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How Showpo found the key to boosting conversion
Fun, fashion-forward online retailer Showpo hit the scene 11 years ago and has since become one of Australia’s most successful and much-loved e-commerce businesses, with millions of loyal social media followers and customers.
But since the pandemic hit, it’s clear that competition is growing in the online retail space and customers’ expectations are higher than ever. In recent years, Showpo has been on a digital transformation journey in order to remain top of mind for fashionistas.
“It’s an ever-changing market. A lot of the population is shopping online for the first time now and they have an expectation that what they see in-store will translate into the online world,” explains Mitul Lakhani, Head of Digital Product at Showpo.
To keep up with the competition, smart retailers are investing further into developing their e-commerce systems and embarking on digital projects to quickly boost their customer experience and conversion rates.
In fact, according to a survey conducted by the Australian Retail Outlook this year, since the pandemic, an overwhelming 70 per cent of industry respondents indicated that they are investing more in their digital business this year.
Here are some of the successful initiatives that Showpo has worked on recently that have significantly boosted their conversion rates.
It’s all in the details
Over the past 18 months, a major focus for the team at Showpo has been on creating a frictionless customer experience and making their products more discoverable. Key to this transformation has been refining the retailer’s systems and data, making it easier for customers to find what they want.
Showpo was previously juggling multiple disparate platforms that weren’t talking to each other and processes that were prone to human error, leading to data inaccuracies. Mitul and Showpo’s CTO Lachlan Smith embarked on a journey to transform their tech stack to address these legacy issues and improve their customer-facing applications such as their website and mobile apps.
As a result, product data is more structured and easily filtered, allowing consumers to quickly find the products they’re looking for. Improving the accuracy of product attributes (such as material, colour, style, length, occasion, etc.) now allow for product categorisation and facets to be automatically assigned, reducing manual work, eliminating human error and keeping product filtering clean and user-friendly.
“All the products are in the right places now and customers can find what they want a lot more easily than before. If you go into the jumpsuits category, you know you’ll find all the jumpsuits in there,” explained Mitul.
Getting the right fit: Beyond size guides
One of the biggest challenges that fashion e-commerce retailers continue to wrestle with is solving the ‘fit’ problem, ensuring that what customers purchase on their site will actually suit their needs. At Showpo, in an effort to encourage size diversity, many of the garments on the site are displayed on two different-sized models to give customers a clearer idea of how an item may look on their body.
Since Comestri came on board, fit data has been incorporated into the system from the very beginning of Showpo’s design and manufacturing process and customers are now given much more specific information, from waist and hip measurements to varying dress lengths.
“Showpo is aligning their products to individual customers. You could have someone who’s six-feet tall with a different body shape, but now they’re able to pick a size that’s much closer to the mark, rather than just using a size guide,” explained Ben Cook, general manager of sales and marketing at e-commerce platform, Comestri
“Size guides are great, but for some customers, it could say that they need a size L, but then when they receive the item, it’s too short in the arm.”
With the increased focus on more robust product data, customers are better equipped to make the right choice for them. This has led to a reduction in returns for Showpo, a win for any e-commerce business.
“Now that people are shopping online more often, the last thing they want to do is continually go to the post office, where they’re juggling multiple items from various retailers to return,” explained Mitul.
While the past 18 months have been challenging for all retailers, it’s become clear that those who embrace change and flexibility will succeed in the future – regardless of how restrictions and lockdowns change.
“I think in the last few years, we’ve really caught up with some of our larger competitors and in some cases, moved further forward,” said Mitul of Showpo’s transformation.
“Working with Comestri really allows us to push through new experiences at speed; we’ve got greater agility than before and can pivot quickly.
See Comestri in action. Book a product demonstration at Comestri.com/demo


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Mitcheldean has been named as the most affordable place buy a home in Gloucestershire, according to Zoopla.
The property website said the average price paid in the Forest of Dean town is £168,667.
Looking at the town itself, The Stenders is listed as the most affordable street within Mitcheldean, with homes selling for £54,000 on average.
Churchill Way in the town is next, with homes selling for £95,000 on average.
The bulk of Gloucestershire’s most affordable towns are found in the Forest of Dean.
Cinderford, Drybrook, Ruardean and Coleford all featured in the five most affordable areas.
Get the biggest stories from across Gloucestershire straight to your inbox
The first location outside the Forest, is Gloucester – which features as the sixth most affordable spot.
Cinderford homes sell for £188,322 on average, according to Zoopla.
Drybrook and Ruardean properties sell for £218,214 and £220,600 respectively.
Coleford rounds out the top five most affordable places, with homes in the town near the Welsh border selling for £244,988 on average.
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Loganair sale includes Bergen
A SNAP sale cutting 25 per cent off all Shetland flights between now and 31 August next year runs until midnight on Sunday.
The 72 hour sale includes flights between Shetland and Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness and Kirkwall.
They also include flights to Bergen, which Loganair say are now eligible for the 40 per cent air discount scheme.
Loganair’s chief operating officer Jonathan Hinkles said: “This is a great opportunity for local people to enjoy discounted travel, whether they’re planning to book a trip to see friends in Aberdeen, go Christmas shopping in Glasgow, or plan their Summer break in Bergen.
“Registered air discount scheme members can secure bargains on all of our Shetland services, with sale fares to Bergen starting at £45.68.”
FISHING secretary Richard Lochhead has announced grants worth £12.3 million for the Scottish fishing industry will be announced shortly.
He said the European Fisheries Fund grants would help to ensure the infrastructure which supports the fishing fleet is fit for purpose, aid safety training, gear trials to reduce discards and add value to the fisheries supply chain through improved processing, training and marketing.
Mr Lochhead said 2012 would prove a pivotal year for the industry with negotiations over Common Fisheries Policy reform, a review of the cod recovery plan and the World Fisheries Congress coming to Edinburgh in May.
SHETLAND police are searching for a rusty piece of metal from a North Sea oil rig which has gone missing from a garden in Lerwick’s North Lochside.
They say the chunk of “very corroded” metal measures about 28cm by 14cm and was being used as a garden ornament.
“Whilst the item had no monetary value, it was of sentimental value to the owner, who would very much like to have it returned to her,” the police said.
Lerwick BID ballot
LIVING Lerwick have announced they will be holding a ballot on 28 June next year on their plans for the town centre.
LL is behind plans to develop the town centre as a business improvement district (BID), and wants more time to consult with local companies about its ideas.
Chairman Harry Jamieson said: “We need to be absolutely sure we have the backing of all the businesses before we finalise this business plan and put it to the vote.
“Steering group members would like to discuss it with all the businesses in the area. The BID will be legislation for five years, so we need to put a lot of effort into making sure the business plan is exactly what the business owners want it to be.”
A yes vote will lead to a BID company being formed to develop the plan to increase business, reduce costs and improve the environment.
More information is available at www.livinglerwick.co.uk.
FOUR companies are vying for the five year coastguard search and rescue helicopter contract, for which bids had to be submitted on Wednesday.
Bids have come in from current contract holders CHC, Bond, Bristow and a consortium including British International Helicopters.
The next contract starts in June 2013 and the successful bid is due to be announced before the end of this year.
SHETLAND-based consultant Helen Erwood has been shortlisted for an award from The Organisation of Professionals in Regulatory Affairs (TOPRA).
Mrs Erwood’s business ESPL Regulatory Consulting, based at Lunna, has been nominated for the “inspiration” award for her 25 years work helping the pharmaceutical industry deal with regulations. Last year the company won the “support” category.
Shortly after returning from a business trip to Mumbai, Mrs Erwood said: “This demonstrates that companies with the right scientific and regulatory expertise can readily operate globally from within Shetland. Most of the company’s competitors are based in and around London and other European capitals.”
An awards ceremony will be held on 24 November.
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Opening of the Fig Design Co. Concept Store in Ballyclare
After seven successful years in business, The Fig Design Co. has grown into its much larger new home in No.2 The Square, Ballyclare.
In early November, in the company of family and friends, they celebrated the launch of their new concept store/design and interiors department.
No.2 The Square – Ballyclare
Instagram – thefigdesignco 028 9334 1918
Full coverage in our December issue, on sale Saturday!
- New toolkit urges tourism businesses to embrace inclusivity
- The Book Clinic comes to Bangor for Young Aspects
- Trόcaire appeals to people of Northern Ireland to support annual Lenten campaign
- Belfast City Council confirms ‘The Walk’ event featuring Little Amal
- Ulster University celebrates inspirational scholars


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Hulu is a streaming service based in the United States. Moreover, it isn’t one of the streaming services started up in recent times. Instead, it has been established for more than a decade’s time, meaning that it has more than managed to prove its staying power. Under these circumstances, there are those who might want to invest in Hulu, which can be something of an issue.
Can You Invest in Hulu?
For starters, Hulu is a corporation. However, it isn’t a public corporation with shares that are bought and sold on public stock exchanges. Instead, it started out as a collaboration between a number of media companies such as AOL, Facebook, and MSN. Since that time, Hulu’s ownership has seen significant changes. In particular, it should be mentioned that Disney became a Hulu owner in April of 2009. Later, when Disney bought out 21st Century Fox, that ownership stake went from 30 percent to 60 percent. This provided Disney with control over the streaming service. Something that has strengthened through subsequent transactions. For example, AT&T sold its 9.5 percent ownership stake to Hulu in April of 2019 in exchange for $1.43 billion. Likewise, Comcast has relinquished its involvement in the streaming service in anticipation of a sale that will happen no earlier than 2024, at which point it can expect to receive fair market value with certain guarantees in place. Combined, this means that while Hulu didn’t start out as a Disney-owned business, it can now be considered a Disney-owned business.
Invest in Disney
The simplest option would be investing in Disney. This isn’t a perfect option by any measurement. After all, when someone invests in Disney, they’d be investing in the full range of Disney’s products and services. Hulu makes up just a very small portion of that, meaning that this would be a very indirect investment to say the least. Still, this is something that interested individuals should consider, not least because Disney stock is well-worth owning in its own right. Some people might remember a time when Disney was struggling to survive by leaning on its past successes. However, said time is long in the past. Nowadays, Disney sees multiple box office smash hits on an annual basis thanks to its ownership of Marvel, its ownership of Lucasfilm, its ownership of Pixar, and its own movies. As such, it is no exaggeration to say that it holds a commanding position when it comes to certain segments of media creation, so much so that a wide range of parties have expressed concern over what that might mean for creativity in said segments. On top of that, it should be mentioned that Disney is also in a very good position to capitalize on the popularity of the movies that it puts out in either a direct sense or an indirect sense, whether that means through its resorts or through a very wide range of merchandise. Summed up, while Disney stock is expensive, it is a popular choice for investors who are looking for value. Something that might make it a suitable choice for investors who are looking for a direct investment in Hulu but is willing to settle for an indirect investment instead.
Invest in Other Streaming Services
For people who like what a streaming service such as Hulu can offer them rather than what Hulu can offer them, there is the option of checking out other streaming services. Currently, there are already a number of well-established streaming services that interested individuals can invest in. Furthemore, there are more options that have either started up in recent times or are expected to start up in the near future, thus making for a wider selection than what people might have expected.
The obvious choice would be Netflix, which remains the forerunner in this particular race for the time being. There are some people out there who might be concerned about its future thanks to the fact that more and more media companies are choosing to start their own streaming services. However, Netflix’s massive investment in its own media content has helped it maintain its ground. Moreover, while it is a well-established streaming service, there are still various ways for it to expand its subscriber base, meaning that it is still much too soon to count it out.
Moving on, there are other stocks that are connected to streaming services in various ways. For instance, Disney isn’t the only company out there that has its own streaming service, meaning that interested individuals might want to make a similar investment in other companies of note. One excellent example would be Amazon, which counts Amazon Prime Video as just one of its offerings. Besides this, there are also streaming service-adjacent companies such as Roku, which might not be streaming services but nonetheless move in tandem to a considerable extent because of how their revenue-earning operations are structured.
Besides this, there is the option of looking elsewhere for investing opportunities. Simply put, the world of stocks is huge, meaning that interested individuals can find just about everything that their minds can imagine. If they want higher risk as well as higher reward, there are plenty of stocks for emerging companies that can be found out there. Similarly, if they prefer something safer and more secure, there is the option of looking into dividend aristocrats and even dividend kings. For that matter, if interested individuals can’t find what they are looking for in stocks, there is the option of looking into other kinds of investments. Something like derivatives can enable interested individuals to make money off of anticipated changes in the value of stocks as well as other underlying financial instruments. In contrast, something like real estate property is prized because it provides interested individuals with a way to determine the final outcome. There are many, many different kinds of investments out there, each of which can provide interested individuals with a different combination of upsides and downsides to make them interesting.


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Down, but not out, Washingtonês Auto Show takes DC area blizzard in stride
The unprecedented blizzard conditions that struck the Washington area, shutting down everything in a snow emergency, closed The Washington Auto Show that was originally set to open Friday, Jan. 22, the day the blizzard arrived. Opening day for The Washington Auto Show then shifted four days later, to Tuesday, Jan. 25, reducing the showês run to the public from ten days to six, which cost the show one of its two weekends. Despite this formidable winter weather set back, the Auto Show recovered its pre-show momentum — that had every indication of another record turnout — when the six remaining days produced attendance 10% higher than a year earlier over the same six-day period. Closing day on Sunday, indeed, may have been an all-time daily attendance record, being up a whopping 53% over closing day in 2015.
Washingtonês upward trajectory as an industry and public policy show wasnêt daunted by the snow emergency that beset the region, said Geoff Pohanka, chairman of the Auto Show. Our Industry/Media Days –Wednesday and Thursday, January 21-22, –had a zero snow factor, which allowed high level U.S. and industry announcements and panels to go ahead without a hitch, he said, referring to presentations by John Mendel of American Honda, DOE Secretary Ernest Moniz, NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind, and FTC Commissioner Maureen Ohlhausen.
Once we opened, consumer response couldnêt have been more steady and enthusiastic during the weekdays and especially over the weekend, Pohanka said.
With much discussion during Washingtonês Industry/Media Days about connected and autonomous vehicles, the Intelligent Transportation Superhighway was a big draw at the Auto Show. Accordingly, the Green Car Journal recognized — for the first time — the
Connected Green Car of the Year when it awarded the honor to the all-new Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid. At the same time Green Car Journal spotlighted the Volvo XC90 T8 as its Luxury Green Car of the Year and the Honda HR-V, the Green SUV of the Year.
The OEMs are at The Washington Auto Show with a strong presence to put their best foot forward with fuel efficiency, said Show Producer John OêDonnell, because for better or worse, U.S. regulators and Congress are the automakersê partners in automotive design.
This was evident on the floor of the Auto Show with the bumper crop of alternative fuel technology, the likes of the Chevrolet Bolt, the Honda Clarity fuel cell, the Hyundai Sonata plug-in Hybrid, Toyotaês Mirai Fuel Cell and FCAês 2017 Chrysler Pacifica taking the un-minivan market — with its gasoline and hybrid models — to new heights.
Losing the first weekend of the show in the snow hurt over-all attendance when our ten day show was cut back to six. OêDonnell said. Had we had the same attendance or greater than the first four days of 2015 we would have topped our best attended show in Washingtonês history, he said. That didnêt happen, but we had a great run anyway that pleased the automakers, the media and our consumers.Download Bulletin PDF


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The New Crew – Barbie Ken dolls
Mattel Canada Inc. releases the Barbie Fashionistas expansion, to include over a dozen unique, multicultural Ken dolls.
Three cheers for diversity and inclusion! Canadian children rejoice as Barbie releases its most diverse Ken doll collection to date. The 15 new dolls, dubbed “The New Crew,” further diversify the already adored Fashionistas line, featuring three body types and a variety of skin tones, hairstyles and modern fashion looks.
What does the Ken doll of 2017 look like? Think broad builds, man buns, cornrows and more, plus a total wardrobe overhaul. “Girls and boys now can look at these dolls and they can see different people around them,” says Lisa Perry, brand manager at Mattel Canada Inc. “Whether it’s their teacher, brother, father, friend, themselves — children can now use Barbie as that vehicle to further ignite storytelling and play.”
This impressive release comes a year and a half after Barbie shocked the press (in the best way) by expanding to add new, inclusive body shapes and styles of her own. “When Ruth Handler (our founder) created Barbie, she really created her to represent the fact that a woman has choices,” says Perry. “So when we enter this new chapter of the brand, we’re really working hard to evolve the product line to offer more choices and to better reflect the world that the girls see around them.”
Naturally, we’re thrilled — but we can’t help but think, “What took so long?”
The evolution of Ken is yet another step in Mattel’s plan to take care of the brand and grow with its consumers. “I think when you’re dealing with a brand that’s had this 58-year history, the brand and the product evolution really takes time,” admits Perry. “We’re really proud of the way that we’re evolving the brand through the product, as we wanted to really adapt Barbie to what this generation sees today.”
The doll designers draw their inspiration globally, looking at Barbie and Ken as mini time capsules and capturing what children are really seeing in the world around them.
“One of the things that we find through research is that younger girls actually choose their dolls based on the styles, fashion and hair, whereas the older girls see the differences in the diversity,” says Perry. “The older girls ended up picking the dolls that looked more like themselves, their parents, friends or teachers.”
With future plans to continue expanding the Fashionistas line, Perry says the possibilities are endless. Who knows, maybe we’ll be seeing Barbie in a hijab, or Ken wearing a kippah?
Photos courtesy of Mattel Canada Inc.
WIN A BARBIE FASHIONISTAS PRIZE PACK Be sure to follow us on Instagram @citylifemag for contest details!


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Analyst cuts his forecast of iPhone sales to 38.8 million for fiscal Q212
During an appearance on CNBC this morning, Sacconaghi said that when chip maker TSMC revised down its 2018 revenue forecast, the company noted weakness in a high-end handset it didn't name. Considering that Apple represents 20% of TSMC sales, most Wall Streeters believe that the iPhone X is the high-end handset under pressure. Besides weak iPhone X sales, Sacconaghi blames the lengthening upgrade cycle for part of Apple's woes. He adds that the decline in iPhone sales from the December quarter (which includes the holidays) to the March quarter will be larger than typically seen. Still, he reduces the significance of that by saying the figure will still be "within the range of expect outcomes."
Back in January, Apple reportedly cut orders with companies that supply parts and components for the iPhone X. The size of the cuts, said to be 50%, indicated that there was trouble in paradise. Nothing coming out of any Wall Street securities house since then, has been bullish for the iPhone X. Just the other day, BH Insights analyst Daniel Ives said that when it comes to Apple, Wall Street in in "full panic mode."


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Amazon Fire TV can now be easily termed as one of the leading services with more than 600 applications and games at service for its users. The official announcement made by Amazon puts it in among the leaders in the sector with one of the best customer satisfaction record. To be very precise, Amazon Fire TV service was initiated in the United States only back in the month of April with a meager 200 applications and games to choose from for the users. In the just few months, Amazon Fire TV has climbed through the ladder rapidly in the middle of a stiff competition.
According to the experts, one of the major reasons for the success that Amazon Fire TV has accumulated is primarily due to the games that it provides. It was revealed in a survey that Amazon has, to a certain extent built its own gaming community which is good going for a particular young service. In addition, the partnership with Amazon with major small game developers has allowed the Amazon Fire TV to provide exclusive games adding to the success.
Steve Rabuchin, Vice President, Amazon Appstore, said in a statement:
“We continue to hear from customers how much they love the selection available to them on their Amazon Fire TV. In just over six months we’ve tripled the catalog and we’re adding new customer favorites on a weekly basis. We also hear from customers how much they love playing games on their TV—9 of the top 10 grossing apps on Fire TV are games—so we continue to work with game developers and add the most popular game content. Dungeon Quest, Spoiler Alert, Leo’s Fortune and Ninja Hero Cats, are some of the new games recently launched on Fire TV, and, coming soon, NBA 2K15.”
In a statement made by the CEO of a game developer, the tie up with Amazon has been extremely profitable for them as well. It is believed that there is a completely different gaming world beyond the smartphones. Amazon Fire TV has provided the right grounds for such game developers to thrive upon.
Games are a mode of relaxation and its availability should not be limited to smartphones only. The developers working with Amazon Fire TV firmly believe that Amazon Fire TV will be able to take the next big step very soon.
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How we eat: movies such as Food Inc. are painting the food industry in a poor light. Who is telling the other side of the story?
Just as An Inconvenient Truth attempted to create an environmental crisis story, Food Inc. is trying to create a food crisis. Indeed, it would be all too easy to dismiss this movie as but another propaganda film. Or, some may look at this film as a pseudo-documentary on food production for the gullibly inclined who never questioned the accuracy of facts or half-truths.
But it would be a mistake not to respond aggressively to the message of this film. This movie was created by the Emmy Award-winning filmmakers and talented narrators who also helped produce Al Gore's 2006 Academy Award-winning film. Only time will tell whether Food Inc. remains a cult movie shown at film festivals or becomes a tool that awakens a sleeping public and takes away the trust between food shoppers and their favorite brands.
In the last few years, food shoppers have become attuned to the issues of nutrition and food safety. More and more consumers are becoming aware of compromises required to obtain year-round produce along with the loss of flavor, nutrition and texture of gassed produce. There is also a growing sense of fear that imported products come with more safety risks.
This film goes well beyond the traditional propaganda of big is bad, local is better, organic is best, by calling our industry inhumane, economically and environmentally unsustainable. And while the usual poster companies are singled out for criticism, the deeper message is clear.
Our industrial style of food production must end. We already eat four times as much meat and dairy as the rest of the world. As poor countries grow richer, their populations will want the same high calorie, high protein diet that we eat in America. Simply put, the world cannot sustain an American diet worldwide.
Recently Time, in partnership with CNN, reinforced our need for a new American diet in a story titled Getting Real about the High Price of Cheap Food. The article condemns our nation's food system and its soil destroying, obesity creating, healthcare cost epidemic model of cheap food. The Time article sites further proof in a study by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition that found that a dollar could buy 1,200 calories of potato chips or 875 soft drink calories but only 250 vegetable or 175 fresh fruit calories. America is getting fatter because it costs too much to be thin. At some point in our nation's fight over healthcare reform, state and federal governments which continue to pay an every increasing percent of medical bills will challenge America's $147 billion obesity bill and how we eat.
What should be done? First, we must see this food challenge as a total industry challenge and not just an individual company problem. If there was ever an issue to bring agriculture, manufacturers and retailers together, it should be to defend the consumer's connection to food. We must do a better job of telling our story of food:
Safe, nutritious, affordable food all year long;
Added emphasis on foods that promote consumer wellness and family health;
Shopper help through dieticians and "useful" nutritional labeling programs storewide; and
Food safety programs that connect suppliers, retailers, employees and customers on food handling and safe storage.
And finally, we must do a better job of telling the grocery industry's 30-year history of partnering with Feed America and its 206 Food Banks that provide food to more than 25 million hungry Americans each year through modern agriculture and product production.
A little over 100 years ago, the food industry arose to the challenge of Upton Sinclair's novel The Jungle. Our success tomorrow requires retailers and suppliers alike to work together to protect the best in our food system while re-inventing new models of distribution that are environmentally and socially responsible.
Patrick Kiernan, managing partner of Day/Kiernan & Associates, is affiliated with The Center for Food Marketing at St. Joseph's University, Philadelphia; the Institute for the Future, Palo Alto, Calif; and Encore Associates, San Ramon, Calif. He can be reached at KiermanPat@aol.com.
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|Title Annotation:||FUTURE FORCES|
|Date:||Oct 1, 2009|
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|I GAVE ME AT THE CHOP IN IRELAND; Hollywood star Anne says seeing lambs' birth made her a veggie.|


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H Mart Hosts First-Ever Market Eatery Festival This Weekend
Enjoy free food tastings, 99 cent beers, live music and more on August 3
H Mart has taken over the Asian food market industry since its humble Queens, New York beginnings in 1982. It’s now the largest Asian supermarket chain in America and we’re lucky enough to have a store in our very own backyard. Located 20 minutes north of downtown on Lakeline and Research Boulevard, H Mart is hosting their first annual Market Eatery Festival on August 3. You can expect free food tasting, 99 cent beers, face painting, nail art, shopping discounts and live music the whole dang time. H Mart’s food vendors will be serving up tasty dishes like bibimbap bowls, pot stickers and Sno Ice along with Sapporo Premium Light beer and Korean wines.
In addition to unique sips and bites, the event will also feature a raffle benefiting Kids in a New Groove, a non-profit dedicated to mentoring Central Texas children in foster care specifically through music lessons. In the past four years 100% of Kids in a New Groove high school seniors have graduated, compared to a national average of 47% amongst foster care youth.
Come early and stay late at this years epic Asian food festival and perfect addition to the ever-expanding Austin food scene. This family-friendly event is free and kicks off at 11 a.m.
See you there!


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The stage is set. A new age of Surface tablets is upon us. The second generation units were officially unveiled by Microsoft at a NYC event yesterday, and sales are expected to begin next month.
And speaking of expectations, we now have some projections on sales numbers.
These new numbers come from the hit or miss (usually miss) DigiTimes. And this time the infamous upstream supply chain sources that the website so readily cites are claiming that Redmond will ship around 3 million tablets in 2014.
This should be good enough for a 1.15 percent share of the tablet market.
Both the Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2 are on track to go on sale on October 22, four days after the launch of Windows 8.1. But at the same time Microsoft and its retail partners also have to deal with the unsold first generation models that the company plans to sell alongside these new slates.
Obviously, they will be available at discounted prices, and that is something that could eat into sales.
Another thing that could potentially affect Surface sales is the myriad of new devices that are on track to hit store shelves between now and the end of the year. Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2 may have been the first Windows 8.1 and Windows RT 8.1 tablets out of the gate, but more slates are fast incoming.
Nokia is widely expected to release its very own Windows RT 8.1 tablet in the next few weeks. And other hardware partners have already made their refreshed offerings official.
Nevertheless, it will be quite interesting seeing just how the final numbers fly in once the competition heats up. We should have a better idea of the situation a few weeks after the New Year, once the shopping season ends.


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After dialling it down to show off some upcoming indie titles, Microsoft came back hard by showcasing their most anticipated exclusive, Sunset Overdrive, with a brand new eye-popping trailer.
Ted Price, CEO of Insomniac Games, took the stage to give players a new look into the “mutant apocalypse.” The new trailer tells the story of Floyd, former head scientist at Fizzco, who created the energy drink Overcharge, which turned anyone who drank it into human killing mutants.
On top of that, Fizzco has added murderous robots to the mix.
Floyd told gamers to “stay moving and stay shooting” as they took control of the “outrageous weapons,” a signature of Insomniac’s games, such as the teddy launcher, a gun that shoots dynamite-strapped teddy bears, allowing players to rain adorable death on all those who oppose them.
The presentation closed with the announcement of the Sunset Overdrive bundle. The bundle will come with the game, a white Xbox One console, and bonus in-game weapons. The pre-order for the Sunset Overdrive bundle begins right now. It will be available for purchase October 71st.
After the press conference Ted Price stopped by the Microsoft post show with even more Sunset Overdrive footage. The second look introduced players to one of the game’s many factions, the Samurai-inspired Troop Bushido man-boy scouts.
Troop Bushido is just one of the many factions to be featured in Sunset Overdrive. As the game was played, Price revealed that each faction is especially vulnerable to certain weapon types. The giant mutant featured in the demo had a particular weakness to fire.
The demo also featured a brief discussion of style points. Killing enemies while grinding or traversing will garner style points. Earning style points will grant the player access to amps, which allow for skill upgrades.
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Satoshi’s $1 Million Bitcoin Treasure Hunt Gets Sweet SNARKy $70,000 Side Quest
The $1 million scavenger hunt first kicked off back in April, but along the way, there have been side quests with additional payouts in Bitcoin. Today, a fourteenth clue that will lead to the jackpot prize has been released, and it is worth an additional $70,000 in Bitcoin. The key to unlock this side quest is found in the image below:
The clue provided with the image seems rather innocuous, simply stating “Don’t be so SNARKy”. According to The Next Web, this Zero Knowledge key, which was released today, SNARKy is a reference to the Zcash cryptocurrency that uses proprietary ZK-SNARKs to secure transactions. In addition to the Bitcoin prize worth $70,000, three keys will also be offered up.
Of the 14 clues that have been released so far (including today’s Zero Knowledge Key), only 10 have been solved so far by teams chasing the grand prize. The $1 million in Bitcoin has been divvied up into 1,000 shards. However, the first team that manages to secure 400 shards will unlock the full prize.
Bitcoin has been on an upward trajectory over the past few months, and really skyrocketed last week after Facebook announced its global Libra cryptocurrency with backing from heavy hitters in the financial field including Mastercard, Visa, and PayPal along with companies like Spotify and Lyft. Before the Libra announcement, Bitcoin was sitting at about $9,143. Now, one Bitcoin is worth $11,365.


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This key appointment supports the company’s strategy for ambitious global growth
Leading mobile advertising and publishing software developer, MIA has appointed Martin Ryan as its new Global CEO. His appointment supports the company’s strategy for ambitious global growth in the delivery of digital content to mobile devices.
Martin brings extensive experience in global technology business management, having worked at CEO level in digital communications and technology companies in Australia, Asia and the USA. Prior to joining MIA, Martin was the Managing Director of Dell KACE Networks, a silicon valley based software company recently acquired by Dell. Before that, Martin was the General Manager of Web Central's web and application hosting business.
Richard Mergler, previously MIA CEO, has moved to the United States to establish MIA’s presence there from the company's New York base.
“Martin’s extensive technology industry leadership skills position him perfectly to take our company to the next level in his new role as CEO of MIA,” said Garry Connelly, Chairman of MIA.
“2011 is set to be an exciting and challenging time for MIA and credit goes to the whole team for all our success to date,” said Connelly.
“Appointing Martin Ryan as CEO is the right decision strategically for MIA, as we are now poised to take full advantage of the opportunities that lay at our doorstep and I can devote my time to our international sales activities,” said Richard Mergler, MIA International Sales Director and Managing Director of MIA USA.
As the new CEO, Martin's first task is getting to know his new team, clients and partners.
“MIA is a true leader in the world's fastest growing technology sector. I’m excited to be part of such a great team as its new CEO and I’m looking forward to the challenge of working towards our ambitious growth targets. I’m confident that MIA’s future is extremely bright and I am excited to be part of that,” said Martin Ryan, CEO, MIA.
About MIA - www.miainternational.com
MIA sets the global standard for mobile platform technology and innovation. It is a provider of proven technology that enables the successful delivery of mobile assets to all devices, across any network in any format. MIA technology delivers a superior customer experience, reduced costs and increased revenue to its clients.
MIA was founded in 2003 delivering mobile internet solutions and now has over 1700 live sites operating across the globe.
Martin Ryan, CEO, MIA


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Hospitality, travel sectors will suffer in short term: Industry (Lead)November 28th, 2008 - 9:49 pm ICT by IANS
New Delhi, Nov 28 (IANS) The meltdown-hit travel trade and hospitality industry will have to weather another storm, thanks to the terrorists’s siege of two hotels in Mumbai since Wednesday night. But industry watchers and captains predict that it will only be a short-term assault on business. The terrorists scoped out iconic hospitality landmarks like the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower Hotel and the Oberoi Trident in the country’s financial capital unlike previous attacks - sparking fears that the tourism and hospitality sectors will have to grapple with the crippling blow over a long period.
“The situation is almost like 9/11,” Anil Bhandari, former chairman-cum-managing director of the Indian Tourism Development Corp (ITDC), told IANS.
“Obviously, people will not like to travel. But domestic travellers will be around,” he said.
“Cancellations of overseas bookings have already started. The fate of travel trade and hospitality business now depends on how we send the message across that everything is normal. Several countries have already issued advisories against travelling to India,” Bhandari said.
India, explained Mumbai-based Sunil Gupta, the chief operating officer of travel majors SOTC and Kuoni Group, is a complicated destination because of the size of the country and the multitude tourism circuits.
“Tourists book in advance. I think the attack will affect holiday bookings for February and March. People coming to India will avoid Mumbai. The fact that Delhi has the largest inbound airport will help travellers reschedule their itineraries,” Gupta told IANS from Mumbai.
“It is the last straw on the camel’s back.”
Since North America and Europe, the two largest inbound tourists contributors to India, are fighting economic slowdown, bookings have already borne the brunt. “The attacks have only made it worse,” Gupta said.
However, he said the silver lining was winter - especially Christmas - is always a subdued season for inbound travel and trade. “People in the West want to celebrate Christmas with their families. That might cushion the impact.”
The SOTC kept its South Mumbai offices closed for the past two days. Bookings will resume Monday.
Sources at Cox & Kings said it was a “wait-and-watch situation”. “It is too early to speculate the impact,” a senior Cox & Kings official said.
Owner of restaurant chain Moti Mahal and the author of the Moti Mahal Cookbook Manish Gujral is concerned about the impact of the attack on his business.
Gujral’s eatery chain has properties spread across the country, including Mumbai.
“The Moti Mahal restaurant in Mumbai is located next to the Oberoi at the Inox Mall. It has been closed for the past two days. On the night of the attack, the employees were trapped inside the premises. I am worried about the impact on my business,” Gujral told IANS.
“Why are our police not equipped to battle terror?” he said, arguing that if the country was unable to provide security to its people and ensure a safety along the border, it was not possible for hotels to protect individual customers.
There is a very perverse logic to terror, said travel trade and hospitality writer Bhisham Manshukhani, associated with Paprika Media owned by the Essar Group. “People forget and Mumbai has the ability to recover. It can reduce the damage,” Mansukhani said.
According to him, domestic tourists will remain. “But it will take time for foreign travellers to return. Add to it the recession. Hotels are going to see a major crash in the short term,” he said.
Tags: coming to india, domestic travellers, economic slowdown, holiday bookings, hospitality business, hospitality sectors, hospitality travel, hotels in mumbai, mumbai terror attack, travel sectors, travelling to india


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DAVOS, Switzerland — Carlos Ghosn, chief executive of Nissan Motor on Wednesdays said the automaker needs to curb exports from Japan to scale back exposure to the yen.
“Today we are too much dependent on the yen. In the future we need as a company to reduce our dependence on the yen. So it’s not the question that the yen is strong today and will be weaker tomorrow,” Ghosn said.
“We will still be exporting from Japan, but we want the level of exports from Japan to be smaller.”
When asked about the desired yen level, the executive said “the neutral level of the yen would be somewhere between 90 and 100 (per dollar).”
His comments come a day after Nissan announced plans to spend up to $2 billion to build a third plant in Mexico to supply markets in Latin America and the U.S. and three months after it disclosed it would build a new plant in Brazil.
Nissan said the plant will open in late 2013 and be able to produce 175,000 cars per year. Construction will begin this summer. The plant will create 3,000 jobs, bringing the company’s total workforce in Mexico near 13,500.
The Yokohama, Japan-based automaker already has two plants in Mexico – one in Cuernavaca in Morelos state near the capital, and a second in Aguascalientes – and holds a quarter of the market as the nation’s best-selling auto brand.
Last year, buffeted by three historic calamities–the March 11 earthquake/tsunami/nuclear accident disaster, the floods in Thailand, and the super-strong yen–Japanese makers’ global sales continued a three year slide to below 30 percent.
Japan’s exports declined in 2011 due to decreased production of cars and other products in the wake of the March 11 Great East Japan Earthquake, and the historic appreciation of the yen.
A yen near postwar highs against the dollar is cutting into profits of exporters from Nippon Steel Corp. to Toyota Corp. by making Japanese products more expensive abroad, hampering the nation’s rebound from March’s temblor.
The $32bn deficit for 2011 reflected a 2.7 per cent decline in the value of Japan’s exports, which fell to $843bn, according to the Ministry of Finance figures released on Wednesday.
The first annual trade deficit since 1981 calls into question how much longer the country can rely on exports to help finance a huge public debt without having to turn to foreign investors.


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The world’s largest beer company is seeking new partners to lead its global media buying and planning business after merging with its main rival late last year.
All six major holding companies have been invited to participate in the A-B InBev pitch as the company looks to slim down its current eight-agency roster. A spokesperson told Adweek that it has not yet determined how many shops will handle media duties after the review.
A-B InBev closed on its offer to acquire SABMiller late last year in a deal whose total worth was estimated at more than $100 billion dollars. (The Miller and Coors brands were sold to Molson Coors in order to ensure approval of the merger.) Now, the company behind Budweiser, Beck’s, Corona and more is “taking the opportunity for a comprehensive review of A-B InBev’s current media planning and buying capabilities globally.”
According to an internal strategy memo, the company plans to move away from a model that focused on individual countries or regions to a more global approach with the ultimate goal of “reduc[ing] the complexity that comes with working with multiple partners.”
This marks a major shift for A-B InBev, which aims to apply best practices universally across the 50-plus countries involved in the pitch. Another key concern is achieving greater consistency in media buying rates and approaches, regardless of region.
The spokesperson declined to specify which agencies will be involved in the initial stages of the review but did confirm that a formal announcement will be made next month, that “a number of [current] agencies” will be invited and that a decision should be made in the second half of this year, with the new agency roster in place by early 2018.
If the review does not come to a satisfactory conclusion by that time, A-B InBev does not discount the possibility of placing the process on hold and relaunching it at a later date.
MediaLink will fill the consultancy role in the review, with Mediapath handling audit duties. WPP’s MediaCom has been media AOR for A-B InBev in the U.S. since beating out Spark, OMD and Vizeum in a late 2014 review. (The client had previously handled much of its media buying in-house.)
According to the latest numbers from Kantar Media, A-B InBev spent more than $700 million on measured media in the U.S. in 2016, and the acquisition did not factor into that total. While North America is the company’s largest single market, its global spending totals are considerably higher.


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If you’re a fan of Breaking Bad, you’re undoubtedly very familiar with the show’s Los Pollos Hermanos — heck, you might even go so far as buy a T-shirt with the fictional restaurant/meth factory’s logo on it. And that’s exactly why the artist who created the restaurant’s logo is suing Sony Pictures: he says the company made money off merchandise featuring the Los Pollos Hermanos logo without his permission.
The man created the image in 2008 for the show’s fried chicken joint that served as a cover for Gustavo Fring’s drug operation, Courthouse News reports. But he claims in a federal lawsuit that his contract with Sony Pictures only gave the studio permission to use the image in the show, not to license it or peddle merchandise bearing the image.
He’s also suing Topanga Productions, a distributor and subsidiary of Sony, claiming that the company has been licensing T-shirts, hats, and other merchandise featuring the Los Pollos Hermanos logo.
So why is he suing now, two years after the final episode of the show? He lives in Mexico, and says he was unaware of the alleged trademark infringement until the fall of 2015.
He’s seeking an accounting, profits, damages, and an injunction that would bar the companies from selling anything with the logo on it.
‘Breaking Bad’ Artist Says Sony Went Too Far [Courthouse News]
by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist


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The day after an incredible earnings report, Apple has overtaken oil giant Saudi Aramco to become the most valuable public traded company in the world on Friday.
Following the company’s earnings report Thursday, Apple’s stock price surged as high as 10.5% in intraday trading. Ultimately, shares of AAPL closed at $425.18 at end of trading on Friday.
Altogether, that give Apple a market capitalization of $1.84 trillion, based on share price and number of outstanding shares. That allowed Apple to close with a market valuation higher than Saudi Arabian oil juggernaut Saudi Aramco, which has held the number-one spot since it went public last year.
The Cupertino tech giant reported earnings on Thursday that smashed Wall expectations, with revenue clocking in at $59.7 billion even during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Apple also announced a four-for-one stock split that could make AAPL more accessible to a broader range of investors.
Following the earnings report, Apple’s share price passed the $400 price-per-share milestone.
Apple is already in the top spot when it comes to U.S.-based publicly traded companies. Earlier in 2020, the company also became the first U.S. firm to pass the $1.5 trillion market valuation milestone.
Shares of Apple have proven themselves resilient, even during COVID-19. In the June quarter, Apple’s iPhone segment actually grew 2% year-over-year even as smartphone sales are on the decline. Other product categories, including iPad, Mac and Services, also showed rock-solid growth.
Apple’s stock price is up 84.74% since a pandemic-caused low point on March 23 that rocked the entire market. Apple recovered to pre-coronavirus levels in May, and has continued growing roughly 30% since then.
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(NewsNation Now) — One of YouTube’s most popular videos is set to leave the site after being sold as a digital property.
Who can forget “Charlie Bit My Finger?” It was one of YouTube’s earliest viral videos, racking up more than 884 million views to date.
The family behind the video decided to capitalize on its tremendous popularity by auctioning it off as a nonfungible token or NFT, which essentially converts it into a unique, collectible piece of digital art that can be bought and re-sold.
To make the auction even more enticing, the family said they would delete the original video so whoever purchases the NFT will get the “only” copy.
A bidder named 3fmusic, which has been purchasing many high-profile NFTs, scored the “Charlie Bit My Finger” NFT for $760,999 when the auction ended on Sunday.
That winner will also get to record a new version with the brothers, who are now 15 and 17 years old.
At last check, you can still find the original online.


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Read the affiliate disclosure page to find out how can you help MSPoweruser effortlessly and without spending any money. Read more
Huawei’s Android replacement OS may actually be less of a replacement than was initially assumed.
When asked directly about it, Huawei’s Catherine Chen (a board member and senior VP) aid that the company would continue to use Android for its smartphone business. When asked about Hongmeng, she said that it was for industrial use and IoT devices. Its lightness and low-latency made it perfect for those purposes. It was reiterated again that Huawei intends to continue using Android on its consumer-facing products.
Huawei has recently been the subject of controversy as the US government sought to limit it from doing any business with US companies. This led to Google temporarily pulling its Android license while the firm worked to lobby for a resolution. The restriction was later lifted by the US administration.
However, should said limits be placed once more on Huawei by the US government, it is unclear what Plan B (if any) would be if not Hongmeng.


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New York, NY, August 09, 2016 --(PR.com
)-- Blockchain of Things, Inc., leader in the Industrial Internet of Things space, provides powerful blockchain integration solutions for corporate enterprises. Today, Blockchain of Things announced their invitation to participate in a panel and speak at the Canaccord Genuity Group, Inc 36th Annual Growth Conference on Wednesday, August 10-11, 2016. The panel will focus on blockchain and Bitcoin for the financial community, and will take place at the InterContinental Hotel in Boston, USA.
Andre De Castro, CEO, blockchain expert, and bitcoin evangelist, will participate in the Bitcoin/Blockchain panel at 12pm on August 10th, and will speak on how the blockchain solves major issues in the IoT space at 5pm, in the London Room. He will be available for one-on-one “Ask The Expert” sessions to answer all questions regarding the intriguing topic and the company’s enterprise product. All interested attendees can schedule a one-on-one meeting with Blockchain of Things management. Please contact your Canaccord Genuity representative or the company’s investor relations team at +1.646.926.BCOT (2268).
The company is presently in its initial funding phase, and seeking investment partners to come on board as silent or active parties. Their main focus is in blockchain integration to support smart assets, security, encryption, auditability, global connectivity, and the industrial internet of things.
The robust nature of blockchain technology allows for immutable data storage and secure transmission of assets for peer-connected devices, systems, applications, and smart contracts. Their solution allows the industrial internet of things and financial industry to fully engage the power of global cryptographic networks with ease. It provides the only complete blockchain integration platform via SaaS, SOA, and APIs.
Mr. De Castro’s aim is to demystify blockchain to the financial community by addressing the many concerns of how this innovative technology is shaping their sector and how it will become the new norm for the internet of things and financial Industry.
About Blockchain of Things, Inc.
Formed in 2014, Blockchain of Things Inc. has become the leader in creating enterprise-class security infrastructure software leveraging the capabilities of a cryptographic blockchain for the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) using the Catenis Enterprise™ platform. The company is located in New York City in the United States.
For more information, please visit us at blockchainofthings.com / @blockchainot


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The rate of inflation in the UK has increased again this month. Rising energy bills and hikes in the cost of petrol continue to play a large part in driving up the overall rate, as does continued high demand for secondhand cars.
Inflation continues to rise in the UK. The latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reveal that the consumer price index (CPI) – a measure of changes in prices for goods and services – is 5.5% higher than a year ago. This is higher than the December 2021 figure (5.4%) and is the highest it has been since the ONS started recording this series in January 1997.
Covid-19 has had a lasting effect on inflation levels. Significant short-term changes in prices that occurred during the lockdown period (known as base effects) resonate in the data today, long after the strictest rules have been eased. The prices of goods and services that were cut sharply during lockdown are now getting back to ‘normal’, and this change is contributing to the high overall inflation rate.
Figure 1: Annual inflation rates (January 2012 to January 2022)
There are several ways of measuring how prices are evolving. But what do these different rates reveal?
According to the latest data, the consumer prices index including occupiers’ housing costs (CPIH) rose to 4.9% in the last 12 months to January. This is compared with 4.8% in the year to December 2021. Within this measure, rising housing and household services costs contributed most to the 12-month rate at 1.37 percentage points (see Figure 2, turquoise bars).
Figure 2: CPIH contributors (January 2020 to January 2022)
This was due, in part, to the revision of the cap on energy prices set by the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem) in October 2021. Ofgem has increased the price cap by 12% since the last revision in April 2021 because of a rise in energy costs of more than 50% over the last six months. This contributed to rising housing costs, as people’s bills increased sharply.
Prices from transport have shown the most variation since the start of the pandemic. The range of contribution to inflation has fluctuated from 0.2 percentage points at the start of the first lockdown to 1.34 percentage points in November 2021. Significant changes in petrol prices are partly responsible – these jumped to 145 pence per litre (ppl) in January 2022, from 117 ppl 12 months earlier. In November and December 2021 average petrol prices reached their highest recorded level, at 146 ppl.
Buoyant demand for secondhand cars has also driven prices up. In January 2020, at the start of the pandemic, secondhand cars were getting cheaper (a downward effect of 0.07 percentage points). This changed to an upward effect of 0.15 points in October of that year, perhaps due to people choosing not to use public transport because of fear of infection.
Semiconductor shortages also had an effect, limiting the supply of new vehicles, which include a lot of chips. This further increased demand for used cars. Together, these factors resulted in price increases for secondhand cars contributing 0.35 percentage points to the overall inflation rate (the largest recorded) in January 2022. This was up from only 0.1 percentage points in April 2021.
Figure 3: Contributions to change in the CPIH 12-month inflation rate (December 2021 to January 2022)
How has the breakdown of inflation changed since December? ‘Clothing and footwear’ stands out as an outlier (see Figure 3). The data show that the price of clothes and shoes has increased the rate by 0.14 percentage points between December 2021 and January 2022. Some of this may be due to shops putting up prices following sales. Other notable contributors to the overall change were housing and household services (0.06 percentage points) and furniture and household goods (0.04 percentage points).
The Bank of England has an inflation target of 1-3%. This is not being met at present, and it is natural to wonder what the central bank’s plan of action might be. There is pressure to raise interest rates to try to tackle inflation. In fact, earlier this month, the Bank of England adjusted the Bank Rate (the UK’s most important interest rate) from 0.25% to 0.5%, the second increase in under two months.
Continued inflation will have widespread effects across the economy, squeezing wages and pushing up costs. With many experts anticipating that inflation will reach over 7% in the spring, and nearly half of the members on the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) opting for an increase to 0.75% in the last vote, further increases in interest rates are probable.
Where can I find out more?
- The latest ONS inflation data can be found here
- The Bank of England Monetary Policy summary (Feb 2022) can be found here
- What to expect from inflation throughout 2022 and beyond: NIESR blog by Huw Dixon
Who are experts on this question?
- Jagjit Chadha
- Richard Davies
- Huw Dixon


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Watch full program online here.
In Growing Up Online, FRONTLINE takes viewers inside the very public private worlds that kids are creating online, raising important questions about how the Internet is transforming childhood. "The Internet and the digital world was something that belonged to adults, and now it's something that really is the province of teenagers, " says CJ Pascoe, a postdoctoral scholar with the University of California, Berkeley's Digital Youth Research project."They're able to have a private space, even while they're still at home. They're able to communicate with their friends and have an entire social life outside of the purview of their parents, without actually having to leave the house."


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Green loyalty scheme to be launched across UK
A national sustainable loyalty scheme is to be launched in the UK, offering customers reward points for making green purchasing choices.
The scheme CEO is ex Air Miles CEO Jude Thorne, with an impressive board line up of environmental thinkers and loyalty experts.
The scheme will operate nationally both online through its www.myice.com website and using a mag-stripe card and the retailer EPOS system.
Using a similar model to that operated by the Barclaycard Freedom scheme, the Ice loyalty programme will be run by its management company, in terms of network, points management, customer service and rewards redemption, while the retailer will pay commission on every purchase made using an ICE card.
As with schemes such as Airmiles and Nectar, the amount of Ice credits the consumer earns per £ spent varies by retailer, and ranges from 1 credit per £1 up to 12 per £1.
An impressive list of partners have already signed up to the scheme, including Eurostar, Green & Blacks Direct, Green Tomato Cars, Eat Sleep Live, and a host of farm shops across Britain.
On the website, there are sections including drink, travel, home & garden, home energy, fashion & clothing, pets, gifts, a green building store, an eco taxi and skincare.
CEO Jude Thorne told Loyalty Magazine that there is no limit to the number of companies that can join the scheme as partners, as long as their green credentials are verified by suitable bodies such as the Soil Association or the Forestry Commission as being sustainable and environmentally friendly. She said that she would not discount the possibility of major retailers, including supermarkets joining the scheme.
She added that consumers could make choices about every product by viewing its ‘green credentials’ on the web site, and making their own choices as to its sustainability.
ICE credits never expire, but after three years, if they have not been redeemed, they will be used for a carbon offset programme.
An exclusive interview with Jude Thorne, CEO of ICE will be published on www.loyaltymagazine.com next week.


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A Filipino owned Dollar Plus and Party Supply store in Vallejo was robbed this week, where one of the owners were shot several times in the leg. According to Dion Lim, Marc and his wife Nina have owned the store for 14 years and have reportedly been robbed before.
The asian community has suffered numerous attacks in the past few weeks and this is just another incident to add to that list.
See the surveillance video below.
Photo Source: Getty Images


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In addition, it’s the only form of money users can theoretically “mine” themselves, if they (and their computers) have the ability. There were more than 19.48 million bitcoins circulating, giving it a total value of over $500 billion. This is much less than in 2021, when its value reached more than $64,000—giving it a total value of about $1.2 trillion at the time.
- In 2009, Nakamoto mined the first Bitcoin block, and on January 12th of the same year, the inaugural Bitcoin transaction took place.
- Bitcoin took less than a month in 2021 to smash its 2020 price record, surpassing $40,000 by Jan. 7, 2021.
- The global banking sector is estimated to have a similarly large carbon footprint, and quantifying that of the financial services industry as a whole has not yet been managed.
The price of Bitcoin has been highly volatile since it started because of several factors. Firstly, the crypto market is smaller and not heavily traded like traditional markets, so big trades can make the price swing substantially. Secondly, Bitcoin’s value depends on public sentiment and speculation, leading to short-term price changes. Media coverage, influential opinions, and regulatory developments create https://coinbreakingnews.info/technical-analysis/is-dogecoin-worth-investing-in-since-the-price-is/ uncertainty, affecting demand and supply dynamics and contributing to price fluctuations. Over the past few decades, consumers have become more curious about their energy consumption and personal effects on climate change. When news stories started swirling regarding the possible negative effects of Bitcoin’s energy consumption, many became concerned about Bitcoin and criticized this energy usage.
How many Bitcoins are there?
Since each individual’s situation is unique, a qualified professional should always be consulted before making any financial decisions. Investopedia makes no representations or warranties as to the accuracy or timeliness of the information contained herein. Speculation, investment product hype, irrational exuberance, and investor panic and fear can also be expected to affect Bitcoin’s price because demand will rise and fall with investor sentiment. On Nov. 10, 2021, Bitcoin again reached an all-time high of $68,789 before closing at $64,995.
- The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) accepted Bitcoins as donations for a couple of months in 2011.
- From $13.00 at the beginning of the year, Bitcoin hit nearly $250 in April.
- Users had been reporting issues with withdrawals for months, but the exchange called it quits once and for all and filed for bankruptcy.
- Users can then close these channels at any time and settle their final balances on the main BTC chain.
By then, Nakamoto transferred Bitcoin’s network alert key and control of the code repository to Gavin Andresen, who became lead developer at the Bitcoin Foundation. The massive appreciation in price over the course of 2017 was driven in part by strong retail interest in the cryptocurrency. Trading volume on Bitso – Mexico’s leading exchange – grew 1,500% in the six months ending March 2017. Poloniex experienced 600% growth in the number of active traders on its platform throughout the year. Though WordPress’s move was a big one for the four year-old cryptocurrency, the company wasn’t handling Bitcoin transactions itself.
No one controls these blocks, because blockchains are decentralized across every computer that has a bitcoin wallet, which you only get if you buy bitcoins. To get a sense of how much of the world’s money is https://crypto-trading.info/how-to-buy-bitcoin-in-7-steps-2021/ in bitcoins, we must determine the total amount of money. Such a calculation might take into account dozens of categories of wealth, including banknotes, precious metals, money market accounts, and debt.
Bitcoin BTC/USD price history up until Dec 13, 2023
While the product isn’t perfect – it is based on BTC futures rather than actual physical bitcoin – many feel that this is a good step in the right direction. At this point, the most likely change seems to be increased regulation, including the Digital Asset Anti-Money Laundering Act, which is now going through Congress. That is unlikely to be bullish for Bitcoin or the rest of the cryptocurrency universe. It was created by an anonymous programmer, or group of programmers, under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto.
Bitcoin to USD Chart
Many investors are looking to Bitcoin as a safe store of value in the face of unprecedented money printing in many countries. Triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic, a global liquidity event, and exchange liquidation engines run amok, Bitcoin sold off nearly 40% on March 12. It hit a low of $3,850 before doubling in price over the next six weeks. The price of Bitcoin in 2015 started off weakly, with a -50% selloff in the first two weeks of the year.
This means that you can use most, if not all, cryptocurrencies to buy Bitcoin. The original reward of 50 BTC per mined block as of the genesis block has been https://cryptominer.services/best-cryptocurrencies-in-2021/ halved several times to 25, 12.5, and, as of 11 May 2020, to 6.25 BTC. The Bitcoin protocol dictates that these Halvings take place every 210,000 blocks.
Bitcoin’s Price History
The BitcoinTalk forum went online in late 2009 and soon enough one regular proposed the idea of an exchange where people could buy and sell Bitcoins for fiat currency. Keep in mind that this was when the block reward was 50 BTC and there were very few people mining. The creator of Bitcoin remains an enigma, known only by the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto. Bitcoin’s innovation emerged in 2008 when Nakamoto released the whitepaper outlining the cryptocurrency’s decentralized, peer-to-peer structure, and use of blockchain technology.
If people believe that Bitcoin is worth a specific amount, they will buy it, especially if they think it will increase in value. Interestingly, Bitcoin’s price trends appeared to mimic those of the stock market from Nov. 2021 through June 2022, suggesting that the market was treating it like a stock. Bitcoin’s price moved sideways in 2018 and 2019, with small bursts of activity. For example, there was a resurgence in price and trading volume in June 2019, with the price surpassing $10,000.
Today, bitcoin is bigger and better than ever before, and many people are once again excited about the prospects of the crypto market. Regarding Wood’s other arguments, institutional adoption seems far from a foregone conclusion. Few mainstream corporations are now holding Bitcoin, and some of the world’s most admired financiers have repeatedly trashed it. To check Bitcoin’s price live in the fiat currency of your choice, you can use Crypto.com’s converter feature in the top-right corner of this page.


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Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. Expands Support for Alaska Small Businesses
Alaska, February 15, 2022 – With many Alaska businesses impacted by the pandemic, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NYSE: NCLH) (“Norwegian” or the “Company”), a leading global cruise company which operates the Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises brands, has expanded its campaign to encourage guests to support local Alaskans across the state through the Shop Local Alaska program via the Voyij.com e-commerce marketplace.
- Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. has pledged expanded support for the Shop Local Alaska Program, an initiative by BuyAlaska, a program under the Alaska Small Business Development Center and Voyij.com, an online marketplace exclusively for Alaska businesses.
- The Shop Local Alaska program directly generates revenue for Alaska small businesses by marketing Alaska products to millions of people out of state.
As small businesses in Alaska continue to be affected by the loss of 1.3 million visitors to the state each year by cruise lines, Norwegian has pledged additional support for the Shop Local Alaska program via Voyij.com to raise awareness and drive revenue to Alaskan-owned businesses. As part of Norwegian’s ongoing partnership with Shop Local Alaska and Voyij.com – first announced on May 4, 2021 – Norwegian is encouraging people to help support Alaska small businesses by shopping online. With over 10,000 items listed from more than 150 businesses, we are delighted to share that you can enjoy the Last Frontier long after you’ve returned home.
“BuyAlaska & Voyij.com’s partnership on the Shop Local Alaska program brings new revenue to Alaska small businesses that is vital to supporting our local economy,” says Jon Bittner, Alaska Small Business Development Center Executive Director. “This online marketplace has essentially extended the tourism season to a year-round opportunity to share the culture, history, and lifestyle of Alaska to millions of visitors past, present, and future.”
Norwegian’s expanded campaign launched in December 2021 in time for the holiday shopping season. Guests are able to browse virtual Alaskan stores and buy with confidence on Voyij.com. The site offers a wide variety of Alaskan products: from locally caught fish to beautiful Alaskan-crafted jewelry to Native Art and clothing of the North. Any Alaskan-owned business can list its products on the Voyij.com marketplace.
“Offering our guests the opportunity to explore incredible destinations is at the heart of what we do, and the support of small businesses within these destinations is critical to our success. During every cruise experience, you will find small business owners who help preserve and share the culture, tradition, and history of their community”, said Dan Farkas, executive vice president and general counsel of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. “Alaska is one of our guests’ most popular cruise destinations, and we are doing everything in our power to safely resume cruises to the Last Frontier and encourage direct support via the Shop Local Alaska program, providing much needed relief to the families, communities and small businesses who rely on cruise tourism for their livelihoods.”
To discover and shop from local Alaskan artisans and businesses, please visit voyij.com/shop-local-alaska.
Follow BuyAlaska and Voyij.com on social media to stay up to date with the latest on the Shop Local Alaska Program.


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Apple Opened 49th & 50th Locations This Weekend, Touts Reach To 85 Million In US
by , 3:30 PM EST, November 25th, 2002
Apple has hit its stated goal of having 50 Apple Store retail locations open by the end of this year. The company opened the 49th and 50th locations this weekend in Denver, Colorado and Emeryville, California. The company is touting its reach to as many as 85 million people who Apple says live within 15 miles of a US Apple store.
Apple also included a mention today of its After-Thanksgiving promotional event at its retail locations (see our coverage from last week for more information). The stores will be staying open late on Friday, November 29th. Attendees at the event will get some free "stocking stuffers," and the company is giving away an iMac at each location. The event is being modeled on the midnight Jaguar sales event from August. From Apple:
Apple® opened its 49th and 50th retail stores in the U.S. this weekend, with new store locations in Denver, Colorado and Emeryville, California. The Company now has stores in 24 states in the US, with a retail location within 15 miles of 85 million people, about one third of the US population.
Every Apple store offers hot holiday gift ideas including the iPod digital music player for Mac® and Windows, iMac®, digital cameras, digital camcorders and software for the Mac. In addition, this holiday season visitors to the Apple stores can choose from two holiday wrapping paper designs created exclusively for Apple by San Francisco artist Rex Ray.
Apple is hosting a special holiday shopping event at all of its retail store locations on Friday, November 29 from 6 p.m. to midnight. Customers who attend the event will receive free stocking-stuffers, special values and a chance to win a new 15-inch iMac*.
*No purchase necessary
You can find more information on Apple Stores at Apple's Web site, as well as more information on the After-Thanksgiving event.


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Insider fraud sees 14.5% surge in 2011
Insider company fraud rose by 14.5 percent in 2011 on 2010, according to the latest CIFAS Staff Fraud Database. There was a 41 per cent jump in the number of dishonest actions by staff to gain a benefit by theft or deception, such as theft of cash from customer accounts. But last year saw a fall in unauthorised disclosures of personal customer information by staff, according to the CIFAS Staff Fraud Database.
Full impact of UK riots is laid bare
Some 20,000 retail staff were affected by the UK's summer riots, according to the British Retail Consortium's latest Annual Crime Survey. A third of the stores that were affected said their employees were exposed to physical violence and nearly 40 per cent reported cases of verbal abuse. More than eight out of 10 businesses said that their staff are now afraid of future violence, including reprisals.
GlaxoSmithKline will update the market on its annual results. The drugs maker is expected to post revenues of £27.6bn compared with £28.4bn last time and profits of £8.4bn compared with £4.5bn the previous year, when Glaxo's earnings were hit by a £2.2bn legal charge in the final quarter. There will also be an update on how Glaxo is allocating funding to its 38 "discovery performance units".
Reckitt Benckiser will reveal its annual results. Analysts expect the drugs and household cleaner maker to post revenues of £9.5bn compared with £8.5bn last time, while profits are forecast to climb to £2.4bn from £2.1bn. Reckitt has cautioned that growth was likely to have slowed in the last three months of 2011 due to US health-care reforms and stalled growth of its Suboxone heroin treatment.
Miner Rio Tinto to reveal its underlying earnings. They are forecast to increase to $15.3 billion, from $14bn the year before. Analysts think that a share buy-back programme could be announced. Full-year results are also due from BG Group, Rolls-Royce, Shire and SVG Capital. Interim results will come from Diageo, Greencore, Hargreaves Lansdown, McBride and Rank Group.
All eyes will be on the bonus number when Barclays reports its full-year results on Friday. Its 23,600 investment bankers are expected to share a total bonus pool of around £1.5 billion, after the bank cuts back its awards for 2011 by around a third. Even so the reduction is not expected to make up for the declining fortunes in Barclays Capital, where top-line income is forecast to have fallen by 20 per cent.Reuse content


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BOSTON (AP) — Sports betting giant DraftKings plans to merge with two other firms and go public, the Boston-based company announced Monday.
DraftKings said it will complete its merger with gambling tech firm SBTech and acquisition company Diamond Eagle Acquisition sometime in the first half of 2020.
DraftKings said the combined company will be valued at $3.3 billion, and it will have $500 million on hand once the deal is complete.
The new company will retain the DraftKings moniker and company co-founder and CEO Jason Robins will continue to lead it, along with a management team that includes co-founders Paul Liberman and Matt Kalish.
DraftKings said it will also reincorporate in Nevada but remain physically headquartered in Boston, where it’s one of the city’s largest tech companies, with roughly 600 workers in its recently opened headquarters in the Back Bay neighborhood.
The three companies are merging through a special purpose acquisition, a method of taking a company public that differs from the more familiar initial public offering, or IPO, process, DraftKings said.
The new company will effectively assume Diamond Eagle’s publicly-traded status, though under a new stock ticker symbol.
It will also receive a $400 million infusion from the Los Angeles-based company, which was founded earlier this year by Jeff Sagansky, a former president of CBS Entertainment, and Harry Sloan, a former chairman and CEO of MGM, in order to invest in media and digital entertainment ventures.
SBTech’s management team, meanwhile, will be integrated into the new company, but the details of that won’t be made public until next year, according to DraftKings.
The company has offices on the Isle of Man, in London and elsewhere in Europe, and provides sports betting software and programs to gambling operations globally. It was founded in 2007.
DraftKings was founded in Boston in 2012 as a purveyor of daily fantasy sports contests, which are are online games that challenge players to build rosters of actual athletes in order to vie for cash and other prizes based on how those athletes do in games.
The company has since expanded into online and retail sports books operations in the handful of states that have legalized sports betting, including Indiana, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Iowa, Mississippi, New Jersey and New York.
DraftKings had previously attempted to merge with its chief rival, FanDuel.
But the two companies scrapped the plans in 2017 after the Federal Trade Commission and the attorneys general of California and the District of Columbia sued to block it over antitrust concerns.
New York-based FanDuel completed a merger with Dublin-based gaming giant Paddy Power Betfair last year instead.
This story has been updated to correct that the companies are planning a special purpose acquisition, not an initial public offering.


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Mobile value added services in India will rise to over Rs 55,000 crore in the next four years, according to consultancy firm Pricewaterhouse Coopers.
The PwC report titled "Value Added Service: The Next Wave" predicts that by 2015, total revenues generated by VAS will cross Rs 20,000 crore while revenues from entertainment services will reach 25,000 crore and information services will contribute to Rs 7,900 crore. Multilingual content, application support around languages, killer applications and readiness of handsets will drive this growth.
Among the factors that will affect future growth are rising demand to pay for regional and multi-lingual content; medical advice VAS; video calling and m-commerce. There is demand for news updates through VAS too. Consumers are willing to spend Rs 50 per month on regional entertainment, PwC states.
Interestingly, 49% of users surveyed were willing to adopt the medical VAS in future at a price of Rs 73 per month. The survey reveals that users are willing to spend an average of Rs 51 per month for news on the mobile.
The PwC report predicts that SMS as a percentage of mobile VAS revenue is expected to decline to around 25% by 2015 from current levels of around 60%.
The report was focused on urban India and covered 1,050 respondents across 10 cities - Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Bhubaneswar, Kochi, Ahmedabad, Pune and Kolkata. It also looks at the awareness levels versus usage.
In rural India information based services such as "Behtar Zindagi"
by Handygo Technologies continue to be deployed, which delivers daily data on weather information, agricultural market prices, livestock and health to mobile phones.


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Takes action on six years of promises.
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Powers future built around analytics and the customer.
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During its plenary meeting held on 15 December, the State Duma ratified the Council of Europe Convention on the counterfeiting of medical products and similar crimes involving threats to public health.
This agreement was elaborated at the initiative and with the active participation of Russia. It was signed on behalf of the Russian Federation on 28 October 2011 in Moscow and entered into force on January 1, 2016. The document is the first pan-European agreement in the area of combating the counterfeiting of medical products.
The Convention aims to intensify, at a new level, the inter-state mechanisms for protection of the public against the risks associated with the circulation of counterfeit and poor quality medicinal products and medical devices. The main purpose of the agreement is to establish the criminal liability for counterfeiting the medical products and for similar crimes, including the manufacturing, storage, sale and counterfeiting of documentation and packaging.
The Convention also protects the rights of victims of such crimes, and develops the collaboration in the area of combating the counterfeiting of medical products at the national and international levels.
According to earlier statements by Leonid Slutsky, the Head of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs, the preparation for the ratification of the Convention involved the introduction of comprehensive amendments to the Russian laws in order to promptly identify and timely withdraw from circulation the unsafe pharmaceutical and medical products.


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Microsoft has blown E3 2021 out of the park with their Halo Infinite presentation which has shown off the storyline and revealed new game details. Fans of Halo are in for a treat with a brand new Halo experience which is set to re-energize the franchise.
The news front for Halo Infinite has been rather quiet as of late, so it’s no surprise that Microsoft has been waiting until E3 2021 to unveil their hugely anticipated game.
Recently, new details were confirmed about how Halo Infinite would operate. Interestingly enough, Xbox revealed that the latest Halo game would include a ton of exciting features, including a premier PC experience.
If you haven’t already done so, you may be interested in picking up an Xbox Games Pass, which grants you access to a multitude of incredible game titles. Furthermore, this will allow you to play Halo Infinite from day one when it launches.
There are also a number of new titles coming to the service which leaked before Xbox’s E3 2021 presentation. If you want to know which games are coming to the service, check it out here.
Halo Infinite: Story Revealed At E3 2021
Now, however, Xbox’s showcase has given us more details regarding the game world, narrative, and more for Halo Infinite. Fans have been struggling through a rather heavy gaming drought recently. Now after a long wait, players have been rewarded with an oasis of information.
Not only did we get to see the game in all of its glory, but important story details were also shown off. Players were also treated to a release date for the upcoming game.
In addition to single player, Halo fans will also be interested in all of the new details for Halo Infinite’s Free-to-Play Multiplayer.
Firstly, the next Halo game will feature the largest environment in Halo history for players to explore. This will be where the epic campaign is set.
Halo Infinite’s campaign will task Master Chief with his greatest challenge yet. The trailer didn’t reveal much but it seems like an unknown threat attempted to delete Cortana and Master Chief will set off to find out who.
Also, Halo Infinite will release this holiday season. An exact date hasn’t been given but fans can be relieved that it will finally come out this year. And, of course, players will be able to play it on Game Pass on launch day.
A while ago we also reported on Halo Infinite’s Battle Royale leak. However, nothing about the potential mode has been revealed yet.
Meanwhile, the Xbox & Bethesda showcase also revealed the first Starfield teaser trailer which included the game’s release date.
Meanwhile, there are brand-new Xbox Game Pass titles dropping very soon after E3. You won’t want to miss these!
Finally, if you haven’t managed to secure an Xbox Series X/s yet, you might be in luck. Here are all of the Xbox restocks happening next week.


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Ajax, the giants from Dutch men’s soccer’s top-tier Eredivisie, have extended their commercial tie-up with German sportswear giant adidas until 2031.
Ajax and Adidas have been partners since 2000, meaning this extension will see the relationship move past the 30-year mark.
The last deal between the two parties was unveiled in July 2018 and runs until the end of 2024-25, meaning this new deal is likely to be a six-season extension.
The club has said the overall tie-up now represents the “longest-running sporting goods partnership in the Eredivisie.”
Nick Craggs, general manager for Adidas Football, has said: “We are honored to be part of the club’s [Ajax’s] history for nearly 25 years, excited to extend this well beyond the club’s 125-year anniversary, and can’t wait to share with Ajax fans around the world what we have in store for the club, on and off the pitch.”
Earlier this month, Adidas was announced as the new match ball supplier for soccer’s Saudi Pro League and will replace rival NIKE in that role in February (mid-season).
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Adidas already signed a four-year kit deal with the Saudi Arabian Football Federation in 2022.
Recent reports have also suggested that Adidas will take over as the kit supplier of English Premier League soccer club Aston Villa from 2024-25, replacing Castore in the process.
Menno Geelen, Ajax’s commercial director, added: "Over the years, we have not only seen growth in the number of teams being supplied by Adidas but our partnership has grown in all aspects. What makes this partnership so special to me, is that Adidas was always there for us.
Ajax currently sit fifth in the 18-team Eredivisie, after a disastrous on-field start to the 2023-24 season has been slightly rectified in recent months.
In terms of the kit supply deals in place at other leading Eredivisie clubs, PSV Eindhoven have a deal in place with Puma, with champions Feyenoord having tied up with Castore before the start of this season.


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Glam Week in Review: Beyonce Continues Her World Takeover, Rachel Zoe's New Role, and More Stylish News
Mark the calendar, set your alarm. Here's the full, 80 piece collecion that Prabal Gurung designed for Target. We're warning you, you're going to want it all. [Glam Chic] Chubby Sticks stole our hearts, and Clinique clearly listened to [...]
See Jessica Chastain look pretty in Preen at the "Zero Dark Thirty" NYC photo call, then catch Anne Hathaway glisten in Givenchy during the "Les Miserables" world premiere in London in this week's chic, celeb red carpet rundown.
What do Alexander Wang, Cushnie et Ochs, Derek Lam, Rodarte, and Zac Posen have in common? Aside from being amongst the biggest names in fashion today, they comprise a list of more than 60 designers who made their mark on the industry [...]
Prabal Gurung took us inside a kaleidescope of sorts with his Spring 2012 collection. Violet surrealist floral prints played off of symmetry for an optical effect. Strategically placed paneled geometric cutouts gave dresses a bold [...]
Prabal Gurung has become somewhat of a household name since dressing young Hollywood types and First Lady Michelle Obama on countless occasions. Gurung was also named the runner-up for the 2010 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Prize and his brand [...]