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Dickey’s Barbecue Pit is opening a new location in Katy this Thursday, January 31 at 11 a.m. In honor of this special day, the barbecue franchise known for its slow smoked barbecue cooked on site each day will be giving the first 100 customers a free Pulled Pork Big Barbecue sandwich.
“The Katy community is very excited that we are bringing Dickey’s to the area,” said franchise owner Roy Carneiro, who operates this location with his business partner Jim Brame. “We have received such a positive reaction from the locals and can’t wait to start serving authentic slow smoked barbecue on Thursday.”
This new restaurant is located on 390 Mason Road and the store phone number is 281-347-3097. Dickey’s was founded in 1941 in Dallas, Texas and currently has over 100 locations in Texas.
“Our original Dickey’s started out as a one room operation and served only beef brisket, ribs, and pulled pork,” said Roland Dickey, Jr., president and CEO of Dickey’s Barbecue Restaurants, Inc. “In 71 years we’ve grown to over 270 locations in 43 states across the country. We’re passionate about the art of great barbecue and we look forward to serving Katy.”
For Dickey’s Barbecue franchise opportunities call (866) 340-6188 or visit www.dickeys.com/franchise/.
Dickey’s Barbecue was founded by Travis Dickey with the goal of authentic slow smoked barbecue. More than 70 years later, the Dallas-based family run barbecue franchise still offers a quality selection of signature meats, home style sides, tangy barbecue sauce and free kids meals every Sunday. All meats are slow smoked on site in each restaurant. The fast-casual family-friendly concept has expanded to over 270 locations in 43 states and holds the title of the world’s largest barbecue franchise. This year Nation’s Restaurant News named Dickey’s “Top Five Growth Chains” and they were also named “Best Franchise Deal” by QSR Magazine. For more information, visit Dickey’s or for barbecue franchise opportunities call (866) 340-6188.


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Apple will be getting special rates from five US card issuers on mobile payments made by its device users, according to well-connected payments advisor Tom Noyes, and customers will use a combination of Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), NFC and Touch ID to make payments in stores. “Apple wanted to launch the payment product with BLE (not NFC) but existing payment networks didn’t want to cause merchant chaos in fragmentation of acceptance infrastructure,” he says.
- Barclays pitches watch makers on the benefits of wearable payments
- Telecoms boss gets NFC access control chip implanted in hand
- Contactless payments overtake chip and pin in the UK
- NFC World launches Go to Market service for innovative technology suppliers
- Google includes support for FeliCa NFC payments in Pixel 3 smartphones

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After nearly half a century in business, a malasada institution is calling it quits
KAILUA, OAHU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Get your malasadas now.
After 47 years in business, Agnes Portuguese Bake Shop in Kailua has announced its closing its doors.
A notice posted online says the bakery's final day will be Sunday.
"We like to take this moment to say thank you to all the loyal friends and customers we've made over the years," the bakery said, in the notice. "For some, we knew your parents, watched as you grew up, and have shared our traditions with your children."
This story will be updated.
Copyright 2018 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.


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With all of the pre-holiday buzz and widely optimistic sales projections, anything other than a blockbuster 2012 holiday shopping season was bound to be a letdown. Few expected the numbers that came out just before Christmas: Both MasterCard and the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) reported that sales for the holiday season at that point were up just 0.7%. This was far below the robust predictions that many analysts and observers made before the shopping season was underway (most often between 3%-6%).
A recently released survey of major retail chains shows that the cumulative impact of the Fiscal Cliff political drama, the Newtown shooting disaster, a warmer-than-expected early winter, and the lingering effects of Hurricane Sandy may have contributed to a slower-than-anticipated start to the holiday shopping season. In my holiday sales prediction column in this space, I talked about some of the reasons why the more optimistic numbers might not pan out, but I definitely didn’t foresee anything like 0.7%:
“…the widespread sunny predictions we have seen from some analysts and observers of holiday spending increases of up to 5% may be a little too robust. I suspect that a safer bet would be to dial back the optimism into the 2-4% range.”
Were we all off base? As it turns out, the pundits may end up closer to reality than it appeared at first glance. New data is emerging that suggests that we may have begun writing the obituary for the 2012 holiday shopping season a bit too early. The industry gold standard, the National Retail Federation, continues to stand by its 4.1% holiday sales prediction, and anecdotal reports of a busier-than-normal final week of December support that sunnier outlook.
A number of national brands made up serious ground at the end of the month, even with early struggles. Thomson Reuters reports that same-store sales among a group of major retailers (excluding drug stores) was up 4.5% in the month of December. Apparel retailers did particularly well, according to the report, with Nordstrom up 8.6%, Gap was up 5%, Macy’s up 4.1%, and Kohl's reporting a 3.4% jump. Some of the year-end boost is attributable to a blast of colder weather, which may have given apparel brands a welcome bump.
So what’s the verdict? Do we believe the pessimism, or do we accept that this may have simply been a back-loaded shopping season, with a sales spike at the end of the month helping to bring sales figures back in line with the original projections? To be honest, I think it might be a little bit of both. Whatever the final numbers, it’s safe to say that the 2012 holiday shopping season looked like a donut: solid at the beginning and end, but with a big hole in the middle.
A trend toward more bargain hunting at the beginning and end of the season would certainly explain those results. The only fly in that ointment is that some of the discount and value brands that you might expect to do well when consumers are being selective and counting their pennies apparently didn’t perform particularly well: While Wal-Mart was not included in the Thomson Reuters survey, the chain has reported sluggish sales throughout December, and Target sales remained essentially flat.
If shoppers are looking for bargains, however, then profits and bottom lines could be impacted — and we’ll need to pay close attention to see how retailers respond in terms of new-store strategies going forward. Sales figures are all well and good, but the true judge the 2012 holiday shopping season will be, as always, profits. It’s also worth noting that, despite the slow-but-steady economic recovery, consumer confidence went down in both November and December. While some of the external drama and distractions are in the rearview mirror, deep political tensions and broad financial uncertainties continue to linger. While we may look back on the 2012 holiday season as largely positive for brick-and-mortar, long-term uncertainty is not a good way to get people to start spending their money — whatever the season.
How do these industry-wide numbers compare with how you saw the holiday shopping season wrap up? Was the positive late December surge a one-time event or the prelude to a stronger 2013? We’d love to hear your thoughts through a comment below or you can contact me directly at email@example.com.
Click here for past columns by Jeff Green.


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- Stellantis will invest £100 million in its Ellesmere Port site in the UK, converting the plant to produce only EVs and their batteries.
- Electric vans for passenger and commercial users alike will be made for four PSA and FCA brands at the plant, starting later this year.
- PSA's battery-electric tech is expected to flow to brands that were a part of Fiat-Chrysler, which has lagged behind in EV development over the past decade.
Stellantis, recently formed by the merger of FCA and PSA, will soon have a production base dedicated solely to EVs, following the moves of other European automakers that have taken steps to set up production hubs dedicated to battery-electric vehicles. The automaker plans to devote its factory in Ellesmere Port in the UK to electric LCVs (light commercial vehicles) and passenger EVs, with the plant slated to produce models under four brands: Opel, Vauxhall, Citroën, and Peugeot.
The automaker plans to invest £100 million ($138 million) in the site with the first models due to roll out of the factory later this year, with both passenger and commercial versions on the way. The plant will receive a new body shop, an on-site battery-pack assembly facility, and an upgraded general assembly. The plant is also scheduled to become carbon-neutral by the middle of this decade.
"Performance is always the trigger for sustainability, and this £100million investment demonstrates our commitment to the UK and to Ellesmere Port," said Carlos Tavares, CEO at Stellantis. "I particularly want to thank our highly skilled, dedicated workforce for their patience and contribution; we never let them down. Equally, I want to thank our partners the Unite Union for their open mind set and strong cooperation and, of course, the UK government for their continued support. Producing battery electric vehicles here will support clean, safe, and affordable mobility for the citizens. Since 1903 Vauxhall has manufactured vehicles in Britain and we will continue to do so."
With Stellantis' turn to more recent PSA architectures, it's quite possible that we could see versions of PSA electric models stateside in the coming years. That's because there are no real battery-electric FCA offerings on the radar at the moment, while PSA has a growing lineup of battery-electric models from Peugeot and Citroën. The European part of FCA's lineup is expected to benefit from the EV tech rolled out by the two French brands, with a number of models on the way soon.
When it comes to light commercial vehicles, the Ellesmere Port plant will produce battery-electric versions of the Opel and Vauxhall Combo-e and its passenger variant, as well as the Citroën e-Berlingo along with its passenger version, and the Peugeot e-Partner with its own passenger model.
The plant itself, launched in 1962, produced Vauxhall and Opel vehicles in its early years under General Motors' ownership, starting with the Vauxhall Viva in 1964, and was acquired by French automaker PSA just a few years ago along with the two inseparable brands. Vauxhall itself dates back to 1903, while Opel is even older and had been owned by GM since the late 1920s, making a few appearances stateside (one of the last as the Saturn Astra), while Vauxhall enjoyed a few cameos in Canada in past decades. Opel had been paired closely with Vauxhall for the majority of its tenure with GM, until both were picked up by PSA in 2017.
Share your thoughts on the news from Stellantis in the comments below.


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Tag : people moves
Clarks appoints new chairSubscription
Clarks has appointed former interim CEO Stella David as its new non-executive chair.
Zalando to shake up boardSubscription
German etailer Zalando plans to appoint Cristina Stenbeck to its supervisory board as chairperson.
Calvin Klein has promoted its president of brand management for Calvin Klein Europe, Marcella Wartenbergh, to the position of chief merchandising officer.
Charles Tyrwhitt CEO steps downSubscription
The CEO of menswear retailer Charles Tyrwhitt, Michael Stanier, will step down after 12 months in the role.
Intu names new chief Subscription
Shopping centre owner Intu has appointed Matthew Roberts as its new chief executive.
Global Fashion Group hires new CFO Subscription
Global Fashion Group (GFG), owner of ecommerce sites such as The Iconic, Zalora and Dafiti, has appointed Matthew Price as its new chief financial officer.
Clarks bolsters boardSubscription
Clarks has appointed three new non-executive directors to its board.
Sandro appoints new CEOSubscription
Isabelle Allouch, chief executive officer of premium womenswear brand Claudie Pierlot, is moving to the same role at sister brand Sandro.
Orchard Street names new retail asset managerSubscription
Commercial property investment manager Orchard Street has appointed Paul Nicholson as its new asset manager.
Zalora group appoints new CTO Subscription
Asian etailer Zalora has appointed Silvia Thom as its new chief technology officer, effective from today.


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RTC Relationship Marketing Chosen as Agency of Record by Audi
RTC Relationship Marketing has been selected as the agency of record for Audi of America. The marketing agency will be responsible for boosting communications with the public and increasing customer loyalty, as well as working to bring in new clients.
Audi of America has 270 dealerships within the United States. The company sells a complete line of German-engineered luxury cars. 12 models were launched in 2008 and 2009, making the car company one of the best in the country for new releases. They have chosen their new agency of record for several reasons.
“As we looked at the strengths of several CRM agencies, RTC Relationship Marketing stood out with its expertise across the full range of CRM disciplines, the passion of its employees for the Audi brand and its deep resources as a national leader in its field,” said Scott Keogh, Chief Marketing Officer, Audi of America.
RTC Relationship Marketing is pleased to be working with the prestigious car company and looks forward to working with their local contacts in Washington, DC to boost public recognition and interest in the car brand.
“Audi is obviously a leader in automotive design and technology, and we hope to help extend that leadership into cultivating strong lasting relationships with prospects and owners,” said Barry Kessel, CEO of RTC Relationship Marketing.
The two companies will be working together to get existing clients to stay loyal to the brand, as well as attract new customers to the sleek cars that they sell. With dealers across the country, Audi of America has the placement and RTC is ready get to work promoting them.
PMK-BNC is the company’s PR company of choice.


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The impact of retransmission consent fee revenue outpacing traditional spot ad revenue growth is apparent in our latest U.S. TV station industry forecast with advertising’s share projected to decline from 69% in 2016 to 61% by 2022 while retrans share climbs from a 24% to a 31% share over the same period.
Over the projection period, the TV station industry is expected to become less reliant on the traditional spot ad revenue marketplace, with growing retrans fee revenues and more emphasis on digital revenues helping to smooth the effect of the ebbs and flows in political ad spending in election years.
U.S. TV station owners' retrans fees from multichannel operators are expected to reach $11.6 billion by 2022, versus the projected level of $7.7 billion this year, up 20% from $6.4 billion in 2015.
While recent negotiations with multichannel operators have seen TV station owners continuing to secure higher retrans fees, including annual dollar-per-sub rate step-ups, station owners' margins have compressed due to their affiliation renewal contracts reflecting larger network programming expense increases. Our reverse retrans projections call for major affiliate station group owners to send back over $2 billion to the major broadcast networks in 2016, up 36% from an estimated $1.5 billion in reverse retrans in 2015.
According to our latest projections, national and local spot ad revenues including political should decline from their highest share in our 2006 to 2022 study period, at 96% of total revenue in 2006 (prior to which the industry featured little to no retrans revenue), down to 69% in 2016 and 61% in 2022, while retrans revenues go from 1% of industry revenue in 2006 to 24% in 2016 and 31% by 2022.
TV station ad market volatility from political ad spending ebbs and flows has been leveling out over the past couple of election cycles as a result of double-digit annual rises in retrans revenue and the wave of station consolidation since the last recession. In 2016, total TV station revenues are forecast to grow 16% to $31.6 billion based on ad revenue growth of 15%, retrans growth of 20% and digital/online growth of 12%.
Over the projection period, TV station industry revenue is expected to grow to a high of $37.6 billion by 2022, including $2.9 billion in political, $11.6 billion in retrans, and $3.0 billion in digital/online revenue.
TV station industry revenues could get yet more diverse in the future should live station streaming OTT initiatives such as CBS All Access and broadcast carriage with virtual service providers (VSPs) like Sling TV and Sony Vue take hold, along with the incremental revenue opportunities from ATSC 3.0. These potential new revenue streams, not yet included in our analysis, could be additive as broadcasting expands outside of traditional delivery models.


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These partners to Feeding America help support our mission through promotions where money raised goes back to food banks and the people we help.
Crate and Barrel invites you to celebrate the holiday season by giving back. From November 1-December 31, Crate and Barrel will invite customers to donate at the register and online.
For every video uploaded to Instagram Reels dancing to the song “Pa’ Ti” by Jennifer Lopez using the hashtag #YoplaitimeDonation, Yoplait will donate $1.00 to Feeding America®.
This summer Wells Fargo and Feeding America food banks are hosting drive-up food distributions at branches across the country. Learn more.
From September 22, 2020 to September 22, 2021 for every Giving Good Cards purchased, Giving Good Cards will donate 3% of the total amount loaded onto Giving Good Cards to Feeding America®.
For every exclusive Feeding America® Scooby-Doo Funko Pop! sold, BoxLunch will help donate $1.50 to the Feeding America COVID-19 Response Fund to help provide food and resources to families and children in need.
Food Lion Feeds is joining together with its customers and food bank partners this Fall to help end hunger by offering specially-marked "Food Lion Feeds" branded Gala Apple bags in its stores starting September 16, 2020.
For every UPC code entered online from participating Quaker® products, the Quaker Oats Company will donate $1.00 to Feeding America®.
The dairy community, Feeding America, and people across the country are helping to increase access to fresh milk for families facing hunger.
Starting Sept 1, 2020, Pampered Chef launched Serve Up a Little Kindness, which will provide at least 10 meals* to Feeding America for each Silicone and Wood Utensil set sold.
For each post using hashtags #ForTodaysTable and their local brand (either #GIANT or #MARTINS) The GIANT Company will donate 100 meals* to neighbors in need.
American Express has committed to matching card members' reward points up to 1 million dollars.
To celebrate Hunger Action Month, Kruger Products are supporting Feeding America. For every purchase of White Cloud® Bathroom Tissue $1 will be donated to Feeding America and the network of Food Banks to support families across the country.
The P&G Good Everyday community is working together to turn simple actions into ways to do good for others.
Always is partnering with Feeding America to get period products to people in need.
From 8/10 to 12/31/20, all CVS stores will be ROUNDING UP at the register in support of Feeding America. 90% of proceeds to the members where the round up was made.
From August 18, 2020 through October 31, 2020, Save A Lot invites customers to make change with their change by rounding up their transaction total to the nearest whole dollar amount, with proceeds benefiting Feeding America member food banks.
By purchasing a Share a Meal combo at any BI-LO, Fresco y Más, Harveys Supermarket and Winn-Dixie deli department with a participating Coca-Cola products, 10 cents will be donated to Feeding America food banks throughout SEG’s seven-state footprint.
Starbucks increases its investment in the mobile pantry program with a $1M donation to support 13 food banks across the U.S.


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The first Latin American foodtech company to develop and produce plant-based meat that has the same taste, texture and juiciness of animal based meat, Fazena Futuro is disrupting the traditional poultry industry with its new plant-based chicken, called Future Chicken.
Originally from Brazil, a country where chicken production reached 13 million tonnes in 2019, with a per capita consumption of around 42 kilos per inhabitant (according to the Brazilian Animal Protein Association), this new innovation will soon be available in the brand’s points of sale abroad.
Future Chicken was developed using True Texture Technology, which recreates the same fibrous texture similar to that of a once-living chicken, along with natural extracts to make sure the “chicken” has a neutral flavor. Additionally, Future Chicken will be sold in a 100% sustainable, plant-based packaging composed of sugar cane, which releases less CO2 into the atmosphere as it decomposes. This allowed it to receive the I’m Green label, an identifier of environmentally sustainable materials.
Fazenda Futuro first launched in 2019 and is the first plant-based meat producer of Brazil. It uses pea protein, isolated soy, chickpea protein and beats to emulate traditional animal products.
With the brand names Future Farm and Hacienda Futuro, the company currently has a presence in Chile, Mexico, Uruguay, Holland, Sweden, and the United Arab Emirates.


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January 3, 2012 11:00 PM | Lewie Procter
After showing off the new NPC interaction tech in December, the latest tech demo for the sandbox undead-apocalypse survival sim Project Zomboid is a flickering glimpse of the new lighting engine, to be included in the games next major update. It's a nice improvement from the previous style lighting, with much prettier, softer, edges.
It's more than just an aesthetic update though, the new lighting engine also lets them simulate light sources like street-lights and torches more realistically, and "zombies will be attracted to the light and even see movement through curtains or sheets". More details on the lighting engine, a rough plan for development in 2012, and other Zomboid news on this blog post.
Project Zomboid is currently available for preorder for £4.99, and comes with instant access to the latest build. There's not been any major setbacks for The Indie Stone recently, let's hope it's relatively smooth sailing from here on out. PZ is definitely one to watch for 2012.


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Now, businesses that had to close shop for several days have to try to make up for lost time, which isn’t easy. “There’s no way to rebound from it,” Magioncalda said of his store being closed, although, he added, he has been especially busy since he reopened. Despite his business being closed for most of last week, Magioncalda still paid his employees, and will offer half priced bagels until Nov. 15.
Pandolifi echoed similar sentiments about not being able to make up for lost days, but knows his business fared much better than others in the area. “Right now we’re just happy that we were able to get back open,” he said. “It was a nerve-racking couple of days.”
Debbi Gyulay, president of the Valley Stream Chamber of Commerce, said stores being unable to open in an already bad economy make things difficult for business owners.
“People are working as hard as they could work to maintain themselves, so those few days are huge,” she said. “I would ask the people of Valley Stream to please support our local businesses so they can make a little bit of a comeback.”


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James Dartnell sat down with Infor president Stephan Scholl to discuss the firm’s ambitious plans to quintuple its regional market share in the next five years, and why it is now finding stability under new leadership within the India, Middle East and Africa region.
The 131 percent year-on-year growth Infor has achieved in the Middle East shows real progress has been made recently, but your series of regional leadership changes in the last few years also suggest things have been rocky. Why’s that been the case?
Until Tarik Taman joined as IMEA general manager, we had a channels-only strategy, meaning that we were trying to rely on partners to represent our brand and our coverage model. In a region that is this dynamic, where relationships are so important, customers want to hear directly from the company and have local delivery capabilities and commitment for the long run.
It wasn’t an issue with individuals. We were doing well in that mid-market segment with a couple of upmarket transactions, but the upmarket demand for our new services around digital and cloud made us realise that we weren’t servicing the market right. It’s now a whole new team of people servicing customers directly.
Tarik has claimed that Infor is the ‘iPhone of business systems’ – which industries will you disrupt?
Of the 13 major industries that we have complete cloud suites for, the four that we’re aiming to disrupt are manufacturing, hospitality, healthcare and the public sector as one, and retail.
How will Amazon Web Services’ – your cloud provider – recent outage affect the perception around cloud, and in your cloud services?
There was an article three days after the outage which reported outages across cloud providers, including Microsoft, IBM and AWS, and AWS had the lowest rate by a mile. When you think about failovers and production systems, AWS has such a great track record, to the extent that I would say they are better than companies running on their own internal data centres. I’m not too worried about it.
AWS aside, does the outage expose the shortcomings of cloud, and show how something as unavoidable as human error could cause such havoc?
I’ve talked to about 15 customers who are working on big cloud deals, and last week they viewed it as a hiccup. At least two of them said that they’d previously had their own outages, which took days to get up and running again. At least with AWS, you saw them get through it and respond quickly. Not one customer that I’ve spoken to has said they won’t go through with work or that they’re worried about it.
How is the $2 billion investment you received from Koch Industries being spent?
It starts at the top with their CEO, Charles Koch, and he leads a $115 billion conglomerate looking at digital as a huge disruptor to their business model. I can’t believe the comfort it gives us around them believing that they can completely upend how they do business through digital transformation. They’re aggressively working with us on global HR and financials implementation – we already have our first two projects there – and asset management, including IoT platforms, which they’re putting in their refineries.
They’re looking at digital as a means of preventative maintenance. One maintenance call is a $25 million pain point for them. Personally, I’m glad it was Koch that made the investment and not another PE firm. They have size and scale, and view us as the digital disruptor of their business. They have a different business mindset around short versus long-term. They don’t have a PE mindset, and take a minimum of five years, and mostly a 10-15-year view of a business model. That’s not dissimilar to Infor in some respects.
They have the same ilk of not forcing us into a one, two or three-year cycle. In our business, that’s a rarity.
Are there any prospects of an Infor IPO in the near future?
Charles Koch and Koch Industries have said that’s always on the table. If anything, they’d want to do it for branding. When you think we’d be one of the biggest IPOs of all time, the branding would help us. But otherwise, there’s no other reason to do it today. We don’t need it for the money or our capital structure. Our debt maturities are good with Koch investment.
You often discuss how Infor’s mission is to have mission-critical applications in the cloud, and to run a business in the cloud. Is that being achieved globally and in the Middle East?
Absolutely, and at a faster pace than I thought. Have I declared success yet? No, it’s a journey, but who would have thought that a year ago, a company like Triumph in the UK who sell motorcycles would move their mission critical apps into the cloud. Travis Perkins, another British firm, has mission critical apps for 24,000 users in the cloud. Our competitors didn’t think that would happen. They thought it would just be HR, financials and CRM, but for me, it’s been exciting to see such a big market opportunity for us.
‘Innovation’ is the buzzword of the day in Dubai’s tech industry. What do you make of the GCC’s appetite for it and how have you seen examples of it in the Middle East?
I’ve been impressed with the globalised view of companies in Dubai. Most companies that do business in Dubai also do business in Europe and around the world. We’re seeing the expansion of companies here going global. Also, local companies are not only relying on global supply, they’re building relationships with distributors, customer logistics and manufacturing support.
In Dubai, the Middle East and Saudi Arabia, we’re seeing customers move very aggressively to cloud discussions and solutions.
Why have you chosen to base your first non-US-based Hoop & Loop design agency in Dubai?
People are hungry and ready to move quickly in this region. Whether it’s government or private industry, they want to move quickly and build big. The number of people in that agency will be demand-based. The good news is that we can hire rapidly. We’re also opening an agency in London, so it’ll be Dubai, New York and London.
Do you think proposed visa law changes to the UAE could present an opportunity for Infor in building an innovation hub in the UAE?
I do. A lot of it will be based on local demand. I don’t think we’re at a point where we can take design thinking and make a centre of excellence for the rest of the world, but if we take one for the Middle East, that makes a lot of sense to build on the Hook & Loop investment.
We went to a small town outside of Wroclaw in Poland and found two of the best universities that were English-speaking, and we’ve hired 500 people in less than a year to build a Poland data centre. We’ve just bought Accentia Middle East in Cairo, which has around 100 employees. I’ve told them to create a business plan to make it a 500-person organisation as fast as possible so that we can build a centre of excellence to support not just the Middle East, but also Europe and the US. If there is similar applicability around universities, education and demand, we will absolutely build one here in the UAE.


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20-10-2022 | By Robin Mitchell
Recently, Tesla announced that it will be removing ultrasonic sensors on its vehicles and moving towards total reliance on its vision-based AI. Why do cars utilise different sensing technologies, why is Tesla moving towards vision-only, and will this be a disastrous move?
The introduction of electronics into vehicles has allowed engineers to develop all kinds of brilliant technologies that not only improve the driving experience but also significantly improve safety for vehicle occupants and nearby pedestrians. One company that stands above the rest for its development of safety technologies is Volvo, which was the first car manufacturer to develop the three-point safety belt, booster cushions, side-impact protection, blind spot detectors, and pedestrian detection. Even though some of these developments are purely mechanical, most modern safety technologies require some kind of sensor and associated processing system.
But while humans mostly use vision for operating vehicles, modern vehicles deploy all kinds of different sensors, including RADR, SONAR, vision, and LiDAR. The reason why engineers use multiple sensing technologies on vehicles primarily comes down to three factors; application, environment, and reliability.
With regards to application, parking sensors that beep when in close proximity to an object use ultrasonic sensors due to the ability to accurately measure small distances. The speed of sound is slow enough that by the time a sound pulse has reflected from a distant object and come back, a low-end microcontroller would have managed to count many thousands of times (and this, in turn, results in accurate distance measurement). By contrast, trying to measure tens of centimetres with LiDAR is extremely challenging due to the fast speed at which light travels, and the time between firing a beam of light and receiving the reflection would provide barely any time for a microcontroller to count.
In the case of the environment, weather conditions can significantly affect the performance of a sensor, which can lead to potentially dangerous situations. For example, a safety mechanism that breaks the vehicle if it detects a potential collision may fail to operate if a LiDAR ranging system cannot penetrate heavy rain. While RADAR is better at penetrating rain, it has a much lower resolution, meaning it is not as good as object detection. Therefore, a system that combines the two can introduce resilience against varying weather conditions and thus improve reliability.
Finally, the simple act of having numerous sensors using different technologies allows a vehicle to be “hyper-aware” of its surroundings. It is possible that vehicles in the future will have a centralised processor that reads all readings from all sensors and uses this information to process its surroundings (some vehicles do support centralised controls, but in many cases, sensors are independent of each other). Furthermore, the ability to combine different sensor technologies allows vehicles to make better decisions on which sensors they should rely on and ignore data from others when conditions change.
Recently, Elon Musk announced that Tesla will move to scrap all ultrasonic sensors and will instead move towards a vision-only vehicle. It is believed that Tesla will save around $114 per vehicle, and if Tesla’s estimate of 1 million vehicles being manufactured yearly in the future is correct, this could result in over $100m in savings. At the same time, Elon Musk noted that humans drive solely using vision, and as such automated vehicles should also follow this concept.
Tesla vehicles currently have 12 ultrasonic sensors placed around the edge of the body to provide localised distance measurements from obstacles. These sensors are not only used for parking assistance but can also allow the vehicle to navigate autonomously around objects as well as parking itself. This is not the first time that Tesla has moved away from traditional sensing technologies in favour of its vision-based AI. For example, Tesla announced in 2021 that it would phase out the use of RADAR in its products, which not only helps reduce costs but also enables the vehicle to rely on a single sensor system.
In place of the sensors, Tesla vehicles will rely on the 8 cameras that are installed around the vehicle. One camera is installed at the rear while three cameras are installed at the front, then a mix of two cameras are directed towards the rear, and two cameras are directed towards the front.
While there may be some economic benefits to reducing the number of sensors, removing sensors and relying solely on a vision-based system is undoubtedly a bad engineering move. The biggest evidence for this is that humans rely solely on their eyes when driving, and numerous mistakes are made, whether it is due to being blinded by the sun, poor weather conditions, or blind spots. It is highly unlikely that an AI would be able to process images better than a human and therefore is likely to make unusual decisions (such as when Tesla vehicles were convinced a harvest moon was an amber light).
Considering that cameras used in vehicles don’t even come close to the human eye’s capabilities, is it also possible that vision-based vehicles will struggle with close-range distance measurements in poor lighting conditions. For example, a parking space in a multistorey where the back wall is painted in a single colour will be virtually impossible to range if there are no features that stand out.
Overall, scrapping ultrasonic sensors, which have been proven to work well beyond doubt, seems to be an unusual move. Even if the vehicle doesn’t rely on these sensors, they offer an extremely valuable fall-back option that could be engaged if the onboard vision system fails. And when considering the price of Tesla vehicles exceeding $50,000, trying to save $114 seems cheap, but of course, Tesla vehicles have a reputation for being poorly built.


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On the eve of Google's announcement of the GDC, a new report provides detailed information about the gaming service's expectations. The main focus will be on what new features a "streaming platform" allows, although a controller manufactured by Google is also expected.
according to Kotaku, "Tomorrow's attention" is about the underlying streaming service, with Google leveraging its back-end infrastructure to solve the latency problem. With Project Stream's "technical test," the company described the "challenges" associated with streaming something as intensive as gaming, but not its solutions. I hope Google will explain tomorrow how his problem has been solved.
As with other products, Google is committed to this business because its scale will offer high-end games to hundreds of millions of players who do not have dedicated hardware at a cost of more than $ 250.
In terms of features, tonight's report describes the possibility of watching a live game and jumping straight to that moment after buying the game. In addition to the fact that ads might eventually be purchased, suggests that users will have to buy games rather than get an unlimited pass.
Many of these features are described as requiring the approval of the game developer. Kotaku reports that "Google is funding its own video games".
In terms of availability, the service will run on Windows, Mac, phones and TVs. Both desktop and desktop platforms are not surprising since Project Stream needed only the latest version of Chrome and a 25 Mbps Internet connection.
One source told us in the past that Yeti would work with Android phones, while technical TV support was via Chromecast. Kotaku also has more details about the controller manufactured by Google, which was mentioned for the first time last February by L & # 39; information. It would have "streaming capabilities" that would bring television service, which is consistent with the patents that were discovered earlier this month.
Check out 9to5Google on YouTube for more information:


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Earlier this week, we got news from Google about its plans for the public release of Android 5.0 Lollipop: while the new Nexus devices would (obviously) ship with Lollipop, updates for existing models were announced as arriving sometime in the weeks to come. Well, what does that mean? Will Nexus 5 owners be waiting until Thanksgiving before they have a chance (beyond the dev preview, at least) to bring Lollipop to their phones? Today we start to get a better sense of just who’s getting what when, as a leak attempts to reveal Google’s distribution strategy.
The first release should be in the form of system images for the Nexus 5 and last year’s Nexus 7, tipped to hit Google’s servers sometime this week – whether that means later today or sometime tomorrow, we can’t yet say, but expect them soon. Of course, images like this mean re-flashing your whole device, so most users will prefer to wait for the arrival of OTA updates.
Those are rumored to start arriving in a little over two weeks, first hitting Google’s tablets: the Nexus 7 and the Nexus 10 could get theirs on November 3. That date would only be for WiFi models, and cellular-equipped Nexus 7 units would see their updates land a little further out. Those, along with the updates for Google’s recent phones – the Nexus 4 and Nexus 5 – would arrive before the end of November.
Worst case, that puts you about six weeks away from an update (though likely quite a bit sooner), with the possible option to move to Lollipop early though a factory image flash.
Source: Android Police


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XFX is currently in hot water with the Chinese customs administration according to a report from MyDrivers. An investigation revealed that a shipment of graphics cards had inconsistencies between their specifications and labels. It was confirmed that 5840 units did not match the declared specifications. The total is estimated at around 20 million RMB or over 3 million USD.
XFX is owned by Pine-technology, which is based in Hong Kong. XFX’s headquarters are in California, but it has numerous branches all around the world. The Asian branch is now in trouble with the Chinese customs. The website of the Chinese branch is also down but we do not know if it is involved in this scheme. The official T-mall storefront of XFX has also been closed.
This seem to be a common method of lowering import tax for graphics cards. MyDrivers claims a whopping 150 000 GPUs could have been imported this way.
This isn’t the first time XFX has been criticized over graphics cards. There was previously a rumor stating the Chinese branch sold a large part of its stock to cryptomining activities.


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THE Portsmouth based car dealer, previously known as Prestige Diesels, has rebranded with a new name, logo and website.
Now known as Prestige Diesels & Sports Limited, the focus has been on expanding the business’ portfolio to include premium cars of all fuel types.
This week saw the business hold a relaunch event, where owners Scott Shilcock and Alexis Cassey were joined by customers, friends and suppliers who have supported them through five years of business.
Shilcock explained: ‘We decided to rebrand because we didn’t want to just be Diesels Specialists anymore and this will open the doors to more cars. That said, we’ve established ourselves as Prestige Diesels and we didn’t want to throw that away.’
Prestige Diesels & Sports Limited has collaborated with the team at New Star Media, who have designed and built the firm’s new website. The owners explained that having a website, which isn’t like any other dealer, was vitally important to them.
Cassey added: ‘What the guys at New Star Media have done for us is incredible. We wanted our website to stand out and really show our cars in the best possible light. What we’ve ended up with is a website that is easy to use, full of information and really shows what we’re about as a business.’
On SuperUnleaded.com: The New Top Gear Gains An Extra Gear – Oh BBC, You’re Spoiling Us…


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fight against flip new changes in the future development of the packaging industry
Flip chips in led fluorescent tubes the immature process, is the current equipment companies encountered the biggest obstacle to product improvement. flip chips in led fluorescent tubes-chip technology should be a silver paste or brush paste, until now there is still no clear guidance program.“I think it will be a revolution in the packaging industry.” Wanban Liu Xiaoyan, director of automation market, said the latter part of the flip chips in led fluorescent tubes-chip package will be from the current high-power field, started to small and medium power, if the technology is mature, then it will be A new era.“We have been concerned, but no one customer can clearly put forward his request.” Song Changning, general manager of the new Yichang told reporters, because the current decision to develop this technology is not the key equipment, but rather technology.At the same time for equipment manufacturers, the flip chips in led fluorescent tubes-chip era, whether the cancellation of wire bonders will cause their main business adjustments, the majority of equipment manufacturers also said little effect. “Even if the flip chips in led fluorescent tubes-chip products began to spread, wire bonders will not be canceled at once, for the LED market, it also has many market segments, so we do not worry.” Liu Xiaoyan said.“In fact, the use of wire bonding machine is very wide, including the IC field, digital lattice of these areas will be used.” Song Changning said the IC industry, for example, fixed a chip, usually dozens of lines, Machine demand compared to the LED industry will be more wire bonders in this area is also a very large amount of use.For the current flip chips in led fluorescent tubes chip machine for precision requirements, Liu Xiaoyan introduction, their current tendency of the program is to add precision modules to the way, and the company’s R & D department has been for this module in the technical aspects of reserves.
“Overall, flip chips in led fluorescent tubes-chip technology must be combined with an entire product process to consider its cost.For example, a 5W bulb, whether it is flip chips in led fluorescent tubes or installed, we need to consider its packaging part of the light, before and after the process , And the scale of production, and ultimately will be specific to the implementation of the above cost-effective products. “Liu Xiaoyan mentioned.“With the epitaxy, the gradual maturity of the chip technology, the cost is getting lower and lower, flip chips in led fluorescent tubes is indeed a trend, and it can really solve the current problems in the industry, including heat, cold solder can have a better Of the solution.Therefore, we must always be ready to equipment manufacturers to wait for the next step in the market demand. “Song Changning finally mentioned.


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The dev tweeted on March 20 a link to an over two-minute YouTube clip (viewable here) that showed the ageing iPhone running on untethered iOS 7.1 jailbreak. Take note that the iPhone 4 is powered by an A4 chip and @Winocm's latest efforts somehow sparked speculations that jailbreaking iOS 7.1 will only work on older iPhone models.
Per Redmond Pie, the jailbroken iPhone 4 is hardly surprising as "older models are inherently easier to hack. The tech blog site added that what @Winocm proved was significant as "it shows that work is being done to try and find exploits."
Prior to the release of the clip, the jailbreaking community has express concerns that Apple may have successfully fixed the iOS 7 exploit that Team Evad3rs has been using to get around the mobile platform
Some experts even predicted that it could take a while before another jailbreak will be issued by the famed developers or the unlocking tool may not come at all.
But essentially, @Winocm has debunked the myth that iOS 7.1 is now hack-proof and the liberated iPhone 4 is simply the start. Redmond Pie also noted on its report that experimenting first with the legacy iPhone model is very much like @Winocm.
"If you've followed the work of @Winocm in the past, you'll probably be aware that he y83cy2z tends to look at older devices and pieces of firmware,www.cusabio.com/ELISA_Kit-72324/
Canine Cortisol ELISA Kit " said the same report.
But will the hacking achievement further prosper as jailbreak fans are duly advised that for the moment, tinkering inside of iOS 7.1 will only work on iOS devices that run on A4 chips? That means the feat of a liberated iPhone 4 can only be replicated on the first-gen iPad.
CNET said in a report that it is not a dead-end at all for jailbreak fans as the likelihood is there that @Winocm will soon move forward and try out his work on iPhones, iPods and iPads that run on A5 processing chips.
There are claims that "@Winocm and fellow jailbreaker @iH8sn0w are working to crack devices powered by the A5 chip, said CNET pointing to a YouTube account 'All Things Jailbreak' as source of the information.
As for the would-be source of the much-awaited iOS 7.1 jailbreak, the Team Evad3rs, they remain silent on the matter, perhaps opting to keep under wraps the meaty details or when the next Evasi0n7 build release would be.


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A number of Facebook pages were set up last week alleging to be tributes relating to victims of the MH17 plane disaster. Each of these Facebook sites contained a website link to goalshighlights.com, a website purporting to promote soccer highlights and other recent events. IFW traced the domain to a server in the Netherlands. The website was no longer functioning and appeared to have been compromised by a hacker.
The site was built on the WordPress platform and had 60 outbound links. The domain name was registered in 2010 by a person identified as Andrei Alin of Bucharest, Romania. Investigations were conducted on an email address identified as being used by this individual. The email was not connected to any other domain names however the email address was associated with a Facebook account in Romania. The individual has been contacted but to date as not responded. It is possible that this individual is no longer managing or updating the website hosted on the goalshightlights.com domain.
It would appear, based on the pop ups occurring when visiting the site that the site has been hacked. It has now been shut down. Hackers often take control of vulnerable websites and use them for diverting traffic to sponsored listing sites and illicit websites selling counterfeit goods or promoting adult content.
It is very difficult to trace the actual perpetrators behind websites that have been hijacked as hackers usually go to lengths to mask their locations and IP address. The only action that can counter these kinds of attacks is to proactively monitor the internet and immediately take down offending sites. IFW conducts proactive monitoring operations to identify fraud and other types of crimes so the sites or links can be removed.
Source: Daily Mail UK


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The home-grown Japanese fast food chain adds cute and functional items to their lucky bag this year.
With a choice of meat or soy patty fillings, vegetarians and meat lovers alike will fall in love this healthy fast food option.
Popular Japanese fast food chain Mos Burger has opened a new restaurant that serves gourmet meals, alcohol and a special vegetarian burger made from a whole tomato.
MOS (Mountain Ocean, Sun) Food Services announced on the 18th that it would open all 1,400 of its MOS Burger outlets at 7:00 a.m. by the end of the year. The hamburger chain already operates 430 of its stores from that early hour and plans to progressively open the remainder at that time. McDonald’s Japan had been aggressive in the breakfast space with its “Morning Mac” campaign, and MOS Burger’s move is expected to intensify competition. At a press conference MOS President and CEO Atsushi Sakurada explained that the number of people eating breakfast out was increasing, especially among the elderly and working women, adding, “Change in the morning person market is accelerating. I want to strengthen our preparedness.”
Could this mean additional woes for an already troubled McDonald’s Japan?


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Brands Must Adapt to Rising Consumer Expectations
The prevalence of e-commerce giants has completely changed consumer buying expectations. Apparel, fashion and retail companies are all feeling the effects of the shift toward unified commerce and the pressure to deliver on consumer demands. Going beyond shipping, fulfillment and customer experience, consumers are looking closely at how a product is made, and making purchase decisions based on sustainability and ethical production.
With changing consumer expectations, manufacturers and brands need to revisit their planning, supply chain and distribution strategies to ensure transparency. We recently conducted a survey of U.S. shopping preferences and developed some takeaways for manufacturers and brands looking to succeed in the "era of Amazon.com."
Ethical Manufacturing Will Win
As brands strive to maintain transparency across the product life cycle, customers are starting to take notice. Recent research shows that the top factors that affect consumer purchasing decisions include the material and fabric of products and the ethical manufacturing of products. In fact, more than a third of all respondents noted “where a product is made” factors into their purchasing decision.
Manufacturers can capitalize on this sustainability movement by using next-gen technologies that enable transparency in the supply chain. They're setting a high baseline standard for labor regulations and environmental regulations (e.g., fair wages, overtime, factory safety, how resources are used, chemicals and water processing). From the farm to the shelf, consumers want to see the full life cycle of the garment, and brands can further highlight their ethical manufacturing efforts.
In recent years, more brands are embracing sustainable products and processes, and consumers are willing to pay more for these ethically manufactured goods. Each day, brands are reminded of the importance of sustainability, and consumers are continuing to rally around this cause by favoring those that have sustainable practices in place.
Our findings showed that half of millennial consumers, 45 percent of Gen Xers and 40 percent of baby boomers would pay more for a sustainable product. Take, for example, Adidas, which recently paired up with Parley to repurpose millions of pounds of plastic currently polluting the world's oceans. Through this sustainable business plan, Adidas has found great benefit to protecting the oceans while boosting its revenue. Levi Strauss & Co. is at the forefront of sustainability; it began a campaign in 2011 to use less water for its signature 501 jeans. One example is Levi's use of a technique that can save up to 96 percent of water used in the denim finishing process.
Omnichannel Fulfillment is a Necessity
With 92 percent of retail sales still taking place at brick-and-mortar locations, it’s no surprise that consumers are looking for a balance of digital and in-store experiences. Nearly three-quarters of U.S. shoppers prefer their purchases be shipped to them. Yet 74 percent said that they will return an item in-store before shipping it back. Additionally, 65 percent said they will research a product online before purchasing it in a store.
What does this mean for fashion brands? A unified commerce strategy will be necessary. No matter the medium, consumers want a seamless experience when interacting with brands — from storefront to website. Even more so, they're expecting these goods to be delivered fast. A focus on optimizing omnichannel fulfillment means more success for the brand, and happier and loyal customers.
Retailers and manufacturers must have tools to drive their fundamental business processes and ensure profitability while providing the best customer experience. Today’s consumers are looking for a seamless transition across all channels, including product availability and delivery, and are embracing sustainable, ethical products. Brands will need to adjust their strategies to remain profitable in an ever-changing industry.
Paul F. Magel is the president of the business applications and technology outsourcing division of CGS, a global provider of business applications.


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Leads for Less with Social Media
FEBRUARY 25, 2010
Social media, blogs and search engine optimization more cost-effective for lead gen
Pull marketing tactics such as search, blog and social media generate cheaper leads than more traditional outbound efforts, according to data from inbound online marketing platform HubSpot.
The ???2010 State of Inbound Marketing??? report indicates that spending on lead generation is 60% less among companies that devote at least one-half of their budget to inbound marketing, compared with companies spending at least one-half of lead generation dollars on outbound tactics.
The average cost per lead from inbound marketing was also significantly less.
In both 2009 and 2010, companies in North America tended to rate all the inbound tactics studied as below average in cost per lead. Respondents rated direct mail most cost-effective among outbound strategies. Still, only 37% said it generated leads for less than average.
The gap in cost-effectiveness is leading to a gap in spending, the report said. Inbound tactics are seeing a slight increase in share of lead generation budgets, while outbound tactics are decreasing. Usage of mixed tactics such as e-mail???which can be used for both push and pull marketing???is also on the rise. And businesses rated every inbound channel more important than any outbound channel for their lead generation efforts.
HubSpot also noted that more than two-fifths of companies using various social media marketing channels had acquired a customer from those channels.
Unsurprisingly, for business-to-business firms, LinkedIn was most effective for customer acquisition. Business-to-consumer companies did better on each of the other sites, with the best results coming from Facebook, where nearly seven in 10 had found a new customer.
via emarketer.comI wonder what would be the result of the stats if what was measured was conversion and engagement from those leads. What’s your bet on it?


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Hyundai’s award-winning i30 hatch has been the darling of the small car market in recent times and now it’s added the strength of a family-appealing wagon to capitalise on what the Korean company believes is a trend away from SUVs.
Despite playing seriously in the SUV market itself, Hyundai says that market is showing signs of decline and believes that the small i30cw Wagon will make a serious move into the family-hauler segment with its more environmentally friendly footprint, including lower operating costs.
Once the staple of family motoring, wagons currently make up just three per cent of the local car market but recent additions, such as the Holden Sportwagon, have shown strong appeal with buyers who are becoming disaffected with the high running costs, and higher purchase costs of previously popular mid-size SUVs.
Hyundai marketing manager Oliver Mann says research shows that 35 per cent of four-wheel-drive owners never take their vehicle off-road, while a further 46 per cent hardly ever venture off the bitumen.
“That’s 81 per cent of SUV buyers who never, or hardly ever, take their vehicles off-road,” he said.
He added that smaller conventional station wagons had appeal because they offered versatility and space with relatively low operating costs.
The small wagon market has been somewhat neglected in recent years and the Hyundai i30cw (cw is the international nomenclature used by Hyundai for ‘crossover wagon’) Wagon will compete with the Holden Astra and Viva wagons and the Peugeot 308 wagon.
Its pricing is more closely allied to the Korean-built Viva but its quality and design, plus the fact that it offers a diesel engine, should take if closer to the Astra and Peugeot in the eyes of buyers.
The i30cw costs $1500 more than the i30 hatch across the range, with prices starting at $20,890 for the petrol manual SX version and $23,390 for the diesel manual. Automatic transmission is an extra $2000.
With a petrol engine power output of 105kW the i30cw is slightly down on the Astra’s output and a little smaller in dimensions but it has a substantial price advantage, as the Astra is $26,090.
Fitted with the 1.6-litre diesel engine, the i30cw produces 85kW of power at 4000rpm and 255Nm of torque between the engine speeds of 1900 and 2750rpm.
Hyundai director of Sales and Marketing, Kevin McCann, told CarAdvice that he expected the i30cw would make up about 15 per cent of sales, roughly 200 vehicles a month, and the split between petrol and diesel would roughly parallel the hatch at 60/40.
Specification on the i30cw also makes it obvious that Hyundai will target the fleet and business buyer, who wants an economical and versatile load carrier that can double as a family wagon.
There’s no shortage of features on the Hyundai with the i30cw SX offering all the features found on the hatch, including a five-star ANCAP safety rating, plus a cargo blind and luggage net, roof rails and a 12-volt power outlet in the rear cargo area.
The middle-of-the-range SLX model starts from $25,390 and gets the full compliment of six airbags, cruise control, climate control air-conditioning, 16-inch alloy wheels, more chrome and a leather-wrapped steering wheel.
For a limited time Hyundai will also offer a ‘Sportswagon’ model, instead of the sporty SR Hatch model, priced at $29,990, which is currently a petrol-only model, is available in either blue or silver and has larger 17-inch alloys, steering wheel mounted audio controls, a leather interior and upgraded sound system.
Mr Mann said the acceptance of this model would be monitored and it may become a feature of the range, with the added option of the 1.6-litre diesel engine.
The i30cw is 280mm longer than the hatch, with a 50mm longer wheelbase that creates an extra 36mm of legroom in the rear, as well as more load space. Cargo capacity is up by 75 litres to 415 litres, with the rear seats up, and 145 litres, to 1395 litres, with the seats folded.
Hyundai says the luggage area will accommodate a full-size baby stroller or bicycle.
The wagon version uses a little more fuel than the hatch due to being 40-45kg heavier. The five-speed petrol manual wagon use 7.3 litres per 100km (7.7L/100km for the four-speed auto), and the diesel manual use 4.9L/100km (6.0L/100km auto).
Like the hatch, the wagon gets electronic stability control, traction control, anti-skid brakes, active headrests, and the SLX and Sportswagon add driver and front passenger side (thorax) airbags and curtain airbags, which are a $700 option on SX models.
Hyundai is expecting much from the i30 range this year, especially as it will be joined in a few months by the smaller i20 and possibly later still by the even smaller i10.
Hyundai Motors Australia CEO Steve Yeo told CarAdvice that the solid sales of the i30 during last year had been constrained by supply issues but these were now resolved with a factory in Europe taking over production of the i30 for that market.
He said the 1240 units sold in February was closer to the expectations he had for the i30 and he expected this would be built on further in the future.
On the road the i30cw drives pretty much like the i30 Hatch, which should come as no surprise seeing as they share much, including engines and suspension.
Our drive in a top of the range i30cw Sportwagon with petrol and auto proved that the Korean company has another hit on its hands.
The car handles well, and the only real difference, some extra length has translated into nothing more than space where it is needed, in the rear seat area and the load space.
Handling is almost identical to the hatch and while the Sportwagon has a slightly firmer ride this is mostly due to the choice of tyres made by Hyundai Australia, which were explained as a compromise between ride and a sportier feel.
Hyundai resisted the temptation to tinker with the suspension set up on the Sportwagon, wisely deducing that the buyer will be looking more for the show than the go in this segment of the market.
Pounding over a mixture of freeways, New South Wales’ rural roads and even a bit of unsealed road we found the ride, handling and the solid feeling of the fit and build to be just what we’ve come to expect from Hyundai, in a word top-class.
Dry or damp conditions made little difference to the way the i30cw progressed over these roads, the major downside being the lack of at least one extra cog in the auto gearbox, which leaves the petrol engine version either a little breathless or revving very hard when presented with a steep incline.
We didn’t get to drive a diesel powered i30cw on the launch as they were in short supply but past experience has shown this to be the engine of choice in the i30 range and we would suggest with the extra load capacity on hand in the i30cw that it would certainly be the option to tick.
A full appraisal of the Hyundai i30cw will be coming up in the next few weeks once we get our hands on a car for an extended test.


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Although the number of drivers and front-seat passengers wearing seatbelts has reached a record high in Switzerland, one quarter of back-seat passengers still fail to buckle up, an annual survey has found.
The Swiss Council for Accident Prevention checked around 45,000 passengers in cars bearing Swiss plates at 73 locations in the months of April and June 2014.
It found that overall, 94% of drivers and 93% of front-seat passengers were wearing their seatbelts, a 2% increase over 2013. Seatbelt wearing was highest on the motorway, remaining stable at 97%.
Fewer backseat passengers (77%) were found to be wearing seatbelts. And drivers of vehicles carrying passengers (95%) were more likely to wear seatbelts than drivers of vehicles carrying goods (84%).
There were differences in seatbelt use in the different language regions, with 94% of German-speakers, 90% of French-speakers and 83% of Italian-speakers buckling up.
Seatbelts have been required in the front seat since 1981, and in the back seat since 1994.
In compliance with the JTI standards


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While the Ministry of health will launch the program of compensation of the cost of drugs, their supply could be interrupted.
Early next year will come into force the system of compensation by the state in the cost of drugs in several ways. Under the program reimbursement are drugs to treat hypertension, asthma, diabetes first and second type.
As told to us in the Ministry of health, these diseases affect the mortality of the population and is effectively treated on the outpatient basis.
Free, but not all
The main purpose of the reimbursement of the cost of drugs is to encourage the patient to contact the doctor to obtain affordable treatment. So, after the examination, the patient receives from the local doctor a prescription for the drug, which is included in a special list. This recipe is a patient acquires in a pharmacy at a discounted price (or receive free) the right medicine.
“For consumers, the price will be much lower than it is now. Depending on the applied scheme — full payment (the patient receives the drug free of charge) or partial compensation (50% of the cost). The state assumes part of the cost of treatment of patients on the above programs,” said UBR.ua CEO of SMD Iryna Gorlova.
The cost of the sold product or the price difference the local government compensates pharmacists for the expense of budgetary funds. For the next year allocated UAH 500 million.
But some experts note that this amount may not be sufficient for all patients. According to the President of the Ukrainian Council of protecting the rights and safety of patients Viktor Serdyuk, every year, Ukrainians spend on medicines about 50-60 bln.
“UAH 500 million would be enough for one area, but not on all of Ukraine. And so, it turns out that each patient will be allocated about 1000 thousand UAH. In fact, this means that the medication can go down in value very slightly. In addition, while the system of reimbursement will impose, for a couple of months from the pharmacy can divide the drugs included in the program,” — said in an interview with UBR.ua Viktor Serdyuk.
But according to Irina Throat, despite the fact that the launch of the project will take time, first-year funding is sufficient.
“Diabetes mellitus insulin-dependent type coating state is 100%. Will only change the scheme of delivery of insulin. The other three directions, there is no list of drugs that fall in the first wave of compensation. Most likely it will be vitally important medicines”, — said in a conversation with UBR.ua Irina Gorlova.
Watch prices at the neighbors
Thus, according to the experience of the pilot project on hypertension, held from may 2012 to December 2013, the problem may also occur in the development of patterns of interaction, workflow, financing throughout the chain — from the patient and the doctor to the pharmacy.
“The recipe became a financial instrument, there are more stringent requirements for filling it in. The patient should be informed that there are new possibilities reduce the cost of their treatment, come to the doctor and get a prescription. Gradually established a list of pharmacies included in the project, where the patient can obtain the prescribed product,” — noted Irina Gorlova.
What are the active ingredients enter the program reimbursement can be viewed on the website of the Ministry of health. According to the Agency, to date, more than 90% of patients buy their own medicines, often those that are not appropriate for their diagnosis.
Taking into account the highly fallen purchasing power of the population, the Department decided from January 1, 2017 to introduce reference pricing for drugs that, on assurance of officials, will help to avoid unjustified increase of prices for medicines.
The maximum reference price of the manufacturer drugs will be set at 21 the active substance. Start officials will be of the value of such drugs in 5 neighbouring countries of Slovakia, Hungary, Latvia, Poland and the Czech Republic.
In addition, VAT on medicines and medical devices will decrease to 2-5%, and wholesale and retail margins limited. The Ministry will set the maximum regression of retail markup on the sale of medicines at 15%, which will decrease with the increasing prices of medicines and to be accrued on the reference price.
“As a result, the higher the price of the drug, the less will be the margin on this drug. Maximum wholesale markup on the sale of drugs is 5%, calculated on the reference price inclusive of all taxes and fees. When it formed a marginal cost for the medication, with the start of the procurement through the electronic system РroZorro, the marginal price of drugs will be gradually reduced”, — told in the Ministry of health.
© 2016, z-news.link. All rights reserved.


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Although bitcoin prices fell over the weekend, the overall bull market remains in place, as does the crypto scam in South Korea. Recent data from the national financial regulator shows that the number of such incidents continues to rise.
Police set up special unit to investigate crypto currency fraud
According to Asia Kyungjae, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) revealed that reports of cryptocurrency fraud are increasing by more than 41.6 percent annually.
FSS statistics for January-October 2020 show a 41.6% increase in 555 suspicious transactions.
Following a significant increase in cases, police have promised to step up their efforts to crack down on cryptocurrency scammers across the country. The authorities have even set up a special investigation unit within the financial crimes department of the provincial offices.
The agencies involved in the investigation of cryptocurrency fraud are the Financial Services Commission, the Financial Supervisory Authority, the Government Affairs Coordination Office, the Ministry of Justice, the Public Prosecution Service and the National Police Agency.
South Korean fraudster pleads guilty to $16 million fraud
In addition, Yonhap reported another case of fraud in South Korea involving cryptocurrency scams by millionaires. The court called Lee a crook when he was sentenced to six years in prison. He was convicted of setting up a scheme to defraud about 1,300 people in just seven months.
Prosecutors say he stole about $16 million in crypto money from victims. Judge Cho Sangmin revealed the details of the case:
The defendant led the victims to believe that they could make a large profit in a short period of time and sold a virtual currency issued by an elusive Chinese company.
Lee set up his fraudulent scheme between October 2018 and May 2019, luring investors by saying: If you buy a cryptocurrency sold by a Chinese parent company, you can make a big profit.
However, the scammer became even more suspicious when he claimed that the Chinese company he is promoting is a solid company with a history of 30 years and 500 trillion won and plans to enter the electric car industry with an investment of 4 trillion won.
In addition, the court sentenced two of Lee’s accomplices to 18 months and eight months in prison for their involvement in the crypto-fraud ring.
What do you think about the increase in reported cases of crypto fraud in South Korea? Let us know your comments in the section below.
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Member (Investment Promotion) of BEPZA Ali Reza Mazid and managing director of Adnan Fibre KH Adnan Mehmood signed the agreement on behalf of their respective organizations.
The executive chairman of BEPZA major general Abul Kalam Mohammad Ziaur Rahman witnessed the signing ceremony
They will invest $20.66 million to produce 25,000 metric tons of Polyester Staple Fibre (PSF) per annum. 514 Bangladeshi nationals will get employment opportunities in this factory, the press release said.
The company will produce PSF from the PET Flex (PET Bottle) which will be collected locally. This will ultimately help to prevent environmental pollution. It is the 1st such type of factory in IEPZ and will be the 2nd in EPZs under BEPZA.
Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (BEPZA) always encourages establishing such kind of backward linkage industries in EPZs import substitute products.
Among others, member (engineering) Mohammad Faruque Alam, member (finance) Nafisa Banu, executive director (administration) Md Zakir Hossain Chowdhury, executive director (public relations) Nazma Binte Alamgir and executive director (enterprise services) Md Khorshid Alam and executive director (security) Lt Col ASM Quamruzzaman, PBGM of BEPZA were present during the time.


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The 2016 Food Automation & Manufacturing Conference held at Fort Myers, Florida, had a theme of Innovation and Operational Excellence. The FA&M presenters encouraged processors to adopt cultures that emphasise food safety, caring and information.
Many of the presentations held during the conference were focused on people. This is unsurprising, seeing how people are currently central to the many challenges facing the food industry.
A People Business
Exploring how available technology is increasingly applied in manufacturing and how that affects employees was the subject for the keynote address delivered by vice president of General Mills, Gregg Stredonsky. Unlike certain fast food companies who plan to replace staff with robots, he focused on employees as the key to success.
Culture of Caring
Stredonsky asked himself why some companies were more successful than others and determined that for a food processing plant, the most important aspects were safety and taking care of people. This is what is meant by a culture of caring, which involves having faith in employees and engaging with them.
To be a great leader is to focus on safety, he said. Maintaining the established standards, leading investment opportunities and embracing food manufacturing as a people business is key to creating a culture of both caring and excellence.
Good Hygiene Practice
Replacing used food machinery regularly is just one practice of good food hygiene that production plants should adhere to https://www.food.gov.uk/business-industry/food-hygiene. Food machinery is only beneficial if it is clean and fully functioning, and companies buy and sell this type of machinery. When manufacturing works well it means more food can come through the system and get to Italian Restaurant Dublin companies found at sites like forno500.ie who want fresh food constantly although they grow their own produce.
Marques Young, Unilever Maintenance Manager echoed Stedonsky’s thoughts when he stated that there is no better reminder that food and beverage manufacturing is a people business than during recruitment. Huge problems lie in the staffing of food plants, due to issues such as an aging population who take their expertise with them when they retire. At the same time, food manufacturing is economically expanding. Making these jobs attractive to 18 to 24 year olds is challenging but essential for the industry to survive.
Concentrating on employees and empowering them to take responsibility, hold both themselves and others accountable, lead, make decisions, take action, take initiative, challenge the cultural norm, give input and be flexible will create a strategy for continuous business improvement.


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Wednesday, January 16, 2019
It's Official: Ford and Volkswagen are Teaming Up for Upcoming Pickup Truck
It’s official: Ford and Volkswagen are teaming up with a global alliance that will see them try to leverage their company’s respective strengths in order to boost their competitiveness in a rapidly changing automotive industry.
The first product of this global alliance is the co-development of a new pickup truck for global markets as early as 2022. The alliance means that Ford will take the lead in engineering and building the replacement for the Ranger and Amarok pickup truck. That said, both Volkswagen and Ford maintain that aside from sharing development costs, they will maintain distinct brand characteristics.
Aside from the new pickup platform, Ford will engineer and build larger commercial vans for the European market, while Volkswagen will take the lead in the engineering and building of smaller, city vans.
The Ford and Volkswagen alliance does not entail cross-ownership between the two companies and that it will be governed by a joint committee. This committee will be led by Ford CEO Jim Hackett and Volkwagen CEO Dr. Herbert Diess and will include senior executives from both companies.


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It was all for the takkies as sneakerheads from across the city kicked it at Sneaker Exchange in Cape Town on Saturday.
SA’s hottest sneaker event took place at The Castle of Goodhope, with traders, collectors, aficionados and hip hop heads gathered to celebrate sneaker culture .
Enthusiasts had the opportunity to buy and support local apparel and footwear. The event also played host to local food vendors, mini skate parks and live sneaker customisations.
Hip hop royalty Cassper Nyovest, Nadia Nakai and Younsgta performed to excited crowds.
HERE ARE 22 PHOTOS FROM THE EVENT:


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The Power of One
Keeler, Dan, Global Finance
Many watching the stock markets have been surprised or even alarmed at the surge in confidence in the past few months, a confidence that has fueled a tremendous rally in major indices around the world. The skeptics are anxious that there is little in the economic and financial fundamentals to justify the sharpest quarterly run-up in equity prices on record.
As it turns out, the skeptics are right. The economic fundamentals in mid-2009 are hardly any better than they were at the start of the year. In fact, by some measures they are worse. Unemployment is still rising, many major economies are still contracting and consumers worldwide are choosing in droves to save rather than spend.
But economic fundamentals are only part of the story. Over the past few months, something has begun returning to the financial world that had been absent since the beginning of the credit crunch. It is a basic - but absolutely crucial - element of the business equationtTrust.
In our cover story this month we study the impact that one man - US president Barack Obama - has had on the global economy. His steadfast determination to tackle the financial crisis is beyond dispute, but it is his efforts on a much broader scale that are having the most profound effect on global business. …


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WOOD RIVER — Amare, a nonprofit organization based in Madison County, will hold its inaugural Hungry for Life Food Drive event.
Unexpired canned goods and non-perishable items will benefit the St. Louis Area Foodbank, which provides food assistance to Madison County food pantries.
There will be a lunch and raffle from 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 4, with donated prizes. To purchase raffle tickets, participants must bring unexpired canned goods and/or non-perishable items. This event will be held at the Wood River Roundhouse, 633 N. Wood River Ave. next to the Aquatic Center.
“Amare wants to give back to the community and what better way to start giving back than to collect food donations to help the 1 in 8 people that receive food assistance in our region,” a press release states.
For information, visit www.facebook.com/amarenfp.


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title: Hello, 中国! date: 2018-01-22 by:
We are thrilled to announce that the content on golang.org is now available in mainland China through the name https://golang.google.cn. The growing Go developer community in China can now directly access official documentation, technical articles, and binaries.
The Go community in China is bigger than ever. In 2015, Robert Griesemer visited Shanghai to attend GopherChina, the first Go conference in the country. In the years since, it has become one of the largest Go conferences in the world with over 1200 attendees at their 2017 event. Over the same period, one of the most popular community-built Go forums saw their traffic increase threefold and the number of participants in Go-specific groups on social platforms like WeChat and QQ has grown to over 11,000 people.
We’re excited to provide even more resources for Go developers in China to supplement the excellent material already available to them, but this is just the beginning. We’ll be focusing on making Go more accessible to non-English speakers in 2018, so keep watching this space.


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The nation of Brazil was stunned by its beloved Selecao’s incredible collapse at the World Cup, where it was soundly and thoroughly thrashed by Germany, 7-1. Even worse, the suddenly inept Brazilian soccer team become the butt of real-time marketing jokes by brands.
To the replay!
Stunned children are apparently #priceless. MasterCard might see a surge in popularity in Rio.
— Visa (@Visa) July 8, 2014
Dunno if that would have been enough.
— Red Bull (@redbull) July 8, 2014
DiGiorno goes the pop culture route with a cheap one.
— DiGiorno Pizza (@DiGiornoPizza) July 8, 2014
Ah, German engineering.
— Volkswagen USA (@VW) July 8, 2014
And more German engineering.
— AUDI AG (@Audi_Online) July 8, 2014
Not the wurst we’ve seen, dog. Not the best either.
Well, this is wurst case scenario for Brazil. #BrazilvsGermany
— Tesco (@Tesco) July 8, 2014
Uh-oh, football fight.
— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) July 8, 2014
Even the porn people got in on the action.
If I wanted to see a Brazilian gang-bang I would just go on Pornhub. #BrazilvsGermany
— Pornhub Katie (@Pornhub) July 8, 2014
Kudos to this German radio station for not settling for a tweet.
Digiday+ Research: Instagram wins over Facebook for role in brands’ holiday marketing
Brands differ on how they use each marketing channel during the holidays -- even when it comes to sibling social media platforms Facebook and Instagram, Digiday+ Research found.
How — and why — Candy Crush is in the midst of a 10th anniversary brand refresh
In the years since Activision Blizzard acquired the Swedish game studio King in 2016, employees at the gaming giant have started to internally refer to their company as “ABK” — that is, Activision Blizzard King. But the corporation’s recent financial reports indicate that “KAB” might be a more accurate abbreviation.
Independent agency Goat invests in influencer strategy for clients as it expands in the U.S.
Everyone is after influencers to up their marketing game. But the secret to success, Goat contends, is in viewing influencers as performance media and using data to deliver clients guaranteed outcomes.
SponsoredHow brands are measuring incremental performance on CTV
Connected TV is unique among other advertising channels because it combines linear television’s storytelling capabilities with digital marketing’s targeting and measurement. As more marketers leverage CTV advertisements to reach relevant and engaged audiences, they also want to understand the real value they are generating with their investment. Incrementality reporting and measurement allow advertisers to measure […]
Marketers bring Web3 to the FIFA World Cup with augmented reality, NFTs and virtual worlds
The month-long tournament, which begins this weekend, will be the first World Cup since it took place in Russia in 2018 long before “Web3” entered the global lexicon. Now, official and non-official sponsors are hoping to harness the hype with a range of NFTs, virtual worlds, augmented reality tools and other trendy tech.
U-Haul diversifies its social strategy to tell people it’s more than moving trucks
In recent years, U-Haul's in-house agency has been working to "better leverage social media for brand loyalty."


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14 May The week's new products, announcements and inititiatives
5 Mar The week's announcements, initiatives, new products and more
22 Jan The week's announcements, initiatives, new products and more
3 Oct Residents around new Blanchardstown store tormented by 24-hour customers
26 Sep Queues greet US doughnut giant store opening in Blanchardstown
14 Mar Teneo PSG has been appointed to manage the doughnut company’s Irish market launch
20 Oct More than a year after Krispy Kreme announced it was scouting for Irish locations, Blanchardstown Centre has been selected as the site for the...
Tweets by ShelfLifedotie
Does your store have what takes to be the best of the best?
Campaign has raised over €140,000 to date for the CMRF Crumlin Giggle Fund
Retailer is "on a mission to change the world one bag at a time"
Move is the latest in snacking giant's multi-year expansion operation
Non-recyclable material part of ongoing move towards sustainability


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BlackBerry Ltd. bidder Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. walked away from a $4.7- billion takeover plan, sending the stock plunging as the company attempts to recover with a management shakeup and $1-billion bond deal.
Many companies released very good results for their latest quarter. Let's look at a few of the higher-profile ones.
The new iPhones being released Friday follow a slew of Android smartphones from Apple’s competitors, including Samsung, Motorola and HTC. Which should you buy?
Microsoft Corp.'s next chief executive officer will need the expertise and strategic vision that can help the biggest software maker confront a broad range of threats that Steve Ballmer, for all his expertise as a salesman, was never able to repel.
Microsoft’s Office software package is coming to the iPhone for the first time Friday, offering people the ability to read and edit their text documents, spreadsheets and slide presentations at the doctor’s office or at a soccer game.


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BlackBerry said it will continue to take steps to optimise its business, following a report that up to 40 per cent of its 12,700 employees will lose their jobs by year's end.
Microsoft may be revealing the second generation of its Surface tablets during its developers' conference next month, according to a printed report.
Apple's iPad sees fall in UK market share as Galaxy Tab, Kindle Fire, Nexus 7 tablets gain popularity
Research firm YouGov's Quarterly Tablet Tracker for Q1 of 2013 has revealed Apple's market share in the UK is beginning to fall as the popularity of Android tablets increases.
Given Android's ubiquity today, it's almost hard to believe that it has only been around a few years.
Most Popular Reviews
- 1 Motorola Moto G (2nd Gen.) android smartphone
- 2 HTC One Mini 2 android smartphone
- 3 Microsoft Surface Pro 3 Windows 8.1 tablet
- 4 Medion Akoya E4110 (MD 8239) desktop PC
- 5 Samsung Galaxy Tab S (10.5) 4G review
Best Deals on GoodGearGuide
Latest News Articles
- Ericsson acquires majority stake in Apcera for cloud policy compliance
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GGG Evaluation Team
First impression on unpacking the Q702 test unit was the solid feel and clean, minimalist styling.


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They generally masquerade as parental monitoring apps, software that allows moms and dads to locate young children or monitor teenage drivers.
But the cover stories barely belie the apps' more sinister purpose: allowing jealous partners (or ex-partners) to hijack their spouse's smartphone geo-location data and surreptitiously track their movements.
These widely-available apps, marketed with sketchy names like "BoyfriendTracker" or "FlexiSpy," usually operate in stealth mode, meaning there is no icon and no way for victims to know they've been installed. The apps may even tout their ability to detect cheating.
Stalking is a federal crime. But while the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) bans the creation and sale of software that intercepts calls, texts and emails, apps that facilitate surreptitious geo-tracking are perfectly legal - for now.
Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., is on a mission to change that.
His Location and Privacy Act of 2014 would ban these so-called "stalking apps" and criminalize the app developers.
At a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Wednesday, Franken recalled a domestic abuse victim who fled 700 miles across three states for refuge, only to be pursued by her abuser, who was using her phone's geo-location data to track her whereabouts.
The man watched as she traveled from a shelter to her friend's home, where he assaulted her.
Hearing witnesses cited more extreme examples.
Cindy Southworth, Vice President of the National Network to End Domestic Violence, pointed to a Seattle father who used geotracking software to follow his estranged wife to a local store. When he spotted her talking to a man there, the father shot and killed their five children, then turned the gun on himself.
"In some tragic cases, GPS devices and apps may have actually aided the offender in locating the victim to commit murder," Southworth said in written testimony submitted to the committee. "No one should profit from encouraging or enabling criminal acts, and stalking app and device developers are creating and selling crime-facilitating products with abandon."
Some of the offensive apps even seem to condone violence: One popular app advertised its services next to a photo of a man roughly grabbing a woman with "visible abrasions" on her face.
Southworth said she believes Franken's bill would "narrowly impact a handful of bad actors that design or operate products created and sold to facilitate terrifying crimes."
But not everyone believes legislation is the answer.
Dr. Robert Atkinson, President of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, testified that "at a technical level, there is little difference between a stalking app and a legitimate app" that helps users locate lost or stolen devices or allows people in dangerous situations to transmit their location to friends.
"Congress could and should ban the marketing and sale in the United States of apps advertised and marketed as stalking apps, but that would not prevent would-be stalkers from using a legitimate tracking app for 'off-label' purposes," Atkinson pointed out.
"Tracking itself is not a problem; rather the problem is its use by stalkers," he said, noting a provision that would require geotracking apps to send reminder alerts might not be technologically feasible, as they would require apps to override user notification preferences.
Instead of trying to legislatively ban problematic apps, the Department of Justice should work with victims' assistance organizations to show them how to disable location services and foil stalking apps, Atkinson says.
But according to Detective Brian Hill, who also testified at the hearing, most police departments and victims' aid organizations do not have the sophisticated technological resources to identify, much less deinstall, surreptitious stalking apps.
Instead, he said, stalking victims are forced to discard their phones, which "isolates victims … from the social connections their phones provide," including victims' advocates.
But stalking victims aren't the only people who would benefit from Franken's bill.
It would also require companies that aggregate GPS tracking data - including the popular dating app Tinder, which Franken called out specifically - to obtain a user's permission before they share that information.
"The companies that make the software on your phone, including apps, can access extremely sensitive location data that reveals … the church you attend and the doctors you visit," Franken said in a written statment. "I believe Americans have the right to control … that information. But right now, companies - some legitimate, some not - are collecting your location and giving it to whatever you choose."
The bill also require companies that collect GPS tracking data from more than 1,000 devices to outline the kinds of location data they collect, what happens to that data, and a way for users to halt data collection.
But as with stalking apps, some experts say legislation is not the answer.
At Wednesday's hearing, Atkinson argued that regulation could stymie innovation and advocated for self-regulation.
"Innovation is better served by self-regulation," Executive Director of the Digital Advertising Association, Lou Mastria, agreed at the hearing. ""We see that self-regulation has been both effective and up to the task to give consumers transparency and control."
Sally Greenberg, Executive Director of the National Consumers League, disagreed, calling best practices "voluntarily and inconsistently applied" and claiming attempts at industry self-regulation "feels like a PR gesture."
"There's monumental evidence that self-regulation is not working," Greenberg said. "The notion that there's no real harm… really strikes at the heart of our notions of consumer protection and the idea that privacy is a bedrock American principle."
Franken's bill, which specifically exempts parents tracking their children or emergency responders reacting to unfolding crises, is the second iteration of a bill that the senator first introduced in 2012.
Unlike the 2012 version, the current bill does not require companies to disclose specific purchasers of geographic information, but does mandate that they specify "categories" of companies buying that data. It also places a $1 million limit on damages for negligent violations.


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Since President Trump initiated $200 billion worth of tariffs on imported Chinese goods, there have been 16,000 appeals for exemptions made by U.S. businesses, 10,000 of which were filed by a single company, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal.
The Minnesota-based Arrowhead Engineered Products Inc. imports aftermarket repair parts for a number of machines including lawn-mowers, cars and all terrain vehicles. It then resells the parts, originally from China, as a cheaper market alternative for manufacturers.
Arrowhead is concentrating on filing the appeals while putting “everything else on the back burner,” according to the company’s Chief Operating Officer John Mosunic.
The company, which has about 1,000 employees, contacted the offices of the local congressman, Rep. Tom Emmer (R., Minn.) to obtain advice on the best way to proceed with the appeals. The response they received was to be as specific as possible when drafting an appeal, so the company decided to file an appeal on every component and part it imports from China.
It is not clear if the strategy will be effective, and small businesses are having difficulty navigating the appeals process, according to experts cited by the Journal.
“If I had figured out the secret recipe that explains approvals, I’d be speaking from the beach,” said Ted Murphy, a partner at U.S. law firm Sidley Austin LLP.
Farmers are also bearing the brunt of the Chinese response to Trump’s tariffs, which include a ban on imports of American agricultural products.
The Trump administration is distributing aid to farmers affected by the ban, which up to now has cost taxpayers $28 billion, according to a report in Bloomberg.
Aid to farmers already stands at more than twice the amount used to bail out U.S. automakers in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis.
Other companies cited in the article complained that tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on Chinese imports threaten their survival, as there were no viable alternatives to using Chinese-made products.
“The tariffs were an existential threat to our business,” said John Hoge, whose company Sea Eagle Boats Inc. produces inflatable kayaks and relies on certain components made in China.


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Mar 26, 2020 - Progress in the bailout package helped boost these retail stocks.
Mar 31, 2020 - Low mortgage rates should push demand higher. Yeah, that's not happening.
Apr 01, 2020 - The home improvement chain has remained busy despite the coronavirus.
Apr 02, 2020 - Shares of the home improvement retailer slipped due to concerns about the expanding coronavirus pandemic.
May 02, 2020 - It takes more than dividend yield to make a great dividend stock. Here are 3 companies that fit the bill.
Mar 26, 2020 - The decision likely hinges on three factors.
Mar 26, 2020 - The chain is making adjustments due to the coronavirus.
Apr 01, 2020 - The retailer is trying to maintain its services without risking more COVID-19 outbreaks.
Apr 01, 2020 - Home Depot and Lowe's, the home improvement sector's two dominant retailers, are poised to do well when the economy gets back on its feet.
Apr 01, 2020 - An analyst sees less upside for Disney due to the pandemic, and Home Depot takes precautions at its stores.


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Resort towns in Wyoming are selling at record-breaking real estate prices
Buying a home in Wyoming is becoming more expensive. Last year, homes in resort towns sold at record-breaking prices.
And as Will Walkey of the Mountain West News Bureau reports, it may not change anytime soon.
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
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