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Goodby Silverstein & Partners
Thu, 30 Jan 2020 14:12:33 GMT
For the first time since 2014, SodaStream, the global sparkling water brand working to reduce single-use plastic waste, will be back at the Big Game. Today, SodaStream is releasing its 74-second version of the stellar spot which takes viewers on a journey to find water on Mars.
SodaStream will use the biggest commercial stage of the year to show consumers the new way to make fresh, sparkling water in seconds at home. Developed by Goodby Silverstein & Partners, the 30-second spot will air after the Half Time Show, immediately prior to the third quarter and has been directed by the Academy Award nominated film director Bryan Buckley, a Super Bowl veteran with more than six dozen game commercials under his belt who just received an Oscar nomination for his live action short film ‘Saria.’ Buckley is joined by director of photography, Rodrigo Preito, who just received his third Oscar nomination for Martin Scorsese’s ‘The Irishman.’ Beloved scientist Bill Nye and Alyssa Carson, the youngest Astronaut training to be part of the first manned mission to Mars, are guest stars in the spot.
Bill Nye, the CEO of The Planetary Society, has been extremely vocal about his passion to help the environment, which makes him a great partner to share this message with SodaStream. Alyssa Carson is an 18-year-old astrobiology student with a pilot’s license and certification to go to space. She plans to be among the first crewed mission to Mars. Who better than Carson to help SodaStream show what it would be like to find water on Mars?
“I’m very happy to be working with SodaStream on their Super Bowl commercial. Along with providing a great way to have all the sparkling water you need, SodaStream is using this platform to bring attention to an alternative to plastic bottle waste in a playful, approachable way. In this spot we even celebrate exploring Mars!” said Bill Nye. He added, “We’re living at a pivotal time. We have to preserve Earth’s environment, and water is our most precious resource. The sooner we switch to more sustainable, everyday water options like SodaStream, the better.”
“SodaStream has been known for over a decade now for its disruptive communication approach and positive environmental impact. This is a great opportunity for us to reach a huge audience and remind Americans that SodaStream is – first and foremost – the future of sparkling water and the best way to stay hydrated and avoid single-use plastic waste by making drinking water more exciting,” said SodaStream CEO Eyal Shohat. “We’re portraying a future we hope we don’t need with a touch of humour and a simple solution.”
SodaStream is doubling down on the planetary fun by calling upon residents of the aptly named town of Mars, Pennsylvania on game day. Mars residents who tweet at SodaStream on February 2nd will receive a free SodaStream so they can make fresh sparkling water anytime. “As a brand that likes to be positively disruptive, we felt that while most brands want to be the most talked about brand on Earth the day of the game, we want to be the most talked about brand on Mars,” said Shiri Hellmann, VP of Marketing, USA. “Plus, it’s a great opportunity to let new SodaStream users enjoy the benefits of making fresh sparking water at the touch of a button.”
Making your own sparkling water with SodaStream is a great way to stay hydrated and help the environment by cutting down on single-use plastics. By 2025 SodaStream has committed to the avoidance of 67 billion single-use plastic bottles. SodaStream is available at retailers nationwide including Amazon, Target, Bed Bath & Beyond, Walmart and more. Visit here for additional information. SodaStream was acquired by PepsiCo in 2018.
Genres: People, Storytelling, Dialogue
Categories: Carbonated Drinks, Soft DrinksGoodby Silverstein & Partners, Thu, 30 Jan 2020 14:12:33 GMT


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Akorn Database for the Highest Bidder: Hacker Holds Pharma Data Auction
A Lake Forest, IL, pharmaceutical company has discovered its cybersecurity defenses were not as impregnable as thought. A hacker has managed to infiltrate the customer database of Akorn Inc., and has stolen over 50,000 records. Those records have been offered online to the highest bidder, or will be given back to Akorn if the price is right.
In spite of outward appearances, the attack does not appear to be financially motivated; instead the hacker has claimed that the cyberattack was staged to “teach them a lesson in security.”
Hacker Claims Responsibility for the Attack
Earlier this week a known hacker, operating under the name “Mufasa,” made an offer via the dark web to sell the data appropriated in the Akorn cyberattack. Along with that offer was a selection of the data confirming the authenticity of the offer. The hacker is the same person who claimed responsibility for the huge iiNet ISP data breach in Australia earlier this month.
The hacker is known for using SQL Injection to exploit security vulnerabilities, and according to Salted Hash, the same technique was used to gain access to Akorn’s database. Salted Hash reached out to the hacker and initiated a conversation in which it was informed that “Every PHP file on their website was vulnerable.”
Akorn has responded promptly to the threat and has started issuing breach notifications to all individuals affected by the data breach. They are being informed that their names, email addresses, usernames and passwords have been exposed along with their business address. No Social Security numbers appear to have been compromised; however the database did contain a unique Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) Identification Numbers. These unique numbers are issued by the DEA and are used as identifiers for individuals allowed by law to supply narcotics.
High Risk of Spear Phishing
The probability of the data being used to obtain narcotics is relatively low. The DEA is aware which ID numbers have been compromised, and even if this were not the case, prescriptions are closely monitored. The main risk is from spear phishing.
Spear phishing is a highly effective method of infiltrating computer networks. A hacker does not need to break through complex multi-layered security systems, and does not require the technical skill needed for SQL injections. With the information stored in the customer database, a highly convincing spear phishing campaign could be launched. With detailed information on healthcare providers, phishing campaigns could prove highly effective and could potentially allow criminals to gain access to even larger stores of data.
According to Salted Hash, the hacker has received some offers from individuals interested in the data but a decision to sell has not been made, and the hacker appears to be reluctant to disclose the information. It was confirmed that this is not a financially motivated attack, although the data may still be sold “if someone were to offer the right price.”
According to Mufasa, “if Akorn wanted to purchase the data back, the price is $5,000 USD,” hardly a princely sum for a company that splashed out $640 million on the purchase of Hi-Tech Pharmacal in 2013.
As Mufasa told Salted Hash, “[Akorn spent] 640 mil on buying a company and they couldn’t invest in some [website] security.”
The stolen customer database contains highly sensitive information, yet it was not encrypted. Mufasa saying “they had no security whatsoever.”

domain: news


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GE Current has announced a partnership with Aquila Capital to provide funding solutions for growers looking to install low-energy LED lighting. The partnership will allow growers across Europe who are designing new indoor farming facilities — or upgrading existing installations to the latest lighting technology — to deploy Current’s range of Arize horticultural LED solutions, faster and with the aim of no up-front capital expenditure.
Projects financed through the new partnership have the potential to achieve CO2 savings of 30-40% vs existing installations, with repayment calculations based on a proportion of the future energy costs. By removing the financial barriers to this type of horticultural lighting and by supporting growers transitioning to LED, Current aims to help optimize the quality and volume of yields, while significantly reducing the environmental impact of indoor farming.
LED lighting has become an increasingly popular way for businesses and municipalities to save money and help reduce energy consumption. Last year, the City of Medford, Oregon announced that the it entered into a $4 million contract with Ameresco to convert more than 7,000 street lights and park lighting to LED technology. The improvements are being financed by a low-interest loan. Medford’s Transportation Manager, Karl MacNair, said completing this upgrade through an Energy Savings Performance Contract (ESPC) allows the City to fund the project with energy savings over the term of the contract.
And in March of last year, it was announced that LED lighting tube and fixture products will be installed in four new navy ships through the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program that allows US allied countries to purchase defense articles and services. Energy Focus was awarded the contract and expects to deliver on the it beginning in the second quarter of 2020 with completion expected by the end of 2021. The contract is valued at approximately $1.7 million. The products are all US Navy-approved. This news follows the company’s recent $3.4 million order to provide LED lighting products for existing US Navy ships.


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Jun 24, 2015 - At ClickZ Live Toronto, Lululemon's director of brand strategy discussed how having a strong brand identity means consistency and knowing when to weigh in. Comments
Mar 25, 2015 - Honda's luxury division features a Tumblr playlist, with each song's tempo corresponding with a gear on the ILX, the kind of entry-level luxury car that's popular among Millennials. Comments
Jul 15, 2014 - A recent announcement from Chevrolet about built-in 4G LTE Wi-Fi furthers the availability of in-car functionality, which could bring opportunities for advertisers and allow marketers to eventually deliver much more targeted experiences by tapping... Comments
Jun 23, 2014 - Utility, authenticity, and storytelling win with judges and consumers at this year's Cannes Lions. Comments
Nov 5, 2013 - The brand wants Honda fans to submit their stories on a new website and use the hashtag #StartSomething as an extension of its Honda Loves You Back campaign. Comments
Jul 19, 2013 - The live Twitter event on Monday netted nearly 7,000 mentions and 36 Vine videos. Comments
Feb 12, 2013 - Honda is supplementing a TV spot for its 2013 Civic with a social program focused on innovation. Comments
Dec 31, 2012 - Did any of the $3.5 million TV spots successfully tap social and interactive channels? Digital marketers weigh in. Comments
Sep 26, 2012 - RPA's new VP and director of creative social media, J Barbush, seeks passionate everyday brand fans. Comments
Apr 17, 2012 - Auto brand taps prolific users to kick-start presence on the social site. Comments
Feb 4, 2012 - Ad agency RPA describes what happened behind the scenes. Comments
Feb 3, 2012 - Social activity involving the video dropped, but the video still had lots of views. Comments
Feb 1, 2012 - Adriana Lima and Matthew Broderick help automotive brands dominate online before the big game. Comments
Traditionally desktops have shown to convert better than mobile devices however, 2015 might be a tipping point for mobile conversions! Download this report to find why mobile users are more important then ever.
Have you ever wondered what factors influence online spending or why shoppers abandon their cart? This data-rich infogram offers actionable insight into creating a more seamless online shopping experience across the multiple devices consumers are using.


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At Nite Moves, a little dressing with the undressing
Read about gentleman club's Thanksgiving Day offering on TU Plus
Published 6:38 am, Wednesday, November 25, 2015
COLONIE -- Skin, breasts and thighs are coveted at the Thanksgiving table, but nowhere more so than at Nite Moves, the Latham gentleman's club that has been offering a free turkey dinner to patrons on Thanksgiving since 2004.
"There are a lot of people in our industry, whether it's a customer or the staff, that don't have family to spend the holiday with. We offer a chance to get a nice, hot meal and enjoy the show," owner Steven Dick Jr. said.
The show: scantily clad women performing physics-defying stunts on a slicked-up stripper's pole, lap dances and otherwise unorthodox entertainment on Thanksgiving. (Unless your traditions include Aunt Betty serving apple pie in a g-string and nipple tassels.)
Read the full story on timesunionPLUS


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Apple's new battery case has taken a ribbing for the way it bulks up the slim lines of the iPhone. CEO Tim Cook is now defending its honor.
Launched Tuesday, the Smart Battery Case is Apple's first gadget wrap designed to supplement your iPhone's battery. Along with an energy boost, however, it also adds a sizable bulge to the backside of the smartphone, which many observers have derided as an unsightly hump.
Not so Cook.
He didn't offer an alternative description, but smartphone rival LG used the opportunity to tweet a photo of its LG V10 with the tagline "A moment of silence for those experiencing a bumpy ride." and the hashtag #TheHump.
Smartphone owners routinely cloak their sleek, high-tech rectangles with cases that both protect the body and glass screen and allow an additional measure of styling and self-expression.
Poor battery life, meanwhile, is one of the biggest complaints about smartphones generally, and iPhones especially. No one likes running out of power before the day is over, so consumers often turn to external battery packs that fit into an oversize case or hang from a short cable as an accessory.
Apple said the battery boost from its $99 case (£79 in the UK, AU$165 in Australia) is enough to boost talk time to 25 hours, video playback to 20 hours and Internet use on 4G LTE networks to 18 hours.
Cook intimated that Apple's case isn't necessarily a sign the iPhone's battery life is a problem. People who charge their phones every day probably won't need it, he said. But "if you're out hiking and you go on overnight trips ... it's kind of nice to have."
He also contended that, unlike Apple's new design, battery cases such as those from Mophie are so stiff and firm that people often struggle to put them and take them off. If Apple's battery case was solid all the way around, people would face that same sort of struggle.
"Have you ever used other cases and tried to get them on?" Cook asked the Mashable writer. Apple saw a better way to approach the matter, Cook said: "The guys had this great insight to put the bend in along with making it a smart case."
It's all about flexibility.


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Nintendo America gave himself Official response to recent allegations made by a former employeeWhich talked about the impossibility of creating a union. The American company also revealed the reason for the dismissal of this employee.
Here it is Full statement from Nintendo of Americain translation: “We are aware of a complaint made to the National Labor Relations Board by a contractor previously fired for disclosing confidential information and for no other reason. Nintendo is not aware of any attempts to form a union or related companies and intends to cooperate in his investigation. NLRB. Nintendo is fully committed to providing a welcoming and supportive work environment for all of our employees and partners. We take employment matters very seriously.”
The former employee, whose name we do not know, accused the company of preventing the creation of a union and eventually being fired. However, the National Labor Relations Board’s complaint was not clear and it was not possible to understand what exactly happened. According to Nintendo, this person was fired for sharing confidential information and for no other reason.
This is what we know at the moment. We’ll have to wait until the National Labor Relations Board investigation is over to find out the details.
“Food expert. Unapologetic bacon maven. Beer enthusiast. Pop cultureaholic. General travel scholar. Total internet buff.”


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Latest 'nightrunner' news
Bidding farewell to Grantman Inc.
When DC Comics published the final issue of Geoff Johns’ eight-year, 150-ish issue run on the Green Lantern character in May, it came in a massive package: An 80-page, $7.99 …
THE BAT SIGNAL: Hine Closes Out “Batman and Robin”
Before wrapping up Dick Grayson's final story as Batman, writer David Hine speaks to THE BAT SIGNAL about giving the Dynamic Duo a surrealist twist in "Batman and Robin" #26.
Comics A.M. | Day-early debut axed for Formic Wars, more on Wizard World
Publishing | Citing “distribution concerns,” Marvel has canceled plans to allow members of the ComicsPRO retail trade organization to sell the first issue of author Orson Scott Card’s Formic Wars: …


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Inside the Numbers
In Q3, Intel reported $1.71 in earnings per share, beating expectations of $1.11 per share. Revenue missed at $18.1 billion vs $18.24 billion. Compared to last year, this was a -0.5% drop in revenue and a 4% increase in earnings. Intell issued Q4 guidance of $18.3 billion in revenue which was in-line with expectations.
The main source of Intel's revenue miss was client computing which saw a 2% decline in sales to $9.7 billion. This is Intel's biggest unit, and the company said that PC chip sales were lower due to less overall computer and laptop sales due to component shortages which led to decreased production.
The company believes that PC demand remains strong but that it expects to deal with similar issues over the next 1 to 2 years, although it sees Q3 and Q4 as being the worst of it. Some analysts are seeing Intel's flat revenue as a sign that the surge in PC and laptop sales around the world may be over with the pandemic nearing an end. Now, there may be a period of muted demand as certainly some element of future demand was pulled forward due to these events.
Intel's Data Center Group remain its primary source for growth. Its saw revenues increase by 10% but fell slightly short of expectations. Spending in this area remains strong as companies and governments continue to increase spending on cloud computing.
Intel is spending $20 billion this year in an effort to shrink the gap between itself and rivals like AMD
Currently, Intel's gross margin is at 56%, but the company said it shouldn't drop below 50% and should also start gradually creeping higher after 2 years. Intel's plan to use its newest facility in Arizona to manufacturer other companies' chips would also lead to higher margins.
Intel believes that the semiconductor industry will double in size over the next decade. If this is correct, then Intel's project could be a massive success especially as it's receiving government subsidies on the project.
Stock Price Outlook
Intel has been a value trap with its low valuation being enticing but ultimately hiding that its business may be in decline. This is especially true as the company is around 1.5 generations behind AMD in terms of chip speed. Thus, Intel is losing pricing power and market share.
However, the company finally seems serious about tackling this effort and is taking its medicine. If an investor believes in Intel that a surge in R&D could shrink the gap and that its foundry will be successful, then this gap down could be a great, entry point.


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Every automaker is working an an electric vehicle, it seems, with one glaring exception: Mazda. According to an interview with the Detroit News, Jim O'Sullivan, president of Mazda North America, says that Mazda has no plans to develop an electric vehicle, and will instead focus on making their sporty traditional fossil-fuel vehicles more fuel-efficient. However, Mazda is developing a gasoline-hydrogen rotary-engine hybrid, currently being tested in Japan.
It seems like a shame. If anyone could bring zoom-zoom to the EV race, it would certainly be Mazda. Look what they did for the mini-van.
Source: Detroit News, photo courtesy of Mazda
Fisker Karma: Production 2013 Fisker Surf To Launch At Paris Motor... Electric Vehicle: Mitsubishi i Tops Greenest Car List, Edges Out CNG... Electric Vehicle: Conquering Electric-Car Range Anxiety: A Complete Guide Saturn VUE: AFS Trinity Heads To Washington With 150 mpg Plug-in... Detroit Auto: Kia to Debut Ray Plug-In Concept at Chicago Auto Show VUE Plug: Saturn Vue Plug-in Hybrid Will Live on as a New Brand...


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The two products were both developed by Altria Group and will be available in Canada starting this summer.
The new versions will cost between $20 and $40 and will have a different taste, and will not be available at stores or online, said a spokesperson for Altria.
Altria’s Altria E-Liquid and E-Juice will cost about $15 a bottle, according to the company.
Altri-Smoker will be released by Crave.com on July 8.
The other brand will be named after the U.S. President Donald Trump, who announced a plan to roll back some of President Barack Obama’s initiatives.
The Canadian version will be called Altria Smoke.
The companies have been testing the products since February.
Both products will be sold in Canada and in U.K. stores beginning this summer, according a release from the Canadian government.


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All Apple enthusiasts are always on the edge of their chairs when it comes to iPhone leaks. In addition to the existing leaks and rumors, the latest one in the form of a video (with Foxconn CEO holding the alleged iPhone 11) fueled further anticipation. However, to everyone’s disappointment, the device wasn’t what we thought it to be.
According to a tweet by popular tipster Ben Geskin, the smartphone which we mistook for the future iPhone was actually the iPhone XS with a case by Casetify.
False alarm 😄 That’s just an #iPhoneXS in @Casetify case pic.twitter.com/FVwwh1soy4
— Ben Geskin 📸📱👨💻 (@BenGeskin) April 19, 2019
Foxconn CEO recently appeared in a video wherein he announced that he would be running for the President of Taiwan. That’s when people thought that the iPhone he was seen holding was the 2019 iPhone 11.
The device in the video attracted eyeballs as it appeared to be a new design and contradicted the ugly-looking rear camera bump that has been rumored to make its entry with the iPhone 11 series.
Here’s the video in case you missed it:
Sadly, it turned out otherwise, and we have to stick to the existing iPhone 11 rumors and wait for the new ones to show up.
For those who have forgotten, the iPhone 11 is likely to share the same front design as the iPhone XS with a notch. However, the rear design could change with a triple-camera module arranged randomly.
The iPhone 11 is expected to sport a 12MP front camera (an increase from the 7MP front camera seen in its predecessors) with improved functionality.
Additionally, the 2019 iPhones (expected to be three in number) are likely to support reverse wireless charging and could come with bumped up batteries.
Just as a reminder, the above-mentioned are not concrete details, and we still need to wait until something official pops up.
So keep on visiting Fossbytes for more information on the same and other tech-related news.
Also Read: Apple Is Developing An App To Track Your Devices Without Internet


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Optimism among small businesses in December reached its highest level since October 2006, the National Federation of Independent Business reported today, providing fresh evidence that Main Street is finally sharing in the economic recovery that has fueled major corporations and the stock market.
The Small Business Optimism Index gained 2.3 points to 100.4, taking the index back to its pre-recession average.
“The index showed some strength in November but most of the gains were confined to just two categories,” said NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg. “The December index shows much broader strength led by a significant increase in sales expectations.”
Considerably more small business owners said now is a good time to expand, NFIB reported, with capital investments and hiring both on the rise. Some 60% reported capital outlays, with 42% reporting spending on new equipment, 23% acquiring new vehicles and 16% expanding or improving their facilities.
As for adding to their workforces, 54% told NFIB they were hiring or trying to hire, but 43% reported few or no qualified applicants for the open jobs. Some 25% reported job openings they could not fill. NFIB said the number of small businesses planning to create jobs was “consistent with the stronger GDP growth reported in the second half of the year and anticipates a ramp in private sector hiring.”
Asked about the most important problem they face, small businesses cited taxes first, followed by government regulations and red tape, then poor sales and the quality of labor.
Of the components tracked in the monthly survey, only expected business conditions in 6 months registered a decline. But NFIB pointed out that this had climbed 16 points in November, so the 1% decline “simply confirmed the very strong gain in November.”
“This could be a breakout for small business,” said Dunkelberg. “There’s no question that small business owners are feeling better about the economy. If they continue to feel that way, 2015 could be a very good year.”


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Victor & Spoils solicits ideas from writers, art directors and strategists around the world.
Brand advertisers like to say a good idea can come from anywhere. Havas is putting its money behind that slogan with the acquisition of an agency that draws its creative ideas from the supposed wisdom of crowds.
The French holding company has acquired a majority stake in Victors & Spoils, a small shop in Boulder, CO, that specializes in crowd sourcing. Rather than task a hand-selected creative team with dreaming up big ideas, Victors & Spoils uses digital and social media to solicit ideas from thousands of creatives – including writers, art directors, strategists, designers and producers - around the world.
"When an industry goes through a revolution you can either sit and watch it happen or embrace the exciting new business models at the forefront of that revolution," said Havas CEO David Jones in a press release. "Victors & Spoils is one of those new models that is challenging our entire industry, and I'm delighted to welcome them into the group."
Victor & Spoils was founded in 2009 by two Crispin Porter alumni, creative director Evan Fry and CEO John Winsor, and Claudia Batten, formerly of video game advertising agency Massive. So far, the agency has worked with clients including Coca-Cola, Converse, Discovery Channel, General Mills and Gap.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
V&S claims to have achieved profitability shortly after its founding thanks to its reliance on technology rather than personnel. The agency draws its ideas from a team of 6,000 creatives scattered across the globe through its proprietary "fan machine" platform.
V&S will become part of Havas's business unit. The first thing V&S will do is use its technology to build a Havas "crowd" of 15,000 professionals from which the agency can draw ideas.
Winsor will retain his CEO title at V&S and assume the role of chief innovation officer at Havas. The rest of the V&S management team will be unaffected by the acquisition, according to Havas.
On the heels of a fantastic event in New York City, ClickZ Live is taking the fun and learning to Toronto, June 23-25. With over 15 years' experience delivering industry-leading events, ClickZ Live offers an action-packed, educationally-focused agenda covering all aspects of digital marketing. Register today!
Douglas Quenqua is a journalist based in Brooklyn, NY who writes about culture and technology. His work has appeared in The New York Times, Wired, The New York Observer, and Fortune.
Gartner Magic Quadrant for Digital Commerce
This Magic Quadrant examines leading digital commerce platforms that enable organizations to build digital commerce sites. These commerce platforms facilitate purchasing transactions over the Web, and support the creation and continuing development of an online relationship with a consumer.
Paid Search in the Mobile Era
Google reports that paid search ads are currently driving 40+ million calls per month. Cost per click is increasing, paid search budgets are growing, and mobile continues to dominate. It's time to revamp old search strategies, reimagine stale best practices, and add new layers data to your analytics.
Wednesday, June 10, 2015
12pm ET/9am PT
Tuesday, June 16, 2015
12pm ET/9am PT


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Lightning McQueen to join stunt show at Disney's Hollywood Studios - Orlando Sentinel
Lightning McQueen to join stunt show at Disney's Hollywood Studios
Orlando Sentinel (blog)
Extreme Stunt Show this summer at Disney's Hollywood Studios. (Walt Disney Co.) We're back with more news about Lightning McQueen, just one week before Cars 2 opens in theaters. Walt Disney World has confirmed that Lightning will make an appearance in ...
Disney news, columns, articles, park guides, travel planning, discounts... it's all at MousePlanet
Get instant MousePlanet updates on Twitter!


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Erika Geraerts isn’t afraid to go against the grain. Having cut her teeth working for big beauty brands (she was one of the co-founders of Frank Body), she decided to go it alone and, in 2018, she founded a brand with an unusual aim: producing less. Based in Collingwood, Melbourne, Geraerts, 34, sees Fluff as an antidote to the overconsumption most makeup brands peddle. It’s known for three products — a refillable bronzer, lip oil and retractable brush — and occasionally offers skincare, such as a cleanser and mask.
The less-is-more approach extends to her distribution model: about a year ago, Fluff moved to quarterly releases, selling products online for just one week, four times a year. “Consumers were becoming confused and disheartened,” Geraerts says, referring to sales strategies common in the industry, such as aggressive advertising campaigns. “So we thought, ‘What if we pull back and restrict the supply to increase the demand?’ ” The main advantage, she says, is that she now sets the pace of her business.
According to the company, annual revenue bounced back within a year and, with reduced costs, Fluff is now more profitable and easier to manage. “It also allows us to focus on different markets, each time in a more efficient way,” Geraerts adds.


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As the clock strikes 4:20 pm, thousands of marijuana enthusiasts lit their joints to celebrate cannabis culture on April 20, 2015. But combustibles are a thing of the past with edibles and concentrates becoming more popular among the cannabis community.
Now and then: Concert ticket prices through the years
What would a ticket to see Elvis Presley cost today? In 1957, The King’s performance at Empire Stadium cost a whopping $3.50 — and that’s if you were paying for the good seats. Today, the same ticket (only adjusted for inflation) would cost a mere $30. That’s a far cry from the hundreds of dollars stadium acts are now demanding. Here is a breakdown of major concerts that have come through Vancouver over the past few decades, how much they cost then, and what they would cost now after 2012 inflation adjustment.


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Record robot sales in North America in 2022 as per latest A3 report
March 1, 2023
By Manufacturing AUTOMATION
A recent report from the Association for Advancing Automation (A3) reveals that the North American robot sales robotics market set all-time records in both robots sold and value in 2022. According to the A3 report, North American companies ordered 44,196 robots valued at $2.38 billion last year, representing increases of 11 percent and 18 percent, respectively, over 2021, the previous record.
More than 50 percent of sales came from the automotive industry, which ordered 23,807 robots, up from 16,752 in 2021. While orders from non-automotive industries slowed from the previous three years, unique applications continued to emerge in such industries as food services, construction and agriculture, such as robots cooking and serving food, dry walling and even harvesting and picking.
“Although labour shortage and supply chain issues impact nearly all industries in North America, automakers’ public commitment to move to electric vehicles (EVs) has set in motion a resurgence of robot orders in this market,” said Jeff Burnstein, president of A3. “Automotive OEMs and components suppliers alike recognize that investing in robots is instrumental to the emergence of EVs as well as to manufacturing all vehicles as they compete to meet customer demand.”
In the first nine months of 2022, North American companies purchased 35,804 robots, up 24 percent over the same period in 2021. While fourth-quarter orders slowed, with companies ordering only 8,392 robots, total numbers for the year from all industries resulted in the 11 percent record over 2021.
“While the numbers of robots sold to non-automotive companies aren’t as staggering as it’s been over the last couple of years, it’s clear that companies in every industry see automation as necessary for success,” Burnstein said. “We look forward to seeing more unique and increasingly easy-to-use robots that all industries can benefit from at Automate 2023 in Detroit this May.”
- “Build your automation game plan” webinar airs on March 29!
- Report: Canadian manufacturing industry’s growth accelerates in February 2023


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News Release - Issued by Shambles Market
Shambles Market will host the launch of the Love Your Local Market 2015 campaign - a celebration of British market culture - on Wednesday 13 May 2015.
The two-week campaign (13 to 27 May 2015) is led by the National Association of British Market Authorities (NABMA) and backed by government and the market industry.
Shambles Market will be joining over 1,000 markets across the country by taking part in Love Your Local Market and is offering free stalls to market traders on Wednesday 13 May.
The Love Your Local Market Launch Event will take place from 09:30am to 12:30pm at Shambles Market and will be attended by The Rt Hon The Lord Mayor of York, Cllr Ian Gillies, The Sheriff of York, Mr John Kenny, Chris Price (city centre & markets manager), Steve Brown (managing director of Make It York), and Graham Wilson OBE (chief executive at NABMA).
Graham Wilson OBE, chief executive at NABMA, said: “We’re delighted to announce that the launch for this year’s Love Your Local Market campaign will be held at the newly refurbished Shambles Market in York.”
“Love Your Local Market is the biggest market event in a generation. It gives people the chance of a new career and demonstrates how important the market is to the local community.”
Steve Shooter, York’s interim city centre and markets manager, said: “It’s fantastic to host the launch of the national Love Your Local Market campaign this year. We have recently reopened following a £1.6 million refurbishment, offering brighter stalls, better facilities and an even livelier shopping experience. Fresh local produce, unique crafts and friendly traders are what makes Shambles market so special and we look forward to welcoming more residents and visitors to the market this year.”
Shambles Market is supported by £1.6million from City of York Council’s Economic Infrastructure Fund (EIF) that was created to enable projects of strategic importance to the city’s ambitions for creating jobs and growing the economy.
9.30 - 10.00 Coffee and networking
10.00 10.45 Speeches
10.45 11.00 Press Photos & Q&A
11.00 12.00 Tour of the market/Interviews
About Shambles Market
Shambles Market is a historic and vibrant market situated in the heart of one of Europe’s largest single pedestrianised areas, between Parliament Street and Shambles – voted the most picturesque street in Britain. One of the North of England's largest open-air markets, it is open seven days a week, all year round (excluding Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day).Opening hours are 9am to 5pm. Home to 86 stalls and seven kiosks, with over 100 traders on the market’s books regularly trading, it is a source of exceptional fresh produce, unique crafts and essential merchandise.
Pick and Mix Marketing Solutions on 01904 863511 or email@example.com
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Peugot, GM Discuss Joining Forces in Europe
Shares of French automaker PSA Peugot Citroen saw their biggest one-day jump in three years Wednesday after the French government confirmed the company is discussing a possible alliance with General Motors (NYSE:GM), Reuters reports.
The French government has been notified of a possible “strategic partnership” between Peugot and GM, the world’s largest automaker, said Labour Minister Xavier Bertrand. Peugot, Europe’s second-largest car maker, is looking at a manufacturing partnership to help alleviate losses in Europe and cut production costs in other parts of the world, Reuters said, citing sources with knowledge of the matter.
The talks with GM, which online newspaper La Tribune says have been going on for months, are over a possible collaboration on vehicles and parts, not trading shares, according to the report. New shareholdings that may result from the deal would be negligible and of a symbolic nature.
Peugeot shares were up as much as 3 euros, or 21 percent, while GM was down 0.1 percent on the news. Before the surge, Peugeot had fallen 50 percent in the past year, putting it at the bottom of the 15-member Stoxx Europe autos and parts index. Natixis analysts raised their rating on Peugot stock to Buy from Neutral, saying the partnership could be a “game changer” for the company.
However, not everyone is convinced the match will be so productive. GM’s European Opel division, like Peugot, is facing serious restructuring to cope with losses exacerbated by Europe’s floundering auto market and tough price competition, the report said. Credit Suisse analyst Erich Hauer says that, since the two companies are dealing with similar issues of overcapacity and dependence on Western European buyers, their partnership is not likely to be mutually beneficial.
“We struggle to see how yet another ‘me-too’ cooperation with GM Europe on componentry will help address any of the fundamental issues,” said Hauser. However, sources say the possible Peugeot-GM alliance includes shared manufacturing outside of Europe as well, amounting to much more than the existing product-specific deals Peugeot has with Ford (NYSE:F), Toyota (NYSE:TM), and BMW.
Peugeot has said that in addition to small cars, it needs a new commercial van partner to replace Fiat, which recently announced plans to abandon its Sevelnord joint venture in 2017. GM might be interested in stepping in for Fiat after being left hanging when Renault pulled its Trafic van from their shared plant in Luton, Britain.
To contact the reporter on this story: Gina Smith at firstname.lastname@example.org
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Damien Hoffman at email@example.com


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Hands-on with vivo's in-display fingerprint scanner
14 January, 2018, 00:35 | Author: Brenda Erickson
The company says that the technology offers a more convenient way of unlocking your handset.
Vivo has worked in conjunction with Synaptics to make the first smartphone with a fingerprint scanner integrated into its display.
The technology is production-ready, according to Synaptics, which said it's been talking to vendors across the smartphone industry.
The push to slim down bezels on smartphones has brought us devices with bigger screens in a more manageable footprint, which is great.
Made in collaboration with Synaptics, the fingerprint sensor will only be "visible" when it is needed; a fingerprint icon will be shown on the display whenever the sensor is active. Synaptics late a year ago announced that it entered mass manufacturing with its optical in-display fingerprint sensors, called Clear ID.
"We are excited to announce QualcommFingerprint Sensors because they can be created to support sleeker, cutting-edge form factors, unique mobile authentication experiences, and enhanced security authentication", said Seshu Madhavapeddy, Qualcomm Technologies's vice president of product management.
Even then, it was announced that the first smartphone with such a feature will be unveiled at CES 2018.
The new technology also allows phones to be thinner, and the Vivo phone is certainly slim - which is good, because the huge display makes it both tall and wide.
You'll only know the sensor is there because the phone displays a fingerprint icon on-screen, prompting you to present your digit. The sensor seems to have been tested on various devices at CES. The prototype of the Vivo's under-display fingerprint technology includes Synaptics in-display fingerprint reader. Early reports claim this sensor is accurate and fast enough, but it can't match the speed and accuracy of the best dedicated fingerprint sensors.
Vivo's recently revealed smartphone hides the fingerprint scanner beneath the screen, re-imagining the handy feature that's posed a challenge to competitors. That way, you'll be able to place your fingers anywhere to unlock the phone. You can find out more details about this new technology over at Vivo at the link below. Device manufacturers were left with very little options, one of them being moving the fingerprint sensor towards the back of the phone - a move which received mostly negative reviews.
The flight is also expected to increase tourism in Kenya, with the U.S. being its largest source market for tourists. Tickets for the economy class start at Sh89,000 while business class tickets start at Sh258,000.
The attackers might send spoofed messages in order to prevent the administrator from removing spy from the private conversation. But it has become hard for WhatsApp to keep up the security standards, most importantly when it comes to group chats.
Mario steps onto the court in classy tennis garb for intense rallies against a variety of characters in full-blown tennis battles. Instead, the Direct appeared on January 11 with very little notice and brought with it a host of Nintendo Switch announcements.
Through the midway point of the regular season, Young leads the nation in both scoring (29.2 points per game) and assists (10.2). On Dec. 15, she set the Texas A&M record with 46 points, including the game-winning shot, at Southern California.
There's also a BIOS update that puts the battery into "Battery Safe Mode" to prevent it from operating in a unsafe way. HP has just announced a worldwide voluntary safety recall for selected notebook and mobile workstation batteries.
This all sounds great in theory, but a demonstration given by LG at CES fell short on a couple of occasions. At CES this year, LG's new innovation - a rollable 65-inch 4K TV display prototype has been introduced.
The Switch is not going to turn into a dumping ground for games that came out on the Xbox 360 or Wii U four or five years ago. DARK SOULS: REMASTERED: The first title in the genre-defining action role-playing franchise is coming to Nintendo Switch .
An aide of Frankel's that some lawmakers will be bringing victims of sexual violence and activists on the issue to the speech. The decision to wear black was clearly inspired by the sea of black dresses at the 2018 Golden Globes on January 7.
The audience audibly groaned when he predicted that Weinstein would be "the first person ever to be booed in the In Memoriam ". And while the topics of sexual harassment and gender inequality are serious, Meyers did his best to lighten the mood.
Watch ULA Kick Off 2018 With a Spy Satellite Launch
The government hasn't confirmed whether the top-secret satellite did indeed fall out of orbit and reenter Earth's atmosphere. There's an 80 percent chance of favorable weather for the Friday afternoon launch, United Launch Alliance said on Twitter .
Dropbox Privately Files for IPO
One of Dropbox's biggest selling points is likely to be the money it has spent developing its own data centres and cloud storage. Silicon Valley has birthed many highly valued and hugely hyped startups in recent years, including Uber, Airbnb and Pinterest.
Walmart To Raise Starting Wage To $11, Citing Tax Cuts
All employees will also receive a one-time bonus, with those who have at least 20 years on the job qualifying for $1,000. Walmart's stock was up less than half a percent Thursday morning, having rallied more than 45 percent from a year ago.
Super Mario Odyssey to get free 'Luigi's Balloon World' add-on
In addition to these new online modes, Super Mario Odyssey will add a few new updates to expand the usage of the game's features. After beating the main story, this update will allow players to talk to Luigi and gives access to a new competitve mode.


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GTA 5 Rockstar Editor coming to consoles in next update
Rockstar Games has confirmed that the GTA 5 Rockstar Editor is coming to Xbox One and PS4 with the next update.
Earlier this year, with the GTA 5 PC version, Rockstar Games launched the GTA 5 Rockstar Editor.
But with the next update, the Rockstar Editor will arrive on Xbox One and PS4, Rockstar has revealed.
“The upcoming launch of the Rockstar Editor for PS4 and Xbox One as the next update to Grand Theft Auto V and GTA Online means the next Rockstar Editor content will be the first one with entries across all three platforms,” reads the announcement in a recent Rockstar Newswire post. “So the creative competition will be fiercer than ever. Stay tuned for info about that content and forthcoming update.”
Related: GTA 5 Guide – Things to do in Los Santos
Rockstar Editor has been around since April, and allows players to record, edit and share videos they’ve made within GTA 5 on PC.
There’s a comprehensive set of tools ranging from filters and camera modes, to audio tweaks and depth of field effects. These can all be accessed from within the GTA 5 campaign and GTA Online to customise content.
The Rockstar Editor also includes the awesome Director Mode, which has become extremely popular among those gamers wishing to create their own machinima. You can stage sequences using characters, props and specific locations from the game.
Rockstar Games’ parent company Take-Two recently announced that it has shipped more than 54 million copies of GTA 5 worldwide.


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Last week also saw the last of the major tech company annual conferences for a while with Apple holding their WWDC event. Lots and lots of announcements and much more on show this year than recent years. You can read the full list here
but the highlights were:
Siri - once the early front runner in virtual assistants, but now lagging behind significantly
is being overhauled. It is still way behind, mostly due to the lack of extensive partnerships formed by its competitors but it has a more natural sounding voice (both male and female) and can now learn your interests. Clearly they have not forgotten about it but felt like mostly veneer right now. The focus on learning about an individual of course meant that there wasn’t much focus on data privacy this time around ;)
Apple also announced a HomePod, which is similar in form to the Amazon Echo and Google Home. The focus though is as a speaker with an assistant rather than vice versa. The biggest use case is definitely music but I suspect if Apple was leading in this space we would see a different approach. At 3x the price of the competition, one for the Apple fan boy/girl.
Over the next few years, there is going to be increasing support for communicating with companies via instant messaging. WhatsApp, Facebook and LinkedIn are all rumoured to be enabling businesses to communicate with customers this way. Not to be left out, Apple announced Business chat for its iMessage platform
. Just a development kit right now but they’ve set their stall out. Obviously useful if people use it (I suspect they will) but can businesses really adopt so many platforms. There is going to be a need for a customer service platform that integrates across all these platforms.
The big announcement of the event was augmented reality (AR) support for the iPhone. But if you were expecting something big that you could actually use in the new iPhone as a user, you’ll be disappointed - so far. There is no new AR experience, just support for an AR development kit - which is big news for developers and will in the future bring amazing experiences (if you believe in AR anyhow). But what they are and whether they will increase adoption is yet to be seen. See more here
Overall, real ambition was finally on view at WWDC this year for the first time in a while. Delivery on said ambition still to arrive. Maybe next year.


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August 10, 2015 9:37PM
Now serving the Middle East: 4 new data centers, partnerships
Our last embarkation into a new geography coincided with a significant milestone: our 30th data center (and first in Africa) in Johannesburg, South Africa. And as we march past number 40, we’re proud to announce yet another....
July 23, 2015 5:33PM
Introducing Partner Analytics
CloudFlare has over 5,000 hosting provider partners. Every day, thousands of our partners' customers take advantage of CloudFlare to help them be faster and more secure....
July 01, 2015 5:54PM
Welcome UK2 Group!
Today we are thrilled to welcome UK2 Group as a CloudFlare partner. Customers of UK2 Group (including its brands UK2.net, Midphase, and Westhost) are now able to access CloudFlare’s web performance and security solutions with a single click....
May 21, 2015 11:10PM
We’ve had the good fortune to share many great experiences with the Acquia team over the last few years. From breaking bread with founder and CTO Dries Buytaert at SXSW, to staying up late with their incredible team onboarding a joint customer under a DDoS attack....
April 13, 2015 3:02PM
CloudFlare is now a Google Cloud Platform Technology Partner
Speed & Reliability
We’re excited to announce that CloudFlare has just been named a Google Cloud Platform Technology Partner. So what does this mean?...
March 23, 2015 6:12PM
Integrating our Integrations: Getting WHMCS and cPanel Talking
CloudFlare provides integrations for several of the most popular hosting control panels and billing systems such as WHMCS, cPanel, and Plesk....


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Facebook: Launching their own OS?
Facebook Inc. is trying to build their own operating system as they have been depending on their biggest rival Apple and Google, the most commonly used OS in the world. Facebook is afraid that one day these companies may remove them totally from their App stores.
According to a Facebook spokeswoman, the planned operating system will focus more on future products, such as augmented-reality glasses, reported by The Information. Facebook has also shared the plans related to building this type of glasses, with software built-in, but the social media giant is years away from launching anything in this industry, as there is already a lot of competition and they have to come up with something very different to stand.
“We really want to make sure that the next generation has space for us,” Andrew Bosworth, Facebook’s head of hardware, told The Information. “We don’t think we can trust the marketplace or competitors to make certain that’s the case. And so we’re gonna do it ourselves,” he added.
It’s not the first time that Facebook has tried something like this. In the past, Facebook once tried to build it’s own mobile phone and software layer to work on HTC Corp. phones, though in the end, both projects failed. Facebook also had a secret project in progress called Oxygen. This project meant to do its work in case it’s app ever got blocked from the Stores of Apple or Google, then it will ensure that the users could them somewhere else.
In the future, consumers will start using AR glasses more than the mobile phones as a primary way of connecting to the internet, believe some Tech leaders like Mark Zuckerberg (CEO of Facebook Inc.).
Do you think that Facebook would be able to make its name in the OS Industry? If not, then why? Please share your beliefs in the given section below.


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In the wake of saving quiet for well longer than seven days, Mitron application organizers Shivank Agarwal and Anish Khandelwal told indianexpress.com that their application returned on Google Play store after they conformed to the solicitation for the best possible documentation required as an UGC stage. Mitron, touted as the Indian option to TikTok, was expelled from the Google Playstore a week ago alongside the Remove China Apps for infringement of Google’s protection strategy.
Mitron app has been confronting backfire even before Google expelled the application from Play store after a Pakistan coding organization, Qboxus, asserted Agarwal purchased the source code of Tictic from them for $34 (generally around Rs 2,500) and rebranded it as Mitron without making any customisations to the code. Notwithstanding, the couple countered this case and said they purchased the underlying prototyping code from Envato commercial center, an Australian organization, and not Qboxus.
The pair stated, “Envato is a commercial center where clients can buy authorized code. We likewise bought a layout from this commercial center and we are the legitimate proprietors of the codebase of Mitron. Our attention was on the appropriateness of the underlying layout we bought and the starting point of the designer was neither shown nor applicable.”
The Mitron authors guaranteed they had totally patched up the underlying code to make it appropriate for adaptability and security needs. “You can’t take into account the day by day traffic of 2 million clients in the event that we kept on utilizing the item for what it’s worth,” they included.
Calling theirs a total “Make In India item”, the organizers said the whole creation prepared code has been created by the devoted group in Bengaluru.
The engineers guaranteed that all client information is put away in AWS servers in Mumbai. “Our point of view has consistently been Indian shoppers ought to be served by Indian stages and Indian information ought to consistently be made sure about on Indian servers,” Agarwal and Khandelwal said.
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Mitron app has been downloaded by a large number of clients in half a month, yet there were worries around information security. The authors said all client information is all sheltered and secure and put away in servers inside India. “We have made a damnation part of customizations and we guarantee that individual data is protected on our servers,” they said. Mitron is as of now accessible just on Google Play store yet the will before long be up for download on Apple App store, the organization has affirmed.
In the coming days, group Mitron is intending to get a few changes the UI — which at present looks fundamentally the same as TikTok — with the plan to offer a smoother experience to clients.
Discussing the street ahead, Mitron authors stated, “We need to make a stage for each Indian where they would showcase be able to genuine India. Going vernacular may be the beginning to this excursion.”
Agarwal and Khandelwal featured that the substance on Mitron app will serve both diversion and instructive remainder and the organization intends to team up with the administration just as private bodies dynamic in these territories. “We need to team up with Government with explicit focuses, for example, — expertise improvement, instruction, and teaching ranchers with better Farming methods,” they said.


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Sad news Moosers, if your morning routine consists of a quick run to your local Tim Hortons for a caffeine fix, keep in mind that prices are going up next week by $0.10. Accordting to CTV News, Tim Hortons will raise prices as soon as next Wednesday, on November 26th 2014.
Although the rise in price will largely vary per region, prices of all coffee sizes and breakfast sandwiches will be increased by roughly $0.10 as early as next week.
According to many reports, this price hike wasn't supposed to hit us for another couple of months. It is curious that it would happen as soon as next week considering the oncoming winter months. I'm sure it's no coincidence that it's happening exactly two days before Black Friday. Speaking of which, be sure to check out the Bargainmoose Black Friday dashboard for an up-to-date list of all the Black Friday deals, some of which have already started. More will be added in the upcoming days.
It is also interesting that the price hike is happening right as shoppers as ramping up their spending in preparation for the holidays. We all know how great it is to grab a coffee while either window shopping or buying presents for friends and family.
And don't forget all of the very recent marketing strategies surrounding the Tim Hortons renovations to turn it into a more upscale place, the new dark roast and not to mention the CIBC Double Double credit card. I'm sure it's no coincidence that the price hike is being implemented so soon after all of these new features.
Personally, I tend to get quite a few coffees at Tim Hortons, especially when I'm running errands. I agree that it's somewhat watered down, compared to a coffee you might make at home or even get at Starbucks, but I have to admit that I have grown addicted to the taste. However, this price hike will actually be deterring me from spending as much as I normally would for the convenience of a coffee on the go and I plan on making better use of my tumbler when out and about.
Moosers, how do you feel about the Tim Hortons price hike? Will it deter you from spending on a drink or sandwich?
(Image Credit: Jodi Green)


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CHICAGO — Raising your children in the digital world can be a challenge. With phones in the pockets of millions of kids and teens around the country, distraction is just a swipe away.
A San Francisco-based non-profit was created to share ways with families to use technology more mindfully.
Common Sense Media provides tips to improve your family’s “digital wellness.” The company says teens spend an average of nine hours a day online with kids ages 8-12 averaging six.
“Kids don’t have an off switch,” said Common Sense Media’s Caroline Knorr . “The tech companies have designed all these products to manipulate us and we are spending more time on them than we know is healthy for us.”
They said if you’re an Apple family, start with the app “Screen Time” to monitor usage. If you’re an Android family, use the app “Family Link.”
But it doesn’t just start and end with phones.
Knorr said parents need to be mindful of setting parental controls on YouTube and Tik Tok. For apps like Snapchat, parents can only limit the app through the child’s own settings.
Common Sense Media said being open about going into your child’s phone is the best policy.
“You absolutely need to get your kids to buy-in,” Knorr said.
For more information, visit their website.


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Returning to Madrid in 2020, FESPA Global Print Expo, a specialty and wide format print exhibition, will take place at the IFEMA Exhibition Center. More than 700 exhibitors will showcase product innovations and demonstrate solutions for screen and digital wide format print, textile printing and signage.
The FESPA Global Print Expo 2020 campaign will build on the ‘Explosion of Possibilities’ theme of the 2019 Munich event, reinforcing the focus on the opportunities for specialty print service providers and sign-makers to develop, diversify and grow.
FESPA Global Print Expo 2020 will cover all aspects of screen, digital wide format and textile printing and will yet again be co-located with European Sign Expo for non-printed signage and Sportswear Pro. Sportswear Pro is a new exhibition dedicated exclusively to sportswear manufacturing industry. Taking place concurrently with the Global Print Expo, the exhibition will showcase the latest technologies and solutions for on-demand and customized sportswear production with particular focus on sustainability and automation.
The new event website has gone live at https://www.fespaglobalprintexpo.com, providing exhibitors and visitors all the information they require about the exhibition, venue and their travel to Madrid. The website features the 2020 event campaign theme, ‘Where Color Comes Alive’, using vivid imagery of a color splash blending the blue, orange and pink that signify the screen, digital and textile zones of the show.
FESPA Exhibitions director Roz Guarnori comments, “Our 2020 Global Print Expo falls earlier in the year than usual and takes place in a venue and host city that will be new to most exhibitors. By launching the FESPA 2020 website a full year out from the show, we’re aiming to support our exhibitors by giving them as much time and information as possible to maximize the success of their participation in Madrid.”
Please use promo code FESG902 to register for free


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Latest News on Petroleum Products
Showing of 0 - 10 from 52 results
Petroleum Products - Total results - 52
Aug 14, 2018
Exports up 14.32% in July to $25.77 bn on better performance by gems and jewellery, petroleum sectorThe foreign trade data released by the commerce ministry on Tuesday revealed that merchandise imports during July rose 28.81% to $43.79 billion, from $33.99 billion in the year-ago period.
Aug 04, 2018
India to impose delayed retaliatory tariff hikes on some US goods in SeptemberIndia has also planned to impose a 120 percent duty on the import of walnuts in the strongest action yet against the United States.
Aug 03, 2018
India plans to set up LNG import terminal in Myanmar to expand energy diplomacy in neighbourhood, says Dharmendra PradhanPradhan called for reform and restructuring of the energy sector in each of these nations in such a way that the bloc becomes more competitive and efficient.
Aug 01, 2018
Centre, industry want petroleum products in GST ambit, says oil minister Dharmendra PradhanFive petroleum products-- petrol, diesel, natural gas, crude oil and ATF -- are still out of the ambit of GST.
Jul 13, 2018
India's trade deficit widens to more than five-year high of $16.6 bn; imports soar by 21.31% to $44.3 bnThe trade deficit in June 2018 is the highest since November 2014 when the gap was $16.86 billion. The deficit in June 2017 stood at $12.96 billion
Jul 06, 2018
Petroleum products to be brought under GST in stages, says finance secretary Hasmukh AdhiaFinance Secretary Hasmukh Adhia on Friday said the all-powerful GST Council will consider bringing petroleum products under Goods and Services Tax (GST) and it could happen in phases
Jul 02, 2018
One year of GST: To be a game changer, structural, compliance issues need to be addressedThere is no getting away from the fact that India’s current GST structure is extremely flawed. The four-slab structure has to give way to a maximum of two, writes @Soorpanakha
Jun 13, 2018
One year of GST: Tax regime is anything but good and simple; govt can simplify it to improve ease of doing businessThe complicatedness of the system can also be made out from the fact that the GST council has put out 158 notifications till date.
Jun 07, 2018
One year of GST: The roller-coaster ride is over and businesses are now prepping to switch to cruise controlIf voluntary courting of GST by SMEs can swell the revenue kitty, robust self-policing can add much more to the government's coffers.
May 30, 2018
Petrol, diesel crisis: A one paisa price cut mocks the middle class; it's time for govt to push new levies to shore up its kittyTaxing gifts, wealth, large estates, and not petrol or diesel, could be a part of the Narendra Modi government's 'long-term solution',


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The lawsuit was originally filed back in June of 2010 and accused both Apple and AT&T of touting unlimited data on the iPad 3G model upon launch, only to to have AT&T do away with unlimited data a few months after the iPad was released. The lawsuit claimed that affected users were victims of a "bait and switch" maneuver.
Now, a tad more than three years later, a settlement has been reached that will see Apple pay out $40 to every individual who purchased an iPad 3G model before June 7, 2010. Further, individuals who purchased an iPad 3G model but didn't sign up for a data plan will be eligible for a $20/month discount (for 12 months in duration) on AT&T's 5GB monthly plan.
The ruling will be finalized in February so eligible iPad owners will have to wait a few more months for their payout.
A copy of order can be viewed in its entirety below.


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Belle Property launches holiday rentals platform, Belle Property Escapes
Belle Property has today announced the launch of Belle Property Escapes, the holiday rental brand of the premium real estate company.
Belle Property Escapes launches with rentals in some of the country’s most desirable holiday destinations including Avalon/Palm Beach, Jervis Bay and Central Coast in NSW, as well as Cairns in QLD.
CEO of Belle Property, Peter Hanscomb said the expansion into the holiday rental market was a strategic next step for the real estate brand which has long been dominant in Australia’s key lifestyle locations.
“In 2018, Australia saw an increase in short-term and holiday rental demand right across the country, and you only have to look at the increase in domestic tourism in our key lifestyle areas to see it’s a growth market. The Belle Property Escapes brand was a natural progression for our business given our expertise in premium property in Australia’s lifestyle-first suburbs,” said Peter.
While the short-term holiday rental market in Australia is cluttered, Peter says Belle Property Escapes will be competitive in terms of its service offering.
“Most providers in this space offer a DIY-model, whereby the marketing and management of the property is undertaken by the owner. Belle Property Escapes is backed by 20 years of expertise in premium property, so properties will be managed by professionals who are experts in terms of maximising occupancy and income,” he said.
Aside from easy booking facilities, the Belle Property Escapes website offers holidaymakers curated destination guides direct from lifestyle publisher Sitchu, which the brand has had a strategic partnership with since the start of the year.
“From a consumer perspective, Belle Property Escapes takes the fuss out of planning a luxury getaway because it offers a one-stop-shop to book and plan a holiday using destination guides that feature up-to-date knowledge including what’s on in the local area, plus, where to eat, drink and explore,” said Peter.
Belle Property has undergone significant transformation over the past year, earlier in 2019 merging with leading Victorian based brand hockingstuart.
“This has been a year of growth and change for our network,” said Peter.
“We have opened more than 14 new offices, merged with a leader in a new market and now we’re thrilled to be launching our holiday’s brand. Despite challenging conditions in Australia’s property market, there is still growth here and we’re looking forward to seeing the continued success of our offices over the years to come.”


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- PROJECT HELP
- WHITE PAPERS
Starting on Nov. 8, U.K. merchants will be able to purchase iZettle mini chip-card readers that can turn their smartphones and tablets into mobile payment terminals. The readers will be available exclusively in 297 newly designed EE stores across the country and from EE's telesales channel.
In an announcement, iZettle said that its device and free companion app could be a boon to the country's small tradespeople. Up to now, most have had to bill customers for services and then later chase down overdue bills — a pursuit that amounts to 36 days out of the year.
With iZettle, tradespeople can ensure immediate payment with the ability to perform credit card transactions on the spot. It's an arrangement that 82 percent of Brits have said that they, too, would prefer, according research by EE.
"IZettle is a revolution for small businesses and consumers across the nation," said Gerry McQuade, CMO at EE. "The aim of our new superfast EE brand is to make businesses' digital lives easier and ultimately more profitable through technology. Businesses and consumers are on the cusp of mobile payment transformation, and we are delighted to bring iZettle to market, enhancing our mobile payment portfolio."
The iZettle mobile payments card readers, which can be used with iPhones, iPads and more than a dozen 2.1 and higher Android smartphones and tablets, including the Samsung Galaxy range, cost £20 ($32) in EE stores and come with a £20 voucher that can be used toward iZettle transaction fees.
With iZettle, merchants can accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Diners Club payments. There's no convoluted sign-up process, no setup fees, no monthly fees and no minimum spend. iZettle merchants are simply charged 2.75 percent of each payment.
"The beauty of iZettle is that it's simple to use, totally secure and takes seconds for a transaction," said Jacob de Geer, CEO and co-founder of iZettle, which is used by more than 75,000 small businesses and individuals in six countries. "Whether you are a cabbie, florist, tradesperson or a courier, iZettle gives you the flexibility to operate in both cash and cards. The possibilities are endless because hundreds of thousands of small business can now take plastic."
For more stories like this, visit the POS research center.


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- VNET has slashed its plans for new cabinet installations this year by 30% and lowered its revenue outlook by a more modest 2.6%
- The company has hired Citigroup to advise it on a buyout offer led by Hina Group from April this year
By Doug Young
One has to wonder what Samuel Shen, CEO of data center operator VNET Group Inc. VNET, was thinking exactly when he called his company “the industry frontrunner” on his latest earnings call last week.
Perhaps he used the characterization because VNET is the most likely to be acquired in the near-term of China’s three major independent data center operators. Or perhaps he was referring to his company’s huge downgrade to its plans for new cabinet installations this year, which the company announced on the earnings call following the release of its latest quarterly results last Tuesday.
Whatever Shen meant, he certainly wasn’t referring to his company’s latest performance, which once again was the worst of China’s three independent data center operators, the other two being GDS GDS and Chindata CD. There’s really nothing too surprising in the latest results, which continue to show why VNET is investors’ least favorite among the three private data center operators.
The lone exception to that lack of interest is coming from a consortium led by Hina Group, a Chinese private equity company that in April made an unsolicited offer to buy all of VNET’s American depositary shares (ADSs) for $8 apiece. VNET gave a brief update on that offer in its latest results, indicating the deal is still alive, saying it has hired Citigroup to advise it on the offer as well as “any alternative strategic option that the company may pursue.”
There was no mention of whether Hina is still willing to pay the $8 price, since VNET’s shares have moved steadily downward since the announcement and last closed at $4.97 – nearly 40% below the offer price. Whatever happens, VNET certainly seems like the kind of company that could use this kind of buyout, which would typically see the acquirer take major steps to improve the company’s performance before reselling it for a big profit.
The one-day jump in VNET’s shares right after the Hina offer only briefly interrupted a much longer-term decline that has seen the company’s shares lose 45% of their value so far this year. The money-losing company now trades at a lowly price-to-sales (P/S) ratio of 0.8, putting it well behind the 1.35 times for GDS and much higher 5.65 times for Chindata.
That big discount looks quite justified, since VNET trails its two domestic rivals in just about every metric, from revenue growth to cabinet utilization rate. As a result, VNET’s current market cap stands at just $734 million, about a quarter of Chindata’s $2.8 billion, even though VNET’s total revenue is about 70% higher than Chindata’s.
We’ll begin our more detailed look at VNET’s latest report with the downgrade we mentioned earlier, which saw the company lower its planned new cabinet installations by about 30% to between 9,400 and 12,400 cabinets for this year. Earlier in the year it had said it expected to install 14,400 to 17,400 new cabinets in 2022, a reference to the standard unit of cabinets filled with computer servers used in the industry.
“There’s some related to construction slowdowns and then others related to customer demand being pushed back,” CFO Tim Chen said on the earnings call, explaining the sharp scale-back.
VNET also lowered its revenue guidance for the year, though by a much lower amount of about 2.6%. It said it now expects to generate revenue of about 7.25 billion yuan ($1 billion) to 7.55 billion yuan for the whole year, compared with previous guidance for 7.45 billion yuan to 7.75 billion yuan.
All of this might normally be understandable, since many of VNET’s customers have suffered under China’s strict Covid control measures and are thus putting off investment and expansion plans. The only problem is that neither GDS nor Chindata seem to be giving off similar signals.
VNET’s revenue grew 15.2% in the second quarter to 1.72 billion yuan, which was well behind the 24% and 51% revenue growth reported by GDS and Chindata, respectively. Its cabinet utilization rate, another important industry metric, also fell to 55.1% during the quarter from an already-low 58.2% a year earlier. That means that roughly half of VNET’s data center capacity is currently sitting idle, presumably due to lack of customers. By comparison, the two rivals both reported rises in their utilization rates, with GDS’ now at 68.5% and Chindata at 78%.
Despite VNET’s relatively slow revenue growth and low utilization rate, its operating expenses rose at a faster clip of 22.5% to 321.7 million yuan. As a result, the company’s EBITDA margin fell to a multi-year low of about 22%, as one analyst pointed out on the earnings call and the company confirmed.
Despite its laggard performance, VNET somewhat surprisingly managed to continue attracting a relative A-list of analysts to its investor call, with representatives from Nomura, UBS, JPMorgan, and Credit Suisse all asking questions. Perhaps they’re interested due to the relative lack of choices for foreign investors who want to buy China telecoms infrastructure stocks.
On the bottom line, VNET reported a net loss of 377.2 million yuan, though much of that appears related to 319.9 million yuan in foreign exchange losses, most likely due to the weakening yuan. The company is still quite cash rich with 3.6 billion yuan in its coffers, which may be a key attraction for Hina. After all, Hina’s original $8 per share price translates to a total purchase price of about $1.2 billion, meaning the cash in VNET’s coffers is equal to roughly half of the purchase price.
We previously said that VNET may be looking for other buyers to take over the company, and Bloomberg reported in late July that South Korea’s MBK Partners was also considering a bid. But if any bidding war is shaping up, it certainly isn’t reflected in the stock price. Accordingly, we suspect that Hina is still probably the only bidder, and that shareholders could pressure VNET to accept the offer due to lack of better alternatives for improving the company’s performance anytime soon.
© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.


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Rogers Communications on Monday announced that its subscribers are now able to reserve Research In Motion’s (RIMM) first BlackBerry 10 smartphone — even though it doesn’t exist yet and no official details have been announced by RIM. The curious news was announced in a press release Monday morning, in which Rogers’ EVP of marketing John Boynton said the carrier is “excited to offer our customers the opportunity to be among the first in the world to reserve their BlackBerry 10 device.”
Boynton continued, “Rogers was the first carrier in Canada to launch BlackBerry, and the first in Canada to launch an LTE network. We look forward to adding BlackBerry 10 to the largest selection of LTE devices available in Canada — all powered by the Rogers LTE network, Canada’s fastest network in the most places.”
Rogers did not offer its subscribers any information about the phone it hopes they will reserve beyond the fact that it will be an “all-touch device” compatible with the carrier’s LTE network.
RIM is expected to unveil its first two BlackBerry 10 smartphones during a press conference on January 30th.


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Withdrawn by Samsung and recalled from store shelves, the explosion-prone Galaxy Note 7 is now forbidden in the skies. The Federal Aviation Administration has officially banned it, via an emergency prohibition order, making it a federal crime to take one on board an airplane.
The order restricts passengers from carrying the phone "on their person, in carry-on baggage, in checked baggage, or as cargo," and says that anyone who inadvertently brings one on a plane must power it down immediately. Carriers are also required to "deny boarding to a passenger in possession" of the phone.
Passengers who bring a Note 7 onto a plane are "subject to civil penalties of up to $179,933 for each violation for each day they are found to be in violation (49 U.S.C. 5123)," and could be prosecuted, which could "result in fines under title 18, imprisonment of up to ten years, or both (49 U.S.C. 5124)."
It is already a cult object, ready to take its place among the more dangerous inhabitants of our descendants' wunderkammers.
CuloClean is a portable gadget that turns a plastic bottle into a bidet. I can’t vouch for its efficacy but it seems like a useful alternative to wiping your bum, especially as toilet paper has become a high-value currency. Apparently CuloClean supplies are also running low but it seems like you could make one yourself […]
Today apple announced a new MacBook Air (faster, cheaper) and an upgraded iPad Pro with LiDAR, “studio-quality” microphones and the full array of ultrawide and telephoto lenses as sported on recent top-of-the-line iPhones. But the thing that sells it to me is the new keyboard, which includes a trackpad (at last!) and fancy hinge that […]
A tiny, bargain-priced drone that delivers cinematic HD footage? Full speed ahead, backers! But alas, there’s a problem: coronavirus. The BBC reports on backers who pledged nearly $2m and are about to experience disappointment. Ash Hall, who reviews drones, published a damning video opinion piece on YouTube. He was fiercely critical not just of the […]
Electric bikes aren’t toys. And they aren’t a fad. In fact, more and more communities are starting to catch on that e-bikes are a lot more than an amusing gadget for the tech geek. Following a six-month study, Johnson County, Kansas, home to many Kansas City suburbs, became just the latest U.S. community to allow […]
Whether you’re living in a city that has already taken measures to reduce plastic bag use, the small silver lining of the pandemic has inspired you to make changes, or you’ve already started living a greener lifestyle, reusable produce bags are a great addition to your shopping routine. And if you’re going to invest in […]
Dealing with all the COVID-19 fallout is one of the new realities of our ever-changing world — and that isn’t likely going away anytime soon. It’s also prompted a rash of existential questions for parents. Questions like how do I protect my kids? Or how do I soothe their fears? And there’s also one of […]


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A few female former employees have sued American sports brand Nike, claiming they have received lower wages than male colleagues and they have suffered inappropriate behaviour.
Two women have started a class action lawsuit against Nike, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing other complaints of former and current employees (some of whom unnamed) about discrimination toward women and a strong macho culture – even though the brand itself claims to favour diversity.
The women say Nike willingly kept women down in terms of salary, promotions and work circumstances. They want the company to compensate them for salary and benefits they missed, and also for other damages.
Striving for diversity
In a response, Nike says it is strongly against any kind of discrimination and it is on the forefront in the struggle for diversity and inclusion. However, as the company has met regular criticism about how women are treated in its headquarters, Nike has released a statement that it will back these principles even more.
Recently eleven managers were let go after complaints about inappropriate behaviour, and the head of human resources also had to admit women had trouble reaching higher echelons in the company. To compensate for this, 7000 employees’ wages were raised last month.


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Tourism officials in Okaloosa County, Fla., have selected New Orleans-based Peter Mayer Advertising to design a program to attract visitors to the Florida Panhandle community.
The county includes the communities of Destin, Fort Walton and Okaloosa Island.
The agency began working with the county tourism development department in December. Its destination-marketing experience includes work with the Louisiana Office of Tourism, the New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corp., hotels and attractions such as the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.
Republican Rep. Jeff Landry says a TV ad and campaign flyer circulated by his GOP opponent, Rep. Charles Boustany, are falsely claiming that Landry's businesses didn't pay their property taxes on time.
To prove his point, Landry's campaign on Friday circulated letters from the tax offices of the St. Landry and Lafayette parish sheriffs agreeing that the taxes on the properties at issue were paid "in full and in a timely manner."
Michael Friedman and Greg Augarten sell New York-style pizza in New Orleans. Their operation, Pizza Delicious, is a takeout window between Piety Street and Desire Street. They're only open two nights a week. If you're in the know, you can call them up and order a pie.
Business has been good, and they're about to buy their own place. So for the first time they're considering paid advertising. They'd been thinking about advertising on Facebook but didn't know how to proceed.


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Plant-based meat company LikeMeat recently released an extraordinary food performance film featuring German musician Till Lindemann (Rammstein). With the art movie, LikeMeat wants to draw attention to the global and ever-growing Veganuary movement and motivate people to go vegan this January (video below).
The team here at vegconomist will be taking a break from Thursday 24th – we will be back with the most exciting and current news for you every weekday from 4th January 2021.
London-based vegan business community Vevolution announces the launch of the third series of the Plant-Based Business Podcast. Since its launch in late 2019 the podcast has regularly been trending in the Apple UK Business Podcast charts and has attracted a global roll-call of leading plant-based entrepreneurs and investors.
Like no other, Patrik Baboumian embodies the power and health that a plant-based diet can bring. He achieved worldwide fame through the 2018 Netflix documentary The Game Changers, discussing the subject of ideal nutrition for top sporting performance, produced by Jackie Chan, Arnold Schwarzenegger and James Cameron.
Spanish “food activists” Heura have launched a huge billboard ad campaign highlighting the pollution caused by the livestock industry, and reports that it has received a number of threatening calls. One meat industry publication has lashed out with a Twitter attack, amid a week when the EU has dropped a €4.5 million pro- red meat campaign.
Mark Cuban is a US billionaire, vegetarian and judge on the business pitching show Shark Tank. From a vegan perspective, the success of three of his investments this year are noteworthy, namely Wild Earth, Mrs. Goldfarb’s Unreal Deli and Wanna Date?, as each of them opened a new market in the vegan segment.
We are proud to announce that vegconomist is finally live at our newest platforms vegconomist.cn and vegconomist.hk, opening up our reach into Asia and bringing all the latest vegan business news to readers of Traditional and Simplified Chinese. Along with German, English and Spanish, this brings our total to five languages.
Award-winning interior architect and Founder / Director of Vegan Interior Design, Aline Dürr has released a book to help vegans and non-vegans alike to create 100% cruelty free, sustainable interiors. Did you know that some paint is not vegan? That towels are not vegan? That the leather on a couch could come from dogs or cats?
Pamela Anderson is a “powerful change-agent” with a huge following on social media. Her new collaboration with Canada’s Very Good Food Company, operating as The Very Good Butchers, is set to promote plant-based diets, offering customers a discount with a contribution to the Pamela Anderson Foundation.
Impossible Foods is “looking to dial up mainstream, mass-market awareness next year,” reckons The Drum, which postures (tenuously?) that a Super Bowl spot could be on the table for 2021. Here we take a look at some other recent TV spots from some big vegan brands, hitting TV screens now that vegan is as mainstream as football.


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We speak to exhibition designers to find out how they navigate the unique challenges of designing for a show that will occupy multiple venues.
A biomass fuel solution for farms, a unique hydrogen innovation and a service which cuts down on food waste are among the winners of Prince William’s environmental awards.
We speak with Christina Koehn about how a team of 2000 designers works effectively and the challenges of designing ubiquitous, mass market products for a wide range of users.
The VMLY&R design team talks us through the tournament identity and its “typeface without borders”, which was crafted with inclusivity in mind.
We take a tour with Ralph Applebaum Associates, which designed the Second World War Gallery and Casson Mann which has designed the Holocaust Gallery.
The solar-powered pods can travel by raised or on-road tracks, carry 16 passengers at once and can be booked via an Uber-style app.
The year’s award-winning work has a wide focus, from plant collectors to the plight of the gnarwalls.
A pot of nearly £2 million has been set aside as part of the Transport Research and Innovation Grant 2021 programme, which has four challenges to address.
The Design Business Association’s (DBA)Annual Survey Report points to recruitment issues at studios, compounded by many out-of-work designers setting up on their own.
Sid Lee has designed the illustrative branding for RATP’s new app, which aims to simplify everyday journeys for Parisians.
The identity for Wholly Veggie looks to avoid well-trodden plant-based visual references, and will roll out across packaging, point-of-sale and digital.
The London-based brand consultancy has crafted an identity for the certification system based around a ripple-effect mark.
The new look for the insights platform features a redesigned logo which moves it away from a familiarity with Tinder’s flame icon.
From European-inspired restaurants, to scientific research facilities mixing old and new, these are the interiors projects that have caught our attention recently.
Explore Design Week
Dayuse’s new look conjures different moods to show customers how hotel services might be used by day rather than as part of an overnight stay.
Basketball is more popular than ever in the UK, but remains underfunded. Could graphic design provide an answer?
Wright is dean of academic programmes at Central Saint Martins, and will succeed current president Naresh Ramchandani.
Conran founded the museum in 1989, and the showcase will explore this and several other “parallel careers” he had, including with Habitat and the Conran Design Group.
The latest moves, changes and appointments happening across the design industry.
UK businesses can apply for a share of up to £2 million of the fund, to support initiatives that have been co-designed with older people.
Parisian consultancy Spintank has designed the branding for Lyon’s network of express pathways, with an emphasis on “fluidity”.
The resource has been developed by the Social Mobility Commission in partnership with businesses across the creative industry, and claims to offer “practical support”.
Opening in 2022, the Technicians Gallery will celebrate the often behind-the-scenes workers and this is what we know about the design so far.
The redesigned space for young people, which will feature an in-gallery design studio, is set to open in 2023.
The 20m-high cone structure – made of cross laminated timbers – invites visitors to “donate words” which form a continuous poem.
A mixture of in-person and online events are slated for this month, covering topics like craft, innovation, furniture and sustainability.
From a purifying algae playground to imaginative bottle designs, these are some of the projects that caught our attention this month.
Ive’s design consultancy LoveFrom will work with the car manufacturer in a “multi-year” collaboration, which could be an electric car.
Design studio Ragged Edge has rebranded the London stationery company with a logo inspired by printers’ marks.
The Swedish manufacturers has unveiled a flat logo redesign, as part of a wider brand update intended to tie into ongoing automotive trends.


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Singapore's non-oil domestic exports (Nodx) were up 6 per cent in December from a year ago, due to an increase in shipments of non-electronic products. The increase outweighed the decline in electronic products shipments.
The rise contrasts with an 8.9 per cent decline in the previous month, according to statistics released on Friday by trade agency IE Singapore.
Electronic Nodx contracted by 3.1 per cent following the 8.9 per cent decline in the preceding month. The decrease was largely due to a fall in shipments of parts of PCs, disk drives and telecommunications equipment.
Meanwhile, non-electronic Nodx grew by 10.6 per cent in December, reversing the 8.9 per cent decrease in the previous month. The expansion was led by petrochemicals, printed matter and structures of ships and boats.
Non-oil re-exports (Norx) rose by 14.2 per cent in December, after the 11.2 per cent increase in the previous month, due to both electronic and non-electronic Norx.
Singapore's exports to five of its top 10 trading partners rose in December compared with the same month last year. Exports to China, the United States, Taiwan, Indonesia and Malaysia rose last month, while shipments to Hong Kong, Thailand, South Korea, Japan and the European Union declined.
Exports to emerging markets increased by 15.5 per cent in December, compared with the 17.8 per cent contraction in November.


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The result: Online "sales" are taking off on the site and giving Scion an edge over other automakers looking to target younger consumers.
|Young children can buy a virtual Scion in the virtual world of Whyville. If they don't have enough 'clams' to do so, they can finance a Scion xB and learn about interest rates, down payments, credit histories and leasing, courtesy of Toyota.
It's no secret that Toyota's Scion division has been targeting young consumers with its lineup of customizable vehicles. But just how young? Try 8- to 15-year-old kids and teens.
In April, Scion partnered with Whyville.net to become the exclusive automotive partner of the social-networking site. As part of the deal, members can buy and customize their own boxy Scion xBs and use them to cruise around Whyville. The vehicles not only serve as transportation tools; the interiors of the cars are also chat rooms.
The site now has 1.7 million members -- mostly kids ages 8 to 15 -- and is quickly becoming an attractive destination for marketers to target a hard-to-reach audience that has major influence on what parents purchase. Members (there are twice as many girls as boys) spend an average of three hours per month on the site.
Unlike other social-networking sites such as MySpace, Facebook and Friendster, Whyville is set up as a cartoony virtual world where its members interact with others through avatars, or animated characters. They travel to various locations around a virtual island that includes a beach, museum, city hall and town square, as well as its own suburbia.
Whyville.net, a division of Numedeon, was founded in 1999 by three scientists from Caltech and an artist from Pasadena Art Center College of Design, mainly as an educational site where children could play games and learn about things such as nutrition and art. They brokered sponsorships with Adobe, Getty, NASA, the University of Texas and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, among others.
"As a result, the emphasis on sales and marketing wasn't there until recently," said Jay Goss, chief operating officer of Whyville.net. "We've only woken up to the fact. The marketers came to us instead of us going to the marketers."
As part of its deal with Whyville, Scion set up Club Scion, a destination where members can hang out and purchase their own Scions. Specific financials of the deal were not disclosed, but Scion is paying Whyville based on the number of visitors the site attracts per month.
Scion's strategy quickly started to pay off.
In the first 10 days of the Toyota campaign, the word "Scion" was used over 78,000 times in chats. That's grown to over 200,000 times since it was launched three months ago. Club Scion was visited 33,741 times in the first 10 days. To date, Whyvillians have purchased more than 1,200 Scions and gone on 140,000 rides in their cars.
Toyota recently expanded its involvement with Whyville.
Earlier this month, the company's Toyota Financial Services division launched Scion Solutions to give Whyville's members the chance to finance a Scion xB and learn about interest rates, down payments, credit histories and leasing. A virtual Toyota Financial Services adviser walks them through the loan process and helps them learn about their "WhyCO" scores, similar to a FICO score.
Previously, only members with enough "clams," Whyville's virtual currency, could purchase Scions and add on elements such as spoilers, roof racks with snowboards, and turbo chargers, wings and hood ornaments. Citizens now have the opportunity to finance one through Scion Solutions. Those who default on their loans have their cars repossessed.
Days after opening, the Scion Solutions office had already approved several thousand loans.
Whyville executives welcomed Scion because it was looking for a way to educate kids on what it takes to own a car. They felt kids wouldn't learn unless they cared about the topic. In Whyville, owning a Scion is considered cool.
Consider a conversation that appeared on the site between two members:
Floz24: "I'm working for a Scion"
Mo0d1y: "I want a Scion soo bad"
Floz24: "I'm gonna work in cafeteria and earn, even if it takes ages"
*Player driving a Scion appears on screen*
Floz24: "Invite me for a ride PLEAZE!"
Mo0d1y: "Pleeeeeeease, can I get a lift, I luv ur Scion"
Mr. Goss said Whyville's executives had been looking for a way to integrate cars into the site for some time.
"There are two things on the mind of a 12- or 15-year-old," he said. "The one thing we can't talk about because their hormones are kicking in. The other is they can't wait to drive. We could have opened up Acme Car Land and done a generic job at introducing kids to cars. But the question in our mind was, what if we bring in a sponsor, and in addition to getting their checkbook, we get their expertise? It adds a certain authenticity to the site that makes it better for the kids."
But Scion executives stressed that they didn't want their integration to appear too commercial.
"We felt that we would have to put the brakes on them a lot to make sure it wasn't commercial or predatory," Mr. Goss said. "But it was more of a concern for Scion than it was for us."
Whyville has started to talk to other marketers about ways to integrate their brands into the virtual world. But it doesn't plan to make a deal with another car partner.
"I don't know who else could be more perfect," said Mr. Goss of Scion. "If you're looking for a car company, no one else gets it like Scion when it comes to youth marketing. We have no interest in opening up a second dealership. If Chrysler came to us with $1 million, we'd say no. We don't need auto row in Whyville."
Whether Scion is selling actual cars as a result of the online effort remains to be seen. Either way, it's still planting a seed among soon-to-be first-time drivers.
Scion has officially said it's using the site and other nontraditional marketing methods as a way to develop "relationships with future car buyers," said Deborah Senior, national marketing and communications manager for Scion.
"We'd like to have educated customers down the road, and this program is a terrific opportunity to help tweens understand the process of financing a vehicle, everything from interest rates to FICO scores to repaying the loan," said Maria Tirado, interactive marketing manager for Toyota Financial Services. "TFS wanted to be able to represent that for kids."