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TEXT OF COMMENTARY
Scott Jagow: What’s important in the new economy? Things like mobile phones, computer chips, Internet companies? No, no, no, says commentator David Frum. It’s things like cows, grain and water.
David Frum: Just one word: potash.
Potash is a mineral used in fertilizer. The Canadian province of Saskatchewan has the largest deposit on Earth and the Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan mines it exclusively.
The five-year stock graph for the Potash Corporation looks like some Internet startup from the 1990s. In 2002, Potash Corporation stock traded around $8 a share. This year, it crossed $85 a share.
World potash prices are soaring. The company’s profits and stock price have reached an all-time record, and the company expects the next five years to be the most exciting in its history.
No wonder. As Chinese and Indian consumers get richer, they want to eat more pork, chicken and beef. Pigs, chickens and cattle live on grain. Grain producers need fertilizer.
It’s not only potash prices that are up. Like most agricultural commodities, the bulky mineral moves by rail. And so, Canadian Pacific Railway shares have quadrupled since 2002.
When you hear about the worldwide commodities boom, don’t just think oil. Think fertilizer, wood, cocoa — the ingredients for the basic necessities and little luxuries that people start buying when their incomes rise above subsistence.
Asia today is looking like Europe and America in 1900 — and the commodity price charts of 2007 look a lot like those of a century ago.
Back in the 1990s, we heard a lot about a “new economy.” This new economy dealt in things conceptual, abstract, weightless. A decade later, the economy is again heavy and bulky. Everything old is new again it seems — in investing as in fashion.
David Frum is a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. Share your thoughts with us at Marketplace.org. In Los Angeles, I’m Scott Jagow. Thanks for tuning in and enjoy your day.
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Attorney General T.J. Donovan today announced a settlement with Florida-based Centurion Filing Services, LLC (Centurion), for sending misleading mailings to Vermont businesses. Attorney General Donovan and Secretary of State Jim Condos previously issued a warning to Vermont businesses that Centurion, calling itself VT Certificate Service, was sending requests for payment for a “Certificate of Good Standing” to businesses, disguised to look like an official invoice from the State. The settlement bans Centurion from doing business in Vermont. It also requires Centurion to pay a $20,000 penalty to the State and refund the Vermont businesses it misled.
In March 2021, Attorney General Donovan sent a cease-and-desist letter to Centurion warning them of consequences of their deceptive mailings. Later that month, Attorney General Donovan and Secretary Condos together issued a warning to Vermont businesses to beware of the company and the deceptive mailings. Centurion, however, continued to send mailings to Vermonters and the Attorney General’s Office investigated, resulting in today’s settlement.
Any Vermont business that paid Centurion for these services is entitled to a full refund. To request a refund, contact the Attorney General’s Office by August 16, 2022. Requests can be made by emailing email@example.com or calling the Consumer Assistance Program at 1-800-649-2424.
A copy of the settlement is available here.

domain: news


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BuzzFeed on Saturday disclosed that it had found three instances when complaints from business-side employees who worked with advertisers resulted in the deletion of articles.
In a memo to staff first reported by Gawker, BuzzFeed Editor-in-Chief Ben Smith said that an internal review had revealed that the news and entertainment site had removed more than 1,000 posts for different reasons.
The three advertiser-related deletions, which involved Unilever-owned Axe, Microsoft and Pepsi, were “pulled after an editor fielded a complaint from a business-side BuzzFeed staff member who worked with a brand mentioned in the piece,” Mr. Smith wrote.
The internal review came after BuzzFeed acknowledged it had deleted two other posts critical of brands that have advertised on the site, one about Hasbro’s Monopoly and another about Dove soap, which is owned by Unilever.
After Gawker reported on those disappearances, Mr. Smith reinstated the posts, but he maintained that their deletion was due to editorial considerations – that they revealed an undue amount of the writer’s personal opinion — and not advertiser pressure.
In the memo, Mr. Smith said in one instance an ad agency had complained about a 2013 critique of an Axe body spray ad by then-employee Mark Duffy, who blogs as “Copyranter.” BuzzFeed removed the post, an episode Mr. Duffy once wrote about for Gawker.
A second article deriding Microsoft’s Internet Explorer was deleted because the author, Tanner Ringerud, had previously been employed on BuzzFeed’s business side working with Microsoft. Mr. Smith said he agreed with BuzzFeed’s chief revenue officer “that it was inappropriate for Tanner to write about brands whose ad campaigns he’d worked on.”
Mr. Smith added that the company instituted a policy preventing staffers who had moved from the business side to the editorial staff from writing about companies they worked with for six months.
The business department of BuzzFeed complained about a third post, titled “These Brands Are Going To Bombard Your Twitter Feed On Super Bowl Sunday,” which poked fun at Pepsi’s Twitter feed. BuzzFeed’s advertising arm was making content for Pepsi during the Super Bowl, Mr. Smith said.
Mr. Smith said that the goal of the review was to “determine why things were deleted before our standards guide was published this January, including whether or not external pressure played a role in any of the decisions to delete a post.”
The review found that other posts were deleted due to technical errors, such as being published with two different URLs, or because reporters duplicated an earlier story without realizing it had already been written.
Mr. Smith said that he was “frankly relieved that the review didn’t turn up any external pressures or advertiser contacts that I didn’t know about.”
Microsoft, Unilever and Pepsi could not immediately be reached for comment.


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News > Call of Duty Modern Warfare Season 2: Battle Royale Map Leaked?
Call of Duty Modern Warfare Season 2 is now live on PS4, Xbox One, and PC, offering Call of Duty players a new Battle Pass, as well as new content, maps, and many more rewards.
Take a look at the official Modern Warfare battle royale trailer that was released with Modern Warfare Season 2 yesterday!
If you go to Atlas Superstore in a private match and become the COD caster you can explore the entire map. It is all low quality because you don't see it in regular gameplay. I flew all the way up in the sky to get the overview :) pic.twitter.com/QpiVaBd7Un— Ryan B. (@PrestigeIsKey) February 12, 2020
According to the above Tweet, players that COD cast in a private game on Modern Warfare’s Season 2 map Atlas Superstore have the ability to explore the area, where they can potentially find a rough version of a possible new battle royale map. Looking at the map in full, Season 2 may offer the potential for 15 different locations, as well as six major points of interest.
Following the Modern Warfare update, a number of players reported seeing an option on the main menu labelled ‘Classified’ — albeit greyed out — leaving us wondering whether this is part of the new battle royale mode!
Call of Duty players will be excited with the new content additions welcomed by the launch of the second season last night, which included:
Whether the map leak is true or not, is still anybody’s guess, but the battle royale mode release may be a lot sooner than we think!
To keep up to date with developments, please follow us on our various social media channels:
The global gaming market will make revenues of $159.3 billion, accounting for a 9.3% year-on-year (YoY) growth in 2020. This source comes from leading games and esports analytics firm Newzoo, who also project that the industry will record revenues in excess of $200 billion in 2023!
July 21, 2020
The PlayStation 5 livestream event yesterday for their new reveal, finally gave millions around the world a look into the console’s slick new hardware, breathtaking graphics and very exciting gameplay trailers!
June 12, 2020
Riot Games have officially announced a release date for VALORANT, their new 5v5 team-based shooter! The game entered its closed beta at the beginning of April, giving players in specific regions early access to the highly anticipated game. After two months of waiting, the game will exit its closed beta on 28 May in preparation for the official launch.
May 22, 2020
Riot Games have officially released VALORANT’s competitive ranked mode. VALORANT’s closed-beta went live on 7 April, but due to the coronavirus pandemic, this was only available to players in the US, Canada, Europe, Russia, Turkey and CIS countries. Riot have stated that more regions could be supported later, but this depends on developments with the coronavirus pandemic.
May 5, 2020
Copyright © 2020 Intergalactic Gaming
All rights reserved


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VLC for Windows Phone and Windows RT devices has been a “Work in progress” for quite long, but now seems VLC team has reached a milestone, where they have it working on ARM devices like Windows RT and Windows Phone, finally.
— Hugo Beauzée-Luyssen (@beauzeh) November 4, 2014
Yeah! VLC is finally working on ARM devices like Surface RT and windows phone! You should thank @beauzeh who did a really huge work!!
— Thomas Nigro (@ThomasNigro) November 4, 2014
We too expect that they ship it soon for both Windows RT and Windows Phone.


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In a key decision, the Reserve Bank of India on Friday decided to leave its benchmark repo rate unchanged for the fourth straight time, keeping it at 6.5%, while maintaining that it was focussed on a “withdrawal of accommodation” to tame inflation.
Speaking on the decision, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said “recurring large overlapping food price shocks can impart generalisation and persistence to headline inflation”, a warning that elevated food prices could spill over to other sectors and inflation could become sticky, about which the central banker would remain watchful.
The RBI’s monetary policy broadly remains pivoted on “withdrawal of accommodation”, the governor said, meaning the RBI will be focussed on curbing money supply in the economy to control inflationary pressure.
Vegetable prices eased in August and will come down further in September (figures will be released in a week), he said.
Das said a declining outlook for core inflation (inflation that excludes volatile food and fuel prices) was a “silver lining” but overall inflation still faces risks from a decline in kharif or summer sowing, hinting at continued higher food prices. The global economy is still in a slowdown, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das warned.
Also Read: ‘Not the way’: RBI finds ‘excessive dominance’ by 1-2 board members even in big banks
The RBI said it expected India’s economy to attain a real GDP growth of 6.5% in 2023-24. In July-September 2023, Asia’s third largest economy is estimated to grow at 6.5%, it said. The economy will expand 6% in October-December 2023 and 5.7% in January-March 2024, the central bank’s projections on Friday showed.
High cereal prices and the threat of El Nino, a weather pattern whose effects ripple around the globe, continue to key be variables to watch that can alter the course of inflation.
The central bank had hiked the repo rate by 250 basis points to 6.5% between May 2022 and February 2023, the RBI hit a pause in the April review of the monetary policy. A basis point is one-hundredth of a percentage point. The repo rate refers to the rate at which commercial banks borrow money by selling their securities to the Reserve Bank, while the reverse repo rate is the rate at which the central bank borrows money.
These rates are key to boosting credit and investments by businesses to boost economy growth. A hike makes borrowing expensive for businesses, limiting money supply and cooling inflation – the key objective of why banks hike benchmark rates.


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VR remains unregulated, but standard fair use policies, copyright acts, trademark acts, and anti-dilution acts are being applied in the wake of disputes related to content ownership and IP theft. Regulators are mostly concerned about the protection of personal data and users’ privacy. Given the maturity level of VR, any vigorous attempt to regulate runs the risk of stifling the evolution of the technology. As a result, most regulators are taking a wait-and-see approach.
Leading regulatory trends in virtual reality
Listed below are the leading virtual reality regulatory trends, as identified by GlobalData.
Around the world, regulators are concerned about the social impact of video games, especially amongst children. Chinese regulators – who oversee the world’s biggest gaming market – froze the approval of new domestic online game licenses in late March 2018. Subsequently, in 2019, China imposed a ban on games that feature blood or corpses. Although the impact of this new rule on the Chinese VR industry is unknown, developers of popular first-person shooter VR games, such as The Brookhaven Experiment, Serious Sam VR, and Resident Evil 7 VR, risk losing ground in China.
Game developers will need to reintroduce censored versions of the titles to avoid legal risks. However, China’s desire to dominate the global VR market leads us to believe that regulators will not attempt to stifle the industry with heavy-handed regulation. Age restrictions are likely to emerge in the coming years, which will prevent children from accessing violent games. HTC, which dominates the Chinese arcades market, will also revamp its Viveport Arcade portal to comply with regulations.
US-based VR companies have created their own ethical guidelines to protect their businesses from outside interference. The XR Association, previously known as the Global Virtual Reality Association (GVRA), includes Google, HTC, Oculus, Samsung, Sony and Acer. It promotes the growth of immersive technologies through best practices for the immersive tech industry.
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Data privacy is a global concern. The growing awareness of the need to protect user data is a result of regulations such as Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Japan’s Act on the Protection of Personal Information (APPI), and California’s Consumer Privacy Act (CPA).
Adopting an extraterritorial approach, GDPR and APPI necessitate companies to process locally generated data, especially biometrics, within the region itself, irrespective of their base stations. The regulations also mandate companies to have transparent privacy policies, stipulating the purpose and use of user-generated data. As a result, new privacy policies from Facebook and HTC make it clear that user data is stored on the devices and that they do not share information such as credit card details with affiliate third parties for security reasons. As guided by regulators, the companies also equip users with features to request, access, correct, and suspend their personal data from privacy centres. Facebook has also updated the Oculus code of conduct, which prevents users from promoting or accessing illegal, abusive, and explicit content.
This is an edited extract from the Virtual Reality – Thematic Research report produced by GlobalData Thematic Research.


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One of the key frustrations surrounding Amazon's assortment of Echo devices has been their lack of Apple Music integration, at least for us on the Apple Music side of streaming things. As announced Friday, that's all going to change in a matter of weeks.
"We are committed to offering great music providers to our customers and since launching the Music Skill API to developers just last month, we've expanded the music selection on Alexa to include even more top tier services," Amazon Devices senior VP Dave Limp said Friday. "We're thrilled to bring Apple Music—one of the most popular music services in the US—to Echo customers this holiday."
Apple Music will be added to Echo devices starting Dec. 17, meaning subscribers will be able to engage in all their usual Apple Music activities using Echo devices, either with Alexa’s assistance and/or of their volition. To get this latest Echo feature rolling on your device, just turn on the Apple Music skill in the Alexa app and link your Apple Music account.
Since Alexa's music alarm feature launched less than a year ago, per Amazon, tens of millions of hours of streaming radio have been put to use by consumers. Amazon further claimed in a press release Friday that the "most requested" genre to wake up to was, of all things, top country.
Anyway, have you seen the Ghost+Cow Films-produced video for Big Data's "L1ZY"? It’s, um, quite timely considering everything we just discussed. Catch it below via Vimeo, where it previously landed as a Staff Pick:


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Lloyds and RBS customers allowed to withdraw money from any cash machine after banks' U-turn
Vulnerable Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland customers will no longer be limited in what cash machines they can use.
While most High Street banks allow customers to withdraw cash from any hole in the wall, in 2011 RBS told its basic bank account customers they would be able to withdraw money only from RBS, NatWest, Tesco and Morrisons cash machines, or over-the-counter at Post Office branches.
Lloyds Bank had already imposed a similar restriction. Basic bank accounts are for customers with low credit scores.
U-turn: Lloyds and RBS customers will no longer be limited in what cash machines they can use
Account holders get a cash machine card and can set up direct debits, but cannot go overdrawn. One million people have an RBS basic account.
RBS argued it was too expensive to allow these customers to use other banks’ cash machines, but the move caused uproar after it emerged thousands of people who live in rural areas would struggle to access their cash.
Under pressure from MPs, both banks have backtracked. Lloyds customers will begin to receive new cash machine cards next month, which they will be able to use anywhere.
RBS says it will re-open access to all cash machines by the end of the year.
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TYLER, TX (KLTV) - After several Tyler restaurants closed this month, some are questioning if there are too many restaurants in the city.
We spoke with economic experts and those in the restaurant industry to try to figure out if Tyler's restaurant market is too saturated and if that could keep others from setting up shop here.
It's true that in Tyler, you don't have to go far to find a restaurant. In one location along South Broadway, we counted at least 10 locations in close proximity, but how much is too much, and are too many restaurants opening causing others to close up?
Tom Mullins with the Tyler Economic Development Council says that answer is tricky since he says Tyler is considered one of the strongest restaurant markets in the state.
"It might be a personnel issue, management issue, financing, location," says Mullins.
It's a question that we also posed to Jeff Williams, a managing partner of Aspen Creek.
Williams helped open the restaurant months ago. He says one thing stood out to them from the Tyler market.
"Just the solid growth," says Williams.
It is solid growth that he says also presents its own challenges for restaurant owners.
"Some of the real estate and pretty much all the real estate has been taken up, the pieces that are out there they are definitely paying a premium for," says Williams.
He says when you have many restaurants nearby, the challenge extends to business plans, evolving and making sure that needs are met for restaurants to remain competitive.
"Tyler, sad to say, has lost some of those recently that wouldn't fit their plan," says Williams.
So, how many restaurants is too many? Mullins says when the growth stops. And that will have to be decided by the free market.
"It'll hit a wall, where people are saying 'we don't think this market will support our franchise, or our concept' and they might hold off for a while until they see more growth happening," says Mullins.
"Restaurants is different than the saturation point of nail salons, or banks. Name the niche, they all have their own maximum saturation level," says Mullins.
Some of the restaurants that have recently closed include, the Subway in Downtown Tyler, Gusano's Chicago-Style Pizzeria, Smashburger, Seoul Garden and What about Kabob.
Mullins and Williams both believe there is room for growth in the restaurant business. Mullins says recently developed areas in West Tyler could see an increase.


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Welcome to BetaKit’s startup stories of the week! Here, you will find the week’s most important news, features, and editorials published on BetaKit. If you prefer this update hit your inbox every week, make sure to subscribe to the BetaKit Newsletter using the form at the bottom of this page.
Top Stories of the Week
Like the pandemic’s acceleration of remote-first solutions like virtual school and telehealth, the post-COVID era has given rise to another trend, namely TV-ifying the traditional video conferencing experience, where large meetings look less like a standard Zoom call and more like a high-production show.
While Canada is often viewed globally as a thriving hub of innovation, investment, technology, and education within the digital economy, Indigenous communities and practitioners are largely missing from the conversations and spaces about the future ‘smart’ and decentralized technologies.
Shopify called Go a net new piece of retail hardware built specifically to run Shopify’s POS. Shopify first launched its POS software in 2013 and then relaunched it in 2020.
The increase in demand came as angel investment surpassed 2019 levels, reaching a record $262 million in 2021, according to the report, the full version of which was released today.
For the fifth edition of its annual Top Startups list, LinkedIn also named (in order) Fable, Shakepay, ApplyBoard, BenchSci, Cohere, Certn, Drop, Dapper Labs, Snapcommerce, Manifest Climate, Irwin, TealBook, and Klue.
Toronto-Waterloo rises, Calgary and Montréal ecosystems to watch in Startup Genome’s global FinTech rankings
Of the regions named to the list, Toronto-Waterloo was the third biggest mover, jumping five spots from its 12th-place finish in Startup Genome’s 2020 FinTech report to seventh in the world, behind only Silicon Valley, New York City, London, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Beijing.
In a webinar presented by Sage Intacct, Michael Lister, Leader, InsightsOfficer, at PwC, and David Appel, Head of Software and SaaS at Sage Intacct, shared the seven steps startup finance teams need to take when preparing to go public.
Ali Ladha, a virtual CFO for startups & SMBs through his company Vertical CPA, talks about these problems regularly on his Twitter and YouTube channels. In viral tweet threads and various YouTube videos, Ladha explains the financial metrics every business owner should know, how to calculate them, and how they connect to operational decisions.
Latest Funding, Acquisitions, and Layoffs
KIT – Avidbots – $70M (read more)
OTT – Giatec – $5M (read more)
MTL – HelloSafe – $4.2M (read more)
“Essentially, Amazon has failed to make this company profitable. It doesn’t make money.”
Streamer, YouTuber, and Novo CEO Devin Nash joins to explain the myriad ways Amazon’s experiment with Twitch is failing to make money or anyone happy.
“Half a billion dollars for women in Canadian tech. Pretty cool!”
The BetaKit Podcast’s monthly AMA episode answers listeners’ (tough!) questions about bad news coming from Real Ventures and exciting news coming from BDC, with some Elevate highlights thrown in.
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Manuel Hinds, the former finance minister of El Salvador explains why of all the BRICS, only India and China are on the rise and what it means for the world economy.
On February 17, The New York Times published the article named “While competitors are treading water, India’s economy is moving forward.” In this article, the author claims: “The Indian stock market is rising alongside with the rise of the rupee. As the result, multinational companies are seeking to expand their projects in the country, or to start new ones. In recent months, economic growth of India caught up with the growth of China”
There are three questions here. Firstly, whether India is growing, and rivals stay behind, is the part of the common international problems affecting the country with a delay? Secondly, if India appears to be in a better position than China, how and why? And thirdly, what measures should be taken to consolidate this advantage?
The Indian economy is showing the signs of recovery. Judging by the statistics, the investors are pulling money out of the assets of Russia and Brazil, and put them into India and China. In the case of India, this process is at an early stage regarding the stock market in the future may apply to investments in other companies that are not present on the market.
Most of international companies have not yet come to India, though they could be. For example, recently the head of General Motors has visited India to inspect the preparations for the export of the cars in Chile. Another famous global company Canadian SunEdison Inc. plans to invest $ 15 billion in India by 2022. This company working in the field of renewable energy and intends to firmly link their activities with India, where electricity producers cannot meet the growing demand.
As the result, the enterprises still can take what works in other parts of the world and “indianize” it. We mean, they can modify the existing business model and other details so that it will work and solve the problem of the Indians and make the country the attractive source for global investors.


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AMD Press Release
AMD (NYSE: AMD) today announced the launch of Activate!, an interactive Web site primarily targeted for children ages 13-15 that enables kids to easily design and program video games. Activate! was created by PETLab and funded by a $77,000 AMD Foundation grant in support of AMD Changing the Game. AMD Changing the Game helps strengthen programs that improve children’s critical science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) skills and encourages kids to become more globally conscious citizens by developing digital video games with social content.


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Sixth AACSA Convention
A precursor to this year’s holiday season, Tampa residents witnessed a day and night to remember as the Sixth Annual National Convention of the Asian American Convenience Store Owners Association (AACSA) held its Exhibition and Trade Expo and Gala Awards Banquet. The day events were marked with high level networking amongst store and business owners across the country, while the evening entertainment was full of excitement. “The Bollywood dance show featuring the gorgeous and talented actress and super model Pooja Batra, Fame Gurukul singer Shamit Tyagi, and Bollywood’s all blind musical group “Black,” had the crowd roaring,” AACSA Event Chairman, Vijay Gandhi announced.
Founded in 2004, AACSA (www.aacsa.org) is the apex body of the Asian American convenience stores owners in the US. Over a thousand convenience store owners and operators from all across the United States attended the mega event to discuss the issues related to their business and welfare. The Hillsborough County Commission’s chairman Ken Hagan, was the chief guest of the event. AACSA chairman Chandrakant Patel coordinated the educational symposium featuring NACS Vice President Mike Davis for information on crime and environmental problem prevention. “The well-attended event attracted a large number of vendors targeting convenience store owners,” AACSA Director, Sudhir Shah said.
A highlight of the convention was AACSA forming an alliance with the Coca-Cola Company and American Beverage Association to fight against the proposed Federal soft drink taxes of an extra one-cent an ounce to raise $156 billion dollars over six years.
Business owners and all those who attended the day long expo also enjoyed the evening filled with entertainment. “Tonight, as we celebrate the 6th Annual AACSA Convention, we hope to renew the spirit of our friendship and form an even stronger bond with our members. It is our privilege to bring convenience store owners, Physicians and political dignitaries together on a single platform,” Satya Shaw, AACSA President, said.
The tireless efforts of the following people made this day a grand success: Satya Shaw, Vijay Gandhi, Chandrakant Patel, Paul Rock, Sudhir Shah, Shephali J. Rele, Angela Wilson, Jashu Bakriwala, Himatlal Parekh, Kamal Patel, Jay Patel, Yogi Patel, Tino Patel, Jayesh Patel, Neil Kapadia, Vinay Joshi, Vijay Patel, Bharat Patel, Nick Patel, Sanjay Pandya, Jitu Patel, Jatin Patel, Brijesh Patel, Shailesh Shah, Narendra Patel, Anil Patel, Dhiru Mehta, Eddie Joseph, Jimmy Panjabi, Masood Sial, Aziz, Pradeep Patel, Ketan Patel, Rakesh Patel, Sunil Panchal, Sunil Patel, Dhimant Soni, Atul Patel, and Rajan Patel. AACSA Ambassadors stated that they were very proud to be part of such a great team. The team is excited and looking forward to working together on several town hall meetings, and of course, the highly anticipated 7th Annual AACSA Convention in Chicago.
AACSA encourages all store owners and interested people to join them and become part of a growing association that can not only enhance their business on a daily basis but also make a huge difference in the community across the country.


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Spotify has announced a new pilot program that allows non-fungible token (NFT) holders to access exclusive music playlists, a significant move that shows the growing interest of the streaming giant in Web3 technology.
Details on Spotify’s pilot program
Spotify is testing a new service called “token-enabled playlists” that enables NFT holders to connect their wallets and listen to curated music. The service is currently only available to holders of NFTs within the Fluf, Moonbirds, Kingship, and Overlord communities. During the three-month testing period, the playlists will be actively updated and can only be accessed by community members via a unique link.
Overlord, a web3 gaming and entertainment brand, announced on Twitter that its Creepz NFT holders could connect their Web3 wallet to Spotify to access a community-curated “Invasion” playlist. Kingship, a metaverse band signed to Universal Music Group, also released a playlist that can only be accessed by Kingship key card NFT holders.
How it works
To access the token-gated playlist, users must link their crypto wallets, such as MetaMask, Trust Wallet, Rainbow, Ledger Live, or Zerion, to authenticate their NFT and unlock the playlist.
However, for now, the feature is only available to Android users in the U.S., the U.K., Germany, Australia, and New Zealand, and only for Spotify Premium users.
Spotify has confirmed the pilot program but did not disclose any details on plans to roll out the feature more widely in the future. A spokesperson for the company stated that they routinely conduct tests to improve the user experience, and some of those tests may serve only as learnings.
What it means for the industry
The use of NFTs in unlocking exclusive experiences is a growing trend in the music industry, and this move by Spotify could provide a significant revenue stream for NFT projects, artists, and labels.
The move also offers a new way for artists and creators to monetize their work, potentially disrupting the current music streaming model.
Spotify has previously experimented with integrating NFTs into its platform by allowing artists like Steve Aoki and The Wombats to promote their digital art on their profiles.
Regardless, this pilot program is a more significant move, indicating that the company has the tech ready to offer more token-gated content.
The announcement comes just before Spotify’s Stream On event on March 8, where the company is expected to unveil new products and features. It will be interesting to see if the company announces any further plans for NFTs or Web3 technology at the event.


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Faithful wearers of Vans sneakers who happen to live in New York or London already know the local House of Vans as a place to chill out, catch a live band, check out an art installation or (of course) do some skateboarding. And good for them—it's too bad Vans fans in other cities don't have such a place to hang.
For the next few days, though, they will.
Starting today, Vans will throw open a string of temporary House of Vans locations ("pop-up experiences," the company calls them) in cities including Austin, Toronto, Mexico City and Hong Kong. The venues, together with a series of social media videos—one of them narrated by Public Enemy's Chuck D—will kick off an ambitious schedule of programming to mark the Southern California footwear brand's 50th year in business. (Scroll down to watch some of the videos.)
"Our intent is to start our anniversary with a clear call to our consumers that we are the brand that celebrates and enables their creative expression," Vans vp of global marketing Fara Howard told Adweek. The pop-ups will feature an extensive roster of events for the next three to 10 days from interactive exhibits to DIY workshops, all in keeping with the brand's "Off the Wall" ethos. Vans' New York and London outposts will also participate and continue to host regular programming throughout 2016.
"House of Vans is where we bring Vans to life and interact with consumers," said Vans senior manager of public relations Laura Doherty. Together with the string of pop-ups, she added, "It's a huge celebration."
Vans is certainly pushing the experiential marketing envelope. New Yorkers have been able to go to the Brooklyn House of Vans (a former beverage warehouse in Greenpoint) since 2010. Four years later, Vans took over a complex of abandoned tunnels deep below London's Waterloo railroad station (giving London's underground youth a literal underground hangout). "House of Vans has been core to our brand, but with only two permanent locations, we can only touch so many consumers," Howard said. For its 50th anniversary, she said, "Our intent is to take the show on the road."
It's an actual show, too. Each House of Vans location will host a series of free concerts with headliners such as Nas, Dinosaur Jr., Wu-Tang Clan and Erykah Badu. The concerts are a nod to Vans' footing in the music scene, which began in the early 1980s when punk acts like Henry Rollins began wearing them onstage.
Vans first hit American streets in 1966, when footwear entrepreneur Paul Van Doren began selling his inexpensive canvas and rubber shoes out of a small store in Anaheim, Calif. When word spread of the shoes' waffle-grip sole, skateboarders (especially the Z-Boys from nearby Dogtown) embraced Vans. In time, so did everyone from garage bands to BMX riders, giving Vans entrée into the broader world of street culture, which it has influenced (and been influenced by) ever since.
In addition to the concerts, the pop-up locations will commemorate all of those influences by offering classes in screen printing and customizing your Vans by decorating the uppers (a hallowed practice skateboarders began in the 1970s.) House of Vans locales will also feature galleries of historic Vans (some on loan from Berlin's Skateboard Museum) and huge, selfie-sized cutouts of characters created by artists Mrzyk & Moriceau, whose surrealistic black-and-white animation runs through Vans' five anniversary videos, also debuting today.
The videos consist of a two-minute anchor condensing Vans' entire history plus four 30-second shorts covering Vans' presence in the worlds of music, art, action sports and fashion. The gritty baritone narrating the music video belongs to Chuck D, who explains how Vans jumped from the world of asphalt to the music scene three decades ago: "We were rollin' with the skaters, and the skaters were down with the punks, and the punks were making music, and the next thing you know, we're going to skate-punk shows, hard-core shows, metal shows, whatever shows."
Vans will feature the videos on Snapchat, Tumblr, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter with the hope the content gets shared as widely as possible. "We want to make sure it isn't a one-directional conversation," Howard said.
All the programming is free to the public, which no doubt leaves Vans—and parent VF Corp.—with a substantial marketing bill. But advertising and marketing executive Petur Workman believes Vans will likely get its money's worth.
"It's an exciting idea," said Workman, whose practice area includes corporate events. "Vans has a culture of being involved in sports and music and has always contributed to creative backgrounds by sponsoring competitions. From an events-marketing point of view, the way they're planning and executing this is phenomenal. It'll be eaten up by this generation. I'm going to the one in Brooklyn—and I'm 45."
Even those who can't attend, Workman added, are likely to be influenced by the "long tail" generated by the social media attention Vans is hoping for—not just from the social sharing of its videos but from attendees tweeting about and taking videos and selfies at the House of Vans events.
Howard added that the benefit to Vans exceeds the obvious brand exposure. Hands-on programming on this scale is expected to fill the venues with young consumers who are Vans' prime targets. For the company, watching their behavior in the workshops and how they express their cultural preferences in general constitutes a kind of real-time field research. "By watching what our customers do, we learn a lot about what's important," Howard said. "It's an opportunity for us to engage directly with consumers and a tremendous opportunity for our marketers."


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Copyright FOURIN, Inc. 2023
BMW Expands New-energy Vehicle Sales and Infrastructure in China
In 2019, BMW’s automobile production in China increased 9.1% year-on-year to 536,000 units. In the first half of 2020, production went up 3.5% to 254,000, maintaining growth despite the spread of the new coronavirus. Sales revenue in 2019 reached 20.6 billion EUR, surpassing the 20 billion EUR mark for the first time. Sales in China accounted for around 19.7% of BMW’s combined sales around the world. BMW is accelerating its electrification strategy by launching new products in the Chinese market, while also strengthening alliances with other companies.
Brilliance BMW is stepping up the introduction of electric vehicle products. Pre-order sales of the BEV version of the iX3 began in September 2020 and it is scheduled to be launched at the end of the year. It will be the first mass-produced model equipped with BMW’s 5th generation electric powertrain the eDrive. The model is equipped with CATL’s battery cells and has a NEDC driving range of 500km. In September 2020, Brilliance BMW’s drive battery center went into operation, coinciding with the introduction of the iX3. It manufactures battery modules and packs for the iX3.
BMW: Business Strategy and Recent Developments in China (As of September 2020)
|Electric vehicle launch and sales plans||・In March 2020, BMW set a goal of launching 25 electric vehicle models by 2023, of which over half are planned to be BEV models. ・In August 2020, BMW announced a plan to sell more than 7 million electric vehicles (BEVs and PHEVs) in the global market including China by 2030. – According to BMW, about two-thirds (about 4.7 million units) of the 7 million units will be BEVs. – BMW also revealed that, BMW and MINI brand electric vehicles are sold in 74 countries and regions around the world, and the cumulative number of electric vehicles sold by 2019 has exceeded 500,000 units. The cumulative number of electric vehicles sold by 2021 is aimed to reach 1 million units.|
|Results Sales volume||・In 2019, BMW’s vehicle sales in China increased 13.1% year-on-year to 724,000 units (including imported vehicles and the MINI brand), reaching an historic high. China’s share of total sales increased from 25.7% to 28.6%. – Since entering the Chinese market in 1994, cumulative sales have reached more than 4.72 million units by the end of 2019, of which cumulative sales of new-energy vehicles have exceeded 50,000 units. – In 2019, the factory shipment volume of the MINI brand in China increased 11.3% year-on-year to 33,267 units.|
|Sales revenue||・BMW’s sales revenue in China was around 20.6 billion EUR in 2019, surpassing the 20 billion EUR mark for the first time. Sales in China accounted for around 19.7% of all sales.|
|Increasing battery procurement from CATL||・In November 2019, BMW expanded its global battery procurement contract with CATL from 4 billion EUR to 7.3 billion EUR, extending the procurement period from 2020 to 2031. Of which 4.5 billion EUR worth of products are supplied to global locations and 2.8 billion EUR worth of products are supplied to BMW’s production bases in China.|
|Launching the iX3 EV||・In September 2020, Brilliance BMW unveiled the BEV version of the iX3. The automaker announced that it will start pre-order sales in China and launch the model on the market at the end of 2020. The model has been developed based on the BMW X3 and will be produced at Brilliance BMW’s plant in Shenyang city, Liaoning province. The model is planned to be sold not only in China but also in the global market. It will be the first mass-produced model equipped with BMW’s 5th generation electric powertrain the “eDrive.” – The model uses CATL’s new NCM 811 battery (80 percent nickel, 10 percent cobalt and 10 percent manganese). – The iX3 is equipped with a motor which has a maximum output of 210kW and a maximum torque of 400Nm, and a 74kWh battery. The energy density of the battery pack system is 154Wh/kg. it has a NEDC driving range of 500km. The battery can be charged 80% in 45 minutes in rapid charging mode and 100% in 7.5 hours in regular charging mode. – The model accelerates from 0 to 100km/h in 6.8 seconds. – The selling price ranges between 470,000 CNY and 510,000 CNY. – NEDC electricity consumption is 16.7kWh/100km. – Rival models are the Mercedes-Benz EQC and Audi e-tron.|
|Starting operation of local battery plant||・In September 2020, Brilliance BMW’s drive battery center (second phase) went into operation. It produces BMW’s 5th generation batteries. The center is BMW’s first production base in the world for 5th generation batteries. – It supplies battery modules and packs to the iX3.|
|Setting up Spotlight Automotive with Great Wall Motor||・In December 2019, BMW and Great Wall Motor established a 50-50 joint venture, Spotlight Automotive, in Zhangjiagang city, Jiangsu Province. The joint venture has a capital of 1.7 billion CNY. – The construction of Spotlight Automotive’s plant began in 2020 and is scheduled to be completed in 2022. Total investment will reach 5.1 billion CNY and annual production capacity is planned to be up to 160,000 units. – Spotlight Automotive will manufacture new-energy vehicles including the BEV version of the MINI Series.|
|Tie up with State Grid Electric Vehicle Service||・In June 2020, BMW and State Grid Corporation of China’s subsidiary State Grid Electric Vehicle Service, which engages in charging and battery swapping services for BEVs, concluded a strategic partnership. – According to the agreement, State Grid Electric Vehicle Service will collaborate with BMW in three main areas: charging technology research, charging services, and expansion and promotion of electric power for new-energy vehicles. – BMW announced that it will have more than 270,000 chargers in China by the end of 2020 in partnership with State Grid Electric Vehicle Service, of which 80,000 will be DC quick chargers. BMW's charging network will cover over 50,000 km of highways as State Grid Electric Vehicle Service’s highway fast-charging network will also be available for BMW owners.|
|Tie up with Tencent||・In July 2020, BMW announced that it would strengthen its digital content cooperation with Chinese IT giant Tencent. – The two companies agreed that TAI (Tencent Auto Intelligence)’s in-vehicle applications WeScenario and In-car WeChat will be installed in BMW vehicles. – BMW will utilize Tencent's technology to enhance the content of the automaker’s multimedia system.|
|Tie up with Alibaba||・In July 2020, BMW entered into a strategic partnership with Alibaba Cloud, a cloud services platform under the umbrella of e-commerce giant Alibaba. The two companies will jointly establish an innovation base in Shanghai to support Chinese startups in the Internet and automotive fields. – The alliance’s base will be established in Pudong New Area, Shanghai.|
In an effort to ensure a stable battery supply, BMW expanded its global battery procurement contract with CATL from 4 billion EUR to 7.3 billion EUR in November 2019, extending the procurement period from 2020 to 2031.
Looking at tie-ups with Chinese companies, a 50-50 joint venture Spotlight Automotive was established with Great Wall Motor in December 2019 with the aim to locally manufacture new energy vehicles, including the BEV version of the MINI Series. Simultaneously with the introduction of NEV models, BMW and State Grid Corporation of China’s subsidiary State Grid Electric Vehicle Service, which engages in charging and battery swapping services for BEVs, concluded a strategic partnership in June 2020. State Grid Electric Vehicle Service will collaborate with BMW in three main areas: charging technology research, charging services, and expansion and promotion of electric power for new-energy vehicles. In addition, BMW announced in July 2020 that it would strengthen its cooperation with Chinese IT giant Tencent. Tencent’s app will be installed in BMW’s multimedia system to improve user convenience.


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Everyone seems to be excited to see what new products will be unveiled at the upcoming Consumer Electric Show 2012 this coming January. Of course, just like the previous CES events, we expect the CES 2012 to showcase the newest gadgets that features the latest technology and innovation. However, even before the start of this event, a lot of device manufacturers have already revealed what they have in store for us and one of these gadgets and devices is the I’m Watch Android Gadget.
Well, if you are looking for something unique and fashionable as far as watches are concerned, then this is something that you should definitely look forward. If you can still remember the watch technology definitely boom since the days of Dick Tracy. Apple has also made history when it launched the watch-defaulted iPod nano into a wrist-worn super device. And now its Android’s turn to come up with its own watch innovation via the I’m Watch Android gadget. So what can this gadget do?
Basically, the I’m Watch Android gadget has been designed to connect to the iPhone, Android and all possible future smartphones that allow you to drag, touch, swipe or pinch its touchscreen to navigate and explore its applications. Additionally, it can also be used as a speaker phone and leave your hands free and available in doing other tasks. This watch is powered by a Freescale IMX233 application processor and sports a 1.54 inch TFT touchscreen display with a resolution of 200 x 200 pixels. It also has 4GB built-in storage and 64 MB of RAM.
As far as its battery capacity is concerned, the I’m Watch Android gadget comes with an internal 450mAh Li-Po battery that can withstand up to three hours on speakerphone use and up to two days standby capacity. Aside from this you will also notice that this watch is not only very functional, but also very trendy as well. They are available in many colors so you can freely choose the color that you like.
The I’m Watch is already available for pre-order for €300 and shipping starts on January 30, 2012.
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Story by pinoytutorial


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When it was announce in February of 2008 that Atlantis, the uber fine dining restaurant at the Renaissance Resort at SeaWorld would not reopen after it had been closed for renovations, I wrote an article that called into question the future of fine dining restaurants. We had already seen the closing of Maison et Jardin, Arthur’s 27, Black Swan, Delfino Riviera and La Coquina, which now uses its elegant dining room only for Sunday brunch. And of course since then we’ve seen Manuel’s on the 28th close, as well.
I was reminded by this because of a Reuters article that questions the future of fine dining in New York. Of the 500 New York restaurants that have closed this year (!) several have been upscale eateries, such as Chanterelle and Cafe des Artistes. Things have gotten so bad that Le Bernadin’s co-owner Eric Ripert has had to
resort to appearing on reality programs such as “Top Chef.” Oh, the humiliation!
Of course, when I wrote my article we weren’t in a recession — or at least no one knew it at the time. Rather, most people saw the shift away from fine dining restaurants more as a change in tastes and preferences. A younger generation simply had no use for fineries and painfully exquisite service. They don’t mind spending the sort of money associated with high end restaurants, some say, they just want to be able to wear flip-flops when they dine out.
That was likely true then — and still is now. But the vestiges of remaining fine dining restaurants will have a tougher time hanging on in this economic climate when even the people who still enjoy getting dressed up for an evening-long restaurant experience have had to cut back.
Consider what John Askew, director of food and beverage at Peabody Orlando told me for my 2008 story. Dux, he said at the time, had softened its tone a bit. Waiters moved from jacket and tie to vests and banded-collar shirts. And guests who once were required to wear appropriate attire were no longer being turned away because they didn’t meet the dress code. Still, I quoted Askew at the time, “We’re committed that room will be there.”
Dux closed in January of this year.


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NCAA March Madness Delivers More Than 10 Million Video Ad Views
iSpot.tv says AT&T's video ad "Strong Nickname" ranked No. 1 when analyzing digital SOV for brands during NCAA tournament.
Basketball greats Shaquille O’Neal, Julius Erving, Clyde Drexler and Christian Laettner helped AT&T score big during the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.
AT&T’s video ad “Strong Nickname” featuring the basketball legends ranked number one in digital “share of voice” – or SOV – for NCAA brands according to video metrics firm iSpot.tv. (The firm defined SOV as the, “…% of spend or digital activity compared to other NCAA advertisers.”)
“With just 41 airings, and less than 1% of the Spend SOV, this commercial accounts for nearly 7% of the total digital engagement for the tournament,” said iSpot.tv.
iSpot.tv reports the NCAA men’s basketball tournament resulted in more than 10.3 million cumulative video views for brands, and 421,378 Facebook, Twitter and YouTube interactions linked to ads that ran during the tournament games.
The firm ranked the brands that generated the biggest digital responses during the NCAA tournament, with AT&T at the top of the list.
Top 10 Brands that Generated a Digital Response during NCAA Tournament
- Capital One
- Southwest Airlines
- Amazon Kindle
iSpot.tv also ranked the individual ads from brands during the NCAA tournament based on their digital SOV.
iSpot.tv’s Top 5 NCAA Video Ads by Digital SOV
1. AT&T: “Strong Nickname”
2. Powerade: “Rose from Concrete”
3. GEICO: “Free Range Chicken”
4. Amazon Kindle: “Slow Motion Madness”
5. Capital One: “Road to the Final Four”
Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily MarTech. Staff authors are listed here.


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Fresh off the closing of their hit Kickstarter campaign for the all-in-one 3D printer, Flux, creators and Taiwan college students Simon Ko and Jim Yu discussed the project and its future with Tech in Asia this week.
Flux is described as an easy-to-use print that is equipped with a built-in 3D scanner. It is considered the “right choice” for everyone because it is simple to set up and has an unlimited capacity for expansion. The 3D printer uses high resolution stepper motors to print objects of quality and comes with three efficient cooling fans that enable printing with precision at top speed while minimizing the risk of malfunction due to overheating.
Sharing more details about Flux, Ko told Tech in Asia, “We think that this shouldn’t just be a 3D printer, it should be more. It’s just like a robotic arm. So we want this to have interchangeable modules and we have an open interface for developers to make their own modules.”
While revealing the importance of its design and appearance, Ko stated, “A lot of users of 3D printers will be designers, and designers care a lot about appearance. I think that this is one of the reasons that our Kickstarter was so successful.”
According to the media outlet, Ko and co-founder Yu met as roommates during freshmen year at National Taiwan University (NTU). Ko was studying computer science while Yu decided to lean towards engineering. The two eventually bought their own Rostock 3D printer kit and became intrigued with the idea of creating a new type of printer that would not only be better but easier to use.
Yu explained, “I got really excited when I finally printed something [for the first time]. It’s very exciting technology. But after a while I realized that there were a lot of places where the design wasn’t up to par. For example, the software side requires a lot of adjustments [for the hardware side. Every machine is different and you need to know how to set certain parameters like temperature control or printing speed.”
In regards to what is next for the Flux team, which include other Taiwan students Shawn Lin and Yen Feng, Ko noted that they plan to take a leave of absence from NTU to focus on Flux full-time, but due to the Taiwan’s military rules, specifically noting that if anyone is not in school they will be recruited for service, there might be a slight struggle with keeping the team together. “[The team] basically just need to go back and take a few classes, they don’t need many more credits. [If they took a leave of absence] they would be forced to go into military service. This is a problem Taiwan student startups will face.”
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Make This Holiday Season an Economic Boycott Season
A letter from my reader:
“DOAN, have you been keeping up with the boycotts? Businesses have been losing money because we aren’t spending with them…Papa Johns put his foot in his mouth and lost business.”
Papa John’s CEO loses millions after slamming NFL leadership
- Papa John’s CEO’s net worth fell $70 million in one day.
- John Schnatter blamed NFL leadership and players’ national-anthem protests for the chain’s subpar sales in the most recent quarter.
- Papa John’s shares took a hit following his comments.
The CEO and founder of Papa John’s saw his net worth drop by millions after the pizza chain reported worse-than-expected sales, which he blamed on the NFL.
John Schnatter’s net worth dropped $70 million between Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday afternoon, Forbes reported. As of Wednesday, Schnatter was worth $801 million.
Schnatter owns roughly 25% of Papa John’s — so when the company suffers, he is directly affected.
Papa John’s shares plummeted after the company reported on Tuesday that same-store sales increased 1% in the most recent quarter, falling short of expectations. The company additionally lowered its forecast for North American same-store sales for the year to 1.5%, down from 2 to 4%.
Shares fell further after the company’s earnings all on Wednesday morning, during which Schnatter blamed NFL leadership for failing to resolve the controversy over players protesting during the national anthem.
The San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick started kneeling during the anthem last year to protest racial injustice and police brutality. The controversy over the protests was renewed in September after President Donald Trump said players who did so should be fired.
“We are totally disappointed that the NFL and its leadership did not resolve the ongoing situation to the satisfaction of all parties long ago,” Schnatter said. “This should have been nipped in the bud a year and a half ago.”
Papa John’s shares have since recovered somewhat, trading at $61.50 as of 10:05 a.m. on Thursday.
Copied from : http://www.businessinsider.com/papa-johns-ceo-loses-millions-after-nfl-criticism-2017-11
Dear Black Family,
It’s been NO secret that everyone on this planet uses us for their own personal gain. They despise us yet need us to make them rich and due to low self esteem, we comply, we buy, we brag about our 500.00 Jordan’s, all the while our communities have zero fresh vegetables, failing businesses and no black owned schools.
This boycott should be the beginning of the END for non black companies. From the Asian beauty supply stores that speak badly about us in front of us in Cantonese, to the East Indians who sell our children poison meat and stale milk, to the Arab who openly calls us niggers then demand that we buy their newspapers and their gas, let them ALL fail.
The one great thing about Trump being in office is how brazen they have all become in their hate for us while thinking we’ll still support them! We are 50% to blame for this thinking as we suffer from Stockholm Syndrome and many of us are too far gone to stop now.
But for those of us that are awake, vibrant, clever, ever-thinking and ready for stealth combat, let this season be the one that shows our open enemy that we’re done playing the economic game with them.
Let’s simply turn our backs on them without saying a word and watch them slowly go out of business.
Please pass along this post and begin today.
A great start is to boycott Michael Jordan’s sneakers and clothing line.
This black male has stocks in the prison industrial system.
Did you notice that Papa John’s ( a fake JOO ) uniform is the Freemasonic colours of Red and Black?


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Area Sales Manager | NMLS #195255
Branch NMLS #1108042
Posted On February 13, 2017
Mortgage rates dropped somewhat last week. Rates in 2017 have stayed relatively unchanged following volatility toward the end of 2016. This week, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) will release a housing market index. Other scheduled reports include retail sales, housing starts, and building permits.
Consumer spending accounts for two-thirds of the economy, so the retail sales report is a comprehensive measure of consumer activity. Healthy consumer spending suggests wage growth, lending confidence, and positive economic conditions. If retail sales decline, that could be an early indicator of economic slowdown.
The NAHB housing market index based on an outlook survey on the general economy and housing market conditions. Homebuilder confidence indicates economic growth since home building activity triggers lending and spending. Last month the survey read 67, down two points from the December 2016 reading. Any reading above 50 suggests positive conditions.
Housing starts measure construction started on residential property and building permits measure permits issued. Housing starts and building permits forecast future housing activity as they will eventually be registered as new home sales. Growth in housing starts and building permits suggests consumer confidence and positive lending conditions.
Mortgage rates have not changed drastically throughout the year, after stark increases in November and December of 2016. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) did not raise interest rates following their February meeting, but Federal Bank of Philadelphia President Patrick Harker said “March is on the table” for the next rate hike.


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People store for vacation gadgets on the Country Store on Main Street in Stockbridge, Massachusetts on December 13, 2020.
Joseph Prezioso | AFP | Getty Images
Holiday retail sales rose 8.3% from 2019, in accordance to knowledge launched by the National Retail Federation on Friday, as consumers embraced the gift-giving season as a means to cheer themselves up during the pandemic.
“Faced with rising transmission of the virus, state restrictions on retailers and heightened political and economic uncertainty, consumers chose to spend on gifts that lifted the spirits of their families and friends and provided a sense of normalcy given the challenging year,” stated Matthew Shay, president and CEO of the National Retail Federation, in an announcement.
The main retail commerce group predicted in November that 2020 vacation sales would rise between 3.6% and 5.2% yr over yr, amounting to between $755.Three billion and $766.7 billion. It stated Americans would spend extra as they’d fewer journey and eating out bills and felt hopeful concerning the distribution of the Covid vaccine.
Holiday sales on common have elevated 3.5% for the previous 5 years, they usually rose 4% in 2019, NRF stated. The sales exclude vehicle sellers, gasoline stations and eating places.
The pandemic shook up typical vacation purchasing patterns. Many retailers began sales as early as October and saved shops shut on Thanksgiving Day. They put extra offers on-line and expanded contactless choices, such as curbside pickup to tamp down on the variety of customers crammed in shops.
Even so, there have been some elements out of retailer’s fingers, such as financial uncertainty and unemployment during the recession and fewer gatherings with household and buddies.
So far, retailers’ vacation outcomes have appeared to mirror pandemic-related developments. Lululemon, which has seen robust sales in athleisure as folks earn a living from home, forecast fourth-quarter earnings on the high finish of its expectations due to robust vacation sales. Target stated comparable sales on-line and in shops jumped by 17% in November and December as vacation clients flocked to handy, contact-free choices like curbside pickup. Yet Nordstrom and Urban Outfitters reported a disappointing holidays as many patrons steered away from malls.


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Annual car tab fees could soon be a thing of the past for Ridgefield drivers if the city’s proposed sales tax increase is passed in the November general election.
The sales tax proposition calls for a 0.2 percent increase to go into effect six months after the election and then expire in 10 years. The tax hike equals 20 cents for every $100 spent.
“If voters pass the sales tax, staff will immediately bring an ordinance to the council to repeal the car tab,” City Manager Steve Stuart said.
If the sales tax fails to get enough votes though, Ridgefield car owners will actually see their car tab fees increase another $10 starting in January.
The tax increase is expected to generate nearly $7.6 million over those 10 years while the higher car tab fees would raise nearly $5.4 million over the same period.
Stuart said the council began looking at how to fund road maintenance and preservation in July. The city had already increased the general fund allocation and created a Transportation Benefit District in 2018 but still found the existing $20 car tab wasn’t enough to cover the costs. According to the district’s web page, the city still faced a $10 million deficit for street maintenance.
The city council decided to put the decision to voters after reviewing options presented by city staff and listening to input from residents.
Of the $7.6 million in sales tax revenue, a little over $3 million would come from construction retail sales and $4.5 million from general retail sales. Construction retail includes all construction materials purchased within or delivered to Ridgefield. General retail includes consumer goods and services purchases like buying household items or clothing.
Stuart noted the revenue estimates for both the sales tax and car tab fees are just that, estimates. However, he said projections for existing sales commercial growth were conservative and “based on reasonable expectations.”
The increased tax dollars would allow the city to fund a full schedule of maintenance and repairs, rather than only responding to complaints. According to a city report, “Proper road maintenance saves taxpayers 71 percent in road repair expenses over five years. Funding and prioritizing regularly scheduled pavement preservation and maintenance saves taxpayers money and keeps Ridgefield streets in good condition.”
But Doug Wakefield, owner of Western Star Northwest, would rather see the city implement a higher car tab fee. In his “against” statement for the Voters’ Pamphlet, Wakefield said even a small tax increase could negatively impact his business, which sells commercial vehicles. He said it may not sound like much of an increase, but the tax hike would add between $350 and $500 to the cost of a commercial vehicle.
“With Oregon having no sales tax, we are already at a disadvantage in pricing our products. Any increase in the sales tax only makes us less competitive, leading to a decrease in sales,” Wakefield said.


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Argentina will allow U.S. pork to enter
Argentina has blocked imports of U.S. pork since 1992, citing animal health concerns. The agreement comes after Vice President of the US Mike Pence and Argentine President Mauricio Macri met in Buenos Aires on 15 August. The issue was first raised by Donald Trump with President Macri during a bilateral meeting at the White House on 27 April.
The White House announced that the United States and Argentina have agreed to terms that will allow U.S. pork to enter the Argentine market for the first time since 1992. Under the agreement, all fresh, chilled and frozen pork and pork products from U.S. animals will be eligible for export to Argentina. According to the US government, the United States is one of the top pork exporters in the world. This announcement could open up a potential $10 million-per-year market for pork producers from America.
Argentine food safety officials will visit the United States to conduct on-site verification of the U.S. meat inspection system, after which U.S. pork exports will resume pending resolution of any outstanding technical issues.


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Caffeine loving Britons consume 1,460 cups of coffee a year on average (that’s 93,440 cups in an adult lifetime), according to new research.
Researchers took an in-depth look into the hot beverage habits of the nation and discovered £676 is the average amount Brits now spend each year on coffee from shops and cafes – that amounts to £43,264 over a lifetime.
According to the poll, we now drink an average of four cups a day – with the latte the most popular coffee of choice (41 percent said it was their favourite).
And according to the data, people from Cardiff are the biggest fans of the black stuff – with folk from the Welsh capital downing a staggering 1,825 cups a year, more than any other City in the U.K.
The poll shows a staggering 61 percent of us prefer drinking coffee to tea, with a separate report by retail research consultancy Allegra, revealing there are now 22,845 coffee shops in the UK, a six percent increase year on year – with 2.3 billion coffees a year being bought and consumed out of home.
The first coffee shop, The Angel, was opened in Oxford in 1652, with the second opening in London in the same year.
The survey by syrup makers MONIN shows the nation’s favourite coffee is by far and away the Latte, with 41 percent saying it is now their coffee of choice.
Cappuccino came second to latte in terms of the nation’s favourite, with 38 percent, followed by Americano (26 percent) and Mocha (16 percent).
Asked why people switched from tea to coffee, 46 percent said they needed the caffeine boost they get from coffee to wake up in the morning and 39 percent said they needed it as a pick me up during the day.
However, the majority – 65 percent – said they simply preferred the taste to tea.
Surprisingly a further 62 percent of Brits would even go as far to say that we now know more about coffee than we do wine.
And 65 percent of health-conscious Brits say going out for coffee to catch up with friends has now replaced heading out for a boozy night.
Lee Hyde – Beverage Innovation Manager at MONIN commented “We are seeing a rise in coffee shops and coffee culture across the country, and this trend is being replicated in the home too.
“Over a third of Brits confirmed they know more about coffee than they did five years ago and coffee drinkers are finding new ways to personalise their drinks, reaching for flavours from popular vanilla to more adventurous flavours like salted caramel.
“With coffee, the menu options are endless and with seasonal flavours on the rise and iced coffees during summer, coffees aren’t only functional they’re also the perfect fit for socialising too.”
The survey revealed the average Brit has their first cup of coffee at 8am, with 51 percent of us now owning our own coffee machine at home.
And it would seem Brits are more adventurous than ever, with 76 percent claiming they regularly experiment with different styles and flavours of coffee.
Over half of those who own a machine have a capsule machine, while 25 percent have a filter system and 15 percent own an espresso machine.
Almost four in ten (39 percent) say coffee drinkers are cooler than those who prefer a nice cup of tea.
25 percent of us admit to still having a jar of instant in the kitchen cupboard to give to friends when we can’t be bothered to make a proper cup.
A further three in ten (30 percent) claim they have their own signature coffee – “make mine a skinny, caramel macchiato with an extra shot”.
And when it comes to added extras, 18 percent of us like caramel syrup in our coffee, while 14 percent ask for vanilla and 10 percent want a touch of hazelnut.
Lee Hyde – Beverage Innovation Manager at MONIN added: “There are so many ways to enjoy coffee now with different machines and gadgets its even easier to recreate that coffee shop experience in the comfort of your own home.
“What this study shows is there is a real thirst for coffee and people are keen to experiment and develop their signature brew.”
Britain’s Favourite Coffee
6. Flat White
7. Iced Coffee
10. Double Espresso
Britain’s Top 5 Favourite Coffee Flavours
5. Salted Caramel


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Did you think that Samsung’s Galaxy Tab was a wee bit too pricey compared to the iPad? You don’t need the 3G connection? We know we did. Well, here’s news for us all: Best Buy will be selling the 7-inch Galaxy Tab soon, and they’re adding a cheaper, non-3G, Wi-fi-only model to the mix so we can all shut up now.
Best Buy has just put up ads that show a silver Wi-fi model starting at $499.99, along with the expected Sprint and Verizon versions set to sell next month. Other than that, the Wi-fi version is still expected to carry everything except the 3G connection, including the dual cams, Android 2.2 OS, and up to 32GBs of internal memory at a price that puts it squarely up against the similarly-priced Wi-fi-only iPad.
If you still want to go with the 3G-enabled versions they’ll be selling for $599 with a contract. Sprint will be putting it up on sale on November 11, while all-black Verizon model will be shipping earlier on November 11. The Wi-fi model didn’t get an exact launch date, but they should go on sale within November as well. [Via Pocketables]


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Weekend Tech News: Jio GigaFiber Launch, Pixel 4 Leaked, Android 10 Spotted & More!
Jio GigaFiber launch is again making the hype before it's final roll out!
The much-awaited Jio GigaFiber launch is expected to happen in the next few months. The high-speed fiber based broadband service is currently being tested in multiple cities including New Delhi and Mumbai.
The upcoming Google Pixel 4 has been leaked, spotted with Android Q.
The recently launched Honor 8C price has been slashed. Available at Rs 11,999 till now, the Honor 8C from now on will sell at a Rs 1,000 permanently discounted price of Rs 10,999.
Let’s take a quick look at the top tech news from today.
Honor 8C Price Shashled
Honor 8C starting price has been slashed to Rs 10,999. Available via Amazon, the base variant of Honor 8C will now be available at Rs 10,999 with 4GB RAM and 32GB storage. The top Honor 8C variant comes with 4GB and 64GB storage will sell for Rs 12,999. The smartphone comes with Snapdragon 632 chip, widescreen display, dual cameras and more.
LG K12 Plus To Launch At MWC 2019
The midrange LG K12 Plus will launch alongside LG G8 ThinQ at the upcoming MWC 2019. The smartphone is expected to sport a notchless display HD+ display with a screen resolution of 720 x 1,440 pixels. LG K12 Plus is going to be budget offering, expected in India within a few months at under Rs 10,000.
Chrome Update: Dark Mode & Never Slow Mode
Google Chrome will soon be getting a dark mode for Windows 10 and macOS. The internet company is also working on the Never Slow Mode, expected with a few months. The much-needed Never Slow mode on Google Chrome will offer faster and seamless browsing experience. The dark mode will kick in with Android Q.
Google Pixel 4 Leaked
A mysterious Google device has been leaked via Geekbench. The device from Geekbench is expected to be the upcoming Pixel 4. The device is said to be running on the latest Android 10 Q, 2GB RAM and a 800 series chip. If not Pixe 4, the alleged device may be actually then this device could possibly end up the Google Pixel 3 Lite or Pixel 3a – the rumoured affordable Pixel device.
Jio GigaFiber Launch
The Jio GigaFiber was announced back in July last year, and since then the service has been in news. The registrations began in August, but an official launch is still awaited. The service has been made available in select as a free trial service. Jio GigaFiber launch is expected in a few months, most probably by April.
Vivo V15 Pro Will Be Priced Under 30,000 Rupees
As per the latest rumours, the upcoming Vivo V15 Pro will be priced under Rs 30,000 in India. The device will come with a pop-up selfie camera, 48MP camera, rear triple camera and an in-display fingerprint sensor. Vivo V15 Pro will launch in India officially on February 20. The device can be pre-ordered from February 15 via Amazon and Vivo India online store.
Indian Smartphone Market Grew By 10 Percent In 2018
The Indian smartphone industry grew by 10 percent in the last year, while the global market saw a decline. The total number of shipments grew to 137 million, and Xiaomi led the list. The company shipped about 41 million devices in 2018, taking up 29.9 percent market share of the total smartphone market in India.


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May 9, 2023
Good morning. In today’s either/view, we discuss whether ONDC can take a bite out of the Swiggy-Zomato duopoly. We also look at the Astro Camp in Uttarakhand, among other news.
📰 FEATURE STORY
Can ONDC take a bite out of the Swiggy-Zomato duopoly?
Getting food delivered to your house from your favourite restaurant, bakery, or cafe has never been easier. There’s an app or two for that. Zomato and Swiggy are the two most widely-used food aggregators and have a solid foothold in this sector.
But is that about to change? The government’s Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) is looking to take on the two behemoths. Being seemingly cheaper and with the support from restaurants, should Swiggy and Zomato be worried? Will ONDC have the legs to stay the course and go the distance?
“There’s an app for that” has become a popular refrain. Any household or personal need has its solutions in an app. Eating is no exception. For starters, let’s look at this segment and its evolution in India. The online food delivery market consists of aggregators and cloud kitchens. In 2016, this segment grew by 150%, with an estimated Gross Merchandise Volume (GMV) of $300 million.
In the early days, over 80% of the orders came from the five biggest Indian cities. The market was just getting its bearings. New players like Google and Uber came into the picture. Startups like Zomato and Swiggy were busy raising funds and finalising acquisitions to protect and gain market share.
Swiggy raised $80 million to take on Uber Eats and Google’s Aero. It also began cloud kitchens to offer its restaurant partners who want to serve in areas where they don’t have a physical presence. Its competitor Zomato acquired hyperlocal logistics startup Runnr. Zomato’s revenue from food ordering jumped to $9 million in the 2016 financial year. There were other players like FoodPanda and FreshMenu, but they didn’t pose much of a threat.
As the consumer had choices, restaurants began thinking differently about their business. In 2018, Chai Point launched a new cafe in Bengaluru with an area dedicated to food delivery app personnel. At the time, CEO Amuleek Singh Bijral said the number of orders through the food delivery apps was quickly growing. Fast food chains saw an opportunity and set up separate teams for these apps.
Both Zomato and Swiggy have only grown from strength to strength over the past several years. The competition couldn’t catch up. Now, there’s a new player in town looking to take on the big guns, and it’s a little different from the others in the past.
The government wants to democratise digital commerce and move it from a platform-centric model to an open-network model. The goal is to disrupt monopolies. Their solution is the ONDC. The apt comparison here is what UPI is to the digital payment domain. Initially, the target was the e-commerce space with Flipkart and Amazon. Now, it’s coming for food aggregators.
The new government-backed digital platform went on a recent marketing spree. Social media users began sharing cost comparisons with Swiggy and Zomato once they started using ONDC. Can the newbie take on the big guns?
VIEW: Something’s simmering
It looks like ONDC is stepping up its game with increased marketing efforts and the rapid addition of sellers. The number of orders, primarily food and grocery purchases, crossed 5,000 per day on April 24. On April 30, that number went past 10,000. 40% of these are from Bengaluru. Another 40% are from Kolkata, Delhi, and Mumbai. The rest is from 200 other cities where ONDC is in the pilot stage. The government has been leveraging influencers to spread the word.
Indians are fundamentally price-sensitive, and ONDC is tapping into that. The network is trying to bolster consumer demand with a ₹50 discount per order. In many instances of users sharing their experience on social media, food items were the cheapest to order on ONDC via the Paytm app, even with the applicable discounts that Zomato and Swiggy offer.
ONDC is banking on three things to keep costs in check – dynamic pricing, inventory management, and delivery cost optimisation. Thanks to the integration of retail discovery and discount platform Magicpin, ONDC has managed to onboard nearly 20,000 restaurants. And these restaurants like what ONDC is doing. They get access to customer data that Swiggy and Zomato don’t share. Restaurants have been unhappy with some of their demands and policies, like preparation time limits and additional fees.
COUNTERVIEW: The big two are baked in
Monopolies and duopolies may not be the best for everyone, but Swiggy and Zomato aren’t going anywhere. These are two massive companies with a lot of money to burn. When they need more, they’ve got the investors to tap into for a refill. What Zomato and Swiggy have going for them is a plethora of choices for the consumer. For example, there’s Swiggy Gourmet. It now operates in 31 cities with more than 7,300 restaurants. Last year, Swiggy served 1.5 crore Gourmet orders.
ONDC might have the government’s backing, but Zomato and Swiggy have the customer base needed to sustain. Going back to Swiggy Gourmet, it was started because people wanted a coveted experience that isn’t necessarily mass-produced, according to Swiggy’s Rohit Kapoor. ONDC doesn’t have an option like that. Dining out is still alive, and both companies have integrated offers, memberships, and tie-ups with restaurants.
ONDC is trying to disrupt the market and help small players. However, there’s scepticism if that can succeed in e-commerce, where physical retailers can get a level playing field advantage. The same applies to the food delivery business, especially when restaurants and cloud kitchens already have long-standing partnerships with Zomato and Swiggy. As stated earlier, the big two have a lot of money to burn. The economics of the ONDC have yet to play out.
- The popularity of India’s food-delivery apps is making India’s restaurants think differently – Scroll
- The Food Delivery Apps That Are Competing To Gain Market Share In India – Forbes
- ONDC: All you need to know about govt initiative challenging Amazon, Flipkart – Hindustan Times
- ONDC food and grocery orders double in a week to shoot past 10,000 a day – Moneycontrol
- ONDC Vs Zomato, Swiggy: Food Frenzy Helps Beat 10,000 Daily Order Mark – Bloomberg
- Swiggy Bets Big On Premium Food Delivery Vertical To Sustain Growth – Bloomberg
- Will ONDC kill Amazon and Flipkart as we know them? – The Week
What is your opinion on this?
(Only subscribers can participate in polls)
a) ONDC will eat into the Zomato-Swiggy duopoly.
b) ONDC won’t eat into the Zomato-Swiggy duopoly.
🕵 BEYOND ECHO CHAMBERS
For the Right:
Dismantling old ships won’t reduce India’s carbon footprint — it will only create more problems
For the Left:
Hinduphobia’s validity has nothing to do with the merits or demerits of the term ‘Islamophobia’
🇮🇳 STATE OF THE STATES
Astro Camps to start in Benital (Uttarakhand) – From 19th to 21st May, Benital in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district will be holding an Astro Party for all space and astronomy lovers. Additionally, it is noteworthy that the government of Uttarakhand intends to build Benital as India’s first Astro Village. The initiative is designed to attract astronomy enthusiasts from all around the world for starry holidays. The Benital Astro Camp, a month-long Astro Camp in conjunction with Starscapes, will include various events.
Why it matters: As a result of its distant position, high altitude, and absence of light pollution, Benital is an excellent site for stargazing. Because of the bright skies and lack of artificial lighting, it is a good location for seeing stars, constellations, and other celestial objects. The Astro Camps will provide telescopes, binoculars, and other equipment to guests so that they may see celestial bodies in the sky. Astro tourism is a novel kind of tourism, and several locations in India have promptly responded to this new demand, capitalising on the opportunity to further boost tourism.
Vidya Kanuka kits to finish distribution by May 31 (Andhra Pradesh) – The Andhra Pradesh State government is preparing to distribute Jagananna Vidya Kanuka kits to 39.95 lakh kids across the state ahead of the academic year 2023-24. It has set May 31 as the deadline for distributing all of the kit components available, which include workbooks, textbooks, three sets of clothing, bags, shoes, and notebooks. The district warehouses and mandal stock stations had received a total of 1,67,52,446 books as of May 4. As many as 23.16 lakh books are ready for shipment, while over 59 lakh books are yet to be produced.
Why it matters: The state government is making sure that students of all classes under its care are well-equipped with all the study material as well as other necessary school supplies before the new academic year commences. The inclusion of bags and uniforms in the Jagananna kits is very essential since many-a-times, due to variations in the quality and material of bags and uniforms, the purpose of introducing uniforms, as envisioned by K Kamaraj, gets defeated.
Bihar to dissolve power agreement with NTPC (Bihar) – According to state power authorities, the Bihar State Power Holding Company Limited (BSPHCL) has issued notice to the National Thermal Power Corporation Ltd (NTPC) to relinquish its 854 MW thermal power out of the state’s government allotment of 6,560 MW. According to the statutory six-month notice sent on April 16, the BSPHCL wishes to de-allocate 854 MW of power from NTPC super thermal power plants (STPPs) in Kahalgaon, Bihar’s Bhagalpur district, and Farakka, West Bengal, beginning October 13.
Why it matters: The decision comes after the Bihar Electricity Regulatory Commission (BERC) granted permission for the BSPHCL to quit the 25-year-old power purchase agreement (PPA) that the then-unbundled Bihar State Electricity Board had with the Kahalgaon and Farakka STPPs. According to authorities, the Ministry of Power (MoP) enables the cancellation of PPAs that are 25 years or older. Bihar’s electricity allotment from Kahalgaon (stage I) STPP is 351.6 MW, while Farakka’s (stage I) STPP is 502.4 MW. State power authorities, on the other hand, are also worried about a power shortfall following the power company’s decision to relinquish 854 MW of energy.
Special schools celebrate Autism Awareness Week (Goa) – Autism Awareness Week was celebrated in special schools throughout Goa by the office of the state commissioner for individuals with disabilities. The week-long celebrations included seminars for people with impairments, awareness efforts, and contests. Some school buildings also donned the blue colour, which is associated with autism awareness, as a sign of support.
Why it matters: On the eve of the commemoration, a session for parents of autistic children was organised to enhance awareness of the disorder and its management. To mark the occasion, contests were also held. The public response to the state’s Autism Awareness Week activities was extremely positive. The authorities now intend to organise similar events in the future to support this cause and to foster a more inclusive and welcoming atmosphere for people with disabilities.
Assam Police to retire some cops (Assam) – Assam Police has compiled a list of over 650 policemen who have been reported to be regular drinkers or obese and unfit, and those deemed unsuitable for duty would be given voluntary retirement following a comprehensive examination, said Director General of Police GP Singh on May 8. The effort to clear the police force of “deadwood” would be carried out across all organisations and wings, the DGP stated during a news briefing.
Why it matters: Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma recently pressed the elimination of the deadwood from the police – regular drinkers, cops with extreme obesity, and those facing corruption charges – in order to transform the force into an agile and proactive one, according to an official statement. A time period of three-four months will be given to everyone to improve their fitness so that nobody feels suddenly evicted. All personnel holding officer rank, including IPS officers, have also been asked to maintain fitness in order to set an example for lower rank policemen. This is a good move as it will enhance the working of the policemen, as well as make way for more capable and fit individuals in the force.
🔢 KEY NUMBER
$1 billion – General Atlantic would invest up to $1 billion per year in India.


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Cox Communications has formed a partnership with Xtronaut to help it develop educational kits that link STEM learning products to the science and engineering associated with space missions such as OSIRIS-Rex, which was developed at The University of Arizona to have a spacecraft travel to an asteroid and return to Earth with a sample.
The kits will include teacher and student workbooks, videos by scientists and engineers, online opportunities for students to connect to mission leaders, and hands-on experiments for classrooms and after school programs. Starting in August, the program will be provided to schools free of charge.
Besides jointly developing an app based on the OSIRIS-REx mission, Cox and Xtronaut will offer companies the opportunity to sponsor placement of the kits in schools and receive promotion through Cox Media outlets.
A synthetic hormone developed at The University of Arizona Cancer Center and the UA’s Colleges of Medicine and Science, and shown to offer relief for a rare skin disease has been approved for use by patients in Europe.
The molecule was developed, patented and initially tested at the UA under the name afamelanotide. It is a key ingredient in the drug Scenesse, which reduces and prevents painful reactions to sunlight experienced by people with erythropoietic protoporphyria.
Clinuvel Pharmaceuticals Ltd. of Australia received permission from the European Medicines Agency to market Scenesse. The company says it plans to seek approval for the drug from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and for use with patients in the Asia-Pacific region.
Brian Chan, vice president of IT for Avnet, was named by Computerworld as a 2015 Premier 100 IT Leader. The honor goes to individuals from both the technology and business sides of companies with exceptional tech leadership and innovative approaches to business challenges.
Chan is responsible for Avnet’s global IT shared services organization. Using a business-centric approach to IT, he and his team recently redesigned Avnet’s data analytics platform. With these new capabilities, Avnet can better assess its performance on growing its business profitably by accessing key metrics.
The Premier 100 awards ceremony will be one of the highlights of the AGENDA15 Conference starting in late March in Amelia Island, Fla.
The Retina Network Security Scanner produced by Phoenix-based BeyondTrust to provide context-aware solutions for privilege and vulnerability management is a winner of the 2014 Information Security Magazine and SearchSecurity.com Readers’ Choice Award for Best Application Security Product.
The scanner uses agent-based or agentless scanning to identify specific vulnerabilities, assess risk and prioritize remediation based on various factors. Application security has grown as an important component of enterprise security strategy due to the large number of corporate applications accessed by employees.
To determine winners, Information Security surveyed readers to rate top security products in 22 categories and asked them to vote only on products they use.
A prize of $100,000 will go to the team that offers the best strategy to increase the awareness of water scarcity and Arizona’s water future in the Water Consciousness Challenge. Deadline for registration is Dec. 19 with application and proposals due Jan. 16.
The competition is open to student as well professional teams. The strategy must include digital media and sample content in the application.
Besides the cash prize, every team that enters will receive feedback from credible authorities and get the chance to connect with others. To register, go to newarizonaprize.org.
Inilex has been included in Deloitte’s Technology Fast 500, a ranking of the 500 fastest growing technology, media, telecommunications, life sciences and clean technology companies in North America.
The Phoenix-based company was ranked No. 247 in recognition of its 394 percent growth. This is the second time Inilex has been on the list.
The firm is a member of the “connected car” ecosystem with its specific technology for new and used cars, consumers and dealers, and fleet managers. This entire segment is expected to be valued at nearly $17 billion by 2018.
The GoDaddy Online Store has been launched to help make it easy for small businesses to create an e-commerce presence with a customized web store and sell products online without the need for knowing how to code.
Although small businesses can find building e-commerce websites challenging, 30 percent of local small business revenues come from online purchases, according to research firm BIA/ Kelsey. Merchants using the new service only need to choose their theme, add products, and assign descriptions and price points.
The Scottsdale company’s Online Store provides an easier end-user shopping and checkout experience, including for mobile devices, with built-in payment processing tools. Also included are flexible shipping options for shoppers and inventory tracking.
Winners of the 18th annual Spirit of Enterprise Awards from the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University include IO, which claimed the Emerging Enterprise Award. The company is headquartered in Phoenix.
IO was recognized for its focus on rethinking data-center technology by using software solutions instead of just physical locations. Its more than 650 global clients include Goldman Sachs and LexisNexis, and it has two patents and an emphasis on energy efficiency.
This year’s Spirit of Enterprise Student Entrepreneur Award was presented to Anthony Gonzales, a recent Carey School MBA graduate. He was honored for his ongoing development of FITGuard, a mouthguard designed that indicates levels of head impact for athletes as well as a smartphone application that provides data to diagnosing physicians.


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Google rumours are rife. It seems as though everyone has something to say about the tech giant. Well, if the latest rumours from Silicon Valley have any credibility, then Google is seriously thinking about making another acquisition. This time its in the form of a mobile payments service called Softcard.
The purchase would not a be a whole new ball game that they are getting into, as Google already has its own similar services in the form of GoogleWallet. If Google were to add the NFC payment provider Softcard to its library of acquisitions, then it could have big implications for the mobile payments further on down the line. If the deal goes ahead, then it could help Google to pair up with wireless carriers, thereby giving Google an advantage of rival Apple with their ApplePay system
For those of you who have not heard about the Softcard payments service, it could be because the company has changed it’s name. It was previously called Isis. The change was made when the whole Middle East business called for such a name change. The team behind it decided it was probably a smart move to rename their payments service to Softcard. This was done in order not to cause any confusion with another organisation of the same name that has other agendas, which are not involved the field of mobile payments.
According to sources over at TechCrunch the price of the deal could well be below the $100 million mark. When you think about it, that is not that much for a service, which was started on investments worth hundreds of millions of dollars by communications giants Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile. Apparently, there have been numerous reports that have detailed some difficulties that Softcard has faced and this may be a reason why the firm isn’t expected to bring a higher price.
[Image via androidheadlines]


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Launched on June 1, 2017, Xbox GamePass has since evolved and expanded its catalog of games across console, desktop AND mobile via the cloud.
As part of its fifth anniversary, Xbox celebrates with its community and all kinds of video game fans the happiest day of the year, Yellow Day, with two murals hidden in the streets of Mexico City that hold a surprise: the first 200 people to take a photo with someone and share it by tagging @XboxMexico will win a three-month Xbox GamePass Ultimate membership.
It was the British psychologist, Cliff Arnalle, author of the formula that indicates that June 20 is the happiest day of the year due to the warm weather that surrounds this date and the Christmas season, being ideal for socializing and having a good time with friends and relatives.
Cliff was also the creator of the equation to determine Blue Monday, the saddest day of the year, versus Yellow Day.
Also read: Viral: Try to buy Smart TV for 17 pesos
The two murals that celebrate the anniversary of Xbox GamePass on the yellow day capture what the service represents: dynamism, adventures, diverse universes full of colors, mysteries to discover and more, through some of the most iconic characters in its catalog.
The first is in the streets of Colonia Juárez and portrays Marcus Fenix, COG Sergeant in Gears; the mythical Spartan John-117, better known as Aureola’s Master Chief; and tyler ronancostar of Tell me why.
The second is located on an avenue in the Roma Norte Colony, made up of Lesedi Singh, daughter of the greatest pirate to ever sail Sea of Thieves; the boxy but charismatic Steve from Minecraft; the intrepid acrobat and psychic who stars in Psychonauts 2, Razputin Aquato; and the crazy toads Rash, Zitz and Pimple, from Battle Toads.
Also read: Youtuber manages to store 512 GB of data on a floppy disk
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