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Ohio MMJ Legalization Efforts Back on Track
A month ago, it seemed efforts to get medical marijuana on the 2012 ballot in Ohio were on the verge of stalling. State election board officials rejected initiatives from two separate groups that submitted petitions to move the process forward, throwing out most of the signatures in one case and taking issue with the wording of the proposed ballot in the other.
Now, however, one of the groups has received the initial go-ahead from the Ohio Ballot Board, allowing it to begin collecting the 385,000 valid signatures needed to let voters decide whether to make pot legal for patients with certain medical conditions.
It’s a tall order, to be sure. Getting that many signatures for a controversial issue will be challenging. But backers of the bill are confident that a big chunk of the population in Ohio supports legalizing medical marijuana.
Under the proposed measure, called the Ohio Alternative Treatment Amendment, patients with certain medical conditions – including cancer, HIV and AIDS, glaucoma and Parkinson’s disease – could have up to 3.5 ounces of marijuana at any given time. Patients would get their medical marijuana from “safe access centers,” which would be barred from using depictions of pot or using the word “cannabis” in signs that can be seen by the public.
Groups and lawmakers in several other states, including Florida, North Carolina and even Alabama, are pushing to legalize medical marijuana in 2012 as well.
Mainstream insurance companies should start crafting policies to cover legal marijuana businesses as the industry [click to continue...]
In a bid to curtail premature business opportunities tied to recreational marijuana, city leaders in [click to continue...]
A group in Ohio has already raised $36 million for a proposed ballot measure that would [click to continue...]
After a medical marijuana company abandoned its cultivation license on Monday in an area west [click to continue...]
Washington State entrepreneurs hoping to sell marijuana through vending machines or drive-up windows took a [click to continue...]
Cannabis businesses face opposition from anti-marijuana advocates worried about the drug falling into the hands [click to continue...]
Nearly 40% of the 519 businesses that applied for medical cannabis business licenses in Nevada [click to continue...]
Florida is having a hard time figuring out rules for its CBD industry. The state [click to continue...]
Dispensaries in Maine sold an estimated $16.2 million worth of medical cannabis last year, while [click to continue...]
Oregon could keep medical marijuana completely separate from recreational cannabis when retail sales begin next [click to continue...]
Missouri has joined the growing number of states legalizing CBD-based medicines. The state awarded cultivation [click to continue...]
Dispensaries and retail cannabis stores in Colorado sold nearly 150,000 pounds of marijuana flower last [click to continue...]
Recreational marijuana has dominated headlines out of Washington DC this week, as the use, possession [click to continue...]
A company that got turned down for one of the Illinois’ 21 medical marijuana cultivation [click to continue...]


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Burglarized Eastchase jewelry store reopens
A new jewelry store is back on its feet and ready to celebrate after its grand opening was delayed by a burglary.
Pandora at 7040 Eastchase Parkway planned a grand opening earlier this month before it was burglarized Oct. 2. The store's been repaired, restocked and will finally have its official grand opening from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday. Visitors can register to win one of several Pandora Iconic Bracelet Gift Sets, and the store will give away a black satin tote with each purchase of $125 or more.
The jewelry chain is a family-owned business with 15 locations in the Southeast region and two new stores coming.
"We're just thankful that no one was hurt," Marketing Manager Emily Williams said. "We just want to celebrate and go forward and be thankful. We have our inventory replenished, and our new winter collection is here."
The company also announced a new deal with Disney and will have Disney charms available in store starting Nov. 1.
The store is open 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 1 to 6 p.m. on Sunday.

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Investors are keen for renewables, a phenomenon that is freshly apparent in Japan’s continuing momentum across both domestic and overseas activity.
Category: Other Good Stuff
First 3kW array had to pretend to be a coal-fired power station to get connected. But it didn’t destroy the grid, as utilities feared.
Production of the luxury BIPV product will not begin until “mid-2017”, and a waiting list has appeared on the Tesla site.
Accompanying tweet of video of Model 3 release candidate going down a street, Elon Musk reveals several things about Model 3 & Model Y.
The NSIDC doesn’t usually release data for both poles simultaneously, but has done so this time because of what scientists have dubbed an “exceptional” year in 2017..
What is a reasonable Feed-in Tariff (FiT) and why should a solar household in Bundanoon receive less than a solar household in Ballarat?
The amount of coal-fired power plants under development dropped dramatically in 2016.


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On 28th March 2024, at the C asean Auditorium CW Tower, Bangkok, Thailand, over 333 Circular Economy and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) stakeholders, including policymakers, industry representatives, academia and environmental advocates, participated in the “C asean Forum 2024: ASEAN Action Towards Circular Economy: Move Forward with Extended Producer Responsibility.”
This event is a collaborative effort organised by the ASEAN Centre for Sustainable Development Studies and Dialogue (ACSDSD), the C-asean and Thailand Supply Chain Network. Its primary objective is to foster a collaborative and informed dialogue, inspiring actionable strategies for adopting EPR across the ASEAN region. By bringing diverse perspectives and experiences together, the event seeks to develop a roadmap for incorporating EPR principles into national policies, industry practices, and community initiatives. The ultimate vision is to propel ASEAN towards a Circular Economy that safeguards the environment and catalyses economic growth and social well-being. This forum stands as a testament to ASEAN’s commitment to sustainable development and responsible resource management, setting the stage for a future where circularity is not just an aspiration but a shared reality.
The C asean Forum 2024 commenced with Khun Tongjai Thanachanan, Managing Director of C asean, delivering insightful Welcoming Remarks. Her emphasis on advancing towards a Circular Economy in ASEAN set the tone for discussions ahead, highlighting the significance of collective efforts in shaping the regional landscape.
Following Khun Tongjai Thanachanan ‘s remarks, Mr. Kai Hofmann, Program Head at GIZ, enlightened attendees on “Circular Economy for the ASEAN Region.” His presentation provided valuable insights into the opportunities and challenges of embracing circularity, setting the stage for deeper discussions.
Dr Panate Manomaivibool, Partner of the EU SWITCH-Asia Programme and Mae Fah Luang University professor continued the journey and shared valuable insights on “EPR Learning from EU Experiences.” His expertise enriched the dialogue, fostering collaboration towards Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) in the region.
The event transitioned into an engaging Panel Discussion on “Promoting EPR Across ASEAN” moderated by Dr. Anthony Pramualratana, Deputy Executive Director of ACSDSD. Esteemed panellists, including Dr Panate Manomaivibool, Mr Carlo Delantar, and Mr Rocky Pairunan, explored strategies and best practices for promoting EPR across ASEAN, fostering a collaborative dialogue to drive meaningful change.
A panel discussion session titled “Promoting Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Across ASEAN” delves into the intricacies of implementing Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) within the ASEAN region. Drawing from a wealth of expertise and regional experiences, the session aimed to facilitate collaboration and knowledge exchange to address the challenges and opportunities associated with waste management and circular economy principles. During the panel discussion
Carlo Chen-Delantar, a prominent figure in social entrepreneurship and circular economy initiatives, initiated the discussion by probing the EPR hotspots in the Philippines and seeking insights on lessons that the country could glean from other ASEAN counterparts. With his extensive background in responsible investments and tech ecosystem development, Carlo Chen-Delantar’s inquiry set the stage for a comprehensive exploration of the Philippines’ role in advancing EPR practices within ASEAN. Carlo continued the discussion by examining the evolution of public-private partnerships in facilitating financing for EPR and circular economy projects, particularly in the Philippines and other regional contexts. His inquiry delved into the implications of transitioning the Solid Waste Management Act into EPR law in the Philippines, shedding light on the evolving landscape of sustainable waste management practices.
Rocky Pairunan from the World Resources Institute delved into Indonesia’s socio-economic and environmental context, addressing the challenges and opportunities in implementing EPR for plastic waste management. His inquiry underscored the necessity of tailored strategies and incentive mechanisms to encourage businesses to embrace EPR practices and invest in sustainable production and waste management systems, highlighting the critical role of regulatory frameworks in driving change. Rocky further elaborated on the Indonesian government’s collaborative efforts with stakeholders, including industry players, civil society organisations, and international partners such as the European Union, to develop and implement effective EPR policies and regulations for plastic waste management. His contribution highlighted the significance of multi-stakeholder engagement in driving sustainable solutions to combat plastic pollution in Indonesia and beyond.
Dr. Panate Manomaivibool, an esteemed environmental policy expert, led discussions on fostering collaboration among ASEAN member states to harmonise EPR regulations and standards. His expertise in solid waste management and policy evaluation provided valuable insights into ensuring consistency and coherence in EPR implementation across the region, emphasising the need for collaborative efforts to address shared environmental challenges effectively during the discussion, Professor Panate expanded the discourse by exploring the potential of EPR+ in addressing the pressing issue of marine debris in ASEAN. His insights offered a holistic perspective on how integrating additional measures into EPR frameworks could mitigate marine pollution, underscoring the importance of comprehensive solutions to safeguard marine ecosystems.
The panel discussion concluded with a consensus on the imperative of collective action and collaborative partnerships to accelerate the adoption of EPR and advance circular economy principles across ASEAN, laying the groundwork for a more sustainable future in the region.
Key Takeaways from the panel discussion are:
- Focus on Local Contexts: Experts emphasised the importance of understanding each ASEAN member state’s unique socio-economic and environmental context when implementing EPR. This approach ensures tailored strategies and incentive mechanisms to encourage businesses to embrace EPR practices effectively.
- Need for Regulatory Frameworks: Regulatory frameworks are crucial in driving change towards sustainable waste management practices. Harmonising EPR regulations across ASEAN member states can ensure consistency and coherence in implementation, facilitating collaboration and addressing shared environmental challenges effectively.
- Integration of Additional Measures: Discussions highlighted the potential of integrating additional measures, such as EPR+, into existing frameworks to address pressing environmental issues like marine debris. This holistic approach emphasises the importance of comprehensive solutions to safeguard marine ecosystems.
- Importance of Collaboration: The panel concluded with a consensus on the imperative of collective action and collaborative partnerships. Multi-stakeholder engagement, including government bodies, industry players, civil society organisations, and international partners, is crucial in driving sustainable solutions and combating plastic pollution effectively across ASEAN.
The afternoon session of the C asean Forum on “ASEAN Action Towards Circular Economy: Move Forward with Extended Producer Responsibility” commenced with a series of insightful presentations and discussions aimed at driving sustainable development initiatives in Thailand.
1. Presentation on “Thailand National EPR” Mr. Patinya Silsupadol, Deputy Secretary General and Executive Board of TIPMSE, The Federation of Thai Industries, began the session with a presentation on “Thailand National EPR.” Mr. Patinya illuminated Thailand’s endeavors in implementing Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) principles, emphasizing their significance in shaping the nation’s industrial landscape.
2. Presentation on “Financial Mechanism for Thailand’s Circular Economy: Regulatory Perspective” Following Mr. Patinya’s presentation, Mr. Pavich Kasavawong, Deputy Director General of the Department of Climate Change and Environment (DCCE), elaborated on the “Financial Mechanism for Thailand’s Circular Economy: Regulatory Perspective.” Mr. Pavich provided valuable insights into the regulatory framework essential for fostering a circular economy in Thailand.
3. Presentation on “Financial Mechanism for Thailand’s Circular Economy: Funding Perspective” Ms. Rieko Kubota, Senior Environmental Engineer from The World Bank, continued the discourse with her presentation on the “Financial Mechanism for Thailand’s Circular Economy: Funding Perspective.” Ms. Kubota explored critical funding mechanisms necessary for driving sustainable development initiatives in Thailand, shedding light on avenues for financial support.
4. Practitioner Panel Discussion: Advancing Sustainable Recycling Concluding the session was a practitioner panel discussion moderated by Ms. Vijitar Supakong, Vice President – Sustainability and Risk Management at Berli Jucker. The panel, titled “Advancing Sustainable Recycling,” featured esteemed practitioners including Mr. Soonthorn Yongvibulsiri from SCG Packaging, Ms. Salinla Seehaphan from Nestle, and Ms. Kitiya Santaveesuk from Thai Beverage Can. They shared their experiences and insights on advancing sustainable recycling practices, providing valuable perspectives for fostering a circular economy in Thailand.
The afternoon session of the C asean Forum proved to be a platform for engaging discussions and presentations, offering valuable insights and strategies for advancing sustainable development initiatives and promoting circular economy principles in Thailand.
Exhibition Session at C asean Forum: ASEAN Action Towards Circular Economy
The exhibition session at the C asean Forum: ASEAN Action Towards Circular Economy provided a comprehensive showcase of organizations dedicated to promoting sustainability and circular economy principles within the ASEAN region. It offers attendees valuable insights into the latest innovations and initiatives driving the ASEAN region’s transition towards a circular economy. With booths from diverse organisations, the event facilitated knowledge sharing, collaboration, and collective action towards a more sustainable future.
With booths from various stakeholders, attendees had the opportunity to explore innovative solutions and initiatives aimed at advancing extended producer responsibility (EPR) and sustainable waste management practices, including
- C asean: C asean’s booth was the exhibition’s focal point, highlighting the organisation’s commitment to fostering collaboration and driving sustainable development across ASEAN. Representatives engaged with visitors, sharing insights into C asean’s initiatives and programs promoting circular economy practices within the region.
- ASEAN Centre for Sustainable Development Studies and Dialogue (ACSDSD) and ASEAN Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform (ACESP): The joint booth presented by ACSDSD and ACESP showcased research findings, projects, and partnerships focused on advancing sustainable development and circular economy principles within ASEAN. Attendees had the opportunity to learn about ongoing initiatives and engage with representatives to explore potential collaborations.
- Thailand Supply Chain Network (TSCN): TSCN’s booth highlighted the importance of supply chain sustainability in driving circular economy practices. Representatives showcased best practices and case studies, emphasising the role of supply chain management in promoting resource efficiency and reducing waste across various industries.
- ThaiBev: ThaiBev showcased its commitment to sustainability through innovative beverage production and packaging practices. Visitors learned about the company’s efforts to reduce environmental impact and promote circularity through recycling programs and eco-friendly packaging solutions.
- Sustainability Expo: The Sustainability Expo booth featured a diverse range of eco-friendly products and services from various vendors. Attendees explored sustainable alternatives for everyday consumption, from reusable packaging to energy-efficient technologies, promoting a culture of sustainability.
- TIPMSE: TIPMSE highlighted the latest advancements in EPR in Thailand. Representatives engaged with visitors, discussing the role of sustainable packaging in reducing waste and promoting circular economy practices.
Thai Bev Can: Thai Bev Can showcases its efforts to promote recycling and waste reduction through innovative can designs and recycling initiatives. Attendees learned about the company’s commitment to increasing recycling rates and minimising environmental impact through responsible packaging practices.
- BJC (Berli Jucker Public Company Limited): BJC’s booth featured its sustainable business practices and initiatives to reduce environmental footprint across its operations. Representatives discussed the company’s efforts to implement EPR strategies and promote circularity in product design and packaging.
- Ecolab: Ecolab presented its sustainable solutions for water, hygiene, and energy management, highlighting the importance of resource efficiency in driving circular economy practices. Visitors learned about Ecolab’s innovative technologies and services to minimise environmental impact and promote sustainable development.
- Westrock: Westrock showcased its sustainable packaging solutions, demonstrating how design innovations can contribute to waste reduction and product recyclability. Representatives engaged with attendees, discussing the company’s commitment to promoting circular economy principles in packaging design.
- Henkel: Henkel highlighted its eco-friendly products and initiatives to promote sustainable consumption and production practices. Visitors learned about Henkel’s efforts to incorporate recycled materials into its products and reduce carbon emissions throughout its value chain.
- SCG Paper (Siam Cement Group): SCG Paper’s booth featured its sustainable paper products and initiatives aimed at minimising environmental impact. Representatives discussed the company’s commitment to responsible sourcing and production practices, promoting circularity in the paper industry.
- PTT GC: PTT GC showcased its role in promoting corporate sustainability and responsible business practices within Thailand. Representatives engaged with visitors, discussing the importance of integrating sustainability into business strategies to drive positive environmental and social impact.
- IVL (Indorama Ventures Public Company Limited): IVL highlighted its efforts to promote sustainable materials and circular economy practices in the plastics industry. Attendees learned about IVL’s initiatives to increase recycled content in its products and reduce plastic waste through innovative recycling technologies.


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Huawei Technologies and China’s top chipmaker SMIC have unveiled a new 7-nanometer processor for Huawei’s latest smartphone, the Mate 60 Pro.
The Kirin 9000s chip was made in China by SMIC, and is the first to utilize the company’s most advanced 7nm technology. The development is a major step forward for China’s chip industry, and is seen as a “slap in the face” to the United States, which has restricted Huawei’s access to American chipmaking tools.
The Mate 60 Pro is capable of download speeds exceeding those of top line 5G phones, and has been praised for its performance and battery life. The phone is currently only available in China, but is expected to be released in other markets soon.
According to screenshots provided by Huawei Central, Huawei’s HiSilicon Kirin 9000S appears to be a rather intricate System-on-Chip (SoC). It houses four high-performance cores, with one capable of reaching speeds up to 2.62 GHz and two others maxing out at 2,150 MHz.
Additionally, it integrates four energy-efficient cores that can operate at speeds up to 1,530 MHz. These cores are designed based on Huawei’s proprietary TaiShan microarchitecture, which still seems to be rooted in the Armv8a ISA.
The SoC also includes the Maleoon 910 graphics processing unit, which can run at a maximum of 750 MHz. When compared to the clock speeds of Arm’s cores found in earlier HiSilicon SoCs, both the CPU and GPU cores in the Kirin 9000S operate at relatively lower frequencies.
The sources for this piece include an article in Reuters.


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MeitY Invites Proposals To Estimate India's Digital Economy: Report In 2019, the Centre released a report which stated the digital transformation could empower un-served and under-served segments and create $1 trillion economic value in 2025
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) on Wednesday invited proposals to take up the task of estimating the size of India's digital economy as well as the rankings and measurement of the share of the states in this area, according to a BS report.
"The study identified 30 digital themes ranging from IT infrastructure, software capabilities, and healthcare education to next-generation financial service. To achieve this, concerted action is required in a 'Team India' spirit with collaboration between government and private or social sectors," the IT ministry said in the invitation for proposals, as per the report.
According to previous reports, the government had already disclosed the plans to exhibit the success of India's digital economy in the G20 Summit to be held in Delhi by September, in which the country will act as a lending hand to other countries to fix the digital payments ecosystem.
Also, in order to further strengthen the Indian digital economy, the finance minister while presenting the Union Budget 2023 had announced a number of measures which will impact several sectors such as agriculture, finance, commerce, education, culture, justice and more.
In 2019, the Centre released a report which stated the digital transformation could empower un-served and under-served segments and create $1 trillion economic value in 2025 sustaining 60 to 65 million jobs. The trillion-dollar digital opportunity report envisioned and laid out a roadmap of how India's digital economy can unlock productivity and value through transformative infrastructure.


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Data suggests retailers left with tobacco stock they can’t sell
THOUSANDS of retailers may have been left with tobacco stock it is now illegal for them to sell, following the arrival of TPD2 on May 20, according to the Retail Data Partnership.
Research from the EPOS specialist showed that just days before the sell-through period for branded products expired last month, they still made up to 20% of packs sold in convenience stores.
Data from mid-May shows:
• Of the 882,000+ factory-made cigarette packs, 23.27% were sold in non-compliant, branded packs (down from 27.97% the previous week).
• Of the 127,000+ roll-your-own tobacco pouches, 10.56% were sold in non-compliant, branded packs (down from 11.94% the previous week).
• Only 4.65% of retailers exclusively sold compliant, non-branded packs (up from 3.67%) the previous week.
Stephen Burnett, managing director of the Retail Data Partnership, said: “We expect that branded packs will still be commonly sold in convenience stores even after the date has passed in an effort by retailers to sell their remaining branded stock.
“This is obviously risky for retailers who may face prosecution from Trading Standards as well as retribution from their tobacco gantry provider.”


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According to a report from the Wall Street Journal, Motorola is expected to return the Razr phone with a few upgrades.
The flip phone first came out in 2004. The new Razr phone is expected to be a smartphone with a folding screen.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the Razr is sold exclusively through Verizon and costs about $ 1,500.
The expectation is that it will be released sometime in February.


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CEO Sharon Price John says Build-A-Bear’s old e-commerce system is a big reason for disappointing online sales in December.
Fry Inc., a leading provider of e-commerce platforms and web site design services, has expanded its staff by 30% in the past year and is hiring people in all four of its facilities, president David Fry says.
Fry Inc., a leading provider of e-commerce platforms and web site design services, has expanded its staff by 30% in the past year and is still hiring, president David Fry tells InternetRetailer.com.
Demand for new e-commerce features and platform upgrades is driving up the need for experts in web site engineering, user experience, creative services and overall project management, Fry says. “We’re hiring in all four locations-New York, Chicago, San Francisco and Ann Arbor, MI,” he says.
The firm currently employs about 170 people, up from 130 a year ago, and is looking to hire another 15 to 20 people this year, Fry says.
Fry lists about 80 companies on its client list, about 75% of the retailers. Clients include 1-800-Flowers.com, Amazon.com, J.C. Penney and The Home Depot.


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Google created Honeycomb to run tablets, but the company has made it clear that it has no intention of maintaining and running parallel OSes to run on different devices. With Ice Cream Sandwich, Google is adopting one OS for all approach -- an OS which will run on various form factors and devices including the Google TV.
This is one of the reasons Google is holding the Honeycomb code to discourage vendors from putting it on smartphones and create a bad experience for users.
Honeycomb users might wonder how will honeycomb look like on smartphones. Well, it appears that even if the code-base is same different devices will have different interfaces optimised for the screen size and devices. No one would want a smart-phone-targeted Gingerbread interface on Xoom.
We got a hint by this blog which has been able to 'expose' the hidden Gingerbread interface in Honeycomb. The OS changes the interface from Honeycomb to Gingerbread if it detects a higher screen density.
If you have a rooted tablet you can change the LCD density from 160 to 170 and you will be greeted by the Gingerbread interface on your tablet.
Fun never stops at Google!


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Apple's Tim Cook reportedly in discussion with Samsung for AMOLED display in the iPad 344
Speaking on the condition of anonymity, the source said: “Apple wants to tap into Samsung’s AMOLED technology for an upgraded version of the iPad 2, considered by many as the iPad 3 that is likely to be launched toward the end of this year”. The source went on to clarify that Apple even offered advance payment to secure production, something that it usually does in scale, elbowing out the competition.
Well, we needn't say that this goes against everything we've heard so far. Legal battles between Apple and Samsung aside, we had the chief of the OLED Association Barry Young saying that 7" and larger AMOLED displays are not coming until much later this year, when Samsung has sufficient capacity from its new 5.5-Gen factory, and that was before the Japanese quake devastation. And sufficient in the case of Apple will mean millions upon millions, whereas the factory will be able to make 48 000 substrates per month this year, rising to 100 000 in early 2012. Not to mention that we had Samsung itself confirm that it won't be having a tablet with AMOLED display this year.
Could it be that The Korea Herald source has meant Tim Cook wants in on a new LCD technology of Samsung, of which the Koreans recently showed off a 10" 1600x2560 pixels prototype? After all, the same newspaper wrote exactly that in February this year, saying that Apple wants a PLS-LCD display from Samsung for an iPad 3 in the fall.
If the previous rumor was from the same source, how did we arrive at this one for AMOLED displays for tablets now, given the scarce production capacity and reluctance of Samsung to lend the technology to anyone else, much less to what it now considers its biggest competitor in the smartphone and tablet world?
We'll file this rumor about Apple's elusive AMOLED iPad 3 in the "believe it when we see it" shelf, and stick with the more plausible scenario that Apple wants to equip the next iPad with something in the lines of the 1600x2560 pixels 10-incher of Samsung. Given Cupertino's recent troubles with LG's inability to produce enough quality displays for the iPad 2, a change of supplier is entirely possible.
Moreover, we know that Apple achieves its high operating margins by prepaying for components on a larger than anyone scale, thus lowballing the price, and squeezing suppliers' margins to the minimum. Samsung knows that very well, as it supplies a lot of components for Apple's products, and it would be surprising if it surrenders a technology that gives it unique advantages, like the AMOLED displays, of which it can't even produce enough for its own gadgets.
source: TheKoreaHerald via SlashGear


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HONG KONG - The Disneyland theme park in Hong Kong will offer a new Star Wars-themed attraction, ahead of the summer holiday and the opening of Shanghai's Disneyland in mainland China.
This is part of a plan to boost visitor numbers amid growing regional competition and declining enthusiasm among mainland tourists.
The new offerings, expected to launch on June 11, will feature an entertainment zone where Star Wars fans can wear a Rebel pilot costume. Children can also join a 'training programme' by Jedi Knights, the heroes in the movie series.
Kelly Willis, director of creative development of Walt Disney Imagineering at Hong Kong Disneyland Resort, said life-sized characters and collectibles will be available for purchase, along with more than 230 Star Wars-themed merchandise products and some 60 food items.
To complete the experience, visitors will have a chance to build their own lightsabers - the iconic laser swords wielded by Star Wars characters.


text: HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill., Oct. 11, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- All Hallow's Eve is set to bring out ghouls and goblins alike! As Americans prepare for the spookiest day of the year, Kmart is offering a one-stop shopping experience for added ease. According to the National Retail Federation, Halloween spending is expected to reach $6.9 billion this year.* With Halloween drawing such a large retail spend from consumers; Kmart has expanded its inventory of costumes, decor, lighted safety items and candy with so many possibilities, it's scary. (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20131011/DE95979-INFO) A recent study conducted by Kmart and Shop Your Way unveiled this Halloween's top trends – covering everything from the most anticipated costume, to estimated candy consumption. " Halloween has always been a big focus for us as a retailer," said James Alt, SVP and president, seasonal and outdoor living, Sears Holdings. "With 61 percent of Americans frequently purchasing their Halloween costumes, decor, candy and safety items like flashlights and glow-in-the-dark gear and accessories in a single shopping trip, we pride ourselves on offering a wide selection of products to make seasonal shopping easier than ever." Trick-or-Trending Key findings from the study found that pop culture continues to take the lead when it comes to creative costumes. Whether looking to emulate a character from a favorite TV show, or a superhero from one of this year's biggest blockbusters, pop culture characters are leading the pack this year. When asked to predict the most popular costumes this Halloween, Americans ranked Zombies as the most trending costume, with superheroes and Duck Dynasty following close behind. Halloween is not complete without a belly full of candy, and Americans admitted to eating more than a quarter of their candy intended for trick-or-treaters. More than half of Americans plan to hand out candy to trick-or-treaters this Halloween and Kmart is the one-stop shop to stock up on sweet loot. Beyond candy, decor is the perfect accessory to make one's house stand out on the block. When it comes to transforming your home into a haunted house, more than 50 percent of Americans agreed that skeletons or skulls are an essential.


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Last year, Redmi confirmed that it will launch a Redmi K50 series phone powered by the Dimensity 9000 in 2022. Today, three Redmi K50 series phones have been certified in China, according to leaker Digital Chat Station. Last month, the company confirmed that the Redmi K50 series new product launch conference will be held after the Spring Festival.
It also confirmed that the new K50 gaming Edition will be powered by Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC, dual VC cooling system, CyberEngine ultra-wideband motor and pack a 4700mAh battery with support for 120W fast charging.
The new models are Redmi K50 with the model number 22021211RC, which is expected to be powered by Snapdragon 870, and the GeekBench listing that surfaced back in November revealed 12GB of RAM and Android 12 out of the box.
The Redmi phone with the model number 22041211AC is expected to be the Redmi K50 Pro powered by the upcoming Dimensity 8000 SoC and the Redmi K50 Pro+ with the model number 22011211C is said to be powered by MediaTek Dimensity 9000 SoC.
We should know more details about the Redmi K50 series in the coming days, before these go official in China sometime later this month.


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Wow, the news about plastics just keeps getting scarier. First it turns out they may give you brain damage. Now it seems you can get a host of diseases from the stuff as well. You doubtless picked it up from this morning’s FYI, but just to remind you, here’s what the Chicago Tribune had to say about the latest findings on Bisphenol A, a compound found in all sorts of plastic:
Bisphenol A, commonly known as BPA, is used extensively in the linings of food and drink containers, plus countless consumer products, including baby bottles and sippy cups. The chemical also has been found in drinking water, dental sealants and even household dust.
Adding to a growing sense of unease about the chemical’s potential effects was a study released before federal hearings Tuesday that linked exposure to bisphenol A with cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and liver-enzyme abnormalities in adults.
The compound, which Wikipedia defines as, “an organic compound with two phenol functional groups,” is used to keep plastic products from shattering. Last week, scientists at Yale reported that the chemical had been found to cause brain damage in chimpanzees. Scary.
So what can you do to avoid getting sick, or going soft in the head? Well, as government regulators talk about whether or not to ban the stuff, you can start packing your lunch in a glass or metal container, and maybe pick up one of those metal water bottles. Meanwhile, according to the Tribune,
Some state and federal lawmakers have sought to ban BPA in children’s products, and some companies have decided not to produce or sell BPA products. Wal-Mart is phasing out sales of baby bottles containing BPA from its U.S. stores next year, and Nalgene is removing BPA from its popular water bottles.
But the FDA put out a draft assessment this week that declared the BPA-containing products it regulates are safe. It’s going to fight hard to not get caught with its pants down on this. Whatever the outcome, though, it can’t hurt you to be cautious, so use that porcelain, glass, and metal when you can. At the very worst, you’ll cut down on waste, and the feel-good factor there has got to be at least healthy enough to be worth it.
Common chemical BPA under scrutiny as study links it to diabetes, cardiovascular disease [Chicago Tribune]
Association of Urinary Bisphenol A Concentration With Medical Disorders and Laboratory Abnormalities in Adults [Journal of the American Medical Association]
Draft Assesment of Bisphenol A For Use In Food Contact Applications [FDA]
[Image: Via Wikipedia]


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Nintendo considered showing Zelda Wii U at E3 2013
Nintendo considered sharing the first footage of their next entry in the The Legend of Zelda series on Wii U but decided against it, Game Informer report.
“We’re also working on a new Wii U Zelda game. Work on that is progressing fairly concretely,” Miyamoto explained. “In fact, we were thinking about showing it here at E3 but decided to wait just a little bit longer before sharing it with everyone.”
He further revealed that progress is farther along than perhaps many think, which will be news welcomed by fans.


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EIC at CES 2024 in Las Vegas
As part of the EIC (European Innovation Council) International Trade Fairs and USA Soft Landing Programme, which supports EIC awardees to promote their commercialisation strategy in foreign markets and leverage business opportunities at the 12 most popular trade fairs, we were contracted to supporting the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA) in the organisation of the European Pavilion at the 2023 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) taking place in Las Vegas in early January.
BAM Marketing Congress 2023
The 42nd edition of the BAM Marketing Congress took place on 7 and 8 December 2023. This year, we welcomed a massive 1,650 attendees who gain insights and knowledge from no less than 60 speakers, spread across three stages and 2 workshop areas across 2 days! Forum Europe | OFCORES organises this annual 2-day event in collaboration with the Belgian Association of Marketing (BAM).
P95 TEAM RETREAT 2023 - Mallorca
P95 is a young, dynamic and fast-growing company that delivers cutting-edge expertise in epidemiology and pharmacovigilance. They have a team of over 100 remote-working colleagues with nearly 40 nationalities. P95 contacted OFCORES to organise a unique team retreat bringing together colleagues from all over the world.
EUROPEAN SHIPPING SUMMIT 2023
The European Shipping Summit 2023 brought together European shipowners, the maritime sector and its supply chain, European and international policy makers, NGOs, industry stakeholders, seafarers and maritime workers, in a two-day event featuring a high-level dialogue, brainstorming sessions and workshops.
The event was held in Brussels on the 19th and 20th of September 2023, in the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium venue.
Samsonite Europe - 50th Anniversary Team Event
Famous for selling its name-brand luggage and travel gear, Samonsite's European Headquarters based in Oudenaarde, Belgium is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. To thanks its employees, Samsonite decided to hold an evening team event on 15th September 2023 in the Salons Mantovani in Oudenaarde. OFCORES was tasked with organising this event and making it unforgettable for all staff.
BlueInvest Day 2023
For the 4th consecutive time, OFCORES supported BlueInvest for its annual BlueInvest Day. The event that took place on 9 March at the KBR in Brussels brought together members of the BlueInvest community, including innovators, entrepreneurs, and investors, for business-to-investor matchmaking, networking, and knowledge exchange. The event featured inspiring keynotes, panel discussions and BlueInvest Awards pitch battles, providing a valuable platform for the blue economy community to connect with potential investors and partners.
TRUSTED BY A RANGE OF CORPORATE AND INSTITUTIONAL CLIENTS
OFCORES delivers business and institutional event services within Europe, across all sectors and working in collaboration with high level executives and strategic direction teams. Amassing years of industry experience, the OFCORES team has successfully managed hundreds of events from small meetings and client events and to product launches and congresses. Our clients include:


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International trade reps help local companies plan export strategies
Global Delaware is bringing back its team of international trade representatives to meet with local companies and explore opportunities for expanding their businesses abroad.
Reps from Canada, Germany, Israel, Mexico and South Korea will present an overview of export opportunities in their respective countries and be available for one-on-one meetings on Wednesday, Sept. 7 at the New Castle County Chamber of Commerce.
Delaware’s trade reps work in-country to perform market research and analysis, develop product strategies for market entry, identify distributors and potential customers, and provide in-country logistical, translational and related support services on behalf of Delaware companies.
“Last year’s event gave a lot of local business people real food for thought,” said Beth Pomper, Global Delaware’s export advisor. “They learned which products and services are in greatest demand in the represented markets, and what they can do to kick-start their export programs. As a result, many more signed up for trade missions and followed up on other exporting opportunities.”
The reps know the certification processes, regulations, and business laws in their home countries, Pomper said, and can provide Delaware companies with the tools and resources to successfully sell their goods and services in the global marketplace. In addition, they have key connections Delaware businesses need to get appointments with people who are in a position to purchase their products and services.
Global Delaware’s strategic export initiative focuses on offering tactical and practical services to increase exports and ultimately create jobs. Over the past year, Global Delaware has led trade missions to Mexico, Canada and South Korea, generating over $10 million in projected sales for the next 18 months. New missions to Germany and Canada are planned for this fall. In addition, 32 Delaware businesses have received financial assistance in the form of STEP grants to expand their exports this year.
“We are here to help Delaware businesses find and grow markets internationally,” said Global Delaware Director Andrea Tinianow. “The world is changing fast, and we want Delaware businesses to be positioned for success in the global economy.”
Registration for the event opens at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, September 7. at the New Castle County Chamber of Commerce, 12 Penns Way, New Castle, DE. Delaware trade reps will provide brief country overviews starting at 9:00 a.m., followed by one-on-one meetings throughout the morning.
To register for this event and sign up for one-on-one meetings, click this link and fill out the short form.


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Eighteen percent of people in Turkey own crypto compared to eight percent in the United States, according to a study conducted by ING Bank.
ING Bank Poll Finds 35% Europeans Agree Bitcoin Is the Future of Spending Online
“Cracking the Code on Cryptocurrency” surveyed about a thousand respondents in each country to understand their attitudes on the rise of digital currencies such as Bitcoin and what they might mean for our money.
ING Bank, a Dutch banking and financial services corporation headquartered in Amsterdam, conducted the survey in 15 countries to a total of 14,828 participants in order to discover what each nation thinks about cryptocurrencies and what will their role be in consumer spending and investing.
Jessica Exton, behavioral scientist at ING’s consumer economics team, concluded that about a third, thirty-five percent, in Europe agree that Bitcoin is the future of spending online, while 32 percent of respondents are of the opinion that cryptocurrency is the future of investing. A further 29 percent indicated they would never invest in cryptocurrency.
Regarding risk, while 30% find digital currencies riskier than shares, the other 70% would say otherwise. 46% of respondents see shares as less risky than cryptocurrencies, and 24% even say they’re equally risky.
“This may be part of why cryptocurrencies seem to have less appeal for long-term personal finance activities, such as receiving pay or saving for university, than one-off transactions,” the report said.
The ING Bank report concluded that a minority of Europeans would consider using digital assets as a means of payment for a cup of coffee (23%), international online purchases (30%), or children’s university fees (20%).
“Interestingly, larger shares in lower per-capita income countries suggest they might consider investing or paying in cryptocurrency”, Exton stated.
Turkey Leads the Way Amongst the 15 Countries Surveyed
As to whether Bitcoin is the future of online spending, the majority of respondents in Turkey (53 percent) agreed or strongly agreed with the statement, followed by Romanians (43 percent). Agreement was found in 31 percent of Americans, 25 percent of Brits, 18 percent of Australians, and 17 percent of the Dutch.
The report pointed to a potential bias towards younger professional people with more exposure to media and technology with the Turkish online survey as well as with the Romanian. Nevertheless, nearly one in five (18%) in Turkey say they own cryptocurrency compared to nine percent in Europe and eight percent in the United States, seven percent in Australia, and six percent in the U.K. Of the Romanian respondents, 12 percent said they held digital currencies.
A larger number of respondents agreed to the idea of eventually owning cryptocurrencies in the future, with 25% of Europeans expecting that, compared to 15% of Australians, and 21% of Americans.
Featured image from Shutterstock.


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The herbal supplement market has been put through the ringer. Earlier this year, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, ordered DNA barcoding which resulted in the discovery that many herbal supplements did not actually contain the listed ingredients. He ordered that Wal-Mart, GNC, Walgreen’s, and Target stop selling store-brand herbal supplements that the DNA tests found fraudulent. But many in the herbal supplement industry are calling foul, claiming that DNA testing alone is inadequate for analyzing botanical products as they have undergone excessive processing. Many are calling for a retest with better scientific methods.
Although the U.S. Food and Drug Administration generally requires companies to verify products are properly labelled, supplements are not required to go through this process. Several studies have been publicized that reveal the severe integrity issues found in the herbal supplement industry. A Clarkson University study tested hundreds of store-brand herbal supplements that supposedly treated a wide variety of issues. The study revealed that 4 out of 5 supplements contained none of the herbs listed on the labels. Another study by the University of Guelph used DNA fingerprinting and found that 33 percent of 44 supplements tested did not contain a trace of the plants listed on the labels.
The dietary supplement industry protests the use of DNA testing. The United Natural Products Alliance, a trade group, is collecting most of the supplements tested by Schneiderman and running them through five or six botanical testing labs with universally accepted methods. Mark Blumenthal of the American Botanical Council also questions the validity of the DNA testing performed by Schneiderman. He states that DNA testing is not able to accurately identify herbal extracts. He suspects that some of the supplements tested by Schneiderman were extracts.
While botanical scientists are critical of the Schneiderman studies, they still want to raise awareness about the dangerous chemicals found in many herbal supplements. Pieter Cohen, a Harvard Medical School researcher, believes that the New York attorney general is not relying on sound science to expose the true dangers found in some herbal supplements.
Schneiderman’s office stands by the validity of its DNA testing.
Last year consumers spent $23 billion on herbal supplements. But this latest news has many consumers and scientists questioning the integrity of the herbal supplements industry. Now is the time for new and independent merchants to corner the market as large supplement organizations are losing sales and the trust of their clients.


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Cornstalks In The Big Box? Target To Add In-Store Vertical Farms
Major metropolitan areas are making an effort to distance themselves from the traditional food supply chain. Cities, dreaming of achieving food independence from the farms that surround them, are increasingly turning to vertical farming projects that grow food in urban settings. Thanks to giant advances in green engineering and sustainable agricultural technologies, these vertical farms are gaining industrial scale efficiency.
Marking this progress is news that Target stores will debut vertical farms inside some of their stores this spring. According to Business Insider, the big box retailer will add vertical farms to some of its stores this spring. Customers will be able to pick their own leafy greens — or have store staff take on the task. From the piece in Business Insider:
In January, Target launched the Food + Future CoLab, a collaboration with design firm Ideo and the MIT Media Lab. One area of the team’s research focuses on vertical farming, and Greg Shewmaker, one of Target’s entrepreneurs-in-residence at the CoLab, says they are planning to test the technology in a few Target stores to see how involved customers actually want to be with their food.
“The idea is that by next spring, we’ll have in-store growing environments,” he says.
During the in-store trials, people could potentially harvest their own produce from the vertical farms, or just watch as staff members pick greens and veggies to stock on the shelves.
Most vertical farms grow leafy greens, but the CoLab researchers are trying to figure out how to cultivate other crops as well.
“Because it’s MIT, they have access to some of these seed banks around the world,” Shewmaker says, “so we’re playing with ancient varietals of different things, like tomatoes that haven’t been grown in over a century, different kinds of peppers, things like that, just to see if it’s possible.”
Space And Indoor Agriculture
Does your property portfolio include a potential vertical farm? For ideas on vertical farming space configurations, these concept videos from architects help to visualize indoor farming on a profitable scale. To overcome the big spread between cost of land in urban vs. rural areas, most vertical farming has to emphasize the vertical and get more yield per ground square foot than traditional dirt. In the case of a big box or supermarket devoting a portion of its footprint to vertical farming, that requirement might not apply, suggesting there’s a market developing for modular indoor farming operations that insert smoothly into traditional food retailing floor plans. If you’re aware of developments in this area, leave a comment and let’s both keep an eye on this technology.


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The Advent season
Is it too early to start thinking of Christmas? Over here in the UK, we have a whole procession of events leading up to the giant gorging, er, Christmas dinner. First it’s the mince pies, and then the chocolate Advent calendars, followed by Christmas puddings and cakes (brandy butter is a personal preference), and then the Christmas adverts on television. By the time Christmas comes and goes, everyone is several pounds heavier here.
Here in the office we have even discovered that UK supermarket is selling a cheese Advent calendar. In fact, one fellow editor has been the lucky recipient. What it does go to show is a bit of innovation goes a long way in the added value stakes for dairy. What traditional product could be improved with more dairy? I think the answer is everything.
Like many religious events, Christmas is a time of charity, and the news that Arla and the European Federation of Food Banks (FEBA) have signed an agreement to donate surplus products through the FEBA network partners in Europe is good news no matter what month it is.
The agreement formalises and builds on the partnerships already in place between Arla and local food bank FEBA members such as Fareshare in the UK, Fødevarebanken in Denmark and the Dutch food bank. The European Federation of Food Banks (FEBA) is a network of 326 food banks and branches in 23 countries. In 2016, the network of food banks provided an average of 2.6 million meals per day.
Similarly, MilkPEP in the US has had an ongoing drive to ensure food bank recipients get the milk they need for adequate nutrition.
I sincerely wish there wasn’t a need for food banks in today’s world, but people in need should not go hungry, no matter where they are. So, make sure you donate to your local food bank, no matter where you are in the world. Here’s some links:


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In Dubai, vaping has become quite popular over time. The amount of vape shops in the city has increased as a result. According to current figures, Dubai has 15% more vape shops now than it had a year ago. Beyond 2023, this increase is anticipated to continue. The vape trends that are most likely to influence Dubai’s sector in the upcoming years will be discussed in this article.
The popularity of Vaping in Dubai
In Dubai, vaping has grown significantly over the past several years. The demand for vaping equipment, e-liquids, and accessories has increased as more individuals convert from conventional tobacco products to e-cigarettes. The notion of vaping as a healthier alternative to smoking and its attractiveness to tech-savvy customers may both be credited for this increase.
Top Vape Trends in Dubai for 2023
In 2023, several vape trends have emerged in Dubai, reflecting the preferences and demands of the city’s vaping community. Here are some of the most prominent vape trends:
1. Disposable Vape Pens
Due to their practicality and use, disposable vape pens are becoming more and more common in Dubai. These single-use devices are ideal for individuals who are new to vaping or who want a hassle-free experience because they are pre-filled with e-liquid and don’t need any maintenance.
2. Pod Systems
Pod systems have become increasingly popular in Dubai, offering a compact and user-friendly alternative to traditional vaping devices. These devices use replaceable pods, allowing users to switch between flavors easily and enjoy a more satisfying vaping experience.
3. Nicotine Salts
Nicotine salts have taken the Dubai vaping scene by storm, offering a smoother and more satisfying nicotine delivery compared to traditional e-liquids. Many vapers are making the switch to nicotine salts due to their faster absorption and reduced throat hit.
4. Customizable Vape Mods
As the Dubai vaping community continues to grow, so too does the demand for customizable vape mods. These advanced devices offer users the ability to modify their vaping experience, allowing them to fine-tune their preferences and create a truly personalized experience.
5. Smart Vapes
Smart vapes, which come with cutting-edge features and technology, are rising in popularity in Dubai. These gadgets may be linked to smartphones, giving consumers access to precise data on their vaping patterns and configurable settings for a more personalized experience.
Popular Vape Flavors in Dubai
With a diverse and multicultural population, Dubai boasts a wide range of popular vape flavors. In 2023, some of the top-selling flavors include fruity blends, exotic combinations, and traditional tobacco-inspired options.
Vape Cafes and Lounges in Dubai
The rise in vaping popularity has led to the emergence of vape cafes and lounges throughout Dubai. These establishments offer a relaxed and social environment for vapers to try new e-liquids, mingle with fellow enthusiasts, and learn more about the latest vape trends and devices.
Vaping Regulations in Dubai
Dubai has implemented strict regulations surrounding the sale, use, and promotion of vaping products. Vapers must be at least 18 years old to purchase and use vaping devices, and public vaping is prohibited in certain areas, such as shopping malls, restaurants, and public transport. Importing and selling e-cigarettes is allowed, but only by licensed retailers.
Health Concerns and Public Opinion
The perception of vaping as a healthier alternative to traditional tobacco products has contributed to its growing popularity in Dubai. However, public opinion remains divided, with some arguing that more research is needed to fully understand the long-term health implications of vaping.
Impact on the Tobacco Industry
The tobacco sector has been significantly impacted by the advent of vaping in Dubai, as many customers have switched from conventional tobacco products to e-cigarettes. Some tobacco corporations have made investments in the vaping business as a result of this transition, either by creating their own products or joining up with well-known vaping companies.
Online Vape Shopping in Dubai
In Dubai, online vape product purchasing has grown in popularity, with several websites selling a variety of devices, e-liquids, and accessories. These online retailers provide clients with more convenience and frequently have affordable costs, which contributes to the expansion of the vaping industry in Dubai.
Vape Events and Expos
Dubai has become a hotspot for vaping events and expos, attracting international visitors and industry professionals. These events provide an opportunity for enthusiasts to discover the latest products, network with fellow vapers, and stay informed about emerging vape trends and technologies.
Future of Vaping in Dubai
As vaping continues to grow in popularity in Dubai, it’s expected that the market will continue to evolve, with new vape trends, products, and technologies emerging to meet the ever-changing demands of the city’s vaping community.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Is vaping legal in Dubai?
Yes, vaping is legal in Dubai, but there are strict regulations in place regarding the sale, use, and promotion of vaping products.
What are the most popular vape devices in Dubai?
Some of the most popular vape devices in Dubai include disposable vape pens, pod systems, customizable vape mods, and smart vapes.
Can I vape in public places in Dubai?
Public vaping is prohibited in certain areas, such as shopping malls, restaurants, and public transport. It’s essential to be aware of local regulations and respect designated vaping areas.
Are there age restrictions on vaping in Dubai?
Yes, individuals must be at least 18 years old to purchase and use vaping devices in Dubai.
What are some popular vape flavors in Dubai?
Popular vape flavors in Dubai include fruity blends, exotic combinations, and traditional tobacco-inspired options.
Vape trends in Dubai for 2023 showcase a thriving and diverse market that continues to evolve and adapt to the needs of its consumers. From innovative devices and e-liquid flavors to the rise of vape cafes and lounges, Dubai is at the forefront of the global vaping scene.


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Beer importers Vanberg & DeWulf are almost single-handedly responsible for introducing Americans to Belgian beer. Husband and wife Don Feinberg & Wendy Littlefield began bringing the flavorful ales over to the U.S. in 1982, when the beer scene here was totally dominated by pale, macrobrewed lagers.
Last year the company celebrated its birthday with the first ever Coast to Coast Toast, and the nationwide event is back for another round. Coast to Coast Toast 2 takes place Thursday, November 15, at bars all over the country. Where can you join in the Belgophile drinking fun? Check out the official list, by state, of participating bars and bottle shops here (PDF). Let us know how you plan to celebrate in the comments.
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Roses, raspberry, truffle and smoke are all flavors associated with pinot noir, most of which could be ingredients in a turkey recipe, anyway. ...read more ›
Why is Thanksgiving Eve a big party night? It's the perfect storm for drinking fun. ...read more ›
Surely the bong-shaped tap handle Redhook sent to bars with kegs of the stuff had something to do with the buz...read more ›
Despite the rumor that Manhattan was named for the Delaware Indian word for "the place we got drunk that time," New York City is hard on local breweri...read more ›
Due to the exponential growth the craft beer segment has experienced in recent years, Brewer's Association can no longer fit in its current home. ...read more ›
Though inspired in part by last year's Superstorm Sandy, this wintertime brew is actually meant as a salute to...read more ›
According to the label, Dogfish Head had over a thousand ingredient suggestions, but they don't specify whether patchouli and weed were on the list. ...read more ›
When Game of Thrones returns for its fourth season next spring, Brewery Ommegang will introduce a third beer in this ongoing series inspired by the hi...read more ›
When you're a kid, Halloween is the ultimate holiday. How can adults add some excitement back into the pumpkin-themed October mayhem? ...read more ›


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Aegis Logistics Ltd is a 'BUY' call with a target of Rs 269 and a stop loss of Rs 236.
Ecommerce players have welcomed railway minister Sadananda Gowda’s move to set up logistics support for them.
The two cos will share warehouses, processing centres to build a smart logistics network providing easier, faster delivery services to online sellers.
The expansion plans were formalised after the six-year-old company turned profitable in January, said founder Hitendra Chaturvedi.
"We will invest Rs 350 crore in 2014-15 fiscal in supply chain management," Snapdeal co-founder and CEO Kunal Bahl told reporters here.
CBI Director Ranjit Sinha, who has been personally monitoring the developments of the case, said, "We have taken up the investigation in the right earnest as per directions of the Supreme Court."
Over last 2 years, the industry has focussed on cost optimisation & individual productivity amidst economic uncertainty & a competitive landscape, resulting in low job generation, she said
Flint Hills Resources LLC will pay $14.00 per in cash for each PetroLogistics unit, except for units owned by a few select investors.


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Phil Sims, CEO of Robern Menz, talks about the value in registering your trade mark and the benefit in seeking advice to confidently invest and protect your brand.
Dr Heather Bray (University of Adelaide), Dr Jane Rathgen (Adelaide Research and Innovation), and Doug Waterhouse (IP Australia) talk all things Plant Breeder's Rights (PBR) on Radio Adelaide.
When someone sees the tagline ‘Just do it!’ they generally know the brand associated with the slogan straight away. It has even been declared as a ‘famous’ trade mark by the Trade Mark Trial & Appeal Board. An important aspect of branding is the customer association and recognition that’s attached to it. Here's what makes Nike's slogan so memorable.
GroundProbe former Chief operating officer (now Vice President Global Operations) David Noon have been conscious from day one of protecting IP rights. David advises organisations to seek early and robust patent advice, but sees patents as just one part of an overall business strategy. Here's why this company doesn't just rely only on a patent.
Food and wine tourism has skyrocketed in Australia. People are tired of gazing at historic monuments and natural attractions and are instead choosing gastronomic experiences that connect them to the culture of a destination and the local producers for their getaways.
'Beyond our food, it's very important that we can give our customers something they recognise and associate with across all of our national restaurants.'
If ever there was an example in Australian IP case law that highlights the power of the rights of first-use in a trade mark dispute, it must surely be the cautionary tale of Harry Potter.
According to an article Harry Potter and the Order of the Federal Court by Catherine Lee for Clayton Utz, a court decision by Australia’s Federal Court in 2004, described by the media as a David versus Goliath test case, illustrated that proven first use of a trade mark remains the strongest criterion in a disputed ownership of a trade mark.
The plant breeder's rights (PBR) scheme has enabled the CSIRO to protect its IP rights over a new variety of water-use-efficient wheat developed through decades of research.
Tasmanian rose breeder Lilia Weatherly discovered an exciting new mutation, saw its potential and applied for plant breeder's rights (PBR). Within a short time she had licensed it to a nursery and turned her hobby into a business.
About 300 kilometres from Alice Springs, Yuendumu is home to the Warlukurlangu Artists. Warlpiri is their language, known only to small population, yet their vibrant artwork speaks to people all around the world.


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“Each January, Bill Gates addresses the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, outlining Microsoft’s plans for new products. Around the same time, Steve Jobs addresses Mac users at the San Francisco Macworld Expo,” Daniel Eran writes for RoughlyDrafted.
“The difference between the two speakers and what they present in their keynote presentations is further apart than the 570 miles that separate the two cities,” Eran writes.
Eran writes, “Even Microsoft’s official cheerleader Paul Thurrott says ‘[Gates’] keynote addresses are typically boring, droning affairs, though they always draw a standing-room crowd.’ In contrast, the media not only compares Jobs’ Apple events to rock concerts ad naseum, but Jobs frequently presents major artists in concert on stage.”
“Many Macworld Keynote attendees actually leave after Jobs stops talking and the free concert begins! Jobs isn’t just a better speaker; the real difference is that what he presents actually matters,” Eran writes.
“Since 2000, Jobs has presented a steady stream of new products that have resulted in billions of dollars in profits; Gates announcements have nearly all ended up as either vaporware or major money losers,” Eran writes. “To clarify just how embarrassing Microsoft’s efforts to create consumer products have been, here’s a comparison of recent Microsoft announcements at CES next to Apple product releases at the January Macworld Expo.”
Full article here.
Battle of the Keynotes: Apple’s Steve Jobs vs. Microsoft’s Bill Gates – January 13, 2007


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Tomorrow, tech giant Google will unveil its new projects to enter the world of video games. What we hear suggests that the main focus is not on a console, as has been speculated, but rather on a streaming platform with all kinds of gadgets. And a new sophisticated controller that you can use to play it.
Google's investment in streaming is no secret. Last fall, the company's Project Stream Beta enabled users with high-speed Internet connections to play Assassin's Creed Odyssey in a Chrome tab. Rather than locally processing the game's graphics using a high-end PC or game console, Project Stream used it on Google's servers, allowing users to play the game by downloading data on the fly. This is not a new technology, but previous attempts have failed mainly because of latency issues, a problem that Google's makers think they can solve through the data centers they have around the world.
The call, of course, is to be able to play high-end games without having to spend hundreds of dollars for gaming equipment, which Google hopes to reach hundreds of millions of people rather than tens of millions of dollars. people who currently own a video. game consoles.
Rumors that circulate suggest that this streaming platform will be the main axis of Google and that it wants it to be readable on any type of hardware: PC, Mac, phones, TVs, etc. We've heard that you'll be able to play on a computer or Chromecast with the help of a standard Xbox controller, and that Google will also unveil its own controller with streaming features. (We do not know how the controller will work, but it may allow you to use Google's streaming platform on a TV, even if no other hardware is connected.)
We have not heard of any other announcements regarding the material.
This is the platform of the platform that is perhaps the wildest part of tomorrow's big talk, to be held at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco at 10am Pacific Time. Google's streaming platform will not only allow you to play high-end games on low-end hardware. According to several people who have been informed or who have heard about Google's projects, the platform is full of ambitious ideas.
A scenario that was described to us by three different people (each of whom heard about it directly or directly from Google) might look like this: You watch your favorite Twitch streamer play a game and you think it well. You look nice, so you buy it, and if the developers of the game have switched this feature, you can download a backup file that will get you started where your streamer was playing. Or maybe it's a multiplayer game, and you can buy the game and immediately go to a match with the streamer, if the developers allow it and if the streamer is stopped.
Sounds wild, does not it? We will have to wait to see if everything is going well, but that's what the game developers have to say about the unveiling of the Google platform. The main selling point is the removal of traditional barriers such as disks and loading screens, which could be a big part of Google's presentation tomorrow.
The integration of YouTube, as we reported last year, is another of these bells and / or whistles. We heard a whole host of possibilities, including ads that allow you to buy games directly and, more interestingly, a feature that lets you know where you are in a game and automatically loads the right place in a YouTube procedure. if: you want some help.
We also know that Google funds its own video games and that the company poachs developers and leaders from all walks of the video game world. Phil Harrison, formerly of PlayStation and Xbox, runs the Google Yeti unit, and last week, games producer Jade Raymond announced that she was joining the company. We've also heard that Google has spent the past few years meeting with major publishers and developers around the world, and it's safe to wait for some of them to come tomorrow.
We do not know exactly which games we will see during the Google Speech, what other elements could be revealed here and what other features the streaming platform may have. We will have the complete picture at 10am tomorrow morning.


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Complete Coverage: NAB Show 2016
Las Vegas — A new survey released during the NAB Show finds that more than 60% of consumers are hip to several options for blocking ads, a number that jumps to nearly 70% for those under the age of 24.
But there was good news to be found in the new report from Accenture, which surveyed approximately 28,000 consumers across 28 countries: more than 40% of consumers said they would happily pay for content if it meant no advertising.
“Ad blockers are a relatively new threat to the digital advertising industry,” said Gavin Mann, Accenture’s global broadcast industry lead. “Consumers are increasingly willing to pay for blockers because too many ads are poorly targeted. In today’s world of personalized content, being forced to watch an ad that has no relevance is a missed opportunity and feels increasingly intrusive on precious screen-time.
“In fact, simple avoidance of content associated with heavy and repetitive irrelevant advertising will increase as consumer choice and awareness of choice increases.”
Roughly 66% of consumers ages 25 to 34 said they’re aware of ad blocking technologies, and awareness of ad blocking technologies is actually more prevalent in emerging markets, compared to developed markets (65% and 58%, respectively). Mexico scored highest when it came to consumer awareness of ad blocking, with 82% responding yes. The U.K. had the lowest awareness rate, at 55%
“There’s no point in following the music industry’s failed attempts at thwarting piracy,” Mann said. “It’s futile to focus all efforts on trying to outsmart ever-evolving ad-blocking technologies to force audiences to watch ads. The industry needs to do everything possible to make ads less of an infringement on precious screen time, by building on early successes that deliver targeted, relevant and entertaining ads – in a creative style appreciated by the individual.”
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Loggerhead Tools manufactures unique, multi-size Bionic Wrenches in Pennsylvania. Dan Brown Jr.’s father invented and patented the tools, but that hasn’t stopped Chinese counterfeiters from flooding online marketplaces with knockoff wrenches.
Brown’s company isn’t large enough to pay for sophisticated software services to take down knockoffs on platforms like Amazon and eBay. Instead, he hires a part-time employee to hunt for counterfeits and get the platforms to take them down. The effort results in 20 take-downs per week. Many more remain.
While small, made-in-America companies like Loggerhead Tools represent a tiny fraction of the businesses struggling against a flood of counterfeits online, they are the most vulnerable. The investment in inventing and manufacturing at home makes it difficult to compete with cheap sweatshop knockoffs which can reach the United States from China at a fraction of the cost of domestic shipping.
The administration of President Donald Trump began to take action on the issue in 2018 by initiating a one-year withdrawal process from the Universal Postal Union (UNU) in a bid to force the union to change its rules, which afforded China cheap international shipping rates. The pressure tactic succeeded and the United States will begin to set its own rates in July.
But the UPU loophole was only one in a complex system of shippers, warehouses, and online marketplaces exploited at all stages by counterfeiters. Trump moved to plug the gaps last year, ordering agencies to prepare a report on how to address the flood of counterfeits online. The Department of Homeland Security released its report and recommendations in January. The White House set some of the recommendations in action days later, drawing praise from business owners and industry groups.
“I am happy to see that the administration is taking this seriously and that they’re focused on this because this is a major issue for small businesses,” said Brown.
The report and the executive order feature an extensive array of tools designed to plug the loopholes currently exploited by counterfeiters and expand the responsibility to all parties who reap a profit from facilitating the journey of counterfeits to American consumers.
In addition to providing an action plan for the government, the DHS report calls on online marketplaces to ramp up their counterfeit enforcement and outlines immediate steps the platforms can take to stem the tide of knockoffs. These include tougher vetting of third-party sellers, limitations on high risk-products, and implementing rapid procedures for removing knockoffs and notifying all of the parties involved.
Trump’s executive order put several of the measures proposed in the DHS report into action, including calling for the creation of a metric to determine which international postal systems fail to adequately vet counterfeits. Posts which repeatedly fail to meet the metric would face increased scrutiny and may, if the non-compliance continues, be blocked from shipping to the United States entirely.
“I think they did an excellent job and I liked the pragmatic approach that they take to this,” said Donald Dinan, an adjunct professor of law at Georgetown University specializing in international trade law and intellectual property law.
“There’s some real, concrete stuff in it as opposed to a lot of these government reports in which they moan and groan and that’s about it,” Dinan said.
One of Dinan’s clients, Jayme Smaldone, is the inventor of the Mighty Mug, a dual-patent mug which uses a suction cup to prevent accidental spills. The Mighty Mug is relentlessly knocked off by counterfeiters in China.
Under current law, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) can only seize goods which bear infringing trademarks, but not products which violate design patents. Dinan helped The Mighty Mug obtain an exclusion order from the U.S. International Trade Commission. The order enables CBP to seize counterfeits which infringe on a design patent.
The design patent loophole can only be addressed through legislation. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) introduced a bill in December that would plug the gap.
Smaldone thinks the latest actions by the administration will prompt the intermediaries involved to take action.
“I think it’s really interesting, particularly the fact that they’re looking to put more people in the line of fire, not just the importer of record, not just the shipper,” Smaldone said. “I like that idea. You have to be heavy-handed sometimes.”
Smaldone’s 14-person team does not have the manpower to tackle the volume of counterfeits. Instead, the company hired Red Points, a software service which tracks down counterfeits across multiple online marketplaces. Smaldone now spends 10-15 minutes per day reviewing the flagged listings and choosing which should be taken down. Red Poinds handles the rest.
“In the past 18 months, we’ve removed close to 5,000 knockoffs from the web,” Smaldone said.
Alibaba.com carries the largest number of Mighty Mug knockoffs, Smaldone said, followed by AliExpress, eBay, and Wish. While Alibaba is good at taking down counterfeits once notified, Amazon “is a complete nightmare,” Smaldone said.
Repoints helps 650 brands find, track and take down counterfeits from dozens of platforms. The company’s software employs a combination of tools, including artificial intelligence, machine learning, image fingerprinting, natural language processing, logo recognition, and keyword mining.
Dan Shapiro, the director of global strategic partnerships at Red Points, said the attention brought by the administration to the issue is a boon for the private-sector companies who help brands protect against counterfeits.
“We think that more awareness is very positive for our industry,” Shapiro said.
The footwear and apparel industries topped the list of CBP’s intellectual property rights annual seizure statistics in fiscal year 2018, making up 32 percent of all goods seized at ports of entry.
Footwear counterfeiters are executing increasingly sophisticated schemes to smuggle the knockoffs into the United States. Some are shipping brand labels separately from shoes and attaching the labels when both shipments cross the border. According to Matt Priest, president of Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America, the footwear companies lose hundreds of millions of dollars to counterfeits every year.
“In spite of all of our challenges on the trade side with the administration, this has been an area that they’ve focused on and prioritize that we’ve been very happy about,” Priest said.
“I think we’re at a stage where by no means is any of this solved, but we have the administration focused on it, we have the agencies tasked to work on it,” he added. “I think we have the attention of all the right people, most importantly, probably, the attention of the platforms themselves because a little bit of sunlight, a little bit of scrutiny from the federal government, is always a nice kind of elixir to help us try to combat the free flow of counterfeit goods on eCommerce websites in particular.”
The threat of counterfeits is wide-ranging. Knockoff semiconductors have made their way into Air Force weapons systems and U.S. Navy nuclear submarines. Counterfeit water filters fail to last as long as required by certification standards and add harmful compounds to clean water in excess of the the total allowable concentration limits that are considered safe. Knockoff first-responder flashlights may fail at a critical time.
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development estimated that the amount of counterfeits traded globally increased $200 billion in 2005 to $509 billion in 2016. The number of CBP seizures increased tenfold to 33,810 from 2000 to 2018.
“Any measures that we can take that specially help any of our companies in preventing counterfeit goods entering into the U.S. are a good thing,” said Daniel Staudt, the president of the Intellectual Property Owners Association. “Everything that’s been drafted has been very good. But the implementation is always going to be the key.”
The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to questions about the work being done to carry out the plan in the DHS report and Trump’s executive order.


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It’s been a cracking start to the new financial year (FY) with the S&P/ASX 200 Index (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) jumping 1.77% in the first three days of trade, if it keeps this up……..well… it won’t!
Sorry to be a spoil sport but there’s no way the market will keep rising this FY at the rate it has over the past few days and what’s more these first few days ultimately provide us with no insights as to what the rest of the year has in store.
Rather than trying to predict the direction of the market, at the end of the day investors are best off buying themselves shares in businesses that they think have favourable long-term prospects and importantly they should buy those shares at a reasonable price.
The following four companies are literally some of the very best businesses available on the ASX, however at current prices they are arguably best avoided, with investors better off watching and waiting for a more appealing price-to-value opportunity to buy in.
Despite Navitas Limited’s (ASX: NVT) share price dropping 1.7% yesterday the stock which offers shareholders exposure to the fast-growing education industry is still priced at nose bleed levels.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) may be the best quality and most defensive bank available on the ASX, but at today’s prices it also looks to be the most expensive.
Tabcorp Holdings Limited (ASX: TAH) is a very defensive company, but it also doesn’t appear to have many options to significantly growth its earnings. As a slow grower its current pricing looks stretched.
Domino’s Pizza Enterprises Ltd. (ASX: DMP) continues to grow and expand its international operations at a rapid rate, but the question for investors is whether that growth rate justifies the supercharged price? The stock is appealing but it could be best to just keep it on a watchlist for the time being.
Motley Fool contributor Tim McArthur does not own shares in any of the companies mentioned in this article.
- 3 ASX stocks to buy now to get rich later – October 20, 2016 1:34pm
- Why this fund manager is worried about the sustainability of bank dividends – October 18, 2016 7:56am
- Here’s why I might buy these 2 beaten-up share bargains – October 17, 2016 4:18pm


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INDUS, PotNetwork and Aphria are some of the top cannabis brands solidifying their position in the growing industry. Here are their latest achievements.
While cannabis detractors point out that legalized cannabis will result in increased use through ease of access, studies have helped to thoroughly debunk this misconception.
Concentrates have rapidly become widely endorsed due to evolving extraction methods promoting innovative new products.
CBD is drawing the attention of not just consumers and law makers, but also firms that want to look into what the compound can do.
Women are now becoming more involved in the cannabis industry, as they openly voice out their concerns as to what the industry needs to improve.
Investing in the cannabis industry is a trend among investors and traders now, but they should take caution first before making major purchases.
A college in Ontario just offered the first comprehensive cannabis postgraduate diploma program in the country in time for legal recreational marijuana.
Geared for growth, the CBD industry has revitalized the marijuana sector, owing to its numerous benefits and diversity in its various product lines.
Now that Trump’s trade wars have reached the CBD industry, how will it react? And will it be able to stay afloat?
Researchers uncover yet another potential health benefit of CBD from cannabis.


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New York Times is reporting this morning that Hulu, the streaming television show and movie website, is readying to go public "through an offering that could value the company at more than $2 billion".The
In its report, the New York Times cites unidentified sources who have been "briefed on the matter", saying that Hulu executives have begun discussing with investment banks an initial public offering that could come as soon as this fall.
The company recently released some numbers showing that it expected to double the $100 million it made in 2009. Still, PaidContent points to comScore stats that show Hulu as sitting in the tenth spot in the "top entertainment" category, with 24 million uniques, as compared to YouTube's 144 million uniques.
While both the New York Times and Paid Content question both the IPO market and how Hulu would fare in it, others, such as Daring Fireball's John Gruber come right out and say that a Hulu IPO might not work out. Gruber calls the whole thing "a little (a lot) premature" and notes that "they've got no revenue, and their content comes from companies that may well chose to create their own online publishing services."
Indeed, Hulu has already lost content from Comedy Central and has not been able to ink deals with both CBS and CW.


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According to an official announcement on the blog section of crowdfunding platform RocketHub’s website, the company was acquired by EFactor for $15 million. The buyer is a social network specifically targeting entrepreneurs.
As part of the acquisition, RocketHub will lead EFactor’s funding division through using its “perks”-based crowdfunding platform. Users choose to provide certain “perks” to the supporters of the project when setting up their crowdfunding campaign.
RocketHub is also active in equity-based crowdfunding and business loan products for new and emerging companies.
Why Ethereum Needs Layer 2 Solutions More Than EverGo to article >>
RocketHub’s CEO Brian Meece, commented on the announcement, “The EFactor network, and RocketHub platform overlap in powerful ways, providing for a dynamic and impactful fundraising division.”
RocketHub was the first crowdfunding platform to partner with a major television network, A&E Networks. The multi-platform initiative, “A&E Project Startup”, focuses on supporting entrepreneurs on-air, online and through live events.
Commenting on the announcement, EFactor’s CEO, Adriaan Reiners said, “Our acquisition of RocketHub is the launching point of our ability to service entrepreneurs with needed content, education and financing options such as crowdfunding, all of which are offered by RocketHub.”
“We researched various crowdfunding companies with whom to partner, revenue share or acquire in the past year and RocketHub has distinguished itself through its level of creativity, reach, connections with major media and TV companies such as A&E, and a clear and recognizable entrepreneurial spirit,” Adriaan concluded.


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USDA adds BioPreferred products
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has added nine BioPreferred product categories that will now be eligible for federal procurement preference. This action increases the number of bio-based products by 20 percent.
The USDA’s BioPreferred program’s round five finalization adds more than 1,000 bio-based products for preferred purchasing consideration by all federal government agencies, contractors and the military. There are now approximately 5,600 bio-based products available across 42 BioPreferred-designated Items.
The final rule is part of a series of rules to increase the awareness and sales of biobased products to the federal government. Round five items include: chain and cable lubricants, corrosion preventatives, food cleaners, forming lubricants, gear lubricants, general purpose household cleaners, industrial cleaners, multipurpose cleaners and parts wash solutions.
In addition to passing regulations to increase the number and diversity of BioPreferred designated items for federal procurement preference, USDA is developing a product label that would appear on qualifying BioPreferred bio-based products. When final, this regulation will allow bio-based product manufacturers to participate in a voluntary labeling program to identify bio-based products for the federal, commercial and
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No Man’s Sky fans haven’t received a substantial development update about the game in nearly 100 days, and an apparently lost Zendesk blog post was just found that adds fuel to the fire. Read in retrospect, the now-deleted words come off as all the more insulting.
The post, titled “Are You Working On Any New Updates,” was first copied by reddit’s Griffin880 on Tuesday and is currently inactive. On the surface, it seems to offer a very PR-heavy answer to the question we’ve all been asking: where in the universe has Hello Games been?
However, a deeper analysis reveals that the post itself, while previously unseen even by the Internet Archive and Google, likely wasn’t all that new. Because timestamps on Zendesk blogs update each time account holders check on a post, see that it was “marked as helpful” or even read comments, the shown postdate is totally useless. It’s just strange that so many prominent internet engines, and even No Man’s Sky’s ravenous fans, weren’t aware of the page until a few hours ago.
Sparing you of the spin wording, we’ll skip to the interesting parts. It reads “we know you are very keen to hear from us on this, and, while we would love to share specific timelines with you on what kind of updates will be released to you right now, we can only say that as soon as we are ready to share any news, you will be the first to know.” It’s further added that social media sites, such a as Twitter, are the “places you’ll likely get this information the fastest.”
It’s this last bit that’s particularly comical (and even a bit insulting) when viewed through a modern lens. As those that follow No Man’s Sky closely will know, it’s been more than three months since we’ve heard a peep from Hello Games at all. Aside from a weird hacking situation in October, the last game-focused tweet from studio programmer Sean Murray was posted on Aug. 18. The Hello Games Twitter has also been mostly silent since Sept. 23. In other words, if those are the “fastest modes of communication,” we’re in trouble.
Possibly more intriguing is the question of why this particularly innocuous, and probably old, message was just removed. Was it done to curb confusion from fans that might believe the post was current? Was it scrapped because, in fact, no new updates are coming?
This new development is yet another strange addition to the ever-evolving saga that is No Man’s Sky. Last week we reported that Hello Games’ former designer had left Murray to work on Star Citizen. The company was also probed for false advertising and tiny internal revisions keep sporadically posting on Steam. Despite getting little to no update from the game’s developers, there’s a lot of weird stuff going on around them. Today’s deleted post is just icing on the cake.
No Man’s Sky is available now on PS4 and PC.
Are you still enthralled by the post-release saga of No Man’s Sky? Will this game ever get another substantial update? Tell us your thoughts in the comments section.


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Sony's PS4 outsold Microsoft's Xbox One by 166,000 units during the run-up to Christmas in the UK, despite having launched a week later.
According to figures from GfK Chart-track, cited by the Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA), the Xbox One, which launched on 22 November, sold 364,000 units worth £144.5 million, while the PS4, which launch on 29 November, sold 530,000 units worth £181.6 million.
This may have been partly down to the fact that the Xbox One is £80 more expensive than the PS4. The Xbox One costs £429, while the PS4 costs £349.
The November launches of the Xbox One and PS4 consoles came too late to rescue the disc-based physical games market, which ended the year 2.9 per cent down on 2012. However, digital games, (which covers mobile gaming as well as PC and console downloads), grew by 16.4 per cent to £1.18 billion.
"Games continues to deliver digital sales strongly, but it was disappointing that Xbox One and PS4 came so late in 2013 and then huge demand meant stock sold out quickly," said ERA director general Kim Bayley. "Retailers will be working hard in 2014 to maintain the sales momentum of these two great new pieces of kit."
Sales of videogames in the UK were up 6.6 per cent overall in 2013. The biggest-selling individual entertainment title was Grand Theft Auto V, which sold 3.67 million units, according to the latest edition of ERA's annual Entertainment Chart.
Videogames increased its lead as entertainment's biggest sector during 2013 and now accounts for 41.4 per cent of total entertainment sales with video on 38.9 per cent and music on 19.7 per cent.
"Microsoft seemed to have a US-focused launch with an emphasis on TV and US sports. Sony played the hardcore gamer card well in the UK," said Jason Kingsley, CEO of games developer Rebellion. "All sales are good for the UK development scene though and it is early days for overall sales figures. They are both excellent machines."
The UK games development sector contributes approximately £1 billion to UK GDP per year, and employs over 9,000 highly skilled development staff – 80 per cent of whom are employed outside of London – according to TIGA, the trade association representing the UK video games industry.