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When this year's Super Bowl game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Arizona Cardinals hits the end of its second quarter, sit back, put on your stereoscopic glasses and get ready to immerse yourself. No, 3D football isn't here yet. But a stereoscopic first is coming to Super Bowl XLIII in the form of a 3D commercial break. The debut of Dreamworks Animations' 3D trailer for Monsters vs. Aliens, out March 27, and a 60-second 3D Sobe Lizards commercial will be playing at halftime for the viewing pleasure of those who purchased a Sobe drink (with free 3D glasses) before the Super Bowl. The following evening, the 3D will continue with an in-your-face episode of Chuck on NBC. Could this be the beginning of 3D for mainstream television? Is 3D football around the corner?
The NFL is counting on it. This event is strictly a commercial break, but if NFL Films has its way, it might not be too long before your living room truly feels like it's on the sidelines of the game. In December of last year, the NFL partnered with San Diego-based 3ality to film the San Diego Chargers-Oakland Raiders game in 3D. It beamed the action into 80 movie theaters around the country—the first broadcast of its kind. "The NFL has always been really strategic in looking for what's next," says Glenn Adamo, Vice President of Media Operations for NFL Films. "It was a test, but we're really excited about it. I think 3D lends itself to sports very easily."
Adamo supervised the broadcast of the game from a truck parked in San Diego's Qualcomm Stadium and was blown away by just how immersing the experience was. "We all had the glasses on; we were watching the 3D monitor," he recalls. "San Diego was on the 12-yard line. Thomason ran into the end zone for a touchdown, and as he ran in, we all gasped. It really was like he was running into us—it was that dramatic."
But Variety associate editor David Cohen thinks this commercial gives the wrong impression of 3D. The commercial event relies on older 3D technology—low-tech red and cyan overlapping images known as anaglyph, which has been in use since the 1920s. Although new stereoscopic films use circular polarization—which has better color representation than anaglyph—it isn't feasible to use that method for TV because it requires a polarized filter for the screen. Anaglyph is "a way to send 3D over a standard TV signal without a special set," says Cohen, who is writing a book about 3D. "You don't need any special hardware to view it."
It's this compromise that frustrates Cohen because stereoscopic viewing has been hugely improved thanks to digital technology. "At the very moment that everybody is trying to make a big push for 3D television, and when this new digital 3D technology is really transforming the experience," Cohen says, "they're going to do a huge promotion around the Super Bowl where they give away 105 million paper anaglyph glasses," he says. "My reaction to that is `Great, just in case people actually thought 3D has changed, now you have 105 million people convinced it hasn't.'"
And a PR push is just what home 3D needs right now. According to the 3D@Home consortium, some 1.4 million 3D-capable TVs were sold in the United States last year, but broadcast stereoscopic content for the home isn't yet available. Nor is it likely to come out without higher demand. Most networks very recently converted to HD without making money on the conversion, Cohen says, so there's no rush to sink more money into 3D broadcast programming. Then there's the 10- to 12-year life span on the new flat-screen TVs—which roughly half the country has purchased. "You're not going to get those people to run out now and buy new flat screens to get 3D," Cohen says. And on top of all these troubles, there is no standard yet for stereoscopy in the home—and many people, including satellite providers, home entertainment manufacturers and the networks, have yet to decide on a 3D platform. "No one wants to repeat what happened with HD DVD and Blu-ray," says Michael Lewis, cofounder of RealD, which created the 3D equipment used in movie theaters. "That cost the industry a lot of money." Until these many factors sort themselves out, though, 3D television fans will have to be satisfied with putting their glasses on and enjoying the commercials.


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By Lisa Johnston
New products on display at the American International Toy Fair, held in N
NEW YORK —In order to have sufficient funds available for the continued progress of its marketing and service activities, while ensuring uninterrupted continuation of its satellite-based communications services and further deployment of these services around the world, Globalstar has suspended, indefinitely, principal and interest payments on all its funded debt. This includes its credit facility, vendor financing agreements and senior notes, as well as dividend payments on its preferred stock. Globalstar believes suspension of these payments will enable it to have sufficient cash to fund its operations into 2002, giving its partners additional time to implement their new marketing initiatives. Globalstar missed a $45 million interest and principal payment earlier this month. One of its partners, Qualcomm—which, with the other partners, endorsed Globalstar's suspension plan—was supportive, saying it believes current and new product offerings support an expanding market for Globalstar service and that it expects the system to continue to operate into the future. Globalstar has retained The Blackstone Group as its financial adviser to assist in restructuring debt, identifying funding opportunities and pursuing other strategic alternatives.
OSAKA, JAPAN —Matsushita Electric Industrial (MEI), Matsushita Group's parent company, will absorb Matsushita Electronics Corp. (MEC), a wholly owned subsidiary, subject to new Japanese tax regulations expected to be enacted early this year. As part of Matsushita's three-year plan, MEC's semiconductor and display device operations will be combined with MEI's corresponding operations, resulting in several new internal divisional companies within MEI. For instance, the development, production and sale of semiconductors, currently spread over both MEI and MEC, will be merged into a new semiconductor divisional company, eliminating inefficiencies and increasing Matsushita's competitiveness, said the company. As part of its three-year plan, called Value Creation 21, Matsushita said the sales goal for 2004 for the new AVC Networks segment, which will be fueled by expansion of digital A/V and mobile communications, is set at about $42.6 billion. The sales goal for the Home Appliances segment is set at about $11.9 billion.
WASHINGTON, D.C. —XM Satellite Radio has declared a regular quarterly dividend on its 8.25 percent Series B Convertible Redeemable Preferred Stock. The dividend is payable in shares of the company's Class A Common Stock at a rate of $1.0313 per share of Series B Preferred Stock owned, with fractional shares to be paid in cash. The shares of Class A Common Stock to be issued will be valued at 95 percent of the average daily price of the Class A Common Stock for the 10 consecutive trading days ended Jan. 12. The dividend is payable on Feb. 1 to Series B convertible preferred stockholders of record of XM Satellite Radio as of Jan. 22.
PARSIPPANY, N.J. —Emerson Radio has offered to purchase an additional 1.6 million shares of common stock directly from Sport Supply Group (SSG), a Dallas-based direct marketer of sporting-goods equipment, for $2.2 million. Emerson previously owned about 36 percent of SSG. The purchase was expected to be finalized this month. Upon completion of the deal, Emerson will own about 48.3 percent of SSG's issued and outstanding shares. This past year, SSG made sizable investments in its Internet and information platform, enabling it to compete with companies entering the sporting-goods industry on a B2B Internet platform.
This TWICE webinar, hosted by senior editor Alan Wolf, will take a look at what may be the hottest CE products at retail that will be sold during the all-important fourth quarter. Top technologies, market strategies and industry trends will be discussed with industry analysts and executives.

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Germantown native Billy Keck strolled into the Wyck Farmers’ Market one recent Friday to pick up fresh corn and eggplant. Like many customers, he bought more than he intended from the colorful display of homegrown onions, tomatoes, apples, peaches and just-picked potatoes.
“They’re helping the community, so it’s great,” said Keck, 75. “We need places like this.”
In a low-income neighborhood where grocery stores are few and far between, the Wyck Farmers’ Market provides fresh, low-cost produce, most of it grown on site at the Wyck farm, which is located near the corner of Germantown Avenue and Walnut Lane.
The market is open from 2 to 6 p.m. every Friday from the start of June through the end of November.
Other vendors there, too
Riehl’s Family Farm, a Lancaster-based business, is now in its second season of selling produce and fresh baked cakes at Wyck.
“It’s a wonderful place, and it’s a really gorgeous property,” said Katie Brownell, 28, who manages the farm and produce stand. “It’s like a little oasis in Germantown.”
The sidewalk stand sits on Germantown Avenue, just off the 2.3 acres surrounding the historic Wyck House. The property has been farmed for more than 250 years and now grows everything from potatoes and peppers to lettuce and sweet corn.
Pete Monteiro, a 55-year-old Germantown native, has shopped at the market for at least five years. He went to Germantown’s St. Vincent de Paul High School, which is now closed, and has seen many other institutions in Germantown come and go over the years.
“It’s nice to see something thrive here,” said Monteiro. “It’s great that the people of Germantown have access to something fresh like this.”
Providing accessibility and affordability are primary goals for The Wyck House and its partner, The Food Trust, a Philadelphia non-profit group that promotes fresh food in urban neighborhoods.
The market’s goals
An estimated one in five adults in southeastern Pennsylvania have just one serving of fruit or vegetables each day, according to an annual health survey conducted by the Public Health Management Corp., a Philadelphia-based nonprofit.
The Food Trust works with farmers, such as those at Wyck, to make sure everyone can afford and has access to nutritious food.
“The produce at grocery stores is too expensive,” said Keck. “I live on a fixed income, so we need places like this to get our produce.”
Many patrons, including 78-year-old Lizzie Davis of West Johnson Street, use federally funded vouchers to purchase their produce.
“Not everywhere accepts them, and the variety here is great,” she said. “It’s much better than shopping at a grocery store.”
According to an Agriculture Department study, nearly 30 million lower-income Americans live more than a mile from the nearest supermarket. Such “food deserts” exist in parts of Germantown, making Wyck a lifeline for many residents, especially the elderly.
Booker Johnson, a 75-year-old Fayette Street resident, has been purchasing produce from the Wyck Farmers’ Market for five years.
“It’s convenient for me because I’m in the area,” Johnson said. “I don’t have access to a lot of places like this, so I’m glad they’re here.”
Germantown Hunger Initiative
Reaching people like Johnson is one of the aims of the Germantown Hunger Initiative, a newly formed group which hopes to coordinate various anti-hunger programs now operating in the neighborhood.
The group will hold its second meeting at 3 p.m. on Wednesday at the Wyck House, said Thomas Wingert, program development director at La Salle University, which is spearheading the effort.
Amanda Staller is a La Salle University student who writes for GermantownBeat, a local student-produced news site. NewsWorks features articles from GermantownBeat on its Northwest Philadelphia community sites and contributes multimedia journalism training to the program.


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Toyota Unveils New Duo Of Fuel-Efficient Engines
Toyota has unveiled this week two new fuel-efficient gasoline engines that will serve as the basis for as many as 14 global powerplants by 2015, and boost economy by 10 percent.
Automotive News reports the two engines — 1.3-liter four-pot and 1-liter three-pot — are Atkinson cycle powerplants co-developed with partner Daihatsu, and feature fuel-efficiency goodies such as EGR, VVT and stop-start technology.
On the power front — especially since Atkinson cycle engines are more known for their efficiency than for destroying ‘Ring times — the Toyota engines will deliver high compression ratios of 13.5 for the larger engine, 11.5 for the smaller. In turn, thermal efficiency in the duo will hit a maximum of 38 percent and 37 percent, respectively.
As for where the duo and their children will reside, expect the home market to have the first crack via the automaker’s line of non-hybrid compacts before taking the global stage the following year in both non-hybrid and hybrid vehicles, as well as larger premium offerings.
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- Arthur Dailey Calling Frank Sheeran. Such a shame to see that car, which it appears was well maintained right to the end, being relegated to the crusher. Compared to what you get for $50k today, that Lincoln was not such a bad deal. As mentioned a phenomenal highway cruiser with some of the most comfortable seats every installed in a car.
- ToolGuy Nice car. Does this company still make sedans?
- Jimbo1126 I just looked at the Hyundai website and it appears the SE SR trim has gone away. The SE is now the base trim at $45,500.
- Jimbo1126 Even my mother, certainly no big car fan, commented that the Mark Vi was the ugliest car she'd ever seen.38,391 in 1980 to 38,398 in 1981 is an increase of 7. :)
- Kwik_Shift Important consideration when choosing your next vehicle. Its not only your own death, or of your passengers, but the possible lifetime of crippling injuries.
So Toyota has finally decided to challenge Honda in the lawnmower segment.
Sentence found in another TTAC thread: "Buying an entry level car in India is more a choice between replacing a motorcycle/scooter" and I would say, most of southeast Asia, Africa and many countries in south America. Toyota will hit a homerun on those markets.


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New Zealand luxury leather accessories brand Deadly Ponies continues to hit the right mark and just this week debuted their Resort ‘19 collection ‘Devotees’ at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia 2018.
‘Devotees’ is a collection that explores the practice of devotion and adoration, reflecting on society’s reverence to inanimate objects and they way in which they shape the world we live in. The talisman and the idol were used as a source of inspiration for the colour palette, silhouettes, and crafted embellishments that featured in the collection.
Creative Director Liam Bowden says the silhouettes and use of PVC represent a second skin when placed over signature pieces, which protect and revere the objects contained within it.
“[It creates] almost transportable temples of modern day craftsmanship” says Bowden.
The on-site presentation at Sydney’s iconic Carriageworks location took place this week in the majestic Elston Room to an audience of 250 guests. The models were dressed in covetable Deadly Ponies scarf print outfits, accessorised with designs from Deadly Ponies Resort ‘19 collection.
To celebrate their debut MBFWA presentation, Deadly Ponies has just released a ‘shop-the-runway’ mini collection on www.deadlyponies.com. The first-release products will include the Wilde Scarf and Bridles which represent a sneak peek of the brand’s soon-to-be-released silk scarf collection.


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'Samsung Galaxy Tab S3' Latest News & Updates: The 8 Inch Amoled Display To Be Announced At IFA 2016?
Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 is set to be released on a couple of weeks from now. Also it's rumoured features and price information have now been leaked online.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 At IFA 2016
Samsung company has recently confirmed those reports about the new Samsung Galaxy Tab S3. It is said to arrive in September for this year's Independent Financial Advisers (IFA) event. The said event will be held in Berlin ExpoCenter City, Germany and will run for five days from September 2 up to September 7 according to GSM Arena.
It is also said that the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 will be released at the same time with the launching of the new Samsung Galaxy Note 7. The reported released date for the Galaxy Note 7 will be available first in the United Kingdom on September 2. The release date for the new gadget in Australia and North America will be on Aug 19, few weeks after the release in the United Kingdom
Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 Display
According to Ray Arena, the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 will have an 8 inch AMOLED display with a premium Sandstone finish. It also said that its back cover will be different than the usual Galaxy Tab.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 Rumored Specifications
The new Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 will be a powerful tablet with its high-end specs. According to Mobile & Apps, the new Galaxy Tabs S3 will have a high-resolution which will have a Quad-HD (1536x2048-pixel), Super AMOLED display. It is said to also feature Qualcomm's octa-core Snapdragon processor and will have a 32GB of storage with 3GB RAM which is expandable up to 128GB.
The camera of the new Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 will have an 8 megapixel on its main camera and a 2 megapixel on its front camera. It will also use a Micro-USB- rather than its usual USB-C port for charging. Its battery will be 4000mAh and will be running Android Marshmallow with Touch Wiz.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 will be expected to cost around $399 depending on its storage capacity. For more Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 news


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Motorola One Hyper, the rumoured pop-up selfie digital camera smartphone by the Lenovo-owned firm, is more likely to debut on December 3. The firm has reportedly despatched out an invitation for an occasion in Brazil the place it’s anticipated to unveil the Motorola One Hyper. While official particulars would emerge on the launch occasion, the hearsay mill has revealed a lot in regards to the Motorola One Hyper. The smartphone is alleged to have a 32-megapixel selfie digital camera and Qualcomm Snapdragon 675 SoC. It can also be more likely to come as Motorola’s reply to smartphones such because the Vivo V15 Pro, Realme X, and Redmi Ok20 that provide a pop-up digital camera expertise underneath the mid-range worth phase.
The invite, courtesy AndroidPIT, reveals that Motorola is internet hosting its launch occasion in Brazil on December 3. It encompasses a sketch to focus on a pop-up selfie digital camera module — suggesting the launch of the Motorola One Hyper that’s rumoured to be the corporate’s first pop-up selfie digital camera phone.
Earlier this month, the Motorola One Hyper was spotted on the US FCC web site with mannequin quantity XT2027-1. The supposed FCC itemizing included a diagram that steered its 6.69-inch show. The smartphone was additionally discovered to have NFC help.
Motorola One Hyper specs (anticipated)
The Motorola One Hyper is rumoured to come back with a full-HD+ IPS show — with none notch or cutout design. It can also be stated to have the Snapdragon 675 SoC, coupled with no less than 4GB of RAM and 128GB of onboard storage that’s expandable by way of microSD card.
In phrases of optics, the Motorola One Hyper is tipped to sport a twin rear digital camera setup with a 64-megapixel major sensor and an 8-megapixel secondary sensor. The smartphone can also be stated to have the 32-megapixel selfie digital camera sensor together with an f/2.zero lens.
The Motorola One Hyper is more likely to retain Google’s Android One branding and run Android 10 out-of-the-box with nearly a vanilla expertise. Moreover, it may have a USB Type-C port together with quick charging help and embrace a 3.5mm headphone jack.


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UMS SKELDAR has announced that it has joined forces with JetLease, a private aircraft leasing company, to launch the first global leasing product for its vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) portfolio, including the flagship unmanned helicopter, the SKELDAR V-200.
The new leasing product was announced on the opening day of DSEI 2017 in London.
JetLease founder and President Russ Dise explained: “This is an exciting milestone for our business. As a leader and innovator in the aircraft leasing industry and major player with 35 years’ experience in civilian and government customers worldwide, it made absolute sense for JetLease to provide these products to UMS SKELDAR. They also boast a track record as industry gamechangers with their unique heavy fuel engine rotary VTOL — the only one to operate in its category — and we are looking forward to developing our leasing product.”
UMS SKELDAR will introduce the financial package, featuring dry and wet leasing, to also include optional payloads such as Sentient Vision Systems’ ViDAR, which deploys five to ten cameras, providing between 180 and an optimal 360-degree maritime domain awareness.
According to Axel Cavalli-Björkman, CEO of the Swiss-Swedish joint venture between Saab AB and UMS AERO, the SKELDAR V-200 is already recognised as the ideal UAV platform for navies worldwide and a range of maritime and land scenarios.
“This NATO-compliant platform, demonstrably the best suited across a range of customer sectors, is our strategic focus. Importantly, this exciting new partnership with JetLease makes our SKELDAR V-200 accessible to a range of customers in the ‘blue light’ sector – police, security and emergency services, Search and Rescue (SAR) – and ‘emerging nations’ military markets. Outsourced contracts and third party financing including ‘Power by the Hour’ are attractive options placing our technologies within reach of an increasing number of prospective customers,” explained Cavalli-Björkman.
JetLease Vice President Katy Glynn commented: “The global footprint of JetLease, in tandem with our experience across military and civilian fixed-wing and rotary aircraft of all types and sizes, including the Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk, provides the ideal base on which to build the range of leasing products for UMS SKELDAR.”


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Stellar said it continued its balance sheet clean up exercise which started in the preceding year, by selling off its investment in Northbound Communication Solutions and completing the disposal of its remaining operating entities. The period also included once-off advisory fees of R2,9 million related to the restructuring process. The NAV of R534 million translates to 189 cents per share.
The company said the results did not include the sale of the Company’s investment in Digicore Holdings Limited or the results of the offers to buy struggling investment firm Cadiz Holdings and a strategic minority stake in Torre Industries Limited, transactions which were announced in June and July respectively.
Headline loss per share from continuing operations fell from 9.6 cents to 8.43 cents while headline loss per share for the period fell from 23.90 cents to 10.15 cents per share.
The company’s listed interests currently stands as minority interests in Cadiz and Digicore, Goliath Gold Mine and Mine Restorations Investments, while its unlisted interests are a 51 percent shareholding in Praxis financial services and Tellumat.


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EXCLUSIVE: INDIA: Axles India to invest INR160 million to supply Dana
Axles India, part of the South-India based TVS Group, is investing INR160 million (€2.86 million) in a new plant to supply axle housings to Dana Corporation in the US.
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The last year has been a difficult one for Microsoft's (MSFT -2.03%) Xbox brand. Despite the strong launch of the Xbox One, the system has faced an uphill battle that looks like it will continue going forward. The PlayStation 4 from Sony (SONY -2.62%) looks to be off to a much stronger start, substantially outperforming the Xbox One in Europe and outselling the system by a 2:1 margin in January in North America. It's not as though Sony is the only threat to the company's presence in the gaming space, either. Tech giants like Amazon (AMZN -3.03%), Apple, and Google have been gearing up to claim a greater share of the market as well.
Amid the Xbox One's product vision and messaging problems, strong voices have emerged from within the company demanding that Microsoft sell off the Xbox brand and exit the gaming space. Increasingly influential shareholders like Value Act have cited poor margins as the primary rational for liquidating Xbox. Now, rumors are circulating that Amazon may be a potential buyer. Is the online retail and cloud giant about to purchase one of the biggest names in gaming?
Everybody loves rumors
According to insider Pete Dodd, talk of Amazon buying the Xbox brand has been quietly swirling. Dodd has been ahead of the curve on big stories before, but it's important to remember that there is very little information to substantiate these rumblings. Other rumors suggest that Amazon will be launching its own Android-based console and media box sometime in 2014.
Who won the last round of the console wars?
Go back in time a year or two and the notion of selling the Xbox brand would seem patently absurd. Microsoft's Xbox 360 was arguably the most successful console of the last hardware generation. While the Wii sold more hardware and the PlayStation 3 enjoys slightly better momentum at the tail end of the cycle, the 360's online-centric product vision proved to be the direction in which the industry was heading. The system substantially outperformed PS3 in the UK and North America and established Xbox as the de facto gaming platform in the West.
Microsoft and Sony swap spots
The controversy surrounding the Xbox One's initial product vision and the fact that the system offers weaker hardware at a higher price have changed the picture dramatically. There is little question that Microsoft will need to adapt its strategy in relation to the success of the PlayStation 4. Sony faced a comparable situation in the last generation when it was forced to react to the rise of the 360.
Here comes a new challenger
Last year, concrete details suggesting that Amazon would be releasing a set-top box with substantial gaming functionality began to circulate. The company posted hiring calls that made it clear that there was an intent to improve its game development capabilities.
Reports indicated that Amazon's media convergence device would use a Snapdragon processor from Qualcomm. This year has seen Amazon acquire Double Helix Games (the developers of Killer Instinct on Xbox One) and intensifying rumors that the company's console would debut at an approximate $300 price point.
Is it a question of one or the other?
The launch of an Amazon console in 2014 would not eliminate the Internet giant as a potential purchaser of the Xbox business. If Microsoft is planning to sell the Xbox brand, Amazon is one of the most likely buyers. As an American company firmly invested in cloud infrastructure, there could be few better suitors.
Where does Satye Natella stand in all of this?
Microsoft's new CEO Satye Natella has been described as a man who is intensely focused on the numbers. With that in mind, attention turns to which numbers matter most going forward.
From a purely monetary perspective, there's no denying that Microsoft is still billions in the hole on its gaming investment. Entering the market proved incredibly costly, but the company has found considerable success in building the brand. While much of Natella's background is cloud and services based and the company is expected to move in this direction, maintaining hardware divisions is not necessarily incompatible with this vision. It's simply a matter of producing the right hardware.
Points against sale
While Amazon may be the ideal purchaser for the Xbox brand, there is a lot standing in the way of such a deal going through. Chief among these obstacles is whether or not Microsoft really wants to ditch its console business. Microsoft has described Xbox 360's business in recent years as being "incredibly profitable," and the company's Xbox Live platform has been a tremendous success. What's more, selling the Xbox brand in the middle of a hardware generation would almost certainly damage the brand.
Microsoft may see much better margins from Windows and Office, but investments don't have to be profitable in the short-term to be worthwhile (as Amazon itself has demonstrated.) It's also worth noting that Amazon's cash and short-term holdings of approximately $12.45 billion are relatively small in relation to the company's massive size. Although imprecise in its methodology, a 2013 estimate from Bloomberg put the value of Xbox at around $17 billion. Microsoft might not be interested in Amazon shares, especially if the two companies look to be increasingly competitive in cloud and service spaces.
What does it all mean?
If a sale of the Xbox division occurs, don't expect it within the next several years. All signs point to Amazon releasing its own hardware this year, and Microsoft is in a position that necessitates shoring up the stability of the Xbox brand before looking for a buyer. Of course, it's possible that Amazon initiated some low-ball soft offers in hopes of opening a dialogue and getting a better idea of how Microsoft values its gaming business. Either way, expect Amazon and Microsoft to be competitors in the gaming space before the year's end.


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Interval monitoring app Flo launched an “Nameless Mode” on Wednesday, which lets individuals use the app with out linking their information to their identify, electronic mail deal with, or IP deal with.
The brand new function — which the corporate says it hopes will set a brand new normal for privateness protections in well being apps — is a direct response to privateness considerations stemming from the overturn of Roe v. Wade in June. Following the ruling, reproductive justice advocates raised the alarm over the attainable use of the delicate information collected by interval monitoring apps in prosecuting abortion seekers.
“The world isn’t designed for privateness,” mentioned Roman Bugaev, chief expertise officer at Flo, in an interview with The Verge. “We have to rethink the entire web with this in thoughts.”
“The world isn’t designed for privateness”
Within the aftermath of the US Supreme Courtroom choice to finish federal safety for abortion, interval monitoring apps like Flo got here beneath explicit scrutiny as customers apprehensive that the information path from these apps might be used towards individuals suspected of getting an abortion. Specialists say this sort of information request isn’t the primary means regulation enforcement is more likely to pursue circumstances, however the outcome was nonetheless a brand new sensitivity towards information assortment for any product associated to reproductive well being. When the choice leaked in early Could, most cycle monitoring apps mentioned that they didn’t plan to make modifications to their insurance policies.
Interval and cycle monitoring apps have a tendency to not have nice privateness protections, and Flo, which has round 40 million month-to-month customers, has stumbled publicly in its dealing with of consumer information. Final 12 months, it settled with the Federal Commerce Fee over allegations that it shared well being info with outdoors corporations after promising customers it might hold information personal.
The crew realized loads concerning the significance of privateness and consumer belief via that course of, Bugaev says. “That’s why we determined to double down on this.”
After the leak of the draft opinion revealing that the Supreme Courtroom was planning to overturn Roe v. Wade, Flo began having conversations with customers who mentioned they had been apprehensive about utilizing cycle trackers that linked their id to their information. “They had been apprehensive concerning the implications of continuous to make use of interval monitoring apps like Flo,” Cath Everett, vice chairman of product at Flo, informed The Verge. “So we knew that we had a consumer drawback and an actual challenge that they needed us to unravel.”
The precise choice was launched in late June. Since then, 12 states have banned most abortions, and bans are working their means via the courts in others. Conversely, some states like Rhode Island and Connecticut have put new protections round abortion rights in place.
Flo fast-tracked growth of the nameless function when Roe v. Wade was formally overturned. However fixing the problem was not so simple as simply deleting customers’ contact info and different account particulars. The energy of an app like Flo is within the insights it can provide to a consumer by discovering patterns in many various information factors, and sending that information over the web from a cellphone to Flo’s cloud servers would usually depart many figuring out items of metadata, like IP deal with logs, that may tie info again to particular customers.
To take away this doubtlessly figuring out info, Flo labored with net infrastructure firm Cloudflare to implement an rising net normal often known as “Oblivious HTTP.” As described in Flo’s whitepaper, Oblivious HTTP separates information content material from IP deal with info by utilizing a relay service to switch encrypted information between an app consumer and Flo’s servers. Basically, the relay will know the place the information request is coming from however not what it accommodates, and Flo can see what the information accommodates however gained’t know the place it comes from.
“The fantastic thing about Nameless Mode is that it makes it attainable for customers to nonetheless have the personalised expertise and the perception based mostly on the information that they’re offering however, on the finish of the day, that that information can’t be tracked again to them,” Everett says.
Due to the character of the Nameless Mode, the crew gained’t have the ability to see precisely how many individuals activate the function, Bugaev says. However they’ll have the ability to get a common high-level estimate, and so they’re anticipating it to be within the tens of millions.
The Nameless Mode will not be for everybody, Everett says — Flo customers who selected it’ll lose some options. Internet customers can’t use Nameless Mode with the paid model of Flo, which incorporates video programs and chats with the Flo Well being Assistant. Customers can’t join with a wearable gadget. In addition they can’t switch info to a brand new cellphone if theirs is damaged or stolen. The crew needed to incorporate as a lot performance as attainable however needed to make some tradeoffs due to the challenges in constructing a really nameless product, Bugaev says.
The crew at Flo says it hopes the mode conjures up different teams to construct comparable methods that additionally put anonymity on the forefront. “I feel we should always work collectively on a few of these points,” Bugaev says. “It’s very laborious to maneuver the entire business alongside.”
Correction September 14th, 10:21AM ET: A earlier model of this story said that Nameless Mode can’t be used with the paid model of Flo. It can’t be used with the paid model of the online app, however is obtainable on the paid model of the iOS app. We remorse the error.


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Souq Waqif Falcon Hospital was invited to take part in the 4th AgriteQ 2015. The conference focused on all aspects of agriculture including falcon care
Under the kind patronage of his Excellency the Prime Minister Sheikh Abdullah Bin Nasser Bin Khalifa AL Thani
, the 4th Qatar International Agricultural exhibition was held with over 300 participant (locally, and internationally) specialized in the agricultural sector and its products. The exhibition was held on 10th – 12th of November 2015 in Doha exhibition centre on an area of 10,000sqm. The exhibition included many products, equipment, materials and supplies carried by the agriculture, food and related items, with interest in the environment and all that served under cultivation logo, food, environment, health intact, where they will be interest in food participations of all types and its investment, with interest in food products of (Halal), and also interest in animal and fish products and bred and all accessories as part of the list of exhibits.
For more information please visit http://www.agriteq.com/


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Dutch Bros Stock Launch Exceeds Company Expectations
The Grants Pass-based coffee chain Dutch Bros has had a wildly successful first couple of days on Wall Street.
Dutch Bros stockjumped by about 60% during its opening day on Wednesday, then jumped another 30% the next day.
Dutch Bros first opened its stock priced at $23 dollars a share, which was at the high end of earlier projections. By the end of the day’s trading, it had soared to about $37. As of early Thursday, it stood at $48.
The company gained a market value of more than $6 billion on its first day. It had initially aimed to raise up to $484 million.
“We’re just so pleased with the performance of today,” said President and CEO Joth Ricci on Wednesday. “Who knew? There were a lot of people speculating what today was going to look like. I can tell you, it far surpassed anyone’s predictions that I had heard of.”
Dutch Bros’ initial public offering became the largest in state history, making it the state’s fifth-most valuable company, according to The Oregonian/OregonLive.
Ricci says the company aims to use this new capital to continue expanding its drive-thru coffee stands into other regions.
“We do have growth plans for growing somewhere north of a hundred locations a year for the foreseeable future,” he said. “We’ve laid out plans to grow to 4,000 locations. We’ll open our 500th location next week.”
The company’s co-founder, Travis Boersma of Grants Pass, has a 43% stake in the company, so he’s now worth at least $2.75 billion.
Dutch Bros released photos from its day on Wall Street, showing Boersma swinging the ceremonial first trade bell at the New York Stock Exchange while wearing his signature backwards ballcap and sporty sunglasses.
The company’s public filings outline an unusual stock structure that would give Travis Boersma more than 74% voting power; basically, ensuring another entity can’t acquire Dutch Bros through a “hostile takeover.” Arrangements like this can sometimes give shareholders pause, causing stock to underperform.
Brothers Travis and Dane Boersma founded the company in Grants Pass in 1992 with a single coffee pushcart. Dane Boersma died of Lou Gehrig's disease in 2009.
Dutch Bros has since built drive-thru coffee stands in 11 western states. Ricci says the company plans to stick to its drive-thru model, while maintaining its few legacy walk-in locations in Oregon, including one in Grants Pass.


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Local brews scoop seven major international awards01 July 2008
Bigger may not always be better – but in the case of the South African Breweries Ltd, it is a distinct advantage. And to prove it, SAB has recently garnered seven prestigious international taste and quality awards for its beers.
In the line-up, SAB’s best-performing brand is Carling Black Label, with a brew from Cape Town’s Newlands brewery winning a Grand Gold Medal at the world-famous Monde Selection Awards, and a Silver Medal at the International Taste & Quality Institute (iTQi) Superior Taste Awards. A Carling Black Label brew from the Rosslyn brewery in Pretoria also won a Bronze Medal at the Australian International Beer Awards (AIBA).
In addition, Sarita Select from Johannesburg’s Chamdor brewery took a Grand Gold Medal and Redds from Durban’s Prospecton brewery took a Gold Medal at the Monde Selection Awards. Hansa Pilsener brewed at Rosslyn won an AIBA Silver Medal, as did Castle Lager brewed at the Alrode brewery in Alberton.
According to Martin Brooks, SAB Ltd's Chief Brewer, the slew of awards are proof that SAB’s brewing standards – and the brands it produces – are among the best in the world.
“In a world where clever marketing often trumps product quality, we’re very honoured that our brands are recognised as some of the best quality in the world. Competition at the various brewing awards is fierce, with many hundreds of products from across the world vying for top honours, so for SAB to walk away with so many accolades is a very proud moment,” he says.
SAB Communications Manager Janine van Stolk adds: “SAB places great emphasis on developing world-class brewers, and these awards prove that we are getting it consistently right – brewers from across South Africa have come out tops against their international peers.
“It also bears mentioning that three of our awards have been won by two of our women brewers. Shona Hutchinson of Prospecton won a Monde Selection Gold Medal for Redds, and Nikki Else of the Rosslyn brewery took the AIBA Silver for Hansa Pilsener and a Bronze for Carling Black Label.
“Kudos must also go to Tim Godfrey of the Newlands brewery, who won the Monde Selection Grand Gold Medal and the iTQi Silver Award for Carling Black label, Jonathan Owen of the Chamdor brewery for his Monde Selection Grand Gold Medal for Sarita, and Peter Riley of Alrode, who won an AIBA Silver Award for Castle Lager.
“We are very proud of the brands and our brewers,” Van Stolk concluded.
For further information, please contact Dominique van Onselen at Corporate Image on 082 802 8184.
The Monde Selection Awards, which have been in existence since 1961, are run by the International Institute for Quality Selections. The Monde Selection is a contest to determine the world's best spirits, wines and beers, and its symbol – which can be used on the winning product for five years – is seen all over the world as representing quality.
The AIBA, established in 1993 by the Royal Agricultural Society and the University of Ballarat, is held annually in Melbourne. It is Australia’s most prestigious beer event, and has established itself as a respected gauge of brewing quality around the world.
The iTQi Superior Taste Awards, based in Brussels, are premised on the fact that taste is the decisive buying factor for four-fifths of consumers – but they receive little guidance about it. The iTQi is the world’s leading independent chef- and sommelier- based organisation dedicated to judging, honouring and promoting superior-tasting food and drink from around the world, in so doing giving consumers expert information on products’ taste.
Companies from more than 60 countries have already benefited from the Superior Taste Awards. Winning brands can reflect the iTQi Award on their packaging and advertising for three years, and the Silver Award won by Carling Black Label is a “Superior Taste Award for remarkable products with marks between 80% and under 90%”.


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13:40 | 11/08/2018 Trade
The export turnover of tra fish soared 19.5 percent to US$1.18 billion in the first seven months of 2018, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).
|Processing tra fish for exports - Photo: cafef.vn|
In July alone, the country exported US$182 million worth of tra fish, representing a year-on-year rise of 13.5 percent.
Major consumers of Vietnamese tra fish include China, the US, the European Union (EU), the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
High export growth was seen in the UAE (up 133.5 percent), China (up 45.2 percent) and ASEAN (up 36.5 percent).
China remained the biggest importer of Vietnamese tra fish with US$290 million, up 45.2 percent year-on-year, making up 24.7 percent of the total export turnover for this product.
The US came second with US$250 million (up 11.5 percent) followed by the EU with US$137.5 million (up 15.3 percent), accounting for 20.4 percent and 11.7 percent of the total figure, respectively.
Notably, the UAE surpassed Saudi Arabia to be among top 8 importers of Vietnamese tra fish with US$32.5 million, recording a considerable growth of 133.5 percent.
In 2017, the UAE was the third largest importer of Vietnamese tra fish in the Middle East market with a value of US$23 million, down 13.2 percent compared to the previous year.
However, Vietnam’s tra fish exports to the UAE reversed with a sharp upturn in export value in the first months of this year, with increases shooting up by between 117-221 percent a month since March.
The strong growth was attributed to the Saudi Food & Drug Authority (SFDA)’s decision to suspend imports of fish, crustacean and other aquatic products from Vietnam.
The temporary suspension was based on the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE)’s "Quarterly Aquatic Animal Disease Report (Asia-Pacific Region) April - June 2017", and the outcomes of the working visit to Vietnam by SFDA in late 2017.
Vietnam is the world’s largest exporter of tra fish, making up more than half of the global tra fish output.
There is increasing demand for Vietnamese tra fish in Russia, the Middle East, and Asian countries.


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www.Trendsettahinc.com. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE New Miami Headquarters Create Bi-Coastal Presence for Los Angeles-based Trendsettah Inc. – Tobacco, Consumer Products Company’s Distribution, Corporate Office Opens Global Doors MIAMI, FLORIDA (February 6, 2014) – Trendsettah Inc., a leading tobacco and consumer products company serving the urban and Generation X markets, has opened a new warehouse, distribution, […]
It’s not long now until the Tobacco Plus Expo to be held at the Las Vegas Convention Center January 28-29 2015. For all the information please click on the link below……….. http://www.tobaccoplusexpo.com/
Trensdsettah USA, Inc. to Exhibit at 2015 TPC Expo in Las Vegas Los Angeles, CA – January 16, 2015 – Innovative lifestyle brands manufacturer, Trendsettah USA Inc., will exhibit its newest products at the Tobacco Plus Convenience Expo, a trade show attended by tobacco manufacturers and suppliers from around the world to exhibit their latest […]
Vapor Tobacco Manufacturing LLC Announces Launch of Certified Organic eTron® 3T™ E-Liquid including Organic-filled Disposable E-Cigarettes; Industry First for the Vapor Industry
FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla., Dec. 15, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Vapor Tobacco Manufacturing LLC (“VTM”) announced the launch of the first certified organic e-liquids for the vapor industry — eTron® 3T™. VTM’s organic products have been certified organic under the United States Department of Agriculture’s National Organic Program. As certified organic products, VTM’s e-liquids carry the familiar USDA Organic […]
What’s InterSupply about? InterSupply is THE new international platform for the production of tobacco goods. The trade show premieres from 18 – 20 September 2015 at Messe Westfalenhallen Dortmund, Germany. From raw materials like raw tobacco, aromas/flavours and essences, production machines and facilites for the manufacturing of cigars, cigarettes, pipes, shishas and e-cigarettes to packing […]
In this fast evolving category, which is expected to be around $5 billion in the US by the end of 2014, has vaping eclipsed e-cigarettes. Most industry insiders agree vaping is fast superceding e-cigs as the preferred category. What are your thoughts / comments??
In an expected move, PM USA raised its cigarette prices by $0.07 / cents a pack, which was immediately followed by Lorillard and RJ Reynolds. Will others follow or exploit the price differential to gain volume??
Tobacco Exhibitions / Trade Shows / Conferences – 2015 Updated: November 5, 2014 Tobacco + Expo – Las Vegas, NV – Convention Center – January 28 -29. AWMA – Las Vegas, NV Paris Hotel and Casino – February 24-26. NATO – Las Vegas, NV Paris Hotel and Casino – April 21-23. […]


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News & Events
Smartwatches will be the first major applications for micro LED with volume adoption likely to take place 3-4 years from now, according to Epistar chairman Lee Biing-jye.
There are smartwatch vendors showing interest in adopting micro LED displays, Lee said, adding a smartwatch screen resolution of about 300 x 300 is equivalent to 300,000 micro LED chips, which can be mass transferred in one go.
It may take 4-5 years before micro LED sees volume adoption by TVs, Lee said
Epistar has been developing micro LED epitaxy and chip technology with AU Optronics (AUO) supplying glass substrates.
Epistar has overcome many micro LED technological difficulties, such as mass transfer, and expects to achieve reliable production capability in 2-3 years, and introduce end-market applications in 3-4 years, Lee noted.
Epistar now focuses on improving yield rates for micro LED epitaxy and reducing cost for mass transfer, Lee said.
Micro LEDs sized 20-50 microns are too small for PCB substrates that support minimum sizes of 50-100 microns, and therefore glass substrates are used, Lee indicated, adding that glass substrates needs complicated processing and many tests. Epistar is using glass substrates for mini LEDs, Lee noted.


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solar ▪ September 22
solar ▪ July 16
Apple tends to patent every one of its inventions that could possibly be used in a future product, so it can be difficult to read the tea leaves on which ones will eventually translate to product features. A new patent from Apple highlighted by PatentlyApple today, though, describes a technology that would be a very welcome remedy to battery life issues. The patent covers applying solar cells to a touch display surface like a trackpad or iPhone to store power for the device: expand full story
solar ▪ May 10
Apple today has announced a variety of new environmental initiatives for its China operations. Through a press release, the company announced a new multi-year partnership with World Wildlife Fund to increase responsibly managed forests throughout China. Apple also announced that it intends to expand its renewable energy projects to manufacturing facilities in China.
solar ▪ April 16
After announcing a new partnership earlier today with The Conservation Fund to protect 36,000 acres of forest, news of another environmental effort by the company comes as SunPower announces plans to build a new solar power project in China.
SAN JOSE, Calif., April 16, 2015– Continuing its growth in the world’s largest solar photovoltaic market, SunPower Corporation today announced that it plans to partner with Apple to build two solar power projects totaling 40 megawatts (MW) in ABA Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefectures, Sichuan Province of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC). When complete, the two projects will be co-owned by Sichuan Shengtian New Energy Development Co., Ltd., SunPower’s project development joint venture, and Apple.
The two new solar sites, Apple’s first in the region, are already under construction and expected to be complete by the end of the year. Apple previously worked with SunPower on its solar projects in the US, including locations in California, Nevada, and North Carolina. expand full story
solar ▪ February 10
During Tim Cook’s talk at the Goldman Sachs Tech Conference 2015 today, the Apple CEO announced a new initiative that will see the company build a solar farm in Monterey County, California that Cook called Apple’s “biggest, boldest and most ambitious” energy project yet. expand full story
solar ▪ December 5, 2014


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Devices are cheaper than laptops, but whether they are cost-effective remains questionable.
Several Interior Department agencies are buying small quantities of Apple iPads to evaluate whether the tablet computers boost efficiency, in a move that resembles the private sector's experimentation with corporate-issued iPads.
"We've done a limited pilot here at the Office of the Secretary" for staff who frequently travel or telework, said Andrew Jackson, deputy assistant secretary for technology, information and business services and one of the recipients of the popular device known for its virtual weightlessness, connectivity and portfolio of applications. "Where we see the biggest gains for productivity is out in the field." Interior's nine bureaus and five major offices make their own purchasing decisions.
Jackson estimates the price of an iPad, which retails for $499, plus ongoing service charges, is equivalent to one-third the cost of a typical government-issued laptop with Internet access. Furthermore, the tablet "is pretty much maintenance-free," he said.
The U.S. Geological Survey, an Interior agency that monitors the health of U.S. ecosystems, began trying out the devices last summer and now has about 1,000 on hand. On Saturday, the Bureau of Land Management issued a solicitation for iPads and other Apple information technology equipment, stating the tablet is "used in personal productivity and visual media." Jackson said the bureau plans to test its mapping capabilities. Meanwhile, the secretary's office, which distributed a few government-issued iPads around Labor Day 2010, is still debating whether making the machines more widely available would be cost-effective.
Assigning iPads to highly-valued staff in the executive suite, as well as employees gathering information offsite, corresponds with the way corporate enterprises have apportioned Apple's tablet among staff, said Ted Schadler, a principal analyst at Forrester Research who studies collaboration tools and team productivity.
"We're still very much in pilot mode," he said. "The value of the iPad is very, very high, but it doesn't replace a phone or a laptop."
Some company IT shops are holding the purse strings tight until competitors emerge, including PlayBook, a tablet made by Blackberry-manufacturer Research in Motion. The security controls may be stronger on the PlayBook than on the iPad, which is really just a big iPhone, Schadler said. Many federal chief information officers have been reluctant to provision iPhones because the security controls on the four-year-old device are not as mature as the safeguards, such as encryption, on BlackBerrys and laptops, he added.
"The PlayBook is going to have even better security than the iPad has," Schadler said. "CIOs everywhere -- in the federal government and private sector -- are very interested in that protection." At Interior, Jackson said he is satisfied with the security level of the iPad. Unlike many notebooks, the Apple devices can be wiped clean by IT administrators if lost, he said.
Another benefit: Unlike BlackBerrys or smart phones, iPad screens are big enough to display e-mail attachments, such as forms for reporting stream gauge data and water flows.
While some IT managers might be more inclined to buy PlayBooks, it could turn out that employees prefer iPads, Schadler said. "2011 is going to be a big experimentation year."
Recent college graduates, in particular, might favor iPads. For example, to accommodate the learning style of young recruits, the Army's Victory University training center in Fort Jackson, S.C., gives soldiers iPads to access online course materials and Kindle e-readers to store documents, according to university officials.
App developers already are trying to grab market share in the federal space. On Jan. 24, government software provider Accela Inc. debuted an iPad tool that pulls up charts depicting the status of agency operations, such as permit applications, inspections and service requests.
The cool factor also might be influencing decisions. After Jackson saw some geological survey executives walking around with the devices this summer, "I figured we need to get ahead of the eight ball," he said. Since deploying a few units last fall, he's had some staff say they'd like to keep their laptops instead, while others say, "Heck, with my laptop. I never want to see it again."
Jackson's favorite iPad feature is the screen. "Reading e-mail is so much easier on an iPad than it is on a BlackBerry," he said. "My e-mail is very hard to stay on top of. I'm in meetings 11 hours a day. To stay on top of e-mails, I have to multitask during meetings" by looking down at the display.
Schadler said that is a common sentiment among corporate users. At meetings, "you don't have to lug a binder of stuff around and it's unobtrusive. Now, does that make the iPad more productive -- or does it just improve satisfaction? It's probably all of the above."
NEXT STORY Career Paths for IT Program Managers


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Bitcoin exchange MtGox has filed for bankruptcy protection in the United States.
MarketWatch reported the defaulted Bitcoin exchange filed for Chapter 15 in the States to protect itself from lawsuits as it attempts to pay off its 6.5 billion yen (about $64m, £38m, AU$71m) debts.
MtGox previously filed for bankruptcy protection in Japan on February 28, which only helped those in Tokyo and the US. With this new measur, foreign debtors and parties who lost their bitcoins on the MtGox can go through the US bankruptcy courts and systems to resolve their cases.
Earlier last month, MtGox lost track of 750,000 Bitcoins deposited by users as well as 100,000 of its own digital coins. As one of the largest Bitcoin exchanges, it held more than 6% of the world's cryptocurrency, worth roughly $549 million (about £329m, AU$608m) by today's trading rates.
Can't catch a break
In another bit of bad news, over the weekend hackers cracked into MtGox CEO Mark Karpeles' personal blog MagicalTux.net as well as his Tumblr and Reddit accounts.
The hackers used their access to post a zip file entitled MtGox2014Leak that claimed to reveal evidence of MtGox wrongdoing. Alleged internal documents inside the compressed archive claimed to reveal how the defunct exchange stole customer holdings and wrote them off as targets of theft.
The file and Karpeles' personal blog have already been taken down, but not before users on Twitter and Reddit supposedly confirmed their personal account balances on the included Excel spreadsheet, potentially verifying its legitimacy.
It's likely the same document also held passwords connected with MtGox, so we strongly urge users to change any of the same passwords they may have used elsewhere.
- What is Bitcoin anyway? Here's everything you need to know


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Regulation News Moves Bitcoin Prices, BIS Report Says
A new report from the Bank of International Settlements (BIS) contends that bitcoin markets are swayed by news events related to regulation.
"While cryptocurrencies are often thought to operate out
Walmart Tells Produce Suppliers to Use Blockchain by Next September
Walmart plans to sell leafy greens that are tracked using blockchain technology within the next year.
In a press release published Monday, the world's largest retailer both by revenue and by employ
The US Should Take a 'Leadership' Role on Blockchain, IBM Report Argues
Developers and companies researching blockchain technology are looking to the U.S. government to help spur adoption, a new report by IBM claims.
Written by Thomas Hardjono, director of the MIT Trus
Coinbase Just Partnered With A Token Startup in Bid to Attract Pro Traders
U.S.-based crypto exchange Coinbase has teamed up with the token-based trading protocol startup Caspian in an effort to boost its offerings aimed at pro traders and financial firms.
Under the deal,


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Date: 15 August 2019
The two companies celebrated the event in the new facility located within Phoenicia’s courtyard.
Being the only plant of its kind in Israel, CGS, aims to support a greener world by offering recycling solutions for laminated glass sheets. Mr. Eran Haimovich, Co-Owner and CGS plant owner (formerly Phoenicia’s CEO) believes that this plant is necessary to support all the lamination glass producers in Israel as well as other producers outside of Israel.
Phoenicia Flat Glass Industries is a mass producer of laminated glass products. It produces about 3300 tons of laminated glass monthly, thus becoming the biggest customer for the new Clear Glass Solutions plant.
Through this recycling process, Phoenicia succeeds in reducing the carbon demand and the environmental pollution. As well as the reduced use of energy, mineral mining and preventing landfill waste.


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This article is more than 1 year old
Hands up who ISN'T piling in to help Epic Games appeal Apple App Store ruling
35 US States, more than 50 academics, Microsoft, others take aim at iGiant and its grip on the iOS ecosystem
Analysis Epic Games' legal campaign to break Apple's near absolute control over its iOS ecosystem received reinforcement this week from 35 US states, Microsoft, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Public Citizen, and more than 50 academics, among others.
In 2020, Epic Games flouted Apple's iOS App Store rules by directing players of its Fortnite game to buy in-game currency and items directly from its website at a lower price rather than through Cupertino.
Apple, deprived of its required 30 per cent cut of in-app sales, responded by removing Fortnite from its iOS App Store.
Epic Games answered with antitrust lawsuits in the US, Europe, UK, and Australia, a legal campaign clearly contemplated as a way to loosen Apple's control over its iOS platform.
On September 10, 2021, US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers issued a ruling that pleased neither side. She found Apple's requirement that app developers not promote alternative payment mechanisms within their apps anti-competitive but did not find that Apple had illegally monopolized the market for mobile gaming transactions.
Her decision represented the third crack in Apple's walled garden in the space of two weeks. In early September, 2021, Apple agreed to accommodate Japan's Fair Trade Commission by allowing reader apps to include in-app links to external account setup.
That was a few days after Apple agreed to settle an antitrust complaint brought by a group of app developers, Cameron et al v. Apple Inc. [PDF], with relatively inconsequential concessions that included allowing developers to communicate outside of apps, via email, about alternative purchase options.
Epic Games won only one of its ten claims – the court found that the anti-steering provisions within Apple's Developer Program License Agreement (DPLA) violate California's Unfair Competition Law.
But the game maker hasn't yet benefited from the decision. Last month, just before the deadline when Apple was supposed to comply with the Epic Games ruling, the iPhone maker challenged the decision in the US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and that court granted Apple's request to stay Judge Gonzalez Rogers's order until its appeal can be heard.
Trust us, we know about antitrust – Microsoft
Earlier this month, Epic Games submitted its own brief with the appeals court. Then on Thursday, the amicus briefs in support of Epic arrived. This particular set of "friend of the court" filings come from various groups – public sector, private sector, academia, and civil society – that all want to see Epic Games prevail. Taken as a whole, they argue that Judge Gonzalez Rogers's decision is flawed.
Microsoft, for example, believes the lower court failed to recognize the ways in which Apple's conduct violates the law and it wants the appeals court to consider the consequences of Apple's dominance more carefully.
"If Apple is allowed to step between any company with online services and users of iPhones, few areas of the vast mobile economy will be safe from Apple's interference and eventual dominance," the company's brief [PDF] says. "Consumers and innovation will suffer – indeed, they already have. The district court's reasoning failed to give sufficient weight to these immense competitive risks and, if broadly affirmed, could insulate Apple from meritorious antitrust scrutiny and embolden further harmful conduct."
If Apple is allowed to step between any company with online services and users of iPhones, few areas of the vast mobile economy will be safe from Apple's interference and eventual dominance
Microsoft's brief chooses to compare Apple's conduct to that of AT&T before it was broken up in 1982 after an eight-year legal battle with the US Justice Department. But it also refers to its own experience with antitrust intervention two decades ago, arguing that the court should evaluate Epic's tying claim – requiring developers to use Apple's in-app payments as a condition of distribution – in the same way that DC Circuit did in United States v. Microsoft Corp, "another case that involved 'the technological integration of added functionality into software that serves as a platform for third-party applications.'"
"The Sherman Act prohibits (a) contracts, combinations, or conspiracies in restraint of interstate commerce or foreign trade, and (b) monopolization, attempts to monopolize, or combinations or conspiracies to monopolize interstate commerce or foreign trade," according to the US Justice Department.
Section 1 violations require a restraint of trade but not necessarily monopoly power, whereas Section 2 violations require monopolization. The district court found Apple guilty only of unfair competition under California law.
In order for Epic Games to prevail in its antitrust claim under the Section 1 of the Sherman Act, Apple's contract – its DPLA – must be found to unreasonably restrain competition in the relevant market.
The court found that Apple's rules had some anti-competitive effects but also some justifications, making them not entirely unreasonable. The court also determined that Apple's unilateral DPLA contract – a contract of adhesion where one party has all the power to dictate terms – does not qualify as the sort of mutually agreed contract contemplated by Section 1 of the Sherman Act.
The 35 US states filing an amicus brief [PDF], led by Utah, argue that the district court erred by ruling out Section 1 liability. The DPLA is not a unilateral contract, the states argue, because developers make promises in return, so Apple's conduct should be evaluated with respect to Section 1.
What's more, they argue, exempting the DPLA from being a contract under Section 1 would make antitrust enforcement impossible.
"Firms with sufficient market power can unilaterally impose contractual terms," the state brief argues. "The district court's holding creates a paralyzing paradox: once a firm acquires market power and unilaterally imposes a contract, then it is no longer subject to Section 1. Affirming this paradox would gut the Sherman Act and prevent the Amici States from enforcing antitrust violations by large firms that harm their citizens."
Firms with sufficient market power can unilaterally impose contractual terms
A filing by 14 law professors [PDF] similarly takes aim at the notion Apple's coerced contract is not a contract worthy of antitrust scrutiny. They also argue that the district court's decision to view the market as all mobile apps rather than just iOS apps is wrong.
"If [these findings] were true, Apple could not earn an extraordinarily high profit margin on iOS app transactions or charge commission rates that are excessive and unjustified," they say in their brief. "Competition would obliterate its pricing power."
The EFF brief [PDF] also takes issue with the district court's decision to accept a market definition that includes all mobile apps rather than iOS apps. And it challenges the presumptive benefits of Apple's oversight by noting "the company's opaque, arbitrary, and byzantine enforcement of its app store policies."
As an example, the EFF brief cites a privacy-enhancing iOS feature introduced in 2020, App Tracking Transparency, that allows users to opt out of having their identities and activities tracked across third-party apps.
"But several of the largest app developers, including Facebook and Snap, continue to harvest device-identifying data from Apple devices that could be used for cross-app tracking," the EFF brief explains. "Apple is reportedly aware of this practice, and condones it, though it tells developers they must 'anonymize' the data."
- Apple beat Epic Games 9-1 in court. Now it's appealed the one point it lost
- Sort-of Epic win as judge kills Apple ban on apps linking to outside payment systems
- Epic Games gets itself epically banned, launches epic Fortnite death match with Apple over App Store's epic 30% cut
The other amicus filings advance similar arguments, all in the hope that Epic Games' claims and Apple's behavior will be reevaluated. Apple meanwhile wants the Ninth Circuit to reverse the unfair competition decision and remove any obligation to support communication about external payments.
Despite winning nine out of the ten claims Epic Games made in district court, Apple faces an increasingly uncertain road. Its appeal to the Ninth Circuit has met with significant resistance and an adverse outcome will almost certainly make the mega-corporation's situation worse. It will be interesting to see whether the iGiant can attract enough supportive friend-of-the-court briefs to counter the arguments advanced by Epic's allies.
And even that may not lift the App Store siege. The UK Competition and Markets Authority is investigating Apple over its App Store business practices. The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) has told Apple to allow developers of dating apps on the App Store in the Netherlands to inform users about additional payment processing options, a decision Apple has appealed. The ACM subsequently fined Apple 5m euros for non-compliance. The EU also has an antitrust investigation of Apple's App Store underway that could imperil the tech titan's 30 per cent commission.
Apple's success, and its resistance to concessions, may have made it too big not to nail. ®


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The National Institute for the Defense of Competition and the Protection of Intellectual Property (Indecopi) has processed 132,510 consumer conflicts, such as claims, complaints and consumer arbitration requests, nationwide during 2022. As a result, it imposed fines for 8,233 UIT (tax tax units), equivalent to S/40 million 753,350, thus sanctioning 1,064 suppliers in 39 economic activities.
This work was carried out hand in hand with 5,317 inspections, especially in cases of private schools, healthy eating (octagons), communications without consent and fictitious offers, achieving that 48% of companies that failed to comply with their obligations change their actions and avoid damage to society of S / 8.6 million.
While the preventive function was embodied in the training for nearly 450,000 consumers in the country; dissemination of 107 consumer alerts to protect the life and health of more than 350,000 citizens; registration of more than 111,000 reports and queries through the Special Monitoring Center (CEMI); surveys and, especially, nine investigations on cases of alleged affectation of collective and diffuse interests of consumers (interruption of the Interjet airline service, accident at the Jorge Chávez international airport, problem of improper collections in the financial system, among others).
Also, according to Indecopi’s balance sheet, issued 55 legal opinions on bills submitted by the Congress of the Republicamong these, the modification to the Consumer Protection and Defense Code that reduces the period of attention of claims by suppliers, from 30 to 15 business days.
Cases taken to the Judiciary
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court of the Judiciary agreed with Indecopi and recognized the right of passengers to endorse the unused ticket per section of a round trip flight (round trip) in favor of another consumer, also confirming the fine that the decision-making bodies of Indecopi imposed on the Avianca company for not allowing said endorsement.
In addition, this entity confirmed Indecopi’s decision in the case of the companies Gloria and Nestlé, which included the term “milk” in the name of their products “Bonlé familiar” and “Ideal Amanecer”, respectively, despite the fact that this did not reflect its true nature and therefore could cause confusion and mislead consumers.
Notably The Judiciary ratified 95% of Indecopi’s decisions, in the cases that the suppliers led to contentious-administrative processes.
In an unprecedented event, during 2022, Indecopi filed the first Civil claim of objective liability for diffuse interests in Peru against the oil company Repsol, for 4,500 million US dollars, due to the oil spill in Ventanilla that affected consumers, users and third parties. This defense action, which has been accepted for processing in the Judiciary, marked a milestone in the management of consumer protection and defense.
Kingston is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his in-depth and engaging writing on sports. He currently works as a writer at 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the sports industry.


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58% of consumers don’t believe their primary bank has their best interests at heart, and 42% feel their bank takes advantage of them with all the fees, according to The Consumer Banking Insights Study. Furthermore, 43% of megabank customers are not satisfied, and roughly half of all megabank customers (46%) say they don’t feel very loyal to their primary bank.
“In order to better compete with megabanks, community institutions will need to boost their marketing efforts and product lines.”
— Gabe Krajicek
Consumers may be dissatisfied with megabanks, but that alone is not enough to get them to switch institutions. Nearly 1 in 4 (23%) megabank customers say they’re at least somewhat likely to switch their checking account to a local community bank or credit union this year, while 63% say they have never considered opening a checking account at a local community financial institution.
One-quarter (24%) of megabank customers say they don’t use a community bank or credit union because they don’t believe smaller institutions can offer the same benefits. Additionally, 83% of megabank customers say a recognizable brand name — a major challenge for community institutions — is at least somewhat important to them when choosing a bank.
The study found an overwhelming majority of customers at community-based financial institutions (93%) say they trust their bank and feel very loyal (84%) toward their institution. One in two consumers said they believe that banking locally is important.
83% of megabank customers say a recognizable brand name is important when choosing a bank.
The study, conducted by Harris Poll on behalf of BancVue’s Kasasa, polled 1,020 U.S. adults ages 18 and up to gauge their banking and checking preferences, feelings and behaviors.
“This study found that many Americans are looking for roughly the same things from their financial institutions: a trustworthy, dependable relationship and few or no fees,” said Gabe Krajicek, BancVue’s CEO.
“In order to better compete with megabanks, community institutions will need to boost their marketing efforts and product lines,” Krajicek said.
“Branding influences so many of our decisions, including our banking choices,” Krajicek continued. “It’s important for community financial institutions to take a hard look at their branding and marketing strategies. If their efforts are falling short, there are solutions out there that they can — and should — take advantage of.”


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Why Cramer-Krasselt and Heinz are in the Super Bowl
Cramer-Krasselt and client H.J. Heinz Co. will be players in the Super Bowl on Sunday. The Chicago ad agency has completed work on a 30-second spot for Heinz that will debut during the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl.
The new TV commercial marks the first time in 16 years that Pittsburgh-based Heinz has advertised during the Super Bowl, where 30 seconds of TV air time is going for $4 million this year.
Unlike other Super Bowl advertisers who have released teasers of their spots in recent days, Heinz, for now, has opted to keep its new commercial under wraps. All the company will say at this juncture is that the commercial shows how picking up a bottle of Heinz ketchup can trigger memories spanning many years.
Like so many other consumer brands, Heinz has stepped up its brand engagement efforts in recent months through a "Show Us Your Heinz" campaign that encourages people to post photos of themselves with their favorite Heinz product at a dedicated website.
Heinz's return to the Super Bowl following a long absence comes just seven months after Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway company (NYSE: BRK.A) and global investment firm 3G Capital completed their acquisition of the iconic ketchup company.
Though low-key in the way he conducts himself as a businessman, Buffett is known for believing in the power of aggressive, high-profile advertising, which may go a long way toward explaining why Heinz is back in the Super Bowl.
Buffett, for instance, pushed for Geico, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, to become a very visible and creative advertising force. And Geico is now among the most well-known auto insurers in the country with goofy TV ads and Geico gecko brand mascot that millions of people look forward to and love.
Cramer-Krasselt has been Heinz's ad agency since 2004, and has worked on advertising for a variety of Heinz products, including the classic ketchup itself.
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Automation specialist Kinesys strengthens its Marketing team with the appointment of Nisha Suthar as Marketing & Communications Assistant.
In her new role, Nisha will be responsible for strategic communications – developing media relations, external communications and launching a new social media strategy for 2013.
Nisha has previously worked as a marketer for a leading publication, MoneyWeek Ltd and prior to that has a journalistic background which includes working at BBC Local London News.
Cristiano Giavedoni, Director of Marketing and Business says, “The creation of a dedicated communications role is a direct consequence of the continuing growth of Kinesys and our wish to increase brand awareness. Nisha is a pleasure to work with and has already begun providing a fresh look at our communications strategy.”
Nisha adds, “I am excited to join the Kinesys team at this opportune time. The company is expanding fast and I look forward to working towards their brand development. A key aspect of this role will be interacting with users, systems owners and the market in general through social networks.”


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Hyderabad, 10th October, 2021: The city witnessed the gala launch of the most promising Made in India Crypto exchange, BITSZ, on Sunday, October 10, 2021. Popular Actress Niddhi Agerwal, joined Team BITSZ for the grand launch, along with other notable personalities from the city.
Sharing his delight at the launch of this new crypto exchange platform, Mr. Naveen Kumar, Founder, BITSZ, said, “Crypto currencies are growing, and we are positive it will lead the market. There is a lack of awareness of digital currency, and this issue can get solved with the support of this platform. Extensive efforts have been made to launch a platform that provides insurance for all accounts. BITSZ is the only platform in the market that ensures every user wallet is secure, compared to other platforms in the market. The platform does not have bugs, and supports Anti-Money Laundering.”
Interacting with the audience Naveen said, “It is really exciting to see so many youngsters and crypto enthusiasts showing so much interest in BITSZ.”
Sharing his experience and the motivation behind building BITSZ, Naveen highlighted the need for disruption and the unrelenting efforts of his team to do something that was never done before.
BITSZ has partnered with the leader in digital asset management, Fireblocks, and it will provide insurance to users on all types of wallets. Along with this, BITSZ will become the fastest exchange allowing 30 million transactions on the platform.
“Currently, our platform has a trading volume of 1 million+, it has 5+ exchanges listed, and 2,000+ retail investors,” added Mr. Naveen, as he encouraged and invited all newbie traders and those who had lost money in previous exchange hacks, to take one more chance in crypto with BITSZ and partner in the crypto future ahead.
Due to its unique concept of exchange and high anticipation of trading, BITSZ has been attracting a lot of buzz from other crypto players since the day of its registration. BITSZ has also constantly been the center of attraction for crypto investors because of the unique features that the entire crypto industry will witness for the first time. BITSZ introduces a platform that provides the fastest transactions, insurance on wallet, extremely easy UI, 24*7 multi-lingual live chat, customer support, and AI suggestions.
Addressing the audience at the launch, Niddhi Agerwal said, “As a business student myself, I completely understand the benefits of investing in crypto currencies. BITSZ, as a platform, stands out for users due to the concept of providing 100% insurance. I learnt today that despite being independent, 33% of women always involve a man in their family to make decisions in investments. I would like to encourage both men and women to come forward and invest in crypto currencies. It is a safe and great investment to make. I am excited to be part of the launch of this unique platform.” Congratulating Team BITSZ, Niddhi wished them all success ahead.


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Gaming-themed restaurant planned for Woodfield
Namco Entertainment Inc., the Wood Dale-based company affiliated with the makers of Pac-Man, plans to open a high-end, gaming-themed restaurant and entertainment center at Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg.
The new concept restaurant, including eight lanes of bowling, will open in 40,000 square feet of warehouse space formerly used by Sears on the upper level of the mall, according to Schaumburg.
It will have its own exterior entrance, but no entry from inside the mall, said Schaumburg Economic Development Manager Matt Frank.
The restaurant itself will offer high-level fine dining, but reflect the company brand through use of a Pac-Man motif and memorabilia, Frank said.
The space also will include video games and four bowling lanes on each side.
Though plans only recently were filed with the village, approval and construction are expected to be swift enough for the restaurant to open in time for this year's Christmas shopping season, Frank said.
"It's going to be a major player for us," he said. "It's a very cool concept. We're anxiously awaiting them getting that open."
Though Schaumburg is planning for an entertainment zone near the village's convention center at Meacham Road and the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway, there's little concern about the Namco restaurant being in competition with that, Frank said.
The village was reluctant to pass up such a present-day opportunity, he added.
Woodfield already is a major tourist destination, and the Namco restaurant is expected to attract further entertainment businesses there, Frank said. Namco's will be the only bowling lanes anywhere in the village.
The warehouse space Namco will be using has been owned by Sears, but never used for retail. Most of the public would not have known the space was there, Frank said.
Namco Entertainment's designated spokesman for the project could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
The Wood Dale company is a member of the Bandai Namco Group, a Japan-based network of more than 80 corporations formed in the 2005 merger of game industry giant Namco Ltd. and toy maker, Bandai Co. Ltd.


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Ryan Everson, 30
Digital marketing director, Garber Automotive Group
Ryan Everson got his start in auto retailing early.
Two of his uncles open-ed three buy-here, pay-here stores in Michigan in 2003 and recruited Everson at age 13. He was a jack-of-all-trades, creating a group website that was synchronized with a Microsoft Excel inventory feed, while formulating why-buy messaging. He also took photos of inventory and worked as a deal clerk and Internet marketing manager, among other things.
He worked there throughout middle and high school and knew then that the car business was a match for him. He went on to attend Northwood University with a focus on automotive marketing.
Everson said he loves being able to look at industries outside the automotive space and then take some of those innovative ideas and apply them.
He now heads digital marketing for Garber Automotive Group, which is based in Saginaw, Mich., and has locations in seven states. The group has an in-house digital marketing agency that keeps up with the latest trends.
Everson has been with Garber since 2011, starting off at the company’s RightWay Automotive Credit arm. He designed a website for RightWay and digital campaigns that kick-started record growth.
Everson said his team’s efforts generated 155,266 unique website leads, and RightWay’s centralized business development center was able to convert 9,772 website leads into used-car sales.
In January, Everson developed and launched a Facebook app that gathers organic content from customers, which he said “further exploded our website lead volume.”
Garber is focused on growing its dealership footprint but needs good people to support this growth. So Everson’s team launched a custom website, GarberCareers.com, in October.
“We list every position in the company on there, even general manager positions, because we like to build a bullpen of candidates,” he said. “Even if there isn’t an opportunity right now, at least we can start the relationships, so when something does open up, we can bring them on board.”
— Vince Bond Jr.


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Bac Ninh real estate report point in June, 2019
The main reason why foreign companies left China is to reduce production costs, but according to Russian experts, there are many other reasons. That is the reason related to politics and the extreme patriotism of the Chinese people that have caused many large companies of Korea (Samsung), Japan (Toyota, Nissan) and the US to leave China.
The number of workers reduced from 9.000 workers to 4.000 workers.
BBC quoted Samsung spokesperson as saying that another smart phone factory of Samsung will be built in Thai Nguyen with a total investment up to 3 billion USD.
Not only Samsung, other handset manufacturers of Intel, LG and Panasonic have also expanded their production in Vietnam over the past few years. The BBC says these are signs that the technology firms’ move away from China.
The current number of workers at Samsung Bac Ninh factory is over 150,000 people.
In the latest announcement, Samsung said it would cut its operations in China and focus on manufacturing in Vietnamese and Indian factories. It is known that the company encountered too much competition from domestic manufacturers, did not make profits in this market, so it had to come to the decision above.
It has long been thought that China’s cheap and abundant labor force are the main reasons for making Samsung the world’s largest phone manufacturer. However, in the context of the decline in the high-end smartphone market, Samsung will soon move to Vietnam, where wages are lower than China in order to preserve the profit rate.
According to information from Korean news website Thelec, Samsung is planning to build a smartphone factory in Vietnam. If the proposal is approved, Samsung Electronics will have a total of 3 smartphone factories in Vietnam.
Samsung factory in Bac Ninh, Vietnam (SEV) currently has more than 40,000 employees, Samsung Thai Nguyen (SEVT) currently has more than 70,000 employees.
Industrial Park and Urban VSIP Bac Ninh has a total planning area of 700 ha, total registered capital of 80 million USD. In operation from December 2007, VSIP Bac Ninh has so far attracted 76 projects, with total registered investment capital of 1.45 billion USD and 2,149 billion VND.
The number of employees is up to 210,000 people.
Located in the northern key economic region, on the border between Ha Noi and Bac Ninh, VSIP Bac Ninh has a total area of 700 ha. In which, 500ha to develop the Industrial Park with advanced production technology and 200ha to develop the Commercial and Residential Area with commercial projects, supermarkets, schools, offices, sports areas and houses …
The number of employees working at VSIP Industrial Park is 210,000 people.


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The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has ring-fenced foreign currency trade to the point of choking the black market trade and it is now better to change your money at the bank than on the black market.
Leading banks such as SA-owned Nedbank, were yesterday buying the US dollar at Z$8.6 while on the black market the dollar fetched a low Z$6.5.
“It now makes more sense to sell forex to the banks but we are not just buying from anyone,” said a banker.
The reasoning behind tightening the grip on forex buying was to avoid a situation where people would take forex from the streets and dump it with banks.
The Commercial Bank of Zimbabwe was turning away individuals with money to trade. Only account holders were allowed to transact.
Zimbabwe outlawed the multi-currency regime last week and re-introduced the local dollar which was phased out in 2009 after reaching astronomical levels of hyperinflation.
People are sceptical of the Zimbabwean dollar yet to be printed but represented by the bond notes and the interim currency, the RTGS dollar.
Appearing before the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Finance and Economic Planning yesterday, Minister Mthuli Ncube said the move was yielding positive results.
“What we have at the moment is fiscal discipline of the highest quality and the results speak for themselves,” he said.
“If you go back to 2008, it is the exact opposite. We had no fiscal discipline.”
But prices of goods and services in many shops have not dropped as projected. And President Emmerson Mnangagwa said he would crack down on retailers.
“Those businesses that have not lowered prices, we are planning something for them. Their rod is being prepared,” he said at the opening of a highway road in Chiredzi.- Timeslive/Own


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Credit Card Consolidation Loan Warns Consumers About the Dangers of Credit ...
PR Web (press release)
In an article published on September 2013 entitled “The Dangers Of A Credit Card Cash Advance”, Credit Card Consolidation Loan gives out a serious warning to consumers about credit card cash advances. The article discusses how credit cards in itself is ...
When you should not use your credit card!
All you wanted to know about cancelling credit cards
Cash Back Credit Cards: Are They Worth It?