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Ubisoft has announced that it has delayed The Crew, just weeks before the game was set to release in November. Ubisoft has announced that The Crew will now be released worldwide on December 2nd. The extra time will allow for a second closed console beta to be held, giving even more players the opportunity to experience the game, which is something the community has been requesting. Like the betas held previously, valuable player feedback and other essential information will be gathered, further enhancing the experience.
Julian Gerighty, Creative Director said:
Our philosophy remains to deliver the best game possible. We’re all committed to delivering a revolutionary experience in the driving genre and we can’t wait for The Crew to be in the hands of the players.
The endless roads of the United States will open up once again in November, when the second console closed beta launches on Xbox One and PlayStation 4. The Crew will be available on PS4, Xbox One, Xbox 360 and PC on December 12, 2014.


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Apple Just Released an iOS 11 Beta, But You Shouldn't Install It
A big leap forward for the iPhone and iPad.
Apple took the wraps off the iOS 11 public beta on Monday, just under a month after announcing the upcoming software release at the annual Worldwide Developers Conference. When the final version launches in the fall, it will bring a slew of innovative features to the iPad and iPhone. Fans clamoring to try out the new update may want to hold off installing this version, though.
iOS 11 isn’t your garden variety update. There’s a slightly overwhelming Control Center (the tools accessed by swiping up from the bottom), a redesigned Notification Center that looks more like the lock screen, and updates for the iPad that make multitasking and working with information feel closer to that of a full-size computer. A new version of Siri also incorporates machine learning to develop the app into a Her-style personal assistant.
In other ways, though, iOS 11 is a very typical release. It maintains the company’s tradition of announcing a major iPhone software update each summer, running a beta program for interested consumers until the fall, then releasing the final version as an update for all compatible devices. This release cycle has revealed a lot about Apple’s development process, and the perils of installing pre-release software.
Early iOS beta releases are usually not very stable. They will contain flaws, and your device may act in unexpected ways. Depending on how many third-party apps you use, you may find some apps work poorly or stop working altogether. It’s important to remember that iOS 11 is not finished yet, and these bugs may not make the final launch, but they will likely irritate you and may stop you from using your phone as intended. You can downgrade to the latest stable version (provided you saved a backup of your data), but if you don’t want to go through the hassle, it’s probably best skipped until the final version.
Apple has a strong interest in making iOS 11 as stable as possible. Beyond the obvious point that shipping bad software reduces consumers’ trust in Apple, the company is also reportedly planning to launch a special iPhone around the time of iOS 11’s release. The iPhone 8 is expected to bring a new display technology, hidden fingerprint scanner and better battery life, 10 years after the first iPhone hit store shelves. If the software isn’t up to scratch, though, Apple’s next device launch could suffer from bad publicity.
Anyone still keen on installing the update for themselves should sign up for the beta program. By following the Apple-provided instructions, the device will install a “profile” in its settings that means the phone will download new versions of the public beta as they’re released, so stability should improve over time as the final release approaches.

domain: news


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It's Christmas time a little early for more than one hundred children in Bellevue.
Several dozen Bellevue cops and firefighters donated time to help families shop at Shopko on Monday night.
Each child received $100 dollars to spend on items like clothing and toys. Catherine Stanley has four kids, with twins on the way. She says it was a special treat she wasn't expecting.
“It’s such a help to families who just need it or would be blessed by the help around Christmas time, its nice,” says Stanley.
The families were chosen with the help of Bellevue schools. 100% of the money was raised through donations and fundraising efforts in the community.


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The Woodward Dream Cruise will be home to this mystery debut.
Ford will be the lead sponsor for this year's Woodward Dream Cruise in Detroit. That means there will be plenty of Mustang-centric activities in and around Detroit. Some of those activities include 20th-anniversary celebrations of Mustang Alley, a Bullitt parade, and the debut of an all-new Ford product. What that product is, though, remains a mystery.
Our best guess is a new Mustang trim. Even though Ford is touting its new Bullitt extensively, that car debuted in Detroit, and we drove it on the streets of San Francisco last week – so it's far from new. It could be a special California or Boss 302 if we're lucky. Last February, images hinted at a new Boss, but there haven't been any reports to back up those claims.
If we really wanted to speculate, it could be the new Shelby GT500. Ford has been testing its Shelby prototypes extensively over the past few months. The Woodward Dream Cruise would be an appropriate setting for the 700-horsepower super coupe to debut.
Alongside the debut of a brand-new model, Ford will also introduce a one-off Bullitt Mustang finished in a Kona Blue paint job. That car will cross the auction block in November, with profits benefiting juvenile diabetes research.
It won't be the first muscle car to debut at Woodward – and it surely won't be the last. In 2014, Dodge showed its then-new Charger and Challenger Hellcat models at Woodward. Again in 2017, Dodge dropped its Charger Daytona and Challenger T/A.
The Ford debut will take place at the Ford Media Club House on August 16th, at 10 A.M. eastern time. Other activities will include the 20th anniversary of Mustang Alley, which will see more than 1,000 Mustangs lined up on Woodward, a Bullitt parade – with both modern and classic examples – and a Ford Driving Skills course.
Gallery: 2019 Ford Mustang Bullitt First Drive
WHAT: Ford is pleased to serve as presenting sponsor of the 2018 Woodward Dream Cruise – America’s largest annual celebration of automotive history and culture
WHEN: Thursday, Aug. 16 through Saturday, Aug. 18
WHERE: Woodward Avenue, from Ferndale to Pontiac
Media-only parking at Our Lady of La Salette Church, 2600 Harvard Road, Berkley, Mich., with shuttle running between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. EDT Thursday and between 8 a.m. and 11 p.m. EDT Friday and Saturday
Activity venues include:
- Ford Woodward Dream Cruise Media Club House: 28028 Woodward Ave., Royal Oak, Mich. (Kruse and Muer Restaurant)
- Mustang Alley: 9 Mile and Woodward Avenue
- Consumer activities: Pleasant Ridge Park and Pioneer Park
- Ford Driving Skills for Life: 27659 Woodward Ave., Berkley, Mich. (Westborn Market)
Note: Media credentials/press passes are required for Ford Media Club House entry
Ford activities include:
Reveal of new vehicle: Production vehicle announcement (Ford Media Club House, Thursday, Aug. 16, 10 a.m. EDT)
Opening ribbon cutting: Ribbon cutting followed by police parade to open Woodward Dream Cruise (9 Mile and Woodward Avenue, Friday, Aug. 17, 5 p.m. EDT)
20th anniversary of Mustang Alley: Ford expects as many as 1,000 Mustangs lined up for nearly a mile (9 Mile and Woodward Avenue, Saturday, Aug. 18, all day)
Power lunch: Get to know Ford Performance and Mustang teams (Ford Media Club House, Friday, Aug. 17, noon to 1 p.m. EDT)
Debut of Mustang “JDRF” Bullitt: Raffle sales begin for one-off Kona Blue Mustang Bullitt. Raffle will be held in November to support juvenile diabetes research (Ford Media Club House, Friday, Aug. 17, 2 p.m. EDT)
Bullitt parade: New 2019 Mustang Bullitt and historic Mustang Bullitt models parade down Woodward Avenue (Starting at Our Lady of La Salette Church, Saturday, Aug. 18, 7:00 a.m. EDT)
Eagle Squadron Mustang GT presented to AirVenture auction winner: Vaughn Gittin Jr. delivers one-of-a-kind Eagle Squadron Mustang GT to AirVenture auction winner (Saturday, Aug. 18, 1 p.m. EDT)
Ford Driving Skills for Life: Demonstrations and rides on award-winning program’s vehicle handling course as well as virtual reality and 360-degree video of wheel swap as part of the Share the Road bicycle safety campaign (Westborn Market, Saturday, Aug. 18, all day)
Family fun zone SUV and CUV activation (Pioneer Park, Saturday, Aug. 18, all day)
Ford Owners Club, including Bronco Club and F-Series Club (Pleasant Ridge Park, Saturday, Aug. 18, all day)
Additional media opportunities include:
- First Mustang ever sold, a 1964.5 model, plus 10-millionth Mustang displayed at Ford Media Club House (Friday, Aug. 17 and Saturday, Aug. 18, all day both days)
- Screening of the iconic movie “Bullitt” at unique drive-in theater at Ford Media Club House (Friday, Aug. 17 and Saturday, Aug. 18, both days – show time TBA)
- Original Mustang Bullitt along with new 2019 Mustang Bullitt models available for media to drive at screening of “Detroit: Comeback City” at Ford Media Club House drive-in (Friday, Aug. 17 and Saturday, Aug. 18 at 8 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. EDT both days)
- Right-hand-drive Mustang cruises Woodward with members of Ford Mustang team (Friday, Aug. 17 and Saturday, Aug. 18, all day both days)
- DADA-sponsored scissor lift for media to grab bird’s-eye view for Woodward Dream Cruise (Saturday, Aug. 18, all day)
- Media-only cruise opportunities in Ford police vehicles (Thursday, Aug. 16 through Saturday, Aug. 18, all day all three days)
- Media-only cruise opportunities in vintage Mustang vehicles (Thursday, Aug. 16 through Saturday, Aug. 18, all day all three days)
- Media-only cruise opportunities in Mustang Bullitt and convertibles (Thursday, Aug. 16 through Saturday, Aug. 18, all day all three days)


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ZURICH, October 31, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --
SandSIV will be exhibiting at the Annual Web Summit this year, in Dublin on the 4th of November. The company will be demonstrating its range of Voice of the Customer (VoC) SaaS applications.
The Annual Web Summit in Dublin is the largest tech summit in the world, with over 20,000 attendees across three days. This year, SandSIV is pleased to announce that the company will be amongst the exhibitors at this major event.
SandSIV will be exhibiting its full range of Voice of the Customer (VoC) SaaS applications, including its flagship product the VoC HubTM. This is an end-to-end solution for capturing, analyzing and actioning the Voice of the Customer, and managing the Customer Experience. A recent report published by Hypatia Research Group rated the VoC technology developed by SandSIV as the best in the world from a qualitative viewpoint.
Attendees who are interested in receiving a live demo of SandSIV developed VoC technology, will find the company at stand ETP117 in the Enterprise area, at the RDS arena, Simmonscourt, in Dublin, on the 4th of November.
Asif Hanafi, who is organizing the event for SandSIV, has said that, "We are really pleased to be taking part in this event. As tech summits go, this is the big one, and we are looking forward to networking with our peers."
Any attendees at this year's Web Summit who would like to pre-book a demonstration of the SandSIV VoC HubTM at the event, can contact the company via its website at http://www.sandsiv.com or by emailing email@example.com
SandSIV enables its clients to begin working in a more customer centric manner, by listening to the Voice of the Customer, and turning it in to actionable Customer Intelligence. SandSIV provides a combination of purpose built SaaS technology, and expert Customer Experience Management consulting, which combine to deliver a platform that can positively affect revenues for any company, in any market or region, with a rapid ROI.
Contact: Mac Wheeler, Head of Marketing, +41-44-687-87-67, firstname.lastname@example.org


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Lordstown Motors is ‘Great Opportunity’ for Suppliers
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Village Quality Solutions has a 30-year history at the former General Motors plant that Lordstown Motors Corp. acquired last year to manufacture its Endurance electric pickup truck later this year.
The Cortland company, which offers engineering, inspection and containment services, was a contractor for GM’s Lordstown Complex, and represented multiple suppliers in the plant, said Christy Boone, quality coordinator.
“We hope that we can return to provide those services with the Endurance,” she said. The launch of Lordstown Motors at the plant represents “a wonderful opportunity for the entire Valley.”
Boone was among the more than 400 individuals representing potential suppliers to Lordstown Motors at the second of two procurement events hosted on the electric-vehicle startup’s behalf by the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber.
Tuesday’s event focused on automotive suppliers, while the Jan. 29 event was targeted to facility suppliers. Attendees representing companies from more than 20 states attended the two events, which were held at Stambaugh Auditorium.
“All of the components that go into the vehicles for the manufacturing process is what we’re focusing on today,” said John LaFleur, chief operating officer. LaFleur and Darren Post, chief engineer for Lordstown Motors, addressed the supplier pool.
“It’s an intriguing technology in a lot of ways. No one has ever done this before,” Post remarked.
The Endurance, which will be powered by four in-wheel hub motors, is targeted to the fleet market – commercial, government and rental fleets, LaFleur said.
Presentations at both procurement events had similar elements, including an opening video presentation by Lordstown Motors CEO Steve Burns, who was in Washington for the State of the Union Address and couldn’t attend the local event. Much of Tuesday’s program focused on aspects of the vehicle itself so the attendees could determine how their companies might contribute to the product.
Though there is no specific percentage of local content targeted, the company would “clearly love” to have as many local suppliers as possible because of lower shipping costs and just-in-time delivery, LaFleur said. “We want to build this valley into an epicenter for electric vehicles,” he said.
“We’re at the point now where we’re starting sourcing,” Post said. The company has assembled its proof-of-concept vehicle and is now refining the surfaces from a styling perspective before dies and molds are produced.
The plant has the capacity to manufacture more than 400,000 vehicles annually. Lordstown Motors is targeting a November production start and is looking at producing some 20,000 units in 2021, eventually ramping up to 50,000 and 100,000 annually.
“This may be one of several vehicles to be manufactured on this platform, as well as possibly some delivery vehicles, utility vehicles, that type of thing as we move forward,” Post said. He touted the Endurance’s high fuel economy of 75 miles per gallon, low maintenance costs because of the lower number of parts in the vehicle, and its light weight.
“We’re using a lot of traditional steels,” from low carbon to high carbon, as well as composites for the hood, fenders and the rear box, he said. The Endurance will offer “the standard features that drivers traditionally want as well as lane departure and collision warning capabilities, 110 and 115-volt charging ports for people to power their tools, a front trunk and the ability to connect to Apple’s CarPlay and Android Auto.”
The vehicle also will have a lower center of gravity and better weight distribution – closer to 50/50 front and rear, as opposed to the normal 60/40 – providing for better traction as well as reduced rollover capability, he continued. The in-wheel hub motors provide power where it is needed and they require very little maintenance.
In addition to the production line, Lordstown Motors plans to build a battery pack line and a hub motor manufacturing line, LaFleur said. Initial plans call for using just 40% of the space available in the plant.
“We’ve got plenty more if anybody wants to talk about building their product in our factory,” he added.
The company also needs suppliers who are “willing to pass the baton over to us as we grow our capabilities,” Post said. The company eventually plans to phase in use of the Lordstown plant’s stamping capabilities, LaFleur said.
Suppliers attending Tuesday’s session were largely optimistic about the opportunities.
“For our organization, I see all sorts of opportunities,” nearly too many to list, said Trent Schutte, account manager for Tooling Systems Group, Grand Rapids, Mich., which focuses on building part tooling for metal forming along with automation and assembly work. The auto industry accounts for about 80% of the Grand Rapids, Mich. company’s business.
One potential source of business for Tooling Systems Group is the robotics equipment now in the plant, Schutte said. “We have a division that programs robotic arms and builds assembly cells,” he said.
Radici Performance Plastics, an Italian company that has a plant in Wadsworth, has been developing products specifically for the electric vehicle market.
“This is a great opportunity,” said Edi Degasperi, Radici’s CEO for North America. Because the company is “really committed to the environment,” having the chance to work on an environmentally friendly vehicle is important, he added.
Tad Shealy, sales manager with Bucyrus Precision Tech Inc. in Bucyrus, acknowledged he was unsure what opportunities there might be for his company. Bucyrus Precision manufactures transmission shafts, rear axle parts, steering shafts and other products for manufacturers including Honda and Toyota, but many of the products it makes have been “engineered out by this new technology,” he said.
“We’re trying to adapt, and I’m sure there’s a few things on this vehicle that we would be able to supply,” he said.
Colleen Zallow, Ohio representative for Judd Wire Inc. in Montague, Mass., was optimistic about prospects for her company, which manufactures a highly flexible high-voltage cable used in hybrid and electric vehicles. She met with engineers from Lordstown Motors who suggested she go speak to the purchasing representatives on hand at Tuesday’s event.
“They seemed very interested. It’s something they definitely need,” she said.
Pictured above: John LaFleur, chief operating officer for Lordstown Motors Corp., and Darren Post, chief engineer, address the event.
Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.


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Gap announced Monday it will close a quarter of its stores and cut 250 corporate jobs as it tries to chart the clothing brand back toward growth.
The company will close 175 stores across North America, not including outlets or factory stores, based on store performance. There will be additional store closures at European locations. About 140 stores will close this year. Gap will continue to operate about 500 Gap stores, plus 300 outlet stores.
Gap has been struggling to entice customers amid competition from fast fashion brands. Same-store sales fell 10% in the first quarter, compared with a 5% drop in the year-ago quarter.
“We’re focused on offering consistent, on-brand product collections and enhancing the customer experience across all of our channels, including a smaller, more vibrant fleet of stores,” said Jeff Kirwan, global president for Gap, in a statement.
The store closures are part of a larger trend by mall-based brands to reduce store locations, says Simeon Siegel, retail equity analyst at Nomura. Macy’s, J.C. Penney, Deb Shops, RadioShack, Sears and Wet Seal are all among brands that have or are planning to close stores.
“It’s more a continuation of what’s already been going on,” Siegel says. “Your biggest competitor used to be your neighbor in the mall. Right now your biggest competitor is the infinite number of random start-up websites. You just don’t need as many bricks and mortar locations.”
Gap declined to say how many employees will be affected by the store closures. Spokesman Sean Piazza says the company is still defining which locations will close. Piazza also declined to say how many people work at the company’s corporate offices, where 250 jobs will be cut, primarily in New York and San Francisco.
The corporate cuts are about increasing productivity and efficiency in decision making, Piazza says.
Click here to read more.
SOURCE: USA Today, Hadley Malcolm


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With the advent of the internet of things, 2015 will be a year in which connected devices can transform daily living, potentially for the better—and also potentially for the worse.
“We are told that, in 2015, the world will have 25 billion connected devices; the number of smart home devices will reach nearly 25 million; and IoT software platforms will become the rage,” said Edith Ramirez, Federal Trade Commission chairwoman at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
“But we have also been warned that 2015 will be the year we start hearing about smart-home hacking,” she added. “These predictions highlight the complexity of the IoT. It has the potential to provide enormous benefits for consumers, but it also has significant privacy and security implications.”
Ramirez detailed three specific challenges to consumer privacy presented by the advent of the IoT, as well as three steps that companies should take to enhance consumer privacy and security.
Challenges to privacy
• Ubiquitous data collection—“In the not-too-distant future, many, if not most, aspects of our everyday lives will leave a digital trail. That data trove will contain a wealth of revealing information that, when patched together, will present a deeply personal and startlingly complete picture of each of us; one that includes details about our financial circumstances, our health, our religious preferences, and our family and friends.”
Not only can private activities be monitored by remote and possibly unknown entities, but the sheer volume of data can be analyzed to make additional sensitive inferences and to compile even more detailed profiles of consumer behavior, she said. [Editor’s note: Already, some “disruptors” say that credit approvals can be performed simply through publicly available data found on the internet.]
• Unexpected uses of consumer data—“Your smart TV and tablet may track whether you watch the History Channel or reality television, but will your TV-viewing habits be shared with prospective employers or universities? Will they be shared with data brokers, who will put those nuggets together with information collected by your parking lot security gate, your heart monitor, and your smart phone? And will this information be used to paint a picture of you that you will not see but that others will?” she asked.
• Security—“Any device that is connected to the internet is at risk of being hijacked,” she said. “Like traditional computers and mobile devices, inadequate security on IoT devices could enable intruders to access and misuse personal information collected and transmitted by the device. As we purchase more smart devices, they increase the number of entry points an intruder could exploit to launch attacks on or from.”
Ramirez noted that unlike established hardware and software companies, some of the newer IoT developers have not spent decades thinking about how to secure their products and services from hackers.
• Security by design—“Companies should prioritize security and build security into their devices from the outset,” Ramirez said. “Specifically, companies should: conduct a privacy or security risk assessment as part of the design process; test security measures before products launch; use smart defaults, such as requiring consumers to change default passwords in the set-up process; consider encryption, particularly for the storage and transmission of sensitive information…; and monitor products throughout their life cycle and, to the extent possible, patch known vulnerabilities.”
Companies should also implement technical and administrative measures to ensure reasonable security.
• Data minimization—“Companies should collect only the data needed for a specific purpose and then safely dispose of it afterwards … I agree that we need more dialogue on acceptable and unacceptable uses of consumer data. But I continue to believe that reasonable limits on data collection and retention are a necessary first line of protection for consumers,” she said.
Also, she added, companies should de-identify consumer data where possible.
• Notice and choice for unexpected uses—“Companies should give consumers clear notice and provide simplified choices for unexpected collection or uses of their data,” Ramirez said, adding that this may be easier said than done. “But in my mind, the question is not whether consumers should be given a say over unexpected uses of their data; rather, the question is how to provide simplified notice and choice.”
“I am confident that the same ingenuity, design acumen, and technical know-how that is bringing us the IoT can also provide innovative ways to give consumers easy-to-understand choices,” Ramirez concluded.


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You can now use bitcoin to pay on Amazon. Payment-processing browser extension Moon will accept payments from Lightning-enabled bitcoin wallets, the company announced yesterday. Amazon itself never sees the bitcoin and does not have to agree to the process.
Your bitcoin is converted into fiat currency by a financial institution behind the scenes, which takes responsibility for passing the same value in regular dollars to Amazon or the seller. In other words, “merchant integration” is not required.
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“[The extension] will pop up a QR code and it will have the lightning invoice, which you could also copy and paste if you can’t use the QR code for some reason, and you’ll be able to pay with your favorite lightning wallet,” Moon CEO Ken Kruger told Coindesk.
Cryptocurrency would become usable for everyday purchases without suppliers having to get on board with any crypto-related risk.
Kruger hopes that it will be possible to pay on any e-commerce site by next year, now that the precedent has been set with Amazon. The promise is that only Moon and the financial institutions behind it would have to accept the use of bitcoin: cryptocurrency would become usable for everyday purchases without suppliers having to get on board with any crypto-related risk.
Moon has currently received only one investment of $100,000—it plans to undertake Series A fundraising this year.


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Sprint has rather quietly killed off its 5GB tethering plan and introduced two new tethering plans to customers on its network.
In a post on its community forums, Sprint outlined the details. The 5GB for $29.99 a month plan has been sent off into the sunset and in its place, the carrier has introduced two new plans that offer varying data allotments.
Sprint says the reason it is making the change is to not only stay competitive but to offer a lower price point for those that wish to use tethering.
The first is a 2GB tethering plan that will cost users $19.99 per month and the second is a 6GB tethering plan that will run for $49.99 per month. Both will work with the carrier’s 3G and 4G networks.
Users who take advantage of Sprint’s $29.99 per month plan will be able to take advantage of that plan until service with the carrier is canceled.
The plans actually went into place a few days ago on May 18th so those signing up for tethering plans today and in the foreseeable future will have to deal with choosing between the smaller 2GB amount and the much larger 6GB plan.
The carrier will also offer a way for customers to check on their monthly limit. Again, these plans are not unlimited like Sprint’s data plans for smartphones and tablets. Sprint will alert customers when 75, 90 and 100 percent of the data allotment has dried up.
At 100%, Sprint will prompt customers with a notice asking if they wish to suspend the service or keep using it and pay overage charges.
Those who wish to take advantage of these notifications must opt-in through Sprint’s website.
This article may contain affiliate links. Click here for more details.


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At this year’s Intel Developer Forum, the company disclosed additional technical details about its forthcoming 3D XPoint memory, which has the potential to really change PC architecture by filling the gap between traditional main memory and storage.
Sourced through Scoop.it from: forwardthinking.pcmag.com
Intel and Micron, which together created the new memory and plan to produce it at a joint venture facility in Lehi, Utah, have said that 3D XPoint is 1,000 times faster than NAND flash and 10 times the density of DRAM. As such, it could be a faster alternative to today’s NAND flash memory, which has a lot of capacity and is relatively inexpensive, or work as a replacement or adjunct to traditional DRAM, which is faster but has limited capacity. At IDF, we got more details on how it might work in either of those solutions. During the keynote, Rob Crooke, senior vice president and general manager of Intel’s Non-Volatile Memory Solutions Group, announced that Intel plans to sell data center and notebook SSDs as well as DIMMs based on the new memory in 2016 under the Optane brand name. He demonstrated an Optane SSD providing 5-7X the performance of Intel’s current fastest SSD running a variety of tasks. Later on, he and Al Fazio, an Intel senior fellow and director of memory technology development, presented a lot of the technical details—though they are still keeping some important information under wraps, such as the actual material used for writing the data. In that session, Crooke held up a wafer that he said contained the 3D XPoint memory, which will include 128 Gbits of storage per die. In total, they said the full wafer could hold 5 Terabytes of data. Fazio said this concept is very scalable, in that you could add more layers or scale the manufacturing to smaller dimensions. The current 128 Gbit chips use two layers and are manufactured at 20nm. In a question-and-answer session, he noted that the technology for creating and connecting the layers is not the same as for 3D NAND and requires multiple layers of lithography, so costs may rise proportionally as you add layers after a certain point. But he said it was probably economical to create 4-layer or 8-layer chips, and Crooke joked that in three years, he’ll be saying 16 layers. He also said it was technically possible to create multi-level cells—such as the MLCs used in NAND flash—but it took a long time to do that with NAND and isn’t likely to happen soon because of manufacturing margins. In general, Fazio said we could expect the memory capacity to increase on a cadence similar to NAND, doubling every couple of years, approaching Moore’s Law-style improvements.


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Microsoft has released a new Windows 10 (opens in new tab) update – one that fans of PowerToys will be pretty happy with. The release fixes a number of security bugs and comes with a new user interface for its Image Resizer feature.
Although PowerToys has been around for a long time – it was originally included with Windows 95 – it has undergone a few notable developments since its inception. Towards the end of 2018, Microsoft provided fans of the open-source tool with some new features designed specifically for Windows 10, including FancyZones and PowerRename.
Now another update is coming, this time offering improvements to the Image Resizer feature, which was added earlier this year. The utility essentially lets power users bulk resize images without the need for a third-party app.
- Our list of the best business computers (opens in new tab) for SMBs and enterprises
- And here's our roundup of the best business laptops (opens in new tab)
- Also, check out our list of the best workstations (opens in new tab) on the market
I've got the power
Unfortunately, although fans were pleased that Image Resizer was being brought to Windows 10 PowerToys, many felt that it was missing a user-friendly interface. Those complaints have now been addressed after Microsoft confirmed that the Windows 10 Fluent UI was being brought to Image Resizer.
With the update, users can resize images using the pre-defined sizes Small, Medium, Large, and Phone, or opt for a custom size instead. Support for themes will also be included. Similarly, the Color Picker tool will also be receiving the Fluent UI treatment.
Other updates coming to PowerToys include dark mode improvements and the ability to customize Windows to deliver a better multi-monitor setup. And in another aesthetic change, PowerToys will now have rounded corners (opens in new tab), with Microsoft following the design template that it is bringing back to Windows 10X. The latest PowerToys update is available now from Microsoft’s GitHub page (opens in new tab).
- Here's our list of the best mobile workstations (opens in new tab) for businesses
Via Windows Latest (opens in new tab)


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1 December 2020
Another week, another round of record highs in stockmarkets around the world. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, the world’s oldest stockmarket index, made the news by closing above 30,000 for the first time in its long history, but there were also all-time highs for the US blue-chip S&P 500, indices tracking US small and medium sized companies, and various stockmarket indices in the Asia-Pacific region. The week’s activity was characterised not only by “back-to-normal” trading, where post-pandemic laggards are bought in anticipation of the beneficial effects of mass-vaccination, but by “peak-pandemic” trading, where technology stock prices are driven up in anticipation of the beneficial effects (on profits) of lockdowns.
Is this due to rational expectations or irrational exuberance? The key factors that could possibly justify such optimism include a rapid return to pre-pandemic levels of employment. Currently, about 21 million Americans are either out of work, or on a form of pandemic unemployment assistance. This is about twice the peak reached during the Credit Crunch, after which it took about eight years for the workforce to return to pre-Credit Crunch levels. Economic forecasters are much more sanguine this time around: in the UK for example, the Office of Budget Responsibility (OBR) predicts that a full recovery will take only four years. But this depends, crucially, on the assumption that consumer behaviour returns to normal. If consumers continue to shop online, and workers continue to work from home, some industries affected by the pandemic, including retail and transport, may never recover to previous levels of employment.
Another critical factor is the rebound in consumer spending. This is one the strongest economic arguments supporting stockmarkets, because the evidence for a huge build-up in savings is manifest. There will be a spending splurge and it will make headlines. What happens afterwards though, once the economy settles down, is less certain, and depends partly on how much saving has been forced by lockdown restrictions, rather than being a precaution against reduced future earnings potential or tax increases.
A third issue is the increased level of debt in the economy, both in the corporate sector and at the level of government. This is where the optimism of equity investors is most likely to come unstuck, because any post-pandemic profits will accrue first to creditors and to servicing debts, rather than to shareholders or new investments; plus creditors now have a much larger claim. With interest rates so low, that debt may not be costly to service but, unlike government debt, it actually has to be repaid.
Finally, there is the issue of government and central bank stimulus. Both need to stay in place for a considerable period of time in order to guarantee stockmarket stability. The OBR’s most recent forecast is for UK government spending to remain £100 billion in deficit (nearly twice the pre-pandemic level) well into the 2020s. Above all, however, the continuation of central bank support is needed to hold this rally together: in addition to the drastic cuts to interest rates at the start of the pandemic, the world’s central banks have spent $8 trillion this year buying financial assets. That has been the cost of resurrecting investors’ confidence in capital markets.
American biotechnology company Moderna Inc. has asked US and European regulators to authorise the use of its Covid-19 vaccine. In a pivotal study the vaccine was shown to be 94.1% effective. The Moderna vaccine would be the second to undergo regulatory review by health regulators, with the Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE vaccine being the first. On 17 December a panel of outside experts advising the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will meet to review the evidence for the Company's vaccine and vote on whether to recommend that the agency authorise its emergency use. If the FDA does authorise the vaccine, distribution could start within weeks.
The British High Street's woes continue to mount as the Arcadia Group has gone into administration, putting 13,000 jobs at risk, and Debenhams faces liquidation after JD Sports pulled out of rescue talks. Sir Phillip Green's Arcadia owns Topshop, Burton and Dorothy Perkins and has seen sales "severely impacted" by the pandemic. However, even before the pandemic the company was struggling in the face of newer, online-only fashion retailers such as Boohoo and ASOS. While Debenhams, which has been in "light touch" administration since April, had been in talks with JD Sports. But, in a single-line paragraph statement released today, JD Sports said that "discussions with the administrators of Debenhams regarding a potential acquisition of the UK business have now been terminated". If no buyers can be found Debenhams is likely to be broken up and liquidated in the new year.
Kustomer, a New York based startup specialising in customer-service platforms and chatbots, is set to be bought by Facebook Inc. in an estimated $1 billion deal. The deal comes as part of an effort by Facebook to help companies use its platforms to do business as increasingly customers are communicating with companies by messaging instead of calling. Kustomer was founded in 2015 by entrepreneurs Brad Birnbaum and Jeremy Suriel, and joins Facebook as Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg makes a big push into what he calls "social commerce".
This publication is intended to be Walker Crips Investment Management’s own commentary on markets. It is not investment research and should not be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy, sell or trade in any of the investments, sectors or asset classes mentioned. The value of any investment and the income arising from it is not guaranteed and can fall as well as rise, so that you may not get back the amount you originally invested. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results. Movements in exchange rates can have an adverse effect on the value, price or income of any non-sterling denominated investment. Nothing in this document constitutes advice to undertake a transaction, and if you require professional advice you should contact your financial adviser or your usual contact at Walker Crips. Walker Crips Investment Management Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and is a member of the London Stock Exchange. Registered office: Old Change House, 128 Queen Victoria Street, London, EC4V 4BJ. Registered in England number 4774117.
No news or research content is a recommendation to deal. It is important to remember that the value of investments and the income from them can go down as well as up, so you could get back less than you invest. If you have any doubts about the suitability of any investment for your circumstances, you should contact your financial advisor.


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If there were any doubts as to Samsung‘s position among Android device manufacturers, this latest data from Localytics could disple those. As it is, Samsung practically owns the global Android market with 63 percent of the pie, which can be both a boon and a bane for the mobile platform.
The fact that Samsung’s space occupies more than half of all the other manufacturers combined is both impressive and a bit unsettling. Fans will definitely praise the manufacturer’s efforts in helping bring Android to the consciousness of consumers and becoming a real rival to Apple and its iOS devices. Out of the 10 top smartphones, Samsung holds 8 spots, seven of which are at the top. In terms of tablets, the company has lesser representatives but still holds the top two places. Quite sadly, it is only in the tablet arena that any of Google’s devices, specifically the Nexus 7, makes an appearance, though it sits cozily at third.
But Samsung’s success will not always translate to Android’s triumph. The Korean company has ambitious plans ahead, and some of which might not be for Android’s exclusive benefit. It has pretty much implied this at its recently held Developers’ Conference, when it enticed developers to create wonderful apps that target Samsung devices. It doesn’t necessarily mean they have to be Android devices, though, as the company has other platforms on its roster as well. Just recently, Samsung has stated that Tizen, the mobile operating system that it has adopted together with the Linux foundation, will compete in the lower-end device market, a segment that Android 4.4 has been designed to cater to.
Samsung is a company that has undoubtedly put out its fair share of Android products, some of them great, even though plastic-covered, some of them interesting, and some rather odd. But in the end, Samsung will go where the money flows. Fortunately for now, that happens to be Android.


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An expanding learning and development agency, which already trades heavily overseas, has appointed a new manager to help grow its exports.
RTS Group, based in Chippenham, specialises in developing frontline staff in the automotive sector and has appointed internationally experienced automotive management consultant Allan Sherburne as its international business development manager.
Allan has more than 30 years of leadership experience in mature and emerging markets across Europe, the USA and the Asia Pacific region. He began his career in the UK, working in aftersales for Rolls-Royce before moving to Germany as a service manager, where he spent 12 years which included a move into sales and marketing and a two year stint with the Ferrari brand.
Still working in sales and marketing, he moved back to the UK developing sport dealer networks for brands including BMW, Jaguar and Mazda, and also organising the promotion around major motor shows and motor sport events.
In the mid-90s his career took him to the Asia Pacific region. Based in the Philippines, he’s worked with the likes of Ford, Mazda and VW. Prior to joining RTS Group, he was a consultant with the new Chinese motor manufacturer Qorus.
“I was looking to move back to the UK so the position at RTS was perfect,” said Allan. “I get to spend some time in the UK and the rest of the time based in Manila, looking at new business opportunities in Asia Pacific and the Middle East for RTS and expanding the work they do for existing clients. So far, it’s going very well and we are looking at a lot of potential new clients.”
RTS Group works extensively in Europe, the Middle East and South Africa. Last year, it broke into China through its finance arm FIMTRAC, where it is delivering programmes to help dealership staff increase finance penetration at point of sale.
RTS Group managing director, Malcolm Miller, said Allan was the ideal person to help build on the company’s overseas success. He said: “Our business growth reflects how the automotive sector has become a truly global business. I am delighted that we have secured Allan’s experience and knowledge to help us grow our support with the sector, particularly in the Far East.”


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- 5 min read
Spurring job creation in a post-Covid economy – does USI hold the key?
In its simplest form, USI is a social policy that involves giving a population periodic and unconditional cash payments, without being required to do any work for it. In short, it serves as an ongoing cash payment from a state to its citizens.
At this stage, the seismic impact that Covid-19 has had on India’s economy should be apparent to even the most disengaged of observers. Across sectors and industries, the numbers paint a truly devastating picture of the pandemic’s toll. With standard operations disrupted and no resolution in sight, companies in every sector have been forced to contend with a wide variety of challenges. Sales have plummeted, supply chains have been thrown into chaos, and retail stores have shuttered. This, in turn, has forced many businesses to resort to mass layoffs to keep themselves afloat, only adding to the prevailing climate of uncertainty.
While businesses have undoubtedly suffered great losses over the last year and a half, the true brunt of this crisis has been borne by the common man. The numbers alone are a grim reminder of the sheer scale of this catastrophe, and the impact it has had on an individual level. An unemployment rate that, as per a survey by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), hit a staggering 27.1 per cent in May 2020. Millions of families were stripped of their sole breadwinners. And then, just as things seemed to be getting better, an even more brutal second wave, which resulted in 7.35 million jobs lost in April 2021 alone. Overall, an estimated 122 million jobs have been lost since the start of the pandemic.
It’s undeniable that the coronavirus is largely responsible for this dismal state of affairs. But it would be short-sighted to attribute all of India’s employment woes to the pandemic alone. India has long been faced with a unique situation, arising as a result of its most talked-about feature – a massive and ever-burgeoning population. While developed countries across the world have grappled with falling birth rates and a decline in the proportion of their working-age populations, the inverse has been true in India. A 2018 study by the World Bank estimates that India’s working-age population is set to increase by 1.3 million every month, with over 62 per cent of its population belonging to the working-age group.
The share of agriculture in overall employment figures has plummeted over the last decade, with a surplus of labour and the closure of traditional village industries forcing the services and construction sectors to pick up the slack. This radical change in traditional employment options has led to the displacement of individuals from India’s rural heartlands to its urban centres, in an internal migration of unprecedented scale. Our cities, in turn, have borne the brunt of this vicious cycle. Already bursting at their seams, they have seen a deluge of jobseekers chasing dreams of a better life. Overburdened infrastructure creaks and degrades at an alarming rate, applicants for a limited pool of jobs reach ludicrous numbers, and the rapid automation of many industries further adds to the woes of jobseekers. These stark facts, when viewed in conjunction with the lasting scars inflicted by Covid, paint a troubling picture for the future.
In order to regain our footing as a nation, it’s imperative that job creation be India’s primary focus in the years to come. Over the years, economists have floated multiple economic models and approaches to tackle this issue. Given the current circumstances, I believe that the implementation of a Universal Supplementary Income (USI) scheme is the only viable option. In its simplest form, USI is a social policy that involves giving a population periodic and unconditional cash payments, without being required to do any work for it. In short, it serves as an ongoing cash payment from a state to its citizens. The idea behind this approach is to provide every citizen with a financial safety net which, if all else fails, will provide them with an assured source of income regardless of any other circumstances. This comes as a no-strings attached monetary transfer, with the recipient’s free to spend it in any way they deem fit.
Through this scheme, every Indian above the age of 25 years will receive Rs 1,000 per month. With approximately 650 million individuals meeting this criterion, implementing a USI would cost the state exchequer Rs 65,000 crore every month. While this may seem a significant sum, the net annual outflow is still lower than the Rs 9 lakh crore spent by the government annually on social welfare schemes such as MGNREGA, PM Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana (PM Kisan), and National Social Assistance Programme, among others.
This guaranteed income will grant India’s poor the confidence to meet their basic needs while also allowing them to purchase previously unattainable items. Shoes, cell phones, and all manner of other consumer discretionary products. This sudden upswing in spending power will drive a massive demand for additional goods and services, and unshackle India’s vast population to finally work in its favour. MSMEs will emerge to cater to this demand, and an attempt to fill these newly created vacancies will spur hiring.
And as is so often the case, money begets more money. Every new job created in this way will lead to more money earned per household. And when this money is spent, it will further drive demand and lead to even more jobs. This cyclical process will continue at an escalating rate, with the potential to rapidly transform our country. The rate at which this occurs depends largely on the effective ease of doing business at a ground level. Regulated correctly, however, USI could ultimately generate millions of jobs in the coming years.
Over the last year, countries around the world have come to understand the relative fragility of economic and social constructs. This lesson has proved especially stark in India. If we hope to weather any future storms, we must focus all of our efforts on building a more equitable society. Through the USI scheme, we have a chance to automate the process of job creation and build a safeguard against any future calamities. It’s not one we can afford to ignore.
The writer, Rajiv Bahl, is a seasoned entrepreneur and critically-acclaimed author.
DISCLAIMER: The views expressed are solely of the author and ETHRWorld does not necessarily subscribe to it. ETHRWorld will not be responsible for any damage caused to any person or organisation directly or indirectly.


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FAIRFIELD, Ohio -- Love beer? You're lucky to live here. And not just for the craft breweries that have sprung up over the past few years.
Jungle Jim's International Market has been ranked one of the best grocery stores in America for beer lovers.
It's the first year Jungle Jim's has received the national designation from RateBeer.com, in the website's Best Awards for 2016. The list includes five grocers as being the Best Places For Beer in the United States but doesn't put them in any particular order.
Jungle Jim's also is ranked the best grocery store in Ohio for beer, an honor it received last year.
RateBeer.com is devoted to craft beer ratings and forums.
Jungle Jim's doesn't just stock a huge selection of beers: It celebrates them, too. Last summer, the store showcased Ohio's beers and breweries with its first-ever Buckeye Beer Bash and had its 11th annual International Beer Festival.
The market, which started as a produce stand, has grown into a regional destination. Foodie website Epicurious described it as a "seven-plus-acre food-based freak-out in suburban Cincinnati," with hard-to-find items from all over the globe.


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Description: This will be the first time Twitter has engaged in a full advertising campaign.
Date: October 27, 2015
During Twitter’s Q3 earnings call, CEO Jack Dorsey let us know that the company would be running a new TV commercial during the World Series. As The Verge points out, this commercial was done by the same group that did Apple’s 1984 campaign. Read More
Questions for discussion:
1. Why do you think Twitter has failed to attract younger users?
2. If you were in charge of marketing at twitter, what type of campaigns would you implement that you think would be effective with the younger generation?


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The Centers for Disease Control recently released survey results from kids showing that many of them had seen some form of advertisement for e-cigarettes. Then they matched them to the uptick in e-cigarette use among young people and implied causation.
Is it real? Perhaps, anecdotal results say that e-cigarette shops are springing up close to schools. And then there is the cigarette industry and fear they may switch from getting people on cigarettes using nicotine to nicotine itself. On the other side is the anti-smoking establishment, which gets hundreds of millions of dollars to do studies and create public service announcements against cigarettes. A new market would be just as good for them as it is cigarette companies.
A new paper in BMJ Tobacco Control says flavors may be attracting young people, intentionally or not. They rely on the 2014 National Youth Tobacco Survey, which found that e-cigarette use tripled from 2013 to 2014 amongst high schoolers, rising from 4.5% to over 13%, and amongst middle school students increasing from 1% to 4%. These figures are mirrored in England, where e-cigarette use has risen from 5% in 2013 to 8% in 2014 amongst 11-18 year olds.
The good news is, cigarettes have declined in their place. The best cigarette is still far more harmful than the worst e-cigarette. But as concerned critics note, we don't want developing brains hooked on nicotine any more than we want them hooked on too much screen time or Red Bull drinks.
Very few kids migrate from e-cigarettes to real cigarettes but there are lots of other gateways to more harmful products so there is some concern about e-cigarettes leading to smoking, but it is too soon to tell. So the Behaviour and Health Research Unit at the University of Cambridge creates a slippery slope, using old tobacco industry 1970s-era documents finding that young smokers liked flavored cigarettes and implying that flavors in e-cigarettes would cause smoking. E-cigarette evangelists instead say flavors are a substitute for nicotine, not a mask for it. It seems to be true, uptake on nicotine flavored vapors is tiny.
To find out if flavors might increase uptake of e-cigarettes, the scholars assigned 598 school children to one of three groups: one group was shown advertisements for candy-like flavored e-cigarettes; a second group advertisements for non-flavored e-cigarettes; and a third, control group, in which the children saw no advertisements.
The school children were then asked questions to gauge issues such as the appeal of using e-cigarettes and tobacco smoking (did the children think e-cigarettes or tobacco were 'attractive', 'fun' or 'cool'?), the perceived harm of smoking, how much they liked the ads and how interested they might be in buying and trying e-cigarettes.
Obviously none of them used anything, and there is no indication they would, but the responses were listed as evidence of the potential harm.
The children shown the ads for candy-flavored e-cigarettes liked these ads more and expressed a greater interest in buying and trying e-cigarettes than their peers. However, showing the ads made no significant difference to the overall appeal of tobacco smoking or of using e-cigarettes - in other words, how attractive, fun or cool they considered the activities.
This is in contrast to studies showing that e-cigarette use is just kids experimenting and that very few non-smokers stuck with them.
"We're cautiously optimistic from our results that e-cigarette ads don't make tobacco smoking more attractive, but we're concerned that ads for e-cigarettes with flavors that might appeal to school children could encourage them to try the products," says Dr. Milica Vasiljevic from the Department of Public Health and Primary Care at the University of Cambridge.
Top image: Shutterstock


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Electronic Arts has been looking for a buyer for some time. The video game industry has experienced a wave of consolidation. EA CEO Andrew Wilson apparently wants to see the publisher become part of something bigger. Discussions surrounding acquisition by NBCUniversal have reportedly fallen apart. However, anonymous sources say EA is also courting Apple and others in its search for a buyer.
NBCUniversal Lets Another One Get Away
In 2018, Comcast-NBCUniversal Chairman and CEO Brian Roberts tried (and failed) to take over the Fox entertainment assets. Ultimately, Bob Iger sealed the deal for CBS and NBCUniversal had to settle for Sky.
Early this year, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announced the Redmond-based company would acquire Activision Blizzard for $69 billion. That’s another acquisition that would have done NBCUniversal a world of good, but Roberts never really got into the running.
Next up, the CEO entered discussions with Electronic Arts. EA may not be as big as Activision, but it still would have given NBCUniversal a strong foothold in the gaming industry. That’s not to mention the obvious coup in merging NBCUniversal’s huge trove of sports rights and the EA Sports franchise.
The company tried, and failed once again. According to anonymous sources, the proposal fell apart because the two companies couldn’t decide on price and structure agreements.
EA Approaches Apple and Others in Its Search for a Buyer
That deal wasn’t the first or last in EA’s ongoing effort to find a buyer. Reportedly, the company has also held discussions with Amazon, Disney, and … Apple. None have progressed far, but Apple seems like a non-starter right from the start.
The Cupertino-based company has never really demonstrated much interest in gaming for the Mac, or publishing its own games for the iPhone or iPad. Indeed, Apple has instead developed its platform to allow others to sell or give away their games, as in the Apple Arcade catalog.
Representatives from all three companies declined to comment, but it seems rather unlikely for Apple to seriously consider a bid for EA Games. The Cupertino-based company could easily have outbid Microsoft for Activision, a much more lucrative game studio, but chose not to do so.
That being said, Apple has reportedly toyed with the idea of entering the video game console market. Rumors on Korean platform Clien suggested Cupertino developing an Apple Silicon chip specifically for a gaming device. Whether that would shape up as a new Apple TV or a standalone console remains to be seen. However, even here, Apple was said to be courting game developers to create exclusive content, not become acquisitions of the bitten fruit company.


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Bulletin: APAC Energy Disruption Impacts
Each week, Weber Shandwick’s APAC Intelligence Bulletin shares the key developments shaping business sectors and markets throughout the Asia Pacific region.
- With the majority of the region struggling to maintain energy supply through a period of sustained upheaval, many of Asia’s business sectors are facing challenges
- The region’s agriculture, automotive, and air travel industries have seen the most substantial impacts
- However, outcomes are far-reaching, extending to healthcare, warehouse, and transport sectors in some markets
- Across the board, sectors are greeting the disruption with accelerated shifts to more sustainable energy solutions
With the government warning of power shortages, Japan’s businesses were instructed to use minimal electricity in the final week of June. In earlier weeks, Australia’s government temporarily seized control of the country’s east cost power grid to guarantee supply. In India, protesting farmers dumped sixty power meters on the government’s doorstep to protest recurring power outages.
The disruptions brought to the regional energy sector by the Ukraine-Russia war, rising inflation, and escalating climate events have begun to challenge many of Asia’s private industries. Air travel, for example, has been substantially impacted by rising fuel costs. Major airlines in Australia, New Zealand, India, and Malaysia have all flagged significant fare increases and flight cancellations.
Agriculture, similarly, is negotiating a raft of complex disruptions throughout the region. After recent power cuts prompted farmers to shift to renewable energy, the price of solar-powered water pumps in India has jumped by 16%. According to Australia’s National Farmers Federation, rising electricity expenses are expected to significantly hamper the nation’s dairy and horticultural industries.
Automotive brands, meanwhile, are confronting an accelerated region-wide shift to electric vehicles. In Singapore, roughly 8% of new vehicle registrations in 2022 have been for electric cars. In China, 400,000 electric vehicles were sold in just the month of May. In Australia, electric vehicle sales grew by 400% in the first five months of the year. India’s largest power provider plans to set up charging infrastructure across three cities.
Some sectors have had their struggles limited to specific markets. With fuel rises rapidly limiting exports, Singapore’s warehouse industry is close to excess capacity with little hope of relief. Healthcare sectors in Australia and India have been forced to deliver compromised treatment during power outages. In Thailand, private bus companies have had to slash services to combat rising diesel costs.
Regardless of market or challenges, most sectors are attempting to curtail any further disruption through renewables investments. Multiple automotive plants in India and Philippines, for example, have launched new sustainability initiatives, including solar panels and material recycling processes. Airlines and airports in India, Malaysia, and Australia have all announced a shift to renewable fuels.
This briefing was prepared by Weber Shandwick’s Insight & Intelligence team in Singapore.
For regular intelligence on the Asia Pacific region’s many business sectors, subscribe to Weber Shandwick’s APAC Intelligence alerts.


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Latest mobile Web Stories
Innovative Integrations Improve Business Processes and Drive Profitability for Wireless Carriers and Retailers New York, NY (PRWEB) September 04, 2014
Profit leads motives for malware engineers DALLAS and BEIJING, Sept. 4, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- With mobile malware doubling year after year, NQ Mobile, Inc.
CHICAGO, September 3, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Launches branding and monetization solutions across smart phones and portable devices Affinity Global Inc., the
YOKNEAM, Israel, September 2, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Saguna Networks [http://www.saguna.net ], an innovative provider of RAN-based acceleration and monetization solutions
OSLO, Norway and SAN MATEO, Calif., Aug.
Good's Mobile Service Management platform recognized for Innovation in Mobile Enterprise SUNNYVALE, Calif., Aug.
Panel of 50 Industry Experts Recognizes SOTI's Innovation in MDM MISSISSAUGA, ON, Aug.
ClearBlade Recognized for Innovation in Mobile Applications, Development & Platforms AUSTIN, Texas, Aug.
Results suggest marketers have distinct mobile options to impact decisions at the physical place of purchase--and recall rates of mobile video ads indicate opportunities for branding and awareness


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Despite the rising inflation across sectors of the economy and globally, telecommunications operators in Nigeria are still rolling out more affordable tariff plans. This is according to a newly approved tariff plan for MTN, Airtel, and 9Mobile by the Nigerian Communications Commission.
This is coming barely two months after the NCC had rejected plans by the telcos to increase tariffs due to the rising cost of diesel, which increased their operating costs. The new tariff plans coming with different packages have been scheduled to be rolled out by the operators later this month and in early or mid-August.
Airtel, for instance, is to roll out Smart value Tariff Plan by August the 5th. According to the telco, this is a voice-only plan that allows all calls (Onnet/offnet) to be charged at a flat rate of N9.22/min. The plan will also offer subscribers calls to 5 international countries (USA, UK, Canada, India, and China) at 55k/sec while calls to other countries will be charged at standard rates.
Similarly, MTN has applied and got approval for the extension of its MTN Yafun Yafun promotion, which offers subscribers 8x the value (700% bonus) on all recharges done via physical, logical, and VTU recharge channels. The promo is to kick off by August 16, according to the NCC’s record.
Other newly approved tariff plans
Airtel is to also roll out Airtel 20x Plan, a bundle plan that offers subscribers 20 times the airtime value for voice and data. This is to kick off on August 6, 2022.
Amidst Rising Inflation, Telcos Are Rolling Out Cheaper Tariff Plans
9Mobile also got approval for its Morelife Complete, a tariff plan segment for high-value subscribers. It provides a flat tariff for voice calls to all networks and 11 international destinations for a daily access fee of N5.12. This is to be rolled out on July 16, 2022.
On July 11, 2022, MTN kicked off its modified Xtra Special Bundle, a plan that offers subscribers a standard rate of 13.33k/sec (N8/min) to all local and selected International destinations as well as data bundles specifically for subscribers on the plan.
The telcos had earlier in May written a letter to the NCC for an increase in tariffs for telecommunications services. In the letter, the telecom companies said there had been a 40% increase in the cost of doing business in the nation.
According to them, the telecommunication industry has been financially impacted following the nation’s economic recession in 2020 and the effect of the ongoing Ukraine/Russia crisis. They said this had resulted in an increase in energy costs, increasing their operating expenses by 35%.


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As stores across the New York were boarded up during the spring pandemic wave, sales plummeted, and a major source of revenue for the state and local governments dried up with it.
Sales tax revenues statewide dropped more than 24 percent in April, according to the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance (NYSDTF). While county governments and the municipalities they split local sales tax with were grappling with that loss, New York began withholding 20 percent of state aid to cover its own revenue losses.
However, sales tax revenue in certain communities jumped over the late summer as downstate residents temporarily relocated and spent in their new environs. In some communities, the upsurge has made up for the plunge in the spring.
Woodstock Town Supervisor Bill McKenna said downstaters had come up this summer in “tremendous numbers.” Though Woodstock normally attracts a deluge of visitors in the summer—McKenna calls his community “a tourist town”—many were staying longer than normal this year.
“The second homeowners are staying up here on a more permanent basis—permanent-temporary, at least—and we’re seeing a lot of the short-term rentals are renting out long-term to city people,” McKenna says. He estimates the town’s population had risen “25 percent, at least.”
Woodstock’s sales tax revenues were at 80 percent of the full year’s budgeted levels as of November 20, according to McKenna, with the busy Christmas shopping season still ahead. And even with a resurgent pandemic possibly affecting December sales, McKenna said he was not concerned because sales tax revenues had been so solid thus far.
In Peekskill, sales tax revenues “took a nosedive” in the spring, says city comptroller Matt Alexander, but rebounded in the summer, doing significantly better than in 2019.
The city budgeted for sales tax revenues of $4.6 million this year. Even with the spring plunge, Alexander says the city now predicts it will take in $4.3 million by the end of the year.
“It doesn’t make you think of a pandemic,” he says.
Like McKenna in Woodstock, Alexander also believes the upsurge is partly because of new arrivals. “There’s obviously been a lot of real property turnover, people buying real property up here, and a lot of them have been out exploring, a lot of them need new furniture.”
On top of that, others are “more likely to be working at home…and spend money in the community instead of some place they might’ve commuted to,” he adds.
In Hudson, the pandemic was expected to have a catastrophic impact on sales tax revenues. City treasurer Heather Campbell released a report in mid-May predicting revenues would be down between 50 and 75 percent this spring compared to last year, and 20-25 percent during the summer.
However, the city, which has become a prime destination for downstate weekenders in recent years, did far better than predicted. Sales tax revenues fell only about 14 percent during the spring and were actually 8 percent higher than 2019 in the summer.
The situation is similar in Kingston, which has seen a flood of downstaters move in since the pandemic began. City comptroller John Tuey predicted sales tax revenues would fall between $2.3 and $3.3 million, according to the Daily Freeman. He now predicts it will be down between $678,000 and $2.1 million.
Even during the spring wave, sales tax revenues in many Hudson Valley counties declined less than in surrounding areas. Columbia County, of which Hudson is the county seat, saw its sales tax fall 11.8 percent year over year in the spring, compared to 37.8 percent in New York City, according to a report by the New York State of Counties (NYSAC). The declines were also shallower than in areas farther north that had fewer COVID-19 cases; for example, sales tax revenues fell 17.2 percent in Saratoga County and 14.2 percent in Albany County.
Sullivan County Treasurer Nancy Buck says she was “nervous” about the summer’s sales tax take, with NYSAC predicting the county would take in millions of dollars less than expected before the pandemic. But Sullivan County took in more money this summer than last year and is only down $33,000 for the entire year.
Sullivan County has a lot of second homeowners, Buck says, and many came up and worked from these homes when their offices in the city closed. The money from the county lodging tax tripled from prior years because of the number of Airbnb guests.
The county also received a large chunk of money from increased internet sales, Buck says, though the exact amount is not publicly available. New York began collecting sales tax on internet most purchases made within the state in 2019 after a Supreme Court ruling. Prior to this, the state only collected sales tax when the seller had a brick-and-motor presence in the state.
“We don’t have a lot of retail,” Buck says. “We had a lot of sales tax coming in through the internet sales—that’s why our numbers aren’t as bad, because people are shopping from home and Sullivan County is getting the sales tax that it doesn’t get when people go to Orange County or Pennsylvania or Dutchess County.”
The county budgeted for far more sales tax revenue than last year because of anticipated revenue from Resorts World Casino in Monticello, the Kartrite Resort and Indoor Waterpark, and two new hotels serving the establishments. The casino was closed most of the summer and the water park closed for the entire season due to COVID-19 restrictions.
“We’re still in the hole millions of dollars,” says Buck, noting the casino and resort closures, as well as the 20 percent withholding of state aid. “If we only talk one thing, it sounds positive, that we’re in better shape than we anticipated. But it’s still bleak.”
Local governments take a minority of their revenues in through sales tax, relying most heavily on property taxes, as well as state aid, lodging taxes, and fees related to parking and permits.
Local governments are still hurting, and Governor Cuomo is pleading for aid to state and local governments in another federal pandemic stimulus, which he says will allow him to release the 20 percent of aid to municipalities he has been withholding.
For now, the increase in sales tax due to downstate migration and increased internet sales is a bright spot in an otherwise dark picture.


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Earlier last month, we reported that three major smartphone manufacturers including the Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo will launch their next devices which expectedly include the Xiaomi Mi 9, Oppo R18 and Vivo X with 48 megapixel rear cameras.
Among others, Xiaomi seems all set to launch its new smartphone next month in January, which is most likely to be the new Xiaomi Mi 9. Xiaomi’s Co-founder and President Lin Bin has shared a new image of the upcoming Xiaomi device, confirming that Xiaomi will launch its new smartphone with 48-megapixel next month.
However, the image doesn’t reveal more about its specs and other camera details but it does reveal that the smartphone will come with a vertically staged triple rear camera setup with LED flashlight and you can also see 48-megapixel written below the flashlight.
On the other hand, Oppo and Vivo are also expected to launch their first smartphone with 48-megapixel in the second quarter of 2019.
But it seems early for Xiaomi to launch the phone in January, which was previously reported to be launch in the first half of 2019 next year.


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Bypassing the bumps in the road
Local farmers market makes revival
By Melanie Rossi
ALGOMA – The new Algoma Farmers Market is now open in the Algoma Elementary School parking lot every Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. — all owing to the hard work and perseverance of its local vendors.
The previous Algoma Farmers Market was recently shut down, and Jessica Gerdmann, a produce vendor who played an instrumental role in establishing the new market, said, “I’m glad I can get the word out there that there is another market.”
The WIC-certified market has now been open for four weeks, where between six and nine vendors have been selling their produce, homemade crafts, cookies, canned goods, woodworked pieces and more.
As a third-generation vendor at farmers markets, Gerdmann felt compelled to set up the new Algoma market to follow in her family’s footsteps.
After her grandmother, great-aunt and father participated in both the Algoma and Sturgeon Bay markets, Gerdmann herself became a vendor six years ago.
While she participated in the previous Algoma market for the past two years, only after completing all of the paperwork and preparing her garden for the upcoming season did Gerdmann hear that the old market wouldn’t take place.
“I was ordering all of my seeds, getting the garden prepped, and then we get, ‘there is no market,’” Gerdmann said. “I had posted on the Facebook Algoma group, and I had asked the community, ‘I need help here; do you guys need a market? Because if you guys need a market, I’m going to figure out how to get one going.’
“Everybody was amazing—they were like, ‘yes, we need a market!’ There are people who do not drive, and they would walk to the market. There is nothing like getting fresh produce at a market versus a store, and I heard a lot of that.”
With the goal of starting a new market, Gerdmann talked with two other vendors, and they noted their biggest priorities: finding a location and advertising for the new market.
While trying to find a location to host the market, Gerdmann said, “I hit some bumps along the road.”
With prices for renting city and park space being unaffordable, Gerdmann reached out to Algoma Elementary School.
In April of this year, Gerdmann met with Algoma Superintendent Jesse Brinkmann, who showed Gerdmann the elementary school’s parking lot and allowed them to use the space.
According to Gerdmann, the parking lot being so “hidden” has created challenges when trying to attract new visitors to the market.
“I’m just hoping that I can get the word out there further, letting everybody who doesn’t have Facebook know.”
To spread the word, Gerdmann has been setting up fliers around the city.
Although she is still hoping to make more people aware of the market, so far, she said, “it’s been phenomenal.”
“The word is getting out there, and I’m just really happy that we got a new one going — that was my main thing. . . The food from grocery stores isn’t as fresh as someone who puts their heart and soul into a garden and goes to farmers markets—the nutrients in fresh-picked stuff is better than getting it at the grocery store.”
Anybody interested in becoming a vendor at the Algoma Farmers Market can contact Jessica Gerdmann by emailing [email protected].


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The Singapore-based VC is building up its Southeast Asia portfolio with new and old startups in ecommerce, marketplaces, and mobile services.
startups in malaysia
Could the startup also alleviate vehicle insurance companies’ headaches?
The Malaysian startup curates tech people and lets recruiters compete in a weekly changing talent pool. It’s now building tribes in Singapore and Thailand.
Ever since Magic launched in the US and grabbed headlines, startups around the world have been evolving and adapting the idea of a mobile butler service.
Being based in London, there is always some surprise in the finance community when I start my speech talking about Malaysia. I guess they expect me to promote t...
The company will use the funds from Shanghai-based Gobi Partners to establish offices outside its home market Malaysia and neighboring Singapore.
Wobb offers users a peek into what they’ll likely experience in their new workplace.
Slurp’s iPad point-of-sale system allows food retailers to manage their menu and store sales information in the cloud.
Users share updates, photos, and links, just like they do on Facebook. But on Gaption, they’re monetizing their time.
Malaysia-based automotive portal Carsome today announced it has raised US$350,000 in seed funding.
“It’s like a man riding a lion. People think, ‘This guy’s brave.’ And he’s thinking, ‘How the hell did I get on a lion, and how do I keep from getting eaten?” T...
Speedrent connects landlords directly with renters for faster and less costly transactions.
500 Startups and Malaysian partner MaGIC unveil the first batch of seven startups that will undergo the 10-week Distro Dojo growth program in Cyberjaya.
Hi TIA Community, I’m Cheryl Yeoh, an entrepreneur “on hiatus” and CEO of the Malaysian Global Innovation & Creativity Centre (MaGIC). MaGIC is an agency mandat...
This first batch is comprised of 52 startups focusing on ASEAN and 25 social enterprises that will build their businesses in Cyberjaya over the next four months...
It’s been more than half a year since I hailed AgilityIO as one of the top 18 Malaysian startups poised to breakout in 2015. Now that I’ve joined this rocket sh...
Consumers might perceive them as simple convenience, but on the flipside, these apps can and do dramatically improve the livelihood of vendors.
The Malaysian startup wants to take advantage of the rapid growth it has seen in the past year.


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McLane integrates Volvo EVs into Southern California operations
McLane company, one of the nation’s largest private fleets, will incorporate three Volvo VNR electric trucks into its operations. The battery-electric Class 8s will deliver goods to grocery stores in the Los Angeles metro area. By FleetOwner Staff
Volvo Trucks North America customer McLane Company is taking delivery of three Volvo VNR Electric trucks to provide zero-tailpipe emission deliveries in Southern California. The Volvo VNR Electric trucks are the first Class 8 electric tractors that will be on the road for McLane and will operate on the highways and city streets of the Los Angeles metropolitan area, transporting products to customers, including convenience and grocery stores. McLane is No. 58 on FleetOwner’s 500 Top Private Fleets.
“McLane is a dedicated environmental partner supporting its customers in their sustainability goals and aligning well with Volvo Trucks’ own commitment to quieter cities, cleaner air, and efficient, sustainable transport,” said Peter Voorhoeve, president, Volvo Trucks North America. “The adoption of battery-electric trucks continues to expand in Southern California and our dealer partner TEC Equipment has been invaluable in providing support to customers as they begin their electromobility journey.”
See also: FleetOwner 500: Top Private Fleets of 2022 at https://www.fleetowner.com/research/document/21239648/fleetowner-500-top-private-fleets-of-2022
Through McLane Grocery and McLane Foodservice, McLane operates more than 80 distribution centers and one of the nation’s largest private fleets. The company buys, sells, and delivers more than 50,000 different consumer products to nearly 110,000 locations across the nation. As part of its Green Advantage initiative, McLane has made operational changes to reduce its environmental impact and increase efficiency.
The three VNR Electric trucks McLane is integrating into its fleet feature Volvo Trucks’ adaptive-loading system, which is designed to improve energy efficiency. The adaptive-loading system switches automatically between 6×2 and 4×2 drive-axle configurations using a forward axle that lifts tires off the ground when a trailer is empty, nearly empty, or carrying a light load.
McLane’s Volvo VNR Electric trucks have an operational range of up to 275 miles and were designed as sustainable transportation for fleet operators looking to decarbonize their distribution, supporting local and regional pickup and delivery, and food and beverage distribution. To support its new battery-electric trucks, McLane has installed a 62.5 kW charging infrastructure that includes two ChargePoint Express 250 Stations.
See also: Volvo Trucks to build charging corridor in California for electric vehicles at https://www.fleetowner.com/emissions-efficiency/article/21246660/volvo-trucks-california-electrified-charging-corridor-project-electric-vehicle-infrastructure
“We are excited to add these new battery-electric tractors to our fleet,” said Tony Frankenberger, CEO, McLane Company. “McLane is committed to improving the communities we serve and to exemplify the innovation and leadership needed to help our customers meet sustainability goals with the adoption of zero-tailpipe emission battery-electric vehicles.”
Volvo Trucks national accounts electromobility team consulted with McLane to determine ideal routes for the Volvo VNR Electric, based on vehicle range, ideal charging opportunities, and duty cycle. TEC Equipment’s Fontana location will be the servicing dealer.
The three trucks are part of the SWITCH-ON project, a grant to Volvo Trucks to deploy battery-electric trucks in Southern California for regional freight distribution and drayage. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Targeted Air Shed Grant Program is providing the funding, supplemented by the South Coast AQMD for charging infrastructure, to improve air quality in the region.


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Jumbo and Coop have announced how they will split the Emté supermarkets they have acquired. 79 will go to Jumbo and 51 will become Coop supermarkets.
Earlier this month, supermarket firms Jumbo and Coop announced they would acquire Sligro Food Group’s underperforming Emté supermarkets together. They signed a 410 million euro sales agreement with Sligro Food Group, which not only included the 130 Emté stores (for 275 million euro), but also its distribution center in Kapelle and Putten, its meat factory in Enschede and its supporting divisions in Veghel.
Both supermarket companies have now informed the stores who will be their future employer: Jumbo will transform 66 stores and 13 franchise stores into Jumbo stores and Coop will do the same for 30 stores and 21 franchise stores. The deal has not yet been finalized, because the Autoriteit Consument en Markt (ACM, Authority Consumer and Market) still has to approve the deal in the upcoming months and Sligro’s pending advice from its board.
Expectations are that the transition and transformation will be finalized sometime in 2019. Every store is located in the Netherlands, but Jumbo announced last week it would like to open about thirty stores in Belgium next year.


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So last month Concept Design Productions contacted me about its "Holy Cow, It's A Free Set" Contest, where one of the company's existing clients gets free set rentals. Sure enough, the company has announced its first winner. Jason Wanderer from Precision Event Group in Beverly Hills, CA took the first booty.
Concept Design says if you're a client, you're already entered. If not, "any order from a podium to a super-sized set will enter you to win," according to the contest rules. I say, who can't use something free these days?


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It seems like the release date of Samsung Galaxy Note 5 is confirmed. A report has claimed that the much-awaited device would be unveiled in the second week of August before releasing it to the stores 10 days later.
The South Korean electronics giant is yet to make any official announcement on its upcoming Galaxy Note 5, but SamMobile has reported, citing insiders, that the device would be announced on 12 August and released on 21 August.
The report came after Wall Street Journal reported that Samsung was planning to release Galaxy Note 5 in August instead of the usual autumn launch.
Reports of an early launch will surprise many, as Samsung has the tradition of releasing its Note devices, including the current Galaxy Note 4, at the IFA event in Berlin. It was earlier reported that the device would be unveiled on the said event, which is scheduled to begin on 4 September.
Interestingly, SamMobile also reported that the purported Galaxy S6 edge Plus would be launched as Galaxy S6 Edge+ along with Galaxy Note 5.
According to reports, Samsung might launch two Note 5 variants - Galaxy Note 5 codenamed Project Noble with flat screen, and the Galaxy Note 5 Edge codenamed Project Zero 2 with dual-edge curved screen. It is expected to come with features like a 5.4-inch or 5.5-inch Super AMOLED display, Exynos 7422 processor, 16GB internal storage and 4GB RAM, 16mp main camera and 8mp front-snapper, and 4,100mAh battery.
SamMobile has reported citing sources that Galaxy Note 5 (SM-N920) would sport a 5.67-inch Super AMOLED display with flat and 2,560x1,440 pixels screen, and come in four colours - black, gold, silver and white. It also reported that the device could come with a glass back, hinting that it might not feature removable battery and microSD card slot.
Know Your Mobile has reported that the device will be powered by a strong processor called high-density EPOP memory that "combines 3GB LPDDR3 DRAM, 32GB eMMC (embedded multi-media card) and a controller."


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The growth prospects for the EU have been revised sharply downwards after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine put paid to hopes of a strong and sustained recovery from Covid-19 over the next two years.
Rocketing energy prices as a result of the conflict have pushed up inflation and increased economic headwinds during a period when they were expected to subside, the European Commission said in its latest forecasts.
The commission now expects 2022 growth of 2.7% in the 19-nation euro area and the broader 27-country EU – down from a forecast of 4% three months ago.
But it said a complete cut in supplies of Russian gas would shave a further 2.5 points off growth – bringing the economy to a virtual standstill this year.
With many European countries heavily dependent on Russian energy exports, growth is expected to slow further next year – to 2.3% in the EU and the euro area.
Inflation, already at its highest in the euro area since the creation of the single currency more than two decades ago, is expected to average 6.1% this year, up from 3.5% in the last set of commission predictions in February. EU-wide inflation is expected to average 6.8%. Inflation would average close to 10% in the event of a Russian gas ban, the commission said.
“The outlook for the EU economy before the outbreak of the war was for a prolonged and robust expansion. But Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has posed new challenges, just as the Uunion had recovered from the economic impacts of the pandemic,” it said in a statement.
The fastest growing countries in the EU this year are expected to be Portugal, at 5.8%, and Ireland (5.4%), with Estonia (1%), Germany and Finland (both 1.6%) forecast to be the weakest.
Valdis Dombrovskis, an EU trade commissioner, said: “There is no doubt that the EU economy is going through a challenging period due to Russia’s war against Ukraine, and we have downgraded our forecast accordingly.
“The overwhelming negative factor is the surge in energy prices, driving inflation to record highs and putting a strain on European businesses and households. While growth will continue this year and next, it will be much more subdued than previously expected. Uncertainty and risks to the outlook will remain high as long as Russia’s aggression continues.”
News of the gloomier outlook for the EU came in after signs of a rapid slowing in the world’s second biggest economy, China.
Analysts had pencilled in an annual decline in retail sales of 6% in April as a result of lockdowns and falling consumer confidence but official figures showed the fall was almost twice as big at just over 11%.
The closure of factories meant industrial production fell by 2.9% year on year in April – the biggest fall since the early months of the pandemic in 2020. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate – a closely watched indicator by the Chinese authorities – rose from 5.8% to 6.1%.
Iris Pang, an analyst at ING, said she expected China’s gross domestic product – a measure of its growth rate – to be 1% lower in the second quarter of 2022 than a year earlier.
“The main reason is the long lockdown in Shanghai,” Pang said. “This hurt retail sales the most, and also those factories that do not have ‘closed-loop operation’; if they don’t have dormitories for workers, they struggle to operate.”


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DES PLAINES, Ill., Oct. 19, 2016 — As Halloween approaches, there may be more than ghouls, gremlins and witches canvassing the landscape. How many car thieves will also be prowling the nation’s streets this Halloween disguised as trick-or-treaters as they case neighborhoods for their next target?
The National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) has been analyzing and reporting on vehicle theft activity for over 100 years. While we’ve published hundreds of reports about vehicle theft over the years, this is the first time we have approached the topic to see what effect, if any, Halloween has on vehicle theft.
To purchase a LoJack Stolen Vehicle Recovery System visit our online store at https://www.lojack.com/Products/Stolen-Vehicle-Recovery-System.
Get our best recovery stories delivered fresh weekly. Click here to subscribe to this blog.


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Oh goody. Japanese newspaper Mainichi Shinbun and SEGA have a made a DS game. Called Mainichi Shibun 1000 Dai News, it's a quiz game developed for the paper's 135th Anniversary and tests players news knowledge about things like sports, society and fashion over the past 100 plus years. The reply value on this probably isn't so high, but it will be interesting to see if this game includes questions about Japan's tragic and more, well, colourful history in the past 135 years. Could be insightful! Newspaper Game [Game Watch Impress]
The DS Japanese Newspaper Game
Trending Stories Right Now
Telltale Games, makers of The Walking Dead adventure games and several other episodic series, laid off many of its developers today and may be shutting down according to messages on social media, a report by The Verge, and a Kotaku source with knowledge of the matter.
I'm going for a little trip down to Melbourne this weekend. Weekend holidays are good for the soul. But they're also good for gaming on the Switch.


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India’s first pure electric SUV - MG ZS EV participates in first-ever EV trial-run between Delhi and Agra #NHforEV2020
New Delhi, November 25, 2020: MG Motor India has participated in the first-ever EV trial run between Delhi and Agra with ZS EV. Launched as part of the Government of India’s mission to put more EVs on the road by 2020, the #NHforEV2020 Tech Trial Run was flagged off by Hon’ble Ministers including Smt. Meenakshi Lekhi, Member of Parliament - New Delhi and Chairperson – NDMC; Shri Faggan Singh Kulaste, Union Minister of State in the Ministry of Steel and General Shri Bipin Singh Rawat, Chief of Defence Staff (PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, YSM, SM, VSM, ADC) among other senior dignitaries from the government.
The trial run conducted by #NHforEV2020 aims to test the viability of Yamuna Expressway as an e-corridor for public EV transit. The trial run primarily focuses on the charging infrastructure as well as roadside assistance services along the popular tourist route.
Commenting on the launch of the EV Tech Trial Run from Delhi to Agra, Mr. Rajeev Chaba, President and Managing Director, MG Motor India, said “We are proud to participate in the first-ever tech trial run from Delhi to Agra with the ZS EV. With its commendable range of 340 kilometers on a single charge, vehicles such as ZS EV are ideal for Delhi-Agra commutes. We would like to thank #NHforEV2020 for bringing together senior government leaders, EV players, and local supply chain stakeholders to nurture and build the EV ecosystem in India. We believe that charging infrastructure across India’s national highways will create the right awareness among consumers and help solve the range-related concerns. At MG, we feel proud to have pioneered the EV ecosystem in India with a robust 5-way charging network. We are also actively forging partnerships with key charging enablers such as Tata Power and Exicom to further expand the EV ecosystem of India.”
MG’s 5-way EV charging ecosystem includes free-of-cost AC fast-charger installation at its customer’s home/office, extended charging network along key routes, and charge-on-the-go facility with Roadside Assistance. The British legacy automaker’s 60 kW Agra charging station is in line with this ecosystem. It can be used by any EV compatible with CCS/CHAdeMO fast-charging standards.
MG had launched ZS EV in India in January 2020 and has retailed more than 1,000 units despite lockdown across the country. In addition to its overwhelming looks, the powerful electric vehicle can zoom from 0 to 100 kmph in 8.5 seconds. It can further charge from 0% to 80% in 50 minutes. The vehicle comes in two variants, i.e. Excite and Exclusive, as well as three colours White, Red, and Copenhagen Blue. It is now available in 21 cities across the nation including Agra starting at INR 20.88 lakhs (ex-showroom Agra).
About MG Motor India
Founded in the UK in 1924, Morris Garages vehicles were world-famous for their sports cars, roadsters, and cabriolet series. MG vehicles were much sought after by many celebrities, including the British Prime Ministers and even the British Royal Family, for their styling, elegance, and spirited performance. The MG Car Club, set up in 1930 at Abingdon in the UK, has thousands of loyal fans, making it one of the world’s largest clubs for a car brand. MG has evolved into a modern, futuristic, and innovative brand over the last 96 years. Its state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Halol, Gujarat, has an annual production capacity of 80,000 vehicles and employs nearly 2,500 professionals. Driven by its vision of CASE (Connected, Autonomous, Shared, and Electric) mobility, the cutting-edge automaker has augmented the across-the-board ‘experiences’ within the automobile segment today. It has introduced several ‘firsts’ in India including India’s first Internet SUV – MG Hector, India’s first Pure Electric Internet SUV – MG ZS EV, and India’s first Autonomous (Level 1) Premium SUV – MG Gloster.