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After years of trying to get the Swap Shop to stop traders selling counterfeit products, luxury brand Louis Vuitton told jurors Tuesday it finally resorted to filing a civil suit against the owners of the massive Lauderhill flea market.
The ritzy designer company wants jurors in federal court in Fort Lauderdale to find Preston and Betty Henn liable and order them and their business to pay millions of dollars in penalties.
Louis Vuitton wants to punish the Henns, multimillionaires in their 80s, for being unable to do something that even the $30 billion brand has found impossible: eliminate designer knockoffs and stop the criminals who make and sell them, the defense told the jury in opening statements.
"It's impossible," defense lawyer Steven Osber said. "The Swap Shop tries its best to stop the sale of counterfeits. They're just not perfect at it. Nobody is. Not even Louis Vuitton."
Nobody is accusing the Henns, or the Swap Shop, of selling designer knockoffs.
But Louis Vuitton says the Henns, who work long hours and impose stringent rules at the flea market, deliberately turned a blind eye to traders who sold fake Louis Vuitton purses, wallets and luggage.
After 10 years of sending undercover buyers to purchase designer knockoffs, repeatedly writing letters to Preston Henn asking him to shut offenders down, and cooperating with federal and local law enforcement raids, Louis Vuitton lawyer Harry Schafer said little had changed at the Swap Shop.
Schafer said the blame lies with the Henns and said their motive to ignore the counterfeiting problem is simple: "Cold, hard cash."
Though the Henns and their corporations don't sell the fakes, they profit from continuing to lease space to traders who they know, or should know, are still selling counterfeits, the Louis Vuitton lawyers said. The couple also makes money by renting parking spaces, selling food and drinks, and providing other services to customers who buy knockoffs, he said.
In one day in December 2010, the Broward Sheriff's Office seized 1,377 counterfeit Louis Vuitton items at the market, according to evidence in the case.
The fashion house, founded in Paris in 1854, wants to aggressively protect its many trademark designs and products, which Schafer said are extremely valuable.
Showing jurors a genuine Louis Vuitton brown leather handbag that sells for about $900, Schafer pointed out several of the brand's exclusive trademarks.
The civil lawsuit accuses the Henns of contributing to the violation of Louis Vuitton's trademarks for about four years between 2010 and 2014. If they are found liable, the Henns could face fines of between $1,000 and $2 million for each proven trademark violation.
Just one handbag can carry as many as 23 trademarks, the lawyers said, so the stakes are high for the Henns.
But fighting counterfeiting isn't just about protecting the company's "crown jewels," Schafer said.
The manufacture and sale of knockoffs helps to fund organized crime, promotes the use of child labor in foreign countries and creates defective, low-quality and potentially dangerous products that undermine the value of the genuine product, he said.
Schafer compared the counterfeiting problem at the Swap Shop to a pirate ship, sailing under the flea market's flag and controlled by "Captain Preston Henn and his First Mate Betty Henn."
But Osber and Bruce Rogow said the flea market — which covers the space of 60 football fields and has operated for about 50 years — is more like a diverse garden that provides opportunities for entrepreneurs to grow their small businesses.
Just like all gardens, bugs and weeds —or counterfeiters and violators — pop up from time to time, the defense said.
"You can't eliminate all of the bugs and all of the weeds," Osber said.
The defense wants jurors to find that the Henns did everything they reasonably could to try to weed out counterfeiters.
Though Preston Henn has a "quirky and petulant" personality that sometimes rubbed Louis Vuitton the wrong way, Rogow said the Henns gained nothing when they tried and failed to eliminate the counterfeiting problem at the flea market.
Rogow urged jurors to find that there were just a few counterfeiters selling a relatively small number of counterfeits among the thousands of honest vendors and millions of products sold there every day.
The Henns say they have cooperated with law enforcement, taken special training to try to learn how to discern between genuine products and fakes, and put warnings on signs and admission tickets warning vendors not to sell counterfeits.
Though vendors could legally sell used, secondhand genuine Louis Vuittons, Preston Henn eventually banned the sale of any item that even looked like a Louis Vuitton because of the unwanted hassle, the defense said.
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Rogow suggested that Louis Vuitton might want to do more than just "preying upon Mr. Henn," inviting jurors to consider why the company didn't sue the vendors themselves or the people who made the fakes.
Rogow urged jurors to look for any evidence that Louis Vuitton had ever successfully prosecuted criminal charges against any of the makers and sellers of counterfeits at the Swap Shop or filed civil lawsuits against the actual offenders.
He suggested the jury consider if Louis Vuitton should be allowed to hold the Henns liable for the actions of people who have not been brought to justice for their own alleged offenses.
email@example.com, 954-356-4533 or Twitter @SentinelPaula


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"And while there were many tempting "Q" desserts out there, we think that at version 10 and 2.5 billion active devices, it was time to make this change".
Google also stated that users who aren't familiar with the naming convention - which is probably the majority of Android users - were finding it hard to understand whether their phone is running the latest version. We all speculated endlessly about what the next name would be, and how it would be depicted in the new statue on Google's campus that came with each release. The company's upcoming Android release, Android Q, will simply be called Android 10.
Google is also making some changes to the Android logo, with this announcement.
Google announced this morning that it's done with Android desserts and will refer to new Android releases by number going forward. For instance, in some languages - Google notes - Lollipop was a hard one, because L and R aren't easily distinguishable.
Everyone, welcome Android Q's final form: Android 10.
What this means is that when someone heard the Android Lollipop it was not always clear in these dialects that it was the Android version after Kitkat. The color palette now includes shades of blue, as well as orange and chartreuse, while the new font is a bit slimmer and more professional - sort of like the Product Sans typeface Google has been using as of late across its Pixel phones and numerous services. The Android robot has been the company mascot since the very first release.
Google is also changing the logo for Android, keeping the head and switch to black for the actual Android name.
Part of the branding change is to drop the use of desserts in alphabetical order to represent each new version.
The candies and desserts used as names in some previous releases are also not regarded as popular treats in many parts of the globe, Google said.
If the new, monotonous naming contention is able to boost user adoption and curb Android's massive fragmentation problem, well then, bring it on. It's a lighter, more blue green than the slightly-radioactive Android green of years past, and I like it.

domain: news


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Patriot Care announced that it will open Franklin County’s first medical marijuana dispensary to qualifying patients on Monday, April 30, 2018 ...
The licensing system just launched last week in Massachusetts. Applications could be submitted in-person and online. The state has already received ...
Officials in Milford don’t want a retail marijuana shop on every street corner. City officials have imposed a ban on new ...
Recreational marijuana stores will be able to open later in 2018. Meanwhile, regulators have decided to wait on a couple of ...
The Summit Club opened its doors over the weekend and is already raising a lot of eyebrows. Members pay a $50/mo ...
Two state representatives are hoping to make Massachusetts the first marijuana sanctuary state by filing a bill that bans state and ...
Jim Borghesani of Massachusetts Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) believes the state will be ready to go with recreational marijuana sales on ...
Marijuana users successfully rolled a 1,000 gram joint measuring 100-feet long at the Harvest Cup Festival. Several participants spent months training ...
Moratoriums and bans went up across the state of Massachusetts after voters chose to legalize recreational marijuana. But not all of ...
The Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources has a job to fill: Marijuana Inspector. The job would include enforcing cultivation rules. The ...


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Nokia, Tata among most trusted brands in India
Four out of the top five most trusted brands in India are international brands, reveals the 2nd edition of ‘Brand Trust Report’
Around the world, total amount spent on brand communication in the year 2011 stood at approximately $1 trillion. But how much of this expenditure is actually contributing to brand loyalty and brand trust? Which are the brands that are trusted the most by consumers today and why? The second edition of ‘Brand Trust Report’, released by Trust Research Advisory (TRA), a company dedicated to understanding and simplifying concepts related to trust, answers these questions and more.
Nokia has retained the top slot as the most trusted brand in India, though the company has been constantly losing out to competitors like Samsung, Sony, Apple and others in terms of sales. Tata has retained its second position. Others that appear in the top 10 list include LG, Samsung, Sony, Maruti Suzuki, Bajaj, Life Insurance Corporation of India, Airtel and Reliance. While most of the top 10 list remains identical as last year, most noteworthy changes in the report this year are Bajaj’s entry at the seventh position and Sony sliding back to No. 5 from No. 3 last year.
Time to Learn
Four out of the top five slots are occupied by international brands. Is there learning for Indian brands here? Yes, said N Chandramouli, CEO, Trust Research Advisory, adding, “All these international brands have come to India barely a decade ago and have dominated the mind space of consumers. Not only are they providing world class products, but have also developed a great amount of trust among their users, which is very important for any brand today.”
Out of the top 1,000 Most Trusted Brands, four categories that stand out are Food & beverage (109 brands), Consumer Products (97 brands), Auto/ auto related (83 brands) and Banking, Financial Services & Insurance (BFSI) (70 brands). Together, they comprise more than 15 per cent of the total brands listed in the report.
According to the report, a copy of which is available with exchange4media, the top three most trusted brands in some of the major categories/ sub-categories include:
Food & Beverage – Pepsi, Cadbury, Parle
Telecom – Airtel, Vodafone, Idea
Appliances – LG, Samsung, Videocon
Electronics – Sony, Onida, Toshiba
Automotive – Maruti Suzuki, BMW, Hero Honda
Banking and Financial Services – Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), State Bank of India (SBI), ICICI Bank
Alcoholic Beverages - Kingfisher, Foster’s, McDowell
Education – NIIT, Aptech, IIT
Healthcare – Dabur, Johnson & Johnson, Himalaya
Internet – Google, Facebook, Yahoo
Apparels – Raymond, Lee, Levi’s
Branded Fashion – Armani, Gucci, Diesel
Consumer Products – Lux, Ponds, Dove
Retail – KFC, Big Bazaar, McDonald’s
Diversified Businesses – Tata, Bajaj, Reliance
Technology – HP, Dell, Apple
Among famous personalities, social crusader Anna Hazare tops the chart, followed by Sachin Tendulkar and then Salman Khan. Surprisingly, Shah Rukh Khan appears last in this list.
Media, which is mostly ridiculed for being biased, has its own followers. While Aaj Tak leads the Media – TV category, NDTV and Discovery occupy the second and third positions, respectively. The Times of India, Hindustan Times and Femina are the most trusted brands in Print Media.
India Vs small India
Although the research has been carried out across India, region-wise nuances are also available for brands to understand the mindset of consumers in different regions of India. the study reveals differences among statistics from all India vis-à-vis North India. To elaborate, India’s most trusted brand, Nokia, is also North India’s most trusted brand. However, India’s 2nd ranked Tata, has been ranked 6th among trusted brands of North India. The other brands that have been given the thumbs down by North India include, Titan (All India rank 12th; North India rank 31st), Vodafone (All India rank 17th; North India rank 32nd), Raymond (All India rank 21st; North India rank 33rd), and Hewlett Packard (All India rank 22nd; North India rank 37th).
Responding to how marketers could make use of the Brand Trust Report, Chandramouli said, “It is always paramount for any brand to know how it is being perceived by its consumers vis-à-vis its competitors. Apart from the Brand Trust Report, we also have specific brand reports, which gives brands a detailed analyses of stakeholders’ perceptions. These findings can help them adapt their communication and marketing strategies to gain competitive edge.”
For the record, The Brand Trust Report, India Study, 2012 is the result of a primary research based on the proprietary 61-component Trust Matrix developed by Trust Research Advisory. This year’s research was conducted among 2,718 ‘influencer’ respondents across 15 cities. The study generated nearly 2 million data points discussing 17,000 unique brands. The Indian Statistical Institute helped create a statistically robust Brand Trust Index, which has been used to hierarchically rank India’s brands on the basis of trust. Trust Research Advisory, a part of the Comniscient Group, is a company dedicated to understanding and simplifying concepts related to trust. TRA was conceived in 2008 to decipher, analyse and measure Brand Trust, to make it universally understood and easily applied.
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Provided is a weekly snapshot of the recent data security, electronic waste, and mobile technology news that HOBI’s blog reported on during the week 7/09-7/13.
At some point, you’ve probably wondered if your smartphone has been listening in on your calls or tracking and logging away all of your random google searches. And it is safe to say that you’re not alone. There has been a long-standing paranoia that our mobile devices are spying on us and researchers at Northeast University have found that yes, our smartphones are indeed spying on us, just not the way we think they are. The study shows that some apps are actually taking screenshots and screen-recordings of our activity on specific apps to send user activity data to analytic platforms. From beating the next level in Candy Crush to browsing for a new pair of sneakers, everything we do on these types of apps is being recorded, stored away, and studied.
Are you pretty strict about recycling? If you’re aiming for a perfect recycling record, one electronic waste industry expert thinks that may actually be doing more harm than good. In fact, he argues that while it is good to recycle and reuse materials, especially when it comes to e-waste, there is a need for leaks in the waste stream where virgin materials are used and then tossed into incinerators or landfills. It might not sound very eco-friendly, but the only way to find an adequate solution to the ever growing waste stream, is to begin to address the issue and generate conversation that will hopefully lead to action.
How much are you willing to spend on a new smartphone? Currently, prices are higher than they have ever been before, but mobile industry experts say that steep prices aren’t keeping consumers away. Despite multiple reports of the lack of sales for Apple’s thousand dollar iPhone X and consumers are turning towards refurbished and used devices, sales data collected by Counterpoint Research actually shows that the high-end and most expensive smartphones on the market are exactly what consumers are spending their money on.
Looking to truly go mobile and ditch your bulky laptop charger? There is nothing more aggravating than cracking open your laptop only to find that the battery is quickly depleting, which means you need to pull out your charger and find an outlet ASAP. But instead of taking your anger out on your device, ask yourself: How well am I taking care of my laptop battery? We’re willing to bet that there are a few maintenance practices that you’re overlooking. Provided are a few tips on how you can ensure that your battery is performing to its fullest potential.


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SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — John Riccitiello, CEO of Electronic Arts Inc., resigned on Monday following a bumpy six-year tenure that saw significant shifts in the videogame publisher’s business — and the industry at large.
The surprise move was announced after the closing bell, sending shares of EA
Those results figured heavily into Riccitiello’s move, according to his resignation letter filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
“This is a tough decision, but it all comes down to accountability,” Riccitiello wrote. “The progress EA has made on transitioning to digital games and services is something I’m extremely proud of. However, it currently looks like we will come in at the low end of, or slightly below, the financial guidance we issued in January, and we have fallen short of the internal operating plan we set one year ago.”
“EA’s shareholders and employees expect better and I am accountable for the miss,” he added.
EA said its board of directors has named previous CEO Larry Probst as executive chairman to lead the videogame publisher while it seeks a permanent replacement. The company said it would consider both internal and external candidates.
Colin Sebastian, videogame analyst with Robert W. Baird, told MarketWatch that Riccitiello has had a “mixed record” as CEO. He oversaw the company’s efforts to shift more of its business to digital channels that include mobile and social games. He also oversaw a restructuring that pared down the number of annual game releases at the company, with the hopes of making fewer, bigger bets.
But the company has also suffered from quality issues on several of those releases, as well as talent retention problems as several key executives bolted for social game maker Zynga
“One is always caught off guard by these changes, but it wasn’t a big surprise,” Sebastian said. “The stock has lagged, there’s been lots of turnover of management and noticeable issues with the games.”
The company’s fourth fiscal quarter, which concludes at the end of this month, includes the high-profile release of “Dead Space 3” and “Crysis 3” — sequels to two popular franchises that garnered disappointing critical scores relative to their predecessors.
Evan Wilson of Pacific Crest told MarketWatch misses over the last year were the factors weighing on EA in addition to broader industry pressures resulting from weak retail sales. He cut his estimates on EA last week, citing worries about the recent releases of the “Dead Space” and “Crysis” titles.
“This is an industry with a very tough sales environment,” Wilson said on Monday, citing the coming launch of new PlayStation and Xbox consoles expected for later this year, along with the shift to digital downloads and mobile gaming on tablets and smartphones.
“You really have to execute, and these guys haven’t done that in terms of game quality,” he added.
EA has had several other struggles over the last year. The company released “Star Wars: The Old Republic” in late 2012 as a subscription-based online multiplayer game with the hopes of challenging the popular “World of Warcraft” in the lucrative segment. But the hugely expensive game from the company’s BioWare studio failed to generate much business — leading EA to shift its business model and make the game available on a free-to-play basis in July.
Other flubs over the last year have included the disappointing release of “Medal of Honor: Warfighter” over the 2012 holiday season, which garnered low critical scores and got crushed by competing titles like “Call of Duty: Black Ops 2” from Activision
The company also pulled the plug on its pro basketball game “NBA Live 13,” citing quality issues. Though it said it plans to come back with a new basketball title this year, the move left the field wide open for rival Take-Two Interactive
Riccitiello, who is also stepping down from the board of directors, returned to EA for the top job in 2007. He had served in other high executive positions at the company before leaving in 2004 for a stint at private-equity firm Elevation Partners.
His resignation is effective on March 30. The company said in a statement that “the Board will consider internal and external candidates with the assistance of a leading executive search firm.”
Edward Woo of Ascendiant Capital told MarketWatch that he expects Peter Moore, EA’s current chief operating officer, to have the inside track for the top job. Moore has been in charge of EA’s strong sports games business. He’s been with the company since 2007, when Riccitiello recruited him from Microsoft’s Xbox business.
“He’s pretty well respected by the Street,” Woo said of Moore, adding that the company could still choose to look outside the sector.
Sebastian said Riccitiello has done many things to prepare EA for the changed game business — especially ahead of a new console cycle expected to begin this fall.
“The timing of this move makes sense,” he said. “You’re in front of the console cycle and a strong holiday slate. There’s not as much risk for a new person coming in now.”


text: U.S. and Western European businesses are seeing their online sales grow, but many of them have questions about the security of their networks, according to a survey on security confidence released Tuesday by RSA Security.U.S. and Western European businesses are seeing their online sales grow, but many of them have questions about the security of their networks, according to a survey on security confidence\u00a0released Tuesday by RSA Security.Three-quarters of businesses surveyed said they have completed more online transactions in the last year than previously, and only 1% said they saw a decline. But 67% of U.S. businesses reported some concern about the vulnerability of their networks, while 37% of businesses in the U.K., France and Germany also expressed security concerns.Results from business and consumer respondents to the survey showed a gap between security confidence and use of the Internet for transactions, said RSA in its first Internet confidence security index."The challenge for (security vendors) is figuring out how to close the gap, how to help businesses close the gap," said John Worrall, RSA's senior vice president of marketing. "What happens if this is a problem going forward and people have bad experiences?"The results suggest that both consumers and businesses believe they're taking some chances by conducting business online, said Art Coviello, RSA's president and CEO. It is "astonishing to see the extent to which both groups are willing to assume some level of risk," he said in a statement.Separately, a survey released by the Business Software Alliance (BSA) found that IT decision makers in North America and Europe have grown more concerned about security over the past two years. Seventy-eight percent of respondents in the BSA survey said they have increased the number of IT security projects, and three quarters said IT security has become a critical part of their business planning.Of the risks associated with lax information security, IT decision makers were most concerned about losing business due to system downtime, encompassing 81% of respondents. Seventy-four percent said legal compliance and liability was a concern, and 73 percent said protecting the value of the secured assets was a concern.The study, commissioned by BSA and conducted in January by Forrester Consulting, was released Tuesday at the 2006 RSA Security Conference. Forrester surveyed 410 IT decision makers in the U.S., U.K., Canada, Germany and France.In the RSA survey, 86% of U.S., U.K. and French companies consider that their online dealings are "quite," "very," or "extremely" secure, but only 64% of German business respondents felt the same way.While 49% of respondents said that confidential information is most vulnerable to theft or misuse during transmission of information, 27% of businesses cite their organization's network as a point of vulnerability.The RSA survey conducted online with 601 business respondents and 603 consumers in the U.S., U.K., Germany and France. The data was gathered in September and December 2005 by Momentum Research Group.


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This question has been a popular one for many players with Apex Legends not having any marketing build up to its release, and Respawn Entertainment itself not officially revealing it was the developer behind the latest newcomer to the battle royale genre until the very last moment.
The answer to the question of who created Apex Legends is found by looking at the developer of the Titanfall first person shooter franchise in Respawn Entertainment. It's still at the top of Twitch right now, with over 90k viewers at the time of writing, compared to Fornite's 36k, in sixth position.
Update: Something that we missed initially is that Apex also pushed past the 1 million concurrent players point. As it's also a free-to-play game, it's expected to take on Fortnite in the future - assuming the game's success continues. Whether Apex Legends will be a moneymaker is still an open question, but the positive press definitely pours some salve on the company's wounds. During its first day, the game's performance exceeded expectations and drew in over a million unique players and more.
Measles outbreak - time to get vaccinated if you are not
Unvaccinated people who may have been exposed to the virus are urged to get vaccinated, Graham said. Five of the cases involved young children, some of whom received one round of the two-part vaccine.
It's 'game on' in the 'Avengers: Endgame' Super Bowl spot
Fans on the internet believe this might mean that Thor is now hunting Thanos all by himself. But one shot of Iron Man and Nebula is now the talk of the town.
Kristaps Porzingis was 'prepared' to leave U.S. if Knicks didn't trade him
Kristaps Porzingis has hinted he envisions a long-term future with the Dallas Mavericks after being unveiled by his new franchise.
That's not an accident either, as publisher EA has purposefully courted major streamers such as Dr. Disrespect, Sacriel, TSM_Myth, and shroud with prize-funded competitions. Thank you for joining us on this journey.
It's unclear what is causing tonight's outage or how long it might affect games like Apex Legends.
We really doubt a single player mode will be added on as the studio is apparently working on a new Titanfall title for later this year.
Of course, reaching 10 million four times as fast as Fortnite is no small an achievement, but Apex Legends' real test will be in the weeks to come.


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More than ever this holiday season, the New Hampshire Food Bank needs help so it can continue on helping those in need. Cuts to aids programs and the slow economy have increased the need to 10-percent according to officials with the food bank. Another blow was having so many grocery stores shutting down across the state, stores which were once a major source of donations. Food bank director Melanie Gosselin is calling this their most challenging year.
A look back on some of Hollywood's most memorable headlines.
Colbie Caillat celebrated her 30th birthday with an engaged to her musician boyfriend.
Find out what you should watch this weekend and get a sneak peak at what's being added next month.
"San Andreas" is so over the top, Michael Bay might find it excessive.
in Viral Videos
Injured playing football in 2010, Christopher Norton walked across the stage with help from his new fiancée.
High: 88° - Low: 66°


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Basildon-based EDG Group has taken over fellow TPN member Enterprise Freight and Transport Services. The group, which joined TPN in September 2017, has bought Enterprise’s assets, customer base and goodwill, but not the Enterprise name. The deal also sees all 31 Enterprise employees transfer to EDG Group as well as a fleet of 15 trucks and seven trailers which will take on the EDG Group livery. As a result of the acquisition EDG Group, which covers areas in the CM […]
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is looking at ways to reduce maximum pallet weights to 750kg in order to cut the risk of injuries to drivers making tail lift deliveries.
Eddie Stobart Logistics has seen its group turnover surge by more than a third thanks to a shopping spree that has seen it buy iForce, half of Speedy Freight and The Pallet Network (TPN).


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The latest game settings update for Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 has gone live courtesy of Treyarch, the games
By Steven Cropley
Treyarch has unveiled and released their January 22 Update to Call of Duty: Black Ops 4. The team has
Following up on January 15th's big update, Treyarch has released another large patch to the game, this time including
Treyarch has released its 1.10 & PC title update for Call of Duty: Black ops 4 today.
The update includes armor
The biggest update of them all, v1.09 of Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 packs a punch for the PC
With the new Operation Absolute Zero going live for Call of Duty" Black Ops 4 PlayStation 4 players, there is
A day before the Operation Absolute Zero event, Treyarch has released update 1.09. The patch brings changes across all three
Treyarch has finally given the public information regarding the big update to Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 that's been
Treyarch has released another update to Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 in the form of a PC update.
Treyarch has rolled out an update for Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 with a focus on the multiplayer and
Treyarch has added the new Seaside Sunset and Firing Range Night maps as part of the November 27 update to


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Researchers at the University of Southern California, led by Professor Chongwu Zhou, replaced graphite with porous silicon nanoparticles in anodes of lithium-ion batteries to come up with a new design. The battery, which could be available in two to three years, has a longer life and charges more quickly than lithium-ion batteries used now. (Source: Mingyuan Ge & Chongwu Zhou/USC)
I'm confused. Although the title says that a longer-lasting battery was invented, the story says "Another weakness in the design is that the battery's lifespan isn't as long as traditional graphite-based design".
There is a lot of innovation happening in the battery space at the moment and, in my opinion, it couldn't come at a better time. If you think about it, while so much other technology has evolved in leaps and bounds, batteries historically have been very slow to evolve yet we are still quite dependent on them to power all of our gadgets and devices. The idea of a longer-lasting battery that can recharge so quickly is a welcome innovation in this space.
If you see a hitchhiker along the road in Canada this summer, it may not be human. That’s because a robot is thumbing its way across our neighbor to the north as part of a collaborative research project by several Canadian universities.
Stanford University researchers have found a way to realize what’s been called the “Holy Grail” of battery-design research -- designing a pure lithium anode for lithium-based batteries. The design has great potential to provide unprecedented efficiency and performance in lithium-based batteries that could substantially drive down the cost of electric vehicles and solve the charging problems associated with smartphones.
Robots in films during the 2000s hit the big time; no longer are they the sidekicks of nerdy character actors. Robots we see on the big screen in recent years include Nicole Kidman, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Eddie Murphy. Top star of the era, Will Smith, takes a spin as a robot investigator in I, Robot. Robots (or androids or cyborgs) are fully mainstream in the 2000s.
Focus on Fundamentals consists of 45-minute on-line classes that cover a host of technologies. You learn without leaving the comfort of your desk. All classes are taught by subject-matter experts and all are archived. So if you can't attend live, attend at your convenience.


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THE British Retail Consortium (BRC) and Google are tomorrow set to reveal plans for a new quarterly report which will monitor online retail sales.
John Gillan, Google’s senior industry retail head, will unveil the BRC – Google Online Retail Monitor (ORM) tomorrow.
The ORM will measure traffic for the part of the retail sector operating online.
It will report changes and trends in the numbers of unique visitors to retail websites, comparing the performance of online-only retailers with those who also run stores.
There will be a geographical breakdown of online activity and the growth of smartphone retail traffic will also be measured.
A ranking of the most popular retail search terms will show current consumer trends.
Online is by far the fastest growing section of UK retailing but online retail data has not been issued in this way before.
The ORM will be published for the first time in mid-April.
“The tool will be able to quantify the growing traffic to the fast-changing retail industry, as well as establish key trends and determine retail hot spots for online traffic.
“As the most advanced e-commerce country in the world, the ORM can further drive the UK retail economy,” Gillan is expected to say in his speech tomorrow to the BRC’s Multi-Channel Retail Conference.
The BRC – KPMG Retail Sales Monitor already produces a report on online spending and the new monitor is designed to complement it.


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Awake, Denver’s first “sober” bar, will be temporarily closing, according to owner Billy Wynne.
August 21 will be the bar’s last day of business for now, but Wynne said it won’t be the last time Awake’s doors open to customers.
“We’re excited to press pause and figure out a new approach that’ll be best for Awake in the long run,” Wynne said. “We have a lot of new ideas…and we just need a bigger space, bigger team and honestly more capital to really build out these new opportunities.”
Wynne and his wife Christy opened Awake in November 2020. The coffee shop and bar is currently in Jefferson Park at 2240 Clay St. on the ground level of the RiverClay Condominiums.
Wynne said the main reason for the temporary closure is the need for a new and bigger location. Awake’s current location is on the smaller side, both in the front of the house and in the back. Wynne said the size of the kitchen limits what Awake can serve patrons. With the residents above, Awake also had to closely monitor noise levels.
The couple hopes their new space is large enough to accommodate more people for live shows and other events. They also hope to have a separate space to sell and showcase their products, like a boutique bottle shop. Besides the size of the bar, they want the location to be in an area with more foot traffic and better parking.
But first, Wynne said they’re looking for investors to help fund the endeavor and to assist in operations.
“We’re not necessarily A-List restaurateurs,” Wynne said. “I’m probably not the right person to optimize the bar and restaurant experience at Awake…You have to be really nailing in every aspect of the business to thrive… and that’s what we want! That’s part of the purpose for this pause. The core purpose is we do think we need a different space to accommodate these different features but we also need new leadership and new investment to make Awake all it can be.”
In 2019, the Wynnes realized that their relationship with alcohol was no longer viable, so they decided to get sober, right around the time Heineken released a non-alcoholic beer. Soon, they noticed that a sober community was forming as more and more non-alcoholic products appeared in stores. So the couple decided to open Awake.
The Wynnes previously said some of their products, such as their tequilas and wine, mimic the taste of their alcoholic counterparts, while some of their drinks are herbal mixes. During the day, Awake serves coffee from Queen City Collective Coffee and baked goods from Aspen Baking Company.
The bar had a slow start due to the pandemic. The Wynnes officially opened Awake in November 2020, but they mainly focused on the coffee and bottle shop portion of the business. In May 2021, they officially opened the bar, becoming Denver’s first and only “sober” bar. Wynne said since the opening, Awake has fostered some loyal and spirited patrons.
“We’re very passionate about normalizing alcohol-free living,” Wynne said. “Whether people are in recovery or they are choosing to drink less or not at all for health reasons or well being reasons…we take a lot of pride in how we’ve supported this broad community and we really want this to continue.”
However, Awake isn’t immune to what most businesses are dealing with in terms of inflation and staffing issues. But again, Wynne said the operational side of the bar and restaurant, along with the space, is what’s really holding Awake back.
It’s unclear when Awake will reopen. Wynne said once investors are secured, they can begin looking for either a new space to build out or an existing space to change. He said ideally he’d love to be open for dry January, but the Wynne’s don’t want to rush things.
“You need a lot of different tools in the kit to succeed,” Wynne said. “We have to be flexible in the nearterm… We’re hopeful things will fall into place soon but we have to let things be what they’re going to be. We’re going to take our time to make sure we have the right pieces in place to come back better than before.”
Until the closing date, the entire bar and the bottle shop merchandise will be 40 percent off.
Wynne said all of the August calendar events will still go on, including a live concert on August 20 in partnership with The Phoenix, a gym that promotes sobriety through physical wellness.
Another event, in partnership with Mobilize Recovery and Shamebooth, on September 9, will also still take place.
“For Christy and I, we are so incredibly grateful for the warmth and the openness and the enthusiasm that the Denver community has embraced Awake with,” Wynne said. “So many people have enjoyed the welcomeness and the inclusivity and belonging of this space where there’s no alcohol. Whatever happens, that’s made all of this infinitely worthwhile. We’re taking this pause to make sure we can come back and give the community what it deserves, the best possible alcohol-free bar that we can create.”


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- Service and sales support for affected Honda car owners from Kerala
- 50 per cent discount on labour and 10 per cent discount on parts
- Exchange support for flood-affected cars of Honda and non-Honda customers
As part of customer welfare initiatives, Honda has announced extensive service and sales support to its customers through its dealership network in Kerala. Honda Cars India Ltd. (HCIL) will offer 50 per cent discount on labour and 10 per cent discount on parts on the customer liability for repair of Honda vehicles which are damaged in the floods. Moreover, the company claims that the well-trained technicians and service advisors at the dealerships in Kerala will extend full support to customers, who are still trying to rebuild their lives.
Interestingly, the company has extended sales support by offering an additional exchange support for flood-affected cars for both Honda and non-Honda customers. An additional loyalty support is also offered to Honda customers for their flood effected total loss cars. The company states that the special support measures are being offered over and above normal consumer scheme in the market.
Speaking on the occasion, Rajesh Goel, Sr. Vice President and Director, Sales and Marketing, Honda Cars India Ltd. said, “Honda Cars India Ltd expresses its solidarity with the people of Kerala as they try to rebuild their lives after the devastating floods. As a measure of our support to our customers in Kerala, whose vehicles have been damaged by flood waters, we will offer full sales and service support to them. Special teams of service advisors and technical experts have been set-up to coordinate insurance claim and repair. These pro-active measures will significantly reduce lead-time for various services and repair.”


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IIT Kharagpur is exploring the possibility of using a platform developed by a group of researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, that can be freely used for designing semiconductor chips.
In the foreseeable future, Digital India will need application-specific chips in every conceivable domain but today only a handful of companies have the ability to design integrated circuits (IC).
Inspired by the success of open source software, SiFive, a US-based company, aims to change the ecosystem of chip design by promoting OpenSilicon – a platform where pre-designed open source components can be stitched together to design customised ICs.
The OpenSilicon platform already provides the open source RISC-V processor developed by the researchers at UC Berkeley.
To read more, please visit: https://www.telegraphindia.com/calcutta/platform-for-chip-designing-259209.


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From Niche to Mainstream: The Rise of OTT
The cord cutting revolution is officially here. According to eMarketer, the number of adults who will cancel a pay TV service is projected to rise to 39.3 million this year and rise to 55.1 million by 2020.
Now that streaming service subscriptions are on par with traditional distribution, over-the-top (OTT) platform usage has emerged beyond Millennial consumers. Gen X and Baby Boomers are increasingly adopting OTT services.
With viewers of all ages embracing streaming as their main source of TV content, we put together the most important findings from newly released data about OTT that will impact and shape the industry.
OTT in a Nutshell
OTT refers to devices that go over a cable box to give user access to content on TV. The content can be streamed directly through the internet to a consumer’s digital device (such as a laptop or smartphone) or to a connected device (such as a smart TV). Most importantly, it doesn’t mandate a traditional cable subscription.
Generally, OTT runs on at least one of three main business platforms: TVOD, SVOD, and AVOD.
TVOD (Transactional Video on Demand): Think iTunes or Google Play. With transactional VOD, consumers pay for individual pieces of content.
SVOD (Subscription Video on Demand): Think Netflix or Hulu. With subscription-based VOD, users pay a set monthly price in exchange for unlimited access to a streaming service’s video library
AVOD (Advertising Video on Demand): Think YouTube or The CW app. Advertising VOD offers free content in exchange for watching commercials.
While these have been the most common VOD platforms to-date, recent data suggests there’s room for new business models
From Niche to Mainstream
OTT’s rising popularity has led to revenue on track to reach $22 billion this year. As new platforms such as Disney+ and Apple TV+ look to disrupt the industry, it begs the question—how many streaming services can the market take?
New research released last month by OpenX and The Harris Poll surveyed more than 2,000 verified U.S. adult users of OTT services, providing a comprehensive look into streaming data. The top insights for the industry in the 2019 Consumer OTT Report include:
- OTT is mainstream: More than half of all U.S. adults over 18 use at least one OTT service.
- There’s room for multiple business models: People are evenly split between wanting an ad-supported or subscription model.
- OTT is mobile first: Streamers utilize their mobile devices for more than six hours a day and watch more than two hours of mobile video each day. Even further, about one-third say screen size has no impact on how long they watch something or what they watch.
- Movies reign supreme: The top content people want are movies, then scripted TV shows.
- OTT ads are effective: 72 percent of people recall a specific OTT ad, with 40 percent actually pausing the content to go online and purchase.
- People will subscribe to more than one OTT service: The average user streams content across three devices and subscribes to three different OTT services.
Many networks are joining forces with OTT, rather than fighting against popular services. But, they’re also looking for new business models that rival the current OTT heavyweights. One thing is clear: OTT isn’t going away, and networks will have to adapt if they want to survive.
For more information on OTT—from quality assurance to proposed new companion screen architecture—download the May SMPTE Motion Imaging Journal.


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Luxury Shangri-La Hotel at top of London’s Shard fails to make profit since it opened four years ago
The luxury Shangri-La Hotel at the top of London’s Shard has failed to make a profit since it opened four years ago, company accounts reveal.
Occupying floors 34 to 52 of the tallest building in Western Europe, it features sweeping views of London landmarks, and boasts marble-clad bathrooms, butler service in its suites and an infinity pool that is 600ft above the city.
Even with a standard room rate of £399, the hotel’s occupancy was a healthy 79 per cent across the year.
High life: Shangri-La Hotel’s infinity pool (top right) is near the top of the Shard
But sky-high running costs have resulted in a total of £61.5 million in net losses since it opened in 2014. Chains usually do not reveal the performance of individual hotels as they are absorbed in overall group numbers.
But the Shard-topper is the only one in the UK run by Singapore-listed Shangri-La. The loss last year fell to £11.8 million, down £2.1 million on the previous year, the accounts say.
The report said it had seen some growth supported by a rising number of visitors attracted by a weaker pound, which made the euro and dollar-denominated tourist income stretch much further. About two-thirds of revenues are from room hire and the rest mostly from food and drink.
The accounts warn: ‘The London market continues with a high degree of uncertainty post-Brexit and remains highly competitive due to good supply of quality hotel rooms and new openings.’
Property experts Knight Frank reported in 2017 that 5,000 new hotel rooms had opened in London in the previous year.
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Sweden-based independent solar producer Etrion Cooperation has finished a 9.5MW utility-scale PV project in Japan, connecting the last two remaining sites totalling 4.2MW to the grid.
The project was finished before time and within its budget, having connected the first half in February this year. Marco A. Northland, CEO, congratulated Aomori stakeholders on a brilliant performance and expressed excitement and market potential for the company.
The Aomori solar project was built in collaboration with Japanese company Hitachi High-Technologies.
The development has four sites each with a tariff of ¥36/kWh (US$0.35) under a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with electric utility company Tohoku Electric Power. Etrion says the project is expected to produce 10.7GWh of solar electricity.
Marco A. northland added, that the company now has 43MW in full operation, 13MW under construction and over 250MW at various stages of development.
Etrion Cooperation operate installing solar systems in Chile and Japan.
Hitachi High-Technologies recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Indian firm CleanMax solar to jointly offer rooftop solar to Japanese companies across India.
Corporate credit research company Teikoku Databank recently reported that 50 companies in Japan’s solar sector had already gone out of business in the first six months of 2017.


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It has been a short while since the divorce happened between Apple and Google CEO Eric Schmidt. Even though there were murmurs about the split happening due to conflicts of interests between the two companies, there were no signs about a head on fight between the two companies. Last month, Rich Miller of Data Center Knowledge pointed us to a top secret data center project of Apple
Apple is known for keeping its new technology secret prior to launch.
So it’s not surprising that the company has had little to say about its
$1 billion data center project in North Carolina. The new iData Center
may not get the fanfare of a MacWorld keynote when it launches, but one
thing is clear: Apple plans to move quickly to the construction phase.
Ever since Apple announced about their Office SaaS Suite during the last Macworld, there were questions raised about their moves.
At the Macworld conference in San Francisco, Apple unveiled its plans to allow users to create and edit documents, spreadsheets and presentations online, and store them on central servers that can then be accessed from any computer.
Well, Cloud Computing strategy is the natural next step for Apple with the runaway success of iPhone. As it is usually the case with Apple, they are tight lipped about their Cloud plans. The information about the new datacenter, at least, confirms us that Apple is serious about the Clouds. But, we may have to wait a bit longer before we know anything worthwhile on this topic.
CultofMac has an interesting interview with Rich Miller on the topic
One of the leading theories about the size of the NC project is that Apple is planning future cloud computing services that will require lots of data center storage. Cloud computing is a hot trend, and I’d be surprised if Apple isn’t thinking hard – and thinking differently – about cloud computing. Many cloud enthusiasts say that cloud computing will eliminate the need for data centers. In reality, the only thing will change is the owner of the building. All the applications and data that are moving into the cloud will live on servers in brick-and-mortar data centers. The companies that are building the biggest data centers tend to also have the biggest cloud ambitions


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Tesla will sell solar panels and Powerwalls at Home Depot
Tesla-branded selling spaces are coming to 800 retail locations.
Amazon’s convenience store of the future makes me nervous
What do we lose when we hand over control to Amazon?
Amazon's checkout-free store opens to the public January 22nd
It took ages to arrive, but automated retail is nearly here.
Toyota introduces e-Palette, its mobile retail space
It’s a box store on wheels.
Kroger is the next grocery chain hoping to cut checkout lines
It's expanding its self-checkout scanning tech to hundreds of stores.
Google might set up Pixel 2 retail stores in India
The company is apparently happy with the performance of pop-up shops in malls around the country.
Walmart is testing personal shopping and cashier-free stores
It's trying to reach the future of retail before Amazon does.
Target acquisition brings same-day delivery to stores in early 2018
Take that, Amazon.
Pornhub's first store has a livestreaming bed camera, of course
But it's not what it sounds like.


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Texans willing to travel despite limited funds, survey says
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While the majority of Texans plan to travel this summer, a large number of them are not willing to splurge on their trips due to tight travel budgets.
A new survey from the Texas Credit Union League shows that 64.4 percent of respondents plan to take a summer vacation, and nearly 45 percent of respondents’ travel plans are identical to last year.
Texas Credit Union Foundation Executive Director Courtney Moran suggests that consumers cut leisure and entertainment expenses throughout the year to offset vacation costs.
“It’s also a good idea put money away into savings from each paycheck,” Moran said in a Thursday statement, adding that consumers can set up savings products at their local credit unions.
The Texas Credit Union League, a state trade association, serves more than 500 credit unions in Texas.
The U.S. Travel Association expects a 1.3 percent increase in both leisure trips and travel expenditures made by U.S. residents this year, the Texas Credit Union League reports. Meanwhile, a recent report from the Global Business Travel Association found that also found that U.S. business travel is expected to grow this year.
James Aldridge oversees online content of the newspaper; edits and reports stories for the online edition.
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Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) introduced the Buy Low and Sell High Act today, new legislation that creates an Economic Petroleum Reserve designed to continue the trend of falling gasoline prices and make money for American taxpayers by empowering the Department of Energy (DOE) to buy oil when prices are low and sell oil when prices are high.
Joining Pallone in introducing the bill are Energy Subcommittee Chairman Bobby L. Rush (D-IL) along with Reps. Angie Craig (D-MN), Jason Crow (D-CO), Josh Harder (D-CA), Annie Kuster (D-NH), Tom O’Halleran (D-AZ), Abigail Spanberger (D-VA), and David Trone (D-MD).
“Americans are tired of bearing the burden of our dependence on a volatile, unpredictable oil market controlled primarily by foreign dictators and adversaries. It’s time for new, innovative solutions to keep bringing prices down, and that’s where the Economic Petroleum Reserve comes in. By empowering DOE to buy oil when prices are low and sell when they are high, my bill helps us regain control of domestic gas prices and protects drivers from future price fluctuations,” said Pallone. “Not only does this bill grant DOE the flexibility it needs to keep prices falling, but it also recognizes that our reliance on fossil fuels makes us weaker, and uses the proceeds from oil sales to build out electric vehicle infrastructure. This is what a win-win looks like.”
After the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) oil embargo of 1973 – 1974, Congress created the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to insulate Americans from global oil supply disruptions. While President Biden has successfully used the SPR to lower gas prices – which have fallen more than $1.30 per gallon since June – Pallone believes new authorities are needed to ensure that OPEC and Russia cannot continue to manipulate global oil prices to the detriment of American consumers.
The Buy Low and Sell High Act gives the President the ability to better protect American consumers by designating a subset of the SPR as the “Economic Petroleum Reserve” (EPR). It grants DOE the ability to sell barrels from the EPR when prices are high, ensuring that Americans get immediate price relief instead of waiting months or years. The new EPR would consist of up to 350 million barrels of oil. DOE would have the authority to purchase oil for the EPR at prices below $60 per barrel and then could sell oil when prices exceed $90 per barrel.
In addition to creating the EPR, Pallone’s bill also:
- Establishes strategic gasoline and diesel reserves in every region of the United States, ensuring product can be deployed immediately during emergencies, such as the Colonial Pipeline malware attack;
- Prohibits barrels stored within the SPR from being exported or sold to entities owned, controlled, or influenced by China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, or any other country under U.S. sanctions;
- Reduces our reliance on foreign oil and empowers states to lead the transition to electric vehicles (EVs) by investing profits from oil sales in state EV infrastructure programs;
- Lowers gasoline prices and improves our energy security by funding improvements at oil refineries located in allied countries; and
- Ensures that the federal government leads by example and sets targets for acquiring a fully zero-emission federal vehicle fleet.
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As long as Omnicron doesn’t interfere, Record Store Day will take place on April 23 next year. Make a note in your agenda!
Record Store Day, as you may know, was created to put local record stores in the spotlight. And, of course, to bring in some extra customers for them. Often unique products that are only available on that day are released. And only to get in a physical store. So basically a social happening that reminds us of stuffed record stores in the 70s. The point is that happenings with lots of people in close proximity to each other are currently not a very good scenario. Whether April 23rd – the Record Store Day scheduled for next year – will work as planned remains to be seen. On the other hand, the concept has proven in recent years that it can also be organized a little differently. Which worked out ok in these crazy times.
Anyway, put 23 April in your agenda. And keep an eye on the website of the organization, the Dutch version can be found here. Apart from the latest news about the day itself you will also find the releases that will be released especially for Record Store Day. The first ones are already known!


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In a railway arch in south London a team of packers are in a race against time.
They need to get fresh food to the door of Alastair Dean within 15 minutes of his order hitting an app.
The staff at Weezy are part of growing number of rapid grocery delivery firms.
Billions of dollars of venture capital from Europe, the U.S., China and Japan are backing it and similar firms.
Their arrival hints that demand for convenience could drive the next transformation in food retail.
Big supermarkets in Britain currently supply 95% of the country's groceries.
For shopper Dean, Weezy enables the 32-year-old finance worker to select locally produced goods:
"I live with my girlfriend, we are both working relatively full-time and busy on our laptops so, you know Weezy fits quite nicely into that, where we don't have, you know, an hour to do a big weekly shop."
Weezy stores goods from major suppliers and local producers in so-called dark stores in town.
It aims to supply customers within 15 minutes of an order, at prices similar to supermarkets.
Co-founder Alec Dent says it has advantages over big stores:
"Ultimately a delivery-only or delivery first approach allows you to be much faster towards the customer, allows you to provide a better service because you control exactly the stock, which means you never have substitutes in the orders and this is a big peeved point for customers."
But Weezy faces a host of competitors besides the big supermarkets, including Uber and Deliveroo.
Natalie Berg is an analyst from NBK Retail:
"The big challenge that they're facing is around profitability and I think in order for this model to be viable they need scale and there are a lot of horses in this race at the moment, so I think when we look to the future we are certainly going to see some consolidation and these rapid delivery providers might even be a good acquisition target for some of the big supermarkets."
Weezy said orders had jumped since Britain started to unlock restrictions and social lives got busier.
Adding that once shoppers know they know they can rely on a 15-minute delivery, anything longer seems too slow.


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The tainted ingredient in “Veggie Booty” that has been giving U.S. toddlers and infants salmonella is from China:
WASHINGTON – A New Jersey spice importer supplied the salmonella-contaminated seasoning used on snack food that has sickened 60 people, most of them infants and toddlers, the company recalling the snacks said Thursday.
Robert’s American Gourmet Inc. purchased the seasoning from Atlantic Quality Spice & Seasonings, said Robert Ehrlich, president and chief executive of the snack food company. The Sea Cliff, N.Y., company has recalled its Super Veggie Tings Crunchy Corn Sticks and Veggie Booty snack foods, both of which used the spray-on seasoning.
Ehrlich said previously the seasoning, believed made with Chinese ingredients, tested positive for a rare strain of salmonella.
With stories like this from the other day of cardboard as the main ingredient in some types of Chinese street food, the call for better labeling of our food products will only increase.
So, how does China deal with this crisis? Easy…blame the U.S. media:
Chinese officials are blaming the international media, especially from the US, for fueling fears about the safety of the country’s food and drug exports, a newspaper reported yesterday.
The accusations in the state-run China Daily came as China blocked a US protein powder shipment. Chinese inspectors announced the protein powder contained too much selenium and was being sent back, Xinhua news agency reported yesterday.
The deaths of patients in Panama from mislabeled drug ingredients from China, deadly toxins in pet food and food laced with additives and antibiotics have fanned anxiety in the US.
But foreign reports about tainted Chinese products have presented isolated failings as the whole picture, said Li Changjiang (%u674E%u9577%u6C5F), head of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine.


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The development marks the birth of a green, cost effective long-haul trucking industry.
Next month, Tesla Inc is set to unveil a big-rig electric truck which will have a mile range of 200 to 300 miles.
The development is a sign that Tesla is eyeing the commercial freight market as it aggressively ramps up the production of its mass market Model 3 sedan.
The development has tantalized the trucking industry with the prospect of a long range battery-powered heavy-duty vehicles that can compete with conventional diesel-powered vehicles that can travel up to 1,000 miles on a fully loaded fuel tank.
Tesla electric prototype is likely to fall in the low of of the trucking industry, said Scott Perry, an executive at Ryder System Inc, a Miami-based fleet operator, who had met Tesla officials earlier this year to discuss the technology at the automaker’s manufacturing facility in Fremont, California.
According to Perry, Tesla’s efforts are centered on an electric big-rig known as a “day cab” that has a mile range of 200 to 300 miles with a typical payload on a single charge.
“I’m not going to count them out for having a strategy for longer distances or ranges, but right out of the gate I think that’s where they’ll start,” said Perry, CTO at Ryder.
When asked to respond to requests for comments, Tesla’s spokesperson stated, ”Tesla’s policy is to always decline to comment on speculation, whether true or untrue, as doing so would be silly. Silly!”
Although Tesla’s plan could change as the prototype undergoes further improvements, their current plan is consistent with what Perry stated.
Tesla has not publicly disclosed the mile range of its electric long-haul trucks, including how much they would cost and its cargo load. Musk has however acknowledged that Tesla has met privately with potential buyers to discuss their requirements.
Large scale production of Tesla’s semi-autonomous trucks, within the near future, could mark Tesla’s entry into a lucrative new market.
Tesla’s shares are up by around 65% this year.
The transportation industry is likely to significantly benefit from the introduction of long-haul electric trucks since it could reduce their operational costs since electricity from the grid is cheaper than diesel.
According to researchers and industry leaders, if Tesla’s long-haul electric trucks have a mile range of 200 to 300 it is likely to place Tesla at the edge of the nascent electric truck industry.
Leaders in the transportation industry believes that although electric trucks could be more expensive than their fossil-fuel guzzling cousins, they are however much cheaper to maintain and have more predictable fuel costs.
Furthermore, with batteries become cheaper and an increase in environmental regulation, the case for electric trucks is only set to strengthen.
“This tech is being seen as a major potential differentiator. Everyone wants to understand how real it is,” said Perry.


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iQOO Z7 Launching in India on March 21
iQOO has confirmed that the iQOO Z7 will be launching in India on March 21 at 12 PM IST. Ahead of the launch, the iQOO Z7 has appeared in a report with its Indian price, color options, and information about its storage variants.
The report comes from 91mobiles and mentions that the iQOO Z7 will launch in two storage variants for India – 6GB + 128GB and 8GB + 128GB. Additionally, it has been suggested that the starting price of the iQOO Z7 in India could be Rs 17,999, with this possibly referring to the base model. The Pacific Night and Norway Blue color variants will be among the options available for purchase.
We already know that the phone will come with a water-drop notch display with thick bezels. The back of the device as well as the sides will be flat. The rectangular camera island is nothing new for Vivo and iQOO smartphones. A recent hands-on video has already revealed everything about the specs.
iQOO Z7 Specs
The iQOO Z7 is a high-performance smartphone that runs on the powerful Dimensity 920 chipset. It boasts a rear panel that comes equipped with a 64-megapixel camera, complete with OIS compatibility and 30fps 4K video recording capabilities.
Reports claim that the iQOO Z7 5G features a generous 6.38-inch AMOLED FHD+ display, which boasts a 90Hz refresh rate. On the front, it houses a 16-megapixel camera for all your selfie needs. The device is also armed with a 4,500mAh battery that supports 44W fast charging, ensuring you stay powered up all day. The iQOO Z7 will be preloaded with Android 13 OS and FunTouch OS 13, while offering 128 GB of native storage.


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Grieg Star Shipping has tapped Port of Charleston for a new, monthly service providing steel and wood product imports from South America, officials announced today.
Grethe Hoyvik, vice president and general manager of Grieg Star, said the service is being driven by steel and forest products being imported from Brazil, but there will also be some export options from Charleston.
“By adding Charleston on a monthly basis to our liner service, we can serve the demand of our customers along the East Coast and across the growing Southeast marketplace,” Hoyvik said in a written statement.
Ports on the service route include Santos, Rio de Janeiro, Praia Mole, and Portocel.
Grieg Star will also offer import and export routes for Europe and Asia, in addition to South America, officials said.
This new service adds to the growth of non-containerized cargo at the State Ports Authority facilities.
SPA president and chief executive Jim Newsome has said that while non-containerized cargo is a smaller part of the revenue picture, the volume continues to grow.
Earlier this month, the agency reported bulk and breakbulk tonnage gained during the first nine months of the fiscal year. The SPA’s non-containerized facilities in Charleston and Georgetown handled 1,205,194 tons of cargo from July to March, up 14.5 percent from the same period in fiscal year 2012.
Check postandcourier.com for more updates.


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Heroin found amongst bananas distributed for sale in Lidl stores in Madrid
Police have recovered 25 kilos of the drug
Some 2 million € worth of heroin have been recovered by National Police in Madrid after the packages were delivered by error to the Spanish capital’s central wholesale market, Mercamadrid, amongst the cargo of bananas which the drugs gang had used to smuggle them into the country.
The alarm was raised on Saturday morning when staff at Lidl supermarkets unpacked the boxes of bananas which had been distributed from Mercamadrid to the company’s stores in the city, and discovered one-kilo packages of heroin hidden beneath the fruit.
El Mundo said 25 packets of heroin were recovered by police.
By m.p. - Jan 3, 2010 - 10:22 AM


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Delivering a different twist to game day at the ballpark, the Minnesota Twins today announced a partnership with Wisdom Gaming to host a pop-up gaming lounge at Target Field for each of the club’s 13 scheduled home games between August 15-31. The “Twins Gaming Dugout” will be held in Town Ball Tavern and will be open to all fans with a ticket to that day’s game, from the time gates open to the conclusion of the contest.
“The Minnesota Twins are continually evolving the Target Field experience to keep it fresh while drawing in younger and more diverse fans,” said Chris Iles, the club’s senior director, brand experience and innovation. “Gaming is at the center of many of our future fans’ lives. Hosting a gaming lounge at Target Field will provide a unique opportunity for gamers to connect while also enjoying a Twins game.”
Fans visiting the Twins Gaming Dugout will be able to participate in a variety of esports games on a first-come, first-served basis at one of 10 gaming stations. Featured titles are set to include “MLB The Show 22,” “Minecraft”, “Rocket League” and more. Additionally, the Twins Gaming Dugout will host a daily “MLB The Show 22” tournament, with each winner being spotlighted on the main Target Field videoboard during that day’s game.
Local esports and gaming entertainment startup Wisdom Gaming will provide the setup and activation for the Twins Gaming Dugout. This is the second gaming lounge activation the Twins have partnered with Wisdom Gaming on, with the first taking place at The Gate 34 Experience from August 19-21, 2019.
“Wisdom Gaming is proud to be partnering with the Minnesota Twins to bring back this exciting pop-up experience for fans,” said Steve LaCroix, President of Wisdom Gaming. “Having a dedicated space for diverse audiences to come together and play while cheering on the Twins is a great testament to the continued crossover between gaming and traditional sports.”
The Twins Gaming Dugout at Target Field will be held in conjunction with Minnesota’s home games against the Kansas City Royals from August 15-17, the Texas Rangers from August 19-22, the San Francisco Giants from August 26-28 and the Boston Red Sox from August 29-31.
(info courtesy of Twins)


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Carsten Breitfeld, a founder and former CEO of EV startup Byton, says he left the company earlier this year because the Chinese government exerted too much influence after an investment from the country’s oldest state-owned automaker, First Auto Works (FAW). He said that while the deal with FAW lent the credibility he sought for Byton and increased access to suppliers, those benefits came with oversight and interference.
Breitfeld, who recently became the new CEO of struggling EV startup Faraday Future, made the comments during a media event held at Faraday Future’s Los Angeles headquarters on Thursday.
Breitfeld co-founded Byton in 2017 after a long career at BMW where he was in charge of the automaker’s BMW i program. Byton is headquartered in China and has offices in Munich and Silicon Valley. The company showed off a concept SUV at the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show where it also announced an ambitious plan to put the vehicle into production by the end of 2019.
To help make sure that happened, Byton announced last year that it was teaming up with FAW, and this year, it said the state-owned automaker was leading a big investment round that would get the startup’s electric SUV into production.
But Breitfeld said on Thursday that he “didn’t realize enough” what it meant to take investment from a state-owned automaker like FAW. He also says FAW took away his responsibilities.
“If the Chinese government enters your company, and takes, to some degree, influence or control, which they did at the end of the day, then things will change,” Breitfeld said. “They pushed the direction of Byton [to a place that was] not in line with what I thought we should do.”
FAW owns about 15 percent of Byton, Breitfeld claims, following the equity investment that was announced earlier this year. And he said the state-owned automaker has loaned hundreds of millions more to Byton since then, using the startup’s manufacturing facility in China and other assets as collateral.
“My feeling is they are going to drive it to a stage where the whole Byton thing will be shut down, they will just keep the plant and the platform,” he said, referring to Byton’s manufacturing facility in Nanjing, China, and the electric technology that powers the startup’s vehicle. Breitfeld also said FAW was approving all of Byton’s expenses and that many on the startup’s engineering team have left the company. “Everyone running the company now is PR and marketing,” he said. “The technical guys all left. By the way, in the future you might find them in another place not so far away from myself.”
“To be very clear though, I don’t want them to fail,” Breitfeld added. Breitfeld still has equity in the company, he said, and is still in “not very friendly” discussions with Byton and FAW over the status of that equity.
A spokesperson for Byton said in an email that “FAW is indeed a major investor, although their stake is smaller than Carsten states and they only hold one seat on the Byton board.”
“In addition, we have almost 500 employees here at Byton’s R&D center in Santa Clara, the vast majority of them being engineers, with hundreds of additional engineers at the Nanjing R&D center and production facility,” they added.
FAW did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Breitfeld’s co-founder, Daniel Kirchert, has since taken over as CEO of Byton. Kirchert told The Verge earlier this month that Breitfeld’s departure was unexpected.
“That came as a surprise in April, when he left so suddenly,” he said. “I wish him best for the future and also his new endeavor.”
On the deal with FAW, Kirchert called it a “really good fit” and said the automaker “respect[s] our independence as a startup.”


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New report warns foreign hacking group is targeting health care systems and hospitals – CBS News
There’s a new warning about hackers targeting hospitals and health care systems. Cybersecurity firm Mandiant tells CBS News they’re specifically worried about the group “FIN12”. Experts say 20% of the group’s victims are health care systems or hospitals. CBS News senior investigative correspondent Catherine Herridge spoke with CBSN’s Tanya Rivero about the warning.
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Walmart-owned Sam’s Club anticipates that members will step up holiday decorations as they throw more gatherings for family and friends. Melissa Repko From larger turkeys and taller Christmas trees to more toy brands, Walmart-owned Sam’s Club is betting consumers will go big this year with holiday celebrations. The membership-only warehouse […]


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Mouser and Analog Devices sponsor ‘Create the Future’ design contest
EP&T MagazineElectronics Engineering
Mouser Electronics Inc., the global authorized distributor with the newest semiconductors and electronic components, is once again sponsoring the 13th annual ‘Create the Future’ design contest, a challenge to engineers and students worldwide to create the next great thing. Mouser is being joined in this sponsorship by Analog Devices Inc.
The grand prize winner will receive global recognition and a cash prize of $20,000 for an innovative product that benefits society and the economy. Previous contests have produced more than 10,000 design ideas from engineers, entrepreneurs and students in more than 100 countries. Entries are being accepted now through July 1, 2015.
To learn more, visit http://www.mouser.com/createthefuture.
“We are very excited to support design engineers by once again helping to sponsor this global design contest for them,” says Kevin Hess, Mouser vice-president of technical marketing.
Previous grand prize winning entries include a key fob-sized device that makes smart phones ‘smarter’ by enabling consumers to run a variety of low-cost sensing applications; an economical, rapid screening device to prevent food borne illness; a wheelchair propulsion system designed to increase the user’s mobility while decreasing upper body, repetitive stress injuries; a mechanism that makes CPR easy and safe for anyone to perform; a fuel-saving motor/pump for cars and trucks; a low-cost in-vehicle emergency warning system; and a new type of energy-efficient lighting.
The ‘Create the Future’ contest has been responsible for bringing attention to product designs that increase the quality of life, improve the efficiency and quality of healthcare and help to reduce dependence on non-renewable energy sources.
The grand prize winner will be chosen from the winners in seven entry categories including: Aerospace & Defense, Automotive/Transportation, Consumer Products, Electronics, Machinery/Automation/Robotics, Medical, and Sustainable Technologies. Contest entries can be submitted by an individual or a team. An independent industry panel will judge the entries. Web site visitors are invited to vote for their favorite entry.


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CompUSA is expected to close over half their stores over the next couple of months, dumping their least profitable stores in favor of the top performing ones. Over the next 60 to 90 days, they plan to close 126 stores total, leaving 103 stores left in the US and Puerto Rico.
"The company, which is closing stores as part of a cost-cutting and restructuring effort, said that five Bay Area stores -- the ones in Pleasanton, Concord, Emryville, Vacaville and San Mateo will be shuttered. It was unclear whether additional California stores will close.
The Dallas company said it would get a $440 million cash capital infusion as part of its realignment strategy. It will also undertake major expense reductions and a corporate restructuring."


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A redesigned US$20 bill, with features aimed at thwarting couterfeiters, will be made public in May and put into circulation next fall, the US Treasury Department said Monday. Like the redesigned $100 bill issued in March 1996 and the new $50 released last October, the new $20 bill will include an embedded security thread that shows up only under certain light conditions, among other hard-to-duplicate features.
Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin and Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan will preside over the unveiling of the new bill (which still carries a likeness of Andrew Jackson, seventh US president, on the front) on 20 May.
Level 3 Communications Inc., the Internet protocol telephony firm, is broadening its horizons through a merger with Xcom Technologies Inc., a competitive local exchange carrier and communications software developer. Based on Level 3's stock price as of Friday, the stock-for-stock transaction was valued at about US$165 million, Level 3 said in a news release. The merger is expected to close in the second quarter of 1998.
"Xcom holds exclusive proprietary rights to technology which provides key components of the ‘gateway’ or ‘bridge’ necessary to fully interconnect the 100-year-old public-switched telephone network to networks based on the Internet protocol – such as that being built by Level 3," said James Crowe, Level 3 president and chief executive, in a statement. Level 3 is building a nationwide fiber-optic network and will roll out telephone service using packet-switching technology based on Internet protocols in six US cities before the year is over.
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Excited about classifieds: Excite, Inc. acquired Classifieds2000 in a stock swap valued at US$48 million, the search engine company announced on Monday. Users of Excite and Webcrawler will now be able to sell goods and services directly through what Excite calls one of the Internet’s largest online marketplaces. Classifieds2000 will continue to offer free database-driven classified advertising through its own site and partnerships with other Web publishers.
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Big Blue eyes digital entertainment: IBM is launching a new consulting practice aimed at capitalizing on the shift underway in the media and entertainment businesses. IBM will formally unveil the consulting practice Monday at the National Association of Broadcasters conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, where it also plans to announce contracts with CBS and Time Warner's WB Television Network. The deals point to what IBM believes is a major opportunity as broadcasting moves to adopt high-definition television (HDTV) and other digital developments.
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ZD heads Down Under: Ziff-Davis and the Australian Provincial Newspapers are joining forces to produce local versions of some of the trade publishers top titles. This includes Australian editions of both PC Magazine and PC Week, as well as a variation of the ZDNet computing news Web site. Financial detail of the deal, announced on Monday, were not disclosed/
Reuters contributed to this report.


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Getting cash and access to Wells Fargo ATMs just got a whole lot easier. Back in March, Wells Fargo enabled smartphone-only ATM withdrawals, but needed both app-specific code and your pin, which defeated the purpose of convenience.
Wells Fargo has now enabled NFC access at more than 5,000 of its ATMs across the country. If you take a look at Chase for example, you have to tap your phone (with Apple Pay, Android Pay or Samsung Pay) and enter a PIN code to start a transaction at a supporting machine. Wells Fargo’s new introduction of this feature now makes cash withdrawals that much easier.
So, what’s the catch? Well, simply put, it’s availability and convenience. Wells Fargo touts NFC support at over 40 percent of its ATMs, but also leaves most of its machines working the old ways. We can expect to see tap-based ATM access to come by 2019. This is a big step forward for the banking industry.


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Mario Kart Tour launched on September 25 and reportedly surpassed 123 million downloads in its first month, making it by far Nintendo’s most successful mobile title in terms of first month installs.
“I think that Mario Kart Tour has gotten off to a very good start, even compared to our previous mobile applications,” Furukawa said during Nintendo’s six-month financial results briefing.
“Continuing on from Super Mario Run, which more than 300 million consumers are enjoying, I think we can expect remarkable results with Mario Kart Tour.”
“Earnings are also off to a good start,” Furukawa said. “In addition to randomized items, we have created opportunities to generate revenue such as the Gold Pass subscription to meet the various needs of consumers, allowing them to enjoy the game.
“By including these mechanics and multiplayer functionality, we want to make it an attractive application that will be enjoyed by consumers in the long-term.”
Mario Kart Tour recently started its Paris tour event, adding several new characters, karts, gliders and challenges to the game.
Furukawa also told investors Nintendo has no current plans to cut Switch hardware prices.


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After more than two years of debate, a group of human rights organizations and apparel manufacturers, including Nike, Reebok and Liz Claiborne, has reached an agreement intended to curtail sweatshops by setting up a code of conduct and monitoring system for overseas factories used by American companies.
The group that reached the agreement hopes it will reassure American consumers that the clothing they buy is not made in sweatshops, but the nation's leading apparel union rejected the agreement yesterday as not going far enough.
Members of the group said they would seek to carry out the agreement even though the apparel union rejected it. But several members said they feared that American consumers would feel little reassurance that apparel produced under the agreement's guidelines was not made in sweatshops.
The Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees criticized the accord for not requiring overseas factories to pay workers enough to meet their basic needs and for allowing American companies to use clothing factories in countries, including China, that repress unions.
''This agreement's not very good,'' said Mark Levinson, director of research at the needletrades union. ''How can you talk about eliminating sweatshops without making a commitment to pay a living wage? And the agreement allows companies to produce in countries that systematically deny worker rights, and it allows them to do that without requiring them to say anything to protect rights in those countries.''Continue reading the main story
Despite the union's rejection, members of the group insisted that its agreement was a giant step forward in combating sweatshops. The four companies and five nonprofit groups that reached the agreement say they hope dozens more companies will sign on and comply with the agreement's requirements to insure that apparel is made under satisfactory working conditions.
''The Administration is convinced this agreement lays the foundation to eliminate sweatshop labor, here and abroad,'' Labor Secretary Alexis Herman said. ''It is workable for business and creates a credible system that will let consumers know the garments they buy are not produced by exploited workers. We remain committed to working with all interested parties to insure its future success.''
The agreement grows out of a Presidential task force, the White House Apparel Industry Partnership, that was set up in 1996 after revelations that apparel produced under the Kathie Lee Gifford name was being made in sweatshops in New York and Central America.
After the task force's 18 members remained stalemated for months, 9 of the group's more centrist members began negotiating among themselves before reaching an agreement on Monday. This group presented the agreement to the other members Monday night in the hope that they would accept it.
''It's incredibly important,'' said Roberta Karp, general counsel of Liz Claiborne and co-chairwoman of the task force. ''It's the foundation to move forward to make a real difference in working conditions around the world. It requires monitoring by independent monitors as well as public reporting for the first time ever. It's simply unparalleled.''
In interviews yesterday, officials with the apparel union said they would no longer take part in the Presidential task force if other members moved forward with the new agreement.
''We cannot continue to participate in this effort on the basis of this agreement,'' said Alan Howard, assistant to the president of the needletrades union. ''This has been offered to us on a take it or leave it basis and we can't take it.''
Companies that participate say they hope that by complying with the code of conduct and monitoring system they will be able to boast -- perhaps through advertisements or by tags on their apparel -- that their products are sweatshop-free.
The nine task force members that reached the new agreement are Liz Claiborne, Nike, Reebok, Phillips Van Heusen, Business for Social Responsibility, the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, the National Consumers League, the International Labor Rights Fund and the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights.
Four other corporate task force members, L. L. Bean, Patagonia, Nicole Miller and Kathie Lee Gifford, have accepted the new agreement.
''This agreement is only the beginning,'' President Clinton said. ''We know that sweatshop labor will not vanish overnight. While this agreement is an historic step, we must measure our progress by how we change and improve the lives and livelihoods of apparel workers here in the United States and around the world. That is why I urge more companies to join this effort.''
Several corporate members said that if the task force accepted the stricter requirements sought by union leaders, that would make it harder to persuade more companies to join the effort.
Under the agreement, factories used by American companies could not use forced labor and could not require employees to work more than 60 hours each week. In addition, the agreement prohibits factories from employing children younger than 15, although employment of 14-year-olds would be allowed when the country of manufacture allows employment at that age.
The agreement also requires employers to pay the minimum wage required by local law or the prevailing industry wage, whichever is higher. Labor unions have repeatedly complained that in countries like Indonesia and Vietnam, both the minimum wage and prevailing wage are too low to support a family.
Under the accord, a new entity, the Fair Labor Association, would be set up to oversee compliance. The new association would certify which monitors could examine factories, and it could expel companies that do not comply with the code. Many of the monitors would be accounting firms, but the accord urges all monitors to work with nongovernmental groups, like human rights groups, to get an accurate picture of conditions.
The agreement calls for companies to monitor all their factories themselves but in addition requires outside monitors to examine 30 percent of a company's factories in the three years after a company agrees to comply with the code of conduct. In subsequent years, about 10 percent of a company's factories would be inspected annually.
Officials with the needletrades union said it was insufficient for only one-tenth of a company's factories to be monitored each year.
''The monitoring is badly flawed,'' Mr. Howard said. ''We don't think it's very independent monitoring and the companies pick their monitors and the factories to be monitored so there won't be surprise inspections.''
The union's biggest criticism is the accord's failure to require that companies pay a living wage.
Human rights groups that backed the agreement said they persuaded the companies to agree to a Department of Labor study on the minimum and prevailing wages in relevant countries and how those wages compare with the amount needed to meet workers' basic needs.
''Those of us on the nongovernment organization side are continuing to fight for higher wages in this industry,'' said Michael Posner, executive director of the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights. ''This issue is central to our thinking going forward. Remember, this a first step and we have a lot of work to do to make this work.''Continue reading the main story