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The Frequency is a weekly news and talk show focused on bringing you the top stories from the real world, the tech world, and sometimes the weird world.
Hosted by Haddie Cooke and Dan Benjamin.
We discuss Google launching new maps API with better tablet maps, hackers behind Tumblr Worm say they warned Tumblr weeks ago, Instagram vulnerability on iPhone, Alibaba reaches $157 billion in sales, research shows the large number of people taking their social media with them to the bathroom, Krampus Christmas cards, research proves coffee is good for you and you can drink as much as you'd like, SMS vulnerability in Twitter, Facebook, and Venmo, iTunes would be one of the world's biggest media companies, "Amazing Spider-Man 2" casts it's Harry Osborne, Dropbox picks Dublin for its second offices, Soundcloud has 180 million users and revamps its site, and a lobster cannibalism surprise!
Sponsored by Squarespace use offer code SNOWBALLS for an additional 10% off and Convertible .
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5by5 makes podcasts for geeks, designers, developers, gamers, entrepreneurs, and people like you, with shows hosted by people including Dan Benjamin, Merlin Mann, Horace Dediu, and Jeffrey Zeldman. Read more…
Copyright © 2009–2018 by Dan Benjamin and 5by5 Productions LLC in Austin, Texas


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Chanel went old-school digital for its spring ’17 show at #PFW. The Grand Palais turned data centre—with modems, wires and LED lights strewn about—as models sauntered by in retro tweed suits inspired by circuitry, and dresses and trousers with prints that looked like screensavers of computers past.
Gilmore Girls fans can now grab a coffee at Luke’s IRL. To mark the 16th anniversary of the series premiere, Luke’s Diners will be popping up in Toronto and Vancouver today, offering free java and a chance to live that Stars Hollow life. Alas, hot diner owner not included.
Rona Ambrose is the latest Canadian leader to stand up for women’s rights. Following PM Justin Trudeau’s highly-publicized meeting with famed feminist Emma Watson, Ambrose, the interim Conservative leader, announced that she plans to put issues like violence against women and human trafficking on the agenda at the British Conservative Party conference.
It was only a matter of time before bejewelled beards hit the scene. Now courtesy of a Kickstarter campaign by designer Valeria Stroukova, beard accessories are on offer, ranging from a simple sparkly stud to a more badass skull.
Want to up your workout game? Get a buddy. A new study by the University of Aberdeen reveals that people who pair up with a partner exercise more than those who attempted to go solo.
Elle Fanning has come a long way from her days on Daddy Day Care. The actress, who will be seen next in The Neon Demon, is also the star of Tiffany & Co.’s v. sparkly digital holiday campaign.

domain: news


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Athletic apparel retailer Lululemon Athletica (LULU) reported a 60% jump in earnings for its third quarter helped by an increase in revenue as well as higher comparable store sales. The results exceeded analysts’ expectations. The yoga-clothing maker raised its guidance for the full year 2018 and guided fourth-quarter results in line with the consensus view.
Net income climbed 60% to $94.4 million and earnings jumped 65% to $0.71 per share. The results included tax expense related to the tax act during the third quarter of fiscal 2018 and the costs related to the restructuring of its Ivivva operations in the third quarter of fiscal 2017. Adjusted earnings surged by 34% to $0.75 per share.
Revenue grew 21% to $747.7 million. On a constant dollar basis, net revenue increased 22%. Total comparable sales increased 17% or up 18% on a constant dollar basis. Comparable store sales rose 6% and direct to consumer net revenue grew 44%.
Looking ahead into the fourth quarter, the company expects revenue in the range of $1.115 billion to $1.125 billion and EPS in the range of $1.64 to $1.67. Comparable sales are expected to increase in the high-single to low-double digits on a constant dollar basis.
For the full year 2018, Lululemon lifted its revenue outlook to range of $3.235 billion to $3.245 billion from the prior range of $3.185 billion to $3.235 billion. Earnings guidance was raised to the range of $3.61 to $3.64 from the previous range of $3.45 to $3.53. Total comparable sales growth are now predicted to be in the mid-teens on a constant dollar basis compared to the prior growth estimate of low teens.
The Vancouver, Canada-based company ended the third quarter with $703.6 million in cash and cash equivalents and inventories of $496 million. Lululemon ended the quarter with a total of 426 stores, up from 415 stores at the end of the second quarter of fiscal 2018.
Lululemon continued to see strong momentum across its business based on the current and future strategic investments for achieving its long-term growth objectives.
Shares of Lululemon ended Thursday’s regular session down 1.63% at $131.44 on the Nasdaq. Following the earnings release, the stock inched down over 5% in the after-market session.
Shares of FedEx Corporation (NYSE: FDX) were up 1% on Tuesday. The stock has dropped 44% year-to-date and 34% over the past 12 months. The company delivered mixed results for
After a soft start to the year, the IPO market has witnessed muted activity so far though a few big companies entered the stock market. On the heels of AIG
After a prolonged slowdown, the restaurant industry is returning to normal patterns but macroeconomic uncertainties and high inflation are currently playing spoilsport for it. While the pandemic-related slump forced many


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With the 20th run of Ultra Music Festival coming up in just 10 days, we wanted to look back on some of the memorable moments of past year's festivals.
1. Ultra's very first lineup poster for 1999, when it was called Ultra Beach Music Festival. Just look at the legends on that lineup.
2. JACK Ü closing out Ultra 2015 was a special night for pop and electronic-music genres. Justin Bieber showed up alongside Kiesza and Diddy and performed "Where Are U Now" and sparked now commonly heard radio-friendly electronic music tracks.
3. Although Steve Angello has confirmed he will not be performing this year while talking to a fan, it's nostalgic to re-watch Swedish House Mafia's amazing closing show for Ultra 2013.
4. The Arcadia Spider was a new introduction to the Resistance stage in 2016, paving way for new talent along with an insane stage design. We can't wait to see if the Spider has any new stunning visuals or jets of fire this year.
We can't wait to see and experience what Ultra 2018 has in store for all of us. Remember, as Ultra Co Founder, CEO, Chairman, Executive Producer and Talent Buyer for RESISTANCE, Russell Faibisch said to us, expect the unexpected.


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US-S’pore pact may benefit Jakarta
Singapore has proposed extending the free-trade agreement (FTA) being negotiated with the United States to Indonesia to help develop its manufacturing base and attract investment.
Bintan could be a “prototype” before the idea is “replicated” elsewhere in the country, visiting Trade and Industry Minister George Yeo said here yesterday.
He said President Megawati Sukarnoputri thought the proposal worth pursuing.
Singapore and Washington were keen to help Indonesia develop its IT manufacturing base, said BG (NS) Yeo, who arrived here on Monday for a five-day visit.
Through the US-Singapore agreement, Indonesian IT products would be subject to simplified rules and duty-free access to the US market.
“This will be very helpful and get not only American investors, but all investors, to view Indonesia as a manufacturing base for IT components. And at 10,000 rupiah to the US dollar, Indonesia is very competitive,” he said.
BG Yeo said he discussed the idea with American Trade Representative Robert Zoellick and his Indonesian counterpart Rini Suwandi.
Ms Rini, he added, suggested using Bintan as a “small experiment”, creating an area with a “special administration” that would be attractive to foreign investors.
“The agreement will not be confined to any particular location in Indonesia and South-east Asia. It is a general arrangement. But we need a prototype to operationalise it and Ibu Rini has proposed Bintan as a prototype.”
Observers said Bintan stood to benefit from increasing investment and jobs.
The latest initiative underscores Singapore’s role in bringing capital to Indonesia.
The idea is that the arrangement with the US and other countries would help extend the benefits to the region, particularly Indonesia.
Singapore has been pursuing free-trade agreements to strengthen economic and trade links. FTAs allow lowered or scrapped tariffs and enhance trade.
It has deals with New Zealand, the European Free Trade Association and Japan, and is negotiating with Canada, Australia and the US.
BG Yeo said Singapore was also discussing with Tokyo the possibility of extending its FTA to Indonesia.
This would begin the “comprehensive economic partnership” with Asean, mooted by Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi while in Singapore, he said.
He also made clear the need for a good basis for investments in Indonesia. “The key is that we must look after the needs of the investors. Above all, there must be law and order … This is a significant opportunity. And if we do it right and there is a follow through, it will be a positive signal to investors.”
BG Yeo delivers a keynote address at an Asean Free Trade Area seminar here today.
GIVING INDONESIA A BOOST
‘This will be very helpful and get not only American investors, but all investors, to view Indonesia as a manufacturing base for IT components. And at 10,000 rupiah to the US dollar, Indonesia is very competitive … ‘We must look after the needs of the investors. Above all, there must be law and order … This is a significant opportunity.’
– BG Yeo, on the US-Singapore agreement


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(MENAFN - Trend News Agency) Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 11
Azerbaijani food products are showcased at PRODEXPO 2019 exhibition in Moscow to promote the Made in Azerbaijan brand and popularize Azerbaijani products in the foreign markets, Trend reports referring to the Azerbaijani Ministry of Economy on Feb. 11.
During the exhibition, over 30 Azerbaijani companies selling food, wine and other alcoholic beverages will showcase their products at the country's stand.
PRODEXPO 2019 exhibition will last till February 15.
Follow Trend on Telegram. Only most interesting and important news


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With thousands of businesses vying for attention on social media, businesses need to offer something unique to grow their followers and customer base.
Social media geek Broden believes authenticity has helped the success of Cooking with Que, which grossed $775,000 in revenue in 2021 and is expected to top $1 million this year.
“I didn’t want to be like everyone else. I wasn’t trying to recreate the wheel, though. People choose what they like and what they think a company gives them in terms of a good product and service. customer,” she said. “I wasn’t going to give anyone something that I haven’t tried myself. There are people who project an image to sell a product but would never actually use that product in their daily life. I wanted just showing people what I knew and it’s worked so far.”
Companies use different social media platforms for different purposes and to reach different followers. Marketers will find that about 75% of US Instagram users are between the ages of 18 and 44, compared to 62% of Facebook users in the same demographic. Sixty-nine percent of Twitter users are between the ages of 18 and 49, while teenagers make up the largest group on TikTok’s short-form video platform.
“I use Facebook for the Live feature,” Broden said. “People on Facebook love interacting with you. They want to feel like they’re your family. For me, they want a recipe easily, and right in front of them. On Instagram, they want to see pictures more, and for those pictures to tell a story.”
Broden also drives social media followers to her website where they can shop weekly meal plans, find recipes and make reservations for The Kitchen.
Gazelle uses Instagram’s “stories” feature to feature products with shopping links. A “shop” tab on its Facebook page features a handful of hot items that can be viewed and purchased on the Gazelle website with the click of a button.
“We have developed comprehensive strategies for each platform we use,” Gazelle’s Cross said. “We lead with our best brand, then determine how it appears in emails, social media, our website and other platforms.”
Not all posts should focus on selling a product because consumers want to engage and even get to know a business owner.
Broden plans each shift. Each week, she posts a recipe, a “Que” tip that focuses on food preparation and storage, and a “Day in the Life” post that gives followers insight into how her business works and a bit of her life. personal.
“You don’t want to post every day because people can get bored of you, but you need to post frequently so your customers and potential customers know you’re there,” Broden said. “If you don’t post, the algorithm used by sites can see it and send you lots of feeds, so users on the platform might forget about you.”


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Recently IBM announced that it would be backing Spark in it’s effort to embrace and promote Open Source. At this, technology entrepreneur and co-founder of the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, Ben Horowitz said, “It’s like Spark just got blessed by the enterprise rabbi.” So this is the position that IBM commands as it stands as a technology company supporting it’s clients for over a century. In this blog I will share Seven reasons why major corporations around the world rely heavily on IBM for critical services and solutions.
1. Innovation: Once IBM’s CEO asked one of top Indian Telco customer to describe IBM in one word. They immediately said – Innovation. Innovation is in IBMers DNA. Watson is just an illustration of IBM’s innovative prowess which demolished human competitors in a highly touted series of Jeopardy! games. IBM has been the top position in number of inventions for more than two decades now. You can read some notable inventions here. From eWeek: “IBM might be, at heart, an old school, enterprise-focused company, but it also keep coming up with innovative ideas, including artificial intelligence, supercomputing and the role of the mainframe in cloud computing. The company’s Watson invention is one of the most important it’s brought to the public in some time, and its work on capturing and analyzing big data to make it actionable in a corporate environment could have a positive effect on the world for decades to come.”
2. Understands Customers Needs: Management expert (and author of books such as Built to Last) Jim Collins says, “If you consider what IBM’s mission is, it’s not about computers or technology. It’s about allowing its individual employees to create ways for its customers to solve operational problems. Whether that’s a task best done with scales, typewriters or computers doesn’t matter; what matters is that customers’ needs are answered.” IBM understands the business of Enterprises and so is the market Leader the Gartner’s Magic quadrant in almost any technology area.
3. Spread Across Geographies: IBM has it’s offices in over 170 countries making it easy to reach an executive to get a demo or a quick help. In my induction to IBM 13 years back I was told that it is one the top three most popular brand name around the world!
4. Trust: Which of the company can an Enterprise trust that will last for the next decade? Will it be acquired by another company and with its fate unknown? IBM has managed to have organic growth to survive 10 decades. Nobody will ever complete a leveraged buy out of IBM. When a company is looking for important solutions in key areas such as infrastructure software or security, the vendor’s reputation and trustworthiness are crucial considerations. There is an old saying in the industry: “Nobody ever got fired for buying IBM.”
5. Big Pockets: Why IBM is a Leader in most of Gartner’s magic quadrants? You guessed it. Either it innovates to be there or it acquires the company which is there. Mobile and Cloud solutions market are on rise and IBM is ready with $4 billion investment in these areas. Hardware operations lost half a billion dollars in 2013 due to large shifts in the commodity hardware market. For most companies, that sort of loss would spell the end, but given that IBMs big pocket, the management team is simply transitioning the business through this change cycle.
6. Experience: IBM survived several recessions, technological shifts and intense competition and demonstrated a strength shared by most 100-year-old companies: the ability to learn and change. For example, many enterprises are now joining the band wagon of big data, whereas IBM’s InfoSphere Information Server has over a decade of experience in big data movement and data governance. You may watch this video that captures IBM’s 100 years of experience that changed the world.
7. Stack Integration: The one advantage you get with IBM is that IBM does everything – from silicon to solutions (end-to-end). Morningstar analyst Peter Wahlstrom says, “IBM holds a defensible position in enterprise software, services and hardware. While each of these businesses is an industry leader in its own right, the combination of these products and services provides the firm with a unique solution creation perspective and delivery ability that is key to its wide economic moat.“‘
I hope this would have been an interesting read – specially when it comes from an IBM developer who had been developing market leading software since over a decade.
Disclaimer: The postings on this site are my own and don’t necessarily represent IBM’s positions, strategies or opinions


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Huawei is set to launch the P40 series the Huawei P40, Huawei P40 Pro, and Huawei P40 Pro Premium Edition on the 26th of this month . The devices will be launched in an online-only event following the growing cases of the coronavirus pandemic.
The company decided to hold this conference online to keep extra safety measures for all attendees.
We expect a vanilla P40, three-cam P40 Pro with periscope shooter, and P40 Premium with five cameras in huge rectangular camera setup. It has also been confirmed that the phones will bear 5G variants.
Having 5G connectivity, however, it’s clear that they will sport the Kirin 990 5G chipset which was also predicted by the tipsters. It was also projected that “Huawei might introduce graphene technology to the P40’s without increasing the volume and helping to speed up charging. The battery is equipped with a 50W fast charge system to recharge in only 45 minutes,” according to daily trends.
Huawei P40 series design and features
Huawei P40 features a flat punch-hole display. The renders also reveal a pill-shaped cutout on the top left corner of the screen housing two selfie shooters.
The P40 Pro features a curved display, and recent P40 Pro Premium Edition renders also reveal a similar curved display.
The P40 and P40 Pro sport a USB port without a headphone jack.
The Pro model of the device will have a 6.5 inch OLED screen with a 120HZ refresh rate and a dual punch selfie camera and a similar waterfall look as the Mate 30 Pro.
From the renders, the phone might have a five sensor camera produced with Leica on the back.
The main camera lens might have 64 megapixels with a 20-megapixel ultrawide lens. Other components are a 12-megapixel telephoto lens and a dedicated macro lens and a time of flight sensor too.


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Tracker is helping dealers comply with new COVID-19 measures to protect themselves and the public while protecting stock driven on unaccompanied test drives.
The vehicle security and telematics specialist has launched a new range of "self-install devices" which enable dealers to see where vehicles are during the test drive and can raise an alert if they go outside a specified area.
If a vehicle is stolen, they can also help the police force's locate and recover efforts.
Mark Rose, managing director at Tracker, said: “The automotive industry is working through a challenge bigger than it has faced in decades, and no one knows for sure how long it will be before it fully recovers. In such difficult times, the industry must work together to support each other.
“We have launched our self-installed tracking devices with simple subscription terms including a free initial six-month subscription, so that dealers can protect stock on forecourts of any size, as soon as possible.”
Car thefts have increased 52% in the past six years and more than half of those without tracking devices in place are never recovered. Even with customer checks in place, unaccompanied test drives pose an increased risk unless vehicles are effectively protected.
The company said that its devices be hidden discretely within the car prior to each test drive or left in the vehicle permanently for added protection.
Following the announcement from Prime Minister Boris Johnson that car showrooms in England could re-open from June 1 Vertu Motors chief executive Robert Forrester told BBC Breakfast how the car retail sector will “trust customers” to take unaccompanied test drives as retailing gets back underway.
Forrester outlined the changes that had been made to minimise customers’ risk of exposure to COVID-19 coronavirus in a showroom and during the wider car buying process during the interview and said that unaccompanied test drives would be one key area of change for car buyers at Vertu Motors sites across the UK.
Asked about the risks taken by the business in letting people drive away in a brand new car unaccompanied, Forester said: “When you actually go for a test drive you will be the only person in the car, which will be quite a major change for customers.
“There are some fairly obvious potential risks, but I think we trust the vast majority of customers to do the right thing, to do the right routes and come back.”
Rose said: “The new rules that have allowed dealerships to reopen are necessary to help all dealers operate safely, protecting all employees and customers from the risk of infection.
"The restrictions and requirements are a new challenge for any dealer to implement and enforce, and they do not need the added worry of potential loss of stock through unaccompanied test drives.
“As the industry works to get stock and cash moving once again, Tracker is helping to provide peace of mind that vehicle theft will not cause further loss of profits than have been seen due to the nationwide lockdown.”


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Woolworths has come under fire from some shoppers, unhappy that the supermarket’s new paper bags are made in China.
The retail giant announced the release of the bags, which are made from 70 per cent recycled paper, on June 3 after a trial earlier this year was “very well received” by customers.
But now some shoppers have taken to Facebook to share their disappointment after noticing the “Made in China” label on the bottom of the bags.
A Woolworths spokesperson has told 7NEWS.com.au the retailer is now exploring options to have the bags made locally.
The announcement comes just hours after shoppers voiced their concern over the bags.
“Just found out that the new paper bags that were announced this week, come from China,” said one shopper on social media.
“It would have been nice to have them made in Australia. How can we support Australians if large corporations don’t give us the option? Very disappointed.”
Added another: “Shame on you Woolworths. Promoting the use of the paper bags that are made in China. Surely they should have been manufactured here in Australia.”
“So they’re not made in Australia … When they are then perhaps people might buy them,” said a third.
Other customers were sympathetic to Woolworths’ decision.
“So you’ll be asking people to throw out and stop using their iPhones when exactly?” asked one.
Said another: “Yeah we should produce them in Australia for 5x the cost and then whinge about how the paper bag costs so much more than the plastic.”
A Woolworths spokesperson said it is working on an Australian-made solution.
“We’ve been exploring options to source paper bags locally,” the spokesperson said.
“We’ll continue working closely with Australian manufacturers to see if we can find a viable solution as soon as possible.”
Watch below: Woolworths announces the launch of 60 new products


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The fast food chain, McDonald’s, is asking for views on the possibility of opening a branch in Carnforth.
The company is asking locals to register their support for one, which would include a drive-thru.
The views expressed will help them build any future planning applications.
The survey says that a new McDonald’s could bring up to 120 new jobs to the area, and that a new branch would support the local economy.
The nearest McDonald’s to Carnforth is currently at Sunnyfield, just off the Bay Gateway in Morecambe, or Caton Road in Lancaster.
Councillor Jim Grisenthwaite, Town Mayor, for Carnforth Town Council, said: “A number of people have contacted Carnforth Town Council recently asking about a proposed McDonalds drive through restaurant coming to Carnforth.
"Carnforth Town Council is generally supportive of developments that will bring inward investment and jobs to the town but up until today the Town Council has received no communication about the proposal either from McDonald’s themselves or Lancaster City Council (the planning authority) and we are unable therefore to make any comment about it.
“Until such time as we have an opportunity to discuss any proposal in detail in order to identify its pros and cons, we will reserve our opinion but we are not in favour of businesses canvassing public opinion in a manner that seeks to pre-empt the official planning process.
“We will let residents and local businesses know when we receive official notification of McDonald’s intentions.”


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The purchase involves part of HTC’s design and engineering operations, as well as some of the Taiwanese company’s intellectual property, according to two people familiar with the terms. The purchase price was likely to be between $500m-$1bn, the sources said.
Google created its own hardware division last year and launched the Pixel, the first smartphone to feature only the Google brand and to be designed in-house. It hired HTC as the contract manufacturer for the phone, extending a close handset partnership that stretches back to the first device to carry Google’s Android operating system, in 2008.
So Google purchased part of HTC’s Design and Engineering operations, IP/Patents and the team the worked on Pixel. There’s also a post on HackerNews that indicates that Google also acquired HTC’s Radio Frequency Lab subsidiary.
Is this Google’s new RF Lab?


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Therese Coffey claims 5p charge is not warranted as industry and chains are already doing enough voluntarily to reduce waste
Ministers have rejected calls for a charge on the 2.5 billion disposable coffee cups thrown away each year because they believe coffee shop chains are already taking enough action to cut down waste...
Plus Danish diets, China climate policy signals, and all the top green business news from around the world this week
Major report makes the case for new carbon tax on imported goods and goods, as the Environment Secretary reveals the UK's climate targets could eventually cover carbon embodied in imported goods
As the sustainable finance sector booms, asset managers and owners are under increasing pressure to use their financial clout to steer a greener future
More than 100 billion garments are produced annually, and many end up in the landfill


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At this year's Consumer Electronics Show (CES) XYZPrinting released three new devices for their customers to enjoy which are updates on their previous products.
The design-driven device protection solutions producer Incase is partnering with Carbon, using the 3D printing company's Digital Light Synthesis to manufacture protective device solutions with complex lattice structures that are both lightweight and impact-resistant.
Forging a new path for more accessible metal 3D printing, Desktop Metal has been granted patents for its Separable Supports technology. Designed to make metal 3D printing more accessible and safer, the tech means multi-material metal printing and hand-removable supports.
At the University of Canterbury, academics have developed original tech to produce heat exchangers that could have wide-ranging applications, from motorsports to laptop batteries.
London-based architecture studio Mamou-Mani has successfully pitched to build Burning Man 2018's Temple. The winning design, Galaxia, will feature a 3D printed mandala symbol at its heart.
A lot of work goes into modeling Star Wars ships like the U-Wing and the Resistance Bomber. For that, model maker Alexander Hutchings trusts Zortrax machines.
Inspired by the 12th-century Berkeley Castle in Gloucestershire, UK, this metal 3D printed sundial is a high-tech slice of history. Installed on a pedestal in the castle grounds, visitors can enjoy the 'dial for themselves.
The United States Air Force Research Lab teamed up with American Semiconductor to create an improved Silicon-on-polymer memory chip using 3D printing.
You can now 3D scan your face using Sony's 3D Creator, add a hat using MyMiniFactory's new app and 3D print the whole thing with a few simple clicks.
Sculpteo is offering two new materials on their laser cutting platform including MDF material of just 2mm thickness and Ceiba Wood plywood.
A member of the Facebook group 3D Printing has exposed a vulnerability in the design of Thingiverse that allows commenters on Things' pages to embed cryptocurrency miners. Now fixed, the malicious comments hijacked vulnerable computers and used them to mine for digital currency.
Metal additive manufacturing company, Sintavia, broke ground ready for the new facility to be built before late 2018. The site will be 55,000 square foot.
After fundraising on IndieGoGo back in the summer, AstroReality is taking its ridiculously realistic model Moons to CES. Fabricated with the help of industrial 3D printers, the tiny celestial bodies use AR to educate and inspire.
Customized laser 3D printed coasters are a thing now. Design your own with The Coaster Toasty to liven up your parties at home.
Researchers from Purdue University have developed an inkjet-inspired 3D printing technique that offers a more precise and safer way to deposit energetic materials.


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Business News›Uber Technologies
SoftBank steps up asset sales from sinking portfolio
Softbank's Vision Fund exited a swathe of assets in the April-June quarter - including ride hailer Uber Technologies.
SoftBank posts $17 billion Vision Fund loss in first quarter
Plunging initial public offering volumes and market scepticism towards money-losing startups have squeezed an important source of capital for SoftBank, which hopes to list chip designer Arm following the collapse of a sale to Nvidia.
Zomato, Paytm and PB Fintech among 35 BSE500 constituents rallying over 10% this week
Airline operator SpiceJet was the best performing index stock, as it rallied 29.11 per cent for the week to Rs 49.45 a piece and now commands a market value close to Rs 3,000 crore. The stock surge amid news the airline is in talks with a Middle Eastern carrier for a 24 per cent stake sale.
Tiger Global latest to sell Zomato stake as lock-in ends
Zomato had a blockbuster listing on the Indian stock exchanges on July 23 last year, and its shares more than doubled to an all-time high of ₹169.10 on November 16. Shares of Zomato plunged to an all-time low of ₹40.55 on July 25 after the lock-in period for pre-initial public offering (IPO) shares ended.
Tiger Global nearly halves Zomato stake; key takeaways from Premiere of ET Soonicorns Summit
A day after Uber sold its entire 7.8% stake in Zomato for a reported $392 million comes news that another in the food delivery company has been offloading shares in chunks since the lock-in period for pre-IPO investors expired on July 23.
Uber exits Zomato by selling 7.8% stake, two biggies buy stakesFidelity's emerging market fund bought 5.44 crore shares of Zomato today in the bulk deal at an average price of Rs 50.26. ICICI Prudential Life Insurance bought 4.5 crore shares at Rs 50.25 per share.
India withdraws data privacy bill; Uber sells Zomato stake for $392MOn Wednesday, IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw withdrew the contentious data privacy bill and said the government was working on a new one
Uber Technologies likely to sell 7.8% stake in Zomato through block dealThe sale has been fixed at Rs 48-Rs 54 apiece, a discount of 2.8-13.6% to Tuesday’s closing price of Rs 55.55 on the National Stock Exchange.
Uber likely to sell 7.8% Zomato stake today; Foxconn expands TN factoryUber said in its earnings report on Tuesday that it had suffered an unrealised loss of $245 million on its investment in Zomato during the second quarter, and $707 million in the first half of 2022.
Uber turns cash flow positive for the first timeGrowth at its delivery business was slowing but Uber expected ordering in to become the standard for consumers as it continues to add new partners. The delivery segment's revenue rose 37% to $2.69 billion, while that of ride-share business surged 120% to $3.55 billion in the quarter ended June 30.
Uber turns cash flow positive for the first timeUber reported positive quarterly cash flow for the first time ever and forecast third-quarter operating profit above estimates, betting on steady demand for its ride-hailing and food-delivery services.
'Absolute rubbish, we will never merge': Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal on reports of merger talks with UberBhavish Aggarwal said in a tweet that Ola is very profitable and growing well and if some other companies want to exit their business from India they are welcome to.
Comb your hair, shape your pecs and perfect that karate chop — all using the same mirrorA Hyderabad-based company has designed an ‘intelligent mirror’ that brings exercise classes to your living room. It sees this as a way to tap into the promising home fitness segment, which has found wings after the Covid pandemic.
Uber India partners with fintech company Moove to improve driver participationThe startup offers accessible vehicle financing exclusively to drivers on the Uber's platform.
Ecommerce sales tepid; upstarts seek to disrupt Ola, UberEcommerce has generally boomed over the past two years thanks to lockdowns and other pandemic-induced restrictions. But with the wider economy back in business, big ongoing sales by Amazon and Flipkart have drawn a lukewarm response. Inflation and the RBI’s squeeze on fintech firms may also be partly to blame.
Uber admits covering up 2016 hacking, avoids prosecution in US settlementUber is also cooperating with the prosecution of a former security chief, Joseph Sullivan, over his alleged role in concealing the hacking.
SoftBank deal flow halved after portfolio takes heavy lossesSoftBank put money into 35 startups and participated in financing rounds valued at $5.1 billion over the past three months.
Uber to pay more than $2 million to settle US disability lawsuitAs part of a two-year agreement, Uber will waive wait time fees for certified disabled riders and pay $1,738,500 to more than 1,000 riders who complained about the charges and $500,000 to others harmed by the practice, the department said. Uber will also credit accounts for more than 65,000 eligible riders, it added.
Uber, US DOJ settle lawsuit on overcharging people with disabilitiesAs part of the agreement, Uber said it was committed to waive wait-time fees for riders who certified they needed more time to get to the car because of their disability.
US: 550 women sue Uber for sexual assaults by driversThe women said in their complaint that they were kidnapped, sexually assaulted, sexually battered, raped, falsely imprisoned, stalked, harassed or otherwise attacked by Uber drivers, per a court filing, IANS reported citing TechCrunch.
Uber sued by more than 500 women passengersThe complaint, filed by Slater Slater Schulman LLP in San Francisco, alleges that women were "kidnapped, sexually assaulted, sexually battered, raped, falsely imprisoned, stalked, harassed or otherwise attacked" in their rides. It claims Uber has known about the sexual misconduct by some of the drivers, including rape, since 2014.
Indian EV ride-hailing firm BluSmart close to raising $250 million: CEOBluSmart, which runs an all-electric vehicle (EV) fleet, was expecting to finalise deals with impact funds and private equity investors within the next two months, Anmol Jaggi said. Jaggi did not disclose the valuation at which money is being raised but said ride-hailing companies such as BluSmart are typically valued at 15-18 times their annual revenue run rate.
Uber lobbied, used 'stealth' tech to block scrutiny: reportThe International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, a nonprofit network of investigative reporters, scoured internal Uber texts, emails, invoices and other documents to deliver what it called "an unprecedented look into the ways Uber defied taxi laws and upended workers' rights.''
Uber continues global expansion with launch in IsraelUber, which operates in more than 70 countries and 10,000 cities globally, will compete locally with services such as Gett and Yango.
Uber agrees to Australia minimum pay body after similar moves in Britain, CanadaIn the statement on Tuesday, Uber general manager for Australia Dom Taylor said the company wanted "to see a level playing field for the industry and preserve the flexibility that gig workers value.
Uber to hire 500 techies for India tech centres by DecemberThe app-based mobility and delivery company has a 1,000-member tech team across its centres in Hyderabad and Bengaluru. In a statement, the company said the hiring plan underlines Uber's commitment to India, and its recognition of the engineering talent in the country.
StanPlus appoints Uber's Suhas Kulkarni as chief technology, product officer and founding memberIn this role, Kulkarni will be driving and building technology-led applications that will help in contributing to the company's vision to become and build India’s fastest and most equipped medical response system.Load More
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The overriding theme of the third annual meeting of the National Initiative for Consumer Horticulture (NICH), held in Atlanta June 27-29, was a shared love for plants and a shared passion for the horticulture industry.
NICH started as an idea to unite all stakeholders in consumer horticulture and get 90% of U.S. households gardening by 2025. Around 80 U.S. green industry leaders and innovators — from academia to commercial growers to associations — pooled their collective brainpower at the meeting and created a strategic plan to achieve that mission.
The plan is centered on several big ideas:
1. Grow consumer horticulture
2. Build unified engagement across consumer horticulture
3. Ensure federal, state and other sources of funding
At the meeting, Marvin Miller of Ball Horticulture imagined another big idea. He saw NICH as a big tent with open sides.
“I was thinking an umbrella was too small and restrictive,” Miller said. “NICH is more like a big tent so people can come under the tent and join the cause, yet have the freedom to be independent for their specific objectives and operate for those specific objectives outside the tent.
“We all can appreciate the opportunity to expand the use of plants and the appreciation for horticulture and grow the horticultural community,” Miller continued. “In my mind, this is where NICH can play a significant role in bringing those with these common goals together.”
Casey Sclar, NICH’s Inaugural Chair and Executive Director of the American Public Gardens Association, continued the tent analogy by noting that NICH welcomes all sectors to gather under this tent and creates one powerful, unified voice to promote the value of plants and ultimately grow all aspects of end-use horticulture.
Optimism Runs Rampant
Attendees at the NICH meeting, ranging from seasoned veterans to millennials, spanned all sectors of consumer horticulture. Here are perspectives from a few other attendees on what they experienced:
• Cammie Donaldson, Executive Director of the Native Plant Horticultural Foundation, joined NICH long before she attended her first meeting in Atlanta. Donaldson and several Florida native plant growers attended the meeting and agreed to support the big tent building process (unification) and anything else they can to move NICH forward.
• This was the first time Beth Tuttle, President & CEO of the American Horticultural Society, attended an NICH meeting. She viewed it as an opportunity to meet some of the true leaders from across the horticultural landscape: industry, government, academia, and nonprofits.
“A coordinated, collective action strategy to advance consumer participation and success in horticulture is the way to instill a culture of gardening in all Americans,” Tuttle said. “We are proud to be a part of this important initiative.”
• For Susan Yoder, Executive Director of Seed Your Future, what was most impressive was the collaborative desire and passion for the big picture.
“Without plants, people — and our planet — will not survive,” Yoder said. “Can we get people to see, appreciate, enjoy, grow, buy, and talk about plants? Yes, we can!”
• First-time attendee Danny Summers, Managing Director of the Garden Center Group, says he was energized by the opportunity to have an impact on what the consumer sees, understands, and buys.
“In my view, this is the first time we have had the opportunity for the entire industry to be singing the same song,” Summers said.
Following the meeting, Summers said he sent an email the next week and asked all of his members and supporters to join NICH, pointing out the grassroots organization is not asking for money.
The meeting concluded with the group motivated, passionate, and action-oriented.
“Our next steps will drive us closer to our end goal of creating a country where everyone loves plants as much as we do,” Sclar says.


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Nokia has inked a deal to acquire Chicago-based mobile content company Novarra for an undisclosed amount of money.
Novarra’s technologies cover the mobile content ecosystem, including browsers, advertising and video. Nokia plans to launch a new service based on Novarra technology later this year.
“Connecting the next billion consumers to the Internet will happen primarily on mobile devices [and] delivering an optimized Internet experience on our devices is core to our mission,” Nokia Executive Vice President of Services Niklas Savander said in a statement. “By driving innovation in all segments of our portfolio, we are building one of the largest consumer audiences for Web services and content. Novarra’s Internet services technology delivered on the world’s most widely used mobile platform, Nokia’s Series 40, will help us achieve this.”
Novarra CEO Bruce Simpson said in a letter to shareholders that the company was “pleased” with the deal. Novarra said Nokia declared its intention to acquire the company on March 26. Novarra’s customers include Verizon, Vodafone and Yahoo!
The acquisition is expected to close in the second quarter of this year after customary regulatory approvals and closing conditions. Following the acquisition, Novarra will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Nokia.
“Over 10 years, Novarra has pioneered cloud-based technology to provide high quality, Internet services and applications on mobile networks and become the first choice for leading operators, handset OEMs and Internet brands,” Novarra COO Jayanthi Rangarajan said in a statement.


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According to recent Market Research, conducted by Allied Market Research (AMR), the LED market will reach $42.7 billion by 2020. The study is called ‘Global Light Emitting Diode (LED) Market (Technology, application and Geography), 2013-2020’.
LED light bulbs are the latest when it comes to lighting technology and with their energy efficiency, life expectancy and absence of hazardous chemicals (mercury) they have overtaken Compact Fluorescent (CFL) lighting within the lighting market.
LED light bulbs are expected to have a 20% share of the global lighting market by 2020. However, the demand for basic LED in backlighting applications would decline as OLED broadens its horizons of applications and would eventually overtake LED based mobile displays. When it comes to technology LED light bulbs currently hold 60% of the market but this may change with the rapid expansion of OLED technology.
AMR analyst, Ranjan Singh, said:
The growth in revenue will be slower than the rise in unit sales of LED light bulbs due to the constantly declining price of LED. However, the overall market would grow at a constant pace due to growing demand for LED light bulbs and expanding applications. Continuous development in the technology suggests huge underlying potentials for OLED light bulbs during the forecast period.
Osram opened its LED assembly plan in Wuxi, China to expand it’s LED capacities and to strengthen its place in the global LED market. The key companies in the market include: Cree, International Light Technology, Philips, LEDtronics, Osram, Samsung and GE Lighting. Bichia, Samsung and Osram held nearly 35% share in the global LED market revenue in 2013.


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(Adds executive comment, background)
AMSTERDAM (MarketWatch) -- Dutch office goods supplier Corporate Express NV (CXP.AE) - the target of a recently spurned offer from U.S. competitor Staples Inc. SPLS - Tuesday said in a first-quarter trading update that organic sales rose 2% in North America in the period and 3% in Europe, adding that it's "in a robust position to outperform the market."
Three analysts polled by Dow Jones had expected organic sales growth in this year's first three months of 2% in North America and were looking for 4.5% sales growth in Europe.
Peter Ventress, Chief Executive at Corporate Express said that "today's trading update indicates the momentum that our company has and reflects the strength and potential of our strategic initiatives. ... We are confident our actions, strategic priorities and strong market positions put us in a robust position to outperform the market."
U.S. competitor Staples on Feb. 19 made a EUR7.25 per share offer for the Amsterdam-based office-products supplier, valuing the company at EUR2.5 billion. Corporate Express turned down the offer the same day, though, saying the intended bid significantly undervalued the company.
Corporate Express is hosting its annual shareholder meeting Tuesday and investors expect to hear more about how the Dutch company expects to create more value than the outstanding offer by Staples.
Corporate Express said it will publish a further update on its strategic plan when it reports its full first-quarter results, scheduled for May 7.
The company also closed a new credit facility, consisting of a 5-year revolver of EUR175 million, a 5-year amortizing Term A facility of EUR200 million and a 6-year Term B facility EUR205 million.
Corporate Express shares closed Monday at 0.3% higher at EUR7.48 in a broadly higher market.
Company Web site: www.cxpgroup.com


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MSG Tours and the Coronavirus
“Stay calm, wash your hands and listen to the experts”
Those are the words posted on Twitter by a certain Barack Obama about Coronavirus. He’s pretty wise, so we’ll heed his advice.
Protect yourself and your community from coronavirus with common sense precautions: wash your hands, stay home when sick and listen to the @CDCgov and local health authorities. Save the masks for health care workers. Let’s stay calm, listen to the experts, and follow the science.
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) March 4, 2020
There’s no need to panic and buy a lifetime supply of hand-sanitiser and facemasks. We just need to go about our everyday life as normal, wash our hands with a little more vigour and follow official advice.
The Tourism industry and coronavirus
While we understand the need to take precautions, we don’t want to have any unnecessary anxiety when it comes to travelling. Tourism is vital to the economy and we’re not just talking about travel companies.
If tourism declines then it will have a knock-on effect on transport, restaurants, leisure and retail. Tourism is worth approximately 10% of the UK GDP with the economies of many countries (island nations in particular) relying heavily on holidaymakers.
This Coronavirus could infect the world’s economy, too and that can affect more people than the actual virus itself.
Staying #TravelPositive at MSG
There are a lot of question marks surrounding travel right now but there’s still plenty to shout about at MSG Tours with some vibrant globetrotting news.
Eight schools have returned from all over the globe from their tours over half-term with nothing but praise for our team. We had study trips in New York and Japan, ski trips in Italy and Georgia, and sports tours to France, Spain and South Africa.
And, 87% of our school trips for 2021 are already booked up so we are all very optimistic here.
Keep calm and travel
It has been a busy few weeks at MSG Tours and we are #TravelPositive, despite the furore surrounding Coronavirus.
- Enquiries for school travel with MSG in 2021 are at all all-time high, fuelled by our marketing stats downloaded today for the past two weeks.
- 95% of tours affected by COVID-19 related activity have re-booked with us for later dates this year.
- Our tour to New Zealand in July for Wales Summer Tour vs the All Blacks is now officially SOLD OUT.
- A Dubai 7’s 2020 package has been launched with a significant level of appreciation from our regulars.
- The MSG team have returned from their inspection visit to South Africa with limited availability remaining on our Lions Tour in 2021.
Our steps for dealing with Coronavirus
The experts at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) only advise against travel for China, two cities in South Korea and 11 small towns in Northern Italy because of COVID-19*. So, for now, we have rested these areas until they make a full recovery (and we’ll be sure to support them when the green flags are raised).
What are we going to do? We’re going to listen to Obama. We’ll wash our hands regularly, sneeze into our elbows, replace handshakes with fist bumps and keep on travelling.
#TravelPositive #KeepTravelling #WhatVirus?
*information correct, as of 06.03.2020


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What is in The Phase One Agreement Between the U.S. and China?
Earlier this month, the U.S. and China came to the table to sign what is being referred to as Phase One of a trade agreement - a de-escalation designed to mutually halt the very costly escalation of tensions between the two countries.
The agriculture section of the 86-page document addresses structural barriers to trade and multiple non-tariff barriers to U.S. agricultural and seafood products, including meat, poultry, seafood, rice, dairy, infant formula, horticultural products, animal feed, feed additives, pet food, and ag biotech products. It also supports an expansion of exports for U.S. ag and seafood products.
China has agreed to purchase U.S. agricultural products worth between $40 and $50 billion each year over the next two years. China has also agreed to import grains, DDGs and ethanol valued at a minimum of $80 billion over the coming two years. Additionally a facility registration process has been implemented that will help ease restrictions on U.S. feed additive and premix product imports with ruminant-origin or poultry-origin ingredients that have been in place since 2011.


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SnapAV announced today that it will begin distributing Sonos wireless music systems beginning next month in October. The company says it will offer the entire line – including the Sonos Port, Sonos Move, and Sonos One SL – as part of its extensive assortment of gear targeted to the professional custom integrator.
Archives for September 11, 2019
A new AV-over-IP solution popular in the pro channel is launching at CEDIA Expo – Dante by Audinate. According to the company’s announcement, Dante “dominates the world of professional audio.” The company also claims that it is rapidly being adopted by several manufacturers of residential gear as well. A fact which brings them to CEDIA.
See more on the rollout of Dante at CEDIA…[Read more…] about CEDIA 2019: Popular Pro Technology Migrates to Residential, Can You Speak ‘Dante’?
The assimilation of the custom integration industry by the once-reviled, now embraced soundbar is almost complete. And on the advent of another CEDIA Expo, yet another round of announcements of new soundbar products came rolling out. While this fact is now an accepted reality, what is remarkable is that some of these new soundbars are from companies that no reasonable person would have predicted would enter the category just a few short years ago.
See some new soundbars being launched at CEDIA Expo 2019…[Read more…] about CEDIA 2019: Soundbars Here…Soundbars There…Soundbars Everywhere
Savant announced this week that it has broadened access to more of its models through its existing partnership with the AVAD & WAVE distribution centers across the country. This expansion is for all of the existing 25 distribution centers that AVAD/WAVE have throughout the U.S. and Canada.


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On a tour of the vast Beximco garment factory in Bangladesh in 2014, I saw the upside of outsourced manufacturing: a bright and organised shopfloor; and endless rows of women churning out fashion for major brands such as Zara and Calvin Klein – as well as income for their families.
Bangladesh’s garment industry has its flaws, some of them deep - the 2013 Rana Plaza factory collapse is just one tragic reminder. But, in a city of mud-drenched poverty, the absence of a garment industry would make things worse.
So I was worried to hear a delegate at the Digital Development Summit, held in London last week (March 13), predict that robots will replace seamstresses within 15 years.
Perhaps it was more an off-the-cuff comment than studied prediction, but by all accounts, automation is coming.
While the West frets about drivers losing their jobs to automated cars, the conveners of this Summit - the Institute of Development Studies (IDS), the World Wide Web Foundation and the UK innovation foundation Nesta - fret about the effects of automation on the developing world.
They fear that poor countries will find an abrupt closure of the traditional path to prosperity: export-led manufacturing.
This “premature deindustrialisation”, as the Summit organisers called it, threatens 85 per cent of jobs in Ethiopia and over half of jobs in many South East Asian countries, according to several studies published last year.
The threat extends to the millions involved in “business process outsourcing” – service-industry activity such as data transcription or IT support.
“So many international development actors are largely unprepared for the changes underfoot,” Melissa Leach, director of IDS, told the meeting.
“The stakes in this, I must emphasise, couldn’t be higher.” Mass unemployment is one; loss of revenue for governments is another; and then there's the disproportionate effect on women workers.
Amongst the worried development crowd was a sprinkling of more optimistic technologists and government representatives. They predicted new jobs we can’t yet conceive of, and robot-proof job growth in areas such as the service sector.
Automation could bring a trillion dollars of growth a year globally, according to the UN Industrial Development Organisation.
But the game-changing question is: who benefits if the growth is jobless?
Will we need an automation tax to tap this new wealth and siphon it to the unemployed, perhaps in the form of a universal basic income?
Will we need to rethink how economies work, with “nothing less than a global New Deal for a digital world,” as called for by Ben Ramalingam of IDS?
Certainly the day was filled with calls for visionary thinking: “This is an opportunity to reimagine how economies are structured and we should not lose out on that opportunity,” said Anne Jellema, CEO of the Web Foundation.
Beximco has flourished partly because its leaders had the vision to revolutionise the garment production chain so it could respond to rapidly shifting fashion tastes. How manufacturers like this one will deal with the next wave of innovation —and how those hundreds of brightly dressed seamstresses will make a living – remains to be seen.
This article originally appeared on SciDevNet under a CC-BY licence


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By Peter Radizeski, RAD-INFO
After flying back from Channel Partners, I hit Miami Beach for the Voice Peering Fabric Forum.
About 200 high-level execs from companies on the VPF attended. (For those that don’t know, the VPF is a network for VoIP minute exchange, ENUM and CLEC services in an ASP model, such as E-911, LNP and CNAM.)
There was definitely an international flavor with France Telecom, Telecom Italia Sparkle, pulse (Canada), BT, Brasil Telecom and Voxbone (Belgium). It was amazing to hear from Europe where it seems they have zoomed by the United States. In France and the United Kingdom, regulation has resulted in a very open market, causing FT and BT to re-examine their business – and , gasp, get innovative. FT lost 1.6 million customers last year to competitors. Triple play in France is $39.
Most talk is about mobility and VoIP on the cell phone (or similar device).New sources of revenue are needed. Most agreed it is about the Applications.
Seeing beyond just connectivity. Growth has been in fixed VoIP and cellular.
Who knew that SMS messaging would be huge? In the end, it is about the customer experience – and every customer’s experience is different.
As AT&T moves closer to the complete rebranding of Cingular, the latters stores will be renamed the AT&T Experience. According to the Atlanta Biz Journal, “new AT&T Experience Stores will sell AT&T’s entire portfolio of wireless, broadband, video, home networking and wireline voice products.”
RBOC’s do like to make it tough for agents to eat. Granted the stores are aimed at residential sales, but they will likely attract SOHO and VSB (very small business) sales. These are quick transactional sales that some agents target. These stores also allow for easy DSL orders. The Web, the 800 numbers, the account teams, the call centers and now brick-and-mortar. You have to be pretty creative to be a telecom agent these days.
The honoree has been a @Telarus partner since 2011. dlvr.it/RNTcY2
January 21 2020 @ 19:35:32 UTC


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Posted on :Monday , 18th February 2019
In 2018, OOMCO came up with its first mega station in Dammam, Saudi Arabia. The 40,000 square meter facility includes cafes, rest areas and five-star automated car washes.
Oman Oil Marketing Company (OOMCO) has declared a plan to extend its operations in Saudi Arabia and Tanzania.
The company plans to have four fully operational service stations in Saudi Arabia this year, its second site in the kingdom is scheduled to open by April and two more in the second half of 2019.
With its aim to invest outside the sultanate, the company has focused on Tanzania’s fuel retail market as well as its shop, food and services market.
CEO of OOMCO, David Kalife, said, “In addition to growing our business worldwide, we planned to start our expansion in neighbouring countries as they have a related business and consumer behaviour model and to carry the sultanate’s name beyond its borders.”
“The service stations in Saudi Arabia will go beyond the needs of consumers. Our dedication is always to offer the best quality services and goods while dynamize customers’ journeys and creating a charming experience for them to be always their favoured destination,” he added.
“We are also investing in Tanzania cause of the country’s projected growth in a number of vehicles, positive macroeconomic forecast and political solidity as well. We believe that our strong retail offerings will plead to the desire of the growing prosperous consumer market and fulfill not only their needs but their wants,” he stated.
OOMCO’s 2025 plans include a shift to receive 40 per cent of the local market share, boost the distribution of lubricants, and extend its network of service stations over the sultanate and worldwide.
OOMCO focuses to be one of the top five fuel marketers in the GCC by 2025. It makes great efforts to modify the industry, both locally and internationally, by coming up with innovative products and services over all features of the business.


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The Oppo F7 with 25MP front-facing camera, 6.2-inch Full HD+ notch equipped display was launched in India last month for INR 21,990. Today, the company has announced Oppo Diamond Black edition that comes with 128GB storage, 6GB RAM, and new design. The device is priced at INR 26,990 and is available from April 21st on Flipkart, Amazon and PayTM.
The Oppo F7 features a notch equipped 6.2-inch FHD+ display, offering an 88% screen-to-body ratio and 2280 x 1080 resolution with 19:9 aspect ratio. The user can use gestures to swiftly navigate between apps, with the Notch Assistant. The device is powered by a 64-bit MediaTek Helio P60 Octa-core processor, 4/6GB RAM and up to 128GB of storage. The device is packed with a 3400mAh battery with AI management technology and is running on Android 8.1, ColorOS 5.0.Oppo F7 sport a 16-megapixel f/2.0 lens on the rear along with dual-tone LED flash. The spotlight of the phone, the front-facing 25MP camera comes with real-time High Dynamic Range (HDR) sensor, the HDR images, together with AI Beauty 2.0 with its ability to make improved age and gender beautification effects, will give selfie fans a much-enriched experience. The new features of AI Beauty 2.0 include accurate facial recognition capability, better beautification effects for gender and age; Self-learning capabilities based on user preferences plus added fun features. The AI Beauty 2.0 technology scans 296 facial recognition points, a 20% improvement from the first-generation technology. The new AR (Augmented Reality) Stickers function allows you to have fun with selfies, adding cute animal or movie star like features, ready for social media sharing. Other features of the device include Dual 4G VoLTE, WiFi 802.11 ac (2.4GHz + 5GHz), Bluetooth 4.2, GPS.
OPPO F7 specifications
- 6.2-inch (2280 × 1080 pixels) Full HD+ 19:9 aspect ratio OLED display
- 64-bit Octa-Core MediaTek Helio P60 processor
- 6GB RAM
- 128GB internal memory, microSD card support up to 256GB
- Android 8.1 Oreo, ColorOS 5.0
- 16MP rear camera with LED Flash
- 25MP front-facing camera, AI technology, AI Beauty 2.0, real-time HDR
- Rear fingerprint sensor
- Dual SIM, 4G VoLTE, WiFi 802.11 ac (2.4GHz + 5GHz), Bluetooth 4.2
- 3400mAh battery
Commenting on the announcement, Mr. Will Yang, Brand Director, OPPO India said, “We always appreciate the feedback of the youth and try and come up with devices that fulfill the demands of our young consumers. We feel the color of the device will resonate well with the youth as smartphones are an extension of one’s personality in today’s day and age. With the F7 Diamond Black version we have tried to incorporate an enthralling design with an amazing storage of 128GB to ensure our consumers can store all their precious memories spent with friends and family.’’
Follow us on Twitter for more news and updates.


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PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese is helping consumers get into the holiday spirit with a new campaign that features an influencer-curated content hub which encourages consumers to turn to the brand for holiday cheesecake baking and lifestyle inspiration. The effort marks the first time the brand has placed digital at the center of its holiday marketing strategy.
“Cheesecake Cheer” elevates PHILADELPHIA through a rich, interactive digital experience that provides tips and inspiration to consumers in the kitchen and beyond. Within a dedicated microsite, users can explore multimedia content across topics such as cheesecake baking, entertaining and home décor.
Each “room” within the experience features an influencer who has collaborated with the brand to curate content based on their own personalities. Sandra Lee (Celebrity Chef), Bri Emery (founder and editor of designlovefest) and Alice Currah (creator of SavorySweetLife.com) each infuse their personal style sensibilities into the content, representing “decadent,” “fresh” and “classic,” respectively.
Our research showed that during the holiday season, people search for cheesecake recipes nearly as often as they seek general lifestyle-related content (e.g. holiday entertaining tips). Based on this insight, the brand worked with 360i to give its consumers the best of both worlds: a central destination for holiday baking and entertaining tips.
“Cheesecake Cheer marks the first time that PHILADELPHIA has placed digital at the center of our holiday marketing program, which coincides with our most critical sales window of the year,” said Christopher Urban, Senior Brand Manager at PHILADELPHIA. “The immersive, interactive nature of digital empowers us to tell a deeper and visual story about our brand – inspiring consumers to regard PHILADELPHIA as an important part of their own holiday activities.”
Beyond the Cheesecake Cheer site and the brand’s owned media channels, content is being cross-promoted on the influencers’ own blogs and social properties, as well as supported with paid advertising across relevant publishers such as TasteofHome.com and Dash.
Cover photo via Cheesecake Cheer


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Whirlpool CEO Marc Bitzer is feeling “cautiously optimistic” headed into the second half of the year after a second quarter — and June performance — that he concedes was far better than the team expected.
“June demand was globally stronger then we could have anticipated,” Bitzer told Yahoo Finance in an interview. “First of all, the back end of the year why we are cautiously optimistic it comes from our June, and we see really strong order books for July into August, and we're profitable so that's the optimistic part. The cautious part is the entire COVID scenario and what it means for consumer confidence and unemployment, and what that means for buying behavior, and is government programs start to taper off. And frankly, in particular to the U.S. market, pre-election is usually not the best time for consumer confidence. So put that all together, we are a little bit cautious about the rest of the year, but right now frankly short-term we are optimistic.”
Whirlpool performed far better than Wall Street estimates for the second quarter, which hit after the closing bell on Wednesday.
Net Sales: $4 billion versus estimates for $3.62 billion
Gross Margin: 15.6% versus estimates for 16.5%
Diluted EPS: $2.15 a share versus estimates for 99 cents a share
Full Year Sales Guidance: decline of 7% to 12% (previous: organic sales decline of 10% to 15%)
Housing market’s tailwinds
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic hammering the finances of many households, Whirlpool finds itself staring at an interesting tailwind into the second half of the year. The U.S. housing market, believe it or not.
The average rate on a 30-year fixed rate loan dipped below 3% earlier this month for the first time since records started way back in 1971. That is beginning to fuel a surge in the buying of existing homes among those that are working, which could spur upgrades to kitchen appliances. Existing home sales in June alone spiked 21%, the National Association of Realtors reported on Wednesday. The gain marked the best one-month showing since 1968.
Low mortgage rates could also cause homebuilders to ramp up the building of new homes to entice buyers, which would also benefit building material players such as Whirlpool. Couple that with record low interest rates from the Federal Reserve encouraging big ticket purchases by consumers on credit, Whirlpool’s outlook may not be as mixed as some investors think (the stock has lagged the S&P 500 by 1% year-to-date, per Yahoo Finance Premium data).
Bitzer thinks the housing market’s tailwinds should support Whirlpool’s business, so too everyone continuing to be at home more during COVID-19.
“At the very outset [of COVID-19], we saw microwaves and all that kind of essential stuff sell really well,” Bitzer explained. “And as people now realize they are going to be spending a lot more time at home going forward, we see people upgrading appliances or buying new appliances.”


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Premium out-of-home media owner Ocean Outdoor is rolling out a state-of-the-art digital network across main city arterial and commuter routes throughout Birmingham in partnership with Birmingham City Council.
In total, 130 roadside digital 6-sheet screens will replace existing outdoor locations on key arterials across the city and the outer suburbs, including New John Street, Suffolk Street, Queensway, Corporation Street and Dartmouth Middleway.
The roadside network compliments Ocean’s current portfolio of large format city centre full motion screens and the Loop network. The provision of a mixture of single and double sided 75 inch screens is being managed by Samsung UK in association with Esprit Digital.
Ocean chief development officer Steve George said: “Ocean’s collaboration with Esprit Digital and Samsung UK in partnership with Birmingham City Council extends our digital cities for digital citizens proposition. This is about investing in the very best platforms for advertisers and audiences. Ocean’s focused approach to digital out-of-home (DOOH) will now be rolled out roadside throughout greater Birmingham, further boosting the economy and giving advertisers the chance to reach aspirational, entrepreneurial people in the UK’s second biggest city.”
Peter Livesey, Esprit Digital CEO, said: “This is the best-looking digital street furniture yet deployed anywhere in the world. Stunning, high, bright 75inch full outdoor roadside LCD totems with proprietary Esprit Digital cooling technology and a host of innovative features. A perfect partnership: Ocean, Samsung and Esprit Digital working together to deliver a high profile city network.”
Damon Crowhurst, head of display, Samsung Electronics (UK) Ltd, said: “Samsung is pleased to be Ocean Outdoor’s strategic display partner for this prestigious network. Working with Ocean Outdoor in digital out-of-home is a great opportunity to showcase Samsung’s portfolio of outdoor display screens, including our single-sided and double-sided units. As a significant investor in out-of-home display solutions, it is important to have our brand showcased on the most premium display installations.”
The portrait style digital 6-sheet screens are in 120 hand-picked locations to minimise their environmental impact, reducing street furniture clutter in each immediate area. They will be operational from the summer.
Birmingham is one of Europe’s youngest cities by population with the under 25s accounting for 38% of the population. Major names including Deutsche Bank, Barclays, HSBC and PWC are expanded their presence, relocating thousands of people to Birmingham’s professional business services and financial hub.
More than 17,000 new businesses were registered in Birmingham in 2017 the largest number of start-ups outside of London. Birmingham hosts the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Source: Ocean Outdoor


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Pallet and pump truck experts welcome increased temporary buildings increase
Midland Pallet Trucks, one of the country’s leading suppliers of pallet trucks , trolleys and other warehouse equipment, has welcomed the news that one of the leading manufacturers and installers of temporary buildings in the UK, has noted an increase in sales enquiries over the last couple of months.
Midlands-based Smart-Space says that the pique in interest has come since Brexit referendum in May. The well-documented weakening of the pound against other currencies has improved the export potential for a host of UK industries. This means that manufacturing exporters and their suppliers are looking at different cost-effective methods of expanding their storage or manufacturing capacity quickly on their current sites so they can take advantage of the situation in order to grow their presence in both current and new markets.
“The Brexit result was initially a worry for many businesses,” comments Phil Chesworth, Managing Director at Midland Pallet Trucks. “With many being plunged into the unknown, the business landscape was seemingly unsteady immediately after the result. However the fact that businesses are still investing – regardless of how long for – shows hope for the future economy. And we are certain that the strength and resilience of the UK market will shine through, and these temporary buildings will soon turn into permeant fixtures – even when the pound jumps back up.”
Temporary warehouses provide an ideal solution for a range of businesses. Whether they have simply overstocked, are cautious about the market or are testing the waters, they are cost-effective and don’t leave businesses facing huge bills should they not be needed six months to a year down the line.
Another reason for the spike could be due to many organisations experiencing significant post-recession growth pre-Brexit. These businesses are now unsure how their overseas trade will be affected by the impending negotiations. As a result, plans for significant expansion are now either being put on hold or are being reviewed to examine the alternatives to major or long-term investment.
Midland Pallet Trucks stock a wide range of quality manual handling equipment, ideal for use in warehouses and storage facilities. To find out more and browse their extensive range available to purchase online, visit the website: www.midlandpallettrucks.com
Dakota Digital for Midland Pallet Trucks
Contact: Hannah Byrne
Tel UK: 01623 428996
Tel US: 917-720-3025
Midland Pallet Trucks are pallet truck specialists, with a diverse range of models and specifications held in stock for immediate shipping. The company is based in the West Midlands, England, importing high-quality pump trucks and lift tables directly from the manufacturer. It carries sufficient stocks in its 60,000 square feet warehouse to supply the whole of the UK market with any kind of hand-operated truck or lift.


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BlackBerry outs Persona ‘continuous authentication’ AI tool
Built on the BlackBerry Spark platform, the company claims Persona Desktop is the first cybersecurity solution to leverage biometric and behaviour-based machine learning models to create a real-time trust score for laptop and desktop users.
It aims to protect employees whose logins have been stolen, protect companies against rogue employees and protect staff and organisations against compromised software.
Persona continually monitors behaviour and device interaction, creating a user profile and taking action when usage patterns deviate from the norm. The software can then prompt for further authentication or disable access to a device.
Frank Cotter, senior vice president of product management at BlackBerry, said, “For organisations that are adopting a zero trust model, BlackBerry Persona removes the friction of unnecessary re-authentication by continuously verifying a user’s identity after log-in. With continuous authentication, BlackBerry Persona uses behaviour analysis to recognise software usage patterns and determine what behaviour is high or low risk in real time. We are committed to developing innovative ways to keep our customers safe and secure and are proud to be the first to bring a solution like Persona Desktop to market.”
"Building authentication into the endpoint places a strong cybersecurity control at a critical control point; it’s a no brainer!”
Frank Dickson, program vice president of cybersecurity products at IDC, said, “It has long been a puzzle why we place sophisticated endpoint security platforms on devices but allowed a simple username and password to easily bypass that protection. We have long advocated for embedded user authentication while not impacting user experience, applying modern technology to continually validate a user. Building authentication into the endpoint places a strong cybersecurity control at a critical control point; it’s a no brainer!”
Nigel Thompson, VP product marketing at BlackBerry, told Technology Magazine, “BlackBerry Persona is built to deliver AI-driven continuous authentication and behaviour analytic solution that is able to identify suspicious users in real-time to prevent security breaches.” Asked if the technology could be fooled by erratic user behaviour, he said, “No. Erratic user behaviour would simply trigger a secondary action such as a two factor authentication request.”
BlackBerry Persona Desktop is available as part of BlackBerry Cyber Suite.


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Environmental concerns, globalization and higher expectations among consumers for ethical business practices are encouraging major apparel and luxury goods companies to sign the U.N. Global Compact, a voluntary accord to promote good corporate practices.
GENEVA — Environmental concerns, globalization and higher expectations among consumers for ethical business practices are encouraging major apparel and luxury goods companies to sign the U.N. Global Compact, a voluntary accord to promote good corporate practices.
As United Nations secretary-general Ban Ki-moon summed up at the end of a two-day summit of Global Compact leaders here earlier this month, "You have made it abundantly clear that market leadership and sustainability go hand in hand"
Ban, a former South Korean foreign minister, said commitments made "to engage subsidiaries and supply chains more actively…will provide a major boost for the initiative and for corporate citizenship more broadly"
During the summit, 153 companies, including French luxury goods giant LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, Asian textile and apparel firms Narai Intertrade Co. of Thailand and Sing Lun Holdings of Singapore, and DuPont of the U.S., pledged to increase energy efficiency and to reduce carbon emissions.
A McKinsey & Co. survey of 391 top corporate executives from 230 companies in Europe, the Americas, Asia, Africa and the Middle East participating in the compact concluded that 95 percent "agreed that society has greater expectations for business to take on public responsibilities than it had five years ago"
The study, "Shaping the New Rules of Competition," said 50 percent of chief executive officers expect consumer influence to have the greatest impact on the way companies manage societal expectations, exceeding demands by employees, governments and activist groups in the next five years. The survey noted some ceo's think the ethical consumer "has clearly emerged and is on the rise," but also said businesses were becoming ethical purchasers.
One example sighted is MAS holdings, a Sri Lanka apparel manufacturer that has attracted ethically minded global clothing brands as a result of its reputation for labor programs such as one that provides its 35,000 female employees with a range of courses, including English.
Paul Hohnen, an international expert and consultant on corporate social responsibility issues, also known as CSR, believes the concept of "responsible competitiveness is taking root — the notion that business can build innovation, market and brand based on response to societal values"Sweden's trade minister, Sten Tolgfors, said CSR was being considered less an extra cost and more a vital part of companies' market-building strategies. He said European consumers took great interest in product price and quality, and in how goods have been produced. He also warned that a growing public interest in labor standards and environmental issues could lead to protectionism.
"One way to avoid this is to encourage CSR," Tolgfors told delegates. "Anyone in favor of free trade and market access for developing countries needs to show an alternative to protectionism, which would prohibit economic development where it is most needed. Consumers are increasingly favoring products that are produced in what they consider to be reasonable environmental and working conditions"
The Global Compact, established by the U.N. in 2000, sets forth 10 principles for businesses to follow on human rights, labor practices, environmental protections and fighting corruption. More than 3,000 corporations, along with labor unions and nongovernmental organizations from 116 countries, have subscribed to the compact and pledged to observe its principles.
Irene Kahn, secretary general of Amnesty International, said the compact "is a very powerful initiative because it's backed by the U.N.," but added, "Where the compact falls short is that it has no compliance mechanism"
In yet another fashion show shuffle, @elleryland is moving its show in sync with the Paris couture calendar — though the brand is still keeping one foot on the city’s ready-to-wear schedule. Their runway show in January will coincide with the launch of a new strategy: designing two main collections each year instead of four, which will then be released in four drops. “As we all know, the system needs to change. We need to show sooner to give time back to artisans and designers to do what they do best — create,” said founder Kym Ellery. #wwdnews #wwdfashion (📷: @kukukuba)
@maxmara’s classic 101801 coat was the cornerstone of its pre-fall 2018 collection. The design team expanded the traditional double-breasted, kimono-sleeved style into a trapeze coat, lean belted styles and a peacoat and presented them in monochromatic looks – like the camel one pictured here. #wwdfashion #prefall18 (📷: George Chinsee)
The @cfda has shifted the dates of #NYFW, with Men’s showing on February 5 through February 7, and Women’s will directly follow, running from February 8 through 14. The preliminary schedule will be released on the CFDA’s web site in the next few days, but Mark Beckham, VP of marketing for the CFDA, revealed that @rafsimons will be back to close the men’s-specific part of the week with a show on February 7 #wwdfashion (📷: Kelly Taub)
@ferragamo is introducing a new space dedicated to the development of women’s and men’s leather good samples. The laboratory, which is created eco-friendly materials and designed to reduce the environmental impact of the manufacturing processes, will allow the company to expand its accessories offering through traditional artisanal approaches. #wwdfashion (📷: @aitorrosasphoto)
How does a “regular, degular, schmegular” girl from the Bronx, N.Y., become a Grammy-nominated artist with a certified platinum record in less than a year? Call it the @iamcardib come up. The 25-year-old has become a musical sensation, and the fashion world is taking note. “If I could describe her style I would say drama. She’s really into the dramatics,” says Cardi B’s stylist @kollincarter. See how Carter styles her bold and out there looks with the link in bio. #wwdfashion
“There is no formula. There is no guideline. I can watch Ted Talks all day, but there is no one who can advise me on exactly what it is I should be doing,” said @ronniefieg, CEO of @kith, in an interview with WWD’s @ariahughes at the brand’s new SoHo office in Manhattan. Head to WWD.com to see how Fieg went from hanging out in shoe stockrooms at 13 to building his own business. #wwdfashion (📷: @weston.wells)
@fearofgod and @maxfieldla have teamed up on a pop-up installation. The store, located in the gallery space across from Maxfield’s Melrose Ave location, is the site of the brand’s House of God pop-up in which Fear of God founder @jerrylorenzo has created a church-inspired installation. A dozen vintage church pews sit in front of an LED screen playing 90s gospel singers in an effort to re-create an environment akin to a Southern Baptist Church, Lorenzo explained. Read more about the pop-up on WWD.com #wwdfashion (📷: Jennifer Johnson)
Known for his sleek, sophisticated American glamour, Norman Norell is the subject of an upcoming exhibition at @fitnyc. “Norell: Dean of American Fashion,” which runs from February 9 through April 14, will feature approximately 100 ensembles and accessories. His best work is exemplified by the designer’s glittering “mermaid” gowns frosted with thousands of hand-sewn sequins – like the one pictured. (📷: William Helburn) #wwdfashion
For pre-fall 2018, @balmain didn’t let go of the glitz. A crystal embroidered baseball jacket priced at around $40,000 hangs in the “couture” section of the brand’s first men’s pre-collection. Sporting the words “Balmain Army” across the back, the item took around two months to make. “When it was completed, it was like Christmas, it was like, ‘It’s done, it’s exactly what I wanted,’” said Balmain’s creative director @olivier_rousteing during a tour of the collection in a Paris showroom on Monday. #wwdfashion


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Whether behind the cash register, storing milk, or unloading shipments of toilet paper, grocery store workers have risked their safety for months to earn a paycheck and make necessities available to Americans, even as the premium. the risk that some companies once offered has decreased and the government has decreased. the benefits are drying up.
But as more workers fall ill, more supermarkets may be forced to close. In New Mexico this month, health officials ordered 23 stores and restaurants to close for two weeks because of sick workers.
Walmart, Albertsons, Target and McDonald’s stores have all been affected. Some remained open after being ordered to close, The Albuquerque Journal reported. And in some places, the lines multiply.
“I think everyone’s kind of like, ‘Oh no, we have to go shopping. Everything will close, ”Anna Hagele told the newspaper. She was in line with about 40 other people outside an Albertsons.
Democrat Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham defended the unpopular closures at a virtual press conference this week. Some shoppers have complained to local media about long lines of panicked shoppers at stores that remain open.
“You can’t have a grocery store or other big box store that sells groceries if all of their employees – or the vast majority of them – have Covid,” Ms. Lujan Grisham said. “There’s so much of this infection that it‘s right inside the places you need to access it.”
The state is ordering stores to close for two weeks if they have four separate instances of an employee testing positive for the virus over a two-week period. At least 14 businesses are subject to closure orders, some of which will not be allowed to reopen until December 2.
A sharp increase in cases of the virus in New Mexico – the average number of cases reported each day this week is up 127% from the week before – has led the state to issue some of the toughest restrictions of all states in recent weeks.


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International arrivals to US continued to slide in August
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The latest government statistics on international arrivals to the U.S. shows they continued to slide through last summer.
Nonresident international visitors to the U.S. decreased more than 1
The U.S. Department of Commerce's National Travel and Tourism Office released the data Thursday.
Visitors from Mexico were down over 2
Nonresident international arrivals
The U.S. travel industry has complained that the Trump administration's anti-immigrant policies and anti-foreigner rhetoric are dampening tourism.
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Three ways to tell that you aren't a great bargain hunter, but consumed by shopping instead.


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Paradox Interactive is offering refunds to anyone who has pre-ordered Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2.
The company said on Wednesday that it is automatically refunding all physical pre-orders because it’s updating various editions of the game, while digital pre-orders will also be granted upon request.
“It’s been quite a while between updates while we’ve had our heads down working on the game,” reads a message attributed to the Bloodlines team.
“We remain just as dedicated to delivering a great Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines game as we were when we announced, and are looking forward to showing you more in September this year.
“We acknowledge it was a long time ago that many of you pre-ordered Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2. As development continues, we will be updating the game’s editions and bonus content, and we want to provide the best value to those of you who supported us via digital pre-order after all this time.”
Today’s update was accompanied by the release of five new screenshots, which are viewable below.
Bloodlines 2 has had a troubled and protracted development. It was initially being developed by Hardsuit Labs and was scheduled for release in 2020.
However, in August 2020 the action RPG sequel was delayed to 2021 and both its creative director and lead narrative designer were fired.
In February 2021 Paradox delayed Bloodlines 2 again and announced it had pulled development from Hardsuit Labs.
It said it had chosen to delay the game’s release due to disruptions on development caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
“We have also decided that Hardsuit Labs will no longer be leading the development of Bloodlines 2, and we have started a collaboration with a new studio partner to finish work on the game,” Paradox said.
“This has been a difficult decision, but we are convinced that it is the right way forward to do the game justice.”
Paradox CEO Fredrik Wester later revealed that the company came close to scrapping Bloodlines 2 completely after cutting ties with Hardsuit.
“When we lifted the game from the original developer, we had a long review in case we should end the game or run it further,” he said. “Then we were actually prepared to close the production completely. But we got a ‘pitch’ that we thought was convincing enough to run. played on and we have very good hopes that it will be a good game that meets the players’ expectations.”


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On Monday, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and other members of Congress toured migrant detention centers in Texas. Afterward, they described scenes of cruelty and despair, bolstering previously reported allegations of deeply inadequate hygiene and generally hazardous conditions in facilities like these.
In addition to meeting people who said they had to drink from toilets and were being subjected to "psychological warfare," Ocasio-Cortez came across a packet of shampoo she said had been provided to migrants in lockup. She claimed that at least some people were being told to wash all their bits with this:
The photo raised a simple question: Who is making this stuff, and are they aware of what their product is being used for?
A quick image search suggests what we've got here is "Meridian Shampoo." A clear substance in a single-use package, it is sealed in plastic reminiscent of a standard-issue doctor's office lollipop—except this package is decorated with a purple minimalist water droplet shape and little specks reminiscent of moisture. It's one of those many mundane, toiletry-proximal items that was almost certainly not manufactured with anyone's happiness in mind, and is thus made incalculably more grim by the mere presence of any decoration at all.
Anyway, it's no secret where you can buy Meridian shampoo in bulk: the Bob Barker Company, the prison supply outfit that has made at least $13 million contracting with federal prisons since 1995. According to GovTribe, it has also struck at least $100,000 worth of deals to provide goods to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) since 2016. Most relevant in this case: According to the Federal Procurement Data System, in 2014, Barker sold over $100,000 worth of "household furniture" to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the agency managing facilities toured by Ocasio-Cortez and other members of Congress this week. The company previously sold $3,177.93 worth of "personal toiletry articles" to CBP in 2013, and another purchase of the same kinds of goods was listed as amounting to $0 in 2017.
According to founder and CEO Bob Barker Sr. (who is not the gameshow host, although that rumor abounds), the company prides itself on acting quickly when the government has a sudden influx of people it deems in need of incarceration. Barker's book I'm in Cells, co-written with Tony W. Cartledge, describes just that back in 2002, when the U.S. established the notorious Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp. "When I recall those days, though, what I remember most is that first hectic week when we shipped out 4,300 inmate uniforms and related supplies. Nobody else could have done that," he writes.
In 2008, the Bob Barker Company was accused of manufacturing goods in sweatshop conditions. Factory workers in Bangladesh complained that they were beaten, and coerced into working unwanted shifts as long as 18 hours. Company president Bob Barker Jr. said at the time that the companies it works with "share our commitment to the health and safety of those working in this industry," adding, "We do not condone, and have never been involved with, any violation of labor laws."
VICE contacted both the Bob Barker Company and CBP to clarify the current relationship between the two entities, but as of this writing, neither had responded to requests for comment. Still, federal trademark data made clear the Bob Barker Company owns the Meridian brand.
So to recap, migrants in CBP custody are being given packets of shampoo, according to Ocasio-Cortez, and being told to use them as all-in-one shower products. Which brings us to the strangest wrinkle of all: Bob Barker sells a different Meridian soap that is designed to be used as an all-in-one shower product. Incidentally, Bob Barker also markets selections of its products as something called a "Personal Admission Kit," which includes such items as a washcloth, shampoo, deodorant, bar of soap, shaving cream, razor, comb, toothbrush, and toothpaste, all for the price of about $2.50 per person. The shampoo packets were being offered on the company's website for a rate closer to 10 cents a pop.
Meanwhile, the border package passed in Congress this week allocated $905 million to CBP, which theoretically would permit the feds to spend more on making life less hellish in migrant detention. Ocasio-Cortez voted no on that spending bill, arguing that the House shouldn't have passed the Republican-run Senate's version of the bill without first negotiating, explaining, "That's an abdication of power we should refuse to accept. They will keep hurting kids if we do."
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King tide and street flooding have Palm Beach Gardens businesses and residents frustrated
Kidd Lane at PGA Boulevard is no stranger to flooding, but today’s flooding caught businesses, employees along PGA Boulevard and longtime residents by surprise.
Ahriel Bell works at the AT&T store on Kidd Lane.
She says the flooding keeps customers away. “It’s a affecting our business traffic. We don’t have access anymore and people don’t want to have to drive through the water.”
Jeff Cappelletti has lived at his home for a long time and flooding is a common occurrence. “I’ve been here for 15 years and every time there’s a king tide, the water backs up through the sewer system and it comes up through the grates.”
The water the cars are driving through may look like rainwater, but it’s actually salt water, which can really damage cars.


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RCMP warn seize counterfeit Lululemon products
RCMP have issued a warning against buying counterfeit products after fake Lululemon items were seized at a house party in Point Edward, Ont.
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SARNIA, ONT. — RCMP have issued a warning against buying counterfeit products after fake Lululemon items were seized at a house party in Point Edward, Ont.
Police say about 100 fake items supposedly from fitness wear retailer Lululemon Athletica Inc. were seized in the community just west of Sarnia on Sept. 1.
No charges have been laid and police say the investigation continues.
They say counterfeit items are often cheaply made and do not meet Canadian standards.
Not only do fake items defraud consumers, RCMP say, but they can also be unsafe.
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JiaYu have a new budget phone in the works. The 4.3-inch phone currently known as the JiaYu G2S or ‘Super’ will go on sale soon and boasts features not normally seen at this price range.
The G2 Super is aimed squarely at the Xiaomi Hongmi, so with such successful rival JiaYu have ensured that their phone has all the basics and then some covered. Starting at the front the display measures in at 4.3-inch with a 1280 x 720 resolution and Corning Gorilla glass protection. Processing grunt comes from the new quad-core Mediatek 1.3Ghz MT6582 which actually puts out similar Antutu scores as the MT6589T. There is also 1GB RAM, 2 mega-pixel front camera, 8 mega-pixel rear, USB OTG 2200mAh battery and a metal chassis!
Gizchina News of the week
Knowing what we do about JiaYu; build quality, the G2 Super is going to be one quality piece of kit, it is also initially only going to be available on TD-SCDMA networks and will be in short supply to start with! Still those customers who can get their hands on one will be able to choose from 6 colours including black, white, green, blue orange and others.


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Systemair AB Acquires Further Stake in HSK
Systemair AB announced that it acquired a further 20% of the shares in the Turkish company HSK on December 21, 2012. The Company acquired 70% of the shares of HSK in August 2012. The business has changed its name to Systemair-HSK and a merger with Systemair's previous sales company in Turkey has begun. The founding family will remain with 10% ownership.
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DURBAN: Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, the former president of Africa’s largest economic contributor Nigeria arrived at King Shaka International Airport in Durban on Thursday morning, before the Intra-Africa Trade Fair (IATF) signing ceremony scheduled to take place at the International Convention Centre.
The Nigerian statesman was welcomed by wet weather and MEC for Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs Ravi Pillay.
The trade fair will run for seven days, from November 15 to 21.
The event promised to be the biggest one hosted by South Africa since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in March last year, said the department of Economic Development, Trade and Industry on Thursday.
It is the biggest trade fair on the continent and is expected to generate around $40 billion (about R580bn) in trade and investment deals.