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UK retailers talk price of PS3
'Irrelevant', say shopkeepers.
One of the biggest controversies to emerge from E3 revolved around the price of the PS3 - which, as we revealed last week, will cost £425 when it hits the shops on November 17th.
But UK retailers have told our sister site, GamesIndustry.biz, that the high price is unlikely to put off hardcore gamers.
“Given the machine is likely to be a sell-out this side of Christmas, I think the price point is irrelevant for the first six months,” CeX marketing manager Jonathan Cronin told GI.biz.
“The launch frenzy will be there - this is the new PlayStation not the new Xbox. Four million units globally before Christmas? I don't think you'll be able to buy one off the shelf.”
“We welcomed Sony's PS3 announcement at the E3 convention, putting an end to the speculation surrounding a UK launch date,” offered Gamestation group product manager Anna Downing.
“The November 17th date sets up an extremely competitive and exciting Q4, with consumers potentially having the choice of three 'next-gen' consoles on the market. We're anticipating that demand will outstrip supply.”
Steve O'Brien, boss of leading indie retailer Action Replay, agrees. “With the amount of product coming into the UK I think Sony could have quite comfortably priced it at twice the price and still sell-out twice over,” he suggested.
“In the first round of any console sales it's the fanboys and hardcore gamers who buy it. I think the strength of the brand is key.”
It's highly likely that the PS3 will sell out during the launch window, even though Sony has yet to confirm how many units will be allocated to UK retailers. With that in mind, it's no surprise that retailers aren't keen to publicly criticise the price point and risk Sony rethinking their allocation.
But not everyone was so charitable. “Such high prices are a difficult thing to push at retail level especially with the continued problems of distribution, release dates, and product availability that have dogged UK product releases for some time,” insisted Steve Aspinall, owner of indie V-Ten Entertainment.
“And that's without the mass-discount culture convincing the consumer to wait a few months, and the uncanny shortage of convincing software for the platform, not to mention the continued implication that next gen gaming cannot take place without a next-gen television set.”
Many agree that Sony has a challenge on its hands when it comes to convincing us to buy into Blu-Ray - the main driver behind the PS3's hefty price tag - as the war with Toshiba's HD-DVD format kicks off. And with Microsoft hinting that an Xbox 360 plus HD-DVD drive will cost less than a PS3, the pressure just keeps piling on.
“If you've got a PS3 next to a 360 you need to be able to see the difference if you're going to be asked to pay more. Microsoft must be pleased there's a nice price differential there,” commented CeX's Cronin.
“People will say PS3 is expensive because they haven't got a clue what's in it - they just see it as another box to play games on,” argued leading analyst Nick Parker of Parker Consulting.
“It's totally abstract to the consumer, a lot to get your head around. Sony has future-proof technology – everything you'll need if you're seriously into accessing games, movies or music on demand.
“It's getting people to understand that their DVD player is basically going to be out-of-date in a couple of years' time. If you buy a PS3 now you'll get a games machine and next-generation movie technology,” Parker continued.
“When PS2 came out DVD was already understood by the consumer - but who knows what Blu-Ray is? Sony needs to convey the value in the price; it's a longer term problem for them.”


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While most States have yet to make sports betting legal, some are taking steps to regulate it. For example, the NBA, MLB, and PGA Tour have all lobbied to legalize the activity. In January 2018, these organizations published a draft of “Model Legislation” for legalizing sports betting. But what does that mean for you? How can you ensure the safety and security of your bets? Below are some questions you may want to ask yourself before you bet on sports.
Legalized sports betting
Texas is a state that has long been opposed to sports betting, but it may soon be a prime candidate for the move. While the legislature has vetoed several bills, shifting demographics and outside gaming interests could push lawmakers to make legalized sports betting a priority in the coming years. While the state’s smallest population and lack of professional sports teams may be deterring lawmakers from pursuing legalized sports betting, a recent deal between MLS team Pointsbet and a professional team could pave the way for a future state lottery.
Several states have already passed sports betting legislation. In Kansas, the state legislature passed a bill to legalize sports betting last year. A similar proposal was drafted in Missouri in 2018, but lawmakers did not complete it in time. Kansas lawmakers, who fought to be the first, passed a bill authorizing 39 sportsbooks, but the Senate was unable to pass it in time. This leaves New Jersey as the only state that is currently on the fast track to legalized sports betting.
New York has approved a plan to launch online sports betting before the 2022 Super Bowl. The state’s Gaming Commission recommended nine new licenses to mobile sports wagering companies. The state expects to start offering online sports betting in the state early next year. A “super bid” of industry heavyweights received conditional licenses, including DraftKings, FanDuel, and Bally Bet. Rush Street Interactive, Caesars Entertainment, and Wyn Resorts are also involved.
The NYGC has received seven comments supporting its plan to license mobile sports wagering. One of the commentators was a sports data company called Sportradar, which urged the commission to allow alternative data sources. The commission approved the provision allowing alternative data sources. The New York State Gaming Commission approved the rules unanimously. The state is now awaiting a list of qualified operators that are ready to open sportsbooks.
There are several payment providers for sbobet available in the market. These providers may be a good fit for your sports betting website if you use PHP to build your website. There are many other benefits to using a payment provider for your sports betting website, including an Open API and easy-to-understand documentation. STICPAY offers a 2.5% + $0.3 fee for processing fiat payments and 1.8% for accepting cryptocurrency. This payment solution supports over 190 countries and a variety of payment methods, including cryptocurrency. In addition, they provide multi-currency accounts.
Many payment providers are hesitant to work with the gambling industry because of the high chargeback ratio. Almost every 23rd online payment transaction raises suspicion of fraud. Therefore, payment providers have to implement strict security measures to prevent these problems. Fingerprinting devices and tools to detect suspicious transactions are helpful in detecting fraud risks. Many payment providers don’t want to deal with the complexities of sports gambling laws. Others may simply prefer industries with clearer laws.

domain: news


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Still no clue as to what Microsoft intends to do about it, mind you.
After the Sony Twitter campaign launched in an attempt to dissuade Sony from even thinking about DRM and anti used games policies, much vitriol was spewed over at Larry Hyrb aka Major Nelson’s blog, on Microsoft’s policies and its Xbox One reveal. In response, Major Nelson said in a forum post that “we’re fully aware of what is going on. I am also working on a few things to address it. I can’t say much more right now. But we ARE listening.” Listening, but not doing much; at least not visibly.
Major Nelson’s statement came up in the comments on a blog post about used games, in which he claimed that previous reports on Microsoft policies are “inaccurate and incomplete” before promising to “disclose more information in the near future.” This perpetuates what is rapidly becoming a Microsoft tradition, of saying nothing useful while seeming to address the issue.
Here’s hoping E3 will see some clarification on something – anything – concerning the Xbone’s used games and DRM policies. Or the always-on Kinect. Or … but you get the idea.


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Tesla's Shanghai Gigafactory Expected to Produce 1 Mn EVs a Year
The founder of the company, Elon Musk revealed the news at the 2020 Tesla shareholders’ meeting held on September 22.
The annual production of 1 million electric vehicles with Model 3 and Model Y, each producing about 500,000, has exceeded the planned production capacity of the Gigafactory and is twice the planned production capacity revealed by the company back in 2019 when the factory was still under construction.
According to some reports, the electric cars produced by the Shanghai Gigafactory will be exported to other countries. So we suppose a number of the 1 million vehicles produced might be exported.


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A search warrant that was unsealed Friday by a San Mateo County court paints a detailed picture of the events that eventually led to Gizmodo.com obtaining and publishing photos of a leaked iPhone.
The First Amendment Coalition and six media organizations, including Bloomberg News, Conde Nast, CNET, The Los Angeles Times, petitioned the San Mateo court to unseal the warrant, which it had agreed to do by Friday afternoon. A copy of the warrant was posted by Wired.com.
The warrant, unsealed Friday by a San Mateo County judge, describes how Brian Hogan came into possession of a prototype iPhone on or about March 25, 2010, which was lost, according to the warrant, by Apple employee Robert Gray Powell.
Police have not charged any of the individuals named in the warrant with a crime.
Hogan subsequently sold the phone to Gizmodo for $5,000, although the warrant describes how Hogan's roommate said she believed that Hogan received a total of $8,500 for the phone. The warrant was served on Gizmodo editor Jason Chen on April 23, and police searched his apartment, seizing various electronics as evidence. Police subsequently acknowledged that they knew who had sold the phone on April 28, and Hogan acknowledged selling the phone on April 30.
(The warrant states that the roommate, Katherine Martinson, said she did not know how Hogan was to receive the remaining amount, which the affidavit list as $2,500. The affidavit also claims that Hogan would receive a bonus from Gizmodo upon the launch of the new iPhone.)
A letter from Chen to Apple chief executive Steve Jobs, included in the warrant, also implies that Jobs personally asked Gizmodo editor-in-chief Brian Lam for the return of the lost iPhone. "Right now, we have nothing to lose," Chen wrote, explaining the site's actions. "The thing is, Apple PR has been very cold to us lately. If affected my ability to do my job right at iPad launch. So we had to go outside and find our stories like this one, very aggressively."
The search warrant described the background events leading up to the request to search Chen's residence.
On April 20, Apple reported that Powell has lost the iPhone, according to the warrant. Lawyers for the firm described the phone as "invaluable," worth at least $8,500.
A day earlier, Martinson called Apple, reporting that Hogan had connected the stolen iPhone to her laptop in an attempt to authenticate it. She also attached a photo of a sticker of the back of the iPhone, which Apple said matched its own ID tags of the prototype phone.
According to Martinson, Hogan returned back to her apartment with the lost iPhone in the afternoon of March 26, after Hogan apparently found the phone while drinking at the Gourmet Haus Staudt cafe in Redwood City. Martinson told police that she was able to identify the phone as a prototype. Both Hogan and Martinson then conducted a search for Powell and found his LinkedIn profile.
Martinson also said that Hogan attached the iPhone to her laptop in an attempt to restore the operating system, which had been remotely wiped by Apple.
About ten days later, according to the warrant, Hogan made contact with Gizmodo's Jason Chen, who allegedly offered and paid $10,000 for the iPhone. Martinson said that she and other friends attempted to talk Hogan out of selling the iPhone. Hogan's response: "Sucks for him. He lost his phone. Shouldn't have lost his phone."
Martinson told police that she took pictures of the ID stickers on the back of the phone. On April 22, she called police, reporting that both Hogan and his roommate, Thomas Warner, were removing evidence from the apartment.
Police tracked Hogan to his father's house in Redwood City, where they found Hogan and informed him that removal of evidence was an indication of "consciousness of guilt". Hogan told police, according to the search warrant, that he and Warner has removed a computer, thumb drive, flash card, and the iPhone prototype stickers from Hogan's apartment.
While police could not reach Warner by telephone, Warner called Christy Gilmore, Hogan's girlfriend, and revealed that he had left the computer at a nearby church. Police then searched cars belonging to Gilmore and Hogan and recovered a Canon SLR camera, first-generation iPhone, and a BlackBerry.
At 1 AM, Warner returned, where police arrested him for two unrelated, outstanding misdemeanor warrants. Warner waived his rights, and directed police to a bush several blocks away where the thumb drive and flash card were concealed. For unexplained reasons, police then visited a nearby gas station and recovered the prototype iPhone stickers.
Police then searched Chen's residence, stating in the affidavit that the evidence collected - which included a MacBook and MacBook Pro, Samsung digital camera, an external hard drive, a Dell XPS410 desktop and a 16-Gbyte iPhone - was used in the means of committing a felony, the legal foundation for the warrant, the document said.
Editor's Note: A previous version of this story misidentified Gizmodo author Jason Chen.


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Jan 18, 2019 Electrify Your Life With The All-New 2019 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid – the advanced compact SUV at an attractive price
TORONTO, ON – January 18, 2019 – The first-ever Toyota RAV4 was a game-changing model when it launched – and now the 2019 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid is ready to rewrite the rules, all over again.
Jan 17, 2019 Hydrogen Gains Momentum in Quebec: Automakers Provide Update on the Progress of Quebec’s Hydrogen Fueling Infrastructure for Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles
Montreal, Quebec, January 17, 2019 – The hydrogen movement in Quebec is gaining momentum. Toyota Canada Inc. (TCI) joined with Honda Canada Inc. and other hydrogen partners at the 2019 Montreal International Auto Show to provide an update on the overall progress of hydrogen fueling infrastructure for fuel cell electric vehicles (“FCEVs”) in Quebec.
Jan 17, 2019 All-Time Favourite Toyotas Make A Canadian Debut with 2020 Toyota Models At The Montréal International Auto Show – January 18-27, 2019 At The Palais Des Congrès
TORONTO, ON – January 17, 2019 – Toyota Canada steps into 2019 with a trip down memory lane and a pair of new vehicles with legendary histories – as the next-generation Toyota Corolla sedan and the 2020 Toyota Supra make their Canadian debuts at the Montréal International Auto Show.
Jan 14, 2019 A Legend Returns: 2020 Toyota Supra Makes World Debut
TORONTO, ON – JANUARY 14, 2019 – In July 2018, in view of tens of thousands of spectators at England’s world-renowned Goodwood Festival of Speed, a low, long-hood sports car wearing full-body camouflage with mysterious “A90” markings blasted up the narrow, curvy hill-climb circuit.
Jan 11, 2019 TOYOTA RESEARCH INSTITUTE BETS BIG IN VEGAS ON TOYOTA GUARDIAN AUTONOMY
Toyota Guardian Will Amplify Human Control, Not Remove...
Jan 10, 2019 Canada Continues to Demand Prime Vehicle Design and Development with Safety, Efficiency and Technology at the top of the list
TORONTO, ON – JANUARY 10, 2019 – You do the math. Available across Canada, the 2019 Prius Prime plug-in hybrid electric allows drivers to travel more than 40 kilometers in pure electric mode (more than enough for most daily commutes) – without using a drop of gasoline.
Jan 10, 2019 Have a Supra New Year!
TORONTO, ON – JANUARY 10, 2019 – Toyota is kicking off 2019 with the premiere of its all-new 2020 Supra on Monday, January 14, at 9:40 a.m. EST during the 2019 North American International Auto Show.
Jan 09, 2019 Toyota adds vehicles to Takata safety recall involving certain Toyota and Lexus models
TORONTO, Ontario, January 9, 2019 – As a result of the most recent action taken by Takata under its agreement with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in the United States to fix defective airbag inflators, Toyota is adding vehicles to the...
Jan 09, 2019 MEDIA ADVISORY: First Look At The Next-Generation 2020 Toyota Corolla Sedan And The All-New 2020 Toyota Supra
TORONTO, ON – JANUARY 9, 2019 – Visit the Toyota booth at the Montréal International Auto Show for a first look at the next generation of the world’s all-time best-selling vehicle and the return of a legendary coupe after a 16-year hiatus, plus learn about Toyota’s full range of vehicles, connectivity technologies, safety systems, and more.
Jan 03, 2019 Dressed To Impress: 2019 Highlander SE Gets Nightshade Special Edition
TORONTO, ON – January 3, 2019 – New year, new you! Move your family in style with the 2019 Highlander SE, the sportiest trim available on the Toyota Highlander line-up. Be the talk of the town, a trendsetter as you turn neighbourhood heads with the Nightshade special edition.


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You’ve heard the jingle on 99.5 QYK for years. While we love the traditional Blue Bell flavors, it’s always fun when they try something new. This week to celebrate Mardi Gras, they’re rolling out “Mardi Gras King Cake” ice cream. Channel 8 reports it’s a flavor they have done in the past, but it’s only been available in the big Mardi Gras markets like Lousiana and Alabama. Those who loved it took to social media and other parts of the country wanted in.
It’s described as a cinnamon cake flavor with pastry pieces and ribbons of cream cheese with sprinkles. Sounds like I’ve gotta add this to my grocery shopping list. –Geno


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Take care in the sun to protect your sight, eye expert urges
A Sheffield eye expert is speaking out to warn people how damaging summer sun can be to their sight.
Alex Gage, who owns optometrist practices at Woodseats and Crosspool, is reminding people of the dangers of exposing their eyes to the sun – and urging them to take precautions.
He said: “The eyes are 10 times more sensitive to UV damage than our skin and there are a number of conditions associated with extended exposure to UV rays including cataracts, macular degeneration and some forms of eye cancer.
“Because up to 80 per cent of the eyes’ UV exposure happens before the age of 18, it’s particularly important to protect children’s eyes with a hat and wrap-around sunglasses or UV-blocking contact lenses when they are outside in the sun.”
n For more information about eye health, or to book an appointment, call 0114 266 7066.


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More than 6 in 10 small businesses are not hiring because they cannot take on the additional costs, according to a new survey.
Alignable, a network for small businesses, said 63% of surveyed businesses are unwilling to hire and 10% of that share is laying off people.
The share of businesses unwilling to hire is up 18 percentage points from July, when it stood at 45%, while the percentage reducing staff is up 6 percentage points from 4%.
Alignable dubbed it a “quite significant” change that is also impacting Canada, where 59% of businesses say they cannot hire and 4% are doing layoffs.
“The overall situation is better in Canada than in the US this month, but not by much — and those figures are still quite high,” the survey report said. “Reasons for the drop in hiring among small business owners in both the US and Canada revolve around cumulative inflation struggles, including astronomical labor costs, increasing rent and higher-than-usual supply and energy expenses.”
Other factors include lengthy searches for labor that produce few hires, high turnover rates, a reduction in business locations and a decrease in consumer spending.
Only 23% of surveyed businesses said they have fully recovered from the COVID-19 crisis and more than half (58%) said labor costs are at least 50% higher than they were before the pandemic.
“While some small business owners admit they just gave up on hiring more staff, the majority note that it’s just too expensive to do it in this economic environment,” the survey report said.


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WON'T SOMEBODY THINK OF THE CHILDREN? Well, er, Samsung is with its latest smartphone that can't connect to the internet.
The Samsung J2 Pro, announced in South Korea, is a low-end Android mobe that "blocks mobile data such as 3G, LTE, and WiFi" in order to keep kids - along with elderly people who are "sensitive to data charges" - offline.
The internet-free device is predominantly aimed at students who need to focus on studying without any distractions such as social media and online games. According to a report on The Verge, there's an LTE modem inside the phone but it's disabled for everything but calls and texting
The handset's specs are unlikely to cause too much of a distraction, either, with the J2 Pro offering a 5in 540x960 Super AMOLED screen, a 1.4GHz quad-core CPU, 8MP main and 5MP front-facing cameras, a 2,600mAh removable battery and a baked-in microSD slot.
The Samsung J2 Pro, which will be made available in black and gold colour options, does have access to a tool called 'Diodic4', though, an electronic dictionary app that can be used for studying foreign languages.
What's more, Samsung says that students who complete the College Scholastic Ability Test - a college-entrance exam taken in South Korea - after 2019 and 2020 will be able to trade-in their feature-lacking J2 Pro for a Galaxy S, Note, or A Series phone.
The J20 Pro's $180 (£120) price-tag also means it's a viable option for people who want a phone simply for texting and sending text messages. It's unlikely to be released outside of South Korea, though, bad news for Brit-based drug dealers. µ
Backlight borkage gives display a 'stage light' affect
And you thought Blighty's age verification plans were bad
It likes to move it, move it
But how much does it cost?


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On Wednesday, the SRI Capital made a declaration informing one and all regarding its investment of about USD 2 million in the Software company, Foyr, whose headquarters is situated in Singapore. The brand has been collaborating with several interior designers, architects, and property developers.
The headquarters of For are situated in the Singapore. The company aims to use the funding provided or the investment made in making a suitable entry into the US market. The US market is regarded as the biggest market that has emerged in the recent 2 years.
Doc Parghi, partner at the SRI asserted that "We are delighted to back a seasoned tech executive like Shailesh Goswami who has built world class products at Microsoft earlier before founding Foyr. We intend to help him acquire the first few customers in the US and set up his sales presence here."
The founder and the CEO of Foyr, Shailesh Goswami expressed his happiness and gratitude towards the fund provided by the SRI. He affirmed, "We are excited to be backed by SRI Capital which is one of the only VCs who understands the US market as well as Indian development teams. Having a successful sales professional like Doc Parghi joining our board and helping us think through the US market entry will make us better prepared as we launch in the US later this year."


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Myntra to re-launch desktop app from 1 June
Fashion e-tailer Myntra took a u-turn on its decision to go app-only, and will launch its desktop website on 1 June. Myntra said that the decision was based on consumer feedback. The company's mobile app had over 10 million downloads, Myntra stated that women customers wanted to have the choice of shopping across all channels. Myntra will also foray into jewellery and home furnishing.
In 2014, Myntra.com got acquired by its biggest competitor and India's largest retailer Flipkart.com. Both companies were to continue their function as independent entities. The acquisition was being pinned at $300 million; however neither of the players had disclosed the exact amount. This came as a direct reaction to Amazon's' entry into the Indian e-retail market.
In a bid to give its users a better and more personalised retail experience, Myntra had divulged its plans of shutting down its website and going 'app-only' from 15 May this year. This move was to facilitate Myntra's users' privacy by making it more secure. It was regarded as highly controversial but Myntra said they will make up the loss they will incur.
Myntra's decision to go app-only wasn't a favourable one with many of its users but the company remained optimistic about the decision. Myntra had claimed that 90-95% of their traffic came through the app and they were expecting a 10% drop in their sales while taking the decision. However, the company was hopeful of recovering their losses within coming weeks.
Two months after Myntra shut its website down in a highly controversial move, Flipkart, the parent company of Myntra and India's largest online retailer has announced to follow Myntra's lead and go app-only. The company's chief product officer Punit Soni announced that Flipkart will operate only through mobile application, September onwards. The company has 45 million registered users with over 10 million daily visits.
After Flipkart announced its decision to shut down its website in September, Twitter burst with people calling this a stupid move to go app-only. Many of Flipkart's customers tweeted that they were repeating Myntra's mistake. One user tweeted, "@Flipkart i like you, but not a good move going app only. How do you expect me to compare 4 TVs on a mobile screen?"
While for Myntra, 90-95% traffic came from mobile platforms, only 75% of Flipkart's total visitors are from mobile platforms. This move can make Flipkart suffer from deeper cut in sales which might induce more pain!
Taking a U-turn on its app strategy, Flipkart has decided to reintroduce its mobile web option named as Flipkart Lite. Flipkart has joined forces with Chrome and Opera to create this first-of-its-kind site and intends to take on Firefox as well. Flipkart Lite is expected to allow consumers to use Flipkart directly from the links on social media and other websites.
Myntra has relaunched its mobile website; only some popular sections like shoes, shirts, dresses etc. have become live. Myntra had become app-only in May this year. Customers can checkout the products on the website (both iOS and Android) but can purchase only on the app. The desktop version however, still points to the app. It is said that Myntra's app-only strategy had backfired.
Even though, Myntra recorded a $800 million revenue in January 2016 (70% jump from last January), the online fashion store is looking to slash discounts and curb supply-chain costs. Myntra announced that discounts will be cut by 3-4% points and number of discounted products across its platform will be lowered in order to "turn profitable by the end of next financial year".


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OnePlus have slowly built themselves up from an alternative mobile phone company to one of the current flagship smartphone makers. However, up to this day, buying one of the shiny new gadgets in many countries around the world – including Malta – is restricted to online purchases. Which is why news of credit cards being hacked connected to the company were even more devastating.
Last weekend, weird reports began to surface after people had made recent purchases on OnePlus’ website. Suddenly, unauthorised transactions were popping up on people’s credit cards, with hundreds of affected users taking to Reddit and the OnePlus official forum to lament the suspicious activities. According to numerous reports, the first fraud attempts came within a year after customers used their credit card to purchase items from the manufacturer’s website.
Various theories were raised as to where the attacks were originating from, and while it didn’t seem like the actual OnePlus site was breached, it did suggest that the weakest link might be the Magneto eCommerce platform. The platform, which has previously been hacked on several occasions, is often targeted by malicious actors.
Unfortunately, as you’d expect from a global online phenomenon, it didn’t take long for the whole thing to hit Malta.
Local customers of the Chinese giants also reported similar questions, with tech programme Gadgets quoting some of the distressed Maltese people on their Facebook page.
In fact, Bank of Valletta has reportedly also been blocking a number of cards since the reported issue, with customers being given new credit cards after suspicious activities were noted.
OnePlus has since released an official statement on the matter, where they said they’d be halting credit card payments on its site as a precaution. Here’s the statement in full:
“This is a serious issue and we are investigating around the clock.
As a precaution, we are temporarily disabling credit card payments at oneplus.net. PayPal is still available, and we are exploring alternative secure payment options with our service providers.
Thank you all for the kind words and support.”


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If like this author you have been awaiting the launch of the first commercial 3D printer from Inkbit, then today is your day. The Massachusetts-based startup has officially announced its closed-loop 3D printer, featuring 3D machine vision, the Inkbit Vista.
The first glimpses of what would become the Vista were released in 2015, when a team at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) published research related to a multimaterial 3D printer capable of using machine vision to produce nearly complete functional components, such as 3D printed items with integrated lenses, LEDs and razorblades. It’s been nearly six years in the making and the technology is now commercially available.
The Inkbit Vista relies on an inkjet 3D printing technology, depositing photopolymer resins from piezoelectric inkjet heads. In this way, it could be compared to PolyJet from Stratasys or MultiJet from 3D Systems. However, Inkbit’s Vision-Controlled Jetting (VCJ) is also completely different in that it relies on machine vision to introduce real-time, in-process, voxel-level closed-loop control to ensure reliability and repeatability. Moreover, the company notes, “This technology converges advanced computational techniques with a scalable hardware architecture and materials chemistries inaccessible to incumbents.”
Based on pre-announcement data listed on the startup’s website, the Inkbit Vista has a build volume of 500 x 250 x 200 mm and build rate of 2.75 L/hr, producing 22 vertical mm/h and using three materials plus supports. The XY resolution is 50 microns, while the Z-axis resolution is 10-25 microns. However, the company says that its technology is scalable, so we’ll have to see what that means exactly.
Inkbit suggests that VCJ will make it possible to “bridge the gap between prototyping and full-scale production.” The firm’s proprietary vision system captures voxel-by-voxel scan data while the printer operates at “high-speed”, ensuring that each layer is printed correctly. The company also says that VCJ “enables simple, fast, and non-hazardous post-processing of parts” and can be integrated into existing manufacturing systems. Moreover, VCJ doesn’t rely on the same acrylate and methacrylate photopolymers as past machines, thus opening up the possibility for parts that aren’t as brittle and weak as those made by other inkjet technologies.
“We are thrilled to launch Inkbit’s Additive Manufacturing System and offer a unique, rapidly deployable 3D printing solution to companies looking to adopt digital manufacturing,” said Davide Marini, co-founder and CEO at Inkbit. “Today, engineers are often using 3D printing technology to make prototypes, but limitations in materials and high costs make end-use product production difficult. At Inkbit, we’re on a mission to disrupt that notion and create a technology that provides fast printing capabilities with unmatched design freedom and reliability for even the most demanding applications and environments.”
As the inventor of inkjet 3D printing via its merger with Objet, Stratasys must understand the value of Inkbit’s technology. It participated in a $12 million investment round for Inkbit with DSM. This followed a $2.8 million investment that brings the startup’s total to roughly $15 million. Inkbit has also received funds from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the National Science Foundation, and MassVentures. Inkbit previously partnered with Johnson & Johnson, though the details of that collaboration remain vague.
We’re still hoping to learn how the Inkbit Vista might be used to combine parts to 3D print complete functional objects, as partially demonstrated in early MIT research. Javier Ramos, who was involved in the original “Multi-Fab” project, told 3DPrint.com, “The genesis of our technology has deep roots with MIT, where the ‘Multi-Fab’ project was developed. The core concept of 3D scanning and correcting parts in real-time remains the same as ‘Multi-Fab’. Inkbit Vista is the commercial evolution of the Multi-Fab project, targeted for production customers that want to produce parts at scale.”
Specific applications for VCJ have not been revealed, though some possible uses are included in the chart provided by Inkbit below. One Inkbit investor, the Ocado Group, is implementing the technology. The company’s CEO and Executive Director, Tim Steiner CEO & Executive Director, said “… we’re working very closely with Inkbit on some of our own future developments where they’re enabling some really fantastic transformational advances.”
What that could mean is hard to say. Ocado is company with diverse operations that include everything from technology for automated warehouses and robots to machine learning for fraud detection. The company’s warehouses feature a massive 3D grid in which groceries are stored in crates and robots swarm around moving crates to pickers that pack the groceries for orders. It could be that Ocado is interested in mass customization of goods beyond groceries, with robot swarms helping to a run an immense digital factory. Like Materialise, but with robots. Your guess is as good as mine.
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Personal assistant company JStar has raised $11 million in funding for its Amazon Echo-style hardware, Josh.ai. JStar, founded by Alex Capecelatro and Tim Gill, is currently working on the voice-controlled system, which includes hardware designed specifically to sync with smart homes.
Josh.ai has several features that set it apart, including the ability to react to two commands at once, an overarching connection to smart home devices from more than 50 brands, and a male voice by default. It also responds to natural language phrases such as “it’s hot in here” by adjusting the relevant system.
Gill and Capecelatro both built smart homes for themselves, and wanted an automation system that didn’t “cost hundreds of thousands of dollars and … look like it’s from the 90s,” Capecelatro told TechCrunch.
Their solution is not cheap – the version of Josh.ai available right now is sold at about $10,000 by professional smart home integrators, and comes with a Mac mini and iPad along with the software.
In Amazon news, the company is building a service similar to Best Buy’s in-home repair team Geek Squad. Best Buy stock was down on Tuesday after the announcement. Amazon’s version focuses on sending technicians to install and troubleshoot smart home devices such as the Amazon Echo and the Alexa personal assistant. Other associated services include Phillips smart lighting, Honeywell and Ecobee3 smart thermostats, and WiFi setup. For now, the service is only available in select cities in California as well as in Seattle and in Portland, Ore.
Filed Under: M2M (machine to machine)


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The average fast-food meal packs 1,750 milligrams of sodium — more than the American Heart Association recommends adults eat in an entire day.
Know how annoying it is that some people can eat fast food every day and not gain weight? Scientists may have discovered why.
New research published in the journal Scientific Reports found that adding a lot of salt to a high-fat diet actually prevented weight gain in mice — the exact opposite of the experts’ hypothesis.
For their study, scientists from the University of Iowa fed groups of mice different foods — some that were high fat — with various levels of salt. Surprisingly, mice that ate a high-fat, high-salt diet gained the same amount of weight as mice that were fed regular food. The mice on the high-fat diet with the least added salt gained the most weight.
When researchers explored why this might have happened, they discovered that salt had a significant effect on how well the mice were able to digest their food — specifically how well their bodies were able to absorb fat. They theorized that this could explain why people don’t always feel great after eating fast foods that are high in fat and salt.
Of course, plenty of people regularly eat fast food that’s high in salt and fat and gain weight — a lot of it. That’s because sodium doesn’t affect people the same way, says Keri Gans, author of The Small Change Diet. “It’s totally different for each person,” she tells Yahoo Health.
Gans stresses that this new research should not be seen as an excuse to eat more fast food, even if it doesn’t make you gain weight. “We always associate poor health with high weight, but you can definitely be a thin person and still have a lot of health complications that that have nothing to do with your weight,” she says. She lists high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and diabetes among them.
Science backs that up: A recent study published in Archives of Internal Medicine found that people who ate a high-salt diet had a 20 percent higher risk of dying from any cause during the 15-year study, and a significantly elevated risk of dying from a heart attack.
While we need sodium for our bodies to function properly, Gans says we shouldn’t necessarily seek out it out because we already get plenty of sodium from our diet. Aside from the usual salty suspects, there’s sodium in foods we don’t normally associate with it, such as tomato juice and cottage cheese.
And, of course, there’s a lot of salt in many fast foods. Gans points out that a quarter-pound burger with cheese from Wendy’s contains 1,220 milligrams of sodium. “That’s half of the amount of sodium you should be consuming for the day,” she says — and that burger contains far less sodium that other fast-food options that may contain bacon, added condiments, or more meat.
So, if you’re planning to have fast food or any other sodium-packed meal, Gans says to just be aware that you’re getting a serious helping of salt along with it. Her advice? Go for low-sodium options for the rest of the day.


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Midnight News Update – Jun 22nd 2020
Hetero Drugs of Hyderabad has secured approval from the Indian pharma regulator for the manufacture and marketing of Remdesivir, belonging to Gilead Inc of the US. Hetero was one of the licensees in India to manufacture Remdesivir, apart from Cipla and Jubilant Life. It will be marketed under the name of Covifor in India and each vial is expected to cost around Rs.5000. The company is likely to prioritize distribution in states like Maharashtra and Delhi, which are the worst affected by the pandemic. In India there are at least 10,000 patients who need this drug urgently and it can be a life saver in the fight.
Foreign portfolio investors or FPIs have infused Rs.17,985 crore into Indian equities in the month of June till date. The infusion was over Rs.20,527 crore in the first two weeks of the month and there was net selling by FPIs in the third week due to uncertainty over the Indo-China border situation. FPIs had been net sellers in the months of March, April and May but the massive infusion of liquidity by central banks results in risk-on flows into emerging markets in June and India was one of the key beneficiaries. FPI flows were prominent into selected sectors like personal products, telecom and hydrocarbons space.
In the light of the post-COVID cash crunch, ONGC has decided to optimize some of its capital outlays. In the March quarter, ONGC got hit by tepid oil prices as also many refiners using the Force Majeure clause to reduce off-take of crude oil. Even natural gas output suffered due to lower demand as city gas suppliers also reduced their off-take due to limited demand. ONGC has also stated that the supply chain constraints imposed by the COVID-19 lockdown has resulted in the completion dates of many projects being put off. Labour shortfalls are also implementing the pace of completion of expansion projects.
The government has stated that nearly 42 crore Indians had received assistance from the government under the Garib Kalyan Package and the total outlay for the same had been closer to Rs.65,454 crore. The package was announced in March this year to provide free food grains and cash payment to women as well as to poor senior citizens and farmers. A part of this allocation was also front loaded towards payment of the first instalment of the PM-Kisan minimum income initiative. Three instalments of around Rs.10,000 crore have already been credited to the bank accounts of women under Jan Dhan scheme.
The rally in the stock markets on Thursday and Friday was a lot stronger than anticipated and resulted in the top 10 stocks on the Nifty adding nearly Rs.176,500 crore to the overall market capitalization of the stock exchange. The big gainer was Reliance which benefited by getting closer to its zero net-debt status. During the week, RIL market cap grew by Rs.108,213 crore as its overall market crossed $150 billion. Among the others, HDFC Bank gained Rs.27,788 crore while ICICI Bank gained 12,729 crore. HDFC also gained nearly Rs.8110 crore while Bharti was another major gainer with Rs.6300 crore. During the week, Infosys, TCS and Kotak Bank jointly added Rs.13,000 crore to the market cap. Among the losers, ITC lost Rs.12,169 crore in market cap while HUL lost Rs.3277 crore as FMCG came under pressure.
As the Boycott China calls reach a crescendo, Indian auto manufacturers have protested that Indian producers would find it impossible to manage without Chinese supply chains. Indian auto industry is worth $120 billion annually and it sources nearly 15-20% of its components from China. According to Rajiv Bajaj, China offers in terms of price, speed and flexibility. Bajaj Auto, for example, sources alloy wheels and transmission wheels from China worth Rs.1000 crore. Despite the 10% duty on Chinese products, it still works out 15% cheaper than the locally produced products in the category.
Midnight News Update – Jun 22nd 2020


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Faced with a shifting marketplace, McDonald’s has ventured into the burgeoning Siberian restaurant scene and attempted to rebrand itself as a “modern progressive burger company.” Shockingly, neither of these totally credible business strategies have managed to offset the existential threat posed by rival burger companies, like Five Guys and Shake Shack, who distinguish themselves by selling actual organic food in their restaurants.
Infiltrating America’s schools is possibly a viable growth strategy stateside, but what can be done to rescue the brand from the competition overseas? The answer, according to the McDonald’s braintrust, is a “range of burgers” developed in conjunction with Michelin-starred restaurants that will include “the thickest patty ever sold by McDonald’s,” reports The Guardian.
The new burgers will be trialled at 28 restaurants in London, the south and Manchester before being rolled out to 400 McDonald’s restaurants next summer.
The trick, I suppose, will be integrating the tastes and culinary acumen of talented chefs with the beloved McFlavor we’ve all grown to McLove, even while it is almost certainly McKilling us.
The extra thickness of the meat means customers will have to wait for their burger to be served, in contrast to the company’s traditional hamburgers and Big Macs.
McDonald’s food development director Duncan Cruttenden says these burgers are the result of customer feedback:
“When the chef council started to develop this new premium offering, we worked with a brief generated by our customers – they told us they wanted thicker beef patties and high quality ingredients, freshly prepared.”
We would like human-grade food, please. Better hire some real chefs for that one!
These “Signature Collection” burgers will be served on brioche buns, and could someday be rolled out to McDonald’s locations all over the world, so long as they’re popular among the good people of Britain.


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This Mobile Classified App Just Raised $30M In an Effort to Dethrone Craigslist as Industry Leader
Craigslist has been the unquestioned leader in the online classified advertisement space, at least at a national level, for some time. A new mobile app that just raised a significant amount of funding is certainly not the first time a similar company has come out swinging in an effort to take them down, but this one might have the best shot of anyone prior. The application, which is called 5miles, was originally developed in China, but has made its way into the United States already.
According to Tech Crunch, the company recently raised $30 million in their latest round of investment funding, giving it serious credibility to take a shot at the big bad bully on the classifieds-industry block. In addition to the extra monetary backing the company now has, it has another big advantage: being incredibly mobile-friendly.
That’s because they 5miles was created that way. That, coupled with the fact that it’s free and includes AI-based search capabilities, has helped it win support not only in its home country, but in the U.S. as well.
The 5miles app was founded by Lucas Lu, a physics Ph.D who previously worked at Alibaba and the Chinese marketplace app Light in the Box. Lu developed the app in China, but when it came time to make some noise in the marketplace, he went back to Texas, a foreign place he was familiar with.
Lu had done some of his graduate work at Southern Methodist University and saw Dallas as a perfect opportunity to launch the app in the United States.
The initial look and feel of the app must be visually appealing to consumer because the average person will only stay on a site for about 10 seconds and so far, it seems to be a success.
According to The Dallas Morning News, Dallas and Houston are the app’s largest markets. 5miles has 12 employees working out of its U.S. headquarters in Dallas. In addition to the success it’s having in the Lone Star State, the app has been “soft launched” in many of the country’s other major markets, including Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, and Boston.
“We’ll continue to build out in existing markets so we’ll cover most of major cities in the U.S. by the end of next year 2017,” Lu said. He hopes to eventually expand to Europe, South America, and other areas of Asia.


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First Click: Google Pixel, Google Daydream, Oculus Rift, and more Google in the ...
The third Oculus Connect kicks off on Wednesday, October 5th in the shadow of revelations that the company’s founder has been quietly funding a pro-Trump "shitposting" campaign during an extraordinarily toxic election year. Nevertheless, the three-day San Jose event should provide us with a shipping date for the long-awaited Touch controllers, just ahead of the PlayStation VR’s October 13th sale date. But let’s not kid ourselves, this week is all about Google.
Google’s event kicks off on Tuesday in San Francisco. Rumors suggest a slew of new hardware including 5-inch Pixel and 5.5-inch Pixel XL phones built by HTC; pricing and availability of the Echo-likeGoogle Home voice assistant; a new Chromecast Ultra USB stick with support for 4K resolutions and HDR; and a multi-point router variation of OnHub meant to compete with modern home Wi-Fi solutions like Eero. We should also expect to hear more about Google’sDaydream VR platform set to launch any day now.
We announced the 1st version of Android 8 years ago today. I have a feeling 8 years from now we'll be talking about Oct 4, 2016.
— Hiroshi Lockheimer (@lockheimer) September 24, 2016 More importantly perhaps, would be the announcement of " Andromeda ," the code name for a long rumored Chrome OS and Android mashup targeting laptops and tablets. Of course anything could happen so be sure to tune into our coverage at 1pm ET tomorrow, October 4th. You'll want to read Dan Seifert's event preview before then.
But all this and more is still to come. First let’s get caught up on the weekend that was.


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The successful takedown of both versions of Silk Road, the latest as part of a broader operation against dark web sites, has not put an end to dark commerce. To the contrary, competing marketplaces like the Agora, Nucleus and Evolution Marketplaces have increased market share. And as discussed on Ars Technica, they are getting “darker”: there are fewer limitations on what can be posted for sale and more nefarious items making their way into the mix.
One of the most popular is Evolution Marketplace, administered by “Verto,” the same administrator of Tor Carding Forum (TCF) – a “private forum that charges $50 to join” and “has long maintained a brisk trade in stolen financial details.”
Evolution has over 26,000 listings for drugs, weapons, pornography, pirated software and even malware. Over 15,000 drug-related listings were found.
TrioMarkets Partners with HokoCloud, Expands its Portfolio with Social TradingGo to article >>
And as described by Dan Palumbo, research director at the Digital Citizens Alliance (DCA) advocacy group, they go beyond the lines drawn by Silk Road:
“They sell weapons, stolen credit cards, and more nefarious items that were forbidden on both versions of Silk Road. Silk Road sold a lot of dangerous things, but operators drew the line at their version of ‘victimless crimes,’ i.e. no child pornography, weapons, or identity theft. Now, four of the top five DarkNet Marketplaces sell weapons while three of the top five sell stolen financial data. This is a darker DarkNet. It speaks to the challenge facing law enforcement as they knock one set of bad actors offline, another comes along with bigger and bolder intentions.”
Still, it does set some limits. It does not condone sales in child pornography, prostitution, services for murder or Ponzi schemes.
The site takes a 2-4% cut on all sales, which are made in bitcoin. It has also adopted security measures already employed by “mainstream” crypto services. For example, transactions can require signatures from two out of the three parties involved: the buyer, seller and escrow.


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It is no secret that Tesla's autopilot project is fighting. Last summer, we reported a report that Tesla bleeding talent from his autopilot department. Tesla autopilot chief Sterling Anderson has left Tesla at the end of 2016. His successor was Chris Lattner, who had previously developed the programming language Swift at Apple. But Lattner only lasted six months before he left last June.
Now leaves Lattner's successor Jim Keller Tesla.
Keller was a well-known chip designer at AMD before being hired for Tesla's hardware development for autopilot in 201
Kellers departure comes just weeks after the death of Walter Huang, a Model X driver in Mountain View who crashed into a concrete scout, California. Tesla said autopilot was busy at the time of the crash. Since then, Tesla has fallen into public feuds with both Huang's family and the National Transportation Safety Board, the federal agency investigating the crash.
"Today Jim is Kellers last day at Tesla, where he has low-voltage hardware, autopilot software and infotainment," Tesla said in a statement to Electrek. "Before joining Tesla, Jim's core passion was the microprocessor generation, and he joins a company where he can focus exclusively on it."
Tesla has a major autopilot problem
We do not know why Keller has decided to leave. What we do know, however, is that he was facing an extremely challenging situation in Tesla.
Over the last 18 months, Tesla has charged its customers $ 3,000 for a "full self-driving" option for autopilot. Tesla has promised customers that their current hardware – which includes radar and a range of cameras but no lidar – will be enough to achieve full self-drive capability. And since June 2016, Elon Musk predicts that full self-drive capabilities will be available in the next two years.
But almost two years after Musk's prediction, Tesla does not seem to be close to self-drive skills for customers who have paid for the feature. And it's a real question if it's even possible to deliver full self-propelled capabilities with the hardware that Tesla has delivered since 2016.
Any other large-scale, self-driving technology company uses Lidar as a key element of its sensor suite. Musk has repeatedly dismissed Lidar as a "crutch," but it seems that companies like Waymo and GM know what they're doing. Tesla's cars have less hardware redundancy than the Waymo and GM cars, leading to potential safety concerns when key components fail. And it's not known if the Nvidia processors on current Tesla cars are even powerful enough to drive themselves.
In fact, the Wall Street Journal Sterling Anderson, the head of the autopilot program, when Tesla began to sell the "full self-propelled" property, was not sure that the hardware would be sufficient for full self-propelled skills. "The announcement shook some engineers because they believed the product being released was not self-propelled," Journal said. When Anderson was asked about moving an employee, he reportedly replied, "This was Elon's decision."
The decision to market autopilot as a "fully self-propelled system" was a factor in Anderson's decision and at least two other engineers to leave the company, " Journal reported.
Since The project has suffered a steady loss of talent in its August 2008 article Journal noted that the team has "lost at least 10 engineers and four top executives." That included Anderon's successor, Chris Lattner, who only lasted six months.
And Lattner was not subtle when he left Tesla last summer.
Turns out Tesla does not suit me well, I'm interested in interesting roles for an experienced technical Ladder!
– Chris Lattner (@clattner_llvm) June 21, 2017
Why the autopilot team is so tough
According to Electrek, Tesla plans to divide Keller's role into two jobs. Chip designer Pete Bannon succeeds Keller as head of autopilot hardware efforts. In the meantime, Andrej Karpathy, head of Autopilot's machine vision efforts, will be promoted to head all autopilot software efforts.
Keller's successors will be subjected to immense – and possibly contradictory – pressure.
On the one hand, the autopilot team is facing pressure from regulators and safety representatives to position the autopilot more clearly as a driver assistance feature. This could mean that the autopilot function is further restricted without the driver having his hands on the steering wheel – or reducing the number of warnings a driver receives before the technology shuts off. It could mean that new techniques are added to make sure the driver is paying attention. For example, a camera facing the driver. And it could mean restricting the autopilot's operations on roads where Tesla is sure it's safe.
At the same time, the autopilot team is under pressure from Musk – and customers who paid $ 3,000 for full self-drive Expand the capabilities of the autopilot and finally enable hands-free operation on all roads. Ideally, they would find out how to do this without the need for LIDAR sensors or other expensive upgrades.
The problem is of course that this is not possible.
In fact, Google – now Waymo – concluded years ago that the evolutionary approach that Tesla is currently pursuing makes no sense. Engineers found that test drivers relied too soon on early versions of their self-propelled technology, even though they were explicitly told to keep their hands on the wheel and their eyes on the road. So Google rejected plans to market a driver assistance technology and instead focused on building completely self-driving cars where a customer would never have to touch the steering wheel.
Waymo has focused on building an autonomous taxi service because it allows the company to roll out service step by step, city by city. Waymo plans to launch in Phoenix, where 99 percent of the time there are pristine roads and perfect weather. Over time, as the software becomes more powerful, service is extended to areas of more difficult situations, such as snow or high-density urban environments. This strategy means Waymo can add or replace sensors and other hardware to its cars while learning what is needed for full self-drive.
But this strategy does not go well with a company like Tesla, which sells cars directly to customers. Customers expect their cars to work everywhere, not just in a specific metropolitan area or only in favorable weather conditions. Tesla does not have billions of dollars to map the city streets and extensively test the software with security drivers. And customers who have already paid for the full self-drive mode will no longer want to pay thousands of dollars to add Lidar or additional computing power.
In short, Bannon and Karpathy have a challenging task ahead of them. If Elon Musk does not want to lose the autopilot leader all the time, he might consider changing Tesla's autopilot strategy to make sure the job is not impossible.


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For many of us, the internet and social media are the first places we turn to for feedback about medicines, to make self-diagnoses, educate ourselves about diseases, explore different treatment options, and discuss our own health experiences.
Though the majority of consumer facing companies are now on social media, pharmaceutical companies remain hesitant to embrace social media in any form.
Much of this can be attributed to strict industry regulations and vague guidelines for what these companies can and cannot do with social media.
IMS Health’s report, Engaging Patients Through Social Media, highlights many of the challenges facing the pharmaceutical industry’s adoption of social media including: reporting ADR’s (adverse drug reaction), being able to drive new insights via big data, and understanding what constitutes acceptable communication with consumers online.
To address these challenges, last year, the FDA released a guide aimed at clarifying how pharmaceutical companies can utilize social media.
Unfortunately, the rules laid out in this guide were perceived to still be too vague and led many pharmaceutical companies to react in the safest way they knew — to continue to completely stay away from engaging on social media.
However, while communicating directly with consumers via social media remains a wishy-washy situation for the pharmaceutical industry, many of these companies, as well as their supporting agencies, are finding enormous strategic value in analyzing social data for consumer insights.
In particular, pharmaceutical companies are using social insights to:
- Examine the impact of side effects (on an aggregate level)
- Uncover new product ideas
- Identify and monitor threats to brands and categories of medicine
- Understand the patient experience with diseases
- Perform trend analysis for consumer perceptions of medications
- Track how patients are managing their diseases
- Identify new audiences and create messaging that resonates
In our report, Applications for Social Insights in the Pharmaceutical Industry, we provide an in-depth examination of analyzing social data to provide strategic value for the pharmaceutical and personal care industries.
You can download the report, for free, in the section below.


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Intel will introduce a dual-core Atom processor this quarter as it tries to improve the performance of the inexpensive, low-power chips, CEO Paul Otellini said during an earnings conference call on Tuesday.
Intel sees its Light Peak technology for linking devices by optical cable as potentially succeeding USB 3.0, a change that in several years could mean the disappearance of a port used almost universally in gadgets today.
Intel on Wednesday announced a line of microprocessors for the embedded processor market aimed at a range of products, from digital signs and electronic car dashboard systems to digital cash registers, IP phones and digital blackjack machines.
Intel showed off a pocket-sized device that monitors power usage by gadgets and appliances across a house, from toasters to computer monitors and video game consoles.
The latest family of Intel microprocessors, code-named Sandy Bridge, will be in production by the end of this year, while desktops and laptops with the chips will likely be on world markets in early 2011.
Intel has ported Google's Android mobile operating system to smartphones based on its Atom microprocessors, an Intel executive said Tuesday.
Intel will team up with Chinese Internet company Tencent on development using the next generation of the MeeGo mobile operating system, Intel said Tuesday.
Intel is talking to several companies to use their Web software programming tools with the AppUp store, including Adobe Air and Microsoft Silverlight, but it's having a hard time finding anyone to talk to about Java.
Intel on Tuesday reported strong earnings for the first quarter of fiscal 2010, with the company calling it the "best first quarter ever."
Apple has updated the 15-inch and 17-inch MacBook Pro models with Intel's Core i5 and i7 processors, which will include two integrated graphics processors to improve the laptops' battery life and performance.
Intel late on Sunday said it was collaborating with companies including Samsung and Motorola to develop the next generation of WiMax mobile broadband technology, which will provide a speed boost in 4G wireless data transfers.
Intel this week reaffirmed its commitment to developing the Itanium processor, but also said it wants to grab market share with Xeon server chips in high-performance computing, where Itanium also plays.
A technology guru at Intel Corp. predicts that the internet will look significantly different in five to 10 years, when much of it will be three dimensional, or 3D.
Intel will ship computers with an experimental 48-core processor to researchers by the end of the second quarter as the company tries to reshape its future chips.
Global chip manufacturer Intel announced recently the availability of its next-generation Xeon processors which sport the popular Nehalem microarchitecture found in its consumer Core chips, and is targeted at mission-critical servers at the enterpris...
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The value of lifetime mortgages slips but reversions perform strongly in a softening property market according to Safe Home Income Plans.
In its third quarter figures to September 30 2005 a significant increase in home reversions business is evident. SHIP believes this reflects the fact that property price inflation is far lower now than in recent years, which is making reversion products more attractive.
The total value of new business written was 293.6m, 12.5 per cent ahead of the second quarter in 2005 of 260.9m. Home reversions business increased from 10.6m in Q2 2005 to 17.3m in the latest figures.
Year on year home reversions have risen from 9.6m in Q3 2004- a rise of 80 per cent.
But despite an increase on Q2 2005 business, figures show a considerable drop in the value of lifetime mortgages business written from 328.8m in Q3 2004 to 276.3m.
Ship chairman Jon King says: “Lifetime mortgages business has begun to slip back, despite it being a record quarter in 2005. However, home reversions have performed strongly this quarter. This reflects continued uncertainty in the property market and speculation that house price inflation is not likely to be as great in the future as it has been in the past. This may see increasing numbers of consumers turning to home reversions in preference to lifetime mortgages as the proportion of the house sold is fixed.


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The National Association of Motor Auctions (NAMA) has published its monthly car auction data report this week for May 2018.
The report shows that overall in May:
- First time conversion rates decreased by -5.5% to 75.0% from April
- Average selling value was down slightly by -0.4% from £5,677 to £5,657 from the previous month, and was up by a significant 9.3% from last May’s figure of £5,176
- Average mileage was down by -0.3% to 65,190 from April, however was up by 1.3% on the same period last year
- The first time premium was £22, down -33.3% on last month’s figure of £33
Whilst auction activity has been buoyant in 2018 so far, performance was more mixed this month.
The average first time conversion rate was -5.5% lower than April and -8% lower than March at an average of 75%. However this is still almost 1% higher than the same period last year.
Stock volumes at auction were reported to be reasonably high and hammer prices notably weaker. With that said, it is believed that around 2.5% more cars were sold at auction than in May 2017.
The outlook continues to look positive for the coming months, although the balance between vehicle supply and customer demand will remain key to auction performance.
If you would like to receive a full copy of the report please email firstname.lastname@example.org


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Everywhere you turn, people are talking about one major topic: saving the environment and preserving Mother Earth. Indeed, going green has become an international trend, but how can society, from major corporations to individuals alike, participate in creating environmental awareness? On Saturday, April 24, RelevanSi, a newly launched international green marketing company, will be simultaneously hosting events in Buenos Aires, Chicago, and Logan to answer this very question. Logan’s particular event, which will be held at Merlin Olsen Park from noon until dusk, aims to provide the local community with the tools they need to contribute to spread the green movement. “In today’s economy and everyday life, both people and businesses are looking to find eco-friendly alternatives to accomplish tasks or generate products,” stated Michelle Swenson, co-founder of RelevanSi. “Our event plans to entertain, inform, and above all else, educate business owners, consumers, and even interested individuals with ways they can contribute to the change that today’s environment desperately needs.” The Logan event will have local businesses showcasing the ideas, products, and services that are currently being used in the green movement. These businesses will highlight the advantages of being eco-friendly, according to Swenson. The mission of the event is to raise awareness about green issues and all proceeds will go towards RelevanSi’s upcoming non-profit video blog, which will elevate awareness and promote education through original documentaries concerning environmental issues in Argentina and ultimately, throughout the world. “The goal of the video blog is to generate participation of international specialists in videos and forum discussions which show the work of sustainable companies worldwide,” said Pablo Carrega, RelevanSi’s co-founder and CEO. The funds will finance the equipment for video filming production, the establishment of a forum for educational exchange, and the creation of tutorials and tips on how to easily adopt a greener lifestyle. Finally, the money raised will also fund tours in which the blog team will travel to undereducated Argentine provinces to promote environmental awareness, spreading educational videos and green methodologies. In conjunction with the events that will be taking place in both Buenos Aires and Chicago, the Logan event will offer the community the unique opportunity to learn about how to change current trends and how to start going green, implementing ideas that have been generated from around the globe.
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2012 SEMA Show - Web Exclusive, Day 1
Today was the first of the four days here at the Las Vegas Convention Center. As is every year, it was a hectic day of everyone doing last minute touch ups, shining wheels, and setting up booths. With three different halls and a whole outside area, we have a long week ahead of us of shooting. For this first web exclusive we have all of the hottest vehicles from outside the halls. Be sure to check back in every day this week to see exclusive coverage of the 2012 SEMA show.
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Smartphones allow people to check sports scores, send email and watch cat videos almost anywhere.
They now can also allow you to perform cunnilingus just by licking your phone.
That’s the idea behind “O-Cast,” a new digital marketplace that allows people to upload simulated oral sex sessions that can be then be downloaded on to a vibrator via bluetooth.
O-Cast spokesman Darren Press says his product is sort of an “iTunes for oral sex,” since the plan is to offer all sorts of different tongue patterns for download at the website.
It works like this: One person downloads a web app that records vibratory patterns made by licking the phone screen.
“You can also use your finger, but telling people to lick the phone helps the click bait,” Press told HuffPost. “If your phone screen is clean, you should be OK.”
Whether you use finger or tongue, those patterns last up to 60 seconds in length. They can be anything from circles, straight lines or even the alphabet.
Those vibratory patterns are then connected via bluetooth to the Lush, a remote control vibrator that sells for $100 a pop.
Press says the plan is to provide a place where men and women can record their oral technique so it can be sampled and, hopefully, appreciated by the world at large.
Press says the touchy technology was tested with the help of cam models working at his other business, CamSoda, an adult entertainment website.
He was surprised at what they discovered from the hands-on research.
“They gravitated towards the higher vibrations,” Press said. “I didn’t think they’d want a product that vibrates so aggressively. When I hold it, I can feel the vibes down my forearm.”
Adult entertainer Charley Hart tested out the product and was impressed by the results.
“I loved it,” she told HuffPost. “Nothing is like the real thing, but it’s great when the other person is far away.”
Hart plans to utilize it in her work as a cam model by letting fans “perform” on her by uploading their own oral sex performances during private shows (provided they pay an additional fee, of course).
But Hart can see other options for O-Cast, such as giving people who are unsure of their oral sex skills a chance to have them tested by sex experts, or be a calling card for those who are good at it.
“Guys who are good at it are rare, so a guy who is, I’m calling back!” she said.
Currently, there are 12 sample “orgasms” available for download with titles like “Getting Loco,” “Mushroom Cloud,” and “Sensual Bath.”
More will be added as people come to the website.
Whether this turns out to be the future of virtual sex remains to be seen.
A few months back, Press and company attempted to do something similar for fellatio, but sales have been limp.
“The device for that is expensive ― about $250,” he admitted. “It’s the best of its kind, but not quite there.”


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Consumer Rights and Protections in an Automated Society
11:00am - 12:15pm EST
5:00pm - 6:15pm CET
6:00pm - 7:15pm EET
About this event
On October 8, Science Advisor to the President and Director of OSTP Dr. Eric Lander and OSTP Deputy Director for Science and Society, Dr. Alondra Nelson authored an op-ed in Wired magazine that proposed establishing a Bill of Rights for an automated society. The op-ed sought feedback from industry, academia, governments, civil society and the public on ways to ensure AI is developed in ways that promote equality, privacy, and individual liberty. To advance public engagement and education, OSTP is co-hosting a series of six panel discussions on a range of AI and equity issues.
The Digital Innovation and Democracy Initiative is co-hosting the panel on Consumer Rights and Protections, which will explore the opportunities and challenges for individual consumers and communities regarding a growing ecosystem of AI-enabled consumer products, advanced platforms and services, “Internet of Things” (IoT) devices, and smart city products and services. Panelists will explore whether the conveniences, enhanced connections, and efficiencies made available through these products and services are benefiting consumers and communities, the hidden trade-offs for consumers and governments, and the effectiveness of existing regulatory and legal protections. This event is free and open to the public.


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Blog: Dismal third quarter results
Leonie Barrie | 24 November 2008
In a week of dismal third quarter results from US retailers, beleaguered Gap Inc managed to surprise the market with a 3.4% rise in third quarter profit to $246m. Admittedly the income boost was achieved by cost cutting, higher margins and reduced inventory levels – rather than better sales – but it did also affirm its earnings guidance for the year.
The worry, however, is what will happen when the company has cut all the costs it possibly can? There is certainly no respite on the sales front, with total sales sliding 7.7% in the quarter; and same-store sales falling across its Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy and International divisions.
Analysts say the retailer’s “rock solid” balance sheet and lack of financing concerns have put it in a better position than its competitors, but until it can reignite sales growth there must surely be concerns about its growth going forward.
Cost-cutting measures continue to take centre stage at T-shirt, underwear and sock maker Hanesbrands, which is to cut nearly 400 jobs and close its yarn production plant in China Grove, North Carolina. Around 210 of the jobs being axed are management and corporate roles, while 185 employees will lose their positions when the yarn plant shuts at the end of the year.
The move is part of longer term plans by Hanesbrands, which owns labels such as Champion, Wonderbra and Playtex, to consolidate production into fewer but bigger facilities in Asia. Since spinning off from Sara Lee in September 2006, it has shuttered at least 28 plants worldwide employing around 16,300 workers.
Job cuts are also looming at US apparel maker Warnaco Group, which is to axe 7% of its corporate staff in a bid to adapt to the difficult economic climate. In total, the streamlining will result in 45 positions being lost, but the company is also eyeing a US$40m reduction in expenses next year.
Over in the UK, discount fashion chain MK One has gone into administration for the second time this year after being buffeted by a combination of tough trading conditions and intense competition from cut-price rivals. The high street retailer, which operates 125 stores, employs around 1,400 full and part time staff will continue to operate while administrators try to find a buyer for the business.
On the trade front, new research suggests China accounted for 42.8% of US apparel imports by volume in September – their highest ever level. Furthermore, this growth has accelerated since March, when Chinese imports reached a mere 20% of US clothing imports. The research believes American buyers returned to China after rising input prices and pay hikes had less of an impact on clothes prices than had been feared.
Fresh from their disappointment at seeing the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade deal abandoned last month with an executive order by President Donald Trump, the US apparel and footwear sector...
With the ultimate aim of ensuring all the cotton in its products is sourced sustainably, value clothing retailer Primark is adamant that having a business model focused on offering the lowest prices o...
Last week we marked the inauguration of Donald Trump as the 45th president of the United States by taking a closer look at what's at stake for the textile and apparel trade – especially his promises t...
Continuing our look at what lies ahead for the apparel industry and its supply chain in 2017, the panel of industry experts consulted by just-style last week tackled likely shifts in the sourcing land...
- China leads US apparel sources with falling prices
- Vietnam grows share of US apparel imports in 2016
- US apparel sector braces for potential cost hikes
- Hard hit Turkish industry is not knocked out
- Trade Tracker – Trump's first weeks, Brexit agenda
- VF Corp sees Q4 and FY earnings tumble
- US Q4 in brief – Macy's, Walmart, VF Corp
- Adidas and Burberry recognised for sustainability
- Bangladesh "high threat" for terrorist activity
- Bangladesh crackdown has cost garment sector $100m
- When Things Go Wrong - A Practical Guide to Managing Common Problems in Apparel Sourcing
- Outdoor performance apparel 2016: A broader perspective
- Technical textile markets: product developments and innovations, December 2016
- Global market review of lingerie – forecasts to 2022
- Southeast Asia strategic sourcing review – a focus on Cambodia, Vietnam and Myanmar


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Australian United Retailers Limited (AURL), the independent retail supermarket group behind FoodWorks, has announced a new retail strategy that will see three new formats rolled out from 2017.
AURL currently has close to 650 supermarkets, food and convenience stores across seven states and territories nationally, with over 400 of these operating under the FoodWorks brand.
In an address to the company’s suppliers, AURL chief procurement and commercial officer, Anthony Abdallah, explained that the new approaches were designed to cater to the changing needs of customers and the different ways people shop.
“One retail format no longer caters for the evolving shopping habits of our customers and these new formats have been specifically developed to take our business into the future by responding our offer to the needs of the communities we service,” he said.
The new formats will each cater to a different target market, which will be reflected in the stores’ core ranges.
These include: FoodWorks Supermarkets, targeted at families and the primary shopper in major cities/towns, with extensive offerings across all departments and a heavy fresh food focus; FoodWorks Local, designed for families/elderly couples in regional areas along with visitors, featuring a mix of departments and impulse categories; and FoodWorks Express, targeted at a transient customer base including passing traffic, public transport users and local residents centred around impulse categories like confectionery, soft drinks, and on-the-go meal solutions.
According to Abdallah, the new formats will provide more targeted sales growth opportunities for suppliers who can use the data and analytics available to tailor products and promotions to the different retail formats.
“This is an exciting time for our business, suppliers and customers,” he says. “We are confident this new strategy will drive more traffic through our stores, increase sales and profitability and ensure our customers are getting access to the products they want and need.”
Stores will start transitioning to the new formats from early 2017 and the complete changeover is expected to take approximately 12-18 months.


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Washington State Gov. Jay Inslee will have the opportunity to consider a new measure to protect grocery workers if the $24.6 billion Kroger, Albertsons merger is approved.
If the deal receives the green light, 413 Kroger and Albertsons stores will be sold to C&S Wholesale Grocers. The state of Washington has 107 locations that would be impacted.
The state House of Representatives approved the measure by a 60-33 vote late last week, sending it to Inslee’s desk.
The legislation states grocery workers must be retained for at least six months after stores become fully operational under the merger. Workers at distribution centers would also qualify.
After the six-month period, workers at affected stores must receive a written performance evaluation, and if a worker receives satisfactory marks, they must be offered continued employment.
Additionally, workers would receive compensation if they were terminated.
Grocers also must post any change in control at the location of the affected grocery location within five business days of the change action.
Late last year, California Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill that would provide severance to grocery workers who lost their jobs as a result of the Kroger, Albertsons deal.
California’s Grocery Worker Retention law prohibits companies who merge or buy another grocer to terminate workers during the first 90 days, and a federal law, the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, requires companies with 100 or more employees to provide a 60-day notice before layoffs.
Before the veto Newsom signed two House measures — one which requires grocery stores and pharmacies to notify the state attorney general 180 days before a merger kicks in and to provide details of the impact.
The other bill added some bulk to the Grocery Worker Retention law by expanding the 90-day retention to include warehouse workers. Grocers also now have 33 days to resolve any conflict with a worker before they can sue.


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This year’s WebXR Brand Summit took place last Thursday, September 15, preceded by a more open-format Town Hall event the week before. Hosted by the same organization that puts on the Polys Awards, the event included roundtables and use cases for how brands are exploring WebXR to increase exposure and services on a more spatial and connected internet.
Not Just for Brands
Not for the faint of heart, the full live-streaming remote event ran nine consecutive hours. Hosted by the tireless Sophia Moshasha and Julie Smithson with tech support from Ben Irwin, the event included 20 speakers in 11 sessions. If you think that that means it was just people selling sneakers all day, you miss the importance of brands in immersive spaces.
“This is where we believe it starts. Brands have made initial investments in this space from the early days. … We owe them a lot of credit for starting to experiment,” Moshasha said in a welcome address with Smithson. “Discussing brands’ history in immersive tech is valuable for everyone.”
A Fireside Chat With Amy Peck
“Immersive spaces” and “immersive tech” are important terms because, according to the WebXR Brand Summit’s first speaker, we aren’t at “metaverse” yet. That means that, while we should be reflecting on the history of brands, this is also a term for brands to self-reflect and then move forward.
“This is a moment for brands to ask what is their DNA and extrapolate their DNA into the future,” EndeavorXR founder and CEO, Amy Peck, said in a fireside chat with Moshasha.
As we can expect these days, a number of the talks also touched on cryptocurrency and blockchain assets, as well as data security in a more connected web. Peck said that this more connected future is an opportunity for brands to build rather than lose trust.
“When you start to look at a transparent model and giving some of the power to consumers, you’re humanizing that relationship,” said Peck. “The focus should not be tech or Web3 or metaverse, it should be about the human experience. … We can do anything in these virtual worlds, so let’s not do everything that we’re doing in the real world.”
Monetization, Product Placement, and Native Advertising
The problem with the metaverse isn’t just that it’s a potential red herring. It can also put brands in a position where they have to bet on the platforms and companies that they think are most likely to be a part of a future metaverse. Though, this can be avoided by betting on WebXR instead.
“When people talk about metaverses, it’s very difficult to predict which are going to win,” said Zesty co-founder Elijah Tai. Zesty creates posters that can appear as organic ads in immersive experiences but also work as portals to other experiences. “We developed this sort of interoperable framework.”
Following Tai’s talk was a panel discussion on product placement and native advertising in the metaverse, bringing together VNTANA CEO and co-founder Ashley Crowder, and Evan Gappelberg of Nextech AR, moderated by Andy Fidel. The talk focused on 3D assets as the limiting factor in the immersive world reaction.
“Scale is what needs to happen for brands to invest and really get value,” said Crowder. “3D content creation has really been a barrier to adoption.”
Between a recent uptick in interest in immersive experiences and an explosion in tools for fast and affordable 3D content creation, this barrier is down. “The floodgates are open,” according to Gappelberg.
“The technology is going to change but for us, the foundation is 3D models,” said Gappelberg. “From there it’s about what you can do with the 3D model.”
Capturing the Spatial Imagination
What brands do with their 3D models was a theme picked up in the panel discussion “Capturing the Spatial Imagination” with Virtual Reality Marketing CEO and co-founder Terry Proto, PitchFWD founder Samantha Wolfe, Double Eye Studios’ XR director and producer Kiira Benzing, and Immersive Wire editor Tom Ffiske.
A theme of the conversation was that a lot of companies overestimate the amount of money – and maybe even the amount of work – needed to make immersive experiences because they needlessly want to compete with over-the-top activations by big-name brands.
“The best experiences I’ve seen are the smaller ones where you just dip in and it runs smoothly,” said Ffiske.
Another benefit of smaller and simpler activations, at least at first, is that it allows brands to experiment with the space and find their own voices.
“It’s new technology, new environments. There are going to be failures. Not everything is going to work,” said Proto.
Wolfe further commented that people value innovation. Everyone doing the same thing at the same time isn’t innovation.
“If you’re doing it because your competitors did it, that’s not innovation,” said Wolfe. “Innovation is looking at what they did and then looking at the landscape and pushing the boundaries of what’s possible.”
For reducing cost and for speeding up innovation, Benzing once again emphasizes the value of re-presenting 3D assets for consumer-facing activations that might already exist from internal design and use.
“If they create a 3D model for something, that model has so much life beyond just the initial activation,” said Benzing.
The Future of Virtual Commerce
Getting into Web3 and the metaverse for a non-tech company was a major theme of a panel discussion on “the future of virtual commerce” with LAMINA1 Chief Strategy Officer Tony Parisi, Spatial Head of Community Jake Steinerman, and Wendell August Forge Chief Strategy Officer Will Knecht. Knecht has been leading his 100-year-old gift company into the NFT space.
“While the people here are doing this kind of thing every day, 99 percent of the world is not,” said Knecht. “Education has been a significant part of our process.”
Steinerman commented that some people are intimidated to learn about or invest in any one aspect of emerging technology because convergence of these technologies suggests that they have to go together all the time.
“There’s this misconception that NFTs and the metaverse are inherently linked – that you have to have a MetaMask wallet and know what NFTs are to even get involved in immersive experiences,” said Steinerman. “There’s also this idea that to have these experiences it has to be in a headset.”
Even Parisi commented on the ability of organizations to enter emerging tech with high value and engagement with surprisingly low price points.
“This doesn’t have to be on a game development budget. There are some simple and affordable tools already out there,” said Parisi. “There are a lot of places out there shaping the value proposition and it doesn’t have to be a super expensive process.”
So Much More at WebXR Brand Summit
Nine out of 10 times, event coverage can’t catch every session and this was definitely one of those times. There was a demo of Head Office Space, an advance look at TheMall, and a lot of great talks that just couldn’t be fit in.
The 2022 WebXR Brand Summit will be available to rewatch on YouTube but as of this writing, the video is not yet live. To wet your whistle in the meantime, the Town Hall event that took place in preparation for the full WebXR Brand Summit is posted already.


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Shippers will be feeling the ripple effects of Hanjin Shipping’s bankruptcy for weeks or months to come. Here's how looking at a past disruption can inform strategies for this current backlog.
The business of importing and exporting with the United States reaches a milestone at the end of 2016 when the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) is fully implemented. To make its rollout seamless, FedEx developed a contingency approach that can be useful to other organizations as they adapt to this new era in trade.
The September 2016 Intermodal EXPO provides the setting for a thoughtful discussion on the ocean shipping sector: its prospects and how it impacts the intermodal industry.
Ensuring labeling accuracy and consistency is critical to supporting efficiency up and down the supply chain. Here's one approach that can ensure your labels boost supply chain activities.
Consolidation warehouses typically contend with labeling inconsistency in e-commerce orders. Here's how to boost read rates for packages and avoid manual handling.
A new report released Monday by the American Trucking Associations (ATA) projects freight volumes will increase by nearly 29 percent over the next 11 years.
Weaker demand from a slower-growing Chinese economy is putting the global freight industry through rough waters, but for Singapore-based IMC Pan Asia Alliance Group, there's a bright side to this downturn.
A combination of rebounding sales and an unprecedented number of new models in the works has stretched the auto parts supply chain so taut that the entire industry is holding its collective breath that it does not snap and jeopardize the recovery.
Powerful software is giving us new insights into large-scale efficiency. But logistics veterans say companies aren’t always ready to think big.


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28 Jan 20 Op-Ed: Ferrero feels the heat
Spread the happy. If Nutella took its slogan to heart it could circle the globe and back again. The nut-and-chocolate gunge is adored by children and has its own world celebration day. In France, a 2018 supermarket promotion sparked a riot. Nutella has overtaken Marmite as Britain’s favourite spread, and divides opinion as sharply.
Its phenomenal success has made a mint for Italian multinational confectioner Ferrero, which also owns brands such as Ferrero Rocher and Kinder. The business, which grew out of a family bakery in the 1950s, might be worth as much as €50bn.
The Ferreros would rank as one of the world’s wealthiest families if we value their business using the same enterprise-to-sales ratio — 4.6 times — as Hershey, the US confectioner. They should get a $714m dividend, according to Bloomberg.
Their business is now at the sharp end of some difficult trends. The silliest criticism of Nutella came from Matteo Salvini, leader of Italy’s anti-immigrant League party. He is boycotting the spread because it contains unpatriotic Turkish hazelnuts.
Deforestation caused by palm oil farming is a bigger issue. Ferrero says it has been using sustainable palm oil since 2014. The controversy has still opened the door to competitors with alternative recipes, including Milka and Lindt, says market research group Euromonitor International.
A slowdown in the snacks market in Western Europe is another problem. Consumers are moving upmarket. The group’s share of Europe’s packaged food market fell slightly to 1.6% in the two years to 2019. Spending more than $4bn buying Nestlé and Kellogg’s brands will increase US heft. Integration could prove taxing.
A backlash over health is the biggest risk. Sugar, the new pariah substance, makes up more than half the weight of a jar. In 2012 Ferrero agreed to set aside $3m to settle a class-action lawsuit filed by a California mother. She had been surprised and upset to learn Nutella was not a “healthy, nutritious” food. She was widely mocked. But as the costs of obesity rise, so will taxes on foods like Nutella.
Source: The Lex Column, Financial Times


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According to reports, Bitcoin witnessed a 9 percent price rise, Ethereum was up by 7.3 percent and Ripple 5.5 percent.
Bitcoin Cash rose 14.6 percent, and Cardano was also up 14 percent.
On Wednesday, Facebook announced that it had lifted a five-month cryptocurrency advertising ban on its platform.
The social media site, along with Google and Twitter, had imposed a crypto-ad ban which significantly impacted the market in 2018.
Previously the market slump had been blamed on a multitude of factors including South Korean hackers to market saturation.
BitMoneyNews.com reported that when rumours began circulating of a Facebook ban in January, the value of cryptocurrency began to drop
When Facebook officially announced the ban on January 30, the market plummeted by £340billion – around 50 percent of its entire value.
Cryptoslate, a leading crypto site, published a report saying that the top 70 cryptocurrencies and turned from negative red to green rating in just 24 hours.
The top-20 cryptos enjoying a seven-day value increase included Bitcoin, Iota, Tether, Monero, Dash, Ethereum Classic and Ontology.
The rise in Bitcoin price on Friday belied that morning’s valuations, with Bitcoin currency dropping to $5,000.
But, the rise in price went against the predictions of the Bank of England.
Barclays Bank claimed that prices would fall further and, “the rout in crypto currencies is still not finished.”
Nevertheless, the price rose by $1,300 by that very same Friday evening – leaving investors much to mull over before the start of the new trading week.


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There's a "Twilight" crime wave sweeping the nation -- particularly at Burger King restaurants -- and all the suspects seem to be the most fearless creatures on the planet ... teenage girls with a crush.
TMZ has learned multiple Burger King restaurants across the country are reporting life-size promotional posters of Taylor Lautner and Robert Pattinson are being ripped right off the BK windows in broad daylight ... horrible time for a vampire.
So far, the interstate theft has affected BKs in Maine, Delaware and Montana. One Burger King rep tell us, "The girls just walk up in the middle of the day ... rip off the posters and run ... we've had to replace them over and over."
I am LOVING this - I saw these in NYC and sooo wanted to swipe the one in my neighbourhood but some Twi-hard beat me to it!
I mean, seriously, which genius decided to make these:
b) For the out-side window?!
From TMZ via TwiFans
- Lorabell :D