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This afternoon, Kara Swisher and Kurt Wagner broke the news on Re/code that Jack Dorsey, Twitter’s co-founder and current interim C.E.O., would soon be elevated to become its new permanent C.E.O. The news is equal parts surprising (Dorsey, who refused the job earlier this year, concurrently runs his mobile-payments company, Square), bizarre (the Twitter search committee recently stipulated that its C.E.O. couldn’t have a side gig), and also entirely, almost boringly expected. Twitter, after all, has been getting socked around in the public markets for months. Absent gimmicks, such as an easing of its patented 140-character count, it needed to appoint a savior at the helm. Dorsey seemed like the logical and perhaps only real choice.
Mythology often plays a crucial component in Silicon Valley lore, and its hard to discuss any C.E.O.’s return to a company they founded without invoking Steve Jobs’s reconciliation at Apple. Dorsey and Jobs have other similarities too: throughout his career, Dorsey has masterfully cultivated the media, used his personal appearance (the beard!) to perfect his brand image, and woven his company within a narrative of larger global change. But perhaps their greatest similarity is a profound, almost preternatural understanding of the importance of the origin story. According to lore, Jobs left Reed College, travelled the world, had a fling with Joan Baez, and then funneled his life experiences and insights into helping create the world’s most transformative, personalized computing company. Likewise, as Nick Bilton has reported, Dorsey showed up to a San Francisco park with a couple buddies, burritos in hand, and scaled a slide, from which he explained his vision of a short-burst, status-sharing Internet messaging service built on an almost child-like desire for connectivity.
“That playground right up there is where I first brought up the idea,” Dorsey told CNBC many years later.
In reality, things are never quite that simple when you’re building multi-billion-dollar businesses. But origin tales—whether its the Palo Alto garage or Harvard dorm room—neatly articulate how a life plays into a company and vice versa. And this can be valuable for a company, particularly a tech company. Twitter’s board and investors certainly hope that Dorsey’s umbilical connection to his company will pay off.
But the record of returning C.E.O.s is more scattered. Sure, Jobs turned Apple into the most valuable company in the world; and Larry Page’s return helped transform Google from a mature, money-minting search and ad company to a mature, money-minting search and ad and innovation company. On the other hand, Yahoo founder Jerry Yang returned to the company of his founding for a short, ignominious stint that included rejecting Microsoft’s $45 billion acquisition offer. Upon his return, Michael Dell never seemed quite able to pivot his PC company into a more successful sector.
On some level, the greatest achievement of Jobs’s career was that he made the notion of turning around a tech company seem possible in the first place. Few companies have ever been able to reverse their fortunes, and none have pulled off the trick as deftly as Apple did. Marissa Mayer, who was hired to perform a similar feat at Yahoo, is living proof that even the most competent executives have difficulty steering their companies to play catch-up in fast-moving markets. (Today, Yahoo has a market cap of $27 billion, just more than half of the Microsoft deal.)
It's possible that Twitter will experience the same sort of fate. Despite coming into the world as a piping-hot social-media company, it has lost ground to services like Snapchat and WhatsApp. Meanwhile, Facebook’s pursuit of global domination seems unending. Among the many things technology has disrupted is the life cycle of a company itself. Hot tech companies soar in the private markets and often debut at monster valuations only, years later, to look like stable, if less glamorous, versions of their younger selves. Twitter may not be the hot company it was in 2013, but it is still a $18-billion market cap behemoth. That's not bad for middle age.
In his younger days, Dorsey reportedly irked colleagues for leaving early to attend yoga or caring a wee bit too much about his personal image. Now, he appears as a seasoned C.E.O. preparing to lead his second company to an I.P.O. The beard he briefly donned, a symbol of age or sagacity or something else, quickly became a meme-like metaphor for his own executive growth. For Twitter, a company with a history of activist board members and a rotating executive carousel, that wouldn’t be a bad message to impart. Dorsey, in the end, doesn’t need to have a Jobs-like effect on Twitter. He just needs to be the C.E.O. he has become.


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24-hour switching laws mean companies need to up their game to keep hold of their customers10/08/2015, London, UK
It will soon take customers no longer than 24 hours to switch energy suppliers, putting more pressure than ever on firms to prioritise the customer experience.
Ministers have set a goal to increase competition in the energy market by 2018, with a plan to cut the time it takes to switch supplier – which can currently take more than a fortnight – to just 24 hours. Also under review is the Competition and Market Authority’s proposal to put a limit on charges to protect people who do not, or cannot switch providers.
Les Cooper, a customer engagement expert specialising in the utilities sector at Aspect Software, suggests that the industry will face a similar transition to the banking sector after the introduction of 7-day switching.
He said: “If and when these new rules are enforced, customers are going to have a lot more flexibility and impetus to switch suppliers than they did previously. Energy companies will no longer be able to rely on red tape to keep hold of their customers, and will need to fundamentally change the way they approach engagement strategies. Businesses are always looking for ways to stand out, and customer service is the key differentiator in the sector.
“Earlier this year a survey from Which? showed that smaller energy companies were outperforming the ‘Big Six’ energy firms in terms of customer service for the sixth year in a row (Ecotricity scored 84 per cent positive reviews by customers, whereas Npower got just 35 per cent). While newer players in the market benefit from a certain level of agility, and are less likely to be held back by legacy systems, it still highlights that larger firms need to continue to modernise to keep up with other industry players. If these laws are implemented, customers are not going to be forgiving, and the smaller firms that are offering their customers a positive experience are going to look far more appealing,” he said.
Cooper believes that pre-emptive contact with customers has the potential to prevent confrontation with consumers, keeping them happy and reducing complaints in the process.
“Customers want speed, mobility and ease when dealing with a company, and through pre-emptive contact, supported by analytics, this can be achieved. For example, if a customer has just been issued with a bill, this should be presented to the agent before they even pick up the phone, so they are informed and empowered enough to resolve the issue very quickly. Voice analytics can also be used to detect common queries coming into the contact centre; if customers are calling because of an outage, the technology to proactively send SMS to the mobile phones of anyone in the affected area is readily available.
“Another solution is to take a look at the self-service strategy; with consumers glued to their mobile devices, they are increasingly expecting organisations to provide them with information in ways that are fast and meet their needs. Offering customers the capability to resolve queries on their own from their devices, without having to go through long-winded phone calls or automated systems, will provide them with the freedom they desire. This will also reduce demand on the contact centre as fewer inbound interactions are taking place, leaving agents and advisors to handle more complex queries,” Cooper concluded.

domain: news


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Making its biggest push yet into a multimedia future, Microsoft has agreed to buy Californian start up WebTV for $425 million dollars.
The move will catapult Microsoft to poll position in the rapidly emerging market for Internet devices and give the bullish software giant a much broader audience for its Internet content and software.
According to Chris Champion, Internet and interactive services analyst at researchers the Yankee Group, Microsoft is eager to hasten the marriage between televisions and personal computers. ?We are reaching a plateau for Internet usage.? said Champion ?PC penetration is at 44 percent in the States and 11 percent across Europe. This is likely to rise to 50 percent in the US and 22 percent in Europe but then it will level out. Microsoft needs a broad base communications device to get the rest of the world online. WebTV is a great opportunity.?
Privately owned Internet service provider, WebTV develops technology that allows consumers to surf the Internet from their television sets. The company which makes its money purely on a subscription bases currently licenses its WebTV reference Design for set-top boxes to two vendors Philips Consumer Electronics and Sony Electronics. Analysts have estimated that more than 50,000 people subscribe to the service.
Industry watchers have hailed the merger as the next big step in digital broadcasting. ?It brings together TV, the computer, the web and interactive services.? said Champion. "Cable companies have been talking about developing an avenue to bring interactive services to everyone?s homes for years.?
For Microsoft, the acquisition is a vital piece of it?s multimedia puzzle. According to Craig Mundie senior vice president of Microsoft?s consumer platforms group the deal ?is part of a long-term process that Microsoft has been involved into create an operating system and tools for consumer electronics products,? He indicated that the WebTV offering would, over time, take advantage of multimedia versions of Windows CE, the company?s recently introduced operating system designed for a variety of mobile computing, entertainment and embedded applications.
The acquisition also cocks and snook at Microsoft?s arch rival Oracle in the market for Internet devices. The deal with WebTV fits nicely with the company?s recently announced plans to develop client and server software for a sub-$500 Windows terminal that will go head-to-head with Oracle?s network computers.
Officials at WebTV were said to be surprised and delighted with the deal. The company will operate as a subsidiary of Microsoft and retain its offices and staff in Palo Alto, California.
Delays to the roll-out of age verification for adult websites hasn't stopped government from considering extending them to more websites
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Australia’s $1.5 billion Modern Manufacturing Strategy investment to the drive COVID economic recovery has been inspired by several key nations, championing innovation to remain globally competitive.
As businesses rapidly accelerate digital transformation efforts in the wake of COVID-19, RMIT University brings together industry experts and researchers to provide key insights into future trends and opportunities.
US Air Force launches Advanced Manufacturing Olympics, as global political and industry leaders accelerate Industry 4.0 solutions in the wake of COVID-19 upheavals.
New breeds of factory floors known as makerspaces are democratising manufacturing, enabling grassroots tech movements across the globe to design solutions to the global health crisis.
Australia’s digital manufacturing industry mobilises to address looming medical supply shortages by converting tech workspaces into critical medical manufacturing centres.
Advanced manufacturing can locally produce life saving medical equipment to fight coronavirus, as Australia’s government investigates onshore production amid surging global demand.
3D printing is saving lives, filling crucial gaps in global supply chains buckling under the weight of the coronavirus.


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By Lisa Johnston
New products on display at the American International Toy Fair, held in N
Las Vegas — Pure Audio is coming to International CES to expand its selection of Jongo wireless multi-room audio speakers and launch its third tabletop Internet radio with Jongo compatibility.
This TWICE webinar, hosted by senior editor Alan Wolf, will take a look at what may be the hottest CE products at retail that will be sold during the all-important fourth quarter. Top technologies, market strategies and industry trends will be discussed with industry analysts and executives.
San Francisco – Tabletop-audio supplier Pure Audio expanded its selection of iPod-docking AirPlay-equipped speakers and enhancing the capabilities of its Jongo wireless multiroom-audio system.
The company is also rolling out active POP displays to demonstrate the sound quality and capabilities of its Jongo wireless-audio system.
New York - Pure Audio is expanding its distribution, product selection and readying its first consumer ad campaign.
These moves include: expanding its fledgling selection of Jongo wireless multiroom-audio speakers, expanding Jongo distribution to include Walmart and Best Buy brick-and-mortar stores, and readying its first major consumer-advertising campaign, U.S. sales director Noam Meppen told TWICE.
The U.K.-based company, which shipped its first U.S. products only 2 ½ years ago, is also adding new features to its current products through a firmware upgrade.
San Francisco – U.K.-based Pure, which arrived in North America in 2010 with a variety of tabletop Internet radios, has added its first color-touchscreen model.
The $449-suggested Sensia 200D Connect also expands the company’s selection of tabletop Internet radios with the ability to play music streamed from Android and iOS mobile devices.


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- Mar 3, 2022In partnership with OLD BAY ® and McClintock Distilling, OLD BAY® VODKA is coming soon.
Hanover, MD, March 3, 2022 – GEORGE’S BEVERAGE COMPANY™ has partnered with OLD BAY®, a brand of McCormick & Company, Inc. to launch OLD BAY® VODKA. Crafted at McClintock Distilling in...
- Feb 16, 2022McCormick® Celebrates Black History Month by Transforming Charcuterie Boards into Soul-Cuterie BoardsThe brand partners with Chef Millie Peartree to showcase how amazing soul food is one bite at a time
Today, the McCormick® brand announced they are partnering with award-winning chef, taste-maker, soul food and southern cooking expert Millie Peartree, to acknowledge the history and prominence of...
- Feb 1, 2022
Survey says spicy sneaks the win for Canadians when it comes to chicken wings as Frank's RedHot® teams up with Canadian running back to share Super Bowl LVI recipes LONDON, ON, Feb. 1, 2022 /CNW/...
- Jan 31, 2022Ahead of the Big Game, fans can exchange Frank's-drenched buffalo wings for Bonecoin and a chance to win an NFT and real-life edible replica, an eNFT
Frank's RedHot® released its first-ever "edible NFT" and spoof cryptocurrency "Bonecoin" to celebrate the favorite game-day snack ahead of the Big Game: buffalo wings. From January 27th through...
- Dec 16, 2021Until December 31st, home cooks can enter their favorite holiday recipes on the Flavor Maker App
This season, the Flavor Maker App by McCormick® is hosting a competition in which users can submit their family favorite holiday recipes for a chance to win $50,000. Until December 31st, home...
- Nov 16, 2021The brand partners with Actor Eric Stonestreet and spotlights local community heroes across the country to provide them with state-of-the-art Tiny Kitchens in preparation for this holiday season's festivities
This year, the McCormick brand is delivering holiday necessities and more through their Tiny Kitchens x Big Meals campaign. Kicking off in time for Thanksgiving, the brand is joining forces with...
- Oct 4, 2021McCormick® Celebrates National Taco Day with Announcement of First Ever Director of Taco Relations & Free Tacos in NYC, LA and DCThe brand received over 5,000 applications to be the company's first taco expert and earn $100,000
In honor of National Taco Day, the McCormick® brand announced today the hiring of their first ever Director of Taco Relations, a position for which they received more than 5,000 applications....
- Sep 27, 2021Olympic champion Damian Warner and Club House share portable fall recipes, launch 'Explorer Prize Pack' contest as nearly half of Canadians plan to spend the holiday weekend outdoors.
Olympic champion Damian Warner and Club House share portable fall recipes, launch 'Explorer Prize Pack' contest as nearly half of Canadians plan to spend the holiday weekend outdoors. LONDON, ON,...
- Sep 22, 2021McCormick® Partners with Eva Longoria, Lilliana Vazquez and Poderistas™ to Celebrate Día de los MuertosEveryone is invited to celebrate the cultural holiday with tasty recipes, heritage-inspired crafts, a limited-edition online giveaway and a celebrity-led Instagram Live event
To celebrate Día de los Muertos, also known as Day of the Dead, McCormick® has partnered with Eva Longoria, Lilliana Vazquez and Poderistas™ to share traditions and knowledge about the Mexican...
- Aug 10, 2021A limited-edition t-shirt designed by Quebec native turns a ketchup stain into local pride
LONDON, ON, August 10, 2021 – To honour the summer season, French’s® Ketchup has launched its “Wear Your Local Pride” movement, in collaboration with Quebec Visual Artist, Antoine Tava,...


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Ubisoft has so far kept pretty tight-lipped about when we can expect upcoming tactical FPS Rainbow Six Quarantine. We know that it’ll be an early 2020 release (though you can sign up for the chance to play Quarantine early), but the studio hasn’t provided a specific date just yet. However, it now looks like we can get an even better idea of when it’ll drop – Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot has indicated it’ll be before April, 2020.
In a recent financial call (spotted by GameInformer, via VG24/7), Guillemot said that the studio plans to launch the game before the end of the fiscal year – which is basically before the end of March, 2020.
As the site notes, this fits into Ubisoft’s pattern of releasing a game around the start of the year – in January or February – and it’s entirely possible this game might be the title to kick off 2020 in parasitic alien monster-fighting style. More so because we already know some of the studio’s other big titles, Gods & Monsters and Watch Dogs Legion, are heading to PCs on February 25 and March 6, 2020 respectively, so a January or early February release could make sense.
Other than this, there’s not a huge amount of information of exactly what Rainbow Six Quarantine will bring yet. We know that it’ll have some similarities to previous Siege event Outbreak in that it’s a co-op, PvE tactical FPS based on an alien threat that teams of three players will have to take on (though Ubisoft has indicated that the deadly enemy will be even deadlier this time around).
The E3 trailer (above) shows that it’ll tie in to Siege to some kind of extent, with two of its operators, Ela and Vigil, featured helping the main character. It could potentially also feature some roguelike elements, based on the Ubisoft Store description of the game.
With Gods & Monsters’ and Watch Dogs Legion’s release dates already announced, hopefully Rainbow Six Quarantine will follow soon. At least now we know we won’t have to wait too long to jump in.


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SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. - It is a dramatic video of a would-be jewelry burglar caught on camera in Sandy Springs.
It happened around 3:30 a.m. Tuesday at an unnamed store. Sandy Springs police posted a video to their Facebook page in hopes someone will recognize the man.
In the video, the man can be seen breaking through the drywall in the center of the frame, almost right behind the store’s safe. The man then can be seen quickly getting up, pulling the alarm box from the wall, and slamming it to the ground.
Unfortunately, the man was not in time and police said he ran out of the store without being able to take anything.,
Investigators said the man was able to cut through from a vacant business next to the store. They are reminding area businesses they will be happy to help evaluate business security measures. Any business interested can contact Officer Begeal at firstname.lastname@example.org.
Anyone with information about the jewelry burglary or may recognize the man is asked to call Detective K. Smith at 770-551-3323 or Crime Stoppers Greater Atlanta at 404-577-TIPS.


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Secret Service Brought In Over Apple Store Web-Cam Art Stunt
An artist hacks computers around New York, including ones at the Apple Store, to make them take photos of the people looking at them, then play those photos as virtual slideshows.
McDonald’s ‘photographic intervention’ took place after he installed the software on public computers around New York – including the Apple store – over three days. Taking a photo every minute, the application collected over a thousand photos of people at the targeted computers. Before posting the results on the project’s Tumblr page, the artist displayed the shots back to the unsuspecting photo-subjects using another custom-built application. McDonald comments:
I decided to exhibit them in the same places they were originally captured. So I wrote another app that could be remotely triggered after being installed on all the computers in one location. When the app starts up, it takes a picture and slowly fades in that photo. A moment later, it starts cycling through older photos.
Most people instinctively quit the app less than 10 seconds after recognizing their own face, so the exhibition was relegated to the unused machines.
The project has raised a few eyebrows on privacy issues and in breaking news McDonald has had his laptop seized by the secret service for allegedly violating the Fraud and related activity in connection with computers law.
Watch the project clip below:
People Staring At Computers
To move beyond novelty activations and one-time gimmicks, PSFK equips marketers with the insights, templates and analytics to develop high-reach campaigns that meet consumers in the moment, collect and build upon experiential data, and build scale through content creation.
Bobby Jones, Chief Marketing Officer at Peace First and co-author of Good Is The New Cool, shares his guidelines for marketing to a new generation of socially conscious consumers


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Black Friday online sales top $1B, strong Cyber Monday expected
- Staff San Francisco Business Times
Online retail sales on Black Friday reached $1 billion for the first time this year, according to comScore Inc.
The research firm said online sales rose 26 percent on Black Friday to $1.04 billion, compared with $816 million a year earlier.
That number is expected to be topped on Cyber Monday. ComScore estimates Americans will spend $1.5 billion Monday, up from $1.25 billion a year ago, as retailers offer more online deals.
Shopping habits are being influenced by technology in other ways, as well, with more people using mobile devices and social media to shop.
Read more at Bloomberg.
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Not too long ago, Google threatened to shut down Google.cn and walk out of China. The threat was a response to a mid-December hack originating from China as well as an anti-censorship protest. On Friday, the Chinese Minister of Industry and Information Technology, Li Yizhong, told reporters in no uncertain terms, "If you don't respect Chinese laws, you are unfriendly and irresponsible, and the consequences will be on you."
Today, the Financial Times reports that the Google's decision to leave China is all but made. Citing a source familiar with the situation. FT reports that censorship talks with the Chinese government have reached an apparent impasse. The source went on to say that while a decision could be made very soon, the company is likely to take some time to follow through with the plan as it seeks an orderly closure and takes steps to protect local employees from retaliation by the authorities.
However, Google may not leave China altogether. Though the company could be closing Google.cn, the search giant is looking at other solutions to the problem so it can maintain a presence in the country. Among these is the possibility of handing over a majority stake or even the entire business to a local player.
Read the full story on Financial Times.
I don't recommend that... China with steal as much technology and patented ideas as possible.
Google it! :)
I wish we could but do you realize how much crap us American use that is "Made In China"? I'm sick of seeing virtually everything say that on it.
Never forget the drywall that was made there that rots every thing with metal in it including electronics. In China they can make nails cheaper than it does to make wire in Indonesia.


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MAGNET, short for Modular Applied General Equilibrium Tool and developed by Wageningen Economic Research has been instrumental in analysing the economic, social and environmental impacts of reducing food waste in the EU. Heleen Bartelings, international policy researcher at Wageningen Economic Research: ”By extending MAGNET with a food waste module, we can model the entire waste flow through the economy starting from post-harvest losses to final consumption. This makes it possible to look at the entire food waste problem and analyse where in the economy waste policies targeting a reduction of food waste would have the largest impact at the lowest possible societal costs.”
The result is a model-based analysis for The European Commission’s Joint Research Centre with the name ‘Assessing the Economic, Social and Environmental impacts of food waste reduction targets.’ The study calculates the impact of three scenarios of food waste reduction: 12%, 23% and 41% of reduction in EU food waste in the whole supply chain.
Less food waste: less greenhouse gas emissions
The outcome: when we throw away less food, households in the European Union could save 220-720 euros on average every year. In addition, wasting less food could help reduce food prices. For example, the JRC report estimates that the price of vegetables could decrease by up to 4%, while fruit prices could come down by 2%. Interesting fact: Food waste accounts for about 16% of total greenhouse gas emissions from the EU food system. It is estimated that cutting food waste could lead to a reduction of up to 108 million tonnes greenhouse gas emissions, depending on the scenario considered.
The report also estimates that the less food we waste, the less food has to be produced to feed the EU’s population. If the EU is quick to reduce, EU food exports would become more competitive worldwide as a result. If exports increase, this could balance out some of the negative impacts that come from a lower domestic demand for the EU’s food sector.
Initiatives saved 265 thousand tonnes
Researchers also mapped out the initiatives in 20 countries by retailers, councils, consumers, schools and others to throw away less food. They found school programmes, digital tools, valorisation for surplus food and projects targeted at consumers, e.g., to raise awareness. The surveyed initiatives have saved around 265 thousand tonnes of food over one year.
There were also initiatives carried out by EU Member States, aiming at people’s behaviour, supply chain efficiency or redistribution of food. Also, steps were taken to explain consumers about date marking on products, to prevent people from throwing away food too quickly.
131 kg of wasted food per person
In 2020 in the EU, 59 tonnes of food ended in the bin. That amounts to 131 kg of wasted food per person in the EU. Looking at what makes up the EU food waste, fruits and vegetables take the largest portion in the bin, accounting for 27% and 20%, respectively. Cereals (13%), meat (10%) and potatoes (10%) have a considerable share as well.
Targets to reduce food waste
It is, therefore, not surprising that halving the amount of food waste in Europe by 2030 is a target of the Sustainable Development Goals, reflected by the Farm to Fork Strategy within the European Green Deal. To accelerate the EU’s contribution to this global objective, the European Commission has proposed targets to reduce food waste in the EU. These must be achieved by Member States by 2030. In that year, there needs to be 10% less food waste in the processing and manufacturing of food and 30% less in retail and consumption.


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Home » Smart Lighting
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New technologies and scalable approaches hope to overcome large scale deployment obstacles for IoT technologies.
Every city is different in what mix of sensors it wants — or whether it wants them at all.
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Oikos Mix individual-sized Greek yogurt snacks
Danone has added to its Greek yogurt brand Oikos an individual-sized product that includes on-pack, mix-in ingredients.
Oikos Mix combines Greek yogurt with a variety of granola and nuts in a two-part flip-and-mix package, the company said in a press release.
The snack is intended to be be enjoyed anywhere on the go, the company said.
The new mix is available in four flavours: Vanilla with Honey Roasted Almonds and Granola; Pineapple with Coco Flakes, Hazelnuts and Granola; Coconut with Salted Roasted Almonds and Dark Chocolate; and Vanilla with Walnuts, Spices and Shortbread Pieces.
Suggested retail price is $3.99.
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- PremjiInvest criticizes Flipkart-Snapdeal tie-up in letter
- Problem is differential payments to co-founders, early backers
Flipkart Online Services Pvt.’s planned acquisition of rival Indian e-commerce provider Snapdeal has hit a snag that may put the deal in jeopardy, or at least substantially drive down Snapdeal’s valuation from a previously agreed-upon $1 billion.
One of the smaller investors in Snapdeal, the family office of billionaire Azim Premji, objects to special payments to certain shareholders including its two co-founders and two early backers, according to people familiar with the discussions. Flipkart had earlier told Snapdeal that it wants all the startup’s investors to agree to deal terms as a precondition of the transaction, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing information that’s not public.
The sticking point has been the differential payments, which are seen as an attempt to win over larger Snapdeal investors and the founders who have to agree to a vastly lowered valuation. Under the proposed terms, early investors, like Kalaari Capital and Nexus Venture Partners, would receive $60 million in addition to their new equity in Flipkart, while founders, Kunal…


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Samsung Captivate Galaxy S Android phone for AT&T available July 18
Samsung and AT&T have announced that the AT&T variant of the Galaxy S, the Captivate, is expected to hit store shelves on July 18 and will be available for $199.99, with a two-year service contract. A minimum $15/mo, 200MB data plan is required for activation.
The Captivate Galaxy S touchscreen smartphone features Android 2.1 and sports a high-end feature set that includes a 4-inch super AMOLED display, a 5 megapixel camera that’s capable of recording HD video, a 3D graphics engine, 16GB of storage that is expandable up to 32GB, and a 1GHz Samsung Hummingbird processor. The phone also offers Bluetooth and WiFi connectivity.


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Square Enix, today, have released a new walkthrough trailer which shows off Tomb Raider’s new combat and strategic mechanics, plus showing off Lara’s survival instincts to search out points of interest on the island she is stranded in.
In Part 1, Noah Hughes, the creative director of Tomb Raider, takes Lara into a hostile area of Scavengers and learning skills to overcome the island’s inhabitants. Unlike any media we have seen for this game before, Noah explains what’s happening in the game and which mechanics are placed in this title.
What’s shown in this trailer is that Tomb Raider is much more realistic than other games of its genre (Uncharted). When Lara is wounded, she cannot jump obstacles and the cover system enables you to “slide in and out of cover.”
Tomb Raider will be releasing in store shelves on March 5th.


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The past couple months have seen no shortage of cocaine and food combos; there was the Bronx pizza parlor busted for offering blow on the menu, and at the beginning of March, Queens produce shoppers found bags of cocaine inside peppers purchased at an Ozone Park shop. Now it's come to light that at the same time that coke was found in the peppers, yet another Queens market was selling produce with white powder inside. An NYPD spokesman has not yet confirmed that it was cocaine, but on March 7th and 8th, police received several calls about little bags of powder found inside bitter melons purchased at a Richmond Hill grocery. Two dozen cops raided the produce store, Banana Country on Liberty Avenue, and cut open the melons, but nothing unusual was found inside. Owner Tae Hyun Kil assures the Times, "No problems with bitter melons since then." But when informed about the incident, one shopper seemed inspired: "Hey, that’s a good way to smuggle!"
More Bags of White Powder Found in Queens Produce
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Rural King opens new store
FRONT ROYAL – Farm and homegoods superstore Rural King opened its doors Monday, holding a soft open that will be followed by a grand opening and ribbon-cutting later in the month.
Shaun Amrine, manager of the Rural King, said the opening went well and that interest in the Illinois-based retailer was high.
“It’s what we expected – huge turnout,” Amrine said. “A lot of folks have been stopping by and saying hey and all that good stuff. It’s going great.”
The location, at 465 South St. in the Royal Plaza Shopping Center, is in a former Kmart building and boasts more than 80,000 square feet of farming and outdoor gear, including firearms.
Amrine said that Rural King is a good fit for Front Royal and that he’s excited to develop a winning formula for the location.
“We try to maximize what the market plays on. Is this an agricultural market; is it a cattle and horse area or is it a corn and soybean (area)? You do try to cater towards who that client is going to be. When you look at the home store, it’s going to be pretty typical from area to area.”
Rural King sells everything from kayaks and canoes to hardware equipment to rabbits and animal feed, Amrine said. The Front Royal location marks the company’s foray into Virginia, with more planned locations on the way.
“We already have at least one (more Virginia) store (coming) for sure in the spring,” Amrine said. “We’re committed at this point to having a presence in the market.”
He also said that while farmers and landowners constitute some of their business, the everyday homeowner is the company’s bread and butter.
“Your large farms and folks in agriculture, they’re absolutely a cornerstone of (our business),” he said. “But it’s just as much as folks in housing communities and suburban neighborhoods that are coming in to get glyphosate to pull their weeds the same as a farmer would out in their field.”
Amrine said that many of those who visited for the soft open were getting a grasp on what exactly Rural King is.
“They’re feeling us out,” he said. “Folks are kind of getting an idea of what we’re all about, which is pretty typical. It is what we expected.”
He said that he’s glad the store’s opening has come and that the public can finally see what all the buzz is about.
“There have been a lot of anxious folks waiting for us to open up,” he said. “When you have a couple hundred cars sitting out there, naturally they’re just going to progress in. … We’re here and we’re here to serve. This (soft open) is a way to kind of work out the kinks. Now we know what questions to ask. … It’s going to evolve.”
Amrine explained other grand opening events the store has planned for the near future.
The grand opening will be Sept. 22 and continue through Sept. 25.
“We run it as a weekend,” Amrine said. “We’ll have some drawings and whatnot.”
Contact staff writer Nathan Budryk at 540-465-5137 ext. 155, or firstname.lastname@example.org


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Before COVID-19, the biggest Moroccan airline was on the rise. Now, RAM is trying to mitigate the economic impact of COVID-19 while facing customer anger.
COVID-19 has deeply disrupted the activity of airlines worldwide. Governmental travel restrictions to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus have caused airlines’ revenues to plummet. The demand for flights has come almost—except for repatriation flights—to a halt.
The United Nations World Tourism Agency (UNWTO) predicted the standstill will bring losses in international tourism that reach between 60% and 80%, depending on the travel reopening dates.
The biggest Moroccan air carrier, government-owned Royal Air Maroc (RAM), shares the reality of the economic crisis.
Global crisis of a unique size
RAM suspended its international flights on March 15 and announced a decision to shut down its domestic flights on March 21, one day after the country entered a nationwide lockdown. Since suspending air passenger traffic, RAM’s activity has stalled. Observers speculate RAM will play a role in the eventual repatriation of the 27,850 Moroccans stranded abroad, according to the government’s May 7 estimate.
In 2019, RAM carried 7.5 million passengers on approximately 245 daily departures. The future was looking bright: Between November 2019 and February 2020, RAM experienced a strong, two-digit economic growth. The company was slated to join oneworld, a commercial alliance of 13 global airlines, as its first African carrier.
Then COVID-19 struck, and international travel stopped. RAM reported a 60% traffic loss in March and a staggering 100% loss in April. Abdelhamid Addou, the CEO of RAM, estimated the financial losses at MAD 50 million ($5 million) per day. To put this in perspective, the airline recorded an annual operating profit of MAD 162 million ($16.2 million) in 2018.
In a letter to RAM’s employees, Addou called COVID-19 “a global crisis of a size unknown to our generation, even more violent than those of 2001 [the aftermath of 9/11 – ed.] and 2009 [the aftermath of the 2008 financial crash – ed.]”
RAM is seeking a way to ensure its financial survival while maintaining its 60-aircraft fleet and treating its almost 4,000 employees fairly. Addou explained that an austerity plan the airline introduced at the dawn of the crisis allowed RAM to “respect their engagements” in March, April, and May, while stressing the importance of the state’s support for the month of June.
The austerity plan might have helped RAM’s finances, but it did not help the company’s public relations. The survival measures required sacrifices that were often involuntary.
The fight for a refund
Morocco World News received several emails regarding the situation of RAM’s customers whose flights were canceled after the government decided to ground all international traffic. One of them outlined the difficulties in receiving a refund.
The author of the email was studying in Morocco until the introduction of the lockdown. The carrier canceled the source’s flight back home several weeks ago. RAM has still not provided any refund despite the sender’s multiple claims on the airline’s website and to its customer service. Instead of a refund, the company offered a travel voucher valid for 12 months, a solution that the sender finds unacceptable.
RAM outlined special measures for those affected by state-instructed flight cancelations in the “Frequently Asked Questions” section of its website. The airline offers “the possibility to change freely the date of departure to the same destination or the refund of your ticket in exchange of a travel voucher.” RAM extended the validity of the voucher from 6 to 12 months. The same paragraph, however, reads that “it is also possible to get a cash refund however it requires significantly more processing time.”
The email that MWN’s source received from RAM’s customer service belies the statement. According to the source, the company claims it is “exempted from liability due to the extraordinary circumstances” and returns to its voucher offer.
“While airlines are understandably struggling due to COVID-19, it is unfair for them to put the burden on customers who were not at fault,” concluded the informant. Their feelings are shared by 2,523 travelers, as of the evening of May 14, who signed a petition demanding RAM pay their refunds.
‘It’s not just to keep people’s money’
The description of the petition explains that RAM canceled numerous flights based on a government decision from March 14. RAM is not willing to refund the clients’ money and only offers vouchers that are valid for six months, or to change the flight destination and require the customer to pay the fare difference.
“Royal Air Maroc wants to hold travelers accountable for a cancellation declared by the Moroccan government.”
The initiators of the petition are asking the airline to issue refunds and allow customers to change their tickets for free. The clients base their decision on not knowing “what will happen in the future as plans are changing for all of us all the time. We are not sure how many people will go jobless within a few days and will not be able to afford to go on vacation.”
The petition description ends with the travelers expressing hope that the airline wishes to help the customers instead of making them “pay for something that it is not their fault.”
Casablanca Travel Services, an American travel agency, started the petition in March and addressed it to RAM. Other decision-makers on the petition include the US Department of Transportation and the Airlines Reporting Corporation—an American company that settles ticket transactions between airlines and travel agencies. The issue remains unsettled and the comment section on the petition’s website is buzzing.
Vouchering an unstable future
In the comment section, the travelers share a feeling of being treated unfairly. “I do not want to be held accountable for a pandemic” is one statement representative of the general mood. The customers are not responsible for the airline’s hardship, besides, some still remain stuck in Morocco because of flight cancellations.
Financial issues now occur frequently: In uncertain times, people need money. Some had to buy another flight, which meant further spending. The problem grows with groups or families: One signer describes booking five tickets for the whole family, which is a remarkable portion of the household’s budget.
The uncertainty of travel is also a recurring topic. Some dissatisfied customers express doubt over whether they will be able to travel in a year, either due to the pandemic, personal circumstances, or a combination of both. Others do not want to travel because they are scared or they recently found themselves unemployed.
The feeling of injustice and betrayal is great enough that many are voicing a wish to bring the issue to court. MWN will continue reporting on the situation’s development.
A real-life trolley problem
A trolley problem is a classical thought experiment in ethics. A runaway trolley is heading at five people lying on the tracks, unable to move. If somebody pulls a lever, the trolley will switch to a different set of tracks where one person is lying, unable to move. The decision-maker must choose if the right option is pulling the lever or letting the event unfold without intervention.
The situation of RAM is a similar dilemma: Whatever the company does, somebody will be hurt. Close to 4,000 people employed by RAM may lose their jobs permanently if the company plunges deeper into crisis. At the same time, 2,523 customers—and probably more, as not everybody who is in this situation signed the petition—find a part of their revenue unavailable in difficult times.
In a global pandemic, some problems might present no “just” solutions.


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Homeowners have a lot of options when it comes to design. From the purely whimsical to the modern and clean, designs can be versatile and provide more choices than one knows what to do with.
However, these trends can make or break a sale. Potential buyers have a more specific set of preferences than current residents, and that quirky wallpaper could send some suitors running in the other direction. In order to sell quickly - and for the most money - homeowners should consult property inspection professionals before listing their houses. These experts can figure out where there are any hidden problems, and if any issues could get in the way of a transaction.
Between this year and 2014's popular design trends, there is plenty of guidance for those looking for a new home improvement project.
The past year in home design
According to Maryalene LaPonsie, a columnist for Improvement Center, homeowners are the ones who define design trends - not experts. And in 2013, this demographic latched on to a few specific elements.
For instance, LaPonsie highlighted homeowner's love for everything gray. This color took the place of classic neutral options like beige, black and white. While gray was popular for most carpets and paints, it also spread to cabinets and hardwood floors. Finishes such as this were common throughout 2013, and that is one trend that is expected to continue into next year.
In addition to color options, homeowners have been leaning toward more high-end flooring choices, LaPonsie explained. While the price tag has been increasing, buyers aren't sacrificing durability. Wool carpeting has experienced a resurgence, and vinyl planks are one option that provides the look of hardwood in spaces where it would have otherwise been unavailable, like a bathroom.
Moreover, outdoor fabrics have moved from the backyard to the living room, according to LaPonsie. The reason why is because these elements are more durable than their indoor counterparts, which means all those spills won't do as much damage. What's more, they stand up to pets and children better.
All of these design trends might be the perfect solutions for homeowners looking to sell. An up-to-date property could attract additional buyer interest in a competitive market.
A look toward the future
While 2013 has had its fair share of design trends, next year is expected to have just as many. A home inspection before selling can be a great way to make sure any improvements were made correctly.
In order to draw in some more potential buyers, these features could be smart changes for anyone. According to The Baltimore Sun, bold colors could be popular in 2014. Instead of plain neutrals, more people could be interested in bright blues, reds and purples. The goal is to use these splashes of color as accents, like on a piece of furniture.
Coastal themes aren't just reserved for ocean-front real estate anymore, either. The Baltimore Sun reported that the color blue and coral patterns have made their way into more area rugs, couches and pillows than ever before.
"It used to be that they saved [coastal themes] for the beach," Victoria Jenkins, a Baltimore-area merchandising manager and design consultant, told the news source. "But now it doesn't matter if they have waterfront homes or not. [Coastal themes] definitely helps them feel more calm and serene."
Homeowners may be finding added interest in the more specialized rooms, like the "man cave," the media outlet noted. Homeowner's toys are getting larger, and upscale spaces with televisions, technology and wine rooms are increasing in popularity.
With all of these options, those interested in a remodel project have a lot of options. Regardless of choice, a home inspection before, during and after any large renovation is a smart idea.


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We'll start by once again reminding you that InsideEVs is not a financial website. In fact, we aren't seasoned investors, we don't pretend to understand the stock market, and we certainly don't follow or understand the cryptocurrency movement.
With that said, now that Tesla has invested in bitcoin, and plans to start accepting it as payment, we'll have to do our homework. A recent article by Reuters, shared by Autoblog, dives into the whole bitcoin situation in more detail. We feel it's a good starting point for folks like us, and probably many of you, who are interested in the topic.
If you didn't read the news, Tesla converted $1.5 billion of its $19 billion into bitcoin. Of course, this caused bitcoin to soar to new heights. It seems whenever CEO Elon Musk tweets about something related to finance, people react quickly, and markets move. While bitcoin is an investment in Tesla's future, it's also the first step in allowing Tesla shoppers to use bitcoin to pay for its cars and products.
While bitcoin can be used for payment in some cases, it seems most people hold onto it as an investment. Once more people invest in bitcoin, and more companies begin to accept it as payment, we could see many changes. However, there's really no way to accurately predict what the future holds for crypto. It's very volatile, so there would have to be many "rules" and check and balances in place.
As Autoblog points out, we don't know if Tesla plans to accept bitcoin directly, and/or if it plans to hold onto the crypto. It could hold the bitcoin or liquidate it immediately. Other companies allow people to pay with crypto, though they actually have to use a third-party to convert the bitcoin into cash first. Autoblog writes:
"For example, companies including AT&T Inc and Microsoft Corp have accepted bitcoin through BitPay, a cryptocurrency payment processor. BitPay has facilitated payments for luxury auto dealers, but is not working with Tesla now, a representative said.
Shoppers can also buy items from merchants that have never officially accepted bitcoin by using payment cards that convert the cryptocurrency into U.S. dollars ahead of the transaction."
Interestingly, a Tesla owner told Reuters that he actually bought a Tesla with bitcoin back in 2016. He used a service that converted his bitcoin to its cash equivalent and loaded it onto a credit card, which he then used to pay Tesla. The Tesla owner, Michael Borda, wishes he would have used cash, since now the bitcoin's value has soared.
Why would someone use bitcoin, which may gain value massively, if they could use cash, which isn't gaining value like many investments? Well, on the other side of the "coin," people who believe bitcoin may crash hard in the near term could actually make money by paying with bitcoin, if it does indeed lose value down the road.
Borda says he doesn't recommend purchasing big-ticket items with crypto, but that's his opinion. We're here asking for your insight and opinion since this is a topic that certainly deserves attention, as well as some educated conversation.


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Belkin announced Friday that they have finally completed the acquisition of Linksys from Cisco and has decided that rather than absorbing the product into Belkin’s existing brand, Linksys will be managed and maintained as a separate portfolio.
“One Billion Dollars,” is the kind of thing you’d hear from the lips of Dr. Evil from an Austin Powers movie. But today for the folks over at Instagram, Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg sounds more like the Easter Bunny than an evil-doer on this holiday Monday, as he announced that Facebook will be buying Instagram for the tune of approximately that same amount – $1 billion. And that’s a lot of eggs.


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WASHINGTON—At first the meeting at the Future of Privacy Forum headquarters downtown looked like any other office soiree here, one populated by Millennials and hipsters trying to impress each other with their real or perceived level of official access.
But a second look changed that impression. Right behind the check-in desk was a massive flat screen television showing an image of each person as they arrived.
Superimposed on each person’s image was a computer’s guess as to our demographics. Were we young or old? Male or female? I was identified as a woman under 30. A friend who works for USA Today was also identified as a woman, but to his annoyance, the computer decided he was over 40.
Of course the gender-mangling computer was really there for another purpose, which was to show how far machines had come in determining the sort of person that was in its view finder. The idea is that marketers could get an idea about the makeup of people at an event to see if they were attracting the audience they hoped to attract.
Across the room from the ubiquitous beer-and-wine bar was a table with several aerial drones. Next to that a man was wearing an Oculus VR headset. There was also an Amazon Echo in the room, which I commanded to play some Mozart. There were radio frequency beacons and perhaps the creepiest interactive device ever seen—a Hello Barbie toy.
Clustered around each display were groups of people from technology companies and government agencies. There was someone from the Federal Communications Commission, which is currently wrestling with privacy rules, as well as a representative of the Department of Homeland Security. Talking in a corner were former Federal Trade Commission member Julie Brill and the European Union’s Data Protection Supervisor Giovanni Buttarelli. Clearly this was more than just a bunch of hipsters.
Jules Polonetsky, executive director and co-chair of the Future of Privacy Forum explained that his organization had invited these people who are responsible for managing or regulating technology with a privacy impact to get some time with the technology for which they’re making rules. “It’s surprising how few have had a chance to interact with these tech items,” he said.
The FPF is a think tank that “seeks to advance responsible data practices,” according to its mission statement. The organization does this through educational outreach, academic research and through actual evaluations of tech products that have an impact on personal privacy.
Polonetsky said that the group does this by obtaining versions of the products they’re evaluating and then trying them out to learn not just how they work, but to discover information they gather and what they do with that information once it’s collected.
Privacy Forum Shows Regulators Challenges Posed by Technology
He said that a number of products, including the Echo and some smart televisions are always listening, which concerns some people. Others, such as Hello Barbie aren’t, but may capture intimate conversations anyway.
Some items have been in the news recently because of their apparent ability to capture anything that’s said in their presence, Polonetsky said. But he noted that in many cases, the threat is actually less than the level of fear.
For example, he noted that in the case of Hello Barbie, users have to press a button before the toy can listen and that all conversations are available for parents to inspect online, and that anything can be deleted.
But some devices that gather such data may not be so obvious. “We designed a notice for companies doing location analytics,” Polonetsky explained. He said that this way people who were in an area where some basic cell phone information was being gathered remotely would know that it was in use.
In regard to the computer that was trying to decide the characteristics of the attendees, he said that the point was to demonstrate that there’s a difference between facial recognition and facial detection. The computer at the meeting was doing facial detection. Facial recognition is what the folks on those television crime shows would like you to think is possible.
Of course all of the gadgets on display were there primarily to let the regulators and managers know what they were. In the background is a more serious purpose, which is to demonstrate just how much data can be collected under fairly normal circumstances and what these devices would do with that data, whether it was sending it back to the cloud for analysis or whether the data was kept locally.
Managing all of that data and keeping tabs on the way the data flows and is used, is a primary responsibility of organizations such as the FTC and the EU’s Data Protection office. While currently very little of the data is being used for anything beyond conversations with children or commands to play music, some of it is, and Polonetsky believes that in some special cases it should be put to greater use.
For example, Polonetsky is critical of Hello Barbie, but not for the information that it stores in the cloud. He said that it should be able to respond to statements like, “Help I’m being kidnapped,” or in other similar dire emergencies. But he’s also concerned about what’s done with the data that’s shared in unguarded moments or data that’s stored somewhere in the cloud without sufficient protection.
The idea, he said, is to give those managers and regulators a chance to learn just how complex a task they face in regulating data privacy issues. In other words, the goal of the FPF is to help them have some idea of what they’re doing before they do it. That’s always a worthwhile goal.


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Bosses confused on e-mail monitoring
Business leaders have claimed that a new code of practice will make it hard for employers to know when they can read staff emails or listen to phone calls.
New rules coming into force next week give bosses freedom to monitor for security purposes. However, the Confederation of British Industry warned that the rules conflict with a draft of a new code of practice, published by the privacy regulator, which says blanket monitoring may breach privacy laws.
The draft code, from the Data Protection Commission, also warns employers against opening what are clearly personal emails. A Department of Trade and Industry spokesman said the final version of the code will not cause confusion with the DTI's Lawful Business Practice Regulations.
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Sterling dipped through key support barrier against Dollar yesterday
- GBP - Services PMI
- CAD - Trade Balance
- USD - FOMC Member Bostic Speaks
Sterling dipped through a key support barrier against the Dollar during yesterday’s afternoon trading session following weak data out of the UK. The Services PMI fell to a 20-month low, signs that the US is looking to resolve their trade dispute with China and expectations of a good Non-Farm Payroll figure out of the US.
Tensions between the US and China moved more towards a war of words than actions yesterday as Donald Trump instructed the US trade representative to consider $100bn in additional tariffs to be levied against Chinese goods. Whilst the risk of an all-out trade war is still present, Reuters has cited a senior US official claiming that the US is willing and ready to negotiate with China. However, the senior US official suggests they are ready to engage in talks only if they are serious and China are willing to provide more than hollow promises to alter their trade practices.
- CAD - Employment Change
- USD - Average Hourly Earnings m/m
- USD - Unemployment Rate
With a quiet European economic docket and no significant data out of the UK, markets will be looking towards the highly anticipated Non-Farm Payroll figure released this afternoon. The US is expected to have delivered 190k new jobs last month with analysts not predicting a repeat of last month’s blowout figure. US Average Earnings are also set to be released, with a predicted increase of 0.3% month-on-month. As a leading indicator of consumer inflation, a positive reading could provide a significant boost for the Greenback. Later today, Band of England Governor Mark Carney, will be speaking at the International Climate Risk Conference for Supervisors and Fed chair, Jerome Powell, will be speaking about the US Economic Outlook.


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John Legend just announced the launch of his new skincare line.
The brand is currently still in development, but Legend has said that his products will specifically focus on meeting the needs of people with darker and melanin-rich skin.
Speaking to Fortune earlier this month, the multi-award-winning musician and philanthropist explained that lines catering directly to people of color are important for a multitude of reasons.
He noted that they prompt broader conversations within the sector concerning Eurocentric beauty standards, as well as the racial wealth gap and the fact that folks with darker skin need specialized products. Good skincare also has the power to help everyone feel positive about themselves.
“Everybody has skin, and everybody cares about their skin, and everybody cares about presenting themselves well in every situation, whether it’s, you know, family, community, or wherever they are,” said Legend. “It’s such an important part of who they are, and how they present themselves to the world, and how they feel.”
While details of the upcoming products remain to be seen, there is an industry-wide shift towards plant-based and cruelty-free ingredients and vegan certification, particularly amongst celebrity-founded brands, making it likely that this selection will be no exception.
This new line won’t be Legend’s first foray into beauty products. He was an early investor in Bevel, a brand that also focused on Black customers by meeting their shaving needs. (Bevel CEO Tristan Walker has since founded Form, a haircare brand. The former is cruelty-free.)
John Legend skincare
As per Fortune, Legend is working with Los Angeles-based A-Frame Brands to create the upcoming range. A-Frame is a holding company specifically focused on creating products for those not being catered to properly by the mainstream beauty industry.
“The entire purpose of the business is to create products for people who need them the most,” said A-Frame’s chief brand officer Martin Ekechukwu. “And we’re defining ‘people who need them the most’ as Black, Brown, Asian, and [people with disabilities] … anyone for whom there has been nothing specifically created for you, from the ground up.”
In September of last year, A-Frame partnered with tennis champion and mental health advocate Naomi Osaka to launch KINLÒ, a functional, vegan, cruelty-free skincare brand also designed for “the melanin-rich.” Osaka previously said that the lack of sun protection products, in particular, made for darker skin tones is what prompted her to found the label.
“Through my personal experience and learnings, I have found that Black, Brown, and other melanated skin-toned communities are often an after-thought in the discussion and research surrounding sun care,” she explained, “including being excluded from clinical studies on skin cancer.”
Both Legend and Osaka join a growing number of celebrities choosing to launch their own beauty brands, many of which are framed around inclusivity, sustainability, and simple ingredients. For some of the top celeb-backed launches of 2021, read on here.


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Children’s Day 2020:
To commemorate the memory of India’s first Prime Minister Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, November 14 in India is celebrated as ‘Children’s Day’ He was fondly known as Chacha Nehru
This year to celebrate Children’s Day, teachers of DPS Indonesia prepared e cards for their students. They posted their cards with a message and blessings to them.


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Earlier this year, Nate Luebbe came up with a new way to work from home: bring his home to where he worked, writes Heidi Mitchell for a Nov. 12 report published by The Wall Street Journal.
The Seattle photographer, who often had to travel three hours each way to shoots, bought an old ski shuttle for $15,000 and had it outfitted into a space where he could rest and work instead of driving home—complete with solar panels, a battery bank, a full kitchen and toilet, outdoor shower, sleeping quarters and desk space.
Mr. Luebbe, 33, liked the setup so much that he drove the shuttle through the Southwest and Mountain states with his girlfriend, working along the way.
“We could go to Costco and then not see anyone for a month,” he says. “I felt like it was better social distancing than being in Seattle, and it allowed me to be patient and wait for the perfect light for the best shot.”
After months of living under work-from-home measures and travel restrictions, many cabin-feverish Americans are looking for safe ways to work outside their house and see new places, too. They are turning to “Covid Campers”: specially fitted recreational vehicles – or retrofitted existing vehicles – that offer the comforts of home and office without exposing them to the risks of public restrooms, restaurants and even people altogether.
This new breed is largely younger people, says Monika Geraci, spokeswoman for the RV Industry Association trade organization. Many of them are accustomed to working remotely anyway, don’t have children to worry about and live in small spaces in cities – so hitting the road isn’t that big of a step to take.
While the majority of new RV sales are traditional travel trailers, the fastest-growing segment of the industry is the Type B camper van – easily maneuverable vehicles, typically under 21 feet in length, that look like vans and can be parked almost anywhere. Many come equipped with solar panels, cellphone boosters and Wi-Fi, full kitchens and baths, and space for multiple laptops.
As of the end of September, while total RV shipments were down 3.2%, Type B camper vans were up more than 48%, according to the RVIA’s latest report. “Typically, our dealerships see 25% of their customers as first-time buyers, but this year, they make up 55% of all RV buyers, and the 45-and-under demographic is the fastest-growing sector,” Ms. Geraci says.
Big manufacturers are responding to their needs. Among others, Winnebago, which launched in 1958, has seen a surge in demand for its pop-top Solis, which seats and sleeps four and has USB charging stations at every seat and bedside. The model’s new industrial flooring allows families to bring their dogs and sandy feet aboard, while the Wi-Fi is ready for installation and the shower is hot.
Russ Garfin, director of product management of Class B and Class C motor homes at Winnebago, says even with the shutdown of production from mid-March to May, his sector is booming, with sales in general, including of his new Boldt – built on a Mercedes Sprinter chassis and featuring smart navigation systems and noiseless lithium-ion batteries – taking him by surprise.
“We had to start a new production line to meet demand,” he says. “I have even seen people park these in their driveways to use as a home office when they are not on the road.”
Airstream, owned by Thor Industries, is currently working on the Flying Cloud 30FB Office, a concept vehicle that hitches to a car, which wraps the rear office space in a sound-deadening privacy screen, has loads of solar panels to charge its lithium-ion batteries and offers a 5G-ready roof antenna and Wi-Fi as add-ons.
“Early during Covid, Facebook made an announcement about working from home, and at that point it definitely seemed like people could work from anywhere,” says McKay Featherstone, vice president of product development and engineering for Airstream. “They could merge travel with work and live a different lifestyle, and we could help them.”
Meanwhile, dozens of small custom outfitters have cropped up across the country, repurposing used vans or other vehicles into high-tech mobile second homes.
- North America March Shipment Total of 54,291 is Best Month Ever - April 26, 2021
- April 12th -NHTSA RV Recalls - April 12, 2021
- April 5th, 2021- NHTSA Issues its Latest Weekly List of RV Recalls - April 5, 2021


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Back to School Shopping Up?
It's the second week in August and that means back to school shopping is in full swing, and a study suggests spending could be up this year.
August 15, 2012
Twin Tiers (WENY) - It's the second week in August and that means back to school shopping is in full swing, and a study suggests spending could be up this year. A new study by the National Retail Federation questioned parents with kids in grades K- 12 about how much they plan to spend this year, and what the survey found is good news for the economy.
Parents with kids K- 12 are expected to spend an average of $688 on everything from pens, pencils, notebooks and electronics this fall. That number is up 13 percent from last year, but that doesn’t mean parents like Pamela Barnes from Lawrenceville aren't looking for deals.
“It's something that has to be done I don't usually look forward to it. I try to come when there are really good sales and deals on back to school items.”
Big stores are a great place to find good deals but if you don't want to deal with all the searching sometimes those deals are right in your pocket. There are certain smart phone apps that can save you some serious time and money. Apps like “SaleLocator”and “Zoomingo” find and compare local store deals to find you the best price. The “Retailmenot” app finds back-to-school promotions and contests along with coupons.
Karie Magliocca has been using apps to save for a long time.
“I have an enumerable number of apps on my phone. I have pretty much any app you can have, Sam's Club, Lowes, Home Depot. So if there's a deal somewhere i'm going to find it.”
College students and their families are expected to spend an average of $900 going back to school. Textbooks usually eat up a lot of cash. So students like Calla Abrunzo are using websites like Bookbyte.com where you can rent books
“I mean I use apps all the time for coupons to save me some money. Books are really expensive and I've been using a website to help me rent my books so they are not as much money as buying them through the bookstore at school.”


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Wall Street's crisis hitting small business
Some companies are having problems getting loans, and others are being informed of reduced credit lines.
The ripple effect of the financial turmoil on Wall Street is spreading more deeply into the American economy.
The local hardware store is finding it more difficult to get the loan it needs to buy its summer gardening merchandise. Ivy-covered colleges and universities are finding that donors have second thoughts about contributions until the stock market quiets down. Some small businesses that count on using credit cards to finance their business are getting letters informing them of reductions in their credit lines or increases in their rates.
One sign of the blues on Main Street: consumer-confidence surveys. On Tuesday, the Conference Board said that consumer confidence had dropped to a level not seen since the recessions of 1980 and 1973.
"The plunge is directly related to the turmoil in the financial system," says Mr. Zandi.
Economists are particularly concerned about one development: CIT Group, a commercial finance company that lends to small business, used a $7.3 billion line of credit from banks because it was having trouble selling its debt.
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As distracted driving continues to raise the country’s death toll, automobile manufacturers are looking to natural user interfaces to keep the hands and eyes of drivers on the road.
What is a natural user interface? Clicking an icon on a computer or cellphone screen to navigate the software or turn down the volume is common. In the cab of a car, use of these graphical user interfaces (GUIs) takes time, effort and visual interaction when attention should be on the road.
Natural user interfaces (NUIs) are processes that rely on human gesture. The swipe of a hand or even the blink of an eye may direct your computer, smartphone and car of the future. Made possible by sweeping advancements in sensors, processors and cameras, the automotive industry is moving to increase the functionality and decrease the danger associated with using devices while driving.
Consider these points:
- The development objectives of Google include not only Google Glass, but using gesture technology in cars. In October of last year, Google bought Flutter, a start-up business that developed software using webcams to interpret gestural directions. The same month, Google filed a patent on gesture-based controls for cars.
- Microsoft and Apple are developing NUI for multiple devices, including cars.
- In 2012, auto manufacturers such as Mercedes-Benz demonstrated their idea of a gesture-driven car dashboard.
An increase in natural user interfaces in cars and other devices is certain. The question remains whether the cognitive, visual and physical attention needed to operate the software can reduce the dangers associated with distracted driving.
If you are seriously injured by a distracted or negligent driver in San Diego, speak with a skilled attorney.


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Legend Holdings Corp., the largest shareholder of the world’s No. 1 personal computer maker, filed an initial public offering application with the Hong Kong stock exchange, a person with knowledge of the matter said.
The Beijing-based company plans to seek more than $2 billion from an IPO this year, according to the person. China International Capital Corp. and UBS Group AG are working on the share sale, the person said, asking not to be identified as the information is private.
Legend, started in 1984, has expanded into a company with $47 billion of assets and more than 60,000 employees at the end of 2014, according to its website. It has a 30.6 percent stake in Lenovo Group Ltd., the maker of ThinkPad notebooks, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
The group controls Hony Capital, a private-equity firm with $7 billion under management, and a property developer with about 7 million square meters (75 million square feet) of land bank, according to the website.
It also owns stakes in companies including Joyvio Group, China’s largest kiwi grower, as well as battery maker Phylion Battery Co., small-loan provider Zhengqi Anhui Financial Holding Co. and clinic operator Bybo Dental Group.
IFR reported the filing on its website earlier Wednesday in Hong Kong, citing unidentified people. A Hong Kong-based external spokeswoman for Legend declined to comment.


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Eight years after parting ways, Mukesh Ambani and Anil Ambani on Tuesday started a business collaboration that would allow Reliance Jio Infocomm, controlled by Mukesh, to use the nationwide optic fibre network of Anil’s Reliance Communications Ltd. for a one-time fee of Rs. 1,200 crore.
When the Reliance group partitioned in 2005, Mukesh Ambani got Reliance Industries while telecom business along with power, infrastructure and finance went to Anil Ambani.
The ambanies amended the non competing agreement which allowed Reliance Industries entered telecom by buying Infotel Broadband Services Ltd. that owned radio-wave spectrum for high-speed broadband services.
Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd is now all set to launch 4G services, by using the optic fiber network The telecom venture, now called Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd., is preparing to launch 4G services, which would be served by accessing the optic fibre network.
However the mobile phone companies consider it as a backdoor entry into the cellular market which opted for an internet-only licence.


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Last month, Hasbro and Epic Games announced that some Fortnite-themed Nerf guns were on the way. This will allow you to take the action from the screen and into the real world. And now we know which model is first and we also have a release date.
The first Nerf gun from the line to be released is the Fortnite AR-L Blaster, and it features rapid-fire motorized blasting and flip-up sights. It also comes with a 10-dart clip and 20 Elite darts. And while a release date of June seems very far away, let’s hope that the Fortnite craze has not died down by then and that people still want this. I’m very surprised that they didn’t pick a closer date. I guess we’ll see if there’s a demand.
This blaster joins another product of Hasbro and Epic Games’ partnership. The pair also released a Fortnite version of Monopoly earlier this month that uses health points instead of money and Fortnite’s storm. So right now it pays to get Fortnite merch out to the masses.
The Nerf Fortnite AR-L Blaster will be available June 1st, 2019 if you really need to take your game and bring it into real life. It will cost $50.
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A Northampton shop worker has urged customers not to panic buy as the government warns that tighter restrictions including local lockdowns could be brought in this week to curb the rise in coronavirus infections.
The shop assistant who works at Waitrose in Wootton has spoken out after witnessing, along with his colleagues, a surge in bulk buying over the last few days.
The 21-year-old told NorthantsLive that they have worked through the whole pandemic and says there is no need to panic buy.
They said: "My colleagues and I have seen over the last week buying the typical panic buy items that went crazy at the beginning of lockdown.
"One colleague saw a customer buy 56 toilet rolls. Everyone is preparing for the worst again but they don't realise shops will stay open. I have worked throughout the whole pandemic and I am only just about to have a holiday this week. It's worrying to think this could happen all over again.
"There have been lots of queues with minimal staff. Some colleagues I work with have seen some customers have started bulk buying pasta, UHT milk, toilet roll, kitchen roll and beans. I served one customer who had purchased seven 1kg bags of pasta and I just thought to myself 'this can't be happening again?'."
"The scenes at my work felt like we had stepped back in time. Nobody will not panic buy and I don’t think they understand what it does to workers and other customers. There is just no need for it."
A spokesperson for Waitrose said: "We have looked at what people bought in our shops in March and we are confident we have the right products in the right places."
Elsewhere, there were similar scenes at Morrisons on Victoria Promenade in Northampton over the weekend with a video posted on Facebook showing trollies piled high and queues down every aisle to the checkout.
Supermarket chains are preparing for more panic buying over the next few weeks, as parts of the UK enter localised lockdowns with customers snapping up delivery slots.
Earlier today, England's health secretary Matt Hancock was unable to say whether England's pubs would be allowed to open this weekend as the government prepared extra measures to stop the spread of Covid-19.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to address the nation on Tuesday (tomorrow) amid mounting concern about the rise in the number of Covid-19 cases.
Welcome to NorthantsLive, a digital-only news service. We will bring you fast-moving and in-depth news seven days a week direct to your mobile phone, tablet or laptop, from Kettering to Corby, Northampton to Daventry.
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The conference has become the place for cutting edge discussion on API design, business and operations.
San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) July 01, 2014
The API Strategy & Practice Conference today announced ten sponsors and two keynote speakers for the upcoming API’s Going Mainstream in Chicago at the Hyatt Regency, September 24-26, 2014. Sponsors IBM and Twilio are joined by sponsors Apiary, Context.io, Datalogics, Mailjet, Restlet, SwiftIQ, Universal Platform, and WIP In supporting the event. Two speakers, Fatemeh Khatibloo, senior analyst at Forrester, and Tim Cauley, senior director of consumer mobile at Walgreens join previously announced speakers from Ford, Eucalyptus, APIScience, Kimonolabs and Kynetx. More will be announced soon along with program details and new tracks for developers.
The full program covers three days of thought leadership and in-depth discussion surrounding the API Economy. Tracks, which will be announced in the coming weeks, will cover sessions on technology topics for API providers and developers alike, as well as types of APIs across industry segments.
“The API Strategy & Practice Conference has evolved quickly over its three editions and has become the place for cutting edge discussion on API design, business and operations”, said Steve Willmott, CEO of 3SCALE. “We are pleased to be part of such a vibrant and active community. Stay tuned for new and exciting aspects of the program and the tracks to be announced soon.”
Early bird ticket sales end August 9. Register here before August 8, 2014 and save $200. Registration options also include an option to stay in the event hotel at a reduced rate.
About The API Strategy & Practice Conference
Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) are changing the face of digital business by enabling new business and technical strategies across many industries.The API Strategy & Practice Conference offers a unique program of keynotes, panels and themed sessions to provide insights into the potential of APIs, best practices, and how to craft a successful API strategy. The inclusive, community supported conference series focuses on what works for API creators and consumers alike by bringing industry leaders together in one forum. Now in it’s second year, the fourth conference will be held in September 2014 in Chicago. The conference is co-organized by 3SCALE and API Evangelist and is made possible by the generous support of the event sponsors. http://www.apistrategyconference.com


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Thanksgiving feast is a “bargain”
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The race is on to get all of the items to make your Thanksgiving feast a success. While many people splurge on their holiday meal, you don’t have to.
The retail cost of classic Thanksgiving dinner, including turkey, stuffing, cranberries, pumpkin pie and all the trimmings (including enough for leftovers) is up less than 1 percent this year. That's according to the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF.) This is the 27th year the federation has been tracking prices.
Back in 1986, the meal cost $28.74. By 2010, the price was up to $43.37. Last year, the grand total was up to $49.20.
Researchers have kept the menu exactly the same over the years in order to track changes.
This year, they say the average cost of a feast for 10 is $49.48, up just 28-cents from last year. The AFBF says consumers can handle the slight increase. "At just under $5 per person, the cost of this year's meal remains a bargain," said AFBF President Bob Stallman, a rice and cattle producer from Texas, in a press release.
The item on the table that will cost the most? The turkey. An average 16-pound bird runs about $22 this year, according to the survey.
Will consumers gobble up savings at the supermarket? Stay Tuned. Researchers say shoppers should look for sales and promotions right up to Thanksgiving, with bargains for last minute shoppers.
"Turkeys may still be featured in special sales and promotions close to Thanksgiving," said John Anderson, AFBF’s deputy chief economist. "Anyone with the patience to wait until the last minute to buy a turkey for Thanksgiving could be rewarded with an exceptional bargain.”
Elizabeth Carey is Buffalo Business First's broadcast reporter
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By staff writer
OPENTENDERS, SA’s business social network connecting entrepreneurs with procurement opportunities, has reacted positively to the prospective launch of Government’s e-tender portal, as stated in the Budget Speech last month.
During his speech Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene announced that Government would implement a central tender portal from April this year. Minister Nene said: “It will be compulsory that all (public) tenders be advertised on this portal, and all tender documents will be freely available there. Tender advertisements in newspapers and the government gazette will be phased out.”
“We are excited about this new Government portal as it makes our business easier and does not impact on the extra services our portal offers, such as SMME project finance and skills development,” said Mnive Nhlabathi, OPENTENDERS Co-Founder & COO.
OPENTERDERS.com offers four main services, our instant email notifications of tender and procurement opportunities from government and the private sector in South Africa and selected African countries. Project finance for qualifying SMMEs, business-to-business online networking service and training in the area of tendering and procurement.
“The challenge our business has had with SA government tenders is sourcing tenders from over 600 different Government entities. Our service requires us to load these tenders onto our platform and arrange them into sectors before we can send out the tender notification to our members, as per the sectors they have identified. The launch of a central e-portal creates room for collaboration with Government and access to a wider range of procurement opportunities for our members. This will save us time, effort and money, which we can then invest in sourcing more private sector opportunities for our members and increasing our footprint throughout Africa,” said Nhlabathi.
“We believe this will positively influence our business, and we’re excited about the opportunities it will bring.”
OPENTENDERS was established when Nhlabathi, Sivu Maqungo and Madoda Khuzwayo, all successful entrepreneurs in their own right, wanted to work towards creating a platform that connects entrepreneurs with procurement opportunities from Public and Private sector on a global scale.
Nhlabathi said the key difference between OPENTENDERS and Government’s new portal, is that OPENTENDERS is a B2B social network platform that affords small businesses an opportunity to connect and trade with each other and expand their business on a global scale. As an add-on it also offers open Government and private sector tenders. This allows any business to easily track available opportunities within all sectors of their interest.


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Google launched the Pixelbook last year alongside the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL. The Google Pixelbook currently runs on ChromeOS. As per a recent report by XDA Developers, the laptop will soon be certified to run Microsoft Windows 10.
Google Pixelbook is made out of a great combination of hardware but ChromeOS is not able to push it through its limits. Microsoft Windows 10 supports a lot of apps and games that can take advantage of the hardware. So, if the laptop gets certified, users can officially install Windows 10 and enjoy an overwhelming combination of software and hardware.
According to a report by XDA Developers, the new Chromium codebases consists of codes that claim Google is currently testing Windows Hardware Certification Kit (WHCK) and Hardware Lab Kit (HLK) on the Pixelbook. The codes has specifica mentions of HFK and the development codename of Pixelbook, Eve.
WHCK by Microsoft is used to certify the hardware used in the laptop to work well with Windows. Similarly, HLK certifies compatibility of Windows with the hardware. These stepes taken by Google give a clear indication on an upcoming certification for Microsoft Windows 10 on the Google Pixelbook.
As for the specifications of the Pixelbook, the laptop is powered by the 7th Gen Intel Core i5 or i7 processor. The Pixelbook featrues a 12.3-inch LCD display with a resolution of 2400x1600 pixels. The laptop comes with 8GB or 16GB of RAM coupled with 128GB/256GB/512GB of NVME SSD storage.


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In anticipation of the new 2012 SL Roadster from Mercedes-Benz, the iconic car company teamed up with Calvin Klein supermodel, Lara Stone and photographer Alex Prager. The result is a stunning, film noir-esque ad campaign. The project is part of a larger showcase titled Icons of Style which will be debuted in its entirety at the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week which takes place from February 9-15, 2012. Watch the behind the scenes footage below, and enjoy.
Lara Stone x Calvin Klein for 2012 Mercedes-Benz SL Roadster (Behind-the-Scenes)


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Carnival Cruise Line is adding more firepower to its 2019
support campaign for travel advisors, rolling out a website, Facebook page and
brochure that further answer the question “Why Use A Travel Advisor?”
The assets are available starting June 12 for agents hoping
to make clients aware of why travel advisors are useful and important, said
Adolfo Perez, Carnival’s senior vice president of sales and trade marketing.
“We’re really going out to the consumer and talking
about why they should book through a travel agent,” Perez said.
WUATA.com features research and facts from CLIA and ASTA,
client testimonials, a link to Carnival’s enhanced and updated Travel Agent
Finder tool and another link to a contest started in May where clients can
nominate their agent to be recognized as Carnival’s “Most Trusted Travel
Perez said that later in June, five or six videos will be
added to the site that were shot at a WUATA event in Orlando. The videos show
agents talking to longtime clients about why they’re valued.
The Facebook page will be more interactive and
engagement-enabled, Perez said, and more easily shared. It will feature tips,
stories and other content, including user-generated items, and will be promoted
by Perez and Carnival brand ambassador John Heald on their respective
individual Facebook pages.
The brochures will initially be e-brochures shareable via
e-mail and the internet, but Perez said Carnival is also printing “quite a
few thousand” physical brochures that can be ordered by agents for use as
consumer show handouts, for example.
The new website and Facebook page will also be promoted
through advertising, e-mails, and through GoCCL.com. “It will be a full-on
campaign,” Perez said.
In addition to the kick-off event in Orlando to introduce
WUATA, Perez said there will be an event in Toronto in July, one in New Jersey
in October, and then a final one in California leading up to the contest
Perez said that nearly 3,000 clients have already nominated
their agent to win the most trusted title.
Source: Read Full Article


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The Steam Game Festival has almost established itself in the industry within a very short time. The next issue is now on the agenda – under a new name.
Due to the pandemic, numerous events had to be canceled or held digitally; there were also other digital events. The Steam Game Festival is basically still quite young, but has already established itself. So it’s no wonder that Valve continues to rely on the format and has now announced the next edition.
When the time comes, you will have to get used to a new name: The Steam Game Festival will be called Steam Next Fest in the future. With that you want “the focus [des Events] Communicate more directly, “says the reason for the renaming.
The date of the new edition is also included: The next Steam Next Fest is scheduled to take place in the period from June 16 to 22, 2021 – i.e. at the same time that E3 2021 will potentially take place. During the Steam event you should get the chance to try out literally “hundreds” of new game demos at home, to follow developer live streams or even to chat with the developer studios about upcoming titles.
The Steam Game Festival only made its debut in December 2019 – at the same time as journalist Geoff Keighley’s The Game Awards.


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But that iPhone will be released in 2020.
Apple plans to release iPhone with a hole in the display for the front camera, said authoritative insider Ice Universe, citing its own sources. According to him, Apple will not go ahead with the launch of the first iPhone with an unusual display. According to the published data, the release of this iPhone was only scheduled for 2020.
iPhone 2020 — 5G and a “hole” in the display
According to the latest leaks from insiders, in 2020, Apple will significantly update the iPhone. In addition, the iPhone sample 2020 will be display with a hole for the front camera, the new smartphone Apple will support 5G. It is noteworthy that both technologies will not be something new for the smartphone market. The first smartphones with support for 5G goes on sale in the first quarter of 2019 and the model with a “leaky” displays on the market already.
It should be noted that even though Ice and Universe is really authoritative insider, so early predictions should be taken with great scepticism. Apple, no doubt, sees that its competitors are releasing smartphones with the holes in the display and probably will not want to repeat. It is possible that the company will prepare a more original solution for the complete abandonment of part of the display in the new iPhone.


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Welcome to the Press Service
All information for journalists
DMEA is Europe's most important event for digital health. We attach great importance to offering journalists optimal working conditions before and during the event.
Our press service
Current press information of DMEA can be found here.
You can sign up for DMEA press releases here.
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Trade fair highlights of our exhibitors can be found here.
You can find exciting background stories from the digital health sector on the DMEA blog.