of plastic, equivalent to 200 Olympic swimming pools, are put into recycling bins and ends up in landfill.
As a way to promote the move away from SUP, Zero Co has launched the Work Waste Challenge which it hopes to shine a light on the impact businesses can have on tackling Australia’s plastic problem.
“The idea is simple, businesses make a plastic-free pledge on our website, we share a staff discount code and set them up with an office starter pack (if they need one) with things like hand wash, multi-purpose cleaner and dishwashing liquid,” Zero Co founder Mike Smith explained in a statement about the Work Waste Challenge. “Their business will be placed on our leader board to show how many SUP bottles they’re diverting from landfill and how many of their staff sign up to join our mission throughout the month.”
Businesses participating in the challenge will also get to contribute to local ocean clean-ups and the use of eco-friendly products that get delivered carbon negative.
“This is the kind of immediate action we need from businesses around Australia,” Smith said. “If we can get workplaces involved in tackling the plastic problem, it sets a great example for employees to take similar action in their homes, too.”
Over 90 businesses have already expressed their participation in the challenge. Zero Co hopes to inspire 1000 Aussie brands to join their SUP free mission before the end of Plastic Free July.
Source: Inside Small Business


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AMD takes aim at Intel with new Epyc data centre CPUs
The company looks to challenge Intel's dominance as it builds out Epyc ecosystem
AMD has launched three new second-gen Epyc server processors which it claims can deliver up to 50% lower cost of ownership compared to rival Intel Xeon processors.
The chips are part of AMD's attempt to top the server chip market, which has long been dominated by Intel.
The latest additions to the Epyc family include eight-core, 16-core and 24-core processors that specifically target database, commercial high-performance computing and hyper-converged infrastructure workloads.
AMD says its second-gen Epyc processors have proven fairly successful in the enterprise, cloud and high-performance computing markets.
"The enterprise is an important area for us," said Dan McNamara, SVP and GM of AMD's server business unit. "We're really going after that with this new launch, with the per-core advantage and per-CPU dollar advantage."
The three new processors are the eight-core Epyc 7F32, the 16-core Epyc 7F52 and the top-end 24-core Epyc 7F72. Each comes with 500MHz of additional base frequency and large amounts of cache memory.
According to AMD, the 7Fx2 processors provide new performance capabilities for workloads at the centre of the enterprise markets. This includes databases with up to 17% higher SQL server performance compared to the competition.
The new processors also offer market-leading per-core performance, according to AMD, thanks to a balanced architecture that combines high-performance Zen 2 cores, innovations in design and the AMD Infinity architecture.
"We really feel like not only is the product coming to life across these different segments, but the ecosystem is really starting to grow heavily for us," McNamara added.
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When Elaine on Seinfeld failed a drug test after eating a poppy seed muffin back in the 1996 episode "The Shower Head," the idea that you could fail a drug test after eating poppy seeds took off. Turns out, this wasn’tyet another Hollywood writer invention—you really can potentially fail a drug test if you eat poppy seeds.
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Did you guys know there is a Gizmodo subdomain where you can go for all things photographic? Yep! It’s called Reframe, and it’s where you’ll find additional coverage of gear, techniques, news, and all kinds of great stuff related to the crafts of photography and videography.
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It’s the natural order of things: NVIDIA releases a new line of mobile GPUs and suddenly the market is flooded with new gaming laptops. It is spring, after all. Most notebooks in the category follow a standard form, but every now and then someone…
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Apple is reportedly in talks to buy a majority stake in Renesas SP Drivers imaging chips firm. The firm has been designing LCD display chips for Apple for some time, and Apple is prepared to pay ¥50 billion (US$483 million) to buy the 55% stake of the company currently held by Renesas Electronics Corp. According to Nikkei:
Apple expects to complete the stake purchase by summer. The U.S. company “apparently wants to meld” the design of core display components into its overall product development as image quality becomes a crucial selling point for smartphones, the Nikkei said.
The other 45% of Renesas SP Drivers is owned by a combination of Sharp and Powerchip, holding 25% and 20% respectively. Sharp is apparently willing to sell their stake to Apple as well, if only Apple would ask — and that would be another ¥22 billion (US$220 million).
Apple has been progressively moving more and more of their chip design in-house, both in an effort to build more efficient and customized chips, as well as to move business away from rival Samsung.
Source: Nikkei, Via: Reuters
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Costa Coffee has reported a “positive start” to the financial year, with sales up 28.4% in the 13 weeks to 29 May.
Owner Whitbread said the coffee chain had benefitted from a “rapid expansion programme which has seen the total number of units increase year-on-year by 289 to 1,051”. Like-for-likes were up by 6%.
Costa has recently signed franchise agreements for Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Singapore.
In a statement, Whitbread added: “The attractiveness of our brands to guests has been demonstrated by our good performance to date. We remain cautious, however, should the consumer environment become more challenging.”
Costa is also donating its £150,000 profits from sales on 14 June to its Foundation. The money will go towards building five new schools in Costa Rica, Guatemala and Uganda.


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Ously Games and Booongo Strike Social Casino Partnership
Booongo, the global online slots developer, has secured a deal to launch its portfolio of slot titles with German social casino operator, Ously Games.
As part of the agreement, all of Booongo’s free-to-play games will be made available on Ously’s social casino brand, Spinarena, including the developer’s growing collection of Hold and Win titles, such as Beast Saga, 15 Dragon Pearls and Super Marble.
This new partnership marks an important move in Booongo’s ambitions to gain a strong foothold within Germany, as the company prepares itself to launch real-money gaming content when the newly-regulated market opens in 2021.
Entering Germany with Ously Games highlights the worldwide appeal of Booongo’s games, with its content live across multiple territories including Asia, Europe and South America.
Sebastian Damian, Commercial Director at Booongo, said: “With Germany all set to embrace legalised online gaming in 2021, we’ve put ourselves in the perfect position to penetrate the market by partnering with Ously Games and its social casino brand Spinarena.
“While we’re busy preparing our real-money games to meet the strict regulatory requirements of the market, launching with Spinarena will enable us to gain a deeper understanding of player behaviour and continue with our impressive growth that we’ve experienced throughout 2020.”
Jochen Martinez, Chief Marketing Officer of Ously Games, said: “Spinarena continues to attract the industry’s biggest slot developers and we’re delighted to be adding Booongo’s thrilling slot content to our library.
“Offering players new and exciting content is the key to success and Booongo’s portfolio will provide players with immersive experiences that they can’t find anywhere else. We look forward to a very rewarding relationship with the company.”


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What do you do if you owe more than your home is worth? You could simply walk away from the mortgage, as one professor suggests. But through a change in the works from the Obama administration, it should be slightly easier to get rid of the home without the stigma or complications of a foreclosure.
Real Estate & Homes
Why are Chinese households so much better at saving money than their American counterparts?
Forget about shame and guilt. Don’t worry about your credit score. If you owe way more than your home is worth, simply stop paying the mortgage and don’t feel bad about it, suggests a University of Arizona professor.
Best Buy, Wal-Mart, Target, and all the usual suspects down at the mall are hardly the only businesses trying to grab consumers’ attention this weekend.
This Saturday, November 28, Ace Hardware will give customers 50% off any one item that costs under $30. A coupon is required. Print it here.
The biggest shopping day of the year is not only about snagging discounted toys and plasma HDTVs at the mall. Car dealers and online banks also want in on the action.
The popular “prosperity gospel” preached to the adoring masses is being blamed for putting a lot of believers deeply into debt that they’ll likely never pay off. Guess they just aren’t good enough Christians.
The Obama administration is looking very closely into the possibility of a program that would cover a big chunk of the cost to weatherize your home—meaning you’d save money right away on getting an energy audit and on projects like sealing windows and adding insulation, and you’d save down the line because those projects will make it …
The competition is, um … heating up? Around the country, anti-consumer websites and community forums are hosting “no heat” challenges. The winners—who win bragging rights, perhaps a trophy, certainly lower utility bills—are the households that leave their heat in the off position the longest.
The gargantuan, 3,500-square-foot boom-time McMansion is so 2007. Its replacement? The 2,500-square-foot recession-era McMansion.
This could be a very, very long list.
Lumber Liquidators is hosting a Supplier Clearance sale from Thursday, November 12, through Monday, November 16. Prices for laminate flooring start as cheap as 49¢ a square foot. More details here.


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Tech company ByteDance is testing out a new consumer credit product that will be made available via Douyin – the original Chinese version of social media platform TikTok.
According to a 17 November report from Tech Xingqiu the Douyin app has just launched a new product called “Fangxin Hua” (放心花) which will serve as a “loan services tech platform.”
The product is currently in the testing phase, and will be made accessible to users via a wallet function on the Douyin app.
Chinese analysts say that Fangxin Hua is intended to be a rival to Ant Financial’s “Huabei” (花呗) consumer finance product.
Huabei was first launched by Ant Financial in 2014 to provide credit sums of between 500 – 50,000 yuan to shoppers on Alibaba’s e-commerce platforms.
Fangxin Jie (放心借) – an online lending product that was first launched in 2018 and made accessible via ByteDance’s Toutiao news aggregator – has previously drawn comparisons to Ant Financial’s other main online finance platform, Jiebei (借呗).


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Samsung is rumored to be releasing its new smartphone, the Galaxy S21 FE in January 2022, after a long delay.
There is a lot that is already known about this Galaxy S21 FE smartphone. However, there is new information ahead of its launch, namely that the Galaxy S21 FE will be supported by the Android 12 OS when it arrives.
According the Gizmochina page, Saturday (11/12/2021), the news is based on information on the Galaxy S21 FE firmware software that was revealed from Samsung's servers.
First revealed by SamMobile, the Galaxy S21 FE will immediately use the Android 12 operating system when it is released. This means that this device will also be supported with One UI 4.0 which has a number of new features to changes in the appearance of the interface.
On top of that, if this news is true, the Galaxy S21 FE will get an OS update to Android 15 in the future.
Samsung Promises Android OS Updates For Up To 3 Years
This is because Samsung has promised that a selected premium and mid-end smartphone will be supported by OS updates for up to three generations and security updates for up to 4 years.
Again, if this news is true, the Galaxy S21 FE will be a better choice in terms of software, than the previously released S21 model.
As mentioned by Gizmochina, it makes sense for Samsung to release the successor to the Galaxy S20 FE with Android 12, because the Galaxy S21 FE debuts a year after the Galaxy S21 series.
Moreover, Samsung in 2022 is likely to release its newest smartphone flagship, the Galaxy S22 series, with the same Android version a few days after the launch of the Galaxy S21 FE.
About Galaxy S21 FE
Previously, leaks regarding the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE re-emerged on the internet. This time, information reveals about the color variants available for the smartphone.
Quoted from GSM Arena, Tuesday (12/7/2021), this smartphone will come with four color choices, namely black, white, purple, and green. In addition to color, information about the launch of this smartphone is also starting to be revealed.
Based on information, the Galaxy S21 FE will be introduced at the CES 2022 event which will be held in January 2022. Samsung is rumored to be holding a launch event at the event and not holding a separate event.
According to reports, this Samsung cellphone will come with two chipset options, namely Snapdragon 888 and Exynos 2100. Availability will depend on marketing location.
However, Samsung itself has not revealed the launch schedule for this smartphone. However, from the latest report, this smartphone has been registered in Indonesia.
Galaxy S21 FE is reported to have pocketed TKDN with certificate number 10949/SJ-IND.8/TKDN/11/2021 dated November 11, 2021. Therefore, it is interesting to know the official schedule for the launch of this smartphone.


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Recycling Associations Release Joint Plastic Specs for First Time
The publication of joint plastic model bale specifications provides clarity and uniformity within the industry
The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) and the Association of Postconsumer Plastic Recyclers (APR), which together represent nearly all U.S. postconsumer plastic recycling companies, announced the publication of joint plastic model bale specifications to provide clarity and uniformity within the industry. These model bale specs are the results of a Plastic Scrap Spec Taskforce which the two organizations formed with the goals of finding common ground on the specifications and thereby improving the efficiency of trade.
“With the creation of uniform specifications, now everyone in the plastics recycling industry can speak the same language,” said Robin Wiener, president of ISRI. “Recognizing a need within the industry, the joint taskforce first sought to develop collective specs for more popular grades, and now will work in cooperation to issue specs for additional grades. This first of its kind collaboration better sets the parameters for agreements between buyers and sellers.”
The new model specifications include Bulky Rigids, Tubs and Lids with Bulky, and Tubs and Lids without Bulky. Each association will still publish the model specs individually, but those will be based on the same description language to avoid competing standards that may otherwise force the industry to choose between the two or disregard them all together. ISRI released its specs as part of its updated Scrap Specification Circular (p. 39-42).
“The goal of APR is to secure more good material that is available for reclamation,” said Tom Busard, Chairman of APR, and Vice President of Plastipak Corporation. “We have had industry bale specifications for many years. By working with the scrap industry, we hope to identify and capture more plastic packaging that may not have been separated and made available for recycling. We are always looking for sources of good, clean material, and hope these joint efforts will help us achieve that goal.”
The Taskforce is seeking input from other stakeholders with interest in uniform scrap specs for additional grades. Please visit http://www.plasticsrecycling.org/rigid-plastics/public-access-rigid-plastics-information/model-bale-specifications to download a copy of the model bale specifications.


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Adobe Systems Inc.’s $1.8 billion acquisition of Omniture Inc. left Portland-based WebTrends Inc. as the largest free-standing Web analytics firm in the industry.
But it also put a price on the value of tracking Web data, which Web-Trends CEO Alex Yoder said is an industry with a shrinking number of players.
“There are not many companies that do this anymore,” Yoder said.
WebTrends, which expects to generate $80 million in revenue this year, is significantly smaller than Orem, Utah-based Omniture, which has a $1.7 billion market cap and $296 million in annual revenue.
But like in home buying, when a similar company receives a high market value, it’s likely to improve the valuation of even its smaller competitors.
“I think it gives a lot of upside to the potential for WebTrends,” said Eric T. Peterson, founder of the Portland-based consulting firm Web Analytics Demystified.
But at the same time, the Abode-Omniture deal — if successfully integrated — could create a behemoth in the industry and an even bigger threat to WebTrends.
Combined with Google and Yahoo!, which provide increasingly popular free Web analytics services, WebTrends might be forced to shift to a new strategy, said Chad Bartley, a senior research analyst with Portland-based Pacific Crest Securities who focuses on Internet software and infrastructure.
“I think it’s going to be a lot harder to charge for Web analytics going forward,” Bartley said. “I think it’s going to be a lot harder for those stand-alone analytics companies to compete.”
The challenge, said Peterson, is for Web-Trends to find a way to stand out.
“How do you differentiate yourself in a market where Adobe and Omniture have this humongous footprint?” Peterson asked. “Do you push yourself further in one direction?”
Yoder, though, said the company has no intention of becoming a free service. He’s certain Adobe didn’t buy Omniture to do the same.
Meanwhile, he said Google’s analytics service is only free because it has high margins in its other businesses. That too, he said, is likely to one day end.
WebTrends, he said, stands out because it isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution. The company is increasingly focusing its products around helping marketers better use customer data to narrow their marketing efforts.
While WebTrends isn’t actively seeking buyers for the company, Yoder foresees increased consolidation in the Web analytics world.
Even so, interest in the company has been persistent. A year ago analysts saw acquisition as an inevitability, since WebTrends is owned by Francisco Partners, a San Francisco-based multi-billion-dollar private equity firm.
“Absolutely, there has been and will continue to be interest in companies acquiring WebTrends and integrating it,” Yoder said. “I’m never going to tell my customers we’re going to be independent forever.”
But acquisitions aren’t always successful, particularly deals involving two out-of-sector companies such as Adobe and Omniture.
No company knows this as well as Web-Trends.
Once publicly held, WebTrends was acquired by NetIQ Corp. in 2001 for $1 billion. But five years later, WebTrends management — backed by Francisco Partners — bought the company back from NetIQ for $94 million.
“It was really, by all measures, a failure, save for the original WebTrends shareholders,” Peterson said. “My suspicion is that (WebTrends) has their fingers crossed Adobe will experience a similar failure.”
firstname.lastname@example.org | 503-219-3418


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It’s Social, Social, Social At LeWeb 2011
- 12:10 pm |
PARIS — “Launching a product during LeWeb week is like whispering during a death metal gig — very difficult to get heard,” tweeted The Next Web’s Martin Bryant a few days before LeWeb 2011 kicked off last week. It is true, the Parisian tech conference has become a giant among events of its kind. This year it lured 3,000 or more delegates and created a lot of noise.
Yes, we were essentially bombarded with launch announcements last week. Spotify launching Last.fm-meets-Pandora service Spotify Radio, Deezer launching its music streaming service in 200 countries and Karl Lagerfeld launching an online fashion collection with Net-A-Porter, to name a few.
What crystallised through plenty of startup news was that the official conference theme “Social Local Mobile” was wisely chosen as a roundup of 2011.
Take the media, for instance. When Ogilvy Mather’s Thomas Crampton asked the audience “Who here thinks Twitter is media?” a fair three quarters raised their hands. This raises the old question: has “old school media” given way to more social, local, mobile ways of sharing news?
“Traditional media has a very difficult time producing truly local content in an economical manner. They can hardly make money from it and so cover local things less — local publications are going away,” said President of AOL Brad Garlinghouse.
“The news used to be delivered to you? You don’t want that anymore,” Bruno Patino of France Televisions Group added. “We want to engage in social conversation. What is changing is the control of the system [the media] used to have. We’re still in the game, we just don’t control it anymore.”
Continue reading ‘It’s Social, Social, Social At LeWeb 2011‘ …


text: Informa Media and Telecoms predicts the value of internet film revenues (sales of both hardcopy and digital) to increase fourfold from 2002 to 2010, reaching $3.6 bln by 2010. The US will mop up most of the sales, racking up around 47% of all worldwide sales in 2010. In 2004, hard formats had a 99.3% of the market. By 2010, that’s expected to drop to 72.9%. Digital sales of films will continue to rise in parallel, growing from $11.7 mln last year to $976.5 mln in 2010.


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Florida Drug Possession Lawyer: Bill to Limit Sale of Pipes to Tobacco Shops
Last month, Florida lawmakers approved a new bill that will make it more difficult to sell carburetor pipes, chillums, and chillers in the state. Ironically, most members of the House Finance and Tax Council aren’t sure exactly what these items are, but they approved the bill 16-0.
“Head shops” claim they are selling paraphernalia to smoke tobacco, but lawmakers say those items are actually used to inhale marijuana and crack. The bill (HB 187) will prohibit Florida retailers from selling pipes, including those made of metal, wood, acrylic, ceramic, glass, stone, or plastic, unless at least three quarters of their sales are tobacco.
It’s also interesting to note that while the federal government bans the importation of drug paraphernalia, the state of Florida allows their sale once they’re in the state.
Source: ‘Head shops’ the target of bill limiting the sale of pipes to tobacco shops, Palm Beach Post, March 11, 2010.
Our South Florida Drug Possession attorneys can assist you if you have been charged with possession of drug paraphernalia or other crimes.


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Google passed along a note letting us know that its petition on the White House web site has surpassed 107,000 signatures. The "We The People" petition calls for the White House and lawmakers to give the stuff we store online the same legal protections (Fourth Amendment) as the stuff we store offline. The petition only needed 100,000 signatures to ellicit a response from the White House at some point in the future, so it is good that it has passed this particular milestone.
Google notes that this is a good starting point but more work needs to be done to make lawmakers in Washington D.C. understand that Americans are serious about their privacy and security online and that law enforcement and spying agencies like the NSA should have to go to a court to get a warrant just like they would if they wanted to search your house or your car.
You can get started on putting your support behind further efforts to this end by visiting this Google page.


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Elder Scrolls Online has finally been announced after endless rumors and speculation. The Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG) will be developed by Zenimax Online Studios, a company founded by Bethesda's parent company to design this specific style of game.
Game Informer magazine broke the news that the Elder Scrolls Online game will merge Skyrim's unmatched offering of rich worlds ripe for exploration with the scale and social interaction that comes with an MMORPG on their website, teasing an upcoming June issue of the print magazine devoted to Elder Scrolls Online. A video teaser will go online on Friday and exclusive screenshot will go up later today at Game Informer's Elder Scrolls Online hub.
PC Gamer noted that Elder Scrolls Online will be the first time that the Elder Scrolls franchise will become the setting for anything besides single player gameplay.
Few details are known about Elder Scrolls Online, but Game Informer has dropped a few juicy bits of information. For now, they are divulging that the new game will feature an entirely new chapter of the Elder Scrolls history in a new world set a thousand years before the events of Skyrim. While the daedric prince Molag Bal tries to pull the world into a demonic realm, players will be able to explore all the regions of Tamriel.
It will be extremely rewarding finally to unveil what we have been developing the last several years, game director and MMO veteran Matt Firor, told Game Informer. The entire team is committed to creating the best MMO ever made -- and one that is worthy of The Elder Scrolls franchise.
No release day is set, but the game is scheduled for release on PC and Macintosh computers in 2013.
Video game fans were ecstatic to hear that one of the most popular games to come out recently will be transformed into an online multiplayer, and flooded Twitter with their messages.
The Elder Scrolls Online was just announced... this could be trouble for my social life..., tweeted @Gamerscast
The announcement of Elder Scrolls Online comes on the heels of the news that the first Skyrim DLC, called Dawnguard, will be released this summer and further discussed at the E3 gaming conference.
Dawnguard. Coming this summer to Xbox 360. More details at E3, the Bethesda Softworks Twitter account posted on Mat 1st.
The downloadable content package will debut on Xbox 360 consoles. The artwork that arrived alongside the announcement features a Viking with glowing eyes and a pack of arrows hanging on his back. Fans had predicted that the DLC would feature Dawnguards after a patent was filed for the term in March.


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It's not news that a Maruti XL6-based Suzuki XL7 is on the way and will be launched in Indonesia next month. Now, new spy pictures of the upcoming MPV have surfaced online which show its exterior and..
The Maruti XL6-based Suzuki XL7 has been showcased at a private event in Indonesia, and from there, its detailed exterior and interior pictures, as well as an interior video, have leaked online. The b..
As reported last month, the Maruti XL6 is set to enter the Indonesian market this year, as the Suzuki XL7. Unlike the 6-seat MPV sold in India, it will be a 7-seat MPV. Now, the same has been spotted..
Motorsports, especially motorcycle track racing, is in a very nascent stage in the country. The southern side of India has a comparatively more focused track racing culture and that's majorly because..
When the Suzuki Jimny arrived on the block, it instantly became a global success owing to a number of reasons. Seldom there comes a vehicle, which creates a niche on its own without having many extrav..


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LIM College and fashion sourcing web site Fashiondex have once again partnered for its Fashion and Sustainability Summit, an annual event centered on introducing and discussing fashion industry sustainability solutions. The conference will take place on April 12 at LIM College. This is the second time LIM College and Fashiondex have partnered for the summit.
And now that the fashion industry is keenly aware of how sustainability can increase profit margins and boost brands’ reputation in the eyes of the consumer, the summit will address utilitarian solutions that emphasize “practices, processes and purpose,” arming attendees with requisite information to meet the needs of an industry ready for change. The firms explained that “a sustainable business model can be both ethical and profitable, and the Fashion and Sustainability Summit will explore ways for companies to increase sustainable practices in every area from fabric design and post-textile management to shipping, and more,” adding that the conference will also discuss ways for designers, manufactures and retailers can reduce their eco-impact as their businesses grow.
Accessories Council Competition Awards LIM College Students
Elizabeth S. Marcuse, president of LIM College, said, “Consistent with LIM College’s practical approach to education for the business of fashion, sustainability is an important aspect of our curriculum. We believe, as future leaders of fashion businesses, that our students must enter their careers with a mind-set toward sustainability. This conference provides an important forum for fashion companies to learn how to advance their practices around the issue of sustainability in the here and now.”
And Fashiondex director Max Andrews said the firm is “proud to partner once again with LIM College, who are members of the Sustainable Apparel Coalition and are launching its new Sustainability minor this year. Finding practical solutions for fashion’s sustainability issues is not only urgent and the way to a healthy environment but also the way to a healthy bottom line.”
Conference speakers include: Sustainable Apparel Coalition’s Scott Miller; Eileen Fisher vice president Amy Hall; directors of sustainability for Mara Hoffman, Dana Davis and Celine DeCarlo; sustainability manager at Allbirds, Hana Kajimura; director of strategic initiatives for The Real Real, Allison Sommer; director of sustainability of Loomstate, Katina Boulis; Patagonia district environmental coordinator, Brenna Cohen; executive director at Waterkeeper Alliance, Marc Yaggi; founder of FabScrap, Jessica Schreiber; Suuchi Ramesh, founder of Suuchi Inc., and Ngozi Okaro, executive director of Custom Collaborative, among many others.
For more Business news from WWD, see:
PrimaLoft Rolls Out First Fully Recycled Bio Performance Fabric
Fashion Industry’s ‘War for Talent,’ Demand for Vocational Skills
Field Notes: Fashion’s Making Waves
Fashion Brand Nicholas K Cites ‘Longevity’ as Key to Sustainability


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New Study: 78 Percent of Households Subscribe to a Streaming Service
By Allyson Vannatta, Senior Writer
A new study found that households across the country are stacking up subscriptions to streaming services.
In their 14th Annual streaming study, Leichtman Research Group found that 78 percent of all households in the U.S. have a subscription to Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, or Hulu.
The percentage continues to grow as years pass.
In 2018, 69 percent of people subscribed to a streaming service, while in 2015 the figure was only 52 percent.
The study also found that 55 percent of households have more than one of the streaming services mentioned above. That’s an increase from 43 percent in 2018 and 20 percent in 2015.
Other related findings that the group reported are that 55 percent of people ages 18-44 use a streaming service daily.
When including 12 other streaming services with the ones mentioned above, 82 percent of households have at least one services, while 49 percent have three or more.
Statistics about how streaming services are used are as follows:
55 percent of adults watch these services from “non-TV devices,” which includes mobile phones, computers, tablets, and eReaders.
44 percent of adults watch a streaming service on their mobile phone daily, an increase from 35 percent in 2018 and 20 percent in 2015.
To sum up the data, Bruce Leichtman, president and principal analyst for Leichtman Research Group, Inc. said:
“Nearly four-fifths of U.S. households now have a top SVOD service, and 40% of all adults stream an SVOD service daily, including over half of all ages 18-44. The adoption and use of these established SVOD services along with newer direct-to-consumer streaming video options have increased over the past year, spurred more recently by the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.”
The data was collected from a survey of about 1,990 households across the U.S.


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University of Montana economists say energy development may be the industry that helps improve Montana's economy.
Patrick Barkey is director of UM's Bureau of Business and Economic Research. He says a full recovery from the nationwide recession could still take several years.
Barkey made his comments during recent economic outlook presentations in Helena and Great Falls.
Montana's economic growth slowed from 1.5 percent in 2010 to 0.7 percent in 2011. But experts say they're expecting 2 percent growth this year and 2.4 percent growth in each of the following three years.
Barkey says energy has potential for strong growth and the outlook for the agriculture economy is reasonably good. Growth in the health care industry slowed last year, while housing and construction continued to struggle along with retail and tourism.


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The 11th International Animation & Comics Exposition, which kick off in Changchun last Friday, will wrap up today. A total of 26,000 visitors were recorded on the opening day of the event, reaching a sales volume of 270,000 yuan, Xinhua News reports.
The expo, held in the Changchun International Conference & Exhibition Center, spanned 30,000 square meters, making this the largest area the expo has ever covered. Some 300 booths were set up throughout the center, gathering around 2,000 computer and video game companies from across the nation.
Take a look at pictures from the event below.
[Images via Sina News]
By Joyce Ng


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Mayor Kerry Ferguson and Councilmembers Derek Reeve and Pam Patterson are all facing recall petitions, though all are in the last year of their terms.
Ferguson and Reeve are facing recall threats over a commercial development project. Patterson is facing a recall over an "illegal referendum" to overturn the approval of a different development project which ended in a settlement that may cost the city $1 million.
Petitioners need 38444 signatures to get each recall on the ballot.
Update: The effort was withdrawn.


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Rental In For The Long Run13 Oct, 2005 By: Stephanie Prange
Does rental have a future?
Wall Street has been ready to signal its demise numerous times, with the drumbeat growing louder in the last few months — even as the prognosis for the overall health of the business is getting better.
According to some Wall Street analysts, the future of rental is bleak.
“We do not believe that the vast majority of video stores will be able to survive without adapting to the altered landscape,” wrote Bear Sterns analysts R. Glen Reid and Joseph Holland in reports on the top rental companies released last month.
Online rental services, such as Netflix, will take over a growing share of the business, pushing out brick-and-mortar stores, they wrote. “Given the high fixed costs of the in-store rental business, we believe that prolonged declines will result in an untenable business position for many stores,” they concluded.
Shareholders also are down on the future of the rental market, sending shares of the two big public chains, Movie Gallery and Blockbuster Inc., tumbling to new lows in the wake of steady declines in same-store rentals.
But most in the industry see the business, including brick-and-mortar, lasting, albeit evolving.
Rental still will account for $8.18 billion in consumer spending in 2010, just a tad less than the $8.39 billion consumers are expected to spend in 2005, according to Adams Media Research. The research firm sees subscription rentals growing from $1.35 billion in 2005 to $3.29 billion in 2010, with traditional rental still accounting for $4.89 billion in consumer spending in 2010.
Tom Swasey, spokesperson for online subscription rental leader Netflix, is predictably bullish.
“The company has grown substantially,” he said. “We have 3.2 million subscribers now. We will have 4 million by end of year, 5 million in 2006 and 20 million in the next five to seven years. That's going to come at the cost of stores.”
Others think stores aren't going away anytime soon.
“[Online subscription rental] is a very good business model,” said Patrick Fitzgerald, EVP of sales, distribution and new technologies for Buena Vista Home Entertainment. “I think it will continue to grow. I also am not one who thinks brick-and-mortar will go away. Do I think it will be smaller? It could be.”
“Online is a great option for consumers who want to get new releases on a regular basis,” agreed Kelly Sooter, head of domestic home entertainment for DreamWorks. “Other people like to go to stores.”
“There's not going to be a sea change in consumers away from shopping,” added Bo Andersen, president of the Video Software Dealers Association (VSDA).
Many have privately questioned whether the studios have an interest in keeping the rental business alive; their margins in the sellthrough business are much higher.
However, Fitzgerald and Sooter said studios see a place in the market for the rental trade in the future.
“We've always been a really strong proponent of the rental business,” Sooter said. “You just can't ignore a [multibillion dollar] category.”
Steven Scavelli, president of Flash Distributors, thinks that's pretty much the studio feeling.
“I still feel that they know a combo of rental and sellthrough is what's going to make them most profitable,” he said.
Evolution, not desolution
Still, industry observers think rentailers will have to evolve.
“Current rentailers will expand their offering and fill more of the needs of their consumers,” Andersen said. “There will be rental stores, in my view, that transform themselves from specialists into home entertainment marketplaces [offering rental, sellthrough, games and music].”
Andersen also thinks local video stores can crack the rental-by-mail market. “I would hope that they would use their neighborhood location to facilitate the speed and responsiveness,” he said.
Netflix's Swasey doesn't think that will be easy.
“We've seen Blockbuster throw $300 million into it and not show a profit,” he said.
He does, however, think “boutique” businesses — perhaps with a delivery service — may find a niche.
Fitzgerald thinks rentailers are missing the boat on event marketing. “They have a unique ability to really create excitement around an event,” he said. Also, he doesn't buy the idea that rentailers can't do sellthrough. “They can compete,” he said.
Even the chains are having to re-evaluate their models, Sooter said, noting Blockbuster's moves into online rental and campaign to end late fees.
“These kinds of times force them to be smarter and more risky,” she said. “Ultimately, it ends up being a good thing. You'll see the chains recover and look a little different than they do today.”
“As the decline in the overall store-based video rental industry continues, that overcapacity will mean thousands of independent video stores will have to close,” chairman-CEO John Antioco told analysts in August. “Our goal is to position Blockbuster to be the biggest beneficiary of this transition.”
Hope and HD
Despite threats from the chains and changing models, independent retailers Adrian Hickman, of Philadelphia-based TLA Video, and Ted Engen, president of the Video Buyers Group, take an optimistic view.
Most of the rentailers left in the market are the savvy entrepreneurs who have ridden through tough times before and made it, they said.
“[Indies] aren't going to go away,” Engen said. “There's enough money, interest and fun left at least for some time to come to keep folks in business.
The rental market will be a training ground for the next-generation format, he noted.
With high software costs and slow hardware penetration, rental stores of all shapes will help kick off consumer awareness of high-definition discs, just like they did for standard-definition DVD, he said. “Then, it will get to a point where the mass merchants take over, just like with DVD,” Engen said.
Todd Zaganiacz, president of the National Entertainment Buyers Group, thinks backers for both formats are leaving money on the table if they don't address ways to keep the product accessible to the rental market for at least the first few years.
The VSDA's Andersen said the higher price point on high-def discs and slower adoption may actually give rentailers more of an advantage this time around than on DVD.
“HD is going to be an important factor in rental,” he said. “Equally important for the future of the rental business, it will be launched at premium prices.”
Additional reporting by Jessica Wolf


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As commercial drones gain in popularity, businesses and consumers are speculating about the technology's future role in logistics. Will the systems allow for smarter deliveries at lower costs? How well will the approach work in different environments, or handle long-distance deliveries?
A number of companies are investing resources into drone and other logistics technologies. So what how will deliveries work best when drones are used? Where are the sticking points, and what are the advantages? To find out, we asked the members of Forbes Technology Council what they think about the future role drones will play when it comes to logistics. Here's what they had to say.
1. Drone Use Is Growing, But It Won't Fully Replace Traditional Delivery Methods
The use of drones is actively growing in all kinds of industries in addition to e-commerce. Despite this, I don’t see it completely replacing other delivery systems. Issues such as safety, weather and privacy concerns will continue to be a challenge, and there will remain a need for traditional delivery options. - Justin Morgenthau, Triax Technologies, Inc.
2. Consumers Will Demand The Speed And Convenience Of Drone-Only Delivery
A study published in early 2018 showed that a well-planned roll-out of drone delivery could lower the environmental impact of package delivery, and the speed and convenience is obviously amazing. It’s clear that consumers have a strong preference for immediate. - Matthew Wallace, Faction, Inc.
3. Drones Will Need To Be Used In Conjunction With Ground Delivery Vehicles
Drones are a key to same-day delivery in conjunction with current delivery vehicles. If a current delivery driver were able to pull into a neighborhood and release four to six drones and monitor those deliveries from the vehicle, its a win-win. A value add for the consumer would be to get a picture of the exact location a package was placed via MMS at the delivery time. - Tom Altman, Leverage, powered by Clickstop
4. The Obstacles To Drone-Only Deliveries Are Legal, Not Technological
Drones make the deliveries faster and more convenient. In most situations, if not all, it's cheaper as well. In terms of technology, we're almost there already. Now, it's mostly about figuring out legalities. Getting lawmakers on board is going to be tricky, especially after all the recent privacy concerns about big companies. But we will get there. - Vikram Joshi, pulsd
5. Drones Can't Deliver All Packages Across All Distances Yet
With the practicality and legal aspects, drones cannot be the only delivery system. A drone could solve the much-needed solution in the last mile delivery of lighter packages but for heavier packages, we will still need to depend on the ground transportation. With the current cost of charge and battery life, we will have to wait till drones could fly longer distance before scaling it. - Sunil Ranka Ranka, Predikly LLC
6. Drone-Only Delivery Is Best For Low-Cost Items
Drone-only delivery systems are becoming popular because it makes sense for both the company and consumer to automate. It means more efficient deliveries to consumers, with faster delivery times than a truck that is stuck in traffic and limited to roadways. There are, however, concerns with liability, security and insurance of the package. For this reason, it's best used for low-cost items. - AJ Abdallat, Beyond Limits
7. Last-Mile Drone Deliveries Could Offer Gig Economy Opportunities
Long-haul drones are still far fetched, but using drones for last-mile deliveries is very real. In the near future, LTL carriers will drop containers of outgoing deliveries for a target area and be met by gig economy drone operators who can dispatch packages to their final destination. Uber-style last-mile delivery method is already in use by Amazon for ground deliveries, with drones coming soon. - Jason Gill, The HOTH
8. Drone Deliveries Won't Take Off If They're Cost-Prohibitive
The human mind is limitless. We can do anything with unlimited resources and money. That's the only thing stopping us. If companies can find a way to make it profitable to deliver goods to your home with drones, then they will do it. But if the cost gets in the way, well, then it can just be something cool you see in the movies. - Brent Chapman, RoundPoint Mortgage Servicing Corp.
9. Drones Are Ideal For Last-Mile Connectivity In Rural Areas
Drone deliveries are the ideal solution for last-mile connectivity in rural areas. The delight of ultra-fast deliveries could be spread beyond cities using this approach. Urban areas remain more challenging, at least for existing drone technology. Used the right way, this could be a win-win for both sides; almost-instant gratification for consumers, and cost cutting in deliveries for companies. - Anil Mathews, Near
10. The Noise Factor Will Limit The Spread Of Drone-Only Delivery
Anyone notice how noisy these drones are, especially the larger ones capable of carrying 10-pound cameras? Imagine armies above them hovering over your house. Drone-only delivery is not likely until the hardware technology has a semi-quantum leap in noise reduction. - John Sung Kim, Fingrprint.io
11. Drones Are The Future Of All Courier Service, Not Just E-Commerce
While regulatory obstacles remain, drone technology continues to improve at rapid pace. Significant investment in the field has accelerated technology and adoption. NASA estimates 7 million drones in the sky by 2020, with 2.6M in the commercial space. NASA's involvement in air traffic control for drones is paving the way for governments and businesses to use them for many different courier needs. - Ofer Garnett, YouAPPi Inc.


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Kingdom Hearts Leaves Sport Go as 15 New Titles Be a part of
On Might 31, Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5+2.5 Remix and Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Closing Chapter Prologue each go away the console model of the service. The video games had been by no means accessible on the PC model as a result of Epic Video games Retailer’s exclusivity deal on the platform.
Whereas that’s a loss for followers, Xbox Sport Go is including 15 extra video games by the top of Might. Conan Exiles is among the greater names within the batch, hitting Cloud and Console on Might 27. Different notable additions embody Maneater, Slime Rancher, and SnowRunner.
Three EA video games are coming to service this month by means of Sport Go’ EA Play partnership. The multiplayer dodgeball sport Knockout Metropolis will launch on console, PC, and cloud on Might 21. Peggle 2 and Vegetation vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville be part of the cloud line-up on Might 20.
For longtime Xbox followers, there’s one notable shock right here: Fuzion Frenzy is coming to Microsoft’s cloud service on Might 27. The multiplayer get together sport was an authentic Xbox launch title in 2001.
Right here’s the total record of titles becoming a member of the service this month.
- SnowRunner (Cloud, Console, PC) — Accessible Now
- Peggle 2 (Cloud) — Might 20
- Vegetation vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville (Cloud) — Might 20
- Secret Neighbor (PC) — Might 20
- The Wild At Coronary heart (PC, Console) — Might 20
- The Catch: Carp & Coarse Fishing (Cloud, Console, PC) — Might 21
- Knockout Metropolis (Console, PC) — Might 21
- Maneater (Cloud, Console, PC) — Might 25
- Conan Exiles (Cloud, Console) — Might 27
- Fuzion Frenzy (Cloud) — Might 27
- Pleasure Experience Turbo (Cloud) — Might 27
- MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries (Console) — Might 27
- Slime Rancher (PC ) — Might 27
- Solasta: Crown of the Magister (PC) — Might 27
- SpellForce 3: Soul Harvest (PC) — Might 27


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Chief People Officer, McDonald’s Canada
What’s an impactful way to make an investment in Canada’s youth? A part-time job. McDonald’s Canada and its franchisees offer this opportunity every day and are always looking for new hires to join their respective teams.
According to a University of British Columbia (UBC) Sauder School of Business study, youth who work part-time or during the summer gain a competitive advantage over their non-working peers. While working, they learn valuable skills and how to manage multiple priorities and responsibilities, which leads to better jobs and higher earning power later in life.
These findings aren’t surprising to Stephanie Hardman, Chief People Officer at McDonald’s Canada. “A first job is where youth acquire many of the foundational skills that’ll set them up for success later in life,” she says. “Managing guests, money, logistics, and operations all serve to build a skill set that a young person can gain with a job at McDonald’s.”
A stable part-time job should fit into those life activities as opposed to making everything else fit into work.
McDonald’s Canada also believes that it’s important that youth have flexibility so they can find balance between school, sports, community work, and a job. “A stable part-time job should fit into those life activities as opposed to making everything else fit around work,” notes Hardman.
A safe and inclusive place to work
McDonald’s recently launched new global brand standards that demonstrate an ongoing commitment to a safe and inclusive workplace for its employees. Diversity, equity, inclusion, and a commitment to a respectful work environment continue to be top priorities. “We want parents to know that McDonald’s is a safe and inclusive place to work,” says Hardman. This was made even more important this past year with the COVID-19 pandemic. To ensure the safety of guests and crew, McDonald’s and its franchisees introduced enhanced Safety+ measures in all of its restaurants. Safety+ includes PPE, new safety procedures to limit contact, and more.
McDonald’s has proudly been a first job for many Canadians. And they’re always looking for individuals who want to learn and build their skillset while working in a safe, inclusive, and fun environment.


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TCA Professional Tool Storage Solutions will be making yet another appearance at the 2016 Lordco Trade Show. We’ve had huge success over the years at the Lordco Trade Show and welcome the opportunity to show off our wide array of quality tool storage products. Come on out and say hello on April 4th and 5th!
Check out the Lordco tradeshow website for emerging details: http://tradeshow.lordco.com
Posted in Trade Shows


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"..Apple has also announced that they will release the 'iMac 8K' with a super-high resolution display later this year."
However, we are aware of any official annoncement by Apple on a new iMac. If the LG Display claim is true, the iPhone maker cannot be happy about what was disclosed.
Apple did not provide any comment.
Apple's iMac comes with a keyboard and mouse and different display resolutions based on the model. The company's 21.5-inch iMac has a 1,920-by-1,080-pixel resolution, while the 27-inch version has a 2,560-by-1,440 resolution. Apple also sells an iMac with Retina 5K display featuring a 27-inch screen that has a 5,120-by-2,880-pixel resolution.
LG Display has already succeeded in making super-high resolution a reality with the revealing of their 98-inch 8K UHD display at CES 2015. The company managed to improve the brightness of its 55-inch 8K UHD panel with 7,680×4320 resolution and 500nit by implementing M+ panel technology, which adds a white pixel to the existing RGB sub-pixel structure. IPS technology was also applied to make a panel that has the advantage of high resolution and a wide viewing angle even on large scale screens.


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The Trophy In Eisner's Big Deal
By BILL CARTER and RICHARD SANDOMIR
Published: August 6, 1995
WHEN he announced the $19 billion acquisition of Capital Cities/ABC last Monday, Michael D. Eisner, chairman of the Walt Disney Company, expressed boundless enthusiasm for his newest, globally popular attraction, an asset that he called "a magic name" comparable as a brand to Coca-Cola and Kodak: ESPN.
As he moved from the news conference announcing the stunning acquisition to interviews with newspapers, magazines, CNN's "Larry King Live" and ABC's "Nightline," Mr. Eisner reserved most of his evident delight in the second largest takeover in United States history for the vast possibilities that he foresaw from the combination of "Disney imagineering" with the global brand identity of ESPN, the all-sports cable channel begun by Getty Oil in 1979.
In an interview on Friday on PBS's "Charlie Rose Show," Thomas Murphy, the chairman of Capital Cities/ ABC, estimated that ESPN, now seen in 66.3 million American households and 95 million around the world, was worth between $4 billion and $5 billion. Asked if ESPN was the most important asset in the acquisition, he said: "To Disney, I think that's true."
In the deal, Disney will also get the ABC television network and TV and radio stations, stakes in the Lifetime and A & E cable networks, and numerous newspaper and magazine publishing interests. But ESPN's allure is its unique status as the premier provider of sports programming, a commodity that is marketable anywhere in the world and cannot be duplicated, as films and television programs can be.
The Disney acquisition comes at a time when advancing technology makes it easier than ever to transmit a single channel into every corner of the globe, and when large media companies are looking to find distinct, readily exportable programming niches.
Mr. Eisner sees two specific areas of commercial opportunity offered by ESPN: international expansion and exploitation of the ubiquitous ESPN brand at Disney's theme parks and retail stores.
"We know that when we lay Mickey Mouse or Goofy on top of products, we get pretty creative stuff," Mr. Eisner said. "ESPN has the potential to be that kind of brand. ABC has never had our resources, and we haven't had ESPN. Put the two together and who knows what we get."
Although he and ABC executives said they have only begun to think of ESPN-Disney synergies, Mr. Eisner noted that construction has begun on an ESPN-theme multimedia sports bar -- the biggest of its kind in the world, with interactive games and ESPN's on-line service available tableside -- at Disney's Boardwalk attraction being built near EPCOT Center in Orlando, Fla.
"As an experiment, we can open ESPN bars in Chicago or Los Angeles," Mr. Eisner said and mused about a chain of up to 40 such bars. "In Disney World, they could put ESPN-themed products in a Disney store next door to the bar."
BUT the most potentially far-reaching impact of Disney's takeover of ESPN is the joint worldwide international marketing of ESPN and the Disney Channel, the Burbank-based company's pay-cable service targeted primarily at children.
ABC and Disney executives had separately concluded that the most exportable forms of TV entertainment are sports and children's programming because they have universal appeal and offend no political position.
"But the leverage of those two together in what used to be third world countries, or closed countries, is enormous," Mr. Eisner said. "There are 250 million people in the middle-class of India alone, which is an enormous opportunity. It's very difficult, it's complicated. ESPN is there, way before we were there."
Disney wants to capitalize on ESPN's aggressive marketing of its sports, news and information programming into an estimated 150 countries, from Latin America and Europe to Asia and Australia. ESPN's cable and satellite-delivered programming is complemented by telecasts of locally popular sports like cricket in India and table tennis in China.
"We think sports is a good international language," said Steven Bornstein, ESPN's president.
ESPN has become a booming profit center for ABC, which first invested in it in 1984. "The channel has been our biggest growth area on a percentage basis over the past five years," said Robert A. Iger, ABC's president.
Tom Wolzien, a media analyst for Sanford C. Bernstein & Company, estimated that ESPN and ESPN2, its almost two-year-old, youth-oriented sister station now seen in 23.6 million households, will generate cash flow of $350 million this year and $400 million in 1996, making it the most profitable of all cable TV services.
ESPN's profits and programming are a distant cry from when it started in 1979, going on the air to a public skeptical of its reason for being, with a slate that included slow-pitch softball, Irish hurling, wrestling and soccer.
"We were losing at a rate of $20 million to $30 million that first year," said Roger Werner, who was a consultant to ESPN in 1980 and its president from 1988 to 1990. By the time he left five years ago, he said, ESPN had pretax earnings of $140 million.


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Empowering women in Guyana: One in 25 use our HerVenture app!
Over 10,000 women in Guyana are using our business skills app to start and build enterprises.
We are thrilled to share that our award-winning mobile app, HerVenture, has now reached over 10,000 women in Guyana, meaning more than one in 25 women in the country is a user! This promises strong progress for women in Guyana’s business ecosystem.
HerVenture is designed to support women to start, sustain and grow successful businesses by building their knowledge, skills and confidence. Our app has gained fantastic traction since its launch in Guyana in 2021.
88% of users in Guyana apply their new learning to their business and 91% improve business performance thanks to the app, meaning HerVenture has provided a boost to thousands of businesses across the country. This fantastic impact is thanks to partners ActionINVEST Caribbean Inc., GTT, mmg and ExxonMobil Foundation, as well as support from Guyana’s Ministry of Human Services.
The HerVenture app has been an invaluable resource in the transition to being an entrepreneur. I am now in a better position to juggle my responsibilities as a businesswoman and medical doctor.
Our founder Cherie Blair CBE KC, shares that “it’s heartening to witness the growing number of women who are taking charge of their entrepreneurial journeys and driving forward women’s empowerment in Guyana.”
Dr. Vishnu Doerga, Chair of ActionINVEST Caribbean Inc., notes the “profound impact on thousands of women entrepreneurs in Guyana” he’s seen, and that “this sustained collaboration continues to unlock potential, foster growth, and drive a wave of prosperity and innovation throughout our nation.”
Bobita Ram, General Manager at Mobile Money Guyana (mmg), highlights that “empowering women is not just a mission; it’s a movement”. She says that “every woman should be given the tools to succeed“, for example training in using fintech to support business growth – put into action by mmg through their contributions to the development of HerVenture’s learning track on mobile money.
As the app continues to gain traction, HerVenture is not only poised to drive substantial economic growth but also help narrow the gender gap in business ownership and empower women to reach their full potential.


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Engines now uprated.
The 2015 VW Caddy has made its debut at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show. The refreshed version will be available for ordering this month,..
Sales begin in April.
Unveiled a few days before its debut here at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show, the 2015 VW Sharan brings small but meaningful updates.
Update – New image gallery from the Geneva Motor Show added to the story.
Previews the next generation CC.
Four door coupe, the body style that treads..
Speaking at the Indian launch of the 2015 VW Jetta (facelift), Mr. Michael Mayer, Director, Volkswagen Passenger Cars, Volkswagen Group Sales India Pvt...
Unlikely to be localized in India.
Europe’s largest car manufacturer Volkswagen is targeting to manufacture 7 million cars per annum based on the..
Scheduled to make a debut at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show, the 2015 VW Sharan (facelift) is a small update on the outside, but benefits from a more feature..
Could be launched in 2017.
The next generation VW CC, based on the India-bound VW Passat, is likely to be showcased in a concept form at the 2015 Geneva..
The 2015 GTI is also available with a 6-speed manual transmission.
Ahead of a launch in China expected in the first half of this year, the 2015 VW Polo..
Would share engines with the VW Polo.
It’s no secret that VW India is working on a compact sedan (dubbed by the media as the ‘Polo Stuffe’)to..
Top-end variant offers ABS, dual airbags and ISOFIX points as standard.
Automobile Central Enterprise, Inc. (ACEI) the official distributor of Volkswagen..


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Just a couple days after Alice: Madness Returns disappeared without warning (opens in new tab) from Steam, it’s back on the storefront, and it turns out that—as expected—the whole thing was a big mistake.
It’s been a wild ride for American McGee’s twisted take on Alice in Wonderland. It was delisted from Steam in 2016, apparently thanks to some verification problems with publisher Electronic Arts. It returned earlier this year but last week went poof yet again, this time with no notice or explanation.
Even American McGee, founder of developer Spicy Horse (and whose name adorns Madness Returns’ predecessor) wasn’t sure what happened, although he speculated that somebody, somewhere, had likely just pushed the wrong button.
As it turns out, he was correct. “One of our team mistakenly instructed Support to ‘shut down everything’ when the topic was ‘Akaneiro’—wrongly thinking other games (like A:MR) had been moved to a Mysterious Inc account,” McGee tweeted. “Yikes.”
This snafu made the news. Hope @valvesoftware can help. One of our team mistakenly instructed Support to “shut down everything” when the topic was “Akaneiro” – wrongly thinking other games (like A:MR) had been moved to a Mysterious Inc account. Yikes.https://t.co/G0UBrdOYp2June 20, 2022
Mysterious Inc (opens in new tab). is McGee’s current “business headquarters,” which offers products like books, art, and other merchandise for sale. Spicy Horse closed its doors (opens in new tab) in 2016.
While Madness Returns is returned, American McGee’s Alice is still not available on Steam (although it wasn’t available there in the first place), and unfortunately McGee doesn’t know (opens in new tab) where to get it these days. Grimm (opens in new tab) is still listed, but it’s no longer being offered for sale; it’s not clear whether that’s connected to the Akaneiro accident, but it is a relatively recent change, as the Wayback Machine (opens in new tab) indicates that Grimm was available for purchase as recently as April 7. (It ‘s still available for purchase on GOG (opens in new tab).) Akaneiro: Demon Hunters (opens in new tab), the game that started this whole thing (and which I actually rather liked in its pre-release days) is also still listed on Steam but not actually available to buy.


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Kaley Cuoco has put herself in the middle of a dispute between CBS and Dish by appearing in an ad for the satellite TV provider. It's a brazen move that may cost the actress, who is a mainstay on CBS' hit series "The Big Bang Theory."
"Amazing! Watching live TV anywhere on the #Hopper looks pretty awesome! Now where can I find a tiny beer?" Cuoco tweeted, along with a link to the ad by Dish. It was immediately taken down once the media started inquiring about it, and her representatives have not commented about the ordeal.
The dispute between Dish and CBS centers on the use of ads during shows. Dish has released a new feature, the "Auto Hop," which allows users to watch recorded shows without any commercials. The feature costs channels like CBS, who rely upon the ads to pay for their work.
"We've reached out to several different celebrities and those with influence for sponsored tweets and so I think she's one of many folks. Our goal is to introduce our products and services to consumers. We find people that consumers are paying attention to," Dish spokesman John Hall told TheWrap.com.
Cuoco and other celebrities have begun tweeting sponsored ads in order to make more money; with a following of 1.2 million people, the ads are likely doing their job and reaching a large audience.
CBS, ABC, Fox, and NBC are all suing Dish for the "Auto Hopper" costing them money. So far there has been no response from the networks about various celebrities tweeting sponsored ads against their competitor.
Viewers tend to appreciate watching their show without commercials; use of the DVR has soared in recent years and allows customers to fast forward and avoid any and all commercials. Yet the Dish's "Auto Hop" is the first of its kind, though, allowing automatic skipping of commercials.
"Anyone who is still watching commercials on a regular basis is an idiot," Gary Brannen posted on the Inquisitr.com. "Even before the DVR I did not watch TV live. A commercial has to be funny or jump out at me for me to even watch it. TV advertising is the easiest advertising to avoid."
"The Big Bang Theory" airs on CBS on Thursday nights.