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The label announced this morning that their spring 2013 collection, set to show at New York Fashion Week, will be the last one designed by Sophia Kokosalaki. A cryptic press release included the following quote from the outgoing designer: “The last three years I have spent at Diesel Black Gold have been a very interesting and enjoyable experience.” Yes, interesting. Her replacement will be announced in October.
A look from Diesel Black Gold. Photo: Brian Ach/Getty Images


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The iPhone 6 may be released in different colors and a larger screen (colors like the iPod touch 5th generation perhaps?) this is according to a research paper by Brian White (an analyst) from Topeka Capital.
The analyst believes Apple will be competing with Android smartphones in terms of screen size by offering iPhone 6 in a variety of screen sizes. These screen sizes include a 3.5inch (like the iPhone 4), 4 inch (like the iPhone 5) and finally a new larger screen for the iPhone 6 (possibly 5 inch?).
As Apple are already offering other products in different colours; mainly the iPod collection. Brian White believes that Apple will combine colors and various screen sizes to compete against the ever-growing Android market.
“The Company has never offered multiple screen sizes for a single model. We believe this is about to change with the next iPhone offering different screen sizes that we believe will allow Apple to better bifurcate the market and expand its reach.”
“This eventually opens up the possibility for a lower-priced iPhone (i.e., iPhone mini) with a smaller screen size that could allow Apple to further penetrate markets such as China and open up opportunities in India.”
So I guess we will have to hold on and wait until the iPhone 6 is released to find out what Apple has planned. In my opinion I believe we will be seeing the iPhone 5s sometime in the near future before we even hear or see a glimpse of the iPhone 6.
Source: Business Insider

domain: news


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New and used car dealership Springfield Cars saw its profits plummet by 60% last year after suffering a “challenging year”.
The Washington-headquartered firm saw its operating profit fall from £445,790 to £179,030 for the year ending December 31, 2016.
Springfield, which sells secondhand cars as well as new Citroen, Fiat and Suzuki vehicles, blamed its poor results on a difficult market and added that the Brexit referendum deterred people from buying new cars.
In the company accounts, director Ronald Price, who owns more than 75% of the business, said: “Although the new car market as a whole increased by 2.25% in volume terms in 2016, compared with the prior 12 months, with over 2.69m vehicle registrations, the franchises which Springfield represents decreased in the period by 5.2% nationally. This resulted in margins being squeezed in an attempt to maximise sales.
“As the economy continued to grow, and historically low interest rates continued, the uncertainty before and after Brexit affected the demand for new vehicles.” Although the new car market proved difficult, sales of secondhand cars were strong. Volume increased by 14%, while the gross margin grew by 15%.
Overall, however, Springfield’s turnover fell by 1.2%, from £47.2m to £46.6m. Profit after tax also fell, from £368,000 to £153,000.
Springfield increased head count from 95 to 98 at the end of 2016, adding to its staffing costs, which grew from £2.7m to £2.8m.
The firm’s highest paid director received £145,368 last year, up from £140,298 during the previous year.
Mr Price added that market conditions during 2017 would likely mirror conditions at the end of 2016, which could lead to more favourable results for the firm.
He said: “The company strategy is to continue to focus with our current manufacturer partners in our current market, while identifying franchise opportunities within the North East of England.
“The directors anticipate that the trading environment will continue throughout 2017 in the same as at the end of 2016, with new car registrations remaining high, influenced by pre-registration activity; fleet activity and demand to be high; used cars supply to be challenging and after-sales remaining high.”


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We still haven’t even seen the new Ford Bronco, but a new report claims that Ford is working on a pickup version, which will rival the Jeep Gladiator.
Bronco fans have been eagerly awaiting the return of the iconic SUV and now those fans may have something else to be excited if a Bronco pickup is actually in the works. According to Automobile, Ford is working on a pickup truck version of the Bronco, but it won’t arrive until 2024. So even if it will rival the Gladiator, Jeep still has a few years before the Bronco pickup could potentially steal some of its sales.
We’ll have to wait and see if the Bronco pickup actually becomes a reality, but in the meantime we can all get excited that the Bronco SUV is slated to debut sometime this year as a 2021 model.


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Look out Express Scripts? Costco starts pharmacy-benefit manager unit
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The new program offers prescription medicines through Costco's in-warehouse pharmacies or through a network of 64,000 independent pharmacies that have agreed to pre-negotiated prices, according to an article in Costco's membership newsletter, the Costco Connection.
The plan will save participants 10-15 percent over other prescription drug plans, according to the newsletter. Nippon Paper Industries USA, a 200-employee company based in Port Angeles, Wash., is among the companies that have signed up.
Ross Muken, senior managing director at ISI Group LLC, told the Wall Street Journal today that Costco is looking to attract employers that are located close to Costco warehouses in the hope that their employees will become Costco members. Costco operates 448 warehouse stores across the U.S. and in Puerto Rico.
ISI Group said Costco's entry, while "more noise than market moving news," is evidence of an increasingly competitive landscape in the pharmacy-benefit manager industry, according to the Journal.
Express Scripts is the largest pharmacy-benefit manager in the U.S., since it acquired Medco Health Solutions last year for $29.1 billion, and now has 100 million members. Officials from Express Scripts declined comment.
Led by CEO George Paz, Express Scripts (Nasdaq: ESRX) reported revenue of $46.1 billion in 2011.
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The unnamed client is Wave's first sale in the government sector since the software became commercially available in July 2014. The software company said it entered dozen of pilot deployments in other sectors including healthcare, financial services, automotive, energy, and utilities.
"Wave Virtual Smart Card 2.0 has been purchased by a government agency with significant security requirements and one that requires redundant means of system authentication due to national security interests," Wave CEO Bill Solms said in a statement. "This initial sale is modest compared to the addressable market within the Federal Government sector, but it is important to our strategy for marketing the Virtual Smart Card to address critical government infrastructure defense."
Must Read:Warren Buffett's 25 Favorite Stocks
TheStreet Ratings team rates WAVE SYSTEMS CORP as a Sell with a ratings score of D-. TheStreet Ratings Team has this to say about their recommendation:
"We rate WAVE SYSTEMS CORP (WAVX) a SELL. This is driven by multiple weaknesses, which we believe should have a greater impact than any strengths, and could make it more difficult for investors to achieve positive results compared to most of the stocks we cover. The company's weaknesses can be seen in multiple areas, such as its unimpressive growth in net income and generally disappointing historical performance in the stock itself."
Highlights from the analysis by TheStreet Ratings Team goes as follows:
- The company, on the basis of change in net income from the same quarter one year ago, has underperformed when compared to that of the S&P 500 and the Software industry average. The net income has decreased by 8.7% when compared to the same quarter one year ago, dropping from -$3.49 million to -$3.80 million.
- WAVX has underperformed the S&P 500 Index, declining 11.54% from its price level of one year ago. The fact that the stock is now selling for less than others in its industry in relation to its current earnings is not reason enough to justify a buy rating at this time.
- The revenue fell significantly faster than the industry average of 11.5%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues fell by 34.1%. The declining revenue has not hurt the company's bottom line, with increasing earnings per share.
- Net operating cash flow has slightly increased to -$5.14 million or 3.31% when compared to the same quarter last year. Despite an increase in cash flow, WAVE SYSTEMS CORP's cash flow growth rate is still lower than the industry average growth rate of 42.78%.
- The gross profit margin for WAVE SYSTEMS CORP is currently very high, coming in at 97.45%. It has increased from the same quarter the previous year. Regardless of the strong results of the gross profit margin, the net profit margin of -85.49% is in-line with the industry average.
- You can view the full analysis from the report here: WAVX Ratings Report


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You can get a taste of the future of Safari on the Mac today, thanks to the release of the new Safari Technology Preview from Apple that gives regular users and developers an easy way to test new features and improvements that are coming soon to the web browser.
The new stand-alone app for OS X can be downloaded and used for free by anyone, and includes a cutting-edge version of the WebKit browser engine that is still in development. It’s a great way for web developers to get ahead on new features by testing them before they’re public.
Safari Technology Preview can be used side-by-side with the regular version of Safari to test for behavioral issues. It also includes new improvements for Web Inspector.
Here’s a list of the new features:


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Capcom Reflects Back on Devil May Cry Reboot and What it Meant for the New Sequel
Although Devil May Cry 5 is moving in a different direction, they are still proud of DmC.
By Chris Morse
When rumors began swirling about a new Devil May Cry game earlier this year, early reports indicated that it would ignore the reboot and instead be a sequel to Devil May Cry 4. That proved to be the case when Devil May Cry 5 was unveiled at E3 last month. Fans who haven't been following the rumors that closely were probably caught off guard by this, leaving them to wonder what would become of 2013's DmC: Devil May Cry. Not much, apparently, but Capcom is still proud of it.
Devil May Cry producer Matt Walker spoke with VG247 and explained why they opted to make a sequel on the original timeline, while still giving due credit to the team responsible for DmC. "This is definitely a game for the fans," he said. "We’ve heard fans asking for a sequel to the storyline of [Devil May Cry 4] for over ten years, but this isn’t a slight at Ninja Theory or DmC at all. We all love DmC."
Game director Hideaki Itsuno worked with the DmC team and is proud of what they were able to accomplish, but fans wanted the original storyline to continue and that's what Capcom has opted to deliver. That's not to say Itsuno and the team didn't learn from DmC either, as some of that knowledge has gone into creating Devil May Cry 5 with the goal of making the best possible sequel.
As mentioned previously, Itsuno-san has learned from all of our experience on all of the [Devil May Cry] games, including DmC. That being said, as a sequel to [Devil May Cry 4], I think you can expect [Devil May Cry 5] to expand more on the combat philosophies established in [the first four games]. Itsuno-san wants to make the absolute best action game he can, so he’s going to use his and the team’s experience to realize his goal.
This new game may just be a blend of the old and the new, hopefully capturing the best of both worlds in button-mashing, demon-slaying glory. Devil May Cry 5 releases in spring 2019 and will be available on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
Weekly Horror News Round-Up November 7: The Walking Dead, Friday the 13th: The Game, Ghostbusters: Afterlife
Plus, Hulu pulls the plug on Castle Rock, the Resident Evil film reboot adds to its cast, Demon's Souls get a fancy character creator, and more.
Weekly Horror News Round-Up September 19: Resident Evil, Stranger Things, Demon's Souls
Plus, check out the full trailer for Scare Me, Blumhouse and Amazon pull back the curtain on 4 movies, Scream 5 gets another star, and more.
Review: Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2 Once Again Delivers Retro Castlevania-Style Goodness
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The latest addition to the Boxxer line of case erector machines from Eagle Packaging Machinery is designed to run at high speeds and make changeovers faster and easier.
The Boxxer T-4036 case erector works with RSC and HSC blanks and can run at speeds up to 18 cases per minute, according to a news release from the Miami-based Eagle Packaging Machinery. It has a compact footprint with a heavy duty, welded steel frame.
All gates and doors on the T-4036 have safety interlocks and panels provide easy access to the machine. The machine has an Omron programmable controller and a color touch screen user interface for easy adjustments and full access to all machine functions and timing.


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Amtek Auto Q1 loss widens to Rs320 crore
- Ursula K. Le Guin, acclaimed writer of science fiction and fantasy, dies at 88
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New Delhi: Auto components maker Amtek Auto Ltd on Tuesday reported a net loss of Rs.319.68 crore for the quarter ended in June, hit by decline in sales.
The company had reported a net loss of Rs.157.6 crore during the same period of previous fiscal. Net sales also declined to Rs.539.83 crore for the June quarter as against Rs.854.22 crore in the same period of the previous fiscal, Amtek Auto said in a regulatory filing.
In a separate filing, the company said its board has approved the re-appointment of John Ernest Flintham as managing director for a further period of two years with effect from 14 August.


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Subway now has more outlets than McDonald’s (NYSE: MCD), according to the sandwich shop chain. Subway had 33,749 restaurants across the world at the end of 2010, it claims. McDonald’s had 32,737 at year-end, according to it 10-K. Subway also says it has grown this year and now has 34,218 locations.
The numbers hardly matter. McDonald’s owns most of its stores and keeps their profits. Subway shops are owned by franchisees, which almost certainly caps the amount of money the parent company keeps.
McDonald’s also has a larger menu which means that its yield-per-store is probably higher than Subway’s. Revenue and profits trump store locations, at least in the eyes of investors.
And, investors in McDonald’s have been richly rewarded. Its stock has risen from $33 to $80 in the last five years. The shares yield 3.4% and McDonald’s has bought back billions of dollars in shares. Subway does not release its revenue figures. That may be because they pale next to McDonald’s which were $24 billion last year.
Subway says its total store count passed McDonald’s in the US a decade ago. It now focuses on outlets outside the US. It might be better off to concentrate on sales-per-outlet.
Douglas A. McIntyre


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At AWS re:Invent, AWS, an Amazon.com company, and Verizon Communications Inc. (“Verizon”), announced a partnership that will bring the power of the world’s leading cloud closer to mobile and connected devices at the edge of Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband network. Verizon is the first technology company in the world to offer 5G network edge computing, and will use AWS’s new service, AWS Wavelength, to provide developers the ability to deploy applications that require ultra-low latency to mobile devices using 5G. The companies are currently piloting AWS Wavelength on Verizon’s edge compute platform, 5G Edge, in Chicago for a select group of customers, including award-winning, worldwide video game publisher Bethesda Softworks and the National Football League (NFL). Additional deployments are planned in other locations across the U.S. in 2020.
By utilizing AWS Wavelength and Verizon 5G Edge, developers will be able to deliver a wide range of transformative, latency-sensitive use cases like machine learning inference at the edge, autonomous industrial equipment, smart cars and cities, Internet of Things (IoT), and augmented and virtual reality. To accomplish this, Verizon 5G Edge provides mobile edge computing and an efficient high-volume connection between users, devices, and applications. AWS Wavelength lets customers deploy the parts of an application that require ultra-low latency to the edge of the network and then seamlessly connect back to the full range of cloud services running in AWS.
Verizon 5G Ultra Wideband technology enables a wide range of new capabilities and diverse use cases with download speeds many times faster than typical 4G networks. 5G will also dramatically increase the number of devices that can be supported within the same geographic areas and greatly reduce network latency to mobile devices. Mobile edge compute (MEC) technology further reduces latency. Currently, application data has to travel from the device, to the mobile network, to networking devices at the mobile edge, and then to the Internet to get to the application servers in remote locations, which can result in longer latency. This prevents developers from realizing the full potential of 5G in addressing lower latency use-cases. For example, game streaming requires less than 20 millisecond latency for a truly immersive experience.
In placing AWS compute and storage services at the edge of Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband network with AWS Wavelength, AWS and Verizon bring processing power and storage physically closer to 5G mobile users and wireless devices, and enable developers to build applications that can deliver enhanced user experiences like near real-time analytics for instant decision-making, immersive game streaming, and automated robotic systems in manufacturing facilities.
“We are first in the world to launch Mobile Edge Compute — deeply integrating Verizon’s 5G Edge platform with Wavelength to allow developers to build new categories of applications and network cloud experiences built in ways we can’t even imagine yet,” said Hans Vestberg, CEO and Chairman of Verizon. “Bringing together the full capabilities of Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband and AWS, the world’s leading cloud with the broadest and deepest services portfolio, we unlock the full potential of our 5G services for customers to create applications and solutions with the fastest speeds, improved security, and ultra-low latency.”
“We’ve worked closely with Verizon to deliver a way for AWS customers to easily take advantage of the ubiquitous connectivity and advanced features of 5G,” said Andy Jassy, CEO of AWS. “AWS Wavelength provides the same AWS environment — APIs, management console, and tools — that they’re using today at the edge of the 5G network. Starting with Verizon’s 5G network locations in the US, customers will be able to deploy the latency-sensitive portions of an application at the edge to provide single-digit millisecond latency to mobile and connected devices. While some ultra-low latency use cases like smart cars, streaming games, VR, and autonomous industrial equipment are well understood today, we can’t wait to see how builders use 5G edge computing to delight their mobile end users and connected device customers.”
Bethesda Softworks is an award-winning, worldwide video game publisher best known for iconic franchises like The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, and DOOM. Bethesda, along with its engineering team at subsidiary id Software, has developed new cloud gaming technology, called Orion, that greatly enhances the experience of streaming video games. This new technology is incorporated into a game’s engine in order to optimize performance in the cloud. By substantially reducing latency and bandwidth, Orion provides a much better experience for gamers and significantly lowers costs for publishers, developers, and streaming service providers.
“The promise of streaming is great – play your favorite games anywhere, anytime, without downloads or the need to buy expensive consoles or PCs. But gamers don’t have unlimited bandwidth, and they demand an ultra-low latency experience. If you can’t provide that, it won’t be good enough,” said James Altman, Bethesda’s Director of Publishing. “Now, by combining Orion with AWS Wavelength and Verizon’s 5G network, we will be able to deliver on the promise of streaming: a frictionless, ultra-low latency experience that will enable millions of gamers to play AAA quality games at max settings, wherever they want, whenever they want – no downloads or consoles required.”
The NFL continues to look at technology to grow the sport of football to the millions of fans who engage with the League throughout the year, including how the use of Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband network and the cloud can help unlock new and exciting ways for NFL fans to view, share, and engage with their favorite teams no matter where they are.
“Fans love the live game-day football experience in stadium, and we constantly strive to deepen engagement on and off the field,” said Matt Swensson, Vice President, NFL Emerging Products and Technology. “The Next Gen Stats platform captures player location data in real-time, generates over 200 stats per play, and charts individual movements within inches. The use of AWS’s Wavelength and Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband network has the potential to lower data transmission latency for delivery of new and exciting in-stadium enhancements to fans.
Dinesh Nair Appointed as Director for Consumer Business Lenovo India
Global technology leader Lenovo has appointed Dinesh Nair as Director, Consumer Business for India region. Dinesh succeeds Mr. Shailendra Katyal, who has recently been appointed Site Leader for Lenovo India and Managing Director of Lenovo’s PC and smart device business in India.
Dinesh Nair has been an integral part of the Lenovo India consumer business for more than 11 years and has worked successfully across several roles. His most recent role was as the sales & channel management lead for Lenovo’s consumer segment in India. He has handled leadership responsibilities across offline general trade retail, distribution management, field sales, eCommerce, large format retail and category management, and has been a key contributor to the company’s growth journey in India.
“During this difficult time in India, we are working hard to ensure the safety of our employees, partners and customers and I am grateful that we have excellent leaders in place to bring our team together and offer this support. I am proud to hand over the reins of the consumer business to Dinesh. At the same time, this is a demonstration of our commitment to developing talent internally. I am sure he, along with the consumer leadership team, will propel the business to new heights,” said Shailendra Katyal, Managing Director, Lenovo India.
ASUS ROG Announces ROG Masters Asia Pacific eSports Tournament
ASUS ROG will host its first ROG Masters Asia Pacific eSports tournament from March to April 2021. Due to COVID-19 pandemic affecting travel around the region, the tournament will be conducted entirely online, with quarterfinal to final matches livestreamed.
The ROG Masters tournament will feature Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) as the official game title will provide opportunity to teams with enthusiastic players to pitch their skills against each other, as well as the best professional teams from their market and in the region.
The tournament will see various teams from 15 markets across the region vying for the chance to be crowned as the first ROG Masters Asia Pacific Edition CS:GO Champion.
The tournament will be played in three stages played over the course of 2 months:
- Country qualifiers
- Country finals
- Asia Pacific finals
Country qualifiers matches for India will start in the second week of April 2021; 8th April and the finals to be held on the 10th April. The India finals to find the top three teams to represent the country will be livestreamed live on 10th April.
Professional teams from across the region will be automatically placed into seeded positions in the country finals. This gives a greater chance for non-professional, enthusiast teams from India to get through the qualifiers and meet the pro teams in the country finals.
Country Champions will then go on to experience battling winning teams from other APAC markets in the finals that will be livestreamed during 22nd to 25th April 2021.
3 qualifying teams from India finals will stand to win US$800 for first place, US$400 for second place, US$200 for third place. They will then go on to the Asia Pacific finals with the chance to win the following prizes for the championship:
|ROG Masters APAC Championship||APAC Finals (USD/ team)|
Registration and Official Tournament Website
Registration for the first ROG Masters Asia Pacific tournament opens on February 8, 2021 at the tournament’s official website.
Registration closes on February 28, 2021 Further details, match schedules, pro team information as well as rules and regulations can also be found on the tournament website.
Garena Launches Free Fire South Asia Showdown: Battle of the Stars
Garena has announced the Free Fire South Asia Showdown: Battle of the Stars, Free Fire’s first-ever esports tournament for the South Asia region. Taking place on 6 February, the tournament will feature some of the gaming community’s favourite Free Fire streamers and personalities from India, Pakistan, Nepal, and Bangladesh.
The Free Fire community has continued to expand in South Asia and across the world, with the mobile battle royale game the most downloaded mobile game globally in 2020, according to App Annie. Through the Free Fire South Asia Showdown: Battle of the Stars, Garena will look to continue its efforts to excite and delight its fast-growing South Asian community with exciting Free Fire content, and to support and develop the incredible online community in the region.
The Free Fire South Asia Showdown: Battle of the Stars will feature a total of 12 teams. Each team will be led by one of the top 3 streamers from each of the 4 participating nations – chosen by public voting – in this epic clash to determine the best in the region.
The 12 teams will compete in the Battle Royale Squad mode for a slice of the 1 million diamond prize pool. The ultimate winner of this star-studded tournament will receive 500,000 in-game diamonds; the first and and second runners-up will be awarded 300,000 and 200,000 diamonds respectively.
The Free Fire South Asia Showdown: Battle of the Stars will feature some of the most popular streamers and personalities from across South Asia.
The team captains for each nation are:
- Total Gaming (19.4 Million YT Subs)
- Desi Gamers (7.8 Million YT Subs)
- Two-Side Gamers (6.85 Million YT Subs)
- Gaming with Nayeem (1.6 Million YT Subs)
- Illusionist YT (479K YT Subs)
- Gaming With Zihad (698K YT Subs)
- Sooneeta (3.26 Million YT Subs)
- Bshow Mgr (399K YT Subs)
- Tonde Gamer (2.37 Million YT Subs)
- RKG ARMY (1.77 Million YT Subs)
- Unusual Gamer (81K YT Subs)
- The Skinzo FF (75.5K YT Subs)
Fans can witness all the high-octane action by tuning in to the live broadcasts of the Free Fire South Asia Showdown: Battle of the Stars. These will be hosted on Free Fire Esports India YouTube and Facebook, Free Fire Bangladesh Official YouTube and Facebook, as well as on BOOYAH!.
To cater to the diverse South Asian community, the matches will be streamed with live commentary in 5 languages – Bengali, English, Hindi, Nepali and Urdu.
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When Taco Bell removed the “Grilled Stuft Nacho” from its nationwide menu in 2015, Chris Sandberg was crushed.
The specialty item – a triangle-shaped tortilla filled with beef, crunchy red strips, sour cream and cheesy jalapeño sauce – was “the best thing I ever had at Taco Bell,” Sandberg said.
The day he discovered the dish, he liked it so much, “I had it every day for a week,” Sandberg said. “The following week, it was discontinued.”
After it was taken from the menu, he moved on and tried other items, but none measured up for him. It stayed fresh in his mind. And on Jan. 4, 2021, he decided to start a daily exercise challenge on TikTok, in the hope of getting Taco Bell’s attention.
Sandberg shared a video of himself, breathless in his bathroom mirror, saying, “Day one of exercising every day until Taco Bell brings back the Grilled Stuft Nacho.”
The seven-second clip went viral with hundreds of thousands of views. Sandberg doubled down on his unusual – and somewhat illogical – effort to apply pressure to the restaurant chain through physical activity. He posted another mid-workout video the following day, and every single day thereafter. In the roughly 470 days since he started chronicling his daily exercise routine on TikTok, Sandberg has shed more than 85 pounds.
“I’ve put in an unbelievable amount of physical work,” said Sandberg, who lives in San Francisco, is self-employed, and produces social media videos and short films. He emphasized that he does not work for Taco Bell and never has.
The goal of his workout antic is twofold: While his primary objective is to bring back his beloved Grilled Stuft Nacho, when he began his Taco Bell challenge more than one year ago, Sandberg – who weighed close to 300 pounds before the pandemic – what also seeking to lose weight. He decided to merge the two missions.
“I do understand the irony in exercising every day for a fast-food item,” he said. “It started as a joke that has clearly gone way too far, but I can’t stop now.”
Although Sandberg initially executed the idea in jest, he quickly realized “it resonates for people,” as losing weight can be a stressful struggle for many. He wanted to find a way to make his experience lighthearted.
Sandberg grew eager to get in shape after “I read that people who were overweight were more vulnerable to COVID, so that had been at the back of my head for a while,” he said, adding that he was 275 pounds when he started the exercise challenge, after losing 15 pounds over the preceding few months.
Sandberg thought that publicly sharing his weight-loss journey on social media might help hold him accountable while also potentially motivating others. He wanted something to set himself apart, a cause that might be comical enough to compel Internet strangers to cheer him on.
“I didn’t want the journey to be about a number on a scale,” Sandberg said. “I wanted it to be fun. I wanted the goal to be something that had nothing to do with my weight.”
Enter the Grilled Tier Nacho.
“Everyone loves Taco Bell,” Sandberg said in a bold culinary statement. “That’s just what came to me.”
Plus, he believed his efforts might actually work.
“Doja Cat wanted them to bring back the Mexican Pizza, and look what happened,” Sandberg said. “The Grilled Stuft Nacho is better than the Mexican Pizza, and the world needs to know that.”
According to the Taco Bell Fandom Wiki, the Grilled Stuft Nacho first appeared on the menu in 2013 but was discontinued in March 2014. It made a brief reappearance in 2015 before it was pulled for good. Some people were peeved, though probably no one as much as Sandberg.
“There is a common belief that everything at Taco Bell tastes the same, but the Grilled Stuft Nacho is the exception,” Sandberg said, explaining his appreciation for a specific sauce.
“I want to make this clear,” he said. “The cheesy jalapeño sauce is different than their creamy jalapeño sauce. Without the cheesy jalapeño sauce, it is just not the same.”
Sandberg found an online community that shared his taste in fast food. Someone started an online petition four years ago pleading with the chain to bring back the specialty item. The petition collected 792 signatures – including Sandberg’s. The appeal was not enough to revive the dish, so Sandberg decided to take matters into his own hands.
First, he began with at-home workouts, then incorporated weightlifting, high-intensity interval training and long-distance running into his regular fitness routine.
“There are days that you want to give up,” Sandberg said. “On the days that you do want to work out, that’s when you push yourself physically, but on the days that you don’t want to work out, that’s when you have to push yourself mentally.”


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Here’s an interesting KickStarter project that veers from the crowdfunding site’s artsy, steampunk aesthetic.
Convergence Technologies, a consumer electronics company based in New York, is using KickStarter to raise money to develop and manufacture a device called The Bridge, “an all-in-one wireless keyboard, mouse and universal remote for computers, Smart TVs and home entertainment systems.”
The project, which already has 63 backers towards its $59,000 goal comes at the same time that Logitech’s CEO seriously dissed a similar-sounding universal remote for Google TV.
This past Thursday, during a conference calls with investors and analysts, Logitech CEO Guerrino De Luca said its development of the Logitech Revue controller and partnership with Google TV contributed to losses of “Well over $100 million in operating profits.” Mr. DeLuca also announced he would let existing inventory run down with no plans to build another box.
At the time, Forrester analyst James McQuivey told Wired.com:
“They tried to make the Google TV experience too much like a computer. Companies like Logitech invested in these complicated peripherals, and they’re too complex for people . . . . It doesn’t make any sense to add another remote to people’s lives.”
Unlike the Logitech Revue, of course, the Bridge isn’t associated with a particular Web TV offering. It’s also shaped like a familiar video game controller rather than a keyboard and allows for “smartphone style typing,” according to the KickStarter video. Kogeto, another consumer electronics company that raised money on KickStarter, ended up with roughly $100,000 more than its stated goal of $20,000 to build a 360-degree video capture device.
So, will Kickstarter backers gamble where corporate titans floundered?
What is the Bridge? from Harsh Mody on Vimeo.


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This week, Aprecia Pharmaceuticals announced that the FDA has, for the first time, approved a 3D-printed drug: Specifically, Aprecia's epilepsy medicine Spritam levetiracetam.
The company explained in a press release:
"SPRITAM utilizes Aprecia’s proprietary ZipDose® Technology platform, a groundbreaking advance that uses three-dimensional printing (3DP) to produce a porous formulation that rapidly disintegrates with a sip of liquid."
The innovation allows the company to deliver more medicine per dose, which could make it easier for some patients to use the drug. According to Forbes, the 3D printing binds the layers of drug powder so tightly, that its easier to take. The Aprecia website adds that this means it can better control the taste of the drug. And the BBC points out that 3D printing can be used to customize medicine in a new way, offering personalized pills to people who need them.
Almost beats space pizza .
Danielle Wiener-Bronner is a news reporter.


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|By PR Newswire||
|September 4, 2014 11:22 AM EDT||
NEW YORK, Sept. 4, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Ten years is an eternity in the technology-driven society we live in, and Verizon's FiOS services – delivered over the nation's largest all-fiber-optic network – have moved consumers through the past decade at the speed of light.
This fall marks the 10-year anniversary of FiOS, the next-generation network technology that redefined the TV and Internet experience for millions of people and small-business owners throughout 12 states and the District of Columbia.
In 2004, a NASA probe landed on Mars for the first time; a startup called Facebook paved the way for a new way to connect online; and Internet download speeds of 8 megabits per second were considered fast. That year, Verizon began selling FiOS TV service in Keller, Texas, for the first time, along with FiOS Internet Service with then-unheard of download speeds of up to 30 Mbps and upload speeds up to 5 Mbps.
Today, people are creating video content via a device in the palm of their hands; sending more than 500 million Tweets each day; and Verizon customers can upload and download at speeds up to 500 Mbps.
"We set out to create a customer experience that would redefine the connected home. FiOS helped grow the demand for faster Internet speeds and high-definition video channels," said Bob Mudge, Verizon president of consumer and mass business markets. "It was seen as a big bet at the time. Fast forward to today, however, and you can see that our investment in fiber-optic technology directly to homes and businesses laid the foundation for connected homes and work environments that will serve customers' needs well into the future."
Thank You! 10 Powerful Years (Video)
FiOS Speed Infographic
View the FiOS Speed infographic: http://vz.to/LeadingSpeed
"Ultimately, consumers win as Verizon continues to offer faster speeds," said Larry Hettick, contributing analyst, U.S. Consumer Services for Current Analysis. "With a free upgrade for FiOS customers, this increases the value of FiOS services in the near term. As others follow Verizon's lead with faster upstream tiers, all consumers will benefit as broadband providers move to meet evolving user needs."
Pioneering Download and Upload Internet Speeds
In 2004, Verizon offered three tiers of FiOS Internet service, ranging from 5 Mbps down/2 Mbps up to 30/5 Mbps. Today, our entry-level speed is nearly that fast, at 25/25 Mbps. We offer six speed options, peaking at 500/500 Mbps. This variety of options serves a wide array of users, including families, small businesses and startup companies. Recently, Verizon began to provide existing and new customers with SpeedMatch, upload speeds that match download speeds, a benefit that – thanks to the all-fiber network – no competitor in Verizon's service area is able to provide.
In 2004, the DVR was not yet born and relatively few high-definition channels were available. People recorded their favorite shows from their TV onto a DVD or a VHS tape. Today, not only can you record shows from your TV onto a digital video recorder without a disk, you can use FiOS TV service to record up to 12 shows simultaneously, store 200 hours of HD programming and control live TV, eliminating any feuds in the household over who has control of the remote.
Inside or Out, FiOS Mobile App Lets You Watch TV Anywhere
FiOS not only redefined the household viewing experience, it took it on the go, too. With more than 50 channels currently available out of the home, more than 100 in home, and 60,000 on-demand titles, the free FiOS Mobile App turns tablets and mobile devices into virtual living rooms, giving customers content where they want it, when they want it. Other features built into the app make organizing and managing content seamless. In addition, the FiOS Mobile App offers robust parental controls, so parents can decide what content they want to allow their children to access.
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ), headquartered in New York, is a global leader in delivering broadband and other wireless and wireline communications services to consumer, business, government and wholesale customers. Verizon Wireless operates America's most reliable wireless network, with 104.6 million retail connections nationwide. Verizon also provides converged communications, information and entertainment services over America's most advanced fiber-optic network, and delivers integrated business solutions to customers in more than 150 countries. A Dow 30 company with more than $120 billion in 2013 revenues, Verizon employs a diverse workforce of 177,800. For more information, visit www.verizon.com.
VERIZON'S ONLINE NEWS CENTER: Verizon news releases, executive speeches and biographies, media contacts and other information are available at Verizon's online News Center at newscenter.verizon.com. The news releases are available through an RSS feed. To subscribe, visit newscenter.verizon.com/corporate/feeds.
As enterprises work to take advantage of Big Data technologies, they frequently become distracted by product-level decisions. In most new Big Data builds this approach is completely counter-productive: it presupposes tools that may not be a fit for development teams, forces IT to take on the burden of evaluating and maintaining unfamiliar technology, and represents a major up-front expense. In his session at @BigDataExpo at @ThingsExpo, Andrew Warfield, CTO and Co-Founder of Coho Data, will dis...
Feb. 9, 2016 05:30 AM EST Reads: 148
With the proliferation of both SQL and NoSQL databases, organizations can now target specific fit-for-purpose database tools for their different application needs regarding scalability, ease of use, ACID support, etc. Platform as a Service offerings make this even easier now, enabling developers to roll out their own database infrastructure in minutes with minimal management overhead. However, this same amount of flexibility also comes with the challenges of picking the right tool, on the right ...
Feb. 9, 2016 05:30 AM EST Reads: 121
More and more companies are looking to microservices as an architectural pattern for breaking apart applications into more manageable pieces so that agile teams can deliver new features quicker and more effectively. What this pattern has done more than anything to date is spark organizational transformations, setting the foundation for future application development. In practice, however, there are a number of considerations to make that go beyond simply “build, ship, and run,” which changes ho...
Feb. 9, 2016 05:15 AM EST Reads: 179
In most cases, it is convenient to have some human interaction with a web (micro-)service, no matter how small it is. A traditional approach would be to create an HTTP interface, where user requests will be dispatched and HTML/CSS pages must be served. This approach is indeed very traditional for a web site, but not really convenient for a web service, which is not intended to be good looking, 24x7 up and running and UX-optimized. Instead, talking to a web service in a chat-bot mode would be muc...
Feb. 9, 2016 05:15 AM EST Reads: 218
Fortunately, meaningful and tangible business cases for IoT are plentiful in a broad array of industries and vertical markets. These range from simple warranty cost reduction for capital intensive assets, to minimizing downtime for vital business tools, to creating feedback loops improving product design, to improving and enhancing enterprise customer experiences. All of these business cases, which will be briefly explored in this session, hinge on cost effectively extracting relevant data from ...
Feb. 9, 2016 05:00 AM EST
SYS-CON Events announced today that Pythian, a global IT services company specializing in helping companies adopt disruptive technologies to optimize revenue-generating systems, has been named “Bronze Sponsor” of SYS-CON's 18th Cloud Expo, which will take place on June 7-9, 2015 at the Javits Center in New York, New York. Founded in 1997, Pythian is a global IT services company that helps companies compete by adopting disruptive technologies such as cloud, Big Data, advanced analytics, and DevO...
Feb. 9, 2016 04:45 AM EST Reads: 175
SYS-CON Events announced today that iDevices®, the preeminent brand in the connected home industry, will exhibit at SYS-CON's 18th International Cloud Expo®, which will take place on June 7-9, 2016, at the Javits Center in New York City, NY. iDevices, the preeminent brand in the connected home industry, has a growing line of HomeKit-enabled products available at the largest retailers worldwide. Through the “Designed with iDevices” co-development program and its custom-built IoT Cloud Infrastruc...
Feb. 9, 2016 04:45 AM EST
With an estimated 50 billion devices connected to the Internet by 2020, several industries will begin to expand their capabilities for retaining end point data at the edge to better utilize the range of data types and sheer volume of M2M data generated by the Internet of Things. In his session at @ThingsExpo, Don DeLoach, CEO and President of Infobright, will discuss the infrastructures businesses will need to implement to handle this explosion of data by providing specific use cases for filte...
Feb. 9, 2016 04:30 AM EST Reads: 136
SYS-CON Events announced today that VAI, a leading ERP software provider, will exhibit at SYS-CON's 18th International Cloud Expo®, which will take place on June 7-9, 2016, at the Javits Center in New York City, NY. VAI (Vormittag Associates, Inc.) is a leading independent mid-market ERP software developer renowned for its flexible solutions and ability to automate critical business functions for the distribution, manufacturing, specialty retail and service sectors. An IBM Premier Business Part...
Feb. 8, 2016 03:00 PM EST Reads: 579
SYS-CON Events announced today that Catchpoint Systems, Inc., a provider of innovative web and infrastructure monitoring solutions, has been named “Silver Sponsor” of SYS-CON's DevOps Summit at 18th Cloud Expo New York, which will take place June 7-9, 2016, at the Javits Center in New York City, NY. Catchpoint is a leading Digital Performance Analytics company that provides unparalleled insight into customer-critical services to help consistently deliver an amazing customer experience. Designed...
Feb. 8, 2016 02:00 PM EST Reads: 347
SYS-CON Events announced today that Alert Logic, Inc., the leading provider of Security-as-a-Service solutions for the cloud, will exhibit at SYS-CON's 18th International Cloud Expo®, which will take place on June 7-9, 2016, at the Javits Center in New York City, NY. Alert Logic, Inc., provides Security-as-a-Service for on-premises, cloud, and hybrid infrastructures, delivering deep security insight and continuous protection for customers at a lower cost than traditional security solutions. Ful...
Feb. 8, 2016 02:00 PM EST Reads: 382
SYS-CON Events announced today that Interoute, owner-operator of one of Europe's largest networks and a global cloud services platform, has been named “Bronze Sponsor” of SYS-CON's 18th Cloud Expo, which will take place on June 7-9, 2015 at the Javits Center in New York, New York. Interoute is the owner-operator of one of Europe's largest networks and a global cloud services platform which encompasses 12 data centers, 14 virtual data centers and 31 colocation centers, with connections to 195 ad...
Feb. 8, 2016 12:45 PM EST Reads: 361
Advances in technology and ubiquitous connectivity have made the utilization of a dispersed workforce more common. Whether that remote team is located across the street or country, management styles/ approaches will have to be adjusted to accommodate this new dynamic. In his session at 17th Cloud Expo, Sagi Brody, Chief Technology Officer at Webair Internet Development Inc., focused on the challenges of managing remote teams, providing real-world examples that demonstrate what works and what do...
Feb. 8, 2016 12:30 PM EST Reads: 242
SYS-CON Events announced today that Men & Mice, the leading global provider of DNS, DHCP and IP address management overlay solutions, will exhibit at SYS-CON's 18th International Cloud Expo®, which will take place on June 7-9, 2016, at the Javits Center in New York City, NY. The Men & Mice Suite overlay solution is already known for its powerful application in heterogeneous operating environments, enabling enterprises to scale without fuss. Building on a solid range of diverse platform support,...
Feb. 8, 2016 12:00 PM EST Reads: 163
SYS-CON Events announced today that Commvault, a global leader in enterprise data protection and information management, has been named “Bronze Sponsor” of SYS-CON's 18th International Cloud Expo, which will take place on June 7–9, 2016, at the Javits Center in New York City, NY, and the 19th International Cloud Expo, which will take place on November 1–3, 2016, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA. Commvault is a leading provider of data protection and information management...
Feb. 8, 2016 10:45 AM EST Reads: 390


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The Sony Smartwatch 2 companion app received an update last month that introduced a new watch face editor and some other enhancements. Now Sony is updating its SDK for developers to take advantage of these goodies. With the Sony Add-on SDK 3.0, developers can enable their apps to run in low-power mode, extending how long a user can go before having to plug in their watch. The change lets the app run in the foreground while the backlight is off. Read More
Today's phones are big. They're practically trying to be HDTVs, which makes it hard to get them into your pants, and even harder to get them out. So Sony is releasing a teeny tiny phone for your phone that can answer calls with a microphone and a speaker. Insert Xzibit joke here. The BRH10 was shown off at Mobile World Congress back in February, and it's on pre-order at a few places, but you can't buy it yet. Read More
The Xperia Z Ultra is an odd proposal from a hardware perspective. The huge 6.4" 1080p screen, Snapdragon 800 processor, and 2GB of RAM say "high end," while the 8MP rear camera lacking a flash seems a bit down-market. Perhaps that has something to do with possibly tepid sales at the phone's $679 price point... and also Sony's decision to lower it. XperiaBlog reports that the price for the phone has been dropped to $449.99. Read More
Update: Sony has issued this statement on the matter. In short, nothing has officially changed. Look for the unlocked GSM version to appear in the US this summer.
“A mock-up image was mistakenly posted to the Sony Mobile Google+ page. The image has since been removed and we apologize for any confusion this may have caused. For our U.S. customers eager to find out more information about the availability of Xperia Z2, we are excited to share that the device will be coming to the U.S.
Megapixels, megashmixels. We could debate for near eternity over which smartphone has the best camera, but sometimes all that really matters is which is the most fun. Sony wants you to think its cameras are, so the company has updated its augmented reality camera app and tossed in an additional six new themes for good measure.
The AR Effect app lets certain Sony Xperia smartphone owners add objects and effects to their photos, fundamentally altering what is going on in the shot. Read More
The market for gigantic waterproof phones just got a lot more competitive. Google has slashed the price of the Sony Z Ultra Google Play edition by $200. That brings the price down from $649 to a much more respectable $449.
Taking the background in an image and blurring it is currently the big thing in mobile photography. HTC touted the feature when raving about the M8's duo camera. Google added a similar lens blur effect in the camera app it recently uploaded to the Play Store. Samsung, too, unsurprisingly packed this feature in alongside the plethora of others it crams into the Galaxy S5. Now Sony has uploaded its pre-existing effort to the Play Store, where it can more easily roll out future updates. Read More
Smartwatches get all the credit, but they're largely nothing without the companion app calling all the shots from a nearby smartphone. So when said companion receives a pretty substantial update, it breathes new life into the accessory it's paired with. Today Sony has rolled out such an upgrade for its Smartwatch 2 companion app, introducing a brand new watch face editor.
From this interface, wearers can choose which watch face and widgets (weather, calendar, etc.) that they want on their watch. Read More
Some trends are awesome, and some are not so much. This one counts as the former. Android manufacturers have increasingly turned to the Play Store for distributing updates to their core Android apps. Sony's been doing this for a while now, and the Xperia Keyboard is its latest upload. Read More


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Kia is readying the unveiling of its Proceed for European buyers later this month, taking great strides to ensure it matches the concept version. While the Ceed five-door already exists, the Proceed is a full-blown wagon. However, it’ll probably spend the majority of its time referred to as an “estate car” or “shooting brake,” since it’s not supposed to make it out of Europe. That’s slightly tragic, considering the model seems bent on showcasing Kia’s new emphasis on extra-handsome designs.
Kia revealed the Proceed Concept last year at the Frankfurt Motor Show to much praise from the media. The brand claimed it would foreshadow the future of the Ceed lineup’s styling, which bodes well, as the car looks like a Porsche Panamera Sport Turismo and Nissan GT-R put up their bastard offspring for adoption in South Korea.
Back in 2016, Audi announced it would be going mental with its high-performance RS models, delivering eight new rip-roaring RennSports by the end of 2018. It even said it would ship some to the United States, though there wasn’t to be a single wagon among them. In fact, Audi’s entire American lineup is piss poor when it comes to liftbacks in general — despite Europe being flush with them.
Sure, the U.S. has a few sportbacks on offer. But the only vehicles that even begin to approach wagondom are an economy minded hatchback (the A3 e-tron) and an extra car-like crossover (the A4 Allroad). So, where does that leave wagon fans who might want to occasionally burn some rubber? Out of luck.
Fortunately, luck can change. Audi’s vice president of product management said shipping RS Avants to North America isn’t out of the question if the company thinks there could be a market for them. All wagon fans need to do is establish a write-in campaign pleading for them.
In most cases, it’s a foregone conclusion. When there are multiple bodystyles available, the fewest number of buyers exist for the wagon.
The Porsche Panamera’s case is unique, however. There is no Porsche Panamera sedan. This is a battle between the regular second-generation Porsche Panamera — a hatchback or liftback or fastback or backbackbackgone or whatever you want to call it — and the new Sport Turismo, a shooting brake five years in the making.
Yet with limited practical benefit, “It’s a question of taste; some people like the Sport Turismo more, some people like the sports sedan more,” Porsche’s sales and marketing director told Stefan Utsch, told Motoring.
80 percent of taste buds apparently prefer the regular Panamera.
Refuting everything we assumed we knew about the North American car market, some Porsche dealers are claiming the Panamera Wagon is already getting a lot of positive attention. Could that could be down to Porsche offering a more practical seating configuration?
While the rear of the Sport Turismo does provide extra storage space and easier access, it’s not a game changer over the standard sedan. What it does offer is room for five, something the German carmaker couldn’t bring itself to implement on the standard Panamera. Of course, that was likely preordained. Porsche understands most people actually care about the ability to bring all and not just some of their children with them on a journey. By omitting a seat in the sedan, it gave consumers another reason to take a look at the wagon.
Latest Car ReviewsRead more
Latest Product ReviewsRead more
- ToolGuy "Having the dual sliders has been amazing as it let's me and my wife have our own "sides" of the van to prep for rides/races."Who goes on the traffic side??
- ToolGuy "I caught a little bit Saturday, but Sunday it seemed impossible to find on my cable. I think it was streaming on Peacock, which I have, all weekend, so I could've watched it that way. I'm not complaining, to be clear, since I could've popped Peacock on and yet I chose to watch something else."Being you sounds like a real chore. 😉
- ToolGuy If it is the longer-wheelbase version, good. (If not, it isn't.)
- ToolGuy "circumvent(ing) dealerships" should be illegal.Does "circumventing" mean spending my money there?
- ToolGuy If my head gets flatter I might consider this.


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Hello-Hello, and Happy Thursday!
We begin today with a question: does it seem a tad early for the Black Friday frenzy to be underway?
We have seen several stories on the topic in the last two days, including several focusing on the Target and Wal-Mart strategies for boosting sales. From a CNN/Money story:
“Target is hoping to lure this year’s Black Friday shoppers with $3 toasters and coffeemakers, deep deals on high-definition televisions, and discounts of 50% on clothes and toys…”
Le Boutique even has a Black Friday ad sign-up page on its website; we’re not clear what one receives when signing up on that page, and much as we adore our readers we just couldn’t bring ourselves to sign up in order to learn more.
There are a number of sites with the Target ad and many others to peruse if so inclined:
Last year we shared as much information as seemed reasonable about fiscally-friendly opportunities at retail establishments with a preppish slant, Brooks Brothers, Talbots, Neiman Marcus, J.Crew, and the like. We planned to do the same this year. We just feel there is an ever-earlier encroachment, but perhaps it is selective recall on our part.
Speaking of Target, we have more photos of the Rodarte for collection, due to debut December. Below, this dress is featured on Teen Vogue’s December cover with Dakota Fanning.
The issue also showcases this Lace Dress, it will run $45.
This next image is a scan from Marie Claire:
Another major collaborative group launches much earlier than the Rodarte line seen above; the Jimmy Choo for H&M collection will be unveiled this Saturday.
Below, actress Demi Moore sported a dress from the line in October.
We aren’t going to devote too much space to this however, as the collection isn’t available online in the US and not everyone is near an H&M.
There are a number of interesting stories on this line and the growing trend for fashion collaborations and defusion lines, including this piece from ABC.
One final joint effort to share today: the Badgley Mischka line for HSN, American Glamour.
The collection is scheduled to launch November 17th with a special program on the shopping channel, but from the looks of things, many pieces (if not the entire line) are already available online.
The Animal Print Bag is showcased in either a Cheetah or Zebra pattern, selling at $349.90.
Price points run from $39 to $499; the collection includes clothing, jewelry and accessories. (But no housewares as in Isaac Mizrahi’s line for QVC discussed in Tuesday’s post.) The Big Bold Ring is $59 and the coordinating 5 Stone Necklace is $79, $69 for the event price. (?)
The Hinged Cuff Bracelet runs $99.
We find this all more-than-interesting to watch from the sidelines, the marketing and merchandising techniques are fascinating.
WWD’s story on the line says the launch online at HSN is November 15, but everything seems to be available now.
According to this story in today’s Times, Blake Lively hair is all the rage.
“At the Bumble and bumble in Bloomingdale’s, Michael Wilson, a stylist, said that more than half his customers ask for the “Textured and Tousled, or Curled and Swirled” styling … It is a request he attributes to Ms. Lively’s hairstyle.”
And the popular Gossip Girl star’s reaction?
““I didn’t really realize the extent of it,” Ms. Lively said of her hair’s popularity, though she had an inkling: fashion forerunners like Vogue staffers routinely approach her at events and fixate on her hair, she said.”
Finally, news that may put smiles on the faces of some fashionistas, while creating scowls for others: one may now purchase both Chanel and Louis Vuitton handbags at CostCo.
A post at StyleList notes the discount warehouse has the Classic Chanel Flap bag at $1999 :
From today’s Post:
“The Post found plenty of small-living-space-appropriate surprises in-store.
Like the massive wall of Ugg “Ultra” short boots ($124.99), the Chanel classic flap handbags ($1,999.99) and the classic Louis Vuitton “Speedy 30” mini-duffels ($589.99).”
Of course this is in addition to the Burberry, Tod’s, Ferragamo and Coach merchandise at Costco, at least from what we read.
We’re guessing Costco is not carrying this:
This creation from Vuitton honors the Red Cross.
This story in Grazia explains more about the limited edition item:
“The box was commissioned by Patrick-Louis Vuitton, a fifth-generation descendant of the founder who says, ‘When reflecting on our collaboration with the Red Cross, it came to my mind to create a special Red Cross kit… [this is a] visually impactful and a truly unique piece.'”
The upscale leather goods firm is also donating a percentage of proceeds from certain handbag sales to the Red Cross.
For more on these efforts and loads of fab photos, click here.
With that we say good bye until next time!


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Microsoft’s upcoming Windows 8 operating system is poised to give Apple’s iPad and Android-powered tablets some tough competition according to social chatter following Microsoft’s public unveiling of the OS earlier this month. Social media listening firm Mashwork analyzed Twitter conversations between June 15th and September 22nd of this year, and found that opinions of Microsoft’s next-generation operating system are overwhelmingly positive at this early stage. Read on for more.
The majority of the 65,968 tweets Mashwork analyzed were posted during the period in time surrounding Microsoft’s recent BUILD conference, of course, and the firm says the bulk of Windows 8 chatter comes from developers, tech savvy individuals and early adopters. About 15% of the tweets analyzed were comprised of people sharing their initial reactions of the OS, and the sentiment was positive; 47% of people were excited about Windows 8 while 20% were skeptical.
17,811 of the Windows 8-related tweets compared Microsoft’s upcoming platform to iOS on the iPad or to Android, and the chatter was overwhelmingly in favor of Windows 8. 63% of tweets comparing Windows 8 to iOS found Microsoft’s OS more compelling, and almost all conversation comparing Windows 8 to Android leaned toward the former.
Interestingly, early opinions of Microsoft’s next-generation OS favored tablets for the most part, and opinions on the platform’s potential on laptops and desktops — Microsoft’s bread and butter — were mixed. 44% of tweets discussing Windows 8 on traditional PCs did not believe Windows 8 would work well in this environment, but that could be due in large part to Microsoft’s focus on tablets and the Metro UI during its BUILD keynote. Almost all of the 5,271 tweets Mashwork analyzed discussing tablet hardware were optimistic or intrigued.
41% of all Windows 8 tweets analyzed focused on features. In this group, 34% people were interested in Windows 8’s speedy boot time, 24% were interested in Xbox integration, 20% discussed Microsoft’s Metro UI and 22% covered other features such as live tiles, cloud integration and Microsoft’s app store.
An infographic outlining all of Mashwork’s findings follows below.


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E-business application service provider Wizmo Inc. Tuesday secured second round
private financing to the tune of $28 million.
New York City investment firm Sandler
Capital Management led the financial deal.
Wizmo’s mission is to simplify technology for its clients. It delivers
information technology and e-business services to small and medium
businesses. Currently the company provides online services to serves more
than 3,000 customers over 30,000 desktops nationwide.
Novell Inc., and Hewlett Packard Co.
into the Minnesota-based ASP’s business plan in a big way, setting the
groundwork for extended strategic alliances and joining Sandler in its
Samantha McCuen, Sandler managing director said Wizmo is unique in its
ability to allow organizations to manage their technology investments in a
“Rather than small and medium businesses investing in expensive IT
infrastructure, applications and hardware, Wizmo enables them to
substantially reduce costs by outsourcing their IT requirements,” McCuen said.
“This allows these organizations to focus on growing their business rather
than diverting attention to their IT environment. This is leading-edge
technology and we view it as the primary way IT organizations will be
managed at small and medium businesses,” McCuen added.
James E. Kopp, Wizmo chief executive officer said it could support
virtually any mission-critical or desktop application from its central
“Wizmo’s vision, leadership, people and partnerships will enable us to
quickly emerge as the foremost e-business services firm for small- and
medium-sized organizations around the world,” Kopp said.
Wizmo will use the financing to expand relationships with U.S. resellers
around the nation and seek to establish its services on a global level scale.
The $28 million also enables Wizmo to expand its sales, marketing and
distribution initiatives, enhance its technical infrastructure, and further
establish Wizmo’s brand name as a premier e-business consulting and
application service provider.
Timothy J. Morin, Wizmo chairman, said the financing keeps the firm on
track to emerge as a leader of the growing technology outsourcing market.
“The confidence in our business model, our leadership team and the progress
we’ve made to date is reinforced by the commitment of Sandler Capital,
Novell, and HP,” Morin said.
Eric Klein, Yankee Group senior analyst, said
Wizmo may not have name brand recognition at the moment, but it would
firmly establish its presence in the ASP arena in the near future.
“While Wizmo is a new brand name, the company has been serving the small
and medium business market for some time,” Klein said.
“The rapid pace of technology has forever changed the traditional
valued-added reseller model and has forced VARs to change the manner in
which they deliver products and services to their customer base,” Klein
continued. “Wizmo reacted early, adjusted its business model, and is now
well positioned to serve the small and medium business market and to grow
its customer base.”
and Wizmo entered into a strategic
partnership. The alliance grants Wizmo access to Novell’s reseller
marketing channel, opening up access to a new list of prospective clients.
Other deals call for Wizmo to use HP and Novell technology to power its
application services portfolio.
Blake Modersitzki, Novell Ventures vice president, said it believes that
the e-services Wizmo’s services provide a better way to do businesses on
“Small and medium-sized companies benefit from th
e flexibility of the
application services to manage their changing technology requirements,”
Modersitzki said. “As a leading provider of Net services software for the
Internet and ASP arena, Novell will continue to invest in and support such
companies to simplify technology by leveraging the power of the Net.”
Wizmo’s Morin said the bottom line is that it can help clients offload
their technology burden.
“These companies need to focus every resource on what’s most important,
namely, growing their bottom lines,” Morin said. “With Wizmo’s cost
effective solutions our customers eliminate the need for high up-front
capital expenditures and dedicated in-house IT resources.”


text:
Market Report: Santa Rally shows no signs of slowing
Saturday 28 December 2013
The Santa Rally shows no signs of slowing, with the top-flight index closing on its sixth day of gains, its best run since October.
Despite slim volumes, the FTSE closed up 56.7 points at 6,750.87, while Wall Street also hit fresh all-time highs. The run of gains marks the Footsie’s hottest winning streak in two months.
But the index wasn’t helped by a flat retail sector, with traders unimpressed by Boxing Day sales.
Despite frenzied efforts to pull punters away from their computer screens and into stores, the retail data firm Springboard revealed that just 0.5 per cent more shoppers visited the Boxing Day sales compared with a year earlier. Meanwhile research by IBM showed that online shopping rose 40 per cent this year.
Marks & Spencer added 4p to 449.5p; Debenhams ticked up 0.2p to 81.6p, Next was up 20p to 5,455p, Argos owner Home Retail Group stepped up 1.3p to 191.3p, and B&Q owner Kingfisher slid 1.9p to 385.1p. And despite Dixons’ chief executive Sebastian James tweeting that this Boxing Day was its “biggest sales day EVER”, the electrical retailer short-circuited 0.5p to 48.48p.
The mining sector saw the biggest gains, helping the index upwards. Fresnillo topped the Footsie, adding 25.5p to 735p, while Antofagasta dug up 25.5p to 830.5p and Glencore Xstrata piled up 7.65p to 315.7p.
Both BSkyB and Vodafone were also up after rumours that Vodafone may make a bid for the broadcaster in order to defend against a possible takeover by AT&T.
Marc Kimsey, senior trader at Accendo Markets, said: “Traders are buying into the Vodafone-BSkyB story and with good reason. The move will keep AT&T at arm’s length, but it needs to happen quickly. The US telecoms giant has been doing its homework for some time. A Q1 advance cannot be ruled out.”
BSkyB added 11.5p to 844.5p while Vodafone was up 1.55p to 237.95p.
On the midcap index, International Personal Finance saw shares collapse after revealing a £2.4m fine from the Polish authorities over the way it calculated APR. International Personal Finance fell 84.8p to 455.2p.
- 1 Woman and two children killed by mob in riots over 'blasphemous' Facebook post in Pakistan
- 2 The secret report that helps Israelis to hide facts
- 3 Danish TV reporter is all business up top, all party down below
- 4 Ross Burden dead: MasterChef and Ready Steady Cook star, dies aged 45
- 5 Businessman charged £75 for three small bottles of water in London hotel
The secret report that helps Israelis to hide facts
A day in the life of Vladimir Putin: The dictator in his labyrinth
A new Russian revolution: The cracks are starting to appear in Putin’s Kremlin power bloc
Were 'Poor Doors' added to mixed developments so wealthy residents don't have to go in alongside social housing tenants?
Arizona execution lasts two hours as killer Joseph Wood left 'snorting and gasping' for air
Opponents of Israel's military operation in Gaza are the real enemies of Middle Eastern peace
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Grocery Store Mouse Freaks Out Tuscaloosa Shoppers
Over the weekend, social media has been abuzz with the sharing of a video which shows a mouse allegedly at a Tuscaloosa grocery store enjoying a bag of chocolates.
While it may not be ideal, the fact of the matter is the spotting of a mouse isn't indicative of filth. Sometimes, mice find their way into storage buildings, office facilities, stores, and even homes through the smallest of openings. It is said that this typically happens during the fall, as they seek warm dwellings to find food and to nest.
So, a mouse that found its way into a grocery store is in mouse heaven!
It appears that this mouse has good taste, too! The chocolates it went for are some of the best on the market
Should you ever find yourself in a place where you witness a mouse enjoying a meal or snack in a grocery store, be sure to notify the manager so the item may be taken from the shelf.
And with the viewing of this video, it's almost certain that customers will be more thorough in the checking of groceries other than eggs.


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Test & Measurement
High-speed CMOS op amp eliminates oscillation
ROHM recently announced a high-speed ground sense CMOS op amp, BD77501G, optimised for industrial and consumer equipment requiring high-speed sensing, such as anomaly detection systems used in measurement and control equipment along with sensors that work with very small signals
GX3788 PXI multi-function card from Marvin Test Solutions
Marvin Test Solutions has announced the release of the new GX3788 High-Performance FPGA Multi-Function Instrument combining A/D, D/A and digital I/O functionality.
Saelig GWInstek GLC-9000 leakage current tester launched
Saelig has introduced the GWInstek GLC-9000 leakage current tester, which performs leakage current (also called touch current) tests on general purpose electric (IEC 60990) equipment. This tester uses nine measurement device networks to simulate the human body interacting with equipment under test.
Tester integrates burn-in and core testing for 5G ICs
Advantest has ramped up its H5600 family of memory testers by introducing the new H5620ES engineering test system, designed for both high-speed burn-in and core testing of today’s DDR4, next-generation DDR5, and low-power, double-data-rate (LPDDR) devices in laboratory environments.
W1 component line for high-speed design test requirements
Anritsu Company has expanded its W1 component line with the introduction of bias tees, DC block, and semi-rigid cables that operate to 110 GHz and provide broadband frequency scalability in high-frequency device characterisation and optical networking applications.
JTAG platform simplifies chiplets test method
A newly enhanced version of ASSET InterTech’s ScanWorks JTAG-based platform of hardware debug, validation and test tools allows engineers to more easily test the device interconnects between silicon ‘chiplets’ in multi-die packages.
Keysight buys Eggplant to extend software test reach
Keysight Technologies has strengthened its software test arsenal by acquiring Eggplant from the Carlyle Group for $330m.
Performance network analysers get upgrade
Enhancements to Keysight Technologies performance network analysers (PNA and PNA-X) deliver greater flexibility and accuracy while speeding and simplifying required measurements.
PV array simulators deliver 20 Kilowatts in a 3U format
A new family of photovoltaic (PV) array simulators has been launched by Keysight Technologies.
Personal monitor enhanced with 60GHz frequency range
Narda STS has upgraded its RadMan 2 personal monitor with new, intelligent features including a frequency range up to 60 GHz, and it is less expensive to buy.


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Overwatch begins anniversary celebrations
The Overwatch Anniversary 2021 celebration is now live and runs through June 8th.
Video game news headlines delivered to your inbox daily. Click here to subscribe.
|From Blizzard Entertainment:|
Happy Anniversary, Overwatch! To celebrate the past five years we’ve shared, this year’s Anniversary event will highlight all the game modes you’ve enjoyed across the years on a daily rotating schedule. Kick it with Lúcioball one day; spend the next having snow much fun in a Winter Wonderland brawl!
Winter Wonderland, Halloween Terror, Summer Games, Archives, and Lunar New Year brawls will all make a return during Anniversary on specific days; all seasonal cosmetics will also be available to unlock. Don’t forget to log in from May 18 through June 8 to celebrate every day with us on PC, Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo Switch!
PC ANNIVERSARY SALE
Celebrate Overwatch’s 5th Anniversary with new friends and family – Overwatch will be up to 50% off from May 18 to May 28 on Battle.net!
NEW WAY TO EARN REWARDS
• This year, we’re introducing a new way to earn rewards for Anniversary.


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Auto repair chain Certified Tire and Services Center Inc. has agreed to pay $550,000 to settle allegations it sold unnecessary parts and services and charged customers for repairs it never performed at its 19 stores in Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and San Diego counties.
Certified Tire did not admit fault in reaching the settlement with district attorneys in the four counties, which calls for the company to pay $550,000 in fines and reimbursements for the cost of the investigation.
The investigation came in response to more than 400 complaints filed to the Bureau of Automotive Repairs and the Better Business Bureau.
The settlement, signed in Superior Court in San Bernardino on May 8, calls for the Riverside-based repair chain to send mailings to all customers who filed complaints against the company and to offer a refund or restitution. Certified Tire must show proof to the San Bernardino District Attorney’s Office that the mailing has been sent and all legitimate claims have been paid.
To be eligible, customers must have filed a complaint with the state Bureau of Automotive Repair, the Better Business Bureau, county prosecutors or with Certified Tire between January 2002 and March 2008. In Orange County, Certified Tire outlets are located in Anaheim, Buena Park, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach and Santa Ana.
Customers who believe they are eligible can call Certified Tire headquarters at 951-369-0025.
More stories …


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If Apple needed an illustration of its popularity in the world’s biggest smartphone market by volume, it was given one this month in Beijing.
The U.S. group suspended sales of all iPhone models through its retail stores in China after the launch of its latest model — the 4S — at its flagship Sanlitun store in Beijing triggered a riot among black marketeers.
Such hysteria is an extreme example of the attraction of a device that drove Apple to its best quarter in its 35-year history, far outstripping analysts’ expectations. It further surprised investors with its optimism for 2012, suggesting its phenomenal growth was set to continue.
It cast aside its usual caution and forecast revenues and profits for the current quarter — $32.5 billion and $8.50 per share — that for once bettered Wall Street’s predictions. Some of that optimism comes from the success it has had tapping new markets, including China.
The iPhone 4S is now in 90 countries, its fastest rollout ever – and the company now earns 58 percent of its revenues outside the U.S. This means the rest of the world will come more into play and could lead growth this year.
Tim Cook, Apple chief executive, on Tuesday picked out China as having the most potential for growth. He told an analyst conference call that Apple was making some progress in Brazil, Russia and India, but China, among the Bric countries, was on a different level, with demand “staggering” and “off the charts”.
But Apple may have a hard time fulfilling that demand. Its store in Sanlitun, an upscale Beijing shopping district, was one of the destinations of choice as thousands of Chinese youngsters headed out on Wednesday to spend some of the money they received from parents and grandparents for the Lunar New Year festival.
As usual, all spots at the long tables were taken, with children playing games on MacBooks and iPads as their extended family looked over their shoulders. But one of the main objects of customers’ desire, the iPhone, was nowhere to be seen following the suspension of sales earlier this month.
Customers kept asking for the phones at the store on Wednesday, but sales staff had little comfort to offer. They advised consumers that they could order the iPhone 4S in Apple’s online store but it was out of stock now and there was no indication how long they would have to wait for the device.
Customers are also being directed to China Unicom, the only Chinese carrier which offers subsidized iPhones bundled with contracts. “Otherwise you may want to try at Buynow [an electronics mall in Beijing] but you will probably have to pay a mark-up of Rmb1,000 at least,” said one sales employee at the store.
Keeping supply scarce has been part of Apple’s strategy in China, and in the past helped fan the flames of consumers’ desire.
But, more recently, the hype has not been enough to keep Apple ahead of key competitors in the Chinese market and it seems to have genuine shortages now, with the company admitting to a significant order backlog due to high demand.
While Apple’s share of the Chinese smartphone market more than doubled over the past two years, Samsung managed to grow its piece of the pie more than fourfold during the same period, and in the third quarter of 2011, Apple fell behind both Samsung and Huawei, the Chinese telecoms equipment maker.
This happened just as growth in the Chinese market gained momentum: China overtook the U.S. as the world’s largest smartphone market with 23.9 million devices shipped in the third quarter last year, almost 60 per cent up from a quarter earlier, according to Strategy Analytics.
Analysts say Apple’s main problem is the lack of other operator partnerships beyond China Unicom. The company is China’s second-largest mobile carrier by subscribers, with just under 200m, compared with the 650m subscribers at China Mobile, the market leader.
Apple has been in talks with China Mobile about a possible iPhone carrier deal for years. But the operator’s third-generation network runs on the country’s homegrown TD-SCDMA standard, which would require custom tweaks to the device, something Apple is reluctant to do.
The two companies are expected to aim at a deal for an LTE-compatible iPhone. But since commercial services in LTE in China are not expected until next year at the earliest, Chinese Apple fans may be facing another long wait for more affordable iPhones.
Clearly Apple is right in seeing China as a huge potential market for the iPhone, but unlike in the rest of the world, its execution skills there are for once being questioned.


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Instagram launched Reels ads to the world on June 17th after months of testing in select countries, including India, Australia, Brazil, and Germany.
What are Reels?
Instagram released Reels in August 2020 as a “new way to create and discover short, entertaining videos on Instagram¹.” Reels are features similar to TikTok videos, which allows videos to be displayed in an easy-to-scroll setting.
Photo by Instagram
What should brands know about ads in Reels?
The full-screen, vertical ads will appear between individual Reels, which will loop and last up to 30 seconds. They will act just like a regular Reel, in which a user can comment, like, view, save, and share Reels ads. Ads will be identifiable by a small “sponsored” tag below the username of the advertiser’s account. Reels ads will turn up in many places, including the Reels tab, Reels in stories, Reels in Explore, and Reels in users’ feeds.
Photo by Instagram
How can ads in Reels help brands?
With Instagram Reels’ new ad feature, brands can grow their engagement even further through Instagram. The app currently holds multiple features for brands with Shops, ads in stories, and business accounts². With advertisements in Reels, brands will gain additional exposure and see direct responses from users that engage with the videos.
Things to keep in mind
Although this function may provide additional benefits, brands should keep in mind that the feature is still new and developing. Head of Instagram Adam Mosseri stated at the beginning of the year that he is “not yet happy with it,” and “we’re growing both in terms of how much people are sharing and how much people are consuming, but we have a long way to go³.”
Another problem Instagram faces with its Reels feature is that “most people” don’t know the difference between videos posted to Instagram, IGTV, and now Reels, Adam Mosseri told The Verge.
Nonetheless, Reels Ads have arrived. Instagram Chief Operating Officer Justin Osofsky explains further, stating, “We see Reels as a great way for people to discover new content on Instagram, and so ads are a natural fit. Brands of all sizes can take advantage of this new creative format in an environment where people are already being entertained.”


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New Delhi, Nov 4 (PTI) Once a luxury item, air purifiers have become increasingly necessary as sales have increased amid rising pollution levels in Delhi that are now just one step below the ‘Severe Plus’ category.
According to Central Pollution Control Board data, Delhi’s overall Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 426 at 9.30 am on Friday. An AQI above 400 is considered ‘severe’ and can affect healthy individuals and be severely affected by existing illnesses. On Thursday, the 24-hour average AQI stood at 450 at 4 pm, just one step below the ‘Severe Plus’ category.
Demand for air purifiers has increased in the national capital, especially after Diwali, where crackers are widely burst despite the ban.
“Air quality in India is deteriorating due to many activities – industrial expansion in cities, population density, improper waste management, crop burning, increased use of automobiles and a few natural factors. There is evidence that air pollution, both outdoor and indoor, is increasing and has high morbidity and mortality rates. is lagging behind,” said Karthik Singhal, founder of O2 Q and managing director of Zeco Aircon Ltd.
The increase in air purifier sales reflects the worsening air quality, he said, adding that buyers in big cities like Delhi, Gurgaon, Noida have become more conscious and responsible about indoor purification.
“This has led to growth in the air purifier sector where we have also seen a huge jump in sales in the last few weeks,” added Singhal.
A representative of Mehra Electronics in Khan Market agrees.
“It is the need of the hour. It is the time of peak pollution and sales are up,” he said.
Market experts said that sales of air purifiers were higher in South Delhi because of the purchasing power and better awareness of people living there.
Manish Seth, secretary of the Daryaganj Traders Association and owner of an electronics shop, said the device has now become a necessity and even doctors are advising patients to use it.
“Companies have also realized this and reduced the prices. Purifiers that were earlier available for Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000 are now being sold for Rs 7,000 to Rs 8,000. Some shops in South Delhi have higher sales because of people’s awareness and higher. purchasing power. The product is also making its own in the online space. ongoing,” he said.
Mohit Singh, sales executive at Atmo Pure in Jangpura, said air purifiers are priced between Rs 7,000 and Rs 60,000 in their stores, depending on the technology, filter used and coverage area.
“We have seen a sharp rise in demand for air purifiers during this time over the last few years. It is literally the cost of your breath, a health investment as important as your regular health insurance,” he added.
Singh said a large number of users have bought purifiers for their children and the elderly and have invested in equipment with low maintenance costs.
Nitin Sharma, Senior Executive, Global Gadgets Store, Khan Market, said, “Sales increased after Diwali due to poor air quality. Sales will increase in the coming days.”
The store sold 30 air purifier units on Thursday.
However, buying an air purifier is not enough as it needs maintenance with regular cleaning of the filters to function properly.
“People forget to clean the filters and this affects its lifespan. You should clean the filters every week to ensure the longevity of the filter and the machine,” says Parth Ahuja, purification expert, Dyson.
Many doctors are advising patients, especially the vulnerable such as the elderly, children and people with respiratory problems, to use air filters at home and avoid going outside in the morning and evening.
Dr Rahul Sharma, Additional Director (Pulmonology), Fortis Hospital, Noida, said, “HEPA (high efficiency particulate matter) filters work well and we recommend them for patients, especially those who are housebound.
“Purifiers work in limited cubic meters of space. While buying a purifier you should check how much air it can purify according to the capacity of your home. Another important factor is HEPA filters and HEPA-like filters, which are not as effective as HEPA filters and are very Expensive.” PTI SLB/AMP/GJS/GVS/KND SZM


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Denton Record-Chronicle: Regulators outline rules on short-term loans
March 27, 2015
Federal regulators unveiled a plan Thursday for new rules meant to end the cycle of debt that often comes with payday and title loans.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau proposed requiring that lenders operate one of two ways: either make sure the consumer can afford the short-term loan before making it or comply with restrictions that keep the loan’s costs from ballooning and becoming unaffordable.
Read more here:


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The expected is happening, the next follow up to the Black Ops series is releasing later this year, with a community reveal on may 17th.
The trailer (rather call it a glimpse of the game) released yesterday.
As with all previous Black Ops games, the new title will be developed by longtime Call of Duty studio Treyarch.
As of now, what we know is what you have read. Activision says the new title “represents a game-changing experience,” but it isn’t providing anything in the way of details just yet. Instead, the company will be revealing more during a live-streamed event on May 17th.
The rumours for the game had been surfacing the internet for several weeks, following a report from Eurogamer in February.
Things got more complicated rather intensified when the NBA star James Harden was spotted wearing a hat with what appeared to be the logo for a new Black Ops game.
Black Ops 4 will be coming to PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC when it launches in October.
It’s the second reveal of a blockbuster game today, following Ubisoft’s surprise announcement of The Division 2 earlier.


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Kickbacks whistleblowers reached their "put up or shut up" moment for producing solid evidence—and didn't, Teva says.
GlaxoSmithKline plans to close its skincare products plants in Sligo, Ireland, and lay off its 165 workers over the next three years.
The FDA this month issued the Apotex Research Private plant in India a warning letter, its third in four years.
Another Chinese product using potentially substandard ingredients has slipped through the regulatory cracks into the U.S.
With biosimilar versions of its top drugs on the horizon, Roche's Genentech unit is parting ways with 223 staffers in California.
Privately held Kaléo has a supply of epinephrine auto injectors and is making sure the public knows its version is available.
A cabotegravir/rilpivirine combo as a monthly HIV treatment showed similar efficacy to a standard three-drug therapy.
Whistleblowers alleging Lilly ran a "multi-tiered kickback scheme" will have to rework their complaint after a judge tossed the case.
More and more postscandal drugmakers are landing on the same solution for restoring their good name: Change it.
Digital drug ads are gaining on TV in patient awareness and influence, according to a newly released patient study.


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Apple included mouse support as an accessibility option in iPadOS 13, however, it has been met with mixed opinions as the Cupertino company seemingly tried to limit the feature. However, Apple has now acknowledged the demand for proper mouse support.
An Apple director has commented on the matter, in a very un-Apple-like fashion, as the tech giant isn’t known for addressing feedback and concerns of users directly. Apple clearly intended the feature to be used for people with disabilities but in an interview with TechCrunch, Apple’s director of Global Accessibility Policy & Initiatives, Sarah Herrlinger, acknowledges that the feature has potential beyond just accessibility:
“Accessibility features can benefit more than the original community they were designed to support,”
She referenced closed captions as an example of a widely used feature that was originally meant for the hard of hearing but has now been accepted as a generally useful feature.
With iOS 7, some people weren’t fans of the new blurry design, so another accessibility feature stepped in to let people disable animations and blur if they so desired.
Hopefully, Apple will allow iPad users to properly connect a mouse in a future update for iPadOS, as the company is pushing the device as a laptop replacement.


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Hitachi hub is latest eco-devo coup for Douglas County
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Friday’s announcement that Hitachi Data Systems (HDS) will open a 200-worker hub in the Meridian Corporate Center is just the latest piece of economic good news for Douglas County, and officials say they are using a new state law, among other tools, to guide jobs their way.
In April, The TriZetto Group announced it would locate its headquarters in Douglas County, http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/print-edition/2012/07/06/growing-trizetto-seeks-more.html and international retailer Cabela’s said it would open a store in Lone Tree.
Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper went out of his way to laud Douglas County officials at a news conference Friday on the HDS expansion, saying: “You guys have done everything you can to solve every logistical problem that comes up.”
Afterward, County Commissioner Jill Repella explained that Douglas County offered to the state its full package of incentives early this year, when the expansion was still called “Project Victor” because of the secrecy HDS requested.
Those included a waiver on permit fees for the prospective company, an expedited permitting timeline and an elimination of the county’s share of business personal property tax (BPPT) on new equipment the company buys.
The BPPT offering is one the county has been able to make only since Aug. 8, when House Bill 1029, which allows local governments to increase from 50 percent to 100 percent the level of tax credits on the business personal property tax they can offer to relocating or expanding companies, took effect.
Ed Sealover covers government, health care, tourism, airlines, hospitality and restaurants for the Denver Business Journal and writes for the "Capitol Business" blog. Phone: 303-803-9229.
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Asian market impact for Komatsu
By Chris Sleight29 July 2015
Komatsu’s revenues for the first quarter of the fiscal year ending June 30 were down -3.1% to JPY 446 billion (US$ 3.61 billion) compared to the same period last year. The company’s operating income fell -21.7% to JPY 49.7 billion (US$ 402 million).
The bulk of the company’s revenues were derived from construction and mining equipment sales, which were down -3.8% to JPY 403 billion (US$ 3.26 billion). Despite growth in domestic sales of +3.3% to JPY 68.1 billion (US$ 550 million), it was other Asian and Oceanic markets which chiefly contributed to the overall decline.
Revenues in China were down -42.7% to JPY 20.2 billion (US$ 163 million), while sales in Oceania dropped -26.1% to JPY 27.2 billion (US$ 220 million) and business in the rest of Asia, excluding China and Japan, dropped -4.5% to JPY 52.9 billion (US$ 428 million). Steep declines in sales were also seen in Africa and the CIS.
These losses were partly offset by a surge in business in North America, where Komatsu saw its revenues rise +34.6% to JPY 83.2 billion (US$ 673 million).
The company expects its overall sales for the full fiscal year to be down -5.0% on 2014 at JPY 1.88 trillion (US$ 15.2 billion). Net income is expected to fall -10.4% to JPY 138 billion (US$ 1.12 billion).