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T-Mobile Talks Up Licensed Assisted Access
Jan 5, 2015, 11:17 AM by Eric M. Zeman
T-Mobile today said it is working on new technology called Licensed Assisted Access. According to T-Mobile, LAA is an LTE-based technology that helps combine licensed and unlicensed spectrum in order to increase peak and average data speeds while also reducing latency. T-Mobile says LAA pairs LTE's quality of service controls with WiFi in order to improve coverage and throughput. The company has added LAA to its technology roadmap and plans to begin trialling it in some capacity later this year. T-Mobile points out that there's currently about 550MHz of under-used spectrum in the 5GHz range (typically reserved for WiFi) that could be tapped to help with LTE via LAA. T-Mobile didn't say when it expects to begin trials of LAA with consumer-grade equipment.
Feb 9, 2022
Samsung today announced its lineup of flagship phones for 2022: the Galaxy S22 series. The top-end S22 Ultra sees the biggest changes as it essentially absorbs Samsung's Note series with an integrated S Pen stylus and a more Note-like shape and design, instead of the Contour Cut design of the other models.
Sep 7, 2022
Apple has revealed the iPhone 14 series, with new features, improved specs, and new size options. In place of a Mini option, the iPhone 14 will come in the same 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch screen size options as the Pro models.
Nov 15, 2022
Qualcomm has announced its newest top-end chip, intended to power most flagship-level Android phones in 2023. As expected, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 is more powerful and power-efficient across the board (compared to Gen 1), but the most impressive improvements and new features involve AI.
Jan 17, 2024
Samsung has unveiled its lineup of flagship phones for 2024, the Galaxy S24 series. The phones sport multiple upgrades in both hardware and software compared to last year's models.


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Home Tags Google
New York will receive $1,524,621 from Google and $56,767 from iHeartMedia.
“So much of what most people do on a daily basis is predictable, scripted, measured and analytical,” said Tom Pesce, a corporate, motivational entertainer and Ridgefield resident. “What I show them is an antidote to that. It’s an antidote to the ordinary.”
New York will receive more than $20 million and Connecticut will receive roughly $6.5 million.
The program equips people with skills for in-demand jobs within three to six months – with no degree or experience required – at a time when employers in information technology-related sectors have reported a skills gap in the U.S. workforce.
William Tong said the lawsuit seeks "free and fair access to the digital marketplace."
Since 2009, the tech giant has awarded over $7 million in grants to nonprofits and other organizations in the state.
The tech giant said that 169,600 New York businesses, publishers and nonprofits used Google products, generating $70.04 billion in economic activity, in 2020.
“The first and most important reason for expanding to Connecticut was DEEP (the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection) increasing the incentives for heat pump installations,” Michael Sachse, president of the New York company, said. “That really changed the economics for us, and we think for consumers in the state as well.”
Tong sought assurance the new apps will be affiliated with a public health authority.
Google's action comes in the aftermath of a federal lawsuit aimed at Facebook's advertising policies.
The former CEO and executive chairman of Google, Eric Schmidt along with his philanthropic organization Schmidt Futures will be working with New York state...
Fast Facts: The governor said that today he would be increasing the maximum fine for violating the social distancing protocol from $500 to $1,000 ...
Involved in bringing about the HomeGoods sale was New York City-based real estate investment brokerage firm B+E. It has developed a transactional platform on the internet specializing in the sale of net lease commercial properties occupied by a single tenant and 1031 exchanges.
New York Attorney General Letitia James also launched a separate antitrust probe of Facebook.

domain: news


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OTTAWA — Major credit card companies have struck an agreement with the federal government to trim the fees they charge to merchants in a move Ottawa hopes will provide a boost to small businesses.
Ottawa announced Thursday it has reached voluntary, five-year deals with Visa, MasterCard and American Express to cut fees by about 10 basis points. Finance Minister Bill Morneau, who unveiled the deal at an Ottawa grocery store, said he expects the agreements to help small and medium-sized businesses save a total of $250 million per year.
tap here to see other videos from our team.
“That’s a big difference for companies,” said Morneau, who billed the change as part of his department’s effort to listen to the concerns of Canadian business owners about staying competitive.
“Today, is one part of responding to those competitiveness challenges.”
Starting in 2020, Visa and MasterCard will reduce the fees they collect from businesses to an average annual effective rate of 1.4 per cent — down from 1.5 per cent — and narrow the gap between the highest and lowest rates they charge retailers. American Express has agreed to provide more fairness and transparency as part of a separate voluntary commitment that recognizes its unique business model.


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First unit of Bentley’s Bentayga SUV rolls off assembly line in Crewe, UK
According to reports, the first unit of Bentley’s brand new Bentayga SUV has recently rolled off the company’s production line at its Crewe, UK, headquarters.
The first unit of Bentley's Bentayga SUV was handcrafted across 130 hours; and it passed through the company’s new bodystore, paint shop and assembly line; all of which were part of a £840 million investment program.
The first Bentayga SUV unit features an Anthracite body color, and a cabin which boasts the best-quality wood and leather. It is equipped with a twin-turbo W12 engine which has the capability to deliver 600hp, and takes barely four seconds to accelerate from zero to 100km/h. It has a top speed of more than 180mph.
Some previous reports had speculated that Bentley will apparently move the first unit of its new Bentayga SUV to Balmoral, Scotland, where it will be used by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, for her "hunting expeditions." However, recent reports have revealed that the first unit of the Bentayga SUV will probably head for Bentley’s Heritage Collection.
With the production of Bentley’s Bentayga SUV having commenced in Crewe, Bentley is expected to deliver the initial batch of the SUV, costing £160,000, to customers in January 2016.
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Bulgarian companies appreciated the quality of RAMPLO productsRead more...
RAMPLO has a new dealer - Bulgarian company RAL ELECTRO
New dealer in Serbia, Bosnia, Montenegro, Kosovo and MacedoniaRead more...
RAMPLO expands its presence in Southern Europe
RAMPLO products are now represented in HungaryRead more...
The company LAUNE Gyártáskiszolgálás became RAMPLO dealer
Monday, 11 March 2013 17:04


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- Former Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer’s startup Lumi Labs launched in March 2018, and has mostly stayed quiet since.
- Lumi’s website says the company is focused on building consumer applications that use AI to solve everyday tasks.
- The world is now getting a look at the first such app, called Holiday Helper, which helps people organize their holiday contact information for sending cards and gifts.
- If it sounds mundane, that’s because it is supposed to be.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
Former Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer’s startup Lumi Labs launched in March 2018, and has been fairly quiet ever since.
Its website says the company is focused on building consumer applications that use AI to solve everyday tasks.
The world is now getting a look at the first such app from the company, called Holiday Helper. It’s an app that lets you upload a list of email addresses, reaches out to each person, and asks them to fill out a form with their latest contact and mailing info. When most of them have responded, it compiles the list and gives you printable mailing labels so you can send out cards and gifts.
The app is currently for desktop use only — if you try to access it on your phone you’ll get an error message telling you that mobile isn’t supported.
If that sounds like the kind of weekend project a programmer would do and share on a service like GitHub, Mayer says that this is exactly the point.
While a lot of tech companies talk about using AI to make people’s lives more productive, Mayer’s startup is bent on finding and automating the type of tasks that are “so mundane and so time-consuming that a lot of people [choose not to] do them,” she told Fast Company.
Another example is an app that looks through your camera roll to identity the blurry photos and also identify the good ones you might want to share, based on your past history of sharing, Fast company reports.
Another interesting tidbit about Lumi Labs is that it is located on hallowed ground in Silicon Valley, at 165 University Avenue in Palo Alto. That’s the same space where Google was located when it was a tiny startup, after it moved out of Susan Wojcicki’s garage. That same office was also the home to PayPal when it was a startup, too.
It’s also where Mayer landed a job with Google when she was fresh from college. Wojcicki is now CEO of YouTube, while Mayer went on to become a major force and top executive as Google grew. Eventually, Mayer left Google to run Yahoo as CEO, ultimately selling it to Verizon for $4.83 billion in 2016.
Mayer is an active angel investor with over 24 investments under her belt, according to Crunchbase. But she’s still more interested in being a CEO than in being an investor, she said in 2017. Now, we’re finally get a first peek at Lumi, the startup she’s growing from scratch.
Join the conversation about this story »
NOW WATCH: Why it’s so hard for planes to land on water


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The Rezidor Hotel Group, owner of the Radisson Blu, Regent and Park Inn brands, has announced plans to take over the management of two hotels in Brighton.
At the end of the month, the 59-bedroom Royal York Hotel and the 84-bedroom Lansdowne Place hotel, owned by Max Hotels, will become a Radisson Blu and Park Inn respectively.
“These signings underline the importance of the UK market for our company”, said Rezidor president and chief executive Kurt Ritter. “Brighton is one the country’s favourite destinations; we are glad to be present there.”
The Royal York Hotel, situated 50 metres from Brighton`s seafront, was renovated in 2007 and includes a restaurant - Max`s Sea Grill - serving locally caught fish and seafood.
Lansdowne Place was fully renovated in 2004 and includes a spa and The Grill restaurant serving French style food.
David Glover, director of Max Hotels, said: "I’m tremendously excited to be working with Rezidor on these two hotels and I’m extremely confident that together we can create hotels that will become the leaders in the Brighton market."
Rezidor also operates the brands Country Inns & Suites and has signed a worldwide licence agreement with the Italian fashion house Missoni to develop and operate the lifestyle hotel brand Hotel Missoni.
Rezidor`s Missoni and Artizian appointments
Italian fashion hotel to open two properties


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This surge was seen less than a year after contactless limits increased. A response to the sharp rise in the number consumers demanding for a higher payment ceiling, amid the COVID-19 pandemic - With ease, convenience and safety playing a significant role in this increasingly digitally focused society.
With major ‘pay-tech’ players like Visa taking note - providing businesses the opportunity to accept larger card payments from their ‘cash-less’ customers. 65% of consumers stated they would prefer to use contactless payments as much as, or more than, they do currently said Visa.
Charlotte Hogg, Chief Executive Officer, Europe at Visa, commented: “The demand for touch-free payments indicates that contactless has become the norm for European consumers and retailers. They are also among the lowest fraud rates of any payment type”
Enabling contactless payments will be key to Europe’s economic recovery and while raising contactless limits alone won’t revitalise the European economy, it is a step in the right direction, giving consumers the confidence to spend, and providing shops, restaurants and other retailers a boost just when they need it most.”
As facilitators of contactless payments, we too have experienced the increasing demand from payment solution providers. Who are looking to integrate our pay-tech software and framework within their existing payment strictures. Alongside small business owners, using our dedicated stand alone card reading app. Many of whom are looking to embrace and adapt to the change in consumer behaviour, as customers' ideals and safety concerns shift from the pandemic.
In fact uk finance noted that contactless payments accounted for 41% of all credit card and 60% of all debit card transactions in December 2020, showing few signs of slowing down as the UK economy sees pubs, retailers, beauty and entertainment reopening from April 12th.
Which feeds into the wider discussion of ‘Are we heading towards a cashless society, sooner than we think?’ Nordic countries like Sweden are already looking to go cashless by 2023, along with Finland being the most ready to transition towards a cashless society ranking second to Ireland in terms of frequency of card use. Across the world China has seen extreme developments in the rapid adoption of mobile payments notably though the use of QR codes, and the UK too ranks number two globally for e-commerce as a percentage of GDP, behind china.
At Dapio we believe that all signs are pointing toward a very obvious evolution in payment making and payment taking. The rise in popularity of the mobile e-wallet is a strong indicator of what is to come. Which prompted us four years ago to begin development on the corresponding and missing element in the payment equation… An app for merchants to accept payments, with the seamless nature at which their customers make them.


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Shuhei Yoshida, President of Sony Worldwide Studios has confirmed that the PlayStation 4 doesn’t have a power brick as all “the power is inside.”
Post Tagged with: “consoles”
Kalypso Media has announced Port Royale 3, a game which will allow players to sail the Caribbean Sea during the 17th Century and have many an adventure as they take on the role of a young captain who can choose to either be a “heroic captain, villainous brigand or savvy merchant”.
SEGA has announced that SEGA Rally Online Arcade, a new HD title inspired by SEGA Rally Revo and SEGA Rally 3, will be racing onto the PSN and XBLA in 2011. SEGA’s arcade and console favorite will include a collection of new features, including the ability for gamers to race their friends online.
Alright folks, we are taking this with a grain of salt since it involves the long awaited Gran Turismo 5 actually coming out, to the public, you know so real people like you and me can actually play it. According to Joystiq, that is absolutely true. Even more interesting is that a limited edition version of the game will be […]


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Mitsubishi, Ryobi Studying Business Alliance
HIROSHIMA, JAPAN—Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Printing & Packaging Machinery and Ryobi Limited have signed a letter of intent for a joint study on a business alliance for commercial printing machinery business.
Both companies have been producing and selling sheetfed offset printing presses and facing the stiffer market situation with the shrinking demand, especially in developed countries due to the recent global economic crisis. This has led both companies to promote structural reforms to sustain competitiveness in the market and financial soundness as well.
As part of the further efforts in strengthening corporate structure, both companies agreed to study the feasibility of setting up a joint venture company specifically aimed at improving competitiveness of sheetfed offset printing machinery, enhancing the scale of operations and solidifying its management base.
The companies foresee market demand for printing machinery in the developing countries becoming stronger, with the demand for higher specification products expected to grow further in the global market.
The two firms hope to forge an agreement that would produce significant synergies such as enhancement of product line-ups, enlargement of product development capability, reduction of product cost, and improvement in sales and service networks. A final agreement is expected by June 30.


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Uber Brazil is raising awareness with a safe driving campaign that stuns and effectively captures attention. With over 400,000 traffic accidents and more than 54,000 deaths, according to the World Health Organization, Brazil is greatly affected and the ad highlights that mobile devices "are greatly to blame."
The safe driving campaign is in partnership with creative shop Tech and consists of a stunt that includes a goalkeeper checking his phone during a game. The football match is between Brazilian teams Atlético Paranaense and Atlético Mineiro. The video follows goalkeeper Aderbar dos Santos — the most important person in the game, spontaneously checking his phone, which sparks anger and confusion among fans.
By incorporating the nation's favorite sport into its safe driving campaign, Uber Brazil is able to deliver a powerful lesson in traffic mindfulness.
Uber Brazil Raises Awareness About How Dangerous Phones Can Be
1. Safe Driving Campaigns - Disruptive innovation opportunity: Develop a mobile app that rewards drivers for not using their phones while driving.
2. Traffic Mindfulness - Disruptive innovation opportunity: Create virtual reality simulations to train drivers on safe driving practices.
3. Creative Partnerships - Disruptive innovation opportunity: Collaborate with influencers and celebrities to create impactful safe driving campaigns.
1. Ride-hailing Services - Disruptive innovation opportunity: Integrate a safe driving feature within ride-hailing apps that alerts drivers when they are using their phones.
2. Creative Advertising - Disruptive innovation opportunity: Develop interactive billboards and displays that raise awareness about the dangers of distracted driving.
3. Sports Marketing - Disruptive innovation opportunity: Sponsor sports events and teams to promote safe driving campaigns and reach a wider audience.


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TAIPEI, Taiwan Hynix Semiconductor Inc.'s Board of Directors unanimously rejected the proposed sale of its core memory operations to Micron Technology Inc. on Tuesday, killing the deal that would have brought badly needed consolidation to the DRAM industry and flouting the earlier approval of creditors who have extended two multi-billion bailout packages to the sickly Korean memory maker.
After a six-hour meeting, the board concluded there were too many flaws in the deal worked out by Hynix and Micron executives in tandem with creditors, who participated in some of the negotiating sessions. "The plan overestimates the value of the Micron stock to be paid for the sale of Hynix's memory business; unrealistically presumes the size and timing of contingent liabilities; and is too optimistic in its estimate of the cash flow of the remaining company," the board said in a statement. In response, Hynix Chief Executive Officer Park Chong Sup tendered his resignation.
Micron is willing to give Hynix 108.6 million shares of stock, worth close to $3.5 billion at the time offered, and a $200 million investment for a 15 percent stake in its non-memory business, which would be the sole remaining entity. In the week since the two sides signed a memorandum of understanding, Micron shares have slid to about $26 from roughly $30, making the price tag seem less attractive in the short-term.
The deal would have made Micron the largest DRAM maker, pushing it ahead of rival Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. That looks unlikely to happen now, according to a Hynix spokesperson, who doubted further talks with Micron would happen. The Boise-based firm had set an April 30 deadline for the deal worked out over five months to be approved by Hynix creditors and its board. Micron officials could not be reached for comment.
The rejection leaves Hynix little choice but to go it alone, and that is what the board intends it to do, despite its estimated debt of $6.5 billion. "We are confident that with the upturn in the semiconductor industry and new developments in our technology, our business competitiveness has improved and, therefore, we have concluded that it is possible for Hynix to successfully exist as an independent entity," it said, adding "the sale of Hynix's memory business may be a meaningful option in and of itself, but it is not the best option for the interested parties."
Board members criticized the restructuring plan for "placing too much liability" on Hynix's non-memory IC operations, which is a side business that takes in less than 30 percent of Hynix's revenue. The plan also overestimates the "revenue and cash flow of the remaining company," the board said.
Conspicuously missing from the statement was any indication of how the company would survive on its own. To do so, it would need to immediately set about the costly business of upgrading its fabs and building new, multi-billion dollar state-of-the-art fabs using 300mm wafers. Its main rivals, namely Samsung and Infineon Technologies, have already done so or are in the process, and so have some of its much smaller competitors, such as Powerchip Semiconductor Corp and Nanya Technologies of Taiwan.
The original deal called for Micron to upgrade Hynix's existing fabs with $1.5 billion in fresh loans from Hynix creditors presumably at favorable interest rates. After the board rejection, creditors indicated they would not extend more loans to Hynix and a government financial regulator said the company's survival would be determined by the market.


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Online Publishers Association
New research published today answers some key questions about what kinds of content tablet users consume, and what they’re willing to buy.
The survey, funded by the Online Publishers Association, finds that 61 percent of tablet users have purchased some form of digital content.
What kinds of media are they buying? Some magazines (39 percent) and e-books (35 percent), fewer newspapers (15 percent).
So, tablet users are fairly willing to pay publishers for content that is entertaining and highly visual (magazines, books and movies), less so for straight news and newspaper content.
There is little consensus about whether digital content should be sold on its own or bundled with other offline content, such as a print subscription. Some readers surveyed like that approach; some don’t. This suggests it’s best to keep providing multiple purchase options for the near future.
The survey asked a subset of tablet users who have paid for a digital newspaper or magazine subscription which content-delivery method they preferred. More preferred to get it via mobile-optimized websites than apps.
That result is remarkable, contradicting conventional wisdom that distributing native apps through app stores is the best way to get consumers to purchase content.
Of course, what people say often does not match what they do. It’s possible that while readers say they want subscription content on the mobile Web, they remain more likely to actually pay for it in an app form.
What content are tablet users consuming?
Paid or not, content consumption is one of the favored uses of tablets, the study finds.
Video comes out on top as the most-common type of content viewed on tablets. Local news (for 41 percent of users) and national news (37 percent) are regular reading subjects:
The study also breaks down the specific types of video content watched regularly:
The study estimates that 31 percent of Internet-using Americans now use tablets, up from 12 percent in last year’s survey. It predicts 47 percent will use tablets by 2013, based on the number of respondents who said they plan to purchase in the next 12 months.
The results are drawn from an online survey of 2,540 U.S. Internet users ages 8 to 64, weighted by age and gender to match the U.S. population as a whole.


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As the fintech sector struggles through the Covid-19 economic fallout, a report from VC Finch Capital offers some light at the end of the tunnel, suggesting that the crisis could ultimately end up benefiting the industry by accelerating the rush to digitisation.The coronavirus pandemic has had an impact on almost every part of the economy, not least the fintech sector, which has already seen companies furlough employees, close stores and miss out on funding.
Finch Capital says fintech firms will have to weather a crisis situation until the third quarter and then make it through a 12 to 18 month recovery period.
However, for those that survive, there will be opportunities, as Covid-19 reframes how society behaves, making digital-only the new norm for financial services.
This acceleration will trigger a “Big Pocket” battle between incumbents and challengers to win the online customer, predicts Finch, which also expects financial institutions to turn to tech companies rather than in-house options to accelerate digital transformation.
The big winners will be consumer and SME lending platforms as well as firms working on digitisation in the mortgage and life insurance sectors, where in-person interactions still dominate.
AI will continue to be a hot technology, coveted for things such as call centre bots, account opening procedures and loan automation. Digital ID technology will also be important as KYC needs are increasingly met online.
However, some parts of the fintech ecosystem could struggle, predicts Finch. Challenger banks which have built up big valuations but have high burn rates and could see lower activity post-crisis are among those in danger.
Wealth management could suffer from clients de-risking post-crisis while payments and FX firms could experience decreased transaction activity.
Radboud Vlaar, managing partner, Finch Capital, says: “2020 will be challenging for fintechs to navigate, but there are better times ahead. Post-crisis, disruptive winners will ‘take all’, as we expect surging demand from financial services for technology to master digital-only interaction, enabled by AI and big-data analytics.”


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When it comes to buying and selling cryptocurrencies, it is the Wild West out there. This is Money guides you through wallets.
Investment opportunities are golden. People across different countries have sought where to read up on investable platforms.
21 Jun 2019.
What Is a Bitcoin Debit Card? Before Bitcoin debit cards, people were forced to exchange their currency for legal tender on the market to spend it.
The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today charged a Danish man in a case involving the operation of a.
If brick-and-mortar stores adjust to these new times and all the technology that comes with it, they will see that they might.
You can buy just about anything you can imagine with Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. In some cases you might need to go.
What Bitcoin Can Do 18 Sep 2019. While criminals will continue attempts to circumvent or exploit bitcoin's blockchain , money laundering can be headed off at the pass with tools. The Seven Network Effects Of Bitcoin — Steemit In the space of a year, cryptocurrency trading has moved from a fringe activity to a. The network went live in
19 Apr 2019.
A Bitcoin debit card works very much the same way as the prepaid debit cards available in drug and grocery stores. Except instead of loading it.
Last update: May 16, 2020 Bitcoin Debit Card Comparison. How to pick the right Bitcoin Debit Card provider? Transaction Fees and Card Pricing Schedule.
23 Feb 2020.
Coinbase crypto visa payments – Visa Grants Coinbase Power To Issue Bitcoin Debit Cards Credit card giant Visa has granted its principal.


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Foreign trade policy extended by 6 months
The government on Monday extended the existing Foreign Trade Policy (2015-20) by another six months till March 2023 on account of volatile global economic and geo-political situation and currency fluctuations. The current FTP was to end on September 30 after it was extended in April.
The policy was first extended on March 31, 2020 for a year due to the pandemic and the lockdown imposed to control its spread.
The latest extension comes amid India's export growth slowing. India's goods exports rose 1.62% in August, while the trade deficit more-than-doubled to $27.98 billion.
"We will have to defer the release of the new policy. The existing policy will be continued," said Amit Yadav, additional secretary in the Department of Commerce. He said there were demands from industry associations and export promotion councils to extend the policy and defer a new policy at this time of global uncertainties and currency fluctuations.
There was also a view to align the rollout of the new policy with the new financial year.
The DGFT will issue a notification on the extension.- Our Bureau


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Pawn business Cash America adds 39 shops
Pawn shop operator Cash America International entered into an asset purchase agreement with Maxit Financial LLC for 39 pawn shops, according to the company
Cash America agreed to pay $70 million in cash and stocks for the locations. Once the transaction closes, Cash America will add 244 new pawn shops to its business, a 25-percent increase, during the past two years.
These new sites will expand the Fort Worth, Texas-based company’s presence in Washington, where it only has five pawn shops, and Arizona, which has 11 company-owned and seven franchised-owned locations. Of the newly acquired shops, 29 reside in Washington and 10 are in Arizona.
Operating 737 lending locations in 28 states, Cash America offers consumers various financial services under the names Cash America Pawn, SuperPawn, Cash America Payday Advance and Cashland. The company is also a majority owner of 200 locations in Central and Southern Mexico under the name Prenda Facil.
Additionally, Cash America operates 125 check cashing centers in 16 states under the name Mr. Payroll and provides short-term loans via the Internet nationwide and internationally.
President and Chief Executive Officer Daniel Feehan said in a statement that increasing Cash America
’s presence in Washington and Arizona is part of the company’s nationwide expansion strategy.
“Increasing our pawn-lending storefront locations remains a priority for Cash America and we believe that this acquisition will enhance our presence in these two important markets in the United States through increased revenue and greater market coverage,” he said.
The acquisition comes two weeks after Cash America announced that its second quarter profits rose 26 percent to $20.9 million compared to the same time last year.
The company credits this increase to a massive surge within its e-commerce lending and higher earnings business segments. Feehan added in a company release that Cash America had an “abnormally high level of pawn redemptions in the first quarter of 2010.”
"Consumer loan volumes in our e-commerce segment, both domestic and foreign, continue to significantly outpace growth of consumer loan volume in our U.S. storefronts and are building asset levels that should aid future earnings growth,” he said.
Cash America’s consumer loan portfolio increased 28 percent to $70.9 million during the second quarter compared to the same time last year. Feehan predicts that Cash America’s e-commerce and consumer loan business will continue to climb in the third quarter.
The List database was unable to identify which marketing and communications agencies, if any, that Cash America currently works with.
The Nielsen Company reported that Cash America spent $3.7 million on measured media in 2009. About $1.8 million was spent on cable television ads, about $1.4 million was spent on spot television ads and about $300,000 was spent on spot radio ads.
Cash America International, Inc.
1600 West Seventh Street
Fort Worth, TX 7610
President & Chief Executive Officer
Vice President, Sales & Marketing


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Oct. 9, 2010 Staff Report
On Thursday, Alim Maruf, the owner of Bliss Bistro, and Tim Chen, the owner of Quaint, both received word of their inclusion in the 2011 New York City Zagat Guide.
This was the first time that Maruf had been rated by Zagat since taking over Bliss in 2007. Bliss was recommended with a Michelin for 2010. Meanwhile, Quaint has been rated by Zagat for a while, although this year it received a particularly high score.
Both of these Sunnyside restaurants are located on Skillman Ave (by 46th Street).
The ratings for Bliss Bistro: Food 21, Decor 20, Service 21, Cost $38
It may be “off the beaten path”, but this Sunnyside gem is right on the money with its “well-prepared” French bistro items, “attentive” service and prices that are a “fraction” of what you’d pay inNew York; P.S. insiders say “dining in the garden is an unforgettable experience.”
The ratings for Quaint: Food 25, Decor 21, Service 25, $35
At this “friendly” neighborhood Sunnysider, the New American cooking “packs a delicious punch” with “local, organic” ingredients and “revelatory specials”; “warm, attentive” service, “cozy” digs that “live up to the name” and a “lovely” garden make for a “relaxing experience.
Other establishments may have also been ranked by Zagat for 2011. Past winners have included: the Turkish Grill, SideTracks and Dazies.


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Microsoft's Panay shows off the dual-screened Surface Duo in a new picture
Microsoft's Chief Product Officer Panos Panay is once again showing off a picture of the dual-screened Surface Duo productivity device. The photo was originally shared with Microsoft employee John Wiese on Twitter after the latter disseminated a tweet that read, "Watched the @surface Duo launch video again this morning while preparing for a meeting....still get chills, and super excited! Can't wait!!!" Back in April Panay posted on Instagram a photo he took using the device.
Samsung Galaxy Fold 2. On the other hand, German site WinFuture said yesterday that a delay until 2021 is possible.The Surface Duo was originally unveiled October 2nd of last year and was supposed to be released during the upcoming holiday shopping season. Then, last month there was talk that Microsoft wanted to introduce the device before the expected August 5th introduction of the
The Duo is equipped with two 5.6-inch screens, each with a resolution of 1350 x 1800. When the two screens are opened, they create an 8.3-inch display with a hinge in the middle. The Duo will be equipped with a Surface Pen further solidifying its role as a productivity tool. The Snapdragon 855 Mobile Platform, already one-generation old, will be under the hood while a 3460mAh battery will reportedly keep the lights on. The Surface Duo could come with a single 11MP camera that will work both as the handset's primary and selfie snappers. Memory-wise, the device is expected to feature 6GB of RAM. While Android 10 will be running the show at launch, an update to Android 11 is expected not too long after the Surface Duo is released.
will have a feature called App Group that will allow the user to load a pair of apps on the dual-screens with just one tap. For example, if someone often loads the CNBC app and the calculator app together to compute his profits, App Group will allow this combo to be preset so that one tap will bring up both apps, one on each screen.Similar to Samsung's App Pair, the Surface Duo
The photo of Panay holding the Duo also displays what might be a case for the product with thick rounded rubber edges. It is important to note that the Surface Duo is not a foldable phone like the Galaxy Fold is. It is a dual-screen device but still delivers many of the same capabilities that a foldable phone has. Google has been working with Microsoft in order to optimize Android for the device.


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The US Supreme Court has handed Google a decisive victory in its decade-long battle with Oracle over the Android operating system (OS).
A National Security Agency (NSA) hacking tool was stolen by Chinese hackers in 2014 and used against US targets, according to researchers.
Apple has announced its Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) for 2021, with the tag line: “Glow and behold.”
Apple has begun rejecting apps that use software development kits (SDKs) that engage in fingerprinting.
A computer researcher at Trinity College Dublin has released a report showing Android phones home to Google 20x more than iOS does to Apple.
Cloudflare, one of the leading content delivery networks, has announced API Discovery and API Abuse Detection.
Microsoft is adding sign-in and sync support to the Linux version of its Edge web browser.
Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger has his sights set on regaining Apple as a customer, thanks to Intel’s planned factories in Arizona.
A controversial Arizona bill that would have had profound implications for Apple and Google’s app stores has been killed without a vote.


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The Wedding Singer actor sustained the injury at the weekend, although his publicist has said that it would not affect filming of his latest flick Bedtime Stories
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The Setai will also have a lobby bar called, The Bar at 5th, which as we reported earlier this month promises "a landscape of intimate spaces". Signature cocktails and a fireplace in the bar's center should keep everyone warm and cozy when the hotel opens on November 1st. Room rates are still holding steady at $545 a night for a standard room.
Hotel Restaurants / Celeb Chefs / Michael White / Capella Hotels / Manhattan Hotels / Hotel Hype / → All Tags
When the Moon Hits The Setai, That's Ai Fiori (Their Newly Announced Restaurant)
More Manhattan Mania! The upcoming Setai Fifth Avenue has just announced that its culinary plans will include a restaurant from busy Manhattan chef Michael White, who already runs Convivio, Alto and Marea and a has fourth restaurant planned for Soho. This will be his fifth.
The new restaurant will be called Ai Fiori and The NYT has the detes:
The second-floor restaurant in the Setai Fifth Avenue, 400 Fifth Avenue (37th Street), set to open in late fall. The restaurant will feature the food of the Italian Mediterranean coast, with some French Riviera influences, and have about 185 seats with another 40 at the bar.
Looks like this luxury hotel is passing up the kind of quick "restaurant concepts" we talked about yesterday.


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On the same day as BMW and MINI announced their comprehensive lineups for the 2023 IAA Munich show, Rolls-Royce has confirmed it will attend Salon Privé. Held from August 30 until September 2 at the Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire, the Concours d’Elégance will host a couple of Spectre electric coupes as well as a highly bespoke Ghost.
While Spectre serves as the brand’s first electric production vehicle ever, the Ghost is the best-selling product in the automaker’s 119-year history. Not one but two eye-catching EVs will be at the event to highlight how impressively configurable the “super coupe” is for those who want a Rolls-Royce without the venerable V12 engine.
The first Spectre is a Witterings Blue build with a Mandarin coachline, combined with a Charles Blue interior that also has Mandarin accents. The other car is finished in a combination of Chartreuse and Black Diamond with a posh cabin featuring a Chartreuse, Grace White and Peony Pink theme.
Ahead of deliveries programmed to kick off in the fourth quarter of 2023, Spectre is already a smash hit as RR has enough orders to keep busy for the entire next year. Newly placed orders won’t be fulfilled until 2025. Spectre leads the way for the brand’s EV plans, with the entire lineup to drop the V12 by the end of 2030. Meanwhile, two ICE cars have already been discontinued as the Wraith and Dawn were retired earlier this year. The Spectre is not a successor to these cars, but rather a replacement for the Phantom Coupe.
As far as the Ghost is concerned, the ultra-luxury sedan has been painted in Tucana Purple in combination with a Lime Green coachline. These contrasting accents have also been applied as a pinstripe on the wheels. More Lime Green can be found inside on the steering wheel, armrests, headrests, and seat piping.
That’s not all as Rolls-Royce will have another Ghost to lead the Tour Privé for the 120-mile journey through the Cotswolds.


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Who would fall for a brazen scheme that strengthens protection under the guise of free trade? Maybe it's worth looking at the supposed free trade deal we signed with America a decade ago, writes Ian Verrender.
You've probably heard the old saying that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting a different result.
No-one has ever really nailed down the author. Some reckon it was Albert Einstein. Others say it was Benjamin Franklin.
Regardless of who exactly owns the copyright to that little pearl of wisdom, it's a sentiment with a particular resonance as Australia once again lines up to sign yet another free trade agreement with America: this time the wistfully named Trans Pacific Partnership.
As any first year student of economics can attest, there is absolutely nothing wrong with free trade. In fact, it is the holy grail, the fundamental principle that underpins much of modern economic thinking.
The problem is free trade agreements. In most cases, they have very little to do with trade at all, and in almost all cases, nothing at all to do with free trade.
For the most part, they are political documents. They offer politicians a stage, a platform upon which to demonstrate that they are "getting on with the job"; they keep bureaucrats busy; and they offer everyone involved the opportunity to speak in acronyms.
When it comes to economic benefits, however, they can be downright harmful.
And just like the Australia US Free Trade Agreement (AUSFTA to the cognoscenti) signed a little over a decade ago, the Trans Pacific Partnership has the potential to seriously compromise Australian sovereignty while delivering almost nothing in economic terms.
Trade Minister Andrew Robb recoils at the suggestion. A few months back, when fears over the TPP and the incredible secrecy behind it all began to grow louder, he thundered that it was all a "scare campaign" and promised that he would not sign anything that damaged Australia's health system.
"Why would I? Why would I go and tear up the system?" he asked. Why indeed?
Back in 2004, then health minister Tony Abbott made a similar promise as Australian trade negotiators were on the cusp of signing that historic free trade deal with America.
It was a trade deal that fundamentally altered Australia's Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, limited the Commonwealth's power to price medicines cheaply, and contributed to the soaring costs of our health system. More on that later.
Those whipping up the "scare campaign" against the TPP were delivered a beautifully timed snippet of academic firepower last week in the form of an annual trade and assistance review from the Productivity Commission.
Bureaucrats don't usually take to criticising government achievements, but commission chairman Peter Harris wasn't mincing words as he took a microscope to the furious round of recent signings.
Preferential trade deals, according to the report, add to the cost and complexity of international trade.
This wasn't a new message. In 2010, the Commission penned a wide-ranging report into our bilateral and regional trade deals that should have been compulsory reading for our politicians. Sadly, it seems, they took no notice.
The best way a nation can benefit from free trade is to dismantle its own trade barriers, the report concluded. Australia has already done just that.
Just to rub a little salt into the wounds, the report noted that "it appears that businesses generally have made limited use of the opportunities available from Australia's existing BRTAs".
The reason is that they are complex legal documents. A trade deal with one country bears no resemblance to one negotiated with another country. They become an exercise in dreaded "red tape" that tend to limit rather than foster trade.
It's not just academics and bureaucrats pooh-poohing the grand achievements of our pollies.
A survey conducted by the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, while supporting trade agreements, found that accessing the benefits was a "hit and miss" exercise.
In another damning report last year, the business lobby group said most agreements were so poorly drafted and so complex that they were next to useless in a commercial sense.
Just to add to the mind-boggling complexity, ask yourself this: If you own a business and want to trade with Japan, should you access the recently inked Australia Japan deal? Or should you go with the TPP?
The TPP is being driven by America. Like most of these deals, it is politically driven. Fearful of China's rise, America wants to corral its allies under a trade umbrella. In the process, it also wants to further the interests of American corporations and American workers.
Specifically, it wants copyright laws and patents tightened and extended. These are agreements that offer protection to corporations and investors, usually justified on the grounds that innovation requires a reward.
The problem is, protection is the antithesis of free trade. Only a slippery politician could come with a strategy of strengthening protection under the auspices of a free trade deal.
Who would fall for a brazen scheme like that? Er, maybe it's worth a look at the supposed free trade deal we signed with America a decade ago.
For a good explanation of the debacle visited upon Australia by our ineptitude during those negotiations, it is worth reading Australian National University's Thomas Faunce's excellent piece in The Conversation.
Since 1940, when the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme was formed by a referendum, the Federal Government had used a method known as "reference pricing" to screw down the cost of medicines, to the benefit of ordinary Australians.
But the trade deal of a decade ago outlawed that practice. Either we didn't see it, or didn't understand it. It seems our politicians and negotiators appeared only to discover the full effect of what they signed after the document had been ratified.
From 2007 on, the PBS was divided into two separate formularies, which significantly raised the cost of medicines in Australia.
In his first budget last May, the Treasurer Joe Hockey honed in on the soaring cost of medicines noting: "Over the past decade, the Pharmaceutical Benefits System has increased by 80 per cent."
It was a clarion call for a round of future austerity.
There was no mention of the AUSFTA debacle, a pact that cemented the power of big pharmaceutical companies and dealt a fatal blow to the hopes of some American politicians who wanted to emulate Australia's Pharmaceutical Benefits System.
Having won in Australia, America then used the same tactic in its negotiations with South Korea.
In the past week, President Barack Obama has managed to rescue what just weeks ago appeared to be a doomed trade proposal.
He's been given fast track approval to proceed with the deal. Given our acquiescence on all things American and the propensity of our politicians to grandstand at any opportunity, expect this one to go through pronto.
Hopefully, it doesn't give Einstein's estate - or Franklin's, for that matter - ammunition to sue me for copyright breaches. That'd be insane.
Ian Verrender is the ABC's business editor.


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Flying to No. 2, Losing House Keys
Delta and Northwest agree to merge into the world
NEWS AT A GLANCE
Delta and Northwest formalize merger
The boards of Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines approved the $17.7 billion merger of the two carriers, creating the largest U.S. airline and No. 2 in the world, after Air France-KLM. The combined airline will be called Delta, headquartered in Atlanta, and headed by Delta CEO Richard Anderson. (MarketWatch) The merger faces potentially tough political and antitrust battles, and two of Northwest’s biggest unions immediately opposed the deal. (AP in Yahoo! Finance) The airlines said the deal would save $1 billion a year. But with “higher prices and less service” likely, said University of Portland professor Richard Gritta, “It’s good for them, but it’s bad for all of us.” (Los Angeles Times, free registration)
U.S. home foreclosures jump 57 percent
U.S. home foreclosure filings rose 57 percent and bank repossessions shot up 129 percent in the 12-month period ending in March, according to RealtyTrac. A total of 234,685 properties, or 1 in 538 single-family households, were in some stage of foreclosure in March, as people struggled to make mortgage payments on resetting adjustable-rate loans. (Reuters) The resetting mortgages will peak in May and June, RealtyTrac said, and between 750,000 and 1 million bank-owned houses will hit the market this year. (AP in Yahoo! Finance) “We’re not near the bottom of this at all,” said Kenneth Rosen of Rosen Real Estate Securities. “The foreclosure process will accelerate throughout the year.” (Bloomberg)
British supermarket Tesco beats expectations
Tesco, Britain’s largest supermarket chain, reported a better-than-expected 12 percent rise in annual profits, to $4.2 billion. The retailer booked unexpectedly strong U.K. sales, but growth was led by a 23 percent increase in international sales. (Bloomberg) Tesco said the rollout of its first U.S. stores, called Fresh & Easy, was going better than forecast, despite a decision last month to suspend U.S. expansion. The much-criticized U.S. move cost Tesco about $120 million last year. (MarketWatch) “Tesco have coming storming back after all the recent criticism, with strong vibes about trading both in the UK and the United States,” said Pali International analyst Nick Bubb. (Reuters)
The art of the haggle
People still want to buy stuff, but with today’s economy they don’t want to pay full price for much of anything. Stores, of course, want to sell things. So shoppers and merchants are reviving the art of haggling. A survey by America’s Research Group found that 67 percent of shoppers have haggled in the past three months, up from 55 percent three months ago. And the practice is migrating to big chain stores from independent retailers. But it is an art—talk in a low voice, do your homework—and most Americans are still novices. “A lot of people are squeamish about haggling,” said Christine Silvestri at Urban Shopping Adventures in Los Angeles. “It’s not built into our culture.” (Los Angeles Times, free registration)
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The iPad has made another giant leap — try 30,000 feet — into the field. The Federal Aviation Administration last week approved the in-flight use of iPads as navigational aids in a test project at Executive Jet Management (a division of NetJets), a move that likely opens the cockpit door for other carriers, both commercial and private, to follow suit.
Just as ship captains still carry paper marine charts on board despite having the latest GPS technology and other navigation equipment, pilots at major carriers even in 2011 — such as American Airlines and Delta — still rely exclusively on paper. Others, according to a Bloomberg report, use what’s known as an electronic “flight bag” — bulky computers loaded with electronic maps that weigh up to 18 lbs. and can cost $10,000.
Though the FAA’s approval for the iPad applies only to Executive Jet, other commercial carriers will likely seek the same authorization. After all, it was Jeppesen, a Boeing Co. map and accessory business, that designed and built the apps that Executive Jet will be using. And Jeppesen’s drive to develop the iPad navigation software was motivated by pilots who already use the iPad outside of the cockpit.
There are other variations out there as well: Arkansas-based distributor of lightweight bush and tailwheel aircraft has even outfitted its Savage iCub model with an iPad as the glass display panel. Docked front and center on the instrument panel, the iPad comes equipped with a variety of navigational and topographical apps, provides moving maps and offers weather and flight planning services. Even flight schools, like Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Fla., are integrating tablet devices into their training courses.
“For the guys my age, they’ll use an iPad for sure, but there will be that little niggling fear in the background that something is going to happen,” Tim Brady, 71, dean of aviation, told Bloomberg. “That’s just being old-fashioned I guess.”
Though piloting isn’t exactly a form of field service, the FAA’s nod of approval is just another sign that it may be time to put down the paper and pencil and pick up an iPad.


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040303 CDC Says New Meat Testing Cuts Food DiseasesMarch 4, 2004
Atlanta, GA - The number of Americans who become sick from three common food borne bacteria appears to be declining, due in part to improved testing of meat and poultry, federal health officials reported this week.
An estimated 76 million people in the United States become sick each year after eating undercooked meat, eggs and shellfish, unpasteurized dairy products and other foods containing bacteria.
Symptoms typically include diarrhea, cramping and nausea, and most people recover without hospitalization.
The good news is that a U.S. government survey of nine states found that the incidence of laboratory-confirmed cases of Campylobacter, Listeria monocytogenes and Yersinia enterocolitica fell between 1996 and 2002.
The declines ranged from 24 percent in the case of Campylobacter to 43 percent for Yersinia, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which did the study.
Jennifer Nelson, one of the study's researchers, said improved meat testing and other control measures introduced by the U.S. Department of Agriculture had contributed to the reduced number of confirmed infections caused by these bacteria.
"We now have regular microbiological testing of meat and poultry and there are steps the USDA can take to keep tainted meat from entering the food supply," Nelson said.
While the CDC found little change in the overall incidence of infections caused by the Salmonella, Shigella or E. coli O157:H7 bacteria, it did note that the number of confirmed Vibrio cases jumped 125 percent in the same period.
Consumption of shellfish is the primary cause of Vibrio infections, which typically are marked by chills and fever. Nelson recommended that consumers wash their hands and clean surfaces when handling shellfish and avoid eating raw oysters.
Nelson and her fellow researchers tracked the incidence and trends of seven food borne diseases through the FoodNet surveillance system, which was introduced by the Atlanta-based CDC in 1996.


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AT&T has confirmed that it will soon launch a new streaming version of DirecTV to customers who may have cut the cord but still want to catch TV shows. It’ll likely compete directly with the likes of Sling TV and PlayStation Vue. It may try to woo customers with one of two free goodies.
Documents obtained by Variety suggest AT&T is willing to offer new customers either a free Apple TV or a Fire TV stick. You’ll need to sign up for at least three months of service for the free Apple TV. That might be a compelling offer, but keep in mind that Sling TV and PlayStation Vue have been able to attract customers who are tired of contracts. I recently canceled Sling TV to try PlayStation Vue, for example, and it was a breeze.
The Fire TV stick sounds like it’ll basically be free if you sign up for a month of service. Assuming there’s a free trial, this is a minimal commitment, especially considering DirecTV’s service is expected to start at just $35 per month.
AT&T streaming DirecTV channel lineups
Variety also grabbed some of the channels that DirecTV will offer, including Food Network, BET, Fox, MTV, MTV 2, TBS, TNT, Bravo, NBC, Travel Channel, Cartoon Network, Golf, NBC Sports Network, CBS, Nickelodeon, Hallmark, TV Land, truTV, Galavision, MundoFox, AXS TV and AUDIENCE Network. It’s unclear what sort of package that is, if it’s the starting package, part of a more expensive one or something else entirely.
Variety said AT&T plans to launch video on demand (VOD) as well, with more than 14,000 titles available for streaming.
The service is starting to sound more compelling by the day, particularly with a freebie included in a deal. Variety said it thinks the launch is “just around the corner” given the “level of detail” in the documents it obtained. AT&T has not said when the service will launch.


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“The big tech model grew because they were able to access citizens’ data. So, all innovations that have happened have happened in IoT Cloud, AI, ML. In sharp contrast to this, India built a very different model. India built a model of railroad tracks on which we went to the private sector to innovate and compete. We built up a model of open-source, open APIs, and interoperability. And therefore, India built a population scale model with low cost of acquisition’” he said at TiEcon, Delhi-NCR.
He gave the example of Reliance Jio roll out where they got 200 million people in India in 120 days.
“I mean, they could do it at $1 per customer. That was the acquisition costs. Prior to this, the cost of acquisition in India itself was $25. But the cost of acquisition in America today is about $200. So, we've made the cost of acquisition of customers fall from $200 to $1 in India,” he said.
Talking about government regulations around startups, he mentioned that Europe and America gave a huge package and so much of liquidity, which has now led to inflation and because of inflation, “They are tightening down, raising interest rates. Because of this, several banks, which have taken deposits from startups in Silicon Valley, and put their money in the US Treasury are facing issues. As interest rates rise, you are facing a challenge because there is an inverse relationship between interest rates and bonds. And therefore, these banks are suffering because of the rising inflation rates,” he said.
He added that in India, we did not give big packages, but instead ushered in radical reforms.
“You look at the goods and services tax which subsumed 32 different taxes. We introduced the insolvency bankruptcy code so that people could fail and get out and there should not be a price for a failure. All of us are bound to fail at some point or the other,” he said.
He added that the Government redefined the MSMEs. Kant added that the corporate tax rates have been reduced which should see greater inflow of FDI. “These reforms are going to provide a massive impetus to the Indian economy as the world slows down and you feel this huge winter of discontent in many parts of the world. You will see an acceleration of growth in India,” he said.
- Front Page
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- FM Tells PSBs to Flag Stress Points in Business, Stay Alert
Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman asked state-run banks to review their business models closely to identify stress points, urging them to remain vigilant amid a deepening banking crisis in the US and Europe.Women Taking a Backseat in Frontline Crew
The participation of women in India’s blue- and grey-collar workforce has increased just over one percentage point in the past six years, according to data exclusively collated for ET by frontline workforce management platform BetterPlace.EV Sales to Cross 2M in FY24: Experts
EV fleet operators, and individuals buying 2- & 3-wheelers have been the main drivers of growth.
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6 mins read


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Melbourne, FL (PRWEB) January 7, 2009
True Healthy Products of Melbourne, Florida announced today the launch of their new on-line information and reference website called WorldFitnessNews.com. Readers looking for the most up to date information on a wide range of subjects, including the areas of health & fitness, fitness nutrition, Women's fitness, injury prevention and recuperation will be able to access articles from an array of fitness experts, doctors, dieticians and nutritionists from around the globe.
More and more, consumers are turning to the internet to gather and compare information that is crucial to their fitness, weight loss and well-being. Sites such as WebMD and blogs posted by some of the top medical organizations are becoming accepted as an efficient and up to the minute source of factual information and are consumers are using these forums to about the latest in both traditional and alternative medicine.
WorldFitnessNews.com features articles on topics as diverse as distance running, the benefits of isometric exercise, Pilates and anti-aging products as well as cancer prevention, weight loss and cycling, according to THP President Jan Hrkach. “Our goal was to make WorldFitnessNews.com a destination-site where consumers interested in learning not only about products, but trends and exercise and fitness, will gravitate to. I want to be sure that the information is up to date and carefully scrutinized for accuracy.”
Adds Hrkach, “We are adding to our staff and our network of health and fitness professionals, doctors and dieticians to insure a high level of integrity.” In the future they hope to expand their sphere to include reviews of products and fitness-training systems.
Articles such as a recent one on bodybuilding supplements and another on drinking organic fair trade coffee have captured the attention of many fitness buffs and foodies as well. In just a few short weeks, and despite the holiday season and economic slowdown, WorldFitnessNews.com has seen nearly 10,000 unique visitors to the site and continues to grow by the day.
WorldFitnessNews.com contributor Barry Shapiro says that the more people who visit the site the more people he expects to spread the word. “I know that there is a good buzz about WFT and that visitors to the site are coming back for more information. That usually means that they will share that information with family and friends so I have to believe that our readership will grow incrementally.”
According to a recent New York Times article, consumer interest in personal health and fitness has not slumped off in the economic downturn. That may bode well for an upstart like WorldFitnessNews.com. “People are going to want good information and they are going to seek it out on the Internet for the most part” says Hrkach. “Our job is to educate people so they can make healthy personal-fitness decisions.”


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PlayStation Plus is a service that is unparalleled in popularity among the PlayStation community. According to the last one Sony Financial Report47.6 million gamers are already paying for the subscription, which only confirms that Japanese game console users often decide to subscribe. Last year, 41.5 million users used PS Plus. It is also worth noting that Poles have the opportunity to check out the new benefit PS Plus Video Pass.
PS Plus users can now download the new products available as part of a subscription. The menu intended for players using PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4 is quite interesting – the list includes Battlefield 5, among others.
Today we also reported new proposals under PS Now – In May, the service will launch with 3 different gamesWhich should satisfy the enthusiasts who need to struggle.
EA’s first-person WW2 shooter, Battlefield V, comes to PS Plus this month. It features a decent single-player campaign, as well as some of the best FPS online multiplayer combat around.
Fancy yourself as a modern day Robinson Crusoe? Well, Stranded Deep is a survival adventure game that plonks you on a deserted island in the Pacific Ocean and tasks you with trying to escape. It’s up to you how you do it, but beware of the denizens of the deep and other deadly perils.
Born from the ashes of the FlatOut series, Wreckfest is a hugely fun driving game with great physics and destructable cars. The game recently got a next-gen upgrade, which you get here, with 4K 60fps gameplay and much faster loading times.
The News Highlights
- PS Plus for May is now available. Download PS5 and PS4 games
- Check the latest update on Gaming news


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Recently appointed to The One Club board, Joe Public's executive creative director Xolisa Dyeshana shares what he aims to contribute to the organisation. Dyeshana's value to The One Club - and particularly his efforts towards diversity in the advertising industry - was also recognised last year when he served as a judge for the interactive category at The One Show.
Pasqua Heard 1 hour ago
Much as I love my kids, there are plenty of times when I'm glad they're out of the house: my daughter will be a qualified vet by the end of this year and my son seems happily ensconced as a senior account manager with the trust company he works for in Amsterdam. And the days of worrying about their education are over.
Brendan Seery 1 hour ago
Copa90, one of the largest independent football businesses and definitive youth football brands, has more than 12 million subscribers globally across its social channels, with two billion content views and an average engagement time of 47 minutes per fan, per week.
2 hours ago
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There's no denying mobile has changed the way we live and work – but it's not all for good. Here's why having a portable media device in your pocket, just begging you to check in, comment and show you're up-to-date can be detrimental.
Leigh Andrews 3 hours ago
News24 is launching a brand-new app called News24 Edge that personalises the experience of News24's top-quality journalism. Users select their interests and with cutting-edge technology, the app brings them all the breaking news first and the lifestyle and sports stories of their choice.
24.com 3 hours ago
In late 2015, Drum published an article within which the author stated that in the following 12 months, viewability would re-emerge as a key industry issue and that digital video would be a key driving force behind this.
Exponential 3 hours ago
Silence can be a good response up until it comes back to bite you in the a** because your silence is much louder than what your initial response could have been.
Khangelani Dziba 1 day ago
We know that creating a strong company culture is crucial in order to hire the right employees – and then ensure they're inspired and enabled enough to help reach your business goals.
Harry Welby-Cooke 20 Jan 2017


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The most recent benchmarks provided by AnTuTu could be of use to you in determining whether or not it is advantageous to upgrade from an iPhone 13 Pro to an iPhone 14 Pro. A number of reliable sources claim that the benchmark score of the iPhone 14 Pro Max and the iPhone 14 pro is higher than that of its 2021 predecessors.
The iPhone 14 series was unveiled the week before last, and pre-orders for the four new configurations are already being accepted. Since we were first introduced to the gadgets the previous week, we are steadily gaining more knowledge about each of them. The RAM specifications of the iPhone 14 were revealed first, followed by the battery capacities of all four smartphones in their respective categories. Apple has revealed the price of changing the battery in the iPhone 14, which was announced earlier.
iPhone 14 Pro benchmark score is higher than iPhone 13 Pro
On the Chinese social media platform Weibo, AnTuTu has just made public the AnTuTu scores for the iPhone 14 Pro and the iPhone 14 Pro Max. It came as no surprise that the currently available iPhone 14 Pro scored better in terms of CPU, GPU, Memory, and User Experience than the iPhone 13 Pro from the prior iteration. Let’s get into the nitty-gritty of it all.
The scores on Geekbench are designed to be an assessment of raw power, and the findings of Geekbench 5 indicate that the advance over the models from the previous year was not particularly significant.
According to the results of Geekbench 5, the iPhone 14 Pro achieves a score of 1,879 for its single core and 4,664 for its multicore performance. When compared to the benchmark test for the iPhone 13 Pro, the precursor of the iPhone 14 Pro achieved a score of 1,797 for its single core and 4,659 for its multiple cores.
The A16 Bionic processor is 10% faster on a single core compared to its predecessor, as measured by this test; nevertheless, the multi-core component shows no difference.
AnTuTu claims that this represents one of the biggest boosts in GPU performance that any phone has seen in a number of years.
AnTuTu ran the benchmark on the 1TB versions of the iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro because both of those models contain 6GB of RAM. Both of these devices are powered by a brand new A16 Bionic chip. The overall score for the iPhone 14 Pro was 9,78,147, while the score for the iPhone 14 Pro Max was 9,72,936. On the central processing unit, the 14 Pro received a score of 2,46,572, while the 14 Pro Max received a score of 2,41,999.
The results of AnTuTu indicate that the scores achieved by the iPhone 14 Pro are 18.8% higher than those achieved by the iPhone 13 Pro. The performance of the CPU has increased by 17%, and the performance of the GPU has increased by 28%.


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The Modern-Day Broker App
Already embracing some of the biggest changes in their industry, one of our first briefs was to create an integrated campaign that promoted the launch of Aviva's new iPad app version of their successful Fast Trade portal. Our unifying message hinged on the already well-known and successful Fast Trade platform and our previously successful Aviva campaign.
The original creative device used a simple, yet effective word cloud that summed up Fast Trade in two words… Quicker & Slicker. This was an extremely useful device that allowed us to demonstrate many important proof points in a very visual and creative way. Working closely with the team at Aviva, we evolved this idea to highlight the experience of using an iPad app - ‘Quicker is now even Slicker’.
The campaign was supported across trade press, trade online display, email and an on-sight hero banner within the existing Fast Trade portal.
Within the first two weeks of the campaign, the app was downloaded over 300 times and exceeded the total amount of transactions that had been undertaken in the previous year.
Here's what Claire Gooderham, Senior Broker Marketing Manager at Aviva said:
"This was a first to market initiative so it was essential the creative and campaign got the cut through required. We were delighted with the app creative – the result being a campaign was clearly a part of our integrated online strategy but also a standalone innovative insurance initiative. The results were immediate to see in terms of both click throughs and downloads, and the campaign exceeded our targets very quickly."


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极速飞艇全天计划: Top 5 cities with most blockchain innovation companies
极速快乐8群 www.vunoz.cn Hurun Report released its first blockchain lists on June 9, together with Xiha Finance, a Chinese blockchain media outlet.
The lists rank the top 20 blockchain leaders, top 50 blockchain innovators and top 30 blockchain investors.
According to the report, Beijing took the top spot with 17 blockchain innovation companies in total, while Shanghai and Shenzhen tied for second place with eight. Hangzhou was fourth with seven, followed by Hong Kong, three.
Blockchain is a digital ledger system that uses sophisticated cryptographic technology to create a permanent, unchangeable and transparent record of exchange to trace transactions.
By the end of March, there were 456 blockchain technology companies in China forming a complete industrial chain, according to a white paper released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
Let's take a look at the 5 cities with the most blockchain innovation companies.
No 5 Hong Kong


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The Buzz: Cannabis Vending Machines
Is this new distribution method a slippery slope?
Does the future of cannabis dispensing lie in vending machines? The emergence of several cannabis vending machines on the market raises some questions—and concerns—as to whether this is truly is the way forward in the medical cannabis landscape.
Those in favor say cannabis vending machines make dispensing more convenient and efficient. Massachusetts-based company anna, which has garnered a lot of recent press as the world’s first artificial intelligence–powered cannabis vending machine, debuted in Colorado last summer. At press time, anna machines are available at two dispensary locations, but the company has announced plans to expand.
Though perhaps the most well known, anna is far from the only cannabis vending machine trying to make a name for itself. Florida-based WellMation got started in vending with the development of dispensing machines for pharmacy but ultimately shifted gears to focus on cannabis by partnering with KIOSK Information Systems, a self-service kiosk manufacturer. WellMation contracted with KIOSK to design, engineer, and build a new unit and was deploying kiosks at press time.
Ryan Flynn, product manager for WellMation, says that self-dispensing vending machines are the future of distribution. While Colorado is already primed for regulation to allow for vending to fall within their medical and recreational rules, he says the big question is how long it will take for other states to follow suit.
“It’s going to come down to a state-by-state regulatory environment with different rules in different places, and that’s obviously a hurdle for vending distribution,” Flynn says. “But I think there’s a demand for this, and it’s not going to fade.”
Flynn says the desire for minimal human contact, ramped up by the COVID-19 pandemic, has created more demand for a streamlined, no-contact process.
“For the patients who know what they want and what they can get, they desire convenience—and vending delivers that,” Flynn says. “They want to get their card, visit a machine, and get their product. They want to be ‘in and out’ quickly.”
Is No Human Contact a Good Idea?
While touted as a benefit, the lack of human contact is exactly what has many concerned about the idea of cannabis vending.
Leslie Apgar, MD, medical director for Greenhouse Wellness, Blissiva, and Pura Vida Med Spa, a medical spa in Fulton, Maryland, says she foresees vending as potentially removing important checks and balances.
“I agree that we need a streamlined system, but I feel we can make it both safe and efficient without removing all human contact from the dispensing process,” she says. “We don’t buy beer in a vending machine, and there’s a reason for that. This is a mind-altering substance, and there are a lot of vulnerable patients and people on medications or with medical conditions that need to be extremely cautious about what they purchase. I think that with a vending system, you’re really increasing the risks.”
Apgar says the dispensing process at Greenhouse Wellness is already streamlined. It limits contact in compliance with social distancing mandates put in place during the pandemic but doesn’t remove vital checks and balances that are in place for patient safety.
“We have switched to a 100% curbside model,” she explains. “Patients have online consultations through a video conferencing platform, but then we’re handpicking the product for them. We perform all of the checks ahead of time, and when the patient pulls up, they show us their photo IDs or medical cannabis cards. We verify that they are who they say they are, and they receive their cannabis. Everyone is masked, gloved, and we’re using walkie talkies. It’s fast—but more importantly, it’s safe.”
While some patients may want a limited contact experience, Apgar also believes that removing the customer service aspect of dispensing is problematic. Dispensaries are providing a high level of education, and even well-informed patients are often continually learning from advice and guidance offered.
“Perhaps in a recreational market, a vending machine inside of a dispensary—where you still have to show credentials to get inside—could have some utility,” Apgar says. “For the seasoned, educated consumer who knows exactly what they are looking for, a vending machine might offer some convenience. But even these individuals can really benefit from the level of education imparted by dispensary staff. I think this diminishes the value of what cannabis is for those who use it medicinally, as it discounts the need for education.”
In terms of removing checks and balances, Flynn says safety measures are in place. He says the technology these days allows for improved detection of fake IDs—which, he argues, is better than the traditional human check. WellMation is planning to implement this technology into their units.
He adds that vending machines will only go as far as the regulatory guidelines allow.
“These units today are located within existing dispensaries, so it follows all existing processes,” he says. “This is all controlled by regulatory frameworks.”
According to Flynn, the regulatory framework makes vending challenging because the regulations can differ from state to state. It’s not going to be a fit everywhere, and there’s still a long way to go before vending machines become commonplace.
“We know there’s not going to be this overnight change to self-dispensing vending instead of going to the dispensary,” he says. “But this is something that has its place. It’s not as crazy an idea as some may think. We’re only going to see more and more of this in the future.”
Apgar says there’s no question “technology will continue to push the envelope.” However, she’s concerned about just how far things may go. She sees vending machines as a path toward reducing the value of the well-educated dispensary—and that’s a serious problem.
“I think the pandemic has put a lot of pressure on technology to do things that perhaps we are not ready to do—and self-dispensing vending machines for cannabis is a prime example,” she says. “I do think there is room for improvement. The experience at some dispensaries may be less than optimal—but I do not see widespread vending as the answer. I think the risks outweigh the potential benefits. Human interaction is the most important aspect of cannabis dispensing, and removing that is a slippery slope. Nobody is as educated on cannabis as they need to be, and I can’t imagine a marketplace where we replace the guidance and instruction that comes from a dispensary with a self-service model.”
— Lindsey Getz is an award-winning freelance writer in Royersford, Pennsylvania.


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Innovative Startup Focuses on the Survivability of Funeral Service in a Difficult and Changing Market
From COVID to disposition choices and less traditional funeral rituals, funeral service has found itself in a battle for revenue in a difficult market.
The Funeral Service Collective founded by Ken Biery, a U.S. Army veteran and funeral director for 25 years has created real solutions for funeral homes and cemeteries.
“My team and I actively study consumer trends and use our experiences both in and out of the industry to create new revenue earning programs for funeral homes and cemeteries,” says Biery. CEO Sarah Schmitz adds “Our team spans from Gen X to Gen Z which gives us a wider view of the future landscape of consumers when it comes to funeral service.”
COO Aaron Biery believes that new technology and marketing are both vital in today’s marketplace, but also suggesting that there must be more. He stated, “Something that changes us from a one dimensional to a multi-dimensional industry is what’s needed in today’s marketplace.”
The Funeral Service Collective has rolled out programs that include “The Collective,” which saves 35% to 50% of annual funeral home overhead cost while increasing call volume. They bring in “Every Day Commerce” through beautifully designed specialty shops at your existing location. Their “Innovative Spaces” program is reimagining the breadth and use of existing funeral/event spaces. Another FSC program, “All Communities Engagement”, helps bring more people through your doors daily.
“We love innovating and creating unique ideas for our clients. We look and act differently than other consulting companies, “says Ken Biery. “Our COO Aaron is an avid outdoorsman and introduced us to hammock meetings. We set up our hammocks and have creative idea sessions. “A combination of nature, relaxation and fun helps provide the inspiration for a lot of our ideas” says COO Aaron.
Currently the group is working with a client on building a state-of-the-art facility that will usher in a new era of innovation for the industry. The location will include dynamic contemporary designed rooms that can be used as funeral and memorial spaces. These spaces can be perfectly utilized for weddings, private, corporate, and public events as well. In addition, it will also house a coffee shop, bakery, and a flower shop. The specialty shops will be accessible to the community through a separate entrance. This allows for everyday business without disrupting services or events in the other parts of the building. “Our Every Day Commerce” program can provide thousands in additional revenue monthly for the funeral home, especially during slow times.
“You still have money coming in the door every day,” says CEO Sarah Schmitz. “We don’t just do new builds; we can work with any existing space or location. We have a network of amazing corporate partners that help with all our projects.” says Travis Bailey, Director of Sales.
“The event space is not a new idea and has been used in the past; some have had success and others have not. We have created a system which includes event planners to take the hassle of event planning off the plate of the funeral home staff. More importantly, it allows for an increased use of existing chapel space that is probably only being used as low as 15% to 20% of the time.” says founder Ken Biery.
Venue rentals typically charge per hour and have a minimum number of hours required to rent. Many charge anywhere from $100 per hour to $2,000+ per hour. At most wedding venues, during non-peak hours the costs of use range from $3,500 – $7,500 on average. On the contrary, during peak hours of the week, those prices very quickly rise to $10,000+ per wedding.
According to NFDA’s 2022 Consumer Awareness and Preferences Report, 55.6% of respondents have attended a funeral at a non-traditional location. (https://nfda.org/news/statistics) Consumer trends show that today’s consumer prefers an experience over a more traditional service and chapel feel. Which could lead to more services being held in a more contemporary space.
“Our motto is, All of Us, For You,” says Ken Biery. “We believe the future of funeral service is adaptability and survivability. We created this business out of a love for the industry, our goal is to be able to help every funeral home and cemetery that is struggling to survive or any business that is looking for solutions to succeed in a tough market.” “We judge our success by the difference we can make for every individual funeral director, cemetery and funeral home we can help.”
For further information you can contact The Funeral Service Collective at www.funeralservicecollective.com or by calling (970) 308-6198.


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Our coverage of Agropecuaria Montelibano and the “import alert” imposed on its cantaloupes grown in Honduras — which included pieces, such as FDA Fumbles Again On Cantaloupe ‘Alert’, and a special 14-article edition devoted solely to the issue, which we called We Are All Affected By Cantaloupe Issue and Positive Test On Cantaloupe Causes More Confusion — brought a letter by a man with empathy, gained through first person experience, for those caught up in a food safety issue:
The industry is very grateful for the stand you have taken in trying to protect the grower and ultimately our industry.
When Church Brothers/True Leaf had our recall last summer you were the one lone voice that told our story in a timely manner. Produce is only a small part of most of our customers’ business, usually around 10%, and when there is a recall the first inclination of most company C.E.O.’s is to get away from the supplier with the problem and find a new supplier. I know how these cantaloupe growers feel.
Until you told our story, it was our staff talking to each of our customers. A third party needs to be telling these stories because we as owners are going to be perceived as protecting our companies first and the consumer second. That notion couldn’t be further from the truth.
A voluntary recall is just that — Voluntary.
If you follow today’s rules — and I contend that 99% do — your chances of a major contamination are almost impossible. We are living in a world today where most of the press would have you believe that one person getting sick is one too many. The fact is that we take risks every day and there are no guarantees in life.
1200 people a day die from tobacco, but that is old news and so no one bothers to tell that story today. Fresh Express serves 25,000,000 salads per day, and they have never had a food safety violation.
It was reported recently that in the past 10 years, the F.D.A. has been in their plant on various occasions and have found violations but didn’t have the manpower to follow up on the problems.
In my opinion, F.D.A. has no right to report this unless they do follow up, and based on the people I know that ran Fresh Express in the past and run Fresh Express today, I know that they would never do anything to jeopardize the reputation they have built.
I hope that the F.D.A. and the U.S.D.A. can work out their differences, and I further hope that the leadership of this country understands the importance of protecting this country’s growers and shippers as well as the general public.
No grower today wants to get anyone sick — It is in fact our worst nightmare. In our case, we have moved to field-testing each and every acre of spring mix and spinach we grow. If we get a positive test, we retest and so far 1600 tests have resulted in 12 presumptive positives. Of those 12 positives, all were retested and found to be negative.
The pre-plant audit we do to ensure our fields are clean and the pre-harvest audit to check for animal intrusion, as well as several other factors, makes me very comfortable that we will not have a major contamination. Our industry has always been very diligent when it comes to food safety, but the Leafy Greens Agreement has forced us to document what we do and I believe that is a good thing.
The important thing and the main point I want to make is, as a shipper, we have very few people watching out for us and helping to get the real truth to the people who make the decisions. I believe that The Pundit has helped get timely information to the right places so we have a chance of survival.
Our business is perishable, and without timely stories and timely answers and solutions our business will perish. Thanks again Jim — you play a critical role in our world, and we are very blessed to have you there.
— Tom Church
Church Brothers, LLC
We are most appreciative and even blushing a bit at Tom’s generous words toward the Pundit. We are, however, reminded of the famous episode in which President Truman, campaigning to win the presidency in his own right after ascending to the office upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt, was giving a speech attacking the Republicans and a supporter, supposedly without prompt, yelled out “Give ‘em Hell, Harry!” President Truman replied “I don’t give them Hell. I just tell the truth and they think it’s hell.”
We don’t try to protect the grower or the retailer or the FDA. We just try to analyze the situation and tell the truth as best we can figure it out.
The problem in dealing with the FDA is that many people who know the truth don’t think themselves in a position to speak out. One reader who had been working for a company that imported Chilean fruit at the time of the “cyanide scare” sent along this note:
Very good coverage.
There are really very few people who can speak out about this as FDA decisions to retain or sample each shipment are effectively random, and if someone speaks up the FDA can ruin you by just sampling and retaining more of your imports. Even people not at the mercy of the FDA don’t want to come across as reckless or advocating unsafe foods.
This reminds me exactly of the Chilean grape cyanide scare years ago. At the time, I had just finished reading Atlas Shrugged, and it was completely shocking to me how parallel the situation was to the book, with murky unclear government announcements from people with other motives and oblivious or without regard to who was being hurt, with no one standing up to the ridiculous situation that was going on.
It seemed preposterous that an FDA inspector could have found two tainted grapes and tested those two particular grapes with nothing else ever being found, they never released any clear information about it, but all over the country and the world, people were dumping Chilean grapes, pears, stone fruits, etc., because of this pseudo recall/warning that nothing could be done about.
I wanted to hold a news conference with 100 children of produce workers eating Chilean fruit, but I didn’t own my company then and it just seemed better to leave it all alone at the time
It’s interesting because all a terrorist has to do now to bring down a country is poison one item and call the FDA or media for testing.
After the spinach crisis, first United Fresh and then PMA and United Fresh jointly came to the conclusion that a mandatory federal program, in all likelihood run by FDA, was essential to building consumer and regulatory confidence in the safety of fresh produce.
We joined that call, but find ourselves growing hesitant, thinking that if we are going to move in that direction, we need to have legislation that better clarifies FDA’s role. Its discretion is almost absolute, and as Lord Acton taught us: “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
Our piece, Church Brothers/True Leaf Recalls, Then ‘Unrecalls’ spring Mix/Arugula After Testing Mishap, told how a company looking to do the right thing was almost crushed by a contaminated lab sample at a private laboratory. And our piece, Friday The 13th, March 1989…Important Date In Produce History, included this line about the FDA:
It was a Friday the 13th in March 1989, that we learned that in the early morning hours the FDA alleged they had found 2 individual Flame seedless grapes had been injected with cyanide in one box out of 190,000 boxes of grapes on a vessel named the Almeria Star.
It was later established in testing performed at UC Davis that at the reported level of cyanide found in the grapes they would have had to be in the possession of the FDA at the time of the contamination, or the test was in fact ‘an error’.
To this day, the FDA has never felt an obligation to come clean about what it did back in 1989. Just in our last interview with the FDA, its spokesperson responded this way:
Q: Will FDA provide the results of the tests? Are you releasing tests so the shipper can monitor and evaluate them?
A: We are sharing the test results with the company. We follow a scientific method and we share that method and the results. We stand by our tests.
Yet companies wait weeks to see anything, long after their reputations are destroyed and actions have been taken. There is no notion at the FDA that it has any kind of responsibility to contemporaneously prove its points to anyone.
But people who work at FDA are humans, they make mistakes, they have other interests, they can be blackmailed, they can be paid off — anything can happen. Yet they feel no need, and are not compelled by legislation, to prove anything to anybody. That is a major problem.
Another problem Tom alludes to is that the FDA’s whole way of thinking is no longer in line with modern food safety techniques. In the old days of The Jungle, the key was inspection. Now the key is prevention. For the FDA to defacto ban product, it should, at least, be required by law to issue a finding that the replacement product will be safer than the product FDA is defacto banning.
In the case of Agropecuria Montelibano, there have been loads of recalls because this is such a big operator. The golden names that bought from this company or used its product, Dole, Chiquita, the various British supermarkets, Fresh Express Foods Corp., Taylor Farms — all this points to the Solid Gold nature of its food safety efforts.
In banning its product, FDA just left people to buy from a cantaloupe producer that isn’t GlobalGAP-certified, that doesn’t have Primus GAP and GMP certifications.
Of course, the FDA’s job is protecting consumers and if it knows of dangerous fruit, it should stop it — but it no more knows of dangerous fruit from this company than it knew about dangerous Chilean grapes.
If the epidemiology is pointing to a particular company, the FDA might want to determine if the company is following gold-standard food safety procedures. If so, FDA should double check the system and make sure the company didn’t have a corrupt auditor, etc.
There has to be more of a standard than that the FDA, thinking there might be ANY risk to consumers — even a lesser risk than would exist with alternative product — can then destroy a company, unemploy thousands of people, crush a country and an industry. It is inconceivable. It is wrong.
Our second letter-writer is correct; this simply makes no sense. By this standard, a terrorist can cut off our trade with all our friends by smearing some bacteria on some imported produce.
This status quo cannot stand — the FDA must be made answerable for its decisions.
Many thanks to Tom Church and our second correspondent for their thoughtful letters.


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HTC has decided to stick with Google and continue running Android on its best phones, even with Google’s recent purchase of one of HTC’s main competitors, which has made HTC decide to follow a trend started by Samsung this week of making it easier for people to mess with Android.
While Samsung hired the founder and chief developer of the most popular Android-modification firmware, in what Samsung says will “Make Android more awesome.”
Google has been trying to keep Android more locked down lately, in addition to buying Motorola for what is believed to stave off potential patent-trolling from Motorola. The purchase is expected to produce a huge shift in the smartphone market, although no one is quite sure in what way.
While Samsung was a bit grand scale, HTC is going to take it slow by fulfilling promises it made earlier in the year to deliver bootloader unlock tools for many of its most popular Android phones. The software will allow owners to get access to the operating system and system software protected as firmware on the phones and allows them to toy around as much as they want.
Most carriers keep the customers from messing with the OS, mostly to reduce support costs and keep the phones’ links to the cell network from being corrupted, but also to prevent customers from adding third-party developed software that companies would rather supply themselves for a hefty price.
HTC views unlocked OSes as a way to encourage both ISVs owners to get more involved in developing apps and mods for the phones. HTC did investigate whether it should build its own operating system to compete with Android just as Samsung had done, but decided to stick with Android because of the size and activity level of developers and owners already in the market.
“I think there’s a lot we can do…it’s not the operating system, it’s the ecosystem…so we think we can find a way to differentiate to add value, but at the same time leverage our partners, Google and Microsoft, since we have such a great relationship with them,” HTC CEO Peter Chou told Dow Jones Newsires during an interview.
The first device that can use the bootloader will be the EVO 3D. It only works on software version 2.08.651.2 and above, so some users may have to go through the carriers’ process of firmware update before using it. EU versions of the HTC Sensation got the update earlier.
The bootloader and more detailed instructions for using it are posted at the HTC developer’s site HTCDEV.


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The 18th Paris International Cultural Heritages Exhibition was on display at the Louvre from Nov 8 to 12. Nearly 60 pieces of Chinese pottery were exhibited in Paris. Li Yanhuai, Chinese ceramics art design master and a representative inheritor of Ru porcelain firing techniques, was chosen to attend the exhibition as a delegate of Ru porcelain.
Various kinds of beautiful porcelain, including Ruzhou yao, ceramics from Jingdezhen and carved porcelain from Zibo, amazed foreigners at the exhibition. The Ru porcelain particularly attracted many visitors.
After the exhibition, Silvia Pinel, the French minister of commerce, handicraft and tourism, spoke highly of China's porcelain. In addition, the president of the French National Art Industry Association made the following comment, “The Chinese delegation amazes the whole world thanks to the innovation of porcelain masters of worldwide repute. The ceramics not only communicate with people's hearts, but also embody the rising rejuvenation of China's ceramic arts, which is the most visible highlight in the world of ceramic arts."