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Microsoft Will Pay Developers Even More Money On PC, Matching Epic Games Store
Starting in August, Microsoft will adopt an 88/12 revenue-sharing model for PC developers.
Microsoft has announced a huge change for its PC store, revealing on Thursday that it will pay developers a much larger percentage of revenue for games sold on the Microsoft Store.
Beginning August 1, developers will get to keep 88% of sales, with Microsoft taking 12% as the owner of the platform. This is a big change from the status quo, which is a 70/30 revenue share model. Microsoft said in a blog post that this arrangement has no catches.
"A clear, no-strings-attached revenue share means developers can bring more games to more players and find greater commercial success from doing so," the company said.
Microsoft's PC gaming efforts have left much to be desired over the years, and Xbox Game Studios boss Matt Booty acknowledged that the company still has a lot of room for improvement.
"We know that we still have a lot of work to do, but based on the response from both PC gamers and PC game developers, we think that we're headed in the right direction for this community with the investments we're making," he said.
Looking ahead, Microsoft said it's planning additional quality-of-life improvements for PC players. This includes faster download speeds and "improved install reliability," among other things.
Microsoft cutting its commission rate on PC games to 12% from 30% sounds great but Microsoft’s PC game store market share isn’t very large so I don’t think it moves the needle much. It’s clear though that competition in the market is better for developers. <cough> Apple Google— Matthew Kanterman, CFA (@theKantoarbot) April 29, 2021
In changing the revenue share to 88/12, Microsoft's PC store becomes aligned with the Epic Games Store. It was the first major PC storefront to offer this share agreement, leading some developers to choose Epic's store over others. Epic boss Tim Sweeney reacted to Microsoft's news today, saying on Twitter, "Wow!"
Bloomberg analyst Matthew Kanterman said on Twitter that this news sounds great but probably won't have much of an effect in practice because the Microsoft PC Store only represents a small part of the PC sales market.
The 70/30 revenue-sharing model remains in place on other PC stores, such as Steam, while it's also the standard across digital stores on console.
The Epic Games Store has succeeded in some respects with its new, more generous revenue-sharing model. At least part of this success is no doubt attributable to how the store gives out free games on a regular basis and pays developers to bring their games exclusively to the store.
In other PC gaming news, Microsoft has announced that Halo Infinite will support cross-play and cross-progression, while it will have support for ultrawide monitors as well. Additionally, Microsoft disclosed that Halo: The Master Chief Collection has reached 10 million players on PC.


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INTERNATIONAL – Nike on Tuesday named former Coca-Cola executive Craig Williams as president of its sports shoes unit Jordan Brand.
Williams, who will take charge on Jan. 14, most recently headed the world’s biggest beverage maker’s partnership with fast-food chain McDonald’s.
He will replace Larry Miller who will become the chairman of the newly created Jordan Brand advisory board, Nike said.
Jordan Brand is a premium brand of footwear, apparel and accessories inspired by the legacy of former basketball player Michael Jordan.
In other news, Nike has sold out 61 percent more merchandise since the controversial ad campaign featuring former NFL player Colin Kaepernick appeared earlier this month, according to data on the company’s online sales from Thomson Reuters Proprietary Research.
Nike discounted fewer products in the 10-day period after the ad and saw its Colin Kaepernick women’s jersey sell out on Sept. 17, the research also showed.
Shares in Nike have rebounded from an initial drop when the first versions of the ad were released, hitting a record high a little over a week later.Reuters

domain: news


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BERLIN (DPA) - Curious how you ended up with that beer belly?
Germany's brewers are here to help.
Starting this year, German brewers say they will begin adding information to their labels, explaining exactly how many calories you're consuming each time you put back a bottle.
Although the European Commission has threatened to require such labelling, the German Brewers Federation and the Private Breweries of Germany both said on Friday (Jan 18) that they were making the move of their own free will. The new labels will be phased in during the course of 2019.
So far, European Union laws do not require alcoholic beverages to come with nutritional labelling. But a survey by the INSA data group for the brewers showed that 52 per cent of German consumers would welcome such information.
The brewers say they hope winemakers and distillers will follow their example.
A standard pilsner contains about 40 calories per 100 millilitres of beer.


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Google Will Begin Certifying Android Devices for Enterprise Use
Android has never been the go-to platform for big business as their corporate driver. The number of devices is way too many, and the platform is always susceptible to exploits thanks to its open-source nature. Blackberry devices dominated the corporate space before the company faded away into obscurity. Apple's airtight environment is ideal when security is of utmost importance, where even a minor leak could potentially spell millions of dollars in loss.
When it comes to security, Android devices are a mixed bag because very few manufacturers make promises about long-term support, and timely security updates are rare. It is only natural that companies shy away from Android devices due to that reason alone.
However, it looks like Google is attempting to remedy that and their solution to this problem is the 'Android Enterprise Recommended' program. The program defines which Android devices are ideal for business use. Let's take a look at some of the requirements
All phones must be running Android 7.0 or higher, support zero-touch enrollment with which companies can pre-configure the devices during the purchase process, so they are ready to go the moment they are shipped. Organizations can use software from companies such as VMware AirWatch, BlackBerry, MobileIron, IBM, Gsuite, etc. to pick configurations and device policies.
Additionally, all phones must be sold carrier-unlocked and monthly security updates must go out to the devices within 90 days of release from Google, for a minimum of three years. These guidelines will be updated after every Android release, so these are subject to change. Other qualifying parameters for devices can be found here. Here's a list of devices that are included in the program.
- Google Pixel and Pixel XL (2016)
- Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL
- BlackBerry KEYone and Motion
- LG V30 and G6
- Motorola X4 and Z2
- Nokia 8
- Huawei Mate 10, Mate 10 Pro, P10, P10 Plus, P10 Lite, and P smart
- Xperia XZ1, Xperia XZ1 Compact, Xperia XZ Premium, Xperia XA2 and Xperia XA2 Ultra
Google says that more models will be added in the coming weeks and months, but the road ahead will be long, as the responsibility of security updates lie on the manufacturers and Google will have to work on an agreement with them, incentivizing them to consistently release updates for the devices.
News Source: Android Police


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There is a certain virtue in calling a thing for what it is; it's certainly true for Snob magazine, which is aimed at the super-rich elites in Russia. Now, the billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov, said to be the second-richest man in Russia, is planning to bring the Russion-language magazine to the U.S. He is prepared to spend $100 million on the project, says a wire story published by the Calgary Herald.
Prokhorov owns the New Jersey Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and recently bought the Barclays's Center in Brooklyn, where he is planning to move the team in 2012.
Part of the reason he sees potential in Brooklyn is that some 330,000 former residents of the Soviet Union live there.
A report in the Wall Street Journal says
Snob was the brainchild of Vladimir Yakovlev, who in 1989 founded "Kommersant," the first private daily business newspaper in Russia. After selling his publishing company in 1999, he took a decade-long sabbatical during which he says he began to perceive a need among affluent Russians living abroad for a way to connect and communicate about topics such as business, culture, food and sex.
He pitched the idea to Mr. Prokhorov, who invested $150 million in the launch in 2008 of a magazine and website targeting well-to-do professionals in Russia. About a year ago, Snob expanded to the U.K.
Most of the initial 20,000 circulation will be sold for $8 a copy in the New York area at Barnes & Noble stores, though it will also be available in other cities including Chicago, Boston and San Francisco. Executives said they have no doubts that Snob will catch on quickly given its already significant Web audience among New Yorkers.
"In New York, it's really difficult to walk for more than five minutes without hearing Russian," Ms. Gessen said.It's not known if the magazine will be made available in Canada.


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European companies are greatly challenged by a lack of truck drivers, it’s estimated that 20% of German trucks are standing still in 2018 due to this shortage*. Meanwhile, Girteka Logistics has now grown to 5,000 trucks and 5.500 trailers and therefore as well from 8,000 drivers in January 2018 to 10,000 drivers employed on August 6, 2018.
“Girteka Logistics is successfully responding to the market demand for increasing capacity, and is on target to have 10,000 trucks and employ an estimated 20,000 truck drivers by 2021”, – says Edvardas Liachovičius, CEO, Girteka Logistics.
Over the last 10 years, Girteka Logistics has been part of a significant professionalization in the Logistics industry towards larger and fully pan-European transport companies. In 2017 the company recorded organic growth of 30%, this year’s growth is again on target to reach high double digits.
“We have a significantly different business model than our main International peers such as DSV, DB Schenker, DHL and Kühne & Nagel, we own our trucks and employ our own drivers. Our ability to deliver high quality and increasing capacity with our own assets has put us in pole position”, – says Kristian Kaas Mortensen, CCO, Girteka Logistics.
Girteka Logistics clearly has found a way around the industry’s severe lack of trucks drivers, but like the entire industry the company is facing rapidly increasing operating costs. This is due to multiple factors ranging from increasing driver’s salaries, to EU and national legislation requiring; drivers to sleep in hotels, minimum salary requirements in different countries and as well higher fuel cost.
“Road transport costs in Europe are rapidly increasing due to many factors, a significant lack of drivers being one them. We are reviewing our cost base, and will now adjust our pricing to reflect the new market level”, – says Edvardas Liachovičius, CEO, Girteka Logistics.
Girteka Logistics continues to implement simple, yet industry leading and business improving initiatives ranging from advanced truck driver recruitment and training to setting up a technology lab outside the company that will further empower technological advances. Girteka Logistics expect to deliver nearly 450,000 full truck loads in 2018, making the company a noticeable logistics leader.


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India : Over twenty years prior, India started its change into a worldwide IT force to be reckoned with, introducing a time of abundance and occupation creation at no other time found in the country.
Presently, Asia’s third biggest economy is prepared for the following enormous boondocks in tech: Coming up with another age of programming organizations like Zoom or Slack.
The Covid-19 pandemic has constrained business all throughout the planet to make colossal interests in advanced foundation, promoting the impact of organizations giving programming as-a-administration, or SaaS. Organizations spent an extra $15 billion every week keep going year on tech as they mixed to establish safe remote work spaces, as per a KPMG study.
SaaS organizations give electronic applications that deal with everything from how secure the product is to how well it performs. A portion of the world’s most notable SaaS organizations incorporate Zoom (ZM), SAP Concur and Salesforce (CRM), the American behemoth that possesses work environment informing application Slack.
India’s product as-a-administration industry could be valued at $1 trillion in esteem by 2030 and make almost a large portion of 1,000,000 new positions, as per a new report accumulated by counseling firm McKinsey and Co. also, SaaSBoomi, a local area of industry pioneers.
There are almost 1,000 such organizations in India, of which 10 are unicorns, or new businesses actually worth $1 billion, the report said.
This can be as large a chance as the IT administrations industry was during the 90s,” said Girish Mathrubootham, CEO of Freshworks, India’s most popular SaaS organization. It petitioned for an IPO last month, joining a line of other significant Indian tech unicorns that are opening up to the world this year.
Freshworks was established over 10 years prior in the southern Indian city of Chennai. Like Salesforce, it gives programming to assist organizations with overseeing relations with their clients. It’s likewise India’s most seasoned unicorn in the area, having raised assets from financial backers like Tiger Global and Accel, and has in excess of 50,000 clients. The organization was last esteemed at $3.5 billion in a 2019 financing round, as indicated by information firm Tracxn.
Other India SaaS firms have discovered foothold by zeroing in on specialty organizations. Zenoti, for instance, is a unicorn that forms programming for the spa and beauty parlor industry.
Of India10 SaaS unicorns, six arrived at that achievement in 2020, and financial backers all throughout the planet are focusing. Last year, financial backers siphoned $1.5 billion into Indian SaaS organizations, multiple times more than in 2018 or 2019, as per the SaaSBoomi report.
Bullish financial backers
Financial backers are amped up for SaaS due to the “gigantic reception” of programming throughout the last decade, as per Mohit Bhatnagar, overseeing overseer of Sequoia Capital India.
While India is a little player in the worldwide SaaS market, financial backers say the nation could ultimately overwhelm the area in light of two things: its tremendous pool of English-talking designers, and the generally minimal expense of employing them.
Because of the ascent of India’s IT industry, computer programming has become one of the most pursued vocation alternatives in the country.
“India really has one of the biggest engineer networks on the planet,” Bhatnagar revealed to CNN Business. Large numbers of them have worked at the absolute greatest worldwide tech organizations.
Abhinav Asthana, the fellow benefactor of Postman, highlighted his experience filling in as an understudy at Yahoo in Bengaluru as instrumental in the choice to construct his item.
He concocted the plan to assemble an instrument that would work on the API (Application Programming Interface) testing measure. An API is a programming code that characterizes how two applications speak with one another, and Postman says it has made it simpler for specialists to cooperate as they plan and construct their APIs.
“We perceived how programming was made at these worldwide organizations, and we saw API was a key issue,” Asthana revealed to CNN Business.
Presently, Postman is India’s most significant SaaS unicorn, with a valuation of $5.6 billion.
Worldwide customers, Indian architects
The minimal expense of working in India is a major in addition to. As per a report by counseling firm Bain and Company, the compensation of section level designers in India is 85% not exactly their partners in the United States.
“In case you are building a SaaS organization in the US, it is smarter to have 1,000,000 dollar customer as opposed to a $10,000-customer since you need to pay for deals and advertising in that nation,” said Prasanna Krishnamoorthy, overseeing accomplice at SaaS gas pedal Upekkha. “At the point when you are serving clients from India , you can have these little and moderate sized organizations, just as enormous ones.”
Most SaaS organizations center around worldwide customers, like the procedure that was trailed by India’s IT monsters like TCS and Infosys (INFY). Financial backers consider this to be a much needed development, since a large portion of India’s most seasoned unicorns — from Flipkart to Paytm — have zeroed in principally on the homegrown market.
Practically 98% of Fortune 500 organizations utilize Postman’s items, as per Asthana, while Freshworks’ first customer was situated in Australia.
SaaS firms are greatly improved put to go worldwide than web based business organizations like India’s Flipkart, for instance. They compose programming once, and afterward can utilize it on numerous occasions.
For a Flipkart you need billions of dollars [to develop internationally], however for a Freshwork you need significantly less cash-flow to go worldwide,” said Mathrubootham, who is likewise a financial backer in Postman. This is on the grounds that internet business firms require a huge load of cash to set up actual activities somewhere else — they need to employ conveyance drivers, lease stockrooms and purchase stock.
Bhatnagar of Sequoia Capital said that Indian programming business visionaries “dominated” the craft of “far off deals” genuinely early. “Truly, in this most recent two years, the entire world has needed to see how to improve far off deals,” he added.
Notwithstanding the happiness, there are a few obstacles Indian organizations need to defeat before they can follow through on the $1 trillion guarantee.
Indian architects prepared in the IT administrations industry might think that it is difficult to foster the discipline needed to assemble an item engaged organization.
In IT administrations, “you are selling bodies and you say yes to all that the client says,” said Krishnamoorthy. SaaS organizations, then again, need to say no to almost 100% of [potential] clients, he added.
Also, India startup ecosytem is still somewhat youthful when contrasted with Silicon Valley. In spite of the huge size of some local unicorns, Mathrubootham said that the nation doesn’t have a “worldwide tech stalwart item brand.”
Yet, he trusted that future SaaS organizations can change that.
“It is my own fantasy to consider India to be an item country,” he added.


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Jan 27 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures slipped on Wednesday as a busy week of earnings gained momentum, with upbeat results from Microsoft cushioning the fall in Nasdaq futures ahead of the Federal Reserve’s policy statement later in the day.
Microsoft Corp gained 2.3% premarket, as the software maker continues to benefit from remote working and learning trends globally.
Microsoft’s results set a positive precedent for other technology-related companies including Apple Inc, Tesla Inc and Facebook Inc, which are set to report quarterly numbers later in the day.
Tech companies have recently come back into favor after blowout results from streaming service provider Netflix Inc , and as investors dumped economy-linked banks, energy and small cap stocks.
However, concerns about heightened stock market valuations, raging coronavirus cases and any potential disruption to vaccine rollouts have spooked investors about a pullback and increase in volatility in the near-term.
The Fed is expected to keep monetary policy locked in crisis-fighting mode at its meeting ending on Wednesday, with investors also looking forward to relief from ongoing vaccinations and new government spending plans.
There is a high risk of a resurgence in COVID-19 infections derailing the world economy this year, according to a majority of economists in a Reuters poll, who forecast global GDP would reach pre-pandemic levels within two years.
At 7:12 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were down 241 points, or 0.78%, S&P 500 e-minis were down 32.25 points, or 0.84%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 23.5 points, or 0.17%.
Boeing Co posted a record annual loss of $11.94 billion and said it would delay its all-new 777X jet again. The planemaker’s shares were 0.7% higher.
Starbucks Corp fell 1.9% after the coffee chain reported a larger-than-expected fall in quarterly sales, as the renewed surge in coronavirus cases in the United States kept customers at home.
Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc jumped 6.4% after the drugstore chain named outgoing chief operating officer of Starbucks, Roz Brewer, as its chief executive officer.
Videogame retailer GameStop Corp’s shares surged another 75.4% on Wednesday, as amateur investors continued to pile into the stock that has skyrocketed nearly 700% over the past two weeks.
(Reporting by Devik Jain in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)


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AI will unlock creation rather than consumption
Photo: Elias Lobos
Unlike most new technology hype cycles, the impact of AI on the world is already surpassing expectations. The current hype around AI far exceeds that of more recent tech, such as VR, NFTs, and 3D printing. This is in part because AI represents a crucial part of the architecture of tomorrow’s internet, along with various web 3.0 technologies, rather than being just another new tech product. AI continues to shape the music industry’s contemporary narrative. News sites regularly reference new statements from industry execs and announcements from new companies, while AI dominates discussions both on and off stage at industry events. Of course, AI is a catch-all term that refers to a massive variety of applications even within music. Even with this caveat, it is clear that it is going to reshape the future of music, culture, business and, ultimately, society. However, as impactful as this change might be, it will help turn back the clock for music to how music was before the recorded music business came to the fore.
Prior to the establishment of the recorded music business, music was a participatory experience. Whether that be a 19th century family gathering around a piano on a Sunday, mediaeval peasants singing along with a travelling bard, or the majority of 16th–18th century European populations singing hymns in church. Recorded music used quality to build walls between listeners and performers. The vast majority of people could never expect to sound as good as a piece of recorded music. However, the trend started to reverse with the introduction of music production software and sample culture, re-democratising the means of production, while streaming and social media combined to democratise the means of digital distribution.
In the 2020s, these technologies have accelerated scale and capability, supported by the proliferation of online learning (e.g., Masterclass) and skills sharing platforms (e.g., Fiverr), making it easier than ever for aspiring music creators to release good quality music. In 2022, the number of artists direct (i.e., self-releasing artists) reached 6.4 million, a 16.8% increase from 2021. While the music creator economy continues to grow; the even more transformative potential lies in the consumerisation of these technologies – much like Teflon making its way from NASA spaceships to kitchen pans.
Assistive AI is already well established in music creation (e.g., iZotope’s Neutron 4, Splice’s CoSo). It is a relatively small step to further simplify user interfaces, making them ready for consumer primetime. When combined with generative AI, anyone with a smartphone has the ability to create convincing-sounding music as easily as they would take a photo – a process that was far more difficult to do to a high standard before the consumerisation of digital photography by smartphones and Instagram.
The crossover between music creation and social media is still in its early days, largely confined to TikTok duets and Snapchat’s Sounds lens, but it is approaching a tipping point and AI is about to push it over the edge.
In 2011, I wrote a report entitled Agile Music in which I suggested that music’s creative full stop was going to be erased, with songs evolving beyond the static full stop. Endel’s UMG deal shows us that this future is coming to pass. The report laid out the ‘3 Cs’ framework:
State of the music creator economy The consumer era
The pandemic triggered a surge in the music creator economy, which brought with it an influx of external interest and investment. 2022 saw growth moderate, but the long-term outlook is not only strong,...Find out more…
AI is the technology that will unlock this new paradigm. Music will not only become better adapted to our behaviour, but it will also make music participative again. While record labels are focused on the copyright and volume / stream dilution threats AI poses (and they are very real threats), the truly exciting potential is making music something that all consumers can use as an expressive medium, rather than simply consuming. Is that the same as ‘real’ music? No, but just as TikTok is not the same as Netflix, the marketplace will inevitably delineate between places to create versus consume. Then, maybe, just maybe, the whole volume risk will become moot.
If you liked the themes in this blog post, check our latest report: AI and the future of music - The future is already here


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UK solid state battery pioneer Ilika is planning to raise £24.7m (€29m) for a ten fold increase in production of its solid state battery technology.
The company plans to raise £21m by placing shares with institutional and retail investors, with a further £3.7m through the issue of new shares to existing Ilika shareholders through an open offer.
The funds will be used to accelerate the development of Ilika’s Goliath solid state battery and increase capacity of the Goliath pre-pilot line from 1 to 10 kWh/week. This will also support product development of Goliath until mid 2023.
This will boost development of the technology until manufacturing readiness, followed by the planned transfer of production to a MWh-scale facility, such as the recently opened UK Battery Industrialisation Centre (UKBIC) from 2024.
Ilika expects to start commercial sales of Goliath products from 2025 onwards, targeting consumer appliances and supporting EV development programmes. Production at GWh-scale is planned through either a manufacturing JV or licensing from 2026 which will be part of the current negotiations for battery gigafactories in the UK and Europe.
Related solid state battery articles
- Stellantis bets €30bn on solid state batteries
- UK’s £1bn battery bet should look to solid state cells
- Solid Power goes public in $1.2bn deal
- QuantumScape sets up solid state pilot line
- €8m commercial solid state project for electric vehicles
“I’d like to thank Ilika’s new and existing investors for supporting the Company’s Goliath development programme through this placing, building on the previous support received from the Faraday Battery Challenge and Advanced Propulsion Centre. We look forward to working closely with OEM and Tier 1 partners to bring this technology to market for the benefit of all of our stakeholders,” said Graeme Purdy, CEO of Ilika.
The share placing is dependent on a shareholders meeting at the end of July.
Earlier this month the company raised £135,000 from the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC) as part of the fifth wave of the APC’s Technology Developer Accelerator Programme (TDAP) that is aimed at commercialising battery technologies.
“The past twelve months have been difficult for the automotive sector, with COVID-19 and shortages of some key materials, it’s been challenging for all parts of the supply chain, not least those small to medium enterprises trying to turn their green automotive innovation into a commercially viable product,” said Head of SME Programmes at the Advanced Propulsion Centre, Josh Denne.
“The technology developed by companies like Ilika could play a crucial role in the automotive industry’s net-zero carbon future. We are excited to support them on their journey of ensuring their innovative technology becomes commercially viable.”
“As our Goliath solid state battery technology matures, we look forward to accelerating our time to market by working with the automotive industry under the TDAP framework, through the APC. This APC funded programme represents a strong opportunity to ensure Goliath meets the needs of the automotive markets and for Ilika to collaborate with stakeholders in the industry,” said Purdey.
Related Ilika articles
- Ilika leads on key UK fast charging solid state project
- McLaren self-powers the Internet of Things with Sharp and Ilika
- Ilika ships first samples of millimetre solid state cell for medcial implants
Other articles on eeNews Power
- Coventry steps up battery battle
- Svolt in battery Gigafactory deal with Stellantis
- EU signs deal with Ukraine to secure lithium supplies for EV batteries
- Verkor raises €100m ahead of a battery gigafactory in France
- Cirrus Logic buys Lion Semiconductor for switched capacitor power


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We have been hearing a lot about Microsoft’s plans to band their services on all the devices for quite a long time now. Hopefully, users will not have to wait for this for too long now as it is expected to happen sooner than later.
It is quite obvious that it will start with the announcement of the next-gen Xbox on May 21st on a larger scale but there is also a possibility that small changes will begin to occur soon with the Xbox 360.
It is rumored that Microsoft is planning on bringing forth a new dashboard update for Xbox 360 sometime in June or most probably July which will completely change the Xbox Live interface to what many expect to be just like Windows 8 that Microsoft promised a while back.
A reliable inside source from Microsoft itself told The Verge that the update will be enter beta testing phase in late June or early July.
As always, the Xbox Live users will be able to test it if they sign-up for it. However, it must be noted that the full functionality of the update would not be put into the use until later this year as a key component of the update is to integrate Xbox 360 with the next generation of Xbox in a better way.
Some of the fans will obviously switch to the Xbox infinity or whatever it will be called as soon as it is released but most of them will stick to Xbox 360 for quite some time. So to bring about a better integration among players and games – Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag, Watch Dogs, Call of Duty: Ghosts – that are releasing on both these consoles, such an update is definitely needed!
Achievements, personal messages, etc. on a user’s Xbox Live account that need to be transferred to the next Xbox will require a process smooth as silk. Therefore, Microsoft should prepare well for it.
Along with all the big changes we mentioned earlier, elimination of Microsoft Points once and for all will also be a major part of the update. We hope to hear more about the update from Microsoft on May 21ST. Stay tuned!


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Exertis Gem has sealed a deal to offer a British Gas smart home-heating application for mobile devices.
According to the distributor, the Hive Active Heating service allows users to control their gas-based heating and hot water supply remotely via smartphone, tablet, SMS or website.
Danielle Barker, consumer electronics category manager at Gem, confirmed that so-called connected-home technology has become an important focus for the distributor.
"Hive, by British Gas, puts the consumer fully in control of their heating offering a smart way to save money on their household bills and we're extremely excited to have been selected by British Gas to supply what I'm sure will be a very popular product," Barker said.
The offering will now be available to Gem's retail partners.
Kassir Hussain, director of connected homes at British Gas, said 80,000 UK households already use the Hive app, which was launched in October.
"Being able to control your home from your phone means that you never come home to a cold house," Hussain said. "This is what the future looks like."
Hussain said that Hive now has geolocation functionality as well, in response to customer feedback.
"It knows from your smartphone's location services when you're on your way home or are heading out, and prompts you to turn the heating off or on," he said.
Infrastructure provider says international sales now make up 51 per cent of its revenue
Suzanne Chappell of TMS plans sailing venture after selling Oxfordshire-based TMS to acquisitive Chess
Withdrawal of credit insurance by some providers a 'reflection' of current challenge facing IT sector, according to MD Steve Soper
SMART's UK managing director joins Lenovo to boost SMB business


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Samsung Electronics held a special event at COEX in Samseong-dong, southern Seoul, on Monday to promote the newly released Galaxy Note 5. The event included a cooking show by celebrity chef Sam Kim as well as a magic show by magician Lee Eun-gyeol. Provided by the company
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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Press Release No. : 15/2006
Date : 27 July 2007
The Chairman of the Macroeconomic Policy Committee and Governor of the Reserve Bank of Fiji, Mr Savenaca Narube, today announced that, “The economy is now projected to contract by 3.1 percent this year, compared to the 2.5 percent economic decline expected earlier. All sectors, except manufacturing and mining, are now envisaged to record lower-than-expected performances, which have resulted in the relatively larger economic contraction.”
Elaborating on the projected economic contraction, the Chairman highlighted that “Lower spending for the community, social & personal services sector which is measured by the Government operating expenditure and the stalling of certain major projects are the major contributors to this year’s economic decline. Additionally, the fall in visitor arrivals so far this year and the on-going discounts provided by hoteliers will have a flow-on effect in the wholesale & retail trade and hotels & restaurants and transport & communication sectors. Moreover, the mining & quarrying sector is not expected to register any output in 2007, following the closure of the Vatukoula gold mine late last year.”
The Chairman added that, “On a positive note though, the finance, insurance, real estate & business services; manufacturing; agriculture, forestry, fishing & subsistence and electricity & water sectors are anticipated to contribute positively to growth in 2007, although at a level lower than previously estimated. The agriculture sector’s growth has been affected somewhat by the flash floods and a cyclone in the earlier part of this year.”
According to Mr Narube, “Growth projections for 2008 to 2009 have also been revised. The economy is now projected to grow by 1.9 percent in 2008, largely on the back of an expected recovery in the tourism industry next year. Economic growth in 2009 is expected at 2.8 percent with the finance, insurance, real estate & business services sector expected to lead growth. Notably, the benefits of the sugar industry restructure are factored in 2009, contributing to the projected strong performance of the agriculture, forestry, fishing & subsistence sector in that year. As for 2010, the economy is anticipated to expand by 2.9 percent.”
On trade projections, Mr Narube highlighted that, “Imports (excluding aircraft) are now projected to decline by 2.1 percent this year, following a growth of 13.8 percent in 2006. This is a reflection of a combination of factors – the economic downturn this year and the tighter fiscal and monetary policies. Nevertheless, the country’s export performance remains weak with exports (excluding aircraft) projected to contract by 2.6 percent in 2007. ”
Mr Narube stated that, “Official foreign reserves at the end of June were at adequate levels of $859.9 million, equivalent to around 3.5 months of imports of goods”.
The Macroeconomic Committee will revisit these projections for announcement in the 2008 National Budget.


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BioCycle May 2015
National Organic Program And Biodegradable Ag Mulch Films
On September 30, 2014, the USDA’s National Organic Program (NOP) published a final rule in the Federal Register about biodegradable agricultural mulch films for organic farms. The NOP’s decision, which evolved out of two years of public discussion and testimony by many organic farmers, was to list biodegradable biobased mulch film as an allowed synthetic for use in organic crop production. In the final rule, a biodegradable biobased mulch film was defined as a synthetic mulch film that meets the following criteria: 1) Demonstrates at least 90 percent biodegradation absolute or relative to microcrystalline cellulose in less than two years, in soil, based on established test methods (e.g., ASTM D5988); 2) Compostability specifications of established standards (e.g., ASTM D6400, ASTM D6868); and 3) Must be biobased with content determined using ASTM D6866.
The third criteria was ambiguous with regard to how much biobased content had to be included, i.e., a minimum biobased content was not established. In January 2015, the NOP issued a guidance document that instructs certification agents and material review organizations to allow only biodegradable biobased mulch film that contains 100 percent biobased feedstock. Because all biodegradable mulch films available today contain some non-biobased synthetic polymer feedstocks, such as petrochemical resins, the guidance document essentially nullifies the NOP’s final rule published in September 2014.
According to Steven Mojo, Executive Director of the Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI), “this guidance document was issued by NOP with the understanding that no commercially available products meet this 100 percent biobased requirement, nor are any acceptable biodegradable products going to be available in the foreseeable future.” He emphasizes the NOP decision only affects the use of biobased, biodegradable mulch films by organic farmers. In fact, for conventional agriculture, the BPI is proceeding with plans to introduce a new certification for biodegradable, biobased mulch films based on the standards contained in the three criteria noted above.
Mojo explains that strong grower support was a key reason why the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) recommended in October 2012 that NOP adopt their recommendations, which became final in the September 2014 rule. “In public hearings and comment periods, growers commented that conventional polyethylene mulches are labor intensive, as they must be removed at the end of the season and disposed, taking soils with them,” he says. “They also leave nondegradable plastic fragments, which will remain in the soils for long periods of time. Little concern was expressed by the growers about petroleum vs. biobased content.”
As a result of continuing strong support from farmers, the NOP announced at the NOSB’s Spring meeting in April, that it was commissioning a study to investigate the biobased content of currently available ag mulch films that satisfy the other requirements of the NOSB recommendations. This may lead to revisions in the guidance documents.
Phase Out Of Single-Use Plastic Bags In EU
In late April, the European Parliament gave its final approval for legislation amending the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive (PPWD) to reduce the use of conventional single use plastic carrier bags. The new legislation obliges European Union (EU) Member States to introduce measures that reduce use of lightweight plastic bags by almost 50 percent by the end of 2019 and by 80 percent by the end of 2025 compared to 2010 usage levels. The European Bioplastics, a trade association in the EU, applauded the decision as it recognizes the benefits of compostable bags and paves the way for further development of EU-wide standardization and labeling of compostability. “The new legislation reaffirms the potential of biodegradable and compostable shopping bags to tackle the challenges of plastic bag consumption,” says François de Bie, Chairman of European Bioplastics. “Compostable bags should be clearly marked and labeled so consumers can easily identify them as suitable for organic waste collection.” More information is available at www.european-bioplastics.org.
Bathroom Recycling Index
A recent survey conducted on behalf of Unilever, a global consumer products company, found that while a majority of Americans are aware that empty bath and beauty bottles are recyclable, less than half (34%) report always bringing these items to the household recycling bin. As a result, common bathroom products like shampoo, body wash and lotion bottles may be more likely to end up in landfills than their kitchen counterparts. Additional survey findings, dubbed the “Bathroom Recycling Index,” include: 42 percent claim they don’t recycle because they aren’t sure an item is eligible for recycling; and one in five (22%) Americans wouldn’t walk across their home to recycle a bath or beauty bottle. In fact, Americans are more likely to go the distance to get a drink when thirsty, charge their phone, or answer a phone call than walk an empty plastic bottle from the bathroom to the recycling bin. Unilever brands found in bathrooms include Dove, Suave®, St. Ives® and Caress®. “The average American household has eight products in plastic bottles in their bathroom,” explains Gina Boswell, Executive Vice President of Personal Care, Unilever North America. “If we’re able to inspire those millions of people to recycle their empty body wash or lotion bottles, this small action can bring about transformational change.”
The Bathroom Recycling Index is part of a campaign, “Rinse Recycle, Reimagine,” which is a collaboration between Unilever, Keep America Beautiful and the Ad Council. The online survey was conducted nationwide from March 9-23, 2015, among a demographically representative U.S. sample of 5,516 adults ages 18-plus.


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Last week, HUNT Mobile Ads introduced Alexandre Jordão as the manager of its operations in Brazil. The Latin American mobile ad leader opened its Brazilian offices in São Paulo in June, having remained quiet as to who would take charge of its Brazilian branch until now.
An interesting figure, Jordão has a significant background in sales and advertising, having led teams in Brazil and Mexico for Microsoft Advertising. We got in touch with him to learn a bit more about his expectations for HUNT as well as the mobile market in Brazil as a whole.
Our conversation commenced with a discussion of Brazil’s mobile industry. As it stands today, penetration of smartphones in Brazil is approximately 15%. Jordão pointed out that this number is growing quickly, however, signaling that penetration was under 10% in 2011. Moreover, he noted that 55% of cell phones sold in Brazil last month were smartphones. Jordão believes that such numbers point to mobile becoming a mass media in Brazil, like television and radio, strengthened by innovation.
In turn, a growing opportunity is arising for advertisers and agencies in mobile media. More and more entities are starting to see mobile advertising as an important channel for communicating with consumers. Jordão mentioned the example of Hotels.com, which already has a mobile site and application up and running.
Players from various rubrics are looking to get in on the mobile advertising bandwagon in Brazil – e-commerce, m-commerce, branding agencies and advertisers alike. Moreover, international enterprises, such as Millennial Media, are considering operations in the country, where mobile momentum is in full force.
Mapping Out the Road Ahead
As for his hopes and plans for HUNT in Brazil, Jordão indicated a obvious game plan that includes strengthening relationships with existing clients and gaining new business as the same time. Initially, the company has mapped the top 20 agencies and top 10 advertisers in branding and created a list of 50 performance clients (aggregators, m-commerce and those from the web side of the business) to go after.
Over the next six months, HUNT will likely hire at least five more professionals as part of its Brazilian team. And as for the next 12 months, Jordão estimated an earnings opportunity of US$6 million.
Monetizing with Mobile
During the latter part of our conversation, Jordão touched on his personal experiences in advertising sales and his shift into the mobile sector. In his previous work with Microsoft Advertising in Brazil and, most recently, Mexico, Jordão explained that he had access to a huge inventory, none of which was in the realm of mobile ads. At Microsoft, he began to seek out companies to help him to monetize that inventory, which is how he came across HUNT.
His experiences with HUNT and impressions of the mobile industry overall have led him to recognize a huge opportunity in his new position. There are numerous players in the digital world, many of which have a huge amount of inventory in the mobile space but don’t know how to sell it. Jordão’s goal with HUNT is to help with just that.
While some corporations remain resistant to mobile advertising, citing fears that it interferes too much with user experience, Jordão does not agree. Instead, he sees mobile as the perfect combination of mass coverage and complex segmentation that no other sector will be able to offer, at least in the short term. Mobile advertising allows for personalized, one-on-one communication.


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Hexacore Raises $3.5 Million For Pocket Space Launch
Pocket Space represents the expansion of Hexacore into the Web3 gaming industry.
Hexacore, a Dubai-based mobile game developer, has recently landed a substantial funding of $3.5 million to expand its influence in web3 mobile gaming. The round was led by Scalo Technologies, a prominent tech venture company in Dubai, and backed by investors such as Xsolla and Estoty, and it underscores the escalating interest in the burgeoning sector of web3 gaming.
History of Hexacore
The inception of Hexacore dates back to 2022, when Mikita Khazau, Dzianis Krupski, Yuri Zaytsev, and Aleksandr Krivolap partnered to create the company. Leveraging their extensive expertise in mobile gaming, the team has made ambitious targets for their latest venture, building upon their previous achievements at Apps Hub, where they recorded a revenue of $14 million and garnered over 350 million downloads.
The newly acquired investment will not only facilitate the growth of Hexacore but also propel the advancement of a hybrid monetization strategy designed for mobile games.
Pocket Space Will Incorporate NFTs
According to the CEO of Hexacore, Mikita Khazau, their flagship project, Pocket Space, is influenced by renowned games such as My Little Universe and Brawl Stars. Set within an expansive universe of planets, Pocket Space presents diverse game modes to its players. Hexacore has also crafted a distinctive economic framework for its in-game currency and commissions designated for planet proprietors.
Pocket Space has assured players of engaging multiplayer modes and asset ownership functionalities, plus a specialized marketplace facilitating the exchange of in-game assets for currency. The game will unveil its community during the last quarter of 2023, followed by a soft launch in the latter half of 2024 and a worldwide release in 2025.
Hexacore will also broaden the influence of its gaming intellectual property (IP) by venturing into multiple platforms and media, encompassing cartoons, books, toys, and apparel.
Hexacore Is Dedicated To Web3 Games
Hexacore also noted that the policies of Apple and Google concerning web3 games in their app stores are subject to continual modifications, potentially presenting obstacles to the expansion of web3 gaming. Nevertheless, Khazau is optimistic that there will be a shift in policies to mirror the positive sentiment.
Khazau mentioned that granting genuine ownership to web3 players can lead to increased engagement, increased lifetime value (LTV), and augmented long-term revenue from players. Despite certain reservations about NFTs in the Western market due to market fluctuations, Khazau is hopeful that a combination of compelling games and accessibility will spur NFT engagement.


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New York, NY, August 14, 2011 --(PR.com
)-- New York based security camera installation experts 360 Protection have recently announced that they have added new products to their existing catalogue. The company’s new equipment roster includes digital video recorders, infrared cameras, covert cameras, backup power supplies, DVR lock boxes and EMT protective piping. Thanks to the addition of the new products to their comprehensive catalogue, 360 Protection is also now able to provide business owners and homeowners with the ability to monitor their property remotely in order to ensure it’s protected against intruders.
As security continues to be one of New York area residents’ utmost concerns for their home and business, city residents continue to search for professional solutions that ensure completely safety for both themselves and their loved ones. Security solutions are now in use in every facet of society such as shopping malls, public parks, schools and other areas in which members of the public congregate and go about their daily lives. In order to ensure that these solutions are operating to full capacity, the services of New York security camera installation specialists such as 360 Protection are required. 360 Protection can also set up the cameras to be used on iPhone, iPad and Android phones.
The company’s newly updated suite of security solutions has been created to ensure that their clients across the city are now able achieve around-the-clock protection. Clients who wish to speak to one of the 360 Protection specialists about these innovative solutions are asked to contact the company’s in-house team directly and arrange their free no-obligation home or business security analysis.


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Everybody’s Irish on St. Patrick’s Day.
On Wednesday, almost a dozen Manteca area businesses will take part in the revelry that honors the Irish patron saint that is revered in his homeland for banishing all of the snakes from the isle.
Manteca’s largest St. Patrick’s Day celebration at Kelley Brothers Brewing Co. & Brickyard Oven Restaurant includes bag pipe music, traditional corned beef and cabbage, drink specials, and green beer.
Papa Joe’s BBQ and Steakhouse is even entering the mix with all-you-can-eat corned beef and cabbage – which includes fresh-baked sweet rolls – as well as $1.50 domestic drafts. Live entertainment is also scheduled to perform.
Over at The Rusty Hook on East Yosemite Avenue, free T-shirts mark the highlight of the celebration that also includes $2 green beer and $3 Irish car bombs.
And one of Manteca’s longest running St. Patrick’s Day celebrations, the one at Rocko’s Sports and Spirits, begins at 6 p.m. at their 757 N. Main Street location with corned beef and cabbage. Green beer and Irish car bombs are also available on special, and music and dancing will be on hand from 8 p.m. to midnight.
Up at The Pub at 1305 N. Main Street, a traditional dinner of corned beef and cabbage will kick-off at 4 p.m. along with their traditional happy hour – featuring $1 domestic drafts and $2 imports.
Downtown Manteca’s 133 Club already held their corned beef and cabbage dinner earlier this week, but on Wednesday will have an ample supply of green beer and other drink specials. All mixed drinks that are green will be on special, and anything in a green bottle will also be on sale.
To contact Jason Campbell, e-mail email@example.com


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Tribute Games announced on Wednesday that TMNT Shredder’s Revenge will be getting it’s first DLC later this year. The Dimension Shellshock DLC comes with new playable characters including USAGI YOJIMBO, a new game mode and new palette options.
TMNT Shredder’s Revenge released June 16, 2022 for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series XlS and PC. A year later the game will be getting its first DLC which will be coming out sometime in 2023, but no release date or price has been revealed yet.
You can add it to your wishlist on Steam.


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No more account sharing After Netflix, it’s Costco’s turn to prevent the sharing of membership cards at self-service checkout.
Now it’s impossible for non-members to shop at Costco. According to Business Insider, at the self-service checkout, store customers will be required to show a photo ID to confirm payment for the month for a Costco subscription.
Although this action is not authorized, the Costco company has noticed that many people are sharing the Costco card among themselves at the time of payment.
It is an increasingly popular activity. However, the company believes that a person who does not pay for a subscription should not have the same benefits as a person who does.
“We don’t think it’s fair that non-Costco members get the same benefits and prices as our members,” the company told Insider.
Costco’s Privilege Membership Card costs $60 for two people of the same address. It’s $120 for an Executive Privilege membership card.
A Business subscription lets you add members for $60 each.
Asking for proof of membership at checkouts can also reduce the risk of shoplifting, Costco added.
In Michigan, Costco has already begun asking for proof of identification when paying at self-service checkout.


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- Australian meal delivery service Youfoodz (YFZ) releases its preliminary FY21 results which reveal growth across most areas
- Gross revenue was up 18.8 per cent over the prior corresponding period to $203.8 million while net revenue was up 14.9 per cent to $146.4 million
- Customer acquisitions were up 34.9 per cent to more than 195,600 while business-to-consumer orders were up 27.5 per cent to more than 1.4 million
- Unfortunately, business-to-business gross revenue was down due to localised lockdowns, however results improved in Q4
- Shares in Youfoodz closed up a slight 0.55 per cent at 91.5 cents on August 24
Australian meal delivery service Youfoodz (YFZ) has released its preliminary FY21 results which reveal growth across most areas.
Gross revenue was up 18.8 per cent over the prior corresponding period (pcp) to $203.8 million while net revenue was up 14.9 per cent over the pcp to $146.4 million.
Youfoodz credits this increase to the rapid growth in the business-to-consumer (B2C) sector. However, this was partially offset by a decline in the company’s business-to-business (b2B) sector.
Furthermore, Youfoodz delivered earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of $1 million for FY21, compared with an EBITDA loss of $2.8 million in FY20.
B2C orders were up 27.5 per cent over the pcp to 1,406,462 while active B2C customers were up 28.1 per cent from the pcp to 344,210.
Additionally, new customer acquisitions were up 34.9 per cent to 195,625.
All of these increases supported strong revenue which was up 34.9 per cent on the pcp to $136.7 million.
Furthermore, Youfoodz introduced next day delivery in NSW, subscription service on app as well as menu cycling and new menu releases.
Due to uncertainty surrounding lockdowns, gross revenue in Youfoodz’s B2B sector declined 4.4 per cent to $67.2 million while net revenue decreased 10.5 per cent to $41.1 million.
However, during Q4 gross revenue was up 7.2 per cent over the pcp to $16.2 million and up 3.9 per cent over Q3.
Acquisition by HelloFresh
In mid-July, Youfoodz announced it had entered a binding scheme implementation deed for HelloFresh to acquire 100 per cent of its share capital for $125.3 million.
Further details of the transaction remain subject to a shareholder vote with a virtual scheme meeting to be held in early October.
CEO Lance Giles commented on the results.
“It is pleasing to see the business deliver strong growth for FY2021. B2C has performed well, delivering a significant uplift in order volumes and revenue vs pcp,” Mr Giles said.
“Our B2B business, which experienced challenging trading conditions during much of FY21, saw an improvement in order volumes and revenues during Q4 FY2021.”
“Looking ahead, we continue to see significant tailwinds for the ready-made meal sector in Australia, with Youfoodz playing a leading role in driving ongoing product innovation, customer service and growth.”
For FY22, intends to continue its investment in marketing to drive new customer acquisitions and expand the B2B sales team to capture further market share.
Shares in Youfoodz closed up a slight 0.55 per cent at 91.5 cents on August 24.


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CBC News in Canada used tracking devices to follow where garbage and recycling companies took loads of recovered film. Much of the plastic was ultimately burned or buried.
Canada recycled less plastic in 2017 than it did the year before, with decreases in recovery of films, non-bottle rigids and bottles, according to an annual industry report.
London, Ontario approved a grant for a Hefty EnergyBag program, making it the first Canadian city to embrace the program for collecting hard-to-recycle plastics.
Garbage and recycling container maker Busch Systems recently announced it has developed additional products made from 100% recycled plastic. An executive explained how the Canadian company continues to boost recycled content.
Experts say a deposit system for non-alcoholic beverage containers would complement a Canadian province’s curbside recycling system, by cutting costs and increasing the volume of material recycled each year.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his government will ban a number of single-use plastic products and will support establishing extended producer responsibility for plastic items.


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Foyles’ sales were marginally up in value terms in December, despite the mini-chain being hit by a drop in footfall, which it said was a... Read more
Fire and Fury fever has gripped retailers across the UK as thousands of copies of Michael Wolff's controversial exposé of president Donald Trump finally hit shop floors... Read more
Forty-three titles have been shortlisted for the 2018 Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards, which celebrate the "broad scope" of travel writing.
Little, Brown said the response to the explosive exposé of Donald Trump's presidency has been "extraordinary", with the publisher fulfilling orders of 330,000 print copies... Read more
UK retail supplier Bookspeed has appointed Lewis Dawson as managing director in an aim to "reinforce its position for future growth".
Waterstones sold out of Michael Wolff's controversial exposé of Donald Trump's presidency Fire and Fury (Little, Brown) over the weekend following the media storm that prompted its early release.... Read more
Waterstones has extended its long-term partnership with manufacturer Unipart Logistics for an additional five years.
UK booksellers are scrambling for stock of Michael Wolff’s sensational Fire and Fury exposé of Donald Trump’s presidency, with the title already out of stock... Read more
Sainsbury’s and Blackwell’s have reported positive book sales over the Christmas period, with Pete Selby, head of books at the supermarket, saying that gift purchases... Read more
A Waterstones branch is dedicating its ‘Staff Recommends’ bay to female writers to celebrate the 'Year of Publishing Women'.
The week before Christmas saw the biggest value takings for books since 2007, but bad weather and a surge in online orders hit brick and... Read more
Retailers have unleashed a range of sales offers to lure in shoppers, both in-store and online.
The Booksellers Association is to urge the government to grant bookshops a discount on their business rates, arguing that they are cultural entities which provide... Read more
Connect Books m.d. Justin Adams has promised it will be "business as usual" at the distributor as its acquisition by private equity company Aurelius is... Read more
Indie bookshops in the UK and Ireland are being called upon to complete The Bookseller’s annual Christmas Trading Survey.
Issue No 5791
Friday, February 23 2018
Back issuesavailable here


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Germans like themselves as world champions in recycling – a self-image that is deceptive. Take plastic waste, for example: of the five million tonnes that private and commercial end users produce each year, more than half is “energetically recovered”, ie incinerated. Almost a third is passed on to other countries. In the end, only 16 to 17 percent can be reused as plastic. Not a good result, especially since the mountains of packaging are currently still growing: In the Corona era, the shipping boom and to-go gastronomy are adding a shovel.
To get the problem under control, the Packaging Act came into force in 2019. It obliges manufacturers, online retailers and other companies that put packaging into circulation, quantities and materials


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Italian label manufacturer Modulgraf has just announced its latest venture – the talking wine label.
The company, which holds the patent for the microchip technology employed by many top wineries in the battle against wine falsification, prints labels for some of the biggest Italian wine producers including Ornellaia, Arnaldo Caprai and Tenuta Campo al Sasso, the new Antinori joint venture.
According to Daniele Barontini, president of the design company, the new technology is geared towards luxury wines and wine aficionados.
‘The label will retain its square or rectangular shape, design and colour. It will be made of plastic and can actually be removed and ‘read’ like a CD. The producer’s voice will explain the merits of the wine, give particulars of the vintage, and talk about the estate,’ he told decanter.com.
The inventor of the technology, Florentin Doring, has already used the product successfully with books in other markets. A special label reader, similar to a walkman, also manufactured by Modulgraf, will be needed to listen to the label. The reader, which is likely to be expensive, will be purchased by high-end wine shops, restaurants and collectors who intend to buy the specially-labeled wines.
‘Clearly, this is intended for a very select category of wines and consumers,’ said Barontini.
While he says there is great interest in the product, which is to be released this autumn, he declined to mention producers who have already ordered the new labels.
‘Many of the producers interested are also looking at this as the ultimate safeguard in the constant battle against the counterfeit wine industry,’ said Barontini, since the ‘disk labels’ would be too difficult to reproduce.
Written by Kerin O’Keefe


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Currently, the cheapest roaming calling service offered by Indian telecom companies is Rs 16 per minute, claimed Lycamobile.
With international outgoing calls charged at one-rupee per minute and zero-charge for incoming calls, the Lyca pre-paid international SIM will save Indian travellers as much as 70% to 90% of their current international calling expenses when abroad, according to the company chief executive, Milind Kangle.
The launch of the post-paid roaming SIM card service is in response to the growing demand from Indian entrepreneurs, corporates, students, and foreign travellers for cost-effective yet reliable calling cards, Kangle added.
The SIM card is priced at Rs 250 and comes with a prepaid calling value of £1 and can be topped up from over one million Lycamobile outlets at 17 different countries.
Users will also be able to select a UK mobile number to use as a primary number in India while purchasing the SIM card.
The Lyca calling card – valid for a lifetime -- is free of rent or deposits and works in foreign countries such as Spain, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Poland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Ireland, Belgium, the US and Australia in addition to the UK.
The launch of the post-paid one-rupee roaming calling service from Lyca comes at a time when the UK company is planning aggressive expansion to its distribution network across Asia, Middle East, Africa. It also plans to extend its Indian services and raise its turnover from 5-crore rupees currently to about 60-crore rupees in 2014 as a result of its roaming SIM service, according to the company’s chief operating officer, Premanathan Sivasamy.


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SWITZERLAND, AUGUST 6 – Nigerians are currently expressing their concerns over a recent revelation by the the Federal Internal Revenue Services, FIRS, that the government may soon introduce a 5 percent Value Added Tax, VAT on all online purchases.
The Chairman of the FIRS, Babatunde Fowler, who gave the hint , also said the federal government was yet to take a decision on whether to increase VAT or not.
Today’s Echo gathers that, if this policy is implemented, Nigerians, mostly young people who carry out transactions online will be charged extra 5 percent in addition to other charges, including card maintenance and ATM services being currently charged by bank. For instance, if you are purchasing something worth N20,000, the bank will charge you N1,000 for VAT, in addition to other charges. The implication is that the cost of online transactions will shoot up and people may begin to resort back to cash.
This is also seen as a big blow to Nigeria’s growing Fintech sector and the digitisation movement in Nigeria, which the government has so far encouraged.
Although he stated Nigeria was not fully ready for the growing global digitalised economy, the FIRS Chairman said, based on existing laws, the country will adopt a solution suitable to her peculiar circumstance.
“We will address the issue of the digitalised economy very soon. There is no global solution to a digitalised economy.
“Different countries have taken different solutions to address the problem. Nigeria has not taken a position yet. But, we are meeting to see if we can come up with a global solution that we can all adapt to.
“With the existing laws in Nigeria, we can appoint the banks as agents. First of all, all those who make payments for purchases online using bank cards and instruct their bankers to pay, we will tell the banks that, going forward, everyone who gives instructions for service for purchase online, they should deduct five per cent VAT,” he said.
“We are thinking that maybe early next year, we will advise banks to start deducting five percent VAT for all online purchases done locally,” he added.
Nigerians are already talking about the move on Social media and the 5 percent VAt is currently a trending topic on Twitter. See some of the comments below:
5% VAT— Nduka Odo, CCFR (@ndukaodo) August 6, 2019
on online transactions in addition to
N52 Bank transaction fee
15% Remita/TSA charge on any FG biz.
N74 Card maintenance Fee.
N60 SMS charges.
That of Remitta/TSA is fraud! You pay fee to FG, then you pay bank for collecting fee for FG?
You can’t make account for the bank charges you deduct from our accounts, the government account can’t tally with what we have been putting in yet you want to deduct 5% VAT on any transaction we do online— I WOKE UP WITH GOD (@Mobulux_daboss) August 6, 2019
Buhari you’re a failure and a cunny thief#RevolutionProtest #Tyrant
I don’t see why Nigerians should pay 5% Vat for online transactions. Come to think of is, going by the functionality of Nigerian govt, Nigerians should not even be paying ANY tax!— Ifeanyichukwu (@Afu_Dimkpa1) August 6, 2019
For what? So the idiots in corridors of power would have more funds to put to waste?
The Nigerian government want 5% VAT on Online transaction. Same dodgy Nigerian government that will never account for the 50naira they have been charging for all bank transaction, money amounting to over 5trillion naira— LORD OF THE 4 KINGDOM (@Real_MJC) August 6, 2019
We are just starting to adapt to cashless policy and all of a sudden men hit us with 5% vat for purchase with cards. Ogbeni I’m not doing again. Las Las I’ll stuff my money in my pillow and watch the economy stagnate 😂🌚— kirin (@Quantumroot) August 6, 2019
Also, the FIRS Chairman spoke on the lingering debate on an increase in the VAT rate from the current five per cent to either 7.5 per cent or 10 per cent.
According to Mr Fowler, given a choice between increasing VAT rate and expanding the tax base, he will prefer the latter.
“Of course, the first one will be the expansion of the tax base. The tax has to be fair. That’s where we started off. That’s why we have said we have redesigned and issued new tax certificates for VAT.
“We have given to all registered taxpayers. We believe we should have effectively at least 1.5 million corporate taxpayers,” he said.


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UK retail sales rose by an unexpected 0.9%, higher than many economists had predicted.
Following on from strong retail growth in December, this figure represents an excellent start to the year, with non-store and online sales acting as key performers.
Gary Stockdale from Vertem Asset Management, Newcastle said: “Today’s announcement of a surprise increase in retail sales figure is clearly welcome news but is in many way reflective of continued discounting by retails, and moderating inflation which has eased the pressure on peoples purchasing power.”
Richard Driver, currency analyst for Caxton FX added: “There was a minor clue from the improved UK consumer confidence figure earlier in the week, however, high street sentiment remains at historically very low levels and nobody saw this coming.
“Some fairly sharp recent declines in UK inflation will have played a part but wage growth has been poor and household incomes remain tightly squeezed so this is a genuine upside surprise.”
Nonetheless, the near-term outlook for the UK economy is downbeat, and huge certainties still remain. Wage growth continues to be sluggish, unemployment is rising and many households are heavily in debt, indicating that challenges are not over yet for retailers.


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January 19, 2016
Gold Holds Up as Stocks Struggle, Platinum Near 7-Year Low
(Reuters) - Gold steadied on Tuesday as equities were pressured by data showing China's economy grew at its slowest clip since 2009 in the fourth quarter, pushing investors towards safe-haven assets.
The world's No. 2 economy grew 6.8 percent in the fourth quarter, data showed. For all of 2015, growth came in at 6.9 percent, the weakest in 25 years.
The numbers matched economist estimates in a Reuters poll, underlining the challenges Beijing faces in stabilising activity while reforming its economy.
Asian stocks were largely flat and oil prices remained under pressure, staying near multi-year lows. The dollar was firmer versus a basket of currencies, keeping gold in check.
A longer-term trend for a stronger U.S. dollar will pressure gold, said Michael McCarthy, chief market strategist at CMC Markets in Sydney, who sees resistance for the metal at $1,098.
Spot gold was little changed at $1,089.56 an ounce by 0330 GMT, after a lethargic session on Monday with U.S. markets shut for the Martin Luther King holiday.
Bullion scaled a two-month high of $1,112 on Jan. 8 amid concerns over the fate of the global economy, particularly China.
U.S. gold for February delivery was also flat at $1,089.70 an ounce.
Weak physical demand from top gold consumers China and India has limited gold's upside potential, analysts say, with Chinese consumer spending dented by its slowing economy.
"It seems unlikely that any particular group would put a floor under the gold price at this stage," said McCarthy.
Amid concerns over global growth, spot platinum hit a session-low of $814.50 an ounce, just off Monday's trough of $812.95, its lowest since December 2008.
Palladium was steady at $490.90 an ounce and silver was also flat at $13.94.


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You probably know Medium, the publishing platform which was founded by Twitter’s co-founder Evan Williams. It was geared to make it easy for anyone to write a lengthy post complete with simple formatting tools for easy sharing on Medium or on other social media channels.
Maintaining such a platform is a challenge and this very fact was explained by Ev Williams in a Medium post. The company has decided to make some major changes which he outrightly outlined.
First, Medium will axe a third of its team (50 jobs) in the sales and support departments. This is due to the company’s renewed focus of changing its business model to its “original plan.”
What was this original plan? Well according to Ev, “our vision when we started in 2012 was ambitious: To build a platform that defined a new model for media on the internet.” As noble as the plan was, there were problems in the way. This included the likes of misinformation and the pressure by publishers to put out more content cheaply.
According to Ev, the current system at Medium was “unsustainable and unsatisfying for producers and consumers alike” and that is why they are doing away with it. They had started on various strategies to lure commercial publishers on the platform which according to him was a success. They were able to get the “best publishers on the web” on Medium as well as seeing interests from big brands. The platform is growing too as according to Williams, readers and published posts were up 300% year on year which is impressive.
However, they realized they realized they didn’t have a proper platform to drive people to pay for quality content on Medium. Ev realized that the current ad driven digital media system is broken and this is why they are making a change.
This is why Medium is moving to a new model where writers and creators will be rewarded based on their value of their creations. This will not happen soon according to Williams but it will be interesting to see what Medium will come up with as they focus on changing the digital publishing world as we know it.


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Chinese mobile phone startup Smartisan has been making big moves this year. This past spring, its launch event for its T1 smartphone became ...
Posts Categorized: Mobile
There’s an app for that. It’s become less of a company slogan and more of the mobile generation’s mantra. Dozens, even hundreds of new apps are released every day, and only a very small percentage ever see the daylight of success. Still, we continue to see the innovation of mobile apps infiltrate our daily lives, replacing tedious tasks and entire industries alike.
Intel confirmed today that it’s paying RMB 9 billion (US$1.47 billion) to take a 20 percent stake in Chinese chip-maker Spreadtrum.
It looks like the actual number of smartphone users in Vietnam may be smaller than we thought. It's 22 million, not 33 million.
The game saved Mixi. Can it make it big in America?
The Apple App Store's review process is in need of an urgent overhaul. Here are 3 suggestions how.
YouTube offline will resolve one of the main pain-points for budget smartphone users in India - unreliable and unaffordable downloads.
The budget smartphone market has just got shaken up again with the unveiling of Google's Android One in India at $105. Here are 5 ways in wh...
The international partnership will start from October.
Samsung today confirmed that its newest flagship, the Galaxy Note 4, will launch in China and South Korea this week.
Jolla is priced just a bit more than Mi 3. But then all those frustrated by Xiaomi flash sales might find the smartphone from the land of No...
Flappy Bird put Vietnam on the map. It underlined a little known fact about Vietnam, it has a burgeoning gaming market.
For a bit of extra income, these people form the frontlines in the massive iPhone 6 grey market.
Vietnam’s smartphone penetration recently hit 36 percent. That’s over 33 million people in 2014. What could this mean for the budding So...
Another taxi app enters the cab booking arena in Singapore. This time it's Uber, which previously only allowed users to book private vehicle...
The popular social app wants to take your money, now.
Its biggest markets by user count are now Japan, Indonesia, and Thailand - but that's not necessarily where its money is coming from.


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More Cruise Options Available for Travelers
From overland odysseys in the Himalayas to the icy realms of Antarctica, cruising vacations this year will span the globe, offering experiences never before during a cruise, according to AAA Vacations.
In addition, ocean liners are more luxurious and activities plentiful, with dining experiences for every taste, from granola to rare wines.
"The summer of 2008 will see a first-ever Baltic cruise offered by Carnival Cruise Line," said Claudia Collins, branch manager in Southern Pines with AAA Vacations. "But act quickly. These 12-day Northern European trips are selling well primarily due to low lead-in prices."
For the more adventurous, you can combine cruising with exotic land excursions that have never before been paired with cruising. New adventures include travel in the Himalayas region.
"You can also sail the Pacific to Asia this year and enjoy in-depth land excursions in Vietnam, Thailand, China, Laos and Cambodia," Collins said. "More in-port overnights will be offered in Asia than ever before."
Caribbean cruises, of course, continue as a mainstay of the travel industry, while Alaskan cruises are enjoying strong growth.
Alaskan cruises, projected to increase by 10 percent this year, are also changing with the times, offering more opportunities to get off the boat and into the Alaskan wilderness.
"Cruise West is offering its guests the opportunity to get up-close and personal with the wonders or Southeast Alaska," Collins said. "Land tours of the Denali National Park and Preserve, home of towering Mt. McKinley, North America's tallest peak, can be added to cruise itineraries."
European river cruises, a relatively new addition to the cruising scene, are expected to continue increasing in popularity this year, according to AAA Vacations. The draw of river cruising is the ability to sail right up to a European city or village as opposed to docking in a seaport that may be miles from the city center, requiring overland travel.
"Luxury river cruises are enhancing the onboard experience, offering complimentary wine with dinner, bottled water in each stateroom, 24-hour specialty coffees and state-of-the-art portable audio headset systems for onshore activities," Collins said.
"Perhaps best of all is the added value that this type of trip affords -- luxurious amenities, impeccable cuisine and the ability to enjoy European locales that are off the beaten path and not easily accessible by land."
Disney Cruise Line, a relative newcomer to the cruising segment, is also growing and evolving with travel trends. Disney recently announced that it will double the size of its fleet, with new ship launches extending into 2012.
"Disney Magic is returning to the West Coast during 2008 for the second straight year, offering a dozen seven-night Mexican Riviera sailings from Los Angeles," Collins said.
Cruise lines are not only increasing the number and variety of destinations, but they are also making amenities more luxurious. Onboard spa services, high-end staterooms and new design schemes are abundant.
"Some liners are offering adjacent spa staterooms and suites that provide private access to the spa," Collins said. "Staterooms on some new ships are expected to be 15 percent larger on average and, bowing to a trend in home designs, bathrooms will be 24 percent larger. Additional improvements are more private balconies."
The luxury cruising trend is turning some ships into "dining destinations." In addition to dynamic panoramic sea views, cruisers can select from onboard menus that offer everything from health-conscious to extravagant.
"Healthy meal choices onboard many ships include extensive salad bars, 24-hour frozen yogurt and gourmet-style selections in the main dining rooms that are also heart healthy," Collins said. "If you prefer to indulge yourself, however, some cruise liners offer unique restaurants where lavish meals are paired with rare wines."
Cruise vacations have long appealed to a broad cross-section of travelers because they combine entertainment, cuisine, accommodations and enrichment learning. During a cruise vacation, activities abound, from relaxing by the pool to participating in self-improvement classes or even ice-skating.
"Cruising is a travel option that consistently provides outstanding value," Collins said. "Transportation, hotel room, meals and entertainment are all provided, plus you have the opportunity to visit several different destinations on one trip. As the changes taking place during 2008 illustrate, the cruise industry is creative and constantly looking for new experiences for travelers."
Anyone needing more information about the latest trends in cruising can visit www.AAA.com
AAA vacation services are available to both members and non-members.
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NEW YORK NLMK USAs galvanized steel sales fell sharply in the second quarter after the steelmaker idled one of its galvanizing lines in Sharon, Pa., amid weakening demand.
The Portage, Ind.-based steelmaker, a division of Russias NLMK Group, reported galvanized steel sales of 51,000 tonnes in the second quarter, down 39.2 percent from the first quarter and off 50.3 percent vs. the same quarter last year.
The lower coated product sales come after the company on April 24 announced plans to temporarily halt its No. 2 galvanizing line at the facility starting in late May (amm.com, April 25).
The reduction in coated steel sales contributed to a 9.6-percent quarterly drop and 11.8-percent yearly decline in total steel sales to 429,000 tonnes, NLMK said.
Hot-rolled steel sales totaled 268,000 tonnes in the quarter, down 2.5 percent from the first quarter but up 4.3 percent year on year, while cold-rolled steel sales of 110,000 tonnes were down 5.4 percent and 13.6 percent, respectively, in the same comparisons.
According to the company, 37 percent of quarterly sales went to service centers, although direct sales were also made to tube and pipe, construction and automotive companies.


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While Tesla doesn’t usually allow cameras in their Fremont electric car plant, KPIX 5 took the privilege of an exclusive look inside, a first in five years for a television crew inside the factory. The Tesla car manufacturing plant is gorgeous, high-tech and awesome! A poetry in motion and engineering symphony.
The factory is one mile long and 5 million square foot wide. The crew even needed a golf cart to navigate the whole plant. What they saw before their eyes are robots who work at different stations; at those stations, the robot can do five tasks at once, like welding, riveting, and lifting up a car.
The robots in the plant are considered the largest in the world. They are also named fancily like Cyclops, Thunderbird, and Titan.
What’s more amazing about Tesla plant is that they manufacture their own components from scratch. They start with 20,000 pound rolls of aluminium and stamp them into body panels. They even make the 17-inch dashboard screen and electronics as their cars’ accessories.
The crew, accompanied by Tesla spokesman Alexis Georgeson, also came across customers, detached from their smartphone and cameras, waiting for the cars they designed and purchased to finish assembly. Yup, owners get to design their own vehicles.
Images and Video Source: Roadshow


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29 malicious apps on Google Play Store downloaded 10mn times
New Delhi, Sep 26 (IANS) Twenty-nine malicious apps have been discovered on Google Play Store with a collective download count of more than 10 million, said a new report by Quick Heal Security Labs on Thursday. The apps were removed by Google soon after.
One of the malicious apps from this set named ‘multiapp multiple accounts simultaneously' has crossed 5 million installs and out of the 29 apps, 24 are from ‘HiddAd' category that hides the icon after first launch and create a shortcut on home screen of the phone.
According to Quick Heal Security Labs, the purpose of the apps is to not let users uninstall it by just dragging the icon.
“The remaining 5 apps are of ‘Adware' category and would generally get into your Android phones through advertisements. Users see many advertisements every time they visit social media sites like YouTube, Facebook, etc, which promote different mobile applications.
“Many a times, these promoted mobile applications boast about a lot of unbelievable functionalities like X-Ray scanning. We came across few advertisements of some interesting Android apps which claim to offer functionality of X-Ray scanning. When we explored the App further, we found out that two such apps have crossed 1 million+ downloads already,” the company said in a statement.
The ‘Adware' apps pretend to offer a functionality of magnifying the view, but in reality these show heavy advertisement on user's mobile, eventually draining phone battery and causing heavy data usage and productivity loss.
“Right after the launch, these applications open camera and show various options like flash light, gallery, etc. But when user chooses an option, these apps start full screen ads, with no option to close or skip,” the company added.
Disclaimer:- The source of this news is IANS and has not been edited by TwistArticle staff.


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sioux falls, sd
The frigid, snowy weather didn't slow down shoppers enjoying Winter Crazy Days in downtown Sioux Falls.
Strong winds whipped through downtown streets, but it didn't cool down the sales local stores used to entice shoppers during the semi-annual event. The owner of Child's Play Toys says they've stayed pretty busy despite the weather.
“Our winter one depends solely on weather, but we still have had lots of people out and about shopping yesterday and today. I think that is great news that people are still coming down in this crazy weather,” Nancy Savage of Child’s Play Toys said.
Crazy Days continues through tomorrow for many downtown stores.


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Microsoft profits flat despite strong Kinect sales
Microsoft's profits for the last three months of 2010 were barely changed, despite the popularity of its Kinect controller and strong sales of Office 2010 to businesses.
Net income was $6.63bn (£4.18bn), down from $6.66bn in 2009.
Sales in the Windows division fell 30% because of the launch of Windows 7 in the corresponding quarter of 2009.
The results were better than expected, as analysts had predicted weak PC sales would hit Microsoft harder.
"The 8 million units of Kinect sensors sold in just 60 days far exceeded our expectations," said Peter Klein, Microsoft's chief financial officer.
Analysts said that people were also buying Xbox 360 consoles - with which the Kinect controllers work - as well as games faster than had been expected.
The company's results leaked an hour before they were due to be released and its shares ended the day up 0.3%.
A company called Selerity sent the information to some investors and later claimed it had found the report early because Microsoft uses a similar web address for earnings every quarter.
As a result, Microsoft released its earnings a few minutes before the market closed.
It described the leaked report as a "preproduction draft" of its earnings.
The division that sells Office software reported a 24% increase in its revenue to $6bn as companies that had cut back on software spending during the recession upgraded their systems.
It also said sales of the software to consumers had been improved by the strategy of installing free but limited versions of Office on new computers and then allowing customers to download upgrades instead of having to buy a boxed version.


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Subaru's Sales Success Comes With a Big Side of Trouble
Subaru’s sales in the United States effectively tripled in the past decade, making it the most important market for the brand by a wide margin. However, the automaker has had to expend quite a bit of energy in its home country of Japan to address recalls and regulatory scandals over the last few years.
While the duality hasn’t caused issues on a global scale, many observers wonder how long its good fortune will last. In America, Subaru is a feel-good brand that uses love as a core marketing concept to improve sales. In Japan, it has become synonymous with overworking employees lacking compensation, regulatory scandals, sudden work stoppages, and recalls. Many believe it’s only a matter of time before Subaru of America will have to contend with Japan’s issues, and evidence exists that problems are already beginning to surface in the West.
According to internal documents intercepted by Automotive News, certain U.S. Subaru retailers and company managers at starting to fret. With the next-generation Outback crossover slated to launch later this summer, some dealers worry it could be a repeat of the Ascent.
“We continue to be concerned that [Subaru] is not making the necessary investments and changes fast enough to ensure that vehicles are being produced with the quality the brand and its customers deserve,” Subaru’s U.S. National Retail Advisory Board wrote in a September 18th resolution to top management in the U.S. and Japan after last year’s rollout of the U.S.-built Ascent crossover was maligned by recalls. The board also noted it “would like to express its disappointment with the continued poor product quality and with the poor launch of the new Ascent.”
From Automotive News:
Tom Doll, CEO of the automaker’s U.S. subsidiary, Subaru of America, acknowledged in an interview last week at the Chicago Auto Show that dealers had expressed concerns to Subaru in Japan. But Doll indicated that whatever challenges exist will be worked out, and he said he expected no delay in any product launch.
“This situation is going to correct itself,” Doll said. “A lot of it’s growing pains, right? … But we’re not concerned at all about whether or not it’s going to get fixed or not. It will get fixed. We’re hopeful that it gets fixed fairly quickly.”
However, the situation appears to be more serious than that in Japan. Subaru made big headlines in Asia after a veteran employe jumped off the roof of one of its Japanese facilities after working 105 hours of unpaid overtime in a single month. According to the family’s attorney, Kazunari Tamaki, the man’s death can be directly attributed to pressure in the workplace. The local Labor Standards Supervision Office even ruled the suicide a case of “death by overwork,” or karōshi.
Late last month, Tamaki held a press conference to describe the man’s final moments and pressure Subaru for damages. This resulted in the automaker acknowledging that some of its facilities compelled thousands of employees to work overtime without pay to solve regulatory problems and bolster production for the North American market — forgoing millions of dollars in the process.
Subaru says the suicide spurred it to survey the overtime practices of roughly 17,000 employees between July 2015 and June 2017. It learned that about 3,400 workers performed unreported “service overtime,” often claiming they did so due to management pressure not to exceed internal limits on overtime. Last March, Subaru retroactively paid those workers to the tune of $7.03 million, which some claim was insufficient.
“There is a corporate mentality that you shouldn’t claim overtime,” Tamaki explained. “There’s a deadline for the work assigned, and you have to meet that deadline at all costs. I think it’s really the company trying to make a bigger profit by controlling costs.”
Back in the United States, dealers remain concerned that Japanese problems will spill over. “Unfortunately, customers continue to have many issues with their Subarus, and the brand continues to slip in IQS and other industry metrics related to product quality,” the retail board wrote in September. “This is unacceptable and contradictory to what [Subaru] continues to tell the [board] and retailers about improvements being made thru quality initiatives.”
Production volume has also become an issue. One U.S. supplier to Subaru’s vehicle assembly plant in Lafayette, Indiana, already confessed to having trouble keeping its quota as the redesigned Outback enters pre-production. The supplier, Fukai Toyotetsu Indiana Corp., had 222 workers quit from its plant in Jamestown between May and September, losing 74 more between early December and early January. This left the stamping supplier short staffed and dependent upon 12-hour shifts to make up the difference.
None of this will bankrupt Subaru overnight. While the company has adjusted its earnings slightly to account for work stoppages and supply issues, it doesn’t look to be anywhere near death’s door. The automaker will probably continue growing until logistics becomes an insurmountable problem. All Subaru seems to have done is run itself to exhaustion without taking a break to reassess the situation — a mistake we hope it doesn’t repeat.
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- SCE to AUX A question nobody asks is how Tesla sells so many EVs without charge-at-home incentives.Here are some options for you:[list][*]Tesla drivers don't charge at home; they just squat at Superchargers.[/*][*]Tesla drivers are rich, so they just pay for a $2000 charger installation with the loose change in their pocket.[/*][*]Tesla drivers don't actually drive their cars much; they plug into 110V and only manage about 32 miles/day.[/*][/list]
- SCE to AUX "Despite the EV segment having enjoyed steady growth over the past several years, sales volumes have remained flatter through 2023."Not so. How can EV sales be increasing and flatter at the same time?https://insideevs.com/news/667516/us-electric-car-sales-2023q1/Tesla and H/K/G are all up for EV sales, as are several other brands.
- ToolGuy Here is an interesting graphic, if you're into that sort of thing.
- ToolGuy Nice website you got there (even the glitches have glitches)
- Namesakeone Actually, per the IIHS ratings, "Acceptable" is second best, not second worst. The ratings are "Good," "Acceptable," "Marginal" and "Poor."


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Hei, shoe lover, are you planning to visit Italy soon? Here’s some dates you shouldn’t miss!
From 26th January to 9th April in Morando Palace, Milan (Italy) it is arranged an exhibition of Manolo Blahnìk’s shoes titled “The Art of Shoes“. I was there last weekend. […]
11 of the world’s hottest footwear designers (above all, Manolo Blahnik, Nicholas Kirkwood, Rene Caovilla and Stuart Weitzman) have matched to create their interpretation of Cinderella’s glass slippers according to Dinsey Movie […]


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Santa Monica-based GraphEffect has a new name today–and a long list of new partners–as it has relaunched itself asSHIFT. According to the firm, it is creating a collaboration platform for marketers and agencies, and will offer up a suite of marketing technology from a set of more than 12 partners. SHIFT said its offering will provide a single platform and app ecosystem which will offer up enterprise marketing applications from its partners, ranging from media buying to data management to content creation.
The startup–headed by James Borow–said it has tapped apps from Aggregate Knowledge, Convertro, Curalate, Expion, Fan Appz, Kenshoo, Moontoast, Offerpop, Optimal Analytics, SocialFlow, The Trade Desk–as well as GraphEffect–to power its new ecosystem.
The firm said that so far, customers of its platform include American Express, Marriott, Verizon, and Toyota.


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Baker Realty recently tweeted about the soon to be released “City Suites” at One Bloor! From what we’ve been able to gather, it looks like the floorplans will be available in a variety of sizes ranging from 1 bed to 2 bed plus dens with prices starting in the $500,ooo’s. Along with the new layouts, we’ll also get to see the new sales centre!
We helped several clients get in early during the initial brokers launch and would be more than happy to do the same for those looking to buy the soon to be release “City Suites”! If you’d like to be notified on the launch, contact the BloorCondos Team!