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It’s been awhile since we’ve heard anything about a new game from LucasArts but it appears that could be about to change. Metro.co.uk talks about a job listing that indicates there is a new “open world” RPG in the making. This is exciting news but it also raises a lot of questions and peaks the curiosity of all types of gamers. The last title released by LucasArts was “Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II”, which seemed to leave a lot to be desired for many gamers. The idea of a new game is exciting for many. There’s no way to know if this will be something related to Star Wars, Indiana Jones or something completely different. Job ads are the most dependable source when it comes to leaning about new games but they’re very vague about the information they provide. It simply states that LucasArts is looking for more people…
Starwars.com has posted a pretty funny Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode III video promoting the release of The Force Unleashed II. The video has only been available at the official Star Wars site here, but doing xmas, it has found it’s way to youtube. As the shift change on the Death Star passes, Stormtroopers head back to the barracks and others head out to their posts. Their one stop in common is the Imperial Cafeteria. Here, one lone coffee maker sits. Empty. Used. Un-refilled. Destined to serve millions of cups of coffee a day across the space station, the promise of the device remains unfulfilled. And Vader is not a morning person.
It’s no secret that both Harrison Ford and writer Lawrence Kasdan wanted to kill off Han solo in the last act of Return of the Jedi. George Lucas was against it though, so Han Solo stayed alive, and got the girl in the end. Since then George Lucas has changed his mind. Star Wars: The force unleashed II: Endor bonus Mission, let’s you – not only slaughter shit loads of Ewoks – you also get to cold blooded murder of Han, Chewie And Leia. The video is below, if you needed something to scream “nooooooooo” at. I heard there’s also downloadable content which lets you play a character who looks like you as a child, and then an NPC who looks like George Lucas rolls in on a golf cart and rapes your character. Just what I heard.
Remember those furry things from Return of the Jedi? Well now you get to kill them! After the past 2 “What if” scenario’s featured in the original Force Unleashed, LucasArts has decided to try another scenario. What if Starkiller went back to Vader? The possibilities are endless! To make it easier for our inconceivable minds, LucasArts has picked the Battle of Endor which will feature Han Solo, Chewbacca, and a lightsaber wielding Leia. The pack is released on both PSN and XBL today, alongside a character skin pack. Check out more here, and see the trailer below courtesy of Gamespot.


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Steve Jobs may have died earlier this month, but more than his spirit lives on inside Apple — he’s said to have left the company with four years’ worth of new releases and product interations based around his ideas in the pipeline. Upon today’s release of an authorized biography by Walter Isaacson, speed-readers say the book contains evidence of what could be the CEO’s biggest project to date: Apple TV.
No, not just Apple TV, the company’s video-enabled, TV-ready network appliance launched in January 2007. The long-rumored next-generation Apple TV would be something bigger and grander — an Internet-connected flat-screen TV that would revolutionize TV- and movie-watching in the same way the iPod rocked the music industry.
Here’s the key Jobs quote from the bio:
I’d like to create an integrated television set that is completely easy to use. It would be seamlessly synched with all of your devices and with iCloud. It will have the simplest user interface you could imagine. I finally cracked it.
PC World found an “Apple patent watcher” who believes what Jobs was referring to was a patent acquired by Apple in June that describes an “advanced widget paradigm” that adds interactive elements and links to your screen based on the content you’re currently watching. The story also suggests that Apple’s Siri voice-recognition technology for the iPhone 4S could be a killer app in the living room. (What if you just said, “Skip all of these commercials”?) CNet found an analyst who also believes Siri could take the place of a remote control for many tasks, and suggests that Jobs figured out a way to use consumers’ live TV-viewing habits as a way to tap a vast library of previously recorded content.
Of course, we’ve been hearing about “interactive television” for decades now, and the hype has mostly come to naught — it may be the 21st century, but you still have to pick up the phone to order a Snuggie. And some observers dismiss any attempt on Apple’s part to singlehandedly change the broadcast and cable ecosystem as pie-in-the-sky thinking.
Then again, it was almost exactly 10 years ago that Apple launched a new handheld digital-media device that it said would forever change the face of the music industry. Many observers, including some of the most tech-savvy Apple fans, snorted at the idea behind the iPod (check out the snark and sarcasm in the original MacRumors thread) and look how that turned out. Yes, TV will be a new adventure, but Apple’s broken this kind of walnut before. The real question, should Apple start making intelligent TV sets, is how well a newly Jobsless Apple can engineer that kind of paradigm shift.
Here’s the very first TV ad for the very first iPod. Remember when?
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domain: news


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While just over 50 percent of global app marketers buy ads to retarget app users, most app marketers are only allocating a small percentage of their budget to retargeting.
That’s verified by an August 2016 poll (from Apsalar and with Thomvest) seeking insight from 146 app marketers from around the globe. One finding: more than half of respondents said they field re-engagement or retargeting campaigns for apps, but the budgets vary.
“More than a third said they allocated up to 5 percent of their total app marketing budget (to retargeting), and nearly a quarter of respondents said they allocated anywhere from six to 10 percent. Just one percent of app marketers said they allocated 31 to 50 percent, and another one percent said they allotted between 51 and 100 percent.”
“Getting discovered and downloaded is more challenging than ever, and retaining users is getting more difficult as well,” notes eMarketer. “Most apps are failing to keep mobile users interested and engaged for long. The 24 hours after an app is first used is when most users disappear. Only 24 to 29 percent of iOS users who installed an app used it again within 24 hours of their first app session.”
Bottom line: it looks like re-engaging with app users is an optional activity, but a critical one.


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Five9, Inc., a provider of the Intelligent CX platform, announced that Frost & Sullivan has recognized it as a Growth and Innovation leader in the Frost Radar™: European Cloud Contact Center Market, 2023. The Frost Radar™ report highlights key criteria, including the company’s long-standing presence in Europe, consistent growth, effective go-to-market strategies, robust customer support, commitment to local markets, and investments in transformative technologies such as AI integration.
Bernie Arnason, Industry Principal for Information and Communications Technology Transformation at Frost & Sullivan, praised Five9’s strategy of layered AI technology abstraction, which positions the company to leverage the evolving AI landscape. The approach allows customers of all sizes to benefit from best-of-breed AI and automation technology.
The report emphasized Five9’s innovative use of AI and automation, which enables smoother customer experiences on its CCaaS platform. The company’s hybrid cloud architecture also ensures compliance with European data sovereignty requirements. Additionally, Five9’s expanding partner network, encompassing global system integrators, service providers, technology brokers, and authorized resellers across Europe, has been recognized as a strength.
The company’s investments in international expansion have proven successful, with a substantial 48% year-over-year growth in international revenue during the first quarter of 2023. As part of this expansion, Five9 hosted its first fully in-person CX Summit EMEA in Porto, Portugal, where the company recently established its European Research and Development Headquarters. The site currently houses over 100 employees, with plans to expand to 300 in the coming years. The new engineering hub at the Porto location is driving innovation in software engineering and cloud operations. Moreover, the company intends to establish a new Professional and Customer Support Center of Excellence at the Porto site.
Ricardo Valente, City Councillor for Economy, Employment, and Entrepreneurship, said: “Five9’s arrival in the city of Porto marks the beginning of the city’s journey with North American companies listed on Nasdaq. This commitment to the city of Porto demonstrates the city’s capacity to be recognized as a center of excellence for companies with global business scopes and in highly competitive markets, where human capital is a key factor in business sustainability.”
Nick Delis, Senior Vice President of Strategic and International Sales at Five9, expressed his gratitude for the recognition from Frost & Sullivan following a successful CX Summit in Porto. He outlined the company’s plans to expand its international footprint with a strong focus on AI and Automation products, while also fostering a dynamic partner ecosystem to enhance customer experiences.
Frost Radar™: European Cloud Contact Center Market, 2023 draws from insights gathered from more than 100 industry participants in Europe. Frost & Sullivan independently evaluated the top 20 cloud contact center companies based on their growth and innovation performance.


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Samsung has a huge problem on its hands with the Galaxy Note 7. Not only has the company had to go through two recalls that involved special shipping boxes, but the damage to its reputation and finances ... Read More »
At this point, the war between Sprint and T-Mobile is almost exhausting. The two carriers are constantly duking it out to see who can offer the best deal. T-Mobile is aiming another punch today with the help of its prepaid subsidy carrier, MetroPCS. Sprint customers who switch to MetroPCS ... Read More »
The war between Sprint and T-Mobile continues to rage on. The two carriers have been duking it out with increasingly good deals since T-Mobile started pulling Sprint customers away with its Un-carrier moves. Sprint is firing back with a new promo that’s aimed squarely at T-Mobile’s customer base in an effort to recoup ... Read More »
Most Tweeted This Week
Earlier this week, Sprint launched its new Family Share Pack plan that offers a 20GB share data plan for $100 per month to anyone that switches from AT&T, T-Mobile or Verizon. Now T-Mobile has fired back with a new offer of its own.
T-Mobile customers that get their AT&T, Sprint ... Read More »
T-Mobile has a big Uncarrier 4.0 announcement planned for next week, but today AT&T has attempted to take some of the steam out of T-Mo’s news by making a big reveal of its own.


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(NEXSTAR) – McDonald’s has teamed up with K-pop band BTS for the company’s latest Famous Orders promotion.
The meal includes a 10-piece Chicken McNuggets, medium fries, a medium Coke – and, new in the U.S. – Sweet Chili and Cajun dipping sauces. The company says the new sauces are inspired by popular recipes from its restaurants in the boy band’s home country of South Korea.
The fast food giant will launch The BTS Meal starting May 26 in the U.S. and 11 other countries and will expand it to nearly 50 countries during May and June.
The chain had successfully launched similar limited-edition celebrity meals featuring musicians Travis Scott and J Balvin, some of which caused temporary shortages of Quarter Pounders at some restaurants, according to CNBC.
“The band has great memories with McDonald’s. We’re excited about this collaboration and can’t wait to share the BTS Meal with the world,” said the band’s record label Bighit Music.
U.S. customers will be able to order the BTS Meal in-restaurant, through contactless mobile order and pay in the McDonald’s app, at the drive thru or via McDelivery.


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Good morning! Welcome to The Morning Shift, your roundup of the auto news you crave, all in one place every weekday morning. Here are the important stories you need to know.
1st Gear: Whatcha Got?
Volkswagen already agreed to pay a record $16.5 billion fine with U.S. environmental regulators, but it still has to settle its criminal investigation with the Justice Department. Today Bloomberg reports that in contemplating that figure, the U.S. says this: “whatcha got?”
The U.S. Justice Department is assessing how big a criminal fine it can extract from Volkswagen AG over emissions-cheating without putting the German carmaker out of business, according to two people familiar with the negotiations.
The government and Volkswagen are trying to reach a settlement by January, the people said, before a new U.S. administration comes into office and replaces the political appointees who have been overseeing the process.
[...] It’s not clear what penalty range the U.S. is considering in the criminal case against Volkswagen. The company had net liquidity of 28.8 billion euros ($32.4 billion) as of June 30, and Chief Financial Officer Frank Witter said his goal is to keep the target for average net liquidity at 20 billion euros to ensure funding needs and protect the company’s credit rating. The carmaker generates several billions of dollars of cash each quarter and could tap into a credit line or raise capital if necessary to pay its obligations.
Whatever it is, it’s likely going to be big.
2nd Gear: When Audi Gets Hit, Everyone Feels It
Bloomberg also has an interesting story on one of the biggest yet most untold impacts on the Volkswagen Group as a result of this diesel cheating mess: what has happened to Audi. The luxury brand is the VW Group’s biggest profit generator and technology creator.
Development chief Stefan Knirsch left the manufacturer with immediate effect this week after a probe showed he was aware of the manipulation when he took the job less than 10 months ago. A company veteran who started in Audi’s engine design unit in 1990, Knirsch was picked by Audi chief Rupert Stadler to succeed Ulrich Hackenberg, who was pushed out in the first round of management purges after the scandal broke a year ago. Now Stadler himself has come under increased scrutiny as investigators seek to untangle the origins of the scandal.
“We made it clear from the start that we don’t spare big names in the probe and will act if it becomes necessary,” Berthold Huber, deputy chairman of the unit’s supervisory board, said in a statement about Knirsch’s departure. Audi didn’t comment on the reasons for the executive’s abrupt exit.
Audi is a linchpin in the Volkswagen structure. In addition to providing the biggest share of profit, it’s an incubator for technology that filters down to the group’s mass-market brands and a proving ground for executives.
“Audi stabilizes the Volkswagen group with its profits,” said Stefan Bratzel, director of the Center of Automotive Management at the University of Applied Sciences in Bergisch Gladbach, Germany. “Audi can’t be allowed to wobble.”
3rd Gear: A Broken Nation Looks To Jeep For Healing
As rational-headed Americans pray for the aliens to wipe us out entirely before this horrible election happens as a precautionary measure, Jeep taps singer Yusuf Islam (formerly Cat Stevens) to bring us all together again. Via Advertising Age:
Just about the time Republicans and Democrats will likely be yelling over who won Monday’s presidential debate, Jeep will run an ad that, perhaps impossibly, seeks to unite the country.
The ad, called “Free to Be,” spotlights people with different political persuasions and lifestyles — such as meat-eaters and vegetarians — before ending with the message “what unites us is stronger than what divides us.” The soundtrack is “If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out,” by the former Cat Stevens, who now goes by the name Yusuf.
The ad — which spotlights the 2017 Jeep Grand Cherokee Summit and Trailhawk models — is by Dentsu-owned McGarryBowen. The agency is a roster shop for Jeep-owner Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, but has mostly worked on the smaller Maserati brand. So the Jeep spot represents a significant new assignment for the agency and is expected to be followed by similarly themed ads. Jeep’s lead agency is DDB, Chicago. The Omnicom shop’s status has not changed, according to a Fiat Chrysler spokeswoman.
Let’s hope it works!
4th Gear: Tesla Settles Falcon Wing Lawsuit
Elon Musk had to learn the hard way that sometimes there’s a reason cool concept car shit doesn’t make it to production. The Falcon Doors on the Tesla Model X are amazing, but they’ve been riddled with quality problems.
As such, Tesla took a U.S. subsidiary of Swiss auto supplier Hoerbiger to court over the issues, and now Reuters reports the case has been settled:
Both parties have until Oct. 13 to file a joint statement as to the status of the settlement, terms of which have not yet been disclosed.
Tesla and Hoerbiger have delayed filing for a dismissal because certain conditions of the settlement will not be fulfilled until Oct. 4, according to an Aug. 18 filing by the companies.
Lawyers for the companies did not immediately return calls seeking comment.
Tesla claimed that a hydraulic system developed by Hoerbiger in 2014-2015 for use in the Model X doors, which open upwards rather than to the side, was riddled with deficiencies, making it an “unworkable engineering solution” that added costs and “more than a year of wasted efforts.” It sued the company in January.
They probably should have just been regular doors.
5th Gear: Autonomous Trucks VS. American Jobs
Long-distance big rigs seem like an almost ideal place to apply self-driving vehicle technology, in some ways even more so than passenger cars. But as this in-depth story from the LA Times explains, that could mean even more decent-paying blue collar jobs get lost to automation:
Robots’ march into vehicles, factories, stores, and offices could also profoundly deepen inequality. Research has shown that artificial intelligence helps erase jobs that require basic skills and creates more roles for highly educated people.
“Automation tends to replace low-wage jobs with high-wage jobs,” said James Bessen, a lecturer at the Boston University School of Law who researches the effect of innovation on labor.
“The people whose skills become obsolete are low-wage workers, and to the extent that it’s difficult for them to acquire new skills, it affects inequality.”
Trucking will likely be the first type of driving to be fully automated – meaning there’s no one at the wheel. One reason is that long-haul big rigs spend most of their time on highways, which are the easiest roads to navigate without human intervention.
But there’s also a sweeter financial incentive for automating trucks. Trucking is a $700-billion industry, in which a third of costs go to compensating drivers.
“If you can get rid of the drivers, those people are out of jobs, but the cost of moving all those goods goes down significantly,” Kaplan said.
Reverse: My Mother, The Car
Neutral: How Hard Should VW Get Hit?
Especially compared to GM and Toyota’s criminal settlements?


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In solidaridad with #OpCatalonia and the ongoing Supreme Court trials of political dissidents being held at the hands of Spanish authorities, “Al1ne3737” of “Pryzraky” unleashed a massive round of hacks, leaks and defaces targeting various businesses and organizations around Spain. More specifically, Al1ne3737 announced a data leak effecting FAIN Elevators in Spain, along with the websites of Astigarraga Kit Line, a high end Spanish furniture retailer, Flins & Piniculas, a online digital media retailer, as well as Dragados S.A., an international business conglomerate basing their operations out of Spain. Al1ne3737 also released the SQLi points of failure of 6 additional websites, offering to give the website owners consultation to patch their vulnerabilities with the release – lulz.
Stepping a bit outside their norm, Al1ne3737 also defaced several of the websites and released a message in Indonesian attached to the leaks reading: “A child will be born today and grow old with no conception of privacy. They will never know what it means to have a private moment to themselves, or thoughts which aren’t registered and analyzed. And this is a problem because privacy is important; privacy and peace of mind is what we all need to determine who we are and who we want to be.”
Targets via Data Breach:
FAIN FRANCE: hxxps://fain.es/
Astigarraga kit line: http://astikitline.es/
Flins y Piniculas: hxxp://flinsypiniculas.com/
Dragados S.A: hxxps://dragados.es/
Screen Shot of Deface:
Additional SQLi Target Locations:
@al1ne3737 alcançou proporções épicas nessa semana com (ao menos!) 46 publicações/ataques diferentes.
Ações na #OpCopyWrong, #OpCatalonia, #OpSpain, #OpNicaragua, #SOSNicaragua, #GritoPorNicaragua, #Argentina, #OpAlgeria e #OpDZ#leaks #vazamento #defacehttps://t.co/ds9GgpaevV
— DefCon Lab (@LabDefCon) March 17, 2019
Hacked by @al1ne3737 https://t.co/hwtmNxh2F0
— ©halecos Amarillosᴳᴸᴼᴮᴬᴸ 🍀ʷAͤNͣOͬNͤYˡMͤOᵍUͥSͦⁿ (@ChalecosAmarill) March 16, 2019


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BlackBerry offers an enterprise mobility management (EMM) solution that enables customers to manage BlackBerry smartphones alongside iOS and Android-running devices (and with the launch of BES12 later this year, also Windows Phone devices). On May 13, BlackBerry became still more accommodating of the reality of EMM today, announcing that it will also enable its competitors—AirWatch, Citrix, IBM and SAP, initially—to also support BlackBerry 10-running devices as part of their mixed-platform environments.
Many BlackBerry customers, and even those in once BlackBerry footholds such as government and other highly regulated and intensely security-focused industries, have moved away from pure BlackBerry deployments and now support a variety of platforms. Under the leadership of CEO John Chen, BlackBerry is doing all it can to make it simple, pleasant and cost-effective for BlackBerry users to remain BlackBerry users.
While growth is ideal—and is being addressed—stabilizing BlackBerry means keeping its base in place.
“When we began the transformation of BlackBerry, we divided the company into four divisions [EMM, handsets, cross-platform messaging and embedded systems] and we stressed how those divisions would work together to deliver the gold standard from a security and productivity perspective,” John Sims, president of Global Enterprise Services at BlackBerry, told eWEEK.
“We also said that each of the divisions needed to be successful as businesses in their own right. And in the enterprise business we’ve talked much more strongly recently about what we do to support platforms beyond the BlackBerry platform, from a device perspective,” Sims continued. “Today’s announcement is really about the device business pursuing its success and opening the device platform to be able to be managed by the other MDM [mobile device management] players.”
As for a time frame when the four companies will begin supporting BB10 devices, Sims said BlackBerry is “working actively” to enable them to implement the support for the APIs that are being opened to them.
BlackBerry last week promoted a study it commissioned from Strategy Analytics, which compared the EMM solutions of BlackBerry, Citrix, AirWatch, Fiberlink, MobileIron and Good and found BlackBerry’s to offer the lowest total cost of ownership for commercial EMM deployments, as well as in high-security, regulated environments; the highest level of security; and the greatest scope of EMM capabilities.
Is today’s announcement not an endorsement of rivals, so much as a support of BlackBerry handsets?
“If we’re endorsing something, we’re endorsing our customers. We’re saying people who are BlackBerry customers, whether they’re BlackBerry enterprise server customers or BlackBerry device customers, we want to give them the flexibility and the choices they need in order to run their business,” said Sims.
“Typically, these other MDM players have come at the market more from a BYOD [bring-your-own-device] perspective. And typically they have customers we don’t, and we have customers they don’t,” he continued. “So, what we’re trying to do is enlarge the market, and the support for BlackBerry devices, across the largest footprint possible. That’s what this is about.”


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Samsung Show, the show manufacturing arm of Samsung Electronics, has introduced that it’ll start mass manufacturing of the world’s first 90Hz OLED (natural gentle emitting diode) panel from March this yr. The South Korean firm claims that this show with 90Hz refresh price has a “high-speed driving efficiency on par with that of 120Hz LCD (shows)”. Until now, scores of smartphones have debuted with shows which have 90Hz refresh price. A number of OEMs are anticipated to launch laptops or notebooks with 90Hz OLED screens later this yr.
As per a press release, Samsung Show Chief Govt Officer Joo Solar Choi has mentioned that the corporate will initially produce very massive portions of 14-inch, 90Hz OLED shows for laptops and notebooks. At present, most laptops provide shows which have 60Hz refresh price. “OLED show panels can greatest fulfill the various shopper wants for laptops utilized in telework, on-line schooling, video streaming, and gaming,” the corporate mentioned in a press release.
Samsung Display says that it believes customers will shortly wish to shift to OLED shows providing a 90Hz refresh price as a result of these shows will provide smoother-looking visuals. This occurs as a result of they’ll render static photos 90 occasions a second. Subsequently, OLED screens with excessive refresh charges enable for a extra vibrant gaming and film watching expertise.
Nevertheless, Samsung Show says that buyers might want to have a high-specification graphics card put in to energy the show with refresh price. It additionally claims that their OLED panels with 90Hz refresh price provide 10 occasions quicker display response time as in comparison with those available in the market. “In truth, the 90Hz OLED show affords high-speed driving that’s truly on par with that of 120Hz LCD screens,” the corporate mentioned.
What would be the most enjoyable tech launch of 2021? We mentioned this on Orbital, our weekly know-how podcast, which you’ll be able to subscribe to by way of Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or RSS, download the episode, or simply hit the play button beneath.


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Monsanto announced that it’s on track to reach its goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2021. The company expects to meet the commitment it first made in December of 2015.
Operational improvements have already reduced Monsanto’s carbon footprint by more than 200,000 metric tons. That’s a reduction about equal to burning 200,000 fewer tons of coal. The rate of reduction is expected to increase over the next several years.
Hugh Grant, Monsanto chair and CEO says, “We’ve made reductions in our own carbon footprint and we’d like to lead by example. We’re showing the enormous potential that modern agriculture has to reduce the industry’s global carbon footprint.”
Monsanto is focusing on three main areas in its efforts to achieve carbon neutrality. Those areas are internal operations, which includes seed production, as well as breakthrough products and joint initiatives with farmers and other global partners.
Monsanto has already demonstrated that certain modern ag practices can reduce emissions and enable crops to be grown in a way that absorbs and stores greenhouse gases in the soil.
From the National Association of Farm Broadcasting News Service.


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You might already know 3D printing technology hearing about its production of bridges, homes, or parts of airplane engines or cars. 3D printing technology is known as the technology of the future with the ability to connect with smart devices and print most materials and even the most complex structures. 3D printing technology is predicted to be a key component of the smart factory in Industry 4.0.
The 3D printing process begins when mechanical engineers build 3D drawings of parts or products that need to be printed. After analysis and optimization, 3D designs on the computer will be sent to the printer for printing. To create 3D shapes, the machine will print 2D layers and overlap. You can imagine the printing process is such as building a pyramid or assembling pieces of Lego.
Despite possessing many outstanding advantages that no one manufacturing method has such as design complexity as well as minimizing the assembly of components, 3D printing technology still has many disadvantages such as high cost, low surface smoothness as well as printing stability. Scientists and technology companies around the world have been making great efforts to bring universal printing technology in industry and everyday life one day not far away.
In the new article published in Polymers magazine, ranked Q1 (the highest rating according to Scimago, a leading authority in the ranking of research projects), Dr. Do Tho Truong (College of Engineering and Computer Science, VinUniversity) concomitantly with Dr. Phuong Tran (3D printing research center, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia) summarized, analyzed, and evaluated 260 recent research works of 3D printing technology on polymer and composite materials. The properties of the material, the defects of the printed object, and the handling measures to improve the print quality have been evaluated and judged in detail and overall. The article contributes to the 3D printing research community for a better overview of 3D printing technology on polymer and composite materials.
Dr. Do Tho Truong graduated with a Ph.D. in 3D Printing Technology from Michigan State University, USA, after which he participated in research for a 3D printing development project sponsored by NASA at a large 3D printing top center in the United States at Louisville University, Kentucky. Returning to research and teaching at VinUni University, Dr. Truong wishes to contribute to the development of 3D printing technology research in Vietnam, as well as work with students of the Mechanical Engineering program of the College of Engineering and Computer Science, VinUniversity to make 3D printers soon. VinUniversity is and will be investing in a state-of-the-art 3D printing laboratory for students of Mechanical Engineering to practice on state-of-the-art 3D printers.


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Plymouth’s new city centre chief has made his top priority attracting more shoppers and is advocating novel ideas such as gig venues, real ale pubs, yoga studios and even doctors’ surgeries to fill empty units – after figures showed fewer people have been visiting stores.
Steve Hughes, chief executive of Plymouth City Centre Company, said he aims to reverse declining footfall by emphasising the city centre’s classy brands and independent businesses – but he stressed the city centre needs to “reinvent itself”.
He said figures showed a 4.5 per cent fall in footfall, for the city centre excluding the mall, in 2017.
That was worse than the 2.3 per cent decline across the South West’s towns and cities, and a UK-wide drop of 1.1 per cent.
Plymouth is not, of course, immune to the growth of online and out-off-town shopping.
But Mr Hughes stressed the city will bounce back due to the huge amount of investment being pumped in by public and private sources, such as the £48million Bretonside multiplex, the £50million transformation of the former Derry’s department store into student flats and a hotel, and £24million being spent on The Box history centre.
But he stressed the future of the city centre would need to include more leisure uses, such as cafes and restaurants, and has mooted the idea of bringing in such things as doctors’ and dentists’ practices and even novel ideas such as yoga studios, music venues and unusual pubs.
Mr Hughes would also like to increase parking, see more people living in the city centre – and see more hotels being opened too.
“Footfall is down everywhere,” he said. “But Plymouth has suffered more than most.
“I am pledging to make footfall a number one priority as it is causing retailers concern at a time when shopping habits are changing so rapidly.
“So we need to do everything in our power to position Plymouth as the South West’s major shopping destination – and we’re getting there.
“The city centre is changing rapidly, it’s not all doom and gloom. The developments under way and in the pipeline will reverse Plymouth’s fortunes.
“I’m convinced we have a huge opportunity for a great city centre.”
He said the city should be positive about Drake Circus Shopping Centre being fully let and the recent arrival of top brands such as Jack Wills, Smiggle, Skinny Dip, Bill’s, and Turtle Bay.
“And there are not many cities in the UK that can combine a great waterfront location with a vibrant city centre,” he said.
But he stressed the city centre will need to change and said: “We need more people living in the city centre, some of them students.
“But we also need to think of the city centre more as a place not just for shopping but somewhere to enjoy your leisure time.
“That would mean potentially looking at other uses for what used to be retail space, such as leisure or services.
“Why not have city centre doctors’ and dentists’ surgeries? And entertainment venues.
“The city centres that thrive will be the ones that reinvent themselves.
“The West End would benefit from a live music venue, for example.
“We could have yoga and fitness studios, I’m not thinking of corporate gyms.
“I could see a craft ales pub working really well in the West End.
“And we need more hotel space.”
Mr Hughes said he was also keen to see a “re-branding” of the West End and added: “As part of public realm improvements we are campaigning for more on-street parking in the West End.”
He said this could be done by “re-configuring” existing parking bays to squeeze in more vehicles.
Mr Hughes also wants to widen the catchment area for Plymouth’s shopping area, attracting more customers from locations such as the South Hams.
And he said the forthcoming Mayflower 400 celebrations would also be a key opportunity and “a huge catalyst”.


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The integration of Verizon Digital Media Services with AOL and Yahoo is "just the beginning" of a path that could see VDMS build its own dynamic ad decisioning technology. Until then, the company is happy to be agnostic with its integration decisions, says President Ralf Jacob.
"A lot of people have asked why AOL, why Yahoo," Jacob says in an interview with Beet.TV. "We are the supply chain while AOL and Yahoo are on the demand side of things.
Less than two months after the deal was announced, Verizon has closed on its $4.4 billion acquisition of AOL. AOL CEO Tim Armstrong will take on the added responsibility of overseeing Verizon Digital Media Services, Verizon's advert...
Verizon's Digital Media Services (VDMS) unit is enhancing its own move into the online video space by establishing a strategic alliance with white-label video management provider thePlatform, reports FierceOnlineVideo.
Verizon bought AOL mostly for its ad technology, has decision to make on the media sites.
Verizon has agreed to acquire Yahoo for $4.83 billion in an all-cash deal. The telecom giant, which also owns AOL, will bring under its wing all of Yahoo’s search, communications and digital content products, as well as its ad servi...


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Sign and Digital UK – the premier signmaking event for 2017
March 28th-30th will be dates that many¬†signmakers have noted in their diaries. Over those three days, the National Exhibition Centre will be home to Sign & Digital UK, Britain’s largest trade event for the signmaking industry.
2017 marks the show’s 30th anniversary as a national event, and the organisers anticipate over 180 exhibitors. Attendees will be able to attend seminars, workshops and surgeries run by experts in their fields.
According to the NEC’s website, the products and services on display will include “interior & exterior signage, wide-format printers, textile printing equipment, CNC Routers, laser cutters, display systems, sign & print substrates & materials, inks, sign fixings, tools, adhesives & tapes, vehicle livery products and print finishing equipment.”
For anyone involved in signmaking, there are several excellent reasons for attending:
- Gaining new clients. The organisers anticipate around 6,200 visitors, and ultimately many will be there to find suppliers for their signage needs. It’s a rare opportunity to encounter a large number of potential customers in a short space of time. Polls of visitors to last year’s event showed that 90% considered it¬† “a great place to meet potential new suppliers” and 45% had not attended any other shows in the sector in the last two years.
- Considering new markets. The show attracts visitors from many fields, from graphic designers to institutions needing school signs, from the automotive industry to local authorities. Meeting and interacting with such a range of attendees (and exhibitors) can¬† get signmakers thinking about new directions and new markets.
- Getting up to speed on new developments. Like most industries, signmaking is changing rapidly. Working in their own bubble, and with so much to do each day, it can be hard for signmakers to keep up with the latest trends and technologies. The Sign & Digital UK event gives attendees and exhibitors the chance to learn what’s going on and what’s coming next within their sector.
- Learning new skills. With seminars run by industry giants Corel, Adobe and Signlab, there will be free skills training available for everyone.
- Get free business advice. At the Business Theatre, experts will be holding sessions on improving and growing a business.
- Checking out the competition. With so many exhibitors, visiting (or exhibiting yourself) is the perfect way of sneaking a peak at what your business rivals have to offer.
- Networking. This is perhaps the biggest advantage of attending Sign & Digital UK. Businesses thrive on their contacts. By meeting fellow professionals in an informal atmosphere, signmakers can gain potentially profitable partners, engage with new suppliers and so on.
Practicalities of attending Sign & Digital UK
The event runs on Tuesday 28th March (10:00 – 17:00), Wednesday 29th March (10:00 – 17:00) and Thursday 30th March (10:00 – 16:00) in Halls 17 and 18 of the NEC Birmingham.
There are 16,000 parking spaces available at the NEC and it is well-served by rail links.
Note that no children under 16 are allowed at the show, including infants or children in pushchairs.
Need a signmaker but can’t make the NEC?
Based in Warminster, Wiltshire, Mirage Signs are a well-established signmaker that meet the signage needs of most sectors. From aircraft graphics to plaques and honour boards, we have a tremendous amount of in-house experience.
If you’re looking for a sign provider but¬† can’t make it as far as the NEC this March, why not get get in touch to discuss your requirements?
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What you need to know
- Perfect Dark developer The Initiative has faced a series of high-profile departures in recent months, including former game director Dan Neuburger and design director Drew Murray.
- A new VGC report states "as much as half of the core development team" has quit, citing creative conflict which saw development progress at a "painfully" slow rate.
Microsoft's Santa Monica-based Xbox studio, The Initiative, has faced a wave of high-profile departures, with "as much as half of the core development team" having quit, according to a new Video Games Chronicle report. It comes as the Perfect Dark reboot lost its game director last month, joining a growing list of senior departures on the project.
The Initiative first opened its doors back in 2018, led by Darrell Gallagher, former studio head at Tomb Raider developer Crystal Dynamics. First internally pitched as its "AAAA studio" in the making, a lengthy hiring spree saw the developer acquiring talent from across the industry. That later saw a Perfect Dark reboot unveiled in late 2020, elevating the spy thriller into the current Xbox Game Studios lineup.
A new VGC report alleges that The Initiative is now less than 50 strong, with LinkedIn profiles confirming the departure of former game director Dan Neuburger, alongside the past design director Drew Murray and lead level designer Chris O'Neill. The report names several additional directors and leads on the upcoming Perfect Dark entry, each of who left the company in the past 12 months.
Former The Initiative developers who spoke to VGC reportedly pinned the turnover on "frustration among senior talent over the direction of the project," citing a "top-down" approach to key decisions. Leads Gallagher and Neuburger reportedly maintained a "strong grasp on creative decisions," driving out many in other pivotal roles. "As a result, it's claimed that development has progressed "painfully" slow and a solid company culture never formed," VGC stated.
"In this journey, it's not uncommon for there to be staffing changes, especially during a time of global upheaval over the last two years, and there's plenty more work in front of us to deliver a fantastic Perfect Dark experience to our players," Gallagher told VGC in a statement.
Details on Perfect Dark remain thin since its initial reveal, host to a two-minute cinematic trailer confirming the return of protagonist Joanna Dark. The Initiative also entered a partnership with Crystal Dynamics last September, with the studio expected to provide additional aid on Perfect Dark while still "early in development."
Microsoft is still to announce a release date for Perfect Dark, although it's expected to hit Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S consoles, plus PC, with a day-one debut alongside the best Xbox Game Pass games.
Really tho.. who says VGC isn't making this bigger than it is just to get some flame fanboy clicks. The ones who left the studio, left in some form of a public way. VGCs report has no backing from something other people can read too. Sources, Interviews, told us.. I never trust articles that do stories/reports that way.
I'm inclined to believe the actual staff who have left the company though. And I just looked up half a dozen of names on LinkedIn and it checks out.
Slow progress and high turnover sounds like XGS staples, at this point.
The launch of videogames is really difficult since few years, people are preocupated.
The development of the games is really more slowly,
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TikTok has announced that it is expanding its audience controls feature, which allows creators to restrict their videos to adult viewers. The feature was previously only available for TikTok Live, but will now be available for short-form videos as well. This expansion comes as TikTok aims to better identify which content is appropriate for different age groups, including younger and older teens versus adults.
In a blog post, TikTok stated, "We’ve started to bring our audience controls feature to creators of short-form video and will expand the feature globally over the coming weeks. To be clear: our policies still fully apply to creators who use this feature, and we will remove content which contains nudity and other violations of our Community Guidelines."
It's important to note that the 18+ restriction setting for videos is not intended as a way for creators to display adult content. The content is still subject to TikTok's policies, and the setting is simply a way for creators to prevent minors from encountering content that may be more suitable for an adult audience or not of interest to them. When TikTok first introduced adult-only livestreams, the company stated that the setting could be used by creators who want to share comedy content that is better suited for people over the age of 18, or who may want to discuss difficult life experiences and feel more comfortable knowing that the conversation is limited to adults.
TikTok has also announced the next iteration of its borderline suggestive model, which automatically identifies sexually explicit, suggestive, or borderline content. The updated model is expected to be more effective at detecting such content. These announcements are part of TikTok's ongoing efforts to increase safety features for teens on its app. Last year, the company introduced Content Levels to prevent certain content with more mature or complex themes from reaching teens. As part of these efforts, TikTok claims to have prevented teen accounts from viewing over 1 million overtly sexually suggestive videos in the past 30 days alone.
Child and teen safety is an area where TikTok has faced significant scrutiny, not only from regulators and lawmakers, but also from parents. For instance, last year a group of parents sued TikTok after their children died while attempting dangerous challenges they allegedly saw on the app. TikTok has taken steps to address these concerns, including introducing new safety features and hiring more moderators to monitor content.
However, TikTok's parent company, Chinese tech giant ByteDance, has also faced controversy, particularly over its handling of user data. The company has been accused of sharing user data with the Chinese government and of engaging in censorship on behalf of the government. These concerns have led to calls for TikTok to be banned in several countries, including the United States.
Despite these controversies, TikTok has continued to grow in popularity, especially among younger users. The app has gained a reputation for being a platform for creative expression and has helped launch the careers of many internet celebrities. It has also been credited with popularizing a number of internet trends and challenges.
Overall, TikTok's expansion of its audience controls feature and its efforts to increase safety features for teens are welcome developments. It's important for social media platforms to be proactive in protecting the well-being of their users, especially younger ones. While TikTok has faced its share of controversy, it's clear that the company is taking steps to address these issues and create a safer environment for its users.


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Why Norfolk vineyards are rivalling the Champagne region of France
- Credit: copyright ARCHANT 2017
Norfolk and Waveney winemakers could soon be giving producers in the famous French region of Champagne a run for their money.
That's according to findings published by the University of East Anglia (UEA), whose researchers studied the terrain and climate of every plot of land across England and Wales to assess its suitability for winemaking.
They identified nearly 35,000 hectares of prime grape-growing land, with much of it in Norfolk - noted for its terrain - and Suffolk, underlined for its climate.
While experts highlighted that parts of East Anglia could rival world-renowned producers, they emphasised the importance of finding the ideal location.
Dr Alistair Nesbitt, lead author of the research, said: 'The techniques we used enabled us to identify areas ripe for future vineyard investments, but also showed that many existing vineyards are not that well located.
'Some of the best areas that we found are where relatively few vineyards currently exist.'
The report's findings come as no surprise to Lee Dyer, owner and winemaker at Winbirri Vineyard in Norfolk.
- 1 M&S to close 32 stores as part of move away from town centres
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- 4 Norfolk garden centre wins 27th gold medal at Chelsea Flower Show
- 5 The best places to eat in north Norfolk according to The Good Food Guide
- 6 Man dies of collapsed lung after 'busy' hospital meant x-ray was missed
- 7 Green light for new Sainsbury's store on 850-home estate
- 8 Factory worker was found dead at home, court told
- 9 Major road to close for resurfacing works costing £81,000
- 10 Norwich man wins jackpot on BBC game show Pointless
Mr Dyer, 40, began planting at his Surlingham base in 2007 and has seen numerous successful crops, even winning world's best white wine for his Bacchus 2015.
'For about 10 years, winemakers have known how exceptional this region can be,' said Mr Dyer. 'This year it's not so much the size of the yield that's been impressive; it's the quality of everything we've produced.
'We're still a relatively young vineyard but this year has trumped it for us. The weather conditions were ideal and all the finer details came together perfectly.'
With parts of East Anglia providing wannabe winemakers with the perfect tools, more and more people are embarking on vineyard endeavours of their own.
But John Hemmant, proprietor at the Chet and Waveney Valley vineyard in Bergh Apton, says bearing in mind the financial and time constraints is essential.
'Winemaking is very fashionable at the moment,' said Mr Hemmant, 55. 'People want to say they are producing their own wine and a lot of people are coming here from the city because the prospect is so attractive.'
'The problem is that having a vineyard is very hard work for at least three years before you actually see any results.'
Mr Dyer added: 'We're seeing an absolute explosion of vineyards which is a good thing for the industry, as long as people come in with the mentality of quality over quantity.'


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Amazon is fighting to crush a burgeoning union wave, which had its first victory at the JFK8 warehouse on Staten Island, NY, earlier this year. In recent months, pro-union Amazon workers have found themselves the target of suspected retaliation by management at their work sites. Albert Elliott, a former Amazon employee and organizer with the rank-and-file group Carolina Amazonians United for Solidarity and Empowerment (CAUSE), is the latest worker-organizer to be terminated in an act of suspected retaliation. CAUSE began organizing workers at Amazon facilities in North Carolina earlier this year, including the RDU1 distribution center, where Elliott worked for two years as part of a 4,000-strong workforce. CAUSE organizers say workers are forced to endure brutally long shifts in sweltering facilities under constant surveillance by managers. Workers regularly struggle to make ends meet on their $15 hourly wages, and some have even been driven to attempt suicide. Real News editor-in-chief Maximillian Alvarez speaks with Elliott to learn more about conditions in Amazon’s North Carolina facilities, and the suspicious circumstances of his firing.
You can support CAUSE’s organizing efforts by donating to their GoFundMe.
Studio/Post-Production: Dwayne Gladden
This transcript will be made available as soon as possible.


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The Amazon inferno: Crisis or necessity?
Christopher Rinner is a first-year criminal justice major. He is a guest writer for the Newswire from Cincinnati. As anyone who uses social media can tell you, the burning of the Amazon Rainforest is something that should be talked about by the major news outlets and should be a major concern. But as most people have seen, it has received little coverage until the last few days. Even now, it does not get much coverage. Some large news outlets, such as Fox News and the Washington Post, have done stories on the fires raging across the Amazon and South America … Continue reading The Amazon inferno: Crisis or necessity?
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Papa John’s delivers – on the back end
For pizza retailer Papa John’s International Inc., successful customer delivery begins with successful delivery in the supply chain.
Papa John’s is optimizing routes, improving on-time store deliveries and enhancing the performance of its transportation fleet by using transportation modeling capabilities from the Manhattan Associates Transportation Management Solution.
Papa John’s uses "probabilistic modeling" that helps shippers perform a variety of “what-if” scenarios, such as which distribution centers should service individual locations to optimize time, fuel and resources. Unlike traditional modeling tools, probabilistic modeling accounts for variability, which can provide more accurate results and produce more realistic modeling scenario outcomes.
Front-end customer service relies upon a supply chain that gets products where they are needed in a timely and cost-effective manner. Papa John’s is ensuring that its “fast food” moves just as quickly from warehouse to the store as from the store to the customer.
“Manhattan Associates’ sophisticated transportation modeling software helps us better manage the variability and complexity of our extensive transportation network and maximize the performance of our transportation fleet, a vital part of fulfilling our brand promise of ‘Better ingredients. Better pizza,’” said Eric Hartman, VP, Papa John’s.
J.C. Penney gives two execs more private label, supply chain responsibilities
Two top merchandising and supply chain executives have been given new responsibilities at J.C. Penney after veteran executive Ken Mangone retired following a lengthy career.
Mangone served as executive VP of product development, design and sourcing and will retire effective April 1 after 39 years with the company. His responsibilities will be split among two current executives.
Val Harris was elevated from her role as president of product development, design and trend for women`s businesses to the role of senior VP, product development and design. In this new role, Harris will oversee the company`s team of more than 200 textile, technical and fashion designers based in New York City and Plano, Texas, who translate trends and develop seasonal collections for its private brands.
She will report to John Tighe, executive VP and chief merchant, ensuring seamless connectivity between merchandising and product development and design teams, according to the company.
"Val is a trusted and highly-respected member of the J.C. Penney team who, in her over 30 years at the company, has driven the product development and trend directions of many of our class-leading private and exclusive brands," said Marvin Ellison, CEO of J.C. Penney. "We are confident Val`s experience will allow us to continue delivering unmatched style, quality, and value – a high standard maintained by Ken Mangone in his many years of honorable service to the company."
In addition, senior VP of supply chain Mike Robbins was given responsibility over the company`s sourcing organization, which includes a network of international buying offices, quality control functions, social compliance teams and other global operations.
J.C. Penney said it is one of the largest importers of textiles and apparel in the U.S., sourcing from approximately 400 suppliers located in 32 countries around the globe, making it one of the most sophisticated and experienced retail sourcing organizations in the industry.
Kohl’s eliminates three senior exec positions
Several published reports are indicating that Kohl’s has eliminated three senior level leadership positions.
Kohl’s has reportedly eliminated the positions of chief digital officer, senior vice president of store environment and development, and senior vice president of communications and public relations. Retailing Today was unable to independently confirm the jobs cuts or the identify of executives involved. Kohl’s representatives were unavailable for comment.
To read more click here.


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Cuomo to be first governor to visit Cuba as ties reopen
ALBANY— New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is heading to Havana, the first American governor to visit Cuba since the recent thaw in relations with the communist nation. Whether his trade mission generates anything more than headlines, however, remains to be seen.
The formal state visit on Monday and Tuesday is meant to foster greater ties between New York and Cuba. Cuomo will be joined by lawmakers and a group of business leaders for what he has called “a tremendous stepping stone” that will “help open the door to a new market for New York businesses.”
Trade experts say New York could profit from improved relations with the Caribbean nation. New York farmers could export apples, powdered milk and other dairy products. Businesses could invest big in Cuba’s developing information technology infrastructure. Hoteliers could build resorts to prepare for the increase in American tourists.


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RadioShack (RSH) earnings plunged 62% from a year ago for the fourth quarter, missing Wall Street targets by 23 cents.
The struggling Fort Worth, Texas, electronics retailer also rolled out the latest wrinkle in a long-running turnaround effort, saying it would close 400 to 700 underperforming stores. The news comes as the company moves away from the nation's fastest-growing wireless carrier, Verizon Wireless, and deals with a flap over resume errors on the part of CEO David Edmondson.
For the quarter ended Dec. 31, RadioShack made 50 million, or 36 cents a share, down from the year-ago $131 million, or 81 cents a share. Excluding a latest-quarter accounting change, earnings were 38 cents a share, compared with a 61-cent Thomson Financial analyst consensus estimate. Sales rose 5% from a year ago and 4% on a same-store basis to $1.67 billion, matching the estimate.
"Sales results were good in many low-margin nonwireless categories; however, we experienced lower sales in high-margin categories. In addition, wireless sales and profits were below our expectations," Edmondson said. "The poor fourth-quarter performance caused us to take a much deeper look at the state of our business and resulted in the launch of a turnaround plan including the significant fourth-quarter inventory write-down."
Over the next 18 months, RadioShack intends to achieve three major goals: increase the average unit volume of its core store base, rationalize its cost structure and grow profitable square feet in its store portfolio.
The company will replace old, slower-moving merchandise with new, faster- moving merchandise within higher growth categories. RadioShack will concentrate its efforts and investment on improving top-performing stores in order to deliver a great customer experience. To do so, it will close 400 to 700 company-operated stores. In addition, the company intends to better align overhead costs with its business model, which will help generate more profit per square foot. Lastly, the company will continue to expand its kiosk business and aggressively relocate RadioShack stores to better real estate.
In addition, RadioShack intends to close its distribution centers in Charleston, S.C. and in Southhaven, Miss. The impact to the company's income statement is anticipated to be neutral, but the cash implications are likely to be positive, due primarily to the release of a safety stock of inventory. The company will review overhead expenses to identify potential sources of cost reduction.
"While the execution of the turnaround plan will trigger the recognition of significant costs, we are confident that the steps we are taking will put RadioShack back on the track to sustained profitable growth," Edmondson said.


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Tim Cook is doing his darnedest to run Apple and become the one successful CEO of the company not named Steve Jobs. But he's got a problem, according to the UK's Guardian: he's not Steve, and that's making it harder for Apple to recruit talent.
Several Silicon Valley talent recruiters told the Guardian that Apple is no longer seen as the best place for engineers to work. Top talent is opting for Facebook, Alphabet, Uber, and Airbnb, say recruiters.
The reasons? One is Apple's high-stress culture and cult of secrecy, which runs in sharp contrast to other workplaces. Stories about the Area 51-like secrecy are legend. Employees in one group have no idea what another group is working on, and are often unwilling to be seen together at lunch because the Apple Stasi would suspect them of blabbing. Word is that Cook has lightened up on that a bit.
The other problem is the absence of Steve Jobs. The cult of personality is gone with the man.
"Apple's not an engineering culture," said Michael Solomon, the co-founder of 10x, an engineering talent management firm. "Tim Cook's done an amazing job running the company, but [Steve Jobs] was the guy everyone wanted to follow into battle."
So, at Apple, people can't talk about their work (and engineers love to brag), perks fall short in comparison to Facebook and Google, its iconic leader is gone, and it is located much further south from San Francisco, where younger people want to live (despite the $4,200 per month rent). It's a perfect storm of challenges.
That hardly means that Apple is getting the B- students. It's still one of the top places to work, and can get good programmers. It pays engineers well, and the Guardian notes it's the largest corporation in the world, not a venture-backed private company such as Uber or Airbnb, which could easily stumble.
The problem is Apple's changing reputation among young programmers. A company once seen as a disruptor is now seen as boring, merely iterating on the iPhone. And that's going to be a problem for Apple, not just with the young talent it wants to hire, but everyone.


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The latest crisis hitting the SEO industry where, once again, a pay-to-play model that flouts the rules and skirts what’s traditionally acceptable by the SEO industry is outed, highlights everything that’s wrong (and right) with SEO.
More than that, it shows, what you can do to win in search without trying too hard.
I know you’re interested because that’s what everybody wants. Looking for shortcuts is exactly what we are hardwired to do. It’s what has got us here from the caves and it is what keeps us reading, researching and thinking as we try to find the ‘secret recipe’ that will give us the best ROI for our efforts.
I have some good news on that front but, in line with the complexity of our modern world, I also have some bad news.
Let’s start with the bad.
Links Still Work
A linkless search ranking is something everyone has been hoping for since semantic search and search engine focus on quality and thematic completeness and end-user value, kicked in. The hope has always been that mentions, sentiment, context interdependency, and thematic density will trump links https://patents.google.com/patent/US8682892B1/en in determining page quality, and therefore search visibility for a website.
We are not there yet. Spamming, by way of link-building activities that focus on the activity rather than the quality of the website still go on and they take many different forms as the latest scandal Buzzfeed writes about, shows. Link-building as a commercial activity is bad because it changes the structure of the link graph associated with a website and can trick a search engine into believing it is of higher merit than it actually is.
This undermines trust in the quality of search and search results, changes the competitive landscape of websites and gives the SEO industry a bad reputation. Unfortunately the practice of selling links and touting services that include “aggressive link-building strategies” in order to rank high in the search engine results pages (SERPs) are unlikely to disappear any time soon. The reason is that links still work when it comes to ranking content in SERPs and though being outed for them is bad for business https://twitter.com/Jon_Christian/status/1013820378563645445 the repercussions may still not be bad enough to dissuade those who employ them that the ROI isn’t worth their trouble.
Now, for the good news.
Links Are Worth Less
Link spam is bad for business. Websites that are artificially boosted in SERPs are bad for search engines and bad for the end-user who wants to find the most relevant answer to a search query quickly and is unwilling to try two-three passes trying to get the right results.
Google has been painfully aware of this which is why the company has implemented and will continue to implement a variety of quality score (QS) techniques that are designed to reduce the spammy link problems.
A seminal in-depth study carried out by Stone Temple Consulting that examined hundreds of websites and thousands of search queries, multiple times, determined that in the time intervening between 2008 and now Google has worked hard to practically destroy the link-buying and selling industry by deprecating the value links have to rank a poor quality website.
This means that while instances of search engine-gaming such as those reported by Buzzfeed will still occur they will be fewer and fewer and deliver diminishing returns. And that’s not all.
Do More With Less
As Google bakes artificial intelligence (AI) https://ai.googleblog.com/2018/05/advances-in-semantic-textual-similarity.html in all its products https://davidamerland.com/seo-blog/1225-conversational-computing-and-the-future-of-search.html, including search, the true shortcuts are to be found in the alignment of day-to-day operational processes in a business that creates alignments which aid marketing, branding and search.
More specifically, the marketing and branding practices of a business now need to be itemized and critically examined for areas where better internal communication can help amplify what each does by making better use of the efforts of one to aid the aims of the other.
As search engines now look at things like semantic density on a website and examine consistency of values, expressed sentiment about a brand and perceived trustworthiness, smart website owners need to:
- Make sure brand values are clearly articulated, promoted and expressed in both internal and customer-facing practices across a business.
- Clarify the business identity. The “What” and “Why” a business exists and does what it does and then make sure that this is experienced at every touchpoint.
- Plan content creation activities to achieve the first two points.
All of this sounds like a lot of task-orientated, detailed work. It is. But then again it isn’t anything most website owners and online businesses don’t already do albeit without actively thinking about alignment and overlap. This small change in approach however can deliver huge dividends in search engine visibility and SERPs ranking and, ultimately, this would allow a business to thrive.


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The Xiaomi Mi 5 is expected to launch four variants of the smartphone soon. Google’s Android expert, Hugo Barra, recently confirmed that its flagship model Mi 5 will be introduced on Feb. 24 in different variants with varied specs and features.
We had earlier reported that there will be more than one device at the Xiaomi Mi 5 launch event. Ghizmo China had earlier reported that the event will run from 2 to 4 p.m. Attendees can enjoy a hands-on experience with the devices to be presented. Senior VP of Xiaomi, Wanqianq Li, said that more details regarding the Mi5 device will be revealed on Tuesday, Jan. 26.
Now that the release of a total four variants of Xiaomi Mi 5 phone has been confirmed, consumers are eagerly waiting to know the related specs and prices. According to IBTimes, one of the Mi 5 variants will have 3GB of RAM with 32GB of internal space, while a second phone will feature 4GB of RAM along with 64GB of inbuilt space. Further reports say that the other two variants will have a 2.5D curved glass and will carry combined features of 4GB of RAM and 2K QHD display.
As for the prices, the first two variants will probably come at a price tag of $334 and $395, respectively. On the other hand, the rest of two variants boasting 2K display will be priced at $425 and $471 specific to 32GB and 64GB models.
According to leaked reports by Geekbench, the Xiaomi Mi 5 will be powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon quad-core SoC, that is, the Snapdragon 820. The phone is expected to come with Android 6.0 Marshmallow at its core with Xiaomi’s own MIUI 7 operating system.
In 2013, Xiaomi made a record of selling over 10 million Mi 2 in the global market. Significant changes were noticed when Hugo Barra joined the Chinese company to keep up with his promises of producing innovative mobile phones. Since his entry to the company, Xiaomi has been recognized as the “Apple of China”.


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Talks so far have been contentious, especially with GM. The company wants a contract that's more cost-competitive with the United Auto Workers union in the U.S. The union wants guarantees that new products will go into a GM factory in Oshawa, Ontario.
The Oshawa plant employs 2,400 hourly workers and builds the Chevrolet Impala, Cadillac XTS and Buick Regal. All three cars have been slow sellers as the North American market shifts away from cars to trucks and SUVs.


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After confirming that OnePlus 5 will be launched on June 20, the Chinese OEM seems quite excited about the phone’s release to an extent that it’s no longer saving the phone for this date.
Yes, OnePlus has decided to go public with an image of what the new OnePlus 5 will look like. The company took to Twitter to make this news public, confirming what has been in the rumor mills for quite some time now.
From the image, it’s true that OnePlus 5 will come with a dual-lens camera on the back. Unlike previous leaks where the phone had been touted to ship with a vertical camera arrangement, the image confirms that OnePlus has joined a series of companies that have been going after the same Apple iPhone 7 Plus design.
Some commenters have been quick to note that the new OnePlus 5 looks like an iPhone 7 Plus with a OnePlus logo on the back. This makes the phone generic in a way, despite the fact that it’s different from the 2016 OnePlus 3T. In terms of design, the phone doesn’t bring anything new to the crowded smartphone market, but the real power of this phone is under the hood.
— OnePlus (@oneplus) June 8, 2017
We don’t know the exact camera specs, but we can tell you something about the internals of this OnePlus 5 beast. Under the hood, there will be the new Snapdragon 835 chipset paired with up to 8GB RAM. This is huge and it will make the phone one of the few that come packed with such a RAM module, joining the ASUS ZenFone AR and the recent ZTE Nubia Z17.
If you’ve already set your eyes on the iPhone 7 Plus, you probably won’t see anything unique in the design of the OnePlus 5. Still, this doesn’t mean that the latter is not a worthy handset to look at once it’s released, especially when price matters come into play.
Speaking of price, the OnePlus 5 could be priced at about 550 euros for the high-end variant and slightly below 500 euros for the base model of 6GB RAM and 64GB storage, at least according to the latest leaks and rumors. Compared to the likes of Samsung Galaxy S8, LG G6, HTC U11, HTC U Ultra and other 2016 flagship phones, this is still a great price for such a powerful handset.


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The harbinger effect:
The study of harbingers emerged from a 2015 analysis of purchasing patterns at a national convenience store chain. (In exchange for the data, the researchers agreed not to reveal the identity of the chain.) Drawing on six years’ worth of data from the chain’s loyalty card program, a team of marketing professors led by Eric Anderson of Northwestern University classified customers according to their affinity for buying new products that were later pulled from the shelves because of weak demand. Of the roughly 130,000 customers whose purchases were logged, a sizable fraction (about 25 percent) consistently took home products that bombed.
“It was really an accident,” says the economist Catherine Tucker of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, one of the study’s authors. “We looked in the data and saw there were some customers who were really good at picking out failures” — so good, in fact, that a newly introduced product was less likely to survive if it attracted these buyers. (And if they bought it repeatedly, its chances of survival were even worse.) Professor Tucker called these people harbingers of failure because, statistically speaking, their fondness for a product heralded its demise.
The harbinger effect has since been shown to apply not just to individuals but also to geographic locales.
Also to investment portfolios.
(Link via Instapundit.)


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Planning Commision says no to shopping at Corral De Tierra
January 13, 2011
In a 5-5 vote on Wednesday, the Monterey County Planning Commission rejected a proposal for a 127,000-square-foot retail center on Corral de Tierra Road at Highway 68.
The proposal, submitted by Corral de Tierra-based Omni Resources, Ltd., includes a grocery store, 10 retail buildings, one office building, and 508 parking spaces. Bill and Nancy Phelps originally purchased the 11-acre tract in 1970, and the family formed Omni Resources to manage the project.
Eric Phelps of Omni Resources could not be reached for comment after the Commission's vote, but he plans to appeal the decision, which means the Board of Supervisors will have the final say.


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Celebrate 'Christmas in Kennebunk' Saturday
KENNEBUNK — The 33rd annual Christmas in Kennebunk will be held Saturday, Nov. 26 in downtown Kennebunk with a full day and evening of events sponsored by local merchants and the Downtown Committee.
Ahmed Cianguilli, chairman of the Downtown Committee, said he’s hoping for an even bigger event than last year.
“Last year was the largest in 32 years with over 2,000 people in attendance for the tree lighting, and we are hoping for the same or even more this year,” he said.
There are even more merchants participating in the “Goodies from Merchants” program this year, which will start at 4 p.m. People can walk around and enjoy cookies, hot cocoa and more from local businesses along Main Street.
There will be live music and caroling from the Kennebunk High School Choir, with the official lighting of the tree by Santa at 5 p.m.
“People can wear festive hats, sing along with the music and shop at the downtown shops,” Ciangiulli said.”We are hoping for a really festive crowd and good weather.”
Following the tree lighting, everyone is invited to skate with Santa and his elves at Waterhouse Center.
During the day, the Kennebunk Free Library, located at 112 Main St., will offer a drop-in Family Holiday Crafts session from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. The Brick Store Museum, located at 117 Main St., is open from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. For a $1 admission price, they will be offering a Christmas Card Making Station, a game exhibit, where families can play games, and an Etsy Fair featuring Maine made crafts.
There will be no parking from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. in area of the Water/Storer Streets north to Bourne Street. Main Street closes to traffic at 4:30 p.m.
For more information, email firstname.lastname@example.org.


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Given the ongoing rise in grocery prices, Diana Wind, RD, a nutritionist at Inspira Health, stresses that making sustainable ingredient choices is just as important as making healthful ones. In her grazing board for New Year’s, she does both, with the star of the show being black-eyed peas. They’re affordable, full of protein and fiber, and have been shown to improve cholesterol levels in menopausal women, according to a study published in April 2022 in the Asian Journal of Health Research.
“Black-eyed peas (sometimes called cowpeas) bring good luck in the new year,” Wind says. More specifically, Hoppin’ John — a stewed black-eyed pea dish made popular in the American South, particularly in Black households — is a holiday favorite, and Wind makes it grazing-friendly (and healthier) by enacting a few ingredient swaps. “For a grazing board, Hoppin’ John is best served in a bowl as a dip surrounded by whole grain crackers,” she explains, as it’s typically served over rice. Her recipe also eliminates some of the dish’s saturated fats by removing the ham hock the beans are typically cooked in, and subbing in olive oil, aromatics, and greens.
With the beans being the main event, Ward recommends incorporating side elements of sweetness and creaminess with fresh fruit — grapes, apples, strawberries, clementines — and cheese, such as pepper jack. These add-ins will bring antioxidants, calcium, and a bit more protein to the party.
Additional reporting by Kayla Blanton.


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Every week our analysts gather the biggest headlines and trends and provide their analysis on major industry developments in the news. Our researchers evaluate news based on potential importance ranking developments from Truly Disruptive to Ignore. Check out our thoughts on the top emerging technology and innovation news and trends across all industries below.
Each Friday we will highlight our Lux Take on the news for the week.
Schrödinger has IPO and provides a litmus test for chemical and materials informatics (and yes, these two spaces are related)
Xiao Zhong, Ph.D., Analyst | @conanxzxz
Lux Take: Truly Disruptive
"Before the IPO, Schrödinger raised a total of $110 million in capital from prominent investors/institutions including David Shaw and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust. The company applies and develops AI and computational tools for drug discovery and started its Materials Science Division in 2012 with the goal of expanding its capability to the materials space. This is the first public company that has its core business in chemical and materials informatics. Its performance can be a good indicator of market faith in these spaces. Interested clients should monitor the company but also be mindful that not all MI startups have the same business model as Schrödinger. Citrine and a few others have built unique data infrastructures."
In line with its peers, BP pledges net-zero emissions by 2050
"Following Repsol and Equinor, BP is the next oil major committing to net-zero emissions across its operations by 2050. Similar to Repsol, the company's net-zero pledge also addresses Scope 3 emissions to account for end-use emissions from its oil and gas products, which is an important milestone for the industry as it looks to meet the required carbon intensities set by the Paris Agreement. The press release references methane detection and low carbon investments, but companies should note that BP's broader decarbonization strategy is centered around completely restructuring the organization. BP has struggled to reinvent itself in the past but may find more success as the industry reaches a turning point in the evolving energy transition."
ChargePoint and NATSO form "billion"-dollar partnership to deploy highway EV charging infrastructure
Christopher Robinson, Senior Analyst | @CRobinsonLux
Lux Take: Very Important
"The National Association of Truck Stop Operators (NATSO) announced an initiative to deploy chargers at 4,000 travel stops and fueling stations by 2030, with a focus on rural highway routes. The move is overdue and a clear winning strategy; food and drink sales are much more profitable than selling gas, and the relatively longer charge times compared to refueling will likely increase revenues from these items. However, a key detail left out of the billion-dollar project is funding – the companies will seek to raise this funding or leverage public funding, and it is likely no coincidence that this was announced the same day as U.S. legislators announced a bill to fund a dramatic expansion of EV charging infrastructure."
TerraCycle to bring reusable packaging platform, Loop, to retail stores
"As an online-only platform, Loop faced numerous roadblocks for consumers, such as deposits for packaging, $15 shipping costs for orders under $100 (in the U.S.), the inconvenience of shipping back empty containers, and limited product offerings. By bringing the platform to retailers, such as its partners Carrefour, Tesco, Kroger, and Walgreens, TerraCycle will directly address the challenges associated with shipping. More importantly, bringing Loop to retailers will help TerraCycle overcome the logistical challenges with its platform – selling items in stores (and not just relying on retailers' supply chains) allows it to avoid the cost and logistical challenges of having to ship products to and pick up empty containers from consumers."
Newly identified digital biomarker helps identify likelihood of positive response to antidepressant
Danielle Bradnan, Research Associate | @DBradnan
Lux Take: Very Important
"By using a machine learning algorithm to assess EEG data, researchers have identified patterns that predict a patient's response to a specific antidepressant (sertraline). The use of digital biomarkers, such as EEG patterns, for diagnostics and personalized treatment is a growing trend as data analytics uncover previously invisible insights. In the U.S., while biomarkers in and of themselves are not patentable, as part of a diagnostic leading to a specific treatment, there is potential patentability. The discovery of data analytics-based digital biomarkers is more accessible to nontraditional healthcare players – unlocking opportunities for clients to develop proprietary healthcare diagnostics revenue streams."
Markforged introduces copper with 99.8% purity to its metal 3D printing materials portfolio
"Markforged announced that it validated copper for its Metal X 3D printers.This is important because with more available materials, material extrusion-type printers like Metal X will find more application areas with a low barrier for entry thanks to their low capex. Copper is not a common 3D printing material for other metal 3D printing technologies, including powder bed fusion and directed energy deposition. Although there are some groups which have validated or developing copper printing capability, this capability will give Markforged an edge."
Latest foldable phone failure points to material innovation needs
Vladimir Roznyatovskiy, Ph.D., Senior Analyst | @roznyatovskiy
Lux Take: Very Important
"Winner takes all" does not apply to flexible displays and the phones made from them. The Samsung Fold has been shown to not withstand mass-market conditions, and many others have also jumped into the race with anticipated product releases. Though only Motorola Razr actually launched on the market in a flexible form factor, it too did not stick around. The latest trial revealed weakness in hinges and display layers, further emphasizing the need for materials innovations in flexible displays. We may see a few more marketing campaigns with shiny flexible phone releases, but this year will be a race to develop the necessary materials to finally bring a flexible display to the mass market for the long haul."
Differentiating cannabis from hemp with Raman spectroscopy – hype and hurdles
Joshua Haslun, Ph.D., Senior Analyst | @JHaslun
Lux Take: Average Importance
"Rather than developing new sensing technologies, Texas A&M researchers repurposed a hand-held Raman spectrometer to differentiate cannabis and hemp varieties. The sensors have gained a foothold in the food and beverage industry, and the research group's results indicate 97% classification accuracy among hemp and different cannabis varieties. The study also highlights significant challenges. Concentration is key; differentiating hemp from cannabis is only beneficial if an accurate THC content is attached. Hemp varieties may produce more than the 0.3% regulated limit dependent on growing conditions, a serious problem without leeway at this point. Companies, this technique is not a dead end, but the evidence does not yet justify the hype."
Indonesia's B30 will likely save the palm oil industry after EU ban
2019 saw the largest increase in geothermal capacity in the past two decades
- Blog: Can Innovation Stop a Global


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BOISE, Idaho -- With its board reportedly expected to meet last night, Albertson's Inc. here appeared close to being sold to the consortium of retailers and financial buyers that had tried once and failed to close a deal for the chain for roughly $9.6 billion.
The Wall Street Journal reported on its Web site Sunday evening that a deal could close as early as today, according to unnamed sources "familiar with the matter."
A similar deal, however, collapsed at the last minute in December.
The Wall Street Journal said the current deal on the table would have Supervalu acquiring most of the maeg-chain's supermarkets, while drug chain CVS Corp. would buy Albertson's freestanding pharmacies.
Final terms of the new deal were expected to roughly mirror the ones that the board turned down in December, with the significant exception that Albertson's buyers would assume any antitrust risk involving Chicago-area stores, a sticking point that helped unwind a previous deal, said the Wall Street Journal's sources.
News of the revived deal broke late last week, and moved Albertsons' shares up 24 cents to $24.11 at Friday's close.
The chain's board said then that after reviewing the new proposal from the consortium of investors, which again includes Minneapolis-based Supervalu, it authorized management and its representatives to reenter into negotiations. Not, surprisingly, the company emphasized that there can be no assurances that any transaction will occur as a result of these negotiations, or if one does occur, its terms or timing.
Albertsons' divisions and subsidiaries operate approximately 2,500 stores in 37 states across the U.S. and employ approximately 240,000 associates. Its banners include Albertsons, Acme, Shaw's, Jewel-Osco, Sav-on Drugs, Osco Drug, and Star Markets, as well as Super Saver and Bristol Farms, which are operated independently.


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Each year entrepreneurs from the whole country have a chance to receive a special prize i.e. the Economic Award of the President of Poland, which has been awarded for 14 years. This year the ceremony took place on November, 17, 2016 in Rzeszow during ‘Congress 590’ where Andrzej Duda, the president of Poland, congratulated the winners personally. Initiatives, which particularly contribute to the Polish economy growth, both in the innovative and social aspects were honoured. The award is aimed to support entrepreneurs development regardless of their business activities and number of people employed.
In 2016 a record number of applications were submitted (among them 198 applications, which met formal requirements). The category of International Success stirred up some emotions this year. Finally, this title went to to WISS company.
WISS company from Bielsko-Biala was awarded many times in the past, including such awards as Eagles of Export 2016. Awards like this motivate immensely our employees in building a successful brand - says Mariusz Rosa, CEO. At present, we produce vehicles to 40 countries – he continues - this proves how important constant innovation is. The nominees in the category of International Success included such famous brands as CCC Group - well-known not only domestically but also in the whole of Central Europe, selling about 28 million pairs of shoes annually and Comarch company from Cracow, which has been on the market for almost 25 years providing cutting-edge IT solutions and implementing projects in more than 40 countries.
The chapter of the award committee besides the International Success category presented the President's Economic Prize in the following categories: National Success, the Leader of Small and Medium Enterprises, Responsible Business, STARTUP_PL and Research + Development. The applications could have been submitted until October 19, 2016. Eighteen Polish companies have received nominations for the awards this year. Public and private institutions, which applied for the award included Polish Business Council, Association of Entrepreneurs and Employers, the Polish Patent Office, Polish Information and Foreign Investment Agency, Warsaw University of Technology, Startup Foundation Poland, National Science Centre, Association of Polish Clusters, National Labour Inspectorate, the Association of Stock Exchange Issuers, School of Life Sciences, the Union of Polish Metropolises and Marshal Offices of Podkarpackie province, Malopolska province, Kujawsko-Pomorskie province and Lower Silesia province.
WISS company has existed on the domestic and international market since 1988. It is not only a leader in Poland, but also one of the most popular manufacturers abroad. Impressive pace of development, numerous innovations and cooperation with clients from abroad (including Sweden and Germany) makes the company from Bielsko-Biala a true inspiration for other Polish firms. Currently, WISS employs more than 1,000 specialists to provide the highest quality of its products. Effective implementation of the company’s objectives is proved by numerous awards and prizes - including Eagles of Exports 2016 and the Economic Award of the President of Poland.


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Sony ended their Paris Games Week Conference on a high note, David Cage from Quantic Dream came on stage to announced their first PlayStation 4 Project called “Detroit”. Remember that Project Kara tech demo that Quantic Dream showcased at PlayStation 4 Reveal event? now Quantic Dream is turning it into a full-fledged AAA title.
The graphics and visuals details in Detroit trailer showcased at Paris Games Week was astonishing, and Quantic Dream confirmed that it was captured In GAME ENGINE. You can check out the trailer below, it looks like after Heavy Rain and Beyond: Two Souls, another masterpiece is incoming from Quantic Dream.


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Pictures of empty supermarket shelves have been flooding social media as warnings of a Brexit food crisis are sounded by farmers.
The Save British Food group issued a chilling warning on Sunday after scores of supermarkets were left without any fresh produce on their shelves over the weekend.
Liz Webster, chair of the organisation, slammed ‘Brexit red tape’ for creating major supply chain issues. She has stated that tomatoes, cucumbers and potatoes will be hard to come by in the months ahead, due to the UK’s new relationship with the EU.
“Things are about to get a lot worse for food supply in Britain. It’s tomatoes, cucumbers, and potatoes are likely to be next. Next few months are when our food stocks are empty, and we rely on imports. EU countries don’t want to export to us, due to Brexit red tape”, she said.
In a statement issued on Sunday, Save British Food now believes a ‘looming catastrophe’ is on the horizon. They argue that the UK’s food supply is now at risk, and cite ‘rejoining EU trade agreements‘ as the only way to avert a significant crisis.
Over the last 48 hours, shoppers across the country have reported shortages of fresh produce and empty shelves at their local supermarkets.
Entire aisles have been left bare in some places, and according to Save British Food’s latest forecast, things will get a lot worse before they begin to improve.
Still, at least our passport covers are blue again…


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Huawei is all set to launch Honor 10 in India on May 15. The smartphone will be a Flipkart exclusive and already listed on the site. The phone was earlier launched in China for CNY 2,599 (around Rs 27,000).
The smartphone is expected to feature 5.84-inch FHD+ LCD display with 19:9 aspect ratio and the notch at the top of the display. If reports are to be believed, it might be powered by the Kirin 970 processor coupled with Mali-G72 MP12 GPU.
There will be the two variants of the Honor 10, 64GB and 128GB internal memory with 6GB RAM. It will run on the Android 8.1 Oreo on the top of EMUI 8.1.
In terms of optics, the Honor 10 is likely to sport a dual rear camera setup on the back, 24 MP and 16 MP sensors with AI capabilities. On the front, it will carry a 24MP sensor. Furthermore, the device will house a 3,400 mAh battery under the hood.
Honor 10 will compete with OnePlus 6 in its mid-range price category.
Stay tuned for more tech news and updates.