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It was a watershed moment in the rise of corporate coffee in the UK when Starbucks’ global Chief Financial Officer, Troy Alstead, got a roasting at the hands of the Public Accounts Committee in Parliament last week.
The scale of the coffee giant’s fleet-footed accounting arrangements that were laid bare during the hearing is staggering. Starbucks has made a profit of £3bn in the UK since it opened its first outlet in 1998. Since 2009, it has paid no corporation tax on its revenue generated in the UK at all. Not a single bean. Despite benefiting from a labour market where the minimum hourly wage will barely cover the cost of a couple of cappuccinos, that equates to less than one percent of corporate tax paid on its earnings in this country.
Starbucks insist they have done nothing illegal. This may be true. But the question over whether it is ethical to run a business with a UK market share of 31 percent and avoid paying its fair share of tax lingers like the whiff of an Eggnog Latte during festive season.
Last year, the Seattle-based firm filed a loss of £33m to HM Treasury on revenues of nearly £400m. So why was Starbucks telling investors in the US that it is ‘highly profitable’ in Britain when it has consistently reported a loss (with the exception of 2006) to the taxman?
The answer lies at the heart of its complex operating business model where coffee is bought through its sister trading company in Switzerland. It is here that a tax efficient 20 percent mark up is applied before it arrives at its vast roasting operation in another low-tax regime country; the Netherlands. A further six percent patent fee is charged in royalties with a proportion funnelled back to its US headquarters. When pressed by committee member, Austin Mitchell MP, about why it charges a royalty fee off-shore, Alstead replied that it ‘compensates for the development of the brand.’ An interesting disclosure in that it suggests Starbicks’ tax-efficient supply chain is designed to extract the value of the coffee long before it reaches its franchise outlets on the high street.
At a time when Starbucks is aggressively intensifying its operations in new markets such as China, Asia and the Pacific region – where it saw a healthy rise of ten percent in sales last year against a decline of one percent in Europe – it would appear that this breakneck expansion is being subsidised through sheer economy of scale and tax evasion in the countries that it operates. This, of course, comes as no surprise. In an age of globalisation where international trade transcends geographical borders, tax-loopholes become irresistibly attractive for corporations with only one eye on the bottom line to maximise shareholder return. Even since the economic downturn Starbucks has bucked the trend; enjoying a spike of 130 percent in share value since the economic crash of 2008. No wonder, then, that the company can boldly state that its menu of premium priced coffee-based products remain an ‘affordable luxury’.
But there is another side to this story. It’s the story of millions of struggling coffee farmers worldwide whose livelihoods depend on growing and processing this precious commodity (second only to oil) that has enabled companies like Starbucks to build such a profitable global business empire.
Whilst corporations can insulate themselves from, and even speculate on, the wild fluctuations in the global price in coffee, smallholder farmers continue to be left vulnerable to this volatility. During my time living and working in coffee growing regions in the central and western highlands of Ethiopia last year, I heard repeatedly at first hand how communities (and crops) were laid to waste by dramatic changes in coffee price, as happened with the catastrophic coffee crash of the nineties. When farmers are currently being paid in the region of 10 Ethiopian Birr (35 pence) for a kilo of organic Arabica coffee cherry in countries like Ethiopia, the level of trade injustice between rich consumer countries in the north at the expense of producers in the global south is nothing short of a scandal.
As news of the Reuters investigation broke, Starbucks’ CEO, Howard Schultz, (who is said to be worth £980m) issued a statement on the company website. He said: ‘We must strike a balance between profitability and social responsibility… and strive to meet our own high ethical standards for how we care for our people, source our coffee, serve communities and operate in the countries where we do business’.
I suspect that for the many independent coffee shop owners and roasters who pay their fair share of tax in this country, Schultz’s lofty words ring hollow.
Meanwhile, the backlash is gathering momentum. Pressure group UK Uncut have announced a day of action on 8th December to turn Starbucks’ stores into refuges, crèches and homeless shelters in a move to highlight the impact of the government’s austerity-driven spending cuts affecting frontline welfare services.
Corporate coffee has never tasted so bitter.


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SHOPPERS in Hamilton are Scotland's most savvy when it comes to taking advantage of online bargains.
The South Lanarkshire town has been named as the online bargain capital of Scotland, according to new research.
Research by NetVoucherCodes.co.uk has revealed the town tops the list with more web savvy shoppers per head of population than big cities such as Glasgow and Edinburgh.
The discount shopping website looked into the internet habits of shoppers from across the UK.
Their research reveals for the first time a top 10 league table for online bargain hunting in Scotland.
Glasgow come sin at number seven, one place below the capital.
Inverness is in second place behind Hamilton.
The research showed that one in 138 people in Hamilton are actively searching for online deals.
It was the only Scottish town to feature in the top 10 locations for the whole of the UK - a list that was topped by Croydon in Surrey.
Hamilton managed ninth place in the whole of the UK.
A spokesman for NetVoucherCodes.co.uk said: "The league table showed that Hamilton in particular seems to be rife with savvy shoppers.
"A big number of its residents are choosing to shop online. Bargain hunters of Hamilton, we salute you."

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YPlan, the extremely popular cure to boredom that inspires spontaneous nights out, has launched three new features to make the service more social and personal than ever before.
Having recently secured $24 million (£15 million) of investment, the mobile app has introduced three new tabs - Invites, Feedback and Preferences – just in time for the New Year’s Eve rush.
Here’s a run-down of the three features:
Enables users to share events with contact via Facebook their phonebook, offering the recipient the chance to accept or decline the request before you purchase your tickets.
This allows users to rate their experiences with a score out of five stars, based on factors such as the quality of the event and the ambience of the venue. The ratings are then fed back to the event organisers, providing instant evaluation of public sentiment and, hopefully, improved experiences in the future.
With this tool, users can highlight their favourite events to be seen by friends and family and also remove any listings that aren’t of interest. By swiping left and tapping the screen, the event will be deleted from the users’ feed and will not show up in any future recommendations, creating a bespoke list of suggested events.
Speaking about the updates, co-founder and CTO, Viktoras Jucikas, said: “Having spent several months in the making, these new features will significantly augment our existing product offering.
“Whether you’re heading to a pop-up restaurant, theatre show, secret gig or film screening, a night out is an inherently social activity.
"Over 75 per cent of our customers purchase two or more tickets at a time so we’ve developed new mechanisms which make those kind of group bookings even easier – you can now arrange everything without ever needing to leave our app.
“We want YPlan to act as the social glue that brings your friends together, these new features will allow us to better fulfil that role.”
YPlan is a free app available on both Android and iOS devices and the new updates are available now after being rolled out from mid-December.


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For a company with a market capitalization of around a quarter of a trillion dollars, Ali Baba (BABA) a stock’s one-year performance resembles that of a small cap. Over the past 12 months, stocks have lost 60% of their value as a confluence of bearish developments have continued to drive the stock price lower.
According to Deutsche Bank analyst Leo Chiang, given the latest domestic Omicron outbreak and international geopolitical uncertainties, investors should expect “more near-term pressures for BABA across its various business lines. “. The analyst says the “increasing lockdown measures” and international developments have hit the company hard on multiple fronts.
“1) e-commerce, due to logistical disruptions; 2) other retail and local services, on muted offline activities; and 3) Cloud, due to onsite project delays,” Chiang explained. “Internationally, recent geopolitical tensions have further weighed on the growth trajectory amid the continued impact of the EU’s removal of the VAT exemption and currency depreciation in some markets (e.g. example, Turkey).”
As for the June quarter, assuming a gradual recovery that started in May, Chiang predicts that it will likely be the “toughest quarter for domestic businesses (e.g. e-commerce, other retail, local services, cloud)”. However, given the lingering geopolitical uncertainties, in the coming quarters international trade “could continue to fluctuate”. On the margin front, to counter China Commerce’s weak performance, Chiang believes the company will resort to “cautious” investment in new initiatives, Taobao Deal and Taocaiicai.
That said, there are a few positives to note. During the lockdown period, FMCGs (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) and local on-demand services such as Hema and ele.me increased new users and “enhanced user engagement”, especially in major hubs like Shanghai and Shenzhen. Going forward, Chiang sees “post-pandemic structural opportunities” for these companies.
Overall, Chiang concludes on a note of hope: “Despite the short-term challenges, we remain confident in the vast potential and strong fundamentals of its new businesses, such as cloud and international trade, to support the long-term growth.”
To this end, the Deutsche Bank analyst rates BABA as a buy with a price target of $172. This target brings the upside potential to 84%. (To see Chiang’s track record, Click here)
Overall, Wall Street is taking a bullish stance on Alibaba shares. 16 buys and 1 sell issued in the previous three months make the stock a strong buy. Meanwhile, the average price target of $171.36 suggests an upside of around 83% from current levels. (See Alibaba’s stock predictions on TipRanks)
To find great stock trading ideas at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks’ Best Stocks to Buy, a recently launched tool that brings together all of TipRanks’ stock information.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the featured analyst. The Content is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment.


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In the last seven days we’ve seen the set of E3 2021 announcements from Microsoft – including the Xbox Mini Fridge -, the leaking of a Windows 11 ISO, and a number of other bits of news. You can find info about that, as well as much more below, in your Microsoft digest for the week of June 13 - 19.
A round of Windows leaks
The week started in what the Redmond firm could call not ideal conditions, since screenshots of the yet-to-be announced Windows 11 emerged. A little later that same day, the situation got even more interesting as an ISO of build 21996.1 made its way onto the web.
Naturally, we got our hands on it and have chosen to highlight a number of the OS’s new features – like the Windows 10X-esque centered taskbar icons, rounded corners, or the translucent UI (in some places) – via either screenshots of the desktop UI, the OOBE, the new window snapping UI, the new set of wallpapers, and more.
It does seem that out of all, the Home version requires an internet connection to complete setup, but luckily there’s a workaround. In case you want to test this out yourself, you might want to be quick as Microsoft is already issuing DMCA complaints to take down the leaked ISO.
We won’t have long to wait until an official announcement though, with the dedicated set of events scheduled for June 24 at 11AM ET and June 24 at 3PM ET (the latter of which is aimed at developers). On that day we might also see the performance boots that the OS brings, especially for big.LITTLE x86 CPUs – as shown in a set of tests.
Xbox mini fridges
As is tradition, Microsoft held its annual E3 event on the Sunday just before the event’s kickoff, and on this occasion, it was joined by the Bethesda folks (the parent company of which it finalized the acquisition of this year).
To further emphasize the above, the showcase even started with Starfield, Bethesda’s first new IP in years. Powered by the Creation Engine 2, the title showcased an in-game cinematic sequence and perhaps more surprisingly, a release date as well.
The sci-fi game is coming November 11, 2022 (exactly 11 years after the release of Skyrim) and yes, it will be exclusive to Microsoft platforms.
While we’re on the subject of Bethesda, there was also some new ESO and Fallout 76 content announced, along with the fact that Game Pass is getting a number of the missing titles from the publisher, alongside titles like the entire Yakuza series, and even Turtle Rock’s Back 4 Blood on day one. Also in the Bethesda camp was a new IP from Arkane Austin, dubbed Redfall. The co-op vampire hunting game is coming summer 2022, unsurprisingly also to Game Pass day one.
We’ll touch on the fact that Injustice: Gods Among Us and Shadows Awakening are now free to claim, and that there’s in fact a rather good selection of Deals with Gold to peruse, while also mentioning that game stories is now a supported feature in the Xbox app and that the June update for the console has brought party chat accessibility options, among other things.
Speaking of other things, Battlefield 2042 gameplay was shown off during the game showcase, as was an interspersed story / gameplay trailer for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chernobyl (which lands April 28 next year, also in Game Pass), a cinematic announce trailer for co-op Xbox exclusive Contraband from Avalanche Studios, a cheeky meta cinematic announce trailer for The Outer Worlds 2, and more.
Alternate-universe sci-fi RPG Atomic Heart got yet another trailer at the event – sans release date -, Diablo II: Resurrected made an appearance too – showcasing its launch day of September 23 -, and Age of Empires IV got its long overdue launch date of October 28, available across PC and Game Pass.
In additional unexpected news, Sea of Thieves got a Pirates of the Caribbean crossover, bringing Jack Sparrow, Davy Jones and crew to the game thanks to a new original story dubbed A Pirate’s Life, which is coming for free to the tile on June 22.
Another game that got a release date was Flight Simulator, which lands on Series X|S consoles on July 27 – and has just gotten its World Update V, with a free Top Gun expansion coming this fall -, as well as Forza Horizon 5. The latter is set in Mexico and rather unexpectedly, lands on November 9 this year.
Of course, after the advent of Craig memes from last year, it was expected that 343 would show an updated look at Halo Infinite, complete with Joseph Staten on stage, a highlight of the game’s story and multiplayer, and an announcement that they will launch together this holiday. Infinite’s free-to-play multiplayer is also adding personal AIs for players, among other things.
Finally, the option to make your controllers more personal is now back, as Microsoft has relaunched the Xbox Design Lab with support for the new controller. That said, it’s not the only hardware announcement that the company made at this event.
After rumors of a streaming stick started circulating, folks assumed that the ‘one more thing’ at the end would be this. However, the Redmond giant leaned heavily into the memes and has announced it’ll make an Xbox Mini Fridge (shaped like the Series X).
Yes, it’s real, and yes, it’s coming holiday 2021 – even outside the United States.
Slotting just between the Xbox E3 showcase and the Windows event next week was a virtual presentation focused on hybrid work.
At this event, Microsoft has announced new Teams Rooms features like a “front row” layout for meetings, improved video layouts across multiple screens, new Together Mode scenes on the Surface Hub, and much, much more. Naturally, these features will be rolled out to Insiders first.
On the subject of Teams, the firm has additionally integrated Headspace for mindfulness exercises and to boost personal wellbeing in remote work situations. Worthy of mention is also the fact that inline chat message translation is now available for Teams on Android.
Last but not least, Whiteboard has received a redesign, which aims to help folks collaborate better in hybrid environments.
- Edge Dev build 93.0.916.1 is now out, with a number of bug fixes.
- Better sharing and file picking were among the enhancements that arrived to OneDrive in May.
- Microsoft has elected Satya Nadella as chairman of its board of directors.
- Visual Studio 2022 Preview 1 is now available for Windows.
We end with a bit of an interesting bug related to the newly added News and Interests taskbar widget.
For folks running one of the various flavors of Windows 10 that have this feature, (1909 and up), there are instances in which the News and Interests text and icon appear blurry.
The issue has now been acknowledged by the firm as occurring on “certain display configurations”. Of course, which ones these are is set to remain a mystery. What’s also going to remain a mystery is when Microsoft plans to fix it, as the only time frame indication given was that it’ll happen in an “upcoming release”.
If you couldn’t care less about the widget, it can thankfully be turned off.
Missed any of the previous columns? Be sure to have a look right here.
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Campaign Trail is our look at some of the best and worst new creative efforts from the marketing world. View past columns in the archives here.
This week saw two alt-comedy auteurs return to lend their weird sensibilities to the brand world, while LG looked to transport "serious TV watchers" to their favorite locales and the Maine Lobster Marketing Collaborative successfully tapped into the popularity of Facebook cooking shows:
Tim and Eric help anxious sleepers fend off 'Sunday Scaries' for Purple
The rundown: Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim, known for Adult Swim series like "Tom Goes to the Mayor" and "Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!," returned to the marketing world with a digital video series for direct-to-consumer (DTC) mattress maker Purple, according to the A.V. Club.
In the nearly three-minute debut episode, hosted on both Purple and Tim and Eric's official Facebook pages, the titular "Purple Boys," Quirky (Heidecker) and Geno (Wareheim), discuss how to fend off the "Sunday Scaries," or the anxiety that can keep people up on Sunday night thinking about the work week ahead.
They describe their "zonk strategies" in typical Tim and Eric fashion, with a low budget aesthetic resembling late-night public access programming and off-putting, non-sequitur humor. New episodes of the show will go live every two weeks, per the A.V. Club.
The results: Tim and Eric's style of surreal, often abrasive alt-comedy doesn't seem like the best fit for traditional branding, but that hasn't stopped a handful of companies, including Totino's and now Purple, from tapping into their distinctly weird sensibilities. Purple isn't a traditional brand, to be fair, hailing from a slew of DTC mattress disruptors that have cropped up over the past several years and quickly built out strong e-commerce businesses.
Purple has distinguished its marketing from peers like Casper and Leesa — and frequently gone viral — thanks to oddball Facebook video experiments that "The Purple Boys" fits snugly into. Purple stretching "The Purple Boys" into a video series shows how brands are broadly focusing more on scripted original video content, which is increasingly popular with consumers.
It's interesting that Purple is doubling up on where the video is shared, even within the same platform, with episodes appearing on both the brand and Tim and Eric’s Facebook pages. As of press time, the Tim and Eric post has nearly three times as many views as Purple's. Maybe it's a bigger hit with fans of the duo than people actually in the market for a mattress?
LG rewards Netflix bingers with show-themed viewing experiences
The rundown: LG announced in a press release that it will give dedicated Netflix watchers the opportunity to binge their favorite shows — from the world of their favorite shows. The "B&Binge" campaign is offering two-night stays to watch "The Crown" from a palace in London, "Arrested Development" from a yacht in Los Angeles, and surprise mystery show from a surprise mystery location.
According to LG's website, there will be two winners plus guests for each of the three experiences, totaling at 12 participants. Roundtrip flight, transport from the airport to the experience location and meals will be covered by the brand. Each location also will be outfitted with Easter eggs, show memorabilia, and a 2018 LG OLED 4K TV.
To enter, fans must submit a short essay that proves they are the biggest fan of the respective show. Since very little has been revealed about the mystery show and location, contestants must simply submit a blurb that proves they are the biggest fan of horror. The entries will be judged on three criteria: 50% for passion for the show, 40% for originality and 10% execution. The contest entry, judging and winner announcement periods run from now through October.
The results: "B&Binge" is a part of LG's larger "Serious Watcher" campaign that launched last year. LG surprised fans in 2017 with TV deliveries from Netflix characters including "Orange is the New Black" inmate Lorna Morello, played by Yael Stone, and "Stranger Things" stars Gatten Matarazzo and Noah Schnapp, who play Dustin and Will, respectively.
The latest push continues to target "serious TV watchers," defined as those who watch more than 10 episodes of shows per week and view content from multiple sources. The focus on experiential viewing based on the settings from popular Netflix shows like "The Crown," along with travel sweepstakes component, could be an appealing option to millennial consumers, who are avid viewers of Netflix. In an era where many brands are opting to run such contests via social media, LG sourcing for personal fan essays also feels charmingly old-school.
"B&Binge" rolled out just as Netflix reported surprisingly disappointing subscriber growth in Q2 and saw a subsequent plunge in its stock. Partners like LG, along with shareholders and analysts, are now tasked with determining whether or not the slowdown signals a long-term trend or waning consumer engagement. That said, Netflix's struggles to draw new subscribers doesn't inherently undermine LG's motive to cater to already invested viewers.
Maine lobster board caught viewers with 'Trap to Table' live stream, 4-part video series
The rundown: To kick off lobster season in New England, the Maine Lobster Marketing Collaborative (MLMC) launched a video campaign highlighting the industry's farm-to-table approach — or in the case of seafood, "trap to table."
The initiative, developed with agency Weber Shandwick, includes a four-part video series starring four chefs and several real Maine lobstermen hanging out on boats in the Maine Gulf and in kitchens to learn about each other's craft, MLMC told Marketing Dive. The first episode runs around four and a half minutes and shows the stars, such as a former "Food & Wine" editor-in-chief, two chefs and a Chicago restaurateur, baiting and hauling lobster traps and learning about local sustainability measures. After a day out on the water, the tables are turned, and the chefs show the lobstermen what happens after the sea critters are caught and delivered to restaurants.
The remaining three episodes in the series will roll out on Facebook in the coming months, throughout peak Maine lobster season from July to November, and alongside other efforts for the "Trap to Table" initiative. The series launched on July 16 with a live stream cooking demonstration in front of a studio audience in New York City.
The results: Despite its somewhat niche focus, "Trap to Table" has so far drummed up solid viewer interest, with the live stream launch nabbing more than 175,000 real-time views, along with additional hits throughout the week, per MLMC. The live stream strategy, coupled with the shareable short clips on social media, is similar to another effort this week by KFC, where the fried chicken maker hosted a bizarre four-hour Facebook broadcast involving cats.
With the campaign, the MLMC was able to tap into the popularity of live cooking shows, which draw large audiences on TV and also increasingly on social media platforms like Facebook. Publishers such as Tastemade, BuzzFeed’s Tasty and even more legacy networks like the Food Network have seen viral success with their online cooking efforts, and more marketers are giving their own go at the content type. Industry-funded MLMC appears to overall be leveraging similar marketing strategies as major national brands in order to bring to life the Maine lobster industry through the eyes of culinary powerhouses and the men and women catching the seafood.
This tactic lets viewers take a bite out of the industry from multiple perspectives as well, while also driving home the overall mission of promoting Maine lobster consumption with a special microsite that houses lobster facts, how to tell the difference between types of lobsters, how and where to buy the seafood, recipes and the campaign's video content.


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Where your £1,300 Canada Goose jacket comes from? Peta releases video of geese being crammed into crates and grabbed by the neck - but the company DENIES they were used to make their products
- At least one bird is thought to have been crushed to death and others suffocated
- Shocking footage shows the terrified birds then being crammed into tiny cages
- When they get to the abattoir, they are then slaughtered by having throats slit
Horrifying footage shows workers at a firm that supplies down for Canada Goose rounding up terrified geese and cramming them into tiny cages before slaughter.
At least one bird is said to have been crushed to death, and others suffocated during the scenes that unfolded at James Valley Colony Farms in Manitoba, Canada.
Workers then grabbed and carried birds by the neck and shoved them into cramped cages for a journey to the abattoir that lasted more than five hours.
There, workers shackled them, hung them upside down, and slit their throats as other birds watched.
At least one bird is said to have been crushed to death, and others suffocated during the scenes that unfolded at James Valley Colony Farms in Manitoba, Canada
Workers then grabbed and carried birds by the neck and shoved them into cramped cages for a journey to the abattoir that lasted more than five hours
The footage prompted PETA US to file a complaint with the US Federal Trade Commission and the Canadian Competition Bureau, challenging Canada Goose's claims that its products are 'ethically sourced' and 'humane'.
'This is false advertising, because there's nothing 'humane' about trampling and suffocating geese, grabbing them by the neck, and cramming them into tiny cages for hours of terror and misery,' says PETA Director Elisa Allen.
'PETA is calling on consumers to refuse to buy Canada Goose's cruelly produced coats and anything else stuffed with tormented birds' down.'
The organisation claims geese were sometimes left in transport cages overnight with no food or water and that after the long journey, the cages were filthy with faeces and feathers.
After slaughter, many birds' bodies had visibly bruised and broken wings, apparently caused by the long confinement to cramped metal crates.
The exposé includes footage from James Valley Colony Farms in Manitoba, Canada, which breeds 130,000 geese per year, and Schiltz Foods in South Dakota, US, the largest goose abattoir in North America.
James Valley Colony Farms, which appears in a Canada Goose promotional video, sends geese to Schiltz for slaughter and sells their down to Canada Goose's only down supplier, Toronto's Feather Industries, which claims that it buys only from farms that practise 'ethical and humane treatment' of animals.
The footage prompted PETA US to file a complaint with the US Federal Trade Commission and the Canadian Competition Bureau, challenging Canada Goose's claims that its products are 'ethically sourced' and 'humane'
There, workers shackled them, hung them upside down, and slit their throats as other birds watched
James Valley Colony Farms told Global News that it would it would train staff to ensure animals are 'treated more humanely during loading'.
Canada Goose's coats are also trimmed with fur from coyotes, who can suffer in traps for days before they're shot or bludgeoned to death.
Canada Goose told MailOnline: 'PETA continues to be extremely misinformed about our animal welfare practices and this is another irresponsible tactic to spread their false narrative.
'As we have confirmed, the animals and the treatment of them shown in their recent manufactured video are not a part of the Canada Goose supply chain, as confirmed by our sole supplier, Feather Industries.
'Canada Goose remains deeply committed to the ethical sourcing of all animal materials in our products; we only use down that comes as a by-product of the food industry.'
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SanDisk has signed a deal to acquire fellow flash memory maker Fusion-io, the companies said Monday.
The all-cash deal values Fusion-io at $11.25 a share, or $1.1 billion, which represents a 21 percent premium over Fusion-io's Friday closing price. Fusion-io shares are up nearly 25 percent to $11.58 in pre-market trading, while SanDisk remains unchanged from its Friday closing price of $98.47.
Salt Lake City-based Fusion-io makes flash memory products and software used in data centers, while Milpitas,Calif.-based SanDisk makes flash memory cards such as the microSD cards that store files on smartphones and tablets. The acquisition will give SanDisk the chance to focus more on businesses as customers.
"Fusion-io will accelerate our efforts to enable the flash-transformed data center, helping companies better manage increasingly heavy data workloads at a lower total cost of ownership," SanDisk CEO Sanjay Mehrotra said in a statement.
The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter and to contribute to SanDisk earnings in the second half of 2015.


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Big news today that could change the face of a major development in Ashburn. The owners and developers of the Commonwealth Center have submitted paperwork to the county that would change a huge swath of the property from entertainment and retail uses to residential housing instead.
The Commonwealth Center is a project from the Peterson Cos. and sits near the intersection of Loudoun County Parkway and Russell Branch Parkway. It’s a big project that straddles both sides of Russell Branch. On the south side, there is a CVS drugstore, a partially built Silver Diner restaurant (more on that here) and future plans call for a drive-thru restaurant and additional retail and office space. These plans are already underway.
On the north side of Russell Branch, the Commonwealth Center features the Topgolf location, the iFLY building and a CubeSmart storage facility. There are also proposals for a hotel and an indoor shooting range.
But there is a large piece of land just to the west of Topgolf and iFLY that has been vacant for years. The Burn has followed multiple rumors of major tenants who were exploring building entertainment centers on the property — places like a giant indoor go-kart track and arcade, or a high-end bowling alley with a restaurant and bar. But sadly, none of those rumored deals ever came to fruition.
Now comes word that the developers are looking to take that 26.6 acres and apparently turn it into condos or apartments as well as townhomes. The proposal includes 272 multi-family units with a parking garage, and 254 stacked multi-family units with garages on the first floor.
Per the filings with the county, the addition of a residential component to the Commonwealth Center would create a desirable walkable center with a mix of residential, retail and existing entertainment, more in the vein of the neighboring One Loudoun development on the other side of Loudoun County Parkway. And at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic has made lots of big brands wary of expansion, this new concept may prove to be a safer bet for the future.


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Egyptian jeweller Azza Fahmy is to launch in the UK with the brand having just signed up to a store in luxury shopping-location-cum-tourist-destination Burlington Arcade as London remains a key focus for high-end brands.
On 11 January, Dutch department store chain de Bijenkorf announced that it is closing its Woerden-based distribution center. De Bijenkorf plans to merge and outsource all distribution activities to a new partner in 2019.
French police have recovered some of the jewels worth over 4.0 million euros looted from the Ritz hotel in central Paris, a police source said on Thursday as officers hunt for two thieves who remain on the run.
After gold exports dropped by six percent in the first eight months on the financial year 2018, jewellery exporters fear another dip as the UAE, a major importer, will impose five percent VAT from January 1.
The Netherlands’ Tropenmuseum and Amsterdam-based label Daily Paper have launched a collection of bracelets. The collection is produced in South Africa and exclusively available via the museum and the fashion brand.
Siebel Juweliers has added a new concept to its existing portfolio. The retailer has unveiled Siebel & Love, a concept store in Amstelveen focusing on wedding rings alongside collections of diamonds, gold and silver.
And they are off. Applications opened Friday for aspiring talent in the LVMH Prize, the most financially beneficial annual award in fashion. Young hopefuls - limited to under 40 years - have until February 4 to apply.


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Netflix may get all the headlines, but Hulu has always offered something the ‘Flix never has: next-day access to a wealth of popular TV shows. Thanks in part to its trifecta of network owners, including Disney (ABC), 21st Century Fox (Fox networks), and Comcast (NBC/Universal), Hulu carries current seasons of multiple network and cable TV shows, often available to users the day after air. Unfortunately, the cozy relationship with its owners that’s kept Hulu afloat so far, could be what sinks it — especially if Time Warner Inc. gets its way.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Time Warner Inc. wants to radically change Hulu over from the service that its over 9 million users (and growing) know and love now, into something that better serves its own agenda. Citing unnamed sources familiar with negotiations, the report claims that Time Warner is currently in talks to buy a 25 percent equity share in Hulu, with a goal of eventually shifting the service away from airing current seasons of network TV shows.
The news is just the latest symptom of a high stakes game of chicken playing out between new streaming media empires like Netflix and those tied to the old pay-TV model — with Hulu finding itself lodged somewhere uncomfortably in the middle. As an increasing number of so-called cord cutters abandon cable and satellite subscriptions for streaming services, it’s not just cable companies losing out on all that green. Content producers — who make most of their profits by selling their wares to big cable and satellite companies — are also feeling the squeeze.
Time Warner thinks Internet TV is just fine — as long as users still pay for cable.
While Time Warner Inc. is no longer directly connected with the cable giant of the same name, the company is plenty motivated to put an end to services like Hulu and its extensive library of current-season shows, now also available commercial-free. The massive media conglomerate owns a mountain of content-producers, including HBO and a load of channels under the Turner Broadcasting banner, all of which gain the lion’s share of their profits from the traditional pay-TV system. And as streaming services continue to gain ground — and subscribers — they pose an ever-growing threat.
Time Warner’s fears are very real, as traditional media companies (including Hulu co-owner Disney) have seen their stock slumping for months on what appears to be little more than the growing worry over how severely streaming services could disrupt cash flow in the future. With over 70 million users worldwide, Netflix is the most prominent offender, but Hulu, Amazon, Sling TV, and others are also real threats.
That puts everyone involved in the current entertainment paradigm — especially Hulu’s current owners — in the rather awkward position of having to decide what to do about the very streaming services they’ve helped bolster with thousands of hours of licensed content. The Journal claims that Hulu’s co-owners have been delaying finalizing licensing agreements controlling how Hulu airs current-season shows for months now. The former agreement requires them to make nearly all current seasons of shows produced in-house available to the service directly after air.
Hulu has been continuing under its former licensing agreement via small extensions, but it’s clear the networks are still trying to forge a new path when it comes to airing new seasons. And if Time Warner jumps on board, that path looks much more likely to go toward cutting new seasons out altogether. According to the report, Time Warner believes airing seasons of current TV shows on Hulu (or anywhere else) without the need for a cable subscription is “harmful to its owners,” and the company has expressed its desire to remove current TV seasons from the service altogether, though it was reportedly not a condition of its acquisition bid.
If Time Warner were to gain a stake in the service and successfully stop Hulu from airing current-season episodes, it would likely have a detrimental effect on subscriber numbers. Hulu has made strides toward liberating itself from its reliance on current TV series, including an exclusive contract with AMC networks, a successful bid for the Seinfeld library, and popular original content like the Amy Poehler-produced comedy, Difficult People, but these are nascent efforts. Without the lure of new TV, Hulu may not be able to keep its fans. That’s probably what Time Warner is counting on.
Time Warner Inc.’s bid for Hulu, it seems, is just one part of its plan to subtly push viewers back towards the pay-TV paradigm. While the company would hold back its own series on Hulu until after each season airs, the Journal suggests it could try and set up a paywall allowing cable subscribers to access current seasons on Hulu. And the company’s ultimate goal appears to be finding new ways to nudge viewers to TV Everywhere apps and other streaming services that must be authenticated via cable subscriptions. In other words, Time Warner thinks Internet TV is just fine — as long as users still pay for cable.
Interestingly, Time Warner has (perhaps reluctantly) embraced stand-alone streaming in the past, including its HBO Now service, which allows cord cutters and “cord nevers” to purchase a $15 monthly HBO subscription without the need for cable and satellite. But, as the motivations behind its Hulu grab suggest, the company is still highly invested in keeping the status quo in place for as long as possible — and, perhaps eventually, to find a way to do away with stand-alone streaming altogether.
At the very least, the purchase of Hulu appears to be a step in Time Warner’s overall plan to keep pay-TV relevant — and necessary — for years to come.
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Because tons of delicious vegan options are popping up at grocery stores all over the country (and the world), we shouldn’t be surprised that yet another veggie burger has hit store shelves. But this time is a little different—Kroger grocery stores are now selling White Castle’s super-popular Dr. Praeger’s vegan veggie sliders and black bean sliders!
The fast-food chain first decided to introduce vegan patties to its menu last year and partnered with the well-known brand Dr. Praeger’s to create two new burgers. What’s just as cool as White Castle’s decision to become more compassionate with its burger options is that when the chain realized how popular the vegan patties were, it went ahead and veganized the bun, too (because who wants eggs or cow pus in their burger bun, anyway?).
Following those vegan-friendly steps, it decided to go even further and offer these burgers in grocery stores. Now we don’t have to trek it to White Castle whenever we have a craving. The veggie sliders are made with carrots, peas, spinach, zucchini, and broccoli, and the black bean sliders are made with beans, peppers, and corn—so we can shamelessly add them both to our weekly grocery lists.
White Castle’s major shift to include more vegan options is a sign to other fast-food chains that just because people may want their food on the go, it doesn’t mean that they’re willing to compromise their principles for it. Clearly, it’s easier than ever before to find delicious plant-based options—in restaurants AND grocery stores.
Do the kind thing and give the veggie sliders (and going vegan) a try!


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Stocks plunged Friday, and that had some predicting it was the start of a correction. Two pros told CNBC they didn't agree. Here's why.» Read More
CNBC's Diana Olick brings light to January new home sales data, which was more positive than existing home sales data.
Discussing Target's strong fourth quarter, and the threat of the slowdown at West Coast ports, with John Mulligan, Target CFO.
"Power Pitch" picks the brain of Chris Thompson, who claims his start-up has created the first energy-drink designed to give a boost to your brain.
Insider selling by executives surged last week, a troublesome vote of no confidence on this bull market.
Energy exposure in portfolios
Jeffrey Gundlach launched a new fund, and it had the highest ever first-day volume of any new bond ETF.
Isn't it weird to see the Democrats standing up for the big business-friendly Ex-Im bank?
What to avoid now
Five star picks in ETF world
Bill Smead, Smead Capital Management, discusses millennials at JPMorgan's investor day conference.
"Power Lunch" hosts Melissa Lee and Brian Sullivan discuss whether McDonald's should buy Shake Shack, jetpacks and taking a day off from work emails.
The manager of an ETF-heavy fund believes U.S. stocks have a bullish outlook as major indexes trade near records.
CNBC's Brian Sullivan and Melissa Lee discuss whether bringing jetpacks to the masses would be a good idea.
First Solar and SunPower are in talks to form a joint-venture yield co. Gordon Johnson, Axiom Capital Management, shares his trade on these stocks.
Discussing the market's reaction to Fed Chair Janet Yellen's dovish comments, with Brad Friedlander, Angel Oak Multi-Strategy Income.
CNBC's Eamon Javers reports the FBI is offering a $3 million reward for a Russian cyber fugitive.
Consumer Report's is out with its annual top auto picks list. Jake Fisher, Consumer Reports, and CNBC's Phil LeBeau, discuss.
CNBC's Jackie DeAngelis reports on the final trades in the energy market for the day.
The Fed won't raise rates for the next few FOMC meetings. Here's how two pros would trade the news.
"Power Lunch" hosts Melissa Lee and Brian Sullivan look at 5 stocks with analyst recommendations.


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Tata Harrier SUV has started arriving at company dealerships ahead of its scheduled launch on 23rd of January. The Harrier has been one of the most awaited SUV offerings from Tata Motors. The SUV was first showcased in its concept form at the 2018 Auto Expo.
Tata Motors recently conducted media drives of the Harrier, ahead of its launch — read our detailed review here. The Harrier is the first product from Tata Motors to be part of the brand's new 'Impact 2.0' design language.
The Harrier uses the new OMEGA platform based on Land Rover's D8 architecture as seen on the Discovery Sport. This translates to bigger overall dimensions compared to most of its rivals in the Indian market.
The Harrier comes with a 2.0-litre Kryotec diesel engine, seen on the Jeep Compass. It produces 140bhp and 350Nm of torque and is mated to a six-speed manual gearbox. Tata will also introduce a six-speed automatic transmission at a later stage.
Bookings for the Tata Harrier is open for an amount of Rs 30,000. The company had also recently tweeted out an approximate price range of the upcoming Harrier, which would be around Rs 16 - 21 lakh, on-road.
Tata Motors is currently also working on a new premium hatchback, codenamed 45X to rival the likes of the Maruti Baleno and the Hyundai i20 Elite. The company also has plans to introduce a new micro-SUV 'Hornbill'. The new Tata Hornbill concept will be showcased at the upcoming Geneva Motor Show.
Apart from the Tata Harrier, here is a list of all the cars scheduled to be launched in the Indian market in January.
Thoughts On The Tata Harrier Dispatch
The Tata Harrier SUV has been one of the most-awaited SUV in the Indian market. The SUV has created a lot of buzz. Once launched, the Tata Harrier will rival the likes of the Jeep Compass, Mahindra XUV 500 and the upcoming Nissan Kicks.


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The first auction of classic Atari games buried in a New Mexico landfill in 1983 and recovered earlier this year have sold for more than 37,000. The City of.
E.T. may have soared in the movies. But as a video game, it was an epic turkey. When electronics pioneer Atari rushed a game based on the 1982 Hollywood.
Find great deals on eBay for et atari atari 2600. Shop with confidence.
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Last week, we shared the exciting news that a local historical society would auction a bunch of trash on eBay. Well, okay, that trash was really some.


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Commentary: The Net: How To Head Off Big Time RegulationMike France
As E-commerce blossoms into a trillion-dollar business, there's only one thing that seems capable of slowing it down: politics. Worried about the Internet's potential to invade people's privacy, separate them from their money, and cause untold additional havoc, politicians around the globe are considering new laws to prevent the revolutionary communications channel from being misused. That impulse, in turn, is making many business executives worry that their dream of a frictionless, worldwide electronic marketplace will be ruined by a patchwork of inconsistent local regulations. Imagine how much harder life would be at Amazon.com if the company were forced to comply with everything from Kuwaiti decency standards to European privacy laws to Iowa sales taxes.
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The Apple Watch began shipping this week, and arriving in some stores Friday -- just not its own.
As of nearly noon Pacific Time, Jeremy Duimstra, cofounder and executive creative director at San Diego agency MJD, patiently waited for his. "We're expecting at least one today, a total of four within the next week," he said.
Voice search features in Siri and those built into apps for Apple Watch provide marketers with new opportunities. Duimstra said Siri's powerful voice search capabilities at launch provide an interesting opportunity for brands to provide location Map information on a map, for example.
"If I'm a big brand and I want someone to know where to buy my item, they can ask Siri to find it for me," he said.
Trip Chowdhry, managing director at Global Equities Research, estimates that Apple approved about 4,000 Watch apps to date. He sees that developers continue to switch from Android to Apple iOS.
Apple has limited the features that developers can build into the app, Duimstra said, at least for this iteration. Some of the features on the phone are not yet available on the Watch. He points to Siri as one feature that is showing improvements.
The future of advertising on Apple Watch and other wearable devices looks more like contextual advertising, Duimstra said. "The ads will look like where-am-I-physically in the world features — what's around me — and people buying into networks that allow restaurants and other physical locations to show up on the device," he said.Duimstra said the industry could see the emergence of networks that create an ecosystem around physical locations. These do not exist yet. "I can't go to Google and say: 'Hey, I want a contextual geo-located opportunity to show on an Apple Watch,'" he said. "There's a new opportunity for advertisers. You would have to build the functionality into the apps that could talk to the Watch. It just doesn't happen, yet."


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The most popular UK tourist attraction might surprise you
Harry Potter is highest on most people's list of things to do in the UK.
The studio tour, located in Watford, is Britain's biggest hitting attraction according to a new interactive map.
Created by Voucher Cloud and based on data from TripAdvisor's Top things to do lists, the map shows which attractions are rated top for each country.
Harry Potter Studio Tour, or Warner Bros. Studio Tour London as it's officially known, first opened in 2012 near Watford.
Harry Potter Studio Tour is the most popular UK tourist attraction
Harry Potter Studio Tour has quickly become one of the UK's biggest draws for tourists
It has quickly become one of the UK's biggest draws for foreign tourists as well as home-grown Potter fans, attracting over 6,000 visitors every day.
The Harry Potter tour allows visitors an exclusive look at the iconic sets, costumes and props that were created just for the films.
There are also interactive features, such as riding a broomstick where green screen technology is used to make visitors look like they're flying.
Some of the giant sets can still be explored, including the iconic Great Hall and the Hogwarts Express.
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Central Park is the most popular attraction in the States
Tours are free for under fours, £27 for children aged five to 15 years old, and £35 for adults.
Outside the UK, the map shows that 76 of the most popular attractions are natural, 54 are historical and 29 are religious.
The top destination in the United States is New York's Central Park, while Niagara Falls is Canada's must-see attraction.
Some winners aren't too surprising, such as Croatia's ancient city walls – which have featured in the popular series Games of Thrones – and Machu Picchu in Peru.
Lauryn and Chloe Goodman attend the Fantastic Beasts premiere
Australia's Sydney Harbour comes top for tourists
Mount Kilimanjaro is Tanzania's highlight according to the map, while Sydney Harbour is deemed Australia's biggest draw.
However, others are more unexpected; in Paris, the Eiffel Tower is pipped to the post by the Musée d'Orsay.
In Egypt, the world-famous pyramids are beaten by the Temple of Karnak as its most popular tourist hotspot.
The Harry Potter Studio Tour is open every day of the holiday other than Christmas Day and Boxing Day, with tours running from 9am to 10pm.


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Marvel Snap has always been about the thrill of building up your collection, and it’s about to get a whole lot more exciting. On June 23, 2023, Second Dinner unveiled an exciting new game feature called the Spotlight Cache. The update is arguably the most significant one since release, and it’s set to revolutionize how players acquire newly released cards, Series 4, and Series 5 cards.
The Spotlight Cache feature comes into play after you’ve passed the Collection Level (CL) 500. From there, it will replace Collector’s Caches and Collector’s Reserves every 120CL, meaning one in every 10 Collector’s Reserves becomes a Spotlight Cache.
The real lure of this cache, though, is the cards. Each week, it will feature three different Series 4 and 5 cards, including the newly released card for the week. Opening a Spotlight Cache guarantees you one of these three cards or a random S4/S5 card. But there’s even more: if you already own one of the featured cards, the Spotlight Cache will instead provide a time-exclusive variant for that card.
The introduction of the Spotlight Cache is no arbitrary change; it’s a well-calculated move to ensure a better gaming experience for all players, regardless of where they’re at in their Marvel Snap journey. The Spotlight Cache guarantees an increase in card earnings for all players, whether you’re still making your way through Series 3 or already have nearly all Series 4/5 cards.
In the previous system, these players had to grind through 6000 Tokens just to earn a single Series 5 card in a month. Now, they can expect a Series 4/5 card from the Spotlight Cache almost every week.
However, this also heralds a significant change: gold will be removed from the Collection Level Road under the new system. While this detail was subtly veiled in the official press release, it has significant implications. But considering the increase in card access that the Spotlight Cache brings, this shift is a positive one.
A key objective behind the Spotlight Cache is to make every card release more impactful and accessible. Previously, only a small portion of players could get the new card each week. Now, with the Spotlight Cache, around 25% of players who finish their Daily Missions can get the new card each week for free.
Moreover, the new system also respects your strategic decisions for growing your collection. For instance, let’s say you’ve been hoping to add the mighty Thanos to your lineup. When Thanos is being featured in the Spotlight Cache, your chance of earning Thanos is 1 in 4. Open another one and your odds improve to 1 in 3. And if you manage to open four, you’re guaranteed to get all the featured Series 4/5 cards that week, including Thanos himself.
This shift to Spotlight Cache promises more fun, more diversity, and a better experience overall for all Marvel Snap players.


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Apple's decision to reject Sony's e-reader application today sparked speculation that Apple would soon yank Amazon's popular Kindle software from the App Store.
Google's Chrome and Apple's Safari posted record numbers in January while Microsoft's Internet Explorer (IE) lost ground for the sixth month running, an Internet measurement company said today.
Yahoo is discontinuing its distribution of the Hadoop platform and will instead focus on Apache Hadoop, the Hadoop Team at Yahoo said this week.
Google has big plans for its Android 3.0 OS, code-named "Honeycomb," including its use in a variety of mobile devices, not just tablets, that are driven by gestures without hardware or even soft buttons.
Apple's third beta of iOS 4.3 is now in the hands of developers. This new beta includes three separate packages: iOS, the SDK, and Apple TV Software. Typically, Apple releases three betas to its developers before seeding a Gold Master. This latest be...
SAP and Microsoft announced Tuesday what some observers see as a reboot of Duet, the strategy first formed by the companies in 2005 to tie SAP's ERP (enterprise resource planning) software with Microsoft Office.
Oracle's database will be available in the second quarter as part of Amazon Web Services' Relational Database Service, the companies announced Tuesday.
EMC is now offering a community edition of its Greenplum data warehousing platform, as well as algorithms and data mining tools for working with large data sets, at no charge, the company announced Tuesday.
Honeycomb will finally arrive this week, and Google promises an in-depth look at the revamped Android operating system and some hands-on demonstrations of Honeycomb devices.
A new, experimental add-on from Mozilla Labs' Prospector project removes the standard browser interface from Firefox 4 and instead gives full priority to Web content.
For the first time in its short history, Google Android is now the No.1 mobile operating system in the world, according to research firm Canalys.
On the back of Samsung Galaxy Tab sales, Android tablets grabbed a 22% share of the world's tablet market last quarter, denting for the first time the iPad's dominance, a research firm said today.
Adventuresome Firefox users who can't wait to try out the "do not track" feature can do so now by grabbing a "nightly build" of the browser. Nightly builds are for testing purposes only, Mozilla warns, and aren't as stable as beta releases.
Joining Microsoft, Oracle, Google and others, IBM plans to offer a cloud-based office suite, the company announced on Monday.
The open-source software development site SourceForge is speeding up its move to a new a security model following a targeted attack that may have compromised the passwords of its large user base.
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One of the biggest debates prevailing in the global business arena is that big data, mobile and cloud computing will be three of the biggest limiting factors businesses shall face in the future. Even today when companies look to compete in the business environment, addressing these three issues is critical.
Worldwide, business strategists are planning to make sure their entity is equipped to cope with these challenges. However, while excessive data, mobile and cloud computing look like three separate problems, experts believe these issues can be funneled down to one.
The fact that issues of data, mobile computing and cloud have gained importance at the same time is because of the relation between them. For instance, today due to advancement in mobile computing, a single smartphone at least has more than 40 apps. All of these applications generate data stored in the mobile server provider’s data center. This implies the server provider has the problem of excess data, translating into the need for ‘cloud’. It is for this reason experts believe that the three listed problems are part of the existing trend, which can be addressed using the same perspective.
A Never-Ending Road
It seems the rapidly increasing demand of mobile computing is at the core of this escalation and it only seems fair that IT strategists are very minutely observing the trend in global mobile adoption. The biggest question is the level at which this global demand of mobile phones becomes saturated. Some believe, there is probably no end to this rapid growth as people worldwide in urge to adapt to new technologies keep on adding new phones to their “tech arsenal”.
However, individual’s demand of mobile phones is not the only reason behind the ever increasing need of mobile computing. Recently, businesses themselves have fueled the fire by depending heavily on mobility.
Not a Simple Matter
As more industries start depending on mobile technology, they not only drive up the demand for cellular phones, but also the need for more infrastructures that help in driving meaningful information through data. Some of the operations using mobile technology are:
Retailers, banks and operators are rapidly employing mobile financing facilities to improve their operations.
With the increasing automation, more information is fed rapidly into the system. This enables companies to better address issues of quality and productivity.
Store managers are provided with mobile applications to continuously monitor the performance indicators.
Hospitals have systems where doctors can add relevant information about the patient into the system via mobile applications.
Interconnectivity of Objects
As more and more objects adopt mobile technology, the amount of possible information will grow. According to a report by Cisco, “Annual global IP traffic will surpass the zettabyte threshold by the end of 2016. In 2016, global IP traffic will reach 1.3 zettabytes per year or 109.5 exabytes per month.”
With the advancement in mobile technology, companies receive data from a range of sources. It is important for organizations to design an infrastructure which is able to process all this data efficiently.
Business intelligence is a practice that involves analyzing the data to derive useful information. Mobile business intelligence enables enterprises to dissipate meaningful information to a larger array of managers. The greater the usability of mobile business intelligence the higher will be the use of mobile phones, and all this data requires cloud services.
Accepting the Situation
It is expected that the three problems, cloud, big data and mobile will only grow as the use of mobile technology increases. However, so far, business strategists are unable to derive plans to cope with the issue.
The solution lies in devising a plan that treats all these three issues as one and coming up with a cohesive counter plan.


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Prezi, the online presentation tool that uses a “zooming” canvas rather than slides, has just introduced a brand new iPhone app along with a new iPad editor to accommodate a workforce that is becoming increasingly mobile.
Prezi’s CEO, Peter Arvai, said:
“We now have a very strong ecosystem to support workers on the go. You can start making presentations on your desktop computer at work, continue working or building new presentations from your iPad, and then view and share them on your iPhone.”
Previously, Prezi’s iPad app only allowed users to view presentations and make edits to existing presentations. The new update allows users to create brand new presentations from scratch on the iPad app.
The photo above shows how a user might edit text on the updated iPad app. When viewing the finished presentation, users can actually scroll around a huge whiteboard, zooming to different text, photos, videos and other media as they come up throughout the presentation, rather than just going through a predetermined list of slides.
The new iPhone app allows users to view and share presentations. This is the first app for iPhone that Prezi has released. Both the iPad and iPhone apps are available for free.
In addition to the new mobile features, Prezi has announced many other enhancements to its service over the last several months, including 3D animation, pre-made templates, reusable templates that users can edit rather than starting from scratch, and a completely redesigned user interface and website.
As with all of Prezi’s tools, none of these new features require users to have any programming or technical animation knowledge.
Arvai said that part of what makes Prezi different from other presentation tools is that it allows workers to get creative and brainstorm on an open canvas:
“A big trend we’re noticing is that creative work is becoming more and more valuable in the workplace. And with that, we’ve noticed Prezi becoming more and more a part of the actual workflow of creating a presentation and brainstorming rather than just a tool to present an end result.”
Prezi offers a free version for building and publishing presentations online. For $4.92 per month, users can build presentations online and keep them private. And for $13.25 per month, users can install a pro version on their computer and work offline.
Prezi first launched in Budapest in 2009. The company currently has about 100 employees with offices in Budapest and San Francisco.
Annie: Thanks for informing us about the update regarding Prezi. I have played around with Prezi on the computer and viewed a presentation on my iPhone, but I am not a power user! I think you could become a bit dizzy, watching a Prezi presentation, with all the zooming effects! 😉
How would you compare and contrast Prezi with SlideRocket?


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Skype, now owned by Microsoft, has announced that it will acquire GroupMe, a 16-month old group messaging startup for $85 million. There are no public statements on the price of the deal, but AllThingsD has come up with the figure referring to sources close to the negotiations. The startup was founded based on work done in a hackathon at TechCrunch Disrupt in New York in May 2010. During the 16 months of its existence, GroupMe has raised $850 000 in seed financing and later $10.6 million in venture financing. Needless to say, the payout for the investment in such a short time period is fantastic.
The good news in all this is that since Skype is owned by Microsoft and Nokia will be working with Microsoft on the new Windows Phone devices – we could see GroupMe hit the new Nokia smartphones in the future in some form.
GroupMe allows phone users to create private groups in which users can SMS each other and initiate conference calls. Nothing too fancy, but according to RWW group messaging has become some what of a frenzy this year most likely fueling the valuation of GroupMe up north. Earlier this year Facebook acquired Beluga, another group messaging startup.
RWW also reports that Skype will be integrated deeply into the new Windows Phone platforms so bundling GroupMe into the package seems quite natural.
All in all, it’s somewhat safe to say the mobile platform wars are heating up in an interesting way. We’ll surely see more action in the coming months in this space as companies gear up to defend and develop their own offerings.


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Update 2: Assassin's Creed Valhalla patch 1.020 is available to download now on both PS5 and PS4. Thankfully, it's only a very small download. Hopefully the Ostara Festival is finally working as intended!
Update: Ubisoft has confirmed that the next patch for Assassin's Creed Valhalla will deploy on Friday the 26th March. As predicted, the update aims to fix the crashing issues that were introduced with the Ostara Festival. It should also restore both settlement decoration and festival functionality. Phew.
We'll update this article again once the patch is live.
Original Story: A new update for Assassin's Creed Valhalla should be dropping soon on PlayStation 5 and PS4. The incoming patch has been spotted on Sony's servers by PlayStation Game Size, suggesting that its release is imminent.
So what's it for? Well, last week, the freshly added Ostara Festival managed to cause widespread crashing issues. Ubisoft quickly took action, removing the settlement decoration system as well as various festival activities. This supposedly stopped the crashing, but players were left with a broken festival and no way to customise their settlement.
As such, we can only assume that this update is going to fix the initial problem, and restore both decoration and festival functionality. Hopefully it works, because if it doesn't, we fear that even the most committed Valhalla players are going to start losing their patience with the game's post-launch support.
In any case, we'll be sure to post about the patch once it's available to download.


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Posted Mon Mar 5, 2012 at 11:30 AM PST by Dick Ward
The game will apparently be running on the 'Street Fighter X Tekken' engine.
It's been a long time since we've seen a new 'Darkstalkers' game. The last to come out was a PSP launch title and before that we have to reach back to the 20th century. It's a safe bet that quite a few people only know characters like Felicia and Morrigan from games like 'Marvel vs. Capcom 3.'
If the rumors are true, that's all about to change. It's reported that 'Darkstalkers 4' is in the works over at Capcom and that 'Street Fighter' producer Yoshinori Ono is taking the helm. The game would run on a modified version of the 'Street Fighter X Tekken' engine.
The latest news on all things 4K Ultra HD, blu-ray and Gear.


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Some of this season’s hottest looks from the likes of River Island, Oasis and Penneys were on display in Blanchardstown Centre last weekend during their two-day style event recently.
The mix of styles on show was incredible, as customers were able to peek at latest in casual wear, gym gear and not to mention the perfect dresses for a night on the town!
The free event was hosted by Glenda Gilson and it was attended by some of the Ireland’s top stylists who provided style masterclasses throughout the weekend.
Customers who visited the style event were treated to the knowledge of Shirley Lane and Jules Fallon, who helped with the age old problem of trying to dress for your body shape.
One of the most anticipated parts of the show was Debenhams’ and BT2’s unveiling of their new Spring Summer Showcase.
Ingot and Peter Marks were also on hand to showcase the latest and most important beauty trends.
It wasn’t just a style event for the ladies, as kidswear and menswear trends were showcased on the catwalk.
If you were there we hope you managed to scoop some top tips to style your way through summer!


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by Editor News
The letter, dated July 17, instructed to initiate ministry's notification by registering the Electric Vehicles for the public transportation without any obstruction.
In order to bring electric vehicles into the mainstream automobile industry in India, the central government has proposed the removal of any permit obligation from the electric vehicles (EVs) to the state government. This initiative has been taken to increase the mainstream market of the EVs in the Indian automobile industry and its utilization.
Abhay Damle, the joint secretary of ministry of Ministry of Road Transport and Highway (MoRTH), signed a letter which was forwarded to major secretaries and major transport commissioners of all the states. The letter, dated July 17, instructed to initiate ministry's notification by registering the EVs for the public transportation without any obstruction.
"On 18th October, 2018 the ministry has exempted the electric vehicles from the requirements of passenger transport permit. However, most of the states have not implemented the notification and are still insisting for permits of EVs. This acts as a barrier against the proliferation of electric vehicles in passenger transport segment," the notification said.
The ministry has given choice to the state in between minimizing the road tax for the EVs or free the EVs from paying road tax for registration. It has also been suggested to provide subsidies on the EVs being used as transport vehicles under FAME-ll scheme. This will help reduction of the cost of acquisition of these no pollution vehicles. There were many other measures taken by MoRTH for increasing the demand of the EVs like distinct identity green plate for giving a label of being eco friendly or a zero emission distinct identity, free the EVs from the permit obligations and also providing license to the age group of 16 to 18 years for e scooters. The central has also requested state to provide the suitable policies for the EVs and taking care of details like allotment of charging infrastructure in malls, offices, housing societies, parking space, etc.
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As Women’s History Month comes to an end, we’re taking a moment to honor the female voices of LeanDNA.
Almost 36 percent of supply chain leaders during our recent factory operations webinar with IndustryWeek said digital transformation in the factory means “standardizing and automating manual processes.” Frankly, I couldn’t agree more.
Whether it’s upgrading the factory floor with robotic assembly technology, providing wearable information technology to workers, or proactively predicting inventory needs with artificial intelligence solutions—standardization and automation are a top priority.
While most companies have made significant investments in modernizing and automating the factory floor, not many people are talking about the other part—you may call it the back office, or factory management, or factory operations. We call it the secret to unlocking a massive competitive advantage.
We’ve been talking a lot about digital transformation for the factory—specifically optimizing your factory management processes to make sure inventory is in the right place at the right time for your teams. In our dialogues with industry experts and innovators—as recently as last week in an IndustryWeek webinar featuring our team and Mike Louderback, VP of Operational Excellence at Morgan Advanced Materials—we’ve heard a lot of excellent questions about this transformation.
Here are the most common factory management inquiries and subsequent answers from the pros.
We always knew digital transformation in inventory management would continue to grow in the manufacturing space, but the unpredicted challenges amid COVID-19 catalyzed that need. In 2021, manufacturers are tasked with ramping production back to the place it was in 2019—a level that took decades for some to establish. These companies are turning to technology to quickly re-establish and sustain best practices critical in today’s complex supply chain. Cloud-based software, AI-driven technology, and smart, standardized work have gone from a nice-to-have to a company-wide mandate.
As manufacturers ramp back up and make their operations “disruption-proof,” here’s how I predict manufacturing will transform in 2021.


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HSBC has increased its annual lending fund for small businesses in Scotland by 30 per cent as part of its record £12 billion UK commitment.
The banking giant unveiled a £650 million package for Scots SMEs as part of its SME Fund 2018.
In 2017 the total for Scotland was £500 million. This year's UK fund is also double the size of the first - £6 billion - launched in 2014 and brings total funds committed to SMEs over the five years to £46 billion.
It also includes a ring-fenced £1 billion to help UK companies boost overseas trade as Brexit approaches.
Mike Hemingway, HSBC UK’s Regional Director for the North, said: “This latest fund highlights HSBC UK’s commitment to supporting the growth of SMEs right across Scotland no matter whether they’ve just started out or are an already established business.
“Each year, the fund helps and encourages businesses to grow locally, nationally and internationally, in turn helping them achieve their ambitious goals and create jobs for the Scottish economy.
"This year is no exception and we hope to see many more local businesses taking advantage of the fund over the next year.”
Amanda Murphy, Head of Commercial Banking at HSBC UK, added: “Many SMEs in the UK are ambitious, entrepreneurial and ready to expand. After the success of last year, this increased SME Fund 2018 will help more businesses plug the gap between ambition and reality, supporting their growth. We are committed to help British businesses innovate, evolve and grow.”
She said of the £1 billion fund to help boost overseas trade: “British companies are optimistic about their trade growth prospects but it’s important they can get the finance they need to achieve it. We cover more than 90 per cent of global trade and capital flows and are uniquely placed to help these businesses trade overseas.”
Small Business Minister Kelly Tolhurst said: “With more than 1,000 starting up every day, the UK’s 5.7 million small businesses are the backbone of our economy.
“Through our modern Industrial Strategy and industry-led initiatives such as this, the Government and industry are building an environment in which businesses all over the country can thrive.”


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Houston-area employees speak up about having Thanksgiving Day off
As the bombardment of flashy Black Friday advertisements seems to increase every year, it is difficult to remember a time before Thanksgiving became a national shopping day.
According to History.com, the retail industry transformed the Friday after Thanksgiving into a shopping event in the 1980s. In recent years, as more and more consumers camped out in store parking lots, others rebelled by celebrating #buynothingday, according to USA Today.
People often take issue with stores opening for Thanksgiving because employees then must work instead of celebrating the holiday with family.
Debate continues over the morality of requiring employees to work on holidays, but rarely are the employees themselves able to join the conversation.
Some Houston employees at stores closing for Thanksgiving in 2017 discussed what having the day off means to them.
Nancy Bobyk, the Design Center Manager for a Houston area Ethan Allen, said giving employees Thanksgiving off maintains positive morale in the workplace.
“I think everyone is very appreciative of having this special day off,” Bobyk said. “I think it would be very difficult to schedule people that day with so many varying personal commitments.”
Having worked Thanksgiving Day in years past at a previous grocery store job, current Costco supervisor Tami Morse said she missed family time because of work.
“You lose the holiday when everybody is working and stressing out about shopping the very next day,” Morse said. “That’s not what it’s about.”
Thanksgiving Day has slowly become a stage for controversy, as retailers and consumers alike choose between participating in and abstaining from so-called Black Thursday shopping.
One of the few retailers to choose such a solution, REI executives decided in 2015 to close stores for Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday as part of their #OptOutside campaign.
Ann Bewley, Houston outdoor programs and outreach market coordinator for REI, said it is important to give employees days off on holidays.
“Retail, especially during holiday seasons, can be stressful,” Bewley said. “Why not let them have that time to relax, spend time with their friends and families, or recreate as they’d like?”
Genna Riggens, a visual merchandiser for Houston’s IKEA, said there should be a balance between work and your personal life.
“I come from a really large family so it’s hard for us to get together during the year,” Riggens said. “Thanksgiving is definitely one of the times where it’s possible for us all to gather and celebrate, share food and stories and reminisce, so it’s definitely more than just another day off.”
Some assert retailers closing stores on Thanksgiving is a marketing tactic rather than a moral epiphany, according to the Atlantic.com. However, Meghan McCain, a head cashier at a Houston area Barnes & Noble, said that getting holidays off impacts her work ethic.
“It definitely has a positive impact on the way my coworkers and I work, and it also demonstrates Barnes & Noble’s commitment to being a family company,” McCain said.
District Manager for Mattress Firm Sarah Mourer said having the holidays off is a benefit to her team.
“When employees believe their company cares about them, they feel more appreciation at work which in turn can make employees happier at work,” Mourer said.
Macy’s spokeswoman Holly Thomas cited “significant, ongoing customer interest” as a reason for opening Thanksgiving Day, according to USA Today. However, according to the National Retail Federation, Thanksgiving Day shopping increased by one percent in 2016 from previous years.
Costco supervisor Nathan Lilly said most customers view Costco in a positive light for giving its employees the day off.
“People respect the fact that Costco takes care of its employees,” Lilly said.
While some companies pay their employees during holidays stores are closed, a holiday off may mean a day’s worth of income lost for employees without paid holidays.
Bobyk said that most Ethan Allen employees don’t see having the holiday off as a financial burden, however.
“It has never been an inconvenience or hardship, and I know this sentiment is shared by all my fellow employees,” Bobyk said.
With Hurricane Harvey still affecting the lives of many Houstonians, this holiday season will be unique for many, to say the least. Mattress Firm District Manager Ben Del Bosque recalled a saying about natural disaster recovery.
“People who have endured disasters like this have a saying: ‘It’s not about surviving the storm; It’s about surviving after the storm,’” Del Bosque said.
“For many families, this will truly be a year of giving thanks for the blessings we have in our lives.”


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Facebook is adding a new feature that will allow users to respond to statuses with photo attachments.
The world's biggest social network confirmed that the update's global rollout commenced on Wednesday (June 19).
Users can upload an image to a conversation by clicking the new 'Attach a Photo' button, which will soon appear on the Facebook's web-based and mobile site in various territories.
"When I'm talking with a friend, sometimes showing a photo helps me tell a story much better than words alone," said Bob Baldwin, one of the developers behind the new feature. "If we're hanging out in person, I can show a photo from my phone, but on Facebook I'd have to post a link to a photo.
"Now, you'll be able to attach a photo directly when posting a comment. I hope this will make threads with friends more expressive and engaging."
Facebook is yet to confirm when the update will be available through its mobile apps.


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The leading epidemiologist of the World Health Organization (WHO), Maria Van Kerkhove, assured that so far there have been no cases of transmission of Covid-19 in food.
The reaction to this possibility was It was produced after the Chinese authorities alerted that chicken wings imported from Brazil tested positive for Covid-19, leading to doubts as to whether the coronavirus can be spread through food, in this case frozen food.
Van Kerkhove explained that among the more than one hundred thousand packages inspected they only found less than ten infected and recalled that previously, together with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, guidelines were published for people who treat this type of food
Michael Ryan, also from the WHO, added that people are already scared enough about Covid-19, so it is important to closely monitor these findings to that people continue with their daily lives without further fear.
“There is no problem with the food chain, for now there are enough problems. We will continue investigating the situation, but there is no evidence that the food chain is participating in the transmission of this virus, "he said.


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Waiakea Hawaiian Volcanic Water will soon be selling its bottled water brand in bottles that will break down in years instead of centuries. The bottles, which are also 100% recyclable, will be made using TimePlast which is an additive that will be introduced into the plastic making up the bottle. The addition of TimePlast means that bottles containing it will completely break down in 15 years. Regular water bottles take about 1,500 years as a comparison on how quickly this happens.
Ryan Emmons, who is the chief executive officer of Waiakea as well as its founder, said that the problem in the industry is that too many water bottles end up in landfills. He also said that advances in the technology behind water bottles has been focused for years on making the bottles stronger and better. This new approach, he says, is focused on making them weaker so that they’re far more environmentally friendly as well as simpler on a molecular level.
The new Waiakea bottles will be introduced to the public in 2018. Sustainability and environmental responsibility are some of the key values of this Hawaiian company. The new bottles took about five years to develop. The addition of TimePlast won’t increase the cost of Waiakea bottled water because its costs is negligible. Emmons said it’s about the same price as the colorant that is added to Waiakea water bottles during the manufacturing process.
Waiakea is also a socially responsible company. They donate clean water in citizens in Africa for each bottle of Waiakea they sell. This company formed a partnership with Pump Aid which puts inexpensive and low maintenance water pumps into villages in Africa. Many African communities lack a source of clean water which the partnership between Waiakea and Pump Aid is meant to help solve.
Waiakea Volcanic Water can now be found in stores across the United States as well as online such as at Amazon. It was rated the #1 volcanic bottle water brand of 2017 by the organization 10 Best Water. They cited its taste as well as its healthiness due to the presence of natural minerals.


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Amazon, Fuel and the Arctic: Three Changes Within the Maritime Supply Chain Industry
Freight forwarding and the maritime shipping industry are in a state of flux, with new players, new routes, low fuel prices and changing consumer trends. What does this flux signify for the supply chain industry?
What Amazon is Facing
With the Wall Street Journal reporting that Amazon is poised to enter the maritime freight forwarding market, analysts wonder how this move will reverberate throughout the industry and whether or not this is a wise undertaking for the e-commerce giant. Amazon hasn’t commented on whether or not they plan to enter the freight forwarding market but experts agree that doing so will take several years.
Right now, reports show a decrease in exports and a slight rise in imports. This works in Amazon’s favor, that is if their strategy is to increase imports from China, which many people think is the case.
Megan Geuss writes in Ars Technica, that ocean shipping is only part of Amazon’s overall logistics’ plan and it provides Amazon with a competitive edge over other American and foreign companies.
Good News For Everyone
With slow economic growth and weak demand for goods, consumers are not making life easy for shippers. With all of that said, lowered fuel costs are working in Amazon’s (and all shipper’s) favor. Analyst Donald Broughton told The Wall Street Journal:
The ongoing decline in the cost of fuel has effectively lowered the cost of operations for all modes of transport, which allows marginal operators to continue where they would have otherwise failed, and allowing better operators to thrive.
Due to thinning ice sheets, navigation through Arctic waters is expected to increase. Experts anticipate faster, up to 40-percent faster, transport through these areas. The slow-down, however, is a limited U.S. ice breaker fleet able keep routes clear. Although new ice breakers have been commissioned, Russia is still ahead of the game when it comes to clearing icy routes.
All these developments indicate that maritime shipping gains importance as global trading intensifies and more players enter the industry. With flux, comes openings for agile players but even the most agile and opportunistic entrepreneur needs to remember that the bottom line is consumer behavior. Let those trends guide your strategy.


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According to the GSM Association’s (GSMA) ‘2019 Mobile Gender Gap Report’, just 42 per cent of women in India are aware of the internet, and that it can be used on a mobile phone.
Surprised? Well, the report, released on Wednesday, states that women in India are 28 per cent less likely than men to own a mobile phone. It also said that women are 56 per cent less likely than men to use mobile internet. The mobile gender gap varies by region and country but is the widest in South Asia.
However, women’s mobile phone ownership has increased significantly in low- and middle-income countries since 2014. The number of women who own a mobile has risen by over 250 million, with 80 per cent of women across these markets now owning a mobile phone.
Mobile is the primary means of internet access in low- and middle-income countries, particularly for women. Forty eight per cent of women in these countries now use mobile internet. However, there is a persistent mobile gender gap.
Mats Granryd, Director General, GSMA, said in a statement, “We are seeing significantly increased mobile access for women. However, in an increasingly connected world, women are still being left behind.”
Women in low- and middle-income countries are 10 per cent less likely than men to own a mobile, which translates into 197 million fewer women than men owning a mobile phone. As mobile subscriber growth slows, the gender gap in mobile ownership is not closing.
“While mobile connectivity is spreading quickly, it is not spreading equally. Unequal access to mobile technology threatens to exacerbate the inequalities women already experience,” said Granryd.
Network operators such as Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel have signed up for the Commitment Initiative of the GSMA Connected Women Program and are committed to reducing the gap between their customers’ genders by 2020.
Read also: Working Mothers Have 40% Higher Stress Levels: Study
Sonakshi Goel is an intern with SheThePeople.TV


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Norwegian today announces the release of more than one million seats to the USA, launching the release of its summer 2020 flight schedule. Consumers planning next year’s summer holidays can now book affordable nonstop flights from London Gatwick to nine US cities from £157 one way at www.norwegian.com/uk.
Voted Skytrax Best Low-Cost Long-Haul Airline, Norwegian has grown to become a leading transatlantic carrier that offers consumers a high-quality service at great value fares. Operating modern Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft with free Wi-Fi that are more environmentally friendly, customers travel in comfort with attentive crew and attractive schedules from London Gatwick to the most popular destinations in the USA and South America.
Norwegian has started the release of its summer 2020 flights to the USA, which are available to book now with one-way fares from:
London Gatwick to –
- Boston (BOS) – £157 economy / £472 Premium
- New York (JFK) – £157 economy / £542 Premium
- Orlando (MCO) – £172 economy / £602 Premium
- Tampa (TPA) – £172 economy / £602 Premium
- Denver (DEN) – £187 economy / £602 Premium
- Miami (MIA) – £192 economy / £602 Premium
- Austin (AUS) – £197 economy / £602 Premium
- San Francisco (SFO) – £197 economy / £602 Premium
- Los Angeles (LAX) – £197 economy / £602 Premium
Matthew Wood, SVP Long-Haul Commercial at Norwegian said: “Brits love a bargain which is why we are giving consumers plenty of time to start planning next year’s summer holidays with early access to our lowest fares to the USA.
“We will be releasing more flights in phases that make up the rest of our summer 2020 flight schedule but until then, we recommend that consumers book early to secure the best fares and their preferred seats on board our modern environmentally-friendly aircraft to the USA’s top cities.”
Europe’s third largest low-cost airline will release the remainder of its summer 2020 programme in phases over the coming weeks. The airline currently operates more flights to the USA than any other carrier from London Gatwick and is the only carrier serving Brazil and Argentina nonstop from the airport.
Norwegian is ranked the most fuel-efficient transatlantic carrier by The International Council for Clean Transportation (ICCT), operating 787 Dreamliners that are more environmentally friendly and up to 20 per cent more fuel efficient than more traditional aircraft.


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While you’ll still have to build any furniture you buy yourself, IKEA stores in Canada are now offering to assemble meals for takeout.
In provinces where dining-in is allowed, you can still have your Swedish meatballs and lingonberry sauce where you shop but in provinces and cities where in-store cafes have been closed amid the pandemic, there’s a to-go option starting on Monday.
The new takeout menu includes IKEA favourites like Swedish meatballs as well as kid’s and family meals, sides, beverages and dessert.
“Given the current situation, we understand you may prefer to dine at home. Starting November 9th, IKEA Canada will launch nationwide Restaurant takeout.”


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Low prices, but high hopes for the voluntary carbon market
Sweeping changes in environmental markets made 2015 a pivotal year for the voluntary carbon credits, according to respondents in Environmental Finance's Voluntary Carbon Market Survey.
Prices down, but optimism up
Prices have come under renewed pressure, say the winners of this year's Voluntary Carbon Market Rankings, but growing interest from corporates offers reasons for hope. Peter Cripps reports
Winners of Environmental Finance's Voluntary Carbon Market Rankings see better times ahead
Sentiment in the voluntary carbon market remains bullish despite prices continuing to come under pressure, according to the latest survey of the market by Environmental Finance.