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BOCA RATON, Fla., Jan. 7, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Continuing to remain at the forefront of technology and innovation, Penthouse announces the launch of the PENTHOUSE 3D Channel. This new channel will feature original adult-oriented programming each month shot in native high definition and 3D. The company's commitment to 3D draws on the strengths of Penthouse's unique expertise in content delivery, movie making and technological acumen.
"We started shooting in 3D this past summer, and have significantly invested to perfect 3D production quality," said Marc Bell, CEO of FriendFinder Networks. "Consumer excitement for 3D content is high, and Penthouse is the one studio that can rely on its broad expertise to deliver 3D in a manner unmatched by any other branded entertainment company."
PENTHOUSE 3D will compliment the already successful and growing PENTHOUSE HD Channel lineup covering over 30 platforms in more than 15 countries, reconfirming Penthouse's long standing position as the leader in entertainment and emerging media. Now, more than ever, the viewer will have choices to enjoy and explore all versions of Penthouse content in conjunction with the growing range of available cutting edge technologies.
The PENTHOUSE 3D Channel is expected to be available to system operators for broadcast to the general public in the second quarter of 2011.
Globally recognized as a premier adult entertainment and lifestyle brand, Penthouse is part of FriendFinder Networks Inc. (www.FFN.com), a leading Internet-based social networking company operating several of the most heavily visited social networking websites in the world, particularly with respects to its adult-oriented websites. In addition, the FriendFinder Networks family of companies produces and distributes original pictorial and video content, licenses the Penthouse brand to a variety of consumer companies and entertainment venues, and publishes branded men's lifestyle magazines.
SOURCE Penthouse Magazine


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As 2013 marks Harley-Davidson’s 110th anniversary, this year’s H-D lineup will have a special ode to the occasion, just like past anniversary models. To commemorate this event, the Harley-Davidson Museum is giving visitors a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the design and planning process that supports its legendary anniversary celebrations in its latest exhibit, Designing a Celebration, opening Friday, Jan. 18. Many […]
Avengers Assemble! Win a Harley-Davidson in Comic Book Movie Promotion
Harley-Davidson is holding a contest to promote Marvel Comics‘ upcoming film The Avengers with four new motorcycles to be given away.
The Motor Company is giving away four grand prizes, including one reserved for active or veteran members of the U.S. military. Each winner will receive his or her choice of a new custom-designed Harley-Davidson motorcycle (excluding touring models, trikes, CVO models and valued up to $20,000). The winners will also have their likeness be drawn into a digital Avengers comic by Marvel.
This isn’t the first time Harley-Davidson and Marvel have teamed up. Harley-Davidson also gave away motorcycles to promote last summer’s Captain America: the First Avenger film which had the hero ride a modern Cross Bones dressed to resemble a WWII-era Harley-Davidson WLA Army motorcycle.
The new Avengers film, which opens May 4, features a collection of Marvel super heroes including Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, the Hulk, Hawkeye and the Black Widow.
To enter the contest, visit the Harley-Davidson Avengers page.

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The First Ever Fully-Authorized Vietnamese Crypto Exchange is Here, Thanks to the Partnership Between Vietnamese Linh Thanh Group and Swiss KRONN Ventures
The largest distribution company from Vietnam and a leading blockchain company from Switzerland are behind the establishment of the first-ever fully-authorized crypto exchange of Vietnam. The distribution company from Vietnam is Linh Thanh Group, and the blockchain company from Zug, Switzerland is KRONN Ventures.
The announcement was made in a press release that revealed that the two companies had acquired a license to build a crypto exchange in Vietnam. The press release stated that the two companies have-
[…] signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the production of cryptocurrency and the establishment of cryptocurrency exchange in Vietnam. They have obtained the license for the establishment of a cryptocurrency exchange.
Last year, KRONN Ventures AG catalyzed the coming together of financial committees from Vietnam, Philippines, Cambodia, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. This was done to establish a consortium in order to build an international platform for transactions that depend on Blockchain Technology. The experience of KRONN Ventures will prove to be a great source of growth to this partnership and for fulfilling the vision of creating a high-class crypto exchange on a global scale. KRONN Ventures has also worked with King’s College from London, UK, for an AI research facility in the past.
The stronghold of Linh Thanh Group within the country and the prominence of KRONN Ventures should result in a glorious impact not only on Vietnam but also on the other Asian countries, according to the press release. The future depends on how much and how far this opportunity gets churned and is put to use in the right direction.
This move from Linh Thanh Group is a leap to catch hold of the crypto fever and to seize the high tide profits of the crypto land. Still, we can’t ignore the fact that the crypto market in the Asian countries is still a hard nut to crack. The decentralized nature, privacy features, the power is given in the hands of the users, the cross border transaction scope, the much lower transaction fees with way faster processing time; all this in a way threatens the traditional financial infrastructure. Asian markets have a long way to break through and reach the current crypto scene in the west.
Back in January, KRONN Ventures AG announced that it has entered into an agreement with Bitforex to create a real-time foreign currency remittance system which is based on the blockchain technology. Bitforex is a global digital currency exchange based in Singapore. When it comes to coin market cap transaction volumes, Bitforex has managed to outshine the big shots such as Binance, BitMex, and Bithumb in coin market cap transaction volumes. The exchange allows the users to trade over 120 types of digital currencies and has the user-base from over ninety countries.


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Indonesia is on track to become one of the largest markets globally, offering outstanding business opportunities for Australian exporters.
And to explain how Australian businesses can take advantage of the export and investment opportunities on offer Austrade last week held a series of seminars in major capital cities.
Indonesia Now 2017 – The Changing Face of Business in Indonesia seminars were led by Sally-Ann Watts, Austrade’s Jakarta-based Senior Trade Commissioner for Indonesia, and her team of in-market Trade Commissioners in conjunction with state governments and peak industry associations.
This initiative builds on past activities like the week-long Ministerial-led Indonesia-Australia Business Week (IABW) missions undertaken in 2015 and in March 2017 which showcased Australian capabilities and focused on enhancing export opportunities with Indonesia.
Trade Minister Steven Ciobo led a delegation of 130 senior Australian business representatives to IABW 2017 which participated in a program of 57 events across five cities including Jakarta, Surabaya, Bali and Lombok from March 6-10.
“As Australia’s 13th largest trading partner, Indonesia economically represents almost 40 per cent of the ASEAN region’s output. Its economy has grown more than five per cent per annum in recent years and is home to more than 255 million people,” said Ms Watts.
“Indonesia’s economy, currently the world’s 16th largest, is predicted to continue growing strongly to 2050. By that time, it is forecast to be the world’s fourth largest individual economy – compelling reasons why Australian businesses should enhance engagement with our neighbour.
“However, the three main changes we have noticed in the Indonesian market include: the digital transformation of the economy; the emerging middle class; and the role that Australia can play in helping to improve living standards and closing the skills gap.”
The Indonesia Now 2017 seminars outlined opportunities for Australia in key areas of agriculture (including goods, technology and services), aviation, marine, defence, e-commerce, cybersecurity and fintech, education (transnational vocational education and training (VET), future cities and health.
Agrifood and agtech
Indonesia is an important market for Australia, receiving a substantial portion of Australia’s agricultural exports valued at A$3.2 billion in 2016. Indonesia’s agricultural sector is undergoing a transformation as the next generation of farmers look to new technologies to increase productivity. Farm and processing enterprises are seeking new technologies to maximise acreage usage and reduce waste.
Indonesia’s aviation industry is growing annually at around 15 per cent (among the largest growth in the world). Lion Air currently has more planes on order than any other airline, suggesting there may be flow-on opportunities for pilot trainers, airport operators and maintenance, repair and overhaul professionals to get involved in Indonesia’s aviation sector.
Malware attacks, spam and other types of email-based scams are common problems in Indonesia. To address this, Indonesia will be implementing a number of initiatives to tackle these cyber threats, opening opportunities for Australia’s cyber security providers to assist.
Indonesia has a vibrant fintech scene with over 70 fintech startups funded in 2016. Australia has a strong relationship with Indonesia in fintech, including a relationship to support financial innovation between ASIC and Indonesian financial regulator OJK.
An emerging consumer class with more money to spend may see Indonesians in urban centres expect a better standard of living. This will eventually include improved transport solutions, better management of wastewater, access to emergency services and green building solutions to mitigate further environmental degradation.
The implementation of Indonesia’s universal health service is driving the need for efficiencies and innovation across the private and public sectors – the same areas in which Australia’s health entrepreneurs excel.
The Indonesian Government requires infrastructure investment of about US$460 billion and has agreed to open these opportunities to the private sector, rather than directly assigning them to state-owned enterprises.
Australian METS companies still have significant opportunities to build market share in Indonesia, with providers of mining technology who can clearly demonstrate productivity gains in demand. Like Australia, Indonesian miners are grappling with lower prices for commodities, so demand is strong for savings and productivity enhancements. Demand also remains strong for mining software, specialised and innovative equipment, education and training services and specialised mining consulting.
Startups and e-commerce
Indonesia’s vibrant and internationally linked incubator and startup scene, and strong links to South East Asian and US venture finance, have created an innovative e-commerce ecosystem in which to take part. A consumer market of over 100 million internet users, 70 per cent of whom are on mobile devices, are also compelling reasons for Australian entrepreneurs to take note.
The Indonesian Government is prioritising VET system reform and has invited private industry to work with senior high schools and training centres to reform the curricula, and provide internships and apprenticeships. Indonesia will need an additional 3.8 million skilled workers annually to 2030 – a shortfall of 56 million workers.
Trade agreement negotiations underway
Australia and Indonesia are negotiating the Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IA-CEPA). IA-CEPA will create the framework for a new era of closer economic engagement between Australia and Indonesia and open new markets and opportunities for businesses, primary producers, service providers and investors.
Australia’s existing trade agreement with Indonesia and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area (AANZFTA) has helped reduce a wide range of trade tariffs between the countries involved.
Australia and Indonesia are negotiating the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which will build on AANZFTA outcomes to promote further growth in the region.
Learn more about business opportunities in Indonesia.


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MULTICHANNEL MERCHANT » GLOBAL
Amazon has officially launched Amazon.in in India, making it the tenth marketplace for the global ecommerce company.
Amazon launched it’s latest marketplace in India this week, making it the 10th marketplace for the ecommerce goliath. In this infographic from Amazon, you will get a glimpse into the countries it serves, how many fulfillment centers it has worldwide, and it’s third-party seller growth.
Recent studies have found that 90% of online consumers subscribe to a brand via email, according to an article on ExactTarget.com. There are four types of email content, consumers are expecting today.
A recent “Global Online Payment Methods 2013 – First Half 2013″ report by yStats.com has found that making online payments and transactions is increasing on a worldwide level.
Amazon topped Walmart with a brand value of $45.7 billion and saw its value grow by 34% while Walmart grew by 5% to $36.2 billion in a top brand ranking, according to an article on AdAge.com. The ranking done by BrandZ Ranking, credits Amazon’s operational swiftness for its financial success.
While a focus on social media initiatives seems to be lacking in most contact centers as of late, a new Deloitte study has found that the use of social media is expected to rise within the next 24 months.
Accenture entered into an agreement with Acquity Group Ltd., where Accenture will acquire Acquity Group, a digital marketing and ecommerce company, according to a press release on Acquity Group’s website.
Neiman Marcus has notified its suppliers that it will be closing its Chinese warehouse citing a change in business model.
Research solution provider leverages findings to meet and exceed expectations of multiple audiences Download image ANN ARBOR, Mich., May 13, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — ForeSee, the global leader in technology-driven customer experience analytics, today announced that ProQuest, an information firm central…
A group of catalogers and suppliers met with Congressional staff on Capitol Hill on Tuesday to discuss their concerns with the Marketplace Fairness Act which passed in the Senate on May 6.


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Frontier Developments, the developer behind Planet Zoo, Jurassic World: Evolution has announced that their theme park simulator, Planet Coaster is coming to consoles.
IO Interactive and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment have announced that the two companies have made a worldwide publishing and distribution deal.
If you grew up with the PlayStation 2, then you may remember games featuring Crash Bandicoot. One game, in particular, is the Crash Team Racing, which was partially in response to Mario Kart on Nintendo’s home consoles.
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and IO Interactive have announced a new location for Hitman 2.
Ubisoft made a couple of announcements at their E3 2019 press conference including Watch Dogs: Legion, Roller Champions and their upcoming Uplay+ subscription.
Activision is back at it again with another remaster and this time it’s Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled.
Rockstar Games has released their second official gameplay trailer for Red Dead Redemption 2.
CD Projekt Red, the developers behind the Witcher series it’s spin-off Gwent have released the first gameplay for their upcoming game, Cyberpunk 2077.
Sony has announced a new PS4 Pro bundle to coincide with the release Marvel’s Spider-Man on PS4.


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Nintendo DS and Wii were hugely lucrative for many reasons, but part of their success is down to the innovative new games only possible on Nintendo's hardware: from Nintendogs and Brain Training to Wii Fit, these new genres really made the hardware into global phenomena. Of course, other hardware manufacturers and publishers soon caught up and Nintendo's advantage diminished, so what is Nintendo to do next? Think of the next big thing, of course.
Nintendo president Satoru Iwata spoke to investors about the company's plans to continue expanding its gaming audience, and a big part of that is new genres to entice them in:
Aiming for the next fiscal year, we are also working on new genres of software that may attract people who are not particularly interested in video games. In order to further expand the definition of video games and to create new software fields under our gaming population expansion strategy, we are planning to launch several new software titles in the next fiscal year.
Iwata states that Nintendo's unique position of producing hardware and software will help it to provide "meaningful surprises" to attract a wide variety of consumers, as it did with Wii and DS.
Do you think Nintendo will succeed in creating enticing new genres? What could it have in store for the future?


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Adjacent to the Kennedy Space Center thousands of spectators camped out on beaches and roads to watch the launch of Apollo 11, which launched at 9:32 a.m. Eastern on July 16, 1969. The launch of Apollo 11 was the culmination of 8 years of hard work by thousands of scientists and technicians. Four days later, Apollo 11 commander Neil Armstrong stepped out of the lunar module and took ”one small step” in the Sea of Tranquility, calling it ”a giant leap for mankind.”
The Pic of the Day: NASA Viewing Crowd for Apollo 11
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Barrett is the world leader in long-range, large-caliber, precision rifle design and manufacturing. Barrett products are used by civilians, sport shooters, law enforcement agencies, the United States military, and more than 75 State Department-approved countries around the world.
Our roots in shooting sports started off back in 1996 with our founder and CEO, Josh Ungier. His love of airguns took hold of our company from day one and we became the first e-commerce retailer dedicated to airguns, optics, ammo, and accessories. Over the next 25 years, customers turned to us for our unmatched product selection, great advice, education, and continued support of the sport and airgun industry.


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Brian Bern, Managing Director of Retail Services in Tampa, recently spoke to the Tampa Bay Times’ Bernadette Berdychowski about findings from Franklin Street’s latest retail market report. Read excerpts from the exclusive interview below:
Tampa Bay Times: There’s a flood of new businesses wanting to set up shop in Tampa Bay, a new commercial estate report says — and it’s raising rents.
But there’s not much available space out there, Franklin Street, a Tampa-based commercial real estate firm found. Vacancy rates dropped from 4.4 percent at the start of 2021 to 3.8 percent by the end the year, the lowest point in a decade. Average rent for retail and restaurant space in the region went up 7.1 percent to $21.56 per square foot in a year, according to the firm’s fourth quarter retail report.
“I’ve been in booms before this. This one is definitely different than the ones in the past,” said Brian Bern, Franklin Street’s managing director of retail real estate. “It’s just bigger.”
In this interview with the Tampa Bay Times, Bern explains what’s driving the lack of space, the challenges that come with a hot market and which areas of Tampa Bay are growing the most. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Tampa Bay Times: Why is there a shortage of commercial space in Tampa Bay?
Brian Bern: It’s hard to plan for all this. It takes a lot of time to acquire a site, budget for construction and to get it approved by the counties. And it’s hard to have the foresight from three to four years ahead that Tampa would be as hot as it is today. So it’s not that there aren’t developers that don’t want to keep adding projects and building more in the Tampa Bay area. It takes years to pull everything together.
TBT: Where is the demand coming from?
BB: It all boils down to growth. The population growth in this market is just incredible. And it’s caught the attention of retailers and businesses looking to open offices. Tampa had some amazing growth from people moving from out of state and businesses are also following. Retailers and restaurants have noticed that they’re running to catch up with the growth that’s happening here, population wise.
TBT: Why was Tampa Bay overlooked in the past?
BB: The demand was there before — it’s just accelerated. We were always considered second tier compared to other markets in the southeast. But because of the state’s business policies and the way that our taxes are, it’s become a very attractive place for businesses to want to move here and operate here and function here. Same thing for people that come and live here. The cost of living is very attractive and so is the weather.
We’ve really entered a phase where we’re on the national stage with everything from sports, to our business wins to people visiting and experiencing that we’ve been basically acting as normal as we possibly could be during the pandemic.


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Macy's to cut 2,500 jobs in major company reorganization that will save $100million per year
Macy's Inc. is cutting 2,500 jobs as part of a reorganization to sustain its profitability.
The announcement comes on the heels of a strong holiday shopping season for the department store chain.
Macy's said Wednesday that it will reassign or transfer some workers and add some positions, leaving its workforce level at a consistent 175,000.
Job losses: 2,500 employees will lose their jobs through store closings and consolidations
The Cincinnati-based company plans to close five stores and open eight others, leaving it with 844 stores nationwide once the changes are complete.
Macy's says the moves will save it $100 million per year and forecast a 2014 profit above Wall Street's forecasts.
It will cut specific positions in its Cincinnati corporate offices, as well as other administrative roles throughout the country.
Macy's will reduce its district count to 60 from 69, the biggest shift of which is in its Midwest and North regions.
The two will be consolidated to create a new North Central region.
The retailer's CEO Terry Lundgren said of the news: 'We began five years ago with a set of business strategies that were largely untested by a national retailer of our size and scope. As the success of these strategies has unfolded, we have identified some specific areas where we can improve our efficiency without compromising our effectiveness in serving the evolving needs of our customers.'
The news sent its shares up 5.5 percent in after-hours trading.
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BOTS, Inc. announces strategic investment in
SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO, January 03, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) – via NewMediaWire – BOTS, Inc. (OTC: BTZI), (âBOTSâ or âThe Companyâ), a global technology conglomerate specializing in blockchain-based solutions, including decentralized financial applications, cybersecurity, crypto generation, mining equipment repairs, extended warranty contracts and its upcoming land-based Las Vegas-based metaverse, VEGAS.MV, today announced a strategic investment in XR Casino, Inc.
XR Casino is the leading technology company specializing in multi-technology Extended Reality (XR) casino games, XR game development solutions and NFTs for the iGaming and sports betting industries. Its patent-pending platform is currently under development and plans to leverage AI, blockchain, augmented reality, mixed reality and virtual reality technologies to deliver valuable gaming experiences and services. added unprecedented.
XR Casino has completed MVP versions of its initial games, Blackjack, Roulette and Slots in AR, MR and VR, during 2021 and is on track to launch its social casino games and NFT store in the second quarter. 2022.
BTZI is the first strategic corporate investor in XR Casino and will leverage its technology to launch AR, MR and VR casinos and casino games as a service (GaaS) on its upcoming land-based Las Vegas-based metaverse.
âXR Casino’s exclusive technology and games deliver the immersive casino gaming experiences of the Metaverse to anyone with an AR-enabled smartphone, AR / MR glasses or a VR headset,â commented Simon Rubin, CEO of BOTS, Inc. . “We believe that AR will lead the way in connecting people to the Metaverse and through our strategic investment in XR Casino, we will be able to bring together players using AR, MR and VR in our next Vegas.mv Metaverse regardless of technology or the equipment they use. “
âWe are thrilled to have BOTS, Inc. as our premier strategic corporate investor and look forward to launching our games on their Las Vegas-themed metaverse,â commented Dan Martinez, Founder and CEO of XR Casino, Inc.
Virtual reality (VR) technology is a new phenomenon. This paves the way for most people to play games in the future. A report released in April 2021 by Brandessence Market Research claimed that the global virtual reality gaming market will be worth nearly $ 52.7 billion by 2025.
Recent research from Mordor Intelligence titled: EXTENDED REALITY (XR) MARKET – GROWTH, TRENDS, COVID-19 IMPACT AND FORECAST (2021 – 2026) indicated that the Extended Reality (XR) market is registering a healthy CAGR of over by 62.67% during the forecast period (2021 – 2026). The Extended Reality (XR) market is impacted by COVID-19, primarily due to several factors that include physical bottlenecks, critical e-commerce delivery limitations, retail store closings, and business chain disruptions. supply (supplier, manufacturer, distribution, wholesale, retail) and economic impacts. In addition, a player such as Avnet Inc. has implemented restructuring plans to reduce operating costs, including plans to reduce operating costs by $ 75 million per year by the year. second quarter of fiscal 2021. Avnet expects to use cash for restructuring, integration and other expenses. Such initiatives are being taken to address the uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 outbreak.
Extended Reality (XR) is currently an emerging umbrella term that encompasses immersive technologies, such as augmented reality, virtual reality, mixed reality, and other future realities that these technologies may bring. The growing demand for reduced distance between people and richer visual content is driving market demand. According to a recent Accenture survey, 80% of business leaders believe leveraging XR solutions is critical to reducing physical distance when engaging employees.
The companies are also developing supporting technologies for XR platforms, which are expected to commercialize XR technologies globally. In January 2019, Northern Digital Inc., a global manufacturer of 3D measurement and motion tracking solutions, launched its new electromagnetic sensor fusion tracking technology for the XR platform: Atraxa.
Identifying great potential in the XR field, several companies have established their XR product lines globally. For example, Qualcomm developed First Responder XR Glass which uses inertial, haptic, environmental and health sensors, eye tracking cameras, bone conduction transducers and other components aimed at smarter and faster interaction with the body. environment.
Microsoft has developed HoloLens 2, a hands-free mixed reality headset that guides the existence of XR. It enables 3D visual training, hands-free video calls and generates a virtual floor or room plan.
About XR Casino, Inc.
XR Casino is the leading technology company specializing in multi-technology Extended Reality (XR) casino games, gambling solutions and XR game development solutions for the iGaming and sports betting industries. We harness the power of AI, blockchain, augmented reality, mixed reality and virtual reality technologies to deliver unprecedented value-added gaming experiences and services.
For more information visit: www.xr.casino
About BOTS, Inc.
BOTS, Inc. is a global technology company specializing in Blockchain-based solutions, including decentralized financial applications, cybersecurity solutions, and has a portfolio of digital assets and crypto-related businesses such as BeadSwap, a decentralized crypto exchange, Bitcoin ATMs and corresponding US patents and Cyber ââSecurity Group LLC, an ISO / IEC 27001: 2013 Information Security Management System certified company. The Company also provides consulting, optimization and repair and insurance services for crypto-mining equipment.
Follow BTZI’s news on Facebook @https: //www.facebook.com/Bots.Bz/
Follow BTZI’s news on Twitter @Bots_bz http://www.Twitter.com/Bots_bz
Find BTZI news on http://www.bots.bz
BOTS, Inc. has been featured in media nationwide including CNBC, Bloomberg, TheStreet.com.
For more information visit http://www.bots.bz
Visit BTZI on Facebook
Follow BTZI on Twitter @Bots_bz
Certain statements contained in this press release may constitute “forward-looking statements”. Forward-looking statements provide current expectations of future events based on certain assumptions and include any statement that does not directly relate to historical or current fact. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated in these forward-looking statements due to various important factors as may be disclosed in the documents filed by the Company. In addition to these factors, actual performance, results and future results may differ materially due to more general factors including (but not limited to) general industry and market conditions and growth rates. , economic conditions and changes in government and public policy. The forward-looking statements included in this press release represent the opinions of the Company as of the date of this press release, and such opinions could change. However, although the Company may choose to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, the Company specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. These forward-looking statements should not be taken as representing the views of the Company as of a date subsequent to the date of the press release. These forward-looking statements are risks which are detailed on the Company’s website and documents.


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GM Recalls 16,000 Chevys, Buicks Over Steering Defects
GM said it sent notices to vehicle owners Aug. 5 informing them of the recall. The Detroit-based car giant is recalling 11,905 Impalas and 4,293 LaCrosses, it said.
The automaker said it had not received any complaints related to the potential defects and did not know of any crashes or...
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CHATSWORTH, Calif., Feb. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- MGA Entertainment, Inc. (MGAE) the largest privately held toy company, announced today, as the kick off to Toy Fair New York City, new, eco-friendly initiatives focused on L.O.L Surprise!™, which delivered on the CEO, Isaac Larian's promise in late 2019 to create a bio-degradable ball. The company also announced a new product line from parent-trusted brand Little Tikes®, which is made entirely from post-consumer and post-industrial resin. MGAE is manufacturing products and packaging with a new patent-pending compound that facilitates the degradation of plastic in landfill conditions.
"I have assembled an in-house team that is 100 percent focused on identifying the best innovative and eco-friendly options to use in our toys," said Isaac Larian, CEO and Founder of MGA Entertainment. "We now have a degradable L.O.L Surprise! ball and a Little Tikes "Go Green" product line. Sustainability is a personal priority and a MGAE commitment. We will have product at retail this fall."
MGAE extended its L.O.L Surprise! partnership with TerraCycle, an innovative waste management company with a mission to eliminate the idea of waste, last month adding nine new countries to the program. More information about this initiative can be found here. Further, beginning summer 2020, all L.O.L Surprise! accessory bags will be paper based, and any packaging made from resin will be degradable and include new compound.
Added Larian: "Beginning 2021, the entire L.O.L Surprise! packaging line will be completely degradable."
From the parent-trusted brand, Little Tikes, has a new "Go Green" product line. The line which is created entirely from post-consumer and post-industrial resin now includes a new patent-pending compound, ensuring the products are not only recyclable but also more degradable in landfill conditions. The "Go Green" line will launch with four products and will continue to evolve and incorporate other Little Tikes items throughout 2020 and beyond. The "Go Green" products will have a new and different logo, but the quality and durability of products that parents and kids have enjoyed for generations will remain the same. The "Go Green" products will be available at retail beginning Earth Day.
Added Larian: "Beginning 2025, MGAE will only manufacture products that will degrade when disposed of properly."
About MGA Entertainment
MGA Entertainment, a consumer entertainment products company headquartered in Chatsworth, California, creates innovative proprietary and licensed products including toys and games, dolls, consumer electronics, home décor, stationery and sporting goods. The MGA family includes award-winning brands such as L.O.L. Surprise™, Little Tikes®, Num Noms™, Poopsie Slime Surprise™, Bratz®, Rainbows in Pieces™, Na! Na! Na! Surprise™, Wreck Royale™, Baby Born Surprise™ and Zapf Creation®. Visit us at www.mgae.com.
SOURCE MGA Entertainment


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Kwik Trip's Twitter quest!!
There's no denying that Kwik Trip is one of the most recognizable convienence stores in Wisconsin. On Twitter, however, the company is struggling to get the recognition, their fans feel, they deserve.
One La Crosse resident explained, "I think they need to get verified. I think it's unfair. There's a lot of Twitter accounts out there that shouldn't be verified, but Kwik Trip should be for sure."
If you're not sure what "being verified" means, let me explain. It's something only Twitter controls. They place a blue checkmark next to the Twitter handle of an account, so users know it's not a fake account tweeting. It's kind of a status symbol. Kwik Trip has been leading a campaign to get verified, but so far, no luck.
Followers of Kwik Trip's account routinely tweet at Twitter, begging for the verification.
"This is an outrage, Kwik Trip is not verified on Twitter," one Kwik Trip fan said.
I reached out to Kwik Trip about the lack of verification, and they invited me to their headquarters in La Crosse to talk about it. To learn more, watch the video above.


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La Roca del Vallès was once little more than a sleepy Catalan village (pop. 7,000) surrounded by farmland, 35 minutes northeast of Barcelona. Now, that farmland is the home of outlet mall La Roca Village, a purpose-built simulation of a Catalan town, packed with high-end outlet stores.
Last year, La Roca Village attracted 3.3 million shoppers, mostly foreigners, which makes it the most visited tourist attraction in Barcelona—superseding even Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí’s epic and internationally famous Sagrada Familia cathedral.
Travelers have always shopped, for handicrafts, unfamiliar foods, or silly t-shirts. But in recent years, as citizens of BRICS nations and other developing countries have begun to travel, vacation shopping has changed. For many newbie travelers, buying brand-name goods has become a central point of tourism, a way to participate in developed world consumerism and show the folks back home they’ve indeed been abroad.
The boom has been most notable among Chinese travelers, who’ve celebrated their new ability to globetrot with sights-and-malls bus trips across the U.S. and shopping-heavy versions of the old Grand Tour of Europe. Next year, Chinese travelers are expected to buy more luxury goods abroad than tourists from all other countries combined.
But shopping tourism is far from a Chinese phenomenon, and Spain in general—and Barcelona in particular —offers an object lesson in how visitor flows from developing countries have changed the face of tourism.
Spain ranked second in the world in 2012 for revenue from tourism spending, according to a new report from the UN’s World Tourism Organization, with $1.1 billion spent on shopping in the country by visitors from outside the E.U. And Madrid and Barcelona were tied for second, behind London, in a shopping index ranking of European cities put together by the Economist Intelligence Unit and Global Blue, a tourism shopping tax refund company.
“Because brands are so global and because emerging markets are emerging, there are aspirational factors,” says Michael Goldenberg, the New York-born head of the Spanish operations of Value Retail, which owns the La Roca mall and eight others in Europe. “Why are they all coming to Europe on vacation? To see where culture and sophistication come from. And they want to live like Europeans. Part of that is fulfilled by buying brands.”
Goldenberg was working in real estate investment banking at Bankers Trust when the firm invested in Value Retail’s first shopping village, Bicester Village in the U.K., and he joined the company in 1996, at age 27.
As we walk down the central avenue of the mall, the lanky Goldenberg points out the architectural details that mimic small-town Catalonia.
We start our tour in the central plaza surrounded by government-style buildings (a Loewe outlet sits on the ground floor of the town hall), then pass through a comfortable bourgeois neighborhood and into a very tidy version of a factory zone. The streets are covered in cobble or large paving stones, the roofs are tiled, the colors tend toward the creams, and the plazas between the blocks feature sculptures in the style of Antoni Gaudí.
This architectural recreation offers the sensation of a local cultural experience, which may be key for visitors who are passing a sizable chunk of their vacation at the mall. Sixty percent of the shoppers are tourists and they spend an average of four hours here, Goldenberg says. Value Retail’s others malls also simulate the local culture: the English mall near the Cotsworlds, outside Oxford, mimics a village in southeastern England, while one near Parma, Italy is based on Verdi’s operas.
“It’s supposed to be comfortable. It’s vacation. When you relax, you have fun,” Goldenberg tells me.
The mall is also designed as luxury-on-training-wheels to make developing country tourists feel comfortable among high-end brands whose stores might normally intimidate them.
“We try to democratize luxury,” Goldenberg tells me as we walk through the industrial section of the town. “Notice all the doors are open? At a luxury store on Passeig de Gracia [Barcelona’s equivalent of Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue], the doorman sort of looks you over before he opens the door.”
Value Retail identifies major cities with sophisticated locals and plenty of tourists, and then builds a mall far enough outside of town so as not to compete with the brands’ full-price city stores. In Barcelona, the mall is 25 miles outside the city; in London, it’s 75 miles.
When it opened, many expected La Roca Village to fail. It was in the middle of nowhere and outlets were an unproven concept. The first years were indeed slow; 270,000 people came during the six months it was open in 1998, less than 10% of the number that visited in 2013.
But as outlets caught on in Europe and tourism in Barcelona boomed—7.6 million visitors stayed in the city last year, up from 2.5 million in 1993—so did the mall.
The portion of La Roca’s shoppers who are tourists increased from 38% in 2007 to 60% today, and in 2009, the mall launched a bus service from downtown Barcelona. It now offers ten 20-euro round trips a day. A just-opened 30 million euro expansion led to the addition of 40 new stores at the mall. A recent job fair offering 300 jobs at the center attracted 1,500 aspirants. And Chinese tourists are beginning to come en masse: Barcelona got about 150,000 Chinese visitors last year, Goldenberg says, and 100,000 of them came to La Roca Village.
Goldenberg would not break out the Spanish mall’s sales, but he said the combined revenues in all Value Retail malls was 1.9 billion euros in 2013.
The parent company is now taking its shopping experience to the developing nations that supply so many of its customers. In May, Value Retail opened its first mall in China, in Suzhou. In keeping with its tenets of local design and European aspirations, the architecture blends Chinese artisanship with a touch of Italian style.


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It Might Take Longer Than You Think For The Future Of Banking To Arrive
By Ruth Reader for Fast Company
For the last four years, Ripple Labs has been working to develop and scale a new technical infrastructure for sending money between banks and across borders using distributed ledger technology—the same stuff that powers bitcoin transactions. But instead of using bitcoin to move money, Ripple uses a digital asset called XRP. Unlike bitcoin, XRP is not a currency. It’s a digital asset that carriers value across a blockchain system. The company’s goal is to make the transfer of money instant and cheap.
It may not seem like a gargantuan task at first glance, but consider that in the U.S. we still can’t send money between two different banks with any expediency. It takes JPMorgan Chase 1-2 days to send money from one of its clients accounts to an account at another bank using Chase Pay. Even Venmo, a PayPal-owned app that lets people send each other money, only makes speedy transactions when exchanges take place on the platform. To get cash from Venmo into your bank account takes a day or two. In an on-demand world, days are eternities.
International remittances, Ripple’s area of focus, can take anywhere from one to four days depending on how it is sent. When two banks have integrated with Ripple, they settle funds transferred immediately. For instance if you were to transfer money in your bank account to a friend’s bank account in Germany, your bank would take your money, convert it to XRP, and send it to the bank in Germany, which would then convert it to local currency and put it in your friend’s account. Via Ripple this happens instantly. Because the transaction is largely automated it makes it less expensive than traditional money transfers too.
This strategy has largely paid off for the company. As of today, it’s raised nearly $93.6 million in funding from big name investors like Andreessen Horowitz, Google Ventures, and IDG Capital. It has offices in San Francisco, New York, London, Luxembourg, and Sydney. It’s also working with the Federal Reserve on how payments can expedited more quickly in the U.S. But that doesn’t mean that it’s a gravy train ride to the top for this blockchain company.
Since launching in 2012, the company has only signed on 15 banks into its network, which span the U.K, Germany, the United Arab Emirates, the U.S. Canada, and China. These include banks like Santander, UBS, ReiseBank, CIBC, National Bank of Abu Dhabi, Siam Commercial Bank, and ATB Financial. While Ripple can tout some big-name banks, its still only works with a tiny share of worldwide banks. For perspective, there were slightly more than 6,000 FDIC insured institutions in the U.S. alone as of August. Ripple has also signed partnerships, which it hopes will spread its network wider. Two are with Fortune 500 consultancies Accenture and Deloitte, entities that could encourage their banking clients to sign on with Ripple. The company is also working with U.K payments network Earthport, which aims to better connect major world banks, and CGI, a firm that has integrated Ripple into a payment gateway for financial services clients. But even with its existing progress, the slog to world domination is likely to take a while for Ripple.
Blockchain companies like Ripple hold a lot of promise for the future of banking, but the technology hasn’t proven itself. Though certain states in the U.S. have begun framing rules around cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, blockchain technology itself hasn’t been addressed. Over the summer, theEuropean Union decided it would monitor blockchain efforts rather than creating laws around it. As long as regulatory bodies are unsure how to handle distributed ledger systems legally, banks may be wary to adopt it.
While Ripple and other blockchain innovators slowly grow, consumer level solutions are coming to the fore. TransferWise, a Swedish company, currently offers to transfer money within 1 to 2 days for less money than it would normally cost to send cash across borders. It also promises to give customers an agreed-upon exchange rate for their money up front. Meanwhile PayPal’s Xoom has been expanding its Instant Deposit program to certain banks in India and Pakistan.
In the U.S. same-day ACH is coming. That means that soon banks will be able to settle transfers send and receive money within a day (though this service may only be offered to customers with lower risk profiles depending on the bank or come with a fee). To send money domestically, Zelle, a bank-backed peer-to-peer payment app, is launching soon, with the intent of settling money quickly. Square Cash already provides instant settlements for its customers.
“I won’t pretend we don’t have a long way to go,” says Brad Garlinghouse, Ripple’s COO and president. He thinks that where perhaps Ripple has an advantage over some of these other players is that its technological infrastructure makes tracking money more transparent and less reliant on humans. Banks are responsible for tracking money sent and received, so when transactions don’t happen they way they’re supposed and money goes missing, banks are supposed to have the answers. What’s appealing about blockchain technology, says Garlinghouse, is that it automatically documents how money moves in its ledgered system.
“I have had very senior people at the largest banks in the United States say to me if all you do is solve the transparency of the transaction, they are in,” he says. As the Financial Times points out however, transparency may prove to be a double-edged sword. Banks want to see how money is moving from one institution to another, but they don’t want other banks to have insight into their operations. Still, Banks ranging from Goldman Sachs to Deutsche Bankare currently exploring blockchain technology and its potential use in compliance reporting as well as smart contracts. It just may be a long time before the promise of blockchain technology and instant transactions becomes a reality for the majority of people.
First appeared at Fast Company


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After nearly 5 years, Android 12.1 will deliver a new AOSP wallpaper.
The new code replaces Google’s default “pink sky” wallpaper, which was first introduced to the open source version of Android over 5 years ago. In its place comes a new wallpaper that will debut with the release of Android 12.1, the OS’s first point release in years, and which we at XDA have, of course, gotten ahead of time.
The “pink sky” wallpaper, which has been included in open source Android versions since Android 7.0 Nougat, is likely unknown to the vast majority of users. That’s because practically every Android smartphone runs a modified version of the OS.
You’ll most likely only see the wallpaper if you’re running a software build that modifies AOSP lightly, such as one of the AOSP-based custom ROMs available on the XDA Forums or a Generic System Image (GSI).
Android 12.1 is expected to come in the middle of the Android 12 and Android 13 releases. According to our sources, the stable edition of Android 12 will be released on October 4th, and Android 13 will be released somewhere in the fall of 2022. Meanwhile, the Android 12.1 point release will come with an API level increase, which is rare given that we haven’t had a platform-changing maintenance update since Android 8.1 Oreo in 2017.
Also read: How to Fix Volte & Mobile data on any phone running Android 12 GSI
If you have any issues follow me on Instagram or join our Telegram Group. For the latest TechNews and Reviews, follow Techibee on Twitter, Facebook, and subscribe to our Youtube channel.


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Vitamin supplement producer Nature's Sunshine Products has said its first quarter profits are likely to be around 50 per cent below analysts' estimates, even before the write-down of a long-term investment.
The company blamed the overall decline in the US market for vitamin and mineral supplements, which has suffered particularly since the events of 11 September. It said it had stopped taking on new staff and had instituted a cost-cutting programme throughout the organisation.
The first quarter results reflect a 5 per cent decline in US sales revenue and an 11 per cent decline in international sales revenue, or an 8 per cent decline in total sales revenue. The company's operations in Brazil accounted for approximately 75 per cent of the decline in international sales revenue, and both Brazil and Japan continued to experience operating losses for the quarter. The loss in Brazil, where import restrictions have adversely affected results, included expenses to restructure activities in that country.
As a result of the new measures, Nature's Sunshine said that it expects Brazil to post an operating profit for the second quarter. Nature's Sunshine said that it also expects more favourable year-on-year comparisons for Brazil in the second half of this year.
The first quarter results will be published later this month.


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Because with great market power comes great responsibility.
Retailers have the power to make substantial improvements in public health and safety, and with that power comes a moral obligation, a corporate social responsibility. Many of the retailers have gotten started, but they need to do more. And because they care about their customers, you can help them along.
Our coalition came together around a shared critique of our government’s failure to protect the public from toxic chemicals and a shared platform for how to fix our policies. But most importantly we came together with a shared moral urgency to reduce the suffering caused by chronic diseases like cancer, disabilities and autism that are linked to chemical exposure.
Since we began in 2009 the evidence that unregulated chemicals are having profound health impacts has only grown. The Presidents Cancer Panel report and the recent United Nations report are just two examples. (Our own report summarizes the state of the science linking chemicals and various health impacts here.) And yet the government is too slow to respond in the face of chemical industry opposition.
We will continue to press for needed reforms as EPA implements the newly enacted Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, and push for reform in the states, but in the meantime the private sector can and must act. Some of the greatest success stories in recent years have come when people with buying power have made getting rid of toxic chemicals a priority.
Educated consumers—particularly moms looking out for their families—have changed the marketplace for products like baby bottles, cosmetics and cleaners, and in the process made the world a better place. The companies that responded to that demand deserve some of the credit as well.
But though it’s faster than regulation, this process too can be too slow. The media takes a while to wake up to the science around a given chemical. My colleagues have to campaign around it. Then consumers take notice. Then the relevant businesses take notice. Chemical, by chemical, by chemical. If we are to take the moral urgency of tackling this problem seriously, then we also have to take bigger bites out of the problem as soon as we can.
It’s not feasible to ask the average person to keep 100+ chemicals in their head when they go to the store and we’re not asking you to. Many of you are avid label readers, but most products don’t have ingredient labels. It is feasible, however, for the nation’s largest retailers to maintain and act on such a list. For example, Krogers has a list of 101 chemicals it won’t allow in its Simple Truth brand products. Walmart changed the marketplace substantially when it listed several flame retardants and told its suppliers it wouldn’t sell products that had them.
In our retailer profiles we’ve taken pains to give each company credit for the work already undertaken to develop safer sustainable products. (For any retailer reading this, I invite you to identify anything that you think is inaccurate in the profile and we’ll correct it.)
We are simply looking to enlarge this activity to match the scale of the problem and we want to make it easy for retailers by giving them a starter list of chemicals that are cause for concern. We are looking for partners in improving public health and safety rather than a one-day news story.
So as you continue to read labels, check out databases, and protect your family with your own purchasing choices, take some time to engage your favorite retailer in this great moral project of our time: reducing the suffering caused by preventable chronic diseases linked to chemicals.
Take our action urging the retailers to Mind the Store. But feel free to get creative as well. Ask your store manager about the company’s response to this campaign. Get a few friends together to meet with him or her. Engage with the company on their Facebook page or website.
In so doing, you won’t just be looking out for yourself and your family, but for all families.


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DON'T SHARE NUISANCE.
Stieg Larsson box set to be released in Nov
The late Swedish author's multimillion-selling Millennium trilogy will be released in a cased set on November 26.
New York: Arriving in time for Christmas: the Stieg Larsson boxed set.
The late Swedish author's multimillion-selling Millennium trilogy will be released in a cased set on November 26. It will feature hardcovers of "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" and its two successors, a collection of essays about Larsson and e-mails between Larsson and his editor in Sweden.
The release was announced Monday by publisher Alfred A. Knopf. The set has a list price of $ 99.
The trilogy stars a tattooed computer hacker and journalist who get entangled in murder mysteries, sex trafficking scandals and secret government units. More than 30 million copies of the books have been sold worldwide, including 50,000 copies a day in the United States.
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How Supply Chains can Swim through the Whirlpool of Overnight Changes
How are supply chain management companies innovating or creating digital operations to sustain operations during the lockdown/pandemic situations?
Businesses with global supply chains witnessed a tremendous level of supply and demand shock at the beginning of the pandemic. What followed was a whirlwind of overnight changes through brainstorming sessions over teleconferencing to create more resilient and adaptive supply chain systems.
Businesses and brick and mortar stores that were reluctant to shift to a digital system are now doing so in a hurry. They are adopting the digital ways of operations, implementing solutions for collaboration, visibility across vendors, digital payments, contactless processes, and automation. This will ensure that things get done on time, with complete transparency, and lower risk.
Supply chain transformation and visibility is giving businesses an opportunity to evaluate the stock tolerance over the ‘risk’ period and accommodating inventory stocks around their stores to reduce the chances of delay. They are also looking beyond Tier 1 suppliers and relentlessly searching for hyper-localized logistics partners to minimize transit time and the risks involved.
What diversification they are doing to reduce risks?
In my opinion, the companies that were heavily relying on a single supplier model or sourcing from a single geographical region, are mitigating the risks through onboarding more suppliers and from diverse areas to reduce the risk of disrupted supply chain networks. The other major transformation has been the stringent screening protocols and integration of more automated processes in the system.
Companies are identifying new ways to provide products and services that are relevant in the times of the pandemic. For instance, garment manufacturers diversified into making PPE kits or masks, some big FMCG businesses started making sanitizers and disinfectants, and so on. Technology companies are creating new ways for screening people, developing solutions to enable shift to a contactless environment, and much more. These are just businesses being agile and making the best out of a tough situation, rather than just sitting it out.
About the new concept of contactless deliveries in the retail sector.
In the wake of the pandemic, it is necessary to assure your customers that your company is taking all due measures to deliver safe and sanitized delivery packages. No contact delivery is one such direct way of ensuring the same to the customers. However, the retail sectors must have a robust, safe, and hygienic backend system to be able to fulfill the purpose of contactless deliveries.
Contactless deliveries should be backed by sanitized warehouse storage of the packages, multi-layer packaging of products, minimized number of ‘touch’ transfers through middlemen, daily screening of the delivery workforce and equipping them with all the necessary PPE and sanitization equipment with thorough training on its effective usage, and end-point package sanitization systems. The use of robotics to handle, transfer, and stock products without human touch, drone-based deliveries, and many other such solutions are now being quickly adopted. Apart from this, retailers should be integrating and promoting digital payments for the success of contactless delivery.
How customer experience is becoming the pulse of every business?
Improving customer experiences have been the pivotal consideration for every business for a long time now, but yes, the companies are becoming more customer-centric than before. The main reason behind it is the ever-increasing market competition, giving more options for customers to choose from. Moreover, due to the change in the employment situation and the global depression, the customer has become even more discerning, and price/quality-conscious. Customers are also preferring businesses that promise to provide safe delivery. In such stiff competition, it becomes critical for the company to acquire and retain customers through meaningful and enhanced experiences, setting them apart from other service providers.
What are the strategies for retailers dealing with non-essentials?
Retailers dealing with non-essential products, especially the ones with brick-and-mortar stores, are having a harder time bringing in revenues than those who have gone digital. e-Commerce, as we are witnessing, is helping businesses gain back some semblance, proving that it is the only way to sustain and thrive in the future. We are also watching industry giants announcing the closure of their physical stores altogether, indicating that a major disruption and a massive digital transformation is needed.
The retailers in any industry will be looking to grow digital and find online marketplaces to market their products/services. Secondly, they will be finding ways to connect with their already existing customer base via digital platforms to announce their presence online. Thirdly, as they go digital, they will look at reengineering their processes, optimizing their logistics and shipping, and integrating digital payment systems, etc., to make their online journey a success.
How does the retail sector prepare themselves for the post coronavirus world?
Like I said earlier, the digital will become the norm, and all retail businesses, be it large, medium, or small scale, will have to customize their own digital roadmap to be able to sustain. Of course, the government’s role in aiding the businesses, especially the SMBs will remain crucial. Singaporean government presents a befitting example for the same as they announced up to 90 percent subsidy grants to SMEs under Digital Acceleration Grant.
As consumer behavior will see a dramatic transformation, the beyond-the-COVID phase will require the retail sector to cater to consumers through their preferred channels. However, most importantly, the retail sector will have to develop a resilient system to operate and mitigate the risks of any such future crisis scenarios via investing in an intelligent automation framework that is agile and risk-free.
About the Agile overhaul of infrastructure to tackle changing consumer demands
The pattern of changing consumer demands will surely become more erratic in the post-COVID times and for the organizations to adapt to these changing demands, they will need to become more agile. An agile organization with agile teams working for them will achieve better outputs in meeting demands than those who are not.
The pattern of changing consumer demands will surely become more erratic in the post-COVID times and for the organizations to adapt to these changing demands, they will need to become more agile
To begin with, the supply chain organizations will have to rethink leadership and will have to switch to shared ownership with higher degrees of autonomy to operate in. They will need to establish greater supplier ownership and accountability in order to maintain the speed as well as transparency of operations.
In the case of agile functioning, they will have to continuously design, release, and test various processes in the market and evaluate their success rates to establish the most suitable infrastructure for both the customers, as well as the company.


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Towerfall is one of the best selling games on the OUYA, shifting around 7,000 copies on the Android powered microconsole, but whoa there Nelly, that’s not where developer Matt Thorson has earned his thousands. Earlier this year Towerfall launched on PC and PlayStation 4 and it looks like those platforms are the ones bringing in the cash, more so, the PlayStation 4.
Towerfall, or Towerfall: Ascension as its known on the PC and PlayStation 4, is a multiplayer arena archery game where up to four players battle it out in a battle royale with a limited supply of ammo. The game originally launched in June last year and soon became a huge hit for the OUYA. Earlier this year the game also landed on PC and PlayStation 4.
Out of all of the platforms Towerfall is available on, it seems the PlayStation 4 is the one doing all of the heavy lifting. “It’s actually doing better on PS4, but it’s still doing well on PC,” developer Matt Thorson said in an interview with Eurogamer. “It’s doing definitely well enough for me to support myself for quite awhile. That’s really encouraging.”
It was in this interview that Thorson revealed that the game had reached the half a million dollar milestone attributing a huge part of that to sales from the PC and PlayStation 4 version of the game.
“I think it’s just a console game, ya know?” said Thorson. “People have controllers – it’s not confusing to get the controllers like it is for PC – and people have it in their living rooms already. I think a lot of people still sit down with their friends when they play their consoles, whereas they don’t do that on PC. Even if it’s a single-player game. I know me and my friends will sit down and one of us will be playing a game while everyone else is just hanging out.”
Towerfall, and Towerfall: Ascension is available on OUYA, PC, and PlayStation 3 respectively.


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Union lauds decrease in job losses
Johannesburg - The SA Clothing and Textile Workers Union is pleased with the 30% decrease in job losses in 2010 but urges vigilance to prevent further losses, a spokesperson said on Thursday.
The figure is based on a report tabled at the union's national executive committee meeting last week.
"The report, based on actual job loss data collected and tracked on the union's job loss database, shows a 30.1% decrease in job losses in 2010 compared to 2009," the union said.
In 2010, 10 143 job losses were recorded, compared to 14 516 in 2009.
The union said this was due to the impact of their Save Jobs Campaign. This included tender alerts distributed to local manufacturers, local procurement promotion, local fashion promotion, union marketing of government support measures among shop stewards and factory owners, and higher duties on imported apparel after a union application to the International Trade Administration Commission.
They found increased government support for the industry through incentive schemes and efforts to combat customs fraud, increased duties on certain clothing products and duty rebates on certain fabrics not available locally but used in the manufacture of clothing and home textiles products.
Prices and labour costs are also rising in China, a large importer.


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Ahlstrom-Munksjö Expands the Production of Face Mask Materials to its Plant in Italy and Tampere Plant in Finland
Ahlstrom-Munksjö increases capacity across its entire protective medical fabrics product portfolio to support the healthcare industry. It is also expanding the manufacturing of fabric production lines normally used for producing other fiber-based materials and providing support with its in-depth knowledge of fiber-based solutions.
In the beginning of March, the company expanded the production of face mask materials to a fine fiber line normally used for industrial filtration materials at the Turin plant, Italy.
The technology is unique, generating good protection and breathability for medical use, and approved as a surgical mask. The advantage of this technology compared to the commonly available electrostatically charged material is its durability. The protection efficiency of electrostatically charged materials is lost over time when the humidity gets in contact with the filter media, whereas the protection efficiency of a mechanical filter media remains intact over time.
First orders were received in the middle of March, and Ahlstrom-Munksjö is now targeting to ramp up fabric production for more than 20 million face masks per month.
In April, Ahlstrom-Munksjö is expanding the production of face mask materials to a line normally used for industrial filtration materials at the Tampere plant in Finland. Currently, the material is well suited for lighter fabric face masks in civil activities. Droplets test shows that the media has efficiency above 90 percent at 3 microns and above 85 percent at 1 micron, which is close to a surgical face mask requirement. Development continues to meet the requirements of material for surgical masks for medical use. Considering the ongoing production, the Tampere plant can deliver fabrics for around 10 million face masks per month on short notice.
Bentley Systems, Incorporated (“Bentley”) announced that it has filed a registration statement on Form S-1 with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) for a proposed initial public offering (IPO) of its Class B common stock.
Digitalization and sustainability have been the leading trends in the paper and packaging industry for years. Nevertheless, current study results show that only a few companies have a well-developed strategy to address these topics. Will the COVID-19 crisis finally force the industry to adapt its approach?


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Major Healthcare Patient Data Breaches Nearing 100-Mark
I read an interesting story over at HealthcareInfoSecurity.com highlighting the “Official Breach Tally Approaches 100”. The article includes a link to the official federal list of healthcare information breaches that was launched a few short months ago. While the article highlighted the major breaches affecting 500+ individuals as reported to the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and called out 61% of incidents stemming from stolen computer devices (e.g., laptops, USB drives, hard drives etc.), many of the largest breaches involved unauthorized access.
Here’s a snapshot at the major breaches stemming from unauthorized access:
- Mount Sinai Medical Center of Florida in March 2010 (2,600 individuals affected)
- Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island in February 2010 (12,000)
- Wyoming Department of Health in December 2009 (9,023)
- University Medical Center of Southern Nevada in October 2009 (5,103)
- Blue Cross Shield Association of D.C. in October 2009 (15,000)
- [Private Practice] in California September 2009 (6,145)
What’s interesting here is that the breaches show up regardless of geographic location or company size – these issues affect EVERYBODY. When the HITECH Act breach notification mandates went into effect in September 2009, there was a flood of small breach notifications immediately following in September and October from private practices (these are not named specifically, but that will soon change). Then came a regular drumbeat of larger breaches – some of which are listed above – and they continue to occur.
Will this flow of patient data breaches start to wane with more attention being placed on the issue, and more repercussions from HITECH being enforced? Or will this become ‘noise’ to most people until it affects them directly?
Many of these breaches are preventable. Some are not, but there are now people, processes and technologies available that can help tighten the reins on the vulnerabilities that open the door to many of these breaches. What are you doing to avoid joining the aforementioned list of breaches?


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Radius Payment Solutions has launched a new division to work with businesses across the UK on how they implement, connect and manage their telecoms operations.
The new Radius Connect business will have a subscriber base of over 70,000 customers across mobile and fixed line services and will bring together three acquisitions. It provides customers with access to multiple telecommunications providers, mobile networks and technology, as well as independent consulting services and implementation support.
The company can provide services based on systems from tech providers such as Microsoft, IBM, Cisco, Avaya and 8x8, as well as services from BT, EE, Gamma, O2 and Vodafone.
Radius said that with the UK government increasing its investment in 5G networking technology and committing to further expansion, the availability of faster networking will support more efficient and more connected working practices for businesses across the country. Radius added that the industries it is involved in are all forecast to continue growing as companies seek to remain competitive and save on costs around their supply chain operations, telematics and fuel card management needs.
The three companies acquired by Radius – Pure Telecom, Trinity Maxwell and Reliance Networks – will bring their teams and service delivery arms to Radius Connect, providing a UK-wide capability covering companies across the City of London through to regional businesses and enterprises.
The leadership team from Pure Telecom, including managing director David Hayward, who will now be a director at Radius Connect Solutions, will work with Ray Ferris, group managing director of Radius Connect, to lead the combined company forward using their established customer support and service methodology.
The new team will support the parent company’s expansion in the UK and internationally. On top of this access to services and products through Radius Connect, Radius Payment Solutions’ diversification strategy now means the wider group can provide customers with what it calls a “compelling” range of products across telecoms, telematics, insurance and fuel cards.
Ferris said: “Using our combination of data, networking and industry insight means we can support companies of all sizes in getting the smartest approach to their operations, differentiating us and how we deliver value. We believe our buy and build strategy provides us with a unique opportunity to scale up our operations and achieve better results for our customers, so this is just the start of our rapid organic growth and further M&A activity over the next few months.”
Hayward added: “Our approach is based on giving customers access to a wide range of market-leading products backed up with independent consultancy, installation services and award-winning customer service. From our previous regional success, we now have the backing of a company with a turnover of £2.5bn, and expanded access to a fabulous product portfolio, which will enable us to accelerate our growth plans for the future, both in the UK and internationally.”
Read more about telematics
- Qualcomm hits the road with new platform to address the complexity of autonomous driving and advanced driver-assistance systems while forging partnership with company specialising in helping launch in-vehicle communications.
- The Malaysian government wants to tap telematics, IoT and other nascent technologies to improve road safety and ease traffic congestion.
- Projected end of sales of petrol-engine cars set to propel higher adoption of electric vehicles and generate boom in connected vehicle tech such as telematics to $378m by 2024.


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A “for sale or lease” sign on the side of Colony House Furniture at 1700 Lee Highway has prompted a number of people to email us and ask what’s going on with the iconic, 54-year-old store. Today, owner J.R. Diffee provided an answer.
The business plans to cash in on its prime real estate and relocate.
“This is not a going out of business,” Diffee said emphatically. “The property is for sale, the business is not.”
Diffee says he anticipates a developer buying the property, then leasing it back to the store until building permits are approved. In the meantime, Diffee says he will be looking for a new location.
Will he move the store to another address in Arlington?
“I’d love to,” said Diffee, an Arlington Chamber of Commerce board member. “I have three kids in Arlington Public Schools… I buy into the Arlington Way.”
Diffee said that while the furniture business was hurt by the recession, sales at the store were up 7.5 percent last year. Still, he said that the property the store has occupied since 1957 — adjacent to I-66 and within a long walk of Rosslyn and Courthouse — is now worth more to a developer than it is to a furniture store.
The westbound lanes of Columbia Pike are closed near Penrose Square due to a gas leak. It appears that a construction crew working in the roadway struck a gas line….
Arlington eighth-grader Charlotte Walsh will advance to the Scripps National Spelling Bee final after taking the semis by storm yesterday afternoon. Fifty-six spellers from across the country — ages 9…
Learn how to prepare when meeting with security clearance investigators and what to expect in Legal Insider.
A new pet urgent care is hoping to open this weekend in Buckingham. Urgent Animal Care of Arlington at 249 N. Glebe Road hopes to start caring for furry best…
Please join us on Saturday, June 3, from 2 to 4 pm for the Glencarlyn Home Tour in Arlington’s historic Glencarlyn neighborhood. Among the featured homes will be a sparkling new home by A&N Builders at 5604-4th St. South. The inviting front porch opens to a light-filled space featuring high ceiling, wood floors, gas fireplace, Pella windows, Shrock cabinets, Quartz countertop, and JennAir appliances. Doors from the family room open to a large covered porch with a few steps to the level, landscaped rear yard. Upstairs, there are four bedrooms, three bathrooms, laundry room, and linen storage. The big lower level has a rec room, gym space, and a fifth bedroom and bathroom plus even more storage. After leaving the home, stroll to the Ball-Sellers home, the oldest residence in Arlington, the community gardens at the library, Carlin Hall, and the 94 acre Glencarlyn Park. A lovely way to while away a late spring afternoon.
Is home ownership a goal of yours in 2023? Now is the time to make it happen! Grab a (virtual) drink with the area’s top Real Estate experts, learn all about the home buying process and on how you can get $1,500 towards your closing costs immediately!
Did you know the average Arlington renter will spend $150K in 5 years of renting? Stop paying down someone else’s mortgage! Join us for a Rent vs. Buy Happy Hour on Wednesday, June 7th at 6 p.m. via Zoom. If this time doesn’t work, we also are offering times convenient for your schedule!
A lot has happened in the local market since the beginning of the pandemic. Sip on your drink of choice and learn from Northern Virginia, Arlington and Washingtonian Magazines top producing agents! We will discuss the latest market updates, the home buying process and rent vs. buy cost savings. Please RSVP by clicking here.
Call/text Manavi at 703-869-6698 with any questions!
Homebuying 101: Steps to Getting Pre-Approved
Are you ready to jump into homeownership or started considering it but don’t know where to start? Financial preparation is key when thinking about purchasing your first home and the first step to getting pre-approved.
Join ACFCU’s mortgage loan officers
4th of July Celebration & Fireworks
Treat yourself this Independence Day with a world-class, private 4th of July extravaganza at the Military Women’s Memorial – a premier National Capital Region site.
Great food, fun, and the best views of Washington DC’s spectacular fireworks display. Relax, enjoy,


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Earlier this month, there were questionable rumors making the rounds that Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) may potentially be forced to delay the new iMacs that it unveiled last month.
Word was that the Mac maker was having difficulties with the friction-stir welding manufacturing process. 9to5Mac shot down the speculation with its own more reliable sources saying everything was still on track. The 21.5-inch models have been slated for a November launch while the larger 27-inch models will ship next month.
Apple has now announced that the 21.5-inch models are set to ship this Friday, Nov. 30, just barely squeezing in to technically meet its self-imposed deadline of November availability.
While the news in itself isn't the most meaningful for Apple's performance, since desktop sales continue to shrink along with the PC market, it shows that Apple continues to overcome some of the manufacturing challenges it's been facing with its products. Desktop units fell 24% last quarter to 968,000, and it's safe to say that the iMac is Apple's best-selling desktop compared to the pricey Mac Pro and lower-end Mac Mini.
It's also good news for graphics specialist NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA), since its newest Kepler GPUs are featured in the new iMacs, displacing Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) after several years. Kepler chips are also found in the newest MacBook Pros. At this point, the only GPU spot that AMD has left is in the Mac Pro. Tim Cook has already hinted that the professional desktop is getting an overhaul next year, so don't be surprised if AMD loses that spot to NVIDIA, completing Apple's transition back to its former GPU flame.
Desktop revenue was just 3.4% of sales last quarter, but Apple remains committed to innovating on a decreasingly important product line. Sometimes focusing solely on the product is good enough.


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Singapore Criticizes Crypto Market, Calling It ‘Unreal Economy’
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) won’t change its attitude towards the crypto market as the industry has nothing to do with the real economy. That’s what Sopnendu Mohanty, Chief Fintech Officer at MAS, told the Financial Times in an interview.
Subscribe to our Telegram channel to get daily short digests about events that shape the crypto world
Mohanty noted that the watchdog will be «brutal and unrelentingly hard» on illegal activity conducted by crypto businesses. He said:
«We have been called out by many cryptocurrencies for not being friendly. My response has been: friendly for what? Friendly for a real economy or friendly for some unreal economy?»
Singapore Regulator to Study the Possibilities of DeFi Protocols
Meanwhile, Singapore wants to speed up its work on a central bank digital currency (CBDC) so that the state-backed alternative to bitcoin (EXANTE: Bitcoin) could be launched within three years.
Access more than 50 of the world’s financial markets directly from your EXANTE account – including NASDAQ, London Stock Exchange and Tokyo Stock Exchange


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A bin full of cases for an 'iPhone 5C' has been photographed and leaked to the internet. Could this be more confirmation that a cheaper, plastic iPhone will soon be released by Apple?
...of Microsoft money, ARM's acquisition, and Windows 10 updates
Samsung Galaxy S7 edge Lens Cover
Expanding mobile photography with Aukey's wide-angle lenses
JESBOD QY13 sports Bluetooth earphones
Time is running out to claim your free Windows 10 upgrade
windows 10 upgrade
Insider build 14393.3 for PC and Mobile released to Fast ring
A German website is claiming via a "credible source" that both the 5S and budget variant will launch in early September. An early September launch has already been nixed by The Loop however.


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Harry Potter: Wizards Unite, the location-based augmented reality (AR) game from Pokemon Go creator Niantic, will be retired on January 31, 2022. The game will be removed from the App Store, Google Play, and Samsung Galaxy Store on December 6, 2021, Niantic announced. Additionally, as of December 6th, players will no longer be able to make in-game purchases. The game’s community forum and all associated social media channels will also close on January 31st. Niantic recently announced the release of a new game, Pikmin Bloom, in partnership with Nintendo.
Niantic announced the withdrawal of Harry Potter: Wizards Unite on November 2nd through a blog post. The creator of Pokemon Go has not revealed the reason for the game’s shutdown. “Not all games are meant to last. Our goal with Harry Potter: Wizards Unite was to bring the magic of the wizarding world to life for millions of players as they went outside and explored their neighborhoods – a year-long narrative story arc that will soon be completed, “the company said.
As previously mentioned, Niantic will be removing Harry Potter: Wizards Unite from the App Store, Google Play and the Samsung Galaxy Store starting December 6th. In addition, users will no longer be able to make in-game purchases on the same day. All functions and servers for Harry Potter: Wizards Unite will be switched off on January 31, 2022.
Niantic launched Harry Potter: Wizards Unite on Android and iOS back in 2019 after its 2016 hit Pokemon Go gained worldwide popularity. Harry Potter: Wizards Unite was jointly developed by Niantic and Warner Bros. from AT&T.
Pokemon Go is still leading the segment. The game recently topped $ 5 billion (roughly Rs 37,323 billion) in lifetime revenue in five years, according to a Sensor Tower report. Pokemon Go raised up to $ 641.6 million (about Rs.4.822 billion) in the first half of 2021 alone, Sensor Tower data shows.
It’s not the first time Niantic has decided to complete a game. In September of this year, the company decided to dissolve Catan – World Explorers. The game will be withdrawn entirely on November 18th. The company has already taken the game off the App Store and removed real money purchases from the shop. Niantic has also launched a new location-based AR game Pikmin Bloom. Similar to Pokemon Go, Pikmin Bloom also asks players to go outside and discover their surroundings. The game involves collecting seedlings and creating a squad of Pikmin.


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Two-day parade of epic deals will take place next month.
Better start saving up – after the official launch of Amazon.ae and Prime in the UAE, it is now introducing Prime Day in the UAE for the first time ever. Prime Day starts at midnight on Monday, July 15 and will run for 48 hours. If you’re a Prime member, you’ll be treated to a plethora of deals, offers flash sales. The UAE will officially join the U.S., U.K., Spain, Singapore, Netherlands, Mexico, Luxembourg, Japan, Italy, India, Germany, France, China, Canada, Belgium, Austria and Australia for Prime Day.
“Get ready, as we pull back the curtain to reveal exclusive products, special performances and two full days of phenomenal deals this Prime Day,” said Jeff Wilke, Amazon CEO Worldwide Consumer. “Our vision is that Prime Day should be the absolute best time to be a member – when you can enjoy shopping, savings, entertainment and some of the best deals Prime members have ever seen. Stay tuned as we reveal exclusive savings, as well as world-class entertainment and more, leading up to Prime Day on July 15 and 16.”
So prepare those wallets, as Prime Day will take place on July 15th and 16th. If you’re not yet a Prime member, you can sign up easily from your Amazon.ae account where you can take advantage of a 30-day free trial. Once you’re a member, you can take advantage of free next day deliveries and a 50 percent discount on same day deliveries. You’ll also have unlimited access to Prime Video and Twitch Prime.
You can check out more details at Amazon.ae/Prime.


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On the internet film and Television set show streaming has taken more than the net by storm, in particular thanks to products and services like Netflix, Hulu and some others. Presently, you can uncover dozens of the two paid out and free streaming apps, while not all of them are no cost. The hunt for unlawful streaming platforms intensified recently contacting out authorized challenges, and just one of them is the Solex Tv set app that abruptly shut down with nothing at all but a information left driving.
With lawful actions on the internet starting to be extra and additional distinguished, many unlawful companies experienced from remaining shut down. The Solex Television application is not the only 1, with Kodi Addon and Develop repositories getting shut down not long ago, as described by TorrentFreak. The lawful difficulty has absent so significantly that @KODIUKTV shared a tweet explaining the legal difficulties that are heading on thanks to this repo and incorporate-on.
We took our internet site offline 10times ago closed our repo and the builds because of to lawful demands towards us.
We will say far more when we can carry the site back again up securely. But the builds & repo will not be again nor will we host any increase-ons anymore for any person.
Stay tuned. #KODIUKTV
— KODIUKTV 🛡 (@kodiuktv) 13 November 2019
Now, a group of Reddit end users noticed that the Solex Tv app has also become unavailable, thanks to copyright and other authorized challenges. For those who don’t know, Solex Television is a free of charge Android app that streams motion pictures and Tv displays totally free of charge and usually updates its delivers with new titles and episodes.
There is not considerably information and facts offered to the end users of this application, but due to the reports on the discussion platforms like Reddit, it is possible that the developers of the app were being caught providing unlawful information staying streamed which caused the app to shut down. The application is blank with a pop-up update screen that indicates end users install a authorized application like Netflix and Hulu and appreciate legal on-need Tv set displays and movies.
“Please use lawful apps like Netflix and Hulu! We have closed down thanks to legal troubles! My server has been receiving with (sic) copyright notices! There is very little extra for me to do! Use authorized apps!” the update of the developer reads.
It’s worthy of noting that the update textual content is visible only when end users open the application, but not when you go to the official web-site. That stated, end users may possibly nonetheless be able to download the APK.
Offered this recognize, the upcoming of Solex Television application appears to be gloomy, and it’s however unclear irrespective of whether the developer plans to depart far more notices or a a lot more comprehensive update about the copyright problems the app has been struggling with. It is also nevertheless unidentified who’s powering the lawful challenges that brought on this application to get shut down.
On the internet streaming services are now on the hunt for streaming illegal written content, meaning that the authorities and ISPs around the entire world are using the illegal streaming industry extremely critically. Streaming platforms have taken mirror torrent web sites right away, with written content being extra obtainable, not requiring a download and available in diverse options, which designed seeing significantly a lot easier than viewing traditional torrent lookup engines.
With threats and web page censorship currently being so regular and intense, we would suggest to our visitors to also use authorized software program and applications to stay away from trouble down the road.
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A group dedicated to environmental protection and corporate responsibility known as “As You Sow” released a letter from Dunkin’ Donuts Director of Corporate Social Responsibility recently, outlining Dunkin’ Donuts decision to alter their powdered doughnut formula. The letter stated that the company will be moving away from the use of titanium dioxide in its tasty treats.
The letter was a response to a proposal put forward by the advocacy group last year attempting to force the major brand to cut down on using a whitening agent which they claim has significant food safety issues. Titanium dioxide is primarily used as an agent to brighten substances that are white in colour, such as toothpaste or sugar. However, certain groups have argued that it can lead to significant health problems when consumed.
The company response
In 2013, the advocacy group “As You Sow” commissioned an independent study to test ten different types of doughnuts, which lead to the discovery of titanium dioxide in Dunkin Donuts’ and Hostess products.
Though the current data regarding nanomaterials is incomplete, initial studies have shown that these tiny particles could cause a range of harmful results, including “DNA and chromosomal damage, organ damage, inflammation, brain damage” and more.
According to officials from Dunkin’ Donuts, the ingredient that is used in their powdered sugar produce does not reflect the FDA approved definition of “nanoparticle”. However, despite this, they have begun to test new formulas, and are in the process of introducing a solution that does not contain titanium dioxide.
The significance of the sweet solution
Dunkin’s decision to roll out a new formula has arrived at a particularly important time, as activist groups are beginning to pay more attention to the ingredients that big brands use in their products. Extra attention has been placed on numerous organisations, from Subway sandwiches, to McDonalds’ decision to use antibiotic-free chickens.
It seems that consumers are placing more importance on the relevance of health-conscious and safe ingredients in their foods. If brands want to keep their customers, they may need to start making steps towards healthier products.


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Behold the 2014 Aston Martin Vanquish Volante in all its convertible glory. Like its hard top twin, the convertible Vanquish boasts a 5.9-liter V12 engine with 565 horsepower and 457 pound-feet of torque. That thrust is good enough to push the car to a top speed of 183 miles per hour, and Aston Martin says the 2014 Vanquish Volante is the first of the company's convertibles to bow with body panels comprised entirely of carbon fiber. It also offers the stiffest body structure in the history of th
The Chevrolet Corvette Stingray might not be the only convertible dropping its top at the Geneva Motor Show. Based on these spy shots of the 2014 Aston Martin Vanquish Volante caught almost camouflage-free doing some winter testing, we could easily see this model making its debut at next month's Swiss show.
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- Compare Volvo XC90 and Lincoln MKX


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James Surowiecki gets on the ethanol-debate wagon. He’s not so much talking about “is ethanol good, is it bad.” He’s more interested in the absurdities of the interlinked lobbying interests of the corn and sugar industries, and how protecting domestic sugar production has the perverse effect of cementing corn’s role as the raw material for ethanol in the U.S.–even though it’s a totally second rate raw material for making ethanol.
I recently was thinking about sugar as well. Import restrictions cause the price of sugar to be extra high in the U.S. (Surowiecki says the price of sugar in the U.S. is more than twice the world average). Sugar is generally accepted to be terribly unhealthy, certainly at the quantities eaten by the average American. So maybe if the government stopped protecting the domestic sugar industry, the price of sugar in the U.S. would go down, and Americans would eat even more sugar–with a result of even more obesity and related ill health. These health problems are expensive to take care of. So maybe, ironically, by helping a few sugar daddies get very rich through quotas and subsidies (costing American consumers millions of dollars), these policies help keep Americans just a little healthier than they otherwise would be (saving Americans millions of dollars). Is it a wash? Is it actually good policy, so that the savings from avoided healthcare costs outweigh the losses to sugar inflation? I doubt it, but stranger things have happened.


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The Procter & Gamble Charmin brand has introduced its newest prototype – BRB Bot – so no one will ever know you stepped away from a video call (when nature calls). BRB Bot is a “bot” that will keep you logged on by creating a digital twin that swaps your live video feed with an AI-powered version of yourself. It was unveiled for the first time during a virtual press conference with Niecy Nash, comedian, actor, television host, model and producer and Juju Smith Schuster, Pittsburgh Steelers Wide Receiver.
“From video conference calls, to gaming, to sports, we’ve been forced to adapt to living and working virtually; however, one thing that hasn’t changed is when nature calls, you have to answer … no ifs, ands or butts about it,” said Rob Reinerman, Charmin vice president, Procter & Gamble. “At Charmin, we’re obsessed with delivering a better bathroom experience whether it be providing the best toilet paper or inventing other novel ways to help people Enjoy the Go. BRB Bot is yet another way Charmin is exploring better bathroom technology that could one day become reality.”
BRB Bot, which is currently beta-only, is a desktop app that accesses the camera feed and uses machine learning, natural language processing and tone analysis to listen to video calls and serve up the appropriate reactions in real-time so no one notices you’ve left to take a bio break. However, there are no current plans to release BRB Bot.