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21st October 2022 - 3 min read
Hong Leong Bank (HLB) has partnered with Golden Screen Cinemas (GSC) to launch GSC BIG, the latter’s brand-new proprietary premium large format (PLF) screen that is specially designed to provide an improved viewing experience for cinema-goers. In conjunction with this, HLB will offer exclusive deals, alongside opportunities to win prizes at selected GSC cinemas that offer GSC BIG halls.
According to a statement, the new GSC BIG – which is currently available at The Starling Mall and Tropicana Gardens Mall – will wow audiences with its cinema screen that has dimensions of over 20 metres in width, and 10.8 metres in height. It is also powered by a 4k laser projector for superior visuals, and complemented by a 32-channel multi-speaker Dolby Atmos surround sound setup as well as spacious seatings. Selected BIG halls also features recliners and D-BOX motion seats for those who wish for an enhanced experience.
To celebrate this launch, HLB said that customers who apply for a HLB credit card or open a HLB account, or spend a minimum of RM200 on their HLB card (via a maximum of two transactions) at The Starling Mall will stand a chance to redeem various prizes worth up to RM500. Additionally, there will be booths at selected GSC BIG halls where movie-goers can take pictures with family and friends, as well as play games and win exclusive prizes.
“Hong Leong Bank has been our long-standing partner for many years, and we are thrilled to collaborate with them on another milestone to provide movie-goers with a new, captivating cinematic experience,” said the chief executive officer of GSC, Koh Mei Lee, who also stated that the cinema exhibitor will continue to roll out new cinema experiences and promotions with the bank.
GSC and HLB’s partnership is currently in its fourteenth year, beginning with the introduction of the HLB GSC credit card (Gold and Platinum) – Malaysia’s first co-branded credit card with a cinema chain. Cardholders can get up to 10 free movie tickets upon approval, enjoy discounted rates on movie tickets and F&B, as well as earn up to 3x rewards points on their expenses.
Meanwhile, the managing director of personal financial services for HLB, Andrew Jong said that this partnership with GSC will help HLB to better reward its customers with things that they like. “We know our customers love the special deals and rewards for their tickets and concessions, and we want to expand the wonderful movie outing experiences that they have come to expect from HLB and GSC to even BIG-ger moments,” he said.
Aside from GSC The Starling Mall and GSC Tropicana Gardens Mall, GSC BIG will also be steadily rolled out to other GSC theatres across Malaysia, including IOI City Mall (Putrajaya), MyTOWN Shopping Centre (Cheras), and The Spring (Bintulu). It is set to replace existing GSC MAXX, which is being phased out from use.
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While mothers were quick to embrace Facebook, their adoption of Instagram and Snapchat is a recent development.
The use of connected TV devices continues on a sharp upward path, with another year of double-digit growth in the US.
A sizable number of Millennial couples suffer from a breach of digital privacy. But instead of an anonymous hacker, the source of such transgressions comes from closer to home—each other.
Four best practices can lead to significant lifts in conversion rates from marketing qualified leads to sales.
Companies were more likely to hire digital marketers than creative services professionals last year, and that trend looks set to repeat itself this year.
Online shoppers are increasingly limiting themselves to single-channel shopping, with almost two-thirds either searching and buying online.
This year for the first time a majority (51%) of Americans surveyed reported using social media as a source of news during the prior week.
While the majority of videos still have a 16:9 aspect ratio, that number is decreasing – in Q1, 70.7% were horizontal, compared to 59.8% in Q2. Vertical videos comprised only 0.6% in Q1 and 0.4% in Q2.
Many people look to social media for their news consumption. This chart shows where.
The use of mobile peer-to-peer (P2P) payment apps such as Venmo in the US will continue to grow by double digits through 2021.

domain: news


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A new global survey on the challenges facing major retailers as lockdowns lift and stores re-open exposes supply chain shortcomings that need to be addressed before another major crisis hits.
The online underwear retailer is on a mission to provide a bra for every body shape, size and skin tone - and it’s looking to a cloud-based data warehouse from Snowflake to provide the insights it needs.
Denim giant Levi’s revenues for the quarter fell by $800 million compared to last year, but CEO Chip Bergh is confident on the company’s post-COVID-19 future.
Do you worry about your make-up when there's a pandemic at the door? e.l.f. Cosmetics customers do and the retailer's shift to a digital operating model using Salesforce's Commerce Cloud is paying off.
What one of the founding fathers of the Internet would do differently...if he thought he could get away with it!
Enterprise hits and misses - the future of work vs mental health, Macy's vs reality, and AI vs enterprise results
This week - employers are pushing to re-open, but the future of work brings a slew of new issues. AI gets an enterprise reality check, while Macy's takes glass-half-full to a digital extreme. The diginomica team rounds up one more wave of virtual events. Plus: an epic "AI" whiff.
Customers, community and COVID - three Cs shaping the future of omni-channel retail, according to Angela Ahrendts
The future of retail comes back to knowing and understanding your customers, says Angela Ahrendts, veteran of Apple and Burberry - and COVID-19 provides another reason to sit down and have a conversation with them.
Macy's reels from a $3.6 billion quarterly loss, but promises "the most powerful digital Fall ever"...apparently
Macy's, owner of 'The World's Largest Store', clocks up a massive loss for Q1, but CEO Jeff Gennette has a glass that's not only half full, but running over with digital optimism.
When COVID-19 hit, Farrow & Ball sold mostly through third parties. However, it has had to adapt its entire manufacturing strategy to redirect focus to online sales.
H&M reaches for a digital acceleration comfort blanket, but lack of earlier omni-channel progress has cost it dear during the COVID crisis
H&M was always a likely candidate to take a hefty blow from the COVID-19 crisis. Is it too late now to declare digital acceleration to be the order of the day?
Be your own Amazon! Nike's new fitness program depends on more focused online-to-offline retail integration - and its own digital marketplace
Nike's digital growth has accelerated during the pandemic crisis, but it's time to move into an accelerated next phase of omni-channel evolution, says CEO John Donahoe.
Use of online one-way video chat has proven such a success, Samsung’s online team see it as being a big part of support going forward
Putting on virtual events is fraught with challenges. How would ASUGForward fare? Here's my day one review - with a focus on e-commerce, and how Under Armour responded to a pandemic that thoroughly disrupted their 2020 go-to-market plans.


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(Adds Uber comment)
MILAN, March 4 (Reuters) - A Milan court on Thursday lifted restrictions on the management of an Italian unit of Uber Technologies, imposed last year as part of an investigation into possible exploitation of food delivery riders, a court document showed.
The court said Uber Eats Italy srl, a division of Uber Italy, had complied with judges' orders to improve working conditions for riders including on health and safety, providing necessary equipment as well as sickness and accident coverage.
The president of the panel of judges told Reuters that Uber Italy had also adjusted riders' pay and now pays its riders more than the collective labour agreement signed in Italy last year. He would not say how much they are now paid.
"Uber Italy ... can now present itself on the food delivery market with a new management model that is uniquely geared towards promoting transparency and legality," the court document said.
Uber Italy was placed under so-called judicial supervision in May 2020 while magistrates looked into a case involving around 1,000 delivery riders who were allegedly paid three euros per hour to deliver meals.
A company put under judicial supervision can continue to operate but is run by court-appointed administrators instead of its usual management team. The administrators have to send regular reports to the judges.
Uber Italy said at the time that it had made its Uber Eats platform available to restaurants and couriers in full respect of the law and it condemned any form of illegal intermediation.
"Today's decision is the result of several months of hard work in which we have strived to provide couriers with a safe, rewarding and flexible working environment," Uber Italy said in an e-mailed statement on Thursday, adding it would continue to collaborate with the authorities.
On Wednesday a Milan prosecutor had asked the court to revoke the judicial supervision, saying Uber Italy had met the conditions requested.
In a separate case, Uber Eats Italy was also among four food delivery companies that last month were forced by the Milan public prosecutor's office to hire more than 60,000 riders following an investigation into the working conditions of riders. ( Reporting by Emilio Parodi, Elvira Pollina, Editing by Mark Potter and Susan Fenton)


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We couldn’t wait to share the good news!
Level 3 Business students are organising a Big Event.
The event includes: bake sale, hair stall and sweets sale.
This event will take place at 4th of April 2019 between 10-2pm in the common area!
The sale will help to raise the money for “Guide Dogs for the blind association”!
Will you help to make the difference?


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Automechanika Middle East, the foremost trade exhibition for the wider Middle East and Africa, is celebrating ten years of success. The past decade has seen the event, which started off as a one-hall show that attracted just 119 exhibitors in 2003, transform into a region-encompassing comprehensive business platform in Dubai which now features more than 1,200 exhibitors from across the world, spread over 9 halls.
“Automechanika Middle East has not only grown remarkably over the years, but its success has reflected the development of the automotive sector in the region,” said Ahmed Pauwels, Chief Executive Officer of organiser, Epoc Messe Frankfurt. “The event has benefited enormously from being situated in a high-growth region and has enjoyed tremendous support from our partners, international trade associations and local authorities.”
“Today, Automechanika Middle East is much more than a pure trade fair. Situated at the hub of a thriving region, the event is recognised as the ‘not-to-be-missed’ professional networking platform for the regional trade as well as an interactive discussion forum for the latest trends, developments, challenges and requirements of the industry in the wider region,” Pauwels stated.
As the automotive aftermarket trade gained in size and prominence riding on a growing re-export market, more and more international manufacturers and distributors of automobile, truck and bus spare parts & accessories and batteries & tyres began to see Automechanika Middle East as a crucial component in their regional expansion plans.
By 2011, the event drew in 17,310 trade visitors, key decision makers and buyers from 130 countries as the total automotive trade in Dubai mounted over US$ 9 billion, with 41% of it being headed for export and re-export. In 2003, the total automotive trade was valued at $3.4 billion, underlining the tremendous growth over the last decade.*
Vertexcel Dieselectra SpA, from Italy, is one of the many exhibitors who has been part of Automechanika Middle East since its inception. “We specialize in spare parts for diesel injection pumps and fuel lift pumps. We have had extremely good results from our participation at the event over the last decade. Being here has helped us gain considerable traction in a vibrant market for our entire product range.” said Mr. Alessandro Lovati, President of Vertexcel Dieselectra SpA.
“Automechanika Middle East continues to bring manufacturers, suppliers and service providers in touch with one of the world’s most lively markets,” said Mr. Hani Arwani of Arwani Trading, UAE, who have exhibited at all nine editions of the show and will return once more for the 10th edition. “Over the years we have benefited tremendously from the event and we hope to continue our partnership in the future,” he added.
Automechanika Middle East will run from May 22nd to 24th at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre. This year’s exhibition is already estimated to be about 17% larger than last year’s edition. The trade exhibition reflects the entire scope of the automotive aftermarket industry and attracts trade visitors from across the globe and mainly from the wider Middle East region, including buyers, key decision makers, garage and workshop owners, professional tuners and modifiers and all those involved in automotive sport, work-shop equipment, parts & systems, repair & maintenance, service station & car wash, tyres & batteries and accessories & tuning.


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Club Shop Black Friday Offer26 November 2019
The Club Shop, which is situated in the corner of the Joe Royle Stand, is running an offer over the Black Friday weekend.
New Stock In Club Shop1 November 2019
The Club Shop in recent days has had new products introduced just in time for the festive period.
REMINDER: Club Shop Opening Times13 September 2019
A reminder to supporters that the Club Shop in the Joe Royle stand is open through the week as well as on home matchdays.
Goalkeeper Home & Away Shirts Now Available30 August 2019
The hummel home and away Goalkeeper shirts are now in stock both in the Club Shop and online.
125th Anniversary Kit Vote28 August 2019
For the 2020/21 season, in partnership with hummel, Oldham Athletic will use the playing kits to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the club.
IN FOCUS: 2019/20 Away Kit26 July 2019
Here's our 2019/20 hummel Away Kit in more detail and is available to purchase online now at www.oafcstore.com
IN FOCUS: 2019/20 Home Kit26 July 2019
Here's our 2019/20 hummel Home Kit in more detail and is available to purchase online now at www.oafcstore.com
UPDATE: The Newly Refurbished Club Shop26 July 2019
Oldham Athletic can confirm that the refurbishments for the new Club Shop are well underway.
Club Shop Vacancies3 July 2019
Oldham retail is entering an exciting new phase for the 19/20 season as the Club teams up with hummel/The Elite Group. The current store at Boundary Park Stadium will undergo a re-fit and reopen to...
Hummel Kit Focus Group2 July 2019
As the club look to celebrate the 125th anniversary next season, supporters are needed for their opinions on the new style kits.
Morocco Match Kit28 June 2019
Oldham Athletic will be wearing a special kit in both friendlies whilst on the pre-season training camp in Morocco.


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Mojang has a lot more content on the way for Minecraft Dungeons, starting with the Howling Peaks DLC. The central theme of this paid DLC is stormy winds and it will introduce new loot to grind for. But that’s not all – there will also be a free update which adds a new difficulty setting. Check out the dev diary below.
The new difficulty setting is Apocalypse Plus and it adds 20 new Threat Levels for players to deal with. In terms of difficulty, there’s quite a bit of tweaking to be done but it should provide some challenge for end-game players. As for the Howling Peaks DLC, it brings three new story missions in a new mountain setting to complete.
Other features coming up include a new mob and cross-platform play, the latter which is launching in November. The Howling Peaks DLC is out in December and there’s even more content to come in 2021. Stay tuned for more details in the meantime.
Share Your Thoughts Below (Always follow our comments policy!)


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Much has been written about the rise of digital technology to keep people connected to each other and working during the pandemic. More and more people are facing the reality of working and, more recently, socialising, predominantly online. Covid has accelerated the adoption of digital technology considerably, and now people are spending longer than ever looking at screens.
The Telegraph reported in 2018 that people were spending 24 hours a week online, twice as long as 10 years prior. During social distancing, this has increased even further. According to The Independent, a poll of 2000 Britons found that this had risen to 59 hours; a clear consequence of people being forced to socialise distantly and stay inside.
With many people having to isolate due to the COVID crisis, and initially bingeing on digital communications, there is a growing sense of digital fatigue. Streaming services are starting to see higher than average churn, perhaps the result of too many options, and showing a level of disengagement with a now ubiquitous digital environment. Far from digital communication being more important than ever, we believe that that print matters; that the point has arrived where people will welcome engagement by organisations through non-digital means – and those organisations that do will stand out from the crowd.
It isn’t surprising that many organisations, and indeed our own government, are switching to a digital first strategy, sending communications via email and other electronic means primarily, with other forms of communication being used secondarily. Digital communications are inexpensive and fast, and can reach people whether they’re at home or the office. However, in light of the fact that the average office worker receives on average 121 emails a day, is this the right tactic?
It may not be. According to new research commissioned by Royal Mail, “The limits of digital channels are becoming clearer: 2 in 5 people1 have reported suffering digital burnout. Consumers crave real, tangible and ‘human’ interaction.”
Royal Mail’s research discovered that 40% of people polled agreed or strongly agreed that being in lockdown made them realise how important mail was to them. Only 20% disagreed.
As digital-first strategies grow, and digital fatigue builds, there is a risk that organisations which rely heavily on digital communications may find differentiating themselves harder – with increased difficulties in creating deep, lasting and loyal relationships with the people they’re trying to connect with. In addition to this, some have found a renewed connection with mail during the pandemic.
“During the first lockdown, people liked to find some kind of routine. Getting dressed for work (at least from the waist up), maintaining regular meal times and taking time to exercise have all helped people keep hold of reality. Mail is part of this routine. People have their own rituals about processing their post, but our research has highlighted the widespread appreciation for the rhythm of the postie’s arrival and the reassuring thump of the mail onto the floor.” – Royal Mail.
The consequences of digital fatigue
In an event with The Debating Group, a parliamentary forum for media and marketing debate, our Managing Director Mike Hughes challenged and helped to defeat the motion that “digital communication is more important than ever.” As Mike pointed out, most people consider most unsolicited digital communications as spam, and most internet browser updates include sophisticated ad and spam blockers. Excessive screen time has health implications, and has been linked with lack of sleep and stress.
In this crowded landscape, it’s easy to see why people are experiencing digital fatigue.
Bloomsbury reported a half year profit increase of 60 percent in 2020 – its highest first half earnings since 2008. Despite e-readers, and increasingly, e-books accessed via smartphones, it’s long been recognised that there is something special about the experience of a physical, printed book. The ability to combine touch with sight creates an entirely different, more tactile, multi-sensory experience that interacting with media solely through the eyes misses out on. And with more and more time being spent looking at screens, these experiences will take on greater value for people.
Information on the internet is fleeting – ads are scrolled past in news feeds, and emails can quickly be judged to be irrelevant and ignored. In contrast, printed materials are being interacted with more than ever. According to Royal Mail, “The average item of mail is interacted with 4.51 times and reach is up 4%: both metrics are at their highest level ever.” In addition to this, “Engagement with mail is higher than ever at 96%”
We believe that It is now more important than ever to diversify away from digital-only strategies, and for organisations to look beyond digital communications if they wish to create more impact and deepen engagement.
This is not to imply that organisations should stop using digital means to communicate. Instead of ‘print vs digital’ , think ‘digital plus print”.- the best of both worlds.
Perceived value of print over digital
Digital communications are often perceived as being of a lower cost than print – but this isn’t necessarily true. There is no upper limit on digital marketing budgets, and some platforms, such as LinkedIn, can be particularly expensive to advertise on.
When examined in terms of perceived value, print feels premium. Well-crafted printed communications leave a fantastic impression. In addition to this, print is increasing in bang for buck: Royal Mail has reported huge growth in YOY interaction with all mail types, particularly ad mail and door drops.
Trust and credibility of digital media.
“What arrives on the doormat is also inherently trusted. It feels as though a person has thought about it and invested time, effort and money in getting their message across. “It must be worth reading” was a common sentiment among respondents.” – Royal Mail research.
Recent documentaries, and the Cambridge Analytica scandal, have shown that the public’s perception of digital media is shifting, and has brought the manipulation of digital media to the public’s attention.
Print is trusted: printed media such as newspapers were the second most trusted source of advertising after television, with digital sources such as websites and social media falling far behind.
Royal Mail correctly points out that 87% of people consider mail to be believable, compared to 48% for email. When the government wanted to communicate the importance of the first coronavirus lockdown, it sent a letter – and that mattered. “It is remembered to a remarkable degree and demonstrably affected people’s behaviour. By writing a letter, 66% of people who recall receiving mail from the Government said it had an impact on their behaviour.
They were literally bringing the message home.“
In 2019, showing a growing mistrust in digital communications among younger people, Vice published something quite remarkable: some millennials and Gen Zs are making the decision to get rid of their smartphones, replacing them with older models such as the Nokia 3310. These cheaper phones allow you to make phone calls and send text messages but not much else. Over on Reddit, people discuss their experiences ditching smartphones, advise each other on the best low-tech phones and swap tips on moving away from constant connection. Devices that strip smartphones of a lot of their distracting features, such as the Unpluq, are starting to emerge on the market.
Speaking to Vice, young people reported feeling freer, more present and more comfortable when they were more able to choose when they went online, rather than being constantly connected. Privacy concerns were also cited. Young people are aware that their data is being harvested and used for marketing purposes. Switching to a non-internet connected phone allowed these young people to regain a feeling of control about how their data was being used. Data is the new oil, and for a considerable segment of young people, there is a growing sense of outrage at giving away such a valuable resource for free. Consider also that according to Royal Mail, “It’s not just older age-groups that are responding more to mail. The biggest rise in engagement with mail came from people aged 18 to 342 – potentially because of the relative novelty of receiving post.” Could it be that the generation referred to as ‘digital natives’ are actually interacting with digital and print media more thoughtfully than expected?
Studies have shown that printed material outperforms digital for recall and attention in recipients.
A study by Temple University found that people are more likely to remember an advert (and where they saw it) one week after viewing it when the advert was seen in print rather than online. In 2009, Bangor University studied digital and print media and the effect it has on the brain side by side, using brain imaging. They found that the brain perceives physical material as more real and thus has a better connection to memory – and also provoked a greater amount of emotional processing, suggesting a greater internalisation of the information presented in printed material. Once this information has been retained, there are studies that suggest the information can be recalled and used more effectively too. According to the International Journal of Educational Research, students who read texts in print scored significantly better on a reading comprehension test than students who read the texts digitally.
When you combine personalisation and print together, the results can be extremely powerful.
The power of personalisation
The capacities to personalise mailed communications are becoming more sophisticated. Personalisation now does not mean just text. Communications can be tailored to be as unique as the person receiving them. Imagery can be changed on the communication matched to the recipient: information such as favourite colour, location and occupation can be used to make the communication feel personal to the recipient. An organisation can use imagery related to the member’s job title for instance, or, communications can even be changed depending on a member’s favourite flower or colour, as demonstrated with our work with the Royal Horticultural Society.
Receiving mailings from an organisation with this level of detailed personalisation speaks to the recipient as an individual.
Harnessing a multi-channel approach
The ways you can communicate with your audience are numerous, and encompass many channels. Using solutions such as on-demand and digital printing, eServices and hybrid mail, you can get the mix of communication approaches that helps you connect with the maximum number of people. For an example of this blended approach, see our work with Unite the Union.
As Royal Mail notes, “mail and email work on different levels, but in ways that complement each other. Email is ideal for delivering messages that have a short impact and lifespan. Mail has a longer-lasting impact and helps build a positive relationship.”
Want to take your communications to the next level? Our expertise in intelligent fulfilment solutions mean we can help. Learn more about our consultancy-led approach or get in touch to find out how we can help you.


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It has been said many times that you don’t need a digital strategy, you need a strategy that is digital. This is a phrase which has shown to be true in a number of sectors and although Banks have been trying to keep up, today’s customers are used to engaging directly and immediately with retailers, and expect their needs to be anticipated across a range of products and services. They look for similar responsiveness in their bank as they do in their social media; and they won’t compare the mobile app to another bank’s, but to Facebook, Amazon or Uber.
The core competitive advantages that banks have previously employed to disarm new entrants have also been weakened, as their access to cheap funding via current accounts and their ability to cross-subsidise loss-leaders wanes in the shadow of new technologically-enabled competition. ‘Supermarket data driven’ or ‘online only’ Challenger Banks don’t need to offer the complex products of the ‘Big 6’ to take a market share of the current account or savings market.
It would seem therefore that the challenge for established banks does not lie in a single new entrant or model emerging to dominate their market. Rather, the risk is that the combination of smaller challengers across various products will steadily erode their core markets, which will result in a more competitive banking sector. So, understanding and anticipating these threats is therefore key to retail banking’s long-term profitability.
The new entrants are agile enough to adapt to new technology or, in some cases, have been set up specifically to use them to their advantage: for example, Atom Bank, Tesco Bank or Starling Bank. Their hope is that competition from traditional banking institutions will be muted as they repair their damaged balance sheets and reputation. Start-ups with experienced bank management teams have found it relatively easy to secure investment on this premise and have been successful. Traditional banks, on the other hand, struggle to update their back-end technology while maintaining the stability required to service their current market share.
Independent aggregators, like MoneySuperMarket.com, have positioned themselves as the go-to place for the cheapest or best products, supported by the provision of ‘best buy’ comparison tables and the network effects of the Internet. Such aggregators are looking to optimise customers’ financial holdings by analysing purchasing patterns across their customer base. This will undercut the competitive advantage that banks have historically enjoyed from privileged access to customer data; there is now a large, and growing, market for smaller banks and building societies who don’t have a national branch network, but who want to offer products to a nationwide market. This point also touches on the Supermarket banks who hold a huge amount of customer data on spending habits, which can be used to tailor their products and marketing far more than a bank has ever been able to, in addition to feeding trade back into the parent retailer.
The FinTech revolution and emerging business models, e.g. payment specialists like PayPal and Square, are using new technology to re-invent key elements of financial services, which will no doubt continue at an exponential rate to chip away at the edges of the banks’ markets. Another example of such technology-led disruption is the rise of the P2P ‘lenders’ – or exchanges – which bring borrowers and investors together in a highly cost-efficient manner. Although, it will be interesting to see how these cross-border lending activities are regulated, particularly from an AML and Financial Crime perspective; it would appear to be difficult to prosecute a website in the same way as you would a bank trading with a blacklisted country or group. Finally, as we have seen with Apple Pay, tech titans could enter the fray and, at least for specific markets, such as payments or unsecured lending, could also erode the establishment’s grip on the market. Of course, the real danger here is not that Google or Apple will one day support a banking subsidiary with a huge balance sheet. It’s that by innovating around it in support of their own core business, such a player could fundamentally undermine the traditional integrated bank business model.
Many of these trends are already fairly established but it will be interesting to see how they continue to disrupt the banking sector. I am keen to hear your thoughts on the challenges faced by the ‘Big 6’ UK Banks and how they can work to mitigate the erosion of market share by challengers in 2015.
Mike Smith is the Client Services Manager at BrightPool.


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Until now, the acknowledgment of a stablecoin as a cryptocurrency has been negligible. The situation, however, changed overnight when Facebook announced its plans to release its stablecoin.
Another big boost came in as Walmart registered a patent for its stablecoin, followed by major banks like JP Morgan, Deutsche Bank, and most recently Wells Fargo. JP Morgan has its JPM Coin; Deutsche Bank recently associated itself with JPM’s Information framework, a worldwide payment blockchain platform that has 320 member banks.
A few months back, a stablecoin was developed by United Protocol Alliance, with the collaboration of six blockchain platforms. Moreover, the use of stablecoins as a form of payment has been growing exponentially. They have been preferred over altcoins as many ventures are dealing with global payments.
Currently, smaller companies unexpectedly see themselves in an increasingly congested space, with peers promising the same services. These companies are implementing various strategies to establish themselves as stablecoin providers for bigger organizations.
Owing to the extreme volatility that Bitcoin is subject to, stablecoins are gaining momentum.
MakerDAO views Dai as having the same capabilities and has, therefore, collaborated with Coinsource, the biggest global Bitcoin ATM framework to bring in a new stablecoin to the world.
Besides, with Facebook estimated to reach 2.7 billion users, Libra can easily take over the international currency markets. This is one of the reasons that stablecoin has endured a regulatory pushback. Moreover, France and Germany announced the ban on Libra, saying that it is a threat to financial sovereignty. Later, it was reported that the launch of Libra will take place on June 2020, the reason for the delay being the regulatory concerns.


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8 January 2015, Interaksyon
Emirates conglomerate AAHG snags franchise rights to 6 Filipino food retail brands
A United Arab Emirates (UAE) conglomerate has bagged the rights to open outlets of six Philippine food and beverage retailers overseas.
In a briefing today, Al Ahli Holding Group (AAHG) executives identified the six small franchise businesses as Binalot, Jay-J’s, Fruitas, Mochi Creme, Zagu and Fiftea.
“AAHG has chosen some of the best Filipino food and beverage brands for Little Manila to bring the popular cuisine from Philippines, to cater not only to the vast Filipino expat community, but also to those eager to explore the different gastronomic delights throughout the United Arab Emirates and in different international markets,” AAHG chief executive officer Mohammed Khammas told reporters.
Binalot offers Filipino dishes wrapped in banana leaves, while Jay-J’s specializes in the chicken inasal dish from the Visayas.
Fruitas offers fruit shakes, while Mochi Creme specializes in ice cream. Zagu retails pearl shakes, while Fiftea sells tea.
AAHG plans to offer the six brands under one roof dubbed “Little Manila.” The company aims to launch 20 such restaurants over a five-year period.
“For starters, we will be opening our first outlet in Dubai by the end of quarter one,” said Abdulla Mahmood, AAHG director for marketing and corporate communication.
Khammas said AAHG is also exploring investments at the Clark Special Economic Zone.
In the same briefing, AAHG and the Philippines’ Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) signed a memorandum of understanding for possible projects in what will become the Clark Green City.
“The strategic alliance will cover assets of BCDA and future plans,” BCDA president Arnel Paciano Cassanova said after the MOU signing.
“What we signed is the MOU in preparation for a final memorandum of agreement once we come into final agreement. Basically, it pertains to the big businesses that they have. Some of it would be located in Clark Green City. It will be a major development once we complete the agreement,” he said, adding that the final agreement will be signed within three months.
Khammas said AAHG is interested in tourism projects, both family entertainment and the meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions (MICE) market.
“Whatever we do here is very strategic, very long-term and have huge economic impact. It will create jobs in the thousands,” he said, without citing a figure.
AAHG earlier announced that it would bring to Manila this year the Asia Pop Comic Con, an international comic and pop culture convention.
Besides retail and entertainment, AAHG is also in the business of real estate, construction and logistics. Established in 1977, the conglomerate has a 5,000-strong workforce across 20 countries.


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Vancouver Island’s deVine Wines & Spirits was delighted to be named British Columbia Distillery of the Year at the New York International Spirits Competition (NYISC), which was held in its namesake city on April 15, 2018. The accolade is only the most recent in a string of awards earned by the family-owned distillery for its handmade spirits, which include a selection of whiskies, gins, brandies, and more.
The recognition deVine received at the competition carries particular weight because the New York event is unusual in that all competition judges are real New York trade buyers. Tasting panels include industry professionals such as retail store buyers, sommeliers, hoteliers, and importers. Close to 600 spirits from around the world were judged blind in this year’s competition.
Distiller Ken Winchester said, “Our team at deVine was thrilled to be recognized by industry critics, judges and buyers in a teeming, competitive market like New York City.”
In addition to capturing the British Columbia Distillery title, deVine received high praise for its Genever Gin, which earned a Silver medal. Genever is Canada’s only Dutch-style Gin, and competed with a number of global peers for the distinction.
The deVine tasting room is open daily 11:00am – 6:00pm. They can also be found at the Moss Street Market, James Bay Market and Peninsula Country Market on Saturdays, and the Saanich Farmers Market on Sundays.
deVine Wines & Spirits


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Businesses and individuals thinking that they have mobile security covered, may need to think again. That’s the message from a new report on mobile security shows that nearly half of people using a personal device like an iPhone, iPad, or Android device are doing so without their company’s knowledge or permission. The same report showed that users frequently access sensitive or confidential data from mobile devices but would stop after a security breach.
Adding to concerns around personal mobile devices and BYOD programs, one third of IT professionals in the survey said that their company has already experienced a mobile-related security incident.
The Trusted Mobility Index, a survey Juniper Networks, found that security is a major concern for all mobile device users. The survey included 4,000 participants across five countries (US, UK, Germany, China and Japan). About 1,500 respondents identified themselves as IT professionals.
- On average, users reported owning three mobile devices
- 18% of users said they own five devices
- About three quarters said that they used mobile devices to access sensitive information including health data and mobile banking
- Talking about device and data security, 71% percent said that a mobile data breach said would make them change the way the use their devices or would abandon them all together
When asked who should be responsible for mobile security, the responses were mixed with mobile carriers or service providers, device manufacturers, and security software developers being major themes. Dan Hoffman, Juniper’s chief mobile security evangelist noted that most carriers and service providers don’t include security commitments as part of their standard terms, though he predicts that will change in the future.
As far as workplace issues, the survey found several interesting points, particular around BYOD policies.
- Nine out of ten users said that it was the employer’s job to manage security for personally-owned devices used for work tasks
- 41% of those using a personal device for work said they are doing it without permission from their employer
- Overall, IT professionals said they felt management pressure to offer BYOD programs
- About half of IT pros said that they had concerns about data security issues and their ability to effectively support a wide range of devices
- One third of IT professionals reported that their company had already experienced a mobile-related security threat – this was significantly more common in China where 69% of IT professionals said a mobile-related incident had occurred at their workplace
In a note related to the survey the mobile malware front, Juniper said that it had identified known malware samples among its customers during the first quarter of this year – most of which was described as being Android spyware.


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Amazon (AMZN -4.25%) bought Twitch.tv for $970 million about five years ago. And while the e-commerce titan's investments in video content and distribution have gained a lot of attention from investors, Twitch remains a bit under the radar.
But the ad-supported live-streaming platform could prove an extremely valuable asset as Amazon ramps up its digital video advertising business. While it's still considerably smaller than Alphabet's (GOOG -3.89%) (GOOGL -3.78%) YouTube by just about any measure, it's growing quickly. And considering the relative size of Amazon's advertising segment (outside of sponsored listings on its marketplace), Twitch could be as instrumental to its business as YouTube is to Google.
A growing source of high-quality ad inventory
Amazon has seen Twitch's audience continue to grow quickly over the last few years. It has over 15 million daily active viewers. Those viewers streamed over 2.5 billion hours last quarter, according to StreamLabs. Total hours streamed per quarter have climbed 28% since the start of last year.
Those numbers are minuscule compared to YouTube, which counts over 2 billion users. The company previously said its users stream an average of one hour per day on mobile alone.
But Amazon and Twitch have been able to make the most of its audience. It reportedly garnered $500 million in gross advertising revenue in 2017, and it had an internal goal of doubling that number in 2018. By comparison, YouTube generated an estimated $15 billion last year for the technology company, although that estimate seems conservative.
One reason Twitch may be punching above its weight compared to YouTube is it offers advertisers a familiar ad format: 30-second commercials. Unlike YouTube, there's no option to skip those ads, they're embedded in live streams from broadcasters. It's an ad format that complements Amazon's growing inventory of video ad space on its Fire TV platform. As such, Amazon can streamline its ad sales team to improve the overall profitability of its advertising business.
Not just for gaming anymore
Twitch originated as a gaming-focused streaming service, but it's expanding to more general content. Some of that expansion is being pushed by Amazon. Twitch users can stream Amazon's simulcast of Thursday Night Football, and some Twitch streamers have already started offering their own commentary for fans.
But more and more big-name media outlets are streaming professional content on Twitch in a similar fashion to how media companies have adopted YouTube. Companies including Sky News, The Washington Post, Buzzfeed, and Cheddar have all started streaming content on Twitch. They cite advantages including reaching an audience not found on their traditional outlets and the interactivity of the platform. The strong monetization Amazon is capable of producing for streamers may also be a contributing factor.
There are a couple advantages of attracting more professionally produced content. First, it improves the value of advertisements on the platform. Marketers like to place their ads alongside higher-quality content. It also reduces brand-safety risk, something YouTube has come under fire for in the past. Second, more varied content expands Twitch's appeal beyond gamers.
Building better ads
Amazon is one of the few companies with the ability to produce better ad targeting and measurement than Google. It has an unparalleled trove of shopper data that expands beyond its online marketplace, as it's integrated Prime with Whole Foods. On the flip side, it has the ability to attribute ad impressions to sales on its marketplace, giving marketers a tight feedback loop to tell if their ads and targeting are working.
As Amazon expands its video ad inventory on Twitch, it'll be able to leverage its unique assets to build better targeting and measurement tools for its advertisers. Ultimately, that should translate into higher average ad prices and greater ad revenue per user. Combined with growing engagement from both publishers and viewers, Twitch has the potential to be a massive source of revenue for Amazon's ad business -- on par with the importance of YouTube to Google's business.


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Joan Webster’s poem ‘Imperfect Pitch’, has been short-listed for the 2021 ACU Poetry Prize.
Mary Jones’s crime novel, Troubled Waters has been shortlisted for the Sisters in Crime Davitt Award.
Paula Wilson’s article ‘Chasing Parkruns’ has been published online in the Lalor Running Club news.
Margaret Pearce’s latest collection of poems, Not Mentioning Any Names, has been published by Ginninderra Press.
Paulette Dube latest collection of poetry, the deepest part of the river won’t freeze was launched on Zoom.


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Yesterday, stakeholders called for support for Nigeria’s non-oil export sector at the 7th Annual Zenith Bank International Trade Seminar on the theme “Unlocking Opportunities in Nigeria’s Non-Oil Export Business “, held in Lagos
The Founder and Chairman of Zenith Bank Plc, Mr. Jim Ovia, has called for a concerted effort to diversify Nigeria’s export base through the promotion of non-oil exports.
He pointed out that Nigeria had been exporting cocoa and several other non-oil products for years before the discovery of oil.
Ovia highlighted the phenomenal growth of Nigeria’s emerging financial technology (Fintech) companies such as Flutterwave, OPay, Interswitch, Kuda and Paystack, with market valuations of $3 billion, $2 billion, $1 billion, 500 million and $200 million, respectively.
Zenith Bank Group Managing Director/CEO, Mr. Ebenezer Onyeagwu, said the seminar was aimed at redirecting Nigeria towards economic diversification after the 2014-2016 commodity price crash.
“When crude oil prices fell from $114.55 per barrel in June 2014 to $28.76 in January 2016, with a concomitant effect on the availability of foreign exchange, it was time to turn to the non-export sector. oil companies for a more sustainable source of foreign exchange. which is not sensitive to external shocks and price volatility”.
The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, has commended Zenith Bank for its laudable initiative to organize an annual export seminar to explore Nigeria’s non-oil export opportunities with a view to increasing the base of the country’s non-oil export and ultimately increase its share as a percentage of total exports.
Dangote Group Chairman and CEO, Alhaji Aliko Dangote said, “Nigeria’s non-oil exports are quite small compared to other major African oil producers. This exposes the economy to oil price and production risks. There is plenty of room for growth, and CBN is helping to stimulate it through the RT200 program.”
The Secretary General of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat, Wamkele Mene, enumerated the progress and achievements of the African Continental Free Trade Area and efforts to improve intra-African trade.


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13 December, 2019 – USPA International, a full-service, licensed, bonded and insured security firm offering security solutions to both governmental and private clientele, uses its innovative licensee program to grow its security services globally. USPA is currently seeking new trademark licensees in the United States and has opportunities in areas around the globe for those looking to launch their own security business.
USPA is expanding operations with its unique trademark program, which allows interested parties to get involved in the security industry without required profit sharing or on-going costs outside of an initial investment. With USPA’s trademark licensee program, licensees own their security business and can operate under the USPA brand, so long as they adhere to USPA’s qualifications and security standards. Never before has it been easier for individuals to own their own security company franchise.
By licensing with USPA, licensee security businesses share in lead generation and closing processes. By joining a vast network of security contractors, USPA licensees can take on the work outside of their geographical area and earn a profit anywhere in the world by providing premium security services. Licensees can even bid on large government contracts and use USPA’s team of professionals to help them with required paperwork, sales calls, and quotes for security services. In addition, licensees receive a branded website.
USPA is currently seeking new trademark licensees in the United States and has opportunities in areas around the globe. For more information on how to start your security business with USPA, please visit USPASecurity.com/Franchise.
About USPA International and USPA Nationwide Security
USPA Nationwide Security is a traditional security guard company, part of the network, under the umbrella of USPA International, a dedicated close protection service operating in 14 countries providing bodyguard services, close protection convoy security and path-finding services in high-risk zones. The collaborative and efficient approach to security services helps clients reduce costs, manage risk and create a safe working environment. The USPA brand has grown from a one-man security guard company on Long Island in 2005, to a multinational security guard firm operating in all 50 states and in 14 countries. USPA Nationwide Security sets the standard in the industry by which other firms and security guard companies have measured and emulated their own policies and procedures.


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Sales Tax Revenue Up for Lexington and Lee County
Sales Tax revenue for the City of Lexington, as well as for Lee County continues to grow. Lexington’s revenue report from the Texas Comptroller’s office is up 13% year to date, while the county as a whole is up 21.77%. Sales tax revenues in both Lexington and Lee County have been up for at least the past six months, showing a strong business climate for the area.
Comptroller Susan Combs said that state sales tax revenue in June was $1.98 billion, up 15.2 percent compared to June 2011.
“Sales tax revenue has increased for 27 consecutive months in Texas,” Combs said. “Strong business spending in industries such as manufacturing and oil and natural gas boosted the latest sales tax collections. Revenue from consumer spending in the retail trade and restaurant sectors also did well.”
Combs sent July local sales tax allocations totaling $534.6 million to cities, counties, transit systems and special purpose taxing districts. State-wide July sales tax allocations are up 12.7 percent compared to July 2011. The sales tax figures represent monthly sales made in May.
The City of Lexington received $16,164.95, compared to $12,451.78 for the same period last year. That represents a more than 29% gain. Lee County’s total allocation reported by the Comptroller for July was $166,213.72, compared to $125,697.46 for the same period last year. The county is up 32.23%.
JULY 2012 SALES TAX ALLOCATION


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PlayNitride to set up second micro LED production line
Siu Han, Taipei; Adam Hwang, DIGITIMES
PlayNitride, to fund its plan to set up its second micro LED production line, will raise additional paid-in capital of US$50 million by the end of September 2020, according to the company.
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Amid inflation concerns and economic uncertainty going into 2023, one health care sector is poised to reap dividends for investors: med-tech companies.
That’s the assessment from Canaccord Genuity’s William Plovanic who calls med-tech “a defensive sector with improving fundamentals.”
He is particularly bullish on companies in the sector focused on cardiovascular, neuromodulation, respiratory, ophthalmology, oncology, and organ transplant.
“We expect durable demand despite a potentially looming recession,” Plovanic wrote in a recent note to investors. “We expect that growth could accelerate in 2H/23 as [foreign exchange] headwinds annualize and healthcare staffing issues gradually decline.”
He added that given the aging population of the US as well as the acute conditions many med-tech companies’ products treat, a recession wouldn’t have much of an impact and “med-tech is a good place for investors to weather the impending storm.”
The long term is also promising for health technology companies, Plovanic says, due to the fact that by 2030, the entire Baby Boomer population will be 65 and older and make up 21% of the US population.
More immediately, the biggest challenge for med-tech companies in 2023 are healthcare staffing shortages, though Plovanic expects it to abate as the year goes on.
Plovanic has three stocks he is particularly bullish on: ShockWave Medical (NASDAQ:SWAV), TransMedics (NASDAQ:TMDX), and Nevro (NYSE:NVRO).
ShockWave (SWAV) markets intravascular lithotripsy technology for calcified plaque in patients with peripheral vascular, coronary vascular, and heart valve diseases. Year to date, shares are up ~9%.
Plovanic has a price target of $247 (~18% upside based on Friday’s close). He noted that the arrival of new products will serve to boost average selling prices and drive overall growth for the company. He cited the new M5+ device to treat calcium buildup in peripheral arteries and the upcoming launches of L6 in H1 2023 and an improved coronary C2+ in the second half of the year.
TransMedics (TMDX) provides organ transplant therapy for end-stage organ failure patients. Year to date, the stock is up 192%.
Plovanic’s price target is $68 (14% upside). He noted that in 2022, TransMedics was not able to keep up with demand for its products. However, the company has focused on hiring more personnel and increasing its clean room capacity.
The analyst spoke highly of the company’s National OCP program, which makes it easier to deliver organs across the country. Plovanic noted that TransMedics (TMDX) has created 15 geographic launch areas for the program, is adding support staff, and intends to add transportation capabilities with a flight logistics provider.
Seeking Alpha contributor Tyler Maryott recently called TransMedics (TMDX) his top pick for 2023.
Nevro (NVRO) is known for the Senza spinal cord stimulation system (“SCS”) for chronic pain. Year to date, the stock is down ~53%.
Plovanic has a $67 price target (~67% upside). He sees 14% year-over-year revenue growth in 2023.
Plovanic noted Nevro’s (NVRO) recently launched HFX iQ system is the first SCS to have artificial intelligence capabilities as it can adjust based on an individual’s perception of pain. He added this benefit will help the company’s sales reps in gaining new accounts.
Finally, the analyst said there are other companies in the space that he views as a buy — such as Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX), Penumbra (PEN), Inari Medical (NARI), and iRhythm Technologies (IRTC) — but investors should ideally wait to purchase until a share pullback or a business momentum boost.


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MORE than £3.8m is invested in Oxford’s economy every year by McDonald’s, the fast food chain has claimed.
The retailer said it had calculated the figure by adding up how much money its restaurants and suppliers make.
McDonald’s opened its first Oxford restaurant in December 1984 in Cornmarket Street and there are now three in the city – the others at Botley Road and London Road.
More than 200 people are employed at nine branches across the county.
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- Oxford United v Swindon Town - UPDATES
- CLARIFICATION: Hygiene report of Delight 2 in Didcot
- Man 'obsessed' with BBC journalist goes on trial after allegedly breaching restraining order against her
- Families urged to consider signing up for organ donation
- Oxford United send match tickets to fans caught up in season ticket delay


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Artifical intelligence software vendor Complexica has landed a contract with Adelaide air conditioner manufacturer Polyaire to deploy AI solutions with the aim of optimising sales activities. The deployment includes the company’s “Larry, the Digital Analyst” AI engine, which is composed of a number of various algorithms including Bayesian networks, artificial neural networks, deep learning, and genetic algorithms, as well as Complexica’s customer opportunity profiler (COP), which analyses customers and prospects in real time – including sales volumes, social media activity, complaints and service levels.
“After evaluating a number of software applications and vendors available on the market, we have decided to partner with Complexica for sales force optimisation and automation,” Polyaire managing director Aemel Nordin said. “We have found Complexica’s applications to be best suited for our extensive SKU range and large set of customers, being capable of generating recommendations and insights without burdening our sales staff with endless data analysis and interpretation.”
To read the full article, please visit: https://www.crn.com.au/news/adelaide-ai-vendor-complexica-wins-deal-with-air-conditioning-manufacturer-polyaire-487065


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Travis Park United Methodist Church
Sunday, May 19, 2013
Unconditional Love and Justice in Action
Electric Vehicle Charging Station
View a recent San Antonio Express-News article about the status of electric cars hitting the market.
We hosted a press conference in June 2009 to announce the installation of the charging station. Among the vehicles featured was Luke Laborde’s electric car, which he built in the summer of 2008. To read a San Anotonio Express-News article about Luke's car click here: http://www.mysanantonio.com/life/High_school_student_wont_need_gas_for_this_car.html
Watch video of KSAT News’ coverage: www.ksat.com/video/19908786/
Photos courtesy of Ralph Laborde and Hector Aguado:


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Visitors to SK Group’s Green Forest Pavilion at this year’s CES consumer electronics show in Las Vegas in the US were able to follow a “Net Zero journey” and access video, audio and augmented reality (AR) content about carbon reduction technologies and the environment.
The Korean tech giant used NFC for the exhibit to “not only help visitors have immersive experiences but also participate in actual carbon reduction” by providing them with a secondhand NFC smartphone and enabling them to earn ‘green points’ on their way through the pavilion that they could then use to earn ‘green rewards’ or donate to a mangrove reforestation project in South East Asia.
Visitors were also encouraged to earn green points by tapping to agree with a video ‘manifesto’ concerning climate change and show their commitment to carbon reduction by pledging to support “daily activities that can be practised easily”.
The exhibit detailed SK’s commitment “to eliminate 200m tons of carbon emissions across its businesses by 2030. That’s about 1% of the reduction needed to reach global targets.”
“To reach the group target, SK companies plan to invest US$85bn in environmentally friendly businesses,” the company adds.
CES 2022 ran from 5-8 January as a hybrid live and digital event.


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An ice rink proposed for Greenwood is moving closer to the interstate, and new development is coming with it.
Indy Fuel owners Jim and Sean Hallett initially wanted to develop the Iceplex at Freedom Park on the southwest side of Greenwood, but after pushback from residents and city officials, it is moving to County Line Road and Interstate 65.
That site was previously planned as the Greenwood Town Center, which would have included retail shops. Before that, the site was proposed as a new location for Cabela’s, an outdoor sports retailer, but those plans fell through.
Now, plans are to bring a larger ice rink complex, which will cost $25 million, and to invest another $15 million into other development at the site, including a movie theater, entertainment venue, shops and restaurants.
The city of Greenwood is considering contributing $8.5 million for site improvements, infrastructure and a portion of the sports facility, which will be called the Greenwood Sportsplex.
The city is considering offering up to $3.7 million for site improvements, up to $1.8 million for off-site infrastructure improvements on County Line and Graham roads, and reimbursement of up to $3 million for capital improvements at Greenwood Sportsplex, payable over 10 years with continual operations.


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The Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded to D&G insulting China
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded to D&G insulting China: Do not want to rise to diplomatic issues, the Chinese people should be asked
Reported by: World Wide Web Updated on: 22/Nov/2018
On the 22nd of November, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Yan Shuang said in response to a reporter's inquiries about D&G's turmoil on the 22nd that China does not want this matter to rise to diplomatic issues, but the outside world It is important to understand how the Chinese people view this issue.
Italian luxury brand Du Jiabanna was scheduled to hold a fashion show in Shanghai on the evening of the 21st. However, it was strongly questioned by “insulting China”. Chinese mainland stars and models who originally planned to participate in fashion show performances have announced boycotts. Dolce & Gabbana cancelled the fashion show on Wednesday.
An Italian journalist asked the spokesman about the matter at the Foreign Ministry press conference held on the 22nd. In response, he said that this matter is not a diplomatic issue in nature. The Chinese side does not want it to rise to a diplomatic issue. "It is better to ask the Foreign Ministry spokesperson to ask the ordinary people in China how to treat this issue. ".


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Monica and Shane Sanders know something about love’s first bite.
Shane was in the military when he met Monica in her native Colombia. They had an instant connection but one problem: He didn’t speak Spanish and she didn’t speak English.
“We literally wore out dictionaries talking to each other,” says Shane Sanders.
Love is a powerful thing. More than 16 years and four children later the couple are counting on a different kind of infatuation for their latest venture - that deep desire for dessert.
With help from Shane’s father, they opened Love @ First Bite Desserts in late August in Spokane Valley. They offer seven to 12 gourmet flavors of cupcakes each day at the shop, 11305 E. Sprague Ave., along with cheesecake, baklava and cookies.
Monica Sanders first started baking many years ago with box cakes but quickly realized she could probably do a better job by herself.
“I just started playing with flavors and people really loved them. I made a lot of mistakes, but I am a stubborn girl. I have a real passion for baking,” she says.
She’s perfected some 75 flavors in the past few years, selling her desserts at the Kootenai County Farmers Market and the Millwood Farmers Market. She is constantly experimenting with more seasonal flavors.
“Why not make a living out of what you love,” Monica says.
Shane, a Spokane city firefighter, took some time off work to help get the bakery rolling. They have been learning how to adjust each day’s inventory after selling out a few times.
Popular flavors include Root Beer Float, S’mores, Cinnamon Roll, Peanut Butter Cup, and the Elvis, a banana cupcake with peanut butter frosting sprinkled with bacon. The daily flavors are posted on the Love @ First Bite page on Facebook.
Cupcakes are $2.50 each, $13.50 for a half-dozen and $25 for a dozen. The store is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and can be reached by calling (509) 891-2501.
Lemongrass opens in Coeur d’Alene
French Asian cuisine is on the menu in Coeur d’Alene.
Lemongrass owners David and Diane Torres looked for more than a year for a location for their first restaurant. They remodeled the former Takara restaurant at 309 E. Lakeside Ave., opening in early July. A few weeks ago they secured a permit to serve beer and wine.
Diane Torres says sales were lagging at their other business, United Home Sales Inc., when they decided to act on a longtime dream.
“My husband likes to entertain family and friends and it has just been a passion of his for a long time,” she says.
They originally opened the restaurant with chef David Tran, who is no longer working there.
Torres now works in the kitchen with chef Josh Spurgeon on French-Asian fusion dishes such as the popular goi coun, summer rolls with lettuce, basil, cilantro, bean sprouts, pork and prawns; and lemonbarb chicken, fried chicken tenders in a sweet and sour lemongrass and rhubarb sauce. They also have pho, a Vietnamese soup, and Pad Thai.
Restaurant manager Jeanette Garcia says the menu is updated seasonally, and they’re in the midst of introducing several new offerings, including a popular dish that features lightly fried tilapia braised in a clay pot to caramelize the spicy sauce.
“We wanted to do something different that the other restaurants in the area aren’t doing, so we all have a variety of foods and we’re not in direct competition,” Diane Torres says.
Takara fans will remember the tatame rooms, where diners can sit on a cushion and their feet tuck into a space beneath the table. There are six of the small rooms with a curtain between each.
Lemongrass owners are planning to add wine-tasting dinners, a wine club and cooking classes this winter.
The restaurant opens at 11 a.m. each day, closing at 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday and at 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Reach the restaurant at (208) 765-9777.
O’Doherty’s opens North Side location
Tim O’Doherty has taken his tried-and-true Irish pub fare a bit north.
The new O’Doherty’s Irish Grille, 10208 N. Division St., Suite 110, in the former Rogue Coffee location, is the sixth restaurant he’s opened.
“Some of (the restaurants) have done wonderfully, some haven’t,” O’Doherty says. “But what I do is make restaurants; it’s what I do. I felt like people in our city needed jobs and I have a lot of nieces and nephews.”
He said the North Side of Spokane seemed underserved with small mom-and-pop joints, and after snooping around a bit, he was offered a sweetheart deal. The restaurant opened this summer, two days after his daughter’s wedding and just as the downtown pub was celebrating 20 years of business.
“We really tried to just simply duplicate our downtown pub on a smaller scale,” O’Doherty says. The menus are the same and there are 10 tap handles at the new restaurant. The restaurant can seat 50 people inside and another 50 diners on the patio.
O’Doherty says he was able to hire some 25 people at the new pub, and he likes the neighborhood. Longtime friends at Runner’s Soul, which partners with O’Doherty’s for the popular Flying Irish Running Club, also opened a new location there.
The running club hasn’t expanded north, despite some interest in a second branch. O’Doherty says he’d be open to it but needs a volunteer to lead the weekly runs.
O’Doherty’s Irish Grille on North Division Street is open 11:30 a.m.-11 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and 11:30 a.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday.
Reach the restaurant at (509) 465-3511.
Spokane loves its dogs
We got notes from readers who were happy to read our recent story about the many local places where they can satisfy an appetite for hot dogs. Here are two other carts with regular locations to add to your list of places to try:
Droop’s Dawgs had a home in Cheney until fire last April ousted owner Steve Smith and his 1950s-inspired restaurant. Now, he’s trying to make a name for himself selling his loaded hot dogs from a mobile cart.
Droop’s just moved to a new location at an outdoor food court at Freya Street and Olive Avenue. The cart is open 10:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Smith says one of his signatures is the La Bamba Dawg, a Nathan’s hot dog or German sausage smothered in chili, bacon strips, cheese, salsa and fresh onion and wrapped in a grilled tortilla ($5 or $5.25, respectively).
Reader Felix Gaudreau recommends Frank’s Franks, a mobile cart on the southeast corner of University Road and Sprague Avenue in Spokane Valley.
Owner Frank Alberti has been serving up New York-style hot dogs in Spokane Valley for eight years. His cart is open Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Saturdays from 11:30 a.m. to 4p.m.
“They are the original New York frankfurter,” Alberti says of his hot dogs.
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The Covid-19 pandemic is illuminating the potential and benefits of Augmented Reality (AR). Its ability to revolutionize the beauty industry is becoming increasingly apparent as beauty giants harness the technology to boost consumer engagement and loyalty.
AR enables consumers to experiment with products as a visit to a physical store in order to experiment with and then purchase beauty products is no longer possible on account of hygiene standards. It can also save consumers money in that it eliminates the trial and error aspect of purchasing beauty products online that potentially will not align with their aspired look.
Beauty companies increase investment in AR
MAC Cosmetics is one of the latest beauty giants to jump in on the trend, launching a virtual try-on feature in partnership with the application, YouCam, which allows users to virtually try on beauty products before making a purchase. While this is not MAC’s first foray into the world of AR, this is a timely strategic move to capture beauty lovers as they spend more time at home amid global lockdowns.
Meitu, the Chinese beauty technology company, also launched a free AR tool specifically developed to help beauty giants boost make-up sales amid the Covid-19 pandemic. The tool enables users to virtually trial over 20 make-up styles, and it can make personalized product recommendations to users. The firm claims the tool can be supported by social media platforms such as Instagram and YouTube, which will prove beneficial in capturing users who are spending more time browsing social media amid global lockdowns.
The in-store experience is still important
It is true that since the outbreak of Covid-19 certain consumers are no longer purchasing cosmetic products, though 41% of global consumers have confirmed that they are buying the same or higher quantities of make-up since the outbreak, according to GlobalData’s Covid-19 survey tracker in June. An opportunity therefore exists for beauty brands to tap into, and promote the benefits of AR services to this audience.
However, while AR does, to an extent, eliminate the need for physical shopping in this context; it does not eliminate the consumer desire for it. The ability to shop for products in a store environment that projects and emulates a brands philosophy is still valuable in the experience economy in which consumers live.
Yet, AR remains a way in which beauty brands can bridge the online and offline gap within their offerings, and interact with their consumers in a fun, personalized way amid this pandemic and beyond.


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There is a growing popularity of cage-free eggs in Costa Rica, according to a report by the Humane Society International.
The cage-free trend, which has been growing in Europe and the United States for a number of years, is in stark contrast to the industry standard of egg production in which hens are confined in barren “battery cages” with barely room to move. This industrial production is a far cry from the backyard henhouses that many Costa Ricans were familiar with in the past.
In response to the growing public opposition to battery cages, food retail companies around the world are switching to eggs from higher welfare systems. Major multinational corporations, including Starbucks, Unilever, Burger King, Carl’s Jr., Subway, McDonald’s and Kraft, are using cage-free eggs in North America or European locations. Unilever, maker of Hellmann’s, has announced that they will be 100% cage-free globally by 2020. Marriott International will also be cage-free by 2015.
A growing number of Costa Rican restaurants are also choosing to serve only cage-free eggs. One recent example of the growing trend is the opening of the restaurant Búlali in Avenida Escazú. The café and pastry shop, which focuses on artisanal and sustainable cuisine, has committed to only serve eggs from cage-free farms.
Alexa Quirós, Búlali's owner, said: “At Búlali we care about animal welfare and the planet. That is why we only use cage-free eggs.”
Cynthia Dent, regional director for HSI-Latin America said: “We congratulate Costa Rican restaurants like Búlali for recognizing that all animals deserve a more humane treatment, including those raised for food. We know that this cage-free trend will only continue to grow in Costa Rica and we look forward to working with socially responsible restaurants in the country who want to join this movement. All restaurants can improve the lives of laying hens by switching to eggs from higher welfare and pasture-based systems.”
Costa Rica has approximately three million egg-laying hens, many confined in barren battery cages. Eggs that meet higher animal welfare standards, such as those labeled as cage-free, are available at many supermarkets and organic farmers markets, as well as a growing number of socially-responsible restaurants in the San José area and tourist destinations such as Puerto Viejo, Montezuma and Santa Teresa.


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The Park Record editorial, March 30-April 1, 2011
March 29, 2011
Park City Mountain Resort and Canyons have generously decided to keep their lifts running a week longer than originally planned. Instead of closing April 10, both will be open through April 17. The announcements have put a new spring in the step of hundreds of locals, many of whom have been working too hard this winter to find time to get up on the mountain.
While it is likely the two resorts will see some additional business during the season extension, the main benefactors are local pass holders. Most destination visitors make reservations months in advance, and though a few might take advantage of special late-season deals from April 10-17, most of the faces on the slopes will likely belong to neighbors and coworkers.
The bonus week is a great way to celebrate a bounteous snow year and several hard-won signs that the economic recession is on its way out. Park City businesses enjoyed a busy holiday season followed by a well-attended Sundance Film Festival.
Now it is time for local residents to remember why they moved to the mountains in the first place.
The extra ski week coincides with Park City High School’s spring break another happy coincidence for young skiers who might have spent their vacations sitting at home playing Xbox if the lifts had shut down.
The extra ski days at Canyons will be especially sweet for those who were disappointed when the resort postponed its opening day at the start of the season. Construction delays on some of the new lifts irked those who were itching to ski in early December. Hopefully the unexpected week in April with a substantial base of snow will make up for it.
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Deer Valley, as is its tradition, is holding firm with its April 10 closing day, but Park City Mountain Resort is offering Deer Valley pass holders a special discount. That way no one needs to feel left out. In the meantime, Canyons is already enticing skiers and snowboarders to start thinking about next year with discounts on 2011-12 season passes.
With a few more La Niña storms in the system, spring skiing may actually last through May, but thanks to Canyons and PCMR, those who want to enjoy the sunshine won’t have to hike. They can ride the lifts in style.


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Los Angeles police are investigating troubled actress
Lindsay Lohan over allegations that she stole a necklace worth 2,500 dollars last month from a jewelry store, the Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday.
The report said that surveillance video at the store showed that Lohan tried on the gold necklace shortly before it went missing. The store owner filed a complaint with police who obtained a search warrant for Lohan's home. But before they could execute the warrant the necklace was turned in to police by an associate of the actress, dpa reported.
According to celebrity website TMZ.com, Lohan has denied taking the necklace, claiming that the person filing the complaint was "nuts."
Lohan, 24, is already under investigation for allegedly assaulting an employee of the Betty Ford rehab clinic, where she spent three months of court-ordered treatment before being released early last month.
Lohan is currently on probation stemming from her conviction for drunk driving. Following repeated violations of the terms of her release, a judge warned her in October that any further violations would result in her being jailed for a minimum of six months.


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P&G lowers outlook on currency impact
Procter & Gamble Co. reduced its third-quarter and fiscal 2013 earnings guidance based on Venezuela’s plan to devalue its currency.
The Cincinnati-based company (NYSE: PG) now expects earnings per share of 80 cents to 88 cents for the quarter ending March 31. Prior guidance called for earnings of 90 cents to 96 cents.
For the year, P&G now anticipates earnings per share of $3.92 to $4.04. It had earlier predicted $4.04 to $4.14.
The company said it expects to incur one-time charges of between $200 million and $275 million after tax, or 7 cents to 9 cents per share. The Associated Press reported that it’s the highest charge yet disclosed related to the devaluation.
The consumer-goods maker’s brands include Tide detergent and Gillette razors, among others.
The move by Venezuela on Wednesday was the country’s fifth devaluation in the last 10 years. The new rate is 6.30 bolivars to the dollar, down from 4.30 bolivars to the dollar.
Ritchie covers Procter & Gamble Co. and health care.
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PORT ANGELES — Port of Port Angeles officials are concerned President Donald J. Trump’s proposed 20 percent tariff on Canadian soft lumber imports into the United States could indirectly affect local log exports.
Trump first announced the proposed tariff during a gathering with conservative media outlets at the White House on Monday evening, The Associated Press said.
“That concerns me,” said John Nutter, director of finance and administration for the port.
Exactly how the proposed tariff would affect local businesses would be speculation at this point, he said.
Nutter said if the proposal goes through, it is possible Canada could increase exports to China, thus competing with the same market as the U.S.
Last year, 84 million board feet of timber was exported from Port Angeles to China, he said.
More than 65 million board feet of timber has been exported every year since 2011.
“I’m waiting to see a little bit more,” Nutter said. “I don’t know if the current presidential administration is going to be successful in this [tariff].”
On Twitter, Breitbart News White House correspondent Charlie Spiering quoted Trump as saying, “We’re going to be putting a 20 percent tax on softwood lumber coming in — tariff on softwood coming into the United States from Canada.”
The Commerce Department later announced it had reached a preliminary determination and would impose countervailing duties ranging from 3 percent to 24 percent on imported softwood lumber, with an average of about 20 percent, according to the AP.
Trump has been railing against Canada’s decision to change its policy on pricing domestic milk to cover more dairy ingredients, leading to lower prices for products, including ultra-filtered milk. Trump has called the move “a disgrace” that’s hurting U.S. producers in dairy states such as Wisconsin.
“It has been a bad week for U.S.-Canada trade relations,” said Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in a statement. “This is not our idea of a properly functioning Free Trade Agreement.”
The Canadian government, meanwhile, rejected the assessment, calling the lumber duty “unfair and punitive.”
“The Government of Canada disagrees strongly with the U.S. Department of Commerce’s decision to impose an unfair and punitive duty,” said Jim Carr, Canada’s minister of natural resources, and Chrystia Freeland, Canada’s minister of foreign affairs, in a joint statement. “The accusations are baseless and unfounded.”
Canadian officials warned the action would have a negative impact on American families who would have to pay more to build or renovate homes. And they said they would sue, if necessary.
According to the U.S. Commerce Department, imports of softwood lumber from Canada were valued at an estimated $5.66 billion in 2016.
Reporter Jesse Major can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56250, or at email@example.com.
Content from The Associated Press is included in this report.


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Advertising agencies around the world have been in high gear helping companies shift their ads to strike the right tone in this “challenging time” (insert whatever euphemism you like). Car commercials are saying that they understand economic realities and offering payment holidays. Travel ads are telling us that the beautiful destinations of the world will still be there when all this is over. Scrabble put out an ad telling us now is the time for their product to shine.
A Walmart flyer hit my mailbox last week. There was a section that showed a Walmart employee, and text that told me that Walmart Canada would be increasing their employees’ wages by $2/hour in recognition of the hard work and sacrifice that their employees are making. This comes on the heels of the United Food and Commercial Workers winning a $2/hour wage increase for their employees working on the front lines in grocery stores. After the unionized grocery stores increased wages, the non-unionized grocery stores followed, among them apparently, Walmart. This is a big win for UFCW, their members, and non-union workers in the industry.
We shouldn’t pretend Walmart did this out of the kindness of their corporate heart – it’s likely that they needed to remain wage competitive with unionized stores, and that employee retention is particularly difficult right now with people being concerned about exposing themselves to COVID19.
What struck me about this flyer is that they wanted us to know they were doing this. Walmart has read from the public – accurately I think – that their workers are recognized and appreciated in a way that they perhaps weren’t in the past. They’re telling us that it’s okay to shop there because they, too, thank and appreciate their employees. The cynic in me wonders if these messages of thanks – be they ads, anonymous memes, or media commentary – are just serving to make people feel better about how reliant we are on low-paid workers putting themselves and their families at risk every day.
Don’t get me wrong – sentiments of appreciation are nice. But saying thank you to these workers is really the very, VERY least we could do.
The reality is that people working in low wage jobs are being forced to continue working in these jobs – you’re not eligible for employment insurance benefits if you quit your job or if you’re a gig worker. Even with the Canadian Emergency Relief Benefit now – it’s time-limited. Who’s to say that your job will be there for you in 6 months? What will the state of the economy be? When you work paycheque to paycheque, keeping the job you have will often be the safest choice.
When you work paycheque to paycheque, keeping the job you have will often be the safest choice.
Economic uncertainty is keeping people working in high exposure jobs while many workers who are more economically secure get to stay home safe and order delivery from Uber Eats. “Thank you to our heroes” doesn’t really seem like enough when you hear it like that. Workers deserve a hell of a lot more than thanks.
We all owe it to these workers to support higher wages, including minimum wage increases. We owe it to them to support better working conditions, fairer labour laws, access to benefits and respect. We owe it to them always – not just now.
We wanted to show workers proudly doing their jobs in the face of the pandemic, but also make the point that we owe it to these workers to have their backs.
We started with a list of workers we thought should be recognized – grocery clerks, food delivery drivers, custodians, long haul truckers, farmworkers, factory workers – the list kept getting longer as we thought of all the people we relied upon on. We decided to start with 3 posters – and then give people the opportunity to suggest other workers to highlight.
A lot of people have used war analogies and language to describe the COVID fight, a coming together of people behind a common enemy. Visually, we drew inspiration from government poster styles from war efforts in the middle part of the 20th century. Our goal was a bit of a retro work of art that combined honouring a worker with a call to action, like many of the posters from that era did.
In addition to asking people to suggest other kinds of workers to highlight, we also plan to print a limited number of these posters to give away in exchange for a donation to local food banks. Stay tuned for more information on that.
This project is something we wanted to put out into the world to honour these workers, and remind our leaders that workers deserve more than our thanks – they also deserve our support. As the world comes out of the pandemic, these fights will continue to exist. Our hope is that one of the silver linings of this terrible pandemic is that people and governments will see front-line, low wage workers in a new light and that there will be an opportunity to create lasting change for these workers.
Robin Steudel is Creative Director at Metric.


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In what is likely one of the more dramatic statements written in history about a software development conference, USA Today reported last week that Google’s I/O developers’ conference was the “latest salvo” in an “escalating arms race” among the Top 5 U.S. tech firms for the “hearts, minds and coding of developers.”
Those “Fab Five,” according to USA Today are Amazon, Microsoft, Google, Apple, and Facebook. And, yes, it certainly has entered overdrive as each of these players are now running up against each other when it comes to payments and commerce. Suffice to say that if either (or both) can be done digitally, one of those “Fab Five” wants to be the engine behind it getting it done.
That sort of isn’t how PayPal sees it - unsurprisingly.
Absent from USA Today’s “Fab Five” list, when asked about the so-called arms race that the USA Today was referring to, PayPal’s GM of Retail, Brad Brodigan, had this to say to MPD CEO Karen Webster: “It’s hard to be in payments as a part-time job.”
Payments – it sounds so easy until you actually try to do it.
Which is likely why, Brodigan told Webster, when one looks at the various “payments” plays being made by tech players, what one is actually seeing is a much more limited engagement in what is actually a very big and complicated ecosystem.
“There really is a difference between using technology as a way to provide a digital identity and using technology to actually facilitate commerce and process payments,” Brodigan told Webster.
When asked to elaborate further, Brodigan noted the distinction as being more about owning the entire process that is payments versus enabling an experience via a digital identity issued by a technology provider.
“If you’re a consumer, you expect that the provider you are using to pay for something both facilitates the payment and owns the process to the end – providing resolutions to any sort of issue as you make the payment,” Brodigan explained. “There are some technology companies that are focused on using their technology as way of simply providing identity by allowing consumers to tokenize their identity on their device and therefore secure it. That doesn't mean as a consumer you can leverage that partner to fix an issue you have with payment.”
“It’s very different to be an end-to-end payment provider than it is to be an identity technology platform,” Brodigan told Webster.
And that is what PayPal is – and reaffirmed 10 days ago by what the CEO of the soon-to-be-independent PayPal said in San Francisco at a presentation for analysts and customers. A split that Brodigan says has allowed the firm to redefine its vision about providing an entire operating system for commerce. And by so doing offering an expanded value proposition for its merchant partners.
“What merchants are most interested in hearing is how we are redefining PayPal as a standalone,” Brodigan noted when asked about how merchants reacted to what they heard on May 20. “Until now, they really thought about PayPal as an extension of eBay - so they are now hearing about PayPal as the largest and most open digital payments platform.”
Talk of an open platform can sound almost out of place in the current mobile discussion - with big players like Apple, Google and Samsung thinking mostly tribally at this point (and about how to use payments to grow their tribes' numbers) and interested in making their payments platforms gifts for their loyal adherents to use in their closed (or sort of closed) operating systems-based ecosystems.
PayPal, on the other hand, is thinking about it differently.
“If we are going to help merchants enable commerce, we have to make sure we don’t force them to make choices about what payments they accept. We expect that will include PayPal, but also everything else," Brodigan told Webster.
And, he noted, with 167 million users, scores of merchants, and a single-minded dedication to payments and payments alone for almost two decades – PayPal feels that they can afford to be open.
“We’re tech agnostic,” Brodigan said. “We see our collection of assets and that allows us to be uniquely positioned as the rate of the disruption traditional to digital payments in accelerating.”
An acceleration, he and PayPal believes is toward a place where customers are getting to the threshold of mobile use - and encountering friction at just the wrong point.
“Our focus is to enable digital payments across form factors adopted by merchants and consumers alike.”
“We’re really seeing merchants connect the dots between online mobile and in store. Consumers are demanding it, but there’s also a chance to have a holistic point of view on their consumer profile,” Brodigan told Webster when asked about how merchants view the mobile payments opportunity. “On the other hand, when they [merchants] start to invest in mobile experiences, they realize there is too much friction.”
“It takes too long for consumers to sign up. It takes too long for consumers to embed in loyalty programs. There is too much friction in the payment experience. They are investing in it, but they aren’t seeing habitual use, so while they are investing, they aren't seeing adoption because there is too much friction in the system.”
PayPal says their focus - on both the merchant and consumer side, as they are trying to define themselves as a firm on its own two feet - is on eliminating that friction in a way that requires the least possible effort on anyone else’s part (expect theirs). “That means One Touch payments (mobile and Web) so that shopping on the mobile Web is indistinguishable from shopping in app with a tap or a touch [and] is as easy as possible. It means merchants can leverage Paydiant’s technology to channel their inner Starbucks and build that perfect consumer mobile experience,” Brodigan elaborated.
At the end of the day - Brodigan told Webster - PayPal doesn’t want to be the button that makes the purchase - it wants to be the the architecture that makes digital payments possible.
“There is a lot of interest by a lot of companies, most of which who don’t have significant experience in the space,"Brodigan said. "This is a complicated ecosystem, you need lots of support around risk and international currency support. We feel very good about our ability to continue to be the leader in digital payments because we’re the most ready to handle all the moving pieces.”
It’s somewhat interesting that everyone these days wants to put the word “Pay” in the name of their payments product: Apple Pay, Android Pay, Samsung Pay. Yet, “Pay” is always second – maybe because it’s just easy to glop it on at the end or maybe because it helps preserve the existing brand that people know with a word that also reminds consumers that, well, they can also “Pay” sometimes at some places.
For PayPal though - “Pay” is the lead word - because they say that it’s what they do and have always done since Day 1. While its journey to redefine itself as eCommerce’s operating system has as of yet not generated the sort of histrionic headlines the ongoing “arms race” among the “Fab Five” are engaged in, they seem content to be the operating system that enables payment, within any operating system accessed by any form factor enabled by any technology that exists today or might exist going forward in which payment and commerce is a part.
For more news on PayPal, click here.


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What do sexy apps and Wi-Fi hotspot detectors have in common? Apparently neither one of them is welcome on the App Store. The Register is reporting that Apple has started to yank Wi-Fi hotspot detecting apps -- commonly known as “stumblers” -- from the App Store, leaving developers completely in the dark as to why.
“We received a very unfortunate e-mail today from Apple stating that WiFi Where has been removed from sale on the App Store for using private frameworks to access wireless information,” one developer writes. Apple has pulled various apps for using private frameworks in the past, but in this case it’s not totally clear what rule such scanning apps are breaking.
Unlike the “sexy apps” which were pulled en masse recently, not all of the Wi-Fi finders have been removed -- apps which use a database of hotspots combined with GPS data from the device itself are still available, such as JiWire’s free Wi-Fi Finder. It appears that Apple is primarily targeting the apps that actively scan for hotspots, such as eFUSION’s eWiFi, which is now gone from the App Store.
A rather unfortunate choice on Apple’s part, since apps such as eWiFi are a handy way to check your own home network and see if it might be conflicting with another one in your neighborhood when a computer isn't handy, for instance. Here’s hoping that Apple has a change of heart and allows such apps back in the App Store.


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Women are wary about using Hong Kong’s public toilets and changing rooms after a clothes hanger found in a railway station toilet turned out to be a hidden camera.
The discovery triggered calls from legislator Elizabeth Quat for inspections of public facilities and a crackdown on spy camera sales.
Such devices are openly sold for about HK$500 each and can be easily installed in everything from pens, watches, digital clocks and eye glasses to car keys and smoke detectors, Apple Daily reported.
Some of them use Wi-Fi, meaning video footage can be instantly downloaded to smartphones or tablets.
In mainland China, spy cameras can be custom-made for a fee, the report said.
Quat said the government should inspect all public facilities to ensure privacy and commercial establishments should also check their premises.
Restrictions should be made on the sale of surveillance cameras, Quat was quoted as saying.
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