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In October, Microsoft launched the Windows 8 and RT version of its enterprise-based communications software Lync. It's one of two software products from the Microsoft Office team that has an app made for the Modern Windows 8 user interface (the other being OneNote).
This week, Microsoft released a new version of its Lync Windows 8/RT app that offers up a few new features. One of them is a new set of buttons designed to give faster access to the Back, Search, Mute, and End Call functions. The new Lync app also adds some enhanced ink capabilities when used in IM text chats.
Finally, the release notes for the Lync app indicate that the new version adds more language support along with some unnamed performance improvements and bug fixes.
Microsoft held its first ever Lync conference in San Diego earlier this week, where the company revealed some future plans for the Lync family. Perhaps the biggest announcement was that Lync 2013 will feature integrated support for Microsoft's VoIP service Skype sometime before the end of June. Presumably the Windows 8 and RT versions of Lync will be updated around that time to add the Skype features.
Source: Windows Store | Image via Microsoft


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WASHINGTON—Food and Drug Administration staff questioned whether a new type of a pancreatic-enzyme replacement product is as effective as products now on the market.
The agency posted a review of liprotamase, a product developed by Alnara Pharmaceuticals Inc., on its website Monday. Eli Lilly & Co. bought the company last year for an undisclosed amount.
Liprotamase, which has a proposed brand name of Solpura, faces a review Wednesday by outside medical experts on FDA’s gastrointestinal drugs advisory committee.
The panel will be asked to vote on whether it thinks liprotamase is safe and effective as well as whether additional studies should be conducted prior to approval. The FDA is not required to follow the advice of its advisory panels but usually does.
Liprotamase was developed to treat exocrine pancreatic insufficiency in children and adults caused by cystic fibrosis and other conditions. EPI is a lack of digestive enzymes made by the pancreas that results in the inability to properly digest food and absorb nutrients.
Unlike other pancreatic-enzyme replacement products, such as Solvay SA’s Creon, liprotamase was developed without using enzymes taken from the pancreas of the pig. FDA has said there’s a very small risk that viruses could be transmitted to patients with porcine-derived enzymes.
Alnara, in a background document prepared for Wednesday’s meeting, said studies of patients being given liprotamase show fewer pills are needed to deliver the enzymes compared to existing products. All pancreatic-enzyme replacement products are meant to be given with meals and snacks.
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[KH Explains] Will LG Energy Solution be Tesla's 4680 battery crisis savior?
Gender Ministry on course for disbandment
US fighter jet drops fuel tanks into Yellow Sea in 'in-flight emergency'
Thailand asks S. Korea to toughen K-ETA screening after denied entries of its people
[Today’s K-pop] BTS’ Jungkook adds streaming record with ‘Standing Next to You’
[Market Eye] Kakao share prices stall as company struggles to regain public trust
Once a blue chip, now an IT behemoth, Kakao now entangled in series of predicaments; questions raised on losing momentum for growthBy Kan Hyeong-woo
Published : June 8, 2022 - 18:29
Despite the sell-off, the payment arm of IT giant Kakao said Alipay will continue to be a strategic investor and remain the second-largest shareholder, with 34.72 percent of Kakao Pay shares, and the two sides will carry on with their strong partnership.
Experts, however, said this could be the beginning of an ugly turn of events.
An analyst at a local securities firm told The Korea Herald that the risk of overhang remains with Alipay’s block deal.
“Alipay holds a lot more Kakao Pay shares, so it could sell some of the remaining amount or more. This possibility of dumping off shares has a negative impact for other shareholders as it was seen in today’s price drop,” the analyst said.
Park Sang-hyun, an insight provider at independent investment research network Smartkarma, pointed out that Alipay’s return on its Kakao Pay investment is 10 times, so it may be natural to realize a profit to some extent.
“But the local market believes that the strategic partnership is cracking, starting with this stake sale. It is highly likely that Alipay will go through a multiphased stake sale process,” Park added.
The sharp drop in Kakao Pay’s stock price marked the latest hiccup in a series of disappointments for Kakao Group in the past nine months.
In June 2021, Kakao Group became South Korea’s fifth-largest business group in terms of market capitalization at 79.3 trillion won ($65.1 billion), behind the country’s traditional conglomerates: Samsung, SK, LG and Hyundai Motor Group.
About a month later, Kakao founder Kim Beom-su was ranked as the richest person in the country by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. His net worth was estimated at $13.4 billion. The report said Kim was an exemplary case of how a self-made entrepreneur could succeed in Asia’s fourth-largest economy, which has long been dominated by its family-controlled conglomerates.
The tech giant, which rose to prominence with its messenger app KakaoTalk, climbed up the ladder through aggressive expansion of businesses. At the end of the first half of 2021, Kakao had over 150 subsidiaries and affiliates in and out of the country.
However, the platform behemoth’s heyday did not last long.
The company -- once touted for the legendary tale of its self-made entrepreneur founder and the success of technological innovation in the 21st century -- has undergone a series of blunders and setbacks in recent months.
In September, Kakao’s people-friendly image first faced criticism over the company’s rapid expansion, said to have driven small merchants out of business. That led to Kakao’s pledge to pull back some of the company’s services in industries such as snacks and flower delivery.
To avert public criticism, Kakao vowed to create a fund of 300 billion won to support small firms and the self-employed, but its misfortunes continued.
In the same month, the founder’s investment company K Cube Holdings -- the de facto holding company of Kakao -- was accused of having private interests as well as the illegal succession of family members in employment. More allegations piled on, as K Cube Holdings was accused of fabricating regulatory documents.
Kim later apologized at a National Assembly state audit, saying the investment company would change to be committed to social responsibilities.
A series of megasized initial public offering deals that further raised Kakao’s market profile, ironically, exposed the root cause for its downfall.
A mass sale of Kakao Pay shares by executives including Ryu Young-joon, the then-appointee for Kakao’s next co-CEO, struck the company hard in January.
Ryu, who was CEO of Kakao’s mobile payment unit Kakao Pay, was found to have exercised his stock option to sell company shares in December, only a month after the company’s listing. Through this, he and several senior executives collected a total profit of almost 90 billion won, with Ryu taking about half of the gains.
Kakao saw fierce backlash from the company’s labor union, retail investors and the general public as the executives raked in massive profits at the expense of investors. Combined with the group’s hasty expansion that had hit small businesses last year, the irresponsible money-making decision raised concerns over whether the IT group could maintain accountable corporate governance.
Kakao released an apology, vowing to ban CEOs and executives at its subsidiaries from selling company shares within one to two years after being listed on the market through setting up a new control tower.
In March, Kim resigned from his chairman post of the board of directors, leaving behind ailing stock prices and loss of trust among investors.
Kakao’s stock price, which hit as high as 169,500 won per share at the close of June 23, 2021, has halved to a little over 80,000 won per share almost a year later. The stock prices of Kakao Pay and KakaoBank have also suffered similar or worse downfalls, losing trillions of won in the process.
On top of losing confidence from the market, the IT giant has irked its own crew.
Last week, Kakao unveiled its new “metaverse” working system where employees could basically work wherever they want. The seemingly future-oriented scheme, however, was met with internal resistance from employees, as the new system would require being connected online through a voice channel at all times.
Kakao workers expressed concerns and discontent on an in-house online community space, saying the new policy was as an attempt to spy on employees.
Kakao CEO Namkoong Whon later said in an announcement to staff that being connected to the voice channel would be decided by crew members in different groups or work areas, but did not scrap the plan. Regarding the implementation of a mandatory working time from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., he said the company will reconsider the plan through communication with staff.
Without working on mending ties with stakeholders in and out of the company, Kakao instead unveiled its new vision, “Kakao Universe,” on Tuesday, saying it wants to go beyond Korea. The CEO said they will look to reach 5 billion people across the world through open links that connect them based on their interests instead of targeting South Korea’s 50 million domestic users.
But if Kakao cannot redeem itself as the people-friendly company it once was with the rise of its dominant messenger app, experts say it will be difficult for the company to win back people’s hearts and bounce back.
“I think Kakao’s stock prices are not doing well due to its subsidiaries going public. Naver has only one entity in the bourse, but Kakao’s other firms have been listed and this has cemented Kakao’s image as a firm that conducts (IPOs) to sell shares to make money,” an analyst at a local private equity firm told The Korea Herald.
“Kakao’s growth has been done through mergers and acquisitions, as well as some unethical moves such as taking the business of small merchants. Its corporate governance is also seemingly abominable,” he added.
Health care crisis hits highest level amid doctor walkout
Medical services disruption escalates
S. Korea, US, Japan concur on 'stern' response to NK-Russia arms deal


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Office products market consolidation in Australia has taken another major step forward with the news that leading independent dealer Complete Office Supplies (COS) has acquired the operations of Lyreco Australia.
OPI Talk finds out about HP Inc’s efforts to root out counterfeiting in the imaging supplies channel.
Counterfeiting is big business and fake inkjet and...
OPI is the global business supplies industry's go-to hub for essential resources, news, analysis, information and networking. A trusted name since 1991, OPI delivers business-critical information through OPI and Independent Dealer magazines, apps, website, events and resources such as industry research, marketing, executive search and dealer sales training.


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February’s tax revenue report again shows broad year-over-year gains, including a nearly 15% increase in nationwide sales and the use of tax revenue – a sign that consumer spending appears to be robust.
The Arkansas Department of the Treasury (DFA) reported Tuesday (March 2) that gross sales for the current fiscal year (July 2020 to February 2021) are $ 4.913 billion, an 8.4% increase over the same period in the Years 2019-2020 and 2019 represent an increase of 11.6% compared to the budget forecast. Part of the profit includes a shift in collections when the 2020 tax due date moved from April to July, according to the DFA report.
Tuesday’s report also showed year-to-date net sales of $ 529.1 million.
Individual income tax receipts were $ 2.411 billion for the first eight fiscal months, an 8.4% increase over the same period in 2019-2020 and an 11.8% increase from budget forecast. Sales and use tax revenue – an indicator of consumer spending – was $ 1.851 billion for the first eight months, up 8.4% from the same period last year and 9.2% more than budgeted.
“Among the most important survey categories, sales tax surveys continue to exceed forecast and show high year-on-year and trend average growth,” said John Shelnutt, DFA director of economic analysis and tax research, in a memo with the February report.
Corporate tax revenue for the first eight months of fiscal year was $ 320.1 million, an increase of $ 41.2 million over the same period last year and an increase of 26.1% over budget guidance.
Gross sales for the month were $ 493.6 million, down 1.6% from February 2020 and up 6.9% from forecast.
Individual income tax revenue was $ 238.3 million in February, a 12.2% decrease from February 2020 and a 1.4% decrease from forecast. The decrease is largely due to the late electronic filing of taxes resulting from changes to the tax law approved by Congress in December, according to the DFA report.
Sales tax revenue for sales and usage was $ 221.8 million for February, up 14.9% from February 2020 and up 16.4% from forecast. Corporate tax revenue was $ 5.3 million for February, a decrease of $ 2.8 million from February 2020 and a decrease of $ 4.2 million from forecast.
The previous fiscal year (July 2019 – June 2020) ended with net sales of USD 369.4 million more than expected. Despite several months at the beginning of 2020, tax revenues for fiscal year 2020 only fell by 2.5% due to economic disruptions as a result of COVID-19 shutdowns. Sales were 4.1% above the revised forecast. Last fiscal year gross sales were $ 6.967 billion, 2.5% lower than fiscal 2019, but $ 272.5 million higher than forecast.
OTHER SOURCES OF REVENUE
July-February 2020: $ 147.4 million
July-February 2019: $ 143.8 million
July-February 2020: $ 43.8 million
July-February 2019: $ 40.1 million
Games of skill
July-February 2020: $ 21 million
July-February 2019: $ 24.3 million
July-February 2020: $ 48.2 million
July-February 2019: $ 48.4 million


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New York’s troubled taxi medallion industry, which recently has been the subject of a New York Times investigation and a City Council hearing, continued its precipitous decline in value. An auction Thursday of 16 medallions at an East Elmhurst, Queens, hotel came to an early end, with just three sales and a top price of $138,000.
Bidding for the three medallions started at a floor price of $130,000.
Once the bidding moved to a group of medallions with a floor of $140,000, there were no takers, and auctioneer Richard Maltz halted the proceedings, according to two people who attended.
The 16 medallions had been foreclosed on by Aspire Federal Credit Union, which set the reserve prices. Medallions can have different reserve prices based on the requirements of investors who may have been involved in their financing.
The second and third medallions sold for $137,000 and $136,000. The final prices will include a “buyer’s premium” payment of 6% of the sales figure.
Recent private sales of individual medallions have gone as low as $100,000, according to the Taxi and Limousine Commission website.
The declining value of medallions, which reached a peak price of $1.3 million just five years ago, has triggered a chain reaction of personal bankruptcies and suicides of taxi owner-drivers. The loss of the medallion’s value has been attributed to competition from app-based services Uber and Lyft and a pricing bubble that drove purchase figures to unsustainable heights.
In the past two years, the biggest buyer of medallions has been the Greenwich, Conn., based hedge fund Marblegate Asset Management, which insiders believe sees an opportunity in the distressed asset.
If there was a silver lining to today’s sale, according to one observer, it was that the three buyers appeared to be cab drivers looking to put the medallions to work.


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According to reports, President Obama has received enough votes to move forward with his Iran nuclear deal.
On Tuesday, Financial guru Deborah Owens joined Roland Martin on “NewsOne Now” to show you how not to go broke…
Target continues to work on rectifying 110 million customers’ credit card information being stolen during the holiday shopping season. High-end…
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It’s Tradeshow Time…But Is The Paddlesports Industry Going?
July 19, 2021
Two of summertime’s biggest tradeshows for paddlesports are just around the corner, The Big Gear Show and Outdoor Retailer Summer Market, with iCAST at the end of July. But after a hard-fought year during the pandemic and a changing tradeshow landscape, is the industry, and are retailers attending? To find out, SGB Executive took a look at all three.


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How to go about securing the best return for your investment in Canada.
The latest numbers from the Canadian Real Estate Association will offer clues on whether falling sales will translate into price declines..... More »
Trade spat hits the grocery aisle and EpiPens in short supply: CBC's Marketplace consumer cheat sheet Aug 5th
CBC's Marketplace rounds up the consumer and health news you need from the week, including changing prices at the supermarket due to the tariff dispute with the U.S., flights booked with stolen loyalty points and Canada's only supplier of EpiPens running out of stock..... More »
New York TimesTensions Between Turkey and US Soar as Trump Orders New SanctionsNew York TimesThe deepening standoff raised questions of whether the two strong-willed leaders were risking even broader chaos as they vied for the upper hand in a widening diplomatic dispute largely focused on individual.... More »
Maggie is trying to choose an index mutual fund for U.S. equities [MoneySense].... More »
Freshii share prices weakened on Friday as the Toronto-based restaurant chain missed earnings expectations for the second quarter..... More »
Corporate earnings are on track for their best year ever, but at least some of the corresponding rise in stock prices is because of buybacks — a piece of financial alchemy that critics say has a downside.


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Call of Duty: Warzone is making its way through Season 2 of its Black Ops Cold War-focused content. While the big shift to a new map is still on hold, the in-game store is regularly being updated with new bundles of gear for players to add to their loadout. Call of Duty: Warzone has been hit with a couple of issues regarding some of the weapons being added to the mix, and now it appears that a recently released gun is bugged.
The cycling in of new content is part of what keeps the Warzone ecosystem running. New bundles hitting the Call of Duty store are drawing attention, but a good number of folks playing Warzone right now are focused on what may be on the way. Warzone's map, Verdansk, is currently subject to a plethora of rumors regarding its fate. As Season 2 has gone on, there has been more evidence that something major is going to happen. A recent tease of a nuke event in Warzone has players feeling fairly certain that the new Warzone map is on the way. While they wait, players who are dipping into the store are being met with a Mastercraft bundle that is not living up to the name, or the price tag.
The NecroKing Mastercraft bundle takes the rather ordinary-looking Krig 6 assault rifle and transforms it into a dragon, with the Ice Drake blueprint. For 2400 COD points (approximately $20 USD), a Mastercraft bundle in Warzone completely makes over a gun, but as with any blueprint, putting different attachments on the gun will cause it to lose its unique look. A dragon-less Krig 6 is not even worth most folks' time, as the gun doesn't fit into the current meta.
While some fans are complaining about this, the bigger issue is that the gun can cause bugs in game. One being that the COD store becomes unusable, but worse, dropping into Verdansk with the Ice Drake has left several players without any weapons to use at all. This is the second issue in a week for weapon bundles, as earlier the Black Ops Cold War Crossbow leaked to the COD store early, before being pulled from the game.
In some respects it would seem that there is an uptick in issues like this as more time is likely being devoted to the (rumored) upcoming map rollout. Bugged weapons and bundles leaking early hasn't been a common occurrence in Warzone, so it is unusual to see. Warzone developers also recently removed the CX-9, RAAL LMG, and Sykov Pistol from the mix after fans were able to get their hands on the guns through an exploit.
For as popular as the free to play Call of Duty: Warzone continues to be, even a year later, the mode continues to be plagued by numerous bugs and glitches. For PC players, the major pain point for most is due to the ongoing issue of hacking and cheats like wall hacks and aimbotting. While Raven continues to work on safeguarding the experience through ban waves and anti-cheat techniques, the hacking issues don't appear to be slowing down anytime soon.
- Just hours after rumors began to circulate that former True Detective Mahershala Ali had been tapped to play the lead role in HBOs TV adaptation
- Almost a decade after the release of the Xbox One launch title, it appears that Crytek is hard at work on a sequel to Ryse: Son of Rome.
- Call of Duty: Warzone squad sets an unreal 162 kill record in a single match It’s a record that ‘will NEVER be broken, according to record setter.
- There are a lot of things to remember before you hire a web development and web design firm.The phrase "unschooling" essentially implies "not sch


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Were the Mayans wrong? By now, we’ve all heard quite a bit about their prediction that the world would end on December 21 of this last year. The world loves a good end of the world prediction, as the Y2K craze of 13 years ago showed, and numerous other predictions before it in history. Yet, the world remains intact for better or worse. But … what if the Mayans weren’t entirely wrong? For some SaaS concepts and providers, the world sure seemed to end …
Zynga didn’t have a good year in 2012, and they were previously one of the most upwardly-mobile gaming SaaS companies around. Piggybacking on Facebook’s success as a social interaction enhancement feature, Zynga’s Farmville and similar products were widely enjoyed and played by many of Facebook’s core user demographics, making Zynga at one point worth quite a bit of money.
Alas, with allegations from independent developers of IP theft by Zynga in their recent set of “ville” games, and a severe bubble burst in casual games, repeated attempts to sell Zynga to larger game studios have failed, and left Zynga facing a significant deficit as 2013’s fiscal period begins. While not facing anything so severe as bankruptcy, Zynga’s in major need of reorganization and reinvention of their gaming and SaaS identity if they want to survive the catastrophic year they endured in 2012. Perhaps the Mayans were fans of Farmville …
Nintendoland made its debut at the end of 2012 with the launch of the Wii U console. Basically Nintendo’s answer to the PSN and XBLA services, it’s not exactly garnered much popularity with its overly family-friendly veneer and lack of anything useful to do socially. While the classic WiiWare DLC SaaS offered by the U’s predecessor did fairly well in gaming sectors, Nintendoland and the Wii U as a whole seem to have tripped over themselves right out of the gate.
Facebook is in dire straits after continuing allegations of privacy violations are lobbied against its founders and controlling interest holders. As other platforms such as Twitter, Tumblr and Reddit continue to gain steam, Facebook’s user base is beginning to decline rapidly. Couple this, Zynga’s state of pandemonium and these privacy concerns, and this just may be the beginning of the end for Facebook. By the end of 2013 we may look back on 2012 as ‘back when people used Facebook”.
The Mayans saw the beginning of the end for some of the big names in SaaS gaming and social networking, but does this mean they were completely right? In fact, it seems more went right in SaaS this past year, actually.
Google’s Drive and Plus services saw record levels of new subscriptions and positive reviews in 2012, making it the year cloud computing became an official standard in the industry. Prior to 2012, Drive’s predecessor, “Docs” was a passing novelty used by those interested in experimental concepts. Yet, by the end of the year, businesses were using it as a standard set of coordinative office and project collaboration suites, toppling the MS Office suite from its position as the most highly used software of its type.
Twitter’s recent redesign and move to a better server infrastructure has garnered it record new user subscriptions as well. Twitter didn’t change anything about their service, choosing not to reinvent their identity or add useless features nobody needed. Instead, they improved stability and reliability, while making their API transparent in anticipation of the impending move of CRM from archaic phones and help desks to the social SaaS platform. Perhaps Twitter is better at predicting things than the Mayans were, after all.
With the reduction of fees to minutia for submission of independent games, Steam saw a boom in new game titles available through their gaming SaaS service in 2012 as well. Improving their servers and announcing the forthcoming web client version of their service, Steam anticipates the continuance of the mobile and cloud revolution, meaning their eye into the future was also sharper than that of the otherwise sagely Mayan shamans of times past.
The Mayans were evidently talking to enthusiasts of Nintendo, Zynga and Facebook when they predicted disaster in 2012, but some will also cite that they could have been talking to TV viewers as well, as it seems to have had a colossally bad year for overall ratings as well. However, if one thing can be said for certain, it is that the Mayans weren’t right otherwise. 2012 saw new innovations and amazing refinements in the SaaS industry as a whole, making cloud computing not only practical but at last desirable. Rather than being the year the world ended, history may just remember 2012 as the year SaaS became serious, serious business.


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HANOI (Reuters) – Vietnam’s manufacturing sector is suffering supply chain issues caused by the coronavirus epidemic, which may lead to a delay in production of Samsung Electronics’ new phones, the Ministry of Industry and Trade told Reuters on Friday.
Container trucks are seen while waiting for cross the border at Huu Nghi border gate connecting with China, in Lang Son province, Vietnam February 20, 2020. REUTERS/Kham
“Car, electronics and phone manufacturers are experiencing difficulty in acquiring supplies and materials due to disruptions from the virus,” the ministry said in an emailed statement.
“Vietnam relies much on China for materials and equipment, which makes the country become vulnerable when such outbreak happens,” it added.
Vietnam on Thursday eased some health-related restrictions on cross-border trade to prop up economic activity, but some strict measures are still in place.
Samsung, Vietnam’s largest single foreign investor, is an example, the…
Source Reuters Tech News


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Ready-to-eat bagged salads seem a lot less appealing these days.
Now, Ready Pac Foods, Inc., is recalling 702 cases of the Baby Spinach variety of its Spinach Temptations 6-oz. bagged salads, which may be contaminated with E. coli.
The products have “Use by” dates of July 4 (with Product Code 11707B, IR127121) and July 8 (with Product Code 12007B, IR130373). They were sold in California, Washington and Arizona.
Random sample testing conducted by the FDA revealed the presence of E. coli. No illnesses have been reported to date.
Retailers and consumers who have potentially contaminated products should dispose of them immediately. Consumers can contact the company at (800) 800-7822 (8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays, PT) to obtain a full refund.


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PORTLAND, OR — Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA) has appointed Jeff Allen and Stefan Kurschner to its operating committee. Allen becomes senior vice president – production, quality and specialty vehicles on August 1. Kurschner will be the senior vice president for aftermarket business units effective July 1.
Allen is currently vice president – operations at Detroit Diesel Corporation in Redford, Michigan, and has led operations at Detroit’s Powertrain Headquarters in Michigan, and Detroit’s Axle Plant in Saltillo, Mexico. He was previously vice president – operations at Thomas Built Buses from 2004 to 2011, and began his career with Detroit Diesel in 1992.
He will now be based in Fort Mill, South Carolina, close to most of Daimler’s U.S. manufacturing operations.
Kurschner is president and CEO of Daimler Vehículos Comerciales Mexico, and over 25 years with Daimler has held management roles in Germany, Argentina, Brazil, Spain, the U.S. and Mexico. Daimler Trucks Mexico’s market share has grown dramatically under his watch, and in 2016 accounted for 36.2% of the country’s Class 8 sales.
He will oversee aftermarket roles including central service, parts sales and marketing, parts distribution, dealer operations, and remanufacturing.
Kurschner will be based at company headquarters in Portland, Oregon.
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Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services, the rural-focused NBFC arm of the automobile major Mahindra & Mahindra, is today the top financier of tractors in the country. The company has several other financial products to make the lives of the rural and agricultural community a better experience. The company believes that given the nature of the geographies it operates in and the different segments of customers it serves in the deepest pockets of rural India, it needs to have a viable mix of the digital and the physical business models in the foreseeable future. It is just being practical, feels the company.
Mahindra Finance’s vice chairman and MD Ramesh Iyer, says while on the one hand, the company will offer fully digital, online products for specific target customer segments, on the other, it will continue to serve other customer segments through its branch model. “We will therefore have a ‘phygital’ strategy where the physical and digital models will co-exist and complement each other,” says he.
Iyer says the company has been serving the un-banked and new-to credit population in semi-urban and rural India, is present in every Indian state, and its 1300 + branch network covers 85% of districts nationwide. It has served 6.6 million customers spread over 370,000 villages – that’s more than one in 2 villages in the country.
“Our customer-centric financial inclusion model focuses on 4 pillars – easy access to credit for livelihood, insurance, housing and investment solutions. We believe that the latent demand for financial services in the country is huge and we are uniquely placed to cater to the same,” says he.
Iyer is conscious about the unprecedented change that is happening in the Indian heartland, both socially and economically and maintains that improved communications - especially, mobile and internet - reduced transportation costs, changing trade patterns for commodities and the emergence of important non-farm activities in rural regions have combined to present rural India with a new set of challenges as well as opportunities. Traditional farming communities, he says, are increasingly complementing their activities with off-farm employment and exposure to the global environment with improved communications is further fueling rural aspirations and changing the business landscape. “Organized operations,” he points out, “are gaining momentum and are being increasingly accepted and adopted, especially by younger rural Indians. In line with these fundamental shifts, we at Mahindra Finance, have been working at defining new financial service and delivery mechanisms supported by integration with mobile, the use of big data and artificial intelligence to deliver tailored, personalized experiences and complementary partnerships to the rural and semi-urban communities.”
TECH - KEY ENABLER
“Hence, we look at technology as a key enabler, playing a crucial role in improving productivity, reaching a broader audience and delivering better customer experience. We have over the years accumulated first-hand knowledge and insights about customers in rural India, based on key data points ranging from income, payment behaviors, to socio-economic trends and aspirations. Such data backed by powerful analytics has enabled us to further scale and digitize the business model to drive customer engagement and design solutions customized to the needs of this unique set,” says he.
The company, he points out, as it continues to expand our geographic reach and scale of operations, continue to develop its technology architecture with new age technologies such as blockchain, artificial intelligence and machine learning to support this growth.
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As most of you must be already knowing, Alphabet (the world’s 3rd most valuable company, after Apple and Microsoft) is the parent company of Google, the world’s top search engine. Alphabet’s website is quite interesting – abc.xyz
Madurai-born 47-year-old Sundar Pichai (Pichai Sundararajan), an IIT Madras engineering graduate, and an engineering post-grad from Stanford University as well as MBA from the Wharton School of Business, joined Google as a management executive in 2004. He rose to become the company’s Product Chief, then Google’s CEO in August 2015, as part of the restructuring process that made Alphabet Inc. into Google’s parent company. On last Tuesday (December 3), Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin announced that they were stepping down from management roles at Alphabet (they would remain on the Board of Directors of the company), and that Sundar Pichai was being elevated as CEO of both, Alphabet and Google.
Ati Sundar and highly deserved, as Alphabet’s share price (see the Statista chart based on Yahoo Finance inputs) has gone up at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16.6% in the 52 months since Sundar was appointed CEO of Google, compared with a 9.3% CAGR of USA’s benchmark S&P 500 equity stock index (similar to India’s Sensex or Nifty).
We are all proud as Indans. JAI HIND.


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BY TIM PENNINGTON, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF (FinishingAndCoating.com)
Lonnie Harder doesn’t talk in grandiose terms about all that he wants to add or change about his Florida metal finishing company, ElectroLab II.
The Nadcap-certified operation is in its second generation in Oldsmar, just north of Tampa, and Harder makes no qualms about getting bigger or expanding operations. The vice-president of the company’s main concern is doing right by his customers.
“Our shop is what it is,” Harder says. “It’s not getting bigger, and I’m not building another company out next door to it. But we are definitely a dependable shop.”
Making Customer Service Key
That devotion to customer service has been ElectroLab II’s calling card for several decades, ever since Lonnie’s late father, Grady Harder, started the company in 1977 when he moved his family from Texas and the machine shop company they owned to the Florida area to invest in ElectroLab.
Grady passed away at 82 in 2020, and the reins were taken over by his wife, Anne. Now their two sons — Lonnie and Buddy — run the company that employs about 50 and runs two shifts to service the commercial, military and defense, aerospace, medical, and automotive industries.
Lonnie has continued that tradition of servicing the customer in many ways, including running two trucks throughout the Tampa/St. Petersburg area and over to Central Florida to pick up and deliver parts at no additional fee.
Coupled with an extensive quality department that tests and validates specifications on parts for some very particular customers, ElectroLab II’s business and been steady and slightly growing over the last decade.
“I’ve never really advertised,” Harder says. “All my business has pretty much been done by word-of-mouth. I’ve never had to go out and try to sell myself. All my business has been from other customers, and pretty much all we’ve ever done is grow.”
Offering a Variety of Specialized Finishes
ElectroLab II offers a variety of custom finishes, including anodizing, black oxide, zinc plating, electroless nickel, cadmium plating, aluminum conversion coatings, electropolishing, passivation, and zinc phosphate, among others.
The shop added the Nadcap certification about 12 years ago, a move that Harder says “was the best thing for us.” He hired a consultant to help them through the process but also brought on Michael Flanigan as Quality Assurance Manager right after that to help keep the certification and quality processes in step. John Macy was promoted to Plant Manager at about this same time and has been instrumental in keeping customers satisfied, and Shawn Pradaxay is Electrolab’s lead chemist at the facility.
“Nadcap really put us in another direction,” Harder says. “I think we were a mom-and-pop shop before. And Mike came in, and we grew tremendously. It really was an economic driver. In 2008 the commercial side of the business really went away, but there was still a lot more military work that we could do.”
Before Nadcap, Harder says he was turning away a lot of work because they did not have the proper certifications. That’s when he knew he needed to take the company to the next level.
“My customers were giving me the jobs I could do for them,” he says. “But they were also like, ‘You put Nadcap in, and we can give me more work.’ So I started looking for what I needed.”
Two Years to Implement Nadcap
The Nadcap process took them about two years to complete, which was also the same time the U.S. economy was coming out of the 2008 recession. Most manufacturing industries were struggling, as were the finishing operations that serviced them.
“We were hurting and trying to climb our way out of it,” Harder says. “We had been running two shifts five days a week, but I had to let a few people go. I went down to one shift and was running four days a week, 10-hour days.”
With a thriving economy and Nadcap, ElectroLab II came out stronger after the recession. Anodizing accounts for about 35% of their business now, with zinc plating next in line as the shop performs a lot of coatings for the hydraulic fittings industry.
Harder credits a lot of the company’s success to his employees, many of whom have been around for several years. He says he makes a strong effort to pay his workers above what they could make at other manufacturing processes, and he realizes their importance to the company.
“I’d rather them make more because I know they work hard for me,” he says. “They are more appreciative, and I try to do everything I possibly can for them.”
Possibly Adding Paint, Hard Coat
While Harder isn’t looking at expanding his facility, he would like to possibly add painting capabilities in the shop to better serve current customers. He is wavering on adding a hard coat anodizing line but says it’s “not growing much more than I am right now.”
The “growth plan” is to maintain ElectroLab II’s reputation in the area as “one of the better anodizers,” he says, adding that the last four or five years have been good for them, and he sees some really good years ahead.
“We have a chemist, we’re on top of things, and I just want our customers to get good parts back,” Harder says. “With my bigger customers, I am very good friends with, and I think it is all about the relationships. They call me after work, call me on the way home, and ask me about fishing and other things. It’s that relationship that is key.
Read the original article here.


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What Google’s Wireless Plans Mean for Verizon, AT&T and You
BY :SCOTT MORITZ
JANUARY 23, 2015
Google’s plan to become a wireless service provider means stiffer competition for Verizon Communications and AT&T at a time when price pressure is already shrinking margins in the U.S. mobile-phone industry.
Google wants to offer service directly to consumers and will use Sprint’s wireless network, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. Google also plans to use T- Mobile’s network, according to technology blog The Information and the Wall Street Journal.
Through the arrangements, Google would become what’s known as mobile virtual network operator, or MVNO. Google would pay for capacity on a carrier’s network and then sell the service to its own customers.
The service could be up and running this year, according to another person. When it does start, here are the ripple effects for customers and the entire U.S. mobile- phone industry:
Sprint, T-Mobile For Sprint and T-Mobile, the arrangement provides extra revenue that can be used to upgrade networks and improve the quality of calls and data. That’s a boon not only for Google’s future customers, but also Sprint’s and T-Mobile’s existing user base.
The deal could add up to as much as $1 billion in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization for Sprint and T-Mobile to split in 2018, according to Kevin Smithen, an analyst with Macquarie Securities USA. Sprint may get the lion’s share of that revenue because it has more excess capacity, Smithen wrote in a Jan. 21 research note.
Sprint is especially keen to partner with Google. Masayoshi Son, the president of SoftBank, which bought Sprint in 2013, was integral in facilitating the talks between Sprint and Google, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.
Verizon, AT&T Anything that helps call quality at Sprint and T-Mobile gives those companies extra ammunition for wooing customers from AT&T and Verizon, their larger competitors. Added profit would also give the companies more leeway to undercut AT&T and Verizon on price.
“Like everything else, you have to watch your friends more closely than your enemies, so we will be watching Google closely,” Verizon Chief Financial Officer Fran Shammo said of Google’s reported plans.
Just Friday, Verizon reported profit that fell short of analysts’ estimates. The culprit? The company has been selling phones and tablets at deep discounts to lure new users and keep existing ones from jumping ship.
Asked whether Google might also partner with Verizon, Shammo said only that the companies have many discussions. He declined to confirm whether the pair had discussed Google reselling Verizon’s wireless service.
Google The company has been mum on its plans. Even so, Google could end up being the biggest winner.
It could use MVNO arrangements to market and refine an array of tools, including search, maps and e-mail, delivered via Android, the most popular smartphone operating system globally.
Google, the leader in online search advertising, could also come up with creative ways to tailor mobile marketing messages to its wireless user base.
With a cash hoard of more than $60 billion, Google could also compete aggressively on price.
Consumers While Google wouldn’t have direct control over the network and the quality of data and calls sent over it, the company would have a lot of say on they types of phones available and the software and apps users could chose from.
Google is known for clean designs on its search page and Play store. Some of those influences could show up in areas like simpler billing and payment layouts, as well as improvements in customer service.
While Android phones already sync users with various Google apps like books, music, maps, and YouTube, it’s possible the company could offer free streaming TV shows and movies to lure customers.
And since Google has a deep understanding of advertising, an ad-subsidized service could also be a possibility.
While Google may want to offer a significant discount, Sprint and T-Mobile may not allow an MVNO to drastically undercut their own prices, according to Macquarie’s Smithen.
Google may aim to rely overwhelming on Wi-Fi signals in order to minimize the traffic over Sprint’s or T-Mobile’s network, according to Craig Moffett, an analyst at MoffettNathanson LLC.
Republic Wireless, another MVNO that buys capacity from Sprint, is pushing more than 90 percent of its traffic to Wi-Fi, according to Moffett.


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Walmart.com is the third-most-shopped retailer in the U.S., surpassing Target, Costco, and eBay. It’s no secret that the retail giant has been working hard to catch up to Amazon in all things ecommerce. Last year, they launched Walmart Plus, their answer to the Amazon Prime membership program and also ran Deals for Days, their version of Prime Day.
Walmart to host new savings event exclusively for Walmart+ Members
This year, as part of Walmart’s Deals for Days annual event [June 2nd through June 10th], Walmart will also be hosting a new event called Walmart+ Weekend [June 2nd through June 5th] for Walmart+ members only.
“Our Walmart+ members loved early access to our Black Friday events, so we were inspired to create an entire weekend dedicated to the best deals,” said Chris Cracchiolo, senior vice president and general manager at Walmart. “Giving members more of what they want with exclusive, unprecedented Black Friday-like savings allows us to celebrate our members in a fun, new way.”
According to Walmart’s announcement:
“This is the best weekend to join Walmart+, as only members will have access to the deepest discounts on thousands of the hottest summer items, from a Shark vacuum to a Minnie Mouse playhouse and Samsung Galaxy S7. They’ll also have the opportunity to score popular items like PlayStation 5 consoles, Pit Boss Pellet Grills and Gateway Laptops. On top of the deals, customers who sign up in a Walmart store during Walmart+ Weekend and become a paid Walmart+ member will get a $20 promo code off their next online purchase.”
Of course, Walmart’s Deal for Days event will extend beyond the weekend with plenty of opportunities for brands to get their products in front of new and existing customers. Below is a recap of how to make the most of Walmart’s upcoming event including best practices for brands.
What is Walmart Deals for Days?
Amazon launched Prime Day in 2015. Now, nearly every major retailer runs a rival sale around the same time as Prime Day — and Walmart is no exception.
Last year, Walmart hosted a “Deals for Days” sale from June 20 to 23, 2021. The sale featured deep discounts on a variety of products, including electronics, apparel, kitchen gadgets, and much more.
The promotion led to a spike in sales on Walmart.com, with Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) 25% higher during this year’s Prime Day (June 21-22) vs. a normal day (June 14-15). Electronics saw the biggest jump in sales, with GMV in the electronics category 62% higher compared to a normal day.
How do brands advertise on Deals for Days?
Advertising on Walmart.com via the Walmart Sponsored Products program can give your items a boost in visibility and sales. Sponsored Products is a year-round CPC (cost-per-click) service, but it’s particularly useful during a shopping surge like Deals for Days or the holiday shopping season.
Best practices for brands selling on Deals for Days
The best way to approach Sponsored Products for Deals for Days is to think about which of your products could benefit from a push during the sales event.
Ideally, these products are high-performing SKUs that fit into one of the top Deals for Days categories:
- Home products
- Small appliances
As shoppers look for Walmart deals on products in those and adjacent categories, a Sponsored Product listing makes it more likely that they’ll come across your product as well. To turn those impressions into conversions, your product does need to be competitively priced with Walmart’s deep discounts.
Walmart also recommends following this checklist for the best Sponsored Products campaign results:
- Product is in stock
- Product is winning the Buy Box
- Product is published
- Title is accurate and specific
- Images are high quality
- Description includes all relevant details
- Variants information is included
- Keywords are relevant to products in ad group
- Branded and seasonal keywords are included (if applicable)
Learn more about advertising on Amazon Marketplace in this guide.
The Tinuiti Advantage for Walmart Advertising
As of May 2021, Tinuiti is proud to be Walmart Advertising API partners.
“As one of the first firms to focus on the Amazon Marketplace, we’ve tested and learned a lot over the years. Now, as leaders in this space, we’re writing the playbook on Walmart advertising, while dedicating the time and resources needed to develop our partnership to align with Walmart’s growth,” said Nii Ahene, Tinuiti’s chief strategy officer in the announcement earlier this year.
With seller success at the foundation of every decision we make — coupled with our deep understanding of Walmart’s advertising capabilities — we thoughtfully work to increase your exposure on and off-site, regularly adjusting campaigns as needed based on performance.
“First and foremost, we need data and we need learnings, and this is why we have our autos (automatic campaigns) set at the foundation. We leverage our autos for more placements, more opportunities to perform, and more opportunities to generate performance data. We then leverage that performance data to identify key strategic products to break out into manual (keyword) targeted campaigns.”
– Stuart Clay, Associate Director of Marketplace Strategic Services at Tinuiti
Ready to expand beyond Amazon advertising, or take your existing Walmart advertising strategy to the next level? Contact us today to learn more about how Tinuiti’s Marketplace Team can help you make the most of your Walmart sales through the industry’s most comprehensive Walmart marketing program.


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THE Federation of Small Businesses has called on United Utilities to honour its pledge to fully compensate firms hit by the Lancashire water crisis.
Companies are in the process of lodging claims with the region’s supplier for a refund of the cost of bottled water and for any loss of trade during the cryptosporidium scare which lasted more than a month.
But even before compensation payouts have begun there are fears they may not cover all the losses suffered by firms in the Preston, South Ribble, Chorley and Fylde Coast areas.
The small business lobby group, which has its base in Lancashire, claims it has evidence from its membership of the true impact of the water restrictions and they go well beyond the levels United Utilities has suggested it will compensate for.
The FSB is suggesting that where businesses can provide receipts for bottled water these should be refunded. And where businesses can make a case for damaged trade this should also be compensated.
Paul Foster, FSB Development Manager for Lancashire said: “Compensation of £50-60 per household for increased electricity costs to boil water and for the inconvenience factor seem adequate.
“United Utilities has suggested that it will not refund for the purchase of bottled water as it advised that the boiling process would mean this would be unnecessary.
“The reality of running a small business is that you cannot afford to have one member of staff taken away from their role to focus on boiling water, allowing it to chill and then putting it into some kind of storage container for others to use.
“Employers have a legal duty of care to provide drinkable water for their employees. Buying bottled water under these circumstances is the responsible and sensible option.
“The responsible and sensible option for United Utilities is to recognise this and refund businesses where receipts over the affected period can act as proof of purchase.
“United Utilities has not acknowledged that the negative publicity around the issue has affected visitor numbers (to the affected area).
“Our members have evidenced that visitor numbers are down and that this is attributable to the contaminated water issue.
“The contaminated water issue has come at the worst time of the year for those businesses.”
A spokesman for United Utilities said: “We understand that some businesses have experienced a loss of profits due to the boil water advice.
“We have said that we will consider any claims for loss of profits on a case by case basis if these businesses write to us with the evidence.”


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Wunderman Thompson wants to help its clients make products, services, communications and solutions that are accessible to all consumers.
The agency said Thursday (May 19), on Global Accessibility Awareness Day, it has brought on Josh Loebner, Ph.D., to lead its inclusive experience practice, which helps brands recognize areas where communities are excluded from their offerings, either because of disability, race or gender, and create new solutions to engage with them.
In the role, Loebner will work with cross-functional teams across Wunderman Thompson’s 20,000 employees and clients to apply best practices around inclusivity in engagements. He will also grow the practice and educate agency staff on how to work inclusive design principles into their daily tasks.
“We should be able to clearly see the best in everyone, including people with disabilities, and recognize that these groups should have the ability to interact with brands like anyone else out there,” he told Campaign US.
Loebner, who himself has a disability, has been working at the intersection of disability, advertising and inclusive design for nearly 15 years. He joins from Knoxville-based agency Designsensory, where he was executive director of inclusion and accessibility, helping clients including Twitter, Airbnb and Regal Cinemas bring accessibility into their offerings. Prior to that he worked at Edelman and Young & Rubicam.
Loebner recently completed his Ph.D., and his research focused on how agencies, brands and creative teams can move inclusive thinking and design more upstream — something he wants to implement at Wunderman Thompson.
As one of the first agencies to really commit to inclusive design, Wunderman Thompson was an attractive place to make progress in the area at scale, Loebner said. He pointed to the agency’s work with Degree to create the first deodorant designed for people with disabilities, which won a Grand Prix in innovation at Cannes Lions.
“This practice is avant garde and recognizes a gap that can be bridged to elevate and differentiate brands,” he said. “There are gaps we can bridge through inclusive design to elevate messaging that is not just a flash in the pan, but deeply powerful.”
Investing in inclusive design is a strategic move for Wunderman Thompson as well, which recognizes that not only do brands want to be more authentic in their messaging, but that they are missing out on an opportunity to connect with the roughly 1 billion consumers globally who identify as disabled.
“Whether it’s CPG, tech, finance and banking, food, restaurants or entertainment, any client can benefit from inclusive design,” Loebner said. “There is an opportunity to connect more customers that haven been authentically engaged. That’s the fundamental shift that we want everyone to recognize.”


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LG is experimenting new smartphone form factor since we have seen the LG Wing. This time LG is planning to bring a rolling screen smartphone that may be called LG Rollable, according to LetsGoDigital a Dutch tech blog.
An application was filed by a German intermediary named Mitscherlich, for the smartphone with other similar names, including LG the Roll, LG Double Roll, LG Dual Roll, LG Bi-Roll, and LG Roll Canvas. It not quite sure if LG will stick with ‘Rollable’, as it just sounds the best, however, the LG Canvas doesn’t sound bad, either.
The application also mentions this smartphone, which may even support a stylus. Do keep in mind that the images in this post are not leaked renders, but designed based on what the phone could look like, just so you can get an idea of the smartphone to expect.
This is LG's second smartphone under LG’s experimental “Explorer Project”. The first LG Wing that sports a dual-screen smartphone with a rotatable main display.
As per reports from LG, the rollable smartphone is called Project B and is probably scheduled to be launched in June 2021. In the same report, LG also stated that developing a rolling screen phone is much more complicated than a foldable phone.
Image Courtesy: LetsGoDigital


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South Africa may still have the highest ranked startup ecosystem for an African country, but it is no longer in the top 50 club, after dropping 13 spots, a new ranking shows.
The ranking — developed by StartupBlink, a global startup ecosystem map with tens of thousands of registered startups, coworking spaces and accelerators — was released last week. It ranks 100 countries and 1000 cities for 2018.
Startup Blink draws its data from what it claims is an algorithm that analyses tens of thousands of data points on registered startups, accelerators and coworking spaces listed on the StartupBlink global startup ecosystem map, as well as data received from its global partners such as Crunchbase and SimilarWeb.
The report puts South Africa just behind Malaysia, Slovakia, Slovenia and Croatia — but ahead of Kenya, The Philippines, Nigeria and Peru.
South Africa is no longer in the top 50 club after dropping 13 spots, reveals StartupBlink
All of the other members from the Brazil, Russia, India, Russia, SA (Brics) bloc are placed ahead of South Africa, with Russia (15) ranked as the top emerging market country followed by India (17).
The US is ranked as the top ecosystem, followed by the UK, Canada and Israel, respectively.
When it comes to other African ecosystems, Kenya is ranked 51, Nigeria at 56, Egypt at 60, Rwanda at 64, Morocco at 65, Tunisia at 74, Ghana at 75, Uganda at 81, Cameroon at 84 Botswana at 90, Zambia at 92, Algeria at 99 and Ethiopia at 100.
Despite the fall in its rankings, StartupBlink said South Africa’s potential however remains “extremely high”, adding that it is better positioned than its African counterparts to become a global startup hub.
“More active and positive government support is needed in order to reduce the difficulties facing startups and to simplify laws, helping entrepreneurs focus on what really matters — their business,” the report’s authors said.
In contrast, the report notes that Kenya’s startup ecosystem is developing apace.
“Since 2007, Kenya’s startup ecosystem has been revolutionising mobile payments with such startups as m-Pesa. Kenya’s government has been involved in startup ecosystem development since 2013, with the launch of Konzo Techno City, a tech park project built outside of Nairobi.
“Global tech giants like Google, Microsoft, Samsung, and Intel are also located in the capital city. Despite being one of Africa’s well-established startup ecosystems, Kenya still has room to improve. The country receives far less global funding and investment, and has fewer helpful government initiatives, than are present in higher ranked countries,” the report said.
Lagos top African city
When it comes to cities, the report places Cape Town at 157 (down 17 places over 2017) and Johannesburg at 248th spot (up 22 places). Continue reading


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Jeff Bezos may have bought the Washington Post with his own money, but that doesn't mean that the paper won't be extra friendly to the boss' other company. The outfit has launched a new tablet-friendly app that's designed for a "national and international" audience but, as rumored, it's exclusive to Amazon's Fire Tablets for the next six months. After that point, users will be asked to spend $1 for a six month subscription, and when that's done, will be expected to pay a monthly fee of between $3 and $5 a month. The app will update twice daily, once at 5am and again at 5pm ET, and will also arrive on other Android and iOS tablets at some point in 2015 - presumably six months and one day from today. The app will find itself onto your
Kindle Fire Tablet thanks to an over-the-air update, but customers who prefer to get their news from other sources will be able to delete the app in the usual way.


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A major ask of AEW fans in recent years has been the ability to stream the company's content. Unlike WWE, no catalog of AEW shows on the internet is available to stream in the US. You can watch clips of their TV shows on AEW's official YouTube channel, but you cannot watch full shows.
Internationally, you can stream AEW's content through FITE TV. AEW Plus offers a full catalog of Dark and Elevation shows and Dynamite and Rampage live broadcasts in most countries.
When AEW owner Tony Khan bought Ring of Honor (ROH), many expected a streaming service to follow. Especially given that the sale included the purchase of ROH's vast video library.
However, a streaming deal has not come together for AEW. With their television deal coming up soon, Khan has spoken a bit more about the video library and a potential streaming deal.


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Multiple 7-Eleven stores robbed at gunpoint in Chicago: police
CHICAGO - There were four reports of armed robberies at 7-Eleven stores across Chicago early Wednesday morning.
Police say two men entered a store in the 900 block of West Monroe Street on the Near West Side armed with handguns and announced a robbery.
The men robbed two cash registers and stole the keys to a 2017 black Jeep Cherokee from a 28-year-old man at the store.
The robbery was reported around 1:10 a.m. Less than an hour later two men in a black Jeep robbed a convenience store in South Loop at gunpoint.
The second store located at 500 West Grenshaw Street also has cash stolen from two registers.
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Just after 3 a.m. two convenience stores in West Ridge were robbed at gunpoint in a matter of minutes by two men.
Cash was stolen from two registers at a store in the 2700 block of West Touhy Avenue around 3:11 a.m. and the suspects fled on foot.
At 3:15 a.m., two men armed with handguns stole cash from a store in the 6800 block of North Western Avenue. The suspects fled in a black SUV.
There have been no arrests made in any of the robberies. No injuries were reported at any of the stores.
Areas Three detectives are investigating the incidents. Police have not said if the robberies are connected.
Several other 7-Elevens reported armed robberies on Monday.
Chicago police issued an alert after four 7-Eleven stores were robbed by gunmen on the North and West side. In one of the robberies, a gunman displayed a 9mm handgun with a blue laser. They were seen fleeing in a black SUV.
The robberies occurred at:
- 6800 W. North Ave., 2:42 a.m.
- 1153 W. Belmont Ave., 3:37 a.m.
- 2341 W. Belmont Ave., 3:50 a.m.
- 2366 N. Damen Ave., 4 a.m.
The robbers in those incident were described as Black, 15 to 25 years old, 5-foot-5 to 5-foot-8 and 140 to 160 pounds. One was wearing a hooded fur jacket, others were wearing dark or all black clothing with hoods and masks, police said.
The Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this report.


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Longtail UX, a funded Australian SaaS startup, has announced a new Search Marketing Scorecard to help companies that do business online.
The tool, which measures and forecasts SEO and SEM performance and potential to acquire market share, is free and open to the public.
The announcement is being made in Australia during the run-up to the company’s official US launch of the tool at SMX East, where Longtail UX joins Google and Microsoft as one of three title sponsors.
The Scorecard launch follows Longtail UX’s recent 2.5 million dollars capital raise for global expansion from investors including Andrew Bassat of SEEK.
The free diagnostic tool allows companies using google analytics to forecast potential ROI for both brand and generic keywords phrases.
It will be available to all-sized online businesses, regardless of whether or not they are a Longtail UX user.
Co-founder and CEO Andreas Dzumla said: “The ambiguity of traditional SEO has made it difficult to understand its ROI and to secure budget for this crucial part of the marketing equation.
“For SEM, we still see too many cases where brand vs. generic keyword ROI isn’t properly broken down and used for marketing decisions either.
“We have released scorecard as there is an opportunity for businesses to understand where they can gain a competitive advantage when taking on dominating marketplaces like Amazon.”
He added: “It’s designed to let users make better-informed decisions.”
The Scorecard reveals how much market share is being lost to competing websites – for both paid and organic searches.
For SEO, there is no tool in the market that does this automatically with any degree of accuracy.
While there are tools that attempt to do this by proxy indicators, the method used by the Longtail UX Scorecard is based on real data from visitors acquired via the Search channel.
For SEM, there are some approaches to build custom dashboards or channels Google Analytics or other web analytics platforms – but no single tool to do this for SEM & SEO and looks at the synergy effects between these two.
Twitter has just experienced its fastest growth in revenue since 2014, with the social media platform benefiting from increased interest from advertisers. Revenue was up 74 per cent YoY, according to the company’s Q2 results, reaching $US1.19 billion ($1.6 billion) from $US683.4 million ($925 million) 12 months ago. The strong results came in the same […]
Wild Turkey has announced the launch of its new global creative campaign and platform, ‘Trust Your Spirit’, featuring the brand’s creative director and spokesperson, Matthew McConaughey. The global campaign and platform ‘Trust Your Spirit’ is to encourage people to be bold, unapologetically themselves, and stay true to who they are. The global tagline and ethos […]
Telecommunications company Optus has announced it will launch the world’s first TikTok sign-language activated filter. Featuring Optus ambassador Ian Thorpe, Optus will unveil a branded effect that shows TikTok users how to say key phrases in Auslan sign language, including ‘How are you?’ and ‘It starts with Yes’, through the hashtag challenge #SignYes. Optus will […]
Podsights has revealed new insights into the effectiveness of advertising in podcasts, tracking global and Australian podcast advertising trends. This is the first Australian report to be published since ARN partnered with Podsights to set the standard for best-in-class podcast advertising measurement. The report includes additional analysis and follows a series of Measurement Masterclasses held for […]
NGEN’s 2021 charity cup has raised over $175,000 for UnLtd charity partner Gotcha4Life. Gotcha4Life is a not-for-profit foundation raising awareness and funding to provide educational workshops and innovative programs that build mental fitness in individuals and communities. While Sydney and Brisbane completed the Charity Cup in June, before Covid restrictions hit, the final leg in […]
Australian tech incubator Cicada Innovations and Biennale of Sydney are launching the ‘New & Sustainable Materials Challenge,’ in an effort to create a more sustainable future. The works of chosen material-makers will be showcased to millions of Biennale audiences, exhibition partners, and exhibition makers globally. The Challenge is open to any Australian and UK startups, […]


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By LYDIA NATHAN
LKL International Bhd, provider of healthcare beds, peripherals and accessories, is adding more medical device brands to its line of products that would improve its profitability in the current financial year ending April 30, 2018 (FY18).
The company is also expected to experience further growth with the establishment of its new factory in Seri Kembangan, Selangor.
According to a statement released by LKL International, the group had committed a capital expenditure of RM10.5 million for the new factory and machinery, with the majority paid in FY17.
LKL International MD Lim Kon Lian said the group is reporting positive growth in the newly-established medical devices segment proven by the growing number of enquiries and shipment of products, as they are confident this division will be able to contribute to the performance of the company onwards.
“The inclusion of high-value medical devices in our range of products effectively strengthens our capabilities to meet a broader set of customer requirements in the healthcare sector, as we strive to become a leading supplier of choice,” he said.
Since June 2017, the group has initiated the distribution of Nihon Kohden medical devices, through its 70%-owned joint-venture company, TMI Medik Group Sdn Bhd.
Meanwhile, the new factory in Seri Kembangan that was acquired in April this year is currently undergoing renovations and will commence operations in the second-quarter ending Oct 31, 2018 (2Q18).
The factory is expected to support future growth demands by increasing storage capacity and the space necessary for new machinery.
“Furthermore, we expect to benefit from improved efficiency and lower wastage in our manufacturing operations once the new factory and machine come online in 2Q18.
“The greater automation and reduced labour dependency would allow us to mitigate cost escalations and strengthen our competitiveness in the international arena,” he said.
The fully operational Computer Numeric Control (CNC) punching machine (TruPunch 2000) is expected to boost the group’s operations efficiency and process accuracy with less wastage and reduce the dependency on manual labour alongside the CNC laser tube machine (TruLaser Tube 5000 Fiber), which will be in use in 2Q18.
The group recorded revenue of RM6.09 million for the current financial quarter ended April 30, 2017, slipping 34.58% compared to the preceding year’s corresponding quarter, on the back of lower revenue generated from the medical/healthcare bed segment due to the general economic slowdown.
The local market had the most significant portion of orders amounting to RM4.08 million (67.03%), followed by exports to Asia, the Middle East, Europe and Africa.
The current financial quarter under review saw the group’s profit decreased by RM0.299 million partly set off by the increase in gross profit margin due to the product mix sold in the current financial quarter.
Of the total FY17 revenue, RM16.9 million was derived from the medical peripherals and accessories segment, while RM9.6 million was derived from sales of medical/ healthcare beds.
Lim said the company recognised a boost in enquiry and sales of medical beds, peripherals and accessories over the past few months.
In addition to the increasing interest in the medical devices the group distributes, he added that this will contribute positively towards the company’s growth.


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Microsoft Reportedly Developing Smartwatches
NEW YORK (TheStreet) - Microsoft
Back in 2004, Microsoft introduced what it called the "SPOT" watch, which stood for "Smart Personal Object Technology." The digital device was able to receive (but not transmit) information via embedded signals broadcast by local FM radio station, items such as news, weather, stock market quotes and sports scores. The same technology was also developed for use in alarm clocks and electric coffee makers. They were made by Fossil
The new watches, however, should be very different. According to various industry reports, Microsoft's next generation of watches will run on a version of the Windows 8 operating system and will employ technologies similar to what is packed inside the company's Surface tablets. The devices may also connect to computer sources via Wi-fi and Bluetooth.
Microsoft isn't the only company said to be working on smartwatches. Apple
--Written by Gary Krakow in New York.
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China's economy is slowing
Private investment growth in the Far East country has now plunged to the lowest level since the financial crisis.
Firms are believed to be stacking up ever bigger cash piles of "dead money" instead of ploughing it back into the economy.
The news will raise fears over the impact this could have on the world economy after earlier this year concerns over China's growth sparked market chaos.
China's central bank has cut interest rates and injected the economy with cash in the hope money will keep flowing through the system.
But if companies simply store more money, it essentially renders the measures useless.
Officials in China have warned the country could soon become caught in a dangerous situation, as a result of the policy.
A report by China International Capital Corp (CICC) said: “Funds are being held back by a dam and are not flowing into the real economy, which shows that the liquidity trap is getting worse.”
Growth in fixed asset investment in the January to July period slipped to the lowest year-to-date rate in more than 16 years, it was revealed earlier this month.
Industrial output and retail sales, as well as imports and exports came in below expectations last month.
Investors now expect the weak figures will force China's central bank to act again, perpetuating the vicious cycle.
China opens longest glass bottom bridge in world
Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets UK, said: "At the beginning of this year investors’ concern about a slowdown in China prompted a sharp slide in global markets.
"With the yuan now settled at similar levels that prompted the first bout of market volatility this year markets appear much more sanguine despite the fact that the slowdown in China appears to be getting worse as we head into Q3.
"The weakness of this data is likely to prompt speculation that once again Chinese authorities will ease monetary policy once again in the coming weeks and months to help prop up the economy."


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The FIFA Ultimate Team Web App will close on Wednesday, September 11 at 6pm BST in preparation for the launch of the new FIFA 14 Ultimate Team Web App, EA Sports has announced.
Early access to the new FIFA 14 Ultimate Team Web App begins on September 15 for returning users.
EA offered a similar early access reward last year, open to FIFA 12 Ultimate team players who accessed the game between March 7 and September 12. Those who did get in early also received gift packs each day of early access, with extra packs given out to the most dedicated FIFA Ultimate Team users.
Remember that players who start their Ultimate Team season on Xbox 360 or PS3 will also be able to take the team with them to Xbox One and PS4 versions of the game.
FIFA 14 launches on September 27, but a demo is available today.


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OnePlus, the Chinese mobile phone maker is making changes to its pattern of releasing flagship smartphones. The company has been releasing their main offering in summer, usually in the month of June and follow it up with an upgraded version with a T suffix later towards the year end.
This year, however, the news is that the company plans to launch OnePlus 6 in early 2018, without resorting to releasing the OnePlus 5T now as one would have anticipated.
In keeping with the trend in the top-end segment of smartphones, the OnePlus 6 will have a full screen display with virtually no bezels in a display that could be close to 5 inches with an aspect ratio of 18:9. One has to hasten to clarify that these all in the realm of speculation as of now with hardly any official confirmation coming through.
This feature will lead to other design changes from the predecessor OnePlus phones. Some of them will include the fingerprint sensor being placed in the rear panel and the location of the speaker vents will also have to be altered.
The rumors are also unclear on the processor the OnePlus 6 will come fitted with. The company may rely on Qualcomm to offer the latest in its range and ranked above the Snapdragon 835 SoC. On the RAM/ROM fronts also, the speculations are that the new phone might come with 6GB and 8GB variants with 128GB and 256GB internal storage variants.
These predictions are based on the fact that OnePlus has already launched smartphones with 64GB storage and it can only hope to improve on it and the same holds good for the RAM also.
OnePlus appears to be aware of the criticism their earlier phones have come under for the cameras and will possibly make amends this time around and the new smartphone will sport dual rear camera setup and offer better user experience.
One can expect the latest OS, the Android Oreo, to be loaded on the OnePlus 6.
It is also being hoped that the new smartphone will be launched in the Indian market also at the same time as it is done globally, which in this case, is likely to be January 2018. The price estimate being guessed now is Rs 35, 000.


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As widely predicted, IPC Media has decided to streamline its online ventures by cutting around 90 staff and three consumer websites.
The move makes it the latest publisher to re-focus its internet plans in a bid to try and reduce a loss-making business.
Of course, IPC Media, like Emap and Future, jumped on the opportunities it thought the internet would bring including new streams of advertising revenue. It spent millions, not just on staffing levels but also on expensive technology. But despite its best efforts, unless you have got something that people want to use repeatedly, then your site will be very costly to maintain.
What this move does show is that the future of internet publishing may rest in the hands of big publishers with big budgets. Modestly staffed sites, which are not owned by big corporations – such as Pop Bitch (www.popbitch.com), TV Go Home (www.tvgohome) and The Register (www.theregister.co.uk) – have amassed loyal followings in their respective areas and prove a useful lesson to the big boys – get your focus right. In the online world, your size doesn’t really matter. What matters is getting it right.
Meanwhile, sports site Sportal has been given extra funding so it can continue. An extra £5m is being invested in the service as well as creating sites for sporting clubs, including AC Milan and Bayern Munich.
Yahoo, through its web-hosting service Geocities (www.geocities.com), is offering a number of professional options for those who want to have their own site. For around £8 a month, users can subscribe to a Webmaster deal that allows them to have their own domain name, web space and a massive 20GB of data traffic. What makes it quite compelling is the facility to allow sub-domains, which potentially makes it a very good option for anyone looking to set up their own publishing venture.
Despite closing a number of websites earlier this year, Trinity Mirror does seem to have one very good project still going, namely icCommunities (iccommunities.co.uk). At the moment, 11 areas across the country, including Wales, Liverpool and Birmingham, allow local non-profit groups to create and maintain their own website. Most sites using the free service seem to have the same look, but if Trinity Mirror starts to develop the service it could be a real winner.


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With the animated Mr. Peabody & Sherman film coming out in March 2014, Funko has decided to unveil their POP! Vinyl figures based on the classic characters. In addition, there's also Rocky & Bullwinkle figures (that's where Mr. Peabody & Sherman got their start).
Funko has been dazzling collectors recently with their Mystery Minis announcements. Today, they add another top television show license to their arsenal with the Game of Thrones Mystery Minis Series. The series is made up of 15 characters, with 24 unique 2.5" tall figures (some super-rare variants and GID).
I guess this might be your only way to keep yourself entertained during the long layoff between Game of Thrones seasons.
Funko has revealed the lineup for The Walking Dead Series 2 Mystery Minis. There are 24 characters in all, including Rick, Carl, Daryl, Michonne, the Governor, and plenty of zombies. The 2.5" tall figures are slated to be released in February 2014.
Funko has revealed the lineup for their upcoming Pop! Disney: Finding Nemo Series. Celebrating 10 years since the release of the now classic Disney Pixar film, the following characters will find their way into vinyl form: Nemo, Dory, Crush, and Bruce.
Look for this series to become available on January 14th 2014.
Funko has announced their lineup for the Pop! Television: The Walking Dead Series 4. Available on January 21st 2014 (just in time for the restart of this season), collectors will be able to get their hands on Carl, Maggie, Injured Daryl, Penny, and the Woodbury Walker.
Funko has announced a series of three Uglydoll x DC Comics Vinyl Figures. This collaboration will give us Ice-Bat as Batman, Wedgehead as Robin, and Babo as Superman. These will be available beginning February 11th 2014.
Funko has announced the lineup for their upcoming Pop! Game of Thrones: Series 3. Available on January 14th 2014 will be: Ygritte, Hodor, Ghost, Brienne of Tarth, Joffrey Baratheon, Tywin Lannister, and Tyrion Lannister (scar edition). Releasing on February 18th 2014 will be Daenerys Targaryen and Drogon.
Yes....I am one of those 35 year olds who sit around on Monday nights watching WWE programming. It's a sad, yet fulfilling, life. Of course, I am glad to see that Funko has created a series of WWE POP! Vinyl figures based on some of the biggest names in the sport. John Cena, CM Punk, The Rock, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, Sheamus, and Rey Mysterio will all be available on December 24th 2013 for you really late Christmas shoppers.
Funko has unveiled the lineup for their upcoming Pop! Television: Thundercats series. These five vinyl figures (Lion-O, Mumm-Ra, Panthro, Cheetara, and Snarf) will be available beginning on December 17th 2013. Just in time for us last minute Christmas shoppers.
Funko has unveiled their lineup of Pop! Movies: The Big Lebowski vinyl figures. The series is made up of five characters: The Dude, Walter, Donny, The Jesus, and Maude. Look for these to be available on December 17th 2013.


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The patent war between Apple and Samsung will apparently never end as the iPhone-maker filed a revised complaint with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California Friday, in which it added two versions Samsung's Galaxy S3 and Galaxy Note to its original complaint against Galaxy Nexus and other related devices.
It must be noted here that this is a separate case and should not be confused with the one that Apple won against Samsung last week, in which a California jury awarded Tim Cook's company $1.051 billion in damages.
In the conclusions the jury drew, the South Korean tech giant did violate quite a few of Apple's design and utility patents related to both the iPhone and iPad. Reports said that the verdict "could lead to an outright ban on sales of key Samsung products" that would further strengthen Apple's dominance in the growing mobile computing market.
The case in question was first lodged in February, in which Apple used eight of its utility patents against 17 Samsung devices. At that point of time, Apple was said to have taken a direct aim at the Google-branded Galaxy Nexus smartphone, Apple Insider reported.
In the amended complaint filed Friday, Apple added the Galaxy S3, Verizon Galaxy S3, Galaxy Note and Galaxy Note 10.1 to the list of infringing devices, which brought the total number of accused devices to 21.
In the headline-grabbing case that ended a week ago with a decision in Apple's favor, Galaxy S3 was not included in the list of infringing devices as it made its U.S. debut in June, more than one year after the case began in April 2011.
According to Apple, Samsung has "continued to flood the market with copycat products," since the epic Apple vs. Samsung case started last year. Even during the intervening months, Samsung has "continued to release new infringing products, including its current flagship device, the Galaxy S3."
Among the eight utility patents that Samsung has allegedly violated, four were asserted in the landmark Apple vs. Samsung case and the other four were issued after that lawsuit began.
As per the amended complaint, the four new patents include:
'647 "Data Detectors" patent - A system and method causes a computer to detect and perform actions on structures identified in computer data.
'721 "Slide-to-unlock" patent - A device with a touch-sensitive display may be unlocked via gestures performed on the touch-sensitive display.
'172 "Word completion" invention - Method, system and graphical user interface for providing word recommendations.
'604 "Universal search" patent - The present invention provides convenient access to the items of information that are related to various descriptors input by a user, by means of a unitary interface which is capable of accessing information in a variety of locations, through a number of different techniques.
Here's an extract from the amended complaint:
"These infringing Samsung products include the at least 21 new smartphones, media players, and tablets that Samsung has released beginning in August 2011 and continuing through August 2012. Specifically, Samsung has imported into, offered for sale, or sold in the United States at least the following products, each of which infringes Apple's patent rights: the Galaxy S III, Galaxy S III - Verizon, Galaxy Note, Galaxy S II Skyrocket, Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch, Galaxy S II, Galaxy S II - T-Mobile, Galaxy S II - AT&T, Galaxy Nexus, Illusion, Captivate Glide, Exhibit II 4G, Stratosphere, Transform Ultra, Admire, Conquer 4G, and Dart smartphones, the Galaxy Player 4.0 and Galaxy Player 5.0 media players, and the Galaxy Note 10.1, Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus and Galaxy Tab 8.9 tablets."
Take a look at the full amended Galaxy complaint below:


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Adidas plans sale of most of golf supply business
The sportswear giant Adidas says it plans to sell most of its loss-making golf business.
The company, which reported strong quarterly sales of its other businesses, said it wanted to concentrate on shoes and clothing.
The German firm launched a review of its golf unit last August.
The popularity of golf has fallen sharply in the US since 2000, the year Tiger Woods was at his peak. It accounts for half of the global market.
Brands Adidas hopes to sell are the TaylorMade, Adams and Ashworth brands, which represent about 60% of its golf unit.
Adidas has owned TaylorMade since 1997, adding Ashworth in 2008 and Adams four years later to make it the world's biggest golf supplier.
In 2015, golf unit sales fell by 13% to €902m ($1.04bn)- about 5.3% of group sales.
Analysts at UBS said the sale should "remove the earnings volatility of an equipment business with higher fixed costs and lower sales visibility than traditional sportswear".
That aside, the company announced a 31% rise in quarterly sales of its core brand in North America, thanks to a rise in marketing, including a series of partnerships with high-profile people including Kanye West.


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Datawind Answers Complaints Against Aakash TabletAdded 18th Jan 2012
Montreal-based company Datawind Inc. is still labouring to fill orders for its Aakash tablet, but there are already complaints about the ultra-low cost device.
To start, there was no shortage of naysayers when the idea of a $35 tablet was floated around last year. But Datawind did manage to produce the world's cheapest tablet beating other contenders including the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) organization which recently released its sub-$100 X0-3 tablet at the CES 2012.
Early this week, the head of an online technology publication based in India posted comments on the ITBusiness.ca stories covering Datawind, questioning the reliability of the tablet and the company behind it. Arun Kumar, CEO and founder of Hyderbad-based Powercut Media, wrote that he had "several complaints from different people" but Datawind "service centres won't reply to any queries, provide false assurances and won't get back ever, even after repeated attempts to contact them."
Our 2010 story titled Why the $35 tablet will never exist by Mike Elgan, also got a number of comments this week. Among the comments were one from a reader who signed in as Phani who said: Absolutely true...This will never work....congress govt is playing with the people of India
Slow response to complaints
Kumar also complained about how Datawind's failure to respond to email support requests.
"The support centres are supposed to be repairing this tablet. They are not offering any kind of support, only false promises," he said.
"I have just heard of two tablets being faulty so far," Kumar added.
Sunnet Singh Tuli, CEO of the company, responded to Kumar's complaints put to him by ITBusiness.ca. "Typically, there are always some small problems and complaints about a new product when it is launched. And we would like to know more about it to be able to help our users," Tuli said.
Tuli took Kumar's e-mail address and said he would get in touch with him to get more details of the problem and help him out.
Missing tablet volume control found
But the Datawind chief also expressed some scepticism over the information given by Kumar. "His story doesn't seem to add up in some places. He needs to be more specific."
For instance, Kumar said "a friend" complained the Aakash did not have a volume control. "He took it to a service centre, where they told him to download software. But the link to do so was not provided to him."
In his office, Tuli showed us the on-screen volume control for Aakash. He also said it was doubtful that Kumar's friend brought the device in question to a Datawind service centre.
"What service centre is he talking about? We do not have service centres in India," he said.
Kumar also claimed there were people who booked and paid for the tablet but did not receive the product or got a "faulty device."
"We address these, but he has to be more specific. For instance, who are these people complaining, how can they be contacted and what technical problem is actually meant by faulty device?" said Tuli.
Kumar also said that another user complained about an Aakash that failed to boot. This person, Kumar said, asked for a replacement on Jan. 5 and was told by Datawind that he would be given an address to send in his faulty Aakash. Kumar also said he sent an e-mail to Datawind about repair complaints for Aakash but instead of an answer that addressed the issue Kumar received a sales pitch about the launch of Ubislate 7+, a new model of the tablet.
"This is unfortunate. His (Kumar's) e-mail probably landed on the sales support desk somehow and he was sent a standard answer to queries we get regarding the availability of our products. I will look into this," said Tuli.
Internet access and distribution issues
Kumar also wondered how users will be able to connect to the Internet in rural areas and how the Aakash will be distributed to the students.
"How will the tablet get to the students? Even if it does, how are they going to provide education in rural areas without connectivity?" he asked.
Tuli explained that as the Indian government sees Internet connectivity as a big part of its education efforts for citizens, especially in the rural areas, the government is undertaking to subsidize the cost of the tablet to make it more affordable to students.
"The distribution and connectivity issues are better addressed by the government," said Tuli. "But what I know is that students can order the tablet through their schools."
Tuli also explained that while India does not have an extensive Internet network similar to those of North America, the majority of Indians can connect to the Web using the GPRS networks. "There are nearly 900 million people using mobile phones with GPRS. GPRS enables them to access the Internet even in rural areas," he said.
"The government and Datawind are also talking with service providers so that GPRS Web service can be brought down to $2/month," said Tuli.
One problem that Datawind is labouring to meet though is production. As early as December, Datawind rang up 400,000 in sales for the Aakash -- more than the entire tablet sales for 2011 in India, which was around 300,000.
The Indian government has ordered 100,000 units of the Aakash up to March 31. Datawind has delivered only 10,000 so far.
When Datawind offered the commercial version of the tablet on its Web site last year all 30,000 units were sold out in two days.
Today, the company's Web site says it is sold out on both Aakash and the newer Ubislate 7+ for the months of January to March but the company is accepting pre-orders for both for March.
Can Datawind fill its orders from the Indian government and the public as well?
Datawind is currently manufacturing the tablets in Hyderbad, India, but will soon open two more factories. With all three factories Tuli hopes to bring production up to 75,000 units per day.
"It will probably take us two more quarters to fill our orders," Tuli said.
Next year will see demonstrable evidence of the Internet of Things, real-time communications on the Web, and SDN-enabled platforms with killer applications for them.
A Stratecast survey has found that more than 80 per cent of employees admit to using unauthorised Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) applications during work.
Microsoft moved to reassure business and government customers worldwide that it is committed to informing them of legal orders related to their data, and will fight in court any 'gag order' that prevents it from sharing such information with customers.
Distributed denial-of-service attacks against financial firms and other industries have been mounting, so today the Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) announced it is establishing the Anti-Bot Working Group to help fight this threat.
The majority of today's CIOs see value in mobilizing enterprise applications and in deploying mobile-related innovations such as GPS features, location-based services (LBS), mobile payments and QR codes. Many also say their organizations are already somehow increasing revenue and developing new revenue streams directly related to mobile. But nearly as many CIOs also see the cost of deploying new innovations as prohibitive and complexity as a major concern, according to a new survey commissioned by Mobile Helix, a mobile security vendor.
The price of bitcoins may be soaring, but China isn't too thrilled with the virtual currency. On Thursday, the nation moved to regulate use of bitcoins, stating that its financial institutions could not deal in the virtual currency.
New attack campaigns have infected point-of-sale (PoS) systems around the world with sophisticated malware designed to steal payment card and transaction data.
Ruby on Rails users are advised to upgrade to newly released versions of the Web development framework that contain important security fixes, according to the Rails development team.
Mobile technology is increasing the complexity, usage and costs of mainframe applications, according to Compuware research.
Asian markets are ready for advanced mobile technology and fast connectivity, according to new insights released by Telenor Group in Asia.
Large smartphones with 5-in. or larger displays -- often called phablets -- are eating into sales of smaller tablets with screens in the 7-in. range.
Analysts have predicted that the Internet of Things will continue to grow in 2014, and more enterprises will start to realise the potential benefits.
When end users circumvent the IT department and start using software-as-a-service (SaaS) applications without permission, the IT pros complain about the plague they call "shadow IT." But it would seem the professionals are also operating in the shadows, according to a survey out today.
Once upon a time, not so long ago, the IT admin chose exactly what hardware and software would be used by employees. Recent trends like the consumerization of IT and BYOD (bring your own device) have shifted the balance of power, but IT still has to maintain some degree of control over the applications used and where sensitive data is stored. Many users just download apps or start using unsanctioned services, though, and introduce unnceccesary security risks through "shadow IT."
Once heavily reliant on the Chinese market, Lenovo is now looking to make acquisitions as it tries to expand its growing enterprise business to other countries.


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International Jute Study Group in partnership with National Jute Board, India as good as Jute Diversification Promotion Centre organized a satisfactory during a Bangabandhu International Conference Centre.
Secretary of a method of textiles as good as jute Ashraful Moqbul inaugurated a satisfactory as a arch guest.
Speaking upon a occasion, Ashraful Moqbul pronounced a supervision had already taken a series of stairs to recover a mislaid excellence of jute as good as jute products by augmenting a direct of jute products in a ubiquitous market.
He disclosed that a grant of a jute zone to a country’s inhabitant manage to buy rose to 4.68 per cent during a 2009-10 mercantile from 2.5 per cent during a 2008-09 fiscal.
The direct for diversified jute products in a ubiquitous marketplace is upon a rise, that helped a zone turn a second largest trade earning zone after Readymade Garment in a country.
First cabinet member of commission of a European Union to Bangladesh Andrew Barnard, JDPC senior manager executive Khandaker Moklesur Rahman, NJB cabinet member Atri Bhattacharya as good as cabinet member ubiquitous of IJSG Bhupendra Singh additionally spoke
Andrew Barnard pronounced a jute as good as jute products have a outrageous direct in a EU marketplace as a products have been environment-friendly.
A sum of twenty exhibitors from Bangladesh as good as India have been showcasing opposite jute as good as jute products in a fair.
The satisfactory will sojourn open from 9am to 9pm every day.