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Is Your Hairstyle Harming Your Scalp?
For Black people with tightly coiled hair, certain hair products and styles can cause major scalp woes — itchiness, flakes, even bald spots. But the problems may be reversible with culturally competent healthcare.
Chesapeake, Virginia native Daree Allen Nieves, 39, has struggled for years with an intensely itchy and irritated scalp. The discomfort began when she started straightening her tightly coiled hair. “I started getting relaxers when I was 13,” she explains.
When she was in her late twenties, she began seeing a dermatologist every few months — first a white doctor, then a Black one. Both prescribed a number of different treatments for her dermatitis (the medical term for skin irritation), but nothing helped. Her scalp problems persisted even after she gave her hair what she calls a “big chop” and went natural.
“I’ve never been given a real cause or solution for my issues,” she says.
Allen Nieves’ experience is not unique. Tightly coiled Black hair is very delicate and can require a lot of upkeep, but sometimes certain products, treatments, and even so-called “protective” hairstyles can cause more problems than they solve. People may notice continuously flaky scalps, slow or no hair growth, or even progressive hair loss, but have no idea what to do about these conditions.
While a person’s first instinct may be to head to a stylist or buy a supplement, thinking that it will finally help hair grow, the real solution should be a visit to a dermatologist — specifically one with experience treating Black scalp issues.
Trying to fix these conditions on your own, ignoring them, or trying to cover them up can make them worse, according to Candrice Heath, MD, a Black dermatology professor at Temple University in Philadelphia. Dermatologists aren’t adequately trained to identify issues unique to Black patients, and because the overwhelming majority of dermatologists are white, they don’t have personal experience to draw from, either.
Without proper specialized education or firsthand knowledge, dermatologists may be unable to treat Black patients with tightly coiled hair, and might even exacerbate scalp conditions.
When asked at what stage she ends up seeing a Black patient with scalp issues, Dr. Heath’s response is, “Often too late.”
Given the lack of culturally competent dermatological healthcare, it’s especially important for patients to advocate for themselves. This can start with increased awareness of symptoms of several scalp conditions that particularly affect Black people: traction alopecia, trichorrhexis nodosa, and allergic contact and seborrheic dermatitis.
What Is Traction Alopecia?
Traction alopecia is hair loss tied to repeated trauma to the scalp from styling. Not only are Black people at risk of this, but so is anyone who has to wear their hair in a style that causes tension, like women in the military and ballerinas. There is no age restriction, and even children can develop traction alopecia.
“On social media people talk about losing their edges, and what they're really referring to is traction alopecia — hair loss from tension — which most often shows around the front edges of the scalp,” Heath explains. For people who wear really tight braids and ponytails, this alopecia usually appears where the hair is most likely to pull.
Unfortunately many people respond to traction alopecia by trying to hide thinning hair with braids and extensions, which can ultimately make the condition worse and get someone stuck in a hair loss cycle.
Treatment for Traction Alopecia
According to Heath, traction alopecia is completely reversible — early on. “If tight hairstyles are changed so that you're wearing more loose hairstyles, you may actually be able to recover your hair,” Heath says. The time frame depends on how damaged your hair is and how fast it grows.
Reducing the amount of chemicals and lowering the heat during styling also helps.
A dermatologist may prescribe topical antibiotics or steroids to reduce inflammation, according to the Skin of Color Society (SOCS), a dermatologic nonprofit group. For more advanced traction alopecia, treatment may involve oral antibiotics or steroid injections, or topical minoxidil (Rogaine) to stimulate hair regrowth.
Traction alopecia may be very difficult to treat in some cases, Heath says. “The problem happens when people continue to do really, really tight hairstyles back to back over a number of years, and then you start to have some permanent scarring effects due to the habits not being amended quick enough,” she says.
What Is Trichorrhexis Nodosa?
Trichorrhexis nodosa is recurrent hair breakage caused by tight styling, relaxers, overuse of heat tools, dyeing, washing hair too frequently, and even not washing enough. This can make it seem like the hair isn’t growing at all, when in reality, it’s just breaking faster than it’s growing.
Crystal Aguh, MD, the director of the ethnic skin program at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, explains that while many dermatologists may never treat this condition, she sees at least one case a week.
Trichorrhexis nodosa can look like thinning hair and a visible scalp from prolonged breakage. The scalp may also be itchy, inflamed, or sore. Some sections of the hair may seem like they never grow, especially at the nape of the neck. A patient may also notice small white nodes on individual hair shafts where the hairs are splitting.
Stylists may contribute to these conditions by calling certain hairstyles protective and promoting them for people with natural hair. “The images that we see of natural hair in our society that are embraced have a slightly looser curl pattern,” explains Dr. Aguh, “which is more amenable to remaining in a natural state.” These styles take more work, she says, increasing the risk of breakage, and may not be as easy to maintain as straight styles — despite the push for natural.
The average person with trichorrhexis nodosa is at least 30 and most likely has 4B or 4C curly hair, and they often cover hair with wigs and don’t get trims often enough, says Aguh. They may also have been misdiagnosed with permanent hair loss by a less knowledgeable physician, according to Heath.
Certain hair types, like 4C hair, need more TLC, and a natural hair style doesn’t always help. Aguh says that these Black women may be struggling to moisturize their hair enough, which could also lead to breakage.
Treatment for Trichorrhexis Nodosa
Home remedies for trichorrhexis nodosa, according to Aguh, may include washing and conditioning hair more frequently, using a protein treatment, and incorporating oil after applying a leave-in conditioner — all things that may have been neglected by someone throwing a wig over the problem. Ideally, a sulfate-free or gentle-sulfate shampoo and moisturizing conditioner would be used once or twice a week, and after a few months, someone may begin to see new growth.
Limiting the use of heat tools to no more than once a week, and only on clean, dry hair can also help, as well as careful detangling and protecting the hair from extreme cold or drying conditions. It’s also better to wait at least two weeks after getting hair relaxed or waved, processes that can weaken hair, before using permanent hair color.
What Are Allergic Contact Dermatitis and Seborrheic Dermatitis?
Several types of dermatitis can affect the scalp, including allergic contact dermatitis and seborrheic dermatitis. Allergic contact dermatitis can be triggered by the ingredients in hair products, including the hair used for braids and extensions. Seborrheic dermatitis, which is caused by an overabundance of oil and yeast on the scalp, can cause dry scaly patches, redness, and dandruff. Both types of dermatitis are marked by an itchy scalp.
Treatment for Allergic Contact Dermatitis and Seborrheic Dermatitis
Heath explains that common treatments for these conditions often aren’t a fit for Black people. “Dermatitis affects people of all hair types, and the common knee-jerk reaction would be to say, ‘Use an anti-dandruff shampoo five times a week,’” Heath says. “If you give that same advice to someone who has more tightly coiled hair, which is more prone to breakage and dryness, then the outcome is going to be very different” — most likely a dry scalp and dry, brittle hair.
Oftentimes, treatment means changing a problematic hairstyle or using different products. Dermatologists might also prescribe antifungal products like ketoconazole, or even steroids. These are mostly topical products that can be applied to the scalp.
How to Find a Culturally Competent Dermatologist
Unfortunately, healthcare in general, and dermatology in particular, still has quite a ways to go before practitioners reflect the diversity of the population and are better able to address the needs of communities of color.
A big part of the problem when it comes to Black scalp health is that most dermatologists, the majority of whom are white, will recommend what they are familiar with from their own experiences, not necessarily what is right for their patients, says Heath.
To find a dermatologist near you that specializes in scalp care, Heath recommends turning to social channels. “Social media is a valuable tool, and there are websites that list Black dermatologists in your area,” including a database maintained by the Skin of Color Society.
She does caution that even Black dermatologists may face a learning curve in their ability to treat Black patients, explaining “It is a reality that a newly minted Black dermatologist may have trained in a program where there were not a lot of patients with skin of color, or with tightly coiled hair.”


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- Digital wallets are the leading payment method globally, accounting for $18 trillion in consumer spending.
- Tech firms Apple, Google, and PayPal are disrupting how consumers handle their payments through platform-based technology.
- Valuable first-party data is giving Big Tech an edge over traditional banks and financial services firms.
- Consumers want an all-encompassing, seamless experience to manage their finances.
The rise of Big Tech has been one of the most significant developments in the past decade. Tech giants, including Google, Apple, Amazon, and Meta, have changed how people globally search for information, communicate with friends, and even buy products online.
So, it is no surprise that they have banks and financial services firms in their sights and are already disrupting how consumers handle their finances through platform-based technology – from payments to money management, insurance, lending, and savings.
Indeed, digital wallets have emerged as the leading payment method globally, both in e-commerce and at point of sale (POS), according to the WorldPay FIS 2023 Global Payments Report.
The report adds that China’s Alipay, PayPal, Google Pay, and Apple Pay have a 49% share of global e-commerce sales and 32% of POS, accounting for $18 trillion in consumer spending. China has long been the global leader in the adoption of digital wallets thanks to the dominance of Alipay and WeChat Pay.
The report also notes that PayPal is now the leading digital wallet in European countries such as Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the UK and has a significant share in many other European markets. It adds that Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Amazon Pay are also popular in Europe.
“While APAC remains an outlier with the overwhelming majority of wallet share, digital wallets are now the leading e-com payment method in Europe (having taken the lead in 2021) and North America (where wallets passed credit cards for leading status in 2022),” the WorldPay FIS report says.
Banks in Europe, however, are also offering customers innovative ways to manage their e-commerce payments without a digital wallet. In the Netherlands, for example, the online payment system iDEAL enables consumers to securely pay for goods online through their banks.
Why is Big Tech eyeing financial services?
But why would Big Tech companies want to get involved in an industry dominated by traditional banks, financial services firms, and agile digital banks?
In Big Tech’s favor is access to a plethora of valuable first-party data, giving it an opportunity to boost its bottom lines in an industry worth trillions of dollars.
First-party data is the information that Big Tech companies collect from their customers, providing them with rich insights into credit card transactions, online shopping habits, geolocations, payment information, and online activity, among others.
In comparison, banks’ access to customer data includes credit scores, income, expenditure, repayment histories, and second-party data – for example, the information they gather from customers’ use of other services, such as using a bank’s app to pay for an Uber.
Consumers are also more willing to share their data with companies they trust. A recent survey found that if secure, nearly half of Americans would be willing to share personal information, including credit and debit card numbers.
Who are the leading tech companies already offering financial services?
Launched in 2011, Google Pay allows users to make purchases through their phones at checkout counters.
Apple Pay is a similar system, allowing users to spend money via their iPhones or iPads and receive rewards points through iTunes Store purchases, such as apps and movies.
However, the iPhone maker has moved ahead of its rivals and is now giving banks a run for their money in the US after announcing in March the launch of Apple Pay Later, which is based on the buy now, pay later model. It also announced last month a high-interest Apple savings account for American savers in partnership with investment bank Goldman Sachs.
The new services are operated through Apple Card, and the company has also set up a new subsidiary, Apple Financing, to oversee credit assessments and lending.
Amazon also has a credit card allowing US customers who shop on its Amazon Prime membership program to earn points, towards free products or discounts at Whole Foods Market stores or an Amazon Go store.
Are banks losing ground?
Traditional banks are losing ground to Big Tech firms that can adapt faster and use technology better. As a result, banks need to be more innovative and agile to stay relevant and retain customers.
The implications of the shift of Big Tech into financial services are significant: financial services firms that fail to adapt will lose out on business opportunities, while those that do will gain an edge over the competition in terms of customer experience, cost savings, and revenue growth.
Consumers want an all-encompassing, seamless experience
However, consumers want an all-encompassing, seamless experience via their smartphones –to shop and pay for items with a single click and manage all facets of their money.
They also want the same level of convenience from their financial services providers that they have come to expect from Big Tech, such as Amazon, Google, and Apple.
How can banks and financial services firms tap into the data ecosystem?
Financial services companies and banks also want to join the Big Tech consumer data ecosystem to understand their customers better and offer more personalized products.
To do so, they need access to data from other sources, such as partnering with third-party fintechs to tap into embedded finance and modernizing their core banking systems to offer seamless digital experiences across all devices.
This could help them to compete with Big Tech by, for example, offering loans based on consumer behavior rather than credit scores or bank statements.
What about regulations?
The International Monetary Fund has warned that the rapid and significant expansion of Big Tech in financial services and their interconnectedness with financial service firms are potentially creating new channels of systemic risks. However, it recommends the development of new – or updating existing – regulations to create a level playing field and offset any risks to financial stability.
“Careful consideration of longer-term effects is needed to develop new, or adjust existing, regulation to provide a level playing field for incumbents, fintech start-ups, and Big Tech, while mitigating risks to financial stability, market integrity, and consumer protection.” the IMF says in a report published in 2022.
“To achieve effective implementation and multiple objectives of financial regulation and supervision, a hybrid approach, combining a mix of entity and activity-based approaches, is needed.”
What does the future hold?
Big Tech is backed by big money and resources, which could give them an edge over traditional banks in acquiring new customers and building new products.
These companies have also been investing in artificial intelligence, machine learning, blockchain technology, fintech startups, and other areas that could help them gain market share from banks and other financial services companies – and it appears that many of these investments are already paying off.
Banks must be bold when it comes to innovation. Otherwise, they risk losing out on valuable customers who may decide they prefer using different services that Big Tech companies provide instead of traditional financial institutions.
To overcome these challenges, traditional banks and financial services firms should consider innovative initiatives such as a seamless user experience that offers personalization at scale, real-time decision-making capabilities, automated processes, and integration with third-party fintechs to help them manage their finances across several providers.
Big Tech has already proven its ability to disrupt industries like retail and travel. Now that it is moving into the financial services sector, banks must act quickly to stay relevant in today’s world.
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Returns frenzy set to blow £1.6billion hole in retailer's profits by Christmas
- Retailers are experiencing a deluge of returns in the run up to Christmas
- The cost, predicted to be around £1.6bn, has been exacerbated by Black Friday
- Returns cost online firms in the region of £5 per item
The growing trend for shoppers to order too many clothes online and return those they do not want is forecast to blow a £1.6billion hole in retailers’ profits by Christmas, research has found.
Items sent back after Black Friday are thought to have added an extra £250million to the fashion industry’s bill in just one day.
Bottom line: The growing trend of over ordering online and returning items is forecast to blow a £1.6billion hole in retailers’ profits by Christmas
Returns cost online firms as much as £5 per item because retailers have to pay the postage, register the returns in their warehouses and prepare them for resale. Some items need to be cleaned or thrown away.
As Christmas approaches, it becomes increasingly difficult to process returned stock before the sales begin in January, and spring season stock starts to arrive.
Specialist logistics firms including Clipper have made the returns process faster and are used by Asos, New Look and Superdry.
But Graham Best, chief executive at ReBound – which helps retailers manage and track returns and which conducted the research – said the problem was ‘still something that’s been neglected by many retailers’.
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Last Updated Jun 21, 2010 12:00 PM EDT
The growth is impressive. Last July, board member Marc Andreessen said Facebook was on track for $500 million in revenue and could do better:
"If they pushed the throttle forward on monetization they would be doing more than a billion this year," said Andreessen, who made the cover of Time Magazine as founder of the world's first Web browser company, Netscape.Pushing on revenue is certainly one way. However, the company has another potential tool at hand: paid premium memberships. I don't mean mandatory paid memberships for all, which would likely drive away a significant portion of the roughly 500 million audience that makes advertising a viable revenue source.
Instead, Facebook could institute a tiered membership structure much the way LinkedIn does, with additional benefits to make payment attractive. Here are some features that could attract paid members:
- additional photo/video hosting abilities
- professional or business accounts with additional contact capabilities and tracking for those who want to promote themselves
- multi-party chat sessions
- free Facebook points
- no advertising
- protection of personal data
Paid membership would likely increase Facebook's per person revenue. Even if you assume that the company gets $10 CPM (cost per thousand ad displays) rates for advertising -- which would put it in rarefied company, given that the average rate in the U.S. is $2.48 -- how much does the average customer bring in? Divide even $1 billion in revenue by 500 million users and you've got ... $2 a person a year. Be generous and divide the billion by 300 million users, assuming 67 percent user growth since January 1, and they would still be just over $3 a person a year. It wouldn't take much to replace that.
Now, heavy users who demonstrate a greater interest in the service would be more likely candidates. How much might they bring in through ad views? If someone uses Facebook several times every day and views 10 ads, the person views 70 ads a week, 3640 ads a year. Revenue for that person would then be $36.40 a year, or about $3 a month. A $5 a month fee would create $24 more a year in revenue than through advertising. The incremental resource costs to deliver benefits would be negligible. Promotional users would likely pay even more.
This would be a freemium business model. Assuming typical conversion rates of 2 percent, and Facebook might expect 10 million paid users with additional revenue of $240 million -- close to a 25 percent increase, even for $1 billion in annual revenue.
Facebook would improve its reputation and sharply increase revenue. Not a bad result for a relatively simple change.
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|By Business Wire||
|April 15, 2014 08:07 AM EDT||
Today, the Phoenix-based entertainment software and technology company Jordan Freeman Group, LLC, (JFG) a subsidiary of ZOOM, LLC, unveiled its new game, Mr. Travel. JFG, through its parent company, ZOOM, also revealed it had secured the rights to the MegaRace franchise for mobile and tablet devices, as well as traditional game consoles and PCs.
Said ZOOM’s Chairman, Bernie Stolar: “Jordan Freeman and his team are building franchises that will be played on all platforms; these games will prove to be the most fun and entertaining of any new franchises.”
Mr. Travel, ZOOM’s point and click adventure, will be released April 22 on PC.
Mr. Travel was originally developed in France by LayerCake as an educational business software program. French co-developer 3DDUO saw the potential for the teaching tool to be turned into a casual PC gaming title and reached out to US based JFG to assist in the conversion and publication. JFG worked with 3DDUO and LayerCake to adapt the game for US audiences with a unique and exclusive version of the game powered by ZOOM’s “ZOOM Platform” technology. A physical disc-based copy of the game is set to be released April 22 exclusively on Amazon.com and ZOOM’s soon-to-be-launched ZOOM Platform portal. A digital download version of the title is planned for release on ZOOM Platform as well.
Jordan Freeman, Chief Creative Officer and Founder of both JFG and ZOOM, stated: “Working with 3DDUO and LayerCake was an absolute pleasure, and we will be delivering a unique product that seamlessly blends a learning experience with a good time. We look forward to continuing this partnership.”
Bruno Alermas, Commercial Sales Manager for 3DDUO, said: “The US market is very important to 3DDUO, and we want a partner who believes in our work and can also operate from within the country. We are pleased to be working with Jordan Freeman Group and ZOOM. In addition to distributing the game in the US, they are also serving as advisors to help improve our content. JFG and ZOOM are valuable partners without a doubt.”
JFG, through parent company ZOOM, also announced today its acquisition of the “MegaRace” trilogy franchise rights for mobile and tablet devices, as well as game consoles and PCs. JFG will launch an IndieGoGo Campaign along with partner Anuman Interactive. The campaign’s purpose is to support the original trilogy’s conversion to new platforms as well as a franchise reboot.
The MegaRace Trilogy, an arcade style vehicular combat series, takes place in a dystopian future, where the player is a contestant on a game show called "MegaRace." MegaRace's host is the eccentric Lance Boyle (played by actor Christian Erickson). JFG has recruited Mr. Erickson to join both the IndieGoGo Campaign and the “MegaRace” franchise reboot.
Freeman stated: “MegaRace was the first computer game I ever played. That being said, I am very excited to share this title with a new generation of gamers. Having Christian Erickson, who has starred in every MegaRace game to date, on board for the reboot, is also very thrilling. I believe longtime fans of the series will definitely appreciate this, and I look forward to what the future holds for the franchise.”
Julien Renzaho, VP Business Development & Sales at Anuman Interactive, said: “Anuman Interactive is pleased to sign this MegaRace partnership with the Jordan Freeman Group. We will now be able to have the mobile and tablet users discover one of the nuttiest futuristic racing games of the past generation. Thanks to titles like Moto Racer, Darkstone, and The Blue Coats, our Company has acquired an expertise as far as readapting video game classics for these constantly expanding platforms. Working along with experienced actors of the video game industry in the US substantiates once again the growth of our catalog on a global scale.”
ZOOM's Chief Financial Officer, Bernie Gilhuly, had the following to say: “I am very much looking forward to being a member of the team that brings gaming to the next technology platform breakthrough.”
ZOOM’s mission is to design, create, and publish traditional and interactive entertainment with a Generation X trans-media appeal. ZOOM’s products will be distributed digitally via ZOOM Platform, along with non-exclusive third party content from both major publishers and indies with a catalog spanning the classics to new releases.
ZOOM has a world-class management team with veterans from all facets of the entertainment and technology industries.
ZOOM’s Chairman, Bernie Stolar, is a 30+ year veteran of the video game industry. As the first EVP of Sony Computer Entertainment America, Bernie helped introduce the PlayStation to the gaming world. As President/COO of Sega, Bernie led the launch of the Dreamcast console, the most successful console launch in the history of the industry. Stolar was also Google’s Games Evangelist after the acquisition of his firm, AdScape Media.
ZOOM’s Chief Creative Officer and Founder, Jordan Freeman, conceived the ZOOM Platform project and built its first prototype. He also formed the JFG development arm of the Company, which will focus on building franchises around ZOOM technology. These franchises will be published and distributed on ZOOM Platform. Before ZOOM, Freeman was Founder and Chief Technical Officer at Head 2 Head Gaming.
ZOOM’s Chief Financial Officer, Bernie Gilhuly, CPA, was previously SVP at One World Networks, CFO at Tribe Management Partners, and at present is a Managing Partner at LL Business Management. Bernie brings 20+ years of experience in entertainment industry finance to ZOOM.
For more information and to purchase digital and physical copies of Mr. Travel and MegaRace, please visit: www.ZOOM-Platform.com.
The WebRTC Summit 2014 New York, to be held June 9-11, 2015, at the Javits Center in New York, NY, announces that its Call for Papers is open. Topics include all aspects of improving IT delivery by eliminating waste through automated business models leveraging cloud technologies. WebRTC Summit is co-located with 16th International Cloud Expo, @ThingsExpo, Big Data Expo, and DevOps Summit.
Mar. 29, 2015 09:00 AM EDT Reads: 1,539
Even though it’s now Microservices Journal, long-time fans of SOA World Magazine can take comfort in the fact that the URL – soa.sys-con.com – remains unchanged. And that’s no mistake, as microservices are really nothing more than a new and improved take on the Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) best practices we struggled to hammer out over the last decade. Skeptics, however, might say that this change is nothing more than an exercise in buzzword-hopping. SOA is passé, and now that people are ...
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Wearable technology was dominant at this year’s International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) , and MWC was no exception to this trend. New versions of favorites, such as the Samsung Gear (three new products were released: the Gear 2, the Gear 2 Neo and the Gear Fit), shared the limelight with new wearables like Pebble Time Steel (the new premium version of the company’s previously released smartwatch) and the LG Watch Urbane. The most dramatic difference at MWC was an emphasis on presenting we...
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SOA Software has changed its name to Akana. With roots in Web Services and SOA Governance, Akana has established itself as a leader in API Management and is expanding into cloud integration as an alternative to the traditional heavyweight enterprise service bus (ESB). The company recently announced that it achieved more than 90% year-over-year growth. As Akana, the company now addresses the evolution and diversification of SOA, unifying security, management, and DevOps across SOA, APIs, microser...
Mar. 29, 2015 08:30 AM EDT Reads: 2,036
The webinar, hosted by XebiaLabs, will feature 4 experts including Special Host Gene Kim, author of The Phoenix Project, along with IT thought leaders Gary Gruver, Randy Shoup and XebiaLabs' Andrew Phillips. The panel brings more than 30 years of collective experience surrounding microservices transformations at major companies including Google, eBay and Tripwire. "The story around microservices and containers is pretty compelling and the attraction of more flexibility is obviously alluring,"...
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SYS-CON Events announced today that Creative Business Solutions will exhibit at SYS-CON's 16th International Cloud Expo®, which will take place on June 9-11, 2015, at the Javits Center in New York City, NY. Creative Business Solutions is the top stocking authorized HP Renew Distributor in the U.S. Based out of Long Island, NY, Creative Business Solutions offers a one-stop shop for a diverse range of products including Proliant, Blade and Industry Standard Servers, Networking, Server Options and...
Mar. 29, 2015 06:30 AM EDT Reads: 3,818
WHOA.com has announced the newest addition to its data center footprint with the expansion into Equinix's newest state-of-the-art facility: DC-11 Washington, DC IBX+. Located in Ashburn, VA, this data center expands Whoa.com's presence to meet rapidly expanding customer demand for secure cloud solutions. Equinix, Inc. operates International Business Exchange™ (IBX®) data centers in 32 markets across 15 countries in the Americas, EMEA, and Asia-Pacific. Equinix is committed to operating faciliti...
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GENBAND has announced that SageNet is leveraging the Nuvia platform to deliver Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) to its large base of retail and enterprise customers. Nuvia’s cloud-based solution provides SageNet’s customers with a full suite of business communications and collaboration tools. Two large national SageNet retail customers have recently signed up to deploy the Nuvia platform and the company will continue to sell the service to new and existing customers. Nuvia’s capabili...
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Hosted PaaS providers have given independent developers and startups huge advantages in efficiency and reduced time-to-market over their more process-bound counterparts in enterprises. Software frameworks are now available that allow enterprise IT departments to provide these same advantages for developers in their own organization. In his workshop session at DevOps Summit, Troy Topnik, ActiveState’s Technical Product Manager, will show how on-prem or cloud-hosted Private PaaS can enable organ...
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SYS-CON Media announced today that @WebRTCSummit Blog, the largest WebRTC resource in the world, has been launched. @WebRTCSummit Blog offers top articles, news stories, and blog posts from the world's well-known experts and guarantees better exposure for its authors than any other publication. @WebRTCSummit Blog can be bookmarked ▸ Here @WebRTCSummit conference site can be bookmarked ▸ Here
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SYS-CON Events announced today that Cisco, the worldwide leader in IT that transforms how people connect, communicate and collaborate, has been named “Gold Sponsor” of SYS-CON's 16th International Cloud Expo®, which will take place on June 9-11, 2015, at the Javits Center in New York City, NY. Cisco makes amazing things happen by connecting the unconnected. Cisco has shaped the future of the Internet by becoming the worldwide leader in transforming how people connect, communicate and collaborat...
Mar. 28, 2015 07:00 PM EDT Reads: 5,181
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SYS-CON Events announced today that the DevOps Institute has been named “Association Sponsor” of SYS-CON's DevOps Summit, which will take place on June 9–11, 2015, at the Javits Center in New York City, NY. The DevOps Institute provides enterprise level training and certification. Working with thought leaders from the DevOps community, the IT Service Management field and the IT training market, the DevOps Institute is setting the standard in quality for DevOps education and training.
Mar. 28, 2015 06:30 PM EDT Reads: 1,025
SYS-CON Events announced today that robomq.io will exhibit at SYS-CON's @ThingsExpo, which will take place on June 9-11, 2015, at the Javits Center in New York City, NY. robomq.io is an interoperable and composable platform that connects any device to any application. It helps systems integrators and the solution providers build new and innovative products and service for industries requiring monitoring or intelligence from devices and sensors.
Mar. 28, 2015 06:00 PM EDT Reads: 1,455


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JD Wetherspoon on course for fourth annual loss in its history as pub chain suggests former punters have become used to drinking at home
- The pub operator reported a £24.9m loss in the 53 weeks to the end of July
- A lack of trading restrictions helped overall turnover climb by around £1bn
- Wetherspoon’s profits were partly hit by higher labour costs and repair bills
JD Wetherspoon failed to rebound to profitability last year, following a ‘painstaking slow’ recovery in sales and surging cost inflation.
The pub operator reported a £24.9million loss in the 53 weeks ending July, against a £146.5million loss the previous year, when Covid-19 restrictions forced its outlets to shut for much of the period.
Earnings were affected by much higher labour costs as the chain raised its hourly salary to above £10 for the first time, and repair bills following the reopening of pubs last year.
Earnings: JD Wetherspoon reported a £24.9million loss, against a £146.5million loss the previous year, when Covid-19 restrictions forced its outlets to shut for much of the period
Even with comparatively fewer restrictions this time around, trading remained some way behind pre-pandemic volumes despite the company’s overall turnover climbing by around £1billion.
Wetherspoon suggested this may have been the result of difficulties persuading formerly ‘dyed-in-the-wool’ patrons to return as they have become accustomed to drinking beer purchased from supermarkets since the start of the pandemic.
On a like-for-like basis, sales were 4.3 per cent down on 2019 levels due to a weak recovery in food and drink orders, which offset strong demand for hotel rooms and fruit machines.
‘Most commentators, including most publicans, understandably predicted a post-lockdown boom, in which the public would react to enforced cabin fever by embarking on a celebratory spree,’ the company remarked.
‘But the reality has, in contrast, been a painstakingly slow recovery in sales, for some but not all, accompanied by great inflation in costs.’
The FTSE 250 business noted that trading improved over the year; sales were down 7.4 per cent on pre-Covid volumes in the first six months but only 0.6 per cent lower in the fourth quarter.
Demand: On a like-for-like basis, Wetherspoon’s sales were 4.3 per cent down on 2019 levels due to a weak recovery in food and drink orders
Like-for-like sales in the first nine weeks of the current financial year were also 10.1 per cent higher on the previous year.
However, the current cost-of-living crisis poses a significant challenge to its immediate performance, with skyrocketing energy bills and interest rate hikes putting a major squeeze on household incomes.
Meanwhile, Tim Martin, chief executive and founder of Wetherspoon, claimed the greatest threat to the hospitality sector if the potential for the return of Covid-related restrictions.
Pubs, bars and restaurants were some of the worst-affected by job losses during the height of the pandemic, having been forced to either shut or were subject to stringent capacity limits.
New Zealand-born Martin further argued that supermarkets’ ‘huge and unjustifiable’ tax advantages, such as lower business rates and VAT, posed another significant risk to the hospitality industry.
He said: ‘This competitive disadvantage has had an increasingly debilitating impact on the hospitality industry and will undoubtedly result in long-term financial weakness vis a vis supermarkets – which will also be harmful to employees, the Treasury and the overall economy.’
However, Martin said the company was cautiously optimistic’ about its future prospects, which had been somewhat improved in recent years through measures to boost its finances, such as fixing interest rates until 2031 and implementing two equity raises.
Mark Crouch, an analyst at online trading platform eToro, is less confident of the firm’s prospects, though.
He said: ‘The reality is that Wetherspoons is on course to make only a fourth full-year loss in its history unless there is a dramatic turnaround in its fortunes. Most of that is down to factors outside of its control and affects the entire industry.
‘While Wetherspoons is one of the stronger players, unfortunately we may see an increasing number of pubs call last orders for the last time this winter as the energy and cost-of-living crises really begin to bite.’
Following the release of this trading update, JD Wetherspoon shares rose 10.3 per cent to 482.6p in morning trading, although their value has more than halved in the past year.


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Positive performance from the OCCS
The Optical Consumer Complainants Service has posted positive results of its first year mediated by Nockolds Solicitors
15 May 2015
The findings of the service’s 2014–2016 activity were presented at a meeting of the General Optical Council (GOC) earlier this week (13 May), by head of the OCCS, Jennie Jones, and consultant, Richard Edwards.
The report tracks the first year with Nockolds Solicitors at the helm, since the firm took over mediation of the service in April 2014.
A total of 622 enquiries were dealt with by the service over the period. The greatest proportion came from independent practices (35%), with three in every 10 enquiries received related to franchise and joint venture partnerships (the model which Specsavers and Optical Express both operate). Multiple optical healthcare providers were the source of 27% of enquiries, and 8% from an unknown source.
The top source of consumer complaints to the service was concerns around products and services (46%), followed by customer service issues (39%) and complaints regarding charges and fees (6%). The remaining 10% of complaints were classed as ‘other.’
Mr Edwards highlighted that the service has received very few complaints regarding contact lenses, and that by far the majority of customer complaints were in regards to issues around varifocal spectacles, which he added was not a surprise. “The bread and butter of OCCS is non-tolerance to varifocals,” he told the council. However, he noted that one area of alarm is optometrists’ record keeping.
User satisfaction with the service is high, with 93% of users being ‘entirely satisfied’ and 7% as ‘satisfied.’ Commenting on the 4,000 calls made and received by the service to date, Ms Jones said: “The approach to mediating is very much about talking, getting people to communicate, and that is done best on the phone.”
Following the positive first year findings, Ms Jones told the council that OCCS activity in the coming year will include sharing insight from the complaints service, feeding back to professional bodies in the sector. “It is an absolute goldmine of learning and insight,” added Mr Edwards.
The GOC’s chief executive and registrar, Samantha Peters, thanked the OCCS for its valuable work, calling it “a great start to the first year” with Nockolds at the reigns.


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Las Vegas police are investigating after a car struck a pedestrian and crashed into a Smith’s grocery store in the east valley.
Officers were called about 3:05 p.m. to the store at 3850 E. Flamingo Road, after a report of a pedestrian struck by a car in the parking lot, Metropolitan Police Department Lt. Jeff Clark said. The car that struck the person also crashed into the store, he said.
The pedestrian was taken to Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center with nonlife-threatening injuries, Clark said.
The driver remained at the scene and did not show signs of impairment, he said. Further information about the crash was not immediately available.
It was the second time a car crashed into a Smith’s grocery store in the valley this year. A driver crashed into a store at 9710 W. Skye Canyon Park Drive on July 31.


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Despite setbacks from last month's earthquake and tsunami in Japan, Nissan says it will be able to deliver its all-electric Leaf cars on time and is ready to take more U.S. orders, the company announced today at the New York Auto Show.
Originally, the Japanese automaker planned for an introductory sale of 20,000 Nissan Leaf cars in the U.S. and 6,000 in Japan for 2011. The Leaf is Nissian's first mass-marketed zero-emission car.
Once Nissan reached its goal of pre-selling 20,000 cars in the U.S. in September 2010, it stopped taking orders. Nissan Americas Chief Carlos Tavares then announced in January 2011 that all 20,000 U.S. customers would have their Leaf by this September.
Nissan had begun making deliveries in December, with Bill Markevitch of Hawaii becoming the.
But the original delivery schedule--which had already received complaints of slow delivery from eager consumers--was thrown into jeopardy following thein mid-March. Among the massive destruction, many automotive assembly plants and parts manufacturers temporarily shut down, disrupting worldwide production and distribution.
As of today, however, Nissan said it is back on track and will deliver all 20,000 Nissan Leaf cars to the U.S. by the "end of the summer."
"Nissan is pleased to report that the first vessel carrying post earthquake-produced Nissan Leafs is scheduled to arrive to U.S. shores April 27," Tavares said in his keynote address today at the auto show.
The Japanese automaker says it's also ready to expand its U.S. sales, though it did not announce exactly how many units it could deliver in a specific time frame.
Nissan simply said it will reopen Leaf reservations on May 1 to people in Arizona, California, Hawaii, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, and Washington who have already registered on the Nissan Web site as interested potential customers. Nissan says about 340,000 people have registered, and it will give those people preference.
In conjunction with the announcement, Nissan also released data on its first 500 Leaf drivers in the U.S. who, as part of their agreement to purchase a Leaf, also agreed to take part in a data-sharing program.
"The average trip length of these early adopters is 7 miles; most charge on a Level 2, 220-volt charger at their homes; and the average charging time is 2 hours and 11 minutes. Nissan Leaf owners are a combination of conscientious environmentalists and tech-savvy individuals. They are highly educated, have excellent credit, and are in the nation's top 15 percent for household income," Nissan said in a statement.


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Alcatel-Lucent SA, France’s largest telecommunications equipment supplier, dropped as much as 17 percent after reporting a first-quarter loss and as sales missed estimates because European clients withheld spending.
The operating loss, adjusted for some items, was 221 million euros ($292 million), after a year-earlier profit of 4 million euros, the Paris-based company said today. Revenue fell 12 percent to 3.21 billion euros, partly reflecting the sale of call-center software unit Genesys. Analysts had projected sales of 3.24 billion euros.
Chief Executive Officer Ben Verwaayen is struggling to keep the company profitable after Alcatel-Lucent in February reported its first annual net income in six years, marking the end of his three-year turnaround plan. Alcatel-Lucent and Nokia Siemens Networks are cutting jobs to catch up with Ericsson AB and Huawei Technologies Co. and cushion a slowdown in spending on network equipment.
“Look to the euro crisis all around us, that has an impact,” Chief Executive Officer Ben Verwaayen said on a conference call. “It’s a serious issue to factor in and a good reason to be cautious.”
Nokia Oyj last week reported a first-quarter operating loss of 1.34 billion euros, burdened by charges of 772 million euros for the unprofitable equipment venture with Siemens AG. Nokia Siemens, which announced plans in November to eliminate 17,000 jobs, or about 23 percent of its workforce, has been unprofitable in all but two quarters since it was set up in April 2007.
Alcatel-Lucent intends to eliminate as many as 1,800 positions in Europe through firings and relocation, a union official said in February. The company -- formed by the 2006 merger of Alcatel SA and Lucent Technologies -- last quarter also reached an agreement to license its 29,000 patents through syndicate RPX Corp.
Alcatel-Lucent’s patents include voice-recognition and videoconferencing technology and the license agreement is similar to a strategy that Ericsson adopted to counter a slowdown in spending by phone operators.
Alcatel-Lucent fell 12 percent to 1.29 euros at 10:34 a.m. in Paris, paring the gain this year to 6.8 percent and giving the company a market value of 3 billion euros.
Ericsson, the world’s largest maker of wireless networks, yesterday reported gross profit margins that topped analysts’ estimates, while net income more than doubled after the Swedish company sold a stake in its handset venture with Sony Corp.
First-quarter net income at Alcatel-Lucent was 398 million euros, boosted by gains from the sale of Genesys, which was completed in February. Alcatel-Lucent today confirmed its February forecast for a rising profit margin this year.
The gross profit margin, or the percentage of revenue left after deducting costs of goods sold, fell 5 percentage points to
30.3 percent from a year earlier, Alcatel-Lucent said. The company sold fewer products and faced weaker demand for its more profitable services, while it spent about 1.2 billion euros on administrative, selling and research expenses.
First-quarter margins would be “a low point of the year,” Chief Financial Officer Paul Tufano said on the call. “We expect margin improvement in the second quarter and the second half.”


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Don't you wish it was this easy to tell which news stations like to mess around with facts? Here's our secret: Stick to local news, or printed reports. If it's a national newscast, chances are they are preparing for sweeps week. Besides, those reporters wear way too much makeup to be trusted. We prefer our journalists ugly and unkempt.
This funny birthday card about news offers a breaking report during parties, as people laugh over the joke. Maybe, if you're lucky, some journalists will be at the party, and you'll get to watch them roll their eyes.
Deliver some real-ly big, colorful, funny, heartfelt "Happy Birthday" sentiment by gifting this clever card featuring the Fake Newscast to anyone truly celebrating a birthday.


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S4Capital, the tech-led, new age/new era digital advertising and marketing services company, announces that TOMORROW, an award-winning Shanghai-based creative agency, is merging with MediaMonks, S4Capital’s Content practice.
The merger expands MediaMonks’ existing capabilities and presence in China, the world’s second largest advertising market.
TOMORROW was founded in 2015 by Rogier Bikker and has since become one of China’s most exciting and awarded digital creative agencies.
With a focus on creating integrated brand and social campaigns TOMORROW employs almost 50 people and counts Burberry, Budweiser, Beyond Meat, Coca Cola, Starbucks, Crocs and Red Bull as clients. TOMORROW has been named the “Greater China Independent Agency of the year – Gold” in Campaign Asia’s Agency of the year awards for both 2020 and 2019. MediaMonks has also been named “Production Agency of the year in China” by Campaign Asia in 2019.
A recent report from Credit Suisse (China Internet Sector 2021 Outlook) estimates the Chinese Online Advertising market is worth over US$107bn and despite the Covid-19 crisis in Q1, staged a strong recovery with 17.1% growth in 2020. They predict a further 18.1% growth in 2021. Groupm estimates digital spend represents over 80% of the total market, the highest proportion in any major advertising market.
S4Capital Executive Chairman Sir Martin Sorrell said, “I’ve always been a raging bull on China’s economy, its consumers and its brands. I’m delighted to welcome Rogier and his colleagues at TOMORROW to the S4Capital family, in what is a priority market for us and one of several more moves in what will become the largest economy in the world.”
“TOMORROW has quickly established itself as a creative leader specialized in representing global brands to the Chinese youth in a challenging market like China. We look forward to scaling new heights as Rogier leads the combined MediaMonks/TOMORROW team and drives forward S4Capital’s Content Practice,” said Michel De Rijk, CEO Asia Pacific, S4Capital.
“MediaMonks and TOMORROW share a passion for creative excellence and given both of our successes so far in China, I can’t wait to see what 2021 brings for our combined business.” said Victor Knaap, CEO MediaMonks, and S4Capital Executive Director.
Rogier Bikker, CEO and Founder of TOMORROW added, “We are incredibly proud of what we have built at TOMORROW and couldn’t be more excited about this next stage as we partner with MediaMonks and S4Capital to be a disruptive creative force in China”
Post merger, S4Capital will now have around 500 people in Asia-Pacific across its Content and Data & Digital Media practices out of a total of approximately 4000.
To celebrate brands going “above and beyond to act with purpose”, Mumpower has announced its first-ever consumer choice awards. The ‘Vote on Purpose’ Australian Business Award 2021 aims to crown Australia’s favourite purpose-driven company, with Mumpower now calling on both corporations and Mum shoppers to nominate a value-led company or a specific brand campaign that […]
Sports fans will have to pay $10 a month to sign up for Stan Sport when it launches later this year, according to reports. The Nine-owned Sydney Morning Herald, is today reporting that Stan (also owned by Nine) will offer Stan Sport as a supplementary service, meaning fans must also have a subscription to Stan’s […]


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Disney CEO Bob Iger has announced that Frozen 4 is "in the works" at the studio, while promoting the opening of a new theme park in Hong Kong inspired by the film series.
The first Frozen movie was something of a surprise hit when it launched in 2013, grossing $1.2 billion and spawning a number of hit songs, including Let It Go and Do You Want to Build a Snowman?.
A sequel followed six years later and topped the original from a financial perspective, reaching $1.4 billion at the worldwide box office and receiving generally positive reviews from critics.
It's no surprise then that a third entry was announced at the start of the year, which Disney clearly has high hopes for as work is now under way on a fourth film too – as Iger let slip today on Good Morning America.
"Frozen 3 is in the works and there might be a Frozen 4 in the works, too. But I don’t have much to say about those films right now," he said.
"But Jenn Lee, who created Frozen – the original Frozen and Frozen 2 – is hard at work with her team at Disney Animation on not one but actually two stories."
Previously, Iger told investors that Disney would be "leaning into our unrivalled brands and franchises" in the coming years (via Deadline) as the returning CEO attempts to turn things around for the company.
Although still one of the world's most prominent media brands, it has had trouble making profit from Disney Plus, with the streaming side of the business reported to have lost almost $400 million over the summer (via IndieWire).
Given Frozen's faultless track record so far, a third and fourth movie on the schedules probably looks rather appealing to executives.
Frozen and Frozen II are available to stream on Disney Plus. Sign up to Disney Plus for £7.99 a month or £79.90 for a year.
Try Radio Times magazine today and get 10 issues for only £10 – subscribe now and celebrate the 60th anniversary of Doctor Who with a special issue of Radio Times. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.


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Philippines AirAsia is now offering in-flight gourmet Asean dishes.
The gourmet dishes are part of AirAsia’s menu concept themed “Santan,” replacing “AirAsia Café” as part of the airline group’s move towards being a high value carrier and providing its guests with an enhanced gourmet experience while flying.
Available on board are Nasi Dagang and Chicken Curry, a Malaysian dish from the East Coast which is now available on for on-board purchase and pre-book.
Apart from that, other items available for on-board purchase on AirAsia flights are Teriyaki Chicken Rice Cake as well as Smoked Chicken Pizza Sandwich; while new pre-book meals are Tomato Rice with Ayam Percik, Chicken Satay Wrap and Vegetable Pasta with Roast Chicken.
These dishes were offered on board during the inaugural flight of AirAsia from Clark to Davao on April 23.
In a statement, Group CEO of AirAsia Tony Fernandes said “food is big thing for us.”
“Our food is as good as restaurant food – it’s not just in-flight food and this is what we want to achieve with ‘Santan’ – introduce a new gourmet in-flight dining experience which features cuisines from across Asean. We are starting with AirAsia and AirAsia X flights after the launch today, but we will be implementing this across the whole group by October,” Fernandes said.
All AirAsia and AirAsia X guests are encouraged to pre-book their meals to save up to 20% as compared to purchasing their meals on board, with a guarantee that their preferred meals are available. Guests who have booked their flights without meals can easily add them in via the ‘Manage My Booking’ option after logging in to airasia.com.
For more information with AirAsia’s latest promotions and activities, guests can check out their Twitter (twitter.com/AirAsia) and Facebook (facebook.com/AirAsia) accounts. #


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Developer Respawn Entertainment and publisher Electronic Arts recently released a gameplay trailer for the Nintendo Switch version of the very popular Apex Legends. Following a series of leaks and rumors, last month saw EA confirm plans to finally bring Apex Legends to the Switch in March.
The IP’s creator is not helming the port, however. That responsibility has instead been entrusted to Panic Button, the same crew that brought the likes of DOOM Eternal and Rocket League to life on the best-selling Nintendo device. Thus, the free-to-play title’s migration to Nintendo Switch appears as though it’s in good hands. And as an added bonus, Switch players who dive into Apex Legends will gain access to a total of 30 levels from the Season 8 Battle Pass at no extra cost. Now fans can take a good look at the online adventure’s new version in action.
To prepare players for the game’s impending arrival on the Nintendo Switch, gameplay footage for Apex Legends has gone live online. Viewers are treated to a closer look at how the battle royale’s fast-paced action will run on the hybrid console, and, based on what’s on display, it seems pretty impressive. The trailer also notes Switch players can unlock a limited-time free skin for the Recon Legend – Pathfinder. It’s worth mentioning that fine print within the video states the free skin will no longer be accessible after May 4 of this year.
The above trailer suggests Switch owners who’ve yet to experience Apex Legends may very well be in for a treat come March 9. Not only is the ever-popular title finally migrating to the console, it will also boast features that players on other platforms enjoy. Cross-platform play counts as one such feature, meaning Switch users will instantly get to jump in with millions of other console and PC players.
March is a big month for new releases on the hybrid device. For example, in addition to the imminent Apex Legends port, many a Switch player also has Monster Hunter Rise on their radar. Packing in a healthy helping of fresh and old Monster Hunter features, the new entry on the Nintendo platform should provide fans with plenty of reasons to once more go a hunting.
Apex Legends makes its Nintendo Switch debut next week on March 9.
Source: Apex Legends


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A SCHEME introduced by the local authority to help fill empty shops in Limerick city centre could face a funding cut of up to €6,000.
The Business and Retail Incentive Scheme was introduced in 2011, and offers new businesses a discount of up to 50% on their regular commercial rates bill.
But the project, brought in at a time when 25% of the city’s retail units were out of use, could now be cut in 2015 after councillors voted through a cut to the property tax.
A document, seen by the Limerick Leader, contains a breakdown of almost €500,000 worth of cuts which will need to be made to fund the loss of income brought about by the Fianna Fail-led move to reduce the tax by 3%.
If councillors accept the proposals, funding for the scheme would fall from €30,000 to €24,000.
Acting Limerick Chamber CEO Orlaith Borthwick has warned the move will “hamper job creation efforts” in the city.
Under the scheme, grants are offered to help fit out vacant shops in O’Connell Street, William Street, Shannon Street, Roches Street, Catherine Street, Little Catherine Street, Henry Street, Liddy Street, Honans Quay, Denmark Street, Cruises Street, Todd’s Row, Chapel Street, Bedford Row, Thomas Street, Sarsfield Street and the north-eastern half of Patrick Street and Rutland Street.
Ms Borthwick said: “While we respect the discretion which has been given at a local level to reduce the rate of property tax, any resultant reduction in business supports and services will negatively impact on the economic health of our city and county and hamper job creation efforts.”
The former Limerick City Council was the first local authority in the country to adopt this retail scheme.
Cllr Maria Byrne, who was mayor at the time, said: “We are trying to encourage businesses to come into the city centre. We can’t go out there and have nothing to attract businesses with. We need Limerick to thrive.”
The executive is also proposing cuts to the city’s marketing fund, by approximately €10,000.
This is also a concern for Dr Borthwick, who added: “Additionally, the marketing and promotion of Limerick is essential if we are to continue to be recognised nationally and internationally as a great place in which to invest, do business, live and learn. It would be very regretful if any proposals to address the shortfall owing from the reduction in the local property tax rate will result in decrease to key support services for business, the ultimate drivers of growth for our city and county.”
A decision on this is expected in December.
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The Vudu Spark has its own section on Walmart's streaming service site, and it will soon be widely available.
Walmart is taking matters into its own hands, and doing a really weird job of it, judging by what the FCC just revealed.
Warner Bros., Paramount and Vudu are among the first companies that will support Dolby Atmos sound for home theaters.
Blip Some crooks lifted hard drives from the firm's headquarters, making off with more than just some new toys.
Boxee TV is designed to save for people money by allowing them to get rid of cable without missing out of their local channels.


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The auto maker is introducing new versions of the Camry, Camry Hybrid and Aurion but already is planning for the next generation.
Production of current Camry Hybrid launched in 2009.
commits to building cars, including hybrid models, in Australia beyond 2016 and, in a jab at rivals GM Holden and , says it is doing so without asking the federal government for financial handouts.
Sales and Marketing Executive Director Matthew Callachor says the auto maker’s long-term approach to its business in Australia includes standing behind its local manufacturing operations.
Speaking at a media preview of the latest Australia-built Camry, Callachor says Toyota is in the midst of launching new-generation versions of all three of its locally produced cars.
“It is not generally recognized that Toyota Australia secured its investment for the new-model Camry, Aurion and Camry Hybrid without government co-investment support,” a transcript of the speech shows him saying.
“Further, the majority of our new A$300 million ($322.8 million) engine plant will be funded by Toyota, with financial support from the federal and Victorian governments.”
All these investments have given the auto maker the opportunity to improve its competitiveness and efficiency beyond the current model cycle, he says.
“Planning for the next generation of cars is well under way and, as is normal for any Toyota affiliate, we will develop the business case to secure the next model,” Callachor says. “Our firm intention is to build cars beyond 2016.”
The Camry Hybrid is an important part of Toyota’s overall manufacturing and sales mix, with Callachor saying the commitment to building Australia's first locally produced hybrid is resolute.
The Australian subsidiary won the business against Toyota affiliates in other countries, and securing investment for production of fuel-efficient hybrid technology from 2010 was just the beginning, he says.
“As a direct consequence, Toyota Australia has been able to secure the new engine plant, which will come on stream in the latter part of this year.”
The plant will build the new 2.5L 4-cyl. gasoline engines for domestic and exported Camry sedans and, for the first time, the high-efficiency gasoline engine for the Camry Hybrid.
Trials at the casting plant will start in April, followed later in the month by machining lines and engine-assembly trials from May. Engines will undergo durability testing in Australia and Japan from July to October, with production starting in November.
Toyota has been producing cars in Australia for almost 50 years and, with that track record, was able to gain the Japanese parent’s approval for hybrid manufacturing. “In the long term, we intend for our local suppliers to provide more components,” Callachor adds.
“Securing the engine-plant investment also put Toyota Australia in a strategically stronger position to attract new-model investments from our parent company.”


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New connected businesses do your laundry, deliver groceries
Tailor shops don’t usually stay open after office hours. Even if there was a store that remained open late at night, it was a bother to go there.
So Kim decided to try Stripes, a custom-made menswear start-up, after coming across its advertisement on Facebook last year.
Kim filled in his name and contact number on the company’s website. A customer service person called him to arrange a meeting with a stylist who would take his measurements and suggest fabrics and designs.
The stylist came to Kim’s office in the Gangnam District area, and the measurements were finished in 10 minutes.
Stripes is just one example of start-ups trying to bring online traditional retail businesses and services like tailoring.
The first batch was confined to fields pioneered by well-known start-ups like Uber and Airbnb, but now, the range of services are more diverse and cover many mundane parts of people’s daily lives.
Korea has an advanced technology infrastructure conducive for those services, which are referred to as on-demand or online-to-offline (O2O) services. The country boasts the fastest Internet connection in the world, while smartphone penetration ranked fourth in the world in 2014. And with Koreans working the second-longest hours among industrialized countries, O2O services designed to save time and boost convenience will likely appeal to those time-strapped people.
Whether people migrate from the old ways to online and mobile-based platforms depends on a myriad of factors like price and convenience.
But tech-savvy young people like Kim are definitely game.
“When it comes to time-saving and convenience, I was really satisfied,” Kim said of his tailoring experience. “I was able to save time going back and forth, and my shirt was delivered within a week, which was great.”
Digieco, KT’s economic research institute, estimates that the size of Korea’s O2O market reached 15 trillion won ($12.7 billion) in 2014. The institute expects the market to experience explosive growth in coming years.
Founded in January 2013, the Seoul-based Stripes enjoys two-digit sales growth every quarter, boosted by its growing number of consumers.
Stripes generated annual sales of 5 billion won last year and has served over 30,000 customers.
Steve Lee, the CEO of the start-up, had the idea because he likes tailored clothes but not the hassles that go with them.
“I prefer tailored clothes to mass-produced, ready-made products, but I found having suits custom-made consumes a lot of time,” said the CEO, whose Korean name is Lee Seung-joon. “So I thought it would be great if I could place an order online and have a tailor come to where I am.”
With a focus on customized shirts, the platform allows users to choose fabrics and the design of the shirts’ cuffs and collar.
“Most customers are in their late 20s and 30s,” he said. “Once they submit their contact information online, they can get fashion advice from our stylists and look at sample products even if they don’t buy anything.”
Stripes opened in Singapore in November to target tech-savvy customers there and will enter Hong Kong in February.
Targeting the time-strapped
Tailoring shirts is but one example of new tech-based services. Also on the radar of O2O entrepreneurs are services to help with laundry.
Clean Basket is one. A user can request pickup and delivery at any time through the app. The company sends the clothes to its contracted laundries.
The service operates in seven districts in the city, including Gangnam District, Seocho District, Gwanak District and Dongjak District south of the Han River, and Mapo District in western Seoul and Yongsan District in central Seoul.
CEO and founder Kim Woo-jin even worked the phone at his call center to get customer feedback and improve customer service.
As a graduate of Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, he also directly handles foreign customers living in Korea.
“It costs a lot to provide the delivery service because we need to hire a number of deliverymen,” Kim told the Korea JoongAng Daily. “So if a company fails to receive investments in the beginning phase, the chances are it will close and be gone.”
To Kim’s relief, Clean Basket managed to bring in an 800 million won investment in December from Bon Angels and Capstone Partners.
Many laundry-related apps have sprung up, hoping to emulate the success of companies like Washio in the United States.
Competing mobile platforms include Wash Swat and Clean Monster.
“Many companies come and go,” Kim said, “But I believe demand is shaping up, and the app service providers can possibly take the laundry business to a new level as the sector saw few innovations or improvement in recent years.”
Some O2O providers offer to take care of people’s daily needs by handling the purchase of groceries, food and other household items.
Bootake delivers orders from nearby CU convenience stores, though the minimum purchase is set at 10,000 won in most stores.
“Items are usually delivered in 30 minutes, and we charge delivery fees ranging from 1,500 won to 3,000 won depending on locations,” said Lim Jae-won, a researcher at Bootake.
Baedal Minjok, a food delivery operator, is extending its services through its affiliated online site Baemin Fresh.
Baemin Fresh ships vegetables, bread and fruits, as well as side dishes, to the residences of users.
For the side dishes, the delivery unit prepackages a set of dishes, depending on the number of people.
“On Korean dinner and breakfast tables, we typically have three to four side dishes with rice,” a representative of Baedal Minjok said.
“But for working moms, it’s not always easy to prepare the food on a daily basis,” he continued, “So our main users are women in their 20s or 30s who don’t have enough time to cook.”
Baemin Fresh features a regular delivery option for customers so that they can receive deliveries on a regular basis without placing an order each time.
The proportion of customers using regular deliveries stood at 33 percent, the representative said.
BY PARK EUN-JEE, SEO JI-EUN [email@example.com]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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Reuters Teams Up With Canon U.S.A. and Sprint To Move Wire Images Of Shuttle Launches Moments After Launch
Use of Multiple Remote Cameras Placed Around Shuttle Launch Reduce Time of Photo Delivery to Reuters Wire by 95 Percent
NEW YORK.– Reuters has teamed up with Canon U.S.A., Inc. and Sprint to develop a system that captures shuttle launch images from multiple remote cameras moments after they are taken and quickly retrieves and moves images across the Reuters wire, thus reducing the time it takes for wire transmission by 95 percent.
By using Canon’s digital cameras and short telephoto lenses, images were captured from within a few hundred yards of the actual launch pad. The process was powered by Sprint Mobile Broadband, the nation’s largest mobile broadband network with super fast wireless data speeds.
During the past two launches of Atlantis and Endeavour on Feb. 7 and March 11, 2008, the system developed by Reuters, Canon and Sprint successfully retrieved shuttle launch images from multiple cameras around the launch pad almost instantaneously, and placed the images on the Reuters wire in record-breaking time, giving Reuters photo clients a competitive edge.
Historically, photographers were forced to wait for hours after lift-off before retrieving their cameras from the launch pad area. The introduction of digital cameras in 2005 reduced the processing time for photos after launch, but not the delay in retrieving equipment. In July 2005 Reuters took up the challenge of securing digital images from the remote cameras in real-time, and was able to accomplish the task by working with Canon and Sprint.
Wireless internet access, compliments of Sprint, allows the cameras to be placed in any location near the launch pad and still be connected to a high-speed internet network. Using a special, provided antenna to connect to the closet cell tower, the digital images were sent from all four Canon EOS cameras at over 500 mps.
“Reuters picture-clients now have near-instantaneous access to images that for 55 years have taken hours to receive and transmit,” said Gary Hershorn, News Pictures Editor, North America, Reuters. “We have been delighted to work with both Canon and Sprint, who have brought to the project much time, effort and expertise.”
“Thanks to our camera and camera transmitter combination, we offer the capability of retrieving pictures from our cameras in seconds rather then hours,” said Yuichi Ishizuka, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Consumer Imaging Group, Canon U.S.A. “The Canon EOS 40D Digital SLR, EOS 1D Mark III Digital SLR, EOS 1Ds Mark III Digital SLR and EOS 1D Mark IIN Digital SLR Cameras and the variety of short telephoto lenses used to demonstrate the traditions of imaging excellence and extend the boundaries of technological ease that is always at the heart of the Canon brand.”
Leon Frazier, Senior Vice resident of Enterprise and Public Sector at Sprint, added, “this innovative new approach to providing shuttle launch images to the world in an instant is a perfect example of our vision of delivering information at SprintSpeed™. The power of Sprint Mobile Broadband enables connectivity virtually wherever and whenever internet access is required.”
Utilizing a uniquely designed transmitter from Canon and newly Reuter developed picture-editing software from Reuters exclusive product Paneikon, Reuters editing computers now receive images just minutes after a shuttle’s launch directly from the cameras, thus providing clients with images two-three hours before its competitors.
Plans are on the horizon to use remote imaging capture technology more extensively for coverage at the Kennedy Space Center and in various other areas where using a “live” remote camera can put Reuters far ahead of the competition.
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Cheshire Oaks Designer Outlet has been selected as the location from which Harry Ramsden’s will introduce a new concept to its established estate.
Following a significant investment, the first ‘hybrid’ model will be unveiled at the Harry’s outlet in the hugely popular Cheshire Oaks Designer Village on 13 February 2016, and represents a new style of service to enhance the proposition and reflect a higher touch of service from the QSR model, but short of full-service restaurant.
Harry Ramsden’s Cheshire Oaks will be the first in the estate to offer customers “assisted service”, allowing them to order at the counter and have their meal served to the table by a skilled and friendly team member. To accommodate the new concept, Harry’s has redesigned the space to improve the ambiance and convenience for customers, thus enhancing the experience the brand aims to provide.
Visually, whilst remaining true to Harry’s proud heritage, visitors to Cheshire Oaks will also be the first to view the latest interiors, which will combine a sea of blues with the classic features which remain an integral part of the repositioned brand.
Teixeira comments: “Our existing formats continue to trade exceptionally well across the country and are attracting an ever increasing customer base. As a result, our customer profile has broadened significantly as we continue to invest in improving the Harry’s experience for the new generation of Harry’s customer. The introduction of this model opens up Harry's appeal even further and I expect this will be the first of many such outlets in the brand’s estate.”
Also in the North West, one of the brand’s first new openings of the year will take place at Kings Parade, Marine Point in New Brighton with the unveiling of a 1,750 sq ft restaurant, with seating for 60 diners which will offer customers the opportunity to take-away as well as sit in. The outlet, which opens on Tuesday 23 February, will create 20 full and part-time jobs for the area, and marks the continued expansion of Harry Ramsden’s across the UK.
Joe Teixeira, CEO of Harry Ramsden’s comments: “As the brand continues to go from strength to strength across the UK, carrying on the tradition which Harry himself started in 1928, we are greatly looking forward to opening in New Brighton. Having served the generations for over 85 years, Harry Ramsden’s has always been a family brand and that is as true today as it ever was, so as well as engaging with our traditional customer base, we aim to further secure Harry’s legacy by introducing the brand to a whole new generation of fans in the area.”


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Farm leaders and retail giant, Asda, have been urged to resolve the differences which led to an injunction to curb milk price protests.
Asda, Tesco and Morrisons have all angered farmers by selling milk for the equivalent of 25p / pint by packaging it in 'two for £2' poly bottles, each containing 2.272 litres. Sainsbury's is selling single 2.272 litre poly-bottles for £1.
However it was Asda bosses who took out an injunction against members of the Farmers For Action (FFA) pressure group to 'prevent any unlawful contact which disrupts the activities of any Asda property' after demonstrations by dairy producers.
The injunction was renewed against severn Farmers For Action members during a hearing at Leeds Crown Court on 7th January, but it was dropped against all other FFA protesters and both sides were urged to reach an agreement.


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Auctions by Acker, Merrall & Condit, Sotheby’s and Zachys leading up to Chinese New Year celebrations could fetch more than $23 million, based on the auction houses’ top estimates. Still, this is about 33 percent below the combined $34.59 million total fetched by the same three events in January 2011.
The Liv-ex Fine Wine 100 Index fell 15 percent last year, as first-half price gains for Bordeaux were followed by declines in the latter part of 2011. Demand from Chinese buyers also started to move away from Bordeaux first growths to rarer Burgundies and second-growth Medocs.
“It used to be that top-end first growths would fly out the door at any price point,” said Rufus Beazley, head representative for Berry Brothers & Rudd’s Shanghai office. “We are seeing a lot of diversification into second growths and other grands crus wines that are being bought for drinking instead and less speculative punting on first growths.”
Acker’s sale on Jan. 13 and Jan. 14 features two cases of 1985 Romanee-Conti Domaine de la Romanee-Conti, Burgundy’s premier wine made from a vineyard measuring just 4.3 acres (1.75 hectares). Each case carries an upper estimate of HK$1.6 million ($200,000), as well as a case of DRC 1990 with a similar price. Six bottles of the 2005 are estimated at as much as HK$800,000.
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Retail spending continues to be affected in UK by poor consumer confidence, with continued Brexit uncertainty being the main culprit, says GlobalData’s report ‘Retail Trend Tracker: UK Consumer Spend – March’.
“Physical stores held up better than the online channel in March, bolstered by consumers purchasing items for Mother’s Day in stores due to shoppers making last minute purchases and the nature of the main products bought, especially flowers and chocolates,” said Emily Salter, retail analyst for GlobalData.
“Looking ahead, consumer sentiment remains highly negative despite a slight rise in March, versus February. The potential extension of the Brexit deadline to 31st October 2019 is likely to constrain consumer spending on non-essential goods throughout the period, in particular due to concerns surrounding inflation. In the short term, the school Easter holidays will drive footfall to stores in April, but the good weather predicted over the Easter weekend is likely to provide more of a boost to leisure rather than retail spending,” concluded Salter. (PC)
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I wanted to know what effect ChatGPT will have on retailing, so I asked it. This is the response that I got.
This past spring saw the introduction of Microsoft's revamped search engine, Bing, and its chat feature enabling people to interact, debate, and even engage in virtual flirtation... signifying the advent of artificial intelligence.
Microsoft's new and improved search engine, Bing, arrived with a splash this spring, bringing the future of artificial intelligence to the masses. Accompanying the search engine is a chat function that allows users to converse, debate, and even flirt with the Internet. Early reviews of the revolutionary new platform have been overwhelmingly positive, with many hailing it as the most significant technological development since the iPhone. Analysts predict that, just like the iPhone, Bing will drive a surge in innovation, productivity and disruption in the tech industry. As Microsoft continues to build on its vision of a new and improved search engine, the world eagerly awaits what further developments may come.
A new feature is currently making waves in the tech industry - ChatGPT. This natural language processing algorithm is raising the bar for customer service chatbots. ChatGPT responds to prompts (questions) like a human, making it a powerful and efficient tool for customer service. With its ability to think and respond like a human, ChatGPT is a step forward in the advancement of natural language processing technologies.
A revolutionary new technology has been developed to revolutionize the way we search online. ChatGPT is an AI-powered search engine that no longer presents users with a list of ranked answers to a typical Google search, but instead presents them with an answer written in perfect grammar, alongside relevant links to sources. This technology is set to drastically change the way we search online and make accessing information much easier and faster.
A new tool is making its mark on the internet. ChatGPT is a natural language processing tool that can be used to compose emails, write college essays and business reports. It is also being used on websites to generate articles based on information scraped from the internet. As a result, readers may come across stories without a human byline, such as on Multidev’s blog post about ChatGPT in retail. In those cases, readers can be sure that the story was generated by the algorithm.
ChatGPT, an AI-powered chatbot that can generate dialogue and create unique stories, has become a cultural phenomenon in a short amount of time. It's even been the subject of a spoof on Comedy Central's South Park, which does a surprisingly good job of explaining what ChatGPT is and what’s wrong with it. This impressive rise in popularity has been noticed by college students as well; a survey conducted by Intelligent.com of 1,000 college students found that around a third of them have used ChatGPT to improve their essays and reports, even though most of them think it's cheating. This trend signals a new age of AI-driven creativity and a shift in the way students interact with technology.
A new artificial intelligence tool, ChatGPT, is set to revolutionize the retail industry. Recently, ChatGPT was tested with the question "What impact will ChatGPT have on the retail industry?" and the results were encouraging. The AI tool is expected to be used to enhance customer service and provide innovative solutions to the unique challenges of the retail industry. With the help of ChatGPT, retailers will be able to increase efficiency and reduce operational costs.
In an age of unparalleled technology, one of the most remarkable inventions is the ability for humans to communicate instantaneously. This capability has been taken to the next level with the near-instantaneous reply.
Retailers across the world have something to be excited about - the integration of ChatGPT, an AI language model, into their communication channels. The impact of this integration on the retail industry is sure to be significant. ChatGPT enables retailers to communicate with their customers in a more efficient manner. It provides them with improved customer service, faster responses, and a better overall experience. Retailers are already seeing the benefits of this technology, as it helps them increase customer satisfaction and loyalty.
A new artificial intelligence technology, ChatGPT, is revolutionizing the customer experience by providing personalized shopping assistance. By understanding customer queries and responding with appropriate answers, it dramatically reduces wait times and helps to enhance the overall shopping experience. This technology aims to revolutionize customer service by providing a more efficient and tailored experience for shoppers. With ChatGPT, customers will be able to receive personalized assistance when making decisions, allowing them to make more informed shopping decisions. By reducing waiting times and providing tailored assistance, customers will be able to enjoy a more efficient and enjoyable shopping experience.
A new artificial intelligence (AI) service, ChatGPT, is helping retailers save costs by automating routine customer service tasks. This AI service can take over the job responsibilities of customer service representatives and provide quality service without the need for extensive training or additional staff. ChatGPT has the potential to help retailers reduce their expenses, making the cost of operations more competitive in the market.
ChatGPT, the latest artificial intelligence technology, is revolutionizing the way customers shop. It offers customers personalized recommendations and is available 24/7, giving them a seamless and convenient shopping experience. This technology is leading to increased sales for businesses as customers can quickly find the products they need and make their purchases with ease. With ChatGPT, businesses can make sure they are providing the best shopping experience that results in increased sales.
The retail industry is taking a major step forward with the integration of ChatGPT – a cutting-edge technology that is set to revolutionize the way customers interact with businesses. With ChatGPT, retailers can expect to see improved customer satisfaction, increased sales, and reduced costs. This revolutionary technology promises to provide shoppers with the best possible experience when interacting with businesses, allowing for increased customer engagement and satisfaction.
ChatGPT, the artificial intelligence-based chatbot, has come under fire from critics who are pointing out the unreliability and shallowness of the system. Many of the answers given in response to queries from people using the system have been found to be inaccurate, and have lacked the depth and insight that is necessary for useful responses. These issues have raised questions as to the usefulness of ChatGPT and its place in the AI industry.
Retailers are behind the curve when it comes to taking advantage of the latest data management technology. Despite the clear benefits that such technology could have, the industry has been hesitant to adopt it, due to its reputation for being slow to invest in new technologies. With this in mind, it's likely to take retailers even longer to reorganize their data management than other industries, as they are more reluctant to make the switch.
In a groundbreaking move, artificial intelligence (AI) and natural language processing (NLP) technology is set to revolutionize the retail, brand advertising and marketing industries. ChatGPT and AI are expected to disrupt the status quo by eliminating the traditional search ranking system used for Google searches and replacing it with AI-generated text responses. This shift will undoubtedly have a profound effect on advertising revenue, but the full extent of the change remains to be seen. As the technology continues to develop and evolve, it is clear that the retail, brand advertising and marketing sectors should prepare to embrace a new age of AI-driven conversations.
Despite widespread efforts to make the system more efficient, there is still work to be done to make it more effective. As a result, organizations are looking for new and innovative ways to improve the system, ensuring that it is not only efficient but also effective.


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Some of you may remember No Man’s Sky as a console exclusive for the PlayStation 4. The game has been limited to Sony’s gaming platform for nearly two years. It was confirmed by developer Hello Games earlier this year that the game would eventually be released for the Xbox One as well. This became true earlier this week when No Man’s Sky was finally released for the Xbox One.
Fortnite is undoubtedly one of the most popular games this year that’s available on a variety of platforms including the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and the Nintendo Switch. While Fortnite cross-play is possible between the Xbox One and Nintendo Switch, Sony doesn’t allow it on the PlayStation 4. Fans have obviously not been happy about this and after its initial response to criticism failed to assuage concerns, Sony is addressing […]
Many great titles have been released for the PlayStation 4 over the past couple of years and if you missed out on any of them, Sony is now providing you with an incentive to pick one up. The company today announced the launch of its PlayStation Hits offer through which it’s offering these titles at discounted rates.
Fornite was launched on the Nintendo Switch recently and PlayStation 4 owners don’t get progression sync or cross-play with the console, much like how it is with the Xbox One. The block prevents the player from carrying over their progress, purchases, and skins from Fortnite on PlayStation 4 to either console. Joe Smedley, the former boss of Sony Online Entertainment, claims that the block is due to “money.”
Fortnite was finally launched for the Nintendo Switch a few days back and given that it’s an insanely popular game that gained over 125 million players in less than a year, it goes without saying that a lot of people were happy that it had finally been released for the Switch. However, PlayStation 4 owners got a rude shock when they found out that Sony has effectively blocked Epic Games […]
The makers of the popular Infamous series of superhero games have been working on a new title called Ghost of Tsushima that’s going to be exclusive to the PlayStation 4. The first gameplay trailer for this seemingly impressive game was revealed during E3 2018 in Los Angeles and it certainly seems promising.
Sega’s Yakuza franchise has been quite popular down in Japan and only recently has its popularity been increasing in the West as titles from the series are gradually making their way to the market. The first releases from the Yakuza series have arrived on the PlayStation 4 in the West and those who played them have missed out on the earlier versions. They will be happy to know that remasters […]
There’s no doubt that God of War has quickly become one of the most popular games ever released for the PlayStation 4. It’s the latest iteration in this very popular franchise and it has been very well received on Sony’s gaming platform. Sony today announced that the new title has achieved a major milestone. It has become the fastest-selling PlayStation 4 exclusive title in the console’s history.
It has been a long wait for fans of Sega’s Yakuza gangster series and they will be delighted to know that the wait is finally over for them. Yakuza 6 for PlayStation 4 has now been released in the United States. Yakuza 6 was initially released in Japan back in December last year and it was always known that the developers would require additional time to get the title ready […]
God of War is one of the most highly anticipated games of the year for PlayStation 4 owners and the wait will soon be over for them. A new trailer has been released by Sony Interactive Entertainment today which confirms the PlayStation Network unlock time for players in North America. This is a crucial bit of information that many God of Wars have likely been waiting for.
It has long been known that a new Spider-Man game for PlayStation 4 is being developed and the studio has finally confirmed the title’s release date today. It’s going to be available later this year. The new Spider-Man game is going to be one of the biggest releases for the PlayStation 4 this fall. Insomniac Games is the developer behind this title.
There’s a lot of excitement for the upcoming God of War title and Sony Interactive Entertainment and Sony Santa Monica are plugging into that hype today with the release of two new God of War videos that highlight the title’s gameplay and combat mechanics. Fans of this franchise will certainly know that combat is one of the most important elements of God of War so they will certainly be interested […]
Kratos is coming. Sony has finally confirmed the God of War PS 4 release date today. Fans have been waiting for this title for quite some time now and they will be delighted to find out that Sony has finally confirmed when they will be able to play this game. The new God of War title brings a new look for protagonist Kratos and appears to shift the focus of […]
It hasn’t exactly been easy to hack the PlayStation 4 but that doesn’t mean that hackers haven’t been trying to come up with a way. They’ve actually been able to find a way which enables people to run homebrew software on compromised consoles as well as emulators for PlayStation 2 games. However, there’s a catch.